The Blog of This & That & A Bunch of Blah Blah & Silliness

Philadelphia:History, Great Food, e-Books and More

2010-11-22T17:35:00.005-06:00

I had the pleasure of joining my wife, Michelle, who consults for a hospital in Philadelphia. Philadelphia is one of those cities I have always been interested in visiting, primarily because of its historical past. Beyond the history part I wasn’t expecting much. Such is not the case. Philly is one of the more enjoyable cities I’ve visited. In addition to the historical sites, I found great food, interesting and bustling neighborhoods.

The historical sites included Independence Hall, which also included Congress Hall, the Liberty Bell, Benjamin Franklin’s grave (it was in a cemetery with many others of that era), Betsy Ross’ house and several other historical places of lesser renown. The Philadelphia U. S. Mint was also visited but was less then I had hoped for.

Food! If you know me I love food and Philadelphia obliged my love for food by reversing my goal of loosing weight and adding 6 pounds. Michelle is being adamant about me signing up for fitness center. Since I am a good husband I signed up today. Though there has been a setback on my weight loss goal, I can at least say it was worth it, because, for the most part the food was good.

I had Indian from three different places, the winning place being Milnar and their Chicken Vindaloo. Shangi Gourmet was the sole Chinese entree but their General Tso chicken was satisfying. Miller’s Twist had a breakfast sandwich that I truly enjoyed. It consisted of the usual egg, cheese and bacon ingredients but was wrapped in pretzel dough. If there was a place near me in Cortland that sold this item I would be in trouble.

Visiting Philly and not having a Philly cheesesteak is not really visiting Philly. The place we were told that was the place for cheesesteak is Jim’s. We went on a Sunday afternoon where there was a customer line wrapped around the corner. People in the line told us it would be worth the wait. One hour later we sat down and tried our cheesesteak sandwiches. They were good but not worth an hour of waiting; maybe 15 or 20 minutes but not 60 minutes. None the less it was tasty and I can claim to having eaten Jim’s cheesesteak. Michelle’s boss said we should have gotten ours with Wiz. Yes, Cheese Whiz. Maybe next time.

Probably my favorite place of my visit was Reading Terminal. It is best described as a market place with many places to eat, bakeries, fresh meats and more. Reading Terminal was a bustling place that had me desiring more time to visit in order for me to try more places.

An unexpected find in Philadelphia was when I was prowling the historical sites I happened across a branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia. I've been surfing the internet for a public library that allows non-residents to check out e-books. I decided I didn't have much to loose by going in and asking. I was directed to some guy at a desk. I totally surprised when he told me Free Philadelphia does indeed give out of state residents a library card for a yearly $15 charge. My long search for an e-book library has ended

One final enjoyment is the neighborhoods, each had its own area of places to eat and I mean a lot of places. Getting around by walking was fairly easy. It only took me my first afternoon to learn my way around a large area.

Sadly, there were a lot of homeless people in the parks and loitering on the streets but I never felt I was being pestered. There is a fair number of police walking the streets so worries of harm are unfounded.

Standing in Independence Hall I could not avoid the feeling of the historical significance in knowing that where I was standing was the place where many great men stood; George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton and the list goes on. As I was driving home from the airport, upon my return to Chicago, I was listening to the audio book of David McCullough’s biography of John Adams and the narrator mentioned John Adams and his wife taking residence in a modest home on Arch and 4^thStreet. I smiled and thought I know exactly where that was.

All in all it was a trip I enjoyed immensely and I do hope to visit again, as there were other historical places I would like to see and of course a plethora of places yet to eat at.

Born Again

2009-11-27T21:35:00.003-06:00

I’m not sure if it was actually on this day, since during that time of my life, 14 years ago, I was in a slippery funnel and it all was spiraling down at a very fast pace, but my best guess is it was on this day November 28, 1995 and as such I symbolically use this date as the day I received the greatest gift ever for all eternity, faith, in Jesus Christ!! I was born again.

Upon professing my faith many friends, including my brother and sister, were mused and even perhaps amused. One does not truly know what thoughts are going through another’s mind. The most common response is one of respect and generally goes along the lines of ‘I am glad that you found something that makes you happy’, and ‘It is good to see you have turned your life around’. I can’t recall any negative comments. I did hear many along the line of ‘that’s great, it’s good for you but it is not for me’.

Before I was saved, I can recall myself saying many times to Christians I had met, ‘that’s great, I’m happy for you but it is not for me.’ The truth is it was and still is for me, it is for you and it is for all of us. It is the Good News, it is the Gospel.

What is the Gospel? In short it is truly knowing that we all sin, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We may not all have committed atrocious sins but if you ever spoke harsh words to your parents, taken something that wasn’t yours no matter how small, you have sinned. God is a zero tolerance God, a just God, so the atrocious sin of murder and the sin of a little white lie are considered by God as sin, plain and simple.

The consequence of our sin is death ‘For the wages of sin is death’ (Romans 6:23a). Yes we all die a physical death but this death is not only physical, but a spiritual and everlasting death. The only way to avoid this death is through God’s gift of Jesus Christ, ‘the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Romans 6:23b). The key word for eternal life is “gift”, we cannot earn a gift. No matter how many old ladies we help across the street, no matter how many times we go to church or if we don’t lie or swear for a whole week or a bunch of weeks, we cannot earn God’s gift of eternal life. Thus we are all doomed to eternal death.

However, we do have the Good News ’but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us’ (Romans 5:8). Jesus’ dying on the cross was Him dying in place of us for those sins, thus we no longer face eternal death. Jesus’ resurrection is God’s affirmation that He accepts Jesus dying as payment for our sins.

So does that mean I’m ‘in’ as in assured a place in heaven by simply knowing and believing in Jesus? Not quite, one needs to accept God’s gift of Salvation through Christ Jesus by confessing that you are indeed a sinner in need of salvation ‘because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved’ (Romans 10:9-10).

Those who confess they are sinners in need of a Savior from their ‘heart’ and not just from a passing emotion or a quick means to escape hell are assured of eternal life. ‘Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Romans 5:1), and ‘There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’ (Romans 8:1).

When scripture says from your heart it is saying more than just simply believing in your mind a truth, it is saying that you have faith in your heart that Christ is Lord is true without no tangible truth other then the Bible. If you confess with your lips only and do not have believing faith in your heart, you are making a mockery of the gift and thus are not Born Again.

This is a lot for many to get not only in their minds but also into their hearts and I don’t expect this blog to be enough for you to have a believing faith but I hope it might make you seriously consider that my being Born Again, 14 years ago, was not something that was just good for me and now I’m a happy person. It was the greatest thing for me and it is the greatest thing for you.

It is for all of us because we all our sinners and if you doubt and reject the Good News you are rejecting Jesus Christ. You may not think rejecting the Good News is rejecting Jesus Christ and that you are good enough on your own merits to earn your place in heaven. I myself cannot convince you otherwise. That convincing can only come from God.

I challenge you before this day is out to be still and pray to God asking is there something more than my simply believing in You, Jesus Christ. Is it true that I don’t go to heaven simply because I’ve done more good things then bad things and those bad things weren’t really bad things? Do I really need to be Born Again? If yes to these things please put a sincere desire in my heart to seek and believe in faith the Good News.

