ParentalRights.org Introduction Video
April 29th, 2008Twitter in Plain English Video
March 29th, 2008I’ve been using Twitter since August of last year. This video does a good job of explaining Twitter to people and showing why it’s fun to use. I have setup my Facebook profile to receive status updates from Twitter and my Wordpress blog automatically sends out new post notifications via Twitter.
SCARS OF LIFE
March 29th, 2008Some years ago, on a hot summer day in South Florida , a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he went. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore.
His father, working in the yard, saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, he ran toward the water, yelling to his son as loudly as he could. Hearing his voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his father. It was too late. Just as he reached his father, the alligator reached him. From the dock, the father grabbed his little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the father, but the father was much too passionate to let go.
A farmer happened to drive by, heard his screams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the alligator. Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal. And, on his arms, were deep scratches where his father’s fingernails dug into his flesh in his effort to hang on to the son he loved.
The newspaper reporter who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, ‘But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my Dad wouldn’t let go.’
You and I can identify with that little boy. We have scars, too. No, not from an alligator, but the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret. But, some wounds, my friend, are because God has refused to let go. In the midst of your struggle, He’s been there holding on to you.
The Scripture teaches that God loves you.. You are a child of God. He wants to protect you and provide for you in every way But sometimes we foolishly wade into dangerous situations, not knowing what lies ahead. The swimming hole of life is filled with peril - and we forget that the enemy is waiting to attack. That’s when the tug-of-war begins - and if you have the scars of His love on your arms, be very, very grateful. He did not and will not ever let you go.
Please pass this on to those you love. God has blessed you, so that you can be a blessing to others. You just never know where a person is in his/her life and what they are going through. Never judge another person’s scars, because yo u don’t know how they got them. Also, it is so important that we are not selfish, to receive the blessings of these messages, without forwarding them to someone else.
Right now, someone needs to know that God loves them, and you love them, too - enough to not let them go.
Always Tell Your Family
And Friends How Much You Love Them!!!
Shepherding a Child’s Heart parenting seminar
March 22nd, 2008Our church in Midlothian, VA is hosting the Shepherding a Child’s Heart parenting seminar with Tedd Tripp on April 11 & 12, 2008. His book by the same title helps parents to understand what the bible says about raising our children.
If you are interested in attending, please visit the event page at the KingsWay Community Church website.
Automating part of my morning routine - Podcast & iPhone sync
March 21st, 2008Just about every morning I start my day by refreshing my iTunes podcast subscriptions and then sync my iPhone. I decided today to automate that process, so that I just have to grab my iPhone in the morning before heading out to work.
I automated the process by using two Applescripts that are run each day by a reoccurring event in iCal.
Step 1 - Start the Apple script editor
Step 2 - Create a file called updatePodcasts (I saved the scripts in a folder called applescripts in my documents folder)
Step 3 - Put in the following command in the file: tell application “iTunes” to updateAllPodcasts
Step 4 - Save the file
Step 5 - Create a file called updateiPhone (You can do something similar for iPods)
Step 6 - Put the following command in the file: tell application “iTunes” to update “phonename” (replace phonename with actual name of your iPhone or iPod)
Step 7 - Save the file
Step 8 - Create a new calendar in iCal called Automation (I choose to hide this calendar from view to reduce clutter after I added the events)
Step 9 - Select the Automation Calendar
Step 10 - Create a new event at the time you want to refresh your podcasts, set the event to reoccur everyday, set the alarm with an action of Run Script selecting the updatePodcasts script that you created
Step 11 - Create a new event at the time you want to sync your iPhone/iPod, set the event to reoccur everyday, set the alarm with an action of Run Script selecting the updateiPhone script that you created
Your Mac will now automatically refresh your podcasts and sync your iPhone/iPod each day assuming that it’s not asleep.
Managing Computer File Clutter
March 15th, 2008A good article on managing the files on your computer. Applicable to both Macs and PCs.
http://unclutterer.com/2008/03/13/managing-computer-file-clutter
YOU ASK WHY I FOLLOW THIS JESUS ?
March 15th, 2008You ask why I follow this Jesus?
Why I love Him the way I do?
When the world’s turned away from His teachings
And the people who serve Him are few.
It’s not the rewards I’m after
Or gifts that I hope to receive
It’s the Presence that calls for commitment
It’s the Spirit I trust and believe.
The Lord doesn’t shelter His faithful
Or spare them all suffering and pain,
Like everyone else I have burdens,
And walk through my share of rain.
