Grace and peace to you...

       Over the past couple years, our church has had the luxary of traveling to different places to either share the love of God (through missions) or to gain a deeper understanding of a culture, our history, or to bond as a church (leisure trips). While on these trips, we always learn a few catch phrases... especially the salutations and greetings. 

        In most of Paul's writings, he always opens his letters with a typical greeting: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”  This is Paul’s signature greeting!  He combined the form of two common salutations in those days.  In those days, the lengua franca, or the common tongue, of the people was Greek.  So, they would use a Grecian greeting.  They would say charis (where we get the root word charisma), which means grace.  So he was essentially saying, grace to you. But he would also use a very common Hebrew word that we even know: Shalom (peace).  So, he would open his letters with, Charis shalom.  Two words, one deliberately Greek and one deliberately Hebrew.  He would never reverse them and say, “Peace and grace to you” because no one could experience the peace of God until they first experience the grace of God.  That’s like putting the cart before the horse... you just can't do that!  

        Paul is using this cultural bilingualism, which is common with us even today. When we went to Italy last year with a group from our church, we wanted to act like we belonged there so we would copy the Italians by saying, "Ciao!" when we entered or exited a building. But it was funny to see homeboys from East LA saying ciao with an ELA accent... hilarious! 

        Our church also has an affinity with Japan and we send out our youth every year to various cities in Japan to minister. To bridge the language gap, we used to teach Japanese to the youth and as a by-product, the staff ended up adapting some phrases. It was common to say, "Ohio gozimas" in the morning, or "Sayonara" in the evening.  Paul the apostle not only lived in a bicultural environment, but he was a product of this environment.  He was Jew, but he spoke Greek.  So, in his letters he will always writes two twin greetings, one in Greek and one in Hebrew, “Charis Shalom.”  Grace and peace, because you cannot experience the peace of God until you experience the grace of God. 

        What is the grace of God?  At a very basic level, it means unmerited favor from God (if you want a deeper understanding of grace, check out the book of Galatians through OTL media).  Grace is given to you by God. It is something that you do not deserve; it's not merited; you don’t earn it; God gives it to you... period!  Why? Because he loves you and me, that’s it!  To help you remember grace, somebody made up this wonderful acronym: God’s Redemption At Christ’s Expense.  I pray that if you are lacking in the peace of God, know that His grace completely covers you. If you doubt this simple fact, you dismiss Christ's pain, His death, and the power of His resurrection.

Charis Shalom this weekend! pj

 

We are His piece of art...

        We are told in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship of God created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”  We are His workmanship.  The word workmanship in Greek is called poema.  We get our English word poem from this Greek derivative. 

        What is a poem?  An ode of love and appreciation. We are His poem, His art piece, and his workmanship.  God has called us for a purpose: to become blameless and holy.  Well, what does that mean?  It doesn’t mean that you and I all of a sudden don’t have blame.  There is divine intervention and there is a promise that God will present us holy.  What does that mean?  It means that you and I have been given the Holy Spirit as a governing agent so that we will be able to navigate in life as much as possible; to use our moral correctness, biblical instruction, common sense, and to judicial reasoning to remind us that we are not to be engaged in darkness anymore. For we were once slaves to sin but now we are slaves to righteousness.  

        With each day spent in the Word, we learn how to differentiate between right and wrong, His way and our way, good and bad. We are now spiritual people.  When we know the Holy Spirit is telling us, “don’t do that, don’t go there” and we violate that voice, and we contradict the Word of God. This then creates a blemished heart and we become guilty and condemned.  But you know what, man, we need to try as much as possible to heed the government of the Holy Spirit. Why live shackled by condemnation? That's like an artist creating a beautiful painting, but keeping it in the closet. 

        Listen to what Peter says in 2 Peter 3:14, “Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless.”  Philippians 2:13, “… for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure that you do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world. That you may become (future tense) blameless and harmless.  

      God's desire is for us to be without spot and blemish. Be that hand-crafted piece of artwork and do not allow mud, soot, or dirt to take away from your God given beauty. 

Still under the Master's hand,

pj

My blog...

     Sometimes people think I'm too forward... too honest... too transparent. Whether they are right in their assessment or not, I know who I am. I don't want to copy someone, something, some idea. I want to be true to who God has created me to be. 