Let's Party

2009-09-26T19:27:00.002-05:00

I recall a comment my son, Cameron, made when we were discussing the importance of having God in ones life. His comment, paraphrased, was “maybe when I’m like 30 I’ll think about God, but right now I just want to party” .

Those words ached within my soul because I had been there and done that and even though I said as much, he like most kids when it comes to hearing parents words of advice gave a “whatever” response. Is partying a bad thing? Am I just an eye rolling, so boring Christian? Dictionary.com defines party when used as a verb as ‘to enjoy oneself thoroughly and without restraint; indulge in pleasure’.

I, at one time, like Cameron, had the mindset a life of partying was going to satisfy the desires of my heart. The world was telling me if I indulged my self in drinking, drugging and sex I would have a life of joyful pleasures. However, those joyful pleasures only lasted for a short time period not the lifetime I was expecting and I soon was once again dissatisfied with life.

An old Rolling Stones song “Satisfaction” has the chorus “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction.” It was one of my favorite songs because, to me, it said a lot of truth. However, the song was a lie. There is a means to get satisfaction. It comes from the one I was rejecting, just like my son Cameron is rejecting. It is God.

Those who are not of God seek enjoyment through partying in worldly ways.
Hence, they never have a lasting satisfaction and think they are missing something in life but blindly continue a life of worldly partying in hopes of being forever satisfied. They are doomed. They are attending the world’s party and it is the wrong party. The right party is God’s party. The Host is His Son Jesus Christ who died for us so we can enter through the doors to God’s party.

God created us for one primary purpose, that purpose is to glorify Him, and when we glorify Him, we will indulge in eternal pleasure and have eternal satisfaction. To glorify God you must personally know Jesus Christ. A good read on how to go about knowing Jesus Christ personally and glorifying God is Man’s Chief End is to Glorify God.

I pray you will read it and party on, to the glory of God.

Reflecting upon 9/11

2009-09-11T11:50:00.004-05:00

Probably the most common thing to ask about 9/11 is ‘where were you…’

I was in route to World’s Finest Chocolate, a client near Chicago Midway airport, when WMBI reported a plane had hit one of the World Trade Center buildings. The initial report had it possibly being a private plane not a commercial airliner. Upon arriving at the client site, where I parked on the roof of the plant, I could clearly see Sears Tower and wondered how does a plane hit a big building like that, pilot heart attack? Once at my desk WMBI reported it was a commercial airline and shortly after that, the reports came of a second commercial airliner hitting the second tower and then a third hitting the Pentagon. I commented to a co-worker “We are under attack; we are seeing the start of a war.” Tragically, the day forever remembered as ‘9/11’ unfolded.

The tragedy of 9/11 happened eight years ago today. I have no words on the actual events of 9/11 but it does cause me to reflect on the unity of our nation the days right after 9/11 verses the division today.

I remember the members of Congress singing ‘God Bless America’, seeing a semi-tractor trailer driving down the highway with awesome artwork picturing an Bald American Eagle with wings fully spread in front of a waving American flag and under it the caption ‘You have awakened a sleeping giant!’ I honked my horn in approval and the truck driver bellowed his large diesel horn. Though it came under very tragic and catastrophic circumstances, I felt a great pride in my being an American that day for the simple reason the uniting of Americans. It was no longer the right and left exchanging trash talk, it was one nation and together, united we stand against our enemy!

Sadly it was only a few months later, the unity gave way to the ideologies of the left and the right. The enemy was not the one who killed thousands of innocent people, but those who had ideologies polar to each other.

We are not a prefect nation, but the United States of America is the greatest nation when if comes to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness or in one word, 'freedom'. I’m sadden when I see its citizens not agreeing in respectful ways but disagreeing with words of negativity, even words of hate towards someone who doesn’t agree.

Why I try to respect someone’s opinions that oppose mine there are some things I wish someone would simply enlighten me.

Perhaps I am naive, but why are there so many who scream jaunt and jeers of anger towards America, especially those who live in this country, a country that allows them to scream jaunt and jeers of anger, when doing the same in the country they sympathize with in all likelihood will result in their imprisonment or even thier execution?

Perhaps I am uneducated but why are there so many who disrespect America’s leaders, a country that allows them the freedom to do so, but to disrespect the leaders in the country they sympathize with, would result in their imprisonment or even their execution?

Perhaps I am simply ignorant but why are there so many who spew words of hatred and want to squelch the evangelizing and love of Jesus Christ, but sympathize with a religion if you simply choose not to believe their religion beheads you?

To those who think I am naïve, uneducated, or simply ignorant, let me try to enlighten you to my ideology. I am blessed because I live in the United Stated of America where I have the freedom to speak freely against America’s policies and leaders and not fear imprisonment or execution and I am doubly blessed because I have Jesus Christ who teaches me to love those who disagree with my religion not behead them.

On this 8^th year of remembering the tragedies of 9/11, let us remember the freedoms of the United States of America and the love of Jesus Christ and how blessed we are.

WoW! Was That Summer 2009 That Just Went By?

2009-08-21T23:07:00.003-05:00

I thought those summer vacations from school went by fast, the summer of 2009 makes those summers seem like a one-hour dental cleaning by a dental hygienist whose own taste buds never sensed mouthwash.

I’m sitting in the comforts of my living room in the condo I affectionately refer to as the Loves Nest, listening to the rumbles of thunder and the soft patter of a steady rain, off in the distant of the misty landscape I can see the cornstalks that are now bustling seven plus feet in height. It seems like it was just last week those same cornstalks were poking the tips of their new life above the dark rich soil.

Where did the summer of 2009 go? Did I party to hardy on my birthday back in May and consequently fall asleep and without knowing it experience a 90-day siesta? If I couldn’t recall all the happenings of this summer, I would easily think I had.

Nonetheless, as fast as the summer was, it was a summer to remember. Even if the only memory of this past summer was my spending it with a godly woman, it was a summer to remember. But God is much more awesome then that. He used this summer in so many glorious ways to recall all of them would be hard but as the long hot summer days soon will be turning in to some crisp chilly autumn nights I thought I would share of some of God’s summer blessings.

Though in no particular order a definite top blessing was my wife Michelle, my heart just fills with tears as I begin to think of the joyful blessing God has given me in her. There are many things to share of how God blesses me with her being my wife but without a doubt, her love for the Lord makes me grow in my love for her daily. All those years of feeling sorry for myself, because I desired a wife, but God would not give into my timing despite all my whimpers. His timing, make so much sense now, in my own timing I wouldn’t of had one iota of a chance loving Michelle as God calls a husband to love a wife. Not that I’m great at it now, but at least now I have that one iota of a chance and how I pray that each day that iota will blossom into so much more.

Another blessing is my mom’s decision to come live with Michelle and me next year. How can one really describe all my mom has given to me in my 53+ years of life. Maybe in heaven I will but in this side of life, there is no way I know how to accomplish that task. I hope that God will bless Michelle and I with the ability to love if only a portion of the sacrificial and unconditional love my mom exhibited to my bother and sister as a single mom and still does to this day. Mom all I can say is God blessed me with the best mom I could ever have had and I love you and forever thankful to you and God.

