A friend of mine mentioned that he only voted in the Presidential year elections. I try to vote in them all. I have missed a few during the years. Some years I was in the military, some years (before early voting) I was out of town on business, and once or twice it wasn't in my best interest to go. That sounds like a lot of misses you say but I have been eligible to vote for the last 51 years so I've made 75% of the off year and special elections that have been available to me. Better than most folks I dare to say.
No, I don't always vote for the party line. I also don't always vote Democratic or Republican either. I try to vote for either the person who most closely reflect my values or who I believe is the most capable person for the job. I voted that way again this time.
Wednesday, October 24, 2018
What I learned in bible study group
We began bible study in Genesis. In the first 3 chapters we learned:
1. God exists, and has always existed and will always exist. He alone is the only unchanging thing in existence.
2. God is the creator
3. God is Elohim (God in three persons)
4. God is a spirit
5. the messiah is God
6. God is a God of order
7. Jehovah means Lord
8. Gods wants a relationship with men
9. God wants what is best for man
10 God establishes the rules
11 God does not force man to be His friend but gave man free will
12 God is a loving God and a forgiving God, making a way of escape
There are many other things we learned. We learned about the Sabbath day, the institution of marriage, about Satan and his methods and also about the first death.
No, the first death was not Abel but was the death of an animal to clothe Adam and Eve.
The first three chapters are short and take only a few minutes to read. These chapters are not meant to be a scientific explanation of creation but a meant only to lay a foundation where upon which we may build the truth.
I've learned not to read into scripture things that are not there and also not to gloss over things that are. Some believe in a gap theory to explain dinosaurs and the age of the earth but if the gap theory were a fact God would have told us so. We know that God created the garden of Eden for Adam and Eve and we know that Adam and Eve were told to be fruitful and multiply. What we are not told is how long they were in the garden before being forced to leave because of their sin. There is no reason for u to make up stuff to fill in the blanks that God leaves.
One may think that it takes a lot of faith to believe in the God of scripture, and it does. But it takes more faith than I have to believe that the perfect order of the universe happened by pure chance. The original question was "where does stuff come from?" and one cannot have two forces collide or a single force just explode to create things because one still has to explain where the force or forces came from.
This coming week we are going to discuss some prophesies concerning the messiah. I call it gold mining: digging out the little nuggets of gold concerning the coming messiah. Then I am going to do an overview of the old testament so we can put it into perspective and make it more relevant and meaningful.
1. God exists, and has always existed and will always exist. He alone is the only unchanging thing in existence.
2. God is the creator
3. God is Elohim (God in three persons)
4. God is a spirit
5. the messiah is God
6. God is a God of order
7. Jehovah means Lord
8. Gods wants a relationship with men
9. God wants what is best for man
10 God establishes the rules
11 God does not force man to be His friend but gave man free will
12 God is a loving God and a forgiving God, making a way of escape
There are many other things we learned. We learned about the Sabbath day, the institution of marriage, about Satan and his methods and also about the first death.
No, the first death was not Abel but was the death of an animal to clothe Adam and Eve.
The first three chapters are short and take only a few minutes to read. These chapters are not meant to be a scientific explanation of creation but a meant only to lay a foundation where upon which we may build the truth.
I've learned not to read into scripture things that are not there and also not to gloss over things that are. Some believe in a gap theory to explain dinosaurs and the age of the earth but if the gap theory were a fact God would have told us so. We know that God created the garden of Eden for Adam and Eve and we know that Adam and Eve were told to be fruitful and multiply. What we are not told is how long they were in the garden before being forced to leave because of their sin. There is no reason for u to make up stuff to fill in the blanks that God leaves.
One may think that it takes a lot of faith to believe in the God of scripture, and it does. But it takes more faith than I have to believe that the perfect order of the universe happened by pure chance. The original question was "where does stuff come from?" and one cannot have two forces collide or a single force just explode to create things because one still has to explain where the force or forces came from.
