Conservatives Will be the First to Go

Revelation Chapter 13 chronicles the rise of the False Prophet and the Antichrist, who are given their power by the great Dragon, Satan.  We read that this evil trinity will impose a mark on the world.  No one will be able to buy or sell anything lest they carry this mark.  Such a worldwide system of control was not technologically possible until now.  Make no mistake friend, the time is short, and the Tribulation is at the door.

The machinations of the US government in terms of spying are unprecedented.  They have built massive data collection sites,  where the NSA is storing trillions of kilobytes of Data.  They are monitoring and cataloging every key stroke you make, every word you say on social media, even conversations that you hold in your home can be recorded via microphones in computers, smart TVs and smartphones.  They have the ability to watch you via your laptop camera.  Your phone calls home to your wife are being recorded.  They are cataloging your web photos for facial recognition.  They are determining which businesses are approved and starving the ones who don't fall in line with their master plan by pressuring banks to drop the accounts.  US Police are no longer required to protect and serve but instead must enforce the law.  The National Guard has had helicopters confiscated and put into federal control.  Free speech is under worldwide attack and men no longer tolerate biblical and moral teachings.  We could go on for hundreds of pages, all sited and documented, but the stage is set.

The last kingdom in Nebuchadnezzar's dream has not yet come to pass, the feet of clay and iron with ten toes.  We see these ten kingdoms in Revelation 12 and Revelation 13.  The great harlot of Revelation 17 is the last great false religion and is represented by a woman riding on the beast.  This image currently resides outside of the EU Parliament Building in Strasbourg, FR.

The blind public will read the above with a ho hum.  This is obvious, as all of the above are not a blip on the radar.  The enemy is before you but the game is on and the wife just came in with KFC, so who cares?  These blind dupes will cheer with joy at the ascension of the Man of Perdition, who has come to save the World.  They will gladly line up to take their microchip, they are as like lemmings over a cliff.

The church will be gone.  The Great Restrainer will be caught up in the air with Christ and the man of lawlessness shall be revealed.  Those who have heard the Gospel and rejected it will be given a powerful delusion and believe the Antichrist.

What of my conservative friends, my Tea Party Patriots, who love what the US used to be and have worked tirelessly and futility to put things right?  You have already been demonized.  The Left calls you all sorts of vile names designed to marginalize you and they have succeeded brilliantly. Make no mistake, if you are a conservative that is not a Christian, you will be the first to go.  They have your name, they have your face, they have your bank account, they know you friends, they monitor your car by its GPS, the listen to your calls, they will control your job and you will be an enemy of the state.  The independent patriotic fervor that you hold may prevent you from accepting the new world order but your life here on this Earth will be in immediate peril and you will be hunted and killed like an animal.

I do not write these words lightly but I write them in obedience for it is clearly written what is coming, it is clearly demonstrated in the signs of the times.  I weep for you if you have not accepted Jesus as your Savior, it is written that God wishes all to be saved and has provided a way for you to avoid the trial to come and to not be present at the Final Judgement.  For there will be no where for you to hide on that terrible day but know this that every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.  You can do it now or you will do it later, your choice.

(Author's Note - Originally Published on 3/1/2014 - please comment below if some of the links are broken.)

I Can Not Believe We Are Still Here

I must repeat that phrase five times a week.  "I can't believe we are still here."  When this life becomes absurd, we will shake our heads in wonder, look up to the sky and sigh.

Largely, we've become numb to the craziness surrounding us, we don't process earthquakes, famine, or super storms.  We've stopped being shocked by falling meteors, groaning earth sounds, or strange cities appearing in the Chinese sky.  UFO's are passe.

Ghost City in China

The absolute insanity of the culture does not even phase us.  Idea of gender fluidity is so sick and twisted it can only come from the pits of hell.  Yet society feels Christians are the ones with the problem because we recognize the mental illness behind such a thing.

A devout Communist is running for President and the lost among us flock to his rallies.  What has become of us?

The moral compass is spinning out of control.  Since the secular have no firm foundation for right and wrong, the whims of society dictate their thoughts and feeling; they are becoming more and more deranged.  They tolerate no opposing views or speech and react with violence and bullying if you dare to disagree.

Violent Left Wing Mobs

All of the dominoes are lined up for the fulfillment of prophecy, everything.  Look at the 30 Days of Birth Pangs from August/September 2015, these things haven't stopped, they've accelerated.  Yet we remain.  

The underpinnings of the Tribulation are everywhere:

The war on cash sets up the Anti-Christ's system of economic control (Revelation 13:17)
The war on gender fits in with Satan's hatred of humans as God's imagers (Genesis 1:26)
The normalization of LGBT behavior with elevate the Anti-Christ as he is described as not having a desire for women (Daniel 11:37)
The merging of world religions have begun in earnest (Revelation 13:15 and Revelation 14:9)

Interfaith - Chrislam

The destruction of Syria is right before our eyes (Isaiah 17:1)

Damascus in Rubble

In the end, we must abide and hold the faith.  We must remember that God is not slow in keeping his promises but is patient and wanting all to come to repentance.  (2 Peter 3:9).

Days of Judgement - Did He Really Just Say That?

