tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-204070042024-03-13T09:25:17.386-07:00A Wild Olive BranchDavid in NorCalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05576251518506124905noreply@blogger.comBlogger246125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20407004.post-14761573020116665532023-09-24T17:09:00.001-07:002023-09-24T17:11:32.066-07:00Why Exactly do Squirrels Bury Acorns?<div class="separator"><p style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhndcSlthUFFreLqaRHU4tCyCcKDrpKrTY1ilFt5rc8smrfci9ehgzaP4mTz2SpV8Iig4okVccxMU5oHkupRpA5764SEf-QckxxyKO_agVIImoSfjvStT00w9sLlOc2dekxtLjnYGMkjC_aUl9zCBz9oXZnrTTvl8xk6KLalCsf8n4OJtZfVwWFRg/s640/grey-squirrel-4814197_640.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="640" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhndcSlthUFFreLqaRHU4tCyCcKDrpKrTY1ilFt5rc8smrfci9ehgzaP4mTz2SpV8Iig4okVccxMU5oHkupRpA5764SEf-QckxxyKO_agVIImoSfjvStT00w9sLlOc2dekxtLjnYGMkjC_aUl9zCBz9oXZnrTTvl8xk6KLalCsf8n4OJtZfVwWFRg/w400-h334/grey-squirrel-4814197_640.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grey Squirrel by Kev from Pixabay<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />As I watched one of this little rascal's cousins trot over to one of my raised beds and quickly bury an acorn I was reminded of a great story about acorns. <br /><br />Some English naval officers used to carry acorns in their pockets so they could plant oak trees -- so England would never lack for good oak for the masts of her fighting ships. One officer is reported to have planted hundreds of thousands of acorns over his career.<br /><br />That made me think of the motivations of my sciurid neighbor: Was he storing the acorn? Or is there an deeper motivation?<br /><br />Can they remember where they put them? Does underground storage make bitter acorns more palatable? <br /><br />Maybe God built this trick into their brains and then smiled because he knew this food storage method would mean most would become oak trees which would feed many future squirrels.<br /><br />It's easy to think of these little guys as graceful arboreal rats but not very smart. But honestly, the more I learn about our fellow animal travelers on the Earth the more I realize there is deep wisdom among them. Squirrels know oak trees and the forests in which they grow in ways we will never understand. Perhaps they understand in ways that would not compute to us that some acorns should always be planted so future generations of squirrels yet unborn will always have food.<br /><br />All I really know for sure is that I am forever pulling yearling oak saplings out of the ground where we live. Those acorns did not get so deep by accident. Squirrels plant a LOT of acorns. <br /></span><p style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p></div>David in NorCalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05576251518506124905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20407004.post-35434054081218669182023-06-20T08:40:00.003-07:002023-08-09T10:18:37.015-07:00Apostles: That's What Changed<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh901I1tBkJAuDDlSiYl7TEatTmCgSZIwaf09pgcw81QyEuPNfBg7Sa4TFWIJ3diPgKNJXLyneklTSKDXzn-NbLAcRCNaH3rXv-xOmlJtC19EwOypOdMkUxBv1XvM5gruqRGaVUXeApbJlF89Dz1RlTpxrKKDMqLciCR9RiKIruQyW8Eu0XyWqLIQ/s502/Screenshot%202023-06-20%20at%208.07.01%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="160" data-original-width="502" height="76" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh901I1tBkJAuDDlSiYl7TEatTmCgSZIwaf09pgcw81QyEuPNfBg7Sa4TFWIJ3diPgKNJXLyneklTSKDXzn-NbLAcRCNaH3rXv-xOmlJtC19EwOypOdMkUxBv1XvM5gruqRGaVUXeApbJlF89Dz1RlTpxrKKDMqLciCR9RiKIruQyW8Eu0XyWqLIQ/w239-h76/Screenshot%202023-06-20%20at%208.07.01%20AM.png" width="239" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Some years ago, my father sent me the above text on my birthday. Linda and I left Louisiana in 1972 immediately after our marriage to live in Alaska. We lived there about 40 achingly wonderful years. We had learned to thrive in cool and cold weather. Hot weather was not on our radar.<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There was no criticism implied. It was just an honest question. We had recently moved to become part of the Bethel movement, which has its roots in Redding, California.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I had come to adult faith in my mid 30s. Linda has been a Jesus follower most of her days. We had in our years in Alaska some great, and a couple of not-so-great experiences, with churches in Alaska. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After I thought about dad's question for a while, I replied with a <i>very</i> long message. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <br /><b>What changed was, in a word, <u>apostles</u>.</b> The three apostle-led church communities of which we have been a part since going to Sweden (Word of Life Church in Uppsala, Anchorage City Church, and now Bethel) have changed the course of our lives.<br /><br />When we took off for Alaska in 1972, it was to pursue a dream of a place and a way of life.....Alaska was the land of our dreams. In the months before our marriage, we talked much about Alaska. We read and looked at pictures. And then we came to Alaska, and it was for decades living inside a dream. The experiences we had there, the friendships we forged are bright in our memories....and if truth be told, a little painful today, because we miss them.<br /><br />And then, unexpectedly, we found ourselves in Sweden, at a controversial (to many Swedes, anyway) church that operated in great faith under the leadership of an apostle, Ulf Ekman. Apostles as a current force in the Church was a new concept to us then, until that time thinking of them only as a part of Biblical history. What a sea change in our spiritual lives that was! By the time we left Sweden, our dreams had changed from a place (Alaska) to a mission (the Kingdom). We almost stayed, you know.<br /><br />Back in Anchorage after five years of coming and going to Sweden, we connected with Anchorage City Church, another church led by an apostle, Richard Irwin. That was another powerful experience and great time of spiritual growth, and a time of intensive pastoral service. In 2011 Richard turned the church over to his son, Rich, a fine young man with fire in his bones, a leader and a shepherd. <br /><br />About that time we were becoming more and more aware of the move of God in an unlikely (to us) place: Northern California. So......we came here for a one year sabbatical....which turned into something else!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This church, <a href="https://www.bethel.com/" target="_blank">Bethel</a>, also is led by an apostle, <a href="https://bjm.org/" target="_blank">Bill Johnson</a>, and interestingly, by a prophet, <a href="https://www.krisvallotton.com/" target="_blank">Kris Vallotton</a>. The entire five-fold ministry (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%204:11&version=NIV" target="_blank">Ephesians 4:11</a>) is in powerful operation here. Miracles are common here......real miracles, including cancer being completely healed. <a href="https://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/14-3.htm" target="_blank">Prophecy</a> is common, even sometimes very accurate foretelling prophecy. People come to the Lord every week at our church services.....about 10 at the 8am service alone last Sunday. People are showing up here from all over the earth to be part of this movement.....a few we have met didn't even know about Bethel......they just know the Lord told them to go to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redding,_California" target="_blank">Redding</a>......and then they discovered the church.<br /><br />Today, the church is about 9,000 people, but even more significant than the large numbers is the global reach of the church: thousands of churches are influenced by the ministry of this church, and if you count the ministry of music and praise song writing, the influence in the lives of men and women reaches into the millions. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@BethelMusic" target="_blank">Bethel Music</a> songs are some of the most popular in churches around the world today. <br /><br />So....what changed is the influence of apostles in our lives. Living in the context of apostleships changed our dreams from an amazing place (Alaska) to an amazing Kingdom. Our dreams now are of the increase of His government and His Kingdom which brings all the good gifts of Heaven to Earth for all people.<br /><br />It DOES feel strange to me sometimes to be in this seasonally very hot place. But I know why we are here.....and the powerful impact this apostleship has had not just on Linda and I, but also in the spiritual lives of our family.<br /><br />It also feels like the favor of God that the really hot days are relatively few, and even they begin with lovely mornings in the 70s.....and 2/3 of the year is generally pleasant. And then there is this beautiful natural landscape of Northern California with wild country abounding, waterfalls, tall mountains, rivers, wildlife, friendly people.....we didn't expect it, but we love it!<br /><br />You started this, you know. It all began when you invited me at the turn of the century to go to Sweden with you and mom to see the land of my ancestors. :)<br /><br />I know you weren't asking for a treatise....but THAT is what changed. <br /></div><p></p>David in NorCalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05576251518506124905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20407004.post-12683360009477900532023-06-18T07:10:00.001-07:002023-06-19T21:01:36.916-07:00Honorable Men<p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggpmdqkKwc05mUpkCStBchP2rFaHW_Ka5v4WvgT85QqKnchXwvg3KYWBNmVqKQVwGshQ_W37aUKPKq77YAgK9NFDdcaEBMLTEwUtvKo3C1ZetjY2rpi6PE0zK1snuzT_PzxUxcHvkJUhnkgCuEQKAiEWqSoPc3WfGLBQcU6gvkpw-izgS-XzQ/s1080/Honorable%20Men.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggpmdqkKwc05mUpkCStBchP2rFaHW_Ka5v4WvgT85QqKnchXwvg3KYWBNmVqKQVwGshQ_W37aUKPKq77YAgK9NFDdcaEBMLTEwUtvKo3C1ZetjY2rpi6PE0zK1snuzT_PzxUxcHvkJUhnkgCuEQKAiEWqSoPc3WfGLBQcU6gvkpw-izgS-XzQ/w320-h320/Honorable%20Men.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />How does an honorable man handle pain and disappointment? Stephen Mansfield writing in <i><a href="http://www.mansfieldsbookofmanlymen.com/" target="_blank">Mansfield's Book of Manly Men</a> </i>has some suggestions worth sharing: <p></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><i>Honorable men refuse to wallow in the small and the bitter. </i></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><i>Honorable men refuse to hate life because something once went wrong. </i></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><i>Honorable
men don’t build monuments to their disappointments, nor do they let
others brand them and curse them to their destruction. </i></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><i>Honorable
men seek out the highest definition of their lives, the nobler meaning
granted by heritage, by their ancestors’ dreams and their parents’
hopes. </i></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><i>Honorable men cry out to God until curses are broken and a grander purpose is achieved. </i></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><i>Honorable men don’t settle for lives of regret. </i></p><p style="text-align: left;">It's
easy to let the difficulties of life wear us down. Life can be hard
