Category Archives: current events

by | June 6, 2019 · 6:05 am

June 6th… Would We Do It Again?

d day

Seventy-five years have passed since the pride of the Allies, 156,000 strong, stepped out of landing craft and jumped out of airplanes into the mouth of a monster ready to eat them alive.

Seventy-five years have passed since young men from America, England, and Canada (and we must not forget Australia, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Greece, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Poland) landed on beaches called Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword.

Seventy-five years ago, long before the fancy rock-climbing walls which are so popular in today’s health clubs and gyms,  the 2nd Ranger battalion “led the way” up the 100 ft. cliffs of Pointe du Hoc.

Seventy-five years ago, on the 6th of June, 2,499 American and 1,914 from the other Allied nations, a total of 4,413, gave their lives for the sake of freedom.

Seventy-five years ago men were stepping on the backs of their comrades as they sloshed through red water, breathed in the mist of war, and wondered if they would live to see the ground only yards (meters) in front of them.

On June 6, 1944, seventy-five years ago, it was said of those who landed:

“They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate.” — President Franklin D. Roosevelt, radio broadcast, June 6, 1944

It is the 6th of June, 2019, but are we still a people with the stomach to liberate? If we were the ones living seventy-five years ago, where would we be today?

Ask those who take a knee, or hide in a locker room when the anthem is played.

Ask those who protest the same American flag that their African-American ancestors fought and died for – the same ancestors who fought in segregated units, but were still ferociously proud to be Americans. What did the pilots of the Red Tail Squadron do when the flag was raised and the anthem was played?

For that matter, what did Tuskegee Airmen Dr. Harold Brown, a pilot with the renowned 332nd Fighter Group in World War II (an all-black squadron) say when asked the following question during a recorded conference call: “Why [when the slavery trappings, the discrimination was all there] would you raise your right hand and swear to defend this country?”

“Oh, that’s very, very simple, in my opinion. I was a citizen of the United States of America! This was my country, too! Even though it had some shortcomings, it was still the greatest country in the world. There is no other country I would ever trade for it.” (Feb. 28, 2018)

Ask those who are burning the American flag because “America was never great.”

Ask the socialists in Congress, or the mobs who attack anyone who wears a red hat.

Ask the millions as they enjoy their legalized weed.

Ask the rainbow-painted parade attendees as they throw glitter at each other.

Ask the protesters who don’t even know why they protest.

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The reflection pool at the WW2 Memorial in Washington, D.C. Each gold star represents 100 Americans who died or remain missing during the war.

It cost a lot to buy seventy-five years of freedom. Would we do it again?

They would have to be willing to fight to defend something, and too many no longer believe what was purchased with the blood of others is worth fighting for. We’re too busy fighting each other.

Would we be willing to do it again?

I seriously doubt it. God help us.

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by | May 15, 2019 · 9:00 pm

The Ivey League of Life

I’m just going to take a moment to address something that is top-tier controversial at the moment, even more so than the growing egalitarian/complimentarian debate that’s shaping up in the SBC because of Beth Moore.

Today the bravest woman in America is Gov. Kay Ivey of Alabama. 

From a sports perspective, I hate Alabama (the football team) with a white-hot passion, but today I stand beside the Governor of Alabama and her willingness to sign into law a bill that unashamedly acknowledges the “deeply held belief that every life is precious and that every life is a sacred gift from God.”

In passing this law, Alabama has courageously drawn a line in the sand that, up to this point, no other state has had the guts to do. Gov. Ivey surely must have known that the wrath of hell, along with all its infanticidal, pro-abortion propagandists and activists would want to come after her like a bunch of rabid piranhas.

By taking a clear and unequivocal stand for the sanctity of life in the womb. battle lines have been drawn, and by “battle” I’m positive the left will not suffice with hurling dirty looks and words. The right to murder a child for the sake of convenience and the promise of gain (or, rather, the right to worship Moloch) has become too delectable for the blood-thirsty who abhor consequences and idolize self.