Abigail and Dolley readers do you ever listen to global and national leaders speak and wonder what reality they are living in?  We watch the news and furl our brow in disbelief, like a Superman Comic, we've fallen into "Bizarro World".  Nothing is as it seems and truth is a rare commodity.

Here are some examples: Attorney General Loretta Lynch told a group of Muslims in Washington last night that her 'greatest fear' since the Paris terror attack is retaliatory violence against members of the religion. Lynch said as a prosecutor, she worries that the anti-Muslim rhetoric 'will be accompanied by acts of violence,' and said, 'We cannot give in to the fear that these backlashes are really based on.' (source)

Boldfaced Lies

Barack Obama has declared 22 times that "Climate Change is a the biggest threat we face." (source)

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan declared, "Some of our best and biggest allies in this struggle and fight against radical Islamic terror are Muslims, the vast vast vast majority of whom are peaceful, who believe in pluralism and freedom, democracy and individual rights.” (source)  Ryan obviously has fallen under major delusions about Islam and its ultimate goals.

These are statements from the last seven days... these people have all fallen under a judgement clearly defined in Isaiah 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

The judgement upon them is pronounced:   2 Thessalonians 9-12 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Brainwashed and Confused

We live in a wicked time where darkness has descended upon the earth, an evil whose time was foretold since ancient times.  This is no surprise to those waiting and watching but must be quite confusing to those without a biblical understanding and worldview.  It is time for choosing, the hour grows late, soon you will not even know you are being lied to.

Days of Judgement - The Idol of Education

Recently, the Lord has been showing me the various ways that His Judgement is upon this nation and the world.

Exodus 20:4-5 "You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,"

We have made education an idol.  By proclaiming education is the answer to all social ills:  poverty, racism, crime, sexism, bigotry, we worship at the alter of education.  I start with education because I believe it was the Supreme Courts Ruling against prayer in schools that begun the Judgement we are seeing today.  The 1962 ruling is a watershed moment; for more on how this effected education, look at these shocking statistics.  What I find interesting is that we seemed to have stopped measuring the effects.  A quick Google search turns up several sites but most of them stop with figures from the early 1990's.  Perhaps it's too depressing to contemplate, even for statisticians.

"Visiting iniquity upon the  children to the third and fourth generations to those who hate Me."  Approximately 4 generations of children have gone through public schools K-12 since the ruling.  Dr. Wendy Bradshaw's resignation letter to the Polk Country School Board has reverberated with parents, students, and teachers across the country, the picture it paints is stark and startling.  There is a hopelessness and frustration in the letter that captures what so many Americans feel today on an entire host of issues.

Universities have become corrupt cesspools of liberal fascism and ignorance.  College students will sign petitions to ban water, kill babies up to five year old, and repeal the bill of rights.  Tuition bankrupts students intellectually and monetarily while giving them little of what it takes to become a functioning and contributing member of society.  Students are concerned with idiotic issues like gender specific pronouns being acts of micro-aggression.  Professors have to give "Trigger Warnings" to the pampered students because these fragile souls might get their feelings hurt!  This new generation of kids... well, even this liberal professor is afraid of them.

From Common Core, to the skyrocketing cost of tuition and student debt, to zero tolerance policies that expose ridiculous loss of common sense.  In the end, the thing that we have loved so much has become ridiculous.  Sadly, even the church is not immune to this false worship.  The Lord's Judgement of the education system is clear to those with the eyes to see. 

Celebrating in the Rain

Abigail and Dolley readers my heart is broken.  Like the hearts of true believers we wept before the Lord yesterday after the latest SCOTUS rulings.  Evil declarations against the sovereignty of Israel, Obamacare, and the sanctity of marriage ooze from the court like ominous black slime that engulfs the land in sin.  The lost and deceived rejoice, thinking that their brokenness will at last be healed.  While the wicked rulers smirk with their smug minions that "they" have "won".  They are fools and will fall to the righteous judgement of the Almighty.

About 9:30 last evening, a powerful thunderstorm moved over my home.  I was drawn to watch.  I peered out the window but could not quite see, I the opened the door and was pelted with rain, so I went to the garage and opened the door.  Rushing water, reverberating thunder, and brilliant lightning greeted my weary soul.  I stood in the silence of the garage while the storm raged around me.

Pelting Rain in the Night

I was compelled to step outside but an invisible hand held me back, "No my child, you must not go into it.  You are safe and protected in here."  I was quiet and watched.  The rain came down in mighty sheets and the downspout quivered against the house as water spewed from it like a fire hose.  I could see the flashes of light but not the bolts; I wanted to SEE, so I moved to get a better look, and again I was brought back inside.  The rain splattered my bare feet and dirt and debris from the tumult splattered on my legs.  I fidgeted, the rain was not clean, my feet shifted and I sought to wipe them on the concrete but they picked up more small leaves and dirt.

Then I saw, "Lord, it's pouring rain outside and they are dancing in the streets.  I am standing here yelling at them that it is raining your wrath and they can not hear me.  My feet are splattered with filth but they are covered in it."

Celebrating in the Rain

Ruefully, I heard "Go inside now, they can't hear you."

