Monthly Archives: July 2015

True Power 2015-109

Posted in Contemplation, Poems by

I think when I originally wrote this, I might have known why I was doing so, at the time. The why now escapes me, but the content, somewhat makes sense even now. It MAY have been about politicians, don’t know now, but here it is anyhow………  I am not sure if all that I wrote is what I believe now, though……. Confused???

True Power 2015-109

The power of a man as

measured by his control

and influence of others

shall be dictated by the ones

who allow this power to last

 

As long as the benefits

are to those that control

the process, the man

with the power shall

forever rule

The mass that is dictated to

by the power of the man

is in turn, controlled

by those that allow

the process to occur

 

Therefore, the few

or small minority

are the power

behind the man

showing the power

 

The mass does not

control the man

but instead,

are the ones

controlled by others

 

Den Betts

Strawberry Lane 2015-108

Posted in Nature, Poems by

We lived near a county park called Strawberry Lane Metro Parks, in the Cleveland area, where we visited so many times. It, then, was a carefree time, with thoughts of nature, the good life without many cares, and just an enjoyment of life then. No TV with horror stories told, as today, and a different kind of life at that time. Summer time and the living was easy, summer time and the living was swell………..

Strawberry Lane 2015-108

A honking Canadian goose glided toward the pond,

Feet extended for a landing on a fall afternoon.

One among many mixes with assorted fowl,

Honking and quacking in a cacophony of sound.

 

Parasails of leaves flutter to the cool still water,

Landing, then floating in dizzy circles.

A mat of soggy ones clumped and ringing the shore,

Before slowly sinking to the pond bottom forevermore.

 

On the far bank, a small child stood in the mud,

Flinging pebbles, making ripples, laughing with glee,

Her father stood nearby, watching over with a smile.

Remembering a similar experience in life.

 

Down further, a man with a remote guided speedboat,

Fiddled with controls, steering it this way and that.

As a son squatted down, waiting his turn to play,

Wondering just whose gift it was last Christmas day.

 

Lovers hand in hand, walking the nearby trail,

Deep in thought of romance and exuberance of living.

Both wishing for a chosen future day to arrive,

To begin a lifetime of togetherness and caring.

 

Activity of all kinds, a blending a joining,

Man and nature sharing both time and space,

A peaceful setting, so natural and right,

Nature being used as it should be.

 

Den Betts

Car Ride 2015-107

Posted in Contemplation, Poems by

To daydream and wonder what others are doing and thinking is a rare luxury of doing nothing, except thinking. I can remember my wife’s driving the car at the time and I was in the passenger seat looking out – thinking.

I was not in control of the driving as she was at the time, and I had to relinquish the driving to her, due to my accident. I hated not being able to drive and being dependent on others. This poem came to mind as I sat there, helping her put on the brake, accelerate and make the turns, in my mind.

 

Car Ride   2015-107

Staring out the car window,

I day dream as the world goes by.

Looking at the trees, the people,

And many other things.

Everyone doing their own thing,

In their own way.

Thinking private thoughts,

In their minds, just as I

High-tension wire towers,

And sentinels of light poles,

Watching over as testimony to our

Style of high-speed life.

The wispy clouds in the misty sky

Between the stands of pine,

All there, all watching,

Staring at me, just as I

Den Betts

Alive 2015-106

Posted in Contemplation, Poems by

To be alive is to be experiencing life itself. To take in the joys of creation and know that what your senses are having is to know that you are again, alive. A round robin of thoughts of knowing what life is all about. Sometimes all it takes is to STOP and smell the roses of life and know that there are more important things to do than to do what we are doing then and not doing what we could be doing instead.

Alive   2015-106

To look above and see the blue sky and

watch drifting clouds meander by

Observe three birds on green grass; no four,

hopping, pecking at the ground, for whatever more

A squirrel chattering at nothing around, making

noise to be heard, just to be seen peering down

Looking through the camera of my mind at all

a three dimensional picture in my skull, a miracle!

