In Light of Eternity

Most people live their lives like they have plenty of time. The younger they are, the more time they assume they have. They think they are invincible. They feel like they will live forever. But that's a dangerous way of thinking.

The truth is, we don't know how much time we will have on this earth. The Bible compares this life to a vapor that appears for a short time and then vanishes.

How do you want to spend your "vapor" of life? I want my life to count for the glory of God. This may seem like a heavy subject for a blog. But I hope that someone will read this and it will make them think about the brevity of this life and about eternity.

Eternity is an incomprehensible amount of time. One Bible commentator put it this way: "After being in heaven for 4 million years, the trials of this life will seem inconsequential. And for sinners, 4 million years of hell will make the follies of sin seem futile." Just imagine, 4 million years in hell is only a second in time compared to eternity -- an eternity of pain and suffering.

I've heard people say, "When I get old and have done what I wanted, then I'll think about eternity and maybe turn to God." But what if you die before you can make things right with God? After only one second in hell, you'll wish you had lived your life for Him.

Living for God is wonderful. He blesses you in so many ways. And when this life is over, you'll spend eternity in paradise with God. It will be a perfect place with no pain or sorrow.

Are you ready for eternity? Are you where you want to be with God if you knew you were going to die tomorrow? If not, make it right today. We will all spend eternity somewhere. Live your life in light of eternity.

Giving Thanks

We take so much for granted in this world of plenty we live in. God has blessed America in many ways. It is unlike any other nation on earth.

I heard this quote once: “If you have food in your fridge, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75 percent of the world.” I also heard this: “If you have money in the bank, in your wallet and some spare change, you are among the top 8 percent of the world’s wealthy.”

I have many blessings. Here are just a few of the things I am thankful for:

I'm thankful that I'm able to live on my own and be independent. But I'm also thankful that I have people around me who are here to help me when I need it.

I'm thankful for my family, who loves and supports me, My mom and my sister help me in so many ways, and I have aunts, uncles and cousins who all pray for me. It's the greatest family.

I'm thankful for my mobility. I'm grateful that I am now starting to walk with my braces. And I'm thankful that I have my scooter so I can get out and go places. I'm thankful for my truck and lift equipment, even when the lift breaks down. I'm really thankful that I'm still able to get out and do things.

I'm thankful for good friends, including all my cyber friends. Yes, even the liberals on Facebook who harass me about the political comments I post on my page.

Most of all, I'm thankful for Jesus. I'm thankful that He took me just as I was and made me a part of the family of God. I would have no hope if it wasn't for Him. He is my everything.

Count your blessings this Thanksgiving. And remember this final quote: “If you woke up this morning with more health then illness, you are more blessed than many others who will not survive this week.”

Holiday Time

I enjoy this time of year because of all the activities. Even in a small town like Pampa, there's a lot of things going on.

On Saturday, I went to the high school's musical, "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers." The cast did a great job! The play almost didn't make it onto the stage, though. A couple of weeks ago, vandals broke into the school and damaged a lot of the sets and some costumes. But the community pulled together to rebuild the sets, and the show went on.

That's the great thing about small towns. Everyone comes together to support school activities ... whether it's high school football or the arts program. Go green and gold! The vandals were caught and will likely be spending their holiday in custody.

We went to church Sunday morning and heard a great Thanksgiving message. Then, that night, I went to the communitywide Thanksgiving service.

It was neat to see so many people and ministers from different churches come together to give thanks. The community choir was awesome. I especially enjoyed the bell choir from the Methodist church. And the sermon was great, too.

The service really put me into the holiday spirit. Now, I'm ready for Thanksgiving and all that good food! And just in time for Thanksgiving, cold weather is expected to arrive. That always makes it feel more like the holidays to me.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

A Patriot

After hearing several interviews recently with former President Bush, I realized how blessed we were to have a man of such dedication and integrity as our president for eight years. He is a true patriot.

President Bush had to make many tough decisions in the days after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. His new book, "Decision Points," talks about what went into those decisions. What impresses me most about Bush is that he based his decisions on the best interests of the country.

He wasn't concerned about what his critics or the media thought. He was only concerned with protecting the country and our interests.

President Bush said one of the toughest decisions he had to make was the decision to go to war. He knew the lives of American soldiers would be put in danger. That weighed heavily on him. He truly cared about the troops and their families, and he still does. It was a tough decision, but it was the right decision. America hasn't had another attack.

I'm glad George Bush was president during that tumultuous time in our nation's history. He is a man of great integrity.

Contrast that with the arrogance and incompetence of Barack Obama. Can you imagine if Obama had been president then? It could have been disastrous for the country. Obama clearly is in over his head now. He doesn't know what he's doing.

