BigJolly says…..

by as I get older! Wow, another week has come and gone. Overall, it was a good week, at least for me.

My pardner at work, RO, didn’t have such a good one. His dad had been in home hospice for the past three weeks and passed away yesterday morning. Death is hard to come to grips with, even when you know it’s coming and you know it’s for the best. A couple of weeks ago, I remember RO telling me that his whole world was turning upside down because his dad was about to go and his neighbor told him he was selling his house and moving away because of financial pressure.

Too beautiful of a day for deep thought, but we have to address taxes and health care in some meaningful way.

SU and I had a good week. Date night was great, even if the movie was kinda squirrelly. The Pilot’s Wife, I think was the title. Not an Oscar winner. Then yesterday, we both left the office early and hopped on the bike for a nice ride. Such beautiful weather. After that, we ordered a pizza and watched four episodes of Murder One. Watching TV shows from DVD’s is the only way to watch television.

Today is work around the trailer day. Gotta finish the remodeling stuff before Thanksgiving. SU is out shopping now, but before she left, she proudly told me that she had cleaned out several of the beds in the back yard. So I took a look.

Thanks, sweety pie.

for deep thought lately. Good thing too because stuff like this drives me nuts.

Some Christian congregations, particularly in lower income, urban areas, are turning to an unlikely source for help — the Church of Scientology.

Scientologists do not worship God, much less Jesus Christ. The church has seen plenty of controversy and critics consider it a cult. So why are observant Christians embracing some its teachings?

Unbelievable. The faith is getting so intertwined with the world it’s hard to tell them apart at times. I especially like the reasoning behind these moves.

Two pastors who spoke recently with CNN explained that when it comes to religion, they still preach the core beliefs of Christianity. But when it comes to practicing what they preach in a modern world, borrowing from Scientology helps.

“I’m looking for solutions, and the people that I help, they don’t ask me who L. Ron Hubbard is,” said McLaughlin, who works with addicts. “You know what they say? ‘Thank God.’ “

Reminds me of the churches that are buying Halo 3 to reach out to teenage males, the ends justify the means types of arguments. Or that church that hosted the nasty Holy Hip Hop Awards earlier this year.

Kennedy admits other pastors have criticized him, but the disapproval is not enough to discourage him. He insists that he has witnessed the changes “The Way to Happiness” has inspired in people. He also maintains that the Scientologists, many of whom he calls friends, are successful at outreach and getting desired results.

So was Jim Jones. Successful. Results. Guyana.

overall. Saturday was a nice, relaxing day. Cleaned the pool, made a huge pot of chicken/sausage gumbo, rode the bike to see “The Moving Wall”, watched four episodes of season one of Murder One (the only way to watch TV!) and studied for class on Sunday. Very relaxing.

Yesterday’s class was great. Had a nice turnout and the guys seemed interested in the subject, which was How to Understand the Bible. I was glad to be fully back in the saddle after letting DB teach the last two weeks.

I thought it was interesting and telling that when I searched my library for the phrase “how to understand the bible”, I had two hits, neither of which was really about understanding the Word. That’s out of about 1,600 books on religion and philosophy. But for the phrase “how to study the bible”, I had 92 legitimate hits.

I think that is part of the problem. People constantly study the bible but never really understand it. I don’t have my outline with me at the moment but one of the things that stood out during our discussion was that you have to make it personal. You have to own it. You have to bring it into your life by doing it. Only then can you begin to understand it.

The morning service was interesting. I was really into the music, in my own zone, just worshipping on stage, oblivious to everything around me. That’s an awesome feeling and it’s much easier to bring others into worship with you.

We had a guest speaker, Rick Stanley. He is Elvis Presley’s step brother and grew up living at Graceland from the age of six. He briefly mentioned Elvis in the morning service, and then talked a little bit more about him in the evening service. I don’t care much for his style, the old southern tent revival type of theatrics. But I do like that he doesn’t focus on the negative side of Elvis, balancing the more sensational, negative aspects of his life.

This is the second or third time I’ve heard him and I’ve noticed a bit of a change in his overall philosophy. He still has the theatrics but seems to be gravitating to the side of the evangelical wing that is blossoming by focusing on doing what the Bible says to do, as well as just studying it.

On that note, I found an interesting article in the NY Times about the movement of conservative evangelicals away from the Republican Party. Very interesting reading, it outlines several of the things I’ve been saying about politics. And why I think that people are going to be very surprised when the votes are tallied. At least those people that think that a guy with baggage like Rudy is not going to get any support from conservative Christians. And I think it is a good thing that Christians are pulling back from organized politics and focusing on the message of Christ.

