Monday, April 29, 2013
Stock Market Fluctuations
The stock market had a nice gain today and pushed the stock market to its highest level since 2000 which is the year that Bush was elected. It's been a hard, bumpy, and scary ride but to be honest when the year 2000 was here I was $32,000 in debt and homeless. Since then I have paid off my debt and now own my home, have some investment property in the mountains, a nice retirement account, and a good life, especially since I'm retired and doing what I love to do.
Sometimes I do get worried when I see the market take a big dump, especially when a slump lasts several days. It brings back bad memories and since I'm retired I no longer have the money to buy more stocks at the deflated price so a falling market won't recover as quickly for me as the last downturn did.
I hope I made myself clear but in case anyone doesn't understand I'll illustrate. Let's say I have 1,000 shares worth $10.00 a share and I buy 10 shares a week. If the stock falls $5.00 a share in value I can then purchase 20 shares a week. Let's say that after 6 months the market recovers and shares are now work $10.00 each, I would make a nice profit as I would have accumulated 520 shares instead of 260. If prices had remained constant my stock would have been worth $12600 but because I was able to purchase additional shares at the lower price my stock is now valued at $15600. Now that I'm retired my stock would still be only worth the original $10,000.
That is why I'm happy since the market increase has helped me a lot. I had to withdraw $8000.00 to reduce my debt so I could have enough income to cover my outgo. But instead of being worth $8000.00 les my stock is only worth $2,000.00 less, meaning I've made $6,000 in interest and market increases.
I just hope in continues.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Dr. J's Housecalls
Several years ago I stumbled across a blog entitled Dr. J's Housecalls and was surprised that I had discovered a Doctor that would come to me. However, the blog was not about making house calls or medicine or even the medical community except how an incident involving the blog author and the local Asheboro hospital affected the good doctor and her dreams. The doctor was highly motivated, intelligent, articulate and interesting. Some of her assertions seemed, at first reading, to be somewhat far fetched but I did some research and I finally came to accept that Dr. J had a valid argument and that she was done wrong and done harm by the actions of some hospital administrators.
I cannot state her case nearly as accurately or passionately as she has been able too. Sometimes life just seems to kick us when we least expect it too and no one we trust or system we believe in seems able or willing to help us back up but instrumental in kicking us again and again when we are down. I know from experience how cruel and unjust the system can be and it seemed the harder I tried to set the truth free the harder the system worked to preserve the wrong and deny the truth. I believe it was my knowledge of how our systems really works and through my struggles within the system to get the truth out that allowed me to become an avid supporter of Dr. J.
I have to admit that since my retirement from the work force I have been far too busy to keep up with my writing and my on-line reading as well. I also have to admit my support for Dr. J became less important to her as her support and influence grew. For sure she had her distractors but all people do, and the more one becomes known the more haters there will be.
Since my wife's accident in October the stresses of life and the obligations and duties increased and I found less and less time to "catch up" on the life and times of Dr. J. Tonight I decided to check in on her and see how she was doing and discovered that 4/25/2013 was the last of her blogs, except for an occasional update.
I was happy to learn that she is active in her church, still, and perhaps a little more active than what she was when I first encountered her. We have never met although we probably have come close a time or two. I did work briefly since I retired and through that job I would have had the opportunity to meet Dr. J. But things changed for me when I discovered I was a type 1 diabetic. I had to give up my job in order to care for myself so another opportunity passed me by.
I can fully understand Dr. J's passion and her desire to pursue her goals as far as she has. I am cut out of the same cloth that she is and I passionately sought for the truth to come out. Unlike Dr. J, I did win a big court battle. Even though the victory was sweet and my advisory was exposed the victory wasn't total and I knew that I could never recover my losses but I had won back my dignity and honor, and that was the best I would ever do. I just stepped away from the situation, accepted my situation for what it was and got on with my life putting my vendetta behind me.
I have found a new passion and a more positive one. I too have become active in my church and I have to brag on God when I think about what He has done in that little place. In Dr. J's last blog it seemed like she really wants to put the situation behind her and move on with her life yet at the same time she has been so involved that it seems almost like she is afraid to totally let go. I know, it seems funny to use the word afraid and Dr. J in reference to each other but sometimes even the most tenacious of us can sometimes be afraid, especially when it comes to letting go of something that has been such a big, important part of ones life.
Where Dr. J will go from here now that she isn't going to use her blog as an outlet any more we can only speculate and I won't have a way to check in on her now that "Housecalls" will cease but I pray that she will use her energy and passion and tenaciousness for something positive in her life.
.Regardless of where life takes her from here I am going to miss her blog and although we only knew each other in cyberspace I will always remain an admirer of hers and a supporter. I wish her the best of everything.
