You have been selected to receive a free gift!  Three of you were selected by genetic selection and three were selected because of the great wisdom which you exhibited in the selection of your mates, but in any case you were selected to be the life-long recipient of a new series of e-mails (incorrectly entitled "letters") from me to you.  

 I have played around with several writing projects.  I have drafted a few papers I have entitled "Steppe Notes".  They are an attempt to simplify Theological and Biblical issues in order to allow busy people (like each of you) to get an overview of important Bible doctrines without an inordinate investment of time and money.  This project is still important to me, but I have a more important burden (Christian folk use the word "burden" in a good sense to indicate a strong desire to do something good and profitable, not in the bad sense of something heavy). 

 I really want to pass along to my children and grandchildren some of the fruits of my study over the years.  I think the "stuff" I want to write about is good stuff and will help you at some point along your journey.  Some of it may not be important now, but when you get old like me you might say "Now I see what he meant."   

 In any case, I will try to be brief and to the point.  I will send them out in no specific order, but hopefully they will have some method when it is all said and done.  One important point to remember is that there will be a point in each of our lives when everything in this life is over, said and done. Knowing that truth, it is important to keep the concept of eternity in the forefront of your mind. We each need to live our life in light of eternity. This life is but a brief few years and the last time I checked eternity is a very long time.

 One thing which has hindered me in my attempts to write is the idea that the content needs to be carefully crafted and edited for typos and for the possibility for the content to be misapplied.  That concern has the impact of stopping the process but I am going to refuse to let the fact of potential problems stop this important project. The only downside to that philosophy is that some of you may get a hint that I am not exactly perfect. 

 Always keep in mind:

 1.     My only motivation is love.  I am not trying to send a message to any of you individually at any time, and if the content is miswritten in such a way to hurt your feelings or offend you, it is never my intent.  I assure you, I am writing in a general way and the only one who should ever be embarrassed by the content of any message is me.  

2. Please communicate with me and each other if there is anything in it that you question or want to expound upon.  The points are fairly pleasant, but may provoke more conversation.  Lynne, in particular has already told me that some of these points I make will require a response by her.  I think she may sent you a follow up entitled "Moms take "
3. Do not worry.  I will not bombard you with e-mails.  They will come out on an irregular basis, but I hope to do this with some regularity over a period of time. Like all good e-mail subscriptions, I will add that “If any of you desire to be removed from this service, let me know (but don’t expect a Christmas present if you unsubscribe – it would be wisdom to merely hit the delete button without telling me.)

 God bless each of you and be assured that I love you and pray for your blessings - Dad / Philip (for those of you who might find it hard to call me dad).

  ------------------

Early in my business career, when I worked with Max Factor, I presented proposals to top management of our parent company (International Playtex) for their approval with regard to spending money. The normal proposal consisted of:

        I.            A cover sheet. One page giving a short statement of the project, which included a top level summary of the recommended plan of action.

      II.            An assumption page.   This is where the underlying assumptions of the proposal were laid out. (Annual sales are projected to rise from $ 140 million this year to $ 150 million next year.)

    III.            An overview section (few pages), which consisted of the main considerations involved in the decision making process. Here we discussed the proposed costs, benefits and implementation schedule.  

    IV.            Attachments; which consisted of pages of detailed studies which formed the basis of the recommended proposal.

Which of the sections of the brilliantly laid out proposal do you think got the most attention from the decision makers?nbsp;It only took me a few embarrassing moments to get the picture. They would spend the first twenty minutes of a one-hour meeting discussing the assumption page. They knew that if they bought my assumptions, they would most probably buy my conclusion^{. (1)}  

“Therefore whosoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.  And every one that hears these sayings of mine, and does them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”

Many deceptive thoughts, opinions, and world-views can be avoided by forming the habit of analyzing, not just the rationale of the argument, but the assumptions which are behind it. Many times, unlike in my proposals, the assumptions are not stated, but rather assumed. Be especially careful of assumed assumptions.

