Spanish Guitar (I)

Beginnings

  I was going through some old papers from my desk a few
days ago and came across some of my early writings. They
we're filled with spelling and punctuation errors, of course,
but they were also imaginative. In my younger days I often
dreamed of becoming a sports writer. I loved sports, as most
13 year old's do, and basketball was the main focus of my
writing. I fantasized about covering the ABA, which was my
favorite brand of pro basketball at that time, and the home~
town Kentucky Colonels. They were such a fun team for me
to watch, or rather, to listen to on whas radio out of Louisville.

In my fantasies I imagined my friends and I having a local
AAUA team. Sort of a hodgepodge of teens with superstar~
talent in our neighborhood. We had a great team, named
after my heroes of course, the Colonels. We were comprised
of several of my friends, my brother and me and coached by
my dad. The Lexington Colonels were born and ready to
whip every team in Lexington! Or so we thought.

 During the regular season we would play other team's from
around Lexington and a few from neighboring cities, beating
most of them and making it to the league playoffs. We did
have trouble with a select number of teams but still managed
To have an impressive record! I had to make it somewhat
realistic, after all. The Colonels provided great excitement for
all of our fans and even gained new ones when we played in
front of hostile crowds, so to speak! This team would soon
become legends throughout Kentucky, in my own mind, of
course!

 Much of our style of play was copied after the ABA and it's
wild, playground antics. It was just plain fun for all of us!
Being known for their basketball dominance, the state of
Kentucky only benefited from this group of teenage super~
stars who drew great crowds on concrete and blacktop
courts across Lexington! My brother was a pure shooter
and often hit some long shots from deep on the perimeter.
My friend, Mike, was quick and sneaky in the backcourt
and wasn't afraid to go inside for a basket. Me? I was the
`white version` of Dr. J, Julius Erving, my childhood hero!
As many of you know, Julius was an amazing and unique
player in the ABA and NBA! I loved the way he soared and
dunked the ball. That's what I dreamed of doing and in my
fantasies, I could.

 As the Lexington Colonels, we would dominate the AAUA
and move on to become repeat champion's for several years!
My journey as a would-be sports writer took me to some
great destinations for the sake of basketball and it was a
healthy dream for me through my teen years and beyond!
I miss that time of beginning and how much in love I was
with this thing called writing, almost as much as I loved
the game of basketball and still do.

 Thank the good Lord for imagination!

Jeff Pendleton
8/11/16

The Minarcik Ministry: satan At Work

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Bigfoot: Most Mysterious

  A good friend of mine operates a YouTube channel which deals with all sorts
of mysterious subjects including one of the more popular mysteries, Bigfoot.
Some label this elusive creature as Sasquatch but no matter what label we
put on him, he continues to evade our best investigators using top~notch
scientific equipment. He is a real `stinker` in the game of "hide and seek"!
My friend has interviewed many normal, everyday people on his show who
have encountered Bigfoot/Sasquatch in their personal lives while going about
normal, daily routines. Almost all came away from the experience terrified
and profoundly changed in their current world~view! Non~believers have
become believers, in the existence of Bigfoot, while those who had previous
views which bordered on belief have been validated because of their scary
encounters!

  In my opinion, believing or denying that this creature exists, is not the main
factor in studying and researching the topic. It's our personal view of the
mysterious aura which seems to surround the subject of so~called cryptids.
Each case brings with it an enigmatic set of variables that consist of sight,
sound and smells which often accompany the reported encounters. There
have been certain pieces of hair~samples, unearthly sounds which terrify
witnesses and a foul~smelling stench that permeates the surroundings!
It can be argued that these variables are fragments from other creatures
in the woods but one can not simply dismiss them out~of~hand based
solely on personal belief or the lack of it! Science must be brought into the
discussion and serious research from reputable cryptozoologist`s and other
top scientists is needed.

  During the interviews on his show, which is called, "Brenton Sawin Mysteries
To Search", I have heard many of the witnesses speak of their encounters with
terrifying emotion and questioning the experience...why did this happen to
them? I have gotten the sense from listening to these responses that these
poor folks have had life~changing experiences that they would just assume
be relegated to a fairy~tale or a foolish nightmare. Some of them have been
severely traumatized and continue to suffer with physiological and emotional
conditions. Whatever these creatures are, they elicit long~lasting effects on
the people who come near them!

