HARMLESS THOUGHTS

I am at my relative's house, eatin' turkey... What are you doing?

The soldier slumped to one knee. He was wounded and he was tired. But he was not just tired from the day's battle, which was far from over, but from the war itself. It seemed that his whole life he had been about this war. Don't misunderstand, it was a war that he knew needed to be fought, there was no doubt about that, but this war had enveloped his whole life. And he was tired of it, soul-tired. There was a lull in the battle, the main excursion had moved to other parts of the field, which had given the soldier a moment to contemplate. But he knew it was worthless to contemplate for long. The enemy would be back, they were strong and fierce, and without fear. He attempted to rise, using his sword as a cane. He knew that he needed to get back on his feet because the ground was beginning to tremble from the onrush of the barbarian horde. Once he was standing, he straightened his back, and popped his neck a couple of times. There was the smell of death in the air. For...

It is interesting how it seems the same things are happening to me all of the time. For example, I was really looking forward to going to the stewardship banquet this year. We have been talking about stewardship all this month, in our classes and in the services, and it has gotten me to thinking about the whole concept of stewarship. I also heard that the speaker was supposed to be really good. But probably the most important thing is that I had been looking forward to sending the kids to the nursery for a few hours, and going to this thing with my lovely wife. But sure enough, about one week ago Josiah gets a cold, which develops into a worse cold, which evenntually turns into something called "croup." No problem, that should only last a few days, and even if he still has it, no croupy cough is going to keep us from going out! Then comes Sunday morning. Samuel, who never feels sick enough to not want to go to church, tells us he is not feeling well. (And if you have b...

Mr. Know-It-All You know what I am talking about. Have you ever met someone who is always right. Even when they are wrong, they are right in their own mind. They go into every situation having already ruled out every other opinion, because it isn't theirs. And how could anybody else possibley know enough to have any valuable input on the situation. They have input on everything because they have been there and done that! There is nothing out of the scope of their knowledge, or so you would think, if you were to listen to them. Pick a topic, they have a comment, and to them it is the absolute most important comment you are going to hear for a very long time. When you talk to Mr. Know-It-All, he never really listens to you. If you watch his face closely, you will find that the entire time that others are talking, Mr. Know-It-All is formulating his next statement. Ususally it is a way to prove you wrong, even if you aren't currently disagreeing about anything. Most of the...

I don't know about you, but I am getting ready to eat a piece of pumpkin pie and watch a movie with my wife. I don't have time to blog. sorry.

" Godliness deals with who I am; contentment deals with what I have. Godliness is being unsatisfied with my character formation in God, and contentment is being satisfied with what I possess in God. Together they add up to great gain. -- James MacDonald

This is the first passage in the Bible that I really read. I mean REALLY! I had looked in the Bible lots of times. But I had never really read it. Note the verse that says "even the demons also believe and tremble." That word believe is the same word that you find in John 3:16. What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? ... faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that–and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scri...

One of my biggest regrets is not going into the military. It never fails, every time there is a Veteran's Day Chapel, or Memorial Day... 4th of July... etc. Anything patriotic stirs up feelings of regret. One possible reason that I regret not joining the military could be that I truly respect those who have fought in the military. I honor their decision to join when they were able to. And many of them are truly respectable people. Maybe it is because of their service that they are respectable, or maybe it is usually the respectable people that join up. It is quite possibly a little bit of both. Another possibility is that I have a deep desire to be pleasing to my dad. My dad was (and always will be) a marine. He is a Vietnam War Veteran, and proud of it. And I have to say that I am too. I still consider joining the reserves. I just recently found out that they will still accept you up to the age of 35. If I could work it into my summer schedule, I would do it....

It has been long thought that Yellow Dye #5 has certain side-effects... But according to the Mountain Dew's Q&A page , that is simply not true! ...so drink on! Do the Dew! Slurp that Mountain Dew down.

"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus." -- Phil. 2:1-5

Thanks to following the blog of the cynical tyrant, I found a link that would rate how good or evil my site is... Well, here are the results-- hmmm... Does this mean that my site is 38% evil?

I am going to start another series. I will try not to have them on the same day again. I have just felt like bloggin today. My mind is reeling. This series is something that has been in my head for a long time. There are several verses in the Bible that I am not quite sure what they mean, but they are both convictingf and frightening. Many of these verses seem to contradict other places in the Bible. But God's word is inspired, so there is no contradiction. Some might say that we need to seek to find the answer to these supposed contradictions. I would disagree. Here is a quote from John MacArthur that goes right along with what I would say, Because we cannot stand the tension of mystery, paradox, or antinomy, we are inclined to adjust what the Bible teaches so that it will fit our own systems of order and consistency. But that presumptuous approach is unfaithful to God's Word and leads to confused doctrine and weakened living. It should be noted that other essentia...

I have decided to start a new series of personality types that could drive a sane person crazy. I can think of three or four right off of the top of my head. But I will force myself to save them for later. Today I will give you the first type. Personality Abnormalities #1 The "That's nothin'!" guy -- This personality is the type that feels that they need to give some input on everything. If they are in the room, you know it. They are probably putting down someone's story, with one of their own. They ususally start each and every sentence with the phrase, "That's nothin'!" Another name for this personality type is: A "one-upper" I chose this one first, because I have mentioned these types all of the time in my classes. My intention is not to dislike the people that have these traits. I find if amusing to talk about these types, but it would be wrong to dislike the person. Anybody that we encounter we should show them the Love...

Quote: "As punishment for my contempt for Authority, Fate has made me an authority myself." - Albert Einstein Examples: Some things that I have encountered recently in my job, which all relate to the above quote. A couple of weeks ago I gave a student Demerits for doing donuts in the parking lot... hmmm... Last Friday a student showed me a comic strip that he had drawn that included charicatures of me... hmmm... Today I didn't collect an assignment that was due at the beginning of class. About half way through the class I asked if anyone was currently working on the assignment. Sure enough, there was a student who fessed up... hmmm... There truly is nothing new under the sun.

Every baby starts life as a little savage. He is completely selfish and self-centered. He wants what he wants when he wants it: his bottle, his mother's attention, his playmate's toys, his uncle's watch, or whatever. Deny him these and he seethes with rage and aggressiveness which would be murderous were he not so helpless. He's dirty, he has no morals, no knowledge, no developed skills. This means that all children, not just certain children but all children, are born delinquent. If permitted to continue in their self-centered world of infancy, given free reign to their impulsive actions to satisfy each want, every child would grow up a criminal, a thief, a killer, a rapist.