I have found out even more about my family history through my birthday present, a subscription to Ancestry.com! Here are a few updates:
My dad is definitely 100% German, making me 50% German. However, most of his side came over before 1860, making them in the country longer before the huge German, Italian, and Irish immigration waves of the late 19th Century.
My third great-grandfather on my Grandpa Speckhals’ side was born in Hannover, Germany in 1837. He arrived in New Orleans, then probably took a steamship to St. Louis, Missouri, then to Hermann, Missouri (where nearly all of my dad’s side is from, and still live near to this day). He fought in a small skirmish in a Union militia regiment (54th of Missouri) near Hermann against General Pierce of the Confederates. To make a long and very interesting story short, they won. I even have a scanned copy of his military mustering slip…this is one of dozens of treasures I have found.
I found a neat picture of my 3rd great-grandfather on my Grandma Speckhals’ side. His name was Carl Brunning. He arrived in New York on the ship Rudolph from Hamburg, Prussia on May 9, 1857. He then settled in the Hermann, Missouri area that same year.
Carl Brunning: Born in a village near the Rhine River in 1827
My mom appears to be mostly of British descent. One direct ancestor (16th great-granfather) was in the second expedition to Jamestown, Virginia. He and his wife were one of the first couple to have a child at the settlement. Also, some ancestors fought in the War for Independence, War of 1812, Civil War, World War 1, and World War 2. Quite the history of service to our country!
I look forward to sharing more with everyone! Thanks, Andrea for an awesome (I know, awesome is a 7th grad word) and thoughtful birthday gift!
If you haven’t already, get out and vote! Make it a priority! Vote for freedom and prosperity! Vote for conservative, Constitutional candidates!
…I had to get that little rant out. I am especially glad I have done my part to kick out Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. My vote for Pat Toomey for US Senator I give gladly! On top of that I have given my vote to Tom Corbett for governor, and Todd Platts for Congressman. Both Pat Toomey and Tom Corbett winning would be “pick-ups” for conservative Republicans. With that said, here are a few humble predictions of mine for today. We will see how right (or wrong!) I was by tomorrow.
Pat Toomey(R) will defeat Joe Sestak(D) by 5 points here in PA.
Next door, in Delaware, Chris Coons(D) will only defeat firebrand Christine O’Donnell(R) by 6 points
Far out west in Nevada, Harry Reid will be defeated by Sharon Angle, but probably by less that we would hope–around 3 points.
Colorado, I think, will not be all that close. Ken Buck(R) will win over Michael Bennet(D) by 6 points.
In California, this may be closer than expected, but I still thing ol’ Barbara Boxer(D) will hang on by 2 points against former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina(R). If she is losing by tomorrow in a narrow race, expect plenty of lawsuits.
Washington is a liberal state. However Dino Rossi(R), will very narrowly win this after the week is over against Patty Murray(D). There may be plenty of recounts here…
Also a place worth watching closely is Illinois. I think that Mark Kirk(R) will get more real votes than Alexi Giannoulias(D). However, this is the state where “Crook” County is found. Complicating the situation, Chicago swindling and politics may just pull this one off for the Democrats. I sure hope its a wide enough margin here for Mr. Kirk(R), so Chicago and Mayor Daley won’t be able to make votes come out of thin air, and rig this election.
The there’s West Virginia. Unfortunately though, the Democrats have found their winning strategy here in Joe Manchin(D). Mr. Manchin has come out as a conservative, “Palin-ite”, Democrat. Even just yesterday, he said that he and Palin were “friends.” John Raese(R) has a tough one to pull off here. I think that Manchin(D) will win by five points here, possibly more.
As a summary to all of that, I expect the senate to be broken up as 51 Democrats and 49 Republicans. Perhaps this isn’t all that optimistic, but I think I am being pretty conservative in my estimates. In the House of Representatives, though, GOP gains will be HUGE. I honestly think that 65 seats is probable, possibly more.
Now, the Democrats are going to make this their victory somehow. They will probably make anything less than a full Senate takeover as a GOP loss, and anything less than 60 seats as a victory for them too. Just know, if anyone makes either one of those two points, just say that a turnover in this proportion has not happened since the Great Depression.
Today, at Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Brogue, we celebrated the twentieth anniversary of our Pastor, Randy Starr, shepherding our congregation. What a day! Preaching were Pastor Dave Bottrell and Pastor Keith Sweitzer, both sent out as church planters from our church. Everything was uplifting: from the singing, to the testimonies, and definitely the preaching. The testimonies were terrific: from “old-timers” to new members, thanks was given to God for a faithful pastor. We are proud to call ourselves members of Mt. Zion.
Our church is made of a host of different types of people, but the majority tend to be hard-working farmers, hunters, and contractors. Pastor is not naturally any of those things. That doesn’t matter, though, to God. Pastor Starr was called to Brogue in 1990 to lead a country church down the path of biblical living, soulwinning, and excellence. And we all love him. Praise the Lord that He called a willing and obedient man to our church!
My first impressions of Pastor Starr were a little bit fearful: I was in my senior year of college, engaged to be married, and preparing for graduation and ministry. I was told, when moving to Brogue, that Pastor Starr is very disciplined and thrills himself in organization and planning. I thought that was great, but not quite to the extent I heard. I heard stories of notebooks of organization and planning lining every wall (almost true!), everything being very sharp (true!), and a strong leader (true!). Someone told me if I didn’t do things right at Mt. Zion, Pastor Starr would rip my head off!
