Jane Reinheimer -- copyright 2010, all rights reserved

September 2, 2010

Last night was a most pleasant evening. It's always good to be among good friends and this was no exception.

But I wanted to tell you what was on the menu for the "light meal."

It was pulled barbecued pork, one of those fancy, takes-hours-of-cutting-things-into-little-pieces-layered-salads that looked like it had everything from someone's garden it. It was delicious! And there were two different kinds of potato salad and apple crisp for dessert.

Then we had a local historian, Patricia Winn, who took the part of the mother of the little boy who gave Jesus the fish and bread that fed 5,000 people. She was very good. Kind of like a one act play. And Pastor Gillet delivered his usual good and thought-provoking devotion. The theme centered around going back to school.

A good time was had by all and I drove my good friend Nola home, then I came home. I do hope and pray that you have lots and lots of friends that you can spend meaningful time with. It makes such a difference in your life.

Changing the subject -- here's a little tidbit that comes under "lifelong learning" and "theology" all at the same time. It's about God's ingenious creation -- the camel! And thank you, to Antoinette, for sharing it with us.

If you ever doubted that God exists, meet the very technical, highly engineered Dromedary Camel. You have to imagine that it's the camel that's talking to you, not me. Although I do like the part about being able to lose 227 pounds quick like they do.

When I'm hungry, I'll eat almost anything-a leather bridle, a piece of rope, my master's tent, or a pair of shoes.

My mouth is so tough a thorny cactus doesn't bother it.

I love to chow down grass and other plants that grow here on the Arabian desert .

I'm a dromedary camel, the one-hump kind that lives on hot deserts in the Middle East.

My hump, all eighty pounds of it, is filled with fat-my body fuel-not water as some people believe.

My Mighty Maker gave it to me because He knew I wouldn't always be able to find food as I travel across the hot sands.

When I don't find any chow, my body automatically takes fat from the hump, feeds my system, and keeps me going strong. This is my emergency food supply.

If I can't find any plants to munch, my body uses up my hump.

When the hump gets smaller, it starts to tip to one side.

But when I get to a nice oasis and begin to eat again, my hump soon builds back to normal.

I've been known to drink twenty-seven gallons of water in ten minutes.

My Master Designer made me in such a fantastic way that in a matter of minutes all the water I've swallowed travels to the billions of microscopic cells that make up my flesh.

Naturally, the water I swallow first goes into my stomach.

There, thirsty blood vessels absorb and carry it to every part of my body. Scientists have tested my stomach and found it empty ten minutes after I've drunk twenty gallons.

In an eight hour day I can carry a four hundred pound load a hundred miles across a hot, dry desert and not stop once for a drink or something to eat.

In fact, I've been known to go eight days without a drink, but then I look a wreck. I lose 227 pounds, my ribs show through my skin, and I look terribly skinny. But I feel great!

I look thin because the billions of cells lose their water. They're no longer fat. They're flat.

Normally my blood contains 94 percent water, just like yours. But when I can't find any water to drink, the heat of the sun gradually robs a little water out of my blood.

Scientists have found that my blood can lose up to 40 percent of its water, and I'm still healthy.

Doctor's say human blood has to stay very close to 94 percent water. If you lose 5 percent of it, you can't see anymore; 10 percent, you can't hear and you go insane; 12 percent, your blood is as thick as molasses and your heart can't pump the thick stuff. It stops, and you're dead.

But that's not true with me.

Why?

Scientists say my blood is different. My red cells are elongated. Yours are round. Maybe that's what makes the difference.

This proves I'm designed for the desert, or the desert is designed for me.

Did you ever hear of a design without a Designer?

After I find a water hole, I'll drink for about ten minutes and my skinny body starts to change almost immediately.

In that short time my body fills out nicely, I don't look skinny anymore, and I gain back the 227 pounds I lost.

Even though I lose a lot of water on the desert, my body conserves it too.

Way in the beginning when my intelligent Engineer made me, He gave me a specially designed nose that saves water.

When I exhale, I don't lose much. My nose traps that warm, moist air from my lungs and absorbs it in my nasal membranes.

Tiny blood vessels in those membranes take that back into my blood.

How's that for a recycling system? Pretty cool, isn't it.

It works because my nose is cool. My cool nose changes that warm moisture in the air from my lungs into water.

But how does my nose get cool? I breath in hot dry desert air, and it goes through my wet nasal passages. This produces a cooling effect, and my nose
stays as much as 18 degrees cooler than the rest of my body.

I love to travel the beautiful sand dunes. It's really quite easy, because my Creator gave me specially engineered sand shoes for feet. My hooves are wide, and they get even wider
when I step on them. Each foot has two long, bony toes with tough, leathery skin between my soles, are a little like webbed feet. They won't let me sink into the soft, drifting sand. This is good, because often my master wants me to carry him one hundred miles across the desert in just one day. (I troop about ten miles per hour.)

Sometimes a big windstorm comes out of nowhere, bringing flying sand with it. My Master Designer put special muscles in my nostrils that close the openings, keeping sand out of my nose but still allowing me enough air to breathe. My eyelashes arch down over my eyes like screens, keeping the sand and sun out but still letting me see clearly. If a grain of sand slips through and gets in my eye, the Creator took care of that too. He gave me an inner eyelid that automatically wipes the sand off my eyeball just like a windshield wiper.

Some people think I'm conceited because I always walk around with my head held high and my nose in the air. But that's just because of the way I'm made. My eyebrows are so thick and bushy I have to hold my head high to peek out from underneath them. I'm glad I have them though. They shade my eyes from the bright sun.

Desert people depend on me for many things. Not only am I their best form of transportation, but I'm also their grocery store.

Mrs. Camel gives very rich milk that people make into butter and cheese.

I shed my thick fur coat once a year, and that can be woven into cloth.

A few young camels are used for beef, but I don't like to talk about that.

For a long time we camels have been called the "ships of the desert" because of the way we sway from side to side when we trot. Some of our riders get seasick. I sway from side to side because of the way my legs work. Both legs on one side move forward at the same time, elevating that side. My "left, right left, right" motion makes my rider feel like he is in a rocking chair going sideways.

When I was six months old, special knee pads started to grow on my front legs. The intelligent Creator knew I had to have them. They help me lower my 1000 pounds to the
ground. If I didn't have them, my knees would soon become sore and infected, and I could never lie down. I'd die of exhaustion. By the way, I don't get thick knee pads because I fall
on my knees. I fall on my knees because I already have these tough pads.

Someone very great thought of me and knew I needed them. He designed them into my genes.

It's real difficult for me to understand how some people say I evolved into what I now am. I'm very technical, highly engineered dromedary camel.

Things like me don't just happen.

August 31, 2010

Before I forget -- again -- I just want to mention that Illinois drivers have a 92% compliancy rate with seat belt use. That's fantastic and I'm sure it correlates to a reduced fatality rate on our highways.

I got this funny funny from my cousin Mark. He seems to think us seniors need a sense of humor, or at the very least, a joke for today. That's okay, Mark, you're not too far off from these golden years yourself. Besides, I can always tell Aunt Bobbi on you. I know where she's at. ha ha

YOU NEED A LAUGH TODAY!

Lovemaking Tips For Seniors

1. Wear your glasses to make sure your partner is actually in the bed.

2. Set timer for 3 minutes, in case you doze off in the middle.

3. Set the mood with lighting. (Turn them ALL OFF!)

4. Make sure you put 911 on your speed dial before you begin.

5. Write partner's name on your hand in case you can't remember..

6. Use extra polygrip so your teeth don't end up under the bed.

7. Have Tylenol ready in case you actually complete the act..

8. Make all the noise you want....the neighbors are deaf, too.

9. If it works, call everyone you know with the good news!!

10. Don't even think about trying it twice in the same week !!

'OLD' IS WHEN...
Your sweetie says, 'Let's go upstairs and make love,' and you answer, 'Pick one; I can't do both!'

'OLD' IS WHEN...
Your friends compliment you on your new alligator shoes and you're barefoot.

'OLD' IS WHEN...
Going bra-less pulls all the wrinkles out of your face.

'OLD' IS WHEN....
You don't care where your spouse goes, just as long as you don't have to go along.

'OLD' IS WHEN...
You are cautioned to slow down by the doctor instead of by the police.

'OLD' IS WHEN ..
'Getting a little action' means you don't need to take a laxativetoday.

'OLD' IS WHEN....
'Getting lucky' means you find your car in the parking lot..

'OLD' IS WHEN...
An 'all nighter' means not getting up to use the bathroom.

'OLD' IS WHEN....
You're not sure if these are facts or jokes.

And from my good friend, Antoinette, in Paducah, comes this lovely thought:

The Clock

                                God doesn't give you the people you want; He
gives you the people you NEED... to help you, to hurt you, to leave you, to
love you and to make you into the person you were meant to be.

                              One Flaw In Women
                                Women have strengths that amaze men.....

                                They bear hardships and they carry burdens,

                                but they hold happiness, love and joy.

                                They smile when they want to scream.

                                They sing when they want to cry.

                                They cry when they are happy

                                and laugh when they are nervous.

                                They fight for what they believe in..

                                They stand up to injustice.

                                They don't take "no" for an answer

                                when they believe there is a better solution.

                                They go without so their family can have.

                                They go to the doctor with a frightened friend.

                                They love unconditionally.

                                They cry when their children excel

                                and cheer when their friends get awards.

                                They are happy when they hear about

                                a birth or a wedding.

                                Their hearts break when a friend dies.

                                They grieve at the loss of a family member,

                                yet they are strong when they

                                think there is no strength left.

                                They know that a hug and a kiss

                                can heal a broken heart.

                                Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors.

                                They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you

                                to show how much they care about you.

                                The heart of a woman is what

                                makes the world keep turning.

                                They bring joy, hope and love.

                                They have compassion and ideas.

                                They give moral support to their

                                family and friends.

                                Women have vital things to say

                                and everything to give..

                                HOWEVER, IF THERE IS ONE FLAW IN WOMEN,

                                IT IS THAT THEY FORGET THEIR WORTH.

Thank you so much, Antoinette.

Tonight I am going to one of those soirees at a church not too far from home. It's out in the country about 12 miles from home. We are promised a light meal. For Lutherans that means beef noodle soup, fried chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans, and a wide array of desserts. If the Lutheran meal is three tables long, you can bet there will be one full table of cakes and pies, another table with silverware, napkins and plates and beverages, and another table with salads and entrees. And lots of visiting. We do love to visit and share stories and laugh a lot.

I do hope each and every one of you has a church affiliation and lots of girlfriends at church.

And here we go -- appropos of nothing, Zsa Zsa Gabor's witticism:

SPEAKING OF WITTY, here are some memorable Zsa Zsa Gabor quotes for those interested ...

A man in love is incomplete until he has married. Then he’s finished.
Zsa Zsa Gabor

Conrad Hilton was very generous to me in the divorce settlement. He gave me 5000 Gideon Bibles.
Zsa Zsa Gabor

Getting divorced just because you don’t love a man is almost as silly as getting married just because you do.
Zsa Zsa Gabor

He taught me housekeeping; when I divorce I keep the house.
Zsa Zsa Gabor

How many husbands have I had? You mean apart from my own?
Zsa Zsa Gabor

Husbands are like fires - they go out when unattended.
Zsa Zsa Gabor

I am a marvelous housekeeper. Every time I leave a man I keep his house.
Zsa Zsa Gabor

I call everyone ‘Darling’ because I can’t remember their names.
Zsa Zsa Gabor

I don’t remember anybody’s name. How do you think the “dahling” thing got started?
Zsa Zsa Gabor

I know nothing about sex, because I was always married.
Zsa Zsa Gabor

I never hated a man enough to give him diamonds back.
Zsa Zsa Gabor

I want a man who’s kind and understanding. Is that too much to ask of a millionaire?
Zsa Zsa Gabor

I’m a great housekeeper. I get divorced. I keep the house.
Zsa Zsa Gabor

Macho does not prove mucho.
Zsa Zsa Gabor

One of my theories is that men love with their eyes; women love with their ears.
Zsa Zsa Gabor

The women’s movement hasn’t changed my sex life. It wouldn’t dare.
Zsa Zsa Gabor

Thou shouldst not become presumptuous through much treasure and wealth; for in the end it is necessary for thee to leave all.
Zsa Zsa Gabor

To a smart girl men are no problem - they’re the answer.
Zsa Zsa Gabor

We were both in love with him. I fell out of love with him, but he didn’t.
Zsa Zsa Gabor

When I’m alone, I can sleep crossways in bed without an argument.
Zsa Zsa Gabor

You never really know a man until you have divorced him.
Zsa Zsa Gabor

I just heard that she has been rushed to the hospital in LA "unresponsive." Zsa Zsa is 93 years old. Prayers lifted for you, Miss Beauty! You were my favorite paper doll in the 50s!

August 30, 2010

Well, Quint finally broke down and bought a riding lawnmower. Says he felt guilty watching me mow the grass since his stents were put in last summer. Personally I liked mowing the lawn. Great exercise.

But his cardiologist gave him the okay to mow the grass as long as he didn't push a lawnmower. Is that chivalry, or what?

But then, with the increased caseload for counseling, and church women committee, domestic violence prevention committee, courthouse committee, junior quilters and something else -- I know there's something else -- things had started to get a little bit hectic around here.

Quint is making more, what else, bookcases. These are in a corner of the living room that will balance out the entertainment center he built a month or so ago. For a chemist, he made a great carpenter. I think.

On another matter, I read over the weekend that someone is starting to build what's called "efficiency homes" -- itsy bitsy 800 square foot houses. I guess anything will work if it's necessary but boy, that seems tiny. That would be about the size of the half-story upstairs that's an extra bedroom and an office. I don't know how a person could get a living room, dining room, kitchen and bathroom in that little space.

The same article says that just a few short years ago, the average size new home in the United States was 2500 square feet. That apparently was the big peak because new homes are coming down in size, what with the bursting real estate bubble and all. Now the houses are topping out at 2300 something, and getting smaller. And I guess if you have one of those really big mega houses that's 6000 to 7000+ square feet, you can expect your house to be on the market a very long time before it sells.

Got this funny from Joyce, my good buddy:

For those of you who may have missed church on Sunday, here is a recap!

Four Worms and a Lesson

A minister decided that a visual demonstration would add emphasis to his Sunday sermon.

Four worms were placed into four separate cans.

The first worm was put into a container of alcohol.

