As you know, it was St. Patrick’s Day this past Friday, March 17. But do you actually know the reason behind that day? Not many people knows the true reason we pays honor to St. Patrick and celebrate it on March 17. Some probably doesn’t even care. To them, it’s just another reason to celebrate in one way or another.

St. Patrick was a 5th century priest known as the patron of Ireland. He was born around 386 CE in Roman Britain, possibly in the area known as Wales. At the age of 16, he was enslaved and taken to Ireland, where he spent 6 years in captivity. He then escaped, only to later return to bring Christianity to the people of Ireland.

He founded schools and churches throughout the Emerald Isle before his death on March 17. He was never canonized as saint by the Catholic Church.

There was a legends that Patrick led all the snakes out of Ireland. Now, Ireland was known not to have snakes; so snakes was often symbolize as the devil and evil, many believe the “snakes” were a metaphor representing his work of driving the idol-worshipping Druid cult out of the country.

This is the fable I grew up hearing about.

Why was the color green chosen to be worn on this particular day?

The tradition of wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day is supposed to make you invisible to leprechauns.

The Irish-Americans would never wear the green as a reminder that they were nationalist first and foremost.

Green was adopted by St. Patrick’s Day festivities in the 18th century after the shamrock became Ireland’s national symbol.

When I was a kid in school, we were pinched if we didn’t wear green on St. Patrick’s Day. The reason for getting pinch was as soon as you were in the leprechaun’s radar, they will come up to anyone who didn’t wear green. It didn’t matter if you were Irish or not.

I doubt there are many who knows the true reason we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Some probably couldn’t care less. They just want a reason to party. Like we need another reason to party, eat, and/or drink.

It happens during Lent; like Mardi Gras started off Lent.

On St. Patrick’s Day, there are people who choose to drink green beer. Now green beer is just green dye added into their beer to turned it green. It’s not actually green.

Drinking green beer isn’t not actually my thing. Believe me, I like beer but I wouldn’t go out of my way for green beer. I’ll drink Shamrock shake before I would drink green beer.

I would rather eat corn beef and cabbage around St. Patrick’s Day than drinks green beer. I grew up with that tradition of eating corn beef and cabbage. My mother even added potatoes and carrots with it. You can cook it all together in a croc pot if you want. The healthier way is to baked the corn beef and steamed the cabbage, carrots, and potatoes. You can even skipped the potatoes, like I did this year.

The Reuben sandwich is actually created using German ingredients. Yet, it is still have connection with Irish tradition as well.

Sauerkraut is fermented cabbage.

It goes to show that some of the European countries links their foods together. Then it’s carried over into the United States as family tradition throughout the generations.

This year when you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, keep in mind the true reason we honor St. Patrick not just the fable. It’s good to honor someone who has done good things. It shows respect; and there’s not much of that anymore these days. Enjoy your green beer if you are into it. Just keep the green out of my beer, ok! I’ll eat the corn beef and cabbage with carrots instead. Believe me, I’m not Irish; even though I have red hair.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!!

As Paul Harvey would say, “Now the rest of the story!”

Last week, I talked about this book and how the narrator was sent to Siberia for standing up against the Russian Government. Anyone who spoke out against the Russian Government were sent to Siberia; which is like prison without bars.

There’s part of our history in the United States that today’s Democrats would rather we forget about. They would like to rewrite that part of history; because it puts them in a bad light. They thinks that they are the party for the blacks; when in reality we know better if we studied our history.

Before the Civil War in 1860, there was the underground railroads. The underground railroads was where slaves from the South would take to go North to escape from slavery.

There were at least 3 black troublemakers during that time.

First, there was Denmark Vesey from 1767-1822. He was a slave who purchased his freedom after winning a lottery and organized an elaborate uprising among South Carolina slaves. When the authorities got wind of the scheme, Vesey and 35 other blacks were hanged, despite the fact that no actual uprising had taken place.

Then there was Sojourner Truth, who was a leading black abolitionist in the decades before the Civil War. Not only was she black, she was a woman who campaigned for women’s rights as well as for the ending of slavery.

Then there was Frederick Douglas, from 1817-1895, a Baltimore slave who escaped to New York in 1838. He became an abolitionist, developed an extraordinary ability as a speaker and published an abolitionist paper, the North Star. During the Civil War he helped raised black regiments and in later life continued to campaign for full equality for blacks and for women.

When Abraham Lincoln became President in 1860, he sets out to freed the slaves in the South; which the Civil War came about. This country was divided between the North and the South. Jefferson Davis became the President of the South during that time. Now Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican, and Jefferson Davis was a Democrat. So you see, it was the Democrats who didn’t want to give up owning slaves. To them, the blacks were not just slaves but property as well.

Today’s Democrats created the 1619 project out of part of the history back in August of 1619, when a ship appeared on this horizon near Point Comfort, a coastal port in the English colony of Virginia. It carried more than 20 enslaved Africans, who were sold to the colonists. So that part may be true; but today’s Democrats and our education system is neglecting the whole truth by covering up the fact that it was the Democrats who didn’t want to relinquish, give up their claim to the blacks that were slaves in the South. They are leaving that out on purpose to lie to the younger generation being taught in our schools.

