Category Random Ramblings

Meaningful randomness

Information Overload!

Allen Frederick 2 Comments

Insight for your “Journey across the Sky”
A View from the Nest www.eagleviews.org
Random Ramblings from the Resident Raptor

These people have become close-minded and hard of hearing. They have shut their eyes so that their eyes never see. Their ears never hear. Their minds never understand. And they never turn to me for healing.”’Acts 28:27 (GW)
We have a lot to explain about this. But since you have become too lazy to pay attention, explaining it to you is hard. Heb 5:11 (GW)

I never realized how many emails I averaged on any given day until I got home after being away for only one night and found over 300 emails in my inbox. Checking my email periodically throughout the day gave me a false measure of the huge volume of time-wasting info sound bytes I was receiving on a daily basis. Granted many of those emails held inspirational value but when I sat there and compared the time it took to actually go through each one, or to put it better, delete the ones I was not going to read, my eyes were opened to the sheer volume of worthless data bytes that were sent to my inbox.

Not everything we hear or see or read is worthy of our time and attention and yet, if you are anything like me, you too will find yourself bombarded with tons of information on a daily basis. Over a lifetime these sound-bytes will add up to be a very huge number. Now I would not mind if each day I would find an additional 300 dollars placed in my bank account, at least at the end of the year there would be something of value accumulated.

Information too can be valuable if we are discerning. Knowing what to heed and what to discard can have a positive or a negative effect on our life. If we heed valuable information and fashion our life accordingly then we can live a successful life, if on the other hand we spend far too much time digesting worthless and foolish advice and information our lives could end in tragedy.

There is a far more sinister effect information overload can have upon a person, and that is to desensitize that individual so that they are no longer able to discern valuable information from worthless drivel. Loosing one’s ability to differentiate valuable content from mindless rubble is a dangerous position to be found in. If we treat all information as equal we place ourselves in a position to become dull of hearing and blinded to truth. Even when presented with SOLID evidence, because we have lost focus on what is valuable, we are unable to receive the truth as anything more than just another sound-byte. We end up approaching all information peddlers with cynicism and skepticism. Discarding whatever does not suit our particular situation or attitude, we toss aside anything that requires more than a second or two to process. We do not wish to be bothered with weighty issues that might require more thought and research. We want our information in easy to swallow sound-bytes and do not wish to be bothered with a lengthy discourse.

This was the state of the religious people of Christ’s day. Although they prided themselves on being a learned people they were unable to ascertain the clear truth of God manifested in the life of Jesus Christ. Their eyes were blinded to the truth of God’s love and God’s ways and their ears  stopped to the knowledge of God’s word. Although surrounded by overwhelming evidence they were unable to process the information. They had grown comfortable in their own thought processes and did not wish to have their ideas challenged. They had become lazy when it came to information gathering. They did not desire to find out what was true or what was not true, they just picked what sounded good to them at the time and disregarded anything that did not.

Should we be on guard against information overload as well? To answer that question all we really need do is turn on the radio or television and listen for about an hour and see what type of information is being broadcast. Is it uplifting, soul stirring, energizing or simply a waste of time and mindless blather?

As I sorted through my inbox with the intention of separating the worthless from the valuable, I too became aware of the millions of mind numbing bytes wasted on most of the emails sent to my inbox. I am now on a journey to eliminate waste from the bird cage. I am on a journey to block all correspondence from sources that do not provide valuable content. I do not wish to spend my day reading and responding to matters of insignificance. I do not wish to be found wasting my time having to delete these unimportant emails. So from this day forward I am instituting a new email policy. If the information contained in the email is not of eternal value then the sender will be added to my spam filter and their emails will be dead on arrival.

So like Jesus says, there are many things He would like to tell me, and in order to have the desire to hear those things I will have to de-clutter my inbox. Caution, the eagle is cleaning out the birdcage. Beware of flying debris.

But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness. Isaiah 40:31 (BBE)

Along for the journey
Related articles by Zemanta

Global Warming- Some Random Thoughts by Stanley Hasegawa

Allen Frederick 4 Comments

I have been an global warming detractor for many years now. All this hype and false information being bantered about as truth needs to be dealt with with as much fervency as the  proponents of the “Global warming’ religion. Stanley Hasegawa has written an insightful article looking into some of the hype associated with the global warming alarmist’s propaganda.

Disappearing arctic ice threatens the existence of polar bears. I have two thoughts on this. First, polar bears have to deal with disappearing arctic ice every single year:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6j8SGs_gnFk

Second, contrary to expectations, arctic sea ice extent increased in 2008 over 2007. Now one year does not constitute a trend. However, 2009 is also shaping up to be another exception to the continuing rapid shrinking of arctic ice. So far in 2009, Canada had a record late spring and a cool summer:
http://www.ijis.iarc.uaf.edu/en/home/seaice_extent.htm

In addition, Antarctic sea ice extent has been increasing in recent years as well.

