Cramer Sets Matt Straight

UPDATE: OOPS, I MAY HAVE UNDERESTIMATED MY PREDICTION BELOW.

WEBUTANTE'S PREDICTION: GAS PRICES @ $6 PER GALLON BY FALL. YOU CAN TAKE IT TO THE BANK.



Matt Laurer is a part of the planetary emergency hysteria-glass always half empty-crowd, and it's refreshing to hear Wildman Jim respond to Matt's rhetorical questions on food, housing and gas prices. What to worry about and what not to take so seriously. Of course, all of us know the real reasons gas prices are so high and rising, don't we?

Answer hint: It's not all about Bush and it goes back decades.

A Blessed Event in Many Lives

A simple traditional wedding ceremony in a wee Scottish Presbyterian Church officiated by a wonderful and godly man who said the following: "Put your relationship with Christ first above all else and let it be the foundation of everything that follows with each other; after that, make your relationship with each other the most important."

I couldn't agree more. God bless these two and their marriage.

And away they go into the night and their future together! May the Lord bless them and keep them and make His face to shine upon them and give them peace always. Amen.

Am dead dog tired from too much fun, crying too many tears of joy and from seeing and hugging and laughing with too many friends and relatives--new and old---over the past few days. Truly we are blessed.

Taking a few days off to catch up on sleep and travel to the Isle of Mull. God bless.

Walk About Perthshire

SPRING IS LATE THIS YEAR IN PERTHSHIRE

Left to my own devices and unsupervised, I'm a hopeless wanderer. Much of my time here in Perthshire is happily not my own this trip, especially as family and friends from the States began to dribble in late Tuesday afternoon. Still, I made the not-so-hard decision yesterday to forego a small family meet and greet dinner in Edinburgh Tuesday night, so that I could get some of the wanderlust out of my incurable system ahead of festivities. I was not disappointed. The cool breezes and fresh air did my soul much good.

A Good Night's Sleep

I was met Monday morning as I landed in Edinburgh after a fitful and short night's sleep flying over the Atlantic, by my soon-to-be lovely daughter and son with a big hug and a cup of black, hot coffee. It just doesn't get any better than that.

As the wonderful day wore on greeting and even hiking with new family members, I tried in vain to hold my eyes open. In the end, the call of the bed triumphed early last night and I fell into a deep slumber which must have lasted 11-12 hours.

What I can say this morning unequivocally is that a good night's sleep is one of the greatest joys in life and so necessary for mental/spiritual health and well-being. We live in such an age of restlessness and hyper-caffeination. And to be able to sleep regularly, fully, deeply is a gift beyond measure.

And now for a full day of discovery in a new/old land. The weather is crisp, cool and sunny and daffodils are blooming everywhere. Baby lambs are in fields of green in Perthshire.

Beatrix Potter, Victorian Artist, Naturalist and Wildlife Conservationist

In Dunkeld, so far, by far my favorite town in Scotland, childhood home of Beatrix Potter. A simply wonderful part of the world. Too jet lagged to write more today.

Off We Go!

Actually watching both these videos simultaneously is a trip.

God bless.

Tim Keller: On The Bible's Exhortation to Engage Culture

Each month I receive NYC Redeemer Presbyterian Church's newsletter and enjoy reading it from cover to cover. In the current April, 2008 issue, head pastor Tim Keller writes on the whys and hows Christian believers should engage our culture. I quote extensively from a portion of his article below:

"At Redeemer we encourage Christian 'cultural engagement,' but there are critics who say that we should instead simply work at 'being and building up the church' and avoid any efforts to change or renew culture. I'd like to offer a few Biblical texts that serve as a starting point for Redeemer's approach to this issue.