Obama doesn't have any leadership experience. He hasn't run a state or even a city. The only thing he knows how to run is his mouth... and he needs a teleprompter to do that. Obama only looks out for himself and his own interests. He doesn't care about what's best for the country.

That's why George W. Bush will go down as one of America's greatest war-time presidents, while Obama will simply be a one-term failure.

Revelation

Right now, radical billionaire George Soros is working to try to establish a new world order. He wants to create a global economy by collapsing the current U.S. system and having a one-world currency. Haven't we heard these terms before? Like in the book of Revelation? The Bible definitely refers to a one-world system in the end times.

These things are certain to happen some day. And if Soros is working right now to put them in place, can they be far off?

Fox News commentator Glenn Beck looked in depth at Soros last week, describing Soros as the "puppet master." Soros is one of the richest and most powerful men in the world, and he is using his power to set things in place for this new world order.

I have read about these things many times in the Bible, and I often wondered how they could happen. It's now becoming clearer how it will actually happen. It's scary when you think about it. But for believers in Jesus Christ, we have nothing to fear.

Glenn Beck is also predicting a big rise in food prices starting next year. He says bread could cost $30 a loaf and coffee could be as much as $75. He says this will happen because of inflation. But the Bible talks about this rise in prices, too. Revelation chapter 6 refers to "a quart of wheat for a day's wages and three quarts of barley for a day's wages."

I think Beck may be on to something. In the Old Testament, God used the prophets to warn the people about the coming judgment. Maybe God is using Glenn Beck to warn us now. Maybe that's the reason Beck is hated and ridiculed by so many, including Soros.

One thing is clear, though. We are on the brink of something big taking place in the world. Change is coming. Just look at the mess the U.S. economy is in and you'll see that something has to change. It's inevitable.

What's not clear is whether believers will still be here when it happens. We may be out of here before then. If the events of the book of Revelation occur chronologically as many people believe, the rapture of the saints is in Chapter 4. That's before the reference to the "quart of wheat for a day's wages" in Chapter 6. So, there's a good chance that the believers will be raptured before this big rise in prices... and before George Soros' plans for a new world order can take place.

That means the rapture could be sooner than any of us believe. That's my interpretation of things anyway. If I'm wrong, well, it will still pay to be ready for the return of Jesus. We should always be ready and watching for that great day.

Winter Finally Arrives

I love the first snow of the season. It's so pretty to watch it coming down, especially the big flakes like we had this morning. The ground temperature is still warm, so the snow is only accumulating on the grassy areas and cars. It's a beautiful blanket on the grass.

I was beginning to think winter was never going to get here. It's been unseasonably warm this fall. It was near 80 degrees earlier this week.

I've always liked snow, despite the hassles it can create. It's fun to play in. I admit I'm a bit of a dare-devil in the snow. I blame my brother-in-law for that. He may not remember this, but when he was dating my sister years ago, he would take Karen and me riding in his big yellow truck on snowy days. He was trying to scare me, I think, and he would do donuts in the snow in empty parking lots. I loved it, though!

And I still love it. I don't do donuts in parking lots... not on purpose anyway. My scooter is a little too low to the ground to go through deep snow, but it does good in light snow like we have today. It can do a few donuts.

I don't like the snow, though, when it leaves you stranded. The first year that I was in Amarillo, we got a big snow right before Thanksgiving. It was a major snowstorm. The newspaper had to pick us all up in the big delivery vans to take us to work for a few days. I was so disappointed because I didn't get to be with my family on Thanksgiving. It was the first time I hadn't been with them on a holiday.

I also got stranded on a roadtrip once. I had driven to Arizona to see the Grand Canyon. Mom wasn't with me on this trip. I was by myself on this one. (This was when I was young and still crazy enough to take trips alone.) When I started home, it began to snow. I only got to Flagstaff when I had to stop. It snowed all night, and the interstate was shut down for part of the next day. When the road finally opened, traffic was bumper to bumper for miles. It was quite an experience -- one I know I'll never forget.

With today's snow, it will probably all be melted by tomorrow. I think it's funny how the TV weathermen stand outside in only an inch or two snow and talk about it like it's the biggest blizzard to hit the area in years. Come on, guys! It's just a little snow.

Last winter, we had 29 inches of snow. That was above average for the Panhandle. This year, it is predicted to be a lot less. But I hope we have at least one really big snow this season!

Progress Report

Everyone has been interested in how my physical therapy is going, so here's a progress report. I am finally on my feet and walking with a walker. I have managed to increase my walking distance each time. Now, it's time to practice turning around and walking back.

