January jottings 2

I am honestly trying to do more actual blog posts this year instead of these posts of random thoughts, but this is all I got today,mostly topics I have discussed lately, saw on the news, or social media:


1) Thoughts on the  government shutdown:

a) I am still against Trump, but the shutdown is on the Democrats, not on Trump or the Republicans. The Democrats want amnesty so bad so they can get more votes, they will do anything to get what they want....even if it means putting the welfare of lawbreakers above we Americans who they are supposed to be working for.

b) A liberal friend tried to claim the Democrats are taking the high ground because they care about social justice "as the Christian God should"....I admit I blasted him for that stupid comment, pointing out they are the party who cheers and celebrates the murder of millions of babies. They do not take the high ground.

c) I don't believe Congress should get paid during a shutdown. That might speed things up

d) I like what Matt Walsh said: "The only thing bad about this government shutdown, is that the government will be back up and running eventually."

2) Trump praise and worship

  I might be able to handle Trump more if it wasn't for so much over the top worship and defense of him. I get that many Christians voted for him out of a fear of a Hillary presidency. I don't get this desperate need to defend the indefensible in him. I was talking to a friend of mine and saying how it was affecting me seeing this, then she went on to defend his bragging about grabbing women's genitals, and his owning strip clubs. Why? Why did she have to defend those things? She also did a post defending his use of the vulgar word he called Haiti. Support him when he does something good or says something good, but it is disgusting to see Christians wallowing around in the filth and defending him on things they should be disgusted by.

 I could have more respect for Trump supporters if they just admitted that he was wrong in those areas, and said they felt they still had to vote for him......but to defend sin because he's your guy.......no.

 I also see too many posts about how he is the only president do be treated so badly, that the Bible prophesied his presidency, and other stuff that is like what the Obama supporters were famous for. I see more praise and worship of Trump from some Christians, than of God...... and I believe 100% that many Christians are more offended by criticism of Trump than of God.

 I un-followed a lot of people during and after the election. If someone posted too much pro-Trump stuff, I un-followed. If they gave me a hard time about not voting for him, I un-follwed. If they post stuff like Trump making Christmas great again, I un-followed

 Think of a politician you really dislike - Obama, Hillary, etc.... now imagine you have Facebook friends telling you that you must vote for them. Imagine Facebook friends are always posting over the top stuff about him being wonderful. People comparing him/her to David, Sampson, Esther, and other Bible heroes. Can you imagine how weary of that you'd get? That is how it is like to not like Trump.

I won't deny he has done some good, but there are a lot of promises he hasn't fulfilled yet, and I am suspicious of this guy who spent so much time and money supporting liberals and their causes.

3) The weather

 Thankfully, the weather has warmed up a bit to temps in the 40's, and  50's. I am enjoying the warmer temps and the snow melting.

4) Get away

    We are short a person at work, and a co-worker is going on vacation. My boss is working her as many days in a row as possible before her vacation, and the result is my having a 4 day weekend next weekend. Saturday-Tuesday. My first thought was it would be nice to do something, and the Amish getaway I have done came to mind.......but I can't really afford it. I checked to make sure one is going on, and it is...... so I decided to do it. If I need to, I'll borrow from my savings and put it back after I get my tax refund back.

 The getaway is something an inn in Sugarcreek, OH does......which is the heart of Ohio's Amish area. Depending on the days you go, the package price differs. I am going on Monday and Tuesday, so the price is $89.95 for 2 people, $77.95 for one.....which is me.  You get a night's stay at the inn, your choice of supper out at 3 different restaurants, your choice of breakfast out at 3 different restaurants, and free stuff from 15 different businesses: a pound of cheese, popcorn balls, a 1/2 gallon of apple cider,  a personalized pen or bookmark, and more. You are given a map of all the locations, and you go all over the area shopping and picking up your free stuff. It is fun, and I have enjoyed the few times I have done it. The inn is a really nice place to stay too. The approximate value of the meals and other things total more than the price you pay for  the room.

 I always get there around 9, pay, and get my packet with the coupons. You can't get in your room til around 2, so I set out and start collecting my free items while sight-seeing and shopping. I typically go back to my room and relax a bit in the late afternoon, then go out for supper around 5-6, then back to my room. There is nothing to do in the evening, so I take my laptop, a movie or two, and a book to occupy myself in the evening. I get up the next day and have my free breakfast at nearby Dutch Valley Kitchen, then go pick up any remaining items I didn't get.

