♫ That’s Why I Pray ♫

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America's Psychosis, bullying, call to prayer, faith, forgiveness, God, kindness, mass shootings, mental illness, prayer, second amendment

Oh oh oh oh, oh oh, yeah

Man on the TV’s gone insane, everybody’s just laughing
People ‘cross the world holding on
The earth caved in, the ocean came down crashing
My neighbor lost his house ’cause he can’t find a job
Don’t you dare pledge allegiance, don’t you dare speak of God
Speak of God
Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!

Obamanomics Kills Jobs as GOP Dithers

“If it weren’t for a shamelessly dishonest, hyper-protective liberal media, the American people would know, unanimously and without doubt, that Obamanomics is killing American jobs. There is no silver lining in the December jobs numbers.

Experts and analysts were expecting this latest jobs report, released Friday, to show 200,000 new payroll jobs in December, but there were only 74,000, which is 37 percent of the goal. Not 90 percent, not 80, not 70, not even 50 percent. Just 37 percent.

If these abominable numbers had occurred under George W. Bush’s watch, the GOP would have had hell to pay for decades. But liberal presidents always get a pass in the form of wildly far-fetched excuses and rationalizations for their failed policies.

Attentive minds, however, will not be fooled. As the liberal media live by the dishonest rationalization, so they must die by it, as well. With the help of sympathetic economists, they have been whitewashing Obama’s perennially anemic economy as being in “recovery” for 52 months now.” Read MORE

♫ “That’s Why I Pray” ♫

Now I’m begging for forgiveness
I wanna make a difference even in the smallest way
I’m only one person, but I can feel it working
I believe in better days
That’s why I pray

Some stupid video posted as a joke, somebody’s life gets ruined
Out of everything we can create
Where is the cure to keep the sick from losing
Babies having babies ’cause their parents are always gone
Somehow we have forgotten how to make a house a home
How to make a house a home
Oh! Oh! Yeah! Yeah!

Seems “bullying” is in the news every week as either a teen commits suicide or a politician uses “bullying” language in reference to an opponent or opposition party. If “bullying” is defined as someone acting loudly arrogant and overbearing, then many in the headlines fall into that category. Problem is, we, as adults, are teaching our kids how to bully and when to bully, and it starts in the White House! Until we, as adults, remember we are all Americans & we all have a voice, our kids will pay the price for our bigotry.

Moral Intelligence and Public School Bullying

“On December 4, 2013 Randi Weingarten, president of the 1.5-million member American Federation of Teachers (AFT), spoke on C-Span about bullying, particularly of gay students. Ms. Weingarten said, with surprise in her voice, that she doesn’t understand why gay students are still bullied in public schools, because in 2013, “It’s cool to be gay.” She also said she is gay, and now speaks about it openly.

As a psychotherapist, I tell clients that being surprised by another person’s behavior often results from erroneous assumptions about the person, usually because you see them as you want them to be rather than as they are. As Ms. Weingarten talked about the love that not only dares speak its name but never shuts its yap, I imagined how it would sound if a heterosexual male schoolteacher said, “The way I do sex is cool.” Read MORE

♫ “That’s Why I Pray” ♫

I’m begging for forgiveness, I wanna make a difference
Even in the smallest way
I’m only one person, but I can feel it working
I believe in better days
That’s why I pray, yeah
That’s why I pray, yeah

These demons from my past haunt me every night
And I just can’t get through it
If I could forget them on my own, I’ll let go and just move on
But heaven knows I am only human

Politicians have chosen to make firearms an issue in place of the more controversial issue of Mental illness. In doing so, they totally miss the point in an attempt to distract the public and give a semblance of “taking action!” We, as Americans, must demand better! Our streets are littered with people … human beings who have lost their way by means of mental illness, not to be confused with substance abuse!

Mass Shootings: America’s Psychosis

After every mass shooting, I write a variant of the same column. Perhaps I’ll republish this one when the next attack happens.

