Sarge's Take

The End Of Osama bin Laden

2011-05-02T22:17:00.000-05:00

Nearly twenty-four hours ago we were notified of the death of Osama bin Laden. Last night I watched the broadcast of the President’s speech and my initial reaction was a sense of relief, or “Finally”. I didn’t have political or religious feelings on the matter, just a sense of completion.

Today I have heard political arguments over why or why not which people should get or should not get what credit. I have heard and read many thoughts of thanks to our military. I have heard many reports of young people, those whose age was in the single digits on 9/11, celebrating like it was the millennium New Year. And to my sorrow, I have read comments from religious individuals that were very aggressive in reference to bin Laden and his final destination. Some included cussing that I never envisioned from certain individuals. I have even heard them parse their feelings and comments between patriotism and religion as if the compartmentalizing of the statements would leave no impact upon their Christian testimony.

The politicization of the subject is not at all surprising. In fact, it is unfortunately expected. For professing Christians to “let their hair down” as it were, and openly rejoice and celebrate over the death of a person is something that I find a bit disturbing. The outward expression is a reflection of what is in the heart. Perhaps we need to pause, repent and pray.

I am not proclaiming my own innocence in such matters. I am a sinner saved by grace just as any person who places their full trust in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the redemption of our souls. As I said, I had a sense of completion and satisfaction. Where is the line that gets crossed from happiness for a job completed to the overt rejoicing over the death of an enemy? I believe that the answer is somewhat individual to each person as we each explore our motives before God.

The death of any person is a serious matter before God and so it should be for us. I believe that the eternal destination of bin Laden should be a matter of disturbance to the Christian, not a celebration, assuming there was no conversion to Christianity prior to his death. This event is an opportunity for the peacemaker within us to shine, or at the very least, to not get caught up in the hoopla. It would be all too easy to alienate those around us. I am not saying that we should not discuss the matter. However, a certain amount of restraint may be the better part of wisdom.

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Up Early

2011-04-30T18:05:00.001-05:00

Waking early morn

Feeling nature’s call

Before the alarm

Roam the hall

In one hour

Alarm to sound

Dilemma upon me

More time unfound

In the dark

Down the stair

Before the sun

Burden I bear

Four three zero

Decision to make

Return to slumber

For day awake

Alarm one hour

Immediate sleep must

Struggle to wake

Difficult to adjust

Nap needed later

No time allotted

What to do

Mind all knotted

Alarm now buzzing

Dark silence torn

Though very groggy

Day now born

Weary by evening

Day cut short

Energy now gone

Sleep only resort

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Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T06:43:00.000-05:00

Happy Easter!

As we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, it is good to consider the story of the week from the triumphant entry of Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday. Expectations of people were raised in hopes of a new kingdom and the overthrow of the Romans to become outcries for a crucifixion only a week later. A Man professing to be Messiah is put to death and after three days miraculously rises to life. A close follower commits an act of betrayal that was so devastating that he took his own life. Another close follower denies association with Jesus and after being crushed by guilt is restored to a position of leadership. Political leaders do the wrong thing, condemning an innocent Man, in hopes of quelling civil unrest. Religious leaders do the wrong thing, falsely accusing an innocent man, in hopes of retaining their own stature and power. Spiritual warfare rages in the ultimate good vs. evil showdown. The whole story is fulfillment of prophecies that were hundreds and thousands of years old.

Check out my sermon, Which Barabbas are you? on video or written form.

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If I

2011-04-16T19:54:00.000-05:00

If I were most brilliant, what then? Would I be so wrapped up in myself that I would be unaware of my many shortcomings? Would it be a bad thing to be unaware of my many shortcomings? I would most certainly think more highly of myself than I ought.

If I were most wealthy, what then? Would I be so enamored by my possessions that I would fail to see my true needs? Would my possessions come to own me rather than I them? I would most certainly think myself self-sufficient.

If I were most popular, what then? Would I be so arrogant that I would become my own idol? Would I see myself as my own god, as well as for others to look upon? I would most certainly be self-absorbed.

If I were most handsome and desirable, what then? Would my time be spent with many others in self-satisfaction to the ruin of their souls and mine? Would my desires override all logic and reason? I would most certainly move toward self-destruction.

If I were most articulate, what then? Would my words flow for my own ears to hear? Would I look down upon those of lesser elocution? I would most certainly think myself praiseworthy.

If I were most muscular, what then? Would I worship my creation and me as creator? Would every waking hour be consumed in admiration and refinement? I would most certainly think myself a wonder to gaze upon.

If I were myself, what then? What then? Naked and cold this world was entered and from where comes hope of a dissimilar exit? Is it in the doings and accumulations during time on this orb? Is there some abstract value to be placed upon each head? Is success in a democratic vote, a measure to be obtained or the dreaded grade on a curve? I would certainly want to be my own judge.

To go through life and hang precariously close to the cliff of low self-esteem while trying to muster up the confidence to fulfill the opportunities that lay ahead is excruciating on a good day. Self-sufficiency is a concept that is far from being grasped. Popularity is fleeting at best and at times a curse as true value is seldom realized. Outward appearances serve only flattery from the lips of the person to whom the eye belongs. To struggle to grasp concepts and attach to them words that would convey some deep meaning is hardly fluency at its finest. A body being built beyond sufficient and efficient operation is time spent erecting a memorial to nothing.

What then has this world to offer with its lack of perpetuity? It has little to offer in the now much less of eternal value. The world made from nothing holds that exact value as the One who created everything is the only value that counts. Value in His love is the only value worth reaching for, whether it is with Him or in those that know Him. Relationship is the only object worthy of pursuit and that only when viewed within proper constraints. Pride, arrogance and self-sufficiency are dissuaders all from reaching out to court the highest opportunity of eternal significance. Humility and meekness are scoffed at, yet they are the only avenue of achievement. The paradigm requires the shift, demanded for success.

What if I were His, what then? What then? Would I care more about me than He? Would I care more about me than thee? Me would need to die daily, painful though it may be. He and thee must ascend in symmetry to the descent of me. It is the only exertion of energy that returns at a higher level than when it left. Is there any guarantee of success? I would most certainly fail from time to time, but find love in the striving. Contentment is the earnest for the eternal joy that will be obtained.

Matthew 16:25-27 (King James Version)

“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works.”

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07APR11 Taylor's Falls 08 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

2011-04-07T17:35:00.001-05:00

07APR11 Taylor's Falls 08 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Today after making a delivery to St. Croix Falls, WI, I stopped on the Minnesota side, Taylor's Falls, on the return trip to take some photos. Looking back up at the rapids from the same point as photo 07. The left edge gives an idea of the rock I am standing on.

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The Wife

2011-04-01T22:09:00.000-05:00

The Wife, To BooBoo From Sarge

With warm eyes and bright smile,

You captured my eye with soft style.

With bright eyes and warm smile,

You captured my heart without trial.

With tender touch and gentle care,

Your love goes with me everywhere.

With gentle touch and tender care,

Your company I will forever share.

With loving soul and caring heart,

Your compassionate acts set you apart.

With caring soul and loving heart,

Your godly reflection will not depart.

With caring eyes and inviting smile,

You draw me near all the while.

With inviting eyes and caring smile,

You keep me close mile after mile.

As wife, lover, mother and friend,

Your love toward me shows no end.

As Margaret, Suzy, Maggs or BooBoo,

My love is dedicated unending to you.

Happy Birthday Suzy! I Love you!

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Faith and Action

2011-01-23T22:18:00.000-06:00

Following is the sermon notes from the service this past Saturday at Suite Living in Blaine, Mn. Cornerstone Church of Blaine provides a church service for the residents on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Saturdays of each month at 10AM. Feel free to join us if you are in the area. The folks always enjoy the visit.

Faith and Action

Suite Living

January 22, 2011

Faith is something that everyone has, that many claim to possess, but few can easily explain or define. While it is true that all people have faith to some extent, the object of that faith can be very different from one person to another. For example, we all have faith that as we inhale we will receive the proper oxygen, our lungs will do their job, our bodies will correctly process and distribute the oxygen and we will continue living for another breath. Some people will attribute this to their brain monitoring and doing what needs to be done while others will attribute it to the grace of God. Either way, there is the exercise of faith that the necessary task will be accomplished. Both are actually correct but one carries the explanation a step farther and gives the glory to God rather than to man.

The Bible defines faith in the letter to the Hebrews.

Hebrews 11:1 (King James Version)

¹Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

What does that mean? This is really two phrases that mean nearly the same thing and is written in a style of Hebrew poetry that is seen in Psalms.

The word substance could also be assurance, so the assurance of things hoped for. When trusting in the promises of God that are found in the Scriptures, we are trusting in God to fulfill them. The object of our faith, or the substance or our assurance, is the trustworthiness of God and His faithfulness in fulfilling His promises.

The word evidence could also be conviction, so the conviction of things not seen. When faith is exercised, conviction is placed in the result that is as yet unseen. Again, trusting in the promises of God, our conviction is that the promised result, yet unseen, will be produced. Evidence in this case is not evidence as may be presented in a court case; rather, it is divine assurance upon which we can hold our conviction or belief.

So faith is accepting with conviction the truth that is yet unseen in our situation. We accept the truth that is presented in the promise though it is yet unseen in the reality of our current experience. We base the conviction of our belief upon the reliability of the object, in this case the trustworthiness of God and His faithfulness in fulfilling His promises.

Perhaps we have heard the term, misguided faith. This is not to say that the faith was in error so much as to say that the object of the faith was faulty. The term implies that the object of the faith was insufficient to produce the result of our conviction. Some people may consider faith in God to be misguided. To assure ourselves that our conviction is properly placed we need to build our trust in the trustworthiness of God. This is the beauty of Scripture as it reveals the character of God and all of the stories reflect the consistency of His character. We read how time after time God fulfilled each and every promise, or will fulfill those promises which are actually prophetic, for future events.

Our faith is built upon the proven track record of God and is strengthened by our experiencing His faithfulness, or trustworthiness, in our lives. Nobody as far as I can tell ever starts out with great faith, but rather builds and strengthens faith over a period of time. As we exercise our faith, or put it into practice, our confidence and trust grow. Things can get to a point that we take them for granted, unfortunately, as in the case of inhaling. Nevertheless, our faith grows and we move on to bigger tests.

We like to look at faith as a noun. We want to know what it is so that we can get a handle on it and understand it. Much like love, however, to understand faith is to look at it as a verb. Faith is an action that we sometimes refer to in the phrase, stepping out in faith, or in a secular sense, a leap of faith. Faith needs to be put into action or it is worthless. In the Epistle of James, there is a lengthy teaching on this subject concerning both saving faith and enacting our faith in our daily lives. He basically sums things up in two statements.

James 2:17 (King James Version)

¹⁷Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

James 2:26 (King James Version)

²⁶For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

If I know how to play the piano and I have faith that if I depress the proper keys the result will be the tune or melody that I desire, it is worthless if I do not actually sit down and play the piano. My faith would be dead in that it is of no use until I bring it to life by actually performing the action. The action that allows the opportunity for the desired result to come about is the necessary ingredient for living faith. Putting faith into action is the power that we have as we trust God in our daily lives.

Let’s take another look at Hebrews, chapter 11.

Hebrews 11:1-3 (King James Version)

¹Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

²For by it the elders obtained a good report.

³Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

We see here that through faith and the exercise of it that the elders obtained good report. That is to say that they found favor in the sight of God for putting their faith into action. The verse is not there to merely inform us that a few select people were able to find favor in the sight of God. The lesson is that this is how we are likewise able to find favor in the sight of God, by putting our faith into action. Read through the entire chapter which is sometimes referred to as the Faith Hall of Fame. Read it with the understanding that the people listed here were men and women that were no different than us. They, however, put their faith into action. When God called upon them, and others, they listened, eventually accepted, believed and obeyed the Word of God. That is no different than the call upon our lives to listen to, accept and believe the Word of God and then put it into action. Read it and look at the faith steps that were necessary for each person. Go back and read the account of each person. Look at the obstacles that had to be overcome and the doubts that had to be put to rest. Look at the convictions that needed to be established in order to put the faith into action.

Here are a few of the examples from chapter 11.

⁴By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

⁷By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

⁸By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

¹¹Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.

²³By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment. (And it goes into the story of Moses and his steps of faith.)

There are many stories that show faith being put into action. We are responsible for putting faith into action and that action is what allows God to work through us and in our lives to have a positive impact for the Kingdom of God. Without such action it is not possible to please God as we see in one example that I passed over. Verses 5 and 6 tell of Enoch.

Hebrews 11:5-6 (King James Version)

⁵By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

⁶But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

“Before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” Don’t miss the order here. The testimony that he pleased God was established before he received the reward. Can that be said of us, that we pleased God? The answer is most likely, sometimes. It saddens my heart that I can only say sometimes as I know that my self-centered ways are not pleasing to God. It is also an encouragement to know that Enoch was not perfect and was a man just as I am. He was a man who had sin and who had need of a Savior. He was a man who strived to act in faith and to please God. He was obviously a man who repented of his wrong doing and trusted fully in God for his deliverance and salvation.

Look at verse 6 again. “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” What do we see here?

· Faith is needed to please God.

· It is necessary to believe in God.

· It is necessary to believe that God rewards those who diligently seek Him.

Putting faith into action and ascribing the proper object to that faith is necessary both in daily life and in our eternal destination. To walk with God requires belief and trust that He is who He says He is and that He will do what He says He will do. If we fulfill these two requirements and put actions to our faith, we will be pleasing to God as we diligently seek Him. And for eternity sake, he is our salvation unto eternal life free from the curse of sin and death. The alternative is eternal life in suffering the wrath of God for our unbelief in the lake of fire which was prepared for Satan and the angels who rebelled against God. Where will your eternity be spent? Cry out to God now to show you the truth and to deliver you from the reward of sin and unto the reward of faith.

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2011 Cornerstone Church of Blaine - a set on Flickr

2011-01-23T20:42:00.001-06:00

12 pictures uploaded from the Gridiron Saints Trophy Presentation Party. Thanks to Glenn and Toni for hosting our little bash.

Cornerstone Church of Blaine Fantasy Football League, Gridiron Saints, trophy presentation party during the NFC Championship Game.

2011 Cornerstone Church of Blaine - a set on Flickr

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Midnight Poetry

2011-01-10T07:14:00.001-06:00

Redeem This Soul

What be there in me, Lord, that be worth redeeming?

What be there in me, but my soul, which is me?

Cast away this flesh, Lord, which in sin restrains me.

Redeem my soul, Lord, which doth belong to Thee.

What can I do, Lord, without Your redeeming?

What part of me, even my soul, belongeth to me?

I have no power in myself, no hope to redeem me.

Redeeming my soul, Lord, resteth with Thee.

When will I see, Lord, my soul Thou redeeming?

Will deep in my soul, believing, see You free me?

Even my believing, is not enough to redeem me.

Only believing, Lord, that proceedeth from Thee.

What good in my life, Lord, there be worth redeeming?

What good in this soul, Lord, hath originated with me?

But for Your mercy, there be no one to redeem me.

But for Your grace, Lord, love that floweth from Thee.

When is the time, Lord, for me, Your redeeming?

When will this soul, Lord, truly be free in me?

I'll be Your new creation, a new body about me.

No more corruption, Lord, from my presence with Thee.

Why should I fret, Lord, about Thy redeeming?

Why should my soul, be troubled within me?

For it is Your promise, Your peace deep within me.

It is a faithfulness, Lord, that comes only from Thee.

I anxiously await, Lord, that time of redeeming.

That day when with You, be forever with me.

