The meaning of the holidays

First, let me clarify that the holidays I'm referring too are Thanksgiving and Christmas.   I like Thanksgiving because I get to be with people I like and maybe some family members too.  This past summer I planted pumpkins at the church so I didn't have to mow yet still not have the property overgrown with weeds.  I sold many of the pumpkins and gave the money to the church to make improvements.  What pumpkins weren't saleable or didn't sale I carved out and froze the pumpkin so now I'm baking pumpkin pies for all the church members. 

I plan on planting a largger pumpkin patch next year.

The older I get the less meaning the traditional way of celebrating Christmas means to me.  I no longer see my kid and rarely hear from him and the same for my wifes children.  They all have busy lives and live so far away.  Honestly, my church family means more to me than my relatives do because I know they care about me. 

Instead of buying stuff to put under a tree my wife and I usually make a large purchase and consider it our Christmas gift to each other.  One year we bourgt a new TV, last year we purchased new computers, a desktop for me and a laptop for her and this year we purchased a love seat with twin lounger/rocking chairs.  Most of the items we purchased in September or October. 

I find the most meaningful things about the holidays is the people we want in our lives.  Not the food or the gifts but the people.  Christmas, especially, is about people and Christ.  I know he wasn't born on December 25th and I also know that that date was picked by the Catolic church as a way of getting people to give to the church rather than to pagan rituals.  Still, we don't know exactly when the birthday of Christ was so December 25 is as good as any other day. 

What is important is that we celebrate his birth.  The gifts and the food and the parties are fun but the best gift we can give is our hearts to Christ.  If we give him that he will give to us eternal life.  And that, my friends, is what the holidays are about. 

I was lost but now I'm found

Last Sunday, Nov. 11, 2012 I laid my glasses on my dresser and took my left hearing out out and laid it with my glasses.  The right aid had been sent off for repairs so the left one was doubly important now.  After I took my shower I got dressed and put my glasses on then played on the computer for a few minutes to make sure my ears were completely dry.  That's important since moisture can affect hearing aids, even to the point of causes them to permanently malfunction, just like getting any electrical system wet.  Well, to my horror, it wasn't there. 

My tarnished gold cat, Ryder, had recently started jumping up on my dresser.  I guess it was her birthday present to me to show off her new trick.  I wasn't amused. 

I searched everything for that hearing aid.  There was nothing I didn't look at, under, or in and over the next three or four days I searched over and over.  I knew it had to be there somewhere and I kept hoping I would either find it or it would myteriously show up.  My wife suggested the cat might have eaten it but I remeinded her that cats are carnavors and don't eat plastic.  True, they may chew the shell but they would not eat it nor could they eat the battery or the wires. 

This morning I realized that the only place in the house i had not searched was the master bedroom.  After my wife's recent head trauma I don't distrub her but she was out in the regular part of the house so I decided to search there but to no avail.  I went to my room to do a little research on the computer when I heard my wife calling me excitedly.  I rushed out of the room to see what she was excited about and there in her fingers was my hearing aid. 

"I just looked down to see what Ryder was playing with and this is what she had.". She explained. 

I was really happy to get it back.  It was lost but now it's found.

I can imagine how excited Jesus gets when a human being accepts him as his savor.  What shepard who has lost a sheep doesn't leave the ninety-nine and go look for the one.  It is a glorious day when a person can excalim "I was once lost but now I'm found." 

I sure hope to see you in church one day. 

Election Day

The country is evenly divided about the direction this country should go.  The present administration wants a more liberal agenda in an attempt to "reinvent America".  Those are his words, not mine.  America was made strong on the backs of hard working men and women and with the minds of those willing to take a chance.  Our constitution was written so that people could have that opportunity to make things happen in their lives. 

One cannot prosper, not matter  how intelligent, if there are not men and women willing to work for him to put his ideas into practice.  By the same token, one cannot find work to do unless someone is willing to take a chance and make something.  America has always been the land of opportunity but never the land of equal opportunity.  I do believe that some people voted for Obama because they believed he would level the playing field.  He has not. 

What some see that he has done as great accomplishments, others see laws that endanger the well being of this country.  I can understand the validity of the argument that we all should be able to provide for our own health and welfare and we have not always been able to do so because it is expensive and different employers have different health plans if they have any at all.  Private plans are beyond the ability of many Americans to afford.  A National health insurance program seems logical. 

Americans bought into the idea of social security for the elderly because many retired but had no money to live from.  The same with the idea behind medicare.  But Obama's health care plan went beyond the elderly and attempted to cover everyone.  That plan is expensive.  The government has never operated a plan successfully in our history and many people are afraid this plan will lead to our self-destruction on cost basis alone. 

