Andy Rooney and Prayer

Got this in an email and had to share:


Andy Rooney and Prayer

Andy Rooney says:
I don't believe in Santa Claus, but I'm not going to sue somebody for singing a Ho-Ho-Ho song in December. I don't agree with Darwin , but I didn't go out and hire a lawyer when my high school teacher taught his Theory of Evolution.
Life, liberty or your pursuit of happiness will not be endangered because someone says a 30-second prayer before a football game. So what's the big deal? It's not like somebody is up there reading the entire Book of Acts. They're just talking to a God they believe in and asking him to grant safety to the players on the field and the fans going home from the game.
But it's a Christian prayer, some will argue..
Yes, and this is the United States of America , a country founded on Christian principles. According to our very own phone book, Christian churches outnumber all others better than 200-to-1. So what would you expect -- somebody chanting Hare Krishna?
If I went to a football game in Jerusalem , I would expect to hear a Jewish prayer...

If I went to a soccer game in Baghdad , I would expect to hear a Muslim prayer.
If I went to a ping pong match in China , I would expect to hear someone pray to Buddha.

And I wouldn't be offended.  It wouldn't bother me one bit.
When in Rome .....
But what about the atheists? Is another argument.
What about them? Nobody is asking them to be baptized. We're not going to pass the collection plate. Just humor us for 30 seconds. If that's asking too much, bring a Walkman or a pair of ear plugs. Go to the bathroom. Visit the concession stand. Call your lawyer!
Unfortunately, one or two will make that call. One or two will tell thousands what they can and cannot do.. I don't think a short prayer at a football game is going to shake the world's foundations.
Christians are just sick and tired of turning the other cheek while our courts strip us of all our rights. Our parents and grandparents taught us to pray before eating, to pray before we go to sleep.Our Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. Now a handful of people and their lawyers are telling us to cease praying.
God, help us. And if that last sentence offends you, well, just sue me.
The silent majority has been silent too long. It's time we tell that one or two who scream loud enough to be heard that the vast majority doesn't care what they want. It is time that the majority
Rules! It's time we tell them, You don't have to pray; you don't have to say the Pledge of Allegiance; you don't have to believe in God or attend services that honor Him. That is your right, and we will honor your right; but by golly, you are no longer going to take our rights away. We are fighting back, and we WILL WIN!
God bless us one and all ... Especially those who denounce Him, God bless America , despite all her faults. She is still the greatest nation of all. God bless our service men who are fighting to protect our right to pray and worship God.

Let's make 2010 the year the silent majority is heard and we put God back as the foundation of our families and institutions . And our military forces come home from all the wars.
Keep looking up. 

I have returned

Wow, so far I'm not too into 2009.  The year started out with a fire at my office it has progressed with political developments which I personally classify as nightmarish, and two very close friends of mine have passed away very close to each other.  Needless to say I haven't been much up to blogging of late.  Still though, happiness  to be had.  Below is one of my sources of joy.  Kayleigh came to the farm with me last saturday and after work, we had the opportunity to take a few pictures.  Here are some.

 

Okay, now I feel a little better.

Tom

Those Wonderfully Dirty Geese

Here's a picture I shot a week or so ago. Had to share it with a few of my close blogging buddies.
Thanks,
Tom

Flash Back To Mean Joe Green

I love this commercial, but I do not advocate many of the others that pop on when this one is over.
Tom

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Now for the original.



Classic Stuff!

Color me "Happy"!

A very conflicting story for me.

I got this through the email and thought I'd pass it on.

 Kurtis the Stock Boy and Brenda the Checkout Girl
 

 In a supermarket, Kurtis the stock boy was busily working when a new voice came over the loud speaker asking for a carry-out at register 4.  Kurtis was almost finished and wanted to get some fresh air, so he decided to answer the call.  As he approached the checkout stand, a distant smile caught his eye ~ the checkout girl was beautiful.  She was an older woman (maybe 26, and he was only 22) and he fell in love.
  
  Later that day, after his shift was over, he waited by the punch clock to find out her name.  She came into the break room, smiled softly at him, took her card, punched out, and then left.  He looked at her card, BRENDA.  He walked out only to see her start walking up the road.  Next day, he waited outside as she left the supermarket, and offered her a ride home.  He looked harmless enough, and she accepted.  When he dropped her off, he asked if maybe he could see her again, outside of work.  She simply said it wasn't possible.
  
  He pressed and she explained she had two children and she couldn't afford a babysitter, so he offered to pay for the babysitter.  Reluctantly she accepted his offer for a date for the following Saturday.  That Saturday night, he arrived at her door only to have her tell him that she was unable to go with him.  The babysitter had called and canceled.  To which Kurtis simply said, "Well, let's take the kids with us."
  
  She tried to explain that taking the children was not an option, but again not taking no for an answer, he pressed.  Finally Brenda brought him inside to meet her children.  She had an older daughter who was just as cute as a bug, Kurtis thought, and then Brenda brought out her son, in a wheelchair.  He was born a paraplegic with Downs Syndrome.
  
