Sabbath Keeping

"The name of the Lord is a strong tower: 

the righteous runneth into it, and is safe." 

~ Proverbs 18:10 ~

"The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned." ~ Maya Angelou ~ 
"I finally figured out that not every crises can be managed. As much as we want to keep ourselves safe, we can't protect ourselves from everything. If we want to embrace life, we also have to embrace chaos." 
~ Susan Elizabeth Phillips ~ 

"Government's first duty is to protect the people, 

not run their lives." 

~ Ronald Raegan ~

"Love consists in this that two solitudes protect and touch and greet each other." ~ Ranier Maria Rilke ~
"The moral and constitutional obligations of our representatives in Washington are to protect our liberty, not coddle the world, precipitating no-win wars, while bringing bankruptcy and economic turmoil to people." ~ Ron Paul ~

"If you've got a talent, protect it." 

~ Jim Carrey ~ 

"God's angels often protect his servants 

from potential enemies."

~ Billy Graham ~

"We have the duty to protect the life of an unborn child." ~ Ronald Raegan ~
"You can never really be free until you have no need to impress anyone. When you lock your heart away in a safe, no hurt gets in... But no love gets in, either. Open your heart and give love another chance again." 
~ Kemmy Nola ~ 
"The sweetest souls who love, cherish, and inspire the angel in you are your guardian angels. They are your friends and family."  ~ Azgraybebly Josland ~

"And who is he that will harm you, 

if ye be followers of that which is good." 

~ 1 Peter 3:13 ~

If you'd like a name added to the prayer list, please let me know. Names will be kept for one week, then we begin anew. Around the world, people are praying.

Prayer Keeping ~ Maxine ~ Stephanie ~ Timi and family ~ Kim ~ Quesenberry family ~ Trace ~ Deb's family ~ Jim ~ Kurt ~ Sandra ~ persecuted Christians ~

P. S. The 1Wife to Widow blog has been updated; please visit at your convenience.

New Boots

These Merrill shoes have been in use for ten, or more, years. They are my morning barn "boots", easy to slip on/off, comfortable and I use them to run to the barn, make sure everyone is doing all right, feed the barn cats and come back to the house. 
As you can see, they are a mess! The sides are split, soles are coming apart and they, long ago, ceased being water proof.

I'm funny about footwear; they have to do service for years and years and, as long as they don't leak too badly, I'll keep them. The Merrill's have gone beyond the "leak too badly" point and need to be retired. I was just waiting to find a replacement pair and think these Sperry Top Sider's fit the bill. 

I think they'll be easy to find in the dark morning hours, are easy to slip on/off, are water proof and should last a while. There's no way they'll last as long as the Merrill's but can't have everything.

These last couple of weeks have been busy, lots of work...chopping thistles, bush hogging, cleaning out barns, mowing grass, weed eating, fixing fence, putting water sealant on outdoor furniture, cleaning house, laundry, remembering to eat...we're all busy, aren't we?  

Tonight, the skunk came back in broad daylight! and the dogs went to investigate. At the last second, Sophie realized it was a skunk and veered off unfortunately leaving Sadie in the spray path. Yes, once again, Sadie was sprayed but through no fault of her own! She was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time but I'm not sure she understands the fine nuances. Actually, neither do I; the stench is rather strong this time 'round.

That shotgun is looking better and better although my brother tells me a head shot is best for allowing the skunk to keep from spraying. I hate the thoughts but I also hate living with a 110 pound dog that smells like skunk spray. 

There's not much joy on the farmstead tonight.

Blessings ~ I didn't get sprayed ~ only one dog was sprayed ~ new boots ~ old boots that lasted years ~ lots of work accomplished lately but means no time to do fun stuff ~ 

Cloudy Headlights?

Are your auto headlights cloudy? A couple of years ago, I talked with an auto repair owner and he told me Toyota would charge me around $400 per headlight, to replace the plastic covers. Um, I don't think so! So, I learned to live with cloudy headlights.

Then, I read somewhere about using a paste of baking soda and water to clean the plastic. The right headlight was a tad cloudier than the left but you can still see a huge difference. It's a lot clearer than it looks; the sun was shining at an angle and made for a difficult photo. 

The recipe: a cup of baking soda (I buy 3 pounds at Sam's Club for less than $3) mixed with enough water to make a paste.

