Fuel Prices and Recession

Well, Gas is soaring once again. I drove by the gas station today and, if I remember correctly, Gasoline was $3.47 and Diesel was $4.17 for a gallon. OUCH!!!

As gas prices have risen at record breaking rates, it has gotten me to think of something that has been on my mind since 2008.

Before I go into detail let me give this little caveat - I am no economist.

When the economy came crashing down in 2008, it seemed that almost everyone was blaming it on the housing market. People were buying houses at extremely inflated prices - and banks were giving out loans to people that couldn't afford them. This was the explanation that everyone was given for why the recession started.

However, I have a little different perspective that is related more to fuel prices than the housing market.

EVERYONE needs fuel. We use it to heat our homes; we use it to drive to work. Businesses use it - Truck drivers must fill their tanks to deliver goods; trains must use it to transport product from one part of the nation to another; contractors use it to get from one work site to another.

The point is - FUEL is used EVERYWHERE. So, with the rising cost of fuel, people (and businesses) have less money to spend elsewhere. Eventually the cost of fuel impacts everything else. The cost of groceries goes up. The cost of parts at the part store goes up. The cost to fly goes up as they tack on extra fuel costs. Even getting something delivered by UPS or Fedex goes up. Everything ends up increasing in price and this leaves less money in our pockets to buy stuff and keep the economy going.

That means that we may look at our car and say, "Well this old car is gonna have to last me at least another year." Or we may look at our checkbook and say, "We are going to cut back on eating out for a while." Or we may decide that buying a new refrigerator and stove will have to wait a little while longer. Or we may even decide that we won't take a vacation this year because we simply can't afford the fuel.

When fuel prices go up it quickly impacts our financial decisions. We have to cut back on spending because we have less to spend. When we cut back on spending we also cut back on contributing to the growth of the economy. When enough people have to cut back on their spending we end up in a recession.

As the cost of fuel nears $4.00 per gallon for gas (and will be $5.00 for Diesel) I grow concerned that this brief economic recovery we are seeing will be short lived.

I don't know about you, but I will be watching things very closely to determine what financial decisions to make and specifically what to do with my retirement funds. In 2008 many people watched their retirement funds drop by 40% or more as the stock market tumbled. I truly hope that we can all see the handwriting on the wall in time to put our funds in more secure places (maybe even under the mattress if need be).

Here is a brief article from dailyfinance.com - Gas Prices Surge Again

Movies and Twizzlers

Last night Tracy and I had a movie night. After we put the kids to bed, we put in a DVD and relaxed watching a movie together. It was a pretty good movie to, albeit a chick flick.

Anyway, I rented the movie from the local Blockbuster Express - you know the blue boxes that are ripoffs of the Redbox business model. Our Blockbuster Express is located inside of the local Basha's Supermarket. Since NO movie is complete without some candy to munch on, I decided to take a little trip down the candy aisle at Basha's. As I was looking for the perfect movie candy, this BIG pack of Twizzlers caught my eye. They seemed to be exactly what I was looking for. So, I checked out, headed home, and put the kids to bed so we could watch our movie.

Once the movie was started I ripped open the bag of Twizzlers and that familiar aroma came bellowing out of the bag. It was like the best potpourri you could ever imagine. I began just taking one Twizzler. Upon munching it down I immediately grabbed another, and another and another. It seemed like I just couldn't get enough of them. It was like a drug - I just kept going back to the bag and grabbing more Twizzlers. I couldn't keep my hand out of the bag. Something weird had come over me. Did they put something addictive in their candy? Before I knew it I, with the help of Tracy, had eaten almost the entire bag of Twizzlers. I was almost embarrassed as I looked at the, now almost empty, bag. If it weren't for an amazing amount of self control, I would have finished off the bag.

So tell me, what is it about Twizzlers that once I start eating them I simply cannot stop??

A Visit to a Mormon Temple

Just outside of Thatcher, AZ, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - more popularly known as Mormons, recently completed the construction of their latest temple. The Temple has been open to the public for tours prior to it's dedication. I got the opportunity to take a tour of the Temple on Monday and with that tour I made some observations.

