Mo Campmeeting Pichers 5

Moving on to more pictures from campmeeting....

This little girl in the choir is the daughter or niece of the man holding her (I am not sure which).
She has some development problems.
She is not growing normally or as fast as most children her age.
Someone told me that she is three years old but looks about the size of a two-year-old, and she cannot/does not talk.
I am sure much prayer is being done on her behalf.




Here is another little muffin I saw at campmeeting.
She had come into morning prayer meeting with her mother and was sitting quietly in the back of the room while we waited to begin the prayers.



Here is another shot of the choir.



This is brother Creyts, from Dunn Loring, Virginia, near the Washington D.C. area.
He is very gifted, musically.
He played the vibraphone a few times before or during services.
The sound of the unusual instrument gave the services a surreal atmosphere.
The singer here is named Amaria.



Brother Creyts also played the drums during a couple of services.
At the piano is Ann Webb who is gifted in her own right.
She can play piano well and sing.
I can play the piano and sing, too, but it does not sound like when she does it.



Still more pictures to come.
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Mo Campmeeting Pichas 4

Ok, enough of Miranda.
Here are the last of the talent show pictures from campmeeting.

The "judges" in the talent show usually dress up in some funny outfits and this year was no exception.
What look like Jewish tourists in Miami are actually brother and sister Bartlette.



This was a quartet (duh) that sang in the talent show.
Some of you may recognize at least some of these people.
I am only familiar with their faces.



Sister Evelyn Romine dressed up as Susan Boyle and evidently memorized nearly the entire youtube video - including the song "I dreamed a dream".
She did very well.



Sherm and his daughter(?) dressed up and did a "newscast" of ancient news that was quite funny.



And a young man (whom I later saw looks NOTHING like Elvis) did a pretty good imitation of a young Elvis Presley.
I was impressed and a little surprised.
It was amusing how the crowd responded (loudly, with screams from some of the women) to his performance, they, supposedly being such quiet, "isolated" people, many of whom had/have no televisions.
He won one of the awards.



Lest you get the wrong idea, there was plenty of serious, eternity-oriented activity at campmeeting.
I did not take a lot of pictures of the ministers while they were preaching, so there is less visual information about the most important aspects of the meeting.
More to come....
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Mo Pichers 3

Onward we go with more campmeeting pictures.
I am purposefully concentrating on the "social" aspect of the event, rather than the spiritual, at this point.
There were many "good" messages that enlightened, challenged and encouraged we in the pews during the meeting.
I may elaborate on some the the high points of those presentations later.

Below are a few more pictures of Miranda Wells.
Thursday evening each year after the main service there is a talent show at the campmeeting.
It is generally a time of fun and craziness.
This year, in one of the "acts" in the talent show, Miranda told a story about a young person with a very strong sweet tooth.
As I said before, Miranda is a natural performer, and she proved that again with her part-planned, part-ad libbed presentation.

More pictures of the talent show and campmeeting to come....

Mo Campmeeting Pichas 1

As promised, here are some more pictures I took during campmeeting.
As some of you know, I tend to be a landscape photographer rather than a people photographer.
This prolly has its roots in by-gone days of being shown long series of pictures of, here's Elmer and Alice (standing like sticks) at the Washington monument, here's Elmer and Alice (standing like sticks) at the Lincoln memorial, here's Elmer and Alice (standing like sticks) at the Grand Cooley dam, here's Elmer and Alice (standing like sticks) at mile marker 215 in Nebraska, etc. you get the picture of old pictures.

But this year, I took a lot of pictures (about 150) of people, most of them candid (meaning the people did not know I was taking a picture of them.




Above is a shot of the choir.
Brother Sherm Romine has been the song leader/choir director since I have been attending Newark campmeetings beginning in 1967.
He has a gift in this area.
I kiddingly told someone he could make a rock sing.



Here is a pic of Rebecca Whitehead and an unknown little person, taken just before evening service.




Here are some other people waiting for the evening service to begin.
The youngest one was the main object of my lens but I realized that I had captured three generations of folks.



Here is one of several pictures I took of Miranda Wells this year.
I was trying to sneak a shot of her, as I know she would assume some "pose" for me if she caught me taking a picture.
I failed.
She spotted me and, as expected, made a face for me.
She is a delightful young lady with a very outgoing personality.
She is a natural performer, according to the local folks who know her.