People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God– – 2 Timothy 3:2-4 NIV

When you have as your core belief the idea that it is OK to rationalize away what is inherently human and kill a baby, whether in the womb or not, all because “self” is more inherently important and more worthy of life than the innocent “other,” you’re the coward and the deceived.

The Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), promising to sue, sent a tweet to Gov. Ivey that read, “You can’t say we didn’t warn you, @GovernorKayIvey. See you in court.” That’s just it, she heard your warning, and did what was right, anyway.

That’s why she is the brave one, and that’s why I will be listening to “Sweet Home Alabama” with a tad larger smile on my face.

Roll Tide.

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by | May 14, 2019 · 8:29 am

Boycotting Georgia?

I, for one, regardless of Hollywood, support Georgia’s Governor, the new fetal heartbeat law, and the rights of the unborn.

The arguments from those boycotting Georgia are that this is an “attack on women,” or an attempt to “hold women hostage.” However, these and other similar protests do nothing but avoid and mislabel reality.

You see, it’s not about women’s rights; it’s about human rights, particularly the right to life – and more specifically, the right to not be torn apart limb from limb in your mother’s womb, or left to die on a stainless steel table while your “doctor” finishes a sandwich and paperwork.

Those who oppose this law and want to see it overturned must one day answer to their Creator for what they actually support: Infanticide, murder, and the torture of innocents.

Boycott Georgia? Not me! I fear a holy God more than Alysa Milano.

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by | April 23, 2019 · 2:04 pm

Canning Kate Is Hypocritical Hate

I can’t help but insert my two cents into this story, the story of two professional sports teams ceasing to use Kate Smith’s “God Bless America” and the removal of her statue in Philadelphia.

Credit: Dailymail.co.uk

Both the actions of the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Flyers are hypocritical and hateful in their own right.

Stop and think about this. The reason for the canning of Kate Smith is that she recorded a couple of songs back in the early 1930’s, a couple of songs that are certainly racist by today’s standards. Yet, the songs she recorded were released nearly 14 years before the Brooklyn Dodgers allowed Jackie Robinson to play baseball in the previously all-white Major League.

It wasn’t until January 18, 1958, that Willie O’Ree became the first African-American to play in the National Hockey League.

Who, may I ask, kept blacks from competing in these two sports? What changed?

Long after the questionable songs in the 1930’s, Kate Smith was a regular guest at the games of those teams who now want to disavow her. If they want to allow a Black Lives Matter activist to push his agenda of radicalism, including that of tearing down statues of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, then it should only be fair that the NHL and MLB should be disbanded due to their generations of racial prejudice.

Or, we could recognize the faults of those in the past as we move forward with the truths we’ve all supposedly grown to acknowledge. The prayer of “God Bless America” should unite us in our love of country and the gratefulness for a place where the past does not always define the future.

And for the record, NONE (NO, NOT ONE) of our statued heroes were perfect – each and every one were flawed. If we continue down this ridiculous path of vengeance and hate, the ones doing the protesting will solidify a foundation on which nothing else will stand except the historically-deficient ideals of modern children.

Be careful what you ask for.

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by | April 22, 2019 · 10:27 pm

Happy Earth Day 2019

Embracing Diversity

Let’s face it, I have a wide variety of people who follow this blog. They range from the ultra-right-wing conservative branches of the political and religious spectrum to the left-wing, tree-hugging,  tofu-eating, god-hating leftist trolls who do nothing all day but listen for billy goats to cross their pitiful bridges. Obviously, I’m happy you’re here reading this, no matter who you are.

It may be strange to hear a conservative Christian say it, but I embrace this diversity! My arms are extended and waiting to offer hugs to anyone and everyone who would let me show love. I may not affirm how you choose to live, and I may disagree with what you believe, but at least I care about you.

That being said, I know someone is going to be offended by what I’m about to write. However, there’s always another day and another blog post that you can enjoy.

As the climate fluctuates, so do the posts of this blog 😉

Another Earth Day

A lot of melted glacial water has floated to the ocean since the first days of Earth Day celebrations. Predictions have come and gone, and yet the world is still flowing right along. A little warmer, maybe, but still here.

