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  • CF has always been a site that welcomes people from different backgrounds and beliefs to participate in discussion and even debate. That is the nature of its ministry. In view of recent events emotions are running very high. We need to remind people of some basic principles in debating on this site. We need to be civil when we express differences in opinion. No personal attacks. Avoid you, your statements. Don't characterize an entire political party with comparisons to Fascism or Communism or other extreme movements that committed atrocities. CF is not the place for broad brush or blanket statements about groups and political parties. Put the broad brushes and blankets away when you come to CF, better yet, put them in the incinerator. Debate had no place for them. We need to remember that people that commit acts of violence represent themselves or a small extreme faction.

  • Poll
Controversial poll

If the Church had no choice but to go with one or the other, which would you choose?

  • Married Male Priests

    Votes: 12 100.0%
  • Female Priests

    Votes: 0 0.0%

There's a thread on r/Catholicism on Reddit right now asking people to share their controversial Catholic opinions. Anyway, one guy had some really interesting thoughts on how, in his experience, the Eastern Catholics/Orthodox got the priesthood and episcopate right by allowing priests to marry. It made me want to post this poll question here, which may not be nearly as controversial as I'm thinking, but for spice...why not eh?

Obviously there's already precedent for one in the Church but not the other, nevertheless what do you think would be a better solution for addressing the sharp decline in vocations?

TX GOP Bill Would Allow State to Throw Out Houston Election Results


A Texas bill calling for the abolition of the position of elections administrator in Harris County is inching closer and closer to final passage after a Monday vote moved the legislation out of the Texas House Elections Committee. Senate Bill 1750 already passed the Senate on April 18. House Bill 3876, an identical piece of legislation, will be up for debate in the House Chamber.

The measures call for the "abolition" of election administrators in counties with populations larger than 1,000,000—a metric that only applies to Harris County, which Republican state lawmakers have taken a keen interest in in the aftermath of the 2022 midterm elections.

Local and conservatives have keyed in on paper ballot shortages and a number of voting machine malfunctions that were reported at a small number of polling locations on Election Day— incidents that prompted a district judge to extend voting by 1 hour at Harris County polls. Since then, the Harris County Elections Office report concluded that they couldn't determine if potential voters were pushed away because of the issues at polling centers.

I am just pathetic.

I know God has predetermined our lives and that everything will work out in the end but it seems hopeless. It feels like my life is going nowhere and I'm probably in a manic depressive episode right now. Dunno.

But basically all I've been doing is going deeper and deeper in debt. I haven't been reading scripture and the last time I've been in church is Easter. My pastor wants my wife and I to go to church every week and it's just so hard to. Don't get me wrong I love my pastor he is a fantastic Elder of the church and he's virtually my best friend, but he's always trying to give me money for gas and food so that we can make the hour long trip to church every week. He says he's glad to do it because he has money which I get it, when you have money you're supposed to help the poor. Even when you don't have money you're supposed to help the poor but between me and my stupid attitude and bad decision making I need Jesus more and more. I mean, I'm in a huge bind right now and it's not fair.

I don't do the things a typical Christian does. I've lost interest in evangelizing even though my friend who is transgendered is a good start. But I'm inexperienced with him and really all we do is play video games together. We talk about God sometimes but not frequently enough where it makes a difference and I'm pretty sure he is not saved anyway with the way he lives in his sinful and unrepentant lifestyle.

It's been almost 10 years now and God hasn't blessed my wife and I with a child. It's mega depressing and makes me feel like a failure. But maybe it's a good thing because we couldn't really afford a baby if she did get pregnant though. Idk. We both want a baby and have been trying for so long. It's probably completely my fault.

And of course having your inlaws wonder where the babies are doesn't help. My parents don't want a grandchild from us because we're poor. Which makes me feel worse because I want my parents to love any potential children we might have. I mean, we've been married since 2015 afterall.

All I can see is my sin. All I can see is me sinning over and over again to the point where I'm on my hands and knees to God everyday. It's a good thing because it tells me that God lives in me but it also makes me want to hurt myself everytime I commit a sin Martin Luther style.

