SincereHeart,

Sister, thanks for the excellent advice. I will pray more and worry less. The mind does funny things about the unknown, and a little warning from the doctor that it won't be pleasant didn't help. I had the thought it would be like being hooked up to a car battery.   Instead, it was something like being hooked up to 1/2 of a watch battery.    I also imagined big needles being stuck into me all over my body, but it turned out to be little hair-like needles I could hardly see or feel. I could have taken a nap had the doctor not needed me to move various limbs.    There was so little to it that I asked the doctor if I could come back for a warm-up.  

NOW, the 600 pound nurse that did some of the lab work was a different story. My veins were torn up pretty bad on the last hospital stay, and she finished them off.    She finally lost patience and asked if I wanted to try another portion of the hospital. YES!!! - a wisp of a nurse finished the job with no problem at all. By wisp, I mean anything less than 400 pounds.    I told her to take the three tubes of blood from my tongue or eyeball, but she managed to find a vein.    Yes, I have a warped sense of humor, but it helps.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Jive4005,

AMEN!!!!

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.  John 14:6

There are a host of beautiful Scriptures that make it clear that Jesus Christ is the MEDIATOR, the INTERCESSOR, our GREAT SHEPHERD, the LORD over our lives, and is our precious LORD AND SAVIOUR.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Oklahoma Howdy to All,

First, let me apologize for getting behind in compiling the prayer requests. I really need some help in this and would appreciate it greatly if someone wanted to help. It's mainly putting the current prayer requests into a single post that is added to and modified as new prayer requests come in. This post would stay on the first page and allow all members to copy a single post to use at home for their prayers.

In looking at my first attempts, I think the best way to add new prayer requests is to put it at the top of the list. Please let me know if you would like to help. Thanks in advance. I will try to catch everything up first so there won't be quite so much work for our brave volunteer to do.  

Love In Christ,
Tom

Oklahoma Howdy to All,

Well, I've now had what I thought was a big test. I completely misunderstood what the doctors were doing. As it turns out, what I thought was a big test was simply a little one to help determine what other tests needed to be done. I laugh now about what I thought was a big and painful test, an EMG. It was almost nothing in terms of pain. It might be used to define specific locations to concentrate on with MRI and Cat-scan.

I really appreciate your prayers and thoughts during this difficult time. I will see my primary Doctor this Friday to hear about the first round of lab work and tests. I've not had any more seizures, and there have been no bad phone calls between tests. SO, my prayers about my worst fear may have already been answered. Having the infection back in my spine is what I feared. So far, so good, and I give thanks there is no sign of that. It may just boil down to changing my medicine and me getting used to loss of mobility.

I have felt your prayers, and I deeply appreciate them. God hears our prayers and HE is good to us.

Love In Christ,
Tom

GoingUP,

AMEN!!!!

You covered some very important topics for me, and I hope that all Christians will do more than just pray for our country to turn back to Almighty God. I would love to hear about a day devoted to national prayer in asking God to forgive us for turning our backs on HIM.

Abortion and same sex marriage are just the tip of the iceberg of sin and evil we have allowed to grow among us. For many of us, silence is the problem and something we need to ask God to forgive us for.

Love In Christ,
Tom

   

OK, I was more than amused. I simply think that we need larger appliances to flush the Johns completely and more permanently.  

Does anyone know a good forum or website that offers dating advice for Christians? or a forum for college aged people?

Alliecat,

I've never looked at it, mainly because I am a grandpa happily married for over 30 years.    Take a look at:

http://singles.christiansunite.com/

I hope this helps.

Love In Christ,
Tom

BEP

I must admit that would be stretching it to my limit, and I would want a lengthy probation period to see if he found any other way to communicate. If so, there would be more sewing to do.

 

How can you sew up BOTH sides of his mouth?  Wouldn't that cause severe constipation?

       This addresses another concern I don't have an answer for - Are his ends interchangeable?  

