Real Men...The Rules...

For any of you that haven’t yet gotten THe newsletter some new rules have been voted on by the council. As always this information is NOT to fall into the hands of women. In the event that you allow your wife or girlfriend to learn of your affiliation with THe organization all affiliation will be disavowed. You may not be invited back to the meetings as well so Mum is the word!!

As you know Real Men don't eat quiche... Included in the category of foods to avoid now are sushi, strawberries and champagne together...separately they are fine, caviar, escargot and pretty much anything considered French (Except for French Fries of course..)

Colors to be avoided...Pink is always a NO NO, in addition any color that wasn't learned in grade school. Blue, Red, Yellow, Green etc. are all fine... Mauve, Taupe, Fushia and especially Periwinkle are always to be avoided!! (Even being able to spell them can make you suspect..)(A woman was consulted on the spelling of the above..)

Clothing to be avoided...Lace is never permitted, any clothing having more than four colors is not permitted...with the exception of flannel of course.

On a related note... THe Council of '01 forbade the watching of 'Will and Grace' on TV...the new addendum forbids 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy' as well. (Also to be avoided are 'Regis and Kelly' and 'The View'....'Oprah' is only permitted when one's relationship is in trouble.)

All theater movies are allowed...the council, of course, knows that the woman in your life may drag you to some of the less desirable features. ( If you do happen to tear-up you are to say that your 'sinus problems are acting up'..)

Colognes that may be used... Old Spice is still recommended by the council but all American and British colognes may be used in moderation. NO French colognes or so called 'Toilet Waters' may be used.

Hair length is to be short. Under no circumstances is it to be below the shoulders. Some parts of the country are exempt from the rules of the council of '76...see your delegate in your area for clarification.

Jewelry may still be worn with the following exceptions...no more than one gold chain (not binding on men of African American or Italian descent), no more than two rings (wedding bands exempt), No jewelry may be worn in the hair (Sorry...no exceptions..)

Lava lamps, tie dyed clothing, bell bottomed pants and all 'psychedelic' colored furniture are all considered banned now by the council... No Real Men should own them... Sorry, no exceptions will be made...

Real Men may engage in any of our traditional activities...Football (American only), Baseball, Basketball etc. are all acceptable sports. Sorry...soccer is only allowed for those of European or Latin American ancestry. Bowling, Pool, Golf and related games are no longer permitted to be called 'Sports' but may be engaged in.

Hunting, fishing and camping are all fine... but Skateboarding and bicycle trick riding are forbidden after ones teen years. Again...no exceptions can be made.

Alcoholic beverages are permitted with the following exceptions... Zima is never allowed, Wine Coolers may be enjoyed but only when the event includes women, Mixed drinks with 'frilly' names are to be avoided...

Poker, while always allowed, may no longer be played with women. Hearts and related card games may only be played by married men...and only when their wives are present.

The T-Rush (Testosterone Rush for you newbies..) May be sought after in different ways around the country. In the West for example Bull riding can fulfill the need. Other acceptable venues for seeking a T-rush include, but are not limited to, sky diving, white water rafting, car racing and boxing. Those venues that are likely to draw blood...IE: The best forms...are strictly forbidden to women! (Sorry no exceptions can be made.)

Military Service is always preferred... especially in the United States Marine Corps, United States Army and the United States Navy... United States Air Force service is allowed...but only provided that one actually breaks a sweat in Boot Camp....Again, no exceptions.

New Dating rules...please pay strict attention here as the rules from the council of '85 have been slightly modified.

1.) No Real Man may date any woman that can beat him arm wrestling (No exceptions..)
2.) No Real Man may take a date to a 'Tea room' ..( the only exception will be for those who have become engaged).
3.) No Real Man may EVER be permitted to hold or carry his dates purse in public... (No Exceptions..)

4.) A Real Man will ALWAYS show courtesy to his date... pulling out her chair at the restaurant, opening her car door, holding the door open for her to a private or public building etc. (The only exceptions will be for those whose dates strongly object....in that event seek the advice of a council member or older member of the organization for further information.)

As always the PRIME DIRECTIVE is to NEVER, EVER harm a woman or child. This includes physical and emotional harm.... BEWARE...violating this directive will automatically disbar you from the organization!! (NO EXCEPTIONS!)

Weaker males IE: Girly men...may be harmed emotionally only! Physical confrontation will no longer be permitted.
For further clarification please see your delegate...