In any case, melting sea ice does not contribute to the threat of rising sea levels. What does contribute to rising sea levels is melting of ice that exists on land. Most land-based ice exists on Antarctica and to a lesser extent on Greenland. Global warming advocates claim that the ice on Antarctica is melting and contributing to rising ocean levels. This is not exactly true. There is melting of ice on western Antarctica, but the increase in ice on eastern Antarctica more than makes up for this: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25349683-601,00.html

Global warming advocates also claim that ice in Greenland is melting and contributing to rising ocean levels. They claim that glacial ice from Greenland is entering the sea in increasing amounts. Well maybe, but then again:
http://www.worldclimatereport.com/index.php/2008/11/14/slowdown-in-greenland/

Here are some scriptures to keep in mind.

God does want us to take care of the earth and not pollute it:

“The LORD God took the man and placed him in the orchard in Eden to care for it and to maintain it.” (Genesis 2:15)

Global warming predicts a catastrophic future for the earth as we know it. However, God promises that the normal rhythms of life will never stop until he causes the earth as we know it to cease to exist:

“And the LORD smelled the soothing aroma and said to himself, ‘I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, even though the inclination of their minds is evil from childhood on. I will never again destroy everything that lives, as I have just done.

‘While the earth continues to exist, planting time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night will not cease.'” (Genesis 8:21-22)

Here again we see that the normal rhythms of life will continue on until the end, when Jesus Christ returns:

“But as for that day and hour no one knows it not even the angels in heaven except the Father alone. For just like the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. For in those days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark. And they knew nothing until the flood came and took them all away. It will be the same at the coming of the Son of Man.” (Genesis 24:36-39)

That mankind is physically abusing the earth is only part a larger picture; only one symptom of a more fundamental issue:

“For I consider that our present sufferings cannot even be compared to the glory that will be revealed to us. For the creation eagerly waits for the revelation of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility not willingly but because of God who subjected it in hope 8:21 that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers together until now.” (Romans 8:18-22)

I am richly blessed in my marriage. I have two grown children. I am semi-retired. I have been a computer programmer, systems analyst, househusband and homeschool teacher. I love to walk, talk and eat, and write short articles about devoting our lives to Jesus.

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com–CHRISTIAN WRITERS–MAKE A WEBSITE

Remember the word of God tells us to TEST ALL SPIRITS and see if they are of God. DO not believe everything that comes along especially when there is a PRICE TAG attached to it. Those who are propagating Global warming are seeking to profit from the hysteria they are causing. IF we believe God’s word then we know all things will continue as they have been until GOD decides to pull the plug on humankind. So therefore the thing we should be most concerned about is not Global warming but GLOBAL SIN. If we confess our sins HE is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all our unrighteous acts. God is able to keep us against any opposition. Because God created the heavens and the earth I believe God is able to keep things together until He decides enough is enough. What say you?

Powered by ScribeFire.

Related articles by Zemanta

His Name was John

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

Random Ramblings from the Resident Raptor
Insight from the Journey across the Sky

Plant your seed in the morning, and don’t let your hands rest until evening. You don’t know whether this field or that field will be profitable or whether both of them will {turn out} equally well. Eccl 11:6 (GW)


John came, and gave baptism in the waste land, preaching baptism as a sign of forgiveness of sin for those whose hearts were changed. Mark 1:4 (BBE)

And in those days John the Baptist came preaching in the waste land of Judaea, Saying, Let your hearts be turned from sin; for the kingdom of heaven is near. Matt 3:1-2 (BBE)


There was a mailman, John Hand, who rode his mail truck through Los Altos Hills of California on his 50 mile route each day. The route was plain, all brown and virtually no color. One day he began to throw wild flower seeds out of the window as he drove. Today, if you travel his route in the Los Altos Hills you’ll find beautiful patches of flowers throughout, blossoming in many colors.


Johnny Chapman was born in Leominster, Massachusetts, on September 26, 1774. He grew up to be a successful man who owned many nurseries in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana, yet Johnny lived a simple life. Johnny was a skilled nurseryman who grew trees and supplied seeds to the pioneers in the mid-western USA. In addition he gave away and sold many trees. His real name was John Chapman, but people called him Johnny Appleseed because of his love for growing apple trees.

Johnny died at the age of 70; and is buried in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He had spent 50 years growing apple trees and traveling to spread his precious trees around his country. Legend has it that as he traveled around he wore his cooking pot on his head as a hat.

John the Baptizer was in the desert telling people about a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. All Judea and all the people of Jerusalem went to him. As they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River. John was dressed in clothes made from camel’s hair. He wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.Mark 1:4-6 (GW)

John Hand, Johnny Appleseed and John the Baptist all spread beauty wherever they went. You can trace John Hands movements by the beautiful flowers which grow along his mail route. The results of many years of traveling the same route daily and tossing out seeds of beauty on an otherwise plain and barren route. Those seeds now bring much beauty to others who follow John Hand’s route through the desert.

Johnny Chapman loved apple trees. He loved them so much that he felt every body should have at least one. His mission and passion was to spread the good news of apple trees to whomever he met. If someone could not afford to buy an apple tree Johnny would give them one. Today there are many apple trees throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana because of Johnny Chapman’s passion.

