The Atheist Holiday

An atheist became incensed over the preparation of Easter and Passover holidays. He decided to contact his lawyer about the discrimination inflicted on atheists by the constant celebrations afforded to Christians and Jews with all their holidays while atheists had no holiday to celebrate.
The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the long passionate presentation by the lawyer, the Judge banged his gavel and declared, 'Case dismissed!'
The lawyer immediately stood and objected to the ruling and said,'Your honor, how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter and many other observances. Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah ... yet my client and all other atheists have no such holiday!'
The judge leaned forward in his chair and simply said, 'Obviously your client is too confused to even know about, much less celebrate his own atheists' holiday!'
The lawyer pompously said, 'Your Honor, we are unaware of any such holiday for atheists. Just when might that holiday be, your Honor?'
The judge said, 'Well it comes every year on exactly the same date --- April 1st! Since our calendar sets April 1st as 'April Fools Day,' consider that Psalm 14:1 states, 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.' Thus, in my opinion, if your client says there is no God, then by scripture, he is a fool, and April 1st is his holiday! Now have a good day and get out of my courtroom!!  Author Unknown.

St. Patrick's Day is celebrated by drinking and partying, and parades.  But St. Patrick was a missionary, and a man of God. He brought the love and mercy of of our Lord, Jesus Christ to the pagans of Ireland.

We forget his example of a Christ centered life.  So today I offer this prayer attributed to St Patrick.
The Breastplate of St Patrick.
I bind unto myself today
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same
The Three in One and One in Three.
I bind this today to me forever
By power of faith, Christ’s incarnation;
His baptism in Jordan river,
His death on Cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spicèd tomb,
His riding up the heavenly way,
His coming at the day of doom
I bind unto myself today.
I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of cherubim;
The sweet ‘Well done’ in judgment hour,
The service of the seraphim,
Confessors’ faith, Apostles’ word,
The Patriarchs’ prayers, the prophets’ scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord
And purity of virgin souls.
I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the star lit heaven,
The glorious sun’s life giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea
Around the old eternal rocks.
I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward;
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.
Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility
I bind to me these holy powers.
Against all Satan’s spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart’s idolatry,
Against the wizard’s evil craft,
Against the death wound and the burning,
The choking wave, the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.
By Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,

Something I found in my inbox

This is amazing.
There are two parts.

Be sure to read the 2nd part (in RED ).

 

Thomas Jefferson was a very remarkable man who started learning very early in life and never stopped.

 

At 5, began studying under his cousin's tutor ledge.

 

At 9, studied Latin, Greek and French.

 

At 14, studied classical literature and additional languages.

 

At 16, entered the College of William and Mary.
Also could write in Greek with one hand
while writing the same in Latin with the other.

 

At 19, studied Law for 5 years starting under George Wythe.

 

At 23, started his own law practice.

 

At 25, was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses.

 

At 31, wrote the widely circulated "Summary View of the Rights of British America"

And retired from his law practice.
 

At 32, was a delegate to the Second Continental Congress.

 

At 33, wrote the Declaration of Independence.

 

At 33, took three years to revise Virginia's legal code and wrote a

Public Education bill and a statute for Religious Freedom.

 

At 36, was elected the second Governor of Virginia succeeding Patrick
Henry.

 

At 40, served in Congress for two years.

 

At 41, was the American minister to France and
negotiated commercial treaties with European nations

along with Ben Franklin and John Adams..

 

At 46, served as the first Secretary of State
under George Washington.

 

At 53, served as Vice President and was elected
president of the American Philosophical Society.

 

At 55, drafted the Kentucky Resolutions and
became the active head of Democratic-Republican Party.

 

At 57, was elected the third president of the
United States.

 

At 60, obtained the Louisiana Purchase doubling
the nation's size.

 

At 61, was elected to a second term as President.

 

At 65, retired to Monticello.

 

At 80, helped President Monroe shape the
Monroe Doctrine.

 

At 81, almost single-handedly created the University of Virginia and served as its first president.

