Childhood Memory I Wish Had Remained Buried

I had an interesting experience today. Yesterday, I went to a viewing, and today I attended the funeral. I won’t say what kind of church I went to, except that it was one of the older denominations.

When I first arrived, looking up at the vaulted ceiling and the stained glass, I felt a sense of peace, as though God was there. And then the ceremony got underway. And the sensation vanished.

Man, what a contrast, between this church and the church I’ve been attending.

At the church I attended on Sunday, people are thrilled to be there. There is interesting teaching which always seems to be directly applicable to a problem I’ve had during the preceding week. Worship is sincere and spirited and joyful. And the congregation is right in the middle of it. They are listening and praying and responding and worshiping.

At the church I went to today, four old gentlemen in ornate robes stood behind a mammoth table, reciting canned prayers and rituals. The people in the pews were purely spectators. I’m sure they prayed and took the proceedings seriously, and they did answer the priests as required, but it was as though they were behind a fence, watching while the four old men interacted with God. How different from my relationship with God. I carry on the vast bulk of it myself; I would literally rather die than let an intermediary handle it. I go to church for teaching and to be among other Christians, not to let some seminary graduate process me like a Volvo at a car wash. For me, it’s all day, every day. The hour or two I spend at church on Sunday is just a small part of it.

The tedium was oppressive. After forty-five minutes, I was dying to leave. I thought the ceremony had to be nearly over, but I looked at the program, and we were still somewhere in the middle of it. We got in and out in two hours, but I felt like it was three.

Suddenly, toward the end, I remembered…this is how I used to feel in church! This was the misery that made me dread church when I was a kid. I was upset by it today, because my father was there with me, and as far as I know, he only enters churches for funerals. My sister and I have been hoping to persuade him to go to church, and here he was, in this incredibly lifeless and dreary place, suffering from boredom and alienation.

I really hated church when I was a kid. I had forgotten. I think alienation was a big reason. At the traditional churches my mother dragged us to, things were done by rote. Computers could have been programmed to do the whole business. Like Disney’s Hall of the Presidents. Past writings and set traditions have their place, but when you exalt them too much, you insult people who are alive today. You imply that their thoughts and feelings and contributions are worthless. Why should I go to church if everything of value has already been done and said, hundreds or thousands of years ago? Why not put it on a DVD so I can watch it without being inconvenienced? What is the point of making me attend in person?

If I had to go to a church like that, I think I’d stay home. I felt trapped, like a claustrophobic in an MRI machine. No wonder so many churches are losing members. It’s painful to sit through that kind of thing, unless your boredom threshold is extraordinary. When I was a kid, I seriously believed that salvation was partly a reward for enduring one hour of utter misery every week. Now I have a refreshed understanding of why I felt that way.

When I go to Trinity Church, I look forward to it for two days before the service. I look forward to it on the drive. I’m relieved when I get there. I can’t wait to hear the sermon. I love the teaching. I love the warmth of the people, and their proactive approach. They come up to you and talk to you. If you’re up at the altar for some reason, a total stranger may put his or her hands on your shoulders without warning and pray for you. They invite you to get involved with church programs. They laugh. Couples sit pressed against each other. Last week we sat behind a mixed middle-aged couple, and the man had his arm around his wife the whole time. And you can literally feel God’s presence every time you go, surrounding you and rising up inside you. I always hate leaving, because I want to stay where that sensation is. On top of that, it seems like some funny coincidence happens on the way home, every time, which turns out to be a remarkable and unexpected blessing.

The new churches have their failings. They sometimes verge on heresy. They make mistakes. They don’t do a good enough job, keeping hucksters out of the pulpit. Sometimes they emphasize blessings above duty. But they are getting better, and anyway, I can’t imagine joining a church like the one I visited today. Not after what I’ve seen elsewhere. Honestly, I admire people who go to bloodless, gloomy churches where empty pomp and pageantry are passed off as evidence of God’s imprimatur. Those people have more self-discipline than I do. I do not have the strength of character to go to a church where I am miserable and feel nothing. Given the choice, I’d go to the other extreme and attend a place where people roll in the floor.

