Data: 15/11/2009

Circuit: C3 / 17 fites / 3700m / +115m desnivell

Web: http://ues.orientacio.org/

Feia dies que no feia cap cursa d’orientació però ja en tenia ganes i a la de Togores no hi podia pas faltar No és que porti massa en això de l’orientació però la de Togores és la que he fet més vegades, és el que té que l’organitzi el club de casa i que estigui tan a prop. Apart d’això es corre en un terreny força maco i ideal per iniciar-se, de fet fou la primera que vaig fer i aquesta vegada seria la primera per l’Eva que ja feia dies volia provar com eren aquest tipus de competicions.

Recorregut Togores

Diumenge va fer una temperatura ideal i un solet espectacular per l’època que estem. La sortida va ser a les 11:15 i vam fer el circuit en parella, anant en tot moment junts i deixant a l’Eva que prengués les decisions de per on haviem de tirar, si que és cert que un cop haviem decidit per on anar en alguns punts em posava jo davant per marcar una mica el ritme però adaptant-me a ella que no era plan d’asfixiar-la i que no volgués tornar a repetir.

Torrent de Colobrers (autor: Jordi Vilas)

Quasi totes les fites les vam trobar fàcilment i no vam tenir problemes significatius tret de la 13 que es va resistir i d’algun problema en orientar el mapa correctament. Tret d’això s’ho va passar molt bé i es va quedar amb ganes de repetir, que de fet ja es tractava d’això i a mi em va encantar compartir cursa amb ella i aprofitar per fer un entrenament suau quasi de passeig però disfrutant de valent igualment.

Al final 1:08:41 i per sorpresa segona posició de l’Eva en la categoria femenina del circuit, quina manera de començar!!

"Camp de vol" (autor: Jordi Vilas)

After Mark had made his big discovery, Sam grudgingly walked his horse over to him, and took a look for himself. Sam was tired, confused, and somewhat disappointed. The first half of his hunch had been correct, but it looked like the second half of it was dead wrong. Sam wasn’t expecting this new development. He wasn’t ready for it. He hadn’t prepared for it, and that made him mad. Whereas, before he had feigned anger and enthusiasm, his anger had now become tentative, and he was truly concerned. He was mad at that murderer, because it seemed as if he’d changed his mind, and now Sam would have to change his plans. He’d been thoroughly ready to go on home, get warm, and go to bed. On the other hand, Mark was just beginning to find himself. He was coming into his own. He’d accomplished two feats, one daring, and one investigative. Mark’s confidence had been revived, and he was raring to go. Now that he had the guts that he’d been lacking, he was able to get up the nerve to ask Sam a question.

“Why is he going back, do you think?” He’d caught Sam off-guard. Sam had been probing his own mind for his next hunch, for some other possibility, for the one that wasn’t quite so obvious. Sam returned the favor by saying this to Mark. “I don’t rightly know, Kid. I’m thinking the worst. I’m thinking there’s something he didn’t finish doing last night. I’m thinking, perhaps, he didn’t complete his mission. Maybe, he had intended on murdering the pastor’s entire family. I’ll be damned, but I’m afraid he’s going back for those two kids, if he isn’t going after Luke. He’s the only one who saw him leaving the place.”

“Oh, my God, Sam! I sure hope not. I was wondering, if maybe he hadn’t forgot something else. Something he needed really, really bad to make his trip. Like a map, or something. Money, maybe.” Sam quickly shot back, “I highly doubt it, Kid. That sonuvabitch is a maniac! It’s hard to guess what he’s up to. Those kind of people don’t just blatantly disregard the law, they rule it out altogether, and then they do whatever it is that suits their purpose. He’s at least two hours ahead of us. He could already be back in town doing whatever it is that he’d planned on doing, and we may be too late to do anything about it.” Just then, Sam’s second hunch finally came to him, giving him new hope that his first hunch might still be the correct one. But the high-strung kid had gotten excited, and blurted out, “We better high-tail it outta here then, huh?” “Yeah, Kid,” Sam said, ignoring his words.

Sam turned to the rest of his posse, and filled them in. “Hey, you guys, listen up! Our murderer might be headed to the river to take a different route south. He knows someone’s on to him, or else he’d be riding over yonder on the road. If he does know we’re after him…well, that’s what I would do. He can walk his horse up the river for a ways and lose us. We wouldn’t have a chance. We’ll head on up to the river. If he’s going back to town, his tracks will be straight across on the other side. This weather’s gonna slow him down same as us.” Then Sam reached back into his bag, and grabbed the bottle of whiskey. It was practically empty. He tipped it up real quick, and killed it off, which instantly set him off into a bout of coughing, and gasping for air. After Sam had come back to his senses, Mark gave him a funny look. “It’s okay, Kid. Don’t you worry about me. I know what I’m doing. That stink back in the cave left me with a bad taste in my mouth.” Sam tossed the bottle off into the brush. Mark felt himself compelled to ask one more question, before they took off, so he continued to put up a fuss. “What about all that stuff back in the cave? You don’t think…you don’t believe…I mean, what was that all about?” Sam looked Mark right in the eyes, “I ain’t worried about that idiot’s hocus-pocus! He can cast spells all he wants. The world doesn’t work that way. Wishing will you only get you so far. Don’t you know that?” Sam reared his horse around,”Okay, men. Let’s ride!” The Kid was beginning to get on his nerve, and it ticked him off.

The manhunt was once again underway in that miserably cold rainy weather. Mark fell in line and behaved himself, as a good soldier should. Sam had gotten him to thinking the worst, too, but he was hoping Sam was right, and if that man had cast a spell on them, it wouldn’t work. Mark really did want to believe that, but his old self and his old ways wouldn’t let him. The Kid wished he could make his old self magically disappear, but like Sam said, the world doesn’t work that way. Mark was shivering, and feeling pretty darn miserable himself. He took it out on Sam by wondering why he was going so slow, and cursed him under his breathe. There was no trail to follow, so the ride was naturally rough-n-tough. Sam was having a difficult time seeing, and following the man’s tracks. Right then and there, he promised himself he’d go and get those damn spectacles his doctor had been recommending. But he was able to follow the tracks, all the way to the river. Before they crossed, Sam got off his horse, and led him to water. His men took the cue, and mimicking Sam, followed suit. After a few minutes of stretching their legs, they crossed on over, and picked up the murderer’s tracks. He was still headed north. This frustrated Sam to no end. They hadn’t gone far before the tracks headed back west. After they’d reached the road, the tracks continued northward. By that time the rain was sticking, and freezing to every single thing it touched. It was a half-hour ride from there to Bedlam, and another hour from Bedlam to their town. Sam already had a headache, and the impending doom wasn’t helping matters at all.

Si voleu portar el compte d’entrenaments, hores, kms, … us recomano www.yourtrainings.com, feu click per veure que faig jo: http://yourtrainings.com/francjc/

Per altra banda aquesta setmana he acabat d’apretar de cara a la cursa de l’esquiador (queden 7 dies!). Menys avui cada dia he fet alguna coseta… ahir per exemple vaig fer el recorregut de la cursa del 2007, fent un temps de 2h01 (segons la classificació d’aquell any hagués quedat el 170 de 450, a uns 40′ del primer)

No us perdeu el video…

i si voleu aprofundir en el tema: Red Bull Dolomitenmann
+ videos   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJVs7xp1Dhc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DS5ycic5t9w

Letter to the editor,

All the king’s men, i.e. top generals and army psychiatrists together, cannot explain the suicides of both stateside and war-zone military personal over the last few years. This year (2009) already 140 active duty soldiers have committed the final act. Has anyone considered the nature of a curse having been issued by our enemy? No professional wants to consider this concept as a valid causal link.

So will someone try to explain the frenzy of the real estate markets and the risks that the banking and mortgage industry took? The statistical odds for failure, which the financial markets experienced, are totally unexplainable. But how about giving the notion of a curse issued by the enemy as a primary cause?

Hence the conclusion: When America stepped foot on Islamic soil, was a curse was issued by our enemy? America’s great military faces suicides, and America’s great financial markets collapse. And still America doesn’t accept curses as real.

