A Christian Viewpoint

🙂 Today my wife and I go to the polls to cast our ballot for our riding representative. In years past the selection was so lean I would simply go to reject the ballot. That my friends is a very serious statement to send to the parties and Elections Canada. However, this time around: the Reform, Alliance, or whatever they called themselves over the years and the Progressive (read Regressive) Conservative Party; have finally come together and healed the rift in the Conservative community. Today I cast a vote. My, what a wonderful day to be a voter again.

note* Perhaps the BQ in Quebec will see they are true conservatives, not seperatists, and the healing of all the conservative people in Canada will be complete.

:laugh: There are two shortcut philosophies about life. The first says: live your life as if this were the last day of your life; so better get my affairs in order. The second says: today is the first day of the rest of your life; so better make some plans. I began to ponder these two thoughts on life. I melded them into one thought. Since this is the first day of the rest of my life and I should live as though it were also the last day… I came to a same similar conclusion to that of Solomon the great… leave a goodbye note then eat, drink and be merry for tommorow we die.

hmmm… Maybe I need to think this one through a little more 😉

:plain: I wrote when I started this weblog that I would enable comments when I thought it safe to do so. Looking at my logs recently I have noticed that one or more persons have been trying to hack into the weblog through restricted access pages. Why is the net not as great as it could be? Because there are people who would wreck the work of others for a sense of perverse enjoyment. So as a precaution I will not be opening this weblog to comments from others. Until I find a way to protect the site better, things will remain as they are. If you are willing to give your email address and get a password, you can then use the forum to start (I hope) a discussion string.

:doze: I thought I would give a bit of an update to my repeat visitors. You may be wondering about a lack of additions to the site over the past month. Yes, my father dying did have an impact. Yesterday I tried to get something started and when I went to print my printer died on me again. I print all my material so I can work at it away from my computer. Hopefully a new printer… a new computer… is not far away. I should be able to get things up and running again shortly after the purchase. God bless…

🙁 Last month I came to you and asked that you would pray for my father who was in the hospital due to pneumonia. He recovered yet the disease was not fully cleared from his body. On Friday, June 4th, he was admitted to the hospital once again for pneumonia and additional problems. On Saturday my sister and I had a chance to visit him. He was suffering and wanted to die. I prayed for him to recover and added that when the time for his departing was at hand that he would be taken quickly. The time for his passing was that day in the evening. Now my father rests from his struggles in the bossom of his Lord and Saviour. We will meet again in the ressurection. I mourn his passing but will joy in the morning when all things are made new. Thanks again for those who prayed for my father. Your prayers will be remembered. God bless…

😀 Over the past three months my wife and I have been taking the first ASL course that is offered to beginners. Very basic signing and learning to also finger spell. Yesterday my wife informed me that we have both passed the course. I guess we will be taking the next two courses for ASL being offered soon.

I can talk to my wife and others who sign over a fair distance or extreme noisy conditions. There is also the benefit to communicate without disturbing others in a quiet environment. In the end though there is the purpose it is designed for, to communicate to a deaf person who needs help or simply wants to “talk”. Like my limited french it can be very useful and helpful in some circumstances. My suggestion… everyone should get the very basics under their belt. You may find for yourself that using it can also be an advantage to you and to others that you meet.

🙂 Last night we had a bible study at a friend’s house. The topic was based on Rev 3:18 and the Laodicean church. The passage talks about buying from God gold tried in the fire, obtaining garments to cover our nakedness and to receive eye salve so that we may see. All good things to get but how?

From other lessons it became obvious that the only way to receive these things was to go into prayer, praise and worship. It is not that the actions themselves will pass on these blessings. These activities can be done on automatic without engaging your spirit. What is important is to bring your spirit into these activities looking with your spiritual senses to see Jesus. It is as we face Jesus in the heavenly realm that the Spirit of God begins to open the eyes of we who seek Jesus and through his priesthood our Father God. While engaged in this activity the Spirit changes us and prepares for us to receive the blessings and more importantly he changes us to be more like Jesus in heart and mind.

The Father is looking for those who will worship him in spirit and in truth. If we take the time in prayer, praise and worship, the Spirit will do its work in us and through us. The Spirit will prepare us to be the bride of Christ for when Jesus returns.

As with all people, the only answer is to spend time with God: individually and corporately.

:O So Rumsfeld gave testimony before the Senate and the House. Listened to all six hours. Finally got all the answers I was hoping to find. From what I received he did the best job that he could under the conditions he found himself in. Perhaps now congress can pass a special law when it comes to war crimes and give the ability to open a file under investigation without breaking the command line influence regulations. After all, that was, is and is going to be the problem for future secretaries. Perhaps an omsbudsman of some kind? Someone outside the chain of command who can look to find incidents like prisoner of war abuse and pass it to the higher ups before it can cause political problems as there are today.

🙁 Spin… I listened to the first news reports that were released by the press in the US and Canada. What was reported took literary license to what the testimony actually was. Ok that is not too bad. What I did find sad was the downplaying of the process that is part of the problem. The down playing of the time-line was also a great dis-service.

:angry: Spin… Then came the politicians who are trying to paint Rumsfeld in the worse light possible and then trying to stain the President with the same tarnished brush. Truth seems to be always missing in these attacks.

:crazy: Spin Again… the news agencies then pick up these political droppings as jewels of truth and pass on the errors, misconceptions and lies as news. What of the man and woman on the street have to say over this? Depends on when they came into the loop. If they heard the testimony they should be a bit miffed that facts are becoming the first casualties of this new attack against the White House. Those who pick up the news last will be incensed by Rumsfeld’s supposed failure to handle the situation before it became known.

:satisfied: Well. politics is politics and truth is in the eye of the beholder. Someday truth will not be in the eye of the beholder, it will be shouted from the rooftops, it will be declared from Mount Zion. Someday the true judge will visit the earth and only then can there be an honest expection of truth with facts as their foundation. In the meanwhile, I look ahead to those days when Jesus will rule from Jerusalem. Until then… I bite my tongue and rest in the hope that in the end God wins.

🙁 I would like you to pray for my father, Fred, who has been in the hospital for the past four days. He has pneumonia and is in isolation. Although he appears to be doing well the bug is stubborn and is taking its time to clear his lungs. It appears to be a recurring problem. Pray that he recovers and that the bug is finally cleared completely from his body. Many thanks…

🙂 My Father has been released from the hospital. I want to thank those who took the time to pray. God bless you all.

🙂 A couple of days ago I was doing a search engine check on my web name “ChristianMuse”. I saw a new addition to the regular listings. I dropped over to her site and was delighted by what I found. I left her a comment and she had the grace to write back and ask if she was infringing on my name. That my friends is thoughtful. As a web name, I said go ahead and use it. What is even nicer, she put a link on her blog to my site. Thanks Rita. Here is her url…

http://savedbygrace.blogdrive.com/