You've probably heard the story about the old couple who live next to a young couple who hangs the laundry out to dry? The old lady always makes snide comments about how dirty the sheets are and how someone should teach her how to do laundry or use the correct amount of soap...This goes on for weeks, but then one morning, the old lady sees clean sheets hanging out to dry. Being very curious, the old lady says "Well it's about time she finally learned how to do wash, someone must have gone over and taught her a lesson." The old man replies "No, No, that's not it; I got up early and washed the windows so you you can see more clearly."
My Cousin Vinny is one of my favorite movies; I actually prefer the TV version as the language can get a bit crude at times. One of my favorite scenes is when Vinny is asking questions to Mr Crane one of the witnesses...
Vinny Gambini: Mr. Crane, what are these pictures of?
Ernie Crane: My house and stuff.
Vinny Gambini: House and stuff. And what is this brown stuff on your window.
Ernie Crane: Dirt.
Vinny Gambini: Dirt. And what is this rusty, dusty, dirty looking thing that's covering your window?
Ernie Crane: That's a screen.
Vinny Gambini: A screen! It's a screen. And what are these really big things that are right in the middle of your view of the Sac-o-Suds and your kitchen window, what do we call these big things?
Ernie Crane: Trees?
Vinny Gambini: Trees, that's right, don't be afraid just shout 'em right out when you know 'em. And what are these thousands of little things that are on trees?
Ernie Crane: Leaves.
Vinny Gambini: And these big bushy things between the trees.
Ernie Crane: Bushes.
Ernie Crane: Bushes. So, Mr. Crane, you can positively identify the defendants, for a moment of 2 seconds, looking through this dirty window, this crud covered screen, all of these trees, with all of these leaves on them, and I don't know how many bushes.
Ernie Crane: Looks like five.
Vinny Gambini: Uh, uh, uh, don't forget, this one and this one.
Ernie Crane: Seven bushes!
Vinny Gambini: Seven bushes. So, what do you think? Isn't possible you just saw two guys in a green convertable and not necessarily these two particular guys?
Ernie Crane: I suppose.
Vinny Gambini: I'm finished with this guy.
Life really depends on the aperture we use doesn't it? The world's filter is quite different than God's filter. Jesus was born to proclaim good news and tells us to Love God and Love others. If we filter all or actions and attitudes through that lens what a wonderful world it would be.
Monday, December 17, 2012
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Memorable Zig Ziglar Quotes
Zig Ziglar passed away today.
Some of my favorite one liners are
"Your attitude determines your altitude."
"People don't buy for logical reasons; they buy for emotional reasons."
"Failure is an event, not a person."
"Want a friend? Be a friend."
"Expect the best but prepare for the worst."
"The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing." Or that might be one of Covey's?
Some of my favorite one liners are
"Your attitude determines your altitude."
"People don't buy for logical reasons; they buy for emotional reasons."
"Failure is an event, not a person."
"Want a friend? Be a friend."
"Expect the best but prepare for the worst."
"The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing." Or that might be one of Covey's?
Friday, November 23, 2012
Thanksgiving 2012
A quick recap
1621- The few remaining Pilgrims gathered together to give thanks and praise to God.
1770- The Doxology written by Ken Thomas after 70% of London burned down yet his church survived "Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost."
1863 President Lincoln establishes Thanksgiving a National Holiday-
The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.
1943- Corrie Ten Boom gives thanks for the fleas-The Nazi's would not enter her barracks to abuse them because of the fleas.
2012- It's all about Black Friday.
1621- The few remaining Pilgrims gathered together to give thanks and praise to God.
1770- The Doxology written by Ken Thomas after 70% of London burned down yet his church survived "Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost."
1863 President Lincoln establishes Thanksgiving a National Holiday-
The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.
1943- Corrie Ten Boom gives thanks for the fleas-The Nazi's would not enter her barracks to abuse them because of the fleas.
2012- It's all about Black Friday.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Detox
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word "Detox"? Lindsay Lohan? Hollywood check in's at rehabs?
What is a toxin, is it a benefit or a detriment? Don't be shy, when you have the answer you can say it. They say Elvis died with 15lbs of a backed up colon! If anyone needed a colon detox you see on those infomercials, it was him.
Our home is over 120 years old, and sometimes more than liquid plumber is needed to clear the pipes. In our lives there are some things we can't do by ourselves, and need a professional. I'm reminded of some of the latest "Tirerack.com" commercials where questions are asked of the wrong people...Silly. Yet many times that is exactly what we do; we fail to go to the Professional who made us in His image.