Sincerely,
Robert Fournier

The above was a letter sent to a newspaper for publication. Perhaps if we did a poll to expose how many folks in America are believers we might gain about a number around 50% that claim some religious association. If spiritual economics is going to make sense then it can only be applied to believers. All others may be simply out of the loop. Hence the notion of a curse can flourish outside the loop and the idea of a curse might simply be left to graphic novel artists and Hollywood horror movies. We do have a problem, then,

What can those fully aware of the concept of a curse do to assist those unsuspecting of such a reality? They must pray for others. They may commence an awakening through their assemblies. They may initiate an education program to teach the before and after of “The Garden of Eden’s expulsion”. They can tutor the concept of healing while playing down that healing stuff exploited on magical TV. Otherwise they may be subject to the general and common “good” of the society in which they live.

If the common good decides that a sports stadium or performing arts building is the way to go, then the nickels and dimes collected to build such facilities will come out of every single participant within a society.
If the powers that control a society believe that the banking system must be saved for the general welfare then everyone, including the yet-to-be-born, within such a society may have to pay for the bailouts or whatever it may be called.

This is where we might be at. If we build roadways upon which .0001 % of folks using the system will be killed, then lets the statistics speak for themselves. But if in a change of events the .0001 become .001% then something needs to be examined.

Hence there can be no such thing as spiritual economics? Must we hit our leaders over the head with the metaphorical sledgehammer to cause them recognize the nature of a curse or must all suffer the consequences of a non-religious society and dance in the streets with the declaration of separation of church and State? I, for one, demand equal rights to explain the nature of curses. Graphic novelists assist me with this idea!

Stunned into a state of shock such as they’d never before experienced, the men turned around and headed for fresh, clean air. With puzzled faces and mixed emotions, the posse proceeded to clear the area. Each and every man had their own set of questions. These questions pertained to meaning, intent, and purpose. Most of the men perceived the whole otherworldly ceremony as a sick, gross joke. The bastard had lost his mind and gone berserk. Simple as that. Nothing more needed to be said. He was a menace to society, and beyond help. It was their job to catch the murderer. He must pay for his crimes, and he would pay with his life. The penalty was death. There could be no compromise. Sure they had misgivings, but that bloody, crazy act did not increase their fears of going after this man, and carrying out their duty. Curses and spells and such belonged in fairy tales. They had no place in the minds of grown men.

Mark, the youngest of the bunch, was raised to believe differently from these men, although he wished he would soon ‘grow out of it’. He was old-fashioned. He had yet to shake off the aftereffects of his upbringing, which included all that ‘mumbo jumbo’ in The Bible that he used to believe wholeheartedly. For the most part, he denied the fact that he still retained a part of that imaginative belief system. Yes, even though he knew it wasn’t his fault, nor was it something he willfully chose to put his faith in, nevertheless, he berated and condemned himself for ever having believed it in the first place. Concerning these matters, Mark wasn’t about to fess up to his brethren. No, not hardly.

Because of Mark’s long-held beliefs, and because of what he had just seen back there, he was inclined to view the murderer as an evil villain, not as someone who was insane. He saw him as a purpose-driven man who knew exactly what he was doing. Mark’s question as he exited the cave came down to this: Was it really possible for a man to be possessed by evil spirits? He’d never before come into contact, or personally confronted a man who’d been labeled as such, so he didn’t really know if he believed it, or not. He couldn’t rule it out, and this troubled him greatly. Mark left the question open, and since he had done that, he alone out of the group was leery of the pursuit. Mark thought himself a man, and he was ‘toughing it out’. He kept his fears tucked away, and hidden from his cohorts. Mark admired the way Sam took charge. In the past, when he himself had tried to ‘talk tough’, no one took him seriously, so he doubted his own meritorious valor. Some young men believe they have to prove themselves. Mark had more to prove than all the others. So as soon as they were out of that hellhole, Mark volunteered himself to be the man who would make his way to the top. “Okay, kid.” Sam relented. “Just be careful. Here, take this lantern, but don’t drop it. It’s breakable.” Mark was more than thrilled, and he took the slippery slope to task.

In a silent procession, Sam led the rest of his men back down to planet Earth. The rain on the ground had now turned to slush. The footing was pretty slick, and it was still sprinkling a bit, but they managed alright, as did Mark. By the time they’d reached their horses, Mark had already found the murderer’s muddy tracks. He crept towards the precipice and shouted, “He was here! He headed east!” Sam yelled back, “Okay! Now get on down here!” It was going on about ten o’clock by that time. Sam walked to his horse, and opened up the saddlebag once again, pulling out more deer jerky. It would give him strength, or so he concluded. He passed it around to his men, and put some aside for Mark. Then he went back to his saddle, and broke out a bottle of whiskey. “Something to calm my nerves would be good right now.” That was one of his reasons for bringing it. Those men were part and parcel for his other reason. “A little ‘courage in a bottle’ won’t do them any harm, and it’ll help them get up the gumption for the chase.” Sam had himself a couple of swigs and passed it around. About that time, Mark showed up happier than hell to have accomplished his daring feat, and Sam said nothing. Sam already knew Mark didn’t drink the stuff, so he went back and grabbed his canteen of water. He handed it to Mark, along with his share of jerky, and took the lantern from his hand. Then Sam addressed the whole gang, “What do you say boys? Are you ready for this?” Cries rang out all at once. “Hell, yes!” “You bet we are!” “Damn right!” Mark swallowed real quick and joined in late, “Let’s go get that sonuvabitch!” That’s exactly what Sam wanted to hear.

“Mount up, men! If I remember correctly, just around the bend of the river there’s a place where we can get up to the top of the cliff, so follow me, and let’s ride!” Now hanging from their saddles, and from their horse’s manes were icicles just beginning to find their form. The horses also seemed ready to vacate the place, and happily obliged the call to giddy-up and go.

Sam’s memory served them well, and they did find their way to higher ground. The murderer’s embedded prints were found, and they followed his muddy tracks along the trail less traveled. Sam felt like death warmed over, even though he was colder than hell. After a short jaunt, he took to an easier pace. He wasn’t in that big of a hurry, because he was still of a mind to call off the chase once they’d reached the road that would take them back to the river, and from there to Bedlam and beyond. “That man has surely headed off to Mexico, if he has any sense left at all,” Sam figured, and he wasn’t ready, willing, nor able to pursue the criminal to God knows where. He didn’t believe these cowboys would mind, nor would they scoff at his preordained decision. Sam thought they were mostly in it for the money, and mostly he was correct in that assumption. I say mostly because…Mark still had something to prove. He was more than willing and ready to go to the ends of the earth, if only Sam were to ask that of him.

One totally miserable half-hour later, the posse arrived at the main road, and found themselves in the grips of indecision. The murderer’s tracks not only went south, but they were going to the north as well. It looked as if that vicious killer couldn’t make up his mind, either. The men had never actually seen Sam confused up until that moment. He loudly threw his question up for grabs, “Why in the hell did he hesitate?” Without waiting for an answer, he rode south a little ways. “They stop right here.” Mark turned his horse and walked to the north for about 20 yards. “They stop here, too. Hold on a second!” Mark took a closer look, and walked to the side of the road. “He got off here and went that way,” he said as he pointed in an easterly direction. “Let me see how far these go.” Mark followed the tracks for just a short ways, turned to the left and went another 20 yards before seeing, and thus realizing, the man’s directed intentions. “Oh, my God! Sam! He’s headed north, back towards town!”

“It is the peculiar and perpetual error of the human understanding to be more moved and excited by affirmatives than by negatives.” – Francis Bacon

Curses are another form of wishful or magical thinking, and though there are positive curses, most of the time they are thought of in a negative sense, in an attempt to bring harm to someone else or another organization. While most people use curses as a way to relieve pent up feelings of anger, maybe helping to prove wishful thinking’s health benefits, others will utilize curses believing that they will bring benefit to themselves while harming others. Since there seems to be a built-in tendency on the part of the human brain towards wishful thinking, and that human thought can alter events and even objects, it is no wonder that so many people actually believe in magical or wishful thinking and its power to affect events.

Appearing February 6th in the New York Times is a story about a small research lab at Princeton University. “Over almost three decades, a small laboratory at Princeton University managed to embarrass university administrators, outrage Nobel laureates, entice the support of philanthropists and make headlines around the world with its efforts to prove that thoughts can alter the course of events… The laboratory has conducted studies on extrasensory perception and telekinesis from its cramped quarters in the basement of the university’s engineering building since 1979…. But at the end of the month, the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research laboratory, or PEAR, will close, not because of controversy but because, its founder says, it is time.” The history of wishful and magical thinking is long and is enticing to many of our fellows on this planet, especially in places where the basic tenets of science are not well established.

