Learning and Writing

The Pursuit of Happyness

noreply@blogger.com (Tommy) — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 14:57:00 +0000

Last night, Kara and I watched "the Pursuit of Happyness" for the first time. We have heard reviews of this movie for years, and we enjoyed watching it on our ClearPlay DVD player. As a salesman, this wasn't the most encouraging movie to watch as Chris Gardner is a struggling salesman ... so much so that he cannot afford living expenses, has to spend one night with his son locked in a public restroom and other nights in a homeless shelter.

Gardner, through God's providence, is eventually hired to work as a stock broker which lifts him up from poverty and enables him not only to provide for himself and his son but to become a multi-millionaire. This accomplishment, this attainment, this transition from poverty to wealth is "happyness" according to Gardner, according to the movie and according to our "American Dream" society.

I, no doubt, can see how poverty may bring heartache, stress, fear and sadness into one's life. I, no doubt, can see how wealth may bring peace, enjoyment, confidence and joyful opportunities into one's life.

I do not want to make light of poverty and the real sufferings and sadness of poverty. At the same time, I do have some thoughts as to the "pursuit of happyness." Thomas Jefferson is quoted in this movie several times as to his words, "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Is happiness defined by the size of your home, the number of your friends, the prestige of your occupation, the quality of fun opportunities you take part in, the sleekness of your car, your lavish retirement plans?

Jesus Christ was a man of poverty. He was poor and a man of sufferings. He was honest with others, didn't try to hide the fact that he didn't have a home or even a pillow. This didn't make Jesus less of a person, and Jesus didn't miss out on happiness.

Wealth is not bad - though Christ says that it is much harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom. I do not believe that having money or being wealthy should be avoided or looked down upon. We strive to provide for our families and support our local church. Sure, we also desire to live comfortably and have nice things.

However, attaining wealth is not the same as attaining happiness.

Many wealthy people seem to be miserable, have problems with drug and alcohol addiction, express that they feel alone and empty, and several feel completely hopeless, depressed and commit suicide. You read of lottery winners who were better off before they won the prize. You hear of musicians and movie stars who seem to be the highlight of society, noticed, recognized, wealthy ... who become miserable drug addicts, divorced and suicidal.

Jesus Christ, a poor man, said that He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. Is wealthy living the abundant life? If so, Christ himself didn't live an abundant life. Why did the saints in the first-century church sell all that they had and have all things common, providing for one another's needs, if wealthy living is the abundant life?

As I understand life, one can be poor and happy. As I understand the Scriptures, the pursuit of happiness is the pursuit of Christ. Jesus Christ is the source of all true and lasting joy and happiness.

Yet, we are wealthy. God has adopted his people into his family "and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together" (Romans 8:17). The Scriptures go on to say "that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18).

On this side of glory, you may be poor or you may be wealthy. Either way, the child of God is a pilgrim here. The Scriptures tell us that the child of God who is in poverty is exalted while the child of God who is wealthy is brought low (James 1:9, 10) - in other words, they meet in the middle, they are of equal standing. The Scriptures go on to give us the illustration of the sun rising and withering the green grass and beautiful flowers - telling us that the ways of the rich man shall also fade away.

True riches are not material possessions which are temporal. True riches are spiritual possessions in Christ which are eternal. Where is your treasure? Where is your heart? May the Lord bless us to pursue Christ and live an abundant and happy life.

Nadia's First Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Tommy) — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 19:36:00 +0000

It's Christmas time, and I'm here in Coldwater with my wife's side of the family - having a lot of fun! Today, I took off from work so we could all be together for our traditional Christmas breakfast. It's really difficult to take Saturday's off from work with my line of business, but today was an exception.

My brother-in-law, Micah, gave me two Old School Hymnals (12th Edition) for Christmas, and I'm really excited about having these! Micah left just after breakfast to meet up with Grant and Reuben. The three of them are traveling to Georgia to meet up with their girlfriends.

I started up the new RV dealership since the last time I posted here on my blog. I'm really excited about this online dealership, and earlier today, I received a sales lead from it! Instead of a brick and mortar store, this dealership is web-based with factory direct pricing. It has potential to really take off and do well, but we will see where the Lord leads.

I'm reading in the book of Daniel - almost finished with my 60 day reading through the Major Prophets. I ran across YouVersion.com a couple of months ago, and this site has given me reading plan ideas and has kept me scheduled and accountable with my Bible readings. While Louis is preaching through the gospel of Mark and currently preached about the Kingdom of God, the book of Daniel has been full of prophecies and teachings about the Kingdom of God.

