Controversies, Genealogies, and Dissensions.

I have posted this verse on my Facebook page 3 times in the last 10 days:

But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about 
the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. Titus 3:9 ESV

The verse after it states:

As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, 
have nothing more to do with him

Or as the King James version puts it:

But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about 
the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. Titus 3:9

A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject;

Those are pretty strong words and that verse has been rolling around in my mind for days. I knew I would write a blog about it.  Titus 3:9 and 10 remind me of a quote from Pope Francis. -- "If 
someone is gay and is searching for the Lord and has good will, then 
who am I to judge him? ... The problem is not having this tendency, no, 
we must be brothers and sisters to one another. The problem is in 

making a lobby of this tendency: a lobby of misers, a lobby of politicians, 
a lobby of masons, so many lobbies." (News conference during flight 
from Brazil to Rome, July 28, 2013).

We can get SO caught up in what we believe as Christians and think that everyone else should believe the very same way. Everyone's walk with Christ is unique and NO ONE  can say a brother or  sister Christian is wrong. We might not understand the walk our    brother or sister in Christ is taking but we are walking a different walk than they are and they are walking a different walk than we are.  

How can we criticize that?   I'm not sure we can.

I must admit Titus 3:9 has given me pause to think about the subjects I put my effort      toward.

Something to think about.

J. 

A small slice from 2009.....

HONESTLY. 

To do this, copy this entire message, then go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, delete my answers, and type yours.

1. What was the last thing you put in your mouth?
Coffee

2. Where was your profile picture taken?
Nov 2007 in the train station in Washington DC waiting to come back to florence SC

3. Can you play Guitar Hero?
Nope..but I can play Guitar for real...

4. Name someone who made you laugh today?
Randi Massengill

5. How late did you stay up last night and why?
11:30pm watching TV

6. If you could move somewhere else, would you?
Texas, Denison Texas

7. Ever been kissed under fireworks?
Yes

8. Which of your friends lives closest to you?
Wendy Kimball

9. Do you believe ex's can be friends?
no!!

10. How do you feel about mountain dew?
nasty taste.....

11. When was the last time you cried really hard?
A few years ago when Randi and I almost split up

12. Who took your profile picture?
Randi, my wife

13. Who was the last person you took a picture of?
Randi

14. Was yesterday better than today?
Nope

15. Can you live a day without T.V. ?
yes

16. Are you upset about anything?
not really at this moment

17. Do you think relationships are ever really worth it?
yes

18. Are you a bad influence?
Sometimes

19. Night out or night in?
Night in

20. What items could you not go without during the day?
Computer, toilet paper

21. Who was the last person you visited in the hospital?
Pat Patterson...(I miss that guy and wish I had talked to him before he passed away)

22. What does the last text message in your inbox say?
??? I don't know

23. How do you feel about your life right now?
very good

24. Do you hate anyone?
I try darn hard not to hate anyone. Some people I dislike more than others

25. If we were to look in your Facebook inbox, what would we find?
Notes to my son and my two cousins about a Massengill Family group me and my two cousins started on FB

26. Say you were given a drug test right now, would you pass?
Yes...

27. Has anyone ever called you perfect before?
yes and i proceeded to tell them it was bull.....no one is perfect

28. What song is stuck in your head?
Yesterday by the Beatles

29. Someone knocks on your window at 2:00 a.m., who do you want it to be?
someone who is REALLY in need and it is something I can help with. Any other reason can wait until the sun comes up.

30. Wanna have grandkids by the time your 50?
no

31. What do you have to do tomorrow?
clean out the shed in the back yard and crush cans for recycling

32. Do you think too much or too little?
way too much.

33. Do you smile a lot?
I've been told I do but I don't think so...

The tender middle

I saw a Facebook post from a friend tonight that just said "Why me???" and I didn't know what it was about but I KNEW how it felt.  Been there, done that.  I got picked on in grade school by a person I didn't bother and who I wanted very badly for him to leave me alone.  I'm not sure what it was about me that attracted his attention but it did.  At my young age I felt like it was because my father was away with the military and his father worked for the City of Knoxville. I also felt like it was because my dad was a drinker and I felt like everyone knew it. I'm sure they didn't but I sure felt like they did.

