Carole Adams
Saturday, October 31, 2020
Carole Adams
Richard, (my husband), never really talked a lot about his time in Viet Nam, other than he had been shot by a sniper. However, he had a rather grainy, 8 x 10 black and white photo he had taken at a USO show of Ann Margret with Bob Hope in the background that was one of his treasures.
A few years ago, Ann Margaret was doing a book signing at a local bookstore. Richard wanted to see if he could get her to Sign the treasured photo so he arrived at the bookstore at 12 o'clock for the 7:30 signing.
When I got there after work, the line went all the way around the bookstore, circled the parking lot, and disappeared behind a parking garage. Before her appearance, bookstore employees announced that she would sign only her book and no memorabilia would be permitted.
Richard was disappointed, but wanted to show her the photo and let her know how much those shows meant to lonely GI's so far from home..
Ann Margaret came out looking as beautiful as ever and, as second in line, it was soon Richard's turn. He presented the book for her signature and then took out the photo. When he did, there were many shouts from the employees that she would not sign it.
Richard said, "I understand. I just wanted her to see it."
She took one look at the photo, tears welled up in her eyes and she said, "This is one of my gentlemen from Viet Nam and I most certainly will sign his photo. I know what these men did for their country and I always have time for 'my gentlemen.''
With that, she pulled Richard across the table and planted a big kiss on him. She then made quite a to-do about the bravery of the young men she met over the years, how much she admired them, and how much she appreciated them. There weren't too many dry eyes among those close enough to hear. She then posed for pictures and acted as if he were the only one there.
That night was a turning point for him. He walked a little straighter and, for the first time in years, was proud to have been a Vet. I'll never forget Ann Margaret for her graciousness and how much that small act of kindness meant to my husband.
Later at dinner, Richard was very quiet. When I asked if he'd like to talk about it, my big, strong husband broke down in tears.. ''That's the first time anyone ever thanked me for my time in the Army,'' he said.
I now make it a point to say 'Thank you' to every person I come across who served in our Armed Forces. Freedom does not come cheap and I am grateful for all those who have served their country.
If you'd like to pass on this story, feel free to do so. Perhaps it will help others to become aware of how important it is to acknowledge the contribution our service people make.
A True Patriot Will Pass This On.
Your Vote
Your Vote
Currently, two old men are campaigning for the office of President of the United States of America.
One of those men is course and crude.
One of those men is an erudite gentleman.
One of those men has sacrificed a large amount of his substantial fortune in order to sit in the Oval Office.
One of those men has added large amounts of foreign cash to himself and his family while holding a high government position.
One of those men has aligned himself with the “PRO LIFE” segment of our population. He has affirmed that life begins at conception and that the unborn and newly born are entitled to the American promise of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
One of those men has aligned himself with the culture of death, declaring that a woman’s right to chose begins with the life of the child in her womb rather than at the drugstore where birth control supplements are readily available.
One of those men has negotiated peace among waring entities in the Middle East, a place where conflict has gone on since Biblical days, about whom one of those signatories has been declared to be fierce and warlike, ““his hand against every man, every man’s hand against him” (Genesis 16:12).
One of those men has aligned himself with an administration whose “apology tour” to the region included the false historical narrative of those fierce people having been instrumental in the founding of our own nation.
One of those men will receive your vote on November 3, 2020.
Imagine for a moment that immediately after casting your ballot, GOD called you to HIMSELF. Imagine the HOLY ONE required you to give an accounting of your vote.
Imagine.
Thoughts on Today's Verse
"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31
Thoughts on Today's Verse by Phil Ware
As humans, we are often quick to quibble over things we feel are important to us when others don't share our enthusiasm — for sports teams, foods, holidays, and special events.
This problem can often be more a sign of insecurity than it is a mark of sincerity. We are to do what we do based on our commitment to honor the Lord, not because others do it or approve of it.
At the same time, we want to be careful about judging others for what they do or do not support, celebrate, eat, or drink. The bottom line when judging such things: Can we do it to honor the Lord?
My Prayer...