Loving your neighbor

First, Jesus' parable of the good Samaritan teaches that we are not only to love our brothers and sisters in Christ but also our neighbors (Luke 19:25-37.) In Jesus' day, the idea of 'neighbor' and 'brother' was the same thing. Love and support were to be only shown to one's own tribe, race, and faith. By making the two main figures in the parable to be a Jew and a Samaritan, however, Jesus drove home the fact that a Christian must consider anyone at all, especially those of other races and classes, as my neighbor, even if he or she is of another faith. Paul follows up with the command to "Do good to all men, especially the household of faith."(Galatians 6:10). Here Paul clearly tells believers to serve the interests of their non-Christian neigbors. The word 'good' includes giving material benefits (as in the parable of the Good Samaritan) out of love and desire for a person's well being in every way. Thus Paul calls Christians to consider and work for the 'common good' of their neighborhood and city.

It is no wonder that Christians seeking to obey Christ and Paul have over the centuries worked to abolish slavery, repeal child labor laws, and open voting rights to all citizens, as well as to begin thousands of programs and ministries that help the poor and needy."

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Lon Solomon of McLean Bible Church in Tyson's Corner, Virginia tells of his amazing conversion experience from Judaism to Christ.

Late Afternoon Wildflower Walk Between Thunderstorms

Raul Gets A Grip, Or How One Little Putt Forever Changed the World

WHEN COMMUNISTS PLAY GOLF

Ever wondered why Castro gave up the game of golf? You know you have, maybe even for decades.

The answer to your conundrum is near: It's Che Guevara above in putt mode, with Fidel intently looking on from behind.

Rumor has it, Castro went on to lose the round of golf with Che that day in Cuba over forty years ago, and in a fit of rage and very bad sportsmanship, threw in the towel, gave up the game and turned Cuba into a communist dictatorship. Then had all the caddies in the country beheaded. (a joke.)

Every golf course in Cuba---with the exception of the Havana Golf Club---fell into massive disrepair. Golf clubs everywhere morphed into plowshares and life in Cuba generally went downhill very fast.

Now you know the rest of the story of how one little putt forever changed the course of world history.

But alas, Fidel is no longer wielding his tight grip of Marxist power there, and we know a softer, gentler Cuba may be on the way.

Why? Because Castro's baby brother Raul, now the presidente de Cuba, has an idea to bring golf back to his decaying little kingdom. In an attempt to shore up the economy that Fidel wrecked---and kept on wrecking for decades, as he remade beautiful Cuba into his communist playpen and pig sty---Raul hopes to bring a few of those gringo dollars/pounds back into the moribund Cuban economy. It seems people there continue to be starving to death and Cuba needs to get its economy back up on the first tee.

If you want to know more about the day golf may return to Cuba, then read on.

And remember, where there's golf, there's hope. Communism and golf (and a sense of humor) are mutually exclusive. Who knows, maybe when Donald Trump finishes his big golf development in Scotland, he'll turn his sights down Raul's way. Raul meet The Donald, Don meet baby brother. I can certainly see some possibilities in this.


Then Raul, how about opening up some of those marvellous bonefish fisheries down on the southern coast of Cuba? I might even drop a few Gringo dollars down your way, if you do. And after that, you Communist guys might learn how to take a joke.

Talk Radio Host Steve Gill Writes at Pajamas on Failures of Liberal Radio

Wonderful piece on Air America's lower and lower ratings written by a tremendously successful Middle Tennessee radio talk show host who knows the business well. Nashville's Steve Gill, a true conservative ideologue, writes a great piece for Pajamas this week.

From Pajamas: "Air America's rock-bottom ratings (28th in San Francisco!) offer a valuable lesson: attempting to fill the left's void of ideas with F-words and ad hominem attacks will not fool the listeners for long."

A portion of Steve's conservative concerto:

"Critics of conservative talk radio often accuse the hosts of preaching from “talking points” because the analysis of political and policy matters is often similar. But the consistency of commentary that sometimes occurs is not traceable to some mysterious and widely dispersed “talking points.”

"Rather, it is a shared ideology — a belief in getting government out of the way, off our backs, and out of our pockets; a commitment to freedom, independence, and self-reliance as the best route to prosperity and property; an understanding that rights and responsibilities must go hand-in-hand; a recognition that a government founded on morality and pursuit of justice is preferable to one built on “anything goes” and special treatment; and a world view that America represents the best the world can offer, not the worst — that produces conservative analysis that can sometimes resemble an echo chamber.

