Ben Stein Said it Best...

Remarks from CBS Sunday Morning ( hope we find God again before it is too late!! )



The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.

My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees.. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu If people want a crïeche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'

In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing yet?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.

My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,
Ben Stein

Wednesday Night Supper

Supper was awesome tonight. For those who might have missed it, here are some pictures.
Tonights Menu:
Baked Ziti
Meatballs
Roasted Potatoes
Veggies
Texas Toast
Caesar Salad
Cheese Cake Bars
w/ Blueberries
w/ Cherries
w/ Strawberries
or Plain
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Sweet Tea
Un-Sweet Tea
and Kool-Aid

Band Concerts

1 Timothy 6:7

For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.
1 Timothy 6:7 NIV

I read that daily bible verse just a moment ago. It was posted here on my blog and just thought WOW! We really can be just content to have food and clothing. Nothing else is needed to be content. I am definitely happier with a full belly. LOL

Anyways... I saw that I just had to share it. God has really been working on my heart to be content with very little. I used to make almost 3 times what I do now and thought it was never enough and never had a contentment with most anything. These days, I am more content with less. Don't get me wrong, I love my internet and computers. I enjoy working on them. I am good at working with them and they bring a sense of accomplishment and a job well done.

I am finding that God is showing me more avenues to be content with His guidance. It is a really awesome feeling to feel this way and know God keeps us safe.

Tonight during cooking, I almost spilled a full pot of boiling water on myself when trying to pull it off the stove. I kid you not, that pot quit moving until I could grab it and push it back on the stove. For real, I should be in the hospital right now with 3rd degree burns. It was an amazing miracle. God's hand held that pot on the edge of the stove top until I could grab it and get control of it. There was definitely something miraculous about that moment. I can't believe I almost forgot to share that.

I can't stop thinking tonight about how mighty our God is. How awesome He is. And the fact He proves Himself over and over again. It's like I have seen the power God for the first time and the control He has over everything. Nothing we do is worth anything unless it comes from God and His guidance.

This just goes back to the "Listen and Obey". There is something umm.... extremely special about God's handy work.

Pray for me to listen more often. God has shown me a path of a future that is waiting for me. I don't know when I will get there or when it will happen, or for that matter know where it will happen. My thoughts and my heart and emotions feel like they have almost done a 180 and I am trying to keep up with it. I get a little lost along the way and then God does what He did today and I can see His light again.

I want to be willing to go when HE says "GO!" I want to ask the impossible and believe it. I want that Faith HE so freely gives to us. All we have to do is pray and we will receive. I also want to know the right things to say when someone asks me about my faith and my God. I want to be able to convey the importance of knowing Jesus. I want to be able to convey the importance of listening to the Holy Spirit when He speaks. I want to keep growing and learning.

I know sometimes I have a hard time getting across what I want to say and convey what is on my heart. I just hope you can read between the lines and understand the wholeness of what I am trying to say.

Good Night my Brothers and Sisters.
God Bless you and your loved ones.
Richard

$10 Can save a life

This is so weird that I am not sure how to start.

Last week I felt that God was leading me to a "Gas" ministry of some sort. It was a heavy burden that I find a gas station that had gas gift cards. I hear Todd and Renee talk about how several people come to the church for help with groceries and/or gas needs. So I finally found a place that would do some pre-paid gas vouchers. They normally don't do anything like that but since I was getting them for the church and it was for a special type of need, they agreed to do it. So I purchased 3 $10 gas vouchers from Human's BP on Western Avenue here in Knoxville. I took them back to the church and Renee put them in an envelope somewhere so when someone came in for a need they could use those. It was important that the money was for gas and not anything else. With certain types of gift cards people can buy things they don't need. I used to do it myself. If I needed cash, sometimes I would purchase things that were NOT necessary to keep going. So again, I wanted to make sure it was very specific. Gas Only!

Today I asked if anyone had come in with a need yet for the gas. I wanted to make sure they didn't need more and also to see what kind of weekly need we might be looking at. Later Renee told me someone came to the church and they were on the way to the hospital with an immediate family member in the car that was having a heart attack and they did not have enough gas to get to the ER. They stopped at church to see if we could fill that need. (This part gave me chills) Because we had those vouchers, someone was able to get their loved one to the hospital. All because we were able to provide an immediate need. I still get chills and tears of gladness that we were able to help someone. $10 saved a life tonight by getting someone to the hospital at a most crucial moment.

I look back on this and think, God knew someone would need it. Even though I just felt an urge to fill a need for someone. This need was beyond just getting to the store or going to a family members house, ect... This was a medical emergency need. As I reflect on last Wednesday when this started, I didn't really know why I had such a burden to buy gas for someone. Tonight God saved another life. I am so overjoyed that I actually listened to God and He showed me why it was important to listen. I really don't want this to sound like it was me who did anything except listen and obey. God had his hand on this before anyone could see what would come of it.

I have this overwhelming emotion of joy and thankfulness. There are so many times I don't listen and this again just shows me what God can do when someone listens. What if we all just listened and obeyed? What if? My prayer is that I continue to listen and obey. God has continued to show me what He is capable of over the last several months. Its like a big NEON sign in the front of my face.

God has just really blessed our family. And I can see the great Joy it is to just listen and obey. Our blessings may not be monetary, but there is definitely no shortcomings of Joy lately and the awesome feeling of being thankful for all that we have and DON'T have.

Remember, to you it might be a strain on the pocket book, but to someone else it may be their loved one's life you can save.

$10 saved a life today. What else does God have in store for us? I can't wait to find out.

May God bless you and speak to you,
Richard