Kate didn't say she would obey

They said what millions of others said, but she didn't say it all.

The world watched the wedding of Prince William and Kate in England. The world saw the pageantry and fanfare, the beautiful dress and the impressive celebration that followed. It was a ritual followed in England for hundreds of years. It has been replicated in smaller events around the world for centuries as well.

However, the vows of the couple were modified a bit. The vows that the couple took at first sounded traditional Old English, but there was one significant twist.

Did you catch it?

William promised to love Kate in sickness and in health, for richer and poorer until death. It is the same vow that has been shared by millions for centuries, including the funny sounding phrase "I plight thee my troth" which means I pledge to be faithful to you and you alone.

Kate gave the feminine response in her vows with the exception that she did not promise to obey her husband, only to honor and respect him. Hmmmm!

It was a beautiful ceremony filled with great pageantry. The price tag was in the millions, all paid for by the English government.

Jesus said in John 19:5-6, "..For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."

It was a by the book wedding, except that the couple apparently agreed that Kate could ignore 1 Peter 3:1 "Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands..."

And now the fairy tale begins!

Christ wrote with one finger, did He have an Ipad?

Does anybody write in cursive writing anymore? Has email and texting killed a centuries old communication method?

I was surprised to learn a few years ago that cursive writing is no longer emphasized in many schools. Gone are the days when handwriting was considered a necessary skill. Then teachers took the time to guide a students hand to help them learn to form the letters as they placed their thoughts on paper using pen and ink.

Pen and ink? What's that? Many in this generation have never seen a fountain pen; what's it used for? Many hotels no longer feature writing paper and pens in desk drawers. Who writes when they can text.

Cursive writing is key to the soul. Handwriting experts agree that our handwriting provides keys to who we are, how we feel and what we think. These keys are hidden in the shapes, loops and curves of our letters. Just as a shaky or warbly signature indicates an elderly or sickly person, cursive writing gives clues, too.

The cursive writing gives love letters and diary entries a feel that typing or script cannot do. A typed or printed letter is not as revealing as a cursive written letter. The former is personal, the latter is more formal and businesslike.

Today there is email, texting and tweeting. It's faster and often written without thought and is often oblivious to syntax or spelling. Cursive requires a slower contemplative pace. Today's generation says cursive is too slow.

Today, it's used mostly for signatures, but digital signatures are now legal. Soon signatures will be out, too.

If cursive is not taught, how will this generation read historical documents, or personal notes?

In the past they wrote because they could not type or text. It could be that handwriting as we know it will soon fade away.

God wrote the 10 commandments with his own finger. Jesus wrote in Hebrew. John 8:6 "...Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not."

Today, they would have used an Ipad; they can write on it with one finger. Maybe they would have used a smart phone and used two thumbs.

The death of cursive writing seems such a loss!

The storm is passed, but the sandbags remain

The weatherman said it would rain and to prepare for a storm. When it didn't come Tuesday as predicted, many settled in thinking the storm had passed this area.

We were good scouts so we tried to prepare. We pulled out lanterns and candles in preparation for a flood. The flashlights had batteries and we thought we were ready.

Then it came. The rain poured and the water rose just as the weather forecast foretold.

The wind began to blow and the trees began to sway and bend. We heard hail plummet our roof. We watched the lights flicker so we anticipated an outage. We fully charged our cell phones and IPads, just in case.

We waited and the rain poured.

Around 1 am. there was a flash of lightning and a thunder clap that rumbled across the sky. It wasn't just in Monroe it was stretching across the south. The winds howled and power breakers tripped. The power of the blast popped the caps off of detectors and alarms and sirens began to scream into the watery black night.

The screeching alarm was an erie battery generated howl like that of sick crane yelling into emptiness. No one heard it, if they did, they ignored it. The alarm screamed as we scrambled to follow the smell of singhed wires. We moved from room to room but could not find it. We searched, but that search was interrupted by another crack of lightning and a roll of thunder.