Signed,
Terrell G. Perkins
Union delegate...136th tactical div.

Scotland Go Brach!

I’ve heard it said in these times that there be some who’ve likened the manly kilt of that noble folk the Scots to the skirts worn in these parts by women… I’ll here tell ye a tale to bring to mind the history of that noble folk.

In days gone by our forefathers were called the Celts. The Celtic folk followed no leader yet conquered the continent called in these times Europe. There they ruled and raised their children near a thousand years. They hung the heads of their enemies from the manes of their horses.

When the Romans came the Celts were driven back to the isles in the West. Tales are still told of the blood the Romans spilled when their Caesar faced the Celt ‘Vercingetorix’ and was almost felled by his hand. Still the Roman tide came and drove the people back. Aye, but they charged the Caesar for every inch in Roman blood! When the cost became too great and the Romans grew weary of the fight, they built there their wee wall still called Hadrians.

Those what wore the kilt remained undefeated in their Highland homeland! O’er time they became one people with the naked, wild, blue-faced Picts who had also spilled the blood of the Romans. For near a thousand years there they grew and raised their children a law and a people unto themselves.

From the East again came another people with eyes to conquer…the Normans with their fleur-de-lis. These too could not conquer those what wear the kilt! With a respect earned the Normans blended their strength with those Celtic folk. The two became one people. The Fleur-de-lis still frames the flag and Lion Rampant of that people. Celts from the Emerald Isle in the West poured into the Highlands in the North to settle among their kinsmen. What had been called ‘Caledonia’ became the Land of the Scots!

The Scots remained undefeated by enemies without. In time the Anglos of the flatland in the South put their boots on the neck of the Scots folk. But it was not by a stand up fight that that sorry state of affairs came to be. Aye, it was the treachery of our own lairds who knew naught but greed for Anglish gold! In those times the noble kilt was banned on pain of death! So too the highland pipes that had struck fear in the hearts of their enemies for a thousand years!

The Laird of the Heavens out of His favor for the Scots folk sent them Wallace and the Bruce for their deliverance. With kilts about their knees and the sound of the War Pipes in their ears they threw out those treacherous lairds and the filthy Anglish that murdered Scotland’s sons and raped her daughters for nigh a hundred years!

In time peace was struck with the Anglish and the Scots grew to be respected as warriors and scholars among their former enemies. Together they built the greatest empire in the history of the world and showed many an enemy the gates of hell!

The sight of the kilt and the sound of the Highland pipes became known in every corner of the world. In the Great War called the First that near consumed the whole world the Scots faced an old foe on the continent. The Teutonic peoples, in these times called German, were an ancient enemy of the Celts. When the Scots faced them on the field of battle dressed in kilts and led once more by the War Pipes that had taken so many a Scot home, they struck fear in the hearts of the German folk. The pipes sounded in their Teutonic bones of their ancient enemy! So great was that fear that they called the Scots the ‘Ladies from Hell’ with a respect earned for the kilts about their knees!

What this story would have you to remember is that those folk, the Scots, have been cast down but Never defeated!! So when you gather around the hearth or camp fire raise a pint or a dram o Scotch and say ye a toast to the Celts! Bring to mind Hadrian’s wall and those that bled with Wallace and the Bruce…Remember ye the Ladies from Hell and their noble kilts! And when you tell their tales give ’em the respect they’re due!

Terrell Perkins of the Clan Gunn (Aut Pax, Aut Bellum!)

The Myths and the Mysteries

If you’ve ever been a student of mythology you’ve probably noticed some recurrent themes throughout many cultures in history. Have you ever looked into the heart of them?

One such theme is the idea of a perfect city somewhere. Somewhere there is a place where there are none of the problems that humanity has had to deal with…sickness, old age, death, greed, corruption etc. It’s Utopia or perhaps it’s Shangri La. It 's a place where human beings have a different nature…a higher nature. The very dream of it seems embedded in our collective unconscious. It’s almost as if it’s in our spiritual DNA. In our genes we somehow know that it’s out there…somewhere.