In my adult mind I can see that some people mistook my shy or soft side as a weakness when in fact it was a plus.  I didn't talk much but I took a lot in, much like a sponge takes in water. I watched life go by and I was content to sit on the sidelines and watch life go by. I felt if I opened my mouth, I would be ignored and dismissed. I felt like my opinions carried less weight than other peoples did.

At about age 15 I ask my dad something and his answer was "I think you are old enough to make those decisions for yourself".....MAN! it was like being let off the leash. I don't remember what question I ask but, boy do I remember the answer!  

Even as an adult, I still have a bad habit of saying "May I ask a question?" because I still feel that small boy inside me saying "you're not good enough to give your opinion", however as a counter to that I also tell myself that my opinion is just as good as anyone else's! I can't say I excel and I can't say I fall flat all the time either. I'm painfully average. Right smack in the middle.  They once had an answer on Jeopardy "5'9" 185 lbs and size 9 shoes" the question "What is the measurements of the average man in America" and at the time I was only 5 pounds less than that....talk about average! I always wanted to be 6 foot tall....I didn't make it. Oh well! can't have everything.

Sometimes, the insides of our own minds are our worst critic.  You know where the bad stuff about yourself is buried and when you are doing badly, your mind will remind you of every time you fell flat or goofed in front of a crowd full of people.....

It wasn't easy to live through the hard times but it has given me a perspective that I KNOW things will get better and you can't always be on top.  It has provided for me when I was halfway around the world with nothing but snail mail to keep me going (during the Gulf War it took over two weeks to get my first letter from home but when I finally did get mail I got four letters in one day. That was the hardest two weeks of my life!)

Being down isn't easy but maybe God has something in store that only such knowledge can give you an edge to live through during a rough time.  Remember, even the flowers need rain to grow. It can't always have the sun at our backs.....or our shoulders would burn and that is no fun either!

Sometimes only God knows "Why" and he has a plain for us all.
Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you" declares the LORD "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plains to give  you hope and a future"

J.

21 Date night questions taken from http://davewillis.org/21-date-night-questions/

21 Date Night Questions

Just when you think you’ve come to know all there is to know about someone, you’ll find out that you’re just getting started! Marriage is a lifelong journey of discovery and communication is the only way to continue growing in your discovery of one another. Below are some questions that should start some great conversations! Turn off your phones and TV and ask your spouse these questions. I guarantee that you’ll both end up discovering something new!

1. If there was a movie about your life, what songs would you want on the soundtrack?

The CD unplugged by Eric Clapton.

2. In that movie, what actor (past or present) would you want to play you?

Matt Damon. I like his movies

3. If you could have named yourself, what name would you have chosen?

Johnny is ok I just wish I could have also gotten my Grandfathers middle name too.

4. What is your favorite thing about yourself?

I love fixing stuff. I'm not always good at it but getting there is half the fun

5. What is one thing you wish you could change about yourself?

The fear in my own head that tells me "I can't" way too many times a day

6. What was your biggest fear when you were a child?

Being left away from home alone. 

7. What is your biggest fear now?

Screwing up at work. 

8. Besides our wedding and the day kids were born, what is your all-time favorite day?

20 Jan 2000, when I married Randi (that answer isn't allowed according to the question but that is my answer)

9. What would you do with the money if we won the lottery?

a. keep it private

b. invest, invest, invest

c. repair computers and network and be my own boss.

10. What would you do tomorrow if you lost your job and money and we had to start over?

Pick up a network tester and a toolbox and get to work. 

11. When you were a kid, who was your biggest hero?

My Dad. He is the reason I went in the USAF

12. Who is your biggest hero today?

My Wife, Randi. She has a calm about her that I've never seen in anyone else.

13. What is your greatest regret?

Didn't go to college sooner/Didn't retire from the USAF

14. What is one thing you’d like to accomplish by this time next year?

Read my Bible more.

15. If you won a free vacation to any place on earth, where would you want to go?

Alaska to see son, daughter-in-law, and Alisen, meet C.J. (my newest granddaughter) or Texas to see my daughters and maybe see an F1 race while there.