The second worm was put into a container of cigarette smoke.

The third worm was put into a container of chocolate syrup.

The fourth worm was put into a container of good clean soil.

At the conclusion of the sermon, the Minister reported the following results:

The first worm in alcohol - Dead.

The second worm in cigarette smoke - Dead

August 29, 2010

Thank you, Joyce, for sending this copy of a powerful message by Andy Rooney:

Andy Rooney says:

I don't believe in Santa Claus, but I'm not going to sue somebody for singing a
Ho-Ho-Ho song in December. I don't agree with Darwin, but I didn't go out and hire
a lawyer when my high school teacher taught his Theory of Evolution.

Life, liberty or your pursuit of happiness will not be endangered because someone
says a 30-second prayer before a football game. So what's the big deal? It's not
like somebody is up there reading the entire Book of Acts. They're just talking to
a God they believe in and asking him to grant safety to the players on the field and
the fans going home from the game.

But it's a Christian prayer, some will argue.

Yes, and this is the United States of America and Canada, countries founded on
Christian principles. According to our very own phone book, Christian churches
outnumber all others better than 200-to-1. So what would you expect -- somebody
chanting Hare Krishna?

If I went to a football game in Jerusalem , I would expect to hear a Jewish prayer.

If I went to a soccer game in   Baghdad , I would expect to hear a Muslim prayer.

If I went to a ping pong match in China , I would expect to hear someone pray to
Buddha.

And I wouldn't be offended.   It wouldn't bother me one bit.

When in Rome .....

But what about the atheists? Is another argument.

What about them? Nobody is asking them to be baptized. We're not going to pass the
collection plate. Just humour us for 30 seconds. If that's asking too much, bring a
Walkman or a pair of ear plugs. Go to the bathroom. Visit the concession stand.
Call your lawyer!

Unfortunately, one or two will make that call. One or two will tell thousands what
they can and cannot do. I don't think a short prayer at a football game is going to
shake the world's foundations.

Christians are just sick and tired of turning the other cheek while our courts
strip us of all our rights. Our parents and grandparents taught us to pray before
eating, to pray before we go to sleep. Our Bible tells us to pray without ceasing.
Now a handful of people and their lawyers are telling us to cease praying.

God, help us. And if that last sentence offends you, well, just sue me.

The silent majority has been silent too long. It's time we tell that one or two
who scream loud enough to be heard that the vast majority doesn't care what they
want. It is time that the majority rules!   It's time we tell them, "You don't
have to pray; you don't have to say the Pledge of Allegiance; you don't have to
believe in God or attend services that honour Him. That is your right, and we will
honour your right; but by golly, you are no longer going to take our rights away.
We are fighting back, and we WILL WIN!"

God bless us one and all...Especially those who denounce Him, God bless America and
Canada, despite all our faults We are still the greatest nations of all. God bless
our service men who are fighting to protect our right to pray and worship God.

Let's make 2010 the year the silent majority is heard and we put God back as the
foundation of our families and institutions. And our military forces come home from
all the wars.

Keep looking up.

WOW!!!

August 27, 2010

John and Sherre, our friends in Wichita, sent this Bible verse as a reminder to be ever-vigilant and stay on track:

If my people, who are called by my Name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. -- 2 Chronicles 7:14

And pray especially for Glenn Beck as he meets in Washington, D.C. this weekend for his rally "Restoring the Honor of America" or something like that.

Got this from my dear friend Antoinette -- The Five Stages of a Female's Life

1. To grow up
2. To fill out
3. To slim down
4. To hold it in
5. To hell with it.

I think i've been stuck in Stage #3 since I was about 4!

On another matter, aren't you just amazed at all those eggs being recalled? Salmonella is the culprit. And no, it's not pronounced like the fish. The disease was named after Dr. Salmon who discovered it. The "L" is pronounced. But a half million eggs? Now comes the new information that the culprit is apparently the chicken feed. Bad chicken feed.

I found this on the internet. Salmonella can survive for weeks outside a living body.

The bacteria has been found in excrement after 2-1/2 year period. Oh yuk!!

Ultraviolet radiation and heat accelerate the death of these little critters. Freezing does not.

If you're cooking, here's the formula:
They die after being heated to 131 degrees F for an hour, or 140 degrees for a half hour. And just to be sure, it's highly recommended that food be heated to 167 degrees for at least ten minutes.

So making a cake is still okay because the cake bakes for at least 25-30 minutes and cooks at 350 degrees F.

Just to be on the safe side, no more sunny side up eggs with all that runny yellow yoke.

One other note, and this is something I learned in home economics in junior high school: Don't ever thaw a chicken out at room temperature. Chicken has to be thawed out in the refrigerator. Remember, freezing doesn't kill them. And salmonella can survive several months in water.

Just remember to cook your food thoroughly. We're not cave men/women.

August 25, 2010

I am aghast that Philadelphia is thinking about charging bloggers $300 for a license to transmit their blogs over the internet.

What a sad day that would be for me if Illinois, the poor state, ever decided to do that. Since my name is Reinheimer, not Rockefeller, I can tell you which way that battle would go. Especially since we don't sell ads for this site. It's one of the original "not for profits" -- no income, no profits. Just for the love of writing and keeping in touch with you out there in cyberspace all over the world. It would especially be a shame because the page that the Bible studies are on are clicked on very heavily.

You can tell I'm getting ready for my Inter Faith Family Violence Coordinating Council meeting tomorrow because I have some stats for you about domestic violence.

-- For instance, one in four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime.
-- Eight-five percent of domestic violence victims are women.
-- Men are the victims of about 2.9 million intimate partner related physical assaults each year.
-- Each year, women experience about 4.8 million domestic violence related physical assaults and rapes.
-- Forty to sixty percent of men who abuse women also abuse children.
-- One in four teens reports verbal, physical, emotional, or sexual abuse each year.
-- One in nine Americans over the age of 60 has experienced some form of elder abuse.

And if you live in middle Illinois, you are welcome to attend a Candlelight Visil on September 10 beginning at 7:45 p.m. The vigil will take place at Thelma Keller Convention Center at the Hilton Garden Inn at 1202 North Keller Drive, Effingham, Illinois. The Candlelight Vigil will include words of encouragement, inspirational music and survivor testimonials.

And here's a quote for you from Carol Luebering -- Finding a Way To Forgive

Ask for divine help in your struggle to forgive. The God of the Judeo-Christian tradition has an ancient reputation for compassion and mercy. Try praying FOR your enemy. Don't just ask for a change in that person's heart or behavior; really pray FOR him or her. You may find it hard to find words for such a prayer, but words are not necessary to the God who knows your mind and heart. Just stand before God with that person at your side, and let God's love wash over both of you until it penetrates your heart.

And here's a little levity from our Wichita friends, John and Sherre:

You know you're in a redneck church if ...

... the finance committee refuses to provide funds for the purchase of a chandelier because none of the members know how to play one.

... people ask, when they learn that Jesus fed the 5000 whether the two fish were bass or catfish and what bait was used to catch them.

... if Opening Day of deer season is recognized an an official church holiday.

... a member asks to be buried in his 4-wheel-drive truck because "it ain't never been in a hole it couldn't get out of."

... the choir is known as the "OK Chorale."

... people think "rapture" is what you get when you lift something too heavy.

... the baptismal pool is a #2 galvanized washtub.

... the choir robes were donated by -- and embroidered with the logo from Billy Bob's Barbecue

... the collection plates are hubcaps from a '56 Chevvy.

... instead of a bell, you are called to worship by a duck call.

... "Thou Shalt Not Covet" applies to hunting dogs too.

... the final words of the benediction are "Ya'll come back now, Ya hear."

August 22, 2010

Before I forget about it, I have to tell you about our almost-encounter with a grizzly while we were going through Yellowstone.

It happened about a half hour after we left Bruce the Buffalo behind with his wife Blanche.

We had made it to the top of a big hill and stopped for something cold to drink. Along comes a guy on a Harley. Really excited, he was. "There's a big grizzly down there," he said, pointing in the direction from which he came. "And I got his picture!"

"Uh, I'm not going down there," I chicken heartedly told Quint.

"Oh, you ought to go down and take his picture. How often are you going to get a shot like that?" the biker asked.

"Probably just once in my life," I said. Then I added, "Didn't you hear that a grizzly killed a woman a couple of days ago. Woke her up in her tent. Then he bit her to death."

That was a woman who was sleeping in a tent. Like I'd ever sleep in anything less than an armored tank in grizzly territory.

So I drank my Pepsi real slow. Really slow. Thought I'd give the grizzly plenty of time to get to the other side of the road, or go back to the bushes or whatever.

We did not see the bear. We did not want to see the bear. We did not get out of the car to see if we could get a picture of anything that moved in the bushes. In fact, we hurried past that part of Yellowstone where the biker said he'd seen a grizzly.

So today I was peacefully signing out of my email when a headline grabbed my attention. It was about grizzlies in Yellowstone. Two deaths so far this year. Apparently someone else got mauled to death in Yellowstone near the Idaho, Montana, Wyoming border. That's where we were!

The article at the link below says the grizzlies are coming down out of the mountains because they're hungry. Well, year. If they're eating people, they must be hungry. Not enough berries and no matter how many signs you have plastered on yourself that says you don't taste like berries, just keep in mind that bears can't read. They're trying to fatten up for their winter nap, so my advice? Stay way far out of their way.

And apparently they don't like to have their pictures taken either.

http://www.myconsolidated.net/news/read.php?ps=1018&rip_id=%3CD9HOKK3G0%40news.ap.org%3E&_LT=HOME_LARSDCCLM_UNEWS

August 21, 2010

When driving to, from, and through Frankenmuth, Michigan, I'm always intrigued with
the many small simple crosses in the front yards of the homes we pass by. Those
crosses are a statement of support for Frankenmuth's Christian foundation.

Two years ago an atheist living there complained about two crosses on a bridge in
town.    He requested that they be removed and the town removed them. He then
decided that, since he was so successful with that, the city shield should also be
changed since it had on it, along with other symbols, a heart with a cross inside
signifying the city's Lutheran beginnings.

At that point, the residents decided they had had enough. Hundreds of residents
made their opinions known by placing small crosses in their front yards.   Seeing
this quiet but powerful statement from the community, the man removed his complaint.
Those simple crosses remain in those front yards today.

After passing those crosses for two years, it finally hit me that a small cross in
millions of front yards across our country could provide a powerful and inspiring
message for all Americans passing them every day. I think it might be time to take
this idea across America.

We have an administration that says "we are not a Christian nation" and everywhere
you look the ACLU and others are trying to remove from our history and current lives
any reference to God, prayer, or the fact that our country was founded on
Judeo-Christian principles. Our administration can't bring themselves to talk about
"radical Muslims or Islamic terrorists" for fear of offending them, but they can
talk about Americans "clinging to their guns and their religion", or insinuate that
our own military troops coming home from service overseas might turn into
terrorists.   The majority of Americans are Christians, why are we letting this
happen to us?

It's time to stand up and make a statement..a small, quiet, but powerful statement.
If you agree, place a small white cross in your front yard or garden for all to see
that they are not alone. It would be a beautiful thing to see crosses all across
America.

Thank you, Cody, for sending this.

And to further lighten your mood today, this comes from my friend Connie. And yes, she's a preacher's wife.

Senior Church Moment

A preacher was explaining that he must move on to a larger congregation that will
pay him more. There is a hush within the congregation -- no one wanted him to
leave.

Joe Smith, who owns several car dealerships in the city, stands up and proclaims,
... "IF THE PREACHERS STAYS, I WILL PROVIDE HIM WITH A NEW CADILLAC EVERY YEAR, AND
HIS WIFE WITH A HONDA MINI-VAN TO TRANSPORT THEIR CHILDREN!" The congregation sighs
in relief and applauds.

Sam Brown, a successful entrepreneur and investor, stands and says, "IF THE PREACHER
WILL STAY ON HERE, I'LL PERSONALLY DOUBLE HIS SALARY, AND ALSO ESTABLISH A
FOUNDATION TO GUARANTEE THE COLLEGE EDUCATION OF ALL OF HIS CHILDREN!" More aloud
applause.

Sadie Jones, age 88, stands and announces with a smile, "IF THE PREACHER STAYS, I
WILL GIVE HIM SEX!" There is total silence.

The Preacher, blushing, asks her, "MRS. JONES, WHATEVER POSSESSED YOU TO SAY THAT?"

Sadie's 90-year-old husband Jake is now trying to hide, holding his forehead with
the palm of his hand, and shaking his head from side to side, while his wife
replies, "WELL, I JUST ASKED MY HUSBAND HOW WE COULD HELP, AND HE SAID, 'SCREW HIM!'
"

Isn't senility wonderful?

Lord, keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth.

August 20, 2010

Did I tell you about my first ever life experience with a big buffalo?

We were winding our way through Yellowstone when the hugest ever buffalo I have ever seen was kind of ambling his way across the road. Right in front of my car! I came to a screeching halt even though he would have demolished our little Focus with his 3,000 pound body, of which 1,000 pounds is probably in his head alone.

So he must have figured that since I stopped, he'd stop. About three feet from my front bumper.

"Well, great, Brucey Buffalo," I thought. "I'm just going to sit here real quiet like and pretend that you are not there. But please, please, please don't bump the car or nudge me upside down with your big fat head."

As if he were hearing my insulting thoughts to him, he turned and looked at me. That was the meanest look I've ever gotten from man or beast. He looked like he was trying to figure out whether he wanted to attack my car or me or go on his way. One whole millenium of time passed before Blanche Buffalo, his wife, convinced him that it was time for his afternoon snack, or something like that.

So he picked up his ambling pace and headed for the other side of the road. Maybe it was more than a snack she was hollering at him about.

Brucey was followed by a dozen or so other buffalo. That must have been the official Buffalo Crossing place in that section of Yellowstone.

Someone asked me if I took a picture and I thought, "Are you crazy? Who knows what the clicking sound would have done to this furlined tonometer. No way was I going to take that chance.

And if you want more laughs, we just got these from our friends John and Sherre in Wichita. They were one of our iced tea stops with friends as we made our trek home from Colorado after having visited Quint's sisters and niece Janet and our adorable great-nephew Richard.

'LIFE' THOUGHTS BY 'DUCKY'

I saw a woman wearing a sweat shirt with 'Guess' on it. So I said 'Implants?' She hit me.


Marriage changes passion. Suddenly you're in bed with a relative.


