Like a lot of folks in this country ... I have a job. I work, they pay me. I pay my taxes and the government distributes my taxes as it sees fit.
In order to get that paycheck, I am required to pass a random urine test, with which I have no problem. What I do have a problem with is the distribution of my taxes to people who don’t have to pass a urine test.
Shouldn’t one have to pass a urine test to get a welfare check because I have to pass one to earn it for them?
Please understand, I have no problem with helping people get back on their feet.
I do on the other hand have a problem with helping someone sitting on their butt and using drugs.
In January of 1996, the Rev. Joe Wright, senior pastor of the 2,500-member Central Christian Church in Wichita, was invited to offer the opening prayer at a session of the Kansas House of Representatives and the prayer he offered was this one:
Heavenly Father, we come before you to ask your forgiveness. We seek your direction and your guidance. We know your word says, “Woe to those who call evil good.” But that’s what we’ve done.
We’ve lost our spiritual equilibrium. We have inverted our values. We have ridiculed the absolute truth of your word in the name of moral pluralism. We have worshiped other gods and called it multiculturalism.
We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle.
We’ve exploited the poor and called it a lottery. We’ve neglected the needy and called it self-preservation. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. In the name of choice, we have killed our unborn. In the name of right to life, we have killed abortionists.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. We have abused power and called it political savvy. We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it taxes. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us, oh, God, and know our hearts today. Try us. Show us any wickedness within us. Cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of the State of Kansas, and that they have been ordained by you to govern this great state.
Grant them your wisdom to rule. May their decisions direct us to the center of your will. And, as we continue our prayer and as we come in out of the fog, give us clear minds to accomplish our goals as we begin this Legislature. For we pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Rev. Wright said afterwards: “I certainly did not mean to be offensive to individuals, but I don’t apologize for the truth.” His staff stopped counting the telephone calls that came from every state and many foreign countries after the first 6,500. Wright appeared on dozens of radio shows and was the subject of numerous TV and print news reports, and his prayer stirred up controversy all over again when it was read by the chaplain coordinator in the Nebraska legislature the following month. Wright later explained, “I thought I might get a call from an angry congressman or two, but I was talking to God, not them. The whole point was to say that we all have sins that we need to repent — all of us . . . The problem, I guess, is that you’re not supposed to get too specific when you’re talking about sin.”
I dreamt that I went to Heaven and an angel was showing me around. We
walked side-by-side inside a large workroom filled with angels. My angel
guide stopped in front of the first section and said, “This is the Receiving
Section. Here, all petitions to God said in prayer are received.”
I looked around in this area, and it was terribly busy with so many
angels sorting out petitions written on voluminous paper sheets and scraps from
people all over the world.
Then we moved on down a long corridor until we reached the second
section. The angel then said to me, “This is the Packaging and Delivery
Section. Here, the graces and blessings the people asked for are processed
and delivered to the living persons who asked for them.”
I noticed again how busy it was there. There were many angels working
hard at that station, since so many blessings had been requested and were being
packaged for delivery to Earth.
Finally at the farthest end of the long corridor we stopped at the door of
a very small station. To my great surprise, only one angel was seated
there, idly doing nothing. “This is the Acknowledgment Section,” my angel
friend quietly admitted to me. He seemed embarrassed.
“How is it that? There’s no work going on here?” I asked.
“So sad,” the angel sighed. “After people receive the blessings that
they asked for, very few send back acknowledgments.”
“How does one acknowledge God’s blessings?” I asked.
“Simple,” the angel answered. “Just say, Thank you, Lord.”
“What blessings should they acknowledge?” I asked.
“If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof
overhead and a place to sleep ... you are richer than 75% of this
world. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in
a dish, you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.”
“And if you get this on your own computer, you are part of the 1% in the
world who has that opportunity.”
Also .. “If you woke up this morning with more health than illness
.. you are more blessed than the many who will not even survive this
day.”
“If you have never experienced the fear in battle, the loneliness of
imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation .. you are
ahead of 700 million people in the world. If you can attend a church meeting
without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death ... you are
envied by, and more blessed than, three billion people in the world.”
“If your parents are still alive and still married .. you are very
rare. If you can hold your head up and smile, you are not the norm, you are
unique to all those in doubt and despair.”
