The aircraft are here and we've been flying and firing the weapons. I had a direct hit on a target with a rocket the other day. It was a beautiful shot. There's a science to shooting, but with all the variables of aerial gunnery there is very much an art to it as well. So when you have such a wonderful result as "scoring" a direct hit...it becomes very memorable. It's a hole-in-one, the game-winning touchdown, or the home run that wins the world series. And yet, how can such a thing remove or erase all those misses, whether they were close or not?
A man I worked with once said something along the lines of "All the 'Atta boy!'s in the world won't erase the one 'Aw, shit!'" Odd that he was one who adamantly refused to be 'religious', and yet, he so totally understood that mindset that he actually participated in those same types of judgments that he railed against.
The futility of human righteousness is that it is the sum of our successes minus our failures. Instead of being lifted up by the moral law that we thought was meant to bring order and fulfillment, we've found ourselves oppressed and torn down by our lackluster performance and the chaos around us. Diligently we've applied ourselves, thinking that if only enough people would "get on board" the system would actually work; still, the reality continues to stare us in the face...it doesn't work.
So, I guess I shouldn't find it too odd that we inflate the value of our successes to overshadow all the failures; we remember our "good" deeds more than our "bad" ones, we remember victories while trying to forget defeats, all in the attempt to appear better than we really are. The futility of success is that it makes it appear as if the system is working.
Previous Comments:
I'm enjoying your blog entries!:)
Tell us what it feels like to pilot a helicopter!
And.....be safe!
Posted by Mickey on December 2, 2003 at 12:50:34 AM
Harry, there's just something about your writing. I really do appreciate it. You make me think!
Posted by MsTick on December 3, 2003 at 10:03:33 AM
Can't wait for more Harry... and I join the others in wishing/hoping for your safe return.
Posted by RickinVa on December 3, 2003 at 10:30:04 AM
Thanks for another incredibly insightful look at the futility of the thing we so desperately hold onto so much of the time!
It's great to continue hearing from you, my dear friend!
Jim
Posted by the shovel on December 6, 2003 at 07:03:57 AM
Glad to hear you are okay - continue to pray for you and the family. The system - the one I chase windmills with is the educational system. I got out to homeschool and it appears my son will be going back for his high school years. Hubby teaches "in the system" and wants me to go back to teaching next fall (money issues) BUT I hate how all systems seem to be in existence to perpetuate themselves - they fail to address the needs of the individual. Religious systems (like most systems) are based on laws that are supposed to "protect and enhance" the individual (but often become more corporate in function). We all know that the law produces death - so what really happens is that the law creates more laws and the separation from life gulfs further and further. Thank God we serve the Lord, who offers us a free gift and who deals with each of us individually - knowing our frame, having created us in our mother's womb. He knows who we are, where we are, and what we need. He is sufficient for us.
Posted by lillium on December 7, 2003 at 09:30:26 AM/blockquote>
Still alive. Still in Kuwait. Sometimes it just takes too much time and energy to wait in all these lines to get to a computer to email and a phone. If you write, when I receive your email I WILL respond; so please, just be patient.
Mail would be cool: Short notes, Editorial cartoons, Sunday comics, the latest joke.
I will post here, when I can, updates about how I'm doing.
Previous Comments:
It is SO GOOD to hear an update from you!
Lots of folks praying for you all.......and sending love and hugs your way!
Posted by Mickey on November 24, 2003 at 04:59:49 PM
Harry... your update is appreciated... good to hear you're all right...
Do keep us posted, keep us breathing sighs of relief...
Posted by RickinVa on November 24, 2003 at 07:43:30 PM
Sighs of relief ... to quote Rick. That explains what happened yesterday when I saw Harry's comments on my blog. All of a sudden it's like a balloon released when I saw him there. Had no idea I was holding my breath like that.
Posted by mstick on November 25, 2003 at 08:59:55 AM
Finally! I got to fly today! Nothing in the Army, as a pilot, is worse to me than sitting on the ground. I talked yesterday about purpose; the purpose of a pilot is to fly planes or helicopters, but to fly nonetheless. Every day that I fly is my purpose fulfilled.
Previous Comments:
Fly safe pal... fly safe...
Posted by RickinVa on November 24, 2003 at 07:41:30 PM
Me and Rick agreed on that!:grin:
And.........don't fly out of Kuwait, OK?????
Posted by Mickey on November 24, 2003 at 07:51:00 PM
It'll be soon enough, Mickey, too soon for you and not soon enough for me. :)
Posted by HarryTick on November 29, 2003 at 05:10:32 AM
In the HBO Award-winning series, Band of Brothers, shortly after D-Day, a private is having problems coming to grips with the violence and death and his desire to live in the midst of war. His lieutenant comes up and begins talking to him, (paraphrased) "Blythe, do you know what your problem is? You still think there is hope. You won't become effective until you realize the truth; there is no hope."
People looking for the meaning of life, the truth of the gospel, the essence of Christianity (or Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism) still think there is hope in their efforts. The truth is, there is no hope that exists for this world, or those in it, based on anything here. There is no ritual, no meeting place, no movement of God, no prayer, no charity, no greater purpose, no impact on the world, no destiny to be accomplished in order to get to heaven.
Everyone I know who has hope, has come to the end of themselves--the end of trying to do all the right things--to find that hope was never in if they were "good enough". In comparison to being good enough, they are worthless. There is always one more thing that needs to be done, one more good act to be performed, one more sin to be avoided, one more sin to be repented of. They found that there is no hope in the game of keeping score.
Previous Comments:
The blog is back! Hurray!:)
Good stuff, Harry........