When our lives get disrupted, we can no longer depend on the things we did before, and we don't have control over our circumstances or timetable. Maybe God is doing some detox in our lives?
However, even in the midst of the re-construction, the glory of the Lord is revealed in that place. For some, it is the first time they've ever seen the hand of the Lord in their life to the degree that this process allows them to experience Him. It is a process they would never choose to go through voluntarily, but it is an experience they value for the rest of their lives because the glory of the Lord was revealed in the process. Once the process is complete, things begin to flow better, and for that to happen, we may have to wait patiently on The Lord.
Like St Augstine said- "You have made us for yourself O Lord, and our soul is restless until it finds rest in You."
What is a toxin, is it a benefit or a detriment? Don't be shy, when you have the answer you can say it. They say Elvis died with 15lbs of a backed up colon! If anyone needed a colon detox you see on those infomercials, it was him.
Our home is over 120 years old, and sometimes more than liquid plumber is needed to clear the pipes. In our lives there are some things we can't do by ourselves, and need a professional. I'm reminded of some of the latest "Tirerack.com" commercials where questions are asked of the wrong people...Silly. Yet many times that is exactly what we do; we fail to go to the Professional who made us in His image.
When our lives get disrupted, we can no longer depend on the things we did before, and we don't have control over our circumstances or timetable. Maybe God is doing some detox in our lives?
However, even in the midst of the re-construction, the glory of the Lord is revealed in that place. For some, it is the first time they've ever seen the hand of the Lord in their life to the degree that this process allows them to experience Him. It is a process they would never choose to go through voluntarily, but it is an experience they value for the rest of their lives because the glory of the Lord was revealed in the process. Once the process is complete, things begin to flow better, and for that to happen, we may have to wait patiently on The Lord.
Like St Augstine said- "You have made us for yourself O Lord, and our soul is restless until it finds rest in You."
Monday, September 3, 2012
Sex
Just kidding... I seem to get about 3000 hits if sex is mentioned in this blog.
Years ago in the 80's, Miles Mcpherson of San Diego's The Rock Church, used to meet one on one with me for a weekly mentoring and discipleship. Get this; we would meet at 5am on Tuesday mornings. One series, we went through the book of Philemon in the New Testament. I called him up one morning to say I couldn't make it in, I wasn't feeling well. "Just read verse 8 and 9 of Philemon" he said... "Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love."
We live up on a knoll and sounds always travel up. The other night In heard a very ugly fight going on somewhere in the valley. Lots of unwholesome words coming from both parties and escalating louder and louder- heads butting like two mountain goats from a Dodge Ram commercial from the 90's.
So I turn on the TV to drown out the craziness below and surf the channels when I come across Richard Attenborough narrating a Nature sequence with two mountain goats on a steep impasse. As the goats approached each other, each feinted a power move at the other in what looked like the beginning of a battle. In a surprise twist, however, one goat suddenly collapsed onto the narrow ledge so the other goat could walk over its back. Then each moved on.
I was impressed and wanted to share with the couple below in the valley. Here was strength defined by submission. It allowed two opponents to survive a crisis so both could get on with more important things. Guess what, sometimes (mostly) putting others first is best. My dad put it best-True JOY is Jesus first, Others second and Yourself last.
Years ago in the 80's, Miles Mcpherson of San Diego's The Rock Church, used to meet one on one with me for a weekly mentoring and discipleship. Get this; we would meet at 5am on Tuesday mornings. One series, we went through the book of Philemon in the New Testament. I called him up one morning to say I couldn't make it in, I wasn't feeling well. "Just read verse 8 and 9 of Philemon" he said... "Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love."
We live up on a knoll and sounds always travel up. The other night In heard a very ugly fight going on somewhere in the valley. Lots of unwholesome words coming from both parties and escalating louder and louder- heads butting like two mountain goats from a Dodge Ram commercial from the 90's.
So I turn on the TV to drown out the craziness below and surf the channels when I come across Richard Attenborough narrating a Nature sequence with two mountain goats on a steep impasse. As the goats approached each other, each feinted a power move at the other in what looked like the beginning of a battle. In a surprise twist, however, one goat suddenly collapsed onto the narrow ledge so the other goat could walk over its back. Then each moved on.
I was impressed and wanted to share with the couple below in the valley. Here was strength defined by submission. It allowed two opponents to survive a crisis so both could get on with more important things. Guess what, sometimes (mostly) putting others first is best. My dad put it best-True JOY is Jesus first, Others second and Yourself last.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Loan Modification Rant
So I did a loan modification on our home in Georgia;11 months into it, the bank fraudulantly foreclosed anyway Now that light has been shed on the banking industry, it's no wonder. My home here in Bonita has a loan on it and Bank of America can't or won't tell me who the investor even is??? Hummm?