To listen to a radio and hear of the world out there,

and see on TV the happenings as they occur anywhere

To be aware of life, to feel and touch, and smell

and taste the sweetness of lips on mine, of thine….

To be alive, and let the senses work their magic

Letting my mind know that the body exists

To appreciate the splendor of the moment

I realize that what is – really is

And not a figment of imagination

But instead, a reality of life itself.

Den Betts

Leaf 2015-105

Posted in Nature, Poems by

The BettsDen.com

 

I had to search for a “summer” poem that I have written. Well, more like a “spring” one at this junction of time in July. Anyhow, I wrote this poem about a leaf, and what part it played in the life of a tree, or a least its role in the process of life for the tree. A small part of a large part, but an extremely important part of a living tree.

 

NOTE: I will stop sending blog posts to/via Facebook after this poem about a Leaf. If anyone wants to follow my blogs, please do so by going to TheBettsDen.com. I do not know how long this will occur, but it is occurring now.  

                             Leaf 2015-105

The lightest and smallest part,

Of the mighty oak,

A factory turning light to life,

Helping to create growth.

So small a part yet so big a part,

For the existence of a living tree.

All working together to produce,

In concert with an overall plan.

Nutrients for the bulk, the trunk,

The roots, stretching to grasp fluid.

Till a time of rest, then discarded,

To decompose in a furtherance of life.

Den Betts

Final Frontier 2015-104

Posted in Contemplation by

We all have or are living a journey of life. Where that journey, or when, it ends is actually unknown, usually. But, there will be an end sometime. And where we will be is really unknown to us in certainty. Those of unbelief have an easy answer, but those of faith of any nature, have an idea of the where, or a hope of where.

                   Final Frontier   2015-104       

A journey made by all at one point in our lives

for some to soon and for others much to late

 

A certainty that comes to all eventually most sure

by the process known as common fate

 

The equalizer for mankind, from kings to lowly serf

but bringing us all together in a unique way

 

No one really knows how the mingling actually occurs

of the faiths, race, and different beliefs today

 

 

A place without the prejudice, and clannish thoughts

of coexistence with a spiritual aura replacing fear

 

An eternal rest from a sometimes tortuous trip on earth

becoming as one in word and deed with those most dear

 

An adventure of sorts, made with trepidation by all, many

with fear, some with a smile based on faith from birth

 

The ultimate unknown; realized, acknowledged and conquered

no longer a trip to be made, but instead one done

Not over – only begun…………

Den Betts

 

Inspired Word of God 2015-103

Posted in Religious by

                             Inspired Word of God   2015-103

So what is inspired? Does it mean that it is as simple as being influenced by a divine or supernatural being, when talking about religion? I have mentioned in my writings, many times, that I believe that the Bible was inspired by God.

Do I really think this? Again, what does inspired actually mean? I firmly and truly believe that there is a God. He is active, alive, and present with us always. I do NOT care if some do not believe this, but my thoughts to them, could still be interesting, maybe.

But that being said, do I truly believe that the Bible is inspired by God. I researched for a Sunday School lesson, called, “History of the Bible” and have a one inch thick booklet I passed out at the time. I was going through it the other day and found a page about this subject.

In it there were four different thoughts about the Bible, in reference to God having a hand in writing it. I looked it over and found a page that was attributed to the Thomas Nelson Publishing co. from 1990-. It was titled “Authority of the Bible – Inspiration or God’s Breath”.

“The most common appeal to the Bible’s authority has been by the concept of inspiration. For the most part, the Bible does not directly speak about inspiration. One verse, however, is often quoted. “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). The word inspired in this passage is the Greek theopneustos, which literally is God Winded or God-breathed. It follows a verse referring to the “sacred writings” (verse 15), that is, the Hebrew Bible and possibly some of Paul’s letters as well. There is more than one way to speak about inspiration. We can identify four basic ways to think of the inspiration of the Bible.

1              One view holds that every word of the Bible is totally inspired by God and contains truth free from error. The assumption here is that God effectively persuaded all biblical writers to put down just the correct words, all the time. (I would imagine that this refers to or means the Bible is inerrant or without error)

2              Another way to speak of inspiration is to say that it applies to the ideas and concepts, but not to the actual words of the Bible.

