He went to the museum late one afternoon.
He saw a beautiful oil painting.
It was a sunset beach scene in vivid colors:
gorgeous pastels of pink, orange and lavender.
He stood before the painting in awe.
He marveled at how many weeks
the artist must have toiled
over the details of this masterpiece.
With every stroke of brush on canvas
the artist had labored purposefully
to fulfill his vision.
How could anyone fail to appreciate
the magnificent craftsmanship
of such a creative endeavor?
Truly incredible.
Later, as he was leaving the museum,
he noticed the sun setting in the west.
Thin scattered clouds were aflame in crimson.
A flock of geese flew into the glaring horizon.
A whispering breeze caressed his face.
He stopped to admire the scene.
He marveled at how many billions of years
it must have taken for the universe
to randomly form itself into such beauty.
Truly incredible.
Then he walked on home,
as foolish and ignorant
as the day he was born.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Grand Mufti Orders Church Eradication
Another outrageous story that we won't hear about from our blind guides in the liberal media -- a call for the total destruction of all churches on the Saudi Arabian peninsula. Why am I not surprised? READ MORE
Monday, February 27, 2012
Who Crumbled the Girl Scout Cookies?
Indiana State Representative Bob Morris caught a lot of flak this past week after he decided not to endorse a resolution from the Indiana House honoring the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts.
His fellow Republicans immediately threw him under the bus. He was ridiculed on local radio stations and in the Indianapolis Star. The story quickly went viral. He was lampooned in the national press and even got slammed by Dave Letterman.
It's awfully easy to jump on the bandwagon and poke fun at a man who disses the Girl Scouts.
It takes a little bit of thought and effort to examine the facts and get some perspective on the reasons for his decision.
Like most Americans, I have always held the Girls Scouts in high esteem. I was a sucker for all those annual Girl Scout fundraisers. How could you turn down a sales pitch by one of those cute little cookie-pushers?
What could be more American, more wholesome, more unassailable than the Girl Scouts?
There are millions of American women who cherish fond memories of the scouting days of their youth; women who are proud of their association with the Girl Scouts, and rightly so.
So I decided to poke around and check out some of the anti-Girl Scout sites on the web. I regret to report that there seems to be a huge difference between the Girl Scouts of yesterday and the Girl Scouts of today.
Before you tolerant liberals start sending me nasty hate mail, please indulge me in two requests for objectivity and rationality.
1) Don't go off like the morons who have posted sarcastic comments about "commie pinko leftist" Girl Scouts selling cookies at the mall. My dispute is with the agenda of the national leadership, and certainly not with any of the local Girl Scouts who are being exploited.
2) Do a little research. The most persuasive site I visited is hosted by two teen-age girls who spent eight years together in the same local scout troop. They became uneasy with some of the aspects of their scouting experience, so they made the difficult decision to resign from the Girl Scouts.
They now host a website called Speak Now Girl Scouts that exposes the broad influence of left-wing advocacy groups, including Planned Parenthood and NARAL, with today's national Girl Scout leadership.
I'd ask you to visit a couple of other sites established by former Girl Scout supporters. Keep in mind when you visit these sites that they are hosted by young women who felt compelled to leave the local Girl Scout troops that they loved because they felt their convictions were being betrayed. Check out Honest Girl Scouts and 100 Questions for the Girl Scouts.
And if you are the parent of a teen-age girl, download the Happy, Healthy and Hot brochure that Planned Parenthood produced for teens and then tell me if this is the kind of message you want inculcated into your daughter's impressionable young mind. Did you really sign her up for the Girl Scouts so that she could learn more about homosexuality, masturbation and condoms?
(*These discussion topics don't seem to square with the stated purposes in the national charter of Girl Scouts of America, as foot-noted at the end of this blog.)
Now there are many fine local Girl Scout chapters that would never intentionally support this kind of garbage. However, they DO unintentionally support this agenda by retaining their affiliation with the national Girls Scouts organization -- and 50 cents of every box of cookies they sell goes to the national headquarters.
That's right, headquarters gets a bigger slice of the pie than the local chapter, which only gets to keep 10%.
The Girl Scouts have historically enjoyed great support from church groups. For decades, many Christians have been involved with scouting because it re-affirmed the traditional moral values that parents taught at home. Sadly, that no longer seems to be the case.
I've got to stand with Bob Morris on this one. I admire what the Girl Scouts of America used to be. I am disgusted over what the national leadership has done to undermine it's founding principles.
So instead of being angry at Bob Morris for having the courage of his convictions, why aren't more people angry at the sleazy left-wingers who have hi-jacked what was once a great organization and turned it into just another avenue for indoctrinating young girls into a sexualized, amoral, humanist world-view?
This is a perfect example of well-worn radical-left strategy: Gain control of a reputable organization; politicize it with your agenda; and if anyone dares to object, then you ridicule your opponents and accuse them of playing politics.
So far, that con-game is working flawlessly.
Just ask Bob Morris, the man who had the temerity to refuse to endorse the defilement of an iconic American tradition.
His fellow Republicans immediately threw him under the bus. He was ridiculed on local radio stations and in the Indianapolis Star. The story quickly went viral. He was lampooned in the national press and even got slammed by Dave Letterman.
It's awfully easy to jump on the bandwagon and poke fun at a man who disses the Girl Scouts.
It takes a little bit of thought and effort to examine the facts and get some perspective on the reasons for his decision.
