Sunday, August 25, 2013

Whoa God! You Want Me To Go Through What?

     Do you ever feel like the challenge you're facing is just too much?  Is there ever the dark time where you question the goodness of God?  What some refer to as the 'Dark night of the soul' is a scary situation to find yourself in.  This author has been there on a few occasions, and to be honest, when I was in the thick of it I wondered if I would survive.  I would cry out to God asking 'why this?' or 'why that?', but I only heard silence in response.  I even became angry as I watched things crumble around me, at one point sleeping in my car, but I am hear to encourage you and to let you know that just because He is not answering you verbally, it does not mean that He is not moving in your life!
     To be very candid, I personally have had quite the eventful last three months.  My wife of 9 years left late in 2012 due to influence from her family, and took my now 3 year old son with her.  I strained and questioned God why, but He slowly, but surely, would lay reasons on my heart.  Part of them were me and things I needed to resolve, but others were hers and I needed to leave it up to God to deal with.  I spent months on my stomach praying for God to save my marriage, but at every corner I was met with accusation from my wife's family, and that own inner condemning voice pointing out what I could have done better.  No matter what I changed it was not enough, and that's when it dawned on me...Grace!  Jesus let me know that it wasn't if I could be perfect that would determine whether He loved me, but rather only by His grace can I be loved!  I wish I could say the story gets brighter from there, but that would not be honest of me.
     In May of 2013 I decided to take a leap of faith and move to California to be next to my son and try to save my marriage.  I spent two weeks in Southern California, where she said she wanted to live, looking for work and was able to land 2 jobs.  It was at this point that she said she wanted to stay in Northern California with her sister.  I was at a loss.  I was anxious to see my son and was willing to do anything to be near him.  So I packed my car and moved to Northern California with the agreement we would liquidate some savings to make it possible, but she failed to keep her end of the bargain.  I found myself now sleeping in my car for days being harassed by police and at times not eating.  I cried out to God and again asked why, but no answer.  Finally, I was able to land a job and rent a room from a very nice couple in the Antioch area.  Things were going well and I was able to see my son, warming my heart, and even was able to try to work on things with my wife, but she was still convinced that love needed to be earned.
     I was now established in a low paying job, but happy, and my wife decided she wanted to move back to Southern California to be near her mom, who had just come to visit.  She was not willing to wait for me to have enough to follow.  At this point I was so angry with God (how foolish), but our limited minds don't know how to process perceived injustice, so I just remained angry.
     During this whole point in time I had felt that God was asking me to move to Texas and leave the rest to Him, but I had been unwilling to listen.  So on my way down to Southern California I called my faith-filled Grandma and she advised me to follow what I felt the Lord was telling me...so I did.  I took the small amount of money I had and told my wife that I was going to set up a place for us to live in Texas, and she was free to come if she wanted to.  She said she admired what I was doing, and things were great after that...not.
     I was living in a hotel room in a very bad area for two weeks, while I landed a job with Allstate Insurance, but the money began to run out.  The last night in Fort Worth I began to question whether I wanted to live, and whether God was truly good.  I began to think of myself as Job (without all the amazing faith).  4 times that last night people knocked on my door looking for drugs from some guy they thought would be there.  Needless to say I was not able to sleep that night.  The next morning I drove around in a daze wondering whether I ever did hear from God about moving to Texas.  I met with a close friend that night and we discussed me heading back to my family in Colorado, and felt it was the right option.  God still was silent.  I drove back to Colorado feeling completely defeated and full of failure.
     My older brother was gracious enough to let me stay in his house while I tried to turn things around.  It has been a struggle, but God has shown His love many times during this period, which I will now relate.  When I was in Northern California sleeping in my car, I went to the park one day and walked by a woman.  She called out, 'I just wanted you to know that God hears you, and sees what you're going through.'.  Why would a complete stranger say that?  She proceeded to tell me she was there because that was where she had met her ex husband who had divorced her for another woman a year before.  Also, when I was in the hotel the last night in Fort Worth, questioning whether I wanted to live, I watched a sermon that at that point in time was stating that God will NEVER give you more than you can handle without providing you with a way out...My brother had just offered me a place to stay as I was down to just over $200.  Within 2 weeks of returning I was able to get a part time job and solid leads on full time positions.  I also prayed that God would answer some specific prayers for finances that I knew were a necessity.  I asked God to lay it on someone's heart to help, because I was tired of feeling like a needy person.  Within a day my Grandma had sent me money to get me by.  
     The purpose of this article is to let you know to never give up, because God will always get you through.  It usually isn't the way we want, but to this day I see reasons He brought me through this, whether it be personal growth, or allowing others to be used by Him.  Just remember that a fool spurns reprove, but the wise man accepts discipline and learns.  He has such great things for us in this life and the next, but just remain strong!  It doesn't mean you won't fail horribly with temptation at times, but it does mean that He will always be there to pick you up and love you through it....even if it might not feel like love.  He will be those footprints in the sand that carry you to the finish line.



