Hundreds of small tremors take place along fault lines across the world every day. However, they are too small to detect. Recent research shows that those small tremors are very important. Signals emanating from fault zones are thought to be silent earthquakes. They are slow moving quakes that displace the ground without shaking it. They do not generate seismic waves, so they are harder to detect. It’s thought that these silent quakes do two important things: they relieve seismic plate tension so that major quakes are less likely and they may help predict when a major seismic event is about to take place.
Most of what people experience and from which they draw their conclusions come down to two primary areas: sensation and reflection. Sensation relates mostly to initial reaction in the physical such as if something is cold or hot, soft or hard, yellow or blue and so on. If we go by that alone we may get a very limited view of what is happening though it may be superficially correct. Reflection relates to perception, thinking, doubting, believing, reasoning, knowing and willing. Reflection isn’t necessarily about what is happening around us; it is reflection on the operation of our own minds. It is knowing why we think what we do (metacognition), and in that knowing, becoming better at seeing things more clearly and then responding appropriately.
Those involved in the field of graphology (handwriting analysis) say that how a person crafts letters and words can indicate as many as 5000 personality traits. If when you write in cursive and your writing slants to the right, you tend to be open and like to socialize. If your writing slants to the left you like to work alone or behind the scenes. If you are right-handed and your handwriting slants to the left you may be expressing rebellion. If your writing does not slant at all you tend to be logical and practical and are guarded with your emotions.
Most of the demands of life are rather ordinary; consuming our days, months, years and lives. We have things that we have to do from day to day, but we have to be careful that we do not let those affairs obscure the pursuit of real meaning. There is a nautical term that describes what those circumstances might do to us if we aren’t careful. One of them is “Boxing the Compass,” which refers to a wind that is constantly shifting. It is an interesting term because another meaning is that of stating the 32 points of the compass, starting at north and proceeding clockwise. The first suggests a situation that is out of control, while the second refers to a greater awareness and thus greater control of the direction in which our lives are heading.
A majority of people would probably say that they have far more regrets over things they said, than things they didn’t say. A knowledgeable person learns how to spare his or her words. A passage in Proverbs goes further to say that even the foolish can be counted wise when they refrain from speaking at the wrong moment (Proverbs 17:27-28). It is the one most apt to listen that will also be the one most apt to learn.
The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come.
It is presumed that most readers of this article will at least acknowledge a Higher Power, whom they perceive as God. However, the question then becomes whether that entity can be known or even needs to be known. Creation (man) needs to know its Creator. Any reasonable, sensible person knows that it is impossible for life to spring from nothing; that a simple cell could not evolve into a monkey and then a human being. An apple tree brings forth other apple trees; a monkey sires other monkeys and humans only produce after their kind: other humans. What a person believes about his or her origin determines everything about the direction of their life.
On a recent list compiled of two hundred forty cities in the United States with a population of 100,000 or more, New York City ranked 222nd in crime, falling into the same category as small towns in California and Florida. Crime in New York City started to fall in the 1990s, but has continued to fall since that time, even though the city of often stereotyped as being a city of rampant crime. Those looking at the trend have concluded that the reason for the dramatic change was due to the impact zones created by the New York City Police Department. The department would double the number of officers in neighborhoods where crimes were being committed and the crime rate would start to drop almost immediately. There were three reasons: prevention (anticipation), resolution (solved) and relocation (displacement).
April Issue 3 2013
In Eagle River this March, over a hundred local people had a great time — bowling for a purpose! The local affiliate of “Love In the Name of Christ” is comprised of 19 local Christian churches who are dedicated to providing real love and help to our neighbors in need. We take serious our Lord Jesus Christ’s commandment: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Here’s just a few examples, before we get back to the great bowling event.
Every move we make in life opens up both perils and possibilities. There are numerous potentialities and problems with each step we take and very often they come in the same parcel.
