Sunday, March 07, 2010

Sunday's Devotional



 Proverbs 10:31-32(Amplified):
31 The mouth of the righteous (those harmonious with God) brings forth skillful and godly 
wisdom, but the perverse tongue shall be cut down (as a barren and rotten tree).
32 The lips of the (uncompromisingly) righteous know (and therefore utter) what is 

acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked knows (and therefore speaks only) what is 
obstinately willful and contrary.


 
Thoughts for the Day
These scriptures in Proverbs compare the words of the righteous with the words of the 
wicked. 
When I was young some of the children would call others names and make fun of them. 
The children who were being harassed would reply with this old saying:  
"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me."  
After studying the Bible, I realized this old adage is not true. Using unkind names 
or words against people is harmful. It is harmful to the one who uses them, as well 
as to the one it is being spoken against. Words are very powerful. Think about this. 
Lawyers use words to build their cases. Our nation's laws are made up made up of 
volumes of words. Our national treaties are words written on documents. 
Words announce the daily news. 
Words are tools that are used to communicate with one another. In the beginning 
God used words to create the earth by speaking everything into existence (Genesis 1). 
In the New Testament Jesus, Himself is referred to as the living Word. The Bible is 
also known as the Word of God. Words are powerful!
John 1:1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the 
Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were 
made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made."
The Bible has a lot to say about the way we should speak, and also warns us not 
to speak in certain ways. In the Bible when someone speaks words that are good 
and uplifting, they are referred to as speaking a "blessing." When one speaks evil 
words against someone it is referred to as speaking a "curse" against them. This is 
how "curse words" or "cussing" originated by speaking evil words. Since the devil is 
behind curse words, many curse words are direct expletives that come against God 
or Jesus.
Jesus taught in the Bible that when a man curses or uses profanity it is a sign of evil 
that is in that man's heart. It is popular today for both men and women to curse. 
They never think of it as an evil condition in their heart, but rather a small thing 
that everyone does. These small words of cursing the Bible says, will defile the 
whole man if they are not repented of and stopped. Cussing and using the name 
of the Lord in vain causes one to become defiled.
Popular movies and T.V. are responsible for causing society to accept foul language 
as the "norm." They portray cursing as a way to vent anger and tell people off. 
The very attitudes behind cursing show that it is not right, as cussing is used to 
demean and put down people. These words can be mild expletives to horrible 
blasphemies. 
Since the devil is the one who inspires these evil utterances he causes people to 
use our Lord's name in the most ungodly ways.
In the modern definition of cursing, usually people use the name of Jesus or God 
in vain and swear with curses such as "go to hell" or "damn you." These words 
clearly show it is an evil coming from the devil. Have you ever wondered why 
people do not not use the names of gods of other religions when they curse? 
The names that the devil hates and uses people to voice hateful curses are "God," 
"Christ," "Jesus Christ" and "Jesus." 
Terms about hell and heaven are also used in derogatory ways. The very misuse 
of these words should prove the existence of God and the reality of a heaven and hell
Neither adults nor children should use bad language if we are to be like our Lord.  
We do not have to use curse words to emphasize our intentions.
Colossians 3:8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, 
filthy communication out of your mouth. 9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye 
have put off the old man with his deeds;
10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image 

of him that created him."
Matthew 5:37: "But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for 
whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil."
Psalm 19:14: "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, 
be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer."
These verses in Proverbs say that God accepts the words of the righteous 
while the words of the wicked will one day be cut off, along with those who 
speak them.
 
 
Prayer for the Day
Dear Father, Thank You for all that You have done for me. Lord, I ask you to forgive me for 
failing You. Lord, I want my words to be like Your Words. Lord, you never speak any unkind 
thing. You are gentle and loving. Your Words are always the truth. We can depend on You 
and trust that what You said is the truth. You never lie. Lord, may I be good for my word. 
Help me not to give it lightly, and when I do tell someone I will do something, remind me 
if I fail to keep my word so I can make it right. In our society it seems that so many, especially 
in the business world, are very careless about their words. Help me to be a witness for 
You as one that keeps their word even as You do. In the name of Jesus I pray.  Amen.

