Don't take your health for granted

I have to be desperate these days to go to see the doctor. The thought of paying cash for an office visit since I don't have insurance is frightening. Thankfully the nurse practitioner’s office I use allows a substantial discount for paying up front.  Laying all that aside, let’s get to the meat and potatoes of what happened.

I think a lot of you are familiar with the fact I’ve been dealing with some pain for over a month now, pain I blamed on wrestling with the boys and landing on my elbow. Eventually, the pain began to spread into my arm and shoulder. I even have dealt with shooting pains in my fingers. I scheduled a doctor’s appointment.

As always, I got weighed and had my vitals took. I showed to have gained about 1 ½ pounds since my last visit way back in February. Considering I was fasting in February and wasn’t on this visit, it shouldn’t have been alarming on that part but it alarms me. I was exercising like crazy earlier in the year, spending a lot of time on the gazelle and/or walking several miles per day. Not good.

I fell out of my routine and being in pain for a couple of months hasn’t helped anything. My blood pressure was up (not dangerous by any means) as was my heart rate. This is NOT good. I’ve been forcing myself to get back on the gazelle lately. I may be sore afterwards but the weight has to come back off and the blood pressure MUST come down. I’m not proud of myself but what good will I do to beat myself up?

Here’s to starting the journey of healthiness again.

Technology and its adverse side effects

In the spirit of "giving credit where credit's due," I have to give credit to a fellow classmate on another campus extension, Jennifer, and (again) Ms. Clark, my public speaking professor at SEMO.

Today was our final day of class for the summer. Our assignment was to give an impromptu speech on a topic given to us at random. Jennifer's topic given to her was technology and she spoke of how modern technology was more of a detriment than a help.

While Jennifer wasn't saying we should go back to the days of Fred Flintstone, she did bring out some very valid points about how modern technology is actually driving us FURTHER from people instead of CLOSER to them.

The December 2011 issue of The Reader's Digest posted an article about the fact manners have gone by the wayside in modern American society. My classmate reiterated some of the things that this issue brought up.

We all love our cell phone. I enjoy the convenience of calling my kids at home or making an important phone call when I'm out. How far we've came from the party line telephone we had in the 1970's!!! While certainly an important tool in our everyday lives, we are so apt to misuse it. How many times have we seen the person walking through the store with a bluetooth earpiece carrying on what almost looks like a one-sided conversation? It's annoying and it's rude.

How about texting and driving? I'm guilty but I'm getting better!!! While it certainly might be considered an act of rudeness by some, it diverts your attention from the road and makes you dangerous. You're an accident waiting to happen! Put up the phone or let someone else drive!

Our beloved Internet. Without it, I wouldn't be sitting here blogging this topic nor would I have been able to hear a fellow student on another campus extension give her speech! Have we perhaps become too dependent upon the Internet? When I graduated in 1992, the Internet was unheard of. If I did a research paper, I had to (gasp!) dig out books and magazines. My last speech I gave was under the determination that I would not use any online sources. I almost got away with it. I wound up giving in and I e-mailed a couple of people I know because I couldn't remember the name of a radio program I needed to cite as a source.

I'm spoiled to my 55" LG TV, I really am!!! I love seeing my beloved Cardinals in high-definition. I sometimes remember how happy I was as a kid when my parents let me watch The Incredible Hulk or The Dukes of Hazzard on the 25" console TV. I would now look at a 25" tube-type TV and laugh, thinking of how far we've came. On the other hand I've admittedly let myself become spoiled and I've defined happiness by the size of a TV screen.

Technology can be a good thing. I'm not suggesting, nor was my classmate, that we should go back to the Stone Age or the Dark Ages. Maybe it's simply time we lay down the phone for a little while or turn off the TV for a bit and get outside. Enjoy God's creation He so generously gave us. Have a conversation with the family without the TV on. We should have the rule over technology and not the other way around.

