Does Science Conflict With Christianity and the Bible? Not Directly.

I started listening to the Phil Vischer podcast recently. 

It's really interesting because here is this guy with a dry wit and quirky humor and he's really very well versed in biblical truth. Then he brings on people who know quite a bit too. They banter back and forth and in between saying nothing about everything they begin to say some very profound things.

One such example that got me thinking enough to comment on the post was Episode 80.

http://philvischer.com/the-phil-vischer-podcast/thanksgiving-walmart-and-science-vs-the-bible-with-john-walton/#comment-67151

 I'm just finding the podcast now and listening to older episodes. I came across this one and wanted to put my two cents in. I was REALLY interested in the conversation and topics brought up.

Interesting Conversation: Science vs Christianity; are they opposed?

Skye poses this question.

“Science posits “Uniformitarianism”, that all natural laws are what they are and do not change. It is the basis for discovery and making scientific assumptions. If gravity was different today than it was yesterday than how could we calculate anything in physical space? Doesn’t Christianity claim that laws do change, that nature was different before Genesis 1, will be different after Revelations 19, and it changes often when God intervenes (Miracles, Jesus Resurrection and Ascension, etc)? Do these conflict?”

My answer.

No. Christianity makes no such claim. The Bible makes no claim that natural law (gravity and such) will have been different before or different in the future. The bible makes no claim that it won’t change either. There simply isn’t any information. What do these examples claim?

Natural Changes: Earth Changing, sea being gone in the new earth. These are geographic changes. Like new islands popping up in the sea we have now. Rivers cutting new paths. These changes happen now too, they will be more dramatic in the “new earth”. Maybe he’ll even destroy the whole planet and give us a new one. That’s still possible within “natural law” for one who has power over it and created it in the first place. Of course, again, we don't know. Maybe he uproots the whole things and starts over.

Miracles: Miracles, Jesus Resurrected Body and Ascension, these are not examples of natural law being changed. They are examples of “Higher Order Law” taking precedence over “Lower Order Law”. We see this in airplanes. Planes and birds do not break natural law of gravity to take off to flight. They use another higher order law, called the law of lift, to put themselves above the law of gravity.

Miracles involve spiritual order laws which transcend and take precedence over natural law. When a man comes into a hospital room to a person with an "Incurable" disease and lays hands on that sick person and they become well. It's simply an example of Higher Order Spiritual Law taking place.

My thought would be that these are not laws God came up with arbitrarily, but in fact they are of his nature. So the new heaven and new earth would have the same basic laws, yet we'd have better knowledge of and access to the higher order laws. Jesus new resurrected body is capable of putting into effect a higher order that we are not capable of putting into effect, at least not consistently.

Miracles always seemed quite rational to me from that perspective.
"A miracle is something science just doesn't understand yet..."

Darrell



How about you? You see anything to add to this? Want to share what examples you have seen or experience in yourself or others? Comment below. 

I call you empowered 2 prosper with good success!

By Darrell Wolfe

Bible Study Blog: http://empoweredtooprosper.blogspot.com/
Facebook: Facebook.Com/DarrellGWolfe
Twitter: @DarrellWolfe
Personal Blog: www.DarrellWolfe.Com

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The Hedgehog & The Sweet Spot. Finding Your Unique Place In This World.

Have you ever been doing something so long you just do it because that's what you do?

It's like you just walk through the motions in life, trying each new thing that comes along, never really finding... traction. Your engine is running, but your tires are just spinning. You aren't going anywhere.

It's like you are busier and busier but you accomplish less and less.

What you need to do is find your inner Hedgehog!

Once upon a time, there was a hedgehog and a fox. The hedgehog was not smarter than the fox, faster than the fox, more talented than the fox or craftier than the fox. But the hedgehog did have one thing he was good at. It was that one thing that saved his life over and over and eventually led him to outlast and out perform the fox.

Read on to find out what you can learn from Little H, the Hedgehog, about success and simplicity.

Attribution: Hedgehog II by Kalle Gustafsson; With Ken Coleman Quote Added "You find your sweet spot by finding the intersection of your greatest strength and your greatest passion."