I cannot state her case nearly as accurately or passionately as she has been able too. Sometimes life just seems to kick us when we least expect it too and no one we trust or system we believe in seems able or willing to help us back up but instrumental in kicking us again and again when we are down. I know from experience how cruel and unjust the system can be and it seemed the harder I tried to set the truth free the harder the system worked to preserve the wrong and deny the truth. I believe it was my knowledge of how our systems really works and through my struggles within the system to get the truth out that allowed me to become an avid supporter of Dr. J.
I have to admit that since my retirement from the work force I have been far too busy to keep up with my writing and my on-line reading as well. I also have to admit my support for Dr. J became less important to her as her support and influence grew. For sure she had her distractors but all people do, and the more one becomes known the more haters there will be.
Since my wife's accident in October the stresses of life and the obligations and duties increased and I found less and less time to "catch up" on the life and times of Dr. J. Tonight I decided to check in on her and see how she was doing and discovered that 4/25/2013 was the last of her blogs, except for an occasional update.
I was happy to learn that she is active in her church, still, and perhaps a little more active than what she was when I first encountered her. We have never met although we probably have come close a time or two. I did work briefly since I retired and through that job I would have had the opportunity to meet Dr. J. But things changed for me when I discovered I was a type 1 diabetic. I had to give up my job in order to care for myself so another opportunity passed me by.
I can fully understand Dr. J's passion and her desire to pursue her goals as far as she has. I am cut out of the same cloth that she is and I passionately sought for the truth to come out. Unlike Dr. J, I did win a big court battle. Even though the victory was sweet and my advisory was exposed the victory wasn't total and I knew that I could never recover my losses but I had won back my dignity and honor, and that was the best I would ever do. I just stepped away from the situation, accepted my situation for what it was and got on with my life putting my vendetta behind me.
I have found a new passion and a more positive one. I too have become active in my church and I have to brag on God when I think about what He has done in that little place. In Dr. J's last blog it seemed like she really wants to put the situation behind her and move on with her life yet at the same time she has been so involved that it seems almost like she is afraid to totally let go. I know, it seems funny to use the word afraid and Dr. J in reference to each other but sometimes even the most tenacious of us can sometimes be afraid, especially when it comes to letting go of something that has been such a big, important part of ones life.
Where Dr. J will go from here now that she isn't going to use her blog as an outlet any more we can only speculate and I won't have a way to check in on her now that "Housecalls" will cease but I pray that she will use her energy and passion and tenaciousness for something positive in her life.
.Regardless of where life takes her from here I am going to miss her blog and although we only knew each other in cyberspace I will always remain an admirer of hers and a supporter. I wish her the best of everything.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Congress, Fearing 'Brain Drain,' Seeks to Opt Out of Participating in Obamacare's Exchanges
Another one bites the dust. Social Security and other federal plans the average American has to live with have long exempted congress people from having to participate and now it seems Obamacare will be added to the list. How come its good enough for you and the people you love but not for the people who you elected to fairly represent you. Exactly who are they representing?
Bible study a success
A young man from the church asked me to help him study the bible. He wanted to learn two things, one of which was to rightly divide the word and the second was how to prepare a sermon. Actually, he is a young man to people my age but he is in his mid thirties and has a learning disability. Actually he only made it through the ninth grade and is rather dull but still he is a good person and I was more than willing to help. After all, I discovered early in life the one of the best ways to learn is to teach.
I really didn't know the extent of his abilities or lack thereof until after we got started and I realized that learning was going to be difficult for him. It took some doing but I finally got him to understand that rightly dividing the word is just another way of understanding exactly what the scripture says, not only in terms of the meaning of individual words, sentences and phrases but in relationship to the paragraph chapter book and all the scriptures taken together as well as the intent of the bible as a whole.
Where some people get confused is they think it is the language that makes learning difficult but it isn't. Sometimes one needs to refer back to the original language to understand the intent of what a word really means, sometimes we need to understand the culture and customs of the writer or the people to whom the scripture was written to or about. There are some scriptures that one cannot take to mean what they seem to mean. Two come to mind quickly. One says "Does not nature teach that it is a shame for a man to have long hair?" and the other is "A bishop must be the husband of one wife."
At first reading it seems clear that the bible is teaching us that it is shameful for a man to have long hair. What you don't see in that sentence is there is no guidelines to determine when hair has reached the length of being too long. Also what some overlook is the fact that the sentence is a question and not a statement. The answer can be no as well as yes. If one reads on one discovers the final sentence on the matter states that "the church has no such custom."
The conclusion of the discussion is that while it may be better for a man to wear his hair (or dress or whatever) in what is the style or custom that is more commonly accepted as normal the important thing is the mans soul.
