The Buffett Rule Act

No, no one is going to Margaritaville. It's Warren Buffett's law that he felt he shouldn't pay less taxes than his secretary. Although he definitely pays many more actual dollars than his secretary, just a lower percentage rate.

So now, he can do it and the higher rate he pays will go to paying down the national debt. The House passed by voice vote (no dissenters) to allow any rich person who so desires to pay a higher rate of income taxes and what ever over the requirement one pays will go directly to pay down the debt.

"If Warren Buffett and others like him truly feel they're not paying enough in taxes, they can use the Buffett Rule Act to put their money where their mouth is and voluntarily send in more to pay down the national debt, rather than changing the entire tax code to inflict more job-killing tax hikes on hard-working Americans," said Rep. Steve Scalise, the Louisiana Republican who wrote the bill.

Read more: House passes new Buffett Rule - Washington Times http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/inside-politics/2012/sep/19/house-passes-new-buffett-rule/#ixzz273o37mp5

Finally, something passed unanimously :) I wonder how many wealthy Americans will sling a leg over this pony and gallop to pay down the debt?

The pornography trap

I just received a request from my friend Carol Doyle to recommend an article in her online magazine Living Better at 50. The article is about the book 50 shades of grey. It is an excellent article and focuses on why Christians should not read this book or go see erotica movies. I want to say, "Well, Duh!"

Freedigitalphotos.net

 

Then I thought about all those trashy romance novels when I was younger. I had a death grip on them and it took a long time for me to cut loose from their throat-clutch grip. What compelled me to read that garbage? It was just fiction... I deserved a break from the routine... And numerous other lies I told myself. I honestly did not think I was hurting anyone by filling my brain with garbage.

Kathy Howard makes a great point in her article. These stories mock God and conjure up images that are offensive to Him. What place does that leave for Jesus in our minds? Very little. Once we open that door, Satan puts a wedge there so he can push it open wider, and that leads to desensitization of our conscience. What's the harm in that? We never realize how potent that drug is until we try to kick a habit we do not believe is a habit.

A friend of mine wrote on breaking a sinful habit. It is well worth the read, and if you don't have time to read it today, copy/paste it and read it when you do have time.

Interpol hunting convert to Christianity

There are reports that a young woman converted to Christianity and escaped her Saudi home running to Sweden. There are so many thing about this that make me want to cry. First, who led her to Christ? There had to be someone who gave her a Bible, or who told her about Jesus. Then why did she choose to run away?

I think the horror that Christians face within the Muslim religion is so deeply depraved that we Westerners have no conception of its depth. What is so achingly sad is that Satan has corrupted the message that Mohammad wanted his followers to understand. It is not a peaceful religion.

On 2 September the Saudi Gazette reported that ‘Interpol is co-ordinating with the Saudi Embassy in Stockholm and Swedish authorities to return the girl to her homeland before her “kidnappers” move her to another country.’ The embassy reportedly has started a search for the woman, with the aid of Swedish authorities.

Read more: http://times247.com/articles/interpol-swedish-officials-aid-saudis-to-hunt-convert#ixzz267toGELw

Here we Christians sit, twiddling our thumbs thinking "Oh, God, use me. I'll just sit here and wait for you to use me."

The Brave Buzz Aldrin

I poured the wine into the chalice our church had given me.  In the one-sixth gravity of the moon the wine curled slowly and gracefully up the side of the cup.  It was interesting to think that the very first liquid ever poured on the moon, and the first food eaten there, were communion elements.

 Buzz Aldrin wrote these words back in 1970 in a Guideposts' article. The reason it was not publicized was because of Madelyn O'Hare's lawsuit against the Apollo 8 crew who read the creation account from Genesis out loud.

With the passing of one of the world's greatest heroes, Neil Armstrong, it is something quite special to realize that that "giant leap for mankind" could never have happened if God had not allowed it. Our genius and our reason comes directly from above. Amen.

Thank you, Buzz Aldrin, for honoring God and honoring the moon through communion.

Hurricane Isaac 2012

Here we sit at home, feet up, and watching a movie while the wind rages outside. My daughter is in New Orleans without power (but a generator), and my other daughter is in Baton Rouge where the storm is about to descend.