I'll remember no more, this sinful flesh upon me.

Only clothed by Your grace, Lord, forever with Thee.

This was born out of my prayers as I lay in bed at 11:45PM last night. As I was conversing with God I thought it sounded poetic. Good poetry? I guess you can decide for yourself. As for me, it was the yearning of my heart and I like it. I wrote it on QuickOffice in bed, in the dark, on my Droid 2. It cleared my head and I was asleep by 12:45AM.

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Life_According_To_Sarge :: View topic - The Eternal Christ

2011-01-08T22:42:00.000-06:00

Life_According_To_Sarge :: View topic - The Eternal Christ

Finally posted the Christmas message. Challenge your way of thinking.

A Day of Mercies

2011-01-08T12:35:00.002-06:00

Yesterday began like many other Fridays as the alarm clocks began making their existence known at 5AM. I awaken fairly easily in the morning as I become healthier and thus sleep better. On this day I was able to rise immediately and head downstairs go through my normal morning routine. After checking my bank balances I got sucked into viewing a couple of web sites that I enjoy and lost track of the time. It was at that point of realization that the morning became rushed as I would be getting to my truck an hour later than I had originally planned though thankfully I had no early work scheduled.

I gathered up the briefcase, laptop and lunch cooler and hurried to the car to make the 20 minute journey to my work truck. Passing through town and turning south, I found myself second in line behind a slow start driver. The driver was the sort that seemingly makes a three count before depressing the gas pedal after the light displays green, proceeds at 5mph below the posted speed limit regardless of what it is and never closes within fewer than 8 car lengths when traffic is moving. I don’t recall praying for improved patience, but it was a testing of my attitude as I was trapped until this person turned off just after crossing the bridge over the Mississippi River.

Anxious to pick up the pace, I raced up to the mini-van in front of me only to find that the driver of said vehicle evidently approved of the driving style which I thought we were escaping. At that very moment I realized that the semaphore was now displaying red. I was in a hurry and paid my dues in this traffic so I was not stopping. Well, maybe not such a good decision. It was one of those times when I immediately knew the choice was not good and that I could pay the price for it. This was the time that upon checking the mirror I spied the squad car swinging around the corner taking up residence behind me.

I did all the right things as I pulled over and greeted the officer safely out of traffic. I had all the proper information ready for him on the cold winter morning. Basically I made it easy and safe for him to do his job. While he was running a few checks as he put it, I said a short prayer. I told God that I knew I was guilty and that I didn’t deserve any mercy, but if He would somehow allow the officer to see past my actions and grant me a warning rather than a fine, I would certainly be appreciative. I was resigned to the fact that my clean driving record was now to be stained once again. To my surprise and delight mercy was granted. I was handed a warning and told that tickets are expensive so I ought to be more careful.

I was thankful and calmer for the remainder of the day and reminded of the greatest mercies that had been shown to me. Sinner that I was, and am, I have no right to demand forgiveness or pardon. Yet, in my sinfulness God did offer me that mercy. He showed me that Jesus had gone to the cross and took upon Himself the wrath of God that was meant for me. He paid the price for my sinfulness and unbelief. All that was required of me was to trust in Him and His sacrifice. I was offered mercy when I deserved punishment. The rest of my day was lived out with much better perspective and contentment.

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2011 - New Year - New Beginnings

2011-01-02T11:10:00.000-06:00

The last four months have seemed out of control from a time management point of view. My last blog was September 11 Remembrance on 09/11/10. I have had plenty of things to blog about in that time, I just didn't make the time to do it. In 2011 I would like to get back to the blogging and redevelopment of my web site in a more refined way than I have done in the past. I would very much like to have a blog and a site that is entertaining and that has fresh, quality posts that others can enjoy. My life needs to take a turn toward cleaning up, packing up and minimizing the stuff that surrounds me. Enough of the life of clutter and the half done. It is time for me to look at what is around me with a use it or lose it mentality that will simplify my daily living. In fact, I came up with a basic outline to implement while in prayer this morning.

Spirituality: Prayer, Fasting,Tithing
Time Management: Spiritual, Personal, Professional
Organization: Time, Diet & Exercise, Surroundings

Spiritual/Prayer: Specific with knee time.
Spiritual/Fasting: Done regularly with purpose and prayer.
Spiritual/Tithing: Time, talents and treasure.
Time/Spiritual: Regular, structured time for spiritual growth.
Time/Personal: Devoted to physical, mental and emotional rejuvenation.
Time/Professional: Regulate schedule; attention to detail.
Organization/Time: Schedule what is necessary, seek God on balance.
Organization/D&E: Dedicate regularly scheduled time; attain goals.
Organization/Surroundings: Clean up, pack up, minimize.

It is not that none of these things were being done in my life already; they all existed to some extent. The key for me this year is to get a handle on my time management and to be deliberate about what I am doing. My health has slowly improved in the final quarter of 2010 and I have lost a built in excuse for falling short. The truth is that I need to be disciplined if I desire to be productive. This doesn't mean going back to the days of having a day planner with every minute accounted for when every little thing had to be scheduled. I do need to prioritize and work with a purpose in order to accomplish the things I would like to do. One key part is to leave open time for relaxation and for those things that God brings across my path.

One thing I ignored the past few months was writing on the church web site which was not only for others, but also helped me to study and keep focused. Today I offered the following post to my blog there, All About Prayer.

Resolution time has arrived once again. It seems a good time to evaluate actions of the past and to ponder the improvements that could be made in the immediate future. All aspects of our lives are in play from our physical condition, to our surroundings, to our mental and emotional state, even our spirituality. These are not stand alone areas since each aspect of our lives affects, or at least influences, the others. When determining how we will move forward from this point, all parts of our lives must be considered, evaluated and prioritized. This activity actually happens with every decision we make whether we are consciously aware of it happening or not. Perhaps our lone resolution for 2011 could be to become consciously aware of the process so as to make better decisions in our day to day lives.
For those of us who profess to be Christians, that is to be followers of Christ, our prioritization ought to begin with our spirituality. Does it really matter if we lose weight, exercise more or achieve any other goal if our relationship with God suffers set back or even stagnates? This brings to question whether we are actually living for Christ or living for self. So what are our 2011 resolutions? Do our lists begin with something of true spiritual importance?
It seems a good time to evaluate actions of the past and to ponder the improvements that could be made in the immediate future. How are we doing concerning some of the basic spiritual disciplines?
·         Time spent in prayer, both personal and corporate.
·         Giving of time, talents and treasure in service to God.
·         Times of fasting to seek God, to grow closer to God, seeking His will.
·         Ministering to the needs of others on a personal level, one to one.
·         Ministering to the saints, the body of Christ, as a function of church life.
·         Time in Scripture: reading, studying, learning, teaching.
·         Taking up the cross: self-denial of the things of this world.

What will we do in and with 2011 that will improve upon what we did in and with 2010? A good place to begin would be reading, meditating on, and putting into action, Chapter Six of the Letter to the Ephesians. Remember that as Christians our first duty is to draw near to God, seek Him first and live a life of obedience to His call upon us. Are we at least wiling to begin this New Year in prayer to God asking Him to help us determine our resolutions? Prayer is the one activity that we know will give us access to the power that enables success. Are we willing to actually live out our profession and experience a spiritual revival within each of us that will spill over into all areas of our lives?

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September 11 Remembrance

2010-09-11T14:34:00.000-05:00

September 11 Remembrance

A short story on my site about today's local event.

Saturday, 11 September 2010 13:20 Written by John Schaenzer

Traveling east on Main Street in Anoka will bring one into the city of Coon Rapids and the bridge that passes over Highway 10 in Anoka County. The bridge is the site of today’s local remembrance of the tragedy of 09/11 when the attack occurred on the Twin Towers, the World Trade Center in New York, New York. Today local residents joined Marine enlistees, the Coon Rapids Fire Department and others as they flew flags and displayed banners reminding passersby of the anniversary.

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Working Roadtrip

2010-09-07T00:18:00.000-05:00

: Arriving at Racine, Wisconsin

I take road trips a small number of times each year for my job. A customer is really in a tight spot or needs special handling for the materials being shipped to call us and pay our rates for these multi-hundred mile treks.
Today the drive takes me to Racine, Wisconsin, which is just south of Milwaukee. I made the pick up at noon on Saturday and held it until today to deliver it at 10:00 PM. The factory was closed for Labor Day until the night shift came on duty.
The drive was rolling along smoothly until I got down around the Wisconsin Dells area at which point the traffic was pretty much stop and go through Madison. When I-90 and I-94 parted company, the traffic heading toward Milwaukee thinned out for awhile.
I was listening to the Brewers/Cardinals baseball game and began to realize that the timing of the game's end and my passing the stadium was going to be all to close to one another. The other factor I considered was that the people that were leaving the game may not be to happy as the Brewers had lost the game. A St. Louis 6 run 8th inning blew open a 2-2 game and included a grand slam. Milwaukee came back to make it 8-6, but they failed to get the win with the tieing run at the plate ending the 9th inning.

: Knight's Inn - Racine, WI

I survived the traffic slowdowns and congestion to arrive at Racine after a 7-1/2 hour drive. Looking primarily at budget, I chose the Knight's Inn to stay at on Monday night. The legal length of shift and driving hours pretty much dictated the decision to spend the night. Had I driven back tonight, I would have been too fried to work tomorrow anyhow. I used a friend's site that to reserve the room and save approximately 24% on the room rate. Take a peek at Take-A-Peek Travel when you need to reserve a room on the fly.
If I make it back in time to handle a delivery or two tomorrow, it will be gravy. I just need to be back in time for our golf league championship.

Also visit our Forum at: http://truthdriven.8.forumer.com/

Logo Plaque

2010-09-05T16:37:00.001-05:00

SG Woodcarving is the company of Jeff Houchins that takes digital photos and produces wood carvings from them. After seeing a number of carvings he did, in photos and in person, I decided to call him about producing a carving of my logo.

After a few contacts of correspondence between us, we reached agreement about what would be done. I had emailed a couple of digital jpeg files to Jeff and he let me know what would and wouldn't work. He gave me the pricing and I selected the size of the plaque with the corresponding price point.

I am very satisfied with the finished product that I received today. Of the 30 or so people to whom I showed the plaque today, there were many compliments and all smiles.

I sent my first contact to Jeff via email on August 28. 8 days later I have in hand a carved, stained, polyurethaned plaque of my company logo. The product quality, the service and the communications were all excellent.

If you are looking for an excellent product for yourself or as a gift, I encourage you to check out his work at http://home.comcast.net/~houchpotato/site/?/home/ or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=107911319263614 . I encourage you to contact Jeff to see what he can do for you. The holidays aren't far away and memories make nice gifts.

Also visit our Forum at: http://truthdriven.8.forumer.com/

Breakfast In Bed

2010-09-05T08:30:00.000-05:00

I sit in my bed surrounded by the chilly autumn air and wrapped in a cozy comforter while surfing the web and eating leftovers from last night's spaghetti dinner. This is the sort of morning that the wife and I, back in the day, would declare as a Ma and Pa Kettle day.

Back in the day, pre-kids, the night before the morning after could get fairly long. The wife and I could stay in bed almost as long as we wanted to. We had a TV in the bedroom and just hung out there. If anyone left the bedroom for any reason (bathroom, food, dogs, etc.), the person had to bring back food or refreshment for the other party.

We didn't have cable or satellite back then, so we had to settle for the local channels. About mid to late morning, one channel played old Ma and Pa Kettle movies which we usually watched before getting up for the activities we had planned that Saturday. Quite often those plans repeated Friday night's activities.

Since then, one of us will occasionally declare a Ma & Pa Kettle day upon waking up. No plans, no hurry, stay in bed, pop in a movie, eat and drink (usually junk), etc., etc. (babies? 4?)

This is where we get the term, Ma & Pa Kettle Day.

But alas, the wife is at work so I spend the morning with the mistress before heading out into the morning light to worship God with friends.

Back when I spent long, late nights on the PC, my wife nicknamed it "The Mistress". It was a fairly appropriate nickname.

Along came the laptop, which promptly became known as, "The Mistress's Daughter".

Later on I obtained a Blackberry, complete with browser and internet capabilities. Yes, the mistress has a granddaughter.

It's usually a good gag. The tone of voice during reference usually dictates the level of humor, or lack thereof.

After a couple hours of surfing, we, uh, I mean I, head to my YouTube page to see what's happening. Still no update from Seanie B. on the final episode of Lost, I guess it's time to give up on that one. But hey, there is a new vid from Improv Everywhere. I like a lot of their work and not always for their improv, but frequently for the looks and reactions of the onlooking, unsuspecting public such as in Star Wars on the subway or Ghostbusters in the library. The new effort put forth is Black Tie Beach. So grab your spaghetti, cozy up in that comforter and meander over to my YouTube page and scroll down to my subscriptions where you can click on Improv Everywhere. And don't dribble on the sheets.

Also visit our Forum at: http://truthdriven.8.forumer.com/

30AUG10 Rat Dogs

2010-08-30T21:16:00.002-05:00

30AUG10 Rat Dogs
Originally uploaded by Sarge Jan08

Today's daily pic is of the rat dogs, my name for these guests. Day 1 of 3 for the visitors, reminding why I don't have my own pets. We love to help out Cindy, occasional visits are enough for me.

When my wife's sister leaves town, these two gals frequently land at our place. They are a good reminder of the freedom I have to pick up and go without pets. I have no desire to tend to the needs of animals except in the service to others. For some people the work is worth the companionship and the emotional bonds grow stronger over time. I have had my share of pets over time from my youth through my twenties. Now at fifty-one, I have no desire of pets.

The last pets I had were a pair of collies, Barney and Clyde. I have many very good memories of those dogs and the enjoyment they provided for me. I also remember the time of bankruptcy in the early eighties when I had to choose whether to feed them or my two daughters. It was a very difficult day as I gave my friends away for the sake of my family. I think that is when my desire for pets ended.

Life_According_To_Sarge :: View topic - Heavenly Minded

2010-08-21T08:59:00.000-05:00

Life_According_To_Sarge :: View topic - Heavenly Minded

This is the message to be delivered at Suite Living in Blaine, Mn. Come join us if you are in the area.

Not The Place To Be

2010-08-16T12:28:00.002-05:00

16AUG10 Dealer Shop
Originally uploaded by Sarge Jan08

On a Monday during the prime mid-morning production time, sitting at the dealer shop is not the place that I want to be. The truck may now be paid off, but 4 years later it still demands a payment of some sort.

I noticed that it was turning over a little more on the stiff side on Friday and wondered if it was misperception on my part, the heat getting to it or if there was a developing issue. Today the truck seemed to crank even slower and I became concerned about eventually being stranded somewhere. Of course we know that wouldn't happen unless I had three deliveries on board, two of them rushes and far away from the shop. I decided to take preventive action and sacrifice the morning for peace of mind.

The electrical checked out perfectly so it is a mystery to me. Now the mechanic wants to check the engine side to see about some noise. It is possible that an injector is going out yet again and the somewhat loss of power the past week was more than the heat, lack of additive to the fuel and the A/C compressor being fully engaged which also turns on the fan and draws down on the power.

Well, if it's not one thing, it's another. If it's not another, then it's something else. And if it's not something else, then it must be something completely different. And doesn't it always happen right after the disposable income has been spent? Timing is everything.

09AUG10 Humidity

2010-08-09T20:50:00.002-05:00

09AUG10 Humidity
Originally uploaded by Sarge Jan08

The thick humidity with this heat is oppressive without a breeze or A/C. We went to the OCB for dinner to sit in the air conditioning and as usual, I ate more than I needed to. So now it is like post Thanksgiving dinner with the external pressures knocking me down. bllllaaaaahhhhh!

