The Town Hall for Hope has finally been uploaded to Hulu.com. I went and saw it "live" via simulcast with my friend, Stacey. It was pretty inspiring. It is about 90 minutes long, but totally worth the time. Watch it over and over again with friends. Dave is hilarious, yet insightful.
There is hope out there.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Redistribution of Wealth
Source
An economics professor at Texas Tech said he had never failed a single student before but had, once, failed an entire class. The class had insisted that socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich… a great equalizer. The professor then said ok, we will have an experiment then on whether socialism makes for good economic policy.
All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A. After the first test the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. But, as the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too; so they studied little. The second test average was a D! No one was happy. When the 3rd test rolled around the average was an F.
The scores never increased as bickering, blame, name calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else. All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great; but when government takes all the reward away; no one will try or want to succeed.
Could it be any simpler than that?
An economics professor at Texas Tech said he had never failed a single student before but had, once, failed an entire class. The class had insisted that socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich… a great equalizer. The professor then said ok, we will have an experiment then on whether socialism makes for good economic policy.
All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A. After the first test the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. But, as the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too; so they studied little. The second test average was a D! No one was happy. When the 3rd test rolled around the average was an F.
The scores never increased as bickering, blame, name calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else. All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great; but when government takes all the reward away; no one will try or want to succeed.
Could it be any simpler than that?
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
Anne Murray:Little Good News
Anne Murray:Little Good News
I rolled out this morning
Kids had the mornin' news show on
Bryant Gumbel was talkin' 'bout the fighting in Lebanon
Some senator was squawkin' 'bout the bad economy
It's gonna get worse you see, we need a change in policy
There's a local paper rolled up in a rubber band
One more sad story's one more than I can stand
Just once how I'd like to see the headline say
"Not much to print today, can't find nothin' bad to say", because
Nobody robbed a liquor store on the lower part of town
Nobody OD'ed, nobody burned a single buildin' down
Nobody fired a shot in anger, nobody had to die in vain
We sure could use a little good news today
I'll come home this evenin'
I'll bet that the news will be the same
Somebody takes a hostage, somebody steals a plane
How I wanna hear the anchor man talk about a county fair
And how we cleaned up the air, how everybody learned to care
Whoa, tell me
Nobody was assassinated in the whole Third World today
And in the streets of Ireland, all the children had to do was play
And everybody loves everybody in the good old USA
We sure could use a little good news today
Nobody robbed a liquor store on the lower part of town
Nobody OD'ed, nobody burned a single buildin' down
FADE
Nobody fired a shot in anger, nobody had to die in vain
We sure could use a little good news today
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Something to Ponder
I brought this question to my students!
A father and his, one and only, son love each other very much. The two are nearly inseparable. One day, the son asks his father if he can join him at the bridge. The bridge is where his father works as an operator - raising a drawbridge when a boat must pass and lowering it when the train arrives.
On the one day that his son joins his father at work, a train arrives early and the bridge is up. His son tries to alert his father the train is coming, but his father cannot hear him. So, the boy rushes to the base of the bridge to throw the switch manually, enabling the drawbridge to drop and let the train safely pass. But, as he tries, he falls into the drawbridge wheel and pulley mechanism. At that moment, from the tower, his father sees his son fall and the train coming toward the bridge at full steam. He has only a moment to decide. He must do one of two things .
a. Save his son and let the train wreck with hundreds of passengers on board (who will surely die when it plunges hundreds of feet into the icy waters below).
OR
b. Save the train by pulling the lever at the tower that will lower the bridge, but will cause his son to be crushed.
1. You're the father, what would you do if those were your only two options?
My girls thought the knew the "right" answer. I had to convince them that was no "right" answer. I try to get them to think outside the christian box. The "right" answer would be to save the people on the train and let your son die because that would segway nicely into the crucifiction comparison. I brought it in a little different direction. I asked my girls to ponder what they would really do. I don't have kids yet so i can't know for sure what I would do, but I so have friends that have kids. If it was my best friend's daugher, Kariana or one of my friend Chrissy's kids I dont think i would even hesitate. I have known these kids since they were born. They aren't my children but I would risk my life for these kids. Would watching Kariana die be worth saving 100 people that i don't know...I don't think it would be.
