BY DR. DAVID BARTON

When I saw this I just had to put it here it agrees EXACTLY with my feelings!!
Dr. David Barton – on Obama

Respect the Office ? Yes.
Respect the Man in the Office? No, I am sorry to say.

I have noted that many elected officials, both Democrats and Republicans, called upon America to unite behind Obama.

Well, I want to make it clear to all who will listen that I AM NOT
uniting behind Obama !

I will respect the Office which he holds, and I will acknowledge his abilities as an orator and wordsmith and pray for him, BUT that is it.

I have begun today to see what I can do to make sure that he is a
one-term President !

Why am I doing this ?

It is because:
- I do not share Obama’s vision or value system for America;
- I do not share his Abortion beliefs;
- I do not share his radical Marxist’s concept of re-distributing wealth;
- I do not share his stated views on raising taxes on those who make $150,000+ (the ceiling has been changed three times since August);
- I do not share his view that America is Arrogant;
- I do not share his view that America is not a Christian Nation;
- I do not share his view that the military should be reduced by 25%;
- I do not share his view of amnesty and giving more to illegals than our American Citizens who need help;
- I do not share his views on homosexuality and his definition of marriage;
- I do not share his views that Radical Islam is our friend
and Israel is our enemy who should give up any land;
- I do not share his spiritual beliefs (at least the ones he has made public);
- I do not share his beliefs on how to re-work the healthcare system
in America;
- I do not share his Strategic views of the Middle East; and
- I certainly do not share his plan to sit down with terrorist regimes such as Iran.

Bottom line: my America is vastly different from Obama’s, and I have a higher obligation to my Country and my GOD to do what is Right !

For eight (8) years, the Liberals in our Society, led by numerous entertainers who would have no platform and no real credibility but for their celebrity status, have attacked President Bush, his family, and his spiritual beliefs !

They have not moved toward the center in their beliefs and their philosophies, and they never came together nor compromised their personal beliefs for the betterment of our Country !
They have portrayed my America as a land where everything is tolerated except being intolerant !

They have been a vocal and irreverent minority for years !
They have mocked and attacked the very core values so important to the founding and growth of our Country !

They have made every effort to remove the name of GOD or Jesus Christ from our Society !
They have challenged capital punishment, the right to
bear firearms, and the most basic principles of our criminal code !
They have attacked one of the most fundamental of all Freedoms,
the right of free speech !

Unite behind Obama? Never ! ! !

I am sure many of you who read this think that I am going overboard, but I refuse to retreat one more inch in favor of those whom I believe are the embodiment of Evil!

PRESIDENT BUSH made many mistakes during his Presidency, and I am not sure how history will judge him. However, I believe that he weighed his decisions in light of the long established Judeo-Christian principles of our Founding Fathers!!!

Majority rules in America, and I will honor the concept; however, I will fight with all of my power to be a voice in opposition to Obama and his “goals for America.”

I am going to be a thorn in the side of those who, if left unchecked, will destroy our Country ! ! Any more compromise is more defeat !
I pray that the results of this election will wake up many who have sat on the sidelines and allowed the Socialist-Marxist anti-GOD crowd to slowly change so much of what has been good in America !

“Error of Opinion may be tolerated where Reason is left free to combat it.” – Thomas Jefferson

Remember a Government that is strong enough to give you everything you want, Is also Strong enough to take every thing you have away from you…Thomas Jefferson

“If we ever forget that we’re one nation under GOD, then we will be a nation gone under.” – Ronald Reagan

