Make it rain...

New Laws Go Into Effect September 1st...
http://wethepeople09171787.blogspot.com/2009/08/for-my-fellow-texans.html

A Day at the Gun Range

We spent the afternoon at Weber's Gun Range today. My wife has officially impressed me; she can shoot... Well (I'll take credit as coach-extraordinaire). Once she's legal to pack it, bad guys better watch out. If she shoots like she did today when she goes to get her CHL, she'll shoot a perfect score. My XD-9 is freakin' awesome (and so is she).

 Ephesians 5:19-20

A Day at the Gun Range

We spent the afternoon at Weber's Gun Range today. My wife has officially impressed me; she can shoot... Well (I'll take credit as coach-extraordinaire). Once she's legal to pack it, bad guys better watch out. If she shoots like she did today when she goes to get her CHL, she'll shoot a perfect score. My XD-9 is freakin' awesome (and so is she).

 Ephesians 5:19-20

Golf Tournament Today

John, Mitch, Andrew and I shot a 62 at Stonetree today. We came in first and scored $50 each. Sweet! Plus, John (the man is a freak of nature) got longest drive (roughly 370yds +/-) and closest to the pin.

Luke 18:17 

This guy could be my brother...

http://wethepeople09171787.blogspot.com/

 

Mark 13:5-6 

USS Jason Dunham
Navy Christens New Guided Missile Destroyer Jason Dunham
Story Number: NNS090729-04
Release Date: 7/29/2009 5:36:00 AM

From Department of Defense
WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Navy will christen the newest Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer, Jason Dunham, Aug. 1, 2009, during a 10 a.m. EDT ceremony at Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine.

Designated DDG 109, the new destroyer honors Cpl. Jason L. Dunham, the first Marine awarded the Medal of Honor for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Dunham was born in Scio, N.Y., Nov. 10, 1981, sharing the same birthday as the U.S. Marine Corps.

On April 14, 2004, Dunham's squad was conducting a reconnaissance mission in Karabilah, Iraq, when his battalion commander's convoy was ambushed. When Dunham's squad approached to provide fire support, an Iraqi insurgent leapt out of a vehicle and attacked Dunham. As Dunham wrestled the insurgent to the ground, he noticed that the enemy fighter had a grenade in his hand and immediately alerted his fellow Marines. When the enemy dropped the live grenade, Dunham took off his Kevlar helmet, covered the grenade, and threw himself on top to smother the blast. In an ultimate selfless act of courage, in which he was mortally wounded, he saved the lives of two fellow Marines.

Retired Gen. Michael W. Hagee, former commandant of the U. S. Marine Corps, will deliver the ceremony's principal address. Debra Dunham will serve as sponsor of the ship named for her late son. In accordance with Navy tradition, she will break a bottle of champagne across the ship's bow and christen the ship.

Jason Dunham, the 59th Arleigh Burke class destroyer, will be able to conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection. Jason Dunham will be capable of fighting air, surface and subsurface battles simultaneously and contains a myriad of offensive and defensive weapons designed to support maritime warfare in keeping with "A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower," the new maritime strategy that postures the sea services to apply maritime power to protect U.S. vital interests in an increasingly interconnected and uncertain world.

Cmdr. M. Scott Sciretta, born in South Amboy, N.J., is the prospective commanding officer of the ship and will lead the crew of 276 officers and enlisted personnel. The 9,200-ton Jason Dunham is being built by Bath Iron Works, a General Dynamics company. The ship is 509 feet in length, has a waterline beam of 59 feet, and a navigational draft of 31 feet. Four gas turbine engines will power the ship to speeds in excess of 30 knots.

Matthew 15:10 is the same as Mark 7:18...

And I already covered it. In context he is speaking about washing hands and the germs which may or may not enter the body (specifically Matthew 15:20). Sorry Laura, but I'm right.

I covered it in the comments section previously but will post it here in the main section.

Mark 7:18: "And he said unto them, are you so without understanding also? Do you not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without enters into the man, it cannot defile him...?"

Wrong interpretation- Jesus was condemning the Scribes and Pharisees for their strict lawkeeping, decreeing that virtually any "food" is harmless and therefore edible.

Proper Understanding- When taken in proper context, this passage is not difficult to understand. At the beginning we find Jesus's disciples eating with unwashed hands in plain sight of the Scribes and Pharisees. The Scribes and Pharisees were two Jewish sects in the time of Jesus. These Jews had many rabbinical traditions that had been handed down through the ages, and one of those was ceremonial washing of hands before eating. We can see this in the first few verses. "For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brazen vessels, and of tables" (Mark 7:3-4).