Ok, what now? How can I start?
If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that
someone was thinking of you as very special and you are more blessed than over
two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.
Have a good day, count your blessings, and if you want, pass this along to
remind everyone else how blessed we all are.
Attn: Acknowledgement Dept.:
“Thank you Lord, for giving me the ability to share this message and
for giving me so many wonderful people to share it with!”
Faith
BUZZARD - If you put a buzzard in a pen that is 6’ x 8’ and is
entirely open at the top, in spite of its ability to fly, the bird will be an
absolute prisoner. The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight
from the ground with a run of 10-12’. Without space to run, it will
not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail
with no top.
BAT - The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkably nimble
creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place. If it is placed
on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and
painfully until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself
into the air. Then, it takes off like a flash.
BUMBLEBEE - A bumblebee dropped into an open tumbler will be there
until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape
at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near
the bottom. It will seek a way where none exists until it completely
destroys itself.
PEOPLE - We can be like the buzzard, the bat and the
bumblebee. We can struggle with all our problems and
frustrations — never realizing that all we have to do is look
up. Faith looks up.
[I don’t know if any of this is true. I think the last paragraph is a good
lesson for those with Faith. I received this originally from Michael Tunis
and altered the proceeding sentence a bit.]
What A Teacher Makes
The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One
man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued,
“What’s a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life
was to become a teacher?” He reminded the other dinner guests what they
say about teachers: “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.” To
stress his point he said to another guest; “You’re a teacher, Bonnie. Be
honest. What do you make?”
Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, “You want
to know what I make? (She paused for a second, and then began...)
“Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I make a
C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor. I make kids sit through 40
minutes of class time when their parents can’t make them sit for 5 without an
iPod, Game Cube or movie rental ...You want to know what I make?” (She paused
again and looked at each and every person at the table.) I make kids
wonder. I make them question. I make them criticize. I make
them apologize and mean it. I make them have respect and take
responsibility for their actions. I teach them to write and then I make
them write. I make them read, read, read. I make them show all their
work in math. I make my students from other countries learn everything
they need to know in English while preserving their unique cultural
identity. I make my classroom a place where all my students feel
safe. Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were
given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life.
(Bonnie paused one last time and then continued.) “Then, when people try to
judge me by what I make, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because
they are ignorant ... You want to know what I make? I MAKE A
DIFFERENCE. What do you make?”
A man came home from work late again, tired, irritated, and stressed, to
find his 6-year-old son waiting for him at the door.
“Daddy, may I ask you a question?”
“Yeah, sure, what is it?” replied the man.
“Daddy, how much money do you make an hour?”
“That is none of your business! What makes you ask such a question?”
the man said irritatingly.
“Oh, I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an
hour?” pleaded the little boy.
“Well, if you must know, I make $20.00 an hour.”
“Oh,” the little boy replied, head bowed. Looking up, he said,
“Daddy, may I borrow $10.00 please?”
The father was irritated. “If the only reason you want to know how
much money I make is so you can borrow some for a dopey toy or other nonsense,
then off to your room and think about your selfishness. And besides,
you’re only 6 years old, and 6 year-olds don’t need money. I work long,
hard hours every day to earn money for you and your mom, I don’t have time to
talk about loaning you money”.
The little boy went quietly to his room and shut the door.
After about an hour, the father had calmed down, and started to think he
may have been a little hard on his son. Maybe there really was a reason he
needed to borrow $10.00, he had never asked before for money. The father
went to the boy’s room and knocked on the door. “May I come in?” inquired
the father.
“Yes Daddy,” replied the little boy.
“I have been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier,” said the
man. “It has been a long, tough day and I took my anger out on you.
Here’s the $10.00 you asked for.”
The little boy sat up straight and beaming said “Oh thank you Daddy!” Then,
reaching under his pillow, he pulled out some crumpled up dollars. The
father seeing that the boy already had money started to get angry again.
The little boy slowly started to count out his money, then looked up at his
father.
“Why did you want more money if you already had some?” the father
grumbled.
“Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do,” the little boy replied.
“For what,” said his father.
“Daddy, I have $20.00 now. Can I buy an hour of your time?”
2007
