I've been praying for spiritual rain and physical rain.  Spiritually, we've been feeling parched.  Lately, it feels like spiritually, we've hit a dry spell. 

Over the years I've had the opportunity to soak in some great spiritual rain.  The thing about that type rain is once you've experienced it, you are much more aware of parched, dry seasons.  And you begin to long for a soaking season.

When we arrived at Camp on Wednesday night (Hey, I promised a "Youth Camp" Post) the service had already started.  When it comes to high school students and worship, we often find ourselves cheer leading.  Usually, when worship is about to start, the student's are "invited" to come up to the front.  Get them out of the seats, in some open space and maybe they will move around a little while they sing.  When we arrived on Wednesday they were already singing but all the students were still in their seats.  It was different than how we have seen things done in our group in the past.  It was a good service.  Pastor Robin spoke and he said some things the students really needed to hear.  At one point, he basically said there comes a time when you need to work out your relationship with God; at some point, it becomes your responsibility.

We found out later, that on Tuesday, during the devotional time, the students were asked what they believed was their biggest distraction when it came to their faith and being a Christian.  The goal was to gauge where they are spiritually.  For the most part they said school was their biggest distraction.  However, this spurred on a deeper discussion about what they would like to get out of youth group.  As the discussion continued, at least one student said that they felt like we talk about Jesus too much and basically, they just want to have fun activities.  Pastor Dan responded that, without Jesus, the youth group would just be a club.  (By the way...every parent of a student at Promiseland San Marcos needs to hug this man and thank him and his family for their commitment to Jesus and the youth of our church).   Several students agreed and even said there was too much pressure at church for them to be Christians.  This really broke the heart of the youth pastors and leaders. 

On Wednesday evening, when service started there was no "push" to worship.  Some of the students responded.  By the end of the service students were in the alter praying.   It was a beginning.

Dennis spoke on Thursday morning.  We didn't really know what had been said at the other devotional times but the subject of camp was "One Way".  We had prepared a skit named "Religibucks".  Religibucks is where you can get many flavors of "Jesus" but only a "straight" Jesus is free.  The point being that you cannot add to the message of Jesus.  When Dennis began his message by relating the account of King Josiah.  King Josiah became a king at age 8 and when he was a teenage he began to pursue God.   Josiah tore down the alters to false gods and began rebuilding the things of God.  He told the students they could be world changers.  Not much response from the students.

Thursday at the Ranch was HOT.  There is no other way to describe it.  I just wanted to go for a siesta (nap in the air conditioning).  There were a few random clouds in the sky.  I started praying for rain again.  By the afternoon,  the air had cooled a little and there was a nice shower.  What we really needed was a soaking ran that would leave puddles but a refreshing, cooling shower was nice.

On Thursday evening, the service started off fairly typical.  The worship was very good.  I don't remember every song they sang.  The students began going to the front to worship.  There is a place in every  praise and worship service that a transition can be made from praise to quiet worship...it's like going into a secret place; a holy place; it is where God's Spirit resides.  The only way we can get to the secret place is through worship.  The woship team made the transition.  Harry was playing the keyboard and he began to just worship God...not a song, but what was in his heart.  It was the right thing at the right time.  Students were raising their hands and kneeling.  From where we were sitting in the back, we felt a refreshing, cooling shower of the Holy Spirit. It felt soaking because we've been so parched but I've been in soaking services and I know this was only the beginning.  When the service was over, the worship team didn't want to leave.  We didn't want to leave and several of the students didn't want to leave.  We continued to worship.  It was so refreshing.  I felt like everything I ever needed was in that place at that moment. 

On Friday as we "wrapped up" camp, Pastor Dan spoke.  He told the students we plan on having some fun activities in the future but we would never take "Jesus" out of our message.  We are about Jesus.  (Pastor Dan is the man!  He stood for what we believe.  He wasn't bullied or pressured in to letting up on the core or what we believe!  You Go, Pastor Dan). 

I believe that God can change us in one moment; in one service; at one camp.  There are moments in our lives that we can look back on and say "In that moment, everything changed.  Nothing was the same".  Youth Camp may not have been a "Everything changed" moment; but I feel one of those moments is coming very soon.  I am anxiously anticipating what God is going to do next!