  One particular effect which has been mentioned on Brenton`s channel and
on others is something called, infrasound. It appears to be a type of low,
heavy growl which sort of vibrates and renders the victim incapacitated for
at least a few minutes! From reports gathered, the effect causes the person it
is aimed at to be hypnotized, in a way, and many have inexplicably begun
taking their clothes off and folding them in a neat pile. Very strange indeed!
There is yet another creature which is gaining rapid attention for those who
go hunting for Sasquatch. This creature is called, Dogman, for lack of a better
term because it seems to resemble a dog`s face while walking upon two legs, covered all over its body with long, dark hair.Dogman seems to be in a very
different category by his self. Unlike Bigfoot, Dogman gives off a more insidious
feeling towards witnesses who have the misfortune of coming near one! He
comes across as an evil, intimidating cryptic, very large and more like a
werewolf, as it were.

  Whatever these things are, they don't seem to want any company in their
neighborhoods. With only a few exceptions, Sasquatch and Dogman have
remained hidden from society and, apart from more recent encounters
which have seemingly caught video and audio evidence, they continue to be
very elusive and perfectly in control of who they allow to come into their
territory! These guys are truly mysterious, dark creatures!

  I personally want to be able to go on an expedition, with Brenton and others,
in search of Sasquatch and Dogman, at least I think I do, and be able to
document our adventures on audio and video in order to bring our evidence
To the people. It could be very dangerous and it could be very exciting but one
thing is certain, it will not be boring! We are really looking forward to it.
.

History through the Ages: The Turin Shroud

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Words Are Powerful

  Most of us like to talk rather than listen! Considering that we all have two
ears and only one mouth makes that fact seem a bit ridiculous! It is true,
however, that we talk twice as much as we listen and usually our favorite
subject is, us. If we take a good look at our society today we are infatuated
with ourselves. It's the "selfie" generation, after all!

  That mentality is not regulated only to photos of ourselves on our cell~
phones but it oftentimes will manifest in the conversations we engage
in. We usually feel better about ourselves when we are talking about us!
It's just our nature as human~beings to steer any conversation back
toward ourselves. Self~image has to be first, you know!

  Having said this I would like to think about how important our words
are. Our words do have power. We can either build up or tear down by
the words we allow to come out of our mouth! Our intentions are
immediately known when we open our mouths to speak! We can't hide
our words once we begin speaking. We can, however, train our lips
and our tongue to speak words of encouragement and wisdom, if we
choose to do it! We need the help of the Holy Spirit of God to do this,
though.

  If you are a person who studies God`s word you are aware that the
Lord has much to say on the words we use. Several verses of scripture
reveal to us that we can either prosper or suffer loss simply by the
words we choose to use! In Provers 18;4 we see that..."the words of a
man`s mouth are deep waters". In Proverbs 18;6 it says, "a fool`s lips
enter into contention and his mouth calls for blow`s". Our words are
vital to our health and the health of those around us!

  As amazing as it may seem our words can also give either life or
death as well. Proverbs 18;21 tells us that, "death and life are in the
power of the tongue"! That's a very clear and straightforward truth!
The second part of that verse says, "and they that love it will eat the
fruit thereof"! I would say that`s pretty powerful, wouldn't`t you?

  Clearly we are admonished to watch closely what we say to those
we speak with. It's a tremendous responsibility but it can also be a
great opportunity to `bless` the other person. Just think about how
much we complain about our circumstances to someone else. It`s
much more than we might think! The opposite of that is trying to
be an encouraging person that can lift another's spirit by speaking
kind words accompanied by a positive attitude. Either one will
work 100% of the time! It never fail`s!

  Now that we know these simple and profound truth`s we should
take every opportunity we get to speak life, liberty, love and many
blessings upon those we talk to. It's our choice but we must always
remember too that we will give an account of each word which
proceeds out of our mouths before God one day! It's that important
folks and it something each of us has a choice on!

  This is a brand new day so let's begin it by choosing our words
wisely and speaking life into someone's day and not death! Our
words are powerful, after all!

Spock, A Christian? Fascinating!

  The title of this post is very provocative I know. It comes from an idea I had after watching a
few episodes of the original Star Trek series and concentrating on the Vulcan logic of the character
of Spock. I mused about the possibility of Spock becoming a "born again Christian" in the midst
of a very humanistic and technologically-advanced world would be quite a 'fly in the ointment', so
to speak! The world of Star Trek comes, of course, from the mind of Gene Roddenberry, a former
army-pilot and a man with a rather humanistic view on life! Roddenberry's wife, Majel, played a
couple of major roles in both the original show and also Star Trek:The Next Generation.

