“I Don’t Deserve This!”

Kelly & I passed by, quite recently, a church sign that read “I DON’T DESERVE THIS!” and the Bible Ref underneath was

Ephesians 2:8. Coming home, I looked up the verse & read it:

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—” (NIV)

At first, I didn’t quite make the connection, until Kelly explained it to me after she showed me the translation from

‘The Message’

“Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.”

You may think, to yourself, “I don’t deserve this mess! I’m a good person!” and it may be true that you’re a good person, but that does not mean you can save yourself. Only by the Grace of God and accepting Christ as your Savior can you be saved. We weren’t promised an easy life, by no means. We were only promised it would be all worth it in the end, by sticking to the Words of God and the lessons He taught through His Son Jesus Christ.

None of us, by any means, are perfect. We are very blessed and fortunate that God and Jesus love us as much as they do. Their forgiveness is, indeed, a miraculous gift. We should be thankful for what we do have, for it can always be worse.

I know I am thankful for what I do have.

I do recall hearing another story of a man who was at a Christian Biker rally and the man who was giving a Faith-based message had said he overheard him saying this:  “I will never get to Heaven.”

The gentleman asked him, “Why do you think this?”

He replied, “Because I am not good enough.”

The man said back to him, “Then none of us would get to Heaven, not one.”

Aren’t we so blessed that we have Christ Jesus to save us from the deep, dark depths of Eternal Damnation?! We are. We can all be thankful

that we do have Jesus. By Him, alone, can we be saved. Not by might, not by power, but by His Spirit.

Been a While…..

It has been a long time since I’ve made a post on here. Much has happened. I, unfortunately, lost my previous job and have been searching for another since. This happened back in October 2011. Well, I’ve been able to nail down odd jobs here and there and been doing okay, but I am hoping for more. Got bills to pay and a wife to take care of.
Alien Fires 2199 A.D. download

I certainly pray for a better outcome to this years’ 2012 Elections and hope that things will improve with our economy! These past 4 years REALLY SUCKED! The worst I’ve ever seen in my lifetime. Things with the current economic strains have about caused my poor wife to have a nervous breakdown. My good wife has a University degree & is having trouble trying to nail down gainful employment! I have been out of work for 3 months and it’s driving me bonkers!! I see the light at the end of the tunnel but it is taking a darned long time to get to it.

I pray things change and soon! I don’t know how much longer my family can take this nonsense!

How this Current Economy changed my Mind about Couponing!

Several years ago, before I got married, I easily dismissed coupons, not realizing the potential these little pieces of paper had. I always thought it tedious and time-wasting to sit down and clip these things. To me, they were a piece of glossy paper to be set aside for use with bird cage lining or even to help clean up spilled water. I never gave it much thought, until after I got married and the changes that happened since 2008.

I used to scoff at my wife clipping coupons, but there came a day when we found our finances diminish when I was ‘downsized’ from a job I had. We were living in Ohio and saw a huge plummet in the economy and job market. With that happening, we had to leave where we were living and stay with a relative, but she had not started clipping coupons that much yet. When we ended up moving down south, where I have family, she suddenly got the notion to clip coupons and found several sources online to access coupons for many products that could be discounted. I still thought it a time-waster…until I saw an impact it made when we went shopping one weekend! she convinced me to join her since I had that weekend off from work. So, I reluctantly went with her.

Boy, my mind changed after I saw the amount of money we saved after she submitted a large handful of coupons, both printed off the internet and clipped from several dozen pages from magazines and newspapers. I could not believe the large amount of money we saved from all those coupons!
The other day, my wife came home from the store and had dumped on our bed almost $40.00 worth of merchandise and mentioned she only spent 60 cents! I sat up in bed and read the whole receipt and could not believe my eyes! It was true!

Although I still do not have all the patience to clip coupons, it no longer irritates me when she starts getting giddy while printing them off the internet or clipping them from magazines or newspapers. If you can buy almost $400.00 worth of merchandise and only spend, maybe, $50.00 to $100.00 or even $150.00….I say “Go for it!” With this current hard economy, it is quite important to save what money we can by paying more attention to those pieces of paper with the unique barcodes on them. Use whatever search engine is your favorite to look up potential web sites that may offer good coupons for your favorite products and print them. Save the coupon and savings pages from your local newspaper and check things out. You may be pleasantly surprised by the savings you can find!

