Click here for Dr. B's thoughts/questions on Christmas posted Dec. 1-25, 2013.
*“Every human’s greatest calling is to love; and every teacher’s and parent’s greatest calling is to show them how.”
S. Brooke Thoughts for the Christian Teacher ‘10
*“Dreams never die. They are simply trampled over by life.
But death has not visited the dwelling place of dreams. When life has been lived and man sees little sand in the hourglass of his being, the realization dawns that long forgotten dreams are all he really has. Newer visitors to this lonely orb, traveling ever more rapidly through life, look at the dreamer and proclaim his life to be done. But the dreamer knows better. As long as there are dreams, there is life.
And, who’s to say who is more blessed or rewarded: the traveler living life or the dreamer dreaming dreams.”
S. Brooke Memories of Tomorrow ‘10
*“Man is, in every sense, only dirt breathed on by Life.”
*“Memories are what make each who they are…All that a person is hangs by these tenuous strings. Disturb an individual’s memory and who they are will be forever altered….Making memories is, after all, God’s commission – and each person’s reason for being.”
S. Brooke If Maggie’s Not in Heaven….. ‘09
“*Few greater atrocities are ever committed by the well meaning than by the parent or teacher who would rob a child of his dreams.” S. Brooke Thoughts for the Christian Teacher ‘10
*Much of one’s life is built around fallacious assumptions of other’s opinions of him and his actions"
*“The gift of choosing one’s master and way puts the power of the universe and the future into each pair of hands entering into this terrestrial existence.”
*"If love could be fully communicated by any book – including the Bible – man would have been created without arms, or tongues or hearts.”
S. Brooke Thoughts for the Christian Teacher ‘10
*There is much to be said for predictable perfection but anticipation and wonder are not among them.
*“God did not raise or train perfect children…neither will we.”
S. Brooke Thoughts for the Christian Teacher ‘10
*it is left for the lonely adult to recall the days of discovery and excitement, and long again for a time that is forever lost.
S. Brooke Friends are Friends Forever ‘11
*“Among many strange aspects of what each calls “religion” is the tendency to validate one’s particular strain of religiosity by emotional experiences, inward sensing or outward miracles – blithely unaware that all other beliefs validate theirs by the same yardsticks.”
S.Brooke Belief for the Individual 2012
*“Every human’s greatest quest is a reason to live. No greater gift can be given by any teacher or parent.”
S. Brooke Thoughts for the Christian Teacher ‘10
*“…buried deeply within the mind of every man there exists the nagging doubt that if where he finds himself and his culture in his day is really a desired and laudatory progression from that of yesterday. To minimize the impact and import of such doubts, progress labels them ‘nostalgia’ and relegates them to the neverland of dreams and visions – where memories go to die.”
S. Brooke Uncas ‘08
* “The diligent seeker soon notes that all religions – whatever their origin – attribute miracles to their deity. Considering the wide-ranging prevalence of such proclaimed occurrences only a limited number of explanations are plausible: miracles are more common than supposed and thus perhaps not miracles at all; many deities or entities with supernatural power exist; but one belief is true and the many others only conjure up supposed miracles; or one sole deity operates in more realms and in more differing manifestations than adherents are willing to consider .
But, in reality, such musings are academic, as the belief in true miracles continues to plummet among all faiths and beliefs - to rest forever in the graveyard of dashed hopes and expectations, never to be resurrected - until, of course, there is a desperate need for one in the life of the individual.”
S.Brooke Belief for the Individual 2012
*You sin…….I err
You were malicious…..I was deceived
You a fallen sinner…..I but a slipping saint
Your intent was evil………I was misdirected
You cared not for anyone but self…………….I acted for the “greater good”
Your sin is always worse than my sin
S.Brooke Belief for the Individual 2012
*The Molder of the Future seems to take great pleasure in dangling perfection and ultimate happiness in front of each and then snatching it away as if to teach that such assumed perfection neither molds character nor ends in true happiness.
