Habakkuk; Wait for it, Wait for it ....

For the past several years I’ve been really mad at God.  I’ve identified with Habakkuk in his first chapter.  I see what’s happening with our country.  I see the violence overseas.  I’m so mad at people for electing a horrible leader in the White House, not once but twice.  I see the greed in Washington and the greed in the people.  People no longer consider honest hard work honorable.  The only thing they work hard for is taking another person’s money.    To put it bluntly, evil has taken control of our leadership.  Few in Washington push against the evil.  It has gotten so bad that Christians are despised and openly reviled in the media. People are crying out for freedom from that Christian religion.  Efforts are openly being taken to silence Christians.  So, my anger burned against God.  Why isn’t he doing anything? 

Today my anger has turned to sorrow.  I know that we are heading for destruction.  Just look at all that is happening around the world.  People are racing eagerly to that destruction.  Even the Church seems oblivious to the state of the world.  They prefer to be safely cocooned in their pews playing the Christian game.  I stand at Habakkuk 2:3.  I see it coming.  I cry with deep sorrow.             

Can I Start the Year Over?

There is a rule if your New Year starts out crappy the end of it will be fantastic, isn’t there?  If that isn’t true I’d like to start the year over.  It’s been bam, bam, bam, just been one problem after another. My resolution for the New Year was to spend as little money as possible.  Do you think I jinx myself attempting that?

It started out with the truck.  That “check engine” light came on.  OK, so a couple of things needed to be repair, no biggie.  Hold it!  They were having a difficult time finding the radiator hose I needed.  So I was waiting a few days while they got the correct part.  That’s when the window on the driver’s side decided to fall.  I am so glad that it didn’t break!  (God’s Grace!)  I’m told window regulators always seem to go out in winter.  I did manage to duck tape it into place.  The repairs are starting to add up.  I got the truck fixed in time to go to a weekend geocaching event in Paris.  Paris, Arkansas!  On my way home as I was getting into Ozark the truck overheats and dies.  Oh yeah, the weather is nasty.  It’s raining and cold.  Fortunately a friend was following me and saw I was in trouble helped me get it to a garage and drove me home.  (God’s Grace!)  A really great friend!  I had Monday off because I was going with a group of friends to LR for the opening of the Legislative session.  So great to see the candidates we worked hard for on the floor.  Back to truck story.  Another really great friend loaned me her spare car until I got the truck back.  (God’s Grace!)  I didn’t get the truck back until Friday because the garage in Ozark volunteered to drive it up to Fayetteville.  NICE!  Running errands on Sat I noticed a burning smell.  I popped the hood and there was coolant splatter all over the engine.  Arrrgh!  Back to the garage on Monday to find out what happen.  They didn’t find any leak.  I think that the cap wasn’t on tight when the Ozark guy drove up it and they notice it and fix it.  So, no leak but they discover the radiator they had replaced in April was defective.  Apparently it didn’t cool evenly.  It was still under warranty so it was replaced for free and I just paid to have it flushed.  (God’s Grace!)  At this time (knock on wood) I am not having any problems. 

While my truck was doing the first round of garage visits I notice one of my cats (Tigger) wasn’t eating well and looked to be losing weight.  I was going to bring him in the week after my geocaching weekend but the truck’s Ozark vacation delayed the visit.  I got him in the day after my radiator was replaced.  Very bad news.  He has kidney disease and treatment is complicated by his heart murmur.  He spent several days in the hospital where they started to flush his kidneys.  He was sent home with a number of medications and I am giving him saline IVs every other day.  He’s not doing well.  He doesn’t want to eat.  I’ve bought all those fancy cat foods in order to tempt him but no go.  I puréed the food and have been force feeding him.  He’s 12 years old and I don’t know if he’s going to make it.  I don’t want to give up on him because that little bugger has cost me plenty and he’d better say around a few more years.  (Need God’s Grace!)

In between the truck and the cat I was ask to run for Secretary of the Washington Country Republican Committee.  I said I would and running un-opposed I was voted into office.  Now I know why the last Secretary raced up to the podium to 2^nd my nomination.  Boy, I have to do a lot of work.  Hopefully it slacks off in a bit or am I kidding myself?