From a purely human perspective, the building was beautiful. It was adorned with marble throughout. In the "Celestial Room" hung a huge crystal chandelier. Beautiful new furniture was displayed throughout the temple along with what seemed like endless paintings. From a human standpoint this had beauty to it. However from a spiritual perspective this building truly lacked beauty in any form. I would even call it dark from a Spiritual Perspective.

From the moment I entered the temple, and even before when we were watching a video about the temple, I felt this heaviness come over me. It was a feeling that stayed with me throughout the entire tour and until I was finally able to exit the temple. The feeling even altered my mood. Prior to entering my mood was up and I was having a good day, but upon entering the temple I felt my mood swing downward to the point that I almost felt depressed to be there.

Mormons believe that the temple is the place where they can go to "feel the presence of the Heavenly Father." They believe that God's presence is actually in the temple. It is sad to me to think that these people feel like they have to enter a building to experience God's presence. Scripture tells us that when we put our faith in Jesus Christ that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 3:16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?

2 Corinthians 6:16 For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

As I said, it saddens me to think that these people have been so deceived to think that they have to enter into a building to feel the presence of God. I believe that we can experience God wherever we are. We don't have to enter a temple or be in any certain place - we just need to reach out to God.

James 4:8 Come near to God and he will come near to you.

Throughout the tour, the guides described some of the ordinances that were performed in the temple. They took us to the "Baptismal Room" and described the Baptismal font that rested on 12 oxen (which were supposed to symbolize the 12 tribes of Israel). In this room was also where they performed the Baptism for the dead. This act is supposed to be a way to redeem ancestors that never had the opportunity to hear the Mormon message. This particular practice is only mentioned in scripture once in 1 Corinthians 15:29 where it is used to illustrate a point, and there is no description of what this practice actually was. There is no place in scripture where this is shown to be an accepted practice in the early church.

They also took us to the "Sealing Room" where husbands and wives are sealed together along with their children for eternity. Their belief is that a husband and wife who are sealed together will be together for all eternity in heaven along with their kids. While this seems, from a human perspective, to be something that we would like. Our guide even told us that "It wouldn't be heaven to me without my wife."

Luke 20:34-35 Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage

I think that the Mormon church, and it's adherents don't quite understand Heaven. Heaven isn't about having everything we want here on earth; it isn't about whether it would be heaven "to you" - it is about being in the very presence of God.

The guides repeated time and time again that the ordinances and covenants made in the Mormon Temple are the same that were performed in the temple in the Old Testament. As I read through scripture, none of these were performed at the Temple. The Temple in the Old Testament was God's Dwelling Place in the Holy of Holies - but beyond that it was a place of Sacrifice and Worship. Not a place to be baptized for your dead loved ones, or to seal your marriage in heaven, nor any other ceremonies that are performed in the Mormon Temple.

Another observation I made during my tour was the words that were used by the tour guides. I didn't get a count, but I am sure that it was upwards of over 100 times that they invoked the name of Jesus either directly or by referring to him as "Our Savior". They seemed to be hard pressed to make the Mormon beliefs seem as though they were Orthodox, which they are actually quite far from.

They also used the phrase, "have this knowledge" on a regular basis, such as, "I am glad I have this knowledge." This consistent use of the the word knowledge, and it's seemingly secretiveness reminds me of the Gnostics from the early church who claimed to provide salvation through special knowledge.

From Wikipedia: The gnōsis referred to in the term is a form of mystic, revealed, esoteric knowledge through which the spiritual elements of humanity are reminded of their true origins within the superior Godhead, being thus permitted to escape materiality.

Gnosticism has widely been considered to be a heretical belief system, and it seems to have continued throughout the ages even to today in the form of Mormonism.

There is so much more I could write about Mormonism and my experience visiting the Temple. In all it was an even greater realization at the deception that is being perpetuated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It is a deception that has and is leading many people away from the TRUE Gospel of Jesus Christ.

