My Pontification

            If you were granted an afternoon with the heavenly being of your choice, who would it be?  Would you choose Jesus?  Or perhaps you would say God but picture Jesus in your mind.  Take out a piece of paper and fold it in half.  On one half write Jesus and on the other half write God.  Now under the heading Jesus, write down words to describe Jesus.  Describe his personality and character, as you would perceive them to be.  Now do the same for God.

            Do your two lists look similar?  Probably not.  Perhaps you described Jesus as “soft-spoken, kind hearted, loving, maybe even caring.  God on the other hand is rarely described with the same words.

In our way of thinking, God could probably be described as an oddity.  A loving but feared being; some one who lovingly created us yet is off limits.  We have all heard that god is slow to anger, yet when reading the bible one might get the impression that God goes from zero to ANGRY at about the speed of light!  Who knows, perhaps coming from the creator of the speed of light it may very well be “slow”!

            You may even envision God with FIRERY EYES, or even a THUNDEROUS VOICE!  CHASTISING the disobedient!  Impatient with His disobedient children! Unwavering and perhaps even a bit uncompassionate towards those who make mistakes in life.  A God who may appear to be focused on his law; a cold, unwavering and unfeeling law. 

            Now before you disagree with the above description of God, review your past.  Ask yourself whom you have been angry at or blamed when things have gone horrible wrong in your life.  Why are we never angry with Jesus?

            So, let me ask you again.  Which of the two would you like to visit with, God or Jesus?  Chances are if you were being honest you would say Jesus. 

            What amazes me is that through all the stories I have been told, through all the stories I have read, I am only aware of one earthly individual who ever saw any part of God.  Only one man who even dared ask to see the face of God.  A few heard the voice of God, but only one earthly man experienced a close relationship with God, to sit and actually talk with God.  Usually we read where God did the talking and Moses the listening.  They seem to be very short and precise, very commanding conversations, and not all that far fetched from the descriptions of God I listed earlier.  However, Chapter 33 of Exodus shows what I believe to be a very soft side to God, a side we rarely read about in all biblical accounts of God.  That is what I want to focus on.

            Chapter 33 precedes the Golden Calf incident.  After the children of Israel had been punished we find Moses and God talking.  Verse 3 says “Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way for you are a stiff-necked people”.  Clearly God had lost His patience with the children of Israel.  In the first part of chapter 33 He confirms to Moses that he will still keep the promise He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  But the impression one might have is that God will deliver only because He had made a promise, not because He wanted to grant these disobedient stiff-necked people such a bounty, such a blessing.  This impression is especially true if one reads chapter 32, verse 10 which reads “Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them (children of Israel) and I may consume them…”.  Once again we find Moses pleading on behalf of the children of Israel, pleading with God to not unleash his wrath upon them.  Verse 14 of chapter 32 says God relented from the harm he wanted to bring upon the disobedient children of Israel.  But as we can see from chapter 33, verse 3, God has not forgotten and is still upset.

            In verse 7 of chapter 33, we find Moses taking his tent and pitching it outside the camp.  It is here that all who sought the Lord would go, including Moses.  Now my Bible (NKJV) makes a point to say that when God talked to Moses, He did so literally.  This provides us with some insight into the relationship that Moses had with God.  What a special gift, a special blessing this must have been for Moses.  With such a task as leading the multitude of people through out the desert for many a decade, this had to be a bit comforting for Moses.

            Let’s skip down to the middle of chapter 33.  I believe that verse’s 12 through 17 highlight two needs or two desires, two requests that Moses is making of God.  The first thing we see is that Moses is requesting God’s presence in their journey to the Promised Land.  Perhaps this is due to God’s decision to no longer go with them.  Moses is asking God to keep Israel as his chosen people.  Moses wants there to be a purpose to Israel’s journey, not just a duty because of a promise made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  You will also see that Moses needs reassurance from God.  Reassurance for himself.  The second request of God is the request that Moses really desires.  Our clue is found a total of four times throughout verse’s 12 through 17.  Moses keeps bringing up that God knows him by name and that Moses has found grace in His (God’s) sight.  Now God knows the desire that is burning deep within Moses.  Still, God waits for Moses to make known his hearts greatest desire.  God provides reassurance to Moses that his presence will go up with the children of Israel and that Moses has indeed found grace in God’s sight and that God knows his name. 