 

At 83, died on the 50th anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence the same day John Adams died.

 

Thomas Jefferson knew because he himself studied the previous failed attempts at government. He understood actual history, the nature of God, His laws and the nature of man. That happens to be way more than what most understand today.

Jefferson really knew his stuff.

 

John F. Kennedy held a dinner in the White House for a group of the brightest minds
in the nation at that time. He made this statement: "This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to gather at one time in
the White House with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."

   

"When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe." --

Thomas Jefferson

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." 
Thomas Jefferson

"It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes.

A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world." 
Thomas Jefferson

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense

of taking care of them." --
Thomas Jefferson

"My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government." --

Thomas Jefferson

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." Thomas Jefferson

 

"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny

in government."  Thomas Jefferson

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants alike."  Thomas Jefferson

"To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical." 
Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson said in 1802:

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.

If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property - until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."

I wish we could get this out to every American!

I'm doing my part.

So Please do Your Part.

What We Can Learn From Reagan About Celebrating Christmas!

From – The Daily Signal – by Lee Edwards

San Bernardino, Boston Marathon bombing, Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack, Paris Bataclan Theater massacres, Jihad, Islamic State, Caliphate, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Freddie Gray, Ferguson and Michael Brown, Assisted suicide.

Whatever happened to peace on earth and good will to men? In times like these when I am thinking of moving to Canada, I turn to my favorite president—Ronald Reagan—who was blessed with the gift of serenity even in the worst of times. He was eloquent about how much we have to be grateful for and never more so than at Christmas time.

In his first Christmas message from the Oval Office in Dec. 1981, when unemployment was high and economic growth was low and communism seemed to be on the march around the world, Reagan talked about the national Christmas tree he could see from the White House. He said the lighted tree reflected the love that Jesus taught. (Yes, he actually used the word “Jesus.”) Like the shepherds and wise men of the first Christmas, “we Americans have always tried to follow a higher light, a star, if you will…. At times our footsteps may have faltered, but trusting in God’s help, we’ve never lost our way.”

In fact, we have shown the way to countless others. In his 1982 Christmas message, when the Cold War still burned hot in Central America and Asia, Reagan recounted how Ordnance Man, First Class John Mooney and his shipmates had picked up 65 Vietnamese refugees in the South China Sea. Risking all to escape Communist “reeducation,” the boat people had been at sea for five days and had run out of water when they spotted the aircraft carrier USS Midway. As they approached the ship, wrote Mooney, “they were all waving and trying as best they could to say, “Hello, America sailor! Hello Freedom man!’”

“I hope,” Mooney wrote to his family, that “we always have room [in America] for one more person …looking for a place where he doesn’t have to worry about his family starving or a knock on the door in the night… a place where they finally see their dreams come true and their kids educated and become the next generation of doctors and lawyers and builders and soldiers and sailors.”

An impossible dream? Not to Reagan, who after reading Mooney’s letter reminded his listeners – and us – that “in spite of everything, we Americans are still uniquely blessed, not only with the rich bounty of our land but by a bounty of the spirit—a kind of year-round Christmas spirit that still makes our country a beacon of hope in a troubled world.”

In his 1983 Christmas message, shortly after terrorist attacks on a Marine barracks in Lebanon had killed 241 American servicemen, Reagan asked Americans to pray “for our soldiers who are guarding peace tonight.” With patience and firmness, he said, “we can help bring peace to that strife-torn region and make our own lives more secure.” Note he said “help,” not suggesting that America should or could bring peace all by herself.

In his 1985 Christmas message, shortly after his first meeting with the new Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in Geneva, Reagan spoke of Jesus and the power of his love “that can lift our hearts and soothe our sorrows and heal our wounds and drive away our fears.” He reminded us that Jesus had promised “there will never be a long night that does not end.” Ever the optimist, Reagan came to believe that we could “trust” Gorbachev if we took steps to “verify” his promises.

