Budgeting

Not so many people make a budget.  I firmly believe in them and the times when I have been in charge of the family finances I have done really well operating on a budget.  My debts were minuscule, my savings were growing, and I had the money for extras.  It seems that when I didn't use a budget debts were large and growing and it appeared to me all I ever did was work and pay bills. 

I am going to be teaching budgeting during the Sunday School time starting this Sunday so if anyone is interested you are more than welcome to come join us a ten am at One Way Baptist in Randleman. 

Fiction or not?

Cosco displayed bibles in the fiction section of their stores.  I imagine most people in the world might consider bibles to be a work of fiction and certainly some of the newer interpretations that pick and choose which verses to include and how to translate them in order to manipulate the bible to a particular point of view might just be fiction but certainly there are enough people, my included, that believe the bible is the Word of God that it would be a foolish thing to maintain that the bible is fictional. 

I'm sure Cosco is sorry that received bad publicity over this but someone thought they were doing the proper thing in displaying the bible in the fiction section and it isn't a store level or even a mid-level employee who made that decision.  I have worked for some of the largest retailers in the USA and most product selection/placement/decisions are made by committee of fairly high level people.  A poor decision can make people upset, hurt business, and cost the company money not only in sales and profits but in placement money and good will. 

I am glad that Christians don't react like some people do over alleged offenses but Cosco should be embarrassed notheless. 

church news

Three Souls Won were at One Way Baptist last night.  One of the singers, Joel, was really touched to be at One Way.  It was at the alter in that church he was saved when he was fifteen.  I do believe that the church had a fabulous time. 

It seems our expansion plans will have to be put on hold for a while longer unless God wants to move things along.  I've seen God do some miraculous things in the last year so I know if he wants us to expand then we will do so. 

We still need a few trees cut so if anyone is will to cut some trees in exchange for the firewood let me know at dsprl2000@yahoo.com and we'll make arrangements. 

I still need to sell my p/u.  It's a 1994 Ford Ranger and it's parked at the church with all the info.  I purchased a van as it is easier for my wife and Mom to ride in than my car is and neither one can ride in my truck.  I really want a trailer as it would be easier to transport my mower to the church and back n trying to load it into the pickup.  Unfortunately, being retired, I can't afford to purchased a trailer. 

Now if there is someone willing to donate a trailer to the church I'll be glad to accept it. 

Disapperaring homepage

Yahoo is my homepage.  The homepage has 5 stories with illustrations of what the story is about.  There may be 35 stories up to 100 stories grouped in 5's.  There is an arrow to the right of the group of 5 and an arrow on the left.  If you want to go to the next group of 5 just click the right arrow and if you want to go back to the previous 5 just click the left arrow. 

About a month ago, on my desktop computer, when I clicked on one of the arrows the story description disappeared but the pictures or illustrations stayed on the first 5 so if I wanted to view on the the other stories I had to go to my laptop.  Well today the same thing happened on my laptop.  Any one have an explanation?   

Chicken Dinner

I volunteered to help with the chicken dinner.  I read somewhere in order to be successful one should always volunteer.  I drove to Thomasville and helped put together 62 chicken dinners which I loaded up in my van and delivered to the church for pickup.  The pickup time on the tickets said from 11 to 1 which is more than enough time and considering that after two hours one runs the risk of food poisoning. 

At one o'clock there were still 17 dinners left.  I called T-ville to let the pastor know what was going on and that the Evangelist and another preacher had not picked their dinners up.  At 1:05 according to my wife's phone she received a text that someone was on the way to pick up those dinners.  it was a few minutes later when he arrived, about 10 after.  I loaded him up while he picked out his sodas, we chatted a minute and then he was on his way. 

I then condensed the three coolers of drinks into two coolers and loaded then into one workers car before I realized one of the coolers belonged to another so I pulled it out of the truck, transferred the drinks and reloaded the car.  I then dumped the ice, packed the remaining dinners into bags and then said our goodbyes.  I can't tell you when I left the church but I arrived home at 1:32 and I live less than a two minute drive from the church. 

