How Government works

Once upon a time the government had a vast scrap yard in the middle of a desert. Congress said, "Someone may steal from it at night." So they created a night watchman position and hired a person for the job.




Then Congress said, "How does the watchman do his job without instruction?" So they created a planning department and hired two people, one person to write the instructions and one person to do time studies.

Then Congress said, "How will we know the night watchman is doing the tasks correctly?" So they created a Quality Control department and hired two people, one to do the studies and one to write the reports.

Then Congress said, "How are these people going to get paid?" So they created two positions, a time keeper and a payroll officer, then hired two people.

Then Congress said, "Who will be accountable for all of these people?"

So they created an administrative section and hired three people, an Administrative Officer, an Assistant Administrative Officer, and a Legal Secretary.

Then Congress said, "We have had this command in operation for one year, and we are $918,000 over budget. We must cut back." So they laid off the night watchman.

NOW slowly, let that sink in.

Quietly, we go like sheep to slaughter.

Does anybody remember the reason given for the establishment of the DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY..... during the Carter Administration?

Anybody?

Anything?

No?

Didn't think so!

Bottom line: We've spent several hundred billion dollars in support of an agency...the reason for which not one person who reads this can remember!

Ready?? It was very simple . . . and, at the time, everybody thought it very appropriate.

The Department of Energy was instituted on 8/04/1977 TO LESSEN OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL.


Hey, pretty efficient, huh???


AND, NOW, IT'S 2010 -- 33 YEARS LATER -- AND THE BUDGET FOR THIS "NECESSARY" DEPARTMENT IS AT $24.2 BILLION A YEAR. IT HAS 16,000 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AND APPROXIMATELY 100,000 CONTRACT EMPLOYEES, AND LOOK AT THE JOB IT HAS DONE! THIS IS WHERE YOU SLAP YOUR FOREHEAD AND SAY, "WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?"

A little over 33 years ago, 30% of our oil consumption was foreign imports. Today 70% of our oil consumption is foreign imports.

Ah, yes -- the good old Federal bureaucracy!!


NOW, WE HAVE TURNED THE BANKING SYSTEM, HEALTH CARE, AND THE AUTO INDUSTRY OVER TO THE SAME GOVERNMENT?

Hello!! Anybody Home?

A Glimpse of Heaven

We Shall See God – Charles Spurgeon’s classic devotional thoughts on Heaven is a must have for the Spurgeon fan!

One of history’s most revered preachers, Spurgeon has more material in print today that any other author in history. Many of his sermons have been published in various forms for us to enjoy today. Heaven was one of his favorite topics for preaching and many of those sermons weren’t available until this book.

Retrieving 50 sermons from the archives of history, Randy Alcorn has provided a great service in collecting and publishing some of Spurgeon’s most passionate sermons. Reading this classic collection, I was reminded of Spurgeon’s life mission, as he clearly stated:” I have no purpose to serve except to make the Scripture as plain to you as possible.” His passion and his gift for clarity are prominently displayed in these sermons.

I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to young (teens) and old alike. All who choose to read will be impacted by the words of perhaps the world’s second greatest preacher (behind Paul).

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through their bloggers review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Average Joe

Average Joe God’s Extraordinary Calling to Ordinary Men by Troy Meeder is a really good read!

In 14 short chapters, the author takes us on a journey to reveal the inner strength we all possess. It’s really easy for us to look at the success of others and wonder why we must be “average”. A great truth that is revealed in this book, however, is that average doesn’t have to equal mediocre.

Troy pulls the covers back on his own life and gives us a glimpse into his failures and successes. One particularly poignant moment is the instance where his marriage came close to an end. Troy is able to show us how the breaking point was reached in the relationship with the woman he adored In the end, we all realize this to be just another onslaught brought on by Satan in an attempt to destroy our lives and our influence.

I encourage everyone reading this review to buy several copies of this book and give them to the men in your life. The reflective mirror that is this book will pierce the hearts of anyone who reads it!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through their bloggers review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Why does trouble come to our lives?

Sometimes God paints in HD and speaks in something far superior to Dolby surround sound 7.1.

Last night, my pastor delivered his sermon on this very topic – Why trouble comes into our life. Taking his text from Job 14:1 (Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble.)
That verse pretty much touches us all, doesn't it?

Many great points were developed during his preaching, but the last ones were specifically inspired by the Holy Spirit just for me:

Trouble comes to develop our leadership
Trouble comes to display our lives

Both of these points spoke to me tremendously as a result of the health issues I’ve been battling ove the previous 9 months. Suddenly, the events of those 270+ days (and especially the opportunity that was presented earlier in the morning) seemed to be revealing specifically to me the words of Romans 8:28. (Look it up - it'll do you good!)

Ok, so it’s time for a flashback (my wife hates dramas that do flashbacks, so hopefully she won’t read this! ).

As most of you know, I am a member of The Gideons International, an organization whose sole purpose is the distribution of God’s Word into the traffic lanes of life with the sole purpose of winning the lost for Christ. We strive to visit each of our partner churches on an annual basis to deliver a stewardship report along with sharing salvation testimonies that demonstrate the power of God’s Word. To this end, I was invited to speak at a local church this past Sunday, and had just a wonderful time visiting with the folks at this local assembly as I shared with them about the local and international Gideon organizations.