The Story Of Two Competitors: A Fox and A Hedgehog

There once was a little Hedgehog who's name was Little H. One day the Hedgehog wandered along the path to find his next meal. Out from in front of him, seemingly out of no-where, a fox jumps into the path. Foxes' teeth are glaring at him.

Fox obviously intends to make Little H his next meal.

Little H curls up into a ball, and pokes out his spines. The fox lunges and gets poked by one of Little H's spines and yelps! Fox runs away.

The next day Little H is roaming along the path and the Fox jumps out from behind Little H. Little H rolls into a ball and Fox lunges, get's poked, and runs away.

Over the next few days Fox tried to take Little H through various surprise attacks, different angles, different times of day, he tries sneaking up on him slowly. No matter what Fox tried, Little H rolled into a spiky ball.

Fox learned after the first few times that once he got into that ball he would not want to pursue. Little H continued to plod along and Fox eventually gave up in search for an easier meal.
Little H had learned to stay in his sweet spot and he found great success.

*(Story Adapted/Paraphrased from: Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't (Affiliate Link), Jim Collins

Have You Found Your Sweet Spot?

Sometimes it seems like you are trying out so many ideas that you never gain traction on any of them. I have been experiencing that some with the soft launch of this blog (and my other online pursuits). That's part of the reason I gave myself all of 2014 to just write, experiment, and write... to find my voice.

In his video Ken Coleman referred to "The Sweet Spot".

"You find your sweet spot by finding the intersection of your greatest strength and your greatest passion." Tweet That

That reminded me of Jim Collins classic work: Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't (Affiliate Link). In this book, Jim talks about "The Hedgehog Concept".

The idea is that the hedgehog does just one thing, and he does that thing REALLY well. The Fox can try to adapt, change, try new things, all to subvert his competition, try out 100 new tricks and cheats and hacks, but in the end it's the Hedgehog that wins, not the Fox.

(* While searching for my blog photo for this post, I even saw someone who had totally missed the point of the analogy and reversed the lesson.)

Why? Why does Hedgehog Win?

The Hedgehog wins because he does one thing, and he does it really well. I think that's what Ken Coleman is unpacking for us here in a different way. When you find that one thing you are most gifted to do in the area you are most passionate about, you find real resonance in life!

Just like the glass in this video (Click Here) when you find the frequency you ought to be operating at the confines of your life will shatter and you will be caged no more.

Jim Collins uses this concept to show how and why businesses who found their key guiding principle find better success.

On his website Jim explains: "The Hedgehog Concept"

"You’ll know that you’re getting closer to your Hedgehog Concept when you align three intersecting circles that represent three pivotal questions:

• What can we be the best in the world at? (And equally important—what can we not be the best at?)
• What is the economic denominator that best drives our economic engine (profit or cash flow per “x”)?
• And what are our core people deeply passionate about?

Answer those three questions honestly, facing the brutal facts without blinking, and you’ll begin to see your Hedgehog Concept emerge."

As individuals then for our own lives we must find our greatest strength and greatest passion.

As I do I will get closer to the "Why am I here on earth?" type answers and I'll find that true note that resonates throughout my whole life.

So too, you must discover that thing that makes you who you are.

What does it mean to be "Best In The World?" 

It means that you are doing what you are uniquely gifted to do. Nobody does it quite the way you do it. It doesn't mean that you are better at it than everyone else in the world. It means of all the things you do, this is what you are best at! Best in YOUR world.

I like what Michael Hyatt said about this. Why should you write a book? He said that there may be 1,000's of other people who have already written about your topic. But only you have your experiences and your voice. There may be people who will resonate with you and not with those others, or will find you and wouldn't have found them.

You need to write that book, publish that art, work on that job, do that thing because only you do it the way you do it.

Sometimes in sales they call this your: "Unique Value Proposition". What makes you better or different?

Lesson to Learn:

Find your greatest passion and your greatest strength and focus on that for the rest of your life. Hone it, get closer and closer to it, get better at it, define it better. That is one key to amazing results!

