Mental Musings

I received a 16 GB iPod Touch from my choir for Christmas. I was very excited since I gave my MP3 player to my youngest son a year ago when his broke. I was somewhat disheartened when I had to ask my 13 year old for some help in figuring out some of the features. At least I was able to figure out one that he could not, so I guess there is still a little edge left.

I recently found a college friend on facebook and she had this posted on her profile. It really is a great explanation of Psalm 23. The Lord is my Shepherd - that's a Relationship! I shall not want - that's Supply! He maketh me to lie down in green pastures - that's Rest! He leadeth me beside the still waters - that's Refreshment! He restoreth my soul - that's Healing! He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness - that's Guidance! For His name sake - that's Purpose! Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death - that's Testing! I will fear no evil - that's Protection! For Thou art with me - that's Faithfulness! Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me - that's Discipline! Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies - that's Hope! Thou annointest my head with oil - that's Consecration! My cup runneth over - that's Abundance! Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life - that...

As a music minister, I thought that my children and I could enjoy listening to music together. They really were not into music at all until the last few years. They first got interested in one of my TobyMac CDs. For about 6 months we enjoyed the same stuff...then one of them discovered heavy metal Christian music and then screamo Christian music. I really did not mind that they were listening to these as long as they were Christian groups. I tried to teach them about what makes music "Christian," but thought that they were just ignoring me. Then I read my son's post on a YouTube video: Look, THERE LIES THE PROBLEM, There Is No Such Thing As A Christian SONG, Just LYRICS. Being A Christian Does Not Mean You Suddenly Cant Write Good Songs, All It Changes Is The Lyrics, Look At These Bands For Examples, Demon Hunter The Showdown Manafest underOATH Living Sacrifice Skillet And Family Force 5 Look At Those And Tell Me What You Think Please. Not only did he listen to me, b...

The boys watching a music video of the group Children 18:3. Zachary told me that they got the name from Romans. He then grabbed his Bible and flipped to Romans to discover there is no chapter 18. He then told me that it must be Revelations. He flipped to Revelations 18:3 and started reading, "All the nations have drunk the wine of their adultery." Laughing he said, that must not be it. Ashton finally told him that it was Matthew 18:3. All I really want to know is why a 10 & 12 year old ever learned about punk rock and screamo Christian groups? Now I could understand rock or heavy metal. Even they will watch the videos of these groups and make comments about how nobody would even be able to tell they are a Christian group from their songs.

Click on the button to visit a great site that allows you the opportunity to let others know that, while you did not vote for Barack Obama, you will certainly be praying for Him. Let's put our faith in God's supremacy. God places people in positions of power based on His own reasons. He doesn't ask us to try to understand His reasons, but He does ask us to pray for those in positions of leadership.

We were discussing the election with our ten and twelve year old sons today. The twelve year old mentioned that he had heard that Obama would pull the troops out of Iraq. Our ten year old's response, "That's stupid." I then said that Obama is also in favor of abortions for virtually any reason. The ten year old again responded, "That's just stupid." Children do speak their minds better than most adults.

I never realized how popular a music history website could be. Almost 20 years ago, a few friends worked with me to put together a specialized music history timeline. It started with just the basics: composers and major works. After several years of work it had grown to a multi-category timeline. The final design included world events, music theory and treatises, musical forms and styles, composers, major works and hymnological information. Now thousands of music students use my online timeline of music history and hymnology, The Classical Score . I frequently get emails from organizations, schools, orchestras, students, etc., who have found the site useful for them and want permission to use it in one of their projects. I am thrilled that people find the work of my friends and myself useful. Fortunately I generally make just enough money from the google ads to pay for my website expenses each year so that I can continue to provide this service free of charge. Visit today and see what ...

Not just another Joe the Plumber--this letter writer is a strong supporter of John McCain. I added a hyperlink to his name that shows he has donated thousands to John McCain's election. However, his letter is spreading across the internet like wildfire. He says what many conservatives have been thinking: "We cannot trust Obama." To Barack Hussein Obama, The New York Times carried a story on Saturday, October 4, 2008, that proved you had a significantly closer relationship with Bill Ayers than what you previously admitted. While the issue of your relationship is of concern, the greater concern is that you lied to America about it. The Chicago Sun reported on May 8, 2008, that FBI records showed that you had a significantly closer relationship with Tony Rezko than what you previously admitted. In the interview, you said that you only saw Mr. Rezko a couple of times a year. The FBI files showed that you saw him weekly. While the issue of your relationship is of concern, the...