            Now after God has addressed all of Moses fears and requests, after offering reassurances, Moses is left with nothing else other than his hearts greatest desire.  Verse 18 of chapter 33 says, “Please, show me your glory”.  Moses wants to see God’s face.  He has heard his master’s voice, developed closeness with God and yet has never seen the face of the one he follows and loves. 

            It is in God’s response that we see a side not usually visible except through the son, Jesus.  Verse’s 19 – 23 read “…I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you.  I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.  …You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me and Live.  …Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock.  So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by.  Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen”.

            The end of verse 19 seems a bit out of place initially.  God may be reaffirming His power and his control.  God tells Moses “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion”.  I think God was making it clear to Moses that what was about to happen was an act of graciousness and compassion from God because Moses had found favor in the sight of God.  There is however one little problem.  God cannot completely grant the request of Moses for no man shall see God’s face and live.  But look at how God does answer, how he reaches out to fill Moses need.

            “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock.  So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by.  Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back”

            Is this not the most compassionate and beautiful thing you have ever read?  As far as I can tell, there is no biblical record of God doing this for any one else.  Not King David; a man after God’s own heart, or even Abraham who almost plunged a knife into the soft living flesh of his only son.  Could the reason for this be that no one ever asked?  Is this not the ultimate wish one could make of their God?  The ultimate desire, to see God’s face in all his Glory!  Was not God’s answer the ultimate blessing?  When you reveal your desires to God what do YOU ask for?  Perhaps a new car or a better job, maybe even to use you for his glory.  But when was the last time you desired to see God’s face?  It is my hope that each of you will desire to see all of God’s glory, to see God’s face.  May you take your hearts desire to our loving and mighty God, reveal them to him.  Let God reveal his graciousness and compassion so you may more fully receive the loving blessing’s he has for you.

Tags: Spiritual // Add Comment »

I suspect I have always had some fascination with the story of the woman who bled constantly until the day she touched Jesus. But this fascination has certainly risen to a higher level - a truer fascination, if you will, once I heard a sermon by Rob Bell. So although I would like to take credit for what you are about to read, the truth is it’s not all mine. Nonetheless, I really want to share it with all of you.

Notice when I started this I said the woman bled constantly until the day she touched Jesus. Well, that was my understanding, the interpretation I grew up with. It’s not correct. She didn’t touch Jesus, she touched His garment and when you hear the history behind this story, you will see that touching Jesus and touching His garment are not the same thing. You will also see that within this story is the Gospel. Think of it as the telling of the Gospel within the Gospel.

Let’s take a quick look at the story first, then we will step back and look at the history leading up to the story. I believe the best account of this story is actually found in Luke, chapter 8 and verses 43 - 48:

“43 And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, 44 Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched. 45 And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? 46 And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. 47 And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. 48 And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.” -kjv

Before we go back in scripture, I want to draw your attention to three points. First, this woman did everything she possibly could to fix this. She spent probably all of her money trying to find a cure, the physicians did everything they could humanly do to cure her and yet nothing man/woman could do was able to cure her. Second, she touched the border of His garment and the third thing I would like to point out is it was her faith that made her whole. One more thing before we move on, I am not saying we should not seek medical care because that’s not what I believe. I want to point out the human aspect of the Gospel message so please, if you need to seek medical care please do so as I believe God has blessed us with very good doctors and medical care.

Now it appears that a legend developed from the prophets saying that the Messiah would have healing power in His garment. To be more exact, the border of His garment. This legend was born out of Malachi chapter 4, verse 2:

“2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; …..” -kjv

Here is where it starts to get real interesting. “With healing in his wings”, that is what most of your bibles will read. But this instance of the word wings is usually the translation for the Hebrew word kanaph (kaw-nawf’) which means:

“{3671} — kanaph, kaw-nawf’; from 3670; an edge or extremity;
specifically (of a bird or army) a wing, (of a garment or bedclothing)
a flap, (of the earth) a quarter, (of a building) a pinnacle:
— + bird, border, corner, end, feather(-ed), X flying, + (one an-)
other, overspreading, X quarters, skirt, X sort, uttermost part,
wing((-ed)).” - Strongs Hebrew Dictionary

Notice the “edge” or “border” of a garment? Now let’s jump over Numbers chapter 15 verses 37 - 41 which read:

