Pastor Travis replayed this video during the offertory today at his church, Immanuel Baptist, Elizabethton TN. Excellent video, which was followed by an excellent sermon on John 1:1-18.
Categories
Author: Christ Ranger
God is great!
Categories
Questioning what you don’t know …
One of the many blessings of children is their fresh perspective on all things. Being around children and getting down to their level quickly re-introduces the novelty, beauty and amazement of the world around us. Emblematic of the child’s wide eyes to the world is the stream of continual questions that pour forth from the mouths of children as they explore the wonders of creation.
At some point, we as adults stop asking questions as a general rule. Do we stop seeing the novelty and wonder all around us? I wonder whether we feel that being “grown up” means knowing “the” answers. Sometimes asking a questions almost feels like an admission that we’re not smart enough to know the answers. Perhaps we get to fixated on our “problems” or are too distracted by what we know. Maybe now there isn’t much of a need to ask questions – just “Google” it!
In any event, a few years ago, my family and I had a race to see who could be the first to write down 100 questions – real questions to which the author didn’t know the answer. We never finished that competition. Why? I don’t know! Recently, I ran across my list. I removed those that I now knew the answer, didn’t “Google” any of the answers, added a few new ones and publish it below. It’s a fun game to play. I’d enjoy hearing some of your questions also.
- Where do pimentos come from?
- What exactly is a quark?
- How long were Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden before the fall?
- What’s gravity?
- Why do we only sometimes bight our own lips?
- Who discovered Pi?
- Who discovered apple pie?
- How is asphalt made?
- How does hair detangler work?
- If a light bulb, or a star, moves away from you at or above the speed of light, would you ever see its light, if you remained stationary
- Why can heart problems cause fluids to build up in the lungs?
- How does a digital clock keep time?
- How is sunlight “converted” into energy or food for plants?
- What’s the difference between an extern and an intern?
- Would Jesus like spicy food?
- What is the difference between “orthodox” and “heterodox”?
- What is the difference between “scenic” and “picturesque”?
- Did Jesus laugh often?
- How do vocal chords articulate words?
- How do you navigate a boat by only stars and the sun?
- How does cancer kill you?
- Where do we “see” – it feels like my eyes, but am I visualizing deep inside my head?
- How do circuit breakers work?
- If God is infinite and all-powerful, has he likely created an infinite number of realities?
- Why was Socrates put to death?
- Will there be shadows in heaven?
- How do you steer a ship by trimming sail when you lose a rudder?
- How are multi-layered ice cream cakes mass-produced?
- Do stick bugs hear? Do they make sounds? If so, what do they sound like?
- Will the dollar collapse within the several years?
- If the dollar collapses, will the United States stay united?
- What are the requirements for fog?
- How does the mechanism within a bedroom window shade work?
- What “is” the “substance” of gravitational force? Electro-magnetic force?
- What is the “dell” in “the farmer and the dell”?
- From where/what did the name “Wales” derive? Anything to do w/ whale fishing? Did the ports in Wales support whalers?
- From where/what did the name “Rome” derive?
- How does a computer “read” code?
- What is thought?
- How do harmonic scales “work,” such as the “C” scale? Who “invented”/discovered the scales and why is there no such “thing” as an F-flat?
- Why does the ocean “draw out” prior to the arrival of a tidal wave or tsunami?
- Is a clam self-conscious?
- What causes a vapor lock, and how does it occur, if at all, in a residential HVAC system?
- How did people use horse hair or cow hoofs 100 or 200 years ago?
- How is it determined which Sunday is Easter?
- Why does carbonated water “fizz” and how is the carbonation created?
- Why does “shaking” carbonated beverages increase the rate of “fizzing”, and does tapping the top retard this effect, and if so, why?
- Why do bubbles form in a glass of water left out for several hours?
- With what to hummingbirds line their nests?
- Are we there yet?
Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the Lord is good; His loving kindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations.
Psalm 100
I was wrong on both counts, regarding the election. It was close and the other guy won.
The experience was worse than anticipated because it made the truth so obvious. There was no way to rationalize it for anything other than what it is: a plurality of tens of millions of Americans knowingly elected a European styled social democrat notwithstanding having lived through four years of a European styled economy while at the same time watching the European social democracies struggle with insolvency with no long-term solution. The past miserable four years were exactly on par with European social democracies, albeit with greater debt to show for it than even our European friends are accustomed to accumulating in their throes of insolvency.
