Author Archives: bfrhodes99

Will You Please Join Me in a Little Speculation?

Posted in Christian values by

In EX 34:29-35, we see that when Moses returned from the top of the mountain, his face shined. It frightened those who saw it to the point that Moses wore a veil. I can’t remember exactly when I first became aware of the passage, I guess when I was in my mid twenties. It is certainly not one of those things that is all that important I guess. I mean, as I read it, it seemed that it was almost written as an afterthought.

Yet, I get the impression we can maybe draw a minor conclusion from it. People often wonder what we will be like when we get to heaven. Well, we will be in the presence of God, even more than Moses was. It somewhat suggest to me that we, all of us who go to heaven we will shine, although, I would have to say, it would be the light of God showing in us rather than from us.

We will, from time to time meet people we met here on earth and when we do, their faces, maybe their whole body will shine. Even then, we will recognize and they will recognize us. I don’t guess it’s all that important, but I figured I would mention it.

Also, it makes me wonder if Adam and Eve’s faces shined, especially before the fall. I mean, I got the idea that they and God conversed regularly. I have no idea what they talked about but before the fall, Adam had no sin. It does make me a little envious of Adam. It would really be nice to be able to have two way conversations with God every day.

My wife always accuses me of thinking too much. She asks me if I ever just turn my brain off and let it rest for a while. In this case, she may be right. Indeed the Bible does caution us about speculating. None-the-less, it does say that Moses’ face shined. Are we speculating to much to think that he will cause our faces to shine too.

However, I think it will be more than that. I don’t think that we will even think that much of it. However bright I become in the body that God gives me, it will pale in brilliance of God’s glory.

On the other hand, those who don’t make it to heaven, I don’t think there will be much light where they will go. You see, God is the source of all light. Those separated from God will also be separated from light. Given the choice, why would anyone want to go there. The truth is, all have a choice. We must all choose. Those who do not chose Jesus as their savior and lord, by default have chosen hell. Let me put it another way. If you have not chosen to accept Jesus as your savior, then you walk the path that leads to hell. When and if you chose to accept Jesus as your savior, God immediately gives you citizenship in heaven. It is a citizenship that cannot be taken from you. It is far more permanent than citizenship in the US

However, every man that has ever been saved shares one thing in common. They admitted that they need to be saved. They have admitted their sin. For how can a man turn from sin and chose a savior unless he first admits he needs one. Those who are without sin have no need of a savior. Other than Jesus, that person does not exist.

It is somewhat of an enigma. The first step in being saved is realizing you are a sinner. Once you realize your sin, then, and only then will you seek salvation and a savior. Then, of course this all mans nothing if you don’t accept the right savior, the real savior; the one who died on the cross for us. No one else has the power. No one else has the authority. John 14:6 “I am the way….” When Jesus said that, he eliminated any and all others. If it is not true then He lied and there is no hope for anyone. In the same verse Jesus said that He is the Truth.

So, as I said, you have a choice. If you go to hell, it is only because you made the wrong one.

Nutrition Deficiencies

Posted in Food by

Many moons ago, a man who worked with me made quite a point of trying to convince me and world that if a person eats properly, he need not take any supplements. I disagreed with him and I explained why. Might I mention, this man made it a point to eat the right foods.

Well, about a week later, he came in complaining that the doctor wanted him to take some vitamins. I mean, he was making it a point that the world knew he was angry.

The fact is, as we get older, two things work against us in getting the proper nutrition. First, as we get older, we simply do not eat as much. My best guess, we are not as active. Our metabolism slows. And, believe it or not, our brain no longer burns as many calories. As a child, our brains use half the calories we take in. As an adult, that drops to 1/5. (Sort explains why it is that we pick up the weight after we reach our mid twenties.

