Archive for January, 2013

Back when I got my first job, my boss had a good quote that actually came to the front of my memory this morning.

“Weekends are like ice cream. There are some flavors that are better than others, but there is no bad ice cream.”

That wise quote continues to be true many decades later.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

I heard an impactful quote last night during my Emmaus men’s walk formation.

“God doesn’t call the equipped;
He equips the called.”

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

40 years ago today, our country was at a crossroads. We chose evil when the Supreme Court legalized the murder of innocent, unborn babies. It is not a reason to celebrate.

This morning I broke with my normal Friday routine, and instead joined other prayer warriors in front of the infantacide factory downtown. There was definitely spiritual warfare going on — many cold hearts matched by the frigid temperature of 15F. However, “with God, all things are possible”. I hope that just as Noah after 40 days of rain found hope, just as the Israelites after 40 years of wandering found the promised land, just as Jesus after 40 days of temptation found relief, that we as a nation after 40 years of over 50 MILLION dead will find innocent life as valued and protected.

This video is a very impactful illustration of the horror our country as endured in the name of “choice”…..which, interestingly, only leads to death.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

Gov’t humor stuff just keeps getting better and better. Unfortunately, it’s funny because it’s true.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

Got this one from Dad…..

In the coming New Year, 2013, both Groundhog Day and the State of the Union
address will occur on the same day. This is an ironic juxtaposition of events.
One involves a meaningless ritual in which we look to an insignificant creature
of little intelligence for prognostication. The other involves a groundhog.

I would add that both a groundhog and Congress are in the rat family.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

As 2013 begins, many of us roll up our sleeves and launch out of the gate with resolutions, aspirations and goals for the new year. And, unfortunately, once February turns the page on our calendar those resolutions, aspirations and goals are quite often set aside for familiar patterns and habits not so becoming or healthy.

This week’s sermon attempted to inspire and reinforce those resolutions, aspirations and goals with some Scriptural support. There were four points that aimed to buttress all of our good intentions. They are:

  • Think progress, not perfection – so often we dismiss how far we’ve come — maybe 70%, 80% or 90% of our goal — but since we haven’t reached perfection, we condemn ourselves. Give yourself a break and know that only Jesus is perfect and any progress we make towards a goal is positive gain.
  • Think future, not past – Satan loves to remind us of our past. The reason is that if he can keep us focused our our past failures, he can steal our future successes.
  • Think together, not alone – Even Jesus had 12 disciples. While He could have sent out the Gospel message alone however He wanted to, He used people and communities to spread the Gospel. We need to lean on and encourage one another. Jesus did that to set an example.
  • Think God’s Spirit, not in the flesh – We should operate in the Spirit, not in the flesh. Our best long term results are when we harness the unending power of the Holy Spirit. We don’t transform ourselves; we put ourselves in a position to be transformed.

The sermon was ended by this very cool statement — I can’t; Jesus can; I think I’ll let Him.”

Go check it out here.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

I really don’t know where to start in relation to the financial state our country is facing right now. And our jerkoff politicians from BOTH sides disgust me. If our country was a household, we would have been bankrupt and shut down by now. In fact, the summary below puts it in those exact terms.

U.S. tax revenue – $2,170,000,000,000
Fed budget – $3,820,000,000,000
New debt – $1,650,000,000,000
National debt – $14,271,000,000,000
Recent budget cuts – $38,500,000,000

Let’s now remove 8 zeros and pretend it’s a household budget:

Annual family income – $21,700
Money the family spent – $38,200
New debt on the credit card – $16,500
Outstanding credit card balance – $142,710
Total budget cuts so far – $385

I am including the original picture because it was not my analogy. NOTE: I did correct the $38.50 to $385.

The bottom part of the image is just classic.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

Happy New Year and many blessings to you!

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net