My sister

My sister has had problems for years. She started having problems in middle school with drinking and smoking. As she got older, she began to have more and more problems. The only problem she had with the law was shoplifting once. She hadn't had any more problems with the law until she was 28 years old. With this age came her biggest run in with the law yet. She spent 24 hours in county jail for attempting to obtain a controlled substance by fraud. She was put on probation and ordered to pay a rather large fine. She is now 30 and is getting ready to face the law again and she won't be able to escape this time. She has attempted and succeeded in getting controlled substances through fraud many, many times now. She will soon have to learn a big lesson that will hopefully teach her and help her to overcome her addiction to pain pills. As the saying goes, "You can run, but you can't hide."

Making mistakes

We all make mistakes. Let's face it. None of us are perfect and there is no way that any of us can claim that we are. I recently made a mistake. I broke the trust that was given to me. I betrayed some people that I considered friends. This was the first time that this happened. I, now, realize that I shouldn't have done this, but I can't take it back. Is 'once bitten, twice shy' the way we should live or should we give people second chances? I try to give people second chances, if they are are truly sorry for making a mistake. Don't we all make mistakes?

New experiences

Well, I have been a Wiccan only a few days and I have already had some really cool experiences. The most awesome experience I had was having a vision of a missing girl. I don't know all the particulars and I sure don't know where she is. I had a lot of things come into my head that I couldn't possibly have known without researching it. I had no knowledge of this girl missing until I had the visions. A lot of the things that were in my vision did lead me to some possibilities, but nothing that would give me enough to contact authorities with the information. I can already tell that it is going to be an interesting journey.

Life is changing

I have been a Christian for many years and I feel that the time for that journey is over. I have now decided to follow another path. I have chosen to follow the ways of Wicca. I will still let myself use what I have learned from my other journey to guide me on this new one. The things that Christianity teaches are great and I see no need to let those things go. I will still love others as I love myself and treat others as I choose to be treated. Life is a journey and I am still fumbling my way through, as are all of us. May your journey be as wonderful as mine has been so far.

Blessed be.

God is my crutch? Good thing or bad thing?

Years ago, I used to think having God as my crutch was a good thing. "Good ole God, He'll handle everything. God will take care of everything." Well, as I have gotten older, I have started realizing that I can't rely on God for everything. It's alright to have faith that your higher being will help you in some situations, but not ALL situations. We were put here for a reason, but I don't think it was to be mindless robots that rely on a higher power to do everything for us. Is God your crutch? Do you rely on your higher being for everything or do you trust yourself enough to rely on yourself sometimes?

If I only had a brain...

Oh wait, I do and you do too. Well, how come when it comes to controversial issues like abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty...to name a few...why do so many turn to god/s and say, "well, whatever God wants"? This is the argument that Christian Scientists make. They don't require you to agree to not receive medical care, but many choose it because of faith that God will save them if God chooses. I'm not trying to bash Christian Scientists, but this is what they believe. So, did God not give us a brain to make certain decisions? Did God not allow medical science to progress to the stage that lives can be saved by medical practicioners intervening? If you believe that God is in charge of everything, why would God not want us to see that God has allowed technology and society to progress and that we as a people need to use our minds instead of turning to God for every little thing. We are intelligent beings and when we put aside our mind for faith, we are not relying on the most powerful tool our God gave us.

Going diving

Do you remember the first time you were on a diving board? I remember the first time I got on one. I was a little boy and I climbed the ladder that seemed to touch the sky. When I finally got to the top, I looked at the board and I wondered what I was doing up there. As I mustered the nerve to walk out there, I wondered what fate awaited me. I approached the edge of the board and looked down. I said to myself, "I am up way too high!" I had to muster up some more courage for the journey I was about to undertake. The journey through the air and into the water. I jumped off, into the air and saw the water approaching me faster than I expected. I landed in the water a lot deeper down than I really wanted to be, but I eventually surfaced and went to the edge of the pool. I climbed up the ladder and decided..."I"M GONNA DO IT AGAIN!!!!!"