16. What was your first nickname?

J.J. given to me by my Dad

17. What is your earliest childhood memory?

Playing on the floor in base housing at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base, MO

18. What was the moment when you laughed harder than you’ve ever laughed?

Watching "Rodney's Place" on HBO in the late 70's or early 80's (it was full of up coming comics. Tim Allen, Jeff Foxworthy, John Fox, Thea Vidale to name a few)

19. If you could write one new law that everyone had to obey, what law would you create?

Use the turn lane and your turn signals.   

20. What’s a new hobby you’d like to try out?

I have enough hobbies to choke a horse. I don't need another hobby. 

21. Besides marrying Randi…what’s the greatest thing that has ever happened to you? 

Graduating from college in 2005

There should be one more question:
22. What is your super power?
I know where every bathroom in town is and I also know the call signs for all the NPR stations in the state of SC. 

What movies made you cry.....

A few mornings ago, on the local NPR station they ask "What movie made you cry and why". For me the answer was easy. It was "Good Morning Vietnam" from 1987.  It wasn't anything in the movie or in the story of the movie, it was seeing Military men wearing khaki uniforms. The Air Force called them "1505's"

Robin Williams in 1505's khakis

 1505's were long gone from the Air Force when I went in the Military. I was kind of sad about that. I would have loved to wear the same uniform my Dad did but it wasn't to be. I can't tell you how many times I saw my Dad leave home wearing 1505's when I was a kid.

My Dad at age 38.

 Watching Good Morning Vietnam threw me back to a time in my life that I had no control over anything. I was a very young kid.  Watching Robin Williams leave Vietnam in 1505's made those hard times suddenly come flooding back to me and I sobbed a great deal.  I get a lump in my throat writing about it even now.

Thanks for the memories Robin. You were a very good actor, no matter what role you played.  The world is less funny and heaven is more funny with your passing.

J.

Do we need to beg God for our needs?

Sometimes as fretful humans we get things on our minds and just can't let those things go.  In our prayers we mention the same problems or concerns.  Will a long often repeated prayer get The Lord's attention more than a short prayer?
Matthew 6 has a great deal to say about prayer:

5And when you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6But you, when you pray, enter into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret shall reward you openly. 7But when you pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8Be not therefore like them: for your Father knows what things you have need of, before you ask him.  

I'm guilty of being a worry wart. No one worries more than I do.  Rather than praying for/about the things I'm worried about, I sometime will admit to saying very short prayers asking for God's will being done rather than a great jumble of words about all the topics I'm worried about....  I don't dwell on my concerns and yet I feel like I've also prayed about my concerns. Win-Win if you ask me.  

Sometimes trying NOT to think about a problem will make you think about it more than you normally would...

The Lord has been good to me...today and everyday

J. 

Lent 2014.

Within the last year, we, Randi and I, have joined the Church.  We haven't been there every time the doors opened but we have tried support our Church where and when we could.  It has been a good thing for both of us.

When Ash Wednesday came around Randi and I spoke about giving something up for the season of Lent.  To say I have a softdrink habit is putting it mildly.  I'm USDA 100% hooked on soft drinks OR I was Hooked on soft drinks. With the help of The Good Lord, I have been soft drink free for 40+ days.  I'm pretty happy about that and how that turned out.

I've never been in a Church that was big on Lent, so all this was new to me.  I never really thought much about it and how it fit into my walk with The Lord, however, I felt I had to support my wife if she wanted to give up something for Lent.  It has been an interesting month and 10+ days.  The thought of a soda has crossed my mind a few times but I always tried to redirect my thoughts to water or tea (hot or cold).  I can honestly say I feel better and I'm 100% less bloated after a meal.  When we started this, I said if I didn't drink a softdrink for 40 days I wouldn't pick one back up again.   This experience has made me think of what else I need out of my diet that truly does me no good on a daily basis.  Ranch dressing pops to mind as I eat Ranch dressing on a lot of things, usually as a substitute for mayonnaise.

I can truly say the experience has been a good one for Randi and I and I can also say going to Church again has also been a good experience for us. It has been good to have a Church family, as we have no family related to either of us in the local area.