Pray and Play Retreat Part 4 of 4

2010-08-08T16:10:00.001-05:00

Saturday morning at 7:45AM had our group gathering in the living room with common descriptions of soreness and fatigue from the active play on Friday. We began the day with a talk about praying for the lost followed by discussion of what our role is in the course of salvation for both the effective prayer and the practical witness.

After being served another excellent breakfast, we regrouped in the living room so Pastor Ron could present a lesson on listening to God followed by a short quiet time. We came back together and began the process of praying for all of the families in our congregation using the church directory and notes of the newer attendees. This procedure carried through a time period on the pontoon and in the van on the ride home. We cleared out of the house we had been staying in and loaded our gear into the van.

We took the pontoon out for a lunch cruise and found a calm spot near the lily pads to dine. We dined on sloppy joes, pasta salad, baked beans and an excellent strawberry dessert. We had plenty of laughs as we enjoyed one another’s company. After lunch we had a little free time as Ron took a couple of the kids on a short tubing ride while driving the speed boat over to the landing to pull it out of the water.

The ride home included a little bit of debate and lots of laughs as well as the finishing of our praying through the directory. We had a discussion about the retreat; what people liked and what they would like to see changed and then a suggestion time for ideas for the prayer ministry. All in all, people seemed to enjoy themselves and found value in attending the pray and play weekend. Thanks to Jeff for driving and for the use of his van for the transportation. Thanks to Pastor Ron for providing the facilities and giving us the last couple days of his vacation time there. And a special thanks to the great ladies at Mogasheen Resort who prepared the fabulous meals for us, including the wonderful desserts.

Read the full article.

Pray and Play Retreat Part 3 of 4

2010-08-08T16:00:00.001-05:00

After lunch we had a session on Effective Prayer. As I said, it was after lunch so some eyelids were looking fairly heavy. People did perk up however as a lively discussion ended the session. The lesson was mainly on switching our prayer motivations from being self-serving to God glorifying and God’s will in the situation being prayed about. The discussion took a bit of a turn to whether or not our reason for being created was to simply glorify God or if there was more than that and also considered how much God truly wills for our individual daily decisions in life.

We then had free time from approximately 1:30 to 3:00PM. Some napped or sat and relaxed while others took care of some personal matters such as sermon prep or photo and blog uploads. At 3:00PM the speed boat was loaded into the water and the water skis and tubes were about to get wet. Some skied and tubed while others went along for the ride and watched. It was a warm, sunny afternoon that we were blessed with for some fun. The most popular comments dealt with being sore from using muscles differently than normal and wait to see how you feel tomorrow. Other than Jeff banging his knee jumping into the water behind the boat and Josiah taking a skidding slide across the gravel road that he was running on, we seemed to survive the afternoon with no casualties.

At 5:30 we had a short session before dinner which was an hour later. Having covered praise, thanksgiving and intercession earlier in the day, we now focused on confession. This was mainly a solo effort as we received a copy of a reprint from Finney dealing with the sin that we sometimes ignore or deal with in less than a sincere manner. We each went to a spot where we could sit alone to read the 3 pages and do a little self-introspection and confession. I know that I will have to address this one again as the allotted time did not seem to do it justice.

Dinner was what I would call a spaghetti lasagna, salad, garlic bread and milk or Kool-Aid. We were treated to a chocolate cake, pudding and whipped cream dessert that was very good to top off the fabulous dinner. The gals at the resort have provided excellent meals for us throughout our visit and we are grateful for their efforts.

After dinner at the picnic tables, we headed back to the house and spent about 45 minutes praying for the Cornerstone mission, vision and 2010 goals. We were then free for the night which included a Rook game and laughing at some of each other’s favorite YouTube videos.

Pray and Play Retreat Part 2 of 4

2010-08-06T15:04:00.003-05:00

06JULY10 Pray and Play 08
Originally uploaded by Sarge Jan08

This morning we began at 7:45 with a pre-breakfast session, then had breakfast together in the house. After breakfast we had a message on praise and thanksgiving, took 10 minutes to reflect on our own prayer lives and our approach to God before gathering together for an outdoor activity.

We occupied 2 canoes and 4 kayaks and set course for the island. Along the way each person prayed alone quietly offering praise and thanksgiving to God. On the island we hiked across to a campsite where we settled in to hear some more thoughts on praise and thanksgiving before praying as a group. We reloaded into the watercraft and made the trip back to the resort for a lunch outside at the picnic tables.

After lunch we went back to the house and heard a message on effective prayer followed by a discussion about determining how a prayer was effective or not.

Pray and Play Retreat Part 1 of 4

2010-08-06T01:37:00.001-05:00

The Pray and Play Retreat is a time for us to get away and focus on prayer. There is teaching followed by application and then conversation regarding the topic and experience. Between each session is time to play and enjoy the beautiful area here at Mogasheen resort near Cable, Wisconsin.

We all rode up here together in a 12 passenger van and over the three hour ride we took time to discuss prayer and had a short time of prayer. We learned of the backgrounds of each other concerning prayer in our upbringing and we discussed our current prayer habits. We also talked about why we were along on this adventure, all with differing reasons.

We arrived at 9:45PM and unloaded the van. We were shown our rooms and were free to explore our surroundings. Four of us went for a moonlight swim and then headed to the pool which felt like a hot tub after swimming in the refreshingly cool lake. After a little conversation time, people wandered to their beds. 7:45AM is start time in the morning.

Cancer cells slurp up fructose, U.S. study finds | Reuters

2010-08-04T21:22:00.001-05:00

Cancer cells slurp up fructose, U.S. study finds | Reuters

Better re-evaluate the diet I think.

27JULY10 Rainbow

2010-07-27T21:23:00.002-05:00

27JULY10 Rainbow
Originally uploaded by Sarge Jan08

On the golf course tonight I knew that a full round would not be completed. Although I did not know if I would get wet, I did know that at some point there would be lightning in those clouds. The wind was picking up as the front approached with a varying degree of darkness in the clouds that trailed. I teed off and hit the ball a little higher than I desired and the wind actually stopped it's forward progress and pushed it back before it returned to terra firma. Then came the sound of the horn, the blast that signals us to clear the course. Sure enough, lightning had shown itself. Game Over!

After a bite to eat, we rushed through the downpour and splashed through the parking lot to our cars. On my way home which was against the flow of the storm, I emerged on the backside to see a double rainbow. It was quite bright and the vibrant colors had me wishing that the camera was in the car. By the time I got home, this was the best shot that I could get of the rainbow's remains.

The humidity of the 94 degree day made it quite obvious that storms would be bubbling up at some point. They came about a hour to early for my game, or an hour too late the way I was playing. In any case, there is a tornado watch for the next two hours. Another day of turbulent summer weather in Minnesota.

25JULY10 Church

2010-07-25T14:22:00.003-05:00

25JULY10 Church
Originally uploaded by Sarge Jan08

It's Sunday so it is off to the real social network. Cornerstone Church of Blaine currently meets in the auditorium at Blaine High School in Blaine, Mn. Until such time as we have our own church building, signs like this one need to be put up and taken down every Sunday. We also need to haul in all of the sound equipment, band equipment and other items for things such as nursery and fellowship time snacks and liquids.

The Pastor is going through a series on responsible church membership. The message today was basically on graciousness as we form a community. Our time, talents and treasures are to be shared for helping one another when a need arises. This is when the love of Christ really shines through for all to see. It also stretches the faith of all involved resulting in spiritual growth and trust in God.

Having been on the giving and the receiving ends of this practice, I was asked by the Pastor to participate in a Q&A session as he concluded the sermon. He asked me about various situations in my life when giving and receiving and how it affected me and my family. The sermon recording should include this and will be posted to the church website in the near future. Meanwhile, I documented the main event I talked about as I was going through a 23 week shoulder surgery recovery. It is on my Forum site in the section, 2008 Road to Recovery.

Favre Season

2010-07-25T07:40:00.000-05:00

I wrote the following article with the express purpose of submitting it to the site, Pardon My Bias. I have just submitted it and now I wait to see if they find it worthy of publishing.

Favre Season
John Schaenzer
July 25, 2010

There have always been two major seasons each year in the Twin Cities, winter and road construction. Last summer a new season was interjected as the Vikings fans were introduced to Favre season with the swirling drama of will he or won’t he play or retire. In an area where newscasts are regularly driven by weather and traffic, the Favre watch interjected itself to overwhelming levels. There was even a helicopter with video coverage of Coach Brad Childress picking up his new quarterback from the airport akin to the O.J. low speed pursuit.
Read the complete article at Truth Driven LLC.

24JULY10 Inception

2010-07-25T00:34:00.003-05:00

24JULY10 Inception
Originally uploaded by Sarge Jan08

THE DAILY

The theater logo kinda shows. I should have covered the flash. It was crisp and clear until the flash went off. Inception at Showplace 16 and then dinner at Casa Rio. I reviewed both the dinner and the movie on my site, www.truthdrivenllc.com. Just click reviews in the menu at the top of the page.

Inception, Movie Review

2010-07-25T00:12:00.000-05:00

I wondered for awhile if the new DiCaprio movie was going to be over the top weird or if it had more rhyme and reason than the trailer showed. I am happy to say that there was plenty of rhyme and reason. Inception was directed by Christopher Nolan and starred Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page. I was also happy to see a few more recognizable faces as the movie played on.
I was glad that I heeded this advice and I now pass it on to whoever reads this.

Read my full review at Truth Driven LLC.

Casa Rio

2010-07-24T23:23:00.002-05:00

If you are near Anoka, Mn, this joint is well worth stopping at for dinner.

I took photos and wrote a review for it tonight.

""

Tonight after Sue and I went to see Inception at the local theater, we headed to downtown Anoka for dinner at Casa Rio.This was our third time at the restaurant and each time is as good as the last. The friendly staff and excellent food keep us coming back. To the best of my knowledge, they have only been open a few months, so 3 times for us, not counting the time I stopped to pick up some Apple Chimi desserts on the way home from work, is pretty good.

See my full review with photos at http://www.truthdrivenllc.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=127%3Acasa-rio-anoka&catid=54%3Adining-reviews&Itemid=76

Life_According_To_Sarge : Five Crowns In Heaven

2010-07-24T12:29:00.001-05:00

Comforts of Home is now Suite Living. Cornerstone Church of Blaine provides a church service for the seniors on various Saturdays each month. Today I delivered the message which you can read at the following link and see the rewards that await you.

Life_According_To_Sarge :: View topic - Five Crowns In Heaven.

Stand Up For New York

2010-07-21T22:18:00.000-05:00

In recent weeks, the press have highlighted several troublesome issues with regards to the construction of the proposed Cordoba Mosque in lower Manhattan:

The Imam in charge of the construction refused to acknowledge that Hamas is a terrorist organization. (New York Post, 6/19/10)

The Imam of the project is a member of Perdana Global, the single largest funder of the flotilla that tried to break the blockade of Gaza by Israeli defense forces. (New York Post, 6/5/10)

The questionable background of the funding sources for the construction of the Mosque. (New York Post, 5/25/10)

Given that the Cordoba Initiative is a registered charitable organization with the New York Attorney General’s Office, it would be the height of irresponsibility for Andrew Cuomo not to conduct a thorough investigation of the previous items highlighted by the media with respect to the construction of this Mosque in lower Manhattan.

The people have the right to know if this “charity” is using its resources in a legitimate, legal, and charitable way.

Join us and add your name to this list of your fellow New Yorkers and tell Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to investigate the Cordoba Initiative.

http://lazio.com/p.cfm?s=1000&p=469

20JULY10 Canned Carp

2010-07-20T21:56:00.002-05:00

20JULY10 Canned Carp
Originally uploaded by Sarge Jan08

Today on a delivery from Buffalo to Albert Lea in Minnesota, I stopped at a rest area just south of Owatonna on I35. I read the historical marker about the history of canneries in the area. Look at the bottom of the sign and ask yourself WHY? Canned Carp? Was this experimental or was there a market for it?

Procrastination Pie Chart

2010-07-19T21:29:00.001-05:00

Credit to Demitri Martin

Mineral Wealth

2010-07-18T20:55:00.002-05:00

I came across a tweet referencing a New York Times article, U.S. Identifies Vast Mineral Riches in Afghanistan. The new cry can be that we are only in Afghanistan for the lithium. Liberty is a smoke screen and the U.S. took down it's own towers as an excuse to mine Afghanistan. Oh yes, I can hear it now.

The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials.

So if we are busy fighting a war against the Taliban, who did have the time for the necessary geological studies? If this is true, we can expect corporations to start positioning themselves to set up shop in that part of the world. They can be friendly and charming until all systems are in place and then the government over there can step in and nationalize the operations. They need us only to get things rolling with the technology that would enable the efficient mining of the materials.

An internal Pentagon memo, for example, states that Afghanistan could become the "Saudi Arabia of lithium," a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and BlackBerrys.

That is all we need, another Saudi Arabia to hold us over a barrel as it were. And what of the warlords that gain their wealth from opium production? Will they really leave it all alone for others to enjoy the profits? Will they go straight as businessmen?
I am not against helping their economy or even participating in the extraction of said ores. I would like to see some caution and due diligence before we become dependent on yet another country who would rather see us dead.

What I Can't Say

2010-07-18T20:26:00.000-05:00

One day in the not to distant future all bloggers may need to ask the question or face the wrath of the federal government. What am I permitted to say and what am I forbidden from speaking about? This may seem to be a bit over the top, but looking at how the current administration operates and at some happenings around the world it may be a closer reality than we think.
On February 28, 2009, I wrote a blog titled, When They Silence The Opposition. In the post I was primarily dealing with the Fairness Doctrine and Localism. It was a concern of the administration's view that, akin to the Tass News Agency, they should be able to control the news and opinion that the masses receive via the airwaves, and now the internet. The matter at stake is our freedom of speech. In order to control the people, free speech must be curtailed. Just ask anyone from Nazi Germany, Soviet Union, China, Iran or Cuba.
Here are a few of the items that raise my level of concern. One is the internet kill switch that gives a President power to shut down the internet. In a day when politics involves "never letting a good crisis go to waste" as a strategy, what could be conjured up by an administration to deem it necessary to shut things down at a time that is opportune to them? From FOXNews.com:

A Senate bill would offer President Obama emergency control of the Internet and may give him a "kill switch" to shut down online traffic by seizing private networks -- a move cybersecurity experts worry will choke off industry and civil liberties.
Details of a revamped version of the Cybersecurity Act of 2009 emerged late Thursday, months after an initial version authored by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.V., was blasted in Silicon Valley as dangerous government intrusion.
"In the original bill they empowered the president to essentially turn off the Internet in the case of a 'cyber-emergency,' which they didn't define," said Larry Clinton, president of the Internet Security Alliance, which represents the telecommunications industry.