“37 And the Lord said to Moses, 38 Say to the children of Israel that through all their generations they are to put on the edges of their robes an ornament of twisted threads, and in every ornament a blue cord; 39 So that, looking on these ornaments, you may keep in mind the orders of the Lord and do them; and not be guided by the desires of your hearts and eyes, through which you have been untrue to me: 40 And that you may keep in mind all my orders and do them and be holy to your God. 41 I am the Lord your God, who took you out of the land of Egypt, so that I might be your God: I am the Lord your God.” -bbe

Basically, the children of Israel were to put/wear tassels on the edges/borders of their robes. Now Jesus was a Torah observing Jew, as a matter of fact some of you may recall reading or hearing where Jesus said He did not come to do away with the law but to fulfill it. Most likely, as was the custom due to the command of God, Jesus would have worn tassels on the edge of His robes. It is my understanding that over the ages, at some point the tassels went from the robes to what is called a prayer shawl. I have no idea when that change took place, but whatever the custom was at that time it is pretty safe to assume Jesus would have been observing that custom. At any rate, according to the legend, if Jesus was the Messiah then there would be healing power in the edge/border of his garment or prayer shawl.

OK, so let’s go back to our story now. This woman is unable to stop the blood flow and Jesus is in the area. Now I do not know if she believed He “was” the Messiah, or if she decided to test what He claimed, but either way she went to where Jesus was at and specifically touched the border of His garment. We are told in Luke that she was instantly healed and when Jesus started questioning, she came forward, confessed it was she who had touched His garment and why, at which point Jesus said your faith has made you whole. What was her faith? I would like to propose that her faith was in who Jesus said He was, and in God’s promise to send the Messiah. Bottom line, she believed that if Jesus was who He said He was (the Messiah) then there would be healing power in the border of His garment because she believed the prophecy (or legend based on the prophecy). She was made whole because she believed Jesus was the Savior!

Now, isn’t that the Gospel in a nutshell? Do you believe Jesus is who He claims to be and do you believe in the healing power of the cross? All you can do is believe and accept on the basis of faith. There is nothing you can do to earn salvation; it has to be based solely on your faith. That my friend is the Gospel.

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Reuters is reporting that the Federal Reserve Chairmen will be asking for more power - for our protection of course (read here). Now I agree that their has been lack oversight which has led to the current banking problems but no one wants to bring up the ethics and overall business approach that corporations have been pursuing for some time now. No one wants to talk about the fact corporations are legally bound to pursue profit, maximum profit even over harm for the benefit of it’s share holders. This is the cause of our current problem (and our previous problems - i.e. Enron, etc.). Mortgage lending companies have pursued profit, maximum profit for their share holders at the expense of our country, economy, communities and more importantly the families that reside in them. Instead of punishing them, or the legislature cracking the whip on behalf of American’s, we are going to be told that if we give one entity even more power and consolidate power that somehow we will be safer….just like all the other consolidation over the last few years has made us safer and better off. Seems to me what we really need is more ethical people running our country and our corporations and a government encouraging ethical practices and displaying a willingness to enforce current laws.

Taking the power out of the legislature and turning it over to the same type of people that caused the problems in the first place seems like a real stupid move - but not a shocking one. Once the power is consolidated and a “better” organization formed, who will we be able to blame when the next financial “Katrina” strikes and our response is on par with the disaster? Between empowering the bankers in hopes of managing other bankers or living with the corrupt business practices we currently are living in, I think I’ll take the current mess thank you!

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About an hour ago Forbes.com released an article regarding Googles plan to store health records online for individuals.  They are currently about to test the service with 1500 - 10,000 Clevland patients’ who volunteered for this service.  Now personally I can’t amagine any other company better suited to do this, but personally Google is the last company I would want to do this.  Furthermore the security level of this information is pretty minimal - just the same password you use for your gmail or other google login’s.  This probably scares me even more!  Anyone know your gmail login?  Do you want them also having access to your medical records?  What about keyloger software recording your gmail login and then sending that information back to a hacker providing them with access to your medical records?  

I might be willing to suffer through Google’s involvement with this if there was some real security involved to protect the individuals health records, but a simple password that unlocks all of googles services?  How many people truly have a solid, hard to crack password for their gmail account?  Guess you dont want to check your gmail account on a public WiFi.

No thanks Google, please leave my medical records in the doctors office where they belong!

