"After Almost 50 Years, a Precious Photo of my Dear Uncle"

On 1-21-2021, if God is willing, it will be 50 years since my Uncle Steve died suddenly at age 29.  And yesterday, I was GIVEN my very first photo of him!!  Here's what happened.

My uncle died when I was 16, in January 1971.  He was NEVER one for having his photo taken, so I only had my memories of him, which were fresh in my much-younger mind at THAT time, to treasure. And as I've said before, HIS sudden death and the sudden death of a classmate later that year were my first up-close-and-personal experiences with Death, and God used them to cause me to begin to seek HIM for SALVATION.  But, I digress.

Fast forward to 2001, the 30th anniversary of Uncle Steve's death.  I happened to be working in Morris County, NJ that day and visited his grave for the very first time. I had this photo taken of me there...

....and I put it on the cover of a collection of my poems "Dust, Stone, and the Blanket of Grace" which I distributed PRIVATELY to friends and family.  The poems expressed my grief about not having any other photo of my Uncle who I had such fond (but FADING) memories of.  (I think I still have a copy of the poems in the attic, but I'm not sure....you see, I've moved three times since 2001).

I shared the poems with Steve's SON, who liked them a lot, but HE didn't have a photo of his dad EITHER, and then he moved out-of-state and we totally lost touch.

Being something of a part-time ARTIST as well as POET, in 2016, the 45th anniversary of losing Uncle Steve, I decided to DRAW him...from my fading memories of when he played chess with me as a kid.

It was a good idea, I now felt I had SOMEthing to remember him by!! But then yesterday, Steve's DAUGHTER (who I had no idea still lived in Jersey) contacted me through Facebook Messenger and asked me if *I* had a photo of him because she only had ONE to show his grandchildren!! I had never, ever heard from her before yesterday!! Well, I sent HER the DRAWING and she sent ME the PHOTO at the top of this blog...that's my Uncle Steve all the way on the right.  The picture is from 1965. so he was only 23 when it was taken.

I don't recall the song, but I remember the LYRICS (at least I think I remember them right) when Simon and Garfunkel sang these words...

"Long ago, it must be
I have a photograph
Hold fast your Memories
they're all that's left you."

Yes, as the title of this blog says, "After Almost 50 Years, (I Have) a Precious Photo of my Dear Uncle"...and, THANK YOU LORD, that's how it happened.

"God's Word Speaks to EVERY Issue We Face Today"

Our Assistant Pastor preached a VERY helpful message yesterday!! It was a one-shot message from the one chapter book of PHILEMON (photo of entire book shown above).  And, it indirectly addresses the new, contemporary question "Should we tear down statues of our Founding Fathers because they owned slaves?" 

You see, the book has the great Apostle Paul writing to PHILEMON, appealing to him to release a slave that he owned....so this nonsense that "the white man's Bible endorses slavery" is immediately debunked.  The Bible doesn't ENDORSE slavery any more than it endorses any other sin...it merely acknowledges its existence!! Anyway, in years past the main lessons from this section of God's infallible Word always seemed to be regarding Paul's HUMILITY and TACT in making his request, but since America now has this nutty new idea that our Founding Fathers should be "VILLIANIZED" (I just invented that word, I think) because they were once slaveholders, there's a "new" application which was there all along, yet not needed until TODAY.

As our pastor pointed out, when Paul praised Philemon's VIRTUES he was doing so under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit...therefore he was not just "buttering him up" to try to persuade him!!  When he called Philemon "brother," it was true just like every OTHER single word in Scripture is true. So the point is, yes, someone CAN be a righteous man and have blind spots, yet they are STILL counted as righteous.  The rest of the Bible bears this out...God summed up David as "the man after His own heart" and that was DESPITE David's lapses into sin. God evaluates us on the OVERALL bent of our lives, for which we can all be very thankful because ALL sin!! And sometimes "good" men do bad things and bad men do GOOD things.  Whether or not our Founding Fathers were all CHRISTIANS...those going to Heaven because of Christ's Righteousness ALONE,  well, I don't know.  But they WERE basically "good" men DESPITE (some of them) being owners of slaves.  And their statues don't deserve to be torn down anymore than the kind words the Apostle TRUTHFULLY spoke about Philemon deserve to be purged from God's unchanging and everlasting Word.  (CERTAINLY they shouldn't be removed just because some proud punks here in 2020 think that they are smarter than all the preceding generations of Americans who HONORED our Founding Fathers)!!

Personally, I did NOT need that sermon yesterday to convince me that destroying monuments of our Founding Fathers is wrong, but the message confirmed to me how GOD'S UNCHANGING WORD SPEAKS TO US IN OUR EVER-CHANGING WORLD.

And it speaks to EVERY issue we face today, if only we keep digging into it!!

"Chadwick Boseman, 'Black Panther' Star, Gone at 43: EVEN HEROES DIE"

Way back in the very beginnings of this blog, 2 and 1/2 years and about 450 entries ago, I wrote about CHADWICK BOSEMAN and the amazing Marvel movie "Black Panther" which was just coming out (see my "Chetitorials" for Feb. 2nd, 17th and 27th, 2018.)

Last night I was shocked and saddened to learn that Chadwick died at age 43 after losing a secret, 4 year battle with Colon Cancer which apparently (we now know) started during the FILMING of that blockbuster movie.

