Mike's Message

Officers-Deacons-Sun Sch and Committees - 2009-2010 - 03-19-2010.pdf

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Hardin) — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 13:10:00 +0000

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Officers-Deacons-Sun Sch and Committees - 2009-2010 - 03-19-2010.pdf (95 KB)

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Message from mikehardin63@gmail.com:

Google Docs makes it easy to create, store and share online documents, spreadsheets and presentations.

Posted via email from First Baptist Lovejoy

Bulletin for 7/18/2010

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Hardin) — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 13:06:00 +0000

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Bulletin.pdf (939 KB)

Attached: Bulletin

Message from mikehardin63@gmail.com:

Google Docs makes it easy to create, store and share online documents, spreadsheets and presentations.

Posted via email from First Baptist Lovejoy

LetterMeLater.com - Schedule Email to be Sent Later Automatically

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Hardin) — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 15:07:00 +0000

LetterMeLater.com - Schedule Email to be Sent Later Automatically

I just got a letter from a church member wanting something in our bulletin, not this Sunday, but the next two Sundays. I need to be sure I:

Don't forget to put the announcement in the bulletin and
Can find the information when I need it.

It would have been easy if she'd emailed me after I had done this week's bulletin, I could just go ahead and put it in. So I just forwarded the email to myself, in the future.

I have an account with LetterMeLater.com. It allows me to forward the email to me@lettermelater.com. At the top of the body of the message I fill in the following information.

To: myself@mydomain.com
When: Monday 9:00am

So, next Monday her email will show up again in my inbox, and I can go ahead and put her announcement in the bulletin. If you need to send emails to yourself or others, but need them delayed until a future date or time, LetterMeLater.com is a great tool. The free account allows you to schedule up to 30 emails per month, and to send each one to up to 10 different recipients. If you need to send more, you can upgrade your account for $20/yr.

Leave a comment and tell me how you could benefit from being able to schedule your emails for a future date or time.

Bramlett Service Information

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Hardin) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:31:00 +0000

Sorry. I hit "send" before I intended to.

Visitation will be at Mowell's Sunday, March 21, afternoon from 4-6 pm.

Posted via email from First Baptist Lovejoy

Bramlett Service Information

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Hardin) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:24:00 +0000

Services will be Monday, March 22 at the chapel of Mowell's Funeral
Home in Fayetteville. Internment will follow at Westview Cemetery.

Posted via email from First Baptist Lovejoy

It's Like Herding Cats - A pastor's life: It'll Be Coming Down in Buckets!

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Hardin) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:11:00 +0000

It's going to rain hope in Haiti. It'll come down in buckets. Hundreds of thousands of them. And families will know that God cares for them and has put His people on the problem.

via itslikeherdingcats.blogspot.com

My friend David Wilson blogs about his church's contribution of 20 buckets of food to provide relief in earthquake ravaged Haiti. I found his words very inspiring, and considering that our church like his provided 20 buckets, I thought they might inspire you too!

Thanks David for a good word.

Posted via web from First Baptist Lovejoy

In utopia there is universal health care coverage and freedom. This isn't utopia: You choose

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Hardin) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:18:00 +0000

Freedom isn't free. It is bought with the blood of patriots. It is sustained by the exercise of personal responsibility of those who live under it's umbrella. In the wake of the Great Depression we sold a portion of our freedom in order to have the government provide us with retirement benefits. This week congress will seek to force Americans to exchange their freedom for the illusion of guaranteed affordable health care. Every tyrant comes to power by promising the people a rescue from some great fear.

No one wants to be without access to health care. All of us feel compassion for those who don't have, can't get, or cannot afford health insurance. But the price for universal coverage is a loss of freedom. The government will interfere in the free market and tell corporations who they can and cannot insure. Many of those "evil insurance companies" are owned by people like me and you if we have money invested in mutual funds. If you have an IRA or a 401k, that's YOUR business that the government is interfering with.

In order to "provide" coverage for those with pre-existing conditions, the federal government will force you to buy insurance whether you want it or not. They have to do this to keep people from gaming the system. Otherwise people wouldn't buy coverage until they developed a major illness. This would bankrupt the system. You are wise to have health insurance long before you become ill, but in a free country, you have the freedom to do so or not.

I have compassion for those who have serious illnesses and who cannot get access to insurance. I think charitable, loving, kindhearted people should give freely and help those in their circle of influence get the care they need. I don't think it is the responsibility of a government of free peoples to seize money from some of it's citizens, whether they are stockholders of insurance companies, young healthy adults who are making a free choice to spend their money on something other than health insurance, or any other American taxpayer, in order to provide that health care to those who don't have it.