And here are the old war buddies, standing like sticks for their 43rd year anniversary.
From left to right is, brother Danny Bartlette, Tony Bartlette, Walt Williams, mee.
We met in 1967 in Teagu, Korea.
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I Bees Bak

Actually, I arrived home on Monday about 2:15 PM.
I had safe (uneventful) travel up to Newark and back.
The services were inspiring and challenging.
I got to meet and fellowship with some new (to mee) people this year, in addition to visiting with many "old" friends.
Some of the "old" friends were the three friends from the military in 1967.
If I did my math right, that would make this our 43rd anniversary.

Campmeeting week was intended to be my rest week from my new all-weight lifting program.
I rested more than I was planning.
I only walked three times the whole week. (the plan was to walk every day...)
So I was WELL rested when I returned home, and was *ready* to get back into the exercise groove on Tuesday.
I am still sore from that session. :)

For the next few days I will be posting pictures from the meeting here.
Here are the first of them.



This is a less than complementary picture of Tony and Danny's mom, who just turned 93.



I was often amused by the little people who populated the campmeeting this year, so I took several pictures of some of them.
I just think they are cute.
In the back is bro. Bartlette pontificating about something with some friends.



This is Walt Williams singing in one of the services.
He was my bunk-mate for most of the time I was stationed in Korea in 1967.



During one of the morning services, some of the little people sang a couple of songs.

Excitement Mounts...

... as the time of departure for campmeeting approaches.
Just three more days and then I motor up the Newark, Ohio for the annual celebration.
It will be good to see all the "northern" saints again.
And perhaps another reunion with my old army buddies.

It is hard to believe that it has been 43 years since we first met in an army barracks in Taegu, Korea.
Remind me to tell you that story sometime.

On the local front, I am working through a new 4-day-per-week workout plan.
It is based on a book I bought online a few weeks ago that recommended one work each body area twice each week instead of the common frequency of once per week.
I am trying this method.
It is tough.
But according to my workout log numbers, I am getting stronger.
Today will be the second session for my back and chest.
Woo hoo.

But my body/system is still adjusting to the no-running-just-weight-lifting plan, methinks.
I often wake up in the morning feeling "tired".
As tiring as running seems to be, it is easier on me than a max-out iron lifting session, it seems.
At least, it is easier to recover from.

But I can see subtle differences in my bodyfat and muscle shapes.
Nothing to call the magazines about, mind you.
And I feel different.
Generally stronger, I would call it.
So, you might ask, how does one feel tired upon waking up and stronger at the same time?
Good question.
And I am not sure how to answer that.

In God we trust.
.

Lest You Worry....

I am still alive.
I have been busy working out and playing around the house.
The weather has been delicious and invites me to come out and play in the yard.

My workout schedule has increased from three sessions per week to four.
Last week was my first full week of four workouts.
I can tell that this level of effort is taxing my system.
I generally feel a bit tired each day.
Part of this is normal and will diminish as my body gets used to the increased effort requirements.

The game, here, is to figure out what level of stress my system can handle on a long term basis and match my workout volume to that amount.
I plan to stay at four per week this week and next, then it will be off to campmeeting for a week.
I will use this as my "rest" week.
I plan to walk each morning while at campmeeting, but nothing more.
No running this year. :(

It is mildly depressing for me to realize that, as of June 22, the duration of daylight each day is getting less and less.
Too soon, the temperatures will begin to drop and the dark days of winter will envelope us again.
As you can see, it is easy for me to get ahead of myself.

I used to have to attend a business meeting in Phoenix, Arizona once a month as a representative of my company.
I quickly found that I loved the area and the climate, and looked forward to going there each month.
After about a year, the project that required my presence was transferred to another division of my company in another location.
I remember my last visit to Phoenix mainly because I was so depressed from knowing it was my last visit, that I could hardly enjoy my time there.
I laughed at myself at the time, thinking how silly I was.
My depression was entirely self-induced.
There was no reason to feel badly other than my anticipation of the secession of monthly visits.
Silly me.
Thus, I sit in the lovely, warm July weather dreading the cold winds and dark days of December.

IN OTHER NEWS...

Your right-thinking House of Representatives has passed a wonderful new "energy" bill that will regulate almost every phase of your life.
They are doing this to protect our fragile planet from our evil industries.

