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We welcome February readers from Australia, Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Great
Britain, Indonesia, Italy, Latvia, Malta, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, South Africa, Taiwan, Ukraine, and the United States
This video is the most beautiful depiction of what happens
in the womb when the baby is developing and growing. The video was developed by Yale professor Alexander Tsiaras. Just beautiful.
Warning, though. Some of the images are graphic. But nothing gross. It is just a reminder to me that life is a beautiful baby
and life is absolutely precious. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKyljukBE70&feature=player_embedded#!
February 9, 2012
I almost
ran over a hawk on the way home from work this afternoon. How could I ever explain how I could kill a bird on the wing! But
sure enough, the silly thing flew right in front of me about a foot higher than the hood of the car. He got real close to
the edge of the air.
That's Quint's reason for airline crashes. Planes crash when they go past the edge of the
air.
Changing the subject, I'm making cookies for little kiddos at church. We have an after school program and
offer the kiddos a snack when they get off the bus and come into the play area with tummies that have caved in from hunger.
They get a half sandwich, a cookie and a piece of fruit. Then they go charging around the gym and burn it all off and go home
starved for supped.
I'm making cookies from a cake mix. To do that, you out two eggs into 1/3 cup oil and mix well.
Then, mix that into the dry cake mix. Makes a bit more than 2 dozen little cookies. The cookies are baked at 375 degrees for
6 - 8 minutes.
I got a confetti cake mix since little darlings adore confetti and sprinkles.
And
I got this beautiful story from my cousin Mark:
Tell me this one doesn't put life in perspective.
In Phoenix , Arizona , a 26-year-old mother stared down at her 6 year old son, who was
Dying of
terminal leukemia.
Although her heart was filled with sadness, she also had a strong feeling of determination.
Like any parent, she wanted her son to grow up and fulfill all
his dreams. Now that was no longer possible.
The leukemia would see to that. But she still wanted her son's
dream to come true.
She took
her son's hand and asked,
'Billy, did you ever think about what you wanted to be once you grew up
?
Did you ever dream and wish what you would do with your life ?'
Mommy, 'I always wanted to be a
fireman when I grew up.'
Mom smiled back and said, 'Let's see if we can make your wish
come true.'
Later that day she went to her local fire Department in Phoenix , Arizona, where she met Fireman
Bob,
who had a heart as big as Phoenix .
She explained her son's final wish and asked if it might be possible
to give her
6 year-old son a ride around the block on a fire engine.
Fireman Bob said, 'Look, we can do better
than that. If you'll
have your son ready at seven o'clock Wednesday morning, we'll
make him an honorary
Fireman for the whole day. He can come down to the fire
station, eat with us, go out on all the fire calls,
the whole nine yards !
And if you'll give us his sizes, we'll get a real fire uniform
for him, with a real
fire hat - not a toy one with the emblem of the
Phoenix Fire Department on it, a yellow slicker
like we wear
and rubber boots.'
'They're all manufactured right here in Phoenix , so we can get them fast.'
Three days later Fireman Bob picked up Billy, dressed him in his uniform and escorted him from his hospital
bed to the waiting hook and ladder truck.
Billy got to sit on the back of the truck and help steer it
back
to the fire station. He was in heaven.
There were three fire calls in Phoenix that day and Billy
got to
go out on all three calls.
He rode in the different fire engines, the Paramedic's' van, and
even
the fire chief's car. He was also videotaped for the local news program.
Having his dream come true, with
all the love and attention that was lavished upon him, so
deeply touched Billy, that he lived three months longer than
any doctor thought possible.
One night all of his vital signs began to drop dramatically and
the head nurse,
who believed in the hospice concept - that no one should die alone, began to
call the family members to the hospital.
Then she remembered the day Billy had spent as a Fireman, so
she called the Fire Chief and asked if it would
be possible to send a fireman in uniform to
the hospital to be with Billy as he made his transition..
The
chief replied, 'We can do better than that. We'll be there in five minutes. Will
you please do me a favor ?
When you hear the sirens screaming and see the lights flashing, will you announce
over the PA system that
there is not a fire? 'It's the department coming to see one of its finest members one more time. And will you open
the window to his
room?
About five minutes later a hook and ladder truck arrived at the
hospital and extended its
ladder up to Billy's third floor open window --------
16 fire-fighters
climbed up the ladder into Billy's room!
With his mother's permission, they hugged him and held him and
told
him how much they LOVED him.
With his dying breath, Billy looked up at the fire chief and
said,
'Chief, am I really a fireman now?'
'Billy, you are, and The Head Chief, Jesus, is holding your hand,' the chief
said.
With those words, Billy smiled and said, 'I know, He's been
holding my hand all day, and the angels
have been singing.'
He closed his eyes one last time.
February 8, 2012
So there's
this mountain of mud sitting at the edge of the yard. It's the residue from the sewer line repair the other day. Rather than
spread it out flat with the rest of the yard, we were told that the spring rains would pound it down so that the trench would
eventually be filled in. Sounds reasonable to me, but I think I'll get out there with a rake one of these days, all of the
same. Otherwise, I'm going to go out there in the next day or so and find a ski lift with very little people using the little
mound for their winter fun.
It got cold in the last day or so. Even had a dusting of snow. We are woefully behind
with our snowfall. According to the old wives' tale, since we had our first snowfall on the 27th of December, we can expect
27 snowfalls in total. Last night's dusting was only #4. Now, mind you, I don't mind not having 27 snowfalls. It's not like
it's a goal or something.
Oh, another thing. Changing the subject, NASA says that the oceans are not rising, but
rather, the level of water went down a bit. According to the weather/climate change/global warming gurus, weren't we told
that because of global warming, the ice sheets would be melting and we'd have so much more water in the oceans that our eastern
coast would be flooded. So how come the water level is going down? Faulty theory = flawed results. But then, just maybe because
the Russians drilled a hole in the ice sheet in Antarctica to get to an underground lake, maybe water is draining down into
the hole. Hey, it could happen!
Quint took me to lunch at Cracker Barrel today. When we were coming out to go back
to the car, we noticed that there had been a bunch of pansies in bloom before they got frosted. Now, who would plant blooming
pansies in the middle of winter? Sure enough, they got frostbit last night. I love the meatloaf at Cracker Barrel. If I close
my eyes, I can imagine that I'm back at Grandma Stubbe's boarding house in Paducah. Cracker Barrel's meatloaf tastes just
like hers. Maybe they found her recipe somewhere. It's delicious. So is their Cream of Potato Soup which is my favorite soup
anywhere.
And now my client has arrived for a session. I see her pulling into the driveway now.
February 6, 2012
Want the
world to be a better place? Then do something. Think about joining the huge group of volunteers in America.
I know
this is old data, but it's the source I found when I went looking. It's a research article on volunteerism in America written
by Richard D. Young. He cited a Bureau of Labor Statistics report that says 59% of people in the United States who are 16
years old or older volunteered for an organization in some capacity. And that was for the year way back in 2001 to 2002.
that was 27.6% of the American population.
Volunteers
most often donate their time to religious organizations (33.9%). Second on the list is educational organizations who get 27.2%
of the volunteers. But it's the old folks who are 65 and older who donate
the most time to churches -- 45.2%.
Further, the Bureau of Labor Statistics identifies several
activities in which volunteers engage in consistently. The list below shows which activities are most predominate. ● Teaching
or coaching (24.4 %). ●
Canvassing, campaigning, or fundraising (22.9 %). ● Collecting,
making, serving, or delivering goods (22.2 %). ● Serving on a board, committee, or
neighborhood association (16.3 %). ●
Providing care or transportation (12.3 %). ● Consulting or
administrative work (14.0 %). So this ties in with the Gospel lesson at church yesterday.
It's from Mark 1:29-39 and tells the story of Jesus healing Peter's mother-in-law from a fever. What's the first thing she
did when her fever went away? She got up and began to serve them.
Not because she had to, as Pastor Gillet said.
But because she wanted to.
When it comes to serving in the Kingdom of God, it's something we get to do.
We don't have to, but rather, we are allowed to serve.
In another article, again pulling data
from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we read that ... nearly 63 million Americans, slightly more than a quarter of the
population, volunteered for charities last year, providing services valued at nearly $173-billion. That’s down from
2009, when 63.4 million adults, or nearly 27 percent of the population, donated their time. The volunteer rate has not changed
significantly since 2006, hovering around 26 percent. Volunteerism reached nearly 29 percent from 2003 to 2005 and has been
as low as 20.4 percent in 1989, says a report by the Corporation for National and Community Service, which is based on annual
and monthly surveys of roughly 100,000 Americans age 16 or older, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor
Statistics.
What's neat about this article is an interactive map of the United States that compares the percentage
of volunteers in a state and compares it to the national average when you move your cursor over the state. http://philanthropy.com/article/Volunteerism-Holds-Steady-in/128565/
So get out there and be a good neighbor. While you're at it, volunteer to help out at your church too.
February 4, 2012
Quint
and I headed over to Culvers after closing up the junior quilting shop at church. When we started looking for a spot to sit
down at, I heard a familiar voice say, "Jane." It was the vice president of the Effingham/Shelby Zone and she invited
us to sit with her and her husband. They were just finishing up the flavor of the month (chocolate eclair) ice cream, so we
sat down.
After talking about a dizzying list of favorite subjects, Chris and I then started talking about cake
recipes. I told her I was going to start visiting churches in the Zone. Tomorrow is my first outing. It's at a church where
the church council is making soup for lunch. I told her I was going to make a yellow cake with a peach pie filling and after
sharing that quick recipe with her (it's on the recipe page over there on the left), she said, "I'll tell you how to
make a cake."
She explained, first you mix a cake mix with an angel food cake mix. It can be any kind of cake
mix you want, but it has to be with an angel food cake mix.
Then, when you get those two cake mixes mixed well,
mix 3 tablespoons of the dry mix with 2 tablespoons of water and microwave for 1 minute.
She says it's easy to
remember because it's 3-2-1.
When I got home I mixed a sugar free yellow cake mix with an angel food mix that I
picked up on the way home.
Sure enough, it works! So I have this cake mix in a ziploc bag ready to make a cake
in a minute.
I even bought one of those new cans of frosting mix that Pillsbury has. It looks like a whipped cream
container where you kind of bend a plastic tip a bit and out comes the frosting.
What an amazing age we live in!
I remember when I was a little girl my grandmother would send me to the bakery to buy two layers of a yellow cake
if she didn't have time to bake a cake for a church event. And she thought that was cheating. But no one ever knew. She always
covered it with her famous 7 Minute Frosting so who would have ever been able to tell.
One of my other favorite
memories of my grandmother was her little forest of African Violet leaves. She had a big pan of sand which she kept wet. Then
she would take leaves from her African Violets and stick them in the sand. After some mysterious length of time, she'd know
when to take the leaves out because they'd have roots developed. She'd plant them in little pots and after a while, little
baby African Violets would pop their little faces up through the dirt. Eventually, she'd cut the big leaf off and put it back
in the sand to make a new generation.
I got up enough nerve to try that this year. A nurse at the oncology center
assured me that this method would work so I gave it a try. I now have a beautiful purple and another pink African Violet and
when I get a little new plant, I give them to clients who want them.
Except that I only use African Plant Food
water. That makes them bloom like happy little campers. Pretty much all the time too.
February 2, 2012
If the
groundhog can be believed, we don't have to worry about winter weather so much. We had fog as thick as pea soup. Not only
could the rat not see his shadow, I doubt if he could see his cute little paw in front of his face. Yay! Go groundhog.
I received this from my friend Cody in Warrensburg, MO:
One of the best I've seen lately........
Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?
What if we
carried it around in our purses or pockets?
What if we flipped through it several times a day?
What
if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?
What if we gave it to Kids as gifts?
What
if we used it when we traveled?
What if we used it in case of emergency?
This is something to make
you go....hmm...where is my Bible?
Oh, and one more thing.
Unlike our cell phone, we don't have to
worry about our Bible being
disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill.
Makes you stop and think 'where
are my priorities? And no dropped calls!
When Jesus died on the cross, he was thinking of you!
I read another article today on the web warning about yet another scam. This one has to do with jury duty. Supposedly someone
sends you an email or calls you to let you know there's a warrant for your arrest because you didn't show up for jury duty.
After you pick yourself up off the floor and start to explain that you never got a summons to appear for jury
duty, then the most helpful scam artist at the other end of the phone asks you for your social security number and birthday
so it can be double checked against the list of warrants. Now, we aren't going to give anybody that kind of information, are
we?
Please say you won't.
Scam artists are mean. They're usually crooks who need to go where other criminals
live.
If you live in Illinois, you need to know that Illinois is a "do not call" state. That means if
you get an annoying telemarketing call, immediately tell the caller that you are aware that you live in a "do not call"
state and want your name taken off the list he/she is calling from. The caller has to stop the conversation immediately.
Also, there's a link on the Links page on this website to put your phones on the "Do not call list." I probably
need to do that again because I'm starting to get calls again. Putting your phone numbers on the list is not a permanent solution
but when you start to get calls again, just go back in and renew your numbers.
February 1, 2012
We're zipping
through the Bible at an accelerated pace in our Sunday morning adult discussion class. It's an ambitious undertaking because
we're actually going to go from Genesis to Revelation in a 10-week segment. Oh, for sure, we aren't going to do any really
in depth stopping over points. We can always go back and focus on aspects of the textbook we're using individually at a later
date.
One of the quick points that was made in an early chapter was that Genesis 15:1 was the first time that
the term "the word of the Lord came to..."
In this particular instance, the reference was to Abraham.
He was the first man to whom the word of the Lord came. Abraham was a prophet. In this particular instanc, the word prophet
means one who receives the word of the Lord.
Don't you think it would be exciting to pick up the Bible and get
into the Word? Page after page after page of the Word brings us richness and depth to our soul. It's a blessed journey to
walk every day with the Lord.
There's mending to be done when we weep from heavy grief. Our soul yearns for healing
and it's right there, in between the covers of the Book.
There's learning that jumps off the pages with so much
history. The Bible is not a complete history of what was going on in the world. For instance, from 1250 to 1190 BC the Greeks
and Trojans were fighting the famous Trojan War. It happened. We know that from recorded history. But it's not a Bible story.
And did you know that from 1750 - 1040 BC, China's Shang Dynasty had a system of writing. They organized a bunch
of armies too.
There were earthquakes too. From 1150-950 BC, earthquakes rattled the area around Cyprus.
Accupuncture was first introduced during the Chou dynasty at 1030 BC.
For sure, there were people in other places
doing other things. Their stories were not captured in the Bible.
What the Bible does bring us is the bloodline
of Jesus all the way back to Adam and Eve. The Bible traces this lineage through the House of David, through his line of history
to a little town of Bethlehem.
There's much in the Word to sift through and think about. Absolutely no other book
in the history of mankind has had the impact as the Word of God. Nor has any one single individual, save Jesus Christ, had
as much of an impact on civilization than the Son of God who came from heaven to become flesh and blood and to live among
us. Then he died as a sacrifice on the cross for the sins of each one of us.
This month we recognize Ash Wednesday
as the beginning of the season of Lent. It's a time when we stop what we're doing and ponder the miracle of God's great love
which he so graciously gifts us with.
Let the Word of God come to you. Pick up the Bible and just hold it in your
hands. Then open it and start to read.
Prepare to be amazed.
January 31, 2012
It's hard to
believe that here in Middle Illinois, it's 58.1 degrees. Highly unusual for January 31. Only two days 'til Ground Hogs Day
and this year, do I dare say, "Who cares?"
Actually, when you think about it, it doesn't matter whether
the rat sees his shadow or not. Spring is six weeks away no matter what. Just count the days on the calendar.
When
I left you last night I was talking about the bad rap that controlling and manipulating people have gotten over the years.
We've put a negative connotation onto those two words when, in fact, they can be life-saving.
I mentioned that
the reason people are controlling is because they want life to be predictable. And who doesn't want that?
But maybe
we're asking for trouble in trying to control people, places and events that we don't have any business messing with. There's
all kinds of attempts at controlling that could even land you in jail. For instance, if you forged someone's signature because
you wanted to control your ability to get out of debt so you think stealing someone's identity and/or money is acceptable.
Not.
That's not even close to be included in this discussion.
What you can control, though, is your
behavior. How you react to events and people in your life can be a healthy way to control your environment.
Babies,
for instance, who smile and giggle at you make it awfully easy and heartwarming to pick them up and cuddle them. They've learned
at a very early age that positive behaviors get more favorable attention from the big people in their lives. In a small way,
they've figured out how to control someone to come over and pick them up.
I remember when my daughter and her husband
were trying to get back to Los Angeles when, for some reason, their flight was abruptly cancelled. No new flights were
scheduled at that airline. So she went over to another airline and said to an already overstressed service attendant that
she realized the burden that this lady was under and she certainly didn't want to push her for help, but she was hoping ever
so much if there was anything that she could do to get them on a plane. She engaged the lady in a few light moments and the
next thing you know, she and her husband were on a flight, with a "Thank you so much. You are a lifesaver." And
off the went to the other end of the airport where the other airline's terminal was.
She learned when she was
a little girl that when you're reasonable, you're more able to operate on your environment and more often than not, get the
results you want.
Call it whatever you want, but being pleasant will get you farther along than being pushy and
ignorant and belligerent and demanding.
When you wake up in the morning, look at the daylight and say, "Today
is going to be a great day. I'm going to have some adventures and come in contact with people I enjoy being with." Then
get up, get dressed, and put your very best smile on your face as you out to operate on your environment. Make things happen.
But in a pleasant way that shows people you care about them.
January 30, 2012
I'm actually
in between clients right now, so this will be a bit brief. I'll finish my thought tomorrow in a bit more detail.
What I want to discuss before the thought goes too far away is this whole idea that controllingness and manipulation is
a bad thing. I say -- not necessarily.
The reason we need to control or manipulate things is to make life more
predictable. We all need predictability in our lives. So the question really wraps itself around why we feel insecure when
our lives are not predictable.
Jean Piaget, the psychological guru who developed the school of cognitive development,
says we all learn how to "operate" on our environment and the people in it.
It does not make you a bad
person.
More about this after I've had a good night's rest.
About the time I think there's not
much new under the sun, this comes to my email. It's from Linda over in Lawrenceville. Thank you, Linda!
Subject:
Monday Morning Message
This is SIMPLY AWESOME! I've never seen this
before! Whoever put The Resume
of Jesus Christ together is surely a blessing to us all! Please share it!
The last
sentence says it all... Send this resume to everyone you know, you
never know who may have an opening! Powerful!
Have a blessed day!
The Resume
of Jesus Christ
Address: Ephesians 1:20
Phone: Romans 10:13
Website: The Bible . Keywords: Christ, Lord, Savior and
Jesus
_____________________________________________________
Objective
My name is Jesus -The Christ. Many call me Lord! I've sent you my
resume
because I'm seeking the top management position in your heart. Please
consider my accomplishments as set
forth in my resume.
_____________________________________________________________________
Qualifications
I founded the
earth and established the heavens, (See Proverbs 3:19 )
I formed man from
the dust of the ground, (See Genesis 2:7 )
I breathed into man the breath
of life, (See Genesis 2:7 )
I redeemed man from the curse of the law, (See
Gal at ians 3:13 )
The blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant comes upon your
life through me,
(See Galatians 3:14 )
_____________________________________________________________________
Occupational Background
I've
only had one employer, (See Luke 2:49 ) .
I've never been tardy, absent, disobedient,
slothful or disrespectful.
My employer has nothing but rave reviews for me,
(See Matthew 3:15 -17 )
_____________________________________________________________________
Skills Work Experiences
Some
of my skills and work experiences include: empowering the poor to be
poor no more, healing the brokenhearted, setting
the captives free, healing
the sick, restoring sight to the blind and setting at liberty them that are
bruised,
(See Luke 4:18 ) .
I am a Wonderful Counselor, (See Isaiah 9:6 ) . People
who listen to me
shall dwell safely and shall not fear evil, (See Proverbs 1:33 ) .
Most importantly, I have the authority, ability and power to cleanse you of
your sins, (See I John 1:7-9 )
_____________________________________________________________________
Educational
Background
I encompass the entire breadth and length of knowledge, wisdom
and
understanding, (See Proverbs 2:6 ) .
In me are hid all of the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge, (See Colossians
2:3 ) .
My Word is so powerful;
it has been described as being a lamp unto your feet
and a light unto your path, (See Psalms 119:105 ) .
I can even tell you all of the secrets of your heart, (See Psalms 44:21 ) .
_____________________________________________________________________
Major
Accomplishments
I was an active participant in the greatest Summit Meeting
of all times,
(See Genesis 1:26 ) .
I laid down my life so that you may
live, (See II Corinthians 5:15 ) .
I defeated the arch enemy of God and mankind
and made a show of them openly,
(See Colossians 2:15 ) .
I've miraculously
fed the poor, healed the sick and raised the dead!
There are many more major
accomplishments, too many to mention here. You can
read them on my website, which is located at : www dot - the BIBLE.
You
don't need an Internet connection or computer to access my website.
_____________________________________________________________________
References
Believers and followers worldwide will testify to my divine healing,
salvation,
deliverance, miracles, restoration and supernatural guidance.
_____________________________________________________________________
In Summ at ion
Now that you've
read my resume, I'm confident that I'm the only candidate
uniquely qualified to fill this vital position in your heart.
In summation,
I will properly direct your paths, (See Proverbs 3:5-6 ) , and lead you into
everlasting life, (See
John 6:47 ) . When can I start? Time is of the
essence, (See Hebrews 3:15 ) .
Send this resume to everyone you know,
you never know who may have an opening!
Thanks for your help.
September 26, 2012
Got these
one-liners from friend Cody in Warrensburg, Missouri:
Don't let your worries get the best of you;
Remember,
Moses started out as a basket case.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Some people are kind, polite, and sweet-spirited
Until
you try to sit in their pews..
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Many folks want to serve God,
But only as
advisers.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
It is easier to preach ten sermons
Than it is to live one.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
The good Lord didn't create anything without a purpose,
But mosquitoes come close.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
When you get to your wit's end,
You'll find God lives there.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
People are funny;
They want the Front of the bus,
the Middle of the road,
And Back of the church.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Opportunity may knock once,
But temptation bangs on the front door forever.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Quit griping about your church;
If it was perfect, you couldn't belong.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
If a church wants a better pastor,
It only needs to pray for the one it has ..
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
God Himself doesn't propose to judge a man until
he is dead. So why should you?
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Some minds are like concrete
Thoroughly mixed up and permanently set.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Peace
starts with a smile.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
don't know why some people change churches;
What difference
does it make
which one you stay home from?
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
A
lot of church members singing 'Standing
on the Promises'
Are just sitting on the premises.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Be ye fishers of men.
You catch 'em - He'll clean 'em.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Don't put a question mark where God put a period.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Forbidden
fruits create many jams.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
God grades on the cross, not the curve.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
God loves
everyone,
But probably prefers 'fruits of the spirit' over
'religious nuts!'
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
God
promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
He
who angers you, controls
you!
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
If God is your Co-pilot, swap seats!
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Prayer:
Don't give God instructions, just report for duty!
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
The task ahead
of us is never as
great as the Power behind us.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
The
Will of God never takes
you to where the
Grace of God will not protect
you.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
We
don't change
the message,
The message changes us.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
You can tell how big a person is
By what
it takes to discourage him.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
The best mathematical equation I have ever seen:
1 cross
+ 3 nails = 4 given .
Do you think the US Navy would ever name a ship after an army guy, even if he
is a Green Beret? Well, if your name is Roy Benavidez, it would. Benavidez got the Medal of Honor too. You have to see his
story to believe it. This comes from cousin Mark: http://biggeekdad.com/2010/01/tango-mike-mike/
Oh my goodness - what fun! This letter from a New Orleans attorney provides, in addition to a good
argument, a bit of history at the same time. Thank you, Mark:
You have to love this lawyer.......
Part of rebuilding New Orleans caused residents often to be challenged with the task
of tracing home titles
back potentially hundreds of years. With a community rich
with history stretching back over two centuries, houses have
been passed along
through generations of family, sometimes making it quite difficult to establish
ownership. Here's
a great letter an attorney wrote to the FHA on behalf of a client:
A New Orleans lawyer sought an FHA loan for
a client. He was told the loan would be
granted if he could prove satisfactory title to a parcel of property being offered
as collateral. The title to the property dated back to 1803, which took the lawyer
three months to track down. After
sending the information to the FHA, he received
the following reply:
(Actual reply from FHA):
"Upon
review of your letter adjoining your client's loan application, we note that
the request is supported by an Abstract
of Title. While we compliment the able
manner in which you have prepared and presented the application, we must point
out
that you have only cleared title to the proposed collateral property back to 1803.
Before final approval can
be accorded, it will be necessary to clear the title back
to its origin."
Annoyed, the lawyer responded
as follows:
(Actual response):
"Your letter regarding title in Case No.189156 has been received.
I note that you
wish to have title extended further than the 206 years covered by the present
application. I was
unaware that any educated person in this country, particularly
those working in the property area, would not know that
Louisiana was purchased by
the United States from France, in 1803 the year of origin identified in our
application.
For the edification of uninformed FHA bureaucrats, the title to the
land prior to U.S. ownership was obtained from France,
which had acquired it by
Right of Conquest from Spain. The land came into the possession of Spain by Right of
Discovery
made in the year 1492 by a sea captain named Christopher Columbus, who had
been granted the privilege of seeking a new
route to India by the Spanish monarch,
Queen Isabella.
The good Queen Isabella, being a pious woman and almost
as careful about titles as
the FHA, took the precaution of securing the blessing of the Pope before she sold
her
jewels to finance Columbus's expedition...Now the Pope, as I'm sure you may
know, is the emissary of Jesus Christ, the
Son of God, and God, it is commonly
accepted, created this world. Therefore, I believe it is safe to presume that God
also made that part of the world called Louisiana. God, therefore, would be the
owner of origin and His origins date
back to before the beginning of time, the world
as we know it, and the FHA. I hope you find God's original claim to be
satisfactory.
Now, may we have our loan?"
The loan was immediately approved.
September 24, 2012
Before
I do another thing, I want to share a link with you from a friend of mine. It's an outstanding vocalist, a ten year old young
lady named Jackie Evancho. You know how I love to watch and hear people who excel at anything, regardless of their age. Just
listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foUrBztgzZA She was on America's Got Talent, and boy does she!
Changing the subject, today was the day when one of those
mega-mega-zoom-zooms arrived from our sun to lay havoc with the Earth's magnetic fields. Even Delta Airlines re-routed some
of its flights to dodge the solar winds from the Coronal Mass Eruption. http://www.space.com/12581-stunning-photos-solar-storms-flares-sun-weather.html
Wow! The northern lights must have danced quite a little Texas Two Step.
Now, on to other matters of
some import. It's all about retraining your communications ability so that you don't fall victim to people who want to get
and keep you on the defense.
In the first place, don't think you have to jump in and answer someone who demands
an immediate answer. No no no. Take a deep breath and give yourself a bit of time to send a response back over the fence,
so to speak.
Yes, it's more than okay to answer a question with a question. In fact, it's how you get out of all
those defense-intended maneuvers that are being shot at you. You simply do not have to answer with all that immediacy.
For instance, when someone says to you, "Why don't you want to talk to me?"
Your response could
be, "About what?"
Or, "Why didn't you call me?"
"Was I supposed to?"
"Yes."
"Who said that?"
Slow down a bit and give yourself time to frame
your response.
Try it. It will take some time to get in the habit of allowing yourself to proceed slowly. In the
long-run, it will help you set your boundaries and maintaining them. Especially if you get the inkling that someone is trying
to invade your peace of mind by demanding that you defend yourself.
And how can you recognize defense maneuvers?
Aside from your gut reaction, densive maneuvers usually start with the word "Why."
"Why" questions
are not part of polite conversation. The intent is for one person to try to get and keep the upper hand over someone else.
September 23, 2010
This
is one of those off the beaten path pieces of information that you may not have known. I didn't either until today's issue
of American Profile arrived.
The there it was on Page 12. Yet another reason that Chicago can claim to
be a winner at something.
The Field Museum in Chicago has won the 2011 America's Best Restroom Award.
So what, you may ask, does a "best restroom" have going for it that would beat out other competitors? Well, for
starters, it has little people potties. And there's a nursing room complete with a sofa in it.
So congrats, Chicago.
'Nuff said about that.
Now it's official. Quint is in remission from his chronic lymphocytic/leukemia. We
made our trip to the oncologist today and learned that the results of the CT scan he had a couple of weeks ago show that the
lymph nodes have returned to normal. Thank you for answered prayers. We're both now on the once-in-three-months regimen. I
did have a new medication to the list of what the doctor has in my file. That's Allupurinol. So when I told him, he said,
"Oh, you've got gouty athritis."
Yep. That's me. The medication is specifically for people who has been
given Cytoxa for chemo with breast cancer.
But then I found out that eating cherries -- only 6 a day -- will help
out a lot. Sure enough, we found cherries in the produce aisle. Fresh from Chile. They are delicious. After only a week of
cherry snacks, I've seen an improvement. I can now bend my thumb with no pain at all. That's the only place, plus my back,
that seems to be bothered. Oh, it's just a nuisance. Nothing fatal. I'll take nuisances.
January 20, 2012
We are
just jumping up and down for joy watching those pink icy, wintry mix patches float by on the weather map. And up north, oh
my goodness. I remember those days when a six inch snowfall was kind of sort of ordinary.
We do not miss it.
Here is a link to a beautiful young girl who is a prodigy -- Akiane Kramarik. She has been painting since
she was very young, age 4. Her paintings are incredible. And thanks to friends in Wichita, John and Sherre for the link: http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/prodigy.html
Here's a link to Gene Simmons of KISS performing for the troops: http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=5MtdIO23MKM Makes me want to stand up and march around the dining room. Thanks, Mark, for sharing.
January 20, 2012
We are
just jumping up and down for joy watching those pink icy, wintry mix patches float by on the weather map. And up north, oh
my goodness. I remember those days when a six inch snowfall was kind of sort of ordinary.
We do not miss it.
Here is a link to a beautiful young girl who is a prodigy -- Akiane Kramarik. She has been painting since
she was very young, age 4. Her paintings are incredible. And thanks to friends in Wichita, John and Sherre for the link: http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/prodigy.html
January 18, 2012
Okay,
so here's my ignorance showing. I don't know where either of these teams are from -- Trinity and Millsap -- but this link
that my cousins Al and Mark sent to me shows one of the most phenomenal football plays I have ever seen in all my born
days: http://www.dump.com/2011/02/22/end-zone-angle-of-the-final-football-play-of-trinity-vs-millsaps-video/
Talk about teamwork! This one play won the game. Wow!
And Mark sends these tips too:
1. I think part of a best friend's job should be toimmediately clear your computer
history if you die.
2.
Nothing sucks more than that moment during an
argument when you realize you're wrong.
3. I totally take
back all those times I didn't want to
nap when I was younger.
4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.
5. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
6. Was learning cursive really necessary?
7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know
how to get out of my neighborhood.
I especially like #7.
As for the second point, I'll have to see if Quint can even remember a time when
he was wrong. About anything. ha ha
Me? I try to keep my mouth shut unless I know pretty much what the answer is.
Reminds me of a fella in grad school who had a most unique form of discipline. He says it's more effective than time
outs and has been using it since his kiddos were real little. He makes them sit down so that he can tell them the entire
history of slavery. All total, it takes about 45 minutes.
January 17, 2012
We went
from 61 degrees this morning to a cool 28 now. There's a raw wind blowing that makes it feel like 2 zillion below zero.
Thank goodness Ground Hogs Day is only weeks away. That's the day I first celebrate spring.
I remember
when I was a little girl the teacher would pass around those mimeographed pictures for our class to color. After I became
an adult, I realized that the ground hog is nothing but a big rodent and the whole thing used up all my brown color crayons.
Big deal.
My irises did die back again though. Poor little things. I can hear them shivering under their little
dirt shoes. I have a huge variety of colors. Some are yellow, a peach color that's really a double. Looks pretty and
frilly. Various shades of purple, one almost black. And finally a pink iris. I like irises. They remind me of Vincent Van
Gogh. He painted irises for the whole year that he was in the asylum. People sometimes comment about how they must have been
Van Gogh's favorite flower. The truth is, they were the only flower planted at the asylum. So of course he painted irises.
What else were there? Besides, by that time he was probably tired of doing self-portraits, being one ear shy of having a full
face and all.
Thank you for all your "as if" comments. It was very interesting to hear about how you
are using the same concept. Actually it's little more than positive thinking. But it works. People who are negative get dumped
on a lot. They aren't any fun and they suck all the air out of relationships, out of the sky and out of their hearts. So lighten
up everybody and live your lives as if you are the successful person you want to be!
January 16, 2012
Live your life as
if --
It's a Biblical concept. Believe you will get what you pray for, and it is yours, we are promised.
It's the underlying principle of the best-seller The Secret.
So let's all put a whole bunch of
positive energy out there. The idea is that if you send positive energy out from yourself, it will come back to you.
That's where you embrace the idea that you'll do better in life if you live your life as if.
For instance,
married couples who live their lives as if can somehow keep a vibrancy alive in their relationship. Remember
those days when you tried to do all the thoughtful, courteous things you could to attract this handsome guy, or gorgeous lady,
into your life? If you're going to be late, do you call and let somebody know you're being detained? If you're living your
life as if, then you're going to do such thoughtful things like making a call.
Or how about getting that
dream job? What happens when you are sitting in your cubicle doing some grunt project and wishing the clock would advance
a few hours so you could get out of there? Well, if you're living your life as if you'd just gotten into an interview
and were trying to convince a prospective boss that you really wanted the job, you'd go ahead and do the best you could do,
even if every day isn't always exciting and creatively challenging.
Or how about parenting. Remember those days
when you couldn't wait for Little Baby Ten Toes to arrive? Live your life as if those days beckon you and you back
to the days when you promised yourself that you'd be the best parent you possibly could be to the new baby yet to be born.
Living as if will help you get through long, fright-filled nights when you're waiting for an errant teenage to wander
on back home.
And most of all, live your life as if Christ were headed this way from the other side of
the universe and he is just about ready to come down out of the clouds. Living your life as if he were just about
here just may change your life choices.
Good luck with that. Think about ways you could live your life as if.
January 13, 2012
Yes, we got the snow. Not
much. Just a couple of inches. Then it stopped for a few hours. I reminded Quint that when the snow started up again, it counted
as a new snow. At least for my reckoning. He doesn't have to count the snows separately if he doesn't want to. It's just that
if you don't, you end up with some extra snowfalls anticipated by the end of the season.
Yesterday I saw a red
fox loping along across the neighbor's yard across the street. At first I thought it was a dog, but then, that tail is a giveaway.
Red fox it was. Pretty good sized one too. We have some woods behind our house. Figure he lives back in there with the deer
who come out every once in a while looking for good chow, like when the neighbor's beans are about ready to pick. I told her
to get a bottle of Liquid Fence at the hardware store, last year. It works. It's kept deer, squirrels and rabbits away from
my garden goodies ever since I planted a garden down here. Not too cheap, but it does the trick. You spray around the perimeter
of the garden, not on the veggies. A quart bottle lasts most of the season.
It even works on those naughty dogs
who like to hike up their legs and take a leak on my rose bush out front. Actually they're probably marking their territory.
Doesn't matter, me and my Liquid Fence go out there and give the bush a squirt where the dogs squirted. They don't come back
so much. Nothing to reclaim if they can't get a whiff of their aroma.
Tomorrow I'm going to my first meeting of
the Christian Writers Group here in town. Looking forward to meeting others who are plying their craft too.
I'm
anxious to see if anyone else uses what I call the Ernest Hemingway approach -- you know, three to four word sentences. He
was a master at it and I figured if he made it work, so could I. Problem is, my spell checker does not like fragmented sentences.
But hey, that's the way people talk. So I say I write "conversationally." ha!
Oh, changing the subject.
What do you think the stock markets are going to do on Monday morning, now that Standard and Poors has downgraded the financial
houses of Yerp? France and Austria lost their AAA ratings. A total of 15 European nations' ratings were cutting in the
S&P slash and burn come-uppance move. One of these days, the US is going to get downgraded again if we don't get a grip
on spending.
You can't spend all your money!
I watched one of those news interview programs, maybe
a Jay Leno man on the street. Not sure. Anyway, the commentator was asking the people where they thought money came from.
One lady said she thought the president printed the money in the basement of the White House. Unfortunately, she was serious.
She even knew who the president was.
God said something about wasting the blessings He gives us. We'd better all
listen up and pay attention, folks.
January 11, 2011
I'm so
glad that Netflix survived the stupidest marketing debacle yet -- raising money on top of money by doing a double tier charge
system. Never could figure out what they were going to charge so we canceled everything but the streatming, which we used
mostly anyway. We do get one video still, though. What we have both come to really like is the video of a fireplace burning.
That's all it is. Just a fireplace burning. It makes the living room seem warm and cozy. Okay, so it doesn't make the room
actually warm, but the crackling fire and licking flames do okay by me.
Just in time, too, for a winter storm heading
our way. I fear that this one isn't going to miss us. We might get several inches out of it. It's heading SSE out of Iowa
and looks to cut a big swath across Illinois as it heads east. I guess that's the end of our 40 degree winters.
Oh
well, it was nice while it lasted.
Now, on to Groundhog's Day which is February 2. Somehow I don't think the little
groundhog is going to be a harbinger of spring. This is going to be one of those winters where it's going to be snowing for
Easter, I'll bet. When the girls were little tykes I remember them hopping through snow on the way to the church on Easter
Sunday. Didn't do their little patent leather slippers any good.
Not much news going on except politics, in case
you haven't noticed. Politics in the US has become a mult-billion dollar business. So the ads and speeches and debates and
spin doctoring are going to continue until November.
One good thing did come out of the Supreme Court today. Believe
it or not, the justices reaches a unanimous decision that says churches can hire people of their own choice - whether it's
a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam. The supremes said the government had to "butt out" in so many words.
Well, it's about time.
And my cousin Frances in Texas says the jonquils are sprouting and the bluebells are really
thick, though not blooming just yet.
I will add that my irises are totally confused. I have cut them back twice
now and could cut them back again but I'm not gonna. If they decide to bloom when it snows, I'll take a photo for posterity.
And with that, no matter where you are, please drive carefully. I know that some parts of the midwest are supposed
to get 10" of snow or more, but the rest of us can expect 1 to 2 inches of the white stuff. I don't care if we only get
one inch of snow. If it's sitting on icy pavement, it can still be deadly.
Prayers for safety for all of you.
January 9, 2012
Had he lived,
today would have been my brother, Allison's, 67th birthday. His middle name was Wallace, probably named for some long lost
relative I've never heard of. So we called him A.W. because that's what people in the south do. There's usually at least one
first degree relative identified only by initials. So wherever you are, A.W., I hope you're enjoying the choirs of angels
and that at the last moments on your deathbed you begged forgiveness for a life filled with sins. I suspect that you did get
that idea as you lay dying of lung cancer. But I don't know that. I just pray that you did because I would love to see you
in heaven.
Changing the subject, I have received more than quite a few emails about this Mayan thing and what's
going to happen at the end of 2012.
In the first place, the Bible reference to the end of the world is very clear
about who knows what. I believe it's in Revelation where the verse says that no one knows when the world will end except the
Father. Even His Son, Jesus Christ, does not have that information.
Yep. It says so in the Bible. Look it up.
Or if you don't have a Bible with a good commentary that can point you to the verse, go to www.ask..com and type in a question like, "Where in the Bible does it say ............................................"
You'll get a reference.
That's exactly what I did this evening before I started this writing. I knew that somewhere
in the Bible, there was an answer to some prophet who asked God how he would end the world the "next time" since
he'd promised in a covenant after the flood that he would never destroy the population with a flood again. Then he put a rainbow
in the sky. To this day, when I see a rainbow, I am reminded of God's promise not to send a flood again.
But what
about this point that the Mayans supposedly thought the world was going to end? Did they actually say that? Not really, unless
you interpret their writings to fit into that concept. But what if it'd the Mayan calendar, not the world, that is supposed
to end in December 2012? After all, we have Bible texts that say only the Father knows. If He didn't get around to telling
His much beloved Son, Jesus Christ, do you really believe He would have told some Indians out there on the Yucatan Peninsula.
So what did God tell the prophet?
In the New International Reader's Version, in Hebrews 12, we
find:
25 Be sure that you don't say no to the One who speaks. People did not escape when they said
no to the One who warned them on earth. And what if we turn away from the One who warns us from heaven? How much less will
we escape! 26 At that time his voice shook the earth. But now
he has promised, "Once more I will shake the earth. I will also shake the heavens."—(Haggai 2:6)
27 The words "once more" point out that what can be shaken can be taken away. I'm talking
about created things. Then what can't be shaken will remain. 28
We are receiving a kingdom that can't be shaken. So let us be thankful. Then we can worship God in a way that pleases him.
We will worship him with deep respect and wonder. 29 Our "God is like a fire that burns everything
up."—(Deuteronomy 4:24)
There are also references to
God shaking the earth in Psalm 115:3 and Haggai 2:6.
I am reminded of the reference in Verse 28 that "...we
can worship God in a way that pleases him." That pretty much takes care of people who say they don't go to church because
they believe they can worship God in a forest, or somewhere else. In fact, God tells us that he wants us to meet in assembly
with fellow believers.
So get up on the Sabbath, get dressed and make your way to church where you can "assemble"
with "fellow believers." Just do it. Don't say "no" to God.
And then there's
this Tebow guy. Don't you love him?! Over the weekend he rushed 316 yards. That was the accumulated passes he threw and I
think he ran the ball some too. When he heard the stats broadcast with his last winning throw of the day that he was responsible
for 316 yards that won the game for the Denver Broncos, what does he do? Did he swell up and sing, "How great I am?"
Not on your life. He dropped to his knee and thanked God for his blessings. He later explained that when he heard that,
all he could think of was John 3:16.
January 7, 2012
I'm stuck at the weight
where I've plateaued so Quint and I headed for the gym today. That's how you get off those plateaus - either drastically cut
back on calories or step up the exercise.
Well, since our life is pretty sedentary as it is, just walking out
the door to get intot he car is an improvement on the sedentary lifestyle. So, since we're Silver Sneakers on our Humana insurance,
we headed for the gym where we used to go faithfully before all this cancer nonsense started. We walked on the treadmill for
a big fat 20 minutes. We got all the way up to a 27 minute mile. Then we did some work on the strength training machines.
I got on the machine that works the hamstrings. I personally think my hamstrings have completely atrophied, but that could
be just a bit hyperbolic. Truth is, I don't like needing to hang onto something just to stand up, for crying out loud.
Okay, so I don't expect to jump up out of my seat, but I would like to look less like an invalid. I'll work up to
walking for an hour, or get up to five miles. I remember when I was a Girl Scout leader I used to go on five mile hikes with
frequency. But then, those were called "all day hikes" for Brownies.
Oh well, we're expecting it to
take some little while to get some semblance of stamina back.
On our way home, we stopped at Walgreens where I
got my flu shot. The doctor only had one left when we were there for our last checkup, so Quint got it.
We also
stocked up on sugar free candy. Russell Stover is my friend!
Changing the subject, I can always rely on my cousin
Mark to send the Darwin Awards for the previous year. And here they are:
THE 2011 DARWIN AWARDS
You've been waiting for them with bated breath, so without further ado, here are the
2011 Darwin Awards:
Eighth Place
In Detroit , a 41-year-old man got stuck and drowned in two feet of water after
squeezing
head first through an 18-inch-wide sewer grate to retrieve his car keys.
Seventh Place
A 49-year-old
San Francisco stockbroker, who "totally zoned when he ran",
accidentally jogged off a 100-foot high cliff on
his daily run.
Sixth Place
While at the beach, Daniel Jones, 21, dug an 8 foot hole for protection
from the
wind and had been sitting in a beach chair at the bottom, when it collapsed, burying
him beneath 5 feet
of sand. People on the beach used their hands and shovels trying
to get him out but could not reach him. It took rescue
workers using heavy equipment
almost an hour to free him. Jones was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Fifth
Place
Santiago Alvarado, 24, was killed as he fell through the ceiling of a bicycle shop
he was burglarizing.
Death was caused when the long flashlight he had placed in his
mouth to keep his hands free rammed into the base of his
skull as he hit the floor.
Fourth Place
Sylvester Briddell, Jr., 26, was killed as he won a
bet with friends who said he
would not put a revolver loaded with four bullets into his mouth and pull the
trigger.
Third Place
After stepping around a marked police patrol car parked at the front door, a man
walked into H&J Leather & Firearms intent on robbing the store. The shop was full of
customers and a uniformed
officer was standing at the counter. Upon seeing the
officer, the would-be robber announced a hold-up and fired a few
wild shots from a
target pistol.
The officer and a clerk promptly returned fire, and several customers also
drew
their guns and fired. The robber was pronounced dead at the scene by Paramedics.
Crime scene investigators
located 47 expended cartridge cases in the shop. The
subsequent autopsy revealed 23 gunshot wounds. Ballistics identified
rounds from 7
different weapons. No one else was hurt.
HONORABLE MENTION
Paul Stiller,
47, and his wife Bonnie were bored just driving around at 2 A.M. so
they lit a quarter stick of dynamite to toss out
the window to see what would
happen. Apparently they failed to notice that the window was closed.
RUNNER
UP
Kerry Bingham had been drinking with several friends when one of them said they knew
a person who had
bungee-jumped from a local bridge in the middle of traffic. The
conversation grew more excited, and at least 10 men trooped
along the walkway of the
bridge at 4:30 AM. Upon arrival at the midpoint of the bridge, they discovered that
no
one had brought a bungee rope. Bingham, who had continued drinking, volunteered
and pointed out that a coil of lineman's
cable lay nearby. They secured one end
around Bingham's leg and then tied the other to the bridge. His fall lasted 40
feet
before the cable tightened and tore his foot off at the ankle. He miraculously
survived his fall into the icy
water and was rescued by two nearby fishermen.
Bingham's foot was never located.
AND THE WINNER IS....
Zookeeper Friedrich Riesfeldt ( Paderborn , Germany ) fed his constipated elephant
22 doses of animal laxative
and more than a bushel of berries, figs and prunes
before the plugged-up pachyderm finally got relief. Investigators
say ill-fated
Friedrich, 46, was attempting to give the ailing elephant an olive oil enema when
the relieved beast
unloaded.
The sheer force of the elephant's unexpected defecation knocked Mr Riesfeldt to the
ground where
he struck his head on a rock as the elephant continued to evacuate 200
pounds of dung on top of him. It seems to be just
one of those freak accidents.
January 9, 2012
Had he
lived, today would have been my brother, Allison's, 67th birthday. His middle name was Wallace, probably named for some long
lost relative I've never heard of. So we called him A.W. because that's what people in the south do. There's usually at least
one first degree relative identified only by initials. So wherever you are, A.W., I hope you're enjoying the choirs of angels
and that at the last moments on your deathbed you begged forgiveness for a life filled with sins. I suspect that you did get
that idea as you lay dying of lung cancer. But I don't know that. I just pray that you did because I would love to see you
in heaven.
Changing the subject, I have received more than quite a few emails about this Mayan thing and what's
going to happen at the end of 2012.
In the first place, the Bible reference to the end of the world is very clear
about who knows what. I believe it's in Revelation where the verse says that no one knows when the world will end except the
Father. Even His Son, Jesus Christ, does not have that information.
Yep. It says so in the Bible. Look it up.
Or if you don't have a Bible with a good commentary that can point you to the verse, go to www.ask..com and type in a question like, "Where in the Bible does it say ............................................"
You'll get a reference.
That's exactly what I did this evening before I started this writing. I knew that somewhere
in the Bible, there was an answer to some prophet who asked God how he would end the world the "next time" since
he'd promised in a covenant after the flood that he would never destroy the population with a flood again. Then he put
a rainbow in the sky. To this day, when I see a rainbow, I am reminded of God's promise not to send a flood again.
So what did God tell the prophet?
In the New International Reader's Version, we find:
25
Be sure that you don't say no to the One who speaks. People did not escape when they said no to the One who warned them on
earth. And what if we turn away from the One who warns us from heaven? How much less will we escape! 26 At that time his voice shook the earth. But now he has promised, "Once more I will shake the
earth. I will also shake the heavens."—(Haggai 2:6) 27 The words "once
more" point out that what can be shaken can be taken away. I'm talking about created things. Then what can't be shaken
will remain. 28 We are receiving a kingdom that can't be shaken.
So let us be thankful. Then we can worship God in a way that pleases him. We will worship him with deep respect and wonder.
29 Our "God is like a fire that burns everything up."—(Deuteronomy 4:24)
January 4, 2011
Warning:
this could be the beginning of a developing article about recognizing saboteurs within an organization. You know -- they're
the ones we refer to as alligators. Every organization has them. And they show their true colors more prominently than you
might think.
Here's an old maxim as you start your new year: If you want people to like you, you have to make yourself
likable.
That takes care of the bossy ones. People run from these guys. They sit in their chairs and issue edicts
and "fetch orders." "Get me this," or "get me that" seems to be their motto. You don't see these
people surrounded by a big crowd of people, do you? Organizations are full of these little chiefs.
So what can
you do to make people like you? Easy. If you want something, go get it yourself. That's for starters. The world does not raise
citizens who wait for you to beckon them.
That is, unless you're a politician or a monarch, or something that
gives your blue-blooded attitude the self-imposed right to sit on a chair and make demands.
Tied to likability
is another maxim: Good leaders make good followers. You can spot the good leaders in your organization by looking around to
see who the workers are. They're the ones who make the good leaders. The people who don't want to do any real work in a group
are the same ones who will keep the organization at the status quo. No growth. They say, "I liked it better when we were
smaller." All too often, these little-minded people have a secret agenda of their own. They seldom do anything to help
the organization grow. Does the definition of passive aggressive come to mind?
Just remember, aggression
is always a hostile act.
And passive aggression is disguised as sabotage. Each and every time. Passive aggressive
people are on a perpetual search for power. And what do they want the most? Whatever strength you've got. They're
trying to run a little micro counter-culture in your organization.
But there's good news. You reward (reinforce)
the behavior you want to continue. That's behavior modification rule #1. If you find yourself surrounded by people who
don't share your values, then for your own sense of well-being, find another venue. There are plenty of organizations and
opportunities out there in this big, wide wonderful world that welcome hard workers.
It's even Biblical to shake
the dust from your sandals and walk away. Whatever happened between the "shake the dust from your sandals" theory
and the "turn the other cheek motto?"
Well, that thesis can be bridged with a good sermon. I'm
not a pastor so I'll leave that one for theologians to wrestle with.
January 2, 2012
Therefore,
be it resolved -----
I don't ordinarily make New Years resolutions. But this year is an exception.
I
can trace my weight gain all the way back to 1985 when my thyroid was removed. I had what's known as a "thyroid storm"
at work and was taken by ambulance to Northwest Memorial Hospital from the law firm where I worked. An endocrinologist diagnosed
Graves Disease, an autoimmune nuisance. Problem was I had my daughter's wedding gown about half done and was looking down
the barrel of her wedding in about two weeks. I finished the gown, had the thyroid ablated with a radioactive iodine. Quint
said I glowed in the dark. The doctor released me much earlier than he would have ordinarily because I promised to return
post haste after the wedding for quick checkups. That only entailed a quick cab ride over to his office from the law firm
where I was back at work.
The problem was, my weight started to slowly rise. At about a 60 degree slope upward.
I put on seventy pounds in a year!
I tried lots of diets. All the wrong ones. Low carb diets, for instance, are
never any good. I don't care who recommends them, they are not good for your body's chemistry. The human being is meant to
eat grains and grain products. Problem was, I wasn't eating anything differently than my pre-ablation days.
Then,
in 2006 Quint and I moved. We bought a Cape Cod. People thought I was nuts to move into a house that had three levels when
we had lived in a condominium that was all on one level. Not to mention that my knees were giving me fits. But after we moved
I started to lose weight. Slowly. Ever so slowly. After about six months my knees were not giving me any problems at all.
I wasn't doing anything much different except I was out from under the sedentary lifestyle that came with my counseling practice.
I was walking around more. I enjoyed the physical activity. At the end of a year I was 49 pounds lighter.
But now
is the year I'm going to take off the rest of the 25 pounds that I packed on. And how am I going to do this? Simple. Give
up most of the flour products I eat.
Following a gout diet is not that difficult. Sugar is my enemy. Yeast products
are also my enemy. Meat is my enemy too. No more bacon with my eggs. No more smoky links that are stuffed with cheddar cheese
and jalapeno peppers.
No more cookies. At least not more than two at one sitting. Ice cream is okay so it's a
good thing that I really like Eskimo Pies -- sugar free that is. This afternoon I'm going to make a cookie that has a chocolate
turtle stuffed inside. The cookie dough is a Pillsbury sugar free cake mix and the chocolate turtles are sugar free from Russell
Stove. I'll cut the turtles into quarters to make them go farther. Does it cost more to make them? You bet. But it's cheaper
than all the medicines that you have to take if you're diabetic. I can have a couple of cookies with impunity.
Low-fat
cheeses and cottage cheese are also very good for me. And for some reason, tart cherries are also good for the gout diet.
They are low in purines. The lower the purines in the bloodstream, the lower the risk of too much uric acid in the blood.
Fresh apples and oranges and bananas are good for the low purine diet too. But I seldom eat bananas. Once in a while we'll
put them on cereal for breakfast. (Did you know that a serving of banana is only 1/2 of the banana?) It has too much sugar
in it. I learned that from Quint's diabetic diet.
Two weeks ago I started a lifestyle change that will allow me
to get control of the gout. I've now lost 5 and a half pounds.
I'm looking forward to being at least ten pounds
lighter by the end of January. That's the only resolution that I've made so far.
I'm thinking about slowing down
a bit. Especially now that I'm working at a job that I really enjoy in the afternoons. It's working for a dual parish church
office. Fortunately, the pastor I work with was a friend of mine before I started working with him.
I'm not willing
to give that up. But I am willing to give up my "over-do" list. It's too easy for people to mistake my generosity
with my time and energy. So I'm going to step back this year and let other people do some of the things that I used to
do. In the meantime, I have joined a Christian Writers Group that meets here in Effingham County. It's a group of about ten
people who are writing for publication.
And I have a couple of grants that I promised to write for some business
people here in the county. I like writing grants. It keeps my paralegal skills honed. And I like helping business people get
their enterprises off the ground.
I also want to continue with my own writing projects.
And that should
keep me busy and productive in the new year.
That's only two resolutions. They're two that I can commit to that
I know I will follow faithfully. That's the key to success when it comes to re-inventing yourself. Pick a re-invention project
that you are willing to commit to completely. And don't take on too many projects at the same time. You'll only frustrate
yourself. Pick a project that you are motivated to work on. For me, it was the dreaded fear that if I kept on gobbling away,
I'd hit 300 pounds. That's just something that I'm not willing to embrace. Besides, losing weight is all about math. If you
eat more calories than you use up, you'll gain weight.
I've watched people who claim that they "just can't
lose weight." They'd have you believe that they have tried everything. Yet, when you look at their plates, there's potatoes,
noodles, and bread and butter. Then there's the entree and maybe, just maybe a little bit of green vegetable. Never ever eat
potatoes and bread in the same meal. And I don't know what they think they're doing by dumping noodles or dressing onto the
plate. After all, you're not required to eat everything on the menu. So, if you're an adult, make a fist. That's about a cup.
Half of that amount would be a serving. If you're eating a closed fist size of mashed potatoes, you're eating too much. Oh,
you could have that much in green beans. That's for sure. But not if the beans are highly seasoned with butter and bacon bits,
silly.
I figure you've probably seen this letter that my cousins Mark and Al sent to me, but
it's worth another read through:
Our 14-year-old dog Abbey died last month.
The day after she
passed away my 4-year-old daughter Meredith was crying and talking
about how much she missed Abbey.
She asked if
we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God
would recognize her.
I told her that I thought
we could so, and she dictated these words:
Dear God,
Will you please take care of my dog?
She died yesterday and is with you in heaven.
I miss
her very much.
I ' m happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick.
I hope you will
play with her.
She likes to swim and play with balls.
I am sending a picture of her so when you see her you will
know that she is my dog.
I really miss her.
Love, Meredith
We put the letter in an envelope with a
picture of Abbey & Meredith , addressed it
to God/Heaven.
We put our return address on it.
Meredith pasted
several stamps on the front of the envelope cause she said it would
take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way
to heaven. That afternoon she
dropped it into the letter box at the post office.
A few days later, she asked if
God had gotten the letter yet.
I told her that I thought He had.
Yesterday, there was a package wrapped
in gold paper on our front porch addressed,
'To Meredith' in an unfamiliar hand.
Meredith opened it.
Inside
was a book by Mr. Rogers called, 'When a Pet Dies.'
Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to
God in its opened
envelope.
On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:
Dear Meredith,
Abbey arrived safely in heaven. Having the picture was a big help and I recognized
her right
away.
Abbey isn't sick anymore.
Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart.
Abbey
loved being your dog.
Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets to keep your
picture in
so I ' m sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and
have something to remember Abbey by.
Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it
and sending it to me.
What
a wonderful mother you have.
I picked her especially for you.
I send my blessings every day and remember that
I love you very much.
By the way, I'm easy to find.
I am wherever there is love.
Love,
God
January 1, 2012
What a beautiful
message I've received from my cousins, Mark and Al:
WHAT HAPPENS IN HEAVEN WHEN
WE PRAY?
>
> This is one of the nicest e-mails
I have seen :
>
> I dreamt that I went to Heaven
and an angel was showing me around. We
> walked side-by-side inside a large workroom
filled with angels. My angel
> guide stopped in front of the first section and said,
'This is the
> Receiving Section. Here, all petitions to God said in prayer are received.
>
> I looked around in this area, and it was terribly
busy with so many angels
> sorting out petitions written on voluminous paper sheets
and scraps from
> people all over the world.
>
> Then we moved on down a long corridor until we reached the second section.
>
> The angel then said to me, "This is the Packaging
and Delivery Section.
> Here, the graces and blessings the people asked for are processed
and
> delivered to the living persons who asked for them." I noticed again how
> busy it was there. There were many angels working hard at that station,
> since so many blessings had been requested and were being packaged
>
> for delivery to Earth.