It is hard to think I would deserve any more blessings being who I am but well that is why my God is so awesome because He never stops blessing me. Though not as tearful as the above, God has given me a clearer vision for my call to prison ministry, and it is just like God when I think I’ve got the vision 100% and am ready to run with it as a full-time vocation he humbles me and blesses me with even more vision and of course more wisdom. Such was the case this summer in taking an eight-week online course focused on correctional ministries. One can never learn enough when it comes to serving God especially if in that serving; they truly desire to glorify the One they serve.

Though my connecting with Peter may have actually happened prior to the start of summer, Peter and his wife Naomi have been a blessing in building my trust and faith in God and the call to prison ministry. I truly believe one of the primary purposes God brought Peter and Naomi in my life is to be a vessel in opening the door for Soldiers of Christ Prison Ministries. On August 28, Soldiers of Christ Prison Ministries begins a 41-week training session, authored by Peter, in Sheridan Correctional Center. This training session is focused on healing the wounded hearts of the inmates and for them to come to know who they are in Christ Jesus. I ask for prayers that the One I’ll be serving will be glorified and those who I’ll be training will become living testimonies to 2 Corinthians 5:17

Oh this post is getting long and don’t wish it to bee too long but there was the blessing of being reunited to a childhood friend, Timmy (though I think he prefers Tim now), who I’ve been trying to find for some 25 years. There was the blessing of renewing my relationship with my cousin Dean and his wife Judy, the icing of that blessing was coming to know they profess a saving faith in Jesus Christ.

There are many more blessings I could share that came in the summer of 2009. There are blessings that I can’t recall and there are blessings I won’t realize as blessings until a later time. Why am I worthy of these blessings? Truth is I’m not. However, that’s what is so neat about my God, when I think I deserve a blessing I’m often wondering when it will come. When I’m honest, confess my sin, repent, and fear God, He blesses me richly.

Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. Proverbs 28:13

It was a fast summer and one of many blessings and as much I am thankful for the blessings I do hope the fall will be a tad slower in pace but selfishly just as full of blessings.

Living Hebrews10:24-25

2009-06-06T12:05:00.002-05:00

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. – Hebrew 10:24-25

This verse was one of my original favorites as a young Christian. It resounded loudly in my heart on the importance of fellowship in community with other Christians and the importance of speaking into each others life through encouragement and loving reproof. I have learned of the many blessings of living Hebrews 10:24-25, which was evident amongst my circle of friends in my early walk with Christ. I have also learned that it is too easy to let that slip away

As a new Christian and a single parent I easily saw the need to keep community as a viable part of my life not just for me but also for all of us who called each other friend, and even brothers and sisters in Christ. I made it a personal mission to have community and be intentional in being an encouragement to those God brought into my life. There were many opportunities to live Hebrews 10:24-25 in my days of being a part of my church’s Single Parent Ministry. It was where many of us truly became one big family. However, as my son grew older and my son’s desire for ‘family fun’ dwindled and was replaced with his desire to do his own thing, I slowly drifted away from the Single Parent group.

I ended up in a Men’s Ministry to find something a former girlfriend said I needed and that was men friends. So there I connected to a few guys and formed, for the first time in my life, healthy friendships with other men. Two men in particular, Randy and Ray, became closer to me in friendship then any other adult men had ever been. We shared a lot of common trials and for me to learn that other men actually struggled with their identity as a man in the same way blew me away. In short, we lived a life of community to a new level.

A few years ago, Randy moved to North Carolina, and though we still stay in touch, we’re not really experiencing that same community of encouragement and support. Ray and I continued to speak into each others lives then Ray got married and a few years later I got married. I can’t truly blame marriage because both of our wives have encouraged us to continue to meet together as often as possible. We have, to some degree, but in truth we both stopped making our need for godly encouragement and support, as brothers in Christ, a priority.

In my self-centeredness I wasn’t aware of how much of my being intentional in living Hebrews 10:24-25 had dropped in my life compared to the days of Single Parents until this past Sunday when my, pastor, Joe Thorn, spoke on Hebrews 5:11-6:12. In that message he spoke of how many fall away in apostasy in large part for the lack of community and speaking into the lives of others. He didn’t directly refer to Hebrews 10:24-25 but the Holy Spirit convicted me of how I’ve been prideful in thinking I was being an encourager while nobody else was to me. The Holy Spirit further convicted me, as Pastor Joe talked, of how young Christians can easily be more susceptible to apostasy, as some close to me, a Christian of only a couple of months, sat a few feet away. The Holy Spirit asked me, ‘Have you spoken encouragement into his life? Have you intentionally encouraged Ray, or Randy and others in community? Are you really living Hebrews 10:24-25 as well as you think you are?’

Convictions from the Holy Spirit hurt, but they are God’s way of maturing us, molding us into what He desires us to be despite our sin against Him. He can mature us when we confess the truth in the conviction and seek His forgiveness, thanking Him for His forgiveness, and by repenting of our sin and making amends to those who we’ve sinned against, which in my case is many.

I publicly confess of not living Hebrews 10:24-25 towards others in my life and hope they will forgive me as I attempt to repent from not doing so and in fact start being intentional in having community and being an encouragement by speaking into their lives. Is there someone in your life that needs you to speak into theirs? Are you living Hebrews 10:24-25?

Apostasy in The Church - Outside and Inside the Prison Wall

2009-06-01T19:45:00.004-05:00

My Pastor Joe Thorn of Redeemer Fellowship gave a sermon titled “How can the church overcome the crisis of immaturity and the danger of apostasy to advance forward with the gospel?”. This sermon spoke to personally to my heart and soul solid on a couple of fronts. Based on Hebrews 5:11-6:12 it focuses on the importance of Christians getting into God’s Word daily, having fellowship with other Christians not just for a warm and fuzzy time but to speak into each others lives to avoid the possibility of apostasy.

The first front in the sermon speaking to me was my own walk as a Christian. There have been a couple of times in my nearly 14 years as a Christian, where I silently felt the temptation to walk away from my faith and just feed my flesh its sinful desires. Thankfully, my faith was well rooted to know God’s truth and that even though my flesh said ‘sin’ the Holy Spirit in me said ‘no’ and choose to obey the Holy Spirit. The message reminded me, I still have not arrived at a spiritual plateau where I am safe from never falling away. I at some point in my ongoing walk as a Christian will face similar temptations to fall from my faith and unless I’m intentional in studying God’s word daily, surrounding myself with other healthy Christians who can speak into me, put myself at risk of apostasy.

The second front in the sermon speaking to me was my service to Him in prison ministry. One of the most common experiences I see in prison ministry is the first seed described in the Parable of the Sower. This is where the seed sowed by the sower falls on the path and birds quick snatch away the seeds before it can even begin to take root. The meaning of the parable is the seed is representative of God’s word and the bird is representative of the evil one, Satan. It happens way to often in prison ministry that an inmate hears the Gospel and makes a commitment to live a life based on the Gospel. However, because of little or no discipleship of the Gospel or little or no fellowship with other healthy Christians the inmate succumbs to apostasy, before they even really have a chance of truly living a Christian life.

