THOUGHTS AT THREE A.M.

TANK JOHNSON'S BODYGUARD FOUND MURDERED,REALLY MAKES YOU WONDER!!

As most of you are probably aware, I am not much on sports. Ordinarily, this story would cause me to listen,sadly shake my head, and go on without a word.But I happen to know a guy named "Tank"; a real sweet guy who is big and strong and could have been an athlete,but was disillusioned in his youth because he was bigger than everyone else in his class, and needed someone to encourage him to work harder at sports, but since the coaches saw that he didn't move as fast as some others, and would need help reaching his potential, more often than not, he didn't make the team. Or if he did, he warmed the benches.Winning the game, the pride of the school, was more important than giving him a chance.So,his early failures colored his whole life, and now he is a day laborer, who admires football players from afar, and a wistful eye....and when I hear about football teams, around my neck of the woods, it's usually the Bears. So this story got my attention on several different levels. I haven't really heard much about the victim, other than his name was "Willy" something, sorry to say, and that he was "Tanks" bodyguard,and that he and his partner, in whatever they were into, got arrested just before the dirty deed was done.  My knee-jerk reaction was that it sounds as though the bodyguard needed a bodyguard! For whatever reason, it sounds to me that "Tank" and Willy were into some things they should not have been involved with,considering their status as a sports figure,and his "security force"! Which in turn, makes me question this whole premise of high profile sports to begin with. Wasn't the whole idea behind sports programs in schools at the start to teach children how to channel their aggressions,and control their hormonal urges in healthy ways? Then the notion caught on in collages, and then we went to national levels. Well, it seems to me the social experiment has failed. Even up to and including the idea that Physical Education was good for all, that too, is a bust.Our children don't look at Phys. Ed. as a way to be active and healthy. It's all about being the best of the best, the jocks who outshine everyone else, and the kids that could really use a good workout can't make the team. What is that? Then we graduate to high school and it's not about being healthy, it's about being the Star football player, so you can date the lead cheerleader, who also has to be the fittest and prettiest girl in school. Once again, the kids who would benefit the most by all that regular, intense running and jumping around are just sitting on the sidelines, missing out, because they didn't make the cut. So, by the time they get into collage, the BMOC and the  Pep Rally leaders and Cheerleaders have rather high opinions of themselves and have their sights set on positions of national importance, and are focusing on the possibility of becoming just like those players who stand out in the news for all to see, such as "Tank Johnson"! It doesn't end there, as we all know. Down through the last few decades there have been other athletes whose status has afforded them "breaks." They have run afoul of the law, and been so rich from their high paid gaming that they lived out this attitude that their behavior was acceptable because their talent made them above the law. Where will it all end? How long will our society allow this fanaticism of sports figures to continue? It doesn't make sense that men and women who spend their lives playing a game are more highly paid than people who labor every day in hard jobs,and then the law sides with the rich and famous,and punish to the fullest extent of the law, the hard working man.

OUI?

SPIRITUAL WICKEDNESS IN HIGH PLACES!!

"Spiritual wickedness in high places." It is one of those phrases I am so used to reading and hearing from the bible, warning of the end times, and frankly, I expected it to crop up,even from church members. Because even though we know Jesus is the son of God, and have been redeemed by his sacrifice, you don't really anticipate having it come back to you that brothers and sisters in the Lord will continue in sin. I mean, sure we all have our problems,and none of us are perfect...we are merely forgiven,through the blood of Jesus. But it is one thing to have a problem, and ask forgiveness. It is quite another to know when something is patently wrong, and then to go ahead and allow it, or endorse it anyway. Okay, there are some Grey areas. Some things aren't so obvious as others. We all know that some things are absolutely right, and some things are absolutely wrong. Agreed? Alright, so for those of us who are interested in where we will spend eternity,and even for onlookers who don't much care, but are watching what Christians do and don't do, isn't it up to us to keep an eye on what our church leaders are leading us into? Because I have to tell you that there is some literature coming out now days that is being espoused by some rather unsavory types, whom my unsaved friends are saying some very insightful things about, and I can't say that I disagree with them. Rick Warren was one that a buddy of mine said speaks in platitudes and cliche's...and what could I say?  He's right! Beyond that, I thought his book, "Purpose Driven Life" was sadly lacking in Biblical principle,and rather than being a tool to a victorious life, has the opposite effect, that of leading believers away from the Cross of Christ. Having been given the freedom of choosing whom to listen to, I used my free will from God to dismiss the purpose driven, for the spirit led.

