It's Only A Number

Reflecting on 2008, I thought that was the strangest year ever in my life. Think about it, the price of gas dropped by over 50% in just a few months. Retirement and investment accounts drop significantly. In summary, the bubble burst.

We listened to the presidential candidates debate how they would fix the economy and watched in amazement as our government leadership determined that the solution was to provide over $700,000,000,000 to fix the the bubble. I got to thinking about that number. Just how big is 700 billion?

So, I did a little research. I found an interesting analogy on the Internet that said a one gallon milk jug would contain about 1 billion grains of sand. OK now I can wrap my mind around the size of "1 billion". So the government decided to provide 700 milk jugs. Now that is a lot of milk jugs. When I was in the store the other day, I decided to count the number of one gallon milk jugs on the milk rack. On one shelf, I found 16 milk jugs lined up 4 across and 4 deep so that shelf contains the equivalent of $16,000,000,000. There were 5 shelves on the rack or the equivalent of $80,000,000,000. It would take 9 racks like that to hold 720 milk jugs. That is a lot of milk.

As I drove past Academy, the other day, I noticed they had BBQ grills made from oil drum containers. A barrel of oil holds 55 gallons. It would take 13 barrels to hold $700,000,000,000. Now I am getting somewhere. So there, I've settled it in my mind. I can visualize 13 oil barrels.

Anyone want to help me fill those oil barrels with sand now? I have a spare shovel.

The Original Christmas Carol

Christmas Past

In the beginning was God. Gen 1:1 says the earth was empty and God gave it life. This was the first gift. God breathe His soul into His creation. Thus the earth was full of God’s character. The Old Testament is an account of how man used and misused this special gift. This was the Christmas past

Christmas Present

The birth of Christ represents God’s second gift. He gave the earth and mankind, His Son Jesus so man could understand God’s character. When Simeon saw the Christ child, he recognized the second gift God provided mankind. He praised God and offered a blessing to Joseph and Mary. (Luke 2:22-35)

During His three years of public ministry, Jesus showed the world the greatest gift possible; the gift of life. John 10:10. This is Christmas Present.

Christmas Future

The Holy Spirit gave John a look into the future (Revelation 21). John describes the final gift from God – A new heaven and a new earth for the old has passed away – A New Jerusalem full of God’s character. God now dwells with his people and they dwell with Him. This is the Christmas Future.

The Christmas story is now complete.

Happy Birthday America

Today is July 4th, the official birthday of the United States. I thought I would reflect on that a bit. We live in a world that is basically separated be good and evil. Those who are in the "evil" camp believe they are the good guys because the believe in fighting for their causes. Those are in the "good" camp are willing to fight to defend their cause.

On June 7, 1776 Richard Henry Lee (1732-1794), VA, presented Congress a resolution urging Congress to declare independence. On June 11, 1776 Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), John Adams (1735-1826), Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), Roger Sherman (1721-1793), and Robert R. Livingston (1746-1813) were appointed to a committee to draft a declaration of independence. From June 12 through June 27th, Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence at the request of the committee. On June 28, 1776, the draft was read in Congress. Between July 1 and July 4th, this document was debated, revised and adopted by Congress. For more information, go to Declaration of Independence.

This one document set in motion the birth of this great nation. The freedom that is eloquently expressed in this document is equally to none other. It is for this freedom that Americans are willing to give their life. As you celebrate this 4th of July holiday, please take time to reflect on the significance of this day. For many it is just a day off. How sad.

Do you proudly fly the American Flag in front of your home? If not, you should. If you do, retire the old tattered flag and put up a new one today. Do you thank military people when you see them? If not you should, they are fighting for the freedom you enjoy.

So as you enjoy the day off spending time with family and friends, take a moment to say Happy Birthday, America. And most importantly, thank God for this country and the freedom it represents.