Who is the Authority?

     In the garden, with God no doubt looking on, Satan began scheming to undermine the authority of God's Word. " His is a counterfeit gospel, half-truths and clever lies," says Franklin Graham, who wrote that "the Word of God tells us we are created in the image of God." 

     "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you were born, I sanctified you." - Jeremiah 1:5. Children are loved and saved. What happens after they are old enough to make various decisions? 

     We don't understand all this. We aren't expected to know everything. We are called to believe what He wants us to believe and attend His "school" seven days a week. (So believes this blogger, who can't perfectly follow his own advice.) Satan and his "angels" ignore unbelievers, we assume. But, they spend 24 hours a day messing with Christians who don't trust and obey. 

     Graham refers to 2 Timothy 4:3-4: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine...because they have itching ears, they will ...turn their ears away from the truth..." 

     He says, "Regardless of the darkness of this present age, the gospel remains the power of God unto salvation for all who will repent of their sin and by faith surrender their lives to King Jesus." 

     Most of us have many, many options in our American lives. Our founders and citizens were almost totally Christian. What will happen when the USA stops sending missionaries around the world? Will God love and protect countless, various institutions that create wealth?

     Who is our authority?

           Jimmy

 

     

Predicting Winners and Whiners

     As a former hardball and softball player, this blogger attempts to determine which MLB team - Yankees or Rays - will reach the post season in their division. My ride past the Rays stadium enroute to my surgery will not help. (All win-loss numbers - after Sept. 2 games.)     😊

     First, the Rays are playing the Texas Rangers this week. Why they call their team the (Ford) Rangers, who knows? Anyway, their record is 69 wins and 71 losses. Next will be the Atlanta Braves. Indians predate all our immigrants, so Braves deserve being the home team. Besides, their record is 83-57.          😆

     Then the Houston Astros come to Saint Petersburg. If they don't know how to spell astronauts, their 71-69 record is just. The Oakland Athletics come in with a 54-86 record. After Tampa Bay lost two games to the last place Metropolitans, they can't take the Athletics for granted. Last on the home schedule are the Boston Red Sox. They don't know how to spell socks, and we've never seen them with red socks. But they recently beat Saint Pete - I mean Tampa Bay - 4 straight games, and their record - 75-65 - is scary enough.       😏

     We go to Mayor Mamdani's kingdom. The Yankees won the Civil War, so their 80-60 record falls into line. Finally, if the Rays want to see America's liberty bell, it's in Philadelphia where the Phillies are 79-61. See how the league throws the best at Tampa Bay in late September? Every year. They don't want the low-budget Rays anywhere near the playoffs.   $$$                      😐

     So, what about the Sharks, I mean Rays, 83-57. They have been in first place since early July. Three players are hitting over 300. But when Aaron the Judge comes off the injured list, the Yankees may win another war. It is possible for both teams to make the playoffs. 

  What's that, honey?  College football is on TV?  Who's pitching today? 

                                                    ☝

 The Magic Kingdom of Woke Corporatism 

     We're reading "The Courage to Be Free" by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Some Republican governors are eyeing his "examples" of leadership. Following is his troubling finish to chapter 12, summarized: 

     "A woke corporate executive can use corporate bully pulpit and power to exert influence over society. ESG provides a pretext for CEOs to use shareholder assets to target issues like fossil fuels and restricting Second Amendment rights. It is a way for the political left to achieve through corporate power what they cannot achieve at the ballot box. 

     "Corporate America has become a major protagonist in battles over American politics and culture. Large, publicly traded corporations line up behind leftist causes: (against) the 2nd amendment, right to life, election integrity and religious liberty. For decades, many GOP elected officials have campaigned on free market principles, but governed in support of subsidies, tax breaks, and carve-outs to confer special benefits on corporate interests.

     "The national interest is not necessarily the same as the interests of large corporations...who become political, not merely economic actors. Deferring to big business surrenders the political battlefield to the militant left. It is prudent to counteract efforts by large corporations to impose a woke agenda on the rest of us. It is regrettable that our nation has become so politicized. 

     "Private companies wielding de facto public power are not in the best interests of most Americans. Leaders must be willing to stand up and fight back when big corporations make the mistake, as Disney did, of using their economic might to advance a political agenda." 

So, who do we vote for? Marxist Democrats will turn us into a large Cuba only they will like. 

               Jimmy  

The Navy Has a Hymn? 

     Did you know the U.S. Navy has a hymn? Years ago, after semi-retiring in Florida, I bought tickets for an Ohio State football game. Wanted Mrs. Donut (not a sports fan) to see a game and the Best band in all the land.  

     We discovered the band plays for almost an hour in the basketball arena before each football home game. So, we attended - awesome - and one of their numbers was the Navy Hymn.  

     You may have read that a hymn went through my mind as I awoke the day of my surgery. Wednesday morning, still in darkness, the Navy Hymn captured me silently (for hours?). Wow! About 11 o'clock yesterday morning the Navy Hymn sounded again on Christian radio. 

     Okay, okay. We have to say something. A few lines...

  Eternal Father Strong to Save. O hear us when we cry to Thee.

  O Trinity of love and power! 

  Thus evermore shall rise to Thee, glad hymns of praise...

  And watch and guard her ... and grant eternal life on high! 

