CALLED TO BE FREE

Quarters - the great bank robbery.

2012-01-23T22:42:00.000-08:00

Let me start by stating that yes, we are still going on vacation in September 2013.

Tonight Leila & I did something really really really bad. We robbed a bank.   Well, to be honest, we didn't really rob it, I mean, I do plan on returning the money after I get paid. It was just sort of like borrowing, except we did actually take the money & we may not return it.

I really didn't mean to. I hadn't even considered it before tonight. Well, actually, maybe I did. But that was only because MY WIFE ROBBED THE SAME BANK FIRST.

She confessed it to me during a 15 second phone call to me last week. Actually, I didn't think she was capable of performing such a dasterdly deed, especially since I sealed the bank with super glue. That's right, I smeared it all over the lid to that 5 gallon water jug that held the treasure we would spend on our 2013 vacation.

I was so bummed when she told me. Of course, she tried to downplay it by saying she only stole part of the money - the bills.   The change, as far as I knew, stayed inside the jug.

Anyway, all this mischief was brought on by the storm, so it's really the fault of nature. If our recent snow/ice/windstorm hadn't knocked out our power for 4 days straight, our fridge contents may have survived. Instead we filled 2 garbage cans full of the remnants.

I have to admit it was actually my idea to rob the bank, since my wife had already pried off the super-glued plastic lid. I figured it was a lost cause, trying to fill the entire jug with coins & bills. I had actually even marked the jug clearly at different depths with specific dates. By the end of the year we had planned on having the jug 1/2 full. As it was, we were about 1/4 of the way to our May projections. Oh well.

Anyway, getting back to our grocery situation, well, ah, we actually didn't have much left. And it is 4 days until payday. So I gave in & robbed the bank.

I made myself feel a little better by only stealing the quarters, gold dollar coins & a one dollar bill. It totalled $37. I put the money in a glass Vlassic Pickle jar & headed out to the grocery store since my daughter refused to embarass herself handing over all that change. Me, I don't really care about being embarassed. I've come to discover over my vast 5 decades that life is full of bizaar, weird & funny situations, and I'm glad to be an active donor to that world.

So off I tromped to the store armed with my pickle jar half full of quarters. My mission. To buy MEAT. That was my only instruction. Just buy meat. So I did. It's actually amazing how little meat $37 will buy. Oh ya, and toilet paper. Can't forget that. Meat & toilet paper, that was my mission.

So after my trip to the meat counter, I picked up the cheap package of TP & headed over the self-checkout. I figured I'd give the checkers a break & feed the machine myself. I scanned my measly 4 items (can you believe it?), then accidently scanned the pickle jar.

So there I stood. The clerk had left her post momentarily, so I was left to my own devices to try & stop that annonying voice saying "please place your last item in the bagging area". I'm sorry, but I'm not bagging my Vlassic Pickle jar full of quarters. I looked at my options on the screen. "look up item", "pay now" "call attendant", yada yada. There was no backspace key. "Please put your last item in the bagging area". There she was again, annoying me like a nagging ex-wife. I took off my glasses & looked again at the small lettering on the screen. ""pay with cash, credit card or check"? I started getting hot under the collar.   Still no checker. I"m sure people were watching me. I had a jar full of quarters I desperately wanted to start feeding into the coin slot, but couldn't, because of the mistake I made scanning my used jar of pickles. "Please put your last item into the bagging area". "Please put your last item into the bagging area". "Please put your last item into the bagging area". You know, if you ever wondered about the high suicide rate in this area, wonder no more.

Finally, I relented & pressed the button for the attendant, as the recorded voice continued to nag & nag & nag & nag & nag. The clerk came over & I explained what I had done. She smiled an understanding smile & cleared the path for my 5 minute process of feeding $37 worth of quarters into the machine.

At the end of the ordeal, the coin machine actually tried to steal my seven cents in change, but I would have none of it. I went over to the clerk & she handed me the nickel & two pennies. I thanked her for her help & told her she wouldn't have to fill the change slots on that machine for the rest of the night.

I'm home now. All is well. I put the receipt back in the jug to remind me how much to pay back. I'm also going to invest in some extra strength super glue this payday.

It's coming, It's coming, It's HERE.

2012-01-03T21:12:00.000-08:00

It has become more apparent in recent days that the signs of the end times are now upon us. Freedom of speech, long debated in the courts & the public square, is becoming more unsure every day. Now we have this legislation, signed into law on New Years Eve when nobody was watching, which gives the military broad power to arrest & detain anyone, anywhere, for an indefinite period of time, depending on how it is interpreted. THIS IS NOT A JOKE, and you wont find it disputed on Snopes. IT'S HERE, NOW. Google it if you don't believe me.
I predict if the mainstream news media does pick up & follow this, there will be those that say it applies only to terrorists or people that are suspected of being terrorists. But people now being detained for so called "hate speech" will be the next targets of this bill. There are already people being detained in Western Europe for speaking the truth about Islam.

Does this look or sound familiar to anyone? Anyone? Will the Christian Church in the United States soon look like the persecuted church in China? Do you think it's far off? It's happening folks, right before our eyes.

Here's a hard question I am going to pose to all who read my blog or see this on Facebook. If it comes down to a decision between your Country & your God, who will you serve?

The decision is coming. Mark my words.

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T18:13:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to wish you all a very happy new year & blessed 2012.

Blessing for the New Year

2011-12-28T20:51:00.001-08:00

May your days be long
May your walk be strong
May your heart keep a song and
... May your patience bear long

May your countenance be glad
and your Spirit be bright
As you reflect on His Word
All day & through the night

May your witness bring many
to the throne of Grace
As you speak his Word boldly
and seek his Holy face

May your friends be close by
And may your health be prolonged
May Jesus often catch you
singing His song.

Discernment

2011-12-17T23:21:00.000-08:00

Romans 12:8 is a scripture that I have recently been looking at. It reads:

"If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone".

I think I'm a little slower than some when it comes to discernment, but when I re-read this scripture recently, I understood that Paul was saying that sometimes it's not possible to live at peace with some people. All we can do is check our hearts & make sure our conscience is clean & our hearts are right.

Sometimes, dare I say, people will decide to take offense, and that OK. We have to realize when it's our fault, and when it's not. Tolerating something rather than risking offense may be the politcally correct way, but as I remember the scriptures correctly, Jesus did allude to the fact that he wasn't running for office :)

Am I still awake?

2011-12-04T23:40:00.000-08:00

I went to the Dr. the other day and he posed a question to me that I don't recall ever being asked before. He wanted to know how long it took me to fall asleep at night.

It bothers me greatly when such a question is asked in a professional context when I am unable to answer it without much thought. I hadn't really given it much thought in the past, and wasn't prepared to do so now, so I gave him a simple answer "I really don't know"...

Over the next few days however, I pondered that question from time to time. I mean, how would I ever really know the answer to that? Maybe it's a good thing to know, I thought, so I decided to figure it out on my own.

That night, as I layed down in bed, I pushed the button on my glow-in-the-dark watch (yes, I still have one of those), and mentally recorded the time in my mind - 11:12 p.m. Knowing full well that I could easily lose this number from my cerebral cortex, I repeated it to myself in my mind over & over (repetition is one of the best ways to remember something).

After I thought I had it, I layed there in bed waiting to fall asleep.

And waited...

And waited...

I looked at my watch, and was surprised that a full four minutes had passed & it was now 11:16. Unfortunately, I was still very much awake & aware of my surroundings. I know my dream state very well & this wasn't it. When I'm asleep I solve all sorts of complex global issues like poverty, economics & the reason behind Wal Mart's existance. This was not that place.

My plan initially had been to look at my watch just before I thought I'd fall dead asleep, however, I had trouble figuring out when that was. I found myself instead wondering exactly how tired I had to be before I slipped off. I pondered that question for a long while, then found myself wondering again what it actually felt like to fall asleep. I know reality is a bit different when you cross that threshold, but honestly, preparing to fall asleep & actually doing it seemed more like one continual event to me, so even the slightest break would pop me back into an awake state & I'd have to start over. It was maddening. I looked at my watch again - 11:24. I decided to keep that time in my mind in case I was caught unaware slipping into my dream state. OK, 11:12 to 11:24. Twelve minutes. Twelve minutes.

The next morning I forgot all about the experiment. I guess I'll never really know the answer, but I dare say I'll probably try again.

Hebrew 101

2011-11-03T21:16:00.000-07:00

I'm learning the Hebrew Alphabet.

I've always had a love for different languages, but this goes beyond that. I have to admit I've hit a roadblock with the bible. I've read it through completly once, and most of the books I've read two or three times. The more I read, the more questions I have. And I'm convinced there's a much deeper meaning to the scriptures than I'm grasping.

Leila & I have started attending a "Hebraic Roots" class taught by a group of Jewish Scholars. The scholars aren't jewish, they are just scholars in the jewish roots to the bible. Some of the information I've heard before, but it's really interesting unlocking all the symbolism behind the scriptures. To start with, the word "God" that appears in the beginning verses of Genesis actually points towards Jesus. There's just so much more than that. So I decided to learn the alphabet. A bit like a kid unlocking words in the english language for the first time & discovering his world is so much bigger than he could have imagined. I'm on a journey to understand...

The Great Disconnect

2011-10-28T23:00:00.000-07:00

Vince & I stood there watching him as he stared out into the cold dark October evening. Standing there on the sidewalk in front of our fellowship hall, his back to us, we could only imagine what was going through his mind & his heart.

For a fleeting moment, I flashed back to a time where I was stranded, no where to go, no money in my pockets, and dead tired. All I could do was walk towards something that was hopefully a little safer. And it was a long long walk. And it sucked. This man, however, was in an even more dire place - he had no place to walk to.

A few minutes earlier we had to roust him from the mens bathroom, where we were convinced he was lingering to stay inside as long as he could, to avoid the world outside & stay warm & dry. He had arrived an hour earlier for our weekly Friday Night Feed. There was plenty of good food & fellowship, but like all good things it had to come to an end. Towards the end of the dinner, he asked if we knew of anyplace warm & dry where he could stay out of the rain.

I guess at this point I could make excuses, explain why we couldn't help him, but suffice to say this - it was a sad situation. We all prayed about it, and I sincerely asked God for wisdom to know what to do, how to help. In the end we ended up just telling him he would have to leave because we were closing. I offered to call for an aide car to help him with what he said was a bum leg, thinking he might get a free trip to the hospital, which, I have to admit, was not really something I felt good about.

On the trip home, I got to thinking about this whole situation. What was missing from this equation? How would Jesus have handled it? I reckon Jesus could have said a word & the whole situation would have been fixed. Was it really a faith issue? Did we just not have enough faith? Or was it discernment that we lacked. Was this man's need much deeper than just a place to stay tonight? What would Jesus have done? These questions plague me. Vince & I both agreed that we should have the resources to help, but we really don't, or did we?

"Remember the Poor, for they shall always be with you". I think that's in the bible somewhere. Please saints, if you can't do anything else, just pay your tithe in faith & pray for the wisdom of the leadership to manage it well. The church is ultimately responsible for the state of the poor, I'm convinced of it, and this is what bugs me so much.

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The week in review...

2011-10-27T22:13:00.000-07:00

All in all it's been a very good week. We didn't win the lottery, no; we didn't even win a free all-expense paid trip to the tropics. But our family has grown & it's a good thing.

Our good friends have been living in our Motor Home, albeit without heat. Now that the weather has turned to freezing practically overnight, it was time to get some propane & get the heater going. It was a bit of a process though.

The Motor Home has seen better days. We have one battery left from the three it came with. That battery is new, however, with a short somewhere in the electrical system, it has to be disconnected until it's ready to run. Unfortunately, well, you guessed it, I forgot to disconnect it the last time around, and for several weeks it discharged until it was totally dead.

I finally broke down & bought a battery charger one day after trying to charge it on my friend's charger & not getting a good enough charge.   The new battery charger worked great, and the rig started right up, after a couple of cranks (I think it's a little out of time also). I came right home Tuesday night after work to get to the feed store & get some propane infused into the tank before it closed at 6. After starting it up, I realized we were about out of gas. I think the last time I put gas in it was last year sometime (it hasn't left the yard since the summer of 2010).

Now here's the deal. This thing is big. I think it's something like 28' or so. And I think one of the tires was even a little low, but if I was going to get propane, I had to get to the Feed store before 6. It's not really all the fun to drive, but drive we did. I stationed Austin near the side door that never really shut right, to make sure it didn't swing open while we were driving. I had Chase in the passengers seat as a second set of eyes. It was a fun trip...

The trip to the gas station was fun. I pulled up on the wrong side of the pump, and had the pleasure of having to turn this beast around in the parking lot with my young helpers spotting me. At 14, I had to trust Chase to really keep an eye on the motorhome while I backed up, and he did a good job. I'm glad, because I didn't have the time to deal with hitting a vehicle or person.

After the ordeal at the gas station, we headed up the hill in the other direction to the feed store. "How come you're going so slow"? the boys asked me. I had to explain that we were in a large rig that wasn't running right, and also going up a hill & trying to gain speed. I'm so glad there were two lanes so all the other cars could pass me while I attempted to get to the crest of the hill. We made it to the feed store with 10 minutes to spare...

Pulling over to the propane tanks, I left few inches to spare so other customers could pull past me into the barn to collect whatever it was they were buying, and headed into the store. I left the boys with the rig, with instructions to leave it running so I wouldn't have to go through the ordeal of starting it again. Inside, I prepaid for the propane using two different cards, which stumped the cashiers, but I only had a little money on each one. That took about 10 minutes, and during the ordeal, the boys came into the store. "Is the motor home still running"? I said. "No, the guy told us to shut it off". That didn't make me too happy. I was hoping it would start, but first things first, lets get the propane.

I walked outside & was told that it wouldn't hold the 14 gallons I paid for, since there was already 5 gallons in the tank. The guy explained that the bleeder screw was open on the tank, which bled off some of the fumes, but left about 5 gallons in the tank. I hadn't even attempted to start the heater these past few weeks since I thought it was out of propane, what a trip.

After we got the propane, I got back in the rig, turned the key, and heard that dreaded sound that eventually happens to us all if we've been driving long enough. That lovely sound of the crankshaft turning waaaaayyyyyyytooooooosllllooooowwwwww to start the car. Ugh.

I knew part of the problem was the battery cables, so we went outside & tightenened them tighter than a politician's wallet. Then I climbed back in to the drivers seat, but it still wouldn't start. Back under the hood again, back into the drivers seat, over & over. Nothing, nix, nada.    "Need a jump?" one of the employees asked. I greatfully accepted. He hooked up the jumper cables to his forklift & I tried again. This time I started to start but there still wasn't enough juice. It was about that time that I started to feel my own wallet shrink.

Being inbetween paydays & having no real options other than calling a tow truck, I could see no real options. While the forklift continued to try & charge my defunct battery, I put in a call to my Auto Insurance Roadside Assistance to plead for mercy. I was hoping they would let me sign up for it for the motor home & use it right away, although I knew it wa a long shot.

About 15 minutes into that call, the guy told me to go ahead & try & start the rig again. Just as I was about to crawl into the drivers seat, the Insurance guy came back on the line & told me they would send a tow truck & I was covered. Good old USAA Insurance, I decided then & there I was a member for life.

With the insurance company in my left ear, and the keys in my right hand, I gave it one last shot & VA VOOOOMMM!!! The right fired to life.    A few minutes later I was driving out of the parking lot, one foot on the gas, the other on the brake, whilst I attempted to drive the remaining 2 miles into my neighborhood before the rig stalled & I was back to square one.

Well, it was a happy ending, except for the fact that when we got the rig home & tried to get the heat on, it wouldn't work. Something amiss with the automatic pilot light. So now there are 7 of us living in the house, which brings me to what I originally started to blog about...

Yesterday we had a nice dinner sitting around the table as a big family. I really like that kind of stuff. It was me & Lovey, Corena, Austin & Chase, Nicole, Sean & Rylee, and Cindy. And it was nice. It was like what I remembered as a kid - those nightly rituals with all 7 of us in my immediate family, sitting around the kitchen table, just having family time. So I guess the whole excursion was actually worth it. I'm the papa, and my family is all here with me. What a blessing. Now to figure out what to do with the Motor Home...

My Wal-Mart Excursion

2011-10-21T22:26:00.000-07:00

I just turned 50. Please don't applaud.

They've been calling me "Old Man", "Grandpa" & the like for years. This year,a few months before my significant ocassion, I actually became a first-time Grandpa. Then the birthday. It's all been too much.

So I shaved. Call it a mid-life thing. No mustache, no beard, no nothing. My wife hates it. She said it looks like a babys butt. My mom said I don't look like a gorilla anymore. The boys said I look like a kid, and my daughter said I look creepy. Seems like everyone's got an opinion.

So we went to Wal-Mart. A good Wal-Mart excursion will get my mind off anything.

Following Leila around Wal-mart while playing on FB was a lot of fun. I love my cell phone w/internet access. I mean, when I was a kid, I would have never been able to walk around a Wal-Mart playing on Facebook. Things have sure progressed in the entertainment arena. Take the situation at the checkout for example. Remembering I didn't have enough money in my checking account, while the girl was ringing up the STUFF I watched the subtotal go up & up & up. Used to be $10 on average per bag of grocery, but I think that's at least doubled by now. Once we got over $80 I knew I was in trouble, so I quickly got on the phone & in 2 minutes flat I had transferred money into my checking account to cover it, at 9:00 pm well after the bank had closed. Wow - couldn't have done that in 70s either.

