Extra Ordinary times in an ordinary life

love ..Re page 314

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 09:04:40 GMT

Luke 6:27-31

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 08:44:59 GMT

Luke 6:27-31

6:27 "But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies,¹ do good to those who hate you, 6:28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat² you. 6:29 To the person who strikes you on the cheek,³ offer the other as well,⁴ and from the person who takes away your coat,⁵ do not withhold your tunic⁶ either.⁷ 6:30 Give to everyone who asks you,⁸ and do not ask for your possessions⁹ back¹⁰ from the person who takes them away. 6:31 Treat others¹¹ in the same way that you would want them to treat you.¹²

¹sn Love your enemies is the first of four short exhortations that call for an unusual response to those who are persecuting disciples. Disciples are to relate to hostility in a completely unprecedented manner.

²tn The substantival participle ἐπηρεαζόντων (ephreazontwn), sometimes translated "those who abuse" (NRSV), is better rendered "those who mistreat," a more general term (see L&N 88.129).

³sn The phrase strikes you on the cheek probably pictures public rejection, like the act that indicated expulsion from the synagogue.

⁴sn This command to offer the other cheek as well is often misunderstood. It means that there is risk involved in reaching out to people with God's hope. But if one is struck down in rejection, the disciple is to continue reaching out.

⁵tn Or "cloak."

⁶tn See the note on the word "tunics" in 3:11.

⁷sn The command do not withhold your tunic either is again an image of continually being totally at risk as one tries to keep contact with those who are hostile to what Jesus and his disciples offer.

⁸sn Jesus advocates a generosity and a desire to meet those in dire need with the command give to everyone who asks you. This may allude to begging; giving alms was viewed highly in the ancient world (Matt 6:1-4; Deut 15:7-11).

⁹tn Grk "your things," sometimes translated "what is yours" or "what belongs to you."

¹⁰sn Do not ask for your possessions back… is an example of showing forgiveness. Paul's remarks in 1 Cor 6:7 may reflect this principle.

¹¹tn This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females.

¹²sn Jesus' teaching as reflected in the phrase treat others in the same way you would want them to treat you, known generally as the Golden Rule, is not completely unique in the ancient world, but it is stated here in its most emphatic, selfless form.

I'm a "Bad American"—this pretty much sums it up for me.

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 08:38:03 GMT

I'm a "Bad American"—this pretty much sums it up for me.

I like big trucks, big boats, big houses, and naturally, pretty women. I believe the money I make belongs to me and my family; not some mid-level, government flunky with a bad comb-over who wants to give it away to crack addicts squirting out babies. I don't care about appearing compassionate. I don't think playing with toy guns makes you a killer. I believe ignoring your kids and giving them Prozac might. I think I'm doing better than the homeless, I don't think being a minority makes you noble or victimized. I have the right not to be tolerant of others because they are different, weird, or make me mad.

This is my life to live and not necessarily up to other's expectations. I know what SEX is and there are not varying degrees of it. I don't celebrate Kwanza - but if you want to, that's fine. I just don't believe everyone else should have to. I believe that if you're selling me a Dairy Queen milkshake, a pack of cigarettes, or a motel room, that you should do it in English. As a matter of fact, if you are an American citizen, you should speak English. My uncles and forefathers should not have died in vain so that you can leave the countries you were born in, come here, disrespect ours, and make us bend to your will. Get over it. I think the cops have every right to shoot your sorry butt if you're running from them after they told you to stop. If you can't understand the word 'freeze' or 'stop' in English, see the previous line. I don't use the lame excuse, "It's for the children," as a shield for unpopular opinions or actions.

I know how to count votes and I feel much safer letting a machine with no political affiliations do a recount when needed. I know what lying is, and it's never based on one's definition of the words. I don't think that just because you weren't born in this country, you should qualify for any special loan programs, government-sponsored bank loans, etc., so that you can open a hotel, 7-Eleven, trinket shop or anything else, while the indigenous people can't even get a decent high school education. I didn't take the initiative in inventing the Internet. I thought the Taco Bell dog was funny. I want to bring back safe and sane fireworks. I believe no one ever died because of something Ozzy Osbome, Ice-T. or Marilyn Manson sang, but that doesn't mean I want to listen to that crap from someone else's car when I'm stopped at a red light-but I respect your right to do so. I think that being a student doesn't give you any more enlightenment than someone working at a Blockbuster or Jack In The Box.. I don't want to eat or drink anything with the words 'light,' 'lite,' or 'fat-free' on the package.

