Update: Bahrain, Mice, Racism, and more

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Bahrain is a very small Island/ Country just west of Qatar.

Work. It’s Monday, not a lot going on as far as work. I have a small job on Wednesday; I just have to paint three doors, Tarrytown green. Fun.

Mice. Following up on my latest article about my mouse problem: I haven’t seen any mice for a few days. But I am convinced that I did have one or two mice—and I was not hallucinating. My evidence, besides seeing them, was finding a few black, small droppings under the stove, in back of the juicer, and on the bathroom floor in the corner. Gross! I am more motivated now to clean and make sure I have nothing laying around where they can nest. I would be mortified if I found a nest with baby mice in it. And I asked around to all the other apartments in my building, and no one has seen any mice. Why is it just me?

Bahrain. Just too days ago, Bahrain came on board with UAE. Now we have two nations at peace with Israel, which confirms my previous article on the fact that bible prophecy is now happening; and so, the Ezekiel Invasion (Ezek. 38, 39) is coming soon—which also means that the Rapture is coming soon. It is so exciting to see these things falling into place.

My church looking at racism. I tend not to want to talk about or hear anyone talk about racism. I think that is mainly in our past. And for the most part I think it was dealt with back in the 60’s. But our pastor has chosen to tackle it. Well, so far, I think he is doing a great job. His main motivation is evangelism in our community, which has a mixed race. So, we figure that our church should really have a mixed race of people. And, for the most part, we do.

His text was from Revelation 7:9: “After these things I looked, and behold a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb…”

So, he got from that verse that in heaven there will be a mixed race of people: all nations, tribes, and languages. It is a beautiful picture. We should not see heaven as a blend of the races, say all brown people. No. It will be multi-colored. Very colorful! And we will love and accept each other as we are. So, the main message is that we need to humble ourselves, face up to, and talk about where we are concerning how we feel about each other—people of other races. Sin wants to hide; but redemption demands honesty, humility and transparency.

But we also need to be careful and wise. Riots are not the way to deal with anything. Anger will not solve anything. And we know now that there are anarchists that want to take advantage of any hurtful situation in order to destroy our country. We don’t need another civil war. We need prayer and revival, and we need law and order to go along with it.

My reading. I just started reading Live Free Or Die, by Sean Hannity. Good grief. I had no idea that the book would be so deep. I mean, it is like a text book with tons of research. It’s a book I could definitely read more than once. There is so much in it. It is not that hard to read, just so much in it. Oh well, I will just read it slow, a little at a time. It is good. A lot of good information about our great country.

Did I See A Mouse?

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A couple days ago when I was sitting on my couch watching TV, I saw a mouse come out from under the couch; and then, as soon as I saw him, he quickly ran back under the couch again. I was startled. Did I really see what I think I saw? It was late, about midnight, so maybe I was half-asleep and it was part of a dream. I settled back into the couch, but I made sure my feet were up resting on the stool. If he came out again, I didn’t want him to crawl over my feet—or I didn’t want him to be tempted to run up my pant leg!

I will never forget the time, on the farm, when my mother was working in the garden hoeing, when suddenly we (me and my sister) saw her start wildly dancing and screaming. We found out later that a mouse had crawled up her pant leg. I didn’t ask, but I assume that the mouse found its way out. The poor mouse was probably traumatized. Just kidding! I’m sure my mom had the worst of it. Well, anyway, its 60 years since that happened and I still remember it vividly. I don’t want that to happen to me.

Still sitting on the couch, wondering if what I saw was real, I suddenly saw another mouse, or maybe the same one run across the room under the TV set. It didn’t make a sound, but I saw it…or did I?

I know that people who have Parkinson’s disease start seeing things that aren’t there. Both my mom and dad had Parkinson’s before they died and I know my mom was like that. So anyway, I’m thinking that maybe I’m also starting to see things—maybe.

The next day (Thursday) I saw the mouse again. He came out from under the couch just like before, sniffed around, and then when he saw me, he quickly ran back under.

The following day, after work, I went to Home Depot and bought a couple mouse traps and put them out. I also did some cleaning and vacuuming to get rid of anything that Mr Mouse would want to eat. I also watched a couple videos on YouTube about mice—evidence of mice. I have since been looking around. I can’t find any holes or nests, but I think I did see just a few mouse droppings, like about 5 or 6 very small ones. I have evidence! I’m not crazy!

This morning I checked the traps…nothing. This afternoon I will pull out the refrigerator and stove to check under there. And do more cleaning. If I don’t find anything, I am guessing that my mouse friend was just here for a short visit just to look around. Maybe if I keep the place clean, he (or they) won’t come back.