Being old as we are, we forgot where we parked & what door we came in. I always like to tell the Mrs. that I was sure that the car was parked outside, but she doesn't like that joke anymore. Walking out of the store through the grocery section, I held my remote in the air & pushed the panic button while the car lights started to flash & the alarm went off. I love that little trick. Couldn't have done that in the 70s either.

All in all it was a nice trip, playing with my gadgets & all. Nothing like a nice Wal-Mart excursion to take my mind off being 50.

Ephesians 4:3

2011-09-26T22:09:00.000-07:00

"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body & one Spirit - just as you were called to one hope when you were called - one Lord, One faith, one baptism; one God & Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." Eph 4:3-6

This passage renewed a fresh sense of hope & belonging in my soul. I remember thinking about this a long ago. The bond of peace. How simple, how safe, how good that is. I would love to pursue that throughout the day, every day. The peace that is real, substantial; not temporal but based in eternity. Unity; The closeness we sometimes achieve within the body of Christ. Relationships. The building blocks of life. They help give us a sense of fulfillment, of connection with each other. "It is not good for man to be alone". (Genesis 2:18)

One body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God & Father. No confusion. Connectivity. The vine that holds all the branches together. It either is or it isn't. And if we're not sure we can go to the source. Goodness & hope eminates from this sense of oneness with Christ the Lord.

How absolutely beautiful.

Christ the Rock, the foundation, the chief cornerstone. Peace, unity, oneness. The way, the truth, the light. Not "a way", "a truth", "a light". THE way, truth, light. I'm on a path towards my eternal goal, which is eternal life in Christ. Never ending. Faith, hope & love forever, not withstood by the grave. No grave could hold Him, or his people. Amen.

Rylee

2011-08-25T22:42:00.000-07:00

Rylee was a bit fussy tonight, but once Grandma got him calmed down, as Grandma's know how to do, I was handed this beautiful gift from God. He was about 1/2 way to sleep, so I started singing softly to him - "When Irish Eyes are Smiling". I've always liked that old melody.

Looking down at his little face & expressions I felt so at peace with everything as I held his little life in my hands. As I was singing softly to him, I saw for the first time a quick smile on is small face, followed by what sounded like a little chuckle as his eyes drifted off to dreamland. It was so precious. Something about those words...

When Irish Eyes are Smiling

Sure tis' like the morn in Spring

In the lilt of Irish laugther

You can hear the angels sing

And when Irish eyes are happy

All the world is bright & gay

And when Irish eyes are smiling

It can steal your heart away.

Good night little Rylee. Jesus loves you & so does Grandpa.

The Sense of God

2011-07-17T18:26:00.000-07:00

The drive home from church tonight was peaceful & somewhat mesmorizing. The light drizzle & early afternoon mist rising from the fields we passed was nice to look at as I had nothing particular on my mind. The serene landscape & the low hanging clouds gave me a sense of God's presence. God reveals himself to me in different ways & different times, but it wasn't always so.

Before I re-dedicated my life to the Lord in 1992, I had no particular direction or vision or hope for my future, as I was in the midst of a life crisis. The days & weeks after my re-dedication however were filled with many epiphanies & a very real sense of a personal God that cared deeply about me & who was with me always.

I often prayed this prayer for my kids: "Lord, fill them with a sense of your presence". The sense of God, or sensing God's presence, is something that has stayed with me in times of trouble & times of separation. It's awesome. My hope is that all will sense this at some time in their lives.

Life, new & old...

2011-07-01T18:15:00.000-07:00

This has been an interesting year. Lots of life changes for me. In June I received the promotion I'd been craving for years to Office Assistant 3 & got placed back in a spot where I love to work, the reception area.

My daughter is going to be giving birth to my first grandson, Rylee, sometime in the next few weeks...

I'll be turning 50 in October..., and

Today, my Dad went home to be with the Lord.

I can see God's hand all over this chain of events this last 24 hours. When I got home last night I was glad to see my wife & daughter as I always am. My daughter reported my grandson is doing fine & she wished he was outside of her body instead of inside, I guess I can relate, maybe...

We have been preparing for his birth for quite some time, and I'm so looking forward to having him in our lives. I've got lots of plans - reading books & crawling on the floor when he gets to that stage, "peek-a-boo" & choo-choo train trying to get him to eat his dinner. All the things Grandpas are supposed to do. Oh, ya, and praying for him & his future every day.

But today was a little different. Rylee will be born into the world just a short time after his Grandpa went to be with the Lord.

Dad had been weak for a while I guess. I got the call last night that he was "failing" & after praying about it I knew that God was telling me to get up there before he passed. My dear sister & wife & I went up there today not know what to expect. None of us have been all that close the last few years, and our family story cannot be told or understood in a short blog, albeit, it is not a very happy story.

Nonetheless, as I told my wife, I am going up there with the sole purpose in mind of reading to him from the Gospel. I knew he was unresponsive, but also knew the last thing to go would be his hearing.

When we arrived, he was laying in bed with the covers pulled up, but not over his head as they usually were when we visited him in the past. His breathing was labored & rythmic - about 9 respirations per minute I think the nurse had told me the night before. His eyes were half closed, and other than his breathing he was laying pretty still.

I was blessed & very thankful to be there by his side. The last thing I ever wanted was for dad to be alone when he died, although we were never close in his lifetime. I always wanted to be there for him in his last moments.

I read from Luke, from the story of the sinner on the cross, and reminded him of his choice that lay before him. My sister & I cleansed the room of all evil spiritual forces that I knew were there waiting for him to expire. Once that was done, it laid the groundwork for Dad's spirit to hear once again the good news of the Gospel. We read the 23rd Psalm, and the 91st Psalm, John 3:16, Rom 3:23, and a few other scriptures while he lay there taking that in along with the oxygen that was carrying him through through these last few minutes.

Dad finally drew his last breath, but before he did he stirred a little, and it was at that point that his eyes seem to indicate something we had not seen in all our lifetime, namely, hope. The hope of eternity with Christ. He had heard me say it, & I'm convinced his spirit received it.

As we left the room, and overwhelming sense of peace was there. There was nothing heavy, nothing demonic - it just seemed to me that everything was in place.

Most of all for this day, I thank God. God, who is totally in control of all things. God, who allowed my Dad to live until we got there, and gave him that extra 20 minutes to hear His holy Word, and God, who I believe finally broke through his spirit & allowed him, in his last few minutes, to accept His son Jesus. I'm convinced that Jesus was there with us in the room, and that Dad finally found room for him in his life. Our God is so awesome.

Years from now I hope to have a quiet moment of conversation with my Grandson & lead him to the Lord, and maybe I'll mention this day to Him. God gave us Rylee as God was taking Dad home. He is always there, and always right on time. Thank you God for this day. I will never forget it.

A prayer for Rylee

2011-06-23T20:56:00.000-07:00

Dear God: As you know, my Grandson, and you're child Rylee will soon be born. I thank you for my Grandson Lord, and pray that his days be many, his burdens be light, his health be excellant, & his life be a representative of your love in his life. My his ways prosper, may his lessons & training be swift & learned quickly, and may he honor you in his comings & goings. May he come to know you, love you & serve you in whatever profession he chooses, and may the Holy Ghost be imparted to him through his confession of you as His Lord & Savior.

Let him have fun, find favor & be happy, healthy & whole. May his parents, grandparents, Uncles, Aunts, all relatives & friends be on his side & keep his best interest at heart. May he be a man of relationship, kindness, character & good morals. May his speech be graceful & may his heart be filled with your goodness & mercy towards himself & others. Thank you God.

Medical Marijuana

2011-06-22T20:51:00.000-07:00

What do you think about the medical use of marijuana & why? Please comment.

Random musings

2011-06-10T21:50:00.000-07:00

Random musings

* I learned three things today:

1. God is still very near & it feels as good as ever to be used by Him.

2. A short visit to someone that is all alone, just to let them know you are thinking about them, can be as effective as a thousand phonecalls.

3. A French Vanilla Moo Latte does not look like the picture when they hand it to you.

* My wife accepted this gift of a live Turkey a few weeks ago, just before she went on vacation. Not something I really wanted to spend my summer feeding every day. I set the thing up with it's own kennel in our well house, but a big mean old punk rat moved into the neighborhood & it was no longer safe for Oscar to live out there alone. So we moved him into our Motor Home. That's pretty special if you ask me. I mean the closest we ever came to that in the past is when we moved our sickly baby heffer into our 2nd bathroom & gave her free reign of the bathtub until she expired on the laundry room floor. That was due to my lack of veterinary experience, and that's the truth.

I'm telling ya. If I had my vows to do all over again, it would go like this: I, Steven Eaton, take this here woman you gave me, and the turkey she invited to live with us, to be my lawfully wedded wife, and also my thanksgiving dinner...

* I don't know why, but that scene from Dirty Harry was running through my mind tonight. You know, the one where Clint Eastwood is standing near that guy on the street, after the gun battle, and said something like "I know what your're thinking, did he fire 9 shots, or 10., but this here is a 44 magnum... "Do you fell lucky"?

I reasoned there were three possibly things going on there.

1. The gun still had a live round in the chamber, and Clint knew it,

2. The gun was empty, and Clint knew that, or

3. Clint was telling the truth & he didn't know whether the gun was loaded or not.

There's a life lesson in there somewhere, I just haven't figured out what it is...

Oh well, enough rambling. One more thing, I figured out that the way to make people laugh is to exploit all the weirdness in life for all it's worth. Ga nite all...

Worldwide Moment of Praise

2011-03-20T20:46:00.000-07:00

SAVE THE DATE: On April 30th, 2011, at 0600 GMT, the world will experience a Worldwide Moment of Praise. Click here to find out more & sign up for the event. Pass it on! Watch the video explaining the event here:

We're having a boy!

2011-03-03T23:55:00.000-08:00

Well, the verdict is in - we're having a boy!

Nicole called me first to give me the results of her ultrasound. The baby looks very healthy, 10 fingers, 10 toes, long legs, and he looks like he's waving from the womb. Leila bought Nick a hearbeat monitor & I got to listen to the heartbeat tonight too - what a cool invention. I have to admit, it's very sensitive, so I wasn't sure what I was hearing but they tell me the baby is just fine. July 20th will be here before we know it!

I've got something to say (about the state of the poor)

2011-02-18T21:48:00.001-08:00

I have an dual perspective when it comes to the plight of the poor, elderly & disabled.

Having worked for the last 21 years, both directly & indirectly with the Senior community, I have had direct contact with seniors & have heard their stories. In my day to day work routine, I get the pleasure of contacting our client's & their caregivers, and I have heard their stories. Seniors that don't have enough money to pay for medicine, so they go without or try & make it last. Seniors that don't have anyone to help them so they stay at home & often live at risk due to the lack of funding for in-home care providers. Provider's hours are cut by the State of Washington, which is the trickle-down effect of the lack of Federal funding. Government workers are laid off which create high caseloads. Despite all the recent talk of government workers being paid so well, there is a very noticeable rate of attrition which has caused services to be cut way back. Those workers on the front lines that I have had the pleasure of working with are dedicated professionals, most of whom have a real heart for the people they serve.

The lack of funding to pay for services trickles down to less help for those in the at-risk community, many of whom are also Mentally Ill & in need of supervision or detention to keep themselves & the public safe. From my laymans viewpoint, there are just not enough facilities & money to help the countless number of people that are at risk. Recently, TV ads have started running showing the danger the lack of funding & staff has producted in our local State Mental Health Hospital. All I can say is, it's about time this issue got exposure in the media.

Now let me tell you about my other perspective on this issue.

This perspective comes from my Christian faith. My faith & the bible both tell me that it's the church's responsibility to meet the basic needs of the poor in the community, not the government. And I'm proud to say that in the area that I live there are several churches that do reach out to the homeless & near-homeless. Additionally, as Christians, our local body does a fantastic job of not just meeting their physical needs, but also their Spiritual needs as well. We have prayer before our Friday night Feed. We take prayer requests & truly try to foster that sense of family that is so needed in this land of isolation. Many of the regular attendees have felt welcome & safe enough to come to our Sunday Services & be fed spiritually as well as physically. And the end results, which we are seeing, are lives that are being slowly restored. One person at a time, one step at a time.

Our resources are limited, and limitless. Let me explain.

First of all, as we do God's will & are obedient to the faith, reaching out to the poor (as Jesus taught us), we tap into the unlimited resources of God himself thorough the Holy Spirit. We often have an abundance of food left over, and a small number of faithful churchgoers provid hot home-cooked food that we serve up to the Community. However...

Our resources are also balanced out by the obedience (or lack thereof) of those who hold to the scriptures. The scriptures teach us to tithe 10% on the first fruits of our income. Some of us do, but from what I understand, many of us don't. That is why, my friends, we are limited. God works through his people. He taught us what to do, and gave us the resources to do it. However, for whatever reason, people in the church still choose not to tithe & receive the blessing that comes from it.

If each member of all the local bodies of believers chose to obey God & tithe 10% of their income, churches would be able to stay open. Homeless Shelters would be able to be funded. Less people would be hungry & hanging out on the corners panhandling because they would have resources available to them that are dwindling (even the Salvation Army is having to cut back on it's food bank donations - that was reported just recently).

So my solution, actually this is really God's solution, is for those of you who are members of the Way, the body of Christ, to pray & committ yourselves to giving that which God asks, just 10%, and start seeing things change in the world, one meal at a time.

This post's for you Junior

2011-02-09T17:55:00.000-08:00

For a long time I have believed that babies in the womb are very much alive & sensitive to outside stimuli. I've read the research. I've heard the stories of how children are affected by the mother's nuture & caring, even at just a few weeks old. Spiritually, physically, emotionally, it's pretty much a well-known fact if you care to check it out.

My first grandchild, who I call "Junior" was in a car accident today. The Grandbaby is 17 weeks old, and will be born sometime in July they tell me. Mom & baby may be a bit shaken, but otherwise not too seriously hurt. However, the way things unfolded today was anything but fine.

At 8:30ish this morning I received a frantic phonecall telling me my daughter had been in an accident & the car was totalled. Nicole was alive, conscious, breathing, talking on the phone - those were good signs. I was, of course, worried about my grandkid also - we couldn't really ask Junior if & where it hurt, so we knew the best course of action was to take Nick to the hospital.

About 2 hours into the ordeal, as I was waiting in the lobby, my wife came out with a lot of grief on her face & told me they couldn't find Junior's heartbeat the first time around. While they were waiting for the Dr. to come by & perform the ultrasound, I went in & sat with Leila & Nick. She was, of course, not looking too good after getting the news. In fact, she looked about as sad & pale as I have seen her in a long time.

After what seemed like an eternity & amongst our prayers, another technician came by & started smearing the goop on Nick's belly to perform the ultrasound. After a minute or so, the technician gave us the news we had hoped for, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Junior was alive & moving around!

There, on this small screen in this small room inside this unfamiliar hospital, Sean Simmons (Junior) made his first video appearance to the world. Wow!!! is all I can say to describe the feeling we all had. I have to admit I got a little teary-eyed. The baby's head was very clear & clearly moving around. The baby's legs were also moving around as if he/she were saying "Wow - glad I survived that! - Let's Dance!!!"

Words can't really acurately describe the experience of seeing your first grandchild 17 weeks developed. Junior is a living, breathing soul, and that baby is a fighter!

Mom & Junior are resting safely at gradma's house now. The car is being towed by Uncle John, and we are all praising God for his grace & mercy. I can't wait until I get to hold my grandchild & give him a big high-5 after surviving the ordeal. I love you Sean! You're going to be a strong, positive influence on the world you will be living in I just know it.

Balloons & Rainbows

2011-01-12T22:31:00.000-08:00

I've always loved rainbows & balloons - Bright, beautiful things floating across the pallet of the sky. I've been working on this paint-by-number for about a week or so now, and just finished it tonight. What a great project - very relaxing. Even gave the Mrs & me a chance to just chat while she was sitting across from me at the table playing on Farmville.

I was going to write this deep, intense blog about relationships, colors & God, but it got too deep & I lost my train of thought....

Anyway, when I see colors, rainbows, hot air ballons, I think of God, the relationships he put in my life, and it's a beautiful thing. There, I think that puts it quite nicely :) Hope you enjoy the picture.

End of the year greetings

2010-12-21T19:31:00.000-08:00

For those of you that follow my blog, or those that may stumble upon it, I just want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.

It's been a very interesting year for me to say the least. At work we are going through some major changes: A merger between us & another County Department, a new Director, and a new work facility, all starting January 1st, 2011. Wow - what a huge stresser!!! But we have the greatest work force & most awesome people in our Departments, so we can handle it. We are the champions.

Anyway, blessings to all & I'll see you on the other side of the calendar...

Nutrition

2010-12-19T02:47:00.000-08:00

Interesting how the Holy Spirit will often use two or more different means to teach. Maybe it's perhaps some of us guys are just boneheads & don't get it the first time around. Anyway, I listened to a teaching tonight at my Pastor's house. The presenter was sharing a bit of history from his past marital mistakes. He went on to relate how, on days when he didn't read his bible or pray in the morning, then his whole day seemed to be just "off".

