HyperbAllea

“Is not my word like fire,” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces? Therefore,” declares the LORD, “I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from me. Yes,” declares the LORD, ” I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, ‘The LORD declares.’ Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” declares the LORD. “They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least,” declares the LORD. -Jeremiah 23:29-32

“From the least to the greatest,
all are greedy for gain;
prophets and priests alike,
all practice deceit.
They dress the wound of my people
as though it were not serious.
‘Peace, peace,’ they say,
when there is no peace.
Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct?
No, they have no shame at all;
they do not even know how to blush.
So they will fall among the fallen;
they will be brought down when I punish them,” says the LORD.
-Jeremiah 6:13-15

Not an hour ago I was seething. I was livid. Outraged, appalled, sickened, disgusted. I was flipping around on the TV and came to Benny Hinn’s show. (For those of you who don’t know, Benny Hinn is a usually heretical prosperity teacher who holds healing conferences and, from what I can see, swindles people out of their money all, to my dismay, in the name of Jesus.) I would normally have rapidly changed the channel, but something, maybe morbid curiosity, made me stay put. He had some guy on his show named Mike Murdock who made Benny Hinn look like a saint. The man told this “story” about how he used to be dirt poor, but felt led to give $1,000 to some ministry and from that day forward the money just came pouring in. Random people just felt led to shower him with lavish gifts…cars, jewelry, large checks. Then he told his viewers to “plant a seed” and send him $1,000, then sit back and watch the blessings roll in. (my stomach turned) Even if they didn’t have all the money right now. (gag reflex) And remember, if you don’t have any money, a “seed” can still be planted on a credit card. (a little vomit in my throat)

As a Christian, I would like to go on the record as saying that nothing this man said is remotely biblical. God would never ask you to go into credit card debt in order to give money to some televangelist. The “evangelist” part of that word is false anyway, because there isn’t a trace of the gospel in most of their messages. Contrary to what they say, God does not need your money. God does not require you to pay up before He will hear your prayers. Blessings cannot be bought. So don’t be deceived. People who speak such things claim to represent God, but they don’t. They claim to speak the word of God, but if you’ve read the Bible at all you can see that they don’t.

Here’s a video a friend posted on her blog. It very powerfully addresses exactly what I was speaking about.

Warning: There’s no telling what’s going to be written about today, and what is will probably be annoyingly random.

Had lunch with Sara today. Hadn’t seen her since my wedding. It was awesome.

Bought tickets to see Chess with Heather. Hope the actual story is as good as the music. Either way, I can’t wait to see Heather.

Helping with music for VBS this week. Might be helping the kids worship leader make a CD of kids songs. Pretty excited about that.

SO GLAD we’re finally having Bible study again tonight. It’s been three weeks and I’ve been having major withdrawals. Plus, we’re starting to talk about finances tonight…a very appropriate topic for newlyweds.

Quick rant: Why do places insist on using Ticketmaster as the only means of acquiring tickets to their events? What a rip off! Why should anyone have to pay $2.50 to print off their own tickets at home? And what the #%!(^*#%# is a convenience charge? I didn’t think it was very convenient. Ticketmaster should die.

I need sleep. And chocolate. Hmmmm……

Anyone want to go swimming?

I have a question. Do parents seriously think that their kids understand the value of practicing piano? Do they think children are naturally self-motivated? Do they really think an eight-year-old will think “I really don’t want to practice piano, but I know that with a little hard work and perseverance I can achieve excellence in musicianship”? What makes them think that piano practice is any different than homework? They don’t let their kids only do their homework when they “feel” like it. They would never let their kids quit doing their chores because they don’t really think they like it anymore.

I just wish parents would understand that I can only teach their kids new things if the old things are learned. That playing piano is only fun when work is done during the week. That they are called piano “lessons” and not piano “practice” for a reason. That it might take actually making your kid practice to get him to see what he can accomplish if he only tries. My most improved students (and, incidently, the ones who enjoy lessons the most) are the ones whose parents have them practice at the same time every day. Coincidence?

And one more completely unrelated thing…I have determined that, since Trader Joe’s is a step or two above your average neighborhood grocery store, its customers are snootier, ruder, and even less considerate than even your Harris Teeter customers. I have never seen so many people blocking entire aisles because they think they have the right. I even had one lady practically push my cart out of the way because I was standing in front of what she wanted to look at…I was looking at it too, by the way.

So I’ve decided I shouldn’t go to Trader Joe’s by myself anymore. I need distraction to keep from having little fits of aisle-rage.

That is all.

I just received an email from my wedding planner…or her daughter who helps with the business. They used to have an actually store where they sold dresses and tuxes, but now they just have an office somewhere. Apparently because they don’t have an actual storefront anymore, the company who they ordered our tuxes from won’t fulfill the order. So now, just over 2 months before the wedding, we have to go out and find tuxes somewhere else. Not cool. But they are giving us a full refund and all the measurements they took, so once we find the tuxes we want, it should be easy to order.

It’s just terribly frustrating.

