Some scrambled thoughts for breakfast this morning, compliments of yours truly.

Well, here we go again, another Monday has found its way into our schedule and I bid you a warm and hearty welcome here on this January 8, 2018. The other day I was driving down the road listening to Allistair Begg, a preacher, on the radio, and he quoted from some predictions made in the early 1900's. I felt like the information was important enough to look up, so a few days later I did. Here is what I found. I adapted it some so as to identify the person who wrote these predictions but this is from an article written in 2009. "At the turn of the Twentieth Century, one of America's leading newspapers addressed the following question to many notable people of that time: 'What in your opinion is the chief danger, social or political, that confronts the coming century?'  William Booth, (1829-1912), founder of the Salvation Army, was invited to reply to this question. He sent the following: 'I consider that the chief dangers which confront the coming century will be: 1. Religion without the Holy Spirit. 2. Christianity without Christ. 3. Forgiveness without repentance. 4. Salvation without regeneration. 5. Politics without God. 6. Heaven without Hell.'" It hit me, therefore, I thought it would be a good source of food for thought. For us all. Fast forward to where we are in the 21st Century and I think there's plenty to be concerned about. If his predictions are true, and I happen to know many of the dangers he saw are very much a reality today, it becomes a very scary thing to consider that people in today's 'Church' are not being given the truth about what it means to become a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are talking about the eternal destiny of men, women, boys, and girls. It doesn't get more serious than this! Amen.

On Saturday, I spent several hours in my upstairs office. I was doing prep work on those matters that relate to something we face each year. The paying of our local, state, and federal taxes. God ordained government. God made it clear that we are to pray for those who are in authority over us. He also said the government is there to protect the citizens and that we should pay our taxes. You can look those up because all of those things are in the Bible, God's Holy Word. That brings me to the part that we all tend to do. That is, the complaining about paying our taxes. Let me preface my thoughts here by saying how thankful I am to live in the country God placed me in. I am thankful for those who wear the uniform of our nation. I am thankful for those who wear a badge and ride the streets to protect us all. I am thankful for the services that render help to people in time of need. I could go on. There are some things that, even within the context of being thankful, I am not happy about. I am not happy about government waste and corruption that also gets added to our tax bill. I am not happy about the shenanigans that lead to hidden taxes, fees, and those that get imposed without a vote. I am not happy about the bloated bureaucracy that feeds upon itself and grows seemingly unabated, year after year. I could mention a few things about old people since I am one, but, on the whole, I am thankful to live, work, and to serve God as I see fit in the good ole USA! Amen.

I did purchase a new Keurig. It has a reservoir for water, therefore, that will be of help to the wife when her Bible study ladies show up. It does make a minimum of a 6-ounce cup. I prefer a 4, but, the 6 is not too bad, especially if the stuff flowing through the spigot is Community Coffee. It will take a little time to break it in. That's right. The old unit probably had quite a bit of internal gunk built up over time. That added its own character to each cup. The wife has a theory about my taste buds. She surmises that since I typically pop a freshly brewed cup into the microwave for 30 additional seconds, that I must have totally destroyed the effectiveness of my taste buds. She thinks that's why I really don't care for many foods today. That would work, but, it hasn't messed up my taste for old-fashioned home cooking. In fact, we were discussing, and I was drooling, over the potential for her to cook up some cabbage rolls real soon. That's where you take ground meat and rice, rolled up together, and bake it inside a cabbage leaf that has tomato sauce and seasoning on it. You don't know what that's all about. My taste buds inform me that it 100% hits a five-star rating for deliciousness. And, I don't think the hot coffee interfered one bit with my assessment here. Take care. Enjoy the day. Be thankful. That's my plan for this new year. An attitude of gratitude. May God bless us all is my prayer. Amen. .....More later.