Road Trip!

I don't mind driving. I really don't. I do it for a living at 2 different jobs. But I'll tell you, doing more than 1,000 miles in about 48 hours is no fun. San Jose to Dodge Ridge on a Monday, about 3 and a half hours. Stay for 4 more days then Dodge Ridge to San Jose, sleep a few hours then to Hollister to L.A. (sleep a bit) to Visalia, to Hollister to San Jose and I've pretty much killed any desire to go anywhere. Today I woke up late, never got dressed, was a TV vegetable, ate way too many carbs and will probably go to bed early.

I remember as a pre-teen I wanted to be a long haul trucker. Get paid to see the whole country. If there was any inkling of that desire left in me, it may very well have died this weekend.

"Good morning, Pooh Bear," said Eeyore gloomily.
"If it is a good morning," he said.
"Which I doubt," said he.

Quotes from the Founders

As of late, the topic seems to permeate the media. Whether in news or opinion the "seperation of church and state" phrase, which has been misinterpreted for many years, continuously bludgeons the sheeple over their collective heads. You have heard the phrase "If you tell a lie long enough people will believe it." This is just what has happened over the last 50 odd years. The left and secular humanists have twisted this phrase to somehow mean there can be NO mention of religion anywhere in government. The original correspondance where this phrase was coined was from Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptists who were a religious minority in Connecticut. They complained that in Connecticut, the religious liberties they enjoyed were not seen as immutable rights, but as privileges granted by the legislature - as "favors granted." Jefferson's reply did not address their concerns about problems with state of Connecticut's establishment of religion - only on the national level.

The letter was the subject of intense scrutiny by Jefferson, and he consulted some of New England politicians to be sure that his words would not offend the Baptists while still conveying his message: it was not the place of Congress or the Executive branch to do anything that might be misconstrued as the establishment of a state religion.

Now for my need to post some quotes.

Thomas Paine

"The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind.
Where, some say, is the king of America? I'll tell you, friend, He reigns
above.

William Penn (Founder of Pennsylvania)

"If thou wouldst rule well, thou must rule for God, and to do that, thou must be
ruled by him....Those who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants."

Daniel Webster (Statesman, Lawyer, Orator)

"Finally, let us not forget the religious character of our origin. Our fathers were brought hither by their high veneration for the Christian religion. They journeyed by its light, and labored in its hope. They sought to incorporate its principles with the elements of their society, and to diffuse its influence through all their institutions, civil, political, or literary.

John Adams

June 21, 1776

"Statesmen, my dear Sir, may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is
Religion and Morality alone, which can establish the Principles upon which
Freedom can securely stand.

Hat tips to the following for aiding in my information gathering -

• Faith of our Fathers
• Eads Home Ministries
• The Clusty search engine
  

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Parenting Pains

It's difficult to believe that the little girl teetering around the coffee table would grow up and move away. That little life that depended on you for her very existence would reach a point where she really would be her own person and not necessarily need you for survival. That, of course is how every parent sees their child. Needing them, dependent. Picturing that little girl all grown up, independant, making life's decisions, is difficult to fathom. When the decision is made to leave the home for another place with other people that replace the nuclear family, it knocks the wind out of you. Even though the ultimate goal of parenting, raising your child to be self-sufficient and productive, is known from birth, when the moment arrives it's quite unreal. It's rather like slamming your fingers in a car door. It hurts a lot. I can only hope that the future is bright and her ambition is sparked by this transition to independence. God has wonderful plans for her!