*“The time one gives to another is eternity’s greatest gift and love’s greatest expression.
It is life.”
* “Jesus’ statement that narrow is the road leading to eternal life in effect narrowed the entrance to heavenly realms from a sixteen lane thoroughfare to a two lane highway. It was then left to each denomination and color of belief to shrink it to a path from which a caterpillar’s body hair would protrude on each side – confident that only they will one day become butterflies.”
S.Brooke Belief for the Individual - '12
“*The only lasting legacy any person will ever leave shines through the eyes of a child.”
S. Brooke Thoughts for the Christian Teacher ‘10
*“The mind and spirit of every man can be reduced to a small collection of memories, carefully selected from the multitudes that passed by.”
S. Brooke Memories of Tomorrow ‘10
* “This world is full of ordinary people………..not one of whom considers himself to be ordinary.”
S. Brooke Virginal Maiden Clothed…………. ‘10
*“Some lay it at the feet of God; others claim it to be nothing more than the undirected workings of fate. But there are those times when two lives seem to have been forever destined to join; and by joining, to impact the lives and destinies of others in such a dramatic and indelible fashion as to eliminate any possibility outside of the molding hand of creator God.”
S. Brooke If Maggie’s Not in Heaven….. ‘09
*“Perhaps fate is but a tool of the Almighty or perhaps it is only the Almighty in unrecognizable disguise.”
S. Brooke If Maggie’s not in Heaven… ‘08
*“again and again, man returns to drink from the fountain of beauty with no realization, or perhaps no desire to realize, that the chain connecting beauty with truth is strong at both ends but misses a link to join the middle.”
*“The footprints one stands within today are the new doors to all tomorrows.”
*“Pride threatens to turn man’s every decision into an insatiable desire to be thought of as more than he is.”
*“Pride is birthed with the potential of becoming an intoxicating drink capable of dulling all reason and sensibilities as it bids those it inflicts to bow at the altar of self.”
*Most alterations to one’s life and direction evolve slowly over the course of time. But, there are those times when, in a moment, all changes. The past no longer connects smoothly with the future. These times are not foreseen by those to whom they come, but they are sent from above to make life worth living.
*“Memories are fragile entities; but spider webs blowing in the wind. They connect in logical patterns then pull apart to flail about as if there was no relation to those from which they have just pulled away.”
S. Brooke Uncas - ‘09
*“The Evil One is more than content to stand aside as churches are built on every corner and ministries span the globe. He trembles only at the sight of a single life being changed by love from one other – knowing Christianity will triumph in no other way.”
S. Brooke Thoughts on Christianity ‘12
*Who stops to acknowledge a culture that recognizes anyone can fall in love with any other must also acknowledge that any can then fall out of love with any other.
*With the passing of time memories travel two paths: they are relegated to the trove of happenings never to be recalled; or they become more vivid with each recollection, ascending to a degree of reality often surpassing even what has transpired today.
*“Ideas which cannot endure challenge and scrutiny belong on the scrap heap of history. Truth has nothing to fear from error.”
S. Brooke Questions on the Nature and Purpose of God ‘05
*Somewhere beyond sexual attraction hides a primal and entirely personal inner drive to fulfill, and be fulfilled by, another
*occasionally, the Keeper of all Things mysteriously dips the tip of his finger into the life-pond of still water and – though hardly noticed at the time – the resulting ripples slowly make the water their own and spread outward toward eternity, exerting an influence which could never be fathomed at the time of almost unnoticed visitation.
*“Clay surrenders to the potter’s hands only when it is not looking at what it will become, but only at the joy of becoming.”
* Though many look at the universe, the raging storm, the towering mountains or the vast seas, and feel the presence of the Almighty, perhaps his greatest work is small like this and often goes unnoticed.
*“Changing for acceptance promises friends but delivers acquaintances.”
