Faith, Freedom & a Future Worth Building — Part 1

“The Strength That Starts Within”

If you’re reading this, take a breath—you just stepped into a small corner of the internet where faith still matters, patriotism is still honorable, and optimism is still welcome.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what anchors a person in a world that seems to change every five minutes. Maybe you’ve felt it too—the need for something steady, something true.

Here’s the good news: you already carry more strength than you think.
Around here, we call it:
Faith first. Courage next.
You’ll see that phrase from time to time—think of it as our little signature handshake.

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⭐ The Spiritual Backbone of a Strong Nation

Jesus said, “Let your light shine before others.” Not “be perfect,” not “have it all figured out”—just shine. Even a little light changes a whole room.

That’s why this series exists—to remind us that America’s strength starts inside the people who believe in truth, freedom, and God-given purpose.

Rush Limbaugh once put it this way:
“The secret to happiness is freedom, and the secret to freedom is courage.”

Courage isn’t loud. Often it’s quiet—holding a door, praying for someone, choosing kindness when bitterness is easier. These are the things that build nations more than headlines ever could.

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⭐ A Smile Moment (Because We’re Human, After All)

The other day, I wore a faith-and-flag tee to the grocery store. A stranger said, “That shirt says exactly what I’ve been thinking.”

We both laughed—mostly because neither of us expected a deep conversation between the apples and the cereal aisle.

One small comment… and suddenly, two people felt a little less alone.
Funny how something simple can brighten an ordinary day.

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⭐ American Optimism — With Both Feet on the Ground

Charlie Kirk often talks about purposeful hope.
He once said:
“America’s best days are ahead if we act like they are.”

That’s optimism with responsibility.
Not blind positivity…
Not ignoring struggles…
Just choosing to build instead of complain.

The Optimist Creed captures this beautifully:
“Promise yourself to look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.”

Not tomorrow—today.
Even if your coffee is doing most of the heavy lifting.

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⭐ You Belong Here

Maybe you’re here because you love America.
Maybe you’re here because your faith shapes your life.
Maybe you just needed something uplifting today.

Whatever brought you here, hear this:
You’re part of a community of believers, builders, and everyday leaders.
People who don’t give up on the country they love.
People who know God still works through ordinary lives.

This is your space as much as mine.

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⭐ A Quick Reflection Question

Where have you seen a small moment of goodness this week?
A kindness, a smile, a prayer answered quietly?
Those moments matter more than the world admits.

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⭐ A Gentle Invitation Before You Go

If you enjoy wearing your values or gifting something meaningful, you’re welcome to explore a growing collection of faith-based, patriotic apparel:
👉 silas-enterprises.myshopify.com

Each piece is designed to remind you—and the people who see you—of the hope you carry.

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⭐ A Blessing for Your Day

May courage walk beside you.
May optimism rise within you.
And may God’s light guide every step you take this week.

Misdefining the Challenge Cannot Solve Not Racism

 There is a problem with our societies system of welfare.

A couple of things, first we know that families that have a male figure in the household have a better probability of their children becoming more successful adults, i.e. avoiding the criminal justice system. Second, there is a finance cost to raising children the welfare system provides for that a family accordingly. In other words, the more children you have the more money you receive as your benefit There is a break even level but,that is a money management level that isn't sustainable, expenses happen- life's lottery if you will. The welfare system does not allow the fathers, the male figure, to reside in the household, as he would become a part of the family unit or on welfare himself, He would not be eligible for benefits, no one has figured out what happens if he identifies as a female what the consequences of that might be. That is a topic for another blog. 

We have a system that waves a carrot, more money for more children, and denies the children the benefits of a father figure in the household. If he's living there then the money goes away. The welfare system has created it's own catch 22, the result is our prison population goes upward. 

Since these rules apply to all women, regardless of skin pigmentation, it is NOT a RACIAL ISSUE. It does come down to personal decision making and individual responsibility, there will always be exceptions, life happens. Calling this a racial issue says that one race is inadequate to make good personal decisions and is unable to be individually responsible.That is Racist by its very definition.

Is there a way to have the father figure in the household and maintain the benefits of livability level of the cash necessary to raise the child? 

Historically, the community or the community of churches took care of the families that were unable to manage the finances of life. Then it became government's business and government used the money that the working class were putting into the Social Security to pay for these children and the mess exploded.  

Is the challenge systemic? Is the system the challenge?

The Fear of Success is every bit as Powerful as the Fear of Failure

 The Fear of Success is every bit as powerful as the Fear of Failure.

In order to become successful you must do a couple of things as a matter of living, first you must not limit yourself and second you must not limit those around you. 

Let's take the second one first, the simplest way is to guide those around you toward their success. Easy to say that much more of a challenge to do. You first need to know what their success looks like to them and second how close to their reality that success is. Coaching them on the way toward that success, you aren't their limit master and a part of your coaching is training them not to be their own limit master. You have to get to know the person, that means investing your time and energy in meaningful conversation and developing a level of trust between the both of you. As the Optimist Creed would say, "Being Just as Enthusiastic about the success of Others as you are about your own". I've always found that part of the creed limiting, the "Just As" I would prefer the word "MORE"  Society already has far too many limit masters. Optimist don't need to be limiters! Your goal is to torpedo as many limit masters as your life's journey can find. Which brings us full circle to the first, not limiting yourself.

