Ray Publishing | Site of the Month

 Bikers Post

Check out Ray Publishing Site of the Month for June! 

Cat Caught Barking Changes His Tune

Cat Caught Barking Changes His Tune

Memorial Day 2011

Memorial Day 2011 is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May (May 30 in 2011). Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. soldiers who died while in the military service. First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War. It was extended after World War I to honor Americans who have died in all wars.

Memorial Day often marks the start of the summer vacation season, and Labor Day its end.

Begun as a ritual of remembrance and reconciliation after the Civil War, by the early 20th century, Memorial Day was an occasion for more general expressions of memory, as ordinary people visited the graves of their deceased relatives, whether they had served in the military or not. It also became a long weekend increasingly devoted to shopping, family get-togethers, fireworks, trips to the beach, and national media events such as the Coca COLA 600 & Indianapolis 500 auto race, held since 1911 on Memorial Day.

Dear Father,
I pray for all the families in this great nation.  Thank You for loving me. Thank You for dying for me.  Lord bless the men & women currently fighting to protect our freedom, as well as the freedom of those around the world.  And comfort the families that have lost loved ones and armed forces that still are serving to protect our freedoms.
In Jesus' name. Amen

Mount Carmel Youth 30 Hour Famine

Mount Carmel Youth 30 Hour Famine, a set on Flickr.

What Makes a Bad Boss Bad?

I'm know expert or judge on what is a Bad Boss and my comments do not reflect on me personally or my boss.  I have many friends that say they have Bad Bosses.  And at sometime in your life if not now but in the past or future will have one.  How should I say it?  How does the saying go? "One bad apple spoils the whole barrel." This is never more appropriate than when speaking of a bad boss.  Almost every Christian worker has had a negative experience or two working for a bad boss.  But, just in case you've managed to escape one, here are some tell-tale signs.


Lack of emotional control (Proverbs 20:2; 16:14)

No one likes to be around or near a boss who explodes in a fit of rage each time something goes wrong or a mistake is made. This kind of bad boss is insensitive to workers and berates them in front of others to make himself/herself look good.

Is unjust and plays favorites (Proverbs 4:5)

The negative effects of boss favoritism can happen to anyone in the organization. It creates unfair and uncomfortable situations and can really hurt people in the end-even the workers who are considered the "pets" or favorites.  I call these workers but kissers and feel like this is one of the fastest ways for a boss to divide his/her followers and lose their confidence is to play favorites and show partiality.

Lack of insight, discernment and wisdom (Proverbs 28:16)

A bad boss stays involved in a worker's job responsibilities to the point of getting in the way. He or she may also have expectations that range from unreasonable to impossible. This kind of boss typically looks for someone to blame, a scapegoat, instead of concentrating on fixing the problem.

Poor judgment and decision-making (Proverbs 29:5)

Unfortunately some bosses do not know how to be bosses. How many of you have experienced this? They may be skilled in the actual performance of the task, but do not know how to work with and manage other people. In today's business world a boss must be able to do both.

Says one thing, then does another (Proverbs 29:22)

Bad bosses produce low morale, poor worker performance, and a bad work environment-especially when they are double-minded (say one thing, then do another). Because of low self-esteem they encourage workers to report all the office gossip and snoop out damaging information about co-workers and other bosses.

Self-Centered-It's all about me (Proverbs 28:10)

Bad bosses can be selfish, self-obsessed, inadequate, insecure and totally insensitive, treating their workers as if they were inhuman. They exaggerate their own contributions and are reluctant to acknowledge the contributions of others. These bosses expect their own needs to be met at all costs and constantly demand respect and consideration while persistently denying similar treatment to workers.

Does not appropriately confront a worker's poor performance (Proverbs 20:26)

Bad bosses allow workers to neglect their duties, and look the other way when workers perform inadequately instead of confronting the problem and resolving the issue by helping the worker to change his/ her behavior.

