The Eternal God

     While at church this evening, something was mentioned that, although very basic to Christianity, is amazing to think about.

     Consider that God is eternal. . . that means not only that God lives in the past, but that He also lives in the future. . . simultaneously.  Absolutely amazing!  I don't know anything about tomorrow, except that God is already there working in my life.  He doesn't just know what is going to happen to me tomorrow, but because he is not subject to time, He is already there, with me, walking beside me helping me though the day, week, month, etc. 
     I cannot completely wrap my mind around the fact that He can do that, but it brings a peace and comfort that is just amazing.
     Isn't it great to be a born again Christian!?

Hauling lumber with a 6' pickup bed

This is not an easy feat!  Try several 16' 2x6's. 

I believe there were 12 of the 2x6x16's, and 8 sheets of 1/2" particle board.  There were no apparent weight issues, but the length was a completely different story!

My Dog (Even though I don't have one)

     Sandra and I were visiting a church today, and were invited to lunch at a member's house, which was a blessing, and while we were there, they printed this off and gave it to us.  I thought you might enjoy!

My dog sleeps about 20 hrs a day.
She has her food prepared for her.
She can eat whatever she wants, whenever she wants.
Her meals are provided at no cost to her.
She visits the Dr. once a year for her checkup, and again during the year if any medical needs arise.
For this she pays nothing, and nothing is required of her.
She lives in a nice neighborhood, in a house that is much larger than she needs, but she is not required to do any upkeep.
If she makes a mess, someone else cleans it up.
She has her choice of luxurious places to sleep.
She receives those accommodations absolutely free.
She is living like royalty, and has absolutely no expenses whatsoever.
All of her living costs are picked up by others who go out and earn a living every day.
I was just thinking about all this, and suddenly it hit me like a brick in the head, Holy Smokes,
My dog is a democrat!


Hope you enjoyed that! 
She may have even been able to run for president!

Cool Water Pump!

       I now drive a 2005 GMC Canyon, and love it!  Of course, it is a big change from the '03 Silverado 2500 that I was driving.  Trying to get used to a smaller bed with less capacity has been a challenge to say the least.  You should have seen me trying to carry a truckload of 2x6x16's the other day down the NW Expressway here in OKC!  Redneck to say the least!
       Well, my water pump started to leak the other day, and was making some pretty rough noises, so I went and got the $50 water pump, and decided to change it on Friday evening.  The water pump is completely different from any I have ever seen. . . of course, the truck is a little different too.  It has a 3.5L inline 5 with plenty of get up and go.  The water pump was about 7" from front to back with a diameter of about 4".  There were no inlet and outlet connections, which I thought was very odd, but rather, the impeller is out in the open, and it appears that the impeller uses the actual engine to direct where the coolant goes.  It was pretty cool.  The only downside was the fan nut, which is a 36mm nut, which only has room for an extremely thin wrench to get in to break it loose.  The Auto Parts stores sell a special wrench to be able to do this, but they only want about $60 for it.  More than the water pump. . .really GM?  I'd never use it again, so I spent about 3 hrs trying to get that stupid nut broke loose!  I got it, and it cost me nothing, but a little bit of time.  Overall, it was a pretty simple job.  Much easier than I would have expected, and definitely much easier than other water pumps that I have replaced!

Surprise!

Well now!

 A good friend of mine just called me yesterday, and told me that he found my blog! Well. . . I had pretty much completely forgotten about it until he called me!  Thanks, Bob! It took me a couple of hours to figure out what my username and password were, and it is taking me forever to type out this post!  Sandra and I don't have internet at the house, so it is on my phone. Any posts will be pretty short until we get a keyboard that I can use with my phone.

LinuxMint 10

I've just installed LinuxMint 10 on my new desktop, and I love it!  The desktop is not actually new, but someone put it along the side of the road without a hard drive, and said we could have it.  My brother, Justus, had an extra hard drive(only 4G), so I thought I'd give it a try!  If you can get past the differences it has from Windows, it is the best thing since DOS!   Well, I'm using it now, still trying to get used to it, and if you get a chance, look it up.

