Free Republic

Call it an amusing coincidence: After my last post's lengthy confession of my borderline planning-pathology, I have broken with my plans for this post in order to seize a God-given moment...and invite you to join me in rejoicing! The morning after I published my post about our daughter Mercy--pointing ahead to our youngest child, Sam--I received a call from our #3 daughter Kayla, who was two days short of her due date. She had gone for what she hoped would be her final pre-natal appointment before the baby arrived...and, oops! The midwife accidentally ruptured her membranes! I love a happy...

There is a song entitled, “I’ll live in Glory” that is sung at many congregations. Its first line reads “I’d like to stay here longer than man’s allotted days”. The reference is to staying upon the earth. Many people, including myself, have said, “What!” The reason for this response is that we want to go home to God. We are tired of living in a world of sin, jealousies, violence, hatred, and evil. Don’t worry, there is nothing wrong with this response. It reminds me of the words of Peter regarding Lot and his deliverance from Sodom and Gomorrah: •...

This is a video using the voices of my grandson, granddaughter and myself singing Soulija Boy, also this is an animated video of a rare Colombian Parakeets called, Perija.

Freeper Flightline woke me at 0300 to tell me his daughter is in labor. Her first child, his first Grandchild I am an uncle again...

The earliest Mother's Day celebrations can be traced back to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. During the 1600's, England celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday". Celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent (the 40 day period leading up to Easter*), "Mothering Sunday" honored the mothers of England. During this time many of the England's poor worked as servants for the wealthy. As most jobs were located far from their homes, the servants would live at the houses of their employers. On Mothering Sunday the servants would have the day...

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world. A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in...

About four years ago, I became extremely disturbed at overhearing conversations my grandchildren were having at a large family gathering – conversations that were obviously being fueled by poisonous attitudes being inculcated in them about America by their public school teachers. I wrote them a letter as a first step in a campaign to try to undo the harm being done to them and to their country. That letter developed into an e-mail discussion group – and then into a weblog. To read the letter, go to my site and enter the words - to my grandchildren - in the...

One of the strangest words of the English language has four letters. Somehow it seems more obscene than the rest. The word "free" paints for the reader an idea of something that has no cost. It is a reasonable interpretation, at first glance. Unfortunately, it has also become a well known, and ruthlessly effective tool to seduce the unwary. And the price can be staggering. How many times per day do you hear about this or that being "free"? What is usually meant, is that the costs to everyone involved have been ignored by mutual agreement, and will merit no...

From "Greg" of the United States Army "Vietvet" (Ret) Merry Christmas and Happy New Year PRICELESS GRANDPARENT STORIES --- you don't have to be a grandparent to enjoy these!! 1. After putting her grandchildren to bed, a grandmother changed into old slacks and a droopy blouse and proceeded to wash her hair. As she heard the children getting more and more rambunctious, her patience grew thin. At last she threw a towel around her head and stormed into their room, putting them back to bed with stern warnings. As she left the room, she heard the three-year-old say with a...

For my grandson's third birthday, I just couldn't be outdone. Except for having to share the child, being a grandmother is a piece of cake. On this occasion, it was birthday cake, for Binyamin's third birthday. I was never one for running and jumping and working, but all those years when my children were small, that's precisely what I had to do, without end. These days, I sleep through the night, and for this party, I didn't have to clean and bake and organize. All I had to do was show up, with a present to buy me his love,...

National Debt Tops $7 Trillion By Jonathan Nicholson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government's national debt -- the accumulation of past budget shortfalls -- totaled more than $7 trillion for the first time as of Tuesday, according to a Treasury Department (news - web sites) report. In its daily financial statement released on Wednesday, the Treasury said the U.S. debt subject to a congressionally set limit totaled $7.015 trillion, up from $6.983 trillion on Friday. The government was closed on Monday for the Presidents Day holiday. While passing the $7 trillion mark itself has little practical significance, not unlike a...

The air is cold, the skies are slate grey, threatening snow but not delivering it. At the end of the year the various networks are doing their retrospectives. The gallery of faces of those who died this year is always part of that. And in his centennial year, Bob Hope was among those. In the last days of the year I prefer to reflect not on what has been lost, but what is valuable and still here. Some engage in such reflection at Thanksgiving. Some, regrettably, never reflect on that. I prefer to meditate on such things at year’s end....