GSA Party Controversy... An Unusual View

My Name is Michael Land, and I have an opinion.  It is an opinion that is rarely popular with those of you with a liberal bent.  That's OK.  I don't expect my opinions to be popular.  I do, however, hope to make you think beyond what you've been spoon-fed by the media, unions, and the politicians who purchase your loyalty with handouts taken by force from others' bank accounts.

That being said, I sometimes tick off my more conservative friends, as well.  There are those on both sides who sit idly by like baby birds with their maws open to the sky, waiting for whatever regurgitated goodies their media stars and politicians will drop in.

The latest dust-up has been over an employee party near Vegas that cost the US taxpayers more than $800,000.  Apparently, the US General Services Administration held a "regional meeting" for around 300 employees.  Some of the costs break down as follows [according to The Atlantic Wire]:

Thanks to an investigation and report from GSA Inspector General Brian D. Miller, The Washington Post, and the Associated Press, we now know how Johnson and her team spent all that money. Here's how it breaks down (keep in mind that in 2010, according to Inspector Miller's report,  the meal and incidental expenses allowance was $71 per day):

• $31,000 on a "networking reception" that featured $19-per-person "American artisanal cheese display" and $7,000 in sushi
• $3,200 on a session with a mind reader
• $5,600 for in-room parties 
• $100,405.37 in employee travel costs to scout the event--meaning, these people returned to the Las Vegas area multiple times to visit hotels before settling on the fancy M Resort and Casino.
• $3,700 for T-shirts
•  $2,800 in water bottles
•  $1,500 for "Boursin scalloped potato with Barolo wine-braised short ribs" and a $525 bartender fee for a cash bar.
• Three officials spent almost $400 for rented tuxedos
• $1,840 for vests for the 19 “regional ambassadors” and other employees
• $146,527.05  was spent on catered food during the entire conference
• $6,325 was spent on commemorative coins in velvet boxes to reward all participants for their work on stimulus projects (because a certificate and the $800,000 party they're at wouldn't do)
• $75,000 for a “team-building” exercise — the goal was to build bicycles (which would later be donated to a Boys & Girls Clubs)

More details can be found here, here, and here. 


Conservatives and liberals alike have railed against the excessive and ridiculous spending of this organization.  People have been fired.  People have resigned.  And rightfully so.  It goes strongly against conservative principles to take money from taxpayers to spend on frivolous things like mind readers, tuxedos and "location scouting" pre-parties.  

Likewise, it looks really bad for liberals, especially after President Obama's speech in the early days of his term of office in which he called corporations to task for  their lavish parties and bonuses, specifically mentioning trips to Las Vegas in the mix.

It's a bad situation all the way around.  And, as usual, the taxpayer is the chief loser.

Now, here's my take on the situation.  It will probably ruffle feathers on both sides.  


1.  It's not Obama's fault.  Let's face it.  The federal government is HUGE!  By some counts, there are more than 2.65 million federal employees in over 1300 distinct agencies.  There is no way one president can possibly even know what all of those agencies are, let alone personally manage the activities of each one.  These types of debacles occur under presidents of both parties.


2.  I don't begrudge the employees of the GSA a party.  Look, my company had a staff Christmas party.  We enjoyed it very much.  It was a good time of recognition of accomplishments and growth.  We had some games, some good food, and a speech from my boss (a very long speech from my boss).  


That probably made my conservative friends angry.  At the same time, my liberal friends are probably sitting back with a bit of a smug look on their face.


Here's the thing:  While it isn't President Obama's fault this happened, he is in the position of ultimate responsibility.  He is the Chief Executive of the US Government.  Therefore, it is his responsibility to solve it.


Not only that, it is the very policies he embraces that cause these atrocities!  The liberal approach to governing is to create more programs, more agencies, and more bureaucracy.  Each time they create another agency they reduce their ability to effectively oversee them.  It isn't just Obama.  Under the leadership of the past several presidents, the federal government has literally exploded in size.  

Article One, Section Eight of the US Constitution spells out the basic purposes of the Congress.  

• To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
• To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;
• To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
• To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
• To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
• To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
• To establish Post Offices and post Roads;
• To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;
• To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
• To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;
• To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
• To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
• To provide and maintain a Navy;
• To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
• To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
• To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
• To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;--And
• To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

If a president and congress were to return the federal government to its original purpose, the number of non-military federal employees would be a fraction of its current size... and so would the budget and debt.


President Obama should stand up and disband the multitudinous agencies that do little more than suck up taxpayers' dollars.  Multiple, redundant, non-productive, and expensive agencies are not only unnecessary, but unconstitutional.  If the federal government were reduced to the proper scope of its constitutional function, I dare say, one president could easily be aware of what each department was doing and lead each agency more directly.  


