I have lived in many parts of this nation. The Rocky Mountains are beautiful. I lived in a little town called Golden, Colo. It is a suburb of Denver. There was only several million people in Denver. But the attitude of the people was of a small town. My cousins lived up the mountain in a town called Evergreen. Now that was a small town of only a few thousand. Then I lived in Indianapolis, Ind. You would think that it is one big city. But it isn’t at all. Indianapolis is made up of over 200 towns each individual and distinct. They claim to fame when I lived there was that there was a bank robbery every week. Indianapolis is bisected by no less than 7 interstate highways. The people would come home at 5, change their clothes and go out until 2 or 3am. They did this all the time. It like to drove me crazy. I couldn’t stand living in that kind of life style. I have lived in Houston and San Antonio. I always liked traveling around the country. My parents would take us on vacations all over. The only states I haven’t been to are New England and the pacific coast. My cousins in Pierre, SD., have a 80,000 acre wheat farm. They fly airplanes to check the crops. Life is different everywhere. So are the people who live there. Discovering who those people are has become one of the most important things in my life. There is a real diamond mine in Murfreesboro, Ark. I love to talk to strangers. My wife gets embarrassed when I do. But you never know what you going to find when you do. I guess it goes back to me being shy when I was young. And wanting to meet people freely. Mark Twain said that “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” I don’t travel as often as I would like, but I still want to.
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Why does honor and integrity cost us everything? There is nothing more precious to us than our life. Yet we become willing to risk it all for honor. These human values are most precious and valued above all things. We see it in the animal kingdom, where a mother will defend her children to the death. Where the parents give all that they have for their offspring. Honor, courage, and integrity are strong values in our lives. People who don’t follow them consider themselves worthless. What is it about those values that would make us want to do whatever is necessary? How many people do you know that follow that way of life? Probably just a few people come to mind. One of the most honorable person I know was an uneducated woman from south Louisiana. She spoke fluent French. She was a maid and very poor. She saw a need in Haiti and went an opened an orphanage. For 20 years, she worked with the poor people and helped young people get an education. She didn’t asked for things for herself. Every so often she would come back to raise money for the orphanage. She worked in Haiti until she couldn’t physically do it anymore. This woman had honor and integrity far above most people I know. What is your life about? Is it just to a acquire things in this world? Or do you have a purpose or plan to accomplish something honorable in this life? Honorable doesn’t mean that you have to go to Africa or have to give everything you have to the poor. It means being true to yourself and God. There are many wrongs that need to be righted here just outside your door. All you need is to open your eyes and see what needs are around you. There is no greater love than this, to lay down your life for another.
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St. Valentine’s Day is February 14th in the United States. It is a day of expressing your love for your girlfriend, boyfriend, husband, wife, grandma, grandpa or any other person you particularly are fond of. I can remember in grade school where teachers had us to prepare cards to give to other students. The practice of card and flower giving started in England in with a poem, Parlement of Foules by Geoffrey Chaucer in 1382. Then it spread to Europe and then to the rest of the world. There is hardly a country in the world that doesn’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. Even hard-hearted jerk that I am sent my wife flowers. And as a bonus I wrote about her on my blog called the Black Swan. The story of St. Valentine goes by to the 4th century in Rome. Valentine was a priest who was helping people to live their lives. Unfortunately he went against the government and they killed him. The day before he was killed, he sent a card with a poem. On the card was written to my valentine. He gave his life in what he believed. I guess that is what this is all about is giving a piece of yourself to someone else. Whether it is for personal reasons or because you love the person. It is not always easy but it is always rewarding. Send someone a card or take them to lunch and see what happens. You will never know what can be unless you give of yourself to someone else. As the bible says, no getting love is this than you give your life for another. Happy Valentine’s Day.