Yes, I found out last night while watching my New York Yankees on TV.  The announcer, Michael Kay, said that Boseman (who played Jackie Robinson in the movie "42") died, "ironically, here on Jackie Robinson Day."  It IS ironic.

A lot will be said about Boseman's ACTING (in "Black Panther," in "42," and when he played James Brown in "Get On Up"), but there's something to be said for him as a real-life PERSON, as WELL in all of this.  You see, I'm quite familiar with Colon Cancer because my first wife died from it.  Boseman had a lot of courage to go through THAT and yet portray one of the most inspirational movie characters EVER, in "Black Panther." And the fact that he commendably kept his illness secret, at the very least, shows that he did NOT want sympathy.

Back to 2018, in NOVEMBER of that year STAN LEE, Marvel comics guru, died.  My letter to a New York paper, at their discretion, had an accompanying photo of Stan and....CHADWICK BOSEMAN.

Now, Stan had a cameo in all of the "Phase 1" Marvel movies but Chadwick is the first MAJOR Marvel MOVIE star to pass away.  And it all takes place here in 2020, when the Coronavirus has halted the beginning of "Phase 2" as "Black Widow" was DUE to be released and "Black Panther 2," so we were told, was in production.

I look at the photo above now, of a 95 year old and a 43 year old, and I wonder if, during this PAUSE in Marvel (and all) movies, if God isn't trying to tell us something.  IN REAL LIFE, HEROES DIE AND THEY DON'T COME BACK....when WE die, we won't come back, EITHER....unlike in the comics or in movies. Our souls will GO SOMEWHERE ELSE and we need to make sure that it's HEAVEN we wind up in!! Nothing else matters, in the final analysis.

This reminds me of when Chris Reeve (who played "Superman,"a D.C. character) died at a young age due to a freak accident and now the man who played a major MARVEL character has tragically died. Death does not discriminate, people. EVEN HEROES DIE.

"Trump Caps Off Convention: 'We Put Our Faith in Almighty God' "

Last night, the 4 day Republican Convention  ENDED in the very best way possible!!  I saw MOST of every night's events for all four nights and time and time again I was impressed with the dignity, POSITIVE OUTLOOK, Patriotism, calling upon GOD and the orderliness of all the speakers.  But LAST night was the very best night, in my opinion!!

It started off with FRANKLIN GRAHAM leading in prayer, the internationally known son of the late BILLY Graham.  Nothing against the OTHER ones who prayed on the FIRST three nights, mind you but each one of them looked at the camera (or, perhaps at the TELEPROMPTER) as they prayed.  Franklin bowed his head DOWN. This does not mean that God heard FRANKLIN'S prayer more than the others, but it does give more of a sense of REVERENCE and HUMILITY to the prayer, to be sure.  And it does not mean that ANY of them failed to pray from the heart...just that Franklin is obviously a lot more EXPERIENCED in this type of high pressure situation.

It was a good idea to put Franklin Graham on the fourth and final night....kind of like the CLEANUP hitter in a baseball lineup. Hey, HE probably had notes HE was reading from...I've prayed in front of large gatherings before, I've done the Notes thing, too...you don't want to lose your train of thought, or RAMBLE because you're on a strict time limit.  I get it. But the idea is to keep your HEAD DOWN as you read, so people can't tell if you're reading or not!!  And Franklin's prayer was the ONLY one in all four nights that mentioned America's need for "repentance as a people" and to "turn our hearts in obedience" to God's Word, closing with "THE MIGHTY NAME OF MY LORD AND SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST."

Wow.

The evening (and the entire four night Convention) ended with President Trump accepting his party's nomination FROM OUTSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE with a large group gathered on the Lawn, LIVE.  I understand that the DEM Convention (which I did not watch) last week was all "Virtual," in light of COVID.  By contrast, it was a powerful image to see Trump and Melania in front of the White House, emphasizing his incumbency and (I think) a commitment to KEEPING his job and CONTINUING HIS WORK for the next four years.

Trump has a reputation for saying what's really on his mind, for better or worse, so no one SHOULD accusing him of faking it when he said in his speech that "WE PUT OUR FAITH IN ALMIGHTY GOD."  It's the best thing ANYONE said to the American people in the last few weeks, spanning EITHER Convention!! Keep in mind that what FRANKLIN said in his prayer was TO God: what Trump said was to US and it was ABOUT God and about HIS (the President's) perspective regarding the future!!  He said plenty of OTHER great things, so did ALL of the speakers all four days, but this was the Perfect Ending to it all, in my opinion.

Only GOD can help this nation now, and may He bless America for another four years with a man who publicly acknowledges that reality.

" 'W.', Where ARE You?"

The first two nights of the Republican Convention have been TERRIFIC...very inspiring...very patriotic...should give Trump a HUGE boost if it continues this way the LAST two nights!!  The speakers have been WONDERFUL despite the absence / endorsement of former President George "W." Bush, former Veep Dick Cheney, Condi Rice, Colin Powell, Ted Cruz, Mitt Romney and OTHER prominent, notable "Republicans." TRUMP DOESN'T NEED ANY OF THEM TO GET RE-ELECTED, in fact, their absence validates his claim that he's out to "drain the Swamp"!!  You see, SOME of them (like Romney) are PART of that Swamp so if Mitt's AGAINST Trump it proves that TRUMP is really against HIM.

But SOME of the absentees are just nursing petty grudges....like "W." for example.

