Stormbringer's Thunder

Buon giorno.  It has been over four years and over eight hundred posts on this Weblog alone. Add my other Weblogs, and my total is easily over a thousand posts. Most of those are my own work, but I have been increasing the number of links to other sites lately. One reason is obvious, that I believe they have something worth reading. The other reason is to give myself a break. I put a great deal of work into most of these posts, plus heart and soul. It gets draining. In a word: Burnout. Some of my longer-term readers know that I rededicated my life to Jesus just over a year ago, after rudely putting God on the back burner for about fifteen years. So, my interests and what I emphasize here has shifted, obviously. But I still maintain that this is a general-purpose Weblog, going where I want to go. Or where God leads. I was questioning if I was getting burned out, or if my priorities were out of order. Does God still want me doing this in the first place? I mentioned to Rhom

Buon giorno. First of all, the experiment with Windows Live Writer is continuing. Edit: Not very successful. Hey, America! I declare this “National Slurpee Day”! Well, the date is Seven-Eleven. Ha! People who know me are probably going to echo the title of this article. Back in 2008, I was very active in the “Save Tibet” movement. (I lost interest because too many people do not care about what is happening to the Tibetans under ChiCom occupation, and that my own government is not only apathetic, but betrays Tibetans as well.) But I used Vista Print and had car magnets made to attempt to stir up interest.      I still snicker at the instructions, where it said not to use on aircraft or underwater. You mean I can’t put a car magnet on my yellow submarine or my personal jet? Like, bummer, man! No, I don’t own the Mercury Cougar anymore, and I don’t live in that location, either. Some rotten people want to see me get whacked, but I’m not going to make it easy for them. Well,

It just doesn't get more ridiculous than this. Julie Bass of Oak Park, Michigan -- a mother of 6, law-abiding citizen, and gardener -- is facing 93 days in jail after being charged with a misdemeanor. Her crime? Planting a vegetable garden in the front yard. Bass says that she planted the garden after her front yard was torn up for some sewer repairs. Rather than wasting the opportunity to start with a clean slate by planting a lawn, she decided to really put the area to use, and plant a vegetable garden. Her garden consists of 5 raised beds, where she grows a mix of squashes, corn, tomatoes, flowers, and other veggies. Bass received a warning from the city telling her to remove the vegetable garden, because it doesn't adhere to city ordinances (more on that later.) When she refused, she was ticketed and charged with a misdemeanor. Her trial, before a jury, is set to begin on July 26th. If she is found guilty, she can be sentenced to up to 93 days in jail. Read the

"I will kill you and your family." "Someone please shoot her in the head, again and again." "I'm going to kill the pastor." "If I had a gun I would have gunned you down along with each and every other supporter…" "We're going to kill you." "You're dead. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon … you're dead." "I'm a gay guy who owns guns, and he's my next target." A federal court in Tacoma, WA has been asked to order that the names of signatories of a state petition seeking to protect traditional marriage be redacted to protect them from death threats from homosexual activists. "What is becoming increasingly evident," said James Bopp of the James Madison Center,"is that some groups and individuals, certainly a minority, have resorted to advancing their cause, not by debating the merits of the issue but by discouraging participation in the democratic process

Previously, I talked about the Sojourners-sponsored ad headlined "What Would Jesus Cut?" The ad, signed by Jim Wallis and more than two dozen leaders of the Religious Left, urged our leaders to ask themselves what Jesus would cut from the federal budget. Called "the leader of the Religious Left by The New York Times, Rev. Jim Wallis has a long history of denouncing his own country. In Agenda for Biblical People (1976), Jim Wallis refers to America as a "fallen nation." In an article in Mission Trends, Wallis approvingly predicted that "more Christians will come to view the world through Marxist eyes" and that "so-called 'young evangelicals' . . . [will] see the impossibility of making capitalism work for justice and peace." Read the rest of Michael Youssef's "Keep Jesus Out of Your Socialism - Part 3" here .

In part one of this series , I made clear, from the words of Jesus and the New Testament, that ministering to the poor and the needy among us is the work of Christian individuals and the church, not the secular government. Jesus said, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. . . ." Today's Religious Left wants to change that to, "He has anointed the federal government to preach good news to the poor." The Christian gospel is a message of salvation, not a message of income redistribution and raising our neighbor's taxes. Jesus said that the way to serve the poor is by giving generously of our own resources. "But when you give a banquet," He said in Luke 14, "invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." Read the rest of Michael Youssef 's " Keep

The headline of the full-page ad asks, "What Would Jesus Cut?—A budget is a moral document." The text continues, "Our faith tells us that the moral test of a society is how it treats the poor." The ad was produced by Sojourners, a self-described "evangelical" organization whose slogan is "Faith in Action for Social Justice." The ad was signed by Sojourners president Jim Wallis and more than two dozen Religious Left pastors, theologians, and activists. They urge our legislators to ask themselves, "What would Jesus cut?" from the federal budget. How would you answer that question? My answer would be, "It's a nonsense question. Your premise is faulty. Your priorities are not His priorities." Read the rest of Michael Youssef's "Keep Jesus Out of Your Socialism Part 1" here .