Why Socialism Has Never Worked

Most of us have little to no experience with socialism. Communists would like us to believe that this style of government works, but if you will just take a good look at every country that has ever adopted communism, you will see they are not rich. There’s a reason why everyone is in the doldrums–with the exception of those in power, who live high off the hog–small as that hog is and ugly as where they live usually is.

Here’s a story that will demonstrate why socialism (another word for communism–remember the United Soviet SOCIALIST Republic–dark, poor, and without freedom for its people?) DOES NOT WORK.

SIMPLE ANALOGY:
An economics professor at Texas Tech said he had never failed a single student before but had, once, failed an entire class. The class had insisted that socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer. The professor then said, “Ok, we will have an experiment in this class on socialism.”

All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A. After the first test the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. But, as the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too; so they studied little… The second test average was a D! No one was happy. When the 3rd test rolled around the average was an F.

The scores never increased as bickering, blame, name calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else. All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great; but when government takes all the reward away; no one will try or want to succeed.

Could not be any simpler than that….

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Generosity

I have known such generosity lately that my heart is humbled. I give credit for three incidents in the last three weeks to people I hadn’t known long. First, my boss gave me $.65 more an hour than we originally agreed upon for the tutoring job I just finished. The lady at the guest house where my student was staying gave me three types of flowers to take home and plant in exchange for the irises I gave her for her beautiful garden. I only had irises, because everything else is still in their infancy. Then, the goldfish vendor we visited in Columbus sold me a spectacular fish at an excellent price and gave us some vegetables from his big garden, as well.

Before that, people at church had brought food during my convalescence from surgery and lots of people prayed for me. Even now, people are praying for both San and me.

And the Lord gave me a fine student for two weeks who showed me how to be happy and good humored. The others He brought across my path were wonderful examples of goodness and generosity. I could feel my heart melt from its coldness and the retreat to which it had hidden. I learned love and generosity from these genuinely open handed people; I am learning to treasure the lives of other human beings. This may be how it is better to give than to receive. These people gave out of the abundance of their hearts and my heart was made better. As my heart is healed, I am able to give as was given to me and goodness is perpetuated. Isn’t this what God was teaching when He gave what we needed open handedly? Certainly, no one can dispute that people crave love and generosity. Sometimes, when it has been denied long enough, we lose our sensibility to it. May we all be restored and be restorers.

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Sowing the Seed of Life in Christ

Something wonderful happened today. Every day is a day the Lord has made, and today He answered my prayer that a door would open so I could sow the kernel of life that is the Good News.

I’ve been praying for opportunities to show people the way to safety in the love of God. Whatever I am in Christ, strong or weak, I have in my heart a passion to lead others to saving faith in Christ. I know Jesus is the real thing, and everyone should be given the chance to know who He is.

These last two weeks that I have been blessed to teach English to a native German have been a joy, but I felt the nudging of the Holy Spirit to not neglect walking him through God’s plan of salvation for us sinners.

During the last part of our morning together today, the door I had been praying for opened. The student and I had been talking about museums and he told me about the Karl May museum that honors the 19th century German author who wrote 150 books about American Indians. He had begun writing before he’d ever visited the American West, but ended up being adopted into the Apache tribe.

As my student and I talked about books we’d read, we discovered we had read some of the same authors, and I knew the time had arrived to share. I asked him if he had ever read the Bible, and he answered that he had. He’d found a thick, worn 19th Century Bible in a flea market in Germany and had bought it. I told him I wanted to share something from the Bible with him, and took out a Gospel tract produced by Dallas Theological Seminary. It’s a really simple and reader-friendly tract with simple graphics. We read through it together, with him reading aloud along with me and when we came to the prayer, he read that, too.

I asked him if he had said the prayer at the end, and he said that he had. I asked him if he had prayed it from his heart, and he said he had. I told him that if he prayed that prayer from his heart, God had forgiven him his sins. I told him that God would receive him as His son and that his past and future sins would be forgiven, and when he died, that God guaranteed that he would go to be with Him in heaven. He assured me that he had believed.

I prayed for him all afternoon and at prayer meeting this evening that the seed of the Gospel would not be removed by Satan’s wicked devices. I made a promise to myself that I would pray for him for a year that God would keep him safe, nurture his fledgling faith, and bring people and things into his life to encourage him in his new walk with God. I prayed that he would keep and read the tract and the little books, “My Heart Christ’s Home” and “Forgiveness” on the long trip home on the plane and not throw them away.