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I have a hard time believing that John McCain is really the candidate of choice for republican voters.  He couldn’t get past being the independent voters choice in his last attempt, why now?  Seems odd to me that when he couldn’t get republican support in the past and republicans complain about him now that somehow they still are voting for him.

Add to this mix the whole Romney / Huckabee angle and I just don’t buy the McCain support.  Romney (prior to suspending his candidacy)  and Huckabee were spliting a large number of republican voters.  The Romney / Huckabee supporters hardly seem like the McCain type of voters and yet supposedly they are.

Now since I like a good conspiracy theory, I thought I would throw one out for anyone who stumbles across this blog. The way I see it, we have two possibilities for the McCain nomination.  One option is that even though republicans have been complaining very loudly about McCain and even though he was unable to get their support previously and even though he is at odds with republican voters on some key issues, they still like him enough to vote for him.  The other option (this would be the conspiracy option) is that the GOP had their nomination hijacked by independents and democrats.  Here is what I mean.  When Ronald Reagan ran he pulled democrats (blue dog democrats) as well as republicans.  Could it be that McCain is benefiting from a similar pattern?  Perhaps there are democrats that are not happy with their choices (or should I say choice in the form of two different faces) and are joining with independents and some republicans allowing McCain to lock up enough votes to sail into the GOP convention for the nomination.

Regardless of which scenario is correct, if I was a GOP official I would be scared to death of the impending John McCain nomination.  John McCain and the rest of the party officials can try and claim he is the best to beat Hillary (who probably will not win the nomination) and maybe even Obama, but if republicans stay home out of disgust then we will see McCain and probably many other congressman hitching a ride home on the Straight Talk Express!

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I realize that I have not been a prolific blogger and probably never will be but the latest gap is the result of “another” fried laptop.  In approximately the past 2 1/2 years I have shelled out about $1600 bucks (not counting upgrade costs) between two laptops and did not even get to use them for the whole 2 1/2 years.  The first HP laptop was purchased in September of 2005 and fried 1 year and 3 months later (3 months out of warranty).  The second laptop was purchased in February of 2006 and fried 1 year and 3 days later (yup, 3 days out of warranty) and it too was another HP laptop.  I have had it with HP laptops, AMD processors (for now), and nVidea based motherboard chip sets.  I have no idea which one or combination of those was the cause but enough is enough.  I also am not a big fan of extended warranties, but perhaps the writing is on the wall and I should consider it.

So, this time I decided to spend a bit more money and to look around.  So I called Dell and got a quote on a laptop but it was a little more than I had intended to spend and still was not a Mac - something I have been wanting for the past couple of years.  A couple of weeks later I decided it was too good an option to pass up (it came with a 3 year on-site warranty).  I called the sales rep but he was on vacation for a couple of days which did not sit well with my “I want it now” personality.  This lead me to poke around on the Dell website until I found a way to pull up my quote and finish processing the order.  Keep in mind that Dell was offering no interest on new purchases for a year which would make placing the order a bit easier.  So during the order processes I filled out the credit request and was approved…..at 26% interest; but hey, I am going to pay it off this year using tax money so what do I care!  But after the order was processed I started thinking about this some more and realized that at no point did I see any form of confirmation that I had been given the no interest promotional.  I called DFS (Dell Financial Services) and was told that my order didn’t qualify for the special.  Now I am irritated, not only is my instant gratification personality suffering due to a mail order laptop, but now I am going to be racking up 26% interest.  Furthermore, I am told by the DFS representative that they can’t fix it.  I am then transfered to the standard sales department (my initial sales rep was from a particular business devision).  My new sales rep tells me to cancel my order and he would personally rebuild it for me for the same price.  I then call the department that will help me cancel the order but after 15 minutes or so find out my order cannot be pulled up because it has not yet been processed.  However, my Dell support specialist tells me that he is 99% positive that the laptop I purchased qualifies for the no interest for a year special so I should verify the next day before canceling.  At this point I have been dealing with Dell for probably a couple of hours, switched from a land line phone to a cell phone with which I had already used up all my minutes for the month and therefore called it a night.

