What a Week!

What a week!  Not in a good way either.  First of all, you have to know that at the beginning of January, it got really cold here, and by that I mean it dropped below freezing over night, which does not happen very often here, and it did that for 5 nights in a row.  Lots of people, as it turned out, had problems with pipes bursting and flooding homes and businesses.  Thankfully, Cathy and I did not have that problem, however, April did (see picture)







That's what happens when a 1/4" copper line feeding the ice maker freezes and bursts.  You can't see the ceiling from this angle, but practically the whole ceiling in the living room collapsed on her furniture and other items that were in that room.  Plus, as it turns out, the house was built in 1971 which means asbestos was used in the drywall.  So, since the 7th of January (or thereabouts), our grandkids have been staying with us. April has been able to stay with friends as we don't have the room. 

That's the beginning of woes.  :-)

Tuesday I got sick.  Not throw up my guts sick, just stuffed head, headache and other things associated with that, so I left work early and went home.  That morning Sean (our 6 year old grand son) said his stomach hurt, but he went to school anyway.  I spent Tuesday afternoon resting and feeling worse.  So I figured I'd be staying home on Wednesday.  Sean got up Wednesday morning, again complaining that his stomach hurt and before he could go to school had thrown up 3 times.  He stayed home and by 10:30 that morning he was feeling and acting just fine.  Me, on the other hand was feeling worse.  I couldn't just go lie down, I mean I've got a 6 year old running around like a maniac, which is what 6 year olds are capable of doing.  After dinner I took an Aleve and went to bed.  I woke up Thursday morning feeling okay enough to go to work.  So I did.  About an hour after I got to work, I got a call that Sean has pink eye and has to go home.  So I took him home, then took him to the doctor to get checked out.  The doctor pronounced him infected with pink eye and sent a prescription to Walgreens.  We left the office, and drove to the Walgreens to pick up the eye drops and was told that that particular Walgreens did not have the drops and that Sean's insurance information was not on file, PLUS this was the expensive medicine ($100 for a tiny bottle).  So I called April who called Walgreens and gave them his information.  They called a different one and they did (7th St and Thunderbird, not too far from the house).  So we ate some lunch and went to pick up the drops then was informed that I needed Sean's insurance card so they could bill the insurance company.  Basically the same thing I was told about an hour or so earlier. 

Well it did get straightened out and Sean got his medicine and took it like a little kid would.  Well he's home again today but I don't have to watch him.  His mother is there and she's sick.

So, it's been an interesting month and week.  I hope I didn't bore you too much.

A little something that has stuck with me for years

When I was in my 20s I learned a song that every now and then comes to my mind and I can't help but sing it to myself, of course, I couldn't subject anybody else to my voice that sounds like nails on a chalkboard.  Come to think of it, how many had blackboards (sometimes they were green) in their classrooms in school?  Are they whiteboards now with the dry erase markers?  Any way here's the lyrics, you'll have to search to find audio for it:

Be patient, be patient, don't be in such a hurry
When you get impatient, you only start to worry
Remember, remember, that God is patient too
And think of all the times when others had to wait for you

There are many times I sing that to myself.  While driving down the busy streets of Phoenix, or dealing with family (yes sometimes the most patience you need is when you're dealing with family).  It's a cute little ditty that holds a lot of meaning if you just remember that when you start worrying about things or the car in front of you is going too slow and you can't get around him because the traffic behind you is going around both your car and the pokey one.  I sing that and I smile, remembering the song and realizing it's not so important that I need worry about it or it's something that I've put in God's hands (taken back and worried over then given back to Him innumerable times).

I challenge you that when you start worrying about things you remember that little song and see if it doesn't calm you down just a little bit.

Changing your emotions and pain.

First things first.  I know there are people who read my blog, and I hope you enjoy it.  If you want, you may always comment on it.  I get to moderate your comments in that I get to approve the comment for posting or not, but usually I approve it.  So if you feel the urge to make a comment, please do.

Now...A couple things today.

Number 27 on my list of 100 quotes from "The Secret" (Law of Attraction) states:

"You can change your emotion immediately by thinking something joyful or singing a song or remembering a happy experience"

I find this to be true.  There have been several times, after reading this months ago, that I feel depressed or distressed about something (usually our finances) and I sing to myself "Amazing Grace" or even "How Great Thou Art".  I find within a few minutes I feel much better and more positive.  Now these songs may not be right for you, but you have a song or 2 that makes you feel better.  The hard part is remembering to sing it to yourself when you need to.  Frankly, I don't know how to help you to remember.  I don't know how to help anybody else remember either and I didn't mean to single out Frankly.