I've had several of those kinds of days also, and I can attest to what this guy is talking about. It's like nutrition. Sometimes in the morning it's tempting to just grab a donought or something quick on the way to work, but a little protein goes a long way I've found, especially in the morning. Same thing. After the meeting our pastor broke out her new juicer & gave us all some carrot juice. Not that I'm into it all that much, but it was pretty good, and I do remember how much healthier I was when I drank this stuff more often. Just thought I'd share that today.

The sense of God

2010-12-09T18:13:00.000-08:00

Not in the sense of God's wisdom, understanding (sense) etc; but in the sense of "sensing God"...

(Had to clear that up first)

I've been trying to discipline myself into reading a little from the Bible again each day. I am innately aware of my need to do so, in fact, I started writing down scriptures again that I had once memorized but since forgotten. I've gone through a long season of not reading His word, and let me tell ya, I can tell the difference.

As is God's way, He spoke to me through His word once again with the first scripture I had transposed from my old bible. It comes from the book of James, and I will break it down here:

Js 4:5: "..or do you thik that the Scripture says in vain ""The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously"? (the NIV I think reads "God Jealously yearns for the Spirit he caused to live inside us" - loose translation).

So, after a long day at work, driving home through the gridlock & rain (I'm sure many can relate), I had the choice to hang out & watch the tube or take a short nap before I had to go out again in a half hour. Then I noticed my bible sitting on the table where I had left it, and the Spirit prompting me to look inside. God was jealously yearning for my Spirit to connect to His...

6: But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble".

7: Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

8: Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

One by one, I could write about what these scriptures mean to me for an hour or more. There is so much there. This last scripture reminded me of something I read or heard someone say yesterday about God's voice being quiet & soft. (His still soft voice). The thought of God drawing near to me is very uplifting to say the least, and humbling. I know when He does I can sense it, if I listen for it. It often brings me so much peace, the peace that I can't understand but is none-the-less there. (Peace that passes all understanding).

But then I thought about the many times I have not sensed his presence, and the Holy Spirit drew me back to the previous verse, #6: "Therefore, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the "humble". I am convinced that this is a key to happiness. Not that I'm always in the "humble" state of mind, but when I can take an objective view of my life, character, behavior, and ask God to take the reigns & help me in that way, He is always faithful.

Anyway, just thought I'd share that. As always, the Word becomes alive when I really take the time to "hear".

Asking questions, and asking the right ones...

2010-12-05T08:43:00.000-08:00

Perhaps many of you know this, but I have been learning this over the past few seasons in my life so I thought I'd share it with those you of you that may not have considered it...

First of all - a little advice I picked up from our former director Mary Sawicki. She told me once, and I've found it to be true, that people often like to hear that they are needed. For someone to say to you "I really need your help" can be a sweet thing. I guess it stems from people needing to feel like they have a purpose in life.

Soooo..., with that in mind, let me tell you what I've discovered...

Asking questions of people is a very good thing. It opens up a lot of doors.

It could be just as simple as a SINCERE "how are you doing?"

Or it could be something probing like "What's going on with you right now"?

I've found this is a good thing on many different levels.

1. If asked in sincerety, it communicates to the other person that they are valued, and that they matter. It says to them "I care about you, and what you are thinking about", and even further perhaps "I want to be a friend to you & share your thoughts if you will let me in".

2. It helps us to understand the other person. Questions can get someone to open up about themselves & what they are thinking, so we can gain some insight into how a person arrived at the conclusion they did about something. This can be especially useful if someone is headed towards a cliff. Once we know why someone feels the way they do, we can ask questions they may not have considered asking themselves, which can steer them in the right direction. I believe the Holy Spirit works this way a lot.

When I was much younger, I had a very difficult time in school & caused problems & reaped the benefits. Often times I would find myself in a room full of counselors & teachers talking "at" me, telling me how stupid I was (in PC ways), how irresponsible or incorrigable I was ect. Often times I would just get so much advice on so many different levels, that I had to tune them out because I was so pent up I just couldn't listen to anthing else. Even though most of them wanted to help me, have you ever had 10 people talking at you when you were too pent up inside to hear any of them? I sure have.

But, there was one teacher, and I remember to this day her name, Diane Morretti, who sat me down & asked me a bunch of questions to get me to open up about stuff that was going on. I have to tell you, it was the best experience of those days. Instead of just sitting in a room, clamming up & not being able to talk about stuff that was bothering me, I was actually able to reach out & trust someone that cared. Recently, I had a chance to do that in another group setting.

Sooo,,, I guess the purpose of this blog is to say this. Next time you're confronted with a situation where you find yourself in a position to listen to someone instead of offer advice right away, maybe you could do what I learned to do & listen. Sometimes the sweetest sounds we can hear are the sounds of someone or something outside of ourselves reaching into our souls & saying "I love you enough to listen".

What a day

2010-11-16T21:58:00.000-08:00

What an incredibly crazy day. Started last night with a wind & rainstorm that knocked out power to our place in the early evening. I woke up every few hours thinking it was time to go to work. Thank God for my trusty Timex watch.

Hit the floor running this morning. Everything at work was rush, rush, rush. Had to leave early to go to court to try & get a traffic ticket reduced. It was one of those camera-at-the-intersection deals. Before I went there I went looking for a new battery for my wife's cell phone. I checked a couple of places at the mall, but they didn't carry her particular phone battery. Then I went to Radio Shack, big mistake. $50 for the battery that powers that phone that only cost $100. Went to another retail store & they had it for $40, but I knew I could do better. Ordered it online tonight for $14. There, now that's more like it.

Court actually went very well. Had a hard time finding the place since it wasn't marked really well from the road. Puyallup Muni Court is housed in one of two big blue glass futuristic looking buildings on East Main. It's located right next to an espresso shop in the same building. No sign on the business park directory, not even a flag flying. Looked like something from the Jetsons.

Anyway, after sitting inside for about 20 minutes or so, the judge came out & announced that everyone that was there from the previous court session would have their cases dismissed since the video evidence was unavailable through their company's website (no doubt due to the storm outages). Everyone there for the later session, including myself, was hoping for the same deal, and we got it. 30 minutes after our court session started he came back & announced the same thing applied to our crowd. Wow, this was even better than the two free taco deal at Jack in the Box today.

So off I went into the Puyallup Traffic Grid, happy to be loosed from this fine. Next stop, Roy WA, to drop off some medical equipment to one of my company's clients. Only one problem: No street sign where the lady's road was supposed to be. I drove down what I thought was her road twice, looking for the house #, and couldn't find it. Then I drove this way & that way, talked to two really nice people, and finally realized I had written the address down wrong & had actually driven right by her house twice.

After meeting another really nice person, & her big Newfoundland dog (who, by the way, was an absolutely pushover for affection), homeward bound was I. Tonight I was able to find some great prices for some cell phone accessories we need, and even received an invite for Thanksgiving dinner. All a pretty good day I'd say.

Jesus loves you

2010-10-07T22:44:00.000-07:00

That's all. Good night.

Customer Service has died...

2010-08-18T19:36:00.000-07:00

...somewhere, sometime, somehow, it has died. No longer do people have to know how to speak english clearly, perform simple mathametical equations in their head, or even be able to reason or problem solve. Tonight I called Verizon to ask a simple question: Can I send a text to an e-mail address? Here's how the conversation went:

(Dialing 611)

"Welcome to Straight talk, for English Press 1" (Oh, sorry, how rude of me, I thought I was still in the United States circa 1980 or something).

To do this, this or this, press 1
To do this, that or the other thing, press 2
To do nothing at all, press 3
To shut me up, press 4

Pressing 4

To try this, press 1
To try something else, press 2
To try nothing, press 3 (by the way, we're taping this for quality assurance)

Pressing 3

And on, and on. Finally, Rakjed Mojohead from the Upper East Side of the North Pole gets on the line.

"Dunku4callenstreetawkmayehepyou" (much noise in the background - I think the North Pole is in the midst of their Mardi Gras or something)

(Deep breath & spoken very clearly) "Hi, can you tell me if I can text to an e-mail address from my straight talk phone?"

"Cunurepeetdatpleez" (I have to get the question from my mouth to his ears without it getting jumbled in-between. I get this).

(Slower & more concise) "Can I send a mobile text from my straight talk phone to an internet e-mail address"?

"Datisagoodquestun" (I kid you not, that was his response). Plzwaytameenut (I'll wait).

Iundrstunduwunt2text2aemeelfrumurphun. (He understands something) Vatisurnampleez. (He want's my name)

"Steven"

"Steepen?

"Ya". (close enough).

HelloSteepenrucallenfrumurstreettawkphun? (Am I calling from my straight talk phone? Obviously, check your caller ID buddy).

"Ya".

"Vatisdaserealnumbaofurstreettawkphun"? (He needs the serial number so he doesn't have to push any extra buttons to look up my account. He needs to look up my account so he can make sure the computer doesn't mind if he can answer my simple question)...

(At this point I would really rather get back to my question instead of having to answer all of his, but that's the game we play in Customer Service dont ya know).

"I don't know, can I give you the phone #?" (Assuming he already has it but can't figure out how to read the screen).

"NoohIneedtuverifiufirstbeforIcanhelpu" (He's stuck on that serial # thing, it's step 4 but he can't figure out how to look up my account, it's not on this week's script).

(Smiling, trying to keep my voice even keeled) "I just want to find out if I can text to an email address from my cell phone. That's all I want. Can't you just answer that question for me without my serial number"? (I promise I'm a real person with a real phone).

"AllritIllgetumisoopervizawuldumindholdin". (It's over his head, he has to get his boss from Bulgaria on the phone)

"I don't want to talk to your supervisor (I'm having a hard enough time with this dialect), I just need an answer to a simple question. Can you tell me if I can text to an email on my straight talk phone? That's all I want to know. Can you please just answer that one simple question for me without my serial number?"

"Nooh, Imefrednot" (I'm not allowed to answer questions without a serial number, it's just not allowed, not allowed, not allowed, help me I'm stuck on step 4, step 4, step 4).

"Thanks anyway buddy".

And so, I conclude, there are no more thinking people in the world of Customer Service. I wish I could believe it's just Verizon, but I'm afraid I just cant.

Seek God Early in Life

2010-08-14T21:16:00.001-07:00

Saw my Dad today. He is near death, and has for the most part lost the will to live. From all indications he does not know the Lord either. It reminded me of this passage in Ecclesiastes:

Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth
Before the difficult days come,
And the years draw near when you say,
"I have no pleasure in them":
While the sun and the light
The moon and the starts
Are not darkened (losing your sight)
And the clouds do not return after the rain;
In the day when the keepers (arms and hands) of the house (the aging body)
tremble,
And the strong men bow down; (legs bent in feebleness)
When the grinders (teeth) cease because they are few,
And those that look through the windows(eyes)
grow dim;
When the doors are shut in the street (jaws)
And the sound of grinding is low; (toothless old age)
When one rises up at the sound of a bird
And all the daughters of music are brought low(the ability to hear).
Also they are afraid of height
And of terrors in the way;
When the almond tree blossoms (Hair turns white)
The grasshopper is a burden (hobbling along on a cane)
And desire fails (decreased libido)
For man goes to his eternal home
And the mourners go about the streets.

Remember your Creator before the silver
cord is loosed(the spinal cord)
Or the golden bowl is broken (the brain)
Or the pitchers shattered at the fountain, (failing heart),
Or the wheel broken at the well
Then the dust will return to the earth as it was
And the spirit will return to God who gave it
(Ecclesiastes 12: 1-7)

Mission Statement

2010-07-18T21:01:00.000-07:00

Often the Holy Spirit will remind me of the shortness of life & how precious each day is in His sight. I see so many distractions all around me & often find myself being caught up in internet blogs & Facebook. Tonight my wife & I enjoyed some quiet time alone on the way back from dropping our niece off, and delved into each other's thoughts just a bit. It was quite a refreshing respite from the distractions of life.

As I was pondering this, I thought about the idea of a mission statement for my life. I have heard of the concept before. It's similar to the idea of "purposeful living" which has gained a lot of traction the last few years. The idea speaks to that profound question everyone asks themselves at some point in their life: "What is my purpose in life?"

Tonight I asked God about this, and with his help wrote down a mission statement for my life. I intend to tape it to my steering wheel to have it before my face every day on the way to work.

Have you done anything like this yourself? Does it sound like an interesting exercise for you? Why don't you give it a try? It might lead to great things as you comtemplate your direction in life & make any course corrections as deemed necessary. Just ask God first so you'll know you're heading in the right direction :)

A few thoughts...

2010-06-27T15:07:00.001-07:00

As I was in the prayer circle at church this morning, praying with the rest of my brothers & sisters in Christ on the Worship Team, I really found myself being so thankful again for good Christian friends. We are all a big family & I really appreciate each of the folks on the team. We all have our own individual lives, but when we come together to make music or just check in with each other, or souls are bonded together as Christians & friends. Today we had an awesome service. The pastor preached under the fire of the Holy Ghost. It was powerful. The main thing I got from the sermon was that, for every Christian, there is a point where you have to say goodbye to mediocrity & compacancy, and embrace the uniquieness of the Christian life. We are a different people. We say NO to many of the attitudes, beliefs, customs of this world, and we embrace the Freedom that comes from the Word of God. Stand firm in the Lord. Again I say, stand firm in the Lord.

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T22:25:00.000-07:00

Today my sister & I went to see my Dad who lives about 100 miles away from us in a nursing home. He said he had not had any visitors in months, other the hospital staff. Despite his normal depressed state, he actually looked great tonight. My sister has been praying for him & it was so good to see God working in his life. Over the past few years I've really grown to care more about him & his state of mind. Despite many sad stories from our past, those that are strong in the Lord have overcome the troubled times & come to love him for where he's at right now. It was so good to see him today & I'm so glad he's doing better & more alive than ever. Thank you Jesus for answering prayers.

A lesson my Dad taught me

2010-06-08T22:39:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about my Dad a bit tonight while working out in my Rose Garden. After mowing & weedwacking, I dodded around a bit with my roses; a snip here, a snip there, cutting the deadwood & pulling the weeds. When I was all done, I was greatful our house guest Cindy had a spare lawn rake so I could clean up the mess.

My mind wandered back to my youth. I was a very kinetic kid - always had to be moving or doing something, but could never sit still for a minute. One summer day my dad told me to sweep off the brick patio. I swept it quickly, doing a poor job I'm sure, and he made me do it again. Taking the broom from me, he showed me how to sweep each paving brick, and how to get the dirt out of the cracks. It was a bit of a tedious task, something that drove me crazy. I started sweeping again, and within a few seconds he was correcting me, showing me again how to sweep each brick carefully.

Now here I am probably 40 years later, and taking care to get all the grass & rose clippings raked up nice & neat, so I could enjoy the visual effect of the newly mowed lawn without looking at the mess of weeds & dead rose clippings laying all over. It looked nice. Very nice. The colors of the roses seemed to be especially vibrant tonight, as I discovered many blooms I had not noticed before. It was definitely worth all the effort.

Although I didn't realize it at the time, the patience & attention to detail my dad taught me stayed with me, at least in this arena. I love to garden when I have the time, and when things are neat & cleaned up & pruned, mowed, etc.., it's like a trip back into the past back to my Dad's garden. I'm sure it looked great, although it took 40 years to appreciate it.

I'm still here...

2010-05-25T20:51:00.001-07:00

...God reminded me of this tonight.

How awesome it is to be able to just say that God is near & I know it to be true. It's like a sixth sense, because I felt his presence tonight. Sometimes I long for just a nudge, a simple word from the Holy Spirit, and when it comes it's better than Pasta or Pizza.

For a long time I've been having withdrawels from a lack of worship in my life. In fact, even though I am a musician by calling, often I don't even want to listen to music. If that sounds strange, I'm telling you it is. It's a weird place to be. Was a time in my past when I could sit and play my guitar for an hour just worshiping God in the Holy Spirit, singing scriptures in English & the small amount of Hebrew that I learned. It was such an uplifting time. Haven't had that kind of experience in a while, until tonight.

Tonight I got a breakthrough. It was a practice session for the worship team at church. I love the team - everyone there is so real & cool with each other. We are a tight knit family of believers, no attitudes, nothing lingering below the surface. Just some real people loving on each other & goofing with each other & just being real. Tonight, however, I was just feeling a bit disconnected. Things didn't sound right to me, and I was having trouble keeping beat & playing the correct chords. Normally I could just disengage & go with the flow, but I felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to pray with the team. We all came together & prayed, and the mood transformed into a beautiful time of peace & worship. It was incredible. The last song we played was more of what we call a "flow" , the song lingered on as people just worshiped through it, and when the time came, the last note was played right on time and it ended softly, like falling on a bed of soft pillows. It was awesome.

What God showed me was that I do care about worship more than I realized. And that through the praises of his people God manifests himself. Awesome.

The Gospel Portrayed

2010-05-14T23:13:00.000-07:00

Tonight I had an opportunity to watch a group of Christian believers portray the Gospel in their deeds. A disparaged man who wandered in off the streets to our Community Feed was ministered to in a holy way.

When the man, who I will call Tom, arrived at the hall where the feed was held, things were winding down. The hall had been cleaned up, tables stowed away, floor vaccumed, and the volunteers were taking care of last minute details before locking up & going home.

