National Day of Prayer - May 6, 2010

The National Day of Prayer is quickly approaching!

Do Not Fear! God's Spirit Lives in You!

1 Timothy 1:7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

Are you afraid today? Have you been afraid in the past? Take heart, because God's Spirit is not a Spirit of fear.

When we are fearful, that is our flesh taking over. God's Spirit, as Paul told Timothy, is a Spirit of power, love and self-discipline. God says "do not fear" 365 times in the Bible, so He must know that fear is something we humans struggle with. And to help us, He has given us His Holy Spirit to live within us to guide us through the fearful moments of our lives.

From Him, the Holy Spirit, we get power to overcome even the most daunting challenges in life.

Is it hard to tell people about Jesus? Well, in Acts 1:8 Jesus said this:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Another promise of power from the Holy Spirit.

That is also a promise for those who are Christ followers. When we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, He uses His power through us. The power to tell people about Jesus. The power to get through the toughest events in our lives. The power to glorify God by what we think, say and do. We get the power to resist temptation. What can overcome the power of the Creator of the universe?? Nothing can, that's the answer.

Timothy must have been having a problem with being timid. Maybe he was not forceful enough in combating false teaching in the church. Maybe he was having trouble spreading the Gospel. Paul encouraged Timothy by reminding him of the power that was his to use through the Holy Spirit. That encouragement is for us today.

So, do not fear! The Holy Spirit's power is there for you to tap into to spread the Gospel. To resist temptation. To be a good dad or mom or son or daughter. To live a life that is pleasing to God. Tap into that power today. Pray. Pray and pray some more.

To God be the glory!

Hosanna to the King!

Matthew 21:9 (New International Version)
The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,"Hosanna to the Son of David!"
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Hosanna in the highest!"

As the week unfolded, prophecy was again being fulfilled as Jesus, riding a colt, hearing the cheers of the crowd, walking along a road covered in palms, entered Jerusalem. You have to wonder what was on His mind as He saw those cheering people and looked them in the eye knowing that many of the very same ones who were cheering Him, at the end of the week, would be crying out for his crucifixion.

Yet, in He rode. Certain, horrible, painful death loomed in front of Him. However, He knew that death was necessary so that the sins of the very ones who would call for his death and those of all of us could be forgiven. It's the very reason He came down from heaven.

Romans 5:8 (New International Version) But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Don't Be the Silent Majority: Don't Give Up the Fight!

"Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins." (James 4:17)

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke)

Was there really any doubt that the "One" would get his vote? I mean the demweasels have their price, even if it is a political sleight of hand using an Executive Order that has less teeth than a newborn baby. Thank you Mr. Stupak. Although, Bart Stupak was never going to vote against the bill anyway. Why he pulled this charade this long is a mystery, but he's not really two-faced, he's just a liar. Once he caved, the rest of the so-called pro-life democrats followed along. And here we are! Europe!

But, those of us in the majority in this country who oppose the complete takeover of our health care (and then everything else, it seems) by the government cannot let up. We must keep up the pressure, not only on the current crew in Washington, but also on the new people we will vote in come Election Day 2010 and then again in 2012.

For me, I will work tirelessly for the opponents of Chuck Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand and Steve Israel. They are to blame, with the rest of the democrats, for undermining the foundation of this country. I say dump the lot of them! Dump the Dems!

The United States of America is about personal responsibility, not nanny state handouts. It was built on hard work, honesty, integrity. The grit of generations gone by has gotten us to the position of envy around the world. Sure the bad mouth us, but when there is trouble, either politically or naturally, who does the world look to? The United States of America. That's because we could be counted on to give money, resources and people to help in times of trouble.

This country was founded on great Judeo-Christian principles of doing good to others while living free. Having freedom WITH responsibility and not freedom from responsibility, which the current Democratic-controlled government is touting.

We need to keep fighting to get this country back and not lose heart. We endured Carter, we can fix this problem too.

Get involved. Get vocal. Let your representatives know they are out. Find out who is running against them and help those folks out! Run for office yourself! Do SOMETHING to change this.

Don't be like the people who don't vote and then complain about taxes.

OK, now, take the pledge. Pledge today to do something positive for this country. If we all band together, we can have America back and better for everyone!

God bless you.

And may God show mercy to America.

America R.I.P.

Not only is this so-called healthcare reform bill a disaster of epic proportion, but our country is dead. It's dead in terms of representative government. Fully 55% of Americans were AGAINST this bill, yet the Democrats and only the Democrats completely ignored the will of the MAJORITY to pass this bill. And, your liberties are now non-existent because "rights" that the government gives you, they can take away. Sad day America, but you voted for it. Enjoy!

Hat tip to Moonbattery for the pic.

Obama Shows Himself For Who He Is

Mr. Obama showed that he no longer considers himself the President of the United States, but now is the dictator of the US by announcing he was ready to ram through the healthcare bill even though the vast majority of Americans do not want it. So much for government "of the people, by the people and for the people".