The next day brought me better news, my laptop order had been processed and it did indeed qualify for the no interest offer.  Oh wait, remember the “instant gratification” personality I have?  Well I see the estimated ship date is listed as March 3rd,  with delivery being another 3 - 5 days later (almost a month from order date)!  I’m dying at this point.  A few days later I see that my laptop has been built and now shows shipped - SWEET!  Then I notice the ship to information and I see the Company name is correct but not the city or zip and I am unable to see the street address.  Since DHL is the delivery service (ya I know, it keeps getting worse) I am a bit worried about their ability to figure out that they need to redirect the package from one town to the other town about 10 miles down the road.  But hey, Dell is big enough that they should be able to get my package redirected.  After all, they were the ones that screwed up the ship to information even though all of my paperwork showed it correctly.  So I call a Dell support specialist and find out DHL will not allow Dell to redirect packages, only the customer can.  If it had been FedEx then Dell could have done this for me but since my package went DHL “I” have to fix the Dell mistake!

The good news is that I have fixed the Dell mistake (allegedly - delivery will be the validation of success or failure) and await deliver of my laptop this Friday or Monday.  So perhaps in a couple of weeks I will again become more consistent in my sporadic blogging!

Tags: Musings // Add Comment »

The recent talk of a stimulus package and a President wanting to throw a couple hundred bucks at folks to entice them to quickly and often times foolishly spend the money thereby causing our economy to make a temporary upward bump has got me thinking.  How long term can we expect the results if all we do is throw families a measly $200 - $400 in a desire for quick spending?  Why are people not spending loosely should be the real question especially since that seems to be the desired fix.  If we need everyone to run out and drop a couple hundred bucks in order to have a strong thriving economy then maybe we should ask why they are not willing to do this already.  Why do we only need a onetime quick spend by Americans to salvage our economy and create a long lasting thriving economy?  If Americans are not spending the money now and we need them to, then why would we not need americans to spend at that heightened level consistently?

Add to that a New York Times article called “Foreigners Buy Stakes in the U.S. at a Record Pace” by Peter S. Goodman and Louise Story, and it has me questioning the real motivation behind the stimulus package being drafted.  The first paragraph alone summoned up the problem America is having:

“In November, a French company established a new factory in Adrian, Mich., adding 189 automotive jobs to an area accustomed to layoffs.”

Why is it a French company riding to the rescue of American communities?  It should be an American auto company building and employing Americans, not a French company!  How is it a good financial move for a French company to setup shop in America, but not a good financial move for an American company?  Shouldn’t it be harder for a foreign company to setup shop then for an American company?  Am I the only one that finds this fundamentally flawed?  When American companies setup shop or expand in foreign countries, they like to do so by taking work performed in the US and moving it to operations in foreign countries thereby eliminating US jobs.  Whereas some of the foreign companies like to setup up shop in the US in order to better service the US market.

Unfortunately for Americans, our political leaders seem to not be working for us on this issue (makes one wonder why their allegiance is not with the American worker) as is evident in the second paragraph of the New York Times article:

“For much of the world, the United States is now on sale at discount prices. With credit tight, unemployment growing and worries mounting about a potential recession, American business and government leaders are courting foreign money to keep the economy growing. Foreign investors are buying aggressively, taking advantage of American duress and a weak dollar to snap up what many see as bargains, while making inroads to the world’s largest market.”

Is the fix really to beg for the foreign takeover of our economy while we throw a couple hundred bucks at American families to keep them quiet and happy?  How about we lower taxes significantly (tax incentive) on American companies who expand facilities and American workers on US soil, while raising taxes significantly for off-shoring the labor pool.  We need to tax profits abroad and make it far more lucrative to maintain and expand operations in America.  Perhaps if our government was begging US corporations for their financial investment in our economy we might actually make some progress.  Maybe then the American worker could roll up their sleeves and get to work.  Maybe then with more money coming into the American pocket book, Americans would be willing to spend more money more freely and on a more consistent basis.

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Most all of my posts to date have been political or news in nature. However, I have spent the greater part of today contemplating more spiritual issues, so that is what I shall post on. At one point I had sent an email to a friend thanking them for their friendship and expressing the value that I found in our friendship. One of the aspects that I felt added to the depth and value to our friendship was our ability, and even desire, to occasionally discuss spiritual issues. I would say spiritual discussions are not something I typically have with people and the more I think about it, the more I believe that spiritual discussions or acknowledgment opens us up for pain and sorrow. We may become the target of disdain, bigotry or even ostracism, none of which we do well with. Just like a rejection from a lover or potential lover can cause us to become withdrawn and protective, so it is with religion and spirituality - primarily in regards with one’s own relationship with God.