  Kurtis told Brenda, "I still don't understand why the kids can't come with us."  Brenda was amazed.  Most men would run away from a woman with two kids, especially if one had disabilities ~ just like her first husband and father of her children had done.  But Kurtis was not ordinary ~ he had a different mindset.
  
  That evening Kurtis and Brenda loaded up the kids and went to dinner and the movies.  When her son needed anything, Kurtis would take care of him.  When he needed to use the restroom, he picked him up out of his wheelchair, took him, and brought him back.  The kids loved Kurtis.  At the end of the evening, Brenda knew this was the man she was going to marry and spend the rest of her life with.
  
  A year later, they were married and Kurtis adopted both of her children.  Since then they have added five more kids.
  
  So what happened to Kurtis the stock boy at a grocery store in Cedar Falls, Iowa and Brenda the checkout girl?  Well, Mr. & Mrs. Kurt Warner now live in Arizona where he is currently employed as the quarterback of the National Football League Arizona Cardinals and has his Cardinals in the hunt for a possible appearance in the Super Bowl.  Is this a surprise ending or could you have guessed that he was not an ordinary person.
      It should be noted that he also quarterbacked the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI...and he has also been the NFL's Most Valuable Player twice and the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player.  He established the First Things First Foundation in the spring of 2001 with wife Brenda to promote Christian values and bless the lives of those less fortunate with projects such as trips to Disney World for ill children, building recreation centers in children's hospitals, helping single moms achieve the dream of homeownership and teaching Special Olympians the football basics. All projects are centered on Kurt and Brenda's life theme: faith and family come first.  The official website is:  http://www.kurtwarner.org <http://www.kurtwarner.org/> 

I feel compelled as a Steelers fan to follow this story up with a resounding, "Go Steelers!" just so we're all clear where my loyalties are.

I don't know if this is real, but it is worth reading.

This will give you the chills.......
GOOD chills. A young man had been to Wednesday Night Bible Study.

The Pastor had shared about listening to God and obeying the Lord's voice. The young man couldn't help but wonder, 'Does God still speak to people?'
After service, he went out with some friends for coffee and pie and they discussed the message.
Several different ones talked about how God had led them in different ways...

It was about ten o'clock when the young man started
driving home. Sitting in his car, he just began to pray, 'God...If you still speak to people, speak to me. I will listen. I will do my best to obey.'

As he drove down the main street of his town, he had the strangest thought to stop and buy a gallon of milk. He shook his head and said out loud, 'God is that you?' He didn't get a reply and started on toward home. But again, the thought, buy a gallon of milk.

The young man thought about Samuel and how he didn't recognize the voice of God, and how little Samuel ran to Eli.

'Okay, God, in case that is you, I will buy the milk.' It didn't seem like too hard a test of obedience. He could always use the milk. He stopped and purchased the gallon of milk and started off toward home.
As he passed Seventh Street, he again felt the urge, 'Turn Down that street.' This is crazy he thought, and drove on past the intersection. Again, he felt that he should turn down Seventh Street . At the next intersection, he turned back and headed down Seventh. Half jokingly, he said out loud, 'Okay, God, I will.'

He drove several blocks, when suddenly, he felt like he should stop. He pulled over to the curb and looked around. He was in a semi- commercial area of town. It wasn't the best but it wasn't the worst of neighborhoods either. The businesses were closed and most of the houses looked dark like the people were already in bed.
Again, he sensed something, 'Go and give the milk to the people in the house across the street.' The young man looked at the house. It was dark and it looked like the people were either gone or they were already asleep. He started to open the door and then sat back in the car seat.

'Lord, this is insane. Those people are asleep and if I wake them up, they are going to be mad and I will look stupid.' Again, he felt like he should go and give the milk.

Finally, he opened the door, 'Okay God, if this is you, I will go to the door and I will give them the milk. If you want me to look like a crazy person, okay. I want to be obedient. I guess that will count for something, but if they don't answer right away, I am out of here.'
He walked across the street and rang the bell. He could hear some noise inside. A man's voice yelled out, 'Who is it? What do you want?' Then the door opened before the young man could answer.

The man was standing there in his jeans and T-shirt. He looked like he just got out of bed. He had a strange look on his face and he didn't seem too happy to have some stranger standing on his doorstep. 'What is it?'
The young man thrust out the gallon of milk, 'Here, I brought this to you.' The man took the milk and rushed down a hallway.

Then from down the hall came a woman carrying the milk toward the kitchen. The man was following her holding a baby. The baby was crying. The man had tears streaming down his face.

The man began speaking and half crying, 'We were praying. We had some big bills this month and we ran out of money. We didn't have any milk for our baby. I was praying and asking God to show me how to get some milk..'
His wife in the kitchen yelled out, 'I ask him to send an Angel with some. Are you an Angel?'The young man reached into his wallet and pulled out all the money he had on him and put it in the man's hand. He turned and walked back toward his car and the tears were streaming down his face.

Are we truly listening for the urging of the Spirit in our lives?