"Oh Concrete" a reading from "Fistful of Gravel: a Bucketful of Blue Collar Poems"

 

One of my favorite poems from "Fistful of Gravel" is about concrete: Click here to see the Youtube video Oh Concrete

Is your translation a salvation issue?

 In church-settings we utilize words that are nowhere to be found within the Scriptures, words like Halo, Rapture, Trinity, even the word “Bible” itself, are all absent from our Bibles.  How can we be faithful to the Word of God if we use non-biblical words, but more to the point, does our salvation depend on which translation of the Bible we read? 

Sadly, it seems like many believers spend more time arguing over which is the authorized translation of the Bible than they do actually reading it, or studying it with unbelievers. What is our critical and judgmental obsession over an individual translation all about, what causes us to be so upset, is it tradition, have we based the source of our identity in a temporary translation instead of in the Eternal God who inspired the Bible, is it nostalgia, more importantly is this choice based in solid theology? 

Do we hinder our ability to interpret and limit our comprehension of applying Biblical principles because of a translation of the Bible?  Resisting newer translations of the Bible is more about confusing accommodation with compromise and confusing irrelevance with irreverence; whenever we claim that “man has changed the Bible” over the years, we overlook the fact that the word of God is infallible yet our translations and interpretations are imperfect.  

In Shakespeare’s day, “bully” was a term of endearment, meaning “darling” or “sweetheart,” all words are confusing if taken out of their historical context.  For example, the English word “nice” at one time meant “foolish” or “silly,” and “silly” meant “blessed” or “happy” but “silly” has changed nowadays to mean “foolish.” Also, if you were to read a newspaper from the 1920s and you stumbled across the word “gay,” it would not mean what it meant 20 years ago (or today either) because the meaning and the usage of English words changes periodically, even within a generation, thus the value of contemporary translations of the Bible and why we need to consider the value of “heart languages” or words that we can connect to and comprehend.  

Does the translation you read communicate in a clear and concise everyday-language that is easily understood?  

We go on autopilot and shortchange ourselves whenever we restrict our Bible study to one single translation of the Bible.  I have personally read cover to cover over a dozen different translations of the Bible and interestingly enough, I have seen passages of Scripture in a new light each time, something stuck out to me I hadn’t noticed before, and I was able to see Scripture in a new way each time I read a different translation.   

We have to consider the value of the hard work that the translation committee does, the theologians and scholars who have invested a lifetime in researching manuscripts and mastering the original languages providing us with a copy of the Bible we can comprehend.  To be dogmatic and to rigidly demand that there is only one authorized English translation is to ignore the fact that each and every English translation from the original languages is a commentary, since for each and every word in the original language we have multiple English words to pick a replacement from -- it is a translation that you are holding in your hand, not the original manuscripts. 

I say all of this to say, our own personal spiritual growth can be stifled when our brains go on autopilot or when we wrestle with comprehension.  Additionally, the effectiveness of our ability to reach people is stagnated when we expect them to try to take in the word of God through an avenue that is awkward, nearly incomprehensible, and out of touch with their vocabulary needs. There is not a single one, not one English translation can be as exact and precise as reading the original Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic of the original Scriptures, why therefore would we create conflict over defending only one English translation. 

Who among us has the time to go to graduate school to master the original languages, to be so precise that we could make a literal word for word translation from the original texts? We have to find a translation that we can trust, a translation that can be comprehensible, a translation that we are comfortable navigating and articulating its content from.  Personally, I am indifferent to whatever translation you choose though I am highly opposed to an inconsistent congregational culture dictating to the members what translation they must read without leaving members room for their own personal choices -- that approach has wounded far too many believers and it risks what Jesus warns about in Matthew 23:26, “You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!” 

Fistful of Gravel: Why I like writing poetry

Poetry isn't sappy, dorky, or nerdy, and poetry isn't restricted to any social class, rank, or status, at least this is not my experience.  I have found that writing poetry provides me with a channel my racing thoughts and the resulting creativity within me, it's also an outlet for expressing my feelings after a stressful or difficult experiences, and overall, the act of writing poetry for me is therapeutic, it helps me to process life's challenges.  

"Fistful of Gravel: A bucketful of Blue Collar poems" is unlike most poetry that comes to mind, this collection is mostly inspired by and focused on blue collar work, the jobsite experiences, and the struggles of hard work.  My hope is for anyone working with their hands for a living that they can connect to these poems, see themselves in the circumstance, and find joy in reading these short poems...