Our soldiers did not go overseas to risk their lives defending our Constitution so that decades later you can tell me that it's "a living document, ever changing, and open to interpretation." The guys who wrote it were light-years ahead of their time and meant what they said. Now leave that sacred parchment alone or there's going to be trouble. I don't hate the rich. I help the poor. I know that professional wrestling is fake. I've never owned, or was a slave, and a large percentage of our forefathers weren't wealthy enough to own one either. Please stop blaming me because some prior white guys were idiots. And remember, many White, Indian, Chinese, and other races have been enslaved too-it was wrong for every one of them.

I believe that a self-righteous, liberal Democrat with a cause, is more dangerous than a Hell's Angel with an attitude. I want to know exactly which church the "Reverend" Jessie Jackson preaches at, and what exactly is his job function. I own a gun, you can own a gun, and any red-blooded American should be allowed to own a gun; but if you use it in a crime, then you should do the time. I think Bill Gates has a right to keep every penny he made and continue to make more. If this makes you mad then feel free to invent the next computer operating system and put your name on the building. Ask your buddy who invented the Internet to help you.

I don't believe in 'Hate Crime' legislation. Even suggesting it makes me mad. You're telling me that someone who is a minority, gay, disabled, another nationality, or otherwise different from the mainstream of this country, has more value as a human being than I do as a white male. If someone kills anyone, I'd say that's a 'Hate Crime.' We don't need any more laws! Let's enforce the ones that we already have.

I think turkey bacon, turkey beef, turkey-fake-anything sucks. I believe that it doesn't take a village to raise a child-it takes a parent with the guts to stand up to their kid, spank his little butt, and say "NO!" when it's necessary to do so. I'll admit that the only movie that ever made me cry was "Ol' Yeller." I didn't realize that Dr. Seuss was a genius until I had a kid. I will not be frowned upon or looked down upon or be kept silent because I have these beliefs and opinions. I thought this country allowed me that right. I will not conform or compromise just to keep form hurting somebody's feelings. I'm neither angry nor disenfranchised, no matter how desperately the mainstream media wants the world to believe otherwise.

Another story from the Half way house days

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 08:13:12 GMT

Another story from the Half way house days

So I am working at this Half way house and there is just all kinds of non sence going on...

Things were so crazy there that there were actually "Pros" showing up to take care of the guys ...If you know what I mean

Anyway I am working with this guy named "Jeff" and for some reason ..I can not fully understand "Jeff " has decided that it is his life's calling to be a COP ..

Not that there is anything wrong with being a Cop ..( After the little situation about Redheads on my blog a little bit before in the day I just want to make sure that I am clear ;)

Anyway back to the story

Jeff asks me If I can handle everything ...I tell him Sure I guess so what is on your mind ?

Well Jeff tells me that some of the guys are wanting to play basket ball ...

What I haven;t told you about Jeff yet is that he is about 5'7" and he is a little "awarkward " I guess would be the best way to put it .

I asked him before he walked out to play ...Jeff are you SURE you want to do this ?

Oh Yeah no problem ..we are just going to playa little bb

The Only problem that I am having right now ,,is finding exactly the right words to make you laugh your ass off ...because you already know exactly what happened .

By the end of that Game Jeff was basicly Black and Blue ..the guys basicly had their way with him ...and it was all within their rights ...

When All was said and Done ..I had to Look at Jeff and just flat out tell him ..

Look I respect the idea that you want to be a COP and help keep the streets Clean ..that is pretty cool ...

But if you had a wife and two kids and a dog ...and you were on the streets tonight

Your wife would be a widow ..your two kids would be without a father and your dog would be wondering where the hell the milk bones are ..

You might want to second guess that Cop GiG ...

Here is a mind trip ...My first Job In Ohio was working at a half way house ..talk about stress

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 08:05:28 GMT

Here is a mind trip ...My first Job In Ohio was working at a half way house ..talk about stress

Where do I even start with this ?

A number of years ago ,before my father passed away he had visited Ohio and sort of feel in love with the place ...

To make a long story short ..about the reason why I moved to Ohio ..I felt comfortable because I had been working for Xerox ...had the 401k ect ect ect .

I had 12 years in the field ..so getting a job with Xerox would be no sweat right ?

Well Xerox was under going restructing ..and all the sudeen I found myself two states away and without employment ..

The first thing that happen to come open was a job at a half way house

Talk about Joy ..

I am not sure that many of you know exactly what a half way house is ...but basicly it is a road back to the community for people that have been in Jail

Well basicly my job was to tell these guys ..what time to go to bed , what time to wake up ..make sure that we all made it to meetings

In other words these guys all hated my guts right off the bat ...

And every single one of them had to prove to me that they had a point to prove ..and all the while all I could think of ...is that I was just about this far from being one of you ....but right now all I am trying to do is make a little money for my family .