We can have universal health care, for a while. Eventually as we continue down the path of expecting the government to provide the needs of the people, there will be too many receiving benefits, and too few paying in. The system will collapse. When that happens we will have mortgaged our freedoms and have no house of health care to show for it.

Tom Hanks doesn't understand that racism was a coping tool, not a reason for WWII

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Hardin) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:04:00 +0000

In defending his comments that the war in the Pacific was racially motivated, Hanks cites hearing many people use racial epithets of the Japanese in that era. While those epithets were certainly used, that does not make them the motivation for the war. We also used epithets in the Atlantic theater, like calling the Germans "krauts".

The fact is that anytime one goes to war one of the coping mechanisms that makes war possible is the dehumanizing of the enemy. There is an instant reaction when one is attacked, i.e. in Pearl Harbor or in the WTC attacks of 9/11/2001 to vilify and dehumanize those who have attacked us. And in order to fight back, we dehumanize them further. In order to be able to mentally and emotionally deal with the horrific acts of war soldiers come up with all kinds of names, some racially based, for their enemies. That does not make either racism or ignorance the reason for the war. The reason for the war in the Pacific was that the Japanese wanted to control the Pacific, and tried to cripple us by bombing Pearl Harbor in order to do so.

The reason for the war in the Atlantic was to stop the aggression and genocide of the German regime. I have been a lifelong fan of Hanks screen work, but if he can't tell the difference in a reason for a war and a coping mechanism in the midst of war, then he is the one who is displaying ignorance.

Posted via email from It's Just a Thought

Fox Compares Health Care Debate to Alice in Wonderland

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Hardin) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:37:00 +0000

southbaybiblechurch.org :: View topic - PowerPoint Backgrounds for Worship -- Lighter Backgrounds

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Hardin) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:28:00 +0000

via southbaybiblechurch.org

http://southbaybiblechurch.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=8&sid=cc6f158f0b5ddcafc...

Posted via web from It's Just a Thought

Sermon for Next Sunday, Via Dolorosa -- Luke 23:26-49

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Hardin) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:43:00 +0000

Via Dolorsa

Down the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem that day
The soldiers tried to clear the narrow street
But the crowd pressed in to see
A Man condemned to die on Calvary

He was bleeding from a beating, there were stripes upon His back
And He wore a crown of thorns upon His head
And He bore with every step
The scorn of those who cried out for His death

Down the Via Dolorosa called the way of suffering
Like a lamb came the Messiah, Christ the King,
But He chose to walk that road out of
His love for you and me.
Down the Via Dolorosa, all the way to Calvary.

Por la Via Dolorosa, triste dia en Jerusalem
Los saldados le abrian paso a Jesus
Mas la gente se acercaba
Para ver al que llevaba aquella cruz

Por la Via Dolorosa, que es la via del dolor
Como oveja vino Cristo, Rey, Senor
Y fue El quien quiso ir por su amor por ti y por mi
Por la Via Dolorosa al Calvario y a morir

The blood that would cleanse the souls of all men
Made its way through the heart of Jerusalem.

Down the Via Dolorosa called the way of suffering
Like a lamb came the Messiah, Christ the King
But He chose to walk that road out of His love for you and me
Down the Via Dolorosa, all the way to Calvary.

Fun at the Sr. Adult Breakfast

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Hardin) — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 21:29:00 +0000

The Lovejoy Community Center hosts a breakfast for senior adults in the area on the second Saturday of each month. It's a lot of fun. Two of our members, Peggy Banks and Thomas Downer were there. And of course free food always attracts a Baptist Preacher.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from It's Just a Thought

Break the Microsoft Office Addiction: don't buy Microsoft Office 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Hardin) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:24:00 +0000

Mike Hardin's office and software Bookmarks
Bookmarks | Network | Tags | Subscriptions | Inbox

http://delicious.com/mehardin/office+software

It'll soon be time to pay Microsoft to upgrade your office suite again. Why not consider one of these free alternatives. They both open documents in and save documents to Microsoft formats. Break the addiction!

Posted via web from It's Just a Thought

Organizing for Tax Preparation with Remember the Milk

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Hardin) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:47:00 +0000

http://blog.rememberthemilk.com/2010/03/tips-tricks-tuesday-tracking-tax-paperwork/

I have several clients who email me their paper work each year for me to prepare their returns. More often than not there is something missing and I have to call or email them to ask about the missing information. I have to confess I've even filed incomplete returns for myself, and had to amend them later to add the missing information.

