This Blog is just a clone of my real Blog

This blog is just a backup of my real blog Arizona Jones. http://arizjones.blogspot.com/ I rarely come here except to back stuff up. If you are here you are missing out on my most recent posts

Thanksgiving

As of late I have seen people claim that the United States is not a Christian nation. Even the president went on record to say in a trip to Turkey that Americans “do not consider ourselves a Christian nation, or a Muslim nation, but rather, a nation of citizens who are, uh, bound by a set of values.” Well that's not how this citizen considers our nation. And what are the set of values that Barack Obama is speaking of if not Christian? And where did the values come from that bind us? I would like to say that the set of values are Christian values. So why does our country want to remove these things from the public places? And why do we want to deny that the values that bind our nation together are Christian? Do we no longer want to be a cohesive nation? Are we to no longer let teachers pray at school with children. Why have we taken God out of anything that is publicly funded? Is this what was intended by the ones who fought so hard to be sure we would have liberty that are a "gift of God" as Jefferson said?

One of the last bastion of Christianity in the public domain is the public acknowledgment by our leaders of Thanksgiving. What is the Thanksgiving holiday and how does it show our Christian heritage and values that bind us together as a nation? lets look at the start and trace the history of our country and the intentions for why it was founded.
So here is an early declaration of the intentions of the people who came here. The first Charter for Virginia 1601: "We, greatly commending, and graciously accepting of, their Desires for the Furtherance of so noble a Work, which may, by the Providence of Almighty God, hereafter tend to the Glory of his Divine Majesty, in propagating of Christian Religion to such People, as yet live in Darkness and miserable Ignorance of the true Knowledge and Worship of God. We do, by these our Letters-Patents, graciously accept of, and agree to; their humble and well intended Desires." So their intention was based on spreading Christian values.
So here we will look at the first declaration of Thanksgiving and it is not the Pilgrims of Massachusetts. On December 4, 1619, thirty-eight English settlers landed by ship at Berkeley (Hundred) in Charles City, Virginia to become Pilgrims in our new world. As stated and required by their charter, Charter Berkeley Hundred, “We ordain that the day of our ships arrival at the place assigned for plantation in the land of Virginia shall be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of Thanksgiving to Almighty God.
So now we will look at the intent of the Massachusetts Pilgrims that we so often associate with the holiday. The Mayflower Compact: "Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, a Voyage to plant the first Colony in the northern Parts of Virginia; Do by these Presents, solemnly and mutually, in the Presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politic." So again their intention was to be a people who not just are bound by Christian values but to advance Christian faith.
Then once there they had a celebration to give thanks. The original purpose for the Pilgrims in 1619 and in 1621 was to give thanks to God. Being thankful for a safe voyage, bountiful harvest or surviving a brutally cold winter it was all still giving thanks to God. They saw God in the circumstances. It was not lost on them that by some crazy chance there was an Native American already living there who spoke English and who had been taken as a slave to Europe by white men but somehow was willing to help them. Without his help they would have died. They totally understood that that was a coincidence that was hard to explain without God in the explanation.
So now as these people began to organize a union of groups that have settled the "Americas" what values did they use and hold by and with what intent?
The fundamental orders of Connecticut, under which a provisional government was instituted in 1638-39, commence with this declaration: "Forasmuch as it hath pleased the Almighty God by the wise disposition of his divine prudence so to Order and dispose of things that we the Inhabitants and Residents of Windsor, Hartford, and Wethersfield are now cohabiting and dwelling in and upon the River of Connecticut and the Lands there unto adjoining; And well knowing where a people are gathered together the word of God requires that to maintain the peace and vision of such a people there should be an orderly and decent Government established according to God, to order and dispose of the affairs of the people at all seasons as occasions shall require; do therefore associate and convey ourselves to be as one Public state or Commonwealth, and do, for ourselves and our Successors and such as shall be adjoined to us at any time hereafter, enter into Combination and Confederation together, to maintain and preserve the liberty and purity of the gospel of our Lord Jesus that we now professes, as also the discipline of the Churches, that according to the truth of the said gospel is now practiced amongst us." So they unified into a "public state" to maintain and preserve the liberty and purity of the gospel of their Lord Jesus.
So that is a state but what about the nation as they bonded together?
Samuel Adams wrote this about the rights of colonists in 11-20-1772, "The right to freedom being the gift of God Almighty, it is not in the power of man to alienate this gift." Thomas Jefferson wrote this in his Summary Of Rights in 1774. “The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time.” Alexander Hamilton wrote this in an essay in 1775: The Sacred Rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the Hand of the Divinity itself, and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power.
So the values that Barack Obama says bind us start with these men that obviously believe in a God and that all men have rights that come from God and not from a state. These men then declared our independence from England because these "God given rights" were being violated. And the Declaration of Independence recognizes the presence of Divine in human affairs in these words:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights... appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions... And for the support of this Declaration, with firm reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor." So the values that bound them (and us) were that there was a such thing as a self evident truth, that there was a Creator or God, and that our rights come from God, and that this God is the Supreme Judge of the world, and that God gives us divine protection if we ban together in these values.
So here is a state constitution from the same time. What is their intention and what are their values that bind them together? The Constitution of Delaware, (1776), which required all officers, besides an oath of allegiance, to make and subscribe the following declaration: "I, do profess faith in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ His only Son, and in the Holy Ghost, one God, blessed for evermore, and I do acknowledge the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by divine inspiration." Apparently they felt that you are not qualified to be a leader if you don't follow Christ. Here is what John Jay the first Chief Justice of the United States said in 1977: "Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and the interest, of a Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers." The judicial branch of the new government is telling us we should be a Christian nation.
In 1777 the First Continental Congress called the Bible “the great political textbook of the patriots” and appropriated funds to import 20,000 Holy Bibles for the people. That does not look like separation of church and state. It looks like the intention of the founding fathers was to spread the Gospel.
Thomas Jefferson wrote this in his Notes on the State of Virginia 1782: Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath?"
