Wanderings – Page 36 – The Life and Times of Joe Suttle

The Deed Is Done!

joe January 22, 2009 Political

The Inauguration of Barack Obama that is. Not sure what the next four years holds for us, but he is President. Perhaps in the first 6 months he will learn a lot. Seems that some of the things he talked about while campaigning have changed already (much to the chagrin of some Democrats).

In case you are wondering, I did not vote for him, figuring we needed someone else in the job – not to continue Bush policies, but to provide some political separation from Congress. To me, this is kind of like some foreign countires where a party runs the country. Actually, I'm tired of career politicians who have never done anything in their adult lives except work for public agencies and non-profit organizations. I don't think they understand how hard it is to earn a dollar off something they have to "sell" to live off of.
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I was proud of the fact that he invited African-American heroes to be at there, like the Tuskegee Airmen, and others who struggled for civil rights. Kind of sorry that he did not take the opportunity to recognize them during his speech.

It was an interesting choice of words when he said "…we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom."

Then too, there was "Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history."

Mr. Obama, we are watching. Watching to see how you will change our nation to make it better. To make us more free under our constitution.

My King!

joe January 20, 2009 Faith

Got to thinking today about that video we saw in church two weeks ago, and had to see who the voice was. Found out that it was from a sermon by S.M. Lockridge. Believe it or not, his full name was Meshack Shadrack Lockridge. Although he died in 2000, his message lives on in a powerful way.

There are at least two videos of his little 5 minute message, but each is powerful. You can check out the GodTube version, or if you want the DVD for high quality viewing, there are two different ones. Igniter Media's version can be purchased as a DVD. Also ran across this guy who was so inspired, he has created a video which is available in multiple formats – plus, you can download any of his formats FREE.

After you listen to S.M. Lockridge once, you'll never forget who the real king is!

Breakfast Food

joe January 17, 2009 Faith

Remember when Peter said "don't keep acting like you are ignorant?" Well, in Chapter 2 he gives a little better direction. Almost like he should have written this chapter before he reminded us of how "not so smart" we are. He tells us that we as believers (followers/seekers/disciples) should start out on the easy stuff (milk) in the Bible. Then move on to the heavy stuff.

In other words, don't get caught up in trying to figure out "why do babies die?" or "why are there wars?" Peter, just like Paul in First Corinthians says start with the easy stuff and grow in your faith. All we have to do is spend a little time each day reading, and letting what we read sink in. When we have questions, we shouldn't let those stop us from reading more.

As we read, we will eventually find the answers – they might not be obvious, but they are there!

I got past the easy stuff in chapter 2, and went looking for that corner stone. What was it that he was actually talking about, and how did that relate to Jesus. That was a trip worth taking – all the way back to the Old Testament and what Isaiah and Ezekial had to say. Now I'm in the loop to find the significance of the "stone". Stay tuned.