Cell Phones; The Really Smart Ones Have Belly Buttons!

During a Bible Class I used this analogy.  I asked every one who had a cell phone to hold it up, only one person did not have a phone.  I didn't ask why.  I grabbed about a half dozen and set them up on the white board ledge for all to see.  Then I said this;

As we look at these cell phones, many if not all in the room have several similarities.  As a matter of fact, from a distance they look almost alike.  Even the owners might have a problem picking their phone out of the crowd from a distance beyond ten to fifteen feet.  Their are some things that make the phones stick out (unique) amongst others such as a pink case cover but other than that they are pretty much the same.

Most of the phones work the same, almost all have certain similar functions (i.e. text and camera).  The "smart" phones have the ability to do more computer functions and the really smart phones (iPhone) have belly buttons!  With all that said, it is not what is on the outside that makes the phones different, but mostly what is on the inside.  Now even amongst the same phones, the difference is in the programming or software per say.  Ironically, the exact same two phones, one "stock" and the other loaded with extra software, weigh the same.  What makes the phones unique is not in the mass?  Unless the phones are seriously damaged the "data can be transferred to another phone.  As the old data is transferred to a new upgraded glorified model, it might work faster and have better color and so on.

1Co 15:47-57 NLT  Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second Man, came from heaven.  (48)  Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly Man.  (49)  Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly Man.  (50)  What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.  (51)  But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed!  (52)  It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.  (53)  For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.  (54)  Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die [and our mortal bodies have been transformed into immortal bodies], this Scripture will be fulfilled: "Death is swallowed up in victory.  (55)  O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? "  (56)  For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power.  (57)  But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

You see, we are Spirit beings that posses a Soul and live in a Body.  At a distance we all look pretty much alike.  Yes some have pink hair but other than that we are pretty much the same.  When those who die in Christ (simply meaning that you have put your faith and trust in Him alone and repented of your sins) are raised again with Him in Glory, our software / data after filtering out all of the defects will be transferred to our updated Glorified Body.  Who I really am is not what you see, but what has been programmed into me.  Our world puts so much emphasis on what we see when we are told it will die!

I am headed for an upgrade - are you?

Objects In Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear?

I was riding with the family to church this Mother's Day morning and looked in the passenger side mirror, my Bride was driving (me crazy this morning).  Tell me I didn't just write that!  Anyway, the mirror had etched on it; Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.  This got me thinking back on my life and seeing that many "objects" were closer than they appeared at the time.

How true this is of life and many of it's "objects".  We see things / objects as very far off when in fact they are much closer (or sooner) than we ever realize or expect.  It is usually not until these "objects" are upon us that we realize how "close" and quickly they came.  For example;

When we were very young, Driving was closer than it appeared.
When we entered High School, our Senior year was closer than it appeared.
While we struggled with dating and all the relational ups and downs, Marriage was closer the it appeared.
One of my first jobs was delivering Pizza for Mama K's in suburban Chicago, my Career in Law Enforcement was closer than it appeared.
Owning a Home was closer than it appeared.
Children were closer than they appeared.
My unexpected early retirement was closer than it appeared.
My oldest son Joshua's Wedding was closer than it appeared.
With one three year old toddler and three of our children in college, financial struggles are closer than they appear.
Grandchildren are now closer than they once appeared.

Many of you who will read this will be thinking of "Other Objects" in your lives that are closer than they appear or have appeared?  However there are two things that have always been closer than they appear:

1.  Forgiveness is closer than it appears:  Whether it is forgiving someone or being forgiven by The One;

2Co 6:2 NLT  For God says, "At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you." Indeed, the "right time" is now. Today is the day of salvation.

2.  God has always been closer than He appears:  

Jas 4:8 NLT  Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.

How do you come "close to God"?

Rom 10:13 NLT  For "Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved."


Blessings
ernie

The 50 Most Popular Conservative Websites

 Written By : John Hawkins

I thought it might be interesting to see which right-of-center websites actually receive the most traffic. So, I went to Alexa.com and ranked the 50 sites on the right. Do keep in mind that…
1) Alexa doesn’t distinguish between top level domains and their sub-directories. So, for example, a blog on Townhall and Townhall itself would have the same rating. Additionally, websites hosted at places like Blogspot, which list each blog on a sub-directory, can’t be measured. My guess is that it only knocked 2-4 websites max off the list including Ace of Spades HQ, Gateway Pundit, & Big Hollywood.