"W." (a.k.a. "Bush 43") seems to still be upset that Trump knocked his brother out of the Presidential race in 2016, denying his late father and mother the chance to have TWO sons be President like "Bush 41" was.  (Yes, we could have had "Bush 41," and "Bush 43," and "Bush 45"...would have been historic...big deal!! THE VOTERS CHOSE TRUMP....GET OVER IT).

And fine, if that's Bush's motive, stay home.  Yet, I note that KELLYANNE CONWAY is speaking tonight at the Convention despite her resignation from the White House to care for her family (see last post.) I wish Bush would put HIS family aside for one night to speak at the Convention FOR THE GOOD OF THE COUNTRY, TO SUPPORT TRUMP SO THAT THE DEMS DON'T GET BACK IN POWER AND "TANK" AMERICA FOREVER.

"W.", where ARE you?? You don't even have to SUPPORT Trump, just show up at the Convention and speak out about how we can't have a fair election if there's Mail-In voting.  You, above EVERYONE can speak with first-hand experience regarding how the Dems tried to rob YOU of the White House in the 2000 Bush-Gore election runoff!! You have seen their deceit and ruthlessness "up close and personal."

"W.'" if the Dems had THEIR way there wouldn't have even BEEN a "Bush 43" so stop blaming TRUMP that there's no "Bush 45." AND DON'T JUST SIT THERE WHILE THEY TRY TO STEAL THE ELECTION FROM TRUMP LIKE THEY TRIED WITH YOU.  You didn't like it when the grudge-holding Ross Perot foiled your DAD'S re-election attempt, why are you, by your failure to support TRUMP, becoming like another Perot??

Again, "W.", where ARE you?? You are the only ex-Republican President still living...if you called the Republicans right now they would STILL let you speak at the Convention, you know it!! Do it for AMERICA and to help retain a FREE AND FAIR ELECTION, put your grudge against Trump ASIDE.  Again, no one's asking you to endorse someone you can't in good conscience endorse....but you of ALL people should know how important a fair election is!! An election WITHOUT Mail-In voting is something you SHOULD be able to publicly support!!

"Kellyanne, 2024!!"

I am really said to see the brilliant KELLYANNE CONWAY, Counselor to President Trump, is stepping down from her role as Counselor to the President.  If her real reason is to devote more time to her FAMILY, well, then it's a good thing (her hubby is curtailing some of HIS outside commitments, also, to focus on their family).  Hey, FAMILY COMES FIRST.  And it sounds like their daughter, who wants to "divorce" her parents and be cared for by AOC of all people, is a young lady, shall we say, in need of her parents!!

It just hurts because we're only a little over two months away from the Election, that's all (but maybe the Lord wants us to realize Trump's victory comes from HIM, in answer to PRAYER, not because of anyone else).

I've long been an admirer of Kellyanne; she is a local (to us) girl from New Jersey and she's extremely articulate and intelligent with GREAT political instincts.  I really hope that this is not the LAST we'll see of this amazing 53 year old, I would love to see HER as our first female President one day...as soon as 2024, in fact!!  For that to happen, though, three things....

1.) The Lord will NOT return first (many of us think His return could very, very happen soon...and it could). "Even so, come Lord Jesus," that is the BEST case scenario!!

2.) BIDEN MUST NOT WIN because if he does, he (or whoever is really calling the shots / whoever takes his place as President) will make sure a Republican will never win in an election again.  They could just SUSPEND all future elections, or have sham (rigged) elections as a "show," or just allow ALL illegals in and give them the right to vote so they'll all vote DEMOCRAT.  And...

3.) Whatever's going on in Kellyanne's family HOPEFULLY will get fixed before she'd run.

Given THOSE set of circumstances, let me (hopefully) be the first to say, God Willing,

.................KELLYANNE 2024!!

       Above: Kellyanne at Trump's first Inauguration, 2017

"Easing the Pain...of 'Sunday School-less Sunday' "

I sure miss teaching my Sunday School class!! I miss the MEN, I miss TEACHING...especially on Sundays, like today!! THIS Sunday is tough because I heard from some of the guys in my class after sending out my regular letter to them...I really miss them, and they miss me. COVID-19 has knocked out just about everything in my church except the Pastor's Sunday morning services and the Prayer Meeting he leads. Anyway, my friend Pastor Frank Espinal asked me to write something for his "Christ-Centered Community Church" Newsletter and I don't know if he'll ever PRINT, it but I thought I'd put it HERE.  It's my way of "Easing the Pain of Sunday School-less Sunday" today!!

Our Choices Matter to the Lord! By Chet Jelinski

If you’ve started to read this far, after a title like that, you are more than likely someone who has already made “The” most important decision anyone can ever make; to be saved. Confronted with the challenge “Choose this day who you will serve,” you have chosen to serve GOD and not the devil, or yourself. Good for you! You are a Christian, you have put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as being your ONLY Savior, you want to now live for Him and please Him with your life.  And, while it’s true that none of us can choose to live for Him unless HE first chooses US, still YOU had to “flee the wrath to come,” YOU had to choose to “pick up your cross and follow Him,” YOU had to decide to obey and glorify Him now. Praise God for your good choices!!

But now, I’m going to surprise you.

The choice we have made, to follow Christ and live for Him, is a bit like GOING ON A DIET…in this sense. 

