DaisyDay said:

I've heard some criticism of its authenticity concerning him being from the suburbs of Ohio rather than from the hills of Kentucky.


Yes, I think this has been thoroughly debunked.

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Thank goodness it’s debunked!
The jokes were “too much” already!
Darn! I just thought of three more!

Not sure any would like to read this but it's a humor piece I did numbers of years ago when Trump was running against Hillary. But this is a story that took place in a different Galaxy then our own where there was a Donald and a Hillary both running for President of their great country. The problem with these two is they were just too nice to each other all the time in words they'd say about each other in the press and in debates. You might find it interesting.

In A Galaxy Far Away but somewhat similar to our own there were two politicians running against each other for the presidency of a great land...their names? Hillary and Donald. Hillary was the leader of the Republicans.....Donald was that of the Democrats. Yes I know....a reversal of what we know. A nation on this world was split with an extremely difficult choice for the reason their favor-ability numbers were both so high. The land had an incredibly high regard for both . Dear Lady Hillary had the background of being the top CEO of a internet security company which produced software ensuring the web sites of governments or businesses could never be compromised or hacked and she provided special training herself for their clients on proper protocols in maintaining a secure system.

She was highly commended as well for choosing to run her political campaign spending the least amount possible but sending much of her excess money to charities that help the poor. She chose as well to use free media feeling she was setting an example of prudence in how she'd likewise use the tax dollars if elected as sparingly as possible. Her political opponent who was commonly referred to as "The Donald" had built a financial empire as a motivational speaker, having penned such writings as "The Fair Deal" and " I've Got Lots of Friends and You Can Too!"

He served as well as top CEO of "The Better Business Bureau" ensuring consumers would at all times be treated in a right and fair manner. Such was the the tough choice that the electorate had to face.....which one of these super great prospects would win the Presidency? Media outlets were extremely troubled. When the national television debates transpired how possibly could they have a sense of drama? Both of them were categorized as being just too nice! Without a certain measure of excitement or controversy the fear was that viewers would consider it a bore... thus turning it off. Surely the ratings would tank!

"The Donald" had already described Hillary as one of the most HONEST people he had ever known and Hillary as well had nothing but the best to say about him. How therefore could Honest Hillary and True Blue Donald ever be interesting to watch? Well the LIVE, National Wide debates began and yes their policies were different but as expected they treated each other with exceptional respect never interrupting each other and even acknowledging the others arguments were valid.

Days later they came out with a joint statement that they were blending their policies into one much to the abhorrence of both of their respective parties. This did not go unanswered by the establishment of both the Dems and Repubs....the Repubs immediately ousted Hillary and the Dems the Donald by the putting in of new rules. That spurred both of them to jointly go ahead with an independent bid for the White House with both running together. Gentleman Donald insisted that Honest Hillary serve as the top of the ticket for the first term and he'd take the second.

Ladies before Gentlemen was Donald's stalwart position.Their political opponents sought to marginalize them being too whitey two shoes; weak because of their non-aggressive style. Much to their surprise however the party of get along, Hillary and Donald WON! They took a second term as well winning well over 70% of the vote! It goes without saying they became the most beloved political figures of the land and even their world. There became no bounds as to the honors bestowed upon each but I'll mention here at least two. A year of so after their presidencies a sculptor by the name of Leonardo working with the State of North Dakota (not South mind you) came up with a fitting way to honor them both.

The idea was (which indeed was carried out) was to sculpt both of their facial images in the side of a hill. They'd also add the bust of two other beloved Presidents as well....Jim Carter and Rich Nixon. It was thought all four of them deserved a larger than life persona to live on for perpetual generations. And so it was done.


The name of the Hill....Mount Rushless which many in the land came to refer it as "The Hill" giving further praise to Hillary. An even more distinguished honor was to have the National Space Agency make an announcement they were going to have both Hillary's and Donald's pictures and list of their achievements, including other things from the world as well contained in a time capsule on board an unmanned space probe to be sent out into the far reaches of space. It was decided the probes course would be in the direction of a star cluster known as "The Way Which Looks Milky". Telescopes had discovered in that sector a small blue/green planet encircling a small star....a place where it looks like intelligent life might someday develop or perhaps at least a measure of such.