God has been good.  In every circumstance I’ve had help appear and I just need to keep trusting Him.  I’m praying over Tigger.  Hey, He said His eye is on the sparrow so I know He cares for Tigger.  My resolution to spend as little money as possible has been totally blown for the month.  There are still 11 months of the year to go. 

My New Year's Resolution

In 2013 I will absolutely spend as little money as possible.  I will only spend money on needs instead of wants.  This is a resolution that I have never had to make before.  Thanks Obama!  For the past 2 years I've done some spending restrictions but nothing like this.  With the re-election of Pres Obama  I really don't see the economy going well at all.  Working in the medical field is also a bit of a worry because of the effects of Obama-Care.  My bosses really don't know how much Obama-Care is going to affect them but they are anticipating being paid less.  With so much uncertainty there really is no option but to prepare for the worst.  The next 4 years is definitely the time to be the ant rather than the grasshopper.

 

I Hate Colds

I have been suffering for the past two weeks with this cold.  After forcing myself to lie on the couch and watching TV this weekend I have reduced it to an irritating cough.  Buy stock in throat lozenges!   It sure would be nice if parents would keep their sick kids at home instead of leaving them with the poor childcare volunteers at church. 

Fiscal Cliff, What a Circus

Having watched the GOP leadership the past year I had scant hope that they would get some solid spending cuts.  I’m so disappointed that they didn’t get any cuts.  Apparently the GOP leadership is totally incompetent. 

Since they mishandled this “Fiscal Cliff” so badly I really don’t expect much headway on America’s real problem; spending.  I believe a big part of the problem is that the GOP leadership isn’t much interested in the getting the debt under control.  It seems they enjoy spending our money as much as Obama does.  I get the feeling that they are more concerned with keeping their power rather than keeping to the unpopular GOP principles. 

While I hope to be surprise in a couple of months I fully expect America’s debt to continue to spiral out of control.  I really don’t expect Moody’s downgrading threat to make any difference.  Frankly I don’t know what it’s going to take to make Washington and the American people to take this seriously.  I’m certainly open to any ideas to get our GOP leaders to make the hard decisions and to effectively communicate just how dire our situation is to the American people. 

2012. What a Difficult Year

I have never been so happy to see a year end. You might think I’m not happy with the year is because Pres Obama won. Well, that would only be one part of it. I was wishing the year would end quickly by April. I guess it was just a year in which I had tons of stuff crammed into it.
The year started hectic. I volunteer to be Pres of the Washington County Republican Women and we started off with a bang and just kept going. It was definitely a lot more work and time than I had anticipated. I’m always busy at work. A good thing I suppose. A co-worker was having family problems which required her to drastically cut her hours. In fact she was out several months. The resulting review of our staffing led to a new hire. By September I had a fully functioning staff but I didn’t get caught up on the work until the end of December.
 Lots of meetings, fundraisers, working for candidates, getting all my continuing education in by December and just all of the stuff that needs to be done, I’m just plain worn out. Anyway, I said no to a number of requests and I hope in this new year to work on several projects that I didn’t get around to in 2012. One of them is this blog. I hope I can get back to writing in it regularly.

Fayetteville, It was so cold ....

my garage door froze to the floor. I've never had that happen before. Of course it's never gotten to a minus 5 degrees either! I was late to work because I had to pry the door out of the ice. Hey, I've made to work every day this week so I'm entitled to come in late. I guess snow melted off the truck and traveled under the door where it froze. Tomorrow morning is projected to be below zero again so I placed some kitty litter under the door in the hope that it won't freeze to the floor. Fingers are crossed!

Springdale vs Fayettnam

A few weeks ago I was talking with a member of the Springdale Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Springdale City Council. They were discussing how they were going to bring in more business'and the growth potential of the city. The City Council member mentioned that they were reviewing the City's ordinances to see if any would be considered business unfriendly. I suggested that once they had completed their review and revised the ordinances that they send a copy of them to the Fayetteville City Council. They laughed and said that Fayetteville's anti-business attitude is really great for Springdale. They were projecting that Springdale will have great growth potential while Fayetteville will shoot itself in the foot.