As for the second scripture, the literally interpretation of which has done plenty of harm. Some have gone so far as to deny a man access to the pulpit if he was not married and most have denied a man the right to be a minister if they have been married before. It seems contrary to logic to think God wanted a man to dedicate his life to preaching only to deny him that privilege if his wife died. Paul said it was better for a man not to marry so the Catholics do not allow their priest to marry, a decision that seems to stand in direct opposition to what Paul says here. Did Paul get confused?
Other people think that if a man was married and lost his wife (for any reason) and remarried that he cannot be a minister because he now has two wives. Yet even Jesus said that if a man put away his wife for adultery then he was free. That means no longer married. If he isn't married he has no wife. If a mans wife dies, whether by illness or accident, he no longer has a wife and is now free.
Some will claim that once a man marries it is for all eternity and even if she is no longer alive the marriage is still valid in the spiritual world but I would like to point out to those people that the scriptures say that in heaven there is no marriages.
The whole point of the qualification of "must be the husband of one wife" is to inform us that before a man becomes a minister he needs to be a stable person, If he divorced his wife because he desired another or couldn't make the marriage work because of his own shortcomings maybe he just isn't the right type of person to be a spiritually leader. I just cannot accept the fact that God makes mistakes when men are truly called.
The second part of our bible study centered on building a sermon. The process is simple. First one selects the text (the bible verse of group of verses that serve as the foundation or platform for the message). Then one has to decide on the object of the message. There are many lessons one can learn from just a small group of verses. After one decides on the text and the point of the message, one then must develop the points in a logical manner so that the points can be delivered in an interesting and convincing manner. The end of the message is a call to action in response to the message.
My student had a great deal of difficulty in even deciding what one should learn from a scripture of group of verses. He was amazed that I seemed to be able to do it without mush effort but he was really disappointed to learn that it was a skill that not everyone would be good at.
I asked him to hold up a finger. "Now compare that finger to your head. Can you smell with that finger?" "No" he replied. "Can you stick it around the corner and see what is on the other side?" "No."
"Can you hold up your finger and hear what others are saying?" Again the answer was no.
"Well then clearly the finger isn't as important as the head. In fact in comparison to the head the finger seems rather useless so maybe it isn't needed. Call I just cut it off?"
The answer was no. An emphatic no.
"Pick up that coffee cup" I instructed him. He did.
"Now I noticed that you didn't use your head but you did use your hand. So that finger does have a purpose and is able to do things which even the head can't do. Do not ever think that just because I can do things that you cannot do that you are unimportant. There are things that you can do that I cannot. There are certain people you can reach that I cannot reach. You are just as important and vital as anyone else because you can do things that others aren't able to..
I really didn't know the extent of his abilities or lack thereof until after we got started and I realized that learning was going to be difficult for him. It took some doing but I finally got him to understand that rightly dividing the word is just another way of understanding exactly what the scripture says, not only in terms of the meaning of individual words, sentences and phrases but in relationship to the paragraph chapter book and all the scriptures taken together as well as the intent of the bible as a whole.
Where some people get confused is they think it is the language that makes learning difficult but it isn't. Sometimes one needs to refer back to the original language to understand the intent of what a word really means, sometimes we need to understand the culture and customs of the writer or the people to whom the scripture was written to or about. There are some scriptures that one cannot take to mean what they seem to mean. Two come to mind quickly. One says "Does not nature teach that it is a shame for a man to have long hair?" and the other is "A bishop must be the husband of one wife."
At first reading it seems clear that the bible is teaching us that it is shameful for a man to have long hair. What you don't see in that sentence is there is no guidelines to determine when hair has reached the length of being too long. Also what some overlook is the fact that the sentence is a question and not a statement. The answer can be no as well as yes. If one reads on one discovers the final sentence on the matter states that "the church has no such custom."
The conclusion of the discussion is that while it may be better for a man to wear his hair (or dress or whatever) in what is the style or custom that is more commonly accepted as normal the important thing is the mans soul.
As for the second scripture, the literally interpretation of which has done plenty of harm. Some have gone so far as to deny a man access to the pulpit if he was not married and most have denied a man the right to be a minister if they have been married before. It seems contrary to logic to think God wanted a man to dedicate his life to preaching only to deny him that privilege if his wife died. Paul said it was better for a man not to marry so the Catholics do not allow their priest to marry, a decision that seems to stand in direct opposition to what Paul says here. Did Paul get confused?
Other people think that if a man was married and lost his wife (for any reason) and remarried that he cannot be a minister because he now has two wives. Yet even Jesus said that if a man put away his wife for adultery then he was free. That means no longer married. If he isn't married he has no wife. If a mans wife dies, whether by illness or accident, he no longer has a wife and is now free.
Some will claim that once a man marries it is for all eternity and even if she is no longer alive the marriage is still valid in the spiritual world but I would like to point out to those people that the scriptures say that in heaven there is no marriages.