A couple books I would recommend to anyone wanting to know more about the deception of Mormon beliefs are:

Mormonism Unmasked by R. Phillip Roberts

I Love Mormons by David L. Rowe

My Soda Drinking Habit

My name is Tim McCain and i am addicted to Soda. For those that know me, this is no surprise. I really like to drink Soda. My favorite is Pepsi. I will also accept Coke, or RC. I also enjoy a Mountain Dew every now and then. I drink A LOT of soda. I can easily tear through an entire 2 liter of soda in a day and I could probably drink even more than that. I just REALLY like Soda. I know that I have gone weeks without drinking hardly anything else except soda. I usually have a bottle of water while I am preaching, but that is the only other time that I have had something other than soda.

SO, about a week ago I decided that I really needed to cut back on the soda consumption. Part of it was the weight that I had gained recently (see post on Getting Some Exercise...). Part of it was also that I thought I might feel better if I cut out some of the soda.

Here is my plan: I drink water almost exclusively throughout the day. I allow myself to drink Soda only during 1 meal. I get to choose which meal, but only 1 meal of the day. All other meals I have water. I really hate the taste of the water in Morenci, so we have been buying bottled water, which has helped tremendously.

I was really concerned that with cutting most of the soda out of my diet that I would suffer some pretty severe caffeine withdrawal headaches. So far I am about 1 1/2 weeks into this journey and I haven't really suffered any caffeine withdrawal headaches. I have been pretty diligent about making sure that I am staying properly hydrated, which has been good for me and I think been a reason I haven't suffered too much with headaches.

I believe that as I make some of the tough decisions (decisions that I don't really want to make) such as extremely cutting back on Soda, or getting on my bike for exercise, in order to improve my health and my life overall, God is going to bless that. He is going to see you through in areas of your life where you might have thought that he wasn't really concerned about. I never really considered that God might be concerned about how much soda I am drinking, or how much exercise I am getting - I have now changed my thought process. I believe that God is concerned about every aspect of our lives, and he wants what is best for us in every area.

So what is it that you may need to give up, or moderate in order to improve your life?

What part of your life have you said, "God is not concerned about that"?

Getting some Exercise.....

Well, I have recently started riding my bike to work in the mornings. After stepping on the scale and gradually seeing the numbers rise, I decided that I needed to get a little more exercise. I really don't care for going on walks, and running is even worse. I also don't care for working out to a video (ie. Tae Bo, Biggest Loser Workout etc...). And I am totally not motivated enough to go to a gym. The one type of exercise that I actually enjoy is riding my bike. So, a couple weeks ago I decided that I would start riding my bike to work in the mornings.

The direct trip to work is only about .5 miles and an extremely easy ride, so instead I decided to take a round about way to work. The trip that I take has a fairly steep hill, and some other gradual hills with a little bit of downhill coasting. My guess is that it is about 2 miles. It is not a long bike ride by any stretch of the imagination, but it gets my heart beating and gets me some exercise.

By riding my bike I have discovered a few things:

1. I am totally out of shape. Even the small hills seem to kick my butt. They make me pant like a dog and grimace as though I am in extreme pain. I can only imagine what people think when they drive by me and see me. I am sure some laugh, and I am sure others feel sorry for me. Hopefully as time goes by this will get easier, but for right now that short ride is messing me up.

2. Even though the ride is tough and I seem a little tired after I get off the bike, overall I have more energy throughout the day. It is amazing what a little exercise can do for your energy level. It really doesn't seem to make sense that I expend energy and in return I am more energized, but that is how it works. I could lay on the couch sleeping all day and still be sleepy, or I can get out and get some exercise and be energized.

3. I should have done this long ago. Riding my bike, getting the exercise and realizing how it makes me feel good has made me realize that I should have done this long ago. I should have had more initiative to get out and ride my bike years ago. Perhaps if I had done so I would be so out of shape now, I wouldn't be panting like a dog or grimacing in apparent pain. Perhaps if I would have started this years ago this would be even more enjoyable for me.

So, there it is. I have begun what will probably be a lifelong regimen of exercise in riding my bike. In the future, as this 2 mile ride becomes easier, I will be changing things up a little bit. Perhaps I will share my accomplishments with you. For those of you that know Morenci, you know that there are some pretty killer hills in Morenci. Some day I will conquer those hills and I will let you know how it goes.

