MRLPJ

Greetings... Below is the test of a prayer I've been praying for a while now.  Perhaps you'll begin to pray this (or something like this) yourself. Pace to you, Friends... Daver -- Lord Jesus Christ …   I long to be and become…   1/ Wholly Alive (that is, Wholly Martyr-like until my martyrdom in “this current Earth-life” is carried-out).       2/ Thoroughly Converted .   3/ Thoroughly Surrendered to Y-you (that is, Brought by Y-you to that Eternal Time, Space, and Place , where I’ve completely yielded myself to Y-you, where I’ve seen and offered myself to Y-you as Wholly Y-yours , and… where I’ve begun to relate—intimately and unreservedly—to Y-you as My Everything ). 4/ Thoroughly Carved, Shaped, and Transformed ( Artisanally ) into Loving-heartfulness [ see definition below ] (that is, into Y-your Loving-image and -likeness ) that I might indeed be and become Love Loving .   Loving-Heartfulness, a definition… ...

Greetings, Friends ! It's been a LONG year for me... A VERY LONG YEAR ... Beginning (on 20 Dec) right before Christmas last year (in 2024), and then ending (on 20 Jan) exactly one month later (in 2025), I lost three very close family members.  The most devastating was the loss of my Dad, who died at the age of 91 on 20 Jan. To grieve, I took a year off from several things (blogging, podcasting, etc.). And... even though I'm still grieving, I'm stepping back into some of the things I set down for a bit. This is the first blog post I've written in almost ten months.  After Christmas and New Years, I'll resume a weekly blogging schedule until 30 Apr, at which time, I'll take a two-month break.  Next week, I'll record the first podcast I've recorded in about ten months as well.  And, similar to blogging (but slightly different), I'll resume a biweekly podcasting schedule, also until 30 Apr. So... what will I be writing and talking about?  Well, in a nut...

  I tell folks all the time: "Get your black belt in 'something,' and then start exploring other arts." Every martial art (MA) has it's gaps. What are the gaps in yours? Once you get your black belt in one MA, you've graduated kindergarten. Now it's time to start exploring and filling the gaps. You do this, by enrolling in another kindergarten program... And then another... And then another... The cool thing is that you never really move beyond kindergarten. You just keep enrolling in one kindergarten program after another. A true master is really just someone who's repeated kindergarten more than anyone else. Here are the kindergarten programs I've gone through and am still enrolled in (some as an intentional repeat): In the below kindergarten programs... By "fluid (that is, within the arenas of 'fluid')," I mean that I've gotten my black belt (or what might be the equivalent of a black belt). Most of these disciplines...

  What is human aging? The passing of time, during which a person gets chronologically older?   Sure.   But it’s much more than that. Personally, I don't care that much about my chronological age.  What matters to me are... 1/M y biological age. 2/My emotional age. 3/My cognitive age. And.. 4/My sagely age. In my life, I want to be biologically vibrant.  Emotionally, I want to be both young and old (that is, I want to be A Childlike Old Soul ).  Cognitively, I want to be vibrant, adaptable, malleable, and incredibly teachable.  In my sagely senses, I want, like in my emotional self, to be both young and old.   The factors that lead to the aging in the areas I care about most are many.  Here are the principal twelve factors I focus on daily.  I encourage you to focus on these things similarly... but in your own unique, awesome, and revellious way! Here you go... 1/Loss of fluids. 2/Loss of muscle mass. 3/Loss of bone mass. 4/Los...

Jesus to me (as I think upon and respond to the words of those around me): “Dave… Those who are full of talk and themselves know nothing; Those Who Are Wise speak very little, and then only cautiously, candidly, frankly, humbly, respectfully, and reverently of the little they do know, being careful to hint at The Source of Their Wisdom. Live out The Gospel, Dave, kind-heartedly, happily, and freely; and do so far more often than you ever talk about it. It’s hard to ignore a kind-hearted, happy, and free person. A life lived in such a way will communicate volumes and quell—through stillness and tender-heartedness—the accusing and slandering voices of the entrapped, injured, and crippled; the explosively enraged; the arrogantly hateful; the inordinately driven; the deceitfully harsh; and the painstakingly ignorant.”

It's been said, human beings can, typically, survive for only… 1/Thee seconds [see Note below] when attacked or mauled by a wild predator (such as a lion, bear, moose, boar, or wolf). Note: These times are not absolute (as everyone is different). These times are intended to represent only general, order-of-magnitude, time-frames. 2A/Three hours (without treatment) if bitten or attacked by a poisonous snake, insect, or arachnid. 2A/Three hours (in harsh weather conditions [see Note below]) without suitable shelter. Note: Cold and wet conditions tend to be harsher on human survivability than hot and dry conditions. More people die (or die quicker) each year from hypothermia (being chilled too much for too long) than hyperthermia (being warmed too much for too long). 3/Three minutes without air. 4/Three days without water. 5A/Three weeks without food. 5B/Three weeks without sleep. 6/Three years without friendship and companionship. - Most Holy God… You’re My Hiding Place, My Prote...

Jesus to Me: “ Dave … I want you to own everything in your life: This includes your thoughts, feelings, wise choices, poor choices, selfless actions, self-centered actions, inactions, words spoken, words unspoken, good deeds done, good deeds not done, bad deeds done, and bad deeds (of taking revenge, etc.) done only in your imagination. I want you, too, to take complete ownership of your life-outcomes. By that, I mean, take ownership for and of everything that’s ever happened to you—especially those things you label as being ‘bad’ or ‘evil.’”