Dear Friends,
There have been quite a number of posts from Systems of Merritt, Inc. over the past few months, and unlike many posts in the blogosphere, these have more of a timeless quality. Please feel free to browse back through the older posts, and share them with your friends and family. With the variety of topics, there is sure to be something that will bring a smile to someones face, or be an encouragement in a time of need.
This Will Rogers quote is from 1929, and we are still trying to figure out today if we are crooks or martyrs when it comes to the income tax form. It’s kind of humorous that today we have a Treasury Secretary, in charge of the IRS, that goofed up (in his favor) on his own income tax forms.
If you think that’s funny, try calling the IRS for help on your tax forms. Depending on who you get on the phone, phase of the moon, sunspot cycles and ozone levels, you can get a variety of different answers to the same question.
I have to hire an accountant to do my taxes. I can’t imagine how he keeps up with the tax code. It’s got more patches than a quilt and more loopholes than a handmade rug.
I don’t want to be rich, because then I could’t afford to die. But if I do die, I’ll never know for sure if income tax forms made me a crook or martyr. I just hope the IRS can’t repossess a used casket. (I had to dig deep for that one!)
Can I deduct underwear donated to the Salvation Army? Three out of five IRS representatives said yes. In golf, at least you know if you are a liar or not.
Image Information: This image shows Will Rogers riding with two of his children. Will loved horses and taught his children that same love and respect.
The image was taken directly from pictures at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum archive. I apologize for the quality of the image, but this is exactly what the 1920s photo looked like when I scanned it. In the hundreds of images contained in this iPhone application, I wanted to share as many different Will Rogers photos as possible from as wide a variety of times and situations – movies, cowboy, vaudeville, with famous people, and family scenes.
Will Rogers is a man worth remembering, and quoting. His wit, humor and insight into life will amaze and astonish you. His life will inspire you. Watch for new blog posts from my Will Rogers quotes collection.
I hope you have enjoyed this quote from Will Rogers and the accompanying image taken from the Will Rogers iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that might enjoy a bit of wisdom from Will Rogers.
Sin is so repulsive to us that we try to cover it any way we can. We rationalize it, hide it, laugh at it, or try to balance it with good works. None of this actually works in the long run because we still have a sense of shame. We know instinctively that something is wrong and needs to be addressed.
If you believe the Bible, the problem of sin is as old as the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve tried to hide from God, and covered themselves with leaves to further mask their shame.
If you don’t believe the Bible, I have a simple question for you. Why do you wear clothes? It’s not just because of the weather, is it? Covering specific parts of your body is as old as the Garden of Eden.
Covering our sin is as important as covering our body. The shame of having no covering is to painful to bear. But, while covering our body is simple, covering our sin is not. In fact, it is impossible to cover our sin without God’s help. There’s simply too much of it, and even if part of it can be hidden, other sins become visible.
The Psalmist says in this passage, “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.” In the Bible, we find that it was Jesus who bore OUR sins upon the cross. The beaten and bloody body of Christ was hung on the cross, naked, for all to see. The ugliness and shame were real, personal, deep, painful. Jesus did that for me, for you, that our sins might be covered if we believe.
Dear Lord, Please cover my sins. I ask for your forgiveness and your help. Take my shame, and give me life. Amen.
I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 32 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes NIV iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.
Praising God is special. For who he is, for what He does, for good or bad, in any circumstance, we can praise God.
Praising God in the congregation with song is, to me, even more special. I don’t sing very good, but when the congregation sings together, I can lift my voice as well. There’s a majesty, loveliness and peace about it, just like the swan in the picture.
One day soon, we’ll stand with the multitude in heaven praising God. “I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven crying out, Hallelujah!” Rev 19:1
I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 135 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes NASB iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.
Never has temptation and sin been so near as in this internet age. It’s only a click away! After the first click, another click, and another, and another. Sin makes us feel dirty. So how do we get clean?
Psalm 119 gives us some answers. The KJV says, “By taking heed according to your word.” By letting the Word of God begin to guide our lives. It can cleanse us, just like the pure clean water flowing in the image on the left.
Begin to seek God with your whole heart. But you might say: “That’s impossible, it’s too difficult!” Indeed it is, but you’re not alone – the Lord can help you if you ask him. The Psalmist prays: “Oh, let me not wander from your commandments!”
The other thing I noticed about this passage is praise: “Blessed art thou, O Lord!” As we ask God to help us, we should praise him. Consider the many blessing you already have, and praise God for them.
I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 119 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes KJV iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.
Cindy and I just became grandparents recently. She had the privilege of being with our daughter when the baby was born. The pictures of our newborn grandson are precious.