Using a soft cloth, rub the paste onto the headlight and scrub softly until the cloudiness is gone. Rinse with warm water, making sure the paste doesn't remain on the headlight or car body - you don't want to stain either. The left headlight shows the major difference and is almost as clear as the day we bought the car. Don't you think that's an incredible difference? Are you going to try this solution? If so, let me know how it works for you.

Wow! A few pennies vs $400...I have to say I like it. I like it a lot!

Blessings ~ inexpensive solutions ~ clear headlights ~ another great use for baking soda ~

Vitamins, SNAP, Big Pharm, Iris Scans

 ~ some of my daily supplements ~

Dave used to call me a cynic. I'd respond, "yeah, but a cynic is simply a realist with more information." He'd nod and smile knowingly. In yet another power grab, fueled, I sincerely believe, by filthy lucre, Senator Dick Durbin of IL, along with the FDA - who we know...heavy on the sarcasm... isn't in bed with big pharm companies...and if you believe that, I've got some swamp land under a bridge in the dessert to sell you! - is again introducing cumbersome, intrusive legislation designed to prevent you us from taking "supplements", aka vitamins.

Durbin states, "At most convenience stores, you can't make it to the cash register without encountering flashy advertising displays for energy supplements like Rockstar Energy Drink and 5-Hour Energy. These products, which market themselves as dietary supplements that offer a boost of energy, are foods and beverages taking advantage of the less stringent safety standards for dietary supplements under current law. When consumers walk down the aisle, they see products that contain potentially {emphasis mine} unsafe additives right next to beverages that have undergone FDA approval {oh yeah, that makes me feel safer}, but they aren't easily able to tell the difference."

Could the difference be, Mr. Durbin, the soft drink industry has spent untold millions lobbying the FDA for our elected representatives employees to turn a blind eye? Although, in the recent case of the "anti-obesity tax" wanting to, by law, ban the sales of oversized soft drinks, I have to admit...I'm on the side of the soft drink companies. The government, no matter what those elected folks think, does NOT have the right to interfere in our personal lives, that's not the purpose of government. Although they do, each and every single day and adding more insults all in the guise of "we're the government and we're here to help". Dear God, save us!

To read more about Durbin's intrusive legislation, click here and call and write your elected employees to vote NO.

The government food stamp program, called SNAP, refers to itself as "Food and Nutrition Service" and "the largest program in the domestic hunger safety net". Reallllllly? Do tell please, what part of soft drinks, chips, cookies, etc. are "nutritious"? If these ejits want to help, why don't they make it illegal for folks receiving food stamps to buy chips, cookies, sodas and other junk food? Why don't they make it illegal and then enforce the laws already on the books to sell food stamps? I don't care if people smoke or drink but I do a slow burn every time I see someone with a grocery cart lined with six-packs of soda, containing bags and bags of chips, dip and other junk, whip out their food stamps to pay. After paying with food stamps, they pull out a wad of bills to pay for their beer, wine and cigarettes. 

I don't care if people eat junk, drink, smoke or do drugs...I just care if they do it with tax slave dollars. Government programs should be in place to help folks but I'm just not seeing the help. Are you?

But I digress from the original point which are supplements. I'm rather amazed at the numbers of sheeple who pop pills, either or both prescription and supplements, without doing research. Just because some guy or gal has M.D. after their names means they know what they're doing...right? WRONG! It may, very well, mean they are in the back pockets of some pharm rep who promises trips, free travel, gifts, etc. Yes, that is correct: some, but not all, doctors accept "free stuff" in return for pushing writing 'scripts for some big pharm companies.

And, speaking to parents here...did you hear about a Florida school who hired, at tax slave expense because, hey! it's a school, Stanley Convergent (a "security solutions" company snort, chuckle, guffaw!) to take scans of children's eyes? Yep, close to 750 children were scanned before parents were notified it was "an option".  

Dave and I always said if we'd had children, we'd have to take turns going to jail. Do you realize iris scans, without knowledge or permission, is an invasion, as well as a horrible abuse, of our Constitutional rights? My advice to those parents: it's okay to get angry but then get a lawyer! A money hungry, willing to do almost anything, money hungry lawyer and contact the ACLU while you're at it. There's NO way I'd let the rats get away with this one. I'd sue the school, the school board, school superintendent, the principles, teachers, the company and anyone else I could name. If you don't stand up for your child, who will? It's your responsibility as a parent!

Civil rights are being violated on a weekly daily hourly basis and most of us are sitting on the sidelines with a, "Well, it's not happening to me" attitude. 

