Blessed

I just had a Wow! moment.
While at Bob Evans, a disabled man walked by me on his way back to his seat. I saw him stop my waitress, who clearly knew him well, and speak to her. He's about 4'6", walks with a special cane, and cannot lift his head off his chest. I really don't know if it is acceptable to pity someone in his and similar conditions, but that's what I feel in my gut when I see them.
Then this happens!
The waitress comes to me and says, "Larry wants to buy your meal."
How do you respond to that!?
I barely stuttered out, "That's not necessary, but tell him thanks." (he had already sat down facing away from me)
She gave me my ticket and left.
I sat there wondering if I should personally thank him for the offer, or if that would offend him since I rejected it.
I then overhead him ask the same of his own waitress and heard him say, "The one with the beard."
She looked back at me as I tried to act ignorant of what was going on. She never approached, so when I finished I walked on by him and went to pay.
I'm sure you know what comes next. The cashier and her manager said it had already been paid. A giant lump grew instantly in my throat.
I walked over, took a knee beside his table, thanked him, and said, "God Bless you, Larry."
While Tammy would love for me to say my epic beard won me a free meal, that wasn't it. You see when he had passed my table I had just raised my head from praying and saw that he had stopped, barely in my peripheral, while I thanked God for my breakfast. He wanted to bless me because I asked blessings over my meal. That didn't hit me until I was walking back to the hotel. I hope no one saw my eyes swelling up.
Hebrews 13:1-2 Let brotherly love continue.  Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
Larry might feel I was his angel today, but in reality he was mine. One who was way more deserving of being blessed chose to bless me. That is not unlike Christ.
Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
I don't deserve anything but hell, but Larry chose to bless me with a meal, and even better Christ chose to bless me with eternal life. Not just me, but for all who believe.
Do me a favor, say a prayer for Larry in Bowling Green, Ohio today.

Sick of the P.C. garbage

Patterson Hood is a politically correct moron. He never liked southern rock until he discovered he could make money off it. He does not speak for the sector of Alabama we both once called home.
He is not a scholar. He is ignorant of history.
As several others are doing, he's choosing to be a pathetic sympathizer to the ignorant masses rather than educate them to the truth.
It's really a shame that a Detroit born southern rocker, Kid Rock, understands more about the flag than an actual southern born man with a legendary father.
I was never taught that slaves were not mistreated. Having all of my schooling in an Alabama classroom, I was actually taught the exact opposite. I was taught how Wallace opposed integration, then flip-flopped when the political winds changed. All of this while a rebel flag flew on the state Capitol, not just on a war monument.
I was also taught that our state battle cry was "Dare We Defend Our Rights!" That same phrase echoes in nearly every thing I do. I exercise my rights, at times, simply because a right not exercised is a right lost.
You cannot forcibly dictate that any of my actions, speech, or expressions are for any motive other than what I insist. I have never hated any person because of their race. I am equally kind, and at times equally angered at people of all races.
I'm sick and tired of people who are too lazy to educate people about their own heritage. It may be easier to just furl the flag you don't like and move on, but you do so at the expense of history.
Did people that hate blacks fight under the battle flag? Yes, but they also fought under the Stars and Stripes on the opposite side of the field. It was American flags that flew from horses, wagons, and barges as American Indians were herded across the wilderness leaving so many dead in their wake. Yet we would not accept an Indian walking on our flag.
Well, I don't accept you walking on the flag of my southern ancestors.
I hope Mr Hood will remember, a REAL southern man don't need him around, anyhow!

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/07/09/magazine/the-souths-heritage-is-so-much-more-than-a-flag.html?referrer&_r=0

Judge not?

What did Jesus say that he came for? "To seek and to save that which was lost" Luke 19:10
2 Peter 3:9 declares, "... not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
The best commentary on the Bible is the Bible, so in light of the above verses, what is Jesus's main focus in the first five verses of Matthew chapter 7?
It's definitely not that if I'm guilty of a certain sin, I'm forbidden from telling others it's wrong. The standard is always God's standard, not mine or that of anyone else proclaiming God's Truth.
The focus of those five verses is for me to make sure I examine myself, to be certain that I'm not as guilty as the other guy. If I am, the two verses, and countless others, declare that God would rather have me get right, than avoid the subject.
That principle is illustrated in verse 5 where God says to remove the beam from my eye so that I can see better to help my brother remove his mote.
God's Word is never about condemnation. We are already condemned. His desire for us is reconciliation with Him. He's always talking about us getting right.

http://yellowhammernews.com/faithandculture/judge-not-rick-bubba-set-the-record-straight-on-what-the-bible-actually-said/?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=socialnetwork