Jesus Refutes Replacement Theology

Abigail and Dolley readers I've got to tell you, I was raised in a denomination that believed that when the Jews rejected Christ they were cut off from the Lord and that the church took the place of Israel.  It made sense to me so I parroted this idea in a 12th Grade Drama Class; I was challenged by a Jewish Student, who I did not know was Jewish, until that moment.  He refuted that notion with the simple words, "That's not true."  I was taken aback and ashamed of what I'd said; the Holy Spirit convicted me.  What I'd been taught was wrong.  God does not break his covenants, ever.  There is a deeper truth and one that had I stayed within my denomination I would never learn.  

This doctrine is taught to multiple millions in Christendom.  It's origins go back to the early days of the church, where the Greek church refused to receive the Apostle John (3 John 1:9-11).  Some early church Fathers attempted to exclude the Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation.  Thus, the stage was set from the beginning for this replacement doctrine that the willfully excludes the Jews and the teaching of prophecy.

This church persecutes believers who hold fast and true to the teachings of the Bible.  They marginalize us, using lofty tolerant words that paint us as haters, when they are in fact enemies of truth and the Word of God.

The Lord Jesus Christ has the final say in this and His words are chilling:  Revelation 3:9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

Read it carefully and let the Holy Spirit give you understanding.  This says that those that preach replacement theology, that say they are Jews but are not, will become the final church of Satan, this apostate Tribulation church.  They will be made to bow at the feet of the church that held fast to the Word of God.

Oh, Brothers and Sisters I beseech you, do not believe these lies coming from the pulpits across the world, these doctrines of demons (1 Timothy 4:1), this wide gate theology that convicts and reproofs no one.  1 John 2:19 implores you to not believe the lies and warns that they are trying to lead you astray 1 John 2:29.

Modern Laodicea - The Community Church

In general, the gathering/emergent/community/seeker friendly is identified as the last church, Laodicea.  Historically, they are the last to develop, having come to prominence and existence largely in the last 30 years.  Who were the Laodiceans and what does the Bible have to say about them?

Church Cafe

The text of Revelation 3:15 “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! Note, this is a busy church.  They have tons of events, social hour, coffee time, life groups ect - but they are lukewarm.

Revelation 3:16 But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! Jesus rejects the lukewarm, these people think they are saved but they are deceived.  This may refer to the water supply available in Laodicea and two nearby cities, Hierapolis and Colossae. Hierapolis was the site of hot, spa-like waters, used for medicinal purposes. Nearby Colossae was known for its cold and pure drinking water. (source)  If only the message was as hot as the designer coffee.

Revelation 3:17-18 You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. So I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see.  Clothing in the bible, is righteousness and only given to believers through coming to the cross in faith.

Mega Screen

Revelation 3;19 I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.  20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. 21 Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne.

The community church is Laodicean with a form of godliness devoid of power. Speaking in general terms and from a congregant that wandered around in this pathetic scene for a decade searching for a church that would feed me, this is what I observed:

• The hipster pastor downloads his sermon series. 
• The music is thumping but it is inward focused and reads like a 1st grade primer. 
• The special effects show is entertaining with trapeze acts and fairy dust coming from the stadium rafters. There are life groups (dysfunctional group counseling sessions), sports ministry (where coaches cheat and parents scream from the sidelines), and manly men's groups called Bible Study in a Bar. 
• There is Gay Sunday where everyone wears rainbows and talk about how the Jesus they love celebrates homosexuality. 
• They pour their money into the offering plates and the hipster pastor and his wife live in $6 million houses but claim not to take a salary from the "church". 
• There are 40ft screens for audio video presentations, a cafe, book store, but no cross. 

The worst offender in the group is that there is no meat preached, ever.  New Christians are never fed anything approaching solid food.  If they do actually get saved, they remain perpetual babies in the faith, carnal, and easy prey for wolves.

Mature believers that wander into this mix can't quite put their finger on the deep dissatisfaction they feel.  Everything is so nice and new!  The people are friendly, the musicians are good, then why are they so empty?  They convince themselves that it's just them, after all, this is the 5th church they have tried in as many years.

It's Vacation Bible School for Adults, every Sunday.  They should pass out crayons with their sermon notes and connect cards, at least then people would know what they were getting into.  On second thought, I got more meat in my 5 year old Vacation Bible School Class so maybe that isn't such a witty observation.

Jesus says, "I stand at the door and knock", He wants in Community Church but fair warning, to paraphrase CS Lewis, He is Good but He is not Tame.

(Disclaimer - this is a commentary, written from a broad stroke perspective, there are of course exceptions to these rules and many churches that are structured like this doing God's work.)

Interview Pit Falls

There are thousands of articles on the internet about interviewing, techniques, and ways to prepare for a meeting with a prospective employer.  This is not one of them, this is simply a collection of anecdotes and perhaps some interesting insights that are not the same ole same ole.

You showed up too early - while some might appreciate the eagerness, I do not.  Corporate cuts have eliminated the receptionist in most small to medium offices.  This means that the person you are interviewing with is the one that will be called to greet you at the door and get you settled in.  A good executive prioritizes their tasks and runs a tight schedule.  If the prospective employee shows up 15 or 20 minutes early, they may put unnecessary pressure on the person they are interviewing with.  Small and growing offices may have expanded into the "lobby" and "the conference room" and there is no true place for the interviewee to sit and wait.  It's a good idea to arrive early but stay in your car until just a few minutes before you are supposed to meet with the hiring authority.

