I’ve been disabled for 7 1/2 years now, since the beginning of 2001. What a ride! I’ve learned a lot about myself and about life during these years. It’s very difficult to communicate what I’ve learned to someone who has not endured disability from chronic pain. I’d like to try to briefly explain something which I feel could help anyone even if they are not disabled. It might not be earth shattering to most of you but perhaps it may encourage someone.

Whenever I’m faced with a frustrating limitation arising from my disability I have three goals in mind.

Initially I want to cope with the limitation realizing that no amount of anger or complaining will change it. The reality is that I can’t walk more than a few feet before my pain demands that I get off my feet. I accept that through my trial God will work His perfect will. And because of that I can “consider it pure joy.” (James 1) But I also recognize that Jesus “endured the cross despising it’s shame” (Hebrews 12) and I won’t do anything differently. The pain is horrible but what I’ve gained, what I’ve learned is of great value.

Eventually I could learn to compensate for my limitations. It doesn’t remove them. No, I still experience pain when I walk. But using various techniques physical, mental, and technical I have learned to get where I’m going in spite of my pain. Of the places that I want to go it appears that there are few limitations. However my techniques to compensate require effort and there are still some limitations. Yet the extent of my excursions surprise me.

Ultimately I want to conquer the limitations of my disability. Even now I am using voice recognition software to write this journal entry. Typing is too difficult, really, too painful especially late at night when all the pain of the day is multiplied in my feet and hands. I wouldn’t want to type at all using my hands. I still have a lot to learn about dictation. It is a great mental effort to formulate a complete sentence of written quality and then try to speak at with sufficient articulation so that the software can get it right.

The difference between compensating and conquering my limitations is this: compensating extends my abilities beyond my limitations such that I can do the things which I need to do. Conquering removes my limitations. When my method (or methods) of compensating for my limitations essentially makes me equal to someone who’s not disabled then I consider it conquered.

To elaborate: I can get to almost any place I need to using one of my wheelchairs. But I still can’t go hiking to Rattlesnake Rock unless someone carries me on their back which I’m unwilling to allow. However using voice recognition software allows me to “type” as well as someone who types using their hands. There is little or no difference. Using this tool more than compensates, it conquers the disability.

I must add that there are other factors to coping, compensating, and conquering a disability. It involves the mind, will, and I believe even one’s emotions. I must also add that there is a spiritual aspect to all of this.

If my mind, will, and emotions were not fixed on coping, compensating, and conquering my limitations then I don’t think the results would be as good as they are. I also believe that if I did not have faith and depend on God for strength then there would be no success. I would go so far as to say this is the number one most important factor of all.

As I grow older I see more and more how it is God Who is the reason for all the things in my life which have been a success. People often comment on how well I raised my children. Oh my! Although I was never abusive I can’t say that I was such a great dad. God led me every step of the way. Although we’ve never gone bankrupt financially I’ve been a real idiot. I’m still amazed that we make it week to week and year to year.

I could recount every area of my life and how God was the architect of everything good.

Part of me is very, very tired and really wants to go home, that is, to Heaven. But there is another part of me that looks forward to seeing my two teens asked they become men, watching my grandchild (and eventually grandchildren) grow up, and enjoying the wife of my youth. There is still a lot in this world that I appreciate and enjoy.

And while I’m in this world I will initially cope, eventually compensate, and ultimately conquer all that tries to stop me from appreciating and enjoying life. I sometimes say, “I’m not 6 feet under.” In other words, I’m going to live. And I’m going to do so in spite of my pain, in spite of my limitations, in spite of everything that is against me.

Alive in Christ, now and forever,
Ed

Business Week, March 27, 2006 article on pages 52-53, “You Are What You Post” (Bosses are using Google to peer into places job interviews can’t take them) is an instructive basic outline of the danger and what you give up when you publish. I’ll let the article speak for itself.Even before reading this article I’ve always been amazed at what people will write in their blog. I seem to remember a case where a child was angry at their parents for reading their blog as if it was some kind of private diary. No, anything you post on the internet is pretty much free game for all eternity, well, you know what I mean.

First, consider this:

After my first chemo treatment I posted something on a newsgroup (this was before personal blogs as they exist today) about my first experience with cancer and chemo. I have a unique last name and every so often I’ll search the internet for hits on my name. One day a German website had my name on it and when I translated the text into English I found that my post had been translated and posted on the other side of the world. I might have died from cancer but what I posted would have lived on.

