The Anvil - 28

Last eve I passed beside a blacksmith's door
And heard the anvil ring the vesper chime;
Then, looking in, I saw upon the floor
Old hammers, worn with beating years of time.

"How many anvils have you had," said I,
"To wear and batter all these hammers so?"
"Just one," said he, and then with twinkling eye,
"The anvil wears the hammers out you know."

And so, thought I, the anvil of God's Word,
For ages skeptic blows have beat upon;
Yet, though the noise of falling blows was heard,
The anvil is unharmed - the hammers gone.

~ Author Unknown

GoOD News ~ Cancer Cure - 24

My mother made it through surgery successfully today for removal of cancerous lymph nodes in her groin area.  i am not able to be with her or help her in recovery as i am many states away and lacking any transportation of funds to do so.  Thankfully my oldest brother has stepped up to help out for the week and, based on his phone call tonight,  mom is doing well and may be discharged tomorrow.

I shared a Col. Joe book on Oxalic acid with my mom last month and sent her a case of carrot juice to get her started, but she is relying on what she knows for treatment, being a nurse and a stubborn Irish woman.  :)  i don't think she has discounted the cancer diet but she doesn't have complete faith that it will work all by itself.  Personally i am not an advocate of current treatments - cut it out and radiate.  i lost my Dad to colon cancer when i was 14 and i lost a brother to leukemia when i was six.  i really know this diet / natural treatment works, but you can't force others to buy into your beliefs.  Even if it is your mother.  Prayers have done the most GoOD for her and i am leaving the recovery and a clean, cancer free future in His hands.  Thank you Father for Your Grace this day.

Spotted Hawk - The Heart of a Friend - 23

i've recently re-posted an email from Nathan dated back in July 2007. 
http://www.photoblog.com/antbrother/2009/12/12/feather-and-hoop.html

i had initially heard Nathan on Zeph's show years ago and instantly felt a connection in my heart to the pure Spirit that flowed from him.  i know over the years he has helped many, many people and, although i have lost touch with him, i know he continues to share that healing Spirit of Jesus with all that are in contact with him.  Words from the past continue to heal and bring meaning back to those he has touched.  i am one such friend, blessed to have shared a bit of time with Spotted Hawk.

Thank you Brother!

Hard Flesh ~ High Spirit - 21

The last couple days have been days of growth inside and out.  Strange how my time picking up pecans while sitting on a five-gallon bucket have given me time to focus.  50 cents a pound.  My impatient humanity has shown through from time to time as well, but the Spirit within comes through and blots it all out making things clear, healing.  The simple process of clarification permeates everything that i have gone through since birth on this rock and shows me  - the purpose, the preparation.  i lay my head to rest tonight covering, protecting and blessing all the brethren and sistren and "idren" under the Wing of The Most High, written in The Book of Life since before the foundations of the world were established. 

Wet Feet and Sharp Chisels - 19

  The wood shop is about to kick into gear again for the next couple weeks - part time.  i have always preferred making gifts for others rather than buying them.  i wouldn't mind disappearing among the wood chips for longer than that but people might wonder where i had gone, perhaps one day more time there may be justified.

   Working with wood is therapeutic for me, as much as gardening, and to be able to create something from wood with my hands gives me great satisfaction.  Often times it is the uncovering process that is so exciting.  Choosing a piece, looking at the grain of the wood and deciding what to do with it are all part of the starting points.  There is always an anticipation of applying the first coat of danish oil to the finished piece, patience, patience - it's not ready yet.  Just another hour of sanding...
i remarked to a friend of mine yesterday that my dad always taught me to do the best that i possibly could no matter what work i may be doing.  The work of our hands is our signature.  i miss those days as a youth, hanging out with my dad in his wood shop, watching him work and asking a million questions.  But for now, i have a GOoD Friend and Master Carpenter to spend some time with while making wood chips fly and sawdust.  Often times the project is already mastered in my mind before i begin - the image is complete and it is just a matter of time before my hands, tools and abilities catch up to that image.  That's the beauty of manifesting an image from your heart - sharing the beauty, goodness and love from within.