Another is appointments such as the nomination of former Yale Law School Dean Harold Koh as legal adviser for the State Department. Bringing international law into play and overriding our own laws opens the door to removing our national sovereignty from the world stage just as state sovereignty has been all but removed from the national stage. From wnd.com:

In Fordham Law Review, Koh asserted that the U.S. "Supreme Court is divided between two judicial camps: the transnationalists and the nationalists." Koh considers himself a transnationalist and justices Roberts, Scalia and Alito nationalists.
Koh explained the differences between these two judicial philosophies. According to Koh, transnationalist judges look to U.S. interdependence, whereas nationalists tend to look to U.S. autonomy. Transnationalists think about how U.S. law fits into a framework of transnational law, while nationalists see a rigid foreign and domestic divide. Transnationalists think that courts can "domesticate" international law (make it part of our law), whereas nationalists think that only the political branches can. Transnationalists favor the development of a global legal system, while nationalists prefer a national legal system.
In other words, nationalists don't believe that it's appropriate to look to foreign law in interpreting our Constitution. They believe that only the political branches, not the courts, can adopt provisions of international law, and they don't believe in slavish deference to global legal authorities, such as the International Criminal Court.
Transnationalists clearly believe in an ever-changing, living Constitution and reject originalism (interpreting the Constitution according to its original understanding). They are obviously globalists, not overly concerned with American's national sovereignty. They see the international community, in the words of Koh, as a "community of reason" and believe that American judges, in interpreting our Constitution, can resort to this "community of reason" (foreign laws) to choose between two "plausible" legal positions. Indeed, Koh wrote approvingly of United States Supreme Court decisions acknowledging "evolving standards of decency" and that we may look to this global community of reason to determine what those standards are.

Then comes this article posted today on World Net Daily,

'Thought police' slam media with fine totaling $125,000

Whether it is out of the book "1984" or whether it is the changing political and social landscape, the thought police are on their way to a laptop near you. There is a video in the article that is well worth seeing. An elderly lady who disagreed with an event was harassed first by participants and later by authorities. Free speech is going by the wayside. Once gone, those in power can control the information flow. Or should I say disinformation?
The bogus "Hate Crimes" bills and legislation that are popular these days are no more than a smoke screen for moving forward agendas that the majority of citizens would be against if given the truth and the choice. It is all part of the rampant deceit in politics as language is reinvented and nuances are parsed such as wondering what the definition of "is" is.

Timothy Noah, Posted Sunday, Sept. 13, 1998, at 9:14 PM ETYears from now, when we look back on Bill Clinton's presidency, its defining moment may well be Clinton's rationalization to the grand jury about why he wasn't lying when he said to his top aides that with respect to Monica Lewinsky, "there's nothing going on between us." How can this be? Here's what Clinton told the grand jury (according to footnote 1,128 in Starr's report):
"It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is. If the--if he--if 'is' means is and never has been, that is not--that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement....Now, if someone had asked me on that day, are you having any kind of sexual relations with Ms. Lewinsky, that is, asked me a question in the present tense, I would have said no. And it would have been completely true."

And back to my article of 02/28/09:

But why would the Government want to control what the people hear? The reason the recent rash of spending bills have been pushed through quickly, always a crisis that needs immediate attention, is that the longer the wait for the vote, the more the people learn, the more they get upset, the more they speak up, the more they contact their legislators. As each day passes, the public opinion drops and the vote is made more difficult. As the ruling party tries to push through its agenda, they do not want to be questioned or defied.
Funny, one of the ten pillars of communism is:
6. Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the state.

18JULY10 Calling Me

2010-07-18T14:35:00.003-05:00

18JULY10 Calling Me
Originally uploaded by Sarge Jan08

You can't hear it in the photo, but it is calling me. I could break out the Couch Potato Championship t-shirt, but the long sleeves are unnecessary today.

I woke up this morning at 5:45 when the wife went to work, but groggily rolled over returning to lala land. I awoke again at about 8:30 and got out of bed. Through about 10:00 I had that drug hangover feeling. It was a feeling of grogginess that comes from using pain killers or sleeping pills. The odd thing is that I hadn't used any.

I got dressed to a level appropriate for the morning's church attendance and then headed downstairs for a breakfast of leftover bread sticks and a slice of pizza. As usual, I ingested the handful of daily meds.

As I contemplated the time frame between my point of readiness and the service start time, I heard it. I heard it calling to me. "Hey groggy, I'll be here waiting for you after church. Come lay on me. The Twins game is on 29 at 1:00." Certainly I could justify heeding the call as I have been dealing with exhaustion for weeks now and this hung over feeling was no sign of relief from it.

I could even multitask I reasoned. I had blogs to update and photos to upload. Who knows, I could even find something more profitable to do. Or possibly I could just take a nap and hope that it would promote bodily healing. The quality of the Twins performance would probably dictate the role I would undertake.

17July10 Thanks Nate

2010-07-18T13:17:00.003-05:00

17July10 Thanks Nate
Originally uploaded by Sarge Jan08

Thanks to Nate who called me this afternoon to offer me his tickets. While I am sorry that he had a conflict, I am happy to be at the game. He knows that Sue and I are big sports fans and that we would appreciate his offer and put the tickets to good use. Thanks Nate. We had a great time!

This time I finally saw a Twins win after 3 losses in the previous games that I had attended. Whereas the game on Thursday night had Slowey falling behind virtually every batter and causing the game to drag on for over three hours, tonight Pavano pitched quickly and effectively in a 1 hour 52 minute complete game performance. The Twins bested the Whit Sox 3-2 to take a 2-1 game lead in the 4 game series.

The photos from tonight are some of the same as before from around the park, but they also reflect the weather situation of the night. The weather took enough of a break in Minneapolis for the quick game to be played, but the ride home was a bit of an adventure. It was good to find that our home was spared any ill effects from the area's tornadoes and straight line winds and we made it home safely. The pictures and a ride home video can be seen on my Flickr page, or the video alone can be seen on YouTube.

16JULY10 Homeward Bound

2010-07-16T20:42:00.002-05:00

16JULY10 Homeward Bound
Originally uploaded by Sarge Jan08

There is a bill board downtown Minneapolis for a beer. The caption is, "Hell is waiting. But it's a dry heat."

Today was another hot and humid day and I was glad to be done working. Even though there was still money to be made on this busy day, the discomfort from the weather and the pain from health issues provoked me to say enough is enough. By the time I exited the truck, I had put in ten hours so I didn't have any reason to feel guilty.

The display tells the story. Sirius NFL Radio at 4:18pm with the fan on full blowing the A/C in a bi-level fashion sparing me the exterior temperature of 93 degrees Fahrenheit.

A caring wife at home was ready to make my evening as comfortable as possible. Now it is time to head to the bedroom where our little window air conditioning unit will allow me to sleep tonight. I'll pop in a movie and pass out before it ends.

Minnesota Twins Night Game

2010-07-16T20:10:00.003-05:00

15JULY10 Night Game
Originally uploaded by Sarge Jan08

This was my first experience of a night game at Target Field. I have attended two games already but they were both day games.

See more photos on my Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdshnzr/sets/72157624393014253/

I show a great parking spot, a preview of Hrbek's for dining and some shots of the ball park.

The unfortunate thing is that in the first game back after the all star break, the Chicago White Sox beat the home team 8-7. Jim Thome was the winning run at the plate with two out in the bottom of the ninth but he could not stick it to his former team on this occasion. The Twins let numerous opportunities pass them by in a game of terrible pitching and questionable defense. This is not the usual fundamentally sound Twins team that we have grown accustomed to seeing over the past two decades.

We joined Stacy and Aaron for dinner at Hrbek's as they were celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary. They had lower level seats behind home plate while we were in row three of the third deck just beyond first base. The third deck really are pretty good seats. If possible though, sit down the third base line and get the view of the downtown Minneapolis skyline.

14JULY10 Hwy 169 Construction

2010-07-14T20:10:00.002-05:00

14JULY10 Hwy 169 Construction
Originally uploaded by Sarge Jan08

The morning and evening commute between Anoka and Brooklyn Park is 10 miles and passes through a 4-year major project on Hwy 169. This trio of roadways makes up one of the top traffic intersections in the state.

The drive is improving as progress is made and I look forward to the day that it is complete. Highway 169 is being routed over Highway 81 and 85th Avenue which will eliminate two sets of semaphores in that congested area. A series of ramps and bridges will keep traffic flowing through the rush hours. There will still be a few stoplights from 93rd Avenue northward, but life isn't perfect.

For those in the area, here is the summary from the MNDOT site.

2008
Construction of the Hwy 169 Triangle began in July of 2008. Bypasses for Hwy 169 and County Road 81 were built through November of 2008 and traffic was switched onto those bypasses. Traffic on 85th Ave. (County Road 109) was restricted to a single lane in each direction on the eastbound side of the roadway and work began on constructing the north half of 85th Avenue which was completed in early October of 2009. Bridge construction on the bridge over BNSF Railroad and County Road 81 and the new alignment of southbound Hwy 169 began in late fall of 2008 and work continued throughout the winter on the bridges but work on the Highway was suspended and began again this spring 2009.

2009
The 2009 construction season was spent constructing southbound Hwy 169, County Road 81 and the north half of 85th Ave. On the same day, 85th Avenue traffic was switched onto the newly constructed westbound lanes between Jefferson Hwy and Xylon Avenue North. In early October of 2009, County Road 81 traffic was switched to the newly built roadway. Bridge work and retaining wall work will also continue through the end of 2009.

2010
southbound Hwy 169 traffic was switched to the new lanes of southbound Hwy 169. Once the northbound Hwy 169 traffic is switched to the new southbound roadway in the early fall, work will then begin on the new alignment of northbound Hwy 169. The summer of 2010 will also include continued construction of the south half of 85th Ave. Bridge and retaining wall construction will continue in 2010. Reconstruction of 85th Ave will be finished and both east and westbound lanes will be fully open by Fall of 2010.

2011
The final year of construction in 2011 will feature completion of northbound Hwy 169 and traffic will then be moved to the new northbound roadway. As the project wraps up, miscellaneous work will be completed on 85th Ave for final completion in the Fall of 2011.

13JULY10 Acme

2010-07-13T19:29:00.003-05:00

13JULY10 Acme
Originally uploaded by Sarge Jan08

Acme is the age old name for cartoons and businesses. I love delivering to Acme companies because it reminds me of Wile E. Coyote and brings a smile to my face. Evidently this company should call the Acme Sign Co. to get that "M" replaced.

I got curious about what A.C.M.E. actually stood for. So, to Google I went.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acme_Corporation

Here is what I remember:
"The Acme Corporation is a fictional corporation that exists in several cartoons, films and TV series, most significantly in the Looney Tunes universe. It appeared most prominently in the Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons, which made Acme famous for outlandish and downright dangerous products that fail catastrophically at the worst possible times."

Then there is this:
"The company name is ironic since the word acme is derived from Greek (ακμή; English transliteration: acmē) meaning the peak, zenith or prime, and products from the fictional Acme Corporation are both generic and tend to fail.
A.C.M.E. has also been used as a backronym meaning "A Company that Makes Everything". This can be rendered as a recursive acronym ("Acme Company Makes Everything")."

And finally:
"Early Sears catalogs contained a number of products with the "Acme" trademark, including anvils, which are frequently used in Warner Bros. cartoons[2]."

Wife Gives USB Wedding Ring to Her Geeky Hubby [PIC]

2010-07-13T19:12:00.001-05:00

Hey, may as well have a little fun along the way.

Wife Gives USB Wedding Ring to Her Geeky Hubby [PIC]

Also, there is a link to the top 10 geekiest marriage proposals.

Also visit our Forum at: http://truthdriven.8.forumer.com/

World of Outlaws

2010-07-13T18:34:00.003-05:00

12JUL10 Vid Feature 3
Originally uploaded by Sarge Jan08

The World of Outlaws sprint cars made their annual visit to Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, WI, on July 11, 2010. My cousin Jeff and I were in attendance for another excellent show.

The questionable weather may have kept the crowd size down, but the moisture in the track kept the race speeds up! I don't recall ever seeing the cars so fast on the banked 3/8 mile dirt track. Even the heat races were something to watch with the speed they were carrying.

We had the grill and tailgaiting set up and were watching from our perch in turn 3. In our opinion it is one of the best places to watch races at this track. All in all it was a great night of food, racing and interacting with other folks at the track.

See video of the feature race on my YouTube page.
http://www.youtube.com/user/Sarge4

See my photos on my Flickr page.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdshnzr/sets/72157624363547685/

10JULY10 Isanti Rodeo

2010-07-13T17:48:00.003-05:00

10JULY10 Isanti Rodeo 06
Originally uploaded by Sarge Jan08

Sue and I attended the The 34th annual Isanti Firefighters PRCA Rodeo. It was an excellent show including Bare Back, Bucking Broncos, Steer Wrestling, Bull Riding, Calf Roping, Team Roping and Barrel Racing. We had a great night at the well attended event and the weather couldn't have been better. It was a wonderful date reminiscent of our early years together as we would go to the once big rodeo in South St. Paul.

The Isanti, MN, fire department hosts this annual event. They use it to to raise additional monies to enhance fire/rescue protection services to the community. It is also an affordable event and family friendly. After the rodeo is a dance and the band Six Wheel Drive was the entertainment on the Saturday night that we attended. We did not stay for the band or dance.

One moment had the crowd in a collective gasp as a bull rider from Anoka, Mn, was thrown from the bull. Although the bull missed the cowboy as it's hoofs slammed to the ground, the man wasn't so lucky as he was struck in the head when the bull immediately bucked again. He got to his feet and staggered a bit and went back to his knees as a couple of other men reached him to assist him out of the ring. He looked to be out on his feet as they headed to the side rail and he was moving his feet again as they headed toward the gate. He walked past the ambulance, but I am sure they were keeping an eye on him for a while in the back area.

See the rest of my photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdshnzr/sets/72157624363297197/

Minnesota Zoo 26June2010 - a set on Flickr

2010-07-10T15:57:00.002-05:00

I finally got done putting up the descriptions for the animal photos that we took at the Minnesota Zoo back on June 26th.

Minnesota Zoo 26June2010 - a set on Flickr

Also visit our Forum at: http://truthdriven.8.forumer.com/

The Office

2010-07-09T17:01:00.003-05:00

09JULY10 The Office
Originally uploaded by Sarge Jan08

"Averaging 52-55 hours per week, well over two-thirds of it is spent in this cab. Even after 11 hours of work, here I sit for 30-60 minutes to get to the dock for another 20 minutes of being unloaded." (Photo Description)

My office is the cab of a 2006 Kenworth T300. Although it was paid off in January, the payment savings are still not reaching my pocket. Repairs that have been put off during the slow economy of the past two years are now eating up the funds that were going toward the purchase. There are a couple more months of this and maybe more if anything else pops up. As with many truckers these days, I am one major repair away from being out of business.

I love the job itself, but the profits have gone in the tank. Three and four years ago when the economy was moving along, profits were high and work was plentiful. When the economy hit the breaks, the work load dropped sharply. With the volume drop came the feeding frenzy of the sales teams as they all undercut the competition in order to take business from one another. Rates have been painfully reduced. Even though it has gotten a little busier, the profit level has not bounced back.

If I could sell the truck for a good price, I would give serious thought to getting out of the business. Like every other industry though, bouncing back is slow and labored. It will be a long time before we see the prosperity that existed earlier in the past decade. Unfortunately the supply of these trucks outweighs the demand for them. Thus a good price is highly unlikely and an okay price is sketchy at best. So the way it looks at this point, I will continue to add onto the 234,202 miles that I have put on the truck to this point.

Laundry Day

2010-07-08T20:54:00.002-05:00

08JULY10 Laundry Day
Originally uploaded by Sarge Jan08

The growth rate of the pile of clean laundry was outpacing my waistline. Like the diet I need, something had to be done. The dreaded day has arrived. Laundry Day!

I had a photo of the end table next to my dresser where I tend to pile the clean laundry until I get around to putting it away. The stack was equal to the height of the chest of drawers leveling off just below the television that hangs from the ceiling. All told it was approximately 30" high on a 2'X3' table. Well, you get the picture. There is no need to embarrass myself with the photo of that collection. I was about to say that the only thing worse would be ... But I thought of my kids yucking it up as they posted that ... on my behalf for all the world to see and take a collective gasp.