Muslims in our Pulpits

It was called the "Congress of the Cults."  Over 4,000 priests, pastors, and ministers from all denominations were assembled.  They had elected Joseph Stalin as their honorary president.  One after another went to the podium proclaiming that Christianity and communism were fundamentally the same.  They could co-exist.  They could "all get along." 

A young Christian woman could bear it no longer.  She looked at her husband, a Lutheran pastor, and said, "They are spitting on the face of Jesus.  Go wash the shame off His face."  Her husband warned her, "If I speak against the communists, you will no longer have a husband."  The pastor's wife, Sabina Wurmbrand, simply replied, " I don not wish to have a coward for a husband."

          So Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, a lone voice among the 4,000, went to the microphone.  He was well known in Romania, and everyone believed he would go along with the assembly for the sake of "peace."  He didn't.  He spoke only of loyalty to Jesus Christ.  He could not "co-exist" with any entity that opposed the Great Commission principle.

          For his simple protest, Richard paid dearly--as did countless Christians who refused to "bow down" to the ways of communism.

          Today we face the same scenario.  Jesus is being spit upon in American churches.  Christians are selling their soul for a "peaceful co-existence" found in deceit.  But who will come forward and wipe away the shame?

          I cannot take it any longer.  How many of our brothers and sisters must be beaten, tortured, burned or decapitated, before we realize that Christians and Muslims DO NOT serve the same God?

We love the Muslims.  Many of our co-workers put aside their own safety to reach them for Christ.  We print special literature in their languages; we produce and broadcast special programs into the Middle East.  We are willing to give our own lives to win the soul of a single Muslim.  But we will never, never align ourselves with Islam and its militant teachings.  To do so would destroy the very witness many of our brothers and sisters are dying for.

Across America pastors and Christian leaders are allowing representatives of the Islamic faith to freely speak in their pulpits.  This happened at Willow Creek Community Church, the largest church in America, where a Muslim man named Faisal Hammouda was allowed to share the pulpit.  During the interview with Pastor Bill Hybels, Hammouda claimed:  "As a matter of fact, we, all of us…believe in Jesus. I believe in Jesus.  I believe in Mohammed and all the prophets.  So our mission here is to introduce people to God."  He also stated, "We believe in Jesus more than you do, in fact."

But the Koran says, "O people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians)! Do not exceed the limits in your religion, nor say of Allah aught but the truth.  The Messiah 'Iesa(Jesus), son of Maryam(Mary), was no more than a Messenger of Allah and His Word…" The Koran also claims that Jesus was never crucified.  Muslims do not recognize the sovereignty of Jesus Christ of His sacrifice.  They do not accept the way of the cross.  So how could this be the same God? (Read 1John 2:22-23)

Faisal went on to say, "Jihad means striving to improve oneself, striving to change conditions to better conditions, striving against evil."  Even the Chicago Tribune noted that laughter could be heard "rolling" throughout the audience as Hammouda discussed the "true" definition of a "jihad" saying, "It even could refer to a personal holy war to overcome, say, a desire to eat more candy."

How foolish have we allowed ourselves to become?  Three Sundays after Faisal Hammouda gave his "enlightening" presentation, 16 of your brothers and sisters were gunned down in a church in Pakistan.  You may blame this on the war against terrorism, but you would be mistaken.  If it was against America, why did the gunmen target their countrymen?  If Faisal is right and Islam is "peace-loving," why are our brothers and sisters in ALL Islamic-controlled countries facing severe persecution?  Unfortunately, in his interview, Pastor Hybels left that question out.  This may sound harsh; it isn't.  The treatment that the Body of Christ is facing in Islamic countries is harsh.  WE feel truly sorry for Willow Creek.  In an effort to "love," they left out the truth.

There is no love in deceit.  We are in danger of loving the Muslims to hell.  What will they say before Christ?  Will they say, "But we all served the same God.  We even spoke in Your churches.  When did we persecute You?"  God forbid we trade salvation for "safety."  Could Christ have peaceful co-existed with the religious rulers of His time?  Could the apostle Paul have "just gotten along" with the religious and political powers of his time and avoided martyrdom?

Jesus said that if they hated Him, they would hate us.  Nevertheless, we are called to be a witness.  WE are not called to figure out a way to get people to accept us.

If you love the Muslims, tell them about the Jesus they so fervently persecute.  If you love the Muslims, support those who are willing to lay down their life to be a witness among them (John 15:13).  If you want to reach your congregation and help "bridge the gap," invite Christians who have converted from Islam to speak to your congregation.