Ashton is fast approaching his teen years. He has definitely been showing all of the classic signs. You know: arguing with us; pushing buttons to find his limits; insisting he is always right and we don't know what we are talking about. He even pulled the "you hate me" last week. We have had numerous emotional outbursts, tense moments and even some crying. Considering the long battle we have fought to help our children with their social skills problems (both boys have Asperger's Syndrome), it is somewhat amusing that we now are faced with very normal social behavior. I guess we will survive the same way millions of other families have. Or maybe I should use my sons' phrase: "We're livers."

I was cleaning out some old things from our Music Library and came across a stack of old reel-to-reel sound tracks. The one in the picture caught my attention. If we were going to keep it, I would definitely relabel it.

I love his energy and humor. It is definitely worth the time it takes to watch this.

My son asked me tonight what I would name a pet snake if we bought a python that had no fangs. I suggested "fangless." He then said, "I would name it Monty, so it would be Monty Python." Not really sure why the python would have to be fangless for him to give it that name.

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 I just competed working on our Thanksgiving worship services. Thanksgiving is the time of year that we as Americans have set aside in order to remember all of the good things that have happened to us during the year. As Christians we remember how gracious God has been to us. We get together with our families and friends and celebrate with a traditional feast that predates the pilgrims: a harvest meal that lasts for several days or even weeks with leftovers. We do have much for which to be thankful: Americans, in general, have much more wealth than any other country in the world; the average American family has two cars, two kids and a house; the life expectancy in America is higher on average than anywhere else; ...

I couldn't help but think about the many times children whine and say, "It's not fair." That is exactly what Obama sounded like in the debate Tuesday evening when he continually complained that "it's not fair" that hardworking men and women make more money than other Americans. "It's not fair" that the top 3% pay more than 50% of the taxes or that the top 5% pay nearly 80% of the tax. "It's not fair" that the people who do not pay any taxes do not get more money from those wealthy. Well, I happen to be one of those people who have never made enough to pay taxes. I always get everything I have paidback except for my social security payments. And I do not believe that the wealthy people in my community should be giving me more of their money. Who raised all of these whining brats who want things that they did not work for and demand that the government take care of all of their needs.

After more than 25 years of excellent credit, we are now faced with foreclosure on our home in Florida. When we moved to Maryland 3 years ago our Florida home was appraised at $225,000. Since we only owed $60,000 on the home, we decided to take a second mortgage to use for down payment on our home in Maryland and then rent our Florida home to some friends who were interested in eventually buying it. Then the market changed. After a year, our home's value had depreciated to around $185,000. Still about $50,000 more than we owed on it. Rent in the area had also decreased, while insurance and taxes had increased. We were losing money each month for about six months when we mentioned to our renters that we could not afford to keep renting at the same rate and understood that rental rates had decreased so it was not fair to them to increase the rent any. We decided that we needed to sell the home before the value went lower. Our friends found a newer home for less than what we were want...

"Elijah was a man just like us" (James 5:17a NIV) • Elijah was human, just like we are • The same Elijah that God used to perform many miracles • Not a minor prophet, but one of the “supermen” among prophets • When Jesus wanted to see some old friends from heaven, it was Elijah and Moses who appeared before Him on the mount Remember Elijah? • He prayed for the rain to be held back and for 3 ½ years…and it did • He prayed for the rain to come…and it did • He asked for the last of a woman’s flour during the drought…and her jar never emptied • He prayed for her dead son…and he came back to life • Elijah talked with God • Elijah walked with God • Elijah argued with God • Elijah did not die…he was caught straight up into heaven by a fiery chariot • When Elisha used the cloak of Elijah…the waters of the Jordan River parted • And just at the height of his greatest achievement…Elijah ran for his life and hid in a valley • He complained tha...

I received one of those lovely little anonymous cards from a church member in the mail today. The envelope had an index card inside with the hand printed note (grammatical errors left as written): "I was sick Sunday so I listen to the service on radio the next time you try to sing try it under water it will sure sound better." I thought it was funny at first, but it still bothered me that anybody could be so cruel. If this person would say this to their minister of music, what would they say to the average soloist from church? I hope that they are just somebody that is mad at me and not just generally mean spirited.

“Turmoil accompanies every great change…And we have experienced more than our share, for we are agents of that very change.” Brisingr by Christopher Paolini

I understand that many, if not most, Christian denominations do not open voting for all members of the church. In the Southern Baptist Denomination, members are allowed to vote on virtually everything about the church. Some churches limit what must come before the church for a vote (yearly budget, calling new minister, changing by-laws, etc.) while others require that everything must come before the church for a vote, including decisions to purchase toilet paper from a new supplier. What I am interested in is how your church determines who can vote. Do they allow every church member the opportunity to vote? Do they have an age requirement? Do they differentiate between active and inactive members? I also would like to know who you think should be allowed to vote in your church. I personally do not think that every member should get to vote. I think that only the spiritual leaders of a church should be involved in making the decisions of where and what the church does. Opening voting to...