Like most Americans, I have always held the Girls Scouts in high esteem. I was a sucker for all those annual Girl Scout fundraisers. How could you turn down a sales pitch by one of those cute little cookie-pushers?
What could be more American, more wholesome, more unassailable than the Girl Scouts?
There are millions of American women who cherish fond memories of the scouting days of their youth; women who are proud of their association with the Girl Scouts, and rightly so.
So I decided to poke around and check out some of the anti-Girl Scout sites on the web. I regret to report that there seems to be a huge difference between the Girl Scouts of yesterday and the Girl Scouts of today.
Before you tolerant liberals start sending me nasty hate mail, please indulge me in two requests for objectivity and rationality.
1) Don't go off like the morons who have posted sarcastic comments about "commie pinko leftist" Girl Scouts selling cookies at the mall. My dispute is with the agenda of the national leadership, and certainly not with any of the local Girl Scouts who are being exploited.
2) Do a little research. The most persuasive site I visited is hosted by two teen-age girls who spent eight years together in the same local scout troop. They became uneasy with some of the aspects of their scouting experience, so they made the difficult decision to resign from the Girl Scouts.
They now host a website called Speak Now Girl Scouts that exposes the broad influence of left-wing advocacy groups, including Planned Parenthood and NARAL, with today's national Girl Scout leadership.
I'd ask you to visit a couple of other sites established by former Girl Scout supporters. Keep in mind when you visit these sites that they are hosted by young women who felt compelled to leave the local Girl Scout troops that they loved because they felt their convictions were being betrayed. Check out Honest Girl Scouts and 100 Questions for the Girl Scouts.
And if you are the parent of a teen-age girl, download the Happy, Healthy and Hot brochure that Planned Parenthood produced for teens and then tell me if this is the kind of message you want inculcated into your daughter's impressionable young mind. Did you really sign her up for the Girl Scouts so that she could learn more about homosexuality, masturbation and condoms?
(*These discussion topics don't seem to square with the stated purposes in the national charter of Girl Scouts of America, as foot-noted at the end of this blog.)
Now there are many fine local Girl Scout chapters that would never intentionally support this kind of garbage. However, they DO unintentionally support this agenda by retaining their affiliation with the national Girls Scouts organization -- and 50 cents of every box of cookies they sell goes to the national headquarters.
That's right, headquarters gets a bigger slice of the pie than the local chapter, which only gets to keep 10%.
The Girl Scouts have historically enjoyed great support from church groups. For decades, many Christians have been involved with scouting because it re-affirmed the traditional moral values that parents taught at home. Sadly, that no longer seems to be the case.
I've got to stand with Bob Morris on this one. I admire what the Girl Scouts of America used to be. I am disgusted over what the national leadership has done to undermine it's founding principles.
So instead of being angry at Bob Morris for having the courage of his convictions, why aren't more people angry at the sleazy left-wingers who have hi-jacked what was once a great organization and turned it into just another avenue for indoctrinating young girls into a sexualized, amoral, humanist world-view?
This is a perfect example of well-worn radical-left strategy: Gain control of a reputable organization; politicize it with your agenda; and if anyone dares to object, then you ridicule your opponents and accuse them of playing politics.
So far, that con-game is working flawlessly.
Just ask Bob Morris, the man who had the temerity to refuse to endorse the defilement of an iconic American tradition.
[*Footnote -- from the "Purpose" section of the Girl Scouts' National Charter]
-CITE-
36 USC Sec. 80302 01/07/2011
-EXPCITE-
TITLE 36 - PATRIOTIC AND NATIONAL OBSERVANCES, CEREMONIES, AND
ORGANIZATIONS
Subtitle II - Patriotic and National Organizations
Part B - Organizations
CHAPTER 803 - GIRL SCOUTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
-HEAD-
Sec. 80302. Purposes
-STATUTE-
The purposes of the corporation are -
(1) to promote the qualities of truth, loyalty, helpfulness,
friendliness, courtesy, purity, kindness, obedience,
cheerfulness, thriftiness, and kindred virtues among girls, as a
preparation for their responsibilities in the home and for
service to the community;
(2) to direct and coordinate the Girl Scout movement in the
United States and territories and possessions of the United
States; and
(3) to fix and maintain standards for the movement that will
inspire the rising generation with the highest ideals of
character, patriotism, conduct, and attainment.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Looking for a Friendly God?
At one time or another, we’ve all heard preachers who make God sound like Attilla the Hun.
Fire and brimstone, judgment and damnation, death and destruction all await the poor soul who doesn’t measure up to this cruel God’s standards.
Admittedly, the Bible is full of instances where the wrath of God is stirred and he lowers the boom on wicked men and nations. But is it fair to type-cast God as a cosmic thunderer looking for an excuse to hammer somebody?
The judgment of God comes because of gross, unrepentant transgression. God has always reached out in mercy and sent prophets to warn a people who were falling into sin and setting themselves up for judgment. Only after people have time and again rejected God’s warnings has he, as a last resort, brought judgment upon them.
God takes no delight in the death of the wicked. He desires that all people would turn to him and be saved. Micah 7:20 declares: “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.”
He is indeed a God of judgment when his efforts to turn people back to him have failed. But judgment is not what God desires. He desires repentance. God wants us to wake up and realize that without his guidance and blessing we are wasting our lives and spoiling his creation.
Many people have difficulty comprehending the love of God. He seems so far away and beyond our reach. In all of this vast creation, some wonder, how much could God care about any one person’s life?