As to my second point.  I do not begrudge the employees of the GSA a party.  Nearly every organization for which I've worked has held holiday parties, recognition ceremonies and other "regional meeting" style events.  However, there is a huge caveat. There is a difference between private companies and government agencies.  If my boss, who owns a wireless retail company, chose to hold a party that cost him $2,700 per attendee, that's alright.  It's lavish and over the top, but it's alright.  Why?  Because nobody is forcing the population, by threat of imprisonment, to purchase wireless phones!  My boss could throw as large and extravagant a party as he wished (and I wholeheartedly encourage him to do so) because he would be spending money that his company legitimately earned.  


A government agency, on the other hand, has a greater burden of accountability.  Those who pay the bills don't do it out of choice, but by coercion.  Failing to contribute financially to the federal government carries the risk of severe punishment.  Therefore, for a government agency to squander money on extravagance is not only bad form, it is misappropriation of funds.  It's fraudulent use of taxpayer's money.  It is criminal behavior.


The sad thing is, in a society where everyone thinks everyone else owes them something, getting this point through peoples' thick skulls is like trying to push a marshmallow through a rock.

Jerusalem

Jerusalem.  The most religiously, politically, and militarily important location on earth.  For millennia this small area has been the epicenter of wars and atrocities, worship and blasphemy.  This tiny speck on the map has been the topic of more discussions, the destination of more pilgrimages, and the core of more arguments than any other geographical location. 

As a Christian, I have spent all of my life with Jerusalem as a key figure in my mind.  So much of scripture is centered in this very spot that one cannot ignore its significance.

With the renewed focus on Islamic radicalism over the past decade, I thought I'd point out a few things you might find interesting.  This blog is called The Daily Whims of an Overactive Mind for a reason.  I was struck with a serious case of insomnia last night.  Among the many topics that swirled and sworled through my brain, this one kept coming back.

Do a quick Google image search for Jerusalem, and what do you see?  In nearly every image, you'll see a skyline dominated by a large gold-colored dome.  Ask ten people what this is and eight of them will say, "That's the Temple Mount."  They are partially correct.  Let me fill you in on some important details.  For some, this will be elementary knowledge.  However, stick with me until the end of this post and you might find that your outlook has changed somewhat.

That large, arguably beautiful, gold dome is called the Dome of the Rock.  It is an Islamic shrine.  It is sometimes called the "Mosque of Omar."  However, it is neither a mosque, nor was it built by Omar.  The prayers of Muslim men are offered up at the Al Aqsa mosque about 200 meters away.  Muslims believe that this is the precise spot where Abraham nearly sacrificed his son, Ishmael.  This, you'll quickly recognize, is a distortion of the biblical account of Abraham nearly sacrificing his son, Isaac, until the Angel of the Lord told him to stay his hand.

The shrine was built by the Muslim ruler Abd el-Malik in 688-691.  It wasn't always gold in color, nor is it real gold.  Because of its situation on bedrock, the numerous earthquakes over the centuries have not caused significant damage to the structure (unlike its neighbor Al Aqsa mosque).  This shrine was covered by a lead dome from 691 until it was replaced with a gold-colored covering in the early 1960s. Because of rust, the anodized aluminum cover was again replaced in 1993 with a gold covering.

I know the details can seem dry, but there is a point to all of this information.  For over fourteen hundred years, the Dome of the Rock has been the dominant structure in the Jerusalem skyline.  Two hundred meters away is a second Muslim structure, the Al Aqsa mosque.

Let's look at the specific location for a moment before we get back to the shrine.

Mount Moriah is the actual name of the hill we call the Temple Mount.  As I mentioned earlier, the Bible declares it as the place where Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac.  It is the place God selected for His Holy Temple.  Israel's King David built an altar here.  Later, his son, Solomon built the first Holy Temple on this very spot.  It stood for four hundred ten years until it was destroyed by Babylonians in 586 BCE.

It was rebuilt around seventy years later by Jews returning from the Babylonian exile.  At one end was the Stoa, an elevated area upheld by pillars.  This is likely the scene where Jesus cleansed the temple of the money changers.  Every structure and gate had spiritual and national significance.  It was a place of passionate worship of Jehovah.  It was a place of ceremony and a place of dedication.  The Jewel of Jerusalem.  To understand the importance of the Holy Temple to the Jew is to understand the importance of the heart to the body.  They love and long for it.  Without it, something is missing from their lives.

