Jeff Ragan > Recent Status Updates

"...in the Eocene, the Chisos Mountains in west Texas were covered in tropical rain forests, and little primates called tarsiers lived in trees on the slopes of the mountains" (245).

"A small crowd had assembled on the little wooden jetty at the settlement, where willing hands soon helped us to secure alongside. Here we had something like a welcome, the warmest and kindest that Mischief has anywhere enjoyed" (580).

"At home Peter's (the Great) reforms brought some changes but his society remained hybrid; apart from a small elite, Asiatic and Byzantine ways, institutions, and beliefs predominated in Russian society and were perceived to do so by both Europeans and Russians. 'Scratch a Russian,' de Maistre observed, 'and you wound a Tatar'" (141).

"Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; My lovingkindness and my fortress, My stronghold and my deliverer; My shield and He in whom I take refuge; Who subdues my people under me. O Lord, what is man, that Thou dost take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that Thou dost think of him? Man is like a mere breath; His days are like a passing shadow." - Psalm 144:1-4

"It was interesting how God gave me different passages of Scripture at different times. I had prepared my mind for that journey, and my mind, living on His words, didn't let me down. I didn't give in to the scorner. I accepted my helplessness. I had won another round" (371).

"Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors; For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep." - Psalm 127:1-2

"It was depressing to think that ten months had elapsed since our entry into the war & we were just barely ready with one division of 25,000 men. With all our wealth, our manpower & our ability, this was the net result of our efforts up to the moment; all because our people had been deceived by a false & fatuous theory that it was unnecessary in time of peace to make even preliminary preparations for war" (334-5).

"I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From whence shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade on your right hand." - Psalm 121:1-5

"The native tallgrasses were well adapted to our cycle of flood and drought in central Texas. What you see above ground is a tiny portion of the plant. Switchgrass and Big Bluestem may grow to be six feet or more above the surface, but their roots go far deeper underground. Their deep and extensive root systems are the secret to these grasses' success" (230).

"Praise the Lord! How blessed is the man who fears the Lord, Who greatly delights in His commandments. His descendants will be mighty on earth; The generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, And his righteousness endures forever. Light arises in the darkness for the upright; He is gracious and compassionate and righteous." - Psalm 112:1-4

"What rest can those find, what settlement, that carry their own disturbance with them in their bosoms wherever they go? Those must needs be fugitives that are thus tossed There is not a more restless fugitive upon earth than he that is continually pursued by his own guilt, nor a viler vagabond than he that is at the beck of his own lusts" (42).

"He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and vegetation for the labor of man, So that he may bring forth food from the earth, and wine which makes man's heart glad. So that he may make his face glisten with oil and food which sustains man's heart. The trees of the Lord drink their fill, The cedars of Lebanon which He planted, where the birds build their nests..." - Psalm 104:14-17

"Micah puts a protest on the people's lips, offering any religious response God cared to ask for. The prophet's reply in v. 8 shows that they had missed the point. It is not displays of worship but a righteous way of life that validates a healthy relationship with God" (275).

"Taft's cabinet retooled the Pure Food & Drug Act based on his definitions. It took him nearly seven months to determine 'what is whiskey?' But the reasoning and research he used to make the points were leaps and bounds more thoughtful and meaningful than anybody before or since President Taft...Taft gave consumers confidence" (75).

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, 'My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!' For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper, and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark." - Psalm 91:1-4

"At the very center of God's being is the desire to express love continually...Eternally, He will make sure that love prevails, and He will prevent anything which would hinder it. Justice, then, is the protection of love. Hell will therefore exist to protect love, and it will be an eternal testimony to how great God's love is" (350).

"...so faulty had been the training of the General Staff as members of a great directive group that both the individuals and the group lacked initiative and purpose for want of a clear conception of their tasks" (322).

"How lovely are Thy dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. The bird also has found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, Even Thine alters, O Lord of hosts, My King and my God. How blessed are those who dwell in Thy house! They are ever praising Thee. - Psalm 84:1-4

"..the ubiquity of conflict. It is human to hate. For self-definition and motivation people need enemies: competitors in business, rivals in achievement, opponents in politics. They naturally distrust and see as threats those who are different and have the capability to harm them" (130).

"At 7 pm, to my untold relief, we sailed. In Neptune's Bellows the wind failed and we drifted slowly past the great cliff now glowing golden red in the light of the setting sun. From the top two men from the British base watched us go. They did not wave. Perhaps Dr Whacko had told them not to" (577).

"Although we consider armadillos to be iconic members of our local fauna, they actually moved into our area only in the late 1800s" (217).

"When I pondered to understand this, it was troublesome in my sight, Until I came into the sanctuary of God; Then I perceived their end. Surely Thou dost set them in slippery places; Thou dost cast them down to destruction. How they are destroyed in a moment! They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors! Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when aroused, Thou wilt despise their form." - Psalm 73:16-20

"Dust may be raised, for a time, into a little cloud, and may seem considerable while it is held up by the wind that raised it; but, when the force of that is spent, it falls again, and returns to the earth out of which it was raised. Such a thing is man; a great man is but a great mass of dust, and must return to his earth" (33).

"O God, Thou art my God; I shall seek Thee earnestly; My soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee, In a dry and weary land where there is no water. Thus I have beheld Thee in the sanctuary, To see Thy power and Thy glory. Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise Thee. So I will bless Thee as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Thy name." - Psalm 63:1-4

"The winter of 1917-18 was the most severe of the war. The cold was at times so intense as to make the generally unheated houses, barns and lofts used as billets nearly uninhabitable. The gloom of short days and long nights in the isolated and largely depopulated French villages can hardly be described. The snow was unusually heavy in eastern France, and periodical thaws...greatly added to the hardships..." (315).

"Hear, O My people, & I will speak; O Israel, & I will testify against you, I am God, your God. I do not reprove you for your sacrifices, and your burnt offerings are continually before Me...If I were hungry, I would not tell you; For the world is Mind, & all it contains. Shall I eat the flesh of bulls? Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, & pay your vows to the Most High" - Psalm 50:7-14

"For the Saudis, there is undoubtedly a double satisfaction to be gained from the infliction of humiliating punishments upon Westerners; for not only are they an expression of the power and independence of Saudi Arabia but they also demonstrate, as they are intended to demonstrate, contempt for Christianity and the pre-eminence of Islam" (116).

"Fret not yourself because of evildoers, be not envious toward wrongdoers. For they will wither quickly like the grass, and fade like the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it." - Psalm 37:1-5

"Knowledge of God is not merely knowing about God; it is being properly related to him in love and obedience. Israel did not need more information about God but a stronger desire for fellowship with God" (265).

"The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. The face of the Lord is against evil doers, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. The righteous cry and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit." - Psalm 34:15-18