     With that being said, I want to personally share the purpose of this blog. I want to openly state that I am not trying to be a theologian, a philosopher, or mystic. I don't want to try to draft up sermons to sell people on the idea of Christianity, nor do I want to proselytize Christianity with dumb-downed stories. Truth be told, I didn't even want a blog?! Due to the urging of one of my daughters, I was finagled into creating something (apparently the moderator for this blog had better ideas so I let them do some designing and editing). 

     My daughter Jasmine (avid blogger extraordinaire), told me that there are people who sit at their computer daily and want to hear the heart of their shepherd (the good, the bad, and the ugly). Since the church is now getting bigger, we are losing some of the intimacy we've prided ourselves in... my hope is that this helps people connect, interact, and log their thoughts for the world wide web. 

    My blog will be a place for me to chronicle life; it's ups and downs, failures and successes, joys and sorrows. Sometimes I will post some spiritual musings. Other times I will post life trials. And at other times I will post pictures of my beautiful family (it's my blog... I'll do what I want). I encourage you to leave comments, throw stones, catch me on errors I've made or things I need to clarify. I will try to answer them accordingly. 

His and yours,

pj

     On another note, the moderator INSISTS on inserting an image on every post?! Girls... sheesh! Anyway, this picture was taken by my daughter Bianca at a soccer game she treated me to in Barcelona. Viva Espana!

Mardi Gras

Two weeks ago, while teaching on the Book of Romanos at Costa Mesa Calvary Chapel on Tuesday night, I imparted to the fellowship that many of our surrounding neighbors in East L.A. were observing Lent (Note: Lent is the forty day period before Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday. Lent commenced on 6th of February, 2008 and will end on 22nd of March 2008, which is the day before Easter).

Many of the people commented after the service, “I didn’t know that.” Others were just simply shocked by the comments. Some even challenged my comments as untrue. I encouraged them to research and educate themselves about the historical background of Mardi Gras. Last Tuesday many were indignant to the truth, as was I, when I found out about it.

While some do observe the event with much reverence, for many, and I mean MANY folks, the day before Ash Wednesday, Tuesday, has been traditionally a day to indulge—and often over-indulge.  This day is known as “Fat Tuesday,” historically known as Mardi Gras.  Mardi Gras has long been a time of extravagant fun for European Catholic-Christians.  Many history-scholars believe Mardi Gras celebrations have their source in the wild springtime orgies of the ancient Romans.

Mardi Gras draws millions of fun-seekers to Venice, Italy, New Orleans, Brazil, and other Caribbean countries every year. In the U.S., Mardi Gras has been celebrated in New Orleans on a grand scale, with masked balls and colorful parades, since French settlers arrived in the early 1700s. Hidden behind masks, people behaved so raucously that for decades in the early 19th century masks were deemed illegal in that party loving city.

Carnival. While many of us think of traditional festival activities, the original French word, Carnavale, provides a totally different perspective. It literally means, “Good bye, flesh.”   Fat Tuesday becomes the last day before Lent; a time to party and to over-indulge. No moral restraints, heavy drinking, gluttony, and orgies and sexual perversions abound, thus the covered faces with colorful masks, to hide the identities of the transgressors.

In my community, many people volitionally and ignorantly “give up” and abstain from drinking, fornication, profanities, beef (limited to shrimp and fish only) and illegal drug use. Though most of these people do not know the meaning behind this distorted, religious observation, they volitionally sacrifice their moral vices, they ascribe their commitment to traditional, historical, and a culture obligation; a sense of moral duty.

For someone that submits to this self restrain on their moral vices, and is able to discipline himself, the day to celebrate and “liberate himself” from these self-imposed prohibitions, Easter Sunday is the target day!

The local parks will be heavily congested with many celebrants. Grilling beef, or carne asada, accompanied with over flowing cerveza and other alcoholic spirits. Sadly, it’s the traditional way to celebrate the bedrock of Christian doctrine, the holiest day of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Please know that I am not belittling these religious people. I was one of them. When Jesus came into my heart, He actually liberated me from deviant, traditional and religious obligations.  Christ set me free!

I don’t (and I’ll never will, in this lifetime) understand God’s merciful love. But I don’t have to perform or be obligated to be a perfect person. Christ the Lord has already done it for me.  Though historically it is called Good Friday, there’s nothing good about it. It was a bloody mess. It was a painful, horrific day for Christ!  But he submitted Himself to the Father’s love; intervention for mankind’s redemption.

