One of Satan’s strongest and most successful weapons against the church is getting Christians to ‘bite and devour one another’ (Gal 5.15).  He does what he can to sow seeds of conflict among Christians so the seeds grow into fights and quarrels among brothers and sisters in Christ.  Thomas Brooks – in his usual biblically wise manner – gives remedies against Satan’s attempts to make us fight.

1) “Dwell more upon one another’s graces than upon one another’s weaknesses and infirmities.  It is sad to consider that saints should have many eyes to behold one another’s infirmities, and not one eye to see each other’s graces.”  Since each Christian has the flowers of grace in his/her garden, other Christians should look upon those sweet, pleasing, and delightful graces that God has given his children.  This is one way the devil’s darts will be destroyed.

2) “Dwell upon those commands of God that require you to love one another.”  Brooks here quotes numerous NT texts that call Christians to brotherly love (i.e. Rom 13.8, 1 John 4.7, etc).  “Dwell upon these precious commands, that your love may be inflamed one to another.”

3) “Dwell more upon these choice and sweet things wherein you agree, than upon those things wherein you differ.”  Or, if I can add a great phrase attributed to Augustine, “In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, and in all things, charity.”  Back to Brooks: “You agree in most, you differ but in a few; you agree in the greatest and weightiest, as concerning God, Christ, the Spirit, and the Scripture.  You differ only in those points that have been long disputable amongst men of greatest piety and parts.  You agree to own the Scripture, to hold to Christ the head, and to walk according to the law of the new creature.”

4) “Dwell upon the miseries of discord.”  Here Brooks spends only a few sentences (as if to say – “don’t dwell too long on this!”) to explain how it neither glorifies God nor edifies the saints to be fighting.

5) Be the first one to make peace when there is conflict (my re-wording of Brooks).  “It is not a matter of liberty whether you will or you will not pursue after peace, but it is a matter of duty that lies upon you; you are bound by express precept to follow after peace, and though it may seem to fly from you, yet you must pursue after it (Heb 12.14).”  In other words, be a peacemaker not sometimes, but all the time.

6) Saints should “join together and walk together in the ways of grace and holiness so far as they do agree, making the word their only touchstone and judge of their actions.”  Pray together, be in delightful conversation often, mourn together, and rejoice together according to the word.

7) “Labor to be clothed in humility.  Humility makes a man peaceable among brethren, fruitful in well-doing, cheerful in suffering, and constant in holy walking (1 Pet 5.5).”  “Humility honors those that are strong in grace, and puts two hands under those that are weak in grace (Eph 3.8).”

Those are just 7 of 12 remedies Brooks gives to fight of Satan’s arrows of discord and disunity.  They are well-noted, to be sure.  This godly advice will not just help local churches, but also Christian marriages and friendships in general.   In summary, consider Paul’s prayer for the Philippian church in 1.9 – there he prays that the church would abound in love (filled with knowledge and wisdom) for one another.

shane lems

sunnyside wa

Geri was indeed alive, but they didn’t know for how long. When mother and baby both finally came home from the hospital, Geri had to be carried on a tiny pillow. The hospital staff told the family not to become attached to her, because she would not live. I think I was a decent enough big sister when she came home from the hospital, because my mother impressed upon me the importance of how difficult her birth was and how I had an important job to do, to help my mother with her. 

It didn’t take too long before we knew–that baby was going to be around for a long, long, time. With such a tiny creature new to the family, she was getting so much attention: “Isn’t she precious?!” “Look at that perfect little nose!” “She is beautiful.“ And she was, dang it. She was a gorgeous baby. Then, as if on second thought, the person doing all the gushing, might look at me, a homely little thing with a mass of fuzzy curls that looked like they were never combed, wearing pale blue cat-eye glasses that were training a crossed left eye to look where the right looked, and say, “Oh, yes, you are a. . .a. . .ah, a sweetie, too, aren’t you?” How could I not develop a complex? Children know the truth! 

I had been the only child for four years. I had gotten all the love and attention. My sister grew into the sweetest little thing. She loved older people, she had a huge heart, and she was a peacemaker. Everyone loved her. I started resenting her, and began showing my hurt and disgust in the only way I knew how. By the time I was in school, I started becoming ornery to my sister. I would never really physically hurt her, but I became an expert at psychological and verbal torment, flinging things like: “You’re really adopted,” “They love me more than they love you,” etc. I met a cute guy at the beach and made her give him her rented raft. I locked her under our stairs until she promised to kiss a friend’s brother. These were daily occurrences. Every time I would do something or say something less than nice to my sister, my mother would invariably say, “One of these days, she is going to learn to just pick up something and hit you in the head with it!” And she would add, “And when she does, I’m not going to say a word!” 

The poor thing had to endure me well into my high school years, but never, ever, think I didn’t defend her during all those years. The way I saw it was: I could pick on her, but no one else had better! I even got into a brawl with a much larger neighbor, because she was picking on Geri. I wish I had a picture of me lying in a ditch with this big girl on top of me punching me, with my little sister on the girl’s back, pulling her long, thick, fuzzy, red hair. The girl’s aunt drove by and broke it up, or we might still be there. 