Now, I am not saying that Rick Warren is wicked, but he does have a rather "High" place, lauded by all sorts, having written a best seller,particularly the world. And, as we all know, the world is hardly the best judge of whether one is delivering spiritual truth.

However, to my surprise, there are a number of other spiritual, or shall I say, in this instance, "religious" leaders who are looking to Mr. Warren's work as a viable alternative to the Bible....because it certainly does not point the way "To" the Bible,and a great many church members are following his lead,as their pastors have decided to go along with his ideas,and they will follow their pastors wherever they take them, unwilling to doubt, or question what is being told to them. I wonder why this is? Don't they know that when we come to the end, we are responsible for they way we went? You can't put it off on your pastor, saying that's what he told me. It's up to you to diligently seek the right way on your own.

OUI?

THE YOUNG MRS. IS HOME, AND TODAY WE PARTIED!!!

So much has gone on in the last two days, it's hard to organize my thoughts to tell you about them! We have been in close touch with Wifey-poo, and knew she was shooting for her home time about the time of my birthday,but it was a real shocker to get a call last night just before church, and be told she was dropping less than a hundred miles from us,and would be home this morning !! Wow! Yon son was totally energized, and it was all he could do to contain himself not to jump in the car and run up to meet her! But then, even though his heart said go, he looked around,and his head said, stay, and get ready for her homecoming! He wasn't happy with the way the house looked,and he definitely needed to go to the store and do some shopping. Even though I have mentioned how wonderful it is that he now has Sunday and Monday off from work, and that it is best for him to observe the "day of rest" he still was full of idea's and bouncing fifteen feet in the air that his lady-love would be home today,and he wanted to make it as nice a homecoming as he could, because, let's face it, Nobody wants the love of their life walking in the door and looking around and getting that expression on their face that tells you, they wish they were anyplace else! It has always been a family tradition to clean up before leaving the house, because I have always hated coming home to a mess.So I didn't have to say a word. To be truthful about it, I was so excited about my daughter(..okay,in-law,but that part slips my mind all the time,) coming home to be here for my birthday celebration, and with Bible study that night,and hopefully  Sherry being here too, well I just wasn't thinking about the condition of the house...But bless his heart,Yon was. Now, our home is never a pit, you never have to kick a path to get through a room, but dishes, rinsed and stacked,pile up on  the counter by the sink,and bags of chips and things do wind up on the counter-tops under the cupboards into which they should go, when I am alone and there is no one here to put them up where I cannot reach. As always, the laundry baskets get filled,carpets need vacuuming and rugs need shaking. But when herself is on her way home, each tiny flaw becomes a glaring imperfection, and at first blush through the door, she should see home, nothing more. So, needless to say, Yon son wore himself out straightening up last night,and then got up with me early for breakfast. Well, about the time I was having my second cup of mocha, and my pills were settling and kicking in, we got the call, that she was on her way. I was such a big help. Eyes at half-mast, and starting to nod off, I heard Yon son say to her, " I think mother is going back to bed, but call me when you get to town and get your rig parked,and I'll come down and pick you up." He put me back to bed,and it was lights out for me. The next thing I knew, Yon son was at my room door, saying Mom? Guess whose here! Of course, instantly I knew, surged up and got my feet under me,and she came in, and I just wrapped that wonderful girl in my arms and hugged and squeezed her, and kissed her forehead, and her cheeks and thanked God for bringing her safely back home to us,and just as any mother would, I held her a moment longer,telling her how much I loved her,and had missed her, and even caught myself rocking