How can I get over this and enjoy my life? Enjoy every day that God grants me whether it's a good day or a bad day? Like I said, in the end it will work out. I know this but I can't see it or focus on it.

Can Biden Circumvent McCarthy's Threats to Let America Default on its Debts?

Scholars are saying that the 14th Amendment requires the U.S. to pay its debts.

If Congress fails to act, some legal experts say Democratic President Joe Biden has another option to avert a crisis: Invoke the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to ensure the United States can continue to pay its bills.

Some, like Cornell University law professor Michael Dorf, say the "least unconstitutional" option would be for Biden to act on his own to protect the integrity of the national debt.

"That would mean borrowing money," he said.

Any action by Biden would surely prompt a lawsuit.

WHO COULD SUE OVER THE DEBT CEILING?​

It's not clear who could bring a case. It could be difficult for any plaintiff to prove they had been harmed by the action — a legal concept known as "standing."

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1997 that individual lawmakers do not have standing to file such lawsuits, but Congress could potentially vote to say that it had been collectively harmed.

This is really interesting...and yes, I'm sure it would go to the Supreme Court, but except for the two most extreme, would the Supreme Court really want to set off an economic cataclysm by ruling in favor of the dissenters?

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Everyone's Dislike - Gov't Counterproductivity

Counterproductivity has a good number of faces, I'm sure, and this one is rendering its share of frustration.

Proceedings have really soured for me in respect to CLEAR DIALOG. Take your pick of oath 'keepers', confirmation hearings, committee hearings or every form of reported testimony, yes and no answers are dead! The more 'insightful' responses are 99% of the time classic examples of stonewalling and forcing the evidence-packed questioner to always conclude: "So, you're not annswering!"

Could contempt's bar be raised to accommodate the obvious?

Sexual intrusive thoughts about others while in a relationship

Hey,

I've been heavily addicted to porn for 7-8 years, especially BDSM. In January, I told my girlfriend everything (including that I had been chatting with other men as their slave and sent them some stuff about myself).

We've been fighting together, and I've been porn-free since then. Until two weeks ago, I occasionally read BDSM stories, but that's over now, and I feel much better.

The problem is that I've had intrusive thoughts for a long time, but I didn't pay much attention to them.

In the past, I had thoughts like: If she breaks up with you, you can experience BDSM with others, or if she dies, you save yourself the drama of breaking up and experience BDSM. I know these thoughts are not mine, but they convince me that they are and that I really want that.

For the past week, however, it's been really bad as some things from my past came to mind, like fantasizing about other people from school or church. Since then, I've had the thoughts I just mentioned, as well as others.

The first 2-3 days, one person kept coming to my mind (had a short fantasy with her in the past) and thoughts told me: Do you find her attractive? Is she prettier than your girlfriend? Do you have feelings for her? In the last few days, it suddenly became about another person, and the first one rarely comes to mind. There are several people who come to mind, but at least these two are primary, even though I don't have any feelings for them or find them prettier. My thoughts, however, try to convince me of the opposite.
Also, sometimes when I see anyone, children, ordinary people, old people, her or my parents, perverse thoughts come to my mind, like them being naked or performing perverse actions. It doesn't have to be just women. When I accidentally see something perverse on social media, I feel so bad, as if I did it on purpose, even though it was an accident.

I hate these thoughts and don't want them. I know that I love my girlfriend, only her, and that she is the most beautiful, but my thoughts constantly want to make me feel like I'm lying to myself or that I'm only saying it to avoid guilt and that these are my wishes.

Are these intrusive thoughts? They don't have to be true, right? I know they're not true, even if they say something different and sometimes deceive my feelings.

I now focus more on my relationship with God and pray that He will cleanse my thoughts. We want to get engaged this summer (July) and get married next year, but I'm afraid these thoughts will continue to be there. Even while kissing, I sometimes had such thoughts about others, and I just don't know why.
She knows everything, and we talk a lot. She trusts God and is also confident that it will weaken and pass soon, but we have decided that I will not tell her every single thought anymore because I think it provokes even worse thoughts. I now only tell her how my thoughts are doing, good, normal, or bad.

She is really amazing and is still forgiving me and loving me and supporting me with all her strength.


do I just need more time and can't I deal with it so much? How long can something like this take? can you even say that?