Holy and Righteous Father, forgive my foolishness and silliness. I find myself getting so worked up over meaningless things and forgetting to keep my focus on the matters and people that are important to you. May all I do today, and every day, be done as a conscious decision to honor you and bring you respect. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Friday, October 30, 2020
Thoughts on Genesis 6:5-8
Thoughts on Genesis 6:5-8 by John W. Ritenbaugh
"Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (6) And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. (7) So the LORD said, 'I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.' (8) But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD."
It was the Creator God who initiated a work through Noah. He and his family did not volunteer. Within this is an awesome truth: Those who received grace in this context were also the only ones who were set apart from the violent, churning mass of humanity on earth, becoming the only ones to survive the Flood. Take note of when they received this grace.
Did the grace they received place them in a favorable, in fact, an enviable position? Absolutely! Grace, then, including its direct connection to God's gift of sanctification, becomes the starting point for encouraging, stimulating thoughts since this particular grace appeared in the midst of a life-threatening situation.
As the Flood story unfolds and the devastating Flood actually comes as God said it would, it becomes clear that our Creator specifically sanctified Noah and his family for deliverance before the Flood occurred. They were specially set apart to be saved from certain death in the Flood.
Do not misunderstand, though. The apostle Paul admonishes in Philippians 2:12-13:
"Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure."
The grace God gave them was not a get-out-of-jail-free, do-nothing ticket to life. Paul's warning is not presented in the sense that we must work for salvation but that we must continue what we have begun as a result of God's calling.
We must be witnesses before others of what we have received (verses 14-16). Noah and his family had to faithfully carry out responsibilities that God's grace enabled them to accomplish. They built the ark, testifying by it to those around them. They carried out their responsibilities because they lived by faith.
In like manner, we, too, have received grace and are, like Noah and his family, specifically sanctified by God for our calling into the church and for deliverance from what lies ahead. We, too, have not received a free ticket to everlasting life but bear responsibilities within our calling.
We, too, must faithfully live God's way of life, glorifying Him by our conduct. God knows how to deliver us out of temptations (II Peter 2:9), but He will not necessarily draw us away from them. We are already facing such temptations, which are gradually intensifying in the pressures they apply as time moves toward Christ's return.
What does this mean to us practically? Recall the reassuring encouragement of Genesis 8:1, when God remembered Noah in the midst of the devastating Flood, even as it was killing everybody not in the ark. This is written to reassure us, not Noah, as his trial was over when this was written.
The marvel in this is not that God remembered but that Noah remembered. Through the 120 years of building the ark, then after entering the ark when the rains came, and the fountains of the great deep erupted with gigantic earthquakes, spouting huge and powerful gushes of water, still Noah did not forget God. A boiling sea pitched him and his family about like a cork. For a year and ten days, their every view was only of incessantly lurching water. How quickly would that get old?
It is truly one of the amazing realities that, in the midst of this churning maelstrom of wind and water, Noah remembered. How easy it would have been for him to be focused entirely on his own safety! In addition, the first thing he did upon leaving the ark was to sacrifice in thanks to God (Genesis 8:20). Like God, he had not forgotten.
The lesson for us is that God was right there with them as they bore the events He was accomplishing through them. Because of His presence, they were saved. It thus becomes clear that grace given in the process of sanctification is the first step toward salvation because God is with us the entire way.
Thoughts on Today's Verse
"The righteous will never be uprooted, but the wicked will not remain in the land." Proverbs 10:30
Thoughts on Today's Verse by Phil Ware
This promise is even truer for those of us who live on this side of Calvary and the empty tomb! As Paul said it, "our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body" (Philippians 3:20-21).
The righteous will never be uprooted from their true homeland for no one and no power can steal it, corrupt it, destroy it, or take it away!
My Prayer...
Father, thank you for declaring me righteous by the atoning death of Jesus. Please transform me more and more each day to be righteous in all I say, think, and do. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
Voter Fraud
Voter Fraud by Bill Wilson
This presidential election is a set up for voter fraud, and the US Supreme Court is part of the reason. As reported widely, SCOTUS voted 5-3 to allow late-arriving North Carolina mail-in ballots so long as they were post marked by election day and in a separate action allowed for counting late-arriving mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania.