The Ku Klux Klan was formed December 24, 1865 in Pulaski, Tennessee. They were formed by a group of former Confederate soldiers. They had close tied to the Southern politicians still loyal to the cause of white supremacy; which at that time were Democrats. They engaged in a campaign of terror, violence and murder, targeting African Americans as well as white voters who supported racial equality and civil rights.

Senator Robert Byrd(D-WV) and former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black were among the leaders of the KKK.

Yet today’s Democrats have the galls to call Trump and his supporters White Supremacy. They needs to get their facts straight.

During the 1960’s it was the Republicans who was behind the Civil Rights movement not the Democrats; but they want to take credit for it as well.

Arkansas Governor Sara Sanders reminded the fact us of what President Reagan said. The federal government was designed to serve and protect the people and not rule and control them like Biden and his authoritarian Democrats.

This is a form of Socialism or Communism. This is what the government does in Russia and China.

When parents spoke out at the school board, they were called Domestic Terrorists by the FBI, Joe Biden, the Democrats and mainstream news media.

Just like the narrator in the book, “Notes from the Underground.” They would rather silence anyone who dare speak out against them. They would rather control what our kids are learning in school by teaching them lies or rather not the full truth.

Adolph Hitler, when he was in control in Germany, did the same thing. He recruited young boys and turned them against their parents.

Today’s Democrats are doing the same thing.

Luckily, my blog is small; otherwise they would shut me down. To them, I’m a domestic terrorist because I will not conform, bow down and kiss their feet. According to Biden, anyone who disagree with him is a MAGA Republicans, whether they voted for Trump or not. We’re all White Supremacy and domestic terrorist. They would like to lock us up and take away our freedom of speech. If there was a Siberia in the United States, they would probably put us there, like the Russians government do. Luckily, there is no place to be Siberia here.

We are still free for now; but if Biden and his fellow Democrats have their way, we could lose that freedom.

I stand up for that freedom and will continue speaking out against those who would like to take it away. Are you with me?

The first time I read this book, “Notes from the Underground,” was back in college for my literature class. It was a good novel and I didn’t think of anything more about it. Most recently, I read that book again, and got a whole new perspective on it, in today’s light of what’s going on in the world right now. It’s such an impact that this blog will be in 2 parts. Not only will Russia be against this blog; so will China and those on the Left; who is in favor of Socialism. Or should I say, “Communism.”

Those on the Left, they want Socialism over Capitalism. If anyone agrees with them, they should read this book, if not these 2 blogs, the next 2 weeks. This is coming from someone who is fascinated with the book, “1984” by George Orwell. You may even see some similarities between the 2 books.

You could say this book is an autobiography. It’s told in the first person narrative. Something that is very difficult to do as a writer.

The author/narrator is telling the story of life in Siberia. In Siberia, life isn’t very easy. It’s like a prison without bars. It’s a place where anyone who opposed the Russian Government goes as a form of punishment. Anyone who speaks out against the Russian Government in Russia is arrested and sent to Siberia as punishment.

The news media is controlled by the Russian Government, and is only given information that the government wants mentioned, even about the war in Ukraine. If they speak out against Russia invading Ukraine, they will be shut down and sent to Siberia as punishment. The people in Russia don’t know the whole story to why Russia invaded Ukraine unless they happened to catch it on our forms of Social Media and news. A lot of the people in Russia is against the invasion of Ukraine; but do not dare speak out about it.

At least, we still have Freedom of the Press in the United States for now, so they can be thankful for that. If it wasn’t for that freedom, the news media couldn’t be able to express their opinions. Bloggers, like me, wouldn’t be able to speak out against the injustice.

Some people think that Volodymyr Zelenskyy should concede to Russia and agree to a Peace Treaty. If he was to agree to the Peace Treaty with Russia, him and his family would either be killed, tortured, or he could be sent to Siberia for the rest of his life. Some may think that the United States is sending more than other countries to aid in their war. Some thinks that we shouldn’t be doing it. Believe me, I can understand that!

I can understand people wanting to know exactly where the money is actually being spent. This is not about where the money is being spent though.

As I said before, I admire Zelenskyy because he stands up for not only for his freedom, but also for his wife and family and the people of Ukraine. He’s also fighting for our freedom as well.

Freedom is something we take for granted. Anyone who favors Socialism want to take away that freedom we have in this country. This is one of the reason people are leaving these Communist and Socialist countries is because of the freedom we have here.

The war in Ukraine is also important to Taiwan, because China desperately want Taiwan back in their fold like Russia wants Ukraine back in their fold. China is even in cohort with Russia in this take over. China is just as corrupt as Russia. They want nothing more than conquering the world in world domination.

The 3 world powerful countries are United States, Russia, and China; but United States is in dire threat of losing because of those on the Left who favors Socialism and is allowing China to take over our country bit by bit. The Chinese Government is so involved in every aspect of our country through Social Media, the news media and such. Trump had every rights not to trust China like Reagan didn’t trust Russia.

