How it happened – Isaac Aasimov

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( ht http://www.patheos.com/blogs/exploringourmatrix/2011/12/how-it-happened.html)

 

“How It Happened” by Isaac Asimov

My brother began to dictate in his best oratorical style, the one which has the tribes hanging on his words.

“In the beginning,” he said, “exactly fifteen point two billion years ago, there was a big bang and the Universe–”

But I had stopped writing. “Fifteen billion years ago?” I said incredulously.

“Absolutely,” he said. “I’m inspired.”

“I don’t question your inspiration,” I said. (I had better not. He’s three years younger than I am, but I don’t try questioning his inspiration. Neither does anyone else or there’s hell to pay.) “But are you going to tell the story of the Creation over a period of fifteen billion years?”

“I have to,” said my brother. “That’s how long it took. I have it all in here,” he tapped his forehead, “and it’s on the very highest authority.”

By now I had put down my stylus. “Do you know the price of papyrus?” I said.

“What?” (He may be inspired but I frequently noticed that the inspiration didn’t include such sordid matters as the price of papyrus.)

I said, “Suppose you describe one million years of events to each roll of papyrus. That means you’ll have to fill fifteen thousand rolls. You’ll have to talk long enough to fill them and you know that you begin to stammer after a while. I’ll have to write enough to fill them and my fingers will fall off. And even if we can afford all that papyrus and you have the voice and I have the strength, who’s going to copy it? We’ve got to have a guarantee of a hundred copies before we can publish and without that where will we get royalties from?”

My brother thought awhile. He said, “You think I ought to cut it down?”

“Way down,” I said, “if you expect to reach the public.”

“How about a hundred years?” he said.

“How about six days?” I said.

He said horrified, “You can’t squeeze Creation into six days.”

I said, “This is all the papyrus I have. What do you think?”

“Oh, well,” he said, and began to dictate again, “In the beginning– Does it have to be six days, Aaron?”

I said, firmly, “Six days, Moses.”

I”VE BEEN THINKING “Glory to God” 23th December 2011

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I”VE  BEEN THINKING

“Glory to God”

 

25th December 2011

 

Luke 2:13-14. Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests. (NIV)

 

Everyone celebrates Jesus birthday only some don’t acknowledge it.  For those that do it represents a day of peace. It is a time to toss aside all our worries and to hear the angel’s message, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests.” What we celebrate is the humble magnificence of the King cradled in a manger. 

 

One day a mother was standing with her family of young ones in a department store. They were dressed in simple but very neat and tidy clothes and they obviously did not have enough money to buy presents. Unfortunately they were not as well-off as many of us who have our trees loaded with gifts.  They were enjoying going to the department store to see the beautiful gifts that others were going to get.

 

As they walked from room to room they came upon a beautifully decorated tree. One of the older boys sensed when he looked into his mother’s eyes that she felt bad because she couldn’t give to her children all that she would like to.  The boy looked at the beautiful tree then looked at his mother and said.  “Mother, you are much prettier than that Christmas tree!”  Needless to say, she would receive no sweeter Christmas gift.

 

At this time when we sneak a view through the window of Christmas, let us exclaim, “God, of all the things we have received, there is nothing that compares with the priceless gift of your Son, our Saviour. We give you thanks!”

 

I’ve been thinking we should undertake to give thanks not only with words but also with actions. As God has given to us let us decide to also give to the folk around us.

 

One Christmas day a man at a railway station befriended a young teenager who he had found did not have enough money to go home to see his family.  The teenager asked his benefactor’s name.  “You may be known by others by that name,” commented the teenager, “but I will always think of you as an angel standing in a faded raincoat in a railway station.”

 

We should never lose sight of the very heart and meaning of Christmas.  The tinsel, lights and commercialism of the season try to cover the message that God wants us to know, and see, that He gave His Son to the world to save it.  As God gave love to the world, let us, too, practice it.     

 

To Ponder

How is your life different because of the coming into this world of Jesus Christ?

 

WRITTEN BY JOHN GUMMER FOR THE INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CENTRE CHURCH NEWSCAST

10 tips for car drivers

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1.)    If you see a cyclist ahead and you can’t pass because of opposing traffic, resist the urge to run over him, even though you can. You know what a mess it can make of your car if you hit a deer; a cyclist will probably do even more damage.

