“Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!”

Posted on by davidwfelts

Today is the 244th birthday of what has been called the greatest nation on earth. I don’t know who actually coined this phrase, but I do whole heartily agree with it. Being a sometimes student of history, I found it interesting to read Patrick Henry’s speech to the second Virginia congress today. Something spoken 245 years ago still has truth in it for today’s America.

So many protesters and rioters (and I know it’s not all of them, but these are the ones who seem to have the airwaves now) have claimed they are on a mission to change America, and this is the new war to be fought. It seems the way they are choosing to fight it however is by destroying our past. Ironically, Patrick Henry spoke about this in his famous speech. I loved the following paragraph so much I felt it needed to be added to my blog.

“I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided,” Henry said, “and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging the future but by the past.”

I am appalled at what I’ve seen on television in the past several weeks. Truthfully, never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought to see this. Protestors tearing down statues and working to rewrite our nation’s history. Before I go further, I do not think everything that has been done in our past is good or should be glorified, but I do believe it is part of who we are as a nation. I don’t glorify my own sordid past, but I do remember it so I don’t repeat the things I am ashamed of. If I just pretend they never happened, changing the narrative, I’m doomed to repeat my past mistakes. And we, as a nation, if we are not careful will fall into the same trap. As the old saying goes, “If we don’t learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it.”

One thing I admire about the protestors, the real protestors, not those who are being bussed in and paid to agitate the crowd. (Nothing new here either, the Pharisees did the same thing to Jesus, look it up Mark 14:55-60), is their zeal to see change happen. This is a good thing, and believe it or not is not something new to this current generation, there has always been people who wanted to see change happen.

Most of the dialogue today is about change and how bad things have been for the minority class in America, and I totally agree that in my America everyone should have the same rights; life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, as stated in our nation’s declaration of independence. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Every man, woman and child in the United States should be treated as equals without ever looking at the color of their skin.

As he spoke, Henry held his wrists together as though they were manacled and raised them toward the heavens. “Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty”—Henry burst from his imaginary chains and grasped an ivory letter opener—“or give me death!” As he uttered these final words, he plunged the letter opener toward his chest, mimicking a knife blow to the heart.

Men and women from our past gave their lives for the most part in standing up for what they believed in. Many of the founding fathers of our fledgling country actually died penniless and broken because of their belief in a better way of life for everyone. I wonder how many of those protesting now feel this passion and have this conviction? I mean it is easy to give lip service to your ideals, but when it comes right down to it, are you really willing to die for what you believe in?

I’m not asking those who are protesting for change to actually kill themselves, that would be horrible and no one should do this, and for the record I don’t want anyone to lose their life. But I ask you this, if you are so willing to destroy our nation’s history and change the narrative for your beliefs, are you also willing to lose everything you have in the process? It’s an honest question and one only you can answer, it cannot be answered for you. Happy birthday to the United States of America, and God bless you!

Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!

R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

Posted on by davidwfelts

In Matthew 24:12 Jesus while talking about the signs of the end times before His return makes this statement, “Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.” Well I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not, but it would appear love is in short supply these days. People just don’t care about their fellow humans as much as they used to.

Social media, which was touted as bringing the world closer together, has in fact driven us all further apart I’m afraid. Something which could in fact impact the Earth in such a spectacular way, has instead become perverted and become a tool used to drive wedges between people. I for one was excited about the internet when it first became popular, and for a time I found a community of believers who understood me and where I was coming from. It was a joy.

I still have a presence in cyberspace, and for the most part I play nice while visiting, but much to the chagrin of my wife, from time to time I have been known to get on my soapbox and share my opinions with the world. One thing I have learned is to not take myself too seriously, and for sure not take the things said to me personally. I feel if you are going to put yourself out there, you have to have thick skin and be able to roll with the punches.

One thing I have noticed however which concerns me greatly is the lack of respect for people which seems to be growing in the world today. This “love of many growing cold” as Jesus said. In one interaction on Facebook a young lady and I were talking about the topic at hand when she posted, “Okay, boomer.” When I read it, I had to look up the definition of what these two words meant so I could understand what she was actually saying to me. Here’s what I found: The phrase “OK Boomer” is a pejorative retort used to dismiss or mock the attitudes of older people, particularly baby boomers.

