Tranquility Base

Now that I no longer suffer from the debilitating Thoracic Outlet Syndrome pain, I try to not pass up an opportunity to work outside. Today was almost perfect: slightly cool, light breeze, sunny blue skies. Excellent painting weather too except for the Buick size gnats and the mosquitoes.

When we first moved here, I named different parts of the property just for fun I'm weird like that. I even name my cars and motorcycles. This area I dubbed "Tranquility Base". Years ago I used to sit here reading the Holy Bible or one of my many Agatha Christie mysteries.

BEFORE

The area was wall-to-wall leaves, overgrown trees, cats claw vines, potato vines, etc. The swing needed light repair which my Most Excellent Husband happily obliged. It was now ready for swingin'!

 

AFTER

I raked the majority of leaves out of the area and put them in the new vegetable garden. Hey, never waste good mulch is my philosophy! Then repainted the repaired swing, hung two new wind chimes and planted shade tolerant flowers (Torenia) in an old black charcoal grill that I resprayed to match the swing and decorations. The orange colored Dwarf Azaleas are deformed from when the tree used to invade them. They are lovely this year in spite of the years of neglect. I'm hoping that once they're pruned and fertilized they'll look a little less scraggly.

Below is the Torenia. It's planted in an old charcoal grill I saved from the scrap heap.

 

I had never heard of Torenia until today, so, after getting home I looked up the flower on google and learned that this little beauty is in the Snapdragon family. 

Below, I hung an inexpensive cross wind chime over the plants. I gotta have my "tinklies". :)

Oh, and the Confederate Jasmine is in full regalia! The smell is so strong this year it wafts gently all over the yard. It's such a yummy odor. Even the birds & bees seem to enjoy it as much as we do.

I'm whopped now so I'm kickin' back with a brewsky and watching old Seinfeld reruns. Then I'll watch one of my pre-recorded old black and white movies. Hey, it beats the News these days. 

~ Ride Safe ~

Sparky

Jackie Evancho - To Believe

"Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises." KJV Psalm 47:6

"Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." King James Bible

Hamburger Vegetable Surprise

Ingredients

¼ cup Olive Oil
1 tbsp Garlic, minced
1 Sweet Onion, chopped
1 tsp Basil
1 tsp Oregano
1 lb lean Ground Beef
1 can diced Basil Tomatoes
3 cups frozen mixed vegetables
1/3 package of DaVinci Bucatini (pasta)


In a large fry pan at medium heat cook the olive oil, minced garlic, chopped onion, basil and oregano. Cook until onions tender. Then add the lean ground beef, continue cooking on medium heat. When beef is evenly browned add the can of diced Basil Tomatoes and frozen mixed vegetables. Let simmer.

In a separate pot, bring water to boil and cook the pasta or noodles of your choice until tender (we used DaVinci Bucatini). Then add pasta to the beef mix.

Simmer mixture on medium heat until most of the water cooks off.

Good served with grated parmesan cheese and garlic bread as a side.

Serve hot. Serves about 4-6 people.

~ Ride Safe ~

Sparky

Funny Friday ~ Cialis Commercial

Caution: This commercial can cause numbness, dizziness, head shaking, regret, and nausea.

National Day Of Prayer - May 2nd

The National Day Of Prayer has been set for May 2nd this year.

Please try to attend a local event. Our nation needs you.

Never, never, never ... ever give up ... by Pastor C

"Submit yourselves therefore to God.

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

-  James 4:7 (KJ 2000)

21 "Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you. 22 Accept instruction from his mouth and lay up his words in your heart. 23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored: If you remove wickedness far from your tent 24 and assign your nuggets to the dust, your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines, 25 then the Almighty will be your gold, the choicest silver for you. 26 Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty and will lift up your face to God. 27 You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows. 28 What you decide on will be done, and light will shine on your ways. 29 When men are brought low and you say, 'Lift them up!' then he will save the downcast. 30 He will deliver even one who is not innocent, who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands."

- Job 22:21-30 (New International Version)

"Prayer is simply a two-way conversation between you and God."

- Billy Graham

God bless,

~ Ride Safe ~

Sparky

He Stopped Loving Her Today

I am so sad  that one of my favorite Country Western singers, George Jones, passed away today. [I detest the new "country" music. It's crap.]

George Jones, the definitive country singer of the last half-century, whose songs about heartbreak and hard drinking echoed his own life, died on Friday in Nashville. He was 81. [more]

Some time during his career, he also earned the nickname "No Show Jones" because of his drinking habits. Hey, we all have our demons folks. But, irregardless of his demons, whatever they where, he cranked out many memorable songs for us all to enjoy in perpetuity. My absolute favorite of his is, and always will be, "He Stopped Loving Her Today". Brings tears every time.



Thank you Mr. Jones for all your years of wonderful songs. I look forward to hear you sing with us in your distinctive twang in the Heavenly choir with our Lord Jesus Christ.