"Liberal theology, as expressed by left-wing talk hosts, has no apparent ideological consistency. Groups that are linked only by their hatred of President Bush don’t really share a commonality of thought or policy goals. That is the real problem for liberals/Democrats. A coalition of those who support the unlimited and unrestricted abortion of unborn children, labor union activists, gay and lesbian groups that oppose traditional marriage, open-border proponents who see illegal immigrants as political and economic pawns to be played on the national chessboard, race-oriented activists, gender-oriented activists, conservative southern Democrats who remain linked to the party simply because “great-granddaddy” was a Democrat, the Code Pink crowd that wants America to retreat and cower in the face of terror, and all the other constituencies that make up the unholy alliance that has become the modern day Democratic Party is not a coalition of conscience. The only common link is a desire for political power."

....and detesting everything Bush, I might add.

Home run, Steve. With all the bases loaded. (May I use this as a talking point?....just a little joke.)

The Gill Report here. But Steve, you forgot to mention how Al Franken first wrecked Air America and has now gone on to the demotion of running himself for U.S. Senate from Minnesota....ugh.

I'm Shocked!

You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Me.

No really.

I've always seen Colin Powell as weak, but now, I see him as nothing less than U.N. material. Well meaning. Innocuous. Nice. Neville Chamberlain-like in his demeanor.

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Great story on John McCain and Mo Udall on Slate via Pajamas Media.

Another Reason Not to Drive in D.C.

Ever received a traffic ticket in the mail from a camera that nailed you at a time and in a place you can't even vaguely remember being? On a street you could swear you've never heard of?

I have. In D.C. last year. And the situation is getting direr and direr.

Unless you've lived or driven there and had this experience, you haven't really lived. (This is on top of the granite curbs that Lady Bird Johnson put in all over the District. Granite will blow out your tires quicker than a jack rabbit if you swipe it. I'm used to the much more forgiving limestone curbs that your tires bounce off of. Anyway, hitting a granite IED happened to me in front of the French Embassy years ago, and I can tell you that a blowout there is an adventure magnificque, and yes I made the spelling up!) But back to traffic cameras.

This, in my opinion, is something useful that the ACLU can spend its time on. But realistically, we live in a camera ready world, far, far beyond our control. Only time will tell where this will all end.

Time and countless lawsuits.

Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3....

UPDATE 1: I have to disagree with Vanderleun on this one. Watching this for longer than a minute or two is about as interesting as watching grass grow. The anchors have to be attractive---and they certainly are chattily attractive----complete with keyboard sounds of typing, busy-with-important-things fingers---no one would give this kind of nonsense the time of day. There's no real substance here IMO unless there's a crisis unfolding in which case I would go somewhere else, or unless I'm trapped in an intensive care unit. I simply don't have the time for this kind of distraction and noise and frankly addiction. Maybe it's a woman thing. Who knows. I guess men love to look non-stop at women even if what they're saying is drivel. If I were to watch any live feed like this for long, it would be financial news and commentary, I suppose.

PLEASE NOTE: I think this is a technology that belongs on your desktop, but not on a blog because it assualts the viewer with constant noise, or non-noise, like having the television on all day. This is, for me at least, a situation of TMI, too much information. There is a way to turn it OFF if you'll experiment. Think it's an interesting innovation worth mentioning, and will leave it up some of the day.

(Can't take it any longer. Deleted it from this here blog. If you want more of it, then follow the link below and put it on your desktop. Gerard will have to bring me along slowly on this one.)

ORIGINAL POST:

Something sort of of interesting I saw at American Digest--- where else for the latest in Internet technology and cutting edge news sourcing? It's live and according to Gerard, it's the future of news. Bye, bye, Diane, Charlie and Katie? For fun, I'm putting this up and seeing what happens today. If I like it, I'll let it be, for a while. I just don't want it making too much noise.