God Bless,  ~ ab

47 Bags - 13

  Autumn has an extended season here in the south.  At times i think that gives each of the trees and shrubs time to have their own moment of transition in the spotlight, turning fall colors and shedding their leaves / needles.  The fall season also appears to last longer as winter is slow to show.  This is a time of shedding the old coat and resting, recuperating for the next season of growth.  Roots and foundations grow stronger and energy is rebuilt while we rest in this season.  Nature may slow in its progress visually but it continues to prepare for the next years growth.  What is lost and shed becomes the foundation of the soil for future seasons as the old breaks down and transforms to nourish and replenish. In this season, The Son never ceases to shine.

Preparation.

This Day - 12

Let's rejoice in This Day, another day that we have been blessed to live.  We each woke this morning, blessed before we opened our eyes.  We were given the breath of life and were sustained while we slept.  Protected and watched over by our Creator, our Father, while our bodies continued to heal and grow without our control - that is how He created us and continues to give us life.  Today, This Day, i take simple pleasure in my relationship with God.  One that He has nurtured and guided me through, while He taught me how and who i am to be for others.  God showed me what it takes to have a relationship - to be a friend, a dad, a brother, a son.  He has taught me honor, discipline and focus through faith.

Post on post-T-day - Day 6

Great day today spending time with my sons - mostly football, and football of course.  MSU beat Ole Miss and Florida was working on a shutout last i saw.  The most interesting game was the one that took place in the front yard - Max and Sam and Dad.  We don't keep score, though there always seems to be just a few seconds left in the game - every play - and we need a touchdown to win.  (We always seem to win as any incomplete passes are of course ruled in our favor as pass interferrence.)  Just fun in the front yard - the imagination of a child and the ability to win in all last minute situations.  Sounds like some good rules for faith.

God Bless to all, hope you had a thankful day with your family or friends and reflected on what is most important in your life.  Thanks be to God.

Love,

~antbrother

Church in the Cosmos - Day 5

We had Church tonight at the jail and enjoyed a wonderful thanksgiving buffet afterward.  There is something beautiful about the assembly of people in this place, what has happened in the Spirit transforming them and working through them inside and outside the walls of that prison.  There were about 100 people - residents, friends, family and children.  The service tonight did not have any testimony time but that is a regular part of each worship.  We overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the testimony or witness of our word - His Word.  That's really what this blog is all about and the website i have been chinking on for many years.  Just a testimony to fellow Jesus followers out there, and to those that have not yet opened their hearts to God.

The cosmos is a pretty big place and the God, our God that created it all put us here for a reason.  If you have something to say about your faith and belief in a Carpenter that happened to be the Son of God then speak up.  Minister to one another through the Word of our testimony - a testimony of words and walk through the heavens.

Love and Blessings

~antbrother

**thanks for the pic deer

Edification on Cleaning Tombstones - Day 4

I was thinking of the post a few days ago about the Red Sky Prophecy as foretold by Grandfather Stalking Wolf.  One of the texts has continually rung back at me... i didn't quite see the connection to cleaning tombstones that morning to the lessons from that prophecy.  i have long been a follower and reader of Stalking Wolf - Tom Brown Jr. - and have that profound connection to Creator / creation...

Grandfather taught, "The Earth is dying. The destruction of man is close, so very close, and we must all work that path of destruction. We must pay for the sins of our grandfathers and grandmothers [Editor's note: a concept taught in Christian scripture] for we have long been a society that kills its grandchildren to feed its children. There can be no rest, and we cannot run away; far too many in the past have run away. It is very easy to live the spiritual life away from man, but the truth of the Vision, in spiritual life, can be tested and become a reality when lived near society."