These are two swing states are important to determining the overall electoral college. In North Carolina, ballots may arrive as late as November 12 and still be counted. The counting deadline for Pennsylvania is November 6. Chief Justice John Roberts, Jr., and Justice Brett Kavanaugh voted with the liberals on the court. The longer after the election that votes count, the higher the chance for election fraud.
Then there is the idea that in some states, a citizen can actually change their vote if they cast it early by voting by mail or by absentee ballot. That may appear on the surface to be a good option, especially in light of the recent revelations that Presidential candidate Joe Biden is compromised because of China, Russia, and Ukraine business deals using his position as Vice President to enrich his family in selling influence. Think of the 70-plus million people who did early voting and how they may be regretting the box they checked. No worries for some of them. In New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and Minnesota, folks can change their vote.
Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota are all states that are on the bubble regarding which way they will land in the electoral college. Michigan voters can change their votes by submitting a signed request to have their votes nullified by October 30. Minnesota voters had until October 20 to request a new ballot. Wisconsin voters had until October 29 to request a new ballot.
In New York and Pennsylvania, you can just show up on election day and cast your vote and your early vote will be nullified. All these examples allow for voter fraud in that ballots can be counted twice if election officials don’t pay attention or have nefarious designs in mind.
The idea that this nation should have a long lead time for early voting or mail-in voting that is allowed to be counted days after the election is an assault on America’s voting integrity. Voting is a right afforded all citizens 18 years or older. And every eligible citizen should exercise that right. Appeasing political parties and oiling up party machines that seek ways to steal elections only undermines our Constitutional Republic. It broadens the field for voter fraud and makes America like a third world country that disputes elections for weeks or months.
This is a slippery slope on which we are sliding. And it has no good end because as it states in 2 Timothy 3:13, “But evil men and seducers wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.”
Because of the potential for voter fraud, we may never know the true winner of this presidential election. We do know, it won’t likely be honest voters.
Quote from Andrew Napolitano
"If exercising the right to vote were truly effective, the government would not so eagerly promote it." Andrew Napolitano
Thursday, October 29, 2020
Four More Years
Four More Years by Paula White-Cain
I have had the opportunity and privilege to know President Trump for over 19 years, and to work with him and his family as a faith leader in their lives. I’ve seen him firsthand as a father, a husband, a leader, a businessman and now, as the President of the United States of America. Most people have secondhand information that mischaracterizes the man I know. Because I know him, I want to share ten reasons you should vote for President Trump to have four more years.
1. He has reset our courts for a generation. The president promised to appoint originalist judges to our Supreme Court who would protect our Constitutional freedoms and not legislate from the bench. He has now appointed more than 200 of them, including three Supreme Court justices. He has flipped three of the Circuit Courts and given us a super majority on the Supreme Court.
2, He has protected the unborn. Over sixty million children have been aborted in America yet President Trump is the first Republican president in our lifetime who hasn’t been timidly pro-life. On the contrary, President Trump has been “all in” on the pro-life agenda. He expanded the Mexico-City policy which has forbid over $9 billion dollars of tax-payer money from funding foreign abortions. He audited the entire federal government to ensure its policies promoted life, and he became the first President to ever address the March for Life. . . .
3. He has preserved religious freedom. Protecting religious freedom at home and abroad has been at the very heart of President Trump’s domestic and foreign policy. He signed executive orders mandating religious freedom training for all State Department employees and granted hundreds-of-millions of dollars to aid programs that specifically promote religious freedom, including in Iraq and in Syria. Even the historic Abraham Accords include “religious freedom.” At home, Trump mandated that all federal government departments protect conscience rights. . . .
