Called, chosen, and faithful. When Christ finally drops the hammer on His enemies, He will be accompanied by His army of followers who will be called, chosen, and faithful. [Revelation 17:14] – They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”
This is where we fit in, fellow believers. Remember, my beloved brothers and sisters who follow these posts in Malaysia, in Kenya, Myanmar, Mexico – all of you from the far reaches of the world and regardless of any former belief system you have held, you who seek to discover your place in the grand scheme in which Jesus Christ will be the Sovereign – this is how we get where we need to go. Isaiah 41:9 – [Isaiah 41:9] I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. Therefore, we are called by the Lord to come into His Kingdom. Yes, we have a standing invitation from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself – a calling – which we must not ignore! If we do not give our utmost attention to properly answering this call, we risk the most horrific eventuality that can come upon our souls, which is the dreaded fate of not being chosen for His mighty army.
When we take His invitation lightly, and are careless in our response, we become bound to a horrific and eternal fate. One fellow was observed at a reception who was not properly prepared to be attending, and this was his lot: [Matthew 22:13,14] “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ “For many are invited [called], but few are chosen.”
To be called, and chosen, are great honors bestowed upon us by the Lord Jesus, but the faithful part is all on us. Are we being faithful to the calling to which He beckons us? Are we being faithful to Him? In the big picture, nothing else matters at all. It doesn’t matter if our designated existence in this life requires us to be a woodsman in Bavaria or a rickshaw operated in Mumbai, a hairdresser in some New York salon, or maybe even an old hillbilly blogger in the Ozarks, our number one objective in this life should be to do whatever we can to please our God, our Creator. For by doing so, once He calls and chooses us, we satisfy that “faithful” part of called, chosen, and faithful.
Today is a blessed, rainy day here in the Ozarks. We’ve had hardly any rain for about six weeks or so, and things were getting dry enough around here that everyone was starting to worry about fires, but maybe that fear is allayed for the time being. One of my biggest fears, though, is looking at the state of the world we’re living in and realizing how many people are living with their attention turned to world events and away from the God to Whom we need to bring our cares for His consolation. As the golden hickory leaves become rain-sogged and drop to the ochre ground, so our fellow humans fall to the merciless swords of war, plagues, and all sorts of evil, souls bound for lesser places because they do not answer the call. For how can we be chosen if we do not answer the call?
[Revelation 3:20] – Behold, Istandatthedoor and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opensthe door, Iwill come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. It’s a standing invitation, all you have to do is open the door for Him and He’ll take care of the rest.
Sometimes I find myself battling against frustration over the things that are going on in the world today and I know I’m not alone. There is comfort to be had, though it might not be where we think, where we look. How can a person look at the horrible pictures of butchered children, young children intentionally injured and/or killed? Is this what humanity has become? My own answer to this is a resounding NO! At least for the humanity of humans, this is not who we are, nor who we were created to be, and we do not have to accept any presumption that we are part of the evil we see but cannot stop.
Of course, frustration ensues when we have to witness our whole existence turned upside down. The human psyche was not designed to accommodate this level of evil. Witness the soldiers who take part in it, coming home to live in drug abuse or even suicide! It’s too much for anyone with a shred of conscience to endure, but of course they don’t think about lying awake at night listening to the screams of toddlers being massacred, of mothers begging for their lives to be spared while they’re busy impressing their buddies with their ruthlessness. God did not create people to act like this, and many of the actors who play the roles of butchers of innocent human beings pay a steep price even before this life is over, but surely and forever in the next.
As I’ve written before, and shall continue to remind people of conscience, there will be a reckoning for all of this. The Almighty God sees every detail of what’s going on, and every drop of innocent blood is duly noted for the judgement of those who shed it. There is not, nor can there ever be, any justification or rationalization for the inhumanity of killing innocent people – especially children. I know our ancestors here in America were guilty of the same behavior towards the Indians, and I’d like to think I’d be of the same mind about their treatment as I am about the Palestinians and Lebanese today. In fact, I know I would – I don’t think that as a Christian, a true follower of the Covenant of Jesus Christ, anyone could believe otherwise, murdering innocent people is wrong! it’s a horror wrought by Satan himself, and people who commit such barbarism are undoubtedly possessed by the evilest of demons from the bottomless pit. But therein lies the rub – if we allow ourselves to be overcome by hatred and the desire for vengeance, the same enemy wins against us as the one who is in charge of the atrocities being committed.
Me too, my friend, me too
Frustration at the evil we witness in the world can overcome even the staunchest of believers, so it is imperative that we trust in God who has the power to – and undoubtedly will – bring justice upon the perpetrators. Satan uses this very frustration to serve his purpose – especially against believers – for many are sure to be overcome by hatred. We must not let this happen – the very evil we abhor is a powerful and multifaceted weapon – that hatred, because it ultimately has the same effect on our spirit as the evil itself. No matter how horrific their behavior, we must bear in mind that they are still human beings, even though for the duration of their barbarity they are under the control of Satan.
Jesus warns us of that very danger when He admonishes us to love our enemies, because even the vilest of people can turn away from their evil and repent, and if God can forgive them, then we must be able to do the same. No other religion outside of true Christianity teaches this level of forgiveness and even compassion for one’s enemies and this is one of the end products of Christ’s love for all people. He gives everyone every chance to come into His kingdom, and He sees both the evil of those who slaughter innocents, AND those of us who have allowed hatred to get the better of them, an act of submission to the same devil. He said the Father makes His rain fall on both the good and the wicked, and if we’d like to be in the same mindset as Him, we must learn to love our enemies. Love is the key to being a faithful servant of Jesus, and it is disturbing to hear public speakers from politicians to (even “Christian”) preachers advocating war and violence spurred on by the very hatred they should be condemning.
