Candace Owens interviews Carol Swain

Knocked it out of the park! Candance Owens and Carol Swain today. Prof. Swain had been a Democrat all her life up to the Obama era, but even then was struggling against the victimhood idea,. She didn't like identity politics. Today's messages for young blacks are very destructive today.  Progressives hate blacks--yes, she said it. Every generation it's something different--all the way to defund the police. They HATE black people. Now it's Covid (OK to riot without masks) and shutting down the schools. Everything progressives do hurt blacks more. And she called Critical Race Theory what it is--Marxism. She encourages whites to stop the bullying by using the Civil Rights laws--they protect everyone, not just blacks. Don't miss this one. She's a strong Christian, but wasn't for many years.

https://youtu.be/IF8quaC53ic

A busy Bible week

From January 6-13, I attended 4 Bible studies!  That must be a record. 

On January 6 our small group from church had an Epiphany lunch at our home after services on Sunday afternoon.  We’re studying Hebrews, and the leadership rotates with the host.

On  January 10 after doing the mail run for the church, I sat in on the Thursday morning class for (mostly) retirees at 10:30, studying Revelation led by pastor Jeff Morlock.  That was followed by a wonderful luncheon with guest speaker John Kohan of Delaware, Ohio, talking about his sacred art collection (some of which is on display at our Mill Run location, and will change during Lent).  http://sacredartpilgrim.com/  http://sacredartmeditations.com/news

Then on Saturday January 11 I returned to the Women of Word group I’d been a part of for many years, but had  stopped going about 4 years ago.  The leader Mary Jo is the same as are many in the class, and I was warmly welcomed “home.” They are participating in a video class Bible study of Genesis 1-11 led by Jen Wilkin, “God of Creation.” https://www.lifeway.com/en/product-family/god-of-creation  

On Sunday January 12 while Bob was busy with the quilt show at our other location, Mill Run, I rejoined the adult Sunday School class after the 9 .m. worship at Lytham Road.  We had attended for many years, but several years ago while they were struggling through Romans at the speed of a snail, we found other things to do.  Charlie, the leader is doing an excellent job of working through Acts with a good study book and handouts. He’s very good at reining in the diverse, and very well educated, members who love to expound on not much at all.  I even met a new member named Dotty who joined the church last fall. This is the only Sunday School class for adults and is open to all, although it definitely leans to the over 50 crowd. 

Women of the Word Bible Study at UALC

Women of the Word (WOW) Bible Study

Today starts the Saturday group of WOW and I’m planning to attend.  However, I’m also interested in the new knitting group that will be meeting first and third Saturdays, so after attending today perhaps that will be clarified.  I attended the Saturday group for years, just because the group had some continuity, unlike the others that reassemble, mix and match, each new topic. About 5 years ago I got a little bored with the format (video, workbook, discussion, prayer), so I stopped attending.  It still has the same leader, Mary Jo, so I think it’s time to dip my toe in again; I miss the fellowship.

“Join us as we walk through the 10-week study God of Creation, by Jen Wilkin. Revisit familiar stories and historical figures, challenge your deeper meanings in the text enhanced by small group discussion and prayer. Sessions start the week of Jan. 8. Fee is $16 and includes workbook. Register below:

     Tuesdays, 6:45-8:45 pm, Lytham Road (begins 1/8)

     Thursdays, 9:15-11:15 am, Lytham Road (begins 1/10) nursery available

     Thursdays, 12:30-2:30 pm, Mill Run (begins 1/10)

     Saturdays, 9:15-11:15 am, Lytham Road (begins 1/12)

For women age 18 and older. Friends, neighbors and co-workers are invited. Scholarships are available. Contact Christie Masheter, wow@ualc.org.”

Adrienne Ross, guest blogger, don’t bring shame to my memory

“I'm glad I didn't spend one minute watching funerals the past few days. Didn't tune in to a lick of them. And from what I've read, the division that ensued turned what should have been life memorials and celebrations into clown shows. Bring back the days when funerals weren't miniseries on TV starring a cast of characters settling scores. Do me a favor, y'all, even if I become rich and famous, if I should die before the rapture (which I don't expect!), please don't put my funeral on TV. There's something morbid about folks with buckets of popcorn and butter sitting 'round their living rooms watching a funeral. Don't send out invitations to VIP folks who have "earned" a seat at the "event." Don't mention my political party. And don't use my funeral to criticize the president, whoever he or she may be at that time. Just get your praise on 'cause I guarantee that's what I'll be doing in Heaven while y'all are crying on earth--and yes, somebody better cry, at least a lil bit! Ain't nobody got time for all this other nonsense. I won't be leaving behind a set of instructions that would bring shame to my memory, and please don't y'all shame it, either. Love y'all, and thank you--WAY in advance!”

Ms. Ross is a former NY English teacher who now lives in Missouri, writes a regular column, is an author, and an inspirational speaker.

Focus word for 2018

Although I didn't make any New Year's resolutions this year, I did choose a focus word--GRATITUDE.