(My note:  SURPRISE!! - The majority, conservatives, have figured out that Hollywood and the News Media think they can manipulate us like herds of cattle. Further, they know that we figured it out, and they don't know what to do.   )

Media Critic: DNC Coverage More Hype Than Substance

by Chad Groening
August 3, 2004

(AgapePress) - A media watchdog organization says the low network ratings for last week's Democratic National Convention illustrates that people are tired of the relentless liberal partisanship of the mainstream media.

The Washington, D.C.-based Media Research Center was not too surprised at the coverage of last week's convention. Spokesman Tim Graham says the coverage lived up to form, with mainstream media outlets offering more subservience than substance, and more color commentary than constructive content. That is why he says few people are watching.

"The numbers for TV news are down," Graham says, adding that a great many people simply "are tired of the relentless partisanship of the major networks -- the relentless liberalism."

The media expert says Kerry's acceptance speech was clearly an effort to ignore or distract from his Senate record over the past two decades. "He has a 20-year record of voting against tough national security," Graham says, "so why are we doing this 'Skip to My Lou' from 1967 or whenever, when he joined the Navy, and then we skip ahead to yesterday?"

Also, despite the Democrats' efforts for a "kinder" convention, Graham feels a fair amount of negative rhetoric crept in, and the nominee himself did not quite avoid going on the attack in his acceptance speech.

"It was a very 'booster-ish' week," the MRC spokesman says. "This convention tried very hard to not come across as too radical, too Bush-bashing. But the fact of the matter was, the platform is liberal, the candidates are liberal, the delegates are liberal. The speeches were liberal, and there was a fair amount of Bush-bashing, especially in Kerry's speech."

Graham notes that, during hours of positive coverage, the major news networks spent more time hyping liberal "rock stars" like the Clintons, Barack Obama and John Edwards than examining how the Democratic Party's liberal record runs counter to their suddenly centrist rhetoric. But if the media analyst found their reporting on the Democratic National Convention obsequious and fawning, he did not find it unexpected.

"I think it lives up to the usual pattern we see," Graham says, "where the news media sort of acts like publicists. They sort of talk a lot about style. They don't talk a lot about substance."

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(My note:  Is there a real Kerry?)

Kerry Silent on Israel -- but Audible Before Ohio Congregation

by Fred Jackson
August 3, 2004

(AgapePress) - A high-profile Republican is concerned over something John Kerry didn't say during his speech last week at the Democratic National Convention.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani says the fact that John Kerry made no reference to Israel in his convention speech -- and that other Democrats barely mentioned it -- raises questions about Kerry's support for the Jewish state.

Giuliani tells the New York Post that he has "no real assurance of where Kerry is going to be on Israel." To make the point further, he notes that Kerry told an Arab-American group that Israel's border fence is "a barrier to peace," but later told Jewish groups that it is a legitimate self-defense.

Giuliani contrasts Kerry's stand with that of the president. He says if President Bush is your friend, he is your friend -- and he is not going to say one thing to Israeli Prime Minister Sharon and another to the Arabs.

Kerry in Ohio Church
Meanwhile, there is no word yet whether the group Americans for the Separation of Church and State will be launching a complaint against an Ohio church that hosted the Democratic presidential nominee on Sunday. The group headed by Barry Lynn has been on the attack against several evangelical pastors in recent days who, according to Lynn, have used their ministries to endorse President Bush. Lynn has filed complaints with the Internal Revenue Service saying those pastors have violated the conditions of their tax-exempt status.

On Sunday, Pastor Ronald Logan of Greater Grace Temple in Springfield, Ohio, welcomed both Kerry and his running mate, John Edwards, to the service. He had invited Kerry and Edwards to speak despite dozens of phone calls protesting Kerry's stance on abortion.

Kerry spoke to the congregation about his religious views and how they relate to politics. "We're not running to be religious leaders, we're running to be lay leaders," he said. "But there isn't any way that you're not affected by your fundamental values -- the faith that brings you to the table."