Modern country radio

Hank Williams, Jr. said in one of his more recent songs that everybody's got a butt and a point of view. I think Bocephus might agree with my point of view-when country radio won't play a living legend such as him, there is a problem. We are talking country music royalty here. His dad turned the country music world topsy-turvy with his proto-rockabilly flavored country in the late 40's and early 50's and Bocephus played the outlaw card pretty well infusing Southern Rock into his music and helping to fuel the outlaw movement. While I'm not the biggest fan of Hank III, he can sing country with the best of them when he's not busy doing some variation of punk rock. I guess country radio has no place for those who do genre-bending, either.

I don't wish to knock those who like the new stuff. I simply have an issue with someone who has to TELL me how country he is. When you have to fake a twang and talk about getting on the hood of your daddy's tractor or you have to beg a girl to "shake it for me," well, there's a problem. The thing is that anytime I've brought it up to friends (particularly female), there's no defense of the lack of talent, it's always about how "hot" the singer is or how they'd drink their bathwater (yes, really!).

When I was growing up in the 70's and 80's, it was nothing to hear a new song by an old artist. You had George Jones and Johnny Cash who had been around since the 50's and they were still charting well into the 1980's and were getting air time even when country radio was in its pop phase. You also got to hear "oldies" from time to time juxtaposed with the new stuff.

Country radio used to not be afraid to focus attention off the mainstream and play something different. I'm too young to have been around for The Bakersfield Sound but I do know when Countrypolitan/Nashville Sound was all the rage, Buck Owens was doing edgy, gritty, Telecaster driven music that got tons of exposure. Would that happen today? Probably not.

Something changed in the mid-1990's. All of a sudden the older artists were pushed off the radio dial. There's quite a bit of 90's country I like but absent from the dial were George Jones, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and many others who put out albums in that era. Johnny Cash's American recordings were considered some of his best work in years and even resulted in a Grammy for one of them but country radio wouldn't touch him. Even Neil Diamond put out a country album (Tennessee Moon) and even he couldn't get airplay.

I know my music isn't mainstream anymore and isn't everyone's cup of tea. I'm not here to bash new country fans. All I'm saying is to expand your horizons. Check out some non-mainstream artists like David Church, Hank III, Shooter Jennings or others. You might find you like it!

If you were arrested for being a Christian........

........would there be enough evidence to convict you?

It's easy to SAY you're a Christian. Do your actions back that up? Do people see a difference in your life, something that makes them want what you've got? If they can't, there's a problem!!!

It seems too many these days want to SAY they're a Christian and there's nothing there to back it up. I once heard a preacher ask the question "what do you do when someone pulls out on you? Do you smile and go on or do you give them the California howdy?" In case you DON'T know what the "California howdy" is, there was a scene in the movie version of The Beverly Hillbillies where the Clampetts were flipped off and they thought it meant "howdy."

Do foul words come out of your mouth? Now I'm not talking about hitting your finger with a hammer and something slips out. I'm talking on a consistent basis here. People do notice these things whether we realize it or not. Those who aren't Christians expect to be able to see a difference.

Do you make sexually explicit comments? The Bible says that no coarse language should be named among Christians. Now there's nothing wrong with private things between spouses but in public by singles? That's a no-no. We shouldn't be taking jokes "below the belt" as Christians.

Does your music reflect what a Christian should listen to? I'm not about to go off on a legalistic bent here. I've heard preachers infer that you can tell how close a person is to God by seeing where their radio is set at. I disagree with that. I have no problem with secular music as long as the message doesn't big dishonor to what God says in His word.

The same thing with TV/movies. Is what we're watching something that's going to bring dishonor to God? Would you watch it if Jesus was there?

I'm not trying to come down on anyone, believe me. I'm far from perfect and have areas I need to work on myself. I don't dare point fingers-I'd have 4 pointing back at me. Just remember that when we name the name of Christ we have a lost and dying out there watching to see if we live up to that name.

An equal playing field or why I'm tired of discrimination

Discrimination isn't a pretty thing when used in the wrong context. Sadly, it has been with us throughout history in one form or another and I am sure it always will be until Christ comes back and sets up His kingdom. Rich against poor. Master against slave. The powerful against the weak.

Discrimination isn't always a bad thing. If someone isn't qualified to do a job, it's okay to discriminate against them and not hire them. You don't want a guy driving a semi-truck that has multiple tickets for speeding and has been convicted of road rage.