The election defeat was good for clarity of vision. I saw for the first time our consistent progress towards social democracy (socialism light). 2008 we elected the same man, though I thought he had just “fooled” many … the plurality didn’t knowingly elect a progressive, or so I told myself. 2000-2008, GWB’s domestic legislation was as progressive, big government as any Democrat since LBJ. Further, in 2000, the plurality voted for Al Gore, arguably more liberal and certainly less stable than our current liberal President. Eight years of Bill Clinton before that; the man who claimed the era of big government was over, as domestic non-defense spending continually increased…
But wait, there’s more! The European democracies have all long since moved to social welfare democracies. So have Japan and Canada, and the democracies of Latin America are all either social democrat or left-populist.
American was exceptional precisely because it was founded on the ideas of liberty, individualism, egalitarianism and free markets. It now appears however that we’re joining the collectivist pack … indeed, Tuesday night was so painful because it became apparent to me that tens of millions of Americans have for some time now been more comfortable with and supportive of the collective compact than with American exceptionalism. As the Englishman Charles C.W. Cooke eloquently notes, that’s quite unfortunate for the world.
Socialism and social democracy as practiced throughout much of the world is simply not sustainable, as we’re seeing in Europe and as we’ve seen in most the nations south of our border. Further, for reasons beyond this post, the social democracies are rarely “family friendly” in the sense of producing families with children, and they are almost always militant secular humanist societies. Apparently, the “welfare” state does not like sharing power or influence with the church or with nuclear families. Ironic, that.
Tocqueville warned that such an end for democratic experiments was inevitable.
A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations has been 200 years.
Stanley Kurtz notes, the social welfare state may be inevitable, but the system is impossible to sustain. It will collapse of its own weight, sooner rather than later, regardless or perhaps precisely because it is not obvious enough to a majority of our fellow Americans.
We must keep faith and pray hard for this country, President Obama and the rest of our leaders. The future could be upon us soon. We need God’s grace and wisdom. True power is from Him and for His glory. Let us rejoice in Him and be witnesses to his truth. Pray. Pray. Pray.
Verses upon which to meditate and remember with your family: Daniel 2:21 (God removes and appoints kings), Romans 13:1 (no authority but God and those established by God), John 19:11 (Jesus telling Pilate he only has power because God gave it to him), Matthew 12:25 (divided Kingdom will be ruined; we shouldn’t writhe in anger over those who vote differently), Romans 8:28 (God works all things for good with those who love Him), Matthew 6:34 (don’t fret over the future – be prepared but don’t live in fear), Proverbs 16:4 (the Lord works everything out in the end even the wicked), Joshua 1:9 (be strong and courageous, not discouraged), Titus 3:1,2 (be subject to authority).
We need to be diligent to study the Bible and history so we can be wise. We also are not to be grumbly and complain about authority. Turn away from mourning to focus your hope in Christ, the holder of power and of the future, which future He promises will include His followers and His perfect kingdom.
We’ll find out Tuesday! I have faith that our fellow Americans will not reelect this President. Contrary to the hordes of handwringers, I don’t think it will even be close.
Below is one of the best presidential election videos I’ve seen; it elaborates on what should be the fundamental nonpartisan issue of this election for most voters, and on this issue Obama is a miserable failure. Obama was correct in calling Bush a failure on this issue, but then Obama exponentially increased the rate of failure, despite controlling Congress for two years.
This video also “calls out” that the debt and other ills that are stifling job growth are part of a much larger social ill, which well predates this presidency. The political solution or cure is conservatism, a simple and tested concept that is relatively unknown and untaught in the vast majority of our public schools and universities.
President Obama should be and I believe will be held accountable. Accountable. Fitting.
Regardless, our hope is neither conservatism nor socialism, since all politics ultimately rely upon institutions of fallen man. Our hope should and must be in Christ. Win our lose, we must fix our gaze on Him and praise him for giving us life and giving us eternal life.
During the primaries, I did not support Romney, but that was due to my belief that his fiscal and economic policies in general, and his plan to reduce the deficit in particular, were too timid. I am more confident now after following his general election. Regardless, you could hardly do worse for the deficit and small business than President Obama did in his first term. I also said that from a political perspective, evangelicals have much more in common with Romney than they do with President Obama, who’s progressive social policies are fueled by his progressive (low view of scripture) Christian beliefs, whose social gospel resembles evangelical beliefs hardly at all. The following video makes the same points, but more powerfully and goes one step further, to articulate a belief that a second Obama term would not just be an economic catastrophe, but that evangelicals would also have concerns about our civil liberties.
The opening sequence in the video brings tears to my eyes and reminds me of what motivated me years ago to be politically outspoken – the Supreme Court’s decision in Stenberg v Carhart. I had followed the case closely and knew the details, still, Scalia’s dissent had me in tears; the majority opinion was and remains morally repugnant and a jurisprudential fraud (but still “good” law).
