what is a blog you say? well its sort of an "online diary" type thing where you can post up stuff that everyone can read... its an easy way for others to know what you're upto.. without them having to ask.. however, my blog is not meant as an exposition of my talents as a writer, and is (slightly purposely) written more in a "stream of consciousness" style than anything (that means very lax observation of grammatical rules of punctuation).. the most recent posts are at the top, so the correct way to read the blog is from the bottom up (read a short guide on how to get the most out of the blog) anyhooze, enjoy!
some guy was posting some weird stuff (pantheistic, nature is God, weirdness) amongst other stuff, so i replied to some of it (we are on good terms, so dont expect something controversial) and i figured i would share it with you in the hopes that it will be edifying to you too:
youre absolutely right, God doesnt make mistakes. however Jesus was not "just a man". He Himself is the essence and source of life, in whom and for whom all things were created. and again, you are 100% correct in saying God doesnt need worship, or anything else. yet, He is worthy, He is 100% worthy, as the source and definition of what is good, and perfect, He is worthy of worship, glory and honor. however, He is not just the source of life and existence, but He is also infinitely righteous and the source of the moral law we are to be bound by. we live in His creation, we are bound by His laws. just like if we live in canada, we are bound by the laws of canada. this is bad news. if God is righteous and just, and has given us His moral law to follow.. and we break it, that means He must dole out the justice we deserve. the problem? He is infinitely righteous, and an offense against Him, is an infinite offense. im sure you can guess what an infinite offense deserves in terms of punishment.
we can be philosophical all we want about God, nature and so on, but thats all it will ever be: us being philosophical about it. the fact is we exist, and nothing comes from nothing. there is a Creator, and He must be infinite (not bound by space or time), personal (since He is also creative), and almighty (given His ability to create out of nothing). the same Creator who gave us the laws by which nature operates, the physical laws, (the "laws of nature", if you will) also gave us His moral law. and there is none who can say they have not transgressed it. again, this is bad news. and only someone who is totally depraved could have a "so what?" response to the matter.
i figure you dont really need to read what he wrote to understand the post.
this is great, and you learn a bit of apologetics along the way too!
Why I Love Jesus But Reject Islam In response to Kamal Saleh's video found here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNGqrzkFp_4
James White of Alpha and Omega Ministries (www.aomin.org) teamed up with Ivey Conerly ( www.ivhisson.com/ ) to produce a Christian response. Our hope and prayer is that the message of the Gospel will be clearly presented to all who watch this video, but especially to Muslims who are led to listen and consider our words.
A written response to Kamal's video can be found here
A 52 minute video response, point by point, can be found here
My sincere thanks to Ivey and Marcus for their great work. Soli Deo Gloria!
before i forget, i actually had a good dream today.. at least im taking it as a good dream.. since ive been having a slew of bad ones (compared to that span of decades where i hadnt had a single one)
this one was actually that my lovely wife and i were vacationing on some island.. i remember the amazing turquoise blue of the water actually. however at some point i realized where we actually were.. which is a place i want to go in real life: st maarten's (watch a video below)!! and when i realized we were in st maartens, i ran over to see if we could catch a plane landing, and for some reason in this part of the dream my wife wasnt present, it was only me, bahb, and his wife. (haha, where did my wife go??) and suddenly a plane was coming in for landing!! wooooot! but we had to hurry because otherwise we would have to wait an hour before going (for some reason). i dont remember much more from the dream, just that part, where i was on the island, i realized where i was, and then ran to see the plane land.. agh, so awesome. the colors too, soo amazing! and below, the video that almost exactly shows what my dream was like (and no, i dont think i had ever seen this video before my dream, so its not that i just dreamt this video up.. though it is possible.. youll see why when you see it)
Jet coming in St. Maarten Maho Beach SXM
A jet coming in for a landing over Tiffany's head at Maho Beach near Sunset Beach Bar, St. Maarten, Dutch West Indies - Princess Julianna Airport SXM.
The jet pack in the video runs off of water. It's the first of its kind. The tube you see attached to it, that goes into the water, goes into a gas powered small boat that follows whenever the jet pack pilot is flying (if you look close in the video you can see it).
The jet pack itself is super safe. It's actually approved for the water by the coast guard, and there is nothing illegal about it :) You need to be at least 18 years old to fly it. It takes about 30 minutes to an hour of training, and then you're set. These water jet packs are going on sale very soon, and you can contact the company to get on their waiting list. You can contact them here http://www.jetlev.com And you can find out a lot more about them on the website.
