Paul Harvey: If I Were The Devil

Paul Harvey, originally did this commentary in 1965 (I believe.) Over the years he tweaked it a bit but if you were to read the original version, you will see that it did not change too much. Prophetic? To me it sounds like someone that had read the Bible. If you know your Bible, you realize that a lot of the turmoil we see today was  foretold in the Bible. For myself, that along with many other passages I’ve read within it’s text confirms that the Holy Bible is real and not some fairy tale.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1
New American Standard Bible

I cannot possibly understand everything within its pages, but that’s where faith comes in, right?

But back to Paul Harvey…

I can’t post the video, since embedding is disabled.

Occasionally, a few of my friends who ask me if God was loving, why does he allow bad things to happen.? While, I was originally planning on including that within this post, I thought it deserved a post of it’s own. There’s really no ‘easy’ answer to that, but I’ll post my response scheduled for later this week.

For some reason his commentary made me think of the verse below.

and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

II Chronicles 7:14
New American Standard Bible

If I Were The Devil

If I were the Devil ………….. If I were
the Prince of Darkness, I’d want to engulf the whole world in darkness.

And I’d have a third of its real
estate and four-fifths of its population

But I wouldn’t be happy until I had
seized the ripest apple on the tree, THEE

So I’d set about however necessary to
take over the United States.

I’d subvert the churches first. I’d begin with a campaign of whispers.

With the wisdom of a serpent, I would
whisper to you as I whispered to Eve:
“Do as you please.”

To the young, I would whisper that the
Bible is a myth.
I would convince them that man created God instead of the other way
around.

I would confide that what is bad is
good, and what is good is “square.”

And the old, I would teach to pray
after me: “Our Father, which art in Washington.”

And then, I would get organized.

I’d educate authors in how to make
lurid literature exciting so that anything else would appear dull and
uninteresting.

I’d threaten TV with dirtier movies,
and vice versa.

I’d peddle narcotics to whom I could.

I’d sell alcohol to ladies and
gentlemen of distinction. I’d
tranquilize the rest with pills.

If I were the devil, I’d soon have
families at war with themselves, churches at war with themselves,
and nations at war with themselves, until each in its turn was consumed.

And with promises of higher ratings,
I’d have mesmerizing media fanning the flames.

If I were the devil, I would encourage
schools to refine young intellects but neglect to discipline emotions – just
let those run wild

Until, before you knew it, you’d have
to have drug-sniffing dogs and metal detectors at every schoolhouse door.

Within a decade, I’d have prisons
overflowing. I’d have judges promoting
pornography.

Soon I could evict God from the
courthouse, and then from the schoolhouse, and then from the houses of
Congress.

And, in His own churches I would
substitute psychology for religion and deify science.

I would lure priests and pastors into
misusing boys and girls and church money.

If I were the devil, I’d make the
symbol of Easter an egg and the symbol of Christmas a bottle.

If I were the devil, I would take from
those who have and I would give to those who wanted,
until I had killed the
incentive of the ambitions.

And what will you bet I couldn’t get
whole states to promote gambling as the way to get rich.

I would caution against extremes in
hard work, in patriotism, and moral conduct.

I would convince the young that
marriage is old-fashioned, that swinging is more fun, and that what you see on
TV is the way to be.

And thus I could undress you in
public, and I could lure you into bed with diseases for which there is no cure.

In other words, if I
were the devil, I’d just keep on doing what he’s doing.

No longer needed (for now at least)

sunbeam-vertical-quilted-heated-mattress-pad
Sunbeam Vertical Quilted Heated Mattress Pad

Of course, when I finally got around to purchasing the heated mattress pad, I don’t need it anymore. The next few days are supposed to be a bit warmer, in the 40F, but I’ll keep holding onto it, before I know it the temperature will be dropping down again, and I’ll be happy that I made the purchase.

Even though the past few days the temperature has been warm, once I received I did test out my Sunbeam Heated Mattress Pad, and I must say that I’m thrilled with how comfortable it is. The mattress pad is machine washable and has 10 temperature settings. Even though I get cold quickly, from my tests setting it on low should keep me sufficiently warm… when I actually need it (of course.)

For the love of mushrooms…

Because I love freshly harvested mushrooms last evening I set up a barter with an extremely knowledgeable mushroom guru.