For Christians, the Temple Mount plays a significant role as well.  Jesus religiously visited the Temple.  From there, one can see the Mount of Olives, where Jesus delivered His famous sermon.  Just outside the walls, one can quickly travel to the spot where Jesus was crucified and buried.  Throughout scripture, we are told of the exploits of biblical characters in the streets of this great city.

We are also told of the future of this location.  We are told of the rebuilding of the temple.  We are told of the return of the Messiah to the Mount of Olives, a fact upon which both Jews and Christians agree.

With a little more understanding of the importance of the Temple Mount to the Jews of Jerusalem, perhaps you will see the Dome of the Rock in a different light.  This is the holiest place on earth to the Jews.  This is the focal point of the Jewish faith.  It is the focal point of their history and their future.  To Christians, this is the city to which God's Son was sent to create a pivot-point in history.  This is the city over which Jesus wept.  Is it possible that with the eternal eye of God, Jesus was looking upon the desecration of the Temple Mount by radical Muslims?  Read Luke 19:41-45 and tell me it's not a possibility.

Now, in the holiest place on earth, stands a flashy shrine to a false prophet.  A dome of gold that dominates the landscape.  A brazen altar to a false god who claims peace, yet bathes the land with blood.  You see, the Dome of the Rock is a defilement, a desecration, and an abomination.  It might look pretty to the uninformed eye, but it's sole purpose is to demonstrate Islam's purported superiority to both Judaism and Christianity.  It's a touchdown spike, an end-zone dance.  And as a Jew or a Christian in Jerusalem, you have to see it every time your heart causes you to look to the place God chose for His holiest site.

The mere presence of this building is a vile desecration of the Holy Place of God.  Since Islam's desire is to insult both Judaism and Christianity, inscriptions in the building declare that God has no Son, and that to believe that is to believe a falsehood.  Islam's insult slams the truth of Holy Scripture.  Once again, the "religion of peace" is on the offense. 

Yet, our media wants us to believe that the Muslim Palestinians are victims.  We're supposed to feel sorry for them.  We hear daily of how poor Palestinians are in Israel, how their schools are overcrowded and how difficult their lives are.  We hear of Israeli Defense Force tanks rolling into neighborhoods and terrorizing the poor people, while we are made to believe that Israelis live lives of ease.

The truth is quite different.  In 2011, there were 680 recorded rocket, missile, and mortar attacks on Israel from the Palestinians in Gaza.  In Israel, it isn't a question of if you'll experience Palestinian violence.  It's when.

Yet, the media portrays the Palestinians as victims of an "occupation" that has lasted since 1948.  What about the occupation of Jerusalem's holiest place for the past fourteen hundred years?  What about the multiple ransacks of Jerusalem by Islamic radicals?  What about the countless Jewish dead over the millenia, slaughtered by Islamists? 


What I used to think of as a "pretty golden dome" that seemed to be a part of Jerusalem's skyline now resembles an ugly scar.  It is a disgusting feature on an otherwise beautiful landscape.  Scripture says it will one day be destroyed, to be replaced by the Temple of the One True God.  I long for that day.

Intermission...

I apologize for the delay in posting to my blogs.  My mother recently had a stroke and I've had to prioritize my activities as I do whatever I can to care for her.  Things are slowly settling in to a new normal kind of routine.  I plan to tackle some new subjects in the very near future.  Thanks for reading! 

For I, too, am a man under authority...

On Sunday, our guest speaker mentioned this passage of scripture.  It's found in Matthew 8.  A Roman Centurion approached Jesus and asked Him to heal a trusted servant.  The servant lay dying at the home of the Centurion.  Jesus immediately agreed to go and heal him.  However, the Centurion said, "I'm not worthy that you should enter into my home. If you just say the word, my servant will be healed."  Then he made a profound observation.

He said, "For I, too, am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
As westerners, we often miss a subtle part of that statement.  We often rejoice in the authority we have. We sometimes boast about it.  An American might even say, "For I, too, am a man of authority."  It's the way we are raised and is the way we approach life.  In the Evangelical Movement, we've been taught to recognize our authority in Christ.  We write books about it.  We sing songs about the enemy being "under our feet."  I've even heard some people actually try to "command" angels or even "command" God to do something.  (This is not a practice I would endorse, as I'm not all that fond of electricity, fire or brimstone.)

This Centurion, however, had a different perspective.  He recognized the source of his authority.  He wasn't a man of authority.  He was a man under the authority of Rome.  When he spoke, he spoke with the voice of Caesar.  When he gave an order, his subordinates heard it as if Caesar himself had spoken to them.  He knew that Jesus spoke with the authority of the One whose power is beyond that of any man.  "...only say the word where you are, and my servant will be healed."

