Pictures!

Finally got some time to upload some pics. Let me know what you think of the hair.:)


This was right after they did my hair.:) One girl said it looked like I was being tortured while they were doing it.

Me during the interview. Don't know why these turned out so dark.
The two interviewers. Pretty worthless picture but it looked alot better before I loaded it.

I did a song with Christopher Miller and Josiah Nelson. I played guitar and they played harmonica. It was "Are you washed in the Blood?"

I'll try and load more pictures later when they actually look right.

Coming Soon!

Yesterday our church hosted a Thanksgiving banquet in the evening. I was one of the actors in a skit that we did. By the time I signed up the only spot left was the Indian. So that's what I was. Pictures will be coming as soon as I can get them. I got quite a few comments on my outfit especially my hair. My hair was thanks to stylist/reporter Alatheia Larsen. I actually only got one negative comment on my hair style but quite a few positive. I must say it was unique. So anyway as soon as can get to the pictures I'll try and get some loaded.

Happy Birthday!

My youngest brother Matthew’s birthday is today and yesterday was my oldest sister Bethany’s birthday. She is currently serving with her husband and daughters as missionaries in Africa. They’ve been over there with her husband’s family for about a year. But at the end of this month they’re coming back to the states for a visit. We’re going to meet them at a conference in Cincinnati, Ohio that they were invited to. We will all be attending the conference and then coming back to Iowa to visit with them a couple weeks before they go back. The lineup of speakers for the conference looks really good. I’ll try to get the link up to their website real soon. Some of the speakers I know personally and most of the others I have heard before. It should be an excellent experience. I can’t wait to go on the trip especially since we’ll be able to visit with my sister and her family. Her youngest daughter was born after they went to Africa so we haven’t met her yet. We’re going to be driving out there so it should be a lot of fun. Happy Birthday both of you!

WEIRD?!?!?!

Recently a friend of mine on Facebook posted this status update. “I remember when I was weird!!! No wait a minute I still am weird!!!” I found the status interesting and it got me to thinking. It turned out that it was actually a younger sibling that did the post and not the person whose name was attached to it. I found two things interesting about the status.

First of all on the internet when you see someone’s name attached to something (a statement, a picture, ect.) you assume it’s from them (or in the case of a picture that it is them). Well as evidenced by this status situation what you read may not have actually come from that person. Especially if it isn’t something as secure as Facebook or Twitter (but even those are not hacker proof). So on the one hand you can’t guarantee that just because someone’s name is attached to something that it actually came from them. But on the other hand a person may write something under a pen name. Basically they’re not pretending to be someone else but just pretending not to be who they are. So I guess to summarize I would say that if you read something by someone that doesn’t seem consistent with their character you should not jump to conclusions. Instead you should directly contact them to verify the statement. So you may ask why would someone do that and be deceitful? That takes us to the second thing I found interesting about the status on Facebook.

What is the definition of weird? Now I didn’t go to Webster to find the answer but I would say this. If you think of someone as weird really what you are saying is that they are different from the people that you are used to. Specifically what you are saying is that they are different from you or what you think they should be. So the term “weird” is really a matter of opinion. I may think of a person as “weird” but then you might find them perfectly normal (and me really “weird”). There was a short film I head of awhile back that had a plot like this. Two individuals are seeking help because they have ugly faces. The doctors they go to see feel sorry for them but despite the numerous surgeries they attempt to perform they are unable to make their faces look normal. Finally, since these two do not fit in and are not accepted anywhere they go, the doctors come up with a plan. They have heard of another country where people, that look like these two, live. So they arrange to fly them there. Now throughout the film you are never shown anyone’s face. But in the last scene as the two people are thanking the doctors and saying goodbye it shows their faces. And the two people with “ugly” faces are really models. And all the doctors have, what we would call, “ugly” faces. It’s all a matter of opinion.