S.Brooke ‘12
*“It has been said, ‘love means never having to say “I’m sorry.”’ In reality only the three magic words, ‘I love you’ are more often required for love to ascend to its highest peak.”
S.Brooke ‘12
*"If Jesus returned to earth today it would indeed be interesting to note where He would choose to attend church, or if He would replicate His first visit and not attend at all.”
S.Brooke ‘12
*“Seeking acceptance by changing says a little about one’s character but a lot about one’s friends.”
S.Brooke ‘12
*“True friendship bows only at the altar of death”
S.Brooke ‘12
*“Why is the purest form of love reserved for little kids and dogs?”
S.Brooke ‘12
*“Why is the Bible so often regarded as containing all the secrets needed for eternity but none for the next day?”
S.Brooke ‘12
*“There is no more startling realization in the life of any believer than the moment when the thought occurs that one’s greatest calling – and Father God’s proudest moment – is not when one of His children sings His praises, attends a gathering in His name, or sacrifices worldly goods for His cause; but when His child stoops to love one perhaps even more unworthy than himself.”
S. Brooke Thoughts on Christianity ‘12
*“Christians have always longed for, and given special accolades to, those mass ministries and sweeping movements that they pray will one day envelop the world – faining to remember their faith is spread only via one small voice speaking to one receptive heart.”
S. Brooke Thoughts on Christianity ‘12
*“Any review of Scripture will reveal we are never commanded to build ministries----only lives.
S. Brooke Thoughts on Christianity ‘12
*"Of all the accolades given by man or beast, few transcend, “He is my friend.” S
S.Brooke ‘12
*A skeptic once said, “God did not create man; man created God.” This erroneous argument’s cousin in the truthful one: that each man builds his own clearly defined box and places his God inside, restricting him to each individual’s infantile expectations.
* How little we realize that each moment we are given inherently holds identical potential for great joy or great sadness; and that upon receipt of each such transient gift we face the decision to clutch it to our bosom as our most treasured possession or to wrap it in love and give it away - thereby giving to another what we cannot anyway keep and what they cannot anyway forget.
Is life really any more complicated than this?
S. Brooke Crusaders to a Different Realm ‘12
* When a poor soul does give his life for money, recognition, bravado, convenience, pride, pleasure or a host of other fellow travelers, others are prone to cluck their tongues and note how foolish to sacrifice all for little of nothing: all the while realizing deep in their own being they have made just such decisions an uncountable number of times and will again ere the sun goes down this evening.
Proving, if nothing else, that life is much less precious than we claim it to be.
S. Brooke Crusaders to a Different Realm ‘12
*“…evil exists only as a co-joined companion of intent.”
S. Brooke From the Dust of the Ground ‘10
*How often does one find himself tied to an idea, principle, pleasure or person and suddenly realize he is being pulled in a direction he dare not go. Yet, with the realization, how seldom does the captive escape the clutches of the malevolent force - and how often, in spite of protestations even to himself, is it because no real desire to extricate oneself exists.
Man’s ultimate deception is – as it has always been – directed at himself.
S. Brooke The Last Paddle Fish ‘12
* Few words speak excitement into the male of our species’ soul more than, “Let’s go fishing!” And few there be who can resist it.
Could any successfully number the relationships formed through the binding together by nothing more sturdy than a simple fishing line.
And who’s to say that in eternities hence the most fortunate of men may not stand one day gazing out across the waters of forever, only to feel an arm slip softly around his shoulder and turn to find the simple fishing lines which bound two souls together so long ago - in what each feared to be only a temporal union - had pulsing inside them the heartbeat of eternity.
S. Brooke The Last Paddle Fish ‘12
*Faced with the dreaded realization the road being traversed is not the one toward destiny, all too few pilgrims have the courage and fortitude to retreat to the beginning and search again for their elusive road of life.
S. Brooke Awakenings ‘12
*“Has any discovered a limit to which one will not go for acceptance?”
S.Brooke ‘12
*“There is much concern today about people ‘who have left the church’. Should the greater concern be about the people the church has left?
