“Hate” may be a strong word. Our children are often bored by what we find interesting. Most of us can relate. Like a feminist matron glumly watching a lovingly gifted special edition copy of Our Bodies, Ourselves sit on her daughter’s bookshelf year after year collecting dust, we often have to resign ourselves to our children’s individuality. Movies can provide a good barometer between generational differences. Continue reading
Islam requires reformation. This needs to be said, therefore let’s stop dancing around the issue. To my knowledge Hindus, Taoists, and Buddhists generally don’t strap on bombs, and they don’t seek out soft targets in the Western World. One could make a valid case that the humanistic cults of the 20th century far out-striped even the best efforts of the Islam in wrecking carnage on the world.
This even allows for the Islamic rampage across the North Africa during the 7th century. Islam needs to undergo a reformation of its own.
One Method Of Evangelism
Marriage, as we know it is all but gone. And it’s our fault. People will still get “married,” of course. Couples will hold a ceremonies in front of friends and family pledging to build a life together. For a little while longer, at least.
Reflecting on the day past or perhaps the day to come, a husband and wife share a moment.
Marriage has devolved into a mere cultural habit, effectively ceasing as a cultural institution. Regrettable, given my strong advocacy or Western Civilization.
Considering our recent social upheaval, the de-valuing of marriage was inevitable. No surprise, given the Church’s unconditional surrender to the State.
While God’s existence is not in question, man’s interpretation of Him remains infinitely variable. Our attempts to understand him continue to vex us.
The reading list feature on this blog really has me thinking about what I’ve collected over the last 30+ years. Journaling about our efforts and progress with respect to the library renovation has been something of a focusing tool.
Neither of you said you would leave me alone. Why is that so hard?
We’re already handing over 60% of our labor to support the leviathan of government on the Federal, State, and Local level. Apparently that’s not enough. Continue reading
Christian Reformed Church, Midland Park, NJ. I miss opening up a hymnal. But then, I’m a church elder who carries his bible inside his phone now, so…
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7
Yesterday I had a front row seat at the Peace that passes understanding.
On September 20th, after a long struggle with infirmities that will befall all of us, Bernhard Spoelstra passed away. He was my sister’s father-in-law. The patriarch of an extended family, Mr. Spoelstra left behind a devoted wife and four loyal children. This is his legacy. And it is priceless.
I’m looking around my library with some despondency. Oh, the new coat of paint on the sheet rock – a light silver-ish blue – looks great. And the placeholders are doing the job. One folding table serves as Lois’ return. The other is the spare workstation and holds a computer and television turned to the news. Lois and I sit across from each other, a 3/4” piece of plywood serving as our partners desk. On her side I was able to install a keyboard tray using scrap lumber and a pair of inexpensive drawer slides. A pair of unfinished pinewood file cabinets on one side supports the desk on one side, and a set of braced 2x3s holds up the other end. We expect the maple wood tops in about two weeks. It’s a shared vision between spouses. It’s pleasant. Yet, I look around the room and sigh. No books. A library should have books. But a library needs shelves to have books, and the oak shelves are coming after the desktops.
Here are three selections from the shelves the bins in the basement:
There is no such thing as corporate taxes. Oh, there are fees assessed to a corporation’s earnings. There is an “official” tax bracket
assigned to the net income of all business, and corporations in particular are assigned a top rate of 39.1%. How our government came up with that is anyone’s guess.
Why is it so difficult to forgive, particularly those who think and act as though they’ve done nothing wrong? Why are we triggered to offense, in some cases quite easily? In a word – Pride.
We all want respect. It is in our nature to crave validation. We want recognition for our efforts and for our achievements. We need for our existence to have some value beyond ourselves, and when we perceive the desired validation lacking, it can cause a draining disharmony of the spirit.
The trail behind me is littered with failure. We’ll see about the trail before me.