By sending out the best things the world had produced the feeling was it might serve to be an inspiration for similar Donalds and Hillarys to arise across the Universe! Surely these two embodied the very definition of the terms exceptional and great! This led to a line spoken by many that Donald and Hillary were going to BOLDLY GO where no politicians have gone before! This was the dream of this world to take this message across the galaxy!

It goes without saying however the world which had the appearance of the blue and green (which those who live there refer to as Earth) when they found the probe and read it's contents the conclusion was made a Donald/Hillary coming together might not universally be a good thing. They sent back the probe in the direction from whence it came with the inscription placed upon it....TO EACH HIS OWN! One thing that can be agreed regardless of what universe or galaxy they find themselves in...the Donald's and the Hillary's BOLDLY GO where none have gone before!

Valletta said:

Her excruciating “We’ve been to the border” interview with Lester Holt was perhaps the nadir of her vice presidency, although it’s hard to choose. The attack ads write themselves.
She has been enthusiastically in favor of every bad idea the left has dreamed up in the last decade: open borders, cashless bail, banning fracking, Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, racist identity politics.
Her boosters think they will cast her as The Prosecutor versus The Felon. But as the original Soros prosecutor, she is really the anti-law-and-order candidate. Installed with the help of her lover Willie Brown as San Francisco’s district attorney in 2003 and California’s attorney general in 2010, she owns the crime-infested hellholes they have become.

Kamala Harris must still hold Biden’s border, inflation baggage — even as Dems’ myth-making machine fires on all cylinders

Kamala Harris is enjoying a honeymoon of sorts — the media handmaidens are giddy with excitement over her TikTok coconut memes.

nypost.com

The establishment is powerful, and they are experts at propaganda. But they are short on time to remake Kamala. We will see.

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Larniavc said:

I’m sorry but this is just wrong.

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Valletta said:

A lot of those violent criminals should have still been in jail, getting out in five years instead of twenty has a real effect.on their victims. So too the results of Kamala and Joe's border policies, the terrorism, the human trafficking, the violence, will be felt for some years to come.

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Wait a second…the link…”her lover”…is the New York Post hinting that Kamala Harris only got to the tipppy-top of the 2024 Democratic Party…because she “slept around”?

Well, well, well, I guess the shoe’s on the other foot now?

Hammster said:

Olympics commentator fired for making controversial John Lennon statement
MSN

Truth hurts.

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If it were not for threads like this I would not have known there was an Olympics going on.

In fact the only thing that I think of at the mention of Olympics , is, 1936.

When Hitler & co got long noses because Jesse Owens won a few medals,

probinson said:

Well then, I guess paying people a living wage won't help with the fact that they still won't have enough to live on if they choose to squander it.

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Neither will you have enough if you waste what you are paid. That's a truism whether you get paid a few bucks an hour or a few hundred an hour.

Was that meant to be an argument against minimum wages? It seems to have no connection with it at all.

Gnarwhal said:

Yeah part of it is I live in CA, albeit one of the cheaper areas. And relocating isn’t an option cause my family is here.

The problem is we have at least $1,500/month in debt payments that we’re grinding through. Student loans, credit cards, a personal loan, and a car loan among some smaller things.

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Keeping you in daily prayer.

Hebrews 12 follows directly after Hebrews 11 which is regarded as the faith chapter of the Bible. For it describes men and women of faith in Bible times who obeyed the Lord and who pleased the Lord, perhaps over a lifetime, or perhaps in specific situations, or perhaps at the very last minute before they died. But by faith they did what pleased the Lord, and that brought glory to God, and it was according to his will and purpose for their lives. I believe they are this cloud of witnesses who testify to us regarding our faith.

So, by faith in Jesus Christ, if our faith is genuine God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in him, we are crucified with him in death to sin, and we are raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. For if sin is still what we obey, and not God’s commandments, it will lead to death, not to life eternal with God. And Jesus said we are to deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience if we want to save our lives for eternity and not lose them.

So the Christian life is a life of daily dying to sin, by the Spirit, daily putting to death the deeds of the flesh, laying aside every hindrance to our walks of obedience to the Lord, and laying aside all sin which clings so closely. This sin can end up being our patterns of behavior if we are not diligent about dying daily to sin and putting on Christ and his righteousness. But so many who profess faith in Jesus Christ are still walking in sin, and not in walks of obedience to the Lord, because they are being taught they don’t have to.