her a  little, just as I would Yon son, reassuring myself my baby was home, and she indulged me that instant of cuddling her in my arms,understanding without words I was saying," mama is near." There has never been any stiffness,strangeness, or awkward moments between us, simply because I love her just as though she were my very own child,and I have since before they took their vows three years ago. Well. They put me in my chair and hustled me into the kitchen,and I saw with pleasure that Yon son had put the room to rights, including clearing away the debris of our breakfast And it's a good thing too, because she had dropped her things right next to the door, and come  right in to say hello, and now, once I was at my place at the table, she began to bring out bag after bag after bag of stuff,and place them on the table. Goodies from all over the country. Things she had picked up at almost every stop she had made, for Yon son, and for me! Cups for his cup collection, and bells for my bell collection...but it sort of overlapped, amusingly, because she had found bells that he would like, and cups that I would love,so it was, those are for you and those are for him,and this one is for you! We opened packages and oohed and ahhed,and laughed, and then it was my birthday presents being brought out two days early,and nothing would do but Yon son had to bring my presents out from him, even tho he has already given me several, I got more today...and oh, such lovely things, I just wanted to cry, but I couldn't stop smiling, because each package was a new delight! I got movies,and pads of paper for lists and fancy pencils and a pencil sharpener,and a nifty new pen that has it's own magnetic holder,and no matter your slipshod aim, if you throw it in there point end down, it will stand up just as it should...albeit, wobbling a little. I got a pink fuzzy diary with two keys and a lock, which just tickles me to no end, because I always wanted a diary but never got one! How in tune can a man and wife be,that the man gives pencils and pens and a magnetic holder,and the wife, from hundreds, or even thousands of miles away, picks up a diary and pads,and a diary in my favorite color,and as far as I know, neither knew what the other was getting me!  You know, I've said all along, since they first were dating, and then engaged, that they are so much alike, it's scary! ( Now, that might sound a little strong,but if you popped up one day with a surprise portrait session for them, and they had only hours to get an outfit together for the pictures, you might call it scary too, that they went out separately,and both showed up for the session wearing Grey,black, and white outfits!) However, now I must change my vernacular. Their connection is not scary. It is wonderful!But, I digress. So then, Yon son brings out the big present. The game SceneIt! which is played with a DVD and a board and dice, all about movies and television shows, that I have been drooling over for months,and nothing would do but we had to try it out, right away! What a hoot! Somewhere in there we had lunch, which was BLT'S and iced drinks,( and I ran my blood sugar and took my pills...) and then I brought everything to a screeching halt, because it seemed now was the right time to give them both their big presents that I had ordered, one right after the other, for their birthdays..hers was July 25th, his Aug. 11th,and I had got them,wrapped them and waited until she got home, and we had the birthday celebration to give them to them. My thinking was, since neither came in on time, it wouldn't hurt anyones feelings to get both belated gifts at the same time. It was the most important present I have ever given either of them, or ever will. With all my love for my kids, I gave them both the most magnificent Expositor's Study Bible available, offered by Jimmy Swaggart Ministries, just like my own. They were both taken a little aback, because they knew I had to save up for them...they don't come cheap. With all this volume has to offer to anyone who is wanting to clearly understand the word of God,it is the very best! With reverence they both swore they would take good care of them, and I laughed and told them not to keep them in the boxes, that I expected them to be used a lot, and then I signed them over to them, with all my love,and the date, and we went back to our game.

