Excellent blog: TOMNOIR
Read it at your own risk.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Saturday, January 30, 2010
IMPERIUM - Robert Harris
TOM NOIR piqued my interest about a historical novel, IMPERIUM by Robert Harris. It's set in the old Roman Empire and it is excellent.
For Tom's review see: http://www.facebook.com/tom.braun?ref=ts#/notes/tom-braun/imperium-a-book-review/273102143421
For Tom's review see: http://www.facebook.com/tom.braun?ref=ts#/notes/tom-braun/imperium-a-book-review/273102143421
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
JERRY HOPKINS R.I.P
My good friend and fellow follower of Jesus Christ died this morning - 1-21-2010.
JERRY HOPKINS, one of the truly "good guys" is gone; on to a much better situation, Heaven.
I honor his family: Wife Ellen, Daughters Shannon & Elizabeth, Son Scott.
JERRY will be deeply missed.
JERRY HOPKINS, one of the truly "good guys" is gone; on to a much better situation, Heaven.
I honor his family: Wife Ellen, Daughters Shannon & Elizabeth, Son Scott.
JERRY will be deeply missed.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Monday, December 14, 2009
If you don't know this, you should
On his deathbed, Martin Luther offered these last words: "We are sinners, it is true."
Friday, November 27, 2009
PAULETTE BROWN
PAULETTE BROWN, my cousin Tom's wife, passed away this week. She and Tom were married 45 years and had two children: Scott and Lisa.
PAULETTE will be much missed. She was a very fine lady.
PAULETTE will be much missed. She was a very fine lady.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
The Willster
Person of interest:/ amateur philosopher, commenter, and floor installer -- The Willster
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
The wisdom of Solomon
I consider the Scripture book of Ecclesiastes to be the finest book of wisdom ever.
A new blog
I continue to simply love my congregation and my staff; Andrew Rogers, Dan Burleson and the elders, worship team and small group leaders. Sunrise Community Evangelical Free Church.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Starting out in Life
Isaiah Bennett Newkirk - my grand-nephew born to Zack and Kristen Newkirk. May he thrive and become a great and Godly man. May he and his cousin, Ethan William Alan Newkirk, be the best of friends.
Sunday, August 09, 2009
The Loss of Friends
One of our favorite couples is moving away leaving a hole in our congregation. They will be missed by so many. The "Goodbye" party we had for them was so moving and then prayers at the end of the service offering God's blessing in their new home. Our congregation truly attempts to practice "loving one another." Family, we all need one.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
I LOVE MY CHURCH
My church, Sunrise Community Evangelical Free Church, is certainly not large ( at this time) so there are a lot of "extras" that are not available, such as a gymnasium and athletic teams.
My church has one primary focus. It is Scripture. During the service a significant portion of Scripture will be read and then the messages are focused on what Scripture actually is saying and how that can be applied to our lives as followers of Jesus Christ. There's actually not a whole lot of stories during the messages. It really is about what the Scripture is saying and the context thereof.
I love it.
And then we must have the friendliest church in Jacksonville. It is always exciting to meet visitors who are eagerly welcomed. Great people visit our church.
My church has one primary focus. It is Scripture. During the service a significant portion of Scripture will be read and then the messages are focused on what Scripture actually is saying and how that can be applied to our lives as followers of Jesus Christ. There's actually not a whole lot of stories during the messages. It really is about what the Scripture is saying and the context thereof.
I love it.
And then we must have the friendliest church in Jacksonville. It is always exciting to meet visitors who are eagerly welcomed. Great people visit our church.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Stephen Fowler; Good Guy? Surely unwise however.
World's worst husband - maybe
I've never seen TV's reality show WIFE SWAP. ( It's about swapping cultural mores by swapping wives from one household to the other to direct the family activities for a week. No "hanky-panky" involved.) Well, Gayla, a somewhat heavy-set patriot from Missouri was sent to a San Francisco suburb to play mother to the Fowler family while Renee Stephens went to Missouri. Stephen Fowler, a fairly wealthy venture capitalist, did not take kindly to Gayla and was ultimately quite verbally cruel. Very cruel. His performance on the show and the accompanying youtube videos created a major firestorm for the Fowlers/Stephens. He is currently the most hated and despised man in the USA (exceptions would be the whole of our Congress - but that's another post). His wife who is a Life Coach and Diet Therapist apologized on her website and he has too. He has since resigned from a couple of boards he served on and is probably in hiding - literally. His wife says she has requested he go to therapy and get help.
His apology on his wife's website was quite well done, but...... In the course of the TV show he offended military personnel, mid-westerners, people with weight problems, people without college diplomas and the vast majority of Americans in general. The avalanche of angry/enraged comments by people who either saw the show or have seen the youtube videos has been astounding. Several thousand people have posted their hatred and vitriol on various sites. It's quite interesting, if you're not the Fowlers/Stephens or their two young kids. Who knows how genuine his written apology was.