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Isn’t it funny how your life revolves around the sun? We rise up from sleep and go to bed with the sun. Benjamin Franklin said, early to bed, early to rise makes a person healthy, wealthy and wise. But much of our life depends on the sun. We say it is a beautiful day when the sun is shining. Then we say it is a dreary day when it is raining. What makes the day any different when the sun shines or it’s raining? It is a perception. It is what our brain tells us from past experience. We can do more when the sun shines. Make hay while the sun shines. Then when it rains, we are limited to indoor activities. I don’t like to get wet either. I am like a cat. But once I am wet them it’s alright. If it is cold and wet, which happens often, it is miserable. But there is something to be said for a rainy day. It seems to be quieter than most. Or is it that our mind is quieter. We choose the quiet or slower activities. Unless you want to run around your house and break things. I love to listen to the rain on a tin roof. I always felt sorry for the workmen who work in the open and especially on rainy days. It is all about perception. What you see or think you see will determine what you do. In reality a sunny day and a rainy day are the same. There is no real difference between the 2. You can do the same thing you want on each day. I like to choose the rainy day to stop and reflect on what is going on in my life or read a book, or do an activities that quieted my mind. You see a days are the same. God said, this is the day the Lord has made, so rejoice and be glad in it.
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Through the Black Swan is a beautiful bird and quite unique in nature, but it isn’t what I am talking about. The Black Swan is a theory that states it is a surprise that you weren’t expecting and it changes everything you are doing. How many times has this happened to you and didn’t know it had a name? I don’t know if you ever read John Steinbeck’s book “Of Mice and Men”. There is a quote from the book that says, “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry”. We plan everything. Our details are precise and extensive. Then our plans are shot to hell, when someone walks in with a better plan. That is a black swan. A black swan, though it is unknown to us, will improve on what we are doing. In hind sight of course. No one is perfect and we can’t plan for every contingency. So change will happen to us on a regular basis. Sometimes it is maddening. When you have put so much time and effort into it. Some people just can’t except that their plan is flawed. But if you can adjust you thinking and go on, it will benefit you. Sometimes the black swan doesn’t show up, because our plan is right and will work. It is all in the accepting the changes in our lives. This applies to all aspects of life. My wife was a black swan for me. She got me off dead center and propelled me into a world of change. Changes such as marriage, children and finances to name a few. So don’t be so surprised when a black swan shows up in your life. Look for the change that is coming and accept what you can’t change. Your life will be enriched by it.
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It is a theory in quantum mechanics that states if you observe anything, it will change the variables of the observed object. Thus changing the end results of the observed. It’s a theory that kind of loops in on itself. It is also about the uncertainty of people. There are so many variables that affect our lives. Some of these variables a simple and some difficult. It is certain that we are changing every day and every minute. We don’t know what the end result will be even if we observe the changing effect. A meteor about a foot width hit the earth and created Crater Lake. A grain of sand in space can hit an asteroid and move it out of it orbit. Let alone the Wall Street stock market falls and all hell breaks loose. Or our country loses industries because they are going to overseas locations. And 13 million people are out of work. There are 35% of the American population on welfare. 53% of Americans are working and paying taxes. The American population has declined in the past 60 years by 20%. There are 76 million people who are baby boomers. These are people born between 1946 and 1964. They will all reach retirement age in 14 years. This is the majority of American people in the US. This is the uncertainty principle. What will happen to America? When the majority of people working retire from working and paying taxes. Economic collapse comes to mind. The Federal Government is spending money like there is no tomorrow. Guess what if they continue there is no tomorrow. It is time for a revolution in this country and I am afraid it is going to be violent. I personally think that the uncertainty principle needs to be applied to all elected officials everywhere, local, state and national. What are you going to do to change this world today?
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It was a short season this year. It was only 6 weeks long. If you don’t know Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday. Today begins Lenten Season. Its 40 days before Easter. It is a time of fasting and prayer for the Catholic Church. Today is called Ash Wednesday. It is receiving a mark on our flesh as Jesus received marks on His. Did you know that there are over 1.2 billion Catholics in the world? That is about 1/7 of the entire population of earth. Lent for the Catholic Church mimics the Jewish feasts. The Jewish people have Passover, Pentecost, Succoth and Hanukkah. Our feast days coincided with these. Easter is about the same time as Passover. Succoth is about the same time as the fall harvest of Thanksgiving. Christmas is about the same time as Hanukkah. All though we don’t have a feast day for Pentecost. Pentecost is usually in May or June. Easter has come early this year. It is March 27th, 2016. It is on the first Sunday after the vernal equinox. When God chose the Jewish people to be His people, He wanted them to be an example for us, the gentiles. It was the example of how to get to God. So when the Christian religion was setup, it was a reflection of Judaism. It is a good idea to fast and pray period. Not only to prepare for Easter but all during the year. Coming to the place where we see who we are and what we need, is always a good idea. There is no time like the present to figure out just who you are. Something my dad always said to me. I would say it a little different. Now is the time to figure out just who you are and where you are going.
