Thursday, January 3, 2013
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
January 1, 2013
This year, I'm taking a photo challenge! At least 1 photo per day for the year 2013. I must admit that I tried this last year and failed by February, so I'm giving it another go.
Stalker
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Stalker
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Sunday, December 23, 2012
Why I Attend Church
I don't go to church for the music or rhythms
I don't go for the messages or even for the refreshment
No, I won't attend with a heart of consumerism or gain,
But for a love that defeats all understanding
Grace that surpasses all my debt
And hope that seeks more than just gratification
I attend to give back what I can never return
Because I owe it to my God to meet with Him
Regardless of
the music
the Pastor
the programs
the coffee
the chairs
the people
the decorations
the building
the service
I refuse to be picky with my meeting with God
Because if He were picky with meeting with me
I wouldn't have the hope of salvation.
"He gave His life for me;
I will live mine for Him"
without the standards of the "American Dream" Pin It
I don't go for the messages or even for the refreshment
No, I won't attend with a heart of consumerism or gain,
But for a love that defeats all understanding
Grace that surpasses all my debt
And hope that seeks more than just gratification
I attend to give back what I can never return
Because I owe it to my God to meet with Him
Regardless of
the music
the Pastor
the programs
the coffee
the chairs
the people
the decorations
the building
the service
I refuse to be picky with my meeting with God
Because if He were picky with meeting with me
I wouldn't have the hope of salvation.
"He gave His life for me;
I will live mine for Him"
without the standards of the "American Dream" Pin It
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Ben Stein's Speech: Thoughts?
The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS
Sunday Morning Commentary.
My confession:
I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it
does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful
lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I
don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas
trees.
It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry Christmas" to me. I
don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a
ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers
and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me
at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection
near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a creche, it's just as
fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.
I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think
Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think
people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around,
period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an
explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I
don't like it being shoved down my throat.
Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that
we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship
God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old,
too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and
Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to.
In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is
a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny,
it's intended to get you thinking.
Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane
Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this happen?"
(regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and
insightful response.
She said, "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are,
but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get
out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the
gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect
God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave
us alone?"
In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc.
I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her
body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools,
and we said OK.
Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible
says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor
as yourself. And we said OK.
Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they
misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we
might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We
said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.
Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why
they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to
kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.
Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it
out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW."
Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the
world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say,
but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes'
through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start
sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.
Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through
cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school
and workplace.
Are you laughing?
Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many
on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or
what they will think of you for sending it.
Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us
than what God thinks of us.
Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it...
no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process,
don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.
My Best Regards.
Honestly and respectfully,
Ben Stein Pin It
Sunday Morning Commentary.
My confession:
I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it
does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful
lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I
don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas
trees.
It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry Christmas" to me. I
don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a
ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers
and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me
at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection
near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a creche, it's just as
fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.
I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think
Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think
people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around,
period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an
explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I
don't like it being shoved down my throat.
Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that
we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship
God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old,
too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and
Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to.
In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is
a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny,
it's intended to get you thinking.
Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane
Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this happen?"
(regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and
insightful response.
She said, "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are,
but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get
out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the
gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect
God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave
us alone?"
In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc.
I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her
body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools,
and we said OK.
Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible
says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor
as yourself. And we said OK.
Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they
misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we
might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We
said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.
Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why
they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to
kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.
Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it
out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW."
Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the
world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say,
but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes'
through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start
sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.
Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through
cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school
and workplace.
Are you laughing?
Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many
on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or
what they will think of you for sending it.
Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us
than what God thinks of us.
Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it...
no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process,
don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.
My Best Regards.
Honestly and respectfully,
Ben Stein Pin It
Friday, October 12, 2012
Friday, August 3, 2012
Facebook Do NOTs
Today I was quite inspired by one of my friends' posts on Facebook pet peeves, and realized an entire blog post could be written on on this subject. But before I go into this posting about what NOT to use your facebook status for, let me begin by saying that I, myself am guilty of a couple of these. Some of these I learned the hard way. Others I came to my senses on before hitting the "post" button. Yet, most of these are what I've seen from other posters that have driven me absolutely crazy.
So, with all that said, here is a list of some of my Facebook Do NOTs- learned from experience, or from the opinion of myself and others:
1) Using PROFANITY in your status, comments, etc - I know that in today's world it is everywhere. For some reason kids- and adults- think it makes them sound so awesome...truth is (which is a whole other status game that irks me)- I think it drops the intelligence and power of a status and/or comment to a rock-bottom level. There are a plethora of words in the English language that can be used, other than the F-Bomb or the four-lettered S-word. I don't agree with Eminem on the power of profanity.
I must say that I was talking to a friend a few days ago, and she said she completely "defriends" anyone who uses profanity or has friends who use profanity on their news feed. I can't say that I blame her. I've seriously considered it, and odds are in the near future it will happen. If I want to hear/see profanity, I'll move to New York and take the public transportation everywhere I go. In the meantime, for the sake of my spiritual health and future family's spiritual health, I will do all I can to cut it out of my life.
2) Using your status to talk about or to 1 specific person - I've noticed this is especially popular with the high school crowd, and emotionally vulnerable girls. (Can't say that I haven't done this in a moment of weakness). And I'm not talking about wishing a parent or friend a Happy Birthday on your status - that's pretty nice. However, I've seen the passive-aggressive statuses come across towards a single person (usually from one ex to another). For example, a status might read something like "Enjoy your new (enter profanity here) girlfriend...". Yep - I doubt he's reading your status if he has a new girlfriend, and though you may say you're over him, your status would suggest otherwise.