Securitization is all pretense. Alan Greenspan said that with 100 PhD's he couldn't figure out what they were doing and he was wrong to give them a pass. He should have insisted on the real facts before allowing the continuation of the creation of fake money.
Modification is all pretense. If banks and servicers received any part of TARP money they must CONSIDER modification proposals submitted by borrowers. But they don't. And they don't even allow the investors to know that the offers exist. Here's why.
The creation of the bogus mortgage bonds was a mere accounting trick in which the typical loan receivable account was transformed into a security. The way the banks played it, they asserted ownership and control over the loans and the bonds until they were done wringing the last cent out of them. All told, they appear to have received $17 trillion in aid on a total of only $13 trillion in loans, in which there were only $2.6 trillion in defaulted principal and half of that was the actual loss. Of course they didn't give the $17 trillion to the investors because that would pay off the loans, so they claimed the loss of the investors as their own and received $17 trillion in bailouts.
But wait there's more. They also received money in insurance, and credit default swaps. All told the average loan was sold an average of 15-20 times. So that $300,000 loan of yours was worth $5-$6 million as long as they declared the pool in default --- even if your loan was paid up to date.
The pool they declared in default never existed, because it was never funded, and never treated as though it was a separate entity except when it suited the banks who were routinely stealing identities of the investors and borrowers. Despite the obvious fictional nature of these transactions, they were treated as real in the financial world. I wrote an article about this a few years ago entitled the Emporer's New Clothes. We are still in the period where most people are afraid to notice that the Emporers on Wall Street are buck naked and that they never had any cover or clothes.
So they got all these trillions of dollars for loans that were in default and all the loans that were not in default. If they modify your loans in any large volume, all those trillions they received will be refundable to the insurers and counterparts to the credit default swaps and the bailouts. And the investors' losses will be cut, thus exposing the fake losses declared by the Master Servicer. Money will flow in large waves back to pension funds and homeowners.
So they sit on the proposal, or go into trials that they know will end in rejection, and then they say they considered the loan modification and rejected it. The real reason is that they will lose millions on each modification. So they neither consider it nor communicate it to investors. You can challenge them in court on this. Bring in a realtor and/or appraiser and show that your proposal was over fair market value of the property, that foreclosure proceeds were 50% of fair market value and that no reasonable person would reject your offer if they knew about it or truly considered it. You can demand to know who reviewed it, what formulas they used and proof that they asked the investors.
Those who take this route are getting traction. The last thing the banks and servicers --- all of whom are really only intermediaries ---- want is for borrowers and investors to get together and compare notes. If that happens the housing crisis will be over. But the party of the mega banks will also be over.
Whew, okay, I'm done ranting
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Run the Race
Okay, so the Olympics are done and we won... a bunch.
You know the Olympics were talked about in the Bible....Really. Hebrews 12:1 says ...
12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Well, maybe not, but seriously how many of you start something without seeing it through to the final outcome? I almost always start the day in prayer in the Jacuzzi while watching the sunrise, but all it takes is a singing bird, ice crystals up in the stratosphere, or a cat jumping up curiously to see what I'm doing to get off tack...You get the idea, I am easily sidetracked and distracted. Would an Olympian running running a Marathon stop to smell the roses, sign autographs etc?
You and I run the race for the prize that lies ahead, even when we get off track and lose our way we are not lost; just need to refocus and fix our eyes on the prize. Even when we stumble and fall don't stay there, get up the race can still be won. His grip is sure, there's no letting go today, no way.
http://youtu.be/zplX5FDDuH0
You know the Olympics were talked about in the Bible....Really. Hebrews 12:1 says ...
12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Well, maybe not, but seriously how many of you start something without seeing it through to the final outcome? I almost always start the day in prayer in the Jacuzzi while watching the sunrise, but all it takes is a singing bird, ice crystals up in the stratosphere, or a cat jumping up curiously to see what I'm doing to get off tack...You get the idea, I am easily sidetracked and distracted. Would an Olympian running running a Marathon stop to smell the roses, sign autographs etc?
You and I run the race for the prize that lies ahead, even when we get off track and lose our way we are not lost; just need to refocus and fix our eyes on the prize. Even when we stumble and fall don't stay there, get up the race can still be won. His grip is sure, there's no letting go today, no way.
http://youtu.be/zplX5FDDuH0
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