The jet pack is able to fly purely by the volume of water that comes out of the two hoses that are attached to it. It shoots out 10 times more water volume then a fire hydrant does. You can stick your hand right where the water comes out, and you won't get hurt at all, as you can see several times in the video.
We filmed this over a period of a couple days, around Miami, and we usually only needed to fuel up once on gasoline, which once again goes in the small boat that follows/attaches to the hose that follows you.
It’s always better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6.
Cops carry guns to protect themselves, not you.
Never let someone or something that threatens you get inside arms length.
Never say, “I’ve got a gun.” If you need to use deadly force, the first sound they hear should be the safety clicking off.
The average response time of a 911 call is 23 minutes; the response time of a .357 is 1400 feet per second.
The most important rule in a gunfight is: Always win – cheat if necessary.
Make your attacker advance through a wall of bullets . . . You may get killed with your own gun, but he’ll have to beat you to death with it, because it’ll be empty.
If you’re in a gunfight:
- If you’re not shooting, you should be loading.
- If you’re not loading, you should be moving.
- If you’re not moving, you’re dead.
In a life and death situation, do something . . . It may be wrong, but do something!
If you carry a gun, people call you paranoid. Nonsense! If you have a gun, what do you have to be paranoid about?
You can say ‘stop’ or ‘alto’ or any other word, but a large bore muzzle pointed at someone’s head is pretty much a universal language.
You cannot save the planet, but you may be able to save yourself and your family.
RT @twrightministry: An expository pastor-teacher doesn't want to hear "that was a great sermon." He would rather hear "Now I understand that passage better."
(thats twitter-speak, for those of us not on twitter.. RT means "re-tweet", which means reposting something that someone else posted, and anything after the @-sign is the username)
"Now our final objection comes from within the Christian church. Here the concern isn’t that if we home schooled our children, they won’t be hip enough to win the lost, but that if we home school, they won’t ever run into the lost. That is when we home school, we fail to send our children out into a dying world as salt and light. After all, isn’t the purpose of our education that our children might have an opportunity to serve as missionaries? Of all the objections we’ve considered this one at least has the virtue of not being motivated by the same greedy pursuit of personal peace and affluence that drives the world. I don’t doubt that there are parents who sincerely believe it their duty to send their children into a hostile environment for the sake of the lost. Their sincerity however doesn’t make it right.
There are two things on the other hand that cause me to question that sincerity. First, there is always a line drawn. I’ve never met a parent who determined to send their teenage child off to a brothel or the crack house for the sake of the lost. The people there are as lost as the people at the state school. The only difference is, in the brothel or crack house, the bad guys don’t have the authority to make our children sit and listen to their worldview being taught for seven hours a day. But there’s another reason for my doubts. I have yet to hear of a parent who is so concerned for the lost that they actually pay to send their children to attend a Muslim school, or Roman Catholic school. Isn’t it at least suspicious that all those who are motivated to send their children out as missionaries send them where it is “free” to attend?"
ScienceDaily (Aug. 5, 2005) — An analysis of 21 studies that have investigated the link between ovarian cancer and the consumption of milk products and lactose has found some support for the hypothesis that high intake is associated with increased cancer risk. The results of this analysis, published online August 5, 2005 in the International Journal of Cancer, the official journal of the International Union Against Cancer (UICC), found that support was stronger in cohort studies, compared to case-control studies, which offered varying results. The article is available via Wiley InterScience
Since a positive correlation between ovarian cancer risk and the consumption of milk products and lactose was first reported in 1989, many epidemiological studies have further examined the relationship. However, these studies have yielded conflicting conclusions. To better understand the uncertain relationship, researchers led by Susanna C. Larsson of the National Institute of Environmental Medicine at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, conducted a meta-analysis of relevant case-control and cohort studies.
The researchers sought reports that offered data from a case-control, or cohort study on the association between intakes of milk, yogurt, cheese or lactose, and incidence of or mortality from epithelial ovarian cancer. Studies also had to present results as an odds ratio, or relative risk, with 95 percent confidence intervals. The researchers accepted three prospective cohort studies, and 18 case-control studies and performed a meta-analysis to determine associations between consumption and cancer risk.
