Sad News

A good friend of my wifes who works a thrid shift job came home this morning to find her mother had died while in the living room.

Please say a prayer for her and ask thar she receive the strength to deal with the problems and grief facing her now.

You would have to pay me well

A designer would have to pay a person well to wear these outfits once, in a show where few people saw them and would forget you. I can't imagine a woman actualy buying one of these outfits and wearing it where people really knew who they were.

Some of these things look like rope with bubble wrap or feathers and Christmas tinsel.

One would think that if this is the best one can do what is the reason for trying but apparently there is a market or at least a reason for this stuff. Please don't explain it to me as I don't believe I really want to understand.

Maybe I am being close-minded and hard-headed like the lady who came to the yard sale at the church. She not only didn't believe in heaven but dared us to prove it existed. "Have you ever know anyone to visit heaven and tell you what it was like?" she challenged.

Well yes actually I do. If you don't, I really need to see you in church next Sunday.

Yard sale a success

Sixty dollar cash donation plus we sold a washing machine, a set of dumb bells, plus a vast variety of other items. We raised a total of $278.00 which is more than enough to get the floor replaced. Now we just need some money to buy some carpet.

I heard there was a lot of laughs and one old lady with a nasty disposition.

Yard Sale.

We are having a yard sale at the church tomorrow to raise money to repair the flooringat the church. There are several soft spots and with all the new people coming now, it is becoming increasingly important to get the repairs done soon.

One can help by either attending the yard sale and making a purchase, droping something off that will sale, or by making a cash donation (or all three or a combination thereof.)

The church is One Way and is located on Sunset just off Stout Street in Randleman.

Yard Sale.

Showa floats sideways

Showa floats sideways is a silly way for fish to swim unless it is a flatfish like a flounder. Showa isn't a flatfish but a koi fish, or colored carp in English and she doesn't float sideways by choice but because she died. She wasn't very old, just a couple of years, and she had just spawned which may have had something to do with her death. She was nineteen inches long and weighed around four pounds and she was my favorite of my fish.

I took Shark out of the big pond and put himinto the small pond. I saw Spot and Orange but not Tiger or Zero. None of the fish have been eating well so I'm really not sure what is going on.

Anyone have any ideas, please pass them on.

Missed You

I did notice you were not in church tonight, or at least you were not at One Way Baptist in Randleman. I missed you for I was hoping you would come. Tonight was a special night, the first step in a long walk of service.

I'm a quiet person and if I'm involved in something I believe in I want it to succeed. When I see a need I try my best to fill that need. Little things. I can't give enough to repair the floor at the church but I can ask for donations and give some towards the project. I saw a need for lawn care at the church so I purchased a new lawn mower to keep at the church so I could mow the grass. I furnished a fan for the pulpit area because it gets hot in that little area and the air conditioner will freeze the congregation before it gets that corner cool enough. Yea, my shed gets hot so I try to do my work in the shed during the cooler parts of the day.

We had a family once that seemed troubled and the preacher just couldn't get through to them. I managed too. No, it wasn't me really. It took several weeks of soul searching and prayer before God gave me the words to say.

No, I'm nothing special and do nothing special; just the little things that need to be done. Tonight the church just made it official.

Sorry you weren't there to share the moment with me. No, not for my honor for I deserve none but because you would have reeived a blessing from the many testimonies, the fellowship and the love our members show towards and for one another.

One day I will see you in church. Make it soon.

Not gone yet

I heard the atheist who has the deal about taking care of the pets of those who thought they were going to be raptured today. He kept saying "saved in the rapture." There isn't any such thing as being saved in the rapture. Frankly, I just don't believe that when the rapture does occur, it is going to be the big catastrophic event many have believed it to be.

Run a;ll the numbers you wasnt too but the answer isn't in the bible. Jesus said that he didn't known nor the angels in heaven know but only God the Father knew. He did say he would come as a thief in the night. Scripture makes it clear that know one knows.

One must have already been a bleiever before the rapture. One cannot be saved during the rapture.

The rapture does not signal the end of the world nor the second coming of Christ. The second coming of Christ does not bring the end of the world either; the second coming of Christ prevents the world from being destroyed.

See you in church tomorrow.

Not gone yet

Pickles

A gallon of dill pickles at sams club is $5.88, much cheaper than even an extra large jar of Caussen pickles are at the grocery store, including Walmart. However, Mt. Olive pickles, while good, aren't nearly as good as Claussen.