Tropical storm now, and perhaps tropical depression by 10pm tomorrow night. This is the longest hurricane I have ever lived through!

Desires of the heart

In these days of soft-soap Christianity and the feel-good-do-it society, I've noticed that people reach for that pleasure factor in worshiping our Lord God Almighty. Have you noticed that?

Freedigitalphotos.com

I think there is nothing wrong with going to God for the pure pleasure of it. In fact it gives great pleasure to believers to go into the Throne Room to worship and bring praises to God our creator and our deliverer. But just as Solomon found out there is a limit to how pleasure pleases the mind and the body (Ecclesiastes 2) It leaves a yawning hole that craves more and more to fill it.

It is exactly like marrying a person for the physical body or that chemical reaction attraction ... eventually a person gets exhausted of nothing but pleasure and it then comes to a point where there is no more satisfaction in the pleasure act and cravings begin to develop for something more than just pleasure. That first taste of an intoxicating drug that causes flames of pleasure coursing through the bloodstream dies out and it takes larger doses for the same effect.

We are created with different aspects and facets to the same jewel. I think pursuit of pleasure as a motivation to serve does seem a bit selfish. It is the same as the end justifying the means which is wrong thinking. Our motivation should be a deep desire to please and not so much focused on our own pleasure, although that is a great benefit.

After all to obey is better than sacrifice and to pay attention is better than the fat of rams. 1 Samuel 14:22

Who can I speak to and give such a warning [and bear witness] that they will listen? Look, their ear is uncircumcised, [ = unresponsive to God] so they cannot pay attention. See, the word of the LORD has become contemptible to them— they find no pleasure in it. Jeremiah 6:10

The one who loves pleasure will become a poor man; whoever loves wine and oil will not get rich. Proverbs 21:17

God searches the hearts of men all over the world, but the hearts of those that serve Him are of the most special interest to Him. If God finds a self-serving motive--such as pleasure seeking-- how true is that Believer's heart? Where is the sacrifice? Where is the fat of rams?

And here is where I have the problem with the pleasure-motivated service to God. Where does the personal agenda cease and the neck bend; when does the will submit to God's will and His agenda?

Jesus for the sake of the joy ahead... that was to come, endured the cross. How hard that struggle was for Jesus knew the torture and pain in store for Him, yet He willingly set His face toward it. He looked past the shame to the joy, (notice the word in that Scripture is not happiness) beyond the cross. Jesus knew when He comes, the joy and sheer pleasure will be so intense we will have to have glorified bodies to contain it.

So... with that in mind, how enduring is a pleasure-based motive to serve God? When the trials and troubles come, does the pleasure motive have roots deep enough to withstand the storm? We human creatures have this temporal body so we rarely contemplate the infinity of eternity. Pain and troubles are temporal--just for today. It doesn't stop there, though.

God is love and His gift to His children is His enduring love. Ergo, love-based motive is stronger and more enduring, and longer-lasting than the pleasure-based motive. Here is the thing, if a person does good deeds simply because it makes them feel good, does that diminish the good deed's worth? Perhaps in the sight of God it does, perhaps not to the person receiving the good deed.


Seeking to enjoy God for the pure pleasure of His company and the pure pleasure it brings is very okay! That is the fun time, that is the dancing time and it is enjoying Him that gives strength for the other times that are not so enjoyable when He calls us to sacrifice for Him.

Sacrifice is all about Him and none of self. It is all about obedience and none of selfish desire. Since God searches the hearts of man, Jeremiah 17:10 I, Jehovah, search the heart, I try the reins, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings. Therefore, pleasure is a poor motivator for the things of the heart that would please God. He promises that if we delight in Him, then He will give us our heart's desires.


Does that mean that our desires are given to us, or does it mean that He puts desires in our hearts? I would that He put His own desires in my heart, then I know I would delight in Him and delight Him. How great that is... putting a smile on God's face! To please Him brings great pleasure, but that kind of pleasure is much more pleasant. It doesn't depend upon another person, or even upon one's self. It just bubbles up and pours all over us like a the spring in a well-watered garden. Isaiah 58.