The weather is BEAUTIFUL!

It is no surprise to most that I am excited about this beautiful weather we have been having lately. The Winter and Spring were, well.... interesting this year in Arizona. This was the wettest Winter/Spring that I have experienced in the almost 7 years I have lived here. It seemed like every weekend it was cold and rainy. All the rain, cold weather, and gray days really put a damper on my mood. But the last 2 weeks have been Sunny and Warm.

I am excited about this weather for many reasons:

1. My Garden has been tilled and planted. I still have a few things to plant to finish off the garden, but it is mostly completed.

2. I get to watch things grow. It is exciting to me to see things grow. My Apricot tree has apricots and that is exciting. The lettuce and radishes in my garden have sprouted, that is exciting. The miniature rose bush is getting very full and starting to bud, that is exciting. Watching things grow is exciting.

3. I can get other work done outside, like mowing the lawn. Call me crazy, but I actually enjoy doing yard work. When the yard looks nice, I can take pride in that accomplishment. It also gives me a mental break from anything else that may be going on.

4. I can ride my bike again. It has been a while since I got out and rode my bike, but I have decided now is the time to get some exercise. I started riding my bike to work last week. This week has been hard because I have been transporting Keaton back and forth to School, but I plan on getting back on my bike later this week.

5. I can play with the kids outside. I don't do this as much as I should, but I do enjoy getting outside with the kids. The kids got a Power Wheels for Christmas this past year, and it is fun to walk with them while they drive the car around the block.

6. The beautiful weather puts me in a good mood. The sun is a wonderful thing. Not only does it give us light and warmth, but it also improves our mood. I find that getting outside and just letting the sun hit my face for a few minutes improves my mood significantly.

7. Sun-tan. I love it when Tracy has a little bit of a sun-tan on her face. It just accentuates her beauty and makes me appreciate the sunshine.

SO, what are some of your reasons for being excited about AWESOME weather? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Quotes from Easter Weekend

I just wanted to share with you a few quotes from this weekend. Some of the things that really stuck out in my mind.

• "I look forward to this every year" - at Easterfest.
• "I see you do this for the community every year, this is great." - at Easterfest
• "My Kids had a BLAST!" - at Easterfest

• "You almost, almost made me cry" - at Easter Service
• "Singing the Old Rugged Cross brought tears to my eyes" - at Easter Service

Hog Hunting

If you read the description of this blog you probably realize that my blog is really many of my random thoughts and actions posted for everyone to see. Here is part of that randomness.

This past week I went on a Feral Hog Hunt. For those of you that aren't familiar with feral hogs, they are hogs that at one time were domesticated, but either were released into the wild, or escaped into the wild. Over the years and as they continue to breed in the wild they revert back to their wild state. These hogs grow more hair, they become darker in color, their snouts grow longer, their tails straighten out, they grow longer tusks and they become VERY aggressive. With all that being said, it sounded like the perfect thing for me to hunt.

Feral Hogs are not native the American Soil. The very first hogs were brought to America by the early settlers for meat. Many people raised hogs on open range, much like cattle is raised in the west. This is one of the major contributions to the feral hog populations that we have today. Significant Feral Hog populations are found in 44 of the 48 contiguous states and are also found in Hawaii. In every state that they are found they are considered a nuisance and cause hundreds of millions of dollars of damage to crops and livestock each and every year. In many states you don't even need a license to hunt them, and in states like Texas their policy is "take them in whatever means possible."

So, on Sunday I set out with a good friend (Wally) to go Feral Hog hunting in New Mexico. A friend of Wally's knew where there were concentrations of hogs, and he had been trapping them for years. We thought this would be the perfect opportunity to hunt them.

Our hunt started out on a cold rainy Monday morning. We went to one location where there was sign of the hogs everywhere. They had been rooting in the fields, there were tracks all over the place including little piglet tracks. This could have been the perfect place to take our first hog. Unfortunately these hogs live around a lake surrounded with Salt Cedars. Which looked kind of like this.