Early predictions from the first Earth Day in 1970 guaranteed that we would not be around until the year 2000. Some predictions had the world ending by 1985. AOC says we’ll be done for in 12 years.

Do I believe that the earth might be a little warmer than it was in 1970? I guess it could be. I mean, I haven’t really been checking the temperature every day since I was three years old. But what I do know, is that we still have four seasons every year. Just like it’s always been, seasons change, and so will the epochs of nature.

If global warming is truly a thing, do I believe that man is contributing to it? No, I don’t. It has been warmer, then it got colder (they called it the ice age). Then, for some reason, long before man used coal and gasoline-powered engines to industrialize the world, things got warmer! Man had nothing to do with it!

A Proper Perspective 

What I do believe is that God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1). He created both the earth and day, and night, and time, and matter, and us. This is His world, not ours; but we are to be good stewards of what He has given us to manage.

I do not believe it is the Christian thing to do to waste resources, t0 pollute the environment, to run crazy with all of our self-pleasing pursuits at the risk of damaging creation. God cares about his creation, which is why one day He will remove the curse that is upon it because of sin. However, because creation belongs to the Creator, it is not the creation that we should be worshiping; we should be celebrating the One who made it.

If kept in the proper perspective, World Earth Day could be a good thing. On the other hand, if all it is meant to be is an anti-capitalist, anti-God, celebration of a deified planet, one where humans are taught to be the scourge of the earth, rather than the epitome of creation, you can keep it!

In reality, I sort of feel like paraphrasing the apostle Paul when he was writing to the church at Corinth: “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you” (1 Thessalonians 5:1).

Just take care of what God has given you, praise God for it, and leave the season changing to him (Daniel 2:21).

PS, here’s a great article for today by reporter John Stossel. 

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by | April 21, 2019 · 10:35 am

Sri Lanka Weeps

The Christians in Sri Lanka weep as they mourn the loss of hundreds of precious lives, and pray for the wounded numbering in the hundreds more.

We weep with them. We mourn with them. We pray for the wounded.

But we rejoice in that the victory has already been won . . . The church will not be defeated . . . Jesus Christ has risen!

Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning! – Psalm 30:5

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by | April 12, 2019 · 7:00 am

Fakeless Friday Facts

Fakeless News

So much has been said about “fake news” over the last couple of years, therefore I want to do everything possible to keep things real. Whatever I report will be genuinely true.

However, I’m a blogger, not a reporter, so what I offer by way of news will be limited to what’s already in the news… unless, of course, it’s about me.

And if it’s about me, you know I’m telling the truth…at least more often than CNN 😉

Friday Facts

The Bible makes it very clear that we are not to dwell on bad news, stories of evil, and illicit nonsense meant to rot the soul. On the contrary, the Apostle Paul writes:

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] any praise, think on these things. – Philippians 4:8 

So, let me share with you some factual news that fits the above prescription:

  • I’m loved by God, and so are you! That’s the truth!
  • I’m not perfect and I’m overweight, but I’m working on it, just not enough. Just being honest.
  • My recent heart problems were nobody’s fault but my own. Had I been eating better and exercising a long time ago, my arteries would not have been as clogged and I would not have had a heart attack. I got what I deserved – that was just.
  • It’s good to have a wife that loves me despite my selfish and stupid ways. Her love is not predicated on my looks or my income, either. Her love for me is genuine and pure. But even though it’s pure by human standards, it’s not as pure as the love of Christ which was completely selfless and self-sacrificing.

  • Emma Louise

    My new little granddaughter, Emma, is a bundle of cuteness! She’s lovely!

  • Hey, I have good news to report! I had a CT scan on my throat, but the lump was not cancer!

What’s been good in your life this week? What didn’t go as badly as you expected? Who still loves you despite what you’ve done or not done?

The fact is God loves you, gave his Son for you, and offers you an intimate relationship, even kinship, with Himself! Despite anything else going on in your life or in this world, knowing THAT is awesome news that rarely gets reported. You should praise Him!