I remember one day ..I had about 55 guys ...sort of depending on me o help them get to work ....but one of then showed up with a attitude and wabted to kick my ass in front of all of the other guys .

.Regardless of what you may be thinking ..There are certain ways that something like this has to be handled ...

I basicly had to look at this guy face to face and say ...

"Sir it seems that you have a complaint "

"We have compliant forms should you feel the need to fill one out "

What happened next surprised me ...

About half of the guys cracked up laughing ...

I wish that I could be that cool ..all of the time ..but you know ..thank GOD I wa able to be that day ...

Thank you both for reading ;)

Michael

On the Lighter side some teacher humor

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 07:15:29 GMT

On the Lighter side some teacher humor

Teacher : Maria ,go to the map and find North America

Maria : Here it is

Teacher: Correct Now who discovered America ?

Maria : Maria

_____________________________________________________________

Teacher : Glen , why do you always get so dirty ?

Glen : I am a lot closer to the floor than you are ...

_____________________________________________________________

Teacher : George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry tree, but he also admitted it . Now Louis , do you know why his father didn't punish him?

Louis: Because George was still holding the Ax in his hand.

____________________________________________________________

Teacher : Glen how do you spell "crocodile "

Glen : "K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L"

Teacher : No that 's wrong

Glen : It may be wrong, but you asked me how I spell it !

____________________________________________________________

Teacher : Now Simon tell me frankly , do you say your prayers before eating ?

Simon: No Sir , I dont have to , my mom is a pretty good cook

____________________________________________________________

Teacher : Harold , what do you call a person that keeps on talking when people are no longer interested ?

Harold : A Teacher

_____________________________________________________________

Teacher : Winnie , name one important this that we have today that we didnt have ten years ago .

Winnie : Me

____________________________________________________________

A professor was giving a big test one day to his students . He handed all the test and went back to his desk to wait .

Once , the tests were over ,the students all handed the tests back in . The professor noticed one of the students had attached a $100 bill to his test with a note that read one dolloar per point .

The next class , the professor handed the tests back out . This student got his test back and his $64 dollars in change !

______________________________________________________

A Little kid is in school taking a true -flase test and he is flipping a coin . At the end of the test he is flipping the coin again . The teacher asks "What are you doing ?" He answers " I am checking my answers "

Psalms 55:22 ’Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 06:54:51 GMT

Psalms 55:22 ’Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer

--Psalm 55:22 ---

You really need to read this.
'Friends are God's way of taking care of us.'
This was written by a Metro Denver Hospice Physician:

I was driving home from a meeting this evening about 5pm, stuck in traffic on Colorado Blvd. , and the car started to choke and splutter and die - I barely managed to coast, cursing, into a gas station, glad only that I would not be blocking traffic and would have a somewhat warm spot to wait for the tow truck. It wouldn't even turn over. Before I could make the call, I saw a woman walking out of the 'quickie mart ' building, and it looked like she slipped on some ice and fell into a Gas pump, so I got out to see if she was okay.

When I got there, it looked more like she had been overcome by sobs than that she had fallen; she was a young woman who looked really haggard with dark circles under her eyes. She dropped something as I helped her up, and I picked it up to give it to her. It was a nickel.

At that moment, everything came into focus for me: the crying woman, the ancient Suburban crammed full of stuff with 3 kids in the back (1 in a car seat), and the gas pump reading $4.95.

I asked her if she was okay and if she needed help, and she just kept saying 'don't want my kids to see me crying,' so we stood on the other side of the pump from her car. She said she was driving to California and that things were very hard for her right now. So I asked, 'And you were praying?' That made her back away from me a little, but I assured her I was not a crazy person and said, 'He heard you, and He sent me. '

I took out my card and swiped it through the card reader on the pump so she could fill up her car completely, and while it was fuelling, walked to the next door McDonald's and bought 2 big bags of food, some gift certificates for more, and a big cup of coffee. She gave the food to the kids in the car, who attacked it like wolves, and we stood by the pump eating fries and talking a little.

She told me her name, and that she lived in Kansas City Her boyfriend left 2 months ago and she had not been able to make ends meet. She knew she wouldn't have money to pay rent Jan 1, and finally in desperation had finally called her parents, with whom she had not spoken in about 5 years. They lived in California and said she could come live with them and try to get on her feet there.

So she packed up everything she owned in the car. She told the kids they were going to California for Christmas, but not that they were going to live there.

I gave her my gloves , a little hug and said a quick prayer with her for safety on the road. As I was walking over to my car, she said, 'So, are you like an angel or something?'

This definitely made me cry. I said, 'Sweetie, at this time of year angels are really busy, so sometimes God uses regular people.'