Another misguided Eagle Scout

The Sun Herald reports another Eagle Scout (54) returns his medal and certificate (this one signed by Richard Nixon) because of the stance the Boy Scouts have against gay leaders and gay scouts.

The 54-year-old architect, who grew up in Columbus, Miss. and earned scouting's highest honor there, tells The Portland Press Herald ( http://bit.ly/TjogsL) he witnessed racism first hand in the deep South and wants to be "on the right side of history." Sun Herald

Read more here: http://www.sunherald.com/2012/08/09/4115245/maine-eagle-scout-returns-medal.html#storylink=cpy

I think returning his medal was a completely empty gesture. How sad that we have become so blind to our true roots that we fall into the deceptions of Satan so willingly and with such fervor.

The Boy Scouts' ban on homosexuality is the farthest thing from racism. The fact that God Himself finds homosexuality an abomination means nothing any more? When will Christians take the blinders off and understand the difference between a lifestyle and the person?

God sent His Son to die on the cross while we all were still ugly in sin. None of us are worthy to receive eternal life. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. No one deserves Heaven, no not one.

But...

God created Man in His own image and God called it good. God considered His creation worthy to save, therefore He sent His Son to cover us with righteousness so that we could be saved. Homosexuality is a perversion of the gift God gave husband and wife. It is either marry a husband or wife, or be celibate. Those are the only choices.

Where are the courageous young men and young women who love Christ above all things, and who care more about what God thinks than what lowly mankind thinks? Wake up America!

Word of mouth--new???

Today it is becoming a trend to utilize customers’ word of mouth only now it is more like fingertips to eyeballs using Facebook, Twitter, and blogging. Social media is this acclaimed “brand new thing” that sells better than any other kind of advertising…if one can use it correctly. That takes listening to what the customer wants and supplying that solution. Anyone who cut their sales eyeteeth on Zig Zigler tapes (before CDs) or Brian Tracy books had this basic concept embedded in the fibers of their being. But that's old stuff... or is it?

Brian Solis uses the example of Zappos which began something “new” in his book End of Doing Business As Usual. Zappos started listening to their customers and their sales rocketed from $32 million to $174 million in two years. It was all due to listening to their customers, providing what they needed, and making customer service a top priority. People began to talk, and spread the word so more customers began to buy. Amazing. Boomers remember the days when this was standard procedure. Gen-Xers never had the pleasure.

Zappos made sure to have a clear understanding of what the customer wanted. Then it became crystal clear that without that, no one would ever be satisfied. Old customers, new customers, old prospects, and new prospects were paid close attention. Zappos knew if you don’t pay attention, then you’ve got a disappointed, unsatisfied person who not only doesn’t want to do business with you, but you’ve also got a walking time bomb of potentially negative advertising.  If they have a bad experience they’ll tell more people about it than about a good experience. A person with a negative message (bad experience) will repeat it eighteen to twenty times. One with a good message (good experience) may repeat it three to five times. (Chilton Research,1995). That was back in the day when word of mouth was telephone to telephone (landlines generally connected to the wall with a cord). Today, that number has astronomically expanded because of social media, just a click away.

The take away is very simple: Don’t use terms like small stuff or waste of  time with any customer. You never know if that customer will turn into one of the most loyal customers you ever had. They surely won’t if you make them feel mistreated and unimportant: read that small. Even the best client can have a bad day and be snappish. You don’t have that luxury because service with a smile can change the worst attitude, but bad behavior in response to bad behavior just means everyone loses. Of course you know this already. Do your employees know this?

Listening is deciding that what that important person is saying is more important than what you are doing at that precise moment. That should be the simplest and most attended to lesson.

Every business owner and executive has heard this before. Every employee should have heard it, but it seems that fewer are hearing it every day. Every entrepreneur has had a bad experience and vowed not to repeat the mistake. It isn’t a new message. But, it is obvious that there are a lot of companies that must train their people in people skills, and most especially listening skills.  Listening, it seems, has become a lost art that has suddenly been rediscovered. Imagine that!