Think about that!

 

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by | March 25, 2019 · 12:38 am

I’m Not Dead…Yet

I was behind the wheel of our Toyota Sienna when my wife looked over at me and asked, “Are you OK?”

We were in a little town called Sandersville, GA,  and we had just finished walking through a small grocery store just to see what it was like.  But when I got in the van and sat behind the steering well, my chest was burning. I was a little short of breath and I was staring straight ahead. My wife had good reason to ask if I was OK because I wasn’t:

I was having a mild heart attack.

Over four hours away from home, not counting Atlanta traffic, the last thing I wanted to do was go to the emergency room in a little town where the hospital wasn’t much bigger than a Walmart.  But knowing that chest pain isn’t something to trifle with, and especially since my wife looked worried (Who’s kidding who? I was worried, too!),  I agreed to go get checked out.

The little hospital was the best it could be, I suppose, for a little town like Sandersville. They couldn’t do much for me other than do an EKG, a chest X-ray, and a blood test.  All of the tests that they did came back negative, as in nothing was wrong. So, we got ready to leave as we awaited the results of a second blood test that needed to be done, one which was supposedly only a formality.  The only problem is that the final blood test showed that my troponin levels doubled in the three hours that I had been there…evidence something was wrong.

The emergency room doctor came back with the results and said that I needed to go see a cardiologist. My wife asked, “Just schedule an appointment with one when we get back home?” “No,” replied the doctor, “he needs to be transported by ambulance to another hospital right now.”  Unfortunately, the nearest ambulance to the hospital was still two hours away! So, the waiting began.

When the ambulance finally got there, we decided to go to the nearest hospital that was in the direction of home. So, we decided on a hospital in Macon, GA.  An hour later I arrived at Coliseum Medical Centers. #coliseumhealthsystem.com

All I can say is that I praise God this happened down here when it did because this place is so much better than Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga. Everyone down here, from housekeeping to the nurses to the cardiologist, has been absolutely wonderful!  They have treated me like I was their only patient.  If I had been at Erlanger, it would’ve taken me four hours to get a bedpan.  But I digress.

Anyway, long story short, more tests were run on me here which led to the discovery that I had blockages in all four main arteries in my heart, two of which were blocked 90%.  A few hours later I was in surgery receiving 2 to 3 stents, depending on how you measure them (one was as long as two). Other than when they numbed my wrist, I felt everything. No kidding, it hurt.

But I’m alive.

Come to find out, I’ve had heart problems for a while. When I have had pain in the past, all that was done were EKGs and stress tests. But nothing ever showed that I had blockages of any kind.  None of the places in Chattanooga ever did a heart catheterization.

My dad died at 46 with a heart attack. My grandfather died at 53.  I’m 51. Am I blessed, or what?

But here’s the thing: I’m going to die one day, and so are you.  Unless the rapture takes place, every one of us have an appointment with death. It doesn’t matter how many times we go to the hospital and get fixed, these old bodies will eventually break down the last time  and we will enter into eternity.

My only hope for you, dear reader, is that you have the same hope and peace that I have.  That hope and peace are found in my Savior, Jesus Christ. Because of Him, when I take my last breath, I know where I will spend eternity.

I’m not dead…yet. But because of the blood Jesus Christ shed for my sins, I’ll be more alive that day than I am right now.

I’m ready to go. Are you?

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by | March 4, 2019 · 6:39 am

Kissing Deer and Talking Sharks

True story…

One morning a few years back (in 2013), as the first elementary children entered my bus, one child said to another, “Granny said to sit down!” Evidently, Granny had been giving some instruction on the way to the bus stop.

Teaching wisdom, one child at a time. Teaching wisdom, one child at a time.

As we started to pull away from the stop, I glanced back to my right and saw the youngest little girl standing, along with the grandmother scowling and pointing a finger from the sidewalk. “You shouldn’t be standing,” I said, “especially if your granny said not to.”

Then, after a 2-minute story of what this little kindergartner did for her birthday, I proceeded to share with the rest of the children and her what other things they shouldn’t do. Why did I do this? I don’t know, but it was certainly interesting to here their responses.

