A pastor I ain't!

Tami and I took our once a year turn at conducting a mini church service at the Western Hills Retirement Community. It was just the two of us with about 10 people in the small chapel. Tami led the singing and I was in charge of the opening prayer, closing prayer and the message (aka the sermon). Before you get too impressed, my so-called message was only about ten minutes long. I talked about the parable of the sower in Matthew 13. It really was nothing special, but it was enough to get the job done. My pastor's job is safe and I won't be pastoring any churches in the near future.

In the end, it was a real blessing to minister to a small group of elderly people. What seemed like a mundane chapel service to us, was a big deal to these folks. There's not much excitement in a retirement community and they are thankful for any visitors that come along... even if the visitors are delivering some pedestrian message from the book of Matthew.

Cuteness!

I just had to share this...

Happy Birthday

Ashamedly I failed to mention my mom's birthday this week. Her birthday was on Monday, November 3rd. I won't tell you how old she is, but the first digit is a 7 and the last digit is a zero.

Happy Birthday, Mom! I know you are feeling old, but you're only as old as you feel and age is just a number. You are so active and so young at heart! When I think of old ladies, you are not a person that comes to mind.

I love you, Mom!

Winter Approaches

The weather tonight is fit for neither man nor beast. It is cold, windy, dreary, dark and damp. I believe this foreshadows the days in the doldrums that lay ahead. After the end of daylight savings time, it seems to be the beginning of 5 or 6 months of nothing but dread. I can feel the depressing feelings pressing in on me already and this is only the beginning. UGH!

Election results part 2

And then there's this from conservative internet blogger, Matt Walsh...

"Democrats got trounced Tuesday night, which shows, I think, that people generally reject liberalism when they’re forced to actually endure it in any real sense".

I think that says a lot, don't you? The American voters are fed up and spoke loud and clear from the polling places across the nation. Liberalism sounds good on the surface (to some), but when you actually have to live with it, things are quite different.

Finally, I once again appeal to the GOP. You've been given control of both houses of congress. Now what are you going to do with it? Let's see some action boys and girls!

The power has shifted

The American people have spoken! Political analysts have described the results of yesterday's election as a bloodbath. The Republicans dominated every facet of the election. This shows how thoroughly disgusted the people are with the current administration. Obama's approval rating is at a record low and the ratings for congress are even worse. I believe the majority of the nation has grown to distrust our current leaders to take care of our most basic needs (i.e. keeping the citizens safe, keeping our infrastructure from crumbling etc..). They have shown no leadership in dealing with our border crisis and the massive influx of illegals. They have have failed to protect diplomats abroad (Benghazi etc...). They have dropped the ball in Iraq, Libya, Syria and have been totally inept in handling ISIS (They've stood idly by as these barbarians behead innocent people). The economy is STILL in shambles and 6 years later the Democrats continue to blame George W. Bush. Time to take ownership of the economy folks. And isn't it strange how the marine being held in Mexico wasn't released until shortly before this election. Hmmmm... very curious indeed! What about the IRS scandal... anything ever done about that? Nope!

Now the Republicans have control of the senate AND the house. The question is, what will they do with it? The Republicans need to take swift and decisive action. They need to get to work long and hard. Don't let up! My fear is they won't do much of anything. The fact is I don't trust any politicians... regardless of party affiliation.

Bottom line... the will of the people was expressed yesterday. Obama's own party rejected him and his policies hurt Democrats nation wide. This was a resounding victory for the GOP. I just hope they don't screw it up!

VOTE

Today is election day. I thank God for allowing me to live in this great nation where the people get to elect their representatives in government. I may not always agree with the will of the voters and I do have concerns regarding voter fraud... especially with all the illegals flowing across our borders. Early voting laws and the lack of requirement to show ID allows for extreme suspicion of funny business. But even with all that, I praise the Lord for my right to vote.

BEAUTIFUL!

Abby had her senior pictures taken Saturday. Here are a few samples. In a word... Bee-yoo-tee-full!

One Last Game

Today I watched with sadness Lauren Hill's first and only collegiate basketball game today. For those who may not know, Lauren is a Greendale resident and Lawrenceburg High School graduate. She has inoperable brain cancer and has only months to live. Before being diagnosed with cancer, she signed on to play college basketball at Mt. St. Joseph University. Obviously she is no longer physically able to play competitively.

In a classy move, the university arranged to have the opening game moved up two weeks to allow Lauren to play in "One Last Game". The story has gone national and garnered a lot of media attention. In another classy move, Mt. St. Joe's opponents, Hiram College, allowed Lauren's team to run a set play to begin the game. The play was designed to allow Lauren the opportunity to make an uncontested layup with her non-dominant hand. The play went as planned and Lauren scored the only basket she will ever score in a college basketball game.

This is a gut wrenching story. Lauren is showing such bravery in facing death at a young age and she says she draws strength from a "never give up" attitude. Many people are getting inspiration from Lauren's story. The story is sad and I can't imagine watching one of my children go through something like this. But the real sadness lies in what is NOT being said in this story. Nobody is saying where all this strength and inspiration is coming from. There has not been one mention of God in this whole story. It's amazing how something like this can happen and the Lord is left out of the equation entirely.

Don't get me wrong. I am glad this story has gotten a lot of attention and I know this attention has caused a spike in donations for brain cancer research. I just think it's sad that something of this magnitude does not cause God's name to be evoked.

One of the best

Today is one of the best days of the year. Halloween has passed and the next one is 364 days away. Glad it's over for another year!