The whole point of the qualification of "must be the husband of one wife" is to inform us that before a man becomes a minister he needs to be a stable person, If he divorced his wife because he desired another or couldn't make the marriage work because of his own shortcomings maybe he just isn't the right type of person to be a spiritually leader. I just cannot accept the fact that God makes mistakes when men are truly called.
The second part of our bible study centered on building a sermon. The process is simple. First one selects the text (the bible verse of group of verses that serve as the foundation or platform for the message). Then one has to decide on the object of the message. There are many lessons one can learn from just a small group of verses. After one decides on the text and the point of the message, one then must develop the points in a logical manner so that the points can be delivered in an interesting and convincing manner. The end of the message is a call to action in response to the message.
My student had a great deal of difficulty in even deciding what one should learn from a scripture of group of verses. He was amazed that I seemed to be able to do it without mush effort but he was really disappointed to learn that it was a skill that not everyone would be good at.
I asked him to hold up a finger. "Now compare that finger to your head. Can you smell with that finger?" "No" he replied. "Can you stick it around the corner and see what is on the other side?" "No."
"Can you hold up your finger and hear what others are saying?" Again the answer was no.
"Well then clearly the finger isn't as important as the head. In fact in comparison to the head the finger seems rather useless so maybe it isn't needed. Call I just cut it off?"
The answer was no. An emphatic no.
"Pick up that coffee cup" I instructed him. He did.
"Now I noticed that you didn't use your head but you did use your hand. So that finger does have a purpose and is able to do things which even the head can't do. Do not ever think that just because I can do things that you cannot do that you are unimportant. There are things that you can do that I cannot. There are certain people you can reach that I cannot reach. You are just as important and vital as anyone else because you can do things that others aren't able to..
Sunday, April 21, 2013
God still cares
Little One Way Baptist was the site of some wonderful things today, Sunday April 21, 2013. Several came to the alter and another called the preacher after everyone had gone home. At first he said he wasn't coming back because he was in conflict over whether to surrender to God or not but after the nine o'clock prayer, the preacher called him and he said he wanted to surrender his life to Christ.
I have a preacher friend that is an evangelist and heads a local fellowship. He doesn't attend our church but does come occasionally whenever our pastor is sick to fill in for him. We were having something special tonight that no one in the church knew about but me, the pastor and his wife. I really want my preacher friend to be there. I didn't ask God to bring him there but one night in prayer I did think how good it would be if he did come to the service.
He was there.
Only God could have brought him to our church at the appointed time. Some may claim it was just a coincidence and maybe it was but so many times in my life things have happened that some would claim are just coincidences but they can't just keep happening at random. It has to be a gracious and loving God that answers prayers time and time again. It is good to know that God still cares. Actually, He always has and always will. It is us that have turned our backs on God.
I know it isn't isn't to let go and trust God especially since we can not see him, feel him, and he seems so distant and separate from us. Sometimes it feels as if He isn't real but I know He is, that he is good and that he loves me. I know he loves you too.
I have a preacher friend that is an evangelist and heads a local fellowship. He doesn't attend our church but does come occasionally whenever our pastor is sick to fill in for him. We were having something special tonight that no one in the church knew about but me, the pastor and his wife. I really want my preacher friend to be there. I didn't ask God to bring him there but one night in prayer I did think how good it would be if he did come to the service.
He was there.
Only God could have brought him to our church at the appointed time. Some may claim it was just a coincidence and maybe it was but so many times in my life things have happened that some would claim are just coincidences but they can't just keep happening at random. It has to be a gracious and loving God that answers prayers time and time again. It is good to know that God still cares. Actually, He always has and always will. It is us that have turned our backs on God.
I know it isn't isn't to let go and trust God especially since we can not see him, feel him, and he seems so distant and separate from us. Sometimes it feels as if He isn't real but I know He is, that he is good and that he loves me. I know he loves you too.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Apple blossoms and peaches
I have a Georgia white which is now 4 years old, 2 eastern yellows that are 3 years old and an unknown variety that is just beginning its 2nd year of growth. The unknown peach tree was started from seeds I procured from a friend of the owner of an Arkansas peach orchard. The tree is over 8 feet tall and is twice as large as the older peach trees. I understand the peaches are supposed to be phenomenal so i can hardly wait until they are large enough and ripe enough to eat. The first year they had two little peaches but they fell off during a late spring cold spell we had last year. The peaches from the other trees didn't get large enough to eat. I'm hoping for something good this year.
I have other peach trees I started from seed. Peaches grow fast and I have had several that bore plenty of peaches their first year if planted in good soil. Starting them from seed is easier if you plant the kernel only. Just let the seed dry out, cut the edges off with pruning shears and then crack open.
I started all my apple trees from seed too and most are four years old. I've had trouble with cedar rust but I've learned how to deal with that problem so this year all the trees are beautiful. I even have two that have blooms. But the only apple trees that made it are Fuji and they are non pollinators so I have to have a crap apple tree or the right kind of apple tree that is a pollinator.