He (satan) hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. John 12:40 

Then what, Señor?

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Proverbs 14:12

The American businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna.

The American complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked  how long it took to catch  them. The Mexican replied only a little while.  

The American then asked why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish?

 The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.

The American then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I kick-it-like-a-cricket, play my guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life, Señor."

The American scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat, with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats.  Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise."

The Mexican fisherman asked, "But Señor, how long will this all take?"

 To which the American replied, "15-20 years."

"But what then, Señor?"

The American laughed and said, "That's the best part.  When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions of dollars!"

"Millions? Then what, Señor?"

 The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could kick-it-like-a-cricket, and play your guitar with your amigos."

"But Senor, I already do."

One can be successful, wealthy, business or work is booming. But without God as the Governor and Savior of our hearts, all is in vain. The Lord Christ reminds us, “…apart from me you can do nothing.”  

Devil or Angel?

       This past Sunday, as I was teaching on the ‘deceitfulness of sin,’ I put out to the congregation in one of our four services (I forget which one), “Have you ever been deceived by sin?” Although I did not ask for people to acknowledge it by raising their hands, nearly three-fourths of all present did. Surprised? You shouldn't be.

 

       In response, I spontaneously started to croon the first few lines of an oldie-but-goodie-song:

Devil or angel, I can't make up my mind
Which one you are I'd like to wake up and find
Devil or angel dear, whichever you are
I miss you, I miss you, I-I mi-i-iss you

Devil or angel please say you'll be mi-i-ine
Love me or leave me, I'll go out of my mind
Devil or angel dear, whichever you are
I need you, I need you, I need you

       The author of this song was unable to distinguish if his love interest was from the devil or from God. This is analogous, even today, for the modern day Christian. This is the state of many people; ambiguous about what is morally right, divine by virtue or simply knowing how to take a posture in today’s cultural war and our Christian world-view.

        We’re living in some very difficult times; times of uncertainty and social moral-confusion. Voices, thousands of them, streaming through our modern, mass communication (talking heads, celebrities, “beautiful-people”, and even highly popular, [yet wayward] evangelical personas are vying to be heard and declare what is to be the TRUTH).

        Recently a former NBA basketball player, trying to run for a Governor’s office, was spewing his own deviant definition of biblical morality by attacking pro-life and pro-life proponents as ‘fake Christians.’ Hoping his comments were misinterpreted, this former NBA great made no apologies in an interview on CNN with Wolf Blitzer, and brazenly made it clear that he meant what he said. It was the usual, typical methodology employed by bible-ignoramuses: Take a biblical text out of context and turn it into a pretext for their presuppositions.

        In article by Israel Wayne entitled, Who Told You, he states: Some of the books on the topic (Truth) will make your head swim with their complexity. However, the topic can be simplified dramatically by considering that there are really only two voices in the universe making truth claims. One is always right (God), and the other (satan) is always wrong (although he incorporates an element of truth which he twists and distorts) in his lies to make his arguments sound plausible.

       Truth, as I know it to be, is not just a moral virtue. It’s a way of life. We are of the Truth; are led by the Truth. This Truth has us set free. Truth is personified by a Man. Not just any ordinary man… but God-Man, JESUS CHRIST. “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” He stated. And those who follow Him are guided by His Truth, His life, His Person and His Works… and the Spirit of Truth confirms it in our hearts.

        As Mr. Wayne succinctly stated: Today there are many philosophies that purport themselves to be avenues to higher knowledge and enlightenment. New Age, Secular Humanism, Postmodernism, Eastern Religions, Islamic Fascism, Atheism, Naturalism and other worldviews and philosophies surround us. All of these voices are just subsidiaries of the kingdom of this world. Satan has many paths and belief systems to choose from. He doesn't really care what you choose from the religious smörgåsbord, as long as it isn't the truth. There is only one source of truth in the entire universe. Jesus (Christ). The source of your information about life is crucial. Are you listening to the voice of good, or the voice of evil? When you examine your beliefs about life and reality, ask yourself this question, "Who told you?"

Oh, by the way, stay away from that ogre, former NBA player, he’s all tore’ up. J

God is a "hater"?