Since I know (from evidence) that I had, or have mice I am more convinced now that I did actually see them. But even though that may be true, I am also more thoughtful of what is down the road for me in terms of my health—possibly Parkinson’s and Dementia. On the positive side, I am more prayerful now—praying about everything, and hopeful that He will keep me in His perfect peace.

With All Due Respect, by Nikki Haley: Book Review

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I just finished reading her book. I wish I would have highlighted more lines, because she had a lot of good things to say—much wisdom. But anyway, I’ll do my best at giving you my overall thoughts and just a few details from the book.

In the first couple chapters Nikki recounted the events of the Charleston murders and how she was affected. You could definitely see her tender and caring heart through the pages—how she had a hard time holding her tears back as she went to every funeral and spoke. This happened when she was still governor.

I’m not sure most people knew this, but Trump really wanted Nikki Haley as his Secretary of State. But she turned him down. A week later he had another offer—U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. At first, she was reluctant, but she eventually agreed, which had a lot to do with her husband Michael and her family; they all were quite excited about the idea.

She recounted how the critics were doubting her ability to do the job and how she actually liked being underestimated, how it motivated her to prove them wrong. She wrote how she spent long hours reading and preparing for the job and how her family was helping her prepare.

One of the strong points of her ambassadorship was how she stood up in front of all the U.N. for Israel—how she said that she was “taking names.” She wrote how there were other countries who agreed with her on many of her bold stances but how they wouldn’t say anything out of fear. She is a lot like Trump in that they are both fighters and act and speak boldly without fear.

I really like reading how she had continual conflicts with and stood up to John Kelly and Tillerson. She recounted how their ideas of saving the country was to stay in the Iran Nuclear Deal and in the Paris climate agreement and by keeping the US embassy in Tel Aviv. She wrote how they secretly came to her and were trying to convince her that what the President was doing was wrong and that they were right. Well, you know how that ended. The President got his way and Kelly and Tillerson were fired. She said, “It was a pleasure and a relief to work with [Mike Pompeo], a Secretary of State who actually supported the President’s agenda and didn’t seek to undermine him.”

Toward the end of the book Nikki Haley wrote how she did her best to improve the situation in a couple African countries where in the refugee camps the women were constantly raped and women and children were murdered and burned alive! She told of how she stood up to the dictators and told them that she was aware of what was going on. She also wrote about what has been going on in Venezuela. But I was surprised when she said, “The day will come when the people of Venezuela and Cuba join the hemisphere of freedom.” I wish I had that same hope.

What Has Happened to Barnes and Noble?

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Just a few months ago I thought Barnes and Noble was great. They would put out all the best-selling new releases and they were all discounted. But now it’s all different. It almost seems like they have an agenda. The only books that are up-front and discounted are the books they want to sell. And not coincidentally, they are all the anti-Trump books.

Okay, I should be fair; maybe they are putting up-front the books they think will sell. Maybe. But it is more likely that they are putting up-front the books they want to sell. Whichever it is, it is very evident and offensive—at least to me. The first think you see when you walk in the door is about 50 copies of Disloyal by Michael Cohen displayed very provocatively. Then a few steps down are 30 or 40 copies of the book, Too Much-Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man, by Mary L. Trump. Disgusting! Well, it’s quite evident to me that Barnes and Noble has an agenda. They know what books they want people to buy and they will put those books up-front so we can’t miss them.

Oh, I can usually find the book I want, but it will always take me a while to find it. And it’s never discounted even though it is a best-seller.

Another Case of Bad Reporting in the Pioneer Press

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This morning I was attracted by the article in my Pioneer Press entitled “Trump ads target Minnesota, Wisconsin.” This article was doing so well for me, until I came to BIDEN’S ADS RESPOND. The first line which introduces Biden’s response begins like this: “Trump’s false depiction of Biden as a champion…”

What’s wrong with this? What’s wrong is the word “false.” Everything else is okay, but that word ruins the entire article. Why? Because journalists are supposed to report the news, not give their opinions. If there is one thing that turns me off to the media is when a reporter slips in his or her opinion of who is right or wrong. Come on; I just want to read the news. I don’t want your opinion. I can judge that for myself. If you were God or an angel or one of Christ’s apostles, I would gladly welcome your opinion, but you’re not.

I’m not against journalists reporting all the news. But when they tell you who is true or false, that’s bad reporting. The media’s job is to report the news, not tell you who they think is true or false. But I should have known that an article having anything to do with Donald Trump would be slanted toward the negative—because 99.99999 percent of all journalists are Democrat liberals who hate Trump! At least those who work for the Pioneer Press.

Well, anyway, now you know my frustration with reading the newspaper.; and why I prefer to read sports articles instead of the political news section. They just report what is happening in the sports world (unless Trump is mentioned), and some of those sports articles are very interesting to me.

