Remembering the Alamo

This post is from our friend Chuck Baldwin in Pensacola FL. Please read it in the spirit of Godly Patriotism.

Remembering The Alamo
by Chuck Baldwin
March 10, 2009



March 6 marks the anniversary of the fall of the Alamo back in 1836. For more than 13 days, 186 brave and determined patriots withstood Santa Anna's seasoned army of over 4,000 troops. To a man, the defenders of that mission fort knew they would never leave those ramparts alive. They had several opportunities to leave and live. Yet, they chose to fight and die. How foolish they must look to this generation of spoiled Americans.

It is difficult to recall that stouthearted men such as Davy Crockett (a nationally known frontiersman and former Congressman), Will Travis (only 23 years old with a little baby at home), and Jim Bowie (a wealthy landowner with properties on both sides of the Rio Grande) really existed. These were real men with real dreams and real desires. Real blood flowed through their veins. They loved their families and enjoyed life as much as any of us. There was something different about them, however. They possessed a commitment to liberty that transcended personal safety and comfort.

Liberty is an easy word to say, but it is a hard word to live up to. Freedom has little to do with financial gain or personal pleasure. Accompanying Freedom is her constant and unattractive companion, Responsibility. Neither is she an only child. Patriotism and Morality are her sisters. They are inseparable; destroy one and all will die.

Early in the siege, Travis wrote these words to the people of Texas: "Fellow Citizens & Compatriots: I am besieged by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna. . . . The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise the garrison are to be put to the sword . . . I have answered the demand with a cannon shot & our flag still waves proudly from the walls. I shall never surrender or retreat. . . . VICTORY OR DEATH! P.S. The Lord is on our side. . . ."

As you read those words, remember that Travis and the others did not have the A.C.L.U., P.E.T.A., People for the un-American Way, and the National Education Association telling them how intolerant and narrow-minded their notions of honor and patriotism were. A hostile media did not constantly castigate them as a bunch of wild-eyed extremists. As school children, they were not taught that their forefathers were nothing more than racist jerks.

The brave men at the Alamo labored under the belief that America (and Texas) really was "the land of the free and the home of the brave." They believed God was on their side and that the freedom of future generations depended on their courage and resolve. They further believed their posterity would remember their sacrifice as an act of love and devotion. It all looks pale now.

By today's standards, the gallant men of the Alamo appear rather foolish. After all, they had no chance of winning--none. However, the call for pragmatism and practicality was never sounded. Instead, they answered the clarion call, "Victory or death!"

Please try to remember the heroes of the Alamo as you watch our gutless political and religious leaders surrender to compromise and political correctness. Try to recall the time in this country when ordinary men and women had the courage of their convictions and were willing to sacrifice their lives for freedom and independence.

One thing is certain: those courageous champions at the Alamo did not die for a political party or for some "lesser of two evils" mantra. They fought and died for a principle, and that principle was liberty and independence. So did the men at Lexington and Concord. That is our heritage.

Today, however, our national leaders are in the process of turning America over to the very forces that the Alamo defenders gave their lives resisting. On second thought, do they look foolish, or do we?

Beyond that, how much longer do we have before it will become necessary for freedom-loving States such as Texas (and maybe Oklahoma, Montana, Wyoming, New Hampshire, Vermont or South Carolina) to declare their independence one more time? An argument could be made that Washington, D.C., is considerably more brutish and tyrannical than old Santa Anna ever was. I'm not so sure that it isn't already time to again hoist the "Don't Tread On Me" flags, shout "Remember The Alamo," and renew the faith and courage of William Travis and Patrick Henry.

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© Chuck Baldwin

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Wait Upon The Lord

This article came to me today from CBMC International. I thought it warranted reprinting here.

The Wonderful, Rare Art of Waiting
by Robert Tamasy


Do you like having to wait? I don't. Whether it involves standing in line at the post office, a bank or a grocery store, or sitting in traffic, my patience rapidly wears thin. If I make a phone call to schedule an appointment or question a billing statement, and am placed on "hold," my aversion to waiting soon becomes evident.
This kind of waiting, of course, creates only a minor inconvenience. Another kind of waiting is more agonizing when the cause usually does not quickly go away. For instance, in 1981 my family and I relocated from Houston, Texas to Chattanooga, Tennessee where I had taken a new job. We had a house to sell, but presuming we could find a buyer quickly, committed to purchase a home in Chattanooga without making it contingent on selling the other house. As a result, we "owned" two houses for one entire year - and the mortgage payments that went with that - along with an interim loan until we could get the equity out of the first house.

At first waiting for the sale of the first house was not difficult. Since the housing market was very strong in Houston at that time, we expected to receive a call from our Realtor any moment informing us that the house had sold. But as the weeks and months passed, the waiting became harder - especially as our meager savings was depleted by dual mortgage payments.