There is an article on the Remember the Milk blog today about using this online task management list to make sure you have all your documents together before you either send them off to your preparer, or sit down to prepare your own return. I'm a big fan of Remember the Milk, but I've never used it for this. I may start next year though.

Leave a comment and let me know how you organize for tax season.

Posted via email from Mike Hardin tax service

Baptist Press - Study: Cohabiting normative but harmful

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Hardin) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:59:00 +0000

Baptist Press - Study: Cohabiting normative but harmful - News with a Christian Perspective

As she looked at the young lady's new engagement ring, the pastor's wife said, "That's beautiful! Have you two picked a date?"

The young lady replied, "We're thinking next April (over a year away) because we've only been in our house for four months."

The clear indication is that this young lady speaking to her pastor and his wife thinks the normal and wise course is to 1) cohabit, 2) become engaged, and 3) get married. There was a time when even if a person chose to do this, they wouldn't expect the church, especially not the pastor or his wife to approve. Clearly we are living in a post-modern, post-Christian culture, even in what was formerly the Bible belt.

Ministering at the Detention Facility Tonight

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Hardin) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:43:00 +0000

The second Tuesday night of each month is my turn to preach at a Federal Detention Center in our community. I signed up for it to set an example for others in our church, hoping we might have several involved. So far it's just a retired pastor and me. And I confess. I'm tired of it. I don't want to go tonight. I want to go home and hang out with my family, maybe even go to bed early. I never want to go to the prison anymore. But, I know I will be glad I did. You see, I've felt like this for a year. And without exception I leave saying, "I'm really glad I came tonight!" God always blesses my faithfulness and my willingness to serve. So why can't I translate that into excitement and a positive attitude before I go?

Matthew 25:35-36 (NIV)
³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

Sending a Message with the Census - Mark Krikorian - The Corner on National Review Online

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Hardin) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:29:00 +0000

Fully one-quarter of the space on this year's form is taken up with questions of race and ethnicity, which are clearly illegitimate and none of the government's business

via corner.nationalreview.com

The only constitutional purpose of the census is to determine how many seats each state gets in Congress. Yet it is illegal to lie on the census, or to refuse to answer any questions. Here is one honorable, constitutional approach to at least one of the unconstitutional questions.

Posted via web from It's Just a Thought

» Health Care and the Left’s Perverted Definition of ‘Rights’ - Big Government

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Hardin) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:29:00 +0000

Health Care and the Left’s Perverted Definition of ‘Rights’
by Kerry J. Byrne
One way that leftists have managed to keep alive their dead, defeated, bankrupting theories on issues like so-called health care is by perverting the definition of very basic terms.
The word “right” is one of the most glaring examples of a definition that’s been distorted by the intellectual house-of-horrors mirror that is leftist theory.

Image: CATO Institute
Every American has the “right” to health care they argue.
They’re right. Every American does have a right to health care. In fact, they have that “right” right now. They have the right to buy insurance. They have the right to not buy insurance. They have the right to pay out of pocket. They have the right get a second opinion. They have the right to rub a little dirt on it and suck it up. They have a right to help out a friend in need.
What they don’t have is the “right” to health care in the perverted leftist sense of the word.
A “right,” in the traditional American lexicon laid out by the likes of Thomas Jefferson, is something that exists by virtue of our humanity. It is “inalienable” and we are endowed with these rights by our creator. No government or institution has the power to take away these rights. You exist, therefore these rights exist.
In the leftist sense of the word, though, a “right” is something very different. In fact, it’s not a “right” at all: it’s a handout provided to you by government, often at exorbitant costs to society.
“I have the ‘right’ to health care!” the leftists demand angrily. “Therefore, the government must provide it for me!”

