I appreciate my Mom's advice, and the Netherlands seems like a great place. But I must confess I am not so keen on the fact so much of it is below sea-level and they had to build (and continue to pay for) a structure to hold back the ocean.
Personally I like to work with nature, not against it.
These two places are near to my heart since these are where my parent's parents, or not-to-far-back relatives came from.
Problem is I don't speak Swedish, but I could learn.
And I am certain that even though the Scottish speak English, it's not like the English I know and will take some practice. :-)
Sweden seems to really care about quality, usability, and style. Definitely a plus! Down with junk so junky that Neil Young wrote a song about it, "Piece of Crap!"
Scotland has a lot of beautiful green grass and sheep peacefully grazing. Plus it's a lot closer to the source of Guinness Extra Stout!
I guess this would be the place of my spiritual heritage.
Although I must admit that it seems like a neat place, I'm kind of tired of being surrounded by hateful people, and the best I can tell, Israel's neighbors aren't exactly lovey-dovey with them.
Also, I am not 100% convinced the end-time prophecies have to do with physical & national Israel, but are more likely about the spiritual Israel and the scattered people. As Jesus told the woman at the well in John 4:1-42, here is an excerpt (WEB):
The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the [time is] coming, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, will you worship the Father. You worship that which you don’t know. We worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to be his worshippers. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah comes,” (he who is called Christ). “When he has come, he will declare to us all things.”
Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who speaks to you.”
I scanned the first link and basically it seems to me that story could be summed up by the saying, "the grass is greener on the other side of the fence." So please forgive me, I don't read the whole story.
However, I am not necessarily looking for greener pastures.
You, as Messianic Christian, know the parable of the sower. We know one interpretation Yeshua gave us, that the seeds were equivalent to people. However, there is more to be learned from that parable that just that.
Another moral to the story is that each of us is like the sower. We sow seeds, which can be a metaphor for many things: children, ideas, writing, even behaviors. So then the question becomes, where do I sow what I have, such that it falls on good ground? Since obviously spending our time putting our resources to work on rocky soil, throwing them amidst thorns and such, is not the best farming strategy.
So I have that in mind…
I also keep in mind a passage Yeshua told his disciples—among which I hope you count yourself—where he says we won't have time to go through all the cities before he returns. If they don't accept our message, then move on to another.
Publishing online definitely gives me some satisfaction that I am working to feed the hungry, but I could just as well be doing it from a run-down building in a run-down town, versus a town that has such an amazingly high opinion of itself. And not just an emotional opinion of itself, but a remarkably high financial opinion of itself.
I am also reminded of another saying of Yeshua when he was really angry at some towns he went through, towns that did not accept his message. "Will you be lifted up to the skies?! NO! You will be brought down to the depths." So send me to where the humble are in their humble towns where they do humble things and I'll bring my love of gardening, and my beat-up 12-string with worn-down frets and cracked soundbox.
Dad's do have a way of seeing where their children are headed. :-) The saying "been there, done that," comes to mind.
What you say also reminds me of some experiences I've seen or heard about. People leave for the "big city" or go to college in another state. At some point they return to Podunk, USA and appreciate the aspects of it they ignored or didn't like while growing up there.
I have to admit that I view the town I grew up in, in a different light, after spending quite a few years in other places. The main problem for me though, is like California, some people found the town I grew up in to be a nice place, then everyone and his brother wanted to live there. Since the town is so old it's already built up as it's going to get. So what happened was akin to a bidding war on housing and frankly there is no way I could live where I grew up, or even near it.
Comments
NewOldSalt Admin
Sat, Aug 15, 2009 - 6:49 pm
Permalink
Mom's Vote
I placed a vote for my Mom, who unfortunately doesn't take the time to read my website.
She thinks I would enjoy living in the Netherlands, in part due to their love of flowers (plants) and that most of them speak English.
NewOldSalt Admin
Sun, Aug 16, 2009 - 11:35 am
Permalink
Not So Sure
I appreciate my Mom's advice, and the Netherlands seems like a great place. But I must confess I am not so keen on the fact so much of it is below sea-level and they had to build (and continue to pay for) a structure to hold back the ocean.
