Sometimes when I'm sleeping I have profound thoughts come to me. Last night was one of those times. I was wondering why the Lord allowed me to marry a mean and mentally unstable ex-wife and stay in the marriage as long as I did.
The thought came to me that the Mormons left New York and went to Pennsylvania, then Ohio, then Missouri, then Illinois, then finally Utah. Why did the Lord allow the Saints to be persecuted everywhere they went? Then the thought came to me, had they come to Utah straight from New York, they would have had to leave in January in order to get to Utah in July. I figure it would have taken them 6 months to walk from New York to Utah. Any way you cut it, the Saints would have had to travel for a fairly long amount of time in the winter months and many more would have died along the way. Instead, the Saints left Nauvoo in March (the beginning of Spring), yes it was still cold, they had to cross a frozen Mississippi, but for the most part they were able to travel in warm months because they were closer to their final destination.
How does this compare to me? The Lord was using my ex-wife to help me get closer to my eventual destination. Along the way I had to be humbled and learn certain things. I had to build up "temples" only to abandon them.
I am now in a much happier place, not that I don't have trials and struggles, but I am now in the "land of my inheritance". I have a great wife and great kids. This is where I was meant to be but I would have never reached this destination had I not had struggles in my personal "Missouri" and "Nauvoo" in order to help me get closer to my eventual destination.
Yo Gabba Gabba and The Polyphonic Spree
My kids like to watch a program on Nickelodeon called Yo Gabba Gabba. The music reminds me of The Polyphonic Spree. All this gives me further suspicion that children's programs are created by aging hippies who are having LSD flashbacks.
I was wrong, the NBA is fixed
This article in the N.Y. Post indicates that an NBA referee allegedly bet on and fixed games that he reffed...
Click Here to Read Article
Click Here to Read Article
Don't Support Companies That Support Iran
I received a phone call last night from a "charity" by the name of something like Presidential Action Committee. They told me that they had a one question poll and wanted me to listen to a statement from Dick Morris before taking the poll. I listed to the statement, it was a recording of Dick Morris (former Clinton administration adviser and current Fox News analyst). In the recording Dick Morris indicated that there are numerous companies that are doing business with Iran and this is helping Iran's efforts to create a nuclear program that would threaten Israel and the U.S.
When the recording was finished, the man on the other end asked me if this was something I agreed needed attention. I told him it was. He then asked me if they could count on my $200 or $300 contribution. I told him that I was in the process of adopting three children and all my money is tied up in legal fees and that I had already contributed money the Mitt Romney campaign, but I would be willing to volunteer my time. My words were something like, "I can't give you money, but I can give you my time. I agree that this is a worthwhile cause, how can I volunteer my time to help you?" The answer I got was all they wanted was a donation. Now, this makes me wonder if this is a legitimate group or not. I was thinking that maybe I could give them $5 but I'm glad I did not because I don't know if it's a scam or not.
Wouldn't you think that a legitimate charity would more than welcome my offer to volunteer my time? Heck, I could even start up an office for them in Utah County. I haven't seen anything else online indicating whether this is a scam or not. I hope someone that knows more than I do will read this and comment on it. My suggestion to everyone is, whenever you get a call from someone asking for money, it could very likely be a scam, be careful. I'm grateful that I didn't have the money to give them and grateful that I was quick enough to think that I could volunteer my time to them. I honestly would have done this too. It kind of bothers me that they prefer my money to my time. Now I'm blogging about them warning people not to give them money, wouldn't they prefer that I was on here blogging asking people to give them money?
When the recording was finished, the man on the other end asked me if this was something I agreed needed attention. I told him it was. He then asked me if they could count on my $200 or $300 contribution. I told him that I was in the process of adopting three children and all my money is tied up in legal fees and that I had already contributed money the Mitt Romney campaign, but I would be willing to volunteer my time. My words were something like, "I can't give you money, but I can give you my time. I agree that this is a worthwhile cause, how can I volunteer my time to help you?" The answer I got was all they wanted was a donation. Now, this makes me wonder if this is a legitimate group or not. I was thinking that maybe I could give them $5 but I'm glad I did not because I don't know if it's a scam or not.
Wouldn't you think that a legitimate charity would more than welcome my offer to volunteer my time? Heck, I could even start up an office for them in Utah County. I haven't seen anything else online indicating whether this is a scam or not. I hope someone that knows more than I do will read this and comment on it. My suggestion to everyone is, whenever you get a call from someone asking for money, it could very likely be a scam, be careful. I'm grateful that I didn't have the money to give them and grateful that I was quick enough to think that I could volunteer my time to them. I honestly would have done this too. It kind of bothers me that they prefer my money to my time. Now I'm blogging about them warning people not to give them money, wouldn't they prefer that I was on here blogging asking people to give them money?