Hear me out, please.  Look, I can say to my wife “I’ve decided to go on a diet” but if my subsequent decisions, day-by-day, don’t REINFORCE that declaration then I am not REALLY dieting.  If I don’t deliberately refrain from eating smaller portions of food, if I don’t CHOOSE to exercise more, if I don’t DENY MYSELF cake or ice cream when I know I should deny myself, well, my “small” decisions day-by-day NEGATE the “big” decision to diet that I claimed to make in the first place. Choosing to diet is a DAILY discipline, you see. It’s not just “one shot.” Just like choosing to follow Christ is a daily commitment.  Yes, we “make a decision” for Christ to trust in His shed blood for salvation, but when it comes to living for Him there are many “decisions” (plural) we’ll have to make until He calls us Home to Heaven.

And here’s how this analogy applies to obeying the Lord.

·         The Bible, God’s Word, is our “Instruction Manual” and He wants us to choose to read it DAILY so that we may grow in Holiness.  If we choose NOT to read it, well, we are NOT really living for Him.  His Word is like spiritual food that we should NEVER choose to diet from!

·         God instructs us in Scripture CONSTANTLY to pray to Him, but if we don’t choose to set time aside to “enter our closet” and “pray without ceasing,” we really are choosing NOT to live for Him.  Sometimes that means choosing whether to watch TV, or go on Facebook, or to PRAY.

·         If we’re Single, God wants us to choose ONLY a fellow Believer as a spouse, (and the Bible says a lot about the FRIENDS we should be closest to, as well)! Choose not to obey Him? Then we are choosing NOT to live for Him, regardless of what we think or say and whether we know it or not.

·         If we’re married and choosing to follow the WORLD’S ever-changing standards of marriage roles, and raising children, we are living for this world and choosing NOT to live for the Lord! If we choose to get divorced without Scriptural warrant, we are choosing the world’s way, not God’s.

·         The Scriptures say we should “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” but if we choose to have WORLDLY priorities (merely enriching ourselves) in our earthly labors and callings, we are, in reality, choosing NOT to live for Him.  We cannot serve God and mammon!

I could go on and on, but I trust you get the point.  And if we’re truly saved, thank God we can’t lose our SALVATION when we fail to make God-honoring choices…but we can lose our assurance and blow our testimony! Most importantly, we grieve our Savior’s heart when our day-by-day decisions go AGAINST His Word.

He has said that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments.  We have to CHOOSE to ask Him for wisdom to see where we fall short, and to seek grace to do better.  Remember, to be his disciple requires daily discipline.

Yet, I would be remiss if I didn’t say THIS: never forget that “without Him, we can do nothing” and we must NOT choose to try to live the Christian life on our own “strength.” It won’t work!  We might be able to stick to a DIET on our own strength, but we can’t live for the LORD in our own power!  If the Lord reveals to us that we’ve sinned in these areas, let us not be like Adam and Eve who RAN from him but let us run TO Him, ask for forgiveness and seek grace to make better choices in the future.

In closing, here’s a little poem I wrote and by the way, I need to pledge to MY wife that I’ll go on a diet!

“Our choices matter to the Lord,

Not just the choice that’s first,

That first “initial burst”…

But day-by-day, we reinforce

To leave The Way, or stay the course

with JESUS as our constant Source

of strength, we’ll choose HIS ways…

to serve Him all our days!

AMEN.

" Are Today's Major League Baseball Players TOO Cautious?"

For my New York Yankees, the first month of this ALREADY shortened baseball season is ending on a sour note.  Due to a few cases of the Coronavirus affecting two of the METS' staff, the entire weekend series between the Yankees-Mets has been postponed "due to an abundance of caution."

The Yanks enter today in a virtual tie for first place in the American League East, percentage points ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays who just SWEPT them in a three game series.

MONDAY is a scheduled off day for the Yanks so their next scheduled game, at this point, is in Atlanta on TUESDAY.

This layoff might do them GOOD.  They currently have SIX players on the 10 day "Injured List," FIVE of whom are STARS (LeMahieu, Judge, Stanton, Britton and Torres). These off days due to Coronavirus concerns give THOSE guys a chance to heal before play resumes, and that's a "silver lining in the cloud." Frankly, the Yanks are NOT the same without them.

But between cancellations for Coronavirus concerns and ALL of these guys on the "I.L.," I must ask the question....are today's baseball players TOO cautious?? How is it that six guys are now "injured" when Gehrig and Ripken played ALL of those consecutive games without missing one?? (And this rash of injuries happened LAST year, BEFORE the Virus hit us....the Yanks set a record for guys on the I..L. during the course of a full season.  The Virus CANNOT be blamed for all of our "injuries" this year...and it's NOT just the Yankees who have this problem)!!

I believe that the Coronavirus is real and we SHOULD use SOME caution, but again, I ask, are today's MLB players too soft, TOO cautious??

"Dems Plotting to Make PELOSI Our First Unelected President, on 1/20/2021?"

A few years after the Sept. 11th, 2001 attacks, I'll never forget the 9-11 Commission's evaluation.  They said, in essence, that we were taken by surprise "for lack of imagination" regarding how and where we were vulnerable.  Liberty Lovers, let us not suffer a "lack of imagination" as to why the Democrats are pushing MAIL-IN VOTING this year, and how it could be used to their advantage to manipulate election results. (And yes, I am DELIBERATELY comparing the Democrats to TERRORISTS....no apologies for that)!!