From Memorial Day

The point is…once again….that your rights don’t come from MEN or GOVERNMENTS!! If they did, the constitution wouldn’t be worth a tinker’s damn!! The words of the Declaration of independance and the Constitution, are what created the dream in men’s minds that YOU are now living!! That is all it is people, a dream!! That’s how truly fragile it really is!! It is a chimera, a wil-o-the wisp, A phantasm, sprung directly from the hearts of dreamers from over two centuries ago, that they formed into a living presence and a dream that millions have lived. And, they did so, without truly knowing what it was or how it was attained, but living it none the less. A chimera, that some few among us all, even today, are willing to give their lives for, even though they couldn’t really explain it to you either!! From time out of mind, from even before the dawn of civilization, men and women have felt it, lived for it, trained their children to covet and treasure it, even though they couldn’t explain it, or where it came from then, or where it comes from now. Some shouted it as they died, some whispered it as their lives fled from them in rivulets across the ground, of some far away battlefield, they couldn’t even pronounce the name of properly. Some have pursued it through swamps real and imagined, across deserts that stretched beyond their endurance, just as the hunger for it outlived them. Some have provided it for us without knowing they did so, simply by being productive citizens and paying the taxes levied for the joint defense of us all. Some have preserved it, dying in prisons of the unjust and by being remembered for their courage and inspiring us to ever greater efforts toward it’s preservation. Some have conveyed with a glance, all of it’s meaning and some, with millions of words, have failed to convey even a glimmer of what it truly IS. It is a word, a thought, a deed, a hope, a wish, a memory for some, for others a future untold. But at the end of each day…still a dream, still a chimera, still a will-o-the wisp, unfathomable, unexplainable, unearned, loved and cherished, even to foolishness, but NEVER to be surrendered. NEVER to be given up and never, never to be thrown away! The name of the dream?? One word…..freedom. The place where it was truly given life in the minds and hearts of men? The United States of America. And for at least a while, as it is cast aside by the many for security in the foolish hope that a man can preserve it alone for us, with the hollow promises of a politician, the last best hope for the world, the same, The United States of America. The land of dreamers….may we be preserved as such……. Dedi cated to our troops and those who wonder at our nation. Be well friends………..Rev. Bruce……………………….Tawodi

A conversation in progress with a Chaplain friend

I made a post on another forum and thought it might make for interesting reading here;  The beginning premise of the questions are,   prevenient grace from God.

O.K.

The accusation of not being able to be objective wears a little thin with me and here’s why. For most of my life you could have called me an agnostic at best.

I studied, compared, analysed, debated, argued, fussed, fumed and finally said, the hell with it all, at about the age of thirty two.

Then came Jan 8th 1983….ah crap!!! talked to my counsellor I was seeing at the time, told him what happened and finally said to myself, O.K. fool, now you know what a nervous breakdown feels like!! And got on with it….that’s the way I am, for a whole host of reasons, quit B***chin and GET ON WITH IT!!!

I Kept reading though, checkin’ things out, still wouldn’t fully commit to ministry, though I did attend church sporadically from 1991 on and did work as a lay speaker and things.

2002 June, Bang!!! Slam!!! Dunk!!! Alright why me, and moreover, why NOT me?? Started REALLY checking things out and found out something….there have been literally hundreds of times when things that I did, made no sense what-so-ever for the person I was at the time, but they all each and every one of them turned out good and sometimes with totally unforseen outcomes that were NEVER seen that way before by me till I sought the answers.

And man, did I get some flipping answers!!!

Now, I don’t ask a single person to accept, or believe, the reality that I have found, because they have to find it on their own….but it is real, it is proven, and I live it every day and will till I die!!

AND!!! It was REASON that brought me here!!

So make of it what you will, I will not argue it, I will not defend it, it needs no defense, I’m not selling it to you, if you want it, it’s free!! Take it or leave it…your choice…..

Choose wisely….T

And, immediately followed that with this for others who participated.

Alright fellas I needed to say the forgoing first, because there’s more!!

The above is about me, and me alone. Others have had similar experiences and feel as I do. Some are not as erudite as I, so be it. Some are much more so….so be it.

There are others though, that have NOT done the work I and others have done. They listen to others tell them things and parrot those things as gospel and fall into large dark places and bring others with them. I don’t argue that point with you, or anybody else, because it is true.

Extremeism is ugly, destructive and deadly, as we all know and it is destructive in ways that are not violent but destroy the person, not the place, on personal levels not seen with the eye, in families, in society and in the world in general.

All of you also know I’m not afraid to call a spade a spade and point out along with you, those times when it needs doing, and I do more than just point fingers, as you all know as well.

But to stop the destruction, stop the violence, and stop the devision, you guys of no religious systems and I, are in my mind, allies and brothers in arms, as we once were, for real, in the world. I take pride in seeking justice with you in those times when it is hard to find, or simply overlooked because of biases that some possess and can not see beyond.