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Knowledge has increased experientially in the last 60 years. There has been a race for knowledge like it has never been before. Man is so proud of himself about all the advances made in every field. If the tech companies don’t outdo each other every 6 months, we believe they are closed for business. And not all advances are good or work like they are supposed to. Weaponry alone has come from the dark ages to modern warfare. Desert Storm was about testing all the new weapons developed since WWII. It perfected the Cruise Missile system. Do you know that 1 of those missiles cost a $1,000,000 each. 297 missiles were fired during Desert Storm. Heart surgery was developed by Dr. Michael Debakey in the 1960’s. Life expectancy is about 80 years in the US. More drugs are developed each year for diseases I never knew existed. And listening to the side effects, the cure is worse than the illness. It is funny how that knowledge has empowered man to do more. It is also funny how knowledge has formed elitism in man. The more knowledge the better a person is in this world. Which isn’t not true at all. Just because you know something doesn’t make you a better person. Some of the finest people I know didn’t know how to use a computer or have a smart phone. So what is all this noise about technology? Are we to believe that we will be perfected by things? The bible says that the increase in knowledge is one of the signs of the last days of earth. No one knows that time or date of God’s coming. But He is coming again to this earth. The title is a scripture. Let me finish it off. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.
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When God set up the Promised Land for the Israelites, He set down rules and regulations for the people to follow. One of them had to do with the land itself. If you know about the Middle East, there isn’t much arable land to use for farming. It fact most of it is deserts. So land usage is an important part of life. When the Jewish people came back into the Promised Land, an almond grove from biblical times was discovered in the Negev desert. Each tree was surrounded on 3 sides by a small wall of stones to capture the rain. All the walls were facing one way. The Negev’s annual rain fall is about 8 inches. 8 inches of water a year isn’t enough to take a bath in. The almond crop in California uses 10% of all water used for crops and people. So water usage was of upmost important. The land in Israel was given as God inheritance. Not everybody is a farmer. Those that chose to sell their land could do so for 7 years. Then it was to be returned to the original owner. This way no one could lose their inheritance. On the same 7 year cycle, each person was to farm the land for 6 years and let the land rest on the 7th year. Most farmers do that today to allow the land to recuperate from farming. But people became greedy and wouldn’t give the land back after 7 years. Nor would they let the land rest on the 7th year. The bible says that the land sprued the people out because of the sin of the people was heavy upon the land. For 490 years, the Israelites wouldn’t follow God’s word. So the Israelites went into captivity for 70 years. And no one farmed the Promised Land for 70 years. God gave the land rest. The bible says in Romans 8:22-23 “Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” Have you ever seen the earth groan and travail? If you haven’t just look around. It is happening now.
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We always hope that our parents will leave us an inheritance. Something substantial, like land or money, but it is not always so. An inheritance can be something else. Some people are just not rich in their life, so they leave what they can like a good name, understanding or knowledge. Proverbs 22:1 “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.” Give a person a fish and you feed him for the day. Teach him to fish and you feed him for his lifetime. The Israelites are made up of 12 tribes. God promised them a Promise Land, flowing with milk and honey. All the tribes had an inheritance in the land, except the Levites. Moses and Aaron were Levites. When they were in Egypt, they were the teachers of God’s law to the Israelites. God gave them an inheritance in Him. God divided them into three families. Each one had a job in the temple and they were to share in all that was collected at the temple or Tent of Meeting. This is how they made their living. God provided for them. About the time that Jesus was born, the Levites were pushed out of the temple by Sadducees. The Levites formed monasteries to be able to live. This is where the Dead Sea Scrolls came from. God’s inheritance is not just food or shelter. An important part of His inheritance are our children. That is why children are so important in our lives. My parents left my brothers and I an inheritance of money. But more than that they left us the knowledge of God. What will you leave to your children?
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