The simple fact is: Muslims do not "peacefully co-exist" with Christians.  Faisal Hammouda did not speak for Islam.  If he thought he did, he was deceived.  Islamic teachings offer no tolerance for those who reject Mohammed for Christ.  Read the Koran for yourself.  Study Islamic history.  Learn the truth about what is happening right now in Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Yemen, Iran, Nigeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Tajikistan and other countries where Islam has a foothold.  Remember, less than one percent of the Muslim population in the world lives in America.

If you study Islamic history, you will learn that Mohammed traveled to Mecca and offered a peaceful doctrine.  But is was not accepted.  In fact, he was even persecuted.  So he later traveled to Medina where his teachings took on a more hard-line militant form.  Once he gained a following, he ruled by force.  Now his teachings dominate in many nations.  Islam struggles, fights, and even kills for its faith.  Once it gains power, its real face is revealed.  "Accept Allah and his prophet Mohammed, or die."  This is happening right now in Indonesia, where the largest population of Muslims exists.

We challenge Pastor Hybels and other American pastors who believe Islam and Christianity can peacefully co-exist to visit the Maluku islands of Indonesia or the capital of Islam, Saudi Arabia, where no church is allowed.  We ask you to speak with your brothers and sisters who secretly worship there.  (We have.)  WE invite you to learn the truth, then decide if you will join with them in winning Muslims for Christ, or sell your soul for a shroud of peace.

The main issue at stake is the deity of Christ, not mutual understanding, dialog of feeling good about each other.  Any question-and-answer session or dialog where Christ is not clearly presented as the only way (John 14:6) and as the complete Godhead in the flesh (Colossians 1:15-20 and 2:8-10, 1 John 2:22-23) is blasphemy and a shameful attack on the cross.  Christ described His was as narrow, not an "all faiths club."

The issue is about access and power, not about negotiating away our Christianity. In Matthew 25:31-32, Jesus proclaimed this path and power as solely His.  As a result, in Matthew 26:3-4, the chief priests and scribes consulted that they might kill Him.

Muslims wish to neutralize Jesus for the same reasons the chief priests and scribes did.  Some Christian leaders may try to squirm out of this conflict to maintain a politically correct, man-pleasing church.  Choose this day whom you will serve.  If we begin to present a fuzzy God (such as, we all worship the same God), we are opening the doors of hell to our people, not the door of heaven.

We may be able to peacefully dialog with a Muslim man in America or in another Western culture.  But this is a distorted reality.  It is a partial truth at best.  And when we present Islam as another truth, we spit on the face of Christ and those who serve His kingdom in Islamic countries.

We do not hate the Muslims.  We hate deception.  We do not advocate violence.  We advocate love and truth.  We desire peace, but will not trade it for compromise.  We will reach out to Muslims but will not deny the sovereignty of Christ and the cross as the only way to salvation.  And we will not turn our back on our family members who are suffering and being killed under Islam for their faith and witness in Jesus Christ.  Islam is the dominant force trying to eradicate Jesus Christ in their nations and neutralize Him worldwide as another "prophet."  We will not prostitute the gospel for a politically correct peace.  Should any of us do otherwise?

If you find any news articles or sermons endorsing all faiths "serving the same God" in your community, please send this material to us as we take a stand together for Christ.  This will help us as we try togging a better understanding of the American church and how it is addressing Islam.  If you or your pastor needs more information about Islam, please call our office.  Thank you for standing with our persecuted family this Christmas season.

In Christ and for the martyr's,

Dr. Tom White

P.O.Box 443 Bartlesville, OK  74005

(918) 337-8015

www.persecution.com

thevoice@vom-usa.org

http://www.persecutionblog.com/2008/06/tom-white-inter.html

Fortunately I was able to bend the flapper back into place and ride (gingerly) back home. Also fortunate is that it snapped on the trailing side, otherwise I'm sure I'd have greater concerns on my hands beyond just replacing a chain.

Things have been pretty mellow this week. Got things rolling on the new wheels today, though... which is slightly ironic, given that by riding the One Way today, my general displeasure with the bike increased. On the flip side, another coworker asked me about riding steel and expressed interest in switching over to it. That'd be the third convert in a year.

[polldaddy poll="770951"]

P.S.  Yaw Eno still stands proudly at his post.