Yes, it was well into my high school years before the tables turned. One morning, just like any other morning, Geri and I were arguing over sharing our tiny bathroom. It was something terribly important, like I wanted the brush she was using, or we couldn’t both see in the mirror at the same time, that was the crux of the problem. I called her a select nasty name, and just as my mother had predicted for so many years, my sister turned on me. She pushed me into the bathtub. On my way down, I hit the faucet and turned water onto me. I screamed and went through my usual dramatic routine, playing the whole scene up, like I was hurt. My mother and boyfriend (who was waiting to drive me to school), ran into the bathroom to save me. My mother turned the water off and the boyfriend gingerly pulled me from the tub. I acted like my evil sister almost killed me, and my boyfriend yelled, “You could have scalded her!” My mother calmly said, “It was the cold water.” Well, there went my defense. I had been defeated: Carla 5,698,239.362–Geri 1. 

That was the beginning of our changing relationship. She went from being a pacifist to being able to stand up for herself, and I gained some respect for her. It took several more years and my moving out, before we could become best friends.

Newsflash:  A friend just read this and reminded me how my sister admitted as an adult, how she used to use my toothbrush to scrub combs and hairbrushes when she cleaned them.  Talk about passive-aggressive!

While the winter months are typically spent on site visits and design work, every carpenter knows that all desk and no saw makes Jack a very bull boy.

Winter means site visits and design work, but there are a few days that clear up and allow for some time in the shop. Here, the posts and rails that will surround the Ithaca treehouse deck are being painted and dried.

Thanks to some good space heaters and a few chilly days before I head south the see a future client, I was able to get out in the shop and make a little sawdust last week. The project: cut, route, sand and paint the posts and top rails that will make up the deck rail for the Ithaca treehouse’s main platform. Once again I went with some douglas fir a local provider had in stock. Good strong wood, very dimensionally stable as it dries and it’s hard to beat the citrus smell when you cut it. Posts will be 4-by-4s that raise the rails to 42 inches above the deck. Rails are 2-by-6s with a nice three-eighths roundover on the edges to make it easy on the hands and pleasing to the eye. Both elements are blue – to match the trim on the house – and will hold a matching picket section of southern yellow pine stained to match the treehouse siding. The idea is to make the rail solid, and a seamless match for the mood and weight of the main structure.

For extra safety, I always use the new Simpson deck post supports. They’re pretty inexpensive, widely available, easy to install and add a great deal of strength to an attachment that is the line between wonderful views and tragic news. Add in some cast-iron structural washers I learned about while working with some timber-framing friends, and this treehouse will be ready to host a few dance parties come summer.

With a break in the December chill, we were able to squeeze in a site visit to double check some measurements. As the freeze returns, design work for the second platform -- to which the stair rise and from which the bridge departs -- will be completed. Come spring, this will be the walking-off point for the cable bridge to the main treehouse and deck.

Just an aside, to file under the don’t-try-this-at-home category: On one of the chilliest days of the week – wind in the 20 mph range and temps under 30 – I realized some critical measurements from the Ithaca project’s second tree didn’t get transcribed. After a few grumbles directed at my brother and sometime helper Rich, I grabbed my ladder and clipboard and headed out. Dusk in a late-fall Finger Lakes windstorm is a funky time to be in a tree, but the shifting trunks and the laser level did offer a great illustration of just how trees shed wind forces, and just how well those Garnier Limbs allow the platform to float. Lots of creaks and groans, and that little red dot shooting 25 feet from one tree to the other sure did dance, but 30 minutes later I had my last numbers and was headed back to the shop and a warm cup of tea. All’s well that ends well, right?

Well, at least this effort will end in a great cable bridge entry to what’s shaping up to be a marquee creation.

Good things will soon come in a coffee-table sized package.

Next spring, a new do-it-yourself treehouse design and construction book is due out from Globe Pequot Press. Put together by longtime author Lon Levin and my friend, fellow professional treehouse builder Dan Wright of Tree Top Builders, the book “Knack Treehouses” promises to give readers with a sense of adventure and some basic carpentry skills a great start toward building that haven in the trees.

Another thing the book will include – alongside Dan’s advice and treehouses from legends such as industry pioneer Michael Garnier – is Peacemaker Treehouses’ own pirate ship treehouse. Lon contacted me while doing some research back in the early part of the year, and asked permission to use some shots and descriptions from the Horseheads, N.Y., project. I was honored, and more than happy to supply him with whatever he needed. Word from the publisher came this week that work on the book is nearing a conclusion, and publication is expected sometime early next spring.

Michael, no doubt, is used to the recognition, but for me – a student of the masters working on a business model that relies on low volume and high quality – it’s a special thrill to help spread the word about the craft.

Thanks to Lon and Dan, and I’ll see you all at the bookstore.