Benjamin Franklin’s Speech to the Constitutional Convention June 28th 1787 "I've lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing Proofs I see of this Truth - That God governs in the Affairs of Men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his Notice, is it probable that an Empire can rise without his Aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings, that except the Lord build the House they labor in vain who build it. I firmly believe this, - and I also believe that without his concurring Aid, we shall succeed in this political Building no better than the Builders of Babel." So these founding fathers have an intention of inclusion of Christian values for fear of the failure of our nation. That our liberty would not be secure if this were not the case and that our foundation would be weak and fall.
So the Constitution that these men crafted states that it is to “secure the blessings of liberty” that the founders believed are a gift of God and it is signed “in the year of our Lord”
George Washington at the constitutional convention 1787 said "Let us raise a standard to which the wise and the honest can repair. The event is in the hand of God."
George Washington’s first inaugural address April 30th 1789 said this "The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained." So he believes that is we disregard the rules that heaven has ordained (Christian values)God will not smile on our nation. So our first president decided to establish in our government the tradition of Thanksgiving that was already a part of society.
George Washington’s Thanksgiving proclamation 1789: "Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:" "Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country. And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations." So an official proclamation by the government to worship a Christian God. Somehow I am not seeing the intention of the founders of this country to separate church and state.
Here is George Washington’s Farewell Address 1796 "Of all the dispositions and habits, which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of Men and Citizens. And let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle." So it appears that he is promoting Christian values to keep us a strong nation.
Another founding father James Wilson, a signer of the Constitution and an original Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court said this "Human law must rest its authority ultimately upon the authority of that law which is divine....Far from being rivals or enemies, religion and law are twin sisters, friends, and mutual assistants. Indeed, these two sciences run into each other." Not separation of church and state, but mutual assistants.
John Quincy Adams the 6th President of the United States said this: "The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were . . . the general principles of Christianity." "Duty is ours; results are God's. The first and almost the only Book deserving of universal attention is the Bible.” “It is no slight testimonial, both to the merit and worth of Christianity, that in all ages since its promulgation the great mass of those who have risen to eminence by their profound wisdom and integrity have recognized and reverenced Jesus of Nazareth as the Son of the living God." "… Posterity — you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it." So the president is stating that the principles of our country are Christian, so how could they be separate when it is the essence of what our government is based.
And as we as a people traveled west we continued to be about the same values. The Constitution of Illinois of 1870 stated, "We, the people of the State of Illinois, grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political, and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing upon our endeavors to secure and transmit the same unimpaired to succeeding generations."
The Supreme Court stated this in 1892 more than one hundred years after our county was founded, after sighting 87 precedents. "Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of The Redeemer of mankind. It's impossible that it should be otherwise; and in this sense and to this extent our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian... This is a religious people. This is historically true. From the discovery of this continent to the present hour, there is a single voice making this affirmation... we find everywhere a clear recognition of the same truth... These, and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation."
The President of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln said this in 3-30-1863, "Whereas, the Senate of the United States, devoutly recognizing the Supreme Authority and just Government of Almighty God, in all the affairs of men and of nations, has, by a resolution, requested the President to designate and set apart a day for National prayer and humiliation."
"And whereas it is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.
We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us."
"It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness."
"Now, therefore, in compliance with the request, and fully concurring in the views of the Senate, I do, by this my proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th. day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting and prayer. And I do hereby request all the People to abstain, on that day, from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite, at their several places of public worship and their respective homes, in keeping the day holy to the Lord, and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion.
All this being done, in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the Nation will be heard on high, and answered with blessings, no less than the pardon of our national sins, and the restoration of our now divided and suffering Country, to its former happy condition of unity and peace." So with the blessings of the Senate the government was organizing a day of national prayer. Does not look like separation of church and state. instead it looks like there is still the intention to be a people bound together by Christian values.
So here again is the Thanksgiving holiday and the government mandating it a a Christian value that we as a nation should partake in. The first official national declaration of the Thanksgiving holiday by President Abraham Lincoln on 10-03-1836, "To expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwell in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union." And it continued on as a part of our Christian heritage that we a Christian nation continued on to today.
1961, 1962 and 1963 Presidential Thanksgiving Proclamations by John F. Kennedy: "More than three centuries ago, after a year of hardship and peril, humbly and reverently set aside a special day upon which to give thanks to God for their preservation and for and for the good harvest from the virgin soil upon which they had labored. Yet by their faith and their toil they had survived the rigors of the harsh New England winter." and this "Over three centuries ago in Plymouth, on Massachusetts Bay, the Pilgrims established the custom of gathering each year to express their gratitude to God."
So who are we this thanksgiving? Are we no longer as Barack Obama said considering ourselves to be a Christian nation? What are the set of values that are going to bind us? Remember that when we take God out of the equation then who do our rights come from? As Thomas Jefferson said, "Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God?"
Well over three centuries ago in Plymouth, on Massachusetts Bay, the Pilgrims established the custom of gathering each year to express their gratitude to God...I choose to continue to consider myself part of a Christian nation no matter what anyone else says. And I choose to see the fact that we have been blessed as a nation because of the values that have bound us. So this Thanksgiving lets see it for what it is. Lets be a people that celibrate the values that have made us a strong nation and blessed us. Lets eat some turkey but lets give thanks and hounor those that have come before us and their intentions and beliefs that have given us the liberty that we enjoy