Baby Nadia is cuter than ever as she has turned 4 months old this past week. She already has so many gifts to fit in the car - I'm not sure how we're going to get everything in the car after our time in Tennessee, but I trust we will figure it out. She is a very happy baby, full of smiles, and she's chewing on everything right now because she is teething. Uncle Gabe and Uncle Micah are always fun to watch around Nadia - they go on about who gets to hold her, and I'm thankful that she is loved so by our family.

Last week while Kara and Nadia were in Tennessee for a couple of days, I bought a Christmas tree, lights and a star, and I fixed up a Christmas tree in our living room to surprise Kara when she walked in from her trip. We have had fun plugging in and enjoying our tree at the house.

Writing Again

noreply@blogger.com (Tommy) — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 14:33:00 +0000

It has been several months since I last wrote on my blog, and several big events have happened. My wife and I enjoyed our summer months - went camping at Trace Lake in a Jayco Swift SLX travel trailer, had a great time at Camp Moriah during the month of June, took our third year anniversary trip to Canada in July, and adopted a newborn baby girl on August 18th! We have had several adventures together, and God's kind providence has been amazing.

We had never truly "camped" together until our weekend at Trace Lake. We had a waterfront campsite that looked over a beautiful lake. Since we bought bicycles back in the spring, we took those along for some fun bike rides. Kara cooked over the campfire with her cast iron skillet, and I cooked once or twice over a charcoal grill. It was an incredibly relaxing time together - exploring the area, being outdoors, watching the sun go down, singing hymns together under the stars. It was such a refreshing weekend together. To top it off, God blessed me to sell two campers the day I returned to work - a 2012 Starcraft Autumn Ridge 309BHL and a 2010 Starcraft Autumn Ridge 264RKS.

My brother, Louis, was the headmaster this year at Camp Moriah. I was able to attend about 2 and a half days during the week of Camp. I joined the canoe race tournament, and my team "The Pond-toons" took first place! On the same day, my basketball team won the men's basketball tournament! I had never taken first in canoe racing or in the basketball tournament - so, I was pretty excited. I helped as a counselor for the 15-16 year old boys for two days - they were very attentive and responsive. I was thankful to sit under good teaching and preaching, and the fellowship was a great blessing. Kara was able to stay the whole week, and I was blessed to be able to bring a 2010 Summerland travel trailer for her to stay in.

We decided to take our anniversary trip to Canada this year. Transportation was my most difficult part to decide - should we drive or fly? which is more affordable, and which makes more sense considering the days off I have from work? As I was considering all of this, I decided to call my good friend Dan (who works for Southwest Airlines) for advice. Good ol' Dan ends up sending us some special passes (each year, he gets a few to give out) costing us a total of $40 for round trip tickets taking us from Birmingham to Baltimore to Buffalo. We had a great time visiting with family in Canada, and we also had a few days to spend alone together in Toronto and Niagara Falls. This was a very adventurous trip - we flew, we took a train, we rode the subway system in Toronto, we ate overlooking the city at the CN Tower's rotating restaurant, we stayed in a hotel overlooking the huge volume of water and mist of Niagara Falls, and much more! It was a wonderful trip.

Just before leaving for our trip to Canada, we were told of an expecting mother who was interested in placing her child with us as adoptive parents. We weren't sure what to think of this opportunity as it seemed unlikely and unsure. We prayed and considered what to do. We met with the expecting mother the Wednesday after we returned from Canada. The situation was even more complicated because she didn't speak English - our friend Timothy came with us to translate the conversation. After our meet up, Kara and I decided to hire lawyers and go forward with this opportunity. Kara was able to attend doctor appointments, getting ultrasound pictures and updates. On August 18th at 8:39am, our baby girl was born 6 lbs 0 oz 18 3/4 inches long. As an answer to prayer, the hospital was very adoption friendly - so much so that they gave us our own room for 3 days! We are thrilled to be parents, and we are thankful that God has answered prayers above and beyond what we asked or thought.

Fall is setting in, and I am about to leave Monday for a Jayco training session in Indiana. I have continued to have more and more to be thankful for as God has richly blessed me and my family. Maybe I will get back into posting more often on this blog - time will tell.

The GOP Today

noreply@blogger.com (Tommy) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:37:00 +0000

Kara and I were in a used bookstore this past week, and I found and bought "Where the Right Went Wrong" by Pat Buchanan. This book's subtitle is "How Neoconservatives Subverted the Reagan Revolution and Hijacked the Bush Presidency" - which, I find, to be a very interesting topic.