One of the many reasons that Jesus had for coming to this earth was to give us a living, human example of God’s personality. He told the disciple Philip, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9)
Jesus spent a great deal of time ministering to people one on one. He cared deeply about his personal relationships. He told his disciples, “You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my father I have made known to you.” (John 15:14-15)
The heart of the Gospel is this: Jesus Christ, our God and creator, came to our sinful world to live among us, teach us, and most importantly, to die as a sacrifice for our sins. To seal the deal, and to prove His claims, He rose from the grave and returned to heaven 40 days later.
Jesus is still there today. He sits at the right hand of the Father, and He calls to you daily through the Holy Spirit. The only thing keeping you from a loving, secure relationship with God Almighty is your stubborn heart.
I'll be the first person to admit that this whole Gospel story sounds pretty far-fetched. Why would God choose to work in such strange and hard-to-imagine ways? I cannot answer that, but I can tell you that once you place your trust in him, and Jesus introduces himself to you, you will know the joy of being on the good side of the God who created you.
Once you have met the eternal God who cannot lie, you can rest in the knowledge that He understands more than you can ever comprehend, and that is okay. You can't figure it all out, and you don't need to; all you really need to know is that you belong to him.
And with knowing him will come the richness of his blessings. Knowing him means you can find your purpose in life. It means you can enjoy an inner peace that you cannot now imagine. It means that you have God’s guarantee of an eternal citizenship in heaven.
Your alternative? Keep doing what you’ve been doing. Live your life apart from God, restless and insecure. Worry about your uncertain future. Squander your few years upon this earth living without a purpose. And when you die...well, you won’t be spending eternity with God in heaven. The only other option is hell, and you will have all of eternity to regret having sent yourself there.
Don’t be afraid of God. He is the kindest person you will ever meet. Like the father waiting for the prodigal son, his arms are open wide. He wants you to come home. He wants you to join his family. A prayer like this one can bring you to peace with God right now:
“God, I have my doubts. Please heal my unbelief. I know I don’t deserve your mercy, and I’ve spent my life sinning against you. Jesus, I give up! I ask you to forgive me, cleanse me and heal my heart. I want to know your love and your friendship. I give you my life today, Lord, and I ask you to bring me into your family. I want to live my life doing what you created me to do.”Once you’ve given your heart to God, you need to find companionship in a good local church where other believers can help you grow in faith and understanding. You will a baby Christian, freshly born again, and you will have a lot to learn.
Babies are ignorant and messy, but they sure are cute and lovable! Come to Jesus now and He will love on you just like a proud father with a new-born infant.
Monday, February 20, 2012
The Dead Vote Early and Often
Deroy Murdock reports on a recent study by the Pew Research Center about the alarming extent of ghost voting in our electoral system.
READ MORE
READ MORE
Thursday, February 16, 2012
The Obamacare Trifecta
Charles Krauthammer writes an excellent column about the frightening and invasive creep of government control that Obamacare is ushering into our everyday lives. READ MORE
Saturday, February 11, 2012
The Wonderful World of Sharia Law
The next time you hear some doofus media commentator, or a Muslim apologist from CAIR (Council for American Islamic Relations) extolling the benefits of Sharia Law, take a deep breath.
Once your head is clear and your heart beat is stable, perhaps you should consider, as an example of Muslim tolerance, the sad plight of Hamza Kashgari, a 23-year-old newspaper columnist from Saudi Arabia.
The young man made the fatal mistake of speaking his mind, and by doing so, he failed to give the proper respect to the Prophet Muhammad. Saudi clerics are demanding that Kashgari be charged with apostasy, and then executed after a fair trial.
Kashgari received more than 30,000 responses and a number of death threats as a result of a posting he made on Twitter. He decided to flee Saudi Arabia after more than 13,000 people joined a Facebook page titled "The Saudi People Demand the Execution of Hamza Kashgari".
Saudi authorities somehow persuaded Interpol, the international police agency, to put out a "red notice" which flagged Kashgari as a wanted criminal. He was detained by local police in Malaysia, and will most likely be returned to Saudi Arabia to stand trial.
Exactly what heinous crime did this young man commit? What awful blasphemies did he spew against the Prophet Muhammad?
His tweet, which the authorities have since deleted, simply read: "I have loved things about you and I have hated things about you and there is a lot I don't understand about you … I will not pray for you."
Under Sharia Law, that kind of smart-alecky free speech gets your head chopped off.
That is all you need to know to understand why we must never allow Sharia Law to gain a foothold in America.
You can read more about this story HERE.
Once your head is clear and your heart beat is stable, perhaps you should consider, as an example of Muslim tolerance, the sad plight of Hamza Kashgari, a 23-year-old newspaper columnist from Saudi Arabia.
The young man made the fatal mistake of speaking his mind, and by doing so, he failed to give the proper respect to the Prophet Muhammad. Saudi clerics are demanding that Kashgari be charged with apostasy, and then executed after a fair trial.
Kashgari received more than 30,000 responses and a number of death threats as a result of a posting he made on Twitter. He decided to flee Saudi Arabia after more than 13,000 people joined a Facebook page titled "The Saudi People Demand the Execution of Hamza Kashgari".
Saudi authorities somehow persuaded Interpol, the international police agency, to put out a "red notice" which flagged Kashgari as a wanted criminal. He was detained by local police in Malaysia, and will most likely be returned to Saudi Arabia to stand trial.
Exactly what heinous crime did this young man commit? What awful blasphemies did he spew against the Prophet Muhammad?
