Get a job.

Unless you live under a rock you don't need a link from me to know about the protests in Afghanistan over some burned Islamic religious material. I know all of us are outraged at their outrage. The difference is, obviously, we don't protest in the streets. We don't throw rocks or jump up and down shouting the name of our God. And while I can't for the life of me remember why we are even in Afghanistan, I think, like most of you, that this makes it obvious that we should be out.

But the first thing I think of when I see these folks protesting day after day is: Don't you people have jobs to go to?

Headlines make me crazy.

Do you ever feel like this is really just an episode of the Twilight Zone that we are living? Surely this can't be really happening. I just went to a favorite news site and thought I was going to lose my mind. Please tell me these headlines are not real:

Obama: I'm getting 'better as time goes on'...

Husband of missing Utah woman kills self, two young sons in gas blast...

Girl Caught Selling Pot Brownies at Middle School...

Did Madonna put on the greatest show on earth?

Special ed student set on fire...

CHICAGOLAND: Burglars Torture Man With Red-Hot Spoon...

I'm not wanting to alarm anyone but...we're doomed. Seriously, no country can keep on rowing furiously toward the falls without pretty soon going over. It started with family and marriage being replaced with entertainment. That led to a greed mentality which led to an "I deserve it" mentality (Occupy Wall St.) which is leading to an economic collapse.

I'm not a very dramatic person but I do want to be prepared. I'm not going down without a fight and I'm not going down without telling everybody that will listen about how to have a life-changing relationship with Jesus because that is the ONLY way this country will turn around. Until that happens though, you might want to check out a website like this: http://www.survivalblog.com/

Oh good. Valentines Day is coming up.

I really just couldn't stand Roseanne Barr being the first thing to see on my blog so I fixed it.

I'm moving to Canada. Or Greenland. Maybe a houseboat in uncharted waters.

The day this happens...http://washington.cbslocal.com/2012/02/02/roseanne-barr-seeks-green-party-presidential-nod/

I even have a vice president for her.

Sometimes I just don't have much to say here.

I repeat, don't touch me.

How many times do I have to tell you freaks? I enjoy hugging my close friends and family. I might even be called kinda touch-feely when it comes to people I know well. A touch on the arm or shoulder as we converse is welcome and shows that we are interested in each other, that we are listening. But if I don't know you really well, let's talk without touch. Period.

Our church hired a company to do some roofing work for us this past week and the owner of the business is a wonderful, older, Christian man who was so nice. We got along really well and everything was going just peachy until, as we were sitting and talking, he reached over and cupped his hand over mine that was on my desk. Several other people were there and I know he didn't mean anything weird by it but I instantly quit hearing whatever he was saying and all my focus went to my hand.

"Why is he touching me? Is he going to keep it there? How long should I leave my hand under his? Really, why is he touching me?" All that was running through my head. Later on he even hugged me, just a friendly kinda side-arm thing but it weirded me out. I know I flinched when he did it too and I didn't want to make him feel bad but I couldn't help it.

I know he didn't mean anything by it and probably felt like a bit of a father-figure but as he was leaving he even did what my grandmother used to do to me and he reached up to my cheek and gave a little squeeze with his thumb and fore finger. I felt my hand come up to swat his away and tried to control it by grabbing his hand and shaking it but I don't know how well it worked.

I know, it's just me. The guy is completely normal. I just don't think we will ever hire Sanduskey Roofing again.

How it really happened.

I know, I know. It looks really bad for me but it's not what it seems. I had gone to South Carolina to visit some family and work on my tan, which as you can see by my pic here has really improved. Besides, I heard the cops were really cool there. So, anyway,I borrowed a friends' card and went to Buffalo Wild Wings, had a few drinks and went to the bathroom to clean my fingernails with my knife. Evidently some guy in there thought I was trying to rob him see he took off all his clothes. People are crazy, huh? So, see, it's not all that bad but maybe don't say anything to my church, ok?

I thought hackers were supposed to be smart.

I just got this email:

Due large number of new members joining to our website we decided to do a review of our members , to see our inactive users.
There before you need to Click Here to login in your craigslist account .
If you choose not to login your craigslist account will be deleted.

Thank you for your understanding.
Craigslist Team



Now even though I taught Dew everything he knows about computers, that does not mean that I am a computer guru. Nevertheless, I caught on pretty quickly that this was not really an email from Craigslist. First, Craigslist would not send an email like this. Also, even Craigslist can spell and they know grammar. Lastly, when you hover over the link where it says, "Click here" the domain name is devildesign.org. C'mon folks. It's 2012. Don't insult me.