So, stick that in your hooka and smoke it!!

T

And then my friend asked the following question;

Bruce…

Did you ever wonder why we only see the real prevenience when looking back. Sometimes over many years and in many situations, but always when looking back. Just some thoughts…
Be well…
CJ

And, the answer was………

Yeah C.J., I have wondered that, and don’t any longer.

What has to transpire, is the loss of surity of, “self”.

Some thing, or series of some things, must occur to rattle you down to your very core and force you to ask questions of your self, that are too frightening to ask under normal circumstances, or the need simply never arises within you to ask them.

That something does NOT have to be life threatening, destructive, or simply uncomfortable. It must motivate you, to do the work, to see who you REALLY are though.

You must be willing to stand naked in front of the mirror of your mind, SEEING the scars and how you got them, the pimples, the warts, ALL of it, and take each answer as it comes, honestly, no matter how disparageing to your self image it may be, no matter how painful the truth is, and incorporating it into who, and WHAT, you truly are.

I have learned, that very damned few of us will do that.

I learned it by the time I was twenty, I never could stand the illusions that people try to foist off on me, and could not stand excuse making on my part either. This has caused untold misery for me in my life, because if you have no illusions about yourself, others see that, and they understand that you will not tolerate theirs, about themselves. This is enemy making 101 in the social hierarchy that we have created in the world today. Perhaps it always was, I don’t know.

I mostly kept to myself, even when participating in so many different things, throughout my life.

The short answer to your question is, we always credit ourselves with too much, when citing our accomplishments, forgetting family, friends, co-workers, and too many others, that are forgotten along the way, that we learned from, took advantage of, or simply observed and copied, to achieve whatever it was, we have achieved.

Never mind giving credit to God, for the very life we enjoy!!!

I sincerely believe, that when people see how little it is, that they truly “control”, it is of a power to drop most to their knees!!! It scares the average person to their core, to realise the helplessness that each of us truly labors under, when we tout ourselves so highly, unthinkingly!!

Then when you see, as I have, the indomitable courage of the aged to face life on it’s own terms as the end come rushing toward them, it is the most humbling thing to endure as you witness it.

The posturing of the politicians, and the power that people ascribe to them, to control their existence is laughable. When you KNOW the truth about life. The atheists have, by and large, bestowed the fealty that you and I feel toward God, to men, politics, and themselves. It would be sad, if it wasn’t so futile and empty, becuase of it’s predictable futility.

Politics is the new religion of the twenty first century. It’s too bad that it is already showing itself threadbare and worn, as the politics through the ages, have shown them selves to be.

CLUE; the oldest continuous writings we have, are found in the Bible and almost EVERYBODY misses the point!!!

This is the story of human kind!! NOT how it was formed. NOT who God is. NOT what God wants!! BUT, the stories of HUMAN BEINGS and how they interacted with each other, and the things they SHOULD have learned about God, and didn’t, along the way. The stories always have a human protagonist don’t they? There’s a reason for that, the POINT, is how the HUMAN responded, NOT God!! God is consistant, even predictable, while through out the Bible man is not!! All the variables, the foibles, the frailty, the dishonesty, the thieving, murderous nature of us all, is exposed for all to see, and people concentrate on God when they ought to be examining themselves!! THAT is the point!! Self examinination and THEN, apply the lessons learned in the BOOK!

So, all in all, that is why we don’t see it, till we look back!!

T

As you can see there is some stuff here to think about that is of a personal nature for us all, as I said choose wisely!!

Rev. Bruce…………………………………….Tawodi

Old things, New things, Different things

I have been ill for the last three months on and off,  that is why,  with apologies,  I have not written much at all. Quite frankly I wasn’t sure if I would be able to keep going at all but things are,  for now,  improving.

As most of you, we are also girding our loins for the future,  which is any thing but clear for all of us. In as much as the financial institutions of the country and much of the world have been gutted, by the people and politicians who were in charge of,  and also supposed to protect them,  and us. 

So,  like everybody else,  I have been watching carefully the turn of events and praying for a good outcome….we will see.

