The Great Separation

Gracious Speech.

Scripture for the week. - In writing and working and living, the right words make all the difference.

Well, duh!

An incident happened last week where I heard a person say something with the wrong form of a word that could have been misinterpreted. Particularly if the other person wanted to interpret the word with a negative connotation.

The word was not a dirty word.

The word was misinterpreted, fortunately the person that said it had the opportunity to correct it.

Which brings me to this scripture verse.

“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” (Col 4:6 NIV)

It takes years of practice and a life time of putting it into practice. But it is worth it according to our Lord.

I heard something today that said the business world practice in trying to correct a problem in an employee is to sandwich the negative between two positives. The error noted in that approach is that the person becomes conditioned to expect criticism when you start to praise them. How often do we do that with people we love?

Instead our conversations should be full of the grace that is from God and seasoned in love so that the taste is improved.

This is a natural gift for some people. For the rest of us it is daily exercise that strengthens us.

Slavery Still Exists: Girl Traded in Card Game.

When life has no value - It's a sad fact, but slavery still exists in the world.

A Pakistani 17-year-old-girl was lost years earlier by her father in a card game. Now, of I guess a proper age, she is to be handed over to the man who won her.

Here's the link to Dhimmi Watch: Girl lost in poker game pleads for help.

The idea that women are possessions of men is deeply ingrained in the Qur'an and Sunnah. This kind of thing is the result.

This reminds me of the movie I saw over the weekend.

Amazing Grace.

I can't recommend this movie more. It is a MUST see.

Can We Say, 'Call to Sexual Purity'?

UPDATE below.

Destruction from the inside - The DRUDGE REPORT is running this:

FLASH: More than quarter of U.S. women ages 14-59 infected with sexually transmitted human papillomavirus... Developing...

I find that stunning.

Historically, some of the greatest empires in the world were not brought down from external forces but from the internal moral corruption of their citizens. Consider this another sign post. It's not to late to turn back and discover forgiveness and redemption through the blood of Christ, Redeemer and healer of all wounds.

The Great Separation continues.

UPDATE:

Here is a link to the full Reuters article that was headlined on Drudge:

HPV infections seen in over quarter of U.S. women.

Using data from a nationally representative group of 1,921 girls and women ages 14 to 49 who provided vaginal swabs in 2003 and 2004, researchers led by the CDC's Dr. Eileen Dunne found that 26.8 percent were infected with any type of this virus.

Cameron Seeking to Sink Savior.

See Update below

If you won't join them, tear them down. - I'm sure most by now have seen the silly announcement of the film maker James Cameron who claims to have discovered Jesus Christ's family tomb.

Of course it's not just the Savior of the World's tomb Cameron claims to have found in a documentary he's pushing. It's also Jesus' wife and son.

That's right, like the Da Vinci Code.

Yawn.

Probability statistics seem to be part of Cameron's equations.

Apparently the actual archaeologists who unearthed the tomb think Cameron is wrong.

Here's two articles Drudge linked to on the subject:

Scorn poured on James Cameron's 'coffin of Christ' theory.
Scholars, Clergy Slam Jesus Documentary.

I think the second article has the best line on why it's not to be believed. And that comes from Cameron himself:

"I'm not a theologist. I'm not an archaeologist. I'm a documentary film maker."

This whole episode reminds me of a great novel I read many years ago by Paul L. Maier, A Skeleton in God's Closet.

A great read.

The Great Separation continues.

Update, 2007-02-27.

WorldNetDaily has a good article on this also:
Reports of Jesus' grave 'a sideshow'

Picture Perfect Friday: Church Craft Night.

We have a community tutoring program in our small church that is free for people with kids needing some extra attention.

There is also a very gracious couple who about four times year put together a craft for us to do with the children. Tonight's craft was special. It involved both hammering and painting!

The kids got to put together a little bench in the shape of a bear.

This is me with two young guys. Notice how "trusting" I am of the kid with that hammer on my left!

Actually he was pretty good with that hammer. He was proud to inform me that he had already done some hammer work with his father.

This other little dude is quite the trooper. He accidentally hit the wrong nail... if you catch my drift. He didn't cry out or shed a tear at all. But for ten minutes afterward at every opportunity he shook that thumb.

Here's a pic of a number of the outcomes drying.

Perhaps you can guess what our tutoring program motto is from that last shot.

Sneezing Panda - Hilarity!

Laugh. Watch Again. Laugh. Watch Again. Laugh. Repeat. - I got the heads up on this hilarious momma and baby panda moment from Jen.

So if you need a laugh. Enjoy.

$10 Wok as Effective as $20,000 Transmitter.

See update below.

Ingenuity at it's finest - My brother sent me a link to this item out of New Zealand where an UHF (I love that movie!) television station found a way to broadcast in the face of a financial mountain.

$10 wok keeps TV station on air - 22 Feb 2007 - National News - New Zealand Herald.

Why pay $20,000 for a commercial link to run your television station when a $10 kitchen wok from the Warehouse is just as effective?

