By His Grace

By His Grace

I am so grateful to my Lord for a lifetime of blessings.
He made the hurts and pain bearable,
He took sadness and gave me joy,
He taught me the greatest lessons in life.
When I surrender to His will I am never afraid.
He is my protector and shield and my source of strength.
I pray that I always stay mindful of His glory.

Pete Nickerson
6/9/2016

In Defense of Freedom

So many have lost their lives in the defense of freedom. We should never forget their sacrifice or the sacrifice of their loved ones left behind. None of these soldiers went into combat wanting to die, but they were willing to face death in the effort to keep tyranny at bay. It is our fervent wish that an era of peace would come to this world, but until it does we must always remain vigilant and willing to defend freedom where ever it is threatened or attacked.

Pete Nickerson 5/27/16

On building walls or bridges

Building Walls or Bridges

Pope Francis, leader of the Roman Catholic Church, made the following statement is response to calls for a wall to be built to protect the US Southern border with Mexico: 

"A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian,"

The I am a confirmed Christian and a member of the Holy Catholic Church of the Lutheran Denomination.  When we are served communion the announcement is made for all who believe in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior are invited to the chancel for the service of communion.

Yet, when we attend services in a Roman Catholic Church, with friends or family who belong to that Church, we are denied the service of Communion.

Is that not building walls?  And is not the Vatican a walled city?  The reasons for building borders are not necessarily bad, especially in these times of turmoil.

Remember that Jesus said, “Render unto Ceasar that which is Ceasar’s and render unto God that which is God’s.”  Jesus was telling us to respect the secular laws as well as God’s laws.

The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States is:  We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Without a secured border it would not be possible to provide for the common defense and insure domestic tranquility.  The unsecured borders would also lead to a destabilization of the union, a reduced ability to maintain justice along the border areas.  Eventually, our very liberties, which we cherish so dearly, would be at jeapordy as our way of life dissolves in the wake of the balkanization of the United States.

A discussion on Global Warming and Climate Change

We need to understand that Global Warming is a scam promulgated by the Left to further its own agenda of government expansion and control over the actions of citizens. The Global Warming scam preys on our fears that, by our wasteful actions, we are ruining the climatic environment for future generations and the ensuing guilt that comes with it.

The argument against Global Warming spans economics, politics, and science. The economic and political potency of the climate change industry has made rich people of activists and businessmen alike.  However, global climate changes can be explained by the earth’s natural cycles of warming and cooling which have shed doubt on manipulated computer models, which predict unnatural warming.

The Sahara once used to be partially submerged area where ancient whale fossils are now being uncovered.  Antartica was once a land teeming with ancient life forms, proven by fossil evidence unearthed there.  Parts of the United States used to be covered with seas. All of these drastic changes took place long before people were around, long before our industries and automobiles.

We must remember that the media does love the inherent conflict in Global Warming.  And how can you reasonably deny that our climate is changing.  The evidence of it is seen every year.  Some years are particularly warmer or cooler than others.  Some years we see more Hurricanes or Tornadoes than other years.  I remember, in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, Global Warming proponents were warning us that this was the beginning of an increasing frequency of very destructive hurricanes.  Funny thing is, while we still have destructive hurricanes, their frequency does not seem to have changed very much at all.

The earth has had natural cycles of warming and cooling since long before the industrial revolution or the invention of automobiles.  It should also be obvious that the climate has gotten a lot warmer since the Ice Age.  And while we still go through some years of better or worse local weather patterns, the overall climate has changes but not much. 

However, the climate change industry is a lucrative one, and new industries have emerged as a result of climate change economics.  Liberal political groups see climate change as a reason to expand government to control the use of resources. Those in the left leaning media and political groups who see this as a way to expand control, those scientists who rise to prominence (enrichment) by manipulating statistics and analogous examples and those in industries which profit from catering to climate change control. 

I would like to say that, as beneficiaries of this wonderful world, it is the obligation of everyone on this Earth to treat our environment responsibly to preserve and protect our God given gifts for future generations.  To the best of our mortal abilities we need to reduce waste and pollution and pass on a world as clean as possible.

More times than I care to count, the response to my position is:  “The argument is over.  Global Warming is proven science.”

My response to that is: “When discussion ends, science ends.”  

The Journey

On January fifteenth I began a new journey.  I had been suffering with increasing pain from Osteo-Arthritis of the knees for the past fifteen years.  With the encouragement of my wife, Susan, and many friends I had finally decided to see an orthopedic surgeon to explore corrective options.

The first doctor I went to see was highly recommended by some friends who had gone through knee replacement surgery.  I was not entirely happy with his approach and after discussing my dissatisfaction with Susan, she went to work doing an internet search for a new doctor to provide a second opinion.  She narrowed the search by comparing location, experience, background and any reviews available.  We finally settled on a doctor working out of University of California at Irvine, Medical Center in Orange, California. 

We made an appointment and went for an evaluation.  I was impressed with the thoroughness of his diagnostics and his straight forward approach.  By the time we left my surgery was scheduled for January 15^th  2015 at 8:00 am. 

