The 2013 Darwin Awards Are Out!

blogsense-by-barb:

This is … well, I think INCREDIBLE about covers what this is!!!

Originally posted on My Underwood Typewriter:

The Darwins Are Out!!!!

2013

Yes, it’s that magical time of year again when the Darwin Awards are bestowed, honoring the least evolved among us.

Here Is The Glorious Winner:

1. When his .38 caliber revolver failed to fire at his intended victim during a hold-up in Long Beach, California would-be robber James Elliot did something that can only inspire wonder. He peered down the barrel and tried the trigger again. This time it worked.

And Now, The Honorable Mentions:

2. The chef at a hotel in Switzerland lost a finger in a meat cutting machine and after a little shopping around, submitted a claim to his insurance company. The company expecting negligence sent out one of its men to have a look for himself. He tried the machine and he also lost a finger. The chef’s claim was approved.

3. A man who shoveled snow for an hour to…

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Why Phil Robertson is the Most Dangerous Man in America

Originally posted on DeaconCast:

The headline reads: “A&E declares war on ‘Duck Dynasty’s’ Christian values.”  It seems the patriarch of the Robertson family made some “offensive” comments in an interview with GQ Magazine.  Before we go any further, mull that over for a moment.  A camo-wearing, bearded, red-kneck duck hunter being interviewed in a magazine called “Gentlemen’s Quarterly”?  Is the world as we know it coming to an end.  I’d say it is, but I digress.

For the uninitiated, Duck Dynasty is the saga of the Robertson family of West Monroe, LA.  The patriarch of the family, Phil, invented a duck call that sounds very much like a real duck.  (Several ducks actually.)  This duck call has made the family and their company, Duck Commander, very successful.  Phil’s son Willy has parlayed the success of Duck Commander and the unique lifestyle of the family into quite an empire, including the hugely…

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The HEART of the Matter

Tags

celebrations, Christmas, dingy manger, Expectations, family, Hanukkuh, heart, LONELINESS, meaning, The HEART of the matter

Have you been to the mall? Are your decorations up? Is your baking done? Did you get your Christmas or Hanukkah cards in the mail? How about all the Christmas music on the radio, tired of it yet?

Last weekend, I had to pick up some chocolate chips for my daughter. She wanted to make some fudge. I stopped at the local grocery store and went directly to the baking aisle. It was overwhelming!(I am NOT one who enjoys the art of shopping, so I am typically in and out within 15 minutes!) I headed down the baking aisle in search of a deal on what I needed, spotted the rascals on the left side of the aisle, and stopped momentarily to compare prices. A young woman with long black hair, glasses, and a scowl was behind me where I stopped. She looked up at me (and I’m only 5’5″) and with a sardonic smile said, “Yes, every time you stop, the whole line has to stop!”

Well, I only had stopped ONCE! I kind of looked at her in disbelief, and looked back at the shelf. When she didn’t make a move to circumvent me, I looked back at her and she told me to, “get f*’d!” I smiled politely and said, “same to you!”

As I finished my shopping, though, my heart broke for her and the thousands like her who have been totally engulfed by our secular, anti-goodness society. It’s not a new thing entirely, but godlessness has become a national past time in OUR time. Only recently, has it become socially acceptable to be selfish, self-centered, and unkind. It is everywhere now. (Watch drivers, if you have any doubt.) People think only of themselves, their agenda, their needs and are completely unaware? or unconcerned? with others. “Screw you, lady! You’re in MY way!”

The HEART of the matter is GOD! Many people, whether alone or surrounded by others, are lonely these days. GOD, whomever we understand Him to be, is relegated to a distant dark corner of our pseudo-sophisticated society only to be recognized as the source of some fringe lunatic. Darkness increases while those holding the Light remain well shielded by the protective bushel of their/our choosing, and we wonder why society is breaking down.

The attitude of this one young woman shocked my heart, my reality. She was not suffering from some obvious disease, but her heart is sick. Mine, too, struggles under the burden of perfection portrayed by TV and movies … the perfect Christmas or Hanukkah celebrations always show scores of happy family members laughing and embracing one another with tables loaded with boundless delicacies and truckloads of gifts for everyone. I don’t live there, do you?