As you might be able to imagine, walking through these salt cedars made it almost impossible to be able to stalk up on some pigs. So, the first area was a bust.

After walking through this area, and checking it for hogs - we went to check the other traps that our friend had. There were no hogs, but we were able to see probably a hundred deer out in the fields.

The next day was a much nicer day. It was in the 60's and sunny. A much nicer day to go hunting. We had been told about another area to check for hogs. Some time ago another guy had trapped over 100 pigs in and around this location. So after driving around for a while, we went to walk this other area. This area had alfalfa crops on one side, and a creek bed - again with salt cedars. Since this creek bed was dry we decided to walk down the creek bed where we could be a little more quiet. There was hog sign everywhere, there were fresh rootings and hog prints everywhere we looked. At one point we could even smell them, however the Hog eluded us once again.

That night we went out to try and call and spotlight some hogs. Instead of hogs we saw hundreds of deer in the fields.

So, at the end of this long story - we didn't get to see any hogs in the wild. We did however see some penned up, and were able to take home some pork from the Feral Hogs that our friend had trapped.

We will be going back again soon, and maybe have some different tactics so we can get some HOGS!

Doing Church, or Experiencing God?

This has been a question that has been rolling around my head today. Are we just merely doing church, or are we experiencing God?

I put the question out to you. Are you Doing church, or Experiencing God?

There is a drastic difference between these two things. A lot of people are merely just doing church. They get up each Sunday and they do the church thing. Perhaps it is out of obligation and they feel like they "have to" be there - maybe because they don't want to disappoint someone, maybe because this is what they have always done, maybe because they think it is the right thing to do.

I want to be different than that. I want to go to church, not just to do church but because it give me the opportunity to experience God in a corporate setting.

Today Tracy posted a blog that was an article in The Pentecostal Evangel from 1958. That article was actually from Teddy Roosevelt many years before. The name of the article is "9 Reasons to go to Church". I think this is a great article, but I think Teddy missed one vitally important reason to go to church - to experience God.

Recently our church has gone through some growth. In 2008 our average attendance was 67 and in 2009 it was 82. That is pretty good growth. I look forward to hitting that next milestone in our growth as a church, but even more than hitting that next growth milestone I am looking forward to the day when our church is filled with people who come to Experience God.

How about you? Are you Doing Church, or Experiencing God?

Rain, Rain, Go Away!!!!!

Ok, So it has been raining in Arizona a lot. When I say a lot, I mean at least once a week for the past couple months. It is getting really OLD.

Having come from Illinois, I am familiar with rainy winters. The winter prior to moving out to Arizona I think was nothing but rain. I don't think a single snowflake fell during that winter. It was just COLD and RAINY. So we moved out to Arizona and thought we were done with cold rainy winters. Then this winter came, and to me it has been absolutely miserable.

All my Arizona friends, and most of the people that go to our church are enjoying this rain. It is the people that have lived in the desert for many, many years that are finding this rain to be pleasant. For me, it is just too much of a reminder of midwestern winters. Many people think that the midwest gets tons of snow during the winter, and while that is the case this year, while I was growing up it seemed like we got more of the cold rain than we did snow.

So, this miserable cold winter rain is keeping me from getting many of the things done that I would like to do. Every time I think of getting out to do something, it is raining. I have a long laundry list of things I need to get done.
- Clean out the garden (it will be planting time soon and the garden is a mess)
- Re-aim the sattelite (I had to remove it for the Superbowl and it still isn't quite right.
- Clean up the yard (Our yard has accumulated too much junk during the winter, it needs to be cleaned up)
- Do repairs on the camper (Our camper needs some repairs done, and I am just not going to lay on the wet ground to do it)
- Practice archery (I could do this in the rain, but it is just miserable)

These are just a short list of the things I need to get done that the rain is keeping me from. So, while it is raining today - I am feeling a little bit grumpy and just want to say (YELL).....

RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY!!!!!!!

How long can this go on???

WARNING: The information contained below may be too much for some to handle. You might call it TMI (Too much Information) or you may just call it gross, but if you are easily grossed out, do not read any further.

Ok, now that I got that out of the way.