and painful. But the path of honor leads us always upward.</p>Lord, let my heart seek always the grander purpose written in your heart for me.David in NorCalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05576251518506124905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20407004.post-72010477236863021032023-04-17T09:01:00.003-07:002023-04-17T14:03:17.457-07:00Breaking Chains<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnPR-JKvD5HEQ5sTMN7xRqgGNijj3zb3mjH1srp658teCRbUy-24-AG8wgm98qM3f2nPRh1GuFRr8Tz3Nkm6rsaL_Cin9yCbOOngIYtnS8-ioRYn3ird69EuVDU_DFq_dsXwapJVCVAXTEZKcGQ7dsp1Kihdh_iovzExrX3Xq7Dh_wksXba-s/s640/chain-5596267_640.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="486" data-original-width="640" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnPR-JKvD5HEQ5sTMN7xRqgGNijj3zb3mjH1srp658teCRbUy-24-AG8wgm98qM3f2nPRh1GuFRr8Tz3Nkm6rsaL_Cin9yCbOOngIYtnS8-ioRYn3ird69EuVDU_DFq_dsXwapJVCVAXTEZKcGQ7dsp1Kihdh_iovzExrX3Xq7Dh_wksXba-s/w376-h286/chain-5596267_640.png" width="376" /></a></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There was a time in the history of the world when people were sold for the value they could provide to the buyers. Even children and teens were ripped from their childhood and sold. Millions of souls were denied freedom, good health, and simply normal life.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This evil wasn’t hidden. While both victims and buyers were a small part of the overall population, the evil could be easily seen. But just as it could be easily seen, it was also easy to look away. It must have felt like just a part of life.</span></span></p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some raised their voices against this evil trade in souls. Organizations arose to fight it. Some of the victims were rescued, often at risk of death for the rescuers. Legislative actions to stop the trade were proposed with little success. Those making fortunes from the trade had money and influence, and used that in legislatures, in the media of the day, and in the court of public opinion.</span></span></p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Capturing humans and selling them is an old and evil human practice. The victims have come from every continent and race.</span></span></p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But the time in history I am writing about is today.</span></i></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is going on right here and right now in America, and elsewhere in the world. In our country, millions of women and girls are captives of an evil industry that cares nothing for their lives except how well their bodies provide sexual release for their customers.</span></span></p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Many, many Americans are unwittingly contributing to this evil --pornography use is epidemic in our country. Consuming pornography can lead to paying for pornography, which can lead to demand for prostitution, which leads to more enslavement of women and girls. The modern day slavers walk among us.</span></span></p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We Americans fought the bloodiest war of our history to free the slaves in the 19th century. What will it take for us to metaphorically take up arms again today to fight for the women and girls who are enslaved right now? </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></p><div data-en-clipboard="true" data-pm-slice="1 1 []"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">A noble rebellion against this darkness is rising to free them. We can join the fight.</span></span></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We can <a href="https://exoduscry.com/theproblem/">inform ourselves</a></span></span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We can quit using pornography </span></span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We can raise our voices against the evil industry that enslaves women and girls </span></span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We can join with or contribute to organizations fighting modern slavery</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We can advocate for changes in laws</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We can support organizations that offer loving pathways out of sex slavery.</span></span></li></ul><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I support <a href="https://exoduscry.com/">Exodus Cry</a>. There are other organizations doing good work. Whether we provide a monthly donation, prayer cover, or physically participate....we can all do be part of this. Please add your strength in the fight for the daughters of Eve and the <span class="il">sons</span> of <span class="il">Adam</span> ensnared by the hellish forces behind the evil sex industry!</span></span></p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /><br /></span>David in NorCalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05576251518506124905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20407004.post-63320945631022230152022-11-13T22:08:00.000-08:002022-11-13T22:08:03.102-08:00Sometimes Yelling at Alexa Isn't Enough<span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNtcvB4HTeGlGhwf58ZEZeTHebmwXQdaRVDljFzHRd6s05IyaITNl2rEwkgRvQ4kO8K8zx6L5fAlpKdJrhESwId1xwgGyRlYnJibs_uBsZNwi0-YGTxFjG-NScSy7KhvbIiW5V2beIQ-xbnIcwQTbMtXeJFwNu5u7DHzCpCRifh3d42uhMZEI/s4032/IMG_8199.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNtcvB4HTeGlGhwf58ZEZeTHebmwXQdaRVDljFzHRd6s05IyaITNl2rEwkgRvQ4kO8K8zx6L5fAlpKdJrhESwId1xwgGyRlYnJibs_uBsZNwi0-YGTxFjG-NScSy7KhvbIiW5V2beIQ-xbnIcwQTbMtXeJFwNu5u7DHzCpCRifh3d42uhMZEI/s320/IMG_8199.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is dark. We sleep. The electronics do not.</span></div></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">At 0600 precisely, the alarm starts loudly blaring a song. </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">“Alexa,” I say sharply, from a dead sleep. “Turn off alarm.”</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Blaring continues.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">“Alexa,” we both say commandingly, and almost in unison, “STOP!”</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Unfazed, the song blares on. Loudly. Surely the neighbors can hear this?</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">“Alexa, turn down volume,” I order with my 500’ voice. The little blue light ring illuminates, but insolently, the song continues at its stentorian volume level.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">“Alexa, turn on bathroom lights,” Linda says with her best teacher voice. Maybe with the little beast’s attention diverted to another task, it will thereafter be able to perform its actual duty.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Bathroom light goes on. Song continues. Loudly.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Feet hit the floor. “I’m just going to stretch your neck, you insubordinate little box of microchips,” my inside voice says.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">I stride powerfully around the bed and as my hands come up to reach for its scrawny throat (well….power cord) I notice that it is NOT the little blue-ringed black troglodyte troublemaker that is singing that now even louder song.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">It’s one of our mobile phones. Heh heh.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Stupid `Lexa.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">#firstworldproblems <br /></div></span></span><p></p>David in NorCalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05576251518506124905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20407004.post-42709323283971294032022-08-02T12:49:00.003-07:002022-08-02T12:52:50.964-07:00Apical Buds and the Intelligence of Trees<div class="separator"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihLrgnMXE23lYx_jUDpXqJ0Ow4nT94vJKxzOxXhiW39NvLhE0NY8ReIzHMK3PLZUgrs8QoOu3JOsQtA0Lql2OQ-yHu6rAgsVElOXlZ0iBoSe8Q-8CbGPVB3Sxpqa1F3AZUBb6CHMbhic0-8RpYM687MRzu7ednJjWnOiqjKSOVw0HnSjGDO-M/s4032/IMG_7563.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihLrgnMXE23lYx_jUDpXqJ0Ow4nT94vJKxzOxXhiW39NvLhE0NY8ReIzHMK3PLZUgrs8QoOu3JOsQtA0Lql2OQ-yHu6rAgsVElOXlZ0iBoSe8Q-8CbGPVB3Sxpqa1F3AZUBb6CHMbhic0-8RpYM687MRzu7ednJjWnOiqjKSOVw0HnSjGDO-M/w300-h400/IMG_7563.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>At first glance, there's nothing too remarkable about this small redwood tree growing near our house.</span><br /><br /><span>But I know something about its history. And there is a remarkable story here.</span><br /><br /><span>After I planted it, I discovered to my surprise that beavers will eat redwood trees. Dang. A couple of winters ago, a beaver turned my five -foot redwood into a six-inch stob. </span><br /><br /><span>But it lived, and because it had good root infrastructure, it started growing again. Now, it's again about five feet tall. And protected from long-toothed rodents that dwell in water.</span><br /><br /><span>Last year, the apical bud (the topmost, and dominant growth area) died somehow. I wondered what would happen to it, but I kept adding fertilization and water. By the way, redwoods are not native to the central valley of California where we now live. They need a LOT of water, and so are found naturally along the coasts. This redwood however, is not far from a year-round creek, and may have already discovered that water source. It is growing happily.</span><br /><br /><span>Early this year, I began noticing the branch at right in the photo beginning to slowly bend upwards from nearly horizontal. As you can see, after about six months, it is almost vertical. The new apical bud is at the top of this branch. </span><br /><br /><span>That, to me, is remarkable. </span><br /><br /><span>How did the tree know to transfer apical dominance to one of its limbs? And how does it cause the limb to slowly bend until it is upright? And how does it know when that limb is fully upright?</span><br /><br /><span>There is an intelligence among trees. There is something going on within that allows them to be aware of their needs, and even aware to some extent of what is going on around them.</span><br /><br /><span>I suspect that intelligence is more significant than we yet imagine.</span><br /><br /><span>When I really "see" nature, my heart turns by habit to nature's God, and remember when my heart first knew Him as an adult. That happened in a plant ecology class in my university training, of all places. I remember the day sitting in class when I had become sufficiently aware of the massive interconnections of the plant and animal word.....and that was more than 50 years ago. Today, much more is known.</span><br /><br /><span>I realized then that the intricacies of creation could not possibly have happened by chance. </span><span>I realized that God was, and as I opened my heart to that reality, that He is. </span><br /><br /><span>And in time I my heart came to know that He loves me. The transference of apical dominance and self-bending a limb is pretty amazing. But a God that loves me and communicates with me: THAT'S a real miracle. 😃</span><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><p></p>David in NorCalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05576251518506124905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20407004.post-41355234063789730802022-02-20T18:13:00.003-08:002022-04-25T10:19:02.527-07:00Losing Weight With Friends: A Better Way<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixmNZEveQXSYymlVYRzV6ETjAA1xvYy-4rvwyVhJz7yDeMRpBuVumPS7nCDVj5n9FAcXtp2AwGpnNbhmYG3Y-swmy_sTAdAWIvFlzoeiUevY3x9Y1SDvu2EXySkWRy3FN7pctSK8x1Z3KxvmjFiHlMMbk5aAlSzg1lqoRWIOOgxMsikI9S7CU=s1749" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1285" data-original-width="1749" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixmNZEveQXSYymlVYRzV6ETjAA1xvYy-4rvwyVhJz7yDeMRpBuVumPS7nCDVj5n9FAcXtp2AwGpnNbhmYG3Y-swmy_sTAdAWIvFlzoeiUevY3x9Y1SDvu2EXySkWRy3FN7pctSK8x1Z3KxvmjFiHlMMbk5aAlSzg1lqoRWIOOgxMsikI9S7CU=w368-h270" width="368" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto">This isn't a brag. It's a strategy that has worked for me. I'm sharing this in hopes it will help others.