Leave people alone

Guess what? People do what they want and YOU aren't going to stop them? Do you know what I mean? Do you know where I am coming from? Well, let me tell you. People are gay. Deal with it! People do drugs. Deal with it! People smoke. Deal with it! People don't have the same religious beliefs you do. Deal with it! WE can't change anyone. WE can't make people do what we want them to do. WE can't control the world. All WE can do is to let people know that we care about them and love them, no matter what. I say if someone is gay, say..."I love you and care about you." You don't believe what I believe? I say, "This is the way I believe. If it makes sense to you then go with my belief. If not, you can believe as you want and I still love you." If someone does drugs or smokes, I say "I want you to know that I love you and care for you and I will be here for you when you decide you are ready to quit." Don't condemn people for who they are or what they believe. Most people know if they are living the wrong kind of life or doing the wrong things. They don't need people to point out their shortcomings. All people need is other people that will be there for them when they are NEEDED.

Why does Congress get the money?

Why can Congress vote for it's own pay raises? Doesn't this seem rather strange? This would be like working at Wal-Mart and all the employees voting to increase their wages without Wal-Mart having a say in it. This is not the way to run a country. If Congress feels they need a pay raise, why don't they put it to a vote of the people. WE run this country or WE are supposed to. Shouldn't WE decide how much Congress makes?

Did Jesus lead a sinless life?

What would you do if you found out that Jesus sinned? Is it possible? This would bring Christianity to it's knees. Why would the 'Son of God' sin? Would he? Here are some verses that could be considered sinful if a mere mortal did them: Exodus 8:8-11 states: "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work...For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." Deuteronomy 5:21 states that on the sabbath, "in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest." Jews were prohibited from harvesting crops or preparing a meal on the Sabbath; observant Jews still are. But Matthew 12:1-6 states: "At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day." In Luke 6:1-5, The sin was the act of rubbing the ears between their hands to extract the kernels which was considered work, and thus sinful. Jesus justified the activities of his disciples, by referring to David obtaining the consecrated shewbread from "Abiathar the high priest" on a sabbath, and eating it.

http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_jcsi2.htm

Kidnappings, sexual assault, and children

Are kidnappings and sexual assaults of children more prevalent now than they were 50 years ago? Does it just seem more prevalent because of the media's focus on it? It feels like it is so hard to protect our children nowadays. I know, as a parent, I have a hard time letting my children do things and go places. I worry about what could happen to them. Is that just being an overprotective parent or is this justified on how our society is spinning out of control?

Book of Revelation. Past, Future, or Visions??

People have many different ideas of what the Book of Revelation in the Bible means. Some think that it already happened. Some think it is a prophetic book that foretells of things that have yet to happen. Some believe that whoever the writer was, he was writing about nightmares he was having or possibly drug-induced visions. What do you think? Did John write this book? Was he on drugs? Has Revelation happened? Was it just written as a metaphor for what happened during the persecution of Christians during the reign of Emperors Nero or Domitian before Christianity was tolerated early in the 4th century A.D.?

For further reading on the topic, visit:

http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_ntb5b.htm

Is Salvation for all or just the "select"?

These are the creeds that the Catholic and most Protestant churches base their beliefs on. http://www.reformed.org/d... http://www.reformed.org/documents/nicene.html http://www.reformed.org/documents/athanasian.html If you look at all three, you will see that there is nowhere that says you are saved (or gain salvation) by faith. Do you believe that we ALL have a chance to have an eternal life? Is our Creator SO MEAN that He wouldn't give us all a chance?

Control games with your mind!!! The future is NOW!

Mind Control for Videogames
By Don Clark


A start-up company this week is giving the first public demonstration of a new technology for letting videogame players control actions with their minds.

Emotiv Systems Inc., a closely held company with offices in San Francisco and Sydney, Australia, plans to exploit electroencephalography, or EEG technology, which measures electrical activity of the brain and has long been used in the medical profession. The company envisions players strapping on helmets with electrodes that read brain signals, allowing them to issue simple commands to enhance game play.

Others have discussed similar goals, including start-ups NeuroSky and CyberLearning Technology LLC, but Emotiv says ...


If you want to know more go to http://www.emotiv.com

IS THIS NOT INCREDIBLE????

Hotmail becomes Windows Live

Do you really care? The beta is over and Hotmail no longer exists. Is anything that Microsoft makes really that good anyway? When it was in beta, it really stunk as far as I was concerned. Will you be using Windows Live? I like the webmail that comes with my High Speed Internet. I am perfectly happy. Thank you!

