Serendipitous Ruminations

There have been several thoughts banging around in this empty head of mine; I need to get them in print. Here they are in no particular order:

• Any attempt to gain revenue by normalizing or legalizing a vice has proved counter-productive in the State of Oklahoma. First it was "Liquor by the drink", then para-mutual horse racing, then Indian casinos, then the lottery. They are looking at legalizing marijuana. What's next legalized prostitution?
• I visited the Jewish Art Museum in Tulsa yesterday. In their holocaust exhibition, they noted that Henry Ford was antisemitic and for a time, place antisemitic literature in the glove box of each new car he sold.
• The birth certificate that the White House presented as Obama's ORIGINAL birth certificate doesn't look anything like my original birth certificate. (He was born two years before me) It does, however, look like a copy of my birth certificate that I got back in the 1980's. We are being lied to.
• I am appalled at the attempt to normalize homosexuality.  Anyone who stands against this abomination is labeled as a homophobe or a bigot.  I have felt more hate directed at me for my views on homosexuality (which are in line with the Bible) than for any of my other opinions. For those who tout tolerance, they aren't very tolerant of me.
• The gun control issue isn't about guns; it's about control. The cities with the highest homicide rates are those with the strictest gun control. I really think they are afraid that they might lose their tyrannical power by allowing us to maintain our 2nd Amendment right. Wait a minute! Isn't that what the 2nd Amendment is all about?
• If it wasn't so pitiful and sad, I would find it hysterically amusing that homosexual "couples", especially lesbian couples, must have one partner who assumes the male role and one who assumes the female role. I've seen numerous "wedding" pictures where one of the women is dressed as a man and the other in a bridal dress. 
• Islam is NOT a religion of peace. It is a religion of hate and violence. Allah is not the same as the One true God of the Bible. It embodies the spirit of the antichrist. 
• I find it interesting that Hollywood's portrayal of lesbians is very very different from reality. Hollywood shows two slim, hot women who are extremely feminine and sensual; Walmart and the news show two obese decidedly butch and unattractive women. Then again, Hollywood has never been good at portraying reality.
• National Democratic politicians scream "racism" at every opportunity, but their own policies and programs are extremely racist, especially against African Americans. Their support of Planned Parenthood has killed more African Americans than the KKK could have ever imagined.
• I don't trust anyone in the current administration. Something is afoot.
• GENERALLY, churches with the words Liberty, Grace, Free, or Abundant are filled with anything but grace. It OFTEN denotes extreme legalism.
• I'll bet that the missing Malaysian Airlines plane is in Pakistan.
• One of the things that irk me most is church people who do something wrong, get caught, then lie about it, usually implicating someone else (often the preacher). Pride is so evil.
• Smokers are generally, some of the most selfish people you will ever meet. There is nothing worse than an angry militant smoker who demands their right to smoke, no matter the place or present company. They don't recognize that their addiction truly makes a slave of them to nicotine. And there is no way to hide it. You can't smoke at home or in the car and then cover it up with perfume; that doesn't work.
• I believe the Return of Jesus is eminent. Possibly by the end of next year.  Are you ready?

Bill at Walmart

Keeping cool.

KJV 1611 Affordable Alternative

We went shopping for the girls some summer clothes for Falls Creek last night in Muskogee.  At the Walmart, I found a copy of the KJV 1611 400 Anniversary Edition for $4.96!

The white part at the bottom is just a half dust jacket.

Now, it is EXTREMELY important to note that it isn't the greatest copy in the world. In fact, it isn't even complete. 

It does provide pages and pages of the original indices, but it doesn't contain the Apocrypha, like the original.

It appears to have been photocopied, page by page and bound in a fairly cheap binding.  It is much smaller than the original.

The first page of Proverbes

Also, I had to search through their big box to find one without some problems.  The first one I selected, already had a broken binding near the base of the spine.

The second one I selected was inserted into the binding upside down; that is, if you open the book up regularly, you had to turn it upside down to read it.

I looked through several of them and saw that particular printing error.

In any case, it is quite a coup to be able to find a photocopy of the original for less than $5!

Wow!

Too Dependent on Walmart

We ventured out into the ice covered streets of Wagoner because we were out of milk and kitty litter....

Crews have been busy clearing parking lots all along Hwy 51 (Cherokee St) in Wagoner, with one snow pile we observed as being over 12 feet tall!