• But the dingy manger? THAT I can relate to! Our best laid plans sometimes fail.
• The hardship of that journey to Bethlehem with Mary at 9 months pregnant? THAT I can relate to … discomfort is a big part of life!
• Alone in a strange town, crowds of people milling around yet, no place just for them. THAT I can relate to! Surprises! Unexpected journeys!
• Supplies insufficient to the task at hand? THAT I can relate to! Making due with what’s on hand is daily life, and it requires faith in something or Someone bigger than me!

At this point in time, the media (TV, movies, magazines, etc) sets our expectations for more than any of us realize. Today’s movies always show the various holidays … PERFECT! There may be a bit of a struggle to get there, but perfection always arrives. LIFE is not perfect! It is not orderly or predictable. It is our daily challenge to make order out of chaos.

The moral of this story? When the Christmas lights are unplugged, when the Hanukkah gifts are given, when the parties are over and the cookies are eaten, what is left? GOD is there in my emptiness and unfulfilled expectations, and He’s there in yours, too! He didn’t stay in that dingy manger, and the oil has still never run dry! He is not necessarily where we expect Him to be, that’s all. Though we have tried for centuries to package Him and present Him all neat and tidy, He reminds us constantly that HE is GOD, and we are not!

Look for HIM as you celebrate … or as you endure whatever hardships and discomfort is your life. He is THERE!

El Melekh Ne’eman – GOD is a Faithful King!

Tags

Christmas, Christmas blues, El Melekh Ne'eman, God, GOD is a Faithful King, GOD is Faithful, hardships, holiday struggles, life struggles, loss, pain

How FAITHFUL is God? From cover to cover, the various scribes throughout history record event after event, miracle after miracle of GOD’s faithfulness.

Does that mean no one suffered? Not even close! It means that even suffering has a redemptive purpose. Childbirth hurts, as any mother can attest, but the joy of that new life is more than worth the pain. Our suffering “births” (or brings about increase) of God’s purpose in our life.

So then we always feel secure or safe? Ha! One would think, but no. We are flesh and blood. We are weak! Even when we cognitively understand the enormity of GOD, we manage to suppose our situation, our disease, our family issue is somehow beyond His interest, right?

How then should be face the challenges that confront us in this life? Can you imagine as a young teenage girl (or her fiance) learning you’d been chosen by God to bring His Son into this world? Say What??? Yet, unbelievably, Mary’s response echoes through the ages … “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1)

Christmas seems to spotlight “sore spots” in our hearts and lives. At least in my world, it does. Year after year, I struggle, but this year is different. Or perhaps I should say the struggle is different. I have a dear friend who recently lost his wife. My heart breaks for him as he faces his first Christmas without her together with his girls. I know the GOD of comfort will be with them. I have another friend whose husband just learned he has a brain tumor, yet God’s grace is buoying them through the surgery and treatment. I have still another friend whose work hours were drastically cut suddenly last month. She has barely enough to pay bills, and certainly nothing left for gifts for her family. There are thousands of men and women, many of whom served our nation in uniform, living on our streets with no roof over their heads. There is much suffering. There is unimaginable pain. BUT there is GOD …

Each of us have “sore spots!” Life is not perfect. There are obstacles and traps along the way. Then, there is that one thing, that one huge “sore spot” we can’t seem to shake. We need to foster Mary’s deep understanding of GOD. Instead of struggling against that thing, that “sore spot,” embrace it as a tool for growth. Whew … easier said than done, right?

“Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.”

I am not a woman of great financial resources, but I have faith for these and other unmentioned needs. Do you? Prayer is not a last resort, it is a FIRST resort! It is our declaration to GOD that we know He can handle what we cannot. It is acknowledging His greatness and His faithfulness to us, His children. Christmas is the manifestation of His faithfulness in the person of Jesus Christ, who came to take away the sin of the world.

Our pain and suffering may not end, but His faithfulness is more than enough to turn our pain and suffering into beauty. Let’s turn our minds and hearts outward and look for ways to lift the burden others may feel at this time … and everyday!

“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”
Charles Dickens

You are Faithful & True

You are Faithful & True You are Faithful and True,
You are Faithful & True to your people.
You are Faithful & True You are Faithful and True,
You are Faithful and True to me.

