Typically not a political blogger...

But a Pastor forwarded this to me and I thought it was great. I wanted to share it with you. Of course, inflation would go through the roof, but.....it does make you think!?
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Hi to All,

I'm against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG. Instead, I'm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a "We Deserve It Dividend".

To make the math simple, let's assume there are 200,000,000 bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+. Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child. So 200,000,000might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up..

So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billion that equals $425,000.00. My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a "We Deserve It Dividend". Of course, it would NOT be tax free. So let's assume a tax rate of 30%. Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes. That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam.

But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket. A husband and wife has $595,000.00. What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?

• Pay off your mortgage - housing crisis solved.


• Repay college loans - what a great boost to new grads.


• Put away money for college - it'll be there.


• Save in a bank - create money to loan to entrepreneurs.


• Buy a new car - create jobsInvest in the market - capital drives growth.


• Pay for your parent's medical insurance - health care improves.


• Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean - or else

Remember this is for every adult US Citizen 18+ including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces. If we're going to re-distribute wealth let's really do it...instead of trickling out a puny $1000.00 ( 'vote buy' ) economic incentive that is being proposedby one of our candidates for President. If we're going to do an $85 billion bailout, let's bail out every adult U S Citizen 18+!

As for AIG - liquidate it. Sell off its parts. Let American General go back to being American General. Sell off the real estate. Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.

Here's my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn't. Sure it's a crazy idea that can 'never work.' But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party! How do you spell Economic Boom?

I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 BillionWe deserve it more than the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC do.

And remember, The Birk plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.

Ahhh...I feel so much better getting that off my chest.

Kindest personal regards,

Birk

T. J . Birkenmeier, A Creative Guy & Citizen of the Republic

PS: Feel free to pass this along to your pals as it's either good for a laugh or a tear or a very sobering thought on how to best use $85 Billion!!

What do you think about the Prosperity Gospel?

Ran across this video on our church's network today and thought I would share it.

Jesus should be our everything. Not our kids, not our spouse, not money, cars, boats, a nice house, not a good church, not health - JESUS ONLY! Praise God that we can trust Him no matter what!

-D

Behold the Power!

So, over the last couple of weeks I have been reading in Ephesians to coincide with our Senior Pastor's series "Downpour: Living Life in The Spirit." There is a lot written in Ephesians one could focus on, so let me pick just one...

In the show Heroes, there are average humans living in the world with special powers and abilities. On the outside they look just like regular everyday folks. But each of them, because of a genetic quirk, have some unique ability - one can fly, one can heal herself, one can slow down time and time travel, one can hear the thoughts of those around him, and so on.

The Spirit of the Living God, who raised Jesus from the dead (not to mention Lazaurs, Jarius' daughter and others), is living inside of us. We have access to the power of the living God as the life of Christ, if we have accepted Him into our lives, has been exchanged for our own. While we may never be able to literally fly or hear the secret thoughts of others, I wonder just what could be accomplished if we were to fully abide in Him.

What area of life do you struggle with? Are you happy in your relationship with your spouse and kids? Do you think that Christ has the power to change that within you? The Bible tells us he is ready and willing, we just have to accept it and make the choice.

Him, Dean

Heroes is Back...So Am I!

I'm sittitng here watching the Season Premier of Heroes - and loving it - keeping an eye on my loosing fantasy football team - thanks for nothing Carson Palmer - and putting together a blog entry - the first one since the beginning of July. Who ever said men cannot multi-task?

We live in a world of constant connectivity - we are always wired, or wirelessly wired, to someone or something outside of ourselves. The Internet, the fable world of television, cell phone with text messaging, etc. I have often thought if that is how our life in Christ should be like? God wants us to be in constant contact with him (i.e., pray without ceasing) and to always be looking for Him in the world around us.

As a parent of young children, I have begun to see my own children being drawn into the world of technology via computers, the ability to record live television to play back later, cell phones (mine that is)... What I must watch out for is that my kids don't REPLACE the relationship to technology with genuine ones with friends and adults. We are created to be social beings - somethting that must never be replaced with technology.

Dean

Volunteers Needed!

SEE POST BELOW THIS ONE FIRST!!!

With those new programs, come some much larger needs for Children’s Ministry volunteers. Here is a run down of what is needed for these new programs as well as the returning ministries

• Lead Teacher – Teaching a set curriculum to a specific age group.


• Teaching Assistant – Helping the Lead Teacher in a specific classroom.


• Small Group Shepherd – Leading a group of 6-8 kids in a relational connecting time.


• Actor/Actress – Memorizing and performing a script for elementary kids.


• Tech/Computer Asst – Running a computer and soundboard for worship and bible lesson.


• Pianist – Someone with experience to play the piano (preferably by chords) during kid’s worship.


• Guitarist – Someone with experience to play the guitar during the Worship time.
  