At one point, Pastor Logan addressed those who had complained about Kerry's visit. "[F]or all of my Christian brothers and sisters who have called with a lot of negative stuff, we respect your right to differ with us -- but please respect my right to worship with whoever I want to worship with."

"I don't believe in abortion. I don't believe in gay marriage," the pastor also stated. "But if two men are married to each other and they come in here, I will minister to them."

Many Christians have questioned how churches can support political leaders who endorse such things as abortion and special rights for homosexuals.

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(My Note:  Knowledge of sin is a must!)

Christians Must Tell Converts the Whole Story, Evangelist Says

by Allie Martin
August 3, 2004

(AgapePress) - A California-based street preacher says many of the methods found in modern evangelism can often produce false converts.

Ray Comfort is founder of Living Waters Ministries, which trains and equips believers in methods of biblical evangelism. The minister, who often takes his scripture-based message literally to the streets, says many courses in modern evangelism neglect or diminish God's judgment.

All too often, Christian witnesses want to tell the good news of the gospel, but they may try to soft-pedal or leave out the bad news -- about sin, judgment and hell -- entirely. Comfort warns that this kind of evangelizing may add bodies to the Church, but not necessarily souls.

"When we tell anyone that God has a wonderful plan for their life, that sounds nice," Comfort says, "until you use this scenario: Imagine that you're speaking to a thousand people in the World Trade Center, Tower One, the day before the attack. You look at the vast sea of faces in front of you and you think, 'Boy, these people are going to die within 24 hours, and they're going to die a horrific death.' What are you going to say to them? -- 'God has a wonderful plan for your life?' You can't say that."

People in danger need to be told they are in danger, Comfort points out. But what the "modern gospel" often does, he says, is "it leaves out the Ten Commandments, which bring the knowledge of sin, it leaves out judgment day, the very reason that men are commanded to repent, and it holds up Jesus as the 'life improver' rather than the one that gives righteousness to save us from God's wrath."

Comfort teaches that before people can come to appreciate the cross, they must first be made to understand that they have broken God's laws and are facing harsh judgment and eternal punishment for their sins. But the evangelist says many modern Christians' theology omits these less pleasant aspects of the gospel.

"The modern message really needs a reformation," Comfort says, "to see that there are certain ingredients that you must put in for someone to be soundly saved; because if you water down the medicine because you think it's too bitter, you may make it sweet to the palate, but it's going to lose its curative properties. There's a reason the Bible speaks of repentance and judgment and righteousness, and that's because without those ingredients someone won't get saved."

The biblical evangelist says people who are led to Christ with such an incomplete understanding of the gospel can become false converts. "They'll be sorted out on Judgment Day," he says, "and be a mess of people who cry to Jesus, 'Lord, Lord.' And he'll say, 'Depart from me, you workers of iniquity, I never knew you.' So it's very important that we evangelize biblically."

Comfort and his ministry partner, actor Kirk Cameron, have a weekly television ministry and an interactive website ministry called "The Way of the Master."

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(My Note:  On the ballot for Oklahoma - Count on it!)

Missouri Overwhelmingly Passes State Marriage Amendment

by Fred Jackson and Jenni Parker
August 4, 2004

(AgapePress) - The people of Missouri have done what the U.S. Senate refused to do: the legislature gave the people a chance to weigh in, and now voters in the "Show Me State" have passed a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as the union between a man and a woman.

Although a vote on a Federal Marriage Amendment failed last month in the U.S. Senate when most Democrats and some Republicans refused to support the measure, in the state of Missouri yesterday, the result of the vote was not even close. More than 70 percent of those citizens who cast ballots came down on the side of supporting the biblical definition of marriage. This vote was the first such state referendum since last year's historic court ruling in Massachusetts, when the votes of four liberal judges legalized same-sex marriage there.

Missouri is among 38 states in the nation that already have laws defining marriage solely as the union between a man and a woman. However, fearing that activist courts would overrule these statutes, marriage defenders across the country have pushed for state constitutional bans on same-sex marriage to strengthen their legal ground.