I know if I would be willing to save someone else's child that I would definetly save my own. When God looked down at his son dieing for all of us he could have stopped it but he didn't. God had all the power in the world to stop the crucifiction but he loved us so much that he let his son die. Aren't you glad that God isn't like us. Knowing that I couldnt watch my child die makes what God did so much more special. I can't even imagine how hard it must of have been for God to watch his son die.
I had my girls read John 3:16 and think about what that really meant. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only son so that who ever believed in him shall not perish but have everlasting life."
2. What if you were the son? How would you feel?
Would you understand what your father was doing or would you be thinking about self-preservation? Even Jesus asked God to change his mind about what was going to happen to him, but he was willing to do God's will. He understood why he had to die.
On the one day that his son joins his father at work, a train arrives early and the bridge is up. His son tries to alert his father the train is coming, but his father cannot hear him. So, the boy rushes to the base of the bridge to throw the switch manually, enabling the drawbridge to drop and let the train safely pass. But, as he tries, he falls into the drawbridge wheel and pulley mechanism. At that moment, from the tower, his father sees his son fall and the train coming toward the bridge at full steam. He has only a moment to decide. He must do one of two things .
a. Save his son and let the train wreck with hundreds of passengers on board (who will surely die when it plunges hundreds of feet into the icy waters below).
OR
b. Save the train by pulling the lever at the tower that will lower the bridge, but will cause his son to be crushed.
1. You're the father, what would you do if those were your only two options?
My girls thought the knew the "right" answer. I had to convince them that was no "right" answer. I try to get them to think outside the christian box. The "right" answer would be to save the people on the train and let your son die because that would segway nicely into the crucifiction comparison. I brought it in a little different direction. I asked my girls to ponder what they would really do. I don't have kids yet so i can't know for sure what I would do, but I so have friends that have kids. If it was my best friend's daugher, Kariana or one of my friend Chrissy's kids I dont think i would even hesitate. I have known these kids since they were born. They aren't my children but I would risk my life for these kids. Would watching Kariana die be worth saving 100 people that i don't know...I don't think it would be.
I know if I would be willing to save someone else's child that I would definetly save my own. When God looked down at his son dieing for all of us he could have stopped it but he didn't. God had all the power in the world to stop the crucifiction but he loved us so much that he let his son die. Aren't you glad that God isn't like us. Knowing that I couldnt watch my child die makes what God did so much more special. I can't even imagine how hard it must of have been for God to watch his son die.
I had my girls read John 3:16 and think about what that really meant. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only son so that who ever believed in him shall not perish but have everlasting life."
2. What if you were the son? How would you feel?
Would you understand what your father was doing or would you be thinking about self-preservation? Even Jesus asked God to change his mind about what was going to happen to him, but he was willing to do God's will. He understood why he had to die.
Psalm 23:1-6 -- The Lord is Our Comfort
Psalm 23
A psalm of David.
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
A psalm of David.
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Celebrating our 2 Year Anniversary
Today we are celebrating our 2nd year of marriage. It has been a really exciting year. We paid of our credit cards, bought a house, starting working 2 jobs, paid off our cars, starting saving up money to fix the house up, spent time with friends and family...and so much more. It seemed like this year when by SO FAST.I am so blessed though. God has been providing for us like crazy. I am so thankful for my amazing husband. I'm looking forward to the many years ahead of us. It's been an adventure, but so worth it.
Last Sunday, we went to Famous Daves for our Anniversary. We hadn't been there since they had the fire. I forgot how much I loved their food. It was so good. Tonight after work, we are going to pick up what I got him for our Anniversary. Pictures of them will come once he has it all put together.
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