Title: ส่วนเกิน / Suan Gern (Extra)
Artist: Peacemaker
Album: Panorama
Year: 2005

ฉันคนนี้กับเขาคนนั้น ต่างกันเธอรู้ดี
Chun kon nee gup kao kon nun dtahng gun tur roo dee
Me and him, we’re different, you know that
คนที่ดีกับคนที่รัก ต่างกันเธอรู้ไหม
Kon tee dee gup kon tee ruk dtahng gun tur roo mai
The person you’re good to and the person you love are different, do you know?
เขาที่เธอผูกพัน กับฉันที่เธอหมดใจ
Kao tee tur pook pun gup chun tee tur mot jai
He who you have a relationship with, and I who you ran out of heart for
ทำยังไงก็คงไม่เหมือนเก่า
Tum yung ngai gor kong mai meuan gao
Whatever I do, it probably won’t be the same

* เป็นส่วนเกินในชีวิตเธอ ที่เธอไม่ต้องการ
Pben suan gern nai cheewit tur tee tur mai dtong gahn
I’m the leftover in your life that you don’t need
ทำอะไรให้ไปเท่าไร แต่กลายเป็นรำคาญ
Tum arai hai pbai tao rai dtae glai pben rum kun
However much I do for you, it’ll only become a bother
คำพูดที่คอยกดดัน บีบคั้นฉันมาเนิ่นนาน
Kum poot tee koy got dun beep kun chun mah nern nahn
The words you said have been building up, squeezing me tightly for so long
ก็พอจะรู้ว่าเธอต้องการเลือกใคร
Gor por ja roo wah tur dtong gahn leuak krai
It’s enough for me to realize who you want to choose

** ฉันก็คงไม่ทนฝืนเธอต่อไป
Chun gor kong mai ton feun tur dtor pbai
I won’t force you anymore
เมื่อรักไม่เป็นอย่างฝัน
Meua ruk mai pben yahng fun
When our love isn’t like my dreams
ขอให้เราจบลงแค่นั้นเมื่อเธอไม่มีฉันในหัวใจ
Kor hai rao job long dae nun meua tur mai mee chun nai hua jai
Please let us end here when you don’t have me in your heart

*** หยุดความรักเอาไว้เท่านี้
Yoot kwahm ruk ao wai tao nee
Stop continuing our love here
พอก่อนดีไหมถ้าใจอ่อนล้า
Por gorn dee mai tah jai orn lah
That’d be good, right? If your heart’s exhausted
อย่ามัวเสียเวลากับรักเดิมๆ ที่เธอไม่มั่นใจ
Yah mua sia welah gup ruk derm derm tee tur mai mun jai
Don’t waste time with the same love you’re not sure about
หากยิ่งฝืนจะยิ่งเจ็บช้ำ
Hahk ying feun ja ying jep chum
The more we force it, the more it’ll hurt
ยิ่งตอกยิ่งย้ำให้ยิ่งปวดใจ
Ying dtok ying yum hai ying pbuat jai
The more we push it, the more we repeat it, the more heartache
ยิ่งฝืนยิ่งห่างไกล
Ying feun ying hahng glai
The more we force it, the farther we’re apart
ถึงคราวต้องตัดใจเสียที
Teung krao dtong dtut jai sia tee
Until eventually we’ll have to give it up

(* , ** , ***, ***)

ยิ่งฝืนยิ่งห่างไกล ถึงคราวต้องตัดใจเสียที
Ying feun ying hahng glai teung krao dtong dtut jai sia tee
The more we force it, the farther we’re apart, until eventually we’ll have to give it up

Make a Good Bargain

You want to sell something. You always come across people who bargain with you. If you take Bach Flower Remedy Agrimony, whatever price you ask for, they will pay that.

Proper Property Distribution

You expect a quarrel during property distribution in the family. You do not want any quarrel or face conflicts. If you don’t want any fights, then take Agrimony with you as it is a peacemaker.

Agrimony deserves a Nobel Prize for Peace

Think of Kashmir and spray Agrimony on the map where Kashmir is located. Definitely you will bring in peace there.

You want to know the Mind of Your Partner

An Agrimony person will not reveal and hides her feelings from others. She will always be smiling, hiding the worries inside. If you look at her you can’t figure it out as she hides her inner turmoil. If she takes Agrimony, she will reveal her feelings to you. If she is not willing to take it then you can chant Agrimony visualizing her. She will definitely come out of her shell.

A Sleep Remedy

What’s the behaviour of an Agrimony person? In the night, he can’t go to sleep easily as he will be worrying at that time. When he is alone he will be worrying. He will work overtime as nobody is at home. He will resort to drinking and will say, “I drink to forget my worry and tension”. Agrimony is one of the remedies included in the flower combination for sleeping.

Restless leg syndrome and Hyper Tension

The restless leg syndrome can be healed by Bach Flower Remedies Agrimony and Impatiens. The body is trying to remove the tension by shaking the legs. He is not opening up by discussing the problem and revealing it. Where else it will go? This will turn into hyper tension. When problems are buried inside, it will come out as hyper tension. This is due to expectation of society, which says, ‘whatever problem you have, you have to smile and face it’. On the contrary, we have to show our feelings. This attitude is also expressed in the form of, ‘I don’t want to disturb others’

   After starting a recent training in a province called “Sarangani” in Mindanao island of the Philippines, I was looking forward to a good report.  75 pastors from the B’laan tribe were getting a chance to receive training through Antioch Institute that they never would have had because of their remote location.  One of the young pastors to get a chance to be trained was Winnie Fokal. 

   Upon completing his second course at Antioch Institute, he was excited about trying to evangelize a new area.  He had to travel to a new place where he was going to share the gospel.  Winnie is very poor, so he had to take a public transport (Jeep ride) to get to the other town.  The jeep ride takes many hours and was owned by a Muslim.  Winnie got on expecting to have a normal ride.  Along the way another bunch of guys got on as they pulled away from the tribal area.  The other riders were drunk and started making a ruckus on the Jeep.  At first he just ignored them, until they got to the town where Winnie was going to get off.  He got off, but so did the drunk guys.  They were from the same tribe as Winnie (B’laan) and because they were drunk started arguing about not paying the jeep driver. 