Visions of the future--what about reading?

A friend of mine posted in our school discussion board in which he talked about the future of blogging. (That is our discussion question for the week.)

He made some points that made me sit up and then made my heart weep...


I have often bemoaned the way journalism has slid into the mucky muck of opinion and bias. I tremble at the thought that we won't ever get un-opinionated news with bias words wrapped around it so tightly there is no way to get to the pure truth. Has relativism gone so far into our brains that truth isn't that pinnacle we strive for anymore? Does anyone get that vision of Pilate standing in front of Jesus with this doe-in-the-headlights look, "What is truth?" he asks Jesus. The Truth was staring him in the face and he could not even see it.

Vlogs were mentioned in the discussion. Vlogs are video blogs. I am not a fan of videos except for the very few exceptional ones that come to my inbox ever so often. What takes an hour to watch, I could get much more out of reading the text and doing it in 1/4 the time. I have a white-knuckled grip on my paperback books and I'm so afraid our future will be like Total Recall when the news is on 24/7 on the wall screen and no newspaper beside your breakfast coffee.

I'm also so extremely sorry that kids today "don't like to read"... what a lot they are missing!!! What kind of control over their imagination they are giving up.

There is a fellow by the name of Shane Hipps (you can view an interview here at YouTube) who talks about how we become trapped with images. When reading or listening to a story and you hear the words "an old man", your imagination takes off and conjures an image for your mind that can be as wild or staid as you care to be. Yet, if someone says, "an old man", and hold up an image then they control your imagination and your creative thinking stops at the image (Shane, 2011). Creativity is trapped.

Our minds are great and glorious things because God created them that way. I am not saying that our creativity stops, it just doesn't have to work as hard when we look at images. So is creativity going off in a different direction? What is the point of having an imagination if we just sit and watch TV or a movie or YouTube videos? That puts us in that realm of someone telling us what to think about. Will it come to the point where everyone is watching the monkey, but only one or two have their eyes on what is really going on?

Hipps, S. (2011, April 14). Interview with Shane Hipps: The OAT Podcast. Spring Arbor University.

Ye Shall Laugh 2

Ye Shall Laugh Luke 6:21


There are some very Funny, Strange and Stupid Things People Do in the Bible.


Whoever said, “The Bible is boring,” has no imagination and has no sense of humor. Studying the Bible is all about attitude…Attitude of the heart and attitude of the mind. Who was it that said, “You get what you put in to it”? Oh, yeah, it was “Whatever ye shall sow, that shall ye also reap.”

Where else should Christians turn when they have problems?

Where else do we find God’s intent and God’s purpose for our lives?

And where else is there a collection of such exciting and, yes, humorous stories that are so true?
The Bible is true to life; true to Man’s nature and reveals the consequences of our actions. The life lessons jam-packed into such a small collection of 66 books could not possibly be crammed into the Library of Congress when applied to our own daily lives. In fact, Solomon was absolutely correct when he said, “There is nothing new under the sun.” And that was about 3000 years ago.

"What?" you say, "Nothing new? What about Japanese cars?”
Acts 1& 2 & 4 tell us there was at least “one Accord” back then.

“What about microwaves?”

Leviticus 10:1-2 tells us God “micro-waved” Aaron’s sons after they offered profane fire before the Lord without a little box and a plug in to electricity.

“What about Email?”

The Spirit of the Lord is faster and a lot more dependable than Email. And Jesus didn’t even have to say, “Scotty, Beam Me into the locked room where my disciples are.” He just was instantly there! And how about Philip? He was here one minute and walking beside the Ethiopian the next second. Instant. That's faster than getting approval for a credit card swipe.

Okay, so it’s a bit ridiculous … but, I hope I made my point. Man’s mind is finite and is so limited compared to our Almighty Lord God. And God gave us our sense of humor! There was once a preacher that said basically, “Hilarity is obscene before the Lord.” Poppycock!

Sorrow of the heart breaks the spirit (Proverbs 15:13) however … A merry heart doeth good like medicine, but a broken spirit drieth the bones. Proverbs 17:22. And Solomon wasn’t talking about having a “heart merry with wine” in that verse, don’t you know.