What can you do?

*write your elected officials representatives employees; hold them accountable and let them know you're watching what they do. 
*show up at political events
*engage your rights as a tax paying citizen
*to find your Senator, click here
*to find your Congress rep, click here
*if you're a Christian, you need to know about the ACLJ
*read an e-news report every day; some good ones: Alliance for Natural Health, Dr. Mercola, Natural News, Drudge Report

In the future, Mondays are going to be reserved for political commentary; I can't afford to get this het up but once a week. grin

Blessings ~ a free country still, sort of ~ ACLJ ~ ACLU although it pains me to admit it grin ~ civil rights ~ Drudge Report ~ 

Sabbath Keeping

"Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks,

and look well to thy herds."

~ Proverbs 27:23 ~ 

"A life of leisure and a life of laziness are two different things. There will be sleeping enough in the grave." ~ Benjamin Franklin ~

"Laziness may appear attractive but work gives satisfaction."

~ Anne Frank ~ 

"Laziness. Unwarranted repose of manner in a person of low degree." 
~ Ambrose Bierce ~
"Aim at perfection in everything, thought in most things it is unattainable. However, they who aim at it, and persevere, will come much nearer to it than those whose laziness and despondency make them give it up as unattainable." ~ Lord Chesterfield ~
"Failure is not our only punishment for laziness; 
there is also the success of others."
~ Jules Renard ~

"We often miss opportunity 

because it's dress in overalls and looks like work."

~ Thomas Edison ~

"Laziness never arrived at the attainment of a good wish." 
~ Miguel de Cervantes ~
"Laziness grows on people; it begins in cobwebs and ends in iron chains. The more one has to do, the more he is able to accomplish." ~ Thomas Buxton ~
"Laziness travels so slowly that poverty soon overtakes him." 
~ Benjamin Franklin ~

"The path of least resistance makes all rivers, and some men, crooked." 

~ Napoleon Hill ~

"You must avoid sloth, that wicked siren."

~ Horace ~

"By doing nothing, we learn to do ill." 

~ proverb ~

"Too many young people itch for what they want without scratching for it." 
~ Thomas Taylor ~

"A young man idle, an old man needy." 

~ proverb ~

"If you're coasting, you're either losing momentum or headed downhill." 
~ Joan Welsh ~
"Laziness has become the chief characteristic of journalism, displacing incompetence." ~ Kingsley Amis ~
"Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability." ~ Sam Keen ~ 

"For even when we were with you,

this we commanded, you,

that if any would not work,

neither should he eat."

~ 2 Thessalonians 3:10-11 ~

If you'd like a name added to the prayer list, please let me know. Names will be kept for one week then we begin anew. Around the world, people are praying.

Prayer Keeping ~ Maxine ~ Timi and family ~ Quesenberry family ~ Kim ~ Sandra ~ Townsend family ~ Dustin ~ JW ~ Mary ~ Donna and Jim ~ persecuted Christians ~

Nocturnal Visitors

 It's difficult to tell but there are four rather beady eyes peering at the camera. It wasn't so bad when it was just one, the full grown skunk with a broad splash of white on her (as I've since discovered) back. Now she's bringing the family. 

 Yes, the skunk family has moved to Thistle Cove Farm. The dogs and I are awake sometime between 5 and 5:30 each morning (unless I've had to take meds to stem pain from whatever farm chores I've been doing) and I've known about the mama skunk for a while. So have Sadie and Sam -wry grin-. They both have been sprayed but at enough of a distance, they didn't stink too badly. Not as badly as they could have smelled had they been sprayed by a few feet.

 Skunks are able to spray about ten feet or three meters; rather impressive, I think. This mother and her baby are now wandering around the yard while another skunk, perhaps the male...???... is a few feet away. The other one is almost all black and impossible for me to capture with the camera unless I want to get very close which...I do not. As it is, I'm talking quite low and calming as I take these pictures; no need to upset anyone, me included!

 Sadie and Sam know to keep away from the white striped skunk but the almost all black skunk presented something new to investigate. Which, Sadie did although she was warned, repeatedly, not to investigate. She slobbered for several hours as she rolled around on the ground, trying to rid herself of the stench. I believe she caught most of the spray in her mouth; so glad it wasn't her eyes. Sam and Sophie watched at a respectful distance, both the initial skunk investigation and subsequent slobbering.