It will dictate how much you pay for gasoline for your car.
It will dictate what TYPE of gasoline you may use in your car.
It will dictate what kind of car you may drive. (remember: they already own two of the three domestic car companies)
It will dictate how much gas mileage your car must achieve. (if your current car does not get good enough gas mileage, you will have to pay an additional tax.)
It will dictate how fast you may drive.
It will dictate how long you may drive. (if your government-approved electric car can only go 50 miles at a time, and you are on a 200 mile trip to visit aunt Edna, you will have to stop at a government-approved charging station to re-charge.)
It will dictate what color car you may drive. (really! Black cars absorb more of the sun's heat which makes them harder to keep cool, which makes your air conditioner run longer, which uses more gasoline. The brilliant do-gooders in California are already considering legislation to BAN black cars.)
It will dictate how much water you may use at home. (use more than the government-authorized amount and you will pay an extra tax)
It will dictate how much electricity you may use. (use more than the government-authorized amount and you will pay an extra tax)
It will dictate WHEN you may use water or electricity in your home.
It will dictate what type of windows are in your home (they will have to be "approved" energy-efficient type.)
It will dictate what level of insulation your house has.
It will dictate the amount of energy your home appliances use.

You will not be able to sell your house unless it has been inspected for energy "efficiency" and approved by a government inspector.
If you do not "pass" the inspection, you will not be able to sell your house until you make the "required" improvements.
Regardless of the cost.

It will require additional taxes on every manufacturing, retail and utility company based on how much energy they use to make/sell their products, and how much insulation they have in their buildings.
These businesses will have to pass these increased costs on to their customers - yoo n mee.
The cost of everything will go up.
Everything.

Since the Environmental Protection Agency has now proclaimed carbon dioxide a polluting "greenhouse gas", it will soon begin to produce regulations to "control" its production to counteract "global warming".

Which leads me to some questions...
Since I and everyone else on the planet exhale carbon dioxide, will we be taxed for breathing?
Since the fizz in soft drinks is produced by injecting carbon dioxide gas into them, will there be a new tax added to the price of Coke and Pepsi and other soft drinks?
Since methane gas was also identified as a cause of "global warming", and a tax on cows was proposed, to compensate for the production of methane gas from their farts in the pasture, will I be taxed also, since I sometimes fart, too?

To execute God's judgment on this nation, the Chaldeans have invaded and are taking over everything.
Enjoy your freedoms and property while you can.
You will not have them much longer.

In God we trust.
.

Will He Find Faith?

I don't often wax preachy here, but occasionally, I feel compelled to pontificate on a topic that has been on my mind.
The posting of some thoughts on another blog got me to thinking about my past ruminations on a subject.
Thus....

Luke 18:8 reads: I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?

The context of this verse is the parable of the Unjust Judge.
The point of the story is that the constant, repeated request of a poor widow was finally granted by a judge who had no reason to consider the request, simply because of her persistence.
The point of the last verse is, even though requests of those who ask God for something may not be answered quickly, they will be answered.
In spite of this ("Nevertheless"), some will stop believing in the promises of God because of the delay.
Hence, the question, will Christ find faith on the earth when he returns.

The Greek word translated "faith" is "Pistis".
This word is translated "faith" every time it is found in the New Testament.(and it is found dozens of times.)
"Pistis" means persuasion, credence (acceptance of certain precepts as true), moral conviction, reliance on Christ for salvation, or constancy or faithfulness.

In these last days, and especially in the last couple of years, I have pondered this concept more and more.
It seems that the decline of "religion" in the U.S., and especially essential Christianity - meaning, belief in the Bible strong enough that it affects one's behavior (read: holiness) - in the last few years, has caused a fundamental shift in the general moral level of society as a whole.
It is like we have reached a critical mass of immorality or moral relativism.

As a result, the policies of our government are now changing.
In totalitarian governments/societies, the policies of the government may or may not reflect the values of the people/society they rule over.
In democratic governments/societies, the policies of the government generally do reflect the general moral values of the people/society they represent.
So, as I see the policies of our government change, I see it as a reflection of the values of our society as a whole.

And as our society becomes more secular, earthly-minded, given to more physical gratification, and carnal - even among so-called Christians, I wonder just how many people are really saved.
Only God knows.
I have long ago stopped trying to figure out who is "saved" and who is not, in the way that I used to.
That was a preoccupation of my former religious fellowship.