4. He has an astonishing foreign policy record. President Trump moved our Israeli Embassy to Jerusalem, aggressively ended America’s foreign wars, and defeated ISIS while ending the reign of the arch-terrorists Soleimani and Al-Baghdadi. He negotiated the first Middle East peace agreement in thirty years, negotiated peace between Kosovo and Serbia and – just this week – announced a new agreement with Sudan bringing it into the modern world alongside its own peace with Israel. President Trump has challenged more human rights violators than any previous President, including more Russians, Chinese and Iranians. Biden made a deal with Iran that allowed them to engage in proxy wars across the middle east, took the pressure off of Cuba and Venezuela, while his own Defense Secretary, Bob Gates, wrote in his memoir that Biden had been wrong on virtually every foreign policy question for 40 years. . . .
5. He has rebuilt our economy. President Trump’s economic policies built the largest economy in American history, including by providing record home ownership and record low unemployment for women and people of color. His tax policies doubled the child tax credit resulting in 2019 alone a savings of $88 billion dollars to 40 million families. He renegotiated flawed trade deals such as NAFTA and created the USMCA which early on generated $68 billion dollars to the US economy and 176,000 new jobs. . . .
6. He has strengthened minority communities. Some politicians speak about helping minority communities, but it is President Trump who led the historic reform of our Criminal Justice System (through the First Act). As a result of this thousands of Americans have been released from prison and 90% of those who have had their sentences reduced are black Americans. He provided permanent funding for historically black colleges and universities. He signed legislation creating Opportunity Zones, providing investment in nearly 9,000 economically distressed communities with more than $75 billion in funds. In his next term, he promises to turn his support for school choice into law.
7. He has promoted social justice. I understand the religious left talks a big game when it comes to social justice. I’ve come to realize that it’s actually the right which gets the job done and the President has done more in this area than any other. Earlier this year, when the black Republican from South Carolina Senator Tim Scott proposed a second Criminal Justice Reform bill, focused on law enforcement, the President promised to sign it. The only issue was that Democrats wouldn’t even let it be debated on the Senate floor, despite that the original draft included over 80% of their demands to start the negotiation.
Why?
Because they didn’t want it to be signed by President Trump, of course. Over the last six months alone, the President’s “Farmers-to-Families” program has kept farmers in business (buying their produce) while feeding the hungry; giving out over 102 million food boxes, many through communities of faith. President Trump addressed our opioid and drug crisis, he went after the pharmaceutical companies who helped create the crisis, while also mandating lower costs for medication. The Trump administration has made record improvements in combatting human trafficking leading the charge on nine pieces of legislation, 5,000 arrests of wicked traffickers, and budgeting hundreds of millions of dollars to end human trafficking.
8. He has kept us safe. At home and abroad, President Trump has rebuilt our military with $2 trillion dollars, and given our troops a much needed 3.1% pay raise. He has helped our veterans get the help that was denied to them in the previous administration, and he has cherished American freedom and the life of America’s soldiers by disentangling America from foreign conflicts. At home he has strongly supported our law enforcement officers and their families.
9. He has reached across the aisle. The Democrats, who never accepted the 2016 election results chose to embrace an un-American strategy of “resistance,” but President Trump didn’t. He has significantly, regularly reached across the aisle with a problem solvers mentality. That’s why so many of the policies above aren’t traditional, Republican policies, and it’s why evangelicals have found in this President someone who promotes much more of what they support than those who came before.
10. He has never been ashamed of America. Of course, the president isn’t ashamed of America--though former occupants of the Oval Office and their family has declared! As I’ve heard him say thousands of times “I’m going to fight for you!”
He means that, and he means it for all Americans— even those who have opposed him every day. He believes America is still the brightest light on the global horizon and— despite our flaws— we should never reject our identity.
I know this family. They are good people who’ve sacrificed much to serve our nation. They do not deserve the way they have been treated. Yet, elections aren’t about personalities. They are about policies and policy is character when you do what you say you will and—especially—when those policies are righteous.
(Excerpt from "Christianity Today." Article by Pastor Paula White-Cain.)
Thoughts on John 15:4-5
Thoughts on John 15:4-5 by John W. Ritenbaugh
"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." Psalm 59:9-10
Supporting Verses:
"I will wait for You, O You his Strength; For God is my defense.
