INTELLIGENCE IN GOVERNMENT

Washington, D.C. airport ticket agent offers some examples of why our country is in trouble!

1. I had a New Hampshire Congresswoman ask for an aisle seat so that her hair wouldn't get messed up by being near the window. (On an airplane?)

2. I got a call from a candidate's staffer, who wanted to go to Capetown. I started to explain the length of the flight and the passport information, then she interrupted me with, "I'm not trying to make you look stupid, but Capetown is in Massachusetts." Without trying to make her look stupid, I calmly explained, "Cape Cod is in Massachusetts, Capetown is in Africa." Her response was- CLICK!

3. A senior Vermont Congressman called, furious about a Florida package we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando. He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that's not possible, since Orlando is in the middle of the state. He replied, "Don't lie to me, I looked on the map and Florida is a very thin state!" (OMG)

4. I got a call from a lawmaker's wife who asked, "Is it possible to see England from Canada?" I said, "No." She said, "But they look so close on the map." (OMG, again!)

5. An aide for a cabinet member once called and asked if he could rent a car in Dallas. When I pulled up the reservation, I noticed he had only a 1-hour layover in Dallas. When I asked him why he wanted to rent a car, he said, "I heard Dallas was a big airport, and we will need a car to drive between gates to save time." (Oh Snap!)

6. An Illinois Congresswoman called last week. She needed to know how it was possible that her flight from Detroit left at 8:30 AM got to Chicago at 8:33 AM. I explained that Michigan was an hour ahead of Illinois, but she couldn't understand the concept of time zones. Finally, I told her the plane went fast, and she bought that. (Go figure)

7. A New York lawmaker called and asked, "Do airlines put your physical description on your bag so they know whose luggage belongs to whom?" I said, "No, why do you ask?" She replied, "Well, when I checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said (FAT), and I'm overweight. I think that's very rude!" After putting her on hold for a minute while I looked into it (I was laughing). I came back and explained the city code for Fresno, CA is ( FAT - Fresno Air Terminal), and the airline was just putting a destination tag on her luggage. (ROTF)

8. A Senator's aide called to inquire about a trip package to Hawaii. After going over all the cost info, she asked, "Would it be cheaper to fly to California, and then take the train to Hawaii?" (Here's your sign)

9. I just got off the phone with a freshman Congressman who asked, "How do I know which plane to get on?" I asked him what exactly he meant, to which he replied, "I was told my flight number is 823, but none of these planes have numbers on them." (and...here's your sign)

10. A lady Senator called and said, "I need to fly to Pepsi-Cola, Florida. Do I have to get on one of those little computer planes?" I asked if she meant fly to Pensacola, Fl. on a commuter plane. She said, "Yeah, whatever, smarty!" (That's me, and you're in congress?)

11. A senior Senator called and had a question about the documents he needed in order to fly to China. After a lengthy discussion about passports, I reminded him that he needed a visa. "Oh, no I don't. I've been to China many times and never had to have one of those." I double checked and sure enough, his stay required a visa. When I told him this he said, "Look, I've been to China four times and every time they have accepted my American Express!" (Should we make that a one way ticket?)

12. A New Mexico Congresswoman called to make reservations. "I want to go from Chicago to Rhino, New York." I was at a loss for words. Finally, I said, "Are you sure that's the name of the town?" "Yes, what flights do you have?" replied the lady. After some searching, I came back with, "I'm sorry, ma'am, I've looked up every airport code in the country and can't find a Rhino anywhere. "The lady retorted, "Oh, don't be silly! Everyone knows where it is. Check your map!" So I scoured a map of the state of New York and finally offered, "You don't mean Buffalo, do you?"The reply! "Whatever! I knew it was a big animal." (OH DEAR GOD HELP US!)

Now you know why the Government is in the shape that it's in !

