You Really do Learn Something New every Day!

I love to learn new things. Sometimes they're important and provide me with actual knowledge, but many times they are just fun facts that don't necessarily improve my quality of life, but I still find them interesting.

In the last week or so, I've learned a little of both.

Just the other day, a life long mystery to me was finally solved and although there is no great significance in it, I simply enjoy the now knowing.

I have always loved the ELO song, "Don't Bring Me Down."

Of course, like the rest of us who are lyric freaks, I always wondered who Bruce was?
You know, "don't bring me doooown.....Bruce...don't bring me dooooown, Bruce..."

Well, as it turns out, the word they are actually singing is the German word "grroosss."

Jeff Lynne just made up the word while recording in the studio. But apparently, it surprised the German producer who informed him that it really was a word. In German, grroosss means, a type of greeting.

I find this amusing considering its' context and placement in the song.
"Don't bring me dooown...hello?"

You'd think it would be better to end that line with an exit word like, "don't bring me doooown.....bye!"
But, I guess "don't bring me dooown...Auf Wiedersehen," wouldn't really sound right either.
So, there ya have it.
Mystery solved.

Wikipedia and Facebook are awesome resources when there's an immediate need to know. :)

My interesting and useful nugget of knowledge this week was learning how Joshua made it into the promised land.

You know, the one we are always hearing about.....That land flowing with milk and honey.

I have yet to find it with my lame mapping skills, but I believe it really does exist.

Most of us have seen, "The 10 Commandments" the one with Charlton Heston.
I think it's pretty much required viewing around Christmas time, right up there with The Christmas Story, It's a Wonderful Life and Elf.

Most of us also remember the dramatic point where Moses parts the Red Sea with his giant staff in hand.
(and yes, I know God did it, not Moses, but you know what I mean.)

Well guess what I found out?

That was not the ONLY wall of water incident in the bible!
Joshua did the same thing at the Jordan River!

Huh! Who knew?
Okay, probably lots of people. But I did not.
Somewhere, somehow between the "thou shall not eat" and the "blowing of the trumpets" dramatic ending, I missed that part.

Now, I have never claimed to be a bible scholar, teacher, preacher or anything remotely like that, but I do love reading the word and hearing other interesting tales outside of Noah, Jonah and The Story of Baby Jesus.

I get super jazzed when it leaps out in a 3D kind of way and really grabs my attention and actually feels relevant to my life here and now.

Daily, I am learning how to live and it's in those pages that I usually get the best advice. Admittedly, I don't always listen, but it's there for the taking. Just like God said the Promise Land would be.

Moses and the previously enslaved Israelites left Egypt and set out to find this abundant  and blessed land only to end up wandering in the desert for 40 years!

It was supposed to be about a seven day journey (correction..11 days), but their considerable amount of disobedience and jacking around made the process take a whole lot longer than a week.

Talk about a miscalculated ETA!! (estimated time of arrival)
I get that.

I would have been right there with them, cursing God instead of looking at my part in my misdirection and singing loudly, "You've got me running going out of my mind...you've got me thinking that I'm wasting my time...." :)

Well, Moses never made it and died in the process so Joshua, his assistant, became the task master of bringing God's people to cross the Jordan River in order to inherit the wonderful lands that God had promised them so many years before.

God gave Joshua the pep talk of all pep talks that went something like this, "Give it everything you have, heart and soul. Be of good strength and courage! Don't get off track, don't veer to the right or the left, and don't get discouraged!! I am with you every step of the way!"

He also gave them a few days to camp out and rest before the big crossing over, take over.
Cause that's what it was going to be. Yes, he said they would have it...but they were going to have to fight for it. Hence the saying perhaps, anything worth having, is worth fighting for.

But lets get back to the resting part....God's good like that, he'll let you hang out by the campfire, sing some songs and refresh your spirit before getting into the real battle.

Sadly, they had manna....not s'mores.

On the final day, the leaders started shouting specific orders for exactly how they were going to get to the other side. Do this, do that, do this, do that. Pretty specific instructions.

Two important things that jumped out at me were this; Joshua and the leaders told the people to prepare themselves...they said, "you've never been down this road before...sanctify yourselves for so much more!"

In other words, this is a new thing! This is a way that you have not known.
Cut away the old way of doing things and prepare yourselves for something better.
Not better, but, God's miraculous best!

They obeyed, stood at the flood waters of the Jordan River...and God caused a great wall of water to rise up so they could cross and finally enter into their Promise Land.

I would like to think that after witnessing something as unbelievable as that, I could then march confidently straight towards my enemies with great boldness!

If I were Joshua, I think I maybe would have instructed the people like this,"Now..we are about to be where we were intended to go forever ago...Here's what I want you to do...As we are announcing our arrival to our enemies...I want us to have this big massive sing-along...and very loudly, at the top of your lungs I want you to sing...."

"Don't be bring me doooown......grroosss!"

Hello!!!

We're here and we're taking what's ours!