Besides, if you want to hear about error, consider this: the church I went to today ordains gays. So it’s pretty clear how much reverence they have for God’s will and the clear language of the Bible. A church that endorses sexual sin is not a good place to go for spiritual guidance. A church is supposed to lead society; a church that endorses gay sex is following. Wait and see. Any error society embraces will eventually be accepted openly by this church. Society’s approval is what matters to them. Jesus, on the other hand, told his followers the world would hate them, and that it had hated him first.

It’s peculiar; in its rites and prayers and hymns, the church I went to today is frozen in the very distant past. But its doctrine comes from the present day. Forget the Torah; forget the Gospels. Make up new stuff that doesn’t offend! Crib from Oprah! Let MTV be your guide!

If this church had real power and life in it, it would be attracting members without compromising. Because the power and life are gone, it has to resort to pandering. It’s spiritual promiscuity; a church like that is like a loose woman who offers whatever she has to, in order to attract men. No wonder the Bible uses words like “whoredom” and “adultery” to describe churches that adopt the policies of the unbelieving world. And really, why go to church to learn how to behave like non-Christians? If you want the real non-Christian experience, go to bars and movies and strip clubs. People who have no interest at all in God are much better than a weak church, when it comes to helping you experience worldly pleasures. Do it right; go to the experts. If I lose my faith and decide the Bible is wrong, I’ll be in the brothels and topless bars as often as possible. I won’t be hanging around with a bunch of confused clergymen who are no fun whatsoever.

If you’re a Christian and you quit going to a traditional church because you just could not stand it, or because you realized there was almost nothing there, you really need to give the newer churches a try. I wouldn’t try to persuade an active member of a traditional church to change, but if you find church boring and lifeless, and you can’t find the strength to attend, you might find that there are churches available now that suit you better than you ever thought possible. Please don’t judge every church by the awful experiences you’ve had in the past. If you quit going to church because you thought God should be exciting and powerful and a source of joy, you were right, and there are churches where you can find the God you wished existed. He is there waiting for you.

Polite Dissent

The Jews often use the phrase “cheap grace” to describe the salvation Christians receive through faith. And it is completely understandable. Many Christians believe that once you ask for salvation, you can pretty much do as you please in this life. It’s all forgiven, in advance. That’s not a hard bar to clear, especially when you compare it to the obligations observant Jews deal with. Six hundred and thirteen commandments. Kashrut. Ritual bathing. A dress code. A single day to prepare for funerals. The Jewish path is clearly harder.

As far as I know, it’s true that a Christian receives salvation upon asking and believing, and I think it’s very hard–maybe even impossible–to lose it. So maybe you can get away with your worldly, underdeveloped lifestyle. At the same time, it’s no way to live, and there is a huge cost. The Bible says over and over that you can’t enter the kingdom of God if you don’t live right. Does that mean heaven? I don’t think so. I think it means you can’t experience God’s presence and protection and guidance in this life. You can’t have his power in your life. And the Bible mentions two books kept by God. One is a list of people who are saved, and the other is a list of people’s deeds. So while you may enter paradise, there will still be some sort of cost for your sins, and it will not be trivial.

That’s the best interpretation I have come up with.

I believe–and Aaron says observant Jews believe the same thing–that when you pray, you don’t just ask for things. You search yourself. You look for things you may have done wrong, and attitudes you have that may be counterproductive. Aaron says that one of the Hebrew verbs translated “pray” is reflexive, because it’s a self-directed process. Look at the Psalms, most of which are prayers. They ask things of God, but they’re full of confession, contrition, and repentance.

I think God often answers prayer, even when people’s hearts and deeds are not quite right with him. But I also believe that bad acts and attitudes can prevent prayers from being answered, whether you pray for yourself or for others.

The Bible seems to confirm this. Over and over, the prophets tell us we can’t expect God to be good to us, if we have not been good to him and to other people. Malachi tells the Jews their prosperity will be ruined because they don’t tithe and they cheat God with flawed sacrifices. The Babylonian captivity resulted from idolatry. Paul said that a man who slept with his father’s former wife was to be turned over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh. The things we do in this life matter.

