Trump's SOTU Speech Powerful and Passionate For America

MITCH MCCONNELL: TRUMP & THE REPUBLICAN CONGRESS HAVE PLENTY TO BRAG ABOUT AFTER YEAR ONE
@ POWERLINE: PRESIDENT TRUMP'S TRIUMPHANT SPEECH

IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE HOW ANYONE WHO'S A TRUE AMERICAN CAN FIND FAULT with Trump's heartfelt SOTU speech tonight.  With so much to comment on at this late hour, the best feedback to note was the glum, sour expressions on Cory Booker and Nancy Pelosi's faces throughout this speech. What an embarassment.

As I listen to poor, clueless, dark Joe Kennedy the third make a stab at rebuttal and demagoguery,  all I can say is,  How come all your forgotten people weren't helped by the last eight years under your man Obama?

Trump has done an outstanding job in the past year in the face of the most outrageous opposition, FBI gestapo tactics, searing criticism and fake news that any president has had to endure.

God bless America, God bless President Trump, and God bless the marvelous heroes the president highlighted who were sitting in the gallery with the beautiful First Lady.

Texas Wadi

TOOK THIS NEAR THE TEXAS-NEW MEXICO LINE. Never tire of getting back to this country....

Think we'd better fasten our seat belts ahead of the release of THE FISA MEMO...It will most likely be a real shocker, so we'd best get ready.

Late Sumday---Psalm 16

PSALM 16

You Will Not Abandon My Soul

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
I say to the Lord, 'You are my Lord, I have no good apart from you.'

As for the saints in the land,  they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.'

The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiple; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips.

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;  you hold my lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;  indeed I have a beautiful inheritance.

I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.
I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand,  I shall not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;  my flesh also dwells secure.
For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

How A Brilliant, Naughty Trickster---With Fake Reviews----Managed to Make A Fake Restaurant the #1 Eatery in London On TripAdvisor

SAW THIS ON PJMEDIA TODAY. It's an outrageous, welcome relief to all things FBI, Mueller and the putrid Washington swamp. Take a minute and look at the whole video. Than reflect on how absolutely ravenous and gullible creatures we are. There is no telling how many fake reviews are on TripAdvior and Amazon. 'The Shed' became a #1 London restaurant in seven months of fakery.

Megyn Kelly Gets Her Groove Back and Then Some Standing Up To the Jane Fonda Flap

TUESDAY UPDATE: MEGYN OFF THE AIR TODAY. Is divorce coming between Megyn and NBC? Will they make her apologize for Fonda remarks? Will she? If not, what will happen?

IT WAS A LONG TIME COMING, but today Megyn Kelly finally put her controversial Jane Fonda interview of last fall into some well-needed perspective.

Apparently it was on the 9 am segment of Today show which I haven't watched in decades and never plan to. Still, when it hit the Daily Mail, it made me grin. She sounded like her old self again.

From what I've read of her at NBC, it hasn't been an easy ride as she's given up some of her hard-edge news woman persona at Fox in favor of a nice, fun, tip-toe through the tulips  daytime approach. This has apparently been to her detriment. Today, however, she showed she still has it in her. I  have to congratulate her on her home run.  I can only image what Jane Fonda must be saying tonight.  On second thought I really don't want to know.  She's never been my cup of tea.

Megyn has probably gotten herself into a bad marriage with NBC which will  likely end in a divorce, sooner rather than later.

Sunday: Sin of Complacency

SUNDANCE FILM: WEALTH CULTURE ADDICTION SPIRALLING OUT OF CONTROL

COMPLACENCY

AS WE HAVE SEEN, the mark of the fool is to be wise in his own eyes. This leads to the deadly spiritual condition of smug complacency. There is nothing more foolish than to think you have life under control when it is not controllable. The classic example is Jesus' parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:19-20). No matter what type of designer life you think you have put together for yourself, bereavement, illness, betrayal, and financial disaster happen to everyone. No amount of wealth, success, power or planning can make you impervious to them.

