I Asked

“I Asked” was written by a Confederate soldier.  It was recovered from his body after the battle of Gettysburg…

I asked for strength that I might achieve,

God made me weak that I might obey.

I asked for health that I might do great things,

I was given grace that I might do better things.

I asked for riches that I might be happy,

I was given poverty that I might be wise.

I prayed for power that I might have the praise of men,

I was given weakness that I might feel the need for God.

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life,

I was given life that I might enjoy all things.

I received nothing I asked for,

My prayer was answered.

I’ve Never Seen God

On June 23, 1973 the young lady pictured in the thumbnail (Jane Smith) gave me a birthday card.  The card has been an inspiration for these many years, and today sits on my desk reminding me of how I should live each day.  The poem written by Helen Steiner Rice is entitled “I’ve Never Seen God.”

I’ve never seen God but I know How I feel,

It’s people like you

who make Him “So Real”…

My God is no stranger,

He’s friendly and gay

And He doesn’t ask me to weep when I pray…

It seems that I pass Him

so often each day

In the faces of people I meet on my way…

He’s the stars in the heaven,

a smile on some face,

A leaf on a tree or a rose in a vase…

He’s winter and autumn

and summer and spring…

In short, God is Every

Real, Wonderful Thing…

I wish I might meet Him

much more than I do,

I would if there were More People Like You.

How Should We Live?

The Old Testament predicted that Jesus would come, sacrifice Himself as an atonement for sin, and that He would return.  The New Testament book of Revelation reminds us (assures us) that He is indeed coming again.

In fact, Revelation 22 quotes Jesus saying (three times) “I am coming quickly.”

“And behold, I am coming quickly.  Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.”  Revelation 22:7

“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.”  Revelation 22:12

“Yes, I am coming quickly.”  Revelation 22:20

How do we conduct our lives while we wait?  Verse 7 says we are to “heed the words of the prophecy of this book.”

In chapter 1, verse 3, John wrote, “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it, for the time is near.”

While we await His return we are to follow the guidelines of His instruction manual (the Holy Bible).  It is helpful to read the books of great theologians, commentaries, Bible notes etc., but the Bible is the Word of God (God speaking directly to us) and we should immerse ourselves daily in its content.

Every true believer should diligently study the Word of God and seek to apply it to his life.

3 Reasons Why I Don’t Watch CBS

There are three reasons I don’t watch CBS.  For sometime now, number one has been Katie Couric.  But Katie has been replaced by “As The World Turns.”

Last Friday, Van Hansis and Jake Silbermann (25 and 24 year old males) locked lips and ran their tongues down each others throat for about 35 seconds.  The same-sex kiss knocked Katie out of first place.  She is now reason #2.

Reason #3:  Kid Nation.  CBS’s abuse of these 40 kids is appalling.  Several had to seek medical treatment for drinking bleach, facial burns from hot grease, exhaustion.  Most of the children, ages 8 to 15, were required to work 14 hours or longer per day.

There are many other reasons, but none are as nauseating as the top three.

Me Without My Horse

What Will You Do?

Democrats are beginning to lose my interest.  They need to realize they are running for their party’s nomination — they are not running for president.

As I watch their town hall meetings all I hear is Bush does this and Bush did that.  Do they not realize the fact that President Bush cannot seek his party’s nomination – that he cannot, by law, be elected to a third term as president.

I want them to tell me what they will do if they win their party’s nomination.  Then tell me what they will do, and how they will do it, if elected.

If they don’t know, that’s fine — but don’t tell me what I already know.  Don’t tell me what someone else has done for the past seven years.

Castrated Cat

How dumb can convicted felons be?  A man in Oregon became angry with his girlfriend, then took his anger out on her cat.

It seems that the 31-year-old man’s girlfriend was supposed to come over for a visit last Friday night — she didn’t show.  So the man drugged her pet cat and castrated it with a box cutter.

When police arrived at the convicted felon’s home to investigate the incident they discovered body armor and multiple firearms.  The felon was arrested and charge with multiple counts.

The cat, “Romeo,” was transported to the Emergency Veterinary Hospital and is expected to make a full recovery except for the replacement of certain irreplaceable body parts.

TV Is Not Gay Enough

I read a report the other day that stated, according to a gay rights group, TV is not gay enough.  The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) says there needs to be more depictions of the gay lifestyle.  That aside, the group did give the Walt Disney Co. owned network, ABC, the highest rating of any of the five major networks for its depictions of gay, lesbian and transgender characters on prime-time TV.

Four grades were assigned (excellent, good, fair and failing) based on the number of occurrences of gay characters. [GLAAD said networks stood to gain from more gay and lesbian-friendly programming since the gay community is generally more affluent, highly educated and brand-conscious than the populace at large.]

The youth-oriented CW Network scored the second highest grade from GLAAD, “fair,” with 12% of its programming found to be oriented toward gays.  CBS and NBC also received grades of “fair” with 9% and 7% respectively.  FOX, the most watched network among young viewers (thank goodness) received a score of “failing.”

What ever happened to “The Real McCoys,” “Leave It To Beaver,” and  “Father Knows Best?”

Fingerpicking

Merle Travis has always been a favorite of mine.  If You like good fingerpicking you’ll love the great Merle Travis.  I have added to “Pages” a video of Merle performing “Too Much Sugar For A Dime.”  Hope you enjoy.

Where’s Fred ?

Being layed-up in my understuffed recliner for a few days I had ample opportunity to view some of my favorite sitcoms — the Republicans and Democrats debating to see who would represent their respective party in the next presidential election.

 The Democrats didn’t impress me.  They were more interested in snippin’ and snappin’ at each other than relating with the populace.  Hillary seems to be gaining in the polls, but it appears she may be using a little Botox — she is beginning to look more like a 1968 Nancy Sinatra with each appearance.  Also, she was trying to show a little more cleavage (I couldn’t help but notice) but now has gone back to her turtlenecks.  She was starting to look like Jane Russel’s character in “The Outlaw.”

I wasn’t overly impressed with the Republicans either.  Most seemed articulate except Ron Paul (I’m thinking maybe he should switch parties).  Most seemed congenial (except Mr. Paul) and informed.  Still, I wasn’t impressed.

My decision?  I’m waiting for Fred.