Words Matter

Dance like nobody is watching.

But write like everyone is reading.

Whether they are or not.

Because you never know who might read your words today and need to hear your message, be it inspired, serious or just plain funny.

Words do matter!

If you're one of those who writes, know that your words do matter, even if you're the only one who reads them.

If you read the words of others, know that they would be pleased and hope their words were of benefit to you.

I hope you'll visit me in the comments sometime.

A Tale of Two Sources

This is the tale of two news sources, one from the right and one from the left, covering the exact same story. 

As usual, the left is lying, manipulating, and playing on emotions in order to draw sympathy to the gang member they allege to be an innocent father.

The man in question was most certainly not a normal dad who tragically got arrested and accidentally deported. Nope, absolutely not. This man was a leader in the horrible MS-13 gang. You've heard of them, right? If you haven't, here's a blub from Wikipedia:

Mara Salvatrucha members are involved in the trafficking of narcotics, primarily cocaine and marijuana, into the United States, as well as the transportation and distribution of illicit drugs throughout the U.S.^[8] Conversely, the gang is engaged in the trafficking of stolen vehicles from the U.S. to Central America. MS-13 also utilizes intimidation and violence to extort payment from legal and illegal businesses operating in its territory.^[9] Members partake in additional criminal activities including alien smuggling, weapons trafficking, assault, homicide, rape, kidnapping, identification theft, home invasions, carjackings, prostitution, robbery, and vandalism.^[6][8]

Here is the real story from two different sources, PJMedia, and The Gateway Pundit.

SICK: Obama Judge Orders Return of Deported MS-13 Gang Member to U.S.

Karoline Leavitt SHUTS DOWN Fake News Reporter for Latest Hoax Claiming Trump Deported Innocent “Maryland Father”

What actually happened with the "accidental" deportation was that while he was eligible for deportation, he had been granted a "Withholding of Removal", and was not supposed to be returned to El Salvador. However,  he could be deported to any other country that would take him. He was not on the original list destined for El Salvador, but was an alternate. Due to various reasons, others were removed from the flight and he was moved up the list and assigned to the flight. His deportation was carried out in good faith based on a final order of removal and his purported membership in MS-13.

Now here is how CNN and The Atlantic spin it to fit their narrative.

An ‘Administrative Error’ Sends a Maryland Father to a Salvadoran Prison

After a Maryland father was mistakenly deported, his community prepares for the worst

If you think you are getting the truth from mainstream media whether it be newspapers, TV or online publications, you are sadly mistaken. You are constantly inhaling the stench of their lies.

Until next time, stay safe and stay sane. I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Being Conservative in a Liberal Church

Wow, that is a big statement and controversial as well. Yes, it is and although our denomination has long been liberal, our church was not noticeably liberal for the first 10 years or so after we joined. We knew the pastor was a democrat, but he rarely let that show in his sermons, which were strictly from scriptures. I described his style as more teaching than preaching, which I enjoyed very much.

The story of how we came to this church is that friends invited us to visit. We went because of the invitation and stayed because of the pastor. Way too soon he decided it was time to retire. Now I can understand that because he is our age and we've been retired for a while.

Just before covid a change began to take place, not only because of the forced shutdown but because of changes in pastoral staff. Prior to this, our associate pastor had moved on to pastor his own church in another state. This lead to the hiring a temporary associate pastor, we'll call Joan, to serve until the permanent position was filled. This was the beginning of the change. She was liberal, but not so much outwardly woke. Still, you could tell Joan wasn't one of us. She stayed with us for nearly two years, almost twice as long as intended, probably because of covid. 

After her departure yet another woman was hired. We will call her Lisa. Now Lisa was way more liberal/woke, and it showed. She follows the new Progressive Christianity and is a strong supporter of LGBT...and more. She was hired as an associate pastor before our beloved pastor retired, after which she was asked and agreed to serve as interim pastor during the search for a full time pastor.