Another recurrent theme in mythology is the idea of a virgin giving birth. Her offspring is something, someone special…someone coming from a woman of a pure, chaste nature…untouched by a man. She appeals to our higher nature too. She’s unsullied by the profane. Only goodness could come from her…

Even the idea of a savior is recurrent. We all suffer from the influences of the darker aspects of our nature. We somehow always tend towards self-destruction…but from somewhere that one being is coming who will save us from ourselves. Even in 21st century America that mythology is alive and well. We all know about a man who looks like us but is far superior to us. His wise father sent him to us to help us, to save us from ourselves. He’s Superman! (Known secretly as Clark Kent!) Something about the story appeals to us on a deep level. It makes us feel safe to think he’s out there…somebody who knows better and doesn’t partake of our dark nature. He’ll save us!

I think these are some of the reasons why stories like ‘The Lord of the Rings’ appeal to us on such a deep level. They evoke our inborn images of a special city, a pure woman and a powerful savior. We see through to the truth of the story. We understand the battle is to the death. Like it was written into our very nature, we understand the story and it makes us yearn for the reality of it.

There is mystery connected to our yearning too. We are titillated by the unknown. We need mystery in our lives to give us purpose. We NEED to know what’s on the other side of the veil… It’s a part of our nature.

The problem is when someone realizes the needs we have…they can manipulate us. Just like our bodies need good nutrition, our spirits need good-ness. But even that can be counterfeited. Our bodies can be tricked by what tastes sweet…but it only destroys us. Our spirits can be tricked by something that seems good...but the ends thereof are destruction.

We have to see through to the truth of a mystery. Some can draw us like a calf to its’ mother’s milk. And some can draw us like a moth to the flame…to our own end.

What is the truth of it? What are the ends thereof? As Christians we know we need the Holy Spirit with our spirit to make us complete, to give us the discernment to see through to the truth of the mysteries that draw us…and we still only see through a glass darkly.

Have you looked into the heart of the mystery? Have you exercised your Spirit today? The One on the other side of the veil is calling...

Vini Vidi Vici

There is something inherent in human nature that seeks to conquer, to gain mastery over. It is yet one more quality that separates us from animals and makes us human. Without this quality civilization as we know it would be impossible. And, like most qualities uniquely human, this one has degrees. The lowest level most of us would consider barbaric…it is the level where men seek to conquer each other by killing each other and simply taking what they desire. Though we may hate to admit it, this quality is a part of all of us. It is one of the things that we are at war with in our inner selves. It is ironic that our REAL fight is to conquer ourselves. Traditional human wisdom from many cultures tells us that it’s not the man who conquers a thousand cities that is superior…it is the man who conquers himself.

I have often pondered what it is to conquer oneself… I have come to believe that one of the qualities of a man who has done this is his willingness to participate in natural processes without trying to control them. The most natural process in the world for men is the desire to have relationships with women. Mothers and sons, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, boyfriends and girlfriends, friends, neighbors whatever…

Now I should say that I think women are the Greatest Creation God ever came up with! I love them…the way they look, the way they smell, the way they move…and I especially like the way they are with each other! They open their hearts to each other in ways that men never do. (I can just see the reaction of one of my hunting buddies if I told him his jeans really brought out the color of his eyes!)

The trouble is, I’m like most men…I don’t understand them. Unlike some of my brothers though…I don’t feel the need to. I just appreciate them. Some men feel the need to conquer them... I think that destroys the very things that make them beautiful. Having been a counselor I’ve sat across the desk from couples in which the ‘men’ (and I’m loathe to use that word in describing them!) have so beaten down the women they ‘love’ that only a shell sat before me. If you listen closely when these women talk…you can hear the sound of a spirit breaking.

There are some sounds that I love…The sound of an infant cooing fills my heart with a quiet joy. The sound of swords meeting in battle and the sound of an eagle crying stir my blood! The sound of striking hot steel with a hammer on an anvil makes me feel powerful! But the sound of a spirit breaking…. it’s almost imperceptible…and it’s the worst sound in the universe to me…

You can see it too. It’s when the light leaves someone’s eyes…. Now I’ll be the first to tell you that I have a temper. I’m suspect of anyone who doesn’t. An old friend used to tell me that mine came from an Apache ancestor. And I’ll admit there were times when I wanted to come over the top of my desk and scalp the ‘man’ responsible for breaking his woman’s spirit! (My bosses assured me that it wouldn’t do well for future business if I were to do so…And it might tend to throw a small kink in my efforts to help the couple if I gave in to those feelings...) I would beg to just be able to slap the guy around a little!! But…I have my own battles to fight and that’s one of them.