LiveNewsCameras is here. It's all live, except in the wee hours of the morning.

Alan Greenspan's 'Reputation Tarnishment' Tour Continues

Over the past year or so, I've become more and more interested in financial reporting and commentary. To wit, I recently linked to two new sites on my sidebar: RealClearMarkets an aggragator of financial analysis edited by John Tamny, and a financial blog called The Big Picture.

A recent post by Barry Ritholtz at TBP on Alan Greenspan caught my eye, and I can't disagree with a thing he says about Greenspan's dwindling reputation.

Wish I had more time to comment, but for now, consider getting acquainted with both these sites. Fascinating stuff in my opinon.

Another article via RealClear is this on why Hank Paulson's plan won't work.

And John Tamny writes today on market corrections in ways that, well, guys can best understand.

Magnificent Spring

Please note: My blogging will be light and intermittent over the next few weeks, as my family and I prepare for our son's imminent marriage to a lovely English woman in Perthshire and our travel and sojourn in Scotland. All weddings and marriages are exciting and stressful. This is no exception. I proceed soberly, prayerfully. Please, ocassionally send up a little prayer, if you're so inclined. Thank you and God bless.

Cool temperatures, tons of rain and resplendent, flowering fruit trees are everywhere here.

18 Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

-----Proverbs 12:18

The Singing Revolution

When we think about political protest, revolution and overthrowing repressive Communist regimes, do we ever think about.........singing? I know I don't. Until now. Maybe it's time we did. It happened in Estonia. The bravest human hearts will always their find way to freedom. Freedoms we must jealously guard in our country today, which many would have us erode away.

This new documentary film by James Tusty and Maureen Castle Tusty is about Estonia’s struggle to end Soviet occupation and tyranny and is currently opening in New York and Washington, with a special screening at the Heritage Foundation next week. This is truly an example of soft power at its best. Soft force stronger than any bomb or brigade.

The New York Times review is here. This is high on my list of 'to see' films this spring. The kind of inspiration I go to the movies to expereince.

Remember, freedom is never free. And it ain't over till the fat lady sings. Start singing.

Michelle Malkin in IBD

......THE WAILERS AND SCREAMERS of the sub-prime mess. Talk about taking victim hood to new and disgusting depths, starring victim rights-without-responsibilities, loans-without-collateral Bruce Marks.

Don't know anything about Bruce Marks, you say? Go to the link above to read about his new form of terrorism in a town or company near you.

John Tamny on Bush's Abysmal Economic Interventions

NOBODY SAYS IT BETTER:

"President George W. Bush, a Republican, has overseen a massive increase in the size and scope of government on his watch, and did so in conjunction with a collapsing dollar that has surely marginalized by now any of the gains enjoyed from the tax cuts he signed into law in 2003.

"Still, if any of us had been secluded for the past seven years, a description of the Bush years without attribution would likely have had most any Republican assuming a Democrat had been in control. Is there an explanation for this?

"The first one would be that all politicians disappoint. By definition. Beyond that, given the statist direction taken by the Republican party in this decade, it’s fair to ask if it any longer represents laissez-faire growth. Many would point to the even harsher anti-growth views held by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, but it seems a lot of their stances at present are pure politics.

"Even if they’re not, it would be hard to find an administration in modern times that has been more interventionist than the present one. That in mind, stinging losses for the GOP may be just what the doctor ordered. Indeed, maybe the pain of being out of power will force them to look inward, and in doing so, perhaps understand that when a Democrat runs against a Democrat, a Democrat always wins. "

"There's no doubt about it: President George W. Bush, whom I voted for twice, has spent money like a drunken sailor and furthered the nanny state---especially now in the arena of the economy---like never before. It will all come back to haunt us. Quick fixes never work in the long run. Nor do bigger and bigger government regulations that weigh down the system.

Read the whole thing by Tamny, and weep.

