Choose Life

This is a reflection on The Return, the National and Global Day of Prayer and Repentance, which occurred on September 26, 2020, in Washington, DC. The links are mostly to different sections of the nearly 12 hour video by CBN News.

Here is a statement on abortion by Jonathan Cahn that I found powerful and convincing.

What is evil we now call good and what is good we now call evil. What we once revered we now revile and what we once knew to be wrong we now celebrate. We too have profaned the sacred and have sanctified the profane and as for our children, our most innocent possession, we have sacrificed them on the altars of self-indulgence. It was here, in this city, over there. It was here that their collective murder was blessed and given sanction. But a thousand laws and a thousand Supreme Court rulings and a thousand angels swearing on a thousand Bibles cannot alter one iota of this basic measure of morality: to shed the blood of an unborn baby is to murder a human life.

Jonathan Cahn, The Return (about 2:06:00)

The following portion (starting about 4:19:00) offers a song by Keith Manley.

Keith Manley, Cry of the Little One, at The Return

If you are a resident of the United States, 18 years of age or older, the Moral Outcry provides an opportunity for you to sign a petition to the United States Supreme Court to reconsider Roe v. Wade. This starts about 4:09:00 in the video.

The Moral Outcry at The Return

I am a registered Democrat in Miami Beach, Florida. This November I will be voting for the President, Donald Trump.

At The Return a message from President Trump was read expressing his stand for America. I, in turn, am standing thanking God for the protection and leadership he has provided, and will provide over the next four years, as President of the United States of America.

Inversions

From summer green to autumn red
To winter white and rest.
Arise from winter's silent bed.
Spring has passed the test.

Linked to Cosmic Photo Challenge where Dale offers the theme of inversions. While walking in the forest preserve, I ran into a maple tree that had turned deep red earlier than the others. Unsure of what an inversion was, I thought of this change as an inversion, moving from summer green to autumn red.

Also linked to Trent P. McDonald’s The Weekly Smile. Outside of an email exchange with someone offering a proof of the 3x+1 conjecture, I did not update my program further. So no excuse for a smile from that quarter, but weather was beautiful, I explored new trails in the forest preserve and I enjoyed (online) The Return, the Washington Prayer March on Saturday. Many smiles there.

Another smile arriving this very morning came from listening to Crystal Grimes’ composition Gratitude DSE #9.

Red and Green Inversion

Snacking on Jezebel – Carrot Ranch

“How would you distinguish Baal from Yahweh?”

“Yahweh gets things done.  After the prophet poured oil on Jehu, proclaiming him king, he ran off.  Jehu’s officers thought the prophet was an idiot until they heard the announcement: Yahweh anointed Jehu to drain the swamp.  Jehu killed Jehoram and Ahaziah. At Jehu’s command eunuchs threw Jezebel from her window.  While Jehu and his men got refreshments, dogs snacked on Jezebel.”  

“That’s a gruesome story.”

“Jehu killed Ahab’s entire family and anyone he could get his hands on associated with Baal.”

“I see. Beware when Yahweh has His fill of you.”

Linked to Carrot Ranch’s September 24 Flash Fiction Challenge where Charli Mills offers the theme of snacking. You can read more about Jehu in 2 Kings chapters 9 and 10 where it is told in more detail and better than I have.

This is Yom Kippur. Although unrelated to the story, after listening to Jonathan Cahn’s Yom Kippur Broadcast, I put the finishing touches on the story:

Jonathan Cahn Yom Kippur Broadcast
Prairie with Mist in the Field

Sunday Walk 8

I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

Deuteronomy 30:19 King James Version
10,000 Fathers featuring Harmony LaBeff, 1000X Yes

Washington Prayer March 2020

Today is the Washington Prayer March, The Return. Psalm 51 is a psalm David wrote after being exposed by Nathan for his relationship with Bathsheba. Many verses are memorable especially verse 10 (12 in the Tehillim) where David asks God to create in him a clean heart, something only God can do.

לֵ֣ב טָ֭הוֹר בְּרָא־לִ֣י אֱלֹהִ֑ים וְר֥וּחַ נָ֝כ֗וֹן חַדֵּ֥שׁ בְּקִרְבִּֽי׃

Tehillim 51:12 Sefaria

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Psalms 51:10 King James Version

Be part of The Return with this live video presentation and/or listen to Christene Jackman’s Choneni Elohim below.

Lyrics by King David, music by Christene Jackman: Choneni Elohim

Rights | Frank Hubeny

I am grateful to the editor, Sammi Cox, of Whispers and Echoes for publishing this story, “Rights”.

Look

When rain returns the barren land
Is filled with blooms we all can see,
A resurrection mystery,
A pouring that we understand
As blessings from an open hand.
A year ago we doubted. Look!
There’s water flowing in the brook.
Those ways we’ve turned from have somehow
Been transformed into nothing now
Like drivel from an unread book.

Linked to Ronovan Writes Décima Poetry Challenge where the challenge is to use the word “look” as the C rhyme in a poem with rhyme scheme ABBAACCDDC.

Stacked Wood
Ronovan's Decima Poetry Challenge Image
Ronovan’s Decima Poetry Challenge Image

Elastic Truth – Six Sentence Story

“We engage them with intimidation and bait them with lies to trip them up and trap them in emotional and costly accusations.”

“That sounds, however, like something they could avoid.”

“Some of them can, but we have successfully undermined – made elastic – the ethical foundations of others so much so that we are able to keep a significant part of their population fearful and gullible about anything their media gives us the opportunities to tell them.”

“What backup is there if this doesn’t work?”

“As backup we have compromised key politicians, officials and professional leadership who can be blackmailed if need be to act in our interests and we’ve manipulated their radicalized stooges to foment social unrest – and, don’t forget, our scientists have now proven that they can engineer targeted and deadly viruses.”

“So, if what you’re telling me is true, as long as they keep shooting themselves in the foot, we have a chance to get our hands around their throats.”

Linked to Six Sentence Story where Denise offers the prompt word “elastic” which must appear somewhere in a story of only six sentences.

Sunrise Over Pond Techny Park
GirlieOnTheEdge Denise Farley's six-sentence-stories icon
GirlieOnTheEdge Denise Farley’s six-sentence-stories icon

One-Liner Wednesday – Celebrity

Celebrity is a line of credit to be exhausted in the act of telling the truth.

Mario Murillo, interviewed August 19th, 2020, at Encounter Today (about 34:00).

Linked to Linda G. Hill’s One-Liner Wednesday.

Badge by Laura @ riddlefromthemiddle.com

The Everyday Into the Unusual

An ordinary, tiny bug
Lived on a painted wall.
Before he died
He tried and tried
To understand it all.

Linked to Cosmic Photo Challenge where Dale offers the theme of turning “the everyday into the unusual”. The photos are of graffiti on top of graffiti but viewed up-close. Although the messages were somewhat confusing even at normal distance the paint made the bridge over the brook in the forest preserve colorful.

Also linked to Trent P. McDonald’s The Weekly Smile. I realized I made a mistake in my algorithm to verify the records in the 3x+1 problem and fixed it. My best time with the incorrect code was 352 seconds as I reported last week. My best time with the new code was 354 seconds. Although I haven’t repeated the runs to find the variance in these timings, I was relieved that the correction did not seem to significantly harm the performance. That was enough to make me smile even though I am still a long way from my 10-second goal.

More Graffiti Detail Under the Train Bridge