So give that a try when you're feeling blue or stressed.

Now on to pain.  Several years ago I had some really intense pain in my back.  So much so that I had to stay home and in bed for a week.  It got better, but it was the worst pain I've ever had in my life that I can remember.  Now I have pain in my back daily, though not nearly as bad as it was back then. When I was down on my back years ago it was a 10, these days, while there's pain there it's merely 2 or 3 on that scale.  I don't complain about pain that's only a 2 or 3, I can deal with that even without ibuprofen or some other mild pain reliever.  I had an MRI done in December and my doctor went over the results with me and commented that the MRI indicates that my back is worse than what I complain about.  Well, like I said I don't complain about a 2 or 3 pain level when I remember how bad it was several years ago. Typically I deal with the pain by ignoring it or taking a break and trying to relieve it by either lying down or standing or sitting, whatever I need to do to relieve it.  Sometimes I take a Soma to relax my back muscles before going to bed. 

How do you deal with your physical pain?  What's the worst pain you've experienced (women who have children, I expect to hear it was childbirth).

Happy New Year

Well, a new year is upon us.  2013, like all new years, holds the promise of new beginnings in finances, love and emotions.  It's easy to speculate what the year is going to be like.  Frequently, at least from my perspective, the years all seem to be about the same.  They start out with the promise of good things to come, but has wound up being as bad as the previous year.  I think I'm ready for a better year and what an opportunity for that in a year that ends in 13.  I do NOT suffer from Triskaidekaphobia, which is a fear of the number 13 so I don't fear this year, though my heart goes out to those of you who do.  It will be okay.  The hard part is maintaining a positive mental outlook on the things that have previously been shown to be getting slowly worse. 

So, I resolve to read the 100 quotes from "The Secret" (Law of Attraction) every day.  This list is a list of positive things that I can repeat to myself every day to condition myself to think positively and to look positively at my life, my finances, my love life and my emotions. 

One of these things I've highlighted says "Your thoughts cause your feelings".  I find that to be true.  If I dwell on the bad things going on such as the late paycheck (he's about 3 weeks or more behind in paying us) which affects the payment of our bills, I start to get depressed.  So the idea is to think positive thoughts in the belief that doing so will make me feel better. 

I'll share more of these things with you as we go through the year.  Hopefully, it will help you as well as me to dwell on these things.

I hope you all had a great holiday season and this next year brings a lot of great things your way.

Peace.

What's the REAL solution?

Just a disclaimer at the beginning here before I get into it.
 
If this were a court, all the evidence I present here would be considered hearsay and therefore could not be used in a court of law.  I don't profess to have a solution.  I don't even profess to have all the facts.  What I bring out are the things I've heard either on the news or on the internet (which it must be true if it's on the internet doesn't it?)

In the wake of the shooting at Newtown, CT the debate on gun control has opened again.  There are good arguments on both sides of that coin, but the problem is even if you were to outlaw the ownership of firearms, there are going to be people who still get them illegally.  Face it there are people with guns now who got them illegally and that won't change if you ban gun ownership to the law abiding citizenry of the country.  The gunman who killed 9 in Tucson, AZ a couple years ago is/was mentally unbalanced and it had not gone unnoticed but nothing was done.  The shooter in Newtown was also unbalanced mentally.  If I remember the reports, the shooter in Aurora and the Columbine shooters were all unbalanced as well.  Yet these guys got hold of guns.  Now I know, from the reports, that the shooter in Newtown probably got his guns from his mother's stash.  It had also been reported that even though she was aware that her son had mental problems, she used going to the shooting range with him as a time of bonding.

So, what's the real solution?

It's been said, if we can put armed guards at our banks, where our money is, which is more important our money or our children?  Interesting argument there for putting armed guards at the schools.  I'm not a teacher, though I do know a couple people who are (Dee and Jennifer) so I can't speak for them but it seems to me that it might be a good idea to put armed guards on a school campus.  What do you all think of that idea?

The State Attorney General of the state of Arizona suggests training one person on the safe use of a gun in marksmanship and WHEN to use it in a school.  I personally don't know how well that would work.  I suppose it could save some lives, but what happens if bad luck the person who's trained is the first casualty?

What about allowing the teachers and/or administration to carry concealed (after appropriate training)?

I don't know about other states, but in Arizona it's illegal to have a firearm within 1000 feet of a school zone.  And it's posted all over the place "This is a tobacco free zone" and "This is a gun free zone".  That just makes the schools to be easy prey.