David grisman Quintet, 5-28-77

This is an early recording of the David Grisman Quintet. This is fantastic stuff. Tony Rice and Grisman are amazing on this, and it is a very nice soundboard. I really like this one.

David Grisman Quintet
Great American Music Hall
San Francisco, CA
5/28/77

Source: SBD (FM Broadcast)

David Grisman: Mandolin
Tony Rice: Guitar
Darol Anger: violin
Bill Amatneek: Bass
Todd Phillips: Mandolin

01. Dawg's Rag
02. Obanion's Wake
03. 16 16
04. Band Introduction
05. Swing 51
06. Norwegian Wood w/John Carlini
07. Swing 42
08. Spain
09. Japan
10. Ricochet
11. Fish Scale
12. Dawg's Bull
13. Minor Swing

Mp3/320k
Download Link
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=L0XP50GS David grisman77-5-28 CA.rar

Alison Krauss and Union Station, 6-24-89

Here is another fine recording of Alison Krauss and Union Station. This is an early one in which Alison is just 18 years old at the time of this recording. This is most likely a soundboard even though it did not come with that information. It sounds real clear and clean. The early Union Station group with Jeff White on guitar is pretty strong.


Alison Krauss & Union Station
Telluride Bluegrass Festival
Telluride, CO
06-24-1989

Alison Krauss – Fiddle & Vocals
Jeff White – Guitar & Vocals
Alison Brown – Banjo, Guitar, & Vocals
John Pennell – Bass
Butch Baldassari – Mandolin

1. Pastor Mustard intro, Two Highways
2. Wild Bill Jones
3. Beaumont Rag
4. Livin’ In The Name Of Love
5. Goin’ Gone
6. Standin’ By The Bedside
7. Banjo & Fiddle Tune
8. There’s Nowhere To Hide
9. Don’t Follow Me
10. Standin’ On The Outside
11. Sweet Georgia Brown
12. Steel Rails
13. A Woman In Love
14. On The Borderline
15. Loneliness & Desperation
16. Too Late To Cry
17. Gentle River
18. The Road Is A Lover
19. I Can’t Get You Off Of My Mind
20. Bury Me Beneath The Willow
21. I’m Goin’ On
22. I Will (Beatles Tune)
23. Shoppin’ For Love
24. Will You Be Leaving
Encore
25. Midnight Rider

Mp3/320k
Download Link
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=PY10JIRV

Seldom Scene, 6-23-85

Seldom Scene
1985-06-23
Telluride Bluegrass Festival
Telluride, CO
Pre-FM Master Reel

01 - Little Georgia Rose
02 - Muddy Waters
03 - Born of the Wind
04 - With the Small Exception of Me
05 - Paradise
06 - Under the Double Eagle
07 - Old Train
08 - A Song for Life
09 - Open Up Your Window, Noah
10 - Lay Down Sally
11 - California Cottonfields
12 - Colorado Turnaround
13 - Wait a Minute
14 - Come Early Morning
15 - House of the Rising Sun
16 - It Turns Me Inside Out

Mp3/320k
Download Link
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1N33W8XZ

Alison Krauss and Union Station, 11-23-04

This is a radio broadcast of Alison Krauss and Union Station. It has some radio static and noise but still beats an audience recording in my opinion. Anyway there are some nice moments to be sure with Jerry Douglas and Dan Tyminski. My favorite Alison Krauss lineup. Someone out there has to have a better recording of this. But until that surfaces this will have to do.