What a wonderful way to kick off her home time,and my birthday celebration time. There was so much more I could tell you about, but this blog is way too big already and I am about to hit the hay, because tomorrow is going to be another busy day! Suffice it to say that the rest of the day was just as grand and glorious as the beginning, and the blessings are just going to keep right on flowing in until there won't be room to hold them!

Praise the Lord for his mercy endureth forever! Praise the Lord for his justification endureth forever! Praise God for his unutterable gifts!  Praise the Lord, for heaven and earth are filled with his glory! I praise you and worship you Father for bringing my children home safely to me, one more time,and for helping me lead them in the paths of righteousness!

OUI?

GOD BLESS BASKETBALL,BASEBALL, FOOTBALL, CBS AND NBC!!

These are some fascinating, blessed, wonderful people who work at CBS & NBC, helping God break me of watching television, when I should be reading, or napping, or blogging...taking a bath, doing my nails,and on and on.There are so many things I should be doing. So, thank you Network programmers! Thanks, ever so much, for showing me the way to catch up on my reading, and doing all those other ordinary things that I ought to be doing, rather than watching t.v. You have so loaded up the airwaves with this unending string of basketball,football and baseball games,that I am completely and thoroughly fed up to my eyeballs with the whole lot of you! It's bad enough that the daytime programing is filled to the brim with mindless soaps, which, by the way, I used to watch too, until I finally got so frustrated with the fact that they all use the same formula: First Sammi is good, then she's bad, then she's good again, but she never seems to grow up enough to come to an understanding about how love works,and how to kill it,and she just goes on plotting and scheming, manipulating and lying,so no matter how pretty and smart she is, she ends up losing every time. And then, there's Passions, with Teresa, who is much sweeter, but just as bad in her own way...so what is the point of watching? Exactly! There is none! So, the only daytime show left worth watching is Jeopardy!,but even that is preempted for more GAMES. Oh! I left out Oprah! Well, shame on me.I do like to drop in to see who she's talking to, or who she's giving cars or other free stuff to today, from time to time, However, she is another one they like to preempt, and then of course, there are those shows that are sad and disgusting,but oh well, at least she isn't out there throwing around a basketball, so she can stay. And, naturally, I do tune in for the news,but there again, they also have to show you the HIGHLIGHTS? of the latest game! And then they close out the news at six, saying, stay tuned, for the evening broadcast of the news, at ten o'clock, After the Game! They call it March Madness, I call it sickening and insane.I am so tired of games I could scream. So, thanks guys. I am cured of incessant television watching, to the nth degree, and I couldn't have done it without you, and God!

Oh, by the way.It isn't just week-day watching I dislike. On the week-end there is worse junk to try to avoid....just try! It can be summed up in four words.

Tennis and Golf! Yuk!

OUI?

OLYMPICS FIGURE SKATING!!!

I may have mentioned before that this is the only event that really interests me when it comes to the winter games.Kilter published a really great picture of the ice dancing couple, who used as one of their innovative moves, her with her leg over his shoulder, during a lift. ( How kinky is that?) Kinky or not, it is truly a beautiful shot! To see it, go to my people list, titled "Others who think" and click on Heykilter. He also has some insightful things to say about the pairs skating, and I agree.

I have always loved ice skating, ever since I was a little kid. I never did well with roller skating, because I just couldn't seem to get all four wheels going in the same direction at the same time, without falling. Ice skating is different.Sure, it's cold, and all, but you only have to worry about one blade per foot, and that just somehow seemed easier.Besides that, My older sister inspired me, when she and my Mother and Dad had this argument. She wanted to go ice skating.Our parents said no. But she said, It's ONLY  six degrees below zero! What's the problem? Beyond that, Ice skating seemed safer somehow. When you are skating at an outdoor rink, they have to plow the ice clear of snow. When they do that, there is a build up of high banks of snow you can head for and  land in, if you feel yourself falling! Even if you happen to be the youngest, dumbest one there, and everyone, including your sister and brother, talk you into being the one on the end when they play the game of "crack the whip"(that's where they get this whole string of kids going really fast around in a circle,and the one on the end ends up flying off into the outer stratosphere, at least there's a soft snowbank to pile into, rather than smacking head first into a tree!) Being the youngest of three, ice skating was almost the only activity where I did not get left out because I was too young to keep up with them.In fact, I began to feel rather smug about the fact that I skated so well. Not an Olympian by a long shot, however, I did get good enough so that I could make it around the rink more quickly than they, and I didn't need to hold someone else's hand as they seemed to.My sister was always hanging onto some boy to hold her up,and my brother always seemed to need to hold some girl's hand! Yes, I was totally innocent, and missing the point, but at the time, I was proud of myself. Besides that, I could skate backwards, and was starting school figures, such as figure eights before we moved so far away from the rink that I could no longer go there by myself. Sometimes, when I watch the skating on television, I wonder, just how far I would have gone with it, had we not moved. (sigh) Another road not taken. Oh, well. I dare say, irregardless of what might have been, my skating career would be over by now anyway!

OBTW...oh, by the way, when I am wrong about something, I admit it.Okay? So now I must admit there is one other thing I really liked about this years winter Olympics! Ricky Martin, singing at the closing ceremonies! YEAH!

OUI?

