Sunday, June 24, 2012

Cause You Gotta Have Faith

I read this today and thought it was worth posting. I often feel that I am at a loss for words.  This encourages me to not be...


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An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class on the problem science has with God, The Almighty. He asks one of his new students to stand and....


Prof: So you believe in God?

Student: Absolutely, sir.

Prof: Is God good?

Student: Sure.

Prof: Is God all-powerful?

Student: Yes.

Prof: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to God to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But God didn't. How is this God good then?

Hmm? (Student is silent.)

Prof: You can't answer, can you? Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?
Student :Yes.


Prof: Is Satan good?

Student : No.

Prof: Where does Satan come from?

Student : From...God...

Prof: That's right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?

Student : Yes.

Prof: Evil is everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything. Correct?

Student : Yes.

Prof: So who created evil?

(Student does not answer.)

Prof: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don't they?

Student :Yes, sir.

Prof: So, who created them?

(Student has no answer.)

Prof: Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son...Have you ever seen God?

Student : No, sir.

Prof: Tell us if you have ever heard your God?

Student : No , sir.

Prof: Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God, smelled your god? Have you ever had any sensory perception of God for that matter?

Student : No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.

Prof: Yet you still believe in Him?

Student : Yes.

Prof: According to empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your GOD doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?

Student : Nothing. I only have my faith.

Prof: Yes. Faith. And that is the problem science has.

Student : Professor, is there such a thing as heat?

Prof: Yes.

Student : And is there such a thing as cold?

Prof: Yes.

Student : No sir. There isn't.

(The lecture theatre becomes very quiet with this turn of events.)

Student : Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don't have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy.

Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it. (There is pin-drop silence in the lecture theatre.)

Student : What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?

Prof: Yes. What is night if there isn't darkness?

Student : You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light.... But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and its called darkness, isn't it? In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?

Prof: So what is the point you are making, young man?

Student : Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.

Prof: Flawed? Can you explain how?

Student : Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that
death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?


Prof: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.

Student : Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?

(The Professor shakes his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument is going.)

Student : Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavour, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher?
(The class is in uproar.)


Student : Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor's brain?
(The class breaks out into laughter.)


Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's brain, felt it, touched or smelled it?.....No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?
(The room is silent. The professor stares at the student, his face unfathomable.)


Prof: I guess you'll have to take them on faith, son.

Student : That is it, sir.. The link between man & god is FAITH. That is all that keeps things moving & alive.



Tuesday, June 19, 2012

I Think I Did Okay

Today was my first day.  I actually mustered up the courage to go couponing...all by myself...with no one watching... 

The Coupons:

I started my journey by ordering the Sunday paper (which I found with a coupon for $ .47 versus the $2.00 you would normally pay).  It arrived early that morning and the fun really began!  I started laying it our while my dilated eyes took in the glossy coupons.  I’ve always enjoyed arts and crafts so clipping coupons is right up my alley.

The Binder:

I transferred them into my HUGE coupon binder I pieced together using www.krazycouponlady.com as a reference.  I already owned the binder and the 8 ½ x 11 page protectors.  All that I had to purchase were the baseball card page protectors ($5.00 for 35 sheets at Target), the divider tabs ($3.00 for 24 tabs at Fred Meyer), and the pencil pouch ($2.50 at Fred Meyer).  That totals $10.50 that I need to earn back to start seeing some savings.

The Clipping:

I received my paper on Sunday and started tearing into it.  I also used the grocery store circulars that come out each Monday in the mail, along with any straggling ‘catalinas’ left in my wallet from prior purchases. 

The Organizing:

Once my coupons were clipped and organized I started sliding them into their appropriate slots in the binder so I was ready to head out.


I asked my husband if he would watch my cherubs so I would able to process what I was doing while shopping.  So, off I went with my unwashed hair, my mug of Twinings tea, and my BIG binder of coupons. 

As I stepped out of the car, I found myself giving a once over to the parking lot.  Would anyone notice that I was carrying a binder in the place of a child?  As I walked toward the door at 7:45am the store looked relatively empty.  I grabbed a cart and laid the binder in the seat reserved for my toddlers.  As I made my way toward the cosmetic aisle I looked down at my binder and smile came over me.  Not the, oh I am so glad I am shopping with coupons smile, no, the I cannot believe I have a three inch binder in my cart and am going to actually open it up and let people look at me with it, smile.  [Pause for appropriate giggle at my expense]  So I squashed that grin down and got to business.  It took me awhile to actually read the coupons and find the products I needed.  I walked away stocking up on some lotions, popsicles, and macaroni and cheese.  Being a ‘coupon virgin’ I did by things with a coupon and that were on sale but, I had to be realistic...I still needed to buy things on my meal plan as well.  All said and done my pre-coupon total was...$303.86 and after coupons my total was…(wait for it)…$278.98!! That is a savings of $24.88 on my very first trip.  I know my coupons will build over time and I will figure out the rock bottom deals of my favorite stores but for day one…I think I did okay.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Coupon Virgin



“Coupon Virgin.”  That’s the title I’ve been given by the hordes of woman out there that LIVE to coupon shop.  I never considered myself someone who needed to coupon shop.  My husband and I live comfortably enough.   We don’t need to buy second hand, don’t have to wait for sale items at the grocery store, and are able to save for our retirement and our kid’s college funds now.  We still struggle though.  It still feels like paycheck to paycheck.  I fall into the trap of not actually balancing my accounts and have most bills set up through auto-withdrawal.  The account fluctuates normally throughout the month but we rarely have any ‘savings’.  We’ve always said ‘this month’ we’ll come up with a financial plan. 

Well, this month is here and I am starting it by giving the coupon craze a go.  I am that person who can walk out of Fred Meyer with four bags of groceries having dropped $250! Costco I average $500 a month.  Mind you, we are ONLY a family of five and my kids are only five, four, and two.  I am not feeding a football team yet, I feel that I spend like I do. 

My challenge is to save where I can, stretch the dollar, and feel in control of our spending.  I want to actually have money put away when we plan a trip and not deal with the finances after the fact.  I want to know exactly where our bank account sits.  I want to be debt free.  I believe, to be afforded the privilege of staying home with my beauties, I need to make my husband’s dollar stretch.  So, challenge one:  I am going to coupon shop!