         Too many people know God as a God of love, comfort, hope, peace, wrath, judgment and salvation. But very few folks also know that God is a‘hater.’ Well, not in the urban sense of the word (A person that simply cannot be happy for another person's success; rather than being happy for them they make it a point of exposing a flaw in that person.) I know more than a few of those types of haters. They're not expected to thrive in the world, but indeed many of them are imbedded throughout the church and her leadership.

        I thank God that, although He does hate, His hate is unlike our human hate. From the beginning, the Lord’s abhorrence was directed towards sexually-perverted nations (Lev 20:23); God hated people and their distorted devotion to false gods requiring child-sacrifices. Sacred, heathen pillars, along with the vigorous wicked, and those that love violence, His soul hated. Psalm 5:5-6 eerily states that the boastful shall not stand in His sight; for those who speak falsehood, they will be destroyed…the bloodthirsty and deceitful men are the targets of God’s detesting loathsomeness. “I hate their work and it shall not cling to Me,” says the Lord in Ps 101:3. In addition, He lists arrogance, conceit, haughtiness, cockiness, pride— not only as hateful character flaws, but as abominations! The list goes on: a proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, insincere worship, religious hoopla, a perverse mouth, and a very subtle, but potent enemy within the church and its leaders: false witnesses who speak lies, and sow discord among brethren (Pr. 6:16-19). 

        Paul the apostle reiterated His Savior: “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Galatians 5:14), yet if we think evil in our hearts against our neighbor, God hates that too.  Malachi the prophet addressed a common problem even in our own culture: Older spouses (usually men) moved by passion, gets rid of his first wife in favor of a younger, more physically attractive woman. Whatever valid cause there may be for a divorce, mere sexual desire is not one! ("For the LORD God of Israel says that He hates divorce" Malachi 2:1

 

        Let’s attempt with all of our hearts to be haters like our Lord. But keep an eye out... the other type haters (see above definition) will try to bring you down.

Happy Birthday, Mil!

        Happy birthday! We love you and thank God that He spared you from cancer, asthma, relapsing polychrondritis... and us. At times we don't appreciate you, but know that you are our rock in stromy weather, our support when we are weak, and our caretaker when we are ill. 

       More years to come...

Love,

Us

The Reality of Prayer

        When you pray there’s a simple reality that you are communicating with God, the Almighty, Creator of the universe. The other reality is that the Holy Spirit comes upon us, and we begin to cry out, “Abba, Father.” And in a few simple words, He knows our heart, He knows our thoughts, He knows our aches.  Listen to what it says in Romans 8:14, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.  For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba Father.” Now I'm not talking about those eloquent prayers with Hebrew words and spiritual parallels! I'm talking about the simple cries of desparation, fear, or ambiguity. 

        Have there been times in your life that seem hopeless, that even crying out seems pointless? This is the exact time to fall on your knees, go to your prayer closet, or simply bow your head and cry out to God. In this act of capitulation, we allow God to be God; we let go of the reigns. 

        Bill Gothard, in his book The Power of Crying Out, says, "The Bible makes a clear distinction between prayer and crying out to God... Crying out is a humble reminder of our total inability to accomplish anything significant for God." Jeremiah 33:3 tells us to, "Call unto Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know."

       This one time after church a lady came up to me and asked me, "Pastor, if God knows are thoughts and needs, why do I need to tell him?" Its a good question. As I thought about in the time we spoke, I broke it down like this:

I'm a father of 5 children. I have three grown adult daughters, one teenager boy, and a "tween" who I love the most (just kidding, Jas and Bi). I know my children, I love my children, and many times I know what's best for them. Til this day, if one of them cries and I happen to overhear it, I know exactly who it is. However, I never want to force my opinions or help upon them. When they call out for help, I will do everything in MY power to make the situation better. How much more does God, the Almighty, Creator of the universe, want to help us with our problems? He wants to hear us vocalize our love for Him and our need for Him.

        "Because you are children," Paul teaches us in the New Testament, "God has sent forth the Holy Spirit of His Son into your hearts crying out, 'Abba, Father!' (Galatians 4:6)" The Greek verb verb for crying out is a strong word, usually translated as shouting. The Holy Spirit is prompting us to cry out to the Lord and let Him help us with our issues.