2006 WINTER OLYMPICS!!!

Well, it's been a month since the Olympics started, and I for one....what?  You say it's only been a week? That cannot be! It certainly SEEMS like a month. In fact, it seems like a great deal longer than a  month. The opening ceremonies themselves seemed to take at least two days all by themselves. But, Okay.If you say it's only been a week, and it's only going to be two weeks altogether, then I stand corrected. However, it's not all my fault that I got it wrong. Some of the blame for that impression goes to NBC,and their relentless, unending, minute by minute coverage of every slide down the slopes and the constant yammering that goes on.I don't have to be told when a snowboarder is "hot dogging", I can see it perfectly well by myself! If I even bother to watch it at all, I don't need to be told what I am watching! The reporting that goes on that irritates me the most, however, is in the figure skating, and the ice dancing.Instead of allowing those of us watching by television to enjoy the music and really get into the mood of the performance, they just keep right on talking over the music, and I get to the point I just want to yell, "SHUT UP!" Somebody should tell these people, we don't care what was wrong with that jump, or that move, there's plenty of time to yak about the performance during the scoring! When there is beautiful music playing, shut up and let us hear it! I mean, it's bad enough that they are pre-empting Jeopardy and all of our regular prime-time shows to watch idiots falling off of mountains,and cracking their knees on ice, but then to bombard us with their unrelenting talk at all the most inconvenient times is really too much!

All things considered, I shall be eternally grateful when this trial is over,and programing can go back to normal.I am so sick of the Olympics, I could just chew nails, so by and large, I have pretty much just turned off the local NBC coverage, in favor of other channels, or watch movies, or just turned the television off altogether.Because, let's face it folks,it never gets any better, it only gets worse!

OUI?

SIMPLE AMUSEMENTS: JUST HOW UNGODLY ARE THEY??

My dictionary defines Amusements as the condition of being amused, or pleasant diversion, or something that amuses or entertains.But it is more than my Websters says it is, because if you go back far enough into the core word, it means literally, that which we use to keep us from thought or thinking.That which the modern world is subjected to as a diversion from hearing that still small voice of wisdom which we all need to be able to hear. It hurts my heart to know that some people have never heard it, and never will, and for some reason, will go out of reasonable bounds, amusement wise, to avoid any possibility of a quiet time for their spirit to ponder either the existence of a higher power, or to court the muse.Even those who go to church on a regular basis are doing so much to keep from a time of repose, and all under the guise of church work, it's disgraceful.That place that is supposed to be a house of prayer, which we are cautioned not to go to,  to eat, is now hosting dinners and fish fries and chili suppers to raise money for this fund and that cause.Some churches are so embroiled in activities that one wonders just whose side that church is on! It is clearly not on the side of sinners who need to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, because the sermons are canned, written by other than the preacher, which now have no reference to the cross of Christ, and have done away with any mention of the Holy Spirit, and although they end the service with a prayer, it too is carefully acceptable to any and all who may come through the door,and there is never an altar call.Why bother? It is passe to preach that you are a sinner, in need of a savior, and then to lay out the plan of salvation, which would so naturally be followed by an altar call. Now it is all about getting warm bodies in the seats that have deep pockets, and who can we get to be involved in this 12 step program, and to purchase this new age book whose reading of it will make you feel "Good about yourself." That's another phrase that is hopelessly overused, and gripes me to the nth degree. Man was not put on this earth to find ways to make them feel good about themselves.That is a lie from the pit of hell,and is born of selfishness, and a ruse to make Christians stumble.Man's problem is not that he does not feel good about himself...in point of fact, he feels a bit too good about himself already. He is so involved in self-righteousness he has fallen into this trap that he can do anything on his own, that through his will-power and a positive mental attitude, he can conquer any foe, overcome any hindrance,and work his way into heaven,because he is now such a good person he doesn't need a redeemer,and yes he may go to the bingo games and the casino, and may find off-color jokes funny, but that doesn't make him a bad person, and who are you to judge anyway? Those things he does for fun don't hurt anybody, so why should you care? Saddest of all, are the ones who have this attitude, because they refuse to listen to the truth. All of us needs a redeemer, because God said so.All those games and amusements hurts the person who plays them,watches them, or listens to them simply because they are diversions from that which that time was intended to be spent doing, seeking God and his truth. And, no, I am not his judge.But if he waits until he meets his judge, and thereby, to know the truth, it will be too late for him to act upon it.