When the Scribes and Pharisees saw Jesus's disciples eating before washing their hands, they accused Jesus and His disciples of breaking their traditions. Jesus was not pleased with their condemnation, but in turn accused them of placing their own man-made doctrine or dogma over GOD's commandments. "Well has Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of Elohim, you hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things you do. And he said unto them, Full well you reject the commandment of Elohim, that you may keep your own tradition" (Mark 7:6-9).

Jesus does not condemn them for compliance with GOD's clean food Laws, but instead condemns them for their doctrines of men. These doctrines were not part of GOD's Torah ( Law), but were laws established by Jewish leaders through many generations.

Throughout the New Testament it becomes clear that these Jewish leaders who were responsible for teaching GOD's Law became complacent with the more important matters. This is seen in Matthew 23:23, where Jesus makes this statement: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought you to have done, and not to leave the other undone." This was most evidently the problem in Mark 7, which we can see through Jesus's statement in verse 21. "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man" (Mark 7:21-23).

Ingesting some dirt from unwashed hands will not defile a man, Jesus taught in verse 18. But evil thoughts will defile because they come from the heart, verses 19-20. Nowhere in Mark 7 do we find GOD's clean food Laws mentioned. We simply see the same message Jesus taught during his ministry here on earth. We are to observe GOD's physical Laws without neglecting His weightier Laws.

Acts 10:15: "And the voice spoke unto him again the second time, What GOD has cleansed, that call not common."

Wrong interpretation- GOD has cleansed all meats in the New Testament era.

Proper Understanding- To grasp this verse, and Peter's vision surrounding it, is to understand the context of the entire chapter. At the start of this passage we find a Gentile named Cornelius. We learn that he is righteous and is well respected by all those around him, including the Jews. One day GOD sends an angel to deliver a message to Cornelius: send men to Joppa to Simon the Tanner where they will meet the Apostle Peter. Cornelius complies.

Before the men arrive, Peter goes onto the housetop to pray and there becomes hungry. As Peter prays he falls into a trace through which GOD reveals a message that will change True Worship forever. In his vision Peter sees a great sheet come down from the sky and on this sheet he finds all types of unclean beasts. Next, Peter hears a shocking proclamation. A voice commands, "Rise, Peter; kill and eat." Peter cannot believe what he is hearing. He is confused and baffled at this command. It is repeated three times by the angelic being before the sheet is taken away.

Peter argues that he has never eaten anything unclean, verse 14, not even to this day-10 years after the death of Jesus. Surely if the laws of clean and unclean foods had been abolished at the Savior's death, one of the greatest apostles of the New Testament would have been aware of it immediately after Jesus's death. After all, Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit, which taught the apostles all things (John 14:26).

After the vision the three men that were sent by Cornelius find Peter and he returns with them to meet Cornelius. Once there, Peter explains the meaning of his vision of the sheet. "You know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but Elohim has showed me that I should not call ANY MAN common or unclean" (Acts 10:28). Thereafter Cornelius becomes the first Gentile convert to the faith. Here we have the simple explanation of this vision from the mouth of the inspired Apostle Peter himself: Gentiles, once considered unclean, may now enter the Covenant promise. GOD simply used unclean food to symbolize "unclean" Gentiles, who can now enter the Promises.

Psalm 119:93

Comments

Be sure to click on "View Comments" on the previous post for further analysis and updates.

Luke 8:17

Being a Good Christian

Today, being a good Christian just got a whole lot harder.

I would have to say that over the past 7-10 years I have strived to be a better Christian. There was an 11 year or so period in my life when being a good Christian was more of a side note for me; not always at the forefront of my thoughts or actions. I wasn't a "bad" person; I just wasn't in tune so much with God.

When you're a kid, you get your lessons on Christianity from your parents and from your priest/preacher/reverend/insert-title-here. But as hard as this is going to be to understand, they don't always teach you right. Now I don't mean to say they purposely mislead you; far from it. It's just that they may not know the whole story on what God's word actually says. So, therefore they don't give you, the child, the whole picture. Understand?

I just finished a book called Shocked by the Bible. I highly recommend it to anyone who is a Christian of any denomination. Heck, let your Atheist friends read it to, they may come around (but probably not, they are a hard-headed group of people). Anyhoo, in this book the author, Joe Kovacs has done his homework. He gives you the info and then shows you where in the Bible to find it. It is quite illuminating and in at least one part disheartening. And that is the subject of the title of this post.