I read a book called The Existence and Attributes of God by Stephen Charnock a few years ago.  This was not a light or easy read.  It was written sometime in the late 1600s.  In it, Mr. Charnock makes some brilliant points.  At one point, the author posits that there is a little bit of atheism within each of us.  His rationale is that if we truly believed God to be who He says He is, if we truly believed the Bible as it was written, we would be far too terrified to sin.  We would never choose to anger a God who held all power over life and death in his very words.  A God who could speak the universe into being, who could part the waters of the sea, who could open the earth to swallow faithless multitudes, who could flood the earth, is not One you would want disappointed with you.  I tend to agree.  Just sayin'.

For several years I was involved in a church in California that was teaching some aberrant doctrines.  Of course, I didn't recognize it until God opened my eyes through His word.  The church was very heavily into the Word-Faith Movement.  It was a large church that had many prominent special guests each year.  I "rubbed elbows" with some of the most well-known individuals in Christian broadcasting, music and preaching.  It was exciting and I felt like I was really in the main thrust of a mighty move of God.
However, as I began to dig further into scripture (yeah, blast that inquisitive mind God gave me!), I saw inconsistencies between the teachings of my church and that of scripture.  I saw ministers preaching on key words and talking points, while overlooking pivotal doctrines of scripture.  I saw people by the thousands who absolutely ate up the uplifting messages that made us all feel important and powerful.  And I saw the faith of many of those same people crumble as they faced trials that their positive confessions couldn't combat.

The problem is that the Word-Faith Movement has something very much in common with the new age movement and secular humanism.  It's egocentric.  It focuses on the individual.  It extols the power of an individual's faith, while subtly taking the participants eyes off of the One with the true power.

May I take a moment and explain something very essential to the Christian faith?  The "original sin" was not the consumption of the forbidden fruit in the garden.  Sin preexisted mankind.  The original sin was committed by Lucifer when he determined that he would "ascend above the heights of the clouds" and would "be like the Most High."  There is a reason Yahweh God is called the Most High.  None can exalt himself above Him.  No one can stand beside Him.  He is the ultimate being.

Given that thought, who are we to say that we have authority?  Are we not mere men and women?
Many will quote the scripture where Jesus said those who have faith in Him would do "greater works" than even those that He had done in His ministry.  They'll tout the idea that this "proves" the authority of the believer and demonstrates the "fact" that followers of Christ are powerful beings whose words of faith can change the course of history.  There are many word-faith teachers who even claim that we become "little gods" who can speak things into being.  What they fail to recognize is that it isn't their words that does it.  They, in themselves have no authority.  They are as innumerable as the sand on the seashore, and yet they are as insignificant as a single grain.  Jesus said, just a few verses earlier that it was the Father who was doing the work.

Who are we, that we should think so much of ourselves?  It is God alone who can save and heal.  It is God alone who can deliver the bound.  It is God alone who can create.  In Him we live an move and have our very being! The only authority you have is that which Christ has given you!  You are mere man, not a god.  Yes, you can do great things.  However, you must remember that it is His power, His authority, and His glory.  We are nothing without Him!  As the song says, "Who am I that the Lord of all the earth would care to know my name...would care to feel my hurt?  Who am I that the bright and morning star would choose to light the way for my ever-wandering heart?"

Ladies and gentlemen, the first sin was self-exaltation.  The first sin was pride...thinking more highly of oneself than is proper.  Even the prophet Isaiah, when he stood in the presence of God was immediately reminded of his frailty and failures when compared to the brilliant glory he beheld.  Who are we that we should think more highly of ourselves?

Our God is able to save, deliver and heal.  We simply need to remember that it is God, not us, who has the power and authority.  You'll notice that this Centurion said he was a man under authority.  While he could walk in that authority, he was also governed by it.

Likewise, we, as followers of Christ, walk in the authority of Christ.  However, the authority is not our own.  It is His.  We use His authority at His bidding and for His pleasure.  It is not for our own gain, but for the glory of God.  The power in which we tend to revel is not ours, but Christ's.  Can we do greater things than raising the dead and healing the lame?  Yes!  We can demonstrate the power of God in our lives.  We can demonstrate the redemption of a lowly, sinful life into a life of dedication and worship to the God of creation!  We can lead others to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ!  We can be the vessels by which God transforms lives physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  Yes, God heals!  Yes, God saves!  Yes, God delivers!  He takes joy in doing these things.  But it is not we who do these miracles.  It is God.  Best that we should remember this, for He will not share His glory with any man.