Regarding a church website there are other, similar dangers to consider.

Our church has installed cameras in all classrooms and certain other areas in order to discourage predators and other criminals from illegally using our facilities. But why don’t we take a similar, serious concern about our website?

Scenario 1:

I’m all for outreach events. We have an Easter Egg Hunt every year and invite the community to attend. This is an event where children are often apart from their parents and possibly hidden from others as they seek out hidden eggs. It is also an event where we invite anyone to attend. Registration should be mandatory for everyone who attends even if registration occurs the day of the event. Registration, like surveillance cameras, may deter an otherwise predator. I want to know who is around my children.

How such an event is worded on a website is important. What age of children are allowed to attend? Disclosure of the required registration may alone be a deterrent of predators. Do we give details of the event or require that interested families inquire by calling the church office?

Scenario 2:

Mrs. B was invited to give a personal testimony about faith since the Sunday message was to be about faith. Instead she waxed on about how she works for Acme Company right here in Smallville and her co-workers are all stupid and mean but because she is a Christian she is going to preach to those heathen even though they are all going to Hell. Okay, maybe that’s not quite as bad as it could get. We did have one person talk about one co-worker who recently became Christian, another who is on their evangelism list, etc., and the detail was not something that their co-workers would want to hear about themselves on the internet or something they would want their other co-workers to hear.

I listen to the entire message carefully screening for specific names of people or businesses which might be bad if they were left in the podcast. I use Audacity to clip and try to leave the message intact without the missing clip.

Scenario 3:

Missionaries who talk about specifics of their mission.

Same as #2 above. Some missionaries are quite specific about not including their part of the message on any podcast as it could compromise the mission or the people they are associated with.

Scenario 4:

Personal names, phone numbers, and email addresses of volunteer staff can sometimes become a problem. I know a doctor who also is a leader in our church who put his email address on a webpage and his patients found it..

Rather than list an email, I use form mail. (Or is it formail?) Rather than phone numbers I refer all phone inquiries to the church phone number. Rather than personal names I list ministries or events, thus. “I’d like to talk to someone about the children’s ministries.” A name, number, and the inquiry can then be recorded and passed on to the appropriate person. Whether in a podcast or on a webpage route all inquiries through a controlled conduit - the church office.

Scenario 5:

So this isn’t as critical as the other scenarios, but it is still important for a good podcast: Get the announcements and other incidentals out of the podcast. I’ll even edit out an occasional “uh” if it is distracting to the message.

Scenario 6:

Music and song lyrics: I’m not real savvy about laws regarding posting music on the internet. I have no idea how YouTube gets away with posting actual concert performances or music of artists. But I’m not about to let my church get into trouble. I won’t allow any music in our podcasts except such things as Amazing Grace and other hymns which surly must be in the public domain by now. Even then I’ll only allow a part of such a song hoping that if I’m wrong about it being in the public domain at least I didn’t publish the entire song.

Scenario 7:

Photos on websites: Get written, signed permission! If a person leaves a church will I have to go back and remove any photo with them in it? Be very careful about photos of children. Make sure that all photos are “becoming” and not in any way lewd, crude, unbecoming, or otherwise wrong to post. (I remember one person who asked me if I could help them to lose 20 pounds. It is indeed amazing what Photoshop can do!)

Scenario 8:

Ownership: I don’t like Blogger, Xanga, Flicker, etc. except for things that I want totally public. I use Gallery so that I have control over my family photos. It is easy to make a family account, login “family”, password “password” (or course this is just and example) to allow anyone in the Rodatus family to see our family photos. But it is even more than that. I wonder who has what rights when I allow someone else to host my photos without my complete ownership? I pay for a hosting service, of course, and perhaps one could argue that I still have the same problem. But some of the free blog host sites clearly say that they will use your posts (at random) on their opening page.

Summary:

No doubt there’s a lot more that could be added to sanitizing your church website. I’m not as paranoid as I might sound, I’m just very cautious. I don’t think that people yet realize what they are doing when they blogger, facebook, or youtube their life. It could (and likely will) come back to bite them some time in the future. What do you want your children to remember about your life?

Philippians 4:8

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.”

It is my job as final editor/publisher to make things right. I want to make my boss look good and that means to make everything “just so.”  I will make sure that everything on the podcast and website are becoming, that is, lovely.

Ed

Adeline Grace Rodatus - I’m a grandpa!

6 lbs., 15.75 oz., 21 inches.

