Archive for the ‘Lorrie's Messages’ Category

I remember being a young teen and having a l o n g phone call with a friend. Today, instead of long phone calls, we are looking at text messages. Recently we were on a long weekend and had 2 extra teens with us. One was a friend of Drew’s named Michael. Randy, wanting to make sure that Drew was not being rude, said to Drew when he saw him texting, “Drew, it’s rude to text someone when you have a friend with you.” Drew looked up and said, “Okay Dad, but I’m texting Michael.”

Randy and I looked at each other with astonishment because Michael was sitting right next to Drew and sure enough, he was texting on his phone too! Now, this is not to offer up my opinions on texting but to simply point out, as parents, Randy and I are not “with it.”

In the time it takes one of us to ask, “Did you finish your school?” on our phone’s awkward keypad, one of our kids can text a few friends. “For a teenager to send thousands of text messages a month is not unusual,” said John Johnson, a spokesman for Verizon who has an unlimited texting plan, “because even its highest bundle of free text messages — 5,000 a month — wasn’t enough.”

Randy and I don’t totally get the texting mania that has hit the world today. We don’t text and if you send us one, until one of our kids reads it to us, we won’t see it. But we have found a way to “keep up” and text our kids from time to time. We text from our computers and you can too.

Just open an email and put in your message using the address below, depending on the phone plan of whom you are sending it to:

Verizon: 10digitphonenumber@vtext.com

AT&T: 10digitphonenumber@txt.att.net

Sprint: 10digitphonenumber@messaging.sprintpcs.com

T-Mobile: 10digitphonenumber@tmomail.net

Nextel: 10digitphonenumber@messaging.nextel.com

Cingular: 10digitphonenumber@cingularme.com

Virgin Mobile: 10digitphonenumber@vmobl.com

Alltel: 10digitphonenumber@message.alltel.com

CellularOne: 10digitphonenumber@mobile.celloneusa.com

Omnipoint: 10digitphonenumber@omnipointpcs.com

Qwest: 10digitphonenumber@qwestmp.com

It works GR8. J

Sometimes I get so caught up with the little things that the bigs ones escape me. For example, I would get frustrated when my toddler would not come to me when I called. Piles of laundry drove me to distraction. No school done at the end of a day made me feel like an utter failure. And the lack of dinner on top of it all, would cinch the deal. I was hopelessly behind!

So, I try to talk reason with the toddler, run a couple of loads of laundry, read a Bible lesson to the kids, and serve bacon, eggs, and toast for dinner. These things were like plugging a dyke with one finger or not seeing the elephant in the room with me. Worthless in the long run.

What I needed to do was not at all what I was doing. Like this story illustrates so well:

I was driving when I saw the flash of a traffic camera.  I figured that my picture had been taken for exceeding the limit even though I knew that I was not speeding.

Just to be sure, I went around the block and passed the same spot, driving even more slowly, but again the camera flashed.

Now I began to think that this was quite funny, so I drove even slower as I passed the area once more, but the traffic camera again flashed. I tried a fourth and fifth time with the same results and was now laughing as the camera flashed while I rolled past at a snail’s pace.

Two weeks later, I got five tickets in the mail for driving without a seat belt.

Instead of continuing to go around and around, slow down, sit back, take a deep breath, and evaluate. What things are driving me bonkers and why.

What I needed to do was train my toddler to obey, set up a system for laundry, homeschool, and meals that I followed instead of only getting around to it when it got to me.

You see, we so often know what we need. If you are a mom who wants to have more to give to your family:

• better meals
• a tidier home
• a gentler attitude
• a calm spirit
• along with a sweet smile

and you don’t subscribe to TEACH Magazine, you are missing the elephant in the room!

TEACH will calm your spirit, soothe your soul, and inspire you with practical and Godly words of encouragement.

Don’t ignore the elephant. It won’t go away on its’ own. Instead eye it up and subscribe today! Your whole family will be blessed.

This is from Chuck Colson. He hits the nail on the head!

In a speech at Georgetown University, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a speech on human rights. Not only did she talk about the right “to love in the way you choose,” (an obvious attempt at making protecting gay rights a top priority for the U.S. government), she also talked about “freedom of worship.”

But she never mentioned freedom of religion. Only freedom of worship. This is a big change.

In the First Amendment, the founders (whose work we celebrate this weekend) wisely ensured that government could not prohibit the “free exercise” of religion. And that means so much more than freedom of worship. It guarantees that we are not restricted to living out our faith in the privacy of our homes or church sanctuaries. It means we are free to exercise our religion—and contend for faith—in every area of life.