God's blessings to all his family and friends.

~ Ride Safe ~

Sparky

All a'Twitter #hackers

Yesterday, some Moonbat(s), probably based in Iran, hacked into the Associated Press Twitter account and caused havoc at self same place by creating a hoax. For some reason stating that the President was blown up made the Dow Jones part of the Stock Market plummet more than 200 points, or, to put it in real terms for the rest of us, more than $200 Billion dollars in value.

Wow.

Seems like with such good news as that the Stock Market would have soared with glee not panic.

So why would an artificial thing like an internet account with twitter, which I still don't understand why one wants to be there or what it does, would affect the Stock Market? Oh well. At least it's dragging itself back up the points again today.

Go figure.

WND Article About Obama's Hatred Of America #ObamaFAIL #ImpeachObama

Looking Spoon

It saddens me how much America has drastically changed just in the past 10 years or so. I grew up in the America when jobs where plentiful. It wasn't perfect by any means, but one was encouraged to make the world a little better place by working hard, saving money, and always doing the right thing. One was proud to say "I'm an American!" But now I noticed people don't like to admit they're American. We've been sliding for quite sometime, mostly in spirts, but it seems that our descent into oblivian has been happening at an even more rapid pace. Has anyone else noticed the disturbing upward trend in the suicide rate? So many seem so depressed, worried, harried, overwhelmed or unusually stressed. I know. I feel that way myself sometimes but I just take a breathe, say a prayer, read the Holy Bible, then make myself go do something fullfilling. My stress relief is going for a motorcycle ride, or gardening, or helping someone in need, or genealogy research.

One must pick one's battles carefully so as not to get overstressed.

Nations come and go, you know, and ours has had many downturns since the beginning. The first major one began about 1913 ... no, it goes back further than that. Being a genealogist, I read a lot of historical pieces by much more learned folks than myself. I noticed that our Nation took the first major downturn about 1845 or so. (See the Federal Census from 1850 that first started wanting to know everything about peoples households.) Then Abraham Lincoln happened in 1861 and he drug American ideals through the mud by throwing the US Constitution out the window, committing impeachable offences and even started our first "Civil War", or as we call it down here in the South, The War of Northern Aggression. He was our first really worthless President. From there our Nation had brief upswings of prosperity (under Calvin Coolidge) and downswings (Woodrow Wilson, both Roosevelts, Jimmy Carter, all the Bush's, Bill Clinton). Now we seem to just be roller coasting straight downhill with no brakes thanks to the sub saharan culture that has taken over Hollywood, the schools, our government, etc.

Today I noticed a link to this article about "Americans Snapping By The Millions" on another blog. Wow. It was as if the writer was reading my mind or, scarier still, listening to me yell at the TV! It's the same as what I've been telling everyone that will listen: Obama HATES America and all this doom and gloom and 'executive orders' are part of his evil plan to remake it in his graven image. The article is a good read. But those of you who feel depressed, please know you're not alone. JESUS LOVES YOU all the time. And if you want to talk about it further, leave a comment here. Please don't give up hope. Bad times come and go, but remember you're important and treasured by Someone bigger than all of us.

I like this quote at the bottom of the article:

“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing,” James 1: 2-4 KJV.

And may I add:

"fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10 English Standard Version

And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Acts 16:31 English Standard Version

Our Day In Pictures: Southeast Georgia Countryside

Today it was quite pretty but too windy to ride comfortably. So we parked the metal steeds took the 'cage' (4 wheels for you non-riders) for a spin. All these photos were taken on Big Creek Road then Bennett Still Road in Bacon County, Georgia.

 This was an abandoned farm house

on Big Creek Road. From the outbuildings

still standing, they must have specialized

in raising tobacco.

---

A little ways from the above place,

just around the corner on Bennett Still Road,

Sweetie spied this cute little place.

The horses looked so contented and well fed.

Just had to snap a pic.

Hope you enjoyed the ride too on this lovely Sunday!

Ride Safe

~ Sparky ~

Two Minutes With The Bible ~ The Apostle Of Grace

The Apostle of Grace

by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam
Printer Friendly Version

The conversion of Saul of Tarsus was an amazing event. Saul loathed the very name of Christ. He blasphemed Him and caused others to be tortured so as to compel them to blaspheme that holy name. He led his nation and the world in rebellion against the resurrected, glorified Christ — the world which had already disowned and crucified the lowly Jesus.

But as Saul went to Damascus, still “breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord” (Acts 9:1), God did a wonderful thing. Rather than crush the leader of the world’s rebellion, He saved him. Christ broke through the heavens, as it were, to speak words of pity to His greatest enemy on earth. As a result Saul’s rebellious spirit was broken and in one moment the pitiless persecutor became the docile, indeed the devoted follower of Christ.

More than this, Saul of Tarsus, the persecutor, became Paul the Apostle. To him the glorified Lord committed “the dispensation of the grace of God” (Eph. 3:2) and “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). Now he went everywhere proclaiming grace, telling men how God loved them, how Christ had come into the world and had gone to Calvary to pay man’s debt of sin so that believing sinners might be saved.