My crap apple tree just isn't old enough to pollinate my apple trees and may not be for several more years so today I set out in search of a Granny Smith. I checked with several retail outlets and a couple of nurseries with no luck. I did find one at Southern States and although they are more expensive than many other places I purchased the tree from them. It is in bloom too. I doubt that I will have apples this year but next fall I'm looking forward to the first fruits from my apple trees. At least the blooms have a sweet fragrance.
I have three cherry trees. The middle one had blooms on it last year and now another has lots of blooms. I don't know if I'll get cherries but the trees are doing fine.
My grape vines are really budding out and the started vines are still green; most of them are anyway. I did buy three Catawba Reds just in case the ones I tried to start from cuttings don't make it.
I finally have my garden planted. I have potatoes, onions (sweet and Valhalla) beets, radishes, kale, green beans (3 rows), cucumbers, squash, watermelon, cantaloupe, squash, green peppers, jalapeno peppers, and Anaheim peppers, and tomatoes. I also planted moon flowers (a 24 ft run) on the opposite side of the grape trellis and two sunflower gardens.
The only bad thing today was the stock market. I lost another $135.00. I hope this isn't the start of another long slide into recession.
I have other peach trees I started from seed. Peaches grow fast and I have had several that bore plenty of peaches their first year if planted in good soil. Starting them from seed is easier if you plant the kernel only. Just let the seed dry out, cut the edges off with pruning shears and then crack open.
I started all my apple trees from seed too and most are four years old. I've had trouble with cedar rust but I've learned how to deal with that problem so this year all the trees are beautiful. I even have two that have blooms. But the only apple trees that made it are Fuji and they are non pollinators so I have to have a crap apple tree or the right kind of apple tree that is a pollinator.
My crap apple tree just isn't old enough to pollinate my apple trees and may not be for several more years so today I set out in search of a Granny Smith. I checked with several retail outlets and a couple of nurseries with no luck. I did find one at Southern States and although they are more expensive than many other places I purchased the tree from them. It is in bloom too. I doubt that I will have apples this year but next fall I'm looking forward to the first fruits from my apple trees. At least the blooms have a sweet fragrance.
I have three cherry trees. The middle one had blooms on it last year and now another has lots of blooms. I don't know if I'll get cherries but the trees are doing fine.
My grape vines are really budding out and the started vines are still green; most of them are anyway. I did buy three Catawba Reds just in case the ones I tried to start from cuttings don't make it.
I finally have my garden planted. I have potatoes, onions (sweet and Valhalla) beets, radishes, kale, green beans (3 rows), cucumbers, squash, watermelon, cantaloupe, squash, green peppers, jalapeno peppers, and Anaheim peppers, and tomatoes. I also planted moon flowers (a 24 ft run) on the opposite side of the grape trellis and two sunflower gardens.
The only bad thing today was the stock market. I lost another $135.00. I hope this isn't the start of another long slide into recession.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Stock Market Slide
The past three days have not been kind to my money with the value of my stocks declining over $700.00. To you rich folks that isn't much but to poor people like me that is a lot. But, I'm sure those with much more money lost much more than I did so I guess its all realative.
I really haven't had time to worry about the stock market as I have been so busy around the yard mowing and planting and moving stuff around and helping other folks and the church. That sounds like a lot and it is especially for an old guy like myself.
Most likey in the next several months those of you who might be curious as to what I really look like may get the opportunity to find out. But more about that later. If you really want to know check me out on face book or better yet see me at One Way Baptist Church. I'll be doing something thes Sunday evening that I haven't done in forty years. Come see. Service starts at 6:45.
I know it is a little church but great things have happened there and we are beginning to grow. God is really working in that little church.
I really haven't had time to worry about the stock market as I have been so busy around the yard mowing and planting and moving stuff around and helping other folks and the church. That sounds like a lot and it is especially for an old guy like myself.
Most likey in the next several months those of you who might be curious as to what I really look like may get the opportunity to find out. But more about that later. If you really want to know check me out on face book or better yet see me at One Way Baptist Church. I'll be doing something thes Sunday evening that I haven't done in forty years. Come see. Service starts at 6:45.
I know it is a little church but great things have happened there and we are beginning to grow. God is really working in that little church.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Jackie Robinson was not first
Jackie Robinson was not the first black to play in the major leagues but he is a hero none the less. Men of color had played on professional teams before but one of the owners effectively banned blacks from pro ball for many years. It wasn't until the Dodgers defied him that the color barrier was broken.
What makes Jackie Robinson a hero is not the fact that he was the first black man to break the ban on people of color but how he did it. In order to get his shot, Jackie Robinson agreed to play for seven years without uttering a word in his own defense. It was extremely difficult and it did take its toll on his health, but with that commitment to silence he not only proved he was a great baseball player but he proved he was a man of great character as well and isn't that what we really want in our sports heros?