Well a woman called the pastors wife and complained that when she arrived at the church we were all gone.  She claimed she got to the church at 1:14.  The pastors wife called me to ask me about the incident.  It was two thirty when she called about the lady not getting her dinners. 

Now I don't know the time lag from when the lady was at the church, her calling the pastors wife and I receiving the phone call but I doubt seriously it was an hour and 16 minutes. But to me it doesn't really matter.  The ticket said she was to pick up the dinners from 11 -1.  If she couldn't be there before one she should have called and made other arrangements. 

Billy Graham turns 95

I liked hearing Billy Graham speak.  He had a mesmerizing way of speaking .  I was disappointed when I started reading his question an answer column because he doesn't use the old King James translation. 

I believe the downfall of the church in America began when someone gave into complaints by people that they could not understand the King James translation and came up with a more up to date version.  It wasn't just another translation but indeed another version of the bible.  Words have been changed, verses left out, meanings altered,  and a belief system diluted due to the different versions being printed. 

The problem wasn't with the King James bible but people's unwillingness to study it, to pray about it, and to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus said when he went away he would sent us a comforter  who would teach us his word. 

I just don't understand why people can't take Jesus at his word and do what God expects from us.  Instead of conforming to what God wants us to be we expect God to conform to what we believe he should be. 

I do want to wish Billy Graham a happy Birthday.  I know he won't wish me one in return but I'm going to enjoy mine no matter who doesn't care. 

back in the gym

Starting the last week of October I'm back walking at the gym.  It's a little tougher this time as I'm a year and a half older and 20 pounds heavier than I was before and I am recovering from a bout of Type 1 diabetes which saw me lose a lot of muscle mass.  Before I walked 5 miles in an hour and 15 minutes.  Now I'm walking 3 miles in an hour,  Today I tried pushing it hard and walked 1.5 miles in 23 minutes but I couldn't keep the pace up like I was once  able too.  Still, I did finish my walk logging in 3.3 miles. 

It is hard to keep up the pace when slower walkers come to the gym, especially when friends come together and they are as much interested in talking as they are in walking.  Once stride is broken it takes extra energy to regain it.  Slower walkers is one of the reasons I quit the gym to begin with.  Walking above 3 mph increases the benefit of walking almost to the level of jogging without the stress on the body running causes. 

Of course using some of the machines causes less bodily and joint stress than walking but the danger there is people want to hold onto the machines when they try to run or walk really fast and holding on negates much of the benefit of walking fast. 

my wife ordered me an MP3 player for my birthday so I hope that will help relieve some of the boredom of exercise. 
We'll see.

Hazing: acceptable ritual or outdated practice?

I have never been involved in hazing either as a victim or perpetrator.  There were a few time though it was a close call.  The first time was in college when our school was known as the braves.  The football players would roam from room to room seeking out freshmen to give "Mohawk's" too.  A Mohawk is a haircut where the two sides are shaved leaving only a streak of hair down the center of ones head from front to back.  Needless to say, I didn't want a Mohawk but neither did I want to tussle with a bunch of football players.   I don't remember how or why I didn't get one but I did manage to escape.  I suppose it is because I'm the type of person people ignore. 

I'm normally quiet and shy but not to the point of being obvious.  I'm not a looker but not ugly either.  I kind of blend in never disliked but not one that people are drawn to either.  Unless you physically see me I'm the one that no one remembers.  You forget I'm actually there. 

Sometimes that is a good thing.

The other incident occurred while I was aboard the USS Midway during the Vietnam War.  I was still technically a pollywog and I was quite content to stay that way.  While the fat guy sat in the middle of the flight day in his towel underwear with axle grease smeared all over his big belly, more seasoned travelers were seeking out pollywogs to initiate  by rubbing their faces in the greased belly.  I suppose by that time I may have escaped the ritual because I was a few years older than most of my peers and this was my last tour of duty and second in a war zone. People believed me when I said I had kissed King Neptune's navel many years before. 