The very best curses (if there can be such a thing) in my opinion are those that make you stop and think about what they really mean. Three curses that fit that description and are linked together (their origin is a bit unclear) and in order of increasing severity are: May you live in interesting times, May you come to the attention of those in authority and May you find what you are looking for. Some curses are related to sporting events: The curse of the bambino is very well know, but recently annulled. There are many other curses perceived to be related to sports or to those participating in sports. One is that athletes appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated are likely to suffer setbacks in their careers or to become injured.

“Confirmation bias refers to a type of selective thinking whereby one tends to notice and to look for what confirms one’s beliefs, and to ignore, not look for, or undervalue the relevance of what contradicts one’s beliefs. For example, if you believe that during a full moon there is an increase in admissions to the emergency room where you work, you will take notice of admissions during a full moon, but be inattentive to the moon when admissions occur during other nights of the month. A tendency to do this over time unjustifiably strengthens your belief in the relationship between the full moon and accidents and other lunar effects.” (Skeptics Dictionary)

“Curses seem to have been a regular part of ancient cultures and may have been a way to frighten enemies and explain the apparent injustices of the world. There is no evidence that anyone has successfully invoked occult powers to do harm to others, but there is evidence that those who believe they have been cursed can be made miserable by exploiting that belief. Fear and the human tendency to confirmation bias and selective thinking can sometimes lead the believer to fulfill the curse.” (Wikipedia)

The power of the mind, while of dubious efficacy on external events has been demonstrated to have power over internal body processes – partly due to the power of positive thinking. The US Food and Drug Administration states that “Research has confirmed that a fake treatment, made from an inactive substance like sugar, distilled water, or saline solution, can have a “placebo effect”–that is, the sham medication can sometimes improve a patient’s condition simply because the person has the expectation that it will be helpful. For a given medical condition, it’s not unusual for one-third of patients to feel better in response to treatment with placebo.” “Expectation is a powerful thing,” says Robert DeLap, M.D., head of one of the Food and Drug Administration’s Offices of Drug Evaluation. “The more you believe you’re going to benefit from a treatment, the more likely it is that you will experience a benefit.” What about the power of positive expectations in organizational life? Are there benefits from that as well? From my experiences with various organizations I would have to respond affirmatively, though I can’t point to any definitive work proving that.

For someone who has a strong belief, a curse is in essence a negative Placebo effect. They expect something bad to happen and will begin looking for it. When something unfortunate happens, as it is likely to do in life, a ready explanation is available.  From an organizational standpoint and an interpersonal standpoint, I don’t think many of us would have to think very hard before we came across someone who we have crossed paths with or an organization, upon which we could lay a well deserved curse, the telephone company or the cable company somehow spring to mind. But in general organizations and most people are indifferent to such things.

The thing is, if you have organizations filled with people, and people have these natural tendencies, it becomes a very interesting thought experiment regarding how to maximize performance of the organization. Superstitious beliefs and the belief in wishful or magical thinking while not hard to find in places like the USA is even more predominant in the 3^rd world, where large portions of the population may not be exposed to the common scientific rationales as to why things happen. I remember one organization in China I was working with that had to bring in an expatriate human resources manager, because the previous Chinese one, had died during a business meeting and this was viewed by potential replacements as an ominous sign and not one of them would take the position. 

Managements of organizations can have a tendency to assume that organizations are filled with logical rational beings and that their customers make decisions that way as well. However, some recent work seems to point in some other interesting directions. “The best decisions do not always derive from analytical reasoning, says Dr. Matthias Rosenberger, research associate at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at Chemnitz University of Technology. The fact that emotional and subconscious principles, that is, the gut feeling, significantly influence our decisions is verified by latest research findings in psychology. Intuitive decisions are more reliable and make us feel more comfortable.” But what are these gut feel decisions based upon?

Without mystery there is no freedom to choose. 

Deu 30:19-20 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord you God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

God laid it out to the Israelites with 2 choices; life = blessings, death = curses. It seems like a simple decision right there. Who wants to choose death anyway? God says, “Now choose life.” NOW. TODAY. We have to choose Life today! The Lord is our life.

We find it hard to choose life today because the ‘life’ we have is like a curse, death, disappointments, failures, ended paths, hopelessness and tainted of what true life is. We live in a world of death, therefore God urges us to choose Him, choose life so we and our children may love Him, hear Him, hold fast to Him because life with Him comes blessings that overrides death.

I used to hate ‘life’ because what I had wasn’t life it was death. So what I really hated was death. Having death now crucified on the cross with Jesus, I now have life. I have God! Oh, He loves me so much! God, you exchanged my death to give me life!

Today, I choose God, I choose life. Through God and His life, He restores all hopelessness, curses, death with LIFE, BLESSINGS, HEALTH, HOPE, FUTURE, JOY and FREEDOM forever and ever!

(scrub to 2:10 for a heavenly “noodle”)

I’m sure you’ve seen this Holy Ghost! + VBS.tv “thing”, so have I, but lately I’ve been watching it in unhealthy amounts (looks @sparkletone.) It seems that ever since I got hooked up with that Limited Edition HG! Vinyl from Green Sound Label, I’ve had all their tunes on repeat. Anyway, in case you haven’t seen the video, it’s basically a walk-through of Nick and Alex’s home studios as well as some commentary on how they put a song together. Overall, this little clip does a great job of illustrating the personalities behind Holy Ghost!.

If you’d like to see more video’s like the one posted up top, you should definitely add Motherboard to your bookmarks, they offer lot’s of impressive stuff ranging from art + design to music to film to the environment to… Well, you get it.

Lastly, to further prove my obsession with Holy Ghost!, here are a handful of their remixes and dubs that I recently downloaded. Most of which are “old”, but at the same time, still legit. I can’t wait for these guys’ album to drop next year!

Curses! – The Deep End (Holy Ghost! Remix)
Datarock – The Pretender (Holy Ghost Remix Dub)
In Flagranti – Business Acumen (Holy Ghost! Cover Version)
Only Fools And Horses – Spectacle Wins (Holy Ghost! Remix)
Panthers – Goblin City (Holy Ghost! Disco Dub)

Beats™

That you left something doesn’t mean that it has left you. eg: You decide to leave a bullet wound untreated, it doesn’t mean that the bullet wound will leave you in turn. Ignoring your problems doesn’t make them go away. Leaving an infection doesn’t cure it, infact it makes it spread.

Am not saying that you should focus on your problems. Far be it from me!! But am saying that you should acnowledge the problem and focus on a solution.

You don’t turn a blind eye or walk away from something you don’t desire. Instead you remove it. You don’t just decide to walk away (decide to ignore) from a character you don’t like, you remove it.

But it doesn’t just end there. You don’t just remove it you replace it with something desirable because nature abhors vaccum. Jesus told a story of a demon that was driven out from a place and the demon came around later but on seeing that the place was empty reocupied the place but this time it came with reinforcement.

This brings us to the subject of  convenants. A lot of people are bound by convenants they didn’t enter but were put into. Just like when you destroy a tree/seed, you didn’t just destroy the seed but it’s decsendants. That is thousands of trees and seeds/trees that was inside it and when a seed is planted it’s descendants are also released. In the same way that when a tree is destroyed, thousands of it’s offspring is also destroyed so is it that when a tree enters a convenant it’s descendants are also inserted in the convenant. So when a person makes a convenant, his descendants are bound by it because at that time they are still inside him and are still a part of him. Because of this a lot of people are bound with convenants they wouldn’t willingly make because when it was made they didn’t have a choice. The  worst part of it is been ignorant of this convenant. Suffering and not knowing why you are suffering. But when a child is born he/she is now seperated from the parents. Due to the fact that you are now seperate from the origin you can now disconnect from it. But when it was made, you were still part of your parent, inside them, choiceless.  Just like you  inherit things from your parents, not just biological traits but spiritual traits.

Leaving an ancestral convenant is not what counts, what counts is what you are leaving it for. You don’t just leave a convenant you have to replace it with a higher convenant. I can only recomend one that works, that is entering a convenant with Jesus christ.

A governor who leaves office and retires incures the risk of been  crushed by his/her enemies in the government house(This is one of the reasons why politicians retire quite late). Also a governor who leaves office and enters the office of a mayor is going to suffer in the hands of his enemies in the government house. When you leave something (An ancestral curse/convenant) , do well to go for a higher substitute. When you leave the government house as governor, go for presidential, senate, federal seat somplace higher. Then your foes in the government house will desist from you knowing that you left them for a higher power, a power capable of crushing them. It is in the same way that when you run from an ancestral convenant/curse, you look for a higher convenant. A curse is not just removed, it’s replaced with a blessing. I know of one i can recomend, that is that of jesus christ the son of the only living God, that is the highest convenant you can ever enter(The name of the lord is a strong tower, the righteous run into and are safe).