The Dog Went To The Park. (Or, How To Give Your Kid The Best You Have)

A simple sentence.  The dog went to the park.  Simplicity at its finest.  The hesitant hand that penned this sentence is that of my four-year-old stepson, Tiegen.

Tiegen is homeschooled by my wife, Krystal.  Along with Tiegen, Krystal "babysits" two other young children.  I placed the word babysits in quotation marks because I take issue with it.  Each morning, a local mother drops off her three-year-old and seven-month-old daughters at our home under the care of my wife.  So, on the basis of that alone, yes, she babysits.

Krystal, however, would never be satisfied with simply sitting home and making sure the kids don't get into the laundry detergent, or making sure they don't crack each other on the heads with plastic hammers.  That's not enough for her.  You see, my wife is a teacher.  It's not just what she does, it's who she is.  If you place her in a room with children for more than a second or two, those children are going to learn from her.  And she teaches in unique and fun ways--ways that resonate with the children.

When Krystal and I were first dating, I paid a visit to the preschool/daycare center in which she worked.  It wasn't the first time I'd been inside a center, as my mother ran several of them when I was younger.  However, being a bit older and... shall we say... less patient, I realized what a special type of personality it takes to operate in that type of environment.  I've often said if I were a daycare teacher, parents might arrive at the end of the day to find a neat little row of Hefty bags with name tags.  Obviously, I'm not cut out for that kind of work!

Krystal is.

Kids adore Krystal.  She is firm, but fun.  She challenges their imaginations and their sense of ingenuity.  She teaches them problem-solving skills.  She comes up with outstanding lesson plans and craft projects for them to do.

When we got married, we decided that Krystal should stay home with Tiegen and teach him.  We crunched the numbers and realized that if we brought Tiegen home from daycare and she took in two to three other children, she would actually be financially better off than she was while working as an underpaid and under-appreciated daycare teacher.  Add to that the benefits of being able to teach Tiegen with much more personal attention than he would receive in a daycare, and we decided it was the best way to go.

Tiegen's always been a sharp kid.  He shocks us with his memory.  For example, one day we were driving down the road and he said to me, "Daddy, do you remember when we went to the zoo, and I played in the water?"  I scoured my brain, searching my memory banks.  He continued, "Remember how there were these little holes and water would shoot out in my face?  Remember how I laughed and laughed?"  I was stunned.  That event occurred on his first birthday!  He was remembering something that had happened three years earlier, while he was still toddling around in a diaper!

However, Tiegen is learning at extremely accelerated rates.  I believe that is, in large part, because of the approach Krystal takes to his education.  In the former daycare setting, he was one of many kids whose activities were loosely monitored by bored and underpaid ladies who seemed like they would've preferred to be elsewhere.  He came home repeating words and phrases he'd learned from other kids and teachers that we found to be inappropriate.  He learned to push and shove, and that when reason fails, volume is the best way to get what he wanted.

Since he's been at home with Krystal, any adults who deal with him remark about how unbelievably polite and intelligent he is.  He is learning the values we hold dear in our family.

Not only that, there's a story behind the sentence you see in the photo at the top of this post.  One evening while waiting for me to arrive home from work, Krystal was in the kitchen cooking.  Tiegen said from the dining room, "Mommy, how do you spell went?"  Krystal responded as we always do, "Sound it out, buddy.  How do you think you'd spell went?"  A moment later, Tiegen excitedly bounded into the kitchen to show his mommy the sentence he had just written.  This four-year-old boy, whom Krystal assumed was playing with his toys in the living room, had sat down with his beloved dry-erase board and--unprompted and uncoached--had written a perfect sentence.  All at an age when many kids are speaking in baby-talk and struggling to learn letter sounds.  I attribute this wonderful success to Tiegen's intelligence and to Krystal's skills and passion as a teacher/mother.

I am writing this today because it's on my mind.  There is a vast and growing debate in our country about homeschooling.  Some say that homeschooled children suffer socially.  One man, while singing the praises of the public school system, told Krystal that children need to be pushed down by other kids in order to learn their place in the world.  He said sometimes advanced kids need to simply "dumb down" and be normal.  

Really?  Is that the kind of innovation that made this country great?  Is that the way to give our kids the tools necessary for success?  "Look, kid... I know you already know this stuff and it's really easy, but your classmates aren't at your level.  Therefore, you'll just have to sit through it until the rest of the kids catch up to you."  Sorry, Jack.  It doesn't work.  I've been there.  The high school from which I graduated had that same outlook.  It was torturous, and it certainly did not help me excel.  