  Vulcans are certainly a species who are closer to using logical ways of thinking much more than
either humans or most other species on the show! I allowed my mind to wonder and imagine a
story-line which would involve a human male who comes to a deep space-station as a trader of
goods and a painter. He also happens to be a Christian, devoted to the study of the holy scriptures
and a man who 'fears God'! As the Enterprise crew is granted shore-leave on the station, Spock
meets this man in one of the dining halls and they begin talking. Throughout the conversation
both men seemed quite taken with each other and they began a fast-friendship. Spock doesn't
make friends easily because he is so straight-forward at this time in his life so it is a rather unique
result that he was drawn to this new visitor in such a way! The man's name is Stephen Paulson.

  During the Enterprises week-long shore-leave, the two men met each day in the same dining hall
and exchanged ideas on the Federation, sciences, books of antiquity and human religion's. Spock
had much to say on each subject, as did Stephen, but it was the topic of religion that garnered
many questions from Spock and mostly curious looks, with one eyelid raised higher than the
other at some of Stephen's explanation's.  A wonderful friendship was about to bloom, only Spock
wasn't aware of that fact just yet!

  Vulcan logic meets biblical doctrine! That would make for a most interesting and engaging
conversation anywhere. In my imagination I could see Spock learning and testing the answers
which Stephen gave and beginning to ponder just what this human religion called, Christianity,
was truly about. His curiosity was almost...human. What a great insult to Spock's logical mind-
set! As he learned from Stephen about the centrality of this doctrine being in the person of
Jesus Christ, Spock wrestles with this statement and he briefly balks at it///it is not logical for
one man to take upon himself the sin-debt of all humanity, be killed for it, buried and three day's
later he is raised from the dead in order to bring "salvation" to those humans! Stephen grins wide
and even manages to laugh just a little, not to insult Spock, as he recalls the way most folks respond
to the gospel during his daily life on earth.

  It would be a remarkable addition to any Star Trek show to have, not a religious zealot or a
man who tried to manipulate people, a truly godly man of great integrity to bring such influence
upon the world of humanistic-spirit which prevails in this science-fiction drama. What a contrast
it would be! Stephen could easily lead millions of, not only humans, but many other species to
the saving gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ! Wow, what a cool tv show for a new set of Trek fans!

  I believe Spock's logical world-view would combine with the spiritual foundation of the bible
would help to make him a leader in this new way of Christianity and the future will be radically
changed for the better to everyone involved. I believe it would make a wonderful sci-fi show!
So that's why I give this post the title...Spock A Christian?...It would most certainly be a
fascinating idea to appear on the tv screen.
Blog post:Spock a Christian?

Non Traditional Housing

  My wife approached me today with an idea she had. She shared with me the thought about where
we could live, just the two of us, after the children were gone to college. Whether I want to admit it or not, that time is rapidly approaching us. She mentioned how we could do it and, I have to admit this, it sounds like a pretty good plan to me! We all know that it has been scientifically proven that
women use both sides of their brain on a daily basis and that us poor, dumb guys use only one side!
Well, she is most certainly a clear-thinking, 'two sides of the brain' type of woman and most of her
ideas are good and practical.

  The plan she came up with, though she said its only "a thought", was for us to sell the house and
land we are currently in with the kids and use that money to buy a piece of land and a really nice
mobile-home (yes, a trailer) next to her sister and brother-in-law in a small city just south of us.
From the beginning of her conversation I was 'all in' and liked what she was proposing. It made
sense, both financially and physically for both of us! I got a pretty smart lady as my wife!  With
both of us being on the 'same page' in this matter, or any other, it makes things much easier. That's
a free tip to those who are planning on getting married any time soon!

  For me, the adjustment wont be difficult, I expect, because I grew up in mobile homes for many
years and then, later in life, bought my own as a single guy and really enjoyed that part of my life,
for all intents and purposes! Mobile homes certainly are not a very attractive 'status symbol' if one
is going for that look but they are simple and fairly easy to maintain. Its just a matter of taste,
really and, of course, budget. I'm a little bit excited by the prospect already, I must say!

  I answered in the affirmative to her and, hopefully, she sees that I am willing to work with her.
Who knows, it could be fun for us and in our later years it may also be a challenge for our
marriage, to see how committed we are to each other. Many couple grow apart and end up in
divorce after the children are gone, as we all know. Its a tragic thing and a horrible testimony on
the institution of marriage but it is all too common in this century!

  Being in agreement on ideals and important matters in life is a very large part of the foundation
of marriage and with the stability of it being solid, a marriage can usually stand up to just about
anything! I thank God that I have a good wife and that my own parents provided a very solid
example of what God intended marriage to be. Sure we mess up and so did they, but that's a part
of every area of life! We get out of it exactly what we put into it.

  I look forward to the what the future holds, not only for my wife and me, but for our children
as the begin their adult lives in full college-life mode!


Jeff Pendleton

8/2/16