Hymn of the Week: I Surrender All

The title and the lyrics give as plain a message as any hymn: Have I surrendered everything to Jesus Christ? Have I surrendered my life, my desires, my assets, my family? Have I surrendered my wants, my entertainments, and my pleasures? In short, do I hold back anything that I am not willing to surrender to Christ if that is what He wants?

This hymn, written by Judson W. VanDeVenter, is typically used as an invitation hymn, and especially when the emphasis is on salvation or dedication to God's call on one's life. It also makes an excellent daily reminder.

Have we surrendered all to Jesus Christ?

This hymn was one tweeted at @hymnthoughts this week.

I Surrender All

All to Jesus, I surrender;
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.

Refrain

I surrender all, I surrender all,
All to Thee, my blessèd Savior,
I surrender all.

All to Jesus I surrender;
Humbly at His feet I bow,
Worldly pleasures all forsaken;
Take me, Jesus, take me now.

Refrain

All to Jesus, I surrender;
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel the Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine.

Refrain

All to Jesus, I surrender;
Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power;
Let Thy blessing fall on me.

Refrain

All to Jesus I surrender;
Now I feel the sacred flame.
O the joy of full salvation!
Glory, glory, to His Name!

Refrain

Math and Laundry

As reported by Reuters (and picked up at such interesting news sources as this and this), one Carin Froehlich of Perkasie, PA, has stirred up local debate because she practices the barbaric habit of hanging her laundry out to dry in the fresh Pennsylvania air and sunshine.

Her struggle against those who would make her hang her "unmentionables" somewhere else has even prompted her to write a book on this topic. Toward the end of the article, however, I encountered this quote from Mrs. Froehlich:

Besides, it saves money. Line-drying laundry for a family of five saves $83 a month in electric bills, she said.

Not so fast.

$83 a month? The article states that Mrs. Froehlich is 54 years old, and there's a picture of her average-sized-looking house, so I am presuming she does not have an army of youth living at home. On the other hand, I have four growing children, and my entire electric bill doesn't even come close to $83 most months. Not to mention the fact that we use lights, a computer, TV sets, etc., etc.

I suppose if Mrs. Froehlich is using one of the worst energy-efficient dryers in the commonwealth, and likes to change her clothes five times each day, it might be possible to use that much electricity in a month.

But I suspect this is the more accurate statement:

A dryer is typically the second-biggest electricity-using appliance after the refrigerator, costing about $85 to operate annually.

The media is not generally composed of experts in mathematics or statistics; take numeric data with a grain (or many grains) of salt.

P.S. On the entire matter of whether hanging laundry is a barbaric practice to be stamped out and made illegal, I offer the following premises:

1. To hang one's undergarments (or those of the family) in public view is never in good taste, and should be discouraged. Hanging other laundry is quite acceptable. If you live where families can see your backyard, keep this in mind.

2. To make illegal the practice of hanging laundry is grossly inconsistent with the other tenets of the use-environmental-regulations-to-control-people crowd. (See also #3)

3. To make illegal the practice of hanging laundry is to essentially admit that you really don't believe that whole "man-made global warming" baloney.

4. On the other hand, if you joined a homeowner's association of your own free will, and that association doesn't allow the hanging of laundry, then keep your word and don't do it. Until you can legitimately convince the association to change, that is.

What Might Universal Healthcare Look Like? Issue #2

It would be instructive for all of us to consider what universal healthcare would look like in a practical sense. Various bloggers and others have pointed to actual examples in Canada, Britain, and various other countries.

I would argue that we are already seeing elements of it in the United States. I wrote on this topic once already, concerning the availability of vaccines.

Now we learn that a task force at the Department of Health and Human Services (yes, your taxpayer dollars at work...or perhaps, your grandkids' taxpayer dollars at work) recommends against women having regular mammograms before the age of 50. Not simply stating that they are not as important as once thought, mind you—they are recommending against them.

The more cynical among us will consider the future under such task forces. Here's what I envision if universal healthcare becomes a reality.

Women reaching the age of 40 will continue to request mammograms; indeed, some of their doctors will want them to get mammograms due to family histories, medical problems, or other reasons. "Task forces" will decide who gets mammograms. Age and other limitations will be summarily enforced; those who simply "want to check," or who "want peace of mind," or who "felt something suspicious" will likely either be at the end of the line or removed from it. Those who receive mammograms will have to wait for them; women who are found to have cancer will not be able to receive treatment as early for this reason...and consequently, survival rates will decline.

Of course, those who are well-connected or who learn how to game the system will be able to receive healthcare services in a more prompt fashion. Think Soviet Union, 1970's.

My wife is not too far away from this stage of life; I certainly don't want her to face that in the future.

National Debt Reaches $12 TRILLION Dollars

Yes, today the national debt is believed to have reached $12,000,000,000,000.00. According to the twitter site @NationalDebt, it increased by a mere $40 billion dollars YESTERDAY.

This is an astonishing amount of money. Let's break it down into more manageable pieces.

For some time now I have had a "National Debt Clock" at the bottom of this blog. (Scroll down and enjoy those rapidly increasing numbers at your leisure.) Given the estimated U.S. population of 307,710,000, that averages out to about $39,100 for every man, woman, and child. My family of six? Our share of that is $234,600. Ouch.