Ah, Scotland, We Did Not Know Ye

Woodrow Wilson once said, "Every line of strength in American history is a line colored with Scottish blood."

Tartan Day, first declared by a 1998 resolution sponsored by Senator Trent Lott, celebrates its 10th anniversary on April 6. The day is meant to commemorate the singing on April 6, 1320, of the Declaration of Arbroath, frequently called the Scottish declaration of independence. It was a letter from supporters of Robert the Bruce to the Pope, seeking papal recognition of Scotland. According to Senator Lott's resolution, the Declaration of Arbroath was an influence on the signers of the American Declaration of Independence. It was a radical 14th Century document that introduced principles such as the king's responsibility to serve the people and the people's right to replace him should he become tyrannical.

Two signers of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, John Witherspoon and John Wilson, were Scots and other Founders had Scottish heritage. Many U.S. Presidents also had Scottish heritage, including Ronald W. Reagan; the "W" being for Wilson, an old Scottish name.

--Heritage Institute

April 6, Tartan Day

Who Is This Man and Why Should We Care?

......one of President George Bush's greatest enablers.

Hank Paulson: A New York social liberal now showing up as an economic/fiscal liberal, in the role of Secretary of Treasury. Hank wants to engineer a big government quick fix for global markets and the sub-prime challenge. I say sub-prime challenge because it's only a challenge until big government gets into the act. Then it becomes a sub-prime crisis, deeper and more prolonged.

Pipe down, Hank. Take a breather then go back to The Big Apple, Goldman Sachs or the Nature Conservancy, from whence you came.

Why should we care? Because he's sewing the seeds of even our even greater economic destruction, down the road. No big ego like Hank can ever stand back and do nothing. Big egos always need to do something, be the center of attention, rather than kick back and let problems sort themselves out on their own, especially in democratic, free financial markets.

Hank, best thing you can do right now for our country is stay calm and do nothing. Stop medicating your need with an adrenaline rush.

Be a non-anxious presence. That's everything; that's enough.

Spring Beauties

Spring and early wildflower season seem right on time this year. Want to photograph more on my daily wildflower walks, as my crowded time allows. For today, this is the earliest sign of spring here inthe mid-South. I love seeing them springing forth amidst the decaying red oak leaves. What a wonderful sign of new life and rebirth at this Eastertime season!

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On another subject, there goes the neighborhood. But it was great fun while it lasted.

Ed Kaitz on Obama's Anger

Somehow I missed this piece on American Thinker over a week ago. But it is well worth reading. In it, Kaitz answers the question of why Vietnamese refugees in the 70s got so far ahead of other minorities, especially blacks. After a decade of working their buns off, they were getting the best SAT scores, being admitted to the best colleges and being hired for better and higher paying jobs.

The answer is shocking and hits the nail on the head. Read the whole thing and let your mind be blown. Is it race? Or is it of mindset? Most conservatives today already know the answer to this. But it bears repeating. And repeating. And repeating.

Those of us who feel anything is owed us will always fall behind. But only 100% of the time.

And so it is with many blacks and many race baiters, all with the attitude: "We're owed."

"We're owed." "We're justified."

Obama is a candidate who is reinforcing a "We're owed" mindset that has held blacks back for decades. His presidency will only lead them to more unresponsibility and more unaccountability.

Thanks to CA for the tip.

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Dr. Carol Swain, law and political science professor at Vanderbilt University weighs in on the disarray of the Democratic party in this piece she wrote yesterday in The Tennessean, my old journalistic alma mater.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Commissioning the Twelve To Go Forth, To Heal the Sick, Proclaim The Good News

Jesus commanded the disciples to go out, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God and healing, yet without the necessary provisions of food, housing, and clothing. These would be provided for them through those who believed their message, as the power of the gospel was worked out through their preaching and healing. If the gospel did not work, if the Lord’s promises were not true, the disciples would have been in trouble. Jesus’ commandments were purposed to create needs which only He could provide, and which would be obtained only through faith.