I ran from the front to the back to track down the burning smell then slipped. I couldn't catch myself. My feet went into the air and when I came down there was a splash and a terrible pain in my foot. I rolled over and found
myself completely wet.

The water had begun to gurgle through the floor, slithering like a snake on a meandering path through first one room then another, soaking carpet and leaving a watery trail as it hungrily sought something dry to devour.

I struggled to stand and heard squish of water soaked carpet and watched as more water lapped at our front door.

To slow the flow I put on a rain poncho and some heavy boots and waded through calf deep water to a stack of sandbags that we stored away in case of emergencies. We had them decoratively arranged around the trunks of trees in the yard so that we could get to them quickly in case of high water.

The sandbags were cute under the trees, but they weighed about fifty pounds each. I started moving them, two at a time, in the driving rain. Joslyn was outside, too; moving sandbags and stacking them along the front of the house as the water continued to rise, lapping at the front door, seeping into a bedroom soaking the floors of the pantry.

As determined as the water was to enter, we were equally determined to keep it out. Using a soil barrel I was able to move as many as five bags at a time. Pulling 250 pounds of sandbags through the water was a slow task. I dragged them to the front, Joslyn placed them. She was real trooper.

We covered the entire front of the house with our "decorative" sandbags; they slowed the water.

My sons and daughter-in-law showed up to help, but we had just about used up all of the bags. They assumed the city had bags out and they drove Kita's truck through tire high water to the sanitation department only to learn that there was no sandbags or crews to help.

DeSiard street was like a river. The beautiful new homes built in the DeSiard Street area were water soaked. A car with a woman and child stalled, a wrecker came to her rescue.

Joslyn began calling the elderly in our neighborhood. We could see the water rising at their homes, too. They had no sandbags. The phones were down, but she kept trying. We were prepared to help, but it didn't happen.

We sat in our living room and looked out of the window. As quick as the rains came, they were gone. Not a single drop.
The waters that were crawling over the top of our sandbags began to recede quickly. We could see the ground.

We'll be ripping up some carpet, mopping up some water and throwing out some things that were water soaked, but all in all it wasn't that bad.

As I looked at my water soaked carpet, wet clothes, and the water sitting in my flooor, I thought of a bible passage that says in
Psalms 107:29-31, " He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!"

At 4 a.m. the weather forecast flashed on my IPad: 64 degrees and clear skies.

When the sun rises, the clean up will begin and maybe that alarm will finally stop yelping.

You can TIVO your movies but not your life

If you could Tivo your life, what parts are worth seeing again?

There is a wonderful gadget on my television, it's called a TIVO. It records movies, news and other broadcast to insure that I don't miss them. I can anticipate upcoming broadcasts and often get replays of old broadcasts, all with a touch of the remote.

What if life offered a TIVO experience. It would be interesting to see the replay of all the episodes that happened in my life that I missed while I was doing what I thought was important.

I probably missed a lot.

Fast Forward. There's a life coming up, I don't want to miss any of it. Too bad I can't TIVO it and cut out all of the commercials and obligations: reading, studying, praying, serving, earning a living and all of that mandatory stuff. It would be really neat if I could just get down to the part where I will be blessed. If I fall, I can skip to the part where I get up on the TIVO edition of my life.

That would be cool! Skip what don't like and zero in on the good parts! Is there anybody out there that sells one of these life TIVO's?

Unfortunately TIVO's only work on television sets, not human lives. We have to live one day at a time, commercials and all. We can't skip the tears and go straight to the smiles; neither can we skip the pain and jump to the joy. We must live each day..one day at a time.

There is a bible scripture in Psalm 118:24 that says, "This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."

Today is the next installment of your lifetime episode...No Tivo!

Your Movie's on!

Jailed for Easter Sunday worship?

What if they said you couldn't worship on Easter Sunday? Would you go to jail to do it?

While there are 1.2 billion Christians in the world who are celebrating the resurrection of Christ on Easter, there are millions who do so at the risk of their lives.