So how do these two tie together? Why would someone want to take on a different identity online? Because they think that they are “weird”. Perhaps they don’t fit in with those they associate with and have few friends. But online they can be absolutely amazing and have a lot of friends. I heard a song in the store recently. The main line of the song was “I’m so much cooler online”. From what I heard the guy didn’t “fit in”, was short and overweight. But as he says in the song “I grow a foot and lose some weight every tome that I log in”. In this day and age you can be whoever you want to be… online.

So how does this apply to us? Well I would say that we should be content with how God has made us. We should not always strive to “fit in”. Cause I know this will be a big surprise for you, but no two people are the same. I think it would be impossible to find two people who think exactly the same about everything. So live for God and seek to please Him, and He will take care of everyone else. Another thing is we should be careful not to judge others for things they cannot change. We can judge their character but not those aspects they have no ability to change. “You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do, and there could never be a more beautiful you.”

Yours truly,
Daniel Turack

PS. And yes it is really me and not someone posting for me. And yes that is my real name. But I still could just be saying this so I don’t know why I’m even bothering.

A common form of advertising in England and parts of the US are sandwich men. They wear a board in front and behind them with an advertisement written on it. Some Christians have used this method for witnessing. One man's board as you approached read "I am a fool for Christ." Most would agree with him. But after you pass him you see his back which reads "Whose fool are you?". How true this is. Everyone is a fool for someone. Would you rather be a fool for a man who is dead or for a Man who still lives? For a man who is finite or a Man who is infinite? So whose fool are you? Who do you follow?

"If you ain't the lead dog, you always have the same scenery." I read this in Brother Andrew's book The Calling. We need to go to new mission fields and where we are needed not just where it is safe. If we always do the same thing we will be unable to fulfill the Great Commission. Look at the fields. They are ripe for harvest.

Today is Veterans Day. I read an excellent quote about it this past week. It read "Memorial Day we honor those who have died to protect our freedom. On Veterans Day we honor those who are ready to die every day." We will also be remembering those who were killed at Ft. Hood. I have multiple veterans in my family including my dad. And President Obama plans to deploy more troops soon. Hopefully we won't have any more killed before they see any real action.

Today a memorial service was held at Ft. Hood to honor the soldiers that were killed last week by a fellow soldier. President Obama attended the ceremony and spoke to the 13000 there. 13 soldiers were killed. 1000 people per soldier killed. The killer still refuses to talk to police. I find it interesting that in about an hour another killer will be punished. John Mohamed, the DC sniper, will receive a lethal injection at seven EST tonight. The families of the victmns will be watching. In our country we still follow the Biblical principle of the death sentence. Thats what Hassan should get.

I tried to post this yesterday but it didn't post. Yesterday marked 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was one of the biggest emblems of Communisum in the past century. And it was one of our country's best presidents, Ronald Reagan, that stood up to the dictator and told him to tear down the wall. I noticed that I have some readers from Germany. I would really like it if you would post your thoughts here. I'm actually part German myself. Anyway it was a historic day that we should not soon forget. Standing up to dictators is the best way to deal with them. Being tough is the best language they understand.

One Year Ago

Last year in September my family moved up here to Iowa to live near my grandparents since my grandma had cancer. We purchased an old farm house and began renovating it. That’s the same house that we are currently finishing the drywall in. It’s taken a lot longer than we thought it would. Anyway while we were working on it we stayed with my grandparents. Soon after we got there some of my brothers and I went to explore their barn. They had a lot of stuff in there. Odds and ends and stuff like that. Well as boys are expected to we soon began messing around. You know a mix between hide and seek, Cowboys and Indians, and stuff like that. Well one brother was in the loft and another brother and I were trying to roust him out of there. Well I discovered a spot in the first floor ceiling (and the loft floor) that had rotted out. It was the perfect route for a surprise attack! I slowly and silently began climbing up through the hole. Well to make a long story short I ended up getting hit on the head with a metal pole. I immediately dropped to the first floor and lay there stunned for a little while. I put my hand to my head and when I brought it down saw blood on my hand! Needless to say we went to the ER. I got three stitches (which they charged an arm and a leg forJ) and soon went back home. For getting the stitches taken out we decided not to go back to the hospital. My uncle is a nurse in the military and was home on leave at the time so he took them out for me. A pair of tweezers and nail clippers did the trick. Below is a pic of me with the stitches and one of my uncle taking them out. I must say since then I’ve only been in that barn a few times and never for fun.

