The Final Frontier

I watched a documentary the other night on UFOs. It showed a lot of homemade video clips of strange lights zipping around in the sky. One clip showed a group of eight lights that made an outline of what looked to be a very large space craft slowly flying over a town. Of course you can’t see the ship itself because it’s dark outside. All you can see are the lights.

I sat there watching the videos and thought “how smart can these aliens be if they forgot to turn off their headlights?” Seriously, they’re able to hide all day long and then come out at night so no one will see them, but left their parking lights on?!

I can’t say for sure that there are no aliens, because I honestly don’t know. I think the chances of us being the only “intelligent” beings in this vast universe are pretty slim though.

I’m sure we’ll have the answer some day. Hopefully it won’t be when we’re looking down the business end of an Illudiom Pew36 Explosive Space Modulator.

Get out of God’s way

Christians are a very helpful lot. We go out of our way to help those who need it, in ways that a lot of times include money, a place to live, a car, counseling, etc.

I recently saw a friend in need, and witnessed others try to help him through his troubles, and it occurred to me that perhaps without knowing it we were letting our Christian helpfulness get in the way of what God was trying to do in that persons life.

What if God needed for that person to be in the situation they were in? What if He was working on that person to break them, or show them a path he needed them to travel? And by intervening we were actually giving that person an easy way out, when all along God didn’t want them to have an easy way out.

Tough question, isn’t it?

I guess my only answer is that God puts people in our lives for a reason, and if I have the ability to help that person I can only hope that it’s because God wanted me to do so.

All we can do is pray for guidance. In the end, God’s plan will happen whether we get in the way or not.

Just my random thoughts. What are yours?

Keep the Change

Our new President will be in office in a couple of months. He’s touted himself as a President of “Change.” So I’m anxious to see what happens, as well as a little scared.

I came from poverty. Really. We’re talking walking around in ditches picking up cans to cash in for food, kind of poverty. But I worked hard and dug my way out of that life. But now Obama is saying that other people shouldn’t have to do the same thing. That he’s just going to take it from me instead, and “spread the wealth.”

My biggest concern in all this is that I won’t be able to give to the charities of my choice. I won’t be able to afford it anymore.

What will happen when Obama taxes the rich into middle class?

People’s ability to give to charities will go way down, and perhaps the poor will see a few dollars of these new taxes, but I don’t have much faith in the government’s ability to manage the process. I’d rather manage the process myself and give directly to the faith-based charities that I know are helping people.

So I disagree with this concept of spreading the wealth. I’m already doing that.

Sorry Mr. Obama. Keep the Change.

"God, thank you for blessing my life and giving me the ability to help so many others. All I have is yours, no matter how much, or how little. Amen."

Don’t Drink the Kool-Aid

I watched a documentary about the Jonestown massacre last night. I’m old enough to remember when it happened. It’s a tragedy that still doesn’t make sense to this day. 909 people dead, plus several news reporters and a congressman.

It’s a testament to what can happen when people stop believing in God and start believing in the person leading them down their version of a godly path.

The lesson of Jonestown is being grounded in the Bible, and knowing that there is only one person “higher” than you, and that’s God.

We must always keep our guard up against putting a religious figure on a pedestal. I’ve seen pastors of mega-churches become rock stars, and soon they lose their focus on God, and start believing they’re above everyone else.

Pastors are people. They’re just like the rest of us. They have faults, and they sin. They struggle with life’s daily problems from family issues to how to budget their money.

Good pastors are grounded in the Word, and have a personal relationship with Christ. They are humble, because they know their job is important, and if they do it wrong then people are led astray.

The only difference between you and your pastor is that he’s able to immerse himself in a life of following Christ. Where as the rest of us have to work a full time job while we follow Christ. It doesn’t make us any less valuable to God; we just don’t have people coming to us every day for spiritual guidance.

Don’t ever think your pastor is above anyone else. Gauge what they say based on how it lines up with the Bible, and the teachings of Jesus.

As long as you have a personal relationship with Christ and take time each day to be in the Word, and follow the teachings of Jesus, you’re a pastor too, because the people around you will see Christ living through you. And that’s your daily sermon.