Mistakes and misques are a part of the journey, they are there. It is what you do with those mistakes and misques that make you either moving toward your success or away from your success. Owning it, defusing it, learning from it, getting back up from it and continuing to move toward success.

I/we don't deserve success, or this much success or stated slightly differently, I'm successful, I Am successful. I Am is, has been, and always will be successful. That is why He is the Great I AM. We were made in His Image so deny this is to deny God. 

Guilt is another tool that hampers success. I Am too successful. Stated that way, there is no such thing, it simple is not possible. 

This is not winning the lottery, it is not taking short cuts. It is not about stepping on others so that you appear to be climbing on their backs, when you are lifting them up toward their success you will benefit, that is a reward for your helping them. The more you can help them the higher you can go. Helping them also means helping them move on to different chapters in their journeys, they will from time to time leave you either for a different chapter so where else or they may be called home to the Lord. 

It is great for me to be successful but, not for you. In other words stingy, I want to keep all of my success and you can't have it/any. Here your objective is flawed and will lead at best to a now satisfied level of success where you constantly need more because your emotional purpose is empty. You may well have financial reward, but it is like your favorite toy on the day before Christmas, so the one toy you always wanted and couldn't live without and just another toy the day after Christmas. Short lived.

A Rising tide rises all the boats in the harbor, each of us does better when one of us does better. The tide is American's Judea-Christian capitalism. 

When you have plenty of success you have plenty of success to give away. When you have little success you have plenty of success to give away. The truth is you have plenty of success. Hording it only makes the supply of success grow smaller. You giving it only works when someone else isn't seeking to be the lottery commission and stealing it away from you.  

Give freely, shout enthusiastically, behave lovingly success will follow naturally.  

We take the Integrity of our Vote

 On a national radio talk show the host indicated that the outcome of the election audits in several states would not have the desired results of the caller which was to replace the current Joe basing the host opinion the fact that we elect electoral voters in November and not the actual candidate (the American version of proxies). That the certification process which turned into the fiasco of January 6th was when the actual election became official at midnight. The host did go on to say that there were a couple of ways, to rid our country of  Joe, and this is a paraphrase was the grime reaper or impeachment or the ballot box in 2024. That the purpose of the state audits was to embarrass the democratic party into oblivion, that assumes a moral compass which is a faulty morality that does not exist. 

Impeachment is a long road. Watergate was a long and painful road. Especially when it includes the POTUS, V-P and the Congress that voted in favor of the certification of the November election, without regard to whether they were proxies or candidates. Whether they were implicit or explicit, i.e. the lookout guy at a bank hold-up where a teller is shot and killed is also guilty of murder of that teller. They are all candidates for charges of treason charges. They ALL took an Oath to Protect and Defend and have done their best to smear and covert the Constitution of the United States. That Oath extends for a Lifetime-and in one form or another, extends from POTUS down to the poll workers.

The Face Mask Manifesto

 Let me get right to it, C-19 is a tool of Satan.

Caesar has jumped in and is using this tool to spread fear in our Christlike/Godless/Secular society. Christ has repeatedly told us to "fear not for the Kingdom of God is upon us." Neither you now I control the Kingdom of God The very thought of that is laughable, the very though is beyond funny, so why are we pretending that wearing a mask could begin the take away fear? 

I have heard it said by some that we should fear spreading C-19 to Grandpa and or Grandma is Satan's use of fear compounded with guilt that reeks of Satan's manipulation. Mix that guilt with the given fact that we don't know whether we have C-19 or not and you compound that fear and proceed to give Satan even more of what he doesn't deserve. 

Whenever, there is a "yell but" specific or implied in a God statement, it is limiting the unlimited God, thus it CAN NOT be a God Statement. Satan has invalidated your words. Caesar has said that we can not meet as a church or we must wear mask. Caesar as the CDC has invaded the world and as Christians and as American's we have stood by and watched and then rationalized it saying it's for the safety of the church family. Safety from what? 

Are you protecting our children or are you instilling fear?

Are you protecting our members/guest or are you instilling fear?

You aren't in Satan's house, you are in God's House. So in whose house do you live?   

Let me turn back to the face mask, forget the scientific demonstration that masks and 6' are of questionable value. Value to whom? Value to secular manipulators, Satan's manipulators These folks are basing their projections based upon the Godless or the the God weak. They use the "yeah but, you might have C-19 and not know it, and proceed to use that seed of doubt to weaken your armor so that Satan can then attack.

Yeah but death may occur if you don't. Well, death is 1st inevitable no one lives in these bodies forever. Second, dying and proceeding to heaven, not something to dread- it is Christmas eve. The Christmas eve experience -it is that child's excitement, the anticipation of something go is about to happen, gifts as heaven is the ultimate gift from God.