The fact that someone is being bashed on a status everyone can see is honestly kind of low. It's actually a type of bullying. It is simply flaunting how horrible a certain individual is to the world. But one thing that needs to be remembered is that that individual is someone's son, brother, sister, parent, friend...Even though they might not be liked by you, they are pretty well-liked by someone else. Just be cautious of this - because it can come back to haunt you. Let me reiterate that I have been guilty of this, and it is super-easy to use Facebook as a weapon against someone we may not like, but just remember that in the end we don't end up being the mature-bigger person in this fight.
3) Ridiculous photos that give you hope and/or guilt - We've all seen them. "Share this photo if you want a surprise in 1 hour! If you scroll past this, something horrible will happen to you in 10 minutes!" GIVE ME A BREAK! Never have I ever seen a photo cause such magic to happen. It's one thing if you see a photo that you believe in and repost because it is you, but it is another thing to guilt fellow-users into reposting because they think an animal will die if they don't. I can't say for sure that Facebook donates money to every photo that demands a need, but I highly doubt it with most of them. I think it's one thing to use a photo to raise awareness, but it is absolutely another thing to have people repost out of guilt. Definitely one of my pet-peeves when I log on and see 9 miles of photos taking over my Facebook news feed. Odds are, I'll block them.
One of my personal favorite statuses used to mock things like this:
4) Posts that belong on text messages- I may be a tad biased here, since I studied English and writing, but I honestly can't stand when I see a status like this: "wut r u doin 2day? i went 2 skool." Uhg....'nuff said.
5) Posting racy/scandalous photos- I know I don't want to see butt cracks or boob cracks, so I bet there are others who don't want to either. When they're taken by that same person in a mirror - that's even worse. Odds are it's being done to attract a guy/girl, and trust me - you don't want those types chasing you anyways.
There are others that bother me personally - like the obvious sharing too much information with the Facebook world, or the "here's a picture of my daily breakfast cereal", or posting your cell number for all the perverts and criminals to track you on, but I think the point is across.
Perhaps you're offended by some of these "do nots" but these are simply my opinion, and a common opinion among friends and fellow users. Do whatever you'd like with your Facebook profile. It's not like Facebook has a block on any of the above anyways. I'm guilty of a couple of these. Pin It
So, with all that said, here is a list of some of my Facebook Do NOTs- learned from experience, or from the opinion of myself and others:
1) Using PROFANITY in your status, comments, etc - I know that in today's world it is everywhere. For some reason kids- and adults- think it makes them sound so awesome...truth is (which is a whole other status game that irks me)- I think it drops the intelligence and power of a status and/or comment to a rock-bottom level. There are a plethora of words in the English language that can be used, other than the F-Bomb or the four-lettered S-word. I don't agree with Eminem on the power of profanity.
I must say that I was talking to a friend a few days ago, and she said she completely "defriends" anyone who uses profanity or has friends who use profanity on their news feed. I can't say that I blame her. I've seriously considered it, and odds are in the near future it will happen. If I want to hear/see profanity, I'll move to New York and take the public transportation everywhere I go. In the meantime, for the sake of my spiritual health and future family's spiritual health, I will do all I can to cut it out of my life.
2) Using your status to talk about or to 1 specific person - I've noticed this is especially popular with the high school crowd, and emotionally vulnerable girls. (Can't say that I haven't done this in a moment of weakness). And I'm not talking about wishing a parent or friend a Happy Birthday on your status - that's pretty nice. However, I've seen the passive-aggressive statuses come across towards a single person (usually from one ex to another). For example, a status might read something like "Enjoy your new (enter profanity here) girlfriend...". Yep - I doubt he's reading your status if he has a new girlfriend, and though you may say you're over him, your status would suggest otherwise.
The fact that someone is being bashed on a status everyone can see is honestly kind of low. It's actually a type of bullying. It is simply flaunting how horrible a certain individual is to the world. But one thing that needs to be remembered is that that individual is someone's son, brother, sister, parent, friend...Even though they might not be liked by you, they are pretty well-liked by someone else. Just be cautious of this - because it can come back to haunt you. Let me reiterate that I have been guilty of this, and it is super-easy to use Facebook as a weapon against someone we may not like, but just remember that in the end we don't end up being the mature-bigger person in this fight.
3) Ridiculous photos that give you hope and/or guilt - We've all seen them. "Share this photo if you want a surprise in 1 hour! If you scroll past this, something horrible will happen to you in 10 minutes!" GIVE ME A BREAK! Never have I ever seen a photo cause such magic to happen. It's one thing if you see a photo that you believe in and repost because it is you, but it is another thing to guilt fellow-users into reposting because they think an animal will die if they don't. I can't say for sure that Facebook donates money to every photo that demands a need, but I highly doubt it with most of them. I think it's one thing to use a photo to raise awareness, but it is absolutely another thing to have people repost out of guilt. Definitely one of my pet-peeves when I log on and see 9 miles of photos taking over my Facebook news feed. Odds are, I'll block them.
One of my personal favorite statuses used to mock things like this:
4) Posts that belong on text messages- I may be a tad biased here, since I studied English and writing, but I honestly can't stand when I see a status like this: "wut r u doin 2day? i went 2 skool." Uhg....'nuff said.
5) Posting racy/scandalous photos- I know I don't want to see butt cracks or boob cracks, so I bet there are others who don't want to either. When they're taken by that same person in a mirror - that's even worse. Odds are it's being done to attract a guy/girl, and trust me - you don't want those types chasing you anyways.
There are others that bother me personally - like the obvious sharing too much information with the Facebook world, or the "here's a picture of my daily breakfast cereal", or posting your cell number for all the perverts and criminals to track you on, but I think the point is across.
Perhaps you're offended by some of these "do nots" but these are simply my opinion, and a common opinion among friends and fellow users. Do whatever you'd like with your Facebook profile. It's not like Facebook has a block on any of the above anyways. I'm guilty of a couple of these. Pin It
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