If God, Why Evil

I recently read a book by Dr. Norman L. Geiser.  I found this little book containing only 170 pages to clearly and concisely explain why there is evil in this world.  If you are a Christian and have been faced with this question by people who don't understand how our loving God could allow evil, you need to read this book.  I wrote 7 articles in my paper quoting excepts from the book to share with others as to why there is evil in the world.  Visit my paper"s blog at http://www.talk-about-town.blogspot.com/ to read some excepts from this book.  I hope this writing encourages you.  If so, buy the book and share it with all your friends.

May the Lord bless you, and keep you and make is face to shine upon you.

Cindy

Introduction to a Series Why Evil?

I spend a lot of time listening to people’s views and opinions on a wide variety of topics.  As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, we each have a personal filter through which we form those views and opinions.  One topic that has been discussed and debated for centuries is God.  I hear people use the name God with little meaning such as “oh god”, “by god”, or “god I can’t believe it!”.  I have talked to people who don’t believe in God.  Some have had personal tragedy that makes them believe no god could allow such things, so one must not exist.  I have met people who said they had a relationship with God, and then stopped believing for some reason, usually because of a life experience.  I know many agnostics, by definition that is a person who holds that the existence of the ultimate cause, as god, and the essential nature of things are unknown and unknowable, or that human knowledge is limited to experience.  I know a few atheist, who by definition is a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings.  I am a Christian, I believe in God, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.  While I was raised in church and around Christians, I didn’t have a real honest relationship with God until my forties.  Prior to then, I kind of ignored God, because I was doing things that in my heart I knew He did not approve of.  I hear so many people who speak against God for various reasons, but one comes up often, if God is real then while is there so much evil and tragedy in this world?  So, over the next several weeks I want to share some information with you on that topic with the help of Dr. Norman L. Geisler, who wrote If God, Why Evil?  This book, about 170 pages, answers some very tough questions in a concise way that helps us understand what evil is and why it exists.  Dr. Norman Geisler is the author or co-author of some 70 books and hundreds of articles. He has taught theology, philosophy, and apologetics on the college or graduate level for 50 years.. For more information on Dr. Geisler visit www.normangeisler.net .  Now let me say that while I will be  using the assistance of Dr. Geisler and his work to discuss this topic, his writings and beliefs come from the one true authority, The Bible, God’s Holy Word.  If you want to know God, you must get into the Bible.  I personally believe in God without question.  He exists and has my heart, mind, and soul. I am not an ignorant, naive, or a stupid person.  I do not think myself so intelligent that I have all the answers, I do not.  I’ve always known that for every birth, there is death, life has joy and tragedy.  It never occurred to me to question just why things are as they are, I’ve always believed it’s just as God planned it.  But many don’t hold to my beliefs.  So whether you are a believer or not, I hope you continue to read Why Evil over the next few weeks… I will attempt to give you some new Food for Thought.

If you enjoyed this article visit http://www.talk-about-town.com/ to read our paper each week for articles like this one

Remove the Cross from Ground Zero?

