My wife

I love my wife...she's cool.

Men, the stronger gender?

Men have always been known as the stronger gender. We can fight any thing. We can conquer any thing. Nothing is outside our iron grasp. Men have fought wars, conquered nations and harnessed power from particles you can't even see. We have bent the universe to meet our needs. Companies and governments have been built and pushed to success by men. Men are the measuring standard for all levels of life. "Man up!", "Be a Man!", "Take it like a Man!" and of course "U DA MAN!!".

Being a man is not easy. You have allot of expectations. Even at early childhood you see that parents treat boys differently from girls. We are the corner stones, the base, the anchor. We are to be leaders of, protectors of and sacrificed for the family, community and the country. It has been this way from the dawn of time, and no matter how hard the new age, oh so enlightened modernist want equality, this is how it will be until the end of time.

Many women over the ages have wanted to be treated equally with men. WHAT FOR? They don't have enough problems of their own? Do they want to go out and work til their backs break and worry that it's not enough? Do they want to always be under the gun of responsibility, knowing that failure is not a option and that if they do, they fail the whole family and not just themselves. Do they want the responsibility for not only their spiritual growth, but that of their spouse and children? Do they want to be the ones who are called to lay down their lives for God and country, putting aside every personal need they have?

Sorry, they can't even if they wanted to. This is a mans lot in life. This is why we are here. Take it away or minimize it and you may as well kill us. You can put a square peg in a round hole, but you have to either cut up the peg or bust out the hole. The certain destruction of one or the other is inevitable.

Men are the hardcore, work horses of the planet. We can and will do anything. We are quick to sacrifice our time, resources and even ourselves for the greater good. We will lay down our very lives. It would seem that we are impervious to anything, but we're not. The only thing that hurts us worse than bullets and bombs are the words from a woman.

Yes, the words from a woman are more powerful than guns, planes and tanks. They can inspire us more than any political speech or condemn us more than and judges verdict. When a woman wants to take the mans role it kills the man. She then wants to know what happened to him. She should know, she pulled the trigger. A woman's words are powerful, they can build up or tare down.

Women in Kuwait do not have the right to vote. They don't want it. The men take care of that. Is it that they don't care if they are heard? Absolutely not, they are heard. How do you think the husbands know who to vote for? They are the head of the family and as the head they ask the neck. Yes the neck, the wife. The man is the anchor, his wife is the rock. He is the corner stone, she is the Key stone.

If you find yourself with a man who is having self doubt or feeling overloaded. If he looks like he has no more rope and is just hanging by a thread. You, as his wife, can turn this around or send it crashing down. Choose your words and timing carefully. You are his helpmate from God. You have the power to change his situation. Just remember, the trade off for being a man who can do all of these strong and powerful things is that we are fragile. You, women, are our Kryptonite.

Expectations

I've been working with some young people at church lately. I've been trying to use them as much as I can for small repair projects that they can handle. I am also working to try to include them in some regular BIG church duties. When I started this I got all kinds of feed back from other adults. It ranged from "that is awesome" to "are you nuts".

I have not been to surprised by the comments, it is the folks that have been giving them. You would think it would be our older seniors, the ones how have been around for 50 or 60 years. You would be wrong, they actual have been very positive about it, encouraging even. The next most obvious are the young adults, I count my self in this group due to mental state rather then pure age. No they are are very open to it. Yes, it is the middle aged group. Hard to believe. I guess it has to do with expectations. What we expect from our youth.

I think if you expect a kid to not show up or not do the things they are asked then they will not disappoint you. On the other hand, if you expect them to be a part of something bigger than themselves, be confident that they can do things, then the may just surprise you. I don't kid myself, I know they don't have my work ethic or my know how. It took me 42 years to get what I have and I am still in development. My dad expected me to do the things he wanted me to do. He taught me what I needed to know and he let me make my own mistakes. That is what you do with kids you love.

I have great expectations for our youth. I know they will make mistakes, they will even fail, but that's ok. So will I, so will you, so will we all. That's not what's important. What we do when they do is what matters. I say lets set the bar high and give them room to make the big mistakes. If they take the chance and fly great, if they crash lets pick them up, dust them off and love them and let them try again.

What do you expect from your kids?

Pinky Toe

Have you ever wondered what the purpose of the pinkie toe is. I have been pondering this and I think God gave it to us as a test. You go days, weeks even months doing and saying all the right things. You are living a good Christian life then BAM!!! You hit your pinkie toe on the corner of the bed coming back from the bathroom in the middle of the night. The pain runs through you and a string of not so nice words fly from your lips. You have failed the test. Not only have I failed, buy I have broken records for most number of words uttered in a second. I'm doing better. I have not failed lately. So when you go out in the world be on the lookout for those pinkie toes.

WHAT IS GOING ON!!!

Wow, where do I start. I have been hit from every side with the absurd. Let's give it a try.

