A new islamic republic?

I have to wonder if all the unrest in the middle east and africa doesn't portend the beginning of a large islamic republic. With the current governments in Lybia, Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen and Bharain under attack is it possible that the vacuum left by the departing governments could lead to the islamic republic that so many followers of Mohammad want? Just wondering.

I am not the problem, but....

Recently a blurb started coming around stating that "I am not the problem"... and then started the usual whining about police, firefighters, teachers, etc, not being the enemy and that state legislatures should not attack their rights to bargain. Interestingly enough the first one I got was from a paramedic who works for a private service that gives little or nothing to its employees. They stopped the 401k, cut back on insurance and vacations, and fired employees with benefits that began before new management started cutting things to make ends meet. Many of the employees weren't happy with the cuts, but at least they kept their jobs.
Perhaps some of the public whiners should take a look at what they stand to loose and realize that there are plenty of people who would love their wage and benefit package, even if it was reduced.
In Michigan the legislature wants to remove the third party bargaining from the equation, to keep the talks between the union and the state. Wisconsin on the other hand wants to end collective bargaining all together. MI I can agree with, WI, maybe not. There is no God or Constitutionally given right to collective bargaining, but it has kept wages at a livable level. All parties concerned must understand that you can't pay out when the bank is empty.
I worked for a company that took some severe financial hits, we were due to close at a specific date, a week prior to that our bank account went to zero, we closed our doors. NO money, no pay, no work. Easy enough concept.

You shouldn't advertise

While motoring down a busy street today, I wound up at a traffic light. As I waited for the left turn lane to move, the west bound lane to my right got the signal to proceed. There was a quick "beep" from the car next to me as he advertised his impatience to the car in front of him. As he drove off I saw a "BigGod" bumper sticker. I thought, "Big God, impatient Christian. This is exactly why I don't advertise my beliefs on my bumper; eventually you will do something stupid and your icthus fish or your God is my Co-pilot bumper sticker will give you away. You don't mind advertiseing that you are a christian, you just don't want to act like one.

Well now, where to begin. Pastor made a couple of comments in Last Wednesdays evening service that pulled my chain. He doesn't believe that the church has a responsibility to bring people into a frame of worship. He says that we are supposed to come to church ready to worship. I told him he is a utopian. That many people need time to quiet their minds and hearts before worship can really begin, he says no. He is wrong.Period.
On another note, he is preaching from Mark, using one part of a parable of Jesus for a sermon and the second half of the parable for the second sermon. I'm sure that he got the stuff from a book. He says that we need to put on new clothes, that you can't put a new patch on old clothes. He is right, however, before we put the clothes on, we must be careful that we arn't simply putting on faddish clothes. It seems that the church today, much like education, is driven by fads. What ever the latest large church/emerging church guru says is the way to go. "out with the old, in with the fad". Worship is not meant to go the way of the Nehru shirt and fur vest.

Off He Goes!

Summertime is when the camp meetings start, business is conducted and people get ordained. This year one of our own was ordained to elder. He's a likeable guy who came onto the scene several years ago and has availed himself to be used in many situations. With no religious background he enrolled in one of our colleges on line programs and received his masters. Good job Daniel! Now he is off to seek his fortune as pastor of a church in Grand Rapids. We wish him the best.

Back again

I thought it might be fortuitous to do another blog, just for the heck of it. My daughter now blogs her adventures as a military wife in Germany, so dad better get on the stick.
Since my last blog my father passed away. That' something I don't want to go through again. It's not just the pain of the loss, but the pressure that comes from being the eldest. It's not that I have to make all the decisions, its that I have to watch other siblings to make sure their decisions are in the best interest of Mom. It is easy to think you're doing good, but in actuality you are telling a person that they don't know what's best for themselves, or you make them feel stupid. Then you get other family members who decide that it's my job to police the whole event, i.e. the after the death thing. I'm not into that, but I do keep an eye on what's going on.

The Kid, the Computer, and Carpal-Tunnel Syndrome

My son decided I needed a new computer. My old Gateway gave up the ghost and my laptop is in early stages of Alzheimers. So Andy Claus bought dear old dad a new Gateway desktop (nice to have a kid with a good job). However he decided Dad needed to download World of Warcraft so he could teach an old dog new tricks. Well, that's where the carpal/tunnel comes in. It didn't take log until these old hands started to seize up as they attempted to guide my character through the virtual landscape. Of course I was sitting at the computer for an hour at a time! My hands weren't the only thing that was aching either. WOW is fun, but I can see the danger it presents to kids and adults. No, not the "it's Satanic", "it has Mages and Warlocks and other un-Christian stuff", or "there's to much violence". My concern is the time it can use up. We only have 24 hours in a day and WOW (or any video game for that matter) can suck away an inordinate amount of a person's day. Technology comes with a cost, and the cost is responsiblity. How many of us (Christians that is) lament the fact that we don't have time for prayer or daily devotions, yet can wile away many hours in front of a computer doing anything from gaming to cruising the internet and not think a think about it? There is a spiritual lesson to be learned here and I'll discuss that next time.