What is a shame though is that after all this time it seems when a non-black makes a mistake it is only a character flaw but when a black man makes a mistake it is a racial characteristic. We really should be better than that now but we aren't.
What makes Jackie Robinson a hero is not the fact that he was the first black man to break the ban on people of color but how he did it. In order to get his shot, Jackie Robinson agreed to play for seven years without uttering a word in his own defense. It was extremely difficult and it did take its toll on his health, but with that commitment to silence he not only proved he was a great baseball player but he proved he was a man of great character as well and isn't that what we really want in our sports heros?
What is a shame though is that after all this time it seems when a non-black makes a mistake it is only a character flaw but when a black man makes a mistake it is a racial characteristic. We really should be better than that now but we aren't.
Monday, April 15, 2013
One Way Baptist Completed project
I started in the fall of 2011 with a set of loppers and a maddox and a small hand saw. The land was overgrown with vines as thick as a mans waist and sixty feet long, briar's, fallen trees, bushes that were springing up like grass, and a general assortment of other vines and weeds. There were broken bricks, car tires, auto parts and old outhouse parts scattered throughout the lot. I had no money and the church had no money to have the property cleared but it needed to be done. Most men would have done nothing. It was too big a task for a man, an old one at that, to take on with no equipment and no help. There was none to do the job and each year the vines and briar's and poke weed bushes crept closer to the church.
But I intended to fight the weeds and plant a pumpkin garden there. I worked from September until the end of February of 2012 and had half the property cleared and I did have a pumpkin garden.
Starting again in late September, early October I talked the second half. It was a much tougher job and the land was littered with fallen tree trucks and limbs, left whole to rot where they lay, intertwined with vegetation, many hidden beneath the ground level due to excessive growth of low laying vines.
I did manage to scrap up the money to purchase a small chain saw but the old wood destroyed the chain saw blades quickly. In just a few hours a blade was so dull it was almost impossible to sharpen. I went through 5 blades in the course of clearing the land.
I am proud to announce as of today, the land is clear of all fallen logs and excessive growth. There are so vines that still need to be removed and thousands of small pieces of wood, sampling stumps, and weed stems that need to be cut and removed or raked off the ground before I can plant pumpkins but the land is so close to being usable I declare victory.
There is a lesson for all to be learned from my labors. No matter how daunting the task and how ill equipped you seem to be to tackle it, with determination, time, and perseverance and some help and encouragement from God, you too can claim victory.
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Is this animal cruely or just a pet keepers right?
I never paid much attention to my neighbor until he built himself an outbuilding. It is well built howbeit by trial and error. I think the guy works construction but he is probably a wall board hanger. Anyway I had lots of laughs at watching the comedy of errors he and his friends made building the shed. What should have been a three week job has now stretched out to almost a year and he still isn't finished. It's an eyesore, with exposed wood, tar paper flapping in the breeze, and dirt piled around it's foundation.
I watched the guy cut down trees and stacke the wood only to move it 4 months later and then burn the brush, once setting his neighbors shed on fire.
The shed is large enough to have required a builders permit but he didn't have one. The shed is also build on the property line whiuch again isn't legal. It is also illegal to burn within city limits but even if burning was legal, it would have been much easier to care the stuff to the curb and let the city pick it up.
Even so, it isn't this neighbor that is my biggest concern. It is the neighbor one house down from him, the one who keeps a dog tied in the back yard, far away from the house. It is a dog that never is allowed loose, never receives human contact, and never has been fixed. The dog is now pregnant again. The first liter was pit bull mix. All but two of the puppies from the first liter were given to other people. Those two were given to the man with the shed.
Sadly, those two puppys, about nine months old now, have been kept on the small back porch with a makeshift lean-to made of plywood and flapping tar paper, and are ignored almost as much as the mother dog is.
It just seems cruel to me to keep a dog tied up 24/7/365 and never allow it freedom or given it human interaction or to keep twp puppies pinned on a back porch months on in and not allowed to exercise and not ever given attention.
I wish that I could do something or knew someone that cared enough to do something but it must be that society is perfectly okay with the man treating his animals this way.
Please don't suggest that I notify animal awareness, city hall, or local law enforcement. They don't seem to care about his dog anymore than he does.
I watched the guy cut down trees and stacke the wood only to move it 4 months later and then burn the brush, once setting his neighbors shed on fire.
The shed is large enough to have required a builders permit but he didn't have one. The shed is also build on the property line whiuch again isn't legal. It is also illegal to burn within city limits but even if burning was legal, it would have been much easier to care the stuff to the curb and let the city pick it up.