Walmart was open and fairly busy.  The lot had been plowed, but was still snow packed.

As we walked around the store, we found shelf after shelf bare.  One of our church members works there and told us they haven't had a delivery in 3 days.  They were out of milk, chicken, eggs, and many other things.

This got me to thinking...if insurgents wanted to really strike at the heart of America, all they'd have to do is to take out the Walmart distribution centers.  We have become so reliant on Walmart, that it is our only grocery store and clothing store in Wagoner.

Walmart has gone into town after town, undercutting everyone's price, driving them out of business, leaving Walmart the only show in town.  When we have a minor crisis like this, we find ourselves at the mercy of the Walmart trucks being able to deliver the goods.

Just something to think about.

Here are some pics to illustrate:

There were more people complaining about WM being out of beer than anything else!  Just pitiful....

No eggs.

No chicken.

Yes, we have no bananas.

No milk.

Two packages of Lil Smokies....

The Last Week

I've had quite an interesting last 10 days or so.... let me 'splain.

A week ago Thursday, Dec 17, we were having a pot luck lunch at our church. Just before it was to begin, I got a horrible pain in my back. It felt as if I pinched a nerve or something. The pain was intense and took me to my knees. I kicked off the potluck, but went back to my office to lay down, hoping to get some relief. None came.

My wife and a church member had recently had very good results with a chiropractor, so I decided to visit one. The X-rays showed that I had a dislocated rib. I had never even heard of a dislocated rib before, so it was a bit of a surprise. He did an adjustment, which both hurt and felt good. He told me to put ice on it and gave me a gel pack to use. I suffered with it all weekend long.

Monday came and I returned for another adjustment. It hurt so bad that I fell to my knees. It alarmed the chiropractor and we went back to his office to re-examine the X-rays. It clearly showed one of my ribs at an odd angle to the rest of them. He said that the pain I was exhibiting was not consistent with his diagnosis, and asked for a UA. He came back and said it was full of blood and that I needed to go see an MD.

Well, I went by K-Mart to finish my last minute shopping. After that, I went to the ER at the new Muskogee Community Hospital. WOW! Was I impressed! Anytime I had to wait for anything more than a moment, they apologized. They were as courteous as the staff at a Five Star hotel. They were professional in every way. Every staff member I encountered wasn't just courteous; they were personable as well.

I was attended by a Physician's Assistant, Rocky (fellow Sooner Alum). As soon as he walked in he said, "Oh, I see you have a kidney stone." I asked him how he could tell and he said I was doing the "kidney stone dance".

He ordered some non-narcotic pain relief because I didn't have anyone to drive me home. He ordered a CT Scan. He ordered a liter of saline via IV. The result of the CT Scan showed that I had already passed a stone that left a trail of damage through the kidney. It showed that I had two small stones in the upper part just waiting for the opportune moment. He prescribed some Lortab and a couple of other things.

I had high hopes for the Lortab. I was not impressed. It made me light-headed, but only mildly affected the pain. As the week progressed, the pain subsided a little, but was still significant enough to alter my well-being.

Christmas Eve came with the forecast of a big winter storm. Who knew it would turn out to be the biggest blizzard in recent Oklahoma history? It started sleeting here in Wagoner at about 2 o'clock. Mom had already called to say they were moving up our Christmas Eve celebration to 4 pm instead of the traditional 6 pm. By the time we left at 2:30, ice was already forming on the car and rooftops.

We were all disappointed when family members began calling to say that there was just no way they were going to be able to make it. We went ahead and ate then opened presents. By the time we were finished at around 6 or 6:30, the sleet was coming down at an alarming rate, still mixed with freezing rain and some snow. We decided to drive home on the main highway (US 69) and before we could reach it, it became snow. Before I reached the highway, I had to stop to clean the windshield wipers of the ice because they were ineffective and only making it hard to see.

Without a doubt, that was the most difficult drive of my life. It was really scary. For much of the (only) 15 mile trip, we could only see 20 feet or so in front of the car. It had turned into a full fledged blizzard. I had to stop another time to clean the windshield wipers again, and by the time we turned on our street, I could barely see out of the ice covered windshield. Mom said some other family members were stuck on HWY 69 North of Wagoner because a semi-truck had jack-knifed and blocked the road.