Categories
Reagan on Christ
The lifetime family pass offering is nearly sold out: http://arkencounter.com
I am the way, the truth and the light. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6
Sometimes historical events are so convoluted that it is no wonder that few saw what was happening. More often, however, historical events seem unsurprising in hindsight and we more often wonder why past generations did not see the imminent consequences until it was too late.
There are certain undeniable truths facing us today. Undeniable however does not mean that they cannot be ignored. It increasingly seems we may be living in a time where future generations will wonder why we failed to more timely act in the face of such obvious calamity. Five truths.
1. Crushing and unsustainable debt, public and private. Routinely living beyond our means in the USA and throughout western liberal democracies.
2. Both Iran and an evolving pan-Arabia based on strict Sharia law profess a commitment to destroying Israel, are fervently anti-semitic, and do not care a whit for western style liberal democracy or individual rights.
3. The Muslim world is growing by birth rates and by proselytizing and is fervent regarding strict adherence to Islam. In contrast, the western-styled liberal democracies, to include the US suffer declining and unsustainable demographic trends.
4. The collapse of the Bible believing church in Europe and the United States.
5. We’re going on a second decade of war against Islamic people. Notwithstanding or espoused noble purposes, it’s still two decades of war.
These five truths do not make portend well for the future. As someone else recently observed, as we approach 17 TRILLION dollars in debt, a substantial percentage of voters and most the conventional media care more about how Mitt Romney spent his personal millions than how the current President has spent trillions of dollars of our money (and our children’s money).
We’re spending billions and countless lives to build Islamic nation states. We’re in our second decade of war in Afghanistan. They are so grateful that our “allied” Afghan troops there increasingly turn their guns on our troops. In newly “democratic” and “liberated” Libya which we helped “liberate,” the grateful Libyans recently (a) enacted a Thank the Yanks Day!, (b) enacted a constitution guaranteeing freedom of religion, or (c) stormed our consulate and murdered our Ambassador, who had no U.S. Marines to guard him. Answer: (c) only. Same thing recently in Egypt, but our Ambassador was not murdered, notwithstanding our own efforts to disarm the Marines responsible for guarding our embassy in Egypt. They love us, not really. Our money and words of appeasement are not what they want. Like Hitler in 1920s Germany, they’re pretty forthright about what they want: elimination of Israel, elimination of Jews, and global caliphate. Not terribly different from the Nazis or the Soviets, really.
The Afghans turning their guns on US and the Libyan’s way of thanking the USA are likely only a foretaste of what’s to come. Unfortunately, our financial, demographic and religious trajectories do not trend favorably for western liberalism.
Finally, the fact that so many of our political elites, up to and including our President and Secretary of State, refuse to acknowledge the fundamental and deep level of this conflict, does not advance our chances. The recent attacks against us had to be the result of a several months old YouTube video – just had to be, because it could not be something more fundamental, like a clash of incompatible civilizations. No, it must be something frivolous and just a matter of misunderstanding. The only misunderstanding is on our side, and it’s more an issue of denial that “they” don’t share our affinity for pluralism, compromise and tolerance.
A light is needed for the West. The darker it becomes, the greater the opportunity for light to be seen. Pray hard.
Soft hands and kind eyes my faithful mate
mothering our children and making our home
the sun quietly rising to kiss her peaceful face
A gift of mountains and oceans so deep
betraying the majestic power and beauty of creation
a sun rising to warm and cheer our fallen race
Our perfect Creator from beyond time
driving out darkness and dying for His lost sheep
the Son rising and saving in an act of amazing grace.
Categories
Parents Got Game!
Categories
NASA’s Mars Mission
Remember the old days, when NASA’s mission was simply to explore space? Such simple and backwards times, before “O” taught us NASA’s fuller potential to reach the Muslim worlds.
This past week’s events hint that perhaps NASA engineers are less adept at reaching the new Caliphate than they are at reaching everywhere else in our galaxy. Probably due to NASA’s unfair hiring bias favoring engineers over cultural studies and critical race theorists.
Nonetheless, NASA’s “real” mission, albeit scaled back and currently somewhat politically misguided, is still really cool. What follows is a CGI re-enactment of the 2003 Mars rover missions – where the rovers landed in 2004. It’s very cool.
NASA intended those rovers to last for up to three months … They lasted years, cruising around and collecting data. See here. In fact, one of the “original” two rovers, “Opportunity” is still cruising around and collecting data. See here.