My mother died from cancer. Naturally, I prayed for her. And she had a fairly encouraging prognosis. I had experienced healing in my own life, so I believed she could receive it, too. I believed, as hard as I could.

I flew to Miami to visit her. She seemed to be doing fairly well. There was still hope. I got on a plane and flew back to Texas. And I kept praying. And then I committed a sin. I’m not going to say what it was. It doesn’t matter. But it was a bad thing for a man in my position to do. Here I was, believing for a miracle. Yet I acted like someone who didn’t believe in consequences.

I lost contact with my mother during this time. They moved her to a new hospital room without telling me. I wasn’t too worried. I had my faith. But after I had been in Texas a couple of days, I got a call. My mother was dying. Fast. I had to fly back to Miami. When I arrived, she was unconscious.

I believed and believed and believed. I believed so hard, I didn’t really feel it when she died. It didn’t seem real to me. But it was real. She was gone.

Ever since then, I have wondered. Would she have received a miracle, had my life been right?

With this in mind, I visited Mish Weiss’s blog last night and posted a comment, in an effort to help. It looks like her bone marrow graft did not work, and she is trying to decide whether to try a new chemotherapy drug or to take a cruise and die. I put a prayer request on my blog, and I posted a comment, asking if there might be anything going on in her life that might hinder the effort. I specifically stated that I was not blaming her for her illness. But I was concerned about Mish, who continues to have problems in spite of a veritable prayer army, and I felt that I had to ask the question.

Someone I will not name came here and found a post about Mish, and here is the comment she left:

How can you be so cruel or ignorant to suggest Mish is somehow responsible for her own illness? As a Christian you should have read Job (the chapter) at least once in your life. God plainly tells us Job wasn’t responsible for the things that came upon him. If you really want to do something for her why not be a real witness to her? Because true Christians know the only way anyone can EVER get their prayers answered is through JESUS CHRIST yet you conveniently left that out!!! No, all you care to comment about is how good looking she is, and how she maybe needs to repent in order to not be sick. What about her soul??? With milk toast Christians like you, no wonder our Earth is fast going to Hell in a handbasket. If you feel bad, you should with ignorant comments such as yours.

This must be that agape love we Christians are always bragging about.

Let’s see. First, I take issue with the claim that Job wasn’t responsible for the things that came upon him. Job claimed he could defend himself before God, and that was a big mistake. No one can claim righteousness before God, and in his answer to Job, God made that clear. And when did God restore Job’s family and possessions? After Job repented of this attitude.

Do I think every bad thing that happens to a person is caused by that person’s sins? No. But some things are.

Second, I do not believe that “the only way anyone can EVER get their prayers answered is through JESUS CHRIST.” The Bible says God is near to all who call upon him. I think it’s better to believe in Jesus, but I would never claim that God doesn’t hear the prayers of Jews and other non-Christians. The book of Acts says the alms and prayers of Cornelius (a Roman official) had come up before God as a memorial, and this was after the crucifixion and the miracle in the upper room, at a time when Christianity was already in existence. And God transported Philip across the country to help the Ethiopian eunuch receive salvation; clearly God was concerned about this man, even though he was not a Christian. Furthermore, I believe that the Jews are still the apple of God’s eye, as did Paul. They have not been discarded or replaced, and they are central to God’s plans.

I don’t think Mish would benefit much from a comment screeching at her to accept Jesus. I have been around Jews all my life, and I don’t think this is the way to win them over. Jews are like big fish. Big fish are big because they have seen the bait before, and they have turned it down. You can’t convert them by hammering on them like a drill sergeant. I pray for my Jewish friends, and I try to keep a dialogue open and lead a good life that will draw their interest. I don’t know what I can do, beyond that. Fire and brimstone have been tried, and so has the Inquisition. They didn’t work too well.