This Weeks Resource:

• Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't (Affiliate Link), Jim Collins “Some of the key concepts discerned in the study,” comments Jim Collins, "fly in the face of our modern business culture and will, quite frankly, upset some people.”

And now I leave you with 3 questions:

• What is the one thing that either you know you are most skilled at?
• What is the one thing that you are most passionate about? 
• Where do you think those might intersect? 

To Respond: Leave a comment on this post to answer all three questions



See Also:

• Interview Skills- An Introduction

• Interviews PT 1- Concrete and Specific

• Interviews 2 | Know the Job Description

• Interviews PT 3- Know Yourself

• Resume: God's or Yours?

• Discovery | Finding Your Place In God's Plan

• The Hedgehog & The Sweet Spot. Finding Your Unique Place In This World. 

Darrell Wolfe, Topos Consultant

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Three tips for creating an effective and intriguing logline or elevator pitch

03/31/2014 The Perfect Elevator Pitch (Also Called a Logline)

I came across this article from "The Write Practice" about creating a perfect logline or elevator pitch. The last place I saw an explanation this simple yet thorough was "Writing Fiction For Dummies", (Affiliate Link). I wanted to archive this information for my later reference. The following is on excerpt from the article.



****

The Nitty-Gritty

Final tips for creating an effective and intriguing logline:

1. Start with your protagonist. Who or what leads the action of the story? In Star Wars, that’s obvious: Luke Skywalker. But what about an ensemble film like Pulp Fiction? IMDB has a great logline for Tarantino’s film: “The lives of two mob hit men, a boxer, a gangster’s wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.”

1. With a logline, you really need to think about your verb. Steer clear of the infinitive “to be.” Look at the Lion King example above: tricked—flees—abandons. All verbs that get you thinking more about the how and the why within the main plot.

1. Finally, that brings us to the basic “what happens” of the plot. What happens in Star Wars? “Luke Skywalker, a spirited farm boy, joins rebel forces to save Princess Leia from the evil Darth Vader, and the galaxy from the Empire’s planet-destroying Death Star.”

Simplified further: “A spirited farm boy joins rebel forces to save a princess from evil forces, and the galaxy from a planet-destroying starship.”  

To read the FULL article (Click Here)

****



This Longline or Elevator Pitch can be used in nearly any arena where you might have a product, service, idea, book, or story you want to convey to other people in 30 seconds or less.

"I'm Joe. I run Mama Mia's Pizza in downtown Brooklyn, NY. We serve fresh - old world style- pizza daily, just like Mama used to make." 

This could become the way this imaginary Joe would explain his business to anyone he meets.




I subscribed to "The Write Practice" and you should too if you want other great tips. I've really enjoyed their articles so far.



Live Long And Prosper, Darrell

Resource: 

For more information on writing fiction, this is my favorite book on the subject to date.

Writing Fiction For Dummies", (Affiliate Link). 

A complete guide to writing and selling your novel 

So you want to write a novel? Great! That’s a worthy goal, no matter what your reason. But don’t settle for just writing a novel. Aim high. Write a novel that you intend to sell to a publisher. Writing Fiction for Dummies is a complete guide designed to coach you every step along the path from beginning writer to royalty-earning author. Here are some things you’ll learn in Writing Fiction for Dummies: 

Strategic Planning: Pinpoint where you are on the roadmap to publication; discover what every reader desperately wants from a story; home in on a marketable category; choose from among the four most common creative styles; and learn the self-management methods of professional writers. 

Writing Powerful Fiction: Construct a story world that rings true; create believable, unpredictable characters; build a strong plot with all six layers of complexity of a modern novel; and infuse it all with a strong theme. 

Self-Editing Your Novel: Psychoanalyze your characters to bring them fully to life; edit your story structure from the top down; fix broken scenes; and polish your action and dialogue. 

Finding An Agent and Getting Published: Write a query letter, a synopsis, and a proposal; pitch your work to agents and editors without fear. 

Writing Fiction For Dummies takes you from being a writer to being an author. It can happen—if you have the talent and persistence to do what you need to do. 