Sometimes we have to make choices between what we can afford, and what we desire. I want a new pickup truck; I drive an old Echo. I can't afford to trade even for an old pick-up truck. Even at fourty plus mpg, the forty mile a day drive still hurts my wallet.

I've found that when buying things one needs to last, like furniture, it is best to my quality. Cheap stuff breaks, doesn't look as good, isn't as functional, and over the course of time will have to be replaced several times, actually costing more than the expensive stuff does.

For luxury items, like cars and jewerly, one should spend what they can afford.

For everyday, disposable items, one should find the best buy they can on the items they perfer. Like pickles.

I'd rather pay a little more and get something I really enjoy than save money and not like what I'm eating.

Sometimes though, we have to do without, or make a choice between two vital alternatives. Sometimes, that can put us in a real pickle.

Things are beginning to happen

Last Sunday the church was full, and tonight, Wednesday, was quite unusal. We do not have Wednesday night servvices for several reasons: Almost half the congregation lives in Thomasville and it is difficult for them to attend a mid-week service. My wife and I both work Wednsday nights so that only leaves just a handful.

What the church started last week is a wednesday night visitation program. The first night went quite well and unbelievably, I was able to attend this week. I was prepared to go out into the community but we didn't go. We had so many visitors show up for service that we stayed and had a "lesson" for the need was far greater there than anywhere else.

Hard work, lots of praying, and dedication is starting to be rewarded. Things are beginning to happen.

See you in church.

may 21, 2011

An old preacher has led many to believe the end of the world will be May 21st. This isn't scriptural. According to the bible, Christ raptures His church, the earth then goes through a seven year tribulation period then Christ returns, sets up His kingdom and rules on earth form 1000 years. So it will be a long time before the world ends.

An article on this prediction of the end of the world on May 21 stated that most Christians don't beloieve in the rapture. Who is the author of this article conting as Christian? If it is people who say they share a Christian belief, then there are many people counted who never have set foot in a real church before and can't be counted as professing Christians. They have no idea waht a Christian really believes or what the bible teaches. I doubt they have every even read the bible and probably wouldn't understand it is they did. I have to admit, I have never met a faithful Christian who does not acknowledge the rapture as a biblicval truth so I have no idea where this fool got his information.

Leave well enough alone

Marie Shriver is having a difficult time dealing with her separation and the nerws that her husband is the actual jerk evryone believed him to be and he has admmitted to being a cheat and the father of a child not of his marriage.

Who the woman is and who the child is isn't my business. Turn and walk away from that part of the issue. Leave well enough alone.

Good News /Bad News

Donald Trump is not running for president/Mike Huckabee is not running for President.

Unless the Republicans can get their act together and get a serious viable candidate soon, BO is a shoo-in. Let us face the truth: Sarah Palin, Donald Trump and Ron Paul can't be taken seriously as chalengers for the White House. At the moment that leaves Newt and I'm not sure he is stable enough. Brilliant man, I understand, but sort of a wack job too.

Excited

One Way was almost full last night! I had just returned from the funeral for my sister-in-law and was excited to get to church. Last Sunday we had no evening service so I was excited to be able to attend this week. It was great to have most of our members there (one lady, 91, doesn't get to attend very often for health reasons and the other member doesn't come often because his wife refuses to come and gives him a hard time about his attendance.)

It was a good service.

See you in church.

Name calling

It seems the politically active portion of our population still doesn't get it. After that lady congressperson, Gilfords, was shot, there were many people on the left claiming it was the conservatives fault, particularly Sarah Palin's fault, for using rhetoric that could be interpreted as inflammatory yet when reading pieces about consevatives written by liberal staff writers, all the commenters seem to spew their venom of hate around like it was soft butter.

Discuss the issues and leave the vile speech for the dog that crapped on your lawn.

death claims another

I just received notice that my sister-in-law passed away yesterday, losing her fight with cancer. She lived for almost two weeks after she was disconnected from life suppoort. I believe her extra two weeks of life were a gift of God in answer to prayers.

"for it is given to all men to die' so the bible says and history has proven to be true but prayer can and does extend life and I believe in this case that is true. It gave her family the opportunity to say their goodbyes they would not ordinarily have had. It also gave me a chance to bring one last smile to her face and a bit of happiness to my brother.

I give God the glory for that moment.

Ashton Kutcher Replacing Charlie Sheen

Replacing a prevert with a creep isn't funny. I won't be watching.