     You can google the hymn and other info. In 1860-61 a clergyman wrote the song, and in 1879 it became the Navy Hymn at the Naval Academy.  

     After the football game our daughter and son and families in Dayton surprised us in our hotel. We all went out to dinner.

     "Now the earth was formless and empty. Darkness was over the surface of the deep and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters."

                                       ✌

Day 9 of 25 

     Recovery from surgery is rougher than the operation. Today's blog may be tougher than most.  😆 

     Yesterday was the first since Aug. 24 to enjoy most - not all - of my usual diet. I'm very tired, but I'll take you many places. Might even tell you where the name Jimmy Donut comes from. We spent yesterday watching news rather than working my keyboard. 

     Lindsay Chancy's jury in Massachusetts is deadlocked. Tyler Robinson in Utah is charged with the death of Charlie Kirk. He pleaded not guilty. Hollywood has lost 49,000 jobs since 2022. Had no idea. Senator Adam Schiff, a Democratic opponent of the president, tried to impeach him, is joining Trump in efforts to restore Hollywood. 

     Our president wants to bring film and television production back to the U.S. Meanwhile, he is giving sanctions and dropping bombs to those rascals in Iran who don't admit they are defeated. Socialists want to turn America into what? Another North Korea? 

     New York City has some 13,000 illegal aliens. A tropical storm is in Texas, but not as bad as Nepal, or the storm that swept through the Grand Canyon.  

     Okay. When some Christians in Europe and now in America arrive at the 40th day before Pentecost, they fast. That night they use up leftover bread and make donuts, without the hole. Many of us are named for the night before fast, in German - Fastnacht. Our first relative arrived in America in 1750. He and none of my relatives used the first t.  

         Jimmy

     

Who's Running Your Own Kingdom?

     A neuroscientist wrote a book a few years ago about the human brain. We read that his basic thesis was mistaken, but not entirely. There are distinct differences between the two sides of our brain. Not so much in what they do, but in how they do it. 

     The left hemisphere is detail oriented. The right hemisphere is intuitive, imaginative. Supposedly, the left brain of humans and animals allows us/them to carry out practical tasks of survival. The other side scans the big picture. Both sides are vital, but not equal. 

     For humanity to thrive, the right hemisphere must rule. That's especially true during college football season, beginning Saturday. 

Democratic Socialists of America

     Also in the right hemisphere, but wrong in thought, is the DSA. Some of its members have extreme, even dangerous beliefs. Some in the DSA may not even understand members who are Maoist, Marxist-Leninist authoritarians. Your's truly remembers the last decades of the Soviet Union.

     Communism is the exact opposite of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. "On a host of issues, these people are way out of the mainstream," said President Trump. We say, if you want to end all happiness, vote Democrat in November. If you want to continue pursuing happiness, give Republicans still more time to get it right. 

Cartoon 

     Left of the Happy Birthday America cake is a donkey and an elephant, looking at Uncle Sam. They say, "Wow, you look great! You'll make it another 250 years." Uncle Sam replies, "Maybe, if the two of you stop acting like three-year-olds." 

Note:

Today is the first solid meal I've had since Monday the 24th. Meanwhile, you set a record yesterday - 743 readers, while I recover from my operation (go figure), and over 10,000 for August.  

Jimmy Donut   

     Friends of jxdonut.blogspot.com...we think you might enjoy the real reason our son Greg arrived from Ohio at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. The story begins in my esophagus. My surgeon was born in India, but raised in Cleveland, Ohio, where he became a Browns football fan, as I once was. So far, so good.

     Tuesday and Wednesday, I was denied all but water and similar drinks. Thursday morning, I awoke to a hymn in my mind that repeated over and over. I heard only three words - abide in me. I "hummed" it to Mrs. Donut. "That's the hymn," she said.  

     At 8:30 a.m. Greg drove us 25 miles south. There aren't many surgeons who do this. We had to travel. At 9:45 we pulled into Orlando Health in Saint Petersburg. (The apostle Peter might not agree he was the first pope.) I was in walking distance of the Rays baseball stadium. The doctor wisely chose a day there was no game to distract me. I was denied any food or drink for two more days. My water came from an IV. 

     > Esophagogastroduodenoscopy with transendoscopic balloon. The problem in my throat is Zenker's. The doctor put something into my mouth, throat and stomach. Thursday night I didn't sleep at all, until Mrs. Donut said I snored about daybreak. Have to take her word. She didn't sleep much either. 

     I was ready to leave Friday morning, but the hospital had to prepare a seven-page list of instructions. At 3 p.m. we left, only to find ourselves in a terrific storm over the bay and into the Tampa area. 

     That night, home in bed, I had such a weakness/feeling I began to wonder who among friends and relatives will attend my funeral. False alarm. I am still on a diet of clear juices, coffee, water, Jello, etc. My freedom to eat steak won't come until mid-September. 

     Some people in Africa are limited like this all year around.    

    We all have a muscular tube that carries food and liquid from throat to stomach. Some people suffer heartburn or cancer there.  

     My problem was a pocket allowing food to collect where it shouldn't, sometimes choking the tube. If you or someone you know has Zenker's, it can be fixed. Abide in God. 

     I don't need to include my name again, do I?

😅