-------------------------- Word Study---------------------------------------

The study of words is important. I heartily recommend that you keep a good English dictionary handy so you may become increasingly proficient in your understanding and use of words. Often when a person becomes interested in the things of God, they will want to learn Greek and Hebrew. This is well and good, but make sure that you have a good understanding of the definition of English words. Keep a dictionary handy and use it to look up words frequently. You will be surprised at how well that will serve you in the affairs of life. 

Presupposition: the thing, fact or idea that is presupposed. Break the word down into its components.

·         Pre                       Before

·         Suppose:           to assume or believe to be true

·         Sup:                     the prefix sub, which means under, and becomes sup before p

·         Position:            to place or set in position

Presupposition: an underlying assumption base

Please consider:

 The assumptions that you accept as fact will lead to your conclusions about life.

 We must occasionally take time to evaluate the foundational assumptions of our life and take another look at the way we view the world.

 If the foundation is not sure, the building will surely shake. Given that this truth applies spiritually as well as physically, does it not make sense to seriously analyze the foundational assumptions upon which we base our view of reality?nbsp;

Love and blessings to each of you.

___________________________________________________________

 I hope each of you are blessed today.  I hope each of you are feeling loved.  The fact is that you are loved, whether you feel like it or not.
 
Today, I want to share with you my thoughts on a subject that I do not know much about from personal experience.  Most of what I have learned about it has been from Lynne.
 
The subject is "meandering", which suggests the movement of water.  It is movement, but its tone is friendly pleasant and enjoyable.  A river meanders down the mountain.  It winds and curves around, it does not flow in a straight line, but it does get where it is going.  We genetic Steppes seem to understand goals, purposes, plans pretty well, but I can say from experience that "meandering" has not been one of my strengths.  We relate better to the truisms that say things like "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail" and " if you aim at nothing, you will surely hit it".  These are definitely true, and we all know that there are times when being driven to achieve a goal is not a bad thing.  But my problem has been that I have had trouble discerning the times when driveness  should be turned off (the car taken out of drive and put into coast, or neutral). 
 
Walking down the beach with Lynne can be an excruciating experience.  (Well not excruciating - haven't I told you a million times not to exaggerate?).  The reason the experience is hard on me is that I am aiming to get to the pier, or walk one mile, or get to the point.  Lynne on the other hand is "meandering", stopping to look for pretty or unusual sea shells. 
 
The question is this:  Who is at fault here?nbsp; I am not just saying this just because Lynne is going to read this message, but because as I look back over my life, I wish that i had followed her lead, and been willing to meander more.  The fault has been mine.
 
Be willing to meander a little.  It has not been one of my strong points, but I wish that it had been.  Learn from my mistakes and slow down a little and be willing to smell the roses or look at the beautiful fall colors of the trees.
 
You may ask me why I am just telling you this now.  Why did I not tell you about (demonstrate to you) this pleasant experience of meandering?nbsp; I wish that I had (could have), but the sad fact is that I am just now learning it for myself.
 
I think Mom has her own take on this message and she will probably share it with you soon!
 
Know that you are blessed, loved and prayed for.  Today my prayer is for each of us to learn how to be focused when it is required , and how to meander whenever we can.
 
Love - Philip 
 
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I've been thinking about Thanksgiving.  I love Christmas and I really see Easter (Resurrection Sunday is a better way of thinking about it) as a spiritual highlight of the year, but I think Thanksgiving is my favorite.  I guess that somehow this holiday combines two of my favorite things on this earth - family and food. 
 
But the giving of thanks for our blessings is not just a wonderful American holiday based on the rich Christian heritage of our country, it is a wonderful activity for Christians to focus on - we all have so much for which to be thankful. What I am about to say could wrongly be seen as an unAmerican statement, but it is not  unAmerican to be content with what you have and who you are.  Do not misunderstand - it is always good to attempt to better yourself, but to focus on what you are not or what you have not is neither healthy or wise.(Maybe by today's distorted values, but not by the way of thinking that makes us happy and truly productive human beings). 
 
There is a direct and unbreakable correlation between being content and our being thankful.  We are commanded by scripture to be content and when you think about it, you can see how contentment is a great blessing.  Contentment is a source of great blessings, and discontent is a robber of blessings.  Each of us are so blessed, but it is so easy for us to think so much about what we don't have or what we want to do that we miss the joy of what we do have and who we are.
 