It is one of my heart’s greatest desires that God will use me in my call to prison ministry to develop the Soldiers of Christ Prison Ministries to get inmates past not only the first seed of the parable, but to become the seed that falls on good soil and bear fruit hundredfold. The vision of SOCPM is not only having inmates hear the Gospel but to make certain they get discipleship in God’s Word. To see that his or her discipleship goes beyond the feeding of milk, but solid food by equipping them to become teachers of the Word so they in return can bear fruit hundredfold. That the fellowship while still incarcerated is not with only fellow incarcerated Christians that make up the church inside the prison walls but they have fellowship with the church outside the walls of prison. A key piece of this is the church outside the walls sponsor the equipped Christian as a Soldier of Christ missionary within the churches inside the prison walls.

We ask for your prayers as led by the Holy Spirit in this call; Pray for SOCPM in connecting prison ministries to accomplish this mission. Pray for the many Department of Corrections to be open to the programs of SOCPM and partner ministries. Pray for the inmates to not only hear the Gospel but to live the Gospel daily and grow in their maturity to become fully armored Soldiers of Christ bearing fruit hundredfold.

The Blessing of Freedom

2009-05-25T09:48:00.003-05:00

I am truly a blessed man, I have a God who loves me and whose Son died for me so I may have eternal life. I have a godly and beautiful wife named Michelle. I have a son Cameron who is a fine young man. I have a mother who a child could not ask to be a better mom. I have a job, good health, loving friends and so much more, it is hard to appreciate all of God’s blessings to the fullest. One of them is living in the United States of America.

I sadly take the blessings of living in this great country for granted. I’m fully expecting when I wake up each day to go to a bathroom that has working plumbing including hot water to shower. I’m fully expecting to have drinking water a few steps away; I’m fully expecting to fire up my computer and have other electric stuff to do what it was made to do. All of this within the first few minutes of my day I take for granted.

One of the other blessings I take for granted is my freedom. The freedom to express my faith in Jesus Christ (though some would like to squelch that, but that is another blog posting), the freedom to speak my dislikes of my government policies, the freedom to choose where I get my news and the freedom to do much, much more.

The blessing of freedom did not come and does not continue to come free. It has a big price, a very big price. The payers of that price were thousands if not millions of men and women. They paid it through the sacrifice of war. I’m talking of those who paid it by being away from loved ones for long periods of time, those who paid it by enduring the horrors of war, those who paid it by experiencing a casualty and those who paid it through their dying in a war. War is not a pretty word, but it is a reality if we want to have the blessing of freedom.

However, we do not and should not take it for granted. Today is a the day we call Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, it was enacted on May 30, 1868 to celebrate the nations reunification after the Civil War and after World War I was expanded to include all American casualties of all American wars or military action as a day designated for honoring the American soldier.

You can honor the American soldier in many ways. You can fly the American flag (formally, it should fly at half-staff). You can visit and place flowers on the grave of an American soldier. You can buy poppies from a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. You can simply taking a pause from the barbeque, sporting event, or other traditional way of celebrating including having a day off work, and give thanks to God for the price paid by these men and women so you can continue to have the blessing of freedom in still the greatest country in the world, the United States of America.

Favorite Hymns

2009-05-17T08:55:00.003-05:00

Michelle and I attended a concert last evening at the church of some friends, where we enjoyed some good worship. The worshiping included a mixture of contemporary worship songs and traditional hymns. The leader of the worship Natarsha did a beautiful singing of what she mentioned was her favorite hymn "How Great is They Faithfulness"

Her mentioning 'favorite' of course brought to mind my favorite "Amazing Grace" but also another favorite "How Great Thou Art". There are other favorites to "How Great is They Faithfulness" being one, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" , "In The Garden" ....

The list could go on and I guess one of the amazing things is at one time in my life, (with the exception of "Amazing Grace", which I've always like to bag pipes but never understood the meaning behind the words), I would have rolled my eyes and cringed at these songs. Just another example of how having God in my life has changed me.

I'm interested in finding out your favorite Hymns, I'm going to be a bit picky and ask you to pick what is termed 'traditional hymns' but if there is a contemporary one go ahead and post it. I won't delete it, though I may razz you if I happen to see you, but I'll razz you in a Christian way of course

Playoff Hockey and the Joy of it or the lack of it

2009-05-13T09:31:00.011-05:00

For those of you who know me, you probably know I am a fan of hockey and the team I root for is the Chicago Blackhawks. The Chicago Blackhawks are currently in pursuit of winning the National Hockey League’s coveted Stanley Cup. They just advanced to the Western Conference Finals. If they win the best of seven games in the WCF, they advance to the finals and if they win there, they can hoist the Stanley Cup, the dream of all hockey players since boyhood and a dream for fans to witness it.

However not all Blackhawk fans are fully enjoying this pursuit for the Cup. Why, because many of the current players will be free agents, which means after July 1 they can sign with any team who is willing to pay the salary they want and in some cases are willing to compensate the Chicago Blackhawks for signing the player. The Blackhawks can try to resign or match any salary offer but because the leagues has a cap on a teams overall player payroll, the Blackhawks will have limited dollars to match those offers.

This has many fans worried and posting to online sites that when star players go to new teams next season will be a step backwards and so don't get to excited because the fun won't last. They are criticizing the General Manager Dale Tallon for doing a poor job of managing the salaries, how ownership should fire him, blah, blah and more blah. In short, they want something or someone to blame for the end of the joy they are currently experiencing.

Yes, the resigning of these young players is going to be a challenge and yes, some of the players will move on. It is the human nature for most to go for the money since self is what is truly most important to most people including our idolized sports stars. They will easily forget the loyalty to the fans they speak so highly of now. There are fans everywhere, so why not go where there is both money and fans.

If the Hawks take a step back next year, my life will go on. I enjoy hockey and am enjoying this season greatly. Sadly, many fans are not fully enjoying the excitement because they are worried about tomorrow. They are not fully experiencing the joy of today because they fear the leaving of star players tomorrow. However, as excited as I am about the Hawks possibly wining the Stanley Cup my joy is complete. Because my joy is complete in God and God alone. He will never leave or forsake me I need not be discouraged Deuteronomy 31:8. He will not get an offer sheet for more money from the dreaded Detroit Red Wings and flee to Motor City leaving a big void in my life. Even if the Hawks come in last place, I will still have God to comfort my short-term despair and He will remind me how much enjoyment I had when the United Center (where the Hawks play) was empty and I could stretch out at games and still have fun watching hockey win or lose.

I cannot control the decisions of which players Tallon resigns nor can I control the players in their pursuit of riches and fans elsewhere. Therefore, if it happens, and all the players go seek fame and fortune elsewhere, it happens, it was fun while it happened.

What I can control is the excitement I'm experiencing right now, by not fretting over is not in my control, but rather enjoy the moment God has blessed me with and if I can be a witness to the hosting of the Cup, what a greater blessing it will be - GO HAWKS!!!

Complaining or Training? The Choice is ours

2009-05-08T22:29:00.003-05:00

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:11 ESV

The above verse is one I often use in my prison ministry when I do cell by cell visits. I tell the inmates that they can use their time of incarceration in one of two ways.

