Gun Control...

Perhaps one of the most divisive issues facing our society today is the issue of gun control. Those left of center cry out for bans on everything from assault weapons to total ban on all guns. Those right of center demand their 2nd amendment Constitutional right to bear arms... so who is right, and who is wrong?
Let me start by saying I am not a gun owner, and aside from owing a BB gun I've never owned gun. I don't hunt, or shoot for pleasure, nor do I have any affiliations with the gun industry. I  have friends and relatives who own guns and staunchly defend their rights to them, and I have friends and relatives who are dead set against them. I am trying to view this controversy objectively and put forth an informed opinion.
With that said, I'm not going to bore you with statistics- they are well-documented and all over the internet. But this is what I've found... With shootings in Michigan, Dallas, Baton Rogue, et al, the focus of our MS media is on the need for gun control. Yet if we take the total deaths by all rifles, not just assault rifles,each year, they are far fewer than deaths causes by hand, by hammers or other blunt force instruments, by knives, or screwdrivers... we see the benefits of hammers and screwdrivers, so we don't scream for a ban on them, tho they be far deadlier to our population...
Further, it is well documented that societies than ban guns have far higher violent crime and death rates than those who do not ban guns. Even in the United States cities that ban guns show this trend, while cities allowing concealed carry have a far lower violent crime rate. Why? Clearly criminals are more apprehensive in a society that is armed. This is the exact opposite that those left of center falsely claim. Statistics don't lie... Personally, if I'm in a crowd and someone starts shooting, it would comfort me to know that there could be one or more people in that crowd who could stop a random, crazed shooter than having to wait for police to arrive, and have numerous more deaths occur in the meantime... just a thought...
In a broader sense though, what has history taught us about gun control? No one denies the existence of Hitler, nor the atrocities he inflicted on Jews and the world. What was the first thing Hitler demanded of Germany when he came to power? Total gun control. Everyone turn in your weapons and allow the State to protect you. He realized that to bend the people to his will he first needed to remove their power to resist. And look what happened. Are we to repeat history? I think not. The promise of security is never again worth the price of our freedom.
We've all heard the slogans, Guns don't kill people. People kill people." Or, "When guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns". Those left of center decry these as false, yet they are grounded in truth. The truth is that those who are willing to violently break the law will find another means to create fear and enact their unlawful acts. Guns are a convenience for these people, and outlawing them will not force them to willingly relinquish them. Our issue isn't guns- it's the mindset of those wielding them. We need to focus on the social depravity that leads to these acts of violence. I'm all for background checks, mandatory classes on how to care and handle firearms, and registration of firearms. All are good ideas in themselves, and law abiding citizens would not be offended by them if allowed to keep their arms. However, lawbreakers will not, and do not, follow the law. We have many laws on the books regulating guns, yet most are not enforced. Instead of trying to force more regulations on the country wouldn't it make sense to first enforce those already on the books? And if those left of center just can't agree that this is a fair compromise then the way to change is through a Constitutional amendment repealing the second amendment. However, if they don't have the votes then it means they don't have the majority. And if you're in the minority in a free country, please learn to live peacefully with the majority, who want differently than you, or perhaps you become the problem...
Food for thought...

To Thine Own Self Be True...

A very good friend passed away a few years ago, and before he passed he asked me to keep a helping eye on his wife after he was gone. This past week was the our most recent connection. I stopped by and we chatted for about an hour, just reminiscing and catching up on life. Then, as I prepared to go, as we stood by the door, she said to me, "Bud, I'm not ready to be with someone else." I knew then that this was the real reason for my visit...
When my friend was alive he often used to walk into my office and ask me "life questions", as I liked to think of them. Mostly they were "Why shouldn't I..." questions. And mostly, I'm sure I never told him anything he didn't already know. But my answers validated his beliefs, despite his feelings at the time. Feelings can be fickle, but our core beliefs, if built on a solid foundation, can sustain us through any of life's storms.
I got a similar feeling when she made her statement. Nothing I was going to say would be new to her, but it would validate her beliefs. And I told her, if she's not ready for someone new in her life, that's okay. It takes time to grieve, and each person is unique in their own way. But it is healthy to continue to move forward, to continue to live, rather than merely exist day to day in our grief... One day, if God has someone special for her, he will cross her path, and at that time she will realize it's okay to enter another relationship, to allow her emotions, her heart, to belong to another, even as she holds the heart of someone new. In the meantime, it's perfectly acceptable to remain alone, complete in oneself. There is nothing wrong with being alone, with being single. And society is beginning to accept that status too... Be true to yourself, your feelings...
Food for thought

A New Chapter...

