Judging from the new Stats button that Blogger provides, a lot of you start there anyway, but just in case you haven't read R.'s latest post on God's Design Not Mine, you need to see it.
It features my boy and like him, its a keeper.
http://godsdesignnotmine.blogspot.com/2010/10/my-little-comedian.html
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Some Political Intellectual Honesty
It was "Spirit Week" last week at the kid's school, in preparation for homecoming. Monday was to be 80's Day and the students could dress "like they did way back in the 1980's".
After reeling from the effects of having my personal sensitivities insulted - I joined in the brainstorming to help Ab and AA decide what to wear.
This coupled with the fact that I was mentally fatigued from a couple of weeks of non-stop activity - led me to spend my Saturday morning on the couch in front of the television. As you know we don't get real TV but now have Netflix on our television and I ran across a PBS Documentary on Ronald Reagan. I thought it might serve as a refresher course on 80's fashion - it was also an excuse to relive some of what I consider to be our "glory days" as a country.
The segment that I watched ran through until the point of Reagan's first term that parallels with our present administration's first term . . .and thus evoked some political intellectual honesty.
The documentary pointed out that about this time Reagan, who had enjoyed an enormous surge in popularity after a failed assassination attempt, quipped that maybe he should go out and get himself shot again.
I remember
that real estate still wasn't moving, interest rates and gas prices were still high and jobs weren't that plentiful. Reagan kept saying we had to wait, it would take time for the fixes he had put in place to take effect. Sure enough - in time they did and we enjoyed the greatest peace time economic boom in U.S. history.
This is where the political intellectual honesty comes in: our current president has enacted a whole bunch of legislation aimed at fixing our economy and at this juncture they appear to have only made things worse. So -being intellectually honest - I have to admit that this administration appears to mirror Reagan's.
That frightens me a little because I believe that most everything thing this president and the Democrat majority in congress has done has been anathema to the Constitution and to good judgement. What if, like Reagan, Obama found a resurgence in the polls and was able to stick around another term?
It all boils down to the things I know as truth - the policies of this administration have run counter to the inspired traditions or our founders and the Constitution they put in place. Those policies may continue to remain in force and succeed politically - but I know that they will ultimately fail and with them our nation.
That is why I think the November 2nd election is so pivotal. It should be first addressed with great prayer - for ultimately God will rule the day - but it should also be addressed with our participation. Beyond that, if major changes come about after that first Tuesday in November, it must only be the beginning.
Oh by the way, 80's Day turned out just fine.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Praise the Lord and Pass the Maple Syrup
The IHOP - International House of Pancakes is suing the IHOP - International House of Prayer for using its acronym.
IHOP, the restaurant, claims that the dueling monikers confuse its patrons.
I am not sure how that flows out... by "confusing the patrons", do they mean that they fear that typical customers of IHOP, the restaurant, will wander into various locations of IHOP, the church, in search of a Rooty-Tooty-Rich-and-Fruity?
I mean, if the absence of sticky substance on the floors isn't a dead give-away that you are not in the IHOP, the restaurant - wouldn't you notice immediately that there are no booths or tables ... and that the menus bear a remarkable likeness to hymnals?
Or is it the other way around? Does IHOP, the restaurant, feel concerned that members of the IHOP, the church, may wander into one of their establishments in hopes of enjoying a "heavenly feast" of "eternal delectables"?
"Margaret, I couldn't wait to get out of that service - did you notice how sticky those floors were? And I couldn't hear a word the preacher said -in fact I never saw him! .... and don't you think the way those folks carried on communion was just a little unorthodox!?"
"Well Nevin, maybe its one of them new-fangledy restaurant churches where they all sit around and be RELEVANT together..."
It seems to me that IHOP, the restaurant, is being petty. Shouldn't a restaurant be happy about anyone walking in the door - even if they arrive under false pretenses?
I would proclaim myself "done with" IHOP, the restaurant, but I already don't go there. As my readers know, the Waffle House is my breakfast boutique of choice! You walk into that establishment and hear a hardy "Good Mornin' Sweetie" along with a cacophony of clinking silverware, slapping spatulas and the jukebox - you know you are not in church!