Another Snow Storm

I woke up this morning with it raining ice. I saw that the trees and shrubs were getting a coating of ice. Boy, did I pray that it would transform to the promised snow soon. I didn't want to have falling limbs again. I did make it to work but left within a few hours after 4/5 inches had accumulated. I wanted to make sure I got home in one piece.


So, I'm home early and I should do something productive. Hmmmm, that nap was so good! I fell asleep listening to Rush and woke up to 2 cats cuddle next to me and the dog trying to push me off the sofa. It was still snowing but I went outside got the birdies some food and played with Casey for a bit. Didn't stay out long because that wind was really cold. Took a peak at the temperature. Ouch, 14 degrees. That will seem warm with this Thursday's projected low of minus 5.

The Remember Tour

So, another year has passed and we are faced to another. Like many, I have a list of projects I’d like to get done this year. A few on the list are the same recurring ones that I just never seem to accomplish.

Never Forget to Remember

In church this evening the pastor had us list what God has done or how He has work last year. Ok, I started listing some of the good things that have happen or the challenges that I’ve overcome. I’ve also realized that I’ve missed out on a lot of opportunities. Usually, at this time of the year I think about what I didn’t get accomplished. Heh, my first journal entry of the new year is usually a rant at God. I get mad and frustrated because I feel that He’s responsible for my inability to accomplish my goals. Yup, there I was pounding the table, furious with God, because every year it’s the same old things. I’d really like to know when I will see success.

Remember Forward

Yeah, I wondered what the heck that meant too. The pastor said that we remember how good, strong and faithful God has been in the past. He said we should walk with God and confidently move forward based on what we know God has done in the past. So, I will once again strive to achieve the goals I continually list each year. Maybe, just maybe I’ll actually pull it off this year. Happy New Year!

Good-Bye Dickson Street

The City of Fayetteville wanted to solve its parking problem I don’t believe they expect people to do what I’ve done. I’m no longer going to be shopping on Dickson Street. Goodbye Grubbs, Jose’s, Common Grounds and the Bookstore! Why? Well, I’m not going to bother making sure I have enough change on me. I don’t want to be constantly worrying if I put enough money and repeatedly checking my watch to make sure I get back in time. I don’t want to ruin a trip by finding an expensive ticket on my car.
Frankly, there aren’t any restaurants or stores that are so unique and special on Dickson St that I can’t get at other place. There just is nothing on Dickson Street that is worth all the inconveniences of paid parking. Yes, even the Walton Arts Center which I have abandoned because their tickets have been eliminated my budget.
I wonder how many people are also going to ditch Dickson St. Will it enough people that Dickson St stores will be feeling it financially? Heck, I believe a great advertisement for a business not on Dickson St would be “Free Parking”.

Fayetteville Tea Party

There was a very nice crowd in the Fayetteville Town Center. I'm not that good on estimates but I heard that nearly 1,000 showed up. The atmosphere was different from last years. Last year is was more passionate and frenzied. This year it was more focused. Unlike last year, candidates actually wanted to be seen in the crowd. I think they all had their signs up and had a table with their literature. Heh, what a difference a year makes.

Dick Morris warmed up the crowd really well. (Video below) He collared the Congressional candidates who were present and asked them have they signed ATR's no tax increase pledge. When he got a "yes they had or will" out of them he nailed Steve Womack for refusing to sign the pledge. He said not to vote for Womack. He graciously said he'd take it back if Womack would call him and agree to sign it.

There were protesters at the rally. Yup, I counted 3 of them across the street. Poor things, I hope they really listened to the speakers and learned something. The rest of us had fun. Great speakers, a beautiful day and great big job to complete. November Is Coming.

The Tolbert Report interviewed Dick Morris and notes that Steve Womack has signed ATR's pledge.