 ******



Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed this. I'd love to make a community with this project. If you would like to add, comment on, critique, or otherwise participate... that would be great!



Please include any information about yourself, your blog/wesbite/amazon author page that you want to share with the community also.



* I may include "Affiliate Links" which means I earn a commission when you buy products I link to. To see my full about page and disclosures: Click Here



It's Author Fun By Darrell Wolfe



To Subscribe to the RSS: Click Here



For Non-Fiction writing by Darrell G. Wolfe: Click Here

Read more →

Three tips for creating an effective and intriguing logline or elevator pitch

03/31/2014 The Perfect Elevator Pitch (Also Called a Logline)

I came across this article from "The Write Practice" about creating a perfect logline or elevator pitch. The last place I saw an explanation this simple yet thorough was "Writing Fiction For Dummies", (Affiliate Link). I wanted to archive this information for my later reference. The following is on excerpt from the article.

****

The Nitty-Gritty
Final tips for creating an effective and intriguing logline:

1. Start with your protagonist. Who or what leads the action of the story? In Star Wars, that’s obvious: Luke Skywalker. But what about an ensemble film like Pulp Fiction? IMDB has a great logline for Tarantino’s film: “The lives of two mob hit men, a boxer, a gangster’s wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.”

1. With a logline, you really need to think about your verb. Steer clear of the infinitive “to be.” Look at the Lion King example above: tricked—flees—abandons. All verbs that get you thinking more about the how and the why within the main plot.

1. Finally, that brings us to the basic “what happens” of the plot. What happens in Star Wars? “Luke Skywalker, a spirited farm boy, joins rebel forces to save Princess Leia from the evil Darth Vader, and the galaxy from the Empire’s planet-destroying Death Star.”

Simplified further: “A spirited farm boy joins rebel forces to save a princess from evil forces, and the galaxy from a planet-destroying starship.”  

To read the FULL article (Click Here)

****

This Longline or Elevator Pitch can be used in nearly any arena where you might have a product, service, idea, book, or story you want to convey to other people in 30 seconds or less.

"I'm Joe. I run Mama Mia's Pizza in downtown Brooklyn, NY. We serve fresh - old world style- pizza daily, just like Mama used to make." 

This could become the way this imaginary Joe would explain his business to anyone he meets.

I subscribed to "The Write Practice" and you should too if you want other great tips. I've really enjoyed their articles so far.

Live Long And Prosper, Darrell

Resource: 

For more information on writing fiction, this is my favorite book on the subject to date.

Writing Fiction For Dummies", (Affiliate Link). 

A complete guide to writing and selling your novel 

So you want to write a novel? Great! That’s a worthy goal, no matter what your reason. But don’t settle for just writing a novel. Aim high. Write a novel that you intend to sell to a publisher. Writing Fiction for Dummies is a complete guide designed to coach you every step along the path from beginning writer to royalty-earning author. Here are some things you’ll learn in Writing Fiction for Dummies: 

Strategic Planning: Pinpoint where you are on the roadmap to publication; discover what every reader desperately wants from a story; home in on a marketable category; choose from among the four most common creative styles; and learn the self-management methods of professional writers. 

Writing Powerful Fiction: Construct a story world that rings true; create believable, unpredictable characters; build a strong plot with all six layers of complexity of a modern novel; and infuse it all with a strong theme. 

Self-Editing Your Novel: Psychoanalyze your characters to bring them fully to life; edit your story structure from the top down; fix broken scenes; and polish your action and dialogue. 

Finding An Agent and Getting Published: Write a query letter, a synopsis, and a proposal; pitch your work to agents and editors without fear. 

Writing Fiction For Dummies takes you from being a writer to being an author. It can happen—if you have the talent and persistence to do what you need to do. 

 ******

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed this. I'd love to make a community with this project. If you would like to add, comment on, critique, or otherwise participate... that would be great!

Please include any information about yourself, your blog/wesbite/amazon author page that you want to share with the community also.

