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Stay Out Of Destruction’s Way The narrative of deceit is under attack. Stay out of the way.  The lies of the lofty are exposed for what they are. Stay out of the way. Hold those in leadership accountable. Allow no man’s words to set you back, allow His word to set you free. The enemy of our souls is a master at twisting right and wrong. Don’t fall for it. Don’t become part of it either.  A month or so ago, a secular psychiatrist was talking about how our minds lie to us. They

Fret Not Thyself There seems to be a million things grabbing our attention. There was a time we could ignore it, but those days are long gone. How does one stay engaged but not allow involvement to create too much friction in our own lives? As we move deeper into the abyss, the battle to stay connected grows more difficult. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and underprepared. My friends, that’s when our engine light is on, warning us to Lube Up. For those of us with faith in God,

Love Gets Lost In The Hallmark Moment I’m not much into the Hallmark Holidays. Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Valentine’s Day all seem a bit fake to me. I know, it’s the humbug in me. It’s not a bad thing to set a day aside to honor people, I get that. But as commercialization of everything gets out of hand, it seems we keep adding kids day, cousins day, what’s next, a card for love your dog day? I walked into the gym and Vicki, the greeter, told a funny story about a friend

Happy Birthday Oregon Valentine’s Day is Oregon’s birthday. It’s not easy to celebrate when you have so much turmoil and divisiveness in the state. But hold on, there’s a not-so-quiet revolution going on that is not party-related but based on what Oregon was founded on: common sense. My message boards and emails are filled with people who are fed up and ready to talk. Some can’t speak publicly, and others, while hesitant, are taking the bold step and fighting back. Over a qua

http://olis.oregonlegislature.gov Senate bill 1599 Oregonians, Again, Get Out The Gloves The fight is on. The governor of Oregon and Democrats in the legislature continue to preach democracy while ripping away from the people they are supposed to serve. They didn’t learn when they tried to shove the largest tax increase in Oregon history down the throats of the voters. The governor misread the people when she dragged her feet for a month, holding off on signing the legislatio

Outwitting The Devil I’m reading “Outwitting the Devil” by Napoleon Hill. I don’t recommend it for everyone. It’s a bit unnerving, and theologian types may have trouble with it. It’s written about a conversation the author has with the Devil. I’m just getting into the actual interview. Hill authored many books on success. This one was not published until after his death. He knew it would be controversial. In the book, the Devil explains how he captures the attention of the “E

None of these things moves me. When ground is lost, the losers go on the attack. The best way to fight back, sometimes, is to do nothing. In the heat of the moment, it is difficult to remember that we don’t have to engage. This is where I have trouble. How do we stay engaged without becoming enraged? It is easy to forget we need not avenge ourselves. Even when the grossest insults are hurled our direction, Romans says, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves.”   Paul said, “No

I’m In This Rick, Be Still. The world appears to be in freefall. Much of what’s going on doesn’t add up, makes no sense, and seems too obvious. Culture is out of step with many Americans, or so it seems to me. Evil is on a rampage, destroying anything that gets in its way. People I liked, respected, and paid attention to now sound unhinged, angry, and bitter. I woke up last night and started to worry about people I love, who are falling for inconsistency. Why can’t they see t

Hold Fast To His Dear Hand I’m working on my sleep. I started tracking it about a month ago to determine what wakes me in the night and what whispers in my ears, keeping me from going back to sleep. Early this morning, I awoke, the usual cause being a sixty-six-year-old man needing to take a restroom break. You, younger men, may laugh, but your time is coming.  As I tried to go back to sleep, worries of tomorrow and months down the road flooded my mind. I said in a whisper, G

The Ultimate Scapegoat, ICE You never used to hear much about ICE. Now, it seems, every social issue, every wrong that needs to be righted, is caused by ICE. One of the techniques I see the extreme left using a lot is repetition. They’re great at saying on message, even when there is no truth in what they say. They hammer and claw, despite facts and figures, knowing the general public isn’t paying attention and is easily swayed by rhetoric and repetition. We all know that if

Underground Movement About To Explode There’s a huge shift in our nation. Once again, truth matters. Our election system is a mess. A recent poll on CNN shows more than 80% of those polled said we need to go back to using I.D. to vote. That’s a huge win for those of us who care about election integrity and scares the holy hell out of those using the system for fraud. Oregon was ordered to remove 800,000 inactive names from the voter rolls. The Democrats are putting the usual

Don’t Run, Face Trouble Head-On When a bird spots trouble approaching, it doesn’t turn away; instead, it faces into the wind, using its strength to lift itself higher. Airplanes use the wind, which hits them directly, to rise to greater heights. Life works similarly. When difficulty confronts us directly, we aren’t meant to run or turn away. Never turn your back on a threat; instead, plant your feet firmly and confront it head-on. Never run from trouble. When God gives you th

Everything Is On The Table. For too long, we’ve allowed a narrow cultural narrative to determine what we can or cannot talk about. We tiptoe, skirt around, and shut up when the conversation leans into uncomfortable territory. What if we didn’t have to do that? Actually, we don’t. No rule says we can’t ask questions. There should be no topic on the off-limits list. I’m watching the unrest back in Oregon. I see it in places like Helena and Bozeman, Montana. I think a lot of the

If You Could See The Numbers Kathy and I were out yesterday. Didn’t pay much attention to social media. Needed a break. When I checked in last night, I was shocked by over half a million views on an article, hundreds of new follows and thousands of comments to an article I wrote in the morning titled “ Warning To The Extreme.” If you pay attention to the headlines and the legacy media, it’s easy to get discouraged and believe the whole world has gone mad. It’s not true. But r

The Noise of Oppression A storm falls upon our nation. Chaos erupts in the streets of our cities and small towns. We find ourselves at odds with our neighbors, even our extended families. To us, it makes no sense. The puppet master pulls his strings. Society dances uncontrollably as it follows each tug of the string, making movements that cause us to scratch our heads in wonder. Words no longer have meaning. Accusations abound. Proof is no longer needed to make a claim. Tell

National Shutdown? A lot of you are sending me information on this so-called “National Shutdown” movement to protest ICE. I’m a big supporter of people who want to protest when things aren’t going their way. Does it work? No It makes the protesters feel like they are doing something, but in terms of impacting the lives of everyday people, the answer is no. Do not stand in their way. I wouldn’t show up at an actual protest. But if you want to do a counter protest, go for it. G

Rather than doing things the right way, the hard way, or the sustainable way, there’s a group of people looking to use chaos to bring about change. They don’t seem to care about casualties, but use them to gain more attention, more power, and more destruction. They cry out words like humane and compassion, but those are lies because they have none when it comes to victims of illegal immigrant crime, not even when it’s a child who is raped, tortured, and murdered. They’ll put

Division Intensifies As we’ve witnessed over the last few years, division is the easy road to destruction. You don’t need a master plan; for centuries, those in charge understood that if you divide, you can conquer. Our nation is divided, and to the casual observer, it might look as though the separation is unrepairable. Perhaps repair is not what our creator intends? Maybe He has a plan to separate the sheep from the goats, what is good from what is evil. I don’t know. I can

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What’s the Bottom Line Right behind the unopened door is the question most of us are asking. Few seem to have the will to turn the doorknob but skirt the question that could bring clarity. It’s so easy for the basic question facing America right now to be clouded over with emotion, side issues, and blame. ICE agents have now killed two protesters; details are still coming forward, and we all have questions, lots of questions. You say you want the bloodshed to end, but refuse