By Jeffrey Brandon Lee

Quote of the Day: Rockefeller's Inner Conflicts

Quote of the Day:

Ron Chernow

A couple of interesting insights into the inner conflict that was 'Rockefeller':

"To cope with excess production, many in Saginaw salt companies opted for cooperation and joined a cartel arrangement to try to prop up salt prices, providing a precedent for Standard Oil."-pg. 107 Titan
"It is deeply ironic that Rockefeller, a staunch temperance, got one of his most significant cash infusions from questionable gains in liquor." pg. 108 Titan

Read All About It: Get Your Part Time Job, Obamacare Is Coming!

     Has anyone been looking for a full time job in the United States recently?  Any luck?  I didn't think so.  With Obamacare looming on the horizon, companies are refusing to hire people full time so as to avoid the large increase in health insurance expenditure.  Many in Obama's own government know the plan is flawed beyond repair, but instead of repealing it, Obama exempts most government employees at the top level and 1200 large corporations.  Who is not exempt?  You and I.  If we do not acquire the necessary insurance we will be fined by the government.  So is this really the 'free' healthcare you thought you were going to get?
     The reality is there are only a certain amount of doctors in the country, and just because you say everyone should receive care it does not change the numbers of doctors available.  It's basic line theory once again.  I like to use the example of there being one McDonald's in a city and no other options, and suddenly the owner says 'All meals are free.'.  What would be the outcome?  You would see cars lined up for blocks to get their 'free' meal, but in the end many would wait so long they would starve to death.  Our country does offer emergency service to anyone who needs it, but even in a pay for service medical system, there are not enough doctors and people die in waiting rooms.  So if you suddenly allow everyone who has a cold to rush to the doctor for free, how long do you think you will be waiting?  Maybe the government will force hundreds of thousands of people to go to medical school, but is forced labor an answer?
     The reality is that Obama and his big government cohorts want, Republican and Democrat alike, is for many to just pay the fine and go without the insurance, because that increases tax revenue.  They understand that many young people will just opt to pay the fine because they don't plan on getting sick, but that only means that the few that do get really sick will be sitting in the same waiting room as before, only they will have paid a fine and the government will have padded its pockets.  Wake up people.  If it sounds to good to be true...


By Jeffrey Brandon Lee 

Quote of the Day: History Channel's 'The Men Who Built America's' Error

Quote of the Day:

Ron Chernow

"The biggest plum they dangled before Devereux was a promise to supply the Lake Shore with an astonishing sixty carloads of refined oil daily."-They being Rockefeller and his business partner.

According to the History Channel's series the men who negotiated the deal for sixty carloads was Rockefeller, Vanderbilt and Vanderbilt's son.  Make's you wonder what else they were inaccurate about.  Never trust, but always confirm!