2.)    Don’t throw stuff at cyclists: In some states there is a $250 fine for this; plus there is a $1,000 fine for littering; it can add up. If you feel you must throw something at a cyclist, think of the environment; throw something that is biodegradable.

3.)    Don’t waste time thinking of clever things to yell at cyclists as you drive by at 50mph. Just shout, “Garble, garble, garble, fucking road.” It is all they will hear anyway

4.)    If you are approaching a right turn, slow and wait behind the cyclist ahead of you. If you can’t do this at least be consistent and race ahead of other cars, then cut them off by turning right in front of them.

5.)    Use the buddy system. If you can’t resist the urge to text while driving have a buddy ride along to look out for cyclists.

6.)    Pedestrians can also be annoying; they will not stay on one side of the road and are likely to interrupt your texting by crossing over to the other side at some point.

7.)    Resist the urge to lay on the horn. If you can’t do this consider fitting a second horn inside the car a few feet from your head. This will give you a realistic feel of how incredibly fucking loud your car horn is.

8.)    Watch your blind spot: Looking in store windows or at pretty girls as you drive by creates a huge blind spot ahead of you. Cyclists have an annoying habit of riding in this blind spot.

9.)    If a cyclist is riding in the middle of the lane, it could be because he will not ride within five feet of a parked car. (The door zone.) If you expect cyclists to ride within inches of parked cars, set an example by driving within inches of parked cars.

If more cars did this and removed a few car doors, and grazed a few knuckles as a result, it would help by reminding people to look before opening a car door. At the present time cyclists hitting car doors does not have the same impact.

10.)  Avoid hitting cyclists by simply going around them. If you should hit one because he happened to be there when you were applying makeup, don’t say “He swerved in front of me.” Simply tell the police officer, “I didn’t see him.”

This is becoming the more widely accepted defense; after all it is the truth and a driver can’t be expected to see everything. (Don’t try the “I didn’t see it” defense if you run a stop sign. For some strange reason this does not work.)  

 

(appropriated from http://davesbikeblog.squarespace.com/ )

I”VE BEEN THINKING “It Is Time to Live”

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I”VE  BEEN THINKING

“It Is Time to Live”

 

 

2 Corinthians 4:18. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (NIV)

 

A well-known psychologist has reported that over half of the mental disorders in many countries are caused by calendars, day timers and cell phone alarms.  The constant rush to meet deadlines makes more people mentally ill than the fear of nuclear bombs, cancer or time in jail, so this authority declared.

 

We should always remember that we only have one chance at this life we have been given.  Therefore, we should make the most of every passing moment.  This fascinating universe has so some much to offer and interest us that it is tragic to lose sight of its glories simply by rushing about neglectfully.

 

It takes great strength to get on top of the force of time.  It takes individuality and intelligence, but above all a sense of values.  We must know those things that have real worth.

 

An anxious parent was talking to a friend about their children’s apparent lack of appreciation for the things they gave them.  “Maybe,” the friend suggested, “you have given them too much to live with and not enough to live for.” 

 

I was reading an interesting article by a botanist which stated that the branches on trees often replicate the root system below. Our lives, our influence and our happiness are also in proportion to the depth that our lives are rooted in God. 

 

The Christian believer has a definite relationship with their Lord. Jesus is their constant inspiration.  He leads His family away from the things in this world that are wicked and sinful and challenges them to do the things that are godly and good.  The Master points us in a different direction from things that are temporary and faces our attention on those things that are above.  Life is by far too short to invest in things that crumble and turn ultimately to dust.

 

Without question, our Godless ways have a way of catching up with us. Someone once said, “There is something about being mean I have noticed that sort of punishes itself, in the fullness of time.  It is the very nature of things.”  It is the same truth that the Lord had in mind when Paul wrote:  Remember this: “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” (2 Corinthians 9:6.)

 

I’ve been thinking let’s invest our time in seeing as much good as possible and doing as much good as possible, by the grace of God.

     

To Ponder

Is there any sense of time in things of the spirit?

 

WRITTEN BY JOHN GUMMER FOR THE INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CENTRE CHURCH NEWSCAST