I had the wife of a minister ask me once if all men wanted a woman who was a submissive ‘wall flower’… I told her she was asking the wrong man…I love fiery women! (I know… God Help me! …Please pray for me!) And yes…I’m still single…

I think I’ve learned a few things from some of the women I love. I’ve seen spirits broken and I’ve seen some open up like roses in the Spring. Why anyone would want to conquer them is even more of a mystery to me than they are?

I’ve also learned about participating in natural processes from the animals I love. I love horses. Some people will tell you they love the smell of newborn babies…I do…but I also love the smell of horses. Even the…less desirable…aspects of being around them…(those left behind in their stalls). Smells like home to me! I love a spirited horse especially! I have NO desire to break their spirits…just the opposite in fact. I embrace their wildness and their freedom! I wouldn’t change them if I could!

I feel the same about birds of prey. I get a rush from seeing a Peregrine falcon in a stoop for its’ prey. A peregrine can hit 225 miles an hour in a stoop! They are the fastest animals on earth. I’ve ridden the wind with them in my heart and mind. I’ve watched them slice through the air ...sleek and efficient and deadly like an F-15. I’ve participated with them in their wildness. There is no other feeling on earth like holding out a gloved hand and watching a bird of prey come to land on it!

I don’t equate women with horses or raptors at all… But I’m attracted to them for some of the same reasons. Far from wanting to conquer them…I just want to be around them to participate with them. If some of my brothers only knew that feeling…

God's Personal Plan

Ever wonder why God’s plan is the way it is? I don’t mean His plan as symbolized in the Holy Days. I mean the crux (pun intended) of God’s plan…that His own son would die for us. He certainly could have used another plan. He could have done anything He wanted I suppose! Of course God had untold billions of years (if eternity can even be measured in such ways) to devise the perfect plan to increase His family and I’ve had only a couple of decades to ponder it…so my speculations are bound to only scratch the surface.

It seems to me that there are some very profound psychological reasons for His plan to work the way it does. It also seems to me that some Protestants are closer to understanding some of them than some of us in the CoG tradition. The key is to take things personally.

The Bible wasn’t written for us to hit each other over the head with it or to sit in judgment of each other…it was written to each of us…personally. I’m convinced that when someone reads it and comes away understanding say…one thing…that stealing is wrong. If that person goes away and doesn’t steal I think he will be blessed for obeying what he understands. He took the admonition personally.

We must accept the sacrifice that Jesus the Christ made for us…personally. For His sacrifice to be meaningful in our lives we have to realize that it was OUR sins that made it necessary. I, personally, have disobeyed the will of my Creator. The result of ‘my’ disobedience is death…it demands blood so that I understand the seriousness of acting contrary to His will. I have to take that to heart...personally.

For God to forgive ‘me’ because someone else paid the price for ‘my’ disobedience…I take that personally… I’m forgiven. I feel...loved… That is one of the most powerful forces in human psychology to incite change…maybe the most powerful force. Just think of how you have felt when you’ve wronged someone and they forgave you.

It is common for counselors to hear that many people feel like others wouldn’t like them if the others knew what they were really like. Most of us have our outer selves that we let people see…and our inner selves who we think we are really are. Most of us at some time or another think that people wouldn’t…like us, respect us, accept us, whatever… if they knew what we are really like. When we wrong someone, when we trespass against them, it usually comes from someplace deeper in us than our outer self. When they forgive us they are telling us they see a glimpse of what we are really like and they still accept us. That's called Love and it has the potential to form a bond between people that can be deep and lasting…if we take it personally.

God, our Creator, our Sustainer, our Redeemer will forgive us…if we take His sacrifice for us…personally. We should take at least a moment each day to reflect on that. If we do we will come to feel that this life is a gift…something we didn’t earn…it was given to us. God’s forgiveness is a gift. He loves me…personally. To show my love for Him…I have to show love for the rest of His family…personally.

So what is good…what does the Lord require of us? …To do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God…personally.

Connections

Ever been in a party and watched the door for the people coming in?
You’ll notice that the first thing they do is look for someone they know. Their eyes will search the room trying to find a connection.

That’s what we humans do all our lives… We look for connections. We want to know where we fit in.

It is interesting that one of the functions of all religions is to tell just that. Religion defines our relationship to the Supreme Ultimate…God. It defines our relationship to our fellow man and tells us how we are to get along to each other. It defines for us where we fit into the picture. It defines connections.