Unintended irony

"With all due respect we don't need God on our sidelines." - Terrell Suggs

With all due respect? I don't know who Suggs is but evidently he was bashing Tim Tebow, who I only know because he has made the news for stuff besides football.

Speaking of Tebow, am I the only one who thinks it's a slam to "do the Tebow"? To get down on one knee and pretend to be praying sounds to me like you are making fun of the guy. Maybe I'm reading too much into it. What do you think? Anyway, it's all just one more reason not to watch that stuff on TV.

Old enough to nose better.

Dinner time with friends. Nothing fancy but enjoying their company at a local restaurant. One of the men is old enough to be my dad and is evidently to the point in his life where he feels comfortable enough to pick his nose during dinner. I don't mean a quick swipe with the side of a finger. Not an irritable little itch that needs the tip of a fingernail at the nostril opening. I mean he's knuckle deep, pushing his head back and wishing he had some pliers kinda nose-picking.

I know, you think I'm exaggerating. Surely it wasn't that bad. Surely if it was he must have gone to the bathroom to take care of this business, right? Nope. I promise. Right there sitting across from me at the restaurant table. He even finished his wife's story at one point with one whole fingernail completely involved in this dark business. I tried to not look but when he is talking it's hard not to notice.

Nauseated yet? Hang on. Let me just tell you how he finished up. At one point it literally took two fingers to unload this cargo and when he had given a good yank and was pleased with the effort he (I promise this is true, every word) commenced to rolling the treasure between his palms like Play-doh until it dried up and fell probably into his lap. He wiped his hands on his pants and sat back and gave a satisfying sniff. Mission accomplished.

I did not shake hands with him as we left.

Just be glad I did not include a picture for this post.

Emmanuel

This time of year it is common to hear the name "Emmanuel" when speaking of Jesus. Most of us even know the meaning of the name, thanks to some popular songs. But what does it mean to you? If "Emmanuel" means "God with us" then what does it mean to have God with you? It might be very comforting to know that God is with you and it might be very discomforting, depending on what you are up to.

The first biblical mention of the name is in Isaiah 7:14. Isaiah tells King Ahaz to ask God for a sign that God was on his side but Ahaz refused. He said he didn't want to test God which sounds noble enough but what he really was saying was "I got this. I don't need God." Not a good choice when several armies had allied against him but he made his choice.

Even though Ahaz rebelled, God still sent the sign, a sign that was fulfilled by Jesus 700 years later. That's good news for you and me. It's good because it shows God's grace, that even when we rebel, He is faithful. There are consequences to our rebellion but God will always be faithful to protect and provide for our sake and for the sake of His Kingdom.

So, this Christmas season be aware that God is with you. He is with you when you are doing stupid stuff and causing Him grief so be mindful of that but he is also with you when it seems like everybody else is celebrating. He is with you when your own grief at not having that special person in your life is overwhelming. He is with you when your wife leaves, the boss fires you and your friends are taken from you. He is with you. The question is, are you with Him?

What really happened...

Ok, I know it looks bad but I can explain. My new girlfriend was at the Walmarts in Tulsa and was so shocked by how dirty it was she started mixing up some ingredients to clean the place. When the cops showed up, she told them she was making up a batch of "Death", which is what she calls her homemade mixture, as in, "Death to Dirt". It was not Meth, NOT METH, as is reported in this totally false news report: http://www.fox23.com/mostpopular/story/Woman-caught-making-meth-inside-S-Tulsa-Walmart/Rgu31vt1m0me-p0WwKsN_w.cspx

December 7, 1941

I know I have posted this before but I love it and it is appropriate for today. This picture was taken on December 7, 1941. My friend, Dorky, is on the front row with the funny smirk and her arms crossed. Her mother made all the kids go out to the front yard for a picture because she heard they had been bombed and thought the world might end aand so she wanted the kids all together for a picture.

Our "guest speaker" today at church.

