CONFESSIONS OF A STARBUCKS PASTOR

Welcome to the USA, the country that talks out of both sides of its mouth. On one side we herald the creative entrepreneurs who have made our country stand out. Think Steve Jobs, Henry Ford, Ben Franklin or Ray Kroc just to name a few off the top of my head. It is okay, according to their admirers, if they were rich and successful -- Just look at their gifts to our culture. Their stories serve to inspire us to be innovative and attempt new feats. On the other side of the USA mouth we find the politicians who preach disdain for the rich or accomplished. (Don't forget the salaries and lifetime pensions of our elected officials as you read this.)  They look down their nose at any appearance of  anything that could possibly stand out - whether by achievement or by money. It has to "be fair" for everyone, whatever that means. It sure gets votes. But, do the voters pause to think about the homes and square footage of the politician speaking this "every man" blarney?...

Have you ever noticed a small piece of thread and given it a little tug only to find out it kept coming? Your entire garment could become unraveled if you continued. That is what is happening in the Middle East. Long a hot bed of conflicting religion and government, don't think that the Syria "threads" aren't reaching far and wide. While this 67-year old country has never enjoyed a serene existence, the 2011 Arab Spring opened the door to a civil war where anything goes. Protestors were tired of the Ba'ath Party, a socialist movement led by Bashar al-Assad. The government responded to the protestors with kidnapping, torture and murder. The civilians organized and continued.  In return, the government escalated their responses by destroying whole neighborhoods and towns. Other entities have joined in. Of the more than 110,000 people killed in this short period of time, when WMDs recently killed 400 children a few weeks ago, a thin red line was finally crossed ...

Microwave E-mail Instagram FaceBook Fast Food No Prep Easy 5 Minute Tooth Whitening Overnight Instant No Waiting Digital Pre-Cooked Jump Drive Hot Spot Click DVR Blue Ray Amazon 1-Click These are just some of the words we have grown up on the past thirty years. Many of these terms are barely five years old. Our culture has become swift and efficient. People used to have to wait for things. Remember? Banks were closed on weekends, not to mention by 4:00 p.m. on weekdays. (Hence the term " banker's hours "). Vegetables and popcorn were made on the stove because microwaves weren't invented yet. You took your film to a store for pictures to be developed and waited. If you paid extra, you could even get them in an hour. The only instant type of coffee were these ground crumbles you sprinkled in boiling water. It tasted like dirt, but it was instant. To communicate faster than a letter in the mail, people sent telegrams . Urgent money needs wer...