Last week I completed the sale and transfer of my business to my second son, and have begun closing that chapter of my life. Thirty one years at the same job; once a common story in years past, but a rarity in this generation where the average stay at a job is less than five years. But then, I think I'm an old fashioned guy, born about two or three hundred years too late. i would have loved to ride to the crest of a hill and look over land unviewed or untouched by another human being...But alas, I'm here and now..

My future no longer lies in the northern Midwest, but I migrate south, to that peninsula that divides the Atlantic ocean from the Gulf of Mexico, the land of citrus and sun, Florida. Somewhere in this magnificent state Juan Ponce de Leon was convinced was the location of the magical Fountain of Youth, that reversed aging and cured sickness... I'm happy if the process just slows a bit!

This new chapter in my life may be my most difficult, for I am focusing on correcting all the stuff I did wrong to myself these past fifty-some years, I need to lose weight, to get in shape, regain my tennis form, start bicycling again, If I get in decent enough shape I may even play softball again, but I have lots of work to do before that happens. I need to get my  new house the way I want it, although I'm well on my way, I have a whole yard waiting to be converted from weeds to lawn...My yard was always my stress relief, and I can't wait to plant and prune and trim my stress away. I'm giving myself one year from the time I finish consulting and get to Florida full time to focus on me physically.

Next I need to focus on my inside. My daughter has encouraged me to write, or put much of my past blogs into a book form. She assures me that she'd buy it, so that's at least four books sold, for I'd buy three and give one to each of my boys... A cheap and unique present that they'd feel guilty returning... I have done a lot of genealogy work and would like to flesh that out more. I find history is exciting and comes alive when i know I'm related to some of those characters... And perhaps I'll counsel a bit, for that was always a love of mine, and perhaps my formal education will finally be put to proper use...
It's a new day, a new chapter, a new life. Wish me luck... For this may be my toughest yet!
Food for thought...

LIFE IS NOW...

We are a goal-oriented society, driven by our goals and dreams. Graduating high school and on to college, Graduating college and entering the work place, to become that which we dreamed of becoming through all our years of toil and study. We strive to accumulate wealth, prestige, honors, so that our Golden years will be happy years... but they won't.

For you see, life doesn't happen when we achieve our goals. Our happiness is not found in the culmination of our dreams. Meeting goals leads to a sense of emptiness. So where is happiness found? Where is life the grandest? It is here, and now, as we struggle to to achieve, as we push ever forward in hopes of achieving... Life, and happiness is happening now. It is our job to recognize it and embrace it. I've heard people say things like, "Where have the years gone?", or, "I never really knew my kids", all because they were so caught up in the dream that they missed life as it happened all around them. Life is now. Happiness is found in recognizing life, and embracing the good as it happens. A baby's first word or step, a delicious meal prepared by your mate, a humming bird feeding outside your window, a gentle caress... there  are a multitude of things happening all around us each and every day that can bring a smile to our lips or put a song in our heart. We need to be aware, to live in the moment, to embrace that life happening around us to really find happiness. Life and happiness are not in the meeting of our goals, our dreams, it is in the struggle, the journey, the path to get there.

Living in awareness of life, embracing each day, each moment, and finding our moments of happiness there fills our lives with memories. In my relationships I've had both positive and negative memories occur, which is normal. But I've learned to take those negative memories and couch them between two positive ones- something good that happened prior, and something good that happened afterwards- and I've found that the bitterness of the negative memory, and often the memory itself, fades away and I'm left with pleasant memories of days gone by. And that's where our happiness in our Golden years is found, in the memories of all that was good in our journey. So don't miss out on life today hoping that it'll be grander tomorrow, for it won't, and you will have robbed yourself another day, and potentially many moments of future memories,,, Seize the day, live in the moment, stop and smell the roses... you'll be glad on day that you did.

Broken Love...

