THIRSTY FOR RIGHT

If you are self-directed and want to do right, which route would you take as you set sail for Port Righteousness? It's a bit "iffy" to presume on our common sense alone to be North Star...the Book says our thoughts are not like God's thoughts. Those who do not ask Him for direction may be busy expending energy, but not getting anywhere. I tried doing what I considered "good" for thirty years. It made me feel better about myself for a while, but needed constant work to maintain. That's because we were not made to please ourselves, but to highlight and please the One who loved us first. Then our thirst for righteousness is satisfied.

That's why a life in God's hands is so necessary. He made each life individual and with special gifting for special circumstances. It's like a hand in a glove. So why wouldn't a person ask for help in finding their way? Is it like a man driving a car...lost, but unwilling to ask for directions? Yes! Pride is our enemy and the enemy of God. Pride caused God's #1 angel to swell up and actually try to take God's position. That coup failed, so now that fallen angel is "misery looking for company" among us. And the bait is the same old leavening agent...pride. Pride is sure powerful. And it can be spiritually fatal.

Could that be why people are so passionate these days about alternate causes? With a few notable sociopathic exceptions, most people want to feel good about themselves. They sense the need for a cause bigger than self. But if they haven't taken advantage of divine light to find their reason for being, they're dressing themselves in good works that may seem laudable, but may not be what the Lord had in mind at all.

Consider some fashionable causes that are in vogue. What about the cause of the protected smelt fish. Did God say they were more important than mankind, His highest creation? What "righteous cause" puts an endangered animal above those Californians who need water for farm irrigation (their very lifeblood)?

Or what about the torture issue? Smarting from a perceived lack of patriotism due to positions on the war, troop strength, and value of joining the service, some Americans needed a righteous military cause. The torture issue is perfect. It is safe and high moral ground. When one side says "the United States does not torture"...that leaves the other side looking despicable. Trouble is, there is no consensus about what constitutes torture. Not everyone thinks waterboarding is torture. It would be a safe bet that if I had a choice to be tortured by the Iranians or by the Americans, I could see this issue more clearly.

There is much passion around the cause that insists a woman should have a right to choose. That passion isn't proven by science...or even supported by simple observation (see YouTube video "The Silent Scream"). When God came, was His cause to promote "rights"? Did Jesus die that we might have the right to have our own way? No...Jesus sweat blood to submit His will to the Father.

And then there is the mother of all glam causes...the concern for global warming. Recently this cause seems to be coming unraveled.

http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=513835

http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/11/global_warming_fraud_and_the_f.html

Global warming was a bloated assumption that man was powerful and important enough to ruin the planet. Stay tuned for more on that...

So how DO we pick our causes? We need to be about finding out what God is passionate about so that our thinking can be reshaped. We were made to put God at the center of our lives and listen to what He counts as righteous. How does the old hymn go? "Living for Jesus, a life that is true...striving to please Him in all that I do...yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free..this is the pathway of blessing for me." Jesus the Designer knows where each person's gifting "fits".

The bottom line is that we don't get to say what is righteous; He does. Righteousness flows out of following His lead. And the bonus promise He throws in...is that we will not thirst for righteousness anymore.

Jesus said "I am the Bread of life. The person who aligns with Me hungers no more and thirsts no more." John 6:35

THE DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING

You know those pesky ORANGE decorations that you couldn't wait to get down in favor of the RED ones?

Well, I for one...can't bear to just throw away a perfectly "good" pumpkin. And apparently neither can Nate's mother.

If you share that concern, have you thought about the entertainment value of a pumpkin past it's prime? It brings recycling to a whole new level.

Pumpkin Man liveth in the creativity of a boy.

"Then our mouth was filled with laughter.

The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad." Psalm 126:2,3

THE MOCK TRIAL

Admittedly, my heart has a personal stake in the NYC trial, but I would be opposed to bringing KSM to NYC for reasons that seem to me like common sense.

WASTEFUL SPENDING:

Why use a Manhattan courtroom? That spot calls for millions of my dollars to be spent to make it "secure"...when they already have spent millions on a specific terrorist courtroom at Gitmo for just such a day. The Gitmo site has all the bells and whistles of protection for the judges and witnesses. The Gitmo courtroom does not have any collateral terror for NYC citizens, and it lacks the allure of a potential prime spot for AlQaeda to show off. So why would we spend twice?

PRECEDENCE:

Have we ever brought a non-national (no uniform) captured on the battlefield...home to our country, entitled them to Constitutional rights that do not belong to them, and provided them with a place to speak internationally (while exposing America's soft security belly). Wow. What a sweet deal! Could we bend over any further?

So why would we set precedence? Let's consider a couple of "why" possibilities:

1. Maybe we need to prove to the world that America is eating humble pie and not seeing herself as the exceptional leader of the free world. Would that buy international "respect points"? How could that contrition be shown? Bow to emperors? Apologize over and over for America's compassionate heart for freedom as she lends a hand to help others escape tyranny?