I must say "Thank you Lord" for the help and support and I'm thankful for the help and support of a dedicated spouse.

J.  

Ski by faith, not by sight

On March 16, 2014, I woke up early and caught some of the last day of the 2014 Paralympics from Sochi Russia. They were doing alpine skiing with people who had lost a limb or were paralyzed below the waist.  I was half watching and half sleeping. Then I heard them say "When we come back, we will start with the visually impaired alpine skiing"..... Ok, NOW I'm interested. Just how do they pull this off? Skiing is hard enough when you have your sight but I really didn't have a thought about how you ski when visually impaired.

The video above shows the rules and how they make alpine skiing for the visually impaired person work.

I was blown away watching the skiing that morning. The last (fastest) person to ski gained 3 + seconds on the previous fastest time. Wow...I was in awe!

Watching this made me think about our walk with God.  It reminded me of Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. The people skiing HAD to rely on the guide skier to make it through the course.  We sometimes can't see where God is taking us and the pitfalls it might hold but we have to trust our faith and have our lives in God's will.  

As 2 Corinthians 5:7 says For we walk by faith, not by sight.

We would be lost without our life guide, Jesus Christ.

J. 

The Lord's Prayer.

This is my take on The Lord's Prayer and what it means or what I think it means to me. 

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Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

We need to acknowledge that God is our Father in heaven and his name should be held in high regard. Hallowed means:   holy, consecrated or sacred, revered. We shouldn't use the Lord's name in an empty manner. 

Thy kingdom come.Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

We should pray for his kingdom to return and be ready for his kingdom to return.  We should pray for God's will to be done. Many times we pray "God, Help me" when we should be praying "God take this from me and your will be done in this matter". His will is done in heaven, he is in charge of heaven

Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses,

Make sure we get fed today and forgive us when we are in the wrong

as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation,

     but deliver us from evil,

that we can forgive those who do wrong toward us.  Direct my life in such a way to not be tempted and give me the ability to use my brains to NOTICE when I'm stepping into a situation that might tempt me. 

 For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever.

And again we acknowledge the Hallowed and glorious nature of God and we remember that his kingdom and power is forever

Amen.

7 Deadly Sins

According to Wikipedia, the seven deadly sins are:
1. Lust
2. Gluttony
3. Greed
4. Sloth
5. Wrath
6. Envy
7. Pride
In the Book of Proverbs 6:16-19, among the verses traditionally associated with King Solomon, it states that the Lord specifically regards "six things the Lord hateth, and seven that are an abomination unto Him", namely

1. A proud look
2. A lying tongue
3. Hands that shed innocent blood
4. A heart that devises wicked plots
5. Feet that are swift to run into mischief
6. A deceitful witness that uttereth lies
7. Him that soweth discord among brethren

Another list, given this time by the Epistle to the Galatians (Galatians 5:19-21), includes more of the traditional seven sins, although the list is substantially longer: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, "and such like". Since Saint Paul goes on to say that the persons who practice these sins "shall not inherit the Kingdom of God", they are usually listed as (possible) mortal sins rather than capital vices.

(Taken from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_deadly_sins )

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In my life I have been close to most of the sins mentioned above. I would say Lust and Envy were at the top of my list and have caused the most trouble in my life over the years.  Now I seem to be troubled by Gluttony and Sloth, according to my ever expanding waistline.  (Who knew Sloth was such a popular sin that it has an animal named after it. ) However, Jesus has forgiven me of it all.  God's love is a wonderful thing. I'm still not perfect and yet, God still loves me.  I am truly blessed.  Jesus didn't break anyone's arm and tell them to get right with God.  Jesus was tolerant toward the woman taken in Adultery and showed mercy toward her and her situation.  Jesus always fixed what was wrong in someone's life and then told them "go, and sin no more"  

I can only imagine what that woman said to her family when she went home that day.  "Mother, I met a wonderful man who saved my life from a rock throwing crowd and then told me to sin no more."  I'm sure she was grateful for her life but I'm also sure she was affected by being told to "go, and sin no more".  