   Winnie decided it would be good for him to try and intervene as the situation was getting very bad fast between the drunk tribal guys and the Muslim driver.  Winnie tried to calm the drunk guys down, but didn’t have much success.  The Muslim driver pulled out a 45 cal handgun and started threatening the drunk guys, who seemed unfazed.  A shot was fired and Winnie dropped. 

   Winnie was hit in the head and died instantly.  He was looking for a chance to share the gospel and bring peace to a very violent area of the Philippines, yet he was killed trying to bring peace.  Winnie is survived by his wife and a young son.  Winnie was only 25 years old and passionate about serving Jesus.  He died trying to find opportunities to show the love of Christ. 

  While not many people on earth knew Winnie Fokal, when he arrived in heaven, he received a standing ovation reserved only for martyrs of the Lord Jesus Christ.

ProQuest Historical Newspapers – New York Times and The Los Angeles Times

If, as many suspected, the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize was given to Obama as less an award for past accomplishments and more a tool to further the ultimate goal of world peace, it was not the first time the prize had been used in this way. The Nobel Peace Prize has often served as a peacemaking tool, though it has stirred controversy in each instance.

After Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 and two Nobel committee members resigned in protest, the Norwegian parliament held a debate to determine whether the principles and organization of the committee should be changed.

In this ProQuest Historical Newspapers activity, learn about the Nobel Committee’s decision in 1973, as well as 1978 and 1994, to award the prize to individuals with violent backgrounds for work on conflicts that were far from resolved.

Then, decide for yourself how the prize winners should be chosen.

In 1973, U.S. secretary of state Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese politburo member Le Duc Tho were jointly awarded the prize for negotiating the Vietnam War cease-fire agreement. The decision was controversial, in part because, as the New York Times noted, “the cease-fire accord that went into effect at the end of January has not yet led to a restoration of peace.”

Indeed, fighting did not cease in Vietnam for another two years. Tho actually declined the prize, becoming the only recipient ever to do so, on the grounds that violence in Vietnam was ongoing at the time. Kissinger accepted the prize, but the Los Angeles Times reported that “hundreds of young demonstrators shouted anti-American slogans and waved pro-Viet Cong banners outside the University of Oslo” when a U.S. ambassador accepted the prize on his behalf.

One critic described the secretary of state as representing “about as naked and brutal an exercise of power as has occurred in human history” for his role in U.S.-led war that “destroyed so much of Southeast Asia.” The prize was so controversial that two of the five members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee actually resigned in protest of the decision. But the intention of those committee members who supported the decision was clear from their statement, indicating that “It is our hope that all parties in this conflict will feel moral responsibility for lasting peace for the war-stricken peoples of Indochina.” The prize wasn’t meant to congratulate accomplished peace but to inspire it.

The Nobel Committee members again publically disagreed over the decision in 1978 to give the prize to Egyptian president Anwar Sadat and Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin for their work on the Camp David peace accords. However, the committee was even more explicit about their intentions this time: “the Nobel Committee wishes not only to honor actions already performed in the service of peace, but also to encourage further efforts to work out practical solutions which can give reality to those hopes of a lasting peace, as they have been kindled by the framework agreements.”

Further, the Washington Post noted that “Begin’s contributions… are not specified, and his inclusion appears to be related more to the committee’s hopes for the future than its evaluation of the Israeli prime minister’s role up until now.”

The controversy over a former leader of an anti-British terrorist organization (Begin) and a coup plotter and instigator of the 1973 war against Israel (Sadat) winning a prize for peace was matched in 1994, when the Nobel Peace Prize was given to PLO chairman Yasir Arafat, Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres, and Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin for their involvement in the Oslo Accords.

In a Christian Science Monitor article that outlines Arafat’s and Rabin’s violent backgrounds, George Moffett notes that “historically, the Nobel committee has overlooked the past in favor of advancing more immediate objectives.” The Committee, from which one member resigned in protest over the decision, made clear in their announcement of the 1994 prize that such was the case: “It is the Committee’s hope that the award will serve as an encouragement to all the Israelis and Palestinians who are endeavoring to establish lasting peace in the region.”

ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER YITZHAK RABIN AND PALESTINIAN LEADER YASSER ARAFAT
SEAL THE OSLO ACCORDS WITH A HANDSHAKE AT WHITE HOUSE
(© 1993 Getty Images, Inc.)

But lasting peace has remained elusive in the Middle East and elsewhere. In fact, the very actions that earned Sadat and Rabin their Nobel prizes also cost them their lives when they were each assassinated by individuals who thought they had made too many concessions. The extent to which peace can or should be furthered by the Nobel Prize remains an open question.

Activity

After Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 and two Nobel committee members resigned in protest, the Norwegian parliament held a debate to determine whether the principles and organization of the committee should be changed. One proposal suggested that the committee could include individuals from countries other than Norway, for example.

As a class, pretend you are a member of the Norwegian sorting (parliament). With a team of four other students, prepare a proposal that outlines what you think should be the Nobel Committee’s composition and guiding goals:

• How should committee members be chosen and from what pool? How should nominations be gathered?

• What guidelines should assist members in making their final decision?

• Should a potential recipient’s negative past be taken into consideration?