John the Baptist came to spread the gospel of repentance through Jesus Christ. He spread the seeds of revival that still spring forth today. Dressed in sackcloth and eating locust and wild honey John the Baptist, like Johnny Chapman, lived a simple life, yet his message had an impact that would spread through generations.

In our daily lives are we spreading the GOOD SEEDS of God’s kingdom everywhere we go? Do we see the barrenness of our surroundings and simply look the other way or are we attempting to make a difference one seed at a time? It does not take much. Just a handful of seeds spread along our normal daily routes can make a lasting difference in our surroundings.

We all travel different roads. God has given us wonderful opportunities to change and bring added beauty to our landscapes. In our families, at our jobs, in the world around us,  opportunities to color those landscapes! It’s far easier for us to complain and resign ourselves to settling for those landscapes, than it is to be the catalysts of change. From this point on, let’s resolve to stop complaining about the lifelessness around us and do something about it! God has given us the power and anointing to change those landscapes!

Spread some seeds today, that will produce lasting results tomorrow.

But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness. Isaiah 40:31Open Link in New Window (BBE)


Along for the journey

Powered by ScribeFire.

Related articles by Zemanta

Failure Proof

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

1 Peter 12425.jpg (550x366 pixels)

People fail, businesses fail, companies fail, economies fail, governments fail, nations fail but one thing guaranteed to never fail is God’s word. Invest in it, trust in it, put stock in it, believe in it, hope in it. You will not be disappointed. In the end hope in God will give you a heavenly feeling, and raise you up to even greater heights.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Grandma’s Apple Pie

Allen Frederick 5 Comments

I loved my grandma’s apple pies. To me there was nothing better than a fresh hot apple pie straight from the oven, covered with vanilla ice cream and eaten while it was still warm. Mmm Mmm good!

My grandparents lived in a simple house at the end of the road behind the now closed steel plant from which my grandfather had retired years earlier. The small fenced yard sprouted several large maple trees which provided cooling shade during a hot summer day. Also within the confines of that tiny yard was the huge Granny Smith apple tree, a sickle pear tree, and even a plum tree. Right outside the fence line was the neighbors Bing Cherry tree which every year produced thousands of dark red cherries. The eating kind.

Now you know why I loved grandma’s apple pie. The fruit came fresh from the tree in the backyard. I remember she would always bake one or two small pies just for us kids when she was baking the larger ones for herself and the neighbors.

O taste and see that the LORD is good! Happy is the man who takes refuge in him!  Psalms 34:8 (RSV)

The smell of those pies filled the whole house and we could not wait until they came out of the oven to sink or teeth into those sweet desserts. Grandma made the best apple pies! I can tell you that my grandmother’s apple pies were the best on the planet but unless you actually tasted one you would never know how good they really where. I have eaten many an apple pie since my grandmother passed away but I have yet to find one that compares to those hot apple pies grandma made.

That is how it is with God as well. We need to catch a whiff of God’s goodness, we need to acquire a taste for the Lord. We need an enticement to sample the Lord’s offerings. But once we do, we taste and see how good the Lord is!

16 You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles 17 So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit.18 A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will know them by their fruits. Matt 7:16-20 (RSV)

As good as the fruit was from those trees in my grandparent’s back yard they were not able to satisfy the emptiness that resided within me. From a wide-eyed little boy running around grandma’s backyard until I became a young adult there was an emptiness that not even an apple pie could fill.

My life produced one bad crop after another until I finally got to the point where I needed to find another way of living. The crops I kept planting in my life were only producing weeds. Nothing about my life was working out the way I hoped they would. My tree of life was not producing any good fruit, and I knew it!

3 As an apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among young men. With great delight I sat in his shadow, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. Song 2:3 (RSV)

Apple pie with lattice upper crust
Image via Wikipedia

Just like grandma’s apple pie and sweet sickle pears that grew on the tree in her backyard, accepting Christ into my life was the sweetest thing that I had ever experienced. I tasted of the good fruit of heaven and found it totally satisfying. The tree of life held the sweetest fruit I had ever eaten. Not only was the fruit good to eat, but it also produced a good crop within me, and thusly started to produce good works around me. My life had been changed for the good! Thanks be to God!

The ingredients in grandma’s apple pie made for a good dessert but the ingredients in the Lord’s spirit made for a great life. Oh taste and see that the Lord is good and then go advertise His fruit offerings. Set up a fruit stand in your neighborhood and allow others to taste of God’s heavenly fruit. Introduce others to the life giving fruit of the Spirit of God. I pray that the sweet aroma of God’s love will waft through your neighborhood and others will want to try out what you have cooking inside your heart. That is how evangelism works. You get Jesus on the inside and He works on the outside drawing others toward Himself as they see how good He is to you by the good fruit your life is producing.

ga522c

My grandparents are long gone as well as that tiny house they once lived in. The fruit trees are no longer producing fruit and that chapter of my life has come to an end. But the joy of knowing the Lord will live on through eternity. Granny smith apples and sickle pears are good but the fruit the Lord produces is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Now that is good eating! Bon Appetit!

Powered by ScribeFire.

Related articles by Zemanta