Saturday, March 06, 2010

You Are Part of Me

You are part of me now
You touched me,
With your kindness and love
So enchanted.
Your soft lips are kind.
Your eyes glow with life.
I'm glad you touched me,
You're part of me now.
- Lloyd Carl Owle, Cherokee

Friday, March 05, 2010

Treasures of Life

This life offers many treasures
Some too wonderful to believe
Our status in life is measured
by the money we receive.

It's a show of size and measure
In the amount that we possess
We walk proud at the vision
of one living with much less

We have a pride so large
It cannot be controlled
Our mouths speak so foolish
of all that we could hold!

But you know that we really
are holding NOTHING at all....
What a short life that we live
when eternity gives its call!

Will we cry of pride and stature,
when we're standing before our Lord?
Will we show a pile of money?
Or hide in shame of all we've hoard?

You see dear friend that life
Is not the wealth that we own....
It's in the precious Grace of Jesus
and the forgiveness He has shown!

No possessions will go with us
as we travel that last mile
Will He know us when we're knocking?
and greet us as His child?

Or will His door close slowly
with a tear running down His face?
As He cries, "I KNOW YOU NOT!"
"Why did you turn from Grace?" 
 -Linda Sue Etling

Thursday, March 04, 2010

We Are Still Here




I have been asked, how do you define an Indian, is it a matter of blood content? I say no, an Indian is someone who thinks of themselves as an Indian. But that's not so easy to do and one has to earn the entitlement somehow. You have to have a certain experience of the world in order to formulate this idea. I know how my mother saw the world, and her mother before her. That's how I see the world. - UNKNOWN

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Did You Know?

 
There are many stereotypes of American Indians that must be avoided.
The truth is:

  • Indians do not all look alike.
  • Not all Indians know Native history and culture, especially that which is not their own.
  • Indians observe the religion of their choice.
  • Not all Indians are alcoholics.
  • "Indian-ness" is not decided by the percentage of Indian blood in your body.
  • Indians do not always have an Indian name.
  • Indians were not uncivilized before the white man came to the Western Hemisphere.
  • Indians were not conquered.
  • There are many American Indian heroes. 

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

When Legends Die

 

When the legends die, dreams die also,
And when dreams die, there is no greatness.
And when there is no greatness,
who will suffer the most?

Well, I will tell you, the people.
The people who don't know their own shadows.
And cannot see their visions clearly,
And the ones who don't know themselves pretty well,

But someday when you stop and think,
You'll see the real image of yourself
and the ones that were before you
and then you'll see.

- ANONYMOUS ZUNI STUDENT

Monday, March 01, 2010

In the Rain

 

  The gentle rain speaks upon the soft earth and God is in the midst of the mist reminding us that the brightness of the sunshine is on the other side of every dark cloud. Droplets dance in silence as they are introduced to the world. We have been here before they say and are here again to refresh and bless. As the moon reflects the light of the sun, nature reflects the beauty of God.
  I am not angry with the world but with its two-legged dwellers. Dwellers who want to look through a tube at stars they can't already see or investigate biomes of invisible nature. Dwellers that can't hear the rain sing to the Creator the appreciation of just being or hear child say I love you. Dwellers that can't answer the birds when they tell you not to worry, everything will be OK, or just enjoy being one of the people thankful for the corn today.
  The soft rain whispers. There will be plants. There will be grain. There will be food. There will be flowers. There will be fruit. There will be a tomorrow.
  Don't worry, you are being taken care of and watched over. Relax and get intune with God and each other and go for love walks...in the rain. - Author Unknown, View from the Medicine Lodge, Jim Great Elk Waters


Sunday, February 28, 2010

The Blessing of No

 

I asked Creator to remove my feelings of self-importance.
Creator said, "No."
"It is not for me to remove this feeling you dislike.
It is your job to make it go away."

I asked Creator to grant me tolerance.
Creator said, "No." 
" Tolerance wells up from disrespect.
Tolerance isn't granted, it is earned."

I asked Creator to fill me with cheer.
Creator again said, "No."
"I give you Blessings, finding that which brings you cheer, 
is up to you."

I asked Creator to free me from anguish.
Creator said, "No."
"Anguish draws you apart from worldly pleasures and
brings you closer to me."

I asked Creator to make my spirit grow.
Creator said, "No."
"You must grow on your own, but I will trim you to
make you fruitful."