Reading this article should help people that are not tuned into evangelical circles to realize where the attacks from the religious right on Mike Huckabee stem from. The distortions and blatant lies about the guy from people that openly call themselves Christians floors me but I understand why they are doing this. It’s real simple – he doesn’t kowtow to them and he doesn’t need them to speak to other Christians. He goes around them. In other words, he threatens their flow of money and lessens their influence.

I pulled back from my support of him when he hosted a Green Day and seemed to embrace Al Gore’s global warming nonsense. After reading more about the event itself, the people involved in it and his thoughts on trading carbon credits, I’m much more comfortable with his position. Even I can be gullible to the distorters and liars.

After church last night, LB and I went to Denny’s and had coffee. You would’ve thought I was Chatty Cathy I talked so much!

Yep, overall, it was an interesting, relaxing, worshipping, fulfilling weekend.

 

I did a series of posts over at Lone Star Times on the constitutional amendments. It was a lot of fun and informative, reading about them, comparing the various commentaries for and against and coming to my own conclusions. Have to do that again someday, although I must admit it took up a bit of time. Hey, it’s a hobby, what can I say?

Prop	Short Description	BigJolly Says
1	Angelo State Governance	For
2	$500 Million in Bonds for Student Loans	Against
3	Appraisal Increases Limited to 10% per year	For
4	$1 Billion in Bonds for Various Projects	Against
5	Economic Development - Small Town Property Tax Freezes	Against
6	Exempts Certain Personal Vehicles From Property Taxes for Professionals	For
7	Repurchase Property Seized by Eminent Domain at Original Purchase Price	For
8	Clarifies Home Equity Loans	For
9	Disabled Vet Homestead Exemption	For
10	Eliminates Inspector of Hides and Animals	Against
11	Requires Record Votes – Legislature	Against
12	$5 Billion in Transportation Bonds	Against
13	Denial of Bail in Certain Misdemeanors	For
14	Allows Judges to Complete Their Terms in Office After the Age of 75	For
15	$3 Billion in Cancer Research Bonds	Against
16	$250 Million in Water Resource Bonds	For

Clicking on the links takes you to the actual post on LST.

back, pat yourself on the back and admire your work. Such was the case today after I finished off the last third rack of the ribs I cooked on Saturday. Gives a whole new meaning to the term leftovers. Perfection defined. One of my best efforts ever and I’ve had some good ones.

Had a good day at church. DB led the discussion and it was great. The guys picked it up and chatted about prayer, their thoughts about it, and what praying in His will means. Good stuff.

The pastor chose to talk about money, guess it was just time. We usually only talk about it in February, perhaps we have so many new members he thought they could use the talk.

Tithing is an interesting thing. I wouldn’t think of not tithing, even when I consider that the amount SU and I are blessed to give is rather large. At least by my standards. But gosh, where would I be without His blessings surrounding money? Nope, tithing isn’t an option.

Skipped church last night. SU went down to the border to try and figure out how to make a buck given the political climate. So I stayed home and watched the Pubbies continue to try and sort out their presidential candidates.

Not much happening at the plantation today. Still need to hire someone but it’s hard when you are in a natural down cycle. Need to decide what to do about a couple of things that are bugging me, nothing concrete, just a gnawing that productivity could be increased. These “hunches” always prove fruitful so it should be interesting what the Holy Spirit is telling me to do.

enjoying some very beautiful weather in the trailer park. Have the pit going with a pork tenderloin and a rack of pork ribs. Just piddlin’, doin’ a few things here and there. Walked around a bit with the little Lumix.

weeks material tonight for the The Man God Uses: Moved from the Ordinary to the Extraordinary Bible study. We’ve complete five weeks now, with two left.

The week was titled Made for Crises and we discussed several issues that affect us today. The week walked through several of the things that I’ve been thinking about lately but mostly focused upon keeping our relationship with God growing. Blackaby listed several people of previous generations, Luther, Edwards, Wesley, etc. and how they had overcome obstacles to do God’s work.

That’s one of the things that always strikes me as odd, God doesn’t use perfect men, He uses men that are very much flawed. And that is the hope that I have, that He can use someone like me.

One of the things that LB brought up was that his friend asked him a question, or really, pointed out a dichotomy about works. She noticed that all of the churches she’s been to really don’t help the people that she thinks they should help. Her specific point was the fundraising activities that you see around town for people that have cancer, big hospital bills, their out of work, whatever. She noticed that it was the bars around town that were doing the work, not the churches.

I think she has a point but not the whole picture. No question, bars do provide these functions. I wrote about that here a while back.

But that is only half the picture, if that. Most churches, and Christians, go about their business without fanfare. If I give money to someone, I don’t go tell the world about it. Same with churches, although I do agree that we could do a better job of helping the needy.

Two more weeks of this study, then we are going to take a couple of weeks off, then hit it again with a service oriented study. That should be interesting.