In Buddhism the focus is on the fact that we are all ONE. They believe that a kind of veil clouds our minds to keep us from seeing that. The function of enlightenment is to lift that veil. Think of how a fish might perceive you if it couldn’t see above the surface of its’ water and you opened your hand and put your fingers in the water. The fish would see five different, and apparently unrelated, things in its’ environment. Beyond its’ veil those five different things are all part of one greater.

In the three great Western religions Judaism, Christianity and Islam the message is the same but told differently. The real focus of Genesis is not that we all come from Adam and Eve….it is that we all come from God.

Anyone who has done genealogy for some time will tell you that it has dawned on them that we are all ultimately related. When I began doing it the long lists of bloodlines in the scriptures began to take on new significance. Adam begat Seth, Seth begat Enos, Enos beget Cainan and so on. It is a way to remind us that we are all directly connected to God!

Even scientists are beginning to understand our connections. Biologists have traced our origins back to a common mother and father. We are all Brothers and Sisters in the same family.

Cosmologists tell us that we all came from the same source. The matter that we are all made up of was created in the stars. The stars themselves all came from a single point wherein all time, space, matter and energy were one. Everything is connected.

What is ironic in the human psyche is that while we crave connection…we also crave independence. Just ask the parent of a teenager! We all want to be seen as separate, independent and unique.

These two aspects of our reality are at odds in us. We are at war with ourselves. Sometimes we cooperate with each other…sometimes we compete with each other. Secretly most of us believe that there is a kind of caste system among our kind. We are better than… But we are not quite as good as….

I find myself falling into that too often. I have come to remind myself when I look in the face of a stranger that this is not some alien. This is a human being …made in the image of the Living God… We are not separate…we are family. We share the same potential, the same flaws.

We are…connected.

Integrity

All is fair in love and war …and in business and life. That’s the creed our society lives by…if it can be called a creed. It stands in stark contrast to another creed, one that embraces personal integrity.

Integrity, honor…Now, those are words you don’t hear much anymore. They have fallen out of vogue in favor of expedience. There was a time in our culture when they were some of the most highly valued attributes of men and women. Honor is a synonym for integrity. To have honor means that you have integrity. There was a time when if a gentleman gave you his ‘word of honor’ you could count on it. It was expected because gentlemen were expected to have integrity.

It meant that there was a common set of values that individuals in our society were expected to live up to. Though integrity is not necessarily a value connected to Biblical teachings…it is certainly found in them.

One definition of integrity relates to structure, to soundness. When the hull of a boat or ship is damaged it is said to have lost its’ integrity. If you were climbing on a cliff that lost its’ integrity you would likely lose your footing and fall because it couldn’t be counted on. In a similar way when a person lacks integrity we’re not sure we can’t count on them.

Over the decades as greed and self-centeredness have come to dominate American society, the idea that anything goes has eroded away the concept that there is a higher code of conduct, one that should guide our lives. Saying someone has integrity, that they are honorable is a way to say that you trust them to act or react in a way that is guided by a higher code of conduct. It is a way to say you know they won’t waver from their moral center.

When couples are married they vow, they give their word of honor, to be true to each other. When someone counts on another to be true to their vows they are assuming the other person is honorable, they are assuming that person has integrity.

The word honor is related to the word honesty. When someone is honest they are truthful about the past or the present. When someone is honorable they tell the truth about their behavior in the future. When an honorable man says he will do something you can count on it. That’s a part of honor, a part of integrity. He has bound his future conduct to his moral code.

We all have things that we believe…and things that we just think or say we believe. When tempted or tested in some way we prove what we really believe. Scripture tells us to ‘prove’ all things. To prove means to test. You can prove an axe you’ve just sharpened by chopping down a tree with it. When we’re proven, we find out what we really believe….we find where our true moral center is. Sometimes we don't know ourselves until we are proven.

There is something intrinsic in us that hopes others have integrity even if we don’t. We hope that people will live up to a higher standard because we need that. We need to believe it’s part of being human. Because we all draw from the well that is humanity…we are all partakers of the same attributes. Honor and integrity uplift us all.

Have you ever looked into the eyes of a child that looks up to you? They want you to behave honorably…they need you to. It assures them that you can be trusted to be true to a higher code. It is a foundation that makes them feel safe in your presence. It assures them that there is a higher way that they can aspire to and your living up to it reassures them that they can reach it. It appeals to their higher nature.