Generally, I now accept the testimony of each person at face value.
If they say they are saved, I usually accept them as such.
I can find something "wrong" with almost anyone who professes Christianity, but I cannot be sure that God does not accept them because of such flaws or shortcomings.
They may have overcome some issues/battles/sins way greater than what I have had to deal with, and God has not yet inspired them to work on the issue that I see in them.
Who am I to make such a judgment?
God truly knows who are his; I do not - and never will in this life.

So I now err on the side of acceptance.
If I am wrong, what have I lost?
The command for me is to encourage and build up, not to judge.
But I digress....

As the Revelation says, "Babylon is fallen..."
And the casual, ho-hum, sloppy "Christianity" that I see in most people who call themselves Christian these days is bothersome to me.
Most people can only bring themselves to attend one church service a week - Sunday morning worship.
They are too busy to get up for Sunday School, too busy to attend Sunday evening worship meetings, or mid-week gatherings.
They toss a few dollars in the passing plate, smile and say nice things to others around them, gladhand everyone nearby, listen to the preacher with half an ear (as long as he doesn't take too long), then blast off.

Do they pray every day for the disintegrating moral conditions around them (read: sinners)?
Probably not.
Do they read their Bible every day to constantly recalibrate their personal moral compass to offset the persistent intrusion of secular, humanistic, atheistic, fleshly, earthly concepts and ideas that surround them at school or work or from friends or neighbors or television or radio?
Probably not.
If they did, they would behave differently, methinks.

So, back to the question at the beginning (you thought I forgot, didn't you?), will Jesus find faith when He returns?
The answer is, yes.
But it will not be found in as many people as some might think.
It will be found in those who have resisted the general amoral tide around them, and fought to maintain the spiritual values and behavior the Bible commands.
It will be found in those who have importuned before - not an unjust judge - but a loving, holy God who, while loving each of, and all of, mankind, is still unmovabley righteous.

Christianity is still a pretty simple exercise - do what God's book says and you will be okay.
The Babylon in the book of Revelation is not just a physical location, like a church.
It can be that, but it is more.
It is a state of mind, a spiritual perspective, where obedience to the Bible is less important than going along with the crowd, "getting along" in spite of compromising moral principles, and spiritually sloppy, undisciplined living.
If what the preacher (or the television, or radio, or a neighbor, or the kids at school) says has more weight for you than the scriptures, then you are "in" Babylon.
God says, "Come out of her my people."

In God we trust.
.

Mm - Mm - Mm - Toasty!

I love to engage in UV therapy a couple of times a week.
I would do it more often if is were not so provocative for skin cancer.
But I LOVE laying in the sun.
There must be a lizard gene in me somewhere.
I use a timer so I won't over-cook.
About 30 minutes on a side is enough.
Plus, I look better with a tan, methinks.

Today it was hot.
Like 97 degrees hot.
And, even though it was humid, there was a nice breeze.
Rare for summer days in these parts.
It reminded me of the western lands of the USA.
It was so hot, I cut the session short by about four minutes.(I still got just a tad of a burn)

But when it gets hot like it was today, I cannot comfortably lay my arms on my patio for a minute or two until the shadow of my arms causes the concrete to cool a bit. (the rest of me is laying on two big towels, in case you were wondering.)
I was wondering just how hot the concrete was today so, after my baking session, I enlisted my trusty thermometer and laid the remote sensor ON the cement.
It stopped counting at 129.
I think that may have been the limit of the instrument.
That is toasty, folks.
No wonder my arms did not like to lay on it.
It read the humidity as 74%.
That seemed a bit high for the "feel" of the air, but, hey, who am I to argue with my electronical instrument?

IN OTHER NEWS

This week I start a four-day-per-week workout plan.
Today was "Leg Day" in the new workout system.
Since I am still building myself up to an as yet to be determined maximum level of stress/workload, I did just two exercises - Squats and Standing Heel Raises.
These two puppies are supposed to simulate SOME of the stress/work of running.