It was so incredible to be a part of someone else's miracle. And of course, you guessed it, when I got in my car it started right away and got me home with no problem. I'll put it in the shop tomorrow to check, but I suspect the mechanic won't find anything wrong.

Sometimes the angels fly close enough to you that you can hear the flutter of their wings...

Psalms 55:22 'Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.'

My instructions were to pick four people that I wanted God to bless, especially for the months in 2008, and I picked you.

Feel free to pass along to those you want God to bless...

Here is the prayer:

'Father, I ask You to bless my children, grandchildren, friends, relatives and email buddies reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask You to minister to their spirit this very moment. Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy. Where there is self doubt, release a renewed confidence through Your grace, In Jesus' precious name. Amen.'

I know I picked more than four -- you can, too.
When Satan is knocking at your door, simply say, 'Jesus, could You please get that for me?'

25 years of doing business and you ask me ? (A Blog post to understand help understand me )

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 06:53:05 GMT

25 years of doing business and you ask me ? (A Blog post to understand help understand me )

This story is TRUE

I was called into the office of the company I worked for a number of years ago and the president of the company said " having you as an employee is like heaven and hell .

He told me that his company had been open for 25 years , Yet I was the only Tech that had ever recieved letters of praise from Customers . He then asked me why that was .

I said "Do you really want to know ?"

Yes he replied

I told him his pay structure for his techs was screwed up ...

(To understand this you have to know that at the time I was a copier repairman... and that some of the pay for techs was based on bonuses for toner sells . )

I told him that he has "Joe" thinking about the money that he needs to feed his family 2 dogs and one cat .

He said yes ..he sees no problem with rewarding his employees for a job well done ...

I said " is that how you see it ?"

The way I see it is ..If these machines are working ..They wont use any toner ...more than that If the machines aren't working customers will get pissed off and buy their next copier somewhere else .. When that happens Joe or anyone else won't have a customer to sell toner to.

YOU hired me to fix machines and that is what I do ..and I do it better than anyone else on your staff because I am NOT going to chase my tail .

THAT is why you have gotten those letters .

I dont know if it is that no one else ever thought about that ..I doubt I was the first ..but I did say something when I was asked .

THe pay structure was changed and I got a raise ...

But back to the title of this post ...

Sometimes you have to think outside the box ...

I tend to do that ..

A LOT

Thank you both for reading

Michael

Ps Doubt it ,see the post under this one !

Psalms 55:22 ’Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 06:51:20 GMT

Psalms 55:22 ’Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer

Sometimes the angels fly close enough to you that you can hear the flutter of their wings...

Feel free to pass along to those you want God to bless...

Here is the prayer:

I know I picked more than four -- you can, too.
When Satan is knocking at your door, simply say, 'Jesus, could You please get that for me?'

Anger ,Forgiveness, ,God and YOU

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 06:49:47 GMT

Anger ,Forgiveness, ,God and YOU

I wanted to write about forgiveness because we are told in Ephesians 4:31

"Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger , harsh words and slander as well as all types of malicious behavior."

"The Touch Point" book "Hope" suggests ...Remember that unforgiveness not only ruins your relationships , but it also poisons your soul. The person hurt t he most by unforgiveness is you .

I like many people need reminded of this from time to time.

I have read several messages comment and status lines that clearly have anger in them . I have in fact have created a few ...I know I am shocked as well ...but I know in the end they get me no where .

Along these lines I want to hit on the topic of divorce ...

Divorce is a Tough ordeal for anyone to go through ,

I recently read on of the most meaningful things that I have read written by someone that has been through a divorce and basicly it was as simple as I just wish him/her happiness ...it just wasnt meant to be .

I thought to be able to handle divorce like that ...with that type of grace was nothing less than beautiful .

And then I started thinking about some of the silly little things that I some times get upset about ..and it all seemed so small. ..and I am ashamed to say often not handled with that type of grace .

We can get angry about something, think about it short term and quickly throw up something in our status message that says My Lawyer is going to ect ect ect .. my ex

Who knows what kind of wisdom may have been left for that person had he or she not had that status message up...not that I personaly would be dropping anything useful you understand ;) but SOMEONE may have .

If it helps think about this

Romans 12:19 says : Dear Friends , never avenge yourselves . Leave that to God . For it is written ,I will take vengence , I will repay those who deserve it " says the Lord .

Punishing Those who do evil against you is God's Job not yours and God can be trusted to do his job .There fore you can remove yourself from the endless cycle of revenge and retaliation by forgiving

I think that is all I am suppose to write ...but there may be more later .

I don't know who is suppose to get that ...;) I just know that I was suppose to write it .

Thank you both ..perhaps now a third ? for reading ;)

Michael