Fools live in a dream of metaphysical self-sufficience.  They think they have everything sorted, and the complacency leads to disaster.  But the opposite of complacency----anxiety---is no solution.  We can lose our overconfidence and still be at ease, without fear if we remember that we have the omnipotent, sovereign Lord of the universe as our father.  Christians also remind their hearts that if God did not spare us his own Son,  how will he not give us whatever we need (Romans 8:32)?

If things are going pretty well for you, are you getting complacent?  If things are not going well, are you getting anxious?  How can you avoid both?

PRAYER:  Lord,  I have been so often whiplashed back and forth between thinking I have everything under control and feeling panic that everything is out of control.  Neither is the case.  You are in control, and until I rest in that,  I'll be a miserable fool.  Amen.

---Timothy and Kathy Keller, God's Wisdom For Navigating Life, A Year of Daily Devotions in the Book of Proverbs, Page 16

Please Join Me In Reading Through the Bible This Year---The Word of God Is Living and Active

PIPER: BEFORE YOU BELIEVED YOU BELONGED

DO YOU HAVE YEARNINGS  in your life that no amount of worldly success, popularity, influence, money, therapy, fame, family and even religiosity can satisfy?  If so, then join the human race because God has created us that way.  He made us with yearning holes in our hearts that only He----and nothing else---can ultimately fill and satisfy.  It's through a personal relationship with his son,  Jesus Christ. Salvation,  peace and joy can only come from Him and his Word no matter how hard we try and try to stuff our holes with any and everything.

The story of the Fall of Man, Sin, Salvation and ultimate Redemption is stunning, convicting and encouraging to every heart willing to see,  listen and be transformed slowly over time.

I want to invite you to join  Mike, me and thousands of others this year in reading through the Bible----from Genesis to Revelation--- at OneYearBibleBlog, linked at the top of my sidebar to the right.  Every day there's a reading from the Old and New Testaments,  Psalms and Proverbs.  It's all in context, often with brilliant commentary for further thought.  There's always food for thought, prayer and wisdom for life.

Even if you don't  have time to read extensively on a particular day,  you can read Mike's commentary and find something to mull over in your heart and mind.  Every year that I do this,  I see a little  more and feel more and more gratitude for the redeeming and finished work of Christ on the Cross, as he took our sin to the Cross and got what we all deserve so we can be saved from the ultimate separation after the Second Coming.

The best part is seeing how God uses rebellious, imperfect people like you and me in the world to accomplish his purposes.  That's the best news and doesn't require us to wait to approach him until we're perfect, cause we never will be.  I hope you'll consider joining many of us in this wonderful journey this year.  You won't be disappointed.

Who Would Have Thought the West Coast of Florida Could Look This Good Three Months After the Hurricane?

I HAVE ESCAPED THE ICE AND SNOW OF TENNESSEE for a short visit to Sarasota/Longboat Key.  That's where many of my buddies from Wyoming and DC are at this time of year.

We all expected the hurricane in September would completely destroy the west coast here, like it did sadly in so many places in the Caribbean..  Yet, miraculously and by the amazing Grace of God,  it was mostly spared. What looked like another monster storm petered out as it slammed into the mainland and whimpered up the coast.

Today,  this part of Florida couldn't look better.  Who knew? Got here, collapsed,  took a great nap first thing  and listened to the sound of the ocean outside.  Incredibly relaxing!

Tongue In Cheek: If Oprah Runs, She'll Have to Explain Her Close Relationship to Harvey Weinstein and This Slimy Kiss

ROSE MCGOWAN---NOT CONVINCED ANY FANCY PEOPLE WHO WORE BLACK LAST NIGHT WOULD HAVE LIFTED A FINGER AGAINST HARVEY UNTIL SHE CAME ALONG TYLER O'NEIL @ PJMEDIA---If Oprah Runs for President, Will This Photo Sink Her Candidacy?

