Core Values

Reflecting on the election of Scott Brown, President Obama has some strange opinions. Speaking with  Stephanopoulos, Obama said.

“Here’s my assessment of not just the vote in Massachusetts, but the mood around the country: the same thing that swept Scott Brown into office swept me into office.” I had not realized that prior to Obama's election we were so concerned as a nation about a monstrous bill taking over health care being shoved down our throats. I also was unaware that terrorists were being provided with all of American's civil rights including a trial in Federal Court with lawyers funded by our tax dollars.

Obama went on to say, “We were so busy just getting stuff done and dealing with the immediate crises that were in front of us that I think we lost some of that sense of speaking directly to the American people about what their core values are and why we have to make sure those institutions are matching up with those values.” I truly do not feel Obama can tell me what MY core values are. I would have a lot more respect for him if he would stop the incessant talking at us and as he recommended for citizens at one time to "sit down and shut up!"  If he has the ability to listen to what Americans say are our core values, perhaps he will have some clue as to why Scott Brown won the election. Brown wants to make sure the institutions are matching up with Americans' core values rather than have the institutions go on their wayward path while Obama attempts to define what our core values should be.

Scott Brown Wins

The people of MA have done a great service to their fellow citizens across our great nation and deserve our thanks for their willingness to become informed and vote for the good of all citizens.

Brown shares the views of so many of us who reject the overwhelming spending and debt accumulation. He rejects the hidden negotiations and back door deals which have led to the unfair dealing with all citizens as special interests get special treatment. He believes taxpayer funds should be used for our national defense and not for defense lawyers for the terrorists who want to destroy us.

He states he owes no special interests and will thoughtfully look at legislation as to it's benefit to the state he represents and the nation as a whole. Praise God! Not every vote he makes will please everyone but he is for fiscal restraint and willing to look at issues instead of voting a party line.

Although Senator Elect Brown is well educated, he does not come across as an elite. He speaks as a man who has worked and lived among ordinary citizens. He appears to have a strong, achieving family to support him. May God grant him wisdom and strength as he performs the job he has been elected to do.

Hope Increases

After watching Sarah Palin on both O'Reilly and Glenn Beck's program, my hope is increasing that more people are aware of our need to return to the Constitution as developed by the incredible insights of the founding fathers.

As humans, we are and always will be imperfect. There will always be some who believe they have the answers as to how others should live. These people work to gain a position of power over others so that they may mandate how the "common people" should live and establish laws to take away freedoms and funds to allow themselves to live with luxury they feel is undeserved by those who actually work.  They attempt to divide the "common people" by nourishing conflicts between us. The conflicts may be racial, gender based or caused by differing levels of wealth. They proclaim that everyone is entitled to share in the wealth even when they make no attempt to work toward the production of said wealth.

It is so refreshing to see and hear that we have among us people such as former Gov. Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck who are willing to admit to our dependence on God for wisdom and appreciate the true
intellect and wisdom of those who developed the documents such as the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. May God continue to bless those who do not seek personal power but rather seek to serve the people while relying on God for the wisdom and insights needed to lead this great nation.

The Verdict

*After living what I felt was a 'decent' life, my time on earth came to the
end.*

The first thing I remember is sitting on a bench in the waiting room of what
I thought to be a court house.

The doors opened and I was instructed to come in and have a seat by the
defense table.

As I looked around I saw the 'prosecutor.'

He was a villainous looking gent who snarled as he stared at me.  He
definitely was the most evil person I have ever seen.

I sat down and looked to my left and there sat My Attorney,  kind and gentle
looking man whose appearance seemed so familiar to me, I felt I knew Him.*

The corner door flew open and there appeared the Judge in full flowing
robes.

He commanded an awesome presence as He moved across the room I couldn't take
my eyes off Him.

As He took His seat behind the bench, He said, 'Let us begin.'

The prosecutor rose and said,**

'My name is Satan and I am here to show you why this man belongs in hell.'**

He proceeded to tell of lies that I told, things that I stole, and in the
past when I cheated others. Satan told of other horrible perversions that
were once in my life and the more he spoke, the further down in my seat I
sank.

I was so embarrassed that I couldn't look at anyone, even my own Attorney,
as the Devil told of sins that even I had completely forgotten about.*

As upset as I was at Satan for telling all these things about me, I was
equally upset at My Attorney who sat there silently not offering any form of
defense at all.*

I know I had been guilty of those things, but I had done some good in my
life - couldn't that at least equal out part of the harm I'd done?*

Satan finished with a fury and said, 'This man belongs in hell, he is guilty
of all that I have charged and there is not a person who can prove
otherwise.'*

When it was His turn, My Attorney first asked if He might approach the
bench.  The Judge allowed this over the strong objection of Satan, and
beckoned Him to come forward.

As He got up and started walking, I was able to see Him in His full splendor
and majesty.

I realized why He seemed so familiar; this was Jesus representing me, my
Lord and my Savior.*
He stopped at the bench and softly said to the Judge, 'Hello, Father' and then He
turned to address the court.

'Satan was correct in saying that this man had sinned, I won't deny any of
these allegations. And, yes, the wages of sin is death, and this man
deserves to be punished.'