So I'd like to hear what is your favorite funny story in the Bible... Gee, there are so many to choose from!

Ye shall laugh

Excerpt from my Bible study - Ye shall laugh.

Stand-up comedians will tell you that most people laugh at the ridiculous, at a “twist” of meanings and a surprise outcome to the end of a story. This is why jokes are funny, they surprise us and it is why some jokes are not funny, the punch line isn’t a surprise. Or sometimes the images conjured up are so ridiculous that we laugh no matter how many times we've heard the joke. Other people laughing is contagious. A merry heart does good like medicine, but sorrow dries the bones. Solomon said that. What was it that made you have a mind-cleansing, soul shaking belly laugh?

The key for finding funny stories in the Bible is to look for the ridiculous, the incongruous—strange, odd, bizarre—and the surprise ending and/or surprise statement of one of the people in the story. Most of the time, we are so serious when studying the Bible, that we overlook these aspects in the stories. Things like a donkey talking, lead floating, a king's right hand man dipping in muddy water to be cleansed of leprosy and a prophet's servant being punished with it, and four lepers saving a city. The list goes on and on.

My friend Rocky loves this story from Exodus 32: The golden calf. "When people got restless of Moses being gone too long and demanded something be done about it. Aaron had people give him gold and he formed an idol of a gold calf to worship. When asked about it -

'Moses, it's not my fault, really! I just took this gold jewelry see - I threw it into the fire. And you won't believe this - you really won't. But when I took this out of the fire you know what I found? It's totally unbelievable man - out came this gold calf! I sat there and all I could do man, was like, say wooooow!'

Ok ok - so it was a bit of license done on the paraphrasing....:-)

One of my favorites is found in Mark 5:30-31

30 And knowing instantly within Himself that power had gone out of Him, Jesus turned Himself around in the press and said, Who touched My clothes? 31And His disciples said to Him, You see the crowd pressing on You, and do You say, Who touched Me?

Can’t you just see this mob of people squishing Jesus and His disciples? Jesus feels the power go out from Him. He looks at Peter and asks, “Who touched me?”

Peter, the typical Jewish male, shrugs up his shoulders, throws up his hands palms up and says “What? All of a sudden I’m the answer man? Why don’t you ask Andrew! You never ask him the hard questions! There’s a million people right beside You and You ask, ‘Who touched Me?’

So why did Jesus ask the question? He knows everything. He healed the sick, that’s a job that He took on from the very beginning. What was a little power going out of Him to heal a woman who’d been sick for 12 years? What was the big deal?

There is nothing secret from Him. He knows all the secret sins, but more importantly, He knows all the secret acts of faith.

Just as the Holy Spirit immediately convicts of sin within the Christian’s heart, so does He also immediately acknowledge the acts of faith of His children. He wanted the woman to acknowledge her faith publicly as well as proclaim what had happened not only for God’s glory, but also as an affirmation of her faith, because faith does bring God glory. Faith that God can do the impossible, brings Him even greater glory.

But, more than that, Jesus wanted all the people to know how much her faith had to do with her healing. This was huge, and so many of those people who pressed in so close to Jesus never “got” it. They kept asking for signs and more signs. Even John the Baptist when in prison sent his disciples to ask Jesus if he really was the One. Jesus told them to go back and tell him, “The blind see, the lame walk, the sick are healed, and the dead rise.” It was enough of a reminder of the Old Testament prophecies that John was reassured.

The Gentiles not only understood, but knew it in their hearts. The centurion understood. He said, “Just speak and it will be so. I command men and when I say do this, it is done.” The centurion understood the far reaching authority of Jesus. The woman understood Jesus’ healing power and had hope and faith that she would be healed.

How do you choose a church?

I was doing a bit of research and discovered this post I wrote five years ago. Sometimes I astound myself at how well I listen to God's promptings when I write. Then I wonder, why can I not hear as clearly today? Then I realize I'm still hearing Him, He is just saying something different.


How do you choose a church?
Do you visit and visit and then one day you walk in a church and just know... this is it? This is where God wants me?

Do you wait to see who comes to visit after you've visited?