Have you ever had a crazy dream? A dream that seems so real but too crazy to have really happened? I want to tell you about a night I thought I must surely be dreaming, but it really happened.
My name is Hank. Hank the shepherd. I’m one of the shepherds mentioned in the second chapter of the book of Luke, verses eight through twenty. My name is not in the Bible and I’m not terribly important in the scheme of things and yet I had something wonderful happen to me many years ago. Allow me to tell that story in my own words.
Being a shepherd is hardly glamorous work. It is long hours and low pay and we are generally looked down upon by most people. I do not have much education nor much money and most of the time I smell like a sheep. One can see that with all of that going for me that I do not have many close friends.
There have been a few of us shepherds to go on to bigger and better things with our lives. King David is probably the most notable example. But most shepherds live and die in poverty and obscurity and to be honest that was fine with me. I never expected anything of note to ever happen in my life. I had gone to work when I was very young to support my mother when my father died and shepherding was the only thing I could do.
They were not even my own sheep. A man hired me to take care of his sheep but I took my job very seriously. During the day we would let the sheep graze on open land but at night we would round them up and put them in a makeshift corral and we would guard them there.
Nighttime was when thieves and wolves would come out so we would sit in the doorway of the corral and protect the sheep with our bodies. The secret was to have another shepherd there with you at night to talk to you. Not only did it keep you from getting bored and falling asleep but the noise kept away the thieves and wolves.
The other shepherds and I would talk about anything and everything during the night as one can imagine. Some of the other guys liked to talk about God and religion But I was not much into that. I had a hard time believing that there was more to this life than eating, sleeping and sheep.
The ironic thing about this one special night was that some of the other guys and I had just been discussing some of the prophecy in scripture about the coming of the Christ. They had been sharing with me that several prophets had predicted Christ’s birth. Moses, Micah and Isaiah had all predicted the coming of the Christ and that could be something I could get excited about if only I could really believe it.
They told me about the passage in Isaiah chapter seven that says, Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Also, Isaiah chapter nine says, A child will be born to us. A son will be given to us. He will rule over us. And he will be called Wonderful Adviser and Mighty God. He will also be called Father Who Lives Forever and Prince Who Brings Peace. The authority of his rule will continue to grow. The peace he brings will never end. He will rule on David's throne and over his kingdom. He will make the kingdom strong and secure. His rule will be based on what is fair and right. It will last forever. The Lord's great love will make sure that happens. He rules over all.
That passage says that Christ will reign on David’s throne! I like that. I can relate somewhat to David because he was a shepherd - a lowly shepherd. Then in the fifth chapter of Micah it says that the baby will be born in Bethlehem. That is where I am from. That is my hometown! I started to feel some hope where previously there had been just despair.
We were, in fact, camped just outside of Bethlehem that night. I will never forget it. It was a beautiful, quiet, starry night. Some of the others were talking and I heard a noise. It started out like a low hum and gradually built up to a sound like a huge herd of horses were stampeding across the hills.
My first concern was for the sheep and so I stood up and listened and waited. On a typical night the most exciting thing to happen might be a shooting star so one can imagine how shocked I was when a bright light flashed and an angel was right in front of me.
I thought it must surely mean I was about to die! My heart was pounding, my knees almost failed to hold me up. I thought I should avert my eyes but I could not quit staring at this incredible creature.
The first thing out of his mouth was, “Do not be afraid!” Easy for him to say! One minute I am counting stars and the next minute I am face to face with Gabriel himself. And yet, while he was an intimidating and exciting creature, huge, powerful and stunning, he was at the same time strangely calming. He was like a good military commander who knows what is going on and knows what to do. I felt immediately like I could trust him.
He said, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people”. He could have stopped right there. He could have said no more and I would have been thrilled! “For all the people” included me! Nobody had ever included me and here I am being included to an invitation by no less than an angel of the Lord!
The angel continued, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Before I could catch my breath, and to my continued amazement, more and more angels appeared. Millions and millions of angels dressed all in white and with a glow like the sun spread from one horizon to the other and they began singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.” They were the brightest, loudest most perfect celestial choir and I was the audience.
Over and over again they sang “Glory to God in the highest!” Gloria in excelsis deo! “Glory to God, Glory to God!” I cried. I laughed. I sang with them! I worshipped. I hoped it would never end.
It felt like a dream but it was real. When the angels left I could not wait to accept Gabriel’s invitation to find the baby so we all left the sheep and ran into Bethlehem. I think I expected it to be easier to find the baby. After the unplanned angelic choir program I expected there to be long lines of people crowding to see a baby king laying in purple robes with bright lights and flying angels but there was none of that.
When we finally found the baby he was just…a baby. His parents were pleasant but looked a bit overwhelmed like every parent feels the first day and when we told them everything that had happened to us I was afraid they might not believe it. Joseph thanked us and Mary smiled with a mix of pride and gratefulness.
There is another passage in Isaiah chapter 61 that says, The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn.
I feel like that passage might have been written about me. I could not keep from telling other people about what I had seen and heard that day. I wanted everyone to know about the Christ. I did not know much about this baby Jesus but I knew that he was the savior and I needed a savior. I needed the Prince of peace in my life.
The time in which I lived was undergoing what they called the ”pax Romana” or Roman peace which was a good thing in that we were not involved in any war at the time but I had no peace in my own heart. In the quiet times in the field with my sheep I often felt like there must be more to this life! The starry nights and snow-covered mountains fairly screamed of a divine creator but I had no joy and no peace in my heart until I met Jesus.
One more passage from the book of Isaiah chapter forty: He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.
Being a shepherd has it’s rewards sometimes. Sheep often stray off and are easily in danger of wild animals or malicious people but when I find them safe and bring them back to the herd I know it is for their good. It lets me relate to other shepherds like David but I now realize I have a greater connection with the Good Shepherd since that special night in Bethlehem all those years ago.
I will never know why God chose to reveal himself to me the way He did or why He wants me to have a relationship with Him like He does but I know now that I have that peace and joy that He promises as well as life forever with Him in Heaven and I will continue to celebrate that as the true meaning of Christmas and the meaning of my life everyday.