There is no emptiness in You.
No failure or loss, no turning away,
You are the God of all purpose,
You are Hope, You are Life, You’re the end to my strife.

You are Faithful & True You are Faithful and True
You are Faithful & True to your people.
You are Faithful & True You are Faithful and True
You are Faithful and True to me.

All Rights Reserved © 2002 BJB Music 9/96

72 years ago today was the attack on Pearl Harbor

Originally posted on We the People:

Comment by Jim Campbell, Citizen Journalist, Oath Keeper and Patriot.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt said “December 7th was a date which will live in infamy.”

It’s nice that in three terms a President of the United States, he got something right.

The presentation by Chuck Kohler in the video below will put you right in the middle of the attack.

Pearl Harbor Survivor Chuck Kohler gives an inspirational speech as he recounts his experience during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and urges us to visit Pearl Harbor and remember the sailors entombed in the Arizona Memorial. Introduction by Major General Ron Lowe. Ceremony at All Wars Memorial, Oak Hill Park, Danville, California.

This is amazing.

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Congressional Hearing – Obama’s ‘Ignoring Laws’ Could Lead to Overthrow of Government

Originally posted on BUNKERVILLE | God, Guns and Guts Comrades!:

Did I ever think I would hear someone speak at a congressional hearing about the possibility of an overthrow of the United States government? How long will Americans sit back and allow all of these unconstitutional acts be permitted? Our court system apparently will sit back and do nothing. We learned this when John Roberts sold us down the river for what? What did the government have on him? What do they have on many of our politicos? So it is Katie bar the door, one heck of a ride coming. What we have is nothing less than anarchy.

On Tuesday, Michael Cannon, Cato Institute’s Director of Health Policy Studies, testified before a congressional committee about the dangers of the president’s legal behavior.

“There is one last thing to which the people can resort if the government does not respect the restrains that the constitution places on the government,” Cannon…

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*VIDEO* Representative Trey Gowdy Utterly Destroys Squirmy Obamapologist

blogsense-by-barb:

Rep. Gowdy is right on! Love his fearlessness!!!!!

Originally posted on The Daley Gator:

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Memo to Demos: It Ain’t the Website

blogsense-by-barb:

Isn’t it astonishing, how easily President Obama lies to … his people? … again and again?

Originally posted on PA Pundits - International:

Obama Launches Reboot Tour

ByMark Alexander·

“[H]e who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and a third time, till at length it becomes habitual; he tells lies without attending to it, and truths without the world’s believing him.” –Thomas Jefferson (1785)

Much to Barack Obama’s chagrin, his once-compliant mainstream media continues to devote extensive coverage to the failed launch of ObamaCare’s $600 million website and its incremental do-over. But Senate and House Democrats are far more concerned about the rapidly emerging liability of O’Care’s mandates, framed by a litany of bald-faced lies from their party’s standard-bearer.

At the March 2010 signing ceremony ofBarack Obama’slifetime legislative achievement, the so-called “Affordable Care Act,” Joe Biden was caught on an open mike whispering to Obama, “This is a big f—ing deal.” Three weeks into the failed launch…

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Thanksgiving, and Freedom

Originally posted on nebraskaenergyobserver:

We write a lot here about politics and we write even more (I hope) about history. We try, sometimes well, and sometimes probably not so well, to connect one to the other.

Tomorrow will be that most truly American of holidays, Thanksgiving. Rightly it is the day we stop and give thanks to God, or whatever or whoever we each individually think most appropriate for all the good things we have. This early post is sort of a political history thanksgiving post.

We really have had a good run over the last 400 years, and I refuse to believe we are quite done, either. We have lots of problems but we always have, and in large measure, the mark of American greatness is that we have not only survived, but thrived on them. Always they have forced us to think, and act, and persevere until we worked through them.

Dan…

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It’s Official, POLL: Presidential Poll: Reagan BEST, Obama WORST in Last 100 Years, Dr Manning is right

Certainly, Obama is the most lawless, destructive, and deceptive President, and he managed to fail all by himself. In spite of massive media support, his policies are only making matters worse – which is by design.