Besides the argument is moot.
I am not sure how that flows out... by "confusing the patrons", do they mean that they fear that typical customers of IHOP, the restaurant, will wander into various locations of IHOP, the church, in search of a Rooty-Tooty-Rich-and-Fruity?
I mean, if the absence of sticky substance on the floors isn't a dead give-away that you are not in the IHOP, the restaurant - wouldn't you notice immediately that there are no booths or tables ... and that the menus bear a remarkable likeness to hymnals?
Or is it the other way around? Does IHOP, the restaurant, feel concerned that members of the IHOP, the church, may wander into one of their establishments in hopes of enjoying a "heavenly feast" of "eternal delectables"?
"Margaret, I couldn't wait to get out of that service - did you notice how sticky those floors were? And I couldn't hear a word the preacher said -in fact I never saw him! .... and don't you think the way those folks carried on communion was just a little unorthodox!?"
"Well Nevin, maybe its one of them new-fangledy restaurant churches where they all sit around and be RELEVANT together..."
It seems to me that IHOP, the restaurant, is being petty. Shouldn't a restaurant be happy about anyone walking in the door - even if they arrive under false pretenses?
I would proclaim myself "done with" IHOP, the restaurant, but I already don't go there. As my readers know, the Waffle House is my breakfast boutique of choice! You walk into that establishment and hear a hardy "Good Mornin' Sweetie" along with a cacophony of clinking silverware, slapping spatulas and the jukebox - you know you are not in church!
Besides the argument is moot.
I just heard that the church has relented. They will be giving up their name and as a body, they have decided to go with a new name that better reflects their sense of unity of purpose.
They will now be called - the Kingdom Fellowship Church.. . . . or KFC for short....
Okay, I just made up that last part.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
September Eleventh
I presumed that a majority of bloggers would be noting the day with words of remembrance - but so far I haven't seen a lot.
I heard a brief tribute on the radio today and I noticed that as newscasts from the actual event were playing our car grew silent. It was Ab, AA and me and the car grew silent.
AA wasn't born yet when Islamic Extremists pulled off their dastardly attack, Ab was not yet three.
I still cannot put down the emotions - still don't understand them. Mixed with anger and deep sadness - there is a sense of pride in the noble character of so many involved. There is still a taste of unity in the memories as well - that day, we sincerely asked folks how they were doing... were they okay?
Today I am sad though, not so much because of the magnitude of that infamous event, but because we failed to properly respond. I'm not talking about our military.
We, as a nation, were handed a great opportunity to turn around. I want get into the argument of whether God brought 9-11 on or not - it happened.
I do believe that God can use every event that we encounter to make us better.
For an all to brief time, we were better. I think it was probably one election cycle. We remained unified, the American flag was displayed prominently everywhere, congressional representatives even through out the bogus "invisible wall of separation" church and state, junk for a time and Democrat and Republican alike join in an impromptu singing of "God Bless America" on the capital steps.
Then it all changed. Politics and the urge for power crept in.
Today we are more worried about congress and the President destroying the American Ideal than terrorists. We are keeping our friends at arms length while embracing our enemies. Reasonable, honest people with common sense are questioning whether some of our basic freedoms will remain in place for long.
In that brief radio tribute I heard today, I listened to excerpts from then President Bush's first address after the attacks. Say what you will, that man brought honor to the office of President. I remembered the confidence his words provoked.
I did not like everywhere he lead us, but he was our last great leader - hopefully not the very last.
Someone once said that we didn't fail the tests God handed us, we just have to take them over and over again until we get them right. That may not sync with your theology, but we do tend to go through things over and over . . . I believe St. James said "whom the Lord loves, He chastens . . ."
Perhaps all of this turmoil we are currently facing as a nation... economic recession, overwhelming overhauls and the like, are just another test.
Perhaps we could turn back to the right path; maybe we still have a chance.
As we think back to that clear day, nine years ago and consider the near 3,000 that died that day list to the challenge from another time as then - President Lincoln stood overlooking the resting place from another act of war....