Love is something everybody wants, even craves, in their innermost being. Love makes us feel wanted, cared for, special. It gives us a feeling of worth, of importance, of belonging. Even I, the loner, often the social recluse, find myself desiring to be loved. We all need it, we all want it, We all long to fall in love, to belong to, or with someone. Love makes us feel completed...
Some people will balk at that thought, saying that they don't need another person to be complete, but that's not what I said. I didn't say another makes us feel completed, I said love makes us feel complete.
The really amazing thing about love, and the experience of love, is that, at it's very best, it is broken love. It is fallible, it is vulnerable, it is fragile. It is broken because we live in a broken, sinful world, and all in it cannot be anything but broken. And still we crave that broken love. Why?
Because our very nature is made from love, out of love, to live in community with love. Our world was once perfect and that love in it was perfect, for God is love. God's very essence, His very being is love, and out of that love He created us to live in community with Him, to love and worship Him. And the beauty of it all is this; one day this world will cease its groaning and be made right. One day our sin will be eliminated and that love we now crave in its broken state will flow pure and perfected, and we will be complete...food for thought...

Papa's Medicine...

I arrived home from Florida on Friday and that evening one of my sons called. We were catching up on things when I heard my grandson in the background. My son asked him, "Do you want to say hi to Papa?" and he eagerly assented. So after the customary "his" and "I miss yous" I asked him how he was and he responded, Oh Papa, I'm super sick! I just can't stop coughing." And then he coughed, the first I heard. So I said, Boy Jacobi, that's too bad. I wish  I had some medicine to make you feel better."
"You do Papa," he said. "Gummy Bears".

It was so cute that Saturday morning I made a special trip out to my son's, to deliver my medicine to my grandson. The look of joy on his face was more than payment for my efforts, although my son gently scolded me for allowing my grandson to "play" me the way he did...

That little guy can play me all he wants, as can my other grandchildren, for I am no longer bound by those parental rules of right and wrong. I'm Papa now, and the rules have all changed... and I'm loving it!
Food for thought...

Global Warming: Our latest political scam...

In his latest State of the Union speech Barrack Obama said we need to champion this crisis of global warming. We are on pace to spend some $22 billion dollars- that's 22 thousand millions- to try and halt a crisis that doesn't exist. To put it in perspective, that's more than double what Obama will spend to defend our borders. It is about $42,000 per minute, to combat a problem that doesn't exist. It's all a scam, and being perpetrated at the tax-payer's expense, for it is our money that is being spent on this scam...
Obama tweeted, on 5/16/2014, that 97% of scientists agree that global warming is real, and is man-made, and dangerous. John Kerry, Al Gore, and others jumped right on that and parroted the same statistic. The problem was, according to the Wall Street Journal, that the actual statistic was considerably less, like 1% of all scientists thought global warming was a problem, and caused by man... In response, over 31,000 scientists signed a petition that, in essence, stated that there is no convincing scientific evidence that humans cause global warming. Geez Pres, you only missed by 96%. But it makes great scare tactics...
So what is the figures for global warming? NASA has recorded the earth temperatures for the last 35 years. Since 1979 until now we've experienced an increase of .36 degrees, and that was all between 1979 and 1998. Since then we've had 17 years of decreasing temperatures.Since 1998 our temperature has now dropped 1.08 degrees. While excepting his Nobel prize for his work on global warming in 2007 Al Gore famously predicted that our icecaps were "falling off a cliff" and could be gone within seven years- that's by the end of 2014. Well Al, thanks for the scare tactics. As of 2014 our ice caps have increased 43-63% (depending on season) since 2007. We've got additional ice caps larger than the state of Alaska...
So why all the outrage over global warming now? Because politicians and their cronies are getting rich off of it, pure and simple. We now have a 22 billion dollar per year industry to correct a non-existent problem. That's a lot of payola, and it's coming directly out of the pockets of John and Jane Q. Public. The reality is climate change has always been a part of the equation, whether it was the "mini ice-age that hit Europe between the 1600"s and 1800's to the "dust bowl" droughts of the 1930's here in America. But man does not cause climate change. Man cannot alter the earth's rotation from night to day, nor its revolution around our sun, which creates temperature fluctuations, seasons, et al. Rather climate change occurs beyond the scope of man, as in the heating or cooling of our sun, sunspots, etc, or the devastating impact of a collision with another heavenly body, as theorized was the cause of the great ice age that wiped out dinosaurs...
Let's recognize global warming for what it is- scare tactics to aid in a money grab by crooked politicians and their cronies to deal with a non-existent problem that needs no answer.
Food for thought...

The Season of Angels...

I began this post pre-Christmas, but set it aside, for I got busy... Actually, I have no excuse for not finishing... Here it is. Sorry it's late.