>
> Finally at the farthest end of the long corridor we stopped at the door of
>
a very small station. To my great surprise, only one angel was seated
> there, idly
doing nothing. "This is the Acknowledgment Section, my angel
> friend quietly admitted
to me. He seemed embarrassed.
>
> "How is
it that there is no work going on here? I asked."
>
>
"So sad," the angel sighed. "After people receive the blessings that they
>
asked for, very few send back acknowledgments."
>
>
"How does one acknowledge God's blessings? "I asked.
>
> "Simple," the angel answered. Just say, "Thank you, Lord."
>
> "What blessings should they acknowledge?" I asked.
>
> "If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof
> overhead and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of this world.
>
> If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish,
> you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy, and if you get this on
>
your own computer, you are part of the 1% in the world who has that
> opportunity."
>
> "If you woke up this morning with more
health than illness.. You are more
> blessed than the many who will not even survive
this day."
>
> "If you have never experienced
the fear in battle, the loneliness of
> imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs
of starvation... You are
> ahead of 700 million people in the world."
>
> "If you can attend a church without the fear of
harassment, arrest,
> torture or death you are envied by, and more blessed than, three
billion
> people in the world."
>
> "If your parents are still alive and still married.... you are very rare."
>
> "If you can hold your head up and smile, you are
not the norm, you're
> unique to all those in doubt and despair......."
>
> "Ok," I said. "What now? How can I start?"
>
> The Angel said, "If you can read this
message, you just received a double
> blessing in that someone was thinking of you as
very special and you are
> more blessed than over two billion people in the world who
cannot read at
> all."
>
> Have a good day, count your blessings , and if you care to, pass this
>
along to remind everyone else how blessed we all are..........
>
> ATTN: Acknowledge Dept .
>
>
"Thank you Lord, for giving me the ability to share this message and for
> giving
me so many wonderful people with whom to share it."
>
>
If you have read this far, and are thankful for all that you have been
> blessed with,
how can you not send it on?
>
> I
thank God for everything, especially all my family and friends.
>
(And
do you know how many pearly gates there are? -- If you guessed 12, you'd be correct. See Revelation 21.)
And
here's a profound story from my friend Linda, in Lawrenceville:
Read it before but just as powerful the second or third time.
GOD BLESS. Please do not forget the real reason for the
Christmas season!
This is so beautiful!
John 3:16
A little boy was selling newspapers on the corner, the people
were in and out of the cold.
The little boy was so cold that he wasn't trying to sell many
papers.
He walked up to a policeman and said, 'Mister,
you wouldn't happen to know where a poor boy could
find a warm place to sleep tonight would you?
You see, I sleep in a box up around the corner there and down
the alley and it's awful cold in there for tonight. Sure
would be nice to have a warm place to stay.'
The policeman looked down at the little boy and said, 'You go
down the street to that big white house and you knock
on the door. When they come out the door you just say John
3:16, and they will let you in.'
So he did. He walked up the steps and knocked
on the door, and a lady answered. He looked up and said,
'John 3:16 .' The lady said, 'Come on in, Son.'
She took him in and she sat him down in a split bottom rocker
in front of a great big old fireplace, and she went off..
The
boy sat there for a while and thought to himself:
John 3:16 ....I don't understand it, but it sure makes a cold
boy warm.
Later she came back and asked him 'Are you hungry? 'He said,
'Well, just a little. I haven't eaten in a couple of days,
and I guess I could stand a little bit of food,'
The lady took him in the kitchen and sat him down to a table
full of wonderful food. He ate and ate until he couldn't
eat
anymore. Then he thought to himself: John 3:16...
Boy, I sure don't understand it but it sure makes a hungry
boy full.
She took him upstairs to a bathroom to a huge bathtub
filled with warm water, and he sat there
and soaked for a
while. As he soaked, he thought to himself: John 3:16 ...
I sure don't understand it, but it sure makes a dirty boy
clean... You know, I've not had a bath, a real bath, in my
whole life. The only bath I ever had was when I stood in
front of that big old fire hydrant as they flushed it out.
The lady came in and got him. She took him to a room,
tucked him into a big old feather bed, pulled the covers up
around his neck, kissed him goodnight and turned out the
lights. As he lay in the darkness and looked out the
window at the snow coming down on that cold night,
he thought to himself: John 3:16 .....I don't understand it
but it sure makes a tired boy rested.
The next morning the lady came back up and took him
down again to that same big table full of food. After he
ate, she took him back to that same big old split bottom
rocker in front of the fireplace and picked up a big old Bible.
She sat down in front of him and looked into his young face..
'Do you understand John 3:16 ? ' she asked gently. He replied,
'No, Ma'am, I don't. The first time I ever heard it was last
night when the policeman told me to use it,'
She opened the Bible to John 3:16 and began to explain
to him about Jesus . Right there, in front of that big old
fireplace, he gave his heart and life to Jesus. He sat there
and thought: John 3:16,“I
don't understand it, but it sure makes a lost boy feel safe.
You know, I have to confess I don't understand it either,
how God was willing to send His Son to die for me, and how
Jesus would agree to do such a thing. I don't understand the
agony of the Father and every angel in heaven as they watched
Jesus suffer
and die. I don't understand the intense love for ME that kept
Jesus on the cross till the end. I don't understand it,
but
it sure does make life worth living.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life....
If you aren't ashamed to do this, please follow the
directions .
Jesus said, 'If you are ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of
you before my Father.' Pass this on only if you mean it.
I do Love God . He is my source of existence... .. He keeps
me functioning each and every day. Phil 4:13 If you love
God
and are not ashamed of all the marvelous things he has done
for you, send this on..
Take 60 seconds & give this a shot ! Let's just see if Satan
stops this one.
All you do is:
1) Simply say a small prayer for the person who sent you
this, 'Father, God bless this person in whatever it is that
You know he or she may be needing this day. In Jesus' Name,
Amen ! '
2) Then send it on to other people. Within hours many people
have prayed for you, and you caused a multitude of
people to
pray to God for other people. Then sit back and watch the
power of God work in your life for doing the
thing that you
know He loves.
(This is a good example of what I call Network Prayers. It really makes me feel
great to know that people are praying for me, and I love to pray for others too. Thank you, Linda, for sending.)
December 31, 2011
Melissa,
a friend at church, said that her mother made the comment that after chemo, lots of negative things started happening to her
physically.
The culprit was cytoxan. It is for me too.
Fortunately, my primary physician is a nephrologist
and has been keeping an eye on my kidney's health for at least a couple of years. In my last visit he tells me that my uric
acid is getting too high and prescribed some medication that helps lower the uric acid level.
But never in my wildest
dreams did I ever figure I'd have a form of arthritis called gout. I thought people like Henry VIII had gout. And,
as is my usual, off I go to the internet superhighway to find out what kinds of foods are better in a diet to control gout.
Actually it's a diet that's low in purines. High purine levels are the culprits. Purines increase the level of uric acid in
the blood. And drink lots of water.
Since I like strawberries, cherries, tomatoes and vegetables, I should have
no problem tolerating a low purine diet. But it will be a lifestyle change.
Fortunately I don't eat that much
bread and many, many years ago I gave up butter on bread. And I heed the advice of a doctor friend of mine who says that you
shouldn't eat bread and potatoes in the same meal. Too much starch. Now I learn that breads made with yeast have too much
purine in them in the first place.
So that's my end of the year news. Looks like 2012 will bring a new lifestyle
requirement for me.
We watched the fireworks display at Sidney, Australia, so it feels like the new year is here
already. What a pyrotechnic display that was! They always do a fantastic job at that bridge that's one of their visual landmarks.
I'll bet they spent at least a quarter million bucks on the show. I mean, just one of those "chrysanthemums" runs
about $30,000. You know the ones. They go way high in the air and explode out into a giant display that covers half the sky.
Oooooh. Ahhhhh. Pretty.
We'll be having a quiet evening at home. But we probably won't make it much past 9 o'clock.
So to all of you out there, wherever you are in the world, we wish you a most blessed New Year, with many blessings
of health and prosperity.
December 30, 2011
I won't
be writing "2011" much longer. Tomorrow is New Years Eve and I, for one, am glad to see this year bite the dust.
It is a year wherein I finished my chemo and radiation, then got an "all clear" on a mammogram retest on
the first anniversary of the diagnosis of breast cancer. Yippee!
It's also a year when Quint finished up his 6
chemo sessions and his CT scans are showing that the lymph glands are back to normal.
And I just finished my reports,
albeit a bit late, to the district for the LWML societies in my Zone. I think I'll re-name the Effingham/Shelby Zone to Team
One for Jesus. There is a fantastic group of ladies who are alive in Christ! One lady, Gloria, conducted a letter writing
campaign and raised $1,145 for Pastor Strom for his relief efforts in Haiti. She also got a whole bunch of soccer balls to
take down to the kiddos.
And the entire Zone collected at least 100 eyeglasses -- maybe more, I didn't count.
All I know is the glasses filled up the car's trunk and back seat. Pastor Strom says that on one of his earliest trips to
Haiti after the earthquake's devastation, he noticed that no one was wearing glasses. How could that be? You'd think that
at least some people would need glasses. Well, they did. They just didn't have any. So he got in touch with an optometrist
here in the States who said he'd figure out what the prescriptions were on eyeglasses that could be donated.
Then
everybody started digging around. I found three pair in a dresser drawer. Then I went through my late mother's belongings
and found two more pair of glasses. And I found a couple of Quint's old glasses.
Why do we hang onto eyeglasses?
I'm well aware that the Lions Club is always glad to get their hands on old, used eyeglasses. After all, Quint used to be
the president of the Palos Lions Club. It was real convenient to donate the glasses back then.
And one lady, Nancy,
collects used ink cartridges. So far this year, she has recycled cartridges to the accrued amount of more than $600.
So that's why I say our Zone ought to be named Team One for Jesus!
December 27, 2011
Okay,
the snow arrived sometime between midnight and the time I got up this morning. And it's definitely deep enough to "track
a rabbit." That's the only criterion that's used. So this is snowfall #1 of 27 because the snow fell on the 27th day
of a month.
Last year the first snowfall was on November 23 and, yep, sure enough, we had 23 snowfalls. Can't
remember the year before but we had the number of snowfalls on the "required" number of days.
And that's
that for now.
Changing the subject: It's a shame that this story isn't covered by the media in the United States.
Had to go all the way across the pond to find out from the Daily Mail UK that the net worth of US congressionals
has grown from $280,000 to over $725,000 since 1984. In his article, David Richards says that does not consider the equity
in their homes. Now, if the salary of US lawmakers only comes to about $174,000 what are they doing to increase their net
worth by more than a half million dollars? Does making speeches on the chicken circuit really pay that much Take a look at
the chart in particular on this site: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2078964/Growing-wealth-gap-members-Congress-rule-survey-reveals.html
And another thing. Have you shopped at Sears lately? If you did, were the stores pretty quiet? Apparently a lot
of people think so. I haven't been in a Sears store for a while. Maybe not since we went north to visit our daughter and grandkids.
But it's starting to look like Sears may be closing about 120 Sears and K-Mart stores and just concentrate on the big
money-making locations. This is just my opinion, but I think Sears has had a branding problem since they picked up K-Mart.
K-Mart had been the old Kresge dime store. Hence the name, K-Mart. So who would want to shop at a dime store for
gifts and stuff? Okay, so I kind of made a leap over the longstanding reputation of the Sears reputation as being the absolute
best when it comes to tools. But that's a guy thing. What else can Sears do for me? Probably not much if they can't entice
me into the store.
And that's where you have a branding problem. I mean, why can't they carry my second most favorite
fragrance like Lovely. Kohls carries it. The makers of Lovely (from Sarah Jessica Parker) says their fragrance is only available
in "high end" stores. So Kohls is and Sears isn't? Not sure I follow that one. I do know I have to get my all-time
absolute favorite Chanel No. 5 from Marshall Fields, now Macy's. Apparently Macy's worked on their branding challenges when
they purchased Marshall Fields a few years ago. In the meantime, Daughter #1 keeps me in Chanel. She lives about 150 miles
closer to Macys than I do. And Daughter #2 keeps me in Coldwater Creek. Nice little perks and it's just one of the reasons
why I wish for success for my daughters. And flowers. They know their mom loves fresh flowers.
Last summer I washed
and sparkled up the big vases that the flowers come in. Both daughters usually pick the same florist here in town. So I checked
at church to see if any of the altar ladies wanted some nice pretty vases but they said they had all they needed. So I called
the florist and said, "Look, you must pay at least $5 or so for these big vases, so if I clean them up real good and
make them shine, can I bring them back to you? If you like them, you can keep them." I did just that and I'm guessing
that the florist actually used their own recycled vases.
And here's another thing. I do not return phone calls
that are made to me when people have every right to assume that Quint and I are in church. I mean, if you call when there's
a 0.00000001% chance that I'll be home, I'm making the assumption that you probably didn't really want to talk to me -- not
really. So I'll listen to your voice and enjoy the sound of it when I pick up my messages later in the day, but don't expect
a call back. Same goes for "Call me back." That's not a message. Whoever told you that was a real message didn't
go to school that day. A message begins like this, "Hi, this is _____. I want to talk to you about _____________________________.
Would appreciate a call back when it's convenient. -- then, at least leave your phone number. Don't be so narcissistic that
you think I recognize the sound of your voice or that I have your phone number handy. I know, it shows up on the callback
on the cell phone, but I happen to work in a dead zone during the afternoons and only about one in a dozen calls get through.
Seems like good old telephone courtesies went out the door with cell phones.
Changing the subject again. There's
a new request coming, by December 30, for an increase in the nation's debt ceiling. Read this: in a few days, the
US debt ceiling will be raised from $15.194 trillion to $16.394 trillion. As a reminder, US GDP was just revised
down to $15.176 trillion. That's not any different than rejoicing when credit card companies up your credit limit. Do you
really think you're better off and can rush out for an afternoon of shopping? The US economy is now over $1 trillion
into the insolvency column for our nation. That's a bombshell that may just get lost in the frolics of the new year celebrations.
Rather than holding back on spending, the US taxpayers are now going to be asked to up the credit limit of the United States
government. After all, who's going to say no, your congressman?
And now we have a cozy fire burning in our living
room. It's brought to us as a Netflix video. It's a video of a fireplace and each episode lasts about an hour. Lots of crackling
sounds. Just like real wood except it doesn't have any BTU advantage. But it does sound like a real fireplace. If you have
streaming Netflix, you can search for under "fireplace." Then make your selection. The fireplace reminds me of one
of our favorite restaurants in Palos Hills -- Bertucci's. The owners of the restaurant branched out to the suburbs from 24th
Street in Chicago. There was a big round fireplace in the middle of the dining room. Talk about cozy!
December 26, 2011
I am happy
to report that we still have yet to see any snow. The snow can skip up entirely and it would be fine with me. I don't care
how pretty it looks when it's freshly fallen and pristine. That's okay. Winter in the mid-forties is about right in my view.
That's about where the temperature is staying in the daytime for my dear cousin Frances down in Texas.
Our Christmas
this year, as in years past, has been focused on what the birth of Jesus Christ means. The real joy of Christmas is that it's
a prelude to our salvation for without Christmas, there would be no Calvary. Without the manger, we'd not have the cross.
The real gift of Christmas is forgiveness of our sins.
And then after Christmas, we came home and read
some articles on the web that have to do with the New Madrid Seismic Zone. I'm still trying to get my head around the difference
in seismic zones, rifts, and fault lines. I am hearing more and more about earthquake swarms. Those are the earthquakes that
go down a fault line. Looks just like a zipper after you draw in circles for the earthquakes onto the fault lines. Swarms
are separate earthquakes, not aftershocks. And that's about all I know about that.
Interesting, don't you think?
December 23, 2011
Good grief!
Here it is the day before Christmas Eve. I figured I had a day or so more to get ready, but when I woke up this morning the
realization hit me that maybe I ought to proceed to commence to get ready to speed it up. ha ha
Seriously, the
dress rehearsal went very well at church last night. Kris, our pastor's wife, wrote and directed the event. An entire retinue
of 50 little people and a choir of teenagers will bring the joy of Christmas to everybody who attends. (And the costumes are
all done too.)
Changing the subject, I found Shine. I would just like to know where I've been for so long
that I don't have this e-magazine on my radar.
I found this article: 8 Things Yoru Butcher Wants to Tell You.
Some good tips, but what I liked as much as the article were the 305 responses. Those were really enlightening! Here's the
link: http://shine.yahoo.com/financiallyfit/8-things-your-butcher-wants-to-tell-you-2519679.html And while you're at the site, click on the home page too.
There's another click down at the bottom of the
page that has a link to an article entitled 9 Things Your Grocer Won't Tell You.
And who could get into
the Christmas season without listening to Handel's Hallelujah Chorus from The Messiah: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_VARtvgGBY&feature=related Now, isn't that what angels sound like when they're doing their "host of hosts" thing? Wow!
Here's the Nativity Story with the same music playing against the Christmas Story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmm_Ix8KKV8&src_vid=5_VARtvgGBY&annotation_id=annotation_691893&feature=iv
Andrea Bocelli sings The Lord's Prayer with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAFj2-u2cGQ&feature=related
But here's a prayer that Christ will be born in each of your hearts this Christmas day! Watch this video
of a most amazing young homeless man, Sung-bong Choi, from Korea who easily won "Korea's Got Talent." It' isn't
the show that's so important, or even winning it. Just keep in mind that there are so many, many people who have had bad,
bad things happen to them but they don't dwell on their misfortune or bad luck. Rather, they take the gift or gifts that God
has given them and use those gifts to inspire people to make life-changing events that inspire others to do likewise. These
are the very people that God chooses to move His Kingdom into greatness. Sometimes that happens here on earth.
I
truly believe that when we meet our Maker, He's going to ask me, "Did you feed the hungry?" What about all those
food pantries? When you donate to food pantries, do you go through your own shelves and pick out the stuff that's getting
too old to eat? That's the food you're willing to give away? Or do you go to the supermarket and buy new stuff that has a
long stale date? And when you buy food for the poor, what do you buy? Do you have a homeless person, like Sung-bong Choi,
who's living on the street, maybe selling bubblegum to live? Do you buy those more expensive items like a complete meal that
can have the lid peeled off and eaten at room temperature? Or do you donate what I call "food in a kit?" It may
not have occurred to you that many people are hungry because they don't have the facility to cook a meal. They don't have
the milk to put into a condensed soup. They don't even have a can opener. Keep that in mind when you buy soups. Get the cans
that have the pull tabs on them. And yes, they're more expensive.
Another question I think I'll hear is, "Did
you clothe the poor?" So I look at clothes that are donated to the poor. I could take my sewing machine out and probably
spend an entire day mending what some people give away for the poor and down-and-out to wear. Why not give away something
you like. Or, better yet, go to the store and buy something and donate it with the tags still on it.
After all,
the gifts we have all come from God anyway. So how are we using these gifts in our care of others.
And finally,
I believe that God is going to have a long conversation with each of us about the grudges we hold onto. Grudges are those
unforgiven trespasses that people have done to us. Maybe because it's Christmas you'll find it in your heart to let all those
grudges go.
When you finally are able to do that, there will be no more complaints about how tired you are. (We
all are.) Or how many aches and pains you may have. Even St. Paul begged God to "remove the thorn from his side."
We never find out what that thorn was that was causing him so much discomfort, but we do know that God left it is his body.
Maybe just so it would be a reminder to St. Paul that he was the one who was human and thus subject to human frailties.
So just quit it. Quit your moaning and groaning. Quit your feelings of pride if you think you're being generous and
you are just giving away your leftovers. That, dear folks, is not generosity. It's closer to vainglory. It's not the
love that comes from charitable giving.
That's how we get more peace and love in the world. It has to start right
here, right now, in my own heart.
And dear God, I'm working on it. Some days I do better. Other days, I have to
work harder at it.
December 20, 2011
We'd probably
be sitting on a couple of feet of snow if that blustery, evil blizzard that came roaring across the central plains hadn't
blown out before it hit the Mississippi River.
As it is, it's 48 degrees so it's not likely that we'll get any
snow today. Suits me just fine.
The rain sure did ruin some young man's day yesterday, though. There's an S-curve
along Rte. 40 as I drove out of town yesterday that wasn't all that safe in the heavy rain. Rte. 40 is about the only way
to get to the nursing home board meeting. It was dark. The pavement was wet. Looked like I was driving on a mirror. Yikes!
The car behind me was hugging in too close and as I went around the curve, I noticed that there was a string of cars behind
me. I rationalized that I probably saved at least a half dozen lives while I was creeping around the curve at 50 mph.
Prudence wins every time when the roads are slick. I certainly don't want Quint to have to go out there and plant
a plastic bouquet by the side of the road if I lose control and kiss a tree head on.
So in this morning's paper,
there was a photo of someone who obviously thought it would be great fun to see how fast he could hug that silly old curve.
His car looked like a dead bug with four tires sticking straight up. Fortunately for the 24 year old young man, he was able
to walk away from the single car (his) accident. His problem: failure to negotiate a curve. The car just got away from him,
he said.
I've been driving decades long enough to where I can just about feel when the car is trying to hydroplane
-- not that it happens so much anymore -- thanks to Ford engineering and good all-weather tires.
Lots of people
don't realize that Ford used to own Volvo. I suspect that they got a lot of good safety engineering tips from the drawing
board before selling it off.
Changing the subject, I have finished all the little costumes for the Christmas pageant.
Tonight I made a gold gauntlet for the angel Gabriel. Gabriel's costume is white satin with cross crossing gold decorative
thingies, and gauntlets. This is definitely an angel that would make just about anybody pay attention to.
And
one other last costume had to have a splice put in it. The kid to whom it belongs looked like a sausage by the time he got
the smock on. So there was nothing to do but rip the side seams out and put a splice in on each side. Not a big deal. I remember
from days gone by the an inch is about 10 pounds so I'm guessing the kid could use room for about twenty pounds. At least
he'll be able to breathe better. Maybe he could lay off the pizzas. Then the pattern might fit better.
December 18, 2011
Where
did American ingenuity go? Down the drain? And why does it take 18 highly paid union employees to subdue one little machine
called a concrete buffer? This video shows something about America's intellectual ability to solve problems, but I'm not sure
what. http://zanylol.com/concrete.html
Remember - IQ measures a person's ability to learn. It is not a test of what you know -- that's an achievement
test. So I guess you could say this committee of 18 did a pretty good job after all when they had to subdue this mechanical
thing-a-ma-jig. At least they didn't keep trying the same solution while expecting a different outcome. sarc
And
here's another mechanical monster event. This involves an electric cart that got loose and bumped into some people at a Cowboys
game: http://blog.chron.com/prepsports/2011/12/runaway-golf-cart-hits-dekaney-coach-reporters-after-game/ Ouch!
Got this link from cousins Mark and Al/Alice: http://www.flixxy.com/best-christmas-lights-display.htm I sure am glad that I don't have that electric bill! Beautiful light display. We used to have a family near our counseling
office up north who had an incredible display. Cars would drive through the neighborhood til all hours of the night. They
even had a little collection bucket out front where people could help pay for the electricity! Only in America.
December 16, 2011
Got this from my
cousin Mark, who is one of Chicago's finest. We pray every day for your safety, Mark. Be careful out there!
Oh you're a cop? That's cool. I wanted to do that when I was a kid. What do you make?
Written by some
talented cop somewhere, here is an answer that I thought I would
share.
WHAT DO I MAKE??
I make it possible to keep back the chaos every day.
I make 5 minutes seem like a lifetime when
I am fighting a suspect while waiting for
back up.
I make going to work for your family's safety a
duty that I will die for.
I make myself work holidays, nights, during hurricanes, riots, terrorist attacks
and
other disasters...... a standard day while you complain about your 9-5 in your air
conditioned office.
I make the fact that I may not get to eat, or get a break or cannot use the restroom
when I need to, part of
my job.
I make running towards the gunfire and bad guys, so that you remain safe, an
automatic reaction.
I make getting shot at, stabbed, spit on, punched and kicked at work, an expected
part of my day.
I make working for people, who most often dislike me, swear at me, and complain
about everything I do or
do not do.
I make working 12 hour shifts until 6 AM, my day at the office, so you and your
family can
sleep safely, a way of life.
Today I might make the ultimate sacrifice to save your life.
I make a difference, WHAT DO YOU MAKE?
December 15, 2011
Warm gingerbread
right out of the oven and sugar free lemon curd. That's what we had for dessert today. It was delicious. Is there any other
way to eat fresh gingerbread? I don't think so.
It's cold here. Even though the temperature has dipped down to
near freezing, the "real feel" is 24 degrees. But we still haven't had our first snowfall.
Got some
Christmas cookie rules from Nola. The rules circulate every year about this time, but they're always a fun read for the holidays.
Haven't seen any fudge rules and I'm sure the cookie rules don't apply.
> Christmas Cookie
Rules...
>
> 1. If you eat a Christmas
cookie fresh out of the oven, it has no
> calories because everyone knows
that the first cookie is the test
> and thus calorie free.
>
> 2. If you drink a diet soda after eating your
second cookie, it
> also has no calories because the diet soda cancels out the
cookie calories.
>
> 3. If a
friend comes over while you're making your Christmas
> cookies and needs
to sample, you must sample with your friend.
> Because your friend's first
cookie is calories free, (rule #1) yours is also.
> It would be rude to
let your friend sample alone, and being the
> friend that you are, that
makes your cookie calorie free.
>
> 4.
Any cookie calories consumed while walking around will fall to
> your feet
and eventually fall off as you move.
> This is due to gravity and the density
of the caloric mass.
>
> 5.
Any calories consumed during the frosting of the Christmas
> cookies will be used
up because it takes many calories to lick excess
> frosting from a knife
without cutting your tongue.
>
> 6.
Cookies colored red or green have very few calories.
> Red ones have three
and green ones have five - one calorie for each
> letter.
> Make more red ones!
>
>
7. Cookies eaten while watching "Miracle on 34th Street"
> have
no calories because they are part of the entertainment package and not part
of one’s personal fuel.
>
>
>
> 8 . As always, cookie pieces contain no calories because the process
>
of breaking causes calorie leakage.
>
> 9.
Any cookies consumed from someone else's plate have no calories
> since the calories
rightfully belong to the other person and will
> cling to their plate. We
all know how calories like to CLING!
>
>
10. Any cookies consumed while feeling stressed have no calories
>
because cookies used for medicinal purposes NEVER have calories.
> It's a
rule! So, go out and enjoy those Christmas Cookies -
>
>
We only get them this time of year!
December 14, 2011
Listen
to this beautiful version of O Holy Night sung by a young lady who looks to be about ten years old: http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=ki8EcnVbd-Q
And our friend Joyce sends this link to a Child's Version of the Christmas story. http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=ki8EcnVbd-Q
If you're rushing about with the shopping and festivities of getting ready for Christmas, here's a recipe
I found in one of those weekly newspaper magazines. It is absolutely delicious although some cuisine purists might find fault
with the not-so-much homemade.
Quick Taco Skillet
1# ground beef
1 10-3/4 oz. can condensed
tomato soup
1/2 cup picante sauce
1/2 cup water
6 flour tortillas (6") cut into 1" pieces
shredded
cheddar -- as much as you like, sour cream too, if you want
Cook beef in skillet until well browned, stirring often
to separate meat. Pour off fat.
Stir in soup, picante sauce, water and tortilla pieces. Heat to a boil. Reduce
heat and simmer 5 minutes. Serve and top with garnishes.
Remember those days when the silence from the room
where the kids were struck peril in your heart? Well, here's a 14 second video that is a strong indication that kids should
not be left alone at any age! http://biertijd.com/mediaplayer/?itemid=30018 Thank you Mark for sending to me. I will admit that I was holding my breath when the kids said they were going to do
the old tablecloth trick. But that part went really well. Then, big oooops. I can just see Mom and Dad running into the room.
Changing the subject, here's a really cute video from our neighbor Beverly: See if you can guess what it's all about
before you get to the end! http://zanylol.com/ad.html
And this comes from my cousin Frances in the Houston area
Can you match the characteristics of the
66 books in the Bible. You must choose 66 books,
written by 40 different authors, over 1500 years, in 3 different languages,
written
on 3 different continents. However, they must share a common storyline, a common
theme, and a common message,
with no historical errors or contradictions." I went
on to say, "If you can produce such a collection of books,
I will admit that the
Bible is not the inspired word of God." The student's reply was almost
instantaneous,
he emphatically stated, "But that's impossible!"
"But that's impossible!" It truly is impossible,
for any collection of human
writings. However, the Bible passes this test. The Bible contains 66 books, written
by
40 different authors, over 1500 years, in 3 different languages, on 3 different
continents, with no historical errors
or contradictions. The entire Bible, from
Genesis to Revelation, bears the mark of Divine inspiration.
The
next time you encounter someone who asks you why you believe the Bible is the
inspired word of God, try sharing this
challenge with them. Better yet, don't wait until you're asked, just go ahead and
share this challenge with a friend
today.. You don't even have to mention the Bible
up front, just ask them if they think it would be realistic to assemble
such a
collection of books. After they say, "But
that's impossible!" you've got a ready-made opportunity
for sharing the truth of
God's word with somebody!
And for all you techies out there, Shirley sends
this: "THEY" are watching you!!!-----Technology
>>>FASCINATING BUT SCARY!!!
>>>>>
>>>>> You used to be
able to get lost in the crowd, but not anymore. Double click
on any area in the picture to bring the person closer.
Or, just click the
mouse and use the mouse wheel to bring them closer. Keep double clicking to
zoom in closer.
>>>>>>
>>>>>This is
scary----kinda puts an end to the old saying, "you can get lost in the
crowd"-
>>>>>
>>>>>This is a photograph of 2009 Obama Inauguration. You can seeIN FOCUS the
face
of EACH individual in the crowd !!!
>>>>>You can scan and
zoom to any section of the crowd. . . wait a few seconds.
. double click anywhere . and the
focus adjusts to give you a very
identifiable close up.
>>>>>
The picture was taken with a robotic 1474 megapixel camera (295 times the
standard 5 megapixel camera).Every one attending
could be scanned after the
event, should something have gone wrong during it. Click on:
>>>>>http://gigapan.org/viewGigapanFullscreen.php?auth=033ef14483ee899496648c2b4b06233c
And you thought you could hide in a crowd, didn't you? We have no secrets anymore except when we're in our own
homes with the drapes drawn.
December 13, 2011
Here's
a catch up on news blips for those of you who can't stand to watch the newscasts or read newspapers. This is your "get
your head out of the sand moment" and walk around the planet with the rest of us. After all, there are some things you
just need to know or else life will sneak up on you and catch you from behind. Then you'll be left standing there wondering
what happened.
For instance, 91.7% of Americans make less than $100,000 a year. Only 20.7% make between $50,000
and $100,000. You probably are curious about that because there's been so much talk recently about who is rich and who isn't.
Remember, the politicians want to tax an extra bit added on to the tax liability of the rich. And who exactly are the folks
who are in the 1% of the top of the top tier? Well, they're the people who are making over $340,000 a year. Now, if you want
to read a lot more about who your rich friends are, then you'll find lots of defining data here: http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2011/12/13/what_is_rich_and_poor_in_america__99418.html
Here's another news item that fills me with a "what's next" sense of wonderment: The USS Abraham
Lincoln is being deployed back to the Middle East. It joins a growing group of big muscle American warships that are
building up in that area of the world. Is it just a coincidence that Iran considers closing the Straits of Hormuz?
Don't know. Here's a video clip of this gigantic vessel pushing off to head for deeper seas: http://www.prisonplanet.com/us-deploys-yet-another-warship-to-the-middle-east.html
Prayers lifted for all our military personnel, especially Navy men and women. They are sitting ducks out there
in the middle of a big pond of water. Please keep them in your daily prayers for safety and also keep their families in your
prayers. Lots of wives live through anxious moments, and children who can't wait for mommies and daddies to come back home
to them.
And a big thank you to each and every man and woman who's out there protecting the free world from big
bullies.
The rest of the story slips by on this quote: "Soon we will hold a military maneuver on how
to close the Strait of Hormuz. If the world wants to make the region insecure, we will make the world insecure." Read
the full story in Reuters: http://news.yahoo.com/iran-army-declines-mps-hormuz-exercise-remarks-132115297.html
So why is the Strait of Hormuz so important? For starters, it's the biggest trade route for the world's
petroleum products.
Keep in mind though, that the United States buys the bulk of its crude from Western Hemisphere
countries: ...About 50 percent of our petroleum imports are from countries in the Western Hemisphere, with 19 percent
from the Persian Gulf, and 18 percent from Africa and 13 percent from other regions... Unfortunately, the data are from
Department of Energy's 2004 information base. http://www.energyrefuge.com/archives/where_oil_comes_from.htm
This information is more up to date: http://www.eia.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/company_level_imports/current/import.html It shows that the US gets the bulk of its crude from Canada and Mexico. Only Saudi Arabia is included in the top three
exporters to the US. And so far, the Saudis are still our friends in the Middle East.
But on to things more
important than our temporal world. The Bible has been translated into Swahili and is available online at Bible Gateway http://www.biblegateway.com/versions/?action=getVersionInfo&vid=75
Swahili is the language of Tanzania. It's nestled in the valley of Mt. Kilimanjaro just south of Kenya in eastern
Africa.
I was also very interested to learn that the Book of Concord has also just been translated into
Swahili.
I can recall many long nights hovering over the Book of Concord for theology homework at Concordia
University in River Forest (now Concordia-Chicago). Quoting from The Word at Work(which is published by the Lutheran
Heritage Foundation), the late Rev. Dr. Wilbert Kreiss said, "When someone says they believe in the Bible and nothing
else, you still don't know what they believe on articles of faith, like the deity of Christ, baptism, the Lord's Supper and
original sin. The Bible alone is the supreme authority, and as sons of the Reformation, we need to keep the Bible and Book
of Concord in the rightful place. A church that is no longer confessional is no longer Biblical."
And
here's something else that rings close to my heart. It's about the quilts that Lutheran World Relief distributes to poor people
all over the world. In its latest publication, LWR says that it gave away 355,786 quilts that were made by women in churches
all over the United States. I admit that I had never made a quilt in my life until a few years ago. I envisioned some deep
mystery about how all those pieces of fabric somehow got stitched together to form beautifully intricate works of art.
Well, making a quilt is like making a bologna sandwich. There's a top and a bottom and something in the middle. "I
can do that," I thought. And so began my loving attachment to quilting. And further, as long as there are children in
the world who go to bed shivering because they are cold, I will quilt. And as long as there are nomads who throw a quilt over
a low branch to make a home for themselves, I will quilt.
And it doesn't matter whether my quilt is exactly perfectly
sewn as prescribed. As long as it's put together with stitches of love and prayers, it will be pleasing to God and warm to
all who get to hold it and keep it for their own. They might be children in an orphanage in France, or perhaps people shivering
against the dangerous cold of Siberia, or nomads in sub-Saharan countries who use the quilts as homes. The quilts I stitch
together are sent with love.
Quilting ladies all over the country join together to make lots and lots of quilts.
But I understand that Lutheran World Relief is expecting a 15% increase in the call for quilts. So it doesn't matter if you
can sew or not. Can you iron? Can you cut out squares? Can you tie a knot? Can you do anything at all to help?
It's
time to get on board and stop making excuses for not doing servant opportunities that the Lord has put in front of you. Quilting
is just one of those opportunities. And much help is needed.
December 11, 2011
This
comes under the "I can't believe the time has flown by" thought. After working until about 9:30 on Friday night
and all day Saturday until 6:00 in the evening, the costumes for the Christmas production at church are finished. I say that
with a qualified "almost." There is still a tunic to make for Simeon. A final fitting for Gabriel's gold decorations
across his chest and whatever will be needed after the full cast tries on their costumes for a photo op during Sunday School.
Pen and pencil and tape measure at the ready!
On another subject, I received this beautiful Christmas song from
Mark and also from John and Sherre: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ln01p1M2cH0
It's a song that says, basically, that if the people in stores are not going to greet you with "Merry
Christmas" then leave the store. As a Christian, Christmas is my holiday. If you're a Christian, it's your holiday too.
It's time that all Christians everywhere make a strong stand about our faith and not let non-Christians tell us to sit down
and shut up. Frankly, I don't care if the atheists are offended. If they're offended now, just wait 'til they get to the Pearly
Gates and find out that heaven and earth are very real. There'll be no denying Jesus Christ then.
And
this from Cody in Warrensburg:
Subject: SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE 'PREACHES' GOSPEL OF CHRIST-MAS AT US CAPITOL
An amazing moment happened yesterday on Capitol Hill and I wanted to share it with
you.
Speaker of
the House of Representatives John Boehner (congressman from Ohio) took to
a podium on the West Lawn of the US Capitol
and came very close to what many might
call, "good preaching." During the official lighting ceremony for the
US Capitol
Christmas Tree, Speaker Boehner said, "The Christmas tree flourishes as a symbol of
everlasting
life, and that light and life, of course, is Christ, whose birth to Mary
fulfilled a prophecy of joy and salvation."
For those of us who have worked tirelessly for years to preserve "CHRIST-mas" at the
Capitol, hearing
these words from the top official in the Legislative Branch of our
Federal Government was just glorious! This was no
watered-down, "holiday season,"
Washington-whispered nicety. It was the wonderful Truth about the Holy Day
announced by the angels, "Today is born to you in the city of David a Savior who is
Christ the Lord!" (Luke
2:11)
The tree lighting is an annual event at the Capitol. Each year a different state is
selected to contribute
a tree. This year's tree is a 118-year old, 65-foot Sierra
white fir from the Stanislaus National Forest in California.
A school-age child is
always chosen by lottery to represent the state and help the Speaker flick the
switch that
turns on some 10,000 LED bulbs. This year it was 7-year-old Johnny
Crawford of Sonora. This is the first time, though,
that anyone can remember a
Speaker of the House being so explicit in speaking about the real meaning of the
Christmas
season.
Having been there the last 16 Christmases, I can attest that this was the most
powerful, unapologetic,
and accurate telling of the Christmas message I've heard
from a sitting Speaker of the House. More than that, it was
inspiring. Mr. Boehner
is a political leader, not a preacher, but this came pretty close to a revival! I'm
just
grateful we heard the real Christmas Gospel preached on the West Lawn of the
Capitol. Speaker Boehner deserves our thanks
for speaking the truth and not cowering
to political correctness.
Faith and Action is here in our nation's
capital to declare Truth to those in power.
It was gratifying to hear one of America's most powerful leaders echoing
that truth!
Your missionary to our nation's capital,
Rev. Rob Schenck
How about
that!!!
So, all Christians on your feet and repeat after me: I am a Christian and am here to proclaim that Jesus
Christ came to earth to die for the salvation of our sins. It does not bother me one little bit if atheists find that remark
offensive. In fact, I am offended that athetists think they can minimize the Christian faith and try to get others to do so.
No one -- not one single person -- has had the impact that Jesus Christ has had on mankind for 2,000+ years. And He will continue
to do so until that very last second when He returns to gather His own to come and live with Him forever in heaven.
Oh sure. There are Christians who foolishly make such comments as "It's not heaven if there won't be golf," or
baking or gardening or painting or whatever you can think of that makes life here on earth a "heaven on earth."
Take great care with such foolishness. Heaven is for the faithful Christians who believe that he died for the individual
sins of mankind. Adn because we are forgiven people, we most willingly work our fingers to the bone to build his kingdom in
any way that we can. Tired? Never. God gives the increase. He provides the energy to do his work.
And
from Mark comes this long story. But worth the full read! Thank you, Mark, and thanks to all your servicemen and women in
all parts of the world who are reading this blog right now. We love you and are so thankful for the protection you give us
by your service!
Letter from an airline pilot:
He writes: My lead flight attendant came to me and
said, "We have an H.R. On this
flight." (H.R. Stands for human remains.) "Are they military?" I asked.
'Yes', she said.
'Is there an escort?' I asked.
'Yes, I already assigned him a seat'.
'Would you please tell him to come to the flight deck. You can board him early," I
said..
A short while later, a young army sergeant entered the flight deck. He was the image
of the perfectly dressed soldier.
He introduced himself and I asked him about his
soldier. The escorts of these fallen soldiers talk about them as if they
are still
alive and still with us.
'My soldier is on his way back to Virginia ,' he said. He proceeded to
answer my
questions, but offered no words.
I asked him if there was anything I could do for him and he said
no. I told him that
he had the toughest job in the military and that I appreciated the work that he does
for the
families of our fallen soldiers. The first officer and I got up out of our
seats to shake his hand. He left the flight
deck to find his seat.
We completed our pre-flight checks, pushed back and performed an uneventful
departure.
About 30 minutes into our flight I received a call from the lead flight
attendant in the cabin. 'I just found out the
family of the soldier we are carrying,
is on board', she said. She then proceeded to tell me that the father, mother,
wife
and 2-year old daughter were escorting their son, husband, and father home. The
family was upset because they
were unable to see the container that the soldier was
in before we left. We were on our way to a major hub at which the
family was going
to wait four hours for the connecting flight home to Virginia .
The father of the soldier
told the flight attendant that knowing his son was below
him in the cargo compartment and being unable to see him was
too much for him and
the family to bear. He had asked the flight attendant if there was anything that
could be done
to allow them to see him upon our arrival. The family wanted to be
outside by the cargo door to watch the soldier being
taken off the airplane. I could
hear the desperation in the flight attendants voice when she asked me if there was
anything I could do. 'I'm on it', I said. I told her that I would get back to her.
Airborne communication with
my company normally occurs in the form of e-mail like
messages. I decided to bypass this system and contact my flight
dispatcher directly
on a
Secondary radio. There is a radio operator in the operations control center who
connects
you to the telephone of the dispatcher. I was in direct contact with the
dispatcher. I explained the situation I had
on board with the family and what it was
the family wanted. He said he understood and that he would get back to me.
Two hours went by and I had not heard from the dispatcher. We were going to get busy
soon and I needed to know
what to tell the family. I sent a text message asking for
an update. I
Saved the return message from the dispatcher
and the following is the text:
'Captain, sorry it has taken so long to get back to you. There is policy on this
now
and I had to check on a few things. Upon your arrival a dedicated escort team will
meet the aircraft.
The
team will escort the family to the ramp and plane side. A van will be used to
load the remains with a secondary van for
the family. The family will be taken to
their departure area and escorted into the terminal where the remains can be
seen on
the ramp. It is a private area for the family only. When the connecting aircraft
arrives, the family will
be escorted onto the ramp and plane side to watch the
remains being loaded for the final leg home. Captain, most of us
here in flight
control are veterans.. Please pass our condolences on to the family. Thanks.'
I sent a message
back telling flight control thanks for a good job. I printed out
the message and gave it to the lead flight attendant
to pass on to the father. The
lead flight attendant was v ery thankful and told me, 'You have no idea how much
this
will mean to them.'
Things started getting busy for the descent, approach and landing. After landing, we
cleared
the runway and taxied to the ramp area. The ramp is huge with 15 gates on
either side of the alleyway. It is always a
busy area with aircraft maneuvering
every which way to enter and exit. When we entered the ramp and checked in with the
ramp controller, we were told
that all traffic was being held for us.
'There is a team in place to meet
the aircraft', we were told. It looked like it was
all coming together, then I realized that once we turned the seat
belt sign off,
everyone would stand up at once and delay the family from getting off the airplane.
As we approached
our gate, I asked the co-pilot to tell the ramp controller we were
going to stop short of the gate to
make an announcement
to the passengers. He did that and the ramp controller said,
'Take your time.'
I stopped the aircraft and
set the parking brake. I pushed the public address button
and said, 'Ladies and gentleman, this is your Captain speaking
I have stopped short
of our gate to make a special announcement. We have a passenger on board who
deserves our honor
and respect. His Name is Private XXXXXX, a soldier who recently
lost his life. Private XXXXXX is under your feet in the
cargo hold. Escorting him
today is Army Sergeant XXXXXXX. Also, on board are his father, mother, wife, and
daughter.
Your entire flight crew is asking for all passengers to remain in their
seats to allow the family to exit the aircraft
first. Thank you.'
We continued the turn to the gate, came to a stop and started our shutdown
procedures.
A couple of minutes later I opened the cockpit door. I found the two
forward flight attendants crying, something you
just do not see. I was told that
after we came to a stop, every passenger on the aircraft stayed in their seats,
waiting
for the family to exit the aircraft.
When the family got up and gathered their things, a passenger slowly started
to clap
his hands. Moments later more passengers joined in and soon the entire aircraft was
clapping. Words of
'God Bless You', I'm sorry, thank you, be proud, and other kind
words were uttered to the family as they made their way
down the aisle and out of
the airplane.
They were escorted down to the ramp to finally be with their loved
one.
Many of the passengers disembarking thanked me for the announcement I had made. They
were just words,
I told them, I could say them over and over again, but nothing I
say will bring back that brave soldier.
I
respectfully ask that all of you reflect on this event and the sacrifices that
millions of our men and women have made
to ensure our freedom and safety in these
United States of AMERICA
Footnote:
I know everyone
who has served their country who reads this will have tears in their
eyes, including me.
Prayer chain for
our Military... Don't break it!
Please send this on after a short prayer for our service men and women.
Don't break it!
They die for me and mine and you and yours and deserve our honor and respect.
'Lord,
hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us..bless
them and their families for the selfless
acts they perform for us in our time of
need.. In Jesus Name, Amen.'
prayer Request:
When
you receive this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our troops
around the world.. There is nothing attached.
Just send this to people in your
address book. Do not let it stop with you. Of all the gifts you could give a Marine,
Soldier, Sailor, Airman, & others deployed in harm's way, prayer is the very best
one.
GOD BLESS YOU!!
Ready for a mini-vacation? This is from John and Sherre in Wichita:
Subject:
Great photos & music
Wyman Meinzer graduated from Texas Tech. When he graduated, he
moved back to his ranch near Benjamin, Tx so he could
begin his
photography.
He lived in a dugout for quite a few months, to be in the middle
of the roadrunners, coyotes, and snakes.
Tremendous work.
If you're from West Texas and love the outdoors….or not, this
will stir your heart!
Be sure to turn on your speakers You need good speakers.
http://player.vimeo.com/video/22132017?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0
December 7, 2011
First and
foremost - today is Pearl Harbor Day. We remember and honor all our vets and especially those who served during WWII -- and
specifically, this day in Hawaii. If you were anywhere near Pearl Harbor on that day or if you were headed for Pearl Harbor,
we thank you as a nation and we thank you as individuals. You are a warrior who saved this nation from certain peril. God
bless you and God bless the U.S.A.
And now, our good friend Cody from Warrensburg sends us some Holy Humor.
Thank you, Cody, for the lighter moments.
HOLY HUMOUR
>
>**A father was approached by his small son who told him proudly, "I
>know
what the Bible means!"
>His father smiled and replied, "What do you mean, you
'know' what
>the Bible means?
>The son replied,
"I do know!"
>"Okay," said his father. "What does the Bible
mean?"
>"That's easy, Daddy..." the young boy replied excitedly,"
It stands
>for 'Basic Information Before LeavingEarth.' (This one is my favorite)
>
>=======
>
>There was a very gracious lady who was mailing an old family Bible
>to
her brother in another part of the country.
>"Is there anything breakable in here?"
asked the postal clerk.
>"Only the Ten Commandments." answered the lady.
>
>========
>
>"Somebody has said there are only two kinds of people in the world.
>There
are those who wake up in the morning and say, "Good morning,
>Lord," and there
are those who wake up in the morning and say, "Good
>Lord, it's morning."
>
>========
>
>A minister parked his car in a no-parking zone in a large city
>because
he was short of time and couldn't find a space with a meter.
>Then he put a note under
the windshield wiper that read: "I have
>circled the block 10 times. If I don't
park here, I'll miss my
>appointment. Forgive us our trespasses."
>When he returned, he found a citation from a police officer along
>with
this note "I've circled this block for 10 years. If I don't
>give you a ticket
I'll lose my job. Lead us not into temptation."
>
>========
>
>There is the story of a pastor who got up one Sunday and
announced
>to his congregation: "I have good news and bad news. The good news
>is, we have enough money to pay for our new building program. The
>bad
news is, it's still out there in your pockets."
>
>========
>
>While driving in Pennsylvania , a family caught up to an
Amish
>carriage. The owner of the carriage obviously had a sense of humor,
>because attached to the back of the carriage was a hand printed
>sign...
"Energy efficient vehicle: Runs on oats and grass. Caution:
>Do not step in exhaust."
>
>========
>
>A Sunday School teacher began her lesson with a question, "Boys and
>girls,
what do we know about God?"
>A hand shot up in the air. "He is an artist!"
said the kindergarten boy.
>"Really? How do you know?" the teacher asked.
>"You know - Our Father, who does art in Heaven... "
>
>========
>
>A minister
waited in line to have his car filled with gas just
>before a long holiday weekend.
The attendant worked quickly, but
>there were many cars ahead of him. Finally, the attendant
motioned
>him toward a vacant pump.
>"Reverend,"
said the young man, "I'm so sorry about the delay. It
>seems as if everyone waits
until the last minute to get ready for a long trip."
>The minister chuckled, "I
know what you mean. It's the same in my business."
>
>========
>
>People want the front of the bus, the back of the church,
and the
>center of attention.
>
>========
>
>Sunday after church,
a Mom asked her very young daughter what the
>lesson was about.
>The
daughter answered, "Don't be scared, you'll get your quilt."
>Needless to say,
the Mom was perplexed.. Later in the day, the
>pastor stopped by for tea and the Mom
asked him what that morning's
>Sunday school lesson was about.
>He
said "Be not afraid, thy comforter is coming."
>
>========
>
>The minister was preoccupied with thoughts of how he was
going to
>ask the congregation to come up with more money than they were
>expecting for repairs to the church building. Therefore, he was
>annoyed
to find that the regular organist was sick and a substitute
>had been brought in at
the last minute. The substitute wanted to
>know what to play.
>"Here's
a copy of the service," he said impatiently. "But, you'll
>have to think of
something to play after I make the announcement
>about the finances."
>During the service, the minister paused and said, "Brothers and
>Sisters,
we are in great difficulty; the roof repairs cost twice as
>much as we expected and
we need $4,000 more. Any of you who can
>pledge $100 or more, please stand up."
>At that moment, the substitute organist played "The Star Spangled Banner."
>And that is how the substitute became the regular organist!
>
>I love this one !!!
>
>
When you carry the Bible, Satan gets a headache..... When
> you open it, he collapses.....
When he sees you reading it, he
> faints...... When he sees that you are living what
you read, he
> flees..... And when you are about to forward this message.... He
> will try and discourage you.. I just defeated him!!! Any other takers?
>
December 1, 2011
I am happy
to share with you that the current issue (Winter 2011) has articles of mine published. There is an article on hoarding. And
there are two Bible Studies -- one on stress management and another of guilt. Plus a photo/caption of the junior quilters
that was included in a photo spread of quilters' endeavors all around the United States. There's also a brief article
about collecting mites for LWML mission projects. My next project? I'm going to submit an article about my experiences when
I found out about the breast cancer and all those travails. I hope to also include a Bible Study about how to anchor faith
when faced with catastrophic news.
It continues to be cold around here. Fortunately, no snow yet. I'm thankful
for that. Now
I'm off to church to work on more little Christmas pageant costumes with my friend Nola and husband Quint. Not quite sure
what Quint will do. Maybe if I'm lucky, I can get him to iron the costumes. Wish me luck.
December 1, 2011
Did you know
that Negro spirituals are all written on the black keys of the piano? Check out this link: http://www.karmatube.org/videos.php?id=1312
Here's Wintney Phipps giving us a very brief history lesson on how Amazing Grace came to be. It's him
singing at Carnegie Hall. Makes me want to stand up with my hand over my heart for such a powerful gift that Phipps shares.
And thank you, John and Sherre, in Wichita for sharing.
November 30, 2011
Tonight
is the first Advent Service at church. We are having a soup supper before the service which suits me just fine. It's very
cold outside and soup sounds really, really good. The free will donation will benefit our youth as they start to raise runds
for the big trip to the Youth Gathering in San Antonio in 2013.
It got down to 27 degrees last night and threatens
to go down to 26 tonight. Guess winter is here. Fortunately, we haven't had any snow yet. I'm glad for that. Not a big winter
fan period.
Got this from my good friend, Cody, all the way out there in Warrensburg:
This is dedicated to all of us who are seniors, to all of you who know
seniors, and
to all of you who will become seniors. (that takes in everybody, doesn't it? So be careful about too
much laughing)
"Where is my Sunday paper?"
The irate customer calling the newspaper office,
loudly demanded to know why her
Sunday edition was not delivered.
"Madam", said the newspaper employee,
"today is Saturday. The Sunday paper is not
delivered until tomorrow, on SUNDAY".
There was quite
a long pause on the other end of the phone, followed by a ray of
recognition as she was heard to mutter, ..
..."Well, shucks, that explains why no one was at church either.
November 28, 2011
Another
thing I am thankful for is the organization I care so deeply about -- the LWML (Lutheran Women's Missionary League). This
is an organization that's worldwide. We make quilts. We raise money for mission projects. And when there's a need anywhere
with our sisters in Christ, we are there to lend a helping hand.
Jesus Christ admonished us to love "as I
have loved you." We love sacrificially. But we don't love to the point where we become co-dependent and give up our own
sense of identity. But what we do to help others, we do because we love others. But most of all, we do it because we love
Christ.
And when it's time to join with our sisters in Christ for our meetings to read and study his word, and
to design our next project/s, we come together because we love to work together. You'll not hear an LWMLer use an excuse like,
"I have to visit my sister that night." Or "I have to cook supper." (We all do that so that's an excuse
not a reason.) And you won't hear "I have to do my nails, or stay home to wash my hair," or some other nonsensical
excuse.
Everything we do for others, we do it for Christ. Because he said to do it that way.
Oh, we
know that there are so many other women in the world who are also doing great things in the name of Christ. And we applaud
you for your work. But if you're a member of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, you are a member of the LWML - even if you
haven't made a commitment to Christ to follow him and honor him and worship him and praise him with your willing hands working
in love for his glory.
After all, he says in Matthew that when you help anybody who needs help, you are doing
it for him.
So let's all get aboard the LWML train. It will take you someplace wonderful where you'll work and
work and work and work. You'll ride your way through mission projects with great joy in your hearts because the more love
you give away, the more you get back for yourself to keep. So you see, the only sacrifice on your part is your time.
For today and the rest of this week and probably next week too, I am up to my eyeballs in Christmas program costumes. Fortunately
Nola is helping me. We're making shepherd costumes (12 total), angels (we need 10 but have 8 from last year), we want to update
Mary and Joseph, Elizabeth and Zechariah, and really update Gabriel.
And as Zone President, if you are reading
this and have not sent in your Society Record Sheet to me, please do so. I've gotten a half dozen or so, but would really
appreciate it if you would send your record sheet to me so that I can send my report into the district by the end of this
month. Thank you so much.
November 27, 2011
Another
thing I'm grateful for: Authentic cajun music. It's right up there with Beethoven and some of my other baroque favorites.
And the best cajun musician of all is Doug Kershaw. No one, in my view, can play a fiddle like him. All you have to do is
watch him and you realize that he feels the music all the way down to his bones. Like this, for instance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubSCPBkTyWY&feature=related This video was 21 years ago.
Here's one that we watched on DVD the other night: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9BHYvuWVl8&feature=rellist&playnext=1&list=PLA468FF70A1FE3922
And yes, the drummer backing him up is his son.
Aren't they fun? I love watching any musician who feels
the music and sends it back at me.
Like this four year old -- Hunter Hayes - playing a cajun accordion and singing
Jumbalaya. I admire anyone who can get in front of an audience and sing -- don't care if they are just a bit sharp
or flat -- give them credit for courage. It's what it takes to develop audience presence! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57sfRo26fAc&feature=related (The cajun accordion only has a one octave range. Something I did not know until just the other day.) Cajun music draws
its heritage from the French who settled way up north in Acadia, then drifted south to saner temperatures, finally settling
in Louisiana. Cajun is not to be confused with Creole, though. Creole is a whole separate genre.
If you're a Credence
Clearwater fan here's their rendition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa2Tl5BeK-U&feature=autoplay&list=PL8A03285A527D90AE&lf=rellist&playnext=2
But check out the number of hits that both Hunter Hayes and Credence Clearwater have on the song -- more thna
3,000,000!
November 24, 2011
Ever since
I was a little girl, I have had an enormous curiousity about the Titanic. Have seen each and every movie made about
her.
So here comes a video that claims to be an authentic rendering of what this luxurious ocean liner looked
like on the inside.
The salons are gorgeous. The carpenting alone must have cost a fortune, much less the wood
panelled hallways.
Don't care for twin beds -- it would be disastrous since I flop around like a fish out of water.
We even get a glimpse of inside one of the bathrooms. The cameraman stayed a bit too long and I don't think flushing
the toilet added anything to the authenticity aspect of the video.
But she was a beautiful ship. Can't deny her
that.
Take the tour if you like: http://wimp.com/titanicrendered/
November 23, 2011
Most of
all, be thankful.
Thankfulness is psychologically good for you. It turns a negative world inside out.
Thankfulness brings you hope. Maybe even a bit a joy. My prayer is that you will have a great deal of joy. And hope.
Here's what I'm thankful for -- and these are the things I pray for every night when I'm lying in the dark listening
to Quint's quiet breathing. He's only a pillow away from me but it might just as well be the other side of the universe because
he's so deep asleep.
I am thankful that my reservation in heaven is secured. God told me so. All I had to do was
dump the old me who was stubborn. I used to hang onto grudges. But they got to be too heavy. Life is better now that I've
sloughed them off. I'm thankful for that. It wasn't something that I learned how to do. No one learns how to forgive. So I
prayed for the God to send his counselor - you know, the Holy Spirit. I needed someone really powerful to get into my heart
and power wash it from the inside out. Get all the cobwebs out. It happened one night when I was desperately searching for
some way to get past all that mental junk. I remember that night. I had just gotten out of the tub and put my robe on. Then
I remember a Bible story from long ago where I was told to go "into my closet to pray." Well, the bathroom wasn't
a closet but it was a little, private room. So down on my knees I went. I leaned onto the edge of the tub and started
chatting away. God would probably answer me more often if he could get a word in edgewise. But he's been patient with
me all the way through my pouty, haughty childhood. That particular night I was moaning and groaning about how mean someone
had been to me. I couldn't (translation -- wouldn't) let it go.I knew it was wrong to feed ugly feelings.