I'd love to capture them in a Havaheart trap and release them at a neighbors house (not saying which one as Daddy John likes to read this blog and I'd like the release to be a surprise...if it happens). My girlfriend said if the trap doesn't work a 12-guage shotgun works just dandy but, sap that I am, I don't want to kill them, just relocate them. 

What suggestions do you have? 

Blessings ~ I don't mind the smell of skunk spray, it reminds me of petroleum ~ I wasn't sprayed ~ cuteness ~ 

Vince Flynn, Rest in Peace

Vince Flynn, 47, husband, father, son, best selling author and patriot died Wednesday, June 19, 2013 at United Hospital in St. Paul, MN. In 2010, Mr. Flynn was diagnosed with cancer yet continued to write his best selling Mitch Rapp novels. There are fourteen  best sellers and, before publication, had to be reviewed by various national security agencies because they were so close to real life events.

He leaves his wife, Lysa, and their three children as well as other distraught family, friends, associates and readers.

Mr. Flynn, thank you so very much for your legacy and my sincere condolences to your family.

Blessings ~ Vince Flynn, his wife and family ~ fourteen best selling novels ~ a patriot ~

Barking Maddddd

~ Sadie says, "Certainly not me!"

And, in my neighboring state of West Virginia, where they'll allow anyone in the class room (including me), a Marshall University employee by the name of Christopher Swindell went on a rant about killing folks. Apparently it's fine though, because he's a liberal and wants the conservatives dead ...he wants people with whom he doesn't agree dead and that makes it okay, right...? His rant, an op-ed commentary in the Charleston Gazette stated, "The NRA advocates armed rebellion against the duly elected government of the United States of America. That's treason, and it's worthy of the firing squad." His tirade piece says ever so much more; if your stomach is strong, click on the link to read the whole thing.

As Mr. Jefferson said, "I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it." and "The beauty of the Second Amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it."  And, "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." Gee, I suppose when one doesn't quite grasp the concept of freedom, free speech even when practicing same and similar crazy ideas, one doesn't think it's outside the norm to call for the killing of those not in agreement.

Swindell also claims the War Between the States was over slavery; we in the South wanted slavery while Lincoln didn't, yet another case of revisionist history. In the 1960's, in grade school, we were taught the War was because the economics of the South were agrarian based and the Northern economics industrial based while slavery played a distant role. Further, in Virginia's Attitude Toward Slavery and Secession by Beverley Mumford and L. H. Jenkins, 1909, page 197, it's recorded, "On the 25th of July, 1861, both Houses of Congress with but a few dissenting votes [117 to 2] adopted a joint resolution which declared: 
"This war is not waged, on our part, in any spirit of oppression, not for any purpose of conquest or subjugation, nor purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established institutions of those States; but to defend and maintain the supremacy of the constitution, and to preserve the Union, with all the dignity, equality and rights of the several States unimpaired; that, as soon as these objects are accomplished, the war ought to cease." 

oops.

It's become politically incorrect to say the War was over anything other than slavery but, over the decades, people have conveniently forgotten about black men owning slaves and who were Black Confederates. Slaves were owned by white men and black men north and south of the Mason Dixon Line. Among others, Mr. King's The 10 Causes of the War Between the States makes for interesting reading. 

Dave called himself a Libertarian and thought people should be permitted to run their lives as they saw fit excepting, of course, for illegal activities. I call myself a Constitutionalist first and a Libertarian second and believe the Constitution takes precedence over the opinions and actions of people, especially elected officials. I believe in the U.S. Constitution even especially when someone thinks it should be changed. I believe in First Amendments rights...freedom of speech even when Swindell someone doesn't agree with me. It's also called tolerance but, unfortunately, so many people only believe in tolerance when they are all in agreement and, when disagreement occurs, some one is calling for a firing squad. If a conservative person had called for a firing squad on an elected official, my best bet is law enforcement would be involved followed, very quickly, by sentencing. 

Oh, but there's no double standard...right?

Swindell apologized, sort of, and I suppose he thinks that makes nice. Well, it doesn't. Not to many anyway and I hope the folks spending their hard earned money to send their child to Marshall, remove their child from his class. Journalism used to be a respected profession where both sides of the news were told with calm and lack of emotion. Just as a coin has two sides, so does every story and, in most cases, more than two sides. Unfortunately, bigots folks such as Swindell feel their voice is the only legitimate voice and he takes that firebrand into his classroom. UGH! More propaganda from someone who fears dissenting voices. 

