I Am Sore Afraid

Have you ever spent a month practicing the wrong version of a duet only to find out the day before a program? Now, after singing the Larnelle Harris Sandi Patty version of "I've Just Seen Jesus" all day long, I am seriously sore afraid. I am sore, because I think I have overdone the practice and my throat is feeling scratchy. Not as bad as it was a few weeks ago following a moderate asthma attack, but still enough that I have to stop singing for the day. And afraid because I still have not learned the last chorus correctly and only have until 3 PM tomorrow to learn that. This makes the 11th song in a month that I have had to learn just by listening to the track, which is not my strong suit. Actually the 12th song if you count the wrong version that I learned. Life is so much easier with printed music. Even the shaped-note kind is better than nothing at all.

Taxing Middle Class

The Obama administration which promised not to tax the middle class is the cause of my cell phone bill increasing by $5.50 in one month. I checked my fees and nothing has changed except the amount of taxes. I guess Obama believes that most of us are too dumb to actually check our bills for these types of increased taxes. BUT we all knew it was coming. How else will they pay for all of these government handouts such as bail outs, stimulus and health care.

Using Social Media for Encouragement

I really appreciate those with the gift of encouragement. There are two senior ladies from our church who are constantly sending out cards and letters to members and ministers alike. Remember the days when we everyone brought little gifts to our Sunday School teachers, RA directors, ministers, choir leaders, etc. Parents that were truly thankful for those who gave their time and energy to teaching their children and youth about the bible, music, missions, etc., made a point of letting these individuals know about it. Letters were written, cards were sent to let people know how much we appreciated them.

That age changed to one where the leaders were expected to be the encouragers. If workers were getting burned out, the leaders were blamed because they were not doing enough encouragement. Ministries started to include extra money each year to pay for little gifts of appreciation to workers for their service to God. Dinners were planned to thank people serving the church for giving their time, talents and energy. It became an institutionalized type of encourgement where leaders recruited others to help them plan and send out encouragement.

However, lately it seems that the new social media has taken on a great ministry through encouragement. Everyday I can see how people post little notes of encouragement or reply to a post letting people know that they are appreciated and that somebody is praying for them. And these messages go around the world to people serving on the mission field, individuals struggling with addictions, families with marital problems and more. I hope this is something that continues for many more years. How can you be a part of encouraging others?

25th Annual Living Christmas Tree

It was a busy week, but with the help of about 50 volunteers we were able to get the structure for the Living Christmas Tree up, decorated (as well as Christmas decorations all over the church campus), and the electrical connected. We had many more people help provide meals for all of these volunteers this week as well. Now we continue with more choir rehearsals, the video editing and light programming. Thanks to everyone who is helping all eleven performances for this year's historic Living Christmas Tree.

10 Biblical Truths That Shape My Worldview - FOXNews.com

10 Biblical Truths That Shape My Worldview - FOXNews.com

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N.C. Church Plans Bible Burning

Sad that something this stupid makes the news (and of course from a Baptist Church). Wonder what God thinks of a pastor supporting the burning of His Word. And did he actually call Billy Graham a heretic? Sad, sad, sad. I hope this pastor learns someday about the scripture that King James had added to his version of the Bible in order to justify his sinful lifestyle. But it doesn't sound like this pastor has had very much education at all.

Autistic Basketball Manager's 20 Point Game

Watching this not only made me think about our struggles and victories, but it also reminded me of when I played basketball way back in first grade at the W.W. Houston Boy's Club in Norfolk, Virginia. The team was not age based. We had boys of all ages and I was by far the youngest.

I had attended all of the practices and sat on the bench week after week at the games. On the final game both teams decided to allow me to make a basket. I was passed the ball and threw it up as hard as I could again and again. It never came close. Finally one of the other boys lifted me onto his shoulder and the ball was handed up to me. I shot again and made a basket. I can remember being so happy that I not only made my first basket, but that I scored 2 points in a real game. I salute the coach who made the decision to let Jason McElwain play in this game.

What's Peace Got to Do With It?

So, the big news today is that Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. My question is what has he done to bring about peace anywhere? The American mainstream media may see him as a rock star, but the world continues to laugh at him. And it has nothing to do with his race, religion or skin color. Let's look at his accomplishments:

• He spends hundreds of thousands of dollars, takes two airplanes full of staff and dignitaries including his wife and Oprah, pours out his life story in an unprecedented personal appeal, and is still rejected by the Olympic Committee in the first round. How sophomoric.
  
• He visits the 73 year old Queen of England and presents her with the gift of an iPod loaded with videos of his speeches. How vain and ignorant.
• He receives a visit from the legally blind British Prime Minister and gives him a gift of a DVD collection purchased at Blockbuster Video. How insensitive.
  
• He allows the Iranians to continue testing long range missiles including on Jewish holidays which is a direct threat to Israeli defenses with no repercussions from America while they continue research to build a nuclear weapon facilities. His response, Israel must stop building in the demilitarized zones and we will have some serious talks with Iran. He allows the North Koreans to continue building and testing long range missiles with no repercussions. How stupid.
• He ignores his generals and only sits down to talk to them after pressure from polls. After his meeting, he cannot make a decision based on the information he is given, so he decides to call a meeting with dozens of democrats, most of whom have no military training, knowledge of war tactics or diplomatic experience. He allows them to discuss what we should do in Afghanistan and still cannot come to a conclusion. Guess Hillary was right about that 2 AM phone call thing. How embarrassing.
  
• Past presidents have been involved in bringing about peace throughout the world. Reagan brought an end to the cold war and helped end communism in Russia. George H. W. Bush helped to liberate the Kuwaiti people. George W. Bush helped to liberate Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet none of these past presidents received the Nobel Peace Prize. The only thing that Obama has freed are the radicals who are serving in the White House unchecked by any form of government. What is the latest Czar count? I believe we have more Czars in the White House than Russia had during their entire history. How pathetic.

Want more evidence of the world's view about this? Read this article in the London Times.