I think the ultimate solution is to make sure that nobody who is mentally unbalanced or whatever other disqualifying thingy (sometimes words escape me regardless of how big my trap is).  We obviously cannot destroy all the guns in the world.  Besides even if we could, what about the other things that would then be used to kill people, like bows and arrows, crossbows, bats, clubs, hammers, screwdrivers, knives and I could go on and on.  It's not the guns that's the problem, it's the ability to keep them out of the hands of those who are most likely to use them to kill innocents.  Those people, not the law abiding citizens, should be kept from getting guns.

I don't know.  Does that make sense?  Does it stimulate your mind?

My End of the World Schedule

So, the end of the world is tomorrow (December 21 is tomorrow, today being the 20th).  If you're reading this and it's already the 22nd then I would have to assume the world didn't end on the 21st and the Mayans would be called dirty stinking liars.  Okay maybe not the Mayans, but certainly the ones who translated the Mayan hieroglyphics didn't understand correctly.

Regardless, here's my schedule for the end of the world

5:15 am hit the snooze button on my alarm
5:20 am realize I hit the snooze button and that means the world hadn't ended yet.
5:30 am get up and brush my teeth and whatever else I need to do while my wife is taking her bath
5:45 am realize the world didn't end while I was brushing my teeth mutter under my breath
5:47 am make coffee
5:50 am look outside to see if the rogue planet is going to hit us, see nothing but stars.
5:55 am wash my wife's travel cup so she can drink and drive (she drinks COFFEE with cream and splenda)
6:15 am realize the world has not ended yet and mutter at the dog
6:20 am kiss my wife good bye before she drives off to work possibly for the last time (make it a good kiss)
6:22 am look up to see if the rogue planet had shown up yet, see something, nope just a bird.
6:30 am take my shower
6:40 am realize the world didn't end mutter at the cats
7:30 am drive to work - mutter at the other drivers
7:45 am stop at the store and buy sun screen (spf 1000 should be sufficient)
8:00 am to 12:30 (noon 30) work and realize the world didn't end (mutter at my computers)
12:30 to 1:30 pm eat lunch
1:30 pm realize the world had not ended and figure it's not going to happen.
1:30 pm - 5:00 pm work work work work work
5:01 pm world ends

It would just figure that the world would hold together until you're finished at work.

Conspiracy or something more nefarious?

There are a few people out there who do not believe everything the government says.  Wait a minute.  I mean there are a few people out there who believe the government is up to no good.  These folks believe that the government is hiding what it knows about UFOs and extraterrestrials (I did spell that right woo HOO) and the moon landing and the Kennedy assassination and the real reason the American League adopted the Designated Hitter Rule (it was really a clerical error).

Any way, the Mayan Calendar (you knew I was going to bring that up so close to the 21st didn't you, ends on December 21, 2012.  On this day, the Earth and our solar system will be passing through the Galactic Equator.  This happens every 26,000 years or so, if I remember correctly.  And there have been hints and speculation about what's going to happen.  Never mind that Nostradamus (sp?) supposedly says something about 2012 (does he really, I never could understand what he wrote) and the Hopi believe the that something is going to happen and the web bot indicates that something is going to happen.  Have you ever considered asking the government what's going to happen?  If you're one of the few I mentioned above (and even if you're not and you just want to see what the government says), here's the link to the official USA web page and the government's official word on the end of the world.

http://blog.usa.gov/post/37121041300/scary-rumors-about-the-world-ending-in-2012-are-just

 

If you believe the government is hiding something, here's something NASA released last week regarding it.

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=156889371

 

I'm not saying anything except the video should (in my opinion) been released on December 22, not before the 17th.  Kind of makes you think huh.

 

Could one of the catastrophes that supposed to happen on the 21st involve Guam?  Here's a video with that concern voiced by an esteemed representative from Georgia.  About half way through he expresses his concerns about Guam.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1WSs9B4H5s

 

These links either confirm that nothing is going to happen and we have some challenged people in congress or the US government is hiding something and we have some challenged people in congress. 

 

You decide.

 

 

My Christmas Wish List

Here it is!  I know you've been anxiously awaiting it's arrival, so it's finally here!!

q       Gold – due to the current condition of the United States economy, owning gold is something everybody should do to protect their assets

q       Guns – okay one gun or 2 at the most (Cathy has to be able to defend herself too).  Not a BB gun or an airsoft gun, but a firearm with some stopping power.  .9mm or .45 or .38 would be good. Does not need a large capacity magazine.

q       Wallet with places for pictures of my grandkids.  I’m sure they still make them.

q       Wood carving tools.  My mother-in-law has some large pieces of a tree of hers that she had cut down.  Some of those are big enough to do some cool stuff to (well cool to me, y’all may think it’s lame).

q       Toe socks.  I have toe shoes and 3 pair of toe socks.  I could always use more pairs of the toe socks.  Holly (my daughter for those of you who don’t know) got me a nice pair of toe socks from Amazon.com

q       Whirled Peas otherwise translated as World Peace (though the peas add a nice green touch to this list).