Third, regarding the part about how all I care about is to comment about how good-looking Mish is, here is what I said: “You are a beautiful girl with a wonderful spirit, and I cannot believe this is what God has planned for you.” It seemed to me that reminding a sick person of her good qualities and her potential might encourage her to try to beat her illness.

I was afraid Mish would be offended by my comment, but I never dreamed it would make another Christian furious. Aren’t we supposed to be the patient and forgiving ones? Let me check my notes. I think it’s in there somewhere.

I truly believe my good and bad actions have observable effects in my life. A while back, someone criticized me for opining that my problems raising fruit had something to do with my nature. A fruit is pleasant, and often my own fruit–my deeds and words and thoughts–were on the sour or bitter side. It made sense to me that I had great success growing sour things like limes and caustic things like peppers, while my tangerines fell off the tree and my papayas tasted funky. I still think I’m right about that. Over and over the Bible refers to crops and fruit failing, and the references are literal as well as figurative. Why shouldn’t my failings be reflected in the condition of the things I try to grow? It happened to the ancient Jews time and time again. Am I somehow exempt from the principle?

By the way, the papayas are all better now, and my citrus trees are doing better and better. In fact, my cara cara tree has so many blossoms I don’t see how it can carry the fruit. I’ll post a photo. It’s amazing. I’ll probably have to cull a lot of the fruit to keep the tree alive. Crazy.

All those little white things are blossoms.

Anyway, I am no authority, but I recommend you not be satisfied with “cheap grace.” In reality, it’s not cheap at all.

Mish Weiss Setback

Mish Weiss has put up a very upsetting blog post. She says her doctor believes her bone marrow graft has not worked, and that she now has a choice between resuming chemotherapy or giving up.

Please pray for her. I have experienced healing, and so have others.

Pray for Relief

I just found out that an old friend of the family has died from a heart attack. Ordinarily I would not mention something like this here, but she and her husband and his kids have had so much pain, I would like to ask you to pray for them. Nothing goes right for them.

Her husband’s first wife lost her mind and eventually died, after driving her car into part of an underpass. He remarried, and a son was born. In 1995, at the age of nine, the son was murdered by a sex offender. Now this happens. In all likelihood, it was due in large part to the lingering stress caused by her son’s death.

Please say a prayer for her husband and his son and daughter. Thanks for your consideration.

Buy Gold, Seeds, and Ammunition

Today Barack Obama becomes the President. I don’t have a whole lot to say about it.

1. As convinced as I am that this man will be incompetent, weak, unprincipled, hostile to Israel and Christianity, and extremely corrosive to capitalism and our prosperity, I can’t help feeling some excitement over the inauguration of a black President. I just wish it were someone else.

2. I am afraid his wife will continue to embarrass us, or worse, that we will come to accept her unpatriotic, divisive antics and decide that first ladies don’t have to be classy.

3. He has floundered badly in choosing subordinates, demonstrating that he was not prepared to win the Presidency. For all his talk about change, he made desperation picks, reaching for the worn-out journeymen of an earlier regime. I expect him to continue to fail in his efforts to staff his administration. Look for future screwups and near-scandals.

4. I think the US is completely finished as the world’s leading power and economy. George Bush ended his Presidency by forcing socialism on us through the back door, with incredibly shortsighted and malignant government bailouts. I expected to criticize Obama for his mindless, regressive leftism, but incredibly, George Bush has already done more evil than I anticipated from Obama. Nonetheless, I think Obama will continue in the same vein, and that it won’t be long until we’re about as prosperous as the French. I think we are being taken down because of our rebellion and idolatry, and that the bad things that are happening to us have more to do with God than with the bad judgment of George Bush and Barack Obama.

5. I believe God permitted us to choose this arrogant weakling in order to show us what happens when we rely on our own tiny intellects instead of his guidance. Americans have the ridiculous idea that we are superior to other people, and that this is the reason we have done so well. In fact, we have done well because God has protected and guided us. That protection is probably greatly weakened now, and I expect us to be swallowed economically by the Chinese and the Indians. They work harder than we do, they are just as smart (IQ tests suggest the Chinese are actually much smarter), they work for nothing, and unlike us, they don’t feel entitled to wealth. They know they have to earn it. And both countries have internal markets and manpower resources that dwarf ours. Americans are no better than anyone else, and we can fail, and we almost surely will.

