Gay Marriage Support Grows

Gay means happy and I'm all for happy.  It would be better if people used toe correct term  which is Homosexual.  It seems that whatever people want to push they will achieve as long as they can convince others that the old way isn't fair and you can think of no good reason why things shouldn't be different. 
   People are born that way is the claim of homosexual rights advocates.  That may be true.  People are born liars, thieves, and with all sorts of abhorrent behaviors.  I have never heard of a parent who had to teach their children to tell a lie.  When the time is right, the kid will lie to avoid trouble.  One doesn't have to teach a kid to steal.  That comes natural.  We do have to teach our children manners, to tell the truth and to share. 
   It seems that not all lies are bad and it seems to be okay to steal if we believe enough other people are cheating too.  To be honest though, most of us would prefer not to be lied to or stolen from or beat up or killed.  We would rather be able to trust people, especially those we accept as our friends.  So, as parents, we continue to try to teach our children proper behavior and good relationships and hope they grow up to be good honest citizens who can function well in this world without being hurt too deeply or often nor taken advantaged of.  We realize that just because our child is born with the ability to lie, to cheat, to steal, and to use violence to get what they want, that behavior is not a good thing. 
   In other words, being born that way isn't a good excuse for bad behavior. 
  
  

weather was hard, illness even harder

I enjoyed the snow but I hate not being able to get out.  Now that I'm retired I don't have the excuse of 'I have a job I have to get too".  Being older I also have to be more cautious about what I do. 

Back in 1985 I missed a day of work because I felt like crap.  That wasn't the only day I have been sick in my adult life.  Good fortune or not, it seems all my illnesses came when I was on vacation or over an extended period of off time, like a three day weekend.  I never missed a day of work, save that one, due to sickness. 

  Colds, flu, and feeling bad are foreign to me so this sinus thing I've had for about a week is baffling me.  winter has always been hard on my sinuses but a spray bottle of saline solution usually does the trick.  But for the past week, my sinuses have drained so  much that at times I thought I would drown.  Even when my nasal passages would open up, there was a constant drainage down my throat and I would cough so much it hurt.  The drainage and the coughing has left my throat so strained that I had to forgo teaching my Sunday School class today. 

  I purchased some regular nasal spray but the directions say no to use more than three days and not to use if you have high blood pressure or are a diabetic without consulting a doctor.  I do have an appointment:  next month.

   The time this stuff is the worst is   when I crawl into bed.  I either can't breath, can't stop coughing, or can't shut the mucus faucet off. 

   I don't have a fever, don't know what his crude is and have no idea come long it will last or how to treat it.  I do know I'm ready to be done with it. 

We;re growing

Sometime this week I am heading to Kinston to view some NC Educational Modular Building.  sometimes things just don't work out as hoped.  A few months back, it the summer time, we had a lead on a 28 x  50 ft building  but by using the time we needed to get the money together the building was no longer available.  It wasn't a big disappointment that we didn't get it.  We had just started to grow.

Three years back we had two families to leave the church, one to go into the mission field and one to take a position with a church in Thomasville.  Their departure left us with the Pastor and his wife, my wife and me, a 92 year old woman and an 82 year old man.  We were kind of like the crew and passengers of the USS Minnow: just riding a sinking ship.  We started praying but it seemed every time we added one another would leave.  Two and a half years into our 9 pm prayer service we seemed to be stuck at 13.  unfortunately, it was a revolving thirteen. 

Then, six months ago we started to grow.  We added two families, then another, then another, and now we have two more families that are seriously considering joining us.  We are averaging around 29.  In the last five weeks, we had 45, 29, 29, 40, and today about 35 (unofficial count).  Not many, you say? 

Well our building is over two hundred years old.  The building was occupied from 1960 until 1990, then it sat empty until 2006.  That church folding in 2009.  The building only holds 40;  the preacher and 39 congregants. 

   We now have a youth group started and we need room for them plus we need room for them to have a Sunday School class. 
  