Case Study: The isrealites left the convenant that was made by there ancestor Abraham with God. They forgot and left Him and went for lower convenants with dead gods. But God didn’t leave them neither did He forget them but was always with them even in exile and punished, because of the convenant, a convenant their fathers and not they made. The isrealites couldn’t enter a higher convenant because they were connected to the highest one. Also if you noticed in the bible, people that left their gods for the true God lived in peace (ie: Abraham and Rahab) while those who left the true God for smaller ones lived in torment (eg: Isreal and judah)

Convenants are not broken, they are replaced by higher and better ones. they that are in Christ are new creatures behold old things have passed away and i have made all things new(2cor5:17)

In the end i think it might be safe to say that convenants are broken or that they are broken when they are replaced with higher ones.

“Dream” continued
Now recall that eighty or so pages ago I suggested that America was under an economic curse when they (the military) trespassed upon sacred Islamic soil. The whole matter began when Saudi Arabia discontinued buying up US Treasury notes. The Islamic Culture forbids any material cooperation with such an evil country such as the United States. This was correct thinking according to their religious beliefs. This was not a curse. The curse was an entirely different kind of defense weapon. I am not exactly what the curse was but it could have been the curse of greed and confusion with the consequential failures of bankers to double check their applications for mortgages and the like. Folks who never owned a single clad board of real property were making false statements on the applications for loans without any concrete means of making monthly payments. The bankers went crazy collecting fees and commissions in the front and passing the stacks of mortgages on to investment firms and the like. All common sense and good business knowledge was tossed to the wind. This suicide of the banking system is just as illogical as the suicides of some military stationed on Islamic soil.

This is off the wall frenzy-logic? Is anyone able to pull my interpretations of spiritual economics together? Assuming that curses are real and part of the evil side of human nature, how is the unsuspecting person able to ward of a curse? Hence, come forth experts who dare to deny the existence of curses but all the king’s men cannot put back together the banking system as hard as they try… because the curse may be upon them as they scheme up new ways of printing money.

For all the folks who say they do not believe in curses, I have this answer; “Well I don’t believe in accidents either, but I carry insurance on my car.” This can be a very vicious circle, except for all those who recognize the evilness of curses as a valid reality. They may be calling for a new religious awakening within the United States just like we had before the Revolutionary War and a second awakening before the Civil War.

Is it too late to save the United States from wrecking itself on the rocks in this terrible economic turmoil? Let’s not forget that there were millions of common sense folks who refused to get involved in the shark frenzy that corrupted so many get rich investors. Even today we have investors who might want to take a chance on bottom price real estate but they are reluctant to make a go of it. Hence properties at a 50% discount have permanent for sale signs on the front lawns.

The United States as well as the rest of the world can save itself but it is going to take a whole new bunch of banking and investment rules to make it work. It should be “pay and pray as you go” instead of borrowing money from the fat cats. As a matter of fact it is perhaps time for the fat cats to distribute their dollars all about at like 0% interest so that economics can get a new grip upon manufacturing and the like.
Instead the fat cats have the lobby in their pockets and expect the cost of their primary failures to be passed on to every single person (including the unborn) as if they can nickel and dime their way out of the mess they created.

Let’s get this straight. The free economic capitalist system is not in the Bill of Rights nor is it an amendment in our Constitution. Congress and the presidential department of our government have got it wrong. It’s time for many of these representatives to resign.

Your name is holy (You are the sovereign I AM) (Brian Doerkson)
Better is one day (Matt Redman)
Facedown (Matt Redman)
I love your presence (Darren Clark/ Jessie Lane)

I am a huge fan of God moments. This morning Chris “the pastor” was supposed to speak on community…he’s doing a whole series on it…but then God took over the service and did His own thing. Chris went up during announcements and (while shaking) told the congregation how angry he was about how Christians are ok with settling. He said he was angry with himself and us about how we settle and we grow comfortable with sin in our lives…we compromise…we work on the stuff that others can see, but the internal stuff (pride, holding on to hurts, unforgiveness, etc) we just let fester and we don’t deal with it. He was so angry he decided to take a moment to cool off. Brett went to up and he was supposed to go do announcements about youth stuff but then he ended up giving a 15 minute mini-preach about how we have compromised and accepted the world’s view of relationships. Stats say that the divorce rate between Christian couples and non-Christian couples is exactly the same…yet we as Christians know that marriage is an earthly example of Christ’s relationship with the Church…so what are we saying about our relationship with Christ? Are we displaying the love of Christ?

One topic that has been discussed a lot this past week by Brett and Val is little comments that, although they are meant as jokes, they are very likely to cause “problems” in marriages. For example, people who refer to their wives as “the old ball and chain” or something similar…if my (possible future) husband called me that, it would hurt and I don’t think it would be displaying his love to me, which might lead me to become less amped about loving him. Also, what picture are you presenting to the young men around you who may be thinking about marriage? And yes it’s a joke, and it may be funny, but it may also cause hurt. Marriage is a beautiful thing (picture), but if we keep tearing at it and making fun of it, it may lose it’s significance, it’s beauty, it’s meaning…and that, inho, is one of the main causes of divorces today.

Evening service is taking on a different look as most of the students have finished for the year and have gone home…so it looks less like a service and more like a gathering – no music, no formal preach, just a “hey let’s get together and worship differently”… We had around 15 people tonight and we sat in a circle and pretty much discussed the issue of building each other up and blessing each other instead of ripping into each other and making those jokes that may seem innocent but may also break the other person down unintentionally…so basically continuing the morning’s talk but with a focus of us as a congregation rather than marriage context. We pretty much realised that course talk (Ephesians 5) can lead to hurt, e.g. if you make a joke about someone and they take it the wrong way. And also, even if the other person takes it as a joke, if someone else walks by, not knowing the context of the joke or the relationship between the joker and the jokee, will the words of your mouth speak blessings or curses to them…will they see the love of Christ in your words?

So basically lesson of the day: watch what you say. Build each other up. Verbally bless one another.

Such a super awesome day!

For more setlists and sermon recaps go to FredMcCommick.com…

When Paul Stembridge came looking for his missing brother Geoffrey, Susan Lord could not know he had brought a family curse with him. Susan fell in love with Paul, married him, and in her happiness, all thoughts of Geoffrey were forgotten.

But soon a subtle change came over Paul. gradually Susan realised that he wanted her for one purpose only – to help him break the curse.

What had become of the missing Geoffrey? If the curse had taken him, then Susan, too, was in danger. Captive of a family plagued by voilence, Susan faced a legacy of evil that spanned more than a century.

She had to learn the secret of the Stembridge curse – or die a victim of it.

Writen by Nancy Taylor Smith. First Ace printing August 1974.

Set in the early 1900’s this is an exotic excursion into the world of old time tropical plantations and dark family secrets, with a smattering of voodoo adding intrique to the mix.

Susan Lord works in the Ossadaga Public Library, lives in the local boarding house and feels life is passing her by. A self proclaimed old maid at 25 (weren’t those the days!) you can imagine her excitement when the mysterious, tall, dark and handsome Paul Stembridge comes into town. A whirlwind romance follows and soon enough Susan is  married and whisked off to Stembridge’s grand West Indian stately mansion.

Well, marriage is not all it’s cracked up to be for Susan, with Mr Right very quickly turning into Mr Completely Appalling as he becomes increasingly moody, abusive and controlling toward his spouse. Then there’s the hostile family and the West Indian ghost’s or duppies to put up with, as well as the resident family witch leaving voodoo dolls in her underwear drawer.

Like all great gothic heroines, Susan takes whatever’s thrown at her, even her husband’s punches, and carries on trying to mantain some semblance of normality, while all is heaving and seething around her.

Gradually more and more clues lead her to the truth behind her brother in laws  dissappearance and,  as befittng such a glamorous location, things come to a stormy, windswept climax during a thundery hurricane – when Susan finds true love in the arms of her rescuer as the mystery behind the Stembridge family curse is finally revealed.

