CHRISTIAN BOOKSTORES

For fifteen years my wife and owned a Christian Bookstore, The Master's Shoppe in Bessemer, AL.  It was one of the richest experiencs of our lives.  What a ministry opportunity.

Sad to say, the following was proven  true:

Victor V Bryditzki "The $elling Of Je$u$: The Confessions of a Christian Bookstore Owner"(Chick Publications:1985)

At $1 (AU) this book was way overpriced but I decided to buy it for the following quote ...........

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Who Comes In And What Do They Buy? Surveys indicate that less than 10% of active church members ever enter a Christian bookstore. ... Actual sales figures show the following scale of popularity among the items offered in the store. Topping the list are cards and small gifts, mostly cheap jewelry. Next comes what is called "Jesus junk" items like trinkets, bumper stickers, decals, and toys and plastic prizes for sunday School. Next comes the latest craze book on "666", giving the month and day of Jesus' return, or the latest out-of-body testimonials, and a number of end-time (mis)interpretations. Next to these are records and cassettes, skimmed milk devotionals, and low-fat study guides. At the end come Bibles, reference books, Church History and other serious works. When I opened the store, I actually thought the sequence wouold be the other way around! Of the 10% of church members who go to Bible bookstores, only 1% (of the 10%) ever purchase serious books. That means 99% (of the 10%) are staisfied with trinkets or shallow or erroneous writings. I am also told that of the Christian reading public, 85% are women. That boggles my mind and confuses my arithmetic. (I have nothing against women; I just wish that men would read too.) p.73

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Replace "records and cassttes" with "cds and dvds" and nothing seems to have changed since 1985!

FEELINGS

FEELINGS

 

The words if a song by that title say…..

 

“Feelings, nothing more than feelings
Trying to forget my feelings…….

Teardrops rolling down on my face
Trying to forget my feelings …..”

 

Feelings are real. Feelings are good, unless they control us.

As a Believer, the words written by Martin Luther have been a great source of comfort and strength for me:

   

"Feelings come and feelings go, 
And feelings are deceiving; 
My warrant is the Word of God-- 
Naught else is worth believing. 

Though all my heart should feel condemned 
For want of some sweet token, 
There is One greater than my heart 
Whose Word cannot be broken. 

I'll trust in God's unchanging Word 
Till soul and body sever, 
For, though all things shall pass away, 
HIS WORD SHALL STAND FOREVER!" 
— Martin Luther

 I have been depressed.  Who hasn’t?  I realize that the depression I have experienced in the past is nothing compared to what you may be going through.  It’s sort of like ‘Puppy Love’; it’s real to the puppy.  The question is:  what do we do about it?   Ignore it and maybe it will go away?  Talk about?  That seems to help some.  Medicate it?  That too will help temporarily until the cure becomes worse than the problem.

 As a Child of the King, the only answer, I believe, is to put it in the proper perspective. God loves me! That is a fact.  There is nothing I can ever do to make Him love me any more and there is nothing I can do that will make Him love me any less.  HE LOVES ME!  Period.  I know that because of the promises of His Word.

 I must keep the order straight:

         FACT......FAITH......FEELINGS

 Do Not Depend on Feelings 

The promise of God's Word, the Bible -- not our feelings -- is our authority. The Christian lives by faith (trust) in the trustworthiness of God Himself and His Word. If I understand the Fact of God's Word, have Faith in it, Feelings will follow.

Do any of the following words describe your feelings?

 

Dignity/ Respect/Self-Worth Ashamed Beaten down Cut down Criticized Dehumanized Disrespected Embarrassed Humiliated Inferior Insulted Invalidated Labeled Lectured to Mocked Offended Put down Resentful Ridiculed Stereotyped Teased Underestimated

Freedom/Control Bossed around Controlled Imprisoned Inhibited Forced Manipulated Obligated Over-controlled Over-ruled Powerless Pressured Restricted Suffocated Trapped

Love/Connection/ Importance Abandoned Alone Brushed off Confused Disapproved of Discouraged Ignored Insignificant Invisible Left out Lonely Misunderstood Neglected Rejected Uncared about Unheard Unknown Unimportant Uninformed Unloved Unsupported Unwanted

Justice Accused Cheated Falsely accused Guilt-tripped Interrogated Judged Lied about Lied to Misled Punished Robbed

Safety Abused Afraid Attacked Defensive Frightened Insecure Intimidated Over-protected Scared Terrified Threatened Under-protected Unsafe Violated

Trust Cynical Guarded Skeptical Suspicious Untrusted Untrusting

 Read Martin Luther’s words again! 

Maxand Carolyn Fiftieth Anniversary

HOW OLD AM I?

---

How old am I ? 

 

Stay with this -- the answer is at the end.   

One evening a grandson was talking to his grandfather about current events. 
The grandson asked his grandfather what he thought about the shootings at schools, the computer age, and just things in general. 

