"You Cannot Multiply Wealth by Dividing it"

An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had once failed an entire class. That class had insisted that Obama's socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.

The professor then said, "OK, we will have an experiment in this class on Obama's plan".
All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A...

After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little.

The second test average was a D! No one was happy.

When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F.

As the tests proceeded, the scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.

All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.

Could not be any simpler than that.

So Said A Very Wise Man....

PRAYER- "We would virtually defend our belief in it with our lives, but we do not practice it in our lives."

"There is very little value in talking about, studying and reading about prayer if we do not pray. In fact, learning about prayer can be positively harmful because it increases our responsibility and intensifies our guilt if we fail to pray. Prayer is one of the highest privileges of the Child of God, the most significant form of service that can be rendered to God and men, and is the duty of every believer. Therefore, we must pray!"

A Song From Within

All was quiet and discouragingly dark. Every tiny sound was amplified, times ten, by such an eerie stillness.

The slow but steady drip, drip, drip overhead caused a little trickle of a stream to run in the one corner of the prison cell. The air was musty and damp, for not a breath of fresh air had passed through these walls since they had been put together.

The prisoners, their feet held firmly in stocks, shifted uncomfortably on the cold floor, trying to find a better sitting position. No such luck. Though the drying blood had started to close their wounds, the skin was still raw and stripped from the recent whipping, making every move painful. Their bedding was little more than a few straggles of straw left from the many other prisoners, who had also found it their misfortune to have a prolonged stay in this dank room far from the sunlight.

There was a quick, scurrying sound and Paul and Silas knew they were not alone. Such grime. Such filth. And they, who had once been high leading officials and responsible workers, had been thrown here with no more thought than if they'd been a pile of fish bones.

Such treatment could certainly cause one to wonder if it was really worth it. What difference were they really making? Were they just causing more trouble than anything else? All they had done was preach the gospel and look where it had landed them. Why was it so hard? Was God really worth it?

I don't really know what all went through their minds that night, but I do know that at midnight, their thoughts were turned toward God. Saul and Silas prayed...Out Loud -(for Acts says that the other prisoners could hear them.) Perhaps they asked for strength to endure the trials. Perhaps they asked the Lord to remind them of how Jesus had promised them that those who persecuted Him, would also persecute them. Perhaps they questioned and wondered how He could be working. Perhaps they admitted their fears, their lack of faith, their need for comfort. I don't know, but whatever those prayers may have consisted of, I do know that it resulted in an attitude of submission, followed by an overwhelming sense of peace.

The prayers ceased and silence once more filled the air.

Then...

...from deep within the dungeon, where only cries from the lost and forgotten had ever been heard before, there now came, from the heart of a man who had found God to be enough, a deep, lusty, off-pitch voice singing "O Lord, My God. When I in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds Thy hands have made. I see the stars. I hear the rolling thunder. Thy power throughout the universe displayed. Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee! How great Thou art! How great Thou art. Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee! How Great Thou art! How Great Thou art!

The voice became more confident and it filled the small cell, causing Silas to chuckle and he joined in too; his voice only adding to the already off-tune melody. It didn't matter that neither one of them could sing. Their hearts were uplifted and drawn to God as the words to their song filled them with renewed strength. "And when I think, that God His Son not sparing, sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in! That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died, to take away my sin! Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee! How great Thou art, How great Thou art. Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee, How great Thou art, How great Thou art!"

Yes, they had a reason to hope. They had a reason to joy. Their happiness didn't lie in their circumstances, their possessions, or their relationships. They understood that "behind every frowning providence, God hides a smiling face". God was at work; hearts would be drawn and lives would be changed forever simply because of their faith. That was reason enough to rest in how God had chosen to lead them. "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost." They had a firm grasp on God's grace, the strength of His Holy Spirit and of the joys that were to come.

I can't help but imagine the delight that must have lighted up that dark cell as Paul and Silas sang the final stanza. "When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation, And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart. Then I shall bow, in humble adoration, And there proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"

Aside from the discouragement and doubts, don't you kind of wish you could have been there with them? There's just nothing like experiencing the peace of God after a stormy struggle. His strength fills and renews like nothing else and leaves us with a kind of contentment that nothing else can give.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

Rachels Graduation

The Class of 2010!
Lots of changes coming for them! Its only been a year since I graduated and already it feels like it's been ages. So many different experiences! So many different scary and new things, but one thing I know for sure...God remains constant. "I trusted in thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my God. My times are in thy hand." (Psalms 31:14-15a)

Jordan, doing his job as a greeter

My cousin Anna. She (and her parents) surprised Rachel by coming. It was good to see her and I'm looking forward to going up to New York in a few weeks to see her graduate as well.

THE GRADUATE

Graduates Song
The girls with Mrs. Kilmer, who agreed to be our fill-in Grandma for the day. She's a dear friend of the family and as a kid, going to their house was always a treat.

Mom, Aunt Teena and Uncle Bill at the party afterwards

I'm learning that Volleyball is actually a tolerable sport.

Our faces tell the story... It was a very sad day for both Rachel and I.

A Day on the River

It was a lazy summer and the planned kayak trip, with my Uncle Bill, cousin Anna, and two siblings was enough to fill me with excited anticipation of simply DOING something. I had been so bored I probably would have been happy with a trip to the kiddy park. I smiled to myself as the van rolled over the winding back roads of Pennsylvania. It had taken forever to actually get on the road, but that was no surprise. Uncle Bill always had to do lots of things before he ever actually got around to doing something.