Second, our digestion system does not work as well. I have come the personal conclusion that it collects the calories just as well, the vitamins and minerals, not so much. Now that I am over 70, I take a bunch of supplements, as does my wife. When I noticed my wife being really lethargic, I took her to the hospital. She was low on sodium and vitamin D. The multivitamin was apparently not enough. Moreover, the sodium really hit me. I mean every physician and his cousin is saying cut back on the salt. Well, she is different. Seems she can have all she wants.

Also, there was vitamin D in the multi-vitamin and it still was not enough. Moreover, with the China Virus, we find that we need more D anyway. More than strong bones, it seems to also help our immunity.

Every night, now, it is a ritual my wife and I. We have to take the prescription pills and the supplements.

So, you think you are getting all the vitamins and minerals you need from your food, if you are over 40, you just might want to check with your doctor. It seems to me as if that is when the deficiencies hit. Of course for some it will be earlier or later. Just please, don’t wait for a hospital visit to find out that you aren’t getting enough vitamin D.

Car Thievery

Posted in Crime, Lawyers and Representation, Liberals by

Yesterday, I was looking around the web concerning crime. I found something that I thought I would pass along. Of over 80 cars stolen in Southaven, MS this year, nearly half were taken from hospital parking lots. I had to think that over for two reasons. I guess it makes since. After all, many people spend hours days or even weeks in the hospital without returning to their cars. It would seem the thief need not in a hurry.

Secondly, just what could be done to decrease the thievery, both collectively and individually. I have been giving it more than casual thought.

I know that Baptist Desoto has security personnel patrolling the lots. One might think it would discourage the thieves. However, they do drive well marked cars with flashing lights. I suppose a person could wait until the flashing lights are on the other side of the lot.

I guess as an individual, we can make sure to lock all doors and maybe leave that 250 pound friend you have and pay him a dollar or two to stand watch over the Mercedes you have. On the other hand, you should leave the Mercedes behind and take the old 49 Chevy. Wait a minute. 49 Chevys might be just the sort of thing an antique dealer might be looking for.

Hay! Here’s an idea! When we catch the thief, let’s make sure he stays in prison for a while, like 20 years. He might be causing problems in prison, but he won’t be stealing cars for a couple of decades. Who knows? If we keep that up for a while, we just might not have to lock our cars up anymore.

How am I Feeling

Posted in Growing Old by
Daily writing prompt
How are you feeling right now?
View all responses

Old. I just can’t keep up with the indoor work anymore. The outdoor work is getting completely out of hand. Every now and again I must part with five or six hundred dollars to do that which I can’t.

It is what you can expect should you survive a while. It did not surprise me. It just crept up on me. One day I woke up and found I just couldn’t do what I used to. I have power tools too. I have a good power hedge trimmer. It does all the work. I do all the sweating. When done, the trimmers are still in good shape. I go into the house under the AC and hope I will survive another battle with the outdoors.

The last couple of days I did something indoors that I should have done years ago. That was a bad mistake. Not only am I older now, but the task continued to grow bigger. Sometimes you can put things off. Not so much this time. Now every muscle have is telling me I should not have put that task off.

If you happen to see an old man fighting with a bunch of bushes growing up in his back yard, you might wave. It just might be me. Then again, possibly just a man like me.

Like a Room Full of Kids

Posted in Christian values, Confessions, Deceit, Lawyers and Representation, responsibility & irresponsibility, Uncategorized by

After a tragic event, I prefer to hold my comments to myself for a week or two. Frequently, if I jump too early, I end up eating my words.

Tonight, I have decided to say a few words about the tragedy in Hawaii. I thought about writing immediately after but I am glad I waited for things to unfold. The one thing I noticed is that it was similar to walking into a room full of kids where something was spilled causing substantial damage. When I ask who did it, the kids, in chorus say, loudly, “Not me.”

Ever since the disaster a great deal of time has been wasted pointing fingers. This one says this and that one says that. I guess none of those fellas was in the Marines. They wouldn’t have done that. It is very shameful behavior by them all.