Even the Rhino Republicans is in bed with the Chinese Government. Luckily, there are some good Republicans now who sees the truth for what it is involving the Chinese Government.

Some of these good Republicans are creating bills to stop the Chinese Government from buying farmlands in the United States; especially land close to our military bases, such as the base in Grand Forks, N.D., and in Texas.

They are even creating a bill to ban Tic Tock, because the Chinese Government is using it to spy on the United States.

Most recently, a Chinese spy balloon was flying over our country from Alaska to the East Coast before being shot down over the water on the East Coast. Why did it take so long for the Biden’s administration to shoot it down? The excuse they gave was because they didn’t want to affect the people. Come on, man, you had wide open spaces in Montana and North Dakota to shoot it down. Both Reagan and Trump would had it shot down then.

The truth to why they didn’t shoot it down earlier was because Joe Biden is compromise with the Chinese Government. In other words, he is in bed with them; much like the Rhino Republicans as well: like Mitch McConnell for example.

If you want to help the people in Ukraine fight for their freedom, instead of sending money; why not stop buying from China and Russia. Those on the Left won’t do that though. They’re too afraid to stand up to Russia and China. Biden proved that he is week and feeble. He proved that him and his son, Hunter are in bed with Russia and China.

People in these Socialist countries cannot even worship in public. They have underground churches because they have to hide to worship. Missionaries are not safe to spread the Gospel. That could easily happens here if we’re not careful.

Be thankful for the freedom we have. Be thankful for the freedom to speak out and to be able to worship without fear. In the end time we could lose that freedom and be persecuted for it. The book “1984” could become a reality then.

My question is: where would Siberia be in the United States? Will it be in Alaska, Montana, or North Dakota?

It’s slowly happening already. Anyone who speaks out against the government, especially the Democratic party, or even Chinese Government are being persecuted and arrested for hate crimes. They are also being cancelled by cancel culture.

Stay tuned for the continuing saga next week in part 2 of this blog post; in which we look at our history. Don’t take my words for granted, read the book, “Notes from the Underground” for yourself. I got more out of the book the second time than the first time.

Most people who have ever gone to counseling knows that it’s vital to keep a journal or a diary. Any counselor will tell you it’s very important to write down your feelings and thoughts. They will even tell you to sit down and write a letter to your inner child or anyone who may have offended you growing up.

To be a good songwriter, you have to put your thoughts and feelings together to create a song or a poem. Even writing short stories or novel, learn to write what you are feelings as well as what you are thinking.

Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.

A good journalist must have the 5 W’s when reporting the news. They must gather all the facts from all sources and sides. That even goes with anyone who write a blog as well.

I knew that I wanted to be a writer, not just of songs but of books as well. I didn’t want to be a journalist even though I had studied to be one in college. I knew that I had to looks into how I can be a better writer; even if it meant going to college. I had no idea what to actually do to make that dream a reality.

There are 4 great motives for writing.

1.) Sheer egoism: desire to seem clever, to be talked about, to be remembered after death, to get your own back on grownups who snubbed you in childhood.

2.) Aesthetic enthusiasm

3.) Historical impulse: desire to see things as they are, to find out true facts and store up for the use of posterity.

4.) Political purpose: Desire to push the world in certain direction, to alter other people’s idea of the kind of society that they should strive after.

Everyone writes of them in one guise or another. It is simply a question of which side one takes and what approach one follows.

All writers are vain, selfish and lazy, and at the very bottom of their motives there lies a mystery. Writing a book can be exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. You write about what you know and feel.

I have written songs lyrics because the words came to me as I would sing them. I have written stories and in the process of putting together a novel, in hope in getting published. As my blog gets bigger, I may looks at using my blog site to published my books. One of the books I’m in the process of putting together is called, “Rollag Hills.” Another book us is called, “Class of ’84.”

A good author looks to other famous authors to emulate to help them with their books and stories. One of my favorite authors is John Steinbeck.

In a way, writing my blog has came full circle to the time I was in college. That college education is coming in handy for writing my blogs.

I have written letters to the editors in my local newspaper that was published. I even had people say that I should looks into doing something more than just writing those letters.

Then when someone I know suggested that I should look into creating a blog. They encouraged me to do just that. Their daughter had a blog as well through Word Press; where I was able to get started. My blog may be small now, but you know what they say about small dogs. You never know what you can expect from them like a big dog.

Since I’m so full of opinions about certain subjects, a blog is a good place to air my opinions. Writing letters to the editor was a good training; but it has it downfalls. Don’t get me wrong, I can understand proofreading for errors; but I have had some letters in which the editor would take out something because they didn’t agree with it before they published it. When they do that, they take out the real meaning and reason for the letters. At least, writing my blog, I can keep my opinions in it. It’s your rights to either like it or not like it.

There’s no end in sight of topics I can write about in my blogs. With all that is going on in the world right now, I will never run out of ideas. Those on the Left, Biden and crazy stupid people are giving me the ammos to write about. There may be topics that is off limits for some reasons or another. If I don’t have much information on a certain subject, I won’t touch it until I do. There are some subject I cannot write about right now; but maybe down the road I can blow it out of the water. That’s why I keep the subject in my blog general.