Today, I am more than happy to say I was completely wrong about couponing and that my wife was completely right! I know I married well! She is one smart cookie!

Time Zips By. . . . . .(and other thoughts). . . .

Wow, where did the summer go? We’re already into September. That means, for many other parts of the U.S.A., Back to School! The leaves in the trees start to change colors, we get out the jackets and long-sleeve shirts & start thinking about shopping for Autumn. In our family, we’re already thinking about this-coming Holiday Season. We’ve had to plan ahead by about a month & a ½ to two months since everyone is so busy anymore. Plus it’s been like that since my father passed away 6 years ago. Another event is the 3rd Anniversary of my wife & I getting married! Yes, it has been 3 years since we got married. What a blessed thing! It is such a beautiful thing when a man and woman meet and fall in love! Another thing is FOOTBALL! My wife & I love OSU Football, though it has had its share of moderate misfortunes, lately. Yes, Ohio State Football!! The best college football team in the U.S.A.!! We’re happy they won their first game against Akron, although it did not seem to be much of a challenge! We are looking forward to the big Michigan game in November. Can’t wait to see the Wolverines get their butts kicked up & down the field.

Seems like only yesterday that we relocated to the south to rebuild our lives since Obama got elected. It has been terrible. I had many an issue trying to find work. And even though I got a job, it’s been sporadic in getting extra time in. Unemployment is ridiculously high and the citizens are extremely restless. We need another Ronald Reagan type in office.

The more I see what is on the news, lately, the more frustrated I get. I grow tired of it, very quickly. My family’s always telling me that I need to be aware of current events in the world. HECK I hear about it everyday on the radio! I see it wherever I go! I don’t want to be constantly reminded of it! I know what the condition of the world is, right now. And over ½ of it is either frightening or depressing. Is it any wonder why I go to my room and either play a video game or watch Cartoon Network’s Boomerang channel? Hearing about some politicians causing problems with our country, or someone who has committed some vile and heinous unlawful act, or more problems with the Middle East…………I am just sick of it all!

I took a good look at the back of our dollar bill. There are two Latin phrases on what is supposed to be the Great Seal of the United States. “Novus Ordo Seclorum” and “ANNUIT CŒPTIS”……..now I have researched many of the meanings that people have come up with and some, I can tell, have put too much thought into this. Confidentially, I ponder that a lot of people have read way too much into these symbols and meanings. The obvious factor is that our currency has praises on it for God. “In God we Trust!” is the most famous of all phrases on our American money. Of course, since the ending of the 20th Century, and into the 21st…..atheists have whined about the mentioning of God in public places and on our American currency. Our country was founded on Christian principles, and about 80% of Americans believe in and worship God. If you do not believe in your Creator, that is your own fault, nobody else’s.  But what I was getting at was that there are a lot of people who have read too much into the latin phrasing on the dollar bill and have had odd opinions about what some of the things could really mean. Between that and the Social Security numeric system, many have tried to convince the public that it all points to the Mark of the Beast = 666. I don’t know about that, now. If that were so, 98% of Americans would be in serious trouble! I am not one to get theological too often, but I must say that if you have a problems with the U.S.A. being a Christian nation…..then LEAVE! We’re not making you stay! You have the freedom to go elsewhere. I do not care what Obama says, we will ALWAYS be a Christian nation. Who is he to say otherwise? We’re going to work hard to get a REAL president in office who will help bring the U.S.A. back to where it belongs: back to being the true Land of Opportunity! GOD BLESS AMERICA! The American people ought to be thanking God for all the blessings they’ve had in the past.

Well, that’s it for now. Peace to all & may God bless you.

 

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Life’s Bizarre, isn’t it?

We had fun at the wedding in Ohio. My sister-in-law ‘tied the knot’ with the guy she was dating. We’re very happy for her, really. We just pray it lasts! I have noticed quite a few couples, over the past few years, break-up/divorce. Whether or not the reasons are justified, I don’t know. It is just sad that the ones you think will make it……well, they fall apart. My wife & I just think, “Perhaps it wasn’t meant to be. Nothing lasts forever.”