        Child of God, no matter what is going on in your life, nothing is too big for God. He is the all mighty, all loving, all caring, creator of the universe who knows you, loves you, and wants the very best for you! John 1:12, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name; who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Truly Satisfied

        This past weekend, our church hosted a conference for married couples (Truly Satisfied). Since I am traveling less this year, I am able to spend even more time pouring into our congregation, and I have been blessed to see the fruit. Originally the conference was going to be a small, intimate gathering, but it morphed into a full sanctuary of open hearts and tuned-in ears waiting to hear what Millie and I had to share.

        It was quite intimating to speak about the topic of satisfaction, but I know that God used both Millie and I to share what we learned. Millie always gets nervous in preparing to share (“Pancho, that’s your calling not mine.”), but I have to admit that my wife taught like a southern preacher on a hot summer day: passionate, informational, and with conviction. I believe that God opened the door for her to share so that He can show her that her calling is not only at home with the kids, but at my side, serving in ministry.

        After the conference my wife and I got to spend some alone time eating, laughing, and talking about our children, home, and life altogether. She had my full attention (no cell phone or internet) and I had hers (no kids, laundry, or arguing at the table). Having dinner with my wife has now become one of the most pleasurable and intimate parts of my life. When dealing with the issue of satisfaction, I've come to a point in my life where as long as I know God loves me, my wife loves, and my kids love me, then I am Truly Satisfied.  I love her and I know that the ministry God has given me is in part to the faithfulness of my wife.

       Mil, I know you read this, so THANK YOU for being my friend, my partner, and my confidant. THANK YOU for bearing our children. THANK YOU for dealing with me. THANK YOU for making the best coffee in the morning (even though it is cold by the time I get it). THANK YOU being a role model to our children. THANK YOU for loving me when I don’t deserve it.

Whoever finds a wife finds something good and has obtained favor from the LORD Proverbs 18:22

Saint Pancho

        From the last blog post, I'm sure you all know that I've had a... um, "peppered past" with things that are not of God. What I love most about Paul is that he addresses the living (not the dead) as saints. In Ephsians 1, he opens the letter to them like this:

"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus..."

        Now who are the saints?  It's actually very simple. First strip the theological description of that comes to mind.  You know, the emaciated, glowing face singing Gregorian chants,  with their hands clasped in front of their chest, head tilted 45 degrees, wearing a halo.  That’s not what he’s talking about.  The Greek word is very simple: hagios.  (If you say it correctly, it sounds like you are hacking up a lung.) What does hagios mean?  It just means separated. 

        Let me give you a visual example with a cup.  Let's just say we were living in the OT days (that's OT, not OG for all you original gangsters out there), and this cup was used in the holy of holies. Though this cup is just like any other cup, it has been set apart (hagios) or consecrated for a specific use.  It is still the same cup, it looks the same, but now because God used it, it now has become a sanctified cup.

        The same way with us, we were lost without Jesus Christ.  When He comes into our life, we are told that we are members of a royal priesthood,  we are His workmanship, God chose us, and selected us.  By accepting Christ as our savior, we become set apart and consecrated to do His will. Therefore, we are hagios, we are not like the rest of the world. 

        Whether you like it or not, my name is “Saint Pancho!”  And whatever your name is, you're a saint, too.  You may not feel like a saint, but in the eyes of God, you are a saint.  So you see, Paul is not writing to dead people.  He’s not writing to statues, icons, graven, or molten images; he is writing to living people like you and I.  And don't think because you don't live in Ephesus you are exempt from hearing his words of exortation and love. Paul also includes, "and to the faithful."  Meaning, this letter was not only relegated to  the Ephesians.  Anyone who belongs to the faith, who believes in Jesus Christ, and is willing to hear his words, Paul addresses the faithful. 

So, dear saints, continue to be hagios for Jesus Christ. He wants to use you!

Put another candle on my birthday cake...

Put another candle on my birthday cake
We're gonna bake a birthday cake
Put another candle on my birthday cake
I’m another year old today.
I'm gonna have a party with my birthday cake
Come on and take some birthday cake
Put another candle on my birthday cake
I'm another year old today

We'll have some pie and sandwiches
and chocolate ice cream too
We'll sing and play the day away
and one more thing I'm going to do
I'll blow out the candles on my birthday cake
and when I do, a wish I'll make
Put another candle on my birthday cake
I'm another year old today

        While musing over my terrestrial tenure of yet another year, I began to reel over the years. Having lived through the tumultuous 60s it’s just a sheer miracle of God’s grace that I am still around, sober-minded and extremely content in my current station in life. PTL!