Besides, it felt yukky. And then, almost as if something passed over me. Kind of like a breeze. Or a feather. It was
such a gentle touch that I thought I'd imagined it. But the burden lifted. Grudge was gone.
I'm thankful
I have someone I can go to in my deepest, darkest moments of ridiculous stubbornness.
I'm thankful because
God sent his Son to die on the cross for the sins of many, but specifically for my sins.
I'm thankful for a faithful
husband who brings me joy and makes me giggle. And he absolutely makes the best fudge in the entire world.
I'm
thankful all the kiddos have reasonably good health, even though they're approaching middle age. How did that happen? The
years go by so fast.
I'm thankful for a kind and beautiful god-daughter who has become such a beautiful
woman.
I'm thankful for grandchild who are also healthy and have all become young adults too.
I'm thankful
for a house that doesn't have a leaky roof.
I'm thankful that there aren't any broken windows in the house.
I'm thankful the house is warm and dry and the bed is soft and I have lots of pillows for comfort.
I'm
thankful that I have a reasonably good intellect that hasn't been marred by stroke or disease.
I'm thankful for
breast cancer that is in remission. I pray that it will continue to be so.
I'm thankful that Quint's chemo is going
so well for his lymphocitic leukemia. I pray that he will go into remission after the last chemo is scheduled in December.
I'm thankful that we have enough money to pay the bills when they're due, or even a little bit before.
I'm thankful that I'm able to work. I pray that I will still be working on the day that I have to report for heavenly duty.
I'm thankful for you dear readers. I never dreamed when I started this web site iin 2006 that there
would be so many of you all over the world. I don't know all your names but you are in our morning prayers. God knows who
you are. I pray that you are praying with me in the morning. I'm thankful that Quint holds my hand when we say our morning
prayers after breakfast.
God bless you all. And at this time of Thanksgiving, what are you thankful for?
No matter which country you live in, you can celebrate Thanksgiving with us.
Because I said so. I'm still
thankful for being inclusive rather than exclusive.
And let me be the first to welcome you to our world.
November 21, 2011
Did
your read your letter from God today?
He wants you to read his letters every day.
God is here. He surrounds
us and he has a special interest in us and what we do.
I hear from people who are absolutely certain that God has
no interest in them, or what's going on in their lives.
Rubbish!
If you don't read his mail, how can
you say that?
Let's say that you're married to someone in the military who's deployed on the other side of the
world. It's been three weeks since the goodbye-I-love-you kiss at the airport.
How wonderful was that feeling this
afternoon when the mail carrier put a letter from your true love into your hand that trembled with the excitement hearing
from your love so far away.
So did you take the letter and put it somewhere, unopened, maybe in a basket on a
table where it would be joined with other letters that declared all that love?
Of course not!
Hold that
thought because now I want you to think about how many times you walk by God's mail to you -- his letters that are collected
in a book called the Bible.
This collection of his love and promises sits on the table and attracts the dust for
so many people.
God's letters to you wait for you to open the Bible. I can just see him saying to himself, "Wait,
you're going to love this part. Read on. I want to tell you this part."
He whispers across the dark nights
of your soul. He holds you in a quiet embrace while the anguish of your painful tears trickle down your face. When you cry,
he tastes the salt in those tears.
He wants you to open up those letters.
Some of them came from grumbling
travelers across the desert many years ago. They got bored with food from God's special kitchen. It was almost like he stood
at his kitchen door and tossed the manna down to earth from heaven. It was his own version of a complete evening meal.
"Here you go," he probably said. "Enjoy your supper."
Other letters to you announce
his total joy when his only son was born. What a day that was.
I'll bet it was all that Luke could do to write
fast enough to capture the excitment of God's letter about that holy birth.
But alas, the joy didn't last. Not
even for half a century. Here comes the dark night of souls again.
You think God doesn't cry in anguish?
His sorrow was so deep that it broke his heart. the ground broke along with his heart. the earthquake was a huge event.
It actually did some major damage to his temple. It ripped a huge tapestry all the way from the ceiling down to the floor.
Now I ask you this question -- do you really want to tell this most divine person that you have no interest in reading
his letters?
It you go looking for God in the collection of his letters to you that is called the Bible, he will
come to you and he will find you. Let him in. He will change you life in ways you cannot imagine.
November 18, 2011
I was
rummaging around in my purse yesterday afternoon and came across a knife. It took a bit of mental meandering to figure out
why I would be carrying this weapon. It's a good thing I hadn't tried to get through a TSA gate at any airport. And it wasn't
just any knife. It was my "extremely sharp" ceramic knife. I had taken it to church the last time it was my turn
to fix a salad. Everybody knows that if you cut lettuce with a metal knife, it will turn brown. So I took my superdooper ceramic
knife to church. It's safely back home with me now.
Last night I made Quint some chocolate-peanut butter cookies.
He's happy now. And it's so easy to make with a cake mix. I use Pillsbury's reduced sugar fudge cake recipe, add 3 eggs (because
it was an 18 oz. mix, not a 16 oz. one) and 1/3 cup oil. This time I added 1/2 cup of peanut butter since that's one of Quint's
all time favorite staples. Drop the cookie dough onto a cookie sheet that has parchment paper on it. No need to spray or oil
the paper either. I can bake a dozen at a time on my favorite cookie sheet. The cake mix makes 2 dozen cookies. The cookies
are 2" in diameter. Bake the cookies at 350 degrees for 14 minutes. (Warning: my oven is slow, so be sure to check your
oven.)
Who would want to intentionally "eat" these bacteria? Streptococcus thermophilus, Bifidobacteria
longum, Bifidobacteria infantis, Bifidobacteria breve, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus paracasei
and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. Bulgaricus.Answer: If you use the probiotic VSL#3, it's exactly what you're
putting in your body. If you're using probiotics without the "blessing" of your doctor, you'd better be careful.
So my question is why? Are people using too many antibiotics and those who like to self-medicate have decided
that since "it's a known fact" that antibiotics kill off intestinal bacteria, they just want to put the bacteria
back into their system? But how do the self-medicaters know which bacteria get killed off with medicines? Have they had a
stool sample run through a test lab? Read the article at: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-11/rla-apu111711.php
I suspect, and I could be wrong mind you, that probiotics have become so popular since The Princess over there
on the other side of the pond has attributed her svelte figure to the use of probiotics every day.
Good
grief!
I can't remember how many years it's been since I took an antibiotic but when I do need one, I will if my
doctor prescribes it. Then when I'm done, my body will restore any level of bacteria in the intestinal tract that needs to
be there. God has a plan for just such an event. In fact, the mechanisms of the entire human body are amazing.
And
speaking of God -- I am sometimes asked if God has ever spoken to me. The answer is, "Yes, I have." Not a voice
that could be measured with volume, for the "sound" comes from somewhere deep inside me. Maybe in my heart. But
the heart is nothing but a muscle, and blood moves through four chambers. It's a pump. Kind of like fuel pumps in cars.
Maybe in my brain, where thinking takes place. But the brain is a collection of fat cells that have electrical charges
running through them.
I'm reminded of an astute little 6 year old client who asked me if Jesus ever talked
to me. I explained that he had. She then asked, "How do you know it's not your other you?"
I told her that I just knew. And that I couldn't explain how I knew. I just knew. Somewhere inside me my soul is alive and
well. It's my soul that receives the messages from God and Jesus.
His patience with me all these many years has
been incredibly kind. For instance, when I asked him why he didn't give me better signs as I meander my way through life,
he whispered, "I want you to figure things out for yourself. I want you to choose to please me by how you live your life.
I want you to do the things that you think are nearly impossible because I'm always available to give you strength.
So for all those times when I take on projects that are piled on top of other projects and I count only 24 hours
in the day that are available, I remind myself that when I get to heaven I will be worshiping and praising God all the time.
The least I can do while I'm here on earth is practice being that busy. He sends opportunities my way to show just how important
he is to me. He makes people cross the path of my daily life that I sometimes wish he'd send somewhere else.
But
each and every time that he offers me these opportunities, I accumulate so much joy as I do his bidding.
I truly
wish that more people could hear God's voice trying to push through the walls that block the beauty of his love. I wish that
more people would just let God in. Every person walking around on the face of the earth has a soul. As long as the soul is
inside the body, that person is alive. My prayer is that everybody could be joyfully alive. That's what God wants for each
and every one of us. He wants us to be happy and joyful. In order to be happy and joyful, we have to work on his stuff, not
our own. I really don't believe God wants to endow us with a big fat ego that gets its jollies by discounting the value of
God in our lives.
November 15, 2011
So, what's
the real cost of living increase?
I'm so thankful to be able to work every day. And I'm so thankful to have a continuing
mental health practice. I shudder to think of where we would be if we had to rely completely on Social Security like so many
of our aging friends.
They have to live with this paltry "cost of living" increase that Congress recently
bestowed on the Social Security recipients. The government came up with 3.6% as the COLA (cost of living) raise. However,
what many seniors do not know is that the cost of living formula does not include food and gasoline. There's even
a study group in Congress right now, as we speak, to "tweak" that COLA formula so that the increase to Social Security
will be even less in future years.
Never mind that over the years Congress has gotten into the Social Security
Trust Fund and "borrowed" funds to pay for congressional stuff -- to an accumulated IOU of $2.67 trillion megabucks.
But let's go back to the cost of living increase just over this past year.
Last year, the cost of gasoline
was $2.69, or thereabouts, depending on where you live. That's a 22% increase. Just in gasoline. That's because gasoline is
now selling for $3.41 a gallon.
Then there was this headline last week that the cost of a Thanksgiving dinner this
year is 13% more than last year. Big surprise to no one who regularly buys food that the cost of food has gone up. The 13%
sounds about right for increased food costs.
Now add all the costs of living -- 22% for gasoline -- 13% for food
-- and 0.3% that the government thinks is a cost of living increase (however they compute their numbers in their parallel
universe) -- and you get a real number that tells you how much more things are costing this year versus last year.
Drum roll please. That number is 22% + 13%+ 0.3% = 35.3%
Think about that the next time a politician wants your
vote. They're at a base salary of about $174,000 a year, you know. And they get more if they get other jobs, like Speaker
of the House, of Majority Whip, or Minority Whip, or other little plum assignments. They get to add another $50,000 or more
to their base salary. So even when they get back to giving themselves raises, the headlines will say the raises are only 3
or 4%. That would be $2500 a year just for a paltry raise of 3%. I think my math worked out on that. And their raises are
automatic Oh, one other thing -- their raises are automatic unless they specifically pass a bill where they
do not give themselves a raise.
They also get about a million dollars a year to run their district offices.
And a lot of them lease their vehicles and charge those costs back to the taxpayers. Except for Senators. They
aren't allowed to do that. Not sure why the congressionals need to have a private car anyway. They take a limo to just about
everywhere in Washington, D.C for "security" purposes.
And they get PAC (political action committees)
money flowing into their campaign funds. Ever wonder why those poor darlings love to get out on the campaign trail? Bet they
stay in 4 star hotels and live like kings. Or queens. And eat $16 cinnamon rolls for breakfast like some of them do when they're
back in the Holy City of D.C.
So start making a list of questions to ask your favorite politician when they start
coming around trying to get your vote again.
November 14, 2011
Thank
you, Mark, for sending this. It's great!
>>> I've never seen this one before...I
like it!
>>> When I say good morning I mean to say:
>>> G-od
>>> O-ffers us His
>>> O-utstanding
>>> D-evotion to
>>> M-ake us
>>> O-bedient &
>>> R-eady for a
>>> N-ew
day with Him.
>>> I-nspire others and
>>>
N-ever forget
>>> G-od loves you!
Here's an update about
Quint. He had another CT scan this morning. We won't get the results until we meet with the oncologist later this month but
in the meantime, all prayers for returning health are appreciated. The doctor told him last month when he went for chemo that
the lymph nodes are back to normal size. And his platelet count is starting to increase. That's a good sign because it means
his bone marrow is starting to make good cells again.
Quint and I watched The Secret Things of God on
streaming Netflix last night. It's a terrific video with many Biblical truths shared from several religious leaders of differing
faiths.
One of the premises of the video is that people who have grown up because of torment and trauma, whether
emotional trauma, physical or otherwise, and otherwise have serious abandonment issues will find themselves in relationships
with people who are not emotionally available to them. That is, until they change and develop new patterns of behavior.
The video, which is about 90 minutes long, is full of good information and particularly that God loves us and wants
a relationship with each of us. God wants us to be successful. He wants us to feel loved and forgiven.
If you get
a chance, watch it. You won't be sorry you did.
November 11, 2011
Thank
you to our all service personnel -- each and every one of you.
Thank you for your courage. Thank you for your
valor.
Thank you for standing watch on faraway places while we sat at home on a weekend night playing Yahzee, or
poker, or pinochle.
Thank you for suffering through boredom staying at your post while we stayed over here watching
exciting mysteries on TV.
Thank you for eating government issued supper in a bag while we sat at our favorite restaurant
eating the wonders of many a chef's imagination.
And thank you for walking through harm's way for a nation that
doesn't pay near enough homage for all that you do.
And thank you for walking through shadows of combat with artillery
and bullets putting exclamation marks on your thoughts of fear that you wouldn't dare show anyone else.
And thank
you for loving your country in depths that I can only imagine.
You are there and I love you for it.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Happy Veterans Day to each of you.
If it were not for what
you do for all of us here at home, it would be a land of free what?
Not much. Our enemies search through the shadows
too. They wait for any old vulnerability that they can take advantage of, were it not for you frustrating their every attempt
at seizing our freedoms.
Changing the subject, take a listen to these guys -- They call themselves the Sleeping
man Banjo Boys. The banjo picker is all of nine years old! And check our his twelve year old brother playing what looks like
an old beat up country strad. Probably belonged to his grandpa. Big brother picks a mean guitar too. http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=GXcRI0BdioE&vq=medium This is from their guest appearance on the David Letterman Show.
November 10, 2011
It's
time to make cookies and candy. At our house, Quint makes the world's best fudge and this year, I am going to make pralines
again.
Ah, it's good to feel well again!
Here's my recipe for Southern Pralines.
1
cup buttermilk 2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
Dash of salt
1-1/2 cups pecan halves
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
I do not use brown sugar in my recipe. I prefer to have
the white sugar carmelize in the buttermilk. Yummy!
In saucepan, combine buttermilk, sugar, baking soda and salt.
Bring to a boil and simmer slowly until mixture forms a hard ball whend ropped into cold water. Do not stir more than necessary
during this cooking period.
Remove from heat; add pecans and vanilla extract. Beat until dull. Drop by tablespoons
onto foil. Let stand at least 30 minutes to cream and harden.
Note: Humility will cause pralines to become sugary.
I made a batch yesterday before I headed over to the churches where I an now covering the office needs for a couple
of parishes.
Problem, I didn't remember that I do not cook the candy all the way to 250 degrees. It got too dark.
The pralines are supposed to be this beautiful caramel color. They aren't supposed to be kind of chocolate colored.
It didn't take me too long to realize that I was using the wrong size saucepan either. I remembered that part when the candy
mixture started to get too close to the top of the saucepan and it was still rising. So out came the candy thermometer and
I poured the mixture into a stainless steel soup pot. It was too big. At the end of my fiasco, there was some scorch on the
bottom of the pot. Not that this stopped me though. I took the candy off the stove at 253 degrees - should not have taken
it about 240. That's about a half way between soft ball and hard ball compromise and it's the color I want for the pralines.
Believe me, they are not so scorched that they are inedible! But next time, they will be better.
So
what to do about the scorched candy in the bottom of the soup pot. I filled the pan with about 3 quarts of hot water and poured
in my all-time favorite cleaner Awesome. (You can not get this cleaner at Wal-Mart. At least the Wal-Mart here in town carries
it.) I let that set overnight, then this morning, simmered the mixture for about a half hour. Worked like a charm. And Quint
thought he was going to have to chisel the scorch out of the pan.
Now I'm cleaning the hardwood floors before
winter. It's a good thing to do every spring and fall anyway. It erases the little pheronome trails that help guide critters
like spiders that just love to crawl around to their favorite spots and make webs. Then at night when we're sleeping they
jump up on exposed hands and fingers and bite.
I found a really great cleaner for hardwood floors. It's called
Bona. Very popular in Europe for nourishing and cleaning wood floors. I think the label even says it's used in Westminster
Abby. Didn't know there were hardwood floors there. Anyway, after sweeping and swiffing the floors, I just spray the Bona
on and then wipe off with a wet cloth. It cleans and leaves a nice polish too.
And tonight I'm going to church
to work on the little shepherd costumes some more. I've made one of twelve so far. I'll be bringing my sewing machine and
sewing toolkit from church so I can make another costume before Saturday when the Junior Quilters meet.
November 8, 2011
We can kiss
the glories of good weather goodbye for the year. Unless, of course, you like dreary, drippy days with no sunshine. I realize
that there are many skiing enthusiasts around the world and I suspect you are enjoying the Austrian Alps and getting ready
for your favorite sport. And ditto for you in Romania, Germany, France, Canada, the Ukraine, Russian Federation and Italy,
if you're far enough north to be close to the Alps. As for Quint and me, we like "sunny and 72" even if it is a
big boring to the winter sports enthusiasts.
This funny little retaliatory for all who have been frustrated beyond
belief at bureaucracies that seem to hold us hostage when we need information, as a paying customer, is about on target. Thank
you, cousin, Mark:
Shown below, is an actual letter that was sent to a bank by an 86 year
old woman.
>
> The bank manager thought it amusing
enough to have it published in the New York
Times.
>
>
Dear Sir:
>
> I am writing to thank you for bouncing
my check with which I endeavored to pay my
> plumber last month.
>
> By my calculations, three nanoseconds must have elapsed between
his presenting the
> check and the arrival in my account of the funds needed to honor
it..
>
> I refer, of course, to the automatic
monthly deposit of my entire pension, an
arrangement
> which, I admit, has been
in place for only eight years.
>
> You are to
be commended for seizing that brief window of opportunity, and also for
> debiting my
account $30 by way of penalty for the inconvenience caused to your bank.
>
> My thankfulness springs from the manner in which this incident has caused me to
rethink
> my errant financial ways.
>
> I noticed that whereas I personally answer your telephone calls and letters, ---
when I
> try to contact you, I am confronted by the impersonal, overcharging, pre-recorded,
> faceless entity which your bank has become.
>
> From now on, I, like you, choose only to deal with a flesh-and-blood person.
>
> My mortgage and loan repayments will therefore and hereafter
no longer be automatic,
> but will arrive at your bank, by check, addressed personally
and confidentially to
an
> employee at your bank whom you must nominate.
>
> Be aware that it is an OFFENSE under the Postal Act for
any other person to open
> such an envelope.
>
> Please find attached an Application Contact which I require your chosen employee
to complete.
>
> I am sorry it runs to eight
pages, but in order that I know as much about him or
her as
> your bank knows about
me, there is no alternative.
>
> Please note that
all copies of his or her medical history must be countersigned by a
> Notary Public,
and the mandatory details of his/her financial situation (income,
debts,
> assets
and liabilities) must be accompanied by documented proof.
>
>
In due course, at MY convenience, I will issue your employee with a PIN number which
>
he/she must quote in dealings with me.
>
> I regret
that it cannot be shorter than 28 digits but, again, I have modeled it on
the number
>
of button presses required of me to access my account balance on your phone bank
service.
>
> As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
>
> Let me level the playing field even further.
>
> When you call me, press buttons as follows:
>
> IMMEDIATELY AFTER DIALLING, PRESS THE STAR (*) BUTTON FOR ENGLISH
>
> #1. To make an appointment to see me
>
> #2. To query a missing payment.
>
> #3. To transfer the call to my living room in case I am there.
>
>
> #4 To transfer the call to my bedroom in case
I am sleeping
>
> #5. To transfer the call to
my toilet in case I am attending to nature.
>
>
#6. To transfer the call to my mobile phone if I am not at home
>
> #7. To leave a message on my computer, a password to access my computer is required.
> Password will be communicated to you at a later date to that Authorized Contact
>
mentioned earlier.
>
> #8. To return to the main
menu and to listen to options 1 through 7.
>
>
#9. To make a general complaint or inquiry.
> The contact will then be put on hold,
pending the attention of my automated
> answering service.
>
> #10. This is a second reminder to press* for English.
>
> While this may, on occasion, involve a lengthy wait, uplifting music will play for
> the duration of the call.
>
> Regrettably, but again following your example, I must also levy an establishment
fee to
> cover the setting up of this new arrangement.
>
> May I wish you a happy, if ever so slightly less prosperous New Year?
>
> Your Humble Client
>
>
And remember: Don't make old People mad.
> We don't like being old in the first place,
so it doesn't take much to piss us off.
>
>
More from Mark:
I am over 60 and the Armed Forces thinks I'm too old to
track down terrorists. You can't
be older than 42 to
join the military. They've got the whole thing ass-backwards.
Instead of sending 18-year olds
off to fight, they ought to take
us old guys. You shouldn't be able to join a military unit
until you're at least
35.
For starters, researchers say 18-year-olds think about
sex every 10 seconds. Old guys only think about
sex a couple of times a day, leaving us more than 28,000
additional seconds per day to concentrate on the enemy.
Young guys haven't lived long enough to be cranky, and a
cranky soldier is a dangerous soldier. 'My back
hurts! I can't
sleep, I'm tired and hungry.' We are impatient and maybe
letting us kill some asshole that desperately
deserves it
will make us feel better and shut us up for awhile.
An 18-year-old doesn't even like to get
up before 10am. Old guys
always get up early to pee, so what the hell. Besides, like I
said, I'm tired and can't
sleep and since I'm already up, I may
as well be up killing some fanatical son-of-a-bitch.
If captured we
couldn't spill the beans because we'd forget where
we put them. In fact, name, rank, and serial number would be a real
brainteaser.
Boot camp would be easier for old guys.. We're used to getting
screamed and yelled at and we're
used to soft food. We've also
developed an appreciation for guns. We've been using them
for years as an excuse
to get out of the house, away from the
screaming and yelling.
They could lighten up on the obstacle course
however... I've
been in combat and never saw a single 20-foot wall with rope
hanging over the side, nor did I
ever do any pushups after
completing basic training.
Actually, the running part is kind of a waste of energy,
too... I've
never seen anyone outrun a bullet.
An 18-year-old has the whole world ahead of him. He's still
learning to shave, to start a conversation with a pretty girl.
He still hasn't figured out that a baseball cap
has a brim to
shade his eyes, not the back of his head.
These are all great reasons to keep our kids at
home to learn a little more about
life before sending them off into harm's way.
Let us old guys track down
those dirty rotten coward terrorists. The last thing an
enemy would want to see is a couple million pissed off old farts
with attitudes and
automatic weapons, who know that their best years are already behind them.
HEY!! How about
recruiting Women over 50...in menopause!!!
You think MEN have attitudes??
Ohhhhhhhhhhhh my God!!!
If
nothing else, put them on
border patrol. They'll have it secured the first night!
Now you can understand
why he, Butch and I are cousins! There must be a genetic connection with logical thinking.
November 3, 2011
Kitchen
smells are awesome right about now. Quint is making some of his world famous fudge for the annual silent auction for Lutheran
Care Center. He makes three batches. Last year, one of his batches fetched a really generous price pf $80 on the live auction,
while the second batch only raised $30 on the silent auction. The third batch is for the guests at our table (in case they
don't like the dessert), and a dish of "free samples" for the two batches on the auction table. He always saves
the pan for me to empty out. I generally get it pretty cleaned out, too, let me tell you. I mean, who in the world does not
like good homemade fudge?
We are having weather that is a definite harbinger of cold wintry stuff. I'm not a big
fan of winter. The ice and snow are too cold. I'd be perfectly happy to live in a three season year. I'm not sure where that
would be though. It was a chilly, windy yukky day. But I'm thankful to be alive and I'm most thankful to God that I have been
given back my health. And Quint's health is taking a turn for the better. His platelet count is now up to 140,000. That's
a very good change since he got all the way down to 90,000. Fortunately the chemo is continuing to work. Thank you for answered
prayers.
I am spending my afternoons working in a church office not too far from home. It's very interesting and
I'm glad for the opportunity to be able to do it. It's an adjustment to get the new schedule to wrap around client sessions,
then drive ten miles to the church. But you know what? With the high unemployment in the United States, it's wonderful to
have the chance to even have a job, much less one that accommodates my tricky schedule.
I'll bet Quint is enjoying
the quiet too. And probably taking afternoon naps. If he isn't, he should be.
October 31, 2011
This is
Reformation Day for Lutherans all around the world. And for protestants of all sorts too. It's the day that Martin Luther
nailed 95 Theses (statements) to a church door in Germany. He was challenging the folks in the Vatican to a debate about some
Catholic ideas that he disagreed with. And so it began.
Quint and I travelled to Europe several years ago and
took the "Luther Tour." We actually went through that very same church. I asked the tour guide if that was the same
door in the front of the church. "Actually no" she said. "That door was burned in a fire and couldn't be used
anymore."
Oh, darn.
I was enjoying going around looking for really old things and building just
so I could touch them. Being Lutheran, I wanted to touch thatdoor. We did go to Wartburg Castle and I actually stood
in front of the table in his room/study. It was the very same table where he sat hundreds of years ago translating the Bible
to low German so that all the population could read the Bible in their native tongue.
I think I may have embarrassed
Quint a bit when we were Notre Dame Cathedral. There I was doing my touchy touchy thing with the walls in Notre Dame.
I will admit that I'm impressed with these beautiful old buildings. I think it's not so much that the buildings are
that old but rather, that the people have such reverence for their antiquities. I mean, what is Notre Dame -- eight hundred
years old? I think it was constructed in the 1200s. It survived all those bombings in WWII, not to mention the French having
wars just about every time the squash harvest was poor. One revolution started over a loaf of bread, for crying out loud! But
the French eventually let by-gones be by-gones and came back together.
Now I have to get back to making my muffins
for tomorrow morning's breakfast at church. I've decided that the difference between muffins are unfrosted. It they are frosted,
it makes them a cupcake. I am making chocolate chip muffins, made with yellow cake. Yum yum!
October 30, 2011
Quote for
the century: What if you woke up in the morning and all you had were the people and things you thanked
God for yesterday?
Wow! That was what one mother brought to our Discussion Group this
morning at church. Her daughter had the message posted to her by a buddy on Facebook.
So let's see. I'd have my
husband, Quint. Also the house. And for the kiddos. And all my friends, both ill and well. My church family.
I
didn't thank God for the food in the pantry so I'd have to go scrambling before too long.
And to be honest, I didn't
thank God for the car. Or the TV. Or even the laptops.
But I did thank God for cancer remission, for myself to
stay that way, and for Quint to hurry up even though he's got two more rounds of chemo.
That's about it.
I should have thanked God for giving us His Word. And even the dictionary and all the books I love.
What would
you have that you thanked God for yesterday?
Hands that will touch the hand of God -- thank you, dear
Joyce:
GRANDMA'S HANDS
Grandma, some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the patio bench.
She didn't move,
just sat with her head down staring at her hands.
When I sat down beside her she didn't
acknowledge my presence and the longer I sat I
wondered if she was OK.
Finally, not really wanting to disturb
her but wanting to check on her at the same
time, I asked her if she was OK. She raised her head and looked at me and
smiled.
'Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking,' she said in a clear voice strong.
'I didn't mean to disturb
you, Grandma, but you were just sitting here staring at
your hands and I wanted to make sure you were OK,' I explained
to her.
'Have you ever looked at your hands,' she asked. 'I mean really looked at your hands?'
I slowly
opened my hands and stared down at them. I turned them over, palms up and
then palms down. No, I guess I had never really
looked at my hands as I tried to
figure out the point she was making.
Grandma smiled and related this story:
'Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have, how they have served you well
throughout your years.
These hands, though wrinkled, shriveled and weak have been
the tools I have used all my life to reach out and grab and
embrace life.
'They braced and caught my fall when as a toddler I crashed upon the floor.
They put
food in my mouth and clothes on my back. As a child, my mother taught me to
fold them in prayer. They tied my shoes
and pulled on my boots. They held my
husband and wiped my tears when he went off to war.
'They have been dirty,
scraped and raw, swollen and bent. They were uneasy and
clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son. Decorated with
my wedding band they
showed the world that I was married and loved someone special.
They wrote my letters
to him and trembled and shook when I buried my parents and
spouse.
'They have held my children
and grandchildren, consoled neighbors, and shook in
fists of anger when I didn't understand.
They have covered
my face, combed my hair, and washed and cleansed the rest of my
body. They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken,
dried and raw. And to this day
when not much of anything else of me works real well these hands hold me up, lay me
down, and again continue to fold in prayer.
'These hands are the mark of where I've been and the ruggedness
of life.
'But more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out and take when
he leads me home.
And with my hands He will lift me to His side and there I will use
these hands to touch the face of God.'
I
will never look at my hands the same again. But I remember God reached out and
took my Grandma's hands and led her home.
When my hands are hurt or sore or when I
stroke the face of my children and husband I think of Grandma. I know she has
been
stroked and caressed and held by the hands of God.
I, too, want to touch the face of God and feel His
hands upon my face.
When you receive this, say a prayer for the person who sent it to you, and watch
God's
answer to prayer work in your life. Let's continue praying for one another.
Passing this on to anyone you consider
a friend will bless you both.
Passing this on to one not yet considered a friend is something God would
do.
October 28, 2011
Decorating
for an autumn is great fun! Our pastor is hosting a tri-county pastoral meeting next week and not only do the ladies at church
get to serve breakfast, lunch and a mid-afternoon snack, we also get to decorate the tables.
The serving tables
are long banquet jobbies. So I'll put garlands of autumn leaves and pretty autumn flowers down the two serving tables with
a pretty pastel orange ribbon winding its way through the garland. I got some interesting little bitty gourds to put around
the yellow candles in the middle of the tables. I'll tell you one thing -- next year I'm planting some of those cute little
gourds. I would like to have had about two dozen more, but my name's Reinheimer, not Rockefeller. A little frugality is appropriate
too. Besides, sometimes less is more.
We added round tables to our congregation's social works "artillery"
about a year ago and they're very pretty when decorated in various themes. Those tables will have orange candles on them with
the garland kind of wrapped around the candles and more of the orange ribbon weaving its way around the garland. The ribbon
is a very pretty orange. And two inches wide. It's not quite pastel but not an eye-blasting orange either.
And
I agreed to make cookies for the afternoon snacks. I got a sugar free yellow cake to which I will add chocolate chips (sugar
free, of course), a carrot cake mix, spice cake mix, a lemon cake mix, a fudge cake mix which I will add macadamia nuts, chopped,
to. That ought to give me about ten dozen cookies. Yummy. And cookies are so easy when you use cake mixes. All you need to
do is add eggs and a little oil to the cake mix. You can get the recipe on the Recipe page by clicking that tab on the left
over there. I also got a gingerbread mix but those are going to be cookies for Quint and me. He's not inclined to share his
gingerbread cookies. Unless I make a double batch, that is. Then he might give up a dozen. Maybe.
Changing the
subject -- I just read about a research project today having to do with aspirin. Looks like this humble little pill has yet
another property that seems to help with cancer reduction.
The research comes from the medical journal Lancet
and was published in the Catholic Online (News Consortium).
This piece of research found that even in
patients who have a predisposition to cancer in their families, taking an aspirin every day for a number of years reduced
the chance of developing cancer by 63%.
The study tracked nearly 1,000 patient from 16 different countries. That's
important because diets and cultural eating habits vary from one culture to another.
So the test tube guys (and
ladies) concentrated on people who have a likelihood of getting colon cancer because it runs in their families. (And a few
other cancers like skin and brain cancers.)
As in practically all scientific research, there's a placebo bunch
and then a bunch that takes the medicine. In this research project, the medicine was an aspirin every day. So the study went
on for a few years and nothing significant happened. Then, after about five or six years, there were 34 new cases of colon
cancer in the placebo group and only 19 in the aspiring taking group.
But get this -- the longer the research
ran, the greater the different between the cancer risk in the two groups.
So what's the big deal, you may
wonder. Well, the scientists wondered that very same thing and came up with this conclusion. They suspect that it may be that
aspirin "...encourages programmed cell death; which could be the reason why cancer cannot take hold in the body
of a person who is predisposed to cancer -- properties of the aspirin may be causing those cells to die early rather than
multiply."
Isn't that neat?
I just had a colonoscopy about a month ago and the surgeon removed
three tiny little polyps. I'm glad I've been taking a baby aspirin for about twenty-three years. The polyps were not
malignant, fortunately.
So if you aren't taking a baby aspirin every day, talk to your doctor and see what
the medical recommendation is.
October 27, 2011
This comes from my cousin Frances in Broaddus, Texas:
I have a question!
Why isn't the number 11 pronounced onety-one?
If 4 out of 5 people SUFFER from diarrhea...does that mean that
one out of five enjoys it?
Why do croutons come in airtight packages?
Aren't they just stale bread to begin with?
If people from Poland are called Poles,
then why aren't people from Holland called Holes?
If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?
Why is a person who plays the piano called a pianist, but a
person who drives a racecar is not called a racist?
If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly
are the others here for?
If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked,
then doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted,
musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree
surgeons debarked, and dry cleaners depressed?
If Fed Ex and UPS were to merge, would they call it Fed UP? ?
Do Lipton Tea employees take 'coffee breaks?'
What hair color do they put on the driver's licenses of bald men?
I thought about how mothers feed their babies with tiny little
spoons and forks, so I wondered what do Chinese
mothers use.
Toothpicks?
Why do they put pictures of criminals up in the Post Office?
What are we supposed to do, write to them?
Why don't they just put their pictures on the postage stamps so
the mailmen can look for them while they deliver the
mail?
Is it true that you never really learn to swear until you learn
to drive?
If a cow laughed, would milk come out of her nose?
Whatever happened to Preparations A through G?
As income tax time approaches, did you ever notice:
When you put the two words 'The ' and 'IRS' together, it spells
'THEIRS'?
More offerings from little tykes, thanks to our dear friend Cody, in
Warrensburg, MO:
GOOD SAMARITAN
A Sunday school teacher was telling
her class the story of the Good Samaritan. She asked the class, "If you saw a person lying on the roadside, all wounded
and
bleeding, what would you do?"
A thoughtful little girl broke the hushed silence, "I think I'd
throw up."
DID NOAH FISH?
A Sunday school teacher asked, "Johnny,
do you think Noah did a lot of fishing
when he was on the Ark ?" "No," replied Johnny. "How
could he, with just two worms."
THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD
A Sunday
School teacher decided to have her young class memorize one of the most quoted passages in the Bible - Psalm 23 .
She gave the youngsters a month to learn the chapter.
Little Rick was excited about the task - but he just couldn't
remember the Psalm. After much practice, he could barely get past the first line.
On the day that the kids were
scheduled to recite Psalm 23 in front of the congregation, Ricky was so nervous.
When it was his turn, he stepped
up to the microphone and said proudly, "The Lord is my Shepherd, and that's all I need to know."
UNANSWERED PRAYER
The preacher's 5 year-old daughter noticed that her father always
paused and
bowed his head for a moment before starting his sermon.
One day, she asked him why. "Well,
Honey," he began, proud that his daughter was so
observant of his messages. "I'm asking the Lord to help
me preach a good sermon."
"How come He doesn't answer it?" she asked.
BEING THANKFUL
A Rabbi said to a precocious six-year-old boy, "So your mother says your
prayers
for you each night?
That's very commendable. What does she say?"
The little boy replied, "Thank
God he's in bed!"
ALL MEN / ALL GIRLS
When my daughter, Kelli, said
her bedtime prayers, she would bless every family member, every friend, and every animal (current and past).
For
several weeks, after we had finished the nightly prayer, Kelli would say, "and all girls."
This soon
became part of her nightly routine, to include this closing.
My curiosity got the best of me and I asked her,
"Kelli, why do you always add the part about all girls?"
Her response, "Because everybody always
finish their prayers by saying 'All Men'!"
SAY A PRAYER
Little Johnny
and his family were having Sunday dinner at his Grandmother's
house. Everyone was seated around the table as the food
was being served.
When Little Johnny received his plate, he started eating right away. "Johnny!
Please wait
until we say our prayer." said his mother.
"I don't need to," the boy replied.
"Of course, you do "his mother insisted. "We always say a prayer before eating at our house."
"That's at our house." Johnny explained. "But this is Grandma's house and she knows how to cook.
THE BIBLE
Did you know that...
When you carry the Bible,
Satan has a headache.
When you open it, he collapses.
When he
sees you reading it, he faints.
Let's read the Bible every day
So he keeps on fainting.
Maybe one day he'll have a stroke and never wake up.
Okay, so it's Halloween. Maybe that's why I thought this was so funny - from John and Sherre in Wichita:
http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=22984504&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00adef&fullscreen=1&autoplay=1&loop=0
It's a very funny commercial. See if you can guess what the advertiser is before the end of the commercial. I
couldn't.
October 26, 2011
Out of the mouths
of babes come these frisky little stories, all from different children named Larry. Thank you, Nola, for sharing:
A new teacher was trying to make use of her psychology courses. She started her
class by saying, 'Everyone who thinks
they're stupid, stand up!' After a few
seconds, Little Larry stood up. The teacher said, 'Do you think you're stupid,
Larry?' 'No, ma'am, but I hate to see you standing there all by yourself!'
Larry watched, fascinated, as his
mother smoothed cold cream on her face. 'Why do
you do that, mommy?' he asked. 'To make myself beautiful,' said his mother,
who then
began removing the cream with a tissue. 'What's the matter, asked Larry 'Giving up?'
The math teacher
saw that Larry wasn't paying attention in class. She called on him
and said, 'Larry! What are 2 and 4 and 28 and 44?'
Larry quickly replied, 'NBC, FOX,
ESPN and the Cartoon Network!'
Larry's kindergarten class was on a field
trip to their local police station where
they saw pictures tacked to a bulletin board of the 10 most wanted criminals.
One of
the youngsters pointed to a picture and asked if it really was the photo of a wanted
person. 'Yes,' said
the policeman. 'The detectives want very badly to capture him.'
Larry asked, "Why didn't you keep him when you
took his picture ? "
Little Larry attended a horse auction with his father. He watched as his father
moved
from horse to horse, running his hands up and down the horse's legs and rump,
and chest. After a few minutes, Larry asked,
'Dad, why are you doing that?' His
father replied, 'Because when I'm buying horses, I have to make sure that they are
healthy and in good shape before I buy. Larry, looking worried, said, 'Dad, I think
the UPS guy wants to buy Mom ....'
October 24, 2011
Thanks for your
patience. I've been working on a couple of writing projects and am up against a deadline. Will be back in the next day or
so.
October 22, 2011
Everything
you wanted to know about those tools in your workshop, compliments of cousins Al and Mark:
DRILL PRESS
: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly
snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that
it smacks
you in the chest and flings your beer across the
room, denting the freshly-painted project which you had
carefully
set in the corner where nothing could get to it.
WIRE WHEEL : Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them
somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light .
Also removes fingerprints and hard-earned calluses from
fingers in about the time it takes you to say, 'Oh sh _ t!'
SKIL SAW : A portable cutting tool used to make
studs
too short.
PLIERS : Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in
the creation of blood-blisters.
BELT SANDER : An electric sanding tool commonly used to
convert minor touch-up jobs into major refinishing
jobs .
HACKSAW : One of a family of cutting tools built on the
Ouija board principle... It transforms human
energy into
a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt
to influence its course, the more dismal
your future becomes.
VISE-GRIPS : Generally used after pliers to completely round
off bolt heads. If nothing
else is available, they can also be
used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.
OXYACETYLENE
TORCH : Used almost entirely for lighting
various flammable objects in your shop on fire. Also handy
for igniting
the grease inside the wheel hub out of which
you want to remove a bearing race.
TABLE SAW : A large stationary
power tool commonly used
to launch wood projectiles for testing wall integrity.
HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK : Used
for lowering an automobile
to the ground after you have installed your new brake shoes ,
trapping the jack handle
firmly under the bumper.
BAND SAW : A large stationary power saw primarily used by
most shops to cut a good
aluminum sheet into smaller pieces
that more easily fit into the trash can after you cut on the
inside of the
line instead of the outside edge.
TWO-TON ENGINE HOIST : A tool for testing the maximum
tensile strength
of everything you forgot to disconnect.
PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER : Normally used to stab the vacuum
seals under
lids or for opening old-style paper-and-tin oil cans
and splashing oil on your shirt; but can also be used, as the
name implies, to strip out Phillips screw heads.
STRAIGHT SCREWDRIVER : A tool for opening paint cans.
Sometimes
used to convert common slotted screws into
non-removable screws and butchering your palms.
PRY BAR : A tool
used to crumple the metal surrounding
that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to
replace a 50 cent
part.
HOSE CUTTER : A tool used to make hoses too short.
HAMMER : Originally employed as a weapon
of war, the
hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to
locate the most expensive parts adjacent the
object
we are trying to hit. It is especially valuable at being
able to find the EXACT location of the thumb or
index
finger of the other hand.
UTILITY KNIFE : Used to open and slice through the
contents of cardboard
cartons delivered to your front
door; works particularly well on contents such as seats,
vinyl records, liquids
in plastic bottles, collector magazines,
refund checks, and rubber or plastic parts. Especially
useful for slicing
work clothes, but only while in use.
SON-OF-A-B _ _CH TOOL : (A personal favorite!) I try very hard not
to use this one any more than I have to. Any handy
tool that you grab and throw across the garage while
yelling 'Son of a b _ _ch!' at the top of your lungs. It is also,
most often, the next tool that you will need.
Hope you found this informative/educational.
October 20, 2011
There
are no noble wars - just noble warriors -- from John and Sherre in Wichita
Interesting
Veterans Statistics off the Vietnam Memorial Wall
"Carved on these walls is the story of America, of a continuing quest to
preserve both Democracy and decency, and
to protect a national treasure
that we call the American dream." ~President George Bush
SOMETHING to think about - Most of the surviving Parents are now Deceased.
There are 58,267 names now listed on that polished black wall, including
those added in 2010.
The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by
date and within each date the names are alphabetized.
It is hard to
believe it is 36 years since the last casualties.
Beginning at the apex on panel 1E and going out to the end of the East
wall, appearing to recede into the earth (numbered
70E - May 25, 1968),
then resuming at the end of the West wall, as the wall emerges from the
earth (numbered 70W
- continuing May 25, 1968) and ending with a date in
1975. Thus the war's beginning and end meet. The war is complete,
coming
full circle, yet broken by the earth that bounds the angle's open side
and contained within the earth itself.
The first known casualty was Richard B. Fitzgibbon,
of North Weymouth,
Mass. Listed by the U.S. Department of Defense as having been killed on
June 8, 1956. His name
is listed on the Wall with that of his son,
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard B. Fitzgibbon III, who was killed on
Sept.
7, 1965.
·
There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Wall.
39,996 on the Wall were just 22 or younger.
· 8,283 were just 19 years old.
The largest age group, 33,103 were 18 years old.
· 12 soldiers on the Wall were 17 years old.
· 5 soldiers on the Wall were 16 years old.
· One soldier, PFC Dan Bullock was 15 years old.
· 997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam .
· 1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam .
· 31 sets of brothers are on the Wall.
· Thirty one sets of parents lost two of their sons.
· 54 soldiers attended Thomas Edison High School in
Philadelphia. I wonder why so many from one school.
· 8 Women are on the Wall. Nursing the wounded.
· 244 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during the
Vietnam War;
153 of them are on the Wall.
·
Beallsville, Ohio with a population of 475 lost 6 of her sons.
· West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the
nation.
There are 711 West Virginians on the Wall.
·
The Marines of Morenci - They led some of the scrappiest high
school football and basketball teams that the little Arizona
copper town
of Morenci (pop. 5,058) had ever known and cheered. They enjoyed roaring
beer busts. In quieter moments,
they rode horses along the Coronado
Trail, stalked deer in the Apache National Forest . And in the patriotic
camaraderie
typical of Morenci's mining families, the nine graduates of
Morenci High enlisted as a group in the Marine Corps. Their
service
began on Independence Day, 1966. Only 3 returned home.
· The Buddies of Midvale - LeRoy Tafoya, Jimmy Martinez, Tom
Gonzales
were all boyhood friends and lived on three consecutive streets
in Midvale, Utah on Fifth, Sixth and Seventh avenues.
They lived only a
few yards apart. They played ball at the adjacent sandlot ball field.
And they all went to Vietnam
. In a span of 16 dark days in late 1967,
all three would be killed. LeRoy was killed on Wednesday, Nov. 22, the
fourth
anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination. Jimmy died less
than 24 hours later on Thanksgiving Day. Tom was shot
dead assaulting
the enemy on Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.
· The most casualty deaths for a single day was on January 31,
1968
~ 245 deaths.
·
The most casualty deaths for a single month was May 1968 -
2,415 casualties were incurred.
For most Americans who read this they will only see the numbers that the
Vietnam War created. To those of us who survived
the war, and to the
families of those who did not, we see the faces, we feel the pain that
these numbers created.
We are, until we too pass away, haunted with
these numbers, because they were our friends, fathers, husbands, wives,
sons and daughters. There are no noble wars, just noble warriors.
Ever get tired of shucking
corn? Well, John and Sherre have a tip for that too - and it really, really works!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnBF6bv4Oe4
October 19, 2011
This
comes from Joyce. It makes the rounds every year about this time and this year, it's again a welcome message. Thank you, Joyce.
HAPPY AUTUMN
Being a Christian is like being a pumpkin. God lifts you up,
takes
you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. He opens you
up, touches you deep inside and scoops out
all the yucky stuff--
including the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc. Then He carves
you a new smiling face and puts His light inside you to shine for
all the world to see. This
was passed on to me from another
pumpkin. Now, it is your turn to pass it to a pumpkin.
I liked
this enough to send it to all the pumpkins in my patch. Happy Fall!
This has been one of those days that feels more early winterthan late autumn. It's raining. And cold
and blustery. Absolutely raw outside. It's a good day to stay indoors and cuddle up.
We are expecting frost later
this week. Too soon. I'm not ready for winter. Never am. But then, we can't have Indian Summer until after the first frost.
I look forward to Indian Summer. It's a time when the warm sunshine provides a reminder of what I'm going to be missing for
the months of winter, so I'd better make sure I get all my appreciation in for the warm days and happy little sunbeams. That's
when I'll go out side and cut the irises back down to the ground. Also need to air rake the leaves to the back of the yard
and burn them. Also need to paint the front door frame after Quint puts the hardware on the new storm door. Also need to pick
all the green tomatoes and make chow chow (a sort of spicy sweet relish that's delicious on soups). Also need to pull out
the tomato plants.
Lots to do. And the grass needs one more mowing. That's Quint's department. He has his turbo-charged
superdooper riding lawnmower. He says it's a tractor. If he says so, I guess it is.
Tomorrow I'll be making Fettucini
Al Fredo with a cheese sauce that has parmesan cheese, blue cheese and one of those 6-cheese mixes in it. That should make
Quint happy for when I go to Springfield on Friday for a board meeting at the Central Illinois District of Lutheran Women's
Missionary League.
Hope he saves me some for supper. I'll be back for supper, Quint.
October 18, 2011
It's going
to frost later this week. So this afternoon I brought in my plants that had been lapping up the sunbeams all summer. Figured
it was time to bring the little darlings in before they jumped out of their pots and ran indoors, bring muddy little footprints
with them. They're happy to be inside where it's warm but I think I hear them murmuring to be outside where they'd be free
to romp around the yard when they think I'm not looking.
And, other than the Occupy Wall Street commotion going
on, the other newsworthy stuff has to do with the Senate voting approval for unlimited potatoes in schools. How about that?!
It's counter to the White House's recommended two potatoes a week limit. Potatoes, after all, are an excellent source of fiber
and potassium. Not to mention protein. The problem with potatoes, in my view, is not the humble ugly little vegetable -- I
mean who would want all those inverted warts all over themselves -- but it's the stuff you put on it: ketchup, sour cream,
bacon bits, shredded cheddar. Just all those goodies can jack the calorie count up to 3 million per potato. Probably. Maybe
not. The potato itself starts out at about a hundred calories. Want to know what bland tastes like? Try eating a potato with
nothing on it. That is, if you can stand it.
October 17, 2011
Two chickens
in every pot. Didn't Roosevelt promise something like that?
That's what I was thinking last week when I made the
chicken noodle soup for our church's annual Soup Supper. First I bought two big fat chickens. Then boiled them for about three
hours with three onions, coarsely chopped. Also added in some carrots (four big fat carrots) and four celery stalks. Everything
was course chopped. And it boiled and boiled and boiled.
How did I know it was done? Because when I wiggled the
chicken legs, they came out of the joints. Poor little things. They weren't about to go hopping along anywhere.
The
chickens were dumped out in a big colander to cool off enough to de-bone. And the broth was filtered of all the vegetable
pieces. I put the lid onto the big pot and set it out on the patio in the cool evening air. When the broth had cooled down
enough, I put it in the deep freeze for a bit so that all the fat would solidify and I could scrape it off.
Don't
need that heart attack in a bowl messing up a perfectly good batch of homemade chicken noodle soup.
While
the chicken broth was doing its secret things in the deep freeze, I was taking all the chicken meat off the bones. None of
that "mechanically extracted chicken parts." All of this chicken was edible in and of itself. No secret bits and
pieces in my chickes soup.
The chicken pieces had to be cut up into bite size pieces and put back into the broth.
I like to boil it again for about 15 minutes to sterilize everything that's been handled. Then it sits on the top of the stove
until it's time to take it to church. That's when I add the noodles. Otherwise, the pot would be too full and the chicken
stock would be sloshing around in the trunk.
Four of us cooked these big batches of soup. Each batch was a good
10-12 quarts. And since some other ladies made chili, there was no danger of running out of soup. Another lady and her two
older children made a couple hundred ham sandwiches. And a teenager cooked hot dogs on one of those electric grills.
And there were two long, banquet size tables groaning under the burden of pies and cakes.
Such is the Lutheran
chow served at our church's soup supper.
At one point, there were at least fifteen people in the kitchen cooking,
cutting pies and cakes, hurrying to keep up with the dishwashing to make sure that didn't get piled up on us. It's a wonderful
experience to share with at least four generations of helpers. Even the middle school youngsters can bus the dishes back
to the kitchen. Or go around and put more crackers in bowls. They help themselves to a pickle while they're at it, too. And
the kids are at liberty to hoist off a fresh piece of cake or pie without being under too much scrutiny. Then they can take
their sugared up little selves out to the playground and romp around to their hearts content.
And in the middle
of the busiest aisle, the smallest of the two and three year olds are doing their own little circle dance. Nobody seems to
mind. They're too cute to miss.
Joyful memories will they bring from this annual harvest soup supper all the way
into their adulthood. Every child should have a heart full of these golden nuggets called memories.
October 13, 2011
Oh my
goodness. This video is so funny. And thank you, Joyce, for sending the link. If you have not watched Jeanne Robertson before,
be prepared to roll on the floor with laughter. http://jeannerobertson.com/VideoBaptist.htm
I have to tell you that Quint's and my very first real date was a canoe trip, so this video brings a tear to our
eyes. We didn't go white water rafting though. In fact, the water down the Fox River was so placid that we had to paddle most
of the time.
I have signed up for a couple for the canoe trip months and months before, paid the money, was promised
a juicy steak at the lunch break, etc. etc. On Thursday afternoon, the "host" who was gathering us idiots together,
called and reminded me that I had paid for the trip and was I still going.
Ooops. Hadn't given it another thought.
Didn't know anyone fearless enough to go much less sit in the back of the canoe.
Then I thought of Quint.
We were kind of friends. We seemed to get along okay even if the only time we saw each other was at golf outing dinners and
chamber of commerce galas. So, fearless me gave Quint a call. "Sure," he said. "What time?"
"Five."
"Okay." "Wait, is that 5:00 a.m.?" he asked.
"Of course. No one I know canoes down the river at night."
"Oh, well -- uh, let me --"
He was trying to weasel out. I could tell by the tone of his voice. I mean, you didn't have to know someone really
well to guess that they were trying to head for the high ground of sanity. "Oh, great. I can't tell you how thankful
I am. It will be so much fun. And we're going to have a great cookout for lunch, with wine and all that stuff. You'll love
it." Then I asked, "Have you ever gone canoeing before?"
He said he hadn't.
"But
you're gonna love it. I take my Girl Scouts all the time. The Fox River is so scenic and pretty this time of year.
Well, it was dark at 5:00 in the morning. But there he was, punctual, in front of Village Hall. Ready to get on the big
chartered motor coach that took us north to the Fox River. We had a great day. It was daylight by the time we put our canoes
in the water. We had each other's undivided attention all day long. And then we got married not too long after that, 34 years
ago. It's been a hoot ever since. We've had lots of fun as we've journeyed through life together.
So now, with
marriage counseling clients who ask what the secret is to a long, happy marriage is, I just say, "Marry the right person."
You know how I love to watch little children figuring things out. And animals too. Whoever
said that animals can't think or figure things out? Watch this video of a cat that has learned to play the old shell game:
http://www.break.com/index/cat-learns-to-play-the-shell-game-2065317
October 12, 2011
Freedom
of religion in the United States is one of the strongest pillars of our constitution. Too bad the framers didn't also include
a little caveat that we ought to respect other people's religion.
For instance, the leader of the Southern Baptist
Conference refers to Mormonism as a "cult." In an interview, he explained the context of his remark. It has to do
with Christianity being the only true religion. Since Christians believe this to be true, then all other religions are considered
false religions. False religions, within his context, are cults.
Mr. Candidate Huntsman called this pastor a moron.
Mr. Candidate Romney challenged Mr. Candidate Perry to repudiate the Baptist pastor. Mr. Candidate Perry said he wasn't
going to.
Then Ms. Candidate Bachmann says to turn Mr. Candidate Cain's tax reform plan, known as 9-9-9, upside
down. What's her point. Is she saying that Mr. Candidate Cain is demonic and that his tax plan is likened to the "mark
of the beast" of 666 that's mentioned in Revelation?
Then someone asked Mr. Candidate Cain what he thought
of all this talk about Mormon being called a cult. Mr. Candidate Cult said he wasn't running for president to be Theologian-in-Chief
and wasn't going to issue an opinion. It is noted, however, that Mr. Candidate Cain is an associate pastor in the Baptist
church that he belongs to in Atlanta.
The whole issue seems a distraction to me at this point. Not that the question
of Christian faith versus other faiths isn't important, but there's another arena more appropriate for that discussion. In
my opinion.
Too much sniping about religion and not enough discussion about the economy and employment health in
this country.
Get ready for a big, beautiful Hunter's Moon. It was here on October 11 and still lights up
the night sky for a couple of nights. The Hunter's Moon is the first full moon after the Harvest Moon after the autumnal equinox.
It's very bright, but is actually farthest from earth than usual. The brightness comes from the clear, crisp air of autumn.
It's a hunter's moon because nighttime hunting is at its best. Native Americans, it's rumored, used the benefits of the bright
hunter's moon to hunt prey to stockpile for the winter months.
October 11, 2011
For years
and years I have warned clients, friends and anyone else who would listen to me that it's not a good idea to self-medicate
with what some think are "harmless" herbs.
These herbs are powerful chemicals, and the press release
below is an example of just how harmful some can be. Especially if mixed with medications prescribed by your physician.
I first learned of potential problems several years ago when I read about St. Johns Wort. A number of my clients decided
to take this over-the-counter medication for what they called a "minor" case of depression. The active ingredient
in St. Johns Wort is hypericin. It came to the front of the news when a patient's anti-rejection medication stopped working.
He had had an organ transplant -- don't remember if it was a kidney or heart. Anyway, the poor fellow nearly died. The doctor
was trying frantically to figure out why the anti-rejection medication just stopped working. "Are you sure you aren't
taking any other medications? Anything at all?" The patient then said, "Well, I take St. Johns Wort, but it's just
an over-the-counter pill."
Now I don't understand the chemistry of how all this happens but all I need to
know is that hypericin triggers an enzyme in the liver that reacts to medications. The anti-rejection medication was one of
those instances. I've also read that some birth control pills stop working too. One researcher said, "We don't know how
many little St. Johns there are running around out there."
My point is, all the medications and herbs and
greeneries you take should be carefully discussed with your doctor.
Not too long ago I was prescribed Anastrozole,
an estrogen suppressant that I will have to take for five years to reduce the odds of a recurrence of breast cancer. That
was from another doctor, who also recommended that I take a calcium supplement to make sure I don't get osteoporosis. Three
600 mg pills a day. Then I went to see my PCP who also happens to be an endocrinologist specializing in kidney disease. So
I told him that I was taking the Anastrozole and 1800 mg of calcium.
He told me that 600 mg of calcium in pill
form was more than plenty because I also get calcium in a glass of milk I drink before I go to bed (for the tryptophan for
sounder sleep) and a Boost in the afternoon, and a yogurt snack in the evening. The problem with more than the 600 mg
of calcium is the potential for kidney damage, like kidney stones. New research.
Unfortunately, there are too
many people out there standing in the supplement aisle at the drug store figuring if one is good, two is better. That's definitely
not the case if one is detrimental to your health in the first place.
Not only that but it takes about 13 years
for a person to go from undergrad premed programs all the way to a practicing doctor. I'm assuming that doctors learn a lot
of useful stuff in those years that I never heard of before. So I'm not going to self-medicate myself with herbs and supplements.