O.K. now for something new. For some time I have been in touch with a man who is in India conducting a ministry of support for 15 local villages and their people.  Most of what he has been doing is teaching people how to create small truck gardens to help feed their families by growing vegatables and such. In that area,  a small patch the size of the average living room here in the U.S. can provide almost all the needs of a small family,  year-round with careful tending. Also,  his helpers and he,  have been teaching reading and simple math skills and other things to the children, as the government is almost totally absent from this area and does not provide these vital steps up for it’s people.

They are located in Andrha Pradesh in Orissa state and some of you may be aware that,  that area of India has been the victim of outbreaks of anti Christian violence over the last few years. There is a great deal of inter-religious strife, ignorance and violence because the local shamans see Christianity as a threat to the social structure, such as it is.

This man,  Pastor Cornelius Sikala by name,  has helpers who conduct with him this life saving and enriching work in 15 villages in the local area. And they need,  rather desparately,  the help that some may be able to give.

I have checked very carefully and these are ligitimate people and activities, so I am throwing whatever I can for support their way and reaching out to all everywhere for help for them.

You can reach them at the following e-mail address  graceministries177@gmail.com  once you have contacted him he will give you all his bank particulars so you can check him out and then send whatever help you can.

This is the first time I have done this and is a new thing for Tree of The Mustard Seed Ministries, as we also operate solely on a no fee and no compensation basis ourselves, to provide the care we do.

I am going to up load a few pictures of their work at Grace Ministries for you to see here. Pastor Sikala has sent me dozens of pictures.

 

Immediatly above is Pastor Sikala,  above that are pictures of his congregants gathering clothes,   food and tools for the villages they serve. Please help these people all you can,  ANYTHING you send will help.

Blessings on you all,  here’s hoping I can continue……Rev. Bruce………………………Tawodi

Time to do the Mission

This is a time for reflection on our mission as members of, Tree of The Mustard Seed Ministries and  The People
of Abraham.

We see from the news that a great conflagration is raging with
increasing loss of life and displacement of peoples around the region
of the Holy land.

As The People of the Books, we owe our brothers and sisters who are
caught up in this clash of arms, the offer of solace and support no
matter who they are, or what faith they follow.

We as people of peace will face a test in this time of chaos and
tumult. That test will be staying true to our course and calling for
peace no matter who may be at fault in this current clash.

Hundreds of years of war MUST BE STOPPED!! The cycle of death MUST
END!!
It is the INNOCENT who pay the greaatest price, for the hatred of
others. The women, children and men, who just want to live, and find
safety, in the homes and countries where they live, suffer the
greatest.

I am sending you, as members, the request, that you take the time and
effort to send to the leaders of Israel the fervent prayer for their
peace, but also to remind them that killing of the innocent, no matter
who does it IS WRONG!!

Also, the leaders of Hamas should be apprised of this fact, There is
no “right” in killing of the innocent, It is a perversion of what ever
faith you follow. This will be followed by other requests of the same
nature. Be strong, pray hard for God to prevail over the foolishness
of men!!
be well friends,…….Reverend Bruce

A NEW YEAR IS COMING, AS ARE CHANGES

I wrote from the depths of despair after election day.  Didja notice??  O.K.  I’m human!!  I admit itt!!

But although it’s not ALL better now, it is “somewhat” better 

There are going to be changes coming to the blog in content, and scope, after the new year. Just what the extent of them are, will for the time being, be kept quiet for reasons that will be apparent then. Nothing earth shattering,  but they will be of some consequence.

On a lighter brighter note I presided at the wedding of my youngest son James and his bride Christy.  In many ways the capstone of my life!   Also a great joy that I had looked forward to for months. Both of his sets of extended families were there myself and wife Laura and our 13 year old daughter, then there was my ex wife Susan and her husband David, my oldest daughter Dawn and her husband Mat and their daughter Maia.  Our oldest son Bruce and his wife Beth, their two sons Doug  and John and daughter Morgan. Christy’s three sisters Our grand daughter Liegha Grace and then over fifty other family and friends!

To top it all off the church was not mine! But we were graciously allowed by Pastor David Stewart of the Dighton Community church  In central Massachusetts, to use the church. He opened the ceremonies and then turned over to me the couple for the sacrament of marriage to be performed by me, after the ceremony he used the prayer from my Methodist book of worship, pronounced the benediction, and sent us forth. All in All, a fine day indeed!!  The reception also went well, no fatalities and no excessive drinking….although it was close in a couple of instances!! We got some of the pictures today, coooool!!