Well that’s it for now.  I reserve the right to expand or contract this list at my own discretion

"In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.  And God said 'Let there be light' and there was light. And God saw the light that it was good and He seperated the light from the darkness and He called the light day and the darkness He called night. And the evening and the morning were the first day."  Genesis 1:1-5

I find it interesting that the scientists of today are showing that the universe was created in an instant.  The Bible has stated that for thousands of years.  The Bible shows that God was there at the beginning and though my mind cannot fathom the fact of God existing before anything else existed, I take it in faith that it's true.  After all there is NO evidence to the contrary.

Another interesting thing was that God said "Let there be light" and there was light.  God spoke and the universe listened AND responded.  What does that mean?  To me that means that the Words of God are powerful words.  So powerful that even the universe and the laws of physics obey.  Now you can look at it this way as well, we are concieved and we are without form and void and darkness is upon us (in the womb) and the spirit of God moves across us and provides us with our spirit.  And the light that God speaks into existence is the spark of life our soul. 

The light is also the light of the world which is Jesus.  Whereas we lived our lives in darkness, God gave us the Light of salvation.  So as we wander this world

"And the evening and the morning were the first day" Genesis 1:5  I find that interesting too.  It states that the day starts in the evening and continues to the morning.  That explains to me why the Jews celebrate the Sabbath as starting at dusk on what we call Friday.  It also shows that at the end of the darkness there is light.  Our lives start out in darkness, in sin, and moves into the light as we give our lives to Jesus and God.

"In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth" Genesis 1:1
God was there at the beginning.  He created all things and has been here since before the beginning.  God has no beginning and no ending.  He's eternal.  In creating the heaven and the earth, there is nothing that can be seen that has not been created by him.  Boy does that sound a bit confusing huh.  In a roundabout way, I'm saying that everything you see was created by God.  I'm not talking about buildings and cars and such, though those were made by man, the elements used to make them was created by God.  By the way, just so we're clear on this, "created" means, in the sense of God creating, means made from nothing.  God spoke into existence the universe.  There was nothing before that.  No elements, no structure, nothing.  God spoke it into existence.  In this sense, man cannot create anything, he can only take what God has already created and make something out of it.  Not only did He create the universe, but He wrote the laws of physics that all things must obey.  Though, I wouldn't mind being able to violate the law of gravity once in a while.

"And the earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." Genesis 1:2
This is the beginning of Earth and really our solar system.  According to science, when the solar system started, there was not star, there was just dust, and the dust coalesced (sp?) into an accretion disk with a ball of hot gas forming in the middle and around it the dust and particles started forming into rocks and planets.  It was during this time that the Earth was without form and void, and before the sun formed and started burning its hydrogen fuel source, it was dark.  The Bible does not go into details about how the Earth was formed, just that God made it.  Something to think about with this verse is that maybe it's also descriptive of us before we're conceived.  We "exist" in the form of an egg and a sperm and when the sperm fertilizes the egg, we begin to get our form.  We exist in the eyes of God yet we are without form until the egg is fertilized.  And the spirit of God moves upon us in the womb and our spirit enters our body.  Just a thought.

"And God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light" Genesis 1:3
When God spoke, the sun burst forth into light and heat.  Starting the burning of the fuel source God provided for it.  The light could also mean the light of salvation.  God knows what's going to happen
"And God saw that the light was good and He seperated the light from the darkness" Genesis 1:4
"And he called the light day and the darkness he called night and the evening and the morning were the first day" Genesis 1:5

I have a number of friends who believe that the world is only a few thousand years old despite the fossil evidence and the ability of scientists to date things using Carbon 14 (an element made by God, by the way).  They base it on the scripture reference that says "to God a thousand years is as a day and a day as a thousand years."  I forget where that is, I think it's in 1 Peter or 2 Peter, though I'm not sure.  Anyway so when it's said in Genesis that God created the world in 6 days, that's 6,000 years.  I believe the interpretation of the 1000 years = 1 day and 1 day = 1000 years is a reference that states that God is not limited by time.  He is the creator of all things, including entropy.  So sure 1 day could be 1000 years or a 10,000 or 100,000 or 1,000,000 or 100,000,000,000 years.  Who's to say?  God knows and He gave us marvelous intelligence to use the tools and laws that He set up to figure things out.

I hope this has been. at the very least. entertaining.