Dear God,

Thank You for the love You have shown me.  Lord I pray for my Boss and my Friends Bosses that they come to you and that if they are not saved that they be saved.  Help me to love others in the same way You have loved me.  Use me today to share the love of God with someone I see. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

You’ve Got To Try a Little Kindness

Kevin: Scott, this morning I have a question about dinner, or rather what to do in the following scenario involving this meal.

Okay, you’re at a nice restaurant with a friend.  Maybe you’ve both brought your spouses.  Everyone’s had a glass of wine, and all of the sudden someone brings up one of the big three subjects of great interest and peril; politics, sex and religion.  Your friend’s husband says something that you totally disagree with, to the point, perhaps, of wanting to jump on the table and sing your dissent at the top of your lungs.  This guy is so wrong, you can’t possibly let it go. You have to say something.  And anyway, if you don’t, the dinner could get tense and dull.  You know, back to talking about the weather or the ballgame.  What to do, Scott, what to do!  Small talk is so incredibly boring and pointless, but you don’t want to ruin a friendship by throwing your entree at the offending party.  I don’t know, does the Bible have anything to say about such things, because I sincerely love candid conversation, but sometimes you leave feeling like “I’ve made my point, but maybe overly so.”  And for me, in this scenario, I might also be thinking, “Who is this woman pretending to be my wife?”  Your thoughts, Scott?

Scott: Well, Kevin, whether it’s a dining companion who has arrogantly dismissed my political views, or a co-worker who has  questioned my intelligence in a board meeting, or a family member who has pointed out one of my flaws, as a Christ-follower I must be…kind.

I was surprised, recently, in a study of Paul’s letters to the churches in the New Testament, to see how often he told the folks to “be kind.”  If it’s important enough to God for Him to prompt Paul to make kindness a recurring theme, then kindness must not be merely a peripheral issue of the Christian faith.  Kindness is a Christian big deal.

I must note, however, that there is a difference between kindness and southern-ness.  I once had a business consultant tell me that there is a big difference between the way difficult meetings happen in the south and in the north.  He said, “I can go to a meeting in the south in which we deal with difficult, painful issues, and everyone is nice and polite.  But when I get back home and into my office I’ve got a string of voice mails.  People from that meeting saying, ‘You’ve got to do something about so-and-so…’  ’That lame brain idea that knucklehead had will never work…’”

“But,” he said, “if I go to a tough meeting in the north, folks will have it out right there.  They will talk candidly.   They’ll be blunt, even brutal.  But they will get everything on the table.  And then they will go have a drink together afterward.”
Christian kindness isn’t verbal syrup.  God inspired Paul to write in Ephesians 4, “Speak the truth in love.”  So we’re supposed to speak truth; just not with venom.

Kindness is honest, but it is not hurtful.  It’s candid but not caustic.  It’s truthful but not toxic.  Kindness isn’t phony and sappy; but it is civil, polite, and respectful.

So let’s all follow the advice of Glenn Campbell, and try a little kindness...

Lindsay Lohan is leading an upcoming Christian youth retreat.

Did you hear that Lindsay Lohan is leading an upcoming Christian youth retreat? Well, if the Obama administration is out arguing that Congress pumping trillions of dollars into agovernment takeover of healthcare will reduce an astronomical deficit itself caused by profligate spending, I guess anything is believable, eh? 

But that’s exactly what the White House is doing, claiming that medical Armageddon would ensue if a full repeal occurred.  Moreover, Obama himself dismisses the House vote to repeal ObamaCare as a symbolic gesture at this point, and nothing more. “What we can’t do is engage in the kinds of symbolic battles that so often consume Washington while the rest of America waits for us to solve problems,” he said.

The House repeal of ObamaCare should not be viewed as mere “symbolism.” Instead, it continues the process of reminding the public that ObamaCare violates every premise it was conceived on: lower costs, lower premiums, a reduced deficit, efficient medical care, and a jobs boom. 

ObamaCare was built on a pack of lies. And here are the five biggest.

— Jason Mattera