Often when I am asked how I am doing, I respond by saying "better than I deserve."  Last week at church a fairly new member challenged me on that statement saying that it sounded like false humility.  While I do like to be challenged in what I think and say, I had to tell her that she was wrong -that in my case (and in the case of all thinking believers) that is definately a true statement.  I said that I was really glad that God did not give me what I deserve.  See. it is important to keep in the forefront of our mind that God deals with us with unbelievable grace and that He gives us what we don't deserve (forgiveness ,mercy, and love ).  Only a fool demands justice from God. 
 
And while I can see her point about false humility, I believe it points to a potentially serious problem in her pattern of thinking.  It is very easy for us to become religious and think that God is dealing with us because we somehow deserve it rather than to realize that God deals with totally with grace through His Son, Jesus Christ.  All that we have is because of Him and through Him and for Him
 
If I think I have not received what I deserve I will not be thankful nor content.    If I realize that I have more than I deserve I will be thankful.  If you owe me $100 and you give me one dollar, I will be glad to get it, but I would not be called extremely grateful.  But if you gave me $10.000 in payment for the debt of $100 - I would be slobbering thankful. 
 
I realize that there is no way I deserve such good children (grown kids who are now adults), such a wonderful daughter in-law and son in- law, an unbelievable good wife, and absolutely fantastic grand-kids. I have been blessed with good health and a good life.  How can I be anything but thankful?nbsp; I appreciate each of you and I am thankful to God for you. 
 
How am I doing?nbsp; "Better than I deserve".  And you know, each of you are doing better than you deserve.  Knowing this fact will help us be thankful this season and every day of our life,  More later - but take a little time to think about it.  Love and blessing to each of you (and Cody and Lawson too - Let them know their grand dad is proud of them.  Love and blessings to you
 
 
PS:  As I was finishing up I wanted you to know that this note is not based on any kind of foreboding or premonition about my upcoming death or anything sinister in our near horizon.  But wouldn't you agree that we should not leave things unsaid?nbsp; I plan to be in your hair (even Joseph's- bald ,and Jonathan's - short as to be bald) for a long long time.  Don't worry - be happy. no be thankful to a great God for the riches of his blessing in your life.

forwarded to me from Byron – comments by me sent to children follow.

------------ beginning of forwarded message -------- 

Deal W. Hudson

Having just read Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuers's new book, Exorcism and the Church Militant, one of the first things I asked him was whether he was afraid of demons. I shivered more than once reading through its short chapters, arranged as basic questions about the devil, demons, possession, and the rite of exorcism.

"Not at all," Father answered with a smile. "God has given me the grace to remain unafraid."

When I expressed my surprise, he explained, "Demons are basically handcuffed, and they know it."

Father Euteneuer does not speak as a theorist. Since 2003 he's had extensive experience ministering to those possessed by demons. His introduction to the demonic world happened when a family asked him for help for one of their members, and he eventually asked for permission to perform the rite of exorcism. He has been doing them ever since.

Exorcism and the Church Militant is intended, in part, as a warning to parents who allow their children to be desensitized to "the dark world" by books and films like the Harry Potter series and the vampire books of Stephanie Meyer. Father Euteneuer told me possession is almost always a result of someone getting involved in some sort of occult practices, such as witchcraft, Wicca, tarot cards, and Ouiji boards. 

"Harry Potter and these Twilight vampires glamorize the power of evil," Father Eutenener explained, "and this has lead to many, many cases of possession among young people." It may begin with a child or teenager simply "playing around" with the occult, but that seemingly harmless act is "opening a window" to possession.

Father Euteneuer emphasized this point, "Demons do not discriminate between intentions -- no matter how innocent -- and children lose the clear distinction between good and evil."

What makes the occult so dangerous is the fact that it is based upon something real -- the preternatural world of fallen angels, headed by Lucifer himself. Below him are the "choirs" of devils and demons who are a reverse mirror, in their fallen state, of the hierarchy of angels.