There have been other times when I have found waiting not easy to do: Pursuing a career change when it became evident the time had come to change jobs; looking for a response from an editor regarding a magazine article or book proposal; anticipating the arrival of a much-needed check to meet a pressing financial obligation; counting the days leading up to major surgery; anxiously awaiting a phone call from a loved one in crisis. For me, every one of those occasions proved extremely difficult, agonizingly so.

Unfortunately, even in these days of instant gratification and high-speed communication, waiting is an everyday reality. How do you deal with waiting - whether sitting in a restaurant until you are served, looking for an answer from a client, or expecting important news that could change your life in a dramatic way? Interestingly, the Old Testament book of Isaiah in the Bible has much to say about waiting - and trusting in God while doing it:

God acts according to His timetable, not ours. Trusting in God does not ensure immediate response. Even when His answers come more slowly than we would desire, we can be confident that He will answer. "I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob. I will put my trust in him" (Isaiah 8:17).
God often answers in ways that exceed our expectations. When we receive God's answers to our needs, they are sometimes different - and better than we had hoped. "And it will be said in that day: ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation" (Isaiah 25:9).
God rewards our willingness to wait. We often are tempted to force an issue toward resolution, but patience in waiting on God will be rewarded. "Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you.... Blessed are all those who wait for Him" (Isaiah 30:18).
God provides strength for those who wait on His response. Waiting can drain our physical, emotional and spiritual resources. But if we trust in God's timely answer, He will restore the strength necessary to proceed. "But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall wait and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31).

Robert J. Tamasy is vice president of communications for Leaders Legacy, Inc., a non-profit corporation based in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. A veteran of more than 35 years in professional journalism, he is the author of Business At Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Today's Workplace (River City Press) and has coauthored with David A. Stoddard, The Heart of Mentoring: 10 Proven Principles for Developing People to Their Fullest Potential (NavPress). For more information, see http://www.leaderslegacy.com/ or http://www.rivercitypress.net/.

A message I distributed earlier today

It is a sad day in America. We must pray and get involved. It will not go away just by simply wishing it so.

If this message offends you, please let me know and I will gladly delete your name from my distribution list.

A Page From History

Norman Mattoon Thomas (November 20, 1884 to December 19, 1968) was a leading
American socialist, pacifist, and six-time presidential candidate for the
Socialist Party of America.

The Socialist Party candidate for President of the U.S., Norman Thomas, said
this in a 1944 speech:

"The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But, under the
name of "liberalism," they will adopt every fragment of the socialist
program, until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing
how it happened.! "
He went on to say: "I no longer need to run as a Presidential Candidate for
the Socialist Party. The Democrat Party has adopted our platform."
****

"The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money."

~~Margaret Thatcher

The Road to Discipleship

All true disciples of Jesus Christ will eventually go to and through their own temptations and trials.

They will go to:
1. Gethsemane
A. Agony as in Matthew 26:36-56
2. Gabatha
A. Judgment as in John 19:13-16
3. Golgotha
A. Suffering as in Matthew 27:33-35

This the disciple will do ALONE with the Lord.

In order to get TO these places, they will go THROUGH:
1. Bethel
A. Awe Struck as in Genesis 28:10-19
2. Peniel
A. Wrestling with God as in Genesis 32:24-30

In all of this, God's promise to us is
1 Chronicles 28:20 (NASB)
Then David said to his son Solomon, "Be strong and courageous, and act; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you until all the work for the service of the house of the LORD is finished.

Do not be deterred or dismayed as you proceed on your life's journey.

Three Things

THREE THINGS IN LIFE!


THREE THINGS IN LIFE THAT, ONCE GONE, NEVER COME BACK
1. TIME
2. WORDS
3. OPPORTUNITY

THREE THINGS IN LIFE THAT CAN DESTROY A PERSON
1. ANGER
2. PRIDE
3. UNFORGIVENESS

THREE THINGS IN LIFE THAT YOU SHOULD NEVER LOSE
1. HOPE
2. PEACE
3. HONESTY

THREE THINGS IN LIFE THAT ARE MOST VALUABLE
1. LOVE
2. FAMILY
3. KINDNESS

THREE THINGS IN LIFE THAT ARE NEVER CERTAIN
1. FORTUNE
2. SUCCESS
3. DREAMS

THREE THINGS THAT MAKE A PERSON
1. COMMITMENT
2. SINCERITY
3. HARD WORK

THREE THINGS THAT ARE TRULY CONSTANT -
FATHER - SON - HOLY SPIRIT

Am I Being Myself???