The discrimination I speak of that must be stopped is discrimination against white people. Too many seem to have the idea that "whitey" should pay for something done 150+ years ago. Minorities are now given special status when considered for jobs, schooling, etc. In reality, this is also a reverse discrimination of sorts against people that identify as minorities.

Is this what Martin Luther King, Jr. fought and died for? His dream was there would be equality for his descendants, an equality that didn't see them for their skin color. Would Mr. King be in support of quotas? No, I don't believe he would be. I believe he would say that it's still discrimination against the person of color by saying they aren't good enough to get the job or school placement on their own and he would be right.

Jobs or school placements should go to the best candidate, no matter the skin color. Giving it to someone on the basis of their skin color is double discrimination. It's discriminating against someone who is more qualified and it's also telling the person of color they are somehow beneath the white guy and need special treatment to advance.

What would happen if I wanted to start the WAACP? I would be called a racist and hatemonger. However, it's okay for there to be an NAACP!!!

The same issue would occur if I wanted to become a Congressman and start the Congressional White Caucus. I would be labeled a divisive hate monger, all the while it being okay there is a Congressional BLACK Caucus.

I do watch black-themed channels on TV now and then. Centric shows The A-Team, a show I've always loved. However, if I wanted to start a channel devoted to white people, there would be an outcry of mass hysteria.

Had the KKK been present during this past election intimidating black people, Obama and Holder would be jumping up and down, appointing a special investigator, etc. However, it's okay if it's the Black Panthers attempting to suppress and intimidate white voters and the Justice Department turns and looks the other way, pretending it never happened. Mind you, I do not support the KKK and their shenanigans but the Black Panthers are no better than the KKK.

It's time to level the playing field. It's time to end affirmative action for starters. It does nothing more than humiliate the person of African or Hispanic origin, telling them they are not as good as the white man. It's time to end the calls of racism when the white man stands up for his rights. It's time that we see Reverend King's dream fulfilled.

Is he/she "the one?"

I saw this on Facebook in the group "All True Men" and felt it was worth posting:

(((Six Clues to knowing whether he or she is "the one")))

1. "The one" obviously has to be a Christian, if you are a believer and follow of Jesus Christ then you know that "the one" can't be an unbeliever that doesn't share your beliefs regardless of whether they are a "nice person" or not. The bible says that we should not be unequally yoked with an unbeliever. I will not dwell on this point too long since I will deal with it in other articles about dating non Christians.

2. "The one" has to be someone that you can live with their flaws. People are not perfect and you are not perfect yourself so why demand from other people what you yourself can't deliver. Christian singles often have this unrealistic picture of "the one" some go as far as having a list of the qualities they are looking for but they make no room on that list for flaws because they are looking for a perfect and finished person. The only problem is that that perfect person doesn't exist.

Even the best of us have our flaws and "the one" will have their flaws too. "The One" will have annoying habits, "the one" will get you angry sometimes, "the one" will be insensitive to you sometimes, "the one" might not understand you sometimes; "the one" will definitely make some mistakes. Don't let people's flaws blind you from their overall goodness. If all you ever focus on is the negatives in people then you will never see the good in them and chances are you will never find "the one"

3. "The One" has to accept you even with your mistakes. The person you make allowances for equally has to make allowances for you. Be careful of labeling someone that doesn't accept you for you as "the one" be careful if someone you are dating is constantly trying to change you and force you to change. Be careful if they are always critical of you and your ways.

It is good when someone you are dating wants you to change for the better and motivates you to be the best you can be, but if they are going about it in a critical and controlling way and nothing you do ever seems to be good enough and they think that motivation you is them putting you down so that you can take action or they are always comparing you to other people then I doubt that such a person is "the one"

Remember that in point 2 I said that "the one" is someone that you are ready to live with their flaws. Ask yourself if you are willing to put up with someone who is constantly trying to change you, someone who is always putting you down and comparing you to others and be honest about whether you want to spend the rest of your life with such a person.