Tis the season, the Christmas season, in which we hear the Christmas story once again, and the role that angels played. And yet, although many claim to believe in the sanctity, the validity, the truth of the Scriptures, there seems to be a lag in the belief of angel and demons. All too often we think of angels and demons in terms of their Hollywood portrayals- something fantastic, but not really real. A good story, but the stuff of fairy tales, not reality.
When we examine scriptures however, the case for the existence of angles is overwhelming. If indeed we believe the Bible is God's truth, that it is real and unflawed, then we must believe in the existence of angels, for the existence of angels is taught in at least 34 books of the Bible, and the word "angel" appears at least 275 times. Jesus himself recognized and taught of the existence of angels (Matthew 18:20, 26:53).
There is actually many facts about angels in the Bible, which can teach us much about the celestial beings. Like us humans we see that angels are created beings (Col. 1:16).However, they were created before our world was created (Job 38:6-7) and were witness to creation. They were created in holiness, in positions of authority (Jude 6)but with a free will.
Peter teaches that angels possess intellect (I Peter 1:12), and Luke records that angels possess emotions (2:13). They are spiritual beings, residing with God in the heavens, but also created to minister and serve those who receive God's salvation (Heb. 1:13-14). The gospel of Mark (12:25) seems to indicated that angels do not reproduce after their kind. The needn't reproduce however, for Jesus teaches that angels do not die (Luke 20:35-36).
Though like us angels are created, we are distinctly different from angels Psalms 8:4-5). Angels possess great power (2 Peter 2:11) and their numbers seem innumerable (Hebrews 12:22).
Angels are also a structured group. There is one Archangel, Michael (Jude 9), the most powerful of the Angels. It was he who came to the aid of the angel dispatched to answer Daniel's prayers and petitions. There are Chief Princes (Daniel 10:13), there are Ruling Angels (Ephesians 3:10), and there are Guardians (Hebrews 1:14, Matthew 18:10), for everyone, but specifically for children too.There are Seraphim, which have to do with the worship of God (Isaiah 6:1-3), there are Cherubim, which guard the holiness of God (Genesis 3:22-24), and there are Elect Angels, (I Timothy 5:21).
The ministry of angels is diverse. They ministered to Jesus, beginning with predicting and then announcing his birth, protecting him as a baby, strengthening him after his ordeal in the dessert, and again at Gethsemane. They rolled away the stone and announced his resurrection. From beginning to end Angels were with Jesus during his time here on earth.
Like-wise, angels minister to believers. They have a general ministry of aiding, they are involved in the answering of prayer, they observe Christian experiences and encourage in times of danger. They are interested in the evangelistic efforts of Christians, and they care for the righteous at death,  (I do have scripture references for each of these). They also have a broader ministry, to the nations. Michael is shown to have a special relationship with Israel (Daniel 12:1). Angels are often God's agents in the execution of His providence, and will be involved in the judgement of the Tribulation during the end times. Even unbelievers find themselves a part of angels' ministry. Angels announce impending judgments, inflict punishment, and will act as reapers in the separation of believers and non-believers at the end of the age.
Angels are real. They were here before us, and will be here to the end of our age. Beyond that- how am I to know? But the next time you find yourself faced with an inexplicable situation, or meet someone you just can't explain be careful- you might have just encountered an angel!
 Food for thought...

the Lost Art of Listening...

Most people think they listen; some even think they're good listener. But truth be told, listening is a lost art. Very few people really listen to a person, for listening is far more encompassing than just hearing the words...
The words we speak are actually about 10% of our actual communication. The other 90% is our tone and body language. But beyond that, a good listener is also sensitive to to what the speaker isn't saying, or to what the speaker is trying to say but don't quite know how to say it. A good listener first listens without premature judgments. They quiet their body language; they still any fidgeting and pay attention. This shows genuine interest in what the speaker is saying, and portrays that they, and what they say, are important to you.
Beyond that a good listener learns to wait to respond, to not form comments or objections internally to one point while the speaker is expressing further points. By internally forming responses one loses much of the flow of what follows that which piqued their attentions. Further, when responses are formed the natural bent is to want to express them, and the listener is done listening until he/she can respond or rebut. The good listener learns patience, and remains attentive to the speaker until they're done, then they formulate and share their responses.
Listening is really all about respect. Do you respect the speaker enough to give them their time to express their heart, their agenda? All too often what we want is more important to us than the needs or desires of the speaker... It is truly a lost art, practiced by too few today...
Food for thought...