ROSE MCGOWEN ACCUSES HOLLYWOOD ACTRESSES OF FAKERY

Sunday of Increasing Warmth And Light: A Devotional for Protection, Another for Wisdom

 

TODAY TEMPERATURES WILL RISE OVER 30 DEGREES!. It is most welcome. In fact the forecast calls for temps to rise into the low 60s for a day or two this week.  Talk about a turnaround!   This week has been a one of more stillness, reorganizing and planning for the New Year. To wit, here are several devotionals to inspire us at this budding time of the year:

PRAYING FOR PROTECTION:  Psalm 5:7-12

 7  But I, by your great love, can come into your house; in reverence I bow down toward your holy temple. 8  Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies- make your way straight before me. 9  Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with malice. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongues they tell lies. 10  Declare them guilty, O God! Let their intrigues be their downfall. Banish them for their many sins, for they have rebelled against you. 11  But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. 12  Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

KELLER COMMENTS: David's psalms often speak of enemies. Ancient kings were always in danger of people trying to kill them. We may have fewer enemies intent on physical violence, but there are many forces in the world that can ruin us economically, emotionally and spiritually. We must do what David did. He asks God to spread his protection over him. He is sure God will do this because he looks towards his temple, the place where sins are atoned for (in the OT). Christians do the same when they remember and look to the One who claimed to be the final temple (John 2:20-21) the ultimate sacrifice, and the conclusive proof of God's great love for us.

PRAYER: Righteous Lord, I ask for protection from all the hostile forces around me (and my family and loved ones) But when I get indignant about evil in others, I remember my own sin, and that I can come near you only by your grace. How I need to hate wrongdoing and yet not become angry and begin to feel superior to others! Keep me and my loved ones safe, but keep us humble. Amen.

---KELLER,  The Songs of Jesus 

++++++++++

WHAT IS FOOLISHNESS? 

Proverb 1:22: How long you who are simple love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge?

KELLERj COMMENTS:  THE OPPOSITE OF WISDOM.  Throughout the book of Proverbs the opposite of wisdom is called foolishness. In English the word 'fool'  is little more than an insult.  In Proverbs, however, fools are people so habitually out of toucch with realilty that they make life miserable for themselves and all those around them.  We can't treat our body any way we want without consequences.  We can't treat  people any way we want and expect to have good friends and a strong family.  We can't all live selfish lives and expect thej social fabric to remain in tact. Fools, however, do all these things and therefore sow and reap discord and destruction.

There are various forms of foolishness, as we will see (in Proverbs).  But the ultimate foolishness is to make anything the center of our lives besides God.  That will always lead to disappointment and breakdown.

Jesus describes the foolish man whosse home is built on sand instead of on the solid rock of Christ's word and wisdom ( Matthew 7:24-26).  Fools fail to see boundaries embedded in reality---physical, psychological, relational and spiritual.  They step outside them and wonder why they sink.

Where have you seen most recently---either in your life or someone else's----the bitter fruit of foolishness?

PRAYER:  Lord,  my heart so often wants to deny reality, but that is foolish,  Reality in this fallen world is both wonderful and t errible.  Help me see it for what it is, and teach me to walk wisely in it.  Amen.

----KELLER,  Proverbs, God's Wisdom for Navigating Life

Real Winter

LIFE IS FROZEN for a few more days before it starts warming up Sunday. I have only seen it this cold here several times in my life,  but never any colder. I did experience sub-zero winter temps in Jackson Hole. Several winters there were enough for me.

Happy New Year 2018! Makin' Bacon for the Black Eyed Peas and Greens

IT'S 5 DEGREES OUTSIDE AND THE ALMOST FULL MOON HAS JUST SET leaving pitch black dark all around. But not to worry,  the smell of bacon drifts softly through the house as others sleep.

Boy does it smell good!  What's more fun to prepare on New Years Day with the bacon than black eyed
peas and wilted greens cooked in warm bacon lard.  Just what we need to stay energized in this bitter, bitter cold!

Will be back with more pics later.  Meanwhile,  Happy, Healthy,  Prosperous 2018!  And thank you for coming by!