Things You Shouldn’t Do

  • Don’t eat worms with syrup. No matter what, they don’t taste like spaghetti.
    • “I did. They taste like chicken! And they’re slippery!”
  • Don’t ever kiss a deer on the lips.
    • One girl asked, “Why not?” Another answered, “Because it might want to go out on a date with you, and deer won’t fit in a car.”
    • “I saw a video where a guy made a deer mad because he took its picture.”
  • Never take a picture of a deer until you know it has makeup on and its hair done.
  • Never take a deer, or especially a moose, out to dinner on a date.
    • “Why not?” asked one girl. “Because a moose won’t fit into your car, for sure, and they won’t serve a moose at a restaurant!” said another. I said, “And a moose has no table manners and can’t use a fork,” to which a little girl replied, “that would be a mess.”
  • Never, ever, lick a cheese grater.
    • “Why not?”
  • If a bear comes up to you and asks, “Can I scratch your back?” say, “NO!”
    • “What if it wants to drive your car?”
  • If you are ever walking by the water, and a fish sticks it head out of the water to talk and says, “Hey, come over here,” don’t.
    • “Why?”
    • “Iffa shark eva stick it head outta da watah un say, ‘C’mere, I wanna tell you somp’n,‘ DON’T DO IT!”

Wisdom

Really, it is amazing how children can show practical wisdom, even when they have no experience. All some kids know is that if it ain’t natural, like a shark trying to start up a conversation, then run away.

However, as we grow older and “wiser,” the things that used to be so simple grow more complicated. We desire the forbidden pleasures Granny used to warn us about, along with every other experience a liberated mind can dream up. We date the moose and schedule tickle fests with grizzly bears.

But in a day when men and women pride themselves in experience and boast in the knowledge gained from sin, Wisdom cries out like the little old granny from the street, “Listen to me! I’m warning you!”

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” declares the Psalmist (111:10). But fools, captivated by the unnatural, politically-correct, whatever-makes-me-happy talking shark, jump into the water.

Too bad real wisdom gets left on the bus.

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by | March 2, 2019 · 7:50 am

It’s Not That Saturday In the ‘30’s!

It’s Saturday.

That’s probably not a shock to most of you, I bet. If you can log on to a computer, check your email, or read a text, then you are most likely capable of knowing what day of the week it is.

It’s Saturday…just Saturday.

But at least it’s not like that Saturday back in the 30’s – the 0030’s, that is! Back then there were some men and women waking up to a Saturday morning like no other. Their teacher, mentor, leader, and Master had suffered a most horrific death, and now he was in a tomb. This was not the kind of day they expected.

It was Saturday, the Sabbath, and all their hopes and dreams lay cold and lifeless in a sealed grave.

What were they feeling?

How does it feel to go from the top of the world with every expectation of glory, to utter despair and the expectation that at any moment the ones who ripped your leader to shreds could soon find you and do the same?

With despair comes shame, anger, blame, and fear. On what was supposed to be a “day of rest,” hearts must have been restless, tumultuous, and breaking, crumbling to dust.

It must have been a long day, that Saturday.

Have you ever lost someone close, like a parent, a spouse, or a child? Have you ever left the hospital or the morgue, gone home in shock, only to be jolted by the piercing pain of reality when you see your loved one’s possessions?

The day after my father died my mother and sister experienced a moment like that (I wasn’t there, for I wouldn’t go home that night). My dad’s watch had an alarm set – it was the time he was supposed to get up – there was no getting up this time.

How did Jesus’ disciples feel that Saturday night? Their hopes seemed hopeless…their dreams had become a nightmare…the “Way, the Truth, and the Life” now seemed like nothing more than a dead-end road, a lie, and death.

It was Saturday…

But Sunday was coming.

It won’t be long before we will be celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus (April 21).

But what if today we’d take a moment to thank God this Saturday doesn’t have to be like that one back in the 30’s?

Sunday is coming! Rejoice! You don’t have to wait till Easter.

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