Author: RJ Walters

I am an Independent thinking, highly functional person who is deaf and has some unique views and challenges in life. Like all of us, I am a person who is composed of all my life experiences and that is what I write about here.
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If God is Love (Part 2)

RJ Walters

This is a continuation of my collection of snippets from the book by Philip Gulley entitled If God is Love. The Psalmists boats, “Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with perfect hate. I count them my enemies” (Psalm 139:21-22). Hatred, when directed at those we have judged wicked, becomes a sign of religious devotion rather than a grievous sin. The enemy is not loved, but destroyed, not prayed for, but preyed upon. We can protest religious hatred and violence are sins of the past, … Continue reading If God is Love (Part 2)

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I’m Getting Too Serious For My Own Good….

RJ Walters

The Democrats take the whole thing as a joke. Republicans take it serious, but run it like it was a joke   — Will Rogers Some of my posts lately have just been too serious for my own good. I can feel my blood pressure rise as I am writing them. One of the main reasons for this blog is to have fun writing about things about things that deserve being poked. I thoroughly enjoy putting words to paper (or electronic ink in this case). But I just have to step back from some of the topics I choose to … Continue reading I’m Getting Too Serious For My Own Good….

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Workers as Liabilities….

RJ Walters

In the old days, I’m talking about pre-Reagan, a company’s workers were considered an asset but it seems like today they have turned into a liability.  I read an article recently (I don’t remember the source right now so I can’t give it to you here ;) ) that basically said that many companies can’t find adequately trained people to fill their jobs and won’t hire someone and then train them for that job. It seems they would rather complain about not having skilled workers than actually training someone to do the job. I can almost remember when I was … Continue reading Workers as Liabilities….

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The Least of These…. The Final Judgment

RJ Walters

Since judgment day seems to be on the short list of things Christians talk about lets look at the story about it as spoken by Jesus Christ: “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. “Then the King will say to those on His … Continue reading The Least of These…. The Final Judgment

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Where To Live in My Senior Years…

RJ Walters

A couple of posts ago I talked about how I chose to spend my fixed income in my senior years. One thing that has a huge effect on how I would spend my money was where I was going to live. When we chose to come back to Indiana for our final years this had a huge effect on our finances. Compared to California and many places within fifty mile of an ocean the hinterland is very affordable in deed. The house we have now is a renovated 1925 farm house that has been expanded to more than 2400 square … Continue reading Where To Live in My Senior Years…

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Lessons Learned….

RJ Walters

I have been getting hit by some because I don’t quote the Bible often enough for them.  As I have stated many times before I am just not a “chapter and verse” Christian. I do read the Bible frequently but instead of memorizing the words I try to learn the lessons behind the words and then attempt to make those lessons a part of my daily life. As far as I am concerned there are just too many “bible thumpers” around today.  I will not be one of those.  When I was in my godless years the bible thumpers constantly … Continue reading Lessons Learned….

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If God Is Love… (Part1)

RJ Walters

I am going to start a series of posts around quotes from some of the many books I have read. One of the favorites is the book “If God is Love” by Philip Gulley. Here is the quote for today: When Jesus redefined kinship, he was challenging their exclusive circle by declaring that anyone in any place who did the will of God regardless of social standing or religious affiliation, was his brother or sister.  Kinship is not a matter of racial, religious, or cultural conformity. It was the by-product of a commitment of the will of God — to … Continue reading If God Is Love… (Part1)

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House Hunters??

RJ Walters

I must admit that during my semi-required down time each day I am a sucker for the TV show entitled House Hunters on HGTV. I’m also not one to shy away from technology so I have a digital video recorder (DVR to those of us who are tech savvy). So, I have House Hunters episodes just about any time I want to see them. The basic structure of each episode is as follows. For one reason or another a family (loosely defined) wants to get a new house We get a brief look at their backgrounds, occupations, etc. They look at three … Continue reading House Hunters??

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Contemplating the All Powerful God and the All Loving God…

RJ Walters

The Old Testament has always been a struggle for me. I find far too many places where God’s wrath is brutally shown. This is in such a total contrast with Jesus Christ I know in the New Testament. It is almost like the good cop/bad cop scenarios that play out so much on the TV cop shows. I tend to refer to it as the all powerful God vs. the all loving God. Can the two really co-exist or did God basically change his management style between the Old Testament and the New Testament or you could say between the … Continue reading Contemplating the All Powerful God and the All Loving God…

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Those Who Don't Know History Are….

RJ Walters

Being a history nut I like the old saying “those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it”. The premise behind this statement is that we should know what got us into past problems so we don’t end up making the same mistakes again.  I think this is especially true when it come to our country’s debt problems. So, that is what this post will be about. First, let’s look at a graph showing the history of our debt. It is shown above. We were going along with only somewhat marginal increases in debt until the early 1990’s at that time … Continue reading Those Who Don't Know History Are….

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Wanted: 1,000 Pastors For the Poor

RJ Walters

Source:  Wanted: 1,000 Pastors For the Poor – Jim Wallis – God’s Politics Blog. Sojourners, which is a Christian based organization founded on the principle that  Christians are called to be their brother’s keeper and that governments are accountable for the well-being of all their citizens. The source post is a call for 1,000 pastors to come forward and say cutting the safety net out from under those in dire needs should be the last thing to take the axe in today’s deficit reduction mantra (These are my words not Sojourners) Here is part of the letter calling for 1,000 local … Continue reading Wanted: 1,000 Pastors For the Poor

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Internet RFD….(Chasing the Web)

RJ Walters

A recent post about the post office got me to thinking about the Internet and how it is not available, at least at a reasonable speed, to those of us in more rural areas. I am the last person on our county road who is allowed to have a DSL connection from the phone company. And even my connection is spotty at best. My router deems it necessary to reset itself at least a dozen time a day. Even when it is working it frequently freezes. There are at least two hundred homes beyond me where even having the luxury of freezing … Continue reading Internet RFD….(Chasing the Web)

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A Vast Institution Based on a Few Bones…..

RJ Walters

This is going to be a short post about the religious establishments of today. I hope this closes out my recent thoughts in this area. I really want to move on to other things about Jesus. This post is based on some words in the book entitled If the Church Were Christian by Philip Gulley. Here are those words: We have built a vast institution based on these “hints” Jesus gave us.  But we should never delude ourselves into thinking that today’s church sprang directly from the mind and witness of Jesus.  All we have is extrapolation, a few bones upon which have … Continue reading A Vast Institution Based on a Few Bones…..

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Conservatism and….

RJ Walters

Source: Column: You can’t reconcile Ayn Rand and Jesus – USATODAY.com. The source article is about how many conservatives have put Ayn Rand on a pedestal lately. It goes into how much of her philosophy runs very contrary to espoused conservative values. The graphic I attached here from that article is pretty neat. It does a good job of showing the broken link between Ayn Rand and supposedly Republican party principles. Here are some words from the reference article: Turning the tables on traditional Christian morality, Rand argues that altruism is immoral and selfishness is good. Moreover, there isn’t a problem in the … Continue reading Conservatism and….

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Up On The Mountain…..

RJ Walters

I have a favorite place at our homestead where I tend to spend hours at a time in the Spring and Summer months. Since it is the highest place on our property I call it “Up on the mountain”. I go up there to lay on my glider/swing and read the latest book or magazine. And of course I take an occasional nap there; OK if you insist on knowing the truth I take frequent naps there. :) My wife knows when I say “I am going up on the mountain” that she probably won’t see me for a couple of hours. Even my Basset … Continue reading Up On The Mountain…..