• Percussionist – Someone with good sense of rhythm to play a set of bongos during kid’s worship.

Most of these positions are available on both Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings. While it is preferred that the volunteers are there each week, especially for the Elementary groups, some of the positions can be less (1 or 2 times per month).

A more detailed job description will be provided if you are interested. As always, you must be attending CWMC for a minimum of 6 months and be willing to submit to a background check. Call the church office for questions or to sign up.

Fall Programming Changes

Believe it or not, it is time to start thinking about the Fall and all the Children’s Ministry programming that will get up and running again. With that in mind, it is time to sign-up to get involved in ministry making a difference in the lives of kids!

This year we have two significant changes we are making. On Sunday mornings, during the 2nd Service, our 3rd-5th Graders will be starting a new program called Elevate! Elevate will take the kids on an exciting journey into God’s Word to show them Biblical truths in the stories they have grown up hearing about.

On Wednesday nights, we are starting a new curriculum called 2:52 Basics! This curriculum is created around the verse found in Luke 2:52 – “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men.” We will be exploring how kids can grow in Faith, Wisdom, and Friendships. These 3 basics areas of life hold keys that will unlock their potential to speak into the lives of their friends and in their schools. You will definitely want to check this out.

Celebrating Port Huron

The next two weeks in Port Huron hold a great number of events in the city of Port Huron worth checking out. Tonight is the annual Parade Night and this year Anchor Children's Ministry is sporting a float in the parade. Come downtown and enjoy music, candy and fellowship with other families.

Tomorrow night is the Family Night of Boat week put on by Operation Transformation. This is a time of fun, games, face-painting and music for the entire family. You can check out more information about it HERE.

This weekend is the Port Huron to Mackinaw Island boat race taking off Saturday morning.

Finally, next week is the annual Cruise Night in which the church will be hosting an outreach event on the front lawn followed by a drive-in movie in the parking lot. Pop, popcorn and other concessions will be available for purchase during the movie. The movie they are showing is "Over The Hedge."

Finally, don't forget SonWorld Vacation Bible School coming up July 20-24th from 6:30-8:30 PM. You will not want to miss it.

Dean

What car do you drive?

OK, so it has been WAY to long since I last wrote anything, so I wanted to come back with something simple to ease back into it. So my question is this: What kind of car do you own/drive? My family currently only has 1 vehicle, a Ford Windstar - providing you don't count the riding lawn mower I give my kids a ride on after I mow the lawn.

I saw an article that said the minivan is slowly dying because of rising prices on food and gas (among other things). Also, with four kids who have to be in car/booster seats until they turn 8, if we have one more child we may get into trouble (our minivan seats only 7). I have been considering options of what to do when the time comes to purchase our next vehicle: 8 passenger SUV, 12-Passenger Van, or do I fork out a bunch of money and get my dream vehicle: The Dodge Sprinter? (I just threw in this picture because the Buckeyes Rule!

So parents, have you had to make these kind of tough decisions recently? Living in this society is tough because of the amount of money it takes to keep afloat. Feel free to express yourself by leaving a comment or two.

Dean

Summer Happenings

Well, there are of course a few special things happening this summer for kids at The Woods:

1) July 9th - Parade Night in Port Huron - Anchor Children's Ministry will have a float in the parade to promote for VBS and the church as a whole. Be sure to check us out - the parade starts at 6:30 PM.

2) July 20th-24th - "SonWorld" VBS - This will be the theme for VBS this year. You won't want to miss it this year. I even heard you may get a chance to have a Diet Coke explosion on someone???

3) July 18th - Cruise Night Drive-In - After the annual cruise night event, there will be a drive-in movie being shown in the parking lot complete with pop-corn, a snack shack, and sound through your FM Stereo.

4) August 27th - Back 2 School Bash - This annual event has become one of our most popular times for kids and families to enjoy food, fun and fellowship. Come enjoy some games, inflatables, music, and food on the front lawn of the church. Good times will be had by all.

Enjoy the summer time!

Dean

Our secret lives!

The other day I was at the Dollar Tree purchasing some things for Sunday Children's Ministry and noticed the necklace of the cashier ringing up my purchases. It was a replica of some ancient stones found in northern Canada. When I asked her about it she said it is supposed to bring peace and luck, to which she stated she needs a lot of.

Then today at KFC, I noticed a young baby girl in a car seat. The girl's father said it was his first, but his girlfriend's second. That is not sooo extra-ordinary, but gets me thinking what is happening in the lives of people we run into.

Moreover, what would happen if we responded to the prompting of the Holy Spirit to speak into their lives by asking them about it? How about, at least, using it as an opportunity to ask them if we can pray for them? What about having our kids take time to pray? Jesus said the fields are ripe for the Harvest, but the workers are few - are we ready to help reap the Harvest for God's Kingdom?

Dean