Just this clever dissembling of words is an apparent attempt to restrict freedom of religion to freedom of worship only. Do you see the implications? Sure, I am free to attend church, sing hymns, pray over meals, offer thanks to God for my children and grandchildren. That’s my own private affair.

But should the government succeed in redefining freedom of religion, how much longer can I practice my faith in public? See my Two Minute Warning to understand what this really means.

If you read history, you will see that that the first act of a tyrant is to suppress religion, which means of course, religious practice. Our Founders knew this. They knew the first English settlers came to these shores precisely so they could practice their faith.

And if you read history, you’ll know that the one true threat to a tyrant’s rule is always the believer’s loyalty to a God Who is above the god of the state.

This is why Christians were thrown to the lions in ancient Rome. The earliest baptismal confession of the young Christian Church was “Jesus is Lord.” And that meant Caesar was not. This is why Hitler and Stalin first went after the church. The star of David and the cross were symbols of an authority higher than their own.

We all know about the battles over the Pledge of Allegiance and the phrase “under God,” the battles over manger scenes on public property. These are important, but they are skirmishes, mere skirmishes. The real battle is about whether God is Lord, or whether government is Lord. And make no mistake, if government can redefine or restrict our freedom of religion, our first freedom will be gone.

And, as our Founders understood, when that freedom is gone, we will, in short order, lose the other freedoms as well. 

In a speech at Georgetown University, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a speech on human rights. Not only did she talk about the right “to love in the way you choose,” (an obvious attempt at making protecting gay rights a top priority for the U.S. government), she also talked about “freedom of worship.”

But she never mentioned freedom of religion. Only freedom of worship. This is a big change.

In the First Amendment, the founders (whose work we celebrate this weekend) wisely ensured that government could not prohibit the “free exercise” of religion. And that means so much more than freedom of worship. It guarantees that we are not restricted to living out our faith in the privacy of our homes or church sanctuaries. It means we are free to exercise our religion—and contend for faith—in every area of life.

Just this clever dissembling of words is an apparent attempt to restrict freedom of religion to freedom of worship only. Do you see the implications? Sure, I am free to attend church, sing hymns, pray over meals, offer thanks to God for my children and grandchildren. That’s my own private affair.

But should the government succeed in redefining freedom of religion, how much longer can I practice my faith in public? See my Two Minute Warning to understand what this really means.

If you read history, you will see that that the first act of a tyrant is to suppress religion, which means of course, religious practice. Our Founders knew this. They knew the first English settlers came to these shores precisely so they could practice their faith.

And if you read history, you’ll know that the one true threat to a tyrant’s rule is always the believer’s loyalty to a God Who is above the god of the state.

This is why Christians were thrown to the lions in ancient Rome. The earliest baptismal confession of the young Christian Church was “Jesus is Lord.” And that meant Caesar was not. This is why Hitler and Stalin first went after the church. The star of David and the cross were symbols of an authority higher than their own.

We all know about the battles over the Pledge of Allegiance and the phrase “under God,” the battles over manger scenes on public property. These are important, but they are skirmishes, mere skirmishes. The real battle is about whether God is Lord, or whether government is Lord. And make no mistake, if government can redefine or restrict our freedom of religion, our first freedom will be gone.

And, as our Founders understood, when that freedom is gone, we will, in short order, lose the other freedoms as well.

We know Dick Lamm as the former Governor of Colorado .. In that context his thoughts are particularly poignant. Last week there was an immigration overpopulation conference in Washington DC, filled to capacity by many of America’s finest minds and leaders. A brilliant college professor by the name of Victor Hansen Davis talked about his latest book, ‘Mexifornia,’ explaining how immigration – both legal and illegal was destroying the entire state of California. He said it would march across the country until it destroyed all vestiges of The American Dream.

Moments later, former Colorado Governor Richard D. Lamm stood up and gave a stunning speech on how to destroy America 
  
The audience sat spellbound as he described eight methods for the destruction of the United States. He said, ‘If you believe that America is too smug, too self-satisfied, too rich, then let’s destroy America. It is not that hard to do. No nation in history has survived the ravages of time. Arnold Toynbee observed that all great civilizations rise and fall and that ‘An autopsy of history would show that all great nations commit suicide.” 