The great need of the disciples, like us, was not to know more (in a purely intellectual way) about Jesus, but to trust Him more. The disciples also needed to learn to trust in Him in His absence. Jesus could have gone with His disciples, but He purposely stayed behind. They needed to find Him sufficient in His absence, for they would soon learn that He would not be with them (in His physical body) for long.

----From commentary of Bob Deffinbaugh with the full text here.


Of all the commentaries I've read this week on the Gospel of Luke, this one on turning the other cheek---what it does and doesn't mean---is the best I've read and the hardest to live.

People who think embracing Christ and the Good News is a panacea or a quick fix are simply deluded. It can be the hardest thing in the world, and without the Supernatural power of the Holy Spirit, it is impossible.

Sad Day For Free Expression

In the end LiveLeak caved to fear and terrorism. When this happens the forces of darkness win and only increase the chances of it happening again and again, until we stand firm.

Click on the link to go to Jihad Watch, then click to start the Fitna video and read the "explanation" that follows on why they are retracting it.

As of now, Robert Spencer has another link to Fitna down on his left side bar which makes Fitna still viewable. It probably won't be for long. I watched it and of course it's chilling as expected.

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Ran into a local health club (where I am not a memeber) yesterday to inquire about something and in the lobby were three fully covered Muslim women filling out applications. I had a sinking spell that soon they would join, then try to turn part of this perfectly good sports facility into a part-time prayer place to accommodate their Islamic beliefs or change the rules for same-sex days.

I only have one question. Why don't they open their own gym facilities at their Mosques and leave everyone else alone? And why don't we insist on it? That way they can have their mullahs overseeing their fitness programs. And leave everyone else alone.

I wonder how many places in this country this may be about to happen? And could it ever happen at the YMCA? The Jewish Community Center?? God forbid. God forbid that we would let it. How low will we go for political correctness?

Will They Run Together?

UPDATE
Still not sure of this pairing, in spite of the smiles and camaraderie.

At the top of the scroll on Drudge this morning is this pic with the question, "The Ticket?"

I question whether it should be Mitt over Mike. But there's no question that in any and all events, Mitt will play an important role in a John McCain Administration. I continue to think Mitt would make a good Secretary of Treasury.

I predict now that John McCain will be the next president. And Mitt would make a fine VP. But unless the economy gets stabilized, and the dollar comes up, John and Mitt will be a one-termers. Read my lips, cut spending and no new taxes.

If I Ruled the World: Car Designs I'd Outlaw

NANNY AUTO MAKERS OVER-DESIGN UN-SAFE FEATURES FOR REASONS UNKNOWN

1. Dark tinted windows: If someone wants to drive around in a car that looks and feels like the interior of a cocktail lounge, or the hideout of a drug dealer or rap star, then be my guest. But as for me, I loath dark tinted windows, even in hot weather and warm climates. In fact, to me it seems dangerous to drive with this kind of shield on your car. I'm not talking about light tinting which even I have. Recently when I drove a car with dark tinted windows, I had a surreal feeling and felt cut off from the world outside the car. Guess that's why car manufacturers are now designing and offering cameras on cars with computer screens for driving and backing (I suppose it's supposed to help us when we have a cell phone in one hand and bottled spring water in the other). As manufacturers make cars more difficult for human beings to see out of and drive, supposedly we need extra eyes and computer guidance to do it for us.

No thank you.

Who needs to drive in cars that feel like we're driving in a computer simulator? Just give me a car I can drive like a car, with unobstructed views of the outside world. And then leave the driving to me, not some computer thingy.

2. Big fat, obscene obstructing headrests in front and back seats. They're everywhere! They're everywhere!

Sometimes I have to scratch my head and wonder, who comes up with these ideas? I mean really. Who really thinks an obstructed view out the back and side windows is worth the over-protection from whiplash if you're rear-ended? I can see perhaps having a small adjustable head rest on front seats with emphasis on ADJUSTABLE. As it stands now, I believe you can remove the back seat rests, but you can't remove them in the front. You can bet after I backed into a car recently I never saw behind me, I found out I could remove the headrests that helped obstruct my view. They were thrown onto the floor of the back seat immediately and for the first time I could actually see where I was going and where I'd been.