I can now look into creating a video blog. I just need to figure out how to go about doing it. By doing that, I can expand my viewers and who knows be able to say, “take this job and shove it!” I can be living my dream of being a writer, and getting rich off it. If you have any ideas on turning my blog into a vlog let me know.

The big question is: will you want to see my ugly mug sharing my opinions? I can write better than I can talk, because of my speech impediment. When I get excited, I can sometimes be hard to understand. I can easily be misinterpreted because of my speech.

If you like my blog press the like button on the bottom. If you have any comments, feel free to comment as well. If you want me to turn my blog into a vlog, let me know and show me how I can go about doing that for you, the viewers.

When E.F. Hutton speaks, people listen. You all heard of that commercial years ago.

In this blog, I will talk about being a super communicator and will mention some great communicator in the process as well. Some may surprise you.

A great communicator must be able to explain the complicated so anyone can understand. They must speak or write in everyday language; because not everyone are able to comprehend what is being said. This is one of the reason I write in the simplest form. I’m just a simple man. I’m no expert and I’m not a genius.

A great communicator used storytelling to captivate and educate. They used analogies to explain unfamiliar areas. They tried to be relatable to the common man.

Many of us shut out new ideas if there’s a hint that the concept at hand may be too hard to comprehend. In other words, if the concept is over our head, we will turn it off. We should learn to communicate with ordinary people, by not putting them down and making ourselves better than them.

It’s vital to know our audience. We must know who we are speaking to. Believe me, I learned this back in Journalism class in college. Yet, at the same time, what we may say or write can easily be misinterpreted. Some people may take it the wrong way just because they are not fully comprehending what is being said. It happened more and more as of lately. Take Trump for example. Because of some people hatred for him, they turned around some of the things he said to make him look bad.

You must know your subject before actually speaking or writing about it. That’s why, there are some subjects I won’t touch upon , until I have enough information. You must be a master of your subject. If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.

Bad writing or ineffective speaking can kill your project before it even gets off the ground. If you can’t articulate your message in a way that your audience can comprehend, you can’t expect them to share your enthusiasm.

Make what you are saying simple without condescending anyone; so that it will be easy to understand. Our job as communicators is to provide the audience with truth in a way they can understand. People resist change, especially if it takes them out of their comfort zone.

Be human in what you say or write. Be genuine. Share your experiences that make you sound like a real person trying to get through life like anyone else. Make yourself authentic. Tell stories where you come across as an average Joe who faces learning opportunities and struggles. Never brag or put yourself on a pedestal.

What happens when a speaker kicks off a presentation with a good story? You get the audience attention. Sometimes, even a good joke if the punchline actually works.

A great communicator must be relatable. They must be able to relate to what their audience is going through; otherwise they may turn them off to what they are trying to say.

I’m going to give you some examples of great communicators. Franklin D. Roosevelt was a great communicator. When he had his fireside chats on the radio when he was President, people tuned in together as a family just to hear what he had to say. That was their entertainment back then.

You may be surprised to hear me say that Adolf Hitler was a great communicator. Even though he was an evil dictator, he knew how to get the people fired up. He had a huge following during the beginning of World War 2. He had young people doing what he wanted and turning against their parents.

Both John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. were great communicators. Their speeches were legendary.

Ronald Reagan was a great communicator. Some may say it was because he was an actor first. Even though, he was old when he ran for President and was President, he was able to attract the younger generation. I became a Republican because of him. He used humor when needed. He came across as relatable. He said all the right things. He didn’t come across as being old and out-of-touch, like Joe Biden. I mean, think about it, when Biden speaks, he reminds me of an old man that you goes, “here we go again as we are sitting trapped as they speak. You can’t get away fast enough; and you cannot fully believe what Biden says, not like with Reagan.

Bill Clinton was a great communicator. He was able to spin lies and make you believe it as being true. He had the “It” factor; something that Hillary Clinton lack. That’s why Hillary couldn’t win the American people over like her husband.

Barak Obama was also a great communicator. He came across as relatable. I believe that was one of the reason he was able to become President and defeat McCain and Romney. He was able to relate to the American people.

Say what you want about Donald Trump, he was a great communicator as well. He knew exactly what to say to the American people. He knew how to get us fired up. You may not like everything he said, but he said exactly what the American people were thinking. I believe that was why he had such a huge audience at his rally.

I may not be the best communicator. Sometimes, what I may write or say may be misinterpreted. Sometimes, my speech can be hard to understand. I try to be relatable. I’m working on becoming a better communicator. I want to know what you think.

I may not know what love is but I know what love ain’t. The love chapter I’m talking about is 1 Corinthians 13. I will try to show how this chapter can make an impact us to make America great again.

Let us head to 1 Corinthians 13 to help fully comprehend what love is.

The first verse says, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” It’s more important to have love than to speak in tongues.

Verse 2 says, “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” Without love there is no faith!