“The gospel of the grace of God,” found in Paul’s epistles, does not blame anyone for the death of Christ. Rather it presents the cross as good news. It declares that “we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1:7). It says that “God hath concluded them all in unbelief that He might have mercy upon all” (Rom. 11:32) and that “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Rom. 5:20). Thus the vilest sinner may believe and rejoice in the consciousness of sins forgiven.

---

To the Reader:

Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:

"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."

We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.

Great Editorial - Just Ban Democrats From Owning Guns #guncontrol

Here is an interesting editorial with an interesting solution.

Works for me.
(click image to enlarge in new window)

Funny Friday ~ What's Your Birth Number

I'm not into Numberology or anything silly like that. I just thought this was fun. Really, all of us are all these numbers at any given time in our lives, don't ya think? Anyway, what's your number? I'm a "#1", for what it's worth.

Sparky ~:)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

WHATS YOUR BIRTH NUMBER?

Once you have discovered your Birth Number. Put your number in as a comment below for us to know who we are.

Have fun! Your birth date describes who we are, what we are good at and what our inborn abilities are. It also points to what we have to learn and the challenges we are facing.

To figure out your Birth Number, add all the numbers in the Birth Date together, like in the example, until there is only one digit. A Birth Number does not prevent you from being anything you want to be, it will just color your choice differently and give you a little insight.

Example:
March 20, 1950
3 + 20 + 1950 = 1973
1 + 9 + 7 + 3 = 20
2 + 0 = 2

Keep going until you end up with a single digit number. 2 is the Birth Number to read for the birth date in the example.


#1 THE ORIGINATOR
#2 THE PEACEMAKER
#3 THE LIFE OF THE PARTY
#4 THE CONSERVATIVE
#5 THE NONCONFORMIST
#6 THE ROMANTIC
#7 THE INTELLECTUAL
#8 THE BIG SHOT
#9 THE PERFORMER


# 1 - THE ORIGINATOR

1's are originals. Coming up with new ideas and executing them is natural. Having things! their own way is another trait that gets them as being stubborn and arrogant. 1's are extremely honest and do well to learn some diplomacy skills. They like to take the initiative and are often leaders or bosses! , as they like to be the best. Being self-employed is definitely helpful for them. Lesson to learn: Others' ideas might be just as good or better and to stay open minded.

Famous 1's: Tom Hanks, Robert Redford, Hulk Hogan, Carol Burnett, Wynona Judd, Nancy Reagan, Raquel Welch.



#2 - THE PEACEMAKER

2's are the born diplomats. They are aware of others' needs and moods and often think of others before themselves. Naturally analytical and very intuitive they don't like to be alone. Friendship and companionship is very important and can lead them to be successful in life, but on the other hand they'd rather be alone than in an uncomfortable relationship. Being naturally shy they should learn to boost their self-esteem and express themselves freely and seize the moment and not put things off.

Famous 2's: President Bill Clinton, Madonna, Whoopee Goldberg, Thomas Edison, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.



# 3 - THE LIFE OF THE PARTY

3's are idealists. They are very creative, social, charming, romantic, and easygoing. They start many things, but don't always see them through. They like others to be happy and go to great lengths to achieve it. They are very popular and idealistic. They should learn to see the world from a more realistic point of view.

Famous 3's: Alan Alda, Ann Landers, Bill Cosby, Melanie Griffith, Karen Roundbutt, Salvador Dali, Jodi Foster



# 4 - THE CONSERVATIVE

4's are sensible and traditional. They like order and routine. They only act when they fully understand what they are expected to do. They like getting their hands dirty and working hard. They are attracted to the outdoors and feel an affinity with nature. They are prepared to wait and can be stubborn and persistent. They should learn to be more flexible and to be nice to themselves.

Famous 4's: Neil Diamond, Margaret Thatcher, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tina Turner, Paul Hogan, Oprah Winfrey



# 5 - THE NONCONFORMIST

5's are the explorers. Their natural curiosity, risk taking, and enthusiasm often land t! hem in hot water. They need diversity, and don't like to be stuck in a rut. The whole world is their school and they see a learning possibility in every situation. The questions never stop. They are well advised to look before they take action and make sure they have all the facts before jumping to conclusions.

Famous 5's: Abraham Lincoln, Charlotte Bronte, Jessica Walter, Vincent VanGogh, Bette Midler, Helen Keller and Mark Hail.



# 6 - THE ROMANTIC

6's are idealistic and need to feel useful to be happy. A strong family connection is important to them. Their actions influence their decisions. They have a strong urge to take care of others and to help.They are very loyal and make great teachers! They like art or music. They make loyal friends who take the friendship seriously. 6's should learn to differentiate between what they can change and what they cannot.