Personally I like to work with nature, not against it.
NewOldSalt Admin
Mon, Aug 17, 2009 - 3:40 am
Permalink
Scotland and Sweden Added
These two places are near to my heart since these are where my parent's parents, or not-to-far-back relatives came from.
Problem is I don't speak Swedish, but I could learn.
And I am certain that even though the Scottish speak English, it's not like the English I know and will take some practice. :-)
Sweden seems to really care about quality, usability, and style. Definitely a plus! Down with junk so junky that Neil Young wrote a song about it, "Piece of Crap!"
Scotland has a lot of beautiful green grass and sheep peacefully grazing. Plus it's a lot closer to the source of Guinness Extra Stout!
NewOldSalt Admin
Mon, Aug 17, 2009 - 10:05 am
Permalink
Israel Added
I guess this would be the place of my spiritual heritage.
Although I must admit that it seems like a neat place, I'm kind of tired of being surrounded by hateful people, and the best I can tell, Israel's neighbors aren't exactly lovey-dovey with them.
Also, I am not 100% convinced the end-time prophecies have to do with physical & national Israel, but are more likely about the spiritual Israel and the scattered people. As Jesus told the woman at the well in John 4:1-42, here is an excerpt (WEB):
jim e (not verified)
Tue, Aug 18, 2009 - 10:56 am
Permalink
Where?
My Dad always said, "it is all in your own back yard". He asked me to read this book. Acres of diamonds.
http://www.rhenion.com/acres_of_diamonds.htm
http://books.google.com/books?id=O44DAAAAYAAJ&dq=acres+of+diamonds+story...
I like Colorado. Boulder is beautiful and very cycling friendly.
NewOldSalt Admin
Tue, Aug 18, 2009 - 6:47 pm
Permalink
Thanks for the links Jim
I scanned the first link and basically it seems to me that story could be summed up by the saying, "the grass is greener on the other side of the fence." So please forgive me, I don't read the whole story.
However, I am not necessarily looking for greener pastures.
You, as Messianic Christian, know the parable of the sower. We know one interpretation Yeshua gave us, that the seeds were equivalent to people. However, there is more to be learned from that parable that just that.
Another moral to the story is that each of us is like the sower. We sow seeds, which can be a metaphor for many things: children, ideas, writing, even behaviors. So then the question becomes, where do I sow what I have, such that it falls on good ground? Since obviously spending our time putting our resources to work on rocky soil, throwing them amidst thorns and such, is not the best farming strategy.
So I have that in mind…
I also keep in mind a passage Yeshua told his disciples—among which I hope you count yourself—where he says we won't have time to go through all the cities before he returns. If they don't accept our message, then move on to another.
Publishing online definitely gives me some satisfaction that I am working to feed the hungry, but I could just as well be doing it from a run-down building in a run-down town, versus a town that has such an amazingly high opinion of itself. And not just an emotional opinion of itself, but a remarkably high financial opinion of itself.
I am also reminded of another saying of Yeshua when he was really angry at some towns he went through, towns that did not accept his message. "Will you be lifted up to the skies?! NO! You will be brought down to the depths." So send me to where the humble are in their humble towns where they do humble things and I'll bring my love of gardening, and my beat-up 12-string with worn-down frets and cracked soundbox.
NewOldSalt Admin
Tue, Aug 18, 2009 - 8:38 pm
Permalink
Been There, Done That
Dad's do have a way of seeing where their children are headed. :-) The saying "been there, done that," comes to mind.
What you say also reminds me of some experiences I've seen or heard about. People leave for the "big city" or go to college in another state. At some point they return to Podunk, USA and appreciate the aspects of it they ignored or didn't like while growing up there.
I have to admit that I view the town I grew up in, in a different light, after spending quite a few years in other places. The main problem for me though, is like California, some people found the town I grew up in to be a nice place, then everyone and his brother wanted to live there. Since the town is so old it's already built up as it's going to get. So what happened was akin to a bidding war on housing and frankly there is no way I could live where I grew up, or even near it.