And why Christmas music is always in my MP3 player...

My wife gets frustrated because I listen to Christmas music year round. My MP3 player contains Celtic, new age, classical, classic rock, gospel, Christmas, and even a little metal. I don't use playlists so all the music just rotates through. I think songs about the birth of our Saviour shouldn't be limited to the period between Thanksgiving and New Years. As I stated in yesterday's post, we know Jesus probably wasn't born on December 25, that's just the date chosen long ago to celebrate.

Some common theories point to late March or late April as the time Jesus was born but nobody knows for sure. It doesn't really matter when he was born. The fact that He was born and died for our sins is all I need.

Since we don't know the exact date, when I'm listening to Away In A Manger in July, I might be right on the money. So please, give me a break.

Why I no longer play defense in the "war against Christmas"

In the past I have been very vocal when hearing about Christmas being taken out of the Christmas holiday. Challenges to public displays, stores substituting holiday for Christmas, etc. have always made me angry. A podcast by my friend Jeremy Sarber started me looking at it and I've pretty much done a 180 on the issue.

The birth of Jesus wasn't observed in Europe until the fourth century and in the U.S. until the late 1800's because the date wasn't known and it wasn't deemed important. His death, burial, and resurrection (Easter) is the defining moment that separates Christianity from all other religions.

I hate to give credit to athiests and separation of church and state activists, but it is true that the pagan Winter Solstice celebration was appropriated by Christians trying to win people over to Christianity and leave behind the sinful partying that had become commonplace.

I still believe that the First Amendment to the Constitution only applies to Congress, the federal government. If a city, county, or even state wants Christmas displays on public property it is not the business of courts to force removal. But I'm choosing to look at the big picture and let it go. Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's.

Businesses should always be free to choose to celebrate Christmas or not to celebrate. Its customers can decide for themselves if they want to patronize the business or go where they can have their beliefs validated. I will still celebrate Christmas with family and friends but will no longer make a loud, public protest when a company leaves Christmas out of its sale advertisements. Christmas is an artificial holiday and refusing to acknowledge it is not a blasphemous offense.

 

*Edited and reposted from several years ago*

Do you only listen to people who think like you?

That's what many people do. They unfriend or unfollow anyone who disagrees with them and sometimes even block so their posts can't be seen by the enemy. (Like a child with fingers in ears and yelling so as not to hear anything disagreeable.)

I actually like exercising my brain with opposing thoughts. Now, Facebook is my "friends and family meeting room" but Twitter is my debate hall. I follow many people who do things I'm interested in, have similar political views, etc. but I also follow some who I fervently disagree with because I want to know what I'm disagreeing with and occasionally I find I agree with "the other side" on an issue.

For instance, along with many conservative and libertarian voices I also follow Obama, Hillary, Chelsea, Ellen, and other political interests. I love the freedom to listen to all, disagree or ignore freely, and generally soak up information.

Try it, you just might learn something.

Why I will be a repeat customer of CPR (Cell Phone Repair)

My phone had stopped charging and went dead even while plugged in. I took it to CPR mainly because they quoted the quickest turnaround time for the problem I described. I was prepared to pay for a new battery or charger port but after diagnosing it, they cleaned the charger port, straightened one of the contacts, AND CHARGED ME NOTHING! In return I bought the high quality charger cord they recommended and left happy. While I was there I also heard conversations with other customers and decided that this is a well run, honest company with employees who know how to treat people.

Driving during a tornado warning...

There has been a lot of discussion over the last few years about the hazards of trying to drive out of the path of a tornado, especially in a large city. We know early in the morning what our tornado risk will be for that day. If you don't feel your home is safe, make plans ahead of time and leave BEFORE warnings are issued. If you are still home when the sirens sound it's too late. Take cover immediately and use blankets, pillows, helmets, etc to protect yourself from debris. The innermost room should survive all but the strongest tornadoes but YOU WILL DIE in your car if hit by even a weak one.

I repeat,

YOU WILL DIE

if a tornado hits your car with you in it.

Don't use me as an example. Driving in severe weather is what I do. We have annual safety training which covers incidents from last season. Even with training we lost three professional chasers and two amateurs on May 31, 2013. Several others were injured. I keep my distance from danger and I have communication with trusted experts to keep me out of harm's way. You can't rely on the street by street radar analysis given on TV or radio. Those can be inaccurate because radar is seeing thousands of feet up in the air, not on the ground. Relying on a radar app on your phone isn't a good idea either for the same reason, plus it is probably several minutes old. Besides, thousands of extra cars on the road jeopardizes the lives of those who NEED to be out there.