Now that food has replaced sex in my life, I can't even get into my own pants.


How come we choose from just two people to run for president and over fifty for Miss America ?


When I was young we used to go 'skinny dipping,' now I just 'chunky dunk.'


I signed up for an exercise class and was told to wear loose fitting clothing. If I HAD any loose
fitting clothing, I wouldn't have signed up in the first place!

August 18, 2010

Oh the joy of having friends stay over. We have had the pleasure of our good friend, Joyce, as a house guest for a couple of days.

She went to an Economic Development Advisory Board meeting with me on Tuesday morning. After a very brief meeting, we returned home to watch Steve take an 85 foot tree down in our back yard. Well, we watched him do most of it. But we wanted to go up to Tanger Mall in Tuscola to see what Coldwater Creek had to offer. Joyce wanted to look at some Amish stuff too.

Then we returned home just in time to go see the 198 foot cross here in Effingham, watch the video of how it was constructed. A quick dinner at Joe's Pizza before heading over to the City Council Meeting where a resolution for a grant that's in the works was being considered. (It passed.)

We finally came home and watched 84 Charing Cross Road, one of my very favorite movies starring Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins.

It was a whirlwind day and Joyce left on the train back north this morning. Miss her already.

Changing the subject, I received the following from my friend Kate here in town:

Whether these changes are good or bad depends in part on how we adapt to them. But, ready or not, here they come!

1. The Post Office . Get ready to imagine a world without the post office. They are so deeply in financial trouble that there is probably no way to sustain it long term. Email, Fed Ex, and UPS have just about wiped out the minimum revenue needed to keep the post office alive. Most of your mail every day is junk mail and bills.

2. The Check . Britain is already laying the groundwork to do away with checks by 2018. It costs the financial system billions of dollars a year to process checks. Plastic cards and online transactions will lead to the eventual demise of the check. This plays right into the death of the post office. If you never paid your bills by mail and never received them by mail, the post office would absolutely go out of business.

3. The Newspaper . The younger generation simply doesn't read the newspaper. They certainly don't subscribe to a daily delivered print edition. That may go the way of the milkman and the laundry man. As for reading the paper online, get ready to pay for it. The rise in mobile Internet devices and e-readers has caused all the newspaper and magazine publishers to form an alliance. They have met with Apple, Amazon, and the major cell phone companies to develop a model for paid subscription services.

4. The Book . You say you will never give up the physical book that you hold in your hand and turn the literal pages. I said the same thing about downloading music from iTunes. I wanted my hard copy CD. But I quickly changed my mind when I discovered that I could get albums for half the price without ever leaving home to get the latest music. The same thing will happen with books. You can browse a bookstore online and even read a preview chapter before you buy. And the price is less than half that of a real book. And think of the convenience! Once you start flicking your fingers on the screen instead of the book, you find that you are lost in the story, can't wait to see what happens next, and you forget that you're holding a gadget instead of a book.

5. The Land Line Telephone . Unless you have a large family and make a lot of local calls, you don't need it anymore. Most people keep it simply because they're always had it. But you are paying double charges for that extra service. All the cell phone companies will let you call customers using the same cell provider for no charge against your minutes.

6. Music . This is one of the saddest parts of the change story. The music industry is dying a slow death. Not just because of illegal downloading. It's the lack of innovative new music being given a chance to get to the people who would like to hear it. Greed and corruption is the problem. The record labels and the radio conglomerates simply self-destruction. Over 40% of the music purchased today is "catalog items," meaning traditional music that the public is familiar with. Older established artists. This is also true on the live concert circuit. To explore this fascinating and disturbing topic further, check out the book, "Appetite for Self-Destruction" by Steve Knopper, and the video documentary, "Before the Music Dies."

7. Television . Revenues to the networks are down dramatically. Not just because of the economy. People are watching TV and movies streamed from their computers. And they're playing games and doing all lots of other things that take up the time that used to be spent watching TV. Prime time shows have degenerated down to lower than the lowest common denominator. Cable rates are skyrocketing and commercials run about every 4 minutes and 30 seconds. I say good riddance to most of it. It's time for the cable companies to be put out of our misery. Let the people choose what they want to watch online and through Netflix.

8. The "Things" That You Own . Many of the very possessions that we used to own are still in our lives, but we may not actually own them in the future. They may simply reside in "the cloud." Today your computer has a hard drive and you store your pictures, music, movies, and documents. Your software is on a CD or DVD, and you can always re-install it if need be. But all of that is changing. Apple, Microsoft, and Google are all finishing up their latest "cloud services." That means that when you turn on a computer, the Internet will be built into the operating system. So, Windows, Google, and the Mac OS will be tied straight into the Internet. If you click an icon, it will open something in the Internet cloud. If you save something, it will be saved to the cloud. And you may pay a monthly subscription fee to the cloud provider.

In this virtual world, you can access your music or your books, or your whatever from any laptop or handheld device. That's the good news. But, will you actually own any of this "stuff" or will it all be able to disappear at any moment in a big "Poof?" Will most of the things in our lives be disposable and whimsical? It makes you want to run to the closet and pull out that photo album, grab a book from the shelf, or open up a CD case and pull out the insert.

9. Privacy . If there ever was a concept that we can look back on nostalgically, it would be privacy. That's gone. It's been gone for a long time anyway. There are cameras on the street, in most of the buildings, and even built into your computer and cell phone. But you can be sure that 24/7, "They" know who you are and where you are, right down to the GPS coordinates, and the Google Street View. If you buy something, your habit is put into a zillion profiles, and your ads will change to reflect those habits. And "They" will try to get you to buy something else. Again and again.

Thank you, Kate.

August 12, 2010

You probably would be surprised to learn that I have spent an hour revising two paragraphs in a Project Description item for a grant application. Fortunately, computers are great at counting things so it was not a Rocky Horror Show when I learned that the new grant application limited paragraph responses to characters instead of words. So just about the time I got one paragraph to say just exactly what I wanted to say, it was 512 characters, not the allowable maximum of 500. A little whittling here and there got me down to 499 characters.

Quint continues to heal from having had two implants inserted into his jawbone yesterday. So off he went to church council this evening through with two bruises on either side of his chin. I made him promise to make sure everybody knew that I didn't deck him. I expect to be teased come Sunday when we go to church. We were sitting in the Subway in our local Wal-Mart this afternoon having an iced tea date when one of the council members stopped by to chat after he had seen us through the window. Sure enough, that little twinkle in his eye and a wink wink to Quint about forgetting to duck or something like that.

And I'm on the committee for the Family Violence Coordinating Council. No kind of domestic violence is acceptable whether it's physical, sexual, emotional or psychological. But I can take a little teasing, I guess. For about ten minutes. If it continues for longer than that, I'll just go sit in the car and pout until church is over.

Got this from my dear friend Kate here in Effingham:

Interesting facts about August 2010:
This August has 5 Sundays, 5 Mondays and 5 Tuesdays. All in one month. That only happens once in 823 years.

I did not know that.

And now I have to 'fess up about a minor fender bender I had in Champaign yesterday. I was in a double left turn lane. I had the inside lane. I executed the turn while making the turn halfway in my lane and halfway in this other driver's lane. Oooooops. I had no idea cars could be so loud when they ran into each other. And this was just a glancing blow off my right rear panel just above the rear tire. Fortunately it was a very slight fender bender with not much damage to either car and no personal injuries. But then, we were just getting started from a cold stop at the red light so we couldn't have been going more than 8 miles per hour. Maybe eight-and-a-half. To make matters worse, Officer Friendly told me my drivers license had expired in June. OMG I just drove all over the west for 4,200 miles on an expired drivers license! (Guess what was #1 on my Things To Do List today!)

Some of you who write regular emails will be glad to know that the emails are probably fixed now. I don't know why you were probably getting some of your emails back but the techy people at my web site suggested that possibly emails to me were part of a "group send" and the server, thinking they were spams, didn't deliver them. That's what my very best friend in Calcutta told me. He's my techy buddy at Level #4. I only get him when I've worn out the ears of the first three levels when they can't explain something so that it makes sense to me. Long long ago I decided that I did not have to be a superlatively techy person to operate my laptop. It's supposed to be user friendly and I ought to be able to type and make things happen without needing to have a masters degree in computer programming.

And with that, I'll close. Hark hark I hear the sound of a car door opening and shutting which would mean that Mr. Wonderful has returned to the peace and quiet of his home sweet home.

August 11, 2010

Listen to this young 10 year old girl. You are not going to believe her amazing voice: http://www.angelfire.com/ak2/intelligencerreport/ten_year_old.html

America's Got Talent! Oh, yes we do!!

In the meantime, we have just returned from Champaign where Quint saw a periodontist who installed two implants on his way toward getting a smile improvement. I'm going to spend the evening helping him suffer because the novacaine is starting to wear off.

Oh, and yes, we'll be watching some movies to further distract us.

August 10, 2010

The Badlands in South Dakota have been on our Bucket List for about twenty years. So we were thrilled that we were finally going to check it off.

The Lakota named the place. But it was Paleontologist Thaddeus Culbertson who described it thus: Fancy yourself on the hottest day in summer in the hottest spot of such a place without water -- without an animal and scarce an insect astir -- without a single flower to speak pleasant things to you and you will have some idea of the utter loneliness of the Bad Lands.

Well, we were far from lonely since the Bad Lands are a popular place for tourists in the summer. But I'll tell you this: I would not hazard a trip through the Bad Lands when crowds are scarce.

In the pamphlet that we received when we entered the park, there was this promise: Wildlife abounds. Coyotes, butterflies, turtles, vultures, snakes, bluebirds, bison, and prairie dogs are just a few of the residents of the park's prairie. That was enough to make this big chicken of a tourist stay in the car. I did plenty of gazing, to be sure. The yellow mounds near Dillon Pass were spectacular. Mr. Chemist Person, Quint, says the yellow rocks are evidence of sulphur. I would have thought turmeric, but my knowledge of chemistry is pretty much limited to kitchenography.

There was a warning not to climb on the rocks. They're supposedly more fragile than they look. Fine with me. It was 93 degrees when we were there. Who, in their right mind, would go rock climbing anyway? Well, I didn't get their names but there were quite a few.

It was a wonderful drive through. A million or so other people agree with me because they make it through here every year.

Then on to Mt. Rushmore. Another check off the Bucket List. That was some project, let me tell you. Supposedly all of the mountain is used up. That is, unless your face is three feet wide and 150 feet tall. Maybe Mr. Spaghetti Head would fit. As long as he had this spaghetti-o look on his face and wasn't smiling. But then, it could be Mrs. Spaghetti Head. What with political correctness and all.

Thus ended Day #2.

August 4, 2010

Did you know that communion was served on the moon?

This excerpt is from an article:

I’m talking about the fact that Buzz Aldrin took communion on the surface of the moon. Some months after his return, he wrote about it in Guideposts magazine. And a few years ago I had the privilege of meeting him myself. (See photo below.) I asked him about it and he confirmed the story to me, and I wrote about in my book Everything You Always Wanted to Know About God (But Were Afraid to Ask).

The background to the story is that Aldrin was an elder at his Presbyterian Church in Texas during this period in his life, and knowing that he would soon be doing something unprecedented in human history, he felt he should mark the occasion somehow, and he asked his pastor to help him. And so the pastor consecrated a communion wafer and a small vial of communion wine. And Buzz Aldrin took them with him out of the Earth’s orbit and on to the surface of the moon.

Here's the link to the article from Eric Metaxas: http://www.ericmetaxas.com/blog/communion-on-the-moon-july-20th-1969/

August 2, 2010

I wish I had room in my head for all those big ideas that are floating around out there in my mini-universe, just waiting to grab onto.

For starters, there's that big hole down in the Gulf of Mexico. How in the world did anyone figure out that if you stuff the oil hole with lots of mud, then it would be okay. Then, maybe, just maybe, they can concrete over it. We'll just see if that one works.

Then there are all those political comments that sound more like lies every day. Guess they're all getting ready for the polls to open. I personally do not call "lies" things like "misremembering" or "suspension of beliefs" or whatever. It is not a true statement, it doesn't deserve to be whitewashed.

Then Obama came up with this brilliant scheme that he'd do anything he could to help his fellow Democrats get re-elected. That includes not campaigning for them. I guess he figures that since he campaigned for some other politicians and they all lost, he'd be more helpful staying away from their re-election speeches.

We had a mayor like that in Chicago one time. Her name was Jane Byrne. Everytime she campaigned with someone who was running for office, it was the kiss of death. Just another reason why we moved out of Cook County. Not that we lived in Chicago. I mean, who could stand that?!!

Oh, before I forget, Mitch Miller died at the age of 99 today. Rest in peace, Mitch. I will miss your singalongs, Mr. Miller. You were always such a gentleman to all your guests. And I heard tell that you were kind and gracious to people even when no one was watching. That makes you a congruent person who has good moral character.

Then there was John Kerry, the senator from Massachusetts who just recently bought a $7 million yacht. The headlines were that he was going to berth the boat in some other state -- Rhode Island, I think -- to avoid paying about $500,000 in sales tax. Oh the public furor that got out about that little "misremembering." Then he decided, I guess because there were so many people watching, that he really meant to pay the sales taxes after all, and of course, he said he would pay every little penny of any taxes owed. Good for you, John. Massachusetts needs every nickel.

And that's it for the big ideas and the little ones too. Except for this one. It's about a giant space storm headed toward Earth. NASA scientists fear it will be akin to a solar tsunami unlike anything we've seen yet. You have to read the article on The Telegraph for the details. That's where I go for news. Or to Australia. Or to Canada. I certainly can't find much useful information in American papers these days. Read the article here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/7923069/Nasa-scientists-braced-for-solar-tsunami-to-hit-earth.html

July 20, 2010

The University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana is reinstating fired adjunct professor Dr. Kenneth Howell. Howell will continue teaching a course in Catholicism. He had come under fire when he explained how the Roman Catholic Church distinguishes between same-sex attraction and homosexual conduct. He accurately stated the church's teaching that homosexual conduct is morally wrong, framing the issue in the context of natural moral law.

Read more: http://www.illinoisfamily.org/news/contentview.asp?c=34966

July 26, 2010

Did you know that Custer wore Arrow shirts? I saw that on a sign today.

And for our readers out on the Atlantic coast, especially in the D.C. and Maryland area, how in the world are you going to manage with the power outage in all this heat?!!