Homegrown portabello Mushrooms
Recycled picture: Shiitake mushrooms freshly harvested by K

I asked for a in-person tutorial of how to properly inoculate logs with mushrooms. To sweeten the deal I told them I’d knit them a hat or scarf with Malabrigo yarn. They had already received a tiny token (crocheted bookmark) of how incredibly soft this yarn from me, I was hoping that might get them interested. It appears that might have worked. They’re knitworthy so I look forward to knitting this project.

Since I don’t know how they feel about hand washing an item,  I sent them a link for Malabrigo Rios yarn.  That’s a superwash wool, which means it can be washed and dried on delicate setting.  I told them to choose what  color they wanted. Based on their complexion, I did offer some suggestions, but ultimately it’s their choice what they decide.
I already know I’m getting a amazing deal, since I’ve received some of their Shiitake mushrooms before.

Feeding the homeless; grocery shopping…

Each month, I make my regular trek to a local grocery store to purchase items for a local homeless shelter. It’s a ministry that my Lutheran church is involved with, and we contribute by purchasing food items, preparing nutritiously delicious meals, and interacting the guests during their stay. I’ve been involved with this ministry for over a year.

People don’t care how much you know, until they know you care…

Initially, I volunteered as their breakfast cook. Back then, it worked perfectly with my schedule since I was working from home full-time, but when I started working out of the home on a part-time basis, I realized that wasn’t feasible, and so I prayed for other ways that I could still be part of this fabulous ministry. A few months later my prayers were answered when I learned the person who was purchasing the food had to step back because their job was sending them to Afghanistan.

I must say, stepping into this role has been a wonderful experience and I like that I get to choose the meals that are prepared. Can I prepare three meals (breakfast, lunch and a bagged lunch) serving 35 guests for $110? Of course I can. I make wise food choices and of course, I make sure the items chosen will make delicious and nutritious food. The meals aren’t vegetarian/vegan, although that is an option for those who are or simply trying to reduce their meat intake.

 

Getting ahead of myself…

Advanced posting has been a welcome friend over the past few weeks. In fact, this post, I’m writing now is an advanced post.

As it gets closer to the holidays my time spent commenting on Celebrate Life and other sites, will come to a standstill. So while it appears that I’m ‘here’ since you’ll most likely see posts daily I’m not since they have been scheduled in advance.  The good news is I have advanced posting set up for a few months now.

So what’s keeping me busy? At my Lutheran Church, the Christmas season is always a busy time. We have four services on Christmas Eve and this year there is even one on the eve of Christmas Eve; which is perfect for those who’ve made plans on the day before Christmas.

Personally, I still need to sew my daughters Christmas dress for the Christmas Eve service. Also, I need to finish knitting the lined thrummed hat that I’m making for my father. It is coming along nicely, I must say. And… I really want to squeeze in some time with my brand new 32″ Kromski Harp Rigid Heddle Loom.

Speaking of getting ahead of myself…

I was thrilled to learn that there is a weavers guild in Maryland. It’s called The Weavers Guild of Greater Baltimore. I most likely will become a member and hopefully eventually take a few courses. I was thrilled to learn that as a guild member, I’d be able to test out a floor loom. What’s even more awesome is they use the type of loom, Baby Wolf, that I eventually want to purchase for myself.

 

11/12/13; once in a century date

Today is 11/12/13, weird eh?Oh no

What did we do on this once in a century date? We did nothing out of the ordinary. I know, I know, shocking right?

I went to work, came home, prepared vegetarian food for my daughter and myself. I did manage to take photos of that dish. I wrote about it, and have scheduled it as an advanced post for tomorrow.

My daughter did tell me that she would love if I made her some amigurumi for Christmas. So, that’s a bit unusual since she hasn’t requested any of them in a few months. I will say that she loves the various crocheted and knitted amigurumi items I’ve made for her over the past year; amigurumi voodoo doll, the knitted amigurumi snake, knitted amigurumi skull, knitted amigurumi owl and the two adorable crocehted amigurimi amineko’s. Judging by my posts, I’ve crocheted and knitted a lot of amigurumis and I didn’t even post them all. She still plays with them or has them displayed in prominent locations within her room.