5) Illegal immigrants

 Yeah, I am politically incorrect. If they are here illegally, they are illegal immigrants. The issue frustrates me. There are people lecturing us telling us that as Christians we must accept them and take care of them. Ironically, it is more often than not that it is people fine with murdering babies telling us that......it just ticks me off that we are expected to take care of these people breaking into our country, while there are people going about it the right way, and while we have legal American born citizens living on the streets....... but by all means lets take care of lawbreakers first! 

 Liberals try to paint it that we are against immigrants, but we are not. I am all for people coming into this country legally. It is a disservice to those who do, to try to do amnesty for those who come in illegally and leech off our system. We already have too many legal Americans leeching off the system.

6) Casual church    

  I mentioned before on here that my church recently enlarged our sanctuary, and put chairs in instead of pews to save money. I still don't like them, and believe for such a major change, the whole church should have had a say, instead of a few guys on a committee making that decision. I do think it looks more casual and that is rubbing off on me. I have worn jeans on Sunday morning a few times recently, and I have never worn jeans on a Sunday morning.

 And I honestly haven't consciously thought "well since we have chairs now, I am going to wear jeans....", but now that I think about it, there may be a connection.

7) Praying to dead people 

 There is a lot of Catholic beliefs I disagree with, and some that just boggle my mind. One is their praying to "saints". The Bible says to come boldly to the throne of grace, and that we can go straight to God. Why on earth would anyone bypass God and pray to a dead person instead? It sounds like idolatry in the first place, and why pray to someone who can't do anything for you?

  I got myself in trouble recently. Yeah, big shock there. I am in a few groups for Christian guys with same-sex attractions. Two of those groups are more Catholic, with some non-Catholics in. I couldn't stand it the other day when some of  the guys were talking about their struggles and saying a prayer to this or that saint for help.  I told them they might have more success if they prayed to God instead of dead people. It didn't go over well :)

8) Speaking in tongues    

 I don't believe in speaking in tongues as some churches do. I believe it is  the gift of languages........but even if those churches were right, the Bible clearly  states it is a gift and we all do not have the same gift, so to insist everyone must have it is totally un-Biblical.

9) Oprah for president    

 There is a lot of talk about Oprah running for president. I hope she doesn't. One celebrity in the White House is one too many, and we don't need another. I do think Trump would lose to her if she ran, but I could be wrong.......I never thought he'd beat Hillary.

10) Being missed

 Before I took my current position at the hospital, I was the greeter in the Emergency Department. Today, one of the young male nurses who is now also a supervisor, said he wanted me back over there and wanted to kick my King James Donkey (not his exact words......) for moving over here. It is nice to be missed :)

11) Christianity

  Am I the only one who wonders how close to God's ideal of Christianity and church we are? I can't imagine He is pleased as we fight and argue over petty things like politics and other things that won't matter in eternity, while ignoring the lost around us.

 And I often wonder what  the early church was like, and how far from it we are. I doubt we resemble it much..... I would like to find out more what the early church was like, but not sure how to go about that.

12) Opposing a president    

     As much as I dislike Trump, I can appreciate he has done some good.........unlike Obama. I honestly cannot think of anything he did that I agreed with or thought was good for our country and freedoms. I won't ever like Trump for who he is and what he has done and said - and how he acts - but even I won't criticize him for doing good........though I am suspicious of his motives. There are people who hate him so much that they blame him for everything, including the Hawaii missile scare and the shutdown. There is plenty to dislike Trump - and Obama for, we don't need to create reasons.

13) The fall of "Johnny"

 "Johnny" is a young friend of mine that I met at the Hope for Wholeness Conferences - Hope for Wholeness is a ministry for those with unwanted same-sex attractions. Johnny was doing great, was an encouragement, and even taught a couple of workshops at last year's conference.

 And he just gave up. He has decided to embrace being gay, yet claims Jesus still loves him and he still loves Jesus.....the first is definitely true, but the last cannot be.

 A few weeks ago, he was hotly defending watching Ellen Degeneres and raving about how wonderful she was.....now I wonder if that was a sign, or if watching a lesbian regularly had a bad effect on him. Regardless, it is sad.