They can look upon it as a punishment for something they did or didn’t do. They can blame everyone from a lousy lawyer to a lying witness, everyone else, and everything else in between for their imprisonment. They can continue taking no personal responsibility and spend all their time of incarceration believing their life is all because of unfair world. This in all likelihood will cause them upon their release to come out feeling more anger, more pain and more resentment then day they first arrived. In short complain and not accomplish anything fruitful.

On the other hand, they can look upon this time of incarceration as a time of discipline. A time to grow in wisdom first by coming to having a fear of God but in that fear draw closer to God and know His mercy and His love. They can meditate on His Word and reflect on what really brought them to the place. They can gain wisdom on how to make better choices; they can discover the hurts they’ve experienced and find true healing not of this world but of God’s Kingdom. They can become a new creation and leave prison with a hope not in themselves or man but of a sovereign God who loves them and knowledge on how to love others and have a peaceful fruit of righteousness.

I start my close by asking them what do they want the first option or the second option. Usually those who were truly listening choose the second option. I tell them the key to the verse in Hebrews 12:11 is that word ‘trained’. I then share with them Joshua 1:8. Where we are told to meditate on Book of Law day and night, to be careful to do all that is in so that we may be prosperous and have success (not in our worldly will but in God’s will). I may also read Proverbs 2:1-6, sharing wisdom does not come through our own understanding but from God’s words. Then go back to Hebrews 12:11 that no discipline can produce the harvest if one is not trained.

The sad part of this is quite often I don’t practice what I preach. When a trial comes my way, I can easily moan and groan about the unfairness of my situation, not heeding any of the above nor heeding James 1:2-3 and counting it as joy. I don’t know about you, but I think I need more of God’s training then I’m currently seeking.

I am Intolerant of Intolerance

2009-04-20T18:03:00.006-05:00

Pick any topic today and state your beliefs on it and with 100% certainty there is someone else walking this planet that will have a different opinion (belief) then you. Truth is there will be many who will have many different opinions and you will not have to walk far on this planet to find them. It is a good bet you will not have to walk more then a few feet on any major city block

There are some beliefs where it is safe to say that the vast majority will agree on. For example the belief, ‘the sun is bright’. If by chance you were to encounter someone who would disagree with that statement, you we might ask them their belief and if they gave some way out theory as to why they believe the sun is not bright, you would in all likely hood shrug their belief off and say something like “whatever”. You might to say to your self “Wow that person is a whack job” but it is unlikely you would go off on a rant and call the person names and wish them ill will. I at least hope you would not and if you did not, you would be exhibiting tolerance.

However, when there are disagreements on ones beliefs on subjects more deeply rooted into a person’s being, intolerance is becoming more the norm in today’s culture. It has become so prevalent that I for one am becoming, no make that, have become intolerant of all this intolerance.

Nowadays, it seems like no matter how silly the difference of opinion may be at least one of the individuals or sides resort to immediate name calling. We are not talking playground names, we are talking vulgar names. It does not end with name calling; it continues with mocking, wishing one ill will, and many other disrespectful acts, sometimes even threats and an act upon those threats.

Look at the comments posted after almost any online news article and there will be at least one if not more where someone is expressing an intolerance of someone in the news article, fellow posters, but quite often both.

A recent news article on the accidental death of a former Democratic Congressman Bill Orton while riding an ATV resulted in several disrespectful comments referring to him as scum, saying he deserved it and one wishing the same for Ted Kennedy. Now I’m not a supporter of Ted Kennedy, but I do not wish him or his family a tragic death nor am I elated over the death of Congressman Bill Orton. The reason for the outrage towards Orton is simply he was a politician and or a politician of the wrong political party.

In the words of Rodney King, ”Why can’t we all just get along”, or, why not do as Jesus Christ tells us, “'Love your neighbor as yourself”.

I will bet that last statement made someone cringe and it was not so much the statement but the fact that Jesus Christ said it. As a Christ follower, I feel that Christians are the target of false accusation as being the most intolerant and that Christians are the least tolerated.

From Boys to Men to Dads, Malachi Dads

2009-03-30T10:38:00.003-05:00

It was a blessing to be a part of my first Awana Returning Hearts Celebration this past weekend in Louisiana State Penitentiary more commonly known as Angola. There were many highlights but one of the most memorable was Friday evening when inmates graduated from Malachi Dads, another program of Awana’s Lifeline Prison Ministry.

The Malachi Dads primary verse is Malachi 4:6. It is a yearlong program teaching the inmates what it is to be a godly parent. Despite being behind bars, they receive instruction on how to raise their kids spiritually in hopes of breaking the cycle of crime within their families. As designated on the Malachi Dads website, they develop their skills in five key areas: fathering, spiritual, educational, moral and vocational.

Friday evening roughly 50+ inmate dads graduated from Malachi Dads and as each dad’s name was called to receive a certificate recognizing him and his accomplishment, I couldn’t help but not notice that just about all of them had a boyish grin. I suspect for most of them being recognized for doing something good, was a seldom, if ever, a childhood memory they experienced. I also suspect for many of these men, it was an awkward moment as they walked up to get their certificate knowing they had completed a challenging course and being acknowledged with loud applause from peers and persons in position of authority.

What I witnessed after all the names were called was what I can call a ‘morphing’ of grinning boys to mature men. The inmate dads in a loud, soundly and serious voice of commitment, shouted in unison the Malachi Dads Pledge to be the dad’s their children so desperately need if the cycle of doing drugs, committing crimes and being incarcerated is to end in their lives.

To see this ‘morphing’ was once again to me a testimony of God’s amazing grace, mercy, love and forgiveness to all of us and why for me it is a joy to be His servant in prison ministry and share what He has done for me to those on the inside of the walls of concrete and barbed wire fences.

First to Him who ‘We love, because He first loved us’ be the glory, second to the Malachi Dads may you and your children be blessed in this journey out of the miry clay.

Holiness

2009-03-21T22:30:00.007-05:00

My Pastor Joe Thorn pretty much every week recommends a book to read on the topic he is teaching. Even though I love to read, my time to do so is minimal. I am one of those individuals who will open a book prior to bed, read about five pages and am zonked before any of what I have just read finds a brain cell to call home.

However, Joe in his own blog (JOETHORN.NET) “Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots” by J C Ryle as one of the best five most influential books in his life. That is a bold statement from someone like Joe, who reads “a lot”.

So I took the challenge actually found an online version and today read the; Introduction and chapter 1 Sin. The intro was a bit slow in getting my interest, but I found it a good reading nonetheless so I figured I read Sin and Sanctification today as well.

I did not make it to Sanctification and not because I zonked out on Sin. (I had to do some house stuff. It comes with marriage.) I found Sin to be very enlightening and to the point. I found myself reading each reference to Scripture and absorbing all of what Ryle says about Sin.

Ryle’s style reminded me of the style Paul used in Romans, my favorite book of the New Testament. I am not a political correct person, nor was Paul in writing Romans, nor is Ryle in writing what I have read thus far of “Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots”

An interesting point I observed in as I was reading Holiness is, though it was first published in 1879, the points Ryle addresses of ignorance to sin, is very much like today’s ignorance to sin by both Christians and the non-religious.