It seems like President Obama coming on the scene has caused many people to forget how liberal and destructive President Bush was to our economy and country. The oath of office and the Constitution has been ignored long before President Obama took office.

Today, many people striving to remain or become politically "conservative" have been brought to believe that social issues define an individual politically. This just isn't so. But since most have been persuaded to believe this, you have many candidates flip-flopping on social issues or making social issues the main focus of their candidacy in order to be elected - while all along, they ignore the Constitution and historically conservative policies.

In his book, Pat Buchanan says, "The GOP may be Reaganite in its tax policy, but it is Wilsonian in its foreign policy, FDR in its trade policy, and LBJ all the way in its spending policies." Hopefully, more and more will wake up to this reality, demand change and renew their ideas of what makes a party and a candidate honestly and consistently conservative.

Valentine Burial

noreply@blogger.com (Tommy) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 15:08:00 +0000

Valentine's Day is mostly known for pleasant reminders of love, but for me, this past Valentine's Day was an unpleasant reminder of death and the grave.

Kara and I had just returned from a fun trip to East Tennessee. This was the first time we had visited East Tennessee since our move to Mississippi last year. We enjoyed staying up late both nights, talking with Brother Jimmy. We enjoyed meeting with friends and going places we had missed since moving.

We were late getting home Monday night, but we were thankful for a safe trip home. While away, our neighbor graciously agreed to feed our dog, Maddi, twice a day.

Maddi was given to us on the 8th of January - a full blooded boxer pregnant with full blooded boxer pups due in March. We quickly warmed up to Maddi's sweet doggy-personality, and she quickly became very attached to us - giving a cute pathetic howl each time she realized we were inside and not outside with her.

We arrived home from East Tennessee, and that next morning while I was working, Kara called. "Something's wrong with Maddi," she said. After phone calls were made and confusion still lingered, my friend Cayce here at work called his aunt and uncle who live just a couple of streets down from our house.

Apparently, Maddi had a disease which caused her insides to ... fall out. Yes, this was very strange and sad. She was in a miserable condition, and Cayce's uncle graciously agreed to put her out of her misery while I was here at work. I left work early to bury Maddi.

I had never buried a dog before, and I will admit, it bothered me for a couple of days. The ground was wet, and I thought to myself, "This will make it easier." It didn't. The mud stuck to everything including the shovel, and I had a difficult time getting Maddi buried in time for me to meet my appointment time with a customer that evening.

I still met with the customer and made the sale. Kara and I still went out that night for Valentine's Day and had a good time enjoying food and live music at the Blue Canoe.

What happened to my dog this past Valentine's Day reminded me of how sudden death comes upon all of us. Ecclesiastes even speaks of a living dog being better than a dead lion. We are all under the curse of sin and death, but thanks be to God, there is victory in Christ. Solomon also tells us to work hard with our hands while we are among the land of the living. We are to spend our days working as unto the Lord and - whether eating, drinking or whatever the area of life - bring glory to God who gives us life and breath.

Our Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Tommy) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:15:00 +0000

Last week, I was reading in Thomas Watson's The Great Gain of Godliness, and he made a point that I really enjoyed thinking on afterwards. Sometimes, it's difficult to see the Holy Spirit working in our lives, but consider this:

Our thoughts are to be on God. One reason why our thoughts are to be on God is because He is our portion. If we were to win a portion here on earth (let's say, $100 to spend on a meal of your choice), that would be on our minds, we would dwell on that. We would be excited to tell people, "Hey, I won $100 to spend on a meal."

I called Kara today with the news, "We WON!"

"... won what?" she asked.

I told her that we won $100 to spend on a Valentines meal, and no ... , this wasn't a joke.

TSU sent a piece of mail to my parents this week telling them that they had money of mine that was about to go to the state if I didn't call and claim it. I called, and it was a deposit on a dorm room made before I transferred to another college. I gave them my new address, and $100 is on its way.

This $100 deposit was made December of 2001! Money forgotten about, but now that it's my portion again, I'm thinking about it, and my wife and I are going to enjoy eating at Texas de Brazil in Memphis for Valentines.

Watson made the point that when your thoughts are on God, it's evidence that the Holy Spirit is lifting your thoughts to God. Our nature is to think on earthly things. Just as when a piece of iron is moved, you know a magnet is drawing it - when your thoughts move to God, the Holy Spirit is there moving your thoughts to your gracious and glorious God.