Christianity's Shortcomings

I am a Christian, but sometimes I feel very ashamed to call myself a Christian. I've seen it here on MyLot, online, and in the real world. Christians are some of the most judgmental, closed minded, hypocritical, and mean spirited people I know. I see things like "gays are bad", "YOU don't go to church", "if you don't believe the way we believe, you are going to hell", blah, blah, blah. I don't understand this. I thought Jesus is loving. I thought HE cares about all of us. Would Jesus act like this? Christians today are so pathetic. Should we just sit back and say, "Live and let live?" Of course not, but we are supposed to try to teach others in love...not in hate. We are supposed to judge others. We are supposed to love others. We are supposed to help others. Our job is not to be as mean as we can and lead them to Christ. All that will do is put a big smudge on the face of Christianity. They won't want to become a Christian, when the only example of Christianity they see is mean and hateful. If you are going to act this way, please don't call yourself a Christian.

Is God's Love Unconditional?

When we talk about God's love, how do we describe it?

God's love in the original Greek is called "Agape" This love is the highest characteristic of God but, how does it work in our lives? 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
God's also loves us with great feeling and affection because God is love. 1 John 4:15-16
God's love is grace: Undeserved favor. Ephesians 2:8-9

What is the difference between conditional love and unconditional love?
Note: Man naturally loves conditionally and God loves unconditionally

How do we know that God loves us unconditionally?

Through Christ's death on the cross. Romans 5:6-8 & 1 John 4:9-10
Despite the terrible sin in the world were still here because he does not treat us as we deserve. Psalms 103:10-17
The word of God tells us that God loves all people whether they believe in him or not. John 3:16

Homosexuality and God

Does God really consider homosexuality wrong or are we seeing things the way we want to see them? Read this and see what you think: Leviticus 18:22 Some English translations of this verse are: * KJV: (King James Version): Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind: it is abomination * LB: (Living Bible): Homosexuality is absolutely forbidden, for it is an enormous sin * NIV: (New International Version) Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable * NLT: (New Living Translation): Do not practice homosexuality; it is a detestable sin * RSV: (Revised Standard Version): You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination One source (4) makes a word-for-word translation of this verse from the original Hebrew as: And with a male thou shalt not lie down in beds of a woman; it is an abomination. In modern day English this could be translated as: Men may not engage in homosexual sex while on a woman’s bed; it is an abomination That is, "rather than forbidding male homosexuality, it simply restricts where it may occur." This may seem a strange prohibition to us today, but was quite consistent with other instructions in Leviticus which involve improper mixing of things that should be kept separate. e.g. ancient Israelites were not allowed to mix two crops in the same field, or make cloth out of two different raw materials. or plow a field with an ox and a donkey yoked together. A woman’s bed was her own. Only her husband was permitted there, and then only under certain circumstances. Any other use of her bed would be a defilement. Leviticus 20:13 In various translation it states: * KJV: (King James Version): If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them. * LB: (Living Bible): The penalty for homosexuality acts is death to both parties. They have brought it upon themselves. * NIV: (New International Version) If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads. * NLT: (New Living Translation): The penalty for homosexual acts is death to both parties. They have committed a detestable act, and are guilty of a capital offense. * RSV: (Revised Standard Version): If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death; their blood is upon them. This verse is essentially identical to Leviticus 18:22 discussed above, except the death penalty is added. Their word-for-word translation from the original Hebrew is: And a man who will lie down with a male in beds of a woman, both of them have made an abomination; dying they will die. Their blood is upon them. In modern English, this could be translated as: It is an abomination for two men to have sex on a woman’s bed. They are to be executed; it is their own fault.

Remembering April 19, 1995

Do you remember where you were?

I remember where I was. I was 24 years old and I still lived with my parents. My mom and I were watching "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee" on Channel 9 in OKC. We didn't get to see much because about 5 minutes in, there was 'breaking news'. A news chopper was above the city and you could see a plume of smoke coming from the city. Nobody knew what happened yet. The chopper pilot decided to change positions to try and figure out what was going on. A minute or two later a shot came on the screen that I will never forget as long as I live. They showed a building with half of it missing. As soon as I saw it, I knew there had been some kind of explosion. I started seeing police, ambulances, fire engines, etc. coming onto the scene. I didn't know what to think. All I remember thinking was, "What is going on? Are we at war? Who did this?" It was an awful day and I hope that we as a people, as a country will start learning from our mistakes because one day there may be no country and we won't have to worry about mistakes anymore.