* I may include "Affiliate Links" which means I earn a commission when you buy products I link to. To see my full about page and disclosures: Click Here

It's Author Fun By Darrell Wolfe

To Subscribe to the RSS: Click Here

For Non-Fiction writing by Darrell G. Wolfe: Click Here

Read more →

Prodigal Son Returns

03/09/201 Writing Practice

Prodigal Son Story Idea...

Idea Sparked by this Devotional:



https://www.bible.com/users/darrellwolfe/reading-plans/28-joseph-prince?day=117&user_id=darrellwolfe&version=1



My Journal Entry:

What if... What if the prodigal son came home as a son, just like the story goes. Then afterward the Father convinces the brother to treat him as family, as guest, and feed and shelter him, but still all the "things" of the household belong to the older brother. There is no inheritance left for the younger one, his was spent.  

What happens next? Could he, having learned from his mistakes, take a job. Not on his families estate because he doesn't want his Brother to feel taken from. From a local estate that knows the family. Maybe he even takes a job in a different form altogether, like in the market. With that job he tried to pay his brother for his keep but "duty" prevents him from accepting anything from younger brother. So he saves, and saves, and invests, eventually becoming even wealthier than his brother, like a Joseph in modern times...  

Interesting story idea. 

The Original Story

LUKE 15

11And he said, A certain man had two sons:

12And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.

13And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.

14And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.

15And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.

16And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.

17And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!

18I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,

19And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

20And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

21And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.

22But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:

23And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:

24For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

25Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.

26And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.

27And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.

28And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.

29And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:

30But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.

31And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.

32It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

The New 21st Century Version - According to Darrell Wolfe - Loose Translation

Prologue

Once upon a time, in Laguna Nigel, CA a man had two sons. The youngest son asked the father to split the estate now, rather than waiting until his death many years from now. The father was more than happy to do it. All he lived for was his children. Winston Churchill Montgomery III, The Father, gave to each son his portion of the inheritance.



According to family custom and tradition, the youngest son (Dean) received 1/3 and the oldest (Richard) 2/3 of the estate. When the lawyers verified that the Father was of good health and sound mind, they processed the request.



One day, a few months after the estate was divided, and all the assets belonging to him were liquidated, the youngest son departed to "Find Himself".



The 1/3 that Dean took with him was worth quite a bit. He spent time in Vegas, Paris, New York, and other places. He toured the world, went to concerts, spent time in Dubai. His portion of the estate was large enough that he was gone for years. The occasional post on Facebook told the family all they needed to know about where he was, but he hardly ever bothered even sending a text to his Father, who watched the social feeds with growing concern.



Meanwhile, back at home the eldest Son managed the estate and affairs of the family, doing his duty to keep the family name clean and reputation separate from his youngest brothers debauchery. Often paying news editors to keep headlines down, such as the cover story from two years ago which read:

"Dean Montgomery, youngest son and heir of the Montgomery and Company Estate, a Fortune 500 Company, was seen naked, painted blue, hanging from a hot air balloon last night on March 17th, apparently in staged attempt to bring awareness to Scottish-Irish abuse by England. He had the letters IRA painted on his rear, which he says stands for Irish Republican Army. Some believe this may have had a double entendre, as his family is well known for their investment and stock in financial companies, especially those in majoring in retirement services."

13 Years went by. Then, slowly, the Facebook Posts, News Photo's, and other channels of information on the youngest son dried up. There were less and less posts. "Going to Al's to watch the game..." was the last post on his Facebook account. That was 1.5 Year ago.

Then without warning, Dean shows up this evening, about four hours ago. He arrives on the back of a pick up truck, wearing rags, smelling like a sewer. He obviously hadn't shaved in over a year, and he looked like the worst kind of homeless man, the one you walk far around when you notice him nearby. 

Then Father comes out and instead of disowning him, or at least giving a disgusted rebuke and sending him to a rehab center, he hugs him, and throws a last minute party. Of all the nerve. 

Richard fumes back and forth as he recounts the activities to his finance' Rebeka.