Even so, it isn't this neighbor that is my biggest concern. It is the neighbor one house down from him, the one who keeps a dog tied in the back yard, far away from the house. It is a dog that never is allowed loose, never receives human contact, and never has been fixed. The dog is now pregnant again. The first liter was pit bull mix. All but two of the puppies from the first liter were given to other people. Those two were given to the man with the shed.
Sadly, those two puppys, about nine months old now, have been kept on the small back porch with a makeshift lean-to made of plywood and flapping tar paper, and are ignored almost as much as the mother dog is.
It just seems cruel to me to keep a dog tied up 24/7/365 and never allow it freedom or given it human interaction or to keep twp puppies pinned on a back porch months on in and not allowed to exercise and not ever given attention.
I wish that I could do something or knew someone that cared enough to do something but it must be that society is perfectly okay with the man treating his animals this way.
Please don't suggest that I notify animal awareness, city hall, or local law enforcement. They don't seem to care about his dog anymore than he does.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
headlind writing in the 21st centuary
- Killed moving rabbit" reads a headline on Yahoo's homepage this morning April 10, 2013. I figured the man must have been a preety good shot to kill a moving rabbit which is what the headline leads on to believe. I was curious as to what he used to kill the rabbit with. If he used a slingshot then hitting the rabbit was just awesome. However, if he ran over it with his car, then it was lucky but a bit too messy to make use of the rabbit. Shooting it with a bow and arrow would have been a good trick but using a shotgun at close range would have been worse that running over it with his car. Using a pistol or rifle might have been a little too dangerous if there were homes in the area.
- So out of curiousity I read the article. It turns out the rabbit wasn't moving nor did the man kill it. The story was nothing like the headline. What actually happened was a rabbit was in the road and a man stopped to move it. While being a good person, I suppose, someone else hit the man with their car killing the good samaritan. I was thinking how disappointed I was over such a misleading headline. Now if the headline has said "Man killed while moving rabbit" it would have been true to the story and I would have known before reading the article what it was about.
- What is really sad to say is this kind of stupidity is common today and speaks volumes about the poor state of education in America today.
Wednesday, April 03, 2013
Easter Sunday: a touching of an old man
Easter Sunday
It isn’t always easy to touch an old man’s heart, even one dedicated to serving others. As recorded in the book of Acts, chapter six the apostles were faced with a dilemma. There were matters that needed their attention but to address those problems would require them to take time away from their calling. To solve the problem they appointed men of honest report to take care of the business. These men were called deacons.
I am a deacon, the only one in my church as we are small and really need none but the church was set up with deacons to serve and so it is why our church has one. I would suppose that deacons serve the church differently in different congregations but in our church my service is to the pastor. My duties cannot be spelled out specifically as a deacon is not an office. I view my duties as serving the pastor as "doing whatever the pastor needs me to do." Fortunately my pastor seldom asks me to do anything. Occasionally he may need me to fill in when a sick person needs a visit and he is unable to go or when a problem arises in the neighborhood and he can not take care of it as he lives far from the church. Most of what I do is done because I want to do it.
I do repair work, mow the grass, make the videos for the shut-ins, and teach the Sunday School lesson. Teaching is what I do best and I love to make the scriptures relevant to our everyday lives. I love my lord and savor and I want people to feel the passion I have for serving him. I live what I teach but to be honest, I am only human and make mistakes as does any other person. I make mistakes in my marriage too but that does not mean I love my wife any less nor does it mean that she loves me any less either. Sometimes she loves me more because I made a mistake because she recognizes the effort and passion that went into my efforts. Jesus is good to forgive me when I fall short.
We all fall short of God’s expectations for us. We aren’t always as faithful as we should be, sometimes we misapply scriptures or forget to realize that just because God took some desires away from us we can’t go around criticizing others that aren’t Christians because they still have those desires. It is our job to catch the fish and God’s job to clean them up.
I treat people with respect but it does take awhile to begin to trust someone to live up to their word. Many times I’ve been told "I’ll be there Sunday" but have never seen that person darken the doors of the church. People do what they want to do and not always what they should do. It isn’t often I’m disappointed by people but seldom am I touched by them either. When I do something nice and unexpected for someone it is more likely that I will be greeted with skepticism rather than thankfulness. It takes a lot for others to recognize that one is sincere
with no hidden agenda.
Being small like we are it has been a long time since we have had children in the church, especially children old enough to understand what is going on. On Easter Sunday we had three such children and for Sunday School too. It was near the end of the lesson when one of the two girls raised her hand and announced "I saved a little kitten"in response to a statement I had made. I told her I wanted to talk to her about her cat so as soon as Sunday School was over I made my way back to where her family was sitting and let tell me about her cat. We talked awhile and then she showed me a pocket notebook she was writing in. I was shocked when I read what she wrote.
She had taken notes of my Sunday School lesson and she had recorded accurately the most important points I had attempted to make. I was impressed.