Today became the day as I thought of it as an idea for my daily photo. It was my motivator so to speak. I attempted to perform my usual procrastination techniques. I queried the dinner menu with the bride. We ordered a pizza and watched a Dirty Harry movie on Netflix, The Dead Pool. I even opened the laptop. But alas, here I am, folding clothes.

Well, now the laptop is open again as I procrastinate the putting said clothes in drawers and closet. This can't last too long as the wifey will want to gain access to the new bed tonight. The new bed is a wonderful improvement I might add. No might about it, I just added it.

Well now to tweet and FB the blog and then back to work. Or should I go find a dvd first to throw into the player up here. Hmmm? I am quite certain that the old gal won't put up with this very long. 30.5 years of marriage and no nagging. How great is that? She will get in my face or bury her size five when I need or deserve it though. I know when that is and I cannot consider something I deserve as nagging. Again, I am truly blessed.

Well, enough of this. It's Laundry Day! Huzzah!

Assignment: Sermon Prep

2010-07-07T18:02:00.003-05:00

07JULY10 Sermon Prep
Originally uploaded by Sarge Jan08

Home from work in the truck and now working on the pain management. Soon to be working on the computer as tonight's assignment is sermon prep for Saturday's Comforts of Home service in Blaine, MN, which our church provides on the second, third and fourth weeks of the month. Also being finalized tonight is the devotional message to be presented at the annual Cornerstone Church of Blaine Men's Group golf outing.

Unfortunately, due to a prior annual engagement, I will not be able to attend this year's golf outing. I had planned on attending both events but other things scheduled by the church bumped the match back an hour. I am now unable to attend either event in it's entirety if I try to attend both so I had to make a choice. I could spell out my reasoning here but I don't believe I could do it justice. Also, due to some of the reasoning, this may not be a good place to elucidate the issue. Any curious soul will just have to contact me personally. (You know - an actual live conversation.)

I look forward to tonight's duties because this is what keeps me studying and learning Scripture. For the Christian, which I am, there is joy in exploring God's Word. I do not mean merely reading the Bible, even though that is a good thing, rather, actually studying and seeing how passages are tied together and how they spell out the principles by which I ought to operate and how they reveal the attributes of God. Studying and learning and experiencing the joy of the Living Word of God.

Finally, A New Bed

2010-07-06T19:57:00.002-05:00

06JULY10 New Bed 1
Originally uploaded by Sarge Jan08

The new bed set from The Original Mattress Factory delivered July 6.

I'm guessing that it was a little more than a decade ago when I decided that it was time to replace the bladder in the soft side water bed rather than repair it again. While I shopped around for the new bag, I threw a full size mattress into the queen size frame. It was a nice snug fit and worked well for a temporary fix. Is a decade temporary?

The Sealy Posturepedic was pretty comfortable and chimed in at around $1400 for the set. The Simmons Beauty Rest weighed in at $1099. After that sticker shock I stopped in at my local store front for The Original Mattress Factory to find the Ortho Luxury Firm at $699.

When it comes to purchasing items like this, items that should be of good quality for a longer term, I hesitate to go with the cheapest brand for fear of product failure. In this case however, after seeing the cutaways and the quality of materials and construction, I believe that I got the best of the three and the lowest price is a bonus.

Even new and too firm, this bed will be worlds ahead of what we had been using. I look forward to breaking it in and having years of better quality sleep.

Another Sign of the Times

2010-07-05T18:53:00.000-05:00

Independence Day is to celebrate our country's independence from England. Events on July 4, 2010, brought into focus once again how times are changing as individual desires are being declared by actions to be more important than societal order or society at large. This appears to be the result of lax parenting and the now commonplace moral relativism. I commented to my wife that the scary part is that the people who are acting out this behavior are also raising the next generation. What can we expect but more societal anarchy in the future?

The events of which I speak took place at an apartment complex swimming pool. I will admit right up front that I was a guest at the complex and that I probably should have kept my mouth shut. You now know that this was an afterthought. As I took a seat on one of the pool side lounge chairs, I observed the people that were already in the pool. I asked a woman who was approximately twelve feet from me if she really needed to smoke in the pool. My assumption was that smoking on the patio was allowed due to the visible buckets of sand containing cigarette butts. I did not believe that smoking was permitted in the pool itself. That would have been the end of it for me until I heard her reply. As she stood in waist deep water near the side of the pool at the bottom of the steps she looked straight at me saying, "Well, I'm not actually in the pool." My immediate response was, "I guess that I am not actually on the patio then."

The above encounter was among other rule breakers such as alcohol and food being on deck. In fact the containers and jello shots were being handled by others in the group who were likewise standing in the pool. The perpetrators of the behavior took offense to the suggestion that there were pool rules that affected them. Their attitude was that they should not be held accountable to any rules or person that contradicted their personal desires. As a truck driver I see this behavior on the roadways everyday and it has increased with the distracted driving due to cell phones and texting devices. I wrote about two events in two days in my June 17th blog, Job Change, which you can go back and read. The very next day I logged this Facebook entry;

Its starting already. no one in front of or behind me and yet he insists on entering the highway exactly where I am. Sticker on window, "Share the Road". For me, not him I guess. Other side of car dented up. Go figure.

Back to the events of the fourth, the drama took a new turn. A man who was not there from the beginning came over to me yapping about confronting him and not a woman. He had a very challenging demeanor and I got the impression he was looking for a fight. He took it to new levels with the language he was using within the earshot of children, including those in the group he was with. He took offense at anyone asking him to watch his language with the young ones present. Again, his choices were apparently more important than the societal order or behavior that not too long ago would have been normal and acceptable.

As he maligned my manhood for not getting off of the lounge chair to confront him he walked away saying, "Yeah, that's what I thought." I wasn't the one looking for a fight nor was I foolish enough to get in the face of someone that was more youthful in addition to having a six to eight inch height advantage and obvious more athletic physique. He then made it a racial issue as he yapped about how the trouble stemmed from all of us who saw the minorities and assumed that they were making trouble. Up to this point I had not even considered race since there were many races in attendance, including three within my group. In my mind it was all about behavior. The initial interaction was with a white woman, the smoker. I also am Caucasian. So was this a racially stimulated issue? Not in any way whatsoever. I remember thinking that if this is how minorities are perceived to act, the behavior is what begets the attitude of others toward them. In this case it was the behavior of a group of people that were racially mixed, including white people. It was the neighborhood bully, as I later learned, that made the issue racial. That kind of victim mentality will not allow racism to ever die in this country. He justified the behavior by his attitude of victimization.

I am happy to know that the victimization attitude is not the prevailing view of the minorities that I know. I refuse to stereotype all minorities as having the attitudes described in this account. The breakdown in society and interaction stems from things such as poor parenting concerning time and discipline, and the removal of God from the schools and public square which fosters the moral relativism we see today. We now see the individual over society attitudes in the public behavior in school, social settings and even the work place. I fail to see how the tide can be reversed if the government continues to run the education system instead of the local community and as states continue to cede their responsibilities and rights to the federal government which is quickly becoming a national government.

As I write this I am listening to a documentary by Ben Stein called Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. It is dealing with the intelligent design vs. evolution debate in the higher educational system. It shows how those who dare to go against the government supported view are blacklisted and removed from their positions. In the end, it is our freedoms that are at stake.

For the record, I finally arose from the chair and left. I knew the aggressor would not stop yapping and trying to stir something up as long as I was there. In the interest of not seeing the situation spiral out of control and for the sake of the others that were trying to enjoy the pool, I left the area. I later heard that, just I had suspected, he still didn't shut up. Such are the ways of those who are bullies, selfish and disrespectful of those around them. Such is the way of those who are anti-God. Serving the self is the priority issue in every situation.

Also visit our Forum at: http://truthdriven.8.forumer.com/

The Front Yard

2010-07-05T13:17:00.002-05:00

Front Yard
Originally uploaded by Sarge Jan08

Down the side and along the front of the yard are many burnt out spots in the lawn in keeping with our house in need of much repair. Today will be a rare attempt at yard work, patching the lawn. The trick will be to determine to keep up on the watering. Then the weeds in the driveway and on the patio need to be sprayed.

It seems that life in today's culture has moved to the backyard. Decks and privacy fences seem to have replaced the front porch. I prefer to sit on the patio out front and watch the neighborhood go by. Greeting the walkers, watching the cars, and talking to the neighbors.

What is your neighborhood like and which do you prefer?

Morning of Another Day

2010-07-04T09:46:00.002-05:00

Morning of Another Day
Originally uploaded by Sarge Jan08

Another project started. We'll see how this one goes. The goal is a photo nearly every day to tell the story of the rest of 2010. I am beginning on Independence Day with the typical beginning of the day. Deal with the pains and look forward to the joys that the day will bring forth. All are blessings in one way or another from God.

Job Change

2010-06-17T19:45:00.000-05:00

Perhaps the signs of a time of change are getting closer than out on the horizon. As I am in the rut of not being able to win, I contemplate more and more whether the time has come for yet another job change. Two days in a row of enduring bad things not of my making.

Case 1 was yesterday on an uphill grade in an approximate 3 mile stretch of freeway. My 33,000 GVW Kenworth was fairly well loaded so throttle response was challenging in the morning rush hour traffic. I was boxed into my lane from the left with only the shoulder to my right. The issue was the car that I was trailing as I tried to maintain a steady speed. The old guy, I'd say sixty something, constantly changed speed and rarely touched the speed limit. As he would get going I would nurse the rig back toward the 65 MPH limit and eventually end up on his bumper as he slowed while I was working to get back to the posted speed. This happened at least three times, maybe four. Finally the road leveled out and an opening presented itself to my left. I took the opportunity to pass him. As I went by I looked down to see him snap a picture of my passenger door with his phone camera. I lamented over the next hour how I would explain it to the person who would call me from the office about someone who complained about me tailgating him. How would I proclaim my innocence in a believable fashion. I guess I should have driven 50 MPH and allowed him to have plenty of room for his erratic practices.

Case 2 was today on a stretch of freeway that had two lanes for entering traffic and three lanes for the flowing traffic. Again it was the morning rush hour leaving limited room for maneuvering. A vehicle entering the freeway jumped across two lanes of traffic and landed between me and the car I was following. There was a margin of about ten feet from my bumper to his as he dove into the 50 MPH traffic. As the car to my left cleared my front bumper I quickly filled in behind it and began to accelerate. Just then his left turn signal came on. As I passed him I looked down to find an enraged face and the old one finger salute. I moved back to the right after passing the string of traffic and moments later he flew on by and I noticed his Michigan license plate. I couldn't help but think how miserable his 10-12 hour drive would be if he was heading back to MI and if he maintained that attitude. I guess I should have known that my spot was his and that he also had the lane to the left reserved and I shouldn't have gotten off of his bumper.

What do you do? Maybe it is time for me to get off of the road.

Also visit our Forum at: http://truthdriven.8.forumer.com/

Believer to Man of God Part 2

2010-06-13T07:26:00.002-05:00

This is the devotional that was presented to the men on the Annual Mille Lacs Launch Fishing Trip. It set the tone for the evening which turned out to be pleasant weather and a very fun night for all of the guys.

Believer to Man of God Part 2

Also visit our Forum at: http://truthdriven.8.forumer.com/

Life_According_To_Sarge :: View topic - Letter to Thyatira

2010-06-12T09:05:00.002-05:00

In the fourth of the seven letters to the churches in Revelation, today we look at Thyatira.
This is presented as the sermon at Comforts of Home on Highway 65 in Blaine at today's worship service.
Come join us in worship at 10AM.

Life_According_To_Sarge :: View topic - Letter to Thyatira

After Thirty Years, The Honeymoon

2010-06-11T14:59:00.003-05:00

The thirtieth anniversary of marrying my beautiful bride occurred on March 22 of this year. We had discussed the possibility of a trip to Duluth for a night or two, as that is affordable and only a couple of hours north to Lake Superior. Another option was visiting Stillwater to walk the shops and hike along the St Croix river as we had done on other occasions. But the plans took an unexpected turn as I thought I had found a deal.

Hockey fans that we are, I responded to a message on Face Book from another Minnesota Wild fan who was picking up some group tickets for a Wild game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Being that the game was three days after our anniversary, I thought that it would be an excellent date along with dinner. Without even checking with the wife, I jumped at the opportunity and said, "I'm in." Later on I mentioned it to my cousin and he asked me if I was going to Philly. He informed me that the Flyers had been here already and that they only come here once. I checked into it and sure enough, the game was in Pennsylvania. I decided that I was still taking the tickets and the adventure began. I asked my gal if she might be interested in going to Philly for our anniversary and finally having a honeymoon. She said yes and I told her, "Good. I already bought the tickets."

On March 24th we hopped in the car bright and early to begin our journey. We had been to Pennsylvania on a vacation with two of our four daughters when we went to a NASCAR race at Pocono. From that experience we determined that the first leg of the journey would end near Cleveland, Ohio. The first night there and the next two in the city of brotherly love were the only nights that I reserved in advance. With just the two of us on this trip we felt free to wing it from there. Although we had ideas of things that we would like to see and do, we didn't want to be on the hamster wheel running from place to place. I reserved the rooms through the site of a friend, Take A Peek Travel, and realized a nice savings on each reservation. The first night was a budget considering stay at the Red Roof Inn since it was simply a stay over between travel legs. A nicer hotel was booked for our two nights in Philadelphia.

The following morning we began the second leg with a relaxing drive across Pennsylvania. We were under little time pressure and enjoyed the drive through the mountains. Through the mountains is an accurate description as we passed through four tunnels, each approximately one mile long. It was a beautiful day to spend with my beautiful wife.

The hotel in Philadelphia, Aloft, was a short hop across a bridge from the Arena. It was a clean, comfy, cozy room in a modern decor setting. It was located next to the airport but was relatively quiet considering the freeway that we could see out our window. In fact, in our Philly update video, you can see Sue watching the traffic as I am talking. I love watching that video because she looks so happy and has such a sweet smile in it. Her smile is what hooked me three decades ago.

The hockey arena was a pretty nice place and shared the area with the stadiums for the Eagles and the Phillies. We arrived purposely early since we were unfamiliar with the area and the parking. It gave us a chance to tour the arena a bit and to go down behind the bench and get a close up view of the players as they came out for their pregame practice. We had short chats with Coach Ramsey and Wild announcer Kevin Gorg. We also grabbed our first mitt full of grub as the group tickets were also all you can eat from the select concession stand. Your basic arena/ballpark fare, it fit well in the budget. The Wild stunk it up pretty good for the first two periods but came back to tie it up in the third to force overtime. The fourth goal by Minnesota won the game and provoked my most unwise moment of the trip. I jumped up from my seat in my new Minnesota jersey, a gift from Sue, and with arms upraised victoriously, I turned and faced the crowd. Three gals were firing darts with there glares at me and I then realized that we may end up with a beer shower before getting out of the arena. We left unscathed, however, to a smattering of boos and some mild comments such as, "Go back where you came from."

Friday morning we slept in a little late being it was vacation and we refused to let a schedule dictate our every decision. We decided to drive downtown rather than take the train from the airport. It was a decision that would be beneficial later. We hit the touristy spots as expected including Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. One of the best moves of the trip was to take the carriage ride through Old City. Our driver was very knowledgeable on the history of the city and showed us sites we would have missed by simply walking around. It added a lot of flavor to our morning of site seeing. We then took the suggestion of one person and dropped in on a little diner for Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches which was a pretty good lunch. Our plans originally were to take a walk up to the other side of the city to see the museum, the Rocky statue and such. This is where having the car with us came in handy. We retrieved it from the parking lot for the next adventure.

