Something Interesting...And Horray for Friday

I received this as an email from my old boss. I thought it was very interesting.

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.

My confession:I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry Christmas" to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a crche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat. Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking. Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this happen?" (regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?"

In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK.

Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW."

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace. Are you laughing? Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it. Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us. Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.
My Best Regards. Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein

Finally...HORRAY FOR FRIDAY :)

Have a good weekend,

Michelle

The Amazing Race...YOUTH ALMIGHTY style

Tonight I had the great opportunity to chaufer 6 teenagers around in our youth groups version of "The Amazing Race" and it was so fun. We started at the church with pumpkin bowling. After each task completion the kids received another clue and we as drivers were not allowed to help them figure them out. That was so hard because I usually knew the answer except to one of them. They even had to tell me were to drive and how to get there. I couldn't just take them to the next spot. After the pumpkin bowling it was off to a local high school to either run around the track or kick a 10 yard field goal. From there we had to go to the pastors house and one of the kids had to either eat candy or smoked fish. The girl in my van ended up getting the smoked fish. She did awesome though and ate it in like 2 minutes. Next it was off to another person from our church to either rake a bag of leaves or find a hidden pumpkin. The kids split up and half did one and the other half did the other and we left when the first group got done.

Then we got lost because the kids misunderstood the clue, and so did I. We thought it meant a race track because the clue said that you were towed and got to the starting line. It was talking about the ski hill in the area because you are towed to the top of the hill to get to the starting line. We probably lost about 20 minutes trying to figure that one out. From there it was to another person house from our church. There the kids had to make up a rap about YOUTH ALMIGHTY and the guy at the house had to say if it was ok or not. He did so the kids got the next clue. For that one we had to go to a gas station. There the kids could either pump gas for 3 customers or eat some beef jerky looking things. They chose to eat and ate them really fast. The last place we had to go was to another house of a person from the church and the kids had to first find the clue in the dark, which was hard enough on its own, and then they had to honk the horn of the persons 18 wheeler. Then it was back to the church to the finish line. We did not come in first, but we also did not come in last. I have never done anything like that before, so I didn't know what to expect. I had so much fun, though, and would totally do it again.