Alison Krauss + Union Station
In Studio, "Morning Becomes Ecclectic" on KCRW,
Santa Monica, CA
11-23-2004
FM Broadcast
(Radio static and noise throughout)

01 Intro
02 Restless
03 Chatter
04 Unionhouse Branch
05 Chatter
06 Wouldn't Be So Bad
07 Chatter
08 I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow
09 Radio Interview
10 Goodbye Is All We Have
11 More Chatter
12 Pastures Of Plenty
13 Chatter
14 Doesn't Have To Be This Way
15 DJ Chatter
16 Gravity

Band
Barry Bales
Ron Block
Jerry Douglas
Alison Krauss
Dan Tyminski

Mp3/320k
Download Link
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=32Z5F0G7

Paria River Canyon

Here are some photos from a recent trip to Paria River Canyon on the Arizona-Utah border. I already posted about this area but thought people might like some more. This time when I went down the canyon there had been some rain and it was real muddy and the water flow was much deeper than I have experienced. Even still I made it down to the confuence of the Paria River and Buckskin Gulch. From White House trailhead to the confulenec and back took me more than six hours and It was tough going. Slippery and muddy and wet. 14 plus miles total. This is a fantastic canyon that gets very tight and very tall. As you strart down stream from the trail head at first the rocks on eack side are far apart and not very tall This time there was much more water than I have experienced before. In the past the stream has been very low flow and the soil around it has just been dry sand. This time there was mud, and lots of it. As you go farther down stream you can see the cliffs start to get much bigger.
The hight of the cliffs at first will get large and then decrease and then get large again. And the distance between wil tighten and then widen intermitantly. But soon the cliffs get much closer together as you go and they stay that way. It is around 3 to 4 miles before the first real narrow sections. Pretty soon the cliffs are huge, towering hundreds of feet up and close together shutting out all but just reflected light.
In some places the cliff walls only 15 feet across with cliffs that are several hundred feet high on both sides. This time because of the water flow the water was wall to wall in many locations. Most of the time the water depth was about knee high. But being cloudy it was hard to tell where deeper holes were.
As you get to the confuence with Buckskin Gulch, it gets real tight and dark. This next one below is the slot canyon of Buckskin Gulch coming in from the side into the Paria River Canyon. I read that the cliffs are 400 to 500 feet tall in some locations and I don't doubt it. This next one is looking from inside Buckskin Gulch out to where Paria River Canyon meets it. This last one is looking from the confluence of the two canyons back into the Paria River slot that is the way back.
This is a fantastic canyon. I'm telling you that a camera just can't get the job done. Or at least if I'm in control of the camera. You just have to see it. The White House trail head has only five camp sites that are on a first come first serve basis. So you are lucky if you get to camp at the trailhead.

Veterans Day

Well today is Veterans Day. I just want to say thanks to those who have served our country. The United States is a fortunate county with freedoms that many places don't have. Sometimes to maintain freedom we have to fight those who want to take it from us and others. When this happens there is great cost to the ones who serve and the ones who love the ones who serve. So thanks to all that have paid these prices that are so great. I do not always agree with the leaders on when they choose to use military force. But that does not diminish the respect I have for those who serve. Sometimes our counties leaders send our boys into harms way for intentions that do not appear to be what they tell us. Sometimes they do it with poor judgment and unrealistic expectations of the outcome. But again that does not diminish the respect I have for the ones who serve with loyalty to this country.

John Fogerty said "Some folks were born, made to wave the flag, oh that red white and blue. But when the band plays Hail To The Chief, oh they are pointing the cannon at you. It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no senators son. It ain't me I ain't me, I ain't no fortunate one. Some folks inherit Star Spangled Eyes, Oh they sent you down to war. But when you ask them how much should we give, their only answer is more, more, more. It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no military son, It ain't me, It ain't me I ain't no I ain't no fortunate one." Well John you have been pretty fortunate to have had the freedom to express yourself and make a living doing it. I feel we are all fortunate to live in this county that has been blessed for so long.

So why have we been blessed?

In Genesis 10 Noah says "May God enlarge Japheth and may he dwell in the tents (dwell in the ways of) of Shem". Who are the descendants of Japheth? Javan=Greeks, Gomer=Germany, Tiras=Italy. So the Europeans will be blessed or "enlarged" if they follow the ways of Shem. Shem are the people who became the nation of Israel. So when the Europeans started following the ways of the Messiah that came out of the descendants of Shem they rose in power and blessings and they became the most blessed people of the planet. And those Europeans are us the United States of America. Founded on principals of law found in the bible. With the words "In God We Trust" on our currency. With the idea that God gives us our rights. And as we fall away from these ideas our blessing or "enlargement" has diminished just as the Europeans have.

Anyway. Thanks to those who have sacrificed and protected my freedom to express my views and worship in the way that I choose. And may all the men and women who are serving today come home safely and soon.