His tweet, which the authorities have since deleted, simply read: "I have loved things about you and I have hated things about you and there is a lot I don't understand about you … I will not pray for you."
Under Sharia Law, that kind of smart-alecky free speech gets your head chopped off.
That is all you need to know to understand why we must never allow Sharia Law to gain a foothold in America.
You can read more about this story HERE.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Plunging Headlong Down the Well Shaft
To the Liberal mind, anything that stands in the way of maximizing contraception and abortion services must be eliminated. And as usual, Liberals are seeking more government power to more effectively control every aspect of our lives.
Their latest attack is on the Catholic Church.
In promulgating new insurance regulations under Obamacare, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced that virtually all employers will be required to offer employee insurance plans that cover sterilization and contraceptives – including drugs that cause abortion. In addition, these services must be offered with no co-pays or deductibles.
Initially, there was talk that religious institutions might be exempted from this policy to accommodate "freedom of conscience," but that tolerant attitude got the heave-ho from HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who will allow the "conscience" exemption to only those organizations that exist to inculcate religious values for the benefit of members of their own faith.
At least for now; what's to stop her from changing her mind again after the next election?
Religious hospitals and universities are therefore not exempt, since these institutions provide services to the general public. Ironic, isn't it, that by tolerantly serving people of all faiths you are forced by your government to forfeit the free exercise of your own?
Never mind that the Catholic Church, to it's great credit, has always affirmed the sanctity of human life as one of it's doctrinal foundations.
Never mind that there are over 44 million Catholics in this country.
Never mind that Catholic hospitals are private institutions founded to fulfill a religious duty to care for the sick.
Never mind that the First Amendment plainly declares that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."
If your religion regards human life as God-given and sacred, how can you freely exercise your religion if the government forces you to violate your conscience?
This latest HHS ruling exemplifies the kind of outrageous hokum that results when Congress abdicates it's responsibility to legislate, and instead creates unaccountable government bureaucracies to manufacture rules that have the force of law.
We are on the slipperiest of slippery slopes here: The day is coming when a Christian OB/GYN will have to decide whether he will bow to Caesar and perform abortions, or give up his medical practice.
WIBC's Greg Garrison said it even better: This isn't a slippery slope, it's a headlong plunge down a well shaft. If the government can arbitrarily make rules like this one, are there any limits left to federal power?
It is always the same with Liberals: Under the guise of "fairness" and "social justice" they bypass the established legal process and dictate, by administrative fiat or judicial meddling, how the rest of us are supposed to live our lives.
To the Liberal mind, the State is the supreme power. The individual is only of worth to the degree that he serves the interests of the State.
Let's just get it over with now and change the motto on our currency to "In Obama We Trust."
Their latest attack is on the Catholic Church.
In promulgating new insurance regulations under Obamacare, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced that virtually all employers will be required to offer employee insurance plans that cover sterilization and contraceptives – including drugs that cause abortion. In addition, these services must be offered with no co-pays or deductibles.
Initially, there was talk that religious institutions might be exempted from this policy to accommodate "freedom of conscience," but that tolerant attitude got the heave-ho from HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who will allow the "conscience" exemption to only those organizations that exist to inculcate religious values for the benefit of members of their own faith.
At least for now; what's to stop her from changing her mind again after the next election?
Religious hospitals and universities are therefore not exempt, since these institutions provide services to the general public. Ironic, isn't it, that by tolerantly serving people of all faiths you are forced by your government to forfeit the free exercise of your own?
Never mind that the Catholic Church, to it's great credit, has always affirmed the sanctity of human life as one of it's doctrinal foundations.
Never mind that there are over 44 million Catholics in this country.
Never mind that Catholic hospitals are private institutions founded to fulfill a religious duty to care for the sick.
Never mind that the First Amendment plainly declares that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."
If your religion regards human life as God-given and sacred, how can you freely exercise your religion if the government forces you to violate your conscience?
This latest HHS ruling exemplifies the kind of outrageous hokum that results when Congress abdicates it's responsibility to legislate, and instead creates unaccountable government bureaucracies to manufacture rules that have the force of law.
We are on the slipperiest of slippery slopes here: The day is coming when a Christian OB/GYN will have to decide whether he will bow to Caesar and perform abortions, or give up his medical practice.
WIBC's Greg Garrison said it even better: This isn't a slippery slope, it's a headlong plunge down a well shaft. If the government can arbitrarily make rules like this one, are there any limits left to federal power?
It is always the same with Liberals: Under the guise of "fairness" and "social justice" they bypass the established legal process and dictate, by administrative fiat or judicial meddling, how the rest of us are supposed to live our lives.
To the Liberal mind, the State is the supreme power. The individual is only of worth to the degree that he serves the interests of the State.
Let's just get it over with now and change the motto on our currency to "In Obama We Trust."
Saturday, January 28, 2012
The State of Our Union Is Broke!
Once again, Mark Steyn cuts through the hyperbole and makes us laugh all the way to the poor-house. READ MORE
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
See What Tax Increases Did for Illinois
John Hayward of Human Events wrote a great short piece about the credit downgrade in Illinois that begs the question: "If Liberalism is the answer to our problems, why is every Liberal state going bankrupt?" READ MORE
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
We Don't Need No Stinkin' Constitution!
Let us pause for a moment of silence and give thanks for the wise beneficence of our exalted El Presidente, Obama the First.
He is a man on a mission. He came to Washington to get things done. And he is too big a man, too great a visionary, to allow himself to be constrained by the laws that restricted the powers of former presidents.
