Describe your life in 7 words

Mine is:  Love, Hate, Happy, Sad, Peaceful, Passionate & Balanced

My other Blog

Are we Reinforcing Conditional Love?
 
Our children need to learn the characteristics of our Heavenly Father, in order to be secure in Him.  Our children need to hear God’s voice & become secure in the Heavenly Father’s love for him.  If he is secure in this love, he will become free from a performance orientation that says, ”I have to behave this way or my Heavenly Father will not love me.”
 
Performance orientation is pervasive in the world today.  Many people draw their sense of self-worth from what they do or what position they hold, In fact, many Christians suffer from this malady in their relationship with God.  Although they know they are saved because of Jesus, many still feel uncomfortable with their Heavenly Father.  They think they must win His love by performing for Him or jumping through “religious hoops,” Our heavenly Father wants us to be free from this. He wants us to be at rest in His presence.  God wants us to know without a shadow of a doubt that He simply loves us for who we are: His creation.
 
My other Blog

I write short articles for my church bulletin.  I'd love to have your input.

Last night I was part of a Federal Review for the Social Services.  We had a long meeting last night and we'll have another today.  I'm hoping it causes some good changes.  I want more parental rights and families empowered.  (South Dakota is not too bad concerning parental rights.)  I'm going to bring up my concern about homosexual couples being able to get foster children.  I know it's a political charged issue but I'd die for this cause.  I've responded very strong to some people on xanga concerning this.  I will not apoligize for this.  We need to stand up for the rights of the orphans. 

We went to Prince Caspian yesterday.  It was great.

Good News out of China
-- Two women have been rescued in Sichuan province nearly one week after an earthquake, China's Xinhua News Agency reports.

Giles Lytton Strachey changed the way history was read and written. Born in London in 1880, he gained attention through the fresh style of his literary criticism. His breakthrough came in 1918, with the publication of his book, Eminent Victorians. Instead of dryly repeating events, he selected key moments and facts in the lives of his subjects. His aim was to cast "a sudden revealing searchlight into obscure recesses."

However, there was a tradeoff. As Encarta Encyclopedia comments, "he occasionally sacrificed truth." Yet his writings attracted many readers with a style that was "polished, malicious, and lively."

Strachey wrote, "The first duty of a great historian is to be an artist: misinterpreted truth is as useless as buried gold, and art is the great interpreter."

This model of interpreted writing has been adopted by many others who've decided they have the right to present "truth" in their own, subjective way-offering their personal interpretations as fact.

We can wonder if this is what happened to the story of Joseph. Even though he single-handedly saved Egypt from a great crisis, in later generations his life and accomplishments seem to have been forgotten or erased from the public records.

Today, think about this when you read newspapers, visit websites, watch movies and TV programs, and hear the opinions of others. No matter how authoritative others may seem, each person has biases and prejudices. Even "experts" might be reporting "interpreted truth" rather than the real Truth.

Remember: Only God's Word is fully true. He is the Creator, and His Word is eternally true. Make sure to base your life on the Bible and not the fallible opinions of people.

Eight years ago, California voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 22, which defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Yet the will of the people apparently didn't mean much to the four out of seven state Supreme Court judges who just declared the law "unconstitutional." This outrageous decision has, in effect, legalized same-sex marriage in California, and gay rights activists will inevitably use the ruling as a springboard to challenge traditional marriage across the nation. On today's broadcast, Dr. James Dobson renews the call for the establishment of marriage amendments - at the state and federal levels - to protect marriage permanently. Joining Dr. Dobson for this discussion are public policy experts Tom Minnery and Tony Perkins, as well as Jack Hibbs, a California pastor who's been active in the fight to preserve marriage in the Golden State.

"The California Supreme Court has taken a jackhammer to the democratic process ... Four judges discarded the votes of 4,618,673 Californians who approved the state's 'Defense of Marriage Act.' "
- Tony Perkins

Do you think that 4 people should have the power to overrule millions? 