Christmas morning saw the sun shining bright and the landscape transformed into a winter wonderland. We had a White Christmas! The girls were thrilled and I got out and took a lot of pictures (see posts below). However, we still needed to go to Vinita to spend Christmas.

The road was horrible. It was ice-packed and treacherous. We counted 20 vehicles in the ditches between Wagoner and Vinita. One of the cars was in the center median and still had Christmas presents in the back seat. We thought that was sad.

We spent a delightful Christmas with Sally's family, but I needed to get back to Wagoner so that I could preach on Sunday. Sally's sister suggested that instead of Sally taking me home, then returning by herself, that I should just take the car (Kia Sportage 4x4) and then return to Vinita on Thursday to get everyone. We all thought that sounded like a good idea and I'm glad we did that. The road back was better than Christmas morning, but it still wasn't good.

On the way back to Wagoner, I got a phone call from one of my deacons. We talked about the weather and decided to cancel Sunday School. I figured that if I could drive from Vinita to Wagoner and other people could get out and go to Wal-Mart, then they could come to church, too. I didn't realize that almost every church in NEOK had cancelled services. One of the members and his son, came all the way from Porter with a tractor and cleared the parking lot for us! (I looked out a little while ago and the lot is practically dry today)

We don't have a huge church. Last Sunday, our attendance was 83. I was expecting perhaps 10 people and decided that I would be ecstatic if 15 people actually showed up. I couldn't believe it when the final count was 38! My very first Sunday, we only had 25 people there! We did decided to cancel the evening service because the roads would re-freeze at dark and that would be dangerous.

This morning, I woke up and was feeling much better. The pain in my kidney is down to a dull roar instead of the sharp iron bar in my back. However, as I left the bedroom, the house felt unusually cold. (we use a small space heater in the master bedroom because it is an add-on and the furnace doesn't warm it very well) I looked and the thermostat was set on 70, but the thermometer read 55. I turned it off and back on and the fan came on. I never heard the furnace "light", so I took of the front cover and waited. The electronic ignitor attempted to light the furnace about 7 times, but it never lit. Oh great.

So, now, I am doing the dishes, doing laundry and waiting for the furnace repair guy to come. At least it's given me a little chance to get you caught up on the last 10 days or so of life as I know it.

The Rumor

Ever been a part of a rumor mill? Have you ever been the topic of a rumor?

Well, I am currently the center of a hilariously false rumor going around town. I heard about it at the Hog Fry last Saturday.

One of the guests at the event heard several things about our church lately. It all started with our starting a new church, the Native Fellowship Baptist Church, which meets in our fellowship hall. There is a history with our church that goes back about 7-10 years, which includes two church splits and LOTS of hard feelings. (I didn't know all of the history when I took the church, but that isn't important right now.)

About ten days ago or so, I put up a new message on our road-side sign that said, "New Church Plant Event, Indian Hog Fry, Saturday 1-5 pm"

Then later in the week, the following ad came out in the Wagoner Tribune:

Well, my friend saw one of her friends out at Wal-Mart and was told, "It's about time that Immanuel Baptist Church finally shut down! I'm glad there's another church going in there." Then she also heard from another friend that I had resigned!

Personally, I am conflicted about these rumors. On one hand, I think they are funny! God is doing such amazing things at our church that the evil one thinks (thought) he could sabotage it with silly rumors. On the other hand, I am sad that people, even church-going folk don't understand about churches starting other churches. It happens so seldom that when it does, people think that one church is 'going out of business' and another one is going to take its place.

I am so proud of my church. They are living out the Great Commission in the best way they know how, one step at a time. They are finally looking outside of the four walls and seeing the lostness of our own society. Soon, as we grow together, they will recognize the need is greater than even their own neighbors and will take the Good News to areas that are different than their own comfort zone.

Last Sunday, I announced the Oklahoma-East Asia Partnership and mentioned that we need to participate BY GOING! I had a lot of people give the "second look" kind of thing when I said that everyone who just said in their heart "not me" is probably the ones that will end up going!

These kinds of rumors are almost funny; there are other kinds though, that ruin reputations. I hope I'm never the center of THOSE kids of rumors!

Gas Price Fixing

What in the world is up with gas prices?

Last Monday, it was $1.76 at Wal-Mart. Today, 4 days later, it is $2.09!