So before it mentions here that we must lay aside sin which clings so closely, it instructs us to lay aside every weight, every encumbrance (hindrance) to our walks of obedience to God. And that can include whatever is stored up in our hearts, for it is out of the heart that comes evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, and slander. These are what defile a person. And these need to be removed from our lives via repentance and submission to God, and via obedience to his commands.

But those sinful behaviors may be rooted in what is stored up in our hearts – such things as hatred, resentment, bitterness, jealousy, unforgiveness, anger, and anything else that may keep us trapped in sin. For what we believe in our hearts and minds, and what we hold in our hearts, comes out in our attitudes, words, and actions. So first our hearts must be cleansed of all bitterness, resentment, pride, and unforgiveness, etc. so that the sin which clings so closely will have no root to pull from, so we’ll be free.

But other hindrances, which are also rooted in what is stored up in our hearts, are physical things such as computers, smartphones, certain movies, TV shows, music, games, social media, videos, cartoons, or certain preachers’ sermons, if what they are teaching is cheap grace and not biblical grace. Most of these things are not evil in themselves. The evil can be both in the content we are taking in as well as the hold these things have on our thinking and behaving and attitudes, and how they hinder our obedience.

Those are the things that lead us down a path of sin, and that is why I believe we need to deal with those things first if we want to have victory over sin. For if we are still taking in the garbage of the world into our minds and hearts, well, as the saying goes, “garbage in, garbage out.” We cannot have victory over addictive sinful behaviors if we are feeding our minds and hearts and souls with the junk and the filth of this sinful world. And we cannot serve God with our lives if our time is spent pleasing self, instead.

And if we are not truly looking to Jesus Christ – past all the junk of the world, and past all the hindrances that might tempt us to stray, and past all the persecutions and rejections and opposition we will face when we do obey the Lord – fixing our eyes (minds, hearts) on him, blocking out all temptations, persecutions and hindrances to our obedience, we are bound to trip and fall and fail. Our minds and our hearts have to stay focused on Jesus Christ in this world filled with all sorts of evil, or we won’t survive!

For Jesus is the one who gave his life up for us on that cross so that we might die with him to sin and now live to him and to his righteousness. And we can only do that if our lives are surrendered to him in submission to him as Lord in dying with him to sin and now living to his righteousness in his power at work within us, as we cooperate fully with his work of grace. And he is the author and perfecter of the faith which comes from him, which is not of our own doing or thinking or reasoning, but is biblical faith.

[Hebrews 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; Acts 26:18]

So, when Jesus Christ died on that cross for our sins, it was not just to forgive us of our sins, and it was not just to give us the hope of heaven when we die, provided that we forsake our sins and walk in obedience to his commands. But he died so that we will die to sin and walk in obedience to his commands in holy living, doing what pleases him, and doing what he has called all of us who believe in him to do. For if we do not obey him, but we keep on in our sinful practices, we will not have eternal life with Jesus Christ.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]

When I’m with You

An Original Work / April 22, 2011

When I’m with You, Lord, hear my cries.
Soon I’ll be with You by Your side.
Harken to me; Lord, hear my plea
When I’m with You and You’re with me

Precious Savior, Lord, and my friend,
Life with You has no final end.
I’ll reign with You eternally
When I’m with You and You’re with me.

Father, God, my only desire.
Your word is in me like a fire.
I’ll sing Your praise all of my days
When I’m with You and You’re with me.

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Michie said:

Thank you so much SashaMaria. She fell today as she was getting out of bed. Her lungs still sound awful.

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Continued prayers! St. Therese, pray for us!

I have no comment other than I will continue to keep you and your family in my daily prayers.

May God bless you abundantly!

There is nothing more special to me than my time with the Lord each day at his feet, learning from him, hearing him speak his words to my heart, and then, in loving response to him, going out and obeying Him and what he taught me through His word, including sharing with other people what He taught me, for their encouragement, and as my witness for Him.

I want nothing more than to please my Lord in all I do, to walk with him, serve him, obey him, worship and adore him, live for him, and be his hands and feet in taking his love and his gospel to those who need to know him, or who need to know him better. And, one day soon (imminently), I will get to be with him in person forever and ever. I do look forward to that day, yet I also enjoy my time with him each day while I am still on the face of this earth. I love you, Jesus!

