I am starting a new tradition here called Photo Saturday. I have a vacation portfolio of more than 10,000 pictures so I thought I would pull some out every Saturday. I hope you enjoy them. The SR-71 Blackbird has always been one of my favorite airplanes. This one is located at the Air Force Museum in Dayton Ohio. This is kind of a different view. … Continue reading Air Force Museum – SR 71
”Opportunity is missed by most people because it’s dressed in overalls and looks like work”– Thomas Edison Thomas Edison certainly wasn’t one to shy away from work. Another of his famous quotes was. Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. People, no matter the period, have always dreamed of striking it rich; we want instant wealth with the least amount of work possible. That is … Continue reading Opportunities….
Next time I will be starting to relay stories of the early church. Up front I want to make sure you understand that this journey into the history of the church and how we got here will be a mosaic rather than a timeline approach. It will also likely be a “people’s history type account. That is it will where possible be based on accounts … Continue reading A Mosaic….
Source: Windows 8: We kick the tyres on Redmond’s new tablet wheels • The Register. Why is it that the once innovative start-up companies turn into stodgy of slow-moving monoliths? Of course in my mind Microsoft is currently at the front of this pack. I remember when Windows first came out to compete with Apple products. They were a young and brash bunch back then. They … Continue reading Almost as Good As an iPad….
source: Whites Account for Under Half of Births in U.S. – NYTimes.com. After years of speculation, estimates and projections, the Census Bureau has made it official: White births are no longer a majority in the United States. I bet the racist blogs this morning are white-hot, pun intended, talking about this article! But for myself I say it is about time. I think that our strongest … Continue reading Its About Time — Whites Account for Under Half of Births in U.S.
Source NYT: Lawmakers look for way out as defense cuts near – politics – The New York Times – msnbc.com. On Jan. 2, national security is set to receive a heavy blow if Congress fails to intervene. That is when a 10-year, $600 billion, across-the-board spending cut is to hit the Pentagon, equal to roughly 8 percent of its current budget. The real test of a … Continue reading Breaking Promises……
Over here you can write whatever you want to. The only trouble getting somebody that will read it. – April 18, 1933 Will Rogers Sometimes we in the U.S. forget just how good we have it. As Will says over here we can write whatever we want. That is definitely not the case in many parts of the world today. Yes, FaceBook and such have … Continue reading Getting Someone To Read It…..
Before I get into the “details” I wanted to throw out another unique way of looking at church history. Here is the way author Phyllis Tickle describes church history in her book entitled The Great Emergence : The only way to understand what is currently happening to us as twenty-first-century Christians in North America is first to understand that about every five hundred years the … Continue reading Rummage Sales
As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world — that is the myth of the atomic age — as in being able to remake ourselves — Gandhi Gandhi was a firm believer that small actions can result in big things. He spent much of his live doing small things but the result did remake the world. He … Continue reading Inspiring Words From Gandhi…
I don’t know if you have noticed or not but I have been feeling artsy lately so have been playing with the header to this blog. The quote found there will change often and some of the other things as I get the urge. The quote for today does strike home to me. With the blog I get my chance to tell you what history … Continue reading Aside… History Ain’t
My wife is a worrier. That is just who she is. I have learned to accept that part of her character over the years. Sometimes when she is not worrying she worries about not worrying enough. 🙂 I only bring this up here to say I see the same thing in the U.S. stock market. They are just worrier who worry that they might miss … Continue reading Worriers….
Source: Get personalized help to max out Social Security. Social Security Solutions’ optimization plan calls for my wife to file for her own benefits at age 67 but immediately suspend her payments — a perfectly legal strategy known as a file-and-suspend. We start getting some Social Security benefits immediately when I apply (at age 66) to receive a spousal benefit based on her earnings record, half … Continue reading Gaming The System……
Source: Democrats, GOP debate political non-profits’ donors – USATODAY.com. Conservatives in Congress have mounted an aggressive drive to block new proposals aimed at unmasking anonymous donations to groups such as Crossroads GPS— which is spending $2 million this month alone on ads targeting McCaskill and two other Democratic Senate candidates. Crossroads GPS, affiliated with Republican strategist Karl Rove, does not have to reveal its contributors because … Continue reading Free Speech….
I realize that due to trying to keep the last post brief I did not fully explain the three ages (Age of Faith, Age of Belief, Age of the Spirit) very well so I am taking another shot at it here. As a quote to explain it further I am using one from Diane Butler Bass in her book entitled Christianity After Religion. I realize … Continue reading History of the Church — More Details …
Ok this is the close up post for this on-the-road series on Washington DC. I missed a few days posts because of late night arrivals to the hotel and just being too tired after we got home yesterday. After we left DC on Monday we went to Baltimore Maryland’s Inner Harbor for a quick visit. We got there just after a celebration weekend for their … Continue reading On-The-Road Washington DC
In this post I will try to give you a very high level view of what I believe is the critical history of the church. Of course, as this study progresses there might be some things I change likely my mind about. As with most everything else I am open to different views and one of them may change my overall concepts (but I kind … Continue reading A High Level View….
