Air Prayer

There couldn’t be two more dissimilar types of people than soldiers and politicians.  I have never been a soldier, nor have I ever been a politician.  However, I’ve observed both enough to see the marked differences.  The solder, does what he promises to do, to follow orders, to remain loyal and give his life if necessary to protect his country.  He is the model of selflessness.  The politician breaks his promises, is loyal only to those who will keep him in power, and is willing to do anything to keep that power.

The day is coming when these same politicians will order these same soldiers to secure the politician’s power. My only hope is that the soliders remember to protect the American people when this day comes.

Soldiers, sailors, airmen, for what you have always done, and always will do… thank you.  One small family in California remembers the fallen and are grateful for the freedem they have purchased with their lives.

Every time I turn around I see another Flying Dutchman reference.  Who would have thought I would be so famous?  Well, what did I expect picking such an over-used moniker.  Maybe I should have chosen the Stubborn Dutchman, or gone with my true heritage and called myself The Flying Flem.  You see, we’re Flemmish.

Since there are Flying DutchMEN everywhere I have decided to change my moniker to The Flying Deacon.  Yes.  Henceforth I shall be The Flying Deacon.  How many airborn deacons can there possibly be?  I bet I’m about to find out.

That’s not the only change that Mrs. Flying Deacon and I are considering.  We are also considering a change of residence.  Praise God that we will both be sharing this residence… along with our children.  We’ve seen our neighborhood undergo many changes but the change we’re seeing now is somewhat disturbing.  It’s been slow coming on but it’s getting progressivly worse.  It’s our next door neighbor and his pot-smoking, foul-mouthed friends.  The bulk of the neighborhood is still nice but these people are real losers.

I understand there is nowhere we can go to escape worldly influences but we can try to at least keep them at arm’s length.  We are looking into moving up to the foothills.  Two reasons.  Housing is pretty affordable right now.  Yes we’ll sell our house at a lower price too but the houses we are looking at are affordable.  Plus there is more than 20 feet between neighbors.  The second reason is air quality.  As my son grows older his allergic reactions to springtime and harvest become more pronounced.  When we spend a couple of days above the haze layer in the valley he seems to be better.  Nothing set in stone just yet but we are definately giving this some serious investigation.

The last change is that I am divesting myself of many of my airplane doo-dads.  I’m selling off my gps systems, and oxygen tank.  I’m selling some of my computer stuff too.  Why?  I’m starting a new campaign.  It’s called, “Send a Gringo to Mexico.”  Mrs. Flying Deacon enjoyed last year’s trip to Mexico immensely.  Also, I saw how relaxed she became.  She literally looked 5 years younger at the end of our week in Playa Del Carmen.  She needs that again.  Since I don’t really earn enough to take a vacation like that every year, I’m starting a fund and paying into it with stuff I sell and and side jobs I can scrounge up.

Lot’s of changes around here.  Let’s pray they are all for the better.

Last night I listened at our church men’s meeting to a man lamenting about what he found on MySpace. He had heard about MySpace and decided to check it out. On a whim he looked up some kids from his old church. As you may have already guessed he was shocked by what he found. One of those he looked up was a youth minister in training but on his MySpace site he had vile language and images and links that where at best questionable, at worst pornographic.

There followed a spirited discussion with a church elder who played devil’s (sic) advocate. His position, and it is an understandable and reasonable one, is that any technology can be used for good or evil. However, he did not come close to condoning what was found on those horrible web pages.

I can understand both positions. For instance, what about renting space in a building? If you are going to open a Bible bookstore, would you want to rent a space in a building that also houses an adult video store? Probably not. But how far do you go with something like this? If the Post Office rents a PO box to me, but also to that same adult video store, do I rent the PO box? Most people don’t worry about things like that but I do. And so does Carl, the gentleman I spoke of ealier, God bless him.

I originally started my blog on MySpace. But as I looked around I was shocked by what I saw. It wasn’t just kids expressing themselves. There are countless pages by girls who profess a belief in God, but on the same page have pictures of themselves barely dressed in provocative poses. There are countless pages of singles looking to “hook up” with someone…anyone. There are swingers. There are occultists. There are witches. There are prostitutes. There are young men who post the most vile, female-debasing, authority-hating, rhetoric I have ever had the displeasure of reading. And now, there are murderers on MySpace. John 8:44

I had to ask myself, do I really want to be associated with this? I closed out my MySpace web page and brought it here to Blogger. But I see many of the same things here on Blogger. They do a better job of removing questionable content to be sure. But again, how far do you take it? I also have a website, AirPrayer.com. Do the servers that host it also host pornographic websistes? I don’t know for sure but my gut tells me that probably they do.

So what am I to do? So what is any Christian who has a presence on the Internet to do? I think we need to excercise due dilligence when setting up a web site or choosing a provider. I am challenging myself and anyone who reads this to not turn a blind eye to where you set up shop. You wouldn’t open a business in a building that had a porn video store in it. Don’t set up your web presence on a site that carries evil, un-Godly content. As for myself I’m going to begin a search for a Christian web hosting provider to transfer my web site to. Since I know Google owns Blogger, and that Google does a fairly decent job of keeping pornography off of Blogger, I’ll keep my blog here for now.

I challenge all Christian web users, take a stand. Don’t be part of an establishment that helps to further evil behavior. Do some research. Find out if your hosting provider hosts pornographic sites. If it does, move your site. Take your business to a “building” that doesn’t rent to pornographers. Maybe even build next door to a church?

Life is like a precious coin. You can only spend it once. Spend it wisely.

The Dutchman lives in a town in central California called Modesto. It was to be named for it’s founder a one Mr. Ralston. He was too humble to allow that so the town was renamed Modesto for his modesty. That spirit of modesty is sadly lacking around these parts.

I wish I were more like Job. I wish I could make that covenant with my eyes not to look upon a girl with lust. I’ve been living life for 40 years now and still haven’t been able to make that covenant. Ladies, you are enchanting creatures and we men simply cannot take our minds off of you. God made women just right. Has mankind made anything more attractive or beautiful than the female form? The female form is exquisite, enticing, comforting.

Even so I wish women would understand what their forms do to men. I implore all Godly women to dress modestly. Something you may think is cute may reveal portions of your body that should only be revealed to your husband. Save your most precious gifts for him (and all that those words imply.) A flash of cleavage or inner thigh can set even the most Godly men on a course of thought that neither they nor you appreciate. I can’t begin to tell you how much cleavage, how many bellybuttons, or lower back tattoos I’ve see — at church!

Another reason I’ve left the two churches I was attending and found a very conservative reformed church. The elders of my current church are always reminding heads of households that EVERYONE needs to dress modestly but women especially because men are so visual. Paul appealed to women to dress in a way “which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works.” (See 1 Timothy 2:9-11)

I make the same appeal. Adorn yourself in a way to be ready to do good works for the Lord. Helping a Christian brother to not commit adultery in his heart is a wonderful work! Something every Christian sister can do every day.