Further, in the West Virginia barking maddddd nutter department, employees in Logan County are terrified of a 14 year old boy who wore his NRA tee-shirt to school. They must be because the teacher took exception to the "NRA Protect Your Rights" message on the boy's tee-shirt. So terrified were they, school employees had the 14 year old boy arrested and now he's at risk for being fined $500 and put in jail for a year! Apparently, he was arrested for "disturbing the education process and for obstructing an officer", according to court documents obtained by WOWK. Marcum, the boy, refused to stop talking, and the arresting officer couldn't do his job. Gee, if the arresting officer couldn't do his job while arresting a talkative 14 year old, what's he gonna do when he runs up against a crack head ho? BTW, there's no mention in the arresting officer's report about the boy resisting arrest or acting violently; simply talking and, one surmises, talking and talking and talking all while engaging in his 1st Amendment Rights!

Yessireee, the inmates are running the asylum! 

Law enforcement officers have a difficult job and, usually, I'm on their side. I've baked and delivered cookies at Christmas, tell the sheriff's deputies they are always welcome here and support them as best I can even outside of tax dollars. But. But. But, this goes beyond the pale. Just as Internal Revenue Agents are now training with AR-15 semi-automatic weapons...what the XXXX???

Marcum, the 14 year old boy, wore his tee-shirt to school again...courage some adults can't show don't have...and is standing up -again- for his 1st Amendment Rights...Hurrah for Marcum! I've seen children wearing tee-shirts with all sorts of crap trash...demons, alcohol, race cars (oh wait, that's perfectly fine because Virginia tax dollars support NASCAR here and here.)  

Oh yeah. That's certainly how I want MY tax dollars spent! How about you?

Thomas Jefferson, as usual, says it best: "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion. The people cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented, in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions, it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty...And what country can preserve its liberties, if its rules are not warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to the facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure." 

Blessings ~ freedom of speech, even when we disagree ~ eternal vigilance ~ the wisdom of Thomas Jefferson ~ a 14 year old boy patriot ~ 

Get off the Boat

Jen, Finding Heaven Today, has a post on...fear which is what I call most of the unknowns in life. She talks about leaving the boat which reminds me of the card someone sent Dave and I when we bought this farm. The card showed two people, standing at a crossroads, with a sign that pointed "Normal" and "Off the Beaten Path". The couple stood at the lane that lead to "Off the beaten path" and the caption said, "George, are you sure we should do this?"

Dave used to say, "Once you get off the boat, you can never go back." He and Cathy were going to sell out, move to Hawaii and raise blood hounds except cancer changed those plans and she died. Eleven months after she died, I met Dave and he and I moved to Hawaii and lived for a while (separate bedrooms) because he needed to find his bearings. Little did either of us know it would take six years for him to regain equilibrium but he was worth every day of wait. Evidently, he thought the same of me.
We bought this farm and moved from Richmond where we'd each lived for years. It was a great decision; it taught us to rely on each other, to depend upon each other and it was the beginnings of a foundation that stood us in good stead over the years. What cemented that foundation, that trust, that love was when we began to travel. 

The first time I ever needed a passport, I was invited to teach in Russia. Thankfully, Dave decided he wanted to go and the two of us landed in the Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport where we wandered around for a while. Long story short, the people who were supposed to meet us were detained...for a week...and Dave and I were on our own. The man who'd put the trip together had arranged for a car and driver; eventually, Dave and I were found and, after a phone call to ascertain it was legit, we loaded our luggage into a van with two Russians, one of whom was ex-KGB. Oh yeah, talk about fear factor -smile-. We drove for about five hours before we arrived in Yaroslavl where I was to teach first. It didn't take long for Dave and I to surmise our translator, the ABC no-neck guy as he was quickly labeled, was a severe alcoholic...by eleven o'clock in the morning! God knows what he translated that week but our reception was warm and I still correspond with some of those people we met, so it might not have been too bad. I think. 

Dave and I "got off the boat" to make that trip and it was the beginning of a lot of trips, most of them mild adventure that made for wild adventure and a lot of memories. Were we frightened? Oh yes...but we did it anyway. Like I told my mother when she had a panic attack over our going to Russia, "If God can take care of us in Virginia, He can take care of us in Russia. It's not a problem for God." In the years since, He's taken care of us, and now me, in almost thirty countries and in situations that were sometimes...tense. (Remembering here the Russian Mafia in Gori, Georgia and camping in the Moroccan Sahara Desert nine clicks from the Algerian border.) Since Dave's death, God has kept me safe in Sint Maartin and I feel confident He's also kept me safe each and every day since.