I was in the kitchen when someone asked me if there was any food left to give to the man. I surveyed the situation - we had two boxes full of bread & bananas, hardly a full course meal but at least some sustanance. As I carried a box out of the kitchen, Tom was sitting down being ministered to by some of our elders. I listened as he explained how he got there. He looked like he had seen better days & it was obvious he had not been able to take care of himself well. His face was full of scars and he was weak but talkative. He wore a walking cast which covered up some badly mangled feet. His eyes revealed his desparation & need for some help.

My first inclination was that we were all going to be there for a while. I just have to be honest. I was tired, it had been a long day. Then the Holy Spirit helped me to step back & really assess the situation. Thats when God blessed my socks off.

This could have been a scene from the days of Jesus. My pharisee attitude quickly took a back seat by the grace of God. As I stood & listened to Tom talk, God showed me that this was a divine appointment.

For the next 45 minutes, the love of Jesus rained down on him. He received a meal put together by the kitchen staff; a nice dress shirt someone was wearing to replace his tattered t-shirt; two pairs of clean socks; a belt, & much personal ministry. But the main thing that I believe ministered to his soul more than anything else was that here, in a hall in Spanaway WA, a group of strangers loved on & connected with this man. There's so much healing that comes from that it's incredible to watch it unfold. He wasn't going to get away without God showing Tom how much He loved him. A warm rag helped wash some of the dirt off his face, back & feet, and by the time he left Jesus had given him his best. As we were praying over him before he left, Tom started to break from the love being poured into his life. The gospel of Jesus was presented to Him, but the words were just a follow up the actions that came before.

Watching God's love flow through the conduit of his people to this broken & disparaged man was like a ray of sunshine on a cold day. I was reminded of the scripture that states that we can love because God first loved us. What an awesome experience it was watching the gospel unfold in deeds & words. My faith has been renewed in a mighty way tonight.

Just a little something

2010-05-08T09:16:00.000-07:00

Read this on a blog & it made sense to me:

"Distance is a wonderful tool for seeing the truth."

Could be, could be...

Friends & the book of Hebrews.

2010-05-05T19:10:00.000-07:00

I had a talk with my son today about friends. Actually about one of my friends. Things that I've been pondering came together today. Actually, I really love this scripture: "...do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith & patience inherit the promises" (He 6:12).

The book of Hebrews talks about "falling away", "drifting away", and not neglecting the salvation that has been purchased for the saints through faith in Christ. I think it's so important to appreciate & take good care of my salvation. Sure, I blow it sometimes, get ticked off, say things that I shouldn't say, cop attitudes etc. But I'm getting better, through the grace God has given me. The main thing is, I just want to please Him, and recognize whose I am. God does not go far from His saints (he is near to all of us), but sometimes he lets us have just enough rope to get in trouble so we will come back to him. Some people come back, some don't. I hope I always do. One thing I've learned is that I need to take my role in His kingdom seriously. If I stop believing that I don't belong to the kingdom anymore, woe is me. I want to always have a place in His kingdom.

Just some musings about what God is showing me today.

National Day of Prayer

2010-05-03T18:42:00.001-07:00

Lately there's been a big uproar in the Christian Community about the National Day of Prayer being declared unconstitutional. I was thinking about this today, and wondered exactly what that meant, and what the consequences would be. The radio host on KGNW was talking about it, and I liked what he had to say. He said that God does not need the National Day of Prayer to bless the country. He said that a lot of people don't even attend this ceremony. In fact, a lot of Christians don't even pray all that much.

If I sound a bit heretical, please don't misjudge. I do believe strongly in the power of prayer & the protection of the Holy Ghost. In fact, these days I've been even more aware of the need to pray. I know of two specific instances of demonic attack that's happened in the past couple of days. In fact, I met a demon face to face this afternoon & as always the Holy Spirit surrounded me & kept it at bay. So does prayer work & is it essential - heck ya!!!

But I also started wondering what the government (or at least this judge) is saying with this decree. Is this a call for Christians to stop praying? Is this a demand that we not refer to the day as a "day of prayer"? Are they telling all government workers they can't pray on their breaks? All of these scenarios are both illegal & ludicrious and will never happen. When Christians, real Christians, are persecuted, the Church florishes. This has been shown over & over again in history. If we do become like China with the need for an underground church, be assured that it will be alive & healthy, & it will florish. Some will comply to the devil's attempt to stamp out prayer, but most Christians who hold their faith strongly, will not. Just aint' gonna happen.

So I say, go ahead & celebrate the National Day of Prayer. If it becomes a national symbol of the "rebel christians", let it be so. Just like St. Patricks Day, Valentines Day, we don't need the government to tell our society that we can't have our own special day. Just do it. Celebrate it. Peacefully assemble. Peacefully pray. Peacefully advance the gospel. And when they try to stop you, just keep on praying. Don't be afraid of those that can kill the body but not the soul, rather, be afraid of Him who has the power to destroy both body & soul in Hell.

I'm celebrating the day. I'm going to the city hall to pray in front with anyone else that shows up. Hope you do too.

Horrifying but legal?

2010-04-28T21:17:00.000-07:00

http://www.lifenews.com/int1526.html

A few inches. A few seconds. A breath. A twitch. And then the question everyone asks - When does life start?

And as a confused & often seemingly apathetic & unconscionable minority often declare - this is a CHOICE. We didn't want our child born disabled, so we decided to "terminate" him/her.

So lets look at the facts. They try to "terminate" this - well, what's the word they're using now - blob, growth, fetus, whatever. The blob is removed from the mother & wrapped in sheets & left alone for 20 hours. Then a priest notices the blob is now moving, and now the "pro-choice" people have a new mantra:

HOUSTON - WE HAVE A PROBLEM.

The blob is now protected as a life. Sort of like the spotted owl I guess. And, oh ya, those religious fanatics are going to find out about this & put it on Facebook.

DAMN RIGHT WE ARE. DAMN FRIEKIN AYE RIGHT

I want this story circulated around the world, in every nook & cranny of this entire planet. I want people to see this story, and just for a moment imagine that was your child, neice, nephew, grandchild - the blob that survived for 20 torturous hours, feeling the intense pain that abortion brings, and left to die.

And more than that, I want everyone on this planet to know that in Italy, like the United States, people are allowed to make the choice that DISABLED PEOPLE ARE NOT WORTH BRINGING INTO THE WORLD. They have no worth. They have no value. Let's terminate them.

That's what these so call "Pro-choice" people are doing.

I know a lot of disabled people. I've worked with them, helped them, befriended them, learned from them. Many of them are some of the most sweet-spirited people you'd ever want to meet. Some of them have ambitions & motivations that put me to shame. They are valuable. They are precious. They are capable of living full lives.

Think about this - you "pro-choice" people that would turn their backs on a child that was left to die because that was what was "chosen" for them. Next time someone harms one of your kids, just turn a blind eye & call it the bullys CHOICE. After all, what gives your kid the right to the legal status to be called something other than a blob. A few years of life, a few inches, a twitch?

Stoners, 4-20 & Hitler's Birthday

2010-04-20T21:39:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling my age because I have to ask these questions to really try & understand what's up in the minds of young people these days.

I've heard it mentioned several times today this is Hitler's Birthday, and somehow 4-20 is a significant symbol & date.

I've since been told that 4:20 is the International Pot smoking time, and somehow this is tied in with Hitler's Birthday? I really don't understand this. Do otherwise rational young people really identify with Hitler somehow? Or is this just a crazy stoner thing? I just dont understand. Aint like I wasn't there at one point - I probably got high almost every day for a couple of years, and partied with people that are probably on the FBI's most wanted list for all I know. But now I'm 48, God delivered me from drugs, and I'm trying to understand this mindset all over again. Can anyone enlighten me???

Groovy weekend

2010-04-11T22:32:00.001-07:00

It was a nice long happy weekend. Yesterday I found my bible I'd been missing since my wife left for Disneyland, it was in her van. And don't worry, I found my wallet too, and I've managed to hang onto my glasses.

Today I got five new hens from my friends (hey, that rhymes) & upgraded the chicken coop to try & coax them to lay more eggs. Our dog Bella continues to be a constant source of happiness to us. Yesterday I managed to install four new lights in the house & now the girls smell something burning, oh well, can't win em all.

Nice short week this week. Thursday I'm taking off for the Olympia Tea Party to try & commune with all the groovy people (oh wait, maybe that was another movement I was thinking of). Hope all is well with my facebook friends. Chow.

Religion vs. Relationship

2010-04-03T19:08:00.001-07:00

We hear the term "Religious" & "Religion" used in many different settings. Truly, some people are totally turned off to Religion, some people embrace it, and most people are probably just complacent around it. But what about the concept of "relationship with God"? I first heard this phrase in a Protestant church several years ago & it sparked something within me. I believe I understand the difference, as I have truly lived in both worlds.

As a child, I learned about "religion" - it was all around me, but religion didn't serve me. Religion was about stained glass windows, silence, seclusion, reflection, serenity, learning the rules, the regulations, stand kneel sit, stand kneel sit. It was roque, with it's end goal being trying to "work" your way to the presence of God. While I don't have a problem with serenity or reflection really, when we can never get beyond meditating on our "sinfulness" it becomes self-defeating.

To me, Religion taught me that God was this distant, cosmic being that I would never be holy enough to commune with. As a result, I never took "religion" very seriously. It was like trying to become a member of an elite club that had a hot line to God, but never being able to afford the membership dues.

When I was 16 I learned about the real God & Jesus, and the meaning of "relationship". By then, I knew the meaning of friendship, as I had a couple of really good friends that I used to hang around with. Friends are people that you can talk to, that you relate to, and for whom you would do just about anything for. That is what I discovered about Jesus. Jesus is truly a friend, but sticks much closer than even a brother. He is also a teacher who is gentle & humble at heart. Since I didn't have a really healthy male role model in my life, I found my relationship with Jesus as more of like a best friend. I think that concept fits a lot closer with what Jesus really wanted. And the fact that he was all powerful, all knowing, and that he knew & loved me personally - WOW! - that was a mind blower.

Bottom line for me - Jesus didn't come to the earth to bring us a bunch of rules and regulations, he came to show us his love & be our friend. He is also our true father, someone that watches out over us & would lay down his life for us. Religion in my mind just doesn't fit that idea in any way, shape or form.

Liberty Street Associates

2010-03-26T22:25:00.000-07:00

Has anyone ever heard of a facility called "Liberty Street Associates" in Danver's MA, that operated back in the early & mid 70s?

I'm livid

2010-03-25T20:36:00.000-07:00

I have to just write about this in order to calm down.

Tonight I read an article about a school in Seattle that not only allowed a 15-year old girl to leave school to get an abortion, they actually sent her away in a taxi & told her not to tell her parents & that it would be free & private.

WAKE UP AMERICA!!! What is wrong with this picture??? Have we totally lost our minds, lost or moral compass? If adult want to make these decisions for themselve, that's one thing. Personally, I don't think most adults that make these decisions for themselves really know or understand the dynamics of this. We know Planned Parenthood encourages underage abortions because it is very lucrative, it's been all over the news lately. But there's also plenty of sites that explain how the child is killed & how the child responds to the pain:

http://www.mpomerle.com/NoAbort/Reagan_Fetal_Pain.shtml

http://www.justfacts.com/abortion.asp#_ftn70 (check out footnote #70 from the New England Journal of Medicine)

Ther are also numerous documented facts around PAS (Post Abortion Syndrome) in which mothers are documented with depression, suicidal tendancies, medical problems that can diminish their ability to have a healthy pregnancy etc. ect.

And the worst part - studies have shown that many people that choose to have abortions are not current on their facts; what it will do their bodies, how developed the fetus within them is, how they will cope with this emotionally in years to come.

WAKE UP AMERICA. Get rid of the party of death. How many of you really want your tax dollars paying for this atrocity. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE???

Can you hear me?

2010-03-21T21:00:00.000-07:00

Do your senators & representatives listen to you, or the rest of your constituents? Doe the majority rule in your state? The answer, obviously, is

NO

So in November, remember the vote today, and fire your senator & representative if they didn't listen to you & the majority, and hire someone that will.

Happy Saturday Morning

2010-03-20T12:49:00.001-07:00

What a nice morning. The sun is out, the chickens are laying, people are happy, all is OK with the world.

I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit this morning when I still half asleep. Can't describe it other than to say that it's like a ray of sunshine to my soul. God is so awesome. Lately I've been praying for the Lord to give me a divine appointment, an opportunity to speak into one's life from the Holy Spirit. He has been faithful & given me those appointments. God is good!

2010-03-16T21:05:00.000-07:00

Today was a tiring day. By noon as I sat having lunch with my mom, I told her I was ready to go home & go back to bed. I was just worn out.

I contemplated skipping my practice at church, but decided against it. Each week our Praise & Worship team gets together to practice & just hang out for a couple of hours, and when I finally got there, I was glad I didn't bail. As soon as I walked in the church I saw several familiar friendly faces, and I felt, as I always do, right at home, and refreshed from my tiring day.

Our church experiences a unity in the Spirit I've not experienced in other relationships in the time I've walked with Jesus. It's incredible. There's a real maturity, and peace, in the friendships that have formed there. Not that we don't know how to have fun - we do. We have several resident clows & comedians that love to keep things off balance, which is great, because the last thing anyone there wants is religiousity. But we also take care of each other & aren't afraid to ask tough questions if something seems amiss in someones life. It's literally like a healthy, whole family. Sure, there's issues, but we deal with them & then celebrate our closeness once again. I love my church family - they are a vital part of my life & bring completion & happiness to me in many ways. God bless them all.

What I did on my day off.

2010-03-15T20:17:00.000-07:00

Contrasts & similarities

2010-03-10T21:19:00.000-08:00

Consider this news story. Now consider the contrasts between religious expression between Pakastan & the United States.

In Pakistan - a charitable organization helping local Pakistan people is terrorized & people die for simply beleiving in Christ. At the same time, hundreds of court suits relating to our freedom of religion wait to be heard & tried across the United States. Groups like the ACLU & Freedome From Religion try every day to extinguish the name of Christ from all facets of the public square. They go "judge shopping", looking for courts & judges that are sympathetic to their cause, and the courts continually contridict themselves.

Now consider the types of christians that make up each group. In China, Saudi, Pakistan, and many other countries that are hostile to Christ & his people, Christians continually put themselves at risk to proclaim the gospel. Some don't even go that far, they just live their lives with the title. In America, where a huge majority of the population consider themselves Christian, we see complacency in the church, and people taking their God Given freedoms for granted.

Consider my song "For His Name". I dedicate this song to my brothers & sisters in Pakistan that died, their families, their loved ones. Thank you for what you do. You are a blessing to all of us, and a shining example of Christ to the world.

http://irelandpraise.ning.com/profile/StevenEaton

No gold watch but all is still well

2010-03-05T23:31:00.000-08:00

Twenty years used to seem like an eternity away, like some number pulled out of the "are you planning for your future?" hat. Well, the future's here, and now I get to look back on it & see what I can learn from it & how things have changed.

A week from today I will have been with my beloved Pierce County Government for the magic 20 years. Last January Leila & I celebrated 20 years of marraige, and so this is the season of milestones. As I was driving home tonight, I got to thinking about what life was like in my world back then, and how things have changed.

There's too much change to list here, but I guess the main thing is that I believe God has dramatically changed my life, personality, character, & beliefs. From the places I have been in my past, to where I am now, life has taken a 180 turn. God has taken me through so much - drugs, violence, disfunctionality, apathy, loneliness, reclusiveness; to this place of relationship, friendship, responsibility, peace, wholeness. And yet so far to go in life still, but God is so faithful.

So even though I won't be getting a gold watch & my 20th anniversary will come & go without much notice, I'm so thankful to have held this position with the County for so long and had the opportunity to work with so many awesome people. My supervisors are awesome, caring, professional, & very real down to earth people. My co-workers are the same, just a dynamite group of very very cool people. This also is a gift from God. Most days I actually look forward in a small way to going to work. I hear so many people that hate their jobs, hate the grind, hate the people they work with. I'm so glad that's not my story. And I'm glad & proud to be a member of this great team of people that make up the Pierce County employee workforce. 20 years - YA!!!

Life is wonderful

2010-03-02T22:35:00.000-08:00

It just is.

Barnabus the encourager

2010-02-20T22:09:00.001-08:00

Blessed be the Barnabus's, for they shall breath new life into the souls of the wounded.

Light

2010-02-18T20:40:00.000-08:00

Lately I been experiencing some epiphanies throughout my day. I believe the Holy Ghost has been slowly revealing things to me that really draw me closer to God. This morning, as I got off the elevator on the 2nd floor & headed down towards my office, I noticed a bright ray of light shining through one of the offices at the other end of the hallway. As I got closer I realized it was my office the sun was shining through. Then I noticed my office was the only one in the hallway which had that ray of light coming through.

Now that may be easily explained away, but I really felt the presence of God in this whole thing. My office used to be just a storage closet, but it's big enough for a desk & cabinet & a few other effects that help me do my job, and I really love it. My window has a view of Mt. Rainier off towards the Southeast, and when if I happen to be there early enough to catch the sunrise, and it's not raining or cloudy, the view is magnificant (see my previous post).

I believe God welcomed me to work with this beautiful sunrise & beam of light spilling out into the hallway. God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.