4. "The One" is the person you are willing to stick by or the person who is willing to stick by you even after your relationship has been tested. It is easy to think that someone you are in a Christian relationship with is "the one" when everything is going good and everything is perfect. But never measure the strength of your relationship based on when things are good, measure the strength of the relationship based on the challenges you are able to overcome. I can go as far as saying that you don't really have a relationship until that relationship has endured and overcome a test.

In fact one of the things that convinced me that faith was "the one" was after a major challenge we went through in our relationship which was as a result of some mistakes that I made. But she stuck by me despite my mistakes. We were at a point where the relationship was either going to stand or fall and to be honest, it looked like it was going to fall, but guess what? We survived the test and the relationship stood against all the odds. That's when I knew that we had something solid, a relationship that can withstand the storms, it was evident that our foundation was strong because it couldn't be shaken. How can a person like that not be "the one"

5. "The One" is someone that believes in you, someone that believes in your dream and vision, someone that can see gifts and abilities in you that you might not even see in yourself, someone that keeps believing in you and keeps encouraging you even when you stop believing in yourself (that's one of the things that convinced me that Faith was "the one") she saw in me qualities that I didn't even know existed.

6. "The One" Is someone you truly love not someone you are just settling for. People stay in relationships for all sorts of crazy reasons. I will never understand why people end up marrying someone they are not in love with. I will never understand why people go into marriage or stay in a relationship when they know they have doubts about the person they are in the relationship with. It really baffles me.

Remember that I said earlier that faith has a large part to play when determining if someone is "the one". You have to believe it in your heart, you can't afford to be doubtful, because when you are doubtful you will never be content and the grass will always look greener on the other side. There has to be true love, relationships are hard enough when there is true love among two people, it is a complete nightmare when there isn't true love.

I have seen people settle into a so called Christian relationship and even get married to someone they are not really in love with, maybe because the girl got pregnant and they wanted to do "the right thing" or maybe due to immigration problems, or because the guy or girl is rich and they want someone rich who can provide them with material things. Such people are never truly happy in their relationship and such relationships always end up falling apart eventually.

Research is you friend, folks or why I love debunking myths

Let me preface this by saying I do NOT like Barack Obama. I do not like what is going on in our country. I well believe this country could use a change in direction.

I have no problems with facts being presented but I do have a problem with pseudo-facts being passed off as facts or people simply passing off something they saw on Facebook as fact. This does more to discredit the conservative philosophy than anything Barack Obama or the left could ever dream of. Remember, research is your friend.

Some months back I had friends posting that on some particular day in March we were going to be forced to take the "mark of the beast." This was all a part of Obamacare and we were going to be forced to take it by this date. Obamacare has enough issues on its own without us making up things. I have no clue where this comes from nor do I care. It's a myth!!!

Another one that makes the rounds from time to time has a photo of a guillotine on it and a story of FEMA camps we're all going to be forced to live in. They are going to be "reeducation camps" and if we don't go along, we'll be beheaded. Hmm. Would I put FEMA camps past the government? Considering what was done to the Japanese-American population in WWII, no, I wouldn't. On the other hand, this seems to be the territory of hard-line conspiracy theorists who also seem to believe Bush blew up the Twin Towers.

What makes this laughable is the fact they give 72 locations where FEMA camps are at. First and foremost, if these are such ultra-secretive locations, how would the info be available so readily? Secondly, it lists the former site of "Blytheville AFB" as one of the 72 locations and goes on about how there are guard towers out there that are new and other "classic decorations." The funny thing is that I live about 7 miles from there and this is simply not a true statement. It was known as "Eaker AFB" when it was closed in the 1990's, not "Blytheville AFB." It is a thriving business spot now, featuring www.lightsofthedelta.com, a retirement village, a cafe, a daycare and an aeroplex where FedEx and Teleflora land.

I'm honestly not sure what to think about the rumors that Obama has a forged birth certificate. Would I be surprised? No, not really. However, it's still a matter of debate whether or not he is using one. I've seen trusted sites to say that it is legitimate and others to say it isn't. If we're not sure, let's be careful.

To sum things up, President Obama is doing enough on his own to damage this country without anyone having to result to myths and conspiracies. Focus on the facts!!!!