(Special thanks to the city worker that sent me this ad.)

• Jesus said He was THE way, THE truth, and THE life.
• If you want to get to God, you have to go through Jesus.
• True Christianity is not a religion; it is a relationship.
• The difference between Christianity and other religions is that God reached down to have mercy on mankind.  Other religions teach you have to work your way to God or win His merit.
• People think that different religions are just different paths up the same mountain with God as their goal.  There is only one road that leads to God: Jesus.
• Some people think that good intentions will get you to Heaven.  The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.
• Some people believe that Jesus simply opened the gates of Heaven giving us the opportunity to earn our way in.  God's word says that salvation is a "gift of God" and not as a result of anything you do, so that you can't brag about it.

You can listen to the sermon here or by clicking on the audio player below.

[audio=http://www.mypodcast.com/fsaudio/wisbc_20080709_1617-258761.mp3]

2.  Bartender - Preferably, McNellie's

3.  Skydive Instructor - Of all the city employees, Yaw Eno is most trusted.

4.  Third Mathis Brother - Yaw Eno may be the fifth, sixth or seventh.  No one is really sure how many Mathis Brother's there are.

Yaw Eno is also looking into Pro Golf Champ, Mayor or Flaming Lips roadie. 

(Yaw Eno still stands, and so does the replacement.)

This post is about the importance of building links and why it is necessary to increase your Google Page Rank.

This is arguably one of the most important steps in increasing your google page rank. To increase google page rank your site has to be seen as having popularity and links from other sites are a way of showing this popularity. Sad I know but good sites have to be popular. A common mistake for most web users is to rush to build as many links as they can as quick as they can. The problem is most novice webmasters do not actually think through who they are exchanging links with and the effect it can have on your google page rank. If you exchange with the wrong people your google page rank will not increase at all.

Moreover, there is an important distinction between certain types of links and the effect they have on your Google Page Rank. It has been proven and tested that one-way are the best way for improving your google page rank. For those of you do not know what these links are. They are just links from other sites to yours without a link back to their site from yours. These include links from social bookmarking sites, articles and forums etc... These links are relatively easy to come by and will do you good but you need 1000s of them if you want a top page rank.

The other type of links that people often spend their most time on are reciprocal links. I.e a link from your site to their site and a link from their site to yours. However, most of these links are of little good and it is difficult to build the thousands of links which is needed to increase your google page rank. To increase google page rank you need links from sites with a higher page rank than you and under no circumstances use link farms they will actually have a negative effect.

To increase your google page rank through links you need thousands which sounds like a lot but it really is not. If you aim to exchange reciprocal links once a day and build 20 links back to your site through forum posts and the like. Then, by the end of the year you will have 365 reciprocal links to your site and 7300 one-way links to your site through relatively little work!

In my experience, building links is the most important way to increase google page rank. Link building can be a painstaking process but it has to be done. Unfortunately, unless you are willing to pay there is no quick way of building links.

As always if you have any questions regarding the post or any related questions then please post a comment and I will do my best to answer or other webmasters may answer.

Good Luck!

The SEO Helper

Yaw Eno looks toward the view he's known all his life.  He sheds a tear.  (Shot from behind out of respect for the emotional response.)

Yaw Eno composed himself, proud he is the Last Eno Standing.

I've been out a little bit, but not much. I'm missing it... even in this weather. Riding around the neighborhood this afternoon on the One Way, I noticed that my cardio was lacking. My Achilles felt a little tight, but not as bad. The BB on the One Way is in desperate need of attention, though.

Keeping track of Euro '08 has provided a nice bit of distraction; my personal favorite is Netherlands, and I imagine we'll see them, Portugal, Spain and Germany in the semi finals.

And, to wrap it all up... this makes me smile:

I've been all about the low mileage since Friday; my Achilles has been getting better, thankfully. This shift to low mileage has allowed me the opportunity to rock the One Way around the neighborhood. I honestly do love riding just to check out all the places in the area. There really are some beautiful little homes around here... and each time I go out, I find a new place that makes me think "Hey, that's not a bad little place. I like what they've done with _______."

