Bring up a child

I was just reading an article on the biggest mistakes that parents make when raising their children and one of them was being to strict  or to religiously strict to be specific.  Often parents will hold up standards to the children and expect them to live up to those standards when the adults themselves cannot. 
  First in doing so, the parents have to believe that religious standards, or codes of conduct, makes one righteous.   First those parents need to understand that Christianity is a relationship and not a moral code, if indeed Christianity is the religion that the writer was referring to.  I'm sure he wouldn't feel so free to criticize the way a Muslim family raised their children. 
  I know the man is right, whatever definition of religion one uses.  I have an acquaintance who is upset that one of his kids has begun using marijuana.  This man is a deacon in his church and one of the pastors hand picked favorite people.  he testifies often about how he came to be saved 22 years ago but admits that for the longest time he was just "Playing church". 
   Rightly or wrongly, I'm not taking sides here, but the pastor has repeatedly asked that no one attend church services or be on church property in shorts.  Yet this man, who mows the lawn, will wear his shorts and also go shirtless.   He has repeatedly promised to quit smoking but he continues to puff away.  His oldest son, who is still in  his thirties still lives with daddy and he smokes  marijuana 
  A father cannot justify his refusal to obey the pastor, his allowing one son to use marijuana while supporting him, and his criticism of another son who is in school and holds a job.   His actions and his words are at odds with each other making him a hypocrite.  Not a religious hypocrite but a parental hypocrite. 
  It isn't always easy for a parent to adhere to the standards we want our children to live up to but I believe the children can understand the occasional lapse in judgement but when the transgression is a lifestyle of contradiction then there is a more serious problem here. 

In search of a new church

There seems to be a church on every corner.  Unlike churches of my youth, parking lots are empty and services seemed to be more laid back.  Finding a new church isn't always easy.  First, I had to whittle the list down by denomination.  I realize that many churches have dropped the denomination title from their name but it is important to me.  I've been to a church that welcomes all of differing denominations and it is easier to upset people when things are preached or taught that doesn't line up with ones belief system.  I would rather know the basics before I go.
  Sunday School is important to me.  I want to be a serious student of the bible so you better keep me interested and challenged.  I went to one church and they had two separate classes for the adults.  One was an all men's class  which was the one I attended.  The "teacher" read the Sunday School book to us word for word.  He read slow and some words he had trouble with.  He mentioned that one man "laminated' although the correct word was lamented.  Seriously?  I can read the lesson for myself, understand it better if I had, and I learned nothing except what was on the written page. 
  One turn off at church is when you arrive, no one says anything to you and no one lingers after service to talk but when the preacher says "turn around and shake hands" everyone wants to act as if you are their best friend.  Either talk to me or don't but don't be a phony. 
  I have sat under some fire and brimstone preachers but for me it is about the message not the delivery.  Of course I prefer a sermon to be delivered with some enthusiasm and yelling, romping, stomping, arm waving, foot stomping, leg kicking, amen demanding sermons just don't do it for me.  neither do catch phrases like "honey" and amen".       One preacher says "honey at least 70 times a message, another says amen after every sentence and twice if amen is part of what he is saying.  When they really get warmed up they will say "amen, amen I like it when you say amen, amen. Amen."  Please spare me brother.
   Don't you just love it when the preacher asks "Can I say something without making you mad?"  Well, he either  already has or he is going to say it anyway in spite of the fact I answered no.  Saying such stuff tells me he don't care what I think.
  I don't like preacher who are the opposite of what they claim.  Don't tell me you don't fight your battles from the pulpit then stand up and take a parishioner apart because their job changed and now requires them to work on a Sunday now and then or make statements like "well, you can believe what you want too' whenever the Sunday School teacher mentions something you disagree with.  Talk to these people in private, please. 
  If a pastor preachers a sermon and upholds the name of Christ and preaches Jesus and not a bunch of catch phrases then he can hold my attention.  I like being able to be a part of the service.  It Sunday School I like when the teacher asks questions or gives us a chance to make comments.   