6. I think it will be about a year before most Americans realize they elected a very ordinary political hack who only succeeded in life because he never questioned the corrupt Illinois machinery that supported him. “Change”? It is anathema to Obama. If he had worked for change in Chicago, he would have been expelled from the power structure, and he would now be teaching at a university.

America didn’t want a leader who believed in tried and true ideas (not that John McCain fit this description well). America wanted a flashy rock star. And that’s what we got. We got a young man who thinks the young have all the answers and that the old are stupid. He’s wrong, and unless he changes his philosophy, we are going to reap a harvest of misery from the implementation of his bad, discredited leftist ideas.

I plan to avoid criticizing him excessively in the future, because I think Christians have an obligation to support their leaders. I plan to pray that he changes his ways, and that our country turns back to God. But my hopes are not high. Regardless of what happens to the US, I plan to work and pray for prosperity and protection for me and my family, and I suggest you do the same. When a country goes to hell, you have to have an edge in order to do well. In the past, merely working hard and being an American would get you to the top. That probably won’t be true after our economic decline enters its fullness.

That’s it.

Religious Cursors

Here is another interesting way to remind yourself to behave while using your computer. It occurred to me last night that surely someone out there had come up with cursors with religious themes. And it turns out they have. You can get an ichthus, a cross, or any of a number of other shapes. You can probably get a star of David; I haven’t checked.

Here’s how it works. You download a file with the extension “cur,” and you put it in your Windows/cursors folder. Then you go to  your control panel, click “Mouse,” and use the browsing feature to find and activate the cursor.

Might make it harder for you to be a jerk while you’re online.

Here’s an ichthus cursor you can download: CLICK.

Most Intimidating Tool of All

According to Mish, Leah Friedman i snow responding to pain. I assume that means her caregivers are poking her or something to see how she is. Her responses are considered encouraging, but she is not awake yet. So prayer is still needed.

Reader JeffW is trying to get himself banned from my comments by pushing me to get Sherline mill. The thing that saved me from getting a mill last time was the expense. That, and the fear that I would never learn how to use it.

Actually, here is the whole complex of neuroses. 1. I didn’t want to spend the money, especially since small mills aren’t much cheaper than used big mills. 2. People told me small mills were useless, because they could only make tiny objects. 3. Big mills take up as much room as bumper pool tables. 4. I was afraid I’d never learn how to use a mill.

Seriously, though, how hard is it? I thought woodworking tools would be hard to use, but they’re not. Most of the skill is in setting them up for various procedures. Once you get your jig or fence or whatever set up correctly, things work pretty smoothly. Are machine tools the same way, or do you have to go be an apprentice on a swamp planet for 25 years?

Don’t Forget Her

I should have posted this yesterday.

Leah Friedman had her aortic valve replaced on Wednesday morning. She is now on life support; Mish Weiss says this is normal, but things are not going as well as hoped.

Please continue praying for her recovery.

Plus More “Coincidences”

I just had a treat which I could not have predicted last week: Turkish coffee. I used to drink it in Israel. They sold it in little funny cans with coffee beans on the label. It’s just coffee ground to a very fine powder. I don’t know if it’s finer than espresso, but it’s pretty fine. The Israelis simply dumped it in hot water, stirred, and drank. That’s what I did today. I don’t think that’s the correct way to do it, but I wasn’t looking for the correct way. I was looking for the past.

It’s not the world’s finest coffee. It’s a hundred times better than instant, but a good cup of espresso or American coffee would be better. But it’s fast and easy, and it reminds me of Israel. I wonder if I can find the Israeli brand on the web.

I have Googled. My best guess was that the brand name was “Elite.” That’s what I seemed to remember. And look what I found!

Click to visit The Jerusalem Gift Shop!

Man, this is an odd coincidence. Funny how those happen to me all the time these days. I feel a little woozy thinking about it.