Jimi Hendrix - Hey Joe
It's fairly obvious that they're syncing to a recording of the song, but hey, it's Jimi Hendrix!
The Democratic Party, The Party of Defeatism
85% of those likely to vote for Senator Clinton don't believe that the U.S. can win the war in Iraq. Let's just throw in the towel and give up on Iraq, it's a lost cause, Hillary's supporters say so.
April 12, 2007 - Likely Primary Voters on Iraq(source: http://americanresearchgroup.com/)
There are stark differences between likely Democratic and Republican primary voters over Iraq.
The following results are based on nationwide samples of 600 likely Democratic primary voters (PV) and 600 likely Republican primary voters (PV) conducted April 9-12, 2007. The theoretical margin of error for each sample is plus or minus 4 percentage points, 95% of the time. Primary preferences for each party are below.
Question:
Do you believe that the United States can win the war in Iraq, or not?
Can win No Undecided
Democratic PV 17% 70% 13%
Republican PV 75% 20% 5%
85% of likely Democratic primary voters voting for Hillary Clinton, 71% of those voting for John Edwards, and 64% of those voting for Barack Obama say they do not believe the United States can win the war in Iraq.
86% of likely Republican primary voters voting for John McCain, 62% of those voting for Rudy Giuliani, and 68% of those voting for Mitt Romney say they believe the United States can win the war in Iraq.
Question:
Do you favor or oppose setting a deadline for the withdrawal of all US troops from Iraq
Favor Oppose Undecided
Democratic PV 70% 17% 13%
Republican PV 17% 77% 6%
74% of likely Democratic primary voters voting for Hillary Clinton, 57% of those voting for John Edwards, and 81% of those voting for Barack Obama say they favor setting a deadline for the withdrawal of all US troops from Iraq.
89% of likely Republican primary voters voting for John McCain, 63% of those voting for Rudy Giuliani, and 62% of those voting for Mitt Romney say they oppose setting a deadline for the withdrawal of all US troops from Iraq.
Flashback to 1992 - (LANGUAGE WARNING!)
1992 was the year I saw these guys live at The Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. I'm not sure if this is from SLC or not. I can't recall if they performed it.
The Parable of The Talents
There's a parable in the bible about a lord that gives his servants a different number of talents (money). One of the servants takes his talents and uses them in a productive way. Another one of the servants takes his and buries them in the ground because he's afraid to try to use them. When the lord returns and finds out what they've done with their talents, he rewards the ones that have used them and punishes the one that hasn't.
I think a lot about this parable and about how at one time in my life I was afraid to use my talents. Since then, I've returned to school and I'm now working on my Masters degree. I've been out interviewing for other jobs and found out that more people are interested in a person that has a college degree, especially someone that graduated with honors.
We often get caught in a trap thinking that it's too hard, or it's a task for someone else but not for me. I work with certain people that wont go back to school because they think they're too stupid for school. In today's world, I just don't see any way that a person can truly succeed without a college education. Sure there are a couple like Bill Gates and Larry Ellison, but they are the exceptions and you also have to admit that they have an intrinsic business acumen that most people lack and have to learn in college.
I guess what I'm trying to say here, is God gives us all talents, some more than others. In my case I think he gave me very few when I look at the rich kids I grew up with. It took me time to learn to use those talents, but now I feel like the Lord is opening up new opportunities and increasing my measure. This is something I want for everyone, not just myself. I just wish some people would pull themselves up by their boot straps and get to work.
I think a lot about this parable and about how at one time in my life I was afraid to use my talents. Since then, I've returned to school and I'm now working on my Masters degree. I've been out interviewing for other jobs and found out that more people are interested in a person that has a college degree, especially someone that graduated with honors.
We often get caught in a trap thinking that it's too hard, or it's a task for someone else but not for me. I work with certain people that wont go back to school because they think they're too stupid for school. In today's world, I just don't see any way that a person can truly succeed without a college education. Sure there are a couple like Bill Gates and Larry Ellison, but they are the exceptions and you also have to admit that they have an intrinsic business acumen that most people lack and have to learn in college.
I guess what I'm trying to say here, is God gives us all talents, some more than others. In my case I think he gave me very few when I look at the rich kids I grew up with. It took me time to learn to use those talents, but now I feel like the Lord is opening up new opportunities and increasing my measure. This is something I want for everyone, not just myself. I just wish some people would pull themselves up by their boot straps and get to work.
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