Click here for a sample poem "For Jeffery"

click here to see my poetry book, "Fistful of Gravel: Bucketful of Blue Collar poems" 

We can critique concepts without criticizing other Christians

 Having personally known Bruce Gibson for over 10 years, I know he is compassionate, kind, loving & caring. He recently published, “Rediscovering the Good news of the Gospel," after reading it, I feel It would be shameful for anyone in our community to slander Bruce’s reputation and regrettable if church leaders “banned” this book based on its provocative perspective, I want to be considerate with my comments about Bruce’s book because I believe his intentions were wholesome and he’s a man of integrity. 

Bruce’s book is worthwhile because there are too many people who are insecure about God’s love and who work hard to earn their salvation, which is basically Bruce’s objective, but secondly, we quickly cut off people who question our views and we have lost the art of dialogue or the ability to embrace people who we think are wrong, therefore are we able to accept believers we disagree with, are we able to refrain from judging them, and can we reexamine our core essentials of the Faith? That is the ultimate value of reading this book because it’s possible to critique a concept without criticizing other Christians, we can disagree about doctrine without demonizing other disciples -- many people are either overconfident or completely insecure in their beliefs, they either choose to avoid differences of opinion based on the fact that they are certain of what they know, or, they are fearful that the whole house of cards will come tumbling down. 

Being misguided and mistaken isn’t the equivalent of being malicious or misguiding others, Bruce asserts that the blood shed at Jesus’ death wasn’t for our forgiveness, in the parable of the unforgiving servant, he wasn’t tortured when the King handed him over to the torturers, in fact many of the rudimentary elements of your traditional faith will need to be re-examined.  You will find yourself opening your Bible and asking yourself, Why do I think what I think, does sin really separate humanity from God above or doesn’t it, is God motivated to act in human affairs by our prayer requests, is Bruce correct that hell possibly doesn’t exist and atheists who reject God outright are forgiven before they were even born?  

In the age of Wikipedia, WebMD, Legalzoom, and the wild wild West of AI, we have severed the strongholds of elites/experts and Bruce readily admits he’s an attorney, not an academically trained theologian -- I would add you don’t have to be trained in New Testament Greek to understand the English translation of the Bible, but you do need an education in Greek if you want to make arguments from the Greek or reference the Greek to argue your case.  There are a variety of past tenses, for example, “I bought vodka, I wasn’t planning on drinking it all but once I opened the bottle I drank it all and I got drunk, when I woke up hungover, I felt remorse and now I regret the whole thing.”  Greek has the aorist (a simple past action) the imperfect (a continuous past action) and the perfect (a past action with ongoing results) each distinct tense conveys nuances of completed, ongoing, or stative actions in the past; these distinctions are absent in Bruce’s book.

The book is implying inclusivism, that everyone is already forgiven because grace is basically boundless and irresistible, asserting his confidence that even after a person dies they still have hope of a second chance, it’s not simply “Once saved always saved,” instead it’s all saved always saved, Charles Manson, Adolf Hitler, pedophiles, atheists one and all.  But being assured of salvation that’s available to all, does this make it automatic to all? 

In an effort to demystify God and make Him fully comprehensible, to erase the dreaded question of how could an all-loving God send anyone to hell for all of eternity by reducing God’s love to a one dimensional “either/or” and rejecting the “both/and” elements Bruce unintentionally creates a neolegalism, unconscious that Universalism undermines our free will and binds God contractually to have to forgive, depriving God’s discretion, robbing Him of His prerogatives to do as He pleases, and it erodes the “Lord’s Prayer” since God knows what we need and what others need so don’t ask because if you do ask, you misunderstand God’s heart.  

The pain of paradox is front and center here, what do we do when two truths appear to contradict each other and we find it pure emotional torture to acquiesce?  For example, how do we reconcile God’s demand for justice with His merciful love? When we are confronted by a doctrine that confuses us, or that makes us uncomfortable, psychologically we create a compromise to ease the tension we can’t resolve internally or intellectually. 

Even though I found his perspective unpersuasive and unconvincing, the book was thought provoking and is a compelling case to reexamine the necessity of an ownership of our faith because a complacent faith is a stagnant faith and once every so often it’s beneficial to have your perspectives challenged, something to jar you into questioning what you believe and why.  It truly is essential that we return to the Bible and review, periodically, our understanding of primary essential doctrines.

Click here for original article in the Timesnews

Giving Shotcrete a shot

Answering Ben's call, I declined to pump for him, initially.  Ben was from out of town, he was looking for a concrete pump but he was doing some shotcrete work, which I informed him, we don't do.  Shotcrete is where you attach compressed air to the concrete pump hose and forcefully blow the concrete where you need it, it has a lot of applications like vertical walls and intricate concrete formations that require next-level freehand skills, but a lot can go wrong and it can be hard on the pump.  Ben was persistent and reassuring, he gently asked why I wasn't interested and he gently coaxed me into accepting the opportunity to actually try out shotcreting.  Words fail me but I'll say, I am extremely grateful for Ben's softspoken demeanor and his patience with me, and for blessing us with the opportunity to experience the thrill of taking on this new challenge.  