The bottom line it was only one chapter, but if the rest of Holiness is as to the point and styled like Sin, Holiness will join the ranks of top influential reads in my life.

I urge my Christian friends and challenge my secular friends to read Holiness, if only the chapter on Sin.

For a free online version, from Grace Gems click Holiness

For a paper back copy from Amazon click Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots

I hope to post more as I read further

Going to Angola

2009-03-19T13:31:00.003-05:00

A week from today I’ll be on a bus ride to Angola, no not Angola Africa, but Angola Louisiana, home to Louisiana State Penitentiary an 18,000 acre maximum security prison, home to 5,100 men. I will be one of many volunteers to serve in Returning Hearts Celebration. RHC is a very special day that reunites children for a day of fun, that will include face painting, clowns, moon walks and the like, but moist important it is a day for the children of the inmates to experience Christ’s love and reconciliation with their imprisoned dads.

I signed up on two previous occasions to be a volunteer for RHC but they were cancelled due to hurricanes Katrina in 2005 and Gustav in 2008 (Awana and Angola, after last year’s cancellation moved RHC to the spring season) so with no hurricanes in the forecast I’m excited to being a part of RHC 2009.

I’ve done prison ministry at Angola on four previous occasions but this will be special in that it involves the kids. Some may argue that these kids may be better off with out their dads and that may be true in some cases but truth is kids need their dads and through another Awana program Malachi Dads Christian inmates are being taught how to be godly dads even though they are behind bars in prison. The aim of Awana is to stop what can be a generation to generation of incarceration.

Will you help? Please pray over the next 10 days for the matters of prayer suggested by Awana.

Pray that both children and adults who attend the celebration will have the opportunity to accept Christ as their Savior and Lord.
Pray that God would bless and direct all happenings throughout the Returning Hearts Celebration event, Guardian program and the Malachi Dads Program
Pray for the warden, the chaplain, assistant wardens, assistant chaplains, correctional officers and prison staff.
Pray for the various ministries in this initiative.
Pray for the caregivers and those who minister to the children daily.
Pray for the safety of the children, volunteers and inmates.
Pray for the logistics of the day.
Pray for God’s protection in all transportation to and from the prison for all who attend.
Pray for the inmates that they will find peace when their children leave the prison and peace for the children as they return home.
Pray for the weather that we will be able to carry out the event.

I’ll update you to how God worked and how He humbled and blessed me shortly after my return.

I’m Facebooked!!

2009-03-17T13:32:00.015-05:00

Is that how I’m to say it? Probably not and I’m no doubt showing my ‘I'm so not with it loser’ side and embarrassing my son, but after having actually created a profile in Facebook in the beginning of February (see Social Networking Websites February 5^th Post), I finally got around to updating my profile so as to have more then just a blue silhouette. I've even included pictures.

Then I did took the big step of inviting those suggested by Facebook from my gmail (I'm not sure how FB determines who to suggest since it didn't suggest all my contacts nor those who I have an sent or received e-mail) asking if they would be my friend and before I knew it I had like, 13 friends and gosh golly, I have something like umpteen billion posts to my wall!!! Well not exactly that many wall posts but it’s getting close. For those of you who are so not with it, a wall is like you main FB page and all your activity posted including updating your friends at to what’s happening in life at any given moment. You know those things, you just got to know, if your day is to be complete.

Now I know my 13 friends is a joke to those other Facebookers who have 100+ friends (my brother in law Joe has 450+ friends but he has that shaved head look going for him). I’m still waiting to see if my son Cameorn will accept my invite. I imagine one of his worse fears is that by accepting his frineds will see his dad’s profile and have them write to his wall “Wow dude that’s your dad? I feel your embaressment”

So with 13 friends and counting and the question is; will I become an addict to Facebook as my sister–in-law Jen has cautioned? I don't think so I expect teh neweness will rub off and if it doesn't my wife Michelle (thus far she is not interested in FB) will remind me I have more important things to do like; clean the litter box, carry out the trash and pick-up my socks.

I have to admit there are a lot of neat things I can do on my profile and see how one can easily get excited over Facebook. I can link to my Flickr account so you can see the thousands upon thousands of pictures of butterflies and birds from I took on my honeymoon; I even can link to this blog and with 13 friends become the next king of blogging!! And I, and I, I can post favorite books, movies, foods!! I, I , I can discover what my friends favorites things!!! Maybe evevn have sleepovers!! Oh boy!! I'm getting excited!!!

There is even a thing called “Causes” which are just that, "Causes" You can join various groups that relate to things I’m passionate about. I’ve joined two already; Stop Abortion and Prison Fellowship. No silly talk here, since these are things I’m passionate about and humor is not allowed on passionate things (as an FYI I went from a happy face : - ) to a serious face : - | as I wrote this paragraph)

Now back to : - ) - I’m looking to find out more about the many things I can do and who knows I just may become a Facebook addict and will be posting to your wall soon that I’m clipping my nose and ears hairs.

Well I love to tell you more but I gotta go and check my friend count I’m feeling 15 is right around the corner. I’m cool baby I’m cool I’m facebooked!!

A 12 yr-old I recommend you hear

2009-02-21T07:45:00.007-06:00

There is girl name Lia who I recommend you listen to. Lia is a 12 year-old and in addition to her story her, she reminds me that God is still working and He is working in the lives of Lia and many more young children and that I need to continue my trust in Him.

I came across Lia and her story in Tasha Easterling’s blog. There are two parts in Tasha’s blog PART ONE and PART TWO. In quick summary; part one tells of Lia giving a presentation to her class on her pro-life convictions and how it ended up on You Tube and Part Two follows up with how Lia’s You Tube video change one person’s mind in forgoing an abortion and thus saving the life of a child.

Click here to hear and see Lia's video

I wish I could say the story of Lia’s courageous words was the end of the story but sadly there is more. Lia’s parents decided to end the comments on You Tube because of the many comments of insults and threats towards Lia, who was jsut expressing her viewpoints of the life an innocent unborn children

The fact that some choose to vent insults and threats is is truly sad.

So much for the leftist viewpoint that us Christians need to be tolerant like those from the "love everybody" left.

The Stimulus Package Part 1

2009-02-10T09:51:00.003-06:00

I’m really struggling with keeping my posts short so I’ve decided to talk about the stimulus package over a few posts.

This package has a lot of pages and it has a lot of stuff and unless one researches they will not know all the content. My first suggestion is to get your self a copy of the Stimulus Bill; click here to do so. We will be fed many viewpoints from various news and blogs sources (like this one) over the next few days so be equipped by knowing what the bill contains.

Sadly many individuals are not properly informed. They have their favorite resources that undoubtedly are biased of the ideology they support feeding them what they want to hear or read. That may not be a bad thing. We all like to have our beliefs confirmed but I believe in order to have an intelligent conversation I need to know the other sides position and reasoning.

President Obama and the democrats say there is no pork barrel spending or earmarks but according to Republicans there is. So who is telling you the truth?

I suggest you get a clear definition of pork barrel spending and earmarks.

With a copy of the Stimulus Bill and a definition of pork barrel spending and earmarks you have the minimum tools to investigate what Washington D. C is offering you. I also suggest you pray for wisdom as you investigate.