This coming week we are going to discuss some prophesies concerning the messiah. I call it gold mining: digging out the little nuggets of gold concerning the coming messiah. Then I am going to do an overview of the old testament so we can put it into perspective and make it more relevant and meaningful.
Sunday, October 21, 2018
Thursday, October 18, 2018
To all Republicans
Someone posted the following om my Facebook page. This just after I asked people not to post political stuff, especially if some stuff has hurtful or hateful rhetoric.
"To all Republicans who insist on banning abortion because it kills human babies.
So do chemical spills in our waters, And gun rampages in our malls and at our schools. And starvation because mothers can't earn a living wage even working 60 hour a week. And curable diseases when parents have no access to affordable health care.
And yet while you sanctimoniously stick your nose in my family planning choices, you have smugly opposed every attempt at safety regulations, gun control, raising minimum wage, and the ACA.
You are the worst kind of hypocrites: arrogant and ignorant. You are what's wrong with America today."
When I took my first job as an adult, minimum wage was ninety cents an hour. When I got out of the Navy minimum wage had risen to $1.80 an hour. That year I worked 48 hours a week at $2.25 an hour and my wife worked 40 hours at minimum wage. We rented a nice apartment, purchased a new car, bought new furniture (cash) and I'm talking about quality furniture that I owned for 45 years, ate well, and still saved a thousand dollars that year. When I retired I made twice the minimum wage, rented an apartment that was half the size and less than half the quality of my first apartment, drove a used vehicle, had second hand furniture (the place was too small for the good stuff I had purchased 35 years earlier) and was just barely able to put food on the table after paying my bills.
In all the years of raising the minimum wage did nothing put hurt my standard of living. The things that improved my lot in life were better and more education. Gun ownership is guaranteed by the constitution and in cities with the strictest gun control measures the murder rate is among the highest in the country because only the criminals have access to weapons. The affordable health care act was passed by a Democratic President and Congress so if it is ineffective don't blame the Republicans.
I have no idea what the ACA is but I can tell you that women who get pregnant and don't want the baby so have an abortion did not practice any form of family planning. A prophylactic or a birth control pill is cheaper and safer than an abortion. The time to exercise control over ones body is before the act not afterwards. Don't blame us for loving our children.
Calling me arrogant and ignorant and a hypocrite just throws up barriers to an open and hones dialogue about how to solve problems. Just because you disagree with my views doesn't make me wrong and more than it makes you right. The same principle works for me as well. name calling is a tactic that is used by the ignorant who have no other way to get their thoughts across.
"To all Republicans who insist on banning abortion because it kills human babies.
So do chemical spills in our waters, And gun rampages in our malls and at our schools. And starvation because mothers can't earn a living wage even working 60 hour a week. And curable diseases when parents have no access to affordable health care.
And yet while you sanctimoniously stick your nose in my family planning choices, you have smugly opposed every attempt at safety regulations, gun control, raising minimum wage, and the ACA.
You are the worst kind of hypocrites: arrogant and ignorant. You are what's wrong with America today."
When I took my first job as an adult, minimum wage was ninety cents an hour. When I got out of the Navy minimum wage had risen to $1.80 an hour. That year I worked 48 hours a week at $2.25 an hour and my wife worked 40 hours at minimum wage. We rented a nice apartment, purchased a new car, bought new furniture (cash) and I'm talking about quality furniture that I owned for 45 years, ate well, and still saved a thousand dollars that year. When I retired I made twice the minimum wage, rented an apartment that was half the size and less than half the quality of my first apartment, drove a used vehicle, had second hand furniture (the place was too small for the good stuff I had purchased 35 years earlier) and was just barely able to put food on the table after paying my bills.
In all the years of raising the minimum wage did nothing put hurt my standard of living. The things that improved my lot in life were better and more education. Gun ownership is guaranteed by the constitution and in cities with the strictest gun control measures the murder rate is among the highest in the country because only the criminals have access to weapons. The affordable health care act was passed by a Democratic President and Congress so if it is ineffective don't blame the Republicans.