‘Here is how they do it,’ Lamm said:

‘First, to destroy America, turn America into a bilingual or multi-lingual and bicultural country…  History shows that no nation can survive the tension, conflict, and antagonism
of two or more competing languages and cultures. It is a blessing for an individual to be bilingual; however, it is a curse for a society to be bilingual.[i]

‘Second, to destroy America, invent ‘multiculturalism’ and encourage immigrants to maintain their culture. Make it an article of belief that all cultures are equal; that there are no cultural differences. Make it an article of faith that the Black and Hispanic dropout rates are due solely to prejudice and discriminationby the majority. Every other explanation is out of bounds.

‘Third, we could make the United States an ‘Hispanic Quebec ’ without much effort. The key is to celebrate diversity rather than unity. Without the dominance that once dictated ethnocentricy and what it meant to be an American, we are left with only tolerance and pluralism to hold us together.’ Lamm said, ‘I would encourage all immigrants to keep their own language and culture. I would replace the melting pot metaphor with the salad bowl metaphor. It is important to ensure that we have various cultural subgroups living in America enforcing their differences rather than as Americans, emphasizing their similarities.’

‘Fourth, I would make our fastest growing demographic group the least educated. I would add a second underclass, unassimilated, undereducated, and antagonistic to our population. I would have this second underclass have a 50% dropout rate from high school.’

‘My fifth point for destroying America would be to get big foundations and business to give these efforts lots of money. I would invest in ethnic identity, and I would establish the cult of ‘Victimology…’ I would get all minorities to think that their lack of success was the fault of the majority. I would start a grievance industry blaming all minority failure on the majority plation.’

‘My sixth plan for America’s downfall would include dual citizenship, and promote divided loyalties. I would celebrate diversity over unity. I would stress differences rather than similarities. Diverse people worldwide are mostly engaged in hating each other – that is, when they are not killing each other.  A diverse, peaceful, or stable society is against most historical precept. People undervalue the unity it takes to keep a nation together.[ii]

‘Next to last, I would place all subjects off limits. Make it taboo to talk about anything against the cult of ‘diversity.’ I would find a word similar to ‘heretic’ in the 16th century – that stopped discussion and paralyzed thinking. Words like ‘racist’ or ‘xenophobe’ halt discussion and debate. Having made America a bilingual/bicultural country, having established multi-cultum, having the large foundations fund the doctrine of ‘Victimology,’ I would next make it impossible to enforce our immigration laws. I would develop a mantra: That because immigration has been good for America, it must always be good. I would make every individual immigrant symmetric and ignore the cumulative impact of millions of them.’

In the last minute of his speech, Governor Lamm wiped his brow. Profound silence followed. Finally he said, ‘Lastly, I would censor Victor Hanson Davis’s book ‘Mexifornia.’ His book is dangerous. It exposes the plan to destroy America… If you feel America deserves to be destroyed, don’t read that book.’

There was no applause. A chilling fear quietly rose like an ominous cloud above every attendee at the conference. Every American in that room knew that everything Lamm enumerated was proceeding methodically, quietly, darkly, yet pervasively across the United States today.

• Discussion is being suppressed.
• Over 100 languages are ripping the foundation of our educational system and national cohesiveness.
• Even barbaric cultures that practice female genital mutilation are growing as we celebrate ‘diversity.’
• American jobs are vanishing into the Third World as corporations create a Third World in America 
• Take note of California and other states. To date, ten million illegal aliens and growing fast. It is reminiscent of George Orwell’s book ‘1984.’  In that story, three slogans are engraved in the Ministry of Truth building: ‘War is peace,’ ‘Freedom is slavery,’ and ‘Ignorance is strength.’ 

Governor Lamm walked back to his seat. It dawned on everyone at the conference that our nation and the future of this great democracy is deeply in trouble and worsening fast. If we don’t get this immigration monster stopped within three years, it will rage like a California wildfire and destroy everything in its path, especially The American Dream. 

 

---

[i] The historical scholar, Seymour Lipset, put it this way: ‘The histories of bilingual and bicultural societies that do not assimilate are histories of turmoil, tension, and tragedy.’ Canada, Belgium, Malaysia, and Lebanon all face crises of national existence in which minorities press for autonomy, if not independence. Pakistan and Cyprus have divided. Nigeria suppressed an ethnic rebellion. France faces difficulties with Basques, Bretons, Corsicans and Muslims.’