Thankfully, we’re keeping our marriage in God’s capable Hands. That’s where it belongs. But it does bring to mind some issues I have seen getting more and more controversial. The whole issue of “gay marriage.” I find it amusing that I come up with so many jokes about homosexual marriage, anymore. It is not surprising, you know? Something that many consider so wrong can be so easily joked about. Although my family also feels that way, they tell me it is not worth getting all ‘up-in-arms’ over it. My brother said, “Let them have their gay fun, they’ll pay for it one day.” I do agree with him. We just get sick that they like to ‘shove it in our face.’

This whole quagmire with Obama not supporting Israel has me quite exasperated! I knew he did not, but he’s making things worse! Since he stole control of this country he has done nothing but break us down and devastate the economy. Although I am pleased that many have been making plans to get him out of office, it is not happening fast enough. My family feels it is up to the 2012 Elections to see that Obama does NOT get a 2nd Term. Boy, we are praying he is defeated!! This country has had enough of the horrible dictatorship he’s dropped on us. He’s the worst I have seen where leading this country is concerned! He’s not even a leader! There is a lot I can say about this, but I am running low on time.

Well, this is going to be one hot summer. It’s been hitting 100° here. I am expecting it to get even hotter! So, here’s to finding time and the money to get a pool in our backyard! Until next post…..peace, y’all!

UPDATES! Japan, weight loss, and a Wedding!

Much has happened since my last post. With the New Year holiday having come & gone, we’ve seen much change. The biggest event that has happened has been the tragic earthquake in Japan, recently. This horrible event, though mainly affecting Japan, has pretty much affected most of the world! The earthquake was a sad, tragic, and devastating monstrosity. I feel horrible for the people in Japan. Who knows why these things happen. Hopefully, the life-threatening situations over there can be sustained so Japan can rebuild little by little. Japan is one of my favorite countries and I want to visit there someday! Does anybody have any thoughts on the Japan earthquake?

At the same time, however, we need to focus, as well, on our own country. The United States has been allowed to topple to an unrecognizable status. And what are we doing about it? That is my question. Obama has been relentlessly tossing out one bad policy after another that is making things worse. I do not know how people can think he is a good guy. I know I did not vote for him. And it has nothing to do with his racial status. That seems to be a popular thing to do these days. If someone did not vote for Obama, you are labeled a racist. What a lie! I know of some black people who did not vote for him. And, I have seen some blacks who did and now they are sorry they did when they have seen the damage Obama has done to this country! Well I am not racist. I’ve got plenty of friends of different racial backgrounds. I take interest in other cultures.

But anyway, we need to get America back on a right track. Thankfully, America has already started to wake up! Amen to that! On another note, I am happy to announce I have lost around 50 lbs. and now I need a new wardrobe! I went from wearing a size 50 in jeans to a size 38. I feel good! Losing 50 lbs. since last Autumn and looking good. My wife is happy and so am I. We’ve gone out to play basketball and now we’re going to try playing some tennis…when the weather improves. Been rainy weather since Monday. Blah….

One of my in-laws is getting married in May. We’re very happy for her! Hopefully it works out. We’ve already planned the trip and am feverishly saving the money. My sister-in-law sent us the invitation about a week ago and we were wondering how we were going to get up there. With the horrible economy and my wife and I trying to work and keep the monetary flow going, we were wondering how we were going to get to the wedding without driving. Both of our vehicles are over 6 years old and this was a 6+ hour drive, approximately. But my family came in and helped us with the money matters so we were able to book a flight! A whole week away for the wedding and some family fun. Praise God in Heaven!

I finally obtained a PC copy of BULLY: the Scholarship Edition. I have missed playing this awesome game. It is slightly unusual, though, as there are a few exra levels, classes, and characters. With different controls, it is challenging to pass some of the classes. My least favorite is chemistry! But I have already passed Art, Music, and English class. Still working on Geography, Math, and Biology. The sharper graphics are something else, too! I remember playing the classic edition on my old PS2 when I had it. Now I have a PS3, obviously, and loving some of the games I have for it. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is one of my favorite games. For Christmas, my wife got me [PROTOTYPE], a strange and rather graphic game about a young man who lost his normal life as a scientist after he was infected by a modified, dangerous virus and shot to death. The virus seemingly allowed him to survive the shooting and now he has superhuman powers that allow him to morph into anybody he ‘consumes’, change his limbs to different types of biological weapons like a bladed whip, club-like fists, and your deadliest and most powerful weapon: a double-bladed sword-like appendage! Increasing your strength through upgrades after destroying so many infected buildings and bizarre mutants eventually gives you the ability to easily destroy military tanks and special task helicopters (your deadliest foes). This game is not for young people under the age of 18 and the faint-of-heart, I can tell ya’ that! It’s very graphic and has foul language. But if you’re old enough & enjoy games like this, it’s very entertaining! I easily got caught up in the game.