As Christians we have the ultimate example. Our Savior stepped out of eternity and partook of our nature. He drew from the well of humanity and did it as one of us, partly for us to see that it’s possible. He lived an unwavering honorable life that every Christian should aspire to. He let’s us know that we can trust Him. We can feel safe in His presence. He has appealed to our higher nature.

As humans we will fall, we will waiver from time to time. We are being proven here and now. What do we really believe? Where is our true moral center? Do you live your life in such a way that a child could look up to you and want to be like you?

Let’s bring back integrity as a value. Let’s expect it in our politicians and of each other. When someone asks if you are questioning their honor….tell them you're counting on it.

Illusions

Illusions and delusions... They are quite different. Psychologically our minds will create order from what they perceive whether such 'order' exists or not.

To a New Guinea tribesman an event may surely be perceived as the work of an evil spirit because that fits into his paradigm or world view. To a modern American the same event might be considered swamp gas because that fits into ours. Now the event may actually BE the work of an evil spirit but because that doesn't fit into the world view of most modern Americans they wouldn't see it. One of our observers here perceives an illusion.

Our perception is a product of our awareness... When we learn a new word, for example, all the sudden we hear it everywhere. It was being used all along but in our selective awareness we missed it entirely. Once we become aware...the world becomes a little more complex...but a little more understandable too. We now perceive the new word. Before our perception changed we were illusional....we made the facts fit our view.

Illusion is a fact of human existence. It is an attempt to make what we perceive fit into our world view. As our awareness grows and we perceive more....we must either change our world view to fit the new facts...or make the facts fit our old world view and thus create a 'Procrustean bed'.

Making the facts 'fit' happens a great deal in religion... Our religion IS our world view ultimately...we tend to perceive facts that support it and to 'unconsciously' ignore those that don't. In a sense all religion has some element of illusion.

The analogy of a Jigsaw puzzle might be more clear... If we had to put together a 1000 piece puzzle without having seen the picture on the lid of the box we'd be working without an accurate world view. Anything our minds projected as the 'Big Picture' would be an illusion. The problems arise when we try to make the pieces fit 'our view' without having seen 'The View'... That would be delusional. When we get new pieces/facts and we alter our view to fit them we are being psychologically healthy because we are adapting to changes in a constructive way. We may still be perceiving an illusion but we're not holding onto it to the exclusion of new pieces/facts.

Applying this to people who don't perceive new facts as we may perceive new facts is tougher... We can't make someone see a truth or bigger picture they aren't ready for. We are all on a journey, in a sense, to continually grow in awareness and perceive bigger and bigger parts of the Big Picture. The only real problem is when we stop growing and try to make the facts fit our view. Psychologically that is unhealthy. Spiritually it is when we become dogmatic and the spirit stops being able to work in us because we no longer let it.
There is a kind of safety in the latter...it is known territory. The former doesn't feel quite so safe...but it allows us to grow. I'm comfortable living in an illusion because I'm willing to change it with new facts. I haven't seen the picture on the lid of the box yet...I've only imagined what it looks like!!

It all comes down to what one of my favorite bumper stickers says: "I'd know what to think if I knew who to believe!!"

Cortez and the Aztecs

 

I'm a history buff. One of my favorite stories in history is that of the Aztecs and Hernando Cortez. If you haven't ever read it, and are interested in such things, one of the conquistadors that was with Cortez wrote an account of those events in The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico (by: Bernal Diaz del Castillo).

The greatest feat in the history of arms was wrought by Cortez and his men with their native allies. Cortes and 900 conquistadors armed with body armor, swords and crossbows, conquered 200,000 Aztec warriors and ended the Aztec empire. The conquest culminated in the battle of Otumba at the site now known as Teotihuacan outside Mexico City. The conquistadors won the day!

You see the Spanish had been occupied by Moroccans for 700 years...when they finally threw the Muslims out of Spain the Spanish figured God was on their side and they could do anything! It was an attitude somewhat like Americans had in the last century. (It is no wonder it was the Spanish who conquered the two greatest empires in the New World...the Aztec's and the Inca's.)