3              Still other Christians have argued that God inspired not words or ideas but individual people. These folks then wrote what they did using the language and thought forms of their culture.

4              Yet another view of inspiration is that God inspired the community that produced, preserved, and passed on the writings we call Scripture.”

So, inspiration can be defined as all the words, all the ideas, all the writers, or all the believers who kept the writings as Scripture. Each of these positions has its advocates, its strengths, and its critics. Not all Christians agree on how to describe the God-breathed nature of the Bible. But, most Christians do agree that Scripture is inspired by God. God is the ultimate source or origin of Scripture

After researching the History of the Bible and reading many sources of data, I firmly believe the Bible is indeed “the inspiration by God”. To what degree of the four concepts shown above, I will keep to myself, but feel anyone can believe as they believe – which is only right and correct, and I respect those feelings and beliefs of others. I also feel that this issue should NOT be debatable as the essence of Belief in Faith is not something to be debated.

OK, that was then! Do I still believe it now? I have to still say yes, but with some reservations and thoughts. I think He was there when the King James Version (KJV) was compiled. The KJV was overdue for mankind to have the Bible that was understandable, at its disposal. The many versions that were in play at the time were archaic and hard to read. The Bibles at the time were many and some are listed here: The Vulgate, which St. Jerome wrote, The Wycliffe’s Bible, Matthew-Tyndale’s, Luther’s German Bible, the Bishops Bible, Coverdale’s, the Great Bible, Geneva Bible ,Douay-Rheims and even Noah Webster’s Bible about 1880. I would imagine that there have been many more versions or translations over time, up to a recent one called the Message, written by Eugene Peterson, which is more of a paraphrase than a translation.

Needless to say, was God involved in the inspiration of these variations? Perhaps, and perhaps not. I think He might have been present when they were being written or compiled at the time the work was done and His inspiration was evident to those doing the writing at the time.

I think most of us have our own opinions about this word “inspired” in relation to the Bible and again, that is fine. I know there is a God, one God that is the creator of the Universe and He is with us always and part of this companionship is being involved with writings of Scripture in some way. Believe what you want to believe, but I stick to my thoughts as being true, right and final about this subject, but cannot say that I was inspired by God to say so.

Den Betts

Lament of a Doubter &UB Person 2015-102

Posted in Religious by

 Lament of a Doubter & UB Person   2015-102

Perhaps lament is too strong of a word to use, but I do so anyhow. What do I mean?  I have written about a doubter of God in the past, as one who does have doubts of the authenticity of His existence and therefore cannot say they are a complete and absolute believer.

We all doubt, including me. There are times that I feel doubt about God where I hear of an instance where I feel God could have helped the situation. That is normal, I believe, and not a true doubting thought, just a thought at the time.

That being said, I state that I AM a believer of God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, amen…. I have no qualms of saying this, as that is what I believe; period…  Some do not have this feeling and could be called doubters, or just un-believers.

This is, I feel, a common thought process and this subject could be discussed at length, but I am thinking more of the Lament of a Doubter. Again, what do I mean? I do not know if I am correct, but could be, and it would be up to the individual doubters to renounce my thoughts.

Here goes! Does a doubter feel that they are correct in thinking that God does NOT exist? I would think they do so, and that is a normal thought.  I speak in general terms of what a doubter may think, so forgive me, for now.

The un-believer (UB for short) thinks he is correct in his thoughts. Many UB people state that there is no proof of God’s existence and feel they are correct. Many use science as a way of trying to proving their beliefs, even though some scientific deductions cannot do so.

Now, does the UB feel that he is right and does this thought go from now until he dies. When he dies is he just dead and nothing else?  Good thoughts on their part, or deductions made, because there is NO proof in their eyes.

My thoughts are this: what if the UB is wrong and God knows they are UB people?

So, this comes to the thought that the UB somewhat has to put up with all the Believers out there and the things they do because of their belief.