Many think Mail-In Voting, with the Coronavirus as an excuse (even though Covid doesn't keep people from "protesting," or lining up to go into malls) is a way to hand Biden a clear victory over Trump that he couldn't get otherwise.  But let's face it, we Conservatives would NEVER accept that, we are ALREADY protesting that Mail-In voting can be manipulated, and insisting that In-Person voting and EARLY voting In-Person are much more effective at preventing fraud. If Biden beats Trump we'd almost HAVE to contest it in a crisis that would make the 2000 election runoff fiasco seem like child's play. And listen, we ALREADY suspect that the plot is to sneak Biden in as a Trojan Horse President, quickly declare him mentally unfit, and then have HARRIS as President.  But don't let your imagination stop there...push it a step FURTHER.  

What if the Democrats' end-in-view for pushing Mail-In is something BIGGER than all that?? Please read and ponder this theory that someone posted on Facebook (click to enlarge)....

COULD this even happen?? I don't know, but we'd better start investigating, or on Jan. 20th, 2021 we may end up surprised, with "President Pelosi." AND WE'D BETTER START PRAYING. If terrorists could hijack planes and bomb our buildings, DEMOCRATS can hijack ELECTIONS and destroy AMERICA.  Yes, maybe the guy who came up with that theory above has TOO much imagination, granted...but in THIS scenario, with so much at stake in this election, it's better NOT to have a "LACK of imagination." The theory that it COULD happen is worth pondering, while praying very hard that it WON'T take place. And God allowed 9-11, so don't tell me he wouldn't allow THIS.

Ponder Nancy Pelosi as President, appointing her fellow Californian KAMALA, as HER Veep.  (After all, Kamala was willing to be next-in-line as BIDEN'S Veep, why not just switch to be NANCY'S)?? And Kamala could still look forward to being President SOON, because NANCY is just as mentally deficient and old as BIDEN is.  (Or how about if  "President Pelosi" picked one of The Squad to serve as her Veep)?? I could go on and on, but I won't.

Let your imagination run wild here, as long as it motivates YOU to run wild in your opposition to Mail-In Voting...and motivates you to PRAY.

"Why Does TYLER PERRY Get a Free Pass??"

Recently I saw a piece where President Trump was accused of racism (what else is new) for supposedly characterizing Kamala Harris, Biden's Veep pick, as "angry."  The article accused Trump of perpetuating a stereotype that has hounded black women and was supposedly FOUNDED, years ago, exclusively by white MEN (according to this article).

I can't comment on what Trump said because I didn't hear it for myself and I don't trust the mainstream media to report his words accurately...but here's what *I* think about it all. OF COURSE all black women aren't angry...but SOME are, just like some WHITE women and white MEN and BLACK men are angry!! It is not right to say that EVERY PERSON in a single "group" has the same propensities.

Anger is NOT the sole property of any one group or gender, people!! When the Bible addresses the sin of anger, it's addressed to ALL of us, not just black women.    

But apparently, the writer of the article thinks that STEREOTYPING people is something that only WHITE people do because, again, the piece mentions white writers from years gone by as CREATING the stereotype and TRUMP as "keeping it going."

What the author of the article left out is (black) filmmaker TYLER PERRY'S role in keeping the stereotype alive.

Look, I love Tyler Perry's movies, I have almost every one and we watch them regularly, but why wasn't HE called out for HIS role in this?? Starting with "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" and ending with the murderous, hateful, insanely jealous and bitter character in "Acrimony," Tyler's movies (which HE writes) ALWAYS seem to contain VERY angry black women. Why, the "Madea" character HERSELF (pictured), which HE portrays BTW, is a gun-toting, driving-cars-through-windows angry lady who VENTS her anger in movies while white AND black audiences have laughed constantly and Perry has become VERY wealthy. Even the first three letters of "Madea" sum up who she is...but somehow all of THIS was not mentioned in the article that nailed Trump and ONLY Trump.

Tyler has helped erase many negative stereotypes of black MEN with his movies, but, unfortunately he has helped CEMENT stereotypes of black WOMEN....yet TRUMP gets blamed for "racism" by saying Kamala Harris is "angry"?? She IS angry...so what?? Why should President Trump get trashed for saying THAT while she says lots WORSE about HIM...in a VERY hateful tone, BTW??

And most of all, why does TYLER PERRY get a free pass for HIS stereotyping of black women??

"Pray For The Trump Family"

President Trump's younger brother ROBERT (pictured) died yesterday.  He was 72, and Trump has described him as "his best friend" as well as his brother.  He died in New York and the CAUSE of death, at least in the piece I read, was somewhat mysterious...certainly not "clear-cut."

How long will it be until the Liberals claim that Robert died of COVID and try to pin his death to Trump's policies, here in this election year??  This may seem like a pessimistic or even FATALISTIC approach, to "PRESUME" that this is what will happen, but bear with me here.

In my July 30th blog, I predicted that HERMAN CAIN'S death would be weaponized to try to bash Trump and unfortunately, I was proven right.  More than one Liberal asserted that if Cain hadn't gone to Trump's rally in Tulsa a few months ago, he'd still be alive (Covid WAS involved in Cain's demise).

NEVER MIND that Cain had serious pre-existing health conditions and was 74, the Libs tried to pin Cain's death on Trump and sure enough, even in Trump's time of deep grief I predict they'll try to insinuate that Trump's BROTHER'S death is the President's fault, ALSO. (God help us if Robert Trump was ALSO in Tulsa)!!

