Randall

An aged man reached up to the top of his heirloom walnut bookcase His venous arm grabbed a book of teachable stories his Dad had told

I am speculating that few people would argue with the concept that all life forms exist as developing entities that are superimposed on an intangible flow we call time. As self-conscious humans, we seem to have an innate awareness of the advance of "something" where change can be perceived as rather sudden and dramatic or almost imperceptible. Our lives are lived with this backdrop of measured, forward advance in units ranging from nanoseconds to eons. We are all familiar with our time-reckoning devices such as clocks and calendars as everyday aids to help govern our daily behaviors through the passage of our lives.

What were the stained glass stories in this church that were based on predominant, traditional, Christian Bible interpretations? Those were the understandings that were given to me as a youth when in Sunday school and Vacation Bible School classes. I decided to walk by each window to take a really close look.

A Creator God revealed in a multitude of ways A Divine Presence sensed, it often does amaze God as the reason and the essence of all there is

I am venturing to guess that very few theologically progressive Christians would say that all Bible passages are to be taken literally and viewed strictly as the inerrant and infallible word of God. Some Christians who are already experienced with scripture and those people reading the Bible for the first time may interpret all of what they read as literal concrete fact, ignoring literary nuances related to styles of ancient story telling, metaphor, symbolism, depth of meaning, etc.

I stand on a bank of a running river, immersed in a flow of my own called life Sad, happy, fearful, calm, and joyous awe-filled waves lap up all around me

A Roman-decreed cross was the fate which Jesus met Because of loving humanity, life-giving blood was let

This is a work of fiction but the content as far as thoughts, convictions, beliefs, etc. is reflective of my own. My intent is to say that anyone at any time of life can "come out of the closet" (as it is called) in expressing oneself along more progressive lines.

We're all a product of nature -- the unfolding of creation Kept humble as we grapple to seek a divine explanation

A painter's easel stands before me as I rest quietly in a dream-like state of sleep Prompted to express my spiritual self with color and brush strokes of my choice

A pale lump of moistened clay was sitting on the ground Amid the vastness of nature, God's creation all around Its undefined shape

As I remain seated in my car, I instantly return to the twenty-first century in my mind. It is the year 2015 and I have been invited by friends to go to this church with them this particular sunny, late-autumn day when frost has coated some of the fallen tree leaves. I have heard rumors that the congregation here has swung even more fundamentally and become strictly literal in their biblical interpretations in recent years, having even departed from their recognized denominational affiliation for fear of becoming too unbiblical in church practice. I wonder what the congregant gathering to worship God will be like today when I enter through the doors.

The pursuit of science is a path on which even our ancestors excitedly trod Supplementing holy scriptures, maybe closer to knowing the "mind of God"

Reality is lived in a physical world, a zone we know through the senses Matter/energy that interplays, our brains perceiving tangible presences

Our lives can be described through the language of pictorial depiction So can humankind's relation to our Creator-God, often with conviction

It's simply a magnetic pointer that swivels on a pivot Northerly it leads us and there's confidence we give it Called a "compass"

"God," our creator -- it's really just a human-given name Humbly self-described in the book of Genesis as "I am" The source of

In most conservative Christian circles, the importance of belief is talked about "You've got to see God like we see Him -- for salvation, you can't do without!"

Was ... fossil hunting time together of any spiritual value? If we describe a spiritual moment as some portion of our existence where we are lifted out of ourselves to something "higher" than us that is beyond us but paradoxically within us -- as well as transforming us -- then my answer is a resounding "yes!"

To ponder our future development and a human evolution Gives us pause to envision a needed "saving Earth" solution

As I glance in the mirror, there's a reflection I see I stare forward towards the image, it's actually me!

The longing to know our Creator seems to be an innate human trait A God-presence yearned for, to be revealed -- never in life too late

Creation through God, the Divine Force -- humans look to the facts As I write this, even as you read it -- those are certain human acts

Our created and conscious selves were, some way, divinely brought about The figurative "hand of God" as eternally present, there's very little doubt!