3 mistakes to avoid if you want to make a million

1.  Spend to much
2.  Earn to little
 3.  fail to have a plan

Leadership

I just read a couple of articles about leadership which reminded me of lessons long ago learned but forgotten now that I've been out of the work force.  When I worked in drug stores,  management at store level was normally done by young people without much experience.  Each store had an order book and if left to order what one felt was right for their store, I found that the stores would be overstocked on slow moving items and low on better selling merchandise or completely out of stock.  I also noticed that managers scheduled work around what worked best of them and most managers took the attitude that there job was to supervise employees.
  To combat /these problems I constantly had to monitor what was being ordered in the store by putting order quantities in the order book and checking regularly to be sure the order book was being followed.  This resulted in  my stores having the lest inventory per store in the chain yet having virtually no out of stocks.  I also wrote the schedules for each store to maximize worker efficiency and to minimize union problems. 
  Those things were easy.  The hardest part of my job was to train my managers  to recognize that every job in the store was theirs to perform and that employees were there to help them. Having a boss that thinks they need to constantly tell you what to do is demoralizing and causes resentment.  Having a boss that works beside you, teaching you, and helping you learn your job makes one feel valuable and part of the team. 
   By working hand in hand with my young management team, teaching them not only their jobs but how to do mine as well, I succeeded in having highly successful stores and the highest retention rate in the company  as well as more employees promoted to supervisory positions in the company. 
  One thing my managers learned is that things like inventory and schedules  are best left to formulas but people are best treated as people.  You show a genuine interest in them and they will show a genuine interest in you. 

Home Security

I do have an alarm system with glass break protection for my home and out building.  I wanted a security camera and the alarm company wanted $500.00 to install one plus $5.00 a month additional monitoring fee.  That would be fine except it would only protect the house and then only if someone broke in the front of the house.  A burglary could, and probably would, come in from the back and not be seen by the camera at all or someone could break into my out building and not be seen. 
   I ordered two security cameras from Amazon (Anran cameras) and a DVR which was Amcrest. 
  I installed the two cameras and plugged them up and they worked great.  I used by old computer or when I got my new computer so I have a nice, big screen to view by house.  One camera shows my out building and the other my back door. 
  I decided to get a third camera for the front door but wanted one that would give me alerts on my computer and/or my phone so I decided to go with Amcrest.  I also decided to order directly from the manufacture.  I wanted a wireless camera so I didn't have to crawl under the house, drill more holes, and string more cable.  Of course the camera didn't work and the instructions said it recommended using Ethernet cable.  What is the point of having wireless if I have to hook the camera up using Ethernet?  After 10 days I still didn't have the camera working and repeated contacts of customer service resulted in a run around.  I asked for a return slip but never got one.  I finally just gave up and sent the camera back.   
  I then ordered a wired  camera and while awaiting it I crawled under the house and strung the cable.  The wired Amcrest camera came so I plugged it up and nothing.  I asked for a return label, immediately it was provided so I just printed it, boxed up the camera and dropped it at UPS an ordered a third Anran camera.  I ordered it Tuesday and it was delivered today.  I plugged it in and I have a clear color image of my front porch.  Simple. 
  I don't understand why Anran cameras work with an Amcrest DVR but the Amcrest cameras don't. 
  I may never know the answer to that but I did learn not to order direct anymore.  Doing so cost me my leverage in getting service and being able to return the product. 

The super rich are preparing for the end of the world

 When I took my first job after the military I though I would have it made if I could bring home $200.00 a week.  By the time I made that much it wasn't enough.  If I made that much now I couldn't survive.  I suppose survival is what the article the headline  is written for is about.  I suppose the super rich can do things to ensure they survive whatever destruction man may bring upon the earth and according to the doomsday clock destruction isn't but a few minutes away. 
  But what is there to survive to?  Would not it be better to just let the human race die out so the animal can live it relative peace again?  Of course they won't as they will continue to hunt and kill each other but only for their personal survival and not out of malice or fun. 
  I'm not sure what the super rich think they will have if they survive that they don't already have:  bragging rights I suppose, but to whom are they going to brag.  Most of their stuff won't work anyway.  No electricity, no gas or oil for their homes, no roads for their cars, no grocery stores to purchase food from, no clean drinking water.  Chances are they will die a much more painful death that all of us who could not afford to prepare. 
  But don't despair.  There is a way for the rest of us to prepare, survive, and to thrive.  Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life.  Accept Christ as your savior and follow him and he will be there to take care of you.  In fact he will take you home with him if the end of the world is near so you will not suffer nor will you die.  So if you are one that would like to survive the end of the world but do not have enough money to do so, take heart in knowing the answer is not in money, or things but in Jesus.  It is not what you place your trust in but whom.

A lesson learned.