• Should the prize be used as an incentive for future action in addition to a recognition of past accomplishment?

Meet together as a class and have one person from each team present their group’s proposal as convincingly as possible. After all the proposals have been given, open the floor to questions, comments, and objections.

Be prepared to make compromises until the majority of the class—through a vote—can agree on the guidelines that should govern the committee.

     In a world of pain, where harsh words abound, my dear Aunt Kitty (Katherine) spoke words of blessing over me. I was about 6 or 7 years old. She sat with me on her living room couch and opened her Bible. For the first time in my life, I learned about the Beatitudes in Matthew 5. She read all through them and then spoke the words that God would use to define my life. She said that I was a peacemaker and even cited an example. She said that when I visited her home, her children didn’t fight, but were happy to play together with me. That example was my goal, the person I wanted to be. I was not that person at home; but in my heart, I longed to be. In a home of violence, I became violent, but hated every minute the physical and emotional strikes that proceeded from me. It was only after I attained adulthood and the healing of my soul, through the love and power of Christ, that I returned to the longing of my soul, to be a peacemaker. In 2 Corinthians 5:17-20, we are encouraged:

   “…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors…”

This is my highest endeavor, to be a peacemaker in a harsh, cruel world, helping people to reconcile with God, with others and with themselves. Another confirmation has been a beautiful blessing; I have learned that my name, Freda, means “peace.” My Aunt Kitty spoke God’s blessing over my life. If you are willing, as she was, God will bless people through your words.

Waking up into anger and violence.  Gut clenches me into a curve. Vigilant adrenalin soldier takes her post.

I know that for people around the world, this is not an uncommon experience.  All the innovative possibility of the human mind also extends to expressing our anger, fear, isolation and violence.  Wars, murder, torture, abuse to our loved ones, poisoning water and earth – I’m sure you can add to the list from what you’ve seen, read, heard, hold in your heart and in your body.

We embrace expectations of what life will be like.

We desire to feel in control.

We are afraid when things don’t turn out as planned.

We may even sense our identity, reputation, credibility oozing away.

We are angry with anyone and anything we view as changemakers, but…

we often express that on anyone and anything that is within reach in this moment.

Find a little peace today. Take a breath.  Create a little peace today. Take a breath. Share a little peace today. Take a breath together.

At the Bible study last night, I asked this question, “Has anyone ever been offended before?”  The response was unanimous.  Then I asked, “Is there anyone else, besides me, who will admit that they haven’t handled being offended very well?”  And once again the response was unanimous.  So, the question is, How can we overlook an offense?  Thankfully we can take all of our difficult questions to God and He always has an answer for us.  We might not like His answer, but He always has one. 

1.) Patience

Proverbs 19:11 (NIV)  A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.

• The first thing we need is patience.   According to this verse, we attain patience from wisdom. If we rely on our own wisdom at the time we are offended the last thing we will find is patience.  When we feel offended, we get hurt and angry, patience is not our natural response.  It’s only God’s wisdom that is able to give us patience after someone has hurt us. 
• Godly wisdom helps us to have tolerance for the person who has offended us and gives us patience to find God’s plan to restore the situation.  God always has a plan of restoration.  Sometimes we just need the patience to believe it will happen.  The first thing we have to do when we are offended is to pray for patience that comes from godly wisdom.

2.) Watch What You Say

Isaiah 53:7 (NLT) He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word.  He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.  And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.

• Jesus is an amazing example to us.  He was treated harshly, He was beaten, ultimately crucified and through it all “he never said a word”, “he did not open his mouth“.  Words are very important.  The Bible says that we will be accountable for every word we say.  Unfortunately for me, there have been countless moments filled with words I wish I never said.  Instead of asking for patience and keeping my mouth closed, I have vented out in my own wisdom and said things that I regretted and only made the situation worse. 
• There is a time to speak and there is a time to be silent.  The key is to have the godly wisdom to know the difference.   

3.) Look Beyond the Situation

Hebrews 12:2-3 (NIV)  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

• Jesus is our source of faith and strength during opposition.  This verse encourages us to “fix our eyes on Jesus“.  If our thoughts are focused on God then they won’t be focused on the person who has offended us. Focusing only on the situation can consume us.  Before we know it, we wake up thinking about it, we spend all day thinking about it and then we can’t go to sleep because we are still thinking about it.  God encourages us to get our eyes off of the situation and on to the hope we have in Christ. 
• This verse asks us to “consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so you will not grow weary or lose heart.”   According to this verse we can actually be encouraged not to give up as we consider what Jesus endured… why?  Jesus was able to endure the cross, “for the joy set before him“.  Although, Jesus endured the cross, he didn’t focus on it.  It did not consume his thoughts.  He was focused on the joy set before him.  God has joy to set before you and me too.  If we choose to, we can look beyond the offense to the future hope and joy set before us.  God is able to work together all things for the good.

4.) Be a Peacemaker

James 3:18 (NLT) And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.

• It is impossible to have peace and be angry at the same time.  It will either be one or the other, not both.  This verse tells us that people who are peacemakers will reap a harvest of righteousness (good things) into their life.  When we are at peace in our own life, we can then plant seeds of peace for others too.  Having peace is a choice.  We must put aside the anger and overlook offenses before we can be a peacemaker.   When we are willing to do this, blessings will come into our lives.