</span></span></span><p></p><div dir="auto"><div class="ecm0bbzt hv4rvrfc ihqw7lf3 dati1w0a" data-ad-comet-preview="message" data-ad-preview="message" id="jsc_c_i8"><div class="j83agx80 cbu4d94t ew0dbk1b irj2b8pg"><div class="qzhwtbm6 knvmm38d"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">After being overweight for decades, at 178 lbs (81 kg) I am now in the normal weight range for my height, as my body mass index (BMI) is now under 25. </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">My wife tells me I look good and feel good. That's an even better motivator than BMI <span class="pq6dq46d tbxw36s4 knj5qynh kvgmc6g5 ditlmg2l oygrvhab nvdbi5me sf5mxxl7 gl3lb2sf hhz5lgdu"><img alt="😉" height="16" src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/tf6/2/16/1f609.png" width="16" /></span></div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Here's the strategy: On a camping trip in early June, two friends and I decided to lose weight. Each of us was overweight. It showed and we felt it. </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">The next day, we sent our beginning weights in a text thread. Almost every day since then, we have continued to share our weights. Many days, it's just a number. Other days, it's a number and something humorous or encouraging....or a bad excuse for a small weight gain. <span class="pq6dq46d tbxw36s4 knj5qynh kvgmc6g5 ditlmg2l oygrvhab nvdbi5me sf5mxxl7 gl3lb2sf hhz5lgdu"><img alt="😄" height="16" src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t71/2/16/1f604.png" width="16" /></span></div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">We're men, so there's an element of competition here, of course. But honestly, the most valuable part of this is that we are each invested in the success of the other two. And it has worked: between the three of us we have already lost more than 60 lbs (27 kg). Each of us is approaching his goal weight. I'm down 16 lbs (7 kg) with 3 lbs (1.3 kg) to go. All of us feel better, and all are seeing health benefits. </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">How did we lose weight? Simple: we ate less and exercised more. There's all kinds of ways to go at this. I have been using Weight Watchers, and I find as a side benefit that it helps me understand good portion size and the caloric content of my usual foods. I also try to walk 8,000 steps a day.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">But in my heart, what really made the difference was the encouragement of two friends!</div></div></span></span></span></div></div></div></div>David in NorCalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05576251518506124905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20407004.post-60685433679178213322022-02-20T17:32:00.005-08:002022-02-20T17:58:06.768-08:00University Education: Why Would We Pay for Leftist Indoctrination?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHmBd6Su6Wmdqv1q3iyQM9mGS8_1roifsw_EqG40bsn0aAR-wOZfpfq9QdBILYqOP37rA2p4dL7n069XQrj7co1gVnqXWO0UQJGB13gn3OLO5Cd7PFajEEmOKupeDKRWID3_Xbu3td9gG-wbkDj254RHo51Ki0GXaghQhbYfbVutqC3aJBBTo=s640" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="640" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHmBd6Su6Wmdqv1q3iyQM9mGS8_1roifsw_EqG40bsn0aAR-wOZfpfq9QdBILYqOP37rA2p4dL7n069XQrj7co1gVnqXWO0UQJGB13gn3OLO5Cd7PFajEEmOKupeDKRWID3_Xbu3td9gG-wbkDj254RHo51Ki0GXaghQhbYfbVutqC3aJBBTo=w373-h248" width="373" /></a></div>My university experience was a great time in my life. It is where I met my wife, it prepared me for a rewarding career, and it opened my eyes to new knowledge, new ways of thinking, and new ways to learn. The University of Alaska in the 1990s was very valuable to our adult children as well. <p></p><p>But today, as I think about our two granddaughters, I am seriously doubting the wisdom of their future attendance at nearly any of the colleges and universities in the United States or even abroad. Most of these have left their honorable purposes to become leftist indoctrination camps. </p><p>I am not concerned about exposure to ideas from both ends of the ideological spectrum. That’s healthy. What I AM concerned about is the overwhelming preponderance of leftist faculty and staff and a smothering teaching of “correct think”. </p><p>Our family has poured years into our granddaughters’ healthy emotional and spiritual growth, and much money into excellent private education. For them to lose that would be a disaster for them and their family, and those that follow after them. </p><p>Clearly, not everyone coming out of America’s colleges and universities today is steeped in neo-Marxism and nihilism, but many are, to the great dismay of their families, and to the diminishing of America. The massive college debt of many young Americans is bad, but the educational outcomes are worse. </p><p>And speaking of debt, is a university education in many disciplines really worth what people are paying? </p><p>So…..American colleges and universities: are you listening? I am one American father and grandfather and financial supporter of education who views you with massive distrust. </p>David in NorCalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05576251518506124905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20407004.post-42674853536719284942022-01-09T20:07:00.006-08:002022-01-09T20:09:12.298-08:00An Ordinary (But Deeply Powerful) Sunday Family Lunch<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCJrNDasVZIhfMbINGYteIhg8Npgm0jte7CH2Ke7pM9xsAs4hu0AAutT-RVqMuqmTr4OxUhZsYiT1hbesaAQfy7lpQrfzAoS7JdOxsCgCCpEZr5D60833YF1sy6-WRk0G0GZnDsuAyvh-Y55mxLu8NjQG7YIUqAPWSt7XjpS1dLM4sbgop8sw=s1280" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCJrNDasVZIhfMbINGYteIhg8Npgm0jte7CH2Ke7pM9xsAs4hu0AAutT-RVqMuqmTr4OxUhZsYiT1hbesaAQfy7lpQrfzAoS7JdOxsCgCCpEZr5D60833YF1sy6-WRk0G0GZnDsuAyvh-Y55mxLu8NjQG7YIUqAPWSt7XjpS1dLM4sbgop8sw=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div>We did something ordinary today. We ate our Sunday lunch together, the three generations of us here. It's ordinary because we do this almost every Sunday. We started this pleasant habit about four years ago -- now around 200 times. <p></p><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">But ordinary does not even begin to describe the deep human value of this simple activity. Sharing food is deeply woven into humanity. There is a bonding that happens each time we sit at table together. It feels like silken threads added layer upon layer binding us together. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Not only are we sharing food, we are sharing ideas, hopes, and dreams. While sometimes we have important subjects to discuss as a family, mostly it's just happy talk, the casual conversation of people who know each other well. Plans are hatched for other activities we do together. Sometimes we ask for help with a project or a need. We often talk about the church meeting we were part of earlier in the morning. And we're Americans, so we talk about politics. :) We often find that two or three hours slip away before it is time to go our separate ways.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">I believe what is happening at a superconscious level is even more profound. In these regular gatherings, we are each teaching each other who we are as a people in a family, how we respond to life, and how we communicate and connect emotionally with each other. Family history is shared in little pieces, and the younger learn from the older who they are and where they come from. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">And there is a simple profundity at the spiritual level as well. We begin our meals together with a simple grace. It's a habit, but habits are powerful, and this one reminds us each week that we live our lives with attitudes of gratitude and a recognition of Jesus, who is at the center of all. This is what we have sung together for many years:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Thank you Jesus, thank you Jesus</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>For this food, for this food</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>And our many blessings, and our many blessings</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Amen amen amen</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">So......today, I'm deeply grateful for this ordinary thing we do, and the extra-ordinary family of which I am a part. </span></div>David in NorCalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05576251518506124905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20407004.post-2678077862815025452021-12-31T09:15:00.004-08:002022-01-10T18:12:15.075-08:00America Is A Racist Nation, but.....<p> </p><div data-en-clipboard="true" data-pm-slice="1 1 []" style="padding-left: 40px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibTc6oTCIxPF1RsfwhQdrLMi8JW3zrGsO-fpX0DB7VK2yYpCp-4_6cmHPACzhjin5XkRyKwdj_nO5nHz09ZnEhCzV9kx4ECySER0FJoE4NGDzUfCnRI6csTobcfx1wcc6f1eLV0i_yCAkDEI8ZDIFt2sXqhJ181LKsDLtf1SVRG5GqHNt0VuM=s640" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="640" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibTc6oTCIxPF1RsfwhQdrLMi8JW3zrGsO-fpX0DB7VK2yYpCp-4_6cmHPACzhjin5XkRyKwdj_nO5nHz09ZnEhCzV9kx4ECySER0FJoE4NGDzUfCnRI6csTobcfx1wcc6f1eLV0i_yCAkDEI8ZDIFt2sXqhJ181LKsDLtf1SVRG5GqHNt0VuM=w320-h219" width="320" /></a></div>America is a racist nation.</div><div style="padding-left: 40px;">Just as every nation is a racist nation.</div><div style="padding-left: 40px;">But America is one of the least racist multi-racial nations on earth.</div><div style="padding-left: 40px;"><br /></div><div style="padding-left: 40px;">We have fought so hard and come so very far.</div><div style="padding-left: 40px;">Yet, we are not done.</div><div style="padding-left: 40px;">The problem is that every human is racist at some level. </div><div style="padding-left: 40px;"><br /></div><div style="padding-left: 40px;">Laws and regulations may help, but will never alone suffice.</div><div style="padding-left: 40px;">Only changed hearts can right the wrongs.</div><div style="padding-left: 40px;"><br /></div><div style="padding-left: 40px;">I will never wear the label "racist" because of the light color of my skin.</div><div style="padding-left: 40px;">The demand that I do is itself naked racism.</div><div style="padding-left: 40px;"><br /></div><div style="padding-left: 40px;">I will never bear the wrongs of generations past.</div><div style="padding-left: 40px;">Americans of earlier generations made their own mistakes just as does ours.</div><div style="padding-left: 40px;">I am not responsible for the evils of the past. All I can do is try to lessen the evils of today. <br /></div><div style="padding-left: 40px;"> <br /></div><div style="padding-left: 40px;">I am proud of our history. We are a noble nation and a noble people who out of many have become one. But I am not proud of every part of our history.<br /></div><div style="padding-left: 40px;">Our historic wrongs do not define us. Our noble impulses and behaviors define us.</div><div style="padding-left: 40px;">Fools who attempt to erase or re-write our history will only cause future generations to make similar mistakes. <br /></div><div style="padding-left: 40px;"><br /></div><div style="padding-left: 40px;">May God bless America, and all the peoples that are here</div><div style="padding-left: 40px;">who make us who we are today and who we will become tomorrow!</div>David in NorCalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05576251518506124905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20407004.post-17914989263862601052021-12-14T15:11:00.002-08:002021-12-14T15:26:32.979-08:00It's NOT Too Late: We Can Rebuild America the Beautiful<p><span style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Wyoming, America" height="226" src="https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2019/03/05/16/20/wyoming-4036504__340.jpg" style="max-height: 2247px; max-width: 4000px;" title="America the Beautiful" width="401" /> <br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">America is in desperate need of awakening and revival. Better political representation at all levels will help, but government will never be more than a partial solution to our deep-seated problems. We have a heart problem, and only hearts healed and reshaped by the Healer will suffice. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Founding father John Adams wrote, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">For 245 years we have been among the freest and most blessed people on the planet. But as many devolve into the "any other" Adams wrote about, one possible future is that we find his words prescient. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I reject that future! </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Nehemiah said, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.” His words ring clear even today. </span></span></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">You and I were born into this season to fight for all that is noble and pure and holy in America. </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">We were born to fight for a shining future for our sons and daughters and grandchildren. </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">We were born to fight this battle on our knees, living lives of holiness before the Lord. </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">We were born to fight by demonstrating the beauty of the Kingdom of God with our lives and our love. </span></span></li></ul><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">It is NOT too late. We can rebuild America the beautiful. </span></span>David in NorCalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05576251518506124905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20407004.post-48922967030344921762021-11-29T20:27:00.003-08:002022-01-09T22:05:25.381-08:00Beating Nighttime Wakefulness with Peace: A Strategy that Works<p dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-0332bc7a-7fff-285a-ff48-c1d4c60178d0" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhdfivpby-yicZ7PLdjd-f6TlwJ61R5A-oF2JKXOn6EFEqA9plDSgadnioIowTzQSkUBkncgInAVQ8vI_QhhvWVXwhhV7oqUbxA8Kw1iYF-sQjMBxDoZZqGMxDEFGXsa-4dki0XImGEMnCz5EEslULTkp1fPuKYNCqDsW9o-7K-wmsTve-kCWg=s640" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhdfivpby-yicZ7PLdjd-f6TlwJ61R5A-oF2JKXOn6EFEqA9plDSgadnioIowTzQSkUBkncgInAVQ8vI_QhhvWVXwhhV7oqUbxA8Kw1iYF-sQjMBxDoZZqGMxDEFGXsa-4dki0XImGEMnCz5EEslULTkp1fPuKYNCqDsW9o-7K-wmsTve-kCWg=w400-h268" title="Psalm 23" width="400" /></a></div><p>A few months back, I shared a strategy for filling nighttime wakefulness with peace rather than the usual half-wakeful thoughts of the evils afoot in the world today. This is an update: it not only works, it works REALLY well.<br /><br />The strategy originated in a casual comment from the leader of the <a href="https://www.bethel.com/" target="_blank">Bethel movement</a>, <a href="https://bjm.org/" target="_blank">Bill Johnson</a>. In the midst of a sermon on something else, he remarked that when he is awake at night, he will go over in his mind scriptures that he has memorized.<br /><br />I thought to myself, “I can do that,” and I was motivated because at that time, I was plagued by wakefulness on and off during the night hours. Often I would lay half-awake for a half hour or more. Anyone else identify with that?<br /><br />Anyway, I dove into it. I started off with the <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+23&version=ESV" target="_blank">23rd Psalm</a>: “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not be in want….” That helps my peace. I branched off into <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Colossians+3%3A1-3&version=ESV" target="_blank">Colossians 3:1-3</a> and <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+12%3A1-2&version=ESV" target="_blank">Romans 12:1-2</a> to remind myself to guard my eyes and ears and to renew my mind. I will add more going forward.<br /><br />Today, more than 6 months later, I can tell you that this practice has brought about a revolution in my sleeping patterns. I ALMOST NEVER lose sleep these days. I typically fall asleep again after only a few seconds…...and I know that because when I awake, I sometimes remember where I left off in my meditation on this or that scripture. If I have trouble, I just switch scriptures. Boom. Back to sleep.<br /><br />AND, while I typically sleep within a minute or two of my head hitting the pillow, if I have trouble, I just start reciting my memorized scriptures, or think on the scriptures I read just before I put my head down. <br /><br />Here’s another thing: I learned that my brain has figured out a way to do this. It’s almost as if the 23rd Psalm has a structure. I can almost touch it. I believe with practice, I could learn much longer sections.<br /><br />One last thing: this is renewing my mind. I am no longer wasting mind share on things that spin me up that I cannot change. I am thinking more on things above. I don’t ignore what is happening in the world; I spend a little time each day looking at current events locally, nationally and internationally. But that’s not where I keep my mind. It’s just not profitable for me or my family or my calling.<br /><br />Do I recommend it? Sure! Not everyone wants to memorize scripture, of course. I would think that favorite lines of peaceful poetry would also serve well. <br /><br />How do you manage your thoughts in times of mid-night wakefulness?</p><p></p><p><br /><br /></p>
Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/wisconsinpictures-9437947/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=5725749">wisconsinpictures</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=5725749">Pixabay</a>David in NorCalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05576251518506124905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20407004.post-29294085723084798312021-10-20T21:57:00.000-07:002021-10-20T22:04:10.449-07:00Following Jesus: Benefits in this Life, Too<p>The point of the Jesus-following life has always been and will always be love: “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%2012%3A30-31&version=NIV" target="_blank">Luke 10:27</a>)<br /></p><div dir="auto"><div class="ecm0bbzt hv4rvrfc ihqw7lf3 dati1w0a" data-ad-comet-preview="message" data-ad-preview="message" id="jsc_c_sr"><div class="j83agx80 cbu4d94t ew0dbk1b irj2b8pg"><div class="qzhwtbm6 knvmm38d"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wkNeLB00L1k/YXDsn5O3mKI/AAAAAAACjwg/LvE2leIO4oEsHLRhBwJgg6BhTB6GcidEgCNcBGAsYHQ/s2020/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-10-20%2Bat%2B9.28.44%2BPM.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1406" data-original-width="2020" height="278" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wkNeLB00L1k/YXDsn5O3mKI/AAAAAAACjwg/LvE2leIO4oEsHLRhBwJgg6BhTB6GcidEgCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h278/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-10-20%2Bat%2B9.28.44%2BPM.png" title="Jesus is portrayed here by Jonathon Roumie in the made for TV series, "The Chosen."" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Jesus constantly demonstrated love, even for undervalued women and children as shown here. <br />He is portrayed here by Jonathon Roumie in the brilliant and sensitive series, "The Chosen".<br />See below for information about how to watch the series free.<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">While love is the point, there are undeniable benefits of following Him. Jesus told us, "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">And in the two thousand years since He walked the Earth, "more abundantly" has been the reality for Christians, and even society at large. Social science confirms it.<br /></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">John Stonestreet and Kasey Leander wrote recently about this in a recent blog article, <i><a href="Is Religion the Opium of the People, or the Ladder?" target="_blank">Is Religion the Opium of the People, or the Ladder?</a> </i><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">The wrote, in part, "Regular attendance at religious services consistently correlates with longer life spans, stronger immune systems, and lower blood pressure, as well as decreased anxiety, depression, and suicide. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffreydorfman/2013/12/22/religion-is-good-for-all-of-us-even-those-who-dont-follow-one/?sh=2474479164d7" target="_blank">Kids raised in religious households</a> have a lower incidence of drug addiction, delinquency, and incarceration. They’re more likely to graduate high school. In short, the nearly unanimous scientific consensus is that <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/psychologists-religion-how-god-works/" target="_blank">religious belief is good for you</a>." <br /></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">And if that wasn't enough, Jesus also said "for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">In short: the Jesus-following life = better life + better life after life!</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">[You can <a href="https://watch.angelstudios.com/thechosen" target="_blank">watch the series <i>The Chosen</i> for free</a>. You will be invited to "pay it forward," but there is no obligation.] <br /></div></div></span></div></div></div></div>David in NorCalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05576251518506124905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20407004.post-52753148405626133742020-09-08T13:29:00.009-07:002020-09-22T16:51:25.410-07:00 Vote Values. For the Soul of America.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><img border="0" data-original-height="419" data-original-width="427" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r657he-c4ik/X1fozycNqXI/AAAAAAACjHI/9A9C2OLyNZcTAWD6fyxRNq07nr-8JpuBQCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/vote-1319435_640.png" width="320" /></div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />Presidential candidate Joe Biden remarked recently that this election is a “battle for the soul of America.” He is right: more so than in nearly every other election in our history, the outcome of this election season could result in massive change to America’s soul.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Which makes it urgent that we each vote our values at every level of public office. </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-a7b17b85-7fff-04bb-8ed4-1a659a33e62d"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Political campaigns may start nobly with discussions of ideals and platforms but typically devolve into brutal mud wrestling. This year’s campaigns are no different. The “mud” can be both an effort to discredit and an effort to obscure. Mud works. The most discredited often lose.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mud can also be a strategy to obscure. If the conversation centers on mud, the slingers of it can gloss over the values of their own candidates and party, thereby misleading voters. Political mud will fade away, but once in office, it is the legacy of a politician's values that will remain. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When we vote our values, we are freed from the small tyranny of having to vote “for” a candidate. It’s ideal when we can support a candidate. In my city, I am giving my time and resources to support a woman running for re-election to the City Council. I like her values, and she is a powerful force for good in our community. I will be voting “for” her.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In other elections in this season, I will be voting “against” some candidates and the “soul” of their parties. That does not necessarily mean I am “for” the candidates I select on my ballot. It means I am looking at values. In some cases, the candidates I select will be the ones who least violate my values. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the case of the candidates for president, I am unable to vote “for” either major candidate. Looking through the mud, however, I can see which candidate and party least violates my values. That’s the one I will select on my ballot.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The chart below shows my own briefly stated views of how I believe American conservative and liberal politicians approach issues of the day, and what would be the result of their governance. I understand there are nuances that I have not included, or that I have not fully known or understood. Nevertheless, this is how I see the way each end of the political spectrum will try to mold the soul of America. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Red Line Issues</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> are those deeply rooted in my convictions.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><br /><div align="left" dir="ltr" style="margin-left: 0pt;"><table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="243"></col><col width="112"></col><col width="249"></col></colgroup><tbody><tr style="height: 28.5pt;"><td style="background-color: #f4cccc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Conservative Politicians </span></p></td><td style="background-color: #fff2cc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Issue</span></p></td><td style="background-color: #cfe2f3; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Liberal Politicians </span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="background-color: #f4cccc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The freedom to speak our minds is a foundation of our republic and must be protected. “Cancel culture” is not okay.