You peed on the seat - I swear this happened.  The candidate was not hired.

You did not follow directions to the facility and then called the interviewer to walk you through them because you were late and lost - I really don't even know why I sat down with this person when they finally made it to the office.  Our office was a bit difficult to find on a GPS, so I explained that in an email to the candidate and told them to follow these simple directions, they did not.  The candidate was not hired.

You spoke negatively about your old job/boss/co-workers - an interview is not a complaint session about your current or former situation - blaming or deflecting blame is a big warning sign.

You kept trying to fill in your ideas about the job you were interviewing for instead of listening to the need and requirements of the position - just because the title is same, it does not mean that the duties and expectations from one company to the next are.  Eagerness to demonstrate your qualifications is one thing but constantly going into specifics that don't apply the current position is a big no no.

There are dozens of other reasons but I suspect they have been covered ad nauseam .  These are a few interesting tid bits to help along the journey.

Death of the Branch Manager

Abigail and Dolley readers for a nice change of pace, let's look at the current mindset of corporate America.
 Keep in mind, big business by and large is now completely dominated by leftists.  They are running companies the way they run government - from the top down.

(Disclaimer:  This blog is a broad stroke observation of the last 15 years in corporate america, it is not necessarily my personal experience nor is it an indictment of a specific company, past or present.  It is inspired by observations, news reports, friends and colleagues who all share their tales of woe.  It is not industry specific as these stories come from banking to retail to manufacturing to logistics to education.)

They have embraced the "economy of scale buys efficiency and cost saving model" with a reckless abandon.  Ignoring lost revenues, lost business, low customer satisfaction, and low employee morale they venture forth adding more and more layers of bureaucracy and processes.  Ivory Tower executives double down on failure and assert it is the people, the customers, and the soft markets fault - never stopping to consider that their MBA inspired plan is wrong.

It started with the destruction of the Branch Manager.  At one point, being a Branch Manager was the best job around.  They were captains of their ships, miniature CEO's, empowered to make money for the company, take care of the customer, and attract the best talent.  Capitalism at it's finest.  Market pressure would drive quality and the best and the brightest would make themselves and their company a handsome profit.

Influence by socialist university professors and executive MBA's, the Branch Manager's pivotal position has been largely eliminated or reduced in power to be completely ineffective.  It is destroying American Capitalism.

The Destruction of America - Right Before Our Eyes

About 2 am on Election Day 2012, I crawled out of bed praying fervently that the news was better than it had been when I went to bed.  I opened my laptop and on the screen was a picture of the Obamas, walking on stage as a family with the headline, "Four More Years."  I wept bitterly, as you would over a terminal cancer diagnosis for a loved one.  It was in that moment that I realized that we were not going to remain the shining city on the hill, the beacon of light and hope for the world - we were going to fall away (2 Thessalonians 3).

Up until that very moment, I believed that the United States would cease to be a player in the End Times because the Rapture would wipe us out.  Who could have ever imagined we would be where we are today?  When Obama was first elected, I was sick to my stomach.  Speaking to my Sister the morning after, she confirmed that the Holy Spirit inside of her recoiled at the man, mine always has.  I have never listened to a speech of his; he has been in the public arena since 2007 and have never been able to hear him without major warning bells reverberating through my spirit.  The optimist in me hoped that it would be like the Clinton years and that the favorable press coverage would encourage the economy out of the downward spiral we were experiencing in the days after the crash.  I was wrong.

The 2015 Super Bowl Through a Christian's Eyes

Abigail and Dolley readers I married a football fanatic; a dyed in the wool, NY Giants #19 jersey wearing, face painting, LT stat quoting, New Jersey boy.  The first fall we were together, I was astounded at how much football a person could watch. Sunday mornings were about "Big Breakfast" and Sport's Center, rarely church.  Then the Panther's came to town and it was about tailgating and games.  In 1997, something happened.... my football fanatic got saved.  For a while he went to games but stopped his covert topless bar forays.  He kept watching but he started looking at coaching decisions, draft picks, and game plans in a more critical light.

In 2004, he led the decision to turn off our cable TV and with it any and all broadcast football.  We have effectively lived for 11 years without it. I write this back story, to properly frame the rest of this blog.  We are not football haters but the time we've spent removed from the game has given us a perspective that many do not have.  It is along that vein that I write about this year's Super Bowl from a spiritual perspective.

The League:

If sports in America is a god, then NFL football is chief among them, the American Zeus.  He commands sacrifice; time, money, and Sunday church.  We give allegiance to the under gods of teams; we wear their colors, we praise them loudly in the stands, we sing songs of worship to them in the form of "fight songs".  We adore the players, devote ourselves to study and commentary, and trust the appointed coaches to "Take us all the way".  It is in this spirit, this environment, that we enter the final frenzy of the year; The Superbowl.  Through discerning eyes this is a train wreck of American Society.  Let's look at each aspect:

The Commercials:

Through the guise of humor and just darn good fun, we see commercials mocking God and creation, poking fun at the coming judgement, elevating false religions of Scientology and Humanism, glamorizing a drug dealer, perpetuation of the coming deception of Alien life forms and super powered humans - throw in a bit of female exploitation and gender confusion and you've got quite a cocktail going!