14) The snow hypocrites

 That may sound harsh, but it is the blunt truth......I have had a few people lecture me that it is wrong for me to hate snow and speak of it harshly because God created it, and it is basically criticizing God. You cannot tell me that these people never, ever complain about or criticize something God created....rain, heat of summer, mice, spiders, snakes....there is something, and more likely more than one somethings - that they are as guilty of complaining about or criticizing. And that is what a hypocrite is - one who preaches at someone else for something they do.

 And then there are tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis....and other such weather conditions that these people cannot possibly like.

 It both amuses me and irritates me, if that is possible.

I remain convinced snow and winter are a result of the fall of man, and are part of the curse.

15) The Maine Justice books

 A few months ago I won a book. I had the option to pick any book in the 5 book series, so I picked #1. I loved it and put the other 4 on my Christmas wish list, which I did receive and read through them after Christmas. Then book #6 came out, which I purchased. I read it today and loved it. The series is suspense/mystery, and I have really enjoyed them. I emailed the author last night and received a reply within minutes:

"Wow, Mark, thanks! Hearing from readers like you is SO encouraging. Do you know, those six books were some of the first I ever wrote, and I couldn’t sell that first book. I don’t know if it was because of the strong spiritual emphasis or what, but they sat “in the drawer” for about 15 years. I got them out last year, updated the fashions, cell phones and computers, and published them. Thanks for letting me know that was a good decision! Would you mind if I quoted you in a tweet or something for a promotion?"

Susan

16) Facebook memories

 Facebook has a cool feature where every day, they offer several posts that you posted a year ago today, 2 years ago today, etc up to about 8 years (I think). It is pretty cool to see what I posted in the last few years, and sometimes it is something I forgot about and enjoy the memory.

17) Taco Tuesday

  The Mexican restaurant near me has 99 cent taco Tuesday every week. Today, my oldest 2 nieces and my mother met me there for tacos. For dessert, we got fried ice cream.....which is really good, and so big we always spit it two ways. Unfortunately, my youngest niece was in school and couldn't be there.

18) Electoral college

  There are people calling for the electoral college to be done away with. No coincidence, they are people who wanted Hillary to win. Had she won, they would be silent about the electoral college. Democrats know it would be in their favor to not have the electoral college.

19) What still bothers me

 One of the things that still bothers me most from this past election, are the Christians - even from my own church - who either accused me of being for Hillary, or said my vote was going for Hillary since I was voting 3rd party. These were people who are supposedly friend and Christian brothers and sisters in Christ. They knew I was not for Hillary.

 But they refused to acknowledge that it is possible to oppose the GOP and Democratic candidate. In their eyes, you must be for one or the other, and if you are not with their candidate, you are for the other.

 Can I be blunt: that attitude and thinking is not Christian. It is political, pure and simple. These people used dishonesty, and attempts to shame or guilt me into voting for Donald Trump. I lost respect for, and confidence in anyone who said those things to  me.

It IS possible to be against both candidates.

If you are against the guy in your own party, it does NOT make you in favor of the other guy - or woman in this case.

If you vote 3rd party, it is NOT a vote for the Democrat.

 It is a year later, and I am still struggling with this....... and things like these are why I do despise this presidency.

   I have come to the conclusion that we Christians have become too political. The Bible says nothing about voting, and it sure doesn't say you must vote like the rest of the people in your party, church, or even family.

 Sadly, most of us will never get it. I get it  - or am starting to get it - because I dared stand against the candidate people unfortunately picked for the political party I am registered with. We have equated being Republican with being Christian. And yes, I have problems with anyone who calls themselves a Christian and is a Democrat with all their party supports and stands for.

 But I also had - and have a problem with Donald Trump. Well, several problems. Why is it OK to take a stand against the Democrat, but not the Republican?

 There are two things I am considering: Registering as an Independent, or not voting in another presidential election at all. And I am serious about that.

20) Reading challenge

  Mainly to end on a positive note.....

  Goodreads is a cool site I use often for keeping track of the books I read, and I also post reviews on there. They have a reading challenge each year. You can set it for how many books you want to read, and they keep track of your progress on how many books and pages you have read. I set a goal of 130 books for 2018, and have read 14 so far. According to Goodreads, I am 6 books ahead of schedule. I hope I can keep that up, as I came in a bit short of my goal last year.