</span></p></td><td style="background-color: #fff2cc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Freedom of Speech</b></span></p></td><td style="background-color: #cfe2f3; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Speech must conform to current social norms. Culture and laws should punish those who violate those norms.</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="background-color: #f4cccc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Abortion is morally wrong, although there must be room for some exceptions</span></p></td><td style="background-color: #fff2cc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Abortion</b></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Red Line Issue</span></p></td><td style="background-color: #cfe2f3; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Abortion is a basic human right and should generally not be infringed. Disposal of unwanted children after birth is acceptable.</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="background-color: #f4cccc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Less crime</span></p></td><td style="background-color: #fff2cc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Crime</b></span></p></td><td style="background-color: #cfe2f3; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">More crime</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="background-color: #f4cccc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Protect the environment with economically sustainable technologies, policies and expenditures</span></p></td><td style="background-color: #fff2cc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Environment</b></span></p></td><td style="background-color: #cfe2f3; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Protect the environment with policies and massive green projects, even if it means unreasonable economic costs.</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="background-color: #f4cccc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Open the economy and normal activities as widely as possible consistent with protecting the most vulnerable.</span></p></td><td style="background-color: #fff2cc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Coronavirus</b></span></p></td><td style="background-color: #cfe2f3; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Close the economy and normal activities as needed to blunt the spread of the disease.</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="background-color: #f4cccc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Less erosion</span></p></td><td style="background-color: #fff2cc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Freedoms</b></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Red Line Issue</span></p></td><td style="background-color: #cfe2f3; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">More erosion</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="background-color: #f4cccc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Little erosion</span></p></td><td style="background-color: #fff2cc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Religious Freedom</b></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Red Line Issue</span></p></td><td style="background-color: #cfe2f3; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Continuous erosion</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="background-color: #f4cccc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lower tax burden</span></p></td><td style="background-color: #fff2cc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Taxation</b></span></p></td><td style="background-color: #cfe2f3; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Higher tax burden</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="background-color: #f4cccc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fewer </span></p></td><td style="background-color: #fff2cc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Rules & regulations at all levels</b></span></p></td><td style="background-color: #cfe2f3; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">More </span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="background-color: #f4cccc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The original meaning of the constitution should constrain the laws of today. Low risk of “court packing”. </span></p></td><td style="background-color: #fff2cc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Supreme Court</b></span></p><br /></td><td style="background-color: #cfe2f3; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The intent of the constitution is living and should change with the needs of present society. High risk of “court packing” to obtain favorable decisions.</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="background-color: #f4cccc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Higher growth</span></p></td><td style="background-color: #fff2cc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Economy</b></span></p></td><td style="background-color: #cfe2f3; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lower growth</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="background-color: #f4cccc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It’s a concern. We’ll take care of it later. Our hearts are in the right place, but we are having trouble engaging action to rein in debt.” Low to moderate risk of crippling inflation in years to come.</span></p></td><td style="background-color: #fff2cc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>National Debt</b></span></p></td><td style="background-color: #cfe2f3; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">National debt isn’t a problem, according to the “modern monetary theory” endorsed by many liberals. Moderate to high risk of crippling inflation in years to come.</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="background-color: #f4cccc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We have made great improvements as a nation in our treatment of minorities, and we must continue to root out racism where it exists.</span></p></td><td style="background-color: #fff2cc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Race relations</b></span></p></td><td style="background-color: #cfe2f3; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">People of color are victims of white racism. America is deeply flawed in this area and requires massive structural change.</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="background-color: #f4cccc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Peaceful protests are fine. Violent protests and property destruction are never acceptable: the first duty of government is to protect the people.</span></p></td><td style="background-color: #fff2cc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <b>Violent Protests</b></span></p></td><td style="background-color: #cfe2f3; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Peaceful protests are best, but violent protests are a legitimate form of political expression </span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="background-color: #f4cccc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Treat other nations with dignity and respect, but protect American citizens and American interests first</span></p></td><td style="background-color: #fff2cc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Foreign policy</b></span></p></td><td style="background-color: #cfe2f3; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Treat other nations with dignity and respect, and make few waves even if that comes at great cost to Americans</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="background-color: #f4cccc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Greater security </span></p></td><td style="background-color: #fff2cc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><b><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Security of Personal Savings, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">i.e. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">confiscation of savings by government</span></b></p></td><td style="background-color: #cfe2f3; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Less security </span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="background-color: #f4cccc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Based on traditional values with little change going forward</span></p></td><td style="background-color: #fff2cc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Morality</b></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Red Line Issue</span></p></td><td style="background-color: #cfe2f3; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Constantly evolving depending on the sentiments of the day</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="background-color: #f4cccc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stronger defense</span></p></td><td style="background-color: #fff2cc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>National defense</b></span></p></td><td style="background-color: #cfe2f3; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Diminished defense </span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="background-color: #f4cccc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Protection of
2nd amendment rights</span></p></td><td style="background-color: #fff2cc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Firearms</b></span></p></td><td style="background-color: #cfe2f3; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Continuous erosion of
2nd amendment rights</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="background-color: #f4cccc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Immigration policies that provide a continuous and sustainable flow of immigrants and visitors</span></p></td><td style="background-color: #fff2cc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Immigration</b></span></p></td><td style="background-color: #cfe2f3; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anyone should be able to come to America and stay here at taxpayer expense. No border.</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="background-color: #f4cccc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Parents should be able to choose the best kind of school for their children. Parents should have full awareness of and a strong voice in curricula selection.</span></p></td><td style="background-color: #fff2cc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>School choice</b></span></p></td><td style="background-color: #cfe2f3; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Public schools are best for children and for society and other choices should be very limited. Parents should have little voice in curricula, and in some cases, not even know what is being taught.</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="background-color: #f4cccc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Low</span></p></td><td style="background-color: #fff2cc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Resistance to Kingdom of God in America</b></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Red Line Issue</span></p></td><td style="background-color: #cfe2f3; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">High</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="background-color: #f4cccc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">….a great country. It is not perfect, and we must press on to find equitable solutions for the problems of the nation. </span></p></td><td style="background-color: #fff2cc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>America is...</b></span></p></td><td style="background-color: #cfe2f3; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">….a desperately broken nation that can only be restored by massive change, great national sacrifice and public penance.