For connoisseurs of the creepy, this book has a little something for everyone. There’s black magic, white magic, haunted houses, madness and hidden treasure. There’s even the grisly remains of a body hidden right under everyone’s noses – I won’t say where but the clue is in the title. Three out of five stars.

Another Dream Self-Interpreted

I am driving down a perimeter road off an expressway at night. A cop stops me for driving too slow. He wants to know what business I have driving 20-mph. I answer that I am looking for the security guard who watches the property to the right. The cop asks me to exit my car. He calls for back up. When back up arrives he grabs me about my neck and has a 4-inch knife to my juggler vein. The other cops pull their service guns but this cop pulls me back into a corner where they do not have a clear shot at their fellow officer (they must protect the innocent at the expense of using deadly force).

What do I do when I realize my life is in jeopardy and the cop is trying to commit suicide by the police? Immediately I pray, “where are you, this is not supposed to be happening, you are my protector…” Before I can finish my prayer the cop drops the knife proving to me that my God is not sleeping on the job. Next thing I do is ask that the other police to holster their weapons as their brother has lost it and is under a great deal of stress. Then I hug the cop who put my life at risk and whisper into his ear. “It’s OK, let these fellow officers take you to a hospital. I forgive you. “

This was an actual dream I had two days before Veterans Day. What is it all about? The night before I had this dream I was trying to figure out the high rate of suicides that the American Military has been experiencing ever since they entered the War in Iraq. I had been studying this subject for years since no one had been able to explain them. A “Dear John” letter is hardly sufficient reasoning. It’s far too complicated for common person to comprehend.

However there might be a solution that may save many soldiers’ lives.
Recall my dream was about granting forgiveness. Hence the nature of forgiveness needs to be included in basic training. Somehow Chaplains have got to explain the nature of forgiveness to soldiers who do: “kill of be killed” while on active duty in a war zone. If the foot soldier were able to understand the nature of religious forgiveness, then many might be able to deal with the terrible acts they are required to commit while on active duty in a war zone. It’s too late to give them a lesson in religion at a gravesite.

There are some soldiers who might become cursed when they kill others in battle. Are they basically equipped to spiritually deal with what can be explained as a curse? This is where the Military Chaplains must step in to action.

Since out Commander and Chief is without this kind of lifetime experience, what is a military person to do when he/she gets caught up in some kind of a depression? Perhaps I should send a copy of this blog to our Commander and Chief.

Mira que hi ha una bona colla de frikis pel món!!! jo pensava que en seriem pocs, però erem uns quants que el diumenge passat estàvem a les 6 del matí a Santpedor per agafar una autocar que ens portés fins a Berga i que ens deixés literalment tirats al Poliesportiu i que a les 7 comencéssim a córrer per tornar a Santpedor… i tot això amb un fred de collons i a sobre pagant!!!

Qui m’hagués dit a mi, fa dos anys que ho faria i que a sobre m’agradaria!!?!¿!?

Doncs, si tu… erem uns quants els que a les 6 del matí i amb una temperatura de 0 graus estàvem esperant els autocars que ens portéssin de Berga a Santpedor. De fet la travessa, és una típica del calendari català ja que enguany és la 25a edició, http://www.2×2.cat/BS-2009/index.php i la primera vegada que jo en sentia a parlar…

Consta de 55km, que fas des del Poliesportiu de Berga fins a Santpedor, i que passes per els pobles més entranyables de la zona a on precisament la organització hi possava els controls i avituallaments.

De fet és una travessa que es pot fer a peu/corrent o en bicicleta, i que la veritat és que està molt més ben muntada per la bicicleta que pels caminants/corredors. Básicament per que els ciclistes multipliquen per 10 la gent que va corrent i això provoca que els que anem corrent ens trobem en els controls i avituallaments la munió dels ciclistes… i per altra banda, una tonteria però que no em va agradar és que com que les bicicletes van més ràpid que els que ànem corrents quan vaig arribar ja no quedaven samarretes de la talla L!!! ja les havien donat totes!! i jo pregunto… tant complicat és preguntar les talles a l’hora d’inscriure’t com fan a moltes curses?? i així tothom tindrà samarreta i se la podrà possar!

Però bé… la travessa al principi l’anava a fer sol, però vaig trucar a en Manel (tot s’ha de dir que no em va costar gens convencer-lo) i en un moment ja erem dos altre cop a la línia de sortida a les 7 a Berga amb molt de fred.

La tirada es molt bónica, passes per boscos preciosos i camins encantadors que van unint Berga, Avià, Casserres, Viver, St Cugat, Vilaredes, Castellnou i per fi Santpedor. Els desnivells tampoc són gens exagerats ja que són només 1100 m de pujada i 1400 en negatiu.

Però a tot això, vem començar molt forts… anàvem a una mitjana de 8km per hora, cosa que per muntanya no està gens malament… de fet, era en Manel que tirava… jo només intentava seguir-lo. La veritat és que el tio està molt fort, ja que just acabava de venir de fer la Marató del Pol Nord i portava bastant de temps entrenant per fer una marató a 25 graus sota cero… podeu veure la seva crónica en aquest blog: http://www.alua.es/blogs/alua/?p=692

Doncs això, el tiu esta molt fort i jo només mirava de seguir-lo.. de fet anavem massa forts per el ritme que voliem portar… tant que a la primera pujada forta els dos ens vam trobar sense forces així que vam haver d’invocar a SANT IBUBOPROFÉ!!! i si! va fer aparició i ens va ajudar a seguir tirant fortets… Som uns yonkis

Una de les coses que vaig trobar és que el primer control està al massa lluny, ja que fins gairebe als 21 no vam trobar el primer control… això si, ple de bicicletes… però on hi havia un entrepà de butifarra que hi cantaven els àngels!!! i qui diu que després de menjar no s’ha de fer activitat i ni molt menys córrer??? doncs aquí estan dos per desmentir-ho! va ser agafar l’entrepà i en dos queixalades endrapar-lo i seguir tirant per que fotia tal fred que si et paraves més estona t’asseguro que no seguies… que et quedaves del tot glaçat!!!

Els kilòmetres anaven passant i els controls i avituallament també, de fet, és graciós per que als ciclistes els hi fa gràcia trobar-se amb gent que va corrent per la muntanya i ens anaven animant… cosa que s’agraeix moltíssim!!

Hi ha moltes estones de camins que es deixen córrer perfectament i les vistes són absolutament precioses, ja que veus a la teva esquena tot el pre-pirineu català i de cara Montserrat….

Al final,vam arribar a SanPedor en 8 horetes, ja que quan vam arribar el control dels 40km… vem decidir baixar el ritme ja que sinó al dia següent no ens podríem ni moure… de fet, ja em va costar el dilluns tirar endavant!!!

Ah!, Per cert, no tinc fotos, per que em vaig deixar la càmera carregant a casa… així que si voleu mirar les fotos de la organització a on per cert… no surtim enlloc…. http://picasaweb.google.es/bergasantpedor/BergaSantpedor20091#

Vinga.. fins aviat!! només em queda animar a en Pere.. que es recuperi ràpid del genoll que la muntanya el troba a faltar!!!

hello nice reederz its dennis the vizsla dog hay yes it is wunse agin time for the sun day awards and meem show!!!  and i am verry hopeful that this week we wil finaly be gitting a noo theem song as i hav invited the faymus minstrel yusuf islam to come and rite a song for me this time!!!

oh this sownds promissing!!! ok lets begin!!!

wel now this week we only hav wun award and as yoo may hav notisd i hav ben saying sun day insted of sunday that is becuz this weeks award is the ra award from the purple hatter and ra of korse is the sun god of the mithical land of aynchent eejypt!!! and he is also a faymus for having a staf wot shows ware the arc of the kovenant is berreed!!!

now this is a verry verry dramatik award on akkownt of it is kursd chek owt wot the purple hatter sez abowt it!!!

I HAVE PICKED ELEVEN PEOPLE FOR THIS AWARD TO BE RECEIVED THIS NUMBER HAS A MEANING OF THE 11 DIFFERENT REALMS IN WHICH SURROUNDS THIS EARTH. ELEVEN IS A POWERFUL NUMBER FOR IT IS THE NUMBER OF WISDOM. TAKE THIS AWARD WITH HONOR AND PASS IT ONTO 11 MORE OR A CURSE WILL FOLLOW YOUR BLOG FOREVER.

ok i am reddy to go kurse busting luk i hav my pith helmet on!!!

all rite this luks like the start of another grayt adventcher!!! i am totaly reddy to brayk this kurse!!! i — wot??? oh i hav just ben informd that the kurse has alreddy ben broken by sumwun else!!!