The Grandfather replied, 'Well, let me think a minute, I was born before:

 

'   television

'    penicillin 

'    polio shots

'    frozen foods

'    Xerox

'    contact lenses

'    Frisbees and 

'    the pill

There were no:

'   credit cards 

'    laser beams  

'    ball-point pens

Man had not invented:

'    pantyhose

'   air conditioners

'    dishwashers

'    clothes dryers

'    and the clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air and 

'    man hadn't yet walked on the moon 

Your Grandmother and I got married first, . . And then lived together. 

Every family had a father and a mother. 

Until I was 25, I called every man older than me, 'Sir'.

And after I turned 25, I still called policemen and every man with a title, 'Sir.' 

We were before gay-rights, computer-dating, dual careers, daycare centers, and group therapy. 

Our lives were governed by the Ten Commandments, good judgment, and common sense.  

We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions. 

Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was a bigger privilege. 

We thought fast food was what people ate during Lent.  

Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins.  

Draft dodgers were people who closed their front doors when the evening breeze started.  

Time-sharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings and weekends-not purchasing condominiums.

We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters, yogurt, or guys wearing earrings.  

We listened to the Big Bands, Jack Benny, and the President's speeches on our radios.  

And I don't ever remember any kid blowing his brains out listening to Tommy Dorsey.  

If you saw anything with 'Made in Japan ' on it, it was junk  

The term 'making out' referred to how you did on your school exam.  

Pizza Hut, McDonald's, and instant coffee were unheard of. 

We had 5 & 10-cent stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10 cents. 

Ice-cream cones, phone calls, rides on a streetcar, and a Pepsi were all a nickel. 

And if you didn't want to splurge, you could spend your nickel on enough stamps to mail 1 letter and 2 postcards. 

You could buy a new Chevy Coupe for $600, . . . But who could afford one?

 

Too bad, because gas was 11 cents a gallon.  

In my day: 

'   'grass' was mowed, 

'    'coke' was a cold drink, 

'   'pot' was something your mother cooked in and 

'  'rock music' was your grandmother's lullaby.  

'   'Aids' were helpers in the Principal's office,  

'   ' chip' meant a piece of wood, 

'    'hardware' was found in a hardware store and 

'     'software' wasn't even a word.

 

And we were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a husband to have a baby.   No wonder people call us 'old and confused' and say there is a generation gap . . .  And how old do you think I am? 

I bet you have this old man in mind . . . you are in for a shock! 

Read on to see -- pretty scary if you think about it and pretty sad at the same time.   



Are you ready????? 


This man would be only 59 years old!!!! 

p.s.  Being older than that, I could add a bunch of other things to this list.  Max

PARENTS WISH

February 19, 2009

 Today is the birthday of our youngest, Jimmy Max “Jim” Youngblood Jr. He is forty three.  Now I’m feeling older.

Carolyn and I along with Virginia and Debbie met him at Top China Buffet in Hoover for lunch.  This was impromtu. We tried to reach Kathy to join us.  We had a great lunch and a good-time together for an hour or more.  For those who do not know, we have four children, Virginia, Kathyrn, Deborah and Jimmy.

 Jimmy went back to work and I rode along with the others as they shopped.  We left the house at ll: 30 AM and returned home about 4:00 PM.  Those kinds of trips make me tired but it was worth it.

 My sister, Sarah Pauline “Polly” Youngblood Klaesen, called me yesterday.  We had a long enjoyable conversation.  If you have an extra car or computer she could sure use both.  She hit a deer with her car and totaled it.  Her computer crashed. 

 She told me that out other sister, Patricia “Pat” Ann Youngblood Gann, had moved in with her daughter Suzanne. She recently had knee surgery.

 A friend sent me a video called “Parents Wish.  It is set to the music of Josh Groban singing “You Raise Me Up”.  Carolyn and I watched it.  We both felt a little sad but grateful for our four children.  Each one of them takes care of us and shows their love in different ways.

 I realized, ‘Hey, that’s me’.  I’ll be seventy-five this year.

Above all I believe that God is in control of all that happens to you and to me. I don’t always understand why things happen as they do or when they do, but with Job I say, “Yea tho’ He slay me, yet will I trust Him."

 Click below:

 http://parentswish.com/site01/big.html

Dadgum, I just clicked on it again to make sure it worked and tears welled up. Sorry bout that.   Max

 

MAX'S MUSINGS

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Once again I feel the need to write something.  What I have posted on my blogs primarily is stuff I copied from other sources; stuff that interests me.  I am discovering that writing is very hard work.  I admire those who seem to do it so easily though I know they too have worked very hard to get thoughts into words.

I have been preaching for more than fifty years but have written manuscripts of my messages very few times.  Writing a manuscript is very laborious.  A good outline will suffice in my opinion.

Looks like the stimulus package will pass today.  I fear the final results. I hope I am proven wrong.  I t could hurt a lot of people that it was designed to help.