And, in eternity’s eyes, who has committed the greater wrong?”
S. Brooke ‘12
*“If, in the church of today, “praise and worship” is directed to God, from the effort and result it surely envisions a God who is handicapped in sight, hearing and understanding, else why would screens be ever larger, music ever louder, and lyrics repeated ad infinitum.”
S. Brooke – ‘12
*Today’s laughter does hold special enjoyment to each person traversing along life’s journey – but only because it can be so readily contrasted with yesterday’s tears.
S.Brooke “Crusader to a Different Realm” ‘12
*“Americans are prone to openly proclaim our “freedom” when compared with other oppressed societies around the world. In reality, the only uniquely American freedom remaining is the freedom to select the leaders who will oppress us.”
S. Brooke “Comments on Democracy” ‘12
*Actually, friends are bound together by little else than need. The need for companionship, the need to love and be loved, the need to respect and to be respected, the need to need and be needed, the need to matter to at least one other: all needs satisfied by that one dubbed “friend”.
And, if friendship is truly little more than this, then need is one of the Eternal Best Friend’s greatest gifts to those whom, apparently, He needs.
S. Brooke “The Last Paddle Fish”
*Americans are prone to view in startled amazement and condemnation a government such as China which tells its citizens whether or not they may have a child. What must be next on this slippery slope to totalitarianism – the government, by requiring a license and fee, telling couples if they can marry, and whom they may marry?”
S. Brooke “Comments on Democracy” ‘12
* Categorizing acts as “right” or “wrong” is done constantly by all members of the human race – assuming in many cases their decision is equal to that of the Final Arbiter of All Such.
This act is called “judging” and appears from Scriptural evidence and Jesus’ reaction while on earth, to be the sin God hates most when it is directed at others.
When directed inward toward oneself, however, it is the first step to righteousness.
S. Brooke “The Last Paddle Fish” ‘12
*Does the Creator attach greater value to one moment of our lives in comparison to any another? On what basis do we rightfully judge one moment of life more important than the myriad of others?
Harboring such shortsightedness sets the stage for a judgment to creep into our lives which portends an existence filled with excitement only in anticipation of a rare moment, and depression as soon as the moment has expired. Leaving, sadly, nothing to live for except the next glittering, shining moment.
S.Brooke “Crusader to a Different Realm” ‘12
* Most never suffer from agonizing questions over decisions of right and wrong. When in doubt they readily dismiss any possible wrong – thereby clearing any cobwebs of possible guilt from their conscience.
Are they the most deceived, the most realistic, the most unprincipled, or simply the least troubled?
S. Brooke “The Last Paddle Fish” ‘12
*“Memories are what make each who they are…All that a person is hangs by these tenuous strings. Disturb an individual’s memory and who they are will be forever altered….Making memories is, after all, God’s commission – and each person’s reason for being.”
*“Life begets life; life sustains life: a never ending cycle began in a garden and ending in a Paradise – where all life will finally be eternal.”
*“Love, uniting as one, walks the golden streets of the Celestial City; existence apart cries from the deepest pit of a torturous Hell.”
S. Brooke, Old Dogs and God - ‘09
*“Someday it will be revealed which is stronger – friendship or death.”
S.Brooke ‘12
*Little one does in life is not a result of a deliberate effort by others or perhaps by happenstance to inculcate into one’s mind the processes and procedures expected by his culture or peer group.
S. Brooke If There Be Not an Eagle…. ‘10
*It has been said that people truly value only those causes and institutions for which they are asked to sacrifice – the more that is asked the more value one attaches to the cause. A statement which, if true, might well be the death knell for the modern church.
S. Brooke – ‘12
*For us, and those with whom we walk this lonely orb, the only thing worse than seeing our most cherished dreams and plans never come to fruition, would be seeing them play out exactly as we desire and plan.