The Bible says in more than one place that God is love. If we could begin to fathom the depths of His love, we’d certainly have a better understanding – and appreciation – of Him. He is merciful beyond anything we could ever imagine, and when we would like to get close to Him, we must always remember to call on Jesus – no one can serve the Father who rejects the Son. That’s important to know, especially when you take into consideration that Jesus died on the cross of His own free will, so that we could be saved from the damnation of this world and that lake of eternal fire that ultimately awaits all who reject Him. This is as real as it gets, folks. The end is getting close, get to know Jesus and be prepared for what’s coming upon us. You’ll be eternally glad you did.
And don’t ever let the stranger cause you to hate people.
Pervasive helplessness – that seems to be what’s going on. We see injustice, evil in high places, yet we feel powerless to do anything about it. We watch leaders of nations speak out against the unspeakable atrocities of Gaza and now Lebanon and do nothing to stop it. Maybe one more sternly worded letter or one more denunciation of the IOF for bombing hospitals will serve to stop it.
Erdogan of Turkey keeps speaking out against genocide, so does Egypt’s Sisi, and Abdullah of Jordan, but when it comes down to actually doing something, anything, to help, well we just hear a bunch of empty words. The Middle East desperately needs a hero, but alas, none are to be found outside Yemen, Lebanon, and Iran. I guess Erdogan will just live in his Walter Mittyesque daydream of being the heroic sultan of an imagined new Ottoman Empire, though not lifting a finger to help those over whom he would reign.
The Zionist occupation entity has scored a lot of success lately. At least it seems like they think turning the entire world against them with their practice of mass murder is strategic success. I remember some of the WWII propaganda that was still around when I was a kid – we were still immersed in it even in the fifties and sixties. One of the things that stood out about the Nazis, in particular the SS, was one of their founding principles for membership and it went something like this: If a man cannot put a gun to the head of a young child and without mercy kill him/her, then there’s no place in the SS for him. When this was circulating back in the day, we all thought, as any human being would, that this was one of the most atrocious things we had ever heard of. That tidbit alone turned a big part of the world against the Nazis, yet we see the exact same attitudes happening in occupied Palestine with the habit of the IOF soldiers these days of killing Arab children with head shots and laughing about it. What’s the difference? When the Nazis did it, it was total horror, but when the IOF does it, it’s Israel exercising their right to “self defense”.
There’s no doubt some horrific behavior happening, but we’re not totally helpless. We have at our disposal one thing which will ultimately turn the tide of this atrocity, and it is prayer. God hears our prayers, and He will take vengeance on the perpetrators of this murder of innocents when He decides the time is right. Don’t waste your time writing letters to congressmen, they are bought-and-paid for servants of an evil regime and will do nothing to stop even the overt murder of children. Jesus Christ said it would be better for someone to have a millstone tied around their neck and thrown into the ocean than for them to face the wrath of God for harming the little children, so they have theirs coming. That will surely apply to those who support this evil from the safety of their dens of iniquities in the Rayburn and Russell buildings and the white house, et. al.
Or more precisely
No, we must take our petitions to the Almighty God at His throne where our prayers fill the heavenly censers. Above all, we must tell Him we are not a part of this evil and we do not support it, even if we live in the country where the evil comes from. The serpents who purport to run this country are doing so because there’s a lot of money to be made in the service of Satan. That, or their name might just be in a certain little Epstein book. Either way, what they are doing is treason of the highest order against America and against God. Now, I do not for one second believe that they are working against God as a result of treason to America, for I do not think God holds America any higher than He does Somalia or Greenland. He is not a respecter of persons. No, the serpents in Washington just happen to be enemies of America in addition to being enemies of God. They will answer to God in due time.
When we pray for the children of Gaza, for the innocent people who are defenseless to the onslaught of powerful bombs being dropped on their homes, we are showing our compassion for the helpless. Just because He doesn’t act according to the timetable we desire – like right now – doesn’t mean he is ignoring the situation; He most certainly is not. God has an infallible plan, one which is not restricted nor constrained to the limitations or time constraints of this world. He knows of another life, another realm, one in which those children who have been martyred in Gaza and taken out of this world, now are in the care and indescribable comfort of the Lord Jesus Christ and the angels of Heaven. We who are left here shall miss them, but we must keep in mind that they are in good hands now, never to be afraid again.
The pilots who drop those bombs on innocent civilians, as well as the snipers who murder the women and children will face a special place in hell. These are the most cowardly of all – the drone operators who slaughter people as though they are playing video games will especially answer for their atrocities. All the people up the chains of command including to the pentagon and the white house will answer to God for their support and participation. There is no justification or excuse for this evil being perpetrated on defenseless children. This includes intentional starvation and those who shut off the water.
Take whatever comfort you may: [Isaiah 41:17, 18]
“The poor and needy seek water, but there is none, Their tongues fail for thirst. I, the Lord, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. 18 I will open rivers in desolate heights, And fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, And the dry land springs of water.