Quote of the Day: Rome's Constantly Growing Government Spells Doom For US

Quote of the Day:
Jack Weatherford

Government Spending In Rome:

"Unable to stem the imperial decline with the army, the emperors organized and reorganized their imperial administrations, searching desperately for a formula to help them overcome the mounting problems confronting them.  They created more and smaller provinces, split the empire, and divided the job of ruler between an emperor and two or more caesars who acted as assistants or regional emperors.  Each change, however, added a new layer of administration to the hierarchy and created new regional and local capitals along with all the supernumeraries, palaces, temples, and other public buildings to which even regional capitals aspired.  Despite the constant stream of organizational reforms, officials were rarely cut from the public payroll; instead more were added.  According to the best available evidence, during the reign of Diocletian alone, the government bureaucracy may have doubled in size."

Sounds a little like our government and the fact that our national debt has doubled since Obama took office.

Quote of the Day: Communism, Equality, and Democrats

Quote of the Day:
James H. Billington


"First came the political ideal...Second came the emotional ideal...Finally came the intellectual ideal of creating a nonhierarchial socioeconomic community.  This was the rationalistic concept of equality: the collective sharing of goods within a community free of all social and economic distinctions."

Its ironic that Democrats want financial equality, but also want to place us all in social classes such as; black, white, Christian, atheist, or Mormon.  It is the age old failure of Communism.  When everyone feels entitled to equal consumption, why would they choose to work?  If I get the same paycheck for playing games as I do for building a house many will choose to stay home.  What Democrats really want, is to place us in their pre-defined roles, and with them in firm control all is well.  Do you ever wonder why the richest men in Congress are Democrat or 'Landed Gentry'?  It's because if they convince you your stuck in some economic situation, you will cease to be a threat to their wealth.

P.S.  While I searched on google for 'Pictures of Communism' I had to spell out every letter before google suggested 'Communism'.  Just a glitch right?

Saturday, August 24, 2013

The Coming American Indoctrination Into Islam

     Our nation is facing one of its biggest challenges, and the scary part is, we have no idea that it is happening. The media has bombarded us with abortion, gay rights, and protected the President from every scandal that has come up.  Now these topics all seem to be very relevant because of the time we are living in, but they're far less destructive than what is coming.  The ironic part is that the very people who promote gay rights, abortions, and gun control, are the very same people that will affected most by the coming change.
     For the last decade I have been warning of the coming influx of Islam into the United States, but many fail to pay attention.  Radical Islam is a very patient beast that seeks to win over decades and centuries, and not overnight.  It is carefully planned out and set into motion, with little thought to personal cost and sacrifice.  Determined warriors stand at our doorstep, waiting for the precise time to attack.  And that time may be fast approaching.
     Recently, we were notified that the million Muslim march was headed to D.C., but when we spoke up in outrage, they changed the name (not the purpose).  They are out to show us there is no need to fear Islam, and that they are friendly compassionate people, but the truth is much more insidious than that.  Al Jazeera is spending boat loads of money promoting their expansion in the United States, and we sit peacefully watching the slow creep of a ruthless killer.  Believe me, you won't turn on their network and see them saying 'Convert or Die!', it will be subtle and clever.  They will grab your attention with a catchy show and then the indoctrination begins as they methodically fill your mind with small 'truths' of Islam.  Before you know it, it begins to make sense to you and you find yourself agreeing more and more.  Now, I know this sounds a little outlandish, but 20 years ago would you have said 'Every show on T.V. will have at least one gay person on it, and I will be okay with it.'  Of course not!  It was slowly introduced over time until your senses were deadened to the sin and it became a part of your belief system.
     The tragic thing in all of this is that gays, abortion rights supporters, and liberals will be the first to fall under the sword if Islam.  There is a point at which being open minded is just plain dumb!  They will go to embrace Islam, and Islam will greet them back, just with the edge of a saber.  I urge people to see what the truth is behind this media onslaught on behalf of Islam.  Have faith in Christ, and fear NO ONE, but the Lord your God.  God, is a God of love, and not a vicious dictator bent on your blood.  He is a just God, so sin must be punished, but He offers us an easy way out, which is through the blood of one man, Jesus Christ.


By Jeffrey Brandon Lee