Sunday, March 30, 2008

A Message from John Glenn I HAD to pass on

John Glenn said...This should make you think a little:

There were 39 combat related killings in Iraq in January. In the fair city of Detroit there were 35 murders in the month of January. That's just one American city, about as deadly as the entire war-torn country of Iraq.
When some claim that President Bush shouldn't have started this war, state the following:
* FDR led us into World War II. Germany never attacked us; Japan did. From 1941- 1945, 450,000 lives were lost an average of 112,500 per year.
* Truman finished that war and started one in Korea North Korea never attacked us. From 1950-1953, 55,000 lives were lost; an average of 18,334 per year.
* John F. Kennedy started the Vietnam conflict in 1962. Vietnam never attacked us.
* Johnson turned Vietnam into a quagmire. From 1965-1975, 58,000 lives were lost...an average of 5,800 per year.
* Clinton went to war in Bosnia without UN or French consent. Bosnia never attacked us. He was offered Osama bin Laden's head on a platter three times by Sudan and did nothing. Osama has attacked us on multiple occasions.

In the years since terrorists attacked us, President Bush has liberated two countries, crushed the Taliban, crippled al-Qaida, put nuclear inspectors in Libya , Iran , and, North Korea without firing a shot, and captured a terrorist who slaughtered 300,000 of his own people.

The Democrats are complaining about how long the war is taking.
But Wait!

It took less time to take Iraq than it took Janet Reno to take the Branch Davidian compound. That was a 51-day operation.

We've been looking for evidence for chemical weapons in Iraq for less time than it took Hillary Clinton to find the Rose Law Firm billing records.

It took less time for the 3rd Infantry Division and the Marines to destroy the Medina Republican Guard than it took Ted Kennedy to call the police after his Oldsmobile sank at Chappaquiddick.

It took less time to take Iraq than it took to count the votes in Florida !!!

Our Commander-In-Chief is doing a GREAT JOB! The Military morale is high!
The biased media hopes we are too ignorant to realize the facts.

But wait! There's more!

Some people still don't understand why military personnel do what they do for a living. This exchange between Senators John Glenn and Senator Howard Metzenbaum is worth reading. Not only is it a pretty impressive impromptu speech, but it's also a good example of one man's explanation of why men and women in the armed services do what they do for a living. This IS a typical, though sad, example of what some who have never served think of the military. The Senate floor - January 26, 2004

Senator Metzenbaum (speaking to Senator Glenn): 'How can you run for Senate when you've never held a real job?'

Senator Glenn (D-Ohio): 'I served 23 years in the United States Marine Corps. I served through two wars. I flew 149 missions. My plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire on 12 different occasions. I was in the space program.

It wasn't my checkbook, Howard; it was my life on the line. It was not a nine-to-five job, where I took time off to take the daily cash receipts to the bank.

I ask you to go with me as I went the other day... to a veteran's hospital and look those men...with their mangled bodies... in the eye, and tell THEM they didn't hold a job! You go with me to the Space Program at NASA and go, as I have gone, to the widows and Orphans of Ed White, Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee... and you look those kids in the eye and tell them that their DADS didn't hold a job. You go with me on Memorial Day and you stand in Arlington National Cemetery, where I have more friends buried than I'd like to remember, and you watch those waving flags. You stand there, and you think about this nation, and you tell ME that those people didn't have a job? What about you?'

For those who don't remember During W.W.II, Howard Metzenbaum was an attorney representing the Communist Party in the USA . Now he's a Senator!

If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you are reading it in English thank a Veteran.

Friday, March 07, 2008

SPACE, The Final Frontier

God made two great lights-the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning-The fourth day. Genesis 1:16-1:19

http://www.greatdanepro.com/somewhere%20in%20time/index.htm
(Be sure and turn on your speakers for this!)

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

I found these photos online & wanted to share them with you!

Time - slipping away....


An amish countryside, "Are you my mother?"
flowers to enjoy



Stillness and reflection


Scales on shelves, a bench, a pasture of wildflowers



a child looking up

and
Rays of light - hope dawning



Psalms 42-43, Looking Up When Feeling Down

This is long, but I really felt it was worth posting.