God is watching. He’s watching the perpetrators of the evil of Gaza and all who support it. Bot don’t forget – He’s watching you too. How will you react to these days of iniquity? Pray without ceasing.
Over the years, over the centuries, Christianity has gotten a bad rap. Our predecessors were fallible human beings, as we all are, and as such were vulnerable to attacks from the enemy. Obviously, they didn’t always win. In order to be able to gain some appreciation for the power of evil that has ever been arrayed against us, it would be prudent to understand that this enemy has a plan – a plan that has been developed and fine-tuned for millennia, and he is wise and cunning. Things that are happening today are not happening by any kind of coincidence, they’ve been planned out for ages. We’re temporary beings who are playing our parts in only one act of the great play. There were others yesterday. There were others in the first millennia, the first century, but the plan was in progress for the whole production.
Satan obviously took control at various times through the years in order to give Christians a bad name. The Spanish Inquisition, the Crusades, and other times and efforts were perpetrated so that in the end days there would be people who could point out those eras to disparage Christianity. He’s been working on this for a long time. Although one of the goals of his plan seems to have been to alienate the Islamic faith from the Christian, God has maneuvered events so as to bring believers together, and ironically, if we look closely, we are finding it possible to be able to see God through each other’s eyes. Many of us Christians see the devotion of Moslems with their daily prayers and the way they teach their children in righteousness and wish our fellow Christians would do likewise. Islam also teaches of Jesus Christ, some sects say He was a prophet, but some recognize His Divinity as the Son of God. This is important – we’re not all that far apart. Conversely, Talmudic Judaism teaches that Jesus was an imposter, and His soul is in torment – that’s way apart from what Christian Gospel or Islam teaches. Christianity is no threat to Islam, we believe differently, but neither religion teaches that murder is acceptable, although some of our predecessors on both sides have ignorantly thought it acceptable to kill to “protect” our faith. Come on, y’all – if our God is indeed Almighty, He doesn’t need any of us to kill someone to defend Him. Especially when Jesus Christ Himself teaches us not to harm others.
Today’s iteration of humanity is currently being inured to death and destruction on a scale not witnessed since the last world war, but this time things are different. When people become sufficiently apathetic to this genocide, they will be prepared to accept anything, no matter how evil, although one would be hard-pressed to expect anything any more evil than the murder of children. Today’s Christians are being asked to accept the notion that the deaths of innocent people on this incredible scale is somehow justified so that we can rationalize an acceptance of it taking place. For the Christian who reads and understands the Gospel of the New Covenant, for the few who seek the narrow gate, the murder of innocent people cannot be justified, period.
Those defenseless victims who are undergoing this inhumane slaughter are obviously hard-pressed to connect the barbarism levied against them with the will of God, but as with all things that happen in the course of mankind’s occupation of this earth, God knows what’s happening. It is of utmost importance to understand and believe that the Almighty God who created us has not abandoned us! He is intimately aware of each wound, of each drop of blood of every child, and His wrath on the Day of His vengeance will be a terrible thing to behold! Imagine the very heavens being shaken with His fury, His immeasurable anger at those who have perpetrated this unspeakable evil upon poor and innocent women and children. The “leaders” who send bombs and death shall be horrified, seeking holes in the ground, rocks and mountains to fall on them to hide them from His face, but on that Day, they will face their reckoning.
It is also of utmost importance to bear in mind that there is another life after this one. This is the one concept that can make our suffering bearable so that we may endure the evil that is upon us. Those innocent peasants who are being mercilessly slaughtered will undoubtedly be greeted and welcomed into a magnificent kingdom of peace and joy, unimaginable joy in which the tribulations of this life will be forgotten. Mothers who have lost their children, be comforted in the knowledge that those little ones are in a new home of serenity and that God shall wipe the tears from their precious little eyes. Only God knows the pain and despair you are undergoing, but God does know – believe that! The day of reckoning approaches, and justice will be visited upon those who brought this horror upon you. Jesus Christ will Himself lead an army that will utterly destroy those servants of evil who actually think they are in charge now.
When this conflict is rightly seen as a great battle between good and evil, and when the parties involved are rightly identified as to which is good and which is evil, it is interesting to observe who Satan is going after. He doesn’t seem to be worried about any of the great American megachurches – none of the “faithful” or false prophets of the congregations appear to be having any abnormal conflicts, the government isn’t bothering them. Of course, the wealthy seem to be living high on the hog – no earthly conflicts to deal with. People who profess to be atheists or even Satanists aren’t being bombed and massacred. Why is the devil assailing the poor Palestinians? Could it be that they are the true Semitic peoples? Are they the last ancestors of Abraham and Moses, et. al? Are the few Christians among the Palestinians all that remain of the true Church? After all, some of the oldest Christian churches in the world were in Palestine and Syria. I don’t know the answers to those questions, but anyone can see that for some reason, Satan is intent on destroying all that are left of those people.
Jesus gave us the Beatitudes in Matthew chapter 5. Read them and see if you can see the Palestinians – I can:
3“Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed arethose who mourn, For they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed arethe meek, For they shall inherit the [a]earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Do not give up hope – it’s one of the greatest gifts we have. Trust in the grace and mercy of the Almighty to see us through these troubled times. Allow Jesus Christ into your heart and experience the faith that you need to look forward to a better time. Tears are abundant now, but they will not always be. Christian people who have Jesus in their hearts cry for you – pray for you. There’s a better life beyond us. Do not give up on love – it is the greatest of all gifts, for God is love.
