New Bulla Found!!!

I know what you are asking, "what is a bulla?" Long long ago in a land called the Near East kings would impress parchment with a seal showing that it was from the king. These seals would often have the full name of the king, or scribe that was making the proclamtion. We really don't find these seals, however, they were imprinted in clay. When the seal was broken the clay would fall to the ground and be forgotten, it was basically garbage, we call that garbage, "Bulla."

This Bulla (not to be confused with a wooly bulla) has the name "Yehukal son of Shelemyahu son of Shobai (or: Shobi)." A name very similar to this appears in Jeremiah 37:3 Jehucal son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah. Take into account yahu is a form of the sacred name Yahweh. Elijah's name in Hebrew actually sounds like Eliyahu, so shelemyahu to shelamiah is not a far switch. Iah, or Jah, is a common alteration for western language. Like Jeremiah which is in hebrew more like Yirahyahu.

Well, we can't be 100 percent right now that this is the same person, another blogger has pointed out a possible problem with the letter that they have made into the sh sound. check out here for a discussion of the bulla with the hebrew text apearing on it and here for a photo and the sin/shin question, for all those linguaphiles.

An old roomate friend of mine has been in town so we threw a party. I enjoy paries, even more when I throw them. Mainly because I can stand at the grill and hide then clean up in the kitchen when I am tired of being around people. It is also really fun to see how many people I can get into my apartment. Of course it is mainly old Harding people, not everyone but a lot, so when we get together there is no alcohol or loud music, just a lot of burgers, soda, and we play a good bit of mofia. Mofia is an intersting game, especially if you like watching people try to be deceptive, A game that is based off of lying somewhat like a game I used to play initialed BS.

I have found out I like to grill out, I think I am going to get a grill, since the one here belongs to someone else, I am going to grill out in the middle of winter. Especially if it is the day in the memphis winter that it snows. Because unlike growing up in the northern panhandle of West Virginia which would get well over a foot over night. Now I know that the people from the Dakota's and Wisconson and such think "ooh a foot, we get like 10 feet" but it is enough for me to not like snow anymore.

anyway God Bless

Last night I went to Bible study, and we dealt with 1 Peter 3. I was unhappy the leader chose not to deal to heavily with the reference to the spirits in prison, I always like those fun refrents to odd books not in our cannon.

All in all the major point we chose to discuss was submission. At the end of chapter two slaves submit to masters and at three wives submit to husbands. I also understand a mutual submission when i look at places like Ephesians 5, in submitting to one another. There is a good bit in the New Testament about submission, to rulers, to God also Jesus in the garden during the Night with Ebon Pinion.

Submission is very countercultural. I used to work with children who were fed a steady diet of rap music and bling bling. I have seen more gold in the teeth of people who can't afford it than you imagine. Never scared!!! the words of a rap song. Outside of the club and you call me a punk, so I go to the loaded tech nine and open the trunk. Never scared!!!!

The story is simple, if you cross me you die. A long cry from the New Testament Submission.
Maybe I over simplify when I go to the words of Gandolf in the fellowship. "Many live who deserve to die. Some die who deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo?

I work myself through Graduate school by working in the maintenance department at HUGSR. I do enjoy the work. For the first two hours I drove the riding mower around and cut some grass, which in itself is a nice job. The second half of the morning involved work with the weedeater, which in Australia is referred to as a whipper snipper. I don't care much for the work during the summer heat but as it begins to cool off I will enjoy it more. Last summer was very nice. When I have papers due and am running late on things and am having ministry issues, I believe that the day after day work with a weed eater is relaxing. Or the day to day work with a paintbrush, you should look at my chapel renovation blog. I personally think I have one of the best jobs on campus. Anyway these are my daily musings.

