Good for him!
You can read the whole story about Sam Baker here.
DCG
This will bring a smile to your Monday morning! From Breitbart:
“A stadium full of fans broke out in a stirring rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner as the Charlotte Football Club kicked off its home opener on Saturday.
Ahead of the CFC’s game against the LA Galaxy, nearly 75,000 fans joined in singing the national anthem when the featured singer’s mic cut out at Bank of America Stadium.”
Read BB’s whole story here and watch below:
Patriotism alive and well in the USA!
DCG
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Major League Soccer, patriotism, Star Spangled Banner, USA
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan
and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days,
to be tempted by the devil.
He ate nothing during those days,
and when they were over he was hungry.
The devil said to him,
“If you are the Son of God,
command this stone to become bread.”
Jesus answered him,
“It is written, One does not live on bread alone.”
Then he took him up and showed him
all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant.
The devil said to him,
“I shall give to you all this power and glory;
for it has been handed over to me,
and I may give it to whomever I wish.
All this will be yours, if you worship me.”
Jesus said to him in reply,
“It is written
You shall worship the Lord, your God,
and him alone shall you serve.”
Then he led him to Jerusalem,
made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him,
“If you are the Son of God,
throw yourself down from here, for it is written:
He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,
and:
With their hands they will support you,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.”
Jesus said to him in reply,
“It also says,
You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”
When the devil had finished every temptation,
he departed from him for a time.

The account in Luke 4 of the temptation of Jesus in the desert is nothing short of fascinating.
What the account tells us is that:

May the peace of Jesus Christ, Our Lord be with you.
-E

Dancing With The Stars’ pro-dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy was born in Ukraine yet now has US citizenship. His parents emigrated to the US in 1994 and the 42-year-old lives in the US with his wife and son. His dancing skills have earned him a net worth of $8 million.
The money didn’t save him from feeling embarrassment and guilt in fleeing his home country. From Daily Mail:
“Days after returning safely to the United States from war-torn Ukraine, Maksim Chmerkovskiy is dealing with survivors guilt, he told GMA on Friday.
The 42-year-old DWTS pro revealed that the trauma he experienced after Vladimir Putin laid siege on the sovereign nation is ‘very difficult to process.‘
Maks was in Kyiv working on a television show when Russian forces invaded and he fled the country on a packed train of ‘only women and children’ refugees. He admitted to feeling guilt and shame for being able to escape the violence.
‘I get into these crying moments. I can’t control it. I cried on the way from the airport,’ he said.
Read the whole story here.
If I had guilt and shame, I’d be speaking with a close friend instead of advertising it on social media and giving a national TV show interview. But I’m not an entertainer.

DCG
Sigh…
So many tries, so many fails.
How can one get through life without knowing basic phrases so common in our society?
DCG
Landis Hooks, 40, is being praised as a hero for coming to the rescue to protect his son (Cody, 18) as he lay unconscious after being thrown from a bull. The Daily Mail reports:
“A cowboy who was seen on video lying on top of his unconscious son to protect him from a raging bull says his mind went blank before he sprung into action, adding that it’s all just ‘part of the everyday cowboy life where I come from.’
The 40-year-old father formed a human shield over his son and even took a hit from the bull’s head as it charged toward the pair. The crowd roared in shock, but Landis kept his body pressed firmly down while the bull rampaged about.”
Read the whole story here.
Great job, dad!
DCG
Brothers and sisters:
When this which is corruptible clothes itself with incorruptibility
and this which is mortal clothes itself with immortality,
then the word that is written shall come about:
Death is swallowed up in victory.
Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?