You might wonder what the point of my reminiscing is. Well I got to thinking about it recently for two reasons. First is I still have the scar a year later. It’s not very noticeable but I can feel a bump there. Second was the subject of a recent bible study. We were studying the life of David. The point was brought out that the good seeds David sowed early in his life he reaped the fruits from after he became king. Then the bad seeds that he sowed soon after that he began to reap later in life. It reminded me of my scar. We cannot take back our actions and many times they leave scars with us for the rest of our lives. Many times young people are told to sow their wild oats while they are young. But it is when they are older that they look back with sorrow on those wasted years. Just like the man in John Pipers book they look back over their lives and say “I’ve wasted it”. They regret those decisions they made that have now left their mark. Let this be our motto “No Fears, No Regrets”. (And be careful in barns)

"Christians are the best evidence for and against Christianity." ~ C. S. Lewis This was a great quote I heard today. Many times we forget that we are ambassadors for Christ in this world. there is another quote that says "Christians are the only Bible that many people will read." That is a sobering thought.

Election Day! – And the Day After

As you can tell by the title I’m gonna be talking about the results of the voting yesterday. Now before I begin I realize that this is a touchy topic. But I’ll just be saying what I think of the results. And if we disagree we can still be friends with different views. It is very difficult to find two people who agree on every political issue. Also before I begin I must confess that I did not vote yesterday! Mainly because I’m only seventeen!:) But none of my family voted either! Why you ask? Well in our area the only voting there was to do was for two city council members. And guess how many candidates were on the ballot? Two. And guess what they both were elected!:) The beauty of living in Small Town, USA.:)

First off the big headline news was that the races for governor in Virginia and New Jersey were both won by Republicans. And neither of the new governors are merely a RINO (Republican In Name Only). Both have very strong political platforms that are plainly conservative. In Virginia the Republican defeated the Democrat by over 15%! And this was the state that many said was turning blue. I lived in Virginia for a number of years so this race was of particular interest to me. I see two things from this race and also the one in New Jersey. Number One: Conservatism is NOT dead! The Era of Reagan is NOT over! There are still those in the country who want biblical values in government. They still hold to the right to Life for the unborn, the elderly, and the handicapped. They hold to the right of Liberty to worship how they wish, to think what they wish, and to say what they wish. The very fact that I am able to write this blog post is because in our country we have Freedom of the Press! If I was living in a Communist country I would be in fear of my life for writing this! “My Country Tis' of Thee, Sweet Land of Liberty”.
But Number Two: The Conservatives were not the only Voters! By that I mean that it is not just Republicans that are dissatisfied with the way our country is going. Now I have nothing against President Obama as a person. I believe he is a fine man and as our president deserves respect. I do not however agree with his policies on abortion, health care, the economy, and many other issues. And based on the voting yesterday it is obvious that I am not alone.

I found it interesting that about two years ago, as I was seeking to earn credit for college through CLEP testing, I took the exam on public speaking. The exam consists of a written segment and also a speaking section. The topic for the speaking part is randomly chosen and you are then given a certain amount of time to prepare and then deliver a two minute speech. I was given a topic and it was on “Whether or not the Government should subsidize health care”. At the time that was not as major an issue as it is now. However I still knew enough about the subject to prepare and deliver the speech. Unfortunately only one record was made of the speech so I don’t have a copy of it. I think it would be interesting to listen to the reasons I gave back then. Anyway just a paragraph long side note.:)

The 23rd district in New York was also in the headlines a lot especially in the week leading up to voting. I find the same true of this election as the two races for Governor. But, someone will say, the Conservative lost! I realize that, but Hoffman lost by only 5%! And he was not even on the Republican ticket! The Republican who dropped out was still on the ballot as the Republican running. And she got 5% of the vote! Yes Hoffman lost but if he had been on the Republican ballot in the first place he surely would have won. But the Republican was not chosen in a primary election. If they had held a primary then she would never had made it to the final election. Hoffman would have been chosen not her. This just goes to show why we have the system that we do.