Others say homeschooling isn't for everyone.  On this point I agree.  For example, the man of whom I just spoke wrote with the use of only one type of punctuation: the comma.  He seemed diametrically opposed to capitalization and grammatical rules.  This man has apparently settled for a life of semi-literate bliss.  He should not be teaching, as he is unqualified.  Krystal, on the other hand, is exceptionally articulate, reads the dictionary for entertainment, and is a thinker.  She makes an excellent teacher.

Homeschooling isn't for everyone.  However, standardized test scores among homeschooled children are quite impressive, routinely surpassing that of public school students by as much as 30 to 40 points.  Plugged-in parents can easily put their kids in social environments.  Tiegen is involved in Rainbows at church, has his daily playmates, and gets lots of playtime at the park...where he has shown a knack for being exceptionally caring and compassionate to the kids around him.

I find it fascinating that, as a nation, we spend more than $10,000 a year per student in public schools while the average homeschool family spends between $600 and $1000.  Yet, homeschoolers tend to score 30 to 40 points higher than public school students on the same tests.  Perhaps the socialized approach to education doesn't work, after all.  

I actually didn't write this entry to push the idea of homeschooling.  I wrote it to say how proud I am of my wife for the hard work she puts into raising a smart, happy, well-adjusted boy.  I recognize a special gift in her, and in him.  We have made this decision for our household.  It is not without its difficulties, but it is well worth the investment.

Thank you, Krystal, for being a great mom, a skilled teacher, and a wonderful wife.  I love you.

Oh, and by the way, here is a list of people you might recognize.  Each one of these people was homeschooled.  Enjoy.

·  President John Adams

·  President John Quincy Adams

·  President Grover Cleveland

·  President James Garfield

·  President William Henry Harrison

·  President Andrew Jackson

·  President Thomas Jefferson

·  President Abraham Lincoln

·  President James Madison

·  President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

·  President Theodore Roosevelt

·  President John Tyler

·  President  George Washington

·  President Woodrow Wilson 

·  Pierre du Pont

·  Benjamin Franklin

·  Alexander Hamilton

·  Patrick Henry

·  William Penn

·  Daniel Webster

·  Alexander the Great  - Greek Ruler

·  John Barry - Senior Navy Officer

·  Stonewall Jackson - Civil War General

·  John Paul Jones - Father of the American Navy

·  Robert E. Lee - Civil War General

·  Douglas MacArthur - U.S. General

·  George Patton - U.S. General

·  Matthew Perry - naval officer who opened up trade with Japan

·  John Pershing - U.S. General

·  David Dixon Porter - Civil War Admiral

·  Albert Einstein

·  Michael Faraday - electrochemist

·  Oliver Heaviside - physicist and electromagnetism researcher

·  T.H. Huxley

·  Blaise Pascal

·  Booker T. Washington

·  Erik Demaine - Popular Science Mag: One of the Most Brilliant Scientists in America 

·  Alexander Graham Bell - invented the telephone

·  John Moses Browning - firearms inventor and designer

·  Peter Cooper - invented skyscraper, built first U.S. commercial locomotive

·  Thomas Edison - invented the stock ticker, mimeograph, phonograph, and perfected the electric light bulb

·  Benjamin Franklin - invented the lightning rod

·  Elias Howe - invented sewing machine

·  William Lear - airplane creator

·  Cyrus McCormick - invented grain reaper

·  Guglielmo Marconi - developed radio

·  Eli Whitney - invented the cotton gin

·  Sir Frank Whittle - invented turbo jet engine

·  Orville and Wilbur Wright - built the first successful airplane

·  Hans Christian Anderson

·  Margaret Atwood

·  Pearl S. Buck

·  William F. Buckley, Jr.

·  Willa Cather

·  Agatha Christie

·  Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain)

·  Charles Dickens

·  Robert Frost - Pulitzer Prize-winning poet

·  Charlotte Perkins Gilman

·  Alex Haley

·  Brett Harte

·  C.S. Lewis

·  Amy Lowell

·  Gabriela Mistral

·  Sean O'Casey

·  Christopher Paolini - author of #1 NY Times bestseller, Eragon

·  Isabel Paterson

·  Beatrix Potter - author of the beloved Peter Rabbit Tales

·  Carl Sandburg

·  George Bernard Shaw

·  Mattie J. T. Stepanek - 11-year-old author of Heartsongs

·  Mercy Warren

·  Phillis Wheatley

·  Walt Whitman

·  Laura Ingalls Wilder

Seriously??!!

