The Choice Is Clear"Our next President will face enormous challenges."
Direct video link.
US Troops Support McCain 3 to 1
Why is it that FoxNews is the only network to report this poll?
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday / Friday Video Roundup
The Choice Is Clear"Our next President will face enormous challenges."
Direct video link.
US Troops Support McCain 3 to 1
Why is it that FoxNews is the only network to report this poll?
Going Forth
Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}
FOR TODAY'S FULL READING, CLICK THE TITLE LINK ABOVE.
FOR TODAY'S FULL READING, CLICK THE TITLE LINK ABOVE.
SCRIPTURE:
7-8 Jesus called the Twelve to him, and sent them out in pairs. He gave them authority and power to deal with the evil opposition. He sent them off with these instructions: 8-9 "Don't think you need a lot of extra equipment for this. You are the equipment. No special appeals for funds. Keep it simple. 10 "And no luxury inns. Get a modest place and be content there until you leave. 11 "If you're not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don't make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way." 12-13 Then they were on the road. They preached with joyful urgency that life can be radically different; right and left they sent the demons packing; they brought wellness to the sick, anointing their bodies, healing their spirits. Mark 6:7-13 [MSG]
OBSERVATION: Christ has called us to His service. What will our answer be?
APPLICATION:
Christ has called us all to serve, to go forth and spread the Good News throughout the world. Just as when He commissioned the Apostles to go out preaching and healing in His name, He has told us that it would not be easy. He has told us that we would not live in luxury doing His work. He has even told us not to press the issue where we aren't welcome. Only the willing can be saved, and only God can soften a hard heart. Only God can make the unwilling willing.He may use us, He may not. He may use circumstances to get to the most stalwart resisters. It is not for us to know God's methods, just as the sculpture cannot understand the sculptor's vision. But just as the clay that forms the sculpture must subject itself to the molding of the potter, we, too, must allow the Master to shape us and mold us and use us for His purpose. To go where He sends us, to do as He asks us, all in His glorious name.
PRAYER:
Father, I know that I sometimes resist Your will. I don't always faithfully answer Your call, despite my best intentions. I want to be used by You, Lord. Help me to strip away the excuses and to submit to Your will.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
All Things For God's Glory
Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}
FOR TODAY'S FULL READING, CLICK THE TITLE LINK ABOVE.
FOR TODAY'S FULL READING, CLICK THE TITLE LINK ABOVE.
SCRIPTURE:
"Don't you even know the basics,
how things have been since the earliest days,
when Adam and Eve were first placed on earth?
The good times of the wicked are short-lived;
godless joy is only momentary.
The evil might become world famous,
strutting at the head of the celebrity parade,
But still end up in a pile of dung.
Acquaintances look at them with disgust and say, 'What's that?'
They fly off like a dream that can't be remembered,
like a shadowy illusion that vanishes in the light.
Though once notorious public figures, now they're nobodies,
unnoticed, whether they come or go.
Their children will go begging on skid row,
and they'll have to give back their ill-gotten gain.
Right in the prime of life,
and youthful and vigorous, they'll die." Job 20:4-11 [MSG]
OBSERVATION: That which we gain through dishonest means does not last.
APPLICATION:
In Indianapolis Wednesday, three men robbed a bank. The IMPD was on the ball and picked up on the trio's trail before they could make a clean getaway. After a brief high speed chase, the crooks were involved in an accident that disabled their getaway vehicle. Before Police could move in to take the trio into custody, one of them shot himself in the head. The other two are now in Police custody.What could the three have been thinking when they made their plans to rob a bank? Did they really expect to get away with it? Did they really expect to be livin' large on loot taken by force from a bank? Did they forget that, after the recent shooting of a pregnant teller during another Indianapolis bank robbery, that the IMPD has been on a constant state of alert for such behavior?This trio could only have been thinking of one thing: the easy money. They could not have considered the long term effects of their actions, could they? Of course not, and as is so often the case when we fail to consider the long term effects of our actions, sacrificing what we really want for what we want right now, they paid a terrible price.The good times of the wicked are short-lived. The love of God transcends all time.
PRAYER:
Father, comfort the families of this misguided trio. Use this terrible event as a deterrent for some future soul that might otherwise head down the same path. Let some good come of this, Lord.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday / Wednesday Video Roundup
Mitch Daniels: Rehire Us, and We WillDid Mitch just say he'll never run for any other office?
