For “Scripture Sunday”:
School Shootings in Florida, Why Again?
“Has your mind become desensitized to the violence in our culture today? It’s time to look at yourself, change your behavior and seek to have the right relationship with God.
YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDsoMhGwIHg
Transcript:
[Darris McNeely] “I was about to board a flight in Minneapolis coming home yesterday when I saw the newsflash on my Twitter feed that another school shooting was taking place in Florida. Unfortunately, it was all true. Seventeen people died and several more wounded in another mass shooting in an American high school. Certainly our thoughts and prayers and beyond today go out for all the victims and their families and everyone that…in the community that has been impacted by this.
The natural question, of course, is why. Unfortunately, we have institutionalized violence in our culture today in so many different ways. It is a part to our medium, it is a part of movies and music. It is a part so much of our culture and we have desensitized ourselves to that and unfortunately that has impacted the minds of adults and many young people leading them to act out whatever thoughts, fantasies, whatever vengeance, whatever is in their mind and heart upon innocent people. And that reflects our society.
There is a scripture that we keep going back to and I refer to quite often in our public appearance campaigns with Beyond Today . It’s in Romans 1:28 with the Apostle Paul talking of his day but also setting a prophetic tone down into our day when he talks about a culture then and now that has forgotten God and not kept God in their knowledge. And in so many ways we have done that and we are paying the penalty as a result of this. Regardless of all the discussion that goes on over guns and gun control and the debate in who will…who is to blame, who should act, what should be done, here’s what it boils down to. You begin to do something. You change your life. You think about your behavior. How far has violence come into your life? How much has it become a part of entertainment for you and your family, for your children? How has your mind been conditioned to accept more violence perhaps than is necessary? Think about yourself.
I think it’s time that we stopped necessarily seeking others to do something to stop this and look inside ourselves and see what we can do and what we should stop in terms of our own behavior and changing ourselves to come around to a better relationship with God and a better understanding of how we should be and start there to make the change to effect a better world, a better society, a better neighborhood, better family and a better you.
A few years ago when we had another mass shooting at a high school, we on the Beyond Today crew, Steve Myers and Gary Petty and I sat down and we did a program called “When Evil Walks In “. I would encourage you to go onto our beyondtoday.tv site this weekend perhaps and review that and watch that program where we go in depth in talking about the impact of such events like this upon our culture and help put it into context for you to understand why. That’s what we do at Beyond Today the best and I think it would be very effective and very helpful for you.
That’s BT Daily . Join us next time.”
Watch Beyond Today program “When Evil Walks In”
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Presidents Day - What Does It Mean to You?
YouTube: https://youtu.be/vzX4vkXaq7c
MP3 Audio(680.06 KB) 
“The meaning of Presidents Day may have largely been forgotten. Should it remind us of certain significant things?
Transcript:
[Steve Myers] What does Presidents Day mean to you? It is Presidents Day here in America and many people have forgotten what Presidents Day is all about. Most people just seem to think it’s a day off. It’s extra time with the family. I don’t have to go to work. I can relax.
[Darris McNeely] Or time to go buy new furniture.
[Steve Myers] Yeah, time to shop. Time to do other things that you just want to do rather than really reflect on what Presidents Day is really all about. Do you know?
[Darris McNeely] Most people really don’t. It used to be something that was separated here in February, Lincoln’s birthday, Washington’s birthday. A few years ago it was combined into one, became a federal holiday. And, like so many other days on the American calendar, it’s become a big holiday, an excuse for just whatever people need to do, but not really understanding why and the reasons behind.
[Steve Myers] I was talking to a couple of people this morning and they couldn’t name the presidents that the day was supposed to honor. And so I was a little bit surprised by that, that we’ve forgotten that and forgotten really some of the history of the United States.
[Darris McNeely] Let’s take the opportunity on Presidents Day in the United States to reflect about what the Bible says about our relationship and our attitude toward leadership, no matter who they are, in what nation, what country, at any time. In 1 Timothy chapter 2 the Apostle Paul wrote this, he said as he was writing to the members, “I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is a good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:1-4).
So the Apostle Paul, the Bible, encourages us to pray for all people in authority—for kings and leaders—that they would have the wisdom to make the right decisions so that all peoples, regardless of their political persuasion, prosper underneath. But most of all, I think Steve, as well, so that really the work of God may be able to have the opportunity to be disseminated and given wherever it needs to be given.