Curtis Coleman Concerned About Sen. Baker's Governorship Ambitions

Curtis Coleman has pointed out what some people have been tip-toeing around in Gilbert Baker’s Campaign.

“I found Sen. Baker’s statement to be both curious and concerning. Curious, in that Sen. Baker has said that he’s running for the U.S. Senate to lay the groundwork to run for Governor in four years and that if he wins the Governor’s race, he’ll resign his Senate seat.

Coleman is publicly saying what people have been whispering about in the background. Apparently, it’s fairly well known among political circles that Sen. Baker’s ambition is really to be Governor of Arkansas. His plan, I’m told, is to win the Senate seat then run for Governor. If he wins he thinks he will then get to name his Senate replacement. I’ve been told this by a number of well-placed people in the Republican Party.

The Tolbert Report has follow up from the Coleman and Baker Campaigns:

I followed up with Matt LaGrone, political director for the Coleman Campaign, on the accusation that Baker will quit in four years to run for governor. LaGrone tells me that Baker told Coleman this personally in a private conversation and they have heard it from numerous other people but could not point me to a source where Baker has said this on the record. LaGrone said they would back off this issue if Baker will commit to not running for governor in four years if elected to the Senate.

I asked Alice Stewart, Campaign Manager for the Baker Campaign if she had any responce to Coleman’s press release. Gilbert Baker is running for U.S. Senate and is committed to serving just two terms. Nothing more, nothing less,” said Stewart.

Rumors, Gossip, Hearsay? I think it’s a legitimate question to ask Sen. Baker.

Robertson Speaks, Christians Groan

I just hate it when a Christian leader makes a stupid remark. You just cringe because you know that it going to be spread all over and gives the impression that’s what Christians really believe. I think I represent most Christians who are going to what we can to help those who have been victimized by this terrible trauma, rather than to speak judgment upon them on behalf of God.

Dear Pat, please preach the Gospel as much as you want but please keep your mouth shut (Francis of Assisi) and read a little book in the Bible called “Job”.

In Haiti, American’s Greatness Shines Again

Americans are called once again to give to a nation that has been devastated. Contrary to those who think Americans are selfish and evil, we will once again response with compassion and generosity. Even in the middle of a recession, we will dig down deep and pull out money to help Haiti. Remarkably, Red Cross has already raised $1 Million+ through text message donations. Other aid agencies such as the Salvation Army, Feed the Children and Catholic Relief Services are preparing resources to deliver to Haiti. Interestingly a number of friends have commented via Twitter and Facebook that their own churches have missions in Haiti and are making plans to help. We need to not only pray for the Haitians who are suffering, but also for those who are in Haiti helping with rescues. It’s dangerous work and there are still earthquakes occurring.

It's our nation at its finest. When there is a disaster, it's the Americans who come to the rescue. American, a nation born through the Grace and Goodness of God, is now the hope arising out of the disaster. We who have been so blessed by God are giving from our blessing.

Fayetteville City Council, Amended HMR Tax

Tomorrow night, Fayetteville City Council will be voting on referring an amended ordinance to the voters at a special election, possibly in March. The amended ordinance (No.3900) would allow the use of the Parks Hotel, Motel & Restaurant Tax (HMR) to be used for the maintenance of City Parks. Tonight’s Parks & Recreation Advisory Board (PRAB) had a lively discussion about it. We all approve of the flexibility the amended ordinance would give the Parks Department in using the funds for needed maintenance. Fayetteville has been very good in building more parks and trails and Fayetteville has the best parks and trails in NWA. The added trails and parks have placed a burden on the Park’s maintenance budget and the amended ordinance would help.

There is a flaw in the proposed amended ordinance. Members of PRAB were concerned that it would be possible for the City Council to eliminate Park maintenance from the General Budget and have all of the Park’s Maintenance money come from the HMR. The City Council would do it to help with balancing the General Budget, particularly attractive if that budget was say 2 million dollars in the red. Theoretically the Parks budget could lose over a million dollars and the citizens of Fayetteville would lose the ability to develop and construct current or more parks.