The End Of The Day

Well it's midnight and I was listening to freeWAY singing as I read through my favorite blogs. As I wrapped up my reading, they were singing: "Jesus Loves Me". I guess I have hit repeat about 7 times now. I love the verses these young men have written to this song. When you really listen to the words it will touch your heart in a special way and make you realize just how much Jesus loves you.

I must say that it has brought such peace to the end of my day. I feel as though I have just crawled up into the lap of my Savior as a child crawls up into the lap of its mother or father. I can feel the arms of my Lord wrapped around me, holding me, and telling me that everything is alright and I know that it is for I am in the arms of my Lord and He loves me.

I can go to sleep now and rest just like a child that has been comforted by its parent. For I have been held in the arms of my Father and felt the love of my Lord. Sweet peace has swept over my soul.

My Hope & My Deliverer

Remain calm, even when it does seems hopeless

“Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we HOPE in thee.” Psalms 33:22

"For thou art my HOPE, O Lord GOD..." Psalms 71:5

"But I will HOPE continually, and will yet praise thee more and more." Psalms 71:14

"The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and MY DELIVERER; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower." Psalms 18:2

"...O God: thou art my help and MY DELIVERER;..." Psalms 7o:5

"My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and MY DELIVERER; my shield, and he in whom I trust;..." Psalms 144:2

God will ALWAYS make a way when there seems to be no way. Just stay faithful to Him and He will see you through any and every situation. He is FAITHFUL!

My Protector

Last night after prayer meeting, I stayed at the church to work on the bulletin board for a while. I got home around 9:30 p.m. and started a load of laundry then changed in to my night clothes and was just starting to kick back for the evening when my daughter called and asked me if my husband was still at work. I told her yes. She then said that she thought he was upstairs in the apartment above her painting because someone was up there banging and making a lot of noise. So I put on my house robe and got the keys to the empty apartment and headed that way. In the meantime my son was taking his trash out and he also heard the banging. He lives in the apartment next to my daughter and he met me at the foot of the stairs. As I rounded the corner I could also hear the banging and it was loud. It sounded like someone was taking a sledge hammer to the place.

I went up the stairs and my son said "Mom, you better let me go in first." No Problem!!! I unlocked the door and stepped aside and in he went. I stepped in behind him and BAM!! I just about jumped out of my skin. The sound had come from the hallway so my son took off down the hall like a flash of lightening and I wanted to dash out the front door and back down the stairs. Mark was totally prepared for what ever or who ever it was. He was trained for this. He was the commander of the C.E.R.T. Team when stationed over seas so all his training kicked in and he automatically went into high gear and attack mode. At the same time we both realized all the windows in the apartment were open and knew right away what it was that was making all the noise. My husband had been painting and had taken the door knobs off of the doors. The wind was blowing outside and with the windows open it was blowing the bedroom door open and closed. Slamming is more like it. Two of the bedroom doors were blocked open but the one bedroom door was free to slam back and forth as the wind would blow in through the windows. What a noise it made in that empty apartment. When we realized what it was we had a good laugh.

My son's girlfriend asked him when we came back out and down the stairs how he intended to fight the attacker off if there had been one since he wasn't armed. He replied that he was armed and ready. I never saw it because he moved so fast, but as he went down the hall he grabbed a large putty knife. He said he saw it out of the corner of his eye as he was going down the hall and grabbed it. He was prepared for whatever was to come. I guess you could say he was ready in season and out of season. Who would have ever guessed that the little baby boy that I once held in my arms and protected for many years would one day grow up to become my protector. It really blows my mind how the tables have turned.

When my son suggested that I let him go into that apartment first to face any danger that might be lurking there so he could protect me, I realized that is how it is with the Lord. He goes before us everywhere we go. He is leading us and guiding us and ready to do battle on our behalf against anything that comes our way to try to harm us. God is our protector.

