Free Republic

I don't really have anybody I can talk to about this that would understand. I don't expect FR too either, but it's as good a place as any to vent. You know what I do? I get up every day and go to work. I do my job and get my work done. I come home. I do it again the next day. And then again, and again, and again. When I am dead, the most anyone will ever say about me is "he went to work ever day". If I were to simply drop dead, everything would pretty much...

There are very few things in life that create a sense of profound and lasting meaning; a sense of deep satisfaction and vitality in life. Charles Murray has identified exactly four: *Being a good parent *Having a good marriage *Being a good neighbor and a good friend *Being really good at something that draws the most from your abilities These are all things that anybody of sound mind and a willing heart can engage in, and have success at. ... Whenever a government program is designed to make life easier for people - to pay for their retirement or health...

David Queller and Joan Strassmann, evolutionary biologists at Rice University, recently proposed a new way to describe what makes an organism a unified whole. They defined an organism as an entity made up of parts that cooperate well for an overall purpose, and do so with minimal conflict. But how do parts like these get together, and where does purposeful behavior come from?...

Rabbi Eliezar was a very, very poor man. He subsisted on a meager diet of bread and garlic. One day, the rabbi was so hungry that he fainted. While unconscious, he had a dialogue with G-d. When revived by his students, he announced, "G-d spoke to me." "What did He say?" "I asked G-d, 'Why couldn't You create me as a rich man? Why do I have to suffer like this?' And G-d answered, 'Rabbi Eliezar, my dear son, would you prefer me to destroy the entire world, and re-create it, and maybe you'll be born with a different destiny?'...

Do MY will , feign away from others not in my will for they shall weigh and slow you down and there is no time for the flesh . Your posture before me is about to change in that a door has been swung wide for you to enter the Garden of My will For I AM your Father as you are my Children . Do you see your eyes enlightening to my purposes througout the world now and how you fit into this living , flowing picture ?! Stay within the framework of this at all times and you...

The Old Testament Book of Ecclesiastes is the tragic biography of Adam’s fallen race (i.e., humanity) told by the wisest of all men, King Solomon. King Solomon possessed it all: wisdom, brilliance, discernment, authority, prestige, riches/ wealth, property/ possessions, power, fame, women and glory. Amazingly, as he was reflecting on his life in his last days, he made this very sobering and tragic statement: “Vanity of vanities…all is vanity” (Eccl. 1:1-15). In the possessing of all of this stature and achievement, it never satisfied the eternal void of his heart. All of it did not - and could not -...

The common thread throughout Darwin’s life was his continual struggle with the issue of death and suffering. He was never able to reconcile the existence of death, disease, and struggle with the character of a loving God: I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created the Ichneumonidae with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of Caterpillars, or that a cat should play with mice.[1] Darwin was unable to understand why a loving Creator God would allow the horrible things he witnessed in nature and everyday life. Animals fed on one...

http://www.opm.gov/constitution_initiative/index.asp CONSTITUTION INITIATIVE The purpose of this website is to provide Federal Executive Branch agencies and departments resources to support training of their employees on the U.S. Constitution ... ... Section 111 of Title I, Division J, of the Fiscal Year 2005 Consolidated Appropriations Act (Pub. L. 108-447), enacted into law on December 8, 2004 requires the head of each Federal agency or department each year to: 1. provide each new employee of the agency or department with educational and training materials concerning the United States Constitution as part of the orientation materials provided to the new employee; and 2....

Congratulations, Alamo-Girl, on the Release of Your New Book! There Is Only One Great Commandment Lulu Press, 2008 It is my honor and distinct pleasure to announce the publication of Alamo-Girl’s new book, There Is Only One Great Commandment, a prayerful work of Christian witness and devotion that speaks to how one centers one’s life in God. A non-denominational, non-sectarian work, it focuses on Christian living — on the growth of the Image of Christ in our souls, in our everyday lives. In There Is Only One Great Commandment, Alamo-Girl offers to conduct you on a spiritual walk through the...