If this debt stopped growing immediately and were paid off at a rate of $1,000,000 per day, without any interest, it would be paid off in the year 34,863 A.D. At $1,000,000,000 per day, it would still take 33 years.

Our current penny weighs 2.5 grams. How much would $12 trillion in pennies weigh? 30 million metric tons!

New Twitter Hymn Site

@hymnthoughts

The above twitter site will periodically broadcast a stanza or other portion of a well-known hymn that should bless your heart. I encourage you to follow @hymnthoughts.

Political Correctness at the Navy

According to the Navy Times, of all things:

Naval Academy leaders removed two midshipmen from a color guard that performed at the World Series last week because they were white men, and replaced them with a non-white man and a white woman so the academy could present a more “diverse” profile, according to several sources, a move that has reportedly angered mids and alumni.

Disgraceful. And then on top of it all, the "non-white man," a Pakistani, left part of his uniform behind and didn't participate after all. I learned later in the article that (a) all eight of them [six original and the two "replacements"] would have performed, but (b) an honor guard must have an even number of people. All eight were sent to New York for the appearance.

Since the "non-white man" could not participate, one of the original six white guys was kept out. The "white woman" participated with five white guys.

The Navy hasn't exactly handled this well in the days since, either. What they did is not in keeping with naval tradition, and the after-the-fact forbidding of discussion about it is hardly in keeping with American customs.

We have the finest navy in the world and we have the finest naval personnel. This is not going to help their image. Political correctness is no substitute for doing it right.

How Will the Senate Liberals Vote?

Some are drawing attention to the fact that there are those in Congress who—however moronically—do not think the House healthcare bill went far enough in its takeover of the American healthcare system. These folks opine that the government needs to be more involved, private insurers less so, and that a new system of bureaucracies is the way to go.

They are, of course, morons, and enemies of the Republic.

There are some in the media who report that these liberal folk will go so far as to not vote for any bill that does not constitute a full government takeover of the healthcare system.

My thesis: This is a complete lie.

These liberals want nothing less than government power over greater and greater percentages of your life. If given a choice between (a) voting for government control over a much larger part of your life, (b) voting for government control over a part of your life, and (c) not voting for either of the first two choices, I can assure you (c) is not the choice they will make.

The liberals in Congress will take whatever degree of control they can get, and then they will plot for more. Do not get a false sense of hope that they will vote against a "watered down" bill. They will not. Remember this. Call your Congressman. The fight isn't over yet.

Hymn of the Week: My Hope Is in the Lord

My hope is not in man. It better not be! My hope is not in Congress...and certainly not after Saturday night's House vote! My hope is not in anyone's good works. My hope is certainly not in myself.

None of the above can save my soul. None of the above is Truth. None of the above can determine my eternal destiny.

Only the Lord Jesus Christ, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, can provide me with hope, for only He can save a soul. He alone can deliver me from my deserved damnation. When all else fails, and when depressing thoughts grip the soul, He alone can give grace, hope, comfort, and strength.

My hope is in Him. Is yours?

My Hope Is in the Lord

My hope is in the Lord
Who gave Himself for me,
And paid the price of all my sin at Calvary.

Refrain

For me He died, For me He lives,
And everlasting life and light He freely gives.

No merit of my own
His anger to suppress.
My only hope is found in Jesus' righteousness.

Refrain

And now for me He stands
Before the Father's throne.
He shows His wounded hands, and names me as His own.

Refrain

His grace has planned it all,
'Tis mine but to believe,
And recognize His work of love and Christ receive.

Refrain

Another Picture of What Universal Healthcare Might Look Like

According to a story broken by Business Week earlier this week, a number of large, well-known companies, such as Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, have received quantities of the H1N1 vaccine to provide to their employees who belong to high-risk groups, as defined by the federal government.

It should be noted that, at this time, it appears that these companies participated in the acquisition process in a perfectly legal manner, and are bound to distribute the vaccine only to those with the greatest need. In other words, they have done nothing wrong.

Of course, this does nothing to quell the criticism and the rumor-mongering that these companies have somehow gamed the system to garner more benefits than they are due. When I first heard about this on the Today show yesterday morning, you would have thought the mob was involved.

This story is instructive, however, in one way: It gives us a glimpse into what the world of government-run healthcare might look like. There will be times when the demand for a healthcare supply or service will exceed the demand. Some will obtain the supply or service; others, for whatever reason, will not. Those who are "in the know" or have connections will be more likely to receive it; others will not. Furthermore, it is likely that some will not only be "in the know" but will be able to circumvent whatever bureaucratic-nightmare procurement process will be in place.

You may not be near the front of the line. You may not even be told where the line is. You may see others obtain healthcare while you or your loved ones do not. You may not be able to do anything about it.

Americans will respond to this predictably: Some will complain; others will establish a "black market" (as it will inevitably be called by some) to provide healthcare and related supplies outside of the government's bureaucratic system. Some will make use of this market.

And those of you my age and older will start to wonder how similar this is to the Soviet Union of the 1970's and 1980's.

Healthcare, Democrat-style. Just a peek into your future.