El Presidente's latest assertions of executive power, his recess appointments made while the Senate was not in recess, were bold and creative end-runs around the dilly-dallying of Congress.
“We can’t wait,” Obama said recently when he appointed Richard Cordray as director of the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). He also made three new appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), after giving the Senate less than a month to consider two of the three nominations.
In former times, our less illustrious presidents allowed the Constitution to impede their progress towards authoritarian rule. They respected that pesky clause in the Constitution concerning the "Advice and Consent" powers of the Senate in regard to executive branch appointments.
But not El Presidente! He is a man of action! When the Senate wanted to slow down the appointment process and legislate some limits to the regulatory powers of the new CFPB, our Dear Leader unilaterally declared the Senate to be in recess, and then proceeded to make a recess appointment.
Never before in our history has a president taken it upon himself to decide when the Senate was in recess. The senators used to do that for themselves. The wimps.
But with Obama the First in the White House, we don't have to worry about long, boring congressional debates, or political compromise. I know I'll sleep better tonight knowing that he holds the reins of power.
El Presidente has compiled an impressive resume of extra-Constitutional actions, some of which are listed below, courtesy of Heritage.com.
In a recent article at Heritage.com, Lachlan Markay detailed some of the Great One's executive excesses:
"The Democrat-controlled Senate rejected his cap-and-trade plan, so Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency classified carbon dioxide, the compound that sustains vegetative life, as a pollutant so that it could regulate it under the Clean Air Act.
"After Congress defeated his stealth-amnesty immigration proposal, the DREAM Act, the Department of Homeland Security instructed Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to “adopt enforcement parameters that bring about the same ends as the DREAM Act,” as Heritage’s Mike Brownfield explained.
"When the woefully misnamed Employee Free Choice Act–explicitly designed to bolster labor unions’ dwindling membership rolls–was defeated by Congress, the NLRB announced a rule that would implement “snap elections” for union representation, limiting employers’ abilities to make their case to workers and virtually guaranteeing a higher rate of unionization at the expense of workplace democracy.
"After an innovation-killing Internet regulation proposal failed to make it through Congress, the Federal Communications Commission announced — on Christmas Eve, no less — that it would regulate the Web anyway, despite even a federal court’s ruling that it had no authority to do so.
"In its push for national education standards, the Education Department decided to tie waivers for the No Child Left Behind law to requirements that states adopt those standards, shutting Congress out of the effort.
"Rather than push Congress to repeal federal laws against marijuana use, the Department of Justice (DOJ) simply decided it would no longer enforce those laws.
"DOJ made a similar move with respect to the Defense of Marriage Act: rather than seeking legislative recourse, DOJ announced it would stop enforcing the law."
Friday, January 13, 2012
Profit Makes the World Go 'Round
John Hayward of Human Events wrote a great piece recently praising the moral superiority of the profit motive as a way of getting things accomplished.
READ MORE
READ MORE
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
The Stranger Sitting Next to You
Where Can a Desperate Man Go to Find Hope?
A visitor came to our church last Sunday.
Joe had been raised in a Christian home, but drifted away from the church in his teen years. He had seen a lot of Christians talking the talk, but very few walking the walk, so he finally concluded that "religion" was a bunch of baloney, and he decided to make his own way in the world.
As Joe grew older he discovered that his life, without God, was falling apart. His third marriage was in shambles. He was struggling with alcoholism. Lately he had been so depressed that he was contemplating suicide.
Joe was at the end of his rope. He was searching for answers. He realized something in his life had to change.
Someone in our congregation invited him to church last week, so he came here to visit. During the service, Joe was thinking, "God, I need to know if you are real. I need to know if you can help me. I just can't take it anymore."
When the pastor finished his sermon, he began to give an invitation. Joe sat in his pew, listening intently, desperate for something to give him hope. He wondered if God really cared about him. Was He truly listening? Would He really take back this lost sheep?
In an auditorium filled with people who profess to know the Almighty God, one might expect that there would be a reverent, prayerful silence while the preacher invited a lost sinner to step into eternal life by giving his heart to Jesus.
Aside from worshiping God, what activity could possibly have a higher priority in a Bible-believing church than introducing someone to their Creator?
But our visitor could not hear most of the invitation. People around him were gathering up papers, zipping up their Bibles, and generally rustling about in the pews, eager to be the first ones out the door so they could beat the rush to the parking lot.
A few people even got up and left before the invitation was finished.
Joe was so distracted by all of this commotion that he stopped listening. As he looked around at his restless neighbors, the small demon assigned to discourage him leaned in close and whispered, "If the members here don't think this message is important enough to listen to, why should you?"
"Why should I listen to this?" Joe suddenly asked himself. "Just like I thought -- it's all a bunch of baloney."
So he left.
He even got to be the first one out of the parking lot.
A visitor came to our church last Sunday.
Joe had been raised in a Christian home, but drifted away from the church in his teen years. He had seen a lot of Christians talking the talk, but very few walking the walk, so he finally concluded that "religion" was a bunch of baloney, and he decided to make his own way in the world.
As Joe grew older he discovered that his life, without God, was falling apart. His third marriage was in shambles. He was struggling with alcoholism. Lately he had been so depressed that he was contemplating suicide.
Joe was at the end of his rope. He was searching for answers. He realized something in his life had to change.
Someone in our congregation invited him to church last week, so he came here to visit. During the service, Joe was thinking, "God, I need to know if you are real. I need to know if you can help me. I just can't take it anymore."