Check this place out. I know about as much about it as you do, but it appears to be run by Christians in Israel. They have a newsletter about Israel, and all sorts of items from Israel, including this pendant (hope they don’t mind me stealing the picture):

That is fascinating. When my sister and I began communicating again, it was because of Christianity, and almost as soon as we started, she brought me a book by Perry Stone (The Meal That Heals) and a home communion kit with that symbol on it. According to Stone, that symbol is very old, and it was used by early Christians. I suppose there are many Jews who would be horrified by it, but anyway, there it is. You can click the link and buy that pendant.

We are part of prophecy; no doubt about it. The growing interdependence of Christians and observant Jews is a wonder to behold. We help Israel with its physical needs, and the Jews bless us with spiritual enlightenment. Just as Isaiah predicted.

I had no idea I would end up writing about this. I planned to write about coffee.

Check that site out. Wonderful stuff.

More

In case it’s not obvious, in the symbol above, which is referred to as the “Grafted In” symbol, the Magen David is formed by the base of the menorah and the tail of the ichthus. Nothing extra is added.

Help Leah

Leah Friedman is fhaving an aortic valve replaced! Seems like her troubles never stop.

Prayers solicited.

What Would Aslan Eat?

I just got back from church. My sister really likes late services, and we had lunch on the way home.

Interesting experience today. A preacher named Darrell Hines was speaking at Rich Wilkerson’s church, and my sister wanted to hear him. But soon after we got there, she started feeling the presence of God, and she was pretty much inert for the remainder of the sermon. Kept asking me if I felt it. When we got up at the end, she was barely coherent, and she kept talking about it all the way home. She kept asking why people were interested in the things of this world, when they could have God’s presence instead. That’s exactly how I always feel when it hits me.

I felt it today, too, but not to the same extent. At one point while she was in this state, she bumped my arm, and for a time after that, I felt pretty wobbly. Very strange.

She said she didn’t hear much of anything Darrell Hines said.

This is what I like about this church. The music is too loud, and the sermons are good, but not mind-blowing, but God sits on this place like smog on Los Angeles.

We stopped at an Arab restaurant and grocery on the way home. I made some buys. I got some mamoul cookies. These are butter cookies filled with dates. Made in Saudi Arabia. I did not realize I could buy a single cookie, so I got a box. They’re not bad at all. I also picked up some Turkish coffee. This is what they drink in Israel. It’s very finely ground, and the Israelis dump it in hot water like instant coffee. It leaves a layer of mud on the bottom of the cup. I bought it for nostalgic reasons. I also bought a box of Turkish delight. I had to try it. When I was in the first grade, my teacher Mrs. Schabacher read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to my class, and ever since then, I have wondered what Turkish delight tasted like. It’s very good. I was surprised.

Some pastries somehow ended up in my shopping bag. Funny how that happens.

I think the presence of God is the missing ingredient that has caused American churches to become so weak, perverted, and worldly. A typical church is not much better than a Moose lodge or a YMCA. It’s no wonder no one wants to go. The supernatural is what fills pews. Without it, what is Christianity? Unrewarding self-denial, plus prayer and study that accomplish absolutely nothing. Wouldn’t you go to church if you knew you would sense God there? That’s a pretty big draw.

He’s still with us, if you’re willing to look for him.

Give it Your Sunday Best

I want to make sure everyone sees something that was posted in a comment.

Reader Pbird says:

Sigh. Now its me asking for prayer. I just found out my elderly aunt who raised ten children and babysat their children and their grandchildren and even some greatgrandchildren and worked hard and faithfully for eighty years has badly metasticised breast cancer. Of course its not fair is it? Life on earth is not for sissies.
She wanted to make Christmas for all the kids so she did what she wanted and didn’t mention the cancer which she must have known she had. Her name is Clara. I don’t know what the Lord wants for her now, but she has a huge family of terrified people and they certainly need prayer. I think she is a Christian in a sort of sedate way.

Join me on this one, if you will.