God Bless

Have you ever noticed Macgyver never uses a gun. It goes back to when he was a kid and somehow accidently he killed a friend of his. He does all kinds of cool stuff and doesn't even carry a piece. I don't have a problem with people owning guns, I am from West Virginia, it is odd I don't hunt but i have kin who do. They like guns and NASCAR. Not incredibly strong in my family but my brother picked up the hunting thing in his adulthood. I am not opposed to hunting to killing in season, the father of one of my closest friends is a conservation officer in West Virginia. I understand the desire of venison or wild turkey (the meat not the drink) jerkey. I met some Choctaw who told me that the original hunting they did was in respect for the animals. They would say that the animals, understanding their place in teh circle of life, would come to the Choctaw people.

Well the world is differnet people have guns it is perscribed in the constitution, the right to bear arms. I have a friend who carries, I have another who has pulled the trigger finding out the gun wasn't loaded, and once years ago I stood a foot away from a Crypt who at one year younger than me had taken life on the streats.

Is there nothing that can be done? How is it that so many handguns appear on the streats? I know a lot of people who think of the abilty to take life as the ultimate power. Anything to save face. When I am wrong the hardest thing to do is admit it. My pride doesn't want me to admit it. How much harder then when I'm not wrong and my name is being slandered. My personal desire is to make people sorry they messed with me. I am wired the same way as everyone else. I forget that Vengence belongs to the Lord, and want to choose myself to make things even. What if more people accepted that Vengence belongs to the Lord.

Lately I have been trying to get a little healthier. I was doing better about a month ago when I was running three times a week and in better control of my diet. However I am not doing horrible. I am also finding that I am a fan of natural stuff. During the winter I eat a lot of whole grain oatmeal, while it is cold I tend to eat honey bunches of oats. I tend to have acid reflux issues and my grandmother who is also into the holistic stuff recomended, for years, lime water. Basically is it a liquified calcium that is heavily alkaline. Since my blood tends to be very acidic I think this is a good thing. My grandmother is a wonderful woman, not only does she send me the lime water but ph paper to test my saliva :) thanks grandma

I am also a believer in Kefir. You may be asking, what is kefir. Kefir is a form of fermented milk high in acidofolous. What is acidofolous, well I am probably spelling it wrong but hey you can check that if you want. Basically it is a form of bacteria that lives in the colon to aid in digestion. Yogert has it too. Anyway kefir is intersting, it is an acquired taste. I mix it with various juices. However, the juices are not to kind to my indigestion, however, when I am running, paying attention to my eating, and drinking my kefir the indigestion never seems to be a problem.

For info on Kefir: check out http://users.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefirpage.html
peace out!!!

I pulled my birds out trying to train my wonderful little parrotlets, and lately they have been somewhat frustrating. Parrotlets are small birds, like I have said before sometimes smaller than finches. The male chomped down on my thumb today and it was sore for a while. The male I have noticed doesn't care much to be handled, of course, however, I am not one of the more loving of owners of pets.

I am currently watching the truman show. There is an intersting statement the creature of the "show" in the movie makes, "We accept the reality we are presented with."
How often is that true. Now when it comes down to it I am simply an armchair philospher take a look below at my poetry and you might figure that out. Though it reminds me of the allagory of the cave. People living chained up staring at the wall of a cave, a fire behind them and things interacting between causing shadows to be cast on the wall. One guy breaks free and finds the biggest frustration is getting the rest of the people to want to leave their chains.

Chains of bondage, the way I see it theologically we are bonded to one thing or another. We are either bonded to God or to sin. I pull this idea from Paul. the mid 20th century brought this idea into addiction with the beginning of the use of the 12 steps of AA. In some way the addict is in bondage, either to Alcohol or his higher power. The whole thing is based off of surrender.

regardless I can always wax an elephant often enough to even get him through the door. Freedom in Christ is an intersting concept. Freedom from sin is bondage itself. There is an evengelical Christian song called "pierce my ear," in the end of the song the singer chooses to have his ear pierced in line with the Hebrew law that lets a slave choose to stay with his master after the year of his release.
Psalm 84 talks about the writers desire to be a doorman in the house of God than a good life in the homes of the wicked.

The desire for God must be greater than the desire for anything else.

Anyway this post is not pointless but very disjointed.

God Bless