That’s what an atheist group is demanding. They’ve sued to remove the cross from Ground Zero — a symbolic memorial that consists of two intersecting steel beams that survived the Twin Towers’ collapse on 9/11 and was a source of inspiration to rescue workers. The atheists' outrageous claim? The existence of the cross has brought on headaches, indigestion, even mental pain.  If they are true atheist, the symbol wouldn’t affect them since they don’t believe it represents anything. While the New York City mayor said the atheists had a "right to sue," he explained why the inclusion of religious symbols at the 9/11 museum should be allowed.  "A lot of people looked to religion for strength after the attack," said Bloomberg, who is named as one of the defendants in the suit filed by American Atheists.  "My personal opinion is always been you shouldn't tell people what religion to practice or whether to practice a religion but you shouldn't also prevent people from practicing a religion they want in any ways they want." He noted that other religious symbols, not just the WTC cross, would be on display at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. They include a Star of David cut from a piece of steel from the World Trade Center rubble, a Bible fused with a piece of steel found during the recovery effort and a Jewish prayer shawl.  "This influenced people. It gave them strength," said Mayor Bloomberg. "In a museum, you want to show things that impacted people's behavior back then even if you don't think it was right. It's history. Museums are for history and to teach people by example, well this is what people did back then and you are free to make your own decision."  He concluded, "This group of atheists, they're free in our country to not believe and not practice and we should defend their right to do that just as much as we should defend the right of every individual to practice and to believe."  The plaintiffs’ goal is to compel the government to remove the cross from the museum or, in the alternative, compel the government to allow equal space for non-Christian exhibits in the museum, they want equal time.  Well, if they wanted to honor non-Christians at 9/11, they could have gone to ground zero in 2001 and erected a symbol in honor of those non-Christians who lost their life and it would have been part of the historic event that is to be featured in the museum.  My brother David Ginn arrived 3 days after the towers fell and spent almost a year cleaning up daily seeing the tragedy brought upon our country.  He now suffers from a permanent life debilitating disease like many others and those who have died since 9/11 from the toxic waste.  He said “the metal cross gave him and many others comfort during their difficult job, it is a part of our history that should not be discarded”.  Don’t let this radical group wipe out a part of our history.  Let your voice be heard! Visit http://aclj.org/ or call 1-877-989-2255 and add your name to the petition to protect the ground zero cross.  Help us preserve a part of our history.

Solomon teaches us about Life

Do you know Anastasio Somoza Garcia, John Joseph Sirica, Johnny Rodgers, Franklin Pierce, John Cazale, or Ethel Waters?  In order they are:  a President of Nicaragua who acquired immense personal wealth; Chief Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, where he became famous for his role in the Watergate scandal; a former American college football player voted the University of Nebraska's "Player of the Century" and the winner of the 1972 Heisman Trophy; the 14th President of the United States; an American actor who appeared in five films, each of which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture: The Godfather, The Conversation, The Godfather Part II, Dog Day Afternoon and The Deer Hunter; A singer/actress who recorded  over 50 hit records, was inducted into Christian Music Hall of Fame, Honored with a Commemorative Stamp by USPS, and was nominated for both an Emmy and Academy Awards.  Many people give their whole lives, trade their morals, family and friends to earn these accolades, status and position yet how many of them did you remember?  Life is truly very short.  Unless we learn to live with eternity in view, our lives are truly meaningless.  Solomon, the richest man who ever lived wrote Ecclesiates, as a warning to those who think they can be satisfied with what the world has to offer.  While it seems to be a rather depressing view of life, the message he is sharing is that if we have God in our life we can live and enjoy it, as we look forward to a life in eternity, and we need to understand that our earthly life is temporal.  Solomon lived a part of his life as a secular man, violating God’s commandments by having many wives, worshipping other Gods, and seeking after earthly treasures.  He amassed great wealth, possessed anything and everything any human would want and all envied him.  But in the end he realized for all he did and all he had, it was for nothing and brought him nothing here on earth without God to give his very existence meaning.  He discovered that after having it all, his life was empty and meaningless.  Solomon tells us as the wisest man that ever lived “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgement, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil” (Ecc 12:13–14).  In the end, we must all turn to God to have hope and meaning in our life.  So listen to a wise man, have faith in God, live your life and enjoy every moment.  Just some food for thought.

Aren't Teenagers Fun!

It's after 11pm and I've been sitting here watching my 17 yr old (Happy Birthday on Monday) and her cousin Amber singing Karaoke for the last couple of hours.  It was so funny, at first Liz said "I can't sing" but she hasn't stopped for the last 2 hours.  They have giggled, laughed, did a little shake of their booty.... Kids just want to be kids, but it today's time they are expected to be too grown up and mature.  It's nice to watch them just be kids. 
It's nice to spend time with the "parents" and have fun at home, when is the last time your teenager did that?
I have made a couple of videos, but promised not to publish them on on facebook (at least tonight). 
If you haven't spent an evening with your kids lately, you should try it.  Play a game, talk, just spend some time together.  I remember as a kid, we didn't have a karaoke machine, but we would sing and laugh.  I remember having musical's in my grandparents living room.  A pianist, a few guitars, and my grand dad thumping that bass fiddle.  They would sing late into the night.  Back then it was old country, tonight we have heard songs like "Baby Got Back" and "Time Warp", but the same fun.  The music may change but the good times never do.
Thank God for kids

My Gifts from God

God has given me many gifts, none that I deserve,

Yet He loves me so much and blesses me this I have observed.