Yet He gives me a plan and a purpose,
And that joy only Christians have known,
I never know what comes tomorrow,
But I do know I’m never alone.
It’s the love always there when you need it;
It’s the words that redeem and inspire,
It’s the longing to ever be with Him
That burns in my heart like a fire.
So you ask why I love my Lord Jesus?
Well, friend, that’s so easy to see,
But the one thing that fills me with wonder is
Why Jesus loves someone like me.
– Author Unknown
Help to protect your freedom
March 7th, 2008I received the below email from the home school legal defense association yesterday evening. I would encourage you to consider signing the petition even if you do not home school because this is really about our rights and freedom in the United States.
Dear HSLDA Members and Friends:
In what could be one of the most important homeschooling related broadcasts in 25 years, James Dobson interviews HSLDA Chairman Michael Farris on the developing situation in California.We encourage all homeschoolers to listen to this broadcast, and ask you to forward this information to anyone who is concerned about homeschool freedom, parental rights and the direction of our courts.
Broadcast: Focus on the Family daily radio broadcast with Dr. James Dobson.
Program Title: California’s Threat to Homeschooling Families.
Airdate: Friday, March 7, 2008.
Since the broadcast is aired on stations across the country at different times, please visit —- http://listen.family.org/findastation/ and search for “Daily Focus on the Family Broadcast” to find the station that covers your area.
You can help stop this threat to homeschooling by signing an online petition to depublish the Court of Appeal opinion at http://hslda.org/elink.asp?ID=4831.
Sincerely,
Ian Slatter
Director of Media Relations
John McCain’s POW Story About The Pledge Of Allegiance
February 29th, 2008This story is true and taken from a speech that John McCain gave before the 1988 Republican National Convention. I know this story is old but I just came across it recently. The story was a good reminder for me that the freedom we enjoy in America comes at a price. I appreciate the brave service of all members of the armed forces. I hope that they next time you see a flag, say the pledge or sing the national anthem that you will stop to reflect and to pray for those people serving our country.
From a speech made by Capt. John S. McCain, USN, (Ret) who represents Arizona in the U.S. Senate:
As you may know, I spent five and one half years as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. In the early years of our imprisonment, the NVA kept us in solitary confinement or two or three to a cell. In 1971 the NVA moved us from these conditions of isolation into large rooms with as many as 30 to 40 men to a room. This was, as you can imagine, a wonderful change and was a direct result of the efforts of millions of Americans on behalf of a few hundred POWs 10,000 miles from home.
One of the men who moved into my room was a young man named Mike Christian.
Mike came from a small town near Selma, Alabama. He didn’t wear a pair of shoes until he was 13 years old. At 17, he enlisted in the US Navy. He later earned a commission by going to Officer Training School. Then he became a Naval Flight Officer and was shot down and captured in 1967.
Mike had a keen and deep appreciation of the opportunities this country-and our military-provide for people who want to work and want to succeed. As part of the change in treatment, the Vietnamese allowed some prisoners to receive packages from home. In some of these packages were handkerchiefs, scarves and other items of clothing. Mike got himself a bamboo needle. Over a period of a couple of months, he created an American flag and sewed on the inside of his shirt.
Every afternoon, before we had a bowl of soup, we would hang Mike’s shirt on the wall of the cell and say the Pledge of Allegiance. I know the Pledge of Allegiance may not seem the most important part of our day now, but I can assure you that in that stark cell it was indeed the most important and meaningful event.
One day the Vietnamese searched our cell, as they did periodically, and discovered Mike’s shirt with the flag sewn inside, and removed it. That evening they returned, opened the door of the cell, and for the benefit of all us, beat Mike Christian severely for the next couple of hours. Then, they opened the door of the cell and threw him in. We cleaned him up as well as we could.
The cell in which we lived had a concrete slab in the middle on which we slept. Four naked light bulbs hung in each corner of the room. As I said, we tried to clean up Mike as well as we could. After the excitement died down, I looked in the corner of the room, and sitting there beneath that dim light bulb with a piece of red cloth, another shirt and his bamboo needle, was my friend, Mike Christian. He was sitting there with his eyes almost shut from the beating he had received, making another American flag.
He was not making the flag because it made Mike Christian feel better. He was making that flag because he knew how important it was to us to be able to pledge allegiance to our flag and our country.
So the next time you say the Pledge of Allegiance, you must never forget the sacrifice and courage that thousands of Americans have made to build our nation and promote freedom around the world. You must remember our duty, our honor, and our country.
“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