Flipping through the channels while eating lunch, I stopped for a moment on Fox News where they were discussing the pending bill that would give all porn sites a .xxx extension and the Child Online Protection Act that would provide criminal charges and stiff punishment for anyone who knowingly made harmful material available to minors. I personally think it’s a great idea and would prevent children (and me) from stumbling across sites I really don’t want to see. It would also make it much easier to block porn sites from computers that children use (at home, in schools, in public libraries).

Apparently (but not surprisingly) the ACLU has a problem with this proposed law, claiming it violates the first amendment right to free speech. Just in case you’re not aware of the exact wording of the first amendment, here it is: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

May I first point out that the first amendment protects our “freedom of speech”, but says nothing of our “freedom of action.” In other words, you can say anything you want and believe anything you want, but you may not do anything you want. There have been many studies on the effects pornography has on children. How does the right of a person to make and broadcast pornography supersede the right of a child to be protected from exposure to such harmful things? I don’t think anyone would claim that a person has the right to harm a child in any way. This law does not prohibit people from making pornography or making money from pornography. It just requires pornographers to notify people visiting their site that they are an adult site and make the person verify their age. In the case of the .xxx extension I think it would make it even easier for someone who was actually looking for a pornographic site to find one, so I fail to see how it would adversely affect the porn industry.

I’m not sure if I’m stating this all well. Please let me know what you think.

Was it just me, or was the mud-slinging even worse in this past week’s election? I am always amazed at the level to which politicians will stoop to make their opponents look like crap, but I think this year was a record low. Some of the ads even sounded like old WWI and II propaganda films trying to brainwash voters into choosing them. And one campaign website I visited looked and read like a supermarket tabloid. I even heard one ad where the candidate accused his opponent of mud-slinging, then proceeded to sling mud right back at him.

For once, I would love to see a candidate stand up and say, “I know my opponent has said a lot of bad things about me, but I refuse to stoop to his level. Here’s what I stand for, and if you stand for the same things, then vote for me.” Even if I didn’t believe the same thing he did, I would have a lot of admiration for that person and I think he would probably gain a lot of votes just for being “more mature” than the others.

Who’s with me?

I read in a magazine awhile back that a great home remedy for zits is to dab some toothpaste on the spot and cover it with a bandaid overnight. I had a couple of spots on my face, so I thought I’d give it a try. How was I to know that toothpaste would actually burn my skin? So now I have four lovely bright red burn spots on my face. Nice, huh? But, to the credit of the magazine article, the zits are gone.

A few days ago I was all set to sit down and write a rant about how parents don’t freakin’ control their kids when my internet connection died for the fifth time this week. If things don’t improve soon, I’m gonna call Time Warner and give someone an ear full. The last time I had trouble with my internet connection, Time Warner swore up and down that there was no outage in my area (when there obviously was, because my internet connection returned within a matter of hours with absolutely no help from them). But back to the original rant…

I realize and fully acknowledge that, not being a parent myself, I probably have no right to criticize other people’s parenting. That being said…I cannot stand when parents repeatedly threaten their screaming kids with punishment, but never follow through. I hate when parents try to reason and reach a compromise with their tantrum-throwing three-year-old. Don’t they realize they are creating the behavior? If you never follow through with punishment, the child will walk all over you. Why do so many parents seem to be scared that punishing their children will make them hate them? Why do so many parents want to be their kids friends instead of their authorities? It’s bad! Stand up! Be the boss! You’re an adult and they’re a kid. DO NOT let those roles be switched. Why is this so hard for people to understand?

And apparently no one is taught manners anymore. As I was walking out of the Apple store last week with my sister, three teenage boys approached the store to enter. Now I was raised in the South and am used to certain procedures for such situations, so I was absolutely appalled when the boys attempted to push their way in the door at the same moment we were exiting. First of all, everyone knows that when entering through a double door you are supposed to use the door on the right…pedestrian rules=traffic rules. Rachel and I were following that rule…boys were not. Second, if a man approaches a door at the same time as a woman, he is supposed to hold the door for her out of respect. I was so taken aback by these boys that we almost had a manners lecture right there in the doorway of the Apple store, but it took me a minute to recover, so the boys were spared. But be warned…the next person who does something so obviously rude and thoughtless in my presence might just get a lecture.

Ah.  I’ve been wanting to get that off my chest for a few days.  Good job, internet connection.

All I want to do is learn to sew.  Yes, I somehow misplaced my power cord/foot control, but is that any reason I should be punished?  Am I the first person in the world to do that?  Apparently so, because no one seems to be able to tell me how to get a replacement…with the exception of the one website I found where I can order it for $50.  $50 for a power cord seems a little steep to me, but if I can’t find it anywhere else, I suppose I will have to suck it up and pay.  It’s just kind of annoying though.  I just want to be able to use my sewing machine.  Is that too much to ask?

I wrote this “rant” awhile back, but everything still applies to what I see every day driving around Cary and Apex. Hope you enjoy…

This list has been inspired by the drivers that risk their lives and the lives of others every day on the roads around my house in Apex and my work in Cary. Were it not for the complete and utter carelessness and stupidity of these so-called “drivers” the items featured on this list would not have been brought to my attention. I offer this page as a guide to incompetent drivers in Cary, Apex, and throughout the nation. Most of you took driver’s education. All of you have free access to the traffic laws in your area. Please. I beg of you. Take advantage of these resources and don’t drive like an idiot.

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