[1 John 4:8] He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
May God bless all whose hearts are broken – may Jesus Christ give us strength to endure.
We get addicted to many things in the course of our lives, and I’m pretty sure not many people are aware of just what all kinds of things there are out there to get hooked on. We look with disdain on videos or pictures of tent villages in our inner cities full of people addicted to fentanyl or heroin, and those folks are indeed in dire straits, but there are countless other addictions which take more forms than one might realize.
If we’re not careful, us folks who write posts or do videos on social media can get ourselves hooked on views or clicks or comments on our work. I suspect this phenomenon is more widespread than we might realize, and although those who are monetized have good reason to want as many viewers as possible, it’s likely that we also enjoy being heard, watched, or read to an extent which we might not want to admit, simply because of our attachment to the world and a desire to be a voice in it. That’s just the beginning. I’m saying this because I’m not monetized, and I still relish views and comments more than you’d think should be normal, so I think there may be more than just the monetary reward at play for the “feel good” of view counts. Therefore, it seems like there’s some kind of compulsive behavior involved in being a voice in social media, I might be wrong, but it’s easy to get plagued with self-doubt when I go for days on end with no likes or comments on my posts so I could imagine what it might be like if money was involved, at least I think there’d be a difference.
courtesy Clipart Library
I’ve known people in my life, and still do, who seem to have an inexplicable need to drive around. They like to go – anywhere – and seem to have an aversion to staying home. Some of them sit around trying to think of somewhere they need to go just to get away from home. I’m just the opposite and really enjoy being at home, in fact, maybe wanting to stay home all the time is an addiction of its own. Is that what agoraphobia is all about? For me, it’s a combination of liking my home environment and being with my four-legged family as well as a nagging discomfort of being around people I don’t know. God has blessed me immensely with the expectation to spend my remaining years out here in the country where it’s peaceful and I’m immersed in the wonders of His creation. That may or may not be an excuse, I don’t know.
The Folkpotpourri Leaf
One of the saddest of addictions is that of excessive eating. With almost all other forms of compulsive behavior a person can just walk away from their addiction, albeit with varying degrees of difficulty, but no one can just stop eating and survive. Thankfully to the Almighty, and from one who’s never suffered this malady, I can only imagine how hard it would be to try and moderate your food intake when every cell in your body is screaming for you to take another bite beyond what you know you should.
We all know those folks who talk too much. Seems like they always have something to say beyond what comes out of their mouths and that makes it really hard sometimes to decipher where they’re coming from. It’s almost inevitable if we’re not careful, we get to the point where we don’t even listen to them because of their incessant babbling, and that’s sad because lost in the yammering there’s always the possibility of a grain of something that’s important to them, and we often miss it. Excessive talking might be less of an addiction and more of a personality trait (or defect), but it would take someone with more education than myself in psychology to make that distinction. Maybe there is no distinction.
It was mentioned in the introductory paragraph, but drug and alcohol addiction are generally the most destructive to addicts and those around them. The severity of the addiction also varies from person to person, but there is an overwhelming need for endorphins or whatever chemical makes them feel good, possibly as a method of escape from the routines or the vagaries of life. Some folks have reasons to want to get away, but most of the ones I’ve encountered simply need endorphins, and again, I don’t know why this malady is so prevalent, but it’s a serious problem when it gets to a point where people no longer have the capacity to stay (or even to get) sober. Drugs and alcohol addictions have wreaked immeasurable devastation to people, to families, to entire cultures.
In my humble opinion, the greatest addiction of today is by far the addiction to one form or another of social media, but the cell phone in particular, and I believe this one has the propensity to destroy us as a society simply by enslaving our minds. Maybe it’s just me, but I get depressed to see someone walking down the aisle in the store with a phone stuck to their ear. I also get a bit concerned when I see someone trying to drive and text.
I only see my grandkids once a year when they gravitate to the Ozarks for the Fourth of July. It’s one of the highlights of my life anymore – I love all of them dearly, but when they’re here, if myself or some other adult doesn’t guard against it, there will be a living room full of people, mostly kids, but some adults too, not talking nor visiting, all with their faces in their cell phones, not even talking to loved ones with whom they seldom get the opportunity to visit. Their families could be sitting right beside them or out in the orbit of the moon, and there would be no cognitive difference. I know I’m running the risk of sounding like an old geezer grandpa, but when I was a kid, the family sat around the living room getting to know each other. The fact that we already knew each other fairly well had no bearing on our ability and desire to be close, to form and maintain family bonds that have endured all of our lives. Of course, as we got grown and moved into different settings, we spend less time together, but as a result of those early experiences in family life, we still love each other and share fond memories when we’re together. Cell phones have the potential to completely destroy the family units of societies worldwide and we all need to reconsider our extensive use of – and terrible addiction to – our phones. They get my vote for one of the top couple of threats to society’s well-being, for even though they brough us great convenience, they are the number one tool being used (especially by young folks) to separate us all and cause us to maintain an unhealthy connection to the malevolence of the world. Wonder what kind of world we’d have if all those folks were walking around with a Bible in their hand instead of a cell phone.
There are other, better, essays in life we should be pursuing. The most important one by far, we have to make sure our kids learn about Jesus Christ so they will have His help to overcome the threat of addiction in all of it’s forms – for at the heart of the matter, most addictions are insidious weapons of Satan.
