Methodist Religion

According to John Wesley's Works, He was asked "Who is a Methodist?" His reply was, "A Methodist is one who has 'the love of God shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost given unto him;' one who 'loves the Lord his God with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his mind, and with all his strength.'" Now that quotes Jesus declaring what is the greatest command in all the law.
A group of us at church have been reading/studying Bishop Rueben Job's book "Three Simple Rules," which reflects on The General Rules of the Methodist Societies. Referring to Jesus' "Great Commandment," Job writes, "Here we have the foundation and instruction for the faithful and good life in every age. ... And it remains a guide to the highest form of faithfulness ... that is both rewarding and fruitful in furthering God's kingdom on earth as it is in heaven." (p. 9)
Suppose life is all about these 2 commands - love God and love your neighbor. What if?

BLACKCOVER NOTEBOOK

Okay, this will be different from my intent and different from my usual posts. But, since I think of a blog as a kind of journal (in fact one weblog site is called LiveJournal), then this is my opportunity to win a set of journaling notebooks.
“Check out this site which is dedicated to finding Moleskine alternatives. I’m shilling to win a contest, so please check them out!”
You may learn to enjoy writing when you purchase a Piccadilly Notebook!

President and Religion

"I can express no better hope for my country than that the kind Providence which smiled upon our fathers may enable their children to preserve the blessings they have inherited."
—President Franklin Pierce, 1853 Inaugural Address (quoted from Christian History web site)
So let me think - as a nation, what blessings have we inherited? We still are able to grow our own food. I know, we like to import many foods, but we do not have to import any to have a balanced diet. Many places (like Arkansas) can grow many, many foods while Alaska and Hawaii may only grow a few foods.
Another blessing I claim is the blessing of our freedom to practice our religion. To a great extent, we have little interference from the federal government with the way we practice our religion. I know there are exceptions.
What other blessings have we inherited?
How will we preserve them?

A night at the movies

Friday October 10, '08 my wife and I went to see a new movie entitled "Fireproof." We like to go to the Rave theaters on Colonel Glenn Road. They have seats that fit just right for wide-bottomed fellers like me. We usually get the "all-you-can-eat" deal on popcorn and cold drink. I like to eat popcorn when I watch a movie even if I am watching a video at home.
We had anticipated the release of this film for quite some time. The movie is produced by Sherwood Pictures, which is a ministry of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany Georgia. The ministry also produced "Facing the Giants" and "Flywheel." Since my wife and I have watched (and now own) DVDs of each of those films, we thought we had to watch this newest project - "Fireproof." You can learn a bit more about the film at http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/
The movie features Kirk Cameron, a Hollywood actor who starred in the "Left Behind" movie, which was based on a book by Tim LaHaye. On the other hand, Cameron may be best-known for his role as Mike Seaver on the television program "Growing Pains."
Co-author Stephen Kendrick said, "We’ve never claimed that our movies are Academy Award winning [...] But we are trying to pursue excellence." I think they did a fine job. My wife thinks it may be their best effort yet. And they did it all for $500,00, which was up from the $100,000 they spent to make "Facing the Giants"!
It is a great film about how a couple go through marital trouble (dare I say "marital warfare"?) to renewing their marriage vows before "God and these witnesses." The Love Dare a book written by Alex and Stephen Kendrick, is a major topic in the film, being one of the main points of the plot. Alex Kendrick said in an interview that this film would be "a drama/romance about marriage. Our goal is to reinforce God's intention for marriage."
My wife and I loved the movie. We immediately left the theater and found Lifeway Christian Bookstore and bought the book The Love Dare and the video study to go with it. I encourage you to go see the film! It is good for those who are not married, too.

Playing music

Well, I have been practicing that harmonica. I'm barely learning to breathe through the reeds. Who woulda thought that breathing could be difficult?! I discovered that I was blowing too hard through the harmonica. Now when I think about just breathing through the instrument I am able to make musical notes rather than just noise.
I had better keep practicing the Mountain Dulcimer too. I have been told that practicing just 15 minutes each day will improve one's skill at playing a musical instrument. I am certain that not practicing at all will cause one's skill to deteriorate to nearly nothing. You know the saying, "use it or lose it."
What kind of instrument do you play? Do you like harmonica music?

Music

You may not know this, but I play the Mountain Dulcimer. I was taught that I could play music while visiting Mt View, Arkansas one weekend. A lady that worked in the Dulcimer Shoppe sat me down and taught me to play a tune within 15 minutes. It was incredible! That was maybe 8 years ago now and I still enjoy playing my McSpadden Mountain Dulcimer.

Wednesday night (October 8, 08) I went over to a local restaurant because I wanted to meet and listen to a harmonica player. I think I can play that instrument. It is a diatonic instrument like the Mountain Dulcimer. It is a sound (or kind of music) that I enjoy listening to. And, I bought a set of 6 Piedmont harmonicas one day when a local music store had a "going out of business" sale. Now that I own them, I got to learn to play them - right.

So, like I was saying, I went to this local restaurant where Jon (not necessarily his real name) was going to show me a few things about playing. He got up to play with the duet (guitar and keyboard) on stage. He could sing fairly well, but he could play the harmonica great! I couldn't understand how he could draw in air through that harmonica for that long without exhaling! And then he said I could do that with some practice. Can you believe that? I can barely believe it myself! But I did learn to play the Mountain Dulcimer, even after telling that lady I could never play music. I think I can play that instrument - that harmonica. Maybe some of Bob Dylan's tunes.

08 Presidential Election

I suppose many people have blogged about the elections and debates, but I feel the urge to express my opinion. Just so you'll know - my opinion and a few dollars more will get you a cup of coffee in Conway, Arkansas.
I have noticed that the primary presidential candidates - McCain and Obama - tend to exaggerate facts or to create "facts" from nothing at all. Sometimes they simply express an opinion as if it were the truth (or fact) when actually it is not fact at all. For example, the Fact Checker by Michael Dobbs points out that McCain accuses the U.S.A. of sending "$700 billion" to buy oil from countries who "don't like us very much." The context of Tuesday (October 7) debate seemed to indicate that he had no part of such expenditures. Yet, he has served as a Senator for years! By the way, we import more oil from Canada than any other single country.
I don't like either of the men for president. I feel like voting against them and doing my best to make them know why I did not vote for either of them. They both are only wanting to be president, which is not the same as leading this country towards the "common good."