</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="background-color: #f4cccc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Americans need liberals to promote important social evolution</span></p></td><td style="background-color: #fff2cc; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Change / progress / evolution</b></span></p></td><td style="background-color: #cfe2f3; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Americans need conservatives to reduce risks of breaking important values in the midst of evolution</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">All this said, one last thought: governments can make things better or worse for us, but my hopes do not ultimately rest in the hands of politicians or governments. My hopes rest in Jesus, the risen Savior and in the righteousness, peace, joy and power of His Kingdom that is advancing now across the Earth, and the more of that Kingdom that is yet to come. </span></span><div><span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/amberzen-1239031/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1319435">amberzen</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1319435">Pixabay</a></span></div>David in NorCalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05576251518506124905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20407004.post-11320280420197521502020-09-05T20:03:00.008-07:002020-09-05T20:09:21.901-07:00Greeting Others With the Peace of the Kingdom of God<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="640" height="223" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Klvhccdl32I/X1RSIbdPzaI/AAAAAAACjGA/w2YiwuLAVoYETQf2LmNmdZFQAQkYRFO4gCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h223/dove-2516641_640.jpg" width="400" /></div>What if we as Jesus followers always greeted others in peace; if we spoke with grace and love in hard situations; if we responded with patience instead of reacting with anger? <p></p><p>Could we be the catalysts for a transformation in how we communicate, and a depolarization of our culture? Could we begin to turn the tide of anger, hate and murder with the tongue? </p><p>I know I have too often failed in these and other places to quietly demonstrate the righteousness, peace and joy of the Kingdom of God. But no more.</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i>It is essential that people of faith take responsibility for healing the divisions caused by polarization, and that we bear witness to the solution and not add to the problem. Americans generally, and Christians specifically, have a duty to act civilly, to will the good of others—or, in Christian terms, to bear witness to that divine love that knows no borders; to the God for whom love, mercy and justice are the only standards of human action</i>. -- John C. Danforth & Matt Malone, Episcopal and Jesuit priests respectively, writing in <i>The Wall Street Journal.</i></p></blockquote>David in NorCalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05576251518506124905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20407004.post-58074361049895955652020-09-03T07:54:00.001-07:002020-09-03T07:54:43.422-07:00Finding Peace in the Turbulence of Today<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="522" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-77sK4xGzq-U/X1EDGxli7cI/AAAAAAACjFg/JhKuI2j5cewOHoV0kJMDrL6NFrMhwMl0ACNcBGAsYHQ/s320/dove-41260_640.png" /></div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />2020 so far has felt like endless turbulence, with no end in sight. Peace has seemed far away. Maybe you can relate?</span><p></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-7067c843-7fff-d179-9907-53f8d73d634c"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Early in the year I sought information, and then perspective, more information and then more perspective. I sought much of it on the Internet: the news, social media, Zoom calls with friends, streamed church services, discussions with friends and family. That produced mostly discouragement, depression and lassitude mixed with times of encouragement and peace. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What I have come to is this: there is a way to approach the multiple difficulties we face with peace. I believe I have found a bright path and along it I have already found more peace.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s simple really; just not easy. Here it is:</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.” Paul the Apostle wrote that.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Seeking” and “setting my mind on” has for me meant first reducing my input whatever gets in the way of that pursuit. For me, that has meant turning down to a small trickle my input of news and social media. Could we not all admit that these are both sources of unease in our lives? They both promise much and deliver little.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I then have had to direct my emotions and my mind to the serious business of “seeking” and “setting”. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Early this morning my heart tells me I have found an important key: The things above are realities of the Kingdom of God. Paul wrote elsewhere that the Kingdom is about righteousness, peace and joy. Jesus spoke of another Kingdom reality: love.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Therefore, I will seek these in their fullness. And, on them is where I will take my stand, rather than on the shifting ground of public opinions. From them, I will order my thoughts and emotions and live my life -- especially in these turbulent days. </span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>David in NorCalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05576251518506124905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20407004.post-46651258056658748872020-07-13T10:56:00.002-07:002022-01-09T22:21:43.249-08:00We Are ALL Racists<span id="docs-internal-guid-f71c1eb6-7fff-74be-7684-58da9270985b"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It has become politically correct in the United States for some to label all Caucasians as racists, and other races the victims of this racism. Labelling a person as racist based on skin color alone is itself an act of racism. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The politically incorrect reality is that we are ALL racist. Whether we are white, black, yellow or red, each one of us harbors racist thinking -- how much is just a matter of degree. Some of us make no attempt to restrain the evil impulses of racism; others of us work diligently to erase it from our hearts; but still, not one of us is pure. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Africa, where blacks predominate, there is racism against Asians and Caucasians. In Asia, there is racism against blacks and Caucasians. In the United States, there are areas where whites dislike blacks, other areas where blacks dislike whites, other areas where Hispanics dislike Asians, and, areas where Asians dislike whites.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Racism is a flaw of the unredeemed human condition. It is a blight on all mankind.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We who are followers of Jesus have a responsibility to examine ourselves with the guidance of Holy Spirit to find those places in us where our racial prejudices diminish our love for one another because of skin color. There is no option: Jesus commands us to love one another.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As a nation, America has made great strides in reducing racism. We are today one of the least racist multi-ethnic nations on Earth. In the Civil War the slaves were freed, at the cost of hundreds of thousands of American lives. In the mid-1960s, we codified into law the civil rights of all Americans. Today we are going through a painful national self examination because there are still cultural structures that frustrate the ideal of liberty and justice for all…...and we have not yet rooted out racism from its main stronghold, the human heart. </span></p><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s a good thing to find and eliminate laws and customs that support structural racism at the national and local levels. But real change will only come with a change in the hearts of white Americans, black Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans and all the ethnicities that are alloying together to make the better America that will be: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">e pluribus unum……</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">”out of many one”.</span></span>David in NorCalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05576251518506124905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20407004.post-8160947461107919792019-11-29T22:10:00.002-08:002020-07-13T11:23:29.314-07:00Good News!<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-right: 162pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>I have good news!</i></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-bf3eed55-7fff-9ff3-e9cd-2e510f602d17"><i><br /></i></span>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The king has come. He is full of love and he is good.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>He brought his beautiful kingdom with him, and he offers us a better life in that kingdom. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>And he is offering to adopt us as his sons and daughters. We can live with him forever.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>He will forget our past; we need only turn to follow him and he will make us like new.</i></span></div>
<i><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The kingdom is now open to </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">everyone who believes in him!</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This was in my heart as I awoke this morning. I hope it resonates with your heart and if you have not already, you will turn and follow Jesus, the King.</span>David in NorCalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05576251518506124905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20407004.post-19559100521672401062019-03-09T16:01:00.004-08:002022-04-25T10:21:14.219-07:00Am I Wearing the Cross? Or Is It Wearing Me?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VmUNxrMYKRw/XIRTFC-HQxI/AAAAAAACgoo/NORoK3O-cWMYM-GHFRDsFyAnPTyiDiesgCLcBGAs/s1600/cross-2775776_640.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="461" data-original-width="640" height="288" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VmUNxrMYKRw/XIRTFC-HQxI/AAAAAAACgoo/NORoK3O-cWMYM-GHFRDsFyAnPTyiDiesgCLcBGAs/s400/cross-2775776_640.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span>Am I wearing the cross, </span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span>or is it wearing me?</span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
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</span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span>These words turned over and again in that semi-wakefulness before dawn. I have never worn a crucifix. It wasn’t about that. </span></span><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><br /></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">I remember thinking as a ten-year-old self that I was “very religious.” I was thinking that because I attended church with my family. While I no longer want to be religious, those days did set my feet on The Way.</span><br />
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</span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Still, in those early days, I </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">was</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> wearing a cross. My outward behaviors were the crucifix I wore. I wore it Sundays, and eventually throughout the week. </span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
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</span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Today, decades later, the cross is wearing me. It is for me as Paul wrote: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (Galatians 2:20)</span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
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</span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span>Jesus has become my entire spiritual ecosystem. It is in and for His Kingdom that I live. The Kingdom is the place where my hopes and dreams reside. By His grace, I have been made a son of God (John 1:12) -- a son of the King of kings: a prince, you might say.</span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
