Checking in…

…since it’s been a while.  I’ve been incredibly busy with work for a few months.  I’m currently fighting some type of cold that hit me last Sunday.  All 6 of us came down with it at the same time, but I seem to be the only one still dealing with it.  Please pray for the mercy of God to provide healing quickly.

How to catch a wild pig

The following story (unknown authorship) may or may not be true, but the point is clear and worth reading in our current climate of political persuasion being thrown back and forth across the country.  It is a perspective that I would consider to be consistent with the Republican party at large, but I find it interesting that this perspective is limited to American policy and excludes foreign policy.

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There was a Chemistry professor in a large college that had some exchange students in the class.  One day while the class was in the lab the Prof noticed one young man (exchange student) who kept rubbing his back And stretching as if his back hurt.

The professor asked the young man what was the matter. The student told him he had a bullet  lodged  in his back. He had been shot while fighting communists in his native country who were  trying to overthrow his country’s government and install a new communist government.

In the midst of his story he looked at the professor and asked a strange question. 
He asked, ‘ Do you know how to catch wild pigs?’

The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line. The young man said this was no joke. ‘You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come everyday to eat the free corn. When they are used to coming every day, you  put a fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming. When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence. They get used to that and start  to eat again. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in The last side. 
 
The pigs, who are used to the free corn, start to come through the gate to eat, you slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd.  Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom. They run around and around inside the fence, but they are caught. Soon they go back to eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten how  To forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept their captivity.

The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees happening to America. The government  keeps pushing us toward Communism/Socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, tobacco subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to plant crops (CRP), welfare, medicine, drugs, free medical, etc. while we continually lose our freedoms – just a little at a time.

One should always remember ‘There is no such thing as a free Lunch! Also, a politician will never provide a service for you cheaper than you can do it yourself.  Also, if you see that all of this wonderful government ‘help’ is a problem confronting the future of democracy 
in America, you might want to send this on to your friends. If you think the free ride is essential to your way of life then you will probably delete this email, but God help you when the gate slams shut!

‘A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to
take away everything you have.’ …….. Thomas Jefferson

Iron Will

We are still on I-85, but the movie has changed to

If you have not seen it, I highly recommend it.  As quoted from Wikipedia, “It is based on the exploits of Albert Campbell, who won the 1917 race from Winnipeg to Saint Paul, and Fred Hartman, the American hope in the race. According to Albert Campbell, he won the race to fulfill his father’s dying wish made just two weeks before the race.“

Peppermint Mocha on I-85

We’re at exit 141 on I-85 making a pit stop at Starbucks. Ahhh…I do lika the peppermint.

Rich, full bodied Starbucks® espresso combined with steamed milk, our proprietary mocha syrup and accented by a complex, refreshing peppermint syrup. Whipped cream (optional) adds richness and ruby-red sprinkles provide a festive crunch.

Morning Walk…

I’m currently riding in my van on the way back home from visiting my in-law’s.  Cheryl’s driving and has Alycia (her sister) to keep up conversation while I’m in the back with Hannah, Jack, Liberty and Joseph watching

 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Oh…were you expecting something about my morning walk?  Hmmm…slept in until 6:00 am and relaxed around the house with my children most of the day until it was time to pack up the van.  Anyway, in lieu of a walk around the neighborhood, my “walking” back and forth between the house and the van with luggage will have to count. 

See you tomorrow!

Self-Possession by William Thayer

Here is the chapter I read this morning from “Gaining Favor with God and Man” by William Thayer (originally published in 1893).   I thoroughly enjoyed this chapter.  The following is an excerpt: 

“A pleasure party on a small lake were enjoying themselves, when a young lady changed her position so suddenly that the boat dipped a little water.  She uttered a scream, and sprang to the other side; others did the same, upsetting the boat, and…(read the rest here)”

Self-Possession

Afternoon Walk…

As I said, I was undaunted by my late awakening for the day and have completed a 1.5 mile walk around the neighborhood.  Hannah joined me for the first .25 mile and then was replaced by Jack for the remaining 1.25 miles.  Hannah and I had a wonderful conversation about her faith in God and how without Him she is incapable of being good.  Jack spoke almost non-stop about almost everything that entered his mind.  His most inspiring thought expressed was how he desires to love God so that he can maintain self-control over his temper.

I prayed for this neighborhood as well as my own.

Morning Walk…

I partially woke up at 5:00 am today when my alarm went off to remind me of my desire to walk a mile in preparation for the 20+ mile hike on the AT this Spring.  Somewhere between turning off the alarm and a half-consicous thought about how I did not go to bed until 1:40 am, my head hit the pillow and I knocked out just as quickly as I woke up.

It’s nearly noon and I still have not put in my walk, but I have thorougly enjoyed the time with members of my wife’s family.  We were able to get almost everyone together this year which includes Cheryl’s parents, her 3 sisters and 1 brother, their 2 spouses and 1 very serious friend (boy), our 4 children and my 8 neices and nephews:  23 in all.

Undaunted, I still plan to get in my walk for the day…

Not Above One’s Business by William Thayer

Here is the chapter I read this morning from “Gaining Favor with God and Man” by William Thayer (originally published in 1893). 

 The fascinating thing about this book is that it was written for children.  Amazingly, you would be hard pressed to find more than 80% of the U.S. adult population who could manage the vocabulary in this book today.

The following is an excerpt from this chapter:

“Peter the Great laid aside the robes of royalty, and entered the East India dockyard at Amsterdam, in disguise, to learn…(read the rest here)“

Not Above One’s Business

Response to High Noon Walking…

In response to Chris’ post on walking his neighborhood, you know that if you walk the southern perimeter it is almost exactly 1 mile.