Showa and Spot, Spawning

Showa is the larger fish, the orange, black and white one. Spot is white with a tan face and black spots. Showa is female and Spot is, of course, the male. Showa is 17" long and weighs just under four pounds. Spot is attempting to get Showa to lay her eggs so he can fertilize them. She will lay 100,000 eggs for each pound of body weight.

I am not a breeder so I have no need of 400,000 fish. Last year only one out of every hundred thousand survived birth but even one of them died when it was about two inches long. I have two from last years broad, Tiger and Zero.

I'll post a video on face book of the process of spawning. In the mean time you can enjoy the one of my fish playing in the waterfall.

Payno attentionto thedate/time stamp on the pictures. It was 9 am on May 11, 2011 when I took the pictures. The eggs should start hatching in between two days and a week.

What's fair?

She is to receive about $570,000 which works out to a little over $35,000.00 a year for the past 17 years. I suppose that is about an average income. In one way it seems like a lot of money, and it is. I could do a lot more with $570,000.00 than I could with $35000.00 a year.

Yea, I made that much working, just barely, but I did. But I enjoyed my home and my family and my freedom and I managed to save a goodly sum as well. Debra Brown didn't get to enjoy her family or home or friends.

Would you trade a year of your life for a year's income?

I didn't think so.

Too many innocent people are sent to prison.

I know that an attorney, any attorney, wants to win but winning should be getting the truth out into the open, not getting a conviction or a judgement for your side.

Some guilty go free for the same reasons that innocent people are convicted.

That's not justice.

good food

The ladies group from the church went to Deep River Cafe in Randleman yesterday and reported the experience was great. The pastor's wife reportedly said she wanted to be taken there for the Mother's Day buffet--and she lives in Thomasville!

It really must be good food.

The power of prayer

Sunday, the doctor called my brother and asked him to come back to the hospital where his wife lay suffering from cancer. "Thee is nothing more that can be done for her" the doctors told my brother. "It's just a matter of a few hours at best."

James wanted her son to have a chance to say goodbye so he hooked his wife to a respirator until the family could say their goodbyes then he was going to have it unplugged.

Her son came and mother and sonb said their goodbyes and their last hugs and said or indicated their love for each other and then my brother unpluuged life support.

Many Christians were on their knees praying for her and many churches also.

Today she went home.

She may die tomorrow or Monday, or next week but she will be home on Mother's day.

I don't know if any of you remember Princes Springsummer Winterfall but she was played by a beautiful young lady as part of the Howdy Doodly puppet show that was one of the first shows on TV back in the fifties. When she was 24, she anbd her husband were on vacation when both died in a car accident. People didn't have the opportunity to pray for her. I'm sure she had no idea that morning that it would be her last day on earth.

My mother-in-law was rushed to the hospital this week and she was near death. While she was waiting to be taken to her room another man was brought in and placed in trama care next to her. He has just ran a red light and struck anothyer man, killing him. It was front page news in the Asheboro paper. The man who died doesn't have another week to live nor anyone to pray that he does. Once its over, its over.

I wonder what he would have done differently if he had known that he would die that very day.

I also wonder who might have the opportunity to tell him about Jesus. I wonder if Princess Springsummer Winterfall knew jesus and trusted Him? Who could have told them and didn't?

It's sad to know one only has minutes or hours or maybe just days to live but knowing the end is near gives one the opportunity to say their goodbyes and the chance to question their beliefs and make a choice.

No, prayer will not keep her alive forever nor allow for her to live a normal life. But prayer gave her a chance many never have.

Make the right decision now.

See you in church.

Al-Qaida vows revenge for Osama bin Laden's death

It has to be one sorry religion that everything makes them angry.

Both Sides

I've heard both sides of the story: the confusing,conflicting stories from the administration and various news agencies and the side from the people who think that manyh obama is not telling the truth about what happened to osama, or usama is anything happened at all.

some say he might have been working for the USA and was about to turn on someone, some say he died five years ago, some say one aide defended him with a green water pistol. Whatever.

Frankly, I think he was killed just as the White House said he was and one of the versions given out might contain more of the truth than others. I believe that we landed on the moon and that kennedy, JF was killed by Oswalt.

What really happened was...

At the very beginning of the attack the US lost a helicopter due to mechanical failure, oh, wait, did someone say mechanical failure. We meet that it was hotter in the compound than we had anticipated and the difference in the weight of the air made it impossible for the helicopter to stay in the air.