So, not too much else to relate at this time.

Be well, all of you, my friends,  Rev.  Bruce……………………………………..Tawodi

The Pastor’s Page from Tree of The Mustard Seed Ministries

 Last week we got a little further into prayer and next week will continue. But I need to share something with you, so this week we will take a side trip!!

 

   All too often in these times of war, tumult, seeming chaos and uncertainty, It is hard to see our way clearly to reach for a future of any kind.

   The media lives on selling us fear and it seems that most of our politicians do too!

 

   Suddenly something of hope rears up and at first we may not be aware of what we are seeing at first,  but then comes a moment of quietude and clarity. These moments are rare indeed and it is my belief that they should be shared,  as they are precious few and sometimes, in the hurley burley are not recognized for what they truly are, a blessing in hope.

 

   I officiated at a wedding yesterday, August tenth and right in the middle of the final vows was struck most forcibly with what was actually taking place.

   As I stood there the example of those two young people in front of me, and young people everywhere.  Are simply reaching out for their chance, at life, happiness, children, fruitfulness and hope, in what sometimes seems a hopeless world.  Being of clergy I found myself ashamed at the way I have been feeling lately. Unsure, worried about my 13 year old daughter and her future. All the things that might befall her, in this time of uncertainty and her mother as well, if the time comes when I will be gathered to my people.

 

   In all the blessings I have received from God to protect our little family. All the things that have been no less than a miracle of His Providing for us when all should have come to ruin.

 

   It was truly a moment of gifting.  God once again showing me that if we trust, He will provide. He will carry us through those times of helplessness and trial.

 

As I prayed over and blessed the couple they began to cry, I thought it was from joy, the mother of the groom after I pronounced them man and wife, the pictures taken and time for me to leave, took me aside.

 

She embraced me and told me, she had never been so inspired by a prayer before and that her son was deeply moved, as was his new bride. He had asked his mother to tell me that, as he was unsure how to do so.

 

I was speechless, and told her of what had transpired . That it was they, that had inspired me, not the other way around. I then suddenly realized it was God, inspiring Us all, quite a moment indeed!!!

 

So all of you,  Be in His blessing, it is us who lose sight of God, not God that loses sight of us!!

 

Rev.  Bruce………..Be well friends.   

GUESS WHO’S BEEN HERE FOR A WEEK!!!

I wrote a while ago about why I put up the picture of the Tree of the Mustard seed.  Surprisingly it affected someone deeply and they took comfort from it, and moreover wrote a comment thanking me for it.  Also was the hope that Leigha Grace had arrived safely. Well she was going to wait with her arrival, until we assured her what school she would be made to attend!!  She was born at 9:32 Monday morning July twenty eighth 2008,  It seems she decided our choice of schools could be negotiated at a later date!!  So for my son Jim and the MOM,  Christie, here is Leigha Grace……oh yeah,  all of you too!!!

Operational Notice!!!!

Posted at The People of Abraham   http://peopleofabraham.blogspot.com  tuesday  July 15 2008

 

Today I announced, on Tawodi’s Hawks Nest, that today, the Board of Advisers is open for questions. We have the great honor and good fortune to have as volunteers, Nine people very knowledgable in their religions. Some have Masters and upward degrees in their disciplines and worship practices. Welcome to all of them!!

To take advantage of this service, you can contact them at the following E Mail address….

the-people-of-abraham@googlegroups.com Pose your question in a proper form, your email address WILL NOT be given for any reason to anyone after your question is answered it will be discarded. We will keep the questiion and assign it a file number but your name and any information, will be deleted. SO! don’t get angry with us if we don’t remember you!! On your answer you will recieve this file number, keep it! Use it to refer to the first question if you want to correlate them for some reason, to us.

The second way to pose a question is to use the comment section on this blog. Yep, that’s right, you can do it right here. We have expanded the comment section to full page size!! This is to give you plenty of room to pose multiple questions and even submit an article!! That’s right, you can post here!! It will be moderated, (for obvious reasons) and then, posted if you wish. Or we will simply answer your multiple questions.