Famous 6's: Albert Einstein, Jane Seymour, John Denver, Merlyn Steep, Christopher Columbus, Goldie Hawn



#7 - THE INTELLECTUAL

7's are the searchers. Always probing for hidden information, they find it difficult to accept things at face value. Emotions don't sway their decisions. Questioning everything in life, they don't like to be questioned themselves. They're never off to a fast start, and their motto is slow and steady wins the race. They come across as philosophers and being very knowledgeable, and sometimes as loners. They are technically inclined and make great researchers uncovering information. They like secrets. They live in their own world and should learn what is acceptable and what's not in the world at large.

Famous 7's: William Shakespeare, Lucille Ball, Michael Jackson, Joan Baez, Princess Diana



# 8 - THE BIG SHOT

8's are the problem solvers. They are professional, blunt and to the point, have good judgment and are decisive. They have grand plans and like to live the good life. They take charge of people. They view people objectively. They let you know in no uncertain terms that they are the boss. They should learn to exude their decisions on their own
needs rather than on what others want.

Famous 8's: Edgar Cayce, Barbara Streisand, George Harrison, Jane Fonda, Pablo Picasso, Aretha Franklin, Nostrodamus



#9 - THE PERFORMER

9's are natural entertainers. They are very caring and generous, giving away their last dollar to help. With their charm, they have no problem making friends and nobody is a stranger to them. They have so many different personalities that people around them have a hard time understanding them. They are like chameleons, ever changing and blending in. They have tremendous luck, but also can suffer from extremes in fortune and mood. To be successful, they need to build a loving foundation.

Famous 9's: Albert Schweitzer, Shirley MacLaine, Harrison Ford, Jimmy Carter, Elvis Presley

Senate rejects expanded gun background check #ObamaFAIL

Praise God! Our gun rights are safe for a few more days anyway.

'Course, asswipe O'Blamer had to go into total meltdown pout when he lost. Poor baby! [playing worlds smallest violin]

Obama chastises Senate over failed gun reform amendment

Who the heck does he think he is!!!??? Plain and simple, Obama is a tyrant. Also, if the law had passed, it would have created a whole new class of "criminals" of which many of us would now be. The law would have made it illegal to even gift a gun without it being registered. To anyone. It would have been a total, absolute nightmare and not solved any criminal problems.

We've really escaped the bullet on this one.

The Eric Holder - Gosnell Abortion Clinic Connection

Since the main stream media are now a failure at reporting news, it's up to Christians on the internet to keep this story in the forefront. There's a lot more to the Gosnell story than meets the eye: It stinks on so many levels.

The wife of Eric Holder, the Attorney General of the United States, is a co-owner of the building in which Gosnell's abortion clinic was located, "Holder failed to disclose his wife’s ownership of the building. The attorney general’s financial disclosure reports for 2008 through 2011 show Holder neglected to report his wife’s co-ownership."

Eric Holder Failed to Disclose Wife’s Abortion Clinic Ties

Well, well, well!! This is just more every-day, garden variety, corruption in the Obamanation's "transparent" administration. 'Nothing to see here, folks; the media's not reporting it. Move along.'

Thank God the media are being shamed by that photo of empty media seats at the trial of this man who, if convicted, will be the biggest mass murderer in American history. Gosnell made a fortune from murdering babies and, it appears, Eric Holder's wife also benefited monetarily from the murder of live children outside their mothers' wombs.

This story is HUGE. No wonder the already mass murderer Eric Holder, the Obamanation himself, and their sycophants in the media want to pretend it's not happening.

No wonder the Left want to disarm American citizens with this bogus back ground check malarkey. Disarming us they can murder more of us who do not conform to their deviant lifestyles post abortion style.

What A Can Of Worms #gayrights

This whole "gay rights" thing is not about them not having "rights". It's about one group having power over another. It's about the tearing down and the moral decay of our society.

More aptly put is a quote that Dr. Benjamin Carson made during a television interview [emphasis mine]:

Marriage is between a man and a woman. It is a well-established fundamental pillar of society, and no group — be they gays, be they NAMBLA [North American Man/Boy Love Association], be they people who believe in beastiality — no matter what they are, they don’t get to change the definition. So it’s not something that’s against gays; it’s against anybody who wants to come along and change the fundamental definition of pillars of society.  It has significant ramifications.

If the Supreme Court states that it's OK to marry anyone or anything, it really will completely and utterly tear at the fabric of our society that has taken centuries to establish. What's to stop the legalization of incest? Or beastiality? Or the further destruction of children and families? Nothing will stand between those of us who know the difference between right and wrong and those who wish to destroy the American culture completely.

It will be just another

brought to you by the lost souls in our Supreme Court.

h/t Legal Insurrection: Polygamy would have to be permitted

DownsizeDC.org

Downsize DC.org

Quote of the Day: "Government spending is taxation." — Arthur Laffer
The so-called "sequester" will happen tomorrow (march 1st.) But federal spending will still increase, even after these "cuts." Is that what you want? To impose REAL spending cuts, Congress must...
Never again raise the debt ceiling!
We wrote Congress asking for this using our Cap the Debt campaign. We invite you to do the same.
You may borrow from or copy this letter...