In a more modern twist, Pope Francis said of the Catholic Church:  “The church sometimes has locked itself up in small things, in small-minded rules. The most important thing is the first proclamation: Jesus Christ has saved you. And the ministers of the church must be ministers of mercy above all. The confessor, for example, is always in danger of being either too much of a rigorist or too lax. Neither is merciful, because neither of them really takes responsibility for the person. The rigorist washes his hands so that he leaves it to the commandment. The loose minister washes his hands by simply saying, ‘This is not a sin’ or something like that. In pastoral ministry we must accompany people, and we must heal their wounds. (http://www.americamagazine.org/pope-interview). The Pope also said “We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods. This is not possible. I have not spoken much about these things, and I was reprimanded for that. But when we speak about these issues, we have to talk about them in a context. The teaching of the church, for that matter, is clear and I am a son of the church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time."

Other people's sin is not my sins, nor are my sins everyone else's sins.  It isn't up to me to get someone in a hammerlock and persuade them to turn from their wicked ways and turn to God. I am not the Judge. The simple part of Acts 16:31 "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household" is sometimes too simple for our human minds.  You don't have to carry a 17 and a half pound bible and darken the doors of the church every time it is open, you just have to believe.  I want people to see in me that I have something in my life that they might want in their lives. 

I don't see a lot of people protesting Gluttony or Sloth but it seems some people, including myself, at some point got hung up on certain kinds of sin. Sin is sin is sin.  Matthew 6: 14-15 says "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."  How can we expect the Lord to forgive us and show us mercy if we can't get over the sin someone else is committing because it is on our "That's a REALLY bad sin" list?

I have seen a lot of churches in my past that seem to act like they are above sinners. They go through the motions of living a "good life" but they don't have much of an outreach program on a regular basis.  I've seen small churches say "We can't do that, we don't have enough people attending church to do that"  Remember, people, Jesus and 12 Apostle's changed the world!  The size of your congregation does not matter, it is the spirit and faith your congregation shows that matters....even the Bible says in Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst."

We need to look beyond other people's faults and see their needs and we need to love them, regardless of their shortcomings. We need to trust God that he will give us the ability to do these things.  We have all fallen short at some point in our lives and we need to show people mercy as we have once had mercy shown to us when we were down.  

I, for one, am glad that Jesus kept knocking on my hearts door. I'm still a sinner but now I'm a sinner saved by grace. 

J. 

7 July 2011. Words that Have helped my journey (A Rerun from my old Facebook Notes)

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.


Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
--Reinhold Niebuhr
http://www.cptryon.org/prayer/special/serenity.html

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I knew the first verse to this prayer from being around my dad and A.A. in my youth. At one point in time I carried a laminated card around in my wallet but removed it when I went into the Air Force in 1984
During the Gulf War (1990 and 91) I recited the serenity prayer from memory before getting out of the rack/cot/bunk/bed (call it what you will) in the morning.  It kept me moving when I was halfway around the world and away from my family. What do I think I got out of this prayer?  The ability to know when to pick my battles and the clearness of mind to know when I couldn't change my situation no matter what I did or didn't do.  Trust me on this, when the Military stuffs a set of orders in your hands and tells you to GO...there isn't much you can do about it. You GO.

The Airman's Creed
I am an American Airman.
I am a Warrior.
I have answered my nation's call.
I am an American Airman.
My mission is to fly, fight, and win.
I am faithful to a proud heritage,a tradition of honor,and a legacy of valor.
I am an American Airman,Guardian of freedom and justice,
My nation's sword and shield,Its sentry and avenger.
I defend my country with my life.
I am an American Airman:
Wingman, Leader, Warrior.
I will never leave an Airman behind.
I will never falter,and I will not fail.

The current version of the Airman's Creed came out after I left the Air Force but you get the idea.