For more information, contact: For Immediate Release
10/10/2011
Herbal Supplements May Cause Dangerous
Drug Interactions in Orthopaedic Surgery Patients
Discontinuing use prior to surgery
can help avoid adverse events Rosemont, IL Complementary and alternative
medical (CAM) treatments such as herbal supplements have become increasingly popular in the United States, especially among
older patients and those with chronic pain. However, many of these products can have serious and potentially harmful side
effects when combined with medications prescribed during and after surgery, according to a review article in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons(JAAOS). About 20 percent of prescription users also take an herbal supplement, and those
rates are higher — studies suggest between 35 and 70 percent — among orthopaedic patients who are candidates for
surgery. “Herbal remedies are classified as dietary supplements, meaning they are exempt from
the safety and efficacy regulations that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires for prescription and over-the-counter
medications,” said David T. Rispler, MD, director of the Grand Rapids/Michigan State University Orthopedic Residency
Program. “As a result, individual herbal remedies have not been thoroughly evaluated in large clinical trials, and little
information is available on the interactions between drugs and herbs.” In addition, many herbal
products are marketed as “natural” or “homeopathic,” which may lead consumers to assume the products
are safe, even when taken with prescription medicines, Dr. Rispler noted. “Herbal supplements can have a negative impact
on patients both before and following surgery, and may interact with conventional medicines used to manage chronic conditions.”
“Traditional physician-patient communications, like intake interviews, often do not include the subject
of alternative medical products. As a result, patients may fail to report that they are using them and continue to take them
along with any prescribed medicines and before surgery, thinking the herbal products pose no risk,” said Dr. Rispler.
Many of the most popular herbal supplements used today can have serious side effects when combined with prescription
medicines. For example: - Feverfew (used for migraine prevention), ginger, cranberry, St. John’s
Wort and ginseng can interact with the anti-clotting drug warfarin;
- Feverfew, ginger, and gingko
can interact with aspirin;
- Garlic can interfere with anti-clotting medications and the immunosuppressant
drug cyclosporine (prevents transplant rejection);
- Valerian (used as a sedative) can intensify anesthetics;
and
- St. John’s Wort can interact with immunosuppressive drugs and potentially lead to transplant
rejection.
Herbal products marketed for osteoarthritis also can pose serious risks when combined
with prescription medications. For example: - Glucosamine, chondroitin and flavocoxid can affect
clotting agents;
- Black cohosh can interact with the cancer drug tamoxifen; and
- Cat’s
claw can interact with clotting agents, blood pressure medications and cyclosporine.
Most surgery-related
side effects can be avoided by stopping the CAM product at least one to two weeks prior to surgery and during the postoperative
period while prescription medications such as blood thinners or antibiotics are being used. The problem arises when physicians
do not know that a patient is using a CAM product, Dr. Rispler said. “One of the main reasons
that patients do not disclose the use of a CAM product is that they may not believe it is important information to convey
to the physician because they feel they are safe to use and all-natural,” he said. “Patients may also decide not
to report CAM product use if they are worried their physician may be prejudiced against the supplement’s use, or believe
their physician will not have an understanding of the supplement.” Although the use of herbal
medicines should be monitored by patients’ primary care physicians, Dr. Rispler said orthopaedic surgeons should have
an understanding of the potential side effects of some of the most common CAM products used by their patients, and be able
to guide them in suspending use prior to surgery. To help ensure physicians are aware of the products
their patients may be using, Dr. Rispler also recommends including CAM product-use questions on health/medical assessment
forms to encourage patient disclosure. “Physician-patient communication often does not include
the use of CAM therapies, which results in underreporting of their use,” he said. “To help avoid potential side
effects, orthopaedists should develop questionnaires that can be used prior to surgery to help determine if their patients
are using CAM products.” Alternatively, patients should also report usage of any herbal products or other supplements
they may be taking to all their physicians. “By opening up a conversation on the use of herbal
medications around the time of surgery and compiling a complete list of all prescribed and self-prescribed medications and
supplements, patients and physicians may be able to work together to decrease the risk of complications that can occur during
and following surgery,” Dr. Rispler said. ###
Article at: http://www6.aaos.org/news/pemr/releases/release.cfm?releasenum=1024
October 10, 2011
Mediocre Christians
are miserable people. That's my own opinion. This conclusion comes from years and years of observation. It's probably more
a correlation than a cause-and-effect. So let me tell you what I mean by a mediocre Christian.
You've seen them
in meetings at your church. They're the grumblers. They sit on their hands, figuratively speaking, when it's time to get something
done around the church.
They don't participate in Bible studies. They may attend but they lurk in the emotional
shadows. Hanging back. Never revealing what their views are. Their reluctance keeps them from polishing their Christian life
to a bright, shining glow.
We should be so excited about our Christian faith that everybody around us catches
its contagiousness. It's so easy to share the exceptional life qualities that are ours when we brush the mediocrity off just
like we'd brush off the dust from the living room furniture.
So what does mediocre mean? My dictionary
says mediocre is something that has low quality or value. It's neither good nor bad. Not a good way I'd ever want my faith
to be viewed by others. Rather, I want people to join with me and learn the full joy of looking at life through the lens of
God's grace and love.
My desire is that others will be so excited about sharing aspects of their faith that they
will no longer be shy about what their faith means to them.
And it's so easy to talk about faith and what you're
doing about growing God's Kingdom.
This morning I participated in a health fair for a large corporation near where
I live. I was there to discuss counseling programs through an Employee Assistance Program. The lady sitting next to me was
from the insurance company that provided vision care for the employees. At a break in the program I asked her if she ever
got used eyeglasses back from employees. She said she did. Lots of glasses. And why did I ask such an unusual question. Then
I told her that I was collecting used eyeglasses for a pastor who was going to Haiti to set up an eye clinic early next year.
She wanted the pastor's name so she could get the glasses to him. I told her that he had recently returned from Haiti and
noticed that no one there wore glasses. He found that strange. In fact, it signalled a giant need that was not being met.
And this lady then told me that she had just returned from a mission trip to El Salvador! How exciting is that?! Who knows
-- maybe she'll contact this pastor and get glasses to him and even go on his mission trip to Haiti next time.
So
speak up. Don't be shy. Let everybody know where the joy in your life comes from. But if you're miserable, examine whether
or not your faith could use some polishing off. Don't be mediocre.
October 9, 2011
For those who
share my thrill seeking only vicariously, this trail across a straight-up rock cliff in Spain is harrowing enough. The trail
was built around this big rock in 1905. It has weathered fairly well, considering it's more than 100 years old. Supposedly
it's in the process of being refurbished. I say hurry. And while you're at it, Mr. Spaniards, please put up some railings
to hold onto. And maybe make the path two feet wider. You just aren't going to believe this! See for yourself. It is not a
hike I would ever have taken my Girl Scout troops on! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2047032/Are-sure-right-way-Thrillseekers-risk-lives-taking-walk-worlds-dangerous-path.html
October 7, 2011
Here's
something we ought to have learned in kindergarten. Or, if you're ancinet like I am, in the first grade:
If you
want people to like you, you have to make yourself likable.
So, how do all those likable people get so many folks
to get in their smile lane?
You're right. There's a list.
#1 -- Likable people are charming. How do
you get to be charming? You can increase your "Charm IQ" by saying something nice to someone. When you come up to
someone and they have on a nice shirt or blouse, tell them. But if you are saying to yourself, "I don't care about their
shirt," then you get to stay on the sourpuss list, not the likable friends list.
#2 -- Devote time learning
and practicing positive thinking. Think positive thoughts about yourself. Say to yourself, "I'm an okay person. I may
not be perfect but at least I try to be the best I can be." This is especially helpful if you make a boo boo.
#3 -- Make a habit of reframing negative thoughts that may be dragging you down. "There's no point in voting.
My vote won't matter." In the first place, that's not a true statement. There are examples of elections being won or
lost by just one vote. Instead, say to yourself, "It is my civic duty to vote on election day so that my opinion matters."
See -- negative to positive.
#4 -- Place a high value on people liking you. Treat people the way you want them
to treat you. If you're thinking that nobody cares about you, what would you like to have happening in your life that would
make you feel like other people do like you. Then go out and do those exact same things to other people. The joy and positive
energy that you send out will come back to you in plentifold. (That's a new word I just made up.)
#5 -- Laugh.
And if you can't laugh, at least smile as loud as you can. People like to be around other people who are in a good humor.
Even smile when you're talking on the phone. People can tell because your voice sounds cheerier.
#6 -- Resist being
objectionable. People who object to every little thing other people say and do are hostile people. Better to get at the root
of anger and frustrations. People will like you more.
#7 -- Be forgiving. People who do not hold grudges are admired
and liked by others around them. Remember that forgiven people have an easier time of forgiving others. Let go of wrongs.
Develop a higher tolerance for those times when you feel slighted. It will be the seedbed of positive energy that you can
share with others.
#8 -- Be conciliatory. If you say that you have a reputation for being blunt, you might just
as well take an ad out that says you're a bully. Work on being charitable. You'll be better liked. And you'll like yourself
more too.
October 6, 2011
This video
is not for the faint of heart. It shows how repairmen get all the way up to those 1700+ foot towers to make repairs. I think
this guy was going to change a light bulb in the warning system. Not sure. I even got dizzy when he looked down. http://www.modernman.com/a-job-you-dont-want-climbing-an-1800-foot-lightning-rod/
And here's a tribute to grandparents everywhere -- thanks to Nola:
Grandmas are moms with lots of frosting. ~Author Unknown
What a bargain grandchildren are! I give them
my loose change,
and they give me a million dollars' worth of pleasure. ~Gene Perret
Grandmothers
are just 'antique' little girls. ~Author Unknown
Perfect love sometimes does not come until the first grandchild.
~ Welsh Proverb
A grandmother is a babysitter who watches the kids instead
of the television.
~ Author Unknown
Never have children, only grandchildren. ~Gore Vidal
Becoming
a grandmother is wonderful. One moment you're just
a mother. The next you are all-wise and prehistoric. ~Pam Brown
Grandchildren don't stay young forever, which is good because
Grandfathers have only so many horsy
rides in them. ~Gene Perret
When grandparents enter the door, discipline flies out the window.
~ Ogden Nash
Grandma always made you feel she had been waiting to see just
you
all day and now the day was complete. ~ Marcy DeMaree
Grandmas never run out of hugs or cookies. ~Author
unknown
Grandmas hold our tiny hands for just a little while, but our
hearts forever. ~
Author Unknown
If I had known how wonderful it would be to have grandchildren,
I'd have had
them first. ~Lois Wyse
My grandkids believe I'm the oldest thing in the world. And after
two
or three hours with them, I believe it, too. ~Gene Perret
If becoming a grandmother was only a matter of
choice, I should
advise every one of you straight away to become one. There is
no fun for old people like
it! ~Hannah Whithall Smith
It's such a grand thing to be a mother of a mother - that's why the
world calls her grandmother.. ~Author Unknown
Grandchildren are God's way of compensating us for growing
old. ~ Mary H. Waldrip
You do not really understand something unless you can explain
it to your grandmother. ~Proverb
An hour with your grandchildren can make you feel young again.
Anything longer than that, and you start to age quickly. ~Gene Perret
The best baby-sitters, of course,
are the baby's grandparents. You
feel completely comfortable entrusting your baby to them for long
periods,
which is why most grandparents flee to Florida . ~Dave Barry
I wish I had the energy that my grandchildren
have - if only for
self-defense. ~ Gene Perret
Grandmother-grandchild relationships
are simple. Grandmas
are short on criticism and long on love. ~Author Unknown
Nobody can do
for little children what grandparents do
Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of
little
children. ~ Alex Haley
Grandmother - a wonderful mother with lots of
practice. ~Author
Unknown
A grandparent is old on the outside but young on
the inside. ~Author Unknown
One of the most powerful handclasps is that of a new
grandbaby around the finger of a grandfather. ~Joy
Hargrove
It's amazing how grandparents seem so young once you
become one. ~Author Unknown
If your baby is 'beautiful and perfect, never cries or fusses,
sleeps on schedule and burps on demand,
an angel all the
time,' you're the grandma. ~Teresa Bloomingdale
Grandparents are similar to
a piece of string - handy to have
around and easily wrapped around the fingers of their
grandchildren.
~ Author Unknown
What is it about grandparents that is so lovely? I'd like to say
that grandparents are God's gifts to children. And if they can
but see, hear and feel what these people have
to give, they
can mature at a fast rate. ~Bill Cosby
Grandchildren don't make a man feel old;
it's the knowledge
that he's married to a grandmother. ~G Norman Collie
October 5, 2011
When you
donate food to a food pantry, do you head for your cupboards and clean out the stuff you know you aren't going to use? You
know, the canned vegetables that you planned to use about six months ago and either lost the recipe or change your mind about
the menu.
Well, I guess if a person is desperate, without even a cracker in the cupboards, pork and beans might
look pretty good. But if you really want to make a generous gift of food, why not donate something you'd eat? Something like
those complete meals? They have about 10 grams of protein because there's meat in the package. There's also starches
and other nutritious stuff. All a person would have to do would be to open up one of those cans of green beans for a nutritious
meal. Six servings. Okay, granted there's too much sodium. But there is in pork and beans too.
I'm not on a campaign
to get rid of pork and beans. There are probably people out there who actually like them. Same goes for fruit cocktail. Although,
in my view, about the only thing you can do with fruit cocktail is put it in jello and then smother it with whipped cream.
At least it's edible when you do that. (Just kidding.)
They just aren't for me. I think it's because our family
used to get food baskets from our church. I've eaten my share of fruit cocktail and pork and beans. They taste like poverty.
We were poor. We were really poor. There were four or us kiddos. And mother was a widow at the age of 32 trying to make ends
meet any which way she could.
I also like to donate the store-at-room-temperature complete dinner that requires
no cooking at all. Those are really good for homeless people who don't have a stove or milk or butter to cook up a mess of
mac-n-cheese from the little blue box.
Anyway, Quint and I delivered bags of food that we collected at our Fall
Rally last week. It was mostly cans of pork and beans, green beans, green peas, rice, powdered sugar (?), and other food stuffs
that people who have nothing would welcome.
Before I get too far out here in left field, I do have to share the
story of the famous pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman who was played by Adrian Brody in The Pianist. Szpilman was a Polish
national treasure and he survived WWII primarily because his friends kept him hidden for as long as they could. Then the war
deepened and he had to hide himself. At one poignant moment in the film, Szpilman found a large can of pickles in the house
where he was hiding. Problem is, he did not have a can opener. But he carried the can around anyway.
A German
commandant came across him. Wanted to know what Szpilman was doing and where he'd come from. To make a long story shorter,
Szpilman then played the piano for the commandant in a downstairs parlor. And the commandant left. The pianist breathed a
giant breath of relief. Several days later, the commandant showed up at the bullet-riddled house again and his driver brought
a large loaf of bread into the building. The loaf was smeared with some kind of jam and then wrapped in waxed paper. Oh, man.
You could just taste the succulence! And tucked underneath the loaf of bread was a can opener.
And that's one
of the other reasons why I like to donate cans of soup that have those pull tabs on them. People who work at food pantries,
or pastors in churches who are confronted by hungry people are often asked to help those who are hungry and homeless.
When we feed the hungry and homeless, for just a tiny blink of eternity, we can all become Jesus with skin on us to
people in need.
October 4, 2011
The fall
colors are just coming into bloom in our section of Illinois. Trees are beautiful oranges, rusts, yellows and bright reds
are just a few of the trees as we drove back home along I-64 from Evansville, Indiana.
Seems like God just flicked
a color palette across the landscape and created the glory of autumn.
And for those of you who may wonder, from
time to time, just how big God is, the Nobel Prize for Physics is co-shared by three physicists. Two are American, the other
is Australian. Their work has to do with super-novas and particularly the expanding universe. God fills the universe. True.
We know this from the Bible. Now we learn that the universe is expanding. Does that mean God is expanding too? He's plenty
big all right.
7-Ups from cousin Mark:
The 7 Ups!
1.
Wake Up !!
Decide to have a good day.
'This is the day the Lord hath made;
let us rejoice and be glad in
it.'
Psalms 118:24
2. Dress Up !!
The best way to dress up is to put on a smile.
A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.
'The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.
Man
looks at outward appearance,
but the Lord looks at the heart.'
I Samuel 16:7
3. Shut Up!!
Say
nice things and learn to listen.
God gave us two ears and one mouth,
so He must have meant for us to do twice
as much listening as talking.
'He who guards his lips guards his soul.'
Proverbs 13:3
4. Stand Up!!
. . . for what you believe in.
Stand for something or you will fall for anything.
'Let us not be weary in doing
good; for at the proper time,
we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Therefore, as we have opportunity,
let us do good...'
Galatians 6:9-10
5. Look Up !!
. . to the Lord.
'I can do everything through
Christ who strengthens me'.
Philippians 4:13
6. Reach Up !!
. . for something higher.
'Trust
in the Lord with all your heart,
and lean not unto your own understanding.
In all your ways, acknowledge Him,
and He will direct your path.'
Proverbs 3:5-6
7. Lift Up !!
. . your Prayers.
'Do not worry
about anything; instead
PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING.'
Philippians 4:6
September 30, 2011
Milton
Friedman, Nobel Laureate in economics says that if you put the Federal Government in charge of the Sahara Desert, within five
years, there would be a shortage of sand. He was a professor at the University of Chicago. He probably had students camped
out on the lawn to register for his classes.
I have to share with you that we cannot do anything good in our lives
without the help of our Lord, Jesus Christ. And likewise, the Holy Spirit is also helping us as we go through the trials and
troubles here on earth. So when you do good things to worship and praise our Lord, remember well who provides the increase.
Keep your hearts and minds open to increasing your faith. When you increase your faith, Jesus Christ moves in
and through you to bear good fruit. Remember, dead branches don't bring forth good fruit.
I have to tell you that
I feel inadequate in my walk of faith. There always seems to be so much more that I could and should be doing. My prayer is
always for strength and guidance.
Today I bring many prayers for the Christian pastor in Iran who refuses to renounce
his Christian faith. It is possible that he could be executed today by the Iranian government. For the first time in twenty
years, Iran is set to execute the pastor today. His appeal ended on Wednesday and the Supreme Court in Iran has refused to
hear further appeals from Youcef Nadarkhani. Prayers lifted for great peace for Nadarkhani to keep the strength of his
faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Facing most probable martyrdom for refusing to turn his back on Jesus Christ, I pray
that he will be encircled in a warm embrace of Christ's love as he goes to his heavenly home. (article here: http://minx.cc/?post=322038
September 28, 2011
Everybody
wants to go to heaven. But no one wants to die.
Ever heard that one?
And why do you suppose that everyone,
including me, wants to go to heaven? We are told that we will spend eternity worshiping and praising our Lord.
Where
do you worship and praise God? In church? Or are you one of those people who make the claim that God can be worshiped anywhere?
Are you sure about that? Even though God specifically says in the Bible that He wants us to assemble with fellow believers
to worship Him? Do you really feel all that comfortable with your "eternity position" to disagree with God? I don't.
When He says He wants me to do something, I look at that as my marching orders -- not a suggestion.
So I assemble
with fellow believers to worship and praise God. And it isn't just an hour a week when church is "in session."
I worship God when I cut out crosses for prison ministries
I worship God when I get the administrative
work done for my Zone
I worship God when I go to the Lutheran Women's Missionary League meeting every month.
I worship God when I take gently used clothing to the resale shop for people less fortunate.
I worship
God when I make quilts to give away.
I worship God when I pray.
I worship God when I send out prayer
requests to prayer chains.
I worship God when I read His Word.
And yet, when I lie down at night in
the quiet darkness, I would like to have done more.
What do you do to worship and praise God all through
the week?
Are you waiting for the opportunity to worship and praise God when you get to heaven because you'll
have all of eternity to do so. My question is if you're willing to do that through all eternity, what can you do while you're
here on earth to please Him when what He wants most from us is our worship and praise?
Click here for Pastor Paul Strand's
sermons at Trinity Lutheran Church in Tinley Park. Highly recommended. His sermons are peppered throughout with Bible truths.
Here's the link: www.tlcs.org Click on Pastors Messages tab on the left side of screen. This will take you to a listing of the many dates.
Select one. They're all very good!
September 27, 2011
Cousin Mark has this to say about lopsided pensioners:
Wages
Salary of retired
US Presidents ............$450,000 FOR LIFE
Salary of House/Senate members .........$174,000
FOR LIFE
Salary of Speaker of the House .............$223,500 FOR LIFE
Salary of Majority/Minority
Leaders ....$193,400 FOR LIFE
Average salary of a soldier DEPLOYED IN AFGHANISTAN
- $38,000
Average income for seniors on SOCIAL SECURITY - $12,000
Quint and I spent a delightful evening at St. Paul Lutheran Ladies Aid in Pana, Illinois, last
night. Pastor O'Brien shared a very interesting devotional on the four archangels mentioned in the Bible: Michael,
Gabriel, Rafael (from the apocryphal material in the Book of Tobias) and Lucifer. Thank you to the Ladies Aid for all the
work that they do to grow God's Kingdom.
All women who are members of a Lutheran Church -- Missouri Synod congregation
are members of the Lutheran Women's Missionary League. We are LWML.
We are women in mission. Our loving arms reach
all the way around the world as we raise and send out $1.825 million dollars to help folks in need.
We are women
in mission nearer our homes by raising money and supporting agencies much closer to home in the Central Illinois District.
That's not quite $100,000 but it's getting closer to that watershed amount.
And why do we care? Because our hearts
are filled with love. That's what women do best. We embrace a hurting world, a hungry world, a sick and ailing world. We are
the LWML. We collect mites in our monthly meetings. Pocket change mostly. Then we send the mites off to the Central Illinois
District. When it gets there, one-fourth of it is sent off the national organization. The mites add up.
Oh for
sure, we don't have a whole bunch of ladies who come out for meetings every month. But we pray that more will join us every
month. I mean, if we can do what we do with the few women who join with us, just think about how much more we could do if
more women became Lutheran Women in Missions! But we aren't just asking for monthly attendance to increase. Oh no --
we make quilts, we put hygiene kits together, we put school kits together, we put personal kits together, we put health
kits together, we cut postage stamps out of the corners of letters that are sent off to a mission project, and we cut out
crosses that are sent to prison ministries, and when we lose our loved ones, Lutheran Women are the ladies who pull a funeral
luncheon together. And these are only a few ministries that show how much we share our love.
We are
the Lutheran Women's Missionary League.
September 25, 2011
Since
Herman Cain entered the presidential race, I have wondered if he were a descendant from slavery.
In fact, he is.
He authors this letter which is addressed to illegall aliens. I have not seen a message as eloquent as his:
A Letter from a Slave to an Illegal Alien05/15/2006 Dear
Illegal Alien,
My ancestors were brought to this country in chains against their will, and sold and forced to
work like common farm animals. They had to abide by the laws to stay alive.
My ancestors endured abuse and unlawful
deaths for 250 years before the civilized hearts of this nation recognized that "all men are created equal," regardless
of race or color. We went from slaves to free men and women, but without the freedom of equal rights, equal access to opportunity
and equal protection under our nation's laws. That struggle took another 100 years, culminating with the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Throughout my ancestors' 350-year struggle the objective was always "one nation under God, indivisible with
liberty and justice for all." When that liberty and justice finally became legally recognized as our civil rights, some
of us ran through the doors of opportunity, some walked, and some chose to stay on the outside to criticize and complain.
Still, our nation's history has always been defined by one set of laws, one language and one flag of unity. This is what defines
the United States of America!
Therein lies your biggest problem. The public perception is that you want a different
set of laws, and you want to ignore current laws. You even want an accommodation of your language in our national anthem,
and some of your people are flaunting flags other than the flag of the USA.
As a reminder, USA stands for United
States of America. It does not stand for "Under Special Assumptions."
There is no doubt that the USA
is a nation of immigrants -- legal immigrants. No one faults you for desiring the opportunity for a better life in the greatest
country in the world. Although we do not consider your demonstrations a civil rights movement, there are some lessons you
could learn from our 350-year struggle that may help you in your quest to come out of our nation's shadows.
First,
your illegal status is a non-starter for obtaining rights, benefits or a short cut to citizenship. It is creating massive
public resentment and alienating those with compassionate hearts who might want to support a reasonable and fair road to your
citizenship. You will not earn U.S. citizenship as long as you choose to ignore our laws, simply because you have been able
to survive here illegally for a number of years.
Granted, our immigration system is cumbersome, inefficient and
needs major overhaul, but it is a part of our system of laws. Maybe one of your objectives should be to encourage Congress
to overhaul the system, making the process more efficient for every immigrant, which would make it easier and more efficient
for you.
Second, your objectives are unclear, and your leadership uncertain. My ancestors' objectives have always
been crystal clear, even when our leadership had been questionable, as it is today. Not every so-called "leader"
capable of attracting media attention represents African-Americans' best interests. One of our greatest leaders was, obviously,
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Today, unfortunately, African-Americans
are leadership-challenged, despite the great progress we have made. Beware of your leaders and those that would mislead you.
Third, get with the program on our use of the English language and respect and allegiance for our one flag. Second
languages exist and are respected in many ethnic communities, but they learn the Star Spangled Banner in English. Our soldiers
fight and die for one flag. Patriotism is alive and well in this country, just as it was when this nation was founded, and
it will stay that way.
Your journey toward the full rights of U.S. citizenship may not take 350 years, but it
will take clarity of purpose, certainty of leadership and a lawful, patriotic approach toward attaining the best that this
nation has to offer. In this spirit of coming to our great country, you will eventually hear 300 million legal citizens say,
"Welcome to America."
Mr. Cain is national chairman
of the Media Research Center's Business & Media Institute. He is the former president and CEO of Godfather's Pizza, and currently CEO and president of T.H.E. New Voice, a business and leadership consulting company.
The letter was printed in Human Voice (http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=14794)
September 23, 2011
Does
God answer your prayers? He certainly answers mine. Yet I am always amazed at the number of people who do not believe that
God will answer their prayers, has ever answered their prayers, or would even bother to listen to their prayers.
If you have ever had a prayer that God has answered, I would love to hear about it if you are willing to share with my readers.
I will share only the emails that I get from people who specifically say that it's okay to share, and even then, will only
use first names and locations.
Quint and I live our lives on the edge of prayer. I just got off the phone from
a large insurance company. It's been about a year since this company has called me to do a health fair. For about the last
three weeks I have been praying that the insurance company would call me for an assignment. This particular company usually
calls the day before the scheduled health fair. That turned out to be a problem because I won't cancel a client appointment
to go running off to participate in a health fair. So my prayer was (1) an assignment for a health fair, and (2) more notice
so that I could schedule the fair on my calendar and work my counseling appointments around the fair.
So the case
manager at the insurance company says the health fair is a couple of weeks away and is with a fairly good sized corporation
in Robinson, a town about 35 miles or so away from me.
Thank you, Lord.
This
is from cousin Mark -- about what to do with hotel door keys:
This is pretty good info. Never even
thought
about key cards containing anything other
Than an access code for the room!
HOTEL
KEY CARDS
Ever wonder what is on your magnetic key
Card?
Answer:
A.
Customer's name
B. Customer's partial home address
C. Hotel room number
D. Check-in date and out dates
E. Customer's credit card number and expiration date!
When you turn them in to the front desk your
Personal information is there for any employee
To access by simply scanning the card in the
hotel scanner. An employee can take a hand full
of
cards home and using a scanning device, access
the information onto a laptop computer and go
shopping
at your expense.
Simply put, hotels do not erase the information
on these cards until an employee
reissues the
card to the next hotel guest. At that time, the
new guest's information is electronically
'over-
written on the card and the previous guest's
information is erased in the overwriting process.
But until the card is rewritten for the next guest,
it usually is kept in a drawer at the front desk
with YOUR INFORMATION ON IT!
The bottom line is: Keep the cards, take them
home with you,
or destroy them. NEVER leave them
behind in the room or room wastebasket, and
NEVER turn them into
the front desk when you
check out of a room. They will not charge you for the card
(it's illegal)
and you'll be sure you are not leaving
a lot of valuable personal information on it that could
be easily lifted off with any simple scanning device
card reader.
For the same reason, if you arrive
at the airport and
discover you still have the card key in your pocket,
do not toss it in an airport
trash basket. Take it home
and destroy it by cutting it up, especially through the
electronic information
strip!
If you have a small magnet,
pass it across the magnetic
strip several times. Then
try it in the door, it will not
work. It erases everything on the card.
[Note: Just be sure you don't
put the refrigerator magnet anywhere near your wallet that has credit cards in it. You could de-magnetize them. JR)
September 22, 2011
Just
finished the Fall Rally for my zone. It's an all day event. This year we started with a Holy Communion Service.
"Oh no," some said. "We've never done that before." or "It will take too long."
I
consulted with my pastor who is also the zone counselor and he was okay with it. In fact, being a pastor, he appeared to be
very much in favor of it.
It didn't take "too much" time. In fact, it was not quite twenty minutes for
four pastors to commune 90 people.
So many people came up to me after the meeting and said they liked having the
communion service at the start of the event and hoped that I would continue at future rallies.
In addition to having
an affirming pastor, I am very blessed to have a superb group of board members for the zone (which is what I would call
a district). There are 19 churches in this zone and it's one of the largest zones in the Central Illinois District of the
Lutheran Women's Missionary League. Our hearts are on fire to do a good job building God's kingdom here on earth. My dream
is to have 200 ladies at next year's Zone Rally.
I would like to have people realize that the opportunities to
serve Our Lord is like getting a call from God himself. In Ephesians 2:10, God tells us that the things we do, are asked to
do, are "projects" or "things" that he has set up in advance for us to do. We are all here to serve our
Lord and Master. Taking the food to the food pantry after the meeting was not a chore that one of the Mission Chairs asked
me to. No. Rather, it was an opportunity that God put in front of me that he planned in advance for me to do.
How
could I dare to say no?
What if we all lived our lives "as if" each thing we were asked to do to
make the church stronger? What if all those projects at church were things that God set up in advance for us to do? I believe
he's watching to see what we do about each and every one of those opportunities.
I don't believe that God wants
children in the world to be hungry. Those mission projects are put ahead of us in advance by God. He waits to see what
we do with those calls to action. I live my life that way, with those thoughts in mind.
Oh, sure. There
are lots of people who say they can pray anywhere. They don't need to be in a building to worship God. And who could argue
that point? But is that all. Is that the end of their faith life? What do they do with God's commandment to remember the Sabbath
Day and keep it holy? What do they do with God's desire for all believers to meet in fellowship with one another?
How are they going to explain that on Judgment Day? And if they don't obey God's commandments, shouldn't they be just a
little bit nervous about turning their backs on God's will for how to live their lives?
September 21, 2011
Uh oh,
here we go again. According to an article in The Hill today, the House rejected a
temporary spending bill
allowing the government to operate through November 18.
I thought that one of the jobs that representatives and
senators were supposed to do was pass a budget. So when are they going to do it?
Continuing resolutions are not
budgets, no matter what they say.
Is it any wonder that the Times-CBS poll has the approval rating for Congress
at 12%.
And from our good friends in Wichita -- John and Sherre -- comes this history lesson about Social Security:
Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, introduced the Social
Security (FICA) Program.
He promised:
1.) That participation in the Program would be
Completely voluntary,
No longer Voluntary
2.) That the participants would only have to pay
1% of
the first $1,400 of their annual
Incomes into the Program,
Now 7.65% on the first $90,000
3.) That the
money the participants elected to put
Into the Program would be deductible from
Their income for tax purposes each year,
No longer tax deductible
4.) That the money the participants put into the
Independent 'Trust
Fund' rather than into the
General operating fund, and therefore, would
Only be used to fund the Social Security
Retirement Program, and no other
Government program, and,
Under Johnson the money was moved to
The General Fund and Spent
5.) That the annuity payments to the retirees
would never be taxed
As income.
Under Clinton & Gore
Up to 85% of your Social Security can be Taxed
Since many
of us have paid into FICA for years and are
Now receiving a Social Security check every
month --
And then finding that we are getting taxed on 85% of
The
money we paid to the Federal government to 'put
Away -- you may be interested in
the following:
------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----
Q: Which Political Party took Social Security from the
Independent 'Trust Fund' and put it into the
General fund so that Congress could spend
it?
A: It was Lyndon Johnson and the democratically
Controlled
House and Senate..
------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
--
Q: Which Political Party eliminated the income tax
Deduction
for Social Security (FICA) withholding?
A: The Democratic Party.
------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -----
Q: Which Political Party started taxing Social
Security annuities?
A: The Democratic Party, with Al Gore casting the
'tie-breaking' deciding vote as
President of the
Senate, while he was Vice President of the US
------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -
Q: Which
Political Party decided to start
Giving annuity payments to immigrants?
AND MY FAVORITE:
A: That's right!
Jimmy Carter
and the Democratic Party.
Immigrants moved into this country, and at age 65,
Began to receive Social Security payments! The
Democratic Party gave these
payments to them,
Even though they never paid a dime into it!
------------ -- ------------ --------- ----- ------------ --------- ---------
Then,
after violating the original contract (FICA),
The Democrats turn around and tell
you that the Republicans want
To take your Social Security away!
And the worst part about it is uninformed citizens believe it!
If enough people
receive this, maybe a seed of
Awareness will be planted and maybe changes will Evolve.
But it's worth a try.
September 20, 2011
And just
when you thought you'd heard all the scams that sneaky little thieves could come up with, here's a new one that our friends,
John and Sherre in Wichita, share with us:
Snopes verified: http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/creditcard.asp
Visa / MasterCard FRAUD
Just a heads up for everyone regarding the
latest in Visa fraud. Royal Bank
received this communication about the newest scam. This is happening in southern
Alberta right now and moving.
This one is pretty slick since they provide YOU with all the information,
except
the one piece they want..
Note, the callers do not ask for your card number; they already
have it.
This information is worth reading By understanding how the VISA & MasterCard
telephone
Credit Card Scam works, you'll be better prepared to protect yourself.
One of our employees was called on Wednesday from
'VISA', and I was called on
Thursday from 'MasterCard'.
The scam works like this:
Person calling says - 'This is (name), and I'm calling from the Security and
Fraud Department at VISA. My Badge number
is 12460, Your card has been flagged
for an unusual purchase pattern, and I'm calling to verify. This would be on
your VISA card which was issued by (name of bank). Did you purchase an
Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99 from a
marketing company based in Arizona
?' When you say 'No', the caller continues with, 'Then we will be issuing a
credit
to your account. This is a company we have been watching and the charges
range from $297 to $497, just under the $500
purchase pattern that flags most
cards. Before your next statement, the credit will be sent to (gives you your
address),
is that correct?' You say 'yes'.
The caller continues - 'I will be starting a Fraud Investigation.
If you have
any questions, you should call the 1- 800 number listed on the back of your card
(1-800-VISA) and ask
for Security. You will need to refer to this Control
Number... The caller then gives you a 6 digit number. 'Do you need
me to read it
again?'
Here's the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works - The caller then says,
'I need
to verify you are in possession of your card'. He'll ask you to 'turn your card
over and look for some numbers'.
There are 7 numbers; the first 4 are part of
your card number, the last 3 are the Security Numbers that verify you are
the
possessor of the card. These are the numbers you sometimes use to make Internet
purchases to prove you have
the card. The caller will ask you to read the last 3
numbers to him. After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he'll say,
'That is
correct, I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and
that you still have your
card Do you have any other questions?'
After you say no, the caller then thanks you and states, 'Don't
hesitate to call
back if you do', and hangs up. You actually say very little, and they never ask
for or tell you
the card number. But after we were called on Wednesday, we
called back. Within 20 minutes to ask a question. Are we were
glad we did! The
REAL VISA Security Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15 minutes a
new purchase of
$497.99 was charged to our card. We made a real fraud report and
closed the VISA account. VISA is reissuing us a new
number. What the scammers
want is the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the card. Don't give it to them.
Instead,
tell them you'll call VISA or Master Card directly for verification of
their conversation..
The
real VISA told us that they will never ask for anything on the card as they
already know the information since they issued
the card! If you give the
scammers your 3 Digit PIN Number, you think you're receiving a credit; however,
by the
time you get your statement you'll see charges for purchases you didn't
make, and by then it's almost too late and/or
more difficult to actually file a
fraud report.
What makes this more remarkable is that on Thursday,
I got a call from a 'Jason
Richardson of MasterCard' with a word-for-word repeat of the VISA Scam. This
time I didn't
let him finish. I hung up! We filed a police report, as instructed
by VISA. The police said they are taking several of
these reports daily! They
also urged us to tell everybody we know that this scam is happening. I dealt
with a similar
situation this morning, with the caller telling me that $3,097
had been charged to my account for plane tickets to Spain
, and so on through
the above routine.
It appears that this Is a very active scam, and evidently
quite successful..
Pass this on to all your family and friends
And today is Quint's
and my 33rd wedding anniversary. So if there are any would-be burglars out there who think our house might be empty because
we're going out to dinner to celebrate, we'll be home waiting for you. We've been to every restaurant in town at least a dozen
times so staying home and enjoying each other's company is what's special to us.
One thing we have never done
is hide a key somewhere outside. I have never understood that. I suspect burglars look under planters near the door right
away.
Guess who owns the oil in Alaska? Well, if money talks, then all the Alaskans
would appear to be owners. They're about to get a dividend check in the amount of $1,174.00 for their share of the oil. Whoo
hoo! Let's all head north to Alaska. here's the article: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/alaskans-1174-checks-states-oil-wealth-14565611
September 16, 2011
Oh happy
Friday!
Wow! I just heard that New Yorkers are going to have to start paying $12 to cross bridges or go through tunnels
in New York, effective this Sunday. That's an increase from $8
Quint tells me that the Illinois Toll Road is increasing
to $1.50 from $.80. So when did it get up to 80 cents? I thought it was still only 40 cents. He just laughed. Well, I don't
keep up with stuff like that now that I no longer drive on the toll road. It took us through 3 toll booths to get from our
home in Palos Hills to O'Hare Airport. What used to cost me $1.20 would now cost $4.50. Isn't that amazing?
Can
it really be true that the Texas wildfires were caused by a target shooter aiming at a butane tank? If it is true, I hope
this person gets locked up and put away from gene pool possibilities for 2,078 years.
Got
these points for great living from good friend Adeline who lives in the frozen tundra up north:A birth certificate shows you were born.
>A
death certificate shows you have died.
>A photo album shows you have lived.
>
>Every month is Breast Cancer Awareness Month…….
>
>'Be kinder than necessary because everyone you
meet is fighting some kind of
>battle.'
>
>A sharp tongue can cut your own throat.
>
>If you want your dreams to come true, you mustn't oversleep.
>
>Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important.
>
>The best vitamin for making friends...... B1.
>
>The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.
>
>The heaviest thing you can carry is a grudge..
>
>One thing you can give and still keep...is your word.
>
>You lie the loudest when you lie to yourself.
>
>If you lack the courage to start, you have already finished.
>
>Your mind is like a parachute...it functions only when open.
>
>The 10 commandments are not a multiple choice.
>
>The pursuit of happiness is the chase of a lifetime!
>
>It is never too late to become
what you might have been.
>
>Life is too short to
wake up with regrets.. So love
>the people who treat you right.. Forget about the
>ones who don't. Believe everything happens for a reason.
>If
you get a second chance, grab it with both hands. If
>it changes your life, let it.
Nobody said life
>would be easy, they just promised it would be
>worth
it.
>
>Friends are like balloons;
>once you let them go, you might not get them
>back. Sometimes we
get so busy with our own
>lives and problems that we may not even notice
>that we've let them fly away. Sometimes we are so
>caught
up in who's right and who's wrong that we
>forget what's right and wrong.. Sometimes
we just
>don't realize what real friendship means until it
>is
too late. I don't want to let that happen so
>I'm going to tie you to my heart so I
never lose you.
>
And what did
Netflix expect would happen when its corporate execs raised prices by 60%? Why would they be surprised by an almost
20% drop in their stock price today? I will admit that we subscribe to Netflix. We prefer the streaming feature so we reduced
our subscription from 3 videos to 1 at a time + streaming. The streaming videos are instantly available on our TV through
some kind of miracle electronic box that magically grabs the videos out of the air. I select the videos I want to see from
the Netflix web site which I access on our laptop. We particularly like mysteries produced by the BBC, spiritual material,
biographies, classics that we didn't get a chance to watch years ago, and other movies and programs that we just plain enjoy.
But still, someone should tell whoever the Netflix financial advisors are that there's a recession going on and the economy
is in such a state that raising prices on anything would not be considered a smart move. Maybe that's why they hemorrhaged
600,000 subscribers since the new price plan went into effect on August 8.
And finally, where is all the oversight
that we're supposed to have with congressional expenditures? Like Solyndra, for example. How come they got a half-billion
loan, then went bankrupt, then some newsy discovered that the American taxpayers have to stand in line after the main guy
at Solyndra gets his money from the bankruptcy proceedings before the U.S. taxpayers? Is the oversight committee busy watching
ballgames or playing Solitaire or something? Oh, wait. Didn't the president say that the vice president was going to be in
charge of oversight when it comes to the stimulus money?
September 15, 2011
Such
is autumn. This time last week it was 97 degrees. This morning, about 6 am, it was 41 degrees. Don't think it made it out
of the 70s today. Deliciously autumn weather.
Telephone call to God -- from Nola
Hello God, I called tonight
To talk a little while
I need a friend who'll listen
To my anxiety
and trial.
You see, I can't quite make it
Through a day just on my own...
I need your love to guide
me,
So I'll never feel alone.
I want to ask you please to keep,
My family safe and sound.
Come
and fill their lives with confidence
For whatever fate they're bound.
Give me faith, dear God, to face
Each hour throughout the day,
And not to worry over things
I can't change in any way.
I thank you
God, for being home
And listening to my call,
For giving me such good advice
When I stumble and fall..
!!!!!!!
Your number, God, is the only one
That answers every time.
I never get a busy signal,
Never
had to pay a dime.
So thank you, God, for listening
To my troubles and my sorrow.
Good night, God, I love
You, too,
And I'll call again tomorrow!
P.S. Please bless all my friends and family too.
I remember
a little girl I was seeing a bunch of years ago. She must have been about six years old. She asked me one day if I ever got
an answer to my prayers. When I assured her that I did, she said she wasn't so sure. "I mean," she said, "how
do I know it's not my other 'me?'"
Prayer is a wonderful opportunity to keep
a live conversation going with God throughout the day. You can pray anywhere. It doesn't need to be something written in a
book or a magazine, although those are nice prayers too.
I think the answers that come are tracked through my soul.
That's where God lives within me. And I can, for sure, tell whether it's God talking to me or my "other me," as
the little girl said.
Sometimes his answers are like lightning bolts. One day when I had been praying for something
particularly bothersome to go away, I "heard" his voice say, "All you had to do was ask," when the problem
disappeared.
I think God is particularly pleased when a husband and wife join hands to pray. It's a powerfully
intimate moment that unites us as a couple with God. We pray for friends. We pray for family. We pray for health matters.
We pray our problems and challenges away. We pray for our nation to return to its Christian roots. We pray for the greed and
corruption to stop in all our governmental offices. We pray for politicians to quit lying. We pray for each other.
If you do not lift your heart to God regularly, now would be an excellent time to start and get re-acquainted with him.
Changing the subject -- an article in The Hill today says that the House of Representatives voted to
limit the National Labor Relations Boardin its dispute with Boeing. The NLRB sued Boeing because
it wanted to built a plant for its Dreamliner aircraft in South Carolina. Boeing has another large facility in Washington.
None of those workers will be idled because of the new plant in South Carolina. The House said that Boeing can decide
where to build manufacturing facilities without the NLRB dictating where. You wouldn't think that such a corporation decision
would even warrant federal legislation, would you? However, the NLRB didn't like it because South Carolina is a right-to-work
state, where Washington is a union shop state.
Oh, Cousin Mark! This is like asking
"Who's buried in Grant's tomb?" I confess that I missed a couple, though.
1. Johnny's mother had
three children. The first child was named April. The second
child was named May. What was the third child's name?
2. There is a clerk at the butcher shop, he is five feet ten inches tall and he
wears size 13 sneakers. What
does he weigh?
3. Before Mt. Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain in the world?
4.
How much dirt is there in a hole that measures two feet by three feet by four feet?
5. What word in the English
Language is always spelled incorrectly?
6. Billy was born on December 28th, yet his birthday is always in the
summer. How is
this possible?
7. In California, you cannot take a picture of a man with a wooden leg. Why
not?
8. What was the President's Name in 1975?
9. If you were running a race, and you passed the person
in 2nd place, what place
would you be in now?
10. Which is correct to say, "The yolk of the egg are
white" or "The yolk of the egg
is white"?
11. If a farmer has 5 haystacks in one field and
4 haystacks in the other field, how
many haystacks would he have if he combined them all in another field?
Here are the Answers
1. Johnny's mother had three children. The first child was named April. The
second
child was named May. What was the third child's name?
Answer: Johnny of course
2. There
is a clerk at the butcher shop, he is five feet ten inches tall, and he
wears size 13 sneakers. What does he weigh?
Answer: Meat.
3. Before Mt. Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain in the world?
Answer: Mt. Everest; it just wasn't discovered yet. [You're not very good at this
are you?]
4. How much
dirt is there in a hole that measures two feet by three feet by four feet?
Answer: There is no dirt in a hole.
5. What word in the English Language is always spelled incorrectly?
Answer: Incorrectly
6. Billy was born on December 28th, yet her birthday is always in the summer. How is
this possible?
Answer:
Billy lives in the Southern Hemisphere
7. In California, you cannot take a picture of a man with a wooden leg.
Why not?
Answer: You can't take pictures with a wooden leg. You need a camera to take pictures.
8.
What was the President's Name in 1975?
Answer: Same as is it now - Barack Obama [Oh, come on ...]
9.
If you were running a race, and you passed the person in 2nd place, what place
would you be in now?
Answer:
You would be in 2nd. Well, you passed the person in second place, not first.
10. Which is correct to say, "The
yolk of the egg are white" or "The yolk of the egg
is white"?
Answer: Neither, the yolk of
the egg is yellow [Duh]
11. If a farmer has 5 haystacks in one field and 4 haystacks in the other field, how
many haystacks would he have if he combined them all in another field?
Answer: One. If he combines all of his
haystacks, they all become one big stack.
You can go back to sleep now ...
And from
our dear friends John and Sherre in Wichita, here are 108 discounts for seniors:
Since many senior discounts are not advertised to the public, our
advice to men and women over 55 is to ALWAYS ask a
sales associate if
that store provides a senior discount. That way, you can be sure to
get the most bang for your
buck.
Restaurants
a.. Applebee’s: 15% off with Golden Apple Card (60+)
b.. Arby’s: 10% off (55+)
c.. Ben & Jerry’s: 10% off (60+)
d. Bennigan’s: discount varies by location
e.. Bob’s Big Boy: discount varies by location (60+)
f.. Boston Market: 10% off (65+)
g.. Burger King: 10% off (60+)
h.. Captain D’s Seafood: discount varies on location (62+)
i. Chick-Fil-A: 10% off or free small drink or coffee (55+)
j. Chili’s: 10% off (55+)
k.. CiCi’s Pizza: 10% off (60+)
l.. Culver’s: 10% off (60+)
m. Denny’s: 10% off, 20% off for AARP members (55+)
n.. Dunkin’ Donuts: 10% off or free coffee (55+)
o.. Einstein’s Bagels: 10% off baker’s dozen of bagels (60+)
p.. Fuddrucker’s: 10% off any senior platter (55+)
q. Gatti’s Pizza: 10% off (60+)
r.. Golden Corral: 10% off (60+)
s. Hardee’s: $0.33 beverages everyday (65+)
t.. IHOP: 10% off (55+)
u. Jack in the Box: up to 20% off (55+)
v.. KFC: free small drink with any meal (55+)
w.. Krispy Kreme: 10% off (50+)
x.. Long John Silver’s: various discounts at participating locations (55+)
y. McDonald’s: discounts on coffee everyday (55+)
z.. Mrs. Fields: 10% off at participating locations (60+)
aa.. Shoney’s: 10% off
ab.. Sonic: 10% off or free beverage (60+)
ac.. Steak ‘n Shake: 10% off every Monday & Tuesday (50+)
ad.. Subway: 10% off (60+)
ae.. Sweet Tomatoes 10% off (62+)
af.. Taco Bell: 5% off; free beverages for seniors (65+)
ag.. TCBY: 10% off (55+)
ah.. Tea Room Cafe: 10% off (50+)
ai.. Village Inn: 10% off (60+)
aj.. Waffle House: 10% off every Monday (60+)
ak.. Wendy’s: 10% off (55+)
al.. White Castle: 10% off (62+)
Retail and Apparel
a.. Banana Republic: 10% off (50+)
b.. Bealls: 20% off first Tuesday of each month (50+)
c.. Belk’s: 15% off first Tuesday of every month (55+)
d. Big Lots: 10% off
e.. Bon-Ton Department Stores: 15% off on senior discount days (55+)
f.. C.J. Banks: 10% off every Wednesday (60+)
g.. Clarks: 10% off (62+)
h. Dress Barn: 10% off (55+)
i.. Goodwill: 10% off one day a week (date varies by location)
j.. Hallmark: 10% off one day a week (date varies by location)
k.. Kmart: 20% off (50+)
l.. Kohl’s: 15% off (60+)
m.. Modell’s Sporting Goods: 10% off
n.. Rite Aid: 10% off on Tuesdays & 10% off prescriptions
o.. Ross Stores: 10% off every Tuesday (55+)
p.. The Salvation Army Thrift Stores: up to 50% off (55+)
q.. Stein Mart: 20% off red dot/clearance items first Monday of every month (55+)
Grocery Stores
a.. Albertson’s: 10% off first Wednesday of each month (55+)
b.. American Discount Stores: 10% off every Monday (50+)
c. Compare Foods Supermarket: 10% off every Wednesday (60+)
d. DeCicco Family Markets: 5% off every Wednesday (60+)
e. Food Lion: 6% off every Monday (60+)
f.. Fry’s Supermarket: free Fry’s VIP Club Membership & 10% off every Monday (55+)
g. Great Valu Food Store: 5% off every Tuesday (60+)
h. Gristedes Supermarket: 10% off every Tuesday (60+)
i. Harris Teeter: 5% off every Tuesday (60+)
j.. Hy-Vee: 5% off one day a week (date varies by location)
k.. Kroger: 10% off (date varies by location)
l.. Morton Williams Supermarket: 5% off every Tuesday (60+)
m. The Plant Shed: 10% off every Tuesday (50+)
n.. Publix: 5% off every Wednesday (55+)
o.. Rogers Marketplace: 5% off every Thursday (60+)
p. Uncle Guiseppe’s Marketplace: 5% off (62+)
Travel
a.. Alaska Airlines: 10% off (65+)
b.. Alamo: up to 25% off for AARP members
c.. American Airlines: various discounts for 65 and up (call before booking for discount )
d.. Amtrak: 15% off (62+)
e. Avis: up to 25% off for AARP members
f.. Best Western: 10% off (55+)
g. Budget Rental Cars: 10% off; up to 20% off for AARP members (50+)
h.. Cambria Suites: 20%-30% off (60+)
i.. Clarion: 20%-30% off (60+)
j. Comfort Inn: 20%-30% off (60+)
k.. Comfor t Suites: 20%-30% off (60+)
l. Continental Airlines: no initiation fee for Continental Presidents Club & special fares for select destinations
m.. Dollar Rent-A-Car: 10% off (50+)
n.. Econo Lodge: 20%-30% off (60+)
o. Enterprise Rent-A-Car: 5% off for AARP members
p.. Greyhound: 5% off (62+)
q. Hampton Inns & Suites: 10% off when booked 72 hours in advance
r.. Hertz: up t0 25% off for AARP members
s.. Holiday Inn: 10%-30% off depending on location (62+)
t.. Hyatt Hotels: 25%-50% off (62+)
u. InterContinental Hotels Group: various discounts at all hotels (65+)
v.. Mainstay Suites: 10% off with Mature Traveler’s Discount (50+); 20%-30% off (60+)
w.. Marriott Hotels: 15% off (62+)
x. Motel 6: 10% off (60+)
y.. Myrtle Beach Resort: 10% off (55+)
z. National Rent-A-Car: up to 30% off for AARP members
aa.. Quality Inn: 20%-30% off (60+)
ab.. Rodeway Inn: 20%-30% off (60+)
ac.. Sleep Inn: 20%-30% off (60+)
ad.. Southwest Airlines: various discounts for ages 65 and up (call before booking for discount)
ae.. Trailways Transportation System: various discounts for ages 50 and up
af.. United Airlines: various discounts for ages 65 and up (call before booking for discount)
ag.. U.S. Airways: various discounts for ages 65 and up (call before booking for discount)
Activities & Entertainment
a.. AMC Theaters: up to 30% off (55+)
b.. Bally Total Fitness: up to $100 off memberships (62+)
c.. Busch Gardens Tampa: $3 off one-day tickets (50+)
d.. Carmike Cinemas: 35% off (65+)
e.. Cinemark/Century Theaters: up to 35% off
f.. U.S. National Parks: $10 lifetime pass; 50% off additional services including camping (62+)
g.. Regal Cinemas: 30% off
h.. Ripley’s Believe it or Not: @ off one-day ticket (55+)
i.. SeaWorld Orlando: $3 off one-day tickets (50+)
Cell Phone Discounts
a.. AT&T: Special Senior Nation 200 Plan $29.99/month (65+)
b.. Jitterbug: $ 10/month cell phone service (50+)
c.. Verizon Wireless: Verizon Nationwide 65 Plus Plan $29.99/month (65+)
*Check out our Secret Cell Phone Discounts to view all cell phone discounts available to you!
Miscellaneous
a.. Great Clips: $3 off hair cuts (60+)
b.. Super Cuts: $2 off haircuts (60+)
September 14, 2011
Just
heard that the legislature in Florida just sent Governor Rick Scott a new law that makes drug testing mandatory for welfare
recipients.
Precious, precious video -- it will fill your heart with pride to call yourself an American. It's a
video about the boatlift that got 500,000 people off Manhattan Island in less than 9 hours on Sept. 11, 2001. That's the greatest
boatlift ever. Even at Dunkirk, 339,000 people were rescued by boat but it took 5 days. Watch this video and feel your heart
swell. And thank you Joyce for sharing with us: http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/cities/moving-documentary-of-911-evacuation-by-boat-shows-resilience-of-cities/881?tag=nl.e660 This is a story about 9-11 that I'd not heard before.
We had a wonderful thrill last night. A cousin of mine
and her husband were in Mt. Vernon, a town about 60 miles south of us. They were on their way north to visit friends in Mattoon,
another town about 30 miles north of us. We made a date to meet for breakfast this morning at our local Denny's. What a thrill
for Quint and me. She's all the way from Texas, about 3 hours north of Houston. Her grandmother, Naomi, was my father's sister.
I remember Aunt Naomi from when I was a little bitty girl.
We had breakfast, visited and chatted and talked and
enjoyed each other's company. And then, the dreaded parting. Life is precious. Family is just as precious. Now I got a chance
to meet someone who came to me through a genealogy search. We are no longer pen pals, not we are friends who have faces. France
and Jim. We are thrilled to meet you and get to know you.
September 13, 2011
Oh
boy. This is going to be good. I think. Maybe.
Anthony Weiner, the disgraced congressman who resigned his seat
in congress a few months ago, has faded over the horizon. But his seat has been a Democratic one since its inception.
That is why it is absolutely astonishing that a Republican candidate could be holding a 6 point lead as we speak.
The Democrats have about a 2.5 to 1 advantage. I think I've heard that the Democrats have outspent the Republican candidate
by oodles and boodles.
So what would a loss mean to the White House? Maybe this is where the Democrats jump off
the Good Ship Lollipop. Maybe they wouldn't want anyone from the administration to "help them out" with their campaign.
There was a mayor in Chicago one time -- Jane Byrne. Every time she campaigned, her poll position dropped. No
one wanted her to campaign with them.
Then there's Princess Anne over across the pond. Back in the days when Princess
Diana was gracing the covers of magazine and selling them out practically before they hit the newsstands, Little Annie's photo
on the cover of any magazine meant that it would see less than it did on a normal press run.
Such is fickle fame.
It's fleeting. Especially to those who make it their idol.
Here's a link to an amazing artist, thanks to
Nola in Effingham, for sharing with us. This artist goes through I don't know how many brushes. Gets paint all over the floor.
Works upside down on the canvas and twists and twirls it as he works. And then, at the end, he produces a magnificent piece
of art: http://www.youtube.com/v/QZFkZiwMLZ4
September 12, 2011
Here
comes the job bill from the White House to a Congress near you. Well, actually, Washington D.C. may not be all that close.
The jobs bill has a price tag of about $447 billion and the president plans to tax the wealthy and businesses to come
up with $400 billion.
I have a suggestion. Since General Electric doesn't pay any corporate taxes, how about we
go after them first. What kind of loopholes could possibly be in place that would let a company that makes ginormous profits
escape paying income taxes.
Then I'd suggest going after Warren Buffet's unpaid taxes that he owes back to 1992,
I think. Not sure if that's his huge big company or him personally. Either way, it seems to me that a good little loyal citizen
ought to keep current with income taxes. Especially if you're a billionaire.
Then there's the definition of "wealthy"
itself. I'll bet if you're a single taxpayer and you're making $100,000 a year, you don't feel all that wealthy, do you? Or
$250,000 if you're a married couple.
Basically, we only pay for five things in life: food, clothing, transportation,
shelter and entertainment'charities. People who are active in churches can add #6 to cover their donations.
What
kind of car you drive depends on how much money you make.
Whether you eat really well could mean you're either
wealthy or you're on food stamps. I mean, I've seen some people with food stamps at Wal-Mart who have more luxurious stuff
in their carts than I have. I can't afford a lot of the stuff they buy. Wealthy people, on the other hand, can buy anything
they can afford. It's their money and they earned it.
But back to the money collection to pay for the jobs bill.
In the first place, the White House is going to have a tough time getting this bill passed, I think. That's mainly
because Congress believes that the federal government should not be trying to create jobs. Government doesn't create jobs;
businesses do.
And with Warren Buffet infusing $5 billion into the Bank of America piggy bank a few weeks ago,
why is Bank of America now talking about laying off 30,000 workers?
Here's the problem. One of the proposals that
the White House is making is to give a Social Security holiday through 2012 to businesses and taxpayers alike. That's a disastrous
idea because the Social Security Trust Fund has congressional IOUs in it. No money. The fund depends on new money coming in
so that Social Security recipients can get their monthly checks. Better idea would be for the federal government to redeem
its IOUs -- to the tune of $2.67 trillion. Then the Social Security Trust Fund wouldn't be broke anymore.
And now for a lighter moment, from our friends John and Sherre in Wichita:
A drunk
woman, stark naked, jumped into a taxi at a Papatoetoe Cab Rank.