I'm not panicked by "sequestration." I’m disappointed by it. The so-called "draconian" cuts will only reduce .....
* domestic spending to 2009 levels
* defense spending to 2007 levels -- which is still many times China's military budget.
And federal spending will actually INCREASE by $2.39 trillion over ten years. (http://bit.ly/ZxuEPS)
I DENY CONSENT to this increase! I demand immediate, real, and lasting cuts.
Why?
Because most of what you do is MORALLY ILLEGITIMATE. Criminal.
How can I tell?
Because you would call me a criminal if I did them.
* I can't kill except in self-defense; but you murder constantly.
* I can't hold my neighbors against their will because I dislike what they ingest; but you do it.
* I can't run a Ponzi scheme like Social Security.
* I can't threaten violence against people to fund my activities the way you do.
* I can't threaten violence to make businesses operate the way I prefer, but your unelected "regulators" do.
ALSO...
* I can't counterfeit currency, but the Federal Reserve does.
* I can't borrow money forever, but you think you can.
The debt ceiling "deadline" is May 18. Don’t raise it. Maintain it. That will balance the budget instantly, with NO dire consequences. *You'll still have enough to pay the troops and entitlements.
* But you'll have to repeal wasteful, criminal, immoral laws and programs.
* And make deep cuts to the bloated, corrupt, imperial Pentagon.
You won't do this, of course. You'll claim you favor reducing the deficit, or fiscal responsibility, or some pie-in-the-sky balanced budget amendment, but only so you can avoid taking real action, like refusing to raise the debt ceiling.
But that's okay too. Your continued devotion to criminality will serve as another example to support the message I'm sharing with my friends and neighbors. More and more people are seeing the illegitimacy of what you do.
Your institution must conform to basic moral axioms like the Golden Rule and the Zero Aggression Principle. You must stop initiating force to get your way. Do this soon, or the people will have to institute new forms of government. Either way, justice will prevail.

END LETTER
You can send your letter using DownsizeDC.org's Educate the Powerful System.
You can support the Educate the Powerful System using our secure contribution form.
Thank you for your participation. Remember to share your letter with interested friends. You can awaken them to the violence and criminality inherent in the system.
Jim Babka & James Wilson
President & Policy Research Director
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.
h/t http://clintoncountyin.blogspot.com/

Buying Up The Time ~ Two Minutes With The Bible #GoodFriday

Buying Up The Time 

by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam
Printer Friendly Version

Nineteen hundred years ago Paul wrote to his fellow- believers in the vicinity of Ephesus: “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming [Lit., buying up] the time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:15,16). Those were indeed evil days, when a wicked tyrant ruled the Roman Empire, when Messiah had been rejected, not only in incarnation, but in resurrection, and Christianity was fighting a life-and-death battle to penetrate the prevailing pagan darkness with the light of God’s grace. Surely Paul never dreamed that the dispensation of grace would continue for more than nineteen hundred years. He expected the Lord to come at any time to recall His ambassadors and bring the day of grace to a close. Hence the urgency of his appeal to be “buying up the time, because the days are evil.”

But if Paul had reason to suspect that the day of grace would soon be brought to a close, we today have greater reason to think so. Now that the light of the gospel has been brought to Europe, America and many other parts of the world, men are turning their backs on it. Only a small minority of even Christendom truly believe the Bible and know the Christ it presents — and how very few know the riches of His grace!

Meanwhile our governments, our educational institutions and our social systems are becoming ever more godless. The result? The newspapers, radio and TV — even a trip downtown to any fair-sized city, will tell us all we need to know. Once again “the days are evil” and the Lord’s coming for His own seems imminent. There is still much talk about lasting peace and prosperity, but no thoughtful person believes that we are headed in that direction. Rather the world appears to be heading straight toward the prophesied “day of wrath.”

What a comfort it is to the believer, then, to know that “God hath not appointed us unto wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us…” (I Thes. 5:9,10). “For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed” and “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:11,13).

---

To the Reader:
Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:

"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."

We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.

Obama Vacations ~ Funny Friday #ObamaFAIL

Click to enlarge 

http://www.daybydaycartoon.com/

Indian Motorcycle: The Thunder Stroke 111™

Check out this awesome new video by Indian Motorcycle. The animation is amazing.


Ride Safe.

Starbucks Does Not Support Traditional Marriage

Has most of the corporate world gone totally INSANE?! Now Starbucks doesn't want the business of people who believe in traditional marriage.

Breaking News From The TEA Party: Starbucks moves even farther left and tells traditional marriage supporters we don't want your business.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz just said at their annual meeting that If you support traditional marriage, we don't want your business. He told a shareholder to sell his shares if he supported traditional marriage and didn't like Starbucks stance against it. So let's get this straight. If you support the 5000 year old tradition that marriage is between one man and one woman, you can't buy shares in his far left radical company that sells designer $7.00 Grande Decaf Lattes? Done! I'll take a Chick Fil-A and their 99 cent coffee instead.