I was pleased with how deep I was able to go down in my Squats with 165 pounds on my shoulders.
Ideally, I would like to go all the way down to the point where my thighs are parallel to the ground/floor.
I ended up doing three sets of twenty reps - except on the last set I was feeling frisky enough to add two more reps.
Woo Hoo!
17,050 pounds.
Not bad for an old geezer.
My knees were okay, my lower back, though touchy, was okay.
I know working with this weight will help my lower back get better again.

The Heel Raises were not as positive in result.
Part of the reason is because I added more weight to reduce the reps.
And it worked.
I calculated how much weight to add to reduce my reps from 24 to 20 for each leg and it came out to 45 pounds, for a total of 85 pounds.
Whatever.
You just do it.
And I did.

But I could only do about 15 reps with this new weight, instead of 24, like last week.
But this was not the 20 I had calculated would be the result.
So instead of lifting about 15,000 pounds with each leg (like last week), I only lifted about 11,300.
But I fried the little puppies in the process.
Between the strong internal burning sensation (from Lactic Acid buildup) and the positive failure, they knew they had been pushed to their limit.

Sooo, I get to build up some strength in my calves (Lord knows they need it.)
We shall see how that goes.....
The total for todays session (including my ab work) 42,299 pounds.
Tomorrow is arms.

Enjoy your property, freedoms and income.
You will not have them much longer.
In God we trust.
.

Another Saturday Walk

I miss running.
But I am feeling better doing the weights more often.
Running seems to be/have been an emotional thing as much as a physical activity.
My body, as I have said before, likes the weight lifting.

For the last two weeks I have increased my weight lifting sessions to three per week (did I already tell you this?).
Next week - like, starting tomorrow, we go to four sessions per week.
Woo hoo!
My back is still sore from Friday's hoedown.
This is good.

The walk Saturday morning still feels a bit strange.
My body still craves the thrashing that 6-mile session on the Cotton Row course provided.
I loved that course (for some reason).
And this morning, another walk, feels so wimpy.
But we will learn to adjust. (won't we, body?)

Four sessions per week with the pig iron should make everybody happy, once they get used to it
again.
I am building up gradually.
When I was running, my weekly totals of weight lifted was between 50,000 and 65,000 pounds.
For the last two weeks I have lifted a total of about 75,000 pounds.
This week my total should be about 81,000 pounds.
I will keep adding weight/exercises until I find the level that my body will not recover from in a day or two.
Then back off a tad.
Methinks that will not be the level it was five years ago before I started running.
It will be less. (duh)
But I will rotate workout plans more often this time around.
Like doing four weeks of four-per-week sessions then dropping back to three-per-week for a week or two.
Then back to four-per-week for another month.
The strategy is to keep my parts guessing about what will happen next (since they cannot read my plans...).
This will force them to respond with growth.
And cause them to be ready to respond to any kind of stress (this is one definition of exercise) quickly.
Stay tuned.

Enjoy your freedoms and property while you can; you will not have them much longer.
In God we trust.
.

Have You Ever ....

... seen the bumper sticker that says something like -

THE LAST TIME THEY TRIED TO MIX

RELIGION AND POLITICS

THEY BURNED PEOPLE AT THE STAKE.

?

I have been thinking about that for many months since I first saw/read it.
First of all, it is usually worn by some liberal psudo-intellectual moralist.
Second of all, the statement is not exactly true.

The last time "they" tried to mix Christianity and politics, "they" produced the United States of America.
It think the product turned out pretty good.

There have been some less successful combinations of politics and Christianity - specifically the Roman Catholic variety.
Think of the Middle/Dark Ages and numerous trials/tortures of "heretics".
Then there was the crusades.
Treatment of native people by the conquistadors in the 1600 - 1700's.
History is full of wars fought over religion, both Christian and others.

The key element in the equation is which religion is in the soup.
If you mix the Muslim religion with politics you get Afghanistan under the Taliban.
Or Saudi Arabia.
Or Iran
Or Syria
Or Iraq under Saddam (though he was not a strictly religious man as much as he was a power monger - not unlike the current American dictator.)

If you mix atheism with politics you get the Soviet Union under Stalin.
Or Cuba under the Castros.
Or Cambodia under Pol Pot.
Or Sudan.
Or China.

We could do much worse than to mix Christianity with politics.
We are about to learn just how precious that experiment is/was as we enter an era of state-enforced atheism.
Enjoy your freedoms and property and income while you can.
You will not have them long.

In God we trust.
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