I asked for all things that might allow me to more enjoy life.
Creator said, "No."
 "I will give you life so that
you may enjoy all things."

I asked Creator to teach me to love others,
as he loves me.
Creator said,
"Ahhh..., finally you understand."

- Jim Great Elk Waters, View from the Medicine Lodge
 

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Teach the Children Well



You who are so wise must know that different nations have different conception of things. You will not therefore take it amiss if our ideas of the white man's kind of education happens not to be the same as yours. We have had some experience of it.
Several of our young people were brought up in your colleges. They were instructed in all your sciences; but, when they came back to us, they were all bad runners, ignorant of every means of living in the woods, unable to bear either cold or hunger. They didn't know how to build a cabin, take a deer, or kill an enemy. They spoke our language imperfectly.
They were therefore unfit to be hunters, warriors, or counsellors; they were good for nothing.
We are, however, not the less obliged for your kind offer, though we decline accepting it. To show our gratefulness, it the gentleman of Virginia shall send us a dozen of their sons, we will take great care with their education, instruct them in all we know, and make men of them.
- Canassatego, Chief of the Onondaga Nation

Friday, February 26, 2010

The Enchantment of Tribes

  I am remembering and have a desire to share with you, a beautiful story told to me by a young lady. It was the end of the World War II and her dad was returning home. He came from a very close network of Italian families that lived near each other in New Jersey.
   He had a ride back from where his ship had docked. Of course he was filled with emotion as he came closer and closer to home. Suddenly, about five miles from home, he asked to be dropped off. He had decided to walk the last few miles himself and give himself time to emotionally "arrive". He wanted to savor every moment of coming home! This was a time to feel the essence of the town he came from, to savor pleasant memories of growing up as he walked and to allow his anticipation to build even further. Every step took him closer to friends and loved ones! He looked at every tree. He enjoyed every house he passed. He didn't even feel the weight of his duffel bag flung over his shoulder. He took his time walking. His parents knew that he was coming home soon, but they didn't know exactly when. Thank G-d he was alive! That knowledge was enough to sustain them.
   Meanwhile, as he walked several people recognized him. Some called out "hello" and several ran up to him and hugged him. He was offered rides, but refused. However, behind closed doors the magic began. As he passed by these people, the news was quickly transmitted on the telephone that he was coming! Joe's son was home from the war. Pass the word. And they did.
   By the time he got down to his street the street was filled with friends and family waiting for him. Would you believe several hundred? People shouted and clapped. He was hugged and kissed. His bag was taken from him. Everyone wanted to be near him. "Make room for Joe and Rosie! For goodness sake, let them get near their own son!" He literally had to work his way through the crowd of neighbors and other relatives to fall into the arms of his mom and dad. How good it felt to be held again by the two people who loved him so much! And where was that pretty young woman that he meant to look up now that he was home? Oh, well, that would have to wait at least one more day. The rest of today was filled with fresh Italian foods, wine, hugs, stories and a place to come home too.
   What a beautiful story. We all need a place to come home to--a place to be loved, to feel connected and with purpose. In The Enchanted Self I teach about belonging to tribes and how important it is. I even feel the energy of the tribe that this young man belonged to and I wasn't there. The positive energy was so strong that it not only filled his granddaughter--and could still be transmitted to me--and I hope to you.
   He needed his tribe and his tribe needed him. He needed his time to re-enter. The energies connecting him and his tribe were so strong that he could not just be dropped off. He had to re-enter slowly at first and prepared himself for the intensity of connection. His tribe likewise prepared itself by a wonderful signal system--smoke coming up in puffs on the desert. The system worked so well that by the time he arrived a celebration was already up and running.
   Tribes are our gift to ourselves. They offer us a gateway so we can come back again and again. They offer us a signal system so that the important things are transmitted in a timely fashion, and they offer us the welcoming arms that help us belong, feel appreciated and have a place. May each of us have the gift of the right tribes in our lives. -  Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Great Spirit

 