Reflecting on Dadhood - Day 3

  Beautiful day today...  Blue Sky, cool temps, and time with my sons.  Watching them grow up is really a gift and one that i truly have missed with my daughter.  My sons are growing fast and maturing.  They are coming of age and watching them grow and learn is a blessing.  i have missed so much at times, i have missed this closeness with my daughter and regret not being a real Dad, someone that was always there, when she most needed me.
  We have been separated from each other for way too long and there are days when my heart aches because of that separation.  You see children are a part of us, and we are part of them.  They possess portions of our hearts and the goodness that is inherent in each of us.  i believe that.  i have to reach back out to her in faith because you see, she makes me want to be a better Dad and the man that i was created to be - the Spiritual leader of the family. Hopeful restoration of our relationship is something that i continually pray about.  Today i leave us in God's hands.

God Bless Sweetie - Love You - 2i+beyond

Red Sky - Washing White Tombstones (Day2?)

Today was a bit odd...  Prior to heading out to a clients' home to do some landscape maintenance, i received a call and was told that i would be washing tombstones today - those of his family.  While doing the work, i came through various thoughts that questioned what impact and effect that those before us have had.  What did they do with their lives and how did they affect others?  Were they close to the Spirit, or were they self-absorbed and living a life driven by flesh?  Time is short, very short when you think about it, and we have only so many days in our lives to make a positive impact, a selfless impact toward helping others and taking care of this gift of a planet.

Tonight we were talking - late night chats around the sofa - and the Red Sky Prophecy came up as a topic.  i printed out the text and read back through it again.  Clear direction and vision from Grandfather. ->http://www.wolflodge.org/visibiliti/prophecy/redsky.htm

Digging Bricks - Day 1?

Every now and then, i come across a pile of bricks, scraps of wood or various throw away items (you know the old adage.. one man's junk is another man's treasure.), and so, i collect things from time to time. Bricks, plants, composting matter and dirt of course, old pottery, metal work, wood... Today i was collecting worms for the compost pile. Eventually the piles of collectibles have to be sifted and organized and maybe even put to use. Well, i happen to have a lot of piles of stuff - time to organize them and put them to use.


i don't know if this is day one or just somewhere along the time-stream into the process of this project already. i'll have to get my 10 year old mathematician son on cyferin'. He said, "You know, Dad. We still have to finish figuring out that 977 thing." i am being obscure here on purpose, and partly because i am still putting this project together. 977 was a number given to me back in 2007, when the Spirit of God completely filled me and i was blessed to experience God walking in me while i could see the world as He sees. This lasted for two weeks.

Sorry to have been away so long. i started this blog for a daily blurb on what it is like walking a life of faith in Jesus Christ - following Him in The Way. This is for encouragement to all out there walking the same walk. Journaling always helps to refer back to as well - it is a comforting confirmation when i am able to read something written in the past that pertains to what is currently happening in life.

Love and Blessings, ~ antbrother

... just the first step ...

There was a preacher that lived in a town named Anias. Somewhere in Mississippi, I'm told. He said he was having a revelation about finding God and he went around town clearly stating so. I think he committed suicide if I remember the correct story around town, after shutting himself up in a hotel room filled with beer bottles. Drank himself somewhere bad I guess? I don't know the whole story and my memory is terrible anyway. Some days. I remember the oddest details and often forget the simple, "obvious" things.

When I heard the story and thought about how much I talked about God I thought, and I think I stated, "That's not me. Something must have happened to him along the way for him to give up like that. Didn't things change for him? Wasn't he doing something right?" I think we're the only ones that mess up - Jesus is just watching and waiting for us.

So this is a story about a man they called Antbrother who lived in a town called Anias. Talk about a fish out of water, a real Connecticut yankee in King Arthur's court... comes to mind. It may not have any, um .... yeah! ~ She's Home!

A View From the Nosebleed Seats

I have a couple days off due to the cold snap that is blowing down from the north. It gets pretty cold on a scaffold, 20 feet up... scrape - scrape - scraping paint and sandblasting. The view from the nosebleed seats is pretty good though and I've enjoyed learning some new hands-on work with this most recent employment. Today I'll be working on some house plans for my brother and catching up a bit on the main website - spring cleaning early.

Reading Isaiah Chapter 6 again today.

Hope you have a blessed day,

~ antbrother

Out of the Wilderness

Greetings!

Day One. I just thought this might be a GOoD way to start out 2009.



Love and Blessings,

~ antbrother