Approach this situation with awareness of who is Boss. As you make plans for the day, remember that it is I who orchestrates the events of your life. On days when things go smoothly, according to your plans, you may be unaware of My sovereign Presence. On days when your plans are thwarted, be on the lookout for Me! I may be doing something important in your life, something quite different from what you expected. It is essential at such times to stay in communication with Me, accepting My way as better than yours. Don’t try to figure out what is happening. Simply trust Me and thank Me in advance for the good that will come out of it all. I KNOW THE PLANS I HAVE FOR YOU, AND THEY ARE GOOD.

(Isaiah 55:9-11; Jeremiah 29:11)

Merry Christmas to You and Yours!

This video absolutely stole my heart. Totally worth watching all 7 minutes as this bright little girl recants the story of how Jonah disobeyed God and ended up in the belly of a big fish. Super duper CUTE!!!

The story of Jonah from Corinth Baptist Church on Vimeo.

Launched a new site that let’s users pick their Top 4 Favorite Candidates by dragging/dropping the candidate’s photo into a ballot. Check it out at: http://memylogos.com/strawpoll. Would love any feedback.

Related articles

• Large turnout expected for election Secretary of State Sam Reed predicts two-thirds of the state’s voters will return their ballots, which are due by Tuesday. (heraldnet.com)
• New York Governor Election 2010: Predict The Winner! (POLL) (huffingtonpost.com)
• Election Day Predictions, from Prop 23 in the Most Populous State to Governor in the Smallest (thedailygreen.com)
• MeMyLogos.com Launches Social Media Straw Poll to Predict Election Results (prweb.com)

Dear God,

You tell us through Paul in Philipianns 4 to not be anxious about anything and in everything to pray with thanksgiving, and present our requests to You.

Here is my prayer:

At this very moment, my grandpa is undergoing a quadruple bypass heart surgery to fix problems discovered during a heart attack he suffered last week. I pray today for strength. Strength for my family, my grandma, the nurses and doctors performing the operation and especially for my grandpa. I pray that the doctors are able to repair his heart and that when the time comes to take him off the machines I pray that his heart takes over in a way that only You can orchestrate.

I know that aging and death are a natural part of Your plan and I know in my heart that what waits for Your believers in heaven is something greater than anything we can experience in this lifetime. But I still struggle with the pain of seeing someone I love hurting. Please heal our pains and provide us comfort.

I ask that You use this opportunity of togetherness to unite our family so we can share in Your mercy and grace. I pray that those that don’t know You see You working in their lives and the life of grandpa and reach out to You for help. I pray for laughs, smiles and happiness during these difficult times. And Lord God, more than anything else, I pray for my grandpa’s heart.

Amen.

P.S. – As a special prayer for my Grandpa, I pray the Colts win big on Sunday night. The excitement of a close game is always fun but after a successful surgery I think his heart would appreciate an easy win.

Today Google opened up their priority inbox feature, which automagically prioritizes my inbox so I save time by reading the most important emails first. Brilliant!!!

Related articles by Zemanta

• Priority Inbox (tomaplomb.blogspot.com)
• Google to Roll out E-mail Prioritizing Feature in Gmail (pcworld.com)
• Gmail learns to prioritize your inbox — automatically! (downloadsquad.com)
• Google to Roll Out E-Mail Prioritizing Feature in Gmail (nytimes.com)
• Learn About Google’s Priority Inbox (markblinder.com)

“When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.” – Ben Franklin

A spokesperson for the Housing and Urban Development Office went on the record on CNN’s “State of the Union” program and announced that President Obama plans to offer refinancing aid and loans for jobless homeowners. I’m all for helping those in need, but are we completely giving up on personal responsibility?

Am I the only one with a problem shifting all the power of both government and business to Washington?

Most of my friends disagree with me on this and think that corporate America is just a pile of greed dressed up in an Armani suit. Their arguments are always centered around unregulated industries stepping on their employees and abusing the little guy along the way to print money for the stockholders and C-level executives. I don’t disagree that much of the damage for Wall Street has been self-inflicted.

Here’s my question: What makes the President or Congress any different? Why are they morally superior to these shyster business execs? George W. Bush started the trend of bailing out industries and the slippery slope has turned into bailing out every group or industry in trouble. Slowly but surely, we’re shifting more and more power to a handful of decision makers in Washington. Need help? Lobby Congress. They’ll give you money.

At what point do we just vote to print our own?

Related articles by Zemanta

• HUD chief cites progress in New Orleans housing (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• 2 New Programs Planned to Help Homeowners (abcnews.go.com)
• Obama Administration Plans Mortgage Aid, Donovan Says (businessweek.com)

Philadelphia is now requiring anyone that has income outside of their typical wages to pay for a business license, regardless of how you earn the money.

Someone pays you $20 to watch their dog, and if you do the honorable thing and declare it as income the city is now requiring you to pay a $300 annual fee.

Thoughts?

Read the article on Washington Examiner

Related articles by Zemanta

• Philadelphia Wants $300 Business License From Bloggers Who Make No Money (readwriteweb.com)
• You Need a $300 License to Blog!?!? (zacjohnson.com)
• In Philly, running a blog that makes no money will cost you $300 (shortformblog.com)
• Philadelphia to register/charge bloggers $300 for blogging “priviledge” (citypaper.net)