Life is wonderful, all the time

2010-02-16T23:06:00.001-08:00

Life is wonderful. This sunrise was taken in Tacoma a few days prior to this post. I love sunrises & sunsets. Sunrises remind me of the Glory of God just taking over the day, & sunsets remind me of the grace of God that brought me through another day.

Healed after 20 years

2010-02-11T22:02:00.000-08:00

In a previous post, I outlined my walk towards faith. Tonight I discovered a facebook site called "believers in a New Way of Life" which is awesome. I have a post there if you want to see it:

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/group.php?gid=4829255221

Imagine

2010-02-11T21:34:00.001-08:00

John 1:1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Genesis 1:1: In the beginning, God...

Imagine that, before the heavens (sky) were there, before the earth was formed by His Word, God existed. It's too high to wrap our finite minds around, but it's fun to try to sometimes.

One of the reasons I chose the picture I did for home page was because there's something about the open water, sun shining through the clouds, that expresses the Glory of God beautifully for me. And when I think of God existing before anything else, and God having no beginning & no end, it makes me feel so secure knowing that we have this "personal" relationship that only His son could have purchased for me. It's mind blowing when I meditate on it. With God as the end all & be all, all is allright in my world.

Freedom...

2010-02-07T13:32:00.000-08:00

I used to think of it as like bowling. Get a strike, figure out exactly how you released the ball, and do it all over again. Waves of "freedom" came and went in my life. This is the freedom based on feeling. This is not true freedom.

True freedom comes from Worship. When we worship, somethings happens, and the heavenlies respond. Sometimes I notice people walking down the street, and sometimes they have sulken expressions, their eyes are focused on the ground (as if they're waiting for the devil to appear out of the sidewalk & give them a word of encouragement). I dare say I have been in this state many times myself.

But today at church I again was reminded of what it is that breaks those chains of despair & depression. Worship. Faith. The Word states "God inhabits the praises of His people". We sang a song today titled "I am free" (...I am free to run, I am free to dance, I am free to live for you, I am free...) Some of the congregation was getting it, singing, dancing in the aisles (we're not a particulary religious church by the way). It was so uplifting. It was freeing. Sometimes our faith can be like a car that's ran out of gas. You can fill the gas tank, but it sometimes take that little extra task of priming the carberator to get things going. How's that for an analogy.

Church

2010-02-07T00:14:00.000-08:00

So I get to go to Church tomorrow & worship the God of the universe. What a beautiful thing. I thank God it's still legal in the country, partially due to the sacrificies of those in the Armed Forces that fight every day to keep our nation free. Thank you all, you are appreciated.

A little about my conversion & walk with God...

2010-02-06T22:27:00.000-08:00

In a recent reply to one of my previous posts, my nephew asked me questions about my conversion experience & subsequent actions. "What led up to my conversion", "Did I tell anyone?" & "How did they react".

At the time in my life when I was saved, I believe I was in much turmoil as a lot of kids are at 16. I didn't have any really healthy relationships going in my life, and was searching for my identity. Things were pretty messed up at home also & I generally lacked direction in my life.

I started turning towards the paranormal, ESP, Telekensis, even started messing around with the Ouija board. I did this because I thought they would draw some sort of power out of me & give me the confidence I needed to live in my world. I had a lot of fear going on in my life & didn't like it. I saw this as a way out. Kind of ironic, because this kind of stuff is riddled with & based on fear.

I studied books on the paranormal and didn't really know what I was getting into but it fascinated me.

My sister Kathy, who I think had just recently accepted the Lord & had studied about such things, started telling me the truth about Christ & explaining the bible and God's plan of salvation to me.

At first I rejected it as too confusing, too overwhelming, and much too difficult to read that old English King James. But the Holy Spirit sparked that interest in me & I started really thinking about faith & God & what all that meant. I started asking questions, and had it broken down to me in a very simple way. We are sinners. Christ died for our sins, and to reconcile us back to God. I needed forgiveness & a new start. God would be by my side forever if I turned my life over to Him. That was what really attracted me. I really needed a good friend to be by my side at that point in my life, something I lacked. Basically, the only people I could really trust were people that really had no clue how to identify with me.

It was at some point that I realized that God had a personal interest in me. I had always for the most part believed that God existed in some form or another, so my faith was there. I didn't, however, know Him as a personal god, someone that cared about me & was uniquely interested in my life & my future, and who had only good in mind for me.

One night when I was visiting my sister Kathy in New Hampshire, I made a conscience decision to put my trust in Him, ask Him to forgive me for my sins, and to be close to me & guide me & be my savior. That's when I experience the Holy Ghost visitation for the first time, which I explained earlier. That happened the next morning.

I'll just say something here - experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit is something that you never really forget. It may come as a surprise to hear me say this, but I'm convinced many Christians have never really experienced the Spirit in a real sense. A lot of Christians take "faith" as the end all be all, but don't ever expect God to be "real" to them in any sort of tangible sense...

It's a tangible presence, if I can use that word. The Holy Spirit manifests Himself in different ways. I've had supernatural Words of Knowledge, revealing dreams about future events (in a broad sense), gifts imparted to me, and many other manifestations of the Holy Spirit in my life. Like I said, it's a tangible thing that happens. Unfortunately, I believe a lot of Christians don't believe the Holy Spirit works this way. They try to work their way to God, and be "good enough" or "righteous enough" & DO what they read in the bible, rather than letting the Holy Spirit guide them.

It's an interesting distinction. Truly, at it's core, it's really the whole difference between being "legalistic" and being "free". It's God that does the work, I believe it's just our responses to His prompting that makes us faithful.

To answer the other question, I did tell many people around me, and got mixed reactions from different people. Certainly, people in the Baptist church I attended were very excited for me & drew me in & treated me like family. Unfortunately, to be totally honest, I was also let down by some of these folks as well which left a really bad hurt in my spirit.

There's a particular proverb, 19:2, that states "It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way". Unfortunately, as my life progressed, this proverb became my personal experience. My faith was not rooted in the Word (I wasn't reading it much), and because of this I let doubt creep in. I started expecting things of God that were not in line with His Word. Because I did not have the knowledge of the Word, my faith waned & I became complacent for several years until a crisis hit & I basically had nowhere else to turn. At that time, I cried out to God again (there had been about a 14 year gap at this point), and again experienced something just as powerful, but a little different in respect to my first experience.

Since that experience, 18 years ago, my faith has become deeper & more established so I can weather the storms better. There's a whole lot more that happened in this time frame which I won't mention here.

I now have lots of experiences to draw on & don't worry about those times when I question things of God. I've found God is much bigger than my doubts & can take me through those times.

That's my story.

What I did today

2010-02-03T22:24:00.001-08:00

Today was a very interesting day. I started out waking up from a dead sleep at about 3 a.m. with reflux from the Spanish Rice I ate at 11 p.m. I felt like I couldn't breathe it was so bad. Then I woke up several more times until I finally gave in & went to work. Stopped off to get a Smoothy at a new latte stand, and also get their punch card (I have 11 different punch cards now). The smoothy was way too sweet, took me 2 hours to finish, & I decided never to go back there. Then I spent most of the day calling Seniors on the phone that I didn't know & asking them all kinds of personal information about themselves (part of my job). Then I went to lunch at ma's & she gave me an ice cream & 1 1/2 Tuna Sandwiches which totally made my afternoon. Then I went to work & had a Chai Tea just cuz I like sticking dollar bills into the machine - it's a nasty habit I picked up in Vegas years ago. Then I eventually left work & went to the doctors & discovered I was 15 lbs heavier than I was last time I weighed in. The doc tried to talk me into getting a tetnas shot but I told him I wasn't a pincushion & I'd do it later. I have to go back to give blood later which is cool cuz then I'll get off work early again. Tonight I made a huge life committment for 3 years which I refuse to talk about, and here I am at 10:14 on Facebook. That was my interesting day if anyone is interested. Oh ya, my friend Cindy made me a killer Carmel Latte for dinner, along with my subji & chicken. Right on. Now I get to go to bed & wake up & do it all over again.

Flickr

2010-02-03T20:51:00.001-08:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Are you convictable?

2010-01-31T20:53:00.000-08:00

Today in church the pastor preached from Romans 12:1-2 "I beseech you therefore, bretheren...that you present (give by an act of your will, not expecting to change your mind) your bodies a living sacrifice, holy , acceptable to God, which is your reasonable Service. An do not be conformed to (the patterns of) this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..."

This is a scripture that I've pondered from time to time. Essentially it's saying Christians should look different from the world.

So my question to my friends is this: "How do we as Christians look, act & behave like the world, and what is ingrained in us as a community of faith that is worldly & of no value in the Kingdom of God."

Or, as one Pastor I know used to say, "If we were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict us?"

I know for me personally I watch way too much TV and get sucked into the less than virtous advertising. I spend a lot less time reading the Word than I should, and neglect relationships that I should be nurturing. I also get very protective of my views & get angry & inpatient with people far too much (got to work on that).

What about you? Care to share?

Revealing video about Barak Obama

2010-01-28T20:58:00.000-08:00

For those of you that were not convinced about where the President's alegiance lies - wonder no more. This video is a real eye opener.

Click here to watch the video.

Feminism

2010-01-26T23:32:00.000-08:00

I love real stories like this from real people. It really goes a long ways to reveal some of the truths about humanity that the liberal left would try to discredit.

Click here for the story

Faith

2010-01-23T23:33:00.000-08:00

Sometimes things in the bible overwhelm me as I struggle to understand how they could be true. If I sound like a non-believer, I'm not. I do have faith in God, and I could point to many different times in my life that he has saved me & encouraged me & just given me spiritual hugs as I have needed them in my life.

But lately I have been unfaithful in reading his Word on a daily basis, and today I had a chance to reflect back on this & ask myself some tough questions.

I have people in my life that have renounced Christ & sometimes even mock the God they use to profess faith in. I believe these people are there as an example to me of what life could look like if I did the same. I know in my heart they are not happy in their lives, it's sometimes all but blatenly obvious. I started down a path of thought tonight that is downright dangerous to the believer.

It goes something like this. Someone asks the question "Why can't I see, (touch, feel, hear, experience) God? Tonight that question was posed by a young girl on the radio. The answer was a bit weak, I thought, but still genuine. "Remember the sunset you saw in the sky a while ago? Remember that that warm fuzzy feeling you had when your daddy hugged you so tight?, well that's God you're experiencing. The sunset is God's way of saying "look at this big beautiful world I made for you".

As I started pondering that thought, I thought to myself "some people might just not get that". Some people might say to themselves, it takes too much faith to believe that God exists & wants to know us on a personal level. And all Christians do is struggle to believe this thing that really doesn't even exist." That is the point that I was at tonight.

But then something wonderful happened. I remembered. I remembered that He had shown himself to me in ways that I can't explain. The sense of His presence I first felt after accepting Him by faith at 16 - it was overwhelming, so overwhelming I couldn't even get out of bed. The fellowship of brethren in the Baptist church I started going to shortly thereafter, and the long 20 mile plus bike ride (each way) to the church in Peabody MA every Sunday, and how much I looked forward to it, and how much I was fed. The protection he gave me when I found myself in extremely dangerous situations both home & abroad. I shouldn't, by all rights, even be alive to write this tonight. The grace I experienced after having turned away from the church after 13 years, and the new relationships that were formed & things I was shown in the Spirit. The grace I experienced in my marraige, in raising my kids. The song's God spoke into my heart enabling me to bring His word to unbelievers & believers alike through music. The incredible highs when I would worship him through song & music and really seek his face. I could go on & on.

Then God gave me a Word through the Holy Spirit that went something like this. "Faith is not visable through natural eyes". It's not something that can be understood, disected, chewed up & put into a formula available at your health food store or Chiropractor's office. It's an act of the will. But just as it can't be understood & the benefits of faith are not available to the unbeliever, the opposite is also true. Faith in Christ does have it's tangible benefits as I've recalled earlier in this post.

Bottom line is this: Christ is bigger than our unbelief. I used to struggle with the question of salvation. Some days I just didn't "feel" saved. Some days I committed the same sin for the 100th time & for the 101st ask God to forgive me. And even though some of the bible just doesn't make sense to me, I sometimes have to remind myself that it has to be accepted in faith for it to make sense. I believe that's God's word to me tonight.

When Christ rose from the dead, "doubting Thomas" came face to face with Him. Christ invited Thomas to place his hand in His side, and to put his fingers in the nail holes in Jesus's hand. Thomas then believed and exclaimed "My Lord & My God!". But Jesus' words were powerful & prophetic - "Thomas, you believe because you have seen. Blessed are those who do not see, and yet still believe". I guess this is what it all boils down to.

Relationships

2010-01-11T21:07:00.000-08:00

This is something I've blogged about before, but bears repeating here. Tonight I was involved in a lively conversation with a group of my Christian brothers about the necessity of the guys being more involved in church, and balancing that involvement with the other things going on in our lives. I believe the Holy Spirit dropped this into my heart, so thought I'd share it again.

I beleive God has given us two different areas that we need to be faithful in regarding relationships. The one area is our relationship with Him, the second is our relationship with each other. The latter is sometimes forsaken by those that would say they have no need for church because they can experience God on the mountain, in the woods, on the ocean, wherever.

I know people that are like this, and I wonder how fulfilled or peacful they really are when they have no real fellowship with the body of Christ. One thing I've learned very well over the past few years is that our God is a relational God, and he created us for relationship with each other.

January first, Two-Thousand Ten

2010-01-01T16:05:00.000-08:00

Sounds really futuristic - oh wait - we're there!

I'd like to share something the Holy Spirit showed me today.

I was reading an article about a man name William who was helped by "Light Under the Bridge Ministries". The article explained how William, after rejecting help several times, finally reached out & accepted the help that would eventually change his life.

The part of the story that struck me was how Kevin & Hope continued to reach out to this man for such a long time, bringing him food, talking to him, taking him to the hospital, tending to his personal care needs. All the while William refused further help, refused hospice when it was offererd, and returned to the streets time after time. But Kevin & Hope persevered - the ministry was not about them, it was about the people God had sent them to help. In the end their patience & grace were victorious & I'll let you read the story but it's a very very happy ending.

Today I had a rather abrupt conversation with someone that my wife & I had reached out to, and given shelter & friendship. Without going into any detail, after a few weeks our friendship & offers of help were rejected, even though it seemed like things were going on a good course and this person would begin to get some of the additional help they really needed.

I was irate at first, mostly for the total rejection my wife & I felt after this person just "disappeared", but in the end the Holy Spirit had to remind me that rejection is part of the whole scheme of things. In God's timing this person will realize the mistakes they made, and the walls that came up will hopefully be demolished as well. The truth is that I still love this person for who they are, and told this person I would be there when they wanted to talk. In the end that is all you can do. And just like Kevin & Hope, we also hope to continue to open our hearts & lives to people to a point, but we are also full of grace when they reject help, waiting on God's timing. Grace & mercy are enduring virtues.

Last 1 1/2 hours of the decade thoughts

2009-12-31T22:32:00.000-08:00

Well that's an interesting title to a blog for sure...

Right now, at the precise time I am writing this, it is still 2009 in 6 time zones in the world, give-or-take. But what does that mean on the grand scale of things?

As time goes by, usually this night each year I get this sense I am being pushed further & further out onto a wide open sea full of possibilities, and land becomes harder & harder to see. I remember when I was a teenager wondering to myself what the year 2000 would be like. I remember thinking I would be 38 years old that New Years Eve, and how old other's would be that I was close to. It seemed so far off. Now I'm on the other side of that and it's very weird.

I try not to be gloomy, but this day each year I also wonder what the future will bring for Isreal & America. With the military threats from Iran, North Korea escalating; & even the threat of our own government becoming more Socialist & more hateful & discrimating towards Christians, I wonder how long our freedoms & safety will continue.

On the other hand, it's exciting to see us so close to the Lord returning, as prophesies continue to be fulfilled at an alarming rate.

I can see God's hand at work in my own life as I look back on this year. In the Springtime I submitted paperwork to our HR office for a requested promotion to a higher level of Office Assistance. I had the blessing of my supervisor & Director; however, after much scrutiny, it was decided that the amount of time I devoted to the higher level work at present was just shy of what it needed to be to justify the promotion. I was disappointed, but in October this year, 150 people from our department were laid off. My job was spared by the grace of God, and suddenly that promotion didn't seem to be too big a deal anymore. I am & will continue to be very greatful & dedicated to my department, especially in the light of the wonderful people God has given me as co-workers & supervisors. They are a very caring, dedicated, & down-to-earth group of folks that continue to take care of their teammates in many ways. It's a great feeling to work in such a family oriented group of folks.

This year I saw some losses of relationships, and also some new relationships formed. Life & death. So interesting how that cycle just repeats itself in some many realms.

Michael who? I'll tell you I'm really really really really really tired of hearing about this guy.

I've had an opportunity to see some young people make the same mistakes in relationships & intimacy that I made, and that continue to be made by young people no matter how much they are exposed to the truth. And I've had a chance to witness other young people turn towards God & live renew lives. Seeing a young person make a conscious decision to live for Christ is like a beam of light that penetrates the stormy clouds of life. It's so awesome. My neice being baptized was probably one of the highlights of the year. My son's dedication to his young wife is also very endearing to me. My daughter continues to grow as the lovely woman of God she is.

Today I received the most wonderful gift from my son's in-laws, a really smart full length scarf made from Alpaca skin. And also an Alpaca rug that my wife want's to frame - they are really awesome. I was really blown away - these are really nice gifts - and we really don't know these folks that well. Another blessing from God.