I don’t understand why He has put it on my heart to say the things I have to say, but I do honestly feel – I KNOW – that our time here is growing very short, and the words He has given me need to be said, and considered, and quickly if the readers of this are to be able to avoid or endure the tribulation ahead. There are those who scoff as unbelievers, others who get uncomfortable when they think their world is threatened, but this post is not a threat to our existence, it’s an admonition, a recognition that our existence is indeed threatened, but not by this writer. It is witness of a Way through these troubled times we must endure here at the end.
Who is He? How could a person begin to say, within the confines of a website post or the limits of mortal language? I’m speaking of Jesus Christ and am thankful and amazed that He gives a mere human being the authority and the confidence to speak of Him – with such words as we have. He is Jesus Christ and He is very much alive and aware of our hopes, our needs, our fears.
He is the only begotten Son of God, born of a virgin woman and He’s the inheritor of everything in all of creation. He is in the night sky filled with stars, in each raindrop that falls to grace the earth, in the hearts of men, and His love is what holds all of creation together. He can be found in silent, peaceful places in the woods or in crowded bus stops, and in the hearts of people who share their money with strangers. His precious Spirit guides us through difficult times in our lives and shares our joy in times of peace and happiness, such as those wonderful moments when He allows a glimpse of His wonder into our souls. He shares our sorrow when we grieve as only the Man of sorrows could. He knows sorrow and grief as few of us ever will.
His Father is our Father, and He spent those precious few years while He was on the earth telling us just that, and that if we would like to come to the Father, we must go through the Son. He fulfilled a Covenant under which His earthly ancestors had lived for hundreds of years, and established a new one that will last until the very end. After we successfully emerge from the cocoon that is this existence, He will bestow kingship upon His faithful, those who follow Him will have overcome the world.
Courtesy annamariestrawhand.com
He taught those who would listen that our lives on this earth are short, and we need to spend our time in preparation for the next one, which He promises us will be magnificent and joyful beyond our imaginations if we but follow Him. He is a Friend in need, and the most gracious and loving Friend we could ever have. He is our Rock of Ages, our Shelter in the storm. He is at our side in good times, and in front of us during troubled times. He is our Banner, our Victory over this world!
If we are to attain to that victory, we must first realize that there is indeed a battle occurring and understand that there are no non-participant onlookers – we are all in this thing, so we have to pick a side. The question is, do we choose the side (on which we wish to be) based on the promise of a new boat, a private jet, or pickup truck or lots of money for this short time, or do we choose an unseen promise? Are we willing to allow this life to bloom and fade with only a few earthly possessions which will someday be left behind, but with a heart that overflows with joyful love for Him and for our fellow man which we will be able to take with us? Only Jesus can bestow that kind of heart to us, and He will give us what we need to achieve it.
Courtesy mungfali.com
I’m an old man now and I’ve seen many lives bloom and fade. I’ve experienced misbegotten admiration for those famous musicians, actors, businessmen, and others who appeared to be “successful” in this life, then I’ve watched as their flowers faded. Each and every one of us will fade. Unless you’re famous, in two generations, no one on earth will even know you existed. If the world lasts that long, your great-grandchildren will look upon your grave marker and not have even the remotest idea of who you were. Jesus, however, will know exactly who you were, and at the judgement, which is coming, He will require an account of how you spent your time here. Those famous rock stars and actors we all admired will be there, most of them in great fear of what is to come, but none of us considered this eventuality while they were performing in the glitz, nor did they. All lives fade away, and at the end, what is important isn’t how much money we made, it’s how we spent our time.
Freedom Cemetery
Jesus Christ is our King, and we need to recognize that and serve Him as good and loyal subjects. Our reward will be great if we do. Still, there are many who will spend their lives in pursuit of wealth and power, only to part with it at the end and become worm food, with a horrific future ahead for their souls. Then there are those who understand the need to drop whatever few mites we have into the alms collection, bend a knee once in a while and thank Him for His love and His grace, knowing we have a tremendous reward awaiting. We have to get it in gear, folks, our time is growing short to do so.
Perhaps we could get America back on its feet and out from under the threat of nuclear annihilation by electing a sane leader who would help us get back into the sane world. Folkpotpourri would like to suggest a search for the ideal candidate for the upcoming presidential election. This site is prepared to endorse a hitherto unannounced candidate whose platform contains the following guidelines, or one who is willing to adopt them:
Our ideal candidate must commit to the absolute and undeniable pursuit of international peace, especially with those nations with whom former administrations (including the current one) lacked the initiative, ability and/or foresight to maintain amicable relationships. Especially applicable to this pursuit are the sovereign nations of The Russian Federation, The Islamic Republic of Iran, The Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea, The Republic of Cuba, The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and the People’s Republic of China.
As a gesture of goodwill and sincerity towards Russia and Germany, this candidate would propose initiating an effort to repair the Nord stream underwater gas lines – at the expense of the U.S. government and other countries ascertained to have taken part in the sabotage of the pipelines, with teams of American engineers and construction companies assigned to assist in the restoration. Along with this commitment would be a formal apology listing all countries who participated in the criminal destruction of other countries’ assets. The funds required for this undertaking would come from the budget of the Defense Department as one of many steps toward reduction of the military budget. The International Criminal Court will have the fullest consent and cooperation of the United States government in the investigation and prosecution of individuals who participated in the pipeline sabotage – regardless of whomever may be indicted.