“God, I pray for the families of those still here dealing with the tragic loss of their loved ones 30 years ago in Jonestown. Give us the wisdom to know that it is only You who is worth following, and no mortal. Amen.”

Veteran's Day

The price of freedom. It’s a tough thing to calculate. It isn’t something you’re entitled to. It can’t be purchased, or traded, or gifted. It’s something men and women from all walks of life have fought for since the birth of this great nation. And not just ours, but the freedom of millions of other people around this globe who couldn’t fight for themselves.

How many? Take a look:

War of Independence	25,000
Quasi-War	20
Barbary Wars	35
War of 1812	20,000
Mexican-American War	13,283
Civil War	623,026
Spanish-American War	2,446
Philippine War	4,196
Mexican Revolution	35
Haiti Occupation	146
World War 1	116,708
World War 2	407,316
Korean War	36,914
Vietnam War	58,169
El Salvador	20
Beirut	266
Persian Gulf Support	39
Invasion of Grenada	19
Invasion of Panama	40
Gulf War	269
Somalia	43
Bosnia	12
Afghanistan	609
Iraqi	4,507

That’s right: one million, three hundred thirteen thousand, one hundred and eighteen people have given their lives so that you could stop on your way to work today and buy that Starbuck’s coffee.

Freedom isn’t free.

Take a moment today to remember those who have gone before us and fought for freedom. Some are still here, but too many never came home.

They deserve to be remembered.

“God, I pray for those who are in harms way today. Wrap your loving arms around them and keep them safe. Amen.”

YYZ

I was flipping through the channels tonight and found a RUSH concert in progress. I’m old enough to remember RUSH when they were still 3 young men making innovative, original music. Not that they aren’t now, they’re just older and Geddy Lee can’t hit the high notes.

Being a musician I really appreciate well made music. And I love watching accomplished players. Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart. Pound for pound three of the best musicians around. It’s amazing the amount of music these three guys can produce on stage. It’s full, perfectly played, and oh yeah… their songs are great!

I sat in awe as Neil Peart launched into one of his famous solos and I was mesmerized for the next 10 minutes watching this guy play. It’s like his hands and feet have different brains! They play independently of each other, and it just blows me away.

Of course I have to say something about the other two members of RUSH. Geddy Lee is pretty amazing. Just his Bass playing alone is note-worthy for the speed and accuracy he can play while singing at the same time. And then to raise the bar he plays pedal organ with his feet!

And then there’s Alex Lifeson. He’s an incredible, charismatic guitar player who is tremendously creative and fun to watch. I love listening to the complicated tones and chords he comes up with. And one of the best things I like about this guy is that he's one of the few guitar players that really takes the time to reproduce his solos on stage. I hate when I go to a concert and I'm expecting to hear a great guitar solo I heard on a studio album, only to hear just the first few notes of it before the musician ad libs a bunch of junk. Alex doesn't do that. He plays his solos almost note for note with the studio version. It really shows a great attention to detail, and a love for the original song.

Music today just isn’t the same as when these 3 gentlemen started. I’m not saying it’s bad, but it’s definitely not as good, or thought out, or produced, or played.

Here's one of their best tunes. No words, just hard playing rock-n-roll!

And away we go…

I’m really happy the election is finally over. I think we should pass a law limiting campaigns to 6 months, because 2 years of campaigning really wore out the entire country!

I’m excited about the historical marker set by this election, and although I didn’t vote for Barack, I think it’s great that we have our first African America President.

I’ve listened to a lot of radio talk show hosts complain about the GOP loss, and say that this is a “war” and they have only lost this battle. I was disappointed to hear talk like that, because in the end we’re all in this together and should work towards a common goal of being one nation.

Whether I like Barack’s politics or not, the fact is he is the next President of the United States of America, and I’m an American. So I will support my new President to the best of my ability without compromising my values, morals, or beliefs. I hope the rest of the country will join me in this view so we can make this country better.

Congratulations President Obama. Now do something to live up to your new title and bring this country together, fix the economy, and keep your hands out of my pocket!

“God, bless our new President and his family. Please give strength and wisdom to the incoming administration and help guide them as they make the decisions that will affect everyone in this country. Amen.”