When I’m with You

An Original Work / April 22, 2011

When I’m with You, Lord, hear my cries.
Soon I’ll be with You by Your side.
Harken to me; Lord, hear my plea
When I’m with You and You’re with me

Precious Savior, Lord, and my friend,
Life with You has no final end.
I’ll reign with You eternally
When I’m with You and You’re with me.

Father, God, my only desire.
Your word is in me like a fire.
I’ll sing Your praise all of my days
When I’m with You and You’re with me.

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Doing Good

What good are we to be doing as followers of Christ? How should the good that we do be different from the good that the people of the world do? For there are many non-Christians who are good deed doers and who do good things for the people of this world, sometimes to the point of putting Christians to shame who are busy feeding their own flesh and who are just entertaining themselves without thought to the needs of the body of Christ and to the needs of the people of the world. “Can I get a witness?”

Now there will be some overlaps here, for both Christians and non-Christians might be charitable, and might give freely of their time and money and possessions to help others in need, and/or to contribute to charitable organizations which are at least purportedly helping those in need (not all of them are legitimate nor do they all do what they say they do). Christian or non-Christian can show kindness and gentleness and thoughtfulness for others and they can love their families and others in ways which are good.

But there is a good that Christians must do that non-Christians cannot do because this is done in the power of the Holy Spirit living within us, and it is for the praise and glory of God, and it is a spiritual good which is of God who is good. And this has to do with us denying self, dying daily to sin, and following our Lord in obedience to his commands (New Covenant). And it has to do with the surrender of our wills to the will of God for our lives and following him in holy living and in doing what he has called us to do.

If Anyone Does Not Obey

But not everyone who calls himself a brother or a sister in Christ has denied self, is dying daily to sin, and is following the Lord in obedience to his commands, in practice, though not necessarily in absolute sinless perfection (see 1 John 2:1-2). But lack of perfection is never to be used as an excuse for habitual, deliberate, and premeditated sin against the Lord Jesus and against other humans. For the Scriptures teach us that if sin is what we obey, and is what we practice, that we will not inherit eternal life with God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]

So, there are many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ, at least here in America, who are still living in sin, still making sin their practice. But many of them are hiding their sin behind closed doors or in a corner of a room where no one can see what they are looking at or doing. But God knows! But some sin can be seen by others, and others can see, to a point, whether or not a professing Christian is actually living the Christian life or not by his/her practices. For faith is doing the will of God. Faith is obedience to God.

So, the instruction here is, if you have clear evidence that someone professing faith in Jesus Christ is not obeying the Lord and his commands, but they are living in opposition to the Lord’s commands, in practice, well first of all I believe you should try to speak with that person (male to male and female to female, unless a family member). And you should give them the opportunity to repent. But if they continue on living in sin, and not in obedience to the Lord, we are supposed to not fellowship with them.

[2 Thessalonians 3:6-15; 1 Corinthians 5:9-13]

But the purpose of this is not to be mean or hateful or unforgiving. The purpose is to shame them to the point to where hopefully they will repent of their sins and will then walk in obedience to the Lord. But it appears to me that this has to be something done collectively as the body of Christ for it to have that effect. But in our culture today, most likely the person will just “attend church” someplace else where they will be accepted just as they are and where no one will get in their face about any sin in their lives.


Teach Them

An Original Work / May 24, 2012
Based off various scriptures

Open up the blinded eyes of
Those who walk in sin’s darkness.
Turn them to the light of Christ
And to His righteousness.
Turn them from the pow’r of Satan.
Turn them to the peace of Christ,
So they may receive forgiveness
And eternal life.

Teach them to put off their old selves
And their former way of life,
And to put on their new self,
Reborn to be like Christ;
To not copy worldly customs;
Be transformed in life and mind;
Obey freely His word in them,
Pleasing unto God.

Teach them how to love their neighbors
Truly as they love themselves;
Be a witness; share the gospel;
Satan’s lies dispel;
Comfort all who mourn in sadness;
Share Christ’s love and joy today.
Do this through your life and witness
For your Lord always.

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Whew, while Hillsong has controversies, this rock cover by Seventh Day Slumber is amazing. Better than the original, cos this one is good to jam out. Found it a few minutes ago. 2013 was one of the last years for good Christian music across the radio, though there are still a few artists that make good Christian music nowadays.