I have no idea what the ACA is but I can tell you that women who get pregnant and don't want the baby so have an abortion did not practice any form of family planning. A prophylactic or a birth control pill is cheaper and safer than an abortion. The time to exercise control over ones body is before the act not afterwards. Don't blame us for loving our children.
Calling me arrogant and ignorant and a hypocrite just throws up barriers to an open and hones dialogue about how to solve problems. Just because you disagree with my views doesn't make me wrong and more than it makes you right. The same principle works for me as well. name calling is a tactic that is used by the ignorant who have no other way to get their thoughts across.
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
David and Goliath
The story of David and Goliath is a well know bible story about a young shepherd boy who was delivering food to his brothers who were part of the King's Army fighting a battle. The enemy had a giant who would come out daily and challenge the Israeli Army to a one on one battle, winner take all. No one would accept the challenge but David convinced King Saul that he could defeat the giant. Why King Saul saw fit to let this skinny youth fight the giant when the fate of his Army lay in his hands I have no idea. He did though.
Goliath was 6 cubits and a span or about 9 feet six inches tall. Extraordinary and unusual but I do believe from the description of Goliath and his actions that Goliath suffered from giantism. That is a condition cased by a tumor or other malfunction of the pituitary gland that regulates growth. That condition is called Acromegaly and the symptoms include enlargement of the hands and feet, forehead and nose, joint pain, thick skin, deepening of the voice, headaches, and vision problems.
complications can include type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, and high blood pressure.
I believe that Goliath had vision problems because he needed the aid of a shield bearer. When David was winding up his sling, Goliath made no effort to raise his shield to block the toss of the stone farther enhancing this viewpoint. We all know how the story ends: The stone from David's sling hits Goliath between the eyes and he falls to the ground. He is killed when David takes the sword of Goliath and cuts his head off.
This story is almost always given from the vantage point of David being the underdog and is used to encourage people facing overwhelming odds. Most don't have the courage of David. But David didn't act like an underdog. The soldiers in the Israeli Army did. That's why they did not come out to fight. But the truth of the story is David was no underdog. Actually, Goliath was. He had never been tested in battle, needed guidance to get to the place of the battle, and couldn't see his opponent well enough to defend himself. David, on the other had, was well skilled in the use of the sling and had tested his skill when his flock was threatened by a bear and a lion. David also knew that God was with him.
To often we as Christian face our battles as if we were the underdogs and as such we often shrink from the fight. God has given us the skills we need to fight and with God on our side we are the champions answering the challenge. Too often we act like we are mere mortals when, in fact, we are the sons of God.
Goliath was 6 cubits and a span or about 9 feet six inches tall. Extraordinary and unusual but I do believe from the description of Goliath and his actions that Goliath suffered from giantism. That is a condition cased by a tumor or other malfunction of the pituitary gland that regulates growth. That condition is called Acromegaly and the symptoms include enlargement of the hands and feet, forehead and nose, joint pain, thick skin, deepening of the voice, headaches, and vision problems.
complications can include type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, and high blood pressure.
I believe that Goliath had vision problems because he needed the aid of a shield bearer. When David was winding up his sling, Goliath made no effort to raise his shield to block the toss of the stone farther enhancing this viewpoint. We all know how the story ends: The stone from David's sling hits Goliath between the eyes and he falls to the ground. He is killed when David takes the sword of Goliath and cuts his head off.
This story is almost always given from the vantage point of David being the underdog and is used to encourage people facing overwhelming odds. Most don't have the courage of David. But David didn't act like an underdog. The soldiers in the Israeli Army did. That's why they did not come out to fight. But the truth of the story is David was no underdog. Actually, Goliath was. He had never been tested in battle, needed guidance to get to the place of the battle, and couldn't see his opponent well enough to defend himself. David, on the other had, was well skilled in the use of the sling and had tested his skill when his flock was threatened by a bear and a lion. David also knew that God was with him.
To often we as Christian face our battles as if we were the underdogs and as such we often shrink from the fight. God has given us the skills we need to fight and with God on our side we are the champions answering the challenge. Too often we act like we are mere mortals when, in fact, we are the sons of God.