This is exactly how North Otago's newest television station 45 South is transmitting its signal from its studio to the top of Cape Wanbrow, in a bid to keep costs down.

They can transmit up to 20km. How cool is that?!

It certainly qualifies for an oddity.

Update:

Apparently you can do this with your Wifi too: USB adaptors & DIY antenna = "Poor Man's WiFi"

Oh and check out the Directional WIFI Range Extender using a steamer.

How Much of a Choice is Homelessness?

This is probably politically incorrect. - We've got a homeless problem in the cities around here. I can't really blame the homeless for wanting to be in this area. It's beautiful nine to ten months out of the year, though if it were me I probably would consider moving further south to the Keys. The weather there is even better.

But I digress. In this area the number of homeless is increasing. Because of the fact that most of the Pinellas County area is built out, there are very few open areas for them to occupy. Which led recently to police officers going into a "tent city" and slashing the tents to get some of the homeless to leave an area. Frankly, I found that intolerable and destruction of private property.

Thankfully there are a number of faith based organizations trying to help the homeless.

The truth though is that the situation is not so cut and dry, black and white, home and homeless. Are there some homeless people that just like to be homeless? If a person really wants to get off the streets isn't there programs for accomplishing just that? Are some of the people there because of mental illness? Does pride play a factor in keeping a person on the street?

I think the answer to all those questions is a, "Yes." There's a wide range of reasons for people being homeless. But I can't shake the feeling that one of the main reasons is that most desire it.

Some people are just nomadic. They like the freedom of not having to worry about bills and taxes and how to find money to fix the roof. They go were they want when they want. It's rather appealing on one level, you have to admit.

This fact was driven home to me yesterday when I spotted two homeless people and commented to my father who I was driving with me at the time, "It's amazing that a homeless person can afford cigarettes in this day and age."

To which he replied, "Yeah, and a fair number of them have cell phones too."

Maybe it's just me, but the idea of being able to afford cell phones and cigarettes, both luxury items, is just a disconnect for me.

H. R. 254, Hate Crime Bill that Threatens Christians.

Show my your papers! - There's an article on a proposed hate crimes bill that Christians need to read.

WorldNetDaily:.

Diss a 'gay'? Go to jail! Activists warn Christians targeted under new 'hate crimes' proposal...

The language is in a new proposal pending in Congress, H.R. 254, or the David Ray Hate Crimes Prevention Act. That, according to Rev. Ted Pike, of the National Prayer Network, starts out with a federal police state enforcement of "anti-hate" laws but would, as it has in other parts of the world, "lead inexorably to the end of free speech."

The plan, proposed by Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, D-Texas, is "stealth legislation at its most devious," Pike has written in a campaign to alert people to the potential problems.

Be sure to read the full article.

You can read bill H. R. 254 at this link.

Hat tip goes to author of The Minor Protection Act, Jodi Cowles. It was her blog entry that brought this bill to my attention. I highly recommend reading her book and her blog, whereisjodi.

Jodi begins:

What's so bad about hate crimes legislation? The point of it is to stop hate crimes -- that's good, right? A new bill is pending in the House Judiciary Committee that empowers the federal government to "prevent and respond to alleged violations." This reminds me of a California bill (1785), the innocuously titled School Safety and Violence Protection Act, which begins teaching tolerance in kindergarten and trains teachers and other school staff to identify students with the potential for displaying discriminatory behavior to single them out for appropriate counseling. Key point to know: the parents don't have to know their kids have been assigned to tolerance counseling. But that's just liberal California...

Let me give you a few examples of how hate crime legislation has been enforced around the world:

Be sure to read it all.

Vandals Shoot Windows of Church Parsonage.

They hate you because of me - Up until today I hesitated to call what's been happening around here as Christian Persecution. But this morning when the vandals shot out our parsonage kitchen window I've pretty much come to the conclusion that it qualifies for the Christian persecution category.

Several weeks ago I found two teenagers acting suspiciously on the Church property late at night. I politely asked them to leave. They tried to argue with me at first but I said no to them being there and thanked them for leaving.

Since then there have been rocks, oranges, and an old large dead tree limb thrown at the windows and front door. Up until this point nothing has been broken. Except perhaps for a ding in my dad's truck window. But we're not proof positive that was the vandals or a rock from a drive. Though it was discovered the day after one of the vandal incidents.

Each time however, these teens doing the vandalism have escalated there attacks. And now they've fired into the house early this morning. The weapon was probably a BB gun.

It was just a few weeks before these incidents started that some teens spray painted a gang symbol on the Church dumpster which sits near the parsonage. The area my church is in is slipping into greater darkness.

We have a suspicion as to whom it is doing all this, but basically the police can't do anything until they are caught in the act or I guess until something "serious" takes place.

So say a prayer for these children that they would come to know Christ's salvation and freedom from the chains of sin which bind their lives. Pray for my Church body too, that we might be honoring of Christ's love.

The Great Separation continues.