His Will? © 2000, Stephen R. Poole Cast: James, the brother of Jesus—good introduction for the Book of James Pastor, Brother, Bishop, even Rabbi. I have heard it all. Few people knew what to call me at the start. Some felt that I was not the right person, they questioned my authority. And, to tell the truth, I wasn’t even sure that I should be there myself. I would like to say that my faith held strong everyday of my life, but ministry has a way of wearing you down at times. I know that my mother was not prepared the day I announced to the family what I would be doing. After all, her first born was only in the ministry for 3 years before He was brutally beaten and later killed for doing God’s will. Just how do you know what God’s will is, anyway? I have had many people ask me that very question. It is a difficult thing at times. My brother never questioned the will of God. I know that he had His own desires, but He always did what God wanted even to the very end. He said that God had g...

I should be sleeping, but I can’t seem to get to sleep. I don’t like posting such personal information…but since I can’t quit thinking about it, I thought that maybe writing about it would help me to finally get to sleep. We received a summons today from a Circuit Court in Florida notifying us that our primary mortgage lender is suing us. Basically it is their first step in foreclosing on our house in Florida . It has been on the market for almost 15 months and we were making double mortgage payments for 9 of those months before we ran out of our savings. We took out a second mortgage on that house to pay our down payments on our current home. We had the house listed for about $20k less than we owe on the two mortgages. It is sad that we can’t sell it for $90k less than what it was appraised for just 2 ½ years ago. We did have one offer, but the contract was contingent on both banks accepting a short sale. The primary mortgage lender refused the short sale because it was for...

We have dealt with special needs children for almost 13 years. Of course, we did not know about it the first five years. Following the diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrom and ADHD with our oldest son, I started to work on a guide for churches in working with special needs individuals. Why? Because the two churches that I had served at during those first five years did not handle things well. I communicated with parents of other special needs children and learned that very few churches are very welcoming to families of those with special needs. We were very happy when the children's minister from our current church contacted us prior to moving here to ask how they could help educate the children's workers about the special needs of our two boys. She found many articles and books about working with special needs children and held a special meeting with the various workers to describe a plan for dealing with the individual needs they would encounter. Not everything has continued a...

I wrote this for a Senior Adult luncheon in Florida. They were rolling on the floor laughing. 64 Going on 65 © 2004 Steve Poole This can be sung to the song, “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” from Sound of Music You’re right on the edge of a new life now And there’s something you’ll soon see The phone calls, all day, they will never end And they’ll all be from A A R P You are 64 going on 65 Baby, it’s time to think! Better beware, be canny and careful, Baby, you’re on the brink! You are 64 going on 65 Here is some free advice Eat all you can at MickeyDees and BKs The coffee there is half price Totally unprepared are you Your brain it will go numb Timid and shy and scared are you Of living on fixed income You need someone older and wiser Telling you what to do I am 69 going on 70 I’ll take care of you You are 64 going on 65 You know that you’re naïve Investors you meet will tell you they’re free And willingly you’ll believe You are 64 going on 65 The youth they will all take flight You’re de...

I planned this service in 1995. ====== Please enter into tonight’s service humbly in silence and meditation. There will be no words spoken, so you need to follow the bulletin closely. We pray that this service will be a meaningful one for you. Come in …be seated …be still for a season …pray …and reflect with us upon the matchless love and grace of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Not a word will be spoken during this entire service. The only sound will be that of the piano as some familiar hymns of Christmas and Calvary are played. “Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord.” (Zechariah 2:13 KJV) Prelude “Kings of Orient” Removal of the Cloth “What Child Is This” Scripture Meditation “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” (John 8:12 NIV) “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people li...

There are many faces to spiritual abuse. It is not just something that happens among religious cults. Spiritual abuse takes place anytime a spiritual leader makes choices based on their own selfish desires. Most people will immediately about the reports of some child molesting priest, but spiritual abuse does not always involve such vivid criminal acts. Look at these different scenarios: Although my pastor receives a full-time salary from the church, he sees nothing wrong with spending his afternoons working with his brother's construction company. He claims that he is often called to the hospital in the middle of the night or that he spends many hours in church meetings and visitation so he should be allowed to spend office hours making a little extra money. [NOTE: some churches allow their ministers to do things like this because they cannot afford to pay the minister a suitable salary] We felt as though God wanted us to move to a neighboring church so that we could help them min...