Posted by Mickey on November 14, 2003 at 03:15:02 AM
Hi Bill!
Just reading through your last couple of month's writings. I sure haven't kept up, huh? I'm praying for you.
Angie
Posted by Angie on November 14, 2003 at 03:47:34 AM
Mickey,
A brief respite. :)
Angie,
No performance requirements here. Read as little or as much as you want at your leisure. Good to hear from you!
Posted by HarryTick on November 14, 2003 at 12:32:54 PM
Hello Bill!
Excellent stuff of true life, my friend. :) My thoughts are with you.
Jim
Posted by the shovel on November 15, 2003 at 09:14:56 AM
Hi Son,
I have an elderly neighbor who lives downstairs. She never had any children and I am sure as a defensive mechanism, whe is always saying how glad she is she never had them. At first I took offense until I realized how lonely she is and that it is a defensive mechanism. It made me realize, if I did not before, how blessed I am to have my children and how much I would have missed by not having them. It made me want to tell you how thankful I am for you, my eldest, for your thoughtful ways and your good heart and your love of God. I'm a proud mom, what can I say?
Love,
Mom
Posted by Mom on November 20, 2003 at 03:06:18 PM
Dear Mom,
I can tell you for myself & I know for other's ... we're glad you had him too! ;)
Posted by MsTick on November 23, 2003 at 10:19:39 AM
There are all kinds of grace teachers, and I don't pretend to know what they all teach. I can only say that if it doesn't lead you to rely on the work of Jesus for your justification, if you seek to justify yourself by the things you do, then it is works (legalism).
It isn't just salvation, it is justifying yourself as a better Christian than others, even. It is anything by which you can create a law, that by fulfilling, gives you status that isn't afforded to someone who "breaks" that law.
Why do we think it is necessary to pray? Is it because somebody once taught on prayer and quoted a bunch of scriptures intended to make us feel as if prayer was necessary? What form does our prayer take? Is it conversational? Is it highly structured and formal? WHY?
Why do people respond to the prayer requests on a prayer request forum? Wasn't it placed with the understanding that people would pray for it? Why do people feel the need to let people know they're praying for them? Jesus said we should pray in a closet, in secret! Legalism: Do you pray in a closet, do you pray in secret?
Legalism must find an answer for each of these questions. It must have an answer because it must be able to define the wrong and right behaviors. To approve the right ones and condemn the wrong ones.
I say, Jesus is our justification. He is our tacit approval. He is our right deed never left undone, even when we have done wrong. It is totally backwards from what the rest of the world says, "It is foolish to believe that way."
Better than that, once we have seen grace, we find that he is our motivation when we are not motivated, he is our words when we are speechless, he is our love when we are not loving. He is everything we are not, when we are not so that he then makes us to be everything that he IS. (CAUTION: DEEP POOL)
Previous Comments:
Hey, I thought I'd seen this elsewhere. :)
I love deep water. I'm diving in. :D
Posted by MsTick on November 4, 2003 at 10:36:48 AM
Um, i hope there is enough room for us all cause i'm jumping in too:)
Posted by dave on November 4, 2003 at 09:03:31 PM
Come on it. Here's a pool noodle for you. Kersplash!
Posted by MsTick on November 5, 2003 at 11:05:15 AM
oops, I mean, come on IN. :D
Posted by MsTick on November 5, 2003 at 11:06:02 AM
Thanks for blogging this, HT!:heart:
Should we all feel GUILTY about swimming while you're in a desert?????
Should we make a LAW: No swimming till HT returns?????
Hugs and prayers to ya!
Posted by Mickey on November 6, 2003 at 08:26:48 PM
Don't worry about Harry having water to swim in. God promises him to make rivers in the desert for him - I expect he'll be swimming right along. :) Meanwhile - splash!
Posted by lillium on November 10, 2003 at 07:14:35 AM
What is the foolishness of Christ? Is that, everyone else disagrees with the way I believe, and so I believe that I must appear foolish to them? Or is it trusting in the miracle of Jesus' Grace with no seeming support for it, not really even anything "concrete", scripturally?
And I don't know if I agree that it is the "appearance" of foolishness. Perhaps it is REALLY foolish to not have any proof, to just believe, and then not really know why you continue to believe...day after day, in good circumstance and bad.
Yeah, that seems pretty foolish...
Previous Comments:
Yeah, that DOES seem rather foolish, huh? :) Thanks Bill.
Love, Jim
Posted by the Shovel on November 15, 2003 at 09:20:06 AM
Dirty Work Dog Waste Removal Service
I wonder if they have a human division? I mean all the crap we spread around, really, someone needs to come in and just clean up after us.
Speaking of spreading crap, one of my mom's favorite stories to tell (although it's probably not her favorite to relive), is the time I ended up fingerpainting all over the room with my doody! ::eek:: [Hey, Jim! Tell your daughter she's not the only one who has ever done that.] ;)
I admit, I've been set an example for all this talk about excrement. My good friend, the Shovel, has his own diatribe on the philosophical implications of the human act of defecation. (See, Mom, I'm watching my language!) :D His point being how full of it we are and how much of a mess it makes, and really, how much we'd just like to ignore it all.
I was just revisiting the motivation for the title to this blog (notice the new subtitle!) which was based on a very similar concept. I decided to see if there were any new graphics that I could turn into a new banner. There were some promising ones, but then I stumbled upon this service in Atlanta. If you think I've come up with some colorful euphemisms, you might need to check out the website.
What an image! All the crap that dogmas leave in their passing, and there is someone paid to come and clean it all up. Jesus, your own personal pooper-scooper service.