Now, there were some great ones in the mix:  the Nissan commercial to Cat's in the Cradle, the Dove Real Men Care Commercial, the touching domestic violence pizza delivery call, the dark Nationwide commercial about childhood accidents, the McDonald's pay with love - those were all great.  What I am trying to do is point out the ones that are not, the ones that will fly under the radar, the ones that you might not ever consciously process.

The Half Time Show:

My son was quite keen to watch the half time show.  I was busy in the kitchen but said to him, "Watch for the Satanic signs and tell me what you see."  He rolled his eyes at me, and started watching.  "Hey, look Mom, she's wearing a dress like she's on fire and there is fire all around her.  Oh, and now she's riding some kind of beast with glowing red eyes and she's roaring!  Geez, Mom maybe you are right."

There is some good analysis by the Vigilant Christian and White Rabbit on the occult symbolism in this performance.  The overt reference to the Revelation 17: 3 of the woman riding the Beast, dressed in the fires of hell (Isaiah 66:24) and the roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8) well, those are right out of Scripture.  Later, they put dancing beach balls and surf boards all around her because "Hey, this is just good clean fun.  Nothing to see here."  As she sings about kissing girls, skin tight jeans, teenage dreams, and going all the way tonight... nope, nothing to see.

The Game:

I didn't watch it but I observed the hubby and son.  They were bored in the first half, my son went off and read his book.  The second half, something was wrong - it was wrong from the start.  Hubby kept exclaiming, "What are you doing?"  "I can't believe they are throwing the ball!"  "What is going on here?"  "You've got to be kidding me!  That is the worst play calling I have ever seen!" and finally, "WHAT?"  He closed the laptop, "That was just awful.  The NFL... it's just not a good product any more."

The Winner:

By all accounts, the winner of the game was not the better team.  The Patriots did not win the game per se, the Sea Hawks seemed to have lost the game.  There is about the winners an air of cheating, the aura that they are shady, and not all together honest.

In all, there is a microcosm of America today, where the best don't win, where the cheaters come out ahead to everyone's surprise.  Where the evil behind the scenes invades your living room with smiling cartoon trees and catchy pop tunes but then you sprinkle in some of the good, some of what is left of us that is still worth celebrating.

It's sad to watch and for those of us who can see, it's hard to look at.

Tomboys - Our Girls are in Danger

Abigail and Dolley readers I've been reflecting on Donna Douglas, the starlet who passed away last weekend.  By all accounts, she was a lovely Christian woman of faith and integrity.  Usually, I would read something like this, ponder it for a moment and then move on.  Apparently though, the Lord wanted to bring something to mind and I kept thinking about her.  Over and over again through the weekend, I found I was drawn back to her story and her character of Ellie Mae Clampett.  Then it dawned on me, Ellie Mae was a tomboy and if she were alive today in Hollywood they would turn her from a beautiful young lady into a lesbian/transgender character.

Our Tomboys are in danger.  Girls of yesteryear who were rough and tumble were never told they were boys in girls bodies! We encouraged them to dress and act as girls, most grew up into fine ladies, wives, and mothers.  They did not dress as men and have their breasts cut off and their genitalia mutilated.  It is a dangerous time to be a tomboy today, because somebody is inevitably going to take it and tell those girls that they are lesbians or transgender.  What a truly evil thing to do to a little girl.

Instead, we should encourage them to enjoy catching frogs and building forts.  We should let them get muddy and play sports but we should remind them that they are young ladies.  We should teach them what a wonderful thing womanhood is and how God made her into a special person who will grow up to fulfill His plan for her.

By rejecting God and all His ways, our minds have become depraved and we no longer recognize right from wrong.  If you have a tomboy, nurture her and love her, guide her through this difficult culture.  Pray and the Lord will give you sound guidance and do not sell her out to the lies of the age, protect her.

Bias Check

Recently, I have begun a mental exercise that has proven quite enlightening.  The exercise is about finding my own bias.  We all have a worldview and critical thinking demands that we understand this in ourselves and others.  We are passionate about things we care about - plain and simple.  If there is an injustice against someone or something we value then we are more apt to give that situation weight.  If we inherently do not like the person or the cause, even if the same injustice occurs, we will not feel the same.  A well balanced person, must recognize this in themselves.

Brit Hume, the Washington Journalist, was the first person I ever heard speak about media bias in a way that made it seem less insidious.  Check out this video, it gives you the gist of his take on this issue:

So here's the exercise:  If I read a headline or the major issue of the day, I reverse the characters in the story.  If I still care about it then I recognize that the outrage is justified, if I become more apathetic then I realize it is my own bias kicking in.

I invite you to do the same, I think if all of us begin to think critically, without our inherent bias about right and wrong we may begin to make progress.  Here are some examples:

Lena Dunham is someone I find quite repellent under normal circumstances, she recently wrote a book and conservatives were in an uproar about some of the stories she told about her sister.  I was completely grossed out.  I used my bias trick and substituted Bristol Palin, who is someone I view in a positive light.  When I did that, I was still creeped out but did not view it with the vehemence I did when it was someone that I disagreed with.

I inherently do not care for President Obama.  When I hear a story about him that makes me crazy, I substitute Ronald Reagan in the story to see if I still care.  Most of the time, I can catch my party bias this way.  