Verse 3 says, “If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.” We are to give from the heart. May your left hand knows not what your right hand is doing. It’s not good to be giving in hoping of getting something in return. It’s better to give than to receive.

Love is patient. If you are anything like me, I’m not a very patient person. Yet at the same time I have been told that you should never pray for patience; because you may get more than you bargained for.

Love is kind. We are to be humble and kind with each other.

It does not envy. We are not to be envious of what others have. Yet, the world states that we must strive to keep up with the Jones. We seems to want what others have. We seems to be envious of those who are rich.

It does not boast. We are not to be boastful with what we have. I have personally experience with this back when I was working at Concordia College. I was rather boastful, to the point of actually bragging. I believe it cost me that job; so the Lord can show me the error of my ways. So now, I thanked God for what I have. All I have belong to the Lord. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh.

It is not proud. We must not be too proud to ask for help. When we are proud, we think that we are invincible.

It is not rude. We are not to be rude to anyone we may meet. We may not like a person or their behavior; but that doesn’t give us permission to be rude to them.

It is not self-seeking. It’s not about me; but rather about Jesus Christ. As a former pastor once said, “we are to take self off the throne.” It’s not I but we are in this together.

It is not easily angered. In other words, we are to control our temper and not get angry at every little things that may pissed us off. Believe me, what’s going on in the world right now, is enough to get anyone angry.

It keeps no record of wrongs. We are to forgive those who trespass against us. If someone offended us, we are to turn the cheek. It doesn’t mean that we are weak; but rather strong. When Jesus was on the cross he said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” It’s not the forgiving that is hard but the forgetting what was done to us.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. If our enemy is getting their just desserts, we must not rejoice over it; or the Lord may change His mind.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. We protect those we love. We trust them even when the trust is broken. We can have hopes if we have love first. We will perseveres with the love of God.

Love never fails. With love, we can win every time.

Prophecies may cease to exist. Our tongues will be stilled. Knowledge will passed away; but love will never end.

When perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.

And now these 3 remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. Love is the greatest!!

Love doesn’t divide, it unifies. Love doesn’t take, it gives. Love is not selfish, it is selfless.

It doesn’t mean that we have to agree with each other. It means that we just have to accept them, warts and all. If we want to end the hatred in the world; we must first learn to love one another no matter what. We don’t have to love the sin; just love the person instead. Let your love flow! Let the love of Jesus be seen in you. Let us love one another as Christ first loved us. For God so loved the world that He gave us His one and only son to saved us.

Go in love!! Stop the hate!!That is how we can make America great again. Love your neighbors as Christ first loved you.

I know that the Super Bowl isn’t until next week; so this blog is week early.

Do you know that the Super Bowl is one of the biggest reason people get together to party? More people watch the Super Bowl than any other shows. It’s the most top rated TV show ever.

Baseball is supposed to be America’s favorite pastime. Nothing is supposed to be more American than baseball and hot dogs. Well, football is quickly taking that title away. Maybe because there is more action in football than baseball.

More people watched the Super Bowl than they watched the Oscar. The Oscars is usually long and boring; and people is not to keen on Hollywood stars anymore since they have gone crazy to the Left.

Even though, some football players had took a cause by kneeling during the National Anthem, people still seems to watched the Super Bowl for their entertainment. It gives them a reason to party. Like we need another reason to party!

I mean, who doesn’t like to party?

A party is a social gathering of invited guests, typically involving eating, drinking, and entertainment. There is as much drinking of alcohol at a Super Bowl party as there is a New Years Eve party. As a rule, food is included in the Super Bowl party but BYOB; which is bring your own beer is recommended. That’s also depends on who you are partying with.

The type of food served at the Super Bowl party are: chili, nachos, Buffalo wings, and pizzas. Nothing real healthy about that! People doesn’t seems to care, as long as they are gathered together with friends watching the big game on TV. All they seems to care about is seeing a good game being played.

I have seem some good games and some bad games. Some of the games, a person wondered how in the world the team got into the Super Bowl?

Then there’s the Super Bowl ads. The advertising companies forked over big bucks on ads in hoping to lure people to buy their products. Some ads are pretty amazing. Sometimes, the commercials are way better than the game itself.

Do we really need another reason to drink?

Then there’s the halftime show! Some are pretty good and some can leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Some halftime shows can be so disgusting and inappropriate. One of the worse one that I can remember is when Janet Jackson performed with Justin Timberlake, and he groped her tearing her outfit exposing her breast on national TV. Some may wondered if it was staged or what? Did Justin meant to do it or was he a victim of Janet? Who was the victim there?

This year performing during the halftime show is Rihanna. She’s popular and beautiful but is she appropriate for young people who may be watching? I’m not too crazy about her since she had gone too far to the left politically. She seems to be anti-American in her viewpoints. I can understand people standing up for what they believe in; but must they push their belief onto the rest of us?