Great Spirit,
give us hearts to understand;
Never to take from creation's beauty more than we give;
Never to destroy wantonly for the furtherance of greed;
Never to deny to give our hands for the building of earth's beauty;
Never to take from her what we cannot use.
Give us hearts to understand
That to destroy earth's music is to create confusion;
That to wreck her appearance is to blind us to beauty;
That to callously pollute her fragrance is to make a house of stench;
That as we care for her she will care for us.
We have forgotten who we are.
We have sought only our own security.
We have exploited simply for our own ends.
We have distorted our knowledge.
We have abused our power.
Great Spirit, whose dry lands thirst,
help us to find the way to refresh your lands.
Great Spirit, whose waters are choked with debris and pollution,
help us to find the way to cleanse your waters.
Great Spirit, whose beautiful earth grows ugly with mis-use,
help us to find the way to restore beauty to your handiwork.
Great Spirit, whose creatures are being destroyed,
help us to find a way to replenish them.
Great Spirit, whose gifts to us are being lost
in selfishness and corruption,
help us to find the way to restore our humanity.
- UNKNOWN

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Grandfather Great Spirit

 
All over the world the faces
of living ones are alike.
With tenderness they have
come up out of the ground.
Look upon your children
that they may face the winds
And walk the good road to the Day of Quiet.
Grandfather Great Spirit
Fill us with the Light.
Give us the strength to understand,
And the eyes to see.
Teach us to walk the soft Earth
as relatives to all that live.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

First to Last Breath


Children were taught that true politeness was to be defined in actions rather than in words. They were never allowed to pass between the fire and the older person or a visitor, to speak while others were speaking, or to make fun of a crippled or disfigured person. If a child thoughtlessly tried to do so, a parent, in a quiet voice, immediately set him right.
Expressions such as "excuse me," "pardon me," and "so sorry" now so often lightly and unnecessarily used, are not in the Lakota language. If one chanced to injure or cause inconvenience to another wanunhecun, or "mistake," was spoken. This was sufficient to indicate that no discourtesy was intended and that what happened was accidental.
Our young people, raised under old rules of courtesy, never indulged in the present habit of talking incessantly and all at the same time. To do so would have been not only impolite, but foolish; for poise, so much admired as a social grace, could not be accompanied by restlessness. Pauses were acknowledged gracefully and did not cause lack of ease or embarrassment.
In talking to children, the old Lakota would place a hand on the ground and explain: "We sit in the lap of our Mother. From her we, and all other living things, come. We shall soon pass, but the place where we now rest will last forever." So we, too, learned to sit or lie on the ground and become conscious of life about us in its multitude of forms.
Sometimes we boys would sit motionless and watch the swallows, the tiny ants, or perhaps some small animal at its work and ponder its industry and ingenuity; or we lay on our backs and looked long at the sky, and when the stars came out made shapes from the various groups.
Everything was possessed of personality, only differing from us in form. Knowledge was inherent in all things. The world was a library and its books were the stones, leaves, grass, brooks, and the birds and animals that shared, alike with us, the storms and blessings of earth. We learned to do what only the student of nature learns, and that was to feel beauty. We never railed at the storms, the furious winds, and the biting frosts and snows. To do so intensified human futility, so whatever came we adjusted ourselves, by more effort and energy if necessary, but without complaint.
Even the lightning did us no harm, for whenever it came too close, mothers and grandmothers in every tipi put cedar leaves on the coals and their magic kept danger away. Bright days and dark days were both expressions of the Great Mystery, and the Indian reveled in being close to the Great Holiness.
Observation was certain to have its rewards. Interest, wonder, admiration grew, and the fact was appreciated that life was more than mere human manifestation; it was expressed in a multitude of forms.
This appreciation enriched Lakota existence. Life was vivid and pulsing; nothing was casual and commonplace. The Indian lived - lived in every sense of the word - from his first to his last breath.
- Chief Luther Standing Bear - Oglala Sioux

Monday, February 22, 2010

Path of Destruction

 
When we Indians kill meat, we eat it all up. When we dig roots, we make little holes. When we build houses, we make little holes. When we burn grass for grasshoppers, we don't ruin things. We shake down acorns and pine nuts. We don't chop down the trees. We only use dead wood. But the white people plow up the ground, pull down the trees, kill everything. ... the White people pay no attention. ...How can the spirit of the earth like the White man? ... everywhere the White man has touched it, it is sore. - Wintu Woman, 19th Century




Sunday, February 21, 2010

Honor Your Gifts

 