The Indian driver opened his eyes wide and stared at the woman. He
made no attempt to start the Cab.
"What's wrong with you Luv, haven't you ever seen a naked woman before?"
"I'll not be staring at you lady, I am telling you, that would not be
properwhere I am coming from..."
"Well, if you're not bloody staring
at me Luvie what are you doing then?"
"Well, I am looking and looking, and I am thinking and thinking to
myself, "where is this lady keeping
the money to be paying me with?!"
Here's an acronym I hadn't heard before.
This morning I was listening to and watching Fox Business News and a gentleman from the great Tennessee Valley Authority was
being interviewed about how one employee could unplug something and black out 6 million people in the power grid in San Diego.
He pointed out that the corridor between Los Angeles and San Diego is a 117 mile corridor that's designated in the "national
interest." Then he said something about environmentalists who live by the BANANA rule. That is, "Build absolutely
nothing about anything anywhere." That just about sums it up. When are going to wise up and come to the realization that
people are more important than half-inch bugs with blue spots on their backs, or something like that.
The American Creed. Did you know that we have an American Creed? I did not. We said the Pledge of Allegiance
every day when I was going to school, even in high school, but I don't ever recall reciting the American Creed. Quint said
they recited it when he was in grade school in Kansas. It was written in 1917 and adopted by the House of Representatives
on April 3, 1918.
Here it is: I believe in the United States of America as a government of the people, by
the people, for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed, a democracy in a republic, a sovereign
Nation of many sovereign States; a perfect union, one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality,
justice and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes.
I therefore believe it is my duty to my country to love it, to support its Constitution, to obey
its laws, to respect its flag, and to defend it against all enemies.
September 9, 2011
I finally
found my recipe for cookies made from cake mixes. I use a sugar free cake recipe and I add Hersheys sugar-free chocolate chips.
When the cookies are baked and cooled, I spread a sugar-free vanilla frosting and make sandwich cookies. Makes Quint very
happy!
SUGAR FREE CAKE MIX COOKIES
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Ingredients:
1 16 oz. cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 - 1 tablespoon oil
Add eggs and oil to cake mix. Mix well to a stiff dough.
Drop by 1-1/2 inch balls onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. I smoosh the balls down just a bit with the back of a
spoon to make them flatter. Bake about 14 minutes until lightly browned. Do not overcook.
Variations: add chocolate
chips, peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips, chopped nuts, or brickle chips to the cookie dough to make them even yummier.
Note: Watch the cookies after about 10 minutes. Ovens vary in temperature and I've found my oven to be a bit slow.
This recipe is great for diabetics since it doesn't have any sugar added to the mixes.
About
those fires in Texas. I heard on one news broadcast that the fires so far in Texas have burned an area about
the size of the state of Connecticut. Got this note from my cousin Mark about the fires in Bastrop. Of particular interest
to me is the size of the Tanker 10. It can drop a swath of water that's 3/4 of a mile wide.
Pray for all
our friends and readers in the great state of Texas, and thank you, Mark for sending this to us.
Think
about the 1100+ homes in Bastrop that are gone and families displaced and
still burning and only 30% contained. The federal
gov is bringing in “Tanker 10” to
fly over Bastrop today scooping up enough water out of Lake Travis to drop
a 3/4
mile wide strip of water at a time.
A fireman friend of mine from Needville says that if we
don’t get a lot of rain
these fires could go on thru October of next year, maybe nothing left to burn.
They have a lot of hope in “Tanker 10” along with the winds dying down today to gain
control.
A Father's Day tribute early: A research study titled "Father's Influence
on Children's Cognitive and Behavioural Functioning: A Longitudinal Study of Canadian Families" was published in the
Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science.
The study shows that fathers who are actively involved in raising
their children made some very important contributions to their children's lives.
The study was done by Erin Pougnet,
a PhD candidate in the universities Department of Psychology. The long-time study was done in inner city areas of Montreal,
a city where single mothers are fairly common. read more at the link: http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/study-fathers-presence-makes-children-happier-more-intelligent
For those of you who live in the San Diego area, here is a list of where the boil orders are:
- Carmel Mountain Ranch– East of Interstate
15, south of Ted Williams Parkway, west of City of San Diego boundary, north of City of San Diego boundary
- College
Area/College Grove– South of Interstate 8, east of Fairmount Avenue and 54th Street, north of state Route 94,
west of 70th Street
- La Jolla– West of Interstate 5, north of La Jolla Parkway, south of Foothill
Boulevard
- North City/Flower Hill– North of Villa de la Valle, east of Interstate 5, west of
City of San Diego boundary
- Otay Mesa– North of state Route 905, east of Interstate 805, west
of Brown Field, south of City of San Diego boundary Rancho Bernardo– East of Interstate 15, north of Bernardo Heights
Parkway, west of City of San Diego boundary, south of Rancho Bernardo Road
- Rancho Bernardo–
East of Pomerado Road, south of Paseo Del Verano, west of City of San Diego boundary, north of Rancho Bernardo Road
- San
Carlos– East of Golfcrest Drive, north of Navajo Road, east of Lake Murray Reservoir, west of City of San Diego
boundary Scripps Ranch– North of Lake Miramar Reservoir, south of Scripps Parkway, west of City of San Diego boundary,
east of Interstate 15.
- Scripps Ranch/Stonebridge– South of City of San Diego boundary, north
of Maple Grove Lane, west of City of San Diego boundary, east of Stronebridge Parkway
- Tierrasanta
– South of state Route 52, west of City of San Diego boundary, east of Santo Road, north of Clairemont Mesa Boulevard
Bring all water to a boil, let it boil for one (1) minute, and let it cool before using, or use bottled water. Boiled or bottled
water should be used for drinking and food preparation until further notice. Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in
the water.
http://www.kogo.com/cc-common/mainheadlines3.html?feed=125548&article=9087682
A tribute to 9-11 from Herman Cain, presidential candidate. What a peaceful voice he has as he sings God
Bless America. http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/herman-cain-sings-god-bless-america-9-11-214420864.html He sang the song in one take too.
September 8, 2011
My cousin Al reminds us of what senior citizens are all about:
Senior citizens are constantly
being criticized for every conceivable deficiency
of the modern world, real or imaginary. We know we take responsibility
for all
we have done and do not blame others.
HOWEVER, upon reflection, we would like to
point out that it was NOT the senior
citizens who took:
The melody out of music,
The pride out of appearance,
The courtesy out of driving,
The romance out of love,
The commitment out of marriage,
The responsibility out of parenthood,
The togetherness
out of the family,
The learning out of education,
The service out of patriotism,
The Golden Rule from rulers,
The nativity scene out of cities,
The civility out of behavior,
The refinement out of language,
The dedication out of employment,
The prudence out of spending,
The ambition out of achievement or God out of government
and school.
And we certainly are NOT the ones who e liminated patience and tolerance from
personal relationships and interactions with others!!
And, we do understand the meaning
of patriotism, and remember those who have
fought and died for our country.
Just
look at the Seniors with tears in their eyes and pride in their hearts as
they stand at attention with their hand over
their hearts!
YES, I'M A SENIOR CITIZEN!
I'm the life of the party......even if it lasts until 8 p.m.
I'm very good
at opening childproof caps....with a hammer.
I'm awake many hours before
my body allows me to get up.
I'm smiling all the time because I can't hear
a thing you're saying.
I'm sure everything I can't find is in a safe secure
place, somewhere.
I'm wrinkled, saggy, lumpy, and that's just my left leg.
I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
Yes, I'm a SENIOR CITIZEN and I think I am having the time of my life!
Now
if I could only remember who sent this to me, I wouldn't send it back to
them, but I would send it to many more too!
Spread the laughter
Share the cheer
Let's be happy
While we're here.
Go Green -
Recycle CONGRESS!!
Which programs
would you like to see cut in the big budget debate?
Each and every one of us ought to have an opinion about
budget cuts.
Okay, so the federal budget has become a ginormously huge bloated cow. But there are still plenty
of opportunities to make the finances better. We owe it to ourselves and our kiddos and grandkids to keep a watchful eye out
for what's going on in those hallowed halls of congress. Sadly, with the approval rating for congress at all-time lows, it
doesn't seem so hallowed anymore, does it?
Some of the congressional solutions appear to be stupid.
For
instance, why are we worried about trimming the foreign aid budget by $3.5 billion, all the way down to $44.6 billion? Okay,
so the wrangling that's going on right now has to do with an item for disaster spending (in our country) in the amount of
$5.5 billion. How's this for an idea? Let's reduce the $44.6 billion that the State Department gives away in foreign aid
and, instead, set it aside $5.5 billion for our American friends and neighbors right here in this country who need help?
And I don't know where it fits into the federal budget, but since when did we start driving our congressionals around
in limos? After all, they have cars. We, the taxpayers, pay for them, which also irks me. But the congressmen (not the senators)
charge off their car lease charges right back to the taxpayers. I suspect they soak us for the gas and maintainenance and
insurance as well. But since we are paying for their vehicles, we ought to make them drive to work. There are 416 limos driving
our congressionals around just like they were blue-bloods. Faux royalty, that's what they look like. The big excuse for why
they think they need limos? For security. Let's get rid of the free ride to work limos. And while we're at it, let's get rid
of the House of Representatives being able to fleece the taxpayers with their leased vehicles. The Senate voted quite some
time ago that they would not be able to charge back the leases of their vehicles to the taxpayers.
Same goes for
that monstrosity of a bus that the Secret Service ordered. Two of them. They were made in Canada!How's that for a
jobs package? I say we sell the busses.
I say we freeze congressional pay until the budget is balanced.
And while we're at it, send the Dept. of Education and Dept. of Transportation back to the states. That would eliminate
at least one layer or bureaucracy. Maybe two.
Here's what the Senate suggests as tax cuts (I'm quoting from todays
article in The Hill) -- Agriculture cut by $141 million -- Commerce is cut by $625 million -- Energy is cut by $57
million -- Financial Services is cut by $222 million -- Homeland Security is cut by $666 million -- Interior and Environment
is cut by $284 million -- Labor is cut by $300 million -- the legislative branch is cut by $234 million and military construction
is cut by $618 million. I think the Senators spelled the multi-cuts wrong. Since the budget is in the trillions of dollars,
the cuts should be in billions, not millions. If we correct the spelling dollars, then maybe we'll get closer to balancing
the budget.
Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/180079-senate-appropriators-draw-2012-battle-lines-over-programs-to-cut
September 7, 2011
Ever heard
of a moose getting stuck in a tree? Well, this moose was foraging for a snack and found some delicious apples. Problem is,
they were fermented. So the moose proceeded to eat himself silly -- or drunk, that is. Then he proceeded to get sillier and
climbed the tree. Guess he was wanting even more apples since he'd eaten all the low hanging fruit. Then he got stuck. All
four legs on the ground - moose have long legs. And his body was straddling a branch. Rescuers were called, of course. Their
remedy? They cut the tree down. And the moose laid down to sleep it off. Look at these photos: http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/874733-moose-drunk-on-apples-gets-stuck-in-tree
I love picking up pieces of history as I go along. This bit about Thomas Jefferson
comes from John and Sherre in Wichita:
Thomas
Jefferson was a very remarkable man who started learning very
early in life and never stopped.
At 5, began studying under his cousin's tutor.
At
9, studied Latin, Greek and French.
At 14, studied
classical literature and additional languages.
At
16, entered the College of William and Mary.
At 19,
studied Law for 5 years starting under George Wythe.
At 23, started his own law practice.
At 25, was elected
to the Virginia House of Burgesses.
At 31, wrote the
widely circulated "Summary View of the Rights of
British America " and retired from his law practice.
At 32, was a Delegate to the Second Continental Congress.
At 33, wrote the Declaration of Independence .
At
33, took three years to revise Virginia's legal code and wrote a
Public Education bill and a statute for Religious Freedom.
At 36, was elected the second Governor of Virginia succeeding
Patrick
Henry.
At 40, served in Congress for
two years.
At 41, was the American minister to France
and negotiated commercial
treaties with European nations along with Ben Franklin and John Adams.
At 46, served as the first Secretary of State under George Washington.
At 53, served as Vice President and was elected president of the
American Philosophical Society.
At 55, drafted the Kentucky Resolutions and became the active head of
Republican Party.
At 57, was elected the third president of the United States .
At 60, obtained the Louisiana Purchase doubling the nation's size.
At 61, was elected to a second term as President.
At 65, retired to Monticello .
At 80, helped President
Monroe shape the Monroe Doctrine.
At 81, almost single-handedly
created the University of Virginia and
served as its first president.
At 83, died on the 50th anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of
Independence along with John Adams
Thomas Jefferson knew because he himself studied the previous failed
attempts at government. He understood actual history,
the nature of God,
his laws and the nature of man. That happens to be way more than what
most understand today.
Jefferson really knew his stuff. A voice from the
past to lead us in the future:
John F. Kennedy held a dinner in the white House for a group of the
brightest minds in the nation
at that time. He made this statement:
"This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to gather at
one time in the White House with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson
dined alone."
"When we get piled upon one
another in large cities, as in Europe, we
shall become as corrupt as Europe ." -- Thomas Jefferson
"The democracy will cease to exist when you take
away from those who are
willing to work and give to those who would not."
"It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A
principle which if acted on would save one-half
the wars of the world."
"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the
government from wasting the labors of the people
under the pretense of
taking care of them."
"My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results
from too much government."
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and
bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect
themselves against tyranny in
government."
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood
of patriots and tyrants."
"To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas
which he disbelieves and abhors
Thomas Jefferson said in 1802:
"I
believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties
than standing armies.
If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of
their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation,
the banks and
corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people
of all property - until their
children wake-up homeless on the continent
their fathers conquered."
Do you know the Preamble for
your State's Constitution? Well, John and Sherre (in Wichita) aim to help you out:
Do you know the Preamble
for your state? Interesting: ...be sure to read the
message at the bottom!
Alabama 1901, Preamble We the people of the State of Alabama , invoking the
favor and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain
and establish the following
Constitution.
Alaska 1956, Preamble We,
the people of Alaska , grateful to God and to
those who founded our nation and pioneered this great land.
Arizona 1911, Preamble We, the people of the State of Arizona , grateful to
Almighty God for our liberties, do ordain
this Constitution...
Arkansas 1874, Preamble We, the people of the State
of Arkansas , grateful
to Almighty God for the privilege of choosing our own form of government...
California 1879, Preamble We, the People of the State of California ,
grateful to Almighty God for our freedom...
Colorado 1876, Preamble We, the people of Colorado , with profound reverence
for the Supreme Ruler of Universe...
Connecticut 1818, Preamble. The People
of Connecticut, acknowledging with
gratitude the good Providence of God in permitting them to enjoy.
Delaware 1897, Preamble Through Divine Goodness all men have, by nature, the
rights of worshipping and serving their
Creator according to the dictates of
their consciences.
Florida 1885,
Preamble We, the people of the State of Florida , grateful to
Almighty God for our constitutional liberty, establish
this C onstitution...
Georgia 1777, Preamble We, the people of Georgia
, relying upon protection
and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish this Constitution...
Hawaii 1959, Preamble We , the people of Hawaii , Grateful for Divine
Guidance ... Establish this Constitution.
Idaho 1889, Preamble We, the people of the State of Idaho , grateful to
Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings.
Illinois 1870, Preamble We, the people of the State of Illinois, grateful
to
Almighty God for the civil , political and religious liberty which He hath
so long permitted us to enjoy and
looking to Him for a blessing on our
endeavors.
Indiana 1851, Preamble
We, the People of the State of Indiana , grateful to
Almighty God for the free exercise of the right to choose our form
of
government.
Iowa 1857, Preamble We, the People of the State of Iowa
, grateful to the
Supreme Being for the blessings hitherto enjoyed, and feeling our dependence
on Him for a continuation
of these blessings, establish this Constitution.
Kansas 1859, Preamble We,
the people of Kansas , grateful to Almighty God
for our civil and religious privileges establish this Constitution.
Kentucky 1891, Preamble. We, the people of the Commonwealth are grateful to
Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberties...
Louisiana<
/FONT> 1921, Preamble We, the people of the State of Louisiana ,
grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political
and religious liberties we
enjoy.
Maine 1820, Preamble We the People
of Maine acknowledging with grateful
hearts the goodness of the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe in affording us
an
opp ortunity .. And imploring His aid and direction.
Maryland 1776, Preamble
We, the people of the state of Maryland , grateful
to Almighty God for our civil and religious liberty...
Massachusetts 1780, Preamble We...the people of Massachusetts, acknowledging
with grateful hearts, the goodness of the
Great Legislator of the Universe
In the course of His Providence, an opportunity and devoutly imploring His
direction
Michigan 1908, Preamble le. We, the people of the State of Michigan ,
grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of freedom establish this
Constitution.
Minneso ta, 1857, Preamble We, the people of the State of Minnesota ,
grateful to God for our civil and religious liberty,
and desiring to
perpetuate its blessings:
Mississippi 1890, Preamble
We, the people of Mississippi in convention
assembled, grateful to Al mighty God, and invoking His blessing on our work.
Missouri 1845, Preamble We, the people of Missouri , with profound reverence
for the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, and grateful for His goodness .
Establish this Constitution...
Montana 1889, Preamble. We, the people of Montana , grateful to Almighty God
for the blessings of liberty establish this
Constitution .
Nebraska 1875, Preamble We, the people, grateful to Almighty
God for our
freedom . Establish this Constitution.
Nevada 1864, Preamble
We the people of the State of Nevada , grateful to
Almighty God for our freedom, establish this Constitution...
New Hampshire 1792, Part I. Art. I. Sec. V Every indiv idual has a natural
and unalienable right to worship God according
to the dictates of his own
conscience.
New Jersey 1844, Preamble We,
the people of the State of New Jersey,
grateful to Almighty God for civil and religious liberty which He hath so
long
permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing on our
endeavors.
New Mexico 1911, Preamble We, the People of New Mexico, grateful to Almighty
God for the blessings of liberty..
New York 1846, Preamble We, the people of the State of New York , grateful
to Almighty God for our freedom, in order
to secure its blessings.
North Carolina 1868, Preamble We the people of the
State of North Carolina,
grateful to Almighty God, the Sovereign Ruler of Nations, for our civil,
political, and
religious liberties, and acknowledging our dependence upon
Him for the continuance of those...
North Dakota 1889, Preamble We , the people of North Dakota , grateful to
Almighty God for the blessings of civil and
religious liberty, do ordain...
Ohio 1852, Preamble We the people of the
state of Ohio , grateful to
Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings and to promote our
common...
Oklahoma 1907, Preamble Invoking the guidance of Almighty God, in order to
secure and perpetuate the blessings of liberty, establish this
Oregon 1857,
Bill of Rights, Article I Section 2. All men shall be secure in
the Natural right, to worship Almighty God according
to the dictates of
their consciences
Pennsylvania 1776, Preamble We,
the people of Pennsylvania , grateful to
Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, and humbly
invoking His guidance...
Rhode Island 1842, Preamble. We the People of
the State of Rhode Island
grateful to Almighty God for the ci vil and religious liberty which He hath
so long permitted
us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing...
South Carolina, 1778, Preamble
We, the people of he State of South Carolina
grateful to God for our liberties, do ordain and establish this
Constitution.
South Dakota 1889, Preamble We, the people of South Dakota , grateful to
Almighty God for our civil and religious liberties
Tennessee 1796, Art.
XI.III. That all men have a natural and indefeasible
right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their
conscience...
Texas 1845, Preamble We the People of the Republic of Texas
, acknowledging,
with gratitude, the grace and beneficence of God.
Utah
1896, Preamble Grateful to Almighty God for life and liberty, we
establish this Constitution.
Vermont 1777, Preamble Whereas all government ought to enable the
individuals who compose it to enjoy their natural rights,
and other
blessings which the Author of Existence has bestowed on man .
Virginia 1776, Bill of Rights, XVI Religion, or the Duty which we owe our
Creator can be directed only by Reason and
that it is the mutual duty of all
to practice Christian Forbearance, Love and Charity towards each other
Washington 1889, Preamble We the People of the State of Washington ,
grateful to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe for
our liberties, do ordain
this Constitution
West Virginia 1872, Preamble
Since through Divine Providence we enjoy the
blessings of civil, political and religious liberty, we, the people of West
Virginia reaffirm our faith in and constant reliance upon God ...
Wisconsin
1848, Preamble We, the people of Wisconsin, grateful to Almighty
God for our freedom, domestic tranquility...
Wyoming 1890, Preamble We, the people of the State of Wyoming , grateful to
God for our civil, political, and religious
liberties, establish this
Constitution..
[Do you notice one thing that all the Preambles have in common? --
Each one is grateful to God, or the Supreme Ruler, or the Almighty God, or the Creator, or the Author of Existence -- or any
number of ways to express allegiance to our Heavenly Father. -- JR]
September 5, 2011
Ah well,
the joy of multi-tasking.
I have a half-dozen half pints of jalapeno pepper slices going through the water bath
as I write this. The season is closing down. That I salvaged anything at all from the garden is a miracle. I have frozen several
bags of tomato pieces. I think they're diced. Anyway, I don't even cook them. Just chop them up and put them in a baggie.
A snack bag size works for things like omelettes for Quint and me, or the sandwich size baggie for soups. They'll last through
the winter. I've already canned enough tomato sauce for a winter's supply. I love making my own sauce. I know for sure that
it's sugar free and very low sodium.
Read an article in The Hill about the richest folks on Capitol Hill.
Remember John Kerry (D-Mass)? He used to be the richest member of Congress but he got knocked off that perch by
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas).
The Tea-Party backed new politicians who made it all the way to Washington showed
un-lawyers, in such professions as business, medicine and auto sales. (That's great. I'd like to see more real people coming
into Congress and get the career politicians out. Used to be that about 58% of Congress was comprised of lawyers.)
Oh, and get this -- six Democrats who made the Hill's 50 Wealthiest in 2010 lost their re-election races.
There's
more here if you'd like to read: http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/179087-the-hills-2011-50-wealthiest-congress-rish-list -- And check out the first comment at the end of the article. It looks like a reprint from USA Today about
the high cost of federal employees' salaries that we're paying as taxpayers!
Got this from
my friend Cody in Warrensburg, MO. It's about the Medicare premium increases for the next couple of years:
MEDICARE
PREMIUM INCREASE
>>
>>For those of you who
are or will soon be on Medicare, read the article
below. It s about the monthly amount of money you are going
to pay in
Medicare premiums in 2011, 2012 and the huge increase you will pay in
2013. It's a short but important
article:
Congress will not allow an increase in the Social Security COLA
(cost of living adjustment); however,
the per person monthly Medicare
insurance premium will be increased as follows:
2009 premium = $96.40
to
2012 premium = $104.20
to
2013 premium = $120.20
to
2014 premium = $247.00
At the same time,
Congress also gave themselves a $3,000 a month
Cost of Living Adjustment!
Congress returned to the nation's
capitol today from their summer vacation. First on the agenda is going to be a push for a balanced budget amendment.
This legislation will need a 2/3 vote in both houses. Then it goes to the states for ratification. It's a good move to try
to get this passed before the 2012 election. You just know that the congressionals who vote for it are going to use the fire
against any would be congressional who gets identified as not voting for such an amendment.
And besides, the Republicans
in the House (that's the party in power right now) have said they intend to start passing legislation each and every week
to reduce the regulatory powers of all those agencies. I guess if they can't eliminate the regulatory agencies, they can defund
them, or cut back on their funding so much that there would need to be drastic cuts in pay for all those 6 figured political
workers.
Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/179457-gop-kicks-off-fall-push-for-a-balance-budget-amendment
The Environmental Protection Agency, for instance, was President Nixon's dreamdoggle. It's been in
existence since 1970 and has about 18,000 employees.
And guess who authorized public employees unions? None other
than President Kennedy in 1962 with one swoop of his pen in Executive Order 10988. (more details here: http://www.penningtongroup.com/blog/2011/03/why-public-sector-unions-could-become-extinct/)
September 3, 2011
Have a wonderful
Labor Day! Enjoy the holiday and stay safe. -- Quint and Jane
We are among the 7%
This is an amazing
video about faith and prayer. Thank you, John and Sherre, for sharing with us. http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=ko_VSKn1DAE&vq=medium
September 2, 2011
Here we
are again at the Labor Day weekend. I pray that each of you will be safe and you enjoy your festivities. We'll be spending
a quiet time at home. It's still too hot to get outside and work in the yard. Yesterday, it hit 103.5 in our driveway. That's
way too hot for us "elderlies" to do too much heavy exertion. The air conditioning is nice and that's where we're
going to stay 'til this heat mess goes away. We do have some promised relief on the way though. Maybe by the beginning of
next week the temperature will start to moderate, down to 75 degrees.
In the meantime I have a lot of writing
projects to finish up.
Score 1 for the common man -- and local governments and state
governments. The White House is shelving some EPA regulations that would have tightened the smog rules. For now. Maybe the
administration is hearing the disgust from all over the nation -- finally -- about how it's handling the economy. Any lessening
of regulations is better for job creations. read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/179357-white-house-shelves-smog-rule-in-huge-defeat-for-green-groups
And speaking of jobs creation, the numbers for August came in this morning. It's
0.0 jobs created in August. That's the worst number/non-number in 45 years.
The real jobs number, or lack of it,
lies in the U-6 data. That number in August 2011 was 16.2%. That number includes all the people who want to be working, even
the people who are working at fast food places when they can't find a job in their chosen profession. The statistics prior
to 16.2% are previous months.
U-6 Total unemployed, plus all persons
marginally attached to the labor force, plus
total employed
part time for economic reasons,
as a percent of the civilian
labor force plus all
persons marginally attached to the labor
force.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.4 16.3 16.1 16.7 15.9 15.8 16.2 16.1 16.2
If you're into econometrics and you like to study tables of data, here's your nirvana: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf -- It's from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and is up to date as of this morning at 8:30 a.m.
The
unemployment rate for the years 1923-29 was 3.3 percent. In 1931 it jumped to 15.9, in 1933 it was 24.9 percent. It remained
at these extremely high levels until 1942, when it dropped to 4.7 percent. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_was_the_unemployment_rate_during_the_Great_Depression
Quint and I watched American Experience: The Crash of 1929. The parallels
to today are scary. The stock market was going every which way. Ups and downs, new highs and new lows, without market reasons
to effect change. Then there were the big rich guys who were pumping their money into the market to make it look like it wasn't
as bad as it really way. It reminded me of Warren Buffet buying $5 billion in Bank of America stock last week. (The stock
is sliding down today.) Well, here's a mayor of a big town who got more than a bit fed up
with people who parked illegally in his town (Vilnius, Lithuania). So, all you readers who live in Vilnius you might
recognize your mayor. He has what looks like a foolproof solution to Mercedes/Ferrari/Bennie/other luxury cars who think they
don't have to obey the rules. The drivers should know that Europeans are very serious about not parking in their bike lanes.
And I mean serious! Quint and I were strolling casually, not realizing that you just don't step off the curb and stand there
waiting for the light to change. I think it may have been in Berlin, or maybe Munich. Anyway, bicycle riders are people in
a hurry and they're on their way to somewhere. Like maybe work. These are not recreational bikers. Oh the glares and I think
ugly words in languages we didn't recognize. Watch this short video: http://www.flixxy.com/mayor-fights-illegally-parked-cars-with-tank.htm And last,
but certainly not least, is this 13 year old young lady playing the trumpet solo, Il Silencio (The Silence) with
Andre Rieu and his orchestra. Wow! http://www.flixxy.com/trumpet-solo-melissa-venema.htm
September 1, 2011
from
Linda in Lawrenceville, following prayer request:
The Edmond , OK., First Christian Church
> group of Challengers would appreciate
your sending this out to your
> friends. Thanks.
>
>
As evidenced by people living in Oklahoma
> , West Texas and South Texas , and ever-increasing
areas in other parts of
> the country, the drought condition is reaching critical status;
cattle are
> being auctioned off; crops have burned up; and drinking water is becoming
> a concern. Please join us in this prayer circle. A lot of water wells are
> going dry.
>
>
Lets make this one of the largest prayer
> circles ever. It will be as though everyone
is holding hands around the
> world.
>
>
Father, You said whenever any two or more
> come together and agree and ask in Your
Son's name, it shall be given. We
> come to you, humbly, and ask that you bring down
the rain to our parched
> lands. Our farmers and ranchers need it desperately, as well
as our
> firefighters. We ask this all in Jesus' name... Amen.
>
>
You may adopt this prayer and evidence
> your participation in this gathering by simply
passing this prayer request
> on to your circle of friends!
August 31, 2011
It's climbed
back up to 98.3 degrees. Ask me why I did such a "brilliant" thing as plant Impatiens on the west side of the house
where the poor little darlings get the horribly scorching late afternoon sun.
We just got back from emptying out
the display case at the library. The librarians were gracious enough to let the Junior Quilters fill up the display case with
lots of baby quilts. It was a good exhibit and we are told it aroused many pleasant comments. But as we passed the flower
bed of Impatiens to get back into the house, I couldn't tell if they were sticking their tongues out at us or trying to capture
whatever moisture they could from the air.
And today was the big day for my mammogram. It's supposed to be "routine."
That's what they said last year. That's when the awful year of uncertainty began. First came the mammogram. Then the discovery
of the cyst. Then the cyst was aspirated. Then the lumpectomy to remove the troublesome cyst. (After all, God didn't put it
there, so it didn't belong.) Then followed a lumpectomy. And wonder of wonders! A tiny little cluster of cancer cells was
lying underneath the benign cyst. The surgeon said he had never seen a cancer so tiny caught so early. Then came a partial
mastectomy. Then came chemo. Then came 33 sessions of radiation -- an everyday adventure for six and a half weeks. Then when
I was about done with my radiation, we learned that Quint was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic/leukemia -- CLL. Bless his
heart, he's still going through chemo. His regimen is once a month for six months. He goes one day for a chemo for the lymphoma,
followed by the second day of a second chemo to treat the leukemia.
I'm waiting for an all-clear. It will be in
the form of a letter (on pink paper) that will tell me everything is fine and back to normal. So when the window envelope
arrives, I'll know without even opening it that all is well if there's a pink sheet of paper showing. I will know if things
are not okay if I get a phone call tomorrow morning. I have learned that mammo/photographers do not mess around with time
delays when something is amiss.
Am I scared? No.
Am I anxious? No.
You see, the number of
my days -- and the number of Quint's days have already been determined by none other than God himself.
Quint and I figure that we might have fifteen years left, maybe
twenty. But being afraid is not going to change God's plans. And being worried will not add one day to my life.
Besides,
God knows what he's doing with our lives and he continues to offer us opportunities to help grow his kingdom here on earth.
So we stay busy doing the things that we can do.
Tomorrow I'll tell you about my eyes. You're not going to
believe this one!
August 30, 2011
Did I mention
that I have deactivated my Facebook account? I learned that all my friends' cell phone numbers were available through the
friends listings. So if you want to keep in touch with me and Quint, and I hope that you do, it will have to be the old fashioned
way -- plain old e-mails.
Quint and I took advantage of having a comfortable day outside today. That is, if you
count 87 degrees comfortable. We pulled weeds that we'd been overlooking for a while. When the weather gets too sultry (over
90) we don't go out to do yard work. So the weeds thought they were going to move in permanently, I guess.
I was
pulling weeds from among the Impatiens when Quint came up behind me and told me I had a new visitor. It was a little kitten
that followed him from the back yard. Cute little thing. Looked really well cared for and had a very pretty little pink collar
on. Don't know where it came from though. Little Kitty supervised my weed pulling for the rest of the time that I was out
there. I did manage to sneak back in the house without the kitten.
There has been an unusual site going on for
the last several days that involves our birds. Their flight patterns have become strange. I've not seen them flying back and
forth in front of the windows before. They seem to be more darting than flying. Hope everything is okay. You know what they
say about changing patterns with animals.
And how about those horrible floods out there on the left coast? Okay,
so the hurricane wasn't the same disaster level as Katrina, but still, all that water!! Road beds washed out. Covered bridges
that have been spanning rivers for years and years and years. Then, this year, they went floating away. Don't for the life
of me know why people drive into water that's a foot or so deep. That can float a car!
August 29, 2011
From readers
like you -- thank you Shirley for this link to the Harmonica Man: http://biggeekdad.com/2010/01/the-harmonica-man/ What a precious gift he has given children who are gobbling up music talent galore! The Harmonica Man is a retired horse
trainer in Washington who stopped taking his medications and bought harmonicas for children, with free lessons from him. And
then, to keep the kiddos interested in music as they get older, he introduces them to a "strum stick." This looks
like a solid body three string guitar to me, but I couldn't really tell. He has certainly brought a gift to the children in
the area.
It's good to see people laugh! Thank you, cousin Mark, for sending this link about Air Swimmers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIJINiK9azc -- Oh my goodness. It was worth the whole 1.43 minutes to see the shark swim up behind a cat that was eyeing
a real rish in a goldfish bowl. But watch the cat try to make a quick getaway to safety.
Laughter is good for the
soul. It's a great stress reliever. If you have a computer, which you do if you're reading this article, then you can go to
You Tube and search for comedy. Lots of opportunities to catch a real belly roll laugh. And it's so good for your mental health.
Is there ever a time when slightly "blue" language might be a bit acceptable? Well, cousin Mark thinks
he's run across this list:
1. "What the @#$% do you mean, we are sinking?" -- Capt. E.J Smith of RMS
Titanic,
1912
2. "What the @#$% was that?" - Mayor Of Hiroshima, 1945
3. "Where
did all those @#$%ing Indians come from?" -- Custer, 1877
4. "Any @#$%ing idiot could understand that."
-- Einstein, 1938
5. "It does @#$%ing so look like her!" - Picasso, 1926
6. "How the
@#$% did you work that out?" - Pythagoras, 126 BC
7. "You want WHAT on the @#$%ing ceiling?" -
Michelangelo, 1566
8. "Where the @#$% are we?" - Amelia Earhart, 1937
9. "Scattered
@#$%ing showers, my ass!" - Noah, 4314 BC
10. "Aw c'mon. Who the @#$% is going to find out?" -
Bill Clinton, 1998
11. "Geez, I didn't think they'd get this @%#*^ing mad." - Saddam Hussein, 2002
Drum roll, and the new winner is ,
12. "I need a SEAL in my house like I need a
@%#*^ing hole in my
head." - Osama Bin Laden, 2011
Hope you like this story from friends John
and Sherre in Wichita:
WAL-MART SENIOR GREETER
You just have to appreciate this one. Young people forget
that we old people had a career before we retired......
Charley, a new retiree-greeter at Wal-Mart, just couldn't seem
to get to work on time. Every day he was 5, 10, 15 minutes
late. But he was a good worker, really tidy, clean-shaven,
sharp-minded and a real credit to the company and obviously
demonstrating their "Older Person Friendly" policies.
One day the boss called him into the office for a talk.
"Charley, I have to tell you, I like your work ethic, you
do a bang-up job when you finally get here; but your being
late so often is quite bothersome."
"Yes, I know boss, and I am working on it."
"Well good, you are a team player. That's what I like to
hear.
Yes sir, I understand your concern and I will try harder.
Seeming puzzled, the manager went on to comment, I know
you're retired from the Armed Forces. What did they say
to
you there if you showed up in the morning late so often?"
The old man looked down at the floor, then smiled. He
chuckled quietly, then said with a grin,
"They usually saluted and said, Good morning, Admiral, can I
get your coffee, sir?
August 27, 2011
The entire
Mediterranean region can be proud to claim these young men. They are late adolescents, 16 and 17 years old, and have incredible
voices -- just incredible. Their debut album went platinum in just about two nanoseconds. So you just watch them rise to meteoric
heights when they start to tour the world: http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=CLThl6xEYBM -- The name of their group is Ill Volo. Thanks to cousin Mark for sending the link to me.
Prayers
lifted for all the folks on the east coast of the United States as you batten down the hatches as Hurricane Irene heads your
way. Be safe and evacuate if you are told to do so. Go to high ground and get out of harm's way.
August 26, 2011
Quint and
I had a chance to get out and see the countryside. We went to Springfield for a workshop on Resilience.
Physical
resilience is easy to understand. It's how fast you get back to normal after you've run a mile or two. If you collapse in
a heap like I'd probably do and just lay there for a while, huffing and puffing, that's not very resilient.
But
if you're like marathon runners who seem to take it all in stride, then that's resilience.
Emotional and mental
resilience is like that. It's a measure of how quickly we snap back from traumatic events. Traumas come in various sizes and
degrees. Resuming previous activities is one way of gauging resilience. I hesitate to say normal because I'm
not sure what could possibly be normal after the death of a loving spouse.
Anyway, we went speeding along
through the topic of resilience. It could have been a three-day seminar. After I've had a chance to digest all that was presented,
I'll share with you, and also some thoughts of my own to expand the subject matter. But in the meantime, I picked up 6 hours
of continuing education credits to apply toward my license renewal.
One of the things that I really want to get
into is what is called "chemo brain." It's a temporary neurological reality with people who have experienced
chemotherapy for cancer. I say temporary although it seems like forever before those neurological pathways get reconnected
and the cognitive deficits gradually go away. I'm talking months.
For instance, one of things that has
kind of been a hallmark for me was being organized. And I usually had a pretty good memory. But this has been a year
that I will never forget. Thank God for paper and pencils so I could take notes and make reminder lists. And
thank God for Quint who helped me keep track of my lists and notes and helped remind me of what I was supposed to
be doing.
But even with all that, I'd duplicate my efforts, send out emails in duplicate, and other stupid stuff. The
ladies from the Lutheran Women's Missionary League have been most kind and gracious. I don't think they knew about the cognitive
deficits but were accepting of me anyway. Maybe they just thought they'd elected a President for the Zone and gotten
a flake.
Things are getting better. Just in time for me to help Quint with his chemo brain. He has four more sessions
of Rituxan and Treanda. See, it really is true though. Between the two of us, we make one good brain.
Now my eyes
are burning so I'm going to give them a rest.
August 25, 2011
Okay, so
I'm not the only person who likes the Sidewinders singing. I don't know who the songbird is who has the strength of the melody,
but she sure delivers one hot, smoky jazz! The group is Air Force and I'm guessing that they go around performing for our
well deserving troops. They've gotten enough page hits to warrant putting them in the top links of the Home Page.
Other links that do well are the Bible Studies. Most of the hits on those pages come from Oriental places, with requests
for more Bible Studies. Today, I am offering a study about Prayer. I pray that it will enrich your daily study of His Word.
EXPAND YOUR PRAYERS TO SUPERSIZE YOUR HOPE
Our prayer life is the most
intimate relationship we have with our Lord. People have been bowing their heads for thousands of years to bring requests
for one thing or another to God. Read the words of Isaiah 65:4, Since ancient times no one has heart,
no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.
Even
if you don't know what you should be praying for, the Holy Spirit intercedes for you, as Paul points out in his letter to
the Romans in verses 26 and 27: ...the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought
to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts
knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.
There
are some who actually think that this passage from the letter to the Romans means that since God already knows everything,
we don't have to bother with asking and re-asking for what we want or need.
The foolishness of that supposition
is found in John 14:13-14: And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory
to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
This passage from John doesn't actually
invite God's followers to wait passively for the bounties of God's answered promises to just happen along, does it?
Instead, Jesus is saying (my paraphrase): Go ahead. Ask me. I'm waiting to hear from you.
Our Heavenly
Father is a wonderful, loving caretaker of the universe that He created. Nowhere in his Word does he say, Don't bother
me with all your endless yammering about wanting this and begging for that. Oh no, he wants to hear from us. He wants
an ongoing discussion in the privacy of our heads where our innermost thoughts lie. He wants to lovingly embrace us and lift
us out of our despair. He wants to surround us with comfort and compassion when we hurt. He wants our hearts to echo his grace.
He wants us to know that his heart is filled with love and caring for us. And he wants us to know that each and every minute
of every day.
So let's not be shy about asking for things in prayer. Even for the simple things that we may
think are too small and simple for God to care about.
Since I know that God is watching me all the time, sometimes
I wonder if he isn't thinking, "I thought she was going to ask me that time. She must be too busy. I'll wait and watch
for a while so I can be ready when she sets aside a few quiet moments. She knows I'm here. Why doesn't she just talk to me?
I know she frets and worries. Foolish child! She's been doing that since she was the tiniest of little girls sitting up in
the persimmon tree where it was so quiet. I saw her when she was a little four-year-old pouring out her heart to me. I'm always
glad when she brings all her concerns to me. I'll help her. All she has to do is ask."
Closing Prayer:
Here I am, Lord. I have a fresh list of worries for the day. Some of them are leftovers from yesterday, but I know
you'll get to them when you think the time is right. I'm having a little trouble being totally kind today. Too many frustrations
in my life, I guess. They're mostly because people are zigging when I'm zagging. I prefer to go straight on through and not
have to bother with all this back and forth stuff. But sometimes I feel completely inadequate and vulnerable because I kind
of forgot to think of everything that I should have done to make plans run smoothly. Can you help me out with that? Amen.
August 24, 2011
It has
been a long, quiet day at the oncology center. Quint had an infusion for the lymphoma, followed by another chemo for leukemia.
He weathers the medications very well and so far as had no side effects, except for fatigue. That's understandable since his
hemoglobin count is at 10.3 -- in the anemic range.
It got up to 99 degrees today. The little flowers were sticking
their tongues out at us as we got out of the car. I swear they were. Must have been begging for a drip or two of water. We're
just waiting a bit for the sun to get lower in the sky to give them all a life-saving little drink of water.
I
did get a chance to get caught up on magazine reading. Editions going all the way back two or three months. An article in
a newspaper caught my eye about the very rich Duchess of Alba in Spain who plans to marry (again) in October.
But get this: she is 85 years old and the intended groom is a mere child of 60.
Oh my!
It's
her third marriage. Don't know about him. But the article I was reading said her children weren't any too happy. Apparently
they thought the groom might just be a golddigger. The duchess is worth anywhere from $900 million to about $5 billion.
But she solved that problem. She gave them their inheritance early. Now everybody is happy and they are all coming
to the wedding.
Other guests for this small, intimate wedding include all of her six children and their current
spouses. Even some former daughters-in-law will be attending as well as a popular bullfighter.
Let's all smile
and be happy for the bride and groom. Right?
Ever wonder who owns the U.S. debt? Well, the U.S. Treasury
and other federal agencies have a pretty good idea. Like, for instance:
Hong Kong $121.9 billion
Caribbean Banking Centers $148.3 billion
Taiwan
$153.4 billion
Brazil $211.4 billion
OPEC $229.8 billion
Mutual Funds (U.S. holdings) $300.5 billion
Commercial banks $301.8 billion
State, Local and Federal Retirement Funds $320.9 billion
Money Market
Mutual Funds $337.7 billion
United Kingdom $346.5 billion
Private Pension Funds $504.7 billion
State and Local Governments $506.1 billion
Japan $912.4 billion
U.S. households (including hedge funds)
$959.4 billion
China $1.16 trillion
Treasury (owes the Fed) $1.163 trillion
Social Security trust
fund $2.67 trillion
You did know that Congress borrows money from the Social Security Trust Fund, didn't you? Do
you think they've ever paid any of it back? Just wondering. Can't seem to find any record of that.
August 23, 2011
Big
earthquake out on the Atlantic side of the world today. It was so strong that it appears we have our own Leaning Tower
right here in the USA -- we can call it the Tilting George. Look at this: http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/121936367/Getty-Images-News Oh, and it was a 5.9, then got downgraded to a 5.8. Epicenter around Richmond, Virginia. shakeyshakeyshakey. Sure hope
the shaking stays out east where the elitists have all the resources known to man that they've managed to squirrel away. Hope us
peons here in the flyover part of the world don't get any wobblies. After all, some say we're just a few hours older
than swampy pond water in the primordial food chain so we don't even know how to be afraid. Some say. Certainly not me, of
course.
Just to give you an idea, Quint was dreaming when we woke up this morning. He was reciting the Table
of Elements. In order.
And the other day, I awakened with a dream that had the theme, "The Proclivity of Parents."
No wonder we need naps. Obviously our nighttime sleep is just about a waste of time in terms of restfulness and beneficialness.
Not that that keeps us from going to sleep anyway.
Fly over the Grand Canyon at 190 mph with the Jetman.
Thank you, John and Sherre, from Wichita for this breath-taking extravaganza! http://www.tvkim.com/watch/1141/kims-picks-giving-ironman-a-run-for-his-money
Here's a web site that's a whole bunch of fun. It has 100 short takes on the best dance scenes from the movies.
http://www.tvkim.com/watch/1257/kims-picks-dancing-throughout-movie-history
Ever wonder what's the fastest thing on the planet? Well, watch this video and you'll find it. But I promise you,
you'll be amazed: http://www.tvkim.com/watch/1244/kims-picks-fastest-living-thing-on-earth
To give credit where credit is due, watch the Sidewinders. They're a group of military talent right out of the
Air Force: http://www.tvkim.com/watch/1243/kims-picks-codename-sidewinder Her voice is absolutely amazing.
Want to see some penguins and hear some beautiful music to boot: http://www.tvkim.com/watch/1209/kims-picks-most-beautiful-music-and-penguins?pagination%5Bwatch_page%5D=5&commit=5
It's called the Takabisha (in Japan) but I would call it the Barfmobile. Mainly because it's got one loop that's
absolutely vertical. Then you go over the edge. Want to see how many loops you can put on the tip of a pin? Watch this: http://www.tvkim.com/watch/1138/kims-picks-would-you-ride-this-roller-coaster
One of my favorites? This food artist shows us how to make a hamburger just like they show on TV. Warning: Do
not eat! http://www.tvkim.com/watch/1049/kims-picks-food-ad-tricks
Google Earth now lets us look at what's going on underwater on the ocean floors. http://www.tvkim.com/watch/1048/kims-picks-google-earth-gets-ocean-layer
Awwww. You have to hate it when this happens. While working on the largest 3-D pyramid made out of dominoes, the
unthinkable happens. http://www.tvkim.com/watch/1007/kims-picks-the-largest-3-d-domino-pyramid-on-youtube
from cousin Mark:
A pastor's wife was expecting a baby, so he stood before the congregation
and asked
for a raise. After much discussion, they passed a rule that whenever the preacher's
family expanded,
so would his paycheck.
After 6 children, this started to get expensive and the congregation decided to hold
another meeting to discuss the preacher's expanding salary. A great deal of yelling
and inner bickering ensued,
as to how much the clergyman's additional children were
costing the church, and how much more it could potentially cost.
After listening to them for about an hour, the pastor rose from his chair and
spoke, "Children
are a gift from God, and we will take as many gifts as He gives
us". Silence fell on the congregation.
In the back pew, a little old lady struggled to stand, and finally said in her frail
voice, "Rain
is also a gift from God, but when we get too much of it, we wear
rubbers".
The entire congregation said,
'Amen'.
August 19, 2011
from
my cousin Mark: NOAH TODAY
In the year 2011, the Lord came unto Noah,who was now living in America and
said:
"Once again, the earth has become wicked and over
-populated, and I see the end of all flesh before
me.""Build another Ark and save 2
of every living thing
along with a few good humans."He gave Noah
the blueprints, saying:
"You have 6 months to build the Ark before I will
start the unending rain for 40
days and 40 nights."
Six months later, the Lord looked down and saw Noah
weeping in his yard - but
no Ark."Noah!," He roared, "I'm about to start the rain!
Where is the Ark?""Forgive me, Lord,"
begged Noah, "but things have changed."
"I needed a Building Permit."
"I've
been arguing with the Boat Inspector
about the need for a sprinkler system."
"My neighbors claim
that I've violated the
neighborhood by-laws by building the Ark in my
back yard and exceeding the height limitations.
We had to
go to the local Planning Committee for a decision."
"Then the local Council and the
Electricity Company demanded a shed load of money
for the future costs of moving power
lines and other overhead
obstructions, to clear the
passage for the Ark's move to the sea. I told them
that the sea would be coming to
us, but they would
hear none of it."
"Getting the wood was another problem. There's a ban
on cutting local trees in order to save the Greater Spotted Barn Owl.""I tried to
convince the environmentalists
that I
needed the wood to save the owls - but no go!"
"When I started gathering the animals the
ASPCA took me to court. They insisted that
I was confining wild animals against their will. They
argued the accommodations
were too restrictive, and
it was cruel and inhumane to put so many animals in
a confined space."
"Then the Environmental Agency ruled that I couldn't build the Ark until they'd
conducted an environmental impact
study on your proposed flood."
"I'm still trying to resolve a complaint with the
Human Rights
Commission on how many minorities I'm
supposed to hire for my building crew."
"The Immigration
Dept. is checking the
visa status of most of the people who want to work."
"The trade unions say
I can't use my sons. They
insist I have to hire only Union workers with
Ark-building experience."
"To make matters worse, the IRS seized all my assets, claiming I'm trying to leave
the country illegally with
endangered species."
"So, forgive me, Lord, but it would take at least 10
years for me to finish
this Ark."
"Suddenly the skies cleared, the sun began to shine,
and a rainbow stretched across
the sky."
Noah looked up in wonder and asked,
"You mean you're not going to destroy the world?"
"No," said the Lord. The Government beat me to it."
Super-Committee Member vows no change in Social Security and Medicare --
Rep.
Upton (Mich) says it's critical that people who are enrolled not see any benefit cuts. Upton is chairman of the powerful House
Energy and Commerce Committee. However, Upton did not rule out the possibility of future benefit cuts for people who are not
received benefits at this time.
Upton is a member of the recently approved super-committee that is challenged
with reducing the federal deficit by $1.5 trillion dollars.
read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/news/177389-gop-supercommittee-member-no-entitlement-benefit-cuts
RURAL COUNCIL -- Executive Order 13575
Gotta watch this! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14qDq7B9DwU
Here's the entire tex of this Executive Order. Look at the list of who is on the Rural Council. http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-06-14/pdf/2011-14919.pdf
And if you're the really curious type and want to see what Executive Orders have been signed all the way back
to FDR, here's the link: http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/executive-orders/disposition.html
August 18, 2011
If you're
a Ray Stevens fan, you'll enjoy his newest song about the Mississippi Squirrel: http://travisab1.multiply.com/video/item/73
Uh oh! Economists have been saying that the next bubble to burst would be the gold market.
That's been the rumor for the best part of a year. Well, today word comes from Venezuela that Chavez is nationalizing its
gold and wants all the pretty precious metal that's stored all around the world to come on back home. Supposedly Venezuela
has about 100 tons of gold in brick bat form, not paper certificates.
Gold rose some $600 an ounce this past year.
It went up about $25 today alone. There's a message about sustainability and soaring prices somewhere in that news bit. It
closed at $1822 a troy ounce today.
It's going to be really interesting to see what the overnight market does
with the price of gold. Gold prices might just go through the roof or they'll implode.
Researchers
have found yet another use for vitamin C.Some success shows that vitamin C can dissolve toxic proteins that build up
on the brains of Alzheimer patients. In their report published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, researchers
say, "The brains of people with Alzheimer's disease contain lumps of so-called amyloid plaques which consist of misfolded
protein aggregates. They cause nerve cell death in the brain and the first nerves to be attacked are the ones in the brain's
memory centre."
Katrin Mani, MD, PhD, the lead researcher says, "...antioxidants such as vitamin C have
a protective effect against a number of diseases, from the common cold to heart attacks and dementia."
Read
more: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-08/lu-twww081811.php
Warning: Don't go out and buy a big bottle of vitamin C. Check with your doctor before you take a whole bunch
of anything.
Here's something that's good for you too.Especially if you're
a postmenopausal woman. Improving bone health. Who would have guessed? The humble little prune, now rebranded as the "dried
plum."
Researchers from Florida State and Oklahoma State University tested two groups of postmenopausal women
over a 12 month period. One group had to eat 100 grams of prunes (about 10 prunes) each day, while the second (the control
group) was to told to eat about 100 grams of dried apples.
The group that ate the prunes had significantly higher
bone mineral density in the ulna (one of two long bones in the forearm, and spine. According to Researcher from Florida State's
Bahram Arjmandi, this is due in part to the ability of dried plums to suppress the rate of bone resorption, or the breakdown
of bone, which tends to exceed the rate of new bone growth as people age.
Arjmandi encourages people who are interested
in maintaining or improving their bone health to take note of the extraordinarily positive effect that drive plums have on
bone density.
read more: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-08fsu-nba081711.php
Don't like prunes? My grandmother had a boarding house back in the 40s and 50s. It was at the corner of 13th
& Broadway in Paducah. Anyway, she always had a bowl of prunes on the table for breakfast, dinner and supper. She prepared
them by pouring nearly boiling water (to cover) the prunes and added just a bit of almond extract. No sugar needed -- there's
plenty of that in the prunes already. And the prune bowl would always get emptied out by the end of the meal.
And got this funny from Nola:
Bubba and Johnny Ray were sittin' on the front porch
when a large truck
hauling rolls and rolls of sod went by.
"I'm gonna do that when I win the lottery,"
said Bubba.
"Do what?" asked Johnny Ray.
"Send my grass out to be mowed."
Bubba and Johnny Ray were sittin' on the front porch when a large truck
hauling rolls and rolls of sod went by.
August 17, 2011
I will
admit that I couldn't begin to list all the Republican candidates hoping to occupy the Oval Office in 2012. But the news all
last week was peppered with the Ames Straw Poll held in Ames, Iowa. Big deal. From what I could see, the only requirement
to participate in the Straw Poll shindig was to bring buckets of greenbacks. Maybe a million or so for starters. Then stand
around eating corn dogs and making speeches until the vote was taken.
Some people were seen standing in line to
get tickets for $30. But if you were smart with your money, you just sauntered over to your favorite candidate's tent and
picked up tickets for free. There you go. Saved you thirty bucks. And thirty more for your partner. Now you can go eat all
the corn dogs you could possible stuff into your mouth. Then go listen to your candidate recite his/her list of talking points.
I mean, let's face it. I haven't heard a real political speech since Mr. Texas -- none other than Rick Perry --
talk about his presidential run for the roses when he was down there in the Carolinas (don't remember which one). And yes,
he had lots of voters in Iowa and he wasn't even in the state.
But there is one guy who continues to run. Dr.
Ron Paul. What is this -- his third presidential campaign? He reminds me of Adlai Stevenson, the other habitual presidential
candidate who ran decades ago. Until he had a heart attack while strolling through Grosveno Square in London in 1965. He died
later that day. Stevenson ran for president twice against Eisenhower. He even got beat by John Kennedy in a primary battle.
Eisenhower's first run for president was when I first became interested in national politics. I have The Weekly
Reader to thank for that. Our entire class poured over the four page little newsletter at the Lutheran school I attended.
And I believe I have read somewhere that the little Weekly Reader voters have picked the president since the
mid-40s.
So if you want to know who the
next president is most likely going to be, watch for the Weekly Reader "straw poll."
In the
meantime, you can watch Jon Stewart from The Daily Show. http://www.mediaite.com/tv/jon-stewart-scolds-media-for-ignoring-rep-ron-paul-i-mean-fck-that-guy-right/ He is not happy one little bit that the media moguls are ignoring Ron Paul who just happened to come in third
in the Ames Straw Poll. It's only for comedic relief from all this political nonsense that I put the link up here.
Thank you Shirley in Effingham for this amazing video: Two winning combinations: children
and the National Anthem, and children singing the National Anthem. These youngsters are amazing. And in harmony too. http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=QEGlsHS6tSQ
So why don't the big league teams get the little people to do a fine job with the National Anthem instead of movie
stars and jazz-em-up singers who make a mess out of the National Anthem and then turn around and say, "But it's such
a hard song to sing."
So is Tschikovski's First Piano Concerto and there's a contest every year to see who
can do the best job playing that beloved piece of music.
August 16, 2011
from
my cousin Mark:
THE CHURCH SQUIRRELS
There were five houses of religion in a small
town:
The Presbyterian Church,
The Baptist Church ,
The Methodist Church ,
The Catholic Church and
The Jewish Synagogue .
Each church and synagogue was overrun with pesky squirrels.
One day,
the Presbyterian Church
called a meeting to decide what to do about the squirrels. After much prayer and
consideration
they determined that the squirrels were predestined to be there and
they shouldn't interfere with God's divine will.
In the Baptist Church the squirrels had
taken up habitation in the baptistry. The
deacons met and decided to put a cover on the baptistry and drown the squirrels
in
it. The squirrels escaped somehow and there were twice as many there the next week
The Methodist Church
got together and decided that they were not in a position to
harm any of God's creation. So, they humanely trapped the
squirrels and set them
free a few miles outside of town. Three days later, the squirrels were back.
But --
the Catholic Church
came up with the best and most effective solution. They baptized the squirrels and
registered
them as members of the church.
Now they only see them on Christmas, Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, and Easter.
Not much was heard about the Jewish Synagogue, but they took one squirrel and had a
short service with him called
circumcision and they haven't seen a squirrel on the
property since.
Ready for
some comedic relief from all the silly political stuff?
Steve Bridges is the guy who kept George Bush under
a microscope when Bush was in office. Now he's picking on Obama. Here's the link: http://www.stevebridges.com/obamavideos-promo-july2010-lg.html
Drink, sweat and lie -- from Cody
I met this guy while I was away
on a business trip,and he has
A motto he lives by everyday. He said listen carefully and Live by these 4 rules:
Drink, Steal, Swear, & Lie.I was shaking my head 'no', but he then told me to listen
While he explained his four
rules. So here they are:
1. "Drink" from the "everlasting cup" every day.
2. "Steal" a moment to help someone that is in worse shape than you are.
3.
"Swear" that you will be a better person today than yesterday.
4. And last, but not least,
when you "lie" down at night
Thank God you live in America and have freedom.
I am not
as good as I should be.
I am not as good as I could be.
But THANK GOD
I am better
than I used to be!
(And still praying to improve.)
Remember homesteading?
Now there's seasteading!
So where would you
like to live if you had billions and price were no object?
There are some of the "filthy richies" who
are going to start building seasteads using oil platform type islands out in international waters.
Peter Thiel,
the founder of PayPal has already donated $1.25 million for his little piece of liberty.