So here it is - the Grand Crescendo. Although technically only one day further into the future, January 1, 2010, will be a time of reflections of our past & future lives to many people around the world. And I think it's good to reflect sometimes. Life is short when you compare it to eternity. There are no clocks on the other side, it just keeps going & going & going & going........

Civil Disobedience to Prevent Child Abuse...

2009-12-29T20:39:00.000-08:00

...Because I think that's what you would really have to call this action by the Vermont Courts

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=832190

A few posts ago on my Facebook site I wrote about the "Manhatten Declaration" & the reference in there regarding "civil disobediance". I applaud Mrs. Miller & if she is hiding out I wish her safety & peace. It's horrible to think about my country leaving a mother with no other choice to protect the innocence of her own child, and the st...ate's agressive actions to expose her to the homosexual lifestyle. I don't know what my country is about anymore. God is in control. Lord please keep the child safe from these judges & our court system - that is my prayer.

End of year thoughts

2009-12-25T23:01:00.000-08:00

First of all, I'm thankful, so thankful, that the Lord intervened & I am still working at Pierce County after 19 years. In October many people were laid off as our department's mission was re-evaluated after the Mental Health Programs in Pierce County took a big dive & were turned over to the state. I survived the first massive wave of lay-offs, and ended up in a nice quiet little spot on 2 North that I'm so greatful for, with a great view of Mt. Rainier off to the Southeast. I also have a new group of friends on 3N that I now work for 2 days a week.

Relationships in my realm of influence & circle of friends seemed to both grow & deteriorate this year. Several people I know were more determined & purposed to end relationships, and at church our pastor's vision helped us form more lasting relationships with some of the members of our community that routinely attend our Community Feed Friday nights. They come in & have fellowship with our church members, get a nice warm homecooked meal complete with dessert, and generally get to forget their circumstances for a couple of hours while we do what we can to make their lives a little better, through the love of Christ which is in us. This is what Jesus wanted, and I'm so content & fulfillled being a part of a ministry that has such as Godly purpose. I thank God for all involved.

Healthwise we've had our struggles, and politically I've been very active online, writing to our members of congress regarding specific pieces of legislation that were on the ballot. So sad R91 passed, however, I also recognize the ongoing battle that looms in the spiritual realm in the government at all levels. As we move toward a more socialized form of government, I rejoice because I see the end approaching more quickly every day.

But the main impression on my mind this year are the friendships that I have formed, and those that the Lord still has in front of me. I made peace with many people this year & hope to continue to do that in the months to come. Some people really confuse & bewilder me with their ideas & thought processes, but so be it. I know where I am and where I'm going.

Happy 2010! Lord come quickly!

Closeness

2009-12-17T21:20:00.000-08:00

I had the most peaceful & restful experience tonight. It lasted all of about 2 minutes, but it felt so good I have to share it.

Let me preface this by saying that I know a man in his 80s that is closed off to the world. He appears not to want anything but to be left alone to die in the nursing home he lives in. I've been told most of the time he lays in bed with the covers pulled over him, and, as has been his pattern for years & years, does not accept friendship or hope from anyone or anything. Many people have tried to befriend him & get him out of his shell, but he will have nothing of it. He has lived a life that has offered him much goodness & richness, but I'm convinced he saw no color in life, only black & white & shades of gray.

It wasn't until about 3 or 4 years ago that I realized the value of relationships. God opened my eyes to the fact that He is a relational God, and wants more than anything to have a relationship with all of His creation. Since then I have had many opportunities to experience deeper & more meaningful relationships with my friends & family as God has brought me out of my shell.

Tonight I was at church wrapping presents with many of the folks in our congregation. Brother Ray came over & hung out we me & we talked for a couple of hours about all sorts of stuff & just had a good time with everyone else involved in this project. At the end, when everyone was getting ready to leave, my wife asked for prayer, and a group of our christian brothers & sisters gathered around her, as is our way, and prayed. I found myself kneeling on the ground in front of her just giving her a big hug, as she sat in her chair. I buried my head next to hers & clsed my eyes as we were ministered over, wrapping my arms around her & thanking God for her. Holding her tight, and having everyone minister to us in prayer, I felt so at peace & restful as I basked in the warmth of my Christian brothers & sisters & wife. It felt so pure & natural & peaceful, like there was not a thing in the world that could touch us. I know not everyone can experience this type of closeness, but I wish they could. Many people will not let themselves get close to others, but they don't know what they are missing. I'm so thankful for the experience. This is how it will be with Jesus, I am sure.

A few thoughts to close out the week

2009-12-12T21:40:00.000-08:00

Today I went to see the movie 2012. I was blown away - ah, by the price of the popcorn that is. $8???? Whazzup with that? Used to be $1 when I regularly frequented the movie theatres on base. I think the most I ever paid was maybe $5 on a REALLY GOOD MOVIE. But then again, this movie was just OK. Reminded me of that Tom Cruise movie about aliens that came out a couple of years ago - can't remember the name of it.

December is in full gear now & I still haven't done any Christmas Shopping. I haven't really felt like it actually. I was going to make some homemade gifts again this year, but I don't have the motivation for it. I don't know what's happening to my hootspa - I'm only 48 but feel like I'm in my 60 some days.

For excitement today I started cleaning & regluing some of the peel & stick tiles to the floor. Got a good whif (not intentionally) of some MEK & Contact Cement. Had to open the windows for sure.

We moved last week to our new offices in the old North Building of the old Puget Sound Hospital, built back in the early early 1900s. The north building is the oldest, in fact, we were told that it is in some sort of structual danger, i.e., not really a safe place to work, but I guess I'll be OK as I'm only on the second floor. Got an e-mail Friday that there had been a group of folks checking out the "Paranormal" activity at the hospital on 11/20, and they were holding a meeting to discuss the results. Isn't that something? Get busted for saying "Jesus Christ is Lord" but if you want to check out evil spirits it's OK. What's wrong with that picture?

Christmas play tomorrow, several social engagements later next week, another play next Friday, I'm sure I won't have time to blog much for the next few weeks.

20th Anniversary coming up in a few short weeks. No, I don't have my sweeheart's gift picked out - but we are planning something special which I won't mention here.

It's almost 10. Guess I better go glue some more floor tiles down before the day slips away.

2009-12-11T22:59:00.001-08:00

The Manhatten Declaration

2009-12-05T22:24:00.001-08:00

I was so pleased to read this, that I had to share it.

When I see efforts like this that are initiated by Christians with a purpose to call worldwide attention to the plight of the American Government in these spiritually bereft times, I am so glad to know that there is always a light that can shine in the darkness.

Indeed, in the darkest times in world history, there has always been a remnant protruding from society that upholds the truth, and that bears witness to the light. Let me just say right here that I believe in the notion of civil disobedience. When I look back on history, I see it remarkably portrayed when studying people such as Reverand Martin Luther King Jr., Ghandi, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, to name just a few.

Here's a song that I'd like to share with you, my viewers, that I wrote a few years ago, about this very subject. Hope you like it.

FOR HIS NAME

Moonlight Sonata

2009-11-27T15:41:00.000-08:00

I've come to the bottom of page two in the first movement - & I've just about got it down - ya!!! It's sounds so nice on my old upright piano. Can't wait to start learning the second movement in c#minor.

Don't worry - the fridge still works...

2009-11-24T21:40:00.000-08:00

...Was just going to title this "Don't worry", but the rest of the title is too good to pass up.

Lately I've been reading Joyce Meyer's book "The Battlefield of the Mind". I'm at the part where she talks about worry being a form of torment. And it's so true. I've been working on my faith in God more, trying to let go of stuff I can't do anything about & just trust God. I read somewhere that every 60 seconds we spend worrying about stuff is one minute of our lives we can never get back. Trying to keep that in mind.

This morning it started first thing. Woke up & started worrying about the fact we have no money to speak of until payday. Got in the car & headed to work & worried about making it through the next week & 1/2 on about 3/4 tank of gas. Got to work & worried about getting all my work done. Tonight was the topper.

Got home, did the dishes, and started getting ready to settle down for the night when the fridge suddenly stopped making that vibrating hum it makes when it's keeping things cold. Lately it's been humming a little louder than normal. I just knew the fridge has gone belly up. And two days before Thanksgiving. I started worrying about where I was going to get the money, much less a truck, to go buy & pick up another fridge. I told my wife about it when she called.

If I had stopped a minute to think about it & pray about it, I guess I could have reasoned that since the fridge is cold, the compressor wouldn't be running anyway. About 15 minutes into my worrying fit it started making that humming noise again, and I opened the freezer & it was circulating cold air.

I'm so glad I have a working freezer. I'm going to have to work on my faith now, but I'm not going to worry about it.

Dream Squashers

2009-11-18T00:40:00.000-08:00

Let no man despise the dreams & talents God has placed in your heart. They are yours & yours alone. Let such a man that would try & talk you out of your destiny in Christ be silenced, like Zaccharias was silenced when he doubted God. Stop playing the old tapes through your mind once & for all & realize that God alone will judge you, and it is absolutely right & correct to totally reject & stay away from those that would steal your dreams & try & talk you out of your talents.

As for me, God alone has put the fire in my heart, and I will no longer allow voices from the past to continue to beat me down. People are sometimes wrong, and when they are we need to recognize it & stand firm in what we know to be true and not even give it a second thought.

Lord forgive me for anyone's dreams that I may have crushed in the past & let me from henceforth be known as an encourager & exhorter of all that is good in the people that you put in my path. FROM THIS DAY FORTH.

Lately...

2009-11-17T23:46:00.000-08:00

Life is passing me by. The days are getting darker and shorter. The days are getting lighter and longer. Life is slowing down. ???TITN'SIDRIEW

Senator Adam Smith's response to Health Care question

2009-11-09T21:36:00.000-08:00

I asked Senator Adam Smith a question about the Health Care Bill, and received this response. Just thought I'd post it on my blog so folks could see where he stands. I'm sure this is a formatted response.

Dear Steven,

Thank you for contacting me office with your comments regarding the House health care overhaul bill H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act. I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with me on this very important issue. As you may know, H.R. 3962 was passed in the House of Representatives on November 7, and I voted in favor of it. I'd like to take this opportunity to share with you my thoughts on the bill.

Throughout the health care reform debate I have continually stated that our healthcare system must be reformed. It costs too much, doesn't cover enough people, and incentivizes inefficiencies. Reform must expand access, reduce the overall amount of money we spend on health care, and promote quality of care over quantity. In order to succeed, real reform must be built on these three pillars, without which we will not be able to provide sustainable universal access.

Real reform cannot take place unless the process continues to move forward and despite my strong misgivings with the current bill, I fundamentally recognize the dire need for health care reform in our country.

There are far too many people in our country who either do not have insurance or are underinsured. This represents both a moral and economic problem. Additionally, and most importantly, our health care system needs cost containment reform, without which many individuals who currently have insurance will be unable to keep it. It is expected that next year employers who offer health insurance will likely see a 9 percent increase in cost. On top of recent increases, if costs continue to rise at this rate employers will no longer be able to afford to offer insurance to their employees and many more Americans will become underinsured or uninsured. This problem must be addressed.

Additionally, the United States currently spends more per capita on healthcare that any other country in the world. Beyond this, our government spends more per person than many countries with single-payer systems. If we do not address the inefficiencies in our system and rein in the cost of care, difficult as it may be, we will never be able to provide sustainable universal coverage to all Americans. The costs will simply be too high to sustain and will weigh down our economy.

The initial bill before Congress, H.R. 3200, had significant problems and would not have received my vote. The current bill, H.R. 3962, has made progress toward achieving the kind reform I have consistently advocated, but any final bill must go even further.

One of the most important changes from H.R. 3200 is the inclusion of a geographic variation study that will reassess the unfair reimbursement rates across the country and benefit seniors in Washington state. While the study could have been more aggressive and could be enacted sooner, this is a very positive step toward correcting the unfair bias that has hurt Washington state's seniors for too long.

In addition, H.R. 3962 takes some real steps toward addressing the inadequate fee-for-service model through the establishment of several pilot projects aimed at changing the way we pay for health care. These changes are a step in the right direction. H.R. 3962 also includes incentives to promote bundling of services and payments, which has proven in many settings to reduce the cost of care while maintaining a high quality.

Further, H.R. 3962 begins to address some of the inefficiencies in Medicare and slows the rate of growth in Medicare spending from its current rate of 6.6% to 5.3% annually. It also decreases the national deficit by $109 billion in the first ten years and is projected to continue to reduce the deficit in the second ten years.

Finally, I do appreciate the process that gave sufficient time for all of us to thoroughly examine the details of this important piece of legislation. I was deeply troubled by the push to vote on the original bill last July before the August recess. The additional three months given to consider the bill was a very positive step. I also appreciate that we have had the full text of H.R. 3962 available on line for over a week. Far too often in the past major legislation has been rushed to a vote in a matter of hours.

While these steps show real progress, more must be done. This bill still costs too much and does not do enough to rein in the cost of care. Moreover, the many regulations in this bill can and should be simplified to make it easier for businesses and individuals to understand and comply with them. The final bill will need to make great strides in these areas to earn my vote.

My vote, in effect, is to move the process forward. This is not the final phase in the process and in the weeks ahead the Senate will vote on its version of the bill and then the House and the Senate must reconcile their differences. I am hopeful that through this process my remaining concerns will be addressed and we can finally move to provide universal access to health care and reform our system in a way that protects individuals and reins in out of control costs. More than anything, my 'yes' vote today reflects the fact that, despite my concerns with the current bill, I cannot vote in favor of the status quo.

Thank you again for contacting me and please do not hesitate to contact me in the future with any thoughts you may have on this or any other subject.

Friends & the Sea

2009-10-31T10:54:00.000-07:00

It was early in the morning and I found myself on a coastal town with my wife & daughter. They were shopping at the grocery store, but I elected to stay outside & enjoy the sea breeze & take in the scenery.

As I walked around the corner of the store, I found a couple of friends that I haven't seen in a while, and we chatted for a while. Then I looked up at the sky and saw a majestic Blue Herron spreading her wings and sailing through the sky for all to see. She was beautiful. I took a stroll through the parking lot & looked out over the sea. Off in the distance I saw a remote island & secretly wondered if I could actually swim that far. The water was very cold as it usually is this time of year. A diver was swimming in the surf, I wondered if he had just swam back from the island.

The mood was very peaceful & serene. I looked into the sky again & saw more birds of various colors flying and floating on the wind. One of them spread their wings revealing a magnificent deep blue plummage & impressive set of feathers.

I started thinking about all the friends I have & how greatful I am for them. Friendship is like the sweet frangrence of the sea. Also, like the sea, friendship is God's way of taking your mind off the here & now & to that place of fellowship that transports you over the rocky craigs and to the shores on the edge of the imagination where beauty surrounds you & the air is crisp & clean. Thank God for friends. To all my friends - I appreciate you & you remind me of the sea.

Unlocking Beethoven

2009-10-27T22:02:00.000-07:00

A while back I found the sheet music online for Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata". I really, really, really, really wanted to be able to play this piece flawlessly, but my piano skills were very limited. However, I did know how to read music, I was just not proficient in getting what my eyes were seeing to my hands. So...

I started writing down the names of the notes I wa looking at on the staff. In tiny little letters next to the staff, I deciphered each note & series of notes. I knew where the notes were on the piano, so verrrrrryyyyyy sllllooooowwwwwlllyyyy I started practing one measure at a time. Then I gave up.

Don't know why, I just did. I had about a page & a half down, and I just put the music away.

Until about 2 weeks ago, when I found it again, and started re-learning it. And now I can almost play two whole sheets. Not all the way through, I have to stop about 1/2 way & fumble through some of the measures, but I'm practicing every day & doing what for me works - repetition, repetition, repetition.

Beethoven unlocked. That's what I call this endeavor. And the song is so beautiful. I just love how the C#Minor starts sounding so melodic that when he switches over it should sound like a minor going to a major, but the opposite is actually true. From a C# & G# to C & G natural it starts sounding like a minor. And I love the baseline that accompanies it. It's so beautiful. The 12/8 time signature is so smooth, like a waltz, but not like a waltz.

As I start unlocking measure by measure, I can hear the music playing in my head, and it's so cool being able to re-produce in my own living room what Beethoven created . It's just incredible.

Someday I'll be able to play the entire piece, but for now I'm just content to make it through the first movement. All without formal instruction. It's God's gift to me. God created Beethoven, Beethoven created Moonlight Sonata, Moonlight Sonata found me, and now I'm giving it back to God.

Michael Jackson, nails & power outages

2009-10-21T22:53:00.000-07:00

What do these three have in common? Read on...

We returned home around 9 p.m. after a two hour jaunt to Leila's parent's house. I was bushwacked & just wanted to unwind. Leila wanted to clean the kitchen in preparation for some texturing that was going to happen tomorrow. Getting ready to move is so much fun. I forgot how much stuff we actually had to clean.

We started with the spice rack holder that I fashioned out of some laminate flooring and a few brackets. Taking them down was easy enough, but what to do with all the spices? No problem. Leila decided any spices with dates on them earlier than 1990 were fair game. But I had my own ideas about this. As she tore through the myriad of spices, combining half used bottles & canisters of this & that, I was assigned to throw out all the bottles she selelected for the trash. And I did throw most of them out - the spices that is. The empty canisters, jars & bottles went in my secret collection for a project I planned for the very near future.