I wanted to purchase a new item so I dealt directly with the manufacturer.  I couldn't get the product to work, could get ineffective customer service at best, was refused to be allowed to return the item although it was under warranty, but sent the item back anyway.  It has neither been fixed and returned nor has a credit been issued. 
   I should have gone with Amazon.  The item was the same price and could have returned it for credit with no hassle.  I also would have a little leverage in getting issued resolved.  I don't think I will ever deal directly with a manufacture again.   

Madonna Clarifies Her Anti-Trump Speech from the Women’s March: ‘I Spoke in Metaphor’

Exactly what part of 'I think a lot about blowing up the White House" metaphoric?  When in the book of Revelation the word great dragon is used, it is meant the Antichrist.  When it talks about the naked women riding upon the great beast, it is referring to God's people and the birth of Jesus Christ.  When Madonna says "I think a lot about blowing up the white house" it means "I think a lot about blowing up the white house". 
   Does she think we are so stupid we do not know what a metaphor is?  She threatened the newly elected President of the United States promised to leave the country if he was elected, and now expects me to believe that the threatening phrase actually means sometime else?  Maybe it means "I am making plans to assassinate Donald Trump"  or "I am encouraging someone to kill the President"? 
  Pray tell Madonna, exactly what is that phrase a metaphor for? 

  As the kids used to tease "Liar, liar pants on fire." 

Where the women protesting in favor of abortionb rights?

    I don't know what the Million Women March was about or what Trump has done that have so many women upset.  I tried reading an article to find out but it never said and the comments by readers turned out to be nothing but childish arguing and complaining without really saying anything.  I did kind of get the feeling that some of it might have had to do with abortion rights.  Many the women believe that Trump is fearful enough to actually  be able to reverse abortion rights. 
    I hope not.  I do believe that a women should not be forced to carry a baby to term in the case of rape, incest or if her life is threatened.  I do not believe abortion should be used as a birth control method to undo the results of irresponsible behavior.  I do not believe that a women should be forced to go to a back alley doctor to get an abortion  nor do I think that getting an illegal abortion should be considered a criminal offense. 
   The solution is to encourage men and women to have responsible sex.  I know that there is a criminal element out there and unwanted pregnancies will always exist and abortion should be available to those who really need it. Abortion should not be used as a method of birth control.  There should be some form of penalty whether it be 'responsibility" classes or community service working in an abortion clinic or material discussing the consequences of abortion, keeping the baby and alternatives or maybe a combination of all of the above. 
  If women were really that concerned about controlling their own bodies then maybe the number of .  babies that needed to be aborted would take a dramatic drop and women would lead healthier and happier lives. 

This will not change anything but...........

  A story about the million women march denigrates into comments about how a man let his wife have knee pads and another claiming he gives his wife a day off each month.  People calling each other idiots and Republitards and Demorats and all kinds of disgusting names and terms.  Have you ever really listened to men discussing their favorite teams? 
  My team is going whoop on your team and your coach is a fool and your quarterback can't hit the broad side of a barn and a bunch of other useless, derogatory, and inflammatory statements that only cause hurt feelings and accomplishes nothing. 
  When I was in "A" school we were told if the commander asked us a question that we better be prepared to give reasons for our onions.  If the Captain wanted to know how we liked the cafeteria don't just say the food sucks but be prepared to tell him why it was bad and what could be done to improve it. 
  One man expressed his opinion and someone commented he was wearing his 'tinfoil hat" too high.  He never did express why he thought the guy was wrong or what he was wrong about and why he thought he was wrong.   One woman wrote in favor of the MWM and said it was for women's rights.  Which rights did she think she needed she didn't have?  Or was she fighting to keep a right that she thought was threatened. 
  I didn't learn a thing about what the purpose of the march was but I did learn that people had strong feelings about it but they could not or would not articulate their concerns. 

This is just wrong

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Kentucky woman was fired and interviewed by the Secret Service after she posted a tweet about assassinating President-elect Donald Trump, according to WAVE.
Heather Lowrey’s tweet read, “If someone was cruel enough to assassinate MLK, maybe someone will be kind enough to assassinate Trump. #bekind #trump #lovetrumpshate.”
The tweet has since been removed and her account deactivated.
After the tweet, several employees decided to fire her, including the Va Va Vixen’s burlesque group.
Their statement read:

Please, know that we, at Va Va Vixens, do not condone the behavior of Heather Lowrey. She was dismissed the moment we were informed of this incident. We have a zero tolerance policy for such. It’s no secret that we are in the midst of a divided nation. With so much hate and anger in the world, our hope is to be a sanctuary that welcomes all walks of life with open arms. We do not condone hate by any party and will not partake in it. We in no way support negative behavior or malicious intent from anyone.