Two of those gifts he gave to me are very special ones.

They are my youngest daughter’s very precious sons.

Both struggled for their lives to come into this world fighting every day till they were born.

I prayed desperately to God for healing and strength to bring forth those unborn.

He answered my prayers and now I have two sets of eyes, one brown and one blue.

They can cut over the cutest glace with a sparkle in their eye when they look at you.

Two little hands, one bigger one smaller,

brothers, one blond one brunette, one shorter one taller.

Giving hugs and kisses, playing hide and seek,

They crawl into my bed to snuggle with me while I asleep.

I remember how afraid I was when my grandsons were not yet here,

Now there are no sweeter words than” Gigi” to my ears.

Before I even knew their names, I loved them none the less.

My heart leaps to hear them say “I love you more” whenever we caress.

God gave me one more special gift, another very special boy.

 He was brought into this world to bring and to give us His joy.

Suffering much for all our sins,

He lived, he died, and rose again.

Thank you God for all these gifts, unique each and every one,

You gave me two healthy grandsons and my Savior, Your only Son.

Children are truly a blessing, a gift our Lord created,

They reflect a part of us, our lives recreated.

We reflect our Father, in His image we were made.

And when He looks at us His pride is so displayed.

Jesus is God’s only son, His image He duplicated,

He gave us His most precious gift do not let it go wasted.

Jesus desires we die to Him, and then we can rise again,

To live with the Father and Son in eternity, free from worldly sin.

The 23rd Psalm

The Lord is my Shepherd ...

-- that's relationship!

I shall not want ...

-- that's provision!

He makes me to lie down in green pastures ...

-- that's rest!

He leads me beside the still waters ...

-- that's refreshment!

He restores my soul ...

-- that's healing!

He leads me in the paths of righteousness ...

-- that's guidance!

For His name's sake ...

-- that's purpose!

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death ...

-- that's testing!

I will fear no evil ...

-- that's protection!

For You are with me ...

-- that's companionship!

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me ...

-- that's security!

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies ...

-- that's hope!

You anoint my head with oil ...

-- that's consecration!

My cup runs over ...

-- that's abundance!

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me ...

-- that's blessing!

All the days of my life ...

-- that's faithfulness!

And I will dwell in the house of the LORD

-- that's home!

Forever!

-- that's eternity!

A Special thank you to Lowell Mahler who shared this with me.  For more Christian encouragement, visit Lowell's website http://theshepherdsflock.ning.com/

Grandchildren are a blessing

I just spent the last three days with my grandsons.  We had such a wonderful time.  We laughed, we played, we just sat and snugged together.  As the word says "Children's children are a crown to the aged, and parent are the pride of their children Proverbs 17:6 
I had the privilege of babysitting my two grandson's for three days.  We watched a movie, "Astro Boy", a cartoon much like Iron Man (their favorite superhero).  We laughed, and snuggled.  We made a gift for Mom and Dad for their return.  We poured stepping stone molds in heart shapes, with both boys handprints.  They decorated with shiny jewels and wrote "We love Mom" and "We love Dad" in each stone. 
I must say, they were the best kids, not because they were my grandsons.  They love each other, they played well together.  In three days, only one time for about 30 seconds did they argue... the rest of the time they played together like the best of friends.  My husband stayed at home while I stayed at the boys house, I wish he would have been with me, he would have learned how fun grandchildren were.  I am glad I was able to give my daughter a few days of needed time away, I feel I was the one given a gift.  You don't know how precious lives created from you are until you spend some time with them.  I'm glad I had this time with my grandson's.  I hope as they grow up, they remember how important GiGi was to them, they are important to me.  Thank you Lord for these little gifts, they are more precious than silver or gold.  Thank you Lord for the precious gifts and the time we have together.  I pray all grandmother's get this time to love their grandchildren and build memories.