As of the day before yesterday, I decided I was going to take a "leave of absence" from Facebook.  Feeling a bit overwhelmed with the constant stream of data that flows into my brain while I'm at work and at home.  While I'm at work, I'm working on accounts online, reading updates, adjusting pricing plans, updating the company Facebook page and working with customers.  When I'm at home I am always connected with my smartphone and my tablet computer.  It seems like I am constantly referring back to Facebook to check in on the status updates of people from all over the country and to attempt to post the wittiest updates on my own page.  Add to that my photography page, my family reunion page and monitoring the goings-on with my upcoming high school reunion, I just needed a few days to regroup.

One of the reasons I've become so frustrated while on Facebook is my Christian friends.  Seriously.  My non-Christian friends don't bother me all that much.  Probably because they are living up to the stand they've taken in life.  They know what I stand for, and that I will always represent Christ to the best of my ability with the help of the Holy Spirit.  I am not shy about my stand.  I share my faith.  They're good with it, and I respect their position as well.  Though my heart aches for them to place Christ as the central figure in their lives, I respect the fact that God has given us all free will.  I only hope that my ongoing prayers, example, and encouragement will be a catalyst for their conversion.

Many of my Christian friends, however, are enough to drive me to distraction.  If I base my understanding of God solely upon the status updates and comments of those who claim a relationship with Christ, I find three prevalent themes:

1. Theology is BAD
2. Religion is BAD
3. If you point out how any type of behavior diverges from scripture, that's being judgmental... and, as we all can guess, Judgmentalism is BAD.

Seriously??!! These are people who should know better!  (Oops!  There I go being judgmental again!)  Let's look at these three items in a bit more detail, shall we?  

• Theology

Let's look at the meaning of the word theology.  Theo comes from the Greek word theos, meaning God.  -logy also comes from the Greek, and is a suffix in the English language that means the study or knowledge of... Therefore, the word theology really means the knowledge of God.

As Christians, we believe in the Word of God... or at least we claim to.  If we believe the Word of God, the Bible, we must acknowledge that God has described His attributes, personality and commands in His Word.  As a Christian, there is no way around that acknowledgment.  It either is, or it isn't true.  If it isn't, than the Jesus you're following is a liar, and you're a fool to follow Him.  So, with all this in mind, can someone please explain to my poor underdeveloped mind how theology is bad?  Can the knowledge or study of God be bad?  It was God who said "I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me." [Pr. 8:17]  He also said, "you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." [Jer. 29:13]

Throughout scripture, we are instructed to seek the Lord, to know the Lord, to emulate His attributes.  To say that theology is a bad thing is to put aside this mandate.  These are not man-made ideals or man/centered rules.  These are directives handed down through the Holy Spirit to the men who penned the Word of God.   

I submit to you the idea that those who claim theology is bad or unnecessary 1. don't know what the word means, 2. haven't gotten to know the God they claim to serve, and/or 3. have hearts that are filled with rebellion and simply refuse to submit themselves to the lordship of God.

• Religion

James 1:27 says this:  "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world."  This is a short summary of Christ's ministry on earth.  He cared for those in need, and he kept himself unsullied by the filth of the sinful world.  All the while, He spoke the truth of scripture and taught adherence to biblical law.

Many say that Jesus came to abolish religion.  This is false, and is a dangerous false doctrine.  Jesus said, "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled." [Mt. 5:19]  His sentence just prior to that was, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill."  Did Jesus come to abolish religion?  No.  Did Jesus abide by the religious traditions of the Jews.  Yes, inasmuch as those traditions were scripturally mandated.  Jesus fulfilled the law and cast aside those man-made perversions that had become popular at the time.

Have there been man-made rules that have been passed down from generation to generation?  Yes.  People will always try to insert their own philosophies into scripture.  The point is to know the Word of God, and not to be fooled by extra-biblical teachings.  False religion is the hijacking of scriptural truths to serve human interests.  As I recently told a friend, to shun tradition merely because it is tradition is rebellion.  To question the origin of traditions and weigh them against the Word of God is wisdom.

Many claim that religion has caused violence in the world.  True.  However, not pure and undefiled religion.  False and man-centered perversions of religion have caused violence.  In short, sin has caused violence and death, just as scripture promised.  Think about it.  The "crusades" were caused by power hungry men who used their positions to try to spread their influence, all the while pretending they were doing it in the name of God.  These crusades were largely in response to an earlier power grab by Islamic zealots who used their false religion to capture, torture and kill people by the thousands.  I believe this is one main reason scripture draws a line of distinction between false religion and "pure and undefiled religion."  Religion isn't bad, folks.  Man-centered perversions of religion are bad.  If we don't hold true to the meanings of our terms, then nothing we say has any meaning.