Ok, for the last week and a half I have been sick. On Friday, August 28th I came home from the football game with a little bit of a scratchy throat. I thought to myself, "Well I guess I just yelled too much." Apparently the yelling had nothing to do with it. I woke up Saturday morning with an even worse sore throat and a VERY apparent cold.

As with most colds, my head filled up with SNOT and I couldn't breath out of my nose. I decided to use this wonderful thing called nasal spray. That stuff is absolutely awesome. I also took ibuprofen for the sore throat. After a few days I started to feel a little better. I stopped using the nasal spray after a couple days and had to deal with the side effects of the nasal spray, but after that I was feeling a little better - definitely not 100% but I was better.

Then, that cold decided to move around my body a little bit and settled into my chest. So for the next few days my cough sounded like a barking seal. I started taking Tylenol Cold and Sinus which helped some. Last night I ended up sleeping on the couch so I could be propped up and not keep Tracy awake.

Then this morning a crazy thing happened. That cold decided to move around a little more and settle right back into my sinuses. SO, I have been blowing my nose like crazy today. I keep asking myself - how much snot can really be in my sinuses. It seems the more I blow my nose, the more snot there is to blow out. So for the past few hours I have been blowing my nose almost non stop and I ask myself - HOW LONG CAN THIS GO ON????

There you have it - I told you it was probably too much information, I told you you might get grossed out. But there it is - my blog entry about snot.

Disney XD

Ok, so I was surfing the web early this morning from my home computer. Tracy had just taken Keaton to school. In the morning Keaton likes to watch a variety of shows. This morning the TV happened to be on one of the Disney Channels - Disney XD. As I sat there checking my facebook, and checking the news sites - I heard "H E Double Hockey Sticks". Now growing up anytime someone said that we knew they wanted to say the word HELL without actually saying it - probably because they didn't want to get their mouth washed out with soap.

After a few moments trying to figure out if that was what I really heard, I decided to investigate. I decided to rewind the TV (gotta love DVR). Upon rewinding the TV, I found what really disturbed me. Disney is releasing this made for TV movie called H.E. Double Hockey Sticks. It is about some kid who will do whatever it takes to be good at hockey. This greatly disturbed me.

1. I find it troubling that Disney would think it is ok to promote such a thing to kids. The younger kids (like mine, age 4) probably don't understand the whole H.E. Double Hockey Sticks thing, but I can guarantee that older kids know what it means. They seem to be promoting this idea that using the word HELL is ok.

2. The idea behind this movie is apparently that this kid signs a contract with the devil in order to be good at Hockey. I again find this troubling that kids watching this movie will be exposed to such a dark spiritual issue. I haven't seen the movie, so I can't make a judgement on how it all turns out - but I think making a "selling your soul to the devil" movie for kids is absolutely outrageous.

So, my child will most definitely not be watching H.E. Double Hockey Sticks.

Let me know what you think.

Climate Change Debate

Ok, so I really think the whole Climate Change stuff has gone way too far. The House of Representatives has already passed Cap and Trade Legislation and the Bill must be approved by the Senate. This legislation is supposed to curb the CO2 emissions, and help with "Global Warming". I have personally thought for quite some time that "Global Warming" was a farce brought to us by liberals. It is the same people that are promoting this "Global Warming" scare that are also traveling in personal jets (producing tons more CO2 than any of us) to talk about it.

Today I read this article: Climate Change Con-trick

Apparently a geologist by the name of Ian Pilmer has done some extensive research into global warming. While I don't agree with his timetable (age of the earth), his conclusions are great. Here are a couple quotes that I love, that should have some implications for our lives

"The hypothesis that human activity can create global warming is extraordinary because it is contrary to validated knowledge from solar physics, astronomy, history, archaeology and geology"

"Eco-guilt is a first-world luxury. It’s the new religion for urban populations which have lost their faith in Christianity. The IPCC report is their Bible. Al Gore and Lord Stern are their prophets."

I am really interested in reading this guys book Heaven and Earth. It seems to me that our current administration, and the administrations of European countries are feeding us a line of garbage. Even the current EPA did a study that found that the earth is not warming, but cooling - a study that was suppressed by the current administration.