I enjoyed reading this list from here: http://nootherrock.com/2007/12/22/a-revelation/

 Of the most insightful revelations I have received during this endeavor:

• It’s never about your or me. It’s always about Him.
• Conforming to the ways of the world is terribly hard to avoid - but can be done
• The moment is now. Not yesterday. Not Tomorrow.
• God’s timing is amazing.
• Even the wicked can be used for God’s intent.
• I still have and always will have much to learn.
• Hope is for those not already living in His grace.
• I love you.

I hope that the author of this website, www.NoOtherRock.com , continues to write.

I figure there are at least 5 reasons, I think, that people custom build higher-end computers. A person will likely fall into one or more of the categories below:

1. Enthusiast - This is the true overclocker, the purist, the extremist. The entire group of custom builders (the other categories below) should be thankful for their trailblazing, early adopter, watchdog benefits to the rest of us. They keep the mb, graphics, mem, and processor companies in line. They identify strengths, report problems, and find solutions.

2. Wealthy - The enthusiast may or may not be wealthy. But I’ve noticed more than one person building a high-end custom machine seemingly only because they have the money to do so and want the best even if they aren’t using it to its fullest potential or don’t understand what they are doing.

3. Gamers - We should all also be thankful for the gamers since they share attributes of the enthusiasts. Gamers are also quick to adopt but for a goal focused on their gaming capability. Their analysis isn’t as thorough but it is still very useful information as they try things that sometimes even the enthusiast didn’t think of yet.

4. Application oriented - These are people with non-gaming needs such as CAD, photo and video editing, probably some other applications. This is more where I am. They use the information from the enthusiasts and gamers and many times contribute back to the community with their specs, experiences, etc.

5. Server oriented - These people, although they often purchase COTS products, will sometimes build or at least tweak their machines to obtain better performance.

I believe that group 5 has stability, robustness as their top priority. Group 4 also would want stability but has speed, multitasking as important secondary priorities.

Gamers don’t yet need quad cores as much as they need speed. Until the games make better use of multiple cores it doesn’t help them much if at all.

Since gamers, enthusiasts, and wealthy upgrade their systems more often than application or server oriented, they often are the earliest adopters. Gamers are often looking for deals being that most are not wealthy. Same for enthusiasts but maybe less so. In other words, I often hear gamers recommend OC-ing an inexpensive dual core for best gaming results rather than OC-ing a more expensive quad core which, at this time, help them any more.

I’m not trying to make classes to cause division but to recognize the different attributes that a person might have. A gamer might also be interested in applications. We all have different strengths.

As an application-oriented person I hope to add information as to what would be the “mainstream” custom-built computer.

I hope to add to this community as I hope to learn from it.

Georgia, David, and I went to see Janet Huckabee this morning. It was a lot of fun but I was wiped out before noon.

Here is a photo, it isn’t very good, I think we both are not looking our best. (I look terrible, I think! Need to trim that beard now!

In a February 8, 2008 news article by AHN Media Corp. by writer Kris Alingod, it clarifies Dobson’s endorsement:

Huckabee, a Baptist minister, has always been strongly supported by Christian conservatives. But Dobson’s endorsement, although made “as a private citizen,” makes him a more viable choice for conservatives who are wary of McCain’s liberal views on immigration and abortion.

Regarding the presidentail race prior to the Iowa caucus Huckabee said on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno,  “I still want them all to drop out and let me have a clear shot all the way to the White House.” It is evident that Mike Huckabee knows Who is the Almighty Soverign God and that the outcome of this election is in God’s capable and loving hands. Huckabee has inspired me as to a believer’s duty to be involved in civic matters by voting and, if called to do so, by running for a political office. I’m not surprised, then, that Mike is so positive at this point in the primary election process. In the same article he said:

“Some people are saying, Why are you staying in? Let me be real clear about it. Because an election is about a choice not a coronation, and conservatives in the Republican party ought to have a choice for somebody who is unapologetically, one hundred percent, without any flinching at all, pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, and pro-fair tax and pro-secure the borders,” he said to cheers from the audience.

 As of the date of this article, it says:

Huckabee is currently trailing McCain in the delegate race. CBS News puts the count at 163 delegates for Huckabee, 170 for Romney and 709 for McCain. NBC says it’s 195, 278 and 721, respectively.

Since then Mike won the Kansas primary and picked up another 32 delegates.