Direct video link.
Don't Mess With FOX
Direct video link.
Video Your Vote
I had already planned to do this, but not for PBS.
Direct video link.
Here's Hoping It Doesn't Run In The Family
Obama's Kenyan Cousin
Direct video link.
Obama Late to Hearings
As President, would he be late to answering the call at 3AM, as well?
Direct video link.
McCain the Fighter
Direct video link.
No Match for America's Enemies
Our country deserves better.
Direct video link.
This Drunk for Vice President?
And if he's not drunk, it's even more embarrassing.
Direct video link.
Your Choice
Direct video link.
Take A Vote Hour
Ask your employer to give you the time to go vote.
Direct video link.
Ohio Vote Fraud
Makes me happy I left Ohio for Indiana, where Todd Rokita is fighting ACORN.
Direct video link.
Rolling In The Money, Dishonestly
Direct video link.
Say What You Will
But actions speak louder than words.
Direct video link.
Obama: He's All
To the tune of over $740 million!
Direct video link.
Your comments?
Joe
The Joe Show 87 - WriMo Mix #1
Average Joe Radio
presents
presents
The Joe Show
featuring
Average Joe American
Episode Eighty-Seven: WriMo Mix #1featuring
Average Joe American
To follow my NaNoWriMo progress, request access permission now.
Dreadnought by Mountain Mirrors
The Depths of a Year by Ehren Starks
Mountain Mirrors by Mountain Mirrors
Guinevere by Jeff Wahl
Below Zero by Robert Rich
Phone: (317) 644-6129
Email Feedback: joe@averagejoeamerican.us
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As Simple As Black and White?
Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}
SCRIPTURE:
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. Colossians 2:8 [NIV]
OBSERVATION: We seem to have lost our focus on Christ.
APPLICATION:
We live in a world now where deception has become the norm. We have even found a way to make it okay, by measuring it in degrees. We speak of "little white lies," even at the early stages of childhood. Problem is, those "little white lies" keep getting whiter and whiter, and soon the "little" white lies are no longer lies at all. Next, the "little white lies" become slightly bigger. It's a repetitive cycle of rationalizing away things that were once considered wrong, until they are no longer wrong at all.This is not the philosophy we have been taught by Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This is not His way. Certainly the Son of Man never intended for us to do many of the things that we as a society (or, at least, those we have elected as legislators) have deemed acceptable. Abortion? Divorce? Pre-marital cohabitation? Just to name a few.At what point do we draw the line? Right and wrong is no longer as clear as black and white. The black continually moves through gray becoming whiter and whiter until we perceive nothing wrong there. How white do we allow the black to become before we say enough is enough?What examples can you share of the black turning white? Of the wrong becoming right? Of the unacceptable becoming commonplace? Please share your thoughts.
PRAYER:
Father, keep my vision clear and my mind focused on You. Help me to always know wrong from right and to not accept shades of gray as okay.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
President Ronald Reagan on Taxes
“The most dangerous myth is the demagoguery that business can be made to pay a larger share, thus relieving the individual. Politicians preaching this are either deliberately dishonest, or economically illiterate, and either one should scare us. Business doesn’t pay taxes, and who better than business to make this message known? Only people pay taxes, and people pay as consumers every tax that is assessed against a business. Begin with the food and fiber raised in the farm, to the ore drilled in a mine, to the oil and gas from out of the ground, whatever it may be—through the processing, through the manufacturing, on out to the retailer’s license. If the tax cannot be included in the price of the product, no one along that line can stay in business.” —Ronald Reagan
Your comments?
Joe
Your comments?
Joe
Perseverence
Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}
FOR TODAY'S FULL READING, CLICK THE TITLE LINK ABOVE.
FOR TODAY'S FULL READING, CLICK THE TITLE LINK ABOVE.
SCRIPTURE:
When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him. ... For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 28:16, 30-31 [NIV]
OBSERVATION: Paul, in adversity, never faltered.