I'm back...

It has been some time since I last wrote, but life has been busy. I am currently in the process of trying to sell my building and business in northern Illinois to retire to Florida. While I am still in relatively good health I may not stay retired- I will wait upon God to lead me in the next chapter of my life. He has already blessed me with a fantastic home in Florida, one which I've been putting my own personal touches on this past year, a new church, and wonderful neighbors. Now I just need to practice patience as I wait upon Him to prompt a buyer for the business...

I've come to realize, more acutely each passing day, that God is completely in control if I allow Him to be. I've been very aware of how much more sensitive my spirit is when He is in control- so different than the crusty, indifferent, difficult individual that I can be. It amazes me how calloused and hard I am in my carnal state, but when I allow God to live through me I am sensitive, caring,- a whole different animal. Go figure. But He's a God of miracles, and changing me is one of them...And yet, He never forces His will on me, It is always a matter of submitting my free will to His.  

If you pray, and are so inclined, please pray for a buyer for my business and building. I know God works in His time, and I pray for patience, but I am so ready to go! Remember this old blogger in your prayers! 

Democrats, really, still Blaming Bush?

I had a conversation with a customer, clearly Democratic, who once again blamed George HW Bush for all our Iraqi problems, stating that we wouldn't be in this mess if not for his interference in Iraq in search of "phantom" weapons of mass destruction. When I said it was the view of Republicans and Democrats alike that this was a threat he called me ignorant, and said I didn't know what I was talking about- the Democrats DEFINITELY did not believe or support the threat of WMDs. So to my learned friend, please allow this ignorant person to enlighten you with concrete, non-disputable, easy to corroborate facts, Please see the following list and see if any of these Democrats, who spoke out against Iraq and Saddam Hussein and his WMDs, and the need to ACT, rings a bell...

1. MADELEINE ALBRIGHT- Secretary of State under Clinton,  2/18/1998 at Columbus, OH Town Hall meeting
2. BILL CLINTON- President, USA, on 2/17/1998 at Arlinton, VA, addressing a Joint Chiefs of Staff and Pentagon
3. HOWARD DEAN- DNC Chairman on 1/31/1998 on CBC/PBS "The Editors"
4. SANDY BERGER- National Security Advisor to Bill Clinton, on 2/18/1998 at Columbus OH Town Hall meeting
5. NANCY PELOSI- (D-CA) on 11/17/2002 on NBC's "Meet the Press"
6. JAY ROCKEFELLER- (D-WV) on 10/10/2002 on the Senate floor addressing the Senate
7. JOE BIDEN- (D-DE) on 8/4/2002 on NBC's "Meet the Press"
8.HARRY REID- (D-NV) on 9/18/2002 on CNN's "Inside Politics"
9. HILLARY CLINTON- (D-NY) on 9/15/2002 on NBC's "Meet the Press"
10.JOHN EDWARDS- (D-NC) on 1/7/2003 on MSNBC's "Buchanan & Press"
11. EVAN BAYH- (D-IN) on 3/7/2003 on Fox News "The O'reilly Factor".

In each and every one of these DOCUMENTED filmed interviews these leading Democrats spoke out against Saddam and his WMDs and our need to remove him from power or remove the threat he causes to America. So the next time you "well-informed" Democrats want to "get all up in my grill" and blame everything on Bush and the Republicans check the list and see what your "leaders" thought when it was politically correct to believe in WMDs. I'm just glad Bush had the kahunas to do what all these Democratic "leaders" felt was necessary but lacked the conviction to actually do something about it.
Rant over. Food for thought....

Domestic Abuse...