In his 1986 Christmas message, when the Iran-Contra affair had just broken and his presidency was under strong attack, Reagan kept his faith in God. He did not question the motivations of his critics, but turned his cheek. He said that God’s commandment to love our neighbor as we love ourselves “is a commandment to respect the God-given rights of our fellow men.” He quoted the prophet Isaiah:

“He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth their strength … they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings of eagles; they shall run and not be weary.”

In his 1987 Christmas tree message, soon after he signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, eliminating for the first time an entire category of nuclear weapons, Reagan invited visiting Gorbachev to observe the very top of the tree.

As a small reminder of the spirit of Christmas, Reagan announced that the Star of Peace atop the tree would be lit day and night while “our Soviet guests are here. … Let the star remind us why we’re gathered and what we seek.”

In his final Christmas tree message in Dec. 1988, Reagan said that none of us need feel lonely because “we are loved with the greatest love there has ever been or ever will be.” He urged us to be grateful for our freedom to worship as we please and to “redouble our efforts to bring this greatest of all freedoms … to all the peoples of the earth.”

As we come home to family and friends this Christmas, the president said, “let us all remember our neighbors who cannot go home themselves.” Our compassion and concern, he said with conviction, will mean much “to the hospitalized, the homeless, the convalescent, the orphaned” and will lead us to the joy and peace of Bethlehem. Looking around the nation and the world with all its problems and challenges, Reagan offered his final Christmas words: “For it is only in finding and living the eternal meaning of the Nativity that we can be truly happy, truly at peace, truly home.”

A merry and blessed Christmas to everyone!

My Testamony

I was born in Pekin, Illinois on Feb. 8^th, 1951.  My dad was a bricklayer there, and after finishing his training and project he was working on he returned to Maquoketa Iowa where he and my mother were from.  I spent only a few years there, and in my Kindergarten year we moved to Minnesota with my Grandparents who had purchased a Resort.  My Dad was going to help them get it going.  My Mom and my Grandmother never did get along, and it was natural that after about a year in the same house my Mom had had enough.  So in the middle of my First Grade Year we moved Back to Iowa.

My Mom and Dad divorced shortly after that.  We moved again in my 3^rd grade year, in fact I went to 3 different schools in that year.  The last move brought us to Delmar, Iowa where we stayed 3 years.  My Mom met and married my Stepfather there, and in my 6^th grade year we moved to the big city of Bettendorf, Iowa. 

We stayed in Bettendorf until I was in the 9^th Grade and we moved to the neighboring city of Davenport, and only stayed there 10 months, and then moved back to Bettendorf in time for me to start my sophomore year of High School.  I finished High School in Bettendorf.

During my senior year (1969), my buddy, who graduated the year before was worried about being drafted and since we did everything together we enlisted in the Iowa Army National Guard.  I graduated in June of 1969, and in August I went to Basic Training at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina.

I returned from Active Duty in February 1970 and went to work for the National Guards.  It was a Civil Service job, and I worked in the office, and in the Supply Room taking care of equipment.  Later I was given the job of Helicopter Repairman.

In May of 1971 I married my High School sweetheart.  We had dated for 3 years, and we did what we thought our parents and everyone else expected us to do.  But neither of us were ready for marriage, and our marriage was rocky at best.

In 1974 I realized that there was something missing in my life, and two of my co-workers introduced me to Jesus Christ, and on October 24, 1974 I asked Jesus to come into my life and be my Savior.

I started going to a Baptist Church, which split from its denomination over doctrinal differences, and then split into to two congregations over personally differences between the Pastor and Assistant Pastor, and then the Pastor of the congregation I went with had an affair, and I was split.  I had my eye focused on a man and not on God so when the man failed me I did not recognize that God was still there faithful as always.  I fell from grace, and did some pretty crazy things.  I left my wife and kids after 15 years of marriage and drank and played around like all sinners. 

But a faithful loving God never left me or deserted me. He sent me a faithful loving woman who picked me up and helped me to find my Savior again, and helped me back on the road that leads us home to Our Father in Heaven. Thank you Jesus, for your loving kindness, your mercy, and for taking my place on the Cross.