I’m not one who likes to fear monger, but the truth is unless the citizens of this country start getting wise and know the truth and see all that glitters is not gold, this country could spiral into a true crisis.

Over the next few days, though not consecutively as I may be busy with other parts of my life, I’ll try to present both positives and negatives of the stimulus bill as I come across them in my own investigation, but also challenge you to investigate my findings. I will try not to be biased. Although, I’m inherently inclined to be biased because we all have biases towards our own values and morals. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m socially and fiscally conservative and hold strong Bible based Christian values. I tell you that so you have a full understanding where I'm coming from.

That bias may offend some but I can’t apologize for who I am so I won’t. I will try to present those Christian based values to you by being as fair and opened minded as I humanly can, through prayer and conviction.

It is only through wisdom, and that I believe comes through prayer, discernment and more prayer, can we as a nation accomplish sound actions of integrity and continue to be a nation of opportunity and blessings to those who desire life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Health Food versus Good Food

2009-02-09T17:40:00.006-06:00

No politics today, unless you consider the eating of fruits and veggies as opposed to those other foods AKA fried stuff, gravies, sweets and the like, as two opposing political parties or more simply put the Health Food Party versus the Good Food Party. If that is the case for you, I'm sorry for another political posting.

Getting healthy though is a matter NOT to be taken in a light hearted manner (however since I'm a light hearted guy on things I don't want to admit I'm challenged with, I'll be sarcastic, remember it's my blog and I can break the rules).

My take on the eating of veggies is it is the same as raking up grass clippings after mowing the lawn on a wet day, tossing them on a plate and being forced to eat them with a smile on your face. I’m not ever going to be a vegan who after downing a bushel full of rabbit food is ready to run 10 miles, even if the temperature outside is 20 below. As I’ve said many times, I’m carnivorous to the bone, so for me, eating healthy is a tough challenge.

The challenge is the lobbyists of the Good Food Party AKA my taste buds and the lobbyists of the Healthy Food Party AKA veggies are like oil and water, they just don't mix well. However, the constituents of my fine body AKA my heart, having an maternal ancestry of diseased hearts, have heard for many years now the need for a bill, something like a stimulus bill to give it a shot of fresh vigor and remove the sluggish cholesterol clogging the hearts infrastructure. A healthy Scottie heart would make all the other nations in my world AKA loved ones and doctors, and as in all fairy tales every one would live happily ever after (hold on I need to wipe a tear).

So the Good Food Party lobbyist AKA taste buds are willing to compromise and let more veggies into the borders of my body, if the veggies are willing to change their taste and become more accommodating to the taste buds desires for more appealing flavors and consistencies. For example if the broccoli faction is willing to taste more like Thai spicy fried rice with chicken minus the bean sprouts and onions, the taste buds are willing to endure the trials of having 4 or more servings of green stuff a day. If those disgusting critters called onions are willing to change their slimy consistency, to a more appealing consistency like Dove’s Irresistible Raspberry Ice Cream, the taste buds would be willing to invite the onions to be part of more meals. If cauliflower were willing taste like a charred polish sausage, cauliflower would find its way on the taste buds weekly menu. In short the Healthy Food Party needs to reach across the aisle and taste like the Good Food Party. Then the Good Food Party will in return be willing to reach across the aisle and consume less ice cream and fried food.

However the veggie lobbyists have not moved an pinch of spice on taste, because of their stubbornness to compromise on taste we have an impasse and thus no peace accord (those stubborn veggies).

The taste buds lobbyist and me are more then willing (well not all that willing but in hopes of getting a healthy heart, we will try to be willing) to come to the dinner table of peace to see if there is alternative means to alter the yuk veggie tastes by adding spices and or other things such as cooking methods (steam and raw we say boo to you) in hopes to find a happy medium of taste.

As for those from the lobbyist group of fruits I think we can reach a easy solution of peace The lobbyist of fruits are much more friendly then those veggie types and offer flavor tastes, such as our good friend Mr. Raspberry, his niece Miss Strawberry, then there is the grape family, and of course the very fine tasting pineapple folks. If only the veggies would take the lead of the fruits, there be no need for such drastic legislation

Are only concerns with the fruit lobby is we wish they would come washed and cut in bite size pieces at a reasonable cost, but perhaps another day another bill.

In short this blog posting is a request for a peace with veggies that have an ice cream friendly brown gravy taste through creative recipes.

So if you have any thing to post that can help the war between the veggies and my taste buds resulting in a peaceful and healthy heart, you can someday tell friends and families you helped write the peace treaty between one of the world's most two opposing forces.

In closing and with a true serious tone, I've been blessed with a beautiful wife, a great son, many wonderful friends and a passion to serve the Lord and want to bless them all in return with many more years of being the person God created me to be to them.

So I'm open to books, websites, and recipes, what ever to get myself healthy.

Good Eating to all

Christians before Government Writers Alone

2009-02-07T12:05:00.002-06:00

In yesterday’s blog I wrote on how we as citizen’s need to take action and write our legislators on matters that we oppose as Christians and citizens, instead of just complaining to family and friends of the moral and economical decay of our society.

I was reminded by my lovely wife Michelle that as Christians, we need to minister to those, like the 18 year-old in the story, who are seeking an abortion, and share the message of God’s love and present them alternatives in the choices they can make. She meant this to include not just a woman choosing abortion but all who struggle with sin and the wise choices that are available to them make.

I couldn't agree more and want to address what Christians can do in addition to writing our legislators. In fact as Christians we should pursue the reaching out more then writing legislators.

To keep today’s blog short and simple; I will keep the focus on ministering to those who are facing unplanned pregnancies. There are numerous faith-based organizations that one can become involved a few are;

Pregnancy Centers

Heartbeat International

Care Net

There are more, so I suggest you Google ‘pro-life’ or similar catch all phrase. Even if truly don’t have the time to volunteer, become informed, if only to learn how to counsel someone who is facing an unexpected pregnancy. You never know when God may call upon you to be the one to minister to a woman in such a predicament.

Last but not least pray! Pray for wisdom for all concerned, pray for strength, pray for guidance, pray for God to be glorified. Pro-life advocacy faces many challenges and obstacles in the very foreseeable future under an administration that is very pro abortion. Pray for the Pro-life advocacy, that through God’s Word they will be heard and for those who hear, that they will be transformed and become a testimony to 2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

A Baby Dies in Florida

2009-02-06T09:33:00.006-06:00

A primary reason for my deciding to write a blog is to write on subjects that I'm passionate about, unfortunately some of them are controversial and some of the controversial are just outright tragic and sad. Such is the case to day.

On my drive to work today I heard a story of an abortion in Florida that made me pause in true despair. You may have heard of the story but if not here is a link to to the article written by the Associated Press. In short, in July 2006 an 18 year-old woman went to a Miami, Florida clinic to abort her 23 week pregnancy. However before the doctor who was to perform the procedure showed up the 18 year-old went into labor and delivered a live baby girl. What happened next is horrific. An owner of the clinic, who has no medical license, cut the living baby's umbilical cord, placed the living baby in a plastic bio hazard bag and threw it out.