American Income Life — Travis Moody Offices Kentucky-Indiana also posted a statement the incident on Facebook.

Heather Lowrey is no longer contracted with the Travis Moody Agency. The Travis Moody Agency, its agents and its staff do not share the same views, nor opinions as Heather Lowrey. We have a zero tolerance policy and would never condone this behavior.

  The first time I ever heard about something like this I was a Junior in college and a fellow student said that someone should shoot that man, referring to MLK.  I told the guy that nothing MLK had ever done warranted a death penalty.  We just can't go around shooting people we disagree with.  She should indeed be dismissed for such a tweet as this.  Advocating the violent out throw of the government   (Trump is the executive Branch) is a serious offense. 

Confrontation near parade route escalates, pepper spray used

Some people view themselves as liberal meaning that they ae tolerant of differing viewpoints and view solutions to problems with a wider field of solutions yet it seems some of them only tolerate ideas  that they agree with. 
  In reading comments on various topics it seems people on both sides of an issue resort to name calling and insults to make their point which is that the other side is wrong.   I can understand the viewpoint that what a man earns should be his to keep and just because you are in need should not give anyone the right to take from you and give to another.  Yet, there are those in need, some through unfortunate circumstances that really need a hand up.  Then there are those who have contributed for years but due to a medical condition are not capable of taking care of themselves. 
  The argumenr should not resort to name calling but to sit down and have a reasonable discussion to work out a solution. 

10 Betty White Moments That Prove She's a National Treasure

I like Betty White, or at least I liked some of her comedic work like what she did on the Mary Tyler Moore show and the Golden Girls.  Saw her in a movie once.  I had no idea she could be so foul mouthed. 
  I read the article with the title the same as the headline.  Didn't prove she was a national treasure to me.  All it showed was that she drank too much and was a smart aleck .  A couple of the lines were funny but most were just mean.   

160 million Americans can't afford to treat a broken arm

The headline is the title of an article outlining the results of at. study.  The conclusion is that unexpected financial events are harder on poor people than on people that are more financial secure. 
The average cost of fixing a broken arm was reported to be $1400.00. 
  I thought that was what Obamacare was supposed to take care of. 

real entertinment

Went to church last night.  Actually I went to another church but ended up going to my home church.  It was youth night/snack night.  We had a guest speaker , some singing then the guest preacher was introduced. 
  I believed he talked louder than anyone I've ever heard, sweated like a stuffed pig, was highly animated, singing arms and flailing about  like a prize fighter shadowing boxing.  I believe half the congregation found him entertaining but I found him a little frightening.   

Diasppointed

I wanted to visit another church tonight but apparently the church must have called off services.  it sure would have been nice if the church had posted that information but I guess they assumed that no one interested in coming except members.  I wonder who they put their faith in.

security system a bust

I purchased a DVR and two security cameras and wired everything up and I can see everything just fine on my monitor.   I just haven't been able to set up e-mail  notification nor have I succeeded in getting the video to my PC. 
  I just purchased a wireless camera for the front and so far I haven't been able to even get a signal to my DVR.  I am giving the manufacturer until 5 pm on Monday to help me get the problem resolved or I am sending the camera back. 

Racist or no

    Just read a story.  A women sees what she thinks is a man prying open a car window, getting into the car and driving off.  She follows, dialing 9-1-1 and reporting the man for stealing a car.  The police stop the car.  The man steps from the car, hands in the air and with a cell phone in one hand.  The police gives him an order which the man doesn't comply with so he is tackled, handcuffed and mirandized.  The man then informs the police he was fixing broken window trim on his own car.  Turns out he was telling the truth.
  Another incident.  A mans pulls away from a service station in the wee hours of the morning and drove about a block when a policeman pulls him over.  He places his hands on the steering column and waits for the policeman to approach.  When the police get to the car he lowers the window.  The cop asks him who the owner of the car is and he informs the policeman that he is.  When the policeman asks for ID, registration and proof of insurance, he hands the policeman his license and a folder containing the requested documents.  The policemen checks in the information, hands all the documents back to the driver, apologizing for punching in the last digit of his tag as an 8 instead of the "B: it really was.  With an 8 the tag comes back as stolen.  Have a good day and please accept my apology.   
   Guess which driver was black. 
  

