Support your local police and firefighters

I'd just like to take a few minutes and remind everyone of why we should support our police, since its so easy to forget.

Our police officers go out everyday, for (IMHO) peanuts, and put their lives on the line so that we can be safe and sound in our homes. Discard any sarcastic comments about whether or not the streets are safe. The fact is, without the police around, life would be a lot worse. I know police officers have to deal with a lot of sh** everyday. A LOT. EVERY DAY.

The same goes for firefighters. Firefighters and police have the strange vocation of rushing in to emergency situations, while everyone else is rushing out. Firefighters also put their lives on the line in order to save people from horrible deaths and injuries by fire.

As an interesting side note, imagine going into a burning fire and dying to save someone's life as a firefighter may do. That is an imperfect representation of what Christ did for us. Christ dies and descended into the fire (hell) in order to save us.

We should also note the service of Emergency Medical Technicians. Though people don't often think of their work as dangerous, it certainly has its evils. The possibility of accidental exposure to disease, especially in situations where every second counts and time is compressed, is ever present. EMTs also charge into what some might call war zones to ply their trade, even when they are at risk, because it is their duty.

I would certainly be remiss without mentioning the members of our Armed Forces. Politics aside, these people defend our freedoms every day. Countless number of them have died so that we can enjoy the greatest country in the world.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friend." John 14:15



Prayer:

Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us police officers, firefighters, EMTs and Armed Forces to defend us from harm and danger. Please bless their work and defend them and uphold them while they defend us. In Jesus' Name,

AMEN.

What happened to responsibility?

It occurred to me yesterday (not for the first time) that personal responsibility has been defenestrated. Though it's no surprise, since blaming others has been a byproduct of sin ("She gave me the apple!") starting roughly at the time God created the world.

A recent Thugs, Inc. poll shows that taking responsibility for one's actions has dropped drastically in the last 30 years, down to 41% today, versus nearly 70% in 1977.

Seriously, this is no surprise. Besides being human nature, the slowly-heading-towards-socialist government has encouraged it with things like welfare, business subsidization and other such nonsense. Free money + human laziness = great human laziness.

Yesterday, I was playing with Thug Jr, and holding onto his shirt. He started to pull away and his shirt began to rip. He said, "Daddy, you made me rip my shirt!". This following a string of "you made me......" and "he made me...." that I've been noticing all week long. So, I sat Thug Jr and Mini Thug and said to them, "Repeat after me: 'I am responsible for my own actions.'" Hopefully laying the foundation early will give them a shield against the world's take on the subject. Mini Thug was quite amusing in his repetition: "I am sponsible for my own accidents." LOL! An interesting way of putting it!

There are still people in authority who appreciate taking responsibility. When the subject comes up, I often tell of an occurrence when I was working for Papa John's.

I had worked (so far) an 8 hour day, and had just found out that the closing manager was sick, so I would have to make it a 14+ hour day. I decided after the dinner rush that I would go across the street and have a beer and relax a bit. On the clock. In my uniform. Oops!

When the GM heard about it the next day, he told me, in the nicest possible voice, "WHAT THE **** WERE YOU THINKING?" After his tirade, he paused to give me a chance to say something. I simply said, "You're right. I was totally wrong. I apologize, and it won't happen again." He stood there stunned that I hadn't argued or made excuses. The next day I got promoted.

How do you win buddies and influence others? Repeat after me: "I am responsible for my own actions."

G'day!

Back and lovin it

I've finally figured out the whole Blogger/Google/whatever thing, so I was able -- and have the time -- to log into my account again. Stay tuned for more of my rapier sharp wit, coming soon to a computer near you!