Pyramids of Egypt

Great Pyramids in Egypt

Over the years I have been fascinated with pyramids. My first was seen in the late 70’s while in Egypt at the world famous great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza.
A dear friend of mine, who was born in Lebanon, had always wanted to go the land of his birth. He was not a seasoned traveler and asked if I would allow him and his wife to join me on a trip I was preparing.
We had flown into Cairo after darkness from London and were taken to Giza and checked into a nice Swiss owned hotel. Since we had traveled by air for two days our body clock was off so I woke up before sunrise and decided I would take a walk. While sitting to rest, the sun began to rise behind me and the rays shown through a row of trees between me and some usual structures. The longer I stared the more they began to take shape. It was a row of pyramids
This was my first time to view them and I was overwhelmed by the size of these ancient wonders.
Suddenly, the older gentleman slowly came up behind me and I turned to look at him and he was crying. He was rejoicing to look at things he had only read about or been told by his parents over the years. We viewed them together with great interest.
Later that day we learned the closer one to us was the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis bordering what is now El Giza, Egypt. I learned that day it was the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the only one that survives substantially intact. It is believed the pyramid was built as a tomb for fourth dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu and constructed over a 20 year period concluding around 2551 BC. The Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years.
The next day were visited some ruins in the area of Memphis, Egypt, about 12 miles south of Cairo. According to Herodotus, Memphis was founded around 3100 BC by Menes, who united the two kingdoms of Egypt.
We viewed a number of items there including an open-air museum. This museum has many Ancient Egyptian statues on display, the most notable one being the 33ft Colossus of Ramesses II, held in a small indoor building on the site.
On the way back to our hotel were saw the tomb of Zoser (His official name was Netjerykhet) who had also been a Pharaoh during a period when little is known about the kings of Egypt in the old Kingdom. It had been designed by the first named architect, Imhotep, around the twenty-seventh century B.C. This first Egyptian pyramid consisted of six mastabas (of decreasing size) built atop one another. The pyramid stood over 200 feet high, and was clad in polished white limestone.
Around the structure were statues of Egyptian gods and of Zoser himself with family members. Zoser is seen in a life size throne. Beneath the pyramid is an underground structure of unusual size with galleries and about 400 rooms. The whole site has been called, “a vast city of the dead.”
Later we saw the painted limestone statue of Zoser in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, which is the oldest known life-sized Egyptian statue.
At every pyramid one is stuck with the size of the foundation to support its height. We can take a spiritual message from this as the Bible says, “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. “-- 1 Corinthians 3:11

The Mighty Hoover Dam

A number of years ago my wife and I, plus dear friends from Columbus, Ohio were embarking on a 14 day tour of the western National Parks. We flew into Las Vegas and spent the night there in the famous Golden Nugget hotel.
The sun had already fallen and the glitzy lights filled the darkness making every kind of color change as its motion and movements fascinated the new comers. All types of invitations came from one building to another as were rode down the strip. It didn’t take us long to know why it is called “sin city.”
The next day we met our tour leader and boarded our bus headed for the first of the national parks and historic places we were to see. Actually from Las Vegas to Hoover dam was only about 35 miles riding though dormant country until our first view of the constructed wonder.
As we unloaded near the visitor’s center, I became so engrossed by the height, size and depth of the gorge that my thoughts began to wonder about how this dam was built and the length of time to do it.
There was a lot of information inside the center and after reading much of it, the realization of how all of this became overwhelming to me.
I learned construction began in 1931, and was completed in 1936. For these five years 8,000 workers toiled in the harsh, dry canyon bottom. Amazingly, they completed the dam in less than five years -- ahead of schedule and under budget.
Also that Hoover Dam was once known as Boulder Dam and that the concrete arch-gravity dam was in the Black Canyon section of the Colorado River on the border between the states of Arizona and Nevada. When completed it was both the world's largest hydroelectric power generating station and the world's largest concrete structure built a cost of $165 million.
Lake Mead is the reservoir created by the dam was named after Elwood Mead, who oversaw the construction of the dam and Herbert Hoover who was very instrumental in the dams possibly was honored by it being named after him.
Six Companies were contracted to build a new town called “Boulder City” for workers, but the construction schedule for the dam was accelerated in order to create more jobs in response to the onset of the Great Depression. However, the town was not ready when the first dam workers arrived at the site in early 1931. During the first summer of construction, workers and their families were housed in temporary camps like Ragtown while work on the town progressed
A popular story holds that the first person to die in the construction of Hoover Dam was J. G. Tierney, a surveyor who drowned while looking for an ideal spot for the dam. Coincidentally, his son, Patrick W. Tierney, was the last man to die working on the dam, 13 years to the day later. Ninety-six of the deaths occurred during construction at the site. These do not include other incidental and coincidental (heat stroke, heart failure, etc.) deaths during construction. There were 112 deaths associated with the construction of the dam I read later.
Looking over the dam I could see it was protected against overtopping by two spillways. The spillway entrances are located behind each dam abutment, running roughly parallel to the canyon walls. This complex spillway entrance arrangement combined with the approximate 700 ft. elevation drop from the top of the reservoir to the river below is a difficult engineering problem and posed several design challenges. The large spillway tunnels have only been used three times in the history of the dam. In addition to use in 1941 and 1983, spillway use was required in 1999.
Observe the following interesting facts:
Today, the Hoover Dam is the second highest dam in the country and the 18th highest in the world. It generates more than four billion kilowatt-hours a year -- that's enough to serve 1.3 million people!
Hoover Dam is 726 feet tall. That's almost 200 feet taller than the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.
There is enough concrete in Hoover Dam (4.5 million cubic yards) to build a two-lane road from Seattle, Washington, to Miami, Florida, or a four-foot-wide sidewalk around the Earth at the Equator.
Because of the heavy traffic over the dam and the increase in tourism to the region a new bridge to by-pass the dam is under construction. It too is a feat of engineering and also will add to the wonderment of the area. (Go to my blog at altonloveless.blogspot.com to see a photo of this new bridge.)