[ii] Look at the ancient Greeks. The Greeks believed that they belonged to the same race; they possessed a common language and literature; and they worshipped the same gods. All Greece took part in the Olympic games. A common enemy, Persia, threatened their liberty.  Yet all these bonds were not strong enough to overcome two factors:  local patriotism and geographical conditions that nurtured political divisions. Greece fell.

Ladies, before you read this let me say this, “It is no fun to write blog posts if there are just a few comments!” I love your responses. They spur me on, and spice it up for everyone. Add your own ideas and thoughts. Tell me what you disagree with or just love. Pour it on!

For every comment left you will be entered into a drawing for a free $10.00 store coupon.*

How to Decide to Save It or Wave Bye to It. . .
. . . 10 Things You Should Ask Before Deciding

All day long moms have many decisions to make, what to cook for dinner, whether to do two spelling lessons or not, if we should go to the library today or tomorrow, etc. We have all kinds of decisions to make and one of the biggest and longest lasting as far as long-term impact, is whether or not we should buy this or that . . . or not. Here are 10 questions to ask yourself when faced with talking yourself into taking it or leaving it.

1. Do I have a place to put it?
Do you tend to make impulse purchases and then have to deal with where to put it and how to use it? I’m especially challenged in this area when garage sale or thrift store shopping. Come on! A deal is a deal and where to put it and how to use it don’t often enter into the decision. It’s a grab it now or someone else will!

So, let’s make a conscious decision to stop and think before we buy. Make purchasing decisions based on knowing exactly where it will go in your home. If you do, chances are you won’t make that impulse purchase after all!

2. Do I absolutely love it?
This question won’t work in every case. I mean, I don’t love my vacuum, I just love what it does to my carpet! But this is a great question to ask yourself when you are trying to decide whether to keep an item, or get rid of it. If you cannot honestly say you absolutely love it, chuck it!

3. Is it a time or money saver?
If you can’t use it for one of these, and, if it doesn’t bring you joy when you see it, let it go!

4. Will it still be current when I need it again?
Saving clothes, shoes, and textbooks between kids is rather risky. I like to use the saying, “When in doubt, throw it out.” Clothing styles change rapidly as does technology. It’s easy to replace clothing from thrift stores and it’s just too easy to find the most up-to-date information on the web to keep many books.

5. Am I hard up for hard copy space?
Saving papers means we need storage space AND we need to be able to relocate where we stored it. Rather than printing from your computer, save a copy to your computer. Create different folders on your computer or better yet, store it on a removable or external drive the size of a pair of fingernail clippers!

6. Am I hanging on to it out of obligation?
Let’s face it, we all feel a twinge of guilt when we think about not keeping a gift. It’s good to ask ourselves the question of whether or not we’re keeping it out of obligation. If we are, then we need to remember that a gift is given without strings or obligations, and the receiver is free to do as they wish with the gift.

7. Will it affect me financially if I toss or shred it?
There are many places that you can get advice on what financial records you need to keep and for how long. Beyond that, you can shred financial papers without fear. If it’s a receipt for an item you still own that is under warranty, by all means keep it with the owner’s manual, but other than that, fear not!

8. Do I really need to buy it, or can I rent it?
Movies, carpet cleaners, sewing machines, foot baths, etc. How much have you purchased that you only needed once or twice a year? In most cases, rather than owning and thus storing, you can rent much of what you use.

Let’s think about entertaining. If you entertain infrequently and need some warming trays and large beverage dispensers for coffee, tea, and/or a cold drink, the charge to rent isn’t usually anywhere near the cost to purchase and you don’t end up with clutter that you have to store!

9. Do I use it?
Why do we keep things we don’t use? If we don’t use it, lose it! If we don’t wear it, donate it! If we don’t eat it, get rid of it! Think how much less work there will be around the house if we don’t spend all our time maintaining stuff we never use, wear or eat!

10. What’s the worst case scenario if I get rid of it?
By trying to figure out the worst `what-if’ we can be assured that in all likelihood, it won’t ever be an unrecoverable act to get rid of something. For example, say you shred your bank statements and end up needing a copy of one of the statements? No problem, simply contact your bank for another copy!

Or, if you have scanned and stored copies, you have them at the ready without having paper taking up valuable space. In nearly all cases, recovery is that easy!

I hope the 10 questions to ask yourself give you clarity while making decisions on whether to save it or wave bye to it.

*Drawing Rules: It’s easy! Winner will be announced in the March 1, 2010 TEACH Talk and must respond by email within 24 hours to claim her prize.