Learning to “Love Thy Neighbor” in Concord, North Carolina

One of the first things you learn in Sunday School as a child are the Ten Commandments. They are the building blocks that most Christians use to guide them through their daily lives. Each commandment is meant to help followers find their way through the struggles of ever day life.  Throughout the Bible are many reminders that treating others with kindness and compassion are the most important duties of a Christian person

In the Bible, Matthew 22 says, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"  Jesus said to him, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” "This is the first and great commandment.  "And the second is like it:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself."On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." It doesn’t sound all that complicated, does it? Well, it seems some people in Concord, North Carolina are finding that part of the Bible particularly hard to live with.

The Shower of Blessings Church in Concord, North Carolina has learned that their neighbors are finding the commandment to “love they neighbor” very hard to do. It started when neighbors found out that for the past 18 months, the church has been giving a safe place to stay for several homeless families. The neighbors are upset because no one told them that the church would be providing shelter for these people.

When many people think of the homeless, they think of the negative vision we’ve seen. It is associated with crime, drug use, poverty, being lazy and unemployed among other things that no one wants to live near. However, in today’s economy, the homeless person could be someone that has simply had a terrible setback in life that has temporarily knocked them down. Brendan Spaar has found that these are the people being helped at My Father’s House in The Shower of Blessings Church.

“If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you. Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God, that your brother may live beside you. -- Leviticus 25:35-36

The way the neighbors found out was not by seeing vagrants or an increase in crime. They were alerted by the start of construction to add 4 additional units to the church’s sanctuary to house more families. The city officials in Concord have said that the church is operating within the law but the neighbors are still not happy. Despite there being no complaints or issues reported, one neighbor was quoted as saying,” We just don't want them walking around, this neighborhood has been quiet.”

In case you’re wondering, representatives of the ministry have reassured the community that  the people being helped are not the scary visions we’ve seen on the news in other inner cities. "These are families from our communities that may have experienced job loss,” Ed Hosack, CCM executive director, said. “There may have been medical bills, the break up or loss of a family member." Mr. Hosack went on to say that all of the residents remain engaged in purposeful, intentional activities and "most of them go to work each day." Residents are screened and drug tested and the facility has 24-hour management.

My Father's House offers shelter, safety, and dignity as people get back on their feet. The Bible directs Christians to offer hope and assistance to those in need. “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’  Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ “-- Matthew 25:35-40

Brendan Spaar believes that "Love thy neighbor" is not as hard as it seems. It simply means respecting others and regarding their needs as highly as we regard our own. How can we learn to “love” the guy next door with the barking dog or loud stereo, especially when we don't even like him? Maybe we should understand that our neighbor, whether it's the guy next door, the cashier at WalMart, or the person next to us at church, is  as worthy of compassion as any of us.

How to mow your lawn without any effort

You know that Spring has arrived when you hear the sound of lawnmowers throughout the neighborhood. Most weekend mornings you’ll see your neighbors pushing their mowers in an effort to keep their yards looking manicured. If you ask them, most would jump at the chance to find a way to get the job done without all the time and sweat effort required.

It seems like the Great American Pastime of cutting the grass was a tradition that many of us remember dreading as we grew old enough to push the mower. Whoever invented the riding mower was surely a hero to long suffering homeowners who didn’t have kids or anyone to “inherit” the weekly chore. Now, technology has come to the rescue once again.

Good news weekend yard warriors!  Instead of coming up with “creative” ways to mow remotely, a trip to the store might be all the effort you need. It looks like there may be a new product coming to a lawn care center near you that will free you from some of the hassles if getting the perfect looking lawn. The FCC has recently given the green light to iRobot Corporation, the makers of the Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner, to make and sell a robotic lawnmower.

The robotic mowers have already been in use in Europe in recent years. Most use some sort of underground fence or other system to keep the mower in the proper area. The one approved for iRobot seems to have a different system that uses wireless stakes in the ground to direct it within the boundaries. The beacon design will allow it to operate but not interfere with signals of other devices using the same frequency.

Brendan Spaar enjoys working in his yard so the robotic mower won’t be his next tech purchase. Using the regular mower will allow Brendan to keep his lawn and wallet looking good. However, he might suggest it to his neighbor who keeps mowing over the cord of his electric mower.

230,000 reasons not to Robocall

How many times have you been just sitting down to eat dinner and the phone rings? Or maybe you’re in the middle of watching your favorite tv show when the call comes in. The last thing you want is to be disturbed by some automated robocall offering you “deals” on something you have no interest in.

It doesn’t seem to matter that there’s a “Do Not Call” list. These annoying calls are generated by someone who must not get the calls at their home. If they did, they might not be so quick to bombard the rest of us with dire warnings about the hidden viruses lurking in our computers or giving us a “final notice” from Cardholder Services about our credit card.

The FTC has long been aware of the abuse of phone solicitation by these automated intruders. They report that there were over 200,000 complaints filed last year alone. The companies that are doing the calling clearly have no fear of any punishment for their actions.

Well, things might be about to change and the robocallers might find their dialing days are coming to an end. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) has introduced legislation to strengthen the Federal Communication Commission's ability to crack down on the companies generating the calls.

The bill she has introduced would give the FCC more enforcement authority, allowing harsher penalties on robocallers. It would also allow the agency to crack down on “spoofers,”  robocallers that hide their identity from caller ID systems or  appear to be a call from a legitimate business entity that you might want to talk to. If passed, the bill would  also expand the scope of current spoofing rules to apply to anyone outside the country who targets a U.S. resident. The penalty for robocall violations would increase from $16,000 to $25,000 per call.

Time Warner found out just how expensive robocalling can be. Recently, a federal judge awarded an Irving, Texas woman almost $230,000 for suffering through 153 robocalls. Even though she complained, Time Warner continued to call her with “exciting offers”. The judge must have had his share of annoying calls because he tripled the penalty to $1500.00 for each call.

As you might imagine, Time Warner is scrambling to figure out how to deal with this decision. The woman who filed suit is delighted with the $230,000 award but stopping the calls will be priceless. Brendan Spaar hopes this sends a message to all telemarketers. If you robocall, be prepared to pay for the call.