The President and his men (and women) were watching events unfold from the situation room, expect for the fifteen minutes, or was it twenty, that the troops were engaged inside the compound.

As they searched from room to room the US troops were confronted by Osama bin laden welding a gun, firing at them, and, oh wait a minute, he was unarmed. All he had for protection was his wife. No wait, it wasn't his wife. Or maybe it was. Anyway she was shot and killed by, hold on, she wasn't shot and killed but only shot in the legs. One of bin Laden wives was killed but not protecting bin Laden.

Anyway the women that bin laden was holding onto was used as a shield, no that's not right either. She voluntarily stood in front of bin Laden.

Anyway we know for sure that one of bin Laden's sons were killed. It was , wait, that not the name I was told the first time.

No, well, just hang around and we'll get our story straight eventually.

maybe we will even release a picture to prove we actually killed somebody and it was Osama bin laden except you can't really tell because half his face is missing from the gun shot would.

From my point of view, if this is the defining moment of Barrack Obama's presidency, the won moment that is supposed to ensure that he has regained control and will likely win re-election then one would think he could get his story straight. It really doesn't make the administration look warm and fuzzy and trustworthy, does it? Just adds fuel to the fire of naysayers and conspiracy theorists and makes this administration look foolish and untrustworthy.

obama Political boost

I suppose if the election were held yesterday or today, Obama would have been a tougher foe to beat because of the bin Laden affair and the truth is, he seems to have handled the war effort better than Rumsfeld and Cheney and Bush did. Still, one has to get over decision making over emotional incidents and look at the whole of a candidates policies. The economy sucks, we are still at war and on three fronts, and if we don't get this country back on course soon, it won't matter who is president because we won't exist as we do now.

Bin laden dead

Bin laden was killed by US Navy Seal Team Six during a raid on his luxury hideout located about 100 yardsfrom a pakastanimilitary post. No US troops were hurt although there is a report of oneof the helicopters used in the raid crashed. Bin laden was verified and buried at sea, in accordance with Muslim law.

One terrorist has died, another one will be born to take his place.

see you in church.

Lost

Tonight I received word that my sister-in-law is not expected to live the night. It will be a great loss to her family and my brother will especially be lost without her.

Many decades ago he was single, left in charge of five children, and had no transportation to or from work and lived in a place not quiet as good as the average shack when she literally picked him up off the streets. He would be walking to work and sometimes when it was her turn to drive the carpool she would stop and offer him a ride.

She saved his life, not in the physical sense, but she gave him a chance to have a life and they have been good together all these years.

If she had one thinbg left to say to anyone who would care to listen it would be to quit smoking. She did but it wasn't soon enough to prevent her suffering and death.

See you in church Sunday.

The Fallacy Of Islam

Muslims woulod have us believe that Muhammed is sacred and it is a crime punishable by death to recreate his image but only God is holy and no mere mortal can lay claim to that truth. The God of Islam is the very same God worshipped by the Jews and by Christians and Mohammed recognized the greatness of Jesus Christ but only afforded Him the title of a great prohet.

Yes, Jesus was a great prophet but He was much more: he was also the son of God as proven by His resurrection and ascension into heaven. In difference to Mohammed, who was only flesh and blood and now is decayed back into the earth, Jesus Christ is alive and well awaiting the word from God the father as to when He may return for his bride, the church.

There has been great tension between the Jews and the rest of the Arab world ever since Sara asked Abraham to sent Hanna and her son, Abrahams first born but not the child promised Abraham by God, away from their sight. His discendants have felt that the inheritance of Isacc belong to them and it was this jealousy that Satan used to deceive Mohammed into believing that his people were the chosen of God and all others were infedels.

To the Jew, non-Jews are Gentiles and even God loved Gentiles enough to have allowed Christ to die for us as well as the Jew. In fact the Jews role as Gods chosen people is so they could be a witness for God to the rest of the world as to whom God is and was not intended to set the Jews apart as the only people loved by God.

On copying that point, Mohammed missed the mark, teaching that God only loves Muslims and everyone else has to die.

To that point of non-conversion and death, there is a ring of truth to that but the death sentence has already been given to all st birth yet God made a way of escaping that death. We know that all men must die, good people like sweet little Grandma who had seven children and worked hard her entire life to provide for her family.

If death comes to all equally, then why does some think God unfair to let the dead remain dead? He isn't. He made a way of escape but we have to chose life. Christ offers us that choice.

Muhammed only offers death to non Muslims. That is not love. That is not of God.