In an article in the
news blog thelookout.com: The idea is for these countries to start from scratch--free from the laws, regulations, and
moral codes of any existing place. Details says the experiment would be "a kind of floating petri dish for implementing
policies that libertarians, stymied by indifference at the voting booths, have been unable to advance: no welfare, looser
building codes, no minimum wage, and few restrictions on weapons.
See this: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/silicon-valley-billionaire-funding-creation-artificial-libertarian-islands-140840896.html
Uh, what do they do when a hurricane blows them over?
Here's a picture of an oil rig that collided
with another oil rig when a hurricane blew it off course: http://www.oilrigdisasters.co.uk/ Twenty-two workers died in this accident.
And New Orleans wasn't the only location severely damaged by Hurricane
Katrina. Take a look at the photos on this site. One rig drifted 66 miles before it ran aground. Another got stuck under a
bridge. Lots and lots of damage to hundreds of rigs. http://home.versatel.nl/the_sims/rig/h-katrina.htm
In the Gulf of Mexico, there are swarms of oil rigs hugging the southern shores of the United States. Well, kind
of hugging. At least they aren't stuck out there in the middle of the Gulf: http://thes.wordpress.com/2010/06/10/gulf-of-mexico-oil-rigs/
Here's a list of other mishaps: http://home.versatel.nl/the_sims/rig/losses.htm
Sure the rigs capsize. And their legs break. They catch on fire and sink. One rig listed "ice volcano"
as a disaster! Ice volcano? That sounds like a contradiction of terms.
No thanks. I'll stay on land. Call me chicken
if you like. Cluck, cluck, cluck.
(A jack-up is a kind of platform that's designed to stay put in the water. They
have long-legged moorings. Until the big winds come. Or hurricanes. Or typhoons.)
August 15, 2011
Have been
enjoying one of my favorite composers -- Vivaldi.
Especially the Winter of his Four Seasons: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGdFHJXciAQ&feature=related
Then Quint says, "Play Autumn" -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOSg7LFgt6Y&feature=related
But my favorite of favorites is Spring: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-dYNttdgl0&feature=related
And no one but no one plays Vivaldi like Itzhak Perlman as he does in these pieces. Even Vivaldi would be impressed
with Perlman. He's a violinist like no other!
One of the commenters said he imagined Vivaldi playing at the time
he would be entering heaven. I think I agree with that.
In a world where there's too much ugliness, it's nice to
have a pleasant respite. The above links will get you there.
On another matter, the political machine is really
gearing up in the United States. If you can at all, just realize that the politics of electing a new president has become
an industry where millions and millions are spent over a two year period they call "The Campaign."
Most
of all, pray for the spiritual well=being of the United States. We really need prayers here in the good old USA! The politics
will get more and more mean spirited. And people will mutter "Why can't we just get along?"
I don't know
the answer to that but I suspect somewhere there's a bit of truth in the fact that politics has become adversarial. Just like
our court systems. You have a "this side" and a 'that side." Voila! Adversarial relationships.
Do
you think it might have to do with the fact that the majority of congressionals are lawyers?
Just wondering.
August 13, 2011
got
this from my cousin Mark:
It takes your food seven seconds to get from your mouth to your stomach.
One human hair can support 6.6 #.
The average man's penis is two times the length of his thumb.
Human thighbones are stronger than concrete.
A woman's heart beats faster than a man's.
There
are about one trillion bacteria on each of your feet.
Women blink twice as often as men.
The average
person's skin weighs twice as much as the brain.
Your body uses 300 muscles to balance itself when you are standing
still.
If saliva cannot dissolve something, you cannot taste it.
and this:
Do y ou think English is easy???
1) The bandage was wound around the wound
.
2) The farm was used to produce produce .
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more
refuse .
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert .
7) Since there is no time like the present,
he thought it was time to present the
present .
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object .
11) The insurance
was invalid for the invalid .
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row .
13) They were
too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A
seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow
.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a
tear .
19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
20) How can I intimate this to my most
intimate friend?
Let's face it - English is a crazy language! There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham
in hamburger;
neither apple nor pine in pineapple . English muffins weren't
invented in England or French Fries in France ... Sweetmeats
are candies while
sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we
explore its
paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are
square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor
is it a pig .
And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and
hammers don't
ham ? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth ? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices?
Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends
but not one amend ? If you have a
bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?
If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should
be committed to an asylum for
the verbally insane. In what language do people recite
at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo
by ship? Have noses
that run and feet that smell ?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while
a wise man and a wise guy
are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your
house
can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out
and in which, an alarm goes off by going
on .
English was invented by people , not computers and it reflects the creativity of the
human race, which,
of course, is not a race at all. That is why when the stars are
out they are visible but when the lights are out they
are invisible .
PS. - Why doesn't ' Buick ' rhyme with ' quick ' ?
August 12, 2011
Ah, the
art of the note. The handwritten note with a postage stamp on the envelope.
Several years ago when we were members
of the Tinley Park Rotary Club, the subject of getting mail came up. One banker offered this insight. He said that when the
huge big pile of mail is put on his desk every morning, he divides it into three piles. The junk mail pile goes in the trash.
The business mail goes in another pile. And then there's the envelope with a handwritten address on it, and a one ounce postage
stamp in the upper right corner. There aren't too many of those so he opens them first. And he reads each one.
So
come forward a few years to another meeting I was at recently. Not a Rotary meeting. This one was a group of church ladies.
One chairman was concerned that she never got a response to her letters or e-mails. Taking a clue from the bank president I
had known, I suggested that she write a handwritten note. And write the address on the envelope. I even go so far as to write
my return address many times. Especially get well cards or grief cards. Those sentiments are especially meaningful and I try
to make them as person as I can because they come with lots of love and prayers. So what if it takes a few extra seconds to
handwrite the address and return address.
It was a very nice day today. Sunny. Warm sunshine, but not so hot that
we were forced to stay inside like prisoners from the heat. I grilled the spicy chicken breasts and we enjoyed lunch on the
patio. A rare treat this summer. And all the flowers are blooming their little hearts out.
I do wish we had pretty
songbirds though. We have wrens -- they just chirp. And we have lots of sparrows. I don't know what you'd call what they sound
like. Kind of like a wren with a sore throat. How do I get some meadowlarks and other pretty songbirds? We have some cardinals
but they don't come around so much anymore since Quint stopped feeding them. He got tired of the squirrels stealing all the
bird feed. Can't say that I blame him. Besides, wild animals should not be spoiled with human being handouts.
I
did very little scanning news this afternoon. Spend most of the day in the office trying to get my work table and my desk
cleaned off. Not an easy task. But I did manage to get the work table down to the wood. I had thousands of little notes that
I had written to myself. Phone numbers of people I want to save. E-mail addresses. Cogent phrases. I love to read or listen
to a good wordsmith. At least for now, they are all corralled in a 3-ring notebook.
And now it's late in the afternoon.
Time to go keep Quint company for the evening. We do like our evenings together. We're coming up on 33 years of marriage next
month. It has been a blessing for both of us. We're able to get some really good productions from BBC on Netflix streaming.
Good mysteries. We both love a well-written mystery that we can't figure out. Until the end.
But first I want to
share this brief clip of Ronald Reagan. He had been out on the campaign trail a bit too long. Was more than too tired. And
was definitely not in the mood for a heckler in the audience. Three words from Reagan's mouth got the crowd on their feet!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmfkYu4m2jA
August 11, 2011
Any
good news anywhere? Probably, but bad news gets the press.
For instance, WLS reports that someone
stole a steel staircase in Peoria. It weighed 1,000 pounds. It's a pretty staircase, but I don't think that was why
it was stolen. See this: http://www.wlsam.com//Article.asp?id=2259029
And now there's more talk about QE3-- that's what they're calling a new stimulus
package. In a quandary because the first two haven't helped all that much. And as far as jobs creation is concerned, it looks
like next to nil in benefits there. So why would the feds want to print more money for QE3? What do people do with the extra
cash that finds its way to their checking account? I don't have any percentages - only passing reports I've seen on the news
-- but it appears that most folks paid down their credit card debt. Guess what? That just put more money into the banks' coffers.
The big complain was that banks were sitting on their cash cows and not making loans to even the worthiest of mortgage applicants.
A QE3 would most likely have the same results. The banks would get richer. And the feds would just scratch their heads and
wonder why the stimulus didn't work. Again.
And now firing an employee could be a life-threatening
event. But in a church? That's what happened when a Minister of Music got his last check from the pastor. "Hit
the road jack" was not exactly what he did. He came back with a taser and tased the pastor. Oh my goodness! A fight broke
out and a deacon reached in his pocket for his pocket knife and stabbed the Music Man's mother in the arm. That's the way
they did things in Alabama this week. http://www.local15tv.com/mostpopular/story/Pastor-Tased-Woman-Stabbed-after-Church-Service/Em_GtXEWUEqdvmdx0jlAmQ.cspx
Is there no end to the misery out there?
Waitress scams customers who didn't
tip enough. Somehow the waitress got ahold of a credit card reading device that was about palm size. Then another buddy
managed to get personal information about the customer and make phony credit cards. Then they went shopping with the stolen
cards. http://www.bankrate.com/financing/credit-cards/waitress-scams-bad-tippers/?ec_id=m1078091 There's a warning here. Don't let your credit card out of your sight. Or if you have to, make sure it's not for an unusually
long time. And watch all the charges you make on your card. Report charges you don't make right away!
A
pedestrian who got hit by a bicyclist died today. Goodness gracious, how fast was the bicycle going? Truth is, the
bicycle rider blew a red light and knocked the pedestrian down. Head injury that turned out to be fatal, not just life threatening.
The accident happened at 8:30 a.m. so maybe someone was in a hurry to get to work. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/baycitynews/a/2011/08/11/pedestrian11.DTL All bicyclists need to be reminded, as the police officer is reminding people in San Francisco, that traffic laws that
apply to car people also apply to bike people. So what would be the charge? Bicycular homicide? Slow down out there and be
watchful of pedestrians if you plan to disobey traffic laws.
But here's some good news:
it was comfortable outside today. In the high 70s. So I went outside and pulled weeds out of flower beds that I have been
neglecting. And saw several clients. Tomorrow will be a desk day all day in the office, except for when we go outside to grill
some very spicy Indian-flavored chicken. The chicken is marinading overnight in the fridge. It's spicy - peppers and cumin
and coriander and hot sauce and yogurt and milk and garlic and onion. If it turns out okay I'll be glad to share the recipe
with you.
August 9, 2011
It was actually cool
enough this afternoon (only 87 degrees when I ventured out) to pull weeds from the tomatoes. I also prune my tomatoes.
I think the cute little plants like to feel a breeze rustling through their arms and legs on hot summer days. Don't like those
bottom limbs hanging down so far that the tomatoes are on the ground. So the bottom limbs got pruned off too. And I gave them
a really good drink. From the bottom, of course. Tomatoes do not like to get their leaves wet.
Quint is at church
tonight doing something with the Elders. Or as one of the little junior quilters calls them, the "elderlies." This
is the last of his three-year term so he gets to be Head Elder.
Speaking of the junior quilters from Faith Lutheran
Church, they have an exhibit of the baby quilts that will be taken over to the Family Life Center after the exhibit is finished
at the end of August. If you're in the area, take a look at the display case by the back door in the Effingham Library. You
might be amazed at the really good work that the youngsters do. They're very diligent and serious about the quilts that they
make. And it shows.
This is from Cody in Warrensburg. Thanks, Cody:
THE
BUZZARD:
If you put a buzzard in a pen that is 6 feet by 8
Feet and is entirely open at the top, the
Bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will
Be an absolute prisoner. The reason is
That a buzzard always begins
a flight from the ground
With a Run of 10 to 12 feet. Without space
To run, as is its habit, It will not even
Attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner
For life in a small jail with no top.
THE BAT:
The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a
Remarkable nimble creature in the air,
Cannot take off
from a level place.
If it is placed on the floor or flat
Ground, all it can do is shuffle about
Helplessly
and, no doubt, painfully, until it
Reaches some slight elevation from which it can
Throw itself into the air.
Then, at once, it
Takes off like a flash.
THE BUMBLEBEE:
A bumblebee, if dropped
into an open tumbler, will
Be there until it dies, unless it is taken out.
It never sees the means of escape at
the
Top, but persists in trying to find some way out
Through the sides near the bottom.. It
Will seek a
way where none exists, until it
Completely destroys itself..
PEOPLE:
In many ways,
we are like the buzzard, the bat, and
The bumblebee. We struggle about with all our
Problems and frustrations,
never realizing that
All we have to do is look up! That's the
Answer, the escape route and the solution to any
Problem! Just look up.
Sorrow looks back, Worry looks around, But Faith looks up!
Live simply,
love generously, care deeply, speak kindly and
Trust in our Creator who loves us.
August 8, 2011
It was a
good day for canning tomato sauce. All of a sudden there were dozens of tomatoes that got ripe at the same time.
Last year I canned Arribiatta Sauce -- that's a Sicilian version of spaghetti sauce -- spicier because of the peppers that
are added. It's my favorite, especially over angel hair pasta. Still have some left so today I only canned pints of plain
old tomato sauce.
And as long as the kitchen was turned into a steamy comfort zone of a sauna, I went ahead and
made Quint some chocolate chip cookies. I mean, why not turn the oven on? What could possibly be the harm? Might dry out some
of the high humidity from the water bath. Anyway, the cookies were a hit.
Here's our local weather report: It's
a little after 6:00 p.m. and the temperature is "only" 84.4 degrees with 75% humidity. That's significant for a
couple of reasons. Never thought I'd see the day when I would think 80+ degrees was comfortable. And it's nice to have the
humidity lower than the temperature. At least I don't feel like I have to wring the air out when I step outside, like when
I went outside to pick tomatoes. Tomorrow I may go out there and pull weeds in the morning when it's cool before my first
client gets here. Maybe. Maybe not.
Got this from cousin Mark in Chicago:
I thought I was the only one that was scratching my head over my
Social
Security being called an 'entitlement!'
I am entitled to
it! I paid into it all my life. But to have
it coupled in the same category with Welfare and other handouts
which
are not earned by the recipients is insulting!! Entitlement???
You don't need guts to send this......you just have to care
about 240 years of history and the blood, sweat, lives,
tears, etc. That
others before us went through to get us to today.
Remember, not only did you contribute to Social Security but
your employer did too. It totaled 15% of your income before
taxes. If
you averaged only 30K over your working life, that's close to $220,500.
If you calculate the future
value of $4,500 per year (yours & your
employer's contribution) at a simple 5% (less than what the govt. pays
on the money that it borrows), after 49 years of working (me) you'd have
$892,919.98.If you took out only 3% per year,
you receive $26,787.60 per
year and it would last better than 30 years, and that's with no interest
paid on that
final amount on deposit! If you bought an annuity and it
paid 4% per year, you'd have a lifetime income of $2,976.40
per month.
The folks in Washington have pulled off a bigger Ponzi scheme than Bernie
Madoff ever had.
Entitlement my back side, I paid cash for my social security
insurance!
Just because they borrowed the money, doesn't make my
benefits some kind of charity or handout !
Congressional benefits, aka free healthcare, outrageous
retirement packages, 67 paid holidays, three weeks paid vacation,
unlimited paid sick days, now that's welfare , and they have the nerve
to call my retirement entitlements!!!!!!
--- The problem is the Social Security Trust Fund. It's no secret that the feds have been "borrowing"
from it for eons. Except that they never paid it back. -- JR
How would you define "Christian?"
I've been giving this
a lot of thought lately. It's an article that's dancing around in the shadows in my head.
It goes back a couple
of weeks when someone made a comment that someone who's been in the news a lot lately was not a "Christian."
I take an existential view of that because I believe that anyone who has had a Christian baptism is a Christian.
Where I depart company from the pious and sanctimonious definitions of others is when their definition of
Christian is really a definition of being "Christ-like."
Oh, for sure, I would hope that Christians
everywhere would behave in a Christ-like manner. But there are a lot of people who have had a Christian baptism who are far
from behaving in a Christ-like manner. They are corrupt sinners in need of salvation. They may or may not ever repent of their
rotten, sinful lives until they are within minutes of drawing their last breath. But even at that last breath, if they truly
repent and ask God for forgiveness, then I believe that our loving, forgiving God will open the gates of heaven and receive
that sinner. Just as surely as he will receive the person who has tried hard to lead a Christ-like life.
For instance,
C. S. Lewis wasn't exactly known for his faith in God when he got started. In fact, he set out in his early writings to prove
God didn't exist.
Then, voila, an experience touched him. I've not read all that's to be read about Lewis, but
I have a deep suspicion that the Holy Spirit got ahold of him because he became one of the most profound Christian writers
ever to draw breath.
And then there was that other guy of New Testament fame -- remember Saul? He ran around with
execution warrants in his pocket so that he could mow down any Christians he happened to come across while he was going thither
and yon throughout the lands of what we call Syria now. Remember Damascus? Jesus went to Syria to find Saul. Struck him
down blind. Then someone drug Saul off to stay at his house while he recuperated from that insane notion that Christians ought
to be killed. Blindness. That's how Jesus got Saul's attention. Well, Jesus healed his blindness. Not only did Saul get his
sight back but he got a new, improved name too. From then on, he was called Paul. And fortunately for Christians everywhere,
we have Paul. The New Testament would be a pretty slim volume without all the writings of Paul.
He was one grand
letter writer.
But back to this sanctimonious person who thinks it's okay to go around making judgments about whether
a person is a Christian or not.
She wouldn't agree that someone I went to jail to counsel for the best part of
a year and a half was a Christian. And then one day, out of that miracle place in the universe that we call nowhere, this
murderer told me he wanted to take communion.
I told him he'd have to talk with a pastor about repentance if he
wanted to do that.
He said he was ready. He wanted communion before he went to trial.*
Do you know that
I called about ten pastors before I found one who agreed to go to the jail and talk to this person? And yes, the pastor said
he'd bring communion just in case the client confessed the sins of double murder.
Where would sinners
be if we were not the road back to the Lord when they took the wrong turn?
Isn't sanctimony and piety very un-Christ-like
behavior in themselves?
Where would the young teenage girl be if I had refused to see her because she was dabbling
in Satanism?*
Or how about the wife who had committed adultery and was afraid to confess her sin to her
pastor. Even though her husband had forgiven and she was most hopeful that God had too.*
How can any one of us
ever say that just because someone got off on the wrong path that they weren't Christians?
Rather, it's our job
as Christians to pray for those people that they may somehow find the way back to a loving and forgiving Heavenly Father.
We are never, ever supposed to crawl back into our sanctimonious little turtle of a shell. God does not like that.
*used with permission
P.S. It's discouraging that a very small percentage of pastors, priests and other
spiritual leaders shed such a dim shadow across the field of spiritual shepherds who are very compassionate and loving and
Christ-like. I thank God that these pastors outnumber those who focus on negativity and unforgiveness with sinners who seek
their counsel; with sinners who need most of all to know that their sins are forgiven. These are the pastors who do not withhold
the Means of Grace to repentant sinners.
August 7, 2011
War's
End
by Jane Reinheimer
I thought I'd died
on that hill too.
Do you remember?
The moon was
a bright silver spotlight
that magnified
every pebble
and twig on the trail,
crunching beneath me.
I carried you
as long as I could.
Muscles numbed
into unfeeling strips of sinew.
Then you fell.
I
wanted so much
for you to be alive.
But you weren't.
It was Plato
who said that
only the dead
see the end of war.
If there's a victor,
it is you.
Copyright 2011
Restaurants offer
healthier choices: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/07/13/1-us-restaurants-will-debut-healthier-menus-for-kids/
August 6, 2011
Between
the two of us, Quint and I make one good brain.We usually do a better job of looking out after each other -- when I
forget something, he helps remind me, and vice versa. So when we got home from Wal-Mart yesterday with some of our groceries
loaded up and packed away in the car, little did we realize that we left two bags behind. I usually spin the bag thingey around
at least once but for some reason, didn't do it yesterday.
Turns out, it was the office supply stuff that got left
behind. There was a package of CDs that we were going to load photos of the Junior Quilters onto. And there was a box of staples
and a box of paper clips. Plus a ream of paper because I'm getting ready to run some photocopies at church tomorrow for the
Fall Rally for the Effingham/Shelby County Zone. And another bag of toiletry items. Guess we would have noticed that eventually
too.
So we went over to Wally World and explained to the lady in Customer Service that we had somehow managed
to get out of the store with two of our bags left behind. We showed her our receipt and she double-checked it against two
bags that the checker had turned in after we left the store. Sure enough, there was the rest of our stuff! Each and every
item that I had highlighted on the receipt matched with an entry in the Lost and Found stuff. She went around to the back
where the stuff is stored and got our two bags.
Three cheers for Customer Service! The lady at the counter said
that not all Wal-Marts keep track of Lost and Found items like this one does. I'm sure glad that they do.
I learned this about my new phone the last time I visited the Brainiacs at the phone store. It all
happened because I did not have enough memory to reply to a text message from a client. The other problem is that I have a
phone that is way too turbo-charged for my phone brain. All I want to do is get and make phone calls and get and receive
text messages. I don't make videos on my phones. And the only photo that I have on my phone is one I took of my sister about
a month before she died. So I was mystified when the message of "insufficient memory" showed up on my phone screen.
My favorite Brainiac found a whole bunch of photos. They were mostly photos of the inside of my pocket. I will
admit that I heard the phone making all those quirky little noises every once in a while but I had no idea it was taking pictures
of the inside of my pocket.
Sure enough, my Brainiac showed me the pictures. And then she erased all of them
for me. Then she showed me how to lock the phone on a locked position so that it wouldn't do silly things like take pictures
of the inside of my pocket that looked more like a cave.
Did you know that members
of Congress get $174,000 a year? And that's just their base pay. There's extra money tacked on if you're a Majority
Whip, Minority Whip, Speaker of the House, President of the Senate, and just about any and ever thing that's not usual and
ordinary. And they get a pay raise each and every year automatically unless they vote specifically not to. Well,
I'm happy to tell you that this Congress has voted not to take a pay raise for the current year.
Standard
& Poors downgrades United States economy to AA+ from AAA
These countries remain
with a AAA rating from S&P:
Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Isle
of Man, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Now
that the United States is AA+, these are our new economic colleagues: Belgium and New Zealand.
It's an
interesting list compiled in The Guardian this morning.
To see all the listings around
the world, take a look at the chart: http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/apr/30/credit-ratings-country-fitch-moodys-standard
The list, however, does not show the recent downgrade of the US to AA+. Not yet.
The United States
has had a AAA rating in 1917 and had held it ever since, until yesterday. If spending isn't cut, there may be further cuts
in the rating. But right now, everybody's blaming everybody else. Come on people. Didn't anybody ever teach you the First
Rule of Fighting Fair is that solutions are not possible when the blame game is being played.
Keep
an eye on H.R. 4646 -- It's a bill that was supposed to get the U.S. out of debt and also eliminate income tax.
H.R. 4646: Debt Free America Act 111th Congress: 2009-2010 This bill never became law. This bill was proposed in a previous session of Congress. Sessions
of Congress last two years, and at the end of each session all proposed bills and resolutions that haven't passed are cleared
from the books. Members often reintroduce bills that did not come up for debate under a new number in the next session.
If this bill gets re-introduced (either in this Congress or the next one after the election), it would add a 1% transaction
fee to every bank transaction made in this country.
But transaction fees or user fees are not taxes, right?
August 5, 2011
Each one of us can grow these three things within our hearts and minds --
America
is like a healthy body and its resistance is threefold: its patriotism, its morality, and its spiritual life. If we can undermine
these three areas, America will collapse from within. - Joseph Stalin
Got this beautiful
video of a diver in Bali from Shirley in Effingham. That is some gorgeous underwater scenery, not to mention some weird
looking little creatures. God must have gotten bored or run out of ideas when he made some of those little critters. I especially
liked the wire-like fish. http://www.flixxy.com/bali-diving.htm
Well, these aren't the real Royals, but for look alikes, they're pretty believable -- dancing their little hearts
out at what could have been the royal wedding: http://www.flixxy.com/royal-wedding-entrance-dance.htm
From cousin Al in Chesapeake:
The Haircut
One day a florist went to a barber for a haircut. After the cut, he
asked about his bill, and the barber replied, 'I cannot accept money
from you, I'm doing
community service this week.' The florist was
pleased and left the shop. When the barber
went to open his shop
the next morning, there was a 'thank you' card and a dozen roses
waiting for him at his door.
Later, a cop comes
in for a haircut, and when he tries to pay his
bill, the barber again replied, 'I cannot
accept money from you , I'm
doing community service this week.' The cop was happy and
left
the shop. The next morning when the barber went to open up, there
was a 'thank you' card and a dozen donuts waiting for him at his door.
Then a Congressman
came in for a haircut, and when he went to pay his
bill, the barber again replied, 'I
cannot accept money from you. I'm
doing community service this week.' The Congressman
was very happy
and left the shop. The next morning, when the barber went to open up,
there were a dozen Congressmen lined up waiting for a free haircut.
And that, my friends, illustrates the fundamental difference between
the citizens of our
country and the politicians who run it.
Cargill recalls sick turkeys;
Dems blame Republicans
According to an
article just released on The Hill, almost 80 people have been sickened – and one killed – by a drug-resistant
strain of Salmonella linked to ground turkey produced by a Cargill meat processing plant in Arkansas. Although the first illnesses
were reported in March, it required months for federal regulators to trace the cause back to Cargill's turkey.
The
company on Wednesday announced it will recall roughly 36 million pounds of potentially contaminated meat – the third-largest
such recall in U.S. history.
So, if the first illnesses were reported in March, and any budget cuts have yet to
hit the market, then how in the world could it be the Republicans fault for something that happened last March? I mean, budget
cuts haven't even been decided on yet.
Seems to me that Rep. DeLauro ought to quit using scare tactics when he
says things like, "...the GOP cuts – which have targeted the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Agricultural
Department (USDA) – would lead to only more food-borne illnesses, like those linked this week to ground turkey produced
by the food giant Cargill, Inc." http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/food-safety/175565-top-dem-uses-salmonella-outbreak-to-hammer-gop-over-food-safety-cuts
How about this: Food giants -- all of them, ought to clean up their workplace so that dirty food contaminants
can't survive. Period.
In the meantime, quit messing with my favorite Thanksgiving meat, Mr. Cargill.
Now I've got to worry about turkeys -- my favorite source of tryptophan.
Wow! People on a bus being shot at: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2011/08/04/four-people-held-for-trial-for-shooting-at-septa-bus/
And what about the people in Wisconsin getting beat up leaving the fair? http://www.wisn.com/news/28774396/detail.html
Why aren't these hate crimes? Just asking.
August 4, 2011
Beating
a dead mule -- sent by John and Sherre in Wichita:
Earl and Leroy saw an ad in the Starkville Daily
News newspaper in Starkville , Mississippi , and
bought a mule for $100.
The
farmer agreed to deliver the mule the next day.
The next morning the farmer drove up and said, "Sorry, fellows,
I have some bad news, the mule died last night."
Earl and Leroy replied, "Well, then just give us our money back."
The farmer said, " Cain't do that. I went and spent it already."
They said, "OK then, just bring us the dead mule."
The farmer asked, "What in the world ya'll gonna do with a dead
mule?"
Leroy said, "We gonna raffle him off."
The farmer said, "You can't raffle off a dead mule!"
Earl said, "We shor can! Heck, we don't hafta tell nobody he's
dead!"
A couple of weeks later, the farmer ran into Earl and Leroy at
the Piggly Wiggly grocery store and asked "What'd
you fellers
ever do with that dead mule?"
They said,"We raffled him off like we said we wuz gonna do."
Leroy said,"Shucks, we sold 500 tickets fer two dollars apiece
and made a profit of $998."
The farmer said,"Gol dern, didn't anyone complain?"
Earl said, "Well, the feller who won got upset. So we gave him
his two dollars back."
Earl and Leroy now work for the gub'ment.
They're overseein' the Stimulus Program.
There should be a new rule: Limit all U.S. politicians to two
terms:
One in office
One in prison.
Illinois already does this.
This video of vintage race car (crashes) also
from John and Sherre: Life before seatbelts at the racetrack.
http://devour.com/video/vintage-race-car-crashes/
And this from cousin Mark. A reminder to all parents out there from behavior
modification -- you reinforce (reward) the behavior you want to continue. And notice that the dog trainer uses praise a lot,
plus some little kibbles now and then. It's a fascinating video. Wish I'd had it when I was teaching psychology a few years
ago. It would have been a perfect example of positive reinforcement.
http://www.flixxy.com/dog-show.htm
August 3, 2011
Wow!
If this is true, it's amazing! -- from John and Sherre in Wichita:
Good news from Wisconsin
Remember the violent and disgusting demonstrations over Wisconsin Gov. Scott
Walker doing away with the collective
bargaining for teachers unions? The
results are in. Some school districts went from a $400,000 deficit to a
$1,500,000
surplus as a result. Why?
It seems that the insurance company that provided all the "so-called"
benefits
to the teachers, was an insurance company owned and operated by the
teacher's union. Since they were guaranteed to get
the insurance business
from the teachers and the State had to pay for it, and not the teachers,
they were increasing
the annual costs every single year to become the most
expensive insurance company in the state.
Then the insurance
company was donating millions and millions of dollars to
their favorite democrat politicians, who, when got elected,
guaranteed to
keep funding the unions outrageous costs. In other words, the insurance
company was a "pass through"
for Wisconsin taxpayer money directly to the
democrat politicians.
Nice racket, and this is the racket that
is going on in every single State
that allows collective bargaining. No wonder the States are taking it away.
Now
that the State of Wisconsin is free to put the insurance contract out
for bid, lo and behold they have saved so much
money it has turned deficits
into surplus amounts. As a result, none of the teachers had to be laid off,
everyone
got a raise, etc., etc., and the taxpayers of Wisconsin don't have
to pay more taxes to fund the union's political ambitions.
August 2, 2011
Prayer
from cousin Mark, Chicago:
Father, You said whatsoever any two or more come together and agree and ask in
Your
Son's name, it shall be given. We come to you, humbly, and ask that you bring down
the rain to our parched
lands. Our farmers and ranchers need it desperately, as well
as our firefighters. We ask this all in Jesus' name. Amen.
Think you've heard it all?
Not unless ou read this article from Trenton, New Jersey. Seems that the
local police officers were called to a house regarding a disturbance.
Guess what? In their attempt to bring the belligerent and drunk offender under control, he whips
out a snake and threatens the officers, making the claim that the snake was poisonous and would kill them.
August 1, 2011
This
is from Joyce, up in North Tundra land:
Subject: Resolution of the debt crisis and political
fighting
Here's a great idea from a self made multi-billionaire from the state of Nebraska.
Midwestern
oil tychoon Warren Buffett, pictured here adorably eating a parfait,
presented his quick and easy solution to America
’s debt problem today on CNBC:
“I could end the deficit in five minutes. You just pass a law that says
that anytime
there is a deficit of more than three percent of GDP all sitting members of congress
are ineligible
for reelection.
This is from Nola, in Effingham:
OUR LORD'S PRAYER
The
moment you receive it, read:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom Come, Thy
will
be done, on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day
Our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those
who
Trespass against us and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us From
evil..
For Thine is the kingdom
and the power and the glory
Now and forever
Amen..
GOD WANTED ME TO TELL YOU, It shall
be well with you this coming year..
No matter how much your enemies try this year, they will not succeed.
You have been destined to make it and you shall surely achieve
All your goals this year...
For the
remainder of 2011, all your agonies will
Be diverted and victory and prosperity will be incoming in abundance.
Today,
God has confirmed the end of your sufferings, sorrows and pain
because HE that sits on the throne has remembered you.
He has taken away the
hardships and given you JOY. He will never let you down.
I asked God to bless you,
today,
'Father, please protect and bless the person reading this message... '
I'm sure you will enjoy this. I never knew one word in the English language
that can be a noun, verb, adj, adv, prep.
This is from John and Sherre, in Wichita:
This two-letter word in English has more meanings than any other
two-letter
word, and that word is 'UP.' It is listed in the dictionary as an [adv],
[prep], [adj], [n] or [v].
It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the
list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP?
At a meeting,
why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP, and why are the
officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary
to write UP a
report? We call UP our friends, brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver,
warm UP the leftovers and
clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and fix
UP the old car.
At other times, this little word has real special meaning. People stir UP
trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite,
and think UP excuses.
To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP
is special.
And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP
because it is stopped UP.
We open UP a store in the morning but we close
it UP at night. We seem to be
pretty mixed UP about UP!
To be knowledgeable
about the proper uses of UP, look UP the word UP in the
dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4
of the page
and can add UP to about thirty definitions.
If
you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is
used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but
if you don't give UP, you may
wind UP with a hundred or more.
When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out,
we say it is clearing UP. When it rains,
it soaks UP the earth. When it does
not rain for awhile, things dry UP. One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it
UP,
for now . . . my time is UP!
Oh . . . one more thing: What is the first
thing you do in the morning and
the last thing you do at night?
U
P!
Did that
one crack you UP?
Don't screw UP. Send this on to everyone you look
UP in your address book .
. . or not . . . it's UP to you.
Now I'll shut UP
July 28, 2011
These
are too funny! Thank you to sister-in-law Jeanine in Colorado:
*Subject:* Kulula Airlines - This is hysterical
- a must read****
Don’t miss scrolling *all the way down * (below the photos) to read the
flight attendants
comments to the passengers. Very good!****
*This is one of the most hilarious e-mails, EVER....would love
to fly with
this bunch of loonies.
*
*Kulula is a low-cost South-African airline that doesn't take itself too
seriously. Check out their new livery! And have a read about their Customer
Relations.*
WHAT A PITY
KULULA DOESN'T FLY INTERNATIONALLY - WE SHOULD SUPPORT THEM IF
ONLY FOR THEIR HUMOUR - SO TYPICALLY SOUTH AFRICAN.
Kulula is an Airline with head office situated in ****Johannesburg****.
Kulula airline attendants make
an effort to make the in-flight "safety
lecture" and announcements a bit more entertaining.
Here
are some real examples that have been heard or reported:
On a Kulula flight, (there is no assigned seating,
you just sit where you
want) passengers were apparently having a hard time choosing, when a flight
attendant announced,
"People, people we're not picking out furniture here, find a seat and get in
it!"
---o0o---
On another flight with a very "senior" flight attendant crew, the pilot
said,
"Ladies and
gentlemen, we've reached cruising altitude and will be turning
down the cabin lights. This is for your comfort and to
enhance the
appearance of your flight attendants."
----o0o---
On landing, the stewardess said,
"Please be sure to take all of your belongings.. If you're going to leave
anything, please make sure it's something
we'd like to have."
----o0o---
"There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only
4 ways out of
this airplane."
---o0o---
"Thank you for flying Kulula. We hope you enjoyed
giving us the business as
much as we enjoyed taking you for a ride."
---o0o---
As the plane
landed and was coming to a stop at ****Durban** **Airport**** ,
a lone voice came over the loudspeaker:
"Whoa,
big fella. WHOA!"
---o0o--
After a particularly rough landing during thunderstorms in the **Karoo**,
a
flight attendant on a flight announced,
"Please take care when opening the overhead compartments because,
after a
landing like that, sure as hell everything has shifted."
---o0o---
From a Kulula employee:
"Welcome aboard Kulula 271 to ****Port Elizabeth****. To operate your seat
belt, insert the metal tab into the
buckle, and pull tight. It works just
like every other seat belt; and, if you don't know how to operate one, you
probably
shouldn't be out in public unsupervised."
---o0o---
"In the event of a sudden loss of cabin
pressure, masks will descend from
the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If
you
have a small child travelling with you, secure your mask before
assisting with theirs. If you are travelling with more
than one small child,
pick your favorite."
---o0o---
"Weather at our destination is 50
degrees with some broken clouds, but we'll
try to have them fixed before we arrive. Thank you, and remember, nobody
loves you, or your money, more than Kulula Airlines."
----o0o---
"Your seats cushions can
be used for flotation; and in the event of an
emergency water landing, please paddle to shore and take them with our
compliments."
---o0o---
"As you exit the plane, make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything
left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight attendants. Please
do not leave children or spouses.."
---o0o---
And from the pilot during his welcome message:
"Kulula Airlines is pleased to announce
that we have some of the best flight
attendants in the industry. Unfortunately, none of them are on this flight!"
---o0o—
Heard on Kulula 255 just after a very hard landing in ****Cape Town**** :
The flight
attendant came on the intercom and said,
"That was quite a bump and I know what y'all are thinking. I'm here to
tell
you it wasn't the airline's fault, it wasn't the pilot's fault, it wasn't
the flight attendant's fault, it
was the asphalt."
---o0o—
Overheard on a Kulula flight into ****Cape Town****, on a particularly
windy
and bumpy day: During the final approach, the Captain really had to fight
it. After an extremely hard landing,
the Flight Attendant said,
"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to The Mother City. Please remain in your
seats with
your seat belts fastened while the Captain taxis what's left of
our airplane to the gate!"
---o0o—
Another flight attendant's comment on a less than perfect landing: "We ask
you to please remain seated as
Captain Kangaroo bounces us to the terminal."
---o0o—
An airline pilot wrote that on this
particular flight he had hammered his
ship into the runway really hard. The airline had a policy which required
the
first officer to stand at the door while the passengers exited, smile,
and give them a "Thanks for flying our airline".
He said that, in light of
his bad landing, he had a hard time looking the passengers in the eye,
thinking that someone
would have a smart comment. Finally everyone had
gotten off except for a little old lady walking with a cane. She said,
"Sir, do you mind if I ask you a question?"
"Why, no Ma'am," said the pilot. "What is it?"
The little old lady said,
"Did we land, or were we shot down?"
---o0o—
After
a real crusher of a landing in ****Johannesburg**** , the attendant
came on with,
"Ladies and Gentlemen, please
remain in your seats until Captain Crash and
the Crew have brought the aircraft to a screeching halt against the gate.
And, once the tire smoke has cleared and the warning bells are silenced, we
will open the door and you can pick your
way through the wreckage to the
terminal.."
---o0o—
Part of a flight attendant's arrival
announcement:
"We'd like to thank you folks for flying with us today.. And, the next time
you get the insane
urge to go blasting through the skies in a pressurized
metal tube, we hope you'll think of Kulula Airways."
---o0o—
Heard on a Kulula flight:
"Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to smoke, the smoking section
on this
airplane is on the wing.. If you can light 'em, you can smoke 'em."****
July 27, 2011
From
cousin Mark just in case you were curious about how the Republicans came up with $2+ trillion in spending cuts over a 10 year
period.
• Corporation for Public Broadcasting Subsidy. $445 million annual savings.
• Save America 's Treasures Program. $25 million annual savings.
•
International Fund for Ireland . $17 million annual savings .
• Legal Services Corporation.
$420 million annual savings.
• National Endowment for the Arts. $167.5 million annual savings
.
• National Endowment for the Humanities. $167.5 million annual savings .
• Hope VI Program. $250 million annual savings .
• Amtrak Subsidies. $1.565 billion annual
savings .
• Eliminate duplicative education programs. H.R. 2274 (in last Congress),
authored
by Rep. McKeon, eliminates 68 at a savings of $1.3 billion annually .
• U.S. Trade Development
Agency. $55 million annual savings.
• Woodrow Wilson Center Subsidy. $20 million
annual savings .
• Cut in half funding for congressional printing and binding. $47 million annual
savings .
• John C. Stennis Center Subsidy. $430,000 annual savings .
• Community Development Fund. $4.5 billion annual savings .
• Heritage Area Grants and
Statutory Aid. $24 million annual savings .
• Cut Federal Travel Budget in Half.
$7.5 billion annual savings
• Trim Federal Vehicle Budget by 20%. $600 million annual savings
.
• Essential Air Service. $150 million annual savings .
• Technology
Innovation Program. $70 million annual savings .
• Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP)
Program. $125 million annual savings
.
• Department of Energy Grants to States for Weatherization.
$530 million annual
savings .
• Beach Replenishment. $95 million annual savings .
• New Starts Transit. $2 billion annual savings .
• Exchange Programs for Alaska , Natives
Native Hawaiians , and Their
Historical Trading Partners in Massachusetts . $9 million annual savings
• Intercity and High Speed Rail Grants. $2.5 billion annual savings .
• Title X Family Planning. $318 million annual savings .
• Appalachian Regional Commission.
$76 million annual savings .
• Economic Development Administration. $293 million annual savings
.
• Programs under the National and Community Services Act. $1.15 billion annual
savings
.
• Applied Research at Department of Energy. $1.27 billion annual savings .
• FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership. $200 million annual savings .
• Energy Star Program.
$52 million annual savings .
• Economic Assistance to Egypt . $250 million annually .
• U.S. Agency for International Development. $1.39 billion annual savings .
•
General Assistance to District of Columbia . $210 million annual savings .
• Subsidy for Washington
Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. $150 million
annual savings .
• Presidential Campaign
Fund. $775 million savings over ten years .
• No funding for federal office space acquisition.
$864 million annual savings .
• End prohibitions on competitive sourcing of government services
.
• Repeal the Davis-Bacon Act. More than $1 billion annually .
•
IRS Direct Deposit: Require the IRS to deposit fees for some services it
offers (such as processing
payment plans for taxpayers) to the Treasury,
instead of allowing it to remain as part of its budget. $1.8 billion
savings
over ten years .
• Require collection of unpaid taxes by federal employees.
$1 billion total
savings .WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Prohibit taxpayer funded union activities by federal employees. $1.2 billion
savings over ten years.
• Sell excess federal properties the government does not make use of. $15
billion total
savings .
• Eliminate death gratuity for Members of Congress .
•
Eliminate Mohair Subsidies. $1 million annual savings .
• Eliminate taxpayer subsidies to the
United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change . $12.5 million annual savings
• Eliminate Market Access Program. $200 million annual savings .
• USDA Sugar Program.
$14 million annual savings .
• Subsidy to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD) .
$93 million annual savings .
• Eliminate the National Organic Certification Cost-Share
Program. $56.2 million
annual savings .
• Eliminate fund for Obamacare administrative costs
. $900 million savings .
• Ready to Learn TV Program. $27 million savings ..
• HUD Ph.D. Program .
• Deficit Reduction Check-Off Act .
•
TOTAL SAVINGS : $2.5 Trillion over Ten Years
[Why don't they collect all the taxes from federal employees all
the time?]
[And then I read somewhere else today that the net worth for congressionals increased more than 3,000%
last year.]
In God We Trust. Believe it! -- from John and Sherre in Wichita:
Sunday, December 7th, 1941--Admiral Chester
Nimitz was attending a concert
in Washington D.C. He was paged and told there was a phone call for him.
When he
answered the phone, it was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on
the phone. He told Admiral Nimitz that he (Nimitz)
would now be the
Commander In Chief of the Pacific Fleet.
Admiral Nimitz flew to Hawaii to assume command of the Pacific Fleet. He
landed at Pearl Harbor on Christmas Eve, 1941.
There was such a spirit of
despair, dejection and defeat--you would have thought the Japanese had
already won the
war. On Christmas Day, 1941, Adm. Nimitz was given a boat
tour of the destruction wrought on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese.
Big
sunken battleships and navy vessels cluttered the waters every where you
looked. As the tour boat returned to
dock, the young helmsman of the boat
asked, "Well Admiral, what do you think after seeing all this
destruction?"
Admiral Nimitz's reply shocked everyone within the sound
of his voice.
Admiral Nimitz said, "The Japanese made three of the biggest mistakes an
attack force could ever
make or God was taking care of America. Which do
you think it was?" Shocked and surprised, the young helmsman asked,
"What
do mean by saying the Japanese made the three biggest mistakes an attack
force ever made?"
Nimitz explained. Mistake number one: the Japanese attacked on Sunday
morning. Nine out of every ten crewmen of those ships were ashore on
leave. If those same ships had been lured to sea
and been sunk--we would
have lost 38,000 men instead of 3,800.
Mistake number two: when the Japanese saw all those battleships lined in a
row, they got so carried away sinking those
battleships, they never once
bombed our dry docks opposite those ships. If they had destroyed our dry
docks, we
would have had to tow everyone of those ships to America to be
repaired. As it is now, the ships are in shallow water
and can be raised.
One tug can pull them over to the dry docks, and we can have them repaired
and at sea by the
time we could have towed them to America. And I already
have crews ashore anxious to man those ships.
Mistake number three: every drop of fuel in the Pacific theater of war is
in top of the ground storage tanks five miles
away over that hill. One
attack plane could have strafed those tanks and destroyed our fuel supply.
That's why I
say the Japanese made three of the biggest mistakes an attack
force could make or God was taking care of America.
I've never forgotten what I read in that little book. It is
still an
inspiration as I reflect upon it. In jest, I might suggest that because
Admiral Nimitz was a Texan, born
and raised in Fredricksburg, Texas --he
was a born optimist. But anyway you look at it--Admiral Nimitz was able to
see a silver lining in a situation and circumstance where everyone else
saw only despair and defeatism. President Roosevelt
had chosen the right
man for the right job. We desperately needed a leader that could see
silver linings in the
midst of the clouds of dejection, despair and
defeat.
There is a reason that our national motto is..... IN GOD WE TRUST.
July 26, 2011
Never
underestimate what animals can do when they set their little furry minds to it. Like this mountain lion that was killed
in Connecticut. I'd like to know how this big cat managed to walk from the Black Hills area of South Dakota to Connecticut
without someone, somewhere looking at it and wondering where it came from, what it was doing just loping along, and shouldn't
I call someone to come get it?
It meandered its way along 1500 miles.
It must have lived on one of those
conservancies because the big cat had a DNA record. Then it got hit by a car and that ends the story, right then and there.
What did it snack on all that time, I wonder. Photo of big cat at the link. read more: http://www.middletownpress.com/articles/2011/07/26/news/doc4e2f1341de52f489437623.txt?viewmode=fullstory
Then there was that 15' Eastern Diamondback that was caught and killed in a subdivision in St. Augustine,
Florida. I don't have the link for that story anymore, but the monstrous wiggly weighed 170 pounds.
Truthfully,
I'm surprised that they killed it. I mean, it could have been de-venomed regularly. The article said that one bite from this
rattler was enough to kill 40 adult males.
Maybe I just answered my question about why the police officers didn't
let it live. They probably didn't have a plastic tub big enough to put it in. Besides, who would want to ride in a truck with
that thing in the back?
From our dear friends, John and Sherre, from where else but Wichita!
Dear Diary,
Just moved to Kansas! Now this is a state that knows how to
live!! Beautiful sunny days and warm balmy evenings.
It is
beautiful.
I've finally found my home. I love it here.
June 14th:
Really heating up. Got to 100 today. Not a problem. Live
in an air-conditioned home,
drive an air-conditioned car.
What a pleasure to see the sun everyday like this. I'm
turning
into a sun worshipper.
June 30th:
Had the backyard landscaped with western plants today. Lots
of cactus and rocks. What a breeze
to maintain. No more
mowing the lawn for me. Another scorcher today, but I love it
here.
July 10th:
The temperature hasn't been below 100 all week. How do
people get used to this kind of heat?
At least, it's kind of
windy though. But getting used to the heat is taking longer
than I expected.
July 15th:
Fell asleep by the community pool. Got 3rd degree burns over
60% of my body. Missed 3 days of
work. What a dumb thing
to do. I learned my lesson though. Got to respect the ol'
sun in
a climate like this.
July 20th:
I missed Lomita (my cat) sneaking into the car when I left
this morning. By the time I got to the hot car
at noon,
Lomita had died and swollen up to the size of a shopping bag,
then popped like a water balloon.
The car now smells like
Kibbles and Shits. I learned my lesson though. No more
pets in this
heat. Good ol' Mr. Sun strikes again.
July 25th:
The wind sucks. It feels like a giant freaking blow dryer!!
And it's hot as hell. The home air-conditioner
is on the
fritz and the AC repairman charged $200 just to drive by and
tell me he needed to order parts.
July 30th:
Been sleeping outside on the patio for 3 nights now, $225,000
house and I can't even go inside. Lomita is
the lucky one.
Why did I ever come here?
Aug. 4th:
Its 115 degrees. Finally got the air-conditioner fixed
today. It cost $500 and gets the temperature
down to 85. I
hate this stupid state.
Aug. 8th:
If another wise ass cracks, 'Hot enough for you today?' I'm
going to strangle him. Damn heat.
By the time I get to
work, the radiator is
boiling over, my clothes are soaking wet, and I smell like
baked cat!!
Aug. 9th:
Tried to run some errands after work. Wore shorts, and when I
sat on the seats in the car, I thought my ass
was on fire.
My skin melted to the seat. I lost 2 layers of flesh and all
the hair on the back
of my legs and ass…now my car smells like
burnt hair, fried ass, and baked cat.
Aug 10th:
The weather report might as well be a damn recording. Hot
and sunny. Hot and sunny. Hot and sunny.
It's been too hot
to do anything for 2 damn months and the weatherman says it
might really warm up next week.
Doesn't it ever rain in this
damn state? Water rationing will be next, so my $1700 worth
of cactus will
just dry up and blow over. Even the cactus
can't live in this damn heat.
Aug. 14th:
Welcome to HELL! Temperature got to 115 today. Cactus are
dead. Forgot to crack the window and blew the damn windshield
out of the car. The installer came to fix it and guess what he
asked me??? "Hot enough for you today?" My
sister had to spend
$1,500 to bail me out of jail. FREAKING KANSAS. What kind of
a sick demented idiot would
want to live here??
Will write later to let you know how the trial goes.
July 25, 2011
Social
Security is an entitlement? from cousin Al/Alice:
Entitlement???"
What the hell is wrong
here?
Remember, not only did you contribute to Social Security but your employer did
too.
It totaled 15% of your income before taxes. If you averaged only 30K over
your working life, that's close to $220,500.
If you calculate the future value
of $4,500 per year (yours & your employer's contribution) at a simple 5% (less
than what the govt. pays on the money that it borrows), after 49 years of
working (me) you'd have $892,919.98. If you
took out only 3% per year, you
receive $26,787.60 per year and it would last better than 30 years, and that's
with
no interest paid on that final amount on deposit! If you bought an annuity
and it paid 4% per year, you'd have a lifetime
income of $2,976.40 per month.
The folks in Washington have pulled off a bigger Ponzi scheme than Bernie Madoff
ever
had.
Entitlement my ass, I paid cash for my social security insurance!!!! Just
because
they borrowed the money, doesn't make my benefits some kind of charity
or handout!! Congressional benefits, aka. free
health care, outrageous
retirement packages, 67 paid holidays, three weeks paid vacation, unlimited paid
sick days,
now that's welfare, and they have the nerve to call my retirement
entitlements !!!!!!.....scroll down..............
Emergency Rooms for their general health care -At just one hospital the
cost
to tax payers totaled over 25 million a year!!!
Someone
please tell me what the HELL's wrong with all the people that run
this country!!!!!!
We're "broke" & can't help our own Seniors, Veterans, Orphans, Homeless
etc.,???????????
In the last months we have provided aid to Haiti, Chile, and Turkey. And now
Pakistan home of bin Laden. Literally, BILLIONS
of DOLLARS!!!
Our retired seniors living on a 'fixed income' receive
no aid nor do they
get any breaks while our government and religious organizations pour
Hundreds of Billions of
$$$$$$'s and Tons of Food to Foreign Countries!
They call Social
Security and Medicare an entitlement even though most of us
have been paying for it all our working lives and now when
its time for us
to collect, the government is running out of money. Why did the government
borrow from it in the
first place?
We have hundreds of adoptable children who are shoved aside to make
room for
the adoption of foreign orphans.
AMERICA: a country
where we have homeless without shelter, children going to
bed hungry, elderly going without 'needed' meds, and mentally
ill without
treatment -etc,etc.
YET......................
They have a 'Benefit' for the people of Haiti on 12 TV stations, ships
and
planes lining up with food, water, tents clothes, bedding, doctors and
medical supplies.
Imagine if the *GOVERNMENT* gave 'US' the same support they give to other
countries.
Let's
hear it for the land of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (from John in Wichita):
SHITTY LITTLE COUNTRY The Middle
East has been growing date palms for centuries. The
average tree is about 18-20 feet tall and yields about 38 pounds
of dates a year.
Israeli date trees are now yielding 400 pounds/year and are short enough to be
harvested from the
ground or a short ladder .
Israel the 100th smallest country, with less than 1/1000th of the world's
population,
can lay claim to the following: The cell phone was developed in Israel
by Israelis working in the Israeli branch of Motorola,
which has its largest
development center in Israel .
Most of the Windows NT and XP operating systems
were developed by Microsoft-Israel.
The Pentium MMX Chip technology was designed in Israel at Intel.
Both the Pentium-4 microprocessor and the Centrino processor were entirely designed,
developed and produced in
Israel.
The Pentium microprocessor in your computer was most likely made in Israel.
Voice
mail technology was developed in Israel.
Both Microsoft and Cisco built their only R&D facilities outside
the US in Israel.
The technology for the AOL Instant Messenger ICQ was developed in 1996 by four young
Israelis.
Israel has the fourth largest air force in the world (after the U.S, Russia and
China).
In addition to a large variety of other aircraft, Israel's air force has an
aerial arsenal of over 250 F-16's. This is
the largest fleet of F-16 aircraft
outside of the U. S.
Israels $100 billion economy is larger than
all of its immediate neighbors combined.
Israel has the highest percentage in the world of home computers
per capita.
According to industry officials, Israel designed the airline industry's most
impenetrable
flight security. US officials now look (finally) to Israel for advice
on how to handle airborne security threats.
Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to the population in the world.
Israel produces
more scientific papers per capita than any other nation by a large
margin - 109 per 10,000 people -- as well as one of
the highest per capita rates of
patents filed.
In proportion to its population, Israel has the largest
number of startup companies
in the world. In absolute Israel has the largest number of startup companies than
any
other country in the world, except the U.S. ! (3,500 companies mostly in
hi-tech).
With more than 3,000
high-tech companies and startups, Israel has the highest
concentration of hi-tech companies in the world -- apart from
the Silicon Valley,
U.S.
Israel is ranked #2 in the world for venture capital funds right behind the
U.S.
Outside the United States and Canada, Israel has the largest number of NASDAQ listed
companies.
Israel has the highest average living standards in the Middle East.
The per capita income in Israel
in 2000 was over $17,500, exceeding that of the UK.
On a per capita basis, Israel has the largest number
of biotech startups.
Twenty-four per cent of Israel's workforce holds university degrees, ranking third
in the industrialized world, after the United States and Holland and 12 per cent
hold advanced degrees.
Israel is the only liberal democracy in the Middle East .
In 1984 and 1991, Israel airlifted a total of
22,000 Ethiopian Jews (Operation
Solomon and Moses) at risk in Ethiopia, to safety in Israel.
When Golda
Meir was elected Prime Minister of Israel in 1969, she became the world's
second elected female leader in modern times.
When the U. S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya was bombed in 1998, Israeli rescue teams
were on the scene within a
day -- and saved three victims from the rubble. Israel
has the third highest rate of entrepreneurship -- and the highest
rate among women
and among people over 55 - in the world.
Relative to its population, Israel is the
largest immigrant-absorbing nation on
earth. Immigrants come in search of democracy, religious freedom, and economic
opportunity. (Hundreds of thousands from the former Soviet Union)
Israel was the first nation in the world
to adopt the Kimberly process, an
international standard that certifies diamonds as "conflict free."
Israel has the world's second highest per capita of new books.
Israel is the only country in the
world that entered the 21st century with a net
gain in its number of trees, made more remarkable because this was achieved
in an
area considered mainly desert!
Israel has more museums per capita than any other country
Medicine... Israeli scientists developed the first fully computerized, no-radiation,
diagnostic instrumentation
for breast cancer.
An Israeli company developed a computerized system for ensuring proper
administration
of medications, thus removing human error from medical treatment.
Every year in U. S. hospitals 7,000 patients die from
treatment mistakes.
Israels Given Imaging developed the first ingestible video camera, so small it fits
inside a pill. Used to view the small intestine from the inside, cancer and
digestive disorders.
Researchers
in Israel developed a new device that directly helps the heart pump
blood, an innovation with the potential to save lives
among those with heart
failure. The new device is synchronized with the camera helps doctors diagnose
heart's mechanical
operations through a sophisticated system of sensors.
Israel leads the world in the number of scientists
and technicians in the workforce,
with 145 per 10,000, as opposed to 85 in the U. S., over 70 in Japan, and less than
60 in Germany. With over 25% of its work force employed in technical professions.
Israel places first in this category
as well.
A new acne treatment developed in Israel, the Clear Light device, produces a
high-intensity,
ultraviolet-light-free, narrow-band blue light that causes acne
bacteria to self-destruct -- all without damaging surrounding
skin or tissue.
An Israeli company was the first to develop and install a large-scale solar-powered
and
fully functional electricity generating plant, in southern California's Mojave
desert.
All the above
while engaged in regular wars with an implacable enemy that seeks its
destruction, and an economy continuously under
strain by having to spend more per
capita on its own protection than any other county on earth.
. .
. . AND THE FRENCH AMBASSADOR IN ENGLAND SAYS: "ISRAEL IS NOTHING BUT A SHITTY
LITTLE COUNTRY"
Thanks for the "insider tips" to John and Sherre in Wichita:
Insider Investment
Tips for 2011
For all of you with any money left, be aware of the next expected
mergers so
that you can get in on the ground floor and make some
BIG bucks.
Watch for these consolidations in 2011:
1. Hale Business Systems, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Fuller Brush,
and W. R. Grace Co.
Will merge and become: Hale, Mary, Fuller, Grace.
2. Polygram Records, Warner Bros.,
and Zesta Crackers join forces
and become: Poly, Warner Cracker.
3. 3M will merge with Goodyear and become: MMMGood.
4. Zippo Manufacturing, Audi
Motors, Dofasco, and Dakota Mining will merge and
become: ZipAudiDoDa.
5.
FedEx is expected to join its competitor, UPS, and become: FedUP.
6. Fairchild
Electronics and Honeywell Computers
will become: Fairwell Honeychild.
7. Grey Poupon and Docker Pants are expected to become: PouponPants.
8. Knotts
Berry Farm and the National Organization of Women
will become: Knott NOW!
July 23, 2011
United States Marine Corps
-- great video from John and Sherre in Wichita:
http://www.jensensutta.com/slideshows/RTB/
This was a sign posted on a church outside Midland, Michigan:
SATAN CALLED
--
He wants his weather back.