Well that is all for now. Hopefully I will have more to write about next time around! See y’all again soon! God bless all of you.

Video Game Review: Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage – PlayStation 3

既に死んでいる! This translates to the main character’s famous line to anyone he fights – to the death! For anyone who is a fan of the most graphically violent manga and anime series of all time, 北斗の拳, or Fist of the North Star, or the literal translation – Fist of the Great Bear, this is a familiar phrase. This translation of the classic graphic comic and cartoon series to a video game is probably the best ever! This was my wife’s gift to me this past Christmas 2010. It surprised me, to be honest. I had seen brief video clips of this game and pictures on the internet and in magazines, and having played previous versions of this title had me quite skeptical. After talking with some employees at some of my favorite video game stores, they told me they actually enjoyed it and that I ought to download the demo, which only featured Kenshiro and Rei, on my PS3. At their advice, I did, and was completely blown away! The graphics were awesome, the controls were really great, the upgrade programming was superbly challenging, and about ½ the soundtrack actually fit the game!

北斗の拳

 

Needless to say, I was quite impressed by this version of Fist of the North Star! Another impressive feature to the combat system is the button-pushing combo you have to hit when delivering your Finishing Moves to the boss enemies. Do it right, and you can watch the awesomely impressive Signature Moves of each character you play! If you miss it, or run out of time, you get blown back by the Boss’s recovery and you sacrifice some of your life meter. I’ve played four of them so far: Kenshiro, Rei, Mamiya, and Toki. Kenshiro’s fighting style is the most impressive and challenging. Of course, he’s my favorite character. When you beat Kenshiro’s legendary mode, it unlocks certain features, like playing him in Dream Mode. The game, on the whole, is worth the price and very deep in a few areas. It is easy to tell that the companies involved with putting this game together took their time to get it right, this time. PLUS, there are three different fight styles, depending on what characters you choose. Kenshiro and Toki are the Hokuto types, while Rei and Shin are the Nanto types. For the fans of this Japanese Animation series, you know what each type means. Characters like Mamiya and Jagi, however, are labeled as the Special Styles.

 

For those not quite familiar with the series, Hokuto style is also known as the Assassins’s Art. Being able to hit certain pressure points on your opponent’s body, you can cause it to do just about anything. The most obvious thing, with this series, is causing your opponent’s body to explode or rip itself in half, among other things; basically destroying your opponent from the inside out. Nanto style has it where you destroy everything from the outside in. Your fingers become like knives or razors! This obviously leads to some real graphic violence within the game.

北斗百裂弾

The other added incentive to the game is utilizing your environment. You have the ability to use whatever you can get your hands on to defeat the enemy. Fuel barrels, steel girders, and busted lamp posts, etc. Use these to get to enemies who’re probably too far from your reach. Along with an extensively detailed instructions manual at your disposal, playing this game should be very enjoyable for fans of the series or for fans of graphic fighting games.

 

On a scale of 1 to 10, I give this game a 9, seeing as the only annoying thing about this game was some repetitive rock music in a couple of levels. That aside, it is the best translation of Fist of the North Star I have ever played!

RATING: “M” for Mature – not recommended for anyone under 17 years of age!

  

Fist of the North Star, Kenshiro, Raoh, and all related subjects, likenesses, materials, names, contents, etc. is Copyright © 1983 Buronson & Tetsuo Hara/North Star Pictures, Inc. All rights reserved.

Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage, pictures, likenesses, etc. is Copyright © 2010 TECMO KOEI GAMES CO., LTD  All rights reserved.

Popeye……back to the Big Screen.

It looks like Popeye is on its way back to the silver screen. I don’t know whether or not to cheer this on. It seem that SONY in going to try remaking it to introduce to a new generation of movie-goers.