What does love mean to you?

What Love means to a 4-8 year old . .

Slow down for three minutes to read this. It is so worth it.  Touching words from the mouth of babes.

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds , 'What does love mean?'  The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined

See what you think:

'When my grandmother got arthritis , she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time , even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.'

Rebecca- age 8

'When someone loves you , the way they say your name is different.

You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'

Billy - age 4

'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.'

Karl - age 5

'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.'

Chrissy - age 6

'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.'

Terri - age 4

'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him , to make sure the taste is OK.'

Danny - age 7

'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing , you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that.  They look gross when they kiss'

Emily - age 8

'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.'

Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

'If you want to learn to love better , you should start with a friend who you hate , '

Nikka - age 6

(we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)

'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt , then he wears it everyday.'

Noelle - age 7

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.'

Tommy - age 6

'During my piano recital , I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.  He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.'

Cindy - age 8

'My mommy loves me more than anybody  You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.'

Clare - age 6

'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.'

Elaine-age 5

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford

Chris - age 7

'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.'

Mary Ann - age 4

'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.'

Lauren - age 4

'When you love somebody , your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' (what an image)

Karen - age 7

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross.'

Mark - age 6

'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it , you should say it a lot. People forget.'

Jessica - age 8

And the final one  The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.  Upon seeing the man cry , the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard , climbed onto his lap , and just sat there.  When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor , the little boy said , 'Nothing , I just helped him cry'

Now the view of love from a 52 year old... I read this and I'm not sure if I have the heart of a 4 year old or love doesn't change as we get older.  For me, love is trimming my 92 yr old Dad's toenails.  Styling my Mom's hair every other day while she was in the hospital for 4 months.  Running up and down the stairs a dozen times a night to save my husband's feet.  Listening to a friend who is having a bad day.  Letting my grandmother live her last years with me in my home. 

Knowing that Jesus Christ died for my sins, not because he had to, but because he loved me.  Giving my life to Him, accepting Him as my saviour, Having Faith and love for Him even though I've never met Him in person.   Sharing His love with everyone I meet so they may know what love really means.  What does love mean to you?

New Blog site

I wanted the freedom to post personal information seperate from posting tied to my paper Talk About Town.  So I am seperating my blog.  I will use this site for writing about my personal thoughts and events.  If you would like to read expanded articles from Talk About Town and information and updates about my paper, I encourage you to visit the new blogsite http://www.talk-about-town.blogspot.com/ or my website at http://www.talk-about-town.com/

I hope if you live in the Parker County area, you will look for the paper and become a regular reading.
warmest regards,

Technology, Communication and our Children

I was at dinner with my husband when I noticed a little girl maybe 4 years old playing a game on a cell phone. I was amazed at how proficiently she moved around that computer.  She did not seem to notice the conversation and activity going on between the adults at the table as she played her game.   In last 15 years, computers have made our lives much easier.  We can find information in a few seconds on almost anything; access our bank accounts and cash, find our way around town, practically anything our mind can conceive a computer can do. 

There are lots of wonderful things computers have done for us.  My 5 year old grandson has already developed keyboard skills, some reading and comprehension; he can perform many complex functions with technology better than some adults. While I am proud and impressed with how smart he is, I think as good stewards of raising our children we must also make sure they are not spending so much face time with electronic devices like computers, cell phones, and televisions that they fail to develop the other necessary social skills that they will need as they grow into adulthood.  I think its important children receive an adequate amount of social stimulation to properly develop skills such as oral and visual communication and learn how to handle themselves in social situations. 