Next time someone offends you:  1. Pray for patience   2. Watch what you say   3. Look beyond the situation   4. Be a peacemaker

When we left off, we were considering how strange it was (to me at least) that our Holy God, while incarnate on the depraved earth, could have ‘peace’ and want us to have that same peace — ‘His peace’ — as well.  I asked you to think about what it was in your own life right now that was keeping you from ‘peace.’  (Remember it?  Good, hold on to it a bit longer.)  As we pick up today, we need to start with the question:  What is ‘peace’?

Peace is a central concept in the Scriptures.  The words translated as ‘peace’ in the Old and New Testaments appear more than 360 times.  I found that I was able to group or categorize most of them as follows.

• Many were used as greetings or farewells:
  • Peace to you!
  • Peace be with you!
  • Go in Peace!
• They were used as part of benedictions:
  • The Lord lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.  (Num 6:26)
  • Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!  (2 Thess 3:16)
• Peace was to be sought after:
  • Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.  (Ps 34:14)
• Jesus is specifically identified with peace:
  • For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.  (Isa 9:6)
  • There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, (Isa 9:7)
  • [F]or God is not a God of confusion but of peace . . . . (1 Cor 14:33)
• But peace is very elusive on earth.  The Old Testament in particular makes this clear:
  • They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace.  (Jer 6:14)
  • They heal the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace.  (Jer 8:11)
  • When anguish comes, they will seek peace, but there will be none.  (Ezek 7:25)
  • It is definitely because they have misled My people by saying, ‘Peace!’ when there is no peace.  (Ezek 13:10)
  • ‘. . . along with the prophets of Israel who prophesy to Jerusalem, and who see visions of peace for her when there is no peace,’ declares the Lord God.  (Ezek 13:16)
  • Too long has my soul had its dwelling With those who hate peace.  I am for peace, but when I speak, They are for war.  (Ps 120:6-7)

So, we know a little better what the Bible says about peace, but the question remains:  How can we have peace when we have conflict?  (. . . when we have unmet needs?  . . . when we don’t know how we’re going to pay the bills?  . . . when we don’t know what to do with what the doctor just told us?  . . . when we have sin in our lives that keeps showing up . . . again?)

How do we have peace like Jesus had peace?  How do we have “His peace”?

Answer: The same way Jesus found His peace.  How is that?  Well, that would be in the third (and final) blog on peace (I promise).

Shalom aleichem,

– M. Glenn Curran, III, Esquire

Former president Joseph “Erap” Estrada has once again, declared his candidacy for president in 2010. Alas, this country has to contend, for as long as he lives, a person that appears to be oblivious of his rightful place in history.

Having failed as a mediator, a peacemaker and as a leader sought after to resolve who among the younger presidential aspirants will best represent the opposition in the coming 2010 presidential elections, Erap decided instead that, why waste time conciliating when what he saw were obstacles frustrating his very own ambition to run again? If this decision is not for personal and political expediency, I don’t know what is.

But the biggest problem of all is that Erap continues to believe he is the best and the smartest there is in the opposition and with his well known populist approach for the underdog, he turns once more to the masses asking for a second chance. As if political ideas and activities are intended merely for the ordinary people’s needs and wishes.

Second chance? After being booted out, convicted and detained for charges of plundering government coffers through kickbacks and illegal gambling payoffs, he has the temerity to ask for a second chance?

C’mon people! Yes, let us give this country a chance, but, please, not under his leadership again!

Not when, until now, he is deeply embroiled in the pending infamous Dacer-Corbito case. Let us all be fair to this country and to ourselves.

Entertaining, nay, considering of supporting a reject for the presidency in 2010 is a waste of vote, if not a suicidal move for the Filipino people, especially in these times of uncertainty.

We need Erap like we need a hole in our head.

We can only blame President Arroyo’s administration for being so ambiguous in their terms and conditions of Estrada’s pardon that he cannot seek an elective post again. Now Erap’s lawyer-cohorts are doing a hatchet job on it, filling it with holes and theorizing later that the same does not hold water.

Erap is running not with a clear conscience and a clean record.

Erap is running with vengeance in his heart. With distorted priorities in mind and settling of scores in the heart, we will only suffer far greater setbacks than what we are already enduring now.

Without doubt, Erap is running this time as a nuisance candidate.

Under the revised schedule requested by our clients, the goal was to get all the first- and second-story walls framed, sided and trimmed before the leaves began to fall. That way, we can bundle up the parts for the winter, spend the odd warm winter day with some random platform prep work, and be ready to raise and gasp come the spring bloom.

The good news is, we finished strong and ahead of all deadlines. We even beat the first snow, which can come to the Finger Lakes region of New York stunningly early.

The 8-by-10-foot second story was preassembled in the shop for raising next spring. The southern yellow pine floor shows off its distinctive hues in the fall sunlight.

Work during recent visits to the site and the shop has concentrated on the second story floor and walls. The first floor is complete, and is already drawing visitors to the site who are coming to see what’s going up. Fit and finish looks good, so we hoped to carry that on to this last stage of the year.

Judging from the finished products, we’re on a bit of a roll.