My tendency to guard or “hide” my beliefs and degree in which I have may have come back to haunt me. I never gave it a lot of thought, but I stumbled across a couple of texts in the book of Luke which has caused me some discomfort and food for thought.

“And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. (Luk 12:8-9 ESV)

Could it be that my failure to acknowledge my faith in Jesus Christ has resulted in Christ denying me before the angels of God? Then again, how much faith do I actually posses if I am not compelled to speak of it? If one truly holds a strong faith in something, do they not usually speak of it in a fairly open and determined manner? Perhaps we have a society whose faith lacks a connection with reality, causing us to live a guarded and quiet existence, not sure of our faith at all.

Then again, maybe this is all me and just my problem exploited by an overactive mind.

Tags: Spiritual // 2 Comments »

What happened to the days when corporate America shared the values of ordinary Americans? How is it that we as a nation have raised a bunch of unethical, greedy leaders? I have no problem with profits or with Americans trying to make more money, but it seems to me corporations no longer feel they are American or part of the local community. They no longer seem to care about the employees that make up the company. It seems to be all about dollars and cents and nothing else.

So what is causing this rant? Just the desperate desire of American corporations to whore themselves out to China regardless of the damage it will cause the Chinese citizens. The International Herald Tribune published an article by Keith Bradsher called “China finds U.S. firms eager allies on security.” The article brings to light the security equipment being sold and setup by Honeywell, General Electric, United Technologies, and IBM. At the very least, the article implies that this technology and surveillance capability has eluded China to date. Now from what I can gather, it is illegal to sell products to China that could have crime control applications. In the case of IBM, equipment will be operational prior to the Olympics that will analyze and catalog people and their behavior. Sounds like crime control to me. The equipment and training our wonderful American corporations are providing to the Chinese are to their police and security forces. Hello? Sounds like crime control to me! Are we really so stupid as to think none of this equipment or training will be used after the Olympics?

If there is any humor to be had in this article, it has to be the rubbish coming out of the American government and the American corporations. In regards to whether or not the equipment being sold to China might have crime control applications, a Commerce Department official was quoted as saying “There may be users in China who figure out law enforcement uses for it.” Really, I would never have guessed. It’s the Chinese law enforcement that is receiving, directing, training and eventually using this equipment. But hey, don’t worry, everything necessary has been done to comply with our governments laws. Our corporations have done everything needed to “technically” and minimally comply with government regulations while maintaining the ability to cash in on this great opportunity. Who cares about the life and safety of people in China negatively impacted by the use of this equipment long after the Olympics have come and gone, so long as our corporations make millions off this opportunity.

You know, sometimes we need to choose right over wrong not because it meets the legal requirements but because its the right thing to do.

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I’m afraid I rarely examine my blessings, at least outside of the obvious.  I guess it’s just human nature.  However events this Christmas caused me to take just a fraction more notice.  What got me started on this path of “blessing” examination were a few events that came about on Christmas Eve.  First was the news of a couple of families that basically became split up on Christmas Eve for one reason or another.  The thought of children and wives/mothers suddenly and unexpectedly finding themselves alone and without a husband and a father drilled down into my soul.  It’s not right and yet it happens, it happens probably a lot but since we are wrapped up in our own brief moment of bliss we fail to notice unless it’s us or someone close to us.  The second opportunity for examining my blessings was a family that my work decided to take Christmas to.  The employee’s provided the family with presents and one family provided groceries for the Christmas dinner.  It got me to thinking about what is probably a very thin line of separation between my family and the family that was helped. 

You see I have just turned 35 and find myself and my family living at my folk’s house while we get back up and on our feet.  I have not thought too often about how this is more of a blessing then a frustration but truth be told God has provided.  May of this year found me wearing a graduation gown with no job, no more financial aid money, and a family.  Oh and did I mention we had to find a new place to live by June?  Well it was pretty daunting.  June arrived and we were living in a camper at the in-laws and still no job.  Finally I found a job in another city and so we moved again, this time to my parents.

The city we moved to has the highest cost of living - food and housing so we still find ourselves living with my parents.  But, without family we would be living on the street.  I have a job and whether we like it or not, we have a place to live.  We have food to eat, my family is together and like most American’s, we spent too much money on presents and candy.  In truth I have many things to be thankful for and yet I have just barely scratched the surface of “blessing contemplation”.

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