Click on story to verify.

Well, they have every right, I guess, to turn away anyone they so desire. And I have every right to never use their products again!! Ever!

This is definately Satan's world until Christ returns to set up His just Kingdom.


1 Corinthians 6:9-10 - "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." 

Ephesians 6:12 - "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

And The Rain Came Tumbling Down

It started raining late last night and didn't let up until midday. It's rained so much I keep humming the kids song "... and the rain came a'tumblin' down." Our area has been suffering from a miniature drought since about 1993. Even though it's a lot at one time and now the dirt roads are messy, the rain is very welcome. Maybe we can ride in a day or two ... or three.

The rain gauge is not exactly accurate. I estimate we actually received a little over 5 inches.

Wow.

I gotta go check all the ditches too. We have needed more rain so badly!



I hope everyone is having a blessed Sunday too.

"and the rain came down, and the streams came, and the winds blew and fell upon that house, and it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock."  [Matthew 7:25]

"then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil." [Deuteronomy 11:14]

Kiss Me, I'm Irish #SaintPatricksDay

I am mostly of Irish descent. There are also a lot of Scottish, Wales and English folks, with one in the woodpile on my Sweat family side. Like most Americans I can truly say I'm a Heinz 57. (Not to be confused with Obama's 57 States). :\ My Irish family are the Moore (of the Clan O'More), McMahan, Maloy (O'Molloy), Young, etc. of "wiregrass" Georgia*. But no kisses necessary, just have a grand day me lads and lasses!

My Irisheyes website.

*"Wiregrass" Georgia is so named for the wiregrass, a warm weather grass, that is so prolific here. It includes the southern most part of Georgia and extends into southern Alabama and northern Florida.

Watch For Comet PanSTARRS In The Twilight

I really enjoy sitting on the back porch and looking into the night sky. Living in the country the skies are inky black with little sparkley stars from one end to the other. [Ok, so I'm technically challenged ... ha ha] The 'heaven's' are truly a wonder to see. It's just part of God's miracle of creation. Tonight be sure to look in the Northern Hemisphere for the comet C/2011 L4. There's only a few nights (March 12th to 18th) it will be visible to the naked eye. Pretty cool.

More here or here.

Sequester Skyfall Obama Parody

I know it's a little late, but the libtard's are still screaming that the "sky is falling, the sky is falling" since the Sequester (engineered by Obama) went through.

I laughed so hard at this I just had to share.



"Kids will die if we don't spend."

[yawn]

Dead Faith ~ Two Minutes With The Bible

Dead Faith

by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

Berean Bible Society
Printer Friendly Version

Nothing in the Bible is stated more clearly or with greater emphasis than the blessed Pauline revelation of justification by grace, through faith, without works.

Romans 4:5: “To him that worketh not, but believeth…his faith is counted for righteousness”. Ephesians 2:8,9: “For by grace are ye saved, through faith…it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast”. Titus 3:5: “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us”.

Yet James states, just as clearly that “faith, if it hath not works is dead, being alone” (Jas.2:17). He challenges professing believers: “Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith BY my works” (Ver.18), and declares that “by works a man is justified and not by faith only” (Ver.24), since “faith without works is dead”.

Some have imagined a contradiction here, while actually there is none. There is a dispensational distinction, for to Paul had been committed “the dispensation of the grace of God” (Eph.3:1,2). His was “the preaching of the cross” (ICor.1:18), offering salvation by grace, through faith alone, to all who would trust Christ as Saviour.

James, on the other hand, was an apostle of the kingdom, proclaiming the kingdom rights of Christ and offering a changed way of life on earth which had already been experienced by the disciples in Judaea (Acts 2:44-47; 4:32-35).
Hence with James the emphasis is on works, not because good works can save or even help to save, but because true faith inevitably bears fruit and we can judge true faith only by the fruit it bears. Our Lord said: “By their fruits ye shall know them”. Hence James’ epistle abounds with such phraseology as, “ye see”, “show me”, “I will show you”, etc.

What we must be careful to remember is that according to both Paul and James, faith comes first, then good works. Faith is the root, good works the fruit. The absence of fruit indicates that the root is dead, that while there may be an intellectual assent, there is no true heart faith, and “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb.11:6).

The source of justification is grace; the basis, Calvary; the means, faith; and the evidence, works. Think this through; accept God’s grace and trust the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord. He will cause you to produce good fruit.

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To the Reader:

Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:
"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."
We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.

Funny Friday ~ Fantasy Island #ObamaFAIL

"There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by sword. The other is by debt." --

John Adams 1826

Henry Ford: "Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the Government take care of him, better take a closer look at the American Indian!"-- Henry Ford
 

Country Entertainment, Au Natural

This is our day in pictures and song ...