The hope I have in all this is that I am only responsible to sow the seed. God’s Word is powerful and speaks truth when the Holy Spirit drives it home. Salvation is of the Lord, not me. Even a clumsy attempt can be blessed of God when He intends to save a man. When someone opens the door of his heart even a tiny crack, God notes that willingness, and is faithful to take it all the way. With the slightest glimmer of sincerity God will meet the seeker there. How divinely kind, how powerful and good God is.

I said, “God bless you” to the receiver today, and as I turn him over to the Lord’s safekeeping, I know He will.

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Memories of life as a graft

Family. Important to how we turn out. Family. If we choose God, we may get to become grafts into a good family and learn a lot of good things. Here’s my tribute to my husband’s family for how good it has been to belong to this clan.

Has it really been 43 years since I walked down the aisle at Westbrae Bible Church in Berkeley, California to marry the sweet, good man, Sanvus Yuen? That was June 26, 1965 and I was 19 years old. I had graduated from high school just two years earlier.

I remember the first time San brought me home to meet Mom and Pop. Mom believed in making a guest welcome by offering lots of hospitality refreshment. I wasn’t much of an eater then – a mere 95 pounds and a contented lightweight, and after eating a couple of items, I was satisfied. But Mom must have thought that if one treat didn’t please, another one might, because she kept them coming!

She was always smiling, kind, welcoming and conversational when I was with her, and I decided I would learn the family dialect so I could understand and communicate better. I progressed, but within three years the Lord called Mom home, and then Pop two years later.

I remember the engagement party at Mom and Pop’s house, too. All the food that the girls had laid out on the pretty dining table! I also remember how Jack was so delighted that his brother had found a girl that he kept hugging me. My family wasn’t into hugging so at first it scared me, and I began hiding when I’d see Jack. After a while, of course, he stopped hugging me. I also remember the family introducing Jack as a “doctor.” One day I heard he was sick, and that he’d seen a physician. “But why?” I asked, “He’s a doctor.” Whoever it was I said that to, looked at me strangely and when I explained that the family had told me that he was “Dr. Jack Yuen,” it finally dawned that no one had ever told me what kind of doctorate he had! We had a good laugh over that.

I remember the night before the wedding when I was washing up for bed at Mel’s beautiful home in Oakland. I had just washed my face, and looked up into the expansive mirror and lo, I saw a ZIT! Oh no! Not now, not the night before my wedding! I wailed out to Mel and she came rushing in. I was in tears and holding my cheek to hide the angry, inflamed volcano of a pus pocket (actually, it was probably a teensy red spot). Mel persuaded me to let her see it, and reached into the cupboard and handed me a bottle of alcohol and a cotton ball, and said to wipe it and it would be alright by tomorrow. I didn’t really believe it would work, but it did. The next morning the zit was gone!

Mel was immensely loving, generous, and tender hearted. In all the years I knew her, she was consistently giving, forgiving and kind, in good humor and enjoyed life. San and I had a wonderful relationship with her and I will bless her memory always. We were always concerned that she knew the Lord as her Savior, and a couple of times we approached her about it. The last time we spoke of it with her she told us with all truthfulness, “I’ve always believed in Jesus Christ as my Savior.” I believe she spoke from her heart.

The Yuens were a celebratory family, and regularly met for family holiday meals. I remember one day when the family was getting a supper ready at Chalice’s house, and Mel was making a salad. She asked me to go to the pantry and get some spices to make a salad dressing. I had no idea what went into a salad dressing since we ate Chinese almost exclusively at my home of origin, and if we had had dressing, it would have been French and from a bottle. I figured if it tasted good, the spice might be appropriate for dressing. I reached for cinnamon and some assortment of inappropriate spices. The strange combination raised a laugh from Mel and quite a fuss and humor from the other girls and I was totally embarrassed from tip to toe.

San and I had a close bond to Anne and Herbert, too. We talked on the phone, shared cards and letters and saw them whenever we could. We enjoyed visiting with them during summer vacation several times. They worked at their very successful clothing store in Lemon Grove all the time, of course, but they managed to visit with us after work, too. I remember visiting the store a couple of times and buying Ship ‘n Shore items. Ship ‘n Shore was a General Mills clothing subsidiary at one time. I also remember Anne’s cooking style. The nutritional value of food drove Anne’s culinary decisions. We often had greens, soy bean, meat and rice and fresh fruit when we were with them. Anne taught us about bringing nutrition along when you are “out and about” to keep up your strength. She used to carry sunflower seeds and raisins in a plastic bag to snack from. Now that San and I are older, we appreciate her example more than ever.

We attended church with her when we visited, too. I remember the Presbyterian church where I heard her associate pastor preach a fine sermon one Sunday. She said that he stuck close to the Word of God. That may have been the church where part of the congregation felt compelled to assert their faith in the inerrancy of Scripture and later formed a new church cell. Anne went with them.