UP-DATE

THE CURSE HAS BEEN LIFTED BY OVERWHELMING POSITIVE ATTRIBUTES OF THOSE WHICH DECLINED THE AWARD.

BUT A NEW RULE HAS NOW BEEN FORTH COMING……

THE NEW RULE IS THE ONLY RULE IF YOU SO CHOSE TO TAKE THE AWARD….

RULE:  TO BE GOD LIKE IS TO BE POSITIVE IN YOUR DAILY WALK, WITH  THE SEVENTH DAY AS REST.FOR THE NUMBER 7 IS A LUCKY NUMBER AND ON THE SEVENTH DAY YOU MUST GIVE THIS AWARD TO ONE VERY SPECIAL PERSON THAT MUST PASS IT ON TO ANOTHER ON THE NEXT SEVENTH DAY.

wot??? i dont git to go kurse busting and i hav to wayt seven days before i can pass the award on???? that is like fortynine dog days!!!! oh oh oh oh the wayting reely is the hardest part!!!! but i can do it becuz i am dennis the vizsla dog and i no wen to hold em and i no wen to fold em and i no wen to wawk away and — oh sorry i almost got kountry their for a minnit!!! wel ennyway toon in nekst week to see hoo gits the kurse-free ra award and posibly also to lern the wareabowts of the arc of the kovenant is hiddin!!! ok mr yusuf hav yoo come up with a theem song for me yet???

James Venner was a bluff county squire; his wife kindly but fussy; his daughter withdrawn and secretive; and his only son, Tarquin, a musical prodigy of genius. Their lonely house in Devon seemed a sanctuary to young violinist, Vanessa Orchard, who went to live with them to coach Tarquin.

But the family had a strange history…. Terror came to Vanessa in inexplicable ways – and Death was waiting in attendance at HOUSE MALIGN.

Written by Julie Wellsley and published as a Mayflower-Dell paperback 1967.

Having already read and reviewed Julie Wellsley’s Chateau of Secrets I was pretty excited when I stumbled upon this gothic romance tucked away in the Fifteenth Century Bookshop in Lewes recently – and what a bargain for 20p!

Like Chateau of Secrets, this story centers around the grim and ghostly goings on when a young woman, in this case the violinist Vanessa, ends up living with a rather strange family in a rather isolated area. Vanessa needs to escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, in order to grieve over the death of her father and re-evaluate her life, so she jumps at the chance to work as a live-in music tutor with the Venner family in Devon.

The suspense builds nicely as Vanessa finds herself increasingly cut off from her friends and embroiled within some rather strange goings on. There are hints at a terrible curse overshadowing the isolated old farmhouse and with the bad weather comes bad dreams and premonitions that someone or something is out to get her. Armed wth nothing but her trusty violin and with no-one but the local vicar to confide in, Vanessa ends up fighting for her life and sanity as the story builds to its fiery climax.

This is an atmospheric suspense novel with some nice gothic touches. We have violins, madness, strange midnight whisperings, foggy, deadly landscapes and a mangled kitten in the bed scene. The Venner famly are very weird, especially the child prodigy with a penchant for nazi memorabilia, Tarquin.

There is very little romance getting in the way of the plot – in fact there is hardly any romance at all, which might put some people off. Though a more than eligible love interest presents himself early on in the guise of the handsome country squire Roderick Egan, Vanessa quickly writes him off as a bit of a bumpkin and he just as quickly fades to the back of the story line. Also I found the ending a little rushed and  teetering precariously toward silliness but the writing is very effective and if evil boy geniuses are your thing then this is the book for you. Three out of five stars.

So I’ve been in Peru for three months now, and I’m starting to learn about the swear words here.  Incidentally, we also have a francophone here, so I took the opportunity to compare various languages in a PG-13 environment.

In English, most of our bad words have to do with parts of the human body or physical actions involving the human body.

In French, apparently most of the swear words (at least in Canadian French), have to do with the Catholic church, and various objects that might be found at a church.

In Spanish, the very worst thing you can do is insult someone’s mother.

So what does this all say about our respective cultures?  Are the Spanish very family-oriented, the French very Catholic, and the English amused by fart jokes?  Or do the words themselves lose their original meaning once they have been co-opted into the swear word dictionary?

Orphaned Janet Bewleigh had become an heiress overnight – the unexpected reward for an act of kindness – and now the once locked doors of her beloved Knight’s Keep were open to her.

But there was an aura of evil at the stately manor house which weighed on her like an invisible shroud. She wondered about Lord Ashford, her enigmatic, strangely attractive host, and about the sad, dead girl whose ghost still hovered over the Keep.

And then Janet read the ancient family motto, and knew that the final act was yet to be played…….

Written by Rona Randall and first published in Great Britain 1967. Published by Sphere Books 1973.

Set in Victorian England and narrated in the first person this is the story of one young lady’s quest to seek sanctuary by returning to the home of her recently deceased parents,  only to find madness and murderous intentions awaiting  her.

Our heroine, Janet Bewleigh, enjoyed a poor but happy childhood, helping out in her parents vicarage in Covent Garden, giving out soup and bread to the poor. Then a sudden skating accident leaves her tragically orphaned and she is left to carry on the work of her parents alone. One of her charges, the down and out Uncle Silas, dies in yet another mysterious accident soon after, and Janet becomes an unexpected heiress to a large fortune. Not only that, but he really was her uncle and she soon finds herself visiting the large Elizabethan mansion where her mother had grown up – Knights Keep.

As you’d guess from the cover art things don’t start off so well for our Janet, with sinister ladies in waiting, a marriage to a sex obsessed sadist and a poisoned pet puppy to deal with for starters – but after a few interesting adventures and plot twists it all works out for the best. I really enjoyed this book, it’s full of atmosphere and attention to detail with some genuinely creepy bits -  I particularly liked the relationship between Lord Ashford and his rather enigmatic stepmother, the weird and wonderful femme fatale Miranda.

I’ve not read any other books by Rona Randall, though blurb on the inside cover informs us she is established as one of the best writers of Gothic Romance. Furthermore, Knight’s Keep was nominated for a major award of the Romantic Novelists Association. At the time of print the author was living in Sussex and it’s great to read something so good by a local author – I’ll definitely be looking out for more of her stuff. Four out of five stars.

How did the Nephites show their thanks to God?

“Behold, now it came to pass that the people of Nephi were exceedingly rejoiced, because the Lord had again delivered them out of the hands of their enemies; therefore they gave thanks unto the Lord their God; yea, and they did fast much and pray much, and they did worship God with exceedingly great joy (v. 1).”  The Nephites had just won the battle against the Lamanites.  To show their gratitude they thanked the Lord, fasted, prayed, worshiped with joy.  Sometimes it is hard to fast, pray and worship with joy because they can feel like work for us if we are not in the right frame of mind.  But these will all bring us closer to God, by inviting the spirit into our lives.  If we, meaning myself really, could do these things with “exceedingly great joy”, I am sure that we would get more out of them, then what is put in to them.

How accurate is prophecy?

“And it came to pass in the nineteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, that Alma came unto his son Helaman and said unto him: Believest thou the words which I spake unto thee concerning those records which have been kept (v. 2)?  And Helaman said unto him: Yea, I believe (v. 3).  And Alma said again: Believest thou in Jesus Christ, who shall come (v. 4)?  And he said: Yea, I believe all the words which thou hast spoken (v. 5).  And Alma said unto him again: Will ye keep my commandments (v. 6)?  And he said: Yea, I will keep thy commandments with all my heart (v. 7).  Then Alma said unto him: Blessed art thou; and the Lord shall prosper thee in this land (v. 8 ).  But behold, I have somewhat to prophesy unto thee; but what I prophesy unto thee ye shall not make known; yea, what I prophesy unto thee shall not be made known, even until the prophecy is fulfilled; therefore write the words which I shall say (v. 9).”

Helaman will be blessed for keeping the commandments which his father gave to him.  Obedience to our parents is a wonderful thing that teaches us how to be obedient to our Father in Heaven.  Obedience will bring us the same blessings that were promised to Helaman. We can prosper in the land.

Alma is going to tell his son a prophecy, which he has been told to keep secret.  ”And these are the words: Behold, I perceive that this very people, the Nephites, according to the spirit of revelation which is in me, in four hundred years from the time that Jesus Christ shall manifest himself unto them, shall dwindle in unbelief (v. 10).”  400 years after Christ dies and shows himself to the Nephites, they will fall away from the gospel.