A few years ago, a friend told me she admired me and I was surprised. I asked her why and she said, "because you're not afraid of anything." Again, she surprised me and I told her, "Oh yes, I'm afraid. I'm afraid if I say "no" to God, He'll stop giving me opportunities."  Getting up in the morning takes a lot of faith and courage. How do people who don't have God in their lives manage? I mean, why bother? Life is full of unknowns; it's full of what if's and, for me, it's full of Jesus. 

I don't know what the future will bring, heck, I'm not sure what all I'm doing tomorrow but I do know my future includes Jesus. 

And that means I can step out confidently, in the direction of my dreams. What's your dream and will you join me?

Blessings ~ Dave ~ travel ~ mild adventure ~ Jesus ~ 

Sabbath Keeping

"...You, O Lord, are our Father, 

Our Redeemer from of old is Your name."

~ Isaiah 63:16 ~

"My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person. He believed in me." ~ Jim Valvano ~ 

"It is a wise father that knows his own child." ~ Shakespeare ~
"To a father growing old, nothing is dearer than a daughter." 
~ Euripides ~ 

"When a father gives to his son, both laugh. 

When a son gives to his father, both cry." 

~ Shakespeare ~

"I decided in my life that I would do nothing that did not reflect positively on my father's life." ~ Sydney Poitier ~

"Dad taught me everything I know. 

Unfortunately, he didn't teach me everything he knows." 

~ Al Unser ~ 

"I would want my legacy to be that I was a great son, father and friend." 
~ Dante Hall ~ 
"To be as good as our father's, we must be better. Imitation is not discipleship."  ~ Wendell Phillips ~
"Any fool can be a father but it takes a real man to be a daddy!" 
~ Phillip Whitmore, Sr. ~

"Fathers are angels sent from heaven." ~ unknown ~

"My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him 
do it."  ~ Clarence Budington Kelland ~

"The most important thing a father can do for his children

 is to love their mother."  

~ unknown ~

"Fathers be good to your daughters. You are the god and the weight of her world." ~ John Mayor ~ 
"A father carries pictures where his money used to be." ~ unknown ~ 
"By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong." ~ Charles Wadworth ~

"Never raise your hand to your kids. 

It leaves your groin unprotected."

~ Red Buttons ~

"My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, "You're tearing up the grass." "We not raising grass," Dad would reply. "We're raising boys." ~ Harmon Killebrew ~
"It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us fathers and son." 
~ Johann Schiller ~
"When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years." 
~ Mark Twain ~

"Don't make a baby if you can't be a father."

~ National Urban League Slogan ~

"It kills you to see them grow up. But I guess it would kill you quicker if they didn't." ~ Barbara Kingsolver ~
"My son, a perfect little boy of five years and three months, had ended his earthly life. You can never sympathize with me; you can never know how much of me such a young child can take away. A few weeks ago I accounted myself a very rich man, and now the poorest of all." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, who, in his grief, gave us "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day". 
"Are we not like two volumes of one book?" 
~ Marceline Desbordes-Valmore ~

"This, then, is how you should pray:

"Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

thy kingdom come,

thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

as we also forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,,

the power and the glory."

~ Matthew 6:9-15 ~

If you'd like a name added to the prayer list, please let me know. Names will be kept one week, then we begin again.

Prayer Keeping ~ Maxine ~ Mildred ~ Kim ~ Sandra ~ Townsend family ~ Dustin ~ Quesenberry family ~ Timi and family ~ Maggie ~ Lillian's family and friends ~ persecuted Christians ~

Ponder This

Someone said, "My idea of hell is the thought that I have to live in the world you seem itching to put together."

"We have become increasingly an audience waiting to be entertained. Never before have we been able to live in a world with so many forms of unreality."

"There are times we need to be protected from the seduction of eloquence."

"Beware of the emphasis of advertising and other liberal media. They are becoming the creators of our moral ethic."

"Sometimes I feel I have set sail on the Sea of Ambiguity, in the good ship Mediocrity, to the port of Wishful Thinking."

"It's not only later than you think,

 it's sooner than you expect."