In Beijing China the Shouwang Church is growing, but those who worship do so at the risk of their lives. Religious freedom is nonexistent there. They bought a church and the government shut it down.They rented sites, the government shut that down, too. They tried to meet outside and the government arrested them all. The Chinese government won't allow it and has cracked down during this Holy Easter week.

Of course our government won't say anything because the Chinese own our debt and most of our major factories use the country's cheap labor to build everything from automobiles to cell phones.

Those who want to worship Christ must do so under threat of jail or possibly death, not just in China but all over the Middle East. Christians are being jailed and murdered in Pakistan, Ethiopia, Afghanistan and many other places in the world.

Yet, they continue to meet and worship, not with the hope of prosperity like many in America. They worship Christ for who He is, the risen savior. They pledge themselves to serve Him, even if it means death.

A bible passage says in Matthew 5:11 "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake."

The irony is that many in the free world, who do not face the threat of death or persecution, won't celebrate Easter in worship today, but will wash their cars instead.

Our cell phones are watching us and God is too!

Your cellphone is watching you, recording your every step, in minute detail! With the right app, it can draw a step by step map of everywhere you have been for the last year.

That's the revelation that has shocked the world this week as many learned that IPhones, Ipads and Android phones store GPS location data about user movements, even when the phone is off;for as far back as a year.

That revelation instantly sparked concerns from cheating spouses, criminals studying targets, and anyone else involved in mischievous activities. Others have found it rather amusing to retrace their steps on a map over the last year. Nearly everyone is upset that they were not told that they were being watched.

Good or bad, it all means Orson Wells' projection of a "Big Brother" state where the government knows your every movement is getting closer..or has arrived.

Of course, God has been tracking our movements since creation. His goes beyond just our movements: He tracks the words we say and the thoughts that we think and He takes note of them.

It's not a secret, the fact that He watches and knows is written clearly in his life manual that he developed for all of us to read.

There is a bible passage in Psalm 139:1-5 that says, "O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me."

God knows our every step and thought, whether we own a cell phone or not.

The good thing is that He sees us when we stumble and helps us up again. He sees us cry and wipes our eyes.

He sees us sin, too and is disturbed by our actions.

He sees us as we are every second and minute of the day.. and loves us anyway!

Have you ever had "Whupping?" Did mom go to jail?

Have you ever received a whupping with an extension cord?

We don't say, "Whipping" because that conjures slavery flashbacks, but whupping reflects on punishments received with the purpose of helping us as we matured.

Our memories of whuppings differ.

Many who have lived a few years can remember whuppings with extension chords, switches, fan belts and razor straps. It was just an understood rule that the consequence of breaking a family rule could mean stiff punishment using one the above or a long of others that could also be added to the list.

It's cultural thing, I guess, because very few on our side of the track called whuppings child abuse, even if was with an extension cord.

Last week a Monroe woman, Stephanie Banks, was arrested for cruelty to a juvenile after she gave her teen aged daughter a whupping with an extension cord. It appears that the daughter ignored her mother's rule about staying out late. When the daughter came home around near midnight to their 103 Georgia Street home, she met the extension cord.

In response, the daughter called the police, and the mother was arrested after police saw marks on the daughter's arm and chest. There is no doubt that sparks will fly on Georgia Street once mama gets out of jail, especially after mom had to post a $3000 bail, will lose work time going to court, and may pay fines of several hundreds of dollars.

Suddenly, mama becomes the victim and the disobedient daughter gets to watch the woman who birthed her carried off to jail. There is no punishment available for the disobedient teen.

Many in our culture have our definitions of cruelty; extension cord whuppings of tough, defiant, children rarely make the list. What is cruelty? Burning a child with a cigarette, nearly smothering a child with a plastic bag, holding a child's head in a toilet and forcing them to drink are examples of some real cases that went overboard. These methods are called cruelty even on our side of the track.

Laws have changed, but our culture has been slow to adopt the changes. We still follow what we learned in church when we heard the preacher read, Proverbs 13:24 that says, "He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes."