Trying to explain to people who are unfamiliar with pumping concrete what our work consists of feels like Rutger Hauer’s monologue when he plays the role of Roy Batty, a "replicant" in the old movie "Blade Runner."  With depth and power, he exhibits incredible emotions as he describes the things he's seen and experienced, it remains one of the best scenes of all times.    

But I feel the same as Hauer's character, having pumped concrete in a multitude of unique situations.  We've pumped for the DOT on bridges and under them.  We've pumped concrete two stories underground inside of chemical factories where the corrosion all around was terrifying.  We've pumped six foot deep by four foot wide lightning rod tower bases 50 feet up in the air atop of a blast wall inside of military ammunition factory.  We've pumped the bases for Zipline courses in a National Park with 1600 foot deep canyon carved throughout.  It is simply hard to explain the emotions and feelings of pumping concrete when you experience the exhilaration from the danger and stress and the challenges of a high pressure industry like pumping concrete.  The scope of our work, the far places we travel to, the toil & struggles we encounter, the chaos and risks are incomprehensible, to say the least.  

I have pumped up seven stories on hotel floors, I have been in military facilities where I have to have background checks. I’ve been in nuclear facilities where I had to do retinal scans at several checkpoints along the corridors and pass through security with conveyor belts for our belongings to be X-rayed and body scanning equipment like TSA at the airports with a devise that tested our skin and clothing for explosives, all just to get to into the facility to pump concrete.  All of this to say, there is not much left to impress me.  

I am indifferent as to your opinion of the skater subculture, but I insist that if you were to absorb the immense amount of craftsmanship that is required to create a skate park, you would be overwhelmed by the artisan quality and precision concrete finishing skills required to handshape the features at the skatepark.  Having been around concrete my entire life and as a second generation concrete tradesmen, it is very hard to impress me at this point. There isn’t much that I haven’t seen or done, and frankly, it takes something very unique to raise the type of excitement that I experienced working at this skate park. 

Watching Ben and his crew in action I was totally enraptured, enthralled, enchanted, caught up and transfixed in the moment, transported and getting lost in the moment was reminiscence of when I was in the second grade and an adult read to us from the "Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" by CS Lewis, and I remember over 50 years later losing all sense of my soundings or my classmates and the entire room disappeared from my line of vision and magically I was inside the story, viewing only the story and losing my physical surrounding in an experience much like some sort of lucid dream.  The elegance of the artisan quality craftsmanship Ben and his crew possessed was like watching a master sculptor create a masterpiece, I was mesmerized the entire time by their work, it was amazing and the most interesting and exciting job we've been a part of in a very long time.  And on top of all of that, Ben was one of the most pleasant people I have worked for in a while, believe it or not there are some rough coldblooded ruthless ruffians out there pouring concrete who try to bully and push the pump guy around, not many but there are some tyrannical control freaks who like to use threats and are very demanding, complexly lacking any consideration, it comes with the territory.  

I'm sure a seasoned veteran pumper who's reading this will have a good chuckle over my novice ramblings, finding it humorous as I recount being initiated into the experience of shotcreting.  I just hope it rekindles the spark of joy of their introduction to doing shotcrete for their first time, after all we who pump concrete can become jaded, cynical, and critical as the years go by.  Surprisingly taking on this shotcrete job, which had always greatly intimated me previously, it completely boosted my self-confidence and encouraged me immensely, shockingly it felt like I was a kid taking the training wheels off, but instead of just riding a bicycle, now I was suddenly riding a 750cc motorcycle.  

I invite you to watch below, a couple videos from that job, and check out some pictures as well

Why should you give This particular Music a shot?

For anyone dealing regularly with stressful situations, is searching for a practical tool that can help stabilize your thoughts when they are racing, or looking for a filter for life's distractions, Ambient music is probably just what you need.  If you just chalk Ambient music up to being mystic, New Age, Spa, weirdo Elevator type music, mainly because you might think it sounds strange, nerdy, and since it's not mainstream it's only for weird people, you shortchange yourself...  In light of these common but misguided stereotypes, I believe a lot of people remain closed to the idea of Ambient music and when people doubt its quality, they ignore the value, and therefore they will miss out on the many benefits of Ambient music.

How does Ambient music work?  I don't know any of the neuroscience behind it, if any at all, but for me it's an absence of lyrics along with the delightful blend of tones, unique rhythms and extended sound patterns that allows me to enjoy the music without being distracted by the music, you almost get lost in the music, at least for me.  