Do you go to the church were the most people have invited you?

Is driving 30 minutes to go to church too far even if the people are really friendly?

I'll tell you, just about every church I have belonged to has been "on the hunt" for a pastor. Side note: I think there are too few God-called pastors which is why it takes so long for a church to find The Man God has called to the church.

The trouble is not finding A church. In Picayune there are so many churches one would think that there aren't enough people to fill them all. This town is a church going town. The problem is finding THE church that God desires us to join, roll up our sleeves and get to work. THE church.

So. How does one get to work in a church that doesn't have time to go visit the visitors?

How does one get to work in a church that is friendly and has a great preacher and the people love him so much that they flock around him after service so that no one else can shake his hand or so that he can search out the visitors and ask them to come back?

How does one get to work in a church that is so far out it takes 30 minutes to just get there?

How does one get to work when a church has lost its pastor, its associate pastor and the music minister all in the space of about 3 months? Who's at the helm?

Ahhhh... but, wouldn't that church be the one that needs the willing worker? Wouldn't that church be the one that needs the prayer warriors? Isn't that the church that would be surprised if someone would join when there wasn't a pastor instead of waiting to join along with a whole flock of people joining the day a new pastor steps into the pulpit?

Is it up to us to choose or is it God's choice?

Technology must haves for survival

Here is a graphic lifted from a technology/theology blog called Don't Eat the Fruit.

It was designed by Nicholas Carr of the "Is Google Making Us Stupid" essay; and is called the Hierarchy of Innovation.

I'm not thrilled that pharmaceuticals is in that top shelf reserved for selfish desires. I think aspirin is one of the greatest of all drugs invented or discovered. Sometimes just removing myself from a particularly annoying person will relieve my headache, but aspirin does that, too, with no discomforting need for explanations.

What do you think about this hierarchy? Is it on target? Out of touch? 

So what are my must-have technologies? I'm so glad you asked!

Gina's Must-Have Technologies

I must have my cell phone in case I have car trouble (This is what my Mom makes sure of every time I step out the door. Gone is the question: Do you have clean underwear on?)

I must have a car because I really would die walking farther than the mail box in this heat here in the South.

I must have my computer. How else could I go to school which will help me get a job teaching which will help me pay bills which will keep my creditors happy which will keep me out of jail. I do not want to go to jail. People die in jail.

I must have my air conditioner. I would suffocate with out it.

I must have my big screen TV which helps keep my eyes healthy.

Did I mention my air conditioner?

I think that does it for my must haves for the foundation of survival. Did I mention my a/c?

Thank you, God, for these wonderful gifts! Thank you, God, for my a/c.
In Jesus' name, amen.

Blogging is the New Town Square

I have written my paper that I asked Christian bloggers to help me with. I created this powerpoint and saved as a pdf so I could post it here.
Blogging is the New Town Square

Unemployed? Seth Godin has some excellent advice

Back in 2009, Seth Godin had this very excellent advice to unemployed college graduates:

How about a post-graduate year doing some combination of the following (not just one, how about all):

• Spend twenty hours a week running a project for a non-profit.
• Teach yourself Java, HTML, Flash, PHP and SQL. Not a little, but mastery. [Clarification: I know you can't become a master programmer of all these in a year. I used the word mastery to distinguish it from 'familiarity' which is what you get from one of those Dummies type books. I would hope you could write code that solves problems, works and is reasonably clear, not that you can program well enough to work for Joel Spolsky. Sorry if I ruffled feathers.]
• Volunteer to coach or assistant coach a kids sports team.
• Start, run and grow an online community.
• Give a speech a week to local organizations.
• Write a regular newsletter or blog about an industry you care about.
• Learn a foreign language fluently.
• Write three detailed business plans for projects in the industry you care about.
• Self-publish a book.
• Run a marathon.

 I have just a few things to add to this list...