When the pastor finished his sermon, he began to give an invitation. Joe sat in his pew, listening intently, desperate for something to give him hope. He wondered if God really cared about him. Was He truly listening? Would He really take back this lost sheep?
In an auditorium filled with people who profess to know the Almighty God, one might expect that there would be a reverent, prayerful silence while the preacher invited a lost sinner to step into eternal life by giving his heart to Jesus.
Aside from worshiping God, what activity could possibly have a higher priority in a Bible-believing church than introducing someone to their Creator?
But our visitor could not hear most of the invitation. People around him were gathering up papers, zipping up their Bibles, and generally rustling about in the pews, eager to be the first ones out the door so they could beat the rush to the parking lot.
A few people even got up and left before the invitation was finished.
Joe was so distracted by all of this commotion that he stopped listening. As he looked around at his restless neighbors, the small demon assigned to discourage him leaned in close and whispered, "If the members here don't think this message is important enough to listen to, why should you?"
"Why should I listen to this?" Joe suddenly asked himself. "Just like I thought -- it's all a bunch of baloney."
So he left.
He even got to be the first one out of the parking lot.
Friday, December 23, 2011
To Hug or Not to Hug, That is the Question
The Christmas season is fraught with peril.
Will your gift to that special someone be a hit or a flop? Will you over-indulge at the office Christmas party and make a fool of yourself in front of your superiors? Will you be crushed in a human stampede at an early morning Black Friday sale?
But of all the thorny issues this holiday season, there is one that looms over all others, both in its magnitude and potential for disaster: Do you hug? If so, who do you hug? Where do you hug? Do you initiate the hug? Do you hug the opposite gender only, or do your hugs swing both ways?
Some people are huggers by nature, others not so much. Still others will absolutely cringe at an uninvited and unwanted embrace.
Especially for men, these are dangerous times.
For example, if a man is giving Christmas greetings to a female co-worker, and she happens to be a hugger, she will feel slighted if she doesn't get a quick squeeze about the shoulders.
On the other hand, if a man initiates a friendly hug with a female acquaintance who is not a hugger, she will be quickly offended, and he may find himself labeled as a sexual harrasser. There is nothing worse than hugging a woman and feeling her back stiffen and her shoulders tense up in revulsion at your unwanted familiarity.
For the ultimate awkward moment, think of what happens when you are greeted simultaneously by two or more long-time acquaintances, one of whom is a hugger, and the other who is not. This can be quite the sticky wicket.
This happened to me not long ago. Two women I knew quite well walked up towards me at church while they were talking together. Woman A, a notorious hugger, wrapped her arms around me in a big squeeze, and I happily reciprocated. Woman B, a very nice woman whom I had also known for some time, but had never hugged, stood there quietly.
I had no idea what to do. Was she standing there waiting for her hug? Was she standing there hoping I would NOT hug her? Was she thinking that I liked Woman A better and I was slighting her by not initiating a hug? Who knows? All I can tell you is that it was quite uncomfortable. Where is Miss Manners when you need her most?
It gets even more complicated when you consider same-gender hugs. A lot of guys have an issue with this.
Personally, the older I get, the more huggy I become. I think that happens to a lot of us. Hugs are nice. Hugs are comforting. Like the song says, there's just not enough love in the world, and when you have a chance to show some affection to another human being, it should be a good thing.
But a lot of guys don't want a hug from another guy. The unwritten rule seems to be that hugs between men are restricted to long-time close friends and male relatives at family reunions. Casual hugs between men who are casual friends just don't seem to work.
Women, by contrast, have no problem with hugging any other woman on the planet. Women will jump up and down while they hug, pat each other on the leg (if they're seated), even kiss on the cheek, and no one has a problem with that.
Of course, women live in a whole other world: They even go to the bathroom together and no one bats an eye. Apparently this is a genetic thing.
Men, we need a manual for this. There should be some kind of code signal that women could give to let us know what they really want, hug-wise. But I imagine we'll get that information about the same time we can get a true definition of what a woman means when she says, "Fine."
Since the dawn of time, men have stumbled blindly about, trying to understand what women really want. Who knows?
Merry Christmas, and hug at your own risk.
Will your gift to that special someone be a hit or a flop? Will you over-indulge at the office Christmas party and make a fool of yourself in front of your superiors? Will you be crushed in a human stampede at an early morning Black Friday sale?
But of all the thorny issues this holiday season, there is one that looms over all others, both in its magnitude and potential for disaster: Do you hug? If so, who do you hug? Where do you hug? Do you initiate the hug? Do you hug the opposite gender only, or do your hugs swing both ways?
Some people are huggers by nature, others not so much. Still others will absolutely cringe at an uninvited and unwanted embrace.
Especially for men, these are dangerous times.
For example, if a man is giving Christmas greetings to a female co-worker, and she happens to be a hugger, she will feel slighted if she doesn't get a quick squeeze about the shoulders.
On the other hand, if a man initiates a friendly hug with a female acquaintance who is not a hugger, she will be quickly offended, and he may find himself labeled as a sexual harrasser. There is nothing worse than hugging a woman and feeling her back stiffen and her shoulders tense up in revulsion at your unwanted familiarity.
For the ultimate awkward moment, think of what happens when you are greeted simultaneously by two or more long-time acquaintances, one of whom is a hugger, and the other who is not. This can be quite the sticky wicket.
This happened to me not long ago. Two women I knew quite well walked up towards me at church while they were talking together. Woman A, a notorious hugger, wrapped her arms around me in a big squeeze, and I happily reciprocated. Woman B, a very nice woman whom I had also known for some time, but had never hugged, stood there quietly.