"that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain;
that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." Abraham Lincoln
I heard a brief tribute on the radio today and I noticed that as newscasts from the actual event were playing our car grew silent. It was Ab, AA and me and the car grew silent.
AA wasn't born yet when Islamic Extremists pulled off their dastardly attack, Ab was not yet three.
I still cannot put down the emotions - still don't understand them. Mixed with anger and deep sadness - there is a sense of pride in the noble character of so many involved. There is still a taste of unity in the memories as well - that day, we sincerely asked folks how they were doing... were they okay?
Today I am sad though, not so much because of the magnitude of that infamous event, but because we failed to properly respond. I'm not talking about our military.
We, as a nation, were handed a great opportunity to turn around. I want get into the argument of whether God brought 9-11 on or not - it happened.
I do believe that God can use every event that we encounter to make us better.
For an all to brief time, we were better. I think it was probably one election cycle. We remained unified, the American flag was displayed prominently everywhere, congressional representatives even through out the bogus "invisible wall of separation" church and state, junk for a time and Democrat and Republican alike join in an impromptu singing of "God Bless America" on the capital steps.
Then it all changed. Politics and the urge for power crept in.
Today we are more worried about congress and the President destroying the American Ideal than terrorists. We are keeping our friends at arms length while embracing our enemies. Reasonable, honest people with common sense are questioning whether some of our basic freedoms will remain in place for long.
In that brief radio tribute I heard today, I listened to excerpts from then President Bush's first address after the attacks. Say what you will, that man brought honor to the office of President. I remembered the confidence his words provoked.
I did not like everywhere he lead us, but he was our last great leader - hopefully not the very last.
Someone once said that we didn't fail the tests God handed us, we just have to take them over and over again until we get them right. That may not sync with your theology, but we do tend to go through things over and over . . . I believe St. James said "whom the Lord loves, He chastens . . ."
Perhaps all of this turmoil we are currently facing as a nation... economic recession, overwhelming overhauls and the like, are just another test.
Perhaps we could turn back to the right path; maybe we still have a chance.
As we think back to that clear day, nine years ago and consider the near 3,000 that died that day list to the challenge from another time as then - President Lincoln stood overlooking the resting place from another act of war....
"that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain;
that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." Abraham Lincoln
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Laborious Labor Day Weekend
Aside from some down time on Sunday afternoon with my siblings and parents, the Labor Day weekend was fairly non-stop.
Very UNnatural for me.
After a late high school football game Friday night, Saturday was crammed full of yard work until the mid to late afternoon. That's when we packed up the lawn mower and tent and stuff and headed to some property my father-in-law recently acquired behind their place. There we cleared a spot and set up camp:
Very UNnatural for me.
After a late high school football game Friday night, Saturday was crammed full of yard work until the mid to late afternoon. That's when we packed up the lawn mower and tent and stuff and headed to some property my father-in-law recently acquired behind their place. There we cleared a spot and set up camp:
This would be our second camp out of the year and all less than one mile from our front door.
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| Ab and our faithful friend, Tanner, a constant at all our "near home" camp outs. |
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AA took some target practice - it's just an AIR RIFLE ... and the ammunition is NOT lead. |
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Monday, September 6, 2010
Status Report
Well it is Labor Day and I am finally getting a few moments of downtime during this leisurely long weekend, to visit the blog.
You may notice some changes if you are one of the three or four folks that regularly visit here:
As always my hope is that this blog will present items worth reading.
- The Management
You may notice some changes if you are one of the three or four folks that regularly visit here:
- I am putting "playlist" to rest for awhile - I haven't added any new music lately and I realized that the first thing I usually do when I visit the blog is to turn it off or turn my volume down.
- I have been using Statcounter.com a couple of years now. This allows me to track traffic to the blog - but I really don't go there very often. Google now provides some stats so I will probably suspend the other option for a time.
- Some of you are followers through Facebook and Networkedblogs.com - thanks to all 8 of you!!! Well, apparently Google is going to stop supporting this app very soon, so that option may go away.
As always my hope is that this blog will present items worth reading.
- The Management
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