You need not be a member of The People of Abraham to use this service, we’d like it if you were, but it is not necessary. This service is open to all. And, more importantly free!! We are all volunteers, everything here is FREE, there is no charge to join, no charge to use the services, no charge for anything you copy and use elsewhere. This is our Calling, take advantage of it!!

The most important thing to remember is this, we will allow NO cross religion debate, NONE!! It is devisive and sometimes destructive and will not be tolerated. If you want to fight, go somewhere else!!

The form to pose a question, is as just that, a question.

Items that are submitted such as “Did you know that such and such religion does/believes thus and such.” Any question posed this way will be considered a “challenge question” and will be given a file number and discarded. The second submission of this nature, after the first one has been flagged, will result in your being banned from ALL of our sites, NO EXCEPTIONS!!

This group is kind of unique in one way. Most are for people who are professionals in their faith structure. We are for ANYBODY, blue collar, white collar, any religion, anywhere in the world.

Welcome to all,   Be well friends………..Rev. Bruce…………….Tawodi

From The Pastor’s Page, Tree of The Mustard Seed Ministries

 

Today, after listening to the archived version of my show, a very important thing occurred to me. Prayer, yes I know it is second nature to me,  but is it to you?

 

While I was listening, I decided to create a segment for the show and flashed on this new site and thought, WOW  what a way to introduce the page, and people, to just what it is we do here at The Tree of The Mustard Seed! After all, we don’t sell anything, why are we here!! We are here to bring to people a little something they don’t get anywhere else. Themselves and their relation to God, most that we serve can not go to church, for health reasons, or debility due to age. One of the nursing homes I serve, down loads my show and plays it on M.P.3. players for their residents and  it is enjoyed by them. It is free this way and they can make as many copies as they want by loading it into their computer and downloading to all their M.P.3’s!!

 

                     So,  here is the first installment of The Pastors Page

Have you ever heard of active listening? In relation to prayer? What it entails is learning to find that still small voice you may have heard so much about, but don’t know how to hear. Remember God speaks to us in the stillness, or the quiet places. His voice is often lost among the hurly burly sounds of life as we struggle through our daily existence, you are not alone in this maelstrom of noise and confusion. Even the people who are homebound, feel the pressures of life, just in a different way.

   I myself, must actively create a quiet time for prayer, usually in the early morning when my wife and daughter are still asleep. First you must compose yourself as best you are able, it will take some time to learn to do this. Then you simply pray as you normally do. The difference comes now, still yourself, listen.Allow at least fifteen minutes to do this.  People usually ask at this point, “what am I listening for! This is the question! What you are literally trying to hear is, God!  Will you?  Eventually yes. How?  By feeling mostly, it is a hard thing to accept that God would talk to you isn’t it?  But ask yourself, why wouldn’t He? After all,  your Bible, your preachers and pastors,  have been telling you all of your life, you are a child of God haven’t they? Well, then why wouldn’t He talk to you!!

   Maybe this is the problem,you don’t really, deep down, believe that do you? Your not worth talking to, at least by God are you?  WRONG!!!

You certainly are worth it!!  How do you know this Rev. Bruce? ? How…..it’s simple…..Jesus gave up his life for you didn’t He!  Why.  WHY,  Would He do that,  if you weren’t worth it!!!  By your lack of faith in your own worth, you have been crippled in your prayer, probably all of your life! If your prayers are crippled by this lack of faith in you. How can your faith in anything He told you be believed? This is really terrible to think about isn’t it? Well don’t give up, faith takes time, time well spent in listening. You WILL hear that still small voice. When?  When you are ready, it can not be forced,  it can not be willed,  it can not be wished into existence,  it simply must be accepted. That is terribly difficult to believe I know, but if you have the faith of a grain of mustard seed you will be rewarded! It is written! And, it is true. I have seen so many times, when people are ready to give up,  when their hearts are broken when they think not even God can love them He shows them that He does indeed love them. You see God didn’t go away….You did! Come back to His unlimited love, it is waiting for you still, in the silence of compassion and love that God is, in the stillness, that He will share with you, God is still there, always was, always will be.

   May his blessings sustain you,  may His peace fill you,  may this coming week be full of God’s enveloping grace, Selah,  AMEN.