Do you have any further tips?

Question from an unbelieving Jew

How do I prove Jesus was not the Messiah?

Ignore the Tanakh and listen only to what Jesus haters teach.

For if you do not put Yeshua Jesus at the heart of the entire Tanakh,

you relegate the Tanakh to a past history book about a God who

ceased interacting with his chosen people almost 2500 years ago.

The cessation of Temple sacrifice in 70 CE and diaspora until 1948 CE

indicate the Jewish people missed a crucial turning point in their ongoing

relationship with the Almighty…

Jeremiah 31:31–34 (KJV)

31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:

33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

And the coming of Yeshua Jesus (Daniel 9:24–26) and his sacrifice (Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12) paved the way for that New Covenant. He is the Covenant bearer of the New Covenant as Moses was the covenant bearer of the Old (Deuteronomy 18:15–18). And the Jews rejecting Yeshua Jesus defeats God’s purpose for them.

The time of regathering since 1948 CE is a prophetic second chance for Israel.

Understand, God loves the Jewish people (even in their unbelief of God’s Son their King). He preserves them as a people and has done so since the days of Abraham. But that’s only for this life. The afterlife is another matter entirely. Until the rejection of Yeshua Jesus, those (like Abraham) who were faithful to the amount of God’s revelation they had at the time of their lives, were counted as saved (see Luke 16:19–31) and were delivered to heaven from the temporary abode (often called Abraham’s bosom) the day Yeshua Jesus died on the cross (Ephesians 4:8–10 / Luke 23:43). And are in heaven to this hour as disembodied spirits (2 Corinthians 5:8) which we (who believe in Yeshua Jesus) will also be in our death till the general resurrection (Revelation 20:5–6) when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Yeshua Jesus is YHVH LORD to the glory of Elohiym Abba God the Father (Philippians 2:10–11).

Those who believed in Yeshua Jesus in this life will be eternally saved. Those who did not believe will not be saved.

John 3:16–18 (KJV)

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Prayer request for job offer and financial breakthrough

I'm asking for prayers to successfully get an job offer that will not only help me sufficient for me to get past this difficult time, it will be in abundance that I can help others and contribute to God's kingdom. I know I won't be able to get this job without the miracles of our Lord and is favor, as my anxiety grows through the week realising all the roadblocks there are that may be causing them to hold back the offer to me.

I pray that if this job is in God's will, a job that I can utilise my skills and knowledge, a job that provides the work life balance I need, so that I'm not pulled away from House of God, a job that will glorify His Name, that it will be granted to me as soon as possible, and I will be able to start the gainful employment.

I also ask for prayers to cover me and other victims of scams, that we will be alert and not be attacked again. That we will come out of this ordeal safely, mentally and physically. That any financial loss will be returned when God touches the scammers hearts, for them to repent and turn on their ways. I pray also that we will have the wisdom and prudence to handle the money should it be returned to us, or that the money will ultimately be used for God's Kingdom, by His miraculous works.

Thank you all for praying together. I believe that God is working on all of us for a better future, and we will emerge out of any difficulties we may be facing stronger and a testament for Him. AMEN!

I Want to Thank You

Video Talk

Philippians 1:3-11 ESV


“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

I am not going to go into a lot of detail about this passage of Scripture today in writing, so you will have to watch the video for that part. But I just want to thank all of you who read these devotions, and who put likes on them, and/or who comment, if your comment is kind and not hateful or nasty. And the same applies if you read the poems or listen to the songs, all of which God has given to me to write, and if you watch these videos, too, and if you put likes on them, and if you make kind and thoughtful comments.

I don’t need the views or the likes or the comments in order to do what I do, though. I will still obey the Lord if I have none of them, for I don’t write for the approval of humans. But I just want you to know that I appreciate every view and every read and every listen and every like and all the comments that are not nasty. All of them and all of you encourage my heart. And encouragement goes a long way with me, no matter how small it is, because, as you can imagine, I don’t get a lot of encouragement because of what I share from the Scriptures, which is the truth of the gospel.