Here are some numbers that were reported at WTOP.com: Maybe somebody will get help.

If your power has been knocked out, call your utility company:

Pepco: 1-877-737-2662
Dominion Virginia Power: 1-866-366-4357
Allegheny Power: 1-800-255-3443
No. Va. Electric Cooperative: 1-888-335-0500
Baltimore Gas & Electric: 1-877-778-2222
Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative: 1-877-747-6326

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=2008840

Just remember -- we can survive the what if we just know the why. So hang in there. It may be until Thursday until the electricity gets back on.

On another subject, those of you who read this column know that I am a huuuuuuuuge fan of Thomas Sowell. He writes a daily column for Investors Business Daily. Sowell is not in favor of the so-called elites ruling over those of us who live down here on Planet Earth (my words, not his).

So today's article about the fallacy of the ruling elitists caught my eye like a bull's eye attracts William Tell's apple. Sowell said this:

Science tells us that the human brain reaches its maximum potential in early adulthood. Why then are young adults so seldom capable of doing what people with more years of experience can do? Because experience trumps brilliance. Elites may have more brilliance, but those who make decisions for society as a whole cannot possibly have as much experience as the millions of people whose decisions they pre-empt.

The education and intellects of the elites may lead them to have more sweeping presumptions, but that just makes them more dangerous to the freedom, as well as the well-being, of the people as a whole.

His article Rules By Elites Has Been Tried -- And Failed can be read in its entirety here: http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=541635&p=2

And you will get misty-eyed when you read this article, perhaps. Women from all over the country are coming to Washington, D.C. to talk to members of Congress about the babies they elected to have, rather than having an abortion.

In a report published in lifesitenews.com, this comment was made:

Congress needs to hear from the women served by nonprofit pregnancy centers,” said Heartbeat President Peggy Hartshorn. Praising the moms for sacrificing their time for the campaign, Hartshorn added, “This is a testament to the fact that our elected officials need to support public policy that preserves the bond between mother and child.

Babies Go To Congress is a program sponsored by Heartbeat International. Danica Fountain of Arizona said this:

...[S]he felt pressured to abort her baby before she arrived at the Women’s Center of Tucson, a local pregnancy resource center. “I was absolutely shocked to see that this so called ‘blob of tissue,’ the term I so commonly heard people use when referencing a pregnancy this early on, was in fact a fully formed baby! She had a head, arms and legs," says Fountain.

“When I saw my baby’s heart beating I knew I would do anything to protect my child."

The entire article is linked here: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jul/10072608.html

And finally, this from my cousin Mark:

If you don't know GOD, don't make stupid remarks!!!!!!

A United States Marine was taking some college courses between assignments. He had completed 20 missions in Iraq and Afghanistan . One of the courses had a professor who was an avowed atheist, and a member of the ACLU.

One day the professor shocked the class when he came in.

He looked to the ceiling and flatly stated, "GOD, if you are real, then I want you to knock me off this platform... I'll give you exactly 15 min."

The lecture room fell silent. You could hear a pin drop. Ten minutes went by and the professor proclaimed, "Here I am GOD, I'm still waiting."

It got down to the last couple of minutes when the Marine got out of his chair, went up to the professor, and cold-cocked him; knocking him off the platform. The professor was out cold.

The Marine went back to his seat and sat there, silently.

The other students were shocked and stunned, and sat there looking on in silence. The professor eventually came to, noticeably shaken, looked at the Marine and asked, "What in the world is the matter with you? Why did you do that?"

The Marine calmly replied, "GOD was too busy today protecting America's soldiers who are protecting your right to say stupid stuff and act like an idiot. So He sent me."

July 24, 2010

Correction: It was sales tax not mooring fee that prompted Kerry to park his yacht in Rhode Island. Savings: almost $500,000 in sales tax on a newly purchased $7 million yacht. Bad publicity: priceless anytime but especially now when the governators in Washington are trying to figure out how to tax anything and everything for us "peasants" -- including a proposed "sin tax" on soda. You just wait. They're going to figure out a way to tax us on our weight, especially when we have too much of it. That's why they want to make it a new rule that your doctor has to report your BMI to the feds. It can't be a matter of concern for our health because HIV isn't a requirement. Something about a person's right to privacy made the governators exempt that.

Is it more un-American to not pay the taxes you owe or to resign? Charlie Rangle, the congressman from New York who is being asked quietly in the halls of Congress to resign, now says it would be un-American to resign. He's up on charges for ethics violations by the House Ethics Committee. I'm not sure which ethics he violated. Was it because he was parking his Mercedes in the House garage? Or was it because he was renting our his villa somewhere in the Caribbean and not reporting the income? Or was it because he was renting out other properties he owns way below market value and not declaring the difference between market value and money received? I do not know. I'm sure it will all unfold in the next week or so. Rangel says he will be exonerated and welcomes the opportunity to tell his side of things.

Oh, and get this. You aren't going to believe it. Britain is going to decentralize its national health service! That's the same health service that ousted senator Tom Daschle was so in love with. In fact, much of what has been written into Obamacare was fashioned after the British plan. Here's what an article in The New York Times had to say:

Practical details of the plan are still sketchy. But its aim is clear: to shift control of England’s $160 billion annual health budget from a centralized bureaucracy to doctors at the local level. Under the plan, $100 billion to $125 billion a year would be meted out to general practitioners, who would use the money to buy services from hospitals and other health care providers.

The plan would also shrink the bureaucratic apparatus, in keeping with the government’s goal to effect $30 billion in “efficiency savings” in the health budget by 2014 and to reduce administrative costs by 45 percent. Tens of thousands of jobs would be lost because layers of bureaucracy would be abolished. Read more:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/world/europe/25britain.html?_r=2&hp

Recognize this man? He's Lt. Col. Allen West (Ret.). West is running for Congress in South Florida. It seems that he and his wife Angele were to be honored at a Cystic Fibrosis gala but was clumsily disinvited, supposedly because some people threatened to withhold funds to the charity if West and his wife were present. Following is an excerpt from today's World Net Daily: West, the GOP candidate for Congress in Florida's 22nd District, and his wife, Angela, had accepted an invitation from the South Florida Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to be honored as South Florida Finest Couple on Sept. 24. They agreed to raise $10,000 for the foundation in accepting the nomination.

However, West said he received a phone call from the executive director of the foundation requesting that he and his wife withdraw from the affair.

"She informed me that she has received complaints from certain individuals who have threatened to withdraw their support to the Cystic Fibrosis gala event if Angela and I are honored," West wrote in a July 19 letter to event Chairman William Lewis posted on Pamela Geller's Atlas Shrugs blog. "She humbly asked if I would agree to step down and allow the event to proceed and not disrupt the support to the foundation. These individuals have called and complained to the National Foundation decrying 'politicizing' of the event."

Read more: http://www.wnd.com/index.php/index.php?pageId=182445

Here's a video of West responding to a Marine's question: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkGQmCZjJ0k As he responds to the question so eloquently, keep in mind that the other panel members didn't seem to have a clue as to how to answer the question that the Marine referenced that had been raised by Helen Thomas.

July 23, 2010

Quint and I have returned from attending an all-day workshop on Ethics in the 21st Century. I am required to have a 6 hour update seminar on ethics insofar as my counseling license is concerned. This was new legislation that as passed at the behest of former Gov. Rod Blagovich (sp.). So much for him. Both sides of his corruption trial have ended and now the sum-ups take place. Then the jury will get to be the deciders.

Then there's that little matter out in New York with Charlie Rangel. He's up before the House Ethics Panel. Something about his not charging fair market value for some property he owns and there's another problem with his villa down in the Caribbean. Rep. Betty Sutton, another Democrat, is calling for Rangel to plain old resign. Not resign his committees. He's already stepped down from the Ways and Means Committee but Betty wants his to get out of Dodge resign. We'll see how that ends up. Why don't these politicians just pay their taxes, especially Rangel who had been Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. That's the committee that starts the tax legislation that ends up causing us all fits along about April.

And then there's the little matter of Senator John Kerry morring his yacht in New Hampshire because he didn't want to pay the Massachusetts taxes.

No wonder the legislators don't care about raising taxes. It doesn't seem like too many of them pay all the taxes they're supposed to anyway.

And on a brighter side, according to a new poll, Sarah "Thatcher" Palin has some exciting numbers in a new poll: Sarah Palin 28% Mitt Romney 18% Newt Gingrich 17% Mike Huckabee 13% Mitch Daniels 4% Tim Pawlenty 1% Mike Pence 1% Haley Barbour 1% John Thune 1%. Not a well written article, because I can't readily figure out who did the poll, from the article. Read more: http://hotair.com/archives/2010/07/23/oh-my-palin-28-romney-18-gingrich-17-huckabee-13/

Well, here's a big motivator for all of us who need to reduce our weight. Now doctors are going to have to report your BMI to the feds. Check this out: New federal regulations issued by Obama’s administration will require doctors to record their patient’s body mass index (BMI) ratio. No longer will your weight problems be a matter between you and your doctor. Thanks to Obama, now your doctor will be required by law to snitch to the feds on how fat you are.

Like most of what goes on in Washington, this new little regulation was stuck a bill otherwise wholly unconnected to healthcare, the stimulus billsection 301)

According to the government’s new HIT Standards(Health Information Technology), each patient’s BMI numbers will be recorded and must be available to the federal government on a national database exchange.

They didn't even have the guts to put it in the Obamacare bill; rather, it got snuck into a stimulus bill. So what's the big deal? Think about this: Germany is thinking about adding an extra tax for people who are obese. Read more: http://www.publiusforum.com/2010/07/23/obama-forces-doctors-to-snitch-to-feds-on-patients-weight/

July 22, 1010 -- snips and snails, etc.

caution caution caution caution caution

If you can hear thunder, then you are at risk of being struck by lightning. Lightning is deadly! Nothing to toy around with. Don't sit in front of an open window. Don't stand in your doorway to watch the danger rolling by overhead. Lightning can kill. If you're fortunate to survive a lightning strike, you could end up with all sorts of physical mishaps -- some worse than others. My head just about explodes when I see people who should know better standing outside in their yards looking up at the sky. They cast a poor bit of role modeling to young people who watch. This is just an isolated story of a young person who got hit by lightning while in his garage. Well, duh! Lightning can go sideways too. And at thousands of miles an hour. Read this: http://www.wsbtv.com/news/24349627/detail.html. Just get back inside and stay safe. Lightning travels faster than the speed of sound which is about 700 miles an hour.

The Southern Political Report has some interesting speculation today about whether Sarah Palin is "packing the GOP with "powerchicks." Read more: http://www.southernpoliticalreport.com/storylink_721_1516.aspx

Palin is not much comfort for the "business as usual" politics. In fact, she's reminding me more and more of Margaret Thatcher. She just might be the person who can go into Washington, D.C. and clean house, so to speak. But discount her at your peril. She has made her mark on American politics and is a force to be reckoned with, to be sure. I think.

The question I have is whether or not she's electable as a presidential candidate. The GOP has come to this moment but it remains to be seen whether the teachable moment will be squandered. But she can sure fill up a stadium!

Oh, this just in. In case you missed the quiet little headline that rolled by on the news crawler -- the climate control bill, or cap and trade, or whatever you want to call it, is now dead. Reid says he doesn't have the votes to pass it. Whew. That was close.

If you thought the congressional approval ratings were low at 29% recently, a new Gallup Poll now has the ratings at 11%. Can you believe it?!! Gee, do you suppose it has anything to do with the fact that the congressionals are too busy playing politics and don't have enough time left over to exert any legislative leadership. Just remember: solutions are not possible when people play the blame game. Read more: http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/07/22/confidence-in-congress-hits-new-low/

So which organizations do get respect? Again, according to Gallup, here's that list -- Ranked at the top of the list of institutions that do command high confidence are the military (76 percent), small business (66 percent), the police (59 percent), the church or organized religion (48 percent) and the medical system (40 percent).

On a hot, steamy afternoon, when you're safe in your cool house and looking for something to zero in on, take a look at these celebrity donations for the 2008 presidential election: http://www.newsmeat.com/2008a-list.php. Okay, so it may be a list from two years ago, but still interesting when you look at the big spenders!

And one last thought. Heard this on the news today. When Vice President Biden went to the Gulf some little while ago to see what was happening with the spill, BP was billed $75,000 for Mr. Oversight's trip.

July 21, 2010

Do you know the difference between compassion fatigue and burnout?

Compassion fatigue, simply stated, is caused by what we do. Ask any caregiver for a person who has Alzheimers, or is terminally ill, and you will find a person at risk of developing compassion fatigue. It may initially rear its ugly head as anger, sadness, prolonged grief, even anxiety and depression. Then the caregiver begins to isolate himself/herself from others. They can become cynical. Irritable.

If the person who is starting to suffer from compassion fatigue, he/she may begin avoiding clients, missing appointments, being late, and lacking motivation.

People who are most vulnerable include police, firemen, emergency workers, therapists, ministers, child welfare workers, and those who work with traumatized people.

Burnout, on the other hand, is caused by where we work. It's a response to unrelenting stress in the workplace. Folks who are burning out feel "stuck." They may feel like they are no longer effective. They become emotionally absent.

People who are demanding, stressful work situations can burn out over time. Expectations are too high. Work schedules are overloaded and unrealistic. Feeling like you're not being treated fairly can push you toward interpersonal conflicts with others.

Both compassion fatigue and burnout victims suffer enormous stress.

Hans Selye, a Canadian endocrinologist, defined stress as anything that forces a person to make an adaptation. If you have to change and adjust to any change in your life, Selye would say you feel stress. He also defined good stress, eustress; and bad stress, distress. Good stress? Sure. Imagine being on your honeymoon again. All of a sudden you are being shadowed by someone who is with you 24 hours a day. You never had anyone around you in such close proximity for 24 hours a day. It requires an adjustment. But in this case, hopefully, love wins out.

Distress is negative, powerful adjustment demands that temporarily threaten to shake us off our moorings. Imagine yourself being stuck out in the middle of nowhere and your car stops. That pesty "check engine light" comes on and your car just dies right on the spot. You can't get your car started either. That's distress.

Of primary importance to remember is that if we want to do a good job of caring for and empathizing with others, we absolutely need to take care of ourselves. Good boundaries help us do just that.

And this just in today from the Houston Chronicle: Texas A&M may drop free toilet paper in its dorms. It would save $82,000 of the $2.2 million that Student Affairs has been charged with saving for the budget. Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/health/7118034.html You know times are getting desperate when schools won't even supply free toilet paper. My oh my!!