The pastor preached his sermon and as we were to the point of dismissing the congregation the little girl walked to the front and handed the pastor a little piece of paper and said "I have a question." The pastor was pleased and said "Wow, a question for our question box." Then he handed the slip of paper to me and said, "You are good at handling these."
I opened the paper half expecting a simple child’s question and half expecting to not be able to understand what she was asking." I was totally shocked when I read her question. She asked "If I write to God in my journal will God write to me?" I was not expecting such a sincere and mature question from one so small. I was totally touched by her question and her desire to know God.
I walked down the aisle and stopped in front of her and handled her my bible. "God has written you a love letter."
It isn’t always easy to touch an old man’s heart, even one dedicated to serving others. As recorded in the book of Acts, chapter six the apostles were faced with a dilemma. There were matters that needed their attention but to address those problems would require them to take time away from their calling. To solve the problem they appointed men of honest report to take care of the business. These men were called deacons.
I am a deacon, the only one in my church as we are small and really need none but the church was set up with deacons to serve and so it is why our church has one. I would suppose that deacons serve the church differently in different congregations but in our church my service is to the pastor. My duties cannot be spelled out specifically as a deacon is not an office. I view my duties as serving the pastor as "doing whatever the pastor needs me to do." Fortunately my pastor seldom asks me to do anything. Occasionally he may need me to fill in when a sick person needs a visit and he is unable to go or when a problem arises in the neighborhood and he can not take care of it as he lives far from the church. Most of what I do is done because I want to do it.
I do repair work, mow the grass, make the videos for the shut-ins, and teach the Sunday School lesson. Teaching is what I do best and I love to make the scriptures relevant to our everyday lives. I love my lord and savor and I want people to feel the passion I have for serving him. I live what I teach but to be honest, I am only human and make mistakes as does any other person. I make mistakes in my marriage too but that does not mean I love my wife any less nor does it mean that she loves me any less either. Sometimes she loves me more because I made a mistake because she recognizes the effort and passion that went into my efforts. Jesus is good to forgive me when I fall short.
We all fall short of God’s expectations for us. We aren’t always as faithful as we should be, sometimes we misapply scriptures or forget to realize that just because God took some desires away from us we can’t go around criticizing others that aren’t Christians because they still have those desires. It is our job to catch the fish and God’s job to clean them up.
I treat people with respect but it does take awhile to begin to trust someone to live up to their word. Many times I’ve been told "I’ll be there Sunday" but have never seen that person darken the doors of the church. People do what they want to do and not always what they should do. It isn’t often I’m disappointed by people but seldom am I touched by them either. When I do something nice and unexpected for someone it is more likely that I will be greeted with skepticism rather than thankfulness. It takes a lot for others to recognize that one is sincere
with no hidden agenda.
Being small like we are it has been a long time since we have had children in the church, especially children old enough to understand what is going on. On Easter Sunday we had three such children and for Sunday School too. It was near the end of the lesson when one of the two girls raised her hand and announced "I saved a little kitten"in response to a statement I had made. I told her I wanted to talk to her about her cat so as soon as Sunday School was over I made my way back to where her family was sitting and let tell me about her cat. We talked awhile and then she showed me a pocket notebook she was writing in. I was shocked when I read what she wrote.
She had taken notes of my Sunday School lesson and she had recorded accurately the most important points I had attempted to make. I was impressed.
The pastor preached his sermon and as we were to the point of dismissing the congregation the little girl walked to the front and handed the pastor a little piece of paper and said "I have a question." The pastor was pleased and said "Wow, a question for our question box." Then he handed the slip of paper to me and said, "You are good at handling these."
I opened the paper half expecting a simple child’s question and half expecting to not be able to understand what she was asking." I was totally shocked when I read her question. She asked "If I write to God in my journal will God write to me?" I was not expecting such a sincere and mature question from one so small. I was totally touched by her question and her desire to know God.
I walked down the aisle and stopped in front of her and handled her my bible. "God has written you a love letter."
Tuesday, April 02, 2013
Were you pranked on April Fools Day?
Were you pranked on April 1, April Fools Day? I was. My wife is a weather buff and is always filling me in on the newest forcast so I was none the wiser when she told me first thing in the morning "Better enjoy today. It will be turning cooler tomorrow and maybe even snowing by Friday." Considering in snowed last week, her comment was believable. And she never jokes around so I swallowed her story hook, line, and sinker.
At first I wasn't happy about being pranked but I decided to enjoy it anyway and just had a good laugh. My laughing set the tone for the day and we had a good time. She snapped pictures all day as I worked cleaning up and redoing my water garden and koi pond.
At first I wasn't happy about being pranked but I decided to enjoy it anyway and just had a good laugh. My laughing set the tone for the day and we had a good time. She snapped pictures all day as I worked cleaning up and redoing my water garden and koi pond.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)