And that is because we live in a day and time when the truth of the gospel is being cast aside and rejected in favor of a diluted and altered gospel which is tickling itching ears and which is appeasing human flesh and which is not so offensive to the people of the world and to those who want to continue living in their sins. And since I am a minister of the true gospel, I get a lot of rejection, and I get ignored a lot, and I get some opposition, too, and so sometimes it gets really hard, like it was for Paul, too.

And today is my husband’s birthday. He turned 72 today. And we have been married for over 50 years, but it has not been easy going. We have had some rough times. But I want to thank him today for staying with me, and for all the things he does to help me physically (I am partially handicapped), and for all the help he gives me technologically, where I am lacking. I appreciate everything he does for me, and so I am publicly (and privately) letting him know today how very much I love and appreciate him. No matter what we have gone through, I am glad that we are still together.

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Courageous!

An Original Work / December 24, 2013
Based off Various Scriptures


The Word of God throughout taught.
Some people heard but did doubt.
Still others had faith in Christ.
By grace He purified them.

They turned from sin
And they obeyed Christ.
He opened up their blinded eyesight;
Turned them from darkness
To the true Light;
Forgave their sin by His might.

He strengthened them in their faith.
He said, “Remain my faithful.”
He called them to obedience.
By faith, they were so grateful.

By faith, they were to follow Jesus;
To daily sit and listen to Him;
To have such faith
That mountains could move;
To love those whom He gave them.

Be on your guard; courageous.
Stand firm in faith. Be thankful.
Take up the shield of your faith;
Protect against all evil.

Do not move from
The hope that you have.
Your faith in Jesus let it endure.
Hold to the truth;
Your conscience be clear.
Endure with perseverance.

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A Warthog, Hyena, and a Porcupine Walked into a Hole–and Decided to Live Together

So a porcupine, a hyena, and a warthog walk into a burrow…

No, it’s not the setup to a bad joke, but the abstract in a scientific paper published in the African Journal of Ecology which found they all were able to co-habit the burrow.

Despite the cramped confines of the dug-out den being flush with quills, teeth, and tusks, no blood was spilled on the pages of this rental agreement.

In fact, the scientists, who discovered this novel phenomenon while observing camera traps outside hyena dens in a wildlife preserve in Kenya, suggest that it was, in fact, a “healthy respect for the threats presented by their mutually formidable weaponry.”

Continued below.
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Klaus Schwab Has a Statue of Lenin in His Office: What Does It Signify?

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Two parishioners at a Latin Mass Catholic church in rural Northern Virginia say they witnessed suspicious activity from what looked like FBI vehicles in February, a month after the FBI’s Richmond office published a now-rescinded internal memo focused on “radical-traditional Catholics.”

The FBI’s Washington, D.C., office, which monitors the church’s area, denied any knowledge of such activity in a statement to The Daily Signal.

The two witnesses told The Daily Signal that they saw two cars approach the church, drive through the parking lot as if they were writing down license plate numbers, and then leave, on two separate instances outside Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel in Linden, Virginia, some 63 miles west of Washington, D.C., between Feb. 12 and Feb. 26. (The memo had been published on Jan. 23 and rescinded on Feb. 9.)

“I saw a black Ford car with dark tinted windows and a knoblike antenna on the top,” one parishioner, who spoke on the condition on anonymity, told The Daily Signal. “It was driving very slowly by all the cars, and I could see a laptop in the center front.”

“I could not see the person inside, and no one ever got out,” the witness added. “They did leave as soon as they saw me looking at them.”

“I saw a white [Chevrolet] Tahoe car, with very tinted windows and lots of antennas, driving slowly through the parking lot,” the other witness told The Daily Signal, also speaking on the condition of anonymity. “Looked like a male. He had an open laptop in the middle of the car, not sure if he was typing, as the window was very dark.”

Continued below.

Fervent in Spirit

Romans 12:9-13 ESV

“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.”

Genuine Love

The love this is talking about is not human love which is based largely in feelings (emotions). This is agape love which is centered in moral preference, and which means to prefer what God prefers, because he is love. And what God prefers is what is holy, righteous, godly, morally pure, upright, honest, obedient and faithful, etc. So, if we love with this kind of love, we are not going to deliberately, habitually, and/or premeditatedly sin against God and against other humans. But we will do good for them.