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Desert Song Lyrics (2010 original, 2013 cover):

[Verse 1]
This is my prayer in the desert
When all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in my hunger and need
My God is the God who provides

[Verse 2]
And this is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me, Lord, through the flame

[Chorus]
And I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

[Verse 3]
And this is my prayer in the battle
When triumph is still on its way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I'll stand

[Chorus]
And I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

[Bridge]
All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship
(4x)

[Chorus]
(2x)

[Verse 4]
This is my prayer in the harvest
When favor and providence flow
I know I'm filled to be emptied again
The seed I've received I will sow

Michie said:

Vance did not go either as stated in the article. Campaigning.

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Yeah, they want votes say they can win the election. I can’t say I’m shocked or anything.

Did she do this for the entire speech or just for the one line?

Guys, pray that no terror acts harm any people in France, and that Europe as a whole may be protected from violence.

------------------
Catholic Prayer: https://wordbytes.org/victory/prayer-to-defeat-terrorism/

Heavenly father, deliver the world from further terrorist attacks. Protect us from all tactics of the devil. Protect us from biological and chemical warfare, from bombings and hijackings and other attacks of evil that is right now being planned. Expose such strategies in the Light of Christ in time for the authorities to stop them. And deliver from evil those who are being used as Satan’s puppets; set them free to see what the Light of Christ is revealing, free to understand the truth, free to act upon the truth with repentance and a yearning for true holiness.

And may the Blessed Mother of Christ, who crushed Satan beneath her feet when she delivered the Savior to the world, place us all under her care and protection and the power of her prayers.

Jesuit Prayer: https://www.xavier.edu/jesuitresour...yers-in-times-of-crisis/in-times-of-terrorism

Loving God,
Welcome into your arms the victims of violence and terrorism.
Comfort their families and all who grieve for them.
Help us in our fear and uncertainty,
And bless us with the knowledge that we are secure in your love.
Strengthen all those who work for peace,
And may the peace the world cannot give reign in our hearts.

Ana the Ist said:

Feel free to elaborate. Do you think those three in particular are representative of the Republican Party?

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They are leaders of the republican party.

Ana the Ist said:

Are you admitting Trump did a "decent job"?

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I defer to the judgement of the American people. They fired him. Bill Clinton is kind of a sleazebag, but he did a pretty good job as president. So the voters gave him a second term.

Ana the Ist said:

Seems like Detroit schools actually improved under the Trump administration. Go figure

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Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Education Department, Betsy DeVos, has spent two decades successfully pushing “school choice” in her home state of Michigan — a policy that she and her husband vowed in 1999 would “fundamentally improve education.”

Except the track record in that state shows that it hasn’t.

Despite two decades of charter-school growth, the state’s overall academic progress has failed to keep pace with other states: Michigan ranks near the bottom for fourth- and eighth-grade math and fourth-grade reading on a nationally representative test, nicknamed the “Nation’s Report Card.” Notably, the state’s charter schools scored worse on that test than their traditional public-school counterparts, according to an analysis of federal data.

Betsy's own department data.

As I showed you before, she made it worse. Even people who started out on her side, now admit she was the problem:

“The bottom line should be, ‘Are kids achieving better or worse because of this expansion of choice?’” said Michigan State Board of Education President John Austin, a DeVos critic who also describes himself as a strong charter-school supporter. “It’s destroying learning outcomes ... and the DeVoses were a principal agent of that.”
ibid

Ana the Ist said:

Forget whatever small potatoes thing Betsy Devos did while improving outcomes for Detroit public schools.

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See above. Even charter school supporters admit that "destroying learning outcomes" was her doing.

She's a grifter. Made a lot of money making things worse. And as you learned, she did what she could to protect her fellow grifters. Went a bit over the line when she defied a court order to stop making students pay fraudulent schools. That's what the "loan forgiveness" thing is actually about.

Ana the Ist said:

Fortunately...all one needs is at least half a functioning brain to figure out the problem. The cost of the degrees are far greater than their value....ergo, a scam.