Near-death experiences (NDEs) — events that take place as a person is dying or, in some cases, is already clinically dead — are compelling evidence that there is life after death.
People who have NDEs are called near-death experiencers (NDErs). Medical doctors and other researchers have examined this phenomenon in depth. An excellent book is Evidence of the Afterlife, by Jeffrey Long, M.D. (with Paul Perry).
Among the near-death experiences is the phenomenon of life review, when the life of the dying person flashes before him/her, sometimes as a three-dimensional, panoramic review of everything significant that had happened in the NDEr’s life. From Evidence of the Afterlife, p. 110:
[The NDErs] view themselves from a third-person perspective. They watch themselves interacting with the people in their lives. They see how they treated others and often step into the other person’s place so they know how that person felt when interacting with them….
A spiritual being sometimes accompanies the person who is having the life review. This being may serve as a kind of loving guide…discussing the spiritual ramifications of the events of the NDEr’s life…help[ing] the NDEr put his or her life into perspective….
[L]ife reviews are often one of the most transformative elements of the NDE.
Now, we have scientific evidence of NDE life review.
Joe Pinkstone reports for The Telegraph, Feb. 23, 2022:
Our life may very well flash before our eyes when we are on the brink of death, according to the first recording of a dying brain.
The discovery was made when a patient died while having their brain activity monitored by experts. Electrodes detected an uptick in activity linked to memory recall and dreaming.
Experts believe this backs up reports and accounts from people who have suffered near-death experiences and claim to have seen their life flash before their eyes.
This is the first empirical data from an actual death to support the theory….
The individual who died was an 87-year-old man from Estonia who had been admitted to hospital after a fall.
He was sent for various scans that found a significant brain bleed and an operation was successful. Afterwards, the patient was stable for two days in intensive care.
But he then began to suffer from epileptic seizures, undergoing at least a dozen episodes, so the clinicians organised an EEG — electroencephalography — to help track and treat the haywire brain activity caused by the trauma.
While the EEG was still ongoing, the patient suffered a cardiac arrest and died, with the data being the first and only time the activity of a dying human brain has been recorded.
This gave the doctors and their colleagues a unique opportunity to study what happens in the brain as a person passes over the threshold from life to death.
They saw that at the time of death, brain activity was very similar to what happens when a person is meditating, dreaming, or reliving past memories….
While all brain waves began to dwindle, gamma accounted for a larger than normal percentage. Previous studies have found gamma waves to be responsible for some high-functioning processes and are intrinsically linked to concentrating, dreaming, memory retrieval and conscious perception.
Dr. Ajmal Zemmar, a neurosurgeon at the University of Louisville, who had studied this case, told Frontiers Science News: “Through generating oscillations involved in memory retrieval, the brain may be playing a last recall of important life events just before we die, similar to the ones reported in near-death experiences.”
~E
The Bible is not solely a religious opus. It also contains many words of wisdom — of sagacity, discernment, and insight.
Below are some examples from today’s readings.
When a sieve is shaken, the husks appear;
so do one’s faults when one speaks.
As the test of what the potter molds is in the furnace,
so in tribulation is the test of the just.
The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had;
so too does one’s speech disclose the bent of one’s mind.
Praise no one before he speaks,
for it is then that people are tested.
Jesus told his disciples a parable,
“Can a blind person guide a blind person?
Will not both fall into a pit?….
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye,
but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?
How can you say to your brother,
‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’
when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye?
You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.
“A good tree does not bear rotten fruit,
nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit.
For every tree is known by its own fruit.
For people do not pick figs from thornbushes,
nor do they gather grapes from brambles.
A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good,
but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil;
for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.”

Here are some more words of wisdom from the Bible:
“The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” -Proverbs 4:7
“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” Proverbs 11:2
“Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” Proverbs 12:18
“Where there is strife, there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.” Proverbs 13:10
“Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise.” -Proverbs 19:20
“A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.” Proverbs 29:11
“Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.” Job 28:28
“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15-16
“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.” James 3:17
“…Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:2-3
“The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left.” Ecclesiastes 10:2
And lastly:
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” -James 1:5
May the peace and love of Jesus Christ, Our Lord, be with you!
~E

Have you ever seen/heard of the Øresund Bridge? It’s a five-mile-long bridge (and underwater tunnel!) that connects Sweden and Denmark. It opened in 2000 and combines both motorway and railway travel.
The underwater highway is 2.52 miles long and is named the Drogden Tunnel. Two tubes in the tunnel carry railway tracks, two carry roads, and a fifth tube is provided for emergencies.
You can read all the details about this bridge here. Here’s a video that highlights the engineering feats of this bridge.
If anyone has travelled across this bridge, let us know!
DCG
Happy Friday!
DCG
Posted in animal altruism, God's creation