In our culture it is still believed that parents who love their children must chastise them. If talking to them and taking away privileges don't work, then they use methods that are proven to work.

Many are having difficulties understanding why parents are punished for cruelty for punishing unruly children, but are also punished for neglect if they don't discipline them.

Many have chosen to err or the side of correcting wayward children, even if that means going to jail. Many have heard mama say, "I brought you into this world, I will take you out." -It was a threat made in love, that didn't mean mama would kill her children, but that she would do anything necessary to keep them safe and alive, even if she had to use tough methods that might land her in jail.

One part of our cultural practice has changed however; modern switch and extension cord mamas are learning new techniques to side step the law. It gets tough to prove what mama did if there are no marks. So, the modern extension cord mama has learned to --make sure the marks don't show.

Is today, it's OK to sin day?

Is there a day of the year that a person can live wild, loose and crazy and God will look the other way? Some believe today is that day, it's called Fat Tuesday or in French Mardi Gras.

As the Catholic church spread around the world it encountered many wild customs that were traditional. Some included drunkenness, sexual orgies, nakedness, provocative dancing, costumes, masks, and revelrie, all performed in the open.

No matter how much the church spoke against it, the people did it anyway, so the church decided to try to put limits on all the wickedness it encountered. To remain blessed, believers were allowed to party wildly as long as they waited until after the Christmas Holidays and stopped before Ash Wednesday which begins the 40 days of lent leading up to Easter.

So, people who live in areas with a heavy Catholic influence celebrate Mardi Gras-They party hard from January up to Ash Wednesday (which changes each year). They cry out Laissez les bons temps rouler" which is French for Let the good times roll. Very few church leaders speak against it because "he who speaks against a party OK'd by God must be of the devil."

Today, is the last day before the party stops. It's called Fat Tuesday -There will be more parties, drinking, public lewdness and sexual activity, homosexual and lesbian displays, and public nakedness than the eye can see. Police officers will look the other way, unless someone is physically threatened.

Church leaders won't speak against it, in fact if you look in the crowd many church leaders, pastors, deacons and otherwise holy folks will be laughing, dancing and indirectly endorsing the activities with their presence.

Tomorrow it all stops. Catholic churches will be filled with believers who will attend special worships to get ashes placed on their foreheads. For the next 40 days they will give up something they like, such as coffee, colas, or sweets to do penance for all of the sins they knowingly committed during Mardi Gras.

After that, they will return to their regular lives, frowning on public drunkenness, homosexuality, wild parties, lewdness and ungodly activities. Until next year, anyone who does most of things that are allowed today will be arrested for disgraceful displays of unlawful activity.

Those who are not Catholic or not Christians at all, watch at a distance and probably think God is a conflicting deity. He condemns wild living most of the time, but then gives everyone a free one-day pass, if they give up something for 40 days.

Somehow, I find it difficult to picture Jesus, the apostles, or the millions of martyrs who died for the kingdom of God participating in, endorsing or supporting what appears to be a mockery of the faith.

Over the shouts of the Mardi Gras crowds I hear Galatians 6:7-8 which says, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

A free chicken sandwich did the trick

A free chicken sandwich did the trick.

This week a new branch of Chick-fil-A opened in our city. To promote the opening the branch went to many businesses and with bags of chicken sandwiches, fruit, sauces, potato nuggets and other assortments. Our staff waited for the catch; nothing is free without a catch, we said. To our surprise the company wanted to welcome us to their new branch and provided piping hot samples for everyone.

The samples were great. They were tasty and filling. They also achieved their purpose because the next day I was in line at the restaurant to get more. So were hundreds of others; the line wrapped around the corner.

What a way to promote a new business...give away samples to hundreds, order to reach thousands.

Doesn't God do that, too? It seems that every now and then God gives us a little sample of the heavenly life while we are here on earth. Those are the times that the weather is perfect, your health is fine, you are surrounded by friends with great food and entertainment. Those are the times when you pinch yourself and say, "It's almost like heaven."