 Yesterday at the pregnancy center I folded and put away baby clothes--the 0-3 months size. So tiny. And of course, I'm grateful for everyone who helps women in difficult pregnancies, but as I handled tiny little hand made items, I was grateful especially for all the ladies (or maybe some men?) who maybe sit alone or watch TV and knit or crochet these tiny welcome gifts. And all the church ladies who lovingly pack the layettes and leave little Bible verses and notes. May God bless their memories of their own babies or their nieces and nephews or grandchildren.

Rosaria Butterfield's trainwreck conversion

Although I have read articles by Rosaria Butterfield I have never heard her speak.  This is a wonderful testimony, but only intended for Christians, or Christians who have wandered from the faith and are investigating the truth of Jesus and what he offers. It’s erudite--she’s a scholar and was professor of English. She attended Ohio State University! I love her way with words, her humor, and her analysis. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVTTsD9o1IM  Through friendship, kindness and deep study of the scripture, she finds the Jesus of the Bible.  She fought, but Jesus won.

 https://blogs.thegospelcoalition.org/justintaylor/2016/10/31/rosaria-butterfield-responds-to-jen-hatmakers-blessing-of-lgbt-sexual-relationships-as-holy/

 http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/january-february/my-train-wreck-conversion.html

When I became a Christian, I had to change everything—my life, my friends, my writing, my teaching, my advising, my clothes, my speech, my thoughts. I was tenured to a field that I could no longer work in. I was the faculty advisor to all of the gay and lesbian and feminist groups on campus. I was writing a book that I no longer believed in. And, I was scheduled in a few months to give the incoming address to all of Syracuse University’s graduate students.

 http://www.kevinhalloran.net/the-secret-thoughts-of-an-unlikely-convert-by-rosaria-champagne-butterfield/

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgDAEPRXWgU  (longer version of conversion story)

Is anyone in charge here?

Yesterday I came across a slick brochure advertising IF:Gathering 2016, which seems to be an ecumenical live gathering with lots of high tech underground and over reach--blogging, twiitter, Pinterest, tumblr, etc.--supposedly reaching about 400,000 women for the last event as reported by Christianity Today and Huffington Post. The brochure made no mention of the ministry or resurrection of Jesus which always gives me pause in publicity for massive "Christian" events. Is that to be "seeker" friendly, or was it an oversight by the proof reader? No theology, Christology, ecclesiology, or any isms or ologies that I'm familiar with that point back to the New Testament church. Just lots of good vibes and emotion, plus some social justice links to well known Christian groups. "A fresh, deep, honest space for the next generation of women to wrestle with essential questions that plague their generation." I can find no "authority" or church leader higher than the woman (and her husband) who organized it. I'm feeling my age today--and the multitude of events I've seen come and go in the last 40 years. Thoughts? Have you attended one of these?

Donations for personal hygiene

We took about $50 of groceries to the Thanksgiving service at UALC on Thursday (nicest church service of the year with the best hymns).  But I kept aside a bag of personal care items I’ve been buying—shampoo, sanitary napkins, deodorant, bar soap, toothpaste, tooth brushes, liquid hand soap. These are for Tammy Jewell’s ministry, “God’s Hygiene Help Center,” which offers basic hygiene care to people who have lost their dignity because they simply can’t afford everyday items.  Some are for children, some for out of work men and women looking for jobs, some for the elderly and homeless.

Jewell is a former victim of human trafficking who came to know Jesus. Now she reaches out to addicts and trafficking victims.  When she shares Jesus, she also offers some small material aid.

From UALC.org Cornerstone, Nov. 22-26, 2015

Star Parker has the CURE for dependency

It's possible you've seen Star Parker on CNN, TBN, CSPAN, CBN, and FOX News, and once you learned she's a conservative Christian, perhaps you picked up the remote and looked for someone else to discuss the news of the day. But if you're a Democrat, you should also know she's had several abortions and been on welfare so she knows your side of the fence too, even if she jumped it and ran to the freedom of Christ, because that's who changed her life. Today she's head of CURE, the Center for Urban Renewal and Education, a 501(c)(3) non-profit think tank which promotes market based public policy to fight poverty.

I wonder if the IRS has investigated her status--after all, she did leave the system for a better plan and tells others how to do it. That could be a threat to the current administration.

http://townhall.com/columnists/starparker/

Ayesha shares her son with you

“I remember my first abortion like it was yesterday. There are times I revisit those days and play back all chaos in my life. I think about some of the words spoken to me: "This is for the best" "Trust me", "You are too young, this will ruin your life." "How will you finish school ; what kind of life will you be able to give this child?" I even remember the moment in the room, when I changed my mind and said, "Hello, is there anyone out there, I want change my mind." and the nurse came by and said it was too late. I remember every moment so clearly sometimes and it always sends me to a place of what if. I wonder what he would have looked like, I wonder how it would have changed my life, I wonder what he would have been today?