Today I have more questions than answers. I've been listening to the football pre-game shows and all the buzz is over the domestic violence that is seeming to plague the NFL right now, headlined by the Ray Rice incident where he knocked his then-fiancee (now they're married) out in a casino elevator. One show stated that the FBI says that over 70% of the domestic abuse calls they respond to never get prosecuted. Another statistic is that over 95% of calls are about abuse to women.
Can I extend another viewpoint? First, let me state emphatically that I believe Rice was wrong, and that he deserves whatever he gets. But my question is, what responsibility does his wife carry in the incident? She's the victim, yet she acted very aggressively prior to Rice hitting her. In this day where the cry is for gender equality, for equal rights, it seems to stop when the case of domestic abuse arises.  I believe that one reason is that it isn't manly to file a complaint against a woman for abuse. Yet I can personally testify that women can be just as physically abusive to men as to those that are abused.
I have never laid a hand on a woman, and don't foresee any circumstance in which I would. However, with that said, during my first divorce I had to file for a protective order, and it was granted, for physical abuse perpetrated against me. Several years later, when I remarried, my second wife struck, kicked, scratched, or similarly abused me repeatedly on a number of occasions. To add to that, after one attack she called the police, but hung up. They came to my home anyway and suggested I leave. I told them she was the aggressor and she should leave- and they agreed. It wasn't until I told my wife, after another such incident of abuse, that if she ever laid a hand on me again I would hit her once, and promised I would break something with that hit- then put my fist through a door to emphasize my point- that the physical abuse stopped. Since then I've been single for the last fourteen years, but have had four significant relationships in that time. Of those four, two of the women didn't hesitate to strike out when they got angry.
My point here? If we are going to seriously address domestic abuse then there does need to be gender equality. Yes, men are usually bigger, and stronger, and do more damage, but I'm not convinced that women don't add to the problem far more than they're credited with. It takes two to tango. If you continually poke the bear it will eventually wake up. My brother is 5 years younger than me, and growing up we shared a room. /Many times I got into trouble for "laying my hands on him" as my mom put it. I kept decrying that he was the instigator, that I keep getting punished, but it was his fault. Then one day my mom was around the corner, out of sight listening, as my brother prodded me and pushed me toward a fight. Before I could land him she stepped around the corner and told him that I was right, and he was causing the problem, and from now on when he acted that way I had permission to hit him. For the record, I never once had to hit him again.
Domestic abuse is wrong. Putting your hands on another person is wrong. But it is also wrong to continually verbally poke and prod at another, or act aggressively to try and provoke a physical response. Let's solve the problem by getting to the root of the cause. In the vast majority of cases, by the time a situation escalates to physical responses, the problem is far deeper than the physical act of abuse. We need to learn to effectively and calmly communicate with each other, Calm and communication. Physical abuse is a choice. Choose differently. Choose wisely.
Food for thought...

UFO's, Extra-Terrestrial Life, and Aliens...

I saw a video recently on Facebook, another video showing a "UFO" being chased by several fighter jets. Now I'm not saying it was real, nor am I claiming it's fake. Rather, I want to look at the question of the possibility of other life in the universe. I often hear the opinion that there is not other life out there, or if there is we would have been visited by now. No visits equals proof that we are alone...

Let's look at the facts as we know them... Years ago while teaching some high school students this very issue came up. I walked to the whiteboard, some 4' x 8' long, and told them that this board represents all the knowledge in the entire universe. I reminded them that we are one small planet on the edge of the Milky Way galaxy, a galaxy that astronomers estimate consists of over a thousand million stars (or a billion, if you will), with an average of at least one planet per star. That's one galaxy. Scientists estimate that there are 100 billion to 200 billion galaxies in our universe. I asked a student to come up and handed him a marker and asked him to draw a circle on the board representing all the knowledge humans have accumulated throughout our history in light of how much is left to learn in the universe. He paused a moment, the drew a tiny dot in the corner. I asked the rest of the class if they agreed and it was pretty much a consensus. Then I asked him to draw a circle on that dot representing how much of that accumulated knowledge he knew. He said he couldn't because it was too small to write.

We know less than a speck on a dot of what is in our universe, yet we are arrogant enough to believe we are alone. Perhaps we haven't been visited because we don't have anything to offer the larger picture (yet?). I, for one, have learned that the more I learn the more aware I am of how much knowledge is left to learn, and my own ignorance is magnified by what little knowledge I have. Ignorance is indeed bliss, for not knowing how incredibly uninformed we really must be a comfort. I believe that, at least on that day, some students became aware of how little we actually know, and to say with conviction that there is no other life in the universe is human arrogance at its greatest. With so much unknown out there how can anyone say we are alone?

Perhaps, one day after my Lord has come and restored His creation and His people, we will have the opportunity to explore our vast universe, to travel to galaxies and stars and planets that can only live now in our imaginations! How cool would that be?
Food for thought...