My other blogging site

I write a short parenting article for the bulletin.  Here is this weeks:
Ralph Waldo Emerson said:
“Trust men and they will be true to you,”
“Treat them greatly and they will show themselves great.”

The same holds true for kids. In fact, the surest way to garner your child’s trust and respect is to show your child that you genuinely trust and respect her. This simple act, more than anything else you do as a parent, will engender a mutual authenticity that roots your relationship in love and allows your child to see just how trustworthy you are.

WAYS TO SHOW YOUR CHILD RESPECT
Make Eye contact
Knock before entering your child’s room
Value you child’s need for fun
Give your child room for different opinions
Value your child’s need for privacy
If your child is struggling with something or someone ask first before jumping in.

Any suggestions as to what I can add to the list of how to respect our children?

• High blood pressure causes headaches. High blood pressure usually has no symptoms. Neither does it cause dizziness, although dizziness is a common side effect of treatments for high blood pressure.
• Bed rest is useful additional therapy. According to 39 studies of bed rest versus early mobilization, bed rest is usually not beneficial and may, in fact, be harmful.
• Reading in dim light ruins your eyesight. Reading for long periods of time in dim light may cause you to squint and strain your eyes — maybe even triggering a headache — but it won’t hurt your eyes.
• We use only 10 percent of our brain. Although this myth has been around for a hundred years, numerous imaging studies have shown that no part of our brain is inactive.
• Drink eight glasses of water a day. Drinking so much water is unnecessary since most of us get plenty of water from our food and other drinks, including tea and coffee.
• Eating sugar causes diabetes. While eating sugar doesn’t cause diabetes, it does make you fat and that increases your risk for the disease.
• Chocolate causes acne. Relax and enjoy a sinful chocolate treat. Hormones, not chocolate, are the main cause of acne.

News out of South Dakota
Getting a protection order in South Dakota can be an unfair and difficult process, the federal government and victim advocates say. But it's a process that's about to change, prompted in a large part by a $730,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice.

My oldest daughter was assulted a few years ago. She had a tough time getting a protection order and didn't do it.  I couldn't believe it when she got a letter from the States Attorney saying she would be taken to court if she didn't pay her own medical bills.  The girl who assulted her was jailed and went to court.  She was ordered to pay the medical bills but was given 3 years to do so.  Kristina was ordered to pay the medical bills immediately.  The girl that assulted Kristina still hasn't paid anything. 

BAD BREAKING NEWS:  The People's Republic of California has just rejected the ban on gay marriage.  This is horrible.  The People's Republic is just one of 2 states that will allow gay marriage.  One of my major concerns is the children that are in foster care.  It's a bad day in America.  Marriage is being redefined. 

On this day sixty years ago, the British mandate over Palestine expired. As a result, Jewish authorities declared the establishment of the State of Israel. Immediately, Israel had to struggle for its very existence. Within a day, it was invaded by the surrounding armies. The hastily formed Israeli Defense Forces defended the new nation in a bloody war that lasted more than a year. Against all odds, Israel survived. To many, its very existence was a miracle. That miracle continues to this day.

I love reading books about the liberation of Israel.  There are many tunnels in and around Jerusalem.  It's fascinating to see how those tunnels were used during the above time. 

Breaking News -- U.S. President George W. Bush arrives in Israel to mark the nation's 60th anniversary and to push the Mideast peace process.

Many people live according to "situation ethics," a concept made famous by Joseph Fletcher in the 1960s. This lifestyle rejects the concept of moral absolutes. It's a philosophy advocated by men like British writer, Somerset Maugham, who once wrote, "No action is in itself good or bad, but only such according to convention." Those with this belief have no reservations about living according to "free love"-doing whatever they want, without concern for God, His Word, or eternity.

What are your thoughts on moral absolute?

-- Some 900 children buried under rubble after earthquake in China, Xinhua news agency says.

Happy Mother's Day to all Mother's

What a weekend.  We had a graduation & a wedding to go to yesterday.  So we split up, my wife and 3 kids went to the graduation and I and 3 kids went to the wedding.  Then we all converged and went to a birthday party last night.