'Why would any rational human being sign up for this?" The question came up the other day as we discussed one of our public affairs staff sergeants possibly separating for a job in the private sector. There was a certain ease and even a slight euphoric relief about the conversation. He had opted to stay with us. He re- enlists Monday. The question was posed by our senior master sergeant — a man who has re-enlisted multiple times over his distinguished 26-year career. In the last few days, our staff sergeant had been really torn. Like most of us, his...

Reviews / comments by both Owen Gingerich and Michael Behe at link.

Rick Warren Gives Thumbs Up to Rwanda's Vision 2020 PEACE Plan American pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren praised Rwanda’s Vision 2020 plan, which seeks to develop the country into a middle-income economy by the year 2020. Tue, Jul. 17, 2007 Posted: 12:45:06 PM EST American pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren praised Rwanda’s Vision 2020 plan, which seeks to develop the country into a middle-income economy by the year 2020. The popular preacher and social advocate visited Rwanda over the weekend to check up on the progress of his PEACE initiative-funded projects in the country. “I have read about...

Western Individualism is most pronounced in America, and especially the part of the country where I grew up and now live, Texas and Oklahoma. Yet that attitude resounds in the early pages of our nation’s history, from a Tea Party in Boston Harbor to those shots fired at Fort Sumter replying what they could do with their tariffs on cotton. Often that undercurrent cuts against identity with a group. "I am an individual." Echoing in that statement are the words of Patrick Henry emblazed in our psyche, "Give me liberty or give me death!" Identity with a group somehow seems...

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — No hymnals. No pews. No steeple. No stained glass windows. And no women. This ain't your grandma's church. Organizers of the Church For Men say that guys are "bored stiff" in many churches today. The Church For Men meets one Saturday evening a month, drawing about 70 guys dressed in everything but straight-laced shirts and neckties. The service features a rock band, a shot clock to time the preacher's message and a one-hour in-and-out guarantee.

FORT HUACHUCA — In the Bible, 40-day events have special meanings. On Sunday, a program designed to help the fort’s Christian community to strengthen their beliefs started 40 Days of Purpose on the post, Chaplain (Col.) Glenn Woodson said. “Forty days is significant. There are a number of examples of that number of days in the Bible,” he said Monday. In the Old Testament, Noah experienced 40 days of rain, and Moses spent 40 days on Mount Sinai before returning with the 10 commandments. In the New Testament, Jesus wandered in the wilderness for 40 days and spent the same...

In Paul Kagame, Rick Warren says he has found a partner for his PEACE plan. But the Rwandan president may have another purpose. KIGALI, Rwanda – In the reception area outside Rwandan President Paul Kagame's offices – in the second of several reception areas patrolled by armed guards – a television entertains guests with an American drama about Jesus.

Frenzied speculation on Sunday Night Football about how the NFL would punish Terrel Owens after a spitting incident roused John Madden's sense of purpose. To paraphrase, "this is not what the NFL is about. Great games and who is going to the playoffs, that is what this game is about. What has happened to us?" This affair illustrates that media failure is not only the result of bias. ...

IUKA, Miss. -- In April, 150 members of Iuka Baptist Church voted to kick Charles Jones off the deacons' board. The punishment followed weeks of complaints by Mr. Jones and his friends that the pastor was following the teachings of the Rev. Rick Warren, the best-selling author and church-growth guru. After the vote, about 40 other members quit the church to support Mr. Jones.

While North Korea was gearing up to launch a long range missile and five rockets into the Sea of Japan this week, sending a grim message to the entire world, out at Saddleback Church Rick Warren was announcing that he will soon be bringing his message of purpose to North Korea where he reportedly will be addressing an audience of 15,000. “God is using Rick Warren to be a messenger of peace!” gushed one Saddleback member. There is great hope in Lake Forest that Rick Warren's message in that stadium will cause Kim Jong II to drop his nuclear purposes...

MEChA advisers at Jurupa Valley High School are reviewing the Chicano student club's constitution after the group was criticized by anti-illegal immigration activists. A student called on the Jurupa Unified School District board to ban MEChA following last month's school rally on immigration legislation by the U.S. House of Representatives that would make it a felony to be in the United States illegally. Senior Josh Denhalter called MEChA a separatist group that advocates a Mexican takeover of the Southwest. Jurupa Valley is not the only MEChA chapter that is examining itself. Students in the Beaumont High School chapter are debating...