Well, especially after Jim Dobson stated for the record that he can’t endorse a candidate or else he would risk losing his 501(c).3 tax exempt status, I am surprised that he actually said the word “endorse” regarding a candidate. I am aware that many tax exempt organizations will have a seperate political action committee (PAC) which must financially stand on its own but has the freedom to say whatever it wants. But Dobson has indicated, regarding this election, that he would/could not endorse a candidate. 

But that ain’t so anymore.

See: http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/02/08/politics/fromtheroad/entry3807210.shtml (Sometimes these commercial news links expire with age.) Here is an excerpt from the article:

February 8, 2008, 9:05 AM
Huckabee Gets Dobson’s Backing
Posted by Joy Lin
(CBS)From CBS News’ Joy Lin:

Focus on the Family founder James Dobson endorsed Mike Huckabee late Thursday night, repeating an earlier statement that he “could not vote for Sen. John McCain.”

“The decision by Gov. Mitt Romney to put his campaign ‘on hold’ changes the political landscape,” Dobson said in a written statement.

“His [Huckabee’s] unwavering positions on the social issues, notably the institution of marriage, the importance of faith and the sanctity of human life, resonate deeply with me and with many others.”

On McCain, Dobson added, “His record on the institution of the family and other conservative issues makes his candidacy a matter of conscience and concern for me.”

I have a lot of respect for Jim Dobson. He was there early on supporting the family and Christian values. His ministry influenced me from early in my Christian journey. Like with any two people, I don’t agree with all of his positions or philosophy. But he is an icon for family and values. His opinions, even when I disagree with them, mean something to me.

I’m glad for Jim Dobson’s endorsement of Mike Huckabee. I hope that Huckabee seeks and acquires other big name endorsements.

[Ed] Here is the content of an email sent to me and my responses. I preceeded all my responses with [Ed] and put them in blue text in order to distinguish them from other sources. 

[Email sent to me] Hi!  Just came across the attached (someone sent it to me) and thought you might find it helpful.  It looks like the Christian vote is generally going to Huckabee.  It ought to go to Ron Paul.  So these are just FYI:
http://www.townhall.com/blog/g/33391ddb-ed1f-4bc3-9d19-cdca6181d5d4

[Ed] I’ve seen the above list before and studied each accusation. All the concerns listed have been addressed. Some of the statements are lies, the rest are distortions. Although I haven’t seen a line-by-line response in one place to everything listed I believe that such a list/response could certainly be created. I was able to read the historical records on most of these complaints. Others have been addressed more recently (as they came up.)

[Email sent to me] See this too:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_paul

[Ed] Most of Ron’s positions are consistent with libertarian philosophy and inconsistent with the Republican platforms in past years. He should run as a Libertarian. Personally I find his positions unsupportable. For instance, Ron wants to get rid of the FBI, CIA, Homeland Security, and other important U.S. defense organizations. I could say more..but I shouldn’t.  

[Ed] I’ve been to Ron’s website and he makes several false accusations against Huckabee such as are in the list that I mentioned above.

[Ed] Case in point: I remember one of the first accusations against Huckabee (still on Ron Paul’s website) that I saw where he (and Mary Pride) claim that Huckabee is against home educators. (Huckabee has been a consistent supported of home educators.) The bill in question was one which required home educators to report their intention to home “school” 14 days before they begin. (Maryland, you know, has a similar 15 day “Assurance of Consent” form.) The form, and the days, are partly administrative (school systems need to know when a student isn’t going to return - otherwise the child would be considered truant) and partly for the health and safety for the child as required by a different law. Arkansas home educators, like Maryland’s, only have to report their intention, that is, they are not requesting permission.  Maryland laws are not oppressive and neither are Arkansas. HSLDA does normally “knee jerk” against anything that smells of restricting rights to home educate but in this case they did NOT go against the bill. It was, in fact, a good law especially as compared with the original one which was submitted by no other than Bill Clinton.

[Ed] In fact, the HSLDA-PAC (associated with all the good people at HSLDA) DOES support Huckabee on their website! (Ron Paul claims that they don’t!)
See:
http://www.hsldapac.org/dnn/Home/GovernorHuckabeeandArkansasHomeschoolLaw/tabid/94/Default.aspx
Text from that webpage:

[HSLDA website 1/29/2008] The political reality, however, was that the homeschoolers were going to have to give the opposition something or they were going to get something much worse. As far as Governor Huckabee was concerned, it was a bill the homeschoolers wanted. It was sponsored by a homeschooling father in the legislature and had the support of the Arkansas Family Council. The bill was enacted and became Act 1117.