Not before you begin to think that I plan to comment on every race, don’t worry. I only have two issues that were voted on to discuss and then I’ll be through.

First off in Maine the issue of legalizing gay marriage was brought to the people for a vote. The legislature passed a law allowing gay marriage but a petition with enough names was made up so the issue went to the people for a vote. And the people said “NO!”. I heard today that no state has ever legalized gay marriage by a vote of the people. Unfountunatly in some states, my current home state of Iowa included, the legislature has passed the law that legalizes it. But I thought this was government by the people! Why must a petition be made up to reconsider an issue after the legislature has decided on it? Why not go to the people in the first place? I realize that this is unpractical for all issues. That is the purpose of elections. But if it is known that their people do not support an issue then why pass it without their consent? I recently watched the film “Amazing Grace”. William Wilberforce encountered this same problem. Members of Parliament did not care what the people desired. They merely cared about what would benefit them. This is not the duty of our elected officials. They have been referred to as public servants and that is exactly what they should be. Their foremost thought should be “How will this benefit or best represent the people who elected me?”.

Finally in Texas the subject of Emminent Domain was brought to the people for a vote. And they voted it down. Now for those of you who do not know what that is let me try to summarize it in a nutshell. Emminent Domain says that the government (whether city, state, or national) is able to take private property for public use with fair reimbursement. I mentioned this issue on my Facebook and a friend of mine pointed out that Emminent Domain is in the Constitution! I was surprised somewhat to hear this. If it is in the Constitution are citizens of a state able to decide whether to accept the Constitution? So decided to look into it. I didn’t find it in the Constitution itself but in the Bill of Rights(first ten amendments). Hmm? Funny place to find it… Anyway here is the first statement I found: Article IV
“The right of people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated…”
After listing several rights of the people in Article V (also known as the fifth amendment) I then found this statement:
“…nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation”
So what do we read here? Private property cannot be taken for public use without a just(or fair) compensation. So was there anything wrong with the Texans voting to make this illegal in Texas? I would no there was nothing wrong with that. Texans were not voting on whether or not they should obey the Constitution! The Constitution does not say that the government has the right to seize personal property! Instead it says that if it is seized then the owner should receive a fair price for their property. If the citizens of Texas do not want to give their state government that capability then that’s their decision. Now why this issue is of interest to me is that we lived in Texas for about six years. While we were there we lived about half a mile from Highway 37 in San Antonio. One year we heard of a new project called the Trans Texas Corridor. It was basically a super highway going from the southern border to the northern border of Texas. And it was planned to pass straight by our property. But with the clearance they needed it would possibly include our property! So we faced the possibility of losing our home. Of course we would expect to get a fair compensation. But that would merely be for what the property was valued at. It would not help us any with the disruption of having to move somewhere else. Now a friend of ours in Texas encountered this issue with a rental property that he owned. The city needed the property for a school expansion. But in his case he felt that the amount he was given was more than enough. But on the other hand I heard of instances where people felt they were given far below the value of their property. Even worse than an individual losing their property is when a business is forced to move. Some of you may have heard of the ministry Vision Forum. My brother-in-law actually worked there while they lived in Texas. Soon after he left we heard that the city had told Vision Forum that they were going to practice Emminent Domain with their building because the city needed it for a fire station. For them it would have been a major loss no matter what they were given for the building. They had been there for a number of years so to move meant changing their address and also finding a new place to set up in. Part of their ministry is a store that sells items both through a storefront but also through mail order and the internet. Thankfully nothing ever came of it. But I want each of you to think of how it must have felt. Imagine hearing that very soon you might lose you home and have to move for no other reason than that a school nearby needs an extra playground! So I say “Go Texas!”. We need more states to follow your example.