        Here are few random thoughts from the 60s. If you’re also from that crazy generation, please feel free to write me and remind me of what I missed.
        

The Beatles, Wolfman Jack, Kronis hotdogs, "cruising" Whittier Blvd., Cream, LSD, KMET, Woodstock, East L.A. Walkouts, East Los Angeles Battle of the Bands, Big Union Hall, Lil Union Hall, St. Nicholas Hall, Midniters, Emeralds, Love-ins, Iron Butterfly, Buddy Miles and the Electric Flag, MEChA, UMAS, Brown Berets, R&W Rootbeer drive-in, stereo, quadraphonic-sound, The White Spot (Whitter/Soto), Hollywood Palladium, Teenage Fair, Jimi Hendrix, Hugh Masekela, Rodger Young Auditorium, OldDixie, Iron Butterfly, Chamber Brothers, Marvin Gaye and Tammy Terrell, Pasta-House with Willie Bobo, Santana, Malo, Sapo, Yellow-deli (Atlantic Square), Zodies, White Front, Olympia, Hamms, Shlitz, Ripple, Bali-Hai. Tyrolla…The Shrine Auditorium, Hulaballo’s, POP (Santa Monica), Nu Pike (Long Beach), Marineland. Reds, Yellows Jackets, Qualuds, Whites. First love. Avon’s Unforgetable perfume, JFK, RFK, MLK, Vietnam, Chun en lay massacre, LBJ, RMN. The British Invasion: Stones, Zombies, Who, Kinks, Guess Who, Beau Brummels, Dave Clark Five. 

Batman in Color TV, Get Smart, Huggy-Boy, Godfrey, Cesar Chavez and the Farm workers Theater Group, Shakey’s Pizza (Atlantic Blvd, Monterey Park), Market Basket, Security Pacific, Isley Brothers, Percy Sledge, Fontella Bass, Freda Payne, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Queen of soul: Aretha, Godfather of Soul: James Brown, Vietnam Veterans, Eric Burton and the Animals (then WAR), Led Zepellin, KJLH, KHJ, WFWB, Tattoos (then, an anti-social expression).

Manuel’s after midnight, Watts riots, Grand Funk, Chicago, fist fights (no bats, AK-47’s, nor guns), neighborhood all-contact, no pads/helmet, football all for a case of beer! 

Night beach parties, High schools without heat-packing security, sock hops, Ricky Nelson, Frank Zappa, Abbey Road, Magical Mystery Tour, Sly and the Family Stone, American Bandstand, Civil Rights Movement, The Seeds, Young Rascals, Beach Boys, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Sgt. Pepper Lonely Hearts Club Ban. Nuclear attack drills (“Duck ‘n Cover!"). Peaches and Herb, Billy Stewart, The Shirells, Chubby Checker, Helm’s donut truck, Bob Dylan, Jerry Lewis, Casey Kasem, Lloyd Thaxson, Sam Riddle, Sandy Koufax, Doors (I personally shook hands with Jim Morrison, 1967). 

Acid, Mescaline, Angel-dust, Thai-sticks, Peyote, Wild Turkey, Bacardi 150, English 800. Whisky a-go-go, Troubadour, Santa Monica Auditorium, Venice Beach, Mustangs, We land on the moon. Sundays at Griffith Park. A Sunday drive (no traffic!), Elysian Park and the ‘White Lady.’ Garfield/Roosevelt, Salesian/Cathedral football games. Carl Junior Burgers, Florence Ave., Pioneer Chicken, Lorena Ave. First McDonalds and Jack in the Box in East L.A. 

Gas stations there were "service stations." Winchell Donuts, Hootenanny folk-music.

The Kern Bus. Golden Gate Theatre, The Serbian Hall, Kennedy Hall, Montebello Ballroom, Montebello Park (concerts, drinking, shootings and stabbings). Cholos were violent, but oddly ethical to non-gang bangers. Low-riders and J.C Penney T’s. 

A full head of hair, thirty inch waist, toked-up and tore-up…

        Five years after this volatile decade, I was found by the Nazarene, My Lord and Savior. Though these memories will not leave me, I thank God that they help remind me where I've come from. 

God bless you all you Baby-Boomers that have been redeemed and justified!

Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; according to Your mercy remember me, for Your goodness' sake, O LORD. Psalm 25:7