Debate thoughts

I just got through watching the GOP debate on CNN and here are my thoughts. If you didn't see it you can quit reading and go back to watching Dancing With Idols or whatever it is. I happen to believe the Republican field is much stronger than it was 4 years ago and we should have no problem defeating BHO.

Newt Gingrich continues to impress. I say again that he could do this in his sleep while some like Ron Paul look like they are asleep. Newt is obviously a better debater and smarter all around than the others. He had a controversial idea tonight that I don't remember hearing before about illegal immigration. If the illegals meet certain qualifications they can stay here without becoming a citizen for a while but will no longer be illegal.

I think that's smart. First, there is no way we are ever going to deport 10-12 million people. That's a pipe dream. It hasn't happened yet and never will. This also curries a huge Hispanic vote that Repubs desperately need. Staunch conservatives may make noise about it being amnesty but it's time to make a bold step like this.

Ron Paul is out for several reasons but mainly, for me, it is because of his lack of support for Israel. The Bible makes it plain that Israel's friends are God's friends and its enemies are God's enemies. Go home Ron.

Santorum and Huntsman can go home too even though Santorum supports Israel and made some good points he is obviously out of his league here. Cain didn't do himself any good in this one and Perry looks like he is, as we say, all hat and no cattle. Perry wants to look tough but he can't make correct decisions. I don't care about the gaffes. He just doesn't have what it takes.

That leaves Bachman, Newt and Romney. I will take the heat for saying that this is no place for a woman. She's a strong woman and has some good ideas but she's going to get run over in the long run and she knows it. Go home Michelle. My prediction is that it will be Romney and Gingrich in the final with Newt becoming president. Run, Newt, run!

Why I'm not preaching on Genesis 13:12...

I am preaching through Genesis and have made it up to this point but I'm skipping this whole section altogether.

Veterans Day

The man that took this picture has more courage in his camera-clicking finger than everybody "Occupying" their tents in parks combined. Thank you to all my friends and family (known and unknown) who have served. Thank you.

Happy Belated Birthday USMC

Sorry I missed it yesterday.

MJ's kids

Am I the only one who realizes that there is no possible way Michael Jackson is the father of these kids? I know mama was white and Michael changed to white later but these kids look nothing like any of the Jacksons. Probably Conrad Murray's fault.

My Cain bimbo theory.

Anybody else sick of hearing about Herman Cain supposedly doing something improper to somebody sometime somewhere many years ago? Yes, me too. Now I have said recently that

Newt is always going to be the smartest man in the room but I have a theory that Cain is the shrewdest. Everybody wants to know if Obama put these women up to it or was it Perry or Romney or who? I think Cain is doing it to himself and here is why I think he's the shrewdest guy in the room.

When I was in woodshop in high school I built a footstool for my mom. It was for her birthday and so I wanted it to be perfectly smooth so I would sand it down real good and then wet it. Wetting it made all the rough spots stand out and then I would sand them down again and then repeat it. That's what Cain is doing. He hired a few bimbos to say something completely untrue knowing that the media would have a feeding frenzy trying to give him a "high-tech lynching" as he called it.

What's in it for him, you ask? Well, it's a gamble but since it is completely untrue it will run its course and be proven false but then he can sand down the left-wing media for jumping on him but letting Bill Clinton get away from proven and admitted sexual crimes much worse than the ones leveled against Cain. So, hiring the women (who admit they need money so it wouldn't cost much especially since they have no shame) is just "wetting the board" (Dew, add your joke here) and now we just wait for him to sand down the rough media.

Pretty clever, I think. Either that or he's a pervert scumbag. What do you think?