Originally we had talked about taking the train to Atlantic City on Saturday morning. This day was gray with a good chance of rain. To this point we had walked quite a bit and our legs were feeling the weariness so the walk to the other side of town was not sounding very appealing. We had stayed dry so far and were thankful. We decided that the relatively short drive would be relaxing and in fact cheaper than the train ride. So off we went for our first view of Atlantic City and the Atlantic Ocean. While some sites and things to do on our trip were not to open until April 1, we did not have the crowds of tourists to contend with.

We spent a few hours walking on the boardwalk and enjoying the colorful views of the buildings as well as the surf coming ashore. We donated five dollars to Trump and another five to the Showboat in the nickel slots. Alas, Our trip was not to be paid for. Once inside, the casinos were not much different than what we have back home. We ducked in and out of shops resisting the myriad of tees and sweats and all kinds of trinkets. Sue did buy some salt water taffy which was tasty. The multilevel shopping area was long, narrow and mostly high end. At the end was a fountain that provided a water and light show. The information stop on the way into town gave us the layout of what was ahead. We both heard the lady say, "Every hour the fountain puts on a show to the Sound of Music." The music started and there was sound. We laughed as we realized that the water show was set to the sound of music, just not the musical we had expected. Back to Aloft for the night, stopping for fine dining at the Burger King along the way.

Saturday morning was a sunny site as we checked out of the hotel. We drove up to the west side of the city to see the museum and statues. We decided against paying to see the Picasso exhibit as we preferred to be outside and we planned on heading toward Pittsburgh around lunch time. It was a gorgeous day and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. There was a festival somewhere in town, but we opted to pass on it.

The Rocky statue had been moved from the top of the museum steps to a pad down to the right of the main approach. As we were walking up I said to Sue, "A guy could make an okay income taking pictures for people here and collecting tips." We saw two girls by the statue digging in a paper bag and I got curious. They dug out some boxing gloves and a man took their picture. I thought the whole scene was fairly humorous. We had our pictures taken by the same man who said, "I accept tips." We talked a little and like everyone else we met along the way he was very friendly.

On our way out of town we followed a river road for a little ways. We were forced to make a turn at the end of the road that took us into a neighborhood that sparkled a little less than the city we had seen so far. I am sure the life in this neighborhood was not as glittery as the polished areas we had visited. We found our way to the tollway and proceeded westward.

We arrived at our motel just NW of Pittsburgh on Saturday, late dinner time. It was located right behind a popular Italian restaurant at which we dined that evening. The lasagna was among the best that I had ever tasted. I was told that the flavor was due to the fresh mozzarella in the middle layer. Being our honeymoon, every detail of our activities cannot be shared in this story.

Sunday morning we arose and headed off to church and lunch with some friends who lived in the area, the Hoflers. We are grateful to Drew and Tina for their hospitality and friendship. It was a very pleasant change in our trip to see warm, friendly faces and to have such a pleasant visit in the warmth of their home.

After lunch and visiting, Sue and I decided to drive down into Pittsburgh before it got dark. We endured some traffic that was due to the Penguins hockey game that evening. We opted for site seeing over another hockey game since we were leaving town the next morning. As in Philadelphia, the number of bridges in Pittsburgh made an impression on me. I may live in the land of lakes, but out there it was rivers and bridges.

Sue and I just wandered around and saw what we could see. We were able to walk up to the gate of Heinz field and peer in to see where the Steelers and the Pitt Panthers play. Across the way was the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates. We drove around crossing the bridges and finally found our way to the spot suggested by Drew, the Incline.

The Duquesne Incline had a station down on the river road and another in a neighborhood far above. Two cars on two tracks were connected by cables and one went up while the other went down. I am told that tourists ride it for the view from the observation deck and the residents in the neighborhood ride it down to catch a bus into downtown for work. The view was very good even on this rainy day. The city skyline, the stadiums, bridges and rivers were all in view. It was still a relaxing afternoon as we were free from any agendas that day. We headed back to the motel, stopping only for a couple of sandwiches from Subway for dinner on the return trip.

Monday held a new excitement as we traveled to Canton, Ohio, to visit the Pro Football Hall of Fame. We spent close to four hours there seeing and listening to exhibits and attending a couple of classroom presentations. It was a very interesting place that would easily take a full day or more to experience if one tried to read and listen to everything available. We took a lot of pictures, or I guess I did, of everything Vikings related. The busts were impressive and it was interesting to learn how they were made. The displays were well done with the video and audio being everything one would expect from NFL Films.

One exhibit was all of the Super Bowl rings from the championship teams and concluded with a computer graphics station that allowed people to design the rings.

We decided to design the championship ring for next year's Super Bowl.

After our visit there, we drove until later in the night to Rockford, Illinois. We found a motel and ordered a pizza. We laid on the bed eating pizza and watching Iron Eagle on Netflix on my laptop.

Tuesday was the final ride as we headed home and not looking forward to working on Wednesday. The trip was long enough though and we agreed that it would be good to be home. We made a pit stop in Middleton, Wisconsin, to check out the National Mustard Museum. Our previous visit to the museum was when it used to be in Mount Horeb, WI. We purchased seven flavors of mustard to bring home including the Key Lime and Pineapple mustard which was excellent on grilled pork chops just as Sue had suggested it would be. We then found a Sonic at which we ate lunch. Neither of us had ever eaten at a Sonic Drive-In before. We enjoyed a short time over lunch and then the long final drive that was ahead of us had to be tackled. But one last surprise lay in wait for Suzy.

The day of our return was actually Sue's birthday and the girls had planned a dinner for her if I could get her there at a reasonable time. My ploy, and actually reality, was that I had to drive truck for work in the morning so I wanted to be home around dinner time and rest a bit before bed after unloading the car.

Those who weren't working were there to greet us and Rodrigue was working the grill which was loaded with chicken drummies. The table inside was covered in salads and other goodies. It was a very nice dinner to arrive home to.

The trip was a true honeymoon for us as we were free to be ourselves with each other, deeply in love and sharing time together. We were always on the same page as we decided what to do and never saw a hint of trouble. We praise God and thank Him for allowing us this time together.

All of the photos can be viewed on my Flickr page. They are labeled and described so you can enjoy the photo journal of the trip.

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Six Months To Live

2010-06-08T23:21:00.001-05:00

Another self evaluation exercise.

Six Months To Live

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Sacrifice of Praise

2010-06-07T20:44:00.001-05:00

Praise is the ticket to peace in times of struggles.

Sacrifice of Praise

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To Be A Kid Again

2010-06-06T16:50:00.001-05:00

As I bemoan my latest physical issues and the fact that age and time are overtaking my failing body, I've been able to remember simpler times. While babysitting my two year old granddaughter last Saturday, I began the holiday weekend taking her on a little adventure.

We began by walking hand in hand to the park. The three block walk included conversations about the yards we passed and looking both ways before crossing the street. Among the usual sliding and swinging and piling of wood chips on the climbing platform were observations of birds, squirrels and a steady diet of small aircraft passing overhead. Teaching a toddler to sit still and quiet so the squirrel will get curious and come back around the tree is a tough task. It was more entertaining for her to have grandpa run around the tree and see the squirrel scurry around and up the trunk. She was able to spot the tail or head when the breeze blew as the squirrel sat on a limb more patiently than she was able. She was very alert to hear the small planes and we would stop whatever we were doing until we spotted it or concluded that the surrounding trees were to tall for our sight lines.

When enough time had been spent at the park, the real activity was coming into play. "Would you like a treat?", I asked her. What tot doesn't know the value of a treat from a grandparent. Never mind that it was only 9:30 in the morning, I had set my sights on taking my buddy for an ice cream cone. Rules shouldn't be adhered to at all times with a grandchild, especially on a holiday weekend. She was anxious to see what the treat would be as she grasped my hand to walk once again.

The PDQ was another 2-1/2 blocks away and the pace was slower as we observed all the school buses idly sitting behind the chain link fence. Prompting her to check both ways for traffic and tell me when it was safe to proceed left me wondering how much she really comprehended of this safety concept. Thankfully traffic was light and we were in no hurry so I was able to ask her questions multiple times until I was confident we were on the same wave length.

Our destination being reached, we entered the convenience store and proceeded to the frozen section. After having some fun with the child experiencing the cold air from the cooler door being opened, I modified my plan opting for something a little neater than cones. The thought of her walking with a cone and the mess on her face and clothing that I would have to clean up was enough to cause synapses to fire and come up with a plan B. Malt cups and wooden paddles would be the order of the day. Always a favorite of my daughters on our family trips to the ballpark, it would be the initiation to a summer walk to the store for a treat with grandpa.

I purchased two malt cups as she carried the wooden spoons thereby carrying her share of the load. We exited the store and walked to the end of the walk furthest from the entrance. I parked myself on the curb and had her sit next to me as I opened her nutritious morning snack. With every other taste she put her head back with eyes closed and a smile saying, "mmm." A number of times she informed me that the treat was cold and she always said it was good as I asked her if she liked it. The beautiful simplicity of a young child is that repetition is welcome to them and deep thoughts are not essential. I was able to sit and smile with her thinking only about childhood memories of what seemed to be a much simpler time. I decided that this had to be done much more often both with her and future kiddies in the family.

The walk home was at a much slower pace as the journey progressed. The initial walk was a half of a mile with the same distance being experienced on the way home. Throw in running around the park and that equals a lot of activity for two year old legs. The rest of the morning was peaceful around the house as we continued to enjoy each others company. I decided not to worry about her pants being dirty from the curb. It was her mother's problem if she is going to send her kid to grandpa in the summer wearing white pants.

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Psalm 40 and the Believer

2010-06-06T08:20:00.001-05:00

This morning's thoughts for contemplation. 9
marks of a believer in Psalm 40.

Psalm 40 and the Believer

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Requesting Prayer

2010-06-05T08:23:00.001-05:00

Praying for one another and the needs of the church is a regular practice in the Christian life. At Cornerstone Church of Blaine it is no different as we have regular corporate prayer meetings, leadership that believes in and promotes prayer and home groups that foster the building of relationships and caring for one another.

So how does one request prayer?

Requesting Prayer

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Albert says...

2010-05-31T21:21:00.001-05:00

"Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile."
Albert Einstein

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Prayer Stations - May, 2010

2010-05-31T14:36:00.001-05:00

Today's church service featured a shortened sermon time followed by a time of prayer. Attendees were free to move among the five prayer stations and pray for the various topics. The five stations were Communion, Prayer, Healing, Ministries and Missions Trip 2010.

Prayer Stations - May, 2010

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Memorial Day

2010-05-31T13:27:00.001-05:00

Some thoughts on Memorial Day.
Memorial Day

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Fasting 04 - Caution

2010-05-23T08:09:00.002-05:00

Fasting 04 - Caution

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Fasting 03 - Focus

2010-05-23T08:08:00.002-05:00

Fasting 03 - Focus

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Fasting 02 - Examples

2010-05-23T08:07:00.002-05:00

Fasting 02 - Examples

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Fasting 01 - Reason

2010-05-23T08:05:00.002-05:00

Fasting 01 - Reason

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7-things-to-stop-doing-now-on-facebook: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

2010-05-23T06:32:00.001-05:00

7-things-to-stop-doing-now-on-facebook: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

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ABC Newspapers - Guiding business owners to success

2010-05-23T06:29:00.001-05:00

ABC Newspapers - Guiding business owners to success

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Life_According_To_Sarge :: View topic - Letter to Pergamum

2010-05-22T09:00:00.002-05:00

Life_According_To_Sarge :: View topic - Letter to Pergamum

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What were those tax cuts again?

2010-03-20T16:46:00.000-05:00

As far as cons go, this one has gone by rather quietly. Stands to reason with the larger issues of health care and all that keep us occupied. The plan of throwing so many things at us so quickly seems to be working rather effectively. So effectively in fact, that people either don't realize, or are to preoccupied to notice, that their tax bill didn't reveal the tax cut after all. Or perhaps the shear number of unemployed and underemployed don't have enough income to realistically notice the false promise.

I was amazed as the administration kept calling a tax table adjustment a tax cut. Worse than people not understanding the difference, is that press and pundits continued to allow leaders to call it a cut without calling them on the deception. It was the famed promise of an extra twelve dollars in the paycheck because the government felt our pain and wanted people to have extra cash to buffer the economy.

I admit I wrongly predicted that a lot of people would be upset as they did their taxes this year once they realized that less withholding from their checks meant less refund after their taxes were done. The tax table changes never, in fact, changed the tax rates. Less withheld taxes means more taxes due. Whether that resulted in a larger tax bill or a smaller refund, the dollars still are required by our benevolent government.

Perhaps, just as the amount was probably too small to impact our faltering economy, the tax impact may be too small to be noticed by most people. Well, what can I say. Tax season will come and go and the issue will go unnoticed as the small potatoes that it is. After all, it isn't a trillion dollars.

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Dems abandon deem-and-pass

2010-03-20T14:41:00.002-05:00

Good or Bad? Too much heat or are there now enough votes? At least if it passes legitimately, we can see who to hold accountable for the further waste laid to our economy. 2010 elections are right around the corner, if the country can navigate its way there reasonably safely.

Hot Air » Blog Archive » Breaking: Dems abandon deem-and-pass

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First Sunday Worship

2010-03-20T14:22:00.003-05:00

Today at Suite Living, formerly Comforts of Home, which is an assisted care senior facility, I delivered an Easter message. I will be out of town next week, so I delivered this message early. The message, First Sunday Worship, looks at the usual Easter scriptures from the point of view that it was a day celebrating the first Sunday worship services.

Beginning in Genesis and into Exodus, we see how God established the day of rest and then the Sabbath day in the law. Jesus Christ fulfilled the law and redeemed us from the burden of the law to a life in the grace of God. We see in the Easter Scriptures the first worship of the risen Christ, the first Easter service, the first communion service and the first Sunday evening service.

Life_According_To_Sarge :: View topic - First Sunday Worship

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God Minutes 5.02 Husbands Must Lead

2010-03-19T14:52:00.000-05:00

Men, do you want a good marriage? Are you taking on the responsibility of leadership? It is up to us to have a smooth, lasting marriage.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Sarge4?feature=mhw4#p/a/u/0/fxoNOn9hpUc

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Saying is one thing, attitude another.

2010-03-19T09:48:00.000-05:00

What is the real issue here? Saying the wrong things is certainly not good, but the attitude is at the root of the problem. Even if these examples go unsaid, the attitude still has great potential to affect the worker and those around him/her.

Realizing what the job is, accepting it and doing it with a good attitude raises the level everything around from relationships, to atmosphere, to performance. Less stress and more joy leads to contentment and a happier life.

People are miserable because they don't have the courage to leave a job they hate. It is time for people to once again take personal responsibility for their own actions, which includes the job they accept and agree to perform. Enough of the "world owes me" attitude. Gratitude to an employer for the opportunity will go a long way to improving the quality of life.

This was my reaction to the article, 7 Things Never to Say to Your Boss, By Karen Burns, Posted: March 17, 2010. It was on the U.S. News & World Report site.

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New password-stealing virus targets Facebook | Reuters

2010-03-19T07:00:00.002-05:00

New password-stealing virus targets Facebook | Reuters

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New password-stealing virus targets Facebook

If the attachment is opened, it downloads several types of malicious software, including a program that steals passwords, McAfee said on Wednesday.

