With a Finer Spirit of Hope and Achievement…

  You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.   — Woodrow Wilson I am falling back on to one of my primary heroes in life and that is President Woodrow Wilson.  He like some other that followed was totally immersed in altruism. That is he was more concerned about his fellow man than he really was about himself … Continue reading With a Finer Spirit of Hope and Achievement…

County Fairs…..

I spent my high school years in a small rural town in Indiana and when I retired from corporate life my wife and I chose once again to return to that small town living.  One of the highlights of small town life is the annual county fair.  This picture was taken in 2002 so I guess all the kids shown here are now young adults making their way in the world. I hope they are all doing well…. Continue reading County Fairs…..

Over The Hill….

Its time to lighten up a little and what better way than to make fun of old people. :)  Being a collector of quotes I have an arsenal of them. So, here goes: You are over the hill when you back goes out more than you do.  — R.J. Walters (I think?) Old age is always 15 years older than you are — Oliver Wendell Holmes You know you are getting old when all the names in your black book have M.D. after them – Arnold Palmer Just remember that once you are over the hill you begin to pick … Continue reading Over The Hill….

Innocent Until Proven Guilty…. Or Is It The Other Way Around??

Be forewarned that I am getting on my soapbox now. I know there are numerous times in our history where civil liberties have been severely threatened. Various groups and individuals have been attacked by our government without due process. One glaring recent example is putting Japanese-Americans in prison camps during World War II simply because of their heritage. But it seems like this is almost becoming common place in our country today.  Mr. Obama’s kill list is one example.  It sounds as if one or two high-ranking officials think that any person, including a U.S. citizen, is a threat to … Continue reading Innocent Until Proven Guilty…. Or Is It The Other Way Around??

Ahead of Civilization…

  I have always regretted that I didn’t live about 30 or 40 years earlier, and in the same old Country, the Indian Territory. I would have liked to got here ahead of the ‘Nestors,’ the Bob wire fence, and so called civilization. – Will Rogers I have mentioned on the right column of this blog that I am part native American and proud of it. Sometimes these roots seem to come to the surface on this blog. This quote from Will did that. Many times in my life I have dreamed that I was a mountain man in the … Continue reading Ahead of Civilization…

Away From Me!!!

I have now spent several posts on the emergent church. It is time to get back to the red letters to see what Jesus wants to teach us. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’  Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from … Continue reading Away From Me!!!

About Fear & Hate….

I want to add one further thought about fear while it is fresh on my mind.  There is another basic emotion that outweighs fear as being more destructive to any person or society and that is hate. What little hate I have been exposed to in my life truly scares me. It is a dark side of life that I don’t ever want to get to know on anything but a superficial level. Every once in a while I will glance through my spam queue  on this blog to get a feeling of what the trollers are ranting about. Ninety … Continue reading About Fear & Hate….

First Thoughts….

I want to pencil in my first thoughts of the State of the Union address last night before I start reading what the pundits say. Overall it was a good address – He covered much of what I deem important to our country. I wish he had mentioned something about work to rein in healthcare costs.  Single payer system like much of the rest of the world has is the  most efficient. But since that is not yet possible here I wished he had targeted something to control our current system.  Education for the 21st Century – I liked what I … Continue reading First Thoughts….

About Fear….. Some Closing Thoughts

This is my last post about fear at least for a little while. It has run its course in my mind. I want to finish up here with some personal thoughts about fear and the consequences of fear.  I will then close out with a fear that I just can’t seem to understand. I must say that I am generally not a fearful person. That is I don’t rise each day being in fear for what it will bring. I don’t anticipate the bad things that could happen to me each day.  Don’t get me wrong, I know fear has … Continue reading About Fear….. Some Closing Thoughts

Common Complaints About Emergents…..

I want to close out this series of posts with some unfounded complaints about the emergent movement. This list is mine and therefore might not align with the leaders of this movement. Emergents don’t have a foundation, they allow their members to believe anything — While it is true that emergents don’t, as most common denominations do, try to prove anyone wrong about their current beliefs they do have fundamental things that guide them.  They believe that Jesus is God and gave us the Great Commandment to love him and to love each other.  They believe that God intends us to … Continue reading Common Complaints About Emergents…..

About Fear…. One of Many Manifestations of Fear

This is a continuation of the topic of fear and how it drives so much of our country and world. I have been cruising some of the “gun rights” websites lately.  The reason I am paying attention to this group is to try to understand the thoughts and mentalities of the people in them and how fear appears to play such a strong part of their adamant refusal of any kind of gun regulation. It appears that many from this group have a basic fear of their fellow citizens. They just don’t trust anyone they don’t know. They see bad guys … Continue reading About Fear…. One of Many Manifestations of Fear

‘I don’t get the comedies today’….

Source: TV icon Dick Van Dyke: ‘I don’t get the comedies today’ – TODAY Entertainment. “It seems to me that relationships are what’s missing. I think back to ‘All in the Family,’ when you knew what those relationships were and the comedy that came out of that. Today it’s just one line after another, and they seem to try to cover too much in the way of story in a short time. Then I think they signal when they’re trying to be funny, and the minute I catch someone trying to be funny, then I won’t laugh.” I am not one … Continue reading ‘I don’t get the comedies today’….

About Fear…. Its Causes??

Fear is as engrained in us as any of our emotions. I guess it goes back to our caveman days of fearing for our lives in a very dangerous world. For some odd reason I have been thinking about fear lately and how it affects so many parts of our lives. So, I decided to spend three posts here talking about this subject. Lets start of with the basic definition of fear: 1. a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.  2.  a specific instance of propensity for such a feeling: an abnormal fear of heights. 3.  concern or anxiety; solicitude: a fear for someone’s safety. 4.  reverential awe, especially toward God: the fear of God.  In the first post I want to get into some recent history and current conditions that maybe foster this … Continue reading About Fear…. Its Causes??

The Menagerie of Life

  I am a collector of quotes. That is just who  I am at this point in my life. I look for quotes that are short and to the point. So I thought for this “inspiration” Sunday I would compile a list of quotes that are central to my life. I apologize for the long letter but I didn’t have the time to write a short one. ~ Thomas Jefferson Essays should be like miniskirts. Short enough to be attractive, yet long enough to cover the main parts. ~ Unknown None of us have time to listen to one-hundred words … Continue reading The Menagerie of Life