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</span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span>In recent years, I have realized that from my identity will flow my behaviors and even my thoughts. If I wear a cross around my neck or on my lapel, that’s one thing. But if I am a prince in the Kingdom of God, that's another thing entirely.</span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
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</span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span>If this sounds like boasting, it is. I am boasting about the one who took a mess like me, and turned me into a prince. </span></span></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span> </span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span>I know that my journey of faith is not complete. However, I also know this: when my Father looks at me, he sees a prince of His Kingdom. That is who I am and who I am becoming.</span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
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</span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span>He is willing to do that for you, too. </span></span></span></span></div>
David in NorCalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05576251518506124905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20407004.post-66431893915567043072019-01-03T08:22:00.000-08:002019-01-03T08:22:22.783-08:00Walking, Talking Miracles and the Goodness of God in the Ordinary<div style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">I realized tonight that I couldn't make a fingernail that works like mine if I tried a half hundred years. I couldn't make a digestive system that works like mine in a hundred. Or a neural / endocrine signaling system in double that.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">I'm a walking, talking miracle, and I'm so used to me that I take it for granted.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">There is much for which to be thankful in these still damp hours of the new born year. As the example of the fingernail suggests, my list could be very, very long.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5oMWeQpp5Q8/XC42VeIwfZI/AAAAAAACgfU/0DhWPLELHScSmvSUAgSqk4xdKPAUpRbeACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/IMG_6334.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5oMWeQpp5Q8/XC42VeIwfZI/AAAAAAACgfU/0DhWPLELHScSmvSUAgSqk4xdKPAUpRbeACK4BGAYYCw/s320/IMG_6334.jpeg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">But let me show you just two on my list; two walking, talking miracles: my granddaughters.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px;">Being thankful keeps my attitudes right-side-up. God is good, and I never fail to see that in my family and friends and community and in this incomprehensibly complex and beautiful creation.</span><br />
<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">I repeat that often: God is good. I do it not because my King needs to hear it, but because my soul needs to be sure of it.....even in times of sudden, painful loss as was our experience last month. He is still good.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">And I practice thankfulness because it constantly reminds that He is indeed still good.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">Granddaughters make that joyfully obvious, but even my fingernails proclaim it!</span></span></div>
David in NorCalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05576251518506124905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20407004.post-10818074878254107072018-02-16T13:53:00.001-08:002018-02-19T08:57:37.064-08:00In the Aftermath of School Shootings Why Are We Not Talking About "Culture Control"?<div>
In the wake of Parkland, the question of guns is interesting. But even more pressing is another: “why do we continue to tolerate a culture in which humans feel they can kill other humans?” And: “why do we continue to tolerate <a href="https://awildolivebranch.blogspot.com/2015/12/stopping-mass-shootings-in-america-role.html">a news media that reaps increased profits from sensationalized tragedy</a>?"
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American have always owned firearms, even semi-automatic or fully automatic firearms. And school massacres have also always been with us, even before we became a nation.
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What is different today is the increase of American school shootings. And our culture: It’s different, too.
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Our American culture today treats life and death indifferently, starting even before birth. If allowed to live, children are often unwanted, or poorly nurtured. Sons and daughters far too often have no fathers or almost useless fathers. We give lip service to eliminating sex slavery but continue to patronize the pornography that feeds it. A violent entertainment culture of video games and movies glorifies shooting and gore. And we murder with our tongues: using words like racist, homophobe, white supremacist, bitch, queer, kike, and worse<i>. </i>
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Even if all firearms were magically removed, children would still be killed in their schools. Islamic terrorists in Europe have recently killed more citizens with heavy trucks than have been killed in recent American school massacres.<br />
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And, the first recorded school deaths in America involved children being killed with melee weapons like knives and tomahawks. School children in some other countries are more commonly massacred today with melee weapons than firearms. Explosives killed 38 children in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath_School_disaster">the worst American school massacre</a> ever.</div>
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The issue is a raw one for me today. The beautiful, loving granddaughter of a friend was killed in this most recent massacre. My heart is trebly broken, for my friend, for the families of the slain and for my country.
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Like all reasonable Americans, I want this to stop. Making firearms more difficult to legally obtain for those who should never have them may help. I could support this. But, as I believe I have demonstrated, "doing something about firearms" might feel good, but won’t fix the problem.<br />
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Let’s become intolerant of the horrible parts of our culture that glorify hatred, indifference, slavery and death….and the parts of the culture that profit from these things. That will feel good AND do good.</div>
David in NorCalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05576251518506124905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20407004.post-19365923367555311342017-11-03T22:25:00.002-07:002017-11-06T11:10:55.827-08:00Why Is Our Nation So Divided Today?<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U4bLF0sMGRE/Wf45jU7wD6I/AAAAAAACAU8/vMkAOSTRWSkYBO8ZwRfrvpdcDSVPimO4gCLcBGAs/s1600/angry-man-274175_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="640" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U4bLF0sMGRE/Wf45jU7wD6I/AAAAAAACAU8/vMkAOSTRWSkYBO8ZwRfrvpdcDSVPimO4gCLcBGAs/s400/angry-man-274175_640.jpg" width="400" /></a>I have a theory about why our nation feels so divided today. I've been pondering this because it feels as if we are as polarized as I have ever seen in my half century of adulthood.<br />
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Here's my theory and a thought about how to make it different.<br />
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We ARE polarized</span></b><br />
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It is no news that we are polarized. Americans voted last fall for two of the most polarizing presidential candidates in our history. The candidates and the worldviews they represented could hardly have been more different, and the national popular vote was nearly equally divided.<br />
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Families and friends continue to deal with tensions stirred up during the political campaigns, election, inauguration, and first year of a new presidency. Some relationships ended because of it. Others remain on life support.<br />
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There is always a tension between conservative and liberal political views. The wise are able to maintain relationships with people with different views. But many of us surround ourselves with those of like opinions and hold at arms length those with conflicting views.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Social media exacerbate the polarization</span></b><br />
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<a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/11/11/social-media-update-2016/">Pew Research reported that in 2016 approximately 70% of Americans were FaceBooking, and the majority of Americans now report social media are how they get their news</a>. Therefore, this information channel and its quality and content of it have a great impact on how we view the world.<br />
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But the content is not the same for everyone! <b><a href="https://www.wired.com/2016/11/facebook-echo-chamber/">FaceBook automatically creates a kind of echo chamber for each of us</a>.</b> Every time we "like" a post or visit a sponsor page we are telling FaceBook what we prefer. And FaceBook knows that we will spend more time if we like what we read. If I am a liberal, FaceBook will dutifully provide more posts, ads, and other material that fit that perspective on the world. If I am a conservative, the same happens with conservative material. My "feed" will be largely comprised of stories and shares from friends and advertisers who agree with me. <br />
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This means that on any major issue, FaceBook is constantly juggling our individual feeds to provide the best mix of what we seem to want to see......which has the salutary (for FaceBook) effect of creating more revenue. <br />
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I'm not mad at FaceBook. It's just a company doing what companies do: making money. They aren't trying to create problems over in Menlo Park, <i><b>but they are</b></i>.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Mainstream news media provide misleading information</span></b><br />
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Neither am I mad at the news media. They are also just doing what companies do. They aren't trying to make problems either (well, some like <i>Russia Today, </i>are) in newsrooms all over the world, <b><i>but they are.</i></b> Here's how: crisis, conflict and blood provide the most eyeballs and therefore the best revenue. "<a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/two-takes-depression/201106/if-it-bleeds-it-leads-understanding-fear-based-media">If it bleeds it leads</a>" is still the rule of thumb in newsrooms.<br />
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Where there is a march or a civil disturbance, for example, the coverage centers on the tiny minority burning flags, breaking windows, fighting, or generally rioting. The coverage of the main march where people put feet to their strongly held beliefs is limited. No arson, no blood: no coverage.<br />
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<b>To me, this means that the news media have an inherent context bias. At worst, the political and cultural biases of individual reporters, producers and owners provide us with a skewed view of what is really happening world. Some deliberately disinform.</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/195542/americans-trust-mass-media-sinks-new-low.aspx">The trust of Americans in the mainstream media touched a new low in 2016, Gallup reports</a>. Only 1 in 3 Americans reported "a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media."<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Foreign actors are stirring up dissension</b><b> </b></span><br />
