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Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010 Reading for the Day:  Mark 3-4 and Romans 16 Focus on Romans 16

The final chapter of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans is filled with greetings to various ministry partners and friends.   It also includes a warning against those who bring division. Division has sidetracked the cause of Jesus from the first century to this one.  Paul pinpoints the motivation behind division bringers—personal gain.  It’s so easy to let our own interests get in the way of the cause of Jesus.  Paul implies the solution to division:  Stay focused on the vision God has given!  At New Life we've been pursuing a common purpose since day one:  Sharing the new life of Jesus Christ with the world—one person at a time.  As long as we keep sharing the new life of Jesus with others in our daily lives, and in our life together as a congregation we will continue to experience the blessing of unity that comes with that common, God-given vision.  What will you do today to share the new life of Jesus at school, work, home or wherever you are? Remember, it is each of our responsibility to make Jesus known wherever we are.  He has given us life—eternal life--and when we have received such an amazing gift the best way to say, “Thank You” is to pass it on to someone else.  How will you say, “Thank You” today?

Heavenly Father, fill me with Your Holy Spirit that I may show everyone I meet the love of Jesus in my life. Draw all of us who wear the name of Jesus together in the unity of purpose that comes from You alone.  This I pray in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

The sound of gunshots and teeth getting knocked out has always been music to my ears, but now even more so with Pogo's latest musical number, "Skynet Symphonic". Hit the jump for more...

I guess reports like these should not surprise us. The leftists in the mainline denominations have controlled every effort labeled "peacemaking" in our denomination since the hippies of the 60's had to get jobs in the 70's. I guess the next best thing to a commune is a church job: You can't get fired and they don't expect results.


Well, read Front Page Magazine's report of a new effort co-sponsored by the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship:




Religious “Truth” Commission to Examine U.S. War “Atrocities”
The world awaits their forthcoming pronouncements.Okay, not really. 


Actually, Al-Qaida and the Taliban do, I'm sure.

George Washington was right and these political parties are destroying the promise of America.

He said in his Farewell Address of 1796:

The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries, which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of Public Liberty.



Reflect on how the founding principles, and in deed the founding fathers, are continuously under attack, ridiculed, and ignored by the cohorts of the Progressive ideology.

One way to counter act that regression of our shared and communal intellect, our degenerative body politic, is to reveal what placed these founders in such high regard in the first place.

George Washington, to be sure, wasn't one of the 'best and brightest', if we can borrow that misnomer from a later era. He didn't write the Declaration of Independence nor draft the Constitution. He was a natural leader of men, a General and President, and when he left public service he shared a lot of advice he learned from a tumultuous time period.

Sadly, we haven't paid heed to much of that advice in recent decades.

The Tea Party movement looks in some way to re-arouse the spirit of Washington, Jefferson, and Hamilton.

The biggest obstacle they'll face is the entrenched party apparatus', but I fear they are our last best hope of salvaging our future.

Any honest projection of the course of our nation going forward will acknowledge the dismal state of our finances: the debt, the deficit, and the obligations.

Neither party can claim superiority over the other in managing our books.

The Democrats have been in charge of the pocket book since 2007, when they took back the House of Representatives. They have failed miserably to not only make an effort to restore balance in the federal budget, but they have also failed to steer the nation toward prosperity.

It seems their leaders are doing their best to emulate Ayn Rand's government of Atlas Shrugged. Surreal is what it is, and frightening.


For their part, the Republicans lost their fiscal discipline at some point in the early '00s and it was not until they lost power that they were born again. Or so they would have us believe.

Consider that I'm only addressing our finances, and not our foreign policy, trade, education, health, or immigration problems!

Is this nation ready to support a third party? I'm a skeptic. In the 1990's I committed myself to voting third party whenever possible, and I'll argue night and day that it has never been a waste of my vote.

Unfortunately, millions have wasted their vote on the same old same old. The reasons are wonderfully articulate, and they have been voiced by such statesmen as Arlen Spector and the late Ted Kennedy.

One strident Democrat, filled with nothing but hate and contempt of Republicans, clued me in that he would vote third party, but there was no one to vote for. I replied, I voted third party all my life.

We live in the same district.

Washington had the courage to do great things, do we have the courage to do the little things, like vote for someone other than a Democrat or Republican?

Honda North is exceptionally proud to announce that we have won the Honda President's Award for 2009 and are in the top .1% of all Honda dealers in the Nation for Customer Satisfaction.  The Honda President's Award is only given to the top Honda dealers in the country who display superior performance in New Honda Sales and Customer Satisfaction.  Honda North in Bulter, Pa has won the Award 3 out of our 4 years in business and thanks our employees and customers for such an honor.  Honda North can be reached at sales@hondanorth.net , www.hondanorth.net, or at 800-786-2756. 