July 20, 2010

I have spent the afternoon cleaning off my desk. Just wait until Quint sees it. He'll be so jealous. hahahahahah It's now a perfectly cleared off work surface. I'm ashamed to tell you that I filled up three wastebaskets full of redundancies. But they're all gone now, safely tucked into the garbage can out back.

All of that is by way of explanation for these funnies that a friend from Tinley Park sent a while ago. So, thank you Rick.

I am a medical student currently doing a rotation in toxicology at the poison control center. Today, this woman called in very upset because she caught her little daughter eating ants. I quickly reassured her that the ants are not harmful and there would be no need to bring her daughter into the hospital. She calmed down and at the end of the conversation happened to mention that she gave her daughter some ant poison to eat in order to kill the ants. I told her that she better bring her daughter into the emergency room right away!

A man, wanting to rob a downtown Bank of America, walked into the branch and wrote this: "Put all your money in this bag." While standing in line waiting to give his note to the teller, he began to worry that someone had seen him write the note and might call the police before he reached the teller's window. So he left the Bank of America branch and crossed the street to a Wells Fargo location. She read it, and surmising that he wasn't the brightest light in the harbor, told him that she could not accept his stickup note because it was written on a Bank of America deposit slip and the he would either have to fill out a deposit slip at the Wells Fargo branch or go back to Bank of America. Looking somewhat defeated, the man said, "Ok," and left. He was arrested a few minutes later as he was waiting in line at the Bank of America.

Forget Sarah Palin's Mama Grizzlies. Take a look at a Mama Deer in this video protecting little Bambi. Note that the deer didn't really mind the cat being attentive to baby, but the dog? There just wasn't room in Mama's vocabulary for Dog! http://www.angelfire.com/ak2/intelligencerreport/deer_warning.html Amazing!

When we were still living up north in our condo, there was a lot of excitement one day because a deer jumped through one of the ground floor windows. It was someone's bedroom window and the man hadn't awakened yet. The deer was bouncing off walls looking for a way out. He could see the great outdoors just on the other side of the patio window (which was closed). So the guy who owned the condo made a desperate call to the two maintenance guys. They should have called Animal Welfare or somebody. Anybody else. But they ran in and opened the patio window and screen. Then the deer didn't trust the move, probably fearing it was a trap. Finally the deer ran off, back into the woods. But not before smearing its blood all over everything because he had nearly gutted himself when he crossed over the glass shards in the window when he surprised the sleeper. But even more of a surprise was when the guy took a look at his pillows and saw two hoof prints, one of each side of where his head had lain.

July 19, 2010

Awwwww. Now they're going to start hunting sandhill cranes in Minnesota. Not since 1916 have hunters up there been allowed to pepper these birds with buckshot.

Wonder what crane tastes like? Chicken?

Remember when we were kids and our moms asked us if Johnny walked off a cliff, would you follow him?

The reason Minnesota is allowing, or should I say re-allowing, crane shoot-em-ups is because all the neighboring states are doing it again.

As for me, there are just some things I can't eat. Horsemeat is high on that list, but only slightly behind rattlesnake. And now I'm going to add sandhill cranes. I've had turtle soup. It wasn't bad, but I have no use for turtle fillet. Raccoon and squirrel taste like chicken but I haven't eaten that since I was a little bitty kid. You eat a lot of critters when Daddy goes hunting a lot.

But no sandhill crane!

Here's a good warning from my cousin, Mark, for all of us to pay attention to:

Recently sent to me:

On the way to Canton , driving on Michigan Avenue , on Thursday
morning, I saw an infant car seat on the side of the road with a
blanket draped over it. I did not stop, even though I had all kinds of
thoughts running through my head. But when I got to my destination, I
called the Canton PD and they were going to check it out. This is what
I was told...

"Several things to be aware of .. gangs and thieves, are now plotting
different ways to get a person to "stop" their vehicle. "There is a
gang initiation reported by the local police department that gangs are
placing a car seat by the road...with a fake baby in it...waiting for a
woman, of course, to stop and check on the baby. Note that the location
of this car seat will usually be beside a wooded or grassy (field) area
...and the person - woman - will be dragged into the woods- beaten and
raped- usually left for dead. DO NOT STOP.

DIAL 9-1-1 AND REPORT WHAT YOU SAW.

"IF YOU ARE DRIVING AT NIGHT AND EGGS ARE THROWN AT YOUR WINDSHIELD. DO
NOT OPERATE THE WIPER AND DO NOT SPRAY ANY WATER BECAUSE EGGS

MIXED WITH WATER BECOME MILKY AND BLOCK YOUR VISION UP TO 92.5% YOU ARE
THEN FORCED TO STOP BESIDE THE ROAD AND BECOME A VICTIM OF THIEVES.
THIS IS A NEW TECHNIQUE USED BY GANGS.

PLEASE INFORM YOUR FRIENDS AND RELATIVES. THESE ARE DESPERATE TIMES AND
THESE UNSAVORY INDIVIDUALS WILL TAKE DESPERATE MEASURES TO GET WHAT
THEY WANT."

And on a lighter note, from my friend Kate,

Don't eat chicken sandwiches, no matter what.....

A little boy and a little girl attended the same school and became friends. Every
day they would sit together to eat their lunch. They discovered that they both
brought chicken sandwiches every day! This went on all through the fourth and fifth
grades, until one day he noticed that her sandwich wasn't a chicken sandwich.

He said, 'Hey, how come you're not eating chicken, don't you like it anymore?' She
said 'I love it but I have to stop eating it.'

'Why?' he asked. She pointed to her lap and said 'Cause I'm starting to grow little
feathers down there!' 'Let me see' he said. 'Okay' and she showed him. He looked and
said, 'That's right. You are! Better not eat any more chicken.'

He kept eating his chicken sandwiches until one day he brought peanut butter. He
said to the little girl, 'I have to stop eating chicken sandwiches, I'm starting to
get feathers down there too!' She asked if she could look, so he showed her!

She said 'Oh, no, it's too late for you! You've already got the NECK and GIZZARDS!!!
---

July 15, 2010

Welcome readers in Switzerland and Canada. Great to have you on board.

I can't think of anything more refreshing on these dog days of summer than an iced cold glass of iced tea! It's just too too good. Especially since it's 92 degrees out there with a heat index of 106.

On another matter, the big news today is that BP has finally capped the well. There's no more oil erupting with fury out of the Gulf of Mexico gusher. Let's just pray that the material that makes the cap will hold. I wouldn't even hazard guess as to what the PSI is at 5,000 feet down. If the cap can just hold until the relief lines get in place, we'll all be better off and the clean-up can continued to proceed to commence to begin.

And what do you think about this for freedom of speech? The Attleboro (Mass.) Sun-Chronicle has begun requiring two things of online readers who want to leave their thoughts on stories: 99 cents and their real names.The newspaper should expect much criticism from various quarters, but it's a fascinating experiment and a bold response to the endless trolling, vitriol and drivel that is enabled by anonymity in online forums. The news was reported on Paul McNamara's blog at networkworld.com. A buck to post a comment? And you have to sign your name? Well, to be truthful, you can't publish a Letter to the Editor in a newspaper without putting your name on it. And the way postage keeps going up, pretty soon it's going to cost a buck to mail the letter. So I guess it's all about the same.

Guess what?! There's about three million people who are going to be out of unemployment benefits by the end of July. Now, if you were working over at the Dept. of Labor, or in the Oval Office, wouldn't you be putting some pressure on congress to extend the benefits? I mean, you wouldn't want that kind of statistic to get tangled up in the weekly jobs report, would you? How much do you want to bet that the benefits get extended?

And just so you know. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer set up a legal defense fund to help with the expenses of the lawsuit filed by Obama man Eric Holder, the nation's attorney general. Believe it or not, more that $1.2 million have been donated in a very short period of time from almost 25,000 online contributors. Even snail mail contributions are pouring in. Keep it up. I think I saw some eight other states who are lining up behind Brewer and Arizona.

I'm just curious why a Writ of Mandamus can't be filed to force whoever isn't doing the job required to send the illegals back across the border? And what's with those Sanctuary Cities. They're illegal as well.

By the time we're all done with the federal suits, I hope the 10th Amendment (state sovereignty) which the Constitution gives to the states will be underscored, reinstated and put back up on the mantle. You know this is headed for the Supreme Court, don't you?

July 14, 2010

My head feels like it has mushrooms growing in all the little knooks and crannies. That's mainly owing to the fact that I've spent a good six hours working on a funding application that sounds like a grant, but really isn't. It's a "reimbursable." That means the organization has the request reimbursement for the expenses. And given the state of the economy for Illinois, I don't have a lot of faith that bills will get paid. Hmmmm

But hope springs eternal. Just in case the organization decides to "damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead," the application will be ready for filing by the deadline and if it so happens that the decision is made not to file it, at least it would have been ready.

Other than that, Quint and I went for a car ride this morning after I got back from the World Trade Illinois meeting. We drove down to Watson and stopped at a wonderful little restaurant. I had the most delicious talapia burger I've ever had. The menu said it was Bluegill like talapia. Whatever it was, it was A-OK. Just a side note, the talapia is originally from the Sea of Galilee. It's called Peter's Fish in that area of the world and in the Mediterranean. Supposedly, it was the fish that Christ used when he fed the 5,000.

Do you think Roy Rogers' horse, Trigger, was worth $266,000? That's what a radio station in Omaha paid for Trigger. Guess the Roy Rogers/Dale Evans Museum in Branson, Missouri is closing its doors and Trigger needs a new home.

It sounds like the Political Silly Season is revving up. Oh boy. Gingrich is raising millions. Palin is raising millions and giving away thousands to the candidates of her choice. Huckabee is planting money in selected states. With all these millions of dollars floating around, does it sound like there's a recession? Nope and double Nope! And we keep paying our taxes although the money seems to fall into a huge economic black hole in either the state or at the fed. And people are still making donations to their favorite candidates.

But you know what? People aren't spending real money. Nope. They're spending what we used to call purple money back in the days when credit card charges gave you a real carbon copy (purple ink).

So if the government is spending us into a future of debt and we're spending the year 2013's money, what's going to happen when the Big Banker comes along and calls our debts in?

And just so you know, at YahooNews.com comes an article that tells how many other states are lining up in court to support the Arizona immigration law: Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox has filed a legal brief on behalf of nine states supporting Arizona's immigration law. The Republican gubernatorial candidate said Wednesday that Michigan is the lead state backing Arizona in federal court. Michigan is joined by Alabama, Florida, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Virginia, as well as the Northern Mariana Islands. How about that?

And here's a thought in case it never occurred to you: When you're going on vacation, don't put the information on Facebook. Or what church service you go to. Or if you're going out to dinner on Saturday night. Burglars read Facebook and apparently they're finding it very worthwhile to figure out when you're going to be out of your house for an extended period of time.

July 13, 2010

Welcome readers from Switzerland! Hope you enjoy your stay and come back often. Please tell your friends about the web site too.

When I am seeing couples for counseling, I always ask them, "How do you know you are loved?"

One answer that has stayed with me for years was when one gentleman said, "When I come home and I smell brownies baking, I know my wife still loves me."

Good answer. Simple. Easy to do.

Sometimes I think that when we want to show our spouse that we love him/her, we forget that it's the little things we do that show we love and care for our partner. With that thought in mind, this afternoon I baked Quint a Peach/Yellow Cake. It's such an easy recipe and one that I often take along to church for events. So here goes the recipe.

Peach/Yellow Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Ingredients:
1 can prepared peach pie filling
1 box of yellow cake mix
2 eggs
2/3 cup oil

I mix the eggs and oil together. Makes it easier to blend into the cake mix.

Add this egg/oil mixture into a yellow cake mix, along with the peach pie filling. Mix well by hand (a mixer would probably smoosh up the peaches.)

When everything is all mixed up so that there isn't anymore dry yellow cake mix, pour into a 13x9 pyrex baking dish that has been sprayed with a vegetable oil spray.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-35 minutes.

Let cool and frost. I like to use a whipped vanilla frosting.

How easy is that!?

Even though there's only two of us, I still make the big cake. Then I freeze individual servings and put the pieces into a baggy and put in the refrigerator freezer. It's easy then to grab a couple of pieces of cake for dessert for lunch. All you have to do is microwave each slice on a little dessert place for about 25 seconds.

Quint and I went to an Old Settlers Reunion committee meeting this afternoon. Mark your calendar for September 25, 2010, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Lots of historical and interesting and fun things are planned by Committee Chair Laurie Foreman. She is a hard working lady and is lining up color guards from each municipality and patriotic organization in Effingham County, Illinois.

There will also be historical re-enacters who will be dressed in period costumes. The Mill Thresherman will also be on hand with vintage tractors. And not to miss an operating 1949 firetruck, The Caledonia. Todd Kingery is going to have a demonstration of his willow furniture, and there will be a World War II re-enactment, complete with Australian, British, American and even a few German soldiers.

Laurie says that Jeannie Bonoff will be offering free shuttle rides from senior centers and apartment complexes.

Entertainment will be provided by the Big Spiked Hammer Band from Noon to 3 p.m.

Now, doesn't that sound like a fun-filled afternoon?

Oh, and it's free. It will be on the historic Effingham County Courthouse lawn. You do know that our very own courthouse is listed, with local pride I might add, in the National Registry of Historic Places. It was built in 1872 and is a drop dead gorgeous building sitting right smack in the middle of Effingham County. So come on out and enjoy the afternoon. Or come for the weekend and stay in one of our very many hotels that brush up against I-57/I-70. We also have a couple of restaurants that enjoy fame to far-reaching places in Niemergs Steakhouse and Firefly Grill. People come from as far as Chicago to dine in either of these restaurants.

Oh, for sure, there are plenty of other restaurants. One of my favorites is in the Hilton Garden Inn. We have a Steak and Shake, Cracker Barrel, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Arbys, McDonalds, Burger King, Joe's Pizza (in town), Pizza Hut (on the way to downtown), Subway and other places to fill your tummies. We also have a Thai restaurant, a Taco Bell and a couple of authentic Mexican restaurants. You could say that the folks in Effingham are nibblers. The city is a restaurant owners paradise!

If you want to Mapquest where this is going to be, the Courthouse is at 4th and Jefferson Sts., in Effingham, IL. So come early, stay overnight, and enjoy the Old Settlers Reunion. We're even going to have plenty of Old Settlers. I think Laurie said that there were some175 Old Settlers who signed the Guest Book last year.