Once it is established that restoration of relations is of preeminent importance and the affected nations are convinced of his sincerity, this president, once in office would initiate a new effort to reduce the threat of war, especially nuclear war, with all involved nations. The new administration would also commit to a sincere one-China policy, and to demonstrate its sincerity, all American military assets would be removed from Taiwan on inauguration day, or as soon thereafter as possible, and there would be no further need for negotiations regarding China’s sovereignty over Taiwan. All military incursions into the Strait of Taiwan would cease without permission of the PRC. Freedom of navigation is not applicable in waters where the same nation owns all boundaries of such waters. Following restoration of amicable relations, the ability of United States private corporations to continue and explore ways to increase trade with both entities, while recognizing that Taiwan is a territory of China and no transactions with the island would be made without China’s consent. Other similar measures would be taken with regard to Iran and North Korea.
The United States defense department would immediately remove its military assets from the Ukraine, along with any personnel that might be there. All other NATO countries would be strongly advised to follow suit, leaving the ultimate resolution of the affair in the hands of the Ukraine and Russia exclusively. All sanctions would promptly be lifted which affect the Russian Federation and the Department of State would be directed to appoint a committee to work with Russian officials to reestablish trade with Russia and assist the European Union in doing so. Mutually beneficial commerce among nations would be of preeminent importance, the United States would commit to working together with Eurasia to enhance global interaction to the benefit of all. Reluctance on the part of Russia to cooperate on such an endeavor would be completely understandable, thus the United States would take whatever measures appropriate to demonstrate genuine good will.
Agricultural, educational, and industrial institutions of the United States would be encouraged to participate with such nations India, North Korea, several of the African nations, and Pakistan in assisting the development of beneficial practices and methods to improve those countries’ ability to sustain their populations as well as working to improve their living standards. The emphasis would be on nations such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and the Ukraine where US actions have caused substantial infrastructural damage. This effort would include cleanup of war materials such as depleted uranium and land mines to the greatest extent possible. In light of water shortages worldwide, funds from the former budgets of the defense department would be redirected to such United Nations projects as desalination plants for countries in need.
Massive Desalinization plant in Dubai (Popular Science)
As a result of improved relations with former adversaries, our country would presumably develop a commensurate reduction of need for military armaments and finally accept the reality of a genuine peace dividend. By extending a genuine hand of friendship and achieving the goal of reestablishing good relations with other nations, there would no longer be a need for NATO, and the participation of the United States in that organization would be reduced, and as our former allies and adversaries commit to arms reductions and other measures to demonstrate their own commitments to improved relationships, NATO would be disbanded, or at minimum the US would leave the treaty – per advice from George Washington:
So likewise, a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favorite nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest in cases where no real common interest exists, and infusing into one the enmities of the other, betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels and wars of the latter without adequate inducement or justification. It leads also to concessions to the favorite nation of privileges denied to others which is apt doubly to injure the nation making the concessions; by unnecessarily parting with what ought to have been retained, and by exciting jealousy, ill-will, and a disposition to retaliate, in the parties from whom equal privileges are withheld. And it gives to ambitious, corrupted, or deluded citizens (who devote themselves to the favorite nation), facility to betray or sacrifice the interests of their own country, without odium, sometimes even with popularity; gilding, with the appearances of a virtuous sense of obligation, a commendable deference for public opinion, or a laudable zeal for public good, the base or foolish compliances of ambition, corruption, or infatuation.
FAREWELL ADDRESS | SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1796
Can you believe the wisdom of that man? My emphasis in red – anybody see anything familiar?
Tackling the budget deficit would be among the priorities of the new administration. Although this measure would undoubtedly meet stiff resistance from powerful interests, the entire banking system would be reviewed by government auditors with an eye towards nationalization of all banks. The Department of the Treasury would be repurposed and authorized to investigate banking activities of all entities involved in appropriations and government expenditures.
By executive order, all private funding of candidates for national elections would cease, and just as President Roosevelt threatened to appoint several justices to the Supreme Court, the new president would reserve the authority appoint whatever number of justices deemed appropriate to review all recent decisions of the politically appointed benches, with emphasis on such constitutional travesties as, and including Citizens United for blatant constitutional incongruities.
The department of Justice would be instructed to investigate significant Congressional campaign donations and their sources for illicit activity and comparisons of voting records to campaign contributions with the goal of discovery of impropriety and bribery. Improprieties would include stock purchases and sales during times of pending legislation that would affect the prices of said stocks, or insider trading. All political action committees who financially support candidates would be required to publicly disclose who they represent, what monies they contribute, etc. and AIPAC, if allowed to remain in the United States, would at a minimum be required to be registered as a foreign lobby. New laws would be encouraged that would prohibit contact between lobbyists and congresspersons or senators outside the presence of appointed civilian committees who would be assigned to monitor such contacts. The Epstein contact logs would be made public.
The policies and practices of government agencies who spy on American citizens would come under the highest scrutiny with an eye toward completely eliminating the DHS, DNI, NSA and other agencies whose primary activity involves espionage against American citizens. The FISA court and warrant scam would be immediately declared unconstitutional and abolished and the Fourth Amendment protections stringently reinstituted and rigorously enforced.
The new presidential candidate would ideally be an independent with no former association with either of the two main political parties, at least to the extent possible. Associations that included the candidate’s membership in either party in an official capacity would automatically disqualify him/her from running. The complete elimination of political parties would become a goal of the nation – as was intended by George Washington himself:
“However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”
FAREWELL ADDRESS | SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1796
We really need a president like this – again!