2) Although I have found Alexa to be generally accurate, it does occasionally make mistakes and certainly isn’t as on target as a statistics tracker.
3) I didn’t deliberately leave any right-of-center websites off the list, including the Libertarian websites. So, if you are supposed to be on list and weren’t included, feel free to send me an email.
All 50 websites are listed with their Alexa rank following their link. So for example, a “1″ would mean the page was the most popular website on the net. A “100,000″ would mean the 100,000th most popular page on the net. With that being said, let’s go ahead and take a look at the rankings.
1) Fox News: 260
2) Wall Street Journal: 383
3) The Drudge Report: 748
4) New York Post: 888
5) WorldNetDaily: 2,692
6) Newsmax: 3,264
7) Free Republic: 3,988
8) The Washington Times: 4,717
9) TownHall: 5,986
10) The Rush Limbaugh Show: 7,624
11) Real Clear Politics: 7,957
12) National Review: 10,346
13) Hot Air: 11,517
14) Michelle Malkin: 12,871
15) Glenn Beck: 13,153
16) Human Events Online: 17,538
17) The Heritage Foundation: 20,746
18) Newsbusters: 21,452
19) Lew Rockwell: 24,677
20) The Weekly Standard: 25,565
21) News With Views: 27,352
22) Sean Hannity: 28,086
23) Pajamas Media 28,969
24) The Ludwig von Mises Institute: 29,116
25) Atlas Shrugs: 29,548
26) The American Thinker: 29,980
27) Cybercast News Service: 32,348
28) Neal Boortz: 32,857
29) Reason: 33,254
30) Lucianne: 34,135
31) Ann Coulter 36,864
32) The Cato Journal: 39,187
33) Daily Paul: 41,465
34) The Volokh Conspiracy: 42,021
35) Bill O’Reilly: 42,533
36) Redstate: 42,655
37) Conservapedia: 43,866
38) Power Line: 44,542
39) Jewish World Review: 44,765
40) Front Page Magazine: 48,645
41) Daniel Pipes: 49,692
42) Little Green Footballs: 49,844
43) Campaign for Liberty: 50,638
44) The American Spectator: 52,377
45) Commentary: 55,447
46) GOPUSA: 58,771
47) James Lileks’: 60,536
48) Right Wing News: 63,097
49) Wizbang: 63,427
50) Day by Day: 63,455
10 bonus websites for you
51) Moonbattery: 67,850
52) Life News: 69,493
53) Vdare: 70,866
54) Debbie Schlussel: 73,543
55) Republican National Committee: 73,599
56) Lifesitenews: 73,823
57) Dick Morris: 77,187
58) Blackfive: 83,031
59) Outside the Beltway: 83,455
60) American Conservative: 90,579
Update #1: Jihad Watch emailed to note that they’re at 29,887. That would put them at #26. Sorry, I missed you, guys!
Update #2: Canada Free Press is at 73,555 which would put them at #55 on the original list.
Update #3: The great thing I have found about doing these lists is that if you miss a site, by the end of the day, someone will be sure to let you know about it =D Here a handful of other websites that were missed.
The Ron Paul Forums is at 29,341, which means they would have come in at #25 on the original list.
Onenewsnow ranks at 9,388, which would have put it at #12.

PS: I’ve had a couple people suggest that Infowars should be on the list, but I consider that to be a loony, anti-authority conspiracy site more than a conservative website. Others may disagree.
Update #4: The Business & Media Institutecomes in at 79,500, which would have put it at #58.

The More I Love, The Less I'm Loved?

Today I spoke with my youngest daughter Corina via Skype.  During our conversation "Beena" as I call her, told me that she has been trying to form deeper relationships with the other girls in her Seminary classes in South Africa.  Beena is not one for superficial relationships, she is more like me in that it is usually "all or nothing" with us.  The more the other girls open up to her the less they reciprocate.  In other words; the more she loves on them the less she is feeling loved by them?

The timing of this is to coincidental to ignore.  I had taught Bible Class today which included the following scripture;

2Co 12:15 NLT  I will gladly spend myself and all I have for you, even though it seems that the more I love you, the less you love me.

The Apostle Paul was writing this to the Corinthian church.  In this chapter Paul refers to himself as a parent and the church as his children.  He was saying how it is the responsibility of the parent to take care of the children (young children) specifically financially.  He also gives the impression that it is sad when our children don't recognize what we have done for them or take us for granted.  How fragile all relationships seem to be.

The other reason I relate this to Corina is that "Leadership" of any type is usually lonely.  One of the reasons people move towards leaders is their apparent strength.  What people forget is that the "Paul's and Corina's" in our lives are people too!  Another "strength" of a leader is their ability to care for others.  Paul deeply loved the Corinthian church he founded and Corina loves the other young ladies who have opened up to her.

However it is the last part of the verse; "...the more I love you, the less you love me."  When I think of this statement I reminisce of High School days when the better I treated the girls I liked (dating) the less they seemed to like me, and conversely, the girls I didn't care as much for, liked me all the more?

Corina ended our conversation to say that The Lord is The One whom all my love comes from and that she is learning this.  I say; Love is a one-way street!  Did you just say what I thought you said - No I wrote it - YES!  Love is a one-way street.

1Jn 4:10 NLT  This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

Many relationships hang together because of one not both members.  God loved us first and we were not even lovable.  Who are you not showing your love too?

Blessings

ernie

Dear you, once again... by my Little Girl

Dear you, once again...

Dear..... you,


God has really been speaking to me a lot lately about you. The funny thing though, is that He is showing me more about myself so that I can get my act together for the life He has planned for...me, you, us. You see, I've been waiting for you for a while now. But my waiting has been useless, because I've been waiting on God rather than waiting with Him. I've been stagnantly waiting with high expectations of when you will come rather than waiting actively and preparing myself for you. Do you see what I'm saying? So, my darling, even though this is extremely weird that I'm writing you a letter and posting it on the internet, I want you to know that this is how much I love you. I'm not going to dream endlessly about you or make future plans for us, but I'm going to involve myself in God's plans for my life. I will wait with God until you come and I pray that you are diligently preparing yourself for the life and mission God has for us. I love you, whoever you are.


Love, 
Corina


Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the LORD and waitpatiently for him; Psalm 37:3-7a


Trust, do good, dwell, enjoy, delight, commit, trust, shine, be still and wait WITH God! Place your delight in Him and He will transform your heart for His desires. Do these things and He will allow your life to shine for all to see His glory!


^.....so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe  as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. Philippians 2:15-16