Here are some facts: people in their 70s sometimes...DIE. In Psalm 90, the Bible seems to indicate that 70 is now our average lifespan (normally).  People die for MANY reasons.  And Herman Cain was a very smart man who knew his condition and knew the risks of gathering with a large group and he STILL went to Tulsa. That was HIS CHOICE.

Yet, the merciless Liberal Trump Haters who try to hang EVERY Covid death on Trump and his policies WILL now try to pin Robert's passing on Trump EVEN AT HIS TIME OF PAIN.  Pray for President Trump and his family as they will (unless I'm mistaken...I hope I am) bear this EXTRA pain connected with Robert's passing.

And pray for MELANIA Trump, the President's wife.  Hopefully she was REALLY Trump's "best friend" but if she wasn't that in the past, pray she will fill that role to him NOW. Amen!!

"Let Us Vote Early and In-Person, Gov. Murphy!"

Today I learned that someone I know in another state voted early...IN PERSON...and I'm wondering why MY state is insisting on Mail-In ballots.  Voting EARLY...in person...will cut down on poll-crowding at the last minute and thus enable easy Social Distancing. If it's too crowded the day you go to vote, you can go ANOTHER day...or ANOTHER day...or ANOTHER day.  You see, it IS possible to be concerned about not spreading Covid AND keeping the integrity of our election process at the same time, but the Libs who want Mail-In voting are not so much out to stop COVID, they're out to stop the guy whose name appears above, let's face it. 

There's too much potential for Hanky-Panky with Mail-In balloting...hey, the US Postal Workers Union has endorsed BIDEN, for Heavens sake!! On the other hand, EARLY, IN PERSON voting will help prevent "late" (as in "dead") people from voting Democrat.

This election will be 20 years since the 2000 Post-Election debacle (Bush-Gore) which dragged on, I believe, several weeks before Bush 43 was made President. With Mail-In voting, the wait could be LONGER than that, and if you think 2000's contested election brought division, wait till you see 2020!! I hope I'm wrong, but I think the legal wrangling and animosity will be WORSE this time. In fact, in a sense it already IS worse because WE CAN SEE THIS ONE COMING and America is ALREADY divided about this election process!!  (In 2000, the post-election debacle took us by surprise.)

NO MAIL-IN VOTING!!

LET US VOTE EARLY AND IN PERSON, GOVERNOR MURPHY!!

"Cat Stevens's New Album: I was PARTLY Right (But Thankfully, not TOTALLY So)!"

On May 28th, I blogged here about Cat Stevens (now Yusuf Islam) and his remaking of his classic "TEA FOR THE TILLERMAN" album here on its 50th anniversary. That blog may be referred to HERE...

http://chetitorial.blogspot.com/2020/05/cat-stevens-yusuf-releasing-tea-for.html

In that blog, I pointed out how I feared the remake / "reimagining" / re-release of his great song "On The Road To Find Out" would eliminate the reference to "The Good Book" (universally recognized as referring to the BIBLE) and replace it with "The Quran," now that he's a MUSLIM.

Well, the ALBUM is not out yet but I got an e-mail that a second promotional VIDEO from the album has been released (see image above...click to enlarge.) 

And, the e-mail features the song I was concerned about.... "On The Road To Find Out." 

I was PARTLY right, the lyrics HAVE been changed....

Notice how "THE Good Book" has been changed to "A good book."

However, thankfully I was not TOTALLY right...the words have NOT been changed to where THE QURAN has replaced "THE GOOD BOOK."

Just so you know, I pre-ordered the album BEFORE I knew whether it would be plugging the Islamic "holy book" or not....but I'm certainly glad it's NOT.  (The album comes out September 18th.)

The only way ANY of us will "kick out the devil's sin" is to read "THE Good Book" and get saved.....not to pick up "A good book."

I'm looking forward to getting "Tea for the Tillerman 2" next month (Lord Willing) and glad to find out in advance about this one song, and how it's been altered.

P.S., Speaking of "altered," he WAS being referred to as "Cat Stevens / Yusuf" but notice how they've SWITCHED it, in the first photo, up above!! SLICK.

"Mantle and Mariano"

Today is 25 years since Yankee great MICKEY MANTLE died. Hard to believe!!  He was "only" 63 and admitted that his drinking and carousing probably shortened his life AS WELL AS curtailing his baseball accomplishments. (To be fair, he had INJURIES which hampered him on the field, ALSO).

Despite all of this, "The Mick" STILL is one of the great Yankees of all time and was known as the Mic-key Man-tle in the dugout, a great TEAMMATE by all accounts. But what I admire him MOST for is that, according to reliable witnesses he TURNED TO CHRIST AND GOT SAVED AT THE VERY END OF HIS LIFE.

I'm not suggesting that there's merit in WAITING till you're close to death, by the way...there ISN'T.  For one thing, it's dumb to delay getting right with God because you might not see death approaching, like MANTLE did.  I'm just saying that it took a lot of guts for Mickey, at the end, to shed his pride, admit he was a sinner, and ask God for grace and mercy.

"Better late than never," yes, but better early than late is the point.  Don't wait...."he who hesitates" could be "lost"......FOREVER!!

In closing, I  believe Mantle is celebrating 25 years of being in Heaven today....PRAISE GOD!!

I've blogged here mentioning Mantle 5 previous times, most recently exactly 3 months ago today.  Enter "Mantle" into search bar if you want to see more.




Now, onto MARIANO (RIVERA).