Thanks, Nola. I love church signs.
Here are some others that I found:
Now open between Easter and Christmas.
Home Improvement --
Bring the family in.
Get out of Facebook
And get into
My Book.
Come in and pray today.
Beat the Christmas rush!
Integrity is who
you are When
the light is out.
Who does not thank
for a little,
will not thank
for much.
Visitors
welcome.
Members expected.
Who wants to be a Christianaire?
Hybrid Christians
run on
Truth
and Love.
Two great truths: 1. There is only one God.
2. You're not Him.
God's answers are wiser
than our
prayers.
Jesus died for My Space
in Heaven.
Need a new life?
God accepts trade-ins.
Sleep
peacefully.
God is awake.
Pray for the Harvest:
Corns, Beans, Souls.
A family altar can alter a family.
God
wants full custody, not just weekend visits.
The most powerful position
is on your knees.
There's
no A/C on hell either.
You may party in hell, but you will be the barbecue.
How do we make holy water?
We
boil the hell out of it.
July 21, 2011 -- At 3:30 p.m., it's 106.9 in our carport!
That's the real temperature, not that index thingey.
What a treat! This link
to a video is from Shirley: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5lbNXNn3CI&feature=youtu.be I hope some day I'm in a store when this happens. Besides, this particular march is one
of my favorites. I can't listen to is without tapping my feet. Thank you, Shirley.
A
fascinating video: Mao's Last Dancer
Because Quint hooked us up to Netflix
streaming when I was going through chemo last year, we watch many videos that we would ordinarily not have access to. One
of the things we like most about the streaming Netflix is that we can select about 800,000 videos, ranging from documentaries,
travel series, spiritual videos, biographies, and a bazillion movies.
One of the biographical videos we watched
last night (on DVD, not streaming) was entitled Mao's Last Dancer. Mao as in Madame Mao who had the Beijing Dance
Academy. Madame Mao picked a ten year old boy from a poor rural little peasant village -- he was referred to as the "Sixth
Son" of this husband and wife -- to learn ballet. Anyway, his name was Li Cunxin and he was whisked off to Beijing at
this tender age to study ballet. He did not know anything about ballet. Had never aspired to be a ballet dancer. And
basically, was incredibly homesick, as you could imagine a child of such tender years to be when taken from his close knit
family.
He adapted. And his balletic talents got better and better.
Eventually, a choreographer touring
China had an opportunity to watch Li Cunxin dancing and was able to bring him back to perform with the Houston Ballet.
Then Li Cunxin discovered what ballet was really all about when he watched a video of Baryshnykov. Cunxin was determined
to fly across the stage using this master's style. He became credited as one of China's greatest dancers. But his balletic
abilities and stardom came at a great price because it meant defecting to the United States. He was told he could never return
to China if he defected.
Torn between his love of family and his love of ballet, he chose ballet and when he danced,
he said he imagined that he was dancing for his family.
Watch the trailer for this wonderful story: http://www.amazon.com/Maos-Last-Dancer/dp/B004Z1BMJS/ref=pd_vodsm_B004Z1BMJS
One night, when Cunxin was set to perform in an American original ballet called Rite of Spring,
the choreographer/mentor announced to the audience that the curtain would be delayed for about 15 minutes because some VIPs
were expected. Grumble grumble grumble. Then the choreographer explained further, "Once you see who it is, you'll be
very forgiving of this delay."
Turns out that the VIPs were none other than Cunxin's parents. They were united
onstage after the performance after many long years of separation.
And yes, Cunxin was allowed to return to his
village in China.
Cunxin and his wife and three children now live in Australia.
Watch Baryshnikov
in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8__iRsxG_A Cunxin was inspired by this master's balletic style and Baryshnikov's ability to seemingly hang suspended in the air
with great leaps.
We need to hit the "Reset" button in this country:
Business code violations have prompted lemonade stands to be closed in Texas, Georgia, Illinois,
Maryland and who knows where else! What exactly is wrong with encouraging youngsters to be little mini-entrepreneurs? I'm
glad I grew up in the 50s where children were encouraged to work their way through summer. There was no substitute for the
feeling of independence because we didn't have parents for money to go to the Saturday matinee, or we could buy shoes that
were less utilitarian than the ones Mom would have picked out for us, and those hugely extravagant expenses of walking downtown
to the ice cream shop. The little girl and her micro-brother in Texas wanted money for hermit crabs. Not exactly a high
crime purpose, do you think?
So are we to believe that Business Code Enforcers are driving around towns across
America looking for youngsters who have lemonade stands? I say that they ought to give the lemonade away for free and just
put a tip jar on the card table.
Well, well, well - John Edwards' latest dilemma:
Federal Election Commission made its ruling. Edwards loses by a vote of 6-0. He has to pay back $2.3
million. That's the amount that he exceeded his matching funds for his presidential campaign. Then there's that other matter
about criminal conspiracy because Mr. Naughty supposedly had benefactors funneling money to support his mistress. Those
funds should have also counted as campaign money. So say the allegations. That trial hasn't even started. Probably won't either
until about October. read more: http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/07/21/edwards.campaign.funds/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
From dear friend Cody in Warrensburg:
Warrensburg, MO could be
anywhere in the Great Midwest, so we hope you get a kick out of this. Am sure you've got some you could add to "It's
So Hot That ..."
IT'S SO HOT AND DRY in Warrensburg, Missouri that
.....The birds have
to use potholders to pull the worms out of the ground.
....the trees are whistling for the dogs.
....the
best parking place is determined by shade instead of distance
....hot water comes from both taps.
....you can make sun tea instantly. (I know because I made some yesterday)
....you learn that a seat
belt buckle makes a pretty good branding iron.
....the temperature drops below 95 F (35 C) and you feel a little
chilly.
....you discover that in July it takes only two fingers to steer your car.
....you discover
that you can get sunburned through your car window.
....you actually burn your hand opening the car door.
....you break into a sweat the instant you step outside at 7:30 A.M.
....your biggest motorcycle wreck fear is,
"What if I get knocked out and end up
lying on the pavement and cook to death"?
....you realize
that asphalt has a liquid stage.
....the potatoes cook underground, so all you have to do is pull one out and add
butter.
....the cows are giving evaporated milk.
....farmers are feeding their chickens crushed ice
to keep them from laying
hard-boiled eggs
IT'S SO DRY IN Warrensburg, Missouri, that the Baptists are starting
to baptize by
sprinkling, the Methodists are using wet-wipes, Presbyterians are giving rain
checks, and the Catholics
are praying for the wine to turn back into water!
(A few facts have been changed)
Uh oh -- snakes in Hawaii! I don't like that.
When we were in Hawaii
for our 25th anniversary (was a gift from our daughters) -- we were assured that there was only one snake in Hawaii -- and
it was in the zoo in Honolulu and it was male. Okay -- so not a chance of making baby snakes.
So imagine my surprise
when one of my headline searches today discovered an article in the Christian Science Monitor about snakes being
discovered in Hawaii. State wildlife officials captured a couple of very big constrictors -- a 9 foot constrictor and a 7
foot pythong -- were captured.
Hawaii is so serious about its no-snake law that it carries a $200,000 fine and
3 years in prison is you're found guilty with a pet snake. Supposedly you get amnesty if you turn the snake over to authorities.
read more: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2011/0721/Hawaii-snakes-Smuggled-reptiles-threaten-islands-fragile-ecosystem
That just about tears it for me. I'm not ever going back to Hawaii until I can be assured that there are no more
snakes, other than the guy snake in the zoo.
July 20, 2011
You
may have seen this before, but it's worth another read -- from Cody:
A father wanted
to read a magazine but was being bothered by his little girl. She
wanted to know what the United States looked
like. Finally, he tore a sheet out of
his new magazine on which was printed the map of the country. Tearing
it into small
pieces, he gave it to her and said, 'Go into the other room and see if you can put
this together.
This will show you our whole country today...'
After a few minutes, she returned and handed
him the map, correctly fitted and taped
together. The father was surprised and asked how she had finished so quickly..
'Oh,' she said, 'on the other side of the paper is a picture of Jesus. When I got
all of Jesus back
where He belonged, Then our country just came together.'
This one is worth forwarding.
OVER AND OVER
AMEN!!!!
Sooo........ When we get Jesus
back where He Belongs-
Our country will come together
And this, also from Cody, about a wonderful lady - Irene Sendler:
Look
at this lady - Let us never forget!
The world hasn't just become wicked...it' s always been wicked. The prize
doesn't
always go to the most deserving.
Irena Sendler
There recently was a death
of a 98 year-old lady named Irena.
During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw ghetto, as a
Plumbing/Sewer
specialist.
She had an 'ulterior motive'.
She KNEW what the Nazi's
plans were for the Jews (being German).
Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried
and she carried
in the back of her truck a burlap sack, (for larger kids).
She also had a dog in the
back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let
her in and out of the ghetto.
The soldiers
of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the
kids/infants noises.
During
her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants.
She was caught, and the Nazi's broke
both her legs, arms and beat her severely.
Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled
out and kept them in a
glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard.
After the war, she tried to locate
any parents that may have survived it and
reunited the family.
Most had been gassed. Those kids she
helped got placed into foster family homes or
adopted.
Irene was nominated for the Nobel Peace
Prize.
She was not selected. Politicians have, however, been given the Nobel Peace
Price for, shall we say, far doing less deserving things that would promote peace.
July 19, 2011
Just got back from a camp
near Springfield where the Central Illinois District of the Lutheran Women's Missionary League was held.
It's
a 100 mile drive but fortunately I had the good company of Gloria who is the vice-president of the Effingham/Shelby County
Zone.
So many women attended who share a devotion to growing God's Kingdom here on earth.
Oh sure,
there are lots and lots of others who are too busy, don't know how, or just don't want to be bothered with what they call
"church work." But it isn't church work. It's the Lord's work. He doesn't require a genius level IQ, or a woman
with a wide open schedule. He just wants willing hearts who are filled with passion and excitement for sharing His gospel
message to a world in waiting.
So we focus on the gifts of the integrity of this ministry of presence that we share
with one another, rather than worry about the ones who "don't get it" yet.
I am reminded of the time
when Quint and I toured Germany. We went to Oberammagau in 1990. The Iron Curtain was lifted just weeks before we arrived
in Germany so we were thrilled to be able to get into all the places of Luther's heritage.
Then we went to Leipzig.
There was a fervor as people thrilled with the opportunity of being able to go to church again. All out in the open. Just
like they were living in a free society. The lines formed out to the sidewalk. Funny how people can miss something so
much when it's taken away.
I mused with one of my favorite thoughts when my mind wandered a few times during the
meeting. It's one of my favorite scenarios that wanders around in my wall-to-wall mind.
It's about people who
are too busy to bother with worshiping and praising God. I often wonder what these people think heaven is like. Not that I
know, mind you. But I do know that we will be filled with the wonder and awe of our God and we will want to worship and praise
him all day, every day.
But here's the rub. If we can't spare Him even a nickel's worth of our time while we are
still here on earth, what are we going to do about unending days that stretch out to eternity when heaven will be all about
worship and praise. Of Him. Not about a golf game. Not about a softball tournament. Not about sleeping in for that one
day of the week. It's not about being too busy. It's not about explaining to another human being why you just can't possibly
make it to church. A human being is not the person who's supposed to carry a message about your trivial excuses to God,
the Father.
Nope. You have to get up, get dressed and get yourself to church. And don't tell me that you can worship
God by walking in the woods. Of course you can. But don't do it when you're supposed to be gathering in assembly with fellow
believers to worship and praise Him. That's God's expectation of you.
July 18, 2011
Pawlenty
said what?!!
Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty recommends paying outside creditors
first. Before military pay. That is, if the U.S. defaults on its debt.
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, on the
other hand, introduced a bill that would ensure military families getting their pay. She said military men and women did not
deserve to have their feet "hanging over the fire."
Meanwhile, Obama has said he won't guarantee that
Social Security retirees and military payees will get their money if the debt ceiling isn't raised.
Read more:
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/gop-presidential-primary/171859-pawlenty-pay-outside-creditors-before-military-if-us-defaults
This is an amazing commercial. Watch is all the way to the end and see if you
can guess what the commercial is all about. (I'll bet you can't.) http://www.angelfire.com/ak2/intelligencerreport/stethoscope.html
Too Big to Fail? It's true - a very small field
of 10 banks owns 77% of all the banks in the U.S.
In an article published today in The Economic Collapse,
the writer says "It really is difficult for ordinary Americans to get a handle on just how large these financial institutions
are. For example, the "big six" U.S. banks (Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America,
and Wells Fargo) now possess assets equivalent to approximately 60 percent of America's gross national product." Read more: http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/too-big-to-fail-10-banks-own-77-percent-of-all-u-s-banking-assets
And if that were not enough, take a look at this statement: "The American people were promised that TARP
and all of the other bailouts would enable the big banks to lend out lots of money which would help get the economy going
for ordinary Americans again. "Well, it turns out that in 2009 (the first full year after Congress passed the bailout
legislation) U.S. banks posted their sharpest decline in lending since 1942."
Heat wave going to be with us for a while. At
least through this week. Stay cool. Stay indoors. Don't exert yourself if outside. This is not a good time to go for a jog.
And please -- drink lots and lots of fluids. iced tea, lemonade, watermelon flavored drinks. And lots of ice.
July 16, 2011
The
taxman cometh -- Had to go all the way across the pond to get this story from The Guardian
-- that is, Fox News, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., paid Uncle Sam $4.8 billion in taxes from 2007 through 2010.
That was on earnings of $10.4 billion.
MSNBC, on the other hand, which is owned by GE -- or at least it was through
much of the tax year 2010 -- paid $0 in taxes on U.S. profits of $5.2 billion. Its worldwide profit was $14.2 billion. That
was a pretty good year, wouldn't you think?
Here's the article: http://blogs.dailymail.com/donsurber/archives/37925
Did you know that there were still 206 Iraqui "high value detainees"
being held by the U.S.? From Israel National News we learn that they were turned over to
the Iraqi government last Thursday. Iraq says they'll be executed next month. Two of the biggees were Hussein's half-brothers.
Five others were high ranking officials in Hussein's regime. That's the last of the prisoners that were being held by the
U.S. Read more: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/145760
If voting for the debt ceiling is so all-fired important, then how come the
last time it was raised (in 2006) all the Nay votes were Democrats? Check this compilation done
by the US Senate Legislation & Records -- http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00054
It was in the 109th Congress and it was HJ Res 47. Oh, some Democrats did vote Yea so the resolution did pass
on a 52 to 48 vote. Here's a clue: Obama voted Nay. Apparently he wasn't in favor of raising the debt ceiling back in 2009.
The list is compiled in several ways -- by state, by politician, and by groups.
Incidentally, Congress
has raised the debt limit 102 times.
Where's all this non-partisan willingness to work above and beyond the scope
of politics? See, the politicians can't shed their politicalness at the door, even now. They walk into those chambers as politicians,
not as the governators they were hired to be.
Oh my, my oh my! A customer/flier grabbed
a TSA agent's breast. It was bound to happen, I suppose. A woman at the Phoenix airport
"handled" the TSA agent's left breast. And guess what? The passenger was arrested for felony sexual abuse. Imagine
that! I'll just bet this one follows a trail all the way up the court system. Maybe all the way to the US Supreme Court.
http://www.myfoxny.com/dpps/news/woman-arrested-for-groping-tsa-agent-07152011_14151365 - In another article somewhere, I read that TSA is going to make up a list of trusted passengers. These passengers will
have a special bar code on their boarding passes.
July 15, 2011
$90
million for a toilet, and still ---
Or, everywhere you go it's just like home. It's
a clogged toilet at the international space station, as reported in Scientific American.
Can you believe
it? One minute you're walking in space. And then you're unpacking a huge container the size of a big bus. Boxes of new supplies
have to be stowed away. The next thing you know, you have to go fix the toilet. All in an astronaut's days work.
Eventually they got it fixed. They mean, these are cracker jack, world class engineers, after all.
Photo of what
a $90 million apparatus looks like, as well as some historic photos of space walks are at this link: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=space-toilet-gives-astronauts-smelly-time-orbit
Huge oil find in -- guess where -- Louisiana!!
Maybe
7 billion barrels a day. It's a find of 2.7 million acres called the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale Area. Oil and natural gas.
If I remember correctly, the United States uses some 20 million barrels a day. So you see, we'd have some left over
to see. Maybe then our price of gas would go down.
Two things need to happen real quick.
One, we're
probably going to need more oil refineries. There's some jobs for the economy.
Second, we have to make sure the
environmentalists don't find out about this. They'll be arranging protest marches all around the place, to be sure. Shhhh,
let's all be quiet about this. Otherwise, there's gonna be all those protesters with signs that say something like, "Reduce
oil needs," or "No gas for you." You can't interrupt these protesters when they're focused on reducing our
dependence on foreign oil.
I suspect the enviros are wading around in those bayous and swamps right this very minute
looking for the rarest of rare polar bears -- southern type -- with diamond shaped polka dots on fading white fur coats that
they call Bayou Bears. Anything, anything at all to keep oil drilling from happening in this country.
Don't these
people have jobs? Oh, gee, do you suppose they are getting paid for what they do? Are they getting turban money? Just
wondering. Enquiring minds want to know.
But then the Arabs are gonna get mad at us for figuring out how to pull
the plug on their tub of oil and running a drain line over to the Tuscaloosa tub. They'll probably try to charge us for that
too.
So just how big is 7 million acres?
The whole state of Louisiana is almost 52,000 square
miles and there are 640 acres in a square mile. If my math is correct, the entire state of Louisiana is about 33-1/4 million
acres.
But maybe the oil reservoir goes in a line across Texas, Louisiana and ends up in Alabama. I mean, they
did name it the Tuscaloosa Marine Oil Shale. Since they got the bragging rights by naming it, maybe it was discovered
first in Alabama. That's usually how that goes.
And who said the South would not rise again? (We just finished
watching Ken Burns absolutely fabulously wonderful Civil War series. Please excuse me for my moment of myth.)
Full article here, from Lafayette, LA: http://www.katc.com/news/louisiana-s-new-oil-boom-/
July 14, 2011
We
need jobs -- economic math demands it.
Real jobs. Not "saved jobs" mumbo
jumbo. How do you statistically count a "saved job?" Oh, sure. If you were a banker of a big bank, you
could say you were going to lay off 50 workers, but then, if you change my mind or if the economies of your bank
change -- like a super successful advertising program where you give away a brazilian* toasters for each new account
opened, then you could say those 50 jobs were saved if you cancelled the layoff notices.
But those saved
jobs don't bring any extra revenue to your bank.
What will bring extra revenue to your bank are the toaster hunters.
Let's say that they only qualify for the free toaster if they deposit $1,000 and agree to leave it in your bank for six
months. If you have to hire 10 more workers to fill out forms for new customers, they you have created 10 new jobs.
But here's the kicker. And here's where new jobs are oh so important.
Let's say that the country has 400 workers.
(You can multiply that number times a brazilian later.) If those 400 workers pay $18 a week for income taxes, then you can
collect $7,200 a week.
Okay -- now here you go. Let's now suppose that you come up with a really good new jobs
plan. Let's say that you reduce taxes so that all those small mom and pop businesses across the country can hire just one
new worker each. You know -- the pizza maker makes more pizzas, needs an extra worker to handler the new workload. Or maybe
a neighborhood titan starts selling more widgets and needs a new accountant to keep track of all the moolah that comes pouring
in.
And you look out over your country one bright cheery morning and learn that you now have 800 jobs this month,
not the 400 from last month.
If those 800 businesses have 800 employees who pay an average of $18 a month, you
can now collect $14,400 a month.
Now here's the reality. The United States economy collects an average of $200
billion a month.
If we, as a nation, because of tax cuts to the mom and pop business owners (who, by the way, account
for 80% of the jobs in the country) can each hire one new person and the job numbers decrease from 400,000 unemployed to 200,000
-- then that $200 billion collected every month become $400 billion.
When the unemployment rate gets cut
in half, it then goes down to 4.6%. That would signal an economic boom! When I was taking economics in my undergrad years,
6% unemployment was considered full employment because that would mean that everyone who wanted a job would be working.
My point is, the economy has become politicized. It should be about creating jobs. Not raising taxes. That would mean
less revenue if small business owners could not sustain their payroll because of the rising taxes. They'd be laying people
off, not hiring new ones.
* brazilian -- lots and lots of big numbers
An
article in today's Wall Street Journal had this to say: ...The
$172 billion in revenues collected over the rest of the month [August] can pay the $29 billion interest charges on
the national debt, Social Security benefits ($49 billion), Medicaid and Medicare ($50 billion), active duty military pay ($2.9
billion), Department of Defense vendors ($31.7 billion), IRS refunds ($3.9 billion), and about a quarter of the $12.8 billion
in unemployment checks due that month. There will, however, be no cash for highway
construction, no checks for federal workers or retirees, no agriculture payments, no open national parks. Interest rates are
also likely to rise if U.S. debt is downgraded, adding massively to the deficit and further damaging the economy. This would
be a disaster with no political winners...
Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304911104576443863077227784.html?mod=rss_opinion_main
Don't stand in the wings and say things like, "I never watch the news - it's
too depressing." Or "I don't understand economics, it's too complicated."
Granted, the news may be depressing. Actually the polarity of the politics in this country is what's depressing. We have
politicians running under the banner of "Elect me and I'll reach across the aisle and work with the other side."
Then, when that happens, the politician gets blistered in the press. What bipartisanship? Rather, politics has become what
appears to be a child's game of who has the most toys runs the show.
On the other hand, economics is far from complicated.
(See above.) If you have $100, you can spend $120. What's complicated about that?
Households go bankrupt
when they engage in deficit spending. So does the country. The United States is engaged in deficit spending. That means we
spend more than we take in. We need a quick reversal of course before we end up a bankruptcy nation.
Then there's
that little rumor going around that the House is going to pass balanced budget legislation, or even better -- make it an amendment
to the Constitution. Gee, what a novel idea!
July 13, 2011
No
Social Security checks?
If you haven't heard already, the Congress and the White House
are in a game of, well, gamesmanship.
If the debt ceiling isn't raised, the White House says it can't make any
promises that Social Security will go out in August!
Here are the facts, as reported by MarketWatch and the
Bipartisan Policy Center. You do the math: * The federal government receives approximately $200 billion in
revenues each month. * Interest on the national debt in August will be approximately $29
billion. * Social Security -- about $49. 2 billion. * Medicare and Medicaid
-- about $50 billion. * Active duty military pay -- about $2.9 billion. * Veterans
affairs programs -- about $2.9 billion.
Read entire article the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2011/07/washington-gets-200-billion-month-social-security-costs-50-billio
Obese animals caught on camera: People aren't the
only obese things on the planet. CBSNews offers up some photos for your viewing pleasure, especially the "fat
cat" at the beginning of the series of 10 photos: http://www.cbsnews.com/2300-504784_162-10007929.html?tag=page
And the pigtail light bulb: The repeal of a previous
law to switch to the pigtails lost in Congress yesterday, so we're stuck with little piggly wiggly light bulbs.
If you love that stock trading little baby, you'll probably get a kick out of this video where he loses everything:
http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6477219/remix-e-trade-baby-loses-everything
If your thimble's slipping -- a quick and easy fix is
to take a piece of Scotch tape and make a loop out of it. Then stuff it down into the thimble. One side sticks to the thimble;
the other, to your finger. No more slipping.
Think this will have anything to do with
global warming?
This is a string of newly discovered volcanoes near Antarctica! Pictures from the British Antarctic Survey.
Some are active. Read more here: http://www.livescience.com/15006-underwater-volcanoes-discovered-antarctica.html Let's hope they never blow. We don't need anything else to fret about -- like big pieces of the Antarctic ice melting.
What else could possible go wrong? Don't answer that.
And then there's Mt. Etna acting
up again.
This is Mt. Etna erupting last Saturday. If you want to watch a live video, here's a link at the Daily
Mail Reporter: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2013145/Mount-Etna-eruption-closes-airports-knocks-clocks-15-minutes-fast.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
Click on the very last photo to see the spectactular eruption.
This
beautiful thought comes from my friend Cody in Warrensburg:
God's Rosebud
A new minister was
walking with an older,
more seasoned minister in the garden one day.
Feeling a bit insecure about what God
had for him to do,
he was asking the older preacher for some advice.
The older preacher walked up to
a rosebush and handed
the young preacher a rosebud and told him to open it
without tearing off any petals.
The young preacher looked in disbelief at the older
preacher and was trying to figure out what a
rosebud
could possibly have to do with his wanting
to know the will of God for his life and ministry.
But because
of his great respect for the older preacher,
he proceeded to try to unfold the rose,
while keeping every petal intact.
It wasn't long before he realized
how impossible this was to do.
Noticing the younger preacher's inability
to unfold
the rosebud without tearing it,
the older preacher began to recite
the following poem...
"It is only a tiny rosebud,
A flower of God's design;
But I cannot unfold the petals
With these
clumsy hands of mine."
"The secret of unfolding flowers
Is not known to such as I.
GOD opens
this flower so easily,
But in my hands they die."
"If I cannot unfold a rosebud,
This flower
of God's design,
Then how can I have the wisdom
To unfold this life of mine?"
"So I'll trust
in God for leading
Each moment of my day.
I will look to God for guidance
In each step along the way."
"The path that lies before me,
Only my Lord and Savior knows.
I'll trust God to unfold the moments,
Just as He unfolds the rose."
Update from Illinois Family Institute re religious agencies
and stances on civil unions:
IFI Update: Catholic Charities &Religious Liberty Win Temporary Reprieveby
Laurie
Higgins, DSA Director -Illinois Family Institute
Yesterday, IFI wrote about the decision by the Illinois
Department of Children and
Family Services (DCFS) to terminate all contracts with Catholic Charities in four
Illinois
dioceses. There is some good news to report: Sangamon County Circuit Judge
John Schmidt has issued a preliminary injunction
that will temporarily permit
Catholic Charities to continue to serve children and families as per existing
contracts.
DCFS will not be permitted to terminate contracts between Catholic
Charities in these four Illinois dioceses as it sought
to do last Friday.
Also yesterday, IFI learned that State Senator David Koehler's office sent out the
following
email in response to our article:Sen. Koehler did not intend to force
religious organizations to compromise their own
beliefs. He introduced an amendment
in the Senate that exempted faith based organizations such as Catholic Charities
from the civil union law. The amendment did not receive enough votes to pass
committee.
Kyle Dooley, Office
of Senator David Koehler: Kyle Dooley's response is somewhat misleading,
whether intentionally so or not. It seems to
suggest that without the religious
exemption amendment passing, religious organizations are not protected.
The civil union law is actually titled the Religious Freedom Protection and Civil
Union Act. Senator Koehler's legislative
intent clarification (the dialogue between
State Senator Bill Haine and Senator Koehler) that was included in yesterday's
article took place during the debate about this very bill. The clarification of
legislative intent that Koehler read
was not exclusive or original to discussions
of the religious exemption amendment that didn't pass.
At the
hearing to discuss the subsequent proposed religious exemption amendment,
Koehler read aloud from the transcript of the
original floor debate on the civil
union bill. The religious exemption amendment should be unnecessary because the
sponsor of the civil union law, David Koehler, made it perfectly clear during the
original debate that the Religious
Freedom Protection part of the Religious Freedom
Protection and Civil Union bill was intended to protect religious child
welfare
agencies.
July 12, 2011
Eventually
we'll be a nation of dim-lits
Today's the day that the US House is supposed to vote
on requiring us to buy those little pig tail looking light bulbs.
They contain mercury.
Weren't we
told not all that long ago that mercury was a bad thing? Mercury vapor is pretty poisonous and causes nerve damage. My chemist
husband says it's especially bad for developing brains. Not so much that you would need a Hazmet suit if you break one. The
vapors will dissipate and spread out into the surrounding air. But you just know there are going to be rules and rules and
rules coming at us about how to dispose of these little wiggly looking things.
The politicians are crying
loud and long that these new bulbs will save "hundreds of billions" of dollars in energy costs.
Oh, sure.
And we were supposed to have needed 10,000 body bags for the feared dead in New Orleans after Katrina.
When are
the politicians going to quit using these scare tactics on us? Can't they see some bit of their approval rating tied to these
puffed up stories they tell. their exaggerations are hyperbolic to say the least.
And where did the EPA come from
anyway? Oh, it has Nixon's stamp of approval on it, does it?
And what about those curly little light bulbs? Oh,
they came about with the blessing of GW Bush.
And now the Republican congress wants to do away with the mercury
vapor laced light bulbs because it's starting to look too "big brotherish" of a government to legislate something
as little as a light bulb?
I don't like the little pig bulb anyway. If this bill passes that requires them, it
won't take long before special places will be required to dispose of them. You don't think you're going to be allowed
to throw them away in your regular trash, do you? And get all that mercury vapor into landfills? No way. There's a rule coming
on that one.
Do you think we're paying the president too much money?
In addition to his telling us to "eat our peas" yesterday and get this debt problem fixed, the president
also said he's in the group that he wants to put more taxes on. He says he has hundreds of thousands too much money: It is
becoming a verbal tic -- the tendency on the part of the president to tell wealthy Americans ("people like me" he's
always careful to add) that they have made more than enough money and will have to cough up more of it for the government.
Speaking for himself on July 11, the president offered that he had "hundreds of thousands of dollars that I don't need."
-- link to story: http://townhall.com/columnists/monacharen/2011/07/12/the_presidents_excess_income,_and_ours
Herman Cain singing. Who knew?
No matter what
else you may think of Herman Cain, you may not have known that he has an incredible voice! And there is no doubt that he is
a Christian! Take a listen. I think my favorite is I Must Tell Jesus. WOW! A song menu is embedded in the story.
Double click on the song you want to hear.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/post/herman-cains-gospel-album--and-other-gop-2012-releases/2011/07/11/gIQALHjh9H_blog.html
Andrea Bocelli sings The Lord's Prayer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAFj2-u2cGQ&feature=related with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
Back to the lightbulb quandary (sort of) --
"There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to
crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime
that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. "Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What's there in
that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted and
you create a nation of law-breakers - and then you cash in on guilt. Now that's the system, Mr. Rearden, and once you understand
it, you'll be much easier to deal with." "Atlas Shrugged,"
by Ayn Rand
July 11, 2011
Royal
Watching:
Don't you wish our politicians, who act like they think they're royalty, had the
class to fly commercial flights like the Prince and Princess, and second in line for the British throne - I might add? Here
they are leaving the good ole USofA and flying back to London from Los Angeles where they bedazzled the boots off the locals.
William likened his little brother Harry to an average "low flying Apache." Okay, so they took up the first class
section with their entourage, but at least they didn't have 500 hangers-on flying with them, nor did they require an entire
Air Force jet either. I've even read somewhere that she likes to do her own grocery shopping. And she designs most of her
own clothes. I do think, though, that after her "Marilyn" moments on this trip, she's gonna have shower curtain
weights sewn into her hems so that her skirts don't fly up. Or something like that.
There's more gorgeous photos
at this Daily Mail line for your viewing pleasure: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2013306/Kate-Middleton-Prince-William-given-star-spangled-send-fly-home.html
It's nice to see a young couple in the public service who's not full of themselves. Our politicians on this side
of the pond would do well to give up some of their royalty notions and remember how ordinary they are. Here's a thought for
a giant deficit reduction: give up the limousines. And half your staff! If I had anything to do with it, you'd only get one
maid. For your whole livelihood. He or she would have to just struggle along and travel back and forth with you as part of
your entourage when you go back to your district to "work." Maybe then you'd see your snobby little selves getting
an approval rating that's out of the 20 somethings. Oh, wait. I think the approval rating for Congress just went below 20
not too long ago.
Just remember, we taxpayers don't believe we're getting our money's worth with your $173,000+
salary -- and many of you are leasing your cars and charging that back to us too - and the million dollars + that you spend
on your district offices. Seems to me like you ought to spend all that taxpayer money on yourselves as if you think someone
is watching -- because we are!
How's your income keeping up with rising costs
of living?
The chart says it all - since 1970, federal spending has increased 299% while household income raised 27%. Just
in case you might have thought it only seemed like your household budget was going up and up and up -- with seemingly no end
in sight!
The above chart is from the Office of Management and Budget, as printed by the Heritage Foundation.
Tsk tsk tsk. Shame on the feds. It's not a big article, but it's at this link: http://www.heritage.org/BudgetChartbook/growth-federal-spending
Oh, and by the way, the OMB information is adjusted for inflation.
And
now to lighten the moment: You may not know this but Jeff Foxworthy has sold more DVDs -- ever
-- than anybody else about anything. Well, he offers up this hilarious 1.4 minute video called "Redneck Skeet Shooting."
The southern comedian has clearly outdone himself this time: http://www.norcalblogs.com/gate/2011/07/redneck-skeet-shooting-hilarious-video.php -- I'm guessing that the shooters are using paint balls.
Settle down world! We
need to pray for all the people being injured in protestors around the world. Look, kingeys and queenies, and potentates of
all sorts, shapes and sizes: your people want a free and open society and fair elections. That doesn't seem like too much
to ask.
Here's what I think. For what it's worth. We have a lot of foreign exchange students who come over here
to the United States. These students then get their degrees and a lot of them return to their native lands filled with the
excitement and exuberance of having watched a free and open society working here in the U.S. Who can blame them for wanting
that experience to sprout legs and travel home with them?
I remember going to a big, huge luncheon several years
ago. The guests of honor were foreign exchange students who were telling us how grateful they were for the opportunity of
coming to the United States to get their degrees.
Two young women said that they wanted to return to their native
Thailand and lead a change for how women are treated in their country. I thought to myself, "Good luck with that, ladies.
I hope you don't get hurt." They had enormous courage for even just wanting to do such a thing.
And now,
lo and behold, a young woman has been elected Prime Minister for the first time ever!
This from The Atlantic
Wire: "Yingluck Shinawatra has become the first female prime minister of Thailand, reports BBC News. She is the younger sister of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in 2006 in a coup. The New York Times is reporting that Yingluck's Pheu Thai party won a projected 264 of a possible 500 seats available in the Thai Parliament."
Rest of article: http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2011/07/thailand-elects-first-female-prime-minister/39547/
All I've got to say is "Oh my goodness. You go girl!"
Who says we can't elect women to high
places?
Beware of the super hot day coming today: Please
be careful, folks. If you thought these last few days of high heat were unbearable, you haven't seen nothing yet! We're going
to set records for heat indexes in much of the United States. So don't exert yourself. Drink lots of fluids and say indoors
or at least in the shade, if you don't have a cool indoors. Taking cool baths help too. Draw your shades on every window.
Do anything you can to keep yourself cool.
And here's a tip I learned long ago from watching one of those lifesaving
reality shows. Keep the back of your neck cool (or warm in winter). About where your hairline meets the back of your neck
is where temperature can be controlled. So put a couple of ice cubes in a baggie and wrap the baggie in a washcloth and hold
that onto the bag-of-your-neck-spot.
Where do all the travelers go: Here's an amazing 1.38 minute video that shows all the air travel in the world recently. Those little
yellow dots represent an airliner. Looks like everybody in the U.S. went to Europe. And they didn't even tell Quint and me.
Then the Europeans look like they all went to Japan. Hey guys, what gives? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4ycfgXxwoo It looks like little lightning bugs flying around. Amazing!
July 9, 2011
Lest we forget the horrible
nightmare that the folks in Joplin, Missouri, are recuperating from, I found this video footage that compares an earlier drive
through the town in August 2010. Beautiful small town. Then came the tornado! The two videos are correlated, so you can see
the devastation. Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWLvve8KN20&feature=related
July 8, 2011
Oh, you know royal watching
is one of my favorite hobbies. And Prince William and Princess Kate do not disappoint. They donned Stetsons and got into a
cowboy mood at this event:
http:// www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2012541/Duchess-Cambridge-Kate-Middleton-dons-yellow-dress-final-day-Canada-trip.html
You'll have to get inside this Daily Mail link to see their Cowboyness/es.
And Kate, dubbed
"Little Miss Sunshine" because of her lovely, bright yellow dress, was having some "Marilyn" moments.
She may just have to give up flouncy hemlines and go for straight-line dresses to protect her from windy uh, well, wind. I
know she's in there somewhere underneath all that beautiful hair.
For 60,000 pounds you could play a princely game
of polo. No thanks. I'll just watch. No way would you ever get me on a horse that races down a field at lightning speed,
then makes a turn on a dime, just so the rider can hit that little thing on the ground. What do they call it anyway? Probably
not a puck. I can just see me leaning off the horse at about a 90 degree angle and hanging on for dear life!
No
thank you. That is why God invented those seats along the playing field. And fences to keep the horsies out!
The grandpa of all rattlesnakes:
A 15 foot Eastern Diamondback rattlesnake - the largest
ever caught on
record, in fact.
This snake was found near the St. Augustine outlet, in a new KB
homes subdivision
just south of Jacksonville FL. That would be enough to give me nightmares for the rest of eternity.
A little research revealed the following:
One bite from a snake of this size would contain
enough venom to kill over 40 full
grown men.
The head of this snake alone is larger than the hand of a normal
sized man.
A bite from those fangs would be comparable to being stabbed by two curved, 1/4 inch
diameter screwdrivers.
The knife being used to draw out the fangs for the bottom picture has a blade around
6 inches long.
This snake is estimated to have weighed over 170 pounds. (How much do you weigh?)
Notice
the girth of this snake as compared to the cop's leg in the first picture
(and he is not a small man).
A
snake of this size could easily swallow a 2 year-old child (and dogs, pigs, etc).
A snake this size has an approximately
5 1/2 foot accurate striking distance. (The
distance for an average size rattlesnake is about 2 feet.)
I
know from previous readings is that the strike speed of the Eastern Diamondback is 92 miles per hour.
This snake
has probably been alive since George Bush Sr. was President.
Now just ask yourself these questions: What
has this snake been feeding on and
where are its offspring?
All that debt --
Here's the skinny on what that $14 trillion debt means for every one of us. That amounts
to $110,000 debt for each household in this country.
And get this -- if Congress and the White House agree to
raise the debt limit by "just" $2 trillion more, then that household debt goes up to $125,000.
Keep
that in mind as you are making your research file for the 2012 elections. You're going to have an opportunity to vote on your
Congressman. And you can bet that there will be lists a'plenty of how your individual congressman voted, or senator too for
that matter.
July 7, 2010
Don't
be bashful -- share the news!
The headline from a local news outlet in Chicago
told a story about people having their air conditioner compressors stolen.
One homeowner who had his air conditioner
stolen decided to go around the neighborhood. He said, I've just been going door-to-door, letting my neighbors know, look,
our air conditioner got stolen. At first, they're like, "You have central air, what do you mean your air conditioner
got stolen?" "My air conditioner got stolen. So they came by and they're like, 'How in the world did they do that?'
Everyone is in awe."
The other paragraph, later in the article, explained the measures the homeowner
took to protect his air conditioner, I just can't afford for someone to come and take it again.
What a
wonderful life lesson. I mean, if you substitute the words about the good news of salvation for the air conditioner, you have
a perfect example of the need for evangelism. If something was happening in your life that other people ought to know about,
wouldn't you share that news -- or even a warning to be careful about losing something of value?
And how about
the message of the gentleman who said, "I can't afford to be without it."
It's just a thought, but I
think people shy away from evangelism because they don't want to be identified as goody-two-shoes or holy rollers.
It's most likely true that anyone who lives in the United States knows who Jesus Christ is. And we pause on Good Friday
all over this country to remember that Christ died on the cross for the sins of mankind - each and every one of us. Goodness
knows we celebrate Easter even if the politically correct sheriffs have decided we ought to call this a spring festival. Baloney!
It's Easter and it's all about what Jesus Christ did for the forgiveness of sinners.
That's what the 86 percenters
believe. But there are still 14% of the people in this country who do not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who
came to earth to die on the cross for the sins of each one of us. We need to let those 14 percenters know that someone or
something has stolen this information from them. Doesn't matter if it's alcohol abuse or drug abuse or plain old laziness
on Sunday morning that keeps them from worshiping Christ.
They can't afford to be without that information.
Those of us who know this need to make it our business to share the good news with them.
You don't need to go marching
down the street with the Salvation Army Band singing your favorite Gospel message. Oh no. Until you get comfortable with the
idea that you are a messenger of this great truth, try the soft approach. Send a little note in the mail with your favorite
Bible verse quoted. Next time you have some doing at your church, invite them to come and share ice cream, or maybe soup,
or maybe a meal. Their hearts may not be hungry yet for a full-fledged sermon, but they may be amazed at how people who love
God treat one another when they get together for a social event.
Even if they don't say it, if they leave
with the thought, "I want some of that," then you have done a wonderful job of sharing the Good News of the Gospel.
You have become an Evangelist!
Did the South really rise again? In the
middle of the night when no one was looking?
Someone told me the other day at a board
meeting, kiddingly of course, "If you didn't come from here, you'll never be from here."
Okay, so I didn't come from Middle Illinois. I didn't come from Cook County either.
But I did come from Paducah,
KY and yes, when I talk about my roots, I can say, "I'm from Paducah."
So out comes a Forbes list of
these top cities in the United States:
#1 -- Austin, Texas
#2 -- Raleigh, NC
#3 -- Nashville, TN
#4
-- San Antonio, TX
#5 -- Houston, TX
#6 -- Washington, D.C.
#7 -- Dallas, TX
#8 -- Charlotte, NC
Looks like a list provided by the Texas Chamber of Commerce, doesn't it?
So what was Forbes looking at?
Ability to weather a recession. Level of educated immigrants. Family strength.
Texas warned, in the article, about
people moving to Texas being willing to work hard. And that went all the way down to high school students. Especially comparing
high schoolers from California. Texas claims to be some 2 years ahead of high schoolers from California.
The Forbes
article is here: http://www.forbes.com/pictures/edgl45fkm/no-8-charlotte-n-c-tie
Unscripted video: http://nation.foxnews.com/politics/2011/07/07/hot-video-obama-legacy - Just lots of pictures. I especially like the photos of the newly elected people who were
"sponsored" by the Tea Parties around the country. Can't exactly call Tea Parties "racists." Not really.
Not when Tea Parties elect women, blacks, Latinos and Cubans enthusiastically right along with Caucasians.
Huge storm racing around the northern hemisphere of Saturn: At
the height of the storm, Cassini detected 10 lightning strikes per second. Scientists said the electrical activity emitted
by the bursts were 10,000 times stronger than lightning on Earth. http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2011/07/06/astronomers-observe-colossal-saturn-storm/
Lots of lightning too. Lightning more powerful than earth's lightning. But wait - before you start likening this
to the "end of times," I remind you that no one knows when Christ will come back to earth but our Heavenly Father.
So don't waste one little brain cell worrying about this being "a sign." You can't put God into a predictable box,
nor can you foretell future events. What you can do is live your life as if Christ were coming back any minute.
July 6, 2010
Oh what fun! Obama up to
bat; Palin pitching. This is funny! http://www.angelfire.com/ak2/intelligencerreport/obama_at_bat.html
Do you remember, way back when -- seems like I recall that
the President was going to put the kabosh on raises for White House employees. Well, in an article over at The Gawker,
some of those folks got some heftyheftyhefty raises.
Take for instance, a Special Assistant for Economic Policy
went from $71,400 to $130,500. That's an 83% raise!
Then there's the Deputy Assistant for Energy and Climate Change
who went from $100,000 to $140,000. That's a $40,000 raise.
The person who helps write presidential correspondence
went from $76,500 to $110,000. That's a 44% raise.
Here's a link for the entire article and lots more raises
on the list: http://gawker.com/5818310 - Prepare to be amazed. Why? Because those people who are lucky enough to have a job in these hard times probably haven't
had a raise for a year or two. Or more.
Did you ever wonder what the flight deck of the Space Shuttle looks like? Well,
wonder no more. Here's a 360 degree moving view. Wow! What a workplace. http://360vr.com/2011/06/22-discovery-flight-deck-opf_6236/index.html
This statement of beliefs comes from dear friend Cody, from Warrensburg, MO
This is beautiful, be sure to read all of it.
A Birth Certificate shows that we were born
A
Death Certificate shows that we died
Pictures show that we live!
Have a seat. Relax . . .
And read
this slowly.
I Believe...
That just because two people argue,
It doesn't mean they don't love each
other.
And just because they don't argue,
It doesn't mean they do love each other.
I Believe...
That we don't have to change friends if
We understand that friends change.
I Believe....
That no
matter how good a friend is,
they're going to hurt you,
every once in a while
and you must forgive them
for that.
I Believe.....
That true friendship continues to grow,
even over the longest distance.
Same goes for true love.
I Believe...
That you can do something in an instant
That will give you
heartache for life.
I Believe....
That it's taking me a long time
To become the person I want to be.
I Believe...
That you should always leave loved ones with Loving words.
It may be the last time you see
them.
I Believe....
That you can keep going long after you think you can't.
I Believe....
That we are responsible for what
We do, no matter how we feel.
I Believe...
That either you control
your attitude or it controls you.
I Believe....
That heroes are the people
who do what has to be done
when it needs to be done,
regardless of the consequences.
I Believe....
That my best friend and I
can do anything or nothing
and have the best time..
I Believe....
That sometimes the people you
expect to kick you when you're down will be the ones
to help you get back up.
I Believe...
That sometimes
when I'm angry
I have the right to be angry, but that
doesn't give me the right to be cruel.
I Believe...
That maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had
And what you've learned from them and less
to do with how many birthdays you've
celebrated.
I Believe.....
That it isn't always enough,
to
be forgiven by others.
Sometimes, you have to learn
to forgive yourself.
I Believe...
That no
matter how bad
your heart is broken,
the world doesn't stop for your grief.
I Believe....
That
our background and circumstances
may have influenced who we are, but,
we are responsible for who we become.
I Believe...
That you shouldn't be
so eager to find out a secret.
It could change your life forever.
I Believe....
Two people can look at the exact same
Thing and see something totally different.
I Believe...
That your life can be changed
in a matter of hours
by people who don't even know you.
I Believe...
That even when you think
you have no more to give,
When a friend cries out to you,
you will find the strength to help.
I Believe...
That credentials on the wall
do not make you a decent
human being.
I Believe...
That the people you care about
most in life
are taken from you too
soon.
'The happiest of people don't necessarily have
the best of everything;
They just make the
most of everything they have.
July 5, 2011
These
are from my cousin Mark:
DIRECTIONS HOME
I really like this one. Someone spent a lot of time on this...
¸//// \\\\, ___________
*´º oº`* /__/ _/\_ ____/\
```)¨(´´´ | | | | | | | || |l±±±±|
¸,.-*°´ ¸,.-*~*~*-.,¸ `°*-. :º° *~*~*-..,¸
As for me and
my house, we will serve the Lord.
DIRECTIONS TO OUR FATHER'S HOUSE.
Make a Right onto Believeth Blvd.
Keep straight and go through the Green Light, which is Jesus Christ.
There, you must turn onto the Bridge of Faith
, which is over troubled water.
When you get off the bridge, make a Right turn and Keep Straight.
You are on the
King's Highway - Heaven-bound.
Keep going for three miles: One for the Father, One for the Son, and One for the
Holy
Ghost.
Then exit off onto Grace Blvd.
From there, make a Right turn on Gospel Lane .
Keep Straight
and then make another Right on Prayer Road .
As you go on your way, Yield Not to the traffic on Temptation Ave.
Also, avoid SIN STREET because it is a DEAD END.
Pass up Envy Drive , and Hate Avenue .
Also, pass Hypocrisy
Street , Gossiping Lane , and Backbiting Blvd.
However, you have to go down Long-suffering Lane , Persecution Blvd.
And Trials and
Tribulations Ave.
But that's all right, because VICTORY Street is straight ahead!
AMEN!!!!!
SEND THESE DIRECTIONS TO ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY SO THEY WILL NEVER GET LOST.
Life is God's gift to you.
The way you live it.............is your gift to God.
Good Morning
!!!!
This morning
when I wakened
And saw the sun above,
I softly said, ' Good
morning
, Lord,
Bless everyone I love' .
*
Right away
I thought of you
And said a loving prayer,
That He would bless you specially ,
And keep you from all harm,
I thought of all the happiness
A day could
hold in store,
I wished it all for you because
No one deserves it more.
Like
tidbits? Then you're going to love these, from Nola:
If you are right handed, you
will tend to chew your food on the right side
of your mouth. If you are left handed, you will tend to chew your food
on
the left side of your mouth.
To make half a kilo of honey, bees must collect nectar from over 2 million
individual flowers
Heroin is the brand name of morphine once marketed by 'Bayer'.
Tourists visiting
Iceland should know that tipping at a restaurant is
considered an insult!
People in nudist colonies play volleyball
more than any other sport.
Albert Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952, but he
declined.
Astronauts can't belch - there is no gravity to separate liquid from gas in
their stomachs.
Ancient
Roman, Chinese and German societies often used urine as mouthwash.
The Mona Lisa has no eyebrows. In the Renaissance
era, it was fashion to
shave them off!
Because of the speed at which Earth moves around the Sun, it is impossible
for a solar eclipse to last more than 7 minutes and 58 second
Google is actually the common name for a number
with a million zeros
It takes glass one million years to decompose, which means it never wears
out and can
be recycled an infinite amount of times!
Gold is the only metal that doesn't rust, even if it's buried in the ground
for thousands of years
Your tongue is the only muscle in your body that is attached at only one end
If you stop getting thirsty, you need to drink more water. When a human body
is dehydrated, its thirst mechanism shuts
off
Zero is the only number that cannot be represented by Roman numerals
Kites were used in the American
Civil War to deliver letters and newspapers.
The song, Auld Lang Syne, is sung at the stroke of midnight in almost
every
English-speaking country in the world to bring in the new year.
Drinking water after eating reduces
the acid in your mouth by 61 percent
Peanut oil is used for cooking in submarines because it doesn't smoke unless
it's heated above 450°F
The roar that we hear when we place a seashell next to our ear is not the
ocean,
but rather the sound of blood surging through the veins in the ear.
Nine out of every 10 living things live in
the ocean
The banana cannot reproduce itself. It can be propagated only by the hand of
man.
Airports
at higher altitudes require a longer airstrip due to lower air
density.
The University of Alaska spans four
time zones.
The tooth is the only part of the human body that cannot heal itself.
In ancient Greece
, tossing an apple to a girl was a traditional proposal of
marriage. Catching it meant she accepted.
Warner
Communications paid $28 million for the copyright to the song Happy
Birthday.
Intelligent people have more
zinc and copper in their hair.
A comet's tail always points away from the sun
The Swine Flu vaccine
in 1976 caused more death and illness than the disease
it was intended to prevent
Caffeine increases the power
of aspirin and other painkillers, that is why
it is found in some medicines.
The military salute is a motion
that evolved from medieval times, when
knights in armor raised their visors to reveal their identity.
If you
get into the bottom of a well or a tall chimney and look up, you can
see stars, even in the middle of the day.
When a person dies, hearing is the last sense to go. The first sense lost is
sight
In ancient times strangers
shook hands to show that they were unarmed
Strawberries are the only fruits whose seeds grow on the outside
Avocados have the highest calories of any fruit at 167 calories per hundred
grams
The moon moves about
two inches away from the Earth each year
The Earth gets 100 tons heavier every day due to falling space dust
Due to earth's gravity it is impossible for mountains to be higher than
15,000 meters
Mickey Mouse
is known as "Topolino" in Italy
Soldiers do not march in step when going across bridges because they
could
set up a vibration which could be sufficient to knock the bridge down
Everything weighs one percent
less at the equator
For every extra kilogram carried on a space flight, 530 kg of excess fuel
are needed at
lift-off
The letter J does not appear anywhere on the periodic table of the elements.
And last but not
least:
In 2011, July has 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays, and 5 Sundays. This apparently
happens once every 823 years! This
is called 'money bags'. So send this on
to 5 and money will arrive in 5 days. Based on Chinese Feng Shui, the one
who does not pass this on will have money troubles for the rest of the year.
July 4, 2011 -- HAPPY
INDEPENDENCE DAY -- THE FOURTH OF JULY!
NATIONAL ANTHEM -- STAR
SPANGLED BANNER
by Francis Scott Key
Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What
so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er
the land of the free and the home of the brave.
On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where
the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully
blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected
now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-bangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home
of the brave!
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuse
could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner
in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
Oh! thus be it ever, when freeman
shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace,, may the heav'n rescued
land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
and the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er
the land of the free and the home of the brave!
Here's a Marine singing what he says is the
2nd stanza, although it's the 4th, according to the above (and you're never a "former" Marine either, I'm told):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0fQd858cRc&feature=player_embedded It's beautiful and it's powerful. He certainly makes us glad to be American.
This is
the entire song being sung: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kuv1Mt6kMOU&feature=related
Someone pointed out to me that there is also a 5th stanza:
When our land is illumined with liberty’s
smile,
If a foe from within strikes a blow at her glory,
Down, down with the traitor that tries to defile
The
flag of the stars, and the page of her story!
By the millions unchained,
Who their birthright have gained
We
will keep her bright blazon forever unstained;
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave,
While the land
of the free is the home of the brave.
I'm also told that when Congress adopted the Star Spangled Banner as our
National Anthem, it used the first verse only.
Here's all the branches of service singing the National Anthem:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ETrr-XHBjE I'm always so proud of people who know enough to get on their feet and salute when the National
Anthem is sung.
Proud to be an American! http://www.military.com/video/forces/tribute/proud-to-be-an-american-2/1034157073001/ You betcha!
United States Marine Corps Hymn: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlafHVqhM10&feature=fvwrel Semper Fidelis means "always faithful"
United States Navy Hymn -- and thank you, cousin Al, for your 27 years of service to each one of us while
serving in the U.S. Navy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzaNWO6gufA
United States Air Force Song -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C95Cb2ByHNA
United State Army Song -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-L1iyOWwmDQ&feature=related
United States Coast Guard Song -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haulDvvy_d4&feature=related -- Semper Paratus means "always ready" - want to see some of their big
boats? --
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDwvy9PzAIc&feature=related -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_C7m_5aZXQ&feature=related
Watching the Royals: You probably saw this one
coming. I'm happy to point you in the direction of Her Royal Highness, the Dutchess of Cambridge: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2011104/Duke-Duchess-Cambridge-arrive-welcoming-ceremony-Prince-Edward-Island.html -- She and her Royal Highness Official Escort, the Duke of Cambridge, 1st Prince of the Realm, and Heir Apparent to
the Heir Apparent Daddy Charles, were on Prince Edward Island. And since one of Her Royal Highness' books is Anne of Green
Gables, I now have something else I like about here. Not to mention that she is known as the Dutchess of Cambridge, and
since Quint and I were at Cambridge when we went to England, that makes us practically related, right? It could be since the
Haltom side of my blood comes from Lancashire, of Welsh descent. Hmmmm -- I wonder if I could possible be a twig on their
family tree. The Haltoms go all the way back to 1740 when they landed on our eastern shores. There is a tiny little reference
to the English James Haultums (sic) that says "...went to the colonies."
Then there was Quint's
mother's (nee Oldenberg) father's mother was Ellen Key. And Francis Scott Key was Ellen Key's cousin or uncle.
And that's all I know about that.
LAMENT OF WAR
-- by Jane Reinheimer
Did you whisper past me
in the dark of night
while I waited for first light?
The angels must
have
marked this way
while the dawn
broke through night.
My mind burned memories
into my soul.
I knew that when
I walked out of the shadows,
I'd never go back
to that dark place.
I stood on
the shore
of my life
and felt the future
wash through me,
bathing me in new places
that live deep
inside.
I will always live
in this peaceful place
with you.
It's where our hearts dance
and sing September songs.
I feared the dawn
might laugh at me.
Instead, it pushed me
Thitherward
our foreverness.
Wait for me, my love.
I'll be home soon.
July 1, 2011
If
you do nothing else this Independence Day --
http://www.youtube.com/v/ervaMPt4Ha0&autoplay=1
Be thankful for all our military people, past and present. When you see them, let them know how proud you are
of them and how grateful you are that they are the protectors of our freedoms and all that we hold sacred in these United
States of America!
Got this from sister-in-law Jeanine:
BEST THING I HAVE HEARD YET.....From a senior citizen
around 80 yrs. of age. We aren't useless yet.
*The Fix
There recently was an article in the St. Petersburg , Fl. Times. The
Business Section asked
readers for ideas on: "How Would You Fix the
Economy?" I think this guy nailed it!
Dear Mr. President,
Please find below my suggestion for fixing America 's economy. Instead of
giving billions of dollars to companies
that will squander the money on
lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan.
You can call
it the "Patriotic Retirement Plan":
There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force. Pay
them $1
million apiece severance for early retirement with the following
stipulations:
1) They MUST retire.
Forty million job openings - Unemployment fixed.
2) They MUST buy a new AMERICAN Car. Forty million cars ordered
- Auto
Industry fixed.
3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage - Housing Crisis
fixed.
It can't get any easier than that!!
P.S. If more money is needed, have all members in Congress pay their
taxes..
Mr. President, while you're at it, make Congress retire on Social Security
and Medicare. I'll bet
both programs would be fixed pronto!
The rest of the day is about pets --
Quint and I once had a couple of goldfish. (This is a true story.) I've told this story
before but it's been a while, and certainly worth retelling.
One afternoon Quint started to feed my little darlings.
For some unknown reason, he lifted the light off the tank so he could drop the fish food down in the tank. Ordinarily it wouldn't
have mattered except this particular day, he dropped the light into the water.
He just stood there and watched
the helpless little fishies spazzing out in the water. "Unplug the light!" I said in my not-the-kindest tone. He
did just that. In about a nanosecond. But by this time the fish were floating on top of the water.
We just stood
there watching the little floaters. Then they started stirring, oh so tentatively.
After a few minutes, they had
made a dive to the bottom of the tank in the corner which was the farthest from Quint. They stayed in the corner until he
sat down in his chair. I think I put the light back on the tank.
But for at least a couple of weeks, every time
Quint so much as walked into the living room, they would dive bomb into their corner where they thought they were safe.
So anyone who tells you that the attention span of a goldfish is about 3 seconds, don't believe them. These little
guys held a grudge for weeks. It took a long, long time before Quint could get near their tank without freaking them out!
