What is My Response?

Between a Rock and a Hard Place.

Not a fan of Barak Obama. I believe he is a socialist who is out of touch with the people of this country.

Not a fan of the democratic party.  I think their policies have had a tragic effect on the country.

Not a fan of Mitt Romney.  I think he is pro big goverment and somewhat progressive.

Not a fan of the republican party. I think they are over compromising and can not be counted on to stand by their policies.

Not a fan of voting for the lesser of two evils.  In the last presidential election the replublican party endorsed canidates that did not followed any sort of agenda as much as was what they(the party) believed were electable.  
HOW DID THAT WORK FOR YOU?

After the last election, in which I voted republican, I vowed never to compromise my stance again.
I will never again vote for a canidate I do not believe in.  In the local elections I have never voted for canidates whom I do not know where they stand on the issues.  Better not to vote than to vote for what you do not know.  I will expand this to our national elections.  As I have found out, it is just as important. 

Will it send a message? Probably only to me, but that is good enough.

Oil Shortage - More like intelligence shortage

A great scientific discovery? I can remember listening to a creationist, thirty years ago, tell of Paleontologists working in abandon oil fields and finding that the dry wells had filled back up with oil. And that the oil was dated as being younger than the original deposits. The speculation then was that oil/natural gas deposits was the result of physical process's (heat and pressure) on readily available gases (nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon oxides) over short periods of time. Main stream science pooh-poohs this, their cherished pariah of organic matter and millions of years were the only answer. If it did not fit their preconceived paradigms then it did not fly.

So naturally when I came across this article, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104123032.htm,
on Science daily's website touting the discovery as new even though they themselves admit the concept was suggested and proven over a hundred years ago.

You would think in that amount of time we could get at least a few text books updated to reflect both hypotheses?

Idols are hard to bring down... Hopefully another flake of stone has hit the ground.

Wise Counsel?


I have been praying a lot about counseling, especially concerning Pastors. The Pastor at the church I attend is constantly bogged down by the amount of counseling he feels he needs to do. Most Pastors have a similar situation. Those who put strict limits on their counseling load, or have strict rules on counseling usually come under harsh criticism from their congregation. Pastors feel this deluge of human need must be addressed and consoled. Thus the conflict between the perceived need of the congregation and the demands of day to day administrative routine. After much prayer and thought I came up with some observations.


Who is getting counseled?

Mostly... married women, more especially women married to non-Christian husbands. Surprise! they need a godly male figure in their lives and they can't get it at home. They look to their Pastor to fill that need. Unfortunately many Pastors enable them by trying to meet that need. It is an attractive scenario on both ends; the woman feels she has a sympathetic ear. For the Pastor he is affirmed and becomes the husband of her dreams even if it is for only an hour at a shot.

Psychologists tell us that when a man spends more than 15 minutes at a time alone with a woman he begins to sexualize the relationship. It doesn't matter the age difference or marital status. It is just the way guys are wired. So let’s say a Pastor gets together once a week for an hour with a married woman. After the first quarter of the meeting he is sexualizing the interaction. Which she feeds and nurtures by her affirmation and praise. Continue this for months or even years. Even if they never have even a hint of physical contact this is a full blown affair. Now multiply it by ten, twelve, two dozen... whatever! It would be enough to make Joseph Smith blush. Added to the fact that he spends way too much time at church and away from his own wife. It becomes away to have your cake and eat it too. A welcome relief from the mundane day to day of administration a partial release for pent up sexual frustration of long hours and little personal time.

The problem is- It is still an affair, it is sin, it is wrong. Jesus said Matthew 5:28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (New International Version). He will start to internalize her problems. With a relationship a man becomes the "fixer" which is not his position in this circumstance. Instead of pivoting the concerns to God he will internalize them because he is powerless to resolve the issues. Internalized conflict manifests in a mirad of health issues and stress related maladies.

His only resource is to sympathize with her situation which will bring division to her house hold.


The solution is -Let’s go old school with this one. Back in the day no Pastor would counsel a woman without his wife or a third party present. Chances are the church has got some older Ladies who would die for a chance at some real ministries. As Paul says in Titus 2:3-5 (NIV) Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God

Deal with the sin. Okay she married the wrong guy, again back to basics. Confess the sin, accept the consequences, and look to Jesus. These women need to look to Jesus to fill that spot that their husbands don't, not to their Pastors.