U2, the Christian Band that does not want the label

I saw Pastor Bill Hybels from Willow Creek interview Bono at a leadership conference and Bill asked Bono about if Bono and U2 were Christian. Bono said he didn't like labels and did not want to be placed in with what he saw of Christianity today (I can't blame him). But labels are not how we know if someone follows Jesus. It is if they believe that He died for our sin. It is if we walk out our lives by following His example of sacrifice for others. Here are some quotes that tell me what Bono is. Bono understands Jesus died for our sin. "The point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world, so that what we put out did not come back to us, and that our sinful nature does not reap the obvious death. That’s the point. It should keep us humbled… It’s not our own good works that get us through the gates of Heaven." Bono understand salvation come by grace and not by our own works. "And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that “as you reap, so will you sow” stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I’ve done a lot of stupid stuff.I’m holding out for Grace. I’m holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don’t have to depend on my own religiosity." Bono understand that Jesus is not a "good teacher" but is actually God. "Christ says, No. I’m not saying I’m a teacher, don’t call me teacher. I’m not saying I’m a prophet. I’m saying: “I’m the Messiah.” I’m saying: “I am God incarnate.” "And people say: No, no, please, just be a prophet. A prophet we can take."

So He is a follower of Christ by words and his time sacrificed on causes to help others shows he is a follower of Christ by deeds as well. But is U2 a Christian band? Well three of the members of U2 met and started out in a church youth group. They may have left organized religion but they have never left their faith. They start each show by praying together. The music is full of biblical quotes, references, and ideas. In fact 40 is essentially Psalm 40. Here are some lyrics from I Still Haven't Found What I Am looking For
"You broke the bonds, Loosed the chains
Carried the cross, Of my shame, Of my shame
You know I believe it,
But I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"
It appears that Bono believes that Jesus freed him from sin and died for his sin but is unsatisfied due to what he sees in other Christians and in the world. There are just to many biblical references in their songs to list so here is a link that can help but is by no means the total of it. http://www.atu2.com/lyrics/biblerefs.html Anyway U2 is Christian just not the Christianity that alot of people are used to. So here is my favorite U2 show. It is not rare. In fact you can get this at many other blogs, but I just want it to be at my blog because they (U2) are what my blog is about, leading the blind and lost to the truth in an unconventional way. As Robert Hunter wrote and Jerry Garcia sang "Once in a while you can get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right."


U2
Madison Square Garden
New York City, NY
10-25-2001
Soundboard

Disc 1:

101. Intro
102. Elevation
103. Beautiful Day
104. Until The End Of The World
105. New Year's Day
106. I Will Follow
107. Sunday Bloody Sunday
108. Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of
109. Kite
110. Angel Of Harlem
111. Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
112. Bad/40

Disc 2:

201. Where The Streets Have No Name
202. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
203. Pride (In The Name Of Love)
204. Bullet The Blue Sky
205. What's Going On
206. New York
207. Bono's Speech
208. One
209. Unchained Melody
210. Walk On

Mp3/320k
Download Links
http://www.mediafire.com/?z4d7bedw6yrryuq
http://www.mediafire.com/?8cb2gp69ndln18y

Why Should I Give To People In Need?

This country even in tough economic times is blessed with unparalleled wealth. There are many people in this country living better than kings might have in other times. People with multiple houses, multiple cars, multiple televisions and computers. I have worked for ladies who had more than 100 pairs of shoes. All the time while there are people of this world who don't even have shoes. People who don't have a home. There are people in this country that throw out more food than whole families could eat, while people in the world are dying of starvation. We have probably more people dying of over eating than starvation in this country.
Many of the people of this country that I'm talking about call themselves followers of Christ. And they are one of the reasons Christianity is on the decline in the United States.

Here are some facts to think about, they are a few years old but close enough for this discussion.

Eighty-five percent of young people outside the church who have had connection to Christians believe present-day Christianity is hypocritical. Inside the church, forty-seven percent of young people believe the same thing.

80 percent of the world’s evangelical wealth is in North America.
Giving by churchgoers was higher during the Great Depression than it is today.
Self Proclaimed Christians give an average of $13.31/week to their local church.
Only 9 percent of “born-again” adults reported tithing in 2004.And let's take a peek in on our neighbors in need:

More than 1 billion people live in absolute poverty.
500 million people are at the edge of starvation.
200 million children are being exploited as laborers.
Half of the human beings on the planet live on less than $2/day.
1.5 billion people do not have enough money to buy food.

