http://www.pleonast.com/user/joshreaves recent pleonast.com entries by user joshreaves en-us http://www.pleonast.com/user/joshreaves?l=5&entryID=603131 I wanted to wish everybody a safe and happy thanksgiving, and ask that you keep brothers Mark Hatfield, Ken Parrish, and I in your prayers as we travel to encourage some brethren in Managua, Nicaragua. Please also pray that we don't get Montezuma's revenge as I did last time I went about 13 years ago when I got a nasty stomach bug, and an older man looked at me and said "you have Mondongo". "Mondongo?" I said. I think just the sound of that made me sicker! I have also been wanting to post pictures of Abby in all her gear on her new 50cc honda motorbike. This little bike is the greatest! I got it at a garage sale for $250, and it runs like a charm. I still ride with her but one day she will ride, albeit slowly under our supervision, by herself. 2008-11-25 http://www.pleonast.com/user/joshreaves?l=5&entryID=550574 A friend of mine sent me this, and it reminded me of our little Abby. I especially like the part that talks about Solomon having 300 wives and 500 porcupines. Love to you all "In the beginning, which occurred near the start, there was nothing but God, darkness, and some gas. The Bible says, 'The Lord thy God is one, but I think He must be a lot older than that. Anyway, God said, 'Give me a light!' and someone did. Then God made the world. He split the Adam and made Eve. Adam and Eve were naked, but they weren't embarrassed because mirrors hadn't been invented yet. Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating one bad apple, so they were driven from the Garden of Eden. Not sure what they were driven in though, because they didn't have cars.Adam and Eve had a son, Cain, who hated his brother as long as he Was Abel. Pretty soon all of the early people died off, except for Methuselah, who lived to be like a million or something. One of the next important people was Noah, who was a good ... 2008-07-15 http://www.pleonast.com/user/joshreaves?l=5&entryID=520333 FROM CANADA: This letter is from a good friend of America! Feel free to forward! I have just listened to the various soundbites where Obama & Hillary both promise to revisit and/or renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Today Canada is the USA's largest, most secure and friendliest supplier of Oil, followed (apparently) by Mexico - Under the free-trade agreement, Canada is committed to keeping up its energy supplies to the United States even in times of shortages at home. In effect, NAFTA says cuts to U.S. buyers can be no deeper than they would be to Canadians. The same applies to other domestic resources under NAFTA such as Natural Gas.. Gasoline - Canadians are traditionally accustomed to paying much higher prices for Canadian gasoline, currently about $4.80 per US gallon. Americans pay much less at the pump for Canadian Oil than Canadians themselves pay for it at home. EVERY Canadian driver knows this! Natural Gas - Due to NAFTA Canadians now ... 2008-04-23 http://www.pleonast.com/user/joshreaves?l=5&entryID=497005 I Thessalonians 5:18 "In everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" Dear friends forgive me for not posting anything new of late. This does not mean that I have been without inspiration! A few nights ago, I was putting Abby to bed and we were talking about the New Testament. So far, Lisa has taken the girls through the Rainbow Series and the Old Testament so the girls have not spent as much time in the New yet. So I was talking about how much Paul wanted to be like Jesus and we should too, and Abby said, "do you mean Ron Paul?" :) So, now that you know who I wanted to be our next president :) I encourage any and all debate regarding topics such as the Fed, taxes, supply side economics, foreign occupation, healthcare, immigration etc. In the meantime lets remember that the greatest concern this country has is called SIN. Most if not all of our sin is rooted in self, and concern for self. Dear friends, remember that the liberal M... 2008-02-25 http://www.pleonast.com/user/joshreaves?l=5&entryID=425359 My wife and I have been brewing alot of espresso lately so maybe that would explain why I am up right now at 3am! For just such a reason, I have decided to post a few questions out there to the pleoworld and make several observations that I would not normally make during sane hours. There is an estimated 35 million foreign born resident aliens in our country, most of them illegal according to numbersusa.com. It has been estimated that 48% of all illegals are Mexicans, and nearly one third of all Mexicans are married men who have left their families to come here. Many of these men and women come from poorer, rural areas of Mexico and other poorer central american countries and arive here with little education and no desire to invest back into our economy. Furthermore, they strap our medical system with unpaid medical claims and in the cases of many construction workers, pay no tax. An estimated 16.6billion earned by mexicans was sent back to Mexico to assist relatives, giving ... 