I had to find out when I drove up to the estate, finding a huge, unplanned, party underway. I wasn't notified to have the guest list checked with security, or anything. I didn't even get a text letting me know anything had happened. The entire event was explained to me by Jose, our night gate guard.

Father had the gall to wonder why I wasn't joining the party. Of all the nerve, the ridiculous reactions to have! Here this kid has been out wasting one third of Father's hard earned fortune, blowing himself up across new channels, creating nightmares of bad press for us, living like a gypsy. Then he shows up, money spent, looking for a hand out and Father throws a party? Unbelievable! 

Rebeka nodded. Richard collapsed on the couch, lays across her lap exhausted, as she scratches his back. She quietly pulls out her phone with one hand while she scratches her back with the other. She quietly deletes the invite from her Facebook Page.



***

The Next Day

The embers still dying in the outside fireplace, the household has gone to bed. The elder brother never did come inside. He left, heading back to his finance's house. Father was asleep. The crowds were gone. The only ones left awake were Jose, the night Guard out front, Dean who was still in awe over his Dad's reaction, and Buddy. The old dog was still alive, amazing.



So what now? He still didn't have any money. He'd intended to ask his Dad to let him work for him, but his Dad wouldn't hear of it. He had a place to stay, a warm bed, new clothes, fresh shower, and more good than he knew what to do with. It had been so long since he'd felt this good.



He'd make up with Richard, he always came around. He'd apologize good and proper, let him know he intended to earn his keep and not take anything else from the family. But now what? The "Prodigal Son Returns!", What's next?



Dean would have to figure that out tomorrow. He was just grateful to be alive, warm, clean, and fed. Dad insisted he take a shower and shave before anybody arrived, and arrive they did! Amazing how many people will show up for free food and fun at the Montgomery's!



He was just so amazed at this unexpected welcome... it felt great to be called "son" again.



What's next could wait until tomorrow. Tonight, he was going to bask in...Home. Home is a good feeling. It's been far too long.







******



Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed this. I'd love to make a community with this project. If you would like to add, comment on, critique, or otherwise participate... that would be great!



Please include any information about yourself, your blog/wesbite/amazon author page that you want to share with the community also.



* I may include "Affiliate Links" which means I earn a commission when you buy products I link to. To see my full about page and disclosures: Click Here



It's Author Fun By Darrell Wolfe



To Subscribe to the RSS: Click Here



For Non-Fiction writing by Darrell G. Wolfe: Click Here

Read more →

Prodigal Son Returns

03/09/201 Writing Practice

Prodigal Son Story Idea...

Idea Sparked by this Devotional:

https://www.bible.com/users/darrellwolfe/reading-plans/28-joseph-prince?day=117&user_id=darrellwolfe&version=1

My Journal Entry:

What if... What if the prodigal son came home as a son, just like the story goes. Then afterward the Father convinces the brother to treat him as family, as guest, and feed and shelter him, but still all the "things" of the household belong to the older brother. There is no inheritance left for the younger one, his was spent.  

What happens next? Could he, having learned from his mistakes, take a job. Not on his families estate because he doesn't want his Brother to feel taken from. From a local estate that knows the family. Maybe he even takes a job in a different form altogether, like in the market. With that job he tried to pay his brother for his keep but "duty" prevents him from accepting anything from younger brother. So he saves, and saves, and invests, eventually becoming even wealthier than his brother, like a Joseph in modern times...  

Interesting story idea. 

The Original Story

LUKE 15

11And he said, A certain man had two sons:

12And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.

13And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.

14And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.

15And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.

16And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.

17And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!

18I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,

19And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

20And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

21And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.

22But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:

23And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:

24For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

25Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.

26And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.

27And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.

28And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.

29And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:

30But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.

31And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.

32It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

The New 21st Century Version - According to Darrell Wolfe - Loose Translation

Prologue

Once upon a time, in Laguna Nigel, CA a man had two sons. The youngest son asked the father to split the estate now, rather than waiting until his death many years from now. The father was more than happy to do it. All he lived for was his children. Winston Churchill Montgomery III, The Father, gave to each son his portion of the inheritance.