And for our love to be genuine it has to be the real deal. It can’t be faked, although some people might try to fake it. For we can’t just mouth the words “I love you,” and then turn and treat God and other people with hate by deliberately sinning against them, especially if done habitually and/or premeditatedly. For to love God, and to love his children, is to obey God. And if we do not obey God, we do not truly love him or his children, and we don’t know God, either, and if we claim to, then we are liars.

[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 8:51; Jn 14:15-24; Jn 15:10; Matt 7:21-23; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10,24; 1 Jn 5:2-3; 2 Jn 1:6; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 5:9; 1 Pet 1:1-2; Jas 1:21-25; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Php 2:12-13; Jn 10:27-30; Acts 5:32]

So, if we are going to love God and our fellow humans with genuine love, then we need to be people who hate what is evil and who hold fast to (cling to) what is good. For if we don’t hate evil, but evil is what we cling to and not to what is good – even though we know the good we ought to do and the evil we ought not to do – then we can’t really love anybody, not with genuine (agape) love. For genuine (agape) love requires obeying our Lord, in practice, and us no longer walking in sin.

Serving the Lord

Also, we are not to be slothful (lazy, idle) in zeal for God and in our service to him. But we are to be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. And this means that we are those who are following our Lord in obedience, who are living holy and godly lives, in his power and strength. We see Jesus, not just as Savior of our lives, but as Lord (Owner-Master) of our lives. And so we are to be following him wherever he leads us in doing whatever he has called us to do, in practice, in his power and strength.

We don’t see our salvation as just forgiveness of sin so that we can go to heaven when we die, but we see our salvation as deliverance from our slavery to sin so that we can now live godly and holy lives, in the power of God. And we don’t see the Scriptures as a drudgery or as something we have to read each day, but we see the Scriptures as the breath of life to us, and as God speaking his words directly to us, guiding us in the way that we should go, and empowering us to do what he commands.

But, now when we are serving the Lord, and when we are not at all being slothful in zeal, but we are passionate about obeying our Lord and serving him and doing his will, we are going to be hated, rejected, ostracized, cast out, forsaken, ridiculed, mocked, and persecuted by others who don’t know Jesus or who claim to know him but who are still living in sin. And some of these people could be family members, like Jesus talked about, or they could be others who profess faith in Jesus Christ but who are not living for him.

And so there will be times when we will cry out to God in our sorrow and in our suffering, and we will pray for his comfort and healing, and he will heal our wounded hearts, and he will comfort us with his love. And he will teach us patience and endurance, and he will grow us in him through what we suffer. But we are also going to cry out to the Lord praying for the salvation of our loved ones who do not know him, and for our enemies, that they would also come to know the love of God and salvation from sin.

And as we go through these trials and tribulations, and we are comforted of God, then we also gain compassion for others who are suffering and who are in legitimate need. And I say “legitimate” need because we live in a day and age when liars, deceivers, manipulators, users, tricksters and flim-flam artists abound. And many con artists will appeal to your good heart and your compassion and may trick you into contributing to them when they are not truly in need or the money is not going to what they claim. So be compassionate and be generous but also exercise godly discernment.

Lastly, we should be hospitable people. We should have people to our homes or to wherever we live and we should be willing to share with them whatever we have, even if we don’t have much, in the way of a meal or our time or in conversation. In this we show love to others, but not out of compulsion or to try to earn “brownie points” with God or with anyone, but because we legitimately love and care about other people and we want to friend them, and we want to get to know them, and we enjoy sharing our time and food with them. And that is good for us, too, to have company with others.

Come, Ye Disconsolate

Lyrics by Thomas Moore, 1816
Arr. by Thomas Hastings, 1831
Music by Samuel Webbe, Sr, 1792


Come, ye disconsolate, where’er ye languish,
Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel.
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish;
Earth has no sorrow that heav’n cannot heal.

Joy of the desolate, light of the straying,
Hope of the penitent, fadeless and pure!
Here speaks the Comforter, tenderly saying,
“Earth has no sorrow that heav’n cannot cure.”