At the end of the day, we are all biased.  We all approach circumstances or stories with our own preconceived notions of what is right and what is wrong.  We care about things that are important to us, this is perfectly all right but we must be honest with ourselves, we must critically think, we must look at ourselves with true glasses.  If we do this, we obtain a self awareness sorely lacking in Reality TV America.

  

The Hectic Life of a Sports Family

Abigail and Dolley readers, today let's talk about something touchy, sports.   (Take a little ride with me, this is a not an attack on anyone but more of a dramatized tale.  Just pretend that I am the "Ghost of Christmas Present".  Even if your experience is not this extreme, perhaps you can find some truth in the below.)  Sports... the great American pastime, it evokes images of camaraderie, cheering spectators, and life's lessons learned on the ball field.  Just good plain fun, but is that the honest truth in today's world?  An idealized view of modern sports drive behavior and decision making in American families.  We maniacally throwing our children into one activity after the next, all in pursuit of a sports fantasy.  For countless families, the reality is far from fantastic.

In the not so distant past, kids played a variety of different sports.  Sports had seasons and kids moved from one season to another, not settling on a single sport until their late high school years, if ever.  This variety taught them different skill sets, types of movement, tempos, and paces.  Multiple sports insured kids had different friends, coaches, and experiences. Sports were a balanced part of a well rounded childhood, where the family did not revolve around the child or his activities. Today, it is widely believed and practiced that parents should select their "kid's sport" by age eight.  Once chosen, then the wholehearted investment, commitment/pressure, and expenses begin.  These kids embark on a journey of conditioning seasons during the heat of the Summer, special camps, travel teams, year round sports, clinics, personal trainers, and position coaches - for ten year olds.

Let's consider the time.  Public school demands more time from your child's life than ever before - 38 hours a week from bus ride to bus ride + homework.  Then we drag these kids to hours of sports practices and games.  Frazzled moms yell at tired kids to do their homework on the one hour commute to the "away" game and not get fast food mustard on the seat.  Are you tired yet?  Wait, there's more.  Now multiply this scenario by the number of kids, who play different sports, have different practice times, and different locations.  Mom takes one kid and Dad takes the other.  Other relatives are recruited and this insanity bleeds over into households that don't even have children.   Add in Scouts, Dance, Music, and Art because they need to be well rounded.  The truth is we try to give our kids everything that we wanted and didn't get.  Recently, I overheard a lady comment to a boy, "Where've you been, Justin?  We haven't seen you in weeks."  The young boy shook his head, sighed, and said, "I've had 11 games in the last 14 days."  This conversation took place as the 7th grade Junior Cotillion class that was dismissing at 8:30 pm.   That 12 year old boy had put in a 13 hour day and I'd bet he still had homework.

How is God Using the Prepper Movement?

Abigail and Dolley readers have you heard about the Sustainability Movement?  Ordinary folks have started little farms.  They are growing or making all their own food, building solar panel ovens, collecting rain water, and checking out from everyday American life.  In the not so distant past, this type of isolated life was unthinkable and was reserved for the likes of militia and cults.  Something changed and a significant number of people are living off the grid.

Do a Google search on the Sustainability Movement or Revolution or Lifestyle.  Go on Facebook and rabbit trail around, there are thousands of sites and bloggers.  From a secular perspective, the origins of the movement are laid out very well in this article.  Reading through it, we see it was founded out of the Environmentalist Movement which is in its essence a hard core ideology that has combined nature lovers with anarchists.  Before you shut me down, I am not saying all these modern pioneers are anarchists and environmental zealots, I am simply stating that the beginning of sustainability was born out of this movement.

Modern Homestead

Logically then, the first, second, and third wave adopters are decidedly left of center.  The first being radical, the second probably being more spiritual, and the third probably more idealistic.  The fourth wave? I'd surmise the Homeschooling Parent and that is where it crossed the political boundary.  As the numbers grew, ordinary folks began to pick up on some of what they were saying and eventually the organic movement seeped into mainstream America.  Newt Gingrich was the first conservative I ever heard talk about the environment as an issue where the right and the left can find common ground.  Throw in the hard core right who, under the influence of World Net Daily and Glenn Beck, are stockpiling supplies and preparing for the end and you have a very unique mix of seemingly unrelated groups.  In a nutshell, they are all "Preppers".

Prepper Gun Cache

Today, folks from all walks of life are modern day homesteaders.  They are bartering with their neighbors, raising chickens and goats, growing their own food, making their own cleaning and hygiene products, and weaning their dependence on Big Food.  We find common ground in The Food Babe Army who is pressuring corporations to remove harmful chemicals from their products.  The gardening community is afire with the Back to Eden Film and this is where I had my "Aha" moment.

Survival Tent

I view everything through my worldview filter.  I believe that we are living in the last days and that the Rapture of the Church is imminent.  But what of those left behind?  What of the Tribulation Saints?  How are they going to survive when the Antichrist rules this world?  How will they eat, where will they hide?   I believe that God has been making provision for these people for years.  Without their knowledge, without their understanding, He has called them out and taught them what they will need to know.  He has provided a place for them to hide, a way for them to feed themselves, and an environment where they can be safe.