In college I had a very difficult time with foreign languages.  I finally figured out that I somehow had failed to learn English grammer.  If you don’t know the English language, your writing attempts will be messy.  Who cares?   I’ll just be messy.

One thing for sure, they won’t be long and boring.  Just boring.

NEED TO BE PROPPED UP?

Every time I am asked to pray, I think of the old deacon who always prayed, 'Lord, prop us up on our leanin' side.' After hearing him pray that prayer many times, someone asked him why he prayed that prayer so fervently.  He answered, 'Well sir, you see, it's like this... I got an old barn out back. It's been there a long time; it's withstood a lot of weather; it's gone through a lot of storms, and it's stood for many years.  It's still standing. But one day I noticed it was leaning to one side a bit.  So I went and got some pine poles and propped it up on its leaning side so it wouldn't fall. Then I got to thinking about that and how much I was like that old barn. I've been around a long time. I've withstood a lot of life's storms. I've withstood a lot  Of bad weather in life, I've withstood a lot of hard times, and I'm still standing too. But I find myself leaning to one side from time to t ime, so I like to ask the Lord to prop us up on our leaning side, 'cause I figure a lot of us get to leaning at times. Sometimes we get to leaning toward anger, leaning toward bitterness, leaning toward hatred, leaning toward cussing, leaning toward a lot of things that we shouldn't . So we need to pray, 'Lord, prop us up on our leaning side, so we willstand straight and tall again, to glorify the Lord.'' ************* This is very cool!

If you stare at this barn for a second you will see who will help us stand straight and tall again. 

 

DIGITAL TV

THIS HAS BUGGED ME!  NOT ONLY HAS IT BEEN IN PLACE FOR  5  YEARS, WE HAVE BEEN BOMBARDED WITH THE REMINDERS FOR OVER A YEAR EVERY DAY AND WHAT SEEMS LIKE EVERY HOUR.  MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN VOUCHERS HAVE ALREADY BEEN DISTRIBUTED AND NOW 650 MILLION MORE.  I CAN UNDERSTAND POOR.  

STUPID IS A DIFFERENT STORY.

THE FOLLOWING IS COPIED:

Listening to the sage words of the wise one, Congress has stepped up and voted heed the Obama Administration’s council and delay the proposed digital TV transition. Original scheduled for next week, the digital TV transition in the United States would shut off most analog broadcast signals (except those from stations that are so small they can’t afford to make the switchover) and go completely digital. The plan, which has been in place for several years and prompted a multi-million dollar ad and voucher campaign to help viewers make the switch, drew concern from the incoming administration as there are still thousands of people waiting for digital converter vouchers and no money to pay for them. It seems that the free $40 voucher, which is meant to help absorb the cost of a digital to analog converter box, was so popular that the entire program funding was depleted with a month to go, leaving thousands in the lurch until the more then 40% of unused vouchers were recycled and reprocessed for redistribution. And that’s where the perceived problem came. 

Fearing widespread anger and not being able to access any television – especially in the event of an emergency – President Obama requested a delay to June 12, so that Congress could appropriate more funds (650 million dollars more) for vouchers and allow TV viewers more time to get on board with the change. Frankly, it may be due to the new President not wanting the masses to miss the first hundred days of his Presidency and the change he’s promised to bring. But with the mess that the proposed stimulus/pork package is making, Obama may wish he’d turned the signal off as scheduled.

I mean, this program has been in place for well over 5 years. How ready do you have to be? Still, users now have until early summer to get their boxes if they have an antenna. The switchover will not effect those using cable or satellite TV.

LITTLE PEOPLE

I rear-ended a car this morning. So, there we were alongside the road

and slowly the other driver got out of his car. You know how sometimes you just get soooo stressed and little things just seem funny?

Yeah, well I couldn't believe it... he was a DWARF!!!

He stormed over to my car, looked up at me, and shouted, 'I AM NOT HAPPY!'

So, I looked down at him and said, 'Well, then which one are you?'

And then the fight started...

Sam, Bessie, Me, Guy, Sammy, Pat, Polly

Joyce Youngblood sent me this photo. I did not have this one.

Backrow (L to R):Guy, Sam, Bessie, Max

Frontrow (L to R):Polly, Pat, Sammy

AGING AND AGE

George Carlin's Views on Aging Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions. 'How old are you?' 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead. 'How old are you?' 'I'm gonna be 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life . You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony . YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!! But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed? You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone. But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would! So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40,REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60. You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday! You get into your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30 ; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.' Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!' May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!! HOW TO STAY YOUNG 1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay 'them.' 2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down. 3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's name is Alzheimer's. 4. Enjoy the simple things. 5. Laugh often, long and loud . Laugh until you gasp for breath. 6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive. 7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music,plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge. 8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help. 9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is. 10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity. AND ALWAYS REMEMBER: Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.