Their analysis found notable differences between case-control and cohort studies. Case-control studies showed low-fat milk consumption negatively associated, and whole milk consumption positively associated, with the risk of ovarian cancer, but offered no support for the involvement of lactose in the development of ovarian cancer. By contrast, prospective cohort studies indicated that high intakes of milk may increase the risk of ovarian cancer. They also revealed a 13 percent increase in ovarian cancer risk with a daily increase of 10 grams of lactose, the approximate amount in one glass of milk. When case-control and cohort studies were considered in combination, yogurt consumption was associated with a non-significant increase in cancer risk, while cheese was not associated with risk.
The differences between the findings of case-control studies and those of cohort studies could be explained by a number of factors: selection bias, recall bias or changes in dietary practices after cancer diagnosis. They might also be due to the time interval between diet assessment and illness, since cohort studies may record dietary practices decades before illness occurs, while case-control studies assess diet around the time of diagnosis. Other limitations of this study include the observational nature of the assessed studies, imprecise measurements of diet, and publication bias.
Of note, the two studies that examined histological subtypes of ovarian cancer found that the associations with milk and lactose intakes were confined to serous ovarian cancer, leading researchers to advise, "future studies should consider specific subtypes of ovarian cancer, and the interrelationship between intakes of dairy foods and lactose, genetic polymorphisms, and ovarian cancer risk."
"In conclusion," they write, "prospective cohort studies, but not case-control studies, support the hypothesis that high intakes of dairy foods and lactose may increase the risk of ovarian cancer."
Police Thursday arrested 43 New York City pastors and lay people who were protesting the city’s ban on church use of public schools for worship services. The ban is scheduled to go into effect Feb. 12.
The arrests came after more than 200 people gathered in the rain outside a Bronx public school where Mayor Michael Bloomberg was giving his State of the City address. After singing songs and cheering speeches, protesters walked out in orderly groups of five to eight to kneel in front of barricades and pray. Police warned them to leave and then made arrests on charges of disorderly conduct.
The New York Board of Education wants to ban religious use of schools on Sunday mornings or at other times the schools are otherwise unused—even though the churches rent the space, dropping an estimated several million dollars per year into the city cashbox. If the ban prevails, more than 150 congregations will have to move to other meeting space starting next month—and that’s hard to find in New York City.
here it comes ladies and gents.. hold on to yer Bibles, cuz we're in fer a bumpy ride.
Western missions agencies Wycliffe, Frontiers and SIL are producing Bibles that remove Father, Son and Son of God because these terms are offensive to Muslims.
Some examples:
• Wycliffe/SIL produced Stories of the Prophets, an Arabic Bible that uses “Lord” instead of “Father” and “Messiah” instead of “Son.”
• Frontiers worked with an SIL consultant to produce True Meaning of the Gospel of Christ, an Arabic translation which removes "Father" in reference to God, and removes or redefines "Son," e.g. the Great Commission in Mt 28:19 reads, "Cleanse them by water in the name of God, his Messiah and his Holy Spirit."
• Frontiers produced a Turkish translation of Matthew, distributed by SIL, that uses “guardian” for “Father” and “representative” or “proxy” for “Son.”
• SIL consulted on the Bengali Injil Sharif, which translated "Son" as "Messiah" and “Son of God” as “God’s Uniquely Intimate Beloved Chosen One.”
for shame! modifying the biblical text via translation is cultish behavior!
this is that person's response (followed by mine):
that other person:
Because your communication goes around and around as if the devil nailed your tongue to the floor and you keep asking the same inane question without taking any notice of what anybody else says. A brick wall.
Where in the Bible does it say that Mary isn't the mediator between people and Jesus?
Where in the Bible does it say that Jesus did NOT honour his mother?
Where in the Bible does Jesus say "This is your mother"?
What gives you the right to trash the mother of the Divine Lord? And why would Jesus even acknowledge you for doing so?
[original poster] - where do you hide the ones who come out of the woodwork and attack anybody who honours the mother of Jesus Christ? I'm sure that he would be SO offended by anyone trashing his mother or saying that she was not important that he'd throw them into hell without hesitation.
