Here it is 9:10am and all my clocks except for the computer say it is 8:10am. I guess we forgot that Mr. Bush decided to go it alone again and change the date when the time changes. The rest of the world changed but I guess we didn’t. Long story short.. we missed church. But I think God will forgive me on this one. So, I will repeat the process again next week. Continue reading Going it alone….
In questioning this claim, my wish is not to diminish the life of Jesus, but to honor it as fully as I can by asking whether his elevation to divinity is something he would have wanted. One telling clue to Jesus’s self-awareness can be found in the tenth chapter of the gospel of Mark when Jesus was approached by a man who called him “Good Teacher” (v. 17). Jesus’s response was immediate and startling, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone” (v. 18). I have heard some say Jesus was, in a clever way, … Continue reading Did Jesus Ask Us to Worship Him??
I live just a couple of counties south of Parke County Indiana. To those who know it Parke County is covered bridges. Here is a picture that was taken in the fall of 2001. Continue reading Fall in Parke County…
I believe that too many Christian denominations today spend far too much time idolizing Jesus and far too little time actually doing what he commands. I believe that those who think that getting into heaven simply requires saying that Jesus is my savior are flat out wrong. Many of these will find out that Jesus will not recognize there words without backing them up by actions. I believe that many Christian denominations totally ignore or rationalize away Jesus words in the Lord’s prayer that we will be forgiven by God in the same degree that we forgive those who sin … Continue reading I Believe…
A Personal Peeve…. One of the things that constantly peeves me off is related around my wife and I eating at restaurants. For the most part when the waiter/waitress discover that I am deaf the check almost always goes to my wife instead of me. This seems to peeve my wife all even more than me. She often gives the check back to the waiter and tell him/her to give it to me. I want to give a hint to all you waiters out there that it is probably better from your point to go ahead and give the check … Continue reading Attention Waiters….
Ok the picture above is of a bicycle rack. No there are no bicycles in it that is the rack. So in this case editing did not strecth the truth. This is one of many unique bicycle racks found in downtown Des Moines Iowa. We visited there in June of this year. It is a very interesting city and worth the four days we stayed there to tour. Continue reading Bicycle Rack??
I am going to start a new category called “Don’t Sweat It” It will be primarily based on the books by Richard Carlson one of most popular is entitled DON’T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF. With all the myriad of books that Carlson put out I am surprised that he missed one major group. So, starting with this post I will be pulling out some of the topics from a couple of these books and try to put a senior citizen twist on them. No, I am not a Ph.D. or as motivational as Carlson but I am a senior citizen … Continue reading Don’t Sweat It…
I believe that the Bible is a collection of documents created by man for man. I believe that some of the words and overall messages in the Bible were inspired by God. I believe that much of the words attributed to Jesus accurately portray is overall message of living and salvation. I believe that the Old Testament text became mostly irrelevant to a Christian’s life when it’s prophecy was fulfilled by Jesus through his death and resurrection. Continue reading I Believe…
Don’t under spend your income/savings I know this is the opposite of what all financial planners espouse. Since many seem to enter retirement with too little savings under spending their money is just not possible. But for those of us who saved throughout their pre-retirement years we have, if no major health emergency hits us, more than we need for the absolute necessities. If you managed to be part of the second group don’t leave all your savings to your heirs. You sacrificed throughout your life to put money aside so go ahead and spend it. I am one of … Continue reading Retirement Don’ts
Here is a picture from our 2009 trip west. It was taken at the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site in Topeka Kansas. The picture was taken during when the federal government mandated school integration in the 1960s. The pure hate showing in the face of the girl on the right scared me when I say it then and scares me even now. That girl is now a senior citizen; I often wonder if the hate showing here consumed her life or was she able to overcome it? Continue reading Brown v. Board of Education..