I've just finished reading two of Kent Nerburn's insightful novels about our first people and how their lives today are important to our own spiritual lives and the lives of our children in their future here on Mother Earth. "Neither Wolf Nor Dog" and its sequel, "the Wolf at Twilight" are both honest views of our indigenous people & how their spiritual lives today reflect their past in today's world & will continue to impact our future if we will only but listen...  - SENECAWOLF

 

“Remember to be gentle with yourself and others. We are all children of chance and none can say why some fields will blossom while others lay brown beneath the August sun. Care for those around you. Look past your differences. Their dreams are no less than yours, their choices no more easily made. And give, give in any way you can, of whatever you posses. To give is to love. To withhold is to wither. Care less for your harvest than for how it is shared and your life will have meaning and your heart will have peace.” - KENT NERBURN

Kent Nerburn's Books 

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Walk with me

 
If through experience, your soul
Has gained new heights which I
As yet in dim-lit vision see,
Hold out your hand and point the way,
Lest from its straightness I should stray,
And walk a mile with me.
- UNKNOWN 

Friday, February 19, 2010

New York State Tries to Renege On Treaty With Seneca Nation

 

 

Seneca Nation Response to Governor Paterson's Budget Announcement to Collect Taxes on Indian Lands


CATTARAUGUS TERRITORY, N.Y., Jan. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- "It is the goal of the Seneca Nation to restore economic vitality to our homeland and to the Western New York region," said Seneca Nation President Barry E. Snyder, Sr. "We are encouraged by Governor Paterson's desire to engage in a rational dialogue to discuss outstanding matters between the Nation and the State."
"However, New York State's leadership must not forget that the Canandaigua Treaty of 1794 makes a promise to the Seneca Nation and the other Six Nations unlike any other Indian treaty," said Snyder.  "It not only provides that the United States will recognize title to our lands, but also that we will be recognized in the 'free use and enjoyment' of those lands."
"This means that no other government has the right to interfere in how we use our lands without our consent. It is for this reason that New York State has no authority over us, our lands, or the commerce taking place on our lands," said Snyder. "We have fought hard to recover from the dispossession of our traditional economy due to the loss of our lands over 200 years ago.  We will not be the State's tax collectors and we will defend our freedom regardless of the cost."
More on New York State's attempt to steal from Seneca Nation

Thursday, February 18, 2010

The Love of God

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
 
And were the skies of parchment made;
 
Were ev’ry stalk on earth a quill,
 
And ev’ry man a scribe by trade;
 
To write the love of God above
 
Would drain the ocean dry;
 
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
 
Tho’ stretched from sky to sky

- F. M. Lehman, “The Love of God,” Favorites No. 2,” (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1946, 1974)

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Good Timber

 
Good timber does not grow in ease,
The stronger the wind, the stronger trees;
The farther sky, the greater length,
The more the storms the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In tree or man good timber grows.
-UNKNOWN 

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Your Path

 

Do not allow others to make your path for you.
It is your road and yours alone.
Others may walk it with you,
But no one can walk it for you.
Accept yourself and your actions.
Own your thoughts.
Speak up when wrong, and apologize.
Know your path at all times.
To do this you must know yourself inside and out,
Accept your gifts as well as your shortcomings,
And grow each day with honesty, integrity,
compassion, faith and brotherhood.
- TERRI JEAN, 365 Days of Walking the Red Road

Monday, February 15, 2010

Prayer



You've been lucky... Lucky to suffer and lucky to spend these weary months in bed. For so God has given you a chance to make the spirit within yourself. And as your father cleans his lamp to have good light, so keep clean your spirit, huh?...By prayer, ... And by prayer, I don't mean shouting, mumbling, and wallowing like a hog in religious sentiment. Prayer is only another name for good, clean, direct thinking. When you pray, think. Think well what you're saying. Make your thoughts into things that are solid. In that way, your prayer will have strength, and that strength will become a part of you, body, mind, and spirit. The first duty of these new legs is to get you to chapel on Sunday.  - Richard Llewellyn(author), Philip Dunne(screenwriter), How Green Was My Valley 1941 http://www.filmsite.org/howg.html

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Be My Valentine

 

It is in loving, not in being loved, the heart is blessed; 
It is in giving, not in seeking gifts, we find our quest;
Whatever be your longing or your need, that give;
So shall your soul be fed, and you shall live.
-UNKNOWN 

Saturday, February 13, 2010

"Nobody's free until everybody's free."