My God of mercy shall come to meet me; God shall let me see my desire on my enemies."
"But I will sing of Your power; Yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning; For You have been my defense And refuge in the day of my trouble. To You, O my Strength, I will sing praises; For God is my defense, My God of mercy."
Jesus Christ is our Mediator (I Timothy 2:5), the connection, the bridge, between God and mankind. Spiritual enablement flows from God through Jesus to us.
God's power and God's faithfulness are the issues that are of supreme importance in these critical times. Are we constantly cognizant of the fact that our salvation lies in His hands? He has the power to save!
Notice how David expressed this in a psalm written during a time of serious trouble for him: "For look, they lie in wait for my life; the mighty gather against me, not for my transgression nor for my sin, O LORD" (Psalm 59:3).
David feared the threat of murder in a situation in which he was innocent. Verses 9-10 carry his thoughts further: "I will wait for You, O You his Strength; for God is my defense. My God of mercy shall come to meet me; God shall let me see my desire on my enemies." Here, David's confidence rises because he believes in God's awareness and strength -- which is strong enough to put down nations, let alone a small band of enemies. He also recalls God's mercy toward those who serve Him.
Verses 16-17 show that his thoughts extend one step further: "But I will sing of Your power; yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning; for You have been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble. To You, O my Strength, I will sing praises; for God is my defense, the God of my mercy."
These final two verses summarize why he trusts God, and conclude in a strong affirmation of David's faith. He trusts God because of the combination of God's strengths, His power, combined with His mercy and His will to use them in behalf of those who trust Him.
Today in History
Today in History 1998 John Glenn returns to space
Nearly four decades after he became the first American to orbit the Earth, Senator John Hershel Glenn, Jr. was launched into space again as a payload specialist aboard the space shuttle Discovery. At 77 years of age, Glenn was the oldest human ever to travel in space. During the nine-day mission, he served as part of a NASA study on health problems associated with aging.
Glenn, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps, was among the seven men chosen by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1959 to become America’s first astronauts.
A decorated pilot, he had flown nearly 150 combat missions during World War II and the Korean War. In 1957, he made the first nonstop supersonic flight across the United States, flying from Los Angeles to New York in three hours and 23 minutes.
In April 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space, and his spacecraft, Vostok I, made a full orbit before returning to Earth.
Less than one month later, American Alan B. Shepard, Jr., became the first American in space when his Freedom 7 spacecraft was launched on a suborbital flight.
American “Gus” Grissom made another suborbital flight in July, and in August Soviet cosmonaut Gherman Titov spent more than 25 hours in space aboard Vostok 2, making 17 orbits.
As a technological power, the United States was looking very much second-rate compared with its Cold War adversary. If the Americans wanted to dispel this notion, they needed a multi-orbital flight before another Soviet space advance arrived.
On February 20, 1962, NASA and Colonel John Glenn accomplished this feat with the flight of Friendship 7, a spacecraft that made three orbits of the Earth in five hours. Glenn was hailed as a national hero, and on February 23 President John F. Kennedy visited him at Cape Canaveral. Glenn later addressed Congress and was given a ticker-tape parade in New York City.
Out of a reluctance to risk the life of an astronaut as popular as Glenn, NASA essentially grounded the “Clean Marine” in the years after his historic flight. Frustrated with this uncharacteristic lack of activity, Glenn turned to politics and in 1964 announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate from his home state of Ohio and formally left NASA. Later that year, however, he withdrew his Senate bid after seriously injuring his inner ear in a fall from a horse.
In 1970, following a stint as a Royal Crown Cola executive, he ran for the Senate again but lost the Democratic nomination to Howard Metzenbaum. Four years later, he defeated Metzenbaum, won the general election, and went on to win reelection three times. In 1984, he unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for president.
In 1998, Glenn attracted considerable media attention when he returned to space aboard the space shuttle Discovery. In 1999, he retired from his U.S. Senate seat after four consecutive terms in office, a record for the state of Ohio. Glenn died on December 8, 2016, at age 95.
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