“Yea, and then shall they see wars and pestilences, yea, famines and bloodshed, even until the people of Nephi shall become extinct (v. 11)—” Then, they will experience wars, pestilences and famines until they all die.

“Yea, and this because they shall dwindle in unbelief and fall into the works of darkness, and lasciviousness, and all manner of iniquities; yea, I say unto you, that because they shall sin against so great light and knowledge, yea, I say unto you, that from that day, even the fourth generation shall not all pass away before this great iniquity shall come (v. 12).”  They will experience these things because they will sin greatly against the great light and knowledge given to them by Jesus Christ.

“And when that great day cometh, behold, the time very soon cometh that those who are now, or the seed of those who are now numbered among the people of Nephi, shall no more be numbered among the people of Nephi (v. 13).  But whosoever remaineth, and is not destroyed in that great and dreadful day, shall be numbered among the Lamanites, and shall become like unto them, all, save it be a few who shall be called the disciples of the Lord; and them shall the Lamanites pursue even until they shall become extinct. And now, because of iniquity, this prophecy shall be fulfilled (v. 14).”  The only surviving Nephite blood will by called Nephites by choice, but those who are left that are disciples of Christ, will be hunted until they are dead.

We have the knowledge now that this prophecy was fulfilled.  In Mormon 8:1-7 we read, “Behold I, Moroni, do finish the record of my father, Mormon. Behold, I have but few things to write, which things I have been commanded by my father (v. 1).  And now it came to pass that after the great and tremendous battle at Cumorah, behold, the Nephites who had escaped into the country southward were hunted by the Lamanites, until they were all destroyed (v. 2).  And my father also was killed by them, and I even remain alone to write the sad tale of the destruction of my people. But behold, they are gone, and I fulfil the commandment of my father. And whether they will slay me, I know not (v. 3).  Therefore I will write and hide up the records in the earth; and whither I go it mattereth not (v. 4).  Behold, my father hath made this record, and he hath written the intent thereof. And behold, I would write it also if I had room upon the plates, but I have not; and ore I have none, for I am alone. My father hath been slain in battle, and all my kinsfolk, and I have not friends nor whither to go; and how long the Lord will suffer that I may live I know not (v. 5).  Behold, four hundred years have passed away since the coming of our Lord and Savior (v. 6).  And behold, the Lamanites have hunted my people, the Nephites, down from city to city and from place to place, even until they are no more; and great has been their fall; yea, great and marvelous is the destruction of my people, the Nephites (v. 7).”  400 years after Christ died, Moroni, a disciple of Christ, was the only remaining Nephite because the Lamanites had fought them and hunted them until the rest were all dead.  What the prophets say, will come true and we should really listen to their directions.

What does Alma bless, and what does the Lord curse?

Alma blessed Helaman and his other sons, the earth, the church and the faithful in the gospel.  The Lord curses the land and people who do wickedly (v. 15-17).  The righteous were blessed and the unrighteous were cursed.  This is because the Lord is just and we get what we deserve from him.  If everyone understood this, there would be great righteousness in the land today.

“. . . The Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance (v. 16).”  The footnote on the word “least” references D&C 1:31 which says, “For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance;”  This is guidance that was not only meant for the Nephites and Lamanites.  It is written in these latter-day scriptures and is meant for us.  Our only hope is repentance and forgiveness (D&C 1:32).

Were Alma and Moses translated?

Not all things of old testament times, were included in the Bible.  In Deuteronomy 34:5-6 we read, “So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord (v. 5).  And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day (v. 6).” Moses was buried by the Lord.

“And when Alma had done this he departed out of the land of Zarahemla, as if to go into the land of Melek. And it came to pass that he was never heard of more; as to his death or burial we know not of (v. 18 ).  Behold, this we know, that he was a righteous man; and the saying went abroad in the church that he was taken up by the Spirit, or buried by the hand of the Lord, even as Moses. But behold, the scriptures saith the Lord took Moses unto himself; and we suppose that he has also received Alma in the spirit, unto himself; therefore, for this cause we know nothing concerning his death and burial (v. 19).”  Alma left Zarahemla and was taken up by the Spirit.  No one knew where the grave of Moses or Alma was.  The scriptures they talk about telling about Moses are those plates that Nephi went back to Jerusalem to get from Laban, the brass plates.  What we learn from the Book of Mormon that is not in the Bible, is that the Lord took Moses unto himself.  Which is to say that both Moses and Alma were translated by the Lord and the reason the graves were never known is that there were no graves.  Joseph Fielding Smith said, “The scriptural inference is that Moses also was translated as was Alma.”

What effect did war have on the Nephite church?

If an invading army came to attack my city, I would expect that those who are employed to protect would be expected to fight (military and such).  Schools would be closed, our family would either leave for a safer place or shut ourselves up in our home.  If we left, we would go to church where we went to, if we stayed in our home, it would become our place of worship for as long as needed.  I really have no real ideas of what we would do to deal with a situation like that.

“And now it came to pass in the commencement of the nineteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, that Helaman went forth among the people to declare the word unto them (v. 20).  For behold, because of their wars with the Lamanites and the many little dissensions and disturbances which had been among the people, it became expedient that the word of God should be declared among them, yea, and that a regulation should be made throughout the church (v. 21).  Therefore, Helaman and his brethren went forth to establish the church again in all the land, yea, in every city throughout all the land which was possessed by the people of Nephi. And it came to pass that they did appoint priests and teachers throughout all the land, over all the churches (v. 22).  And now it came to pass that after Helaman and his brethren had appointed priests and teachers over the churches that there arose a dissension among them, and they would not give heed to the words of Helaman and his brethren (v. 23); But they grew proud, being lifted up in their hearts, because of their exceedingly great riches; therefore they grew rich in their own eyes, and would not give heed to their words, to walk uprightly before God (v. 24).”

When the war against the Lamanites was over, Helaman went out to re-establish the church among them.  This was important because the devastation that comes from war can leave people feeling helpless, so it is important that they realize that they can turn to God and Jesus Christ.  Helaman preached the gospel and then called priests and teachers to be over the church, because he was not able to be in all the land all the time to “regulate” it. There were those who would not listen to Helaman because they were selfishly focused on material things and felt they did not need to listen to anyone else, including God.

We may not have had a physical enemy come in an attack our cities, but Satan is attacking us all the time.  We have been warned time and again of these attacks.  We have also been given counsel by the prophets of God.  One such example of counsel is the “The Family:  A Proclamation to the World.”  In it we see how we should be working to make our families stronger.  We know that we need to be doing simple things like having family home evening and family prayer.  If we are not following the prophets counsel, than we are behaving just as those dissenters in the time of Helaman.  We cannot allow ourselves to make that mistake.  We need to heed the words of the prophets (both ancient and modern), to regulate the church in our homes and our lives.

Meet Penny.

When socks and library cards go missing, Penny took them. If the lights get left on or doors get left open, Penny is the irresponsible one. She occasionally opens the garage door in the middle of the coldest winter night, allowing the water pump to freeze, and loves to snarf down the last piece of strawberry pie, leaving a trail of crumbs and a sticky, bright red mess on the countertop.

Penny never flushes.

The Swine Flu hit our household this week, and Penny hid the thermometer. We heard her laughing about it early this morning, around 2:17am, as she went about rearranging the boxes in the attic above our bedroom. Then she silently made her way to my son’s room and turned off his alarm clock. The alarm clock he swears he set before going to bed last night. He nearly missed the bus.

Penny is dead.

The story of how we first learned about Penny – the day our suspicions were confirmed, if you will – is a bit unsettling. About two years ago, my wife was carrying a bag of garbage to the dumpster at the end of our driveway when an old man in a beaten-down truck drove by and stopped in front of the house. We live on a dead-end street, so we don’t get much traffic. The man leaned out the window and said, “You know you have a ghost in your house?” My wife laughed, but the guy didn’t. He said the ghost was of a 12-year-old girl named Penny. Then he smiled a toothy grin and drove away. We’d never seen him before, and we’ve not seen him since.

So we set to digging. And this is her story:

Penny Antoinette Irene Nelson was born during the waning moments of an early-Autumn storm in 1809. The local historian will tell you, with that smug countenance of the rumormonger plastered on her pasty-white and wrinkled faces, that it was this storm that spawned the hellacious tornado which leveled the area’s corn and soybean fields. It is that smug expression, with its tiny hint of a wink and an almost tangible plea begging the question, which leads one to inquire further for the rest of the story. And there is far more than leveled corn fields at the end of this story.