Good night
me
um, [that person's name], please go through all my comments and kindly notice that
a) i did not trash anyone, much less mary. not sure where you got that from.
b) you never did bother to answer my question, you just kept avoiding answering it by making up false accusations against me, for NO reason! you managed to pull an ad hominem, a strawman argument and a red herring all in order to avoid so much as reading what i wrote.
c) look how riled up you got when i merely quoted Scripture! i never attacked anyone, it was only you that insisted on attacking /me/. even saying that the devil nailed my tongue and i came out of the woodwork and then you lied and said i was attacking mary!
d) Luke 8:21 But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.” (that was Jesus speaking)
1 Timothy 2:5, which i quoted above says there is NO other mediator between God and man but Jesus. if you believe that Jesus is God, then you must believe that the only remaining mediator is.. Jesus again. and in matthew 6, Jesus teaches us that we are to pray /directly/ to the Father.. not anyone else. this is why i wanted to know if you hold the Bible as the final authority, since you seem to believe things that the Bible clearly teaches against.
2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
wow, kiddies, watch out for touching someone's idol, theyll eat your head right off yer neck!
i need to post this, because this is easily one of the most shocking things i have ever read from this crowd:
person in my political party:
Blessed Mary, always inspire me to do Jesus’ will. Help me to be a faithful disciple. Make me a living example of his love in everything I do and with everyone I encounter. Mother Mary, teach me his ways.
me:
why not just ask Jesus Himself??
John 1:3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
1 John 5:14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
another person who responded:
Someone once said: If Jesus slams the door in your face, go around the side and Mary will open the window.
we interrupt this quote in order to let out a humongous gasp
me:
oof, whoever said that to you was not talking about the Jesus of the Bible:
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Acts 4:10 let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. 11 This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ 12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus
there is only one way to the Father, and that is Christ: the way, the truth, the life and the solid rock. there is no other way, and no other intermediary. not to the God of the Bible at least.
that person again:
So ... how did God bring Christ into this world?
And where would you be without her?
golly gee wiz golly gee, batman!
in any case, this is where it seems to have ended.. im just guessing, cuz its time to sleep:
me:
before i answer your question, are you denying what the Bible says? where do you stand on that?
that person again: Denying what the Bible says? You don't know me very well, do you [my name].
me:
i dont know you at all.. hehe.. hence why i ask. given how your posts contradict what is spelled out in Scripture, thats all i have to go by
that person again:
Contradict? So, you're saying that God didn't bring Christ into this world through the Blessed Mother? Crazy.
me:
like i said: "before i answer your question, are you denying what the Bible says? where do you stand on that?"
that person again:
I'm not denying anything. But you seem to be denying that Jesus Christ was brought into this world by God through the Virgin Mary, and that her existence is negligible. Which, I'm sure, Jesus Christ finds as offensive as I do, considering that without her existence your life would be completely damned, if it isn't already.
me:
um, how am i denying that if i havent even answered the question?
me:
if you are going to say that about mary, then you must extend the same to the whole lineage of Jesus then..
me:
and you still havent answered my question, by the way
that person again:
[my name], you are a jerk. I'm going
Voddie Baucham - If God is so powerful and so good, why do bad things happen? Voddie Baucham answers the age old question, if God is so powerful and good, why do bad things happen?
This is a clip of Voddie Baucham's message "The Supremacy of Christ and Truth in a Postmodern World" given at the 2006 Desiring God National Conference.
John MacArthur on Billy Graham, Catholicism... "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed."
Little gods?
David Miller "Country Preacher at Large" refute's the Little gods doctrine that is peddled by Word of Faith teacher's like Benny Hinn and Kenneth Copeland.
and im pretty sure ive already posted this one, but it does not cease to be good for that reason:
How to defeat Calvinism Are you sick of Calvinism creeping into our orthodox 21st century, contemporary, modern Christian church? Here are some various tips you can use to destroy the satanic lie of sovereign grace (Calvinism)
Waterfalls flow upwards in extreme winds Winds battering southern Australia over the last 24 hours have been so strong that spray from waterfalls south of Sydney has billowed up into the air.
Nearly a month's worth of rain has fallen on the city in 24 hours, and wind speeds have reached 120km/h.
The extreme weather has meant a rough ride on the city's ferries, and a high surf warning has been issued with waves expected to reach 5m.
Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale Bobby McFerrin demonstrates the power of the pentatonic scale, using audience participation, at the event "Notes & Neurons: In Search of the Common Chorus", from the 2009 World Science Festival, June 12, 2009.
and when i saw this one, i said "glory to God" in my head at a given point.. see if you can spot it:
Bobby McFerrin the Legend - Beatbox Battle TV We got the chance to meet Bobby McFerrin in Essen, Germany and could record this unik video interview with the master of sounds personaly. He gave us and exclusive style message how he works on his music projects and how he see the vocal movement. Bobby McFerrin is a real pioneer and a legend in the human beatboxing culture.
Another observation is that the book is graphic. In the “Can We _______?” chapter the Driscolls look at a long list of very intimate sexual acts. A chapter earlier they look to Song of Solomon and state that each verse points to a very specific sexual act. There is no subtlety in describing sexual deeds and misdeeds; rather, everything is explained in detail. Some of these acts are so intimate (perhaps invasive is also an appropriate word) that many readers will never have considered that they even exist. As a husband I would not want my wife to read some of what this chapter contains. This is not prudishness but protection. It is one thing to address specific questions that have arisen within the marriage relationship; it’s another thing altogether to introduce those questions to the marriage relationship.
its sad because any time someone is found not to be living up to the standard of God, especially a leader in the chrsitian world, its not something to rejoice in. may God grant him repentance quickly and humility. pray for him and his flock, and may God bless john piper with wisdom, love and the godly correction driscoll needs to receive. we need more pipers, guys.
so guess who had a nightmare about his old church today? thats what i get for going to sleep early. happens all the time. and i really should at some point write up all that happened.. not sure if i would post it, this is a public forum after all.. but its only as public as the amount of people who read it, which, as someone *cough*natalien*cough* joked.. is about 4 people.. heh.. *sad sigh*
'But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.'
For The Record : Jesus Never Born NOTE: "For The Record" episodes normally upload at least 30 days after appearing on WND.com under Molotov's column.
Molotov asks the question, "What would the world look like if Jesus had never been born?"
The world's first monkeys to be created from the embryos of several individuals have been born at a US research centre.
Scientists at the Oregon National Primate Research Centre produced the animals, known as chimeras, by sticking together between three and six rhesus monkey embryos in the early stages of their development.
Three animals were born at the laboratory, a singleton and twins, and were said to be healthy, with no apparent birth defects following the controversial technique.
The chimeras have tissues and organs made up of cells that come from each of the contributing embryos. The mixtures of cells carried up to six distinct genomes.
"The cells never fuse, but they stay together and work together to form tissues and organs," said Shoukhrat Mitalipov, who led the research. "The possibilities for science are enormous."
yeah, like the simians taking over the earth!!!!
[...]
While all three monkeys are biologically male, blood tests revealed that Roku carried both male and female cells.
The first chimeric animals were created by researchers in the 1960s, when experiments with mouse embryos showed they could combine to form a single mouse of normal size. Since then, scientists have created chimeric versions of rats, rabbits, sheep and cattle.
Mitalipov's team produced the chimeric monkeys by carefully pushing four-day-old embryos together in a culture dish and waiting for them to grow. Within a few days, 90% of them had grown into early stage embryos called blastocysts that contained at least twice as many cells as usual.
The researchers implanted the chimeric embryos into five female rhesus monkeys, all of which became pregnant. Tests on the foetuses confirmed that all of the animals' organs and tissues contained cells from more than one embryo.
[...]
In a series of experiments described in the same paper, the researchers found it impossible to create chimeric monkeys by injecting stem cells into early stage embryos. Only when very young embryos were merged together could they make chimeric animals.
The difficulties the scientists faced could herald future problems in using embryonic stem cells to grow new tissues in humans. While stem cells inside embryos can grow into any tissue or organ, lines of embryonic stem cells cultured in labs seem to lose this ability, at least to some extent.
"If we want to move stem cell therapies from the lab to clinics and from the mouse to humans, we need to understand what these primate cells can and can't do. We need to study them in humans, including human embryos," said Mitalipov.
But he's not all business: Former classmates told the Washington Post Kim was obsessed with basketball, had a stash of expensive Nikes and "spent hours doing meticulous pencil drawings of Chicago Bulls superstar Michael Jordan."
world, behold your newest dictator, a michael jordan fan.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The United States holds a disproportionate amount of the world's rich people.
It only takes $34,000 a year, after taxes, to be among the richest 1% in the world. That's for each person living under the same roof, including children. (So a family of four, for example, needs to make $136,000.)