Here see the bread of life, see waters flowing
Forth from the throne of God, pure from above.
Come to the feast of love; come, ever knowing
Earth has no sorrow but heav’n can remove.

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Texas mass shooting suspect accused of killing five neighbors taken into custody 'without incident'

The mass shooting suspect accused of killing five neighbors including an 8-year-old child in Cleveland, Texas, was taken into custody on Tuesday, sources tell Fox News.

Multiple sources told Fox News that 38-year-old Francisco Oropesa was taken into custody in the Cleveland area by the Border Patrol Tactical Unit.

Francisco Oropesa, 38, is accused of killing five of his neighbors in Cleveland, Texas, before midnight April 28, after one of his neighbors allegedly asked him to stop firing a rifle in his yard in order for a baby to sleep.

According to the San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office, after the conversation, Oropesa allegedly entered the neighboring home and killed five of the 10 people inside.

Continued below.
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Praise is needed indeed

So I will start by asking a question, have you ever witnessed a fertilizer plant in flames?

Most of us that would be a no and it was for me till last night.

I just finished doing my write up on my nightly reading when I heard a ding on my new iPad.

I should mention my phone was dead and it’s never dead because I’m honestly addicted to it . Being close to 11pm I was wondering who was messaging me and what I saw had me wondering “ am I going to die, what do I do?”

The message read”Cavendish is on fire”
“Fertilizer plant”

I just darn near froze because my friend who messaged me live right next door to the plant.

Then there’s a yellow house beside them and I’m on the opposite side of the road.

So I’m just freaking out of my mind because in a few hundred yards like three buildings from the plant is a feed mill and next to the feed mill is the gas station!

I can’t drive so I’m stuck in this apartment and no way out to get to safety.

My friend offered to get me out of the apartment and his wife and I were both frantic but their 7 month old baby help calm me down and their beagle who could definitely tell something was wrong.

My friend ended up going back home when they were told they weren’t in any danger but at that point the landlord evacuated the building.


Then all of a sudden I ended getting called by someone who just hours before I told someone “they never talk to me anymore”

And they offered their couch to me for the night . We talk about how god and what he has been doing in my life so I ended up becoming fairly relaxed but still never slept well.

Now back to the fire, the fire was in the wear house that they store all the chemicals to make ammonia in and the wind was blowing away from the town keeping it away from the big tower full of the ammonia.

The fire fighter where there from 10:30pm till 11-12 am (lunchtime)

In the back of my mind was if the wind was blowing the other direction, the town would have been gone .

I am so grateful that I have my apartment to come home to and my warm bed to sleep in and of course my Bible to read .

Speaking about the bible , I tried to make it a nightly thing to read my scripture and after 4 1/2 years I finally finished the new testament last week.

I started reading Joshua and I’m just loving that book and tomorrow I read Joshua 5:1-12.

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Lager Beer, the World’s Favorite, was Invented By Accident 400 Years Ago When 2 Yeasts Walked into a Bar – Study

Lager is the world’s most popular beer, and new research shows it was invented by accident more than 400 years ago in Bavaria.

The yeast that is currently used to brew cold beer originated in Munich, at the court of Maximilian the Great, after two different yeasts came into contact and mated.

Their coupling created the new species Saccharomyces pastorianus, which works at a much slower rate and at cooler temperatures in caves and cellars.

For thousands of years, all beers were fermented with the particular strain named Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It ferments warm and relatively quickly – producing what we refer to as ale. Evidence of fermented beverages from China date back at least 7,000 years ago, and from Israel up to 13,000 years ago.

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‘Leaving the Church to Stay Catholic’? German Faithful Face Church Tax Dilemma

An increasing number of practicing German Catholics don’t want to fund the local Church’s controversial trajectory in the wake of the Synodal Way; but the only way to not pay the ‘church tax’ is to officially disaffiliate from the Catholic Church in Germany — and risk losing access to the sacraments.

David Rodriguez, a dual German-Spanish citizen who has lived in Germany for the past 30 years, loves his Catholic faith. A parishioner of St. Herz Jesu in Berlin, he tells the Register that “the sacraments are like the water I need for spiritual life.”