If you are already in your car when a tornado warning comes out find a solid building to take shelter in. A hospital might be able to take you in or most big chain stores have emergency plans and a safe place to take cover. If you have nowhere else to go, the freezer in a convenience store is somewhat reinforced. Don't go to a school and cause security issues.

I will be repeating this message throughout the spring and am not apologizing for the duplication. This is lifesaving information that I want my friends and their friends and THEIR friends to see and think about.

What Would Jesus Do? I think that's the wrong question...

What DID Jesus Do? Well, he hung around sinners and TALKED with them. He didn't just preach from the pulpit about how evil they were. He didn't stone the woman caught in adultery. He didn't threaten the woman at the well and I'm pretty sure he wasn't lobbying Caesar to make certain sins or religions illegal. Can we claim a higher moral authority than Jesus? I don't think so.

More ghosts of the past...

Today would have been my brother Wayne's 58th birthday. I've written about him and his murder before and don't have any new revelations but while thinking about it this afternoon two other names popped into my head: Cinda Pallet and Charlotte Kinsey. These teenagers disappeared from the Oklahoma State Fair in 1981 and were never found. I feel a connection to this case because I volunteered for the safety & security watch the next year. We were patrolling every inch of the fairgrounds watching for ANYTHING suspicious and the heavy presence then and to date has probably prevented some bad things that might have otherwise occurred.

I think about Cinda and Charlotte every few years, usually around the time of the fair. I don't really mind them haunting my thoughts and only wish that the families could find their girls and get some closure. Royal Russell Long, the suspect charged but not convicted, said that he was the only one who would ever know what happened and he died in 1993.

You don't have to break habits you never start.

I'm no expert on addictions but I do know that you can't get addicted to something you've never tried. With that understanding how does anyone under 50 TRY that first cigarette with everything we've known about them YOUR WHOLE LIFE?

Chick-fil-A, for those days when you want good food and friendly treatment.

This is the review I just posted on Google for the Chick-fil-A on North May in Oklahoma City after an incident in which I left Taco Bueno without my order that I already paid for and waited at least 15 minutes for. I finally handed my receipt to someone else who was waiting and drove down to Chick-fil-A for some real food. I assume the "tolerance" crowd is still boycotting them because of the anti-gay stance of the owner, but they're depriving themselves of some very good food and outstanding customer service.

-----

After walking out of a fast food place down the street without my paid-for order I came to Chick-fil-A, walked up behind the one customer who was ordering, and another employee came to the counter to take care of me. I then stepped off to the side to wait and less than 2 minutes later, had my chicken salad sandwich and was leaving. All in all, my time inside was less than the time it took to PLACE MY ORDER at the taco _____ I had gotten tired of waiting at. Everybody was cheerful and made me feel like I was welcome and not an interruption in their day.

No matter what location of Chick-fil-A I visit, I am greeted in a friendly manner, served promptly, and when I thank them, am told "It's my pleasure sir."

I understand it's part of the training, but obviously the company culture gives them a reason to sound like they mean it and they're not just reading a script.


-----

If you live in a homeowner's association neighborhood and like it, God bless you.

I couldn't handle other people being able to control what I do on my own property, that I paid for, or still paying for.

If you don't like it, sell your house and move! Don't ask me to lobby congress to get you out of a contract (yes contract, agreement, covenant) that you signed when you bought the house. I'm in the middle of an email argument with people who want a law exempting them from the antenna limitations in most HOA rules and want my help throwing their temper tantrum. Because I disagree with them and don't live in an HOA myself, I'm "hardly qualified to discuss it intelligently."

Yes, that's the way to get people on your side.

Driving during a tornado warning....

There has been a lot of discussion over the last few years about the hazards of trying to drive out of the path of a tornado, especially in a large city. We know early in the morning what our tornado risk will be for that day. If you don't feel your home is safe, make plans ahead of time and leave BEFORE warnings are issued. If you are still home when the sirens sound it's too late. Take cover immediately and use blankets, pillows, helmets, etc to protect yourself from debris. The innermost room should survive all but the strongest tornadoes but YOU WILL DIE in your car if hit by even a weak one. I repeat, *YOU WILL DIE* if a tornado hits your car with you in it.

Don't use me as an example. Driving in severe weather is what I do. We have annual safety training which covers incidents from last season. Even with training we lost three professional chasers and two amateurs on May 31, 2013. Several others were injured. I keep my distance from danger and I have communication with trusted experts to keep me out of harm's way. You can't rely on the street by street radar analysis given on TV or radio. Those can be inaccurate because radar is seeing thousands of feet up in the air, not on the ground. Relying on a radar app on your phone isn't a good idea either for the same reason, plus it might be 10, 20, or even 30 minutes out of date. Besides, thousands of extra cars on the road jeopardizes the lives of those who NEED to be out there.