ALL of the gas stations went up as soon as Wal-Mart's price increased.

That sounds like price-fixing to me!

(I wish someone would "fix" the prices!)

m'aidez! m'aidez!

What a May Day it has been! (btw, the title of this post "m'aidez! m'aidez" is French for "help me", which sounds like mayday)

I started out early this morning to go fishing with Dad and my cousin. They said the sand bass were really tearing it up this week on Lake Hudson, in NEOK. I knew it was supposed to rain, so I dropped by Wal-Mart on the way out of town to get a rainsuit. As I approached Chouteau, Ok, the clouds began to look ominous. I pulled over in the parking lot of the local IGA grocery store and watched the storm for a little while. I even was able to get a picture of lightning on my cell phone!

The storm was moving from West to East, but the clouds were moving from East to West. They were some really scary looking clouds! You never want to see greenish-blue skies in Oklahoma; that means that there is hail involved. I got really concerned when I saw the lowering on this cloud below...



I went ahead and drove on to the lake, not knowing how bad it was where Dad was. I tried to call, but he didn't answer. As I got into Pryor, the rain was torrential and the streets were flooding. I later found out that there were 5 1/2 inches of rain that fell in less than two hours. At one point, a passing truck pushed a waved that actually went onto the hood of my truck!

I got through Pryor and Dad called. He said to not bother coming as the road into the campground was flooded and there was no other way in. I certainly didn't want to go back through Pryor, so I went on to the next little town, Adair. (I found gas for $1.73, so I filled up!) I decided to go back home the very long way, which was to take a rural highway to the Interstate and use the Interstate system to get back to Wagoner. As I got out of Adair a little way, the highway was flooded and a fireman was there in his truck to warn people. I asked him about it and he said the water was 4-6 inches over the road and they were getting ready to close it. I asked him if I could get through and he said to "be careful".

Well, as I came out of the water, it seems that some stuff got wet. My truck's overdrive and cruise control neither work now. Hopefully, it is just on account of being wet. We'll see.

Needless to say, everytime I try to go out of town for anything, it turns into an adventure.

Gas Prices Going UP?

So, I took a quick trip to Muskogee to take some stuff back to the Associational Office, so I decided to pick up Emily from school. (Audrey is going on a hay-ride field trip; way too cold for me) Anyway, as I'm leaving Wagoner, I notice that Wal-Mart has gone up TEN CENTS on their gasoline! Their price is now $1.55 per gallon.

Uh, guys! That's the WRONG way! It is supposed to hit .99¢ and stay there a year or two, isn't it?

Red Paint

So, I be-bop down to Wal-Mart to get a quart of red paint to paint the sign for our church's Christmas parade float.

Would you believe Wal-Mart doesn't sell red paint!?!

You can get varying shades of red, specifically pink, but you can't get "barn red". You can't even have it mixed! Only shades of red were available, but nothing that anybody would call "red".

Oh, you can get red spray paint and if you go to the craft aisle you can get a little bitty teeny tiny bottle of red paint, but it would take three dozen (at $2.99/bottle) to get it done.

What's the world coming to?

Ace Hardware, here I come!

$19.00 Fill Up

That's right. Gas is $1.54 here in Wagoner, OK! This is the cheapest I have filled up God's Cadillac since I've had it!

Making a little progress

The temperature turned out to be a wonderful 78 degrees yesterday, albeit the wind was a little strong. Nevertheless, I got out all the Christmas lights and successfully attached them to my roof. It took most of the afternoon and a quick trip to Wal-Mart to buy a new timer, some more extension cords, and some more clips.

Last year, I had all red lights on the roof, but only 4 strings of them. After Christmas, I found four boxes of green lights for 75% off, so, I spent the time to alternate between red and green to make our home a festive holiday place!

Since it gets dark so early, they were on when the girls got home last night from Muskogee. Audrey and Sally liked them; Emily was upset that I put them up without her. I told her that I had ONLY got the lights on the roof and next Saturday, we'd have plenty to do, putting up the lights around the windows and in the bushes. She was OK with that.

Once I get it all together, I'll take a picture and post it here for all to enjoy. I just hope we can have the status of "Christmas House" this year!

Christmas is 40 days away

Funny, though, I'm not really in the Christmas "mood" yet. I debated about putting up my Christmas lights on the roof yesterday, but felt it was too early, despite the fair weather. Today is my "day off" (even though I'm in the office), but it is cool and rainy-ish.

Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Walgreens, and even Ace Hardware are all in "FULL CHRISTMAS RETAIL MODE", hoping for a halfway decent shopping season. I was in Bass Pro for lunch the other day at the BGCO Convention and they are all decked out, too.

Sally and I have bought the girls a FEW things for Christmas, but something seems out of whack this year. Maybe I just need to play my Dean Martin Christmas Album to get me in the mood.

I've been a bit disappointed that I can't find a particular decoration. I used to have some blow-mold outdoor Christmas candles with "NOEL" on them. You could ALWAYS find them at Wal-Mart or TG&Y. Wal-Mart has some Santas this year, but no candles. I found some at a second hand junk shop the other day, but they were really faded and the "flames" were cracked. We had some in Thailand, but I left them there, since we moved to Hong Kong and lived in a high-rise apartment house. I went through this same problem last year.

I've got a really great plan for my lights this year. Last year was all red and only went around the front half of the house. After Christmas last year, I found green lights on sale so bought enough to cover the other half of the house. I'll alternate red and green lights on each string then have a "Holly Jolly Christmas House" once again!

Something isn't right

My family went to the local Chinese buffet for lunch after church today. It is right across the street from our Wal-Mart.

Something I don't understand is why the gasoline was back up to $1.97!?!

I think there is a conspiracy in our town about gas price fixing anyway. I think this may prove it.

Gas below $3.00!

I passed by Wal-Mart last evening, here in Wagoner, and gas was $2.94 per gallon! (It is sad when you are excited about $2.94 gas!) In Muskogee, Wal-Mart gas was still $3.04. I did find a Phillips 66 for $2.98.

What are you paying NOW where you live?

This is ridiculous, even for me...

OK, we went to Tulsa last night (Friday) to go to Olive Garden for Emily's birthday dinner. We decided to go to Target afterward, since we don't have a Target in Wagoner.

We were having a great time looking at all the junk they sell, since it is slightly different junk than what Wal-Mart sells.

Then we came to the "seasonal" aisle. All the Halloween stuff was there, which I suppose is appropriate, albeit early, even for Halloween. THEN, we looked up and saw an entire aisle of CHRISTMAS stuff for sale!!! This is way to early even for me!



There is just something wrong about seeing the Grim Reaper and animated Christmas reindeer in the same field of vision!



Wow!

Fun with Pinatas!

We got a pinata at Wal-Mart. Notice the helium balloons on the mailbox!


We attracted lots of attention with the pinata from passersby.


The Wal-Mart pinata was a "hit"! (especially since it was packed with Halloween candy!)

Second cake

And here's the other cake from Wal-Mart. (Thanks, Nana)

Cool New Invention

I've been out to Wal-Mart, which seems to be busier than normal because of people in areas without power coming to our Wal-Mart that has power. I went out last night to buy some gift boxes for wrapping, and was met at the door by an odd sight. All of the Christmas items in "action alley" had been moved back and was replaced by flashlights, chainsaws, oil lamps, oil, and small camp-size propane bottles. The clerk behind the jewlery counter said they had just moved them in, directly off the truck.

This morning, I went back out to pick up some tissue paper, that I forgot to buy last night. I noticed that half of the oil lamps were already sold (at 9 am!) and many of the batteries and flashlights were already gone. Only one chainsaw had been purchased so far. I went ahead and bought an oil lamp and a couple of bottle of oil, just in case.

As I was purusing around the store, I made it through the camping aisle. There was a bare spot on the shelves where they keep the camping lanterns. That was interesting! As I made my way over the the grocery section to get some stuff for our party tomorrow (fat chance since there is a big snow storm coming) I found a really cool invention. I had never seen it before, but can see how, especially in times like these where there are lots of folks without electricity, it would come in handy. It was cans of self-heating soup!

The can was a little taller than a pop can. Underneath, there was a pull top, like on green beans or tuna. The directions said that you were to turn the can over, pull off the protective cover, and push the button until all the green water drains into the hole. Turn the can back over and wait 5-8 minutes, until the little indicator spot turns color. Shake well and drink. It went on to say that it uses "quicklime" and never touches the food inside. What a cool idea! Great for camping, road trips, or power outages!