May 30, 2008 -
Early this afternoon scientists at NASA were taken aback when images from the Martian Rover, Opportunity, showed intelligent life on the red planet.
The digital shots beamed nearly 400,000,000 miles to Earth revealed a truth mankind would never have imagined: Michael Jackson is living on Mars!
NASA was stunned. After a brief conference of top scientists and other government officials, a determined team planned to use the Mars Rover for an entirely new purpose… They would interview Michael Jackson.
NASA Officials had the Rover reprogrammed over a 2.5 hour period to accept and relay verbal as well as video communication.
A top official was quoted as saying, “It took some doin‘, but, we got ‘er done!”
Here are some excerpts of the interview that was conducted by none other than television’s own Barbara Walters, who flew in immediately upon revelation of Jackson’s new address.

Walters: “Hewo, Michael. Wong time no see.”
Jackson: “No, no. That’s ignorant. I can‘t understand what she‘s saying.”

Sadly to say it was revealed today that Jackson has, in fact, been molesting Martian children.
It appears that Mars is the intergalatic dumping ground for all unwanted DHS custody children from planets throughout the Milky Way.
When asked about the conditions of the children living on Mars, DHS officials had no comment.
When asked how long they had known Michael Jackson had been living on Mars and about the possibility that he escaped to Mars only to molest more children, DHS officials had no comment and walked out on Ms. Walters.
Ms. Walters did, however, find out that there are no laws on the red planet as of yet, as it has only been a dumping ground for unwanted children. Therefore, Mr. Jackson technically has committed no further crimes.
Jackson was reported as saying, “The kids here really want to play with me. I really want to play with them. What difference does it make if we play naked? The little boys and I have the same parts. Laws against that are ignorant. That’s why I came to Mars. I love to play with children. I’m just a big kid.”
When Ms. Walters spoke with a young Martian boy, he was quoted as saying something completely incomprehensible.
That is, until top scientists cracked his language and revealed his sobbing words, “Please help me! Take him away! He hurts my bottom! And he won’t leave my weewee alone!”
Reporters note: At the time, Ms. Walters did not understand the child’s gesturing of his crotch and anal areas. She took it to mean that he had to go potty. Although, after making those gestures, she was disturbed as he continued his garbled Martian tongue and pointed to the stretch marks around his lips.
“We simpwe must find out what this child is saying,” she said.
At the end of the interview, top government officials decided that what happens on Mars, stays on Mars.
Mr. Jackson’s new Martian Neverland Ranch is located at the end of the Yaw Eno road. Just follow the Yaw Eno road.

*Although there are no laws on Mars as of yet, the Martian Child's identity was kept secret in case of future litigation.

A Word from the Lord

27 May 08

Whom shall I send to the aid of Jerusalem?

Whom shall I send?

I sent My prophets they heard not,

I sent My Son and they rejected Him!

whom shall I send?

Who will they believe?

They seek a sign, I gave them the Gospel. They wanted more, I gave them the apostles. 

Oh Jerusalem...Whom shall I send?

What must I do to help you see?

I am the Christ, the one you seek. 

You say blessed is he who prays for thee,

Yet when I sent to you the peace,

You rejected it and said it wasn't from Me.

Oh Jerusalem will you see?

The answer you have been looking for is really Me!

What will it take for you to believe?

Will you believe before it's too late?

Jerusalem, Jerusalem tell your watchman to awake!

The coming destruction will be the worst yet!

There is only ONE WAY to be kept,

Pray for the Holy Ghost, you'll know when He comes.

He will fill you and you will be speaking in other tongues.

Pray for My Holy Ghost

To come,

For it is the peace of New Jerusalem...A free gift,

My only begotten Son.

Jesus Christ.

A strong sign needs a strong base.

Too Lazy To Write A Blog Tonight

In the video following the jump you will see a clip posted on GodTube that clearly shows that Oprah does not believe that Jesus is the only way to reach Heaven which is clearly what John 14:6 teaches us. So can she actually call herself a Christian?

I think this is where many people fail and jsut take parts of the Bible and leave what they do not want to use or hear. This is not Christian beliefs. This is their own made up version and it does not hold water.

The transcript is from me typing as I listened to it, so I am sure it will contain errors. =0)

[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.531396&w=425&h=350&fv=viewkey%3D62fcd6d28b732da7cbfd]

Oprah: It talks about, one of the points it brings out is one of the mistakes that human beings make is believing that there is only one way…to live. We don’t accept that there are diverse ways of being in the world; that there are millions of ways to be a human being. And many ways, no(to an audience member commenting to her remarks), many paths to what you call God. That her path might be something else and when she gets there she might call it the light. But her loving, and her kindness, and her generosity brings her to the, brings her to the same point that it brings you. It doesn’t matter whether she called it ‘God’ along the way or not.”