On April 16th of this year I blogged about the ridiculous "TOPPS 2020" baseball cards by various "artists."  Most of them had NUTTY "artwork" (in my opinion) but the newest one about Christian, Yankee great MARIANO RIVERA is awesome!!  Here it is...

Mariano serves Christ as a PREACHER and his Christian testimony is well-known and respected. by EVERYONE.  Checking that aforementioned search bar, I see that I've referred to Mariano 13 times in this blog...the FIRST two times were when I MET him!!  And for any who haven't seen them, here's a TRACT I wrote about him and a piece from a New York paper....CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE.

"KAMALALEON"

When I blogged here 24 hours ago, Joe Biden had NOT selected his running mate yet.  It looked like his choice MIGHT be Gretchen Whitmer (see two posts back), but yesterday afternoon he picked KAMALA HARRIS.  Below is my Facebook post from THIS MORNING, with my "take" on Biden's selection...

And, remember when KAMALALEON was running AGAINST Biden....she believed his accuser?? Now that she's running WITH him she apparently believes HIM....https://www.toddstarnes.com/politics/remember-when-kamala-harris-said-she-believed-bidens-accusers/?fbclid=IwAR1JiQAVNY2QqwE9jNUpuYeO_EaT_AozLev3JL2KmlJ2KFiF7eCrIYpS7j4

"Happy Memories of CRABBING"

I drew this picture of a BLUE CLAW CRAB recently, for the local paper I contribute to each month. It made me think of happy memories of CRABBING WITH MY DAD when I was a kid...the happiest memories I have of him, in fact!! He and I were two very different people who had the same first and last names but were never able to get CLOSE.  Yet, Crabbing together was an ATTEMPT to get close, at least, when I was young it was.

We all lived in North Jersey then, and, around this time of year (when crabs were plentiful) he'd pick a weekend and I'd come and stay overnight at his place on Friday night (my parents were divorced). We'd try to go to sleep early because we'd get up at maybe 3:30 am on Saturday morning to "crab."  Dad's wife, my stepmother Barbara, would cook breakfast when we got up in the wee hours...Dad would only have coffee in a Thermos but would be loading up a few six packs of beer into a cooler "for later on."  We'd pack up his van outside in the dark while the CRICKETS were still singing but even the BIRDS hadn't awakened yet to sing. After picking up one or two of his drinking buddies, Dad would drive his van onto the deserted Garden State Parkway and we'd speed south for about an hour, towards Toms River.

As the sun was rising over the water, we'd rent a motorboat from a dock at Barnegat Bay.  My dad and his friends would always speak derisively about the "old hag" who rented to us, and I hated that. And once out on the water, the best part of the day was casting chicken necks, tied to a string, into the water and waiting for a crab to nibble.  It was fun slowly pulling the crabs in, by hand, seeing them in the water for the first time, and then slowly scooping them into the net when you got them close enough to you. They weren't "hooked" like fish were....they were free to let go of the chicken if they saw the net, and there was no damage to them, then, in that scenario. To me, Crabbing was MUCH more Sportsmanlike than FISHING. I preferred CRABBING to fishing because at least crabs could "fight back" if one of them got loose in the boat!! If a crab you caught was large enough, someone in the boat would say "That's CRAB OF THE DAY" and another would respond, "No, YOU are."  Then, came the JOKES....

      When the string would tighten: "You have a crab on the line." The response: "Try hanging up and dialing again."

      When crabbing was SLOW: "Stop me...BEFORE I CRAB AGAIN."

      When crabbing was BUSY: "It's Attack of the Crab Monsters" (after the old movie).

That was the FUN part of the day, but the SAD part was when the other guys started drinking that beer (I didn't drink), cursing, telling off-color jokes and abusing the crabs that were piling up into the huge metal pail in our boat. At times my Dad, drunk as could be, would stand up in the boat to pee over the side and I'd always be amazed that he never tipped over. Then again, he was an Ironworker who drank while walking on girders several stories up and he never lost his balance THEN, so...

In the early '80s I started going crabbing with MY friends (same location) and they were NON-drinkers and good people so we had all of the FUN minus the NEGATIVES. I even introduced them to our "Crabbing Jokes." Last time I went crabbing with my father was 1986 but by then we'd established watching BOXING as the thing that tried to bring us together (we encountered many of the same obstacles, however). Today I'm 65 and my wife and I live only about 10 miles or so from Barnegat Bay, but I haven't been crabbing since that last time with my dad, who died in 2009. However.....as you know I just drew a crab for the paper and I just wrote to you about "Happy Memories of CRABBING."

That shows I haven't forgotten, even in my senior years.

P.S. to show that I don't just draw UGLY things like CRABS, this is the cover for my upcoming DEANA CARTER BOOK that I finished last night!!  See my July 22nd blog for more info....

"Their Problem With WHITMER is That She's WHITE"

Since when has SKIN COLOR been a qualification to possibly be President one day?? Answer: Since Democrat Presidential nominee JOE BIDEN promised, months ago, that he'd only pick a black woman Vice Presidential running mate.  Sure, Obama got elected without qualifications in 2008 but the real reason he won wasn't as OBVIOUS as it is now, the reverse racism wasn't as BLATANT. And as the time draws near for Biden's decision, many black people wonder why Biden had a not-so-secret meeting with Michigan Governor GRETCHEN WHITMER (pictured above) just the other day.

Now, I can understand their fear that Biden (or whoever makes his decisions) is BETRAYING them, going back on his promise, etc. but they should have rejected the promise the very moment it was made, months ago. They didn't, and now they're upset because Joe MIGHT be reneging on it. Why be upset?? It was a RACIST PROMISE.