I note the part about her aunt being a Christian “in a sort of sedate way.” These days, I never pray for anyone without including a prayer that they will turn to God and learn to walk in faith and obedience. You have to give, to get.

Good Test Result

Here is what Christians refer to as a “praise report.” It came last night from Heather, whose mother had a test in connection with her treatment for cervical cancer:

I want to update everyone about today’s appointment.
Mom had her PET scan, her lungs are clear as are the other organs. Dr. Cottrill told us that there was just a small amount of involvement with some of the lymph nodes in the stomach area, however she feels fully confident that it will be taken care of by the raditation treatments.
We will get the schedule for those on Monday.
I know the Lord answers prayers. He answered mine today.
I thank you all for lifting us up in prayer. I wish I could give each and every one of you a great big hug!
I am eternally grateful for your prayers and for God’s Blessing.
God Bless,

Hard to top that. Thanks, everyone who joined in prayer.

I continue trying to locate a decent drill press that will give me good service for a very long time. It looks like used ones are just too hard to find and check out. There are two new ones that look good. One is the Steel City 20520, and the other is the Delta 20-950, which costs a lot more. The Delta has a lot going for it, but it does not have a split head design, so it probably can’t be fixed once it gets sloppy. The Steel City is smaller and less fancy, and the table isn’t as good, but it has a split head. I may just give up and get one.

Another alternative is to find a $50 Craigslist special and make do until a nice used one comes along.

Today I plan to finish my router insert/table saw extension. That will be fun. I may also make a planer sled. I’m wondering if I can use MDF. Seems like it should be more accurate than plywood.

Accident or Intervention?

Because of a clerical error, I received a document that should have gone to someone else. It was a court’s notice of filing deficiency. The plaintiff was a prison inmate. They like to sue the authorities.

Nothing in my life seems to happen accidentally these days. I was going to shove this thing in an envelope and mail it to him with a Post-It saying it had come to me by mistake, but I decided instead to include a short note saying I would offer a prayer for this guy.

Maybe you will join me. I just ask that God lead him to turn his life around and give faith and obedience a chance. His name is Charles Jones.

Journalism

Today people are talking about Joe Wurzelbacher’s new assignment as roving Mideast correspondent for Pajamas Media. Needless to say, many people have low expectations, and it seems like a bad idea. The liberal media managed to convince the public that Sarah Palin was stupid, and the smell has rubbed off on other conservatives. We really don’t need to give them another weapon with which to club us.

Nonetheless, the deed is done, so I suppose the correct thing is to pray for his safety and that he surprises us.

I don’t blame him for taking the assignment. It probably seemed like a great idea, and from his perspective, maybe it’s a real opportunity. Fame has monetary value, and while PJTV is obscure, it is possible that some of the few people have the power to help Joe move on to bigger things, and maybe one of them will come up with a gig for him.

It probably beats laying pipe in Ohio in the winter. And Joe deserves a little success, after the vicious treatment he received from the press.

I’m already rethinking my router insert/table saw extension. I really enjoyed using the Mag-Switch featherboard, and it would be nice to be able to use it while routing. That means cast iron is required. I have to see if anyone makes an insert that is exactly 28″ wide. Peachtree Woodworking makes one with a 27″ width, which seems crazy. How would you fit that between my rails? You would have to fill the missing inch somehow.

My readers are bad influences on me, and now I have returned the favor. Reader Ed complained that he had not been able to lay his hands on his late father’s table saw. Inspired by my shopping, he got on the web and found a saw just like his dad’s, and he bought it! Pretty cool. It would be better if he had received his dad’s saw, but this is a pretty good substitute. It’s funny how often things that should be handed down to certain people in families go to the wrong people, and then to the dump. I’ll bet this happens more often in families that are away from God. This phenomenon has an Old Testament smell to it.

Speaking of the Old Testament, Elisson has a post concerning his relationship with pork. Elisson believes in God and belongs to a synagogue, but when it comes to bacon, he might as well be a Baptist. He even eats whale bacon.

Finally, Pam Anderson says you can send food to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Is this true? I would think brownies would ship pretty well in winter.