And I'll also have you know that this courthouse is made out of handmade bricks.

Changing the subject, we got the following hilarious letter from John and Sherre, our friends in Wichita. It's from a young boy to his mother, writing from camp:

         Dear Mom, Our Scoutmaster told us to write to our parents in case you saw
the flood on TV and got worried. We are okay. Only one of our tents and 2
sleeping bags got washed away. Luckily, none of us got drowned because we
were all up on the mountain looking for Adam when it happened.

          Oh yes, please call Adam's mother and tell her he is okay. He can't write
because of the cast. I got to ride in one of the search and rescue Jeeps.
It was great. We never would have found Adam in the dark if it hadn't been
for the lightning.

          Scoutmaster Ted got mad at Adam for going on a hike alone without telling
anyone. Adam said he did tell him, but it was during the fire so he
probably didn't hear him. Did you know that if you put gas on a fire, the
gas will blow up?

          The wet wood didn't burn, but one of the tents did and also some of our
clothes.

          Matthew is going to look weird until his hair grows back.

          We will be home on Saturday if Scoutmaster Ted gets the bus fixed. It
wasn't his fault about the crash. The brakes worked okay when we left.
Scoutmaster Ted said that with a bus that old, you have to expect
something to break down; that's probably why he can't get insurance.

          We think it's a super bus. He doesn't care if we get it dirty, and if it's
hot, sometimes he lets us ride on the bumpers. It gets pretty hot with 45
people in a bus made for 24. He let us take turns riding in the trailer
until the policeman stopped and talked to us.

          Scoutmaster Ted is a neat guy. Don't worry, he is a good driver. In fact,
he is teaching Horace how to drive on the mountain roads where there
aren't any cops. All we ever see up there are huge logging trucks.

          This morning all of the guys were diving off the rocks and swimming out to
the rapids. Scoutmaster Ted wouldn't let me because I can't swim, and Adam
was afraid he would sink because of his cast (it's concrete because we
didn't have any plaster), so he let us take the canoe out. It was great.
You can still see some of the trees under the water from the flood.

          Scoutmaster Ted isn't crabby like some scoutmasters. He didn't even get
mad about the life jackets. He has to spend a lot of time working on the
bus so we are trying not to cause him any trouble.

          Guess what? We have all passed our first aid merit badges. When Andrew
dived into the lake and cut his arm, we all got to see how a tourniquet
works.

          Steve and I threw up, but Scoutmaster Ted said it was probably just food
poisoning from the left-over chicken. He said they got sick that way with
food they ate in prison. I'm so glad he got out and became our
scoutmaster. He said he sure figured out how to get things done better
while he was doing his time. By the way, what is a pedal-file?

          I have to go now. We are going to town to post our letters and buy some
more beer and ammo. Don't worry about anything. We are fine and tonight
it's my turn to sleep in the Scoutmaster's tent.

December 31, 2009 -- Quote for the Day: An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves. -- Bill Vaughn

and

The object of a new year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul. -- G. KI. Chesterton

and

People are so worried about what they eat between Christmas and the New Year, but they really should be worried about what they eat between the New Year and Christmas, -- unknown

and

Another fresh new year is here ...
Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt, and fear,
To love and laugh and give!

This bright new year is given me
To live each day with zest ...
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best!

I have the opportunity
Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs!"
-- William Arthur Ward

God's Promise to You Today: When a person's steps follow the Lord, God is pleased with his ways. If he stumbles, he will not fall, because the Lord holds his hand. -- Psalm 37:23-24

This from my good friend Kate here in Effingham:

Requests for the New Year

What shall I ask for the coming year
What shall my watchword be
What should thou do for me, dear Lord
What can I do for thee?

Lord, I would ask for a holy year
Spent in thy perfect will
Help me to walk in thy very steps
Help me to please thee still.

Lord, I would ask for a trustful year
Give me thy faith divine
Taking my full inheritance
Making thy fulness mine!

Lord, I would ask for a year of love
O let me love thee best
give me the love that faileth not
Beneath the hardest test.

Lord, I would ask for a year of prayer
Teach me to walk with thee
Breathe in my heart the Spirit's prayer
Pray thou thy prayer in me!

Lord, I would ask for the dying world
stretch forth thy mighty hand
Thy truth proclaim, thy power display
This year in every land.

Lord, I would ask for a year of joy
Thy peace, thy joy divine
Springing undimmed through all the days
Be the days of shade or shine.

Lord, I ask for a year of hope
Looking for thee to come
And hastening on that year of hears
That brings us Christ and Home.

-- author unknown

and from my cousin, Mark:

Winter in Illinois
It's winter in Illinois
And the gentle breezes blow
Seventy miles an hour
At thirty-five below.

Oh, how I love Illinois
When the snow's up to your butt
You take a breath of winter
And your nose gets frozen shut.

Yes, the weather here is wonderful
So I guess I'll hang around
I could never leave Illinois
Cuz I'm frozen to the ground!

And this 2010 contract from my good friend Joyce:

My Wish for You:

May peace break into your home and may thieves come to steal your debts.

May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet for $100 bills.

May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may laughter assault your lips!

May happiness slap you across the face and may your tears be that of joy.

May the problems you had, forget your home address!

In simple words --

May 2010 be the best year of your life!

Thank you, Joyce. My sentiments exactly. And thank you for thinking of me.

December 30, 2009 -- Quote for the Day: Now there are more overweight people in America than average-weight people. So overweight people are now average. Which means, you have met your New Year's resolution. -- Jay Leno

God's Promise to You: Enjoy serving the Lord, and he will give you what you want. Depend on the Lord; trust him, and he will take care of you. -- Psalm 37:4-5

I have always enjoyed a well-turned phrase. Like "Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in." -- William Eardley IV

I guess all the quitters got thrown under the bus. Apparently they didn't deserve to ride in the Persistence car.

And since tomorrow is New Years Eve again, I have to think about my resolutions. Of course I make resolutions. It's a way of realizing and accepting that I'm not perfect and must still work at polishing the dull finish, stitching up the frayed edges of the "Me" that I want the world to see.

If I didn't make resolutions, it would be like accepting myself as mediocre. Not going to happen. Resolutions push me toward excellence. It forces me to start the new year out with the reckoning that I'd better behave and get back to work on myself.

Besides, a few good habits to start the year off will work just fine. I no longer resolve to lose weight though. Having already lost some forty pounds over the last couple of years, I can safely say that I have developed a new eating style. Nothing to chew on after 6:00 or 6:30 p.m. Except maybe a piece of fruit, like a big juicy apple.

My guess is I will continue to lose weight until I stabilize at where I'm supposed to be.

One thing I have to do tomorrow is respond to a few Christmas cards. Some I was waiting to send because I wanted to send photos of the Junior Quilting projects. And others get a nice long newsy letter from me. I've never written one of those Christmas letters to enclose with Christmas cards. Not that I have anything against it. I dearly love catching up on the lives of friends and family with their letters though.

I miss getting a Christmas card from my sister, Cookie. She always mailed her cards on Thanksgiving weekend. It was like she and my mother had a contest to see who could get their cards out the fastest. Since I have lost them both, I miss their early cards each year. I do good to get all my cards out by Epiphany. In fact, one year I was so distracted by so many things that I sent out what I called Epiphany cards.

I reckoned that my good friends would understand. Besides, it's always a good time to hear from a friend.

I have spent most of the afternoon cleaning off the desk in my study. I am very proud of the fact that I did something "terminal" with each piece of paper in an eight inch stack of papers. There's an equal size stack that was sitting next to it that I'll get to tomorrow. Then my desk will truly be a workspace again.

And on New Years Day, I fill in all the birthdays and anniversaries on a big month-at-a-glance calendar. That's a cue I take from my mother. Everyone admired my mom because she never forgot a special day. I fill out the calendar just like she did, but I don't have it in a place where I can readily see it. So this year I'm going to do Part 2 of my mother's plan. On the first day of the month I'm going to get all the cards addressed and write the important date for each card in the upper right hand corner where the stamp will cover it up.

If I can put those two tasks together like my mom did, I'll be doing pretty good.

December 28, 2009 -- Quote for the Day: The Church does not superstitiously observe days, merely as day,s but as memorials of important facts. Christmas might be kept as well upon one day of the year as another; but there should be a stated day for commemorating the birth of our Saviour, because there is danger that what may be done on any day, will be neglected. -- Samuel Johnson

God's Promise for Today: Happy is the person whose sins are forgiven, whose wrongs are pardoned. Happy is the person whom the Lord does not consider guilty and in whom there is nothing false. -- Psalm 32:1-2

The New Year fast approacheth! It will be a quiet one for us, as was Christmas. At our age, we have come to like our quiet. Quiet brings peace and calm.

We've made the observation, through the years, that folks spend way too much time shouting at each other. All those animosities that pull the wounded soul down, deeper and deeper. As if saying "I'm sorry" could erase the blackboard in their hearts.

Truth is, you can't take words back once they've escaped the quiet sanctity of the inside of your mouth. Once these little words go for the high dive off the tip of your tongue, you ought to have a care that the words are palatable, just in case you have to eat them later.

Besides, it doesn't cost a nickel to be nice. And about those little word escapees, let me tell you that I've eaten my fair share and little lettered storm troopers have gotten me into plenty of trouble over the years. But I keep trying. Always keep trying. Hopefully, by the time I get to the Pearly Gates, I'll be more even-tempered and a lot less contentious.

But I don't focus on mistakes I've made. And I've learned that I have to forgive myself as much as I forgive other folks.

Sometimes I think that the reason people get stuck on this forgiveness business is that they believe forgiving others means letting them "get away with" whatever it is that was done. That isn't the way forgiveness works. It's God who keeps score on what people think they are getting away with, not the wronged person.

Doing wrong things is God's business. The sooner we let the wrongdoers out of our lives, the more peace we feel. So, in the end, forgiving others benefits you first. When you forgive, you'll quit tripping over the disappointments in your lives, finally.

I hope that your New Year will be a clean slate. But if you are burdened by the disappointment that others have brought to your lives, I pray that you will lay that burden down. If you are unable to do it, then ask God for help. When you do that, all the resources of heaven and earth are at your disposal. All you need to do is ask for God's help.

Hanging onto the ill will of discontent could mean that you have made an idol of the disappointments others have brought to you. Take great care not to elevate your unforgiving heart to that degree. It will separate your from God, not bring your closer.

And on a lighter moment, here's something to think about. Three things, actually: Cows, The Constitution, The Ten Commandments

1. COWS -- Is it just me, or does anyone else find it amazing that our government can track down a cow born in Canada almost three years ago, right to the stall where she sleeps in the state of Washington and they tracked her calves to their stalls. But they are unable to locate 11 million illegal aliens wandering around in our country. Maybe we should give them all a cow.

2. THE CONSTITUTION -- Remember when they were talking about drafting that Constitution in Iraq? Why didn't we just give them ours? It was written by a lot of really smart guys over 200 years ago, and we're not using it anymore.

3. TEN COMMANDMENTS -- The real reason we don't have the Ten Commandments in a courthouse is that you cannot post "Thou Shalt Not Steal," "Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery," and "Thou Shalt Not Lie" in a building full of lawyers, judges and politicians. It creates a hostile work environment.

December 22, 2009 -- Quote for the Day: Fail not to call to mind, in the course of the twenty-fifth of this month, that the Divinest Heart that ever walked the earth was born on that day; and then smile and enjoy yourselves for the rest of it for mirth is also of Heaven's making . -- Leigh Hunt

Great Little One! whose all-embracing birth
Lifts Earth to Heaven, stoops Heaven to Earth. -- Richard Crashaw

God's Promise for You Today: Wait and trust the Lord. Don't be upset when others get rich or when someone else's plans succeed. Don't get angry. Don't be upset; it only leads to trouble. It is better to have little and be right than to have much and be wrong. -- Psalm 17:7-8, 16

This story, My Adventure With Grandma, is shared with us from my friend Antoinette:

I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma. I was just a kid. I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb:   "There is no Santa Claus," she jeered.   "Even dummies know that!"

My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me.   I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her world-famous cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so. It had to be true.

Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me. "No Santa Claus!" she snorted. "Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumor has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad. Now, put on your coat, and let's go."

"Go?   Go where, Grandma?" I asked. I hadn't even finished my second world-famous, cinnamon bun. "Where" turned out to be Kerby's General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a bundle in those days. "Take this money," she said,
"and buy something for someone who needs it.

I'll wait for you in the car. " Then she turned and walked out of Kerby's.

I was only eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping. For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for.

I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbors, the kids at school, the people who went to my church. I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker.  He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock's grade-two class. Bobby Decker didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never went out for recess during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all we kids knew that Bobby Decker didn't have a cough, and he didn't have a coat. I fingered the ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat!

I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it.   It looked real warm, and he would like that. "Is this a Christmas present for someone?" the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down.

"Yes," I replied shyly. "It's .... for Bobby." The nice lady smiled at me. I didn't get any change, but she put the coat in a bag and wished me a Merry Christmas.

That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat in Christmas paper and ribbons (a little tag fell out of the coat, and Grandma tucked it in her Bible) and wrote on the package, "To Bobby, From Santa Claus" -- Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy. Then she drove me over to Bobby Decker's house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially one of Santa's helpers.

Grandma parked down the street from Bobby's house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk. Then Grandma gave me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered, "get going."

I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded his doorbell and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma. Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby.

Fifty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my Grandma, in Bobby Decker's bushes. That night, I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were: ridiculous. Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team.

I still have the Bible, with the tag tucked inside: $19.95.
==============================
He who has no Christmas in his heart will never find Christmas under a tree.

-- Thank you, Antoinette. I was so fortunate to have a Grandma like the little boy in this story. And how fortunate you were to take your dinner every evening with my Grandma. Truly, she blessed us both and we are richer because she was in our lives.

December 20, 2009 -- Quote for the Day: Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love. -- Hamilton Wright Mabie

God's Promise to You: Happy are those who don't listen to the wicked, who don't go where sinners go, who don't do what evil people do. They love the Lord's teachings, and they think about those teachings day and night. They are strong, like a tree planted by a river. The tree produces fruit in season, and its leaves don't die. Everything they do will succeed. -- Psalm 1:1-3

We had a prayer and consecration service at church today to bless all the quilts that the Junior Quilters made for the veterans who are in the Skilled Care Unit in a nearby nursing home, and also baby quilts for the layettes at a pregnancy crisis center.