Floating Sheep

2010-03-18T20:57:00.000-05:00

A blog that you may not have seen is Floating Sheep. This is a very interesting page that tracks trends by actually plotting variations on maps. The current visualization is Christianity trends across the nation and around the world. This site is worth checking out for some info and entertainment.

http://www.floatingsheep.org/

Some past mapping projects were:

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"Deem and Pass" Scam

2010-03-17T22:22:00.000-05:00

In a day when we are spending more than we will ever be able to pay back, is it too much to ask Congress to actually follow the Constitution with how they pass legislation? I realize that to the majority of the current Washington D.C. crowd the Constitution of the United States of America is nothing more than an inconvenience standing in the way of progress. This tactic, however, is going a little too far and may create the backlash of an awakening public that one could only dream about happening.

ABCNEWS.com posted a blog tonight titled, Obama Not Worried About “Procedural Rules” like “Deem and Pass” for Health Care.

President Obama said today that he is not too worried about the controversial “deem and pass” strategy being considered on Capitol Hill, and that members should not “pretend” that a vote, in whatever form it ends up taking, is anything other than a vote for or against reform.

It saddens me that our Nation's leader is not bothered by the circumventing of our Constitution so that his legislation project can be passed in any manner necessary. And why is it necessary to use such methods? Because the majority of people are against the legislation and enough congressmen have actually heard the people and are, believe it or not, actually representing them rather than the Party that they think employs them.

From the Washington Post: House may try to pass Senate health-care bill without voting on it

Instead, Pelosi (D-Calif.) would rely on a procedural sleight of hand: The House would vote on a more popular package of fixes to the Senate bill; under the House rule for that vote, passage would signify that lawmakers "deem" the health-care bill to be passed.
The tactic -- known as a "self-executing rule" or a "deem and pass" -- has been commonly used, although never to pass legislation as momentous as the $875 billion health-care bill. It is one of three options that Pelosi said she is considering for a late-week House vote, but she added that she prefers it because it would politically protect lawmakers who are reluctant to publicly support the measure.

I need to ask the question, why would a law maker be inclined to go along with this? Are there payoffs and backroom deals that they don't want to have come to light? Our public officials should have their name attached to anything and everything they pass. If it is something they are ashamed of and want anonymity, they should not be voting for it.

This process is just plain wrong and the results of it are detrimental to the welfare of our nation.

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Watergate to Jobsgate

2010-03-17T21:48:00.002-05:00

As the Nixon White House covered up the Watergate activities for as long as they could, so seems the Obama White House to be bent on repeating history. The activity that initiated the story might be quite different, but the cover up activities seem quite similar. I don't believe it will result in a President Obama resignation, but credibility is being brought into question. Even as the Hawaii legislature considers, "Measure Would Allow Hawaii to Ignore Repeated Requests for Obama's Birth Certificate", the Obama folks are mum on charges that possibly involve the commission of a felony by one or more people.

The American Spectator says:

There can be no other reason for Gibbs to be fending off Jake Tapper or Major Garrett, for Robert Bauer and Gibbs both to ignore Congressman Issa, or for Andrew Romanoff to stonewall Denver's Peter Boyles -- the list is growing - than one.

That one reason?

At a minimum someone inside the Obama White House has screwed up and embarrassed the president.

Or, that somebody or more than one somebody -- a somebody or somebodies of note -- has or have in fact committed a federal crime in the President's name.

In the article, Specter Opens Door on White House Felonies, By Jeffrey Lord on 3.16.10 @ 6:09AM, the soap opera is laid out concerning the questioning and non-answering of and from the White House. Robert Gibbs, a master at talking in circles for days at a time in hopes that a new hot topic will wash away the item he wishes not to discuss is in full form here.

Perhaps lesson number one here for Gibbs and his colleagues as the unraveling of Jobsgate proceeds is never to "Zieglerize." Never, ever, look the American people in the eye and stonewall. The results are never -- ever -- good.

It is a lesson that Robert Gibbs has at least five times in 18 days demonstrated he is willing to ignore.

Credibility at the Justice Department may get a bit tarnished if the quest for information continues. The story goes on to say:

One former high-ranking Justice Department official, after telling me that there were indeed problems with the Department's silence on this issue, said that in the current political climate at the Holder-run Justice Department, any Justice official who sought to go to Holder with thoughts of investigating Messina or his boss Rahm Emanuel or anyone else in the White House would have to have "brass balls." A colorful way of saying that Justice Department officials are being intimidated from pursuing the truth, no matter where it leads.

Congressman Issa is quoted as saying:

"Right now, they're doing the 'I won't confirm or deny,' and for us, it leaves two possibilities. One is the promise of transparency in this administration is just shot. The second one is even worse, which is either Sestak is lying or the administration has done something wrong and is covering it up…" -- U.S. Congressman Darrell Issa on Friday on March 12, 2010

Plausible deny-ability may work for a time, but as President Nixon learned the hard way, covering up isn't the same thing. This administration has not appeared to choose to learn from history in the past and this go around seems little different. Read the article and ask yourself if this is more of the same or something serious enough to garner attention. Sadly, both options are more true than many would care to admit.

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God Minutes 2.03 Those Who Have Not Heard

2010-03-14T23:20:00.000-05:00

I tried to answer the question, "If Jesus is the only way to heaven, what happens to people who have never even heard of him?"

YouTube - Sarge4's Channel

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Health Care and Cause of Death

2010-03-14T23:07:00.000-05:00

National Vital Statistics Reports, Volume 57, Number 14 (April 17, 2009)

The upcoming vote concerning health care caused me to think about the leading cause of death in our country and the affect of this bill on that cause. The most recent hard numbers I could find quickly were from a 2009 report for the year of 2006. Not surprisingly, heart disease was at the top of the list for the general population. The report also included infant mortality with the top cause of congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (congenital malformations). The report is long and filled with information, but I was looking for the simple statistics. Following is a shallow summary of the 135 page report.

National Vital Statistics Reports

Volume 57, Number 14 April 17, 2009

Deaths: Final Data for 2006

Mortality experience in 2006

· In 2006, a total of 2,426,264 resident deaths were registered in the United States.

· The age-adjusted death rate, which takes the aging of the population into account, was 776.5 deaths per 100,000 U.S. standard population.

· Life expectancy at birth was 77.7 years.

· The 15 leading causes of death in 2006 were:

1. Diseases of heart (heart disease) 631,636

2. Malignant neoplasms (cancer) 559,888

3. Cerebrovascular diseases (stroke) 137,119

4. Chronic lower respiratory diseases 124,583

5. Accidents (unintentional injuries) 121,599

6. Diabetes mellitus (diabetes) 72,449

7. Alzheimer’s disease 72,432

8. Influenza and pneumonia 56,326

9. Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis (kidney disease) 45,344

10. Septicemia 34,234

11. Intentional self-harm (suicide) 33,300

12. Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis 27,555

13. Essential hypertension and hypertensive renal disease (hypertension) 23,855

14. Parkinson’s disease 19,566

15. Assault (homicide) 18,573

16. All other causes (residual) 447,805

· In 2006, the infant mortality rate was 6.69 infant deaths per 1,000 live births.

· All causes ................................................ 28,527

· The 10 leading causes of infant death were:

1. Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (congenital malformations) 5,819

2. Disorders relating to short gestation and low birth weight, not elsewhere classified (low birthweight) 4,841

3. Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) 2,323

4. Newborn affected by maternal complications of pregnancy (maternal complications) 1,683

5. Accidents (unintentional injuries) 1,147

6. Newborn affected by complications of placenta, cord and membranes (cord and placental complications) 1,140

7. Respiratory distress of newborn 825

8. Bacterial sepsis of newborn 807

9. Neonatal hemorrhage 618

10. Diseases of the circulatory system 543

11. All other causes (residual) 8,781

I find it interesting that as the Democrat leadership continues to point at the Republicans as the hold up on the passage of the health care legislation, the country as a whole is watching the pro-life democrats withhold their aye votes as long as there is federally funded abortion language remaining in the bill. Even as Speaker Pelosi proclaims such witticisms as the bill isn’t about abortion, doesn’t have abortion in it and that we just need to see what is really in the bill by passing it and getting beyond the debate, it is Democrat Representative Bart Stupak that is heading the standoff. Then there is the following gem from an interview with National Review Online.

Sitting in an airport, on his way home to Michigan, Rep. Bart Stupak, a pro-life Democrat, is chagrined. “They’re ignoring me,” he says, in a phone interview with National Review Online. “That’s their strategy now. The House Democratic leaders think they have the votes to pass the Senate’s health-care bill without us. At this point, there is no doubt that they’ve been able to peel off one or two of my twelve. And even if they don’t have the votes, it’s been made clear to us that they won’t insert our language on the abortion issue.”

And…

Stupak notes that his negotiations with House Democratic leaders in recent days have been revealing. “I really believe that the Democratic leadership is simply unwilling to change its stance,” he says. “Their position says that women, especially those without means available, should have their abortions covered.” The arguments they have made to him in recent deliberations, he adds, “are a pretty sad commentary on the state of the Democratic party.”

What are Democratic leaders saying? “If you pass the Stupak amendment, more children will be born, and therefore it will cost us millions more. That’s one of the arguments I’ve been hearing,” Stupak says. “Money is their hang-up. Is this how we now value life in America? If money is the issue — come on, we can find room in the budget. This is life we’re talking about.”

In the report, Facts on Induced Abortion in the United States, from the Guttmacher Institute, the number for abortion exceeds one million.

July 2008

INCIDENCE OF ABORTION

• Nearly half of pregnancies among American women are unintended, and four in 10 of these are terminated by abortion.[1] Twenty-two percent of all pregnancies (excluding miscarriages) end in abortion.[2]

• Forty percent of pregnancies among white women, 69% among blacks and 54% among Hispanics are unintended.

• In 2005, 1.21 million abortions were performed, down from 1.31 million in 2000. From 1973 through 2005, more than 45 million legal abortions occurred.[2]

• Each year, about two percent of women aged 15-44 have an abortion; 47% of them have had at least one previous abortion.[3]

Add this information to the #15 Assault (homicide) 18,573, and suddenly the #1 Heart Disease is a distant second place on the list.

With the current economic struggles in our country, how many of us have really considered the economic impact of killing off nearly fifty million Americans over recent years? Social Security, the great Ponzi scheme that it is, has been and is now in dire straits due to the work force being too small for the number of retirees it needs to support both now and in the near future. Add in the number of workers and consumers and we get the current results of the financial crisis.

Consider the following numbers while thinking about the vacant houses, declining enrollments and the concocted need for illegal alien workers. They are from All American Life League.

Abortion and Planned Parenthood Statistics
by ALL
Released October 5, 2005

Abortions in the United States
Total number of abortions in the U.S. since 1973: 48 million +
Abortions per year: 1,200,000
Abortions per day: 3,288
Abortions per hour: 137
9 abortions every 4 minutes
1 abortion every 26 seconds

The financial considerations are great and appear to be one of the issues considered by our legislators according to Rep. Stupak. This is of course a great financial interest to companies the likes of Planned Parenthood.
The financial aspect is however dwarfed when compared to the moral considerations. Abortion and the accompanying attitudes has cheapened the perception of life in our country and the results can be seen around us through school shootings, domestic abuse, domestic terrorism and the lies we need to tell ourselves each day to alleviate our guilt. Could the financial desperation we are currently experiencing be partly the judgment for our sin?
We can choose to not look at abortion as murder and conveniently leave it out of the homicide statistics. We can blindly defend it as a legal practice in most parts of our country. We can even deny that it has anything to do with the cheapening of life that influences other crime. What we cannot deny is that the lost population is the lives of people we will never know. It doesn’t even matter that some had potential greatness. What matters is that they were each a human life.
Fight on Representative Bart Stupak. Stand your ground on the principle of life for you do not know whose liberty is the next to be snuffed out by your fellow politicians.
A couple more articles of interest are:

100 million ‘missing’ girls

IN INDIA each year, it is estimated that as many as a million baby girls are aborted by parents determined not to raise a daughter. Those unborn girls are the victims of a fierce cultural preference for boys — and of modern imaging technology that makes it easy to learn the sex of a baby in the womb. Ultrasound scans started becoming widely available in India in the 1980s; since then, an estimated 10 million female babies have been destroyed during pregnancy.

Sex-selection tests are illegal in India. So are sex-selective abortions. But the laws are rarely enforced and easily circumvented. Rather than openly disclose the sex of a fetus after an ultrasound exam, for example, some Indian doctors signal the results by giving the parents pink or blue candies or candles. Others dispense with subtlety altogether, advertising their services with such brazen slogans as “Spend 500 rupees now and save 50,000 rupees later’’ — an allusion to the potentially crippling dowry that an Indian bride’s parents are expected to pay when their daughter gets married. Many couples have taken that deal. The result is an alarming shortage of young Indian women — and a growing population of young Indian men with little prospect of finding a wife.

Gender genocide

One recent Unicef report estimated that that figure had already been far surpassed, with 7,000 fewer girls born in India every day because of sex-selective abortion – though this calculation has since been questioned – amounting to more than 2m “missing girls” a year.

Not that those who choose to terminate a pregnancy for such reasons ever admit it. To do so would be tantamount to confessing a criminal offence, even though laws banning the use of ultrasounds to reveal the baby’s gender and sex-selective abortions are rarely enforced. Many doctors skirt the law forbidding disclosure of the sex of a foetus by using signals such as handing out pink or blue sweets or candles after an examination. Some families talk instead of “miscarriages”. Given the demographics of villages like Dera Mir Miran, it seems many such “miscarriages” must have occurred. Dera Mir Miran – population around 790 – is situated in a district called Fatehgarh Sahib, which in India’s last census in 2001 had the lowest ratio of girls to boys at birth of any district in the country. This census revealed that nationally the number of girls born per 1,000 boys was 927 (figures gleaned from a sample of 1.3m households in 2004 suggest this number had fallen in three years to 882). The natural birth rate globally is around 950; in China it is 832. But in Fatehgarh Sahib in 2001 it was 754, and in some villages less than 500. In Dera Mir Miran it was just 361.

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God Minutes 8.01 But Lord Lord

2010-03-10T18:02:00.000-06:00

On the day of judgment, many will say Lord, Lord, thinking they had been followers of Christ. False teachers and false converts will be shocked to see how they had been doing their own thing rather than the will of the Father or obeying the words of Jesus Christ. Don't be one of them.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Sarge4?feature=mhw4#p/a/u/0/HDcB31pI29g

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Her Morning Elegance

2010-03-06T09:47:00.001-06:00

Her Morning Elegance & How to Create Stop Motion Movies | Daniel Mosley

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Medicare backlash: A primary care doctor lays out his costs - Mar. 4, 2010

2010-03-06T09:17:00.001-06:00

Medicare backlash: A primary care doctor lays out his costs - Mar. 4, 2010

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The Season of Lent

2010-03-03T06:02:00.000-06:00

The Season of Lent

As we have entered into the Lenten season, I remember my roots of growing up in a religion that focused on the season with the fasting, the giving up of pleasures and the fish dinner Fridays. Apart from the legalistic attitudes, I remember the training in reverence and self denial. These lessons are well worth paying attention to at any time of year.