I also remember Herbert when we went anywhere to shop. He was not at all shy about bargaining with the sales people in any store! It was both embarrassing and amazing — and funny! But bargaining works, and Herbert showed us the hutzpah.

I remember visiting Tijuana, Mexico with the Lowe family, too. We went into import stores with amazing merchandise at equally amazing prices. Chinese screens and furniture and designer clothes were among the things that caught my attention. At Maxim’s, we girls bought a bunch of blouses designed by Oleg Cassini, who created Jacqueline Kennedy’s signature look during her “Camelot” years. They were great looking, but polyester, the favorite fabric for clothes then.

I remember the many happy times with Bernie and Ed and their kids at their home in Carmichael. We spent Christmas with them several times, but visits weren’t limited to special occasions. Once we got to meet a couple of Indian boys who were staying during the summer with them. Another time, we did a Mandarin Pot meal together. When I think of Bernie, I think of intelligence, good works, drive, generosity, love, and a good husband and nice, bright kids.

I have a lot of warm memories about the wonderful people whose family I married into—I think of Bert’s intelligence, kindness, mercy and wisdom; Chalice’s hospitality, love for her children, and strength; and Ella’s sincerity toward God’s Word, gentleness and faithfulness. Then of course, there is Pete, who was faithful toward his parents and strong for his family, and who consistently modeled the attributes of the Lord in word and deed; and Marge, who is pure, good and gentle, a virtuous woman, full of faith. Armonita, a beautiful name, and belonging to a woman who worked out her sensitive nature in wrought precious metals and gemstones to leave a legacy of beauty behind.

I would say that the Yuen family’s hallmark is love and generosity and being doers. A family ought to be loyal and warm of heart toward one another, but not all families are so homogeneous. I can say the Yuens have been. I think the quality of Mom and Pop’s headship is responsible for the goodness of this family. I believe that when children know they are loved and are molded by good values, that they will generally reflect the character of their home throughout their adult lives and pass its values on to their children. Mom and Pop’s love for the Lord Jesus Christ and their constancy of heart toward their children, worthy modeling and teaching, and not to mention their prayers for them, resulted in people capable of kindness and warmth toward others, decency of treatment of others, faith to believe in themselves and in their dreams, and courage to apply themselves in work for success. The crown of their life’s work in regard to their children was that they introduced them to God’s dear Son, Jesus Christ, the only One capable of ensuring their safety in eternity and who would give them enduring love, guidance and protection as they negotiated their way through the seas, shoals, rocks, storms and disappointments of life.

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The Beginning and the End

A poem to comfort a friend whose mother died.

Where in life art Thou, O Lord?
Everywhere art Thou, O Lord.

We’d not had life, but that You gave,
Wondrously, miraculously.

We’d not had hope, but that You taught
Us to love and believe,

We’d not had sense, but that You informed.
Kept us safe while we transformed.

Life was a gift, time was a friend,
Our life’s legacy, memory’s refrain

Healing for the past, prospect for the future,
All through the Gospel, life’s best tutor.

Today we breathe, sing and work,
Love our families, teach our kids,

Bake our cakes, hoe our yards,
Smile at fireworks and the sun,

But when all’s been said and all’s been done,
We’ll be glad we know You, Jesus, the Son.

The Day of Clay then rightly done,
We can fin’lly say our race is won!

In the Beginning was the Word,
And the Word was with God,
And the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by Him;
and without Him was not anything made
that was made. (John 1:1-3)

For God so loved the world,
That He gave His only begotten Son,
That whosoever believeth in Him
Should not perish,
But have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

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Mattress Testers

The job of “mattress tester” used to be a joke, meaning that if someone said that was what they did for a living, they were putting you on about what they actually did or were tongue-in-cheek “lazy.”

Well, meet two actual “mattress testers” — hubby and me; and we never WORKED so hard! Our broken down mattress had become unbearable, with us waking up every day with aches and pain, which is a sure sign we had waited too long.

We’d long tolerated sleeping on our hammock-dented mattress, and I had reached the point where I would not stand for it any more. Too bad it had to get to this point before hubby would give in. His neck and lower back hurt every day, too, but he’d been taught some exercises by his internist that would stretch the pain out, so he was willing to do them, and let it be. I, on the other hand, could plainly see that people aren’t supposed to wake up in pain and have to exercise to get over sleeping!

Money was a major factor in putting off buying a bed, but since the store allowed a year to pay the bill without interest, I knew I could save enough to pay it off before we got into trouble.

