This day passed us by with only a few photos to stick in the album and the faint smell of sunscreen on our swim trunks atop a pile of laundry.

What had I accomplished this weekend besides mowing the yard, grilling some hot dogs and burgers, and making sure the boys got to spend some extra time with dear old dad on his day off?

That’s not a whole lot in comparison to what others have accomplished and sacrificed so that I could sit on the front porch and enjoy a Popsicle with my boys.

I haven’t fought for the freedoms I take for granted everyday.  I haven’t sacrificed a thing in comparison to others who have worn a uniform and were laid to rest in a flag-draped coffin.  I will never understand what it truly means to give your life in the service of your country, but I am so thankful for the men and women who have gone before me that do.

So as the last few hours of this day tick away, I look at the picture above and realize how lucky I am.

And for the relative comfort of my daily life and the time I treasure with my family, I thank you that you gave your lives in service so that I would never have to.

May God bless your families for your sacrifice.

“They contacted me on YouTube.com after seeing some videos I had posted on the web site”

Now I will admit I have watched the show from time to time.  At times I think they should call it “America Has No Talent But Crazy Folks That Want To Get On TV.”

But every now and then, they actually showcase some talented folks.  I think you’ll agree that Shawn Irwin has a pretty good shot at making it through the audition.

But we will be sending out the much eco-friendly, environmentally conscience, and fire-proof Christmas E-MAIL.

What’s that you say…there’s no such thing as a ‘Christmas E-mail.’ Hold on there Mr. Scrouge-e-pants.  This is also the season of celebrating other things that don’t exist…

1. A fat guy that lives at the North Pole
2. Flying reindeer
3. Christmas tree lights that ALL light up

So back up that sleigh full of disbelief and get on board with the Christmas E-mail…if for no other reason than it’s the greenest thing you can do this year.  And if you need pictures of the KTOWN family, then go here, download them and make a screen saver, but please, in consideration of the planet…don’t print them out and hang them on the mantle.  There’s been enough destruction already…just look around Christmas morning.  Scattered boxes and torn paper, a dying tree, and fruitcakes that will never see the inside of someone’s digestion system.

So spread some joy this year…email it.

Welcome to CYBERMONDAY…kind of like Black Friday, but without the fender benders and the stampedes.

And like every quality service provider, KTOWN has complied a list of some of the best places to shop on-line…just make sure you don’t use company time or resources searching for that perfect gift for the in-laws.

CyberMonday.com

CouponChief.com

Dealio

Ebay.com

FatWallet.com

And here are links to other sites…try to get some work done today.

GIZMODO

DEALTAKER.com

RETAILMENOT.com

GOTTADEAL.com

Hear It From Us

HT [Sean Aune: Mashable]

[excerpt photo]

But if had I know I could put a Shrimp on a Treadmill and receive worldwide fame…well hindsight is 20/20.

And somehow this is “serious science”.  From MSNBC:

“What those who have been amused by the running shrimp may not know is that they’re actually watching serious science, on issues that could affect us all….[the scientists involved in the experiment] wanted to learn how bacterial infections affected a shrimp’s endurance.”

This spot was featured as one of the stories

“in which the TODAY anchors fanned out across the globe to investigate the strain put by humans on our most precious resource — water.”

Obviously, NBC doesn’t think that “fanning out acroos the globe” puts a strain on the environment.  Anything to report THE NEWS.

And yes, water is a precious resource…I guess we’re just lucky it literally falls from the sky.

Sorry dad, I guess I could have saved your coffee mugs and fried up an appitezer when I was done experimenting.

Don’t worry though:

“The shrimp used in the experiments were bred for research and were not taken from the wild.”

As long as they aren’t taking them from the supply that ends up at Red Lobster, than I am ok with it.  Oh wait…

Burnett and Scholnick said, ““We plan on building one for lobster…We have one for blue crabs.”

Dang it.  Is nothing sacred?

1. Call me at home during dinner and demand payment
2. Threaten to sue me
3. Call my neighbors and try to get them to give out my personal info
4. Cause my credit score to go down
5. And charge me interest, late fees, and anything else they can pile on…

Actually I don’t have a problem with any of the items listed above (as long as the credit card companies aren’t breaking the law…which they often do).  As Dave Ramsey says, “If you play with snakes, eventually you’re going to get bitten.”

But when the credit card company can’t pay their bills…they get a handout.  And the government is right there to try to socialize fix it all.  Interesting.

So people are saying that it isn’t governement’s role to fix everything and I agree.  But there are a few things that would fix this mess…

1. Cut taxes (especially capital gains)
2. Cut spending

Do these things and the economy would flourish.  Right now the government is (as we say in these parts) the “dime holding up a dollar.”

My guy gal didn’t win.  So that’s that.  Obama will be my President and I will respect that.  My respect of the office is not an endorsement of the policies he MAY enact.  In fact, I am sure that I will disagree with the direction he HOPES to take this country in, but he is my President.  I will render the respect the office deserves.

I believe in THE TRUTH, the Word of God, and I do not assume to know the will of God.  Whether President-elect Obama will glorify God during his term(s) in office will remain to be seen, but I believe God appoints our leaders for our good and His glory.