I live in a cat house
I live in a cat house. No, not that kind of "cat house" but one with cats. I have two, Smokey and Ryder. Smokey was rescued from the local animal shelter and Ryder was adopted from a pet store in downtown Asheboro. Ryder was housed with a ferret and I believe she thinks she is part ferret.
I named her Ryder because on the way home she escaped from her box but instead of reacting the way most cats do to being in a moving car she really seemed to enjoy the ride. Ryder is a tortoise shell short haired domestic and has the typical tortoise shell (tri-colored calico) personality.
Smokey is a gray Maine Coon hair with brown highlights which gives her that smoky color. Smokey is the sweetest little girl. And by little I mean she is small for a Mine Coon. Maine Coons are the largest breed of cat generally weighing over twenty pounds but Smokey only weighs a shade over nine.
Our living room has a love seat and two recliners. My wife and I prefer the love seat but if one of our cats is curled up in one of the seats we will sit in a recliner. It is my habit to rise early, fix my breakfast, and then relax in my half of the love seat with my morning coffee and my e-reader and read scripture. Smokey will join me. Sometimes she wants to be covered up with a blanket. if she does, she will scratch my thigh to let me know to spread my legs so she can nestle between my legs and then she will stare at me to let me know she wants to be covered up. If I don't respond she will paw my inner thigh to signal her desire.
It amazes me how well she can communicate with me without being able to speak. Ryder is more of a loner cat but she follows me from room to room but the only time she wants to be petted is when I'm in my bedroom. She will jump on my bed and expect her message. Smokey is a lap kitty while Ryder prefers to be left on her four feet. I learned quickly not to pick her up. The only time I ever try to pick her up is when it is time for her vet visit and she has to go into a carrier.
It doesn't matter how subtle my wife and I are about that day Ryder can sense it and will find a place to hide. As soon as she knows she is going she gets standoffish and we have to close all the doors to keep her confined to the main part of the house. We have to run her until she gets to tired and then we can grab her and put her in the carrier. Smokey doesn't like going to the vet either but she is much easier to deal with.
Our cats never go outside and we have provided them with a wide variety of cat trees and cat toys.
Cats don't know how to tell time and should not know what day of the week it is but they know when it is Sunday. That is the day they get soft food and Sunday morning they start circling the kitchen and dinning room in anxious expectation of their weekly treat.
I know most men prefer dogs and many men hate cats but I have found felines to be every bit as good an companion as most dogs and much more entertaining. Whatever concessions we make to them is richly reward in love, affection, and cat antics that have us laughing. I love it when Smokey gets wound up because she does so many weird things. Ryder is just weird. She sneaks up on her food bowl and water dish as if they will jump out and eat her. Before Ryder jumps on my bed she has to peer on the bed to check for monsters, If there is something on the bed she wasn't expecting, she will reverse herself in mid-air. It is so funny.
I find the sentiment that people owns dogs but are only care givers to cats to be fairly true., I don't mind at all because I get so much more in return.
I named her Ryder because on the way home she escaped from her box but instead of reacting the way most cats do to being in a moving car she really seemed to enjoy the ride. Ryder is a tortoise shell short haired domestic and has the typical tortoise shell (tri-colored calico) personality.
Smokey is a gray Maine Coon hair with brown highlights which gives her that smoky color. Smokey is the sweetest little girl. And by little I mean she is small for a Mine Coon. Maine Coons are the largest breed of cat generally weighing over twenty pounds but Smokey only weighs a shade over nine.
Our living room has a love seat and two recliners. My wife and I prefer the love seat but if one of our cats is curled up in one of the seats we will sit in a recliner. It is my habit to rise early, fix my breakfast, and then relax in my half of the love seat with my morning coffee and my e-reader and read scripture. Smokey will join me. Sometimes she wants to be covered up with a blanket. if she does, she will scratch my thigh to let me know to spread my legs so she can nestle between my legs and then she will stare at me to let me know she wants to be covered up. If I don't respond she will paw my inner thigh to signal her desire.