Yet, as Father Euteneuer made clear, this entire dark spiritual world "cannot operate without permission from human beings." He pointed out that the widely-seen film, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, based upon the actual case of Anneliese Michel, makes it seem like a possession can occur against a person's will.

Demons play by the rules, as it were. They can only enter a person when invited, and they will leave when subjected through the rite of exorcism to the authority of the Church. "All demons understand is authority," according to Father Euteneuer. He told me of a time he was with someone who was possessed -- not intending to do an exorcism because permission had not yet been given -- and the demon spoke to him saying, "The Church is not here."

Father Euteneuer reminded me that as fallen angels, demons are smarter than any human being. "The darkest demon is smarter than I am," he said. An exorcist must remain aware of the demon's ability to know everything about the person they are possessing, including family members, and those who may enter the room to cast them out.

One demon attempted to negotiate with Father Euteneuer, offering to help him with his Latin if he would let him stay put. That story prompted me to ask if demons had a sense of humor. "No," Euteneuer replied. "The demon was only trying to resist being cast out. They know what an exorcism is, what is going to happen to them."

Possession usually involves more than one demon. Father Euteneuer explained that when "one demon gets in it will help to create more invitations to other demons." The more powerful ones have biblical names, and he often runs into demons with the same name, as if they had a kind of demonic family name.

The possession of an individual person is a perverse imitation of the Incarnation. "They know they've lost the war in heaven, now they've come to earth and are doing all they can to exert their power and be an obstacle to heaven." That's why demons experience some form of pain when they are exorcised -- Father Euteneuer said demons will often complain that "It burns." They have been deprived of the satisfaction of entering a body in imitation of the Word made flesh.

By the end of my interview with Father Euteneuer, I realized my initial question about being frightened of demons had betrayed my misunderstanding of the limits of demonic power. Exorcism and the Church Militant is a book that should provide guidance to many for years to come, especially for parents who need a reminder that the occult is not innocent entertainment.

 ------ end of forwarded article -----------------

I thought the article was quite good and it matches what I think to be the Biblical teaching about demons.  It also closely matches some of my personal experiences.  While all the article was good, I extracted a few of the things which I want to emphasize:

3. "cannot operate without permission from human beings." Much in our Christian walk boils down to the fact of the power of our human will.  I have seen otherwise mature Christians get weird with regard to demons.  Some have acted in fear, as if some demon will jump on a Christian and take them over in spite of the person's lack of permission.  I do not think that will happen, definitely not is the life of a Christian (and I think the life of a underage child of a Christian parent).  The demons must entice a person to want what they can give (an understanding of Latin in the article).  One of the things about the supernatural power of darkness as revealed in demons, idols, etc.  is that there is a power behind them.  Idol worship does provide a certain benefit for the idol worshipper.  The benefit may even be beneficial in the short term (sin has its pleasure for a season - Hebrews 11:25).  We must constantly be vigilant to bring our wants and desires in line with God's.  That and the Blood of Jesus are all we need to resist the devil.  Do not give into his enticements. 

5. . "All demons understand is authority,"  (see above)

6.  The possession of an individual person is a perverse imitation of the Incarnation. As Christmas approaches it is a good thing to ponder on the mystery of the "Incarnation" - that the Word of God became flesh and dwelt (tabenacled) with us.  Oswald Chambers relates that all Christians are somewhat like Mary, the Mother of Jesus in that we carry Jesus in us and allow Him to develop inside us until He is birthed into the outside world by us.  (Galatians 4:19 read in conjunction with Galatians 1:16)

7. While we meditate on the good things in our life, let us be mindful that we, as Christians, are engaged in a war.  It is expressed in battles in Culture, politics, governments, church, family, etc. and etc., but let's begin to know in a more full way "Who" we are in Christ Jesus and the tremendous power and authority that God has entrusted in us, as believers and followers of Jesus Christ.  Remember that Jesus said in Matthew 28:18-20  where Jesus said "All power has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore into all the world..."

As always, love and blessed to each of you.  I hope you feel loved and  blessed, because you are.