Yes, there is great sadness, but it is okay because in the end I have let my children live and the lord says that in letting our children live we can find Joy. John 16:21 - A woman when she is in travail has sorrow, because her hour has come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembers no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.

This is part of why so many woman have such pain and shame. They suffer in silence, never admitting to the sin of killing their child and thus never letting go of the burden or travail of pregnancy. In coming out and letting the child live even in such a small way as this, we allow healing to begin. It is hard to relive such painful memories, but I remember the times when I did not even admit I was in pain. I would rather feel the pain and release the shame than live in darkness and allow the enemy to win.

I get to imagine he would have been a great man of God, whom the Lord is well pleased....”

Shared from her Facebook post, March 1, 2013, with permission.

Jodi and Susi plan for retirement

Note: The story of Jodi and Susi is fiction--at least the main characters. The amounts and the disparities in the pensions are true. This is why I’m voting for Issue 2 in Ohio.

Jodi and Susi are both 55 and were roommates at a Christian college. After graduation Jodi went on for an MBA right away, but Susi took a teaching position in a poor community because she could get assistance paying her college loans from the government. Later she got an M.S. with assistance from the school district where she settled. Jodi spent years paying off her school loans; Susie invested her windfalls from the federal and local governments.

Both women today make $90,000 a year, Jodi as a manager of several Wendy’s restaurants working about 60 hours a week, 12 months a year, and Susi as an assistant principal working about 40 hours a week, 10 months a year. Susi goes interesting places in the summer to teach teachers in 6 week workshops, does a little touring on the side, and invests her additional summer salary, looking ahead to when she can retire with 35 years next year at 56 in the state teacher‘s system. Jodi would like to travel, but keeps it modest because she needs to invest in her 401-k and private savings, looking ahead to when she can retire at age 67 or later.

Next year Susi will begin drawing her $70,000 pension and will begin substituting in different districts, selecting carefully only those jobs she truly loves--like working with low-income children slipping through the cracks of all the regulations imposed by the U.S. Department of Education and the State Board of Education, and the local board. There are days when she's reduced to tears by the burden of what is expected of her. The school districts will benefit because they won’t need to pay her as much as a regular teacher who will need union negotiated benefits, plus she’s an outstanding teacher with experience and will do a better job than a beginner.

Jodi has another 12 years to work and pay into Social Security, to which she began contributing at age 16. When she retires, her “government” pension will be $28,150 (this figure will be larger in 2023, but that’s what it would be today). She has paid much more into FICA than Susi has paid into STRS because restaurant managers don’t have a powerful union. Technically she’s Susi’s employer so she’s also been contributing to Susi’s pension. She has also worked longer days, and more days per year than Susi. She too is reduced to tears some days as she has to do basic remediation for some of her employees who attended schools where Susi taught because they are unprepared for the work world.

Susi, by the way, never actually joined the teacher’s union, but she had to pay dues anyway if she wanted to teach in a public system in Ohio. Like the majority of teachers in the United States, she votes Republican and doesn’t like it that the unions contribute primarily to Democratic candidates and causes. She’s also pro-life, and is really bothered that teachers unions contribute heavily to candidates and organizations that support abortion, and especially to Barack Obama, who is very pro-abortion and pro-embryonic stem cell research. She contributes to pro-life organizations, but not as much as she surrenders to the union.

In any case, next year at 56 she has great plans to enjoy her retirement with her pension and her private investments. Meanwhile, Jodi puts a smile on her face, her lunch in her briefcase, and heads for the free-way.

Sarepta Henry, evangelist, writer, poet

At one time, Mrs. Henry lived in Mt. Morris, IL as a student at Rock River Seminary. There she came under the influence of John Heyl Vincent, a real dynamo in the Sunday School movement, who later moved on to Chautauqua, NY and Lakeside, OH. She was the daughter of a Methodist minister, but is known as a 7th Day Adventist teacher and evangelist, and a licensed minister, having converted in the last years of her life (1839-1900), and a powerhouse in the WTCU, one of the most influential women's organization in United States history.

I came across her name for the first time today while searching JH Vincent in Google. Now, if you google Sarepta Henry, you'll find a fascinating book called "Unanswered Prayer; A mother's treasury of wisdom." It was first published by SDA in 1910, and was still printed and available by Review and Herald Publishing Association in 2002. If you have a teen or adult child being destroyed by alcohol or drugs despite your Christian home and time on your knees in prayer, this might be the book Mrs. Henry wrote for you.

I've never really done much research on what was known 100 years ago about prenatal affects of nicotine and alcohol on the fetus, but Mrs. Henry knew. Maybe it was anecdotal at that time, but we now know the child is strongly influenced prenatally by what the mother eats, drinks, smokes, injects, breathes and does. Whether you call that nature or nurture, it's a done deal when the kid pops out. Whatever the cause of a child being led astray by others or voluntarily bending the elbow, Mrs. Henry states at the beginning, it definitely isn't God's fault.