Introduction:
Psalm 42 begins a new book in the psalms. For the first time we are told a psalm is written by a different author than David. The sons of Korah penned this psalm and few of the other psalms found in Book 2.
We are going to study this psalm in connection with psalm 43. I believe that psalm 42 and psalm 43 were originally one psalm containing the same theme. There are at least three reasons why we can assume psalms 42 and 43 were originally joined together. (1) There are a number of ancient manuscripts that have both of these psalms as just one continuous psalm. (2) Psalm 43 has no title for it. All of the psalms in Book 2 have a title assigned to them except psalm 43, making it more likely that it was connected to psalm 42. (3) The repeated refrains are found in both psalm 42 and psalm 43. “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in the God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” This refrain is found in 42:5, 42:11, and 43:5, which is equal distant throughout both the psalms.
I. Longing to Meet God (42:1-5)
A. Thirsting for the living God
The scriptures will use creation as a teaching tool for our lives. The proverbs tell the person to “go to the ant” and “learn from the sloth.” In psalm 42, we are learning from the deer’s thirst for water. This visually helps us understand the zeal and longing that we are to have for the Lord. Just as a deer needs the streams of waters for survival and pants for those refreshing waters, so also our souls should long for God. The thirst is so strong that the psalmist asks when he can go and meet with God.
Testing our thirst is one of the best test we can perform on our hearts to determine our love for God. Do we thirst to talk about spiritual things? Do we thirst to study God’s revealed word? Do we thirst to worship the Lord? Do we thirst to study the word with other disciples? Do we have the thirst that causes us to ask “When can I go and meet with God?”
This is exactly what the Lord meant when he told the Pharisees to learn what “I desire mercy and not sacrifice” meant (Matthew 9:13). The question is not if we are showing up, but if we want to show up. The question is not if we are just reading, but if we want to read and study. Have we developed a thirst for the things of God?
Now we must realize that we cannot have a thirst without trying something first. I do not have a strong thirst for potato chips until after I have had the first one. I do not have a strong thirst for popcorn until I have had the first kernel. The thirst dies the longer we remove ourselves away from a particular action.
Further, thirsting for the living God only begins when we realize that it is a matter of our own soul’s life and death. Just as the deer requires water for life and therefore thirsts for it, so also we will thirst for the living waters of God if we will see its need.
The psalmist’s desire is so strong that he wants to “meet with God.” It is not enough to go and worship for God. Nor is it enough to have a longing for the Lord. The thirst can only be quenched when he goes to meet God. This is the drive and goal of life. The psalmist wants to experience God, be with God, and spend time with God. The psalmist does not see worship, knowledge, and reading as God’s rules to keep. Rather, the psalmist realizes that worship, knowledge, and reading are the ways to be with God. These are the only ways to get to know and experience God until we can see him face to face.
We also must see that this thirst is sustained even through his personal times of oppression and skepticism. We see the psalmist’s pain in the words, “My tears have been my food day and night.” We also see the scorn the psalmist is enduring as others say to him all day long “Where is your God?” He is remembering the good times with God and continues to thirst for God even though he is enduring an undisclosed oppression.
B. The need for self-talk
I have told this to many people in my efforts to help others deal with their emotions and now I see the scriptural foundation for this advice in this psalm. We have to talk to ourselves when we are enduring oppression, suffering, or begin to be skeptical of what God is doing for us. Notice how the psalmist talks to himself, “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?”
The psalmist is speaking to his emotions. He is not allowing his emotions to dictate his mind. He is going to keep his feelings in check, realizing that he must keep his hope in the Lord. This is absolutely critical for us to understand and commit ourselves to do in the midst of trouble. We cannot allow our emotions to get the best of us and control our lives. We cannot allow our actions and rationale be dictated by how we feel. To be governed by our feelings and emotions is spiritual suicide and makes us an emotional disaster. The psalmist is telling us that we have to talk ourselves through many of the hard times of life. The next section of the psalm describes for us how bad things have been for him.
II. Overwhelmed and Forgotten (42:6-11)