 The computer isolates us from face to face communication where we learn skills like reading of body language, facial expression, and social manners.    I find a lot of teenagers have trouble with eye contact and meaningful conversations of any length; they struggle to talk but they have no problem texting.  According to Dr. Andie, well known family and child psychologist, “The rules of social engagement have changed over the last few years and in my opinion the role of technology in our society is a major factor for this. Think about it… It's only been a relatively short few years that texting has become the mode of choice for communicating. I recently read that the typical teenager sends or receives more than 1,700 text messages a month while making or receiving just 230 calls. Children today aren't "speaking" they are "wording"! You ask the question if texting, IMing and other outgrowths of technology can affect children of today. The answer is yes.”

When I was growing up, we relied on the library and the family set of encyclopedias for all our research.  We had to write out papers in long hand and were responsible for accurate spelling and grammar.  Computers are so intelligent today our children are not learning some necessary skills such as writing and spelling.  They have learned to use acronyms, short spelling (OMG!), or spell phonically (waz tat).  Sentence structure is even critiqued by the computer.  Recently, one of the local high school English teachers had her students write essays for submission as Hometown Hero’s to my paper.  I was quite surprised at the lack of writing and spelling skills at the high school level.  I struggled to understand exactly what they were trying to communicate through their words.  I had to speak to almost every one of them to interpret their stories.

Additionally, teamwork and social interaction skills are not developed with computer gaming like with traditional sports or even board games.   Simple tasks such as sharing, learning to take instruction, and/or following a set of rules.

With this being said, computers have given our children many wonderful advantages to learning and knowledge that we did not have while growing up. Technology is here to stay, so  I think what’s important is that we as parents stayed involved with what our children.  Review their work, discuss with them what they are learning, know how they are using this technology.  You should also be aware that kids are exposed to some not so good things on the computer such as cyber bullying, sexting, and access to inappropriate material and this should be monitored.  You should have your computers in an open area so you can see sights they are visiting.  There is software to monitor and control sites your child can visit on the internet or monitor the amount of time they spend on certain sights such as social networks.

As adults, we should limit the amount of time spent in front of electronic devises (this includes TV, gaming, cell phones, DVD, etc) and spend some time helping our children develop the other necessary skills they will need as they mature.  We set the example.  As I was going into the pharmacy a grown woman came out of the door and walked right into me because she was busy texting and not looking where she was walking.  She didn’t say she was sorry or even acknowledge running into me, she just kept on walking, face glued to her phone.  We also need to remember our children learn more by what they see than by what you say.

Strive to offer your children a balance of human interaction as well as technology.  Parents and children should put down cell phones, turn off computers and television and talk over dinner, have family game night. Turn off the radio and DVD player and talk while driving in the car. Not only will you help your children develop communication skills, you will find your relationships will be stronger.

Envy

Did you know that envy is the enemy of gratitude? We see things with our eyes everyday that we feel envy for, like a new car, a bigger home, someones job. Or maybe you envy a person for how they look, how popular they are, or what they possess. If you let envy get hold of you, before long you can forget to be grateful for what you do have. It is hard to fight off envy in today's world. We are inundated with all types of media that creates dissatisfaction in what we currently have, to then create a desire for what we don't have, it's called marketing. But many of us buy into the marketing ploy and we find ourselves in debt, still having envy for other things we don't have.
Maybe you think you would be better in some way if you could lose weight, change your hair color, have a little plastic surgery. I am surprised how we envy the rich and famous. There are a number of television shows that report the daily activities of the rich and famous. What party they attended, who they date, where they shop. We forget over the years what happened to those we envied like Marilyn Monroe, John Belushi, Michael Jackson, and Elvis Presley. For I was envious at the arrogant, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked Ps73:3 The bi-product of envy is grief, bitterness, and ignorance. Envy is short term, it's time for us to get a new perspective.
The key to gratitude is to be satisfied with the portion you have been given. Contentment is desiring what you already have. You need to enjoy what you already have, family, friends, your work, the food you eat, the clothes on your back. You also need to accept that you don't need to spend your life working to get all the things you think you need. I don't know anyone who had a U-haul follow them to the grave. Once you stop desiring all you don't have and start enjoying what you do have, you will see you are truly blessed and rich beyond your imagination. What or who are you envious of and why?