Instead of this ill conceived, never able to pay for, bankrupt the country bill, Mr. Obama should have scrapped it and regrouped. Instead of forcing people into a Medicare-like plan, why not make it so the free market, (You remember the free market, right?) can work to make it more affordable so the people who aren't covered and want to be covered (there's always going to be people who do not want coverage) can get coverage.

That's not Mr. Obama's plan. His plan is to make the federal government take over your life. He wants the government in charge of you not you in charge of the government. I'm not Oliver Stone. I don't buy into conspiracy theories. This man, however, is doing everything he can to increase the size, scope and power of the federal government. He is not listening to the citizens of this country. Not at all.

We all need to speak to our representatives and let them know that in no uncertain terms do we want this country to go in the direction Mr.Obama is taking it. That is not the America we want.

It's time to organize.

It's time to act.

Don't let the country slip away.

New York State Has It Wrong

So, there I sat last night listening to our Elementary School Counselor/Health Teacher as he explained the fourth grade health curriculum. The big topic this year is AIDS/HIV. Why? Not sure why a nine or ten year old needs to know about this disease, but New York State has decided our children will start hearing about it at this age.

So, he showed a video. First of all the video has a copyright date of 1988. Has there been no update to an AIDS video since then? Anyway, they are doing a pretty good job explaining AIDS in the movie using different benign analogies and then it happens. The two children in the video ask the adult, "How do you get AIDS?" The adult, sort of matter of factly, looks them in the eye and says, "Well, there are two ways, sexual contact............."

I didn't hear anything after that. That's all I had to hear. The hair (what little there is at this age) on the back of my neck stood up, a buzzing started in my ears and all I heard in my head was the phrase "opt out".

Sexual contact? OK, so after the video the Health Educator mentions that particular spot in the video and says, yes, we mention sex, but we're not going to talk about it.

What?

You're not going to talk about it?

We're going to tell the kids that it's not a subject we will discuss and then we'll move on.

Wait a minute, sir. You're going to mention sex to a bunch of giggling 9 and 10 year olds and then tell them you're not going to talk about it? OK. So, I guess you've never heard of Google? Think a kid can't do a simple internet search? Think they won't?

So another dad pipes in, "We can opt out of this, right?"

Yes.

Then a bunch of other parents start peppering him with questions. Why is it necessary to talk about this at this age? Why do you have to mention sex? My child is not ready for this. I don't want my child hearing about this.

He retreated to the excuse that it was mandated by the state. Ahhhhh. That's it. I'm just following orders! This was approved at the district level by parents and teachers. Really? The state does not know better than me what my child should be taught. She's my responsibility, not Governor Patterson's.

My child will not be sexualized in any way shape or form, especially by New York State.

And why does AIDS have to be covered three years? They get it in 4th, 5th and 6th grades. Why? What other communicable diseases are covered over a series of years. The answer? Exactly, NONE. Why is that? Is AIDS still the epidemic is once was? No. We don't live in Africa or Haiti or some other third world country where AIDS is rampant. Why shove this down the throats of innocent children? Why do they have to know this at such a young age?

My child will be opting out of this lesson. She won't see the video. There will be other children that will not see the video either. Of the few parents that were there, I think many of them are opting out of that lesson. However, the vast majority of the parents were not there last night. I hope they go on Wednesday to see the second and last presentation of this material. I think reasonable parents will opt out of this video.

Our children are our responsibility. It doesn't take a village to raise them, just dedicated parents or caretakers that care about them and take that responsibility seriously. The village isn't going to raise my child. God allowed my wife and I the privilege of having her and we're going to do whatever we can to protect her from the world as long as we can.

I spoke to her about it. She's OK with my decision because she knows that I love her and only want to protect her.

It's time we change things in this state. We need to change this curriculum to be more age appropriate. New York is so broken, I wonder if that's possible.

The People Have Spoken. Mr. Obama are You Listening?

With Republican Scott Brown's win in heavily left leaning Democratic Massachusetts last night, the people have started to take back our government. The only question that remains is will Mr. Obama, Mr. Schumer, Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Reid listen? So far, they haven't shown any indication that they care what the people want. So far, in the first year of Obama, all they care about is the Democratic Party agenda even though the vast majority of citizens are against it.

You know the people are angry when a Democrat cannot win a "Kennedy" seat in Massachusetts the land of the Kennedys. Mr. Scott Brown has shown what he said over and over again is true, that the open Senate seat in Massachusetts is indeed "The People's Seat".

Going from here we will see if the arrogance of the "we won" party will continue to push towards their goal of national health insurance that everyone will be forced to buy or face a stiff penalty. Some in the Democratic party, the party that has controlled Congress for years, seem to have gotten the message, but not the Democratic Party leadership. They have their ideological blinders on and want to force us all into Obamacare, which many people believe is unconstitutional.

It's time to speak out, shout out and tell your representatives, Schumer and Gillebrand, here in NY, that you want them to be more like Scott Brown or you'll vote them out. We need representatives that work FOR us. It is the government OF THE PEOPLE. They work for us. Tell them what you think. We need to put pressure on the Democrats to do what we want, not what their party has been trying to do for years. They don't get it that if the people wanted national health insurance, we would have had it long ago. National health insurance DOES NOT WORK. It hasn't worked anywhere in the world. It won't work here.