All of this is being done in order to force through taxation legislation. The cost of this Cap and Trade legislation will trickle down to each of us, we will pay more at the pump, we will pay more to heat/cool/light our homes.

We were promised no increase in taxes for those with less than $250,000 annual income - it looks like all that is going to change.

Let me also say, I believe that it is our responsibility to be good stewards of our earth. God gave it for us to use, and we need to be good stewards of it - but I also think that some are making this earth their God. They are bowing down to the almighty earth instead of THE ALMIGHTY. This too is WRONG!

What do you think? Is the climate really getting warmer, or is it just a way to milk you for more $$$ ? Has this "Global Warming" mentality become the religion of American/European Society?

Your Best Life Now game?

Ok, So Tracy and I made a trip to Tucson last Thursday to get Karis' pictures taken. They are absolutely adorable, but that is not the point of this post. After her pictures we walked the mall for a while. We came across this store that sells all kinds of games - board games, card games, chess etc... As we walked through this store we came across this:

Your Best Life Now game

Ok, So, I don't think it is news to anyone that I am not a huge fan of Joel Osteen. I won't go into detail about it - I will just say that I think he is a good motivational speaker, but that is about it. Anyway, my initial reaction to this game was, "YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME". I personally think if you write a book that is about having a better life, and that book can be made into a board game - it sure seems like I wouldn't really put much faith in that book. Can you imagine taking your 'life cues' from a board game? Just think of what your life would be like if you played the game of 'LIFE' and then decided, "YEP, now I know what to do with my life". Or what about Monopoly, can you imagine what your investments would be like if you made them according to how you played Monopoly. It is absolutely crazy, and just further diminishes the credibility of Mr. Joel Osteen.

What are your thoughts?

Layoffs and Worship

So, I am reading this book, Inside Out Worship, in preparation for a continuing sermon series on Worship. Last night I made a blog post about the layoffs that are soon to take place in Morenci. As I went to bed last night I read the next few chapters from Inside Out Worship. It is amazing to me how often, whenever something is going on, God leads you right to something that speaks to that circumstance.

Here is an excerpt from the book:
It's easy to praise when everything is going according to plan. It's more of a challenge when everythign around us is falling to pieces. It takes great faith to say, "You are good" when life is incredibly hard. But God is good and forever worthy of our praise. This is not dependent on our feelings. Day and night, alwyas the same, God deserves our highest praise.
- Tim Hughes

Freeport to lay off 1550 employees

To everyone in Morenci this is not a secret. Just the other day Freeport-McMoran released a statement that they would be laying off 1550 employees between March 16 - 29 with most of those affected going on paid leave starting February 2nd.

It is hard news to hear within the community. Almost half of the current employees will be laid off in this move. Everyone within the community is nervous and stressed out because of this news.

While going through the hard times it is important to realise that through it all God is still there for us. We must realise that provision doesn't come from the Mine; provision doesn't come from the government; provision comes from God.

In Genesis 22 Abraham describes God as Yahweh Yireh (Jehovah Jireh) the God who provides.

In Matthew 6:26 Jesus says, "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"

It is God who is our provider. While things look bad now - remember that God knows exactly what you are going through and he will provide. He doesn't say that he will give us everything we WANT, but he does say he will take care of our needs.

Abortion as Hollywood's mission

So Tracy and I have gotten hooked on the TV show Private Practice. For those of you that don't know about the show, it is a spin off of Gray's Anatomoy, but in my opinion the show is nothing like Gray's. While Tracy and I were on vacation we got behind on several of the shows that we like to watch, one of those was Private Practice. For some reason our DVR didn't record one of the episodes and we were going to try and watch it on hulu.com but for some reason my computer is having issues and wouldn't stream the video well enough to make it watchable. Anyway, that has very little to do with my post. Last night we decided to try and get caught up a little bit with Private Practice, so we watched an episode that was several weeks old. And this is what my post is about.

