Today we received a visit from our neighborhood pests... err.. friends... umm. no.... umm.. Gospel challenged Jehovah's Witness (JW). Carrie told me that some JWs or Mormons were parked in front of our house going door to door. So I welcomed the opp gladly. It's been years since I had to think about JW/Mormon stuff - so I stuck to the easy discussion. I gave them the Gospel. It was a father/son duo (while his wife/daughter were annoying others in the community). Since I couldn't remember much about what they believe, I am definitely studying up on their cultic beliefs/practices and challenge them the next time they come. They're on my turf, they'll get my message... err.. God's message of salvation. In my reading/research of their cult (in my book "The Kingdom of the Cults") I began remembering some things. JWs believe Jesus Christ is not god and He was created by Jehovah. Basically, Charles Taze Russell (CT Russell) did not believe in eternal torment and had counterarguments on "the atonement" of Christ. He wrote some books with the 7th book causing a split in the organization after his death. Two groups emerged, a small group and a larger group which has now become "Jehovah's Witness". During this time JF Rutherford took over. Let me just say... they are messed up. I might post more later. If you haven't 'talked' to a JW/Mormon before, you will. You will. May God have mercy.

GAK Charter has done it again. As most of you know already, I cancelled our Charter Cable/Pipeline package because Charter is just a poor company. Lately I realized I have not received certain emails from certain friends. I began to wonder why. And so I thought about what email address they usually send to. What email address do you think it was??? Well, let me tell you. davecruver@charter.net ugh. And Charter wondered why we cancelled. What an incompetent company. Do you realize what's happening here? Let me spell it out. I cancelled ( as per Dictionary.com - To annul or invalidate.), and Charter has not deleted my email account. (I'm surprised they haven't charged me...). I went to the webmail portion of Charter's site and setup a 'Vacation' rule. So now, when an email is sent to: davecruver@charter.net the sender receives an auto-reply email. Go ahead, email it :) hehe Charter is trash. Yeah you may be fortunate enough to not receive problems with them, but it will come. If you wait, it will come.... muahahahaha....... Gak.

Wow - didn't realize the extent of impact the Black Out had... ouchy... hehe - even though this is a hoax, it's still cool :) hehe NOAA News - Real Photos

Over the past couple years I have been evaluating my position on many different subjects. There are some stances I take that have been indelibly placed into either a Theological and/or Philosophical foundation; yet, other stances I am changing - yes, to some, it will seem I am changing to the worse, and yet still others will think I have been properly enlightened on a matter. Let me just say, it is good to evaluate convictions and standards. I am beginning this process over once again. This time I am proceeding in alphabetical order. It will be simpler this way in some respects and easier to keep track of which subjects I have addressed. And if I miss anything along the way, it won't hurt to insert those subjects in a non-alphabetical order :) My re-evaluation of these subjects is not only to make sure I know what I believe, but also to be ready to give an account for what I believe; to strengthen my apologetics. And now, there lies the mystery of what subjects I am evaluating; which I am changing my view; and still others that I have placed in the Theological/Philosophical concrete foundation. I challenge you to do the same.

I know most of you don't use dialup (lucky dawgs... ;)) But for those of us on a budget, dialup works fine - sorta. I used one ISP (CPU-NET) for a month or two. Decent service. Then I decided to try Juno Speedband. Wow - it does go fairly quickly - more quickly than CPU-NET - so CPU-NET lost out on $$ from me :) I am not brand loyal - I'll tell you that much :) If you are looking for a good dialup ISP, Juno is pretty good. I don't get kicked off at all (neither did I with CPU-NET), but CPU-NET didn't have the speed that Juno claims (and delivers). Well, that's my 2 cents....

I didn't think I'd be able to do any posting while in Maryland, but I found I have some time... The subject of death is thought provoking. We all know death is inescapable; death can be immenent, or as the Merriam Webster dictionary so aptly states it, 'hanging threateningly over one's head '. But have you thought that death is also unnatural? Death is an unnatural addition to life - to the original creation by God. God's creation was perfect; complete; good. But when sin crashed into the world, death followed by its coat-tails (so-to-speak). But I am thankful that Christ conquered death. "O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?" The resurrection is the key to the Gospel's power. And by partaking in Christ's suffering, we partake of His power - for he rose again and is living today! IF we live unto Christ, we will never die. What a thought.

I am not sure if I will be posting much for the rest of the week. My Aunt passed away yesterday (Monday, August 18), and I will be on my way to the funeral, etc... today @ Noon. I will return Friday, August 22 @ 600p (or so...)

Things that make you go Hmmmm.... I fixed lunch today. I made two grilled cheese sandwhiches. yum. The way I make them is by putting mayo (salad dressing type) on the side of the bread (on both slices) that will be on the inside of the sandwhich. I then put two slices of cheese in between them. This is about the time I turn on the burner on the stove. By this time the sandwhich has already been put together. I then begin to butter one side of the sandwhich, place the sandwhich (buttered side down) on the pan. And for the last side, I butter it, also. While that sandwhich is cooking, I start the process all over again with another sandwhich. As I began eating, a thought occured to me about how, when, and why to pray for my meal. This is a thought provoking issue. If you are like most Christians, you pray before you eat - before you even touch your fork or drink. May I suggest to you this is not always a proper time to pray. Sounds heretical, eh? Well, read on before you make a judgement... I have been with many a Christian (sometimes myself included) that prays for their food before they eat, then they complain about the food the whole time! Ummm.... 'scuse me? Did you not just thank God for what you are partaking? You might as well not have prayed IMO. I realize people are following the 'example' of Christ - which is a good thing - but we fail to realize He did everything in sincerity. We don't. My point is, you don't have to pray before you eat. What about praying after? Or maybe during - as in after you've taken a few bites to make sure you want to thank God for the sludge you are eating. Christ never said you must pray before you eat. He mainly said pray in this manner - when you do something in a particular manner, that doesn't necessarily mean at a particular time. Now back to my lunch. I decided that (since I knew how this lunch was going to taste - (and that I prepared it exactly the way I like it prepared) I'd pray throughout my lunch for this particular bite, and that particular drink, etc.. and when I was done eating, I thanked God for my lunch. I wanted to make sure I was sincere in my prayer; for why should I pray if I am not sincere? Insincere prayers just hit the ceiling (in a matter of speaking). Just be careful why you do it, how you do it, & when you do it - you may be doing it just to do it b/c it looks right - not necessarily b/c it is right.

Well, folks, I am trying to make this blog a good resource for all kinds of information and help. As you can see, I've added quite a few links on the side. If you have any other good sites, you can either contact me (via the link at the bottom right) or go to www.chumpmonkey.com and add a comment on my post about new links :)