She brought nothing to the worship experience in my opinion. She quoted numerous progressive writers during each sermon and even said "... the Holy Spirit, SHE's a wild one" during a service on Trinity Sunday! There were other times she referred to God as "she" and "mother", which, quite frankly, did not set well with me. When she needed help with her pastoral duties, yet another woman was brought in, we'll call her Mary. Mary served as the parish associate and was equally woke, going so far as to talk about how great the pride parade was the previous weekend. This was going on in 2023-24. It got to the point that I didn't go to church much, and never when Mary was preaching.

Fast forward to August 2024, when we finally hired a new pastor. A man! Now he is still democrat/liberal, but probably less woke and progressive than the women were. He preaches from scripture which is a breath of fresh air after several years of endless progressive quotes. Recently we acquired a new parish associate, also a man, and former church member. Our denomination will always be liberal, but it is easier to deal with it when it is not in your face.

Now the big question I know is on your mind is why did we stay. A friend said "there are other churches" and that's true. We were almost to that point, but the search for a new pastor was underway, and we were praying God would lead someone to us who would preach and teach God's word from scripture. We got that so we stayed. I did have a short list of churches if we had decided to leave. 

On the up side, we have some friends there who are also conservative (and even some who are not...they're still nice people).

Based on what I have read and seen in my own church, it's my opinion that the reason for the downfall of churches is women. It seems to me that women are much more likely to be drawn into the "progressive" version of Christianity, which I view as false Christianity.

PJ Media recently did an article on progressive Christianity and women pastors. 

Glitter Blessings' and Women Pastors Who Say 'Queer' a Lot

Take care and God bless!

John 14:6: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

On Being Optimistic

AI generated image from Pixabay

Optimist: someone who figures that taking a step backward after taking a step forward is not a disaster, it's a cha-cha. 

- Robert Brault

I was looking for something that sums up what a lot of people are feeling. While some are shrieking and clutching their pearls, I am calmly optimistic about the future. 

However, time will tell, and until then I remain hopeful and pleased at the well-thought out economic strategies currently in place that, if allowed to continue, should serve us well going forward.

I'm not going to spell this out now. This is just a lighter post to hopefully encourage those who are shrieking and freaking and rending their garments in distress.

Please calm down and breathe. If we come together and stick together, we'll be fine. Remember, it's just a cha cha, and things are already getting better.

In the meantime, take care and stay sane. It's still a crazy world out there.

Stronger Together

AI image of bison

Some of you may be familiar with Aesop's Fables. I enjoyed those as a child and find that as an adult they have even more meaning. As I walk through life, things I see, hear and read often remind me of one fable or another. While I was looking for examples for this post, I came across the fable about a bundle of sticks.

It seems there was a man, perhaps a farmer, who had several sons. It would seem that all would be right with his world. He had strong sons to help him, and to one day take over for him in his old age.

That was not necessarily true because his sons would continually fight among themselves, and one day he decided to turn things around. He brought forth a bundle of sticks and handed it to one of the boys and instructed him to break it. He could not. The bundle was passed to each son for him to try and break it. None could. The father then separated the bundle and handed each boy a stick. Now try to break it, he commanded them. Each boy was able to break the single stick.

The moral of this fable is that while each stick is easily broken, when they are bundled together they are much stronger.

This same principle applies to animals, as in the herd of bison above, as well as humans. If we stick together and work together it will be much easier to achieve our common goals. 

Folks, we are being divided today six ways from Sunday. What it boils down to is whether you are a conservative or a liberal. No matter what the subject, we are divided by the party line. I have touched on some of these individual topics previously so I won't rehash them here. 

The thing that concerns now is that the Republicans are not showing a united front. There are a number of congress and senate members that are coming out against the President's policies, to the extent that they are trying to pass legislation limiting the President's ability to use tariffs. It seems they are literally trying to throw up roadblocks. This is not the time for that. Like the fable tells us, we are stronger together. We can't blow our God-given opportunity by bickering among ourselves. As my mom would say "straighten up and fly right".

I hope this post finds you well and at peace. Please pray for our country, our President and all those working hard to heal our country and move us forward to economic stability once again.