• Turn off the TV and put the video games in storage. Take a technology fast unless, of course, you are doing #2 above.
• Become a mentor to someone.
• Become an expert in something that fascinates you then blog about it, posting everyday.
• Volunteer to read to a blind person for at least an hour per week.
• Start a non-profit organization advocating whatever is close to your heart.
• Learn everything there is to know about LinkedIN.
• Become a master at social media, then blog about it everyday, then self-publish a book on it.
• Discover who THE mover/shaker is for your community and shadow him or her one day per week for as long as he or she will allow you to. Then analyze, and write about what you learned.

Doing these things will change your life and your outlook on life. 

Engraved in His palm,
Gina

Friends

I cannot live without my friends.
The earth is a dry and barren land without friends. I pant like the deer pants for water during the dry spells.
I much prefer the rain kissed earth, the sweet smell, the hugs the satisfaction and the refreshing dew of talking with my dear friend, writing, my friends, reading from my friends and being with my friends.

I love the sweet messages from my friends.
I adore the loving kindnesses of my friends.
There is no treasure on earth that compares to the pearls of friendships.
Loving kindness is the tie that binds and the cords that hold with the strength of steel.

Thank you, God, for my friends!

This is a repeat, and so well worth the repeat. I have made so many new friends since I wrote this Five years ago!!!

US judge and Mississippi Law

A U.S. judge blocked enforcement of a Mississippi law which requires Ob-Gyn physicians who perform abortions to have admitting privileges to a hospital. You know, the kind of law that makes sure if something goes terribly wrong, the mother can go to the hospital. The baby is killed, but at least give the mother advanced medical treatment if she starts bleeding to death. The judge it studying the law for Constitutionality.

Whether or not a state allows abortions is the state's decision which means the state can put laws in place to regulate the abortions. You can read all about state laws here.

Like most of his kind these days, Judge Daniel Jordan will write law for Mississippi. I'm increasingly disgruntled with The System these days. Justice may be blind, but there is no place for judges to make laws that undermine states' authority like they have done in Arizona and with Obamacare.

God gave us freedom. It is an inalienable right which means it is God-given. When we remove God from our lives, our court systems, our legislative systems, and from the executive branch, then we open up the floodgates for slavery to the system and to those who usurp authority.

God did not give us freedom over other people's freedoms and rights. God has charged us with our children's care and upbringing, not ownership of our children or abortion of our children. God has charged us to love our neighbor as ourselves, not to usurp authority over our neighbor as Obama has done in his fight for power over the American people.

After this mandate to purchase healthcare or pay a huge tax (call it what they will,  penalties can only  be levied on taxes), what comes next? Will we be mandated to keep our mouths shut or be taxed--uh, penalized? Will we be stripped of our right to own guns? Will we be taxed because we eat too much? If we're over a certain body weight will that cause a penalty because it increases the cost of healthcare?  Will the number of children per family be limited to regulate costs?

The Ten Commands

Jesus told us that the Law pinpoints consequences of disobedience to the law. It doesn't make a person obey it. The law has no power, and can never change a person's heart attitude. In fact, the law cannot force anyone into a particular action. Only 1) fear of the consequences or 2) deep desire to please the lawgiver can change action or change attitudes. The System is failing.

Demons at work

and Satan's Ploys

Let me just say that Satan is truly playing havoc in my life right now.

But, he does that continually so it isn't such a big surprise. Years ago, God warned me one morning at 5:39 AM this is what would happen. He was preparing me for Satan to try to find a chink in the Whole Armor of God. At that time, God prevailed, for He that is in me is greater than he that is in the world. Amen.

First thing he loves to do is sit on my shoulder and whisper out right lies into my ear. I know they are lies, but there's just enough plausibility to it ... and that is enough to get the mind working in top gear going through the

Wounded Pride, Poor Me, Woe Is Me, How Dare He Do That Cycle...

When there isn't a shred of truth in any of it but of course there is a problem in a different angle... so long as Satan has me in that washer cycle going round and round, I'm not praying about the true problem and Satan wins.

Well, he's not going to win this one. Because of God.

Let me say that another way. Satan can't win because God is in control.

If I do not allow Satan the power to spin a web, then he cannot immobilize me because God has all authority, and though Satan was given the title of Prince of the Air and of this world, he still submits to the authority of God..