Here’s an interesting video of the recent Curiosity rover landing, apparently produced from a compilation of images.
Categories
The Myth of Islamic Democracy
I agree with Travis’ highlighting how a culture that trashes life contrasts so much with the nature and character of the God of all Creation. Of course, the trashing of human life is not just a metaphor, as Melissa Ohden’s powerful testimony explains:
The Susan B. Anthony List produced Ms. Ohden’s story, which story is tragically under reported. SBA explains:
“In light of the recent national discussion over abortion, it’s important Americans know the President’s best-kept secret: his extreme record on abortion. Melissa Ohden’s powerful story draws a stark contrast to his unbending support of abortion and the abortion industry and reveals the human face to this debate.” said SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “President Obama’s appalling record on abortion is not just limited to his four votes to deny rights to abortion survivors but spans to his recent heartless refusal to support bans on sex-selection and late-term abortions. These actions fly in the face of mainstream American views and run counter to the President’s first term pre-election talk of finding common ground. Recent polling reveals the majority of Americans support bans on these horrific practices.”
Related, the President is reportedly funneling more than $400,000 of federal money to Planned Parenthood in North Carolina in response to the N.C. General Assembly voting to discontinue $340,000 of N.C. taxpayer money being paid to Planned Parenthood. the NCGA felt it was inappropriate to use NC taxpayer money to underwrite the operations of the world’s leading abortion mill. See here.
Categories
Nanny State Edumacation
Great choice! I’ve expressed before that our out of control national debt is the single greatest threat to the future of our republic and that Romney did not have a strong enough record or positions on fiscal conservatism. The Ryan selection is a huge step forward for Romney on this critical topic. See past posts re Ryan here, here, here and here.
Over at The Corner today, Charles C.W. Cooke took issue with British police arresting an English teenager who broadcast insensitive Tweets about the Brit’s failure to medal in men’s synchronized diving. Apparently, the teenager posted to Tom Daly that Mr. Daly’s father would be disappointed. Mr. Daly’s father died earlier this year. Mr. Cooke notes:
Britain is now a country in which you can be arrested for writing racist tweets, for criticizing your local government on the Internet, for telling a policeman that his horse is “gay,” for shouting offensive things on a bus, for issuing leaflets condemning homosexuality, for evangelizing for Christianity on the street, for issuing leaflets evangelizing for atheism in an airport, and so on and so forth. And the press, as ever, is silent.
This should come as no surprise. When the State takes on the role of primary caregiver and nanny to the population, it will act as such, to include parenting basic thoughts and speech. Even in the United States, if you’re a nanny state totalitarian politician, you see it as a responsibility to punish businesses that do not adhere to your moral code, which code happens to be the current dogma of the secular humanist “intellectuals.” How long until we start building re-education camps in the West?
Speaking of which, tomorrow August 1st is EAT AT CHICK FIL A DAY! Make sure to order an extra-fatty delicious peach shake, while they last. 
In a recent prayer letter to his supporters, Billy Graham explained the heavy burden he feels for the United States:
Some years ago, my wife, Ruth, was reading the draft of a book I was writing. When she finished a section describing the terrible downward spiral of our nation’s moral standards and the idolatry of worshiping false gods such as technology and sex, she startled me by exclaiming, “If God doesn’t punish America, He’ll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.”
She was probably thinking of a passage in Ezekiel where God tells why He brought those cities to ruin. “Now this was the sin of … Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen” (Ezekiel 16:49–50, NIV).
I wonder what Ruth would think of America if she were alive today. In the years since she made that remark, millions of babies have been aborted and our nation seems largely unconcerned. Self-centered indulgence, pride, and a lack of shame over sin are now emblems of the American lifestyle.
Just a few weeks ago in a prominent city in the South, Christian chaplains who serve the police department were ordered to no longer mention the Name of Jesus in prayer. It was reported that during a recent police-sponsored event, the only person allowed to pray was someone who addressed “the being in the room.” Similar scenarios are now commonplace in towns across America. Our society strives to avoid any possibility of offending anyone—except God.
Yet the farther we get from God, the more the world spirals out of control.
My heart aches for America and its deceived people. The wonderful news is that our Lord is a God of mercy, and He responds to repentance. …
Read the rest of this excellent letter and what Dr. Graham and his son Franklin are doing in response here.