Some people think that all people should be able to marry whomever they want while others believe that marriage should remain as a union between a man and a woman. 

What the different parts of the constitution mean is determined not by principal but by the political ideology of the person making the decision.  It isn't supposed to be this way.  A group of highly educated people, specialists in the law, should be able to read the same words and come to the same conclusion about what those words mean, but that was proven to be not the case in this countries history. 

Not only does an election concern the next four years and what kind of policies and programs are put into place and what laws are passed, but the new president can effect the interpretation of his actions by the make-up of the Supreme court. 

There is a lot riding on the outcome of this election.  From reading comments on political news, Americans are a emotional people who have a difficult time with the English language and the spelling of the words who quickly fall into calling those with different views derogatory names but just don't seem to be able to discuss an idea with intellectual thought. 

Good luck in this election and may the best man win (although I doubt that he is running). 

temper tantrum leads to damaged property (update)

Unbelieveable, but the young man in my previous post and his family refused to acknowledge any responsibilty for the damage to the property at the business, the church or the rental property where they live.  One tried to claim it was someone in a car that caused the damage, another claimed that someone borrowed the truck, and another claimed the boy was in Florida and no one has any idea how the damage occured. 

It doesn't matter that there was an eye witness or that the physical evidence proves it was that ruck or that the kids alibi does not hold up, the family refused to own up to the damages and would not pay the $150.00 cost of repairs.  Instead, they choose to move, had to stay in a motel for almost two weeks and now live in Cedar Falls, and  rarely attend church.  The boy has such a bad temper he should be kept isolated, one of the women has gone back to abusing illegal drugs and the other sister and the mother of the boy lives off of us. 

There refusal to do the proper thing ended up costing them a lot more money that paying the bill would have and it cost them in lots of other ways too. 

I'm cold and calous

Search: Burke's family gets $550K medical bill

The family of Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke, 29, (get details on her death) is working to raise more than half a million dollars to cover her medical bills. Burke's (watch videos of her) accident apparently happened at an unsanctioned event that wasn't covered by her insurance (where was she at the time?). A fundraising website (find it) has been set up to help pay the huge costs.

 

World famous skier makes much more money than I ever did, I'm very sure of that, but chose to do something stupid.  I'm sorry she died, I really am, but now poor people are being asked to contribute hard earned and much needed money to help pay money to wealthy doctors and hospitals to pay the bill of a well off person that died after doing something stupid  (what makes her death an act of stupidity was she engaged in a dangerous activity that wasn't covered by her insurance). 

 

The doctors and hospitals have a right to be paid but the greedy relatives should sell the assests of the deceased to settle the bills instead of asking people to pony up for the bills, then pocket the money once the estate is settled. 

 

If one wants to help another, there is a 101 year old lady just recently evicted and there are families suffering huge debt due to a loved on being injured by a drunk driver or someone trying to rob them

or in countless other ways that weren't their fault.      

Presidential election

I think I'll vote for Bill clinton

Big Bang not a theory anymore

I now understand the big Bang that created our universe.  It occurred when God said  "Let there be..." 

Yard work progressing

I started back in October clearing the half acre of overgrowth at the church.  I had a set of lobbers a hoe, a shovel, and a small hand saw but I also had a lot of determination.  There isn't any way to clear all of the land since there are numerous tree trunks scattered about one section but I can clear a big portionof the property making it look better and also making it more functional. 

I cleared out one section which I intend to plant pumpkins to sell to raise money to pay for upkeep to the property. My gift to the church.  I hope to be selloing some at NASCAR Days in Randleman this fall. 

I have some concrete blocks, brinks, and the wood from an old outhouse to get rid of, a few trees that need to be cut, and one small section of overgrowth to clean out and then I will be ready to plant grass on the one side and till the ground for my pumpkin patch on the other.  I hope to be finished in about two weeks if someone brings a chainsaw to cut the trees for me.  If not, I'll have to finish with my hand saw what I can and leave the rest until after I sell the pumkins in the fall. 

Personal Update

I signed up yesterday to be a little league baseball coach in Randleman and am looking forward to that. I finally enlisted some help on clearing the lot at the church but the mans' chainsaw blades were dull so he will have to return later to cut the trees.

Thomas tires has graciouslyy agreed to accept the discarded tires and dispose of them at no cost to the church.  Thomas Tire is staffed with good people.

The landscaper at Hudges Furniture said he would use me some this year on his crews.  I don't need much work, just a little extraincome.

Someone commented on my last blog but I believe it to be spam.  These people should find something better to do with there time.