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Well, it kinda depends. I know a guy whose oldest son has a degree in English poetry. He's a developer for some start-up. His youngest son has a degree in Art History. He's the inventory manager for a large corporation. The middle son got a more useful degree. Then he gave it up and went to law school. The oldest daughter wanted to play professional soccer. Got a degree in sports or something. She never grew big enough to play at the highest level, but she coaches and teaches other coaches to coach. Not making much money, but living her dream.

What was the value of those degrees?

Ana the Ist said:

Not interested in whatever small potatoes thing you're referring to here....I think you owe Devos some credit for improving local Detroit schools but that's not important....

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See above. I would think it would be important to get your facts straight. The public schools she "converted" to "choice" cratered. She made Detroit schools worse.

Ana the Ist said:

I'm curious about the Democratic Party's position on scam universities?

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In 2021...

Biden's administration is cracking down on for-profit schools that made 'false promises' about students' futures and drove them into debt​

Maybe they don't report stuff like that in Pravda.

Vambram said:

Login to view embedded media
Fell for You first day that I met You
Never dreamed that I ever could forget You
But black and white make a mess when it turn to grey
Sunlight came sweepin' cross the window
Rewind to the time when we were so close
Got me longin' for yesterday
But Lord You know me so well
I can be a little punk sometimes

But don't leave me, leave me alone
Bust down the door to my heart like it's Your home
Don't need no keys
I'm on my knees
Begging You please
I've gotta settle this thing once and for all
You got my heart my soul You can have it all
I'm on my knees
Beggin' You please
Beggin' You please Lord, don't leave me alone

Don't leave me alone
Through the tears, through the pain comes a new day
Blown away still amazed You pursue me
Ain't no limit to the way You love

Lord, I need You like a heartbeat
(Concrete) rock-solid under my feet
And You're callin' me, You're callin' me up
Oh, 'cause You (You) know me (oh, You know me) so well (so well)
And I can be a little punk sometimes

So don't leave me, leave me alone
Bust down the door to my heart like it's Your home
Don't need no keys
I'm on my knees
Begging You please
I've gotta settle this thing once and for all
You got my heart, my soul, You can have it all
I'm on my knees
Beggin' You please
Beggin' You please Lord, don't leave me alone

I said You had me in Your arms but I fell through the grasp
But yep, I had You in my heart but I guess I relapsed
Like I'm livin' for the wrong reasons, through the seasons
Tryna fall for You but then they put me on blast
It's like I try to speak my mind because I know that I'm His
And yep I try to speak my mind but it don't fly with them kids
Man, if I'm not talkin' bout the newest Nikes or releases
They put the mute on me, I can't speak about my Jesus?
Like I'm living for Him, I'm slippin to sin
I turn around and make the amends
I try to fit it, I mess it up and stumble again
I'm takin' this pen
And writing everything so I remember just how sweet that it is
Yeah man, I got issues, I can't even lie
My only saving grace is knowing I got You inside
I'm done with saving face, I don't got a thing to hide
So don't leave me alone, keep coming day and night

Don't leave me, leave me alone
Bust down the door to my heart, Lord it's Your home
You don't need no keys
I'm on my knees
Begging You please
I've gotta settle this thing once and for all
You got my heart, my soul, You can have it all
I'm on my knees
Beggin' You please
Beggin' You please Lord
I'm on my knees
Beggin' You please
Beggin' You please Lord, don't leave me alone
Don't leave me alone

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Ooh, this one is little too modern for me as this song was released in the mid-2010s, in 2015, but I do have to admit, it is catchy. And hey, the Lord never leaves us alone. Yes, I am an old soul in a young man, so the Christian stuff from before 2015 is better (1970s to ~2013), but we all have different tastes.

Deuteronomy 31:6 (NKJV): "Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you."

By the way, there was Christian funk in the 1960s, some was instrumental. The Winstons - Amen Brother was one of the classic funk songs of the late-1960s. It had a special drum beat at the 1 min 26 second mark which paved the way for breakbeat and electronic dance music.