I believe that God is my portion (a much better portion that my $100 deposit return from TSU), and I need the Holy Spirit to draw my thoughts to Him.

Raised With Christ

noreply@blogger.com (Tommy) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Last night, I had a phone conversation with Brother Jimmy about Ephesians chapter two, and I learned something about verse one that had never clicked. It all started yesterday morning when noticing that the ESV translation left out "hath he quickened" from Ephesians 2:1, "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins."

That's such a staple verse - isn't it? I was disappointed that the ESV translation only says, "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins." This has been a verse that I've always went to when thinking of immediate Holy Spirit regeneration. I had a right to be disappointed - right?

Brother Jimmy, as always, patiently allowed me to read and explain my thoughts. Afterward, he pointed out that "hath he quickened" is not in the Greek (and is even in italics), and that he stopped using that verse to defend immediate Holy Spirit regeneration long ago. Now, immediate Holy Spirit regeneration is a truth of the Scriptures, but this verse and this passage is speaking of something else.

So, the ESV translation has a more accurate translation of this verse - though Brother Jimmy would never recommend the ESV. He's a King James man ... more so, he's a Textus Receptus man.

He went on to say that this passage teaches about how we were dead in trespasses and in sins but are now "quickened together with Christ." From a legal standpoint - when Christ was raised from the dead, we were raised with him.

Recapturing Know How

noreply@blogger.com (Tommy) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 14:40:00 +0000

I don't know how many times I've wished that there had been opportunities for me to learn about farming and gardening growing up. Talking with a 93 year old lady at an East Tennessee nursing home confirmed these to be more than important skills to have.

"Yes, I remember the Great Depression," she said, "but I never remember going hungry." She went on to say that her family life and comforts didn't change at all because they had a farm and garden. "We had plenty of food, and life went on as usual."

Sure, I know about computers and techy devices, and those skills are good to have during the good times. However, say that before college or in place of college, there were an education opportunity to learn skills to be self-sufficient, a good provider despite where our regulated economy takes us.

Those were the old days, right? Opportunities like that don't exist anymore ... do they? I was told this week that opportunities like these not only exist, they exist everywhere across the United States and even 7 miles down my road.

Let's say your 17 or 18 year old son or daughter wants to stay close to home for an education ... or let's say that they want to travel out of state for an education. Can you afford to send your children to get this type of education and learn these important skills? Yes. Actually, the farm owners provide an education, accommodations, and 3 meals a day in exchange for working half a day, 5 days a week.

I was surprised to find out that such an invaluable education is so readily available. Kara and I are sold on it! and someday, we plan to encourage our children to spend at least a year in this field of education.

When you're married and have a full-time job, it's difficult to take advantage of opportunities like these. Say you're already past college and haven't settled down with a family or career yet. If I were you, I would consider WWOOF-USA.

Prohibition

noreply@blogger.com (Tommy) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:42:00 +0000

I was reading last night in Ron Paul's book Liberty Defined. I really really like that book. It's probably my favorite of his because he writes and explains 50 different issues.

As I read from his book, I found it intriguing that prohibition of alcohol in the United States lasted for so long. Can you imagine it today? A federal law banning the use of alcohol? Some who supported this had good intentions - they wanted to stop the abuse and dangers of alcohol. However, this also punished the 90% of people who were responsible with wine and beer while creating a very dangerous (violent) black market, growing the size of government, and making the people of the United States less free.

Prohibition is still going on today and is very dangerous to a free society. Nixon's unconstitutional war on drugs is bigger than ever, costs more than ever, and violates more liberty than ever. At least, in the early 1900s, there was enough respect for the Constitution that our leaders added an amendment for alcohol prohibition. The Constitution was simply ignored when waging our current day war on drugs.

True liberty and freedom is not only liberty and freedom to make good choices - but also to make bad choices as long as they're not violating another's person or property. It is not the government's constitutional/proper role to keep us from drinking or using drugs. These prohibitions do not help, they make things worse.

To make matters worse, we see more and more militarization of our police into SWAT teams who treat the American people like foreign enemies over non-violent "crimes" (drug use). SWAT teams, I realize, are used to fight against the black market created by our drug laws, but there are also many individual drug users (and people mistaken for drug users) who SWAT teams go after. Have you ever considered that those who abuse alcohol today are treated with help groups while those who abuse drugs today are thrown into prison?

I do not promote the use of drugs. I am very much opposed to drugs, but I am also very much opposed to unconstitutional government action that has resulted in a bloated government, a police state, and loss of individual liberty.