[Steve Myers] One of the ideas behind Presidents Day is just that—that, where do our blessings come from? Why do we have these wonderful opportunities, especially here in the United States, Australia, Canada, places like this? We have been amazingly blessed and it is because of the blessings of God that He’s poured out upon us. So, let’s not forget that on Presidents Day and pray for those who are in leadership so that we can continue to honor and praise God and give Him the thanks for the wonderful blessings He’s given us.
[Darris McNeely] That’s BT Daily . Enjoy your day. Join us next time.” From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-daily/presidents-day-what-does-it-mean-to-you
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BREAKING NEWS: Euthanasia Drug Found In Major Pet Food Forces Recall
BY ANDREA POWELL
“With all the recent recalls on pet food, pet parents are starting to really worry about what is in their pet’s food. They should be!
Just in the last week, there have been 4 recalls by major pet food brands due to Salmonella. However, this new issue is deadly.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is investigating a study that was performed on Big Heart Pet Food, owned by Smucker’s. The brand under investigation is Gravy Train. A report states a study on Gravy Train food found it contained the drug pentobarbital, a drug used to euthanize animals.”
Photo:Gravytrain.com
From me: This is why we shouldn’t feed our pets any pet food which has “By-Products” in the ingredients.
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Update
On Tuesday, my granddaughter, Michelle and I took my van to Elliots, a very well recommended car repair place in Willis. It nearly didn’t start again, but a tap with a hammer on the ignition got it going. But it wouldn’t flub up at the repair place. They said until it did it again, they couldn’t diagnose it.
The doctor ordered another blood test as my white blood cell count was low. My friend Chris took me to get it, as she was going into Conroe to tend to the Petco Cat Habitat. So I saw and petted my foster cat “Puddin’” who is still in the habitat. She is so timid that she just won’t come out of her bed and interact with the folks trying to give her attention. She will be home with me again soon, if she doesn’t get adopted. I will be so glad to have her back home with me, though I would like to see her happy in a forever home, too, so I am torn both ways.
I had a mystery wet spot on the carpet next to my bed. I thought maybe my Siamese foster cat, Luna had spilled her water dish. I had Zack come over here and run my carpet cleaner machine over it. But the next day, Friday, it was still wet, so I thought maybe Zack hadn’t sucked it dry enough. I managed to get the big carpet cleaner machine back out of the garage into my bedroom, and sucked up a huge amount of water. Oh, Oh! Saturday, it was wet again. I looked at the other side of that wall which is the back wall of the garage, and there is a pipe leaking that goes to my washing machine. Not the supply lines, I have the good braided stainless steel ones, it is in the PVC pipe above the connection box. I went up in the attic to see if the break was up there, but it wasn’t, so I will have to tear out part of the garage wall to find it. There is no cut-off for that part of the plumbing, so I had to turn the water off as it was time to go to church, but that’s OK, I have lots of water stored for an emergency.
On Thursday, I had some items to mail, and no van, so Chris took me into Willis as she had to go to the Post Office anyway. We also went to Elliots car repair place and finally made my van do it’s ‘non-starting-thing’ where the key wouldn’t turn far enough to make the starter engage. The mechanic knew exastly what that was, and they had it ready late Friday afternoon. Claudia’s neighbor was going to see her in the nursing home on Saturday, and was going to give me a ride to church, so he gave me a ride to Elliots which is on the way. The van started right up, and so I got to church under own steam for the first time in three weeks.
For the church potluck, I had made crockpot scalloped organic potatoes and veggies, (squash, carrots, onion, bell pepper, banana pepper, spices) in a golden mushroom soup base. It was popular and there wasn’t any left over for me to bring home. There were plenty of other dishes, lasagne, home-made tamale pie, home-made organic chicken alfredo, home-made macaroni cheese, home-made potato salad, green saled, home-made brown rice and tomato, and several cakes and cookies. As usual, I was given food for my neighbor, Zach, who still doesn’t have an income.
The Bible readings were Ex. 21:1-24:18, Jer. 34:8-22, 33:25,26, Mat. 5:38-48, and 17:1-13. The teaching was about True Wisdom, based on Isa. 40:12-14.
When I left church, I drove around the corner to the nursing home and visited with Claudia, (Jay’s Mom), and she recognized me. Some days she does, and some days she can’t remember anything. But they just let her lay in bed all day, getting weaker and weaker, so it would be great if a therapist would come and help her exercise, like they did at the other nursing home.
I was glad that I had bundled up, as it was a blustery chilly, windy day.
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