    We now have the money to get a building.  Of course we'll need a little more to fix it up right and to finish the parking lot but we are close.  Once we get the new building we'll have room for twice the people.  We don't have chairs for them yet but that will come. 

   If you want to be a part of our growth you can do one or more of the following:
     1.  Come visit us and give due consideration to joining us.
     2.  Make a cash contribution to help us obtain and furnish our facilities.
     3.  Pray for us

I'm excited about what's going on in that little church but not because of the number of people being added or about getting new facilities but because of the lives being touched there.  We had three teenagers come to accept Christ this month

Friendly barb isn't friendly to me

My son likes to take pictures at the DJ events he organizes and tonight my wife asked why he never posted pictures of his self.  Some one posted back saying "Who would want a picture of an Asian bro."
  I didn't think it was funny and I told the man so. 
   He responded by saying that he was a good friend and the person who kept my sons car in good repair. 
   I informed the fellow that any putdown no matter how well intended is hurtful.  Secondly my son was an American, not an Asian.  Thirdly, I told him that I raised my son to be a good and kind man and I was proud of him.  Then I told the guy that fixing his car made him a mechanic.  I am his father. 
    I am not his natural father but that doesn't make me less of a dad.  He is the person I choose to carry my last name.  I didn't have to settle for pot luck like most fathers do.  I got to know him before I decided to make him my son.  As far as I am concerned he is my flesh and blood.

You say he's your friend.  Then treat him with respect. 

Wealthy Want Own Town

Wealthy people in Baton Rouge want to incorporate the area thy live in into a different township so they can funnel their money into schools for their kids and not have to fund the schools in poorer neighborhoods.  That is all very well and good for the wealthy folks but that means that kids from the poorer neighborhoods will have to struggle even harder due to a lack of resources.

I suppose what the wealthy want to do makes sense for themselves and it certainly isn't illegal;  it has been done in other areas.  The Poor neighborhoods can always protest and gripe and complain and all the protests, griping, and complaining may fall on deft ears.  But there is hope for them.  The rich are voting with their pocketbook and that vote is powerful.  well, the poor have pocketbooks too and while they don't hold as much money there are usually more poor than rich. 

If the people in the snubbed poorer neighborhoods vow not to work  in the rich people areas, then the rich would cease to be rich.  There would be restaurants but no busboys, cooks, or waitresses.  There would be grocery stores but no one to stock the shelves, unload the trucks, bake the bread, or man the cash registers.  There would be banks but no tellers, movie theaters but no ticket takers or projector operators. 

I think the rich would regret their decision.

Good Morning

It's Wednesday.  Today I'm going to walk a little, having my morning prayer on the square, affix a door stop to the sanctuary door,  take the recyclables to the recycle bin, fill out a tax form, and then relax before attending church this evening.   I'm looking forward to visitation tomorrow night and to Sunday singing with Mountain Joy. 

   Hopefully soon we will have a much larger building which will, I promise, have enough room for you. 

A growing concern

Allissa came to rededicate her life on Sunday, Zack accepted Christ on Monday and today, Timothy did too.  Wow.  Three teenagers in one week wanting to serve the Lord.  Our little church is growing either by older people liking us and deciding to join or younger people deciding  to serve Christ.  The young are bring their friends.  Three months ago we had no one you would consider young, but now we have nine.  and today we had a family visit Sunday morning and they returned Sunday night.  They have a teenager named Ryan so if they decide to join that would make ten. 

 It's not the numbers that I'm excited about but the people that are being reached and whose lives are being changed that I care about.  Soon we are going to need a larger building. 

Next Sunday morning we will have our Sunday singing with Mountain Joy.  We will have Sunday School at 10.  If you want to come you are welcome.  Read James chapter two and you will fit right in.  If you have not heard Mountain Joy you have been missing a blessing.  They are not only talented musicians and singers but they live what they sing about.  That is why I like they so much. 

Come join us.