As I see it, someone squandered a good opportunity. If one would have raised his hand and said, “It’s my fault and I apologize. I didn’t see it coming and I should have. I assure you, I will not make that mistake again and I need to do what I can to see to it that we recover as much as we can as quickly as we can. After, in the aftermath, we need to take a good hard look at what happened and, in as much as possible, make sure that it is never repeated.”

I suspect that any man (or woman) who said that would have the full attention and the loyalty of his friends and constituents. In general, people don’t like it when people mess things up. Even more, they will generally respect the man who owns it.

I learned it day one in boot camp, don’t make mistakes and when you do, admit to them. It seems a little contradictory. It effectively goes against the natural behavior, but it is the most important thing a leader can do. It’s kind important for the followers too. It is hard to face up to our shortcomings, but those who attempt deception will pay the price, especially when it is so obvious.

Best at Something

Posted in Liberals by

Ch 24 news reports that Memphis has the best hotel bar in the country.

Had to think that one over. Is that something to brag about? Don’t think so, especially if it’s about the only thing for which to brag.

Now, let’s see. I don’t hear any bragging over the schools.

Biden Need Not be Concerned About Prison

Posted in Biden by

Given his mental capacity, he is he can no longer assist in his own legal defense, which means he cannot ever be convicted of anything.

Then again, does that really give any sane person any comfort. I mean, he really does have the power to start a world nuclear disaster and he doesn’t know how to exit a stage.

Socialism is Older Than the U.S.A.

Posted in Abuse of Power, Christian values, Communist Takover, Deceit, Liberals, Politcal Opinion, Social Media, Socialists, Truth, Vietnam war by

Though many will not believe me, it is true. When the Mayflower landed, they tried socialism, though it isn’t what it was called. If you believe me not Google “Pilgrim socialism.” As far as I know, the Pilgrims were the first to try socialism and they almost died because of it. They likely would have if they hadn’t changed their ways.

Over the years, many others tried it. There was even anther attempt at it in the US before autos came along. It failed too. There was a lot of hoopla as they started setting things up. Then, as usual, people found out they could get food without working for it. Others found out they were carrying the load while others remained idle. Those who worked left, which left nothing but the freeloaders that socialism encourages. It didn’t last but a few years.

It is something of an advantage of our country. Individual groups, cities and even states can try things. If it fails, the nation remains. If such a bad plan is attempted nationwide, it could mean the fall of the nation.

I guess it is what we can say today about NY, NY and California. They have tried socialism and it is failing horribly. And so it is that people are leaving and going elsewhere as fast as they can pack up and find a U-Haul. Those that remain are ether not able to leave, or they are the freeloaders. The first time since California became a state, it has lost population in the census. That is something, considering they have the best weather in the country, as well as the biggest trees and some right sizable mountains. By the way, the state also has a sizable shoreline too. And, naturally, who would want to leave Disneyland behind.

Actually, it was tried in Russia too. Guess what, they went bankrupt. It was only because of aid from the US that they didn’t just almost starve to death before it all got started. Also, without our help, Germany just might have incorporated them into the German nation. Remember your history, Hitler’s army was withing miles of Moscow.

Hitler didn’t like the communists in case you didn’t know that. Even before he consolidated power within Germany, he had his skirmishes with them. As for why he didn’t like them? My best guess was that they were competition for control of the country… and for the world. I doubt that politics really figured into it, but it made something of a story to sell to his countrymen.

Actually, both communism and Nazism are very similar. They are both a form of socialism. They just had different names and different leaders. None-the-less, Hitler drove the communists from Germany and established his rule. Then, he went about trying to expand it. Actually, it was the same thing that Lenin and Stalin did a few years earlier in Russia.

In both cases, the socialism was not the goal but rather it was for control, the dictatorship. There never was a real socialism and there would have never been one. IF he tried to set a true socialism up, Hitler would have failed before he began.