It amazes me how well she can communicate with me without being able to speak. Ryder is more of a loner cat but she follows me from room to room but the only time she wants to be petted is when I'm in my bedroom. She will jump on my bed and expect her message. Smokey is a lap kitty while Ryder prefers to be left on her four feet. I learned quickly not to pick her up. The only time I ever try to pick her up is when it is time for her vet visit and she has to go into a carrier.
It doesn't matter how subtle my wife and I are about that day Ryder can sense it and will find a place to hide. As soon as she knows she is going she gets standoffish and we have to close all the doors to keep her confined to the main part of the house. We have to run her until she gets to tired and then we can grab her and put her in the carrier. Smokey doesn't like going to the vet either but she is much easier to deal with.
Our cats never go outside and we have provided them with a wide variety of cat trees and cat toys.
Cats don't know how to tell time and should not know what day of the week it is but they know when it is Sunday. That is the day they get soft food and Sunday morning they start circling the kitchen and dinning room in anxious expectation of their weekly treat.
I know most men prefer dogs and many men hate cats but I have found felines to be every bit as good an companion as most dogs and much more entertaining. Whatever concessions we make to them is richly reward in love, affection, and cat antics that have us laughing. I love it when Smokey gets wound up because she does so many weird things. Ryder is just weird. She sneaks up on her food bowl and water dish as if they will jump out and eat her. Before Ryder jumps on my bed she has to peer on the bed to check for monsters, If there is something on the bed she wasn't expecting, she will reverse herself in mid-air. It is so funny.
I find the sentiment that people owns dogs but are only care givers to cats to be fairly true., I don't mind at all because I get so much more in return.
Sunday, October 07, 2018
A Plea: Stay out of Restaurants Before 6pm If You Don't Have Kids
This is one of the dumbest articles I have ever read. I've been a parent and have taken my kid out to restaurants at various hours with nary a problem. I also have been a foster parent and have taken care of three or four children of various ages and maturity levels and have never had a problem with my kids disturbing other patrons.
Telling me I cannot eat before six so your brat and misbehave without judgement is just ludicrous. I'm old enough to decide when I want to eat and where. If your peace and quiet is so important to you and you known your kid will bother others, get a babysitter.
I'm a diabetic and I try to follow the rules about controlling the disease. No, I didn't get this disease because I'm fat. I got this disease because I was exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.
Diabetics are supposed to eat at the same time everyday to help prevent blood sugar spikes. I eat at 4 am, 11 am and 4 pm. I don't have to explain to you why these are the times that I eat. They just are and I don't care if my eating habits disturb you. Apparently many others also eat at these times too (well, except maybe the 4 am one and while I'm having lunch I notice many people are having breakfast. maybe that's because their bratty kid kept them up all night.
I've got one other question for this complaining author: why do you feel the need to consume alcohol before six, especially when you have a child in your care? Can't you wait until you are in the safety of your own home before consuming a mind-altering substance?
This article just affirms for me why you have a bratty kid. maybe you should just order delivery.
Telling me I cannot eat before six so your brat and misbehave without judgement is just ludicrous. I'm old enough to decide when I want to eat and where. If your peace and quiet is so important to you and you known your kid will bother others, get a babysitter.
I'm a diabetic and I try to follow the rules about controlling the disease. No, I didn't get this disease because I'm fat. I got this disease because I was exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.
Diabetics are supposed to eat at the same time everyday to help prevent blood sugar spikes. I eat at 4 am, 11 am and 4 pm. I don't have to explain to you why these are the times that I eat. They just are and I don't care if my eating habits disturb you. Apparently many others also eat at these times too (well, except maybe the 4 am one and while I'm having lunch I notice many people are having breakfast. maybe that's because their bratty kid kept them up all night.
I've got one other question for this complaining author: why do you feel the need to consume alcohol before six, especially when you have a child in your care? Can't you wait until you are in the safety of your own home before consuming a mind-altering substance?
This article just affirms for me why you have a bratty kid. maybe you should just order delivery.
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