This particular church presents a unique challenge to a speaker, in that they provide three worship opportunities for their congregation. As a speaker, you want to present a compelling message that will touch the congregation, including the testimonies that are presented. The specific challenge is to present unique testimonies to each service, and have the passion of each changed life on display for the congregation. Each service had a different “feel” to the worship for this conservative Baptist, but let me stress – at no point did I feel uncomfortable. Just before the service was to begin, at the request of the pastor, I had taken a seat just in front of the choir, facing the congregation.

As I was waiting for the start of the service, I heard a female voice behind me having a conversation with the lady next to her. The voices were markedly grieving over some tragedy; it was as if the words were dripping with tears. I felt sorry for them and the troubles that they were discussing.

Just as the pianist hit the opening chords of the prelude, I heard the dreaded words - "They are saying he needs to have his spleen removed!" I turned around, rather rudely I'm sure, to capture a mental photograph of these two with the intent of speaking to them at the end of the service.

As the service concluded, I found myself at the back of the church, alongside the Pastor, greeting each of the attendees and answering their questions concerning the work of the Gideons. I'm sure that some of them wondered why I appeared to be so distracted (I'm positive it showed). I kept watching the lady from the choir making sure she didn't leave by a side door. I just felt compelled to speak with her.

Finally, I had my chance and I shared that I had overheard her conversation about someone needing a spenectomy. I told her that I had that same surgery within the past few months and would be willing to share my experiences if she desired. Oh, yes - she wanted details - all the details. As it turned out, she was discussing her son's illness (ITP - same as me) and all the treatments he had received without any positive results thus far. (Sounding familiar???)

She had concerns about the treating physician, who happens to be my doctor, and I was able to reassure her that she should trust him. She had concerns about the surgeon, you guessed it - my surgeon, and again, I expressed my confidence and my experiences of after procedure care telling her I would never let anyone else cut on me if this Dr. was available. The after surgical treatment procedures were also discussed, along with my recent tremendous good news of platelets actually a little high!!

Suffice to say this lady left in a much better frame of mind than when she arrived. I'm just thankful to God that I was used as an instrument of encouragement!

So why does trouble come - to put our lives on display and to develop our leadership.

Wow! What an awesome God we serve!!!

If you struggle in your faith, or just have doubts about your relationship with God, then this is the book for you! In this 127 page, easy-to-read book, Mark Mittelberg asks six ever-popular questions: Is There a God? Can the Bible be trusted? Are we accountable to God? Who was Jesus and what was His purpose? Is divine forgiveness available? What do I need to do? The answers that are presented to these questions with are simple and elementary, and are laced with everyday life illustrations that anyone can relate to in order to help them grasp the answers to some baffling questions.
I enthusiastically recommend this book to anyone from 12 to 100! You will find the book to be a valuable companion and the composition of the book facilitates easy reading of the text. This is a book you will be tempted to read thru in one sitting.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through their bloggers review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

A Vow of Verity

If you’re looking for a laugh, Phil Callaway’s book, To Be Perfectly Honest, is just the ticket for you! The premise of his book came from his editor who wanted him to write a book about telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, for an entire year. Callaway writes in diary form about each day of the year making this an easy book to read at your leisure.


About a month into this adventure, his friends decide to take advantage of his honesty and he starts getting pummeled with e mails:

Day 31. Neil wanted to hear about my most embarrassing moment, and Nick wondered about my biggest fear....

(to Neil): I once deliberately frightened a man whom I thought was someone else. I awoke with a snort during a sermon...(pg. 19)

Phil’s journey of truth is really a fun read. Throughout the year, he is faced with the same temptations of the past, but now he has to confront these trials accompanied by his vow of truthfulness. He is tortured by the fact that his wife pays their tithes on the first Sunday of the month and each succeeding Sunday he is forced to watch the sneers (in his mind) of the ushers as he places nothing in the offering plate.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through their bloggers review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

No He Can’t

No He Can’t by Kevin McCullough
Kevin McCullough holds the distinction of being the first pundit in the world to predict that President Barack Obama would become president of the United States (verified on-air by Rush Limbaugh). The events of the campaign seemed to snowball into a crescendo that saw Obama elected to that office, not surprisingly to Kevin. He is, however, surprised at the actions of Obama and his administration over the first two years in office.

The four main components of the book are Economics, National Insecurity, Erosion of Rights and Accountability to Caesar. Within the book, McCullough looked at the missteps that President Obama took in his Presidency so far and made some recommendations on how President Obama can again gain the support he once had.

McCullough doesn’t just set out to attack Obama – he actually has some nice things to say about him in the book. He also doesn’t pull any punches when he is highlighting clarion call issues for Christians - Obama sending our tax dollars overseas to fund the murder of babies (aka abortion), voting to refuse care to a baby who survives abortion, and more.
Every Christian should read this book – it is a call to prayer for our Nation!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”