Days like that are God's appetizers. When we get finger food blessings, its a precursor to larger blessings that will come. The appetizers make us want more; and there are millions just like us who want the same thing.

There is a bible passage in Psalm 34:8 that says, "O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him."

I tasted the chicken sandwich and it drew me to the Chick-Fil-A front door. I've had a taste of God's blessing, too; it draws me closer to the front door of heaven!

Vick is using his second chance, I'm on my 99th chance

Second chances. Every one deserves a chance to redeem themselves; some use it well, others may need a third chance.

Personally, I think I'm on chance number 99.

Everyone deserves as least one second chance.


A great example of that is the second chance given to football legend Michael Vick. This week President Obama has voiced his approval of the second chance Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Vick is getting this season, just a year removed from serving 18 months in federal prison on charges related to a dog fighting ring.


President Peter Mr. Obama recently called Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and praised the team for giving Vick a chance. Mr. Obama said, so many people who serve time never get a fair second chance, "it's never a level playing field for prisoners when they get out of jail."

The President said he was happy that we did something on such a national stage that showed our faith in giving someone a second chance after such a major downfall


Everyone needs a second chance, even a third and fourth chance.


We mess up and do stupid things frequently. We make so many errors in life that second chances are never enough.


Jesus said we should have an attitude of forgiveness that goes beyond the ordinary. In Luke 17:4 he said, "And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him."


That's a lot of forgiveness! It's something that I certainly desire on the receiving end, but always fall short of on the giving end.

It was such an astounding idea that his disciples in the next verse said.


"Lord, increase our faith."


Ditto.

First there was Anglish, then Ebonics, now Chinglish!

You've heard of Ebonics and Anglish, two words that represent the way we have butchered the English language to make it fit our modern format. Well get ready for a new one Chinglish, but not so fast the Chinese government says that it won't allow the Chinese language to be Westernized.

As of this year (2010) Chinese newspapers, books and websites will no longer be allowed to use English words and phrases, the country's publishing body has announced, saying the "purity" of the Chinese language is in peril.

The General Administration of Press and Publication says the increasing use of English words and abbreviations in Chinese texts has caused confusion and was a means of "abusing the language".

"It is banned to mix at will foreign language phrases such as English words or abbreviations with Chinese publications, creating words of vague meaning that are not exactly Chinese or of any foreign language," it said.

English abbreviations such as NBA (National Basketball Association), GDP (gross domestic product), CPI (consumer price index) and WTO (World Trade Organization) are commonly used in Chinese publications.

The body left a small loophole, stipulating in the regulation that "if necessary", English terms could be used but must be followed by a direct translation of the abbreviation or an explanation in Chinese.

The word of God is suffering the same fate. There are so many translations, interpretations and paraphrases that it is difficult to decide what a text really means on casual reading.

The word of God has been butchered, twisted and truncated, to make it more acceptable and readable to a world unwilling to study for itself.

2 Timothy 2:15 say, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

The Chinese are protecting the Chinese language from disaapearing into oblivion.

If we are not careful, the Word of God can suffer the same fate, becoming less effective to millions as its real meaning is lost in translations, interpretations and rewordings. It can become Biblish. When that happens noone will be able to agree on what it says, or worse, even care.

He blamed God for dropping the ball

When is God good?

Steve Johnson, a wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills has had a remarkable career this year. Not many people know him nationally. He was a seventh round pick, a nobody. Then, suddenly this season he makes 59 catches and scores 796 yards. He's doing great.

To what has he attributed his sudden success?

Apparently he thought he had a good luck charm. Somebody told him "as the praises go up the blessings come down." So, he started praising God continuously. It seemed to work for him and his season miraculously turned around. Then in week 12, Johnson dropped five passes in the Bills' loss to the Steelers, including a pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick that would've won the game for Buffalo in overtime.

Johnson was devastated. He blamed God! His good luck charm failed. He pulled out his phone and agrily typed in the following tweet to God:

"I PRAISE YOU 24/7!!!!!! AND THIS HOW YOU DO ME!!!!! YOU EXPECT ME TO LEARN FROM THIS??? HOW???!!! ILL NEVER FORGET THIS!! EVER!!! THX THO..."