The first thought that comes to mind to describe today is CROWDED!!! Everywhere we went there was simply masses of people. I expected crowds, even on a Sunday, but not that many. We started the day at Arlington Cemetery and caught the changing of the guard as soon as we arrived. It was a rather somber thing. But then again I think there were more … Continue reading On-The-Road Washington DC Day 4
Today started at 5:00am. We left so early that we missed breakfast at the hotel but did make it to the White House before 8:00am as dictated by the security people there. They seem to be much more serious about their job than when I was there forty-seven years ago. 🙂 We were only allowed to go through some of the rooms on the first … Continue reading On-The-Road Washington DC Day 3
We got into our hotel room early today at 5:00pm. It, like yesterday, was pretty much a road day but we did get in two sites. We made an unscheduled visit the Flight 93 Memorial in central Pennsylvania this morning. There is really not much there to see but the placards strategically placed around the site gave it a serious feeling. For those of you who might … Continue reading On-The-Road Washington DC Day 2
I proclaimed when I started posting this study a couple of weeks ago that I would be giving you a history of the church. In studying this topic I was quick to learn that there are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of different versions of the history of the church. If you are a Calvinist your history is quite different than if you are a … Continue reading A History of the Church (but whose history??)
Well here we are finally settled into our hotel room at 9pm in Greensburg PA. Since this is the first bus tour we have taken I really didn’t know what to expect. The entire day was spent on the road. That is with stops every two and a half hours. The most noticeable first thing was probably if you did not have white hair you … Continue reading On-The-Road Washington DC Day1
Source:Ashamed Not to be a Heretic: Harry Emerson Fosdick – QuakerQuaker. “If the day ever comes when men care so little for the basic Christian experiences and revelations of truth that they cease trying to rethink them in more adequate terms, see them in the light of freshly acquired knowledge, and interpret them anew for new days, then Christianity will be finished.” Here is an … Continue reading Ashamed Not to be a Heretic…
I think this cartoon says it all for me. Am I being too optimistic to think that we could get out of all the problems generated by the previous administration in less than four years? I was hoping for better than this… But as far a net worth, which for most of us is the value of our homes, is concerned I think any idiot could … Continue reading Says It All….
I wanted to let you know that starting tomorrow I will be doing a series of “On The Road” posts here. For those of you who are not familiar with them they will be end-of-day posts about our trip to Washington DC and Baltimore. Except for a one day trip in 1998 this will be the first time we have taken a tour bus. This will be … Continue reading On The Road….Again
I woke up this morning with a song attached to my brain. I know I dreamed about it last night but since I almost never remember what my dreams are I can’t give you the context. Here is the lyrics of the song; I hope I don’t cause you to be humming it all day as I likely am: Sing, sing a song, Sing out loud, … Continue reading Sing….Sing a Song…..
Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself – Eleanor Roosevelt I have sure made my share of mistakes but haven’t we all? Sometimes I don’t but I like to believe that I learn from my mistakes and try not to make them again. But some mistakes creep up on me and I stubbornly refuse to admit … Continue reading From Eleanor…
This post is about some of my sources of info for the study I am presently undertaking on church history and how we got to where we are today. I have read scores of books on church history the last few years and continue reading them for this study. I have mentioned already there is one that influenced me greatly and it is one of … Continue reading About My Sources…
Source:Rumor roundup: The next iPhone – Gadgetbox on msnbc.com. I will state up front here that after several failed attempts at having a cell phone I finally got and iPhone last October. It is everything I hoped it would be. My previous attempts at owning a cell phone proved less than expected. Since I am deaf almost all of my communications via cell is with … Continue reading The next iPhone …
There are only two kinds of people in the end; those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done’ and those whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done’ –C.S. Lewis C.S. Lewis was one of my favorite authors and theologians in my early years. He had insight that few could match. I warmed to him maybe because he was a lay theologian, … Continue reading Thy Will Be Done…
1 Timothy 2:11-12 A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. I have always been troubled by these verses from Paul. I just don’t believe that God intended, especially for all eternity, that women to be quiet and not have any authority over men. … Continue reading Women Be Quiet!!!
I got a tattoo recently. It is a really neat one of the 1960s style peace logo. I have always wanted a tattoo. I’m surprised I waited as long as I have. But this one I just couldn’t resist. I know some people look down on tattoos and can’t understand why anyone would get one. Others will think it is foolish for a sixty-five year … Continue reading I Got A Tattoo…..
msnbc.com Entertainment – Bob Dylan is honored by president with Medal of Freedom. I must admit that I was a big fan of Bob Dylan during my hearing years. I was a teenager when I “discovered” Bobby Dylan’s first album. He like me, at least in my mind, was somewhat of a rebel. His songs frequently railed against the establishments of the day. I learned … Continue reading Bob Dylan…
I know most of us get just about all our knowledge about church history from our church run bible studies. It seems that most of the professional clergy, meaning those who earn money from their participation in church, only seem to want to give us the good side of history. The old saying that “history belongs to the victors” is also true in the Christian … Continue reading Some Messy Stuff….
Source: Charles Taylor Sentenced to 50 Years for War Crimes – NYTimes.com. I just don’t understand why the continent of Africa is so prone to these types of things. Taylor was found guilty of atrocities committed in Sierra Leone during its civil war in the 1990s. I am ashamed to say that I only vaguely remember the Sierra Leone slaughter. I can make excuses like “I was just … Continue reading I Just Don’t Understand…
Source: Stock futures up ahead of hopes of ECB stimulus: Fidelity. Facebook Inc is making it easier for advertisers to reach the growing ranks of users on smartphones and mobile devices, taking a significant step toward addressing one of investors’ most pressing concerns and broadening its appeal to marketers. Just a quick aside to update my previous post on Facebook entitled If You Are Not Paying … Continue reading Facebook followup
No one can drive you crazy unless you give them the keys – Unknown I don’t know about you but I think “Unknown” is a pretty smart fella. He seems to come up with all kinds of memorable stuff and this is one of the best. We all love to jerk each other’s chains once in a while. I can usually turn my wife around … Continue reading The Keys…
RJ's Corner 