RonD1120

Based on my experience, I'd say you have the concept parameters correct. When I came out of the depths of alcoholism and substance abuse I sought support through Christian churches and the effort was successful. I am approaching 27 years of sobriety. When I tried to help others by working in social services for SA/MH I became part of an environment where the goal is funding not treatment. There was a period of time, ending around 1998, where a citizen could receive Social Security Disability Income if declared a victim of chemical dependence and/or mental illness. That individual then became eligible for Medicare benefits. Guess who benefited the most from that philosophy? That's right, the doctors who made the diagnoses and prescribed the treatment and the treatment providers. At the end, the all wise government decided that the treatment providers should be monitored and evaluated by insurance companies to justify the federal dollar expenditure. In my programs it was the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida out of Jacksonville. Now in addition to a contract fee from the feds they received a percentage bonus of the Medicare dollars not spent. Guess who benefited most from this regulation? That's right, BC/BS of FL. Where were the clients and patients? Doing what welfare people know how to do best. They are born into the system, they learn how to survive within the system, and they die in the system. Every once in awhile someone breaks out and they become the poster child for the program. Who benefits from this system? That's right, politicians and bureaucrats. Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article7007065.ece We tore this topic up when it was current. Bottom line, Pat Robertson is a TV entertainment personality. As such, his job is to get viewers and there no such thing as bad publicity. We I produced and hosted my TV show on public access I used outrage and absurdity as well, it works. Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

No, I accept personal responsibility for my failures as the result of making bad lifestyle choices. Bottom line for me is the famous Regan quote, "Government is not the answer to the problem. It is the problem." Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

Thank you for that explanation. rynodigsmusic et.al., and I share, what I think is the same affliction. Namely, our pastors and teachers emphasize Scripture quoting. The concept is that the Holy Spirit will clarify the meaning in the mind of those who are ready to receive. In this forum we have to get better at what we are trying to explain. Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

The key word there being "considered", because, as I argue, it's really all a matter of perspective. 2,000 years ago, the Judeans viewed Jesus and his followers essentially the same way. In the 16th Century, the Catholics viewed the Protestants essentially the same way. Rinse, repeat. No argument. Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

This is not directed at you, Ron. It's directed at the word "cult". I disdain the use of words like "cult" and "superstition" when used to contrast those terms with the concept of "religion". I think it's ethno/cultural-centric at the very least, and at times, arrogant. I was going to type a longer foundation for this, but to save time and space, I'll sum it up this way: "One man's cult (and/or superstitions) is another man's religion, and vice-versa." I think most people will understand the broad point I'm trying to make. No problem. From the Evangelical side of Christianity, they are considered cults due to the manner in which they deal with Jesus Christ of Nazareth and the Holy Bible. Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

I just watched the video. Did not see any text. I doubt there is any new info for you. You are pretty much up on this topic. Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

We spend a lot of time voicing opinions about the U.S. Government. I found the following video to be helpful for putting things in perspective. http://www.wimp.com/thegovernment Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

Here is some flame fodder. Missionaries do provide aid to poor countries. I have seen street preachers hand out tracts or invitations to their church services and the like. I've never seen anyone accosted by avoiding them. And the bomb: Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses are not Christian. They are cults. Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

No I have not associated with liberals much since 16 Mar 81. From 25 Apr 65 until that day, I pretty much considered myself a liberal and attempted to live as such. I experienced the failure of the lifestyle first hand. It seems to me that educated, productive, middle class and higher liberals believe that the system must care for the those lower on the socio-economic scale. People like me have worked in that system and have experienced that level of failure as well. It keeps people working without joy providing services to people who lack true desire and motivation. The emphasis is maintaining the bureaucratic process. Paperwork has Priority over People i.e., the 3 P Principle to support the law that a bureaucracy will tend to sustain itself. Funding is the goal, not service. Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