•  Judgmentalism

This is, by far, the most commonly used tool of those whose actions are called into question in light of scripture.  Judgmentalism is misunderstood and misused in many cases.  Hopefully I can help to clarify the topic a bit.

"You're a Christian!  You're not supposed to judge!"  How many times have you heard this?  How many times have you said this?  In Matthew 7:1 and 2, Jesus says "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you."  Seems pretty cut and dried, right?

Elsewhere in scripture, though, we are instructed to measure the qualifications of spiritual leaders by comparing their lifestyles to scriptural edicts [1 Ti. 3:1-13, Tit. 1:5-9]  We are also told that if someone calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral, covetous, an idolator, slanderer, drunkard or swindler, we are not to associate with him at all. [1 Cor. 5:11] Given these two commands, are we not asked to judge?  Yet, when one holds up scripture and shows how another's actions deviate from it, he is chastised for being judgmental.

You see, it's all about context.  Jesus did say not to judge.  He connected that to judgment placed against ourselves.  As my father used to say: "Whenever you point your finger at someone else, you have three pointed back at you."  How true this is!  That's exactly what Jesus was saying!  Jesus said that we would be measured by the same standards to which we hold others.  He was telling us not to be hypocrites.  He was telling us that if we judge, the very standards by which we judge will be used against us.

I am not qualified to judge the inner workings of your heart and soul.  I cannot place myself in the position of the Judge Who determines your eternal future.  For me to try is foolishness.  However, scripture tells us that we will be known (judged) by our works.  Scripture tells us to judge whether a man is qualified to serve in leadership in the church by weighing the evidence of his life against scripture.  I can--and should--point to scripture and call upon my brethren to question their own actions and motives.

Let me make something perfectly clear.  Those who ride the "don't be judgmental" pony are soon bucked off!  They are people who, again, 1. don't know the meaning of what they're saying, 2. haven't spent enough time in scripture to understand the biblical standards of holiness to which we are all held, and/or 3. have a heart full of rebellion and misuse the words of Christ to justify their own sinful behavior.  There are certain standards the scriptures set for those who call themselves followers of Christ.  Those standards must be followed, or you prove the failure of your own testimony.  That isn't someone else bringing judgment on you, that's your own choices bringing judgment.  Those whose lives are solidly rooted in the Word of God see things through spiritual eyes.  Don't be so arrogant as to believe that you can live in contravention to God's Word and have that life be unnoticeable to God's people!  God's standards do not change with time or popular opinion.  If something was wrong two thousand years ago, it's still wrong now.  And throwing the hollow accusation of judgmentalism upon whoever sees your sin and calls your attention to it does not nullify God's Word.  If you are listening to someone who allows you to think you can do whatever you want to do without spiritual consequence, I refer you back to the book of Matthew, chapter 5: verse 19, where Jesus said, "Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."

I know this blog isn't going to win me any new friends.  I'm OK with that.  It may even cost me a few.  That's OK, too.  What I'm not OK with is my friends thinking they are just fine because they get together with other like-minded folks, have a good time, feel good about themselves because they feel justified in their worldly behavior, and then die and find out how self-deceived they are.  I love my friends too much for that. 

When someone calls someone else judgmental, they say it in a way that indicates that the person is uncaring, unloving, and hateful.  You can call me judgmental if you want.  Just line your life up with scripture, or you'll find yourself surprised one day when God says "Depart from me, you worker of iniquity.  I never knew you."
 

I never thought I'd see the day...

On August 20, I married my best friend. After four years of dating one another, Krystal and I finally made it official. 

It was a hot and humid day in Southwest Missouri when we gathered at a beautiful park, all dressed up and anxious.  I'm not sure if the sweat I felt trickling down my back was from the heat or from the nervous anticipation of a wonderful life together.

My photographer friend, Heather Fison (you should really check out her work!), documented the day for us. Pastor Tom Matrone from Central Assembly of God officiated. My dear friend Mike Mills was my best man, and his daughter, Marissa Mills was Krystal's maid of honor.

Krystal was radiant in her beautiful dress.  I found myself speechless as she walked down the gravel path with her amazing smile dazzling us all.  Even Pastor Tom commented about her amazing smile as she walked toward us.

There are no words to describe what a wonderful friend I have in Krystal.  We've both experienced a lot of interesting events in our lives.  We've both struggled, failed, tried again and overcome.  I count myself to be amazingly blessed to have her as my partner.  I fall more deeply in love with her every day. 

There will be more pictures to come.  We want to make sure certain family members get copies before we publish them on the web.

I'd like to thank all of our friends and family who've been supportive of us for these four years.  You are appreciated, loved, and we'll never forget your contributions to our lives.