With that said, my brother, recently gave a sermon on the suject of God and the role of our Government.  I found his summary of the subject to be quite enlightening and well constructed.  I have pasted the text of it here.  Thanks Todd.  God is growing you in wisdom that I envy.

The Glory of God in the Grace of Government

We must be thankful

1. Thankful that almost any form of Government is better than the unrestrained evil of the human heart unleashed in anarchy.

2. Thankful that God is Sovereign. He has raised up this leader for His purpose and for His Glory, though it may seem mysterious to us now. Obama is God’s servant, whether he knows it or not.(Daniel 2:21 Romans 13:1-2)

3. Thankful that the racial divides that once defined this country are no longer in place. This is a small picture of the what Christ did on the cross.(Ephesians 2:15)

4. Thankful that the the Throne that can not be overturned is not surprised today.

5. Thankful that we have a system of government that still listens to the will of the people and not just a select few.

6. Thankful that millions of people that have never participated in Democracy have now become engaged. They are now listening and no longer apathetic to what happens in this country.

7. Thankful that our joy and hope in the future are not tied to a man or to a temporal government.(

We must be prayerful

1. Pray for the safety for Obama, his wife, and his children. (1 Timothy 2:1-4)

2. Pray that the God who holds the hearts of everyone would not harden Obama’s heart and give Him wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ Jesus to lead with wisdom.

1. Pray for the Christians in America to be respectful in their honoring of the position of president, articulate in their disagreement, and God glorifying in their pursuit of the unsaved.(Romans 13and 1 Peter 2:17)

2. Pray for those that don’t yet have a voice or a vote, the unborn.

3. Pray that people would see that the economy, a president they disagree with, or a war is not their biggest problem, it is their own sin.

4. Pray that as we render unto Caesar what is His, We must not forget to render unto God what is his. We must not confuse these two things.

5. Pray that greater taxes would not stifle our Christian duties to pursue excellence, creativity, or industry in our callings and vocations.

We must see this with an eternal, Gospel infused perspective.

1. This is a tremendous opportunity for the Church to articulate a view point that they have become apathetic and lethargic in doing because we left that up to leadership we thought would do it for us. We too long thought change in this country would come from the top down rather than the bottom up.

2. Realize that Obama was elected because the hearts of the people were turned toward him and his world view. This election was only evidence of that shifting that had already been taking place.

“Democratic systems inevitably reflect the electorate’s decisions, and these decisions reveal underlying worldviews. And, truth be told, all we can expect from democracy is the government we deserve. We must pray for a government and for leaders better than we deserve. May God grant us mercy as he reigns and rules over all things, including this election.” Al Mohler (Romans 1 and 2)

1. We must realize what delineates the Gospel from the liberal, liberation, social Gospels and be able to articulate it with confidence and peace.

No law Obama enacts can be written on the human heart, so we have hope that the Gospel is and always has been the only true weapon in changing our government. Therefore, the battle has always been and still is for the hearts of people and we have the only weapon that can truly change the human heart.

4. God’s judgments is also his mercy. Light shines brightest in the darkest times.

5.The key to changing the government is revival of the lost, so what happens in Washington is connected on a very personal, local level. The great commission is still in the hands of the people of God, not the government.

Lastly we must come the point where we are comfortable saying with confidence with John in Revelation 1:7

“Even So. Amen”

Review of Sermon

Colossians 1:15

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities- all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church, He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

God in Government

God gave man his image as a gift. This image gave man the ability and the stewardship to govern the things entrusted to him by God. This government worked because it was done it relation to and with the understanding that God was the giver of this authority.

The Fall marred this image and its duty. People still have the desire to worship God and avoid chaos through proper governess.

The people of God quickly moved away from the Garden government. They worshiped other gods and kings. Always wavering between avoiding chaos and wanted to worship something.

God was patient and merciful with His people. Giving them the rulers they desereved, but most often giving them the leaders they didn’t deserve.

The culmination of God’s government culminates with the arrival of Jesus Christ, who rules by justice rather than power.

Christ fulfills and establishes what was true in the Garden of Eden. Reconciles our biggest problem, our sin between God and us. Rules with perfect righteousness. Brings an end to eternal chaos.

American Government

Established on Christian ideas

Worked because it was based on a Judeo-Christian basis

Came about by not only wise men who knew this, but a population that was driven by a revival of Reformed Christian Gospel.

Successful because of the worldview that formed its foundation

Two Paths Today

Two world views

Christian world view and Humanist world view

Christian world view has tremendous implications

Humanist world view has tremendous implications

Humanist has wrong view of man, therefore social and common law will always be flawed.

Humanism tends toward chaos, anarchy, or/and totalitarin government

State allegiance over individual/ religious allegiance

Application

What is at stake is bigger than a stable government, it is the salvation of the lost.

Daniel 2:20-23

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. To you O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king’s matter.”

Ephesians 2:14

“He himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace an might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross.

1 Timothy 2:1-4

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions. And thanksgivings be make for all people, for kings and all who are in high position, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

1 Peter 2:13

“Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as a supreme, or to governs as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.

Matthew 22:21

“Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

[HT: twitter @lissakay via @sadcox]