APPLICATION:
I found myself today engaged in a conversation with someone about the Presidential candidates. He described himself as "leaning Democrat," though he couldn't say why. He admitted that he hadn't studied the candidates and knew almost nothing about either one. We spoke for a while of the differences between Senators McCain and Obama. Our discussion turned to other issues such as education, taxes, the Supreme Court, and even state and local candidates. In the end I suggested he visit On The Issues.org for a non-partisan presentation of where both candidates stand on the issues. I doubt that he was swayed either way.It occurred to me while reading through the book of Acts about how Paul persevered in preaching the Good News, even under the watch of a Roman guard, that so many today will expend a great amount of energy extolling the virtues of their chosen candidate for public office. So many people get so passionate when speaking about the man or woman they support. I know that I do. Sadly, I cannot remember the last time I spoke of the Son of God with such intensity.
PRAYER:
Father, use me to tell the story of salvation through Your Son with the same conviction that I tell others of my Presidential pick. Please put my passion to work for the Kingdom.
Monday, October 27, 2008
VERY DISTURBING Harbinger of Things to Come?
Is this what we have to look forward to if Barack Obama is elected? Or, maybe, this is the type of rioting we will see on November 4 if he is not elected. It doesn't look good, America.LANGUAGE WARNING: People who profess their support of Barack Obama in this video repeatedly use offensive and inappropriate language. The language is an important part of this video, as it clearly depicts the type of behavior going on in towns and cities across the country. If you find such language offensive, I would recommend you not watch the video. Without the audio, it delivers the opposite message of what really happened.
Direct video link.
Your comments?
Joe
Monday's Video Roundup
Jeff CaylorAlmost Flew
Direct video link.
Barack Obama Favored Redistribution of Wealth as Early as 2001!
Direct video link.
Once Again, Biden Can't Take the Media Heat
Wow, amazing how shaken up he gets when the media doesn't pander to Obama.
Direct video link.
Obama's National Defense Plan
Direct video link.
Joe the Whiner
"Folks, the stuff you're hearing in this campaign, some of it's pretty ugly."
Direct video link.
Your comments?
Joe
What Makes My Life Complete
I got lucky when I met the woman I share my life with. I didn't (and still don't) deserve her, but she married me anyway.
I was blessed when my little boy was born, and thought I could never be happier.
My life was made complete when my little girl was born.
This is a clip of my little girl singing Jesus Loves Me at bedtime. She's so precious at just 2-1/2 years old.
Your comments?
Joe
I was blessed when my little boy was born, and thought I could never be happier.
My life was made complete when my little girl was born.
This is a clip of my little girl singing Jesus Loves Me at bedtime. She's so precious at just 2-1/2 years old.
Your comments?
Joe
Soapy Joe 12 - Hope In Christ
Average Joe Radio
presents
presents
Soapy Joe
featuring
Average Joe American
Episode Twelve: Hope In Christfeaturing
Average Joe American
Your comments?
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Weekend Video Roundup
Over the coming week and into November, these Video Roundup posts will become shorter and less frequent, as will all of my blog posting during the month of November, as I venture my second attempt at National Novel Writing Month. You can follow my progress updates and excerpt posts by requesting access permission.An Obama Administration Would Lead To A Tragedy
"Mark my words."
Direct video link.
Middle Class Questioning Obama on Taxes
"You're running for President, not us. Why do we need to explain this to you?"
Direct video link.
The O'Reilly Factor Confronts Bill Ayers on His Relationship With Obama"
"Don't you think it's time for some repentence?"
Direct video link.
One on One With Joe Biden
"Are you joking? Is this a joke, or is that the real question?"
Direct video link.
Jeri Thompson Unleashes on Alan Colmes
"I've got a good idea, how about I get to answer then you get to respond."
Direct video link.
And This Matters Why?
I see no reason why this should have anything to do with the Presidential campaign.
Direct video link.
Storm
Direct video link.
Gun Control
It leaves guns only in the hands of the criminals.
Direct video link.
Obama Terrorist Ties Continue to Surface
Shouldn't the only ties a Presidential candidate has to terrorists be those of prosecuting them?
Direct video link.
Your comments?