Then we got here…one of the first things that welcomed us late that night was a card from Pastor and Mrs. Starr–simply encouraging. I sure noticed the organization and detail orientation from Pastor, but I also noticed something far more prominent in this man’s life: compassion for people. Pastor loves his congregation, and is very concerned with their relationship with God. When he would give counsel, it was not always what people wanted to hear, and sometimes they wouldn’t follow his biblical counsel. I have seen people break Pastor’s heart, but he still loves them, prays for them, and welcomes them right back in, as if nothing had ever happened, after they get right with God. This is something you could never learn in a college textbook. Compassion comes directly from a Holy Spirit filled person. If there’s anything I have and want to continually learn from Pastor, it is his love for people!
For a long time, I saw Pastor’s love for the church, and heard people say how encouraging he is. I didn’t know it myself until my wife and I counseled with Pastor. “This is what a pastor is supposed to be: stern, yet encouraging; loving, yet honest,” I thought. What a Godly example and heritage Pastor Starr is to our church, and to me personally. And Mrs. Starr–my wife just loves her: again, the compassion, sincerity, and friendliness in times of hardship, all of which are an example to her as well.
This is the kind of pastor I desire to be some day: a forceful preacher, a seeker of the lost, and a shepherd to God’s church. Praise the Lord for twenty years of faithfulness!
1 Timothy 3:1-7
This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
It is becoming more “strange” to be a Christian living in the 21st century. I wonder why the majority of American citizens think of us, the ones which held the standard of our nation for two centuries, are looked down upon as extreme–and even compared to the Taliban of Afghanistan sometimes. Why is this?
As a Christian who studies the Bible, I know the answer. It is simply that those that love Christ will be hated by the world (John 15:18). The problem is that most of the world today has made Jesus Christ out to be someone who he is not. As an example, to see Christ as a preacher of social justice and social welfare is completely fraudulent. All one has to do is read the four gospels and know that Christ was preaching the Kingdom of God to the hell-bound world, not trying to make all of the classes “equal.” Yet most mainline denominations (United Methodist, UCC, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopal, etc.) preach the “social gospel” instead of the real gospel. They make Jesus Christ, our Savior, out to be someone who He is not. He is not what some author says (Mark Driscoll, William P. Young). He is not what my minister says. He is not what my high school teacher says. He is who He says He is. The only truly foundational picture we have of Jesus Christ is in the Bible. That is all just one example.
Something that tends to irritates me as a fundamental Baptist is the fusing of Protestants, Catholics, and Baptists together as “Christianity.” The “intellectual” elite tend to do this most unashamedly. They will say things like, “The worst atrocities committed in history were in the name of Christ.” Or, “Religion has caused more bloodshed than anything else.” In one strain, they are right; but when they lump me in there as well, that is when the line is crossed. Did you know, that in history, it was the Roman Catholics mainly, and to a lesser extent, Protestants, that made war in the name of religion? I doubt that anyone can name an atrocity committed by Baptists as a whole. In fact, we were the ones being persecuted by the Pope, John Calvin, and Philip Melanchthon. We never have persecuted other denominations just because they believe differently. We have always been for what Christ has preached: loving your neighbor, and your enemy! It comes from a complete lack of understanding by these intellectuals when Baptists are lumped together with every other religion under the sun.
All of this to say that we are a very strange people to the world. They do not understand that I, who am called by God to be in His ministry, do not concern myself with making “the big buck” in life. Sure, I will make as much as I can to provide for my family, and work for every bit of it; but I did not attain a degree in higher education to make a lavish career for myself. This is one of very few things that people go to college for, caring little if any for the amount of money they make. It is foolish to the world to go to school for four years, just to be a pastor some day, never making a six or seven digit salary. Often, God calls his people to do what will seem very peculiar to the world–and the joy that comes from this money could never buy. This is what the world could never understand. They may try to hyper-analyze and say that, “Oh, he is just given security by his religion. That’s good for him.” I can stand up and say with all confidence: I get all of my security from my God–not some “made-up” religion. The more that the sociologists and physiologists try to analyze, the more foolish they become. I just wish they could know God, and how great He is. Then, they would fully understand.
None of this is esoteric. I am for sure not “duped” by religion, or “brainwashed as a child.” Everything about my faith and belief in God is my own decision. They call us anti-intellectual. I say that they make intellect into something that it is not: secular humanism. They hate to hear it, but humanism is just as much of a religion as anything. Their god is their mind. Their church is the extremely dumbed down universities (compare them to institutions of the 19th century). No, they are the ones duped by their finite minds.
They compare us to this???
Then, they call us the “American Taliban.” What??? First off, I would never kill someone unless they threatened me or my family. Second, I don’t kill civilians. Third, I don’t kill people from other religions to instill fear and make them convert. Fourth, I don’t advocate modesty police for every citizen. Now what are the similarities? “Oh, you both want our government to be a theocracy.” Now, I believe that government is best run by non-hypocritical Christians, but I would never impose by force or politics my religion on anyone else. Then they say, “Just like the Taliban, you want to impose your morals on everyone.” Again, that is a false and non-informed statement. Do I think that our society is better without alcohol? Without a doubt. Do I believe that people should never live together unless they are married. Definitely. But to do that through politics or mass forced conversion would be like trying to paddle up a waterfall. This is foundational: without people genuinely–by their own decision–being born again, the moral makeup of a nation will never completely accommodate the Christian. Of course, I believe that we should never let our country become Sodom and Gomorrah. Abortion should be outlawed because it is murder. This is not a religious argument!
Altogether though, I simply wanted to illustrate a few points where the liberal elite–religious or not–are so blinded by their own pattern of thinking. They believe what they want. They cannot tell me what I believe nor try to hyper-analyze who God is. God is my creator, savior, and life.