I think hazing is okay if the hazed is a willing participate wanting to have some fun, be accepted, and have some stories to tell about his right of passage into some special bond with his predecessors.  But there should be no shame in wanting to retain ones dignity and beg off from being involved in the ritual.  People who think you are a baby or a whiner or a sissy or whatever silly moniker they can think of to shame you for not being made a fool of should not be allowed to participate in the ritual as a hazer. 

The NFL football player who left camp after his teammates got up and left the table in the dinning hall just as he sat down should not be condemned as a whiner or a baby or seek help with his sensitivity issues.  He should be commended  for exercising his right not to participate and also for calling to attention this practice that humiliates people against their will. I'm willing to bet that many of the guys that hurl taunts at this player for being so sensitive would probably get angry and want to hurt someone if the incident had happened to them.  maybe not, but I've seen it happen many times before. 

It's okay to have a little fun with the new guy but it is never okay to harm a person, either physically or emotionally.  yea, that's a period at the end of the sentence.  It needs no clarification or explanation. 

Officer Accused of Stealing Sneakers During Drug Raid

I've never been involved in a drug raid before but I have had a police officer steal from me. He was a sergeant with the High Pint Police Department.  he took the $20.00 bill I had just withdrawn from an ATM during a traffic stop.  "I'm keeping this for evidence" he said.  

Pinning on a badge doesn't make one honest any more than standing behind a pulpit makes one saved.     It is a pity that some people feel that when given a little authority or respect that they have the right to use that position to enrich themselves at the expense of others.  When I was in the military I caught a chief doing something most people would have been punished for and I called him on it.  He said "RHIP". 
"What does that mean?" I inquired. 

"Rank has it's privileges."

"RHIR" I said. 

"And what does that mean?" he retorted.

"Rank has it's responsibilities"

Sure having authority should have it's privileges, like a special parking spot or a bigger office, or a better view, or the right to ask people to do some mundane things we don't want to do but it also carries with it the responsibility of following all the rules, of being the good example, and making proper decisions. 

Just because one is a cop does not give one the privilege of stealing $20.00 from a struggling citizen or a pair of "Air Jordon's" from a suspected drug dealer. 

During the Chief Wray affair in Greensboro there were several police officer's that were forcing prostitutes to "service" them in lieu of arrest.  I'm sure that goes one in every big city police department in the country. 

It doesn't take many bad police officers to make one distrust all of them.  'One bad apple spoils the whole bushel" ws a favorite saying when I was growing up.  I fully understand what it means now. 

Who decides who goes to hell and who goes to heaven?

Someone posted a picture on my facebook page with the question:  If one person believing in a make believe friend makes one delusional, what does million believing in a make believe person make them?  I responded that neither God nor Jesus were make believe.  One lady responded that of the 7 billion people on earth only 2.7 consider themselves Christians.  Even the most evil among them would send over 4 billion people to live forever in a burning hell they pointed out so why would a so-called loving God. 

God sends no one to hell.  From the very beginning of time God has made a way of escape and Jesus himself stated that God does not wish any to perish but for all to have eternal life.  The choice of where to spend eternity belongs to us. 

For sure this world can be cruel and unforgiving and evil things happen to good people and good things happen to evil people.  It just doesn't seem fair nor does it seem like a loving God would allow good people to suffer.  God says that there is none good, no not one.  For all    have sinned and come short of the glory of God.  

What people fail to realize is that we have free will and having free will means  that we are in control of our lives and our environment.  God has made the rain to fall on the just and the unjust.  In other words, life happens and some times good happens to us and sometimes bad happens to us, just as sometimes we get caught in the rain and sometimes we don't.  Sometimes the rain is good and sometimes its bad. 

Now if the people who complain about God being unfair by allowing bad things to happen to good people really wanted God to make things so that bad things didn't happen to good people then all they have to do is give their lives over to God.  One day God will bring them to His home and they will live forever in peace.  But if they want to remain in control of their own lives and reject God then who are they to complain because God doesn't make all their dreams come true? 

Folks, one can't have it both ways.  Either God is God and we allow Him to be the God of our lives  
or God is God but we want to retain control of our own lives.  Regardless of how we feel God is God
and he is as real as you or I.  I said that to a lady and she said "He's real to me."