But alarmed by the officially backed German Synodal Way — which earlier this year accepted an array of resolutions that deviate from settled Church teachings — and desperate to stop financially contributing to it, Rodriguez is considering a measure that, according to current church practice in Germany, would put his access to the sacraments in jeopardy: legally disaffiliating from the Catholic Church in Germany.

It’s a dramatic step, one that involves publicly renouncing one’s membership to the Church before a government official. The move is widely regarded in Germany as a de facto “self-excommunication,” as those who go through with it are technically barred from the Eucharist, penance, other sacraments, and even a Christian burial. Ecclesial participation is also curtailed, as holding Church office or employment, participating on diocesan or parish councils, and even serving as a godparent are also prohibited.

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A huge misconception ive noticed ever since ive started reading the bible.

I have spent ages dreading heaven. Literally ages. Why you may ask? Because I have repetitively read/been told that all it is singing praise to God and being on our faces before his throne 24/7. That may appeal to some people, but it doesnt to me.

Now this isn't a pride issue. I have no problem bowing down to God, and I in fact look forward to singing with everyone. But THATS IT?

Well no...its not...as im now learning. I should have caught on sooner when we are told that we will have "Eternal LIFE". Singing and praising forever doesn't sound like our definition of life. and Judging by Eden it isn't God's definition of Life either.

I mean come on, we are told we will be CO HEIRS with Christ. What does Christ inherit? ALL THINGS! Why would God hand over that type of authority to his saints, and then say "Welp, start singing forever". That wouldn't make any sense.

Secondly, Rev 22:5 actually TELLS us what the eternal activity of the saints will be: reigning on a new earth forever and ever. This makes sense if you think about it, thats what God always wanted. Satan didnt somehow stop his plan and now we are eternal choir boys. No, God will get what he wants, which is righteous humans, ruling the earth to his glory. So why then is there this huge misconception that we just sing forever? Where does this come from? I don't understand...?

Mean Thoughts

I keep thinking mean thoughts towards my bf. And not just little quick intrusive thoughts, but I'll be in the bathroom or something and go through this whole scenario in my head where I get mad at him for something totally made up. And sometimes I think of situations that could be the end of the relationship, and this weird feeling of relief comes in??

Some key points:
I want to marry him
I think he's amazing
I'm pretty sure I have OCD, but this feels different

I prayed this morning, that I renounce these thoughts in Jesus' name. But I'm worried that having these thoughts means I don't love him enough, or that I should leave the relationship because I'm not sure i want to be with him forever? I will say I second guess myself A LOT and I obsess over whether or not we're compatible. I had peace about my decision to want to marry him about 6 months ago, but I feel anxious now. And I don't think I have any real reason to.

Also, I've had mean thoughts towards my best friend before; she would get on my nerves and eventually we stopped being friends because she stopped honoring God. And I've had the relief-at-end-of-relationship feeling when I was having conflict with another friend and thought of a scenario where we'd no longer be friends.

So, I guess I'm thinking out loud, but maybe I'm just trying to avoid my uncertainty and internal conflict?

If anyone has any thoughts or just thinks I'm over thinking this, I'd appreciate it.

Minnesota man set fires at two mosques, harassed and vandalized Ilhan Omar's office, feds say

The first fire struck Masjid Omar Islamic Center, a mosque in a shopping center known locally as the “Somali Mall,” on the evening of April 23, according to an affidavit. A mosque employee told investigators he found a man setting a cardboard box and a gasoline can ablaze in a bathroom stall. The employee said he chased the man away, and the fire was put out before spreading outside of the bathroom.

The next night, smoke began to billow from the third floor of the Masjid al-Rahma mosque a few blocks south of the Somali Mall. Flames engulfed a hallway in the mosque and originated from a pile of debris and another can of gasoline, according to the affidavit. Mosque staffers rushed to evacuate the building, including about 40 children from its first-floor day care.

On Sunday, the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota announced that Jackie Rahm Little had been arrested and charged with arson. Little, 36, of Plymouth, Minn., who also goes by the name Joel Arthur Tueting, is additionally accused of sending harassing messages to and vandalizing the office of a member of Congress earlier this year, court records state.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) said Monday that the vandalism occurred at her Minneapolis office.
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