I try to not be out of touch, or just set in my ways for the sake of being stubborn, but I also think I have a little bit of knowledge just for the sake of having traveled around our sun 56 times. I’m not the smartest fella, but one thing I learned growing up was to respect those men and women who were older than me, not dismiss them out of hand because their ideas weren’t the same as mine. And believe me I thought a lot of older people’s ideas weren’t altogether great when I was younger too.

I get wanting to affect change in society, to want to make the planet better for the next generation. I think anyone who just wants to take and not give something back should be challenged. But the way to challenge the status quo is to talk it out, listening on both sides and coming to a conclusion of what will make things better. Throwing temper tantrums, dismissing out of hand any idea which is different than yours and then just generally disrespecting anyone because of your ideals is just not right. Those who do this need to check the love in their hearts, both young and old.

I know I don’t have all the answers, truthfully no one does. And I commend this younger generation who is trying to make changes to leave the world better than they found it. All I would ask is in the process, see what those who came before you did, and learn the history they lived through. My fear is society will just dismiss out of hand the things we’ve endured in the past, and in so doing will force my grandchildren to live through some of those horrible things because they didn’t learn the lessons.

For the Kingdom and the King, shaom.

Prayer Works!

Posted on by davidwfelts

One of the basic tenets of every faith in the world is prayer. Regardless of what you believe, praying is at the center of every religion. For me, I make no bones about being a Christian. I have been and always will be a believer in the atoning work of Jesus Christ, and while I never have proclaimed to be the best follower of Jesus, I do my best each and every day.

Prayer for me has been somewhat of an enigma over the years. I know what the Bible teaches about prayer, but for whatever reason I have always felt I was lacking just a bit in this area. Ask my children about the nights I decided we were going to pray as a family, only to end up with yelling and crying as the result.

Regardless of this, I have spent thirty some odd years praying to God, in the Name of Jesus mostly if I am honest in my attempt to get something from God instead of using it as a time to spend time with Him. It’s the truth, I won’t lie about it. Despite this however, God has always been a great Father to me and takes what He can get, still choosing to love me any way.

Which brings me to the point of my blog today. A little over a month ago, I was doing my Bible reading and was encouraged by a passage of Scripture I read in Mark 11:24, which states, “Whatsoever things you desire when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”

This got me to thinking, what things have I been desiring? At the time I was frustrated because the computer I have been using to do my writing was an older Mac and had updated the latest operating system, but in doing so, it caused the machine to quit working. I had been in a bit of a drought with my writing because of it. I had even broken out a little computer I have, which is almost impossible for me to use because of the size of it. My big old meat paws cause me to type things I don’t want.

It hit me, I need a new computer. I decided to put God’s Word to the test, and I asked Him for a new Apple laptop on May 14, 2019. Believing that I would receive it because He had promised me in His Word if I would but only believe, I would receive.

Jump ahead a little over a month to Father’s Day 2019, and while at my son’s house for dinner the night before I saw he was busy at work on a laptop. Thinking he was working on some multimedia project for work, I asked him if I could use his computer later to take care of some business I had which couldn’t be accomplished on my phone. He said, “No, but you can use your own computer to do it.”  I said, “Son I can’t, my computer isn’t working, this is why I need to use yours.” He grinned and said, “No dad, you can use yours, this laptop I’m setting up with your stuff, it’s yours, Holly and I are giving it to you for Father’s Day.”

I stood there stunned to say the least. God had answered my prayer, and I might add in just a little over a month. Once again He has proven how much He loves me, even when I’m pretty sure what He gets in return from me is nothing compared to what He’s given. He is just so awesome like that!

My blog today is two-fold; one to thank my Heavenly Father for answering my prayers, even though I’m sure I haven’t done anything to deserve it. My praise is totally and completely for Him. But secondly, I want to thank my son Micah and daughter in law Holly for the gift of this laptop. It’s awesome, and I love it so much! I know I will be using it for years to come, and every time I boot it up I’ll think of how God answered my prayer using my kids. I’m a blessed man for sure!

For the Kingdom and the King!

I’m The Old Guy Who Loves Star Wars

Posted on by davidwfelts

Since 1977 I have loved Star Wars and everything involving that galaxy far, far away. Like many young men of that time period, I was able to identify with Luke Skywalker in his desire to get away from the farm. Granted I didn’t live on a farm, although I did stay with my grandparents one summer and was tasked with feeding the chickens, stupid animals and I hated it almost as much as Luke probably hated tending moisture vaporaters. I could relate with his desire to do something to change the world he lived in, even though when the opportunity arose he was a little hesitant to go with ObiWan Kenobi.