To me that is like expressing a belief that God is a concept or a belief system that one chooses to live by or under in order for it to exist.  I'm sorry but God I real and your feelings or beliefs about Him does not determine whether he is real or not any more than your opinion of me changes whether I am a good person or a bad person. 

God does not send people to Hell.  Hell was created for Satan and his angels.  God sent his son to die on the cross    so that any that should believe in him would not perish but have everlasting life.  That sounds like a loving and caring God to me.  So if 4 billion people chose to reject his offer then it isn't a character flaw in God nor is it a reflection of God's will.  It is our free will to chose and they have made their choice. 

Another poorly written headline

"Escaped Fla. prisoners grilled"


I wonder if they were tasty or tough.  Is marinate necessary?  Can someone please furnish the recipe. 

Funny True Story

There is a story on the internet about an airline that made an overweight man buy tickets for two seats but the seats are located in different areas of the plane. 

That reminds me of a joke I used to tell, about winning a vacation package.  it was a 7 day 6 night vacation p0ackage.  The only problem was the 7 days were in June but the 6 nights weren't until October. 

Tracfone

It took 6 days and several hours on the phone to get my new phone to work.  My frustration level was getting high.  Lately it seems there have been several things that have tried my patience the latest being the funeral tomorrow.  I'm of the nature that I will help people with just about anything if I know they really need help and are appreciative.  I will not be used to do things for a person who is quite capable of doing for themselves just because they are to lazy or to cheap.

I make video tapes at the church for shut-ins.  I originally started doing this at my own expense but the pastor wanted copies for his own record so the church purchased the DVD's.  The camera, tripod and computer all belong to me,  I give my time for free.  Two years in I had a woman ask me to make her a DVD to share with her family.  I agreed thinking it was a one time thing but now she wants one every service and I believe her family uses the DVD's as an excuse not to come to church. 

Now another member asked the pastor to tell me to videotape his brothers funeral.  I am upset by this for several reasons.  First and foremost, if he needs me to do something then he should ask me.  If I was being paid by the church or using church equipment and videoing was part of my duties then he is right in asking the pastor but that isn't the case.  The pastor should have told him to talk it over with me.    If I was in agreement to do this thing then I need to know exactly what he is expecting.  I have already informed him that I don't do funerals so his going around me is doubly offensive.   

I'm an unhappy camper

I wrote about the man that asked the preacher to tell me to mow his grass.  Well the jerk has been at it again.  Earlier in the week I told him I didn't do funerals.  I've been to several and have been a pall bearer in two: my grandmothers and Mrs. Tickles.  The only other funeral I've been to was my fathers.  I have been to the funeral home several more times for "the viewing" or the reception or the wake or whatever one wishes to call it.  I'll sign the register, shake the hands of the family but I don't view the body. 
Well it seems that this man again called the preacher to tell him to have be video tape the funeral of his brother.  Being an unhappy camper is an understatement of how I'm really feeling.   

Are we the only one?

Is the United States of American the only country that shuts itself down?  I hope we are because I hate to think that there are other countries as stupid as our government seems to be. 

Tracfone customer no service

My wife purchased me a new phone, one that I can text on once it becomes active.  I followed instructions to activate my phone and transfer my old number to my new phone.  It didn't work.  I waited 4 days so I gave it enough time.  I sent three emails the third day but I not received any replies yet.  I did chat with one re this morning but he finally admitted he couldn't help me so he gave me a number to call and a pin number. 

I called the number and talked to a lady who said my new phone was now active.  Well, my old phone is now active although tracfone says it isn't and my new phone is still inactive.  I've tried to e-mail tracfone twice more but they are still ignoring me.    I'm getting irritated by the process.  I had to go through something similar the last time I did this but it didn't take as long, they responded to my e-mails, and the chat guy fixed the problem.  Their customer no-service department really sucks. 

An idiot speaks

The only service I have missed at church was the Sunday the police came to get me so the paramedics could help my wife who has a mini-stroke.  She had just been released from the hospital after suffering from a brain aneurysm.  I teach Sunday School and am the Deacon of the church.  But before I became the deacon and Sunday School teacher and even before I could attend the Church on a full time bases, I volunteered to mow the grass. 