Pursuing My Ministry

    My pastor removed me from my position as deacon telling me he believed I should be pursuing my ministry.  He was shocked when I resigned all my duties at the church and gave him my keys.  The only thing he was really concerned about was the changing of the message on the sign which I had done for several years.  I had given that duty to another member but he neither knew what to put on the sign he wasn't motivated to get it changed in a timely fashion.  I had just volunteered to take it back but if being a deacon took too much of my time so as to prevent me from pursuing my ministry then so did each and every duty. 
   The truth is that there are some things we disagreed on and neither of us was going to back down.  He has this humongous ego and he concerns himself right on every issue.  For example, I was teaching a lesson from Revelation where Jesus separates the sheep and the goats.  The sheep were Christians and the goats were lost.  The pastor said he disagreed, that no one would be saved during the tribulation period. 
   Again, teaching from Revelation I made the remark that the new earth and new heavens didn't mean new as in another of the same kind to take the place of but the old remade into something totally different.  but still like unto the first.  I used three baseballs as an illustration.  One ball was dirty and represented the present earth.  The second baseball was brand new but was exactly the same as the first.  To replace the old ball with the new ball was just replacing the dirty with the clean and was really not new but just the old cleaned up.  But neither is the earth and heavens to be replaced with something different, like replacing a baseball with a softball or tennis ball or golf ball or any other kind of ball.  No the new earth would be like the third baseball, brand new but while still a baseball like the old it was different: the same and different at the same time.  The third baseball was a promotional ball printed with the team logo and team colors.   He didn't like that. 
  I made the statement that in the Jewish bible, the phrase "spirit of God' was replaced by the word Wind.  I said I liked the term because it clearly illustrated the nature and character of the Spirit of God.  He didn't like that.
  He didn't like the fact that he couldn't answer my questions in Sunday School.  When we were in the "little church" there were several members who often stated that they loved my teaching.  I think that hurt his ego. 
  Be that as it may, I am venturing out to find opportunities to teach and preach where I am needed and appreciated.  I cannot serve my savior where I am oppressed and hindered.

Amazing barn finds

It seems that there is a story about amazing barn finds .every month.  One time it was a building full of "vets, another time a Camaro and now today a mustang.  I believe most of us would like to discover something old and valuable that would suddenly change our lives.  One also wishes to understand how someone could lock away an old car for so many years.  Well, I know one story.
    My uncle Frank was an illiterate man who was married to my Mom's sister.  She was a big fat woman but I loved her anyway.  Frank was tall and lanky and worked in cotton mills.  I'm not sure what he did but he wasn't ever anyone boss.  He was the sweetest old man and laughed at everything.  He called by older brother "doc" for his own reason.  He was 92 when he was diagnosed with cancer and his funereal was attended by his 5 older brothers and sisters.  Frank and his wife only had two kids, log ago deceased.
   The girl was the first to die.  She was a pretty thing but wild and an abuser of things best left alone.  She had been at home in the bathroom and on the phone with her mother.  She called as soon as she got home from her stay in the hospital.  Her death was ruled a suicide.
   The boy had been an alcoholic and every day he would find himself in more trouble than the day before.  One day he decided to change his life.  It was his birthday and Frank told him if he would clean up his act that Frank would buy him a new car.  That was the summer of 1954.  For one year the boy lived clean and sober, held a steady job and for the first time seemed to have direction and a little happiness.  I think the death of his twin daughter at the age of two may have been the motivating factor in him changing his life although it might have been his wife leaving him.  Anyway, it was his 25th birthday and he went over to "Pops" house for cake and ice cream and a day with his parents.  That was the day that Frank handed him the keys to a 1955 Chevy, red with white interior,  It was brad new and had only been driven the  two miles from the dealership to Pops house.  Pop backed the car into his garage and covered it up. 
   It due time the boy kissed his parents goodbye, got behind the wheel of his bright red car and drove down the driveway, stopping only long enough to be sure no traffic was coming before pulling out into the street.  Frank heard a horn blowing and thought maybe his son had forgotten something.  Frank walked the short distance to the car which was stopped next to his mailbox.  His son was dead, slumped over the steering wheel, his chest pressing the ring that blows the horn.  Dead of a heart attack. 
  The Price men were a stubborn lot, preferring to do things on their own.  Franks son was no different but if he had just gone to the doctor a time or two maybe the doctor could have warned him that the stress on the body from alcohol withdrawal could lead to a heart attack about a year recovery, he would still be alive to enjoy his new car.  As it was, Frank backed the shinny red car back into the garage and covered it up once again, not to be uncovered for the next 50 years.  When Frank died one of his nephews inherited the car.   