2007-08-29 http://www.pleonast.com/user/joshreaves?l=5&entryID=416682 A few weeks ago, Lisa and the girls and I went to Oxford, Mississippi with Mom and Dad for the Reaves/Galloway family reunion. It had been 18 years since I had been. I have been meaning to post the pictures from that day, and a few others just for kicks. There are some experiences that stay with you for life, and I had a few of them that day. Stepping foot my great-grandfather's farm (on dad's side) and climbing into their 140 year old farm house was quite an experience. Notice in the picture that the house is not being maintained. In fact, there was bales of hay in each room that had been used for the horses that still lives on the farm. There was still old boots, clothing, parts of furniture, and magazines from long ago. I was able to find what I think is the front door of my great grandmother's oven, and it is on display in front of my house. This picture is a picture of the old corner store my grandad and his brothers and sisters used to shop at. Granddad would st... 2007-08-09 http://www.pleonast.com/user/joshreaves?l=5&entryID=411395 There was an article in today's FoxNews about a 44 year old married French man (French jokes on next blog) who was discovered to be functioning normally without almost any brain whatsoever. This man was rushed to a hospital in Paris when he complained of having sharp pain in his leg. After doing a brain scan, they discovered brain matter never formed within the cranium and only a very small pin-point of brain matter had formed around his spinal column. Nobody would have known that he was living without a brain (read here) http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,290610,00.html Now, while I am sure many women think this is more common than not, as a man I was amazed that he was living a happy life as a father and husband, and was working a steady job as a civil servant for the government (insert government joke). My wife would tell you that I have alot in common with this man. He has two children, had no idea that he had a problem at all, but tried to have a good attitude about it an... 2007-07-27 http://www.pleonast.com/user/joshreaves?l=5&entryID=410082 No, its not Lisa (she would be talking about icecream and pickles on her blog). Dave Dann's wife Cynthia is pregnant with their 3rd! They are expecting Jan 19th of next year. Those of you who know them, they would love to hear from you at: ddann1@tampabay.rr.com Here in Atlanta, alot is going around about the Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and his involvement in dog fighting. The NFL commissioner has said that he will not be able to appear at training camp, and the Falcons are going forward with the assumption that he will be convicted and will not play this year. This after he got caught in the Miami airport for hiding somethin in his water bottle (funny thing they never figured out what it was), and then made an obscene gesture to the fans of his own hometown! I will still support the Falcons but I do not plan on supporting Vick's career in the least from here on. He and his overinflated salary are reasons why I follow college football more. This raises another thought ab... 2007-07-24 http://www.pleonast.com/user/joshreaves?l=5&entryID=408131 This passage is a reminder to me that God is watching the affairs of this world, and not some kind of distant God. When we look around and question our future as "the upright" let us take courage knowing that, as the passage says, our future is peace. "Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you shall see it. I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a native green tree. Yet he passed away, and behold he was no more; Indeed I sought him, but he could not be found. Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; For the future of that man is peace. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together; The future of the wicked shall be cut off. But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him" 2007-07-19 http://www.pleonast.com/user/joshreaves?l=5&entryID=403557 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TroAeYtRKWQ Harris Reynolds' blog inspired me to look into the 'hugs campaign' that is sweeping the globe. This clip was taken in Tel Aviv, Israel. Does anyone else like that music? It is from Daniel Salomon from a movie "someone to run with". What is interesting is to see how for example in Israel, the Netherlands and Korea, the hugger couldnt get anyone to hug him for a while and then finally people started warming up to him. In Sidney Australia and Hollywood, everyone was looking for a hug. Ofcourse, I would need a hug if I lived in Hollywood too. Lets face it, nothing is better than a sincere, heartfelt hug when you really need one. Please post if you need a hug, and we will rush Abby right over to give you one! In a men's class the other day, we discussed the doctrine of 'continous cleansing', the idea that God washes away our sin simply because we have been baptized and have an advocate with the Father through Jesus Christ (I Jn 2:... 2007-07-07