Atheism in light of Science

I've touched on atheism in my past writings, but today I feel compelled to address it again. Atheism is the belief that there is no God, that we evolved through evolution, beginning with the Big Bang Theory...
Let's look at evolution first, for the very foundation of atheism rests in its belief as true. So how does evolution stack up in the face of science? First, science deals in that which it can measure, observe, and dissect. The theory of evolution is just that, a theory, one man's postulation of what might have happened, and subsequently accepted by a large portion of the populace as being "true". It is not grounded in any fact, it is not an observed science, it is merely one man's "best guess" as to what happened many millions of years ago. Science does have laws, however, laws that have been tried and tested and found to be true, like the laws of Thermodynamics. The interesting thing is that, specifically, the second law states that any environment, when left to random mutation, goes from a state of order to a state of disorder. Science actually states that we should "de-evolve" if the theory of evolution were true. Yet we are not de-evolving, nor do we see species "evolving" today (ie. half man / half ape).
As for Creationism, or the belief that our universe was created by a higher, intelligent order, or God, atheists claim we are fools to believe such with blind faith. Yet the very word "universe"- "uni" meaning "one" and "verse" meaning "spoken" is declared in the very beginning of Scripture. "God said, 'Let there be...'". God spoke and created order out of chaos, the very opposite of evolution. With all of Nature a display of such an orderly creation how is it difficult to place our faith in such? It is a far more difficult belief that, after a cosmic explosion, our world cooled and somehow a single cell amoebae was miraculously birthed, then continued to split and grow until there were all different species, with their own unique DNA, their specific unique characteristics, all from that first single celled organism. Wow. That's faith. It would be easier to believe that, if a tornado were to tear through a junkyard, that it could pick up junk parts and deposit on the other side a perfectly formed Mercedes Benz, a speedboat, and a Harley Davidson motorcycle. Yet any atheist would tell you that it could never happen, that you'd be crazy to believe it. However, the odds are far better of that happening than for the theory of evolution to have come to pass. So who really needs blind faith to bolster their beliefs?
So why do people refuse to believe in God in the face of overwhelming evidence of order in nature? I believe that it is a a relief mechanism to alleviate guilt in their lives. All to often we want to believe we control our destiny, that we know what is best for us, rather than trusting that there is a higher power out there. If we accept the premise of God then we must accept that we don't answer to ourselves, but to a higher authority, and for many that's bothersome. We must face the guilt of our wrong-doing, our sin. However, if there's no God then there's no guilt. No God, no guilt. It is a cheap out in the face of overwhelming natural evidence of an ordered and orderly universe which defies the theory of evolution... It takes far more blind faith not to believe in God that to believe in Him with all Nature singing His praise...
Food for thought...

Truth- Absolute or conditional...

As I was perusing some of my old blogs (yes, I do go back and occasionally read my stuff... Some of it actually still makes sense to me!) and I noticed I've referred often to "truth". Yet as I grow older I realize that "truth" is not consistently defined by society. Sometimes truth is absolute- water is wet, the sun is hot, snow is cold. Most people don't have problems recognizing absolutes in nature as true, but when it comes to our personal lives absolute truth is much harder to acknowledge.
Somehow truth morphs from absolute to conditional when our personal lives are concerned. Conditional truth is when we rationalize around absolute truth to justify our position or words or actions. Example: a man complains about his wife's nagging, or indifference, or lack of affection as a reason for his having an affair. Suddenly the absolute truth that an affair is adultery and adultery is wrong has been changed to "adultery is justifiable because my spouse drove me to it". Conditional truth.
Unfortunately truth is not conditional. It does not depend on our emotional responses to others or situations- it remains constant no matter what our feelings or responses. Truth is an attribute of God, and God is absolute, therefore truth is absolute. "Conditional truth" is merely justification, or rationalization, not truth at all. When we find ourselves rationalizing, or justifying, it's  time to stop what we're doing and recognize the absolute truth we're trying to ignore and change our words or actions accordingly.
As a side note: When we are truthful we don't need a good memory, for truth is truth and does not change. It is when we pervert the truth that we need good memories, for we have to remember what lie we tell so not to confuse it with our next justification or fabrication. Conditional truth is lying to ourselves in the hopes of convincing others that what we say is true...
Food for thought...

Uncle Hack, This One's For You...