 God and I, me and God. That is personalized. Together make a perfect combo and that is the most healthy relationship possible. I must remember that God is the force, not me. Without Him, I am nothing.

It still doesn't stop the pain right away. It doesn't help the heart ache. But, that too will pass. As I was telling my dear friend just a while ago. The day of Joy will be the day that Jesus holds out His hand to me saying, "Shall we dance?" Boy OH Boy! That will be the joyous day. Come, Lord Jesus, Come... I am weary of this world. Marantha.

Secret Service: Their bullying is getting out of hand

When the Secret Service bullies two Airmen who are on the same detail as them, it is outrageous. Read the police report here. It is a travesty to bully. Yet, grown men who are trained to protect our president and vice president and others, the travesty looms too large to wrap the brain around. I've studied bullying. I written articles about it: Bullying is a growing concern, Bullying is torture at school, Bullying is the silent epidemic, and Sack tapping another form of bullying.

This is beyond simple bullying, although there is nothing simple about bullying. These children in grown up bodies are a menace, and with a total lack of judgment are a peril to the highest office of our nation. Drunken behavior is unacceptable.

I, for one, am calling for a clean sweep of this organization. Forget retraining, fire them and hire respectable men and women full of self-control and brains larger than peas.

This isn't the least. When vacationing president and veep go to Nantucket, home owners are very chary of renting their nice houses to the Secret Service because they vandalize the homes conjuring visions of Animal House--how mature is that?

These men should ponder:

Psalm 5:6  You shall destroy those who speak lies; Jehovah will despise the bloody and deceitful man.

Psa 28:5  Because they do not pay attention to the works of Jehovah and to the work of His hands, He shall destroy them and never build them up.

Ecc 5:6  Do not allow your mouth to cause your flesh to sin; do not say before the angel that it was an error. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands?

Mat 21:41  They said to Him, Bad men! He will miserably destroy them and will rent out his vineyard to other vinedressers who will give him the fruits in their seasons.

Just a slight change... is it lying?

What do you consider lying? Are little white lies okay when you are "protecting" a friend's feelings? Doing an assignment for school I pondered this question when it comes to unethical photojournalism. I found numerous, horrendous photos from the "Napalm girl" to the "Starving Sudanese child" and the drowned five year old boy. I don't link to those because I think even those photos won Pulitzer prizes... maybe not the dead boy's photo, I think it was up for a Pulitzer.

Public domain photo from Library of Congress

Public domain photo from Library of Congress

Close ups and wide angles can tell two hugely different stories, yet, be the same subject matter. These photos were taken by the same photographer, Dorothea Lange; and taken in 1936. The then Resettlement Administration had the job of resettling farmers off 100,000,000 acres of worn out, dust bowl land into settlements. There were a series of photographers by several photographers used by the Resettlement Administration to show the necessity to help these poor people. California didn’t want the thousands of poor farmers being removed to the state. So photos were used to soften the hearts of the state government. The first photo was used but retouched. The second photo was buried in archives and unused by the Administration.

The first photo is the close up and depicts a poor mother, surrounded by her children but also depicts, with the application of a little money the family could survive easily. Her expression is one of contemplation rather than despair.

The second photo is the wide angle showing what desperate straits the family is living in; and that it will take much more than a few dollars to help this family survive. The squalor seems insurmountable. The family is flanked by a tattered lean-to, meager belongings in a broken trunks, and an empty plate on another trunk, surrounded by empty fields.

Both photos are ethical, and taken in an ethical manner. However, the use of the first retouched photo to tell a deceptive story is unethical. In the retouched photo, the woman has a brighter face, and there are highlights in the children’s hair. This photo represents hope. The second photo tells the whole truth and represents despair which did not tell the story the Resettlement Administration wanted to tell so it was buried in archives.

The ethical dilemma is using a retouched photograph to sell a story to persuade a group of people into a certain action. Kant would say, this goes against his categorical imperative, in universalizability, and using the family as a means to an end. He would also say that this may be a little lie, it is still a lie. Exhibiting truth is what gives credibility, and that is all that journalists have. The public hates to be lied to. Big lie, little lie, important or trivial, offering anything but the truth is lying.