In this episode of Private practice there is a debate about Abortion. It seemed like, to me, that this show was almost pushing abortion on the American Public. At one point one of the doctors said, "I had an abortion and I am not ashamed of it." They seemed to make it out to be just an easy thing to do. The debate had little to do with when life begins and more to do with whether or not it was the "right" decision for that person at that time. It was a very relativistic argument and one that I had some big problems - Not only were the promoting abortion, but they were also pushing this relativistic mindset, that what is good for you may not be good for me. They totally ignored any Moral Absolutes.

So here is my big issue - Hollywood, and the Far Left Liberals seem to continuously pushing the fact that Christians should not be pushing their beliefs or ideas on others. It seems to me that now they are doing the exact thing that they have criticized Christians for. They are PUSHING their ideas on abortion off on the general public, while at the same time criticizing us for doing that same thing. They continuously say that Christians are too closed minded, while at the same time they stick their fingers in their ears and ignore any other viewpoint. While they are out there preaching TOLERANCE, they are increasing INTOLERANT of Christians, the Church or anything that represents any Moral Absolutes.

Just my $.02

Let me know what you think!

Rod Blogojevich arrested

Here's the Story in case you haven't read it
Rod Blogojevich

I wish I could say that this really surprised me, but having lived in Illinois for most of my life, I must say it didn't. It is a known fact throughout Illinois that Chicago politicians are crooked. It is also interesting to me that so many of the Governors of Illinois are so corrupt.

More and more I have become aware of the fact that our political system in America is corrupt. I am constantly in doubt as to whether ANY politicians are actually honest. What ever happened to political offices being an office of public SERVICE. Instead it seems like everyone is out for their own gain now. I might be mistaken on this, but I don't think I am - I believe that many of the political offices held today, at one time, were volunteer. It wasn't meant to be a status symbol, but instead was a way of giving back to the country. This is deeply lost in our country today.

I guess this gives us another reason to pray for our government. They are tempted on so many levels, we need to continually lift them up in prayer.

Coffee

Well I haven't posted in a while, and I thought this was a good subject for me to post about.

I have recently begun drinking coffee. I have never been a coffee drinker. I drank a little of it a few years ago, but haven't really been craving it. What prompted me to start drinking was two-fold.

1. I was at the office one morning last week and really wanted something to drink other than bottled water. I went to the kitchen and there really wasn't much there except coffee. So I decided to go ahead and fix a pot. I put 3 creamers and 3 packs of sugar in a cup and then poured the coffee. It tasted ok, better than I usually make, so I drank it.

2. I also have realized that I am living in a coffee world, so I am conforming. Maybe it's peer pressure, maybe it is the fact that many places I go the only hot thing to drink is coffee. On cold days it is nice to have something hot to drink, so coffee will fit the bill.

To some, the coffee I drink is sissy coffee. I can't drink it black. I don't know how anyone can handle that flavor. It is terrible. BUT, with some cream and sugar it tastes ok. Someone said the other day, "So you drink some a little bit of coffee with your cream." That is pretty much the case, I drink it with a lot of cream and a lot of sugar.

So now I am officially a coffee drinker. Life will never be the same again.

The Way of the Master - a failed Read

So, I have been attempting to The Way of the Master by Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron. The book along with some other materials were given to me by a young person in our church. I managed to read about 9 of the bizzilion chapters in this book and had to call it quits.
I have read several evangelism over the years and have never run into a book quite like this one. Most, if not all of the books I have read on evangelism have been written from the standpoint of being one of many effective ways to share the gospel. Unfortunately this book and the teaching that goes with it arrogantly claim to be the only Biblical way to lead someone to Christ.
I am also a person that believes very strongly that in the current culture of the United States, evangelism happens best when it happens within the context of a relationship. Study after study reveals that the majority of lasting decisions for Christ happen because someone had a relationship with them first. This book, on the other hand completely ignores a relational aspect to evangelism, resorting instead to a confrontational presentation of "the Law" that only puts someone on the defensive.
I could really write forever about everything I disagree with about this book, but I will just leave it at the fact that I couldn't even finish it.
By the way, I truly believe that the way Jesus shared faith was that he assessed his culture and used the method that worked best in each setting.
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