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White House to push ACORN pet project

2010-03-01T22:18:00.001-06:00

White House to push ACORN pet project

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Alice, Bratty in Wonderland

2010-03-01T18:20:00.002-06:00

From Lewis Carroll to Tim Burton, Alice has always been one of fiction's biggest pills. Nicole LaPorte traces her evolution from Victorian know-it-all to '50s princess to JonBenét clone.

http://shar.es/mXlV9

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Faith And Healing

2010-02-28T08:32:00.000-06:00

In preparation for a prayer service for the sick and ailing, I am writing a series of articles on the Cornerstone Church of Blaine web site. The first article is Faith And Healing. It is a primer that will help those who are interested in participating to get into a right state of mind. You can also participate since God is not limited by time or distance.

If you are interested in reading more, Truth Driven LLC.

Also visit our Forum at: http://truthdriven.8.forumer.com/

The Unending Recession

2010-02-25T23:20:00.000-06:00

The recession will, in my opinion, continue on for the foreseeable future. I'm talking years, not months as the "green chutes" seeing folks would have you believe. The work that springs up is short lived as money is being tightly held in most sectors. Wall Street numbers appear to be mainly investing firms movement and not the needed move of individual investors getting back in the game. The problem is the pipeline. Employers see sparse work and nothing coming down the line behind it. This lack of confidence prevents the rehiring of laid off workers even if the occasional overtime shifts are needed to handle an uptick in business. There is also a resistance for entrepreneurs to expand businesses that were started within the past few years. Where is their reasonable certainty for return on investment? The health care debate also puts the brakes on growth as small and midsized companies hear nightmare scenarios of what it could cost them to do business.

Read more at: Truth Driven LLC

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Tyranny At The Doorstep

2010-02-25T21:51:00.000-06:00

The acts of our country’s leaders today show just how power hungry politicians are. The so called health care summit was a farce. It was a ploy by the party in control to continue ramming through the program they want while pretending that the debate was an exercise in bi-partisanship. All the while the majority of Americans are against the planned takeover of the health care system by the government. Add to that the comment of Senator Dodd prior to the summit.

Wednesday, on Capitol Hill, the statements of two leaders illustrated the chasm between the parties.
"We'll have that meeting," said Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., who helped write the Senate bill. "But far more important, after that meeting, you can either join us or get out of the way."
Read more: http://www.gopusa.com/news/2010/february/0225_dodd_health1.shtml

I realize that a tyrant is an individual, but comments like that put the party on the edge of being tyrannical.

tyr•an•ny
–noun,plural-nies.
1. arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power; despotic abuse of authority.
2. the government or rule of a tyrant or absolute ruler.
3. a state ruled by a tyrant or absolute ruler.
4. oppressive or unjustly severe government on the part of any ruler.
5. undue severity or harshness.
6. a tyrannical act or proceeding.

No matter the party, no matter the year, that definition seems to apply more and more to the federal government. With the recent bailouts, TARP, auto industry “take over” and now the health care industry and insurance industry revamping, this label is gaining a fairly strong foothold.

As for bi-partisanship, Senator McConnell doesn’t hold out much hope.

"I think it's nearly impossible to imagine a scenario under which we could reach an agreement," said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. "Because we don't think we ought to pass a 2,700-page bill that seeks to restructure one-sixth of our economy."
Read more: http://www.gopusa.com/news/2010/february/0225_dodd_health1.shtml

And,

"It's hard to imagine what the purpose of Thursday's summit is," he had said earlier. "If the White House wants real bipartisanship, then it needs to drop the proposal it posted Monday - which is no different in its essentials than anything we've seen before - and start over."

Read more: Senate GOP leader McConnell gets in Obama's way at health summit - KansasCity.com

Does this sound like tyranny or working together?

Obama Hogs More Time, Declares "I'm the President"
By Philip Klein on 2.25.10 @ 12:24PM
After Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell noted that Democrats' opening statements had lasted twice as long as Republicans, President Obama responded that his time shouldn't count in the calculation.
“There was an imbalance in the opening statements, because I’m the President," Obama declared. "And I didn’t count my time in terms of dividing it evenly.”

Read more: http://spectator.org/blog/2010/02/25/obama-hogs-more-time-declares

Then there is the White House blog.

A Productive Day & Another Step Towards Putting Americans in Charge of Their Health Care
Posted by Dan Pfeiffer on February 25, 2010 at 07:32 PM EST

I am in charge of my health care. So is everyone else. We all make choices on how to spend our money. We determine whether it is spent on a fancier car, large flat screen television or health insurance. If people don’t want to go to the doctor, they don’t have to. If people don’t want to spend their money on insurance, they don’t have to. Not at the present time, anyhow. Reports are that under the new plan, everyone either buys into the program or gets taxed. Either way, you will pay. Nobody gets refused at the emergency room, and although it is not a good system economically, the whole system doesn’t need to be government run.
Anyhow, the official spin blog hails the summit as the great bi-partisan debate.
Today’s bipartisan health care meeting offered something you rarely see in Washington: an open, honest, productive discussion between the political parties. Leaders from across the political spectrum gathered at Blair House to exchange thoughts about an issue that touches all of us: rising health costs and unfair insurance company practices.

The President doesn’t view today’s meeting as a campaign debate or piece of theater – and he didn’t approach it as if it were scored like an Olympic event. The President went to Blair House focused on the substance – not the process – and he left the meeting focused on substance: how we put the American people in control of their own health care.

Read more: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/02/25/a-productive-day-another-step-towards-putting-americans-charge-their-health-care

The government taking control is not putting me in control. I believe more people are waking up to the fact that our government can’t afford all these programs. They are also waking up to the fact that government can be too big. Witness how the government currently ignores the majority that is against this proposal.

The next thing to happen will be the Senate leadership using this summit as an example of the minority party saying nothing but “no” without proposing any valid alternatives. They will be sure to proclaim how hard they tried to work in a bi-partisan manner, but the other party just wouldn’t cooperate. They will go on to say that it only shows what an impasse exists, and that for the good of the country, the Senate will need to go to their rules for reconciliation.

Reconciliation is a procedure under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 by
which Congress implements budget resolution policies affecting mainly permanent
spending and revenue programs. The principal focus in the reconciliation process has
been deficit reduction, but in some years reconciliation has involved revenue
reduction generally and spending increases in selected areas. Although reconciliation is an optional procedure, it has been used most years since its first use in 1980 (19 reconciliation bills have been enacted into law and three have been vetoed).

Read more: http://budget.house.gov/crs-reports/RL30862.pdf

This Congress and President want this legislation so badly that they will leave no stone unturned in their efforts to find a way to implement new law. Beware the words, “for the good of the people” or any variation thereof. Also watch for the stretching, changing, or breaking of rules to the cries of “foul” by the minority party. When you see this happen, break out those Y2K supplies and head for the hills.

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God Minutes - I Am

2010-02-23T22:30:00.001-06:00

Posted on the God Minutes page are new videos on the seven "I Am" statements of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Gospel According to John.

God Minutes Page

6 God Minutes 3.01 Jesus Is Lord Wednesday, 10 February 2010 John Schaenzer 10
7 God Minutes 3.02 Bread Of Life Tuesday, 23 February 2010 John Schaenzer 1
8 God Minutes 3.03 Light Of The World Tuesday, 23 February 2010 John Schaenzer 1
9 God Minutes 3.04 Door Of The Sheep Tuesday, 23 February 2010 John Schaenzer 1
10 God Minutes 3.05 Good Shepherd Tuesday, 23 February 2010 John Schaenzer 1
11 God Minutes 3.06 Resurrection And Life Tuesday, 23 February 2010 John Schaenzer 2
12 God Minutes 3.07 Way Truth Life Tuesday, 23 February 2010 John Schaenzer 4
13 God Minutes 3.08 The Vine Tuesday, 23 February 2010 John Schaenzer 2

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Hard To Figure

2010-02-21T18:17:00.001-06:00

Ending the war, closing Gitmo, legal trials rather than tribunals but killing more. Some are upset by the lack of capture for interrogation purposes, but if the captive gets an attorney and court date, how much interrogating can happen effectively? Intelligence is tough enough to come by, but if you can't compel the guys with the info to talk, I guess these are the results we will get. I have to give credit to the Administration and CIA and military for stepping up the surveillance and tracking of terrorism leadership. Perhaps they don't need the extra tidbits of info they could obtain. I suspect they actually could use the information, but the instability here produces the kill first, worry later mentality. I am honestly a little uncertain about how to look at this. At least something is happening.

Read the Washington Post story.

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Pixar Fun

2010-02-21T14:48:00.001-06:00

This is old info, but with the 2 yr old granddaughter into the animated films, and nearly memorizing them, I found this site to be a little bit interesting. The Pixar folks have been putting snippets from past and future films into the films they make. If you are familiar with the Pixar films, check this site out.

The Animation Empire

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The Little Guys Are The Most Important

2010-02-21T07:16:00.001-06:00

I had a dream this morning which is uncommon for me due to the fact that I rarely achieve the REM state of sleep. When I awake knowing that I had dreamed, it is cause for me to give thanks. After waking with a more refreshed feeling than normal I decided to record this particular dream because it was both pleasant and had a good reminder for me and whoever would read my blogs. The lesson of the dream is that the “little guys” really are as important as the supposed “big guys”. Those we glamorize seem bigger than life somehow as we put them on pedestals and are star struck when in their presence. I don’t know why this is the case, but it seems unavoidable. I believe it is somewhat due to intimidation. People at the “top” of the hierarchical structures we create tend to be confident and outgoing personalities. At least the persona they project can set the average guy back on his heels just a bit. One thing to keep in mind while reading the story is that all of the conversations were quite civil and friendly. There was no combativeness or jealousy. We talked together as old buddies would in matter of fact style. That said, let’s get onto the dream.

I was in what appeared to be a very large press room of a sporting facility following an event. Although the sport is immaterial to this story line, I believe it was football. My understanding was that the men I was seeing were the guys I hear on the satellite sports channel in my truck. They are radio slash writers slash play by play and color commentators slash former players. They seem to make their living doing a variety of things. These particular men had just finished up and were packing up their laptops and note pads as they talked about the trip they were about to embark upon. They were talking like normal guys, not prim donnas or self indulged. It was I that had put them on a bit of a pedestal.

I said, “So, it’s a big trip to London. Get the boarding pass and reset the watch, huh?” They said, “Yeah” with half smiles. They rehearsed the errands they needed to complete before the boarding pass stage rolled around. After short banter about that, for whatever reason that I don’t recall, I said, “Just remember that it is the little guy that is the most important. The Apostle Paul wrote that we should not think more highly of ourselves than we ought.” One of the men inquired as to why I said that. I responded, “You guys are in the spotlight with the glamorous job, but I’m a truck driver that makes it possible for you to do your job.” I continued, “Without your gear being hauled to where you need it, or the sound technicians and others, you couldn’t do your job. Without the guys on the presses printing your stories or keeping the web sites up and running, no one would read your writings. Without the people running the stations, nobody would hear you on the radio during the week.” They nodded in agreement and the dream pretty much concluded as they walked out the door with their pouches.

As I gently woke up, I lay in bed pondering the story. I am not the biggest fish either. Without the guys at the refinery or in the oil fields, I have no diesel fuel for my truck. Without the guys in shipping and receiving at all the various companies I visit each week, I have no reason to drive because there would be no loads prepared for shipment. If not for the sales men and women struggling to meet their sales quotas, nothing would be moving. So goes the seeming endless chain of workers and duties, all interdependent upon each other. Without the upstream crowd, the downstream folks have nothing to do. Without those in the back ground, those in the fore ground cannot perform the task they were assigned to accomplish.

In Matthew 19:30, Jesus says, “But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.” But who are the first and who are the last? If we are all truly dependent upon one another, is there really a pecking order? I don’t think there is in the practical sense as described in this story. But how much of our attitudes and behaviors create the hierarchies in which we operate in our daily lives. We build up the sports heroes and celebrities only to watch them fall. Their sins are no different than ours really, just more public. Their lives are no more fulfilling than ours are, really, just more glitzy. We are the enablers in their trumped up positions and then we dare to gossip and ridicule their every move.

Perhaps the little guy is the “last” after all. But no, I suspect that our position in society has little to do with the whole concept. I believe it is what we do while in the position that we are in that really matters. Character and integrity will be the measuring sticks to evaluate the first and the last. Doing what we know we should while not doing what we know we shouldn’t. We ought to live rightly with the golden rule and all that while we roam this earth. Of course the biggest separation of people will be at the final judgment when those who submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ will be in one group while the other group consists of those who insisted on trying to resolve eternity in another way. Therefore, it is our responsibility to continue to share the good news of the Savior who came once to spare us from the wrath of God by shedding His blood on the cross at Calvary. That same Jesus Christ will return one day with judgment for all mankind. If one of us were to die today, which group would we be in?

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Sarge's Take

The End Of Osama bin Laden

Up Early

Happy Easter!

If I

07APR11 Taylor's Falls 08 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The Wife

Faith and Action

James 2:17 (King James Version)

James 2:26 (King James Version)

Hebrews 11:1-3 (King James Version)

Hebrews 11:5-6 (King James Version)

2011 Cornerstone Church of Blaine - a set on Flickr

12 pictures uploaded from the Gridiron Saints Trophy Presentation Party. Thanks to Glenn and Toni for hosting our little bash.

Midnight Poetry

Life_According_To_Sarge :: View topic - The Eternal Christ

A Day of Mercies

2011 - New Year - New Beginnings

September 11 Remembrance

Working Roadtrip

Logo Plaque

Breakfast In Bed

30AUG10 Rat Dogs

Life_According_To_Sarge :: View topic - Heavenly Minded

Not The Place To Be

09AUG10 Humidity

Pray and Play Retreat Part 4 of 4

Pray and Play Retreat Part 3 of 4

Pray and Play Retreat Part 2 of 4

Pray and Play Retreat Part 1 of 4

Cancer cells slurp up fructose, U.S. study finds | Reuters

27JULY10 Rainbow

25JULY10 Church

Favre Season

24JULY10 Inception

Inception, Movie Review

Casa Rio

Life_According_To_Sarge : Five Crowns In Heaven

Stand Up For New York

20JULY10 Canned Carp

Procrastination Pie Chart

Mineral Wealth

What I Can't Say

'Thought police' slam media with fine totaling $125,000

18JULY10 Calling Me

17July10 Thanks Nate

16JULY10 Homeward Bound

Minnesota Twins Night Game

14JULY10 Hwy 169 Construction

13JULY10 Acme

Wife Gives USB Wedding Ring to Her Geeky Hubby [PIC]

World of Outlaws

10JULY10 Isanti Rodeo

Minnesota Zoo 26June2010 - a set on Flickr

The Office

Laundry Day

Assignment: Sermon Prep

Finally, A New Bed

Another Sign of the Times

Its starting already. no one in front of or behind me and yet he insists on entering the highway exactly where I am. Sticker on window, "Share the Road". For me, not him I guess. Other side of car dented up. Go figure.

The Front Yard

Morning of Another Day

Job Change

Believer to Man of God Part 2

This is the devotional that was presented to the men on the Annual Mille Lacs Launch Fishing Trip. It set the tone for the evening which turned out to be pleasant weather and a very fun night for all of the guys.

Life_According_To_Sarge :: View topic - Letter to Thyatira

After Thirty Years, The Honeymoon

Six Months To Live

Sacrifice of Praise

To Be A Kid Again

Psalm 40 and the Believer

This morning's thoughts for contemplation. 9marks of a believer in Psalm 40.

Requesting Prayer

Albert says...

Prayer Stations - May, 2010

Memorial Day

Fasting 04 - Caution

Fasting 03 - Focus

Fasting 02 - Examples

Fasting 01 - Reason

This morning's thoughts for contemplation. 9
marks of a believer in Psalm 40.