I am not sure what to make of this knowledge that Popeye’s movie is being remade. I hope they don’t go for Hollywood mainstreams like Jim Carrey or (ugh!) Will Ferrell. Now I have nothing against them, at all. They’re good performers, but the character of Popeye needs someone who is unique, and out-of-the-ordinary. Robin William’s portrayal of the spinach-munching, fist-swinging sailor was superb! He was fresh on the movie scene and somehow did the job just right when the film was originally made in 1980 on the Island of Malta. Now that SONY seems to have the greenlight on this project, I wonder what they are going to do with this remake..? Who will play Popeye? What about Bluto and Olive Oyl? Each actor who originally played the roles were perfect for their parts and seemed to jump right from the pages of the Depression Era Thimble Theater comic strips!

This remake is due to hit the theaters in 2013….providing the world doesn’t end, as allegedly ’predicted’ by scientists. I cannot get over the hilariousness of that! But not to steer away from the subject, all we can do is wait and see what they will do with this supposed remake……and they are circulating rumors it is supposed to be in 3-D!! Why? I do not know, but it seems to be the rage…….again. I remember 3-D being big back in the early 1980′s. It is a downer that Hollywood seems to be running out of ideas. If I can finish some of my scripts, I would be happy to throw ideas their way……..providing they don’t mess them up.

Let’s wait and see what they are going to do with Popeye!

It is near the End of the Year…….

We are just days away from Christmas now. It has been obvious that many people have controversial views on this Christmas and tight budgets. With the economy in the most serious roller-coaster ride of its existence, we’re faced, with 2011 looming, with many challenging choices. I have been happy to see a few things swing in our favor, though, politically-speaking. Mid-Term elections voting out many an incumbent politician,serving too long, and getting in fresh new younger ones with, thankfully, traditional plans for the United States. We are not, by any means, out of the woods yet, but I am happy a light can be seen at the end of this long tunnel.

Barack Obama has proven one thing, though. He has failed at his job, but is trying to cooperate with the GOP. This is something, I know, that the liberal democrats aren’t happy with, at all. I do not know what is coming next. I must admit, when he came to an agreement with the GOP on the tax cuts, I did not see that one coming. But I am taking everything with a grain of salt, here.

I was pleasantly surprised, though, when I was surfing the internet and found an article written by one of my favorite action movie stars, Chuck Norris, he calls “Obama vs. Reagan” and it was quite intriguing and refreshing. He had quite a few interesting things to note about Obama. But the one part that stood out to me was something he mentioned about Christmas. He and his wife went to Prague, in the Czech Republic and here’s a small piece from it:

A few months ago, when I was filming my six T-Mobile Christmas commercials at Prague in the Czech Republic, my wife, Gena, and I discovered a Christmas tradition they have that we wish was a part of our tradition in America. They still call Christmas “Christmas,” not “Happy Holidays.” And on Christmas morning they tell their children that Jesus brings the Christmas tree and Jesus brings the gifts. It really brought a great amount of joy to our hearts when we heard about that tradition. That is when we knew going there to film those commercials was a great decision.”

God certainly has things happen a certain way for a very good reason. He is one person I hope to meet someday. Being an action movie star certainly gives you an advantage in many things, especially to express your Christian faith. That is one of the things I’ve always appreciated about Chuck Norris.

But I am not going to get too far off track, here. I am certain that 2011 is going to be an exciting year in many ways. Some good, some challenging & hard. But I have faith that God and Jesus Christ will be with us through it all. He never did promise life would be easy, He only promised it would be worth it. In fact, with these hard times, I am reminded of the 6th Chapter in Matthew, in the New Testament. Verses 25 and 26: Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”

It is a great miracle, to me, of Jesus Christ being born, giving us Christmas time. Not because of the presents, though I admit it is nice, but because of the promise of God to us. He wants us back in Heaven with Him. And Jesus is the only way to do it, accepting him as our Savior, and acknowledging him as the true Son of God. I’ve already done that. I try my best to give Jesus & God ALL of my worries and concerns. Sometimes it can be hard, as some of us are geared to constantly need to fix things and if we don’t, we worry about them. But if they’re ready to be fixed, God would give you the time to do so. I don’t know how, but it happens in ways we least expect it. Why? Because God works in very mysterious ways.

I hope and pray that we find a way to fix our country next year. Who knows what kind of Christmas miracle God will give us for 2011. We can only wait, pray, and see what happens. Merry Christmas, everyone!