The best things in life are always blessings from God, and so many of God’s best blessings are the simple things in life, the ones we easily overlook and take for granted — blessings like life, love, fellowship, laughter, good food, and interesting conversation. Some people seem particularly adept at recognizing and enjoying and celebrating such blessings. One such person is the Triangle’s celebrity chef Elise Johnson, whose persona and culinary expertise (and recipes) are known to many throughout this area through her TV cooking segments “Cooking With Elise”, her blogging at www.CookingWithElise.com and through her service as Chef Spokesperson for BJ’s Wholesale Club. Chef Elise recently published the following article and graciously consented to my re-posting it here. Bon appetit!
The Importance of Your Family Table
by Elise Johnson
I have been so happy and honored to welcome so many of you into my home for adult and children’s cooking classes over the years. I have been honored that you have entrusted your children in my care. I hope I have encouraged your family in some way and made a difference in your lives. I have been blessed to meet so many wonderful families over the years.
Many people do not realize (because I have made up for it over the years.smile) that I did not speak with ease until I was about seventeen years old. A terrible speech impediment (stuttering) caused me great anxiety and made even saying my own name nearly impossible. It was in my grandmother’s kitchen that I found a safe haven. This is one reason why I am so passionate about cooking with family and friends. As many of you know, my mission has always been to inspire families to connect in their kitchens and around their tables. In my own experience, cooking and eating together strengthens and nurtures relationships quicker and stronger than any other way.
Please consider the following:
Family Meals 5 or more times per week spells S-U-C-C-E-S-S. 80% of families value family mealtime, but only 1 in 3 achieve success
S = Safe, secure place to belong
U= Unlikely to smoke, drink, do drugs, and engage in premarital sex. Psychologists compare the family meal to a vaccination protecting kids from harm. Children who eat with their families 5 or more days a week also avoid fights, and are less likely to be depressed and contemplate suicide.
C= Courteous and Conversational. The family table is a natural training ground. Children learn social skills and manners. Children learn how to have pleasant conversations and how to talk things through. Children learn a better vocabulary. Learn to behave properly, learn how to not interrupt, take turns, learn how to share, and how be polite. Children learn how to listen. Children learn how to entertain guests which is a great lesson for life. Children who are nurtured learn how to care for others.
C= Connected and Committed. Stronger family ties. Place to belong – a place of refuge. Greater sense of identity. Children learn how to commit and keep a schedule.
E- Eat Better. Children who eat as family 4 to 5 days per week do better in school; get better grades. Test higher than children who eat only 1 to 2 times a week. Eat better. Eat more fresh fruits , vegetables, grains, protein, iron and fiber; less intake of soft drinks and sugar. Are less likely to suffer from eating disorders; have better weight control
S= Self Esteem. Mealtime conversation brings the family together, promotes positive self-esteem in children and starts a lasting and positive relationship with food and family. Families learn how to share the responsibilities of preparing and cleaning up meals before, during and after the meal.
S= Success in School. Children who eat 4 to 5 times a week together as a family do much better in school. They receive better grades, achieve higher achievement test scores ; have improved vocabulary and reading skills.
We recently welcomed my literary agent, David, from Oregon to our home. He told our family of his time at a homeschooling convention. The speaker from Focus on the Family asked the hundreds of families present to raise their hands if they cook and eat together at their family table more than three times a week. David was shocked to see only a few hands raise. It is stories like these that made me write my new cookbook, YOU NEVER COOK ALONE. You Never Cook Alone is much more than a cookbook however. This is one review on Amazon:
“”You Never Cook Alone” is not your average, “cookie-cutter” cookbook. Elise Johnson has written a cookbook that is true to its subtitle, “Stirring Memories, Feeding Souls and Building Legacies”. The pages are not only filled with delicious, mouth-watering recipes, cooking tips, and activity suggestions, but they are also overflowing with stories that will warm your heart with joy and laughter, and may even bring a tear to your eye.” You can read the book description and editorial review here.
My family has had the blessing of traveling the country this summer on a book tour. On my tour I have been interviewed by television stations, newspapers and national radio. I always speak about the importance of the family table, how families connect in the kitchen and if spending time in the kitchen and around the table with my family helped me speak, imagine what it can do for other families!
On Sunday, July 15th at 3:00 pm, I will be signing books at Quail Ridge Books & Music. Enjoy a Sunday afternoon book signing and taste samples of the recipes in my book, meet our family and be encouraged! I’d love the opportunity to share my story with you! You Never Cook Alone is also written from a Christian perspective! I have been thrilled to share my faith on national platforms. If you are unable to join our family, you can purchase my book on Amazon. It is also available at some Barnes and Nobles and of course at Quail Ridge Books. Even more important than purchasing my book, please pray for our family and all the people who pick up my book. It is my deepest desire to glorify God in all I do!
Enjoy your summer! May you make many memories in the kitchen and around the table together!
Sapphire Sky 