This year it came very close to having a match-up between the Buffalo Bills and the Minnesota Vikings. They both were in the playoffs. They both been to 4 Super Bowls and lost all 4 of them. I was kind of hoping for both teams to make it to the Super Bowl. I was prepared to eat my words I said about the Minnesota Vikings. It could have been a good Super Bowl; because both teams would have a must win attitude. They both would have played to win and give it their all, to be the next team to finally win a Super Bowl after the Denver Broncos did it after the 5th time. I would had routed for the Bills to win though. Sorry Vikings!! The Vikings had choked once again, just like the Cowboys.

It would have been good to see the Bills and the Giants; but they both lost as well.

This year Super Bowl is the Philadelphia Eagles vs the Kansas City Chiefs. I’m glad that the Eagles won the Super Bowl when Carson Wentz was the quarterback against the New England Patriots. They wiped the smug off Tom Brady’s face; which was good to see.

The Kansas City Chiefs have also won their Super Bowl. I also have been to the Arrowhead stadium in Kansas City.

They say it’s history because both team has a black quarterback. I can’t see Patrick Mahomes as being black though. I mean he looks white to me.

Then there are brothers playing against each other on the opposing team. Travis Kelce for the Chiefs and Jason Kelce for the Eagles. Now that’s more history than the quarterback. I mean, who would their parents route for? They don’t want to show favoritism.

I will be watching the Super Bowl next Sunday in hoping for a good game and good commercials. I’m not looking forward to the halftime show though. Even though, I like my share of alcohol; I won’t be drinking because I will be with people who doesn’t drink.

Are you ready for my pick to win the Super Bowl? Can I get a drum roll please? My pick to win the Super Bowl is the Kansas City Chiefs. I want to hear from you if you either agree or disagree. Are you ready for some football? Are you ready to party like it’s 1999? It’s party time again!!

Hopefully, you are going through some growing pains; so are you?

As a baby craves milk for their nourishment, once we get our teeth, we start craving regular food for nourishment. Just like plants needs water to grow, we also need food to grow.

At the same time, we grow emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Spiritual growth doesn’t happen overnight. It involves days and nights of storms. Character, like fruit, takes time to mature.

For those who are born again, we have 2 birthdays: Your natural birthday, the day you came out of your mother’s womb; and your Spiritual birthday, when you first came to accept the Lord, Jesus Christ as your Savior.

Hopefully, we also grow mentally and emotionally as well. Hopefully, as we get older, we mature and become wiser. We should never stop learning as we get older. When I was younger, I wasn’t much of a reader. As I get older, I’m doing more reading; as you can see in some of my blogs. I’m learning new things not only about myself but how I can improve. Like fine wine, we get better with age. We wouldn’t become older and wiser without being young and foolish.

We all went through the terrible 2″s, asking a lot of questions. Then when we become teenagers, we believe we know everything. As we get older, we come to realize that we don’t know everything. That’s why we do a lot of catching up on our reading and seeking advice to help us grow.

This book is on the Principles of Spiritual Growth. First of all, our faith, hopefully, will grow as we get older in our walk with Jesus. Hebrews 11:1 states, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Everyone knows that evidence must be founded on facts. A good reporter/blogger must do their research to gather the facts. As in the old TV series, “Dragnet,” just the facts Ma’am!

It seems that most believers have difficulty in realizing and facing up to the inexorable fact that God does not hurry in His development of our Christian life. He’s still working on me. I’m not perfect; but I shall become perfect when my time on earth is over. As my mother would say, “If we were perfect, we would be in heaven instead hell on earth.”

We are accepted just the way we are. God doesn’t make junk. He loves and accept us warts and all.

We have a purpose on earth. Jeremiah 29:11 states, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” I have a purpose on earth. There was a reason why I was born. Just like, there’s a reason for my blogs.

The Lord is at work preparing us for such a purpose. In preparation, there is a tearing down before there can be building up. Some of the stuff we learned as a child by our parents or anyone else, we have to be taught differently.

Youth and immaturity tend to act first and think later. Maturity has learned to take time to assess the facts. It’s like ascending a ladder.

Appropriation does not necessarily mean to gain something new but to set aside for our practical possession something that already belongs to us.

We need to be able to identify ourselves, in who we are as a person.

First a person is born again, then as the Lord continue His work in our lives to consecrate us, to make us whole.

As I heard a former pastor say, “we have to get self off the throne!” It’s not about us! Yet the world seems to make it about ourselves and forget about others.

We need to deny oneself. One of my favorite Bible verse is Isaiah 6:8, “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “whom shall I send? and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

A person comes to the cross when they accept the Lord.

A disciple is one who is free from the old and free for the new. We are to pick up our cross and be willing to follow Jesus wherever He may sends us. There is a process to discipleship though.

Just as we need nourishment to grow, farmers need rain to grow their crops. Rain is a good thing; without it, the food we eat will not grow. Farmers need the right amount of rain and sunshine.

We all need rest. Babies and young children gets plenty of sleep. I don’t know about you, I remembered as a child, my sister, Barb would always tell us to go take a nap; whether we need it or not. I think it was to get us out of her hair, so she could watch Bobby Goldsboro. Back then, we hated taking a nap. Now, as we are older, we desire to take a nap; whenever we can. It seems like after eating a big meal, we want that nap for some reason.