Reflections in Mississippi

noreply@blogger.com (Tommy) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:05:00 +0000

This past year has been an adventure. January of last year, I responded to a Mississippi job offer and went from teaching K-8 computer technology in the mountains of East Tennessee to selling RVs among the cornfields and farms of Mississippi.

The RV dealership here is located on a main highway but still is surrounded by cornfields, cattle and a catfish pond. Our dealership has been blessed to be among the Top 50 RV Dealers in North America for several years, and I have done my best to make improvements with sales, the website, advertising and more.

Since I work on straight commission, the adjustment wasn't easy. Trusting not in a signed salary agreement but in the month-by-month mercies of the Lord isn't the easiest route, but the Lord has continually showered His blessings and provided for our needs and more. I have been amazed to see how He sends customers and blesses my feeble efforts.

The Lord blessed me and Kara with a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, single car garage brick house on 2 acres of beautiful land. This house is much more than we were looking and praying for, and I have been awed by the Lord's blessings.

We have been given our first dog this week. Maddi is an adult boxer. Pups are on their way - predictions are for March boxer puppies. We're still getting used to having a dog, and we're looking to buy a dog house this week.

Ripley PB Church has also been a great blessing. Our pastor and the members are all very encouraging to walk with on the blessed Christian pathway. I have been thankful to help with the church website and maintaining SermonAudio.

I'm not sure where God will lead in 2012, but I'm confident that He will continue to lead and provide as He brings me closer to the Celestial City.

Iowa Caucuses

noreply@blogger.com (Tommy) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 23:57:00 +0000

The countdown to the Iowa Caucuses results is currently at 1 hour and 21 minutes. Comparing this year to the Iowa Caucuses of 2007 is incredible. Ron Paul cannot be ignored this year, and his message continues to spark new flames of hope and love for liberty.

I will truthfully be sad when this is all over because I very much enjoy watching the buildup, the many interviews, debate highlights, writings, etc. Ron Paul's presidential campaigns have been very exciting and fun to be apart of. The organization of his campaign this year has impressed the nation, and his message of liberty and respect for the Constitution has penetrated more into the mainstream of thought than the media would like to admit.

If Ron Paul wins Iowa, I will be very surprised. He would have to win in a landslide - otherwise, I believe the count will be manipulated in some way to show Romney or some unexpected candidate to come out on top. John McCain in 2007 was unexpected, and it was downright strange that he won the nomination - he did very poorly in the debates, and most everyone knew that he was a liberal, status quo politician.

The views and positions of Ron Paul are constantly distorted, and I'm thankful that Paul has done such a great job of answering, interviewing, and standing for truth. There have been many discussions that I've taken part in on facebook, and I am convinced that some people are closed to the idea of thinking outside of the "media" box - whether it's talk radio, liberal newspapers, or mainstream news.

One individual said that "foreign policy should flex with the times" without realizing that this was an extremely liberal statement. Liberals say that the Constitution should be a "living document" that flexes with the times. Ron Paul defends the Constitution which says that national threats should be taken to Congress (not the UN), debated, and war should either be declared or not declared by Congress. This idea that "Ron Paul would sit on his hands as president" when it came to declaring wars is unfounded since it's not the presidents role to declare war.

Ron Paul is doing a fantastic job of educating our nation and bringing a message of true substance and common sense.

The Death of the Believer

noreply@blogger.com (Tommy) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 21:17:00 +0000

A movie that my wife and I watched last night considered the subject of death and pushed an unbiblical view of death that led to discussion and reading after the film was over.

We read from R.L. Dabney's lectures on Systematic Theology. No, theology is not a dry subject. To the Christian, good theology is critical, and good works of systematic theology are very edifying and helpful.

Here are some points that we drew from our discussion and reading:

Death is used by God for the sanctification of His people. The realization of death and the brevity of life encourages holy living and promotes a healthy fear of God.
At death, the believer is not met with guilt and judgement but with peace and Christ.
At death, there is a continuation of memory and personal identity while the soul never dies but goes to be with Christ.
Our body is the instrument of our soul just as we might feel an object with a stick or look at an object through a glass. Our soul does not need our body to feel, see, think, etc. However, we will not be complete without our bodies, and therefore, our bodies will be raised from the grave and gloriously fashioned for the glory world.

There were many more excellent points made, and these points listed were much better presented and explained by Dabney. If I would have written this post sooner after reading, I may have added more points to the list and have had more to say in explaining each point. In a way, it may be best that I'm only sharing what stuck with me, what stirred my mind, ... what I've added to my learning.