The thing that I wanted to point out was the prophecy that the Aztecs had. They believed that Quetzalcoatl, (The Feathered Serpent), a god-like individual that had prophesized hundreds of years before that he would return in 1519 to reclaim his throne might have indeed returned with Cortez's arrival. Cortez did fit the descriptions of the prophecy. The leader of the Aztecs, Monctezuma, was so shaken by the arrival that he wavered in whether to welcome Cortez or turn him away. That indecisiveness cost him his empire... You can read about the details that led up to and happened that day in Diaz's account. It really is a great story!

The thing I think is most relevant is the concept that believing something, like a prophecy, will unfold a certain way and being 'locked into' that interpretation can spell disaster. Our own beliefs can be used against us. The above story is only one example in history...

On the personal psychological level... I've taught Japanese Karate and self defense for over 25 years now. The first thing I've had to address in classes like Rape Defense are the inner beliefs that many women have. ...If you believe it is wrong to harm another person; that 'ladies' don't do such things...then the moment you have to face an attacker your biggest battle is with yourself. If you aren't completely convinced of your right to defend yourself in that moment...you'll likely fail and be robbed or raped or...

What we believe inside can strengthen us for a fight....or it can weaken us. The Aztecs had to fight their own long-held religious beliefs deep inside of them before they were prepared for the conquistadors. The battle in our hearts and in our heads is the one that must first be fought. If your mind is prepared for the fight you've already won half the battle. If not...you've already lost it.

I'm a Blacksmith

I’m a blacksmith. I don’t do it for a living mind you...but I would if I could. My grandfather was a blacksmith, his father was before him, his before him, and his before him. You could say I have the black metal, iron, in my blood! (I guess anyone could say that now that I think of it.)

I think the greatest thing on earth is steel! You can keep your gold and silver. You can make jewelry and pretty trinkets. Give me steel and I’ll build you a civilization! I’ve never been an artist. I can’t sing or dance. (Really…they’ve passed laws in every state where I’ve lived outlawing my attempts!!) But give me a forge, an anvil and a hammer and I understand the power of creation… I remember the first time I heated steel with fire and molded it with a hammer, an anvil and my will… It touched something deep in my soul. My eyes still light up when I’m in the forge. Earth, fire, water and will acting together to create something new in the universe. I love it!

When you heat steel to white hot and quench it by plunging it into ice water it can make it almost as hard as diamond! When you then spot heat it and allow it to slowly cool it changes colors… each color represents a stage of hardness. When you reach the stage appropriate for what you’re making you quench it and set the hardness. That's called 'tempering'. I liken the moment steel is tempered to the times in life when human beings are changed in inextricable ways…

There is a story about Richard the first, the King of England. He was renowned for his bravery in battle. One of his trusted aides whom had been at his side in every battle was beside him again when Richard and his men were overwhelmed. In the confusion of the battle Richard turned and began to run away in retreat. The aide who had been so steadfast at his side couldn’t believe his eyes! He called out: “King Richard…remember who you are!” Something reached into the king’s heart … He stopped running…he turned around…and Richard the Lion Heart took the day! It was in that moment…that his hardness was set. He was going the distance!

The moment for the British Empire was when Sir Winston Churchill addressed the Canadian parliament and said the French generals had predicted if France fell to the Nazis the Germans would have the English ”like a Chicken by the neck” within two weeks. When Churchill said…”Some chicken!…Some neck!" the Parliament erupted in applause! The hardness of an Empire was set.

Moments like that come in all of our lives. They are few and far between but they are moments that can change us for a lifetime. I sometimes wonder about the moments that changed the apostles. I think when Thomas touched the nail holes in the hands of the resurrected Christ and said…”My Lord and My God” that was his moment. At that moment Thomas, who was a doubter before, knew he had found something worth dying for. He took the temper…his hardness was set.

I suspect that all believers will have such a moment in their faith. So far many of us have been believers…because it’s easy. But the time is coming when some of us will have to die for our faith... Everything else in our lives will pale in comparison to that moment. It seems to me that the only way we will be able to do it is if we’ve taken the temper and our hardness is set.

Right now we're between the hammer and the anvil. We're going to take a few hits...but it’s nothing compared to the moment that we’ll take the temper. Too many Christians are fighting each other. That’s a sign that we’ve lost our temper…we’ve forgotten who the Real enemy is! I’m as guilty as anyone in that...

Maybe it would help all of us to REMEMBER WHO WE ARE! Hold our temper…and let our hardness set!