President Obama shows a mindset born of years of seething over perceived injustice. Rather than read a history book, this mindset foments a supposition that America is the oppressor. That has given birth to an international conciliatory foreign policy called "Let's Talk". It would be helpful to remember that we were unable to talk to Hitler. Do Ahmadinijad and Chavez seem more reasonable than Hitler?

2. Maybe we need to prove that in America, we right our injustices. So our leader promises to close Gitmo and stop torture. Were those shameless campaign promises or did he have a well-conceived plan?

Clearly, there was no plan for Gitmo or it would be closed by now. That was a pandering promise with a huge downside for security needs.

What about stoping torture? Torture is horrendous; so is beheading. Am I saying one wrong deserves another? We live in an evil world and we are up against pure evil. We have faced evil before and it consistently has a murderous face. Still, what hideous disregard for life packs bombs on women and children? I am assuming that everyone in America would prefer not to employ torture as a tactic. But war is hell and we did not start it and we will not finish it unless we are equal to the task...the unsavory task.

Waterboarding is the most humane way to do a job that no one wants to do. Maybe you don't think that is an effective method. The Army does. Now is not the time to be arguing with the Army. Many people don't consider waterboarding to be torture. I don't. Would I want to be waterboarded? No, but I'm not threatening to kill millions. In a perfect world would coercion be necessary? This is not a perfect world. But the rest of the world laughs at us in this area. They know what real torture is.

So all of this proves what? We are going to set precedence because we want international respect and we are sorry for being exceptional? Speak for yourself, Mr. President. But what about one more option...

SHOWCASE AMERICA'S SUPERIOR JUSTICE SYSTEM:

Does the President want justice in the shadow of the Twin Towers? Is it not ironic that the man who would set America's justice system on a shining hill for all the world to see...has already proclaimed KSM's verdict? Doesn't that break all the rules of a system set up to proclaim "innocent until proven guilty"?

What is it called when a guilty man (as proclaimed by our President who assures us that KSM will be executed) is crammed into a system designed to protect the innocent?

Supreme lunacy.

Jesus said "The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness." John 10:10 NLT

BAD MOON RISING

What were you doing in the 60's? Had you shown up yet?

In May of 1965, my high school class at Jonesboro High was marching to "Pomp and Circumstance". My friends and I welcomed that song, but we also loved the Beach Boys and the Temptations and others. My favorite song that year was by these gentlemen on the left..."Louie, Louie" by the Kingsmen. They caused quite the "tempest in the teapot" that year about what the REAL words were that they sang. I read that the song was recorded in a one-mike set-up with the mike hanging from the ceiling and Jack Ely stretching to sing loud enough [while] the braces on his teeth created the mumble jumble vocals. But the band had instructions to say "no comment" when asked about the off-color lyrics and everyone just assumed they were naughty. Well, it sold records.

Lately I've been thinking about another disconnect between words and music. I was watching a YouTube video the other day of Creedence Clearwater Revival (below) performing "Bad Moon Rising". That was one of John Fogerty's best, although "Proud Mary", "Down on the Corner",

SusieQ", and "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" have lasted, too.

Did you know that when some people heard the words "there's a bad moon on the rise"...they thought Fogerty was singing "there's a bathroom on the right"? Either way. The audience in the old video was loving it and singing along and cheering and swooning over these shaggy fellers. But if you remember, that song was hardly cheerful. Fogerty himself described the song as being about the "apocalypse that was going to be visited upon us". No wonder the soldiers in Viet Nam identified with it. Which of these words do you think the YouTube audience could have possibly been thrilled about...?

"I see the bad moon a'rising. I see trouble on the way.

I see earthquakes and lightning. I see bad times today. (chorus)

Don't go round tonight, well it's bound to take your life...there's a bad moon on the rise.

I hear hurricanes a blowing. I know the end is coming soon.

I fear rivers overflowing. I hear the voice of rage and ruin. (chorus)

Hope you got your things together. Hope you are quite prepared to die.

Looks like we're in for nasty weather. One eye is taken for an eye." (chorus)

Yeah, pretty grim. Recon' Fogerty had been reading Matthew 24 about the end times? I guess modern-day Hollywood has been, considering the new movie coming out called "2012". But if I were you, I wouldn't take my cue from Hollywood or Fogerty.

When God does His end times thing, there will BE no disconnect. Everyone will understand exactly what is said and why; God says what He means and means what He says. But Mr. Fogerty WAS right when he said "hope you got your things together". Perhaps John Fogerty is a prophet. May we all be counted ready.

"Sun will fade out, moon cloud over, stars fall out of the sky, cosmic powers tremble. Then, the arrival of the Son of Man! It will fill the skies - no one will miss it. Unready people all over the world, outsiders to the splendor and power, will raise a huge lament as they watch the Son of Man blazing out of heaven. At that same moment, he'll dispatch his angels with a trumpet-blast summons, pulling in God's chosen from the four winds." Matthew 24:29-31

VETERANS DAY SALUTE

We live in the "land of the free" because of the brave.

Our military is willing to risk all, and that concept is hard to wrap your mind around. It's harder still if you have no personal link to the armed forces.

If you didn't have a soldier husband, or father, or uncle, or granddaddy (great-granddaddy), or son...then it might be harder to understand how military service colors a family.