According to family custom and tradition, the youngest son (Dean) received 1/3 and the oldest (Richard) 2/3 of the estate. When the lawyers verified that the Father was of good health and sound mind, they processed the request.

One day, a few months after the estate was divided, and all the assets belonging to him were liquidated, the youngest son departed to "Find Himself".

The 1/3 that Dean took with him was worth quite a bit. He spent time in Vegas, Paris, New York, and other places. He toured the world, went to concerts, spent time in Dubai. His portion of the estate was large enough that he was gone for years. The occasional post on Facebook told the family all they needed to know about where he was, but he hardly ever bothered even sending a text to his Father, who watched the social feeds with growing concern.

Meanwhile, back at home the eldest Son managed the estate and affairs of the family, doing his duty to keep the family name clean and reputation separate from his youngest brothers debauchery. Often paying news editors to keep headlines down, such as the cover story from two years ago which read:

"Dean Montgomery, youngest son and heir of the Montgomery and Company Estate, a Fortune 500 Company, was seen naked, painted blue, hanging from a hot air balloon last night on March 17th, apparently in staged attempt to bring awareness to Scottish-Irish abuse by England. He had the letters IRA painted on his rear, which he says stands for Irish Republican Army. Some believe this may have had a double entendre, as his family is well known for their investment and stock in financial companies, especially those in majoring in retirement services."

13 Years went by. Then, slowly, the Facebook Posts, News Photo's, and other channels of information on the youngest son dried up. There were less and less posts. "Going to Al's to watch the game..." was the last post on his Facebook account. That was 1.5 Year ago.

Then without warning, Dean shows up this evening, about four hours ago. He arrives on the back of a pick up truck, wearing rags, smelling like a sewer. He obviously hadn't shaved in over a year, and he looked like the worst kind of homeless man, the one you walk far around when you notice him nearby. 

Then Father comes out and instead of disowning him, or at least giving a disgusted rebuke and sending him to a rehab center, he hugs him, and throws a last minute party. Of all the nerve. 

Richard fumes back and forth as he recounts the activities to his finance' Rebeka.

I had to find out when I drove up to the estate, finding a huge, unplanned, party underway. I wasn't notified to have the guest list checked with security, or anything. I didn't even get a text letting me know anything had happened. The entire event was explained to me by Jose, our night gate guard.

Father had the gall to wonder why I wasn't joining the party. Of all the nerve, the ridiculous reactions to have! Here this kid has been out wasting one third of Father's hard earned fortune, blowing himself up across new channels, creating nightmares of bad press for us, living like a gypsy. Then he shows up, money spent, looking for a hand out and Father throws a party? Unbelievable! 

Rebeka nodded. Richard collapsed on the couch, lays across her lap exhausted, as she scratches his back. She quietly pulls out her phone with one hand while she scratches her back with the other. She quietly deletes the invite from her Facebook Page.

***

The Next Day

The embers still dying in the outside fireplace, the household has gone to bed. The elder brother never did come inside. He left, heading back to his finance's house. Father was asleep. The crowds were gone. The only ones left awake were Jose, the night Guard out front, Dean who was still in awe over his Dad's reaction, and Buddy. The old dog was still alive, amazing.

So what now? He still didn't have any money. He'd intended to ask his Dad to let him work for him, but his Dad wouldn't hear of it. He had a place to stay, a warm bed, new clothes, fresh shower, and more good than he knew what to do with. It had been so long since he'd felt this good.

He'd make up with Richard, he always came around. He'd apologize good and proper, let him know he intended to earn his keep and not take anything else from the family. But now what? The "Prodigal Son Returns!", What's next?

Dean would have to figure that out tomorrow. He was just grateful to be alive, warm, clean, and fed. Dad insisted he take a shower and shave before anybody arrived, and arrive they did! Amazing how many people will show up for free food and fun at the Montgomery's!

He was just so amazed at this unexpected welcome... it felt great to be called "son" again.

What's next could wait until tomorrow. Tonight, he was going to bask in...Home. Home is a good feeling. It's been far too long.



******

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