Joe
Book Review: Faith of My Fathers by Senator John McCain
It has become commonplace for Presidential (and, yes, Vice Presidential) candidates to have a published book in the bookstores at some point in the campaign for the Oval Office. Barack Obama has two memoirs published, Senator McCain has three books out, Joe Biden has his book out, and even Governor Palin has at least two books out about her (though, admittedly, not written by her). Among Senator McCain's published books is Faith of My Fathers, a family memoir that is entirely not about politics. In fact, Faith ends long before Senator McCain's election to any public office, with his release from captivity as a prisoner in North Vietnam.It has certainly been played out in the media throughout Senator McCain's campaign that he is an American hero, having given his entire life (and, in fact, nearly giving up his life) to the service of his country. His commitment to serve the country he loves so much landed him in the brutal captivity of the North Vietnamese for five years during the Vietnam War, where he was brutally beaten, tortured, and left dying with no medical treatment other than the advice that he should eat better and exercise more. As if his diet was of his own choosing, and his tiny cell provided ample room for an adequate workout.
This is not an article to ask you to vote for Senator McCain on November 4, though I wish you would. It is not an article intended to list the many reasons that Senator McCain is clearly the best candidate to lead this country into the next decade, though I believe he is. This article is a review of Senator McCain's book Faith of My Fathers, which explains the foregone conclusion of his Naval career, familiarizes the reader with John McCain I and John McCain II (his grandfather and father, respectively), and in sometimes painful description details the Senator's ordeal as a Prisoner of War in Vietnam. None of those things have anything to do with Senator McCain's readiness or ability to be the next President of the United States of America. Senator McCain is an American hero, and would be an American hero even if he wasn't running for the office of President. Through reading Senator McCain's account in Faith of My Fathers, one learns that the good Senator does not consider himself a hero -- merely an American paying back his country for the priceless gift of freedom with his own blood, sweat, and tears.
No one who goes to war believes once he is there that it is worth the terrible cost of war to fight it by half measures. War is too horrible a thing to drag out unnecessarily. It was a shameful waste to ask men to suffer and die [in Vietnam], to persevere through awful afflictions and heartache, for a cause that half the country didn't believe in and our leaders weren't committed to winning. They committed us to it, badly misjudged the enemy's resolve, and left us to manage the thing on our own without authority to fight it to the extent necessary to finish it.Yet Senator McCain and his fellow prisoners fought as they could, kept their faith, and resisted to the best of their ability the attempts of their brutal captors to break them. It is well reported that John McCain was offered early release because his father was an Admiral in the Navy at the time of his captivity, and it would benefit the NVA to use McCain's early release as propaganda against American forces. It is also well reported that John McCain refused early release, stating that he would not accept release until everyone captured ahead of him was released ahead of him.
What is not so widely reported is that John McCain was offered early release several times before his refusal was accepted. And every time he refused, he was severely beaten and thrown into solitary confinement to reconsider his decision. Beatings that resulted in broken bones that received no medical treatment. And every time John McCain was hauled back in to ask if he had reconsidered, this patriotic American refused early release, and was beaten again. These beatings ended in the forced confession of war crimes by John McCain, though his confession was peppered with comments and language designed to make it clear to anyone who might hear the confession that it was derived by means of brutal torture and given under extreme duress.
Faith of My Fathers is at the same time a heart breaking and inspiring account of a man who has lived the motto of Country First his entire life. But at the same time, Senator McCain tells us of the many other heroes who were held captive with him. He tells of how he believes that other American Prisoners of War were subjected to greater torture and more severe abuse than he -- that he was spared the worst treatment because his father was an Admiral commanding the forces that were fighting in Vietnam at the time. Throughout Faith of My Fathers, Senator McCain introduces us to other American hereoes, like Mike Christian.
Mike was a Navy bombardier-navigator who had been shot down in 1967, about six months before I arrived. He had grown up near Selma, Alabama. His family was poor. He had not worn shoes until he was thirteen years old. Character was their wealth. They were good, righteous people, and they raised Mike to be hardworking and loyal. He was seventeen when he enlisted in the Navy. As a young sailor, he showed promise as a leader and impressed his superiors enough to be offered a commission.Faith of My Fathers should be required reading for every American born after 1960; every American who needs a refresher course on the perils of war; every American who thinks it wise to turn tail and run without finishing the job and defending the causes for which America stands.
What packages we were allowed to receive from our families often contained handkerchiefs, scarves, and other clothing items. For some time, Mike had been taking little scraps of red and white cloth, and with a needle he had fashioned from a piece of bamboo he laboriously sewed an American flag onto the inside of his blue prisoner's shirt. Every afternoon, before we ate our soup, we would hang Mike's flag on the wall of our cell and together recite the Pledge of Allegiance. No other event of the day had as much meaning to us.