 Burned lots of yard debris

from the storms that

passed through recently.

Lucy "helped".

 My new shoes arrived.

Don't Step On My Blue Suede Shoes

Enjoying a brewsky,

serenaded by the croaking frogs

 and twittering birds

while watching a fiery sunset.

 

How Great Thou Art (Second Stanza)

When through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze;
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee; How great Thou art!
How great Thou art! Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee;
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

AMEN!

 

Obama The Drama Queen

Seems that the Oscars missed someone Sunday evening: our very own resident Drama-Queen-In-Chief. Read more about the Sequester [yawn] created by Obama at Fox News: Best Actor in a Drama: Barack Obama

Rainy Night In Georgia

The Southeast has been [clearing throat] enjoying a great deal of rain since yesterday. We have had so much rain ... I know "How much rain have you had?!" Well that guy down the road is building a boat. Silly man. We've had so much rain, that even the bugs are complaining and want to come inside.

Ewww! [ha ha]

I'd much rather be riding! But since weather does not permit such frivolity, Sweetie and I are staying inside, cleaning the humble abode, and watching Fox News as the Republicans slowly cave to our newly appointed self-professed monarchy with his phony The World Is Coming To An End sequester mess. It's not enough cuts in my never-to-be-humble opinion. I say let all the Federal programs take cuts including the military. We are giving them way too much funding if we can afford to invade any country that we care to vilify at the moment. If we would bring them all home, including from Europe, the Philippians and Japan, look how much more money we'd have, how much lower our taxes would be and how much safer our borders would be. But nooooooo! That makes too much sense. So, onward we go towards financial destruction, real or imagined. [fingers in ears and humming]

Anyway, we are cleaning our own dirty stables. I try to clean the house well enough so that if Better Homes Than Yours shows up, it's an instant photo shoot.

What are all my bloggy friends up to today?

Two Minutes With The Bible ~ What The World Needs

What The World Needs

by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

Berean Bible Society

Strange, is it not, that when men are successful, they generally credit themselves liberally for their success but when things go wrong they begin to blame others — even God.

The writer does not have up-to-date information about two particular plots of ground in Moscow, but some years ago one of these was a beautiful garden, the other a patch of weeds. Above each there was a sign. Over the one: “This plot is cared for by the United Soviet Socialist Republic,” over the other: “This plot is cared for by God”!

Evidently the atheistic Soviets who hatched this “bright idea” did not stop to think that only God could produce the beautiful flowers in the USSR plot. All their watering and cultivating would have been in vain except for the God they deny.

As to the other plot, they probably did not even know that even in Eden God put the garden in man’s charge “to dress it and to keep it” (Gen. 2:15), and later, when man sinned, God said to Adam, “Cursed is the ground for thy sake” (Gen. 3:17). This is why the Soviets must employ a gardener to control the weeds in even their garden! How wrong and foolish, then, for man ever to blame God for anything that goes wrong for him or causes him trouble!

Actually, when I have been asked: “If God is a God of love, why does He allow all this trouble and misery, and all this wickedness?” I have replied: “That’s easy. When God sent His Son into this world offering peace and righteousness and prosperity they cried: ‘Away with Him’ and nailed Him to a cross. If the Bible is true, and in this case it has surely proved to be true, how can this world expect peace while they still reject the Prince of Peace?”

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To the Reader:
Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:

"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."

We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.

Two Things Our Government Fears

 Two things our government fears --

self-defense against tyranny

and knowledge from God our Saviour that it is tyranny

Obama thinks "clinging to guns and religion" is a bad thing. I say if we had more of both we'd be better off as a society and for eternal salvation. But I'm not a worthless bottomfeeding community organizer, so, what do I know?

"Fear the government that fears your guns" -- Thomas Jefferson

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." -- Proverbs 1:7 (NIV)

"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." -- Romans 10:9 (NIV)

Funny Friday ~ Abbott And Costello Math

So how can over 873,000 people come off the unemployment rolls when there were only a little over 114,000 jobs created?

Below is a transcript what that conversation would be between two eminent economists discussing this very question in Obama math.

COSTELLO: I want to talk about the unemployment rate in America.

ABBOTT: Good Subject... Terrible Times... It's 7.8%.

COSTELLO: That many people are out of work?

ABBOTT: No, that's 14.7%.

COSTELLO: You just said 7.8%.

ABBOTT: 7.8% Unemployed.

COSTELLO: Right 7.8% out of work.

ABBOTT: No, that's 14.7%.

COSTELLO: Okay, so it's 14.7% unemployed.

ABBOTT: No, that's 7.8%.

COSTELLO: WAIT A MINUTE ... Is it 7.8% or 14.7%?

ABBOTT: 7.8% are unemployed ... 14.7% are out of work.

COSTELLO: If you are out of work you are unemployed.

ABBOTT: No, Congress said you can't count the "Out of Work" as the unemployed.  You have to look for work to be unemployed.