A. The downcast soul
Consider the feelings of the psalmist: his soul is downcast and the waves have swept over him. He cries out to God “Why have your forgotten me?” He is oppressed by his enemies and, in the midst of his suffering, is enduring the taunting words of his foes. The enemies continue to say to him, “Where is your God?”
Does this sound familiar to your soul? Have you ever experienced these feelings? Have you ever been overcome by these emotions? The psalmist is not speaking from his ivory tower, declaring to us all what we ought to do. Rather, the psalmist is speaking from experience and is teaching us by telling us about his life and how he got through his difficulties. Life is not easy when we feel overwhelmed and forgotten. Life is hard when we feel that God has completely forgotten about us while being struck down by others. What should we do in the midst of these feelings?
B. Lift yourself up!
The psalmist again addresses his soul. I would like to focus on the next statement in this repeated refrain, “Put your hope in God.” The psalmist is reminding himself to put his hope and trust in the Lord. When our backs are to the wall and things do not seem to be working out the way we expected, it is time to repeatedly tell ourselves to put our trust in God.
The repetition of the phrase should tell us that it is not going to be enough to tell ourselves to trust God once. We have to keep reminding ourselves of this! Things will not go according to plan and how we deal with it is a test to our ability to trust in the Lord.
III. Plea For Rescue (43:1-5)
A. Give me guidance
The psalmist now asks for vindication. Evil surrounds him in the midst of his suffering. He further states that God has been his stronghold and strength and does not understand why it seems that God has rejected him.
Rather than keeping his focus on himself, he turns his attention to the Lord. The psalmist calls to God to send forth “your light and your truth” and “let them guide me.” The psalmist offers a beautiful call of dependence upon God to guide him through his turmoil. It is always important for us to keep our eyes on God during our troubles. Rather than allow our emotions to spin us into despair, we must keep our eyes heavenward awaiting God’s deliverance.
B. I will yet praise Him
Perhaps the most fascinating part of this psalm is the ending. The psalmist declares that even though he does not understand and feels rejected and oppressed, he will continue to praise God. God is his joy and his delight (43:4). When God is what really matters in life, then we may lose the things of this world but we will always have what is most important and what brings us lasting joy: God.
The psalm concludes with the same refrain of self-talk. “For I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” We must tell ourselves what is most important. When the going in our lives do get tough, we have to be tough with ourselves to get through our misery. Our emotions will lead us into self-pity and agony. Keeping our eyes on what matters will help us endure till our suffering ends.
Conclusion:
God has called us to pick ourselves up in times of trouble. I believe this is the point of the thrice repeated refrain “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” To get through the turmoil, we need God. While we wait for God, we cannot allow our emotions to spin out of control and rule our lives. Nor should we sit back and expect everyone to come rushing to our aid. We are to pull ourselves up and endure. God will get us through.

Lesson adapted from sermon by Brent Kercheville

Monday, March 03, 2008

Broken World - lyrics by Across the Sky

My heart is breaking. I just got offline chatting with a friend. This person has no hope for a better future. They believe in God, but their thoughts of Him are that He has not done anything but cause pain for this person for a number of years now. I hurt; I ache for this friend. I want to take care of their pain. I want to make it all better. I am in tears for my friend and that I can't help them.

"Promises shattered
Answers don't come
Friends say goodbye
Plans come undone
Dreams get crushed
Lies get told
Words can turn cruel
Hearts can grow cold

CHORUS
In a broken world where we cry to feel
Some hope that helps these hearts to heal
You're my strength, You're my refuge
In a broken world, Jesus I'm holding to You

You make sense of the madness
And You make darkness flee
You bring such a calm
To the chaos in me
Show me life
Tell me truth
Day after day I keep running to You

Repeat CHORUS

Long ago, we fell so far
Yet You came to where we are"

Photographs of Covered Bridges


I am having a bit of a downer day - so many hurting people and I want to take care of it all and can't.

SO, I decided to go online and look for some pictures of things that make me smile. I really love barns and covered bridges to name a few.

I have already posted some barns on my other website, so I decided to look for bridges and here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!