Pandoras Box

Through an interesting set of circumstances, I ended up staying at a hotel in between connecting flights on my way back to MI from Mexico. So I'm here all alone, with internet, and a television set, nobody with me to see what I'm doing, or what I'm watching. Now the battle starts. If I do turn on the TV, will  watch edifying things, or will I succumb to my fleshly desires? We don't get TV at home, or in MI, so I don't really know what's on when, what are good shows, etc, so I would have to do some channel surfing, and who knows what might flash by as I'm doing so?
So I decided to simply leave it off altogether. The amount of lousy programming that's on there isn't worth wading through to see if there is anything worth watching. I know how easy it is to slowly slip into watching something slightly objectionable, and once you start sliding, it's hard to stop.
I'm not saying that if you have a TV in your house, then your are evil. There is nothing inherently wrong with television, and if you know which channels have good programming, then you don't have to wade through the muck and the mire.
There is such reward in overcoming the temptation to lust. If you can overcome that, then there isn't any temptation that you (with the Lords help) can't overcome. Lust is probably one of the strongest forces a man will face. Look at how many businesses, churches, and families that have been brought down because the Boss, Pastor, or Father fell into the sin of lust. The number is stagering.
But you can't just leave a time vacuum in the TV's place, so I did other productive things that were on my mental list of "to do's". I finished a lengthy email (which I love doing), and made some phone calls to family and friends back in Oregon. Time is valuable, and it's the one thing that all people have the same amount of. How will you use yours?
~Paul

Ron Paul for President!

I support Ron Paul. (and with that statement, I offend many people)
There is a plethora of reasons why, his constitutional consistency, his Christian beliefs, his workforce experience (as a doctor, OB, having delivered over 4,000 babies). Even if I disagreed with him on more things (and I do disagree with him on a few things), all of the other options on stage right now are much less appealing. (with Gingrich being the worst of the lot).
Voddie Baucham gives a very concise, to the point explanation of why he will vote for Ron Paul, and I think that it's very helpful, plus it has lots of footnotes (I'm a sucker for footnotes. There just something about being able to show where you got your info that is so reassuring).
http://americanvisionnews.com/1278/voddie-baucham-answers-why-ron-paul
Give it a read. I'd love to hear what your thoughts are.

The Value of Family

I sit here in Michigan, the house is empty because my older brother has yet to return, having just finished reading through the list of blogs that I follow, and I'm stuck by how much I miss my family. One of the blogs I follow is by a mom who's blog posts are almost always pictures and stories about her family. What they've been doing, the good and bad things that have happened, things like that. I love they're family, and reading about what they've been up to, but not as much as I could ever love my own! I know the phrase "you never miss it till it's gone" it cliché, but it still rings true. My days now consist of sleeping, reading my bible, working, blogging, math, piano, working on my car, and various others minor things, so my time is filled (maybe too filled, I've already worked 30 hours this week, and it's only Wednesday), but even though I'm busy, several times a day, I'll be doing something, and it will remind me of what a family member has, or would do in that situation. Or I'll be working on my car, and be searching the internet because I can't figure something out on it, and I'll think "I bet dad would know how to fix this, to bad it's 5am back home". I know that I often took them for granted, but now, where I only get to see them on short vacations, it makes my time with them so much more valuable. One day all my siblings will be married, we'll all live in different houses, and we'll only see each other on occasion. But right now, accept for Ross, they're all conveniently living in one place. I can't wait until this march when I'll get to go back and visit.
So I guess what I'm trying to say with all of that is this: God gives us a limited amount of time with our families, and we don't know when that time will pass, so appreciate it right now! Don't wait until tomorrow to tell your mom that you love her, or your dad that's he's awesome, do it right now! They have sacrificed more then your or I can ever imagine for they're children, and a quick "I love you" can be remembered for years to come.
~Paul