So where do these lucky rich people live? As of 2005 -- the most recent data available -- about half of them, or 29 million lived in the United States, according to calculations by World Bank economist Branko Milanovic in his book The Haves and the Have-Nots.
Another four million live in Germany. The rest are mainly scattered throughout Europe, Latin America and a few Asian countries. Statistically speaking, none live in Africa, China or India despite those being some of the most populous areas of the world.
The numbers put into perspective the idea of a rapidly growing global middle class.
Sure, China and India are seeing their economies grow quickly, and along with that growth, large portions of their populations are also becoming richer. But remember, the emerging world is starting from a very low base to begin with, so its middle class is just that -- still emerging, says Milanovic.
"It doesn't seem right to define as middle class, people who would be on food stamps in the United States," Milanovic said.
0:00 / 4:47 U.S.: The worst income inequality?
The true global middle class, falls far short of owning a home, having a car in a driveway, saving for retirement and sending their kids to college. In fact, people at the world's true middle -- as defined by median income -- live on just $1,225 a year. (And, yes, Milanovic's numbers are adjusted to account for different costs of living across the globe.)
In the grand scheme of things, even the poorest 5% of Americans are better off financially than two thirds of the entire world.
sort of puts in perspective what the "occupy" nutters are going on about.. (if they have even the slightest idea)
A giant rat was allegedly found in a Foot Locker store in Bronx, New York. The photo of the giant rat has made its way all around the internet. The catch here is that the photo was first posted a couple of months ago.
whoa.. just learned something: the opposite of sinister is.. "dexter"!!! if youve ever heard the term "sinister", you might already know this means "left handed" (besides the also more common word which means something like "evil").. however its opposite is, as i just said "dexter" (or "right handed").. why is this worthy of note? well, you might also have heard of the TV series "dexter" about a.. hmm, well, i havent seen it, but i heard its about a serial killer hero (yeah, i guess it makes sense when youve watched it) in any case, it totally gives new meaning and depth to the choice of title for the show, huh?
"Each of the three Persons in the blessed Trinity is concerned with our salvation: with the Father it is predestination; with the Son propitiation; with the Spirit regeneration. The Father chose us; the Son died for us; the Spirit quickens us. The Father was concerned about us; the Son shed His blood for us, the Spirit performs His work within us."
The Dutch justice ministry has announced it will close eight prisons and cut 1,200 jobs in the prison system. A decline in crime has left many cells empty.
During the 1990s the Netherlands faced a shortage of prison cells, but a decline in crime has since led to overcapacity in the prison system. The country now has capacity for 14,000 prisoners but only 12,000 detainees.
i guess thats what happens when you make everything legal.
another tough week.. why do i so often feel like an utter failure on so many levels? as a husband, as a friend, as a (former) christian leader.. and even as a christian. i cant deal with this. i dont know how. i see who i currently am, and ugh.. im not who i would like to be, namely, someone who manages to entirely glorify God. though obviously we cant achieve perfection in this life, im still pretty sure that there is a state where we can sit back and say "ok, i still have lots to go, and lots to improve upon, but at least i dont feel like a failure.." i know this, because i remember a time a few years into my walk with God that this is how i felt. i dont remember ever feeling like that since.. maybe it was wrong that i felt like that, but somehow i dont think so. im pretty sure its the feeling like an utter failure that is wrong. the Bible is clear in saying that in Christ we are more than victorious. but seeing that i fail at even basic basic things in my christian walk, i cant help but to. i just ask that God may have mercy on this sinner and walk me through the storm so i can focus on living for His glory, instead of feeling so miserable and self-pitiful so often. keep me in your constant prayers.
Who's Your Favourite? Daddy interrogates daughter to determine who is her favourite parent. It's a no-holds-barred contest of cunning and smarts... and one of them is clearly outmatched.
A teenage mother shot and killed an intruder after a 911 operator said she was allowed to defend her infant son and herself with force.
Sarah McKinley, 18, killed Justin Martin with a single gunshot wound on New Year's Eve when he forced his way into her Blanchard, Okla. home and came at her with a long hunting knife, ABC News reports.
The deadly encounter occurred about a week after the young mom's husband died of cancer, according to TV station KOCO. Martin darkened McKinley's door on the day of her husband's funeral, several days before the shooting. He claimed he was a neighbor who wanted to say hello, but she didn't open the door.