After I took off the cabinet doors, I started on the range hood - you know, that metal contraption that spits out light & sucks up smoke to make it look like you really know what you're doing when you're burning dinner. Then, the diversion I was waiting for. The phone started ringing.

Twenty minutes later Leila was still on the phone & trying to fax off a document, and I was on to my secret project - organizing all my nails & screws. It was driving me crazy. I've come to realize over the years that having the right size, type & thread of screw is important in most projects, although there is room to fudge. But it just makes things so much easier when you know what you want & where to find it.

Twenty minutes into this project, I get called into the office by my wife, who's got a big "gonna get ya" smile on her face. I knew she was up to something.

"Watch this video" she said.

"Oh Leila - I don't like joke video's, especially the scary ones".

"Just watch it!".

You may have seen this particular video - It starts with a news reporter inside Michael Jackson's supposed house at his Wonderland Ranch, and shows you a door with a lot of locks on it. As you're focusing on the locks, it pans away for a minute, then a ghostly voice screams out some develish scream as a picture of Michael Jackson with a contorted face appear on the screen in full cover. It frieked me out.

"Leila - I told you I didn't like kind of stuff! I'm a very visual person". I had to go to sleep in a short while & didn't want Michael Jackson in ANY part of my dream.

"Oh - sorry" she managed, snickering as I walked away.

At this point in the project it was time to disconnect the wires from the hood range which I had removed from the wall above the stove. I went into the bedroom, and looked at the circuit breakers. They were all neatly labeled:

"Range"
"Lights"
"Heat"
"Kitchen"

Take your pick

I flipped the switch for "kitchen" & "range", and noticed that nothing happened - the lights in the kitchen were still on. Rather than take a chance, I told Leila to hold the flashlight & I would flip the main power breaker off.

Now when the power goes out at night in our house, it gets dark. I mean - really dark. (We l ivie in the country). I managed to make it over to the kitchen in the dark, and took at look at the wires. I noticed that they were twisted together very tight. I tried to untwist them with my fingers, but realized I needed a pair of pliers. I left Leila in the dark in the kitchen while I trecked back into the bedroom to get a pair of pliers. Don't go anywhere I told her, laughing under my breath.

Back at the stove a few minutes later, we started talking about electricity & why it's so important to have the power off when you attempt this. Then that Michael Jackson thing popped into my head as Leila started "ooooooohhhhhhhiiiiinnnnggggg" like a ghost.

"Stop that!" I yelled, as I dropped the flashlight in the process. BAM!!! It hit the floor with a thud & we were back to no lights. The flashlight was now history.

Standing there in the pitch dark, I mean real dark, next to my wife, I had one of those moments. You know, the type of moment when you find yourself in a really funny place, but you're too stressed out to laugh about it.

"Great. This is great. How am I supposed to disconnect the wires to the wiring harness without a light"? I tried to think rationally while the darkness sort of enveloped the room. (Don't think about it, don't think about it...)

"Just feel for them".

I got this creepy feeling that when I stuck my hand into the opening something was going to grab it and not let go. There I go again.

"Well, I guess I'll just turn the breakers back on".

"Wait, she said. Make sure the wires aren't touching. You did disconnect one wire, remember?"

"Oh ya". I quickly felt for the wire I disconnected & made sure it was separated from the other soon-to be live wire. At least I thought it was separated. We'd find out in a minute. Just then something popped in the kitchen, and we both did the two-step right over to the bedroom together - QUICKLY, with Leila attached to my side. This time she was scared. It didn't phase me a bit :).

I had to stop at that point, about halfway to the breaker box, and turn to her in revenge.

"What's wrong?" I said, with a smirk on my face.

"Just turn on the lights" she said, with a bit of an edge to her voice. I enjoyed the moment for all it was worth.

Let there be light - and with a flip of the big power switch, thank God there was. And no electrical fires either. Yeah!

Back to the kitchen we went, and managed to find another flashlight, and put some batteries in it. It's great having a backup, and a few minutes later all the wires were disconnected & capped. Michael Jackson has now gone back to the far recesses of my mind, where I hope he stays, and I spent the next ten minutes or so showing Leila my neat nail & screw collection that were now in all the old spice containers. All's well that ends well.

U.S. Sovereingty

2009-10-19T22:13:00.000-07:00

Tonight on Facebook I saw the latest video floating around about a possible treaty that Obama is poised to sign in December 2009, which the writer states would "cede us sovereingty" to a one world government.

First of all, let me say that I've seen enough of the hysteria around "global warming" to know that it's all bad science. We know Al Gore had the audacity to try & stop and conversations about it in academia & politics - that should tell you something - even the left doesn't completly believe in the science.

Yes, the weather patterns in the world are changing, I believe, however, global warming is not at all what it is being billed as. Cyclical weather patterns have been around for eons. Part of what the left is espousing is that this treaty HAS TO BE RATIFIED NOW or the future generations are at stake. It's the old fear tactic.

I researched this a little on the web, and I received a history lesson on the powers of the U.S. Constitution. Seems our forefathers had it a little more on the ball then we give them credit for. This is a bit of a long article, but it's a good read, and I encourage anyone that's interested this debate to read it. Here's the article outlining U.S. Soverereingty as it relates to global treaties.

Let me finish by saying I do believe that this world is getting a lot closer to a One-World government as outlined in the bible. One only needs to study what is going on with world currencies to see that the ball is already in motion. And yes, we already have seen abuses of the Constitution take place:

- The taking away of private land
- The supression of free speech
- The establish of the Internal Revenue System
and on, and on, and on...

2010 is coming though, and as long as the separation of powers still remains intact (although we have seen this breakdown also through judicial tyranny), hopefully Americans, Christians in general, will wake up & elect a new Congress that will challenge all the wrongs that have been done by this administration & put the power of the presidency back in check. Stay tuned...

Today

2009-10-18T20:07:00.000-07:00

Was a very disconnected sort of day. I went to a memorial service for an old friend & it was a very disconnected sort of ambiance. That's all I got to say about that.

Referendum Measure 71 - Washington State

2009-10-15T21:24:00.000-07:00

There's been a lot of buzz on this measure lately, so tonight I took some time to look it over carefully.

This referendum is being billed under the guise "equal rights for domestic partners". In all actuality, from everything I've read, it's about getting the society one step closer to homosexual marraige.

First of all, let us be clear, the term "domestic partners" mostly relates to same sex unions, i.e., for the most part, homosexual unions, with the only real exception being seniors over 65 that are unmarried.

I started reading some of this bill, and had to stop at this juncture:

"New Section, Section 3. A new section is added to chapter 1.12 RCW to read as follows:

For the purposes of this code, with the exception of chpater 26.04, RCW, the terms spouce, marraige, maarital, husband, wife, widow, widower, next of kin, and family shall be interpreted as applying equally to state registered domestic partnerships or individuals in state registered domestic partnerships as well as to marital relationships and married persons..."

What this bill does, in it's broad definition of "families", is make it impossible for courts to discriminate against placing children into homosexual households where a child would be forced to live with two "dads" or two "moms".

Not only that, with the definition of marraige becoming so skewed, the family, which many people have called the most important social institution in our Country, will no longer be known as the family. It's got enourmous signifagance for the future of this country.

I'm sure I can't articulate this as it needs to be, I just feel more than ever we need to stand against this type of legislation and use our freedoms to bring some sanity back to this issue. I'll be voting NO on this issue, and I invite you to look at the facts & join me.

It's not about discrimination, which, by the way, we all do & should have the right to do; it's about the future of the traditional family.

All the things happening around me...

2009-10-13T22:48:00.000-07:00

- Referundum 71 - vote no! Marraige is and always will be the union of one-man & one-woman. It's about families.

- My car got broken into yesterday, they stole some of my paperwork. First time that's happened. Glad they left my radio alone though so I can keep listening to Ravi Zaccharias.

- Very quiet at work as we are short a few hundred people. The pretzels from my 2nd B'day party are still hanging out though, that's good. My new unit gave me a b'day cake for my 3rd b'day party. We ate 1/2 & the other 1/2 was in the breakroom one night & gone the next morning. Hope the janitors enjoyed it.

- The house is torn apart as we try & fix everything that needs fixin. Half the crap I bought at Home depot is still in the bedroom waiting to be installed or opened up & used. I think I did manage to get all the outlet covers on though.

- Insulation still doesn't taste good, but I did manage to avoid being bitten by any poisenous spiders as I crawled under the house Sunday to brace the floor a little better in the kitchen.

- I ordered some new eyeglasses & can't wait till' they arrive because the glasses I'm using now - well the plastic is all chewed off the ear piece & it sticks me in the ear every time I try to put them on.

- I had spaghetti for the 2nd time tonight for dinner. I think I'll have to invite myself over to someone's house tomorrow for lunch cuz I don't feel like cooking anything tonight.

- My wife, oh my beautiful, alluring wife. She made me smile when she told me she thought I wrote "Moonlight Sonata" after I played the first few bars. I was so moved by her comment, I mean, that song is so totally beautiful and she thought I wrote it. I told her she inspired me to learn the rest of it, so that's what I'm gonna do, one bar at a time. In fact, if I can find somewhere to record the piano track, I may just play around with it & lay down a backup track of some guitar progressions as an accompyment. I wonder if Beethoven was alive what he'd say or do to me for that thought.

- I had licorice tea tonight to kind of wind down from the day. It was so delicious I stuck two extra tea bags in my coat pocket for tomorrow.

- Politics continues to intrigue me & I wonder how long it will be before something catastrophic happens either as a result of the President's actions or as a result of the nations intolerance. Stay tuned sports fans. I'll continue to voice my opinion to anyone that cares to listen.

- The chickens still haven't layed any eggs & I'm getting tired of buying grain for them so I'm putting them on notice. No eggs, no living in my barn. I still remember how to butcher the little suckers.

- Dogs are quiet & asleep in the house, and it's about time I ended this little whatever it is. Just felt like blogging. See you on the morrow (maybe).

Saturday

2009-10-04T00:02:00.001-07:00

Typical Saturday. Slept in till 11, spent some nice time with my love & best friend, and then we went off into the day to shop @ Home Depot. The rest of the day flew by. Weedwacked 1/2 my field with a borrowed Yard Machine (that was tiring!), and then came in & got ready for a b'day party they were holding for me & my 13 year old nephew AJ. It was pretty cool. AJ's really psyched about his guitar now that he has some new strings, and I taught him how to install them & tune it up. We're prepping for some formal lessons, and he's catching on quick. I started learning the guitar when I was about 13 or 14 also - seems like a great age to learn. If he's really interested in it, which I think he is, he will probably be playing better than I do in a couple of years.

Tomorrow I'm going to try to weedwack the rest of the lawn & then lovey & I are going out to dinner for the first time in a while thanks to her brother John & Stacia and the gift certificate they gave us to the Olive Garden. Yahoo!!! I love their bread sticks.

Got a ton of work to do on the house, but our friend Cindy has been such an incredible blessing - installing all the molding, bathroom door & painting our master bedroom. Sandra & Rod poured the slab for our shower which has been a 1 1/2 year labor of love for me, and we picked out the rest of the tile today for the shower area. Leila's got awesome taste in decor and she picked out some really nice earth town tiles.

It's nice to have friends. I feel like I'm getting life back in me again after going through a bout of depression for a while. God is good. He takes our highs & lows & makes them into a nice long baseline...

The Layoff

2009-10-01T22:17:00.001-07:00

130 people. 5% of the entire work force of Pierce County. Jobs lost, people crying, people hugging, people putting on a good front but dying inside. People saying goodbye for perhaps the last time. Many of the folks I run into on a day-to-day basis, I'm sure I'll never see again for the rest of my life.

So did the day progress at Pierce County Human Services. People were crying, hugging, walking around looking lost. The mood was somber. Free coffee & vending were offered, along with a myriad of potlucks, farewell gifts & cards & well wishes. It only made things appear more surreal. In fact, I don't ever remember getting a free cup of coffee from the vending machine, but today I had two, or three, I lost count. It was very wierd.

I've never been through anything like this in my life. Not this big. Being one of the few survivors of the layoff gave me a weird feeling. I know that God has spared my job; moving me 1/2 time to a second work location to help out another program; but I felt so undeserving. And greatful. All at the same time.

What do you say to someone that's so distraught, yet trying not to show it. Many people were like that. I tried to empathize, but in the end it still hurts. Layoffs suck. Even though many people talk about smaller government, civil servants are people too. The feel the same feelings, breathe the same air, and have the same types of relationships & hearts as people that are not in governement jobs. One of my good friends had recently been through a serious ongoing health issue with a spouce, then her mother fell ill, and in the interim she got her layoff notice. How do you cope with something like that? Only God can bring us through, I'm fully convinced.

Oweee. Tomorrow the place will be a ghost town. I'll stay in my area most of the day probably, with not as many people to rub shoulders with, and just bury myself in work and try and forget the space around me that suddenly got much bigger. Oweeee.

Our sons & daughters

2009-09-27T22:24:00.000-07:00

There so much I've heard this weekend, and I'm trying to put it all together in some way. A woman with seven children, good Christian kids, extremely well behaved, very loving family, and the oldest one was recently killed in Afghanistan in the war.

Two moms whose daughters are not talking to them & whose relationships are hurting the parents so much.

Young children worshiping the Lord at church, following the parents lead.

Wow - such contrasts. When do we lose our kids, and when will we get them back. Our youth don't realize how vitally important their realationships with their parents are. And then there are those that start out in the church & then get older & suddenly the world creeps in & takes hold. Anger, bitterness, resentment, misunderstandings.

Parents - love your kids, no matter what. Patch it up. Take them out for coffee if they have left home. Sit down & talk with them at home if they haven't.

My wife has a wall dedicated to all her "kids", those that were in her daycare, nephews, nieces, friends kids, etc. They all put their handprints on the wall at some point in their young lives, and could always look back at it & remember the happy times. Now we're selling the house & have to paint the wall. Seems like kind of a sign of some sort. Kids grow up, kids got their own ways, but I hope that in some small way the goodness we put in them will live on forever.

In hindsight

2009-09-20T04:40:00.001-07:00

I pray that God would help me to remember last week for the rest of my life.

It started out with the water heater going on the fritz. With no money left in the emergency fund, we were reduced to taking cold showers. It's amazing how much we depend on simple luxeries like hot water. I'm sure in certain parts of the world this is not a commodity that is enjoyed at all.

After the water heater ordeal, a little bigger problem - the septic tank stopped pumping. After doing all that I knew how to do, I realized that the pump may need to be replaced. The quote? Over $1,000. It may as well have been a million dollars. We are in the process of getting our house ready to sell, and this was a setback we just couldn't afford. The thoughts raced through my mind - take out another loan and stretch an already stretched budget? Move into the moter home that has no heat, and if so, where to dump the holding tank?

By mid-week my brother in law came down & fixed the wiring for me, and we discovered the pump was still working, just the wiring has become corroded at the connetions. A workable fix, albeit a little uncomfortable as we were working in the rain & dark, but friends like Jack are what makes life bearable sometimes.

Then at work there were layoff notices going out as one of our major programs were shutting down. Another huge stress. By the grace of God I didn't get one.

All of these problems seemed insurmountable at first, until the Holy Spirit gently reminded me that God has seen me through all sorts of troubles & problems in life, and restored me. Since I dedicated my life to Him, neither my family nor I have been in want for anything we really needed, like food, clothing, or shelter. I've always had a way to make it to work as my car, although 11 years old & with high mileage, runs very well & has been extremely dependable over the years.

So in the future when I face trials that seem insurmountable, I can look back on this week & remember how God brought me through it. I won't need to worry about anything if I can just keep that perspective.

The Water Heater Ordeal

2009-09-12T23:00:00.000-07:00

I knew something was up when the water stayed ice-cold too long. All I wanted was a nice warm shower to help me wake up, but no dice. 3 minutes, 4 minutes, still no hot water. I knew what that meant, as the water heater had been giving us really hot water the last few weeks, a lot hotter than usual. And it was 11 years old.

A few hours later Leila called me at work. "Brrr" was all she could say. I sympathized.

So here was the start of a new challenge in life. The possibility of being layed off at work. A mortgage that was through the roof. No extra money to speak of. After praying about it, I did the only thing that seemed naturally, head off to home Depot in my Father-in-law's truck to take out a charge card & buy a new Water Heater.

But first, a call to my brother in law Jack. He knows all about this stuff. He's a maintenance type guy. So I called him to explain all the different options & help me make the best purchase. After going through many different scenarios, we headed out into the parking lot with my electric, 50 gallon, 6 year warranty water heater, complete with annode rod, whatever that is. I figured maybe it would come in handy.

Now the next challenge: How to keep the box standing straight up in the back of the rig without it toppling over. And to help in this endeavor, we discovered a spider web of bungee cords, all fastened together, in the back of the truck. After much consideration, we figured it was supposed to fit over the top of the box & loop around to the truck's tie-downs. We did the best we did, but gravity being what it is, about 2/3 of the way home I heard a dreadful "thud" from the back of the rig. Looking through he back window, my suspicions were confirmed. I pulled over at the Shell station I don't like very much, and attempted to reposition the box, but opted instead to just let it lay down on top of the tailgate.