Prepper Pantry

Since the earliest adopters of this movement are decidedly anti-christian they will be the most well versed and the best established.  They know how to harvest rain, build solar ovens, dehydrate food, raise livestock, and build houses from bags of dirt and shipping containers!  They even feel that we are on the precipice and are frantically calling on their spiritual leaders to promote sustainability.

As for me and mine, I figure some of my unsaved neighbors will use my garden. Unsaved friends will remember the couple who has been preparing for years and will eat the stashes of survival food stored in bunkers, basements, and modern fall out shelters.  God in His mercy knows they will need it.

Counting Your Blessings in America

Abigail and Dolley readers I was at the pool yesterday and was completely overwhelmed by how blessed we are in this country.  I know that is not an original thought, but it became so true to me as I lay there in the sun watching the families around me.  There is one family who adopted a boy from Africa.    In Africa, he was an orphan, likely by disease or war.  He was born into a world where his life expectancy is less than 50, where child soldiers are used in brutal civil wars, and where AIDS is as common as a cold.  How different his life is here, in middle class America!

I have been watching a series on Nexflix called Monarchy.  They are documentaries about the oldest Monarchy in the world, that of England.  The first three episodes chronicle the struggles of the Dark Ages.  What a terrible and brutal time to have lived!  You and I could have been easily born then as opposed to now.

The times in history and the places other than America where we all could have found ourselves is astonishing.  I could be a Muslim woman living in Saudi Arabia, I could be an African mother trying to stay alive and feed my son, or I could be a Chinese Christian facing death for proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Instead, I found myself at a private swimming pool where the parking lot was filled with new shiny cars, the swimwear was brand new for the season, and all around us were loving parents and well fed, loved children.  No matter the circumstances that my family finds themselves in due to unemployment, we are still blessed beyond measure.

The Inherent Decency of the Right

Abigail and Dolley readers it occurred to me today that the inherent decency of the Right has been on full display this election season as personified in Democratic Senate Candidate from SC, Alvin Greene.  If you have missed Alvin Greene on the national stage you can attribute that largely in part to the hands off approach people on the right have taken toward this candidate.  Watching or listening to Alvin Greene brings to mind the admonition of my Mother, "Do not stare or make fun of retarded people."  For those of you who haven't had the pleasure, here is an Alvin Greene video.



Let's just pretend for a moment that this guy was a Conservative.  Can you imagine Stewart, Olberman, Matthews, Maddow, Rhodes, Schultz, and all the other viscous liberal attack hyenas would do to him?  Can you imagine if Alvin Green was a CGLB (Conservative, Good Looking, Brunette)?

The man won the SC primary largely because people thought he was the blues and gospel singer, Al Green.  That is just pathetic.  Ironically, I think Alvin Greene was the Lord's way of blessing Jim DeMint and honoring this great man for his service.

I am in the Charlotte Metropolitan area and thus, Alvin Greene is local politics in my media market.  To a person, every conservative commentator and interviewer has refrained from destroying this guy.  Mark Levin, who can be quite the ranter, was as polite as possible to him.  The interviewers are embarrassed for him and Keith Larson of WBT has even tried to help him during exchanges.  It is actually quite painful.

The Left would show no mercy if this guy was a Conservative.

Chinese Manufacturing and Why the USA Should NOT be Behind

I recently had a very interesting opportunity to learn about Chinese Manufacturing from a gentlemen I met from Qingdao (pronounced Ching-Dow).  We were picking on him for all of the Chinese Holidays and he explained why this was so.  80% of all workers in China are what we would refer to as long term commuters.  Meaning that they leave their families at home in the countryside and come to the city for work.  Only during the two week or one month holidays do they get to go home to see their families.

Guangzhou Train Station

Now from an American mindset, we would get in the car and drive home.  Not so in China, they have to try and get a bus or train ticket.  Eager workers can wait up to a week to try and buy a ticket, many will not be successful.  Traffic jams in and out of the cities can last a week.  Many workers once they finally make it home, will not return to the factories.  Instead they take the money they have saved and open grocery stores and the like in their own villages.  Thus, the highly skilled workers needed for complex manufacturing are always turning over.

Beijing Traffic Jam

This is where the American Manufacturing, workforce, and culture SHOULD be able to kick the Chinese collective butts.  We have an educated, stable, and motivated workforce who can go home every night to their families.  We also are the primary consumers of many of the products the world makes so shipping costs remain constant and are not subject to the massive fluctuations we have seen in International Freight.

So why are we loosing this battle?  I contend we have two problems - Government and Unions.  Both of which are represented as the "answer" to the current economic catastrophe we are in by the party in power.  The Democrats represent bigger and more powerful entities that are in my opinion the most significant impediment to recovery and world competitiveness.

Government suppresses American Manufacturing in a number of ways but primarily with punitive taxes and regulations.  Once again, the Democrats class warfare on the "evil rich" and their penchant for "safety" regulations render it virtually impossible to put out a competitive product.

Unions strangle the ability for businesses to adapt, change, and maximize a skilled work force by ridiculous rules and wages that far outpace the market.  Pensions, lavish healthcare plans, and inflexibility also make it much more difficult to compete.

As I listened to the Chinese gentleman describing the real situation in the Chinese firms, I couldn't help but think that the Democrats actually admire China and if they had their way, we would be just like them.  The American spirit will never be subjected like this though, they have forgotten who they are in their quest for control and power, but the American people have not forgotten.