So what is a follower of Christ called to do according to the Bible?
Ephesians 2:10 "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them" So we are made to do "good works". What would these "good works" look like? John the Baptist who Jesus called the greatest of the Prophets said In Luke 3 that unless you bear "good fruit" you will be cut off from the branch. What did "good fruit" look like to John? He said in Luke 3:11 "He who has two coats, let him give to him who has none, and he who has food , let him do likewise." Jesus put it this way in Matthew 25:31-46. "When the Son of Man comes in His glory (When I, Jesus, come back), and the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the thrown of His Glory." "All the nations (that means everyone)will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as the shepherd divides his sheep from the goats." "And He will set up sheep on His right hand and goats on His left." "Then the King (Jesus) will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me'." "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'When did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink'? "When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or naked and clothe You?' 'Or when did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?' "And the King will answer and say to them, "Assuredly I say to you, inasmuch as you did to the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.' "Then He will also say to those on the left hand(the goats). 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 'for I was hungry and you gave Me no food, I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.' "Then they will also will answer Him saying Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger, or naked, or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?' "Then He (Jesus the King) will answer them, saying 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' "And these (the ones who did not help others) will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into everlasting life."
So that puts it pretty plainly. We ("all the nations")will be divided between the ones who help others and the ones who don't. The ones who help others eternal life. The ones who don't eternal punishment.
So doesn't that contradict that we are not saved by our works? No because if we are saved by belief and faith in Christ we will follow Christ and bear fruit of the spirit that is love. And we will as Jesus said follow His commandments the greatest of which are Love the lord you God with all your heart and love your neighbor as you love yourself. Following Christ means to lay down our lives for others just as He did. So how do we find a place or a way to help "the least of these"? Here is a place I have found, that could use any help you could give.

LIFE GIVING MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL INC. It is a small ministry done by two of my friends Michael and Marianna Purinton and their friends in Uganda James and Merry Kizza . Michael went to Uganda and made connections by helping build and orphanage and school. And now helps by sending funds to keep it going. Here is what Mike says "On last count I had was 134 kids in the school. This school is different because the kids don't have to be Christians to come. Every kid in the village is welcome."

Mike and Marianna are not wealthy just loving. Mike is an electrician.

Here are some messages sent by James Kizza in Uganda to Mike and Marianna.

(May 26th 2009)
Hello dear Pastor Mike and Marianna Purinton.How are you in the name our Lord Jesus Christ? Hope in him all are good. On Sunday at around 9.30 pm when we were coming from mission Mulago hospital we met the thief they bitten us with Merry and Matovu ,they bitten us badly and at this moment Merry is admitted at Namirembe hospital because she is in critical condition ,she is pregnant and the doctor said that she may get operation because the child in womb does not shaking in.!!Pray for us because the situation is not easy for us. The thief took our amplifier and Little money from my pocket. The good news the house its already finished for roofing for two rooms and door but the windows are not yet .Slow but sure. So my brother Mike thank you for the work you are doing here and I thank you very very much. In few days i will send to you the snap and see your work. Pray for Maria and the Children are crying because they are missing their Mother at home ,when they ask me where is their mother I tell them that she is in hospital and I carriage them that Mam will come at in the name of Jesus. Any information about Merry i will let you know.
Have a nice time.
James
(July 21st 2009)
Hello dear Pastor Mike and Marianna Purinton.Hope you are fine in the name of Jesus.How are family members?We are fine at home but last week i visited to Bukomero to see how is there but the famine will kill the people!They don't have food and water!I went there last Saturday but when i found that situation there ,I came back on that very day but yesterday on the money you sent I bought 200kg of maize flour and took them ,but dear MIKE pray for Uganda the famine started to kill some people in some arias ! How was the weekend there? We are good and your grand kids are fine.
Send my greetings to all that we love you so much.
Let me wish you the best and may God bless you.
James

(Sept. 21st 2009)
Dear Pastor Mike and Marianna Purinton.Its so good in the name of Jesus Christ,this morning we have got the Baby Boy, God is good !All things we had expected to be God decided that will not happen on Merry ,because Doctors told us that according to the damages she got when we had the problems with thieves that she can get operation! But all are good and the Baby no any complication has happen.
Thank you for you prayers.
Have a nice time.
James
(Nov. 20th 2009)
Dear Pastor Mike and Marianna Purinton,hope you all fine.How is Ministry? We are O.K and we are getting rain every day.God is good because the people were going to die the hungry ,there is no food in the village but now the hope has come in the minds of the people because We have the rain. Let me wish you the best and and may God bless you.
James

(Feb 10th 2010)
Hello dear Pastor Mike and Marianna Purinton,hope you all fine.lam so happy for the great work you are building this Ministry and lam so happy that you are joining hands with us to build the word of our Lord in this Nation, thank you so much.
Yesterday I got the money on account there is 1900,000= thank you very much ,The beginning of the school was so good but the parents sent many Pupil at our new school! According to the environment of that aria no help no what, the parents see it as a miracle of our school ,I told them all you are seeing here its on the head of Mike Purinton. The money on account let me buy the uniforms of the kids and maize flour for the pollage for drinking on lunch .On Monday Merry is going to be very busy on sewing the uniforms. and am going to save some little money to pay the teachers but so far We are still have three teachers because are very expensive.As soon as we finished the uniforms lam going to send the photos of the kids. Today i have sent the photos of our buildings ,one of the photo you can see the house of teachers and the other one it is class rooms play ground it is behind of the houses .In the other photo you can see the Baby David James with Isaac ,the other one are your grand children at the Church. You will see more development in next photos. We wish you the best and may God bless you.
James and Merry.
We love you so much