“And God made the arch for a division between the waters which were under the arch and those which were over it: …”- Genesis 1:7 (BBE)

The Water Keeps Running

Niagara Falls

We lived in Columbus, Ohio for 20 years while our sons were growing up. A pastor friend always went to Rice Lake in Ontario, Canada, every year fishing and after every trip he would encourage my family to join him and his wife for a week there.

Our first trip was a time our sons has never forgotten. In fact, after my sons married and had their own families, I once asked them what they remember most of what I did for them when they were teens. Both with concert have said it would the summers I took them to Canada fishing and just being together.

We fished from early to late each day and they had the time of their life. I must admit I also enjoyed it to, and the job worries from home were soon forgotten.

However, getting there was also highlighted by many beautiful stops of which the most unique was Niagara Falls.

I remember the first time we saw Niagara Falls. We first went to view closely the America falls and we were so overwhelm by it. But, it was from the Canadian side standing in the mist looking across at the Horse Shoe falls and around to its side, the American Falls presented the most beautiful views. Together they drop to the Niagara River nearly 200 feet below. Of course, I had seen many photographs of the falls. I had also seen newsreels, documentaries and feature films that clearly showed the falls. But none of them had prepared me for the impact the falls, when viewed directly.

On another trip with my wife, we ventured up the Minolta tower which rises nearly 500 feet above the Niagara River, for a meal together at the rotating restaurant and I cannot put to words the views at such a height.

Our last time there was nearly 25 years ago with our youngest son and his new wife. I still remember their awe for such beauty.

On every visit we made, we would stand on the very edge of the Horse Shoe Falls watching the torrent rush over that edge and hearing the thunderous noise it made. It was an experience that I will never forget.

After our return home, friends would frequently ask what Niagara Falls was like and was it worth the trip to see it? After my experiences I had but one reply to their question—you have to go and see!

There are times and experiences that cannot adequately be described by words or even pictures. Niagara Falls is like that. So is the Grand Canyon and so is the Matterhorn.
I have been blessed to have see much of the beauty of our planet, but I am expecting to see greater beauty in heaven described by the Bible, “as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9

2009 is gone

Good Riddance Day?

In New York City, Monday December 28 was Good Riddance Day in Times Square. Organizers encouraged people to write their grievances down and then throw the lists into shredders symbolizing the act of letting go of painful memories, bad experiences, foolish mistakes, bad relationships, dumb choices, and long-held grudges that had been loading up their insides. Participants could use a sledgehammer in case the shredder didn’t provide enough emotional release.
Actually, 2009, was a rather good year for me even in the mist of the financial downfall and a slow market. To be alive, to have friends, have a house to live in, and fairly good health has been a blessing for me.

My life has been a good journey and as my readers know I have been blessed to have been many places around the world. One thing I know for sure is that life is more than what you make it. It is more often what God does for us that make things better to live with.

As I grow older I am often drawn back in my memory to my youth and to recall the “good ole days.” However, I can’t pick out one era that was better for my wife and me before or during our 51 years of being together. I know of nothing I would change other than wishing we could be closer to our sons and their families, but each has his own family and are making life better for them.