While Johnson's tweet raises eyebrows, there are millions like him, who really believe that simply praising God will mean health, wealth and success. They learn a few bible verses, attend worships looking for a magic "word"- that will immediately insulate them from trouble and guarantee success. When their lucky method doesn't work, they get angry with God!

In reality, we should give thanks to God for every situation because if God allows it to happen, it is what He wants for us, even if we don't understand. So we give thanks, anyway!

1 Thessalonians 5:18 puts it this way, In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Steve Johnson forgot about the 59 catches and 796 yards prior to week 12. He forgot all of the blessings that God has given him. Obviously, God is working a great work for him, even a blind man could see that! Everyone except Steve Johnson.

What he forgot in his rage is that God is still good, even when he throws a perfect pass into our hands and we drop them ball.

Does rising unwed births mean Blacks are less moral?

Of all of America's ethnic groups Blacks have the largest percentage of unwed mothers, does that mean that Blacks are less moral than others? It probably means Blacks are not inclined to have abortions.


It's startling truth that Blacks and Hispanics have more children out of wedlock than other races. It's a problem because as Eurweb.com reports cjildren of unmarried mothers of any race are more likely to perform poorly in school, go to prison, use drugs, be poor as adults, and have their own children out of wedlock.


The black community's 72 percent rate eclipses that of most other groups: 17 percent of Asians, 29 percent of whites, 53 percent of Hispanics and 66 percent of Native Americans were born to unwed mothers in 2008, the most recent year for which government figures are available. The rate for the overall U.S. population was 41 percent.


There is growing rate of unwed motherhood in the Black community as well as an increasingly relaxed view of morality in the entire nation. In 1965 24 percent of Blacks were unwed mothers compared with four percent of whites.


Does that Blacks and Hispanics are less moral than whites? No, it probably means that both of the ethnic groups are less inclined to have abortions either by choice or circumstance.
Whites are probably just as indicted by the social demoralization, but the availability of abortions reduces their states.


Either way, there is a problem.

The sun and the moon are shining today!

The sun and the moon are both and shining at the same time today!

I have only seen it once or twice in my lifetime, but today is one of those strange days when the both the sun and moon can be seen at the same time. That's odd because usually the when sun rises the moon disappears. However, today there is a strange thing happening in the sky (at least in my hometown). They are both shining at the same time.

Scientist tell us that the sun never stops shining. The moon does not really shine at all, it reflects the light from the sun. However, on occasion, when the the earth, the moon and the sun are all lined up just right...the unexpected happens in the heavens.

Think about yourself now. God is our glory and power. We only reflect a bit of his glory every day, but when we line ourselves up with the SON, the unexpected can happen in our horizon!

Many of you probably missed this strange phenomenon because you were so focused on the problems and issues of your life, that you didn't look up today.

You can miss your blessing, if you don't look up.

Psalm 121: "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help, my help cometh from the Lord who made the heaven and the earth...the sun shall not smite thee by day or the moon by night. He that keepth Israel neither slumbers or sleeps!"

Your blessing is in the sky today! Look up!

One man demands, the other commands; who is the greater?

One man yelled and no one heard him, another said little and all hung on his every word.

At a recent governmental meeting one official spent a tremendous amount of time railing against an initiative. He pounded his fist, raised his voice and performed a number of antics that were memorable. Sitting opposite of him was another official who sat quietly but never said a single world or showed a single emotion or inclination; he just listened. For thirty minutes the discussion continued with the loud official dominating the issue. The quiet man finally cleared his throat and prepared to speak. The entire room became silent.

He spoke softly and with reason, demonstrating an understanding of both sides of the issue. He then gave his own view in a short brief statement. The majority of the members agreed with his assessment and adopted his position, much to the amazement of the more vocal member.

I have been both of these men. I have been the table ponder, nerve rattler and agenda buster. I've also been the poker faced observer who kept his opinion to himself and rarely showed his hand. When I pounded the table I drew attention, when I weighed the situation carefully before speaking I had greater success and commanded the room.