Rights, in other words, are not innate to your humanity in leftist theory. Instead, rights are bequeathed to you like party favors by political Big Brothers: here’s a do-nothing job for Uncle Henry, here’s a tax exemption for a big donor and … oh, look, here’s some discounted healthcare for members of the big unions that support me.
The “right” to health care in leftist theory, then, is not something that you possess inalienably by virtue of your humanity. Instead, a “right” to them is a dehumanizing tragedy in the making.
The government that gives you your “right” to health care can just as easily deny you that so-called “right” to health care. They can take it away at anytime: if you end up in the wrong column of an actuarial chart, if you vote the wrong way, or, hell, in the very likely event that the system goes bankrupt, the government will be in a position to deny what once was your inalienable “right” to health care. Remember, the Soviet Union declared that its citizens had the right to everything from a home to a job. How’d that work out for them?
“B-b-b-b-b-but!,” scream the leftists. “Insurance companies can already deny you health care.”
No, they can’t. Insurance companies are certainly part of the problem. We’ve grown to depend on them too much and on ourselves too little. The system does need to be fixed.
But insurance companies cannot deny you the inalienable ”right” to health care. They do not have that power. They can only choose not to pay for certain procedures. You can still find another insurance company, seek help in a different state, find a charitable doctor to pay for it, benefit from a fundraiser or, worst-case scenario, benefit from the generosity of a well-funded, for-profit private health care institution.
After all, you still have the “right” to find that care. Even in a worst-case scenario in the current system, you only need the means.
But when government monopolizes the system, when government first decides what kind of care you’ll get, and when government next decides if they’ll even pay for it, your right to health care no longer exists.
At best, your rights will be forced underground into a health care black market: doctors illegally providing care in a cash-only medical economy – but probably one better than the legit “health care” system where patients have no rights but those regally gifted to them by the lords of big government (who, themselves, will never be denied care).
Look at Canada: it already has a vibrant cash-only medical economy. It’s called the U.S. health care system.
Your “right” to health care already exists. Don’t let the leftist and their perverted definition of the word take it away.

via biggovernment.com

In the debate over the "right to affordable health care" Byrne talks about the changing definition of a right. The rights identified in our constitution were not given by the government, they were endowed on us by God by virtue of a humanity. The constitution, specifically the bill of rights, simply prohibits the government from infringing upon those rights.
But in this cry for everyone having their right to affordable health care, a right has been redefined from being a gift of God on which government cannot infringe, to an entitlement for which government must provide. With that definition of rights, how long can it be before our treasury collapses under the weight of it's self-imposed responsibility to provide it's citizenry with their "rights"?
I can't find a "right to health care" in our constitution. But for the sake of argument let's assume it falls under the "right to life" umbrella. Doesn't telling the citizenry they must buy insurance, or use a particular doctor, or follow receive treatment or be denied treatment based on some bureaucratic policy infringe on that right, rather than safeguard it.
You already have the right to health care. You also have the responsibility to fund that right. Byrne talks about some of the options you have to do that. As soon as you expect the government to provide it for you it will cease to be a right and become an entitlement that can and will, be taken away as the system collapses.

Posted via web from It's Just a Thought

Boortz: OBAMA ...sending the national debt soaring to 90% of the economy by 2020

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Hardin) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:29:00 +0000

THE COST OF OBAMA

via Nealz Nuze on 3/8/10

There is one thing that Democrats, Republicans and Independents can all agree on - the debt we owe is our greatest long-term threat to national security. By a two-to-one margin, Americans of all demographics and political parties believe that the amount of money we owe to China is now a greater long-term threat than radical Islam. They're right, but it's must worse than that. The level of debt facing this country will destroy the dreams of our children and grandchildren. It is hard to imagine that future generations will have the opportunity to pursue anything close to the lifestyle we enjoy as they are faced with this crushing debt to retire.

Just how bad is this problem? Read on .....

Last Friday, the Congressional Budget office released a report stating that our projected debt is actually going to be much higher than the White House predicted. Wow! Now who didn't see THAT coming? The CBO says that Obama's budget is going to lead to annual deficits averaging $1 trillion for the next decade. The White House's prediction was an annual budget shortfall of $853 billion for the next decade. Why the discrepancy? Obama expects to bring in more tax revenue. The CBO, on the other hand, does not believe the Obama economy will be able to generate the tax revenue because it expects less economic growth. In fact, the CBO predicts that the deficit will never fall below 4% of the GDP under Obama's policies and "would begin to grow rapidly after 2015."

(By the way, as of right now our predicted annual deficit for this year is $1.5 trillion - a post WWII record at 10.3% of our economy.)

But back to this report ... the CBO says that deficits of that magnitude would force the Treasury to continue borrowing at prodigious rates, sending the national debt soaring to 90% of the economy by 2020, while interest payments on the debt would also skyrocket by $800 billion over the same period.