The Defense Department would be required to nationalize all major defense contractors under the direction of the DOD and all future profits from said entities would go to the coffers of the federal government – the former defense contractors would thereby become able to supplant the burden on taxpayers from defense department expenses. All American troops would immediately begin repatriating to American soil and all foreign bases would be closed and their properties turned over to the nations in which they are located. This alone would be an incredible reduction of unnecessary military expenses. New initiatives would be commenced to eliminate or further reduce nuclear weapons stockpiles of all nations possessing them. If any country possesses nuclear weapons, they would be required to declare themselves to be in possession of them and sign on to the NPT Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty or they would be forced – using whatever measures necessary – to relinquish their nuclear weapons.
The State Department would be required to set up a team to work with China to explore ways to enhance bilateral trade, with the expectation that China would contribute to the improvement of bilateral trade considering the interests of the United States as well as their own. The People’s Republic of China has done this with many other nations who have sought their assistance, and there is no reason to suspect they wouldn’t be willing to extend the benefit of improved trade relations with America, once they become convinced that our efforts are sincere. In all transactions, the US will consider and strive to ensure benefit to other countries as well as our own.
A new investigation into the events of 9/11/2001 will immediately be reopened with any entity objecting to such investigation being placed on a list of “interested persons” or nations who, by their objection will become suspect of culpability and will be thoroughly investigated. This applies to any and all members of the US government who may have taken part in the commission of the attack. If persons or entities are found to have participated in the attacks, they shall be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, regardless of whether or not they were government employees including elected officials up to and including the president and vice-president.
A similar investigation will be undertaken on all aspects of the Covid pandemic and the development and administration of MRNA vaccines. If the vaccines are determined to have been knowingly created to be harmful to humans, especially American citizens, all who were involved in their research, manufacturing, and compulsive vaccinations at the risk of job terminations or other penalties will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law up to and including the death penalty.
The United States will opt out of any recognition of authority of any entity or organization outside the government of the United States, including the WEF, WHO, IMF and/or any other entity that poses a threat to the sovereign authority of the United States, nor will the United States recognize the authority of any such organization or entity inside any other sovereign nation. The United States will shun any and all attempts at globalization which would infringe on US sovereignty. Recognition of the United Nations’ authority will be limited to areas congruent with national sovereignty of the United States and the sovereignty of all other states which might be subsumed by unelected entities. No entity, global or foreign, will be allowed to supersede the sovereign authority of the US or the United States Constitution.
Upon inauguration of such a candidate and in order to begin the process of restoring relations with countries in the Arab world, the United States will recognize the nation of Palestine and it shall encompass all property that existed as Palestine prior to 1967 with Jerusalem as its capital. The United States would immediately stop supplying arms and weaponry to Israel should the massacre of civilians in Gaza still be in progress when this president takes office. The United States will ensure that all hostilities in occupied Palestine cease. The United States and Israel will share the expense of rebuilding the Gaza area of Palestine, and the United States will once again only recognize the city of Tel Aviv as the capital of Israel. If the new president chooses to maintain diplomatic relations with Israel, the US embassy will be returned to Tel Aviv. Those citizens, including dual citizens of the United States, who object to this provision and attempt to undermine it will risk having sanctions enacted against them which may include seizure of all financial assets and property in the United States as well as possible criminal penalties, depending on the nature of their objection if actions have occurred. Funds which were once directed to the country of Israel will be redirected to rebuilding Palestinian properties. No further economic assistance to Israel will be forthcoming from the US government, but the US government will not prohibit private donations to Israel. Financial assistance to foreign countries will be based on compelling need, and in no circumstances will US taxpayers be required to support or assist any country with an equivalent or higher per capita income than Americans.
All Civil Asset Forfeiture legislation will be immediately suspended with full reimbursement to citizens who have suffered loss of assets or have been financially penalized, i.e. robbed by the authorities without criminal convictions.
Folkpotpourri recommends that we find this candidate and talk coerce him into running this November.
Feel free to add more qualifications in the comments – maybe we can find a candidate.
High up on the tops of the ridges, forest became lea.
Yesterday his sister called and said his water wasn’t working. I was kind of busy, but as I’ve become accustomed, dropped everything and went over to see what needed to be done. I’d already put a temperature-controlled heater in his pump house, but it’s not sufficient in extreme cold due to the gaps in the walls. You’d have to see that collapsing old pump house to appreciate what it’s like to try and work in there, but we’ve had some -10F temps this winter, and a hydrant valve must have frozen and busted. Now that it has warmed up, the thing was spraying, and had been for who knows how long. Anyway, I had to make a trip into town and get a new faucet and put it on, and the job went smoothly enough. Afterwards I reconciled myself, as always, to the obligatory visit in which to hear stories and anecdotes on how clueless all the young people are nowadays and hopefully hear some of his unparalleled stories of the old days. I always listen – I enjoy listening to those tales, even the ones I’ve heard before, which by now is most all of them. After doing the job in that wretched pump house, it was nice to be out and sit and talk with him. I’ve also learned over the years that when it’s time to go home, it’s not necessarily impolite to leave him talking. He doesn’t seem to mind; in fact, he doesn’t really seem to even notice. There’s just no other way to go about it. He doesn’t stop. And as it’s so captivating to listen to him, if I don’t keep in mind that I have to go, I could get hooked for hours, and believe me, I have.