That is a pretty big thing to uphold on a daily basis.  What did that 15 years and 9 months and 1 week of Military service from 24 May 1984 till 1 Feb 2000 leave me with? A case of nerves so bad that I have IBS something awful. A mind that is in a high, hyper state of awareness some days and no ability to slow it down (that part has slowed up a bit in the years ). Believe me when I say I'm not griping at all. This is the hand I was dealt. This is the wall I must sometimes climb and this is the private battle I fight that no one goes along with me. (Randi might have a better idea than most but the storms between my ears are truly my own) It also left me with the knowledge that given the chance, I have the ability to reach inside my mental self very deeply, tamp down everything else and pull up vast sums of calm if the need arises and the ability to make a decision from my own mind with little help from anyone else.... and you wouldn't think a computer network tech would need that kind of ability but when you see a computer on a remote network that could damage the WHOLE computer network you keep running from day to day, the ability to TURN OFF THAT branch of the network to save the rest  of the network isn't easy to do but, as Spock said "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" (I have always said while working on computer and networks that our REAL job is to keep the phone from ringing and believe me when you shut off a branch of a network without their knowledge, the phone RINGS like crazy!)

We can all reach inside ourselves. We might not think we can but we all have this ability

David Allen Coe has a song called "If that ain't country" and the lyrics can be a bit "colorful" (offensive) but one verse sums it up for me.

HE WAS VETERAN-PROUD, TRIED AND TRUE
HE'D FOUGHT TILL HIS HEART WAS BLACK AND BLUE
DIDN'T KNOW HOW HE'D MADE IT THROUGH
THE HARD TIMES
HE BOUGHT OUR HOUSE ON THE G.I. BILL
BUT IT WASN'T WORTH ALL HE HAD TO KILL
TO GIT IT

Was it worth all I, and others, had to give?  I would have to say YES. (Thankfully I didn't have to kill anyone along the way!)

Both my Grandfather's were in the Army and my Dad and all but one of his brothers were in the Army or the Air Force. (one of my uncles was told he was 4F during WWII and he told me the story of coming out of the Military induction center in Knoxville, years ago and someone on the steps called him a "4F son of a bitch"...and my uncle proceeded to whip him right there!  Diabetes made him 4F and it wasn't due to lack of want that he didn't go)

The serenity prayer still wonders around in the back of my mind and quietly reminds me of the wisdom to know the difference between what I can and can't control or change...

J.

A restored photo of my Dad! Restored by my friend, Gail Buckner Strong, who graduated from Holston High School in 1967.

One of the "not so fun days" during the gulf war, late 1990 or early 1991

Christopher and I in uniform, This photo was taken in the early 1990's

One tired dog....

Dogs sacking out on the bed 10/30/2010

Sophie playing Queen of the mountain at the top of the bonus room steps

The Princess

Things you shouldn't do with a computer.

I wrote this as a Facebook note in Feb 2011 and lots of it is still true.  It deserves a reprint and a few updates.

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ACK! I work with computer all day long and I see people doing A LOT of things with their computer that they wouldn't do in person with ANYONE.

Things you SHOULDN'T do with a computer:

1. answer, click, reply, read an email from someone you don't know.

     Sometimes SPAM has code in the email that will tell the person that sent the SPAM to KNOW you have opened this SPAM even if you DON"T answer the email in question.

2. Incredimail/Rich Text Email might look nice BUT it is a large source of malware on computers. Email was not designed with pretty pictures in mind.  Plain text email is MUCH SAFER.  A plain text email can't run any underlying code on that email.

3. ANY (read that again) ANY post in facebook from ANYONE that claims to allow you to see who is visiting your profile are all BUNK. These type of post are against the Facebook terms of service. DO NOT CLICK ON THEM.

4. Even if you get an email from a long lost friend or son or daughter that is filled with dozens of misspelled words and/or a link that says something like "you look FUUNNY in this f!lm" and you haven't seen your friend, son or daughter in a very long time and there is NO WAY IN HELL they have a film of you, DON'T CLICK ON IT.  I once got an email like this from my daughter that has a Masters Degree and I KNEW there was no WAY it was really from her. She spells better than that on a bad day!

Do NOT pass on any email about a virus that is SO new that you need to contact all on your contact list.  Those email's just make your Internet Service Provider GO NUTS. Trust me on this...Anti-virus companies NEVER contact users by email and encourage you to contact your friends about this new virus. 

REMEMBER!