Mrs. Stephens, in her apology, insisted that her husband is not like that and also indicated he had done the show to please her. There maybe some truth that Stephen Fowler is not actually satan incarnate. Surely televisions editors live to highlight conflicts and paint portraits of people that are shallow, superficial and often inaccurate. But on the show the "milk of human kindness" is totally missing from Stephen Fowler.
REGARDLESS of what happens in the remaining 20 to 30 years of Stephen Fowler's life, he will NEVER live down his brief stint on television. There is no mea culpa available on this earth that will convince a majority of the angry citizenry that he is anything but a total, "limey scumball" (he's British).
And that's bad. He acted horribly, he may or may not be horrible. We don't actually know. He has ruined his reputation FOREVER and his marriage and family may or may not survive. His performance was that terrible. That is sad.
FINAL THOUGHTS. I realized a few years ago that it is basically NOT in your best interest to go on T.V. I used to be periodically interviewed by local television stations regarding mental health issues. But I no longer do that. I finally recognized that nothing particularly good could come of being on TV, and possibly something negative would. The best I could hope for was a "wash." So I no longer expose my vulnerabilities and stupidities willingly to the camera. Nothing to gain, much to lose.
I've never seen TV's reality show WIFE SWAP. ( It's about swapping cultural mores by swapping wives from one household to the other to direct the family activities for a week. No "hanky-panky" involved.) Well, Gayla, a somewhat heavy-set patriot from Missouri was sent to a San Francisco suburb to play mother to the Fowler family while Renee Stephens went to Missouri. Stephen Fowler, a fairly wealthy venture capitalist, did not take kindly to Gayla and was ultimately quite verbally cruel. Very cruel. His performance on the show and the accompanying youtube videos created a major firestorm for the Fowlers/Stephens. He is currently the most hated and despised man in the USA (exceptions would be the whole of our Congress - but that's another post). His wife who is a Life Coach and Diet Therapist apologized on her website and he has too. He has since resigned from a couple of boards he served on and is probably in hiding - literally. His wife says she has requested he go to therapy and get help.
His apology on his wife's website was quite well done, but...... In the course of the TV show he offended military personnel, mid-westerners, people with weight problems, people without college diplomas and the vast majority of Americans in general. The avalanche of angry/enraged comments by people who either saw the show or have seen the youtube videos has been astounding. Several thousand people have posted their hatred and vitriol on various sites. It's quite interesting, if you're not the Fowlers/Stephens or their two young kids. Who knows how genuine his written apology was.
Mrs. Stephens, in her apology, insisted that her husband is not like that and also indicated he had done the show to please her. There maybe some truth that Stephen Fowler is not actually satan incarnate. Surely televisions editors live to highlight conflicts and paint portraits of people that are shallow, superficial and often inaccurate. But on the show the "milk of human kindness" is totally missing from Stephen Fowler.
REGARDLESS of what happens in the remaining 20 to 30 years of Stephen Fowler's life, he will NEVER live down his brief stint on television. There is no mea culpa available on this earth that will convince a majority of the angry citizenry that he is anything but a total, "limey scumball" (he's British).
And that's bad. He acted horribly, he may or may not be horrible. We don't actually know. He has ruined his reputation FOREVER and his marriage and family may or may not survive. His performance was that terrible. That is sad.
FINAL THOUGHTS. I realized a few years ago that it is basically NOT in your best interest to go on T.V. I used to be periodically interviewed by local television stations regarding mental health issues. But I no longer do that. I finally recognized that nothing particularly good could come of being on TV, and possibly something negative would. The best I could hope for was a "wash." So I no longer expose my vulnerabilities and stupidities willingly to the camera. Nothing to gain, much to lose.
Monday, December 08, 2008
OBAMA and BIN LADEN
If John McCain would have been elected, he would NOT have had the political support to enter Pakistan and go directly after Bin Laden. The anti-war left and progressive wing of the Democratic Party would have raised a "hue and a cry." Hearing and threats of impeachment would have headlined the pages of the newspapers and been the topic of cries of alarm via NBC, ABC, CBS, MSNBC, CNN etc.
BUT, Obama could. While we conservatives would bemoan the double standard that allows a Democrat to enter Pakistan but not a Republican; we would certainly support Obama sending the troops in. I would think we wouldn't announce our incursion into Pakistan but he would have the national political backing to do it. No Republicans would demand a hearing. And the Democrat left would probably turn a blind-eye with the exception of Cindy Sheehan. The main-stream media would refuse to cover her dissent.
I say, "President Obama; on Jan. 22 send the special ops teams in and lever that Islamic murderer out of his cave. I won't have a word of criticism."
BUT, Obama could. While we conservatives would bemoan the double standard that allows a Democrat to enter Pakistan but not a Republican; we would certainly support Obama sending the troops in. I would think we wouldn't announce our incursion into Pakistan but he would have the national political backing to do it. No Republicans would demand a hearing. And the Democrat left would probably turn a blind-eye with the exception of Cindy Sheehan. The main-stream media would refuse to cover her dissent.
I say, "President Obama; on Jan. 22 send the special ops teams in and lever that Islamic murderer out of his cave. I won't have a word of criticism."
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