S. Brooke The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men… ‘12
* Every man’s most deadly enemy and every culture’s most dangerous inhabitant is each individual’s “desire”. No evil ever perpetrated did not spring from this most personal and potentially devilish of incubators.
S. Brooke The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men… ‘12
* The thought processes of each person are truly known only to that individual. And, in reality, no person can fairly compare his thoughts to those of another; thoughts being such personal things.
S.Brooke ‘12
* No more painful or disconcerting admission can be made by any man than the acknowledgement that time - the ultimate foe - has won. Remaining are only memories, made more precious by the realization they are singularly each man’s and will soon go with him to an abode where time is no more.
He will take nothing else from this life, but, could he, in taking these, become the ultimate victor.
*A strange and often overlooked affinity exists between the land God created and the creatures with which He populated His new existence. Each living thing depends on the dust of the earth for life and being. So, each is, in a real way, part of that on which he walks.
But only man was said to be made of that very dust. Surely, he was to realize he was, in every sense, only dirt breathed on by Life. He is, in the end, only dust – the child of that on which he now walks and to which he will all too soon return.
S. Brooke Memories of Tomorrow ‘09
*Though awakenings enjoy the grandeur and excitement of the uppermost mountain peaks, the sweetest memories rest among the still shadows of the quiet valleys. There they have remained since their conception: born in the mind and life of the adventurer returning from the mountain top.
S. Brooke Awakenings ‘11
*“Any plan – no matter how dangerous, foolish or evil – is rewarded only with success and acclaim in a mind transported to a never existent future. But, what a horrible fate it would be could one actually know what lie ahead.”
*“all leaders of any duration learn a secret of leadership is to lead in the same direction as the group’s own desires point, thus assuring satisfied followers who are, as a result, eager to follow a leader of such foresight and wisdom.”
*The only thing worse than someone who knows it all is someone who thinks he does. *How can God be timeless and yet take 6 days to create?Can he step into and out of time?
*Maybe pride was something given to neither man nor angel by the Creator. If man was truly created in His image, one would expect man’s traits (although spoiled by sin) to also be God’s. Yet, if the Possessor and Knower of all Things were inflicted with any degree of pride, would He be found nailed to a tree, naked and spat upon, ridiculed by His own creation? Would He accept – seemingly without protest – man using His name as a by-word of derision? Would He, with silent resignation, absorb eternity’s ultimate insult – rejection? Would He allow himself to be cast aside by a force no stronger that a mere thought in the mind of man?
No, there must be another answer. Pride must have sprung from another source. Perhaps the answer is found in the last sentence of the above paragraph. Could it be possible the Eternal Ruler and Keeper of the Universe willingly subjected Himself and His will to the will of man? Is this the real source of pride – man discovering he had within him a force to which even God bows in willing subjection?
* Faced with the dreaded realization the road being traversed is not the one toward destiny, all too few pilgrims have the courage and fortitude to retreat to the beginning and search again for their elusive road of life. But even when courage is summoned, such a decision to abort one journey and begin another often leaves more questions than it even seeks to answer.
And, most daunting and discouraging of all is the realization that one may never know with certainty the second road was any more ordained than the first. But, it is incumbent on all to search until the road they travel seems, by divine revelation or joyous experience, to, indeed, end in the celestial city of “Destiny”
* There is no greater coward than he who, for fear of the unknown, accepts less than he is destined to be.
*Fate mounts a myriad of different steeds. Most pay homage to fate only if its course connects to some pleasurable or joyous event. But just as often less anticipated or enjoyed occurrences offer fate an open field in which to work. Could one but see how fate would operate, and see the One whose hand guides from afar, even many of the dreaded events of life would be transformed into those marked... by eager anticipation.
It is strange the Creator fashioned his creatures without the ability of such foresight. He denied such vision and asked instead that dread of the unknown be replaced with confidence in His best direction of the eternal pageant of time.
He searches for such confidence in each of the creatures He loves. And, when he finds it, he calls it “faith”.