  I started by using my lawn mower but it was a hassle loading it up every week so I purchased one to keep at the church.  At the end of the mowing season the vines and briars that surrounded the church was taken over more and more yard.  I didn't have many tools, a lopper, a small handsaw, and a mattock so they had to do.  I cleared about half the wooded area that winter.  At the end of last summer I hit a small stump and damaged the mower.  I purchased a rider for use this year.  Last winter I purchased a chain saw and started  clearing out the remainder of the property.  several years prior a bunch of trees had been cut down and left.  The fallen trees dried out and vine entangled the limbs and trucks and briars grew up and wild bushes and small trees and tall, thick weeds and it was a nightmare to clean out.  I spent over $200.00 on replacement chain saw chains. 

This summer I again planted pumpkins in the cleared area but the heavy rains caused the seeds to rot and few pumpkins came up and the weeds eventually killed the remaining pumpkins so I was left with a field of tall weeds.  I have spent the last several weeks pulling the weeds.  I even cleaned off a fifty foot strip eight feet wide that belonged to the neighbor. 

I've painted, power washed the church, put up fencing, and I take care of the trash and recycling and the sign out front and any expenses I've incurred have been out of pocket.  I recently purchased a good quality weed eater to use at the church. 

There was an elderly gentleman that had a hard time getting his lawn mowed so I went over to his house every now and then and cut his grass for him. 

All this work I've done for free without complaining and expecting nothing in return.  I'm not paid nor compensated in any way for my equipment or my labor.  It is something I do because I want to do it. 

Today I made myself available for a family of a heart attack victim who are faced with the decision concerning whether to continue life support or terminate the mans life.  One of the members of or church was sitting between me and the pastor.  He leaned over to say something to the preacher in secret but I saw him glance at me besides him gesturing with a hand in my direction.  I asked them what was going on. 

The man had told the pastor to tell me to go mow his grass because his lawn mower broke.  And that's why I say "An idiot spoke."

armed or not?

Often times we read about police killing an unarmed suspect and sometimes there are lawsuits against the police department involved.  I never gave much thought to it except to think about what the dead person did to aggravate the police to the point they killed him.  Often times these incidents occur after a traffic stop, usually after a high speed chase.  I wonder why the police fired there weapons when the suspect was unarmed. 
  But todays story of the incident in DC  the driver of the car was killed and it seems she was probably unarmed.  But she had a deadly weapon:  her car.  Automobiles are perhaps the most deadly thing in America. 

10 secrets of success

1.  develop a realistic plan for your life. 
2.  manage your time effectively
3.  surround yourself with successful people.
4.  measure your worth in the contributions you are currently making, not what you have done in the past
5.  reveal in accomplishments, not experience.
6.  Accept responsibility for your shortcomings and failures
7.  if you are being paid, do the job well
8. people that pay me have the right to direct me
9.  be willing to volunteer
10 Go the extra mile

Ordination

I was ordained today.  The papers just make me legal again in the state of North Carolina to perform weddings but really has no effect on my ministry except to renew my efforts to serve God the best I can.  I really would like for you to visit One Way Baptist in Randleman, NC as I would love to met in person someone who reads my blogs. 

I once had someone I thought was my friend and we almost met for coffee but "Randolph is Talking" broke up so our chances of meeting lessened greatly.  I had another opportunity recently but things just didn't work out so I doubt we will ever meet. 

The only thing keeping us from meeting is you.  You know where I am and where I'll be so I'm not hiding. 

I've meet many people over the recent years that have attended services in the building we meet in but for some reason they wouldn't come in to see what is going on today.  It's just a building and has no effect of what we believe  nor does it have any relationship to what happened years ago.  Once inside one would have doubts that it is the same place as it has been remodeled.  We have indoor plumbing now and chairs with a 4" cushion instead of the short pews that were used for years. 

As much as I would like to meet you that isn't the reason I want you to come.  If you do come you will be pleased you did.