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<b>We thought the Russian government was trying to influence the election. Recent reports suggests they WERE trying to do just that, but that was and is only one of their intentions. </b> They want to create tears in the fabric of the institutions and culture that sustains our republic. They want to inflame racial tensions, sow distrust of leaders and create chaos.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">We have mislaid our ability to honor one another</span></b><br />
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The final part of my theory is that <b>we as a people have mislaid our ability to honor one another. Instead of listening to one another with respect, we sharpen our knives.</b> Honestly stated opinions are often met with unkind words and even <i>ad hominum </i>attacks. I know that there have always been those who attack others with words, but somehow it seems to have been less common in times past. We were once a more civil society. Today, with the shield of Internet anonymity, unkindness or even viciousness is common.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Towards a solution</span></b><br />
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I believe the answer to these problems is simple: a return to honor. But simple is often not easy.<br />
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Honor is multifaceted, of course, but if we could find our way back to civil discourse, if we could treat others as we would like to be treated, if we could.....well.....love, much could be changed for the good.<br />
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Finally: America has weathered worse (think Civil War era) and today there is more that unites us than divides. I have every expectation that we shall pass through these dark days into a greater society that gives hope.<br />
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So....there's my theory and ideas towards a solution. I would really like to hear <i>your</i> thoughts on how we can move towards a society that goes forward together, regardless of our differing political and cultural opinions. Please leave comments below.David in NorCalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05576251518506124905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20407004.post-598751489495573852017-10-31T17:16:00.000-07:002017-11-03T22:30:21.706-07:00Martin Luther's Spark and an Explosion that Changed the World<span style="font-family: inherit;">October 31st is the day that we remember as the beginning of the Reformation — the day 500 years ago that the corruptions of the Church of that day began to be exposed for all to see. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lucas Cranach's painting of Martin Luther</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Traditionally, October 31 was the day that Martin Luther “nailed his 95 theses to the door” of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints%27_Church,_Wittenberg">Castle Church</a> in <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/kCUnKqt9Mn42">Wittenburg, Germany</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It was the beginning of a powerful change that restored to Christendom Jesus’ message of faith as the pathway to God, rather than the stony and impossibly uncertain path of works. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+1%3A17">Romans 1:17</a>) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Eric Metaxes puts it this way, “the reason the story of Luther is unlike any other, is that he felt that after tremendous and agonized searching he finally—by God’s grace—had found that thing for which every human since Eden had pined. He had found the hermeneutical lever with which the whole world could be raised to the height of heaven. This had been the principal problem of all humanity—how to bridge the infinite abyss between imperfect mankind and a perfect God, between earth and heaven, between death and life.” (<i><a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Martin-Luther-Rediscovered-Changed-World/dp/110198001X">Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World</a></i>) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The reformation was many things, not just a few changes in how we are the Church. Metaxes again: “the quintessentially modern idea of the individual—and of one’s personal responsibility before one’s self and God rather than before any institution, whether church or state—was as unthinkable before Luther as is color in a world of black and white; and the similarly modern idea of “the people,” along with the democratic impulse that proceeds from it, was created—or at least given a voice—by Luther too. And the more recent ideas of pluralism, religious liberty, and self-government all entered history through the door that Luther opened to the future in which we now live.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It is safe to say that the reformation made possible the democracies of the West, with their vast advances in civilization. Freedom of religion, and even the freedom from religion, that we experience in the West today springs from the changes sparked in those momentous days half a millennium ago. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And it’s not over. The recent explosion of the Gospel across the earth, the rising again of apostles, miracles and prophecy, and a great growth in love in the Church are a few of the signs of world-changing seasonal shifts happening in our day. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The best is yet to come!</span>David in NorCalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05576251518506124905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20407004.post-22495611725509659862017-08-21T21:19:00.002-07:002020-10-30T09:04:58.843-07:00Only Love Will Drive Out Hate<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ulysses S. Grant -- Civil War General and U.S. President</td></tr>
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In these days of intensifying tribalism in America, it's helpful to look back to earlier hard times in our nation. I was struck recently by something moving in the <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Personal-Memoirs-U-S-Grant-Volumes-ebook/dp/B009JMCXP0">recollections of President Ulysses S. Grant as he wrote of his experience as a Civil War general</a>, the general who, along with Abraham Lincoln, saved the Union. <br />
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Grant was traveling on horseback in late June, 1862, on his way to Memphis. Except for various outposts, this was Confederate territory, only lightly held by Union troops.<br />
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<b>Watch what happens when men of honor meet; </b>men who hold quite different perspectives (emphasis added):<br />
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<i>I halted at La Grange. General Hurlbut was in command there at the time and had his headquarters tents pitched on the lawn of a very commodious country house. The proprietor was at home and, learning of my arrival, he invited General Hurlbut and me to dine with him. </i><br />
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<i><b>I accepted the invitation and spent a very pleasant afternoon with my host,</b> who was a thorough Southern gentleman <b>fully convinced of the justice of secession</b>. </i><br />
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<i>After dinner, seated in the capacious porch, he entertained me with a recital of the services he was rendering the cause. He was too old to be in the ranks himself--he must have been quite seventy then--but his means enabled him to be useful in other ways. </i><br />
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<i>In ordinary times the homestead where he was now living produced the bread and meat to supply the slaves on his main plantation, in the low-lands of Mississippi. Now he raised food and forage on both places, and thought he would have that year a surplus sufficient to feed three hundred families of poor men who had gone into the war and left their families dependent upon the "patriotism" of those better off. </i><br />
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<i>The crops around me looked fine, and I had at the moment an idea that about the time they were ready to be gathered the "Yankee" troops would be in the neighborhood and harvest them for the benefit of those engaged in the suppression of the rebellion instead of its support. </i><br />
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<i><b>I felt, however, the greatest respect for the candor of my host and for his zeal in a cause he thoroughly believed in, though our views were as wide apart as it is possible to conceive.</b></i><br />
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Grant could have had the gentleman imprisoned. Instead, they listened to one another with honor, and, no doubt, took their leave with courteous words.<br />
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Today, it feels as if we a nation degenerating into rival tribes based on perceived identities. One pictures tribesmen with shields and spears shouting and brandishing their weapons in defiance at one another, each tribe nursing grievances toward the other.<br />
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Martin Luther King wrote this: "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”<br />
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If Dr King is right, and I believe he is, then it also seems right that "We will never with hate drive out the hate of those who hate from the left or from the right. Only love will drive out hate."<br />
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David in NorCalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05576251518506124905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20407004.post-20327815715464996742017-01-24T07:55:00.000-08:002017-01-24T07:56:54.895-08:00U.S. President Saves Children in First Day in Office<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xScdwGiHpmo/WId4wCRLjKI/AAAAAAAB61g/SgFil7dTo0gsK4ZMxwYQQ7I8Fe_iHyGLwCK4B/s1600/baby-784608_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xScdwGiHpmo/WId4wCRLjKI/AAAAAAAB61g/SgFil7dTo0gsK4ZMxwYQQ7I8Fe_iHyGLwCK4B/s400/baby-784608_1280.jpg" width="400" /></a>I want to say at the outset of this post that I do not judge women who have had abortions. There is only love in my heart and and hope for blessing for any woman who has been down that road. It is abortion organizations, and the idea of abortion for any and every reason that I find contemptible.<br />
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That said, on his first full day in office, President Trump by executive order has saved the lives of many children around the world by re-instating the "Mexico City Policy". These sons and daughters of other lands would have been killed by abortionists using American foreign aid funds......which come from your tax dollars and mine.<br />
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In 44 years (January 22, 1973), abortion organizations have killed 60 million American children. If that wasn't evil enough, we exported abortion abroad through foreign aid.<br />
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According to the San Luis Obispo Tribune, "the Mexico City Policy requires foreign non-governmental organizations to not provide or promote abortion services if they receive funds from the U.S. government. Specifically, the funds would come from the United States Agency for International Development, and abortion cannot be presented as a “method of family planning.” Promoting abortion services includes work such as counseling for women that includes language on abortions."<br />
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Taxpayer dollars cannot be used to kill our own nation's children. For us to pay for or promote abortion in other countries with taxpayer dollars is flagrant hypocrisy at best.<br />
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Thank you, Mr. President. Well done.David in NorCalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05576251518506124905noreply@blogger.com0