Do we need to reform the system? Yes, but not how the Democrats are trying to force us to do it. We need to allow competition across state borders. The Democrats have not even addressed that. Another thing they haven't addressed is malpractice reform. Most doctors will tell you that they have to spend an enormous amount of money on malpractice insurance because of the out of this world awards people get at as a result of winning a suit. That's called tort reform and we need that and so do the doctors. It will drive down healthcare costs immediately.

This is a good day to be an American citizen. It shows one person can make a difference. It's worth the fight. It's a good lesson to point out to your children.

It is said that the Democrats will try some slick maneuvers to ram Obamacare through to force it on all of us even though the message from Massachusetts was loud and clear that no one wants it. This election was a clear mandate AGAINST Obama and his and the Democrats' agenda. Time will tell if Pelosi, Reid, Schumer, Gillibrand and the rest of the Democrats will do what the voters who sent them there want and that's to represent the citizens and what they want. If not, then we'll just have to vote them out and put people in there like Scott Brown who will do the will of the people who they serve.

Apology Accepted Mr. McGwire, but Don't Bother Packing for Cooperstown

At first when Mark McGwire told the world what we already suspected that he had taken steroids, I thought, "Well, it's about time!" But then I thought about it and now that apology rings hollow when you look back at a very recent event, the voting for the Hall of Fame. McGwire was named on just 23% of the ballots.

To me McGwire's apology is just a veiled attempt to garner sympathy for future votes.

As a parent who doles out consequences on a regular basis, I have to tell Mr. McGwire that his apology doesn't relieve him of the consequences for his actions. Accept the apology, sure. However, he shouldn't be packing for Cooperstown.

As a lifelong baseball fan I say he's not welcomed in that hallowed hall. If they can ban Shoeless Joe Jackson on charges that really cannot be proved and they can keep Pete Rose, who admitted he bet on baseball games, out of the Hall of Fame, then Mark McGwire should experience the same ban. If this man is ever voted into the HOF, I will never, ever go there again.

It's time baseball got tough on these cheaters, confessed or not, and expunged them from all the records and make sure they never enter the Hall of Fame as inductees. The one thing baseball always protected was its integrity and with the inclusion of such cheaters, that integrity is at the very least in question.

I love the game of baseball. It has always been and will always be my favorite game, but I will be hard pressed to embrace the game I love if cheaters such as Mark McGwire are welcomed into the very institution that celebrates individuals who accomplished great things ON THEIR OWN.

What do you think?

Leave a comment.

How Can the Conservatives Take Our Country Back?

The Obama administration is imploding under its own weight with the health care disaster they call reform, ACORN, Tim Geitner's indiscretions, being soft and incompetent on terror, Janet Nepalitano saying the system worked when someone actually was able to board a plane with explosives in his Fruit of the Looms, slow to react when we are attacked, not caring about Americans safety by bringing the 9/11 trials to a civilian court in New York City, not caring about what the majority of citizens want when it goes against what the Democratic party wants, the Louisiana Purchase where they gave Louisiana $300 million to sway a vote on health care, bribing Ben Nelson of Nebraska with a sweetheart deal for his state to get him to vote Yes to this health insurance legislation that will bankrupt the country and I can go on and on but I don't want to continue to write the longest sentence I have ever written.

You get the idea.

All that being said, how can the Conservatives take advantage of the situation as the liberal Democrats did last year? What do they have to do to win back the hearts and minds of America?

Number 1 is they have to embrace the fiscal conservatism of Reagan. Continue to say "No" to mortgaging our future and the futures of our children and grandchildren and give attractive, real fiscally-sound alternatives and keep hammering it home. Do not let up.

Number 2 is they need to keep telling the country how unsafe we have become since this administration has come to power. There are plenty of examples. They need to keep that in the media.

Number 3 is they need to continually tell us how the alleged health care reform the Pelosi/Reid led congress is trying to ram down our throats will make us more unhealthy, hurt the quality of care, limit the care we get, and take the control out of our hands and put it in the government's hands.

Number 3 is they need to continually belittle what the Democrats are doing, just as the Saul Alinsky-inspired Democrats are doing to them. Keep telling America how silly the Dems complaints are. Keep laughing at the absurd solutions they propose. Keep saying how out of date and out of touch the Dems/Libs are with regular Americans. Marginalize them every chance they get.

They need to defeat Coakley in Massachusetts on January 19th in the special election to fill Kennedy's seat.

They need to defeat Gillibrand in New York for her Senate seat.

They need to stop fighting in public.

They need to be smarter at winning over younger voters.

They need to rally the base to get out and vote.

They need to listen to the Teabag Party. They are regular Americans that are fed up with how the government is so dysfunctional and out of touch with what we want.

I am sure we can come up with more, but you get the picture.

We need to support those who can deliver this, so we do not lose this country, which we will if the liberal Democrats, Obama, Reid, Pelosi, Schumer and their cohorts are allowed to continue to run amok in this country.

Get out and vote. Get involved. Support those who will listen to you and care about what you want.

God bless you.

May God have mercy on America.