God does not exist sentiment alive and well

It is sad the number of people who claim that they do not believe God actually exists.  I'm afraid too many people have bought into the evolutionary theory.  The most that theory has been able to produce is adaptation which is a far cry from evolution.  The headlines of a recent article claimed that mankind was on the verge of the first evolution change in hundreds of years.  What the article claimed was an evolutionary change was the introduction of bionics to the body.  I'm sorry but providing an amputee with a bionic limb is not evolution. 
  The big bang theory actually began as a joke.  Scientist were talking and one of them made the comment, "Well I guess it was just a big bang" and everyone liked that so they ran with that and now our children are being taught the evolutionary theory.  Creation is now considered religion and isn't allowed to be taught children are growing up to believe that God is just dark age superstition, forgetting that evolution is just a theory, not fact. 
  According to theory , there was nothing .  Scientific law says that something cannot be created from nothing but that is about to be changed.  Two things, forces, powers, or whatever they be collided and everything in existence was instantly created and even more miraculous, this new creation was in perfect harmony and was able to not only exist but to evolve.  The theory doers not explain two things that didn't exist was able to collide. 
   Humans have been causing things to collide every since and all we have been able to produce was either a mess or an explosion and that explosion generally results in a mess.  I'm not sure how two things that didn't exist  was able to collide and create something of value.  Now if a single cell being had no enemies, was able to have sex with itself, and had the perfect environment to exist in, then why did it need to evolve?  Or was evolution the result of that entity pursuing a food source?  The ameba ate some algae and the algae got tired of being eaten to it changed itself into grass and got out of the water so the ameba changed itself into an animal and crawled out of the water to eat the grass so the grass decided to change itself into a tree so the creature decided to develop an enzyme that developed into a disease that caused the tree to fall and die so the animal could eat its leaves but decided one day to change itself into a monkey to it could climb the tree to eat the leaves,   Then one day the monkey decided it was tired of swinging in the trees so it got rid of its tail which it needed for balance, and its fur, which it need for protection from the elements, and climbed down from the tree, which it needed to be in for protection from predators (which wouldn't have been necessary if it had been satisfied as an ameba) in order to stand on two legs and a brain, which should have made life easier but only turned the monkey into the most dangerous animal in existence and will eventually destroy itself and everything around it and we called this evolution and a good thing and them remembered we had invented this thing called a period and could stop and take a breather from time to time. 
  Gosh, that makes perfect sense to me. 
   Now if you believe that two things that didn't exist collided with each other and that collision resulted in everything that is came into existence at the same time should not have a problem believing that the things that existed that couldn't have was God and that the things that were created that couldn't have been were created by this God who wanted the things created to be. 
  When one looks at creation from a realistic point of view, the existence of God makes a lot of sense.   And if God created everything then He has the right to make the rules. 

Big Egos

I know a man who's ego is so big that if isn't number one he won't let you play.

First snow day of 2017

    Todays snow has been the main topic of the news, FB posts, and conversations.  Every year we are told to stay home unless we absolutely need to get out.  What constitutes that absolute need varies from person to person.  To me, an absolute need who be a medical emergency or many the house on fire but to others it might be "I've got another hour to wait until something I want to watch comes on TV". 
   In my working days I always went to work.  Sometimes it was difficult and some time it was nearly impossible but I always got there.  I missed one day due to illness in all my years of working so I'm just like a postman in that old saying.  Snow brings back memories of some funny things that happened. 
  Once when I was a district manager for a chain of retail pharmacies I supervised a location in Elkin, NC.  I lived in Hickory and was greeted by six inches of snow when I left the house.  I'm very reluctant to close a pharmacy because people need their meds and some people lives could be endangered if they can't get them.  I know one will say "Well the people should have anticipated the snow and got their meds a day earlier".  But that isn't always the case.  Sometimes a script can't be refilled until a certain day, sometimes the refills expired and the patient is waiting on the doctor to authorized additional refills, sometimes a pharmacy will be out of a particular med and has to wait on a new order.  There are other reasons a patient can't get their meds a day early.
  I drove from Hickory to Elkin only to discovery the store closed.  B y the time I arrived there was close to nine inches down but the snow had quit falling.  I drove to the managers house and called them.  The manager said she was unable to get to the store.  I told her to just walk outside as I was parked in her driveway.  I know she was shocked. 
  But if I could drive from Hickory to Elkin in the snow in a Chevy Celebrity then she could have made it 1/2 mile to where she worked. 
  I wouldn't recommend people doing that unless they have to.  I certainly wouldn't do it now.  There will be plenty of people driving around that would be hard pressed to give a good explanation of why they are out.   So, if what you say "sounds stupid" when said out loud, the don't go.

