True understanding of what really ails America!

This quote was translated into English from an article appearing in the Czech Republic as published in the Prager Zeitung on April 28,2011.

"The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting an inexperienced man like him with the Presidency. It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their president. The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails America. Blaming the "prince of the fools" should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. The Republic can survive a Barack Obama. It is less likely to survive a multitude of idiots such as those who made him their president."

This is so accurate and on point it needs no more explanation.  

Ulf Ekman - God wants to make you a real christian

A story of Inspiration

In 1931 among the struggling businessmen was a hotelier named Conrad Hilton. Americans weren't traveling, and hotels were suffering. Hilton was borrowing money from a bellhop so he could eat.

It was during those difficult days of the Depression that Hilton came across a photograph of the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. The Waldorf was the holy grail of hotels with six kitchens, two hundred chefs, five hundred waiters, and two thousand rooms. It even had its own private hospital and railroad. In retrospect, Hilton observed that 1931 was "an outrageous time to dream." But the economic crisis didn't keep him from dreaming big, praying hard, or thinking long. Hilton clipped the photograph of the Waldorf out of the magazine and wrote across it,"the greatest of them all." Then he placed the photograph under the glass top of his desk. Every time Hilton sat down at his desk, his dream was staring him in the face.

Nearly two decades came and went, all the while, Hilton kept circling the Waldorf. Every time he walked by the Waldorf, he tipped his hat in deference to his dream. Hilton acquired an impressive portfolio of hotels, including the Roosevelt in NYC and the Mayflower in DC, but the Queen, as he called the Waldorf, eluded him. Several attempts to purchase the hotel failed, but Hilton kept circling. Finally, on October 12, 1949, eighteen years after drawing a circle around his dream, Hilton made his move. He purchased 249,024 shares of the Waldorf Corporation and crowned his collection of hotels with the Queen.

How did he do it?

Well, Hilton certainly possessed his fair share of business acumen and negotiating prowess. He was a hardworking visionary with a lot of charisma. But the true answer is revealed in his autobiography. In Hilton's own words,"My mother had one answer for everything. Prayer!"
For eighteen long and boring years, Hilton worked like it depended on him and prayed like it depended on God. Then his persistence paid off. The final section of Hilton's autobiography is titled "Pray Consistently and Confidently." Here Hilton provides a succinct summary of his approach to business- essentially his approach to everything in life: "In the circle of successful living, prayer is the hub that holds the wheel together. Without our contact with God we are nothing. With it, we are 'a little lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor.'"

The next time you stay in a Hilton, remember that long before it was bricks and mortar, it was a bold prayer. It was a long shot, a long thought. But if you pray like it depends on God and work like it depends on you for eighteen years, anything is possible. When you dream big, pray hard, and think long, you know your time will eventually come.
Hilton certainly celebrated the acquisition of his big dream, but he never viewed the Queen as his greatest investment or achievement. His greatest privilege and potential was kneeling before the King. That's what made the Queen possible. The Queen was always subject to the King.

In the book "The Circle Maker" Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears by Mark Batterson.

Raising Children the Wrong Way

Each generation has been formed by the one before it. We complain about the younger generation but we are the ones who have shaped its moral compass. 

Below is something found on Facebook - I do not know the author.

1.. Begin from infancy to give the child everything he wants. This way
he will grow up to believe that the world owes him a living.

2.. When he picks up bad words, laugh at him. It will encourage him to
pick up "cuter" phrases that will blow the top of your head later.

3.. Never give him any spiritual training. Wait until he is twenty-one
and then let him decide for himself.

4.. Avoid the use of the word "wrong." It may develop a guilt complex.
This will condition him to believe later when he is arrested for stealing
a car that society is against him and he is being persecuted.

5.. Pick up anything he leaves lying around - books, shoes, clothing. Do
everything for him so he will be experienced in throwing the
responsibility onto others.

6.. Let him read any printed matter he can get his hands on. Be careful
the silverware and drinking glasses are sterilized, but let his mind
feed on garbage.

7.. Quarrel frequently in the presence of the children. Then they won't
be too shocked when the home is broken up.

8.. Give the child all the spending money he wants. Never let him earn
his own. Why should he have things as tough as you had them.

9.. Satisfy his every craving for food, drink, and comfort. See that
every desire is gratified. Denial may lead to harmful frustrations.

10.. Take his part against the neighbors, teachers, and policemen. They
are all prejudiced against your child.

11.. When he gets into real trouble, apologize for yourselves by saying,
"I never could do anything with him."

12.. Prepare for a life of grief - you will have it.

Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will
not depart form it. (Proverbs 22:6)

Notice the above word "train" in the verse. It isn't the word "raised." I was not raised like vegetables in the garden. Just giving them water and fertilizer and they grew up. I was trained as I was growing up to say things like "excuse me" and "thank you" and hold the door open for those behind me. We were trained to give up a seat if an elderly person entered the room. A work ethic was instilled inside me by my parents when they made me pull weeds all day in the blazing July sun. If I wanted to play football in the cow pasture with my friends, I had to get my work done first. When I wanted ice-cream, I had to eat my peas first, and there were no exceptions. I was trained not to whine at an early age. Yes, I tried it a few times early on, and the response from my mother amazed me - she said if I kept doing it - she would give me something to whine about. I soon figured out that it wasn't worth it. At the tender age of 14, I decided to backtalk my mother at the supper table. In a split second of time my father backhanded me in the mouth, practically putting me on the floor. He said something to me I would never forget. "Son, that is not only your mother you are talking to like that, but she is also my wife, don't ever do it again." I never have to this day! 

Kids today must realize that the real world doesn't cater to your every whim. Businesses don't start you out on a $100,000 salary driving a Mercedes. You flip a hamburger for awhile and understand its an opportunity and a privilege to carry your own load. Children need the cold hard facts that the world doesn't owe them a car, house, diamond rings, or designer clothes. If they want something, they need to realize that patience and hard work coupled with the discipline of living within their means will payoff. 

Enjoying convenience without paying for it - thinking the government is the answer to every need - accusing everyone else for my own failures - will eventually implode this great nation if not turned around. There is hope for America, but it must begin in the home, not in the White House or Congress.