One more thing. For long distance driving, headrests promote the world's worst posture. Your head is forced forward like a whooping crane or worst. The least manufactuers could do is make them smaller and adjustable in ways that allow you to hold you head up straight or even tilted a little back. But no, we have to have headrests that save us from the 1/1000 chance we might one day get a sore neck. And as for me, I'd rather not be so over-protected.

There are more car pet peeves, but for now, I'll leave it at those two: No to dark tinted windows, and No to headrests that are unremovable and cannot be adjusted.

I have a great idea. Let car manufacturers put holes in the tops of every car seat. Then let passengers and drivers select headrests for their cars from an array to suit their own preferences and size. In this world of ever-expanding choices, one size, and one setting should not ever have to fit all.

Travel Day

Intended writing more on my going in reverse fender bender Monday---and I still intend to---however, I'm traveling to today and probably won't be back to this until late tonight or Wednesday.

In truth, my life right now is out-of-control busy and will be for the next 4-6 weeks. My blogging unfortunately may at times be less of a priority during that period. My intentions are the best for doing a daily post, but I doubt that I will live up to them. Going to Scotland in several weeks is front and center right now.

My Monday Bender

TUESDAY UPDATE: Moving on from this. I have removed all those absolutely dreadful headrests attached to the back seat---three to be exact---that blocked my view out the back window and got a pillow on the driver's seat so I'm driving an inch or two higher and can now have an unobstructed view.

UPDATE: These guys aren't having the best of days either. This country can't imagine what would happen if they quit, even for a little while.


There are some days when life lessons come at me so fast I honestly want to have myself temporarily locked up in jail. Today has been one of those days.

I consider myself a good driver and drive all over the country. By the grace of God, I have never had an accident and only a rare speeding ticket every five to ten years (once on the plains of Eastern Colorado late at night when I let her rip with Bruce Springstein blasting on all thrusters and a female Highway Patrol hiding in a culvert waiting for the next greater fool, which turned out to be me). I got a parking ticket in Stroudsburg, PA last fall at 4:55 p.m. when I parked to run and get directions.

In addition to being a decent law abiding driver, I also fancy myself quite good at parallel parking and backing up. That is until today, while in a totally different car with an automatic transmission and standing completely still waiting for a left turn signal. I mean, how much trouble can one woman get into standing still?

Evidently, quite a bit. Something happened so bazaar that I simply can't write about it yet. I'll be back later or early tomorrow to tell a story on myself and a lesson I learned in a car I'm renting while the standard transmission on my Ford Explorer ( 244,448 miles, and yes I know I need to start thinking about a newer car) is being worked on.

This is going to be a fairly expensive life lesson and I'm not in the best of humor at the moment. But I'm glad nobody got hurt and that eventually I might be able to laugh at all this. Besides taking responsibility for my obvious mistake, I'm also going to take car manufacturers to task for what I consider to be absurd design features in all new cars today. My car is 9 years old and drives like a dream. I should have known about these new features, but didn't. And now I'm singing the blues.

Hope you're having a better day.

Easter

"Christ has now done everything necessary for salvation. Nothing now stands between the sinner and God but the sinner's good works. Nothing can keep us from Christ but our own delusion that we don't need Him, and that our good works and good enoughness can actually satisfy God. All we need is need. All we must have is nothing. All that is required is acknowledging our own sinfulness, but alas, we sinners cannot part with our sense of our own virtues which we think more than compensates for our weaknesses......Therefore the need for Grace becomes unnecessary. The real Grace of God we spurn in order to hold on to the illusory virtues of our own. Our eyes are fixed on a mirage, on our own sufficiency. We will not drink the real water of Grace. We die of thirst in the midst of an ocean of Grace."

---John Gerstner

Lon Solomon's Easter sermon, God's offer of a new life.