Decision time

  After a thoughtful time of reflexing on my life, the situation at church, and my wants and needs I made my fateful decision.  I know the pastor was glad I decided to resign my teaching position as he has been trying to oust me for years but the congregation kept re-electing me.  But with a big shift in the makeup of the class, the pastor thought he had enough power to get me out.  At first he was going to have voting by secret ballot but was afraid he still might lose  so he just flat out said that Rick would teach half the time and I would teach the other half.  So much for free and fair elections. 
  The one thing I was not expecting was to be removed as deacon.  But the pastor had a good excuse for that one to:  he said it was his belief that a preacher ought not to be a deacon but to devote his  a member of the board of trustees, time to developing his ministry.  Using the same logic, I resigned from being the teacher, and my jobs as sign maker, videographer, printer of church bulletins, and my membership in the planning committee.  I turned in my keys so I will not be responsible for regulating the temperature in the buildings prior to service. 
   It wasn't just that the desirable jobs like deacon and teacher should be taken away and the jobs that no one wants or is capable of doing remain.  I told the pastor that if a preacher  couldn't be a deacon because it took time away from his ministry that it was also true that all the other things I did around the church also took time away from my ministry so they would have to go as well. 
  No wonder the man doesn't like me.  I beat him at his own game. 
  From time to time this man offends someone to the point that they leave the church.  There are just a few people from prior congregants that he has not offended.  In fact he upset two people last night.  He emphasized in his message last night that he considerers anyone who works on Sunday a backslidden Christian.  Not only that but he referred to a specific job: a janitor in a nursing home, as examples on people who should not work on Sundays.  While he was specifically targeting this one poor lady, he inadvertently hit another lady.  She had to work on Sunday a day during 2016 and 4 times in 2015.  She was upset too. 
  The pastor has the biggest ego of anyone I've ever meet and I've 70 years old and have encountered plenty of cocky people in my life.  He thinks he is an authority on everything.  If, in a lesson, a mention something he disagrees with, he will take time in his next sermon or two to belittle my point f view.  He has even quoted non existent scripture before.   I doubt that anyone could convince him the scripture doesn't exist because he would claim it existed in principle if not in fact, which it doesn't even do that. 
  I mentioned one time in a lesson that in Hebrew the word for "spirit of God" in the creation story
is wind.  I said I liked the concept as this wind is a capital W and describes a n entity that covers everything everywhere, has power to move and change things, is invisible, and works by design with intelligence.   "God is not the wind" he exclaimed in his next message.  Well, I liked the concept as it is easier to visualize the Holy Spirit that what one normally thinks of ghostly figures and his exclamations and declarations against the idea in no way changes the fact that in the original Hebrew text the word used to describe the spirit of God was Wind. 
  Sometimes he is just an idiot and he will sooner or later offend the newer people too. 

business meeting

  I have been moved to the inactive list as far as being a deacon and we are electing a co-teacher.  The preacher is walking a fine line to get me out of his way without encouraging me to leave the church.  He doesn't like my teaching and we disagree about several scriptures and he wants to be in total control of everything.  Just hope it doesn't come back to bite him.

Losing control

Blood sugar reading this morning was 177.  After months of steady decline I seem to be losing control.  I started out 7 months ago with a A1c of 8,4 and an average reading of 435.  After starting insulin there has been a steady decline in my weekly average reading.  My average for the entire 7 months was 133 with a 6,7 A1c.  The last month my average readings were in the 117-120 range.  Last week thing took a turn for the worst with an average reading of 147 and this week was bad with todays reading being 177. 
  I think my sinus problems and the medicine I've been taking may be causing me serious glucose problems.  At least I hope that is what is wrong.  Anyone experience this?