Today, being a good Christian just got a whole lot harder. I love to eat good food. I am (now was) a huge fan of any piggy product. But let me tell you something; not eating pork is NOT just a Jewish thing or a Muslim thing... It's a Christian thing too. Now some may think that there is a scripture somewhere in the New Testament that refutes this law (and it is a law), but I assure you, it doesn't exist. If you can find it PLEASE let me know, the idea of giving up bacon, sausage, bratwurst, jagerschnitzel, pork loin, ribs and pork roast is sucking my will to live. But, if you want to do that; live forever with God at the appointed time, you must avoid the piggy. Add to this list anything from the water that is without fin and scale. Notice it's fin AND scale and not fin OR scale. That means no catfish, shark, swordfish, scallops, shrimp, lobster, crawfish, oyster, etc... The list is as long as my leg and will make you just cry. So, see what I mean by it just got a little harder to be a good Christian? Last week Tab and I went grocery shopping. We bought a pork loin, some Chorizo, bratwurst and bacon. I just fed the bratwurst to Biggio and Bagwell. I'm dehydrating the bacon and pork loin to make chewies for them and when the chorizo thaws out I'll just give it to them raw. Today, being a good Christian just got a whole lot harder.

I've washed my hands twice after handling the bacon but the smell is still on my hands and it's driving me to the edge of insanity. I love pork but I love God and the thought of eternal life much more...

Want to borrow the book? You'll have to wait until I get a new copy. I gave my copy to my flight attendant on the way to DFW from CO Springs. I told him to read it and then give it to someone else with the same instructions.

I welcome all comments on this subject but don't just email me; leave the comments here for all to see. And yes I'm serious, we, as a family are no longer eating piggys (the boys are going to be mad as wet hens when they read this).

I find the last two VotD's very appropriate to end with.

Geez!

So, we get on the plane, get seated and buckled in. People are coming aboard and the flight attendant guy brings me a Scotch. I crack open my new book (Liberty and Tyranny), take a sip of Scotch and then I hear, "Ladies and Gentlemen, leaving all of your personal belongings behind, please exit the aircraft in a calm and orderly manor." As I got to the front I asked if this was a drill, the answer was no and I looked back to see smoke in the cabin. Long story short; it was an electrical fire. I got delayed in Colorado Springs for the rest of the day, caught a flight to DFW, landed around midnight and got to my hotel (provided by American Airlines) around 0100hrs. It's 1321 now and I am finally home.

Philippians 2:12-13

All Done

Woke up this morning and went to the Air Force Academy. Wow and wow!! It's huge; rivers, lakes, mountains, camping areas and of course, the campus. The Chapel is amazing.

After that I checked in at Fort Carson to see if I could "help out", they said no so I bounced and went to the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument to get my NPS passport stamped. Didn't have a lot of time to look around but I did see a petrified Redwood stump the size of a Volkswagon.

Now, here I sit in the airport; I did however get an upgrade to 1st Class...

Like Marlon Brando, but Bigger!!!

I'm in Colorado Springs. Two days and one night (that being tonight). I won't bore you with what a waste of time and tax payers money this trip was but instead say that this area is friggin' beautiful. But you'll have to wait until I get home to see pictures (I forgot the dang cable).

After "work" today I headed over to Garden of the Gods. If I'm not mistaken Rachel and I have been there before with PawPaw and MawMaw. All I can say is, "Wow!" Very impressive, again you gotta wait till I get home for pics.

Tomorrow it's the Air Force Academy and maybe Seven Falls.

John 3:3

Saturday

The Austin Zoo is, in fact, not a zoo at all. It's a rehab center for injured or abandoned critters. So, we went to Pedernales (for you non-Texans it's pronounced 'purden-alice') Falls. What we found there was quite shocking. There were no falls. The Hill Country has been in a drought for 2 years and it clearly shows. There were two little trickles of water about 8 inches wide "flowing" down the falls. I knew something was wrong when we had hiked 1/2 way down the trail and couldn't hear anything but I had no idea how bad it was.

2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And July 18, 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See what I mean?

So, we hiked around the "Pedernales 'Rock' Formation" for a few hours then headed over to the LBJ Library. That was pretty cool too. I've now been to 3 Presidential Libraries (Ike and GHW Bush).

After that it was over to Scholz's for a few beers and Jägerschnitzel. Then it was on to the game.