The increase in mass shootings over the course of the past several decades is not imaginary. In 2000, The New York Times analyzed 100 mass shootings between 1949 and 1999 and found that 73 of them had happened since 1990. Since 2000, according to Mother Jones magazine, there have been 33 more, including the recent massacre at the Navy Yard. The majority of the killers have untreated mental illness. Read MORE

♫ “That’s Why I Pray” ♫

And that’s why I pray, yeah yeah
That’s why I pray, I pray, I pray, I pray

Yes I’m begging for forgiveness (I’m begging for forgiveness)
I just wanna make a difference (Just wanna make a difference)
I believe (I believe) in better days
That’s why I pray

Music & Lyrics(in italics) by BIG & RICH

Please PRAY, now more than ever …

for this nation,

for our fellow Americans,

for our leaders – both elected and otherwise.

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A Case for Risky Living

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forgiveness, GOD’s love, homosexual community, power of Christ, self-indulgence, unconditional love, welfare

In Jesus’ brief ministry, I never see Him sit in a “safe” place. Rather, He, with one or more of His disciples, goes to the home of the tax collector, or walks to the well in midday when He knows the women will be there. Jesus mingles with the people and does not hold Himself above them. There is no arrogance in his words or actions – NONE! In fact, the religious leaders became upset with Him for just this reason.(Mt 11) And when, pray tell, did Jesus ever wag his finger in the face of even an open sinner and tell them they’re going to hell??? Answer … NEVER! He does, however, with tears in His eyes, weep for Jerusalem and the wickedness of us sinners and he prays for them.

Now, think about that for a minute. Jesus is, according to Scripture, the Head of the Church, yes? The “Body” of the Church should follow the Head. If Jesus (the Head) walks down to the beach of the Sea of Galilee to gather those “called” to Himself, should the “Body” sit comfortably behind closed doors hoping for the “lost” to stumble into a local gathering by themselves?

The single GREAT reason for the general ineffectiveness of the organized Church is our general unwillingness to be … like Jesus! Believers are called to be like Jesus. What He did, we should be doing (and more.) While Jesus never tolerated sin, it is His unconditional love that drew (and continues to draw) people to Him. He was clear in His love for sinners. It was sinners he hung out with. He pointed out their failures gently, but boldly embraced them as individuals. No place in Scripture are believers urged to condemn sinners, yet many believers feel obligated to do just that, even in “ministry”.

Let me ask this …

What drew YOU to Jesus? (not church) Was it fear of hell or need for acceptance/kindness? Perhaps the ugliest example of this error at work is in the way the organized church has judged and condemned the entire homosexual community. YES, homosexuality is sin, but it is sin just like anger is sin, and gluttony is sin, and gossip is sin. All are forms of self-indulgence, while believers are exhorted to walk in self-control (Gal 5:22-26), yielding even our most base needs to the Holy Spirit. Our quickness to judge comes across to others as arrogance, or an elitist attitude, and it is putrid! It totally contradicts all that Jesus represents. It drives people away from us AND Jesus, while we SHOULD be busy allowing God’s unconditional love to flow through us freely to all in an attitude of service.

It is my contention, if we, the Church, were where we ought to be, welfare wouldn’t be necessary! No, not government’s job, not even the Church’s job, but it is OUR responsibility, as individual believers, to do what we can, to do what He calls us to do and be.

Bottom line is, most people are fully aware of their sin, aren’t you? We don’t need someone to point it out to us. Rather, we need someone to love us enough to accept us right where we are and offer unconditional love – GOD’s love, and forgiveness.

Jesus is the WAY … the one and only way, but the unique thing about Jesus is that He meets us right where we are. He knows exactly what we have done, what we will do, and what we need … He never pushes, but instead, He draws us, welcomes us and frees us to find the person HE created us to be – freely unique individuals. His love empowers us to see who we are and who He is, and gives us the desire to be like Him. It’s all about God’s love! Like a shepherd to his flock, Jesus loves each sheep (person) so much that He leaves the other 99 to go in search of the one that is lost. Jesus loves the outcast lepers, harlots, and uncircumcised enough to go out in search of them, not to rebuke them, but to love them in spite of their sin.

“6 For when we were still without strength,
in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5: 6-8 NKJV

Dear reader, is it not after the Holy Spirit indwells us that He begins to change us into His likeness? He does not require us to be holy before He embraces us, nor does He require us to work toward perfection. He only requires us to admit our need of Him, His love, His grace, and His mercy! How dare we require more! Let God be the judge of the sinner’s heart, and let us be His hands of mercy and acceptance. Then, and only then will we begin to see the power of Christ change our sinful world.