Or so I’ve been told.

It is reported that as the sun rose the next morning, struggling to penetrate the All-Saints’-Day-morning fog, the population of my small, mid-western town found their number decreased by fourteen. For found dead, lying buried in the rubble of their farmhouse on the southwest corner of Feightner Street, were the Strausbaugh family. The patriarch, one William Everett Strausbaugh, had been a shut-in for over a decade by this point. Years of plowing, planting, harvesting, and drinking had turned him into a cantankerous, scurrilous, hoary-headed bastard. But people will tolerate the reclusive sort where the scent of wealth is present, and Old Man Strausbaugh was loaded. Each year, to usher in the New Year and inaugurate its slow unwinding, he would host an elaborate party, inviting the locals over to gather around his ample hearth fires and drink his homemade sour mash whiskey. And each year, he would smooth talk some young female house guest into visiting his bedchamber for some festivities of a more lascivious nature. In late January of 1809, his willing guest was one Abigail Nelson.

Abigail settled in the region after nineteen years of wandering the highways and byways at the side of her aging Gypsy mother, Rosalyn. She saw in the fields of corn a chance to finally settle down and start a new life, but funds for seed were hard to come by. On that cold and snow-swept evening, over steaming glasses of spiked cider, Old Man Strausbaugh had made promises to young Abigail Nelson. Promises that tickled her ears. Promises he never intended to keep. He planted a seed of a different sort. And when Abigail told him that she was going to bear him a child, he cut her loose in a vengeful, threat-laden rage.

Rosalyn was furious. All those years of wandering, with not a care in the world and no ill effects to speak of, and it took them settling down for things to turn sour. So she cursed Old Man Strausbaugh. Cursed him good. And with the dawning of that aforementioned midnight hour, he found himself aloft and flying, exhilarated as though in the rapture of a dream, and then smashed back upon the ground with a dark finality. The curse had taken not only his life, but the lives of his wife and twelve children. And in their stead, a new life was born. As the fog lifted, Rosalyn the Gypsy smiled a knowing smile and settled back in her rocking chair cradling her granddaughter.

The funny thing about curses is that they seldom play out in predictable ways. Indeed, Old Man Strausbaugh and his brood were dead, but Penny inherited a bit of his wild streak. Penny grew into a beautiful girl. I’ve seen the pictures, and they are haunting. She had the most penetrating eyes I’ve ever seen, and I imagine her smile could charm the proverbial ice from the proverbial Eskimo. And from reports I’ve read, she too, after decades of sowing wild oats and no small amount of general mayhem amongst the locals, became reclusive. Each Halloween, beginning sometime after 1897, the year she locked herself inside and never came out again, neighbors would report hearing ear-splitting screams emanating from the attic of the mustard-yellow house on Washington Boulevard where Penny Nelson lived. And regardless of the weather conditions, great gales of wind would sweep down the street, generally around the midnight hour, bending the lilac bushes that surrounded the house low to the ground in their deafening wake.

And on the wind was the faintest smell of liquor.

In 1909, long after Rosalyn and Abigail had been carried away and the windows boarded up, from the inside, the house simply blew away. No body was ever found. The property, overgrown with crab grass and nettles, but with blossoming lilac bushes still firmly rooted around the perimeter, sat vacant until 2003. That’s when I bought it. And it’s where I later built my house. Upon the advice of my neighbor, the local rumormonger historian, I opted for a cream-colored siding as opposed to mustard-yellow. And I stay away from drinking. But the wind has been picking up lately, blowing the leaves across the property and piling them up at the base of the lilac bushes. We decided to keep them. And the forecast for Halloween? Stormy . . .

[photo credit]

This is the first installment of an ongoing series (save ends) on cursed items for 4E.

Presented here are three cursed magic items for your D&D 4E game: the amulet of vulnerability, the helmet of blindness and deafness, and the ring of animosity.

Amulet of Vulnerability

This violet locket attracts harm and misery to its wearer.

Item Slot: Neck.
Property: Take a penalty to Fortitude, Reflex, and Will equal to the item’s enchantment modifier.

Amulets of vulnerability are often found draped around busts and statues to tempt greedy adventurers. Sometimes, clever dungeon designers will pair amulets of vulnerability with useful amulets of protection as part of a puzzle.

Helmet of Blindness and Deafness

This obsidian-tinted helmet dulls the senses of those who wear it.

Item Slot: Head.
Property: Take a -2 penalty to Perception checks and initiative.
Level 19: -5 penalty
Level 29: -10 penalty

The helmet of blindness and deafness is a legendary cursed item universally loathed by warlords, rangers, and other astute travelers. Loremasters suggest that the first helmet was forged to keep a murderous barbarian demigod from escaping from his elemental prison.

Ring of Animosity

Cruel phrases etched into this bladed red ring arouse the ire of enemies and allies alike.

Item Slot: Ring.
Property: All enemies treat you as being marked for the purpose of resolving attacks against you.
Property: You are not considered an ally for the purpose of resolving powers or class features used by allies.

Created to punish a long-murdered rogue with a penchant for making enemies, this cursed ring finds its way to dungeons and temples where thieves and brigands met gruesome, yet not-entirely-undeserved ends.

Cursed items? In my D&D 4E?

In its current form, D&D 4E features no cursed items. For many, this development has been a positive one – to paraphrase a player in one of my own campaigns, ‘treasure is sacrosanct.’ Verily, trapping treasure and other rewards is an easy way to make players paranoid to a degree that slows the game to a halt and robs loot of its splendor.

Some players, however, appreciate the threat that cursed items present. They might be endeared to them out of a sense of nostalgia for previous editions, or they may feel that cursed items add an interesting thematic and tactical element to traditional dungeon delves.

In any case, the decision to add cursed items to a D&D 4E campaign should not be taken lightly. Before dropping surge-draining wands and backbiting spears into your next hidden crypt or dragon hoard, keep a few things in mind:

• Some players react very negatively to the possibility of finding cursed items, while others embrace the uncertainty. At the risk of lessening the surprise, ask your players outright if they would like to include cursed items in the campaign.
• Place cursed items sparingly. Leave them in too many hoards, and you’ll make the players too paranoid and lessen the excitement that finding treasure should evoke. A good rule is to drop one cursed item per five levels of play – the typical lifespan of a magic item in D&D 4E.
• Always give characters an opportunity to identify items as cursed. This might include puzzles and riddles, appropriately-challenging Arcana or Religion checks, or hints dropped by NPCs. While it might be thrilling as a Dungeon Master to watch characters stumble upon a cursed mace without warning, those on the other side of the screen will likely see it as arbitrary.

Using Cursed Items

Cursed items function exactly like traditional magic items. A cursed item’s gold piece value represents how much one might fetch from collectors or nefarious parties, or the amount of reagents required to craft it. Like other magic items, cursed items typically cannot be bought or sold in shops, but rather are found during adventures.

A character wearing, wielding, or otherwise equipping a cursed item becomes bound to it and immediately recognizes it as cursed. That character knows the level and enchantment modifier of the item (if applicable), as well as any properties it has.

Removing cursed magic items is a difficult and often painful process. Specifically, there are three ways to be rid of them:

• A character bound to a cursed item can forcibly remove it. The cursed item is destroyed, but the character suffers a -1 penalty to saving throws and surge value per tier until he or she gains a level.
• A ritual caster can cast Remove Affliction on a character bound to a cursed item, provided he or she is at least the level of the cursed item or higher. Cursed items removed in this way are dispelled and become worthless mundane items (for example, a ring of animosity becomes a chipped iron ring).
• A character who dies while carrying a cursed item is no longer bound to it. The cursed item retains all of its properties, potentially affecting another creature should they choose to take it.

Source: Wizards.com

Creating Cursed Items

A ritual caster may create cursed items using the Enchant Cursed Item ritual, below:

Enchant Cursed Item

Uttering the true names of wrathful deities, you imbue an item you hold with a powerful curse.

Level: 16
Component Cost: Special
Market Price: 9,000 gp
Category: Creation
Time: 1 hour
Key Skill: Religion (no check)
Duration: Permanent

You touch a normal item and turn it into a cursed magic item of your level or lower. The ritual’s component cost is equal to the price of the magic item you create.