I had no idea what to do. Was she standing there waiting for her hug? Was she standing there hoping I would NOT hug her? Was she thinking that I liked Woman A better and I was slighting her by not initiating a hug? Who knows? All I can tell you is that it was quite uncomfortable. Where is Miss Manners when you need her most?
It gets even more complicated when you consider same-gender hugs. A lot of guys have an issue with this.
Personally, the older I get, the more huggy I become. I think that happens to a lot of us. Hugs are nice. Hugs are comforting. Like the song says, there's just not enough love in the world, and when you have a chance to show some affection to another human being, it should be a good thing.
But a lot of guys don't want a hug from another guy. The unwritten rule seems to be that hugs between men are restricted to long-time close friends and male relatives at family reunions. Casual hugs between men who are casual friends just don't seem to work.
Women, by contrast, have no problem with hugging any other woman on the planet. Women will jump up and down while they hug, pat each other on the leg (if they're seated), even kiss on the cheek, and no one has a problem with that.
Of course, women live in a whole other world: They even go to the bathroom together and no one bats an eye. Apparently this is a genetic thing.
Men, we need a manual for this. There should be some kind of code signal that women could give to let us know what they really want, hug-wise. But I imagine we'll get that information about the same time we can get a true definition of what a woman means when she says, "Fine."
Since the dawn of time, men have stumbled blindly about, trying to understand what women really want. Who knows?
Merry Christmas, and hug at your own risk.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Adventures in Grand-parenting
It is easy to forget what it was like to have children in the house.
Grand-parenting, for the most part, consists of a few hours here and there, doing short stints of child care or taking a trip to the park. Quick and painless.
It is a beautiful thing. All the gain and none of the pain. Play with kids for a while, and by the time they are getting cranky or whiney, it's time for them to go home and annoy their parents.
But sometimes grand-parenting requires an extended commitment. This can be hazardous.
We recently kept our two grandsons for a three-day stretch while our son and daughter-in-law were on a short trip.
Zeke is four years old, and he is a sweet little boy. He is very observant, very talktative, and most of the time, very loud.
His brother Malachi is 18 months old. He is cute as a button, with a raucous laugh and an endearing smile. But he is stubborn, and quick to throw a fit when he doesn't get his way. I predict he is going to take his parents on a trip through the "terrible two's" that they will never forget.
The first morning they were here, things went pretty smoothly. That is because Grandma Peggy stayed home that day and took care of getting the boys up in the morning. All I had to do was wake up and eat breakfast with them.
I ended up working late that evening, so I only got to see the boys for about an hour before bedtime. So far, so good.
But the following morning, I was in charge. Peggy had to leave at 7:00 for work, and it was my job to get the boys ready to go for the day.
Zeke woke up first. I talked to him for a while and helped him pick out his clothes for the day. Then he started getting dressed. While he dressed, I got his lunch ready for school. Then I gathered up his school items and back-pack and set them by the door. When he finished dressing, I tied his shoes.
Of course, he was hungry. He sat at the table, and I poured some hot water into his bowl of instant oatmeal while he stirred. As I reached across in front of him to grab a napkin, I apparently got too close for his liking.
He jerked his head back and said, "Grandpa, you don't smell very good."
I considered pointing out to the wee lad that if I had not spent every waking moment of the morning serving as his butler, I might have had time to shower before now. But I let it pass.
Then it was time to wake up the Hulk. Malachi was out like a light in his little crib. I don't think he had flinched since we tucked him in the night before.
I sure wish I could sleep like that.
I rubbed his bulging tummy and softly called his name. He yawned. His eyes fluttered. He stretched. He jerked his head up, looked around, rolled over onto all fours and then stood up. It took him all of 30 seconds to go from sound asleep to wide awake. Impressive.
I sure wish I could wake up like that.
He was grunting and making agitated noises as I sat him into his high chair. He kept pointing to the refrigerator and waving his arms around.
Zeke decided I needed a translator. "Grandpa, Malachi is hungry!"
"Is he like this every morning?"
"Yeah."
I stirred up the oatmeal as fast as humanly possible and began to shovel it into little Malachi's gaping mouth. He was still grunting, but the tone had changed a bit. It was something like the sounds you might hear at the zoo at feeding time.
After breakfast, the little Hulk was happy. I changed him, dressed him and started getting ready to go. I grabbed Malachi's diaper bag, and Zeke's backpack for school, and began to load the car.
As I walked from the kitchen to the garage, I told Zeke to bring Malachi with him while I loaded the car. When I walked back to the kitchen, Malachi was lying on his back and laughing as Zeke dragged him along by one arm across the kitchen floor.
"Here he is, Grandpa!"
Soon I had both boys strapped into the car and we were ready to go. Right on time! I was congratulating myself on my organizational skills until Zeke interrupted me.
"Grandpa, I have to pee."
"Didn't you go before?"
"I forgot!"
"Can't you wait until we get to school?"
The look on his face told me no.
I sat in the car with Malachi while Zeke went to pee. Malachi began to thrash around in the car seat, chafing at his restraints. He began grunting again. I was afraid he might chew through the seat belt and run off into the woods.
I went inside to find out what was taking Zeke so long. He was standing at the sink, the faucet blasting like a fire hose, watching water drip from his fingertips as he held them out at eye level.
"Zeke, we're going to be late for school!"
"I'm washing my hands, grandpa."
"Did you use soap?"