"A fanatic is someone who redoubles his efforts long after he has forgotten his aim."

"He had such an ego problem; he was always having a group portrait taken of himself."

"She was one of those people who gave out of things to say long before she stopped talking."

"He has the ability to use fine phrases that have no meaning."

"She had a really dully personality. In fact, she could brighten up any room just by leaving."

"Things are not crucial to life."

"The more complicated life becomes, the more necessary it is to see that our priorities are right."

"My great concern is not that you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure."

"The average person will go to great lengths to avoid hard thinking about serious issues. We allow some unknown columnist, commentator or celebrity to tell us what to think."

"Violent behavior is an expression of failure. It always takes more brains, resourcefulness and heroism to make peace than war."

"If you do what you've always done, 

you'll get what you've always gotten."

"Many people go through life riding the gaily painted prancing horse of a merry-go-round. The motion and music may be fun, but they discover that after many revolutions they have gone no where."

"She was born ignorant and has been losing ground ever since."

"Life is a one-way street and you're not coming back."

"Tact is the art of recognizing when to be big and when not to belittle."

"To keep solvent, pay as you go, and, if you can't pay, don't go."

"The kind word that fails today, may bear fruit tomorrow."

"Life is short and we're one breath closer to the end."

We must never forget the responsibility knowledge brings. There are a few core ideas that define what it means to be an American. They are:

*individuals are responsible for themselves, their behavior and actions and for their own happiness.
*individuals have rights essential to the pursuit of happiness.
*government can properly promote only the general welfare of citizens, not the welfare of special and particular groups.
*government exists to secure our rights, not to create and deliver us happiness.

Blessings ~ our right to make our own happiness ~ the U.S. Constitution ~ freedom from debt ~ the ability to learn ~

Sabbath Keeping

"Call to me and I will answer you 

and tell you great and unsearchable things 

which you do not know."  

~ Jeremiah 33:3 ~

"Rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men."
~ Douglas Bader ~
"Immaturity if the incapacity to use one's intelligence without the guidance of another."~ Immanuel Kent ~ 

"Men give advice. 

God gives guidance." 

~ Leonard Ravenhill ~

"For hundreds of millions of Americans who believe in God, prayer is our bridge between Earth and Heaven, our way of opening our heats to the Lord. Through this intimate relationship we find peace and guidance." ~ Nick Rahall ~ 
"The Bible tells us that a sparrow does not fall without God's notice. I know he will help us meet our responsibilities through his guidance." ~ Michael Cardone ~
"Do not assume that divine guidance flows only when you are in need of help. Guidance continues to flow whether or not you have problems. It transcends problems, heartbreaks, and traumas, flowing through dreams and illuminations. ... Whether guidance comes during times of tranquility or trauma, however, it is up to you to have the courage to acknowledge it." ~ Caroline Myss ~
"Discipline is a symbol of caring to a child. He needs guidance. If there is love, there is no such thing as being too tough with a child. A parent must also not be afraid to hang himself. If you have never been hated by your child, you have never been a parent." ~ Bette Davis ~ 

"The path to guidance is one of love and compassion, 

not of force and coercion."

~ anonymous ~

"Parenthood...it's about guiding the next generation...and forgiving the last."
~ Peter Krause ~

"Instead you ought to say, 

"...If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that."

~ James 4:15 ~ 

If you'd like a name added to the prayer list, please let me know. Names will be kept for one week then we begin anew. Around the world, people are praying.

Prayer Keeping ~ Maxine ~ Jim ~ Greg ~ Pam ~ Kim ~ Sandra ~ Quesenberry family ~ Timi and family ~ Emma ~ Jeremy ~ persecuted Christians ~ 

What's Your Excuse?

Adam was a liar

Noah was a drunk

Abraham was too old

Isaac was a daydreamer

Jacob was a liar

Joseph was abused

Moses stuttered

Gideon was afraid

Samson was a womanizer

Rahab was a prostitute

Jeremiah was too young

David was an adulterer

Elisha was suicidal

Isaiah preached naked

Jonah ran from God

Naomi was a widow

Job went bankrupt 

John the Baptist ate bugs

Peter denied Christ

Zacchaeus was too small

Paul was too religious

the disciples fell asleep

Martha worried

Timothy was too young

Lazarus was dead

the Samaritan woman had many failed marriages

What's your excuse?

Blessings ~ great examples ~ God's grace, mercy, love, patience ~

What Could Go Wrong?