Concerned Women for America is applauding the people of Missouri for their approval of the marriage amendment by more than a two-to-one margin. Bob Knight of CWA's Culture and Family Institute said the vote shows that homosexual activists and their liberal allies did not succeed with "their one-note message that defending marriage is a form of bigotry."

CWA's Missouri state director, Joey Davis, says she was not surprised by the August 3 vote. "We worked very hard to alert our friends and neighbors to the need for an amendment," she remarked. "Radical judges are intent on overthrowing the law, the will of the people, and our basic moral order. We are drawing a line in the sand right here in Missouri."

 
Tony Perkins
Family Research Council president Tony Perkins is also commending the Missouri legislators for what he calls a "refreshing move." He says the lawmakers "saw a need to protect marriage against un-elected judges" and "gave the people a voice in this important debate."

Perkins adds that, in passing the state's marriage amendment, the Missouri citizens showed once again that the people, when not muted by judicial activists, "speak out soundly in support of marriage as it has always been traditionally defined."

The pro-family leader also notes that opponents of the state amendment were hoping that the timing of the vote -- on the same day as the Democratic primary -- would sway its outcome in their direction. But Perkins says the vote proved that "defending marriage is not an issue that divides people by political party, but instead unites them."

The Missouri victory means five states have now amended their constitutions to protect marriage: Alaska, Hawaii, Nebraska, Nevada, and now Missouri all have marriage amendments. And at least 10 other states are set to vote on similar measures this fall.

The residents of Louisiana are scheduled to cast ballots on a marriage amendment September 18, while Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon and Utah, are set to vote on the issue November 2. Meanwhile, marriage protection initiatives are pending in Michigan, Ohio, and North Dakota.

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Federal Court Says School District Cannot Censor Religious Message

by Jim Brown
August 4, 2004

(AgapePress) - A federal judge has ruled that an Arizona school district violated the free speech and equal protection rights of the parents of two students by censoring their religious message in a school fundraiser.

The judge said the Paradise Valley Unified School District in Phoenix acted unconstitutionally when it barred Paul and Ann Siedman from including the word "God" in publicly posted messages to their children in the district's "Tiles for Smiles" program. The fundraiser allowed members of the community to purchase a tile that would then be inscribed and displayed on the interior walls of the school.

The Seidmans had wanted to inscribe the words "God bless. We love you, Mom & Dad" on tiles at Pinnacle Peak Elementary School, but were told such messages would violate the supposed separation of Church and State. Attorney Peter Gentala with the Center for Arizona Policy litigated the Seidmans' case with assistance from the Alliance Defense Fund. He says the district is engaging in viewpoint discrimination.

"And the interesting thing about the school's decision is that, at the same time, they allowed a tile that said 'In God We Trust,'" Gentala says. "So what we have here is a government body, a school district, that's picking and choosing what kinds of speech it wants to see when it has invited that speech."

The attorney explains that by granting the Siedmans' motion for summary judgment, the judge sent the district a clear message.

"What this case stands for is the proposition that public school are not religion-free zones," Gentala says, adding that it is inappropriate to single out religion for removal from public schools. "It's inappropriate because public schools are taxpayer-funded," he says, "and if anything, they should be an expression of the community and it diversity, and not a tool of censorship."

Gentala also commends the Seidmans for taking a stand. "[They] did a courageous thing by refusing to have their religious message turned away," he says.

Mrs. Seidman told the Center for Arizona Policy they filed the lawsuit to demonstrate to their children that their faith is important. "We wanted them to know that their faith doesn't have to stay at home when they go to school," she said.

The Paradise Valley Unified School District has not indicated whether it will appeal the ruling.

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Hello Laurie,

WELCOME!!! I just came from your web site. Thanks for sharing the pictures of your family.

Jump in and have some fun.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Hello Henry,

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! on the most important decision of your life, accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour. WELCOME!!!!

Love In Christ,
Tom