So in other words, the terrorists won't quit killing until they accept Jesus as their one true god, i.e. they all have to convert from Islam to Christianity? Only then will we have peace? Actually, according to the Holy Bible, there will be no peace until Jesus Christ returns and establishes His Millennial reign i.e., the thousand-year reign of Christ specifically mentioned in Revelation 20:1-6. Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

Matthew 28:19 Mark 16:15 Luke 24:46,47 Acts 1:8 Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

I find no quarrel with your stand. All I can say is that I keep weapons in my house and I travel with them. If push comes to shove I am prepared to use what I have to protect my family, my property and my personal well being. I consider myself a sheepdog. The sheep may feel uneasy about me but I am here to help keep the wolves away. Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

HUH? You really need to spend some time with your pacifist Christian brothers if you want to understand them. The Mennonites, Hutterites and Quakers do not believe in peace when it is convenient. They all come from traditions of persecution and pogrom. I don't think the pastor in question had experience much in the way of violent confrontation. The point is that they are serious about non-violent pacifism. Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

That's the quote of the day that's going out on my emails today. I'll just credit it to -Ron. Ok by you? I am honored! Be my guest. Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

You have to be tolerant here on justifiable homicide. Many of our Christian brothers and sisters are total and complete pacifists. My guess is they have never encountered true evil face to face. At any rate, I remember getting into a hot email altercation with a church pastor in Oregon post 9/11. He maintained that he would not take up a weapon to defend his home or family against the attack of an intruder. Go figure, how can anyone think that way? Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

At the last program I worked we contracted a lab for cannabis and cocaine UDS @ $5 each. If you run a five panel UDS to include methamphetamine, opioids and PCP the cost jumped to $35. Opioids are broken down into different categories for heroin, hydrocodone, oxycodone, etc. Add in benzodiazepines for Valium, Atavan, Xanax, etc and the price keeps increasing. Bottom line, it is not cost effective. The liberal way of life is get on welfare, live on food stamps, get Rx drugs from your welfare psychiatrist, trade or sell Rx drugs for street drugs of choice, complain about the unfair, obscene rich right wing conservative Republicans, and vote Democratic. Life is good. Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

Then with all due respect to those people, putting them in customer service might be setting both them and the customers up for failure. It's not fair to a person to place him in a job he's likely not to be able to handle. What's that going to do to re-build his self-esteem? (I say this from an overlapping perspective to yours: I spent a lot of time in my career in the criminal justice system working with people with SA & MH problems.) Customer service is, in my humble opinion, the front line of a company's public relations. When I get a CS rep on the phone (after 20 minutes on hold) who doesn't "get it" when I explain it to him the first time, or the second time, and then punts my call to the next guy who (after 20 more minutes on hold) doesn't "get it" the first time, or the second time, it doesn't matter if it's because English isn't his native language or because he's a little slow, now I'm pissed at the company. And then I go on blogs like this and rant. DITTO and Amen. Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

Customer service can be an extremely frustrating experience. Often you are dealing with an outsourced rep in another country. I had a brief stint as a telephone company CS rep and team leader. First, many reps are working their way back into society from substance use and mental health disorders and/or criminal re-entry. They are good people, sometimes just slow. If you are not satisfied with your service, tell the rep you would like to "escalate the call." That is the key phrase to get the team leader or supervisor. It is not an insult, they understand, and they will comply. As for Taser, I would cancel the purchase and seek a refund Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

Yeah. When you are on the outside looking in it appears very mystic, unreal and senseless. It is like skydiving. If you truly want to know, you have to take the risk and jump. Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

I see. You're a space alien? Like a stranger in a strange land. Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

That's a like saying if you're not a communist you can't criticize communism. That doesn't make any sense at all. Well sure, anybody can judge anybody. Only a Christian can evaluate the path of another Christian. Outside opinions just don't carry much weight. Christians are in the world, not of the world. Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

You're doing a great job of spreading the word. Thank you. Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

This would be a thread drift, but, he don't sound so bad now. Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.