COSTELLO: BUT THEY ARE OUT OF WORK !!

ABBOTT: No, you miss his point.

COSTELLO: What point?

ABBOTT: Someone who doesn't look for work can't be counted with those who look for work.  It wouldn't be fair.

COSTELLO: To whom?

ABBOTT: The unemployed.

COSTELLO: But ALL of them are out of work.

ABBOTT: No, the unemployed are actively looking for work.
Those who are out of work gave up looking and if you give up,
you are no longer in the ranks of the unemployed.

COSTELLO: So if you're off the unemployment roles that would
count as less unemployment?

ABBOTT: Unemployment would go down ... Absolutely!

COSTELLO: The unemployment just goes down because you
don't look for work?

ABBOTT: Absolutely it goes down.
That's how they get it to 7.8%.
Otherwise it would be 14.7%.
Our govt. doesn't want you to read about 14.7% unemployment.

COSTELLO: That would be tough on those running for reelection.

ABBOTT: Absolutely.

COSTELLO: Wait, I got a question for you.  That means there are two ways to bring down the unemployment number?

ABBOTT: Two ways is correct.

COSTELLO: Unemployment can go down if someone gets a job?

ABBOTT: Correct.

COSTELLO: And unemployment can also go down if you stop looking for a job?

ABBOTT: Bingo.

COSTELLO: So there are two ways to bring unemployment down, and the easier of the two is to have people stop looking for work.

ABBOTT: Now you're thinking like an Economist.

COSTELLO: I don't even know what the heck I just said!

ABBOTT: Now you're thinking like Obama.

Keep Calm And Carry On

This is so cool! I found the Keep Calm poster maker website at today's Thistle Cove Farm blog post.

These are the ones I've made so far.

Keep Calm Posters

Which ones have you made?

Revolutions We've Missed

This link here leads to an article at PJ Media. Victor Hanson writes about the revolutions we've missed. I think Mr. Hanson has been hearing me yell at the TV in the evenings! Our Republic is dead. The warm & fuzzy society we all grew up with has become cold & prickly. We are in decline. Even though I enjoy most modern technology I have felt for some time that it would be our downfall.

I really hate it when I'm right.

"He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." KJV [Revelations 22:20]

Have You Heard? ~ Two Minutes With The Bible

Have you heard?
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam
Berean Bible Society

“If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward” (Eph. 3:2).

Could it be that those to whom Paul addressed his Ephesian letter had not yet heard that God had committed to him “the dispensation of grace”?

Next to the death and resurrection of Christ, the conversion of Paul and his commission to proclaim “the gospel of the grace of God” was the greatest event in history . The apostles at Jerusalem had recognized the importance of Paul’s part in the divine program. They themselves had at first been sent by Christ into “all the world,” yet in Gal. 2:9 we find James, Peter and John publicly shaking hands with Paul in a solemn agreement that he should henceforth be the apostle to the nations.

Could it be that some twelve years later, when he wrote the Ephesian letter, there were any who professed the name of Christ who had not heard of Paul’s special place in the program of God as the apostle of grace? Little wonder his words “if ye have heard” carry with them a touch of reproach.

It is possible, of course, that there were some among them, but recently brought into the Church, who had not heard, but what seems utterly incredible is that there should be even one believer at this late date who has not heard that after Christ and His kingdom had been rejected and the world was ripe for prophesied judgment to fall, God intervened, saving Saul, His chief enemy on earth, and sending him forth with “the good news of the grace of God.”

This good news is based, of course, upon the fact that since Christ was the spotless Lamb of God, His death is accepted by God as full satisfaction for the sinner. Thus Paul, by divine inspiration, declares that believers are “justified freely by His [God's] grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24).

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To the Reader:

Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:

"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."

Facebook Billionaire Pays No Taxes And Gets Refund

From Chicks On The Right:

Have you seen a lot of sites/pages shrieking over the past couple of days about Facebook not having to pay taxes and in fact getting a tax REFUND even though they profited over a billion dollars? Why be mad at Facebook? They are taking advantage, as they have every right to, of ridiculous tax incentives that our Representatives and Senators enacted. Blame the tax system. Blame the tax code. Shriek at Congress and the Senate. Demand tax reform. And then ask yourself, "Why isn't Obama calling out Facebook like he does the oil companies, who he's railed against for doing the same thing?"

The refund is $429 million dollars. And I have to agree with what COTR said. But why, oh why, won't our so-called 'President' or Senate say something about the corrupt tax system involving one of their rich boy friends.

Hmmm.

I think I just answered my own question.

Our country needs tax reform badly. It's so unfair how taxes are handled now. Flat tax is the only logical answer.

[More about the story here and a fluff piece here.]

OMG! Obama Drinks Water!

Just think, according to the left mouthpiece Lame Stream Media if this picture had been in circulation before the election he never would have been re-elected. This would have ruined his political career.

Disgrace I tell you, disgrace!