If you are already in your car when a tornado warning comes out find a solid building to take shelter in. A hospital might be able to take you in or most big chain stores have emergency plans and a safe place to take cover. If you have nowhere else to go, the freezer in a convenience store is somewhat reinforced. Don't go to a school and cause security issues.

I will be repeating this message throughout the spring and am not apologizing for the duplication. This is lifesaving information that I want my friends and their friends and THEIR friends to see and think about.

What's good about Good Friday?

...was the question I heard on the radio this morning.

I suppose from a humanist point of view it was a bad day but from humanity's point of view it was a very good day.

Jesus was the last blood sacrifice required for the atonement of sin. No longer was man tied to rituals of killing animals for temporary forgiveness.

Easter represents the completion of the process so altogether it's a great weekend.

Fixed! Don't know how!

Came home tonight to no water pressure. Went out to the wellhouse and started taking things apart and testing with a meter. Everything above ground tested good, which points to the pump in the bottom of the well. Put everything back together and turned the power back on just in case... it started working and built up pressure like it's supposed to. So it's not just computers I fix and don't know what I did - now it's water wells too.

2 questions:

1. Do you think the federal government should enforce fair access to the internet via so-called Net Neutrality?

2. Do you think airport security is efficient?

Both answers should be either yes or no. If not the same, please explain why.

Movie or real life?

The theme of the 3 Terminator movies was the machines (computers) becoming self-aware and trying to exterminate the humans it saw as pests.

If "machines" was replaced by "U.S. Federal Government" what date would you put down as Judgement Day? Are we getting close?

Think I'm barking up the wrong tree? Every authoritarian government in history has found it necessary to eliminate its citizens that it perceived as a nuisance or threat. Who controls education, economy, legal system, and health care in this country?

Now try again on that date.

A monument to Satan

More on the proposed Satanic monument at the Oklahoma State Capitol... The sponsors of the 10 Commandments monument on public property will fight the hardest to keep Satan off of public property. They opened the door and now want to shut it.

Yesterday I heard someone justify vandalism/theft of the Satan monument based on the fact that Jesus overturned the tables of the moneychangers in the temple. IN THE TEMPLE! The state capitol is not a temple or a church. Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's. I don't remember Jesus going to government offices and destroying things.

I don't like the idea of a monument to Satan going up but if you allow one religion you have to allow all. I don't want to be associated with Christians who would ignore the law and discriminate against another religion.

Christmas shopping

In your quest over the next month for the perfect gifts for family and friends, consider doing something nice for a stranger. Pay for somebody else's fast food order, put gas in someone's car, or drop some money into the kettle as you walk into a store. It doesn't take much to make someone's day.

Helping your neighbors in a disaster.

Today's tornadoes serve as a reminder that survivors are the true first responders. In 16 hours you can learn to SAFELY help trapped and injured people until professional responders arrive. Here is the link for Oklahoma. Contact me for other states. https://www.ok.gov/reddirtready/VOLUNTEER/CERT/

No time for a mid life crisis - I'm too busy having a mid life glad to be alive.

This week I've been accused of being too happy, being ornery, and "feeling my oats." I'm ok with that and I hope I never lose it. Why? Look at my recent history:

I was injured in an accident that could have killed me but it didn't.

My injuries could have crippled me for life but they didn't.

The testing for head injuries found a blob behind my eye that could have been cancer but it wasn't.

The surgery could have left me blind in one eye but it didn't.

I feel so blessed because of how well I came out of this. So yes, I'm feeling my oats.

Anyone got a problem with that?

My thoughts on same sex marriage.

I do not support the Defense of Marriage Act or any other laws banning same sex marriage because the government has no business legislating morals or religious principles. I can't impose my views of marriage on others any more than I can impose baptism, prayer, or Bible reading on them.

However, I firmly believe that following close behind legalisation of same sex marriage will be discrimination charges targeting any clergy who refuses to perform such weddings on demand. The State of California is already going after businesses such as photographers and cake shops for turning away same sex couples. Gays shouldn't have a right to force participation in something a person believes is a sin. I don't know if the first case will be somebody who truly wants a church wedding or somebody who wants to start a test case but the possibilities trouble me and for this reason anyone expecting my libertarian leanings to push me into full support of their lifestyle will be disappointed.