During the year I was able to visit some of my old classmates which brought a pleasant enjoyment to me. While visiting the Wyndham Resort on Greer’s Ferry Lake, my wife and I were able to visit classmates I had not seen in 55 years. What a great visit we had with them. Another came when we were traveling to the resort, I remembered that the person who sat beside me during our 4 years in High School lived in Batesville. Having stopped at Wendy’s I called and reached them. Within minutes they were with us and the visit was wonderful. Unbeknown to me was that our friend was a dear friend of Dr. Charles Rorex, one of our city’s former leaders. They had been classmates at Arkansas State University and had remained close friends since. Shortly after our departure they called Dr. Rorex who afterwards called me at the resort and recommended we meet when we returned to Farmington. So this year I have added a new friend as well.

By now I was living in the past reliving my old class days. I had a high school class of those who accomplished much in life. I cannot begin to relate the many things each has accomplished over the years. Three have been ministers for over 54 years, one a city mayor, numerous college professors, school teachers, medical doctors, salesmen, farmers, successful businessmen, a NASA researcher, Airline pilot, printers, Fire chief, insurance providers, lawyers, store owners, a boxing promoter, along with a number of widows and widowers. We have some of the most beautiful woman and handsome men still in the class of 1955. To say with great compliment I was a part of a classy group of 72 year olds.


Some have died since our last meeting five years ago. It will never be the same again and will change faster as we get farther into the journey.

My travels about the world have slowed and I can only remember the beauty or uniqueness of the places, but our journey in life is more rapid than before. This year I was able to write “Come Travel With Me,” which is filled with 117 places I have been. That was published in February. “And Who Will Follow” was published in September. Both have been received well and are available from www.amazon.com and other retailers. Already, I have begun three other books hoping to finish them during 2010.

I am grateful for the promises in the scriptures that reveal God’s concern for all of mankind. While these verses apply to another in the Bible, they are truths for us as well.

My life has been a good one and I would not want to say good riddance to much of my past.
Maybe we should make 2010 a Year of Good Riddance in which we say farewell to anger, bitterness, blaming, finger pointing, self-justification and a critical spirit, and ask God to grant us a fresh infusion of his grace in all of our relationships.

“And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee”. - 1 Kings 19:7

“And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee.” - Genesis 33:12
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Happy 2010

ALL IS WELL THAT ENDS WELL

The beginning of a new year is a time when in a certain sense we can start afresh about things. It ought to be a time when we aim higher, reach further, dream bigger, and believe stronger. As Henry Ward Beecher said, "Every man should be born again on the first day of January and take no interest in the things that were and are past."

While most of my goals were met this last year, I found the week before Christmas it would not end as complete as hoped.

While speaking to the Lions Club at a breakfast meeting I began to have extreme pain and hardly concluded the address. Later it subsided until in the mid-day, while in a filming session at Parkland Hospital for Charter communications, my pain returned as I stood during the interview.

Afterwards, I headed upstairs to my doctor and suggested, “This pain is from more than a pulled muscle!”

After an hour the report from the MRI revealed I had a disk laying flat on my spinal cord and within minutes I was headed for BJC in St. Louis where an operation was scheduled.

At 4:30 I was moved into the waiting area and prepared for an 8 pm operation. At 9 pm my wife was approached by the head surgeon who announced “Your husband is paralyzed and I haven’t even made an incision. After he returned to the Operation Room, it was discovered the remaining surgical team had awaken me from my sedation and asked me to see if I could move my toes, feet, and legs. I did and then I was put back into darkness awakening in recovery at 4 am to discover my body was painless and the enlightenment that the device used to monitor my responses had malfunctioned.

Once again I learned that the same God who has sustained me, not just from my various operations since 2006, but for the previous 72 years.

As we face a New Year there is no guarantee that we will not face difficult experiences. I wish I had it within my power to wave a magic wand over each of you that would place about you a shield that would guard you from anything distressful, disheartening, disagreeable, disconcerting, and disconsolate.

This Year may have brought things that we never expected or anticipated. There may be things that will happen that will break our hearts. The very foundations of our life may be washed away by some storm of adversity. There may be great days ahead, but it is also possible that there are grievous days ahead. There may be much to make us glad, but it is also possible there may be things ahead that will make us sad. Difficulties are not out of the realm of possibility.

As we come to the end of 2009 and stand on the threshold of 2010, I think of the words of the hymn writer Francis Ridley Havergal:

Another year is dawning,
Dear Father let it be,
In working or in waiting,
Another year with thee.

Another year of progress,
Another year of praise,
Another year of proving
Thy presence all the days.

Another year is dawning,
Dear Father, let it be,
On earth, or else in heaven,
Another year for thee.