What do I mean about awkward ? That place where you do not have enough people in an ensemble to create two groups, but you have more people than you really need for one group. When I first came to this church, the praise team was composed of the following: 2 sopranos, 2 second sopranos, 2 tenors, 2 altos, a lead singer, acoustic guitar, lead guitar, bass, drums, and a keyboard/piano. I immediately thought that we had too many singers, but they had a great sound together and do function as a separate singing ensemble for special events like our Living Christmas Tree. I wanted to split our singers into two groups, but have faced opposition from the singers who all want to stay together as one group. We also have other singers who are interested in joining the praise team, but I have postponed increasing the group until I decide how to divide into smaller units. I pushed to increase our band to include some wind players (we added a flute with sax and trumpet to follow soon). I moved the k...

I have been tagged by Wendy because she wants to torment me. The rules: Put a link to the person who tagged you. Mention the rules on your blog. Tell 6 quirky things about yourself. Tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking them. Leave each of them a comment letting them know they've been tagged. My list: Little, unknown noises bug me. I cannot sleep until I figure out what is causing the noise. Knowing that there are things out of their proper place bug me. Before I was married I had to make sure everything was in the proper place before going to sleep. I gave up after marriage and then kids. I hate repeating myself. Did you hear me? I hate, oh, never mind. When I get money as a gift I would rather spend it on other people than on myself. I can't remember people or things that happened in my past unless I am not trying to remember them. I can hear the distinct voices and conversations from dozens of people as I walk through the mall or any other public place. I can mentally focus...

This past week has been really difficult for our household. Saturday (June 28) was our Patriotic Musical. I spent all morning at the church getting things prepared for the program that evening. Wendy was home washing clothes and packing suitcases for her and Ashton as they were leaving on Sunday for Centrifuge (youth camp). We left early that night for the program and got home in time to get the boys to bed for an early start the next day. Sunday we had our normal three worship services, ran home to eat lunch and change clothes then drove right back to church so that Ashton and Wendy could load the church bus and head for camp. Zachary was very upset because this is his first time to go a week without his brother and his mother. On Monday, Zachary spent the entire day with a neighbor and her two young children. He did fine, but he was very sad that I could not make it home until late and did not make it home for lunch. That evening we went shopping to get supplies for our cookout on Tu...

Just in case anybody cares, I thought I would post some of the issues that concern me when voting. I will never vote for any politician who: Is more concerned about the horn-rimmed-snowy-mole-woodpecker-rat than they are about the well being of humans. Will allow China, Russia, Cuba and Mexico to drill off our shores but prohibit America from doing so. Favors giving welfare, medical benefits and education funds to those who enter our country illegally (in other words, criminals). Believes that we must be tolerant of every religion except Christianity. Cannot realize that the average temperature on Mars has also been increasing and there are no SUVs or flatulent cows to be found there. Favors killing innocent unborn children but is opposed to killing guilty murderers. Believes we should give terrorists the same rights as our own citizens. Thinks that increasing taxes on the wealthiest people won’t increase the costs to everyone else. Believes that judges have a duty to create new laws ...

I am not quite sure why my wife laughed so much when I called to tell her that. I am going to get my $1027 tooth inlay put in tomorrow. I am also going to get blood work and x-rays of my chest done because my doctor said that I have an obstruction in my lungs. He wants to make sure that I do not have any scare tissue or pulmonary conditions that need to be treated. Guess I should go to bed and prepare for a long day of poking and prodding at the labs and some pain at the dentists.

My tooth tale continues... I thought I broke another part of my tooth this morning while brushing my teeth. I made another emergency appointment with the dentist and was able to get in at 10:20. I must say that I am impressed with how easy it has been to get in with this dentist. I found out that I did not break another part of my tooth, nor was it another tooth. I lost another part of my filling. And, as Paul Harvey would say, for the rest of the story... This filling is the entire cause of my recent tooth problem. When we first moved to Maryland we made appointments for all of us with Dr. Stephen Gentile in Belcamp . We did not think that we should check with people for references first, but it turns out that we made a very expensive mistake by not doing so. The cleaning process was much worse than any I had every had in my life. I left with my gums very sore. None of us have had teeth problems prior to our visit, but we expected that Ashton would have some cavities because he really...

I went on to my Digg site today to see what my friends have been up to and apparently the answer is: nothing. See below. Makes me wonder if I need to just take the day off and go to the pool.