(LinuxMint 11, also known as "Katya" is also out, but my computer didn't like it, so I reverted back to 10)

http://www.linuxmint.com/

Why do I not eat at resturants that serve alcohol?

And why am I even writing this?   Well, there are a few reasons for both, and I'll start with the later.

I am writing this post because of the fact that I believe that eating or fellowshiping in the proximity of alcohol is something that a Christian ought not do.  Not everyone believes this, and that is fine with me.  I'll not argue with you over the subject, or even try to tell you that you are wrong simply because it is not something that will keep you out of Heaven, and it is not worth getting into a big argument over. 

I am writing this post because it never ceases to amaze me how many Christians are appalled at the fact that I do not eat at a restaurant that serves alcohol.  Hey, if i have the choice to "abstain from all appearance of evil." then I think it would be more pleasing to my Heavenly Father if I chose to do what he commanded me to do.  It is very interesting to me, that when this comes to light with a non-believer, someone who has not accepted Christ as their personal Savior, they are more often than not, fully supportive of the stand that is being taken.  I have heard the statement, "Wow!  That's different, but hey, you're a Christian."  (This is usually after saying, I'm a Christian, and they serve alcohol.  I can't eat there.)  That doesn't happen often simply because I don't eat out often, and to eat out with someone who is not a fellow Christian is even more rare. (Usually only at company dinners, etc.)  What gets me though is when another Christian says something like, "Well, that's dumb." or, "Well, You shop at a grocery store that sells alcohol, don't you?  It's all the same thing!"

There is a difference between the two, and I hope to show what they are here.  I'm not usually good at explaining things, so hopefully it can be understood why I believe what I do.

If you are a Christian reading this, then you already know that there is ample evidence in Scripture that alcoholic beverages are not intended by God to be ingested.  Some examples of that are as follows:

Pr 20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
 (KJV)

Pr 23:29 Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
 30 They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.
 (KJV)

 These are only two of the many Scriptures that indicate to us that God is not pleased with drunkenness, and the consumption of alcohol.  Many others indicate that it is strongly related to mockery of the Holy Spirit, is directly related to adultery and other forms of immorality, and the fact that it is just plain foolish.

As a Christian, I do not eat at restaurants that serve for the following reasons;

1.  God clearly commands us as Christians to "Abstain from all appearance of evil." (I Thessalonians 5:22)  But not only does he command us to abstain from the appearance of evil, but also from many of the things that are associated directly with alcohol, such as fornication(which includes adultery and incest), in I Thessalonians 4:3.  "For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:"       It could be very easy to be seen walking out of a restaurant not realizing that you are following, or leading a group of people that had a little too much to drink, and then be seen in church the next day. . . what kind of testimony would that be? Would they ever listen to you if you knocked on their door making calls for your church?  They have a mental picture of you, even though you were not drunk, walking with a group of people that were drunk. . .some Christian he/she is.   "Abstain from all appearance of evil."

2.  To be in the presence of those drinking alcohol allows the Christian to be in an environment that is toxic to his/her Christian beliefs.
Proverbs 20:1 "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise."   Alcohol makes a mockery of everything that we as Christians stand for.  It turns men and women into fools, it lowers the inhibitions of men and women and raises the passions that those inhibitions control.  Generally, when one has had alcohol, he usually has one of two reactions.  1.  He loves everyone, and would do anything for them, or 2. all he wants to do is fight.   If it is the first, then he'll make a fool of himself by doing anything and everything someone suggests.  If it is the second, not only does he fight everyone that is around, but he often goes home and abuses his family.  How can I as a Christian sit there and watch as a man does either one of these two things?  When we look at all of the things that alcohol does, would it be safe to say that it opens a man or woman up to satanic or demonic control?  I don't know that it does, but it is something to consider.