The guards discovered Mike's flag one afternoon during a routine inspection and confiscated it. They returned that evening and took Mike outside. For our benefit as much as Mike's, they beat him severely, just outside our cell, puncturing his eardrum and breaking several of his ribs. When they had finished, they dragged him bleeding and nearly senseless back into our cell, and we helped him crawl to his place on the sleeping platform. After things quieted down, we all lay down to go to sleep. Before drifting off, I happened to look toward a corner of the room, where one of the four naked lightbulbs that were always illuminated in our cell cast a dim light on Mike Christian. He had crawled there quietly when he thought the rest of us were sleeping. With his eyes nearly swollen shut from the beating, he had quietly picked up his needle and thread and begun sewing a new flag.
Your comments?
Joe
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Let Us Pray
Wow, how quickly time can escape us when we get caught up with the politics of the current Presidential election. It's been how long since I last Life Journaled? Just check the date on my last post.
I've been wrapped up at work with staffing up for the holidays, caught up in the election campaigns, trying to spend time with the kids, and preparing for NaNoWriMo that I've not cracked open my Bible as I should.
I intend to get back on track. In the meantime, I invite you to have a moment of silent prayer. Prayer for the people of our nation as we all prepare to go to the polls in just over a week. Pray that we vote smartly and vote our morals and values, not just because we're caught up in the moment of a certain candidate, or opposed to a candidate due to race, gender, or age. None of those things will make or break a President (or, by extension, the nation).
What matters is what the next President can do for (or to) our country. Prepare your mind by studying the candidates and ignoring the hype. Prepare you heart by spending a little time with God.
And, while you're under the tree, pray that those in support of either candidate who have been committing illegal, despicable acts of violence, vandalism, theft, or fraud, put an end to their shameful ways. This is no way for our country to act.
Stay tuned, as the Daily SOAP will return soon. In the meantime, let us pray.
Your comments?
Joe
I've been wrapped up at work with staffing up for the holidays, caught up in the election campaigns, trying to spend time with the kids, and preparing for NaNoWriMo that I've not cracked open my Bible as I should.
I intend to get back on track. In the meantime, I invite you to have a moment of silent prayer. Prayer for the people of our nation as we all prepare to go to the polls in just over a week. Pray that we vote smartly and vote our morals and values, not just because we're caught up in the moment of a certain candidate, or opposed to a candidate due to race, gender, or age. None of those things will make or break a President (or, by extension, the nation).
What matters is what the next President can do for (or to) our country. Prepare your mind by studying the candidates and ignoring the hype. Prepare you heart by spending a little time with God.
And, while you're under the tree, pray that those in support of either candidate who have been committing illegal, despicable acts of violence, vandalism, theft, or fraud, put an end to their shameful ways. This is no way for our country to act.
Stay tuned, as the Daily SOAP will return soon. In the meantime, let us pray.
Your comments?
Joe
My NaNoWriMo '08 Method -- and More
This year, for my NaNoWriMo effort, I'm considering taking a slightly different approach. Rather than sitting down and trying to complete a 50,000 work novel from beginning to end, I'm considering writing just one scene at a time.
I am now working on notes for several scenes in the story. My thinking is that by focusing on each scene as an individual story I might be able to crack through the possibility of writer's block. I can then later (possibly after November) lace the scenes together with additional narrative, hopefully resulting in a plot that tells the whole story.
Also, I'll be doing something special each week, beginning next week, for NaNoWriMo with The Joe Show. I'm going to create each week a podcast of independent music that I believe will help me (and possibly others) to tune out background noise and focus more intently on the story I am writing. Each episode will be approximately an hour long, with no talk between a brief introduction and closing.
I am now working on notes for several scenes in the story. My thinking is that by focusing on each scene as an individual story I might be able to crack through the possibility of writer's block. I can then later (possibly after November) lace the scenes together with additional narrative, hopefully resulting in a plot that tells the whole story.
Also, I'll be doing something special each week, beginning next week, for NaNoWriMo with The Joe Show. I'm going to create each week a podcast of independent music that I believe will help me (and possibly others) to tune out background noise and focus more intently on the story I am writing. Each episode will be approximately an hour long, with no talk between a brief introduction and closing.
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