 
 
This little light o' mine, I'm gonna let it shine,
This little light o' mine, I'm gonna let it shine,
This little light o' mine, I'm gonna let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
- HARRY DIXON LOES, 1920

Friday, February 12, 2010

Spring's New Hope

 
Behold, my brothers, the spring has come, the earth has received the embraces of the sun and we shall soon see the results of that love!
Every seed is awakened and so has all animal life. It is through this mysterious power that we too have our being and we therefore yield to our neighbors, even our animal neighbors,
the same right as ourselves, to inhabit this land.

Yet, hear me, people, we have now to deal with another race - small and feeble when our fathers first met them but now great and overbearing. Strangely enough they have a mind to till the soil and the love of possession is a disease with them. These people have made many rules that the rich may break but the poor may not. They take tithes[taxes] from the poor and weak to support the rich who rule.
They claim this mother of ours, the earth, for their own and fence their neighbors away; they deface her with their buildings and their refuse. That nation is like a spring freshet that overruns its banks and destroys all who are in its path.
We cannot dwell side by side. Only seven years ago we made a treaty by which we were assured that the buffalo country should be left to us forever. Now they threaten to take that away from us. My brothers, shall we submit or shall we say to them: "First kill me before you take possession of my Fatherland[home]..."
- TATANKA YOTANKA, SITTING BULL, HUNKPAPA TETON SIOUX 

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Neil's Old Guitar

 

This old guitar ain't mine to keep
Just taking care of it now
It's been around for years and years
Just waiting in its old case

Its been up and down the country roads
Its brought a tear and a smile
Its seen its share of dreams and hopes
And never went out of style

The more I play it, the better it sounds
It cries when I leave it alone
Silently it waits for me
Or someone else I suppose

This old guitar

This old guitar caught some breaks
But it never searched for gold
It can't be blamed for my mistakes
It only does what its told
Its been a messenger in times of trouble

In times of hope and fear
When I get drunk and seeing double
It jumps behind the wheel and steers

This old guitar ain't mine to keep
Its mine to play for awhile
This old guitar ain't mine to keep
Its only mine for awhile

This old guitar
- NEIL YOUNG

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Mother is Sore

"The President in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land. But how can you buy or sell the sky? the land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?" - CHIEF SEATTLE

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Prayer for the Day

 
 
Dear Father, 
I am blessed today to be one of your children.  I appreciate Your handiwork in all that You have created.  I stand in awe that You made it

all for mankind so that they might enjoy it and be blessed in it.  Thank you for the beauty of the mountains, the glorious sunsets and the blue skies with

those patches of little white clouds on a nice day. Thank you that I have eyes to see all of Your great artistic work in the creation of the earth. Lord,

forgive me when I am tempted to complain about anything.  I really have nothing to complain about when I have the Creator of the whole universe as my Father

and friend.  May I be a good friend to You and serve You faithfully every day of my life.  Use me today to bless and help others.  I ask this in Your Son's name
 Amen.

Monday, February 08, 2010

When God Made Me

 
Was he thinking about my country or the color of my skin?
Was he thinkin' 'bout my religion, and the way I worshipped him?
Did he just create me in his image, or every living thing?
When God made me.
When God made me.

Was he planning only for believers, or for those who just had faith?
Did he envision all the wars that were fought in his name?
Did he think there was only one way to be close to him?
When God made me.
When God made me.

Did he give us the gift of love to say who we could choose?
When God made me.
When God made me.

Did he give me the gift of voice so some could silence me?
Did he give me the gift of vision not knowing what I might see?
Did he give me the gift of compassion to help my fellow man?
When God made me.
When God made me.
When God made me.
When God made me.
- NEIL YOUNG

Did you ever consider why Neil would pen a song about God? I mean Neil's a 'rock 'n' roller, isn't he?
I mean I've followed his music since the 60's when he was with the Buffalo Springfield and protesting the way our country was headed back then. I really think that his mission has matured since those days. But he still writes songs that stir the soul and make you think. Have you listened to him lately or thought that he was dead. Have you ever thought about why God made you? I have... - YO:NIH ONONDAWAGA, SENECA