(Feb 25th 2010)
My dear Pastor Mike Purinton and Marianna,hope you are all fine.All are going well in Bukomero and at Church.God is working in us.Thank you so much for all you are doing.
So far we have 57 pupils in our school ,others were stoped because the classes are not enough but next term i promised them because we are going to make expand the rooms pray for this work .All these not me but You mike.
So you can see the kids at their school and teacherd.
Have a nice time.
Yours James Kizza

(June 2nd 2010)
Dear Pastor Mike and Marianna Purinton.
How are you dear? We praise the Lord for the work you are doing here.God is good.I james Kizza ,i THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE WORK GOING ON IN BUKOMERO .sa far we have 110 students ,in the photos those are children of primary one.Dear Mike you can wonder the parents are very happy for your work here. We have six teachers and one chef kook.You know the pupils have to get a break fast. Every Teacher getting 80000= the cooker 60000= thats your you doing it.Thank you Mike. Every parent will benefit in you in the name of Jesus and many people will benefit in this project.
This day I have received the parcel you sent in last year 2009 and will tell you
For the big work we are doing there and the land owner promised to give us more two acres let us pray for that.if we get it we can make the pray ground for the pupils and the other part to build staff quarters. In the mango tree that is our new building ,in the other photo I was purse with teachers. God is good all the time. We wish you the blessings.
James beans

(Oct 2010)
Dear Pastor Mike and Marianna Purinton,how are you dear ? We are fine but this day we have lost our Church member!!! She has gone to meet our Father ,she have been a good person ,hamble and leader.Let her soul rest in peace. Dear Pastor Mike ,yesterday I recieved the two boxes of pencils and other things,thank you so much ,all will be happy and every child must must get on the gifts you sent ,they will be very happy. Let us pray God you to be with us next year,Glory be to God.
Have a nice week.
James

As you can see that Michael and Marianna have made a difference. When Michael got there several years ago they had to choose between the children to save and the ones who would die due to lack of funds to buy food. Today they have a school building and some hope. Still life is on the edge for these people but they are making progress.

So if you want to join Mike and Marianna and James and Merry give hope to this poor village in Uganda. Send a check made out to LIFE GIVING MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL INC. Send it to Michael and Marianna Purinton PO Box 18201 695 Oak Dr. Munds Park, AZ 86017. To call them 928-286-9481. A little will go a long way and there is no administration costs.

Tim O'Brien 12-07-08

This is a fine bluegrass show with Tim O'Brien backed by one of the finest guitar players in bluegrass today, Bryan Sutton.
Tim O'Brien
2008-12-07
The Station Inn - Nashville, TN
Soundboard matrix

-Set One- (64m)
01 Introduction
02 Train On The Island
03 Walk Beside Me
04 Kitchen Girl
05 Hoss Race
06 Where's Love Come From
07 Red Dog In The Morning
08 The Garden
09 Groundspeed
10 Working On A Building
11 Heck Among The Yearlings
12 Everything Fades
13 Making Plans
14 Christmas Time's A Coming

-Set Two- (76m)
15 Look Down That Lonesome Road
16 Wicked Messenger
17 Pistol Packin Mama
18 Busted
19 Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burning
20 Let's Go Hunting
21 Cornbread Nation
22 Get Out There And Dance
23 Crooked Road
24 Jack Of Diamonds >
25 Sugar In The Gourd
26 My Rose Of Old Kentucky
27 Hangman's Reel
28 You Don't Have To Move That Mountain
29 Tombstone Blues
(E)
30 Norwegian Wood
31 Brother Wind


Tim O'Brien - Vocals, Mandolin, Bazouki, Fiddle
Bryan Sutton - Guitar, Vocals
Danny Barnes - Banjo, Vocals
Dennis Crouch - Bass

Mp3/320k
Download Links
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6WP5IGJZ tob2008-12-07 one.rar
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VWQ5CMQS tob2008-12-07 two.rar