All of the Junior Quilters came forward to be recognized, as did all the wonderful ladies who also instruct the youngsters with me.

Lots of accolades as the folks looked at the quilts that the girls made with meticulous care.

Each one of us is looking for affirmation in our lives. We long to be in a place where we feel that we are valued by those around us. Today, the Junior Quilts enjoyed those full moments and they deserved every minute of it.

I don't know what their friends are doing on Saturdays, but I know that the Junior Quilts are at church designing, sewing and constructing quilts for individuals who are out there needing to be wrapped in something warm and soft that someone else has made with so much love and care.

And we are blessed to have a healthy World War II veteran in our congregation. He was so surprised to be called forward to receive a quilt.

Each quilt had an insignia for the branch of service that the gentlemen served in as its centerpiece. There were ten Army guys, 1 Marine, three Air Force and three Navy vets from World War II. We put the quilts together in about a month. The other blocks in the quilts, which is comprised of 9-inch squares, are kind of tailored to the branch of service. I was fortunate to find material at our local quilt shot that would apply to the individual service branches.

I truly hope that each veteran will stay warm underneath the quilts that we made.

We are also blessed to have gifts of material for the baby quilts that the crisis center will use in the layettes that they give to women and teens who are experiencing unwanted pregnancies but who have opted out of abortions.

A nice lady called in response to an article in our local newspaper about the quilters and said she makes scrubs for medical people at the Shriners Hospital and did I want the leftover material pieces. Well, yes we do! She brought two big tubs of quarter yard and half yard pieces. Lots of pretty material pieces and the girls got busy right away designing their nine-patches with the variety of fabrics.

These Junior Quilters are in Scouts or 4-H, are cheerleaders at their schools, on the Honor Rolls at their schools. And now quilting. They do just about everything except maybe keep their rooms as clean as their parents would like.

Annual Dementia Quit (got this from my cousin Mark and am sharing with you in case you're the one who's in charge of providing a few games to loosen up the crowd at your Christmas festivities -- thanks, Mark)

Your Yearly Dementia Test

It's that time of year to take our annual senior citizen test. Exercise of the brain
is as important as exercise of the muscles. As we grow older, blah, blah, blah.....
JUST TAKE THE TEST!!

OK, relax, clear your mind and begin.

1. What do you put in a toaster?

Answer: 'bread.' If you said 'toast,' give up now and do something else.
Try not to hurt yourself. If you said 'bread', go to Question 2.

2. Say 'silk' five times. Now spell 'silk.' What do cows drink?

Answer: Cows drink water. If you said 'milk,' don't attempt the next question. Your
brain is over-stressed and may even overheat. Content yourself with reading a more
appropriate literature such as Auto World. However, if you said 'water', proceed to
question 3.

3. If a red house is made from red bricks and a blue house is made from blue bricks
and a pink house is made from pink bricks and a black house is made from black
bricks, what is a greenhouse made from?

Answer: Greenhouses are made from glass. If you said 'green bricks,' why the hell
are you still reading these???
If you said 'glass,' go on to Question 4.

4. It's twenty years ago, and a plane is flying at 20,000 feet over Germany (If you
will recall, Germany at the time was politically divided into West Germany and East
Germany ..) Anyway, during the flight, two engines fail. The pilot, realizing that
the last remaining engine is also failing, decides on a crash-landing procedure.
Unfortunately the engine fails before he can do so and the plane fatally crashes
smack in the middle of 'no man's land' between East Germany and West Germany . Where
would you bury the survivors East Germany , West Germany , or no man's land'?

Answer: You don't bury survivors.
If you said ANYTHING else, you're a dunce and you must stop. If you said, 'You don't
bury survivors', proceed to the next question.

5. Without using a calculator - You are driving a bus from London to Milford Haven
in Wales . In London , 17 people get on the bus. In Reading , six people get off the
bus and nine people get on. In Swindon , two people get off and four get on. In
Cardiff , 11 people get off and 16 people get on. InSwansea , three people get off
and five people get on. In Carmathen, six people get off and three get on. You then
arrive at Milford Haven.
What was the name of the bus driver?

Answer: Oh, for crying out loud!
Don't you remember your own name? It was YOU!!

December 17, 2009 -- Quotes for the Day: Christmas is a time when you get homesick - even when you're home. -- Carol Nelson

There has been only one Christmas -- the rest are anniversaries. -- W. J. Cameron

Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall. -- Larry Wilde, The Merry Book of Christmas

Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart. -- Washington Irving

Isn't it funny that at Christmas something in your gets so lonely for -- I don't know what exactly, but it's something that you don't mind so much not having at other times. -- Kate L. Bosher

Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen. -- Author unknown, attributed to a 7-year-old named Bobby

Only in souls the Christ is brought to birth, and there He lives and dies. -- Alfred Noyes

God's Promise for Today: We have around us many people whose lives tell us what faith means. So let us run the race that is before us and never give up. We should remove from our lives anything that would get in the way and the sin that so easily holds us back. -- Hebrews 12:1

I have two stories to share with you. And they both bring a reminder that people watch us without our ever knowing that they are studying what we do.

The first story I share with permission from the individual who told me about his life. He absolutely wanted me to share his story with anybody and everybody who'd listen. So here it is.

He grew up with a father who was a habitual felon. His mother died before he was ten years old. He drifted in and out of foster homes during those times when his father was in the slammer, his felonies becoming increasingly more serious. He would have been a lifer if the "three strikes and you're out" had been in effect at that time.

I met this young man when he was in his late twenties. He had started going to church.

Want to know why? He wanted to be successful and when he looked around, he noticed that there were more church-goers who were successful, than not. At the church he joined he met a pastor who was a friend of mine and who made frequent referrals to me for counseling.

I worked with this young man for almost a year as he rid himself of the shackles of gambling. Then he and his wife came for couple counseling because as he healed, their relationship started to deteriorate. This is not unusual when one person has been holding another up for a long time, then that person gets healthy while the holding-up person wanders around in a seemingly lost ego state feeling choreless. So we got that all sorted out. Just in time to welcome the oldest boy into adolescence. Mischief maker he was but his parents would have none of it. All ended well for this young family. I think of them especially at this time of year because the young man brought such a childlike joy to the Christmas season. As adults, children who grew up in homes that were wanting frequently bring the joy of fulfilled anticipation to their own children.

In the end, it wasn't success so much that he gained; although he got his share of that too. But the joy and contentment that he gleaned from his new relationship with Jesus Christ helped him share that peace and comfort with his family.

The next story is about a person at the church Quint and I were members of before we moved to Effingham. Someone came up to us in the narthex as we were leaving the church one Sunday morning. This nice lady said she loved to watch Quint and me because we made it so obvious that we cared for each other and about each other.

Boy, I thought, maybe we ought to be sitting about thirty pews back if people are watching us. But we didn't move. We're not one of those Lutherans who like to sit in the back.

So I'll close for today with this quote from our former Pastor Karl Landgrebe: Be careful of the life you lead; you may be the only Bible someone will read.

But then, I got this beautiful story from my buddy Alice, who happens to be married to my cousin Al:

Each December, I vowed to make Christmas a calm and peaceful experience.
I had cut back on nonessential obligations - extensive card writing, endless
baking, decorating, and even overspending..

Yet still, I found myself exhausted, unable to appreciate the precious family
moments, and of course, the true meaning of Christmas.

My son, Nicholas, was in kindergarten that year. It was an exciting season for a
six year old.

For weeks, he'd been memorizing songs for his school's Winter Pageant.

I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd be working the night of the production,
unwilling to miss his shining moment, I spoke with his
Teacher, she assured me there'd be a dress rehearsal the morning of the
presentation.
All parents unable to attend that evening were welcome to come then.
Fortunately, Nicholas seemed happy with the compromise.

So, the morning of the dress rehearsal, I filed in ten minutes early, found a spot
on the cafeteria floor and sat down. Around the room I saw several other parents
quietly scampering to their seats.
As I waited, the students were led into the room. Each class, accompanied by their
teacher, sat cross-legged on the floor. Then, each group, one by one, rose to
perform their song.

Because the public school system had long stopped referring to the holiday as
"Christmas," I didn't expect anything other than fun, commercial entertainment songs
of reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflakes and good cheer.
So, when my son's class rose to sing, "Christmas Love," I was slightly taken aback
by its bold title.

Nicholas was aglow, as were all of his classmates, adorned in fuzzy mittens, red
sweaters, and bright snowcaps upon their heads.

Those in the front row- center stage - held up large letters, one by one, to spell
out the title of the song.
As the class would sing "C is for Christmas," a child would hold up the letter C.
Then, "H is for Happy," and on and on, until each child holding up his portion had
presented the complete message,
"Christmas Love."
The performance was going smoothly, until suddenly, we noticed her; a small, quiet,
girl in the front row holding the letter "M" upside down - totally unaware her
letter "M" appeared as a "W".

The audience of 1st through 6th graders snickered at this little one's mistake. But
she had no idea they were laughing at her, as she stood tall, proudly holding her
"W".
Although many teachers tried to shush the children, the laughter continued until
the last letter was raised, and we all saw it together.
A hush came over the audience and eyes began to widen.
In that instant, we understood the reason we were there, why we celebrated the
holiday in the first place, why even in the chaos, there was a purpose for our
festivities.

For when the last letter was held high, the message read loud and clear:
"C H R I S T W A S L O V E"
And, I believe, He still is.
Amazed in His presence....humbled by His love.

Remember, Christ IS the Reason for the Season!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

December 15, 2009 -- Quote for the Day: To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did. When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better. Concentrate on this sentence -- The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you. Something good will happen to you today; something that you have been waiting to hear. Watch for people whom God has put in your path. -- Anonymous

God's promise for today: Get along with each other, and forgive each other. If someone does wrong to you, forgive that person because the Lord forgave you. -- Colossians 3:13

FORGIVENESS: WITHHOLDING FORGIVENESS IS AN ANGRY CHOICE

When you go into a store and see something you like, do you think you can just take it off the shelf and walk out of the store without paying for it?

I think not!

That is, not unless you want to have security people chase you down the street. Then they'd tackle you and knock you down. Then they'd probably punch you in the face and pull your hair out in big clumps until you beg for mercy and give them their stuff back.

Well, maybe they'd just snag you, handcuff you, and drag your humiliated self back to the store while you wait for the constabulary to come get you in a big paddy wagon and cart you off to jail.

That theme has repeated itself ever since Eve headed for the nearest supermarket just blocks from the bolted shut gateway to the Garden of Eden. If you want the merchandise, fork over the cashola. That's what Eve says, and she learned about sin the hard way.

The choice is clearly yours. Pay and you get to keep the stuff. Don't pay and you're going to have a shopkeeper very angry with you. You choose.

God chose to forgive us, you know. You'd think he'd be pretty tired of all our sinning, day in and day ot. But because he loves us, in spite of our sins, he also expects us to forgive those who sin against us.

God says in Mark 11:25: When you are praying, if you are angry with someone, forgive him so that your Father in heaven will also forgive your sins.

How much plainer can God be?

But back to the store concept. If you've ever been to those fancy schmancy high end stores that sell expensive stuff like diamonds and leather coats, you'll notice magnetic strips bolted onto the stuff something. This magnetron is reserved for stuff that costs a lot of loot.

Try to get out the door without a cashier taking the magnetron strip off when you pay for the stuff. Otherwise, the magnetron will trip an alarm at the exit door and everyone will stop and stare at you and point accusatory fingers at you like you're some kind of stupid person who thought you could get away with the good stuff.

Well, if you refuse to forgive people who have sinned against you, God knows. He doesn't need a magnetic strip attached to you because he can read what's in your heart. But I'll just bet that every time you choose not to forgive someone, alarms go off in heaven.

And I'll just betcha that God is sitting there wishing you'd wise up to the eternal truth that forgiveness is a choice you make.

God orders you to forgive. Even if you don't feel like it. Maybe especially if you don't feel like it.

And yes, God will outlast your stubbornness if you refuse. You only have a brief lifetime that might last a hundred years or so to make up your mind to obey God. But God's in charge forever. So you'll have to answer the first question he'll probably ask you at the Pearly Gates. The conversation might go something like this: Let's see, I thought I was pretty firm on this order for to forgive others. Why didn't you?

I hope you don't think you'll get away with something flippant like you didn't think he really meant it. I wouldn't recommend talking to God that way.

The Bible is God's Word. He means what he says. Each and every word.

December 11, 2009 -- Quote for the Day: A liberal is a man too broadminded to take his own side in a quarrel. -- Robert Frost

and

Where all think alike, no one thinks very much. -- Walter Lippmann

SHAME -- Part 5: Is There a Good Side to Shame?

We've talked about the down side of shame in this little miniseries. But does shame have any redemptive qualities? Actually, it does. And in this final segment, that's just what we're going to explore.

When we do something that's bad enough to make us ashamed of what we did, it triggers guilt. This guilt then leads to feelings of remorse. At least we hope to find remorse in the aftermath of wrongdoing.

However, people who commit heinous crimes frequently lack remorse, depending on the degree of pathology that's involved. We call such people amoral. Or psychopathic. Or pathological. Not only do they lack remorse, but they usually don't think that what they did was wrong. That would be mainly because they believe their victim got what they deserved.

But in the absence of pathology, we know that people know that what they've done is wrong at precisely the point of shame recognition. No shame recognition, no sense of having done anything wrong.

Many a parent recognizes this signal of misbehavior with their errant youngsters.

Our oldest swore up and down that he had LIAR written on his forehead because we'd recognize the telltale sign of guilty head bowed low. "Don't lie to me," we'd say. It got to the point that he'd cover his forehead whenever he'd tell a fib. Good clue, wouldn't you think?

So many times I've heard from people that they've done something so horrible that even God would never forgiven them.

To which I would tell the story of the Apostle Paul.

Now if you're familiar with people who lived in the Bible, you'll remember that God sometimes changed the names of people right after they had life changing events.

It was that way with Paul too. He used to go by the name of Saul in the old days. That was back when he rode around the countryside killing off as many Christians as he could find. In face, he usually had an execution order in his pocket just in case he ran across a Christian walking down the road. Just fill the Christian's name in the blanks, that's what Saul would do.

Then one day Jesus appeared to Saul. You could say it was a blinding light. Jesus asked Saul why he was persecuting him.