We finally arrived at the Swatara Creek and proceeded to fill the inflatable kayaks before placing them in the water. We then set out on our excursion with merry spirits and cheerful smiles. I paddled along slowly; enjoying the beautiful day and the conversation with my cousin. I couldn’t help but laugh as I watched my siblings John and Rachel pass by in their inflatable kayak. They had the two-person kayak while the rest of us had managed to get the single ones by fighting for them with tooth and nail. Their double kayak had a tiny hole in it and was little by little losing its air. This caused it to be half sunk in the water where John was sitting. Rachel weighed hardly anything and so her end was way up in the water. To make it even worse the double kayak was supposed to have seats but Uncle Bill had forgotten to bring them. Therefore they were sitting even lower in their kayak. It looked so funny. While my cousin and I were chuckling over their situation, we continued to drift on down the creek.

As I lay back in my kayak, reveling in the fact that I had won the battle for it, I listened to the sounds around me. A bird tweeted noisily, a duck honked from father down the creek, and my cousin called off to the right announcing some turtles she had discovered. I lifted my head, warm from the sun, and saw a slight rapid area up ahead. The sight of it caused me to sit up all the way. I grabbed my paddle and gazed at the little white caps of water, trying to determine the best possible route to go through without getting grounded on rocks. Up ahead, Uncle Bill was the first to go. He glided right between two big rocks. I dragged my paddle, trying to go slowly, but the current grabbed my kayak and swept it along. I snagged for a moment on the right rock but as soon I shifted my weight, it lifted and flowed toward my waiting Uncle.

As soon as the others caught up we beached our kayaks and broke for lunch. We climbed up on the rocky bank. Down by the water the ground was made up of large boulders; perfect for sitting on. Farther up the bank the boulders gave way to earth and it was full of blue wildflowers and thick trees that provided a cool shade. I passed out the lunch, John prayed, and we dug in. Food always tastes ten times better when you’ve been working hard out in the fresh air. In the shade of the trees we all relaxed and enjoyed the peacefulness surrounding us. I glanced at John to find he had already downed his sandwich and was scrounging around for another one. He also held an empty banana peel in his hand which he seemed to be trying to decide what to do with. After a moment of deliberation he simply tossed it up on the bank above us. Anna’s mouth dropped a mile long. “You’re littering!” She screeched. John shrugged. “It will eventually disintegrate.” He explained himself and Anna seemed satisfied with his answer. We finished our meal, packed up and once again returned to the kayaks.

The rest of the afternoon flew by as we raced each other, climbed in and out of our kayaks to drag them over the low areas, fell on the rocks, talked and laughed. The time came for us to reluctantly end our afternoon, so we deflated the rafts (John and Rachel didn't have to do too much at this point ;) and then headed home. We all were muddy, wet, and tired and Uncle Bill had a rip on the seat of his pants. But we had had fun.

We talked about our afternoon for the first few minutes of the ride but before long we lapsed into silence as the motion of the van began to lull some of us to sleep. I was almost completely out when I heard Anna ask “WHAT are we doing?” I peeked open an eye and watched as Uncle Bill pulled the van into the GIANT parking lot and parked the car. “I need to pick up a few things” He said, before turning off the ignition and hopping out. I glanced at my cousin and siblings and raised an eyebrow. I only received clueless looks and shrugs in return. Uncle Bill smiled and waved a hand. “Come on, everyone out!” I clambered out, followed by the others. I looked at them and wondered if I looked as horrible as they did right now. With hair that was still wet and had pieces of mud in it, shoes/sandals that squeaked as we walked across the parking lot, cheeks that were sunburned and chapped and wearing clothes that had seen better days, we certainly didn’t look like we were trying to make a good impression on anybody. I was just praying that we didn’t run into anybody I knew.

As we headed into the store Uncle Bill looked back at his rip, craning his head to try and see it. “Is it really bad?” He asked. Anna nodded. Something needed to be done. Our family name was at stake. “Here! Wrap this around your waist!” I offered as I took off the sweater of Rachel’s that I had been wearing. It was too small for me anyway. Uncle Bill accepted it and proceeded to secure it around his waist by tying the two sleeves together. They barely made the knot. Anna and I burst out laughing. The small sweater hardly did much to cover the pants, and made my uncle look like he was trying to be Tarzan. The hole however was at least covered, and satisfied with that fact, Uncle Bill proceeded to lead our little party into the store, the sweater flapping crazily behind him.

We followed our Uncle around the store, as if he were the Pied Piper. We couldn’t contain our laughter every time we so much as glanced at our preacher uncle turned Tarzan. As we headed down the aisles, we made quite the racket with our squeaky sandals and Uncle Bill making comments about his nicely painted toenails. Upon this comment of his, we all stopped to examine his feet and discovered that each of his individual toenails were covered with mud, turning them a nice chunky brown color. Why do people pay such bug bucks to have their nails done when such a luxury is available to them at the creek!

I couldn’t imagine what other people thought of us as my Uncle Bill led us up and down the aisles in search of something. Finally he discovered what he had come, and dragged all of us in here with him, for.

The candy aisle.

Resolutions and Reminders

Today I was reminded of the verses I resolved to carry with me throughout this year...its amazing how quickly I forget!

"I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD:"....but...."O Lord God...forsake me not when my strength faileth."

Family, etc.

I love this pic. Grandma is such a godly woman; the epitome of the Proverbs 31 woman and a true prayer warrior. It would be an accomplishment to be half the woman she is. 4 GenerationsLuke leaves for the submarine soon...wish I could have enjoyed that cake with the family in S.C.
This is just to make me smile every time I see it. =)