At home, I took it out of the box and found the dent. Actually two of them. I wondered how there were two separate dents several feet from each other when there was only one point of impact. Oh well, I figured I could use that question to state my case the next day.

The next day at Home Depot again, I tried to explain it to the lady as best I could, and after a little convincing her co-worker talked her into letting me return it. I told her I was considering a more expensive model, which I was at the time. A half hour later I walked out of the store with another water heater that was about $30 cheaper. I changed my mind, I can do that if I want, it's a free country.

Saturday morning rolled around, and Jack called around 9 to let me know he would be over in an hour. After taking a look at the situation, he gave me some bad news. The thermostat would have to face the wall, or we would need to elevate the water heater. The wires just weren't long enough to make the connection.

I found a couple of cinder blocks out in the yard, hosed off the slugs & dirt, and brought them inside for the water heater to stand on. We raised it up, and he was able to make the wiring connection. Unfortunately, the hot & cold water inlets were on the opposite sides from the actual fixtures in the wall.

Back to Home Depot to purchase a couple of longer hoses. The same lady was there that was cross about me bringing the dented water heater back the night before. I wondered if she ever made it home the night before. She didn't look too happy that I was returning the hoses also, but I tried to make the best of it. She looked like she hadn't slept in a few days.

Eventually, after dinking around at Home Depot again, I made it back home & Jack made the final connnections. I was in luck, except for the pressure relief valve (The water heater's, not mine).

Because the old fittings were soldered to the old water heater's valve, I had to get all new fittings. This time I went to a different Home Depot, and found a really nice older guy to help me find what I was looking for. After a few minutes of mis-communication, which I've come to expect at this point in the game, he found me the 3/4" PVC adapter I needed, along with the 45 & 90 degree connectors, and the 10' stick of PVC. I was almost out of there, until the clerk started questioning his decision to give me a PVC adapter to screw into the valve. "You know, I wonder if you shouldn't have copper instead". This brought up a whole new set of possibilities for new fittings. After about 10 minutes of searching two isles for the right stuff, he decided to ask some of his other friends in the orange smocks. The first guy he asked made no sense, so he started looking for the second guy. He asked several people where the second guy was, but he appeared to be missing. I didn't realize this was going to be so difficult. After about another 15 minutes of this ordeal, I thanked him for his time & went to the cashier with my 10' pvc stick, 6 or 8 PVC elbows, a PVC to Copper adapter, a second adapter in brass, and a whole separate water line about 12" long. I didn't care that this $5 adventure turned into $22, it was going on my card anyway.

I walked up to the cashier, who was friendly enough, and almost had me convinced to complete a customer satisfaction survey & say something nice about her, until she tried to run my temporary Home Depot Card.

Everything seemed fine at first, until she had to pick up the phone & dial in some numbers. This didn't happen during the last two trips. She started punching in several numbers, then eventually started talking to someone about my temporary card.

"May I see some ID?" She said. I flipped open my wallet to show her my license, and she grabbed the whole wallet & put it on her register, open, with my visa card & a hundred-million receipts sticking out of the pocket inside. I felt exposed. It was downright embarrasing.

As she continued to talk to the voice on the other end of the phone, her countenance went from cheerful to suspicious. I noticed she gave me a suspicious look, and the other plumbing guy that gave us the confusing answer to our question earlier also glanced at me suspiciously. I wondered what I possibly could have done wrong. My wallet was still sitting on her register open for the world to see, and I wondered if I would ever get it back.

"Do you have any other ID"? She asked. My visa was sticking out, so I said she could use that. She took it out of the sleeve, put a piece of paper over it, and began to run a pen over the card to get the #s. This was not making me feel very good at all.

After about 10 minutes of this ordeal, she handed me the black phone, and I was talking to someone about my card. He mentioned that he was verifying my identity for my protection. I told him I didn't appreciate my card #s being copied, and he assured me that was just for identification purposes.

He then asked me for my phone #, which I gave him. "That's not the phone # on the credit application" he said. This wasn't going so well. I started looking around thinking any minute Barney Miller would be there to take me downtown.

"That's what I put down", I said. "That my phone #". I also gave him my work #, home address, & detailed my last two purchases ( I left off the part about the dent in the first water heater). I gave him everyhthing except my social security #, which he didn't seem to want.

Eventually he gave in, and I got my stuff & got out of there, feeling totally interrogated. Tomorrow's project, make all the stuff work without having to go back to my favorite store again.

A CHALLENGE TO THE MARKETING PROFESSION

2009-09-02T18:28:00.000-07:00

OK - I just read this article about Ben & Jerry's ice cream honoring homosexual marraige & marketing a new product called "Hubby Hubby". I hate to give them free publicity, but I do have something to say about this.

We've all seen this from so many companies in the recent past. First Pepsico comes out with their support of the homosexual community by recently forming "Chicago Gay Pride", a homosexual activist group. I also read an article about a large supermarket chain advertising "gay pride & awareness" in their stores, in full view of the public. It seems this type of marketing is spreading like wildfire all over the country. The truth is, however, that these companies market their products to a percentage of the population, but are also persuasively trying to change the culture of our entire society at the same time.

One thing I've always taken note of, is how Christians are very quick to speak out against the immorality these companies promote; rightly so, but our comments usually don't do much to solve the problem. Mostly they just express outrage, call for boycotts etc. Do boycotts really work though?

I have a solution & a challenge for the businessmen & women in America that hold firm to Christian & family values. WE COULD TURN THIS WHOLE THING AROUND VERY QUICKLY.

Ben & Jerry's, Pepsico, and other large companies out there are probably making millions & also effecting the culture in this country, but they're only reflecting the values of a a minority of the population .

What Christians need to do is market product lines that agressively target the market that believe in family values, Godly values, which is a significantly higher percentage of the population (57% according to a Gallup Poll in May 2009). In doing so, they could also potentially capture a much larger portion of the market share. $$$$$

For instance, what if Bryer's Ice Cream developed a brand of ice cream called "Pure Vanilla for a Hungry Pure Spirit", or something like that. Or even more to the point "Jane & Joe's Traditional Ice Cream" with a picture of a wedding ring above a happy couple on the cover. Nice alternative to Ben & Jerrys if you ask me. Wouldn't that raise some eyebrows, and connect with the majority of Americans?

I'm sure marketing people could come up with some really effective moral & family themes. These products should make it known - in the media market still friendly towards Christians & family values (like Fox) - that a percentage of the profits are going to promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ, support Crisis Pregnancy, or something like that. Put it in the public's face & let the public decide: Hmm, ice cream, who will I support today?

You see, I truly believe that many people are sincere about boycotting; and this is the American Free Market at it's best - deciding who will get our dollars. But the problem is,there aren't a lot of choices in products & companies, apart from the liberal left, that advertise to reflect societal ideas or values. I mean, when is the last time you bought an off-brand Cola because you thought the company that produced it might be a little more moral than Pepsico? What if you KNEW they did, and the Cola tasted just as good as a Pepsi?

And that, my friends, is how we can turn the tables on these companies in an even-handed, American way.

Come on, I know there are people out there that know how to do this sort of thing. Maybe it's just and idea someone needs to latch onto. If I had 6 figures in the bank I'd probably be running with this right now, but I know there are people that have the money that can pull this off.

Let's not just oppose these companies that are advocating the destruction of the family & society, let's learn from them and play their game better than they can. It does little good to comment on how wrong this is, if we can't back it up with something productive. I LAY MY CHALLENGE BEFORE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE - CAN WE DO IT????

Death & Spiritual Healing

2009-09-01T21:58:00.000-07:00

I've heard it said that the matter of death is a matter of perspective. Some people, like my dad, see it as the end of life, the cessation of all we are. When we die, we cease to exist. I know that's a popular belief among many.

But I believe, as most Christians I assume, that death is just the doorway to eternity. I was thinking on my sister the other day, why she wasn't healed of her cancer last year. I'm sure in her body she suffered terribly, as she basically starved to death; this was due to the type of cancer she had. She couldn't eat anything at the end. What a misreable prolonged death.

And yet her spirit was in check the whole time. Even within a week of passing, she was still insisting on sitting on her porch & looking at the moutains in the distance, finding solitude and peace in being surrounded by family and encompassed fully by the Holy Spirit.

When I think of it, sometimes it seems very strange to me. God is able to heal; I believe that with all my heart; however sometimes he chooses not to. I used to feel guilty saying that but it is the truth, that's obvious. And yet why? I found myself wrestling with this question again tonight.

I'm still wrestling with that question. Does it always boil down to our lack of faith? I really don't think so. But rather than babble on and on, let me get to the point of this blog. I think at least part of the answer to the question about why God does not always choose to heal sickness, lies in our whole perspective of life & death. True, when you stack up living for all eternity with an all knowing, all loving God, this life & it's pleasures pale in comparison. What is that scripture: "For we know that our light & momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all" (paraphrased).

So I guess, in retrospect, my sister, who is now literally abiding with Jesus & all His glory - if she could - would be looking back at this time she suffered and wondering what all the fuss was about. I think we could all use a dose of that perspective from time to time.

My life this week

2009-08-27T20:57:00.000-07:00

I went back to work in the middle of the week - I think I like that actually. Wish it could be like that every week. This week playing catch-up mostly. My sister told me about a field full of blueberries free for the picking, so I went to explore after work.

Normally I don't venture outside my little world after work - I much prefer just going home & unwinding; however, this sounded like too much fun to pass up. "Blueberry Park". Sounded like something out of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

So I checked it out. It was really cool, and there were several families there also picking blueberries. It was a huge field, but there were dozens of blueberry bushes neatly lined up row by row, very organized. I managed to pick about half a small container's worth in an hour, mostly because I only go for the really ripe blueberries. Leila's got them in the fridge right now, next to the two bowls of blackberries we picked a few days ago at our property.

This afternoon has been filled with bad news, however, my dear wife greeted me with a kiss when I arrived & told me everything was going to be OK & it was. She is God's blessing to me for sure.

My Summer Vacation

2009-08-24T22:54:00.000-07:00

I'm so thankful to my in-laws that I actually got a summer vacation this year. We went to Silverwood Theme Park in Idaho. It was quite interesting. Cory & A.J. became the sugar kings of the Northwest, consuming enough pop, sugar & sweets to kill an elephant. In between the driving & walking around the park, we also watched a very interesting Ice Skating show.

I rode on the Tremor Roller Coaster & it was kinda fast & furious. I kind of frieked as it sucked me into a subterranian tunnel & spit me out the other side. The best ride was the plume - a nice boat ride that ended up at the top of a cliff that dropped off like a rollar coaster.

On the way home we got to go swimming.

Today I slept till 4 p.m. & got up to work on the Chicken Coop. The chickens now have a back door that leads to their little chicken adventureland - a nice sized section of our back yard overgrown with weeds & bordered with a dog kennel. I sure hope they like it. I think it will save on the cost of grain also.

Tomorrow is my last day of summer vacation, and I'm bound & determined to really take it easy. I'm going to sleep late, get a banana split & a movie & just veg veg veg. Then it's off to work Wednesday. Thank you Jesus I still have a job - for that I'm truly thankful, especially with the really nice people I work with - I couldn't ask for better co-workers & a better boss. They are all a gift from God.

God put us in the right place at the right time

2009-08-24T21:41:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I was at Silverwood Park in Idaho with some of my family. As we were headed back to our motorhome for lunch, we noticed a lady who appeared to be sleeping in her car. I wouldn't have given it a second thought, except for the way she looked. Sitting in the drivers seat, she was humped over the steering wheel with her hair hanging down in her face. Still, not wanting to be intrusive, we passed her by.

After a short while passed though, my father-in-law & a family friend went over to investigate further. The driver's side window was rolled down, so they tapped her & called out to her but got no response. They could tell something was just not right. `To be on the safe side they called 911.

The park security/EMTs or whatever they were showed up shortly & started trying to wake her up, but to no avail. We watched as they continued to try to assess her condition, and as things unfolded everyone was wondering if she was in a diabetic coma. She seemed mostly unconscious, except she did manage to tell the EMTs her name.

Her oxygen stats dropped from 94 to 74 in just a few minutes. They knew something was very wrong but couldn't tell what. An ambulance arrived after a few more minutes & they were still working on her when we left.

As I replayed the whole scenario in my mind, I realized that she may have been there in that condition for a while. The parking lot was huge, so it's hard to tell how many people would have ended up in that particular section of the lot while she was laying there possibly struggling for life. I'm so thankful to God that he put us there at that particular time, and that my father-in-law had the foresight to call 911 and not just assume she was sleeping. It could have saved her life. Thank you Jesus for always looking out for us. PTL!

Walking home from downtown Sacramento

2009-08-20T02:35:00.000-07:00

So since I've got nothing better to do at 2:30 in the morning, I thought I'd share with my fans a little story about how I walked home from downtown Sacramento one Saturday night many many moons ago.

It all started with a trip to San Francisco. My dear Sister Sue, and her husband Ben, showed up at the 2049th Communications Group Orderly Room one afternoon while I was working my butt off as an A1C in the Air Force. One thing led to another, and I ended up spending the weekend with them. We visited a lot of cool places I guess, and eventually we ended up that early Sunday morning driving back east across the Oakland Bay Bridge on our way back to Travis Air Force Base.

Now I was pretty worn out late that night. I asked Ben if I was going to be able to hang out with them again that night & head home in the morning. He other ideas though, and he quickly told me so. My mindset quickly changed from thoughts of sleeping in a nice warm motel room, to being glad I was at least going to be 50 miles or so closer to my dorm room before I had to go out in the rain again.

Fairfield arrived on the horizon sooner than I really wanted, and my destination quickly became the canopy overhanging the Greyhound Bus terminal. He gave me enough money for the bus fair to Sacramento & wished me well.

But being the young buck that I was, and having endured worse weather than this after growing up in New England, I quickly accepted my situation & was at least glad to get on a warm bus for the next hour.

Pulling into the bus terminal in Sacramento however, I wasn't as enthusiastic. My money had taken me as far as it would, and being 2 a.m. or so in the morning, I was out of options. The city bus wouldn't be running until after 8 a.m. or so, and as I recall I don't think I even had enough change for that mode of transportation. I remember walking over to a cab driver & asking him for directions out of the city on foot. He kind of chuckled & told me which roads to walk down.

McClellan Air Force Base, as I recall, was about 10 miles or more north of downtown Sacramento. In a car - no problem. Hop on the freeway, and before you know it you're there. Hoofing it on foot though, in the rain - that's a different story.

I started walking. Up one street, down the next, until I found my way to the freeway, which I proceeded to follow at my own risk. It was interesting. I discovered that talking to myself the whole way home was a great way to get through this whole experience. And as tired as I was, it wasn't hard to do.

There are several things about walking on the freeway in the middle of the night that really stand out. The first is that, from this vantage point, cars seemed to go by very fast. Also - freeway signs look a lot different up close. And there's just a lot of crap in the grass - I never realized how much crap must get thrown out of car windows.

So on & on & on & on I walked, until finally I came to my exit & off I went. Another hour or so later, I was walking through the gate, and on to the base. When I finally got back to my barracks room early Sunday morning (about the time the city bus was leaving downtown Sacramento), my phone started ringing. It was my brother-in-law asking if I got home allright. I tried to be nice.

Treasures

2009-08-20T02:22:00.000-07:00

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth & rust destroy & where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where theives do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Mt 6:19-21).

- Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

As I was thinking about this, I thought about the futility of "stuff". We've all heard the old addage "own your stuff, but don't let your stuff own you". But isn't that how it so often goes? We get something really cool, then it breaks, and we're really bummed. But Jesus warned us about this didn't he. "Do not covet" is one of the 10 commandments. It's right up there with do not steal; do not murder; do not lie (bear false witness).

I've got some pretty cool stuff, maybe a little more than some, not as much as others. But truly, I would like to get to the point that my heart is so connected with God that I can truly say that my treasure is all in heaven, where my heart lies also. That's all we will have in the end anyway, and it's so much more than we could ever imagine on earth.

How do I end up in these places?

2009-08-19T23:00:00.000-07:00

So it's like 11 p.m. on Wednesday night. Most nights at this time I'd be trying to find a way to get to sleep so I can manage to get out of bed in the morning & go do it all over again.

But this is my SUMMER VACATION.

Somehow I didn't see myself sitting in the waiting room of the Progressive Care Unit of a large metropolitan hospital at 11 p.m. on a weeknight. Not that I'm complaining or anything. I guess I don't have anyplace better to be. And it's very quiet here. They kicked all the regular visitors out a couple of hours ago, and for some reason I got to stay. And my wonderful brother-in-law let me borrow his laptop so I could take advantage of the "wi fi" here at the hospital. I've never experienced wi-fi before, but I really think I could get used to it. It's really cool. This laptop acts like a real computer should - it's stylish, comfortable, and most of all it's got all the speed I could possibly want.

So Leila & I are alone in the waiting room, sitting across from each other, each on our own borrowed laptops. She's playing games, and I'm blogging. Togetherness is such a great thing. Her sister is in her hospital room across the hall, with her Uncle keeping watch over her after her surgery today. So we're just sort of hanging out here in the waiting room. So far, I've checked my e-mail every 5 minutes, and been blogging left & right. And if I get home tonight great, but I just remembered my car is in Vallet parking, which closed a few hours ago, so, like Charlie on the MTA, we may never get off this train...