Oh, we researched mattresses like our lives depended upon it. And to tell the truth, buying a mattress that would serve properly, was paramount. Our quality of sleep depended upon it, our short and long range health depended upon it. People are supposed to change out their mattress sets within 8-10 years, max. I say, if you need to change sooner, do it!

We lay down on several types each of Thermapeutic, Sleep Number, Denver Mattress, Sealy, Serta, Sterns and Foster and Simmons mattresses to exhaustion! By the time we were finished with the last mattress set on the last day of testing, we knew each mattress INTIMATELY! Whew! You are supposed to lay down at least 15 minutes to get a real feel for a mattress. Of course, the mattress you are resting on may have had 100’s of people on it before you, so it’s probably going to be firmer when you get it for real. But that’s ok.

We’d tried mattresses from $4,000 (Thermapeutic) to $750.00, and then bought the best buy for us. It is NOT a pillow top, which type nearly killed us before because the depth of pillow on our Sterns and Foster turned out to be TOO soft. I was talking to someone at my physical therapy session…yes, my doctor sent me to physical therapy for my back…and she pointed out that the deep pillow tops will become lumpy in time, and you can’t take them off to redistribute their stuffing. Yep, don’t I know it! Better to buy a topper and put it over a less densely padded mattress and replace it when it gives up the ghost.

Coils, coils! It’s not so much the number as the way they are configured within the mattress for support, but there needs to be at least 375 of them. The density and the way they are linked or not are important, as well. Then there are the layers of cushioning over the spring system, and what those layers are comprised of.

The nice thing about the Sleep Number bed was that ostensibly, you can adjust the mattress under you to a firmness that suits you, which can indeed be different from your spouse’s comfort needs. They were a little over $1,000, but the company doesn’t have sales and any return is your financial responsibility to a tune of around $250.

Goldilocks should have kissed those bears for only having to try THREE beds before settling down. She was spared a lot. WE, on the other hand, conducted a marathon of bed testing over a couple of weeks that included 6 stores, asking questions about the differences between one model to another, warranties and qualifying factors, return policies and obligations, viewing the cutaways for mattresses and box springs, discounts and totals, after of course, lying down on everything!

I sure hope this mattress works.

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Mercy Is Not Strained

Remember when you were in grade school and the kids in class brought valentines to share with one another? It was always a wonderful, festive time that allowed kids to remember one another and take home a lot of brightly colored mementos of a fun time.

Well, yesterday on Valentine’s Day, my kids sent me Valentines in the form of floral bouquets to tell me they love me and want me to get well. Imagine my surprise and the sweetness I felt settle upon my heart when I opened the cards and realized their thoughtfulness!

One cannot appreciate how much flowers mean when one is recuperating until you are fighting for wellness yourself. The little kindness of one of my visitors from church of just a little votive candle and her taking time to visit assured me she cared for me and was very uplifting. Every card tells you someone cares and helps your morale.

It’s like a cheer team encouraging you along to get strong and become well again, and I am so grateful for them all.

My family has concerns and demanding schedules of their own, yet they took time to demonstrate their love. I am blessed to have these kids as my own.

Two of my sisters in California sent emails to say they were glad I was doing better, too. I hadn’t heard from one in quite some time. That was very nice and encouraging, as well!

Receiving mercy often teaches one how to give mercy, and I am glad to have learned how better to show it. Mercy is not strained, it flows easily from gratitude for mercy experienced.

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True Love and A Happy Valentine’s Day

Today is Valentine’s Day and I have the perfect valentine in my husband, the man whose heart has loved and kept me for 43 years. Today when I went downstairs to breakfast, I found a gift bag with an envelope purse in it and the best card a woman could ever want. I had been looking for an envelope purse because they lay flat and are fairly inconspicuous. My dear friend, Carolyn, says it well when she says she keeps her personal possessions on her body when she goes out, because as she has aged, she finds it easy to forget her purse, sunglasses, etc. if she lays them down. Slinging an envelope purse across your body assures that your purse and your belongings stay with you.

It wasn’t necessary, but it was so like my San to do something that he knew would mean so much to me. This week has been a messy one, with me going in to have a cystoscopy done on my left bladder that turned difficult. No one could have anticipated that it would mean that the doctor would find a growth in the ureter on the right side and that by excising and cauterizing it, that the ureter’s membrane would have thinned too much and that urine would leak around my kidney, causing pain and vomiting.

No one could have anticipated the wait in the emergency rooms of two hospitals that ended up with me being admitted to the hospital and another surgery to place a stent in my right urinary tract. No one could have anticipated the pain, discomfort, difficulty and disruption of our lives.