The Winstons - Amen, Brother (1969)
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Amen Break Explained:

Amen with Lyrics (Choir Version):
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Amen Lyrics (Gospel song):
[Verse 1]
See the little baby, Amen
Wrapped in a manger Amen
On Christmas morning,
Amen, Amen, Amen

[Verse 2]
See him in the temple, Amen
Talking with the elders, Amen
Who marveled at his wisdom
Amen, Amen, Amen

[Verse 3]
See him at the seaside, Amen
Talking with the fishermen, Amen
Walking the side pales
Amen, Amen, Amen

[Verse 4]
Oh, to in Jerusalem, Amen
On the top branches, Amen
He talked in splendor
Amen, Amen, Amen

[Verse 5]
See him in the garden, Amen
Lord have mercy, Amen
Blessed savior
Amen, Amen, Amen

[Verse 6]
Before Hiram, Amen
They crucified him, Amen
Amen, Amen, Amen

At first I thought, "Oh good, something new to watch." Never mind.

Vambram said:

I love how we know that Help from the Lord is always going to be on time. ..... on HIS time, if not always there exactly when we want His help. He is rolling up His sleeves again and He is always ready to help us.

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Agreed 100%. And hey, sometimes God may wait years to help us, but we must have faith. Plus, if we do not get help in this lifetime, know that when we pass away into heaven as Christians, we will be with Jesus, as we are saved by Jesus on the cross.

Romans 8:18-19 (NIV): "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed."

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV): "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

Revelation 21:4 (NIV): "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

City of Heaven Pt. 1 Devotional:

Vambram said:

My brother, let met tell ya something! Tobymac is still going strong putting out lots and lots of great music for the Lord!!

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Amen, TobyMac is one of the few good Christian artists still putting out good music over the past 10 years, and his music is still about God, and not himself.

YouTube Channel Video Devo
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“Honesty Goes A Long Way”
Isaiah 6:5 NIV
“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

As I’ve mentioned many times in the past, I am a fan of police shows. Watching the reality of what police officers experience is thrilling in many ways, but also touching in some ways as well. My wife and I will often make comments to each other and our girls how certain officers are really cool in the way they handle things.

One of the things that has stuck out to me lately is when a traffic stop is made and the officer has a hunch there are drugs involved or sees some drug paraphernalia, so then the driver or passengers are immediately asked to step out of the car. Many officers will then cut right to the chase and say, “Look, honesty goes a long way with here. If you’re honest with me right now about the drugs you have, we can work something out”. This doesn’t mean the officer will totally let them off the hook, but with the honesty, the officer will often either destroy it and let them go after delivering a teaching moment.

I’ve had that phrase stuck in my mind for a while now as I watch the shows. If the people aren’t honest and try to play dumb and the cops find more drugs, then off to jail they go or pay a hefty fine. The officers value up front honesty and often times, the officers can tell right away if the person is lying. As I think about this in our lives with God, He values our honesty. When we come to Him, He wants us to admit the junk in our lives. He wants us to be up front with Him, admit our faults and ask for forgiveness. We can’t hide anything from God.

I would imagine it’s pretty hard to hide things from cops. They are smart and know how to spot things that aren’t good. They want people to be honest with them and for it to be a teaching moment. God also wants to have teaching moments with us and He wants to guide us. Parents want their kids to be honest with them. Teachers want students to be honest with them. Any person in authority desires for another person in a lesser position to be honest. Honesty goes a long way.

So often, I think we forget this in life. I have really tried to make this a practice in my life. Not just to look good to others, but to really have a good conscience and be a faithful servant for God. I want to be honest in all that I do. But, there are times I don’t want to be honest and I’d rather hide something because I don’t want to face the music.

We can all learn a lot by remembering that honesty goes a long way. When we’ve messed up, we need to come clean before God and before those we have wronged.

Since God considers it an abomination, don't want it in my house. (Deu 7:26).

Curiousmind said:

Dont let people abuse u or rule over u by forcing u to confess ur sins to them, it is enough to confess ur sin to God.

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It is best to sacramentally confess your sins to God through a priest, that way you can know that your sins are forgiven. If your religion doesn't recognize the sacraments then ask God in prayer, with a heart of repentance, to forgive your sins.

credit – Jamie Pham / LA Zoo

The Los Angeles Zoo is capping off its 2024 California condor breeding season with a record-breaking 17 chicks hatched all of which will be candidates for release into the wild as part of the California Condor Recovery Program (CCRP).

The 17th and final chick of the season hatched in June and is thriving. The previous record of 15 California condor chicks hatched at the LA Zoo was set in 1997.

Photographers were at pains to capture this famously ugly bird during the miracle of birth, and the photos were announced in the LA Times as “Ugly-cute baby photos.”

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