Have y'all been following the latest on the NSA (National Security Agency), FBI, Obama and Verizon? Or, Obama, NSA and Skype, Facebook, Gmail, AOL, Apple, PalTalk, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo? In my opinion, the Constitution has been trampled on by all President's since before I've been voting. Oh sure, they've all had such good reasons...war, terrorism, peace, profit...the list makes me gag. It's like saying there's a war on drugs. Dave used to say, "The more times someone says something the better the likelihood it's all a lie." Have we heard the truth in our lifetimes? I submit the answer is NO, unless you've been reading your Bible. Orders have been issued to invade privacy, ignore Constitutional rights and now that they're being found out, the spin cycle is in action.

The Washington Post reports that PRISM, in place since 2007, is a direct invasion of our privacy AND A FELONY except, until yesterday, the public knew nothing about it. Seems we believe Microsoft when they state, "we respect your privacy". Ummm, what privacy would that be, Microsoft, because you were the first to sign up for information mining with PRISM. 

You think because you're a liberal, voted Obama and "aren't doing anything wrong" you're safe? Or do you think you're safe because  your mobile phone supplier isn't Verizon? Think again, poppet, because denial isn't a river in Egypt. This information is either being gathered, or in process of being gathered, from ALL communications companies.

For years, Natural News and InfoWars have reported on data mining, information gathering and our Constitutional Rights being trampled. Obama is good with all this and says, "secret NSA surveillance is a critical tool in protecting the nation from terrorist threats" as reported in The Guardian. The Democratic chair of the Senate intelligence committee, Dianne Feinstein, said the Verizon court order has been in place for seven years. "People want the homeland kept safe," she says and I add, "Yes, safe from YOU and your ilk."

Lest you think I'm anti-Democrat (which I am) you must also know I'm anti-Republican. The cretins have sold us out and there's not a man, or woman, among them who won't sell their eternal soul for filthy lucre which, news flash, they won't be taking with them when they go to hell. Or heaven should such a miracle happen.

Bush and his minions put The Patriot Act into action and it's been used since to commit felonies, ignore the Constitution, run rough shod over We, the People and, IWB (idiots we be), we've been allowing it. Republican Jim Sensenbrenner is "troubled" by the revelations of the Guardian. Sensenbrenner is also one of the authors of The Patriot Act and now the chickens are coming home to roost. He says he's written Eric Holder, Attorney General (hasn't he resigned yet?) to question "if US constitutional rights were secure." 

HELLLLLLO, let me help you with that, Jim. No, our rights are NOT secure because the Constitution is no longer secure and it's due, in part, to YOU and everyone who signed on with Bush's The Patriot Act. Rarely, are the ACLU and I in accordance but in this instance, we're on the same page. According to the Guardian article, the deputy legal director at the ACLU, Jameel Jaffer said, "From a civil liberties perspective, the program could hardly be any more alarming. It's a program in which some untold number of innocent people have been put under the constant surveillance of government agents.
"It is beyond Orwellian, and it provides further evidence of the extent to which basic democratic rights are being surrendered in secret to the demands of unaccountable intelligence agencies." 

The Guardian article states Verizon gives to government spy agencies *the phone number of both people on the call, *the geographic location of the Verizon phone user, *duration of call, and *unique identifiers which allow the phone to be tracked. 

This information may be used by the NSA to reveal *your name, *home address, *social security number, *driver's license number, *credit history, *employment and *criminal history.

People, these are felonies and Obama says, "it's justified". The abuse of power is rampant and justified by our elected officials. David Rockefeller, Bilderberg member, said, "We are on the verge of a global transformation. All we need is the right major crisis and the nations will accept the New World Order." For more about the Bilderberg organization, see here, here and here.

Dear God. Have mercy. 

Blessings ~ GOD, He's our only hope ~

P. S. Vic, MonkeyWrangler, says check into the following for encrypted information and storage: Moxie Marlinspike's TextSecure and Red Phone are now operating as Whisper Systems. Also, PGP now GnuPG. 

P.S. 2 Moxie Marlinspike's recent article speaks to insecure communication, tools such as Red Phone and someone in Saudi Arabia who seeks assistance with a "surveillance problem". Marlinspike is light years ahead of me in the high tech department (for one thing, he helped write the code for Twitter) and I don't claim to understand 80% 90% of what he's saying. I do, however, understand enough to know I don't like this brave new world. I don't like it a'tall.