My mom is the youngest of six children- Hack, Jack, and Mack, Mary, Katy, and my mom, Becky. Only Mom and Aunt Katy remain, but memories of my aunt and uncles often warmly resonate in my mind. One such memory involved my Uncle Hack, named after my grandfather, Haskell Hall. Anyway, my Uncle Hack loved science fiction. Even as a child I was an avid reader and on one trip to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, when I was perhaps ten years old, to visit my Aunt Dale and Uncle Hack we shared our love of reading, Uncle Hack had many many books around, mostly his science fiction paperbacks. Uncle Hack gave me some of his books to read, if I wanted, and I was lost for the weekend. It was a series about a Professor Jameson, who sent his body into space upon his death and was found some 40 million years later by an advanced race who revived his brain and placed it in a metal body. Thus started his adventures. I was fascinated and read five of the six novels that weekend! But the trip ended, and I never read that last novel, never finished learning the fate of Professor Jameson. My Uncle passed away, I never returned to his home and his books, and for some forty plus years I've wondered how the story ends.
Uncle Hack, you'll be glad to know I will wonder no more. After countless attempts to find these books from the 1960's, after hours of perusing used book stores, flea markets, the internet, et al, I have located all six books and will now get to finish the adventure! I hope the story lives up to the anticipation of some forty years of curiosity. But no matter how the story ends, I have you to thank for starting it. You are missed, Uncle Hack, and loved. And now I have a book to read. This one's for you Uncle!
Food for thought...

Joseph, a Good Old Boy...

I was reading this past week a old book of my long past grandfather's, called "The Lost Books of the Bible" and in it was an account of the birth and early life of Mary, the mother of Jesus. In it her betrothal to Joseph is covered, and quite honestly, I was fascinated by the account, yet it answered some questions that had plagued me for years, but in a surprising manner.
I've often wondered why we hear so little of Joseph after Jesus' early years. We read the account in the Gospels of Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem, and the whole nativity story. We hear of them moving to Nazareth when Jesus is a young child, and the story of traveling to Jerusalem and leaving Jesus mistakenly behind, then finding him in the Temple at perhaps age twelve. But no real references to Joseph after that. I wondered if perhaps he'd had an accident, or took ill, and subsequently died in Jesus' early years. But then I read this account and a whole new outlook has to be considered.
The text says,
 "For Isaiah saith, there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a flower shall spring out of its root, and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding, the Spirit of the Counsel and the Might, the Spirit of Knowledge and Piety, and the Spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill him. Then, according to this prophecy, he appointed, that all the men of the house and family of David, who were marriage and not married, should bring their rods to the altar. And out of whatever person's rod after it was brought, a flower should bud forth, and the Lord should sit in the appearance of a dove, he should be the man to whom the Virgin should be given and betrothed. Among the rest there was a man named Joseph, of the house and family of David, and a person very far advanced in years, who drew back his rod when every one besides presented his. So that when nothing appeared agreeable to the heavenly voice, the high priest judged it proper to consult God again, who answered that he who the Virgin was to be betrothed was the only person of those who were brought together, who had not brought his rod. Joseph therefore was betrayed. For, when he did bring his rod, and a dove coming from Heaven pitched upon the top of it, everyone plainly saw that the Virgin was to be betrothed to him..."
I always pictured in my mind a young Mary (this text says she was betrothed at age 14) and a young Joseph, two kids in love and starting a life together. But this certainly makes more sense, for not only is it culturally accurate, it explains why Joseph was first willing to divorce Mary quietly when he found her with child, then why he was conspicuously absent in Jesus' later years. I wonder if we need to change all our Nativity scenes for the sake of accuracy...
Food for thought...

Trey Gowdy

I watched a YouTube video today called "Meet Trey Gowdy" and I believe it is worth watching for every American, whether Republican or Democrat, because in it he asks the questions I hear so many concerned Americans asking... The link, I believe, is  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4eaDTdwdA8 (copy and paste). Trey Gowdy was a prosecutor for 16 years before running for Congress from South Carolina

and he's clearly got his head screwed on straight. This is a long video, almost an hour, but in it he addresses everything from the IRS scandal to Benghazi. I especially liked the segment where he's asked to comment on one of his fellow congressmen's comments about congressmen being underpaid...
If ever our country needs strong leadership it's now, and Mr Gowdy would make an excellent Speaker of the House. I believe he would exercise the leadership necessary to stand up to this President, or any president, who chooses to ignore their sworn duties to uphold our laws and/or grab power that is not granted to the executive branch in the Constitution. Trey Gowdy you have my vote!
Food for thought...