My therapist said I am making her work way too hard. She is having to come up with new goals for my treatment plan because I've been meeting my goals sooner than she expected. I like that!

Last week, we started something new. I tried riding a stationary bicycle to build muscle strength in my legs. I can't actually get on the bike, so they put a chair behind it and I can sit in the chair and reach the pedals. Pretty clever, huh? It works pretty well.

The toughest thing with the walking is going to be my balance. I've never had very good balance anyway. The walker helps with that some, but we need to keep working on it. All these things just take time.

*****

We went to Amarillo yesterday. I got my braces checked, and Mom had a doctor's appointment. The braces are doing OK, but they wanted to make sure the braces aren't rubbing my legs. Mom's appointment went OK, too, but now she will have to go to another doctor so we continue playing musical doctors.

The worst thing yesterday was the two-hour wait we had at the doctor's office. Mom was the last appointment of the day. She was worried she wasn't going to get back in time for Dancing With The Stars! But we made it just about right, thanks to Karen driving for us.

On A Lighter Note

In my blog post earlier this week, I wrote about the impact of the mid-term elections. Today, I have some not-so-serious satire to share about this week's elections. Hope you enjoy!

Now that Nazi Pelosi will no longer be speaker of the House, she has lined up a part-time job. She is the new chief propagandist on cable's PMSNBC. She will be on the ultra-liberal network one week each month, nagging and complaining about anyone and everyone. In other words, she will just be herself.

Pelosi was so upset over the losses by Democrats that she rushed back to California to get a booster shot of Botox so she can keep that phony smile on her face.

It wasn't all bad news for Dems this week. Congressman Barney Frank was able to hang on to his seat. Barney was so worried about losing his seat that he was in negotiations with PBS to start a new children's program. Apparently, Barney would don a purple suit and team up with the Teletubbies for a show called "The New Barney and (Gay) Friends."

Tea Party candidates had mixed success in the elections. In Kentucky, Rand Paul had a huge victory over his opponent in what's being called a rand-slide. Meanwhile, in Delaware, Christine O'Donnell lost her race. During the campaign, O'Donnell admitted to experimenting with witchcraft in college. In her concession speech Tuesday night, O'Donnell cast a spell on the remaining Democrats in Congress and made them disappear, too.

In California, voters turned down a proposition to legalize marijuana. The same voters re-elected pinhead Barbara Boxer to another term, which just goes to show that the voters were already 'high.' The state will surely 'go to pot' now. Californians also elected a new governor. But outgoing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vowed: "I'll be baaaaack!"

Fox News had the best and most balanced coverage on election night. MSNBC, on the other hand, wasn't fair or balanced. Watching MSNBC is like watching "The View," except there is no Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Chris Matthews walked off the set each time a Republican picked up another win. The only thing missing was loudmouth Joyless Behar. For the 8 people who actually watch MSNBC, it was quite a night.

OK, now that I have amused myself, I'll end the post here. But, just remember, only 732 days left until Barack Obama is thrown out of office. For me, and for America, it can't come too soon!

An Historic Election

Last night was the Super Bowl of politics. I don't follow sports, but I was glued to the TV all night, listening to the pundits on Fox News bloviate on how the change in the balance of power will affect America. Most of them think the GOP victories will be good for the country. I agree, but I have my own opinions.

It's definitely a step in the right direction. Now, if Republicans want to make this a truly historic election, they'll go to work and put this country back on the right course. The GOP picked up 63 seats in the House. Let's hope they can use them to stop Obama's Socialist agenda.

I am happy with the results of the election, but I wanted it to go further. I wanted Republicans to gain control of the House and the Senate. I especially wanted Dirty Harry Reid to lose the race in Nevada!! He managed to squeak by and hold onto his seat.

It might actually be good that power in Congress is split between Democrats and Republicans. It's good to have that balance, but it's sure to create a lot of gridlock over the next two years. Don't expect to see Congress get a lot accomplished in the next two years. But if Republicans can just block Obama's radical leftist agenda, that will be something.

Will this election cause Obama to change his course? Probably not. But it sure will knock him off his high horse. He has fallen a long ways in two short years, and he is destined to be a one-term president.

When it comes to social issues like abortion and gay marriage, Republicans have taken the right stand. But when it comes to job creation and cutting the deficit, will the Republicans do any better than the Democrats have done? Or will it be more of the same? That remains to be seen, but I am hopeful that the Republicans can make a difference.

Frankly, we shouldn't put our hope in Republicans or Democrats. Our hope should ultimately be in the Lord. We should put our trust in Him and look to Him to lead our country in the right direction. We can do our part and pray for the leaders in power. But it's God who has the real power to determine the final outcome.

May God continue to bless America!