Rick Griffin, Artwork

One of my favorite artists of all time is Rick Griffin. Yea I know, not very cultured, when I could be saying Michelangelo, Rembrant, Piccaso, Van Gogh, Da Vinci, Monet, Rubens, Matisse, or even Joseph Turner. Yes these are all great fine artist and I do love looking at their works as well as many others. You see I was an art major in college, and I do understand fine art. But I was also a product of my time and my location. I went to high school and college during the 1970s in California and lived near the beach and had jobs doing commercial and graphic art. And my musical tastes were that of jazz and progressive rock, and the Grateful Dead. Rick Griffin was also a product of the California beach environment in fact he went to the same high school I did (more than 10 years earlier) and he did artwork for some of the musical acts that I loved. In fact he helped create a style of art that was synonyms with the late 60s and early 70s musical scene. He created a lettering style that represented the psychedelic movement of the time and even designed the logo for Rolling Stone magazine.
Early in Rick Griffin's life he fell in love with surfing and in high school he would spend time drawing surf pictures and he created a surfing cartoon character called Murphy. By the time he was out of high school his artwork had been published in surfing publications, and even on the covers of surfing music albums. After graduation from high school he became a staff artist for Surfer Magazine. Surfing art would continue to be a part of what Rick did throughout his career.
At the time he was more interested in music than art and a rock band he was in decided to move to San Francisco in 1965. At one of their first gigs Rick drew a promotional poster and the poster drew more attention than the music and Rick decided to switch to art instead of music. This was at the beginning of the psychedelic scene in San Francisco and there were two main producers of concerts, the Family Dog and Bill Graham.

Both of these promoters used posters to advertise their events and both used Rick Griffin. As the popularity of the music scene grew nation wide so did the audience for Rick's art.
Rick used heavy symbolism and bright colors, stark graphics, a radical lettering style, along with his comic book style, and it caught on quickly.

During this time Rick produced an amazing number of works that are widely recognized even today. The most notable being the "Flying Eye" poster for a Jimi Hendrix concert. Even at this point in his career he was producing images that came out of his questioning and seeking the spiritual. The flying eye image was to represent the all knowing or seeing eye of God just like the image he used from the dollar bill earlier in his career. It was a manifestation of the artist’s inner turmoil as he agonized between love of the spirit and love of the body.
While many of the "hippie" generation were experiencing the same struggle, few used it as the catalyst to produce great art. Rick eventually found the answer to this duality in Jesus latter on. In late 1969 Rick's attention returned to the comic book art that he had started with but this time with more of the underground comix of the time. For a time he was doing both comix and poster art but soon he moved back to Southern California and continued comic book art and returned to contributing to Surfer Magazine. He was also working on artwork for a surf movie called Pacific Vibrations that he was also seen surfing in.

Around this time Rick had a child and you could see in his art more spiritual subjects surfacing in different ways. Here it surfaces in a Murphy the Surfer comix.
During this part of Rick's life you can tell he was involved in an internal struggle and it was showing up in his art and he produced a underground comic called "Man From Utopia" that had radical symbolism directed at the creation, the struggle of good and evil and Jesus.

This first one speaks of evil and it's attack on "eyes" or trying to keep us spiritually blind.

This next one is a symbolic character of death. And the one after depicts eve in the garden and original sin being the silver dagger in the heart. This last one is about a white night that shines light and turns the night into day, Jesus. Shortly after finishing this he gave his life over to Jesus Christ. After this Rick Griffins art focus changed and soon you could see his belief in Christ surfacing in his comic book art. Even his character Murphy the surfer was leading people in prayer and then seeing symbolic visions of God.

Around this time he did a series of travel comix that took us to different places like Maui and Mexico.

The Mexico one had a thinly veiled reference to missing the mark and a way to be perfect in spite of yourself (Jesus).

In a 1974 interview Rick said, "It's weird about Jesus freaks. I wonder why they call them Jesus freaks? Well, actually the word 'Christian' was derogatory at one time too. They called them Christians in derision. The word Christian means the same thing as Jesus freak; someone who's tripped out on Christ, someone who identifies with Christ so much, that that becomes the purpose of their life, to bear witness to Christ. That's what I like to do. I like to talk about Jesus." So Rick continued doing art buy doing album covers for Christian rock bands, but still continued doing secular projects but often inserting Christian subject matter like his "Wake Of The Flood" album cover showing the reaper coming for the harvest.

Apparently Rick drew this in 1973 after reading Revelation 20:13. In 1975 he did an album cover for an English rock band called Man and the image was "The baptism of Alfred E. Newman" the main character from Mad Magazine.
Mad Magazine did not allow the use of the Alfred E. Newman image and the artwork had to be cut and trimmed to just show the fish. Rick worked on an illustrated version of the Gospel Of John for the Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa that had gospel text that was paraphrased by Chuck Smith. This is the picture used for John 1. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. At this time he was now using his graphic style in black and white but painting more and doing less of the offset lithography style of his earlier rock posters. Here are some of the paintings from this time period that were used in the Gospel of John Project.

This one depicts Jesus walking on water as in John 6:20 where Jesus said "It is I, be not afraid.
This one depicts Jesus on a donkey entering Jerusalem as in John 12: 13-15. In the 1980s Rick continued his relationship with the Grateful Dead by doing the Reckoning album cover in 1980 and their 20th anniversary logo in 1985 along with several T-shirt designs.

Ricks last Grateful Dead projects were the Without a Net album cover and the Europe Tour posters art in 1990.

Rick died in a motorcycle accident on 8-15-1991 at 47 years of age.