Wisdom, knowledge and positive experience commands the room. A man who demonstrates wisdom, knowledge and positive experience in his family life commands the respect of his wife and family. The man who is lacking in this respect, demands. There is a difference.

There is a passage in Proverbs 17:27 that says "He that hath knowledge spareth his words:[ and] a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit."

It took a little time for me to understand that there is greater strength in commanding the situation than demanding.

Her phone rang, she reached into her bosom and pulled it out

She reached In her bosom and pulled out the phone

In a recent meeting of the Monroe City Council a woman rose to address the council. She complained that she was being patronized by city officials who seemed to doubt her intelligence. Suddenly her cell phone rang loudly and a little blue light flashed in her chest. She interrupted her speech and said, "Oh my God, mama gon' kill me." She then reached into her bosom, pulled out her phone and started talking to her mother, finished a brief conversation and returned the phone to her bosom.

Obviously, the council members were amused but tried to drop their heads to hide their expressions. The council chamber was filled with chuckles, the cameras were rolling and reporters jotted it all down.

When mama calls, everyone jumps.

Do we do the same when God speaks to us? Would we interrupt our busy schedules to answer His call, no matter how embarrassing it may be? It's something to think about.

A bible passage asks the same question in Job 9:14, "How much less shall I answer him,[ and] choose out my words[ to reason] with him?"

I think it's best to answer when God calls. Like the lady at the council meeting, we all have telephones in our bosoms. He may call at any time.

Paris Hilton received the mercy others deserve

Paris received mercy that most just dream about.

Paris Hilton was back in court again, recently. This time she was sentenced to two consecutive six month sentences in jail on misdemeanor drug possession charges and one obstruction of justice charge in Las Vegas. Then, because of a plea deal, she was placed on probation for one year and allowed to pay a $2, 000 fine. For good measure she was also sentenced to 200 hours of community service.

Hilton, heiress to the Hilton Hotel fortune, has been in court before for alcohol related driving offenses and drugs. She was sentenced to 45 days in jail once but did only 23 of those days. In Las Vegas she pleaded guilty to the misdemeanors to avoid felony possession charges.

Standing before the Las Vegas Justice of the peace, she admitted her guilt and received her sentence. Because of the probation she walked out of the court to a flurry of photo flashes, and photographers.

Whether deserved or not, Hilton received Justice tempered with mercy. Everyone else in the courtroom that day didn't get the same treatment.

One day we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. The righteous will stand to be rewarded. Fortunately, those who believe in Christ will receive what Miss Hilton received; justice tempered with mercy. We will be found guilty but forgiven because of the blood of Jesus. We will walk into heaven by His grace and mercy although we deserve harsh punishment.

There is a bible passage that refers to our day in God's court; it's in 2 Corinthians 5:10: For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things[ done] in[ his] body, according to that he hath done, whether[ it be] good or bad.

For some, their day in court won't be a happy day and they won't be sentenced to the Hilton.

The ungodly will be given eternal punishment and condemned to hell. No probation. No flashing cameras. No community service. No mercy, and no plea bargain. Their punishment is forever.

Hoes Everywhere, even in the bible!

I told them to bring their hoes and you wouldn't believe their answer. 

A while back the local anti-poverty program allowed me to use an acre of land to show young men how to till the earth, plant a garden and grow produce. That was something new for a group of city boys accustomed to getting their food in micro-wave packets or from order boards at McDonald's and Burger King. 

On the morning we were to break the ground, my secretary made an early Saturday morning wake up call. The message she gave was, "We are going to till our garden today. Be ready to go at 8 a.m. and bring your hoes with you." To her surprise, after calling about 40 different households, each time she talked to a young man she received responses such as: "She can't come." "She sleep." "She say she can't come with me, but she'll bring me." "I'll tell her, but she ain't coming with me." 