Mike and I both can turn back the military history pages because we each have relatives who served back in the 1800's.

Mike's great-granddad, George Anderson Johnson, fought in the Civil War. He was from Atlanta, GA and he brought his family to Arkansas after the war because he had served in the northern Arkansas area and liked the countryside. Mr. Johnson is the one who carried his wife's crossstitch "Seek Jesus" (that we have framed over our mantel) in his wallet throughout the war.

Check out Mr. Johnson's fine beard. It is typical of that era, even though we look at it and tend to think of the many "bad beards" we've seen in B movies.

I cannot imagine the hardships this man suffered in his lifetime. Just getting from Georgia to Arkansas on a horse (or walking) would have killed me...and he came twice!

My grandfather, Ransom Clough, was born in the 1880's and had a logging business in Des Arc, Arkansas. The Spanish-American War was fought right at the turn of the century, so Ransom must have been a very young man when this picture was made. We can't see peach fuzz on his face, but we can see contemplative resolution.

Most people know that Mike is a retired JAG officer for the Air Guard. Colonel Cruse spent 20 years serving in that capacity. That meant that he worked 12 days in a row once a month...without a day off. Well, I guess in these days of high unemployment, there are people who would love a chance to work twelve days in a row. But it took perseverance.

Most of Mike's service years were spent at the Jacksonville Air Force base, counseling soldiers with problems associated with long deployments or whatever legal issues needed to be attended to. My husband served honorably and made lifelong friends in the service. Mike ate lunch most drills with an unlikely duo: Father Reynolds, a Catholic priest...and Carroll Sites, a Church of Christ pastor. Would you like to have been a fly on the wall? The service binds men together.

My Daddy joined the military like so many of his friends at

the beginning of WW2. He always carried a stigma about signing up and getting sent to Stuttgart, Arkansas. Something in his manhood was embarrassed that he was never sent overseas to fight, but still his military experience changed his life. It caused him to meet/marry Mother and live "down south" (Daddy was a Massachusetts Yankee). And after the war he got to go to college because of the GI Bill. That was huge for a feller who had quit high school to help feed the family during hard times. Jim was one of the oldest boys in a big Catholic family of 10 kids. The military continued to be a blessing to our family as Daddy joined the

National Guard. That was an extra paycheck during his working years, and retirement was easier for Mother and Daddy because of his Guard check. If you don't count the chiggers he always got at summer camp, the Guard was a real blessing.

My mother's sister Margaret married a funny honey, my Uncle Ned. He grew up in DeValls Bluff, Arkansas, and the military took him a long way from home to the Pacific theatre in WW2. Uncle Ned flew fixed-wing planes during the war, but he never talked about it. Ned always had a joke under his breath. I grew up regularly visiting their home at Camp Robinson, where Uncle Ned finished his military career in the active Army Guard. He was in charge of the air strip at Camp Robinson, and over time was the pilot who helicoptered several Arkansas governors around. The military taught him skills and gave him a long and distinguished career.

Our son Brad likes life's adrenaline edge, and we had to sign for him to join the Air Guard when he was 17. After Basic, they sent him to fireman's school. Mike and I couldn't help but smile because he previously had been an amateur pyromaniac. Brad's time in the military gave him an understanding of the commitment required to serve. I remember when he went down to his unit in Ft. Smith to do drills during his college years. The fraternity brothers made fun of that. Brad was incredulous that "they had no idea what the military does for them". The

Air Guard matured Brad beyond his years.

You and I share the privilege of living in a country where the military is a force for good. That is getting to be a pretty rare bird these days. There is no way to repay these men and women...except to pray for them and look for opportunities to do good toward them. Certainly now since the 100 bullets at Ft. Hood, we need to pray for the Lord to protect the ones who would protect us. And another part of "doing good" to them might be to put folks in political positions of authority who understand and appreciate our military.

One final Veterans Day salute: hooray for a brave Army major named Mike Wall. He is such a good man who continues to serve his country well after two long tours in Iraq.

"And here is how to measure it–the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends." John 15:13 NLT

THE REAL RUB

Ever so often, I catch Mike rubbing his shoulder because one of his "itis' " is bothering him. They reared an ugly head here lately because he dug some holes to put in nine maple seedlings. Mike figured it would be well worth the aggravation in years to come.

But yesterday Mike was standing in my dry bathtub talking on the phone (THE premier cell coverage area) and I heard him give out a loud, exasperated "AAAAHHHH!!" He had looked out the side yard and two of his prize saplings had been rubbed by a buck deer. One tree was just stripped of bark and might survive. The other was a gonner...broken in half and stripped of all

leaves. Mike had paid $37 at Lowe's for each of those babies, but as I mentioned before, they cost my husband more than mere money.

Does anyone see the irony here?

When we first moved to DoubleTree, Mike was thrilled to see deer on the property; his face lit up like a lottery winner. Even early this morning, we opened the blinds and there were two doe and three yearlings having breakfast in the back...and he was glad again.

Ya just can't have it both ways...

"For there is division in his mind..." James 1:8