Boogaloo: Terrorism in Minnesota

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If you have been hearing that the George Floyd protest is more that just local concerned people, here is proof. I read today in my morning newspaper, the Pioneer Press, how Federal authorities in Minnesota caught up with two young men, Michael Solomon from New Brighton, MN, and Benjamin Teeter from North Carolina, who are part of a radical anti-government terrorist group called Boogaloo, and were operating within the George Floyd protest group, or, you might say that they were piggy backing off of the group.

Generally speaking, this group is a loosely organized anti-government movement with the goal of starting a second American Civil war. And their method is to invade protest groups—wherever they find them—and then stir up the group to riot.

According to Wikipedia, their beliefs are not all the same. Some of them absolutely condemn racism, but others within the same group are white supremacists and Neo-Nazis. So, it seems that somehow, they have managed to unify under the banner of violence against American authority—though many ironically carry the American flag. I guess they have a different idea of what America should be.

Of course, Boogaloo is just one example of similar anti-American government groups. There are many others, maybe hundreds (with Black Lives Matter and Antifa being the most well-known), who likewise use peaceful protest groups as their base of operations; and then they will use various means to stir up protest members to riot: by vulgar speeches, throwing rocks and bricks, fire bombs and even by shooting guns.

Okay, back to the newspaper article. Apparently, these two young men (thugs) who are in this crazy Boogaloo group were interacting with an individual during the aftermath of the George Floyd incident concerning what their goals were, etc., and this individual later reported them to the FBI. Then about a month later an FBI person (or persons) posing as members of Hamas managed to get much more information from them. (I imagine that they were boasting about all they were planning to do and were not too cautious about who they were talking to.)

Here is what the FBI found regarding these two young men:

  • They espouse a violent ideology and plan to overthrow the US government.
  • They have views aligned with those of Hamas and they expressed an interest in being mercenaries for Hamas.
  • In addition to carrying firearms, they possess large quantities of ammunition.
  • They talked about committing acts of violence against police.
  • They have a desire to destroy government buildings and monuments. They said they were thinking of blowing up a courthouse in Minnesota, and also thinking of killing certain politicians.
  • They expressed an interest in making automatic weapons for the group.
  • They have a desire to attack Israel and also US soldiers.

The Marriage of The Lamb, 7 Parts

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Stephen Nielsen's avatarStudying Bible Prophecy

In the Marriage of the Lamb you may be thinking particularly of the consummation of the marriage between Christ (the Lamb) and the church, which takes place in heaven after the bema seat of Christ. However, a larger view of the marriage begins at Christ’s first coming and ends at the creation of the New Heaven and New Earth. This is the view we will present here, which, as we will see, is patterned after a typical Jewish wedding. We will present it in seven parts; first describing to you the Jewish practice, followed by how the churches marriage with Christ corresponds to that practice. The wedding begins with the betrothal.

The Betrothal Period

 The betrothal period for a Jewish marriage is the period between the time of the arrangement of the marriage and the actual marriage ceremony and consummation. That betrothal period in ancient days was sometimes quite…

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Planting Seeds of the Gospel

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In my reading today I was struck by the passage in Mark 4:26-28.

And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil;  27 and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows — how, he himself does not know.  28 “The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head.

My observation here is that God calls us to plant the seeds of the gospel. I think for a Christian that is his primary task. And that task is very simple; just plant the seed and leave it alone. God will do the rest. He will cause it to grow. Too often I think we are too concerned that we will do something wrong or not enough. So, we do nothing out of fear.

The passage says that the farmer planted the seeds in a field and then he left the field and goes about doing whatever he does: he goes to bed and gets up. I grew up on a farm and that is basically what you do. You put the seeds in a planter, then you drive the tractor back and forth over the field planting the seed, until the whole field is planted. Then you go home, put your tractor and planter away, go have supper, and eventually go to bed. There is no more that the farmer needs to do with that field. There is no more that he can do. He trusts that rain will come and water the seeds and that the seeds will grow. And that is exactly what happens—every time!

Now in the meantime, as he waits for the seeds to grow, he continues to work. Perhaps he will plant seeds in another field, or he will cultivate a field that he had previously planted, where the corn seeds had grown. The point is that he will not worry about the seeds growing; he will keep working doing whatever God calls him to do—trusting that the seed will grow as it always does without the farmers help.

I will say again that I think many of us, including myself, are not always doing what we are called to do: we are not planting seeds of the gospel. We do all kinds of Christian things, but we are not planting seeds. We are not sharing our faith: in a conversation, in a blog or tweet or text.  It doesn’t take much: a bible verse, a thought from the word, a lesson learned. Any small truth as small as a mustard seed can grow into a very large plant—which represents something very substantial that we may contribute to the kingdom of God.