And then there was my San, with me all the way and running back and forth to the hospital and tiring himself in his compromised condition for my sake. My faithful husband, he was.

Thank God our church believes in caring for its members. The sisters of mercy of Christian Fellowship really came through for us. San does not cook, and both of us were going to need nourishing food that was palatable, inviting eating. And then there were the cards, flowers, phone calls, and hospital visits. Do I believe my church’s people really care for me? I know they do now. Yes, they do it because we believe in something—that we want to be like Jesus, but they cared about ME, too. That brings tears to my heart and eyes.

So, I love my Savior, my valentine—my dearest San, and the people who showed such kindness for their Lord’s namesake.

Happy Valentines Day, all, for today commemorates love that unselfishly gives of itself, which is true love. It’s not really the day that celebrates the flesh, but the day that reminds us of a Christian saint who showed Christ’s love so long ago when it was rare to care for people other than for personal reasons. It certainly is the day to commemorate true love of two people who will give all for the other.

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Letter to Gov. Ted Strickland re: dismantling Abstinence Education

I am deeply troubled to learn that you are abolishing abstinence education from Ohio’s public schools. I believe that doing this is grossly unfair to our youth. They need respect for the marriage bed reinforced, not the opposite. Practicing abstinence before marriage puts a discipline in place that affects one’s attitudes toward others, protects one’s psychological and physical health, and will help preserve one’s marital relationship later.

Marriage and the family is the bedrock of society. It is within these institutions that people have the best chance to be emotionally healthy, learn how to behave and become homogenous members of society at large. People fail the institutions, not the other way around. I believe impressionable young people should receive moral reinforcement at school for abstinence before marriage not only to protect them emotionally and physically on the personal level, but to preserve the family. Our young people will carry the torch as adults from the past into the future. What they do with marriage and family will either tend to preserve their local communities and more broadly, keep the nation or not. Sexual abstinence is about self control, respect for others in relationships and responsible provision for the product of sexual union. Truthfully, our young people need to learn about that more than ever. There are many forces pulling at them today that are confusing, that are indeed sometimes even counter-productive and damaging.

Therefore, I believe measures you have initiated to dismantle abstinence education since taking office do not serve Ohio’s public school students well. In fact, it is a travesty for our children and for the future of Ohio, and I urge you to restore funding for Abstinence Education to encourage the important, truthful message that avoiding casual sex is the only sure way to avoid the physical and emotional risks associated with irresponsible behavior.

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Goin’ to the Hop

Yesterday I had a longing to get some ‘50s vintage music for my birthday party on Saturday, so hubby and I perused the music at Barnes and Noble, Best Buy and then at Circuit City.

The really nice thing about Barnes and Noble is that you can listen to the selections you are considering buying. Yeah, but, their music selections are expensive. Yet, I decided that it was worth it to see what they had. Great choices—especially the album of three discs with the top singers of the ‘50s era. Not the rock ‘n roll singers, but notables like Louis Armstrong, Rosemary Clooney, Perry Como, Doris Day, Peggy Lee, Jonny Mathis, Dean Martin, et al. Top artists with top songs—listenable music with words you can understand, and clean sentiments. I mean, the album even has “The Glow Worm.” What’s that? I barely remember the name. Well, I now own this album, which cost with a discount $48.03, which I refused to buy right away. Sticker shock.

We decided to go to Best Buy, which wouldn’t let you listen to anything and wouldn’t let you return it if it was a lemon. Oh, you can go online and listen to facsimiles, but I had bought a “Fabulous ‘50s” CD at Wal-Mart the day before for $7.00, and after I got it home and played it, it put off a kind of tinny or echo-ey sound. Was planning to return it, and didn’t want to make the same mistake at any other store—especially if they don’t let you return it (because they know about sneaky people who download their CDs and get their money back, leaving the store with a used CD they can’t sell).

Decided to visit Circuit City. They had CDs by Madacy with UV22 applied technology so that their recordings will “retain virtually all the detail of the high-resolution source, preserving the sound-stage and tonal balance of the original, without the need for a special decoder.” Sounded like a winner, so I bought “Happy Days ‘50s and ‘60s.” I wanted recordings of the rock ‘n roll I remembered from my teen years, and this one had actually been advertised on TV a while back (which I remembered, but refused to consider buying because they were expensive then). Still the CD was almost $14.00. It didn’t have some of the funny songs that another Madacy recording had, so I bought that one, too—$6.99. Ok, so now I have all these ‘50s songs, from rock to pop. How do I feel after behaving in such a gluttonous way? I’m as happy as a puppy that just had a bowl of warm milk! Ya know what, I plan to dance at my party Saturday, and everyone is invited to join me!

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