 Not a single boy associated a hoe with a garden tool. Each one associated the word "hoe" with a female. Then it dawned on all of the adults involved that this generation of boys is not agricultural and therefore not familiar with agricultural tools. 

The word "hoe" in their subculture is only associated with women. It doesn't always mean a bad or ungodly woman, but it most definitely refers to a woman in their mind. That's what they hear in their music and see in the music videos. They hear men call women hoes. They even hear some women call themselves hoes. 

 The urban dictionary even has a formal definition for hoe: "1. A skank 2. A woman that is too loose in the booty." Obviously words mean different things in different situations and to different generations. Even the bible uses the word "ho!" 

It's usually a warning about messing with the people of God. Zechariah 2:7-8 says, "Ho, Zion! Escape, you who are living with the daughter of Babylon. For thus says the LORD of hosts, "After glory He has sent me against the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you, touches the apple of His eye." 

 There is another ho in the 6th verse. The gardener has a hoe. The hip hop generation has a hoe, and even God has at least of couple of hoes in the book of Zechariah! 

 My, my, my!

She's having his baby, but he won't be her husband

She's having a baby for him but he won't marry her.

There is a very nice young lady who is living with a man without benefit of marriage. After a few years of shacking, she's now having a baby for him. She wants to marry but he thinks marriage is not necessary for him to be a good father, provider and significant other in her life. She's frustrated that he won't make their arrangement official. She feels that he does not want to make a commitment and is leaving the door open for his exit if times get bad.

Neither of them claim any great faith in God, especially one that would require obedience to His word or public worship. Her faith is greater than his but is not openly practiced because he is so critical of spiritual things, the church and Christians.

She's hopeless unevenly yoked, and now a child is about to be reared in this spiritually challenging situation. She wants a husband but all he wants to be is a Significant Other.

What's the difference between being a Significant Other (SO) and a husband?

• Husbands promise they will protect the woman in their lives, the SO makes no promise at all.
  
• Husbands promise to stand with their wives through sickness and hard times, the SO makes no such claim. If she gets sick or even gains weight he may split.
  
• Husbands promise to love their wives and have no other women on the side, the SO won't even fix his mouth to say that.
  
• Husbands promise to provide for their wives safety, livelihood, and nurture, the SO may do some of that but thinks she can take care of herself.
  
• Husbands promise to love their wives like Christ loved the church, the SO is not willing to go that far; he wants to make whoopee and call it love, but that's about it.

Knowing that the man she loves only sees her as a convenient sperm receptacle, this very intelligent young lady, overwhelmed by passion, chose to have a child for her SO.

The bible makes no provision for the SO. It makes no provision for believers to live as though they are married (shacking) without committing to each other before God.

In fact, the Word teaches that if a couple feels they must "get it on" then they should marry or risk hell's fire. 1 Corinthians 7:9 says, "But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn."

The overriding reason that a man should marry the woman he claims to love is that he honors their relationship before God, cleanses the relationship and does himself a favor at the same time.

Look at what the word says:

Ephesians 5:25-28 Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ's love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They're really doing themselves a favor—since they're already "one" in marriage.

Wouldn't it be great if a woman had a husband rather than just a Significant Other Brother?

Spontaneous creation? Did the world just create itself?

A British physicist and mathematician Stephen Hawking says the world created itself and needed no one or anything to start the process.

Professor Hawking challenges Isaac Newton's theory that God must have been involved in creation because our solar system couldn't have come out of chaos simply through nature. But Hawking, who is renowned for his work on black holes, said physics can explain things without the need for a "benevolent creator who made the Universe for our benefit."

"Because there is a law such as gravity, the Universe can and will create itself from nothing," the professor says. "Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the Universe exists, why we exist. It is not necessary to invoke God to ... set the Universe going."

Those who don't have as much education as Professor Hawking, in our ignorance a question that defies the professor to answer. If Gravity helped the universe to create itself...who created gravity?

Sometimes we can have so much education we can be just down right stupid.

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Genesis 1:1

I read that verse and learned it in elementary school. Dr. Hawking still has a lot to learn.