Jesus took a deep breath and turned to His Father with outstretched arms and
proclaimed, 'However, I died on the cross so that this person might have
eternal life and he has accepted Me as his Savior, so he is Mine.'

My Lord continued with, 'His name is written in the Book of Life,  and no
one can snatch him from Me.

Satan still does not understand yet.  This man is not to be given justice,
but rather mercy.'

As Jesus sat down,* He quietly paused, looked at His Father and said,
'There is nothing else that needs to be done.'*

'I've done it all.'

The Judge lifted His mighty hand and slammed the gavel down.  The following
words bellowed from His lips...

'This man is free.  The penalty for him has already been paid in full.
 'Case dismissed.'

As my Lord led me away, I could hear Satan ranting and raving, 'I won't give
up, I will win the next one.'*

*I asked Jesus as He gave me my instructions where to go next, 'Have you
ever lost a case?' *

Christ lovingly smiled and said, 'Everyone that has come to Me and asked
Me to represent them has received the same verdict as you, ~Paid In Full~'


'Stop telling God how big your storm is.
Instead, tell the storm how big is your God!

From an e  mail==author unknown 

WHAT IS YOUR NAME? A Christmas Memory

It was a beautiful christmas Eve with light snow falling. I was happy to be with my brother and his family as we headed to their church for Christmas Eve services. The church was small and modern in decor and rather stark. A single poinsettia plant was the only decoration in the front of the church near the altar. I do not recall the music, but it was not the usual carols and Christmas hymns. It seemed a little strange to me since my church always had a tree decorated with Christmons and evergreen garlands in various places.

The pastor began to read from scripture as follows from the book of Genesis 32:

24But Jacob stayed behind by himself, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. 25When the man saw that he couldn't get the best of Jacob as they wrestled, he deliberately threw Jacob's hip out of joint. 26The man said, "Let me go; it's daybreak." Jacob said, "I'm not letting you go 'til you bless me. 27The man said, "What's your name?" He answered, "Jacob." 28The man said, "But no longer. Your name is no longer Jacob. From now on it's Israel (God-Wrestler); you've wrestled with God and you've come through." 29Jacob asked, "And what's your name?" The man said, "Why do you want to know my name?" And then, right then and there, he blessed him.

I am thinking that this is the strangest choice of scripture I have ever heard for a Christmas service. What happened to the "and it came to pass in the days of Ceasar Agustus?"

The pastor continued talking about Jacob wrestling with the angel and the question of what is your name? He explained that in those days, only those with a close relationship to a person called them by name or even knew their name. He asked what name could we apply to ourselves. Could we call our selves "good" since surely there are times we are good. However, since there are also times when we are not good it really would not be a name we could claim. Could we call ourselves "generous", because often we are generous, but then again there are times when in fact we are not generous. How about "loving?" Certainly we are loving to those in our family and circle of friends. Are we loving to all strangers and those whose lifestyles offend us? Not always, so we really can not claim loving to be our name.

This pastor was an outstanding speaker and even though I felt the message was strange for Christmas eve, my attention never drifted.

The pastor continued to suggest positive attributes we could claim as our name but always found a reason why we really did not live up to the image implied by that name. He finally came up with the word "sinner" and elaborated on the many ways in which that truly described us and why we could justifiably claim that as our name. We all fall short. None of us is continually good, generous, loving or any other adjective he spoke of. Yes, sinner is definitely what we are. Sin is what we so often do even though we would choose not to do so. We try and we fail to live the type of life that would be pleasing to God in everyway. We are sinners! That is the name that best describes us. Our name is sinner. We could not claim any other name. He paused momentarily and then ended his sermon by stating,

"Because a baby born in Bethlehem was the Son of God sent to earth so many years ago to suffer and die for our sins, our name is no longer sinner, we are REDEEMED! Amen."


This Christas Eve was about forty years ago and this particular message has never left my memory. I continue to appreciate the reading from Luke each Christmas. I prefer the King James Version since this is what I learned in my childhood. I have many happy memories of Christmas spent first with my parents and siblings and those spent with my husband and son. I have attended many Christmas Eve services and have listened to many well thought out sermons, but this particular one will remain my favorite. I am REDEEMED!

The Future is Looking Brighter

This email brightened my day.

Not Even Close

Gary Bauer writes in the December 2, 2009 End of Day Report the answers to a question he posed the day before regarding preferred candidates for the next presidential election.

My Inbox was overflowing this morning with responses to yesterday’s question on preferred presidential candidates in 2012 – and they are still pouring in. But as my staff worked furiously to sort through the barrage of e-mails, two things stood out.
First, I was surprised by the wide range of names that came back. Granted we asked a very open-ended question, but folks obviously are thinking outside the box and willing to consider many options. Quite a few people insisted on a fresh face, such as Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, who tied for fifth place with Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Other suggestions included Senators John Thune and Jim DeMint, as well as General David Petraeus.

Nevertheless, the final results were quite surprising. There was a spirited contest for second place with Mike Huckabee edging Mitt Romney, while Newt Gingrich finished fourth. But to say there was a clear favorite is an understatement. In fact, one individual got more votes than the other 23 names combined. If my emails and her book sales are any indication, Sarah Palin has a very bright future indeed!