We all need a little help at times. Yet, it is time to stop asking God for help. He didn’t help us to be saved, and He doesn’t intend to help us live the Christian life.

There can be little question concerning the importance of balance, so vital in the mechanical, physical, aesthetic and spiritual realms. Faulty balance often results in disintegration and possible devastation to the surrounding area. Our self-life is out of balance-it is all one-sided. In other words, we get out of balance; and needs to get balance. Whenever I can I go see my chiropractor for a tune-up and to get my body back in balance. Just like we are out of balance spiritually as well.

We first comes to the Lord hungry and zealous; but we must continue growing spiritually. This is when we must keep up with our reading and seeking wisdom from others. We should never stop growing spiritually, emotionally, and mentally. When we stop growing, we know longer exist. I shall be made perfect when the good Lord finally calls me home to heaven. Until then, I will continue to grow.

In the words of Joey from the series, “Friends,” “How you doing?” How are you growing? Are you becoming a better person? Don’t ever stop growing and learning new things!

How many buy a certain product because your parents bought it? How many continue buying a certain product even though the formula has been changed? How many continue to be loyal to a certain company or stores no matter what?

Businesses like us to be loyal to continue to be loyal to them. Some even give loyalty rewards to loyal customers.

Even though they may be dead, I joked that their ghost is haunting the place they were loyal to when they were alive. I joked that my Aunt Dororthy is haunting Denny’s and that Wes’s ghost is haunting Randy’s because they were loyal customers.

I used to buy Ban roll-on deodorant out of loyalty until they changed the formula. Even though, my folks would buy Charmin toilet paper and Tide laundry soap; I don’t do it because they are too expensive.

As I mentioned in last week, part 1 blog, the older generation are more likely to be loyal than the younger generation. They are more apt to be loyal to their employer and stick with the same job, taking the abuse. Whereas, the younger generation can be rather fickle. They will jump at any opportunity as a means to get ahead.

You may wonder how anyone can get a job by being fickle and not being loyal? In the past that’s what employers like; but things have changed. It’s called getting the experience.

Years ago people were more apt to be loyal in their marriage. People were more likely to stay married a long time. My folks made 40 years together. People would stayed in an loveless marriage or an abusive marriage out of loyalty. They would take the abuse constantly. They takes their marriage vows very highly.

Today’s generation are not so likely to take their marriage vows lightly. This is probably one reason why lawyers can outtalk a preacher. Young people can easily fall in and out of love at a drop of a hat. No one stays together anymore. Which is good, if there’s no love or if there’s abuse. Like the song goes, what forever for?

As you will see, I’m not advocating total loyalty here. Sometimes, you have to be a rebel. Some people will call it being a rebel. I call it being smart and standing up for what you believe in. You don’t have to take the abuse in a marriage or on the job by your employer. There are plenty of fishes in the sea. Not like the old days, when a person didn’t have much of a choice, like they do now.

Variety is a spice of life! We have that right to make choices; even if it’s not being loyal to how we were raised.

When I first became a Republican under Reagan, I voted for the first George Bush not only because of loyalty; but because I was a young Republican and didn’t know any better. As I have gotten older, I became wiser. I had my eyes open to reality. Sometimes, it’s not good to be loyal.

Maybe this is also why people would church hop as well?

I was criticized when I couldn’t bring myself to vote for George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004. I almost didn’t vote in 2004 because I didn’t much care for Bush or Kerry. People would say you should vote for Bush because he’s pro-life. He’s also was a Rhino Republican before that term became a household name.

I was also criticized for not voting for McCain and Romney. The excuse they used was how can you not vote for them since they are Republicans? The reason was because they were Rhino Republicans and didn’t represent me and my belief. They were career politicians who didn’t deserve my votes.

I don’t care for North Dakota Senator John Hoeven. When I vote, I usually write in my own name or last election I voted for Becker instead. He’s a Rhino Republican who vote what his buddy Mitch McConnell would vote and not what the people of North Dakota would want. He done nothing for North Dakota when he was governor and nothing as Senator. Plus after what his wife, Mikey said, “You know who I am!” I have no respect for him.

Much like when Rick Berg ran for Senator after only being in the House of Representative for one term, I couldn’t vote for him. It wasn’t personally. I knew him before he made it big. It was because the power had gone to his head as so with so many in Washington.

I can understand why my parents voted for the person and not the party. They voted independents. There are candidates who are just loyal to the party and couldn’t care less about what the American people wants. I don’t care if they are Democrats or Republicans. Maybe they needs to do away with both parties and let the American people vote on the individual instead.

Just as there is bad Republicans out there; there is also some good Democrats out there. There are Democrats I have talked to who doesn’t agree with the Progressive Left crazy ideas; just like their are Republicans who likes me that doesn’t agree with the Rhino Republicans.

Some of these good Democrats even though they may vote Democrat, they don’t totally agree with them; they just vote out of loyalty. Their eyes are open but they are just loyal to the party. It’s the same way with the Republicans.

Don’t get me wrong, there are Democrats who are loyal to the party but don’t have their eyes open to the reality of the truth. They don’t want to see the truth. It goes the same with the Republicans as well.