Check out this link as they TRY to say that Whitmer is not QUALIFIED to be Veep...but their REAL problem with WHITMER, let's face is, is that she's WHITE....


https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/10/biden-veep-selection-black-woman-393147?fbclid=IwAR3nKbJFxuAeFO5fOzVE_EIdF21lXgbgC2E4zTMbiejCrFOJYtaXLELw0dc


Dr. King said that we should judge people by "the content of their character" NOT "the color of their skin" but despite transparent attempts to make it appear otherwise, these black racists are judging Whitmer by THE COLOR OF HER SKIN.  Period.


Look, I'm no fan of Gretchen Whitmer...I refer you to my April 23rd blog where I correctly called her "Authoritarian" and made the case based on her actions.  And I have enough friends and relatives in Michigan (where I lived for 6 months in 1978) who keep me up-to-date on Whitmer's activities.  These reports VALIDATE my assessment of their Governor, as Dick Cheney would say, "big time."

But I have to be honest, from the LIMITED knowledge I have of the (black) Democrat females in Government today, Whitmer DOES seem to be a better choice than ANY of them...and it's NOT that I want Whitmer to get the nod!! You see, I firmly believe that because of his obvious mental decline, IF Biden wins in November he'd have to step down shortly after the election and hand the Presidency over to his Veep candidate.  And I would not want WHITMER as our President any more than I'd want Harris, or Abrams, or any of the OTHERS.

But just as I wouldn't WANT her to be Veep because she's white, it's just as wrong for some to NOT want her because she's white.  And I have a negative reaction to Affirmative Action; Biden (or whoever) never should have promised to choose a black woman in the first place.  JUST SELECT THE BEST QUALIFIED PERSON REGARDLESS OF RACE, SEX OR RELIGION, for Heaven's sake!! I guess the fact that race has become a QUALIFICATION for Democrats is an admission that they really have no one available who is qualified in IMPORTANT ways.

"We Take So Much For Granted in America"

This week we were without power for a few days. No electricity, no Air Conditioning, no Dishwasher, etc.  I tried my best to focus on the things we DO have but admittedly, it was hard because our whole way of life was altered.

The fact is, though, that there was a time in the NOT-too-distant past when what we now consider necessities were LUXURIES...and if you go back even further, many day-to-day conveniences that we now take for granted didn't even exist.

I am not advocating for a RETURN to the day when people rode horseback instead of in comfortable CARS, by the way...I'm just saying we should try to appreciate what we HAVE instead of focusing on what we DON'T have. When we were without power we were able to go out to our cars, run the engine for awhile, charge our cell phones and cool off while listening to MUSIC for a half hour or so. I tried to thank God for THAT blessing rather than complain that I was, Providentially forced to do it. And times of deprivation can be times of spiritual growth and LEARNING, by God's grace, if we let them be that.

I mean, can you see these words I've written?? There are many who are blind and who CAN'T see.  Were you able to get out of bed this morning on your own strength, in reasonably good health?? Many who don't have that ability would give anything...anything...to do what you can do so easily.  I could go on and on.

One of the BIGGEST things we take for granted in America is our FREEDOM, and we are on the verge of losing it if Joe Biden gets elected.  Once freedom is forfeited it is ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO RECLAIM but that's all I'll say about THAT for now.

In conclusion, there are those who say "Christmas should be every day of the year" and I say THANKSGIVING should be perpetual, TOO.  We have SO much to be thankful for EACH AND EVERY SINGLE DAY WE'RE ALIVE if we only see things as GOD sees them. Amen??

"Sexual Lust: Let Him That Thinks He Stands, Take Heed..."

                
In one of my devotional books today, this reading (above) appeared.  If you have a second, read the definition of LUST given in paragraph two.  That has GOT to be one of THE best summations of WHAT (sexual) Lust is, and why it is WRONG to lust!!  I read it in admiration of its precision until it hit me who the author was....BILL HYBELS (underlined.)

Pastor Hybels HIMSELF, sadly, fell prey to sexual sin (I wrote about this in my blog of Sept. 13th, 2018) and, as far as I know, was correctly removed as pastor of a 25,000 member church because of it. (Apparently, the devotional book which reprinted his quote today was compiled the year before Hybels's fall). THIS (Hybels's fall) DOES NOT NEGATE THE TRUTH OF HIS QUOTE ABOUT LUST!!  IT ONLY PROVES THAT IT'S NOT ENOUGH TO JUST ***KNOW*** THE TRUTH OR TO ***SPEAK*** THE TRUTH, WE HAVE TO ***PRACTICE*** THE TRUTH.  

In Hybels's case, he didn't "practice what he preached" but even those of us who AREN'T pastors, who DON'T preach (at least not regularly) need to beware.  Why, if DAVID, "The man after God's own heart" can fall, well, so can WE if we don't guard our hearts and our thoughts and if we don't take PRECAUTIONS against this sin.  I suggest reading, and HEEDING the rest of this devotional to help you fight Lust.  

And remember the words of Scripture: "LET HIM THAT THINKS HE STANDS TAKE HEED LEST HE FALL."  When you read of Bill Hybels's fall don't let it fill you with pride that it "hasn't happened to YOU yet." Be filled with FEAR!!  And remember...knowing something is wrong and WHY it is wrong is not as important as DOING WHAT'S RIGHT.