Audience Member:  And I guess the danger that could be in that is that is sounds great on the onset, but if you really look at both sides, I….(Oprah cuts her off)

Oprah: There couldn’t possibly be just one way!

Audience in general: What about Jesus?

Oprah: What? What about Jesus?(In a why involve Him tone)

2nd Audience member over several voices:  You say there isn’t only one way. There is one way, and only one way, and that is through Jesus!

Oprah: There couldn’t possibly be only one way with millions of people in the world!

2nd Audience member:  Just because you say there isn’t, because you say…

Oprah: No! There couldn’t possibly be…

2nd Audience member continues:  …you intellectualize it and say there isn’t, if you don’t believe that, you are all buying into the lie.

Oprah: No!  You think, do you thing that if you are somewhere on the planet and you never hear the name of Jesus but yet you live with a loving heart. You lived as Jesus would have had you to live. You lived for the same purpose as Jesus came to the planet to teach us all, but you are in some remote part of the earth and you never heard the name of Jesus. You cannot get to Heaven you think?

2nd Audience member:  (Can’t make it out over other voices but I am guessing she says ‘I don’t know’)

Oprah: Does God care about your heart or does God care that you call his son Jesus?

2nd Audience member:  You know, Oprah, God, Jesus cannot come back until that Gospel is preached from the four corners of this earth! So? You know, figure it out!

Oprah: OK.  OK. I can’t get into a religious argument with you.

Now to answer, in my opinion, what Oprah's question abotu not hearign the name Jesus. The answer is that we simply do not know. While I personally do not feel that God will punish those who have not heard of him but lived a good life. In the new members class at my church, the senior pastor always does an "Ask the Pastor" night, in which everyone can ask him questions about himself, his beliefs, the direction of the church, or whatever. He feels that the senior pastor, for the most part, steers the church; so if you do not believe what he does, then there may be an issue you need to address before joining the church. I agree but that is not the point! =0) Each time, he is always asked something along this subject line and his answer is the same 'We don't know.' But he continues with something along these lines:

'It is not our place to judge who goes to Heaven or Hell. So who am I to say that Jesus does not go to that person, in the very last second of their lives, and explain the universe and how things work. It is then that the dying person will choose if they truely believe or not. It is just not my place to decide such things for others."

Amen Ron!

(Photos taken 4/23/08 at 5:30 p.m.)

Please if you are a Oprah Fan or know of someone who is, please share these six Videos with them, as it shares how Oprah began believing the way she currently is.

Part One - Oprah Deceived and Deceiving

Part Two - Oprah Deceived and Deceiving

This is Shocking Video to listen to, please be made aware...

Part Three - Oprah Deceived and Deceiving

Part Four - Oprah Deceived and Deceiving

Part Five - Oprah Deceived and Deceiving

Part Six - Oprah Deceived and Deceiving

Recall how Eckhart Tolle speaks about "EGO" You will be Shocked when you see this!

As many of you know Oprah and Eckhart Tolle have been spreading this message to Millions, I am Hopeful that these Videos will provide the Facts and the Truth of the satanic deception that is taking place. It's not too late to turn back to the Lord, it's not to late to ask for His forgiveness and be delivered from that bondage satan has tried to afflict you with via those you may have trusted. May the Peace of the Lord be with each of you.

There's something satisfying in that.

I've been contemplating my riding options as of late--while there are many things that I want to love about the One Way, I have to admit that there are numerous problems. I've taken steps to repair and/or replace the sources of the problems, however I have to ask myself whether or not it's worth it. I'm much more comfortable on the Double Cross, that much I know--but do I sacrifice it to the rigors of everyday commuting? I keep reminding myself of various points of views I've heard over the years... that it's just a bike, a tool to be used; that a bike is a work of art, a beautiful machine that's to be loved and treated with care; that parts are going to inevitably need replacing, tuning, truing and accepting that is the first part of bike ownership; that serious bike ownership requires acceptance of the "stable" or "quiver" perspective--there's a bike (a tool) that fits a job better than others. Finding a happy middle ground between all those points is the tricky part. I'm considering my options.