3.  Eating out is a recreational activity.  I don't know of anyone that has to eat out in order to live!  What an awful life if that were the case!  This is my refutation to those who argue that eating in a restaurant that serves alcohol is the same as buying groceries from a store that sells it.  When I go out to eat, it is something that I enjoy doing.  It relieves my wife from cooking, doing the dishes, and general cleanup of the kitchen.  It is also a good way for me to say to her, "Thank you for all you do for me, let me give you a break tonight!"  For the single person, it would be just a way to take a break for yourself.  Yes, the grocery store does sell boxed and bottled alcohol, but I am not going to the store to sit down and enjoy a meal, to take a break from the everyday meal planning, or to just sit down and fellowship with someone.  I consider going to the grocery store a necessity of life(and not exactly a pleasurable one!), something that needs to be done in order to survive.  I do not have the abilities to raise my own meat, or to grow all of my own vegetables and fruits, or to make many of the other things that are needed that may be purchased at the grocery store.  Unfortunately, even though there are a few grocery stores that do not sell alcohol, they do not always carry some items that you may need.      


4.  I know that Jesus ate with the publicans and sinners, and there was probably alcohol present(if their culture then is anything like today), but I am not Jesus.

Although there is no temptation now, there may come a day when there is a temptation to taste an alcoholic beverage.  I am just as likely to be tempted as the next guy, and so are you.  It is no different from any other sinful activity, and Satan knows how to make it look good to the strongest believer just as he can do with anything else. 


I think the main idea here is that the line needs to be drawn somewhere, and unfortunately, no matter where the line is drawn, it is sure to receive criticism.  I wish it were not that way, but being different sometimes has a price. 


Conclusion

I never try to make a big deal out of believing what I do about this.  I have learned over the past few years that it is better to decline an invitation to go to eat unless you know where the inviting party is going.  It is not something done for show(as some have accused), but is something that I believe is a matter of right and wrong.  My intentions are not to sway those of you who do not agree, but to say hey, this is why I believe what I do. . . check it out for your self.   Most people who know me, either don't know I believe this, and the ones that do know didn't know for a long time. . . because I don't make a big deal about it.

As other reasons come to mind, I'll add them to the post.  There are a few more, but after typing for so long, I can't remember them at the moment!

Whether you agree or not, I'd like to know what your thoughts are.

A Must Read For any Patriotic American

Please take the time to read this.  Not only will it anger you, but it will also embarrass you as an American citizen.  Because of copyright, I'm not sure if it would be best for me to re-post it here or not, so click on the title to read the article.

It is a shame what a local Newspaper is willing to do!!!

From the Sooner Tea Party

Did they really just attack an entire church?

Want proof that the Oklahoman has lost any vestige of journalistic integrity?  Read this titillating headline that ran in the Sunday paper:

Quote:

"Oklahoma City Council candidates attend a church observers have criticized for flying the Confederate flag, making political commentary from the pulpit and training children to use automatic weapons at a church camp."

End quote:

Read more: http://newsok.com/activities-of-council-candidates-church-draw-criticism/article/3544301#ixzz1FDeJ8P5k

Wow!  Sounds like some radical, racist, good old boys with kids just waiting to hose you down with machine gun fire if you take their ice cream away.  Well.... not so much.   Turns out those confederate flags were part of an event where they were displayed alongside the Union flag.   Darned... sounded like the Democrats were resurrecting the KKK again to liven things up in OKC.  You do remember that it was the Democratic party that was the powerhouse behind the KKK,  with Democratic Governor Fabus and George Wallace vowing not to integrate the schools?  And who stood against them but Republican Dwight Eisenhower.

And that political commentary from the pulpit?   Woo, they caught Pastor Vineyard on that one on one of their videos:

"Pray for ... Brother Hearron, Brother Van Manen and their campaigns,"

But there is more!  Seems Pastor Vineyard asked church members to volunteer for political candidates and urged them to call elected officials regarding legislation at the capitol!  How dare he ask them to be good citizens!   Despite the opinions of the "experts" the Oklahoman brought in for the interview, there is nothing wrong with a non-profit asking people to get involved in politics as long as you don't tell them to vote for someone in particular.  You can expose the voting records, call them a suspect in the paternity of the litter of pups down the street, or say they don't like girls as long as you don't advocate voting for or voting against them.