Back in 1959, the Austin Senators won the Texas League Championship as well as the first PanAmerican League Championship. Why is that important? Below is an excerpt from the Austin American Statesman website:

By Danny Davis
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Sunday, July 19, 2009

ROUND ROCK — Howie Bedell and Jim Callaway entered Dell Diamond on Saturday in a blue Ford Mustang convertible, while Charlie Gorin arrived in a Mustang with a dark red shell.

Along with eight old teammates, a former business manager and four other Mustangs, Bedell, Callaway and Gorin paraded around the Dell Diamond field, stopping only when the vehicles parked behind home plate.

The 12 men then trotted out to the infield and each delivered a ceremonial first pitch. Some of the pitches easily reached their intended destinations, while others bounced in the dirt. Regardless, each pitch drew a cheer.

Eleven members of the 1959 Austin Senators were recognized throughout Saturday's game between the Round Rock Express and Oklahoma City RedHawks. George Shell, the Senators' business manager, was also honored.

"If there is such a thing as a red carpet, the Round Rock Express rolled it out," Callaway said. "It was such a great day."

In 1959, the Senators put together an 80-66 record and beat Tulsa and San Antonio in the playoffs to claim the Texas League championship.

Less than a week after winning the Texas League championship, the Senators participated in the firstPan-American championship game. Gorin, a former star at the University of Texas, pitched a no-hitter as Austin beat the Mexico City Reds to win the Pan-American championship.

Fifty years later, the Senators were honored for their two titles.

The Express wore replica uniforms, while fans with promotional Senators hats were sprinkled throughout the announced crowd of 12,060. On Friday, Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell proclaimed the weekend Austin Senators weekend.

But perhaps the weekend's biggest highlight came in the top of the seventh inning.

In a short on-field presentation, the Senators were presented with championship rings by Express CEO Reid Ryan, Express manager Marc Bombard and Texas League President Tom Kayser.

Despite their two championships, the Senators never received rings for their efforts. But Round Rock — mostly using money donated by the Express players — picked up a tab, spending more than $4,000 on the rings.

"That was exciting, really," Gorin said.

This weekend served as a reunion for the Senators, many of whom hadn't seen each other since the 1959 season. A few of the Senators' wives reunited, while some of the players' children finally could connect faces to the names that they had heard in so many stories.

"It was incredible," said Todd Callaway, Jim's son. "The ceremony itself was nice and beautiful and it was so nice to see them get recognition after all this time."

Genesis 12:1

Well, I finally figured out...

Why the Express are in  last place. They have no defensive capabilities. Holy crap! They looked liked a little league team last night. They blew a 7-2 lead in about 2 innings. Geez. Hopefully tonight the outcome will be a little different. Dave, Laura, Eddie and Nicole are driving up to join us for the game tonight.

Tab and I are heading to the Austin Zoo and then the LBJ Library this morning.

Luke 16:15

Communism Explained

Did you hear the story about the professor and the classroom?  It explains communism so well.  The professor told the class that after every test,  all the students’ grades would be averaged and all would receive the same grade.  So, after the first test, the A students who studied all night and the F students who partied all night, all received a C.  As the semester went on, the A students quit studying, and all received an F.

And one more thing... Why is it a problem for the CIA to actually kill Al Qaeda leaders? Shouldn't that be encouraged?!?

I think we should all get our savings together and go buy an island somewhere...

Psalm 4:3

Another gem from Uncle Ted

Chalk Ridge Falls

Yesterday, we spent the morning at Chalk Ridge Falls. The water was nice and cold and since we were there in the morning, the air wasn't so hot.

Since the floods a while back the Falls haven't been the same. The pool that the falls flow into has a bunch of mud, leaves and dead timber lying at the bottom. I walked into that to get this picture:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I came out, I walked up to the falls and started shooting close-ups. I felt a little sting on my legs and looked down to find that I had 10-12 leeches on each leg. Nice! They weren't big giant man-killing leeches though; just babies.

We also found this little guy:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He's a baby Blotched Water Snake. He caught himself some breakfast and I caught some cool pics. Above is the before picture. Below is the during picture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this is the after...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Isaiah 5:4

Someone has to rid us of the friggin' ACLU

"Man It's Hot."

"It's like Africa hot. Tarzan couldn't take this kind of hot."

10 points for the person who can tell me what movie that's from WITHOUT Googling it.

It is hot. Yesterday it was 108, today it is quickly approaching that again. Now granted, it's not "Mosul hot" but it is still hot.

Today was the Pack's watergun/balloon war. That was a welcome relief. Being soaked makes it a little more bearable.

 Proverbs 29:23