Last night I was enjoying one of my little habits, chewing ice, when suddenly I noticed that some of the ice seemed a little extra crunchy. I spit it out to find out that I had broken a tooth. I went to the dentist today and discovered that it wasn't really from chewing ice, but a filling had slipped and wore down the tooth so that it had cracked. I am almost certain this filling is from the last dentist visit I had two years ago. That visit was the worst I had ever experienced. The dentist had to give me three shots of n ovocaine to numb me. While he worked on me, I was constantly feeling pain. Afterwards, my teeth and jaw were sore for weeks. Now I find out that his poor work has related in a broken tooth years later. The total cost: $1027. Ouch. That hurt more than when my tooth broke.

Anyone who knows my family will find this amusing... My fortune cookie today read, "You have a lively family."

My wife’s grandfather kept his mind sharp by doing the New York Times crossword puzzle everyday. Keeping the mind agile is just as important as exercising the body. I remember watching a movie featuring Patrick Stewart that was about a man who was concerned about Alzheimer’s. He went through daily mental exercises like reciting as many prime numbers as he could, naming all of the presidents in order or going through the state capitals in alphabetical order. Most newspapers include at least one daily crossword puzzle with perhaps a Sudoku puzzle, Word Jumble or other such entertaining mental exercise. There are many other options for those who do not like to support the liberal bias of the printed media. Many websites offer online games such as crossword, scrabble, jumble and more. Then there are the educational video games like Brain Games that has become extremely popular on the Nintendo DS. Other mental exercises include: Reading (reading anything, including comic books, is better th...

Monday evening we entered our room in a posh hotel in the garment district. Although it was not what we expected based on the web photos we had viewed, the room was nice and clean. After squeezing between counters and walls in restaurants and businesses throughout the area, we were not shocked to find out that our room resembled a miniature version of most hotel rooms. Our room was on the street side (the bathroom window is directly behind the hotel sign in this photo). This might seem like a choice location when staying in a hotel one block from the Empire State Building, but the "City That Never Sleeps" stood up to its name. I am not certain how I actually fell asleep, with the garbage trucks picking up trash at 11 PM, the subway trains rumbling underground somewhere nearby, the car horns honking, the music playing loudly from the open-air nightclubs, and, to our surprise, a window cleaning company starting to work on the next door building around 11 PM. I guess exhaustion ...

This news article is only the latest in a long line of stories that show how liberals in our country are attempting to quiet the voice of anybody who thinks differently than they do: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,353023,00.html . Dr. William Gray is a renowned meteorological scientists who consistently does a better job of predicting the hurricane season than the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). He has done this because he does not begin with a biased opinion that global warming is the cause of the increased cycle for hurricanes. Now that he has been speaking out against global warming, calling it a political issue instead of true science, the left has successfully managed to manipulate Colorado State University in an effort to shut him up. Apparantly American citizens are allowed to speak freely about anything as long as you agree with the liberal agenda.Yes, I too am a skeptic when it comes to global warming. I am old enough to remember when the public sc...

Our twelve year old son has been exploring the internet for many years with our watchful eyes on what he is doing. Since he has been exploring YouTube lately, I have been even more diligent in keeping an eye on what he is up to. I was very surprised to see the following comments that he left following one of the videos (and this from a boy who hates to do his writing assignments for school and never likes to talk about what he is learning in church). I was very impressed that he even made a point of letting one of the anti-religious commenters know that he disagreed with a negative comment made by another, so-called, Christian. I have left the link to the video intact so you can see the comments he was responding to, but I want to caution parents that some of the comments are not appropriate for children. COMMENTS LEFT BY OUR SON ON YOUTUBE: Thousand Foot Krutch - Falls Apart ninjahobo... He Has Changed My LIFE! Just Pray And Ask Him What He Wants You To Do In Life, It Will Be Good At ...

I have been helping my sons put together a website to use for their weekly video webcast. They record the video on Thursday evenings during our Praise Team rehearsal. My eldest has been putting the audio on i-tunes under their show name "Random Random," but has not been able to get the video converted to MP4 format without spending money on a converter program (something we cannot do at this time). After preparing the website for him, he decided to just use YouTube. I have had an account on YouTube since December so I could share our Living Christmas Tree videos, but have never taken the time to upload them. Yesterday, my son opens his account, changes the design and uploads their first episodes. This, of course, makes me feel outdated, so I decide to work on my YouTube tonight. You can visit my Youtube site at: http://www.youtube.com/poolehall . The only videos right now are of our Living Christmas Tree. You visit my sons' at: http://www.youtube.com/callmebob50 . Their s...

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