Psalms 91: (1) He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. (2) I will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!" (3) For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper, And from the deadly pestilence. (4) He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. (5) You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day; (6) Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. (7) A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not approach you. (8) You will only look on with your eyes, And see the recompense of the wicked. (9) For you have made the Lord, my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place. (10) No evil will befall you, Nor will any plague come near your tent. (11) For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. (12) They will bear you up in their hands, Lest you strike your foot against a stone. (13) You will tread upon the lion and cobra, The young lion and the serpent you will trample down. (14) "Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name. (15) "He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him, and honor him. (16) "With a long life I will satisfy him, And let him behold My salvation."

More Than Conquerors

"If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self." —Napoleon Hill

"What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God's command is necessary. But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time." Romans 7:15-20 Message Bible

Our worst enemy is not the devil, it is not our brother, sister, neighbor, or someone we consider our enemy. Our worst enemy is self, the very person we see every morning when we look in the mirror.

The above scripture proves why it is so important to pray EVERYDAY. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:31; "... I die daily.

"We must die everyday because just like the bible says in Matthew 26:41; "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."

"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." James 5:16

Like the verse says above in the Message Bible Romans 7:17 "For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have what it takes." This is so true! Within ourselves we don't have what it takes but there is hope! Acts 1:8; "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you..." We have the power to over come and to remain over comers in Him IF we pray daily. We must die daily. We must conquer self! "...in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us." Romans 8:37

Ever have one of those days?

Ever have one of those days, when something seemed a bit "off" but you just couldn't put your finger on it...



Or it seemed like all the people around you just wanted to but heads..

Or just get into some kind of weird tug of war?

Sometimes you just need to step back and take a fresh new look and get a different perspective on things.

Remember to try your best to show kindness to others...

(sometimes looking at things from their perspective just might help...)

So, when life gets you down...

Remember to just keep going, and keep your head above water...

And you'll get by with a little help from your friends!

Prayer Request

Please pray for my pastor's wife, Sis Jana Allard. She is very ill with strep throat and needs the Lord to touch her in a mighty way. I know that she will appreciate everyone's prayers.

Love to you all.

Spring Cleaning

We are back in the apartment after the wonderful experience of fumigation and what a treat. :( Did you know that they set off tear gas to make sure that there is no one hiding in your place before starting the fumigation? Well, the effects of that tear gas lingers in your home for a few days and believe you me I have felt the results of that and so have others. That first night home my eyes burned so bad that I could hardly close them. The back of my throat was on fire and my skin even burned and itched. Other tenants also complained of the same thing. This has also triggered my asthma. Man oh man have I been bothered with that. I have had to open my windows to air out my house and therefore with the beautiful springtime allergies floating in the air, you got it, BAM!! Double whammy! I don't know which is worse, the tear gas or the springtime allergy triggers. As for the tear gas well, "weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning" (Psalm 30:5).

You see when it is all said and done and the dust finally settles, this place will look so much better. It may be chaos around here now but the end results will be worth it all. That's the way it is in our spiritual walk with God. Sometimes we have to tear down walls in our life. We have to remove things and fumigate to get things out of our life that ought not to be there and it is not a comfortable situation to be in. Everyone in the complex is talking about how they are taking advantage of doing their spring cleaning since they had to move out and back in. How they are getting rid of things that they don't need and never use. There have been a lot of things thrown in the trash around here. That is what we need to do in our spiritual life. We need to do some spring cleaning. Go through our inner being and clean out anything that is not like Him and get rid of it. If it can not be used for the glory of God we don't need it in our life. If it can not edify God get rid of it. Pull down the talents that you do have that have been sitting on the shelf collecting dust. It is time you use your talents for God. Wipe the dust off of them and put them to use for the Kingdom of God. (God has really been dealing with me in this area, so I am talking to myself here.)

Springtime is the season of new birth, so let's all join in and do some spring cleaning in our lives and give new birth to our walk with the Lord. Let's start afresh and go forward and do a great work for Him. Time is running out and there are many souls to reach. When we are clean and pure and where we need to be in Him then He can use us to do a mighty work for Him. Reaching Souls. That's what it's all about.