On 11/01/08 I read that it was said by Soren Kierkegaard, "...now with God's help, I will become myself." I know not who this man is or was and it doesn't matter. What he said set me to thinking, AM I BEING MYSELF??? My resounding answer was NO!!! I purposed in my heart at that moment to forget what others thought or wanted or expected of me. I determined at that moment to BECOME MYSELF! My goal is to be the best and most Godly "MYSELF" that I can be, with God's help. In the process of becoming, I will start BEING MYSELF on a moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day basis.
· As a Christ follower and disciple, I may be the only Jesus someone (I know not who) may see or hear or experience today.
○ That gives me the awesome (a word I seldom use) responsibility of being as much like Jesus as I can be in proclaiming Him through my every word and deed to a dying world.
· My mission is to grow and serve as I serve and grow.
· Д [The Spirit of God says: ]
Romans 12:1-2 (NASB)
1 Therefore I urge you, brother, by MY mercies, to present your body a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to Me, which is your spiritual service of worship.
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
John 8:36 (NASB)
36 "So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
Therefore,,, BE YOURSELF!!! Д

On 11/05/08 I was instructed to write a paragraph on the difference between becoming an offering and being an offering.
I believe that BECOMING is a future tense proposition. I cannot live in the future (woulda, coulda, shoulda), but I LIVE IN THE HERE AND NOW! Therefore I must concentrate daily on BEING an offering. I will BE the best offering to Christ that I can be TODAY, on my way to BECOMING a better and better offering in my tomorrows. Silver and Gold have I none, but such as I have, give I thee.

Leadership, Accountability & Mentoring

This is an article that I wrote back in June that was not published until now. I feel it is even more appropriate today.

Leadership, Accountability and Mentoring
Woody Wood 6/30/08

• Everybody needs a LEADER!!!
Leaders come in many shapes and sizes with many attributes. A Leader is someone you are willing to learn from and to follow, who can take you to a higher place than where you are now. A leader can give you the How To but not the Why To for doing things to improve your life.

I have never met a person that I could not learn from but I have met lots of people whom I don’t want to emulate and would not follow. A GOOD leader is one who not only inspires you to learn from them and follow them, but also one you will want to emulate. Famous people have said “…I am not here to be an example to…(anyone)”, but that is simply not true. EVERYONE is an example, good or bad! We must be wise enough and discerning enough to be able to decide which they are. Some are easy to see, others not so easy.

To be a teacher or a coach does not require willing students. If you are a GOOD teacher or coach you will inspire willingness in your students by your leadership characteristics.
To be a mentor is something else altogether. To be a Mentor you must be chosen by the Mentee. There are two kinds of mentorship, direct and remote. Remote mentorship tends toward idolization or hero worship. We find this type among professional athletes and performers. People choose to be “just like them” even though they are unaware of the attachment. The preferable type of mentorship is the direct type where the Mentee chooses the Mentor. This would come from personal contact by saying something like
“ I see in you something that I want to emulate in order that I may become more like you, will you teach me?” It is sometimes called Discipleship. Not always will the Mentor choose to accept the discipling of another. It is a very demanding and time consuming job which many refuse to accept. A wise person who accepts the role of Mentor will attach strings to the mentor/mentee relationship. The most important string is Accountability. When I say ‘I want to be your disciple’, I should automatically be saying, ‘I am willing to be accountable to you’. As a Mentor you should automatically be saying, “I am willing to spend my time and effort with you and I will be accountable to you for doing that.” Mentorship is an awesome responsibility, not to be taken lightly. Mentors agree to shape the future of another person’s life. Without dual accountability, what you have is a ‘catch as catch can’ relationship that may or may not produce good results.

• Everyone needs someone!!!
Someone that they are willing and able to be 100% accountable to. Someone to whom they can tell ANYTHING no matter how personal or painful or embarrassing. Someone from whom they can hear the TRUTH no matter how painful or rewarding.
Most men and many women do not have such a person in their life, therefore they go from day to day making the same mistakes over and over because they have not asked or allowed anyone else to speak truth into their lives.

• To be successful we must!!!

1. Find a mentor who will disciple us.
2. Find an accountability partner (if not the mentor) with whom we can share at the Gut level.
3. Build ourselves up to where someone else will want us to mentor them.
4. Build relationships with others such that they will want to follow us as leaders.
MENTORS BUILD LEADERS WHO BUILD LEADERS WHO BUILD LEADERS….

Remember this: If you agree to be mentored (discipled) you must learn to deal with the pain of truth without dropping out or quitting. It is ok to get angry, but not at the Mentor. The mentor is the messenger and not the cause of the anger. Don’t blame anyone, just get mad enough to make the personal changes in your life that are necessary for you to WIN.


FSW