If you didn't play the lottery in England etc..., there is no way you can WIN the lottery in England etc.....

Someone in Nigeria didn't just pick your name out of the millions of people on the Internet to share millions of dollars with.

If your grandson calls you and he doesn't sound like himself and he claims to be in Spain and has been in a car wreck, make sure you call his parents to check if it is the truth before sending him one thin dime. A couple in SC got taken for $10K by this scam.....

THINGS TO DO:

1. get some kind of anti-virus on your computer and keep it updated (this is very important). Norton and Mcafee BOTH are quite bloated and will slow your computer WAY DOWN and both of those anti-virus program are targets for viruses that disable anti-virus programs. Norton and Mcafee are on most computers that are purchased new.  There are free Anti-virus that can be downloaded from download.com or cnet.com.  I myself use AVG antivirus free edition and or Microsoft Security Essentials on most all of my computers here at the nuthouse. I do believe I have 8 or 9 different computer running around here right at this moment. (To update this, I now use avast anti-virus.  AVG is still a good choice but they have added items to their program that causes your computer to use more bandwidth [it phones home without you knowing about it] It is better than NO Anti-virus at all..I just think Avast is a better program)

2. Go download FIREFOX web browser and USE IT. Or Google Chrome Browser. Both of these browsers are MILES better and safer than Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE).  Be aware you can't uninstall IE and some websites will only allow you to use IE on them.  Because of the way IE is tied to the Operating system, it is tied to system calls using permissions that other browsers can't use.  Many viruses infect Windows computer through security holes in the browser.

3. Go to http://browsercheck.qualys.com and check your browser plug-ins. Be aware, IE version 8.0 won't check good and there isn't a fix for it yet from Microsoft. Yet another reason to use another browser other than IE.  (IE is now up to version 11 and I still don't trust it or like it but 11 is better than IE 8 is.  I now use Google Chrome because it allows me to have the same bookmarks on my phone and computer.  )

This is by no means an exhaustive list. I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm preaching. Forgive me.

ANY COMPUTER CAN BE INFECTED WITH A VIRUS, be it Macintosh, Windows, or Linux. Some might be attacked less but all can be infected

*stepping off my soap box*

J.

A friend who will not leave

John 15:12 -14 NKJV: This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down ones life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatsoever I command you.

I read this as part of my daily Bible reading. I've read this verse a bunch over the years but this time I was impressed with Jesus being my friend.  That thought made me think about the Son of God being my friend. On a daily basis, day in and day out..... A deep and interesting thought. 

In church this morning, Rev. Beth McConnell, the new pastor at Kathwood Baptist Church read                  1 Corinthians 1:18-25: 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written:“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

The verses above were to the members of the church at Corinth.  The author was trying to get the whole church to stand on the cross as the foundation for their faith.  Not to rely on their own smarts or their own ways BUT to stand on the foundation of the cross and no matter how smart you are, the foolishness of God is wiser than any smarts man can come up with and that God's weakness is stronger that our human strength.

Something to ponder going forward.

J. 

I love you ANYWAY.

Life is a funny thing. Ever changing, ever morphing from one emotion or situation to another.  Sometimes the changes are quick, sometimes the changes are slow in taking shape and form.

This morning at work we were watching the weather reports and the report that the local power company was doing rolling blackouts across our part of the state with no warning for 15 to 30 minutes at a time.  Suddenly shutting down an enterprise mainframe computer isn't an easy thing to deal with and will make grown men want to pull what little hair they have OUT.  We were also trying to figure out why we had a sudden power outage in two areas of the state before we saw the news report about the rolling blackouts.

My cell phone rang. It was my wife, Randi. She had a need to vent about a private matter that didn't concern me but I was happy to listen to her and to offer her my support.  After I listened to my wife, we got off the phone.  About 20 minutes after we got off the phone I sent her a text message saying "I love you anyway"

We have been married just short of 14 years. I can't fix the rest of the world but I can offer my love on an unconditional basis, which is what "I Love you anyway" means....no matter what else is happening and no matter what life is throwing at you, I still love you.....

It wasn't a great day for either of us but we still have each other. I'm pretty happy about that.

J.