The first step was the second floor itself. Only the sleeping loft area will have an upper floor, and the 8-by-10-foot room will cover a slightly smaller space on the first floor. We decided to go with the more rustic feel of exposed joists on the underside of the floor. On top of that we’ll add a 1-inch tongue-and-groove pine floor, with only one side beveled. From the top, the floor looks like a solid mass of smooth yellow pine, perfect for shuffling along in your slippers after a nice dream-filled nap. From the underside, the floor, or rather the ceiling, has exposed Douoglas fir 4-by-4 joists and perpendicular grooves that offer a wonderfully mellow warmth. Leaving the rafters exposed also adds another 3 1/2 inches for the eyes to see upward, which helps make a small space feel more generous.

The Douglas fir joists and the southern yellow pine floor boards make a nice fit, both in structure and to the eye.

Of course, as my brother Rich would say, this thing is going to need a lot of thought to lift into the tree. Thank heaven for a good block-and-tackle rig.

The upper walls themselves are similar to the lower walls, only shorter. All except for the two gable ends, which break out of our box-of-rectangles pattern and rise to the distinctive triangular peaks that visitors from the pond and bridge sides of the treehouse will see first.

Here, the design and material choices made all along the process really paid off. From the start, Katie and Colleen said they wanted to go with the “house in a tree” style of treehouse, as opposed to more eccentric designs that range from small Epcot-esque spheres in the air to pirate ships sailing among the branches. We do them all, of course, and there’s joy in every one. But this time, the budding writers wanted their own house in the trees, so we drew it up, scouted around for colors and textures they liked, and hoped it would look like it did in our imagination.

And it did.

With the upper floor walls complete -- including these two gables ends -- work on the Ithaca treehouse moves into the shop for the winter. Come spring, it's game time as all our work heads up into the tree.

Once the gable ends came together, with the deep rake overhang above and the long tail on one side to cover the front porch, everyone knew the months of planning and choices were going to come together just right. The oil-finished beveled siding carries just enough natural cedar orange and yellow to play pefectly off the deep blue trim, and there’s just enough of that to define all the shapes and angles. Corner trim, of course, won’t go on until the walls are raised and assembled — we need access to those corners to tie it all together — but the interplay of shapes and colors is clearly right on the money.

While the walls wait by the platform they’ll soon fill, the winter months will be filled with shop work for the Ithaca project. There are three doors (one of which is a double-door) and 11 windows of varying sizes to make. Porch posts, rails and infill also will be prepped, and the design for the small platform in the second tree — from which the bridge to the treehouse platform will begin — will be finalized. Once the ice thaws, the second platform and the rails will be put in place. Shortly after the first bloom on our willows, the walls will be raised and the treehouse assembled. Install those windows and doors, cap it off with a roof and string that cable bridge, and this project will be ready for occupancy and imagination.

Can’t wait until spring.

We’re making progress at the Ithaca treehouse site, ahead of our revised schedule for building and finishing the first- and second-story walls before the leaves change.

With a jump ahead of the building schedule, we decided to assemble the first-floor walls on the ground to test fit and finish. Soon, they'll be hoisted and assembled again atop the platform in the black willow at rear.

A tip of the cap here has to go to my brother, Rich, a lawyer and high school social studies teacher who decided to spend the summer in my area, volunteering as a part of my crew. The old boy (10 years my senior, the rules of fraternal misbehavior require that I note) has grown pretty adept at sinking spiral shank nails. He also provides more than a few moments of comic relief as I watch him try to think of a way to avoid getting on the other end of a heavy wall and hoisting it. All in all, though, he’s not a bad crew member, for a lawyer, and it was good to have a hand on a few sites this summer.

In Ithaca, getting ahead of schedule allowed us a luxury — we decided to piece together the first floor on the ground as a test of the work we’ve been doing. That also gave the future occupants, Colleen and Katie, a chance to get a sense for the space and to mull over interior finish details before the saws start spinning on those in the spring. Strapping those walls together also allows for some field measurements of the structure, which can inform any alterations in the second-floor plan that might be necessary.

Doing a test raising also is a great cause for smiles. Up until now, it’s all been drawings on paper, pixels on a screen or colorful parts stored in the garage. With this, the treehouse for the first time takes shape and shows off its three dimensions. It’s one thing to decide where the door will go, it’s another to walk through it. Feeling what was once just thought is always one of my favorite things about any project.

A view from the platform shows the clean lines and crisp corners of the structure's first floor.

The good news: In spite of some over analysis by Rich, all the pieces went together like they were meant to — and they were, so it all makes sense. Corners were even, square and tight. Trim lined up perfectly. Heights were what we had imagined and sightlines look great. The universal consensus was we’re headed in the right direction, and this is going to be one great place to dream among the branches.

We’ll leave the first floor assembled for a few weeks. My clamps can take a little rain, and the time will allow its future inhabitants a chance to get a feel for the space, and let me know what they might want once we move to the interior.

For me and Peacemaker Treehouses volunteer extraordinaire Rich, it’s on to the second floor, building the floor for the sleeping loft itself and the walls that will close it in — and cap this wonderful treehoouse.

With most of the family off site for some much needed summer escape, it was a good time to string up the yellow “contruction site: caution” tape and roll a few saws out near my favorite willow tree. In spite of the Finger Lakes Region’s reputation for finicky and damp early summers, June this year was wonderful.

With the modified construction schedule now in place, the primary focus of this season’s work will be pre-assembling all the walls that make up the Ithaca treehouse.

That, of course, can present a few challenges.

With summer sunshine keeping spirits high and minds sharp, the first-floor walls start taking on their half-inch plywood skin.