Old dilapidated pickup trucks and pieces of road maintenance equipment, some from the 1940s, silently sit in varying states of rust and decay, some hidden in the woods, others proudly rusting in the open sunshine of hay fields where beef cattle grazed not so long ago. It’s almost as if they’re watching; waiting, but for what?
Many years ago, and for years, he cleared the hill tops of the hardwood forests that are prevalent in this part of the country. Cleared timber and rocks to make hay fields and grazing pastures, and there are acres and acres of them. Said his dad paid him ten cents a wagon load of rocks, long piles of which are still lying along the fence lines where he took them all those years ago.
Timberline Road in the Fall
There’s an old barn down the dirt road, Timberline Road, that he built with his own hands as an adult, but also many years ago. Due to all of the cow fertilizer which accumulated there, and the fact that the cows are gone, weeds and vines are growing profusely all around it, winding up through rolls of used wove-wire fence, unidentifiable pieces and parts of farm equipment, and rusty gate sections. Back in the days before he got into the beef cattle business, he ran dairy cows there and attended to all the labor-intensive operations of feeding, milking, delivering calves, and the numerous other duties required. The fading and peeling white paint testifies to the many silent years gone by since the milk days. He morphed from dairy to raising beef cattle somewhere along the line, but in the last few years, he sold off his herd – just got too old to work them anymore. He sure has been lonesome there with all those old cows gone. Sometimes in decent weather I go over and ride with him on his ATV, and we go over his property, just like we did when we rode around to see his cows, but now that they’re gone, he just stares wistfully across the lonely fields he spent so much of his life working. Sometimes I wonder if he still sees cows and hears them lowing out in those silent fields of yesterday.
The Old Milk Barn
I’ve been living here going on five years, sort of across and about a half-mile down the dirt road from his house, an ancient homemade hardwood mountain hovel with a rusty tin roof – all precariously perched on the east slope of the hollow. I live in the bottom of the same hollow sort of on the west side. Not long after I moved here, there was a big dead tree still standing on his side of the road and since I had already done some odd jobs for him (free of charge of course), he always wanted to pay me for helping him but I wouldn’t take any money, so I went over to his place and asked him if I could cut it – we could square up with firewood – the tree needed to be felled because eventually it would come down in a high wind and land on the road. He okayed it and even grabbed his chain saw and showed up on his giant tractor to help. I was impressed that a fellow his age could still get out there and sling a chain saw like he did. Someone forgot to tell him he was too old to do that. But alas, age has overtaken him now, and he couldn’t work firewood anymore.
In the years I’ve known him, I’ve spent many an hour listening to his stories of life here in the Ozarks – mostly stories from long ago. A tough customer of a hardscrabble life in the Ozark hills, he’s suffered his share of accidents – once in a sawmill a piece of wood flew out of a saw and hit him in the left eye. He had to go find a friend to take him to Springfield (about 75 miles away) to the doctor, but they couldn’t save the eye. Years later as an old man with only one eye he can still see deer in the woods that most folks (including myself) don’t see.
He was working out in the woods cutting timber when he was younger, and felled a tree which came down in an unexpected way, and landed on his leg. He called his friend who was working with him to help him and he got free and finished cutting wood and loading the truck. It was only after he got back to the mill that he took off his boot and looked at his injury – his lower leg and ankle was broken in three places! And he’d kept on working. He tells another story of operating a tractor that flipped over backwards and trapped his foot under the steering wheel. He said gasoline was pouring from the tank right next to him, and the engine was still running. He had to cut his boot off to get free, and he did. He never said whether the tractor burned up after he got away. He was definitely a tough old codger.
He’s got a big buck cape mount covered with dust in the living room of his farm house. It’s got a huge spread – one of the biggest racks I’ve seen in person, but he never had it scored. I’m sure it would make book. He relishes telling the story of how he got it. Wasn’t even hunting. He stepped out of the door of the farmhouse down the road where his sister now lives, and saw the giant buck about 75 yards away, and went back into the house and got his gun and stepped back out and bagged it. There were family members in the house when he walked back in and told them he’d shot a big buck, they walked out in disbelief to see it. Sure enough, a monster buck was on the ground out there.
There’s a lone walnut tree in the hay field south of his house, on a slope down to the road. He tells me that’s where he wants to be buried – right under that tree. The tree stands patiently waiting. Maybe that’s what the old relic barns and vehicles scattered around are waiting for too. Who knows?
He’s grown old now, and his health is failing. Has diabetes, heart problems, arthritis or gout in his knees that hurts him so bad he can barely walk, and the good Lord only knows what else might be going on in that old carcass. He has to use a cane to get around anymore. His mind wanders and he has a lot of trouble remembering things. We recently talked and he mentioned that he might be interested in a nursing home. I encouraged him to do that, he is at a point where he can’t take care of himself. Hopefully he will make that call, I’m sure he’d be better off, but this old neighborhood and those hay pastures will never be the same without him.
Ya’ll please be patient, I’m in the process of reorganizing the whole site. The old posts are gone, but hopefully there’ll be plenty more nonsense to peruse on those cold winter days as the new categories get populated.
I’d like to keep posting things which are enjoyable and/or interesting, so please let me know in the comments what ya’ll would like to see more. Got a lot of fall pics from this past beautiful autumn, and I’ll be inserting them as often as I can.