Shocked? Horrified? Welcome to the United States of America, land of the free home and brave, but not the responsible or accountable. Accountability and responsibility for one's actions is not on oneself but the government and or some government funded or sponsored organization.

It is becoming more and more the norm for one to flee from the consequences of their actions and expect the government to write legislation giving them the right to do what they want no matter what consequence, even if the consequence is murdering a living baby. Many of today’s legislatures are all the more ready to write the legislation to protect them from their consequence, especially if is a means to get campaign contributions and be reelected.

Now I may be getting a bit excited in saying this tragic story is a reality because of the legislators, but the bottom line is that legislation like FOCA will make the above tragedy all the more prevalent. The FOCA bill will override any existing legislation that protects the life of an unborn child, including partial birth abortion. Warning this article is graphic.

I remember once telling a lady co-worker about partial birth abortion and she laughed and said "Oh come on, no way would they allow something like that to happen". Welcome to the United States of America where it does happen and it happens a lot and FOCA will allow it to happen a lot more. President Obama campaigned very much behind FOCA and will sign it as one of his first acts as President.

Obama appears to be one who likes being accepted and if he was to hear how many are against FOCA, he just may change his mind. Quit being a complainer of the way things are to your family and friends only! Write President Obama your legislator. Let them know where you stand. Click this sentence to find on how to contact your legislative leader.

Social Networking Websites

2009-02-05T09:06:00.002-06:00

Social Networking Websites have become one of the latest to do things in cyberspace. If you are like me and not 100% up on just what social network websites are, they’re places someone can go set up a profile telling just about any and everything about their self, include pictures and depending upon the actual website keep those you connect to updated with what is happening in your world. You can even have one line statement that informs the connected what you are doing at any given moment. For example; Wednesday February 4, 2009 @ 07:32 PM Scott is writing a post for his blog, or Scott is brushing his teeth, or Scott is telling the cats the stimulus package is a waste of taxpayer’s money (probably preparing for a future blog).

Anyway these social networks have a lot of people keeping everyone updated to the latest goings on in one’s life. MySpace has some 250+ million registered users. Facebook and Tagged have another 140 and 70 million respectively.

I originally hooked up with a site named Plaxo, not for social networking but for keeping contact info of people I knew up to date. When I first started using Plaxo, its purpose was to provide a contact update service. Registered users could have their contact software, in my case Outlook, be automatically updated with a fellow registered user’s contact info when ever it changed. I joined because it was very possible someone’s e-mail or phone number might change and if I was not on the “persons who must be contacted with my new contact info or else the world will end as we know it list”, the world can rest in peace and be assured of my being updated with their new info and thus saving the world as we know it. I think over a two year period my using Plaxo saved the world about two times.

Then in August 2007 Plaxo announced Plaxo Plus a social networking service. I didn’t fully understand the social network thing but since it was a freebie I upgraded. My hope was that I would be able to expand my personal network of people involved in prison ministry and in return be able to help others who had a prison ministry need by being ‘socially networked’ in prison ministry.

Sure enough I started getting lots of suggestions of people who I might want to connect to. These suggestions as I best understand it come from people who are connected to people I have in Outlook and are registered users of Plaxo. However there is one problem that I had with Plaxo. For me to see someone’s profile, to see if there is a common interest in some capacity in prison ministry, I have to connect to them. Though I’d like to think all the nice people in this world and even some not so nice know me just by name and my thumbnail picture, that is not the case.

So my quandary is how do I know if someone is worth connecting too if I don’t know squat about them and they don’t have a clue as to who the dude with the double chin smile is that wants to connect to them?

I recently in attempt to be cooler joined ‘Facebook’ in hopes I find some old friends from days gone by. So I created my profile, did a search on my high school and I get a bunch of matches, 67 to be exact. Oh boy I can’t wait to find a name from the past and say via a connect e-mail; Hey what’s happening? Remember me? Out of 67 just one name sounded remotely familiar. Bummer well what if I try looking for a name. I key in a name and get 100+ matches. That’s a lot of profiles to review but hey to find Dave it would be worth it. I click on one of the Dave names and Facebook tells me, like I am told in Plaxo, I must be connected to see the person’s profile. It is true some people went to the same social school as Alfred E Newman went to and say ‘What, me worry?” and will let any crazed person with web access see their profile, but most do worry and keep their profiles hidden.

Now I’m not ripping the social network sites, I’m actually trying to see if I’m just a totally dumb guy who needs to be enlightened on this social network phenomenon as to how to connect to a possible ministry network source or find that long lost friend from high school and tell them there is a God and he works miracles. Look what He did to me!

So if you have some helpful feedback and can express it in a kind manner (my feelings will be hurt and I may bark at my wife’s cats if you post in a rude way) on how I can use a social network like Plaxo to network for prison ministry or find a long lost friend on Facebook or know of a social website that could do what I’m expecting from Plaxo or Facebook please post your wisdom so I can be enlightened and be cool like the million other social network addicts.

Welcome to the Blog of This & That & Lots of Blah

2009-02-04T11:09:00.000-06:00

I've always been told I'm a talker and have been told several times that I should join the blogging community.

The former I can agree with 100%, I can just about talk about anything to anyone. As to whether those I'm talking to are enjoying it is another thing or if I’m actually saying anything of value is all in the opinion of the listener.

As for blogging I've always been hesitant because I suck at typing, my writing skills, well let's just say in school, my English papers had more red ink from teachers then my own original black ink. Plus time! Who has enough time to blog; when one is newly married and wants to be attentive to his wife, works full time, is trying to develop a prison ministry, try to pass wisdom on to a teenage son, and just a lot of other things. Plus who would care what some 52 year old guy name Scott Kalas whose only claim to fame is zilch, has to say?

Well truth is I like to think I'm more then a "52 year old guy name Scott Kalas whose only claim to fame is zilch" The first counter to that is as a person with a strong Christian faith the Bible tells me I am someone created for a purpose. So perhaps that purpose is to be the next blog king??

Well my becoming the next blog king is not the reason I've decided to give it a try. I simply decided to give it a try because I am a passionate person who can be opinionated on a lot of things and would like to express them to see if I'm in the mainstream or if I’m the one who is in need of some deep psycho therapy. I'd like to think I can respect the opinions of those who disagree with me but I’m stubborn so that will be a challenge, but I do like to have ‘lively’ discussions on many things and a blog is probably the best place to have that since, doing it over a few glasses of wine with friends can damage some friendships

So I’ve decided to do the blog thing, as for the topics of this blog? It's my hope to have it cover just about anything; serious issues that have an impact on the world we live in, to light hearted matters that can make us laugh and all things in between.

Though I can't control it I do ask that if you post a comment you do so without vulgarity and respect the opinions of others. Even when we think those opinions are the dumbest, most idiotic and the poster has a brain made of 100% dog piles. Let's not nit pick on poor grammar and or resort to personal attacks as a means to minimize someone’s opinions AKA let's not act like we’re politicians running for public office. Let's as a guy name Rodney once say 'Let’s all just try to get along'

With that said I'll just say welcome, I hope your visit to my blog will be a joyful and blessed experience and truly hope as time passes I'll gain wisdom and share what I gain.