That’s why we need to looks at the facts and not vote out of loyalty to either party. Do they vote what the people want or the their party affiliation? Or don’t vote at all!!

I’m glad for Trump, because he opened our eyes to the going on in the swamp of Washington D.C. Because of Trump, there is some good candidates coming out. They just needs to disassociate themselves from the party much like some churches have disassociate themselves from the church denomination.

Call me a rebel if you want, I don’t care! Sometimes, it’s not so good to be loyal. Loyalty can be our biggest fault and our downfall. If you agree, press the like button. If you have any comment, I would very much appreciate it.

The cover of this book says, “How baby boomers are changing the way we live today.” I want to say I believe this book is a little off a generation. I think the credit goes to Generation X instead.

The baby boomer started in 1946, right after the second World War. It ended in 1964. They followed the silent generation. Most baby boomers were or are children of the silent generation. So you see they had the most difficult to make any real change that this book gives them credit for. They were held back because of the silent generation didn’t want to rock the boat. They felt that they had it so good. Employers took better care of their employees and their families before the government interfered.

The silent generation had big families in hoping that their kids would take care of them in their old age. Yet at the same time, they were rough around the edges and came across as sometimes being abusive. The wives stayed home barefoot and pregnant to cook and clean; while the husbands went out to make a living. Yet somehow, they were able to make it on one income.

I will give the baby boomers the credit for the birth of rock and roll. The silent generation was in shock when rock and roll started. They felt that it was devil’s music. Because of the birth of rock and roll, started in the 50’s.

I just missed by a year from being a baby boomer, making me a Generation X. Generation X started in 1965 and ended in 1980. They are known as being resourceful, independent, and keen on maintaining work life balance. The baby boomer may had started something with changing the way we live today; but it was the later generation X that was more able to complete the process, once the silent generation passed away. They were held back out of fear of change and rocking the boat.

People my generation and older would pretty much stay at one job, no matter how bad it may be. We were less likely to quit. We would just take the abuse just because of the benefits.

There wasn’t much job opportunities for the older generations as it is now. So you could say that the Generation X was somewhat responsible for creating more job opportunities.

The Generation X was product of the sexual revolution. There were less women staying home barefoot and pregnant. They were out bringing home the bacon as well as the man. The Feminist Movement started during the birth of Generation X. That was the generation that started the single mothers without leaving a bad taste in some people and even the church’s mouth.

I was born to a single mother, who chose to raised me and worked as well. They proved that they didn’t need a man around. The silent generation was very critical of that. They felt that it was rather shameful and a sin to have a child out of wedlock. The church really frown on that; especially the Catholic Church. Some people still do frown on single mother. Some say that young boys needs a father around to help raised them. I think I came out alright. For the first 5 years, I had my uncles and older cousins. After that, came my step-dad who was more of a dad than my real father. As my mother would say, “any many can father a child; but it takes a real man to be a dad.”

When I was in high school, there were few young girls getting pregnant, keeping the child and still getting their education to get a good paying job.

We lived the good simple life before computers and smartphones. It was a much different world back then. Kids were able to be kids. They actually played outside instead of on the computers or social media.

You knew your neighbors and you knew where your kids were; not like today.

I didn’t have computer training in high school because computers was just slowly starting to pick up. We were taught the basic 3 R’s; whereas today they are taught on the computers at an early age. I started getting more computer training in college.

After Generation X, came the Millennials, born 1980 to 1994. The Generation Z was born in 1995 to 2012.

The average millennial owes 10% on mortgage and credit cards debt.

Yet at the same time, the millennials isn’t as loyal as the older generations. I’ll talk more on that subject in part 2 next week.

Where the silent generation was more loyal to their employers of the generations. All because they didn’t want to rock the boat; much like the baby boomers and Generation X.

They were considered to be harder worker because they felt they had to just to get ahead and make a living.

The Generation Z is the generation that is so ingrained in social media. They are more technologically advanced than the rest of us. Yet at the same time, they are more apt to be lazier. When you see them, they have their heads down into their smartphones. If you ask them to do something, without looking up, they just grunt at you. They are more likely to be living at home in the basement, not paying rent or helping their parents out. They feel that they don’t have to. They expect mommy and daddy to take care of everything for them. They don’t even want to imagine their parents dying, leaving them all alone and someday being force to actually do any work.

I don’t know about you; but it scares the hell out of me to think that the Generation Z will be the generation that could end up taking care of us if ever we end up in a nursing home. Anytime you see that generation, they have their heads down in their smartphones, walking, driving, or sitting. They are not paying attention to their surroundings around them. If we ever needs something, they would just grunt at us without looking up from their phones. Our cane would become our weapons to beat them to get their attentions.

I don’t know about you, the cell phones should not be in their hands while they are at work. Put the phone in your pocket or not have it until you are done with work.

The Generation Z expect everything to be freely available to them. They are less likely to get a job. The government likes that too.

I could go on but I think you get the message. Remember, it’s a generation thing! Each generation has their own things you may agree with or not. Next week, we’ll continue with part 2; which will be on loyalty.