"Not yet."
I turned down the faucet and lathered Zeke's hands with soap. He had to endure my body odor again as I hovered over him to make sure he finished washing up and dried his hands.
By the time we returned to the garage, Malachi was grunting and rocking violently in the car seat in a desperate attempt to escape his confinement. He finally quieted down once I began to back out of the garage.
We arrived at school almost on time, and I dropped Zeke off. Then I made the short drive over to Mrs. Sherry's house to drop Malachi off for the day. I breathed a huge sigh of relief as I drove away, alone, in peaceful solitude.
I still needed a shower. I'm sure my blood pressure was higher than my cardiologist would have liked, and I was going to be late for work. And I had to do this all over again the next morning.
I don't know how mothers do all this on a daily basis. And I don't really want to know. I'm just part-time, and I like it that way.
Grand-parenting, for the most part, consists of a few hours here and there, doing short stints of child care or taking a trip to the park. Quick and painless.
It is a beautiful thing. All the gain and none of the pain. Play with kids for a while, and by the time they are getting cranky or whiney, it's time for them to go home and annoy their parents.
But sometimes grand-parenting requires an extended commitment. This can be hazardous.
We recently kept our two grandsons for a three-day stretch while our son and daughter-in-law were on a short trip.
Zeke is four years old, and he is a sweet little boy. He is very observant, very talktative, and most of the time, very loud.
His brother Malachi is 18 months old. He is cute as a button, with a raucous laugh and an endearing smile. But he is stubborn, and quick to throw a fit when he doesn't get his way. I predict he is going to take his parents on a trip through the "terrible two's" that they will never forget.
The first morning they were here, things went pretty smoothly. That is because Grandma Peggy stayed home that day and took care of getting the boys up in the morning. All I had to do was wake up and eat breakfast with them.
I ended up working late that evening, so I only got to see the boys for about an hour before bedtime. So far, so good.
But the following morning, I was in charge. Peggy had to leave at 7:00 for work, and it was my job to get the boys ready to go for the day.
Zeke woke up first. I talked to him for a while and helped him pick out his clothes for the day. Then he started getting dressed. While he dressed, I got his lunch ready for school. Then I gathered up his school items and back-pack and set them by the door. When he finished dressing, I tied his shoes.
Of course, he was hungry. He sat at the table, and I poured some hot water into his bowl of instant oatmeal while he stirred. As I reached across in front of him to grab a napkin, I apparently got too close for his liking.
He jerked his head back and said, "Grandpa, you don't smell very good."
I considered pointing out to the wee lad that if I had not spent every waking moment of the morning serving as his butler, I might have had time to shower before now. But I let it pass.
Then it was time to wake up the Hulk. Malachi was out like a light in his little crib. I don't think he had flinched since we tucked him in the night before.
I sure wish I could sleep like that.
I rubbed his bulging tummy and softly called his name. He yawned. His eyes fluttered. He stretched. He jerked his head up, looked around, rolled over onto all fours and then stood up. It took him all of 30 seconds to go from sound asleep to wide awake. Impressive.
I sure wish I could wake up like that.
He was grunting and making agitated noises as I sat him into his high chair. He kept pointing to the refrigerator and waving his arms around.
Zeke decided I needed a translator. "Grandpa, Malachi is hungry!"
"Is he like this every morning?"
"Yeah."
I stirred up the oatmeal as fast as humanly possible and began to shovel it into little Malachi's gaping mouth. He was still grunting, but the tone had changed a bit. It was something like the sounds you might hear at the zoo at feeding time.
After breakfast, the little Hulk was happy. I changed him, dressed him and started getting ready to go. I grabbed Malachi's diaper bag, and Zeke's backpack for school, and began to load the car.
As I walked from the kitchen to the garage, I told Zeke to bring Malachi with him while I loaded the car. When I walked back to the kitchen, Malachi was lying on his back and laughing as Zeke dragged him along by one arm across the kitchen floor.
"Here he is, Grandpa!"
Soon I had both boys strapped into the car and we were ready to go. Right on time! I was congratulating myself on my organizational skills until Zeke interrupted me.
"Grandpa, I have to pee."
"Didn't you go before?"
"I forgot!"
"Can't you wait until we get to school?"
The look on his face told me no.
I sat in the car with Malachi while Zeke went to pee. Malachi began to thrash around in the car seat, chafing at his restraints. He began grunting again. I was afraid he might chew through the seat belt and run off into the woods.
I went inside to find out what was taking Zeke so long. He was standing at the sink, the faucet blasting like a fire hose, watching water drip from his fingertips as he held them out at eye level.
"Zeke, we're going to be late for school!"
"I'm washing my hands, grandpa."
"Did you use soap?"
"Not yet."
I turned down the faucet and lathered Zeke's hands with soap. He had to endure my body odor again as I hovered over him to make sure he finished washing up and dried his hands.
By the time we returned to the garage, Malachi was grunting and rocking violently in the car seat in a desperate attempt to escape his confinement. He finally quieted down once I began to back out of the garage.
We arrived at school almost on time, and I dropped Zeke off. Then I made the short drive over to Mrs. Sherry's house to drop Malachi off for the day. I breathed a huge sigh of relief as I drove away, alone, in peaceful solitude.
I still needed a shower. I'm sure my blood pressure was higher than my cardiologist would have liked, and I was going to be late for work. And I had to do this all over again the next morning.
I don't know how mothers do all this on a daily basis. And I don't really want to know. I'm just part-time, and I like it that way.
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