HAPPY NEW YEARWelcome in the New Year giving all glory and honor to a Holy God. Praise and Lift Him up! Exalt Him Forever!
“ You are worthy, O Lord,
To receive glory and honor and power;
For You created all things,
And by Your will they exist and were created.”
In relation to our end of the year reflections, here is another blast from the past, i.e. another old blog post from my former Conservative Minority blog at Opera.
The following was passed on to me. I do not know the original source of this Blessing gem, but here it is:
Time and time again, we forget how blessed we are in our lives. Count Your Blessings!
Michael Ramirez Cartoon
This cartoon hits the bull’s-eye on Pres. Obama. Really, he actually rates himself just behind former Presidents Lyndon Johnson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) and Abraham Lincoln, which in his estimation makes him the 4th best President ever! Well, I know folks who think he is the best President ever. Out of love and respect, I don’t take them on to the degree that I would like to, because I do not want to hurt my close family/friend relationships. But, come on! The 4th best President ever!
Here is a blast from the past. The following is an old blog post of mine from my former Conservative Minority blog at Opera.
During my childcare years I came across a few little girls named Takiyya. Most with that name did not have that exact spelling. But I wonder did their mothers know the Islamic meaning of takiyya or did they just see it as an exotic middle east sounding name. When I first heard that name on a little girl, I thought the latter. I did not react like I did when I heard a mother on a bus in north Philly call her son’s name which was Jihad.
Well now I react to hearing Takiyya as a little girl’s name as I did when I heard the little boy being called Jihad. Takiyya means caution fear or disguise and is a Quran approved injunction for Muslims. Takiyya allows for misleading and lying to advance Islam. It is infused into just about all Muslim endeavors and transactions with non-Muslim societies be it sacred or secular.
Sura 2:225 Allah will not call you to account for thoughtlessness in your oaths, but for the intentions in your hearts…
There is growing concern now that Pres. Obama is really a Muslim since his recent Middle East trip. Some are saying that he is practicing takiyya. I am not there (yet) with the “Obama really is a Muslim,” but I do feel he is now unleashing his “simpatico with the Muslims” self. He has extolled the Quran like the bible, claimed the United States is one of the largest growing Muslim nations, and let’s not forget his bowing to the Saudi King. Like I said, I haven’t come to Pres. Obama being a Muslim, but when I put the takiyya injunction into the mix, I can’t help wonder not just about Pres. Obama, but also Muslims in general.
Two examples of actions done in the state of takiyya:
Of course I coud go further with Muslims being in the state of takiyya and the possibilities because of it, but that is at least another post. The two takiyya examples I gave, come from the book The Mosque Exposed
For those who celebrated, I hope you had a blessed Christmas. After going to church, I spent most of Christmas day with my 85 years old mother who is in the hospital. Praise the Lord, she was moved from ICU to a regular room on Christmas Eve. For those who consented to my request to pray for her in Jesus’ name, I deeply thank you. My mother who loves all kinds of foods, has been on a liquid diet since last Wednesday. She entered the hospital a week ago. Before last Wednesday, she was only allowed to suck on a few Ice cubes and suck on a lemon flavored swab. So even though she did not get to eat a real Christmas day dinner, Mother was thankful and even became full from her Christmas day dinner of chicken broth, hot tea, ginger ale and jello.
Mother was told in the hospital to have rehabilitation for her mobility in a nursing home. She would not hear of such. She requested the hospital’s physical therapy. Today she called me in the morning to tell me of her excitement about being able to walk up 4 stairs and walk down the hall with a walker during a physical therapy session. It is not uncommon for those in their elder years to lose their ability to walk (even with a walker) after being bed ridden for several days. The use of steps only applies to being able to use steps to get into the house, because our home is a ranch style type.
When I visited my mother later in the afternoon. She was in good spirits and was encouraged by a visit from our Pastor who also prayed with her. She is in prep for a procedure which she is scheduled to undergo tomorrow. After that she most likely will be able to go back to eating real food again.
My mother is loved in our church where she is called Mother by many in our church family. She grew up going to church, but did not have a personal relationship with Lord. My mother asked Jesus Christ through prayer to be her Savior when I was in high school. Jesus Christ became Savior and Lord to the rest of us in the family within a few years. She continues to grow stronger in the Lord everyday. Please continue to pray for her.
UPDATE 12-30-11: My mother came home last night thanking the Lord all the way home in the car.
Right Cogency 