Even though I could identify with Luke, I really wanted to be Han Solo; the scruffy looking nerf herder, who despite his crusty exterior really had a heart of gold. I remember thinking the first time I saw the Millennium Falcon how it was the coolest space ship I had ever seen, and I would have given anything to been able to go aboard her; something which is going to become a reality in a few years when Disney World opens Star Wars land…and yes, it is on my bucket list.

I was sixteen when I saw Empire Strikes Back, and at the time drove a 1962 Plymouth Valiant with push button transmission. That car would go 55 miles per hour if there was a strong tail wind and going downhill. I can’t count how many times I said, “It isn’t my fault!” to my friends as we drove around Muskogee in my own hunk of junk.

Spoiler alert: I remember how shocked I was when Darth Vader revealed who he really was to Luke after defeating him in a light saber battle. There was an audible gasp throughout the theater as we all felt the horror of Luke’s lineage with him. I’m pretty sure he wasn’t the only one to say, “That’s not true. That’s impossible!” I remember it took days and a couple of more trips to the movie theater to actually begin to accept the truth that Darth Vader was Luke’s father.

The thing about Star Wars I really like is the good vs. evil aspect in the story telling. George Lucas (the creator in case you didn’t know who he is) didn’t really write anything new or even especially creative; he took themes from the stories we already knew and just gave them some new window dressing. But man, what cool window dressing it is. Add to this a mystical energy field which surrounds everything and binds the universe together along with laser swords and blasters, how could you not like these movies?

One of the greatest things I have been able to do in my adult life was take my children to the theater to see these movies on the big screen. Much like when I was younger, my kids love this incredible universe given to us by Mr. Lucas. Leading a new generation into the ways of the force is really the only responsible thing any adult can do. After all what better way to teach right and wrong, good and evil and doing the right thing even if you’re a bit of a scoundrel?

As an original fan from the very beginning, let me encourage you to pick up a copy of the movies if you’ve never seen them and binge watch them over the weekend. You’ll be glad you did. And for those of you who are fans and have been, maybe it’s time to get them back out and watch them again. It’s just a thought.

May the force be with you.

 

Where Are Your Dreams Taking You?

Posted on by davidwfelts

Some men are not satisfied with the status quo, or their place in the world. They feel as if they were meant for more; something on a much grander scale than just working for a living. These men tend to be readers, thinkers and dreamers; the type of  men other men are envious and jealous of. But what is it which sets these men apart from the rest?

Is there a gene in their DNA which other men do not possess? Or are they just lucky and therefore fate or divine providence has handed them the lion’s share while shortchanging others? I believe the answer is a definite no, but I also know there is something inside of these men which drive them forward where other men are scared or refuse to go.

The answer is faith. Now before you dismiss what I say as religious hooey balooey, hear me out. The definition of faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things you cannot see in the natural world. What are you hoping for? What is your evidence? When you dream, what is it you see? Do you even dream at all?

These men travel the path others won’t and they possess the ability to see themselves with the things they are dreaming of. They actively pursue those things in their minds before they ever see them in the natural.

I must admit, there are too many days where I sit in my recliner and go through the mind numbing ritual of watching television instead of reading to improve, or taking an online course to develop and learn a new skill. Unfortunately I’ve bought into the mindset of, “I worked hard today, I deserve this.” While I don’t believe watching television is wrong, I must ask myself why do I spend so much time doing this instead of reading?

Perhaps rather than just coming home from work each night and planting myself in my chair I should go for a walk and dream about those things which make my heart come alive. But what should I dream about doing you might ask? Anything and everything. What is something you would like to do? Start seeing yourself doing it. Let’s say you want to take bike trips around the country; begin seeing yourself in the places you want to visit. Don’t think about the cost, just imagine everything surrounding what you want to do and see yourself doing it.

Here’s the thing about dreaming; it doesn’t cost anything but your time and the sky’s the limit. Well unless you dream of being an astronaut, then I guess space would actually be the limit. Start with something you really want to do and imagine every aspect of what it would take to do it. Again, don’t think about the cost, just imagine everything you can about the activity. Dream big too, like they always say, go big or go home.

Be one of the men other men envy by living out your dreams. Start today, don’t wait. Dream it and you’ll end up doing it. Now you know what I think, what do you think?