Trying to better understand my new addiction to French pop music. I don’t understand more than 10 French words. I present to you a couple of recent impulse purchases.

I think it has something to do with the crazy rhythms…

Serge Gainsbourg & Brigitte Bardot – Comic strip (1968)

…and the phonetic shapes of the wording (if that’s a thing), at least as I hear the wording.

Carla Bruni – Quelqu’un m’a dit

Tagged: brigitte bardot, carla bruni, serge gainsbourg

French Toast or Pancakes?, originally uploaded by ninelives.1972.

My three girls could not make up their minds whether to have french toast or pancakes. So I'm spoiling them. I do it out of love. Which do you prefer, french toast or pancakes?

..and worst of enemies at times. They are having a blast in all of this snow.

Big shock here, right? Yet another mention of that Legend of the Seeker show on FactPile. While I obviously watch all the shows as they air, I’ve always found it interesting to get other people’s perspective on the same thing I just watched, and perhaps even gain some new ideas I hadn’t thought of before. The [...]

Monday, Feb. 8, 2010 Reading for the Day:  Mark 1-2 and Rom. 13-15 Focus on Mark 1:35-39

We find out early in Jesus’ ministry that His first priority was time with His Heavenly Father.  Jesus got up “…very early in the morning, while it was still dark.” Everyone else was still sleeping, but not Jesus. He was with His Heavenly Father.  When Simon and his companions finally found Jesus they had an “agenda” for Him.  What they said was, “Everyone’s looking for you.”  What they probably meant was, “We had a great day yesterday—You wowed them with your preaching.  You healed the sick and cast out demons.  Let’s go back and do it again!”  Had Jesus just gotten out of bed, the disciples’ agenda may have seemed like a good one, but Jesus had already been up for hours communing with His Heavenly Father.  He had no doubts about His agenda for the day.  That’s why He was so easily able to leave the world’s agenda behind and go “…somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also.  That is why I came.”  Jesus knew His purpose.  His time in prayer anchored that purpose and He was able to do the right thing, instead of the easy thing, the enjoyable thing, the predictable thing.  May we also invest the first and best part of our days with God, so we may live out His agenda instead of anyone else’s!

Heavenly Father, Thank You for sending Jesus to save us, and also to show us the way to live effectively here on Earth.  Empower me to give the first and best part of every day to You.  Fill me with Your Holy Spirit that I may listen to Your voice and do Your will regardless of the agendas people may develop for me.  This I ask in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Suggested by cyborg pirate ninja jesus I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know a ton about Fenix. While I’ve played a ton of Metal Gear by comparison. So, I know I am not qualified to make an intelligent decision on who would win this fight. But, putting the fanboy hat on, it’s Snake [...]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl461mVrMFo

Boing Boing has long ago interviewed Peter Serafinowicz, so this might not be the freshest video to share with you. But there’s so much material in Peter’s back catalog that you might have missed this gem.

Context: On Peter’s BBC comedy series (excerpts of which are easily available on YouTube), he frequently imitates Ringo Starr’s “lugubrious” speaking style. Here’s his Ringo remembering being asked to do a James Bond theme (remember that Paul McCartney did the theme to “Live and Let Die”).

I just spent about 4 hours clearing the snow off my driveway with my snow blower. I only have a single stage snow blower, so that is why it took so long. I live at the end of a cul de sac, which is great. But the one down side is when the local snow plows come through, the snow accumulates at the end of the cul de sac. So, my mailbox and front of my driveway where literally buried. I also have an uncovered deck, and I cleared off about one third of it. I am tired now, time for a one hour nap, then I will have dinner. Later.

So when Brenda and I were talking about the predictions of snow fall on Friday evening. She had mentioned that no one at her office that got let out at 3pm felt we were going to get what they were calling for. Many expected a considerable amount less then our delightful meteorologists were forecasting. I forecasted that we were going to get hammered. Well folks I measured a total of 25 inches. We got hammered. Here are some random pictures I took while trying to plow the white stuff. One thing happens when you get this much snow. There is no where to put it. Our drive is considerably narrower than usual, but it is plowed.

Or you can view in slideshow form. I may add to these later.

I captured this from the tractor as I plowed, this alley way goes behind our house our neighbors parking area. I spent a total of five hours plowing yesterday. This was sure test for the Wheel Horse. It got the job done, it just took for ever.

Superbowl Special! I know we don’t cover sports all that much here on FactPile, but this actually looks like a fairly even match. Besides watching for the commercials, I really want the Saints to win. But, I’m not sure that they’ll have enough to pull out a victory. Who do you think will win?