The UB is harassed with Christmas songs from almost October through December each year.  They have 40 days of Lent to hear about Jesus Christ and the Crucifixion during Lent.  They are required to pass all kinds of churches, synagogues and mosques on the way to work.  They have people wearing crosses everywhere they go.  The TV has programs like AD that tell the story of Jesus.

You get the picture!  The UB people are surrounded by all kinds of Godly things and happenings daily and there is nothing they can do about it.  It would drive me crazy, knowing that I did not believe in something and have to put up with all the trappings of those that do believe.

Do they actually lament on having to live with all the religious hoopla that goes on in the name of God? I don’t know, but I would if I was a un-believer of God.

There really is NO way for a doubter or UB to express themselves in their non-beliefs.  There is Facebook, but that is a limited crowd and I doubt if many would sign up as a friend if they were active believers. There has to be some way that they can get across to the believers that God is not alive, not active and His Presence is not with us today.

When I read about a UB that makes statements to the news or other media about the absence of God I keep hearing them go over and over about the negative thoughts, like they have something to prove to the world. Can they just shut up and not believe in their disbelief?   What do they have to prove? That they are right, in their minds? They cannot do that, because I can ask them for absolute proof, which is not possible to get from them.  They might want God to do something special, but God does not work that way. It would really tick me off, if I went through life as a doubter or UB person and found out that I lived a life that way, but was wrong. Blasé Pascal, a Christian philosopher – 1623-1662, had a saying that is called Pascal’s Wager, which, in essence, had a unique idea to believe in God and I will encourage you to look it up and consider it.

God allows us to believe or not believe; simple as that.  It is up to us, as individuals, to believe in the  Triune God and if someone does not; so be it.  Time will tell.

Den Betts

The Unknowns in Life 2015-101

Posted in Contemplation, Poems by

How many times have I cursed having to do something for the first time and suffered the effects of fright about doing it. I remember public speaking in high school and having diarrhea, the night before, almost throwing up, and other physical effects of having to stand up and speak in English class. I found out in the Marines that, if you know your subject matter, it is not so hard. I had to give lectures to over 200 men and only had one problem, I gave a joke at the beginning once, and had to tell them, after having told the punch line, that it was over. Never did tell jokes again. Learn from doing!!!!!

The Unknowns in Life   2015-101

How scary, and frightening it can be

This feeling of terror for the unknown.

We feel so brave when we do things twice

But, turn to jelly, when the first is to occur.

 

Our minds create untold disasters, when we are to begin

The lurking shadows magnify as we continue forth.

What is it with the way we think and act and do,

That makes the unknown so terrible to a few?

 

The irony is, that it’s all in our mind,

Which can create the most bizarre scenes.

Never, usually, does reality unfold as thought,

But, try to tell that to the person thinking.

 

How does the mind, do what it does to us,

Constructing the images, and thoughts that it does

What does it take to break the thought strings

That form cobwebs of unexplained origins

 

Is the unknown just a mysterious part of thinking,

Or something else, that defies description

 

 

Den Betts

The Fires of Spring 2015-100

Posted in STORIES by

I read the book by James Michener, “The Fires of Spring” when I was quite young. It and the below  paragraph stayed with me and is still pasted on my wall to remind me of my “finding myself”.  I share this with you now, to consider the words written by a renowned writer long ago.

The Fires of Spring  2015-100

For this is the journey that men make; to find themselves. If they fail in this, it doesn’t matter much what else they find. Money, position, fame, many loves, revenge – – – are all of little consequence, and when the tickets are collected at the end of the ride, they are tossed into the bin marked failure.

BUT, if a man happens to find himself — if he knows what he can be depended upon to do, the limits of his courage, the many positions from which he will no longer retreat, the degree to which he can surrender his inner life to some woman, the secret reservoirs of his determination, the extent of his dedication, the depth of his feelings for beauty, his honest and unpostured goals — then he has found a mansion which he can inhabit with dignity all the days of his life…………………………………………………………..

James Michener – The Fires of Spring