I’m sure the current City Council members would say they wouldn’t do that but there will come a time when a City Council would do it. That’s just the “nature of the beast”. It’s just too big of a temptation to take the money from the Parks budget to keep other General Budget items in the black. I’d like to see some limitations on the ability of the City Council to reduce or eliminate the Park’s Maintenance item from the General Budget. If you are a Fayetteville resident please contact your Alderman or come to the City Council meeting tomorrow, 6:00 PM, City Hall, if this is something that would concern you.

Churches Feeling the Recession

It really interesting why people are piling all over Rick Warren's Saddleback Church's request for money. I got one from my church and most of the other non-profits I support. They've all been asking for more money because of budget shortfalls. I've seen a lot of requests in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette and on TV for people to help out NWA's non-profits. Strange, no one complained about them asking for money.

I know my church is having to help more people out because of the economy. Heck, even our small groups go out and volunteer at one of the local charities or help out an individual family. I know our local food banks and shelters are serving more people.

Fine, if you don't like the idea of giving money to a church then just shut up and donate to an organization you like. If you don't like an organized religion and especially the big one that is your right. Just don't slam the people who do go to these churches and use it as a focus to help people.

Looking Good, Casey!

I took this while at Lake Fayetteville. Casey was running around in the snow having a good time. This is a one in a million shot. I just had to share because he is looking so good.

2009, Just Plain Pissed Off

I don’t remember a year that I’ve ever felt so angry. I don’t remember a year in which I yelled at the radio and TV so much. I swear my co-workers thought I was going bonkers because they’d hear me making pointed comments at apparently no one. They’ve learn to ignore my outbursts.

Never have I thought so little of my fellow Americans. How could they be so dumb to elect this President and these Congressmen to office? How could they be so blind to what is so obvious? The HopieChange was really all SmokenMirrors. We have a President and a Congress determined to destroy America’s wealth and security. President Obama and his fellow Democrats are willing to destroy America and turn it into their ideal Socialistic playground. I can see the dangers out there and it’s so maddening that so many people are oblivious to the coming disasters. It’s like watching a building go up in flames with thousands of people inside and being helpless to stop it. You see the death and destruction that’s going to occur and you are powerless to stop the ones who started the fire and unable to get people to put it out.

It’s been so frustrating to have your own Senators totally ignore the desires of their citizens. They have spit in the eyes of Arkansans and told us to shut up. Their offices have been overwhelmed with people telling them NO! but they just turned a blind eye and did what they desired. We have so much blatant corruption occurring in Washington. So much so they aren’t even ashamed of it any more. The Democrats said they were going to drain the “swamp of Corruption” but they just added more to the sewerage and arrogantly told people to “Shove Off” when confronted.

The stench from Washington is overwhelming and the Media, which should be exposing it, have slipped into bed with the Democrats. The MSM have even gone so far as to mock and abuse those who have been pointing out the corruption and Democrats desire to destroy America...

The elections of 2010 are where I hope that those who are as angry as I will begin to clean out Washington. While many look at the national elections, the Senators and House members, I hope people also look to their state and city legislators. It is time to put Legislators in office that will not look to impoverish people. It is time to have Legislators that will honor and uphold the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. It is time to have Legislators that will honor American’s freedoms. It is time to have people in office with solid Morals. We need to put people in office who aren’t greedy for power and money. If we don’t do it now, America may be lost.

Fayetteville, White Christmas

A very merry white Christmas. It was so wonderful to wake up to several inches of snow. The sun came out and it was absolutely beautiful. I couldn't waste such a gift. It took a bit of time to get into thermals, boots, coat and hats. I gave the wild birds their Christmas dinner and took Casey out for a walk. Yes! I was the first to walk all over the field. Of course, who would be dumb enough to go walking at 18 degrees with a wind chill of about 10.

Heh! Eli enjoyed the snow from the sunlit window. It'll be sad to see the snow melt. I haven't had many Christmas snows and it does make the day a bit more magical. As for the rest of the day, I've made up the fire and I have a lot of reading to do. Have a Blessed and Happy Christmas.