As another year is dawning, I want it to be one that richly counts for God. I want it to be a spiritually prosperous and productive year. I want it to be the kind of year that I will look back in the years to come and view it as one of the best years of my life as far as eternal things are concerned.

An unknown author has written:

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,
When funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Jonathan Edwards, the great American preacher from the 1700's, was known for making covenants with God. He referred to them as resolutions. He had 70 such resolutions that he made when he was age 20 and read them once a week. For example, resolution number three read, "Resolved, if ever I shall fall and grow dull, so as to neglect to keep any part of these Resolutions, to repent of all I can remember, when I come to myself again."

In a similar fashion David had made certain covenants or resolutions. In Psalm 39 he is recalling those resolutions. We read in Psalm 39:1, "I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me." David had made certain resolutions. One, he had resolved to take heed to his ways.

A poem suggests my strength:

Though the cover is worn,
And the pages are torn,
And though places bear traces of tears,
Yet more precious than gold
Is this Book worn and old,
That can shatter and scatter my fears.

I mentioned the resolutions of Jonathan Edwards. Let me give you a couple more of his 70 resolutions. Resolution number six was, "Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live." Resolution number seven: "Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life." Those would make good resolutions for all of us.

Someone has said, "Complacency is a blight that saps energy, dulls attitudes, and causes a drain on the brain. Complacency makes people fear the unknown, mistrust the untried, and abhor the new."

We need a burning heart to keep us from getting complacent, from becoming satisfied with things as they are, rejecting what could be, and accepting the good instead of the best. A burning heart will keep us reaching higher, aiming further, seeking more, and going forward. It will keep us growing.

You will notice the source of David's burning heart. He says in verse 3, "While I was musing the fire burned." It was while meditating that his heart began to burn. Meditation is a match that ignites a fire in the heart. Meditating on God's goodness and grace, His word and work, His power and plan will create a spiritual heartburn.

Gypsy Smith was once asked why God had used him in the way He had through the years and his answer was, "I never lost the wonder of it all."

Vance Havner said, "They were right in their chronology and in their theology, but they had no doxology." The fire had gone out in their heart.

A. B. Simpson said, "Our God has boundless resources. The only limit is in us. Our asking, our thinking, our praying are too small, our expectations are too limited."

Let the words of the hymn writer Edwin Hatch be your prayer:

Breathe on me, Breath of God;
'Till I am wholly Thine:
Until this earthly part of me
Glows with Thy fire divine.

Christmas Offers the Trip of a Lifetime

More and more I am becoming troubled with the way we celebrate Christmas, because it -seems like a glorified excuse for indulgence rather than a HOLY-day.
“We participate in the holiday hustle and bustle of shopping, parties, etc. while raging against the system. Our priorities are all tangled up just like our tree lights when we get them out each year, no matter how hard we try to keep them neat and orderly. So we close our eyes and try to focus on the reason for the season, but when we open them the world keeps getting in our face” ~ Pastor John Beehler

C. S. Lewis hit the nail on the head when he said, "We really celebrate two holidays on December 25th. One we call ’Xmas’ & the other we call ’Christmas.’"

How true! Perhaps we should separate them and see the real difference, because most people today celebrate Xmas, few truly celebrate Christmas.

XMAS offers frivolous gifts – CHRISTMAS offers forgiveness

Luke 2:11 - Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.

A little boy wrote a letter to Santa Claus that said, "Dear Santa: There are three boys living at my house. Jeffrey is two, David is four and Norman is seven. Jeffrey is good some of the time, David is good some of the time, and Norman is good all of the time. --I am Norman."

You know the problem with that? None of us is a Norman. None of us bats .1000. None of us is always perfect or right. We all live with a sense of regret because none of us is perfect. That's why we need a Savior.

If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent an educator.
If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent a scientist.
If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent an economist.
If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer.
But our greatest need was forgiveness, so he sent us a Savior.

"Unto you is born a Savior." You can be forgiven. Now that's the most priceless gift you can get.

XMAS can get you stressed – CHRISTMAS can give you peace.

God has given us the Recipe for Life. He says: "You want Peace? Then here is the Recipe. Find forgiveness through Jesus Christ."

That is why there is so much depression and so much suicide and so much rejection especially around Christmas time!

Real peace of mind is having a relationship with Jesus Christ, God's Son, and becoming friends with God.
Real peace is knowing that no matter what I do, God will never stop loving me.
Real peace is knowing that no matter what happens, God will never leave me alone.
Real peace means that no matter what happens in the next year, I know that God is going to give me the strength to handle it.
Real peace is living by God's Word, the Bible, so I can avoid a lot of the needless hang-ups and hurts and habits that mess up my life.
Real peace is teaching my children God's word as a foundation for life, so as I see them make decisions, I can say, "Boy, I'm proud of that. I'm not even there, and they're making that decision on their own." That's real peace.

