Yeah, I know I’ll get a lot of flack for saying this, but am I the only one who see’s how extremely difficult it is to follow Christ’s teachings.

Here’s one example (as there are plenty more):

“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”

~Matthew 5:43-45

I’ve heard people talk about these verses forever, but I have seen very few actually live this out as if it were a natural way of living.

I mean if you met someone you REALLY didn’t like, would you want to bless them with a Christmas gift? Or a happy unbirthday present?

Perhaps I should use an exmaple here.

Let’s say this man below…

…showed up in front of me at the Mall or even WalMart (which I doubt he would ever visit unless he was campaigning), would Christ expect me to wave and smile at him–or even give him a fist bump?

Despite the fact he is screwing over the economic future of America by spending (tax payer) money faster than a drunken sailer at Vegas? (can you say deficits!!)

Perhaps.

But unless I somehow obtain 10% of Jesus’s love for humanity, there is no way on I can fully live up to this commandment.

– Posted from my iPhone

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For the first time in my life I now fully understand lemmings, and why these fur balls run off the cliff.

Because that is what America is about to do by passing this healthcare bill.

(Politico) The Democratic Party’s decades-long push to remake the U.S. health care system cleared a major hurdle early Monday morning, with the Senate voting to advance a massive $871 billion bill to extend coverage to nearly all Americans and tighten regulations on private insurers.

Less than two days after releasing a bill with 383 pages of changes, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) corralled his politically diverse caucus and delivered the 60 votes necessary for the most crucial test vote in the legislative process so far–effectively assuring the reform package will clear the Senate later this week.

Whether or not universal healthcare (government style) is a glorious endeavor for the masses I’ll leave for the pundits to decide (even though I’m strongly against government healthcare given their long track of failure with everything save the mail & military).

But enacting this now in the middle of a recession is fiscal suicide.

One that makes me want to dust off the passport again, as living through an eternal recession is not my idea of what a glorious future looks like.

– Posted from my iPhone

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This will probably come across as depressing news, which I hate to post on a Friday.

However it is a good reminder that no matter who is in power (Democrat, Republican, etc.) you should always take government propaganda news with a grain of salt, unless it comes from NASA (at least when they’re not talking about the weather).

(Hat Tip: TechCrunch, Source: Mint.com Blog)

Just in case the video went too fast for you, this image below may help explain things a bit easier. (click to enlarge)

17.2% folks! But is that what I’m hearing online/on TV? Unfortunately no (Hat Tip: Hot Air)

(Bureau of Labor Statistics) The unemployment rate edged down to 10.0 percent in November, and nonfarm payroll employment was essentially unchanged (-11,000), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In the prior 3 months, payroll job losses had averaged 135,000 a month. In November, employment fell in construction, manufacturing, and information, while temporary help services and health care added jobs.

Household Survey Data

In November, both the number of unemployed persons, at 15.4 million, and the unemployment rate, at 10.0 percent, edged down. At the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons was 7.5 million, and the jobless rate was 4.9 percent. (See table A-1.)

Among the major worker groups, unemployment rates for adult men (10.5 per-cent), adult women (7.9 percent), teenagers (26.7 percent), whites (9.3 per-cent), blacks (15.6 percent), and Hispanics (12.7 percent) showed little change in November. The unemployment rate for Asians was 7.3 percent, not seasonally adjusted. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

Now some people may argue that part-time doesn’t count, or that those who give up shouldn’t be included because they are losers (or something of that twisted logic).

But seriously whether it was 5% or 25%, the only thing I ask is the government be honest about it. Will a higher figure scare the masses? Probably. After all the higher figure is very scary (at least to me).

But at least it would be truthful, which might motivate our spend thrift politicians  and private businesses to do something about it! Aside for more bailouts (which may include newspapers in the future! Ghetto!).

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Sometimes I wonder why God constantly tests our love with money.

If you love God, tithe to the church (Malachi 3:10-11) and don’t forget to help out the poor too (Luke 14:12-14). If you love your country, pay your taxes (Luke 20:22-25)–even if that includes universal healthcare (LORD help us all if that massive behemoth of finacial doom passes, but that’s another rant for another day).

Anyways, a scenario arose, and guess what? It once again involved money (boo!).

Basically in my “perfect wisdom” I forgot to plan ahead for an upcoming bill due on a certain date, creating a temporary cash crunch.

That left me with 3 options:

• Whip out a credit card, something King Solomon might see as foolish (Proverbs 22:7)
• Ask friends for a temporary loan (something I have not done in years)
• Pray and trust that God would provide the funds without me having to go into debt or pull favors

Yeah, that last point came from this verse (Provers 3:5-6):

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Anyways here was yet another test on my path to becoming a better disciple of Jesus Christ.

Since the “ever positive media” were reporting on banks attempting to raise interest rates, I decided against option 1.

Option 2 & 3 looked good, so I attempted to do both of them at the same time–or rather option 2 and simply (out of hope) use the third option as a backup.

To make a long story short, friends & family were unable to help (even those I’ve given money freely in the past), so option 1 was starting to look REAL good again.

Fortunately an hour before the bill was due, the funds came and the bill was paid.

So much for my faith.

While I’m glad the bill was paid off, this scenario has forced me to reexamine myself to determine where do I place my real confidence in.

And I think I won’t like the answer.

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Despite having grown up on a healthy diet of scifi, I fear that one of my favorite shows is about to take a cliff dive starting this week.

You see these two sentient beings below?

The boy is a human while the girl is an alien with human flesh ontop. They also like each other and apparently get “a little frisky” with each other in episode 3.

Oh, and by alien I mean this:

Basically they are sentient crocodiles with advanced technology intent on dominating our species like a cowboy dominates cattle.

(Image Courtesy of Got Pets Online)

With this in mind, it puzzles me that any person would find interbreeding with these overgrown intelligent alligators fascinating, but there seems to be a lot of these folks upon the Hulu forums (can you say ick!).

Since most (normal) people would find this type of behavior unappealing, I fear this show is doomed as it’s ratings will probably drop after the boys close encounter with the scaly kind.

I’m cool with humans being friends with aliens, eating with aliens, fighting with (or against) aliens and sharing a drink with aliens (blood wine anyone?).

But let’s keep the species separate folks, as interbreeding with aliens isn’t good for the gene pool–or ratings for that matter (at least in today’s world).

– Posted from my iPhone

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…I officially salute you!

Happy Veterans Day, and a special shout out to my Dad, brother, Samantha, Jerry, as well as to Aaron & Andrew who are currently serving.

Thanks for bloodying up the bad guys on my behalf, and may God bless you in the future for your desire to sacrifice for us in the past.

Thanks!

– Posted from my iPhone

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