[HSLDA website 1/29/2008] HSLDA-PAC has spoken directly with Governor Huckabee and we believe that by his words and actions he is a firm supporter of homeschooling.

[Ed] That’s just one example of how the historical record bears out the lies and distortions against Mike Huckabee. I’m not one to believe what I hear about any of the candidates until I can search out the actual record. (You should see Mitt Romney in action! He is like a GOP Clinton in that he is a chameleon. He debated with Ted Kennedy and claimed to be more liberal than a Kennedy! (in so many words) You can find actual video footage of so many things of the past using this link: http://www.searchthetube.com/

[Email sent to me] See this too:
http://www.ronpaul2008.com/about/

[Ed] Your text below (”And this, from Dobson’s website: “) cannot be found anywhere on Dobson’s website. Search for huckabee on Dobson’s website. Use this link:
http://find.family.org/search?q=huckabee+&btnG=Go&site=family_org&entqr=0&sort=date%3AD%3AL%3Ad1&output=xml_no_dtd&client=family_org&ud=1&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF-8&filter=0&numgm=4&proxystylesheet=family_org 

[Ed] Dobson is a Mitt Romney supporter?  No way! for the same reasons mentioned in his podcast. Ridiculous! If that statement (below in your text) is a flat out lie (or very serious distortion) then how can anyone be sure of anything else in the “dobson” text below?
See:
http://www.independentconservative.com/2007/05/19/dobson_4_romney/

Note: Everything below is from the same unreliable source.

————————————————–
[Unreliable source] Huckabee is simply NOT a conservative. In my view, he is like the late Bob Casey Sr.: pro-life, but a thorough liberal on everything else:
[Unreliable source] 1. He raised taxes numerous times as governor. 
[Unreliable source] 2. He is soft on crime, having issued more than 1,000 clemencies–a staggering total by any measure.
[Unreliable source] 3. He is soft on illegal immigration, having wanted to give children of illegal aliens in-state tuition rates at college.
[Unreliable source] 4. His responses to the events in Pakistan and his Foreign Affairs essay on Iran have shown that he doesn’t have even a rudimentary understanding of national security issues. If Huckabee is the nominee, he would achieve the unthinkable feat of making the Republican nominee appear weaker on national security than the Democratic nominee.
[Unreliable source] 5. His economic proposals are far too protectionist and would be ruinous to the economy.
[Unreliable source] 6. He has too much baggage on ethics violations during his tenure as governor. He set up wedding registries at several stores in Arkansas so that his political supporters could give him gifts, because the law contains an exception for “wedding gifts.” This is rank hypocrisy.
[Unreliable source] 7. What I dislike most about Huckabee is that he seems to be running almost entirely on identity politics, and not substantive issues. His campaign is driven by “Vote for me, I’m the Christian candidate.” He may be a Christian, but he is completely unqualified and uninformed on several major issues. I am greatly concerned that if Huckabee manages to win the nomination based on his religious appeal to evangelicals, he will validate what the Washington Post called us so many years ago: “poor, uneducated, and easily led.” He will have won the nomination, not because he is the most qualified candidate who has substantive policy proposals, but because he appealed to religious identity and snookered us into voting for him simply on that basis. That is no way to win a presidential election. Values voters are a necessary, but not sufficient, ingredient to electoral success. If you draw the social conservatives but alienate the national security and economic conservatives, you CANNOT win the presidency.—————————-
[Unreliable source] (Dobson goes on to say he’s a Mitt Romney supporter.)
[Unreliable source] And this, from Dobson’s website:

Sorry about the previous two posts regarding the horrible formatting. I was in a hurry and wanted to capture several notes that I wrote in emails to different people. I still have more to add. I hope to create a webpage which addresses, line by line, the various accusations against Mike Huckabee and then next to it give the source(s) which refute each accusation.

I’m a little tired of people who didn’t do their homework and simply believed what someone said without checking it out first. See my post about People of the Truth.  (Dr. Dobson is mentioned in that post because he was falsly accused of starting the email.)

I have watch all except one of the debates both GOP and Democratic. I record them so that I can rewind and make sure I caught exactly what was said. I also listen/watch some of the pundints but even they are not an original source. Yet that’s what most people rely on. What someone said about what someone said about what..

I don’t mean to sound upset but this is about selecting our country’s next president that we are talking about here. Just be sure that you, too, are doing the necessary homework before you unwittingly pass along a falsehood.