PSEUDO GREEN AND OTHER PHENOMENOM

Cloth diapers and a diaper service -vs- pampers

WHAT I'VE LEARNED IN 75 YEARS

If you're under 65 you wouldn't understand.

My memory is simply wonderful at 2:30 in the morning.  From 2:30 a.m. to 4:30 a.m, I remember old friends, old relatives, old songs...every name, every word, every incident.  Then I finally go back to sleep.   I get up at 8:00 in the morning, and I say "Jim!  Guess who I remembered last night!"  And he says, "Who?"  And I say, "I forgot!"
 Most people have no common sense whatsoever.

Liberals and Conservatives just want to yell at each other and call each other nasty names, they don't want to compromise on the issues.

We are lied to from Day One of our lives.  Everybody lies. 

JAPAN March 11/12 2011

FROM A FRIEND OF OUR FAMILY:  

"Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to check in with a quick update..We are all doing fine. Our nerves are a little frayed though because we continue to experience tremors. There are also news reports of an explosion at a nuclear power plant but it is far from us and I don’t think we are in any danger. Thank you all for your support and please keep praying for Japan! This beautiful country needs them!!! "

********

 "It is almost 5 am now and a little while ago I was jolted out of bed from a blaring earthquake alarm from my cell phone and another strong tremor...We have had tremors a few times through the night and the one before that woke _____up and she started crying. I think our nerves are a little frayed...I am keeping all of Japan in my prayers. The footage of Northern Japan is 
devastating......"

********

Another update..We are all still fine. We are keeping an eye on the nuclear power plants though and starting to get a little concerned now that despite the most heroic efforts to get things settled down, it may not be a good ending. So, it may be time to start thinking about leaving Japan for a while. I am going to start pulling together paperwork, etc now and when I go to bed tonight, I will pray that when I wake up in the morning, there will be good news. I never thought this could even be a possibility and I can't even describe how sad I am about it.

Please don't worry about us. We are safe..The base is taking very good care of us and will see us to safety if it comes to that. I have full confidence in that. I promise to keep you all posted..Please keep praying for Japan and it's amazing people..

********

Just a quick check-in..We are all fine.  I am a little tired today because I was woken up at 5:30 am yesterday from a tremor,  then right after falling asleep last night, we had another stronger tremor and I jumped out of bed! Last night's tremor lasted several seconds and I was just thinking about waking the girls and heading downstairs when it stopped.  Needless to say, I had trouble sleeping after that.  I am thinking that the next few weeks will be more like a marathon than a sprint race so I shut off my alarm this morning and we all slept in.  The girls are home with me today which probably was not necessary but with all the uncertainty of the power plants, the wind direction, etc I figured I would take the path of least resistance. 

Anyway, we are all okay.  I am watching the girls for signs of stress but they are flexible and resilient!  There are lots of hugs and kisses (more than usual) these days and we ask each other "are you okay?" and then make the time to really listen. 

I am in close contact with Dan who was able to talk to someone here on the base last night our time about things happening here on the base he was reassured that we are safe.  It is hard not to be with Dan but there are sooo many here just like us.  Several of the ships from Yokosuka are out providing direct aid up north so I am in good company.  The support network here is strong and we all have the mentality that we will all get through this together. 

Please keep praying for Japan!!!

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PRAYER IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

This morning, Mar. 12, 2011, I received one of THOSE e-mails regarding praying in public school.  You know the kind....supposedly by a teacher......

.....You want me to do all this with a piece of chalk,
a blackboard, a bulletin board, a few books,
a big smile, and a starting salary that qualifies me for food stamps.
'You want me to do all this and then you tell me ....
I CAN'T PRAY?

 Well, here's what I think:

The above  e-mail goes around often.  As I used to tell my students, a person can pray ANYWHERE, and a person can pray silently.  So one can pray in a school building or any other place all day long if he/she desires regardless.   In Matthew 6, Jesus explains where, when, and what to pray.  To use the vernacular, what would Jesus do?  

When you have a classroom of 30 hormone ridden, sleepy teenaged students in the morning, it's about all you can do to check roll, maintain order,  and start class.  Same with six yr. olds without the hormones.  They're not listening anyway.  Time is of the essence.  There are hundreds of interruptions throughout the day which slow down the "learning process."  

Prayer in school will not make a Muslim a Christian;  it will not make any non-Christian a Christian.   It will not turn a Catholic into a protestant or vice versa.  And...it will not make a bad kid good.  Public praying in school is merely a show for the Protestants (in the south) to say "look at me;  I'm a good Christian".  That doesn't make a hill of beans to a kid from another religion.  And frankly, I think its wrong to expect that it will.    It's all just a big SHOW!

There is usually a "moment of silence" along with the pledge of allegiance in the mornings.  That's when everybody prays in their own way.  The kids that want to do so have private prayer groups that meet before the first bell rings.  That's a good thing, because the kids that don't want to join in don't have to. 

And that's what I think about praying in public school.


(c) 2011 B. E. MacKie