“The Way I See It” is an attempt by the columnist to enlighten readers on a subject as he views it, and does not necessarily reflect the views of this publication. (See website for links and updates.)

Shootings and Background Checks

Before the El Paso Shooter was even caught, the Dem-Soc Politicians were calling for more Gun-Control, banning whole classes of fire-arms, even disarming American Citizens. There is a nasty under-current in the Socialist Propaganda to blame President Trump and all white people for being “White Supremacists”, for being white(?), wanting secure borders, and our Welfare System open only to Our Citizens. (An interesting little factoid is approximately 20% of Mexican Citizens live in the USA now. And Guatemalans are allegedly approaching that same statistic.) When the Left talks about Racism, Race Hatred, and Lies, they need to look at their own radical Propagandists first. The unstable, weak-minded people that can be encouraged or frightened into committing these horrible acts listen to the leftist drivel that calls itself “news”. Originals of the El Paso shooter’s “Manifesto” have been scrubbed from the internet already, and different sites try to “spin” it to better fit their Agenda. But the general agreement is he blamed both Dems and Repubs for the “Hispanic Invasion”, and wanted a general reduction of the population for “sustainability”. He is more a radical “Eco-fascist”, and his “white racism” is simply his twisted defense of Texas citizens that are already here. Hopefully the truth will come out in his trial, but it is not available now. So far, the Leftist hysteria of Enviro-collapse was his primary motivation, backed by fear of the Illegal Immigration supported by Leftists that has fed his “racism” against Hispanics. His “saving the world by ethnic cleansing” is straight out of National Socialism, another off-shoot of Marxism and the totalitarian socialism embraced by the Left. See Al Gore’s books on Population Reduction.

The Dayton shooter killed his sister and 8 others before being killed by excellent police response. He is alleged to be a Democrat and a Warren supporter, but is known to have “put together a “hit list” consisting of various family members, friends and classmates over the years. He frequently spoke about death, murder, and the vivid details involved in those scenarios. People around him knew he was disturbed, and even the shooter himself was terrified of his own thoughts.” Hopefully more info will clarify his motives. But he is dead and we can’t ask him now.

When the Dems start doing something to stop the “Everyday and Every Week-end Massacres” in the cities They Control, maybe I’ll start paying attention to them on “Gun Control”. They refuse to disarm the criminals in organized gangs, where they have the Laws, police, and reason to do so, but want to to disarm Law Abiding Citizens in areas they don’t control, who have broken no laws, and whose only “Hate Crime” is believing in the Constitution & Law and Order? They blame President Trump, while he roundly condemns any racial or political violence. They want the NRA labeled a Terrorist group, when there is no evidence of any violence by the NRA, but what about Antifa? Or dozens of other Leftist/Marxist groups with long records of violence, often against innocent people for no reason. And the Leftist Media false accusations are constantly adding to the insanity! Why don’t the Gun Control Fanatics try to fix this: https://www.breitbart.com/crime/2019/08/05/many-el-pasos-daytons-chicago-every-weekend-50-shot-6-killed-windy-city/ “Chicago’s ABC 7 reported on Monday morning that 51 people were shot and seven killed in the previous 72 hours. That number was later upped to 68 shot as the Chicago Police Department delivered its full report.” And similar problems in dozens of Dem-controlled cities across America that kill hundreds of Americans every week?

I do agree with President Trump that there needs to be a “Tightening up on Background Checks” and the first thing is COMMUNICATION! The Cruz kid had over “40 Police Contacts” and at least 2 reports of his threatening a School Shooting in Social Media to the FBI! Many before he bought his gun legally at 18 with the NICS Check. Why wasn’t he Red Flagged? Because the Democrats that run that school system had an agreement with police not to report crimes and Police complaints against “minority students”. And because criminal records are sealed on Juveniles and 18 year olds are considered adults (by the same Lib/Progs that demand the Background Checks) and therefor must be allowed to buy guns, at least long guns.

The majority of mass-shooters have strong indicators of Mental Illness, psychopathic fantasies and acts, and histories of sociopathic behaviors. Unfortunately, they are not well documented until after a horrific act. What’s worse, even very strong indicators in juveniles are hidden from the Law Enforcement responsible for Firearms Background Checks. This must change. Dylan Roof that shot up a black prayer group in SC that was trying to help him? He was under indictment for felony drug offenses, a disqualification, but still bought a gun. There are dozens more like this, but only discovered after the fact, like the Texas Church shooter, numerous domestic violence offenses, kicked out of the Air Force, but passed the NICS Check.

The problem with the Background Checks is the information flow. If the FBI spent half the effort on organizing their info as they did on trying to frame people working for the Trump Campaign, covering up for criminals in the Obama Admin, and even the political criminals in the FBI and DoJ, they could prevent 90% of these Whacko from buying guns. Especially young people, their records must be available for at least 5 years for the NICS Check to be useful. And maybe NICS should be separated from the FBI, it is more Computer Info driven anyway, to be efficient. Give it to the NSA, they spy on Americans all the time anyway, might as well give it a practical use.

What a busy month it has been at the Chapel. We moved in our newest addition to our Retreat Center. It came in a 16 feet by 80 feet trailer that was built as officers’ quarters for our military. It has six rooms, each equipped with a complete bathroom and space for three occupants. All we have to do now is build the porch and wheelchair ramp and get it hooked up with water, electricity, and sewer. Then it will be ready and we will be able to offer our Retreat Center to the handicapped.

Pastor Joane had a great Ladies Retreat which was centered around our being “The Bride of Christ”. Over fifty ladies came the Friday evening and almost forty were there for Saturday morning breakfast and closing activities. Never had we gotten so much positive feedback from this type of event!