Speaking of interest rates, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell puts our interest rates into perspective. He says, " ... in just four years the administration predicts the government will have to spend more just to pay interest on the federal debt than it spends on the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, HUD (Housing and Urban Development), Interior, Justice, Labor, State, Treasury, and the Corps of Engineers, Environment Protection Agency, GSA (General Services Administration), NASA, National Science Foundation, Small Business Administration and the Social Security Administration -- combined."

Posted via email from It's Just a Thought

He's Still Working On Me ~ SG Artists kids

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Hardin) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:42:00 +0000

via youtube.com

For my friend @talkofthesouth and all the others who are glad God isn't going to leave us like we are.

Posted via web from It's Just a Thought!

Fox News: Marriages that have lasted 10 years or Longer

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Hardin) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 23:01:00 +0000

Report from CDC odds of marriage lasting over 10 years for those who lived together before marriage: 61% for women and 63%. For those who NEVER lived together the odds of success in marriage re 66% for women and 69% for men.

The older couples are when they marry (first marriages) the greater the chance of success.

Other findings:

— The odds of staying together 10 years or longer in a first marriage are better for couples of the same racial origin, the report found.

— Nearly 80 percent of couples who have their first child at least eight months after their first marriage are likely to celebrate their 10th anniversary; those who don't have children are more than twice as likely not to last 10 years.

— About 75 percent of marriages between men and women 26 years old or older last at least 10 years, compared with only about half of teen marriages.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,587763,00.html

Posted via email from It's Just a Thought!

Healthy Kingdom Church retreat notes

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Hardin) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 23:42:00 +0000

Your browser does not support iframes.

Spiritual Reflections: Confessions of a Recovering Christian

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Hardin) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:54:00 +0000

via revmdavis.blogspot.com

Marshall Davis took a stand for Biblical standards of morality, sexuality, and church polity, and paid the price. And yet he still loves the church who persecuted him. A great read.

Posted via web from It's Just a Thought!

Brent Bozell III Chronicles A Year of Anti-Religious Bigotry

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Hardin) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:23:00 +0000

Bozell argues that the Catholic Church is "the last acceptable prejudice". I actually think that the prejudice is directed toward Christendom at large, with Catholicism, because it is the largest Christian denomination in the United States and in the world, being the symbol for all the rest.

Just four of several big problems with the current tax code.

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Hardin) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:25:00 +0000

First is the corrupting influence on Congress of the power to use it inappropriately. Second is the inequities that result from favoritism and unequal treatment of taxpayers. Third is the non-productive work and un-necessary expense required to figure out what we owe. Fourth is the invasion of privacy required for citizens to comply with all the rules.

via permanentfixes.com

Just four of several big problems with the current tax code. http://fairtax.org

Posted via web from It's Just a Thought!

Mike's Message

Officers-Deacons-Sun Sch and Committees - 2009-2010 - 03-19-2010.pdf

Bulletin for 7/18/2010

LetterMeLater.com - Schedule Email to be Sent Later Automatically

Bramlett Service Information

Bramlett Service Information

It's Like Herding Cats - A pastor's life: It'll Be Coming Down in Buckets!

In utopia there is universal health care coverage and freedom. This isn't utopia: You choose

Tom Hanks doesn't understand that racism was a coping tool, not a reason for WWII

Fox Compares Health Care Debate to Alice in Wonderland

southbaybiblechurch.org :: View topic - PowerPoint Backgrounds for Worship -- Lighter Backgrounds

Sermon for Next Sunday, Via Dolorosa -- Luke 23:26-49

Fun at the Sr. Adult Breakfast

Break the Microsoft Office Addiction: don't buy Microsoft Office 2010

Mike Hardin's office and software Bookmarks

Organizing for Tax Preparation with Remember the Milk

Baptist Press - Study: Cohabiting normative but harmful

Ministering at the Detention Facility Tonight

Sending a Message with the Census - Mark Krikorian - The Corner on National Review Online

» Health Care and the Left’s Perverted Definition of ‘Rights’ - Big Government

Health Care and the Left’s Perverted Definition of ‘Rights’

Boortz: OBAMA ...sending the national debt soaring to 90% of the economy by 2020

THE COST OF OBAMA

He's Still Working On Me ~ SG Artists kids

Fox News: Marriages that have lasted 10 years or Longer

Healthy Kingdom Church retreat notes

Spiritual Reflections: Confessions of a Recovering Christian

Brent Bozell III Chronicles A Year of Anti-Religious Bigotry

Just four of several big problems with the current tax code.

Mike Hardin's ***office* and *software*** Bookmarks