So how do you and I get this peace? Listen to what God tells us:

Philippians 4:6-7 – “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Corrie Ten Boom said of worry, “It does not empty tomorrow of it’s sorrows, it empties today of it’s strength.”

XMAS is celebrated annually – CHRISTMAS is for eternity.

Two facts of life: We're all going to die someday and you're going to spend more of your life on that side of death than you will on this side.
I don't stand a chance in a million of getting into heaven on my own effort, and neither do you. I lost my chance at perfection a long time ago. So God had to come up with Plan B. He sent us a Savior. So we could get in on somebody else's ticket.

Fortunately, the good news is, that's what Christmas is all about too. That's why God sent Jesus Christ.

John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

He says you can find it through trusting Christ. God says, "I'll take care of your past regrets, your present problems and your future fears."
Can you imagine being given a gift at Christmas and never unwrapping it? It would be silly. I mean, if you gave me a gift at Christmas and a year later you came over and I still hadn't unwrapped it, you'd think I was a little nutty. "Why haven't you unwrapped it?" "Oh, I love the wrapping paper. I'm sure I'm going to love it." "Well I'm going to get to it one of these days." And yet, many of you continue this Christmas after Christmas after Christmas after Christmas. You've celebrated every Christmas for as many years as you are old; you know the songs and the stories, and you know what it's all about, but you've never unwrapped the gift. Now what gives? What's the logic behind that?

God says, "I want to offer you forgiveness, peace of mind, and eternal life," and you haven't unwrapped it? Be serious. You're never going to be offered a greater deal than that.

May God truly bless you this holiday as you enjoy the gifts He has given you!

REASON FOR THE SEASON

The Reason for the Season

I cannot remember how long it has been since I have spent a whole week with my sister. I am sure it was before her marriage more that 47 years ago. In any case, my wife Delois and I spent last week in Branson with my sister Glenna and Jesse, her husband of these years. It was a joy to be able to discuss old times and enjoy just being together.

The desire started a few weeks ago when I told her we had an extra bedroom in Branson and wanted them to join us. They accepted and we began to make plans for the visit by picking out the shows we both wanted to see.

My wife and I had reserved this week because the Christmas lights and shows would reflect the season.

We had a conference call with a Branson travel agent and began to discuss the shows we wanted to see. After a period of time we had ordered tickets for five shows during the week and became excited about seeing each.

My sister and husband live on the Louisiana-Arkansas state line so it took them about twice as long as it did us, but the meeting was exciting on their arrival. Both of our families were very tired so the first night was spent visiting and relaxing.

The next day started with our first show. The musicians were good, but the show was not to our expectation.

The next day we took in two performances. The afternoon show, a well known Christian comedian, was flat and didn’t reach his ability as seen on Television.

That night we attended the Christmas presentation, my wife and I had planned to see before deciding to go to Branson. My sister and brother-in-law did not know this famous pianist to my knowledge, but we all went away totally elated by the performance by Dino Kartsonas.

Dino's Christmas Extravaganza was an amazing, joy-filled celebration of Christmas. America’s Piano Showman brings the sights and sounds of Christmas to life and proves to be one of the biggest production shows in Branson. The centerpiece of this show is Dino’s spectacular piano artistry, but is backed up by the lovely voice of his wife Cheryl Kartsonakis and the lively children’s dance troupe - making this show one you’ll never forget! Dino is one of the premiere performers of our time. "America's Piano Showman" – is a title given to him by more than 80 million who have heard him play.

Not only was he outstanding, but he spared no expense in making the show gowns and props extremely beautiful. He also introduced a new young violinist from Portland, Oregon who played a number of times alone or with Dino.


The end of the show they did something none of the other shows we saw before or after that night. They concluded with all the performers bowing toward the scene of Joseph, Mary and the Christ child. Dino ended his show by saying “remember Jesus Christ is why we did this show!”

The DVD I purchased of the presentation has been watched a number of times now and each time reminds me of the purpose of Christmas.

Dino was raised in a Greek family in New York City to a father and mother who owned a bakery. They shared with him their secret recipe for what he now calls his 24Karet cake.

We visited Dino’s 24Karet Cake company near the landing and had coffee and cake. The performer and wife were both there and joined us for conversation and photos.

No matter how famous or rich one becomes, he owes it all to the Savior of the world,

Jesus Christ--the Reason for the Season.

“And now, Lord, What wait I for? My hope is in thee.” Psalm 39:7