I hear the muttering out there:  "Ah, but Al, they trained children to use machine guns!"   Turns out the church has a summer camp in Kingfisher County with sessions for children and adults and include safety training for pistols, rifles and shotguns, and even some automatic weapons demonstrations.    Uh, demonstrations?  I had pictures in my mind of six year olds struggling to stay on their feet and keep a bucking Uzi machine pistol on target.   They did mention al-Qaida type training in the article, didn't they?  Well, yeah, but it was actually the Department of Wildlife Conservation that has conducted training there for the last three years.  Boy, there is a radical bunch, those state game rangers, always where the wildlife is happening.

Isn't this cartoonish?   A staid and solid 100 year old newspaper owned by a billionaire attacking a dang church of all things?

I've been to the Windsor Hills Baptist Church last year, was invited to speak on the need for people to stand up and start the hard, dirty work of taking our country back from the progressives and the liberals.   It mattered not that I wasn't of their exact faith or that I wasn't a member.  They didn't care that the Sooner Tea Party is willing to thump on politicians if they need it, they were just glad that someone was thumping them.   And it is a rare "fundamentalist" church, if the Oklahoman's claims are to be taken as truth, that invites outsiders into their world.  In fact the liberty movement here in Oklahoma recently had many of the religious right groups defect because they didn't think they were "equally yoked" and that only a leader of their exact faith would be blessed by God and ensure victory.  Not Windsor Hills Baptist Church, they will work with anyone regardless of their faith or creed.   That is true Christian behavior in my book.  They leave the judging up to God.  They understand that the Constitution delivered freedom of religion and your right to choose to live your life as you see fit.

So why would the Oklahoman shoot themselves in the foot like this?   Because they are flailing about in desperation over the city council race, seeing the state chamber of commerce board members losing their races in the polls  despite an injection of over a quarter of a million dollars into their campaigns.  For the fist time in Oklahoma City history the establishment is actually running TV ads for a city council race!   Traditionally they get 1500 votes per ward, so 751 voters decide who gets the ward position.  And they are spending a quarter million to convince those 751 voters to show up?  All the while they complain about the Tea Party getting involved by making signs for three of the candidates and daring to endorse them?

What does the Tea Party need you to do?  Well, write a letter to the editor over this embarrassing journalistic behavior.  Or call them and cancel your subscription like I did in January when they went too far.  Nineteen years I've been a subscriber to that rag.  Still am, I guess, ’cause they won't stop delivering it even after they have called four times and have been told that no I wasn't going to support their paper and to stop delivering the thing.   Seems they are losing subscribers at such a rapid rate that they are continuing to deliver at no cost just to keep their circulation numbers from plummeting and losing ad revenue.  But what we really need you to do is to vote on March 1st:  Adrian Van Manen for Ward 6,  Clifford Hearron for Ward 8, and Brian Walters for Ward 5.   Ward 2?   I personally couldn't find anyone that was worth beans.  All I have to go on is that the Oklahoman didn't like the 30-year-old student.  Something to be said for the fact that they liked him the least, so I guess I'd vote for him if I lived in his ward.  How embarrassing that we didn't get a suitable candidate in that race.

Now a Spy Catfish!?

Ok, I thought the hummingbird was a little bizarre, then my wife sent me the link to this story by Fox news.  I really don't understand why my government is paying for all of these little toys that aren't really necessary when they can't even keep their budget under control!  Not to say that they aren't cool little spy gadgets, but really, what is a catfish going to see?  It can't get on a ship, it can't get in a sub, and it can't get on land.  There would also be serious radio control distance restrictions, unless somehow it was controlled by satellite(which is possible).

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/02/22/new-cia-websites-reveal-secret-agent-gadgets/?cmpid=cmty_email_Gigya_CIA_Reveals_Its_James_Bond-Worthy_Spy_Gadgets
What do you think?