• I see on the tube where a 22 year old women is selling her virginity to the highest bidder. The is a college graduate with a degree in women's studies, and is auctioning off her virginity on the Internet. The lucky bidder will meet her in Nevada at one of the legal brothels and the deed will be done. On TV she all so modern and empowered. She "has no moral problem" with it at all. DO YOU SEE SOMETHING WRONG HERE! I am no student of women's studies but what the H E double hockey sticks is all so empowering about selling the most precious gift you have to the highest bidder like an old handbag on EBay? Dress it up any way you want, she's mis-guided and is heading for repercussions that she can not imagine. She'll get paid and allot of press, but when the lime light fades she'll be alone and feeling bad. She'll meet lots of guys,but they will only want her for a good time. If she does find a good one he will have a family and they are not that forgiving when it comes to the ones they love. She'll get her money for Grad. school and graduate, but no one will take her seriously. No matter what she does people will always think she slept her way to the top. Years will go by and the news will fade, but when she finally thinks she has it all behind her it will surface again. She will have children, maybe a girl, and this will come back at a time when she will be working hard to keep the child on the right path. How will she answer. She is not some kid who feel in love and made a mistake with the wrong guy. She is selling herself like a hooker on a street corner, she just does under the protection of a screwed up law and short lived fame. Times are not the same as they were 20 years ago, or 20 months. The Internet does not forget. The world is a small place now. You can not get away. I prey she changes her mind before it is to late.

• Ike is off the gulf coast. People are displaced and just rebounding from Hannah and gas prices are spiking. The gas they have now does not cost any more than it did when they made it and they have not lost any thing yet. WHY IS IT GOING UP. Price gougeing pure and simple. It is a time of emergency and they are sticking it to everyone. If you did this you would be arrested. Crooked bums.

Help me Lord!

Perfect Peace

If you ever want to see perfect peace watch your child sleep. I looked in on my little girl last night, she woke up when she heard the storm earlier, and she was sleeping peacefully. She had her mouth slightly open and her face was relaxed. She looked like her mother, and sounded like her too (slight snore). i went back to the living room and wondered how she could sleep like that?

My guess is she went to bed with a clear mind, no worries. She is not worried about the bills, food, or even her own safety. Daddy and mommy will take care of that. Before she went to sleep we had a rough moment, she wanted her mommy to lay down with her. I explained to her that mommy had been to the dentist and was not feeling well. That did not sit well with her. I told her good night and if she wanted me just let me know. She was upset, but soon called me. She didn't move until I rolled over and gave her a hug, she smiled and settled in and was soon asleep.

When the thunder from the storm woke her she cried out for me. I went in and comforted her and she was soon back to sleep. She has no fears, no worries, no concerns. She trust her father and knows he want let anything happen to her and will always tell her the truth. She can sleep with that perfect peace. She is safe.

I wonder if I will ever get that back? Responsibilities are always on my mind. Those for my family, my church, my God. I thank we all have this problem. We confuse our selves with doubt. Are we good enough? Will we fail? Do we deserve what we have? Do we do enough? Yes we are, Yes we will, Yes we do and No we don't!

Jesus died for all of the sins we have ever committed and all the sins we will ever commit. With this act he says we are good enough. We will most definitely make mistakes, but that's ok. He will still take us back and loves us like a true father does. We carry a load with us by our own choosing and it's hard to put down, but we can. Like my little girl trust me, we must trust in God.

In Mark, 10:15 Jesus said that only those who receive the kingdom of God as a child will enter into it. So, I must lay it all down at his feet. Drop the load I have built for myself and follow him. Truly trust that he will take care of me and not let me down. Once I do this, once I come back to him with the trust that a child has for their father, maybe then I will have that perfect peace as well.

Just a thought.

Sarah, Sarah, Sarah!!!!

Sarah Palin, let the truth be known. Ok, she pretty, smart, successful, but I want to really know her. I'm like the Dem's (or is that dim's) I want to know what her dirty little secret is. Let's walk through this.

1. She is a mother of 5, one special needs. Could this be it. How can she keep up with work with all those young'ins running around. Well...lots of people have kids, some are special needs and they do it alone as single parents with out a staff. Besides 1 of hers is in the Army and another is getting married so that only leaves 3 and 1 of those is a teenager. Guess that's not it.
2. Marriage problems! That's it! They had marital issues and it was bad, or at least that's what I've heard. They are still together and do look happy. You don't think...no it couldn't be...could they have possibly had a issues and instead of throeing away a 20 year relationship, they worked through it and with God's saving grace saved the marriage? That's ridiculous. I don't think this is it, to many people have marital issue. No story. Anyway it must not have been a issue as of late. They have a 4 month old son.
3. Daughter is pregers! This is wild, she fought to have sex ed taken out of schools. She says parents should handle that. WHAT! Parents talk to their kids! About sex! She has to be nuts. We should leave that to someone who cares about our kids like that guy who teaches gym. They can show them all of the physical stuff and they can get the emotional and moral stuff from their friends or the Internet. Besides, how many people do you know have kids who they love and teach them all the right things but the kid still makes mistakes? Oh, that many? Well this probably isn't it any way, she has 5 kids and only 1 is pregers. that's 80%. She beats the schools.
4. Pro life. So is God. Nothing there.
5. She loves her parents, God and America. No.Not that.
6. Has a track record for busting heads when it comes to the good old boy's. Nope.
7. The war! Hmmm...she has a son in the Army. Guess she would want it to end the right way and as soon as possible so her son would not have to go back. To much like every other mom in the USA.
8. Education. Again...has 5 kids.
9. Health care. Again...one of the kids is special needs, and one is a pregnant teen.
10. Not strong enough. She busted the old guard of her own party in Alaska. That's tough.

Ok...I know what Sarah Palin's dirty little secret is. Have you figured it out? She is just like us. She doesn't feel what we are going through. She doesn't read about it or have a team looking in to it. She is and has been living it just like us. She has the same bumps and scares that we all have. They come from living life in the real world, not a political bubble. She can kill the moose and fry it up in the pan, and never ever let us forget we are American. Got my vote.

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