However, throughout the world, there were the idealists. Many of them were from Russia; many from Germany. Before the Second World War, there were Russian and German sympathizers in the US. Some were trying to get us to help Russia. The others were trying to get us to help Germany. I don’t guess too many realize that right up until Peal Harbor, we were selling things to Germany.

Why in the world would a good country like the US do something like that? Well, as I said, there were those sympathizers. However, mostly it wasn’t so idealistic. The big corporations loved the money. By the way, we were also doing a whole lot of business with Japan too. (Sound familiar. We are doing an awful lot of business with China today, to my dismay.)

When war broke out, many of the German sympathizers were rounded up by the FBI. Others remained but were afraid to do much public sympathizing. However, the communists remained to operate clandestinely.

So, while we fought one socialist dictatorship, we helped another dictatorship. We had Soviet agents within the US waiting for their chance. At the end of the war, they took advantage of that chance. Many today look down on Sen. Joseph McCarthy, but he really did do this nation a lot of good. Sometimes he did go a little to the extreme, but we just might have become another one of those nations that tried communism under the rule of the USSR had he not done what he did.

In truth he did find many agents. He did help to clear our armed forces and defense contractors of foreign agents. To be sure, he awakened us to what was going on. Afterword, the word communism left a bad taste in the mouths of most Americans. This was enhanced with the USSR setting off their first atom bomb. The Soviets became a nation to fear. Then they started their new expansions into China and eastern Europe. Without hesitation, they killed with no reason anywhere they could. It was the vicious side of the “Reds” as they got to be know. Then, to cap it all off, Khrushchev stood in the UN and said, “We will bury you,” speaking of the US. He meant it. The plans were in place before WWII. He said that he would take us over without firing a shot. Folks, he meant every word of it. Today, many don’t remember. Many were not around to see it.

We fought two wars to stop it, Korea and Vietnam. Many of our men died, not so many of theirs. Mostly, it was their sergeants who gave their blood for the cause of the Soviets.

Again, they had no real interest in communism, nor did they have any interest in politics in general. They had but one goal, to spread the Soviet Union to include the entire world. And of course, they would be the leaders of the world. They would have all the power, and likely they would fight among themselves.

World rule is older than socialism. It began back before Egypt and Babylon. Soon Jesus will return for His church. After the rapture, there will not be so much as one Christian left on earth. Just think of what kind of world that will be.

Those Christians today who the world treats so badly and whom they scoff are helping to keep this world bearable. One day soon, they’ll be gone. Do you really want to see a world like that? Do you really want to see a world where the ungodly are allowed to rule and run free without restraint.

In the meantime, let’s try to restrain those who like socialism, globalism and total control by those who are power hungry, by those who kill without hesitation. If they preach socialism, remember this, what they really want is total power.

A Question for the Local Media

Posted in Deceit, gun control, law enforcement, Lawyers and Representation, Liberals, News media by

I heard a remark on a local network. What I heard from the anchor woman was that the parents of The Covenant School wanted gun legislation. I have a question. Was there a pole taken, or did they just ask the ones that showed up to demonstrate. I guess I do have another question. Is she the official spokes person for those parents. Does she really know what she said is true or is it an assumption based on the few parents that did complain.

Actually, I guess it is possible that the so-called parents aren’t even parents at the school. Has anyone even asked. Has anyone checked. They could be simply professional demonstrators. Being as the news woman is likely a democrat, she surely knows that this is probable. She very likely saw it before.

I don’t like so-called reporters making reports without actually checking to see if it’s true. It’s exactly how Russia, Russia started. It is the way lies are told and rumors are spread.

I also have a small question for the parents of the school. If you are reading this, could you please leave a short reply in the remarks. It is just possible you don’t like the woman misrepresenting you. Then, by all means, if you do agree with reporter, I’d really like to know that too. Unlike some, I do not like to make assumptions or spread lies.