The truth of the matter is, we don't know what animals think about. Somehow, I don't think they're as dumb as we think
they are. Not even goldfish.
The other part of the pet story is about dogs.
When we were in Berlin several years ago, our tour director took us on a little sidewalk excursion. But first he warned
us to be careful where we stepped. "There are as many dogs as there are people in Berlin," he said. Sure enough,
there was a lot of sidewalk evidence of dogs, big and small.
You'd think that the fastidious Germans would have
cleaned up after their dogs, wouldn't you?
Then there's that other story floating around New York City about the
left behind evidence of dogs. Except that in this particular case, the dogs came from an apartment complex. Oh, sure, the
dogs are welcome. But first, before moving in with your cute little canine, you have to offer up a DNA swab which is sent
off to be analyzed. Now your dog can be identified by its DNA, which is present in its poop.
I don't even want
to see what that job description says! However, if you are a person who is "in charge" of locating errant poopers
in a city or a village or a neighborhood, here's how the folks in New York accomplished this: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/02/us/02dogs.html?_r=1&ref=us
Personally, I give the New York apartment complex managers high marks for their innovation. Quint and I lived
in a condominium complex and this very topic was discussed at many a board meeting. The pet owners made all kinds of promises
to "take care of" their dogs' droppings, but in the dark of night, promises got forgotten. When it could be proven,
the dog owners were fined $100 a day for their pet's poop if they didn't clean it up. But you'd just about have to catch them
in the act. And people who disobey the rules can be pretty sneaky to avoid detection. Our condominium association ended up
limiting the number of dogs to one per unit. Then came the threat that if the errant homeowners weren't going to keep their
side of the bargain, the association would go back to not allowing dogs at all. For anybody.
Homeland Security Still Trying to Get it Right -- http://thehill.com/blogs/transportation-report/tsa/169333-gop-rep-peter-king-investigate-jfk-airport-security-breach
In the above article in today's The Hill, a Nigerian national "somehow
managed" to board an airliner at Kennedy Airport in New York and flew all the way to Los Angeles on someone else's
expired boarding pass. He was caught when he tried to then fly to Atlanta. Good thing he wasn't a terrorist with a box
cutter.
Rep. Peter King (R-New York) wrote this in a letter to Homeland Security: "I am gravely concerned
about the security breach at John F. Kennedy International airport by a Nigerian national last week whereby the man was able
to successfully pass through the security checkpoint and fly from New York to Los Angeles using an expired boarding pass issued
in another person’s name," he said in a letter to TSA Administrator John Pistole.
Maybe Homeland Security
ought to pay more attention to verifying documents of would-be passengers rather than searching a 90-year-old women's
diaper. I mean the woman had leukemia and was on her way to an assisted living place on probably what amounted to be
her last flight to anywhere. So how come she was treated like a terrorist and not the man who lacked valid flight
credentials?
See if you can guess - from Nola
http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=22984504&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00adef&fullscreen=1&autoplay=1&loop=0
It's a commercial. See if you can figure out who the corporate advertiser is before the
end of the commercial. Betcha can't! I certainly couldn't.
This video
will fill you up with joy
http://www.break.com/index/air-force-dad-surprises-kids-2077196
June 30, 2011
An
all-day seminar on post traumatic stress disorder and treating victims of trauma. Quint and I
were in Springfield all day today attending a continuing education seminar. Me for my license renewal requirements; him because
he's often the first voice new clients hear when they call for counseling. Quint gets most of the intake information. Besides,
he finds the workshops very interesting.
No matter how many times I attend these update workshops, I always learn
something new. This particular speaker -- Dr. Gary Hill -- correlated PTSD and trauma to attachment disorders. I've pulled
some thoughts together and put on the "Counseling" page. (Click the tab in the left column.)
This
comes from Nola, here in Effingham:
A sharp tongue can cut your own throat.
If you want your
dreams to come true, you mustn't oversleep.
Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important.
The best vitamin for making friends...... B1.
The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your
thoughts.
the heaviest thing you can carry is a grudge..
One thing you can give and still keep...is
your word.
You lie the loudest when you lie to yourself.
If you lack the courage to start, you have
already finished.
One thing you can't recycle is wasted time.
Ideas won't work unless ' You' do.
Your mind is like a parachute...it functions only when open.
The 10 commandments are not a multiple choice.
The pursuit of happiness is the chase of a lifetime!
It is never too late to become what you might have
been.
Life is too short to wake up with regrets.. So love the people who treat you right..
Forget about the
ones who don't. Believe everything happens for a reason. If you get
a second chance, grab it with both hands. If it changes
your life, let it. Nobody
said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.
Friends are like
balloons; once you let them go, you might not get them back.
Sometimes we get so busy with our own lives and problems
that we may not even notice
that we've let them fly away. Sometimes we are so caught up in who's right and who's
wrong
that we forget what's right and wrong.. Sometimes we just don't realize what
real friendship means until it is too late.
I don't want to let that happen so I'm
going to tie you to my heart so I never lose you.
Wonder what this means, exactly: Published in The Hill today is an article
that says: "Lobbyists for renewable energy are on heightened alert following a recent Senate vote to end subsidies for
ethanol, concerned that breaks for their industry might be next..."
So, if I remember my Civics class, this
proposal now goes to the House to see if it will pass there. Otherwise, it's a dead issue. You can read the entire article
at this link: http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/169149-clean-energy-advocates-on-alert-after-ethanol-tax-vote It's about renewables and clean energy.
Uh oh! Can it be true? Is Geithner really
leaving? That's what the grapevine is saying in Washington, D.C. Or the pipeline. Or whatever
you want to call it, the rumor mill has Geithner leaving after this rigamarole about the debt ceiling gets fixed. In an article
at bloomberg.com, three people who are supposedly close to the matter, are saying that Geithner wants out. You can
read the whole article at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-30/geithner-said-to-weigh-leaving-treasury-after-debt-ceiling-debate-resolved.html
If he does leave, that would mean that the president's entire financial/economics original team would be
gone.
The gist of the article says that what the president really needs to do is get somebody in there who is
a businessman!
Geithner is a great fan of John Maynard Keynes, the British economist. Without putting you completely
to sleep, here's what the Business Dictionary has to say exactly about the Keynesians: A
school of economic thought founded by the UK economist John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) and developed by his followers. In 1936, at the height of the great depression, Keynes' landmark book The General Theory Of Employment, Interest And Money caused a paradigm shift for economics: it suddenly replaced their emphasis on study of the economic behavior of individuals and companies (microeconomics) to the study of the behavior of the economy as a whole (macroeconomics).
June 29, 2011
Here's a link to Rev.
Ken Klaus, speaker emeritus of the Lutheran Hour, delivery at the Thursday evening worship service: http://www.lwml.org/conventions/2011-peoria/videos/thurs-sermon-klaus.php -- it was a "barn burner!"
This link will give you access to all the convention highlights, including
the Bible Studies (two-parts) by Dr. Reed Lessing which were especially good -- http://www.lwml.org/conventions/2011-peoria/videos/index.php
I am happy to say that the national LWML approved and ranked missions to receive our mites for the next two years
in the amount of $1.825 million!
It was a wonderful convention. We even had Miss America from 2009 as a speaker.
And what a vocalist she was.
Everybody say "God bless you!" (And thank you
Mark for sending to us)
THE SNEEZE
They walked in tandem, each of the ninety-two students filing
into the already
crowded auditorium. With their rich maroon gowns flowing and the traditional caps,
they looked
almost as grown up as they felt.
Dads swallowed hard behind broad smiles, and Moms freely brushed away tears.
This class would NOT pray during the commencements, not by choice, but because of a
recent court ruling prohibiting
it.
The principal and several students were careful to stay within the guidelines
allowed by the ruling.
They gave inspirational and challenging speeches, but no one
mentioned divine guidance and no one asked for blessings
on the graduates or their
families.
The speeches were nice, but they were routine until the final speech
received a
standing ovation.
A solitary student walked proudly to the microphone. He stood still and silent
for
just a moment, and then, it happened.
All 92 students, every single one of them, suddenly SNEEZED !!!!
The student on stage simply looked at the audience and said,
'GOD BLESS YOU'
And he walked
off the stage...
The audience exploded into applause. This graduating class had found a unique way to
invoke God's
blessing on their future with or without the court's approval.
Isn't this a wonderful story? Pass it on to all
your friends.........and
GOD BLESS YOU!!!!
This is a true story; it happened at the University of
Maryland.
It's About Time -- No, Let
Me Re-phrase: It's Way Past Time!
The TSA announced recently that it's changing its
rules about patting down children under twelve, according to an article I read in The Hill. Personally I think anyone
over 70 ought to be exempt too. My heart just bleeds for that lady who had to have her Depend searched recently. She was a
leukemia patient, for crying out loud!
Anyway, one congressman had this to say: In a Senate hearing Wednesday,
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) took the agency to task for the child pat-downs.
"This isn’t to say we don’t believe in safety procedures, but I think
I feel less safe when you’re doing these invasive exams on a 6-year-old," Paul said to TSA Administrator John Pistole
during a hearing on the security of railway systems.
"It makes me think you’re clueless that you think
she’s going to attack our country and that you’re not doing your research on the people who would attack our country,"
Paul continued."
And there's another matter that's bothersome to me. It's those x-ray machines. I read recently
that cancer clusters are showing up among TSA employees. I mean, when dental hygienists take x-rays, they step out of the
room. Where are the TSA employees going to go? They stand by those machines during an entire shift. I also have a concern
for frequent flyers. They'll probably be the next wave of cancer clusters.
You know, don't you, that former head
of Homeland Security (Michael Chertoff) had his hand in these machines? Read this: http://www.patriotactionnetwork.com/forum/topics/more-on-tsa-fullbody-scanners
June 28, 2011
Got
this from my cousin, Mark:
Hi Lord, its me.
We are getting older and things
are getting bad here.
Gas prices are too high, no jobs, food and heating costs too high.
I know some have taken
you out of our schools, government and even
Christmas, but Lord I'm asking you to come back
And re-bless
America .
We really need you!
There are more of us who want you than those who don't!
Thank You Lord,
I Love you.
This is also from my cousin, Mark, but a totally different
bent. It's called "Two Dogs Dining." http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=EVwlMVYqMu4&vq=medium#t=125
Actually I got this one from my cousin Al and Mark at the same time:
Subject: Fw: Senior Citizen
This is a winner !!!
An Iowa senior citizen drove his brand new Corvette convertible out of
the dealership. Taking off down the road, he pushed
it to 80 mph,
enjoying the wind blowing through what little hair he had left.
"Amazing," he thought as
he flew down I-35, pushing the pedal even
more.
Looking in his rear view mirror, he saw an Iowa State Trooper, blue
lights flashing and siren blaring. He floored it
to 100 mph, then 110,
then 120. Suddenly he thought, "What am I doing? I'm too old for
this!" and pulled
over to await the trooper's arrival.
Pulling in behind him, the trooper got out of his vehicle and walked
up to the Corvette. He looked at his watch, then
said, "Sir, my shift
ends in 30 minutes. Today is Friday. If you can
give me a new reason for speeding -- a reason I've never before heard
-- I'll let you go."
The old gentleman paused then said: "Three years ago, my wife ran off
with an Iowa State Trooper. I thought you
were bringing her back.
"Have
a good day, Sir. " replied the trooper.
From our friends, John and Sherre,
in Wichita:
ATD: At The Doctor's
BTW: Bring The Wheelchair
BYOT:
Bring Your Own Teeth
CBM: Covered By Medicare
CUATSC: See You At The Senior Center
DWI: Driving
While Incontinent
FWB: Friend With Beta Blockers
FWIW: Forgot Where I Was
FYI: Found Your
Insulin
GGPBL: Gotta Go, Pacemaker Battery Low!
GHA: Got Heartburn Again
IMHO: Is My Hearing-Aid
On?
LMDO: Laughing My Dentures Out
LOL: Living On Lipitor
LWO: Lawrence Welk's On
OMMR: On My Massage Recliner
ROFL... CGU: Rolling On The Floor Laughing... And Can't Get Up
TTYL: Talk To You Louder
WAITT: Who Am I Talking To?
WTFA: Wet The Furniture Again
WTP: Where's The Prunes?
WWNO: Walker Wheels Need Oil
June 27, 2011
Former
Ill. Governor Blago was found guilty this afternoon. He went down on 17 counts, I believe. Guess
he won't think the racketeering charges were "no big deal" after today. He doesn't get to stay out of jail while
on he appeals his case either. So that's the second governor of Illinois in a row to head for the slammer.
Now the Supreme Court favors limiting government interference with our lives. The
high court, on a 7-2 vote, threw out California's 2005 law covering games sold or rented to those under 18, calling it an
unconstitutional violation of free-speech rights. Writing for the majority, Justice Antonin Scalia, said, "Even where
the protection of children is the object, the constitutional limits on governmental action apply.
Okay, I agree
that parents ought to be more assertive in what they buy for their kiddos for video games. The Supreme Court is not going
to help parents who can't seem to stand up for what's disgusting and violent gore for their children's "entertainment."
I have a concern about young boys and girls who get into these games with the sole goal of killing the opponent. Violent
video games and violent movies normalize violent behavior. It doesn't matter whether you agree with me or not. It isn't my
research. But the research is out there and it's well done.
I want to know when the Supreme Court is going to
stand up for parents' rights to be in charge of their children's sex education; to decide what their children can and cannot
take for lunch. Those are two big areas of interference, in my view, with parents' rights and responsibilities.
But then, eating carrots instead of pizza doesn't have anything to do with freedom of speech. Sex education does though.
Parents got eliminated in that one, it seems.
And then there's the one about the
"World Court" wanting to arrest Quadafi. In an article posted at Yahoo News, Quadafi
faces an arrest warrent for crimes against humanity: The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Libyan
leader Moammar Gadhafi, his son and his intelligence chief for crimes against humanity in the early days of their struggle
to cling to power.
Where does the International Criminal Court get its power? And why didn't they go after Quadafi
after he was implicated in the Lockerbie disaster. Weren't those innocent deaths also crimes against humanity?
June 22, 2011
The national convention
for Lutheran Women's Missionary League will convene in Peoria Friday morning for a two-day business meeting and other activities
which they call "servant events." Not sure what that means, but I'll probably find out.
This is the first
time I've ever gone to a national convention of LWML so I don't know what to expect.
I do wonder, though, why I
signed up to go on the bus to the convention, which is being held in Peoria, IL, today. The bus will probably be loaded
with workers of which I am not. Hence, the reason for their going out two days early. And there's registration all day tomorrow.
Then a gigantic worship service which has been described as a wonderful "mountain top" experience by attendees from
previous years.
But it's a great way to support the LWML. One of the organization's main goals is to raise funds
for its mite projects. Mites are collected from member LWML groups throughout the United States. The Central Illinois District
has a budget to deliver some $82,000 to various groups that further the work of the Lord. At the national level, more than
a million dollars is budgeted for the Mite Projects. It's about building churches and supporting missions throughout
the world. And all these funds, or mites, are collections of change from members.
It goes back to the story of
the widow's mites in the Bible. The widow donated what she could afford and was applauded for her sincerity by Christ.
It's only the second time in 33 years of being married to Quint that I have traveled away from him. I'm not liking
it already and I've just only finished packing. Quint is not liking the idea of batching it until Sunday evening either.
And the first time I traveled away? It was two weeks after we were married. I was the Affirmative Action Director
for the division of American Can and went to headquarters in Greenwich, Connecticut, for the annual update conference. Didn't
like it that time either. And Quint went to Atlanta, Georgia, on a business trip once, and another trip to Boston, Massachusetts,
to get trained on the new scanning electron microscope for his lab where he worked.
I am taking my new little notebook
and hopefully will be able to get onto the WI-FI at the hotel and write blogs in the evening.
I
did want to mention, though, that the US Supreme Court's refusal to hear the class action suit against Wal-Mart does not mean Wal-Mart won. What it does mean is that the group of plaintiffs in the class action suit is
too big. The Supreme Court could hear the case of gender discrimination but the women who are suing because they believe they
have been discriminated against will have to band together in groups that have what's called a common "fact pattern."
Women cannot join together just because they are women. Rather, women who think they have been discriminated against
will need to show specific facts of their suspicion. Working assignments could be one fact pattern. Working hours could be
another. Promotions could be another. We'll just have to wait and see if the attorneys for the plaintiffs can group the women
into similar fact patterns and go forward.
June 20, 2011
If
you don't want your property seized at the airports, better make sure you don't try to get on
with a snow globe souvenir ornament. Snow globes are filled with liquid and for that reason, they can't be taken onto an airplane.
So says Helen Anders in an article in today's statesman.com.
And knives. Lots of knives. They make up
the bulk of seized properties at airport security checkpoints that are re-sold to the general public in state surplus stores.
Knives range from the one inch pocket knife that sells for $1 to the big ornate hunting knives that go for up
to $150!
Anything sharp -- like corkscrews with knives on them, nail clippers with attached files, scissors, knives,
pizza cutters, etc. will be confiscated by a TSA checkpoint sheriff.
So are the feds really seizing personal property.
Well, kind of not. It's what they call "surrendered." That is, if you want to get on the plane, you have two choices:
either surrender the item in question or go all the way back to check-in and have your item packaged and shipped with your
flight. And since hardly anybody gets to the airport with that much time left to fiddle around, you're better off to pack
it in your luggage in the first place and let it go on the plane in the cargo hold.
Find
speed traps nationwide, says John Spies in Wichita: http://www.speedtrap.org/ - At the site, click on state you want to research, then municipality. A description of
the speed traps will be listed. In fact, for convenience, I am going to put this web address at the top of the home page.
Be especially careful as you head out for a road trip or a vacation. Speed limits are posted for safety reasons. So obey the
limits. Police officers don't give you the "first five" anymore. They used to, mainly because radar wasn't that
exact. Now it is. And besides, new higher court rulings are giving police officers more discretionary latitude to define negligent
driving. Suspected speeding could fall into this category. Best bet? Set your cruise control for 65 mph, or 70 mph if it's
legal in the state you're traveling in. Then you don't have to worry.
Missouri
River flood update: It started out as a little 50' hole. Now it's 300 feet wide. Flood waters
are rushing through the levee just south of Hamburg Iowa.
Just in the past couple of weeks, the Missouri River
basin has gotten about a years' worth of rain. And then I read somewhere else that the Missouri River will probably be above
flood stage through much of the summer. Really interesting picture in the Kansas City Star of I-29 down to one lane
for traffic as it goes through Hamburg: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/06/13/2948490/as-two-levees-break-upstream-kansas.html The Iowa Department of Transportation is considering closing the interstate.
The Missouri River starts out
in Montana, then cuts across North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Missouri. It joins up with the Mississippi River a bit
north of St. Louis. There goes the Mississippi River again, folks.
You can get flow rates and depth
of the Missouri at this web site: http://geology.com/states/missouri.shtml The flow map is down toward the bottom of the page. You can move your cursor over one of the dots on the river
and you'll get depth information of the river.
June 18, 2011
Happy
Fathers Day to all the dads out there. Do deserve a day filled with accolades for all the things
you do to keep your families strong.
Do you remember Susan Boyle, the incredibly talented singer from Scotland
who swept Britain's Got Talent? Well, prepare to be amazed once again. This is a young man who participated in Korea's Got
Talent. He is 22 years old, has been self-supporting and living ont he streets since he was five years old. He has garnered
more than 7 million hits in just two weeks since his song was posted. Watch this and pray for his success. He is wonderful.
Makes you just wonder how many really talented people are out there in the world who have to be discovered: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BewknNW2b8Y&feature=aso
This worth a half hour of your time: I will admit that I've
never listened to Rick Perry, the Republican governor of Texas. He spoke recently before the Republican Leadership Conference
and it was a real barn-burner. He said, "Our opponents are never going to like us, so let's quit trying to curry
favor with them." Here's the link if you want to hear the speech in its entirety: http://www.breitbart.tv/texas-gov-rick-perry-electrifies-gop-leadership-conference/
June 17, 2011
Healthcare
waiver rules change: In an article in today's The Hill, the Obama administration has
changed the rules about how waivers from the new healthcare law can be applied for.
According to the article, instead
of approving a new batch of year-long waivers every month, the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services announced that
plans have until September 22 to apply
for a waiver that will carry through 2013. Starting in 2014, all plans will have
to
comply with the provisions of the law and the waivers will be moot.
So far, there have been some 1,400
waivers granted.
Tax breaks for ethanol subsidies get axed in Senate: Well, the corn-belt senators didn't vote for the measure, that's for sure. And the legislation was sponsored
by Dianne Feinstein from California. Still, there were enough votes coming from both sides of the aisle to pass the legislation
-- 73-27 in fact. The measure would end a forty-five cent break on every gallon of ethanol, plus eliminate a fifty-four cent
tariff on imported ethanol.
Even thought he measure passed handily in the Senate, it has yet to sail through the
House. We'll have to wait and see what will happen in that event, if, in fact, it even comes up for a vote.
Here's
the entire article from today: http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/167017-niche-tax-breaks-targeted-senate-kills-ethanol-credit-
This comes under the general heading of "What's Wrong With People?"
-- It's about bottle bombs that could be lying around in a vacant lot or tossed onto your front yard. Thanks to Nola, here
in Effingham, for this alert. And there's a link to Snopes in the article. Watch with horror as a bomb squad detonates one
of these bottle bombs:
Kids are putting Drano, tin foil, and a little water in soda bottles
and capping it
up - leaving it on lawns. When you go to pick up the trash, and the bottle is
shaken just a
little - in about 30 seconds or less it builds up a gas and explodes
with enough force to remove some of your extremities.
The liquid that comes out is
boiling hot as well.
Don't pick up any plastic bottles that may
be lying in your yards or in the
gutter, etc.
Pay attention to this. A plastic bottle with a
cap. A little Drano. A little
water. A small piece of foil. Disturb it by moving it; and BOOM!!
No fingers left
and other serious effects to your face, eyes, etc.
People are finding these "bombs"
in mailboxes and in their yards, just waiting for
you to pick it up intending to put it in the trash. But,
you'll never make it!!!
It takes about 30 seconds to blow after you move the thing.
See "SNOPES"
below -- it's true -- the video at SNOPES shows the Indiana State
Police Bomb Squad detonating
one -- it's truly horrifying!
<http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/bottlebomb.asp>
June 16, 2011
U.S.
Supreme Court stands strong on Pledge of Allegiance: One nation under God... does not
create a state religion. Contrary to this claim made by atheist Michael Newdow, the Supreme Court said, ...The words 'one
nation under God' make clear the bedrock American principle that our rights come not from the State, but are endowed by our
Creator.
The Supreme Court rejected Newdow's appeal in March of this year from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
(in San Francisco), so he went out to the east coast to the First Court of Appeals (in Boston) to block the inclusion of the
language reference to God in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Civil rights are part of our basic American philosophy.
This philosophy says that civil rights are inalienable because government does not create them.
That's expressly
counters the notion of a state religion, in my view.
The article was published by the Catholic News Agency
today.
5.2 Quake Hits Alaska: In an area about
50 miles southwest of Anchorage, Mother Nature jiggled the ground again close to Noon today. A 5.2 quake is nothing to sneeze
at. It will knock stuff off shelves, TVs off tables, etc., and scare the heck out of everybody. This quake followed one that
hit close to 9:00 a.m. at Sand Point, which is out on the Alaska Peninsula. No reports of damage yet.
June 15, 2011
This
beauiful Our Father In Heaven, sung by Bocelli, is from Cody, our friend in Warrensburg: http://www.greatdanepro.com/Pray%20For%20America/index.htm
History isn't the only subject that our students don't get a grasp of. These funnies come
from cousin Al:
I handed the teller @ my
bank a withdrawal slip for $400.00
I said "May I have large bills, please"
She looked at me and said "I'm sorry sir, all the bills are the same
size."
When I got up off the floor I explained it to her....
When my husband and I arrived at an automobile
dealership to pick up our
car, we were told the keys had been locked in it. We went to the service
department
and found a mechanic working feverishly to unlock the driver side
door. As I watched from the passenger side, I
instinctively tried the door
handle and discovered that it was unlocked. 'Hey,' I announced to the
technician,
'it's open!' His reply: 'I know. I already got that side.'
This was at the Ford dealership in Canton, MS
We had to have the
garage door repaired.
The Sears repairman told us that one of our problems
was that we did not
have a 'large' enough motor on the opener.
I thought for a minute, and said that we had the largest one Sears made at
that time, a 1/2 horsepower.
He shook his head and said, 'Lady, you need a 1/4 horsepower.' I responded
that 1/2 was larger than 1/4.
He said, 'NO, it's not..' Four is larger than two.'
We haven't used Sears repair since.
My daughter and I went through the McDonald's take-out window
and I gave
the clerk a $5 bill.
Our total was $4.25, so I
also handed her a quarter.
She said, 'you gave me too much money.' I
said, 'Yes I know, but this way
you can just give me a dollar bill back.
She sighed and went to get the manager, who asked me to repeat my request.
I did so, and he handed me back the quarter, and said 'We're sorry but we
could not do that kind of thing.'
The clerk then proceeded to give me back $1 and 75 cents in change.
Do not confuse the
clerks at McD's.
I live in a semi rural area.
We recently had a new neighbor call the
local township administrative office
to request the removal of
the DEER CROSSING sign on our road.
The reason: 'Too many deer are being
hit by cars out here!
I don't think this is a good place for them
to be crossing anymore.'
From Kingman, KS
My daughter went to a local Taco Bell and ordered
a taco.
She asked the person behind the counter for 'minimal lettuce.'
He said he was sorry, but they only had iceberg lettuce.
-- From Kansas City
I was
at the airport, checking in at the gate when an airport employee asked,
'Has anyone put anything in your baggage without your knowledge?'
To
which I replied, 'If it was without my knowledge, how would I know?'
He smiled knowingly and nodded, 'That's why we ask.'
Happened in
Birmingham , Ala.
The stoplight on the corner
buzzes when it's safe to cross the street.
I was crossing with
an intellectually challenged coworker of mine. She
asked if I knew what the buzzer was for.
I explained that it signals blind people when the light is red.
Appalled,
she responded, 'What on earth are blind people doing driving?!'
She was a probation officer in Wichita, KS
At a good-bye luncheon for an old and dear coworker who was leaving the
company due to 'downsizing,' our manager
commented cheerfully, 'This is fun. We should do this more often.'
Not
another word was spoken. We all just looked at each other with that
deer-in-the-headlights stare.
This was a lunch at Texas Instruments.
I work with an individual who plugged her power strip back into itself
And for the sake of her life, couldn't understand why her system would
not
turn on.
A deputy with the Dallas County Sheriffs
office, no less.
How would you pronounce this child's name?
"Le-a"
Leah??
NO
Lee - A??
NOPE
Lay - a??
NO
Lei?? Guess Again.
This child attends a school in Kansas City, Mo.
Her mother is irate because everyone is getting her name wrong.
It's
pronounced "Ledasha".
When the Mother was asked about the
pronunciation of the name, she said,
"the dash don't be silent."
SO, if you see something come across your desk like this please remember
to
pronounce the dash.
If dey axe you why, tell dem de dash don't
be silent.
Just to keep you up to date: Charlie Rangel sold his Dominican Republic beachfront
property. Don't know for exactly how much, but according to an article published in today's The Hill, the sale price
was from $250,000 to $500,000. He only paid $89,000 for the property, supposedly. Now he has to make restitution for his errors
since his has been involved in some "convictable" arithmetic with the IRS. The House Ethics Committee convicted
him for his misdeeds which, if memory serves me right, come from renting out his property and not exactly claiming the rent
on his income tax report. I think he said he "forgot" to include the rent in his filings.
Also reported in The Hilltoday is an article that Nancy Pelosi's net worth (with her husband Paul)
increased 62% last year. Instead of $35.2 million, she's now worth $43.4 million. Their net worth was only $21.7 million in
2009.
And in the spirit of transparency, House Speaker Boehner is also a multi-millionaire. His net worth is somewhere
between $1.2 and $1.9 million.
No wonder so many people want to be members of congress. Let's all run for office.
June 14, 2011
We just finished watching
the series The Kennedys. It's the eight-part miniseries that ran into all kinds of firestorms. I think Caroline Kennedy
tried every which way she could think of to halt the distribution of the series. And then it became difficult to find a channel
that would show it on television. It finally was aired but I can't remember which channel showed it. We got it through Netflix
streaming. Each of the eight parts is 44 minutes long. It appears to be historically accurate. It's the first film I've ever
seen that actually showed Jacqueline as a smoker. Greg Kinnear played Jack Kennedy, Barry Pepper played Bobby Kennedy and
Katie Holmes did herself proud playing Jackie Kennedy. The project was created by Stephen Kronish.
Another video
we watched a couple of evenings ago was The Quantum Activist.It features Amit Goswami who has a Ph.D. in physics.
Goswami talks about quantum mechanics and how it relates to reality and consciousness. It was very interesting. I could have
listened to him for a couple more hours. Very interesting. It's also available on Netflix streaming.
It's the sun that causes climate change! Since 1611, humans have recorded the
comings and goings of black spots on the sun. The number of these sunspots wax and wane over approximately an 11-year cycle
-- more sunspots generally mean more activity and eruptions on the sun and vice versa. The number of sunspots can change from
cycle to cycle and 2008 saw the longest and weakest solar minimum since scientists have been monitoring the sun with space-based
instruments....
Fast solar wind shoots out the center of coronal holes at speeds up to 500 miles per second,
but wind flowing out of the sides slows down as it expands into space.
Read more: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-06/nsfc-nio061411.php
The eleven-year cycle is an interesting one. It also happens that rattlesnakes -- for some strange reason that
I have yet to hear explained -- have bumper crops during these eleven year cycles.
There's another interesting
article with a fascinating video that explains solar minimums -- those times when there are few solar flares. The
video also explains what happens to the rivers of fire on the sun's surface and how old, decaying material from previous
sun spots are kind of recycled for the next cycle. You can watch this video at the following site: http://www.space.com/11960-fading-sunspots-slower-solar-activity-solar-cycle.html
So what does all this mean? Well, perhaps it could be that a mini ice-age is on its way to earth again. That would
probably not set well with all man-caused global warming theorists out there who just kind of overlook the fact that the weather
on earth is caused by what's happening on the sun's surface.
Social Security
ovepayment: You would think that with all this talk about reducing the deficit that every bureaucrat
in Washington, D.C. would be extra extra careful not to make any distribution mistakes. But that's apparently not the case
over at the Social Security Administration. According to CBS News, some $6.5 billion was sent to people who were
not entitled to get the money. That's a huge big chunk of change. And one of the presidential candidates said the other day
that he wanted to reduce the budget deficit a hundred million at a time. So $6.5 billion would be six thousand five hundred million
dollars. Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/06/14/in_depth_us/main20071107.shtml
Sarah Palin's non-controversial emails: You've
probably heard by now that the major media got some 24,000 emails from the time of Palin's governorship. The media outlets
were just so sure they were going to find lots of scandalous juicy naughty bits to salivate over. But, alas, there was nothing
at all exciting in the pages and pages of emails.
So let's see -- there are 5,000 sheets of paper in a box of
10 reams. That would be at least four boxes if each email were limited to just a single page.
But even comedian
Jon Stewart got into poking fun at the media anchors who appeared to be salivating at the chance of reading Palin's email.
Check out this Stewart monologue: http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2011/06/14/jon-stewart-rips-msm-over-palin-email-crusade/
Absolutely nothing near the scandal offered up by Anthony Weiner. Not even nano-close.
June 13, 2011
The oncology center
had its annual dinner last evening. We were invited as "newbies" so we looked forward to being surrounded by longer-term
survivors.
We were not disappointed. At one point toward the end of the program, people were asked to stand if
they were a survivor for 5 years; for 10 years; for 15-20 years; 20-25 years; 25-35 years; 35-45 years; 45+ years - there
were actually some folks who are cancer survivors for 51 years, for instance.
What I did learn is that there are
currently 11 million cancer survivors in the United States. Sadly, though, there will be an expected 1.4 million new diagnoses
in this year. Clearly, it is not the death threat that it once was. And new research is becoming more and more promising,
especially with breast cancer, prostate cancer and lung cancer.
These thoughts were on the back of the program:
WHAT CANCER CANNOT DO
Cancer is so limited ...
It cannot cripple Love
It cannot shatter Hope
It
cannot corrode Faith
It cannot destroy Peace
it cannot kill Friendship
It cannot suppress Memories
It
cannot silence Courage
It cannot invade the Soul
It cannot steal eternal Life
It cannot conquer the Spirit.
-- Author Unknown
And with apologies to all the blondes in the world -- this comes from my cousin Al and his wife
Alice:
THE BLONDES ARE BACK!
A blonde & her husband are lying in bed
listening to the next door neighbor's dog..
It has been in the backyard barking for hours &
hours.
The blonde jumps up out of bed and says,
"I've had enough of this".
She goes downstairs.
The blonde finally comes back up to bed
and her husband says, "The dog is still barking,
what have you been doing?"
The blonde says,
"I put the dog in our backyard,
let's see how THEY like it!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Two Blondes With Hammers...
Lynn & Judy were doing some carpenter work
on a Habitat for Humanity House.
Lynn was nailing down house siding,
would reach into her nail
pouch, pull out a nail & either toss it
over her shoulder or nail it in.
Judy, figuring this was worth looking into, asked, '
Why are you throwing those nails away?'
Lynn explained, 'When I pull a nail out of my pouch,
about half of them have the head on the wrong end
& I throw them away.'
Judy got completely upset & yelled,
'You moron! Those nails aren't defective!
They're for the other side of the house!'
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Did you hear about the two blondes
who froze to death in a drive-in movie?
They had gone to see 'Closed for the Winter.'
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
You might have to think twice about this one.
A blonde hurried into the emergency room late one
night with the tip
of her index finger shot off. 'How did this happen?'
the emergency
room doctor asked her.
'Well, I was trying to commit suicide,' the blonde
replied.
'What?' sputtered the doctor. 'You tried to commit
suicide by shooting
off your finger?'
'No, slly' the blonde said. 'First I put the gun to
my chest, &
then I thought, 'I just paid $6, 000.00 for these
implants...
I'm not shooting myself in the chest.'
'So then?' asked the doctor.
'Then I put the gun in my mouth, & I thought, 'I
just paid $3,000..00
to get my teeth straightened I'm not shooting myself
in the mouth.'
'So then?'
'Then I put the gun to my ear, & I thought: 'This is
going to make a
loud noise. So I put my finger in my other ear
before I pulled the
trigger.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A blonde was driving home after a game & got caught
in a really bad
hailstorm.... Her car was covered with dents, so the
next day she took it
To a repair shop. The shop owner saw that she was a
blonde, so he
decided to have some fun... He told her to go home
and blow into the
tail pipe really hard, & all the dents would pop out.
So, the blonde went home, got down on her hands &
knees & started
blowing into her tailpipe.... Nothing happened.. So
she blew a little
harder, & still nothing happened.
Her blonde roommate saw her & asked, 'What are you
doing?' The first
blonde told her how the repairman had instructed her
to blow into the
tail pipe in order to get all the dents to pop out.
The roommate rolled her eyes & said, 'Uh, like hello!
You need to roll up the windows first.'
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
These are just too cute not to pass on!!!!
A blonde was shopping at Target &
came across a shiny silver thermos.
She was quite fascinated by it, so she picked it up
& took
it to the clerk to ask what it was.
The clerk said, 'Why, that's a thermos.....
It keeps hot things hot, And cold things cold.'
'Wow, said the blonde, 'that's amazing.....I'm going
to buy it!'
So she bought the thermos & took it to work the next
day.
Her boss saw it on her desk.
'What's that,' he asked?
'Why, that's a thermos..... It keeps hot things hot
& cold things
cold,' she replied..
Her boss inquired, 'What do you have in it?'
The blond replied......
'Two popsicles & some coffee.'
+++++++++++++
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST
A blonde goes into work one morning crying her eyes
out.
Her boss asked sympathetically, 'What's the matter?'
The blonde replies,
'Early this morning I got a phone call saying that
my mother had passed away.'
The boss, feeling sorry for her, says,
'Why don't you go home for the
day? Take the day off to relax & rest.'
'Thanks, but I'd be better off here.
I need to keep my mind off it &
I have the best chance of doing that here.'
The boss agrees & allows the blonde to work as usual.
A couple of hours pass & the boss decides to check
on the blonde.
He looks out from his office & sees the blonde
crying hysterically...
'What's so bad now? Are you gonna be okay?' he asks.
'No!' exclaims the blonde..
'I just received a horrible call from my
sister. Her mother died, too!'
This beautiful message comes from our
friend Cody in Warrensburg:
Layman's 10 Commandments.
Someone has written
these beautiful words. Must read and try to understand the deep
meaning of it.
They are like the ten commandments
to follow in life all the time.
1] Prayer is not a "spare wheel" that you pull out when in
trouble, but it is a
"steering wheel" that directs the right path throughout.
2]
So a Car's WINDSHIELD is so large & the Rear view Mirror is so small? Because
our PAST is not as important as our
FUTURE. So, Look Ahead and Move on.
3] Friendship is like a BOOK. It takes few seconds to burn, but
it takes years to
write.
4] All things in life are temporary. If going well, enjoy it, they will
not last
forever. If going wrong, don't worry, they can't last long either.
5] Old Friends are Gold!
New Friends are Diamond! If you get a Diamond, don't forget
the Gold! Because to hold a Diamond, you always need a Base
of Gold!
6] Often when we lose hope and think this is the end, GOD smiles from above and
says,
"Relax, sweetheart, it's just a bend, not the end!
7] When GOD solves your problems, you have
faith in HIS abilities; when GOD doesn't
solve your problems HE has faith in your abilities.
8]
A blind person asked St. Anthony: "Can there be anything worse than losing eye
sight?" He replied: "Yes,
losing your vision!"
9] When you pray for others, God listens to you and blesses them, and sometimes,
when
you are safe and happy, remember that someone has prayed for you.
10] WORRYING does not take away
tomorrow's TROUBLES, it takes away today's PEACE.
June 10, 2011
Want
to see how you do in a political quiz? Click here: http://pewresearch.org/politicalquiz/quiz/index.php
I missed one but I don't know which one. The quiz only told me how many I got right (10).
Thanks to
my cousin, Al, for sending to me. You know I'm a sucker for these quizzes.
This
wonderful story comes from our dear friend, Cody, in Warrensburg:
THE OLD FISHERMAN
Our house was directly across the street from the
clinic entrance of Johns Hopkins Hospital
in Baltimore. We lived downstairs & rented the upstairs rooms
to out-patients at the Clinic.
One summer evening as I was fixing supper, there was a knock at the door. I opened
it to see a truly awful
looking man. 'Why, he's hardly taller than my
eight-year-old,' I thought as I stared at the stooped, shriveled
body.
But the appalling thing was his face, lopsided from swelling, red &
raw. Yet, his
voice was pleasant as he said,'Good
evening. I've come to see if you've a room for just one night. I came for a
treatment this morning from the eastern shore, & there's no bus 'till
morning.'
He told me he'd
been hunting for a room since noon but with no success; no
one seemed to have a room. 'I guess it's my face. I know it
looks terrible,
but my doctor says with a few more treatments...'
For a moment I hesitated, but his
next words convinced me, 'I could sleep
in this rocking chair on the porch. My bus leaves early in the morning.' I
told him we would find him a bed, but to rest onthe porch. I went inside
& finished getting supper. When we were
ready, I asked the old man if
he would join us. 'No thank you. I have plenty' And he held up a brown
paper bag.
When I had finished the dishes, I went out on the
porch to talk with him a
few minutes. It
didn't take a long time to see
that this old man had an
over sized heart crowded into that tiny body. He
told me he fished for a
living to support his daughter, her five children
& her husband, who
was hopelessly crippled from a back injury.
He didn't tell it by way of complaint; in fact,
every other
sentence was
prefaced with thanks to God for a blessing. He
was grateful that no pain
accompanied
his disease, which was apparently a
form of skin cancer. He was
thankful for the strength to keep going.
At bedtime, we put a camp cot in the children's
room for him. When I got up
in the morning,
the bed linens were neatly
folded, & the little man was
out on the porch.
He refused
breakfast, but just before he left for
his bus, haltingly, as if
asking a great favor, he said, 'Could I
please
come back & stay the
next time I have a treatment? I won't put you out
a bit. I can sleep
fine
in a chair.' He paused a moment & then added,
'Your children made me
feel at home. Grownups
are bothered by my face,
but children don't seem to
mind.' I told him he was welcome to come again.
And on his next trip he arrived a little
after seven in the morning. As a gift, he brought
a big
fish & a quart
of the largest oysters I had ever seen. He said
he had shucked them that
morning
before he left so that they'd be nice &
fresh. I knew his bus
left at 4 a.m., & I wondered what time
he had to
get up in order to do
this for us.
In the years he came to stay overnight with
us
there was never a time that
he did not bring us fish or oysters or vegetables
from his garden.
Other times we received packages in the mail,
always by special delivery;
fish & oysters
packed in a box of fresh young
spinach or kale, every
leaf carefully washed. Knowing that he must walk
three miles to mail these
& knowing how little money he had made the gifts
doubly precious.
When I received these little remembrances, I
often thought of a comment our
next-door neighbor made
after he left that first
morning. 'Did you keep
that awful looking man last night? I turned him
away!
You can lose roomers by
putting up such people!'
Maybe we did lose roomers once or twice But,
oh
if only they could have
known him, perhaps their illness would have been
easier to bear. I know our
family always will be grateful to have known him;
from him we learned what
it was to accept the
bad without complaint & the
good with
gratitude..
Recently I was visiting a friend
who has a
greenhouse. As she showed me her
flowers, we came to the most beautiful one of
all, a golden
chrysanthemum,
bursting with blooms. But to my great surprise,
it was growing in an old
dented,
rusty bucket. I thought to myself, 'If
this were my plant, I'd put
it in the loveliest container I had!'
My friend changed my mind. 'I ran short of pots,'
she explained, 'and
knowing how beautiful
this one would be, I
thought it wouldn't mind
starting out in this old pail. It's just for a
little
while, till I can put
it out in the garden.'
She must have wondered why I laughed so
delightedly,
but I was imagining
just such a scene in heaven. There's an
especially beautiful one,' God
might
have said when he came to the soul of the
sweet old fisherman. 'He
won't mind starting in this small body.'
All this happened long ago -- and now, in God's
garden, how tall this
lovely soul must stand..
The LORD does not look at the things man looks
at. Man looks at the outward
appearance, but
the LORD looks at the heart.'
Friends are very special. They make you smile &
encourage you to
succeed. They lend an ear & they share a word of
praise.
Show your friends how much
you
care.
Pass this on, & brighten someone's day.
Nothing will happen
if you do not decide to pass
it along.
The only thing that will happen if you do pass it
on is
that someone might
smile because of you !
Never look down on
anybody, unless you're
helping them up.
"Life without God is
like an unsharpened pencil - it has no point."
June 9, 2011
From
the King of Gaffes: He may be only a prince to the Brits, but he is the
king of gaffes in my book. On the occasion of his 90th birthday recently, this collection of gaffes was printed in The
Daily Mail.com:
ON
STATE VISITS ‘You look like you’re ready for bed!’
To the President of Nigeria, who was wearing traditional robes. ‘Do
you still throw spears at each other?’ To Aboriginal leader William Brin during a visit to the Aboriginal Cultural Park
in Queensland, 2002. ‘We don’t come here for our health.
We can think of other ways of enjoying ourselves.’ On a trip to Canada in 1976. ‘You managed not to get eaten then?’ To a British student who was trekking in Papua New Guinea, during
an official visit in 1998. ‘Aren’t most of you descended
from pirates?’ To residents of the Cayman Islands in 1994.
ON EUROPE ‘I would like to go to Russia very
much — although the bastards murdered half my family.’ In 1967, when asked if he would like to visit the Soviet
Union. ‘Damn fool question!’ To a BBC journalist at a banquet
at the Elysée Palace in Paris after she asked the Queen if she was enjoying her stay. ‘It’s a vast waste of space.’ To guests at the opening reception of a new £18 million
British Embassy in Berlin in 2000. ‘You can’t have been here
that long — you haven’t got a pot belly.’ To a British tourist he met during a tour of Hungarian capital
Budapest in 1993. One of a kind: The prince described himself as suffering from 'Dontopedalogy
. . . the science of opening your mouth and putting your foot in it, a science which I have practised for a good many years
. . .'
ON
SCOTLAND
‘How do you keep the natives off the booze
long enough to pass the test?’ To a Scottish driving instructor in 1995. ‘It looks as though it was put in by an Indian.’ The Prince’s verdict on a fuse box given during
a tour of a Scottish factory in August 1999. He later apologised: ‘I meant to say cowboys. I just got my cowboys and
Indians mixed up.’ ‘People usually say that after a fire
it is water damage that is the worst. We are still drying out Windsor Castle.’ To survivors of the Lockerbie bombing
in 1993.
ON CHINA ‘Ghastly.’
Prince Philip’s opinion of Beijing, during a tour of China in 1986. ‘If
it has got four legs and it is not a chair, if it has got two wings and it flies but is not an aeroplane, and if it swims
and it is not a submarine, the Cantonese will eat it.’ To a meeting of the World Wildlife Fund in 1986. ‘If you stay here much longer, you will go home with slitty eyes.’ To a British
student on a visit to China in 1986.
ON
MULTI-CULTURAL BRITAIN ‘There’s a lot of your family in
tonight.’ After noticing business leader Atul Patel’s name badge during a Buckingham Palace reception for 400
influential British Indians in 2009. ‘So who’s on drugs
here? He looks as if he’s on drugs.’ To a 14-year-old member of a Bangladeshi youth club in 2002. ‘Are you all one family?’ Said to mixed-race dance troupe Diversity at the 2009
Royal Variety Performance.  Energetic, remarkable good health and a strong sense of public duty: The Duke
has attended countless official engagements over the course of his 64-year marriage to our Queen
ON WOMEN ‘British
women can’t cook.’ Endearing himself to the Scottish Women’s Institute in 1961. ‘Ah, so this is feminist corner then.’ To a group of female Labour MPs at a Buckingham
Palace drinks party in 2000. ‘You are a woman, aren’t you?’
To a Kenyan woman in 1984, after accepting a state gift. ‘If it
doesn’t fart or eat hay, she isn’t interested.’ On his daughter, Princess Anne. ‘When a man opens the car door for his wife, it’s either a new car or a new wife.’
ON CELEBRITY ‘What do you gargle with
— pebbles?’ To Tom Jones, after the Royal Variety Performance, 1969. He later added: ‘It is very difficult
at all to see how it is possible to become immensely valuable by singing what I think are the most hideous songs.’ ‘Oh, it’s you that owns that ghastly car, is it? We often see it when driving
to Windsor Castle.’ To near-neighbour Elton John after hearing that he had sold his Watford FC-themed Aston Martin in
2001. ‘I wish he’d turn the microphone off!’ During
Elton John’s performance at the 73rd Royal Variety Show in 2001.
ON FOOD &
DRINK ‘Get me a beer. I don’t care what kind it is, just
get me a beer!’ On being offered fine Italian wines by Prime Minister Giuliano Amato at a dinner in Rome in 2000. ‘Don’t feed your rabbits pawpaw fruit — it acts as a contraceptive. Then
again, it might not work on rabbits.’ To a Caribbean rabbit breeder in Anguilla in 1994.
ON CLASS & MONEY ‘People
think there’s a rigid class system here, but dukes have been known to marry chorus girls. Some have even married Americans.’
In 2000. ‘If you travel as much as we do, you appreciate the improvements
in aircraft design of less noise and more comfort, provided you don’t travel in something called economy class, which
sounds ghastly.’ To the Aircraft Research Association in 2002. ‘All
money nowadays seems to be produced with a natural homing instinct for the Treasury.’ Lamenting the rate of British
tax in 1963. ‘We go into the red next year. I shall probably have
to give up polo.’ On the Royal Family’s finances in 1969. ‘Everybody
was saying we must have more leisure. Now they are complaining they are unemployed.’ Said at the height of the recession
in 1981.
ON ART & FASHION ‘You
didn’t design your beard too well, did you? You really must try better with your beard.’ To a young fashion designer
at Buckingham Palace in 2009. ‘It looks like the kind of thing
my daughter would bring back from her school art lessons.’ On seeing an exhibition of ‘primitive’ Ethiopian
art in 1965.
ON THE PRESS
‘You have mosquitos. I have the
Press.’ To the matron of a hospital in the Caribbean.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2001251/As-Prince-Philip-turns-90-relive-hilarious-gaffes.html#ixzz1Oo5G9Nx6
-- Now, isn't he just more fun than a barrel of monkeys?
And
these advice tips from cousin Mark:
Ants Problem:
Ants hate cucumbers.
Keep the
skin of cucumbers near the place or ant hole.
To get pure and clean ice :
Boil
water first before freezing.
To make the mirror shine:
Clean with sprit e
To remove chewing gum from clothes:
Keep the cloth in the freezer for an
hour.
To whiten white clothes:
Soak white clothes in hot water with
a slice of lemon for 10 minutes
To give a shine to hair :
Use one teaspoon
of vinegar on hair, then wash hair.
To get maximum juice out of lemons :
Soak
lemons in hot water for one hour,
and then juice them.
To avoid smell of cabbage
while cooking:
Keep a piece of bread on the cabbage
in the vessel while cooking.
To
avoid tears while cutting onions:
Chew gum.
To boil potatoes quickly:
Skin
one potato from one side only before boiling.
To remove ink from clothes :
Put
regular white toothpaste on the ink spots generously
and let it dry completely, then wash.
To skin sweet potatoes quickly :
Soak in cold water immediately after boiling.
To get rid of mice or rats :
sprinkle black pepper in places where you find mice or rats.
They
will leave.
Chinese Proverb:
'When someone shares something of value with you
and you benefit from
it,
you have a moral obligation to share it with others.'
And these beautiful
thoughts come from our dear friend, Cody, in Warrensburg:
If you never felt pain,
then how would you know that I am a Healer?
If you never had to pray, How would you know that I am a Deliverer?
If you never had a trial, how could you call yourself an overcomer?
If you never felt sadness, How
would you know that I am a Comforter?
If you never made a mistake, How would you know that I am a forgiver?
If you knew all, How would you know that I will answer your questions?
If you never were in trouble,
How would you know that I will come to your rescue?
If you never were broken, Then how would you know that I can
make you whole?
If you never had a problem, How would you know that I can solve them?
If you never
had any suffering, Then how would you know what I went through?
If you never went through the fire, Then how would
you become pure?
If I gave you all things, How would you appreciate them?
If I never corrected you,
How would you know that I love you?
If you had all power, Then how would you learn to depend on me?
If your life was perfect, Then what would you need me for?
Love,
Jesus
June 8, 2011
See
the sun explode! Actually, it's called a CME -- for Coronal Mass Ejection. This is a video of
the largest CME I've ever seen: http://ipv6.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/News060711-blast_prt.htm
At the link is an incredible color photo and if you want to watch a video of the CME, it's down one frame. Click
on that frame to watch the video and prepare to be amazed.
It reminds me of a video I was watching of the Mississippi
River as it weaves its way through New Orleans. The gentleman who was narrating the home video said, "The Mississippi
is a might river -- but God is mightier." That's exactly what I thought when I watched the video of the mass ejection
on the sun's surface. The sun is mighty - but God is mightier.
Fortunately, according to Quint, inhabitants of
the Earth are safe from what could have been disastrous -- all the way from electric grid problems to possible communication
satellites.
Where do these people live? I was listening
to Bernanke yesterday afternoon. He was giving the world his best thoughts on the state of the financial crisis. According
to the experts, unemployment is all the fault of the tornadoes in the midwest. Not likely there, Mr. Ben. Unemployment has
been on the rise since that first stimulus package went sailing through Congress. Remember that one? It was supposed to keep
unemployment from going over 8% and it was supposed to include a zillion "shovel ready jobs." And the rise in costs
can be attributed to one thing -- the rise in gasoline prices.
Has he, and any other economist who agrees with
him, been grocery shopping lately? What about the price of coffee? And milk? And meat?
What we need are some politicians
who do their own grocery shopping. Regularly. Not just for photo ops. Then they'd know.
What we need are some politicians
who fly commercial flights. In coach like the rest of us. Not on those luxurious charters that are loaned to them by their
zillionaire friends. Make them go through the security lines at airports and have their you-know-whats groped and handled.
I'd just bet that would be the end of that security system and something else put in place that makes more
sense and is less sexually invasive at the same time.
June 7, 2011
Are
you working for healthcare coverage for your family? Thirty percent of American companies are
now saying that their health care coverage for employees will be a thing of the past when Obamacare goes into effect.
Oh my goodness! What does this mean? Does anyone know. What are they telling you at the company you work for?
Magnets can help prevent heart attacks. That's the
theory at least. Researchers at Temple University have pioneered the use of magnets to reduce the blood's viscosity by 20
to 30 percent. Ronghia Tao, professor and chair of physics at Temple, did this by subjecting the human body to a 1.3 Tesla
for one minute. [That's a hugely strong magnetic field. A magnetic bracelet wouldn't do the trick. In fact, 1.3 Tesla is about
the same magnetic energy as you'd get in an MRI.] Problem is, the viscosity of the blood returns to where it had been in a
few hours.
Tao and his former graduate student, Ke "Colin" Huang, now a physics resident in the Department
of Radiation Oncology at the University of Michigan, are publishing their findings in the journal, Physical Review E.
Eagles getting chopped in half by wind turbines. Wind
turbines are supposed to be green energy. Never mind that the whooshy sounds of those big arms turning around are bothersome
to people who live within earshot.
Now comes a worse problem. In the Bay Area in California, the fatality rate
of the golden eagles has soared to 67 a year for the last three decades. So much for having the eagles on the endangered species
list. Field biologist Doug Bell, manager of the East Bay Regional Park District's wildlife program, says they only have 60
pairs of eagles living in the area.
It's not just the eagles. The California condor is also an endangered species.
Millions have been spent to save the condor from extinction. And to what avail? To be chopped in half by wind turbines?
According to an article in The Daily Mail, some 440,000 birds and thousands more bats have been killed nationwide.
Good thing we have British, Australian and Canadian newspapers telling us what's going on in this country.
This is really funny! Thank you, Cody, for sending to us. If
you have never heard of Jeanne Robertson, you are in for a treat. In this video, Jeanne describes how her husband, who she
calls "Left Brain," went to the store for her to get ingredients to make a pound cake. She's a strong advocate of
making things yourself to take to church. She says, "You can put that chicken on your grandmother's plate, but the women
at church won't be fooled. They'll say, 'I know where she got that chicken.'"
I will admit that not too long
ago I was running into a time crunch and stopped at Kentucky Fried Chicken and got two dozen biscuits. They are delicious
biscuits. I had made the sausage gravy and jarred it in two quarts the night before. But I didn't put the biscuits on my grandmother's
platter, or anybody elses for that matter. I just left it in the big KFC box. Nobody at church seemed to mind.
Anyway,
here's the clip about Jeanne: http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=-YFRUSTiFUs#t=65
The good old days of a century ago -- thanks to John and Sherre
in Wichita:
The year is 1911 --- One hundred years ago.
What a difference a century makes!
Here are some statistics for the Year
1911:
************ ********* ************
The average life expectancy for men was 47 years.
Fuel for the car was sold in drug stores only.
Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.
Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower !
The average US wage in 1910 was 22 cents per hour.
The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year ..
A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year,
A dentist $2,500 per year,
a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year,
and
a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
More than 95 percent of all births took place at home .
Ninety percent of all Doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!
Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which
were
condemned in the press AND the government as "substandard."
Sugar cost four cents a pound.
Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.
Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
Most women only washed their hair once a month,
and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from
entering into
their country for any reason.
The Five leading causes of death
were:
1.
Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke
The American flag had 45 stars...
The population of Las Vegas , Nevada , was only 30!!!
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented yet.
There was
niether a Mother's Day nor a Father's Day.
Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write and only 6 percent
of all Americans had graduated from high school.
Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter
at the local corner drugstores.
Back then pharmacists said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives
buoyancy to
the mind, Regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect
guardian of health!"
( Shocking? )
Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or
domestic help ....
There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A. !
June 6, 2011
This
puts the Israel/Palestine question into perspective. Thanks to John and Sherre for sending to us:
An ingenious example of speech and politics occurred
recently in the United Nation Assembly and made the world
community
smile.
A representative from Israel began:
"Before beginning my talk, I want to tell you something
about Moses: When he struck the rock and it brought forth
water, he thought, 'What a good opportunity to have a bath!"
Moses removed his clothes, put them aside on the rock and
entered the water. When he got out and wanted to dress, his
clothes had vanished. A Palestinian had stolen them!
The Palestinian representative at the UN jumped up furiously
and shouted, "What are you talking about? The
Palestinians
weren't there then."
The Israeli representative smiled and said . . .
"And now that we have made that clear, I will begin my
speech!"
And thanks to cousins Mark and Al for sending these funny little snippits about how
to start a fight.
My wife and I were sitting at a table at her high school
reunion,
and she kept staring at a drunken man swigging his
drink as he sat alone at a nearby table.
I asked her,
"Do you know him?"
"Yes", she sighed, "He's my old boyfriend .
I understand
he took to drinking
right after we split up those many years ago,
and I hear he hasn't been sober since."
"My God!" I said, "Who would think a person
could go on celebrating that long?"
And then the fight started...
________________________________
When our lawn mower
broke and wouldn't run, my wife kept hinting
to me that I should get it fixed. But, somehow I always had
something
else to take care of first, the shed, the boat,
making beer. Always something more important to me. Finally she
thought of a clever way to make her point.
When I arrived home one day, I found her seated in the tall
grass,
busily snipping away with a tiny pair of sewing
scissors. I watched silently for a short time and then went into
the house. I was gone only a minute, and when I came out again
I handed her a toothbrush. I said, "When you finish
cutting the
grass, you might as well sweep the driveway."
The doctors say I will walk again, but I
will always have a limp.
______________________________
My wife sat down next to me as I was
flipping channels.
She asked, "What's on TV?"
I said, "Dust."
And
then the fight started...
________________________________
Saturday morning I got up early,
quietly dressed, made my
lunch, and slipped quietly into the garage. I hooked up the
boat up to the van and proceeded
to back
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