The little church I attend is getting some semi-permanent members next week.  Actually it is a yioung preacher and his family are coming to help out while the preacher will be recovering from surgery.  It would be nice if they would join but the family is from Burlington.

I am making progress with my project at the church.  I did a little work inside the church.  I sealed the hole where a stove pipe went through the wall and sealed a gap in the ceiling above the pulpit and moved a few wall hangings to opoen up the church building some.  I have cleared my spot for my pumpkin patch and have started on the areas directly behind the church. 

One day I would love to get all the tree trunks and brush piles moved but that may have to wait a year or two or maybe another lifetime. 

We did have one family quit the church because he didn't like one of our pastor's sermons.  The man didn't like our plans for the Christmas play, didn't like the way the ladies who have recently joined the church dressed, didn't like this and didn't like that.  He said he would consider coming back if we did something about the women.   Our associate pastor resigned his position due to some personal problems so given our limited numbers already, yea, those losses were a big blow but we will work hard and one day the church will grow. 

temper tantrum leads to damaged property

A young man lost his temper the other day and decided to blow off steam by driving his untagged truck around his yard Thurdsday.  His fit caused damage to the yard at his rental home, to the church yard adjacent to his rental home, and to the business across the street from his rental home. 

Fortunately for him his mother is a member of the church so not only did they not prosecute or seek
compensation for the damages, they repaired the work themselves.  Unfortunately the business across the street was not so kindly disposed and they are seeking payment for the damages to that property.  doubly unfortunate for the youn man, the owner of the business across the street are also owners of the rental property and the owners will seek relief through the civil courts. 

It will be an expensive lesson for the young man.   

Before MLK

I grew up before there was a Martin Luther King, when blacks and whites lived separate lives in separate neighborhoods.  Back then I earned a good income for a kid without a steady job while in school by doing what others couldn't-or wouldn't. 

The south didn't have many unions and where I live there were absolutely none.  When a union truck came down on a Saturday night with a vital delivery, there was no way to get in unbloaded.  Of course
freight companies had normal sources of labor for these kind of jobs.  White workers were ususally employed and while it was much harder for non-whites to get a job, there was almost always a steady pool of the unemployed standing on the street corner to be grabbed by any company in need of a quick fix to a labor problem. 

But Saturday night was special affair.  No one wanted to work on Saturday night and everyone loved to party.  If a temp could be found he was usually drunk and unfit to work so when I came available I was often called out to unload a bale of cotton or a couple of boxes.  I usually made $20.00 for ten or fifteen minutes work.  I didn't even have to drive to work.  I was picked up and took home by a company executive.  $20.00 doesn't seem like muchbut the minimum wage back then was 90 cents an hour. 

What does this story have to do with MLK?  Nothings maybe or maybe a lot.  Actually the man that hired me to do the jobs was a neighbor and he knew me as a honest, hard working teenager who did a good job mowing grass and other odd jobs for people.  I was always dependable and available.  But what if equality was a way of life in the USA during this period of time rather than separate-but-equal?  This mans neighbor might have been a black kid or maybe the pool of day laborers would have been available on a Saturday night as these men would have had jobs and families to support and wouldn't have needed or wanted to slip off with a bottle of cheap booze to drown their sorrows.

If life had been what it should have been in American,   maybe someone who really needed this work to take care of himself or his family would have been available to do it.  Maybe the executive would not have had to assume that all blacks were drunk on Saturday night. 

I wonder, how does your attitude about the opposite race negatively influence the lives of others? 

ACC Football

ACC and Football should not be used together in a sentence.  Out of the entire conference only one or two teams were ranked in the top 25 teams in the nation and they didn't stay there for long.  Almost all ACC teams lost in their bowl games. 

In basketball it has not be unusual for 5 or eight teams to be ranked in the top twenty teams in the country from the ACC with one or two ranked in the top 5.  Florida was a national powerhouse before joining the ACC and now are just a typical ACC football school. 

Thant's okay.  I don't care for football all that much.  Too much standing around between plays and all those penalties are boring.  Foul shots is one of the reasons I hate basketball, but one has to admit, the ACC plays good basketball. 

I keep hoping Duke will win a football game.  One day they may win the National Championship in football.  And I could grow up to be president of the USA.  Heck, I might even grow up.     

Long Time

My niece, whom I raised as a daughter, wished me a Happy New Year.  That's not unusual for a niece to wish a family member Happy New Year except maybe in this case.  You see, I haven't seen her but once since she was ten years old and she is 26 now.  We did meet for lunch three or four months ago but she has ignored me since that day so it was a real surprise for me to hear from her again.

She has me confused.