Why should I care? Because I am concerned about souls.I know how my life has changed and improved since I got saved, and I want everyone else to have that!  The happiness, the joy that fills my heart and soul and being that Christ died to give me is amazing! Beyond that, I also know what would have been my portion had I not gotten saved, and the more I learn about that, the more anxious I become that no one should have to go there! I am horrified over the sheer numbers of souls, living in a free society, who are able to search out the truth with no restrictions or restraints  placed upon their study of God's word, and treat it as though it is nothing. I can't go to church, because I am in a wheelchair, but with the Internet, I never miss a service. Yet, everyday, I see perfectly able people missing going to church, because they had to play golf, or go to the gambling boat, or the service lets out too late, and they might miss some of the ball game, or there's a television program they just can't miss!

So. Simple amusements. Just how unGodly are they? Well, if you had to push God out of the way to get to them, VERY!

OUI?

BIX BIDERBECKE JAZZ FESTIVAL COINCIDEDES WITH TRIX BIRDIEBECKE GOLF CLASSICS

So now the week-end of insanity in the Iowa-Illinois QC area has yet another event added to the list. Along with all the Jazz festival sites, jam sessions, and appearances of Neil Diamond at the Mark of the Quad Cities, and the Bix Run, we now have The Trix Birdiebecke Golf thing, where it has been announced that there will be a new player, who did not have to qualify for the competition. MARIO, Of the Nintendo, MARIO Brothers fame, will be teeing off, in full costume.Mustache and all. Actually, tournament officials have offered a sponsor's exemption to putt-putt golf phenom Richelle Pee Wee. A rising star of mini-golf circuit, young pee-wee, 15, has two very odd habits. She plays every match costumed like Mario,  and she  uses a driver for putting.The tourney is otherwise known as the 2005 AIR TRAN AIRWAYS TRIX BIRDIEBECKE PEE-WEE GOLF CLASSIC, and the winner of the Bent Putter trophy will advance to the national Harris Cup  Tournament in  Atlantic City, N.J. The TRIX will be held Aug. 1, at 7 p.m. at the River Valley Golf, Moline, Ill. Admission is free for spectators. Organizers say they expect 10,000 to attend this year.Rumor hath it that Pee-wee will Rock You!

OUI?

WATCH OUT WHEN DOWN-LOADING GAMES,EVEN BEJEWELED, AND SPONGBOB SQUAREPANTS!!

My kids and I had so much fun when we found games on line we could download, FREE!  We went a little nutsy there for a while. We got sponge-bob screen saver,and the collapse game, and wow, it was addictive! Then we got off onto BEJEWELED, and it was just as bad...okay, maybe even worse.It was LOUD and brilliantly colored and you could just go and go and go with it. And then, all of a sudden, nothing was doing anything, and we found out that with one, or all the games we had downloaded, we had also imported tag-along viruses. Horrible things happened.The screen would freeze up,and we would get a "Program not responding message", and we would have to hit escape,and enter repeatedly in order to get it unstuck.Then, all at once, the screen turned RED, and that was it! We had to reboot, which, simply put, wipes out everything on your computer, taking it right back to the day it was purchased from the company, and you have to start all over again, from square one.Pictures, screen savers, programs, downloads, music, upgrades, all of it gone...POOF! As a result, I am now very wary of anything offered on-line, for free. It seems you just don't know what you are getting.Get spy-ware and use it! It could save you not only money, but also the heartbreak of loosing things you cannot replace.

OUI?

OUI?

HOW I SAVED MYSELF A FORTUNE ON CASINO SLOTS...THE REEL DEAL!

If you're tired of going to the casino and loosing money, then listen up! If you have a computer, and it would be strange for you to be on the INTERNET unless you did, then the solution is simple. You go to the electronics store, like Best Buy, and pick up some PHANTOM  games. Reel Deal slots, is a great one. So is nickle alley.They have lots of wonderful games, great graphics,and even the background sounds your used to at the Casino, and the bonus rounds are so much fun! Try it, you'll like it. Hours and hours of slots fun for about 20 bucks, you can't go wrong!

OUI?