Framing, siding and trimming walls at any site will burn a few calories and strain a speed square or two — but doing all that on walls as separate pieces with enough precision that you can assemble the parts while you and they hang from ropes in a tree, now that’s throwing the gauntlet down for a builder. Pulling this stage off, and with some style, is one of the things that makes treehouse construction such a blast.

Precise design work is the foundation of the effort, and then lots of field checking and needed modifications as a very careful building process begins. With the two processes integrated — which is, after all, the heart of the design/build approach — it’s amazing how well the flexibility inherent in this system lets it all work.

After careful planning and framing, a system emerges -- combine the plywood-skinned walls (upper left) with the prepainted trim (top center) and precoated bevel siding (upper right), and finished walls start to make the leap from notion to reality.

The frames for all of the first-floor walls, 10 in all, were built last fall in the shop and carted to the site for storage. This year, all those walls will need a plywood skin, a must to build the needed shear strength into the structure, then each gets a water barrier attached before prepainted siding and trim are applied. The trick here is always windows, doors and corners; making sure all the measurement and the execution of them works so it all lines up down the road when final assembly rolls around.

Once the first-floor walls are ready for prime time, the second-story floor will be built (which doubles as the first-floor ceiling) and the four main second-story walls will be constructed, skinned up and finished. Since the second floor only covers a portion of the treehouse, there’s less work and material in that step of the project. Still, since the main gable ends are part of the second floor, it won’t be until they’re staring back at us that it will feel like we’ve actually built a house.

So off we go.

ピースメーカー
As always, This comic see to me the high road. Enemys of yesterday is friends of today. Still, I’m not tired that Ryouji Minagawa’s manga.

This volume has been drawn that follows. They drawn in the main to Beat Gabriel and Kyle Palmer. Conversely, most of them do not appear. Hope Emerson, Nicola Crimson, Mixi Banks. They less dialogue.

Devastation of the past Beat, and Why become a Gun Fighter. And revenge to caused to the people. Kyle will solve the mystery that revenge of the person to beat. And Kyle resume with Connie Levine. She was to accompany the journey. To a point that is.

In this volume, final boss appeared. The patriarch of Crimson Family. They are playing an arms dealer. And the provision of weapons, and spreading the seeds of conflict. There are lines like this. “Changing the World”, “For a perfect world”. They will be looking to world domination by use weapons suppliers. The usual small villains. Ultimately, Hope is a fight with them. I think hope is a twist with strange person.

Next volume seems to be a confrontation and students for Beat. I think I’ll look forward to the next number.
maniac manga

[Part 1 of 3]

A friend of mine, Robert Barron, recently led an excellent devotional at a Board of Directors meeting for Sheridan House Family Ministries.  One of the points he made struck me anew even as he was making it:  Robert was explaining that Jesus wanted us to have not just joy, but His joy.

“His joy?”  I thought.  How could Jesus – the All Holy One, the Sinless Savior – describe His time on the earth – the fallen, groaning, sinful earth – with a word anything like “joy”?  Do we really understand the vast separation between the holiness of Jesus and the depravity of man?  I’ll answer that one for you:  NO.

Being finite, fallen creatures, we are not able to comprehend the extreme holiness of God.  The best we can do (if we close our eyes tightly, cover our ears, and strain our brains) is think of someone who is a whole lot better than ourselves.

If we cannot fully comprehend the holiness of God, can we at least comprehend the depravity of man?  Well, even though we start out closer to the goal, we still cannot really comprehend it to even a reasonable degree.  Remember, except for the sin that is in our own hearts (which we fancy to be not as bad as the sin in others . . .), we typically can only see the effects of sin.  Even then, we can only see a fraction of the effects of sin as we happen to witness them ourselves (or hear about them on the news, etc.).  Jesus, on the other hand, sees not just the all of the effects of sin, but as God He actually knows men’s hearts  — in other words, He sees the sin itself.  What, then, does God know about men’s hearts?  Well, He knows that they are more deceitful than all else and desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9) for starters.

So I move the previous question:  How can Jesus, who is more holy than we can comprehend, while living with more sin than we can comprehend, describe anything about His incarnation with the word “joy”?

Suppose you got up from your computer right now and walked outside to the nearest septic tank or sewer and jumped right in.  (Got that visual now?)  Do you understand that that doesn’t even compare to Christ leaving heaven in the incarnation?  Now, while you still have that sewage scene in your mind, picture yourself barely floating, up to your neck in . . . it, and calling your friend on the cell phone saying “Boy, I wish you had ‘my joy’ right now!”

Right after that thought, I began to recall that Jesus not only wanted us to have ‘His joy,’ but also ‘His peace.’  (John 14:27)  Peace?  Seriously?  Here?  Now?

As a Christian litigator and mediator, my thoughts about peace on this planet were more like:

“[They cry out] saying ’Peace, peace,’ but there is no peace!” (Jer. 6:14)

“Too long has my soul had its dwelling with those who hate peace.” (Ps. 120:6)

or

“I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war!” (Ps. 120:7)

So then, whence cometh this Peace of our Lord?  Well, that answer would be in the next two blogs . . . .

In the meantime, think about what is in your life right now that is keeping you from peace.  You’ll need that thought for later.

Until then, Shalom,

– M. Glenn Curran, III, Esquire