Martin returned with an accomplice on Dec. 31, and they tried to force their way into the modest house. When McKinley heard the men trying to break in, she called 911.
She also holed up in her bedroom with a 12-gauge shotgun and a pistol, while she put a bottle in her three-month-old son's mouth.
"I've got two guns in my hand -- Is it okay to shoot him if he comes in this door?" McKinley asked the 911 operator.
"I can't tell you that you can do that, but you do what you have to do to protect your baby," the dispatcher told McKinley when she asked a second time. The call went on for 21 minutes as the men powered their way into McKinley's house.
Eventually, Martin kicked in the door and charged at her with a knife, but McKinley fired before he could injure her.
Police found Martin slumped over a couch that McKinley had used to barricade the door and pronounced him dead on the scene, TV station News 9 reports. They said McKinley's use of force was justified.
Martin's alleged accomplice, Dustin Stewart, fled when he heard the gunshot and later surrendered to police, according to The Oklahoman. Stewart was charged with burglary.
The dolphin jetpack that lets you swim like one Franky Zapata uses a flyboard to zoom in and out of the water and leap through the air. Report by Jeremy Barnes. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
and if you loved the aliens series of movies.. get ready:
Prometheus - Official Trailer [TRUE HD] Release Date:
June 8, 2012 (USA)
Description:
Ridley Scott, director of "Alien" and "Blade Runner," returns to the genre he helped define. With PROMETHEUS, he creates a groundbreaking mythology, in which a team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a thrilling journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.
absolutely hilarious bathroom mirror prank Replace the mirror in a bathroom with a window pane, place a set of identical twins in identical rooms opposite each other and proceed to prank everyone who walks in. They've all become a vampires!
Federer and Nadal: Fit of Laughter During Shooting Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the world's No. 2 and No.1 tennis players, are arch rivals on the courts, but friends outside of the courts. During the shooting of the promotion video for "The Match for Africa" they had loads of fun.
need to add a few tags to a few of the below posts.. which would require me implementing that.. which would require having time to do so. which would require that either days be much longer (which we have found mars not to be the solution for.. *sigh*) maybe kepler b-22 is.. but holey, a 600-light year distance trip i doubt is worth it to get a couple more hours of productivity.
Astronomers have confirmed the existence of a nearly Earth-sized planet in the "habitable zone" around a star not unlike our own.
The planet, Kepler 22-b, lies about 600 light-years away and is about 2.4 times the size of Earth, and models suggest it has a temperature of about 22C.
It is the closest confirmed planet yet to one like ours - an "Earth 2.0".
However, the team does not yet know if Kepler 22-b is made mostly of rock, gas or liquid.
hmm.. a liquid planet? whoa.. waterworld!! and if i were to take some of my friends here, it would certainly become a gassy planet if it isnt already
Kepler 22-b lies 15% closer to its sun than the Earth is to our Sun, and its year takes about 290 days. However, the planet's host star puts out about 25% less light, keeping the planet at its balmy temperature that would support the existence of liquid water.
and, it wouldnt be science without an artist's rendition:
heres an explanation of the habitable zone thing:
whoa! i had no idea mars was that small! i always thought it was a bit larger than earth.. wow. cool, see? you learn a new thing every day (and yeah, i checked on wikipedia to see if this is correct.)
the facebook status i just posted as a result of the post below:
i was not, and even to this day still am not, mature enough in my walk with God to have pastored a church. i only pray that i one day might glorify God in every aspect of my life as He deserves to be glorified, and that the people who were hurt by my pride, arrogance, ignorance and immaturity be restored and healed by Him who is the only one capable of doing so.
and in an unrelated note, it hit me yesterday how i was not, nor am i now at any acceptable level of maturity (in my walk with God) to have been a pastor in a church. even now, i dont have the spiritual maturity to pastor a church. i am glad i now have someone who is qualified to pastor over me and my wife, someone with a tempered spirit, full of patience and drenched in the Word of God. may i learn, grow and mature under his mentorship and care. and may we all aim to meet the qualifications for an elder, whether it is our calling, or goal, or not. he who desires to be an elder, desires a good thing.
i need to surround myself with more and more people who will challenge me to be more and more God-honoring in my life. i just told my nemesis that she is exactly that. may my life be full of this kind of people. and may i be this for those who surround me too.