I was thinking this morning about the discussion in class Sunday. It is always heartening to hear a positive testimony of a man sticking to his faith and principles, making a difference in his world.

One of the guys mentioned offhandedly that he had made an impact at his job. I asked him to tell us specific steps that he had taken to make this impact. First, he said, was his language. He never curses, never talks negatively, and never reacts in anger. That is incredibly important – and is always the first thing that people notice.

When I hear a Christian curse, or see a Christian’s curse words in a discussion forum, I immediately know that that person is outside of God’s will and God cannot use him in any form or fashion.

^{Ephesians 4:29} You must let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but only what is beneficial for the building up of the one in need, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Jesus addressed it harshly:

^{Matthew 12:33-37} “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is known by its fruit. Offspring of vipers! How are you able to say anything good, since you are evil? For the mouth speaks from what fills the heart. The good person brings good things out of his good treasury, and the evil person brings evil things out of his evil treasury. I tell you that on the day of judgment, people will give an account for every worthless word they speak. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

No matter your past reputation as a man of God, the words you use now, today, affect everyone around you. And you know what? You can’t just take them back and think all is well.

“It is said that a man once came to Mohammed and asked how he could make amends for falsely accusing a friend. Mohammed told him to put a feather on every doorstep in the village. Next day he told the man to collect them. ‘But that is impossible,’ said the man, ‘the wind has scattered them beyond recall!’ The prophet replied, ‘So is it with your reckless words.’”

Tom Constable: Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible. Galaxie Software, 2003; 2003, S. Eph 4:29

Back to the guy in my class, he also said something else that is very important and that we seldom take note of. He doesn’t participate in any form of innuendo. You know the word play that we use to talk about sex without talking about it. Or to say that Joe is not a good guy without saying it. Or to imply that Sally got that promotion not on merit without saying it.

The last thing he said was that he actually performed his job with gusto. He put his all into it.

And his workplace changed. Over time. Always over time because people are distrustful by nature. They don’t trust the guy that stands in the corner with a megaphone shouting about Christ. But they do trust the man that goes about his business day by day, putting action behind the things that the Holy Spirit teaches him.

After a while, other men began to act the same. Men that went along with the crowd before had an example in front of them that allowed them to make a change. It allowed them to be the men that they wanted to be in the first place but were afraid to go against the grain. It gave them courage to show their faith, in turn increasing their faith, allowing them to be examples to others.

Now that was a testimony! It was real, it was personal and it had results. Be the man God wants you to be. Be fearless, courageous and righteous. Allow God to use you to further His plan for your family, your friends, your church and your work.

when I’m in a funk by the number of posts I type on Bigjolly. I had a reader contact me today to inquire if my calendar was broken, I had to explain that it wasn’t broken, it’s an archive calendar and is correct only if I’m posting frequently. Which, of course, I haven’t been.

Many reasons, I suppose. It comes and goes in cycles, the amount of stuff I’m willing to put up about my personal life. I’ve had no problem posting elsewhere, observing things around me. But to speak of personal stuff is very different.

For instance, I’ve been neglecting to thoroughly do my daily studies, letting both CH and LB down. That isn’t a lot of fun to admit but it’s certainly true. And not studying in depth creates other problems, all related to distancing myself from the Holy Spirit, not letting Him have complete control.

Had a great day Saturday, smoked a 14 lb. brisket, a rack of pork ribs, a mess of beef ribs and a couple of chicken breasts. I must admit, I have this down to a science, perfect 3/16″ smoke ring on the brisket, nice bark on the flat, very juicy, no bitter smoke taste. The pork ribs weren’t my best ever, they were a last minute addition without proper seasoning methods. But tasty nonetheless, it is hard to beat plain salt/pepper on the brisket portion of the spareribs rack.

Class yesterday was interesting. I had asked one of the guys to lead the discussion, giving me a break. Alas, his wife showed up with a bunch of paperwork he had done in preparation but he wasn’t going to be able to make it. He did an awful lot of work, bet he was disappointed. I could feel his passion for the material as I read through it. Luckily I had read the lesson material daily and was able to make an effort at leading the discussion. The guys seemed to really appreciate the work that DB had put into his material.

Felt good singing in worship. I had decent range, could go up or down with ease. Nice when that happens, which isn’t often the older I get.

Our church had an open house/fall festival thing in the evening. Tons of food, fellowship and games for the kids. A lot of people from the neighborhood came, it’s a very good outreach.

Talked to CH a bit this afternoon, I’ve really let him down. Need to pick that back up and make sure he knows that I’m still there anytime, anywhere he needs me. He might be doubting that a bit as I’ve stopped calling him daily.

Oh, and had an extra date night last week to make up for the disaster earlier. Nothing quite like making up!

Political yes. True, somewhat. This is what music can be about, regardless of your position on the border.