It wasn't until Saul was taken into town where he rested in his blindness for three days that God changed his name to Paul.

New name. New man. New job. Now Paul was to get busy working to build God's kingdom.

And forgiveness? It was complete. Paul believed that he was forgiven. He just knew it. Fact of the matter is, the New Testament would be a mighty thin volume if we didn't have the letters that Paul wrote to the budding Christian congregations that he started up on his missionary journeys.

My point is, if remorse and shame were going to land on anyone's shoulders, don't you think Paul would qualify? But that wasn't the case.

So next time you have the idea that God could never ever forgive you, think about Paul and how God's forgiveness changed his life.

December 10, 2009 -- Quote for the Day: Pick battles big enough to matter; small enough to win. -- Jonathan Kozol

and

Whenever two good people argue over principles, they are both right. -- Marie Ebner Von Eschenbach

Shame -- Part 4: Shame As A Motivator

Shame is a really big motivator. Ask any kid who has been reluctant to go on a ride at a park only to have someone say, "Whatsa matter? Chicken?"

Kind of like me when I refuse to go on one of those zombie roller coaster rides. Just teasing, you think? Maybe. Maybe not. If you're the person who's resisting, it doesn't sound much like teasing, does it? More like humiliation.

But a ride at an amusement park is a relatively simple matter. What bothers me are the more serious activities where shame is used to make someone do something they really don't want to do.

Sex, for instance. Or drugs. Or booze. This is especially true of teenagers who are often particularly vulnerable to the demands place on them by others. Resistance is met with counters that increase in volume and frequency. And then comes the argument that moves them over the threshold of capitulation. Shame can be used for just such a thing.

In the back seat of a car, a guy will whisper all the sweet nothings. So far so good. His sweetie is still able to resist going all the way. That is, until he says once too often, "If you want me to treat you like a woman, why don't you act like one?"

There he goes. Tampering with her identity and self-esteem, as if sexual activity is all there is to being a woman.

Or how about an employee who shames another employee into stealing something from work? Ever had anyone try to shame you into something like that? I remember when the company I used to work for first started providing laptops for executives above a certain pay grade. They kept disappearing until a memo went around telling the employees to lock up their laptops; otherwise, replacements would be at the employees' expense. End of problem.

Maybe you didn't get a raise last year because of the economy. Someone might say something like, "It's stupid to keep giving and giving and not getting anything back."

Did you hear anything after "It's stupid...?"

It doesn't take much of a leap to bridge the thought that if what you're doing is stupid, then you must be stupid to do such a thing.

There it is again, an attempt to get you to do something you don't want to dy by wearing your self-esteem down. Shaming you.

Abusive spouses keep their victims shamed into all kinds of attempts at pleasing. How many times I heard battered women make excuses for the abuse they endured because they didn't keep a clean enough house, or cook delicious enough meals, or look pretty enough, or made the kids behave perfectly. And the list went on and on and on. No matter what they did or didn't do, it was never enough. Never good enough. The victim was continuously demeaned until they got the most shameful act of all - another round of physical violence.

When shame is used to motivate behavior imposed by others, it's toxic and destructive. It's a highly effective way to manipulate behavior in dysfunctional relationships.

Self-imposed shame can also motivate. It's been said that each person who has managed to stop abusing alcohol or drugs, or both, has a shameful image of himself or herself that the individual never wants to get to that state again. Ever. This is one instance where shame can be a powerful motivator for good.

December 8, 2009 -- Quote for the Day: There are thousands of causes for stress, and one antidote to stress is self-expression. That's what happens to me every day. My thoughts get off my chest, down my sleeves and onto my pad. -- Garson Kanin (American Writer, Actor, and Film Director (1912-1999)

Can you tell that one of my favorite Christmas carols is Little Drummer Boy? If you enjoy it as much as Quint and I, you have a mini-marathon in the links above.

The story of the little drummer boy appeal to me for a lot of reasons. First of all, the little guy didn't have a single cotton pickin' thing he could bring to the Christ Child, but he thought he ought to do something. So he decided that he'd play his drums. He may not have been a Carnegie Hall musician, even for Bethlehem days, but he was not ashamed of his blooming abilities. So he figured he'd play the very best he could and hoped it would be enough for the little baby. No shame there.

I got this message from my friend Kate here in Effingham and am sharing it with you. I believe I've seen it before, and perhaps you have too; but its message still deserves another read. And thank you, Kate, for sending it along.

Letter from Jesus about Christmas:

It has come to my attention that many of you are upset that folks are taking My name out of the season. Maybe you've forgotten that I wasn't actually born during this time of the year and that it was some of your predecessors who decided to celebrate My birthday on what was actually a time of pagan festival. Although I do appreciate being remembered anytime.

How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own. I don't care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate My birth, just get along and love one another.

Now, having said th, let Me go on. If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn't allow a scene depicting My birth, then just rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen and put in a small nativity scene on your own front lawn. If all My followers did that there wouldn't be any need for such a scene on the town square because there would be many of them all around town.

Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday tree instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees. You can remember me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you wish. I actually spoke of that one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks were. If you have forgotten that one, look up John 15:1-8.

If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My brith, here is my wish list. Choose something from it:

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.

2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.

3. Instead of writing the President complaining about the wording on the cards his staff sent out this year, why don't you write and tell him that you'll be praying for him and his family this year. Then follow up. It will be nice hearing from you again.

4. Instead of giving your kids lots of gifts you can't afford and they don't need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.

5. Pick someone who has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.

6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don't know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile. It could make the difference.

7. Instead of nitpicking about what the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren't allowed to wish you a "Merry Christmas," that doesn't keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the store didn't make so much money on that day they'd close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families.

8. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary -- especially one who takes My love and Good News to those who have never heard My name.

9. Here's a good one. There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no "Christmas" tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don't know who they are, buy some food and a few gifts and give them to the Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, or some other charity which believes in Me and they will make the delivery for you.

10. Finally, if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't do in My presence. Let people know by your actions that you are one of Mine.

Don't forget: I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love Me and do what I have told you to do. I'll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work; time is short. I'll hel you, but the ball is in your court. And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love and remember:

I love you!

Jesus

December 7, 2009 -- Quote for the Day: You see things and you say, "Why?" But I dream things that never were and I say, "Why not?" -- George Bernard Shaw

and

Never look down on anybody unless you're helping him up. -- Jesse Jackson

SHAME -- Part 3 -- Shame Evaporates When It Can't Hide

A number of years ago I attended one of those all-day workshops for counselors who wanted to beef up what they know about drugs. Believe me, when someone walks through the door to the office wanting help with a substance abuse problem, you'd better be up to date and you'd better know what you're talking about.

The one person who impressed me the most stood up, introduced the agency he represented, then told hi story of how he got himself into the mess of a drug world. And how he managed to crawl out, with the help of a lot of people around him who cared very much that he make it.

It was a medium brief story. The audience got very quiet. We wanted to hear every syllable of what he had to say.

Too many times these kinds of speeches imbed blaming onto others. Then they become just another ho-hum boring speaker. But not him. He took full responsibility for his blunders. Then, just before he sat down, he said, "And now that I've shared my story with you, you can't hurt me with it."

There it was. He brought it all out into the open. It was just sitting in the daylight. Then, poof, the details started to fade away. What courage it took for him to share so many intimate details with a bunch of us strangers.

"Now you can't hurt me with my story," he said. How incredibly simple. And how utterly goose-pimply brave of him to do that!

But who among us has had a perfect life? Not one.

And who among us hs the right to feel better than anyone else because of the educational level we've gotten to? Not one.

And who among us deserves to feel just a tad better off than those who live in a lower rung of the economic ladder? Not one.

And if the truth be known, who among us has some shameful memory for something we'd just as soon no one knows about us? Some little secret you're keeping from the rest of your social group? No one.

Whether we decide to stand up and share the details of our personal "once upon a time" stories, or just quietly take out these memories and share with a trusted friend, the shame goes away when you bring it out into the light.

Otherwise, the shame stays in that little thought cave somewhere deep inside you where you store all the memories of your "ought nots" or "wish I hadn't done thats."

Shame doesn't deserve the allegiance you give to it. Shame doesn't deserve to dine at your mental table.

December 4, 2009 -- Quote for the Day: It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future. -- Yogi Berra

and a few more of my favorite Yogi Berras:

You can observe a lot by just watching.

The future ain't what it used to be.

When you get to a fork in the road, take it.

Shame: Part 2 -- You're More In Charge Than You Think You Are

Let me ask you a simple question. How helpless do you feel with these negative, shame-filled messages bombarding your every living thought. Well, maybe "every" is an exaggeration. But it may seem so, most of the time.

And you think you don't have the power or the right to change your own messages about what you think about yourself?

Can you answer why you might believe that falsehood?

This bondage to the shame-based beliefs anchors itself to your very core.

But realize this. Your brain -- that small little organ sitting on the top of your neck -- is little more than three pounds of electrically charged fat cells.

Your brain exists to serve you. It is at your mercy, not the other way around.

And this may come as another surprise. Your brain will believe (and obey) what you tell it.

Try to change messages. Start with a small, simple message. Just to prove it to yourself. Something like, "I can do this."

Restructuring your mental processes is just as simple, and complex, as that.

But here's the real challenge. If you ever have a prayer of ridding yourself of these pesky shame thoughts, you are going to have to replace them with some other message.

Right now those messages you don't like are sitting there taking up space. And when those thoughts get out of your head, the empty space needs to get some other thought in there.

That's the way nature works. Does not like empty spaces.

You see, positive happy thoughts are not made up of vitamins, cholesterol, calcium, or anything else that's chemical. These positive thoughts are the gift that you give your brain. And, in turn, your brain blesses you with all the rewards that every other optimist enjoys.

-- to be continued

December 3, 2009 -- Quote for the Day: If you do a good job for others, you heal yourself at the same time, because of dose of joy is a spiritual cure. It transcends all barriers. -- Ed Sullivan

SHAME: Part 1 -- Feeling Yukky From the Inside Out

I know. I know. "Yukky" isn't a psychobabble word. But it so well describes how shame makes us feel, doesn't it?

Shame is a failure-based belief. And because we do not expect to succeed, our expectations are that other people will hurt us. Worse yet, if we are shame-filled, we even feel like we deserve to be hurt by others.

We have Eric Erikson to thank for developing the stages of emotional development. Erikson said that along about the period of 3-6 years of a child's life, the youngster works hard at developing a sense of initiative -- working hard to adopt a "can do" attitude. As children are encouraged to take on more challenging tasks, they rally in their successes. However, if youngsters are criticized and teased to the point of humiliation, they begin to get the idea that they can't do anything right. It doesn't take much ridicule coming from the very people who are supposed to be their encouragers to fill a child up with self-contempt.

So, you may ask, "Who would do that to a child?" to which I reply, "You'd be surprised. Maybe not on purpose, but parents, aunts, uncles, big sisters or brothers, even grandparents can criticize a child to a point of fracturing a developing ego.

Now, don't get me wrong. Anything that gets captured in the young person's mind is not necessarily written in indelible ink.

So if you think I'm going to make blame statements about parents and the possible damage they unwittingly do to make a child feel shame, you'd be wrong.

Truth is, it's hard to find solutions in the middle of the fog called shame.

So for today, I'll close with the truism that you can't control the wind, but you can adjust your sails.

If you are feeling shame, there comes a time to lay that burden down. The shame you may feel comes from distorted messages that were given to you by someone who shaped your view of yourself.

That message, or those messages, may be distorted but they aren't fatal flaws. But you'll no doubt continue to haul them around and hang onto them until create replacement thoughts.

Eventually, as we grow up and mature, we replace those shame-based statements that keep rising to the surface with the fruits of our own mental labors.

When we hear that small voice from deep within the storehouse of our memory taunt us with, "You can't do anything right," we need to consciously counter with "I do a lot of things right."

There, another adjustment to your sails on the stormy high seas of life.

-- to be continued

December 2, 2009 -- Quote for the Day: Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret. -- Ambrose Bierce

and

Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame. -- Benjamin Franklin

SHAME -- WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THAT ALL ABOUT?

Being ashamed of something is a lot stronger than making up a list of your most embarrassing moments.

Shame eats away at you and forms a toxic part of yourself that can be absolutely paralyzing.

That's what I'm composing now. It will be a new four or five part series. Once shame gets defined, then we can begin to talk about overcoming it.

But here's a clue: those people who have had distorted images of themselves reflected back as they grow up are living under an umbrella of shame.

It could be carrying the shame of a teenage abortion around for twenty years. It could be trying to create an alibi that would help undo the shame of drug abuse, but still feeling dirty from the shame.

So if you have any questions or comments about shame, please send them to me at jane@janereinheimer.com And no, I would never quote you or identify you in any way but your situation may be helpful to hundreds, even thousands of other readers in other countries. Be assured I will protect your anonymity.

The series starts tomorrow. Tell your friends.

On another subject, I have to tell you I am not thrilled with the prospect of winter coming again. It is not my favorite time of year. But then, I probably wouldn't welcome spring so much if it weren't for the fact that all my little plant friends are stunned by frost and sort of hibernating through the winter. Poor little things, bet their little feet are shivering down there under the dirt.

Laura, my friend in the Atlanta area, says they have a winter variety of petunia that blooms. I'm trying real hard to not be pressed into guilt of the 10th Commandment on that one.

In the meantime, Quint and I are snuggled in for the evening and will be watching another installment of Foyle's War. It's another one of those delicious BBC series. Foyle is a police superintendent and the series is set in WWII. He's an extraordinary crime detective. And he always solves the mysteries. He is driven about by a woman drive, Samantha, who was appropriated from the embassy staff. She's very insightful.

And I'll have you know I was the only person at the Ladies Aid Christmas party last night who had the correct answer to when Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol. A purely lucky guess I grabbed out of thin air of 1843 was the winner. Annette, one of the members, was in charge of the entertainment/games section and she volunteered to do a Christmas trivia bunch of questions. I only got 3 out of 7 on each of three rounds.

And then we found out who our Secret Pal was and exchanged gifts. This year, I had Arlene's name. And lo and behold, she also had mine. That does not happen very often. I got a very nice little cookbook some delicious looking Christmas recipes, and a beautiful ornament for the tree. I gave her a perpetual calendar that has a quilting pattern for each day of the year. Having a quilter for a secret pal sure makes things easier.

The evening had started off with a delicious Lutheran chow buffet. Yum yum yum!