Another common misperception I'd like to dispel, Ambient music is much more than repetitive background noises.  Again, Ambient music is much more than weird Space music or background noise, the rhythm and pace of this music has the ability to slow down the world around you, it brings you a sense of peace & stability, and there is a calming & comforting effect as well.  Also, whenever I need to concentrate, listening to Ambient music brings me clarity of thought and it helps me focus when I'm reading, it relaxes me and helps to stimulate a sense of flow and it nurtures a creative zone when I’m writing too.  

The therapeutic benefits of Ambient music are perhaps the most important to me.  For reasons unknown to me, I often get overwhelmed and stressed out in public and basically have periodic panic-attacks; it gets embarrassing especially if we are out to eat with friends.  Ambient Music helps me out in these situations, for example, I'll wear earbuds when I'm shopping at Walmart or the grocery store and somehow listening to Ambient music provides a buffer and it helps me feel calmer and more relaxed, it is especially helpful to me in busy airports or while flying.  It works almost like a mental-health forcefield for me.

A final benefit I'll share with you that you won't find surprising.  Ambient music helps me to sleep at night.

If you aren't already familiar with Ambient music, please allow me to introduce you to this unique genre of music.  For starters, here's a great example of Ambient music: Click here for my favorite ambient track  

If you are interested in exploring this unique genre of music further, of what I feel is one of the most enjoyable styles of music, here are some of my recommendations.  Check these out on whatever music streaming service you use, I highly recommend Exit Chamber, Jonn Serrie's materials and Steve Roach as well, Liquid mind is excellent as is Rudy Adrian, Billow Observatory and Time Being are very good too.   As for the best Ambient music YouTube pages I've found, check out Astral Ambiance's page https://www.youtube.com/@AstralAmbience-1 Relaxation Ambient Music's page https://www.youtube.com/@RelaxationMeditationMusic and Ken Elkinson's page, he happens to be my overall all-time favorite Ambient musician,  https://www.youtube.com/@kenelkinson

The grip of grief how will our loss NOT have the last word?

If you have ever known the thrill of being carried on silver wings & “flying the friendly skies,” you might be interested in knowing flight became possible after someone playing ice-hockey had his face smashed in leaving his teeth looking like a broken bottle when his face replaced the goal; it was the worst day of his life and he locked himself away for three years out of embarrassment.  Sulking, and feeling sorry for himself he moped around his self-imposed prison and to kill the time he spent his days reading in his dad’s library -- low and behold he read a lot about birds, he came out of that unbearable tragic experience with a greater insight, and Mr. Wright and his brother brought us the gift of flight.  

Similarly, Isaac Newton was isolated in his room for months on end during the great plague of his day and it was during that time of quarantine that he experienced several epiphanies, he invented his prism for studying light, and he formulated many of his greatest ideas in math & physics.  The world was gripped by death and it was a dark time, and Newton’s achievements changed the world as we know it for the better during the worst of times.  

You are more than likely familiar with the youngest brother who was sold into slavery by his older brothers, the jealous brothers who were envious of him who planned his demise.  Joseph, as you remember, was the slave who was eventually elevated in status as second only to the Pharaoh and when the time came that he was reunited with his cruel brothers who plotted against him he said in Gen 50:20, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” 

Right now you might be dealing with the deviation of a divorce, the loss of being laid off, or worse, you are missing a loved one who passed away and you are asking if any good can come from our tragedies?  Maintaining a positive perspective when you are simply trying to persevere seems pointless but consider what Paul wrote in 2 Cor 1:3-4, “3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

Mosaics and the Japanese art of kintsugi take shattered pieces of pottery or ceramics and fashion masterpieces by mending them and creating works of beauty from what was once broken; just like how a broken bone is stronger where it is mended, the once worthless pieces are now more valuable than before.  In the midst of loss or during our difficulties it’s impossible to believe we will find fulfillment or see the potential our future holds, all hope seems elusive, but.

But somehow the unfathomable becomes the greatest act of kindness and delivery, like the conclusion to Steinbeck's “Mice & Men" when George saves Lennie from Curley's certain torture and cruelty by taking Lennie’s life himself.  May we learn to build a set of wings while we are in freefall and soar high above the problems we have faced and grow from our mistakes and problems, and maybe comfort someone who is facing what we have overcome, by the grace of God.  

PS: "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted

    and saves the crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18

Originally published in the Kingsport Timesnews on 11/7/25 https://www.timesnews.net/living/faith/when-good-comes-from-the-worst-of-times/article_3ec340e0-66c2-4b51-ab7f-5dffc982f41e.html

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How do we help people who are grieving