IS HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF--EVEN NOW?

Will American go the way of the Roman Empire? Read the following comparison from historian Bill Federer  http://www.americanminute.com/
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American Minute with Bill Federer

September 4

Rome fell SEPTEMBER 4, 476AD.

In the centuries preceding, Rome was overrun with illegal immigrants: 
Visigoths, Franks, Anglos, Saxons, Ostrogoths, Burgundians, Lombards
and Vandals.

They first assimilated, many working as servants, but soon came so
fast they did not learn the Latin language.

Though militarily superior and marching on advanced road systems, the
highly trained Roman Legions were strained fighting conflicts
worldwide, and eventually troops had to be brought home from the
frontiers, such a Britain.

Attila the Hun committed terrorist attacks, wiping out whole cities.

Rome had a trade deficit, having outsourced its grain production to
North Africa, and when the Vandals captured that area, Rome did not
have the resources to retaliate.

"Bread and the Circus!" Citizens of Rome were kept distracted with
violent entertainment in the Coliseum and Circus Maximus, living on
welfare and free bread.

One Roman commented:
"Those who live at the expense of the public funds are more numerous
than those who provide them."

Tax collectors were "more terrible than the enemy."

Rome was crippled by huge government bureaucracies and enormous
public debt.

A history of court favoritism, infidelity, exposure of unwanted
infants, perverted bathhouses, and sexual immorality led 5th-Century
historian Salvian to write:
"O Roman people be ashamed...Let nobody think otherwise, the vices of
our bad lives have alone conquered us."

Why "Sharpening Iron?"

My daughter questioned my title.  "Mom, why 'Sharpening Iron?'  Why not something about getting old?"  My thought had been to point away from my age and hopefully to what I hope is a still-sharp mind.  But rather than explain all that, I dodged the issue and gave her a silly, rather limp answer.  "Well, I had to call it something." 

That's an old joke that goes back long before her time.  Back in the 40's, my grandmother and her friends all swore by an evil-tasting tonic named Hadacol, supposedly good for everything from arthritis to high blood pressure.  A lifetime tee-totalling Baptist, Grandma Compton was horrified to learn it was mostly colored alcohol.  In fact, bars in Louisiana served it by the shot glass.

I was just a kid (of course), but I still remember the the joke about its name:  Hadacol, because they hadda call it something.

So, "Sharpening Iron," because I hadda call it something.

Free DVD!!

When my granddaughters Jennifer and Diane were teens, I heard an interview on Focus on the Family that was so good, I ordered a copy on video tape.  The man being interviewed was HAROLD MORRIS, and his story was called TWICE PARDONED:  AN EX-CON TALKS TO TEENS & PARENTS.  Accused of armed robbery and murder, he found Christ while serving two life sentences and began presenting his unforgettable testimony to local high schools throughout the state. 

The girls loved the video and almost wore it out.  After I started a Sunday evening ministry at the nearby juvenile detention center, I used it again and again.  His no-nonsense advice reached these messed-up teenagers where they lived, and I planned to show the video often.

Then technology caught up with me, and I no longer had access to a video cassette player.  "Oh, well, I'll buy a DVD."  I shopped on line and found a site that offers his movies and books for one cent each!
All they ask is the price of shipping and handling!

It's too good not to share with those of you who have teens or work with them.  The company is Nantucket Publishing.  Check them out at http://twicepardoned.com/.