When we checked in to UCI Medical Center Surgery Center at 6:00am as required we were given a pager.  The surgical reception center was set up to be very patient/family friendly.  A large TV screen displayed each patient’s progress through the process – in pre-op, surgery, recovery and when assigned to a room.  I went into pre-op a little before 7:00am and surgery began by 8:00am.  Surgery was completed by 11:00am and I went into the recovery room, where Susan joined me to give me her loving support.  By 1:00pm I was in my hospital room with Susan by my side and lunch delivered to my bed.  Susan had ordered, from the hospital cafeteria, pizza and fruit for me for lunch.  It was delicious.    

At 2:00pm I was visited by the Physical Therapist.  He had me sit up in the bed with my feet over the side and, after checking out my coordination, had me stand up and with the support of a walker went for a short walk.  When we got back to the room and I was back in bed, he informed me that we had walked for a total of 50 feet. 

The next day the Physical Therapist showed up at 7:00am for a follow-up.  This time I walked 250 feet with the walker and went up and down the staircase without incident.  When the Doctor came  around at 9:00am to check up on me I told him I was ready to be discharged.  He checked me out and agreed and I was discharged at 11:00am on the 16th. 

I spent the 17^th working on exercises to increase range of motion, strength and walking with the assistance of the walker.  The 18^th I folded  up the walker and put it away.   I also took a walk for about ¼ mile and continued with my other exercises. 

From that time until my appointed time for surgery on my other knee I continued the exercises and was doing quite well.   But on March 19^th I checked into the hospital for the replacement surgery on my other knee.  This time my surgery did not start until 11:00am and was not complete until almost 2:00pm.   I was in my room and (thanks to Susan) eating lunch by 3:00pm.  The Physical Therapist came around about 3:30pm.  I was anxious to walk (because I wanted to make sure I could be discharged the next day), but the Therapist, out of an abundance of caution, was not ready for me to do that.  He said he would be back the next morning.

At 9:00am the next morning the Physical Therapist arrived and asked me if I was ready to go for a walk.  I got up and, with the help of the walker, went for a walk.  After we had gone down to the end of the hall, the Therapist asked me if I was ready to go back.  I told him that I wanted to go down the next hallway and he said ok.  We continued on for two more hallways until we came to the door to the stairway.  I told him that I wanted to climb the stairs.  Though he seemed a little concerned he said ok.  I was able to make it up and down the stairs ok and I could tell he was impressed (at least I thought so).  Then we continued back to my room where Susan was anxiously waiting (what a sweetie). 

I got back into bed (none too soon) and the Therapist asked me when I was going to be discharged.  I told him that I expected to be discharged this morning and he said ok.  Later the Orthopedic Resident came by and gave me the once over.  I told him I would like to be discharged as soon as possible.  He told me everything looked good.  I was discharged by 11:00am. 

Now the exercises started all over again, and at first it seemed like such a struggle.  With the support and help of my Angel Susan and grandson Tyler, I have made it back, over the past two weeks, to where I feel like I am making some real progress.

I do want to mention the professional and considerate care I have received from Ran Schwartzkopf, MD my orthopedic surgeon and the staff at UC Irvine Health Center in Orange.  You have made this journey as easy as it could get.

A Challenge

To all who believe there is an unfair distribution of income and wealth in this country, here is a challenge.

Let’s take all the people in the United States, whether they are rich or poor, janitors or CEOs, stock boys or stock brokers, fishermen or congressmen, cleaning service employees or government employees, floor sweepers or teamsters, in office or office cleaners, everyone who works or should be working for a living, and have the Government Accounting Office calculate the average wage for everyone.

Next, let us guarantee that average wage to everyone in the country and take anything over that from all who are making more than the average (movie stars, politicians and statesmen included).

We don’t want to base this on taxable income only, but all income, just to be fair.

If you make over that average income and you are in favor of this then you may decry the inequities of income and wealth distribution all you like and, I am sure of course, that you donate all of your excess income to charitable causes .

If you make over that average income and are not for this and you still want to say how unfair a free market society is, you are a hypocrite and you should just be quiet.

SmilinPete

Faith

Faith lives in us all. This is true for those who hold a belief in a higher power as well as those of us who do not.


Yes, faith can be a belief in the unseen as well as a belief that there is nothing in the unseen world, or that there is no world beyond what we can see.


In science, the pioneers are always those who can see something others can not. They are the ones who know there are answers to the unknown and find a way to reveal those answers. They have faith that they can find the answers when others do not even know the questions.


The founders of the United States had faith in a government of the people, by the people and for the people, and the people and went about creating it. They also had a faith in the rightness of their cause and in their God.


Yet there are those who have faith that God does not exist. They believe that Jesus was just a man, if not a myth. But they can not disprove the existence of God. They can only have faith that He does not exist.


As for me, I will cherish my faith and my God who has revealed Himself to me in countless ways. I will continue to know of my God, the Father, Creator of the all, in His Son, our Savior, and in the Holy Spirit that dwells with us today and forever.