We will begin to throw off the bonds of regulation, government, and communist unions.  We will begin to rise again and we will not loose our place in the world, no matter what the Democrats would like.  We The People will never submit.

Small Town America and Why We Still Matter

Abigail and Dolley readers, I went to a reunion yesterday.  Not a family reunion, but an Small Town American reunion.  A gathering of folks who grew up and around a small mill town on the outskirts of Charlotte.  These days there is little difference between Pineville and Charlotte, but for those of us who grew up there, we know the difference.  We remember the landmarks that are no longer there, we "Awwed" audibly when pictures of loved ones flashed on the screen during the memorial CD, we smiled at the pictures of the wild Southern boys and their jacked up muscle cars, but most of all we were happy to see each other and took pride in our heritage.

Now, the ruling classes and the liberal elite would have looked upon this group with contempt.  You see we were in cut off shorts and T-shirts, we sang all the words to Sweet Home Alabama, and we raised our cups to lost friends and good times.  We laughed at old stories, complained that we were still smoking and knew we should quit, and talked about our kids, grandkids, and small businesses.  What the ruling class forgets is that these are the people that fix your cars, build your houses, and work in your factories.  They are the back bone of this Country and will show up with a casserole when someone passes away, a tow to pull your car out of a ditch, and money to bail you out of whatever trouble you've gotten yourself into.

Their pride in their country is held in contempt by the liberal elitists who scorn their patriotism and hate this country.  Their accents render them unintelligent in the eyes of the country club Republicans.  Their faith is scorned by the academics that are too smart for God.  They are Southern, so they must be racist, say the mainstream media.  I say, they are wrong again.  These are the people that built this country, their blood ran on the battlefields of history, their sweat plowed the fields, and their hands built the products that changed the world.

These are now the people who are muzzled and stifled by an over bearing government that makes it too difficult for the common man to start a business.  These are the folks whose factories have shut down because regulators required too many expensive "safety" upgrades (for their own good, of course.) and taxed "the rich" at such a rate they could no longer afford to do business in this country.  These are the folks that used to build your house, clean your gutters, and mow your lawn but now can't find work because there are illegal aliens that will do that job "under the table".  These are the people who teeter on the edge now because the work is gone and the horizon is bleak.  These are the people who recognize that when you talk about "the rich" you are really talking about their employers and they know their jobs won't be coming back until the government stops taking their bosses money at an alarming rate.

These are the people that loved Ronald Reagan and "hoped" Obama would live up to his promises of a "change".  In the immortal words of George W Bush, "You fool me once.... wait hang on.  Well, if you fool me once then, you aren't gonna fool me again."

Long live small town America!  Enjoy the video.

Bring Back DDT - How the Green Religion is Killing People

Abigail and Dolley readers I am not a scientist or an entomologist.  Heck, I think I know the word entomology from watching CSI and Bones!  I first became aware of the DDT ban and devastating effects to the 3rd World and the bed bug explosion several years ago.  A group of my friends went to a brand new hotel at the beach and ran into them.  It was horrible!  They were all completely freaked out and even I (who was not on the trip) became obsessed with these nasty blood sucking creatures.  Being "Dolley", I of course started doing a bunch of research.

I actually came across this video from Stossel while doing Global Warming research, but it is an excellent example of how junk science adopted for political purposes can cost you a fortune, but more important contribute to the deaths of innocent people.  The portion about DDT starts about 1:40.



I have written extensively on the Religion of Environmentalist and if you care to check out back posts that link will take you to my musings on the subject.  Let it be sufficient to say that at their core, Environmentalist love the Earth and hate you.  You consume resources and your very breath is pollution and destruction.  That is their worldview.  Thus, it should not surprise anyone to learn that, one Environmentalist admitted that the primary problem with DDT is that it reduced the incidence of malaria in the developing world and thus increased the population.

That's right folks, it wasn't the safety of the chemical it was "Big Environment" deciding that kids in Sri Lanka did not deserve to live.  60 million people have died of malaria since 1972 because of the ban on DDT, that is 10 times more than died in the Holocaust.  Many of these deaths were children... as a Mother I can not imagine the horror of 1 let alone 60 million.

Now we have Bed Bugs and God forgive me, but I hope they invade every environmentalist home in the country.  I hope these nasty critters suck the blood from these Greenies as they have most certainly played a role in the deaths of these innocent people.  They will sing a different tune if it is THEIR children waking up with bites and thousands of dollars of extermination bills and loss of bedding, clothing, and carpets.  This is small in comparison to the mother in Africa whose child won't wake up ever again.

Perhaps it takes a bit of discomfort in our own lives for us to wake up and realize that we need to undo an egregious error.  We need to bring back one of the safest, cost effective, and efficient pesticides known to man.  Kill the bed bugs and kill the mosquitoes!  BRING BACK DDT!

Facts and research for this blog came from the below sources.  I encourage you to do your own investigation:
Howard Stern Says Bring Back DDT
New-Yorks-bedbugs-vs-Africas-malaria-crisis
Bring Back DDT and Science With It!
Bring Back DDT
1 in 10 New Yorkers Have Bed Bugs