We hosted a great Fellowship Meeting here this past Monday, with more than fifty in attendance. Pastor Don Nordin of C.T. Church, Houston, did the preaching and our ladies served an excellent meal. It was awesome and will be repeated.

We are thankful to the directors of the Shark Tooth Tournament, who donated the meat from the event for us to package and freeze. We give the fish to the needy to help them with feeding their families. We sincerely appreciate the donations and all our people who worked to put it away for a later distribution.

We are looking forward to celebrating the Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary with David and Evelyn Williams. It will be on August 17. They are such a lovely couple and extremely helpful and a great source of encouragement at the Chapel.

We will be hosting the Corpus Christi Chi Alpha for a Retreat this month. They are a Christian group from Corpus A&M, who are coming to prepare for this year’s activities for their campus life. It is always encouraging to see college students and their passion for the Lord and His Kingdom. They not only come to “retreat”, but also come to pray and plan. Welcome them to our community.

We are helping to host the ministry of Evangelist Dave Roever in Cuero on Friday and Saturday, August 23 and 24. He spent time in Cuero school system and is returning with his story of being severely injured in Vietnam and the Lord has helped him turn around, not only his life, but the lives of many soldiers who return to our soil after being injured in war. He has two training centers; one is in Colorado Springs, and the other is in Junction, Texas. You are invited to attend the free event at the Cuero Performing Arts Center at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 24. Pastor James McNatt is the local pastor putting this together.

Captain Robert has announced that the next Sea Academy Class scheduled at the Chapel will begin on September 27 and end on October 4. All those interested in taking this very special class should contact Captain Robert at 361/758-6184.

We are still preaching the series on “Breaking The Sin Cycle” each Sunday morning at 11:00 a.m. Our hearts are extremely challenged by the drug problem that we are facing in our community, with the tragedies of overdoses that are claiming some of our brightest. You are invited to attend and learn how the enemy, who wants to steal, kill, and destroy each of God’s children, can be defeated and how one can live a victorious life!

Bible Study with Pastor Joane teaching begins at 10:00 a.m. each Sunday and we enjoy a 6:00 p.m. service each Sunday evening. On Wednesdays we meet at 7:00 p.m. for a time of midweek refreshment. We are an interdenominational congregation, which means people of all Christian faiths are welcomed. Everyone is invited to attend any of these special events and all are urged to, “Come, grow with us!”

(An edited version of an original sent to me by a young woman incarcerated in the Texas Department of Corrections.)

Some years ago, on a hot summer day in South Florida, a little boy was excited to take a swim in “the old swimming hole” behind his home. Hurrying to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door of his house, shedding behind his shoes, socks and shirt as he went. HE dove into the water not realizing that as he swam toward an island near the middle of the lake, a large alligator was swimming toward the shore.

The boy’s mother, in the house, looked out the window and saw the two as they swam closer and closer together. In great terror, she ran toward the water yelling to her son as loudly as she could. Hearing her screams, the boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his mother, but it was too late. Just as HE reached HER, the alligator reached HIM.

From the dock, the mother grabbed her son by the arms just as the alligator’s teeth sank deeply into his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the mother, but she was much too determined and passionate to let go. A farmer driving by heard her screams, ran from his truck with his rifle, took aim and shot the alligator.

Remarkably, the boy survived and after many weeks in the hospital and painful therapy, he regained use of his legs, though they were extremely scarred by the vicious attack. Also, on his arms were scars where his mother’s fingernails dug deeply into his flesh in her determination to hang on to the son she loved.

After the trauma, a news reporter interviewed the boy and asked if he would show his legs’ scars. He raised his trousers legs, and with excitement exclaimed to the reporter, “But look at my arms! I have great scars on my arms too! I have those scars because my mom wouldn’t let go!”

You and I may identify with that little boy. We too may have scars, not from an alligator attack, or from anything quite so dramatic, but perhaps unsightly scars from a painful past – even scars of deep regret.

The Scriptures assure that though one may wade into dangerous situations and swim in the cesspools of sun where they are attacked and wounded by the enemy, God still loves you and He “won’t let go!”

Life’s “swimming hole” has many perils. Often, we forget that the enemy lurks and waits to attack. That’s when the “Savior of souls” comes to your rescue. Let your painful memories and scars remind you that God loves you and “He won’t let go!

An event celebrating the spectacular fall migration of hummingbirds

About the HummerBird Celebration

HummerBird Celebration – 1988-2019 ~ The HummerBird Story

The event was founded in the late 1980s by local part-time resident Betty Baker, Wildlife expert Jesse Grantham and others. Their idea was to create an event as a means of celebrating the spectacular fall migration of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds as they pass through the Rockport-Fulton area on their way south to their winter homes in Mexico and beyond. This magnificent occurrence was first documented by the famous Texas birdwatcher Connie Hagar of Rockport. The hummingbirds pause here each fall to prepare for the most arduous leg of their migration. Upon leaving here, they will fly non-stop across the Gulf of Mexico, an incredible journey of some 800 plus miles. While here, they must eat enough to increase their body fat up to 50% which will be used to fuel their continued migration. In 1995, Texas Parks and Wildlife Officials observed our Hummer Home sites and later created the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail unveiling the first sign of site #50 at the Connie Hagar Cottage Sanctuary. In 2011, a local venue tax was allowed to fund Aransas Pathways; a project creating, protecting and maintaining birding along with history, kayak, bike and hike sites and trails throughout the county. The legacy of the HummerBird Celebration has created such an important footprint for Aransas County and serves as a great example to all.

KFC – Kids for Christ will begin Monday, August 19th at 6:00-7:00 p.m. Kids are welcome to bring parents this night and we have our New pastor Randy Samuels to meet and greet!

Seadrift First Baptist Church Dallas street, Seadrift TX 362 785-3411.