With Fall now in full swing here in the Midwest I am looking back on summer. Continue reading Butterflies and Flowers
Last Thursday there was an accident just down the road from our house. I live on a somewhat twisty rural road that has just too many people going too fast for the conditions. Sorrowfully a life was ended in this accident. I have watched the young man of 24 years come speeding around that corner probably hundreds of times. I don’t know if he just liked going fast or if his life was so far out of control that he thought he “had” to go fast. Either way that ended last week as he was speeding around that turn swinging out on … Continue reading A Life Lost..
They say as you get older you need to exercise your brain so it doesn’t go soft. In that light this new category just popped into my head so I thought I would give it a try. We all need to learn, or maybe re-learn, new words. So here is the word for today vi·car·i·ous [vahy-kair-ee-uhs, vi-] –adjective 1. performed, exercised, received, or suffered in place of another: vicarious punishment. 2. taking the place of another person or thing; acting or servingas a substitute. 3. felt or enjoyed through imagined participation in the experience of others: a vicarious thrill. 4. Physiology . noting or pertaining to a situation in which oneorgan performs part of the functions normally performed byanother. I am thinking mostly of number three. That is we often live our dreams through the experiences of others. I have to admit that I am a junkie when it comes to the TLC channel program entitled … Continue reading Vicariously….
I believe that Christ loathes our personal pride and selfishness and celebrates our humility and compassion. I believe churches should be recognized by their works today not by their buildings or ceremonies either past or present. I believe that Jesus meant us to follow his example, not idolize him. I believe that God created the universe as more than a just holding tank where we wait until we go to heaven. Continue reading I Believe…
Just in case you forgot, winter does come early in some years. This picture was taken on October 8, 1989 in Indianapolis. We got over the foot of snow that day! Continue reading October Snow!!!!
This is a new category post where I will talk about those people and things that I believe are truly right about the world today. Lately I tend to look back at things and always notice where we went wrong or where I believe we are off track. Always viewing the world with that attitude can be depressing indeed! I need to stop and celebrate where we get it right. For this post I celebrate those people and organizations that help us remember our history. Of course this includes some of my favorite places to visit which are historical villages. … Continue reading I Celebrate…Historical Centers
I want to feel that I have changed the world at least to some small degree. So the above question at least occasionally enters my mind. This query is somewhat related to the previous post about being childless. If I were fortunate enough to have had children I could at least hold out hope that they might change the world because I gave them life. I could think that maybe my kids or grandkids will be the ones who: 1) solve global warming, 2) cure cancer, 3) bring peace to the Middle East, or 4)something maybe less dramatic but equally … Continue reading Will the World be Different Because I Was Here?
All of us who have lived a good portion of our lives have some regrets on how some things have turned out. One of my biggest regrets is not having children. As I mentioned before my wife Yvonne and I did not meet and get married until we were over forty years old. Yvonne was already in menopause by then so children were not in our future. We did discuss the possibility of adopting but like many other things we procrastinated so long that even that option was not really doable. But, given that my deafness is congenital I was … Continue reading Life’s Regrets….
I heard an interesting sermon this Sunday. It was about waiting for God. As you know this is a topic dear to my heart. Some examples given in the sermon were all the prayers to stop the BP oil leak and the many amber alerts that take place in the U.S. nowadays. The sermon thread seemed to be that we are always disappointed in the silence of God when it comes to our prayers. Why didn’t God stop the leak earlier? How can he allow children to be molested and murdered when there are so many prayers coming to him … Continue reading Waiting For God…
I believe that most religious entities believe they are the only ones who wholly understand God. I believe that God is God and he will be what he wants to be which oftentimes is beyond our understanding. I believe it is folly but common for theologians to try and re-configure Him into their self perceived molds. I believe that Christ meant us to be primarily about action and not just adoration. Continue reading I Believe….
I think all States in the U.S. are divided up into counties and each county has a county seat. I happen to live near one of them. The country seat is where local government takes place. Almost all county seats have a courthouse to carry on their business. As a result most courthouses are surrounded by a courthouse square. In the past this was the very center of the local community. Today most but not all courthouse squares are skeletons of what they used to be. Many of the functions that used to take place at the courthouse square … Continue reading Town Squares…
RJ's Corner - Having My Say 