I AM Grateful... God is grateful

I AM Happy/Joyful... God is Happy/Joyful

I LOVE YOU... God I Love YOU

Meeting my Goals

On the morning of May 4th, 2020, I awoke after having dreamt that I was giving up on my dream of graduating college. In the dream, I was giving up on something that had already come to pass, and in the dream, I realized that I had the required hours to graduate. I had meant the goal and was walking away not knowing that I had met that goal. I was meeting with a counselor to explain my departure and my mother was in that meeting, she was instrumental in my college development and success, and the counselor didn't know why I was there or why she was there to meet with me/us. in her review, my eyes were open and I realized that I had the necessary credit hours that I needed to graduate.
The message from this dream was clear, the object of the dream was not so much, I have already succeeded, so was there a specific goal or dream that I am about to give up on and walk away from that I have already succeeded in accomplishing? I told a few minutes and listed my dreams...
1. Retirement finances
2. Home Improvements
3. Running a Marathon
4. Weigh Loss
5. On Trac to Heaven
The numbering isn't relevant to the level of importance. All are active goals. The message in the dream would be stay the course and continue as planned. Onward and Upward here I go... 
Books by Silas--- 

"Becoming Silas"
"America's First Covenant with God" 
Seven Cheap Ways to Deal with Stress in the Workplace 

Author's Home Page on Amazon


 

PaceMaker: My dreams have been consistent this past month, I ...

PaceMaker: My dreams have been consistent this past month, I ...: My dreams have been consistent this past month, I haven't had a night without a dream that I could remember at least in some part of for...

PaceMaker: PaceMaker Part 2

PaceMaker: PaceMaker Part 2: I paused this story with Nova finding her cell phone way under the passenger sea t of the car. She then discovered th e vast number of at...

PaceMaker Part 2

I paused this story with Nova finding her cell phone way under the passenger seat of the car. She then discovered the vast number of attempted call that she had missed from me mainly but, a couple from Joe and Laura. One of mine I had left a message that the EMTs were transporting me to Soin. So that message sent her into overdrive.
One thing I learned about our state of medicine is that they love to do test, test this test that then test this and that and each one of these test seemed to involve those sticky monitor tags and no one can just the tag that was on you already even though it was precisely where the one you are placing on me you will just put yours 1cm to the left. By the end of my second day the shift nurse finally started to remove some of these tags some 32 of these tags although I am pretty sure that I insisted that she stop as the pain was getting out of hand.
The bed I was lying on in the ER wasn't actually tilting, my brain was sending the message that the bed had changed its angle compared to the planet. Once I convinced myself that the bed wasn't tilting my stomach began to gyrate I did manage to capture most of the results of that gyration in the bed sheets that were there to keep me warm, my stomach did a good job of losing the two raspberry yogurts that had been my breakfast some five hours earlier. 
Now sort of cleaned up I was off for another test, I got to that location and they had to wait for the rest of the yogurt to exit my stomach, what a life working someplace were people come and toss their lunch on a daily basis. Yuck!
Nova makes a nervous appearance and I sigh relief that she is okay. 
The next test was a pre-release test... could I walk? The answer was a decisive no. I wasn't going to be steady enough on my feet that I could walk from the car in the attached garage into the house and finally to my bedroom a grand total of about 40 feet. I was instead going up to the 5th floor to spend the night. It seemed like a rather elaborate action to take for a vertigo issue but, frankly I wasn't feeling well enough to do anything more than say that was fine. I'm rolled to my room and guess what I get a new set of tabs! Then I'm wired up to this machine, which is nice as it gives me and any visitor something to stare at while we pass the time together. Beep...Beep....Beep...with a couple of Chirps tossed in just for good measure. I was resting comfortably in the room when they sent Nova home for the night it was about 10:00 and at about 10:30 I was aware that there were about 15 people running around the room I hear a voice saying well this was the issue and not the vertigo. Those semi-annoying Chirps had alerted someone that my heart rate had fallen to 20 BPM. Medical staff get excited when that happens. 
Nova got a phone call instructing her to return to the hospital. I was in a bit of a fog. It was about 45 minutes I was getting a temporary PaceMaker. I had always thought that a slow heart beat was a good thing i.e. that the heart muscle was working at a higher rate of efficiency needing to beat fewer times a minute, granted 20 would be rather low even for a monk. 
      
  Do you enjoy my story telling style of writing? If you do please consider one or both of my books which are available on Amazon."BECOMING SILAS VOLUME 1 2nd EDITION". It is autobiographical in nature about a young man growing up with a Learning Disability in a time period when the world of education didn't know what a Learning Disability was......It can be purchased at WWW.AMAZON.COM/DP/B0150A6N10 
AND "SEVEN CHEAP WAYS TO DEAL WITH STRESS IN THE WORKPLACE" (which is only available digitally) via WWW.AMAZON.COM/DP/B01DQ8I6VC