The closest I can come to the concept of a shining face is that of a new mother gazing upon her baby for the first time. I can see it in the pictures of our daughter and grandson. I remember my wife holding our newborn children. The look of wonder and joy seemed to give her face a certain glow and radiance.
I chose this picture to go with the verse because the sun streaming through the trees dramatically lights up and warms the forest floor. Our desire is that God would grant our lives light and warmth, and that we could pass that on to others.
I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 67 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes NASB iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.
It’s not popular to directly talk about and deal with sin in our lives, but in this quote, Spurgeon admonishes us to deal with it head on. We shouldn’t even laugh at it.
The sea otter in the image is always playful and upbeat. We should be too, but it shouldn’t include dabbling in sin, even as a joke. Folks, I’m preaching to myself too! Our sinful nature tries to justify and overlook it. It’s a constant struggle, isn’t it?
We don’t have to look further than the TV or a click of the mouse to know that we are bombarded with images and situations promoting sinful thoughts and action. Movie and TV producers seem to promote compromising or sinful situations as normal or humorous.
In our struggle with sin, we must understand that we are not alone. The Holy Spirit can bring us strength, help and comfort, plus we can pray with and for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Also, we must be humble enough to admit to God that we have a sin problem. Finally, we must realize what the stakes are. Spurgeon says we must “evidence the possession of holiness, without which no man can see the Lord.” Are we growing in grace each day?
Dear Lord, Come to my aid in the battle against sin in my life. Sins roots go deep, but your love goes deeper. Help me grow in grace each day. Amen
I hope you have been blessed by this quote and the accompanying image taken from the Spurgeon Daily Quotes iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.
Will RogersJust about the time you think you’ve won the “big contest” as Will Rogers says, something else pops up. It’s like that “hit the gopher” game. No matter how many times you knock the gophers back into their holes, more keep popping up.
We thought we had health care knocked down, and at the last minute it popped up and passed. Now there are “health gophers” popping up all over the place; in the congress, courts, radio, TV, doctors offices, insurance agencies, internet blogs, etc.
In the last election, lots of gophers got whacked, but then all those whacked lame gophers popped back up for one last bit of mischief. Now the budget gophers, tax cut gophers, clean air gophers, deficit gophers, and a hundred others are showing up. You can’t walk a straight line across the lawn in D.C. without stepping in a hole.
The people are trying to win, but nowadays, even when Congress adjourns, gophers still play their games.
I have faith that the American people will overcome this gopher challenge, and pound those rascals permanently into the ground. Unless, of course, gophers are declared an endangered species by the Department of the Interior.
The image was taken directly from pictures at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum archive. I apologize for the quality of the image, but this is exactly what the 1920s photo looked like when I scanned it. In the hundreds of images contained in this iPhone application, I wanted to share as many different Will Rogers photos as possible from as wide a variety of times and situations – movies, cowboy, vaudeville, with famous people, and family scenes.
Will Rogers is a man worth remembering, and quoting. His wit, humor and insight into life will amaze and astonish you. His life will inspire you. Watch for new blog posts from my Will Rogers quotes collection.
I hope you have enjoyed this quote from Will Rogers and the accompanying image taken from the Will Rogers iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that might enjoy a bit of wisdom from Will Rogers.
Being searched at the airport now days is quite an experience. Your bags are checked with X-ray machines, and full-body scans render you naked on somebody’s screen. You body and possessions are fully exposed to try and determine if you are a terrorist threat.
The one thing that they can’t do at the airport security station is determine the intent of your heart. If they could do that, no other security measure would be needed.
Exposing yourself to airport security is humiliating, which is why there is so much controversy about it. The Psalmist, however, says “Search me, O God, and know my heart.” This is a much deeper exposure and intimacy which takes a great deal of humility.
Our tendency is to want to hide ourselves from God, just like Adam and Eve tried to hide themselves in the garden after eating the forbidden fruit. Opening up to the Lord can bring great blessings though. The Psalmist asks “lead me in the everlasting way.” The image shows a beautiful, peaceful wooded path to go with this Psalm.
Dear Lord, Help me to open up to you, even if just a little. Search me and know my heart, and help me to know you better. Lead me in your path and teach me your ways. Amen.
I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 139 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes NASB iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.
A user made the following request in an App Store review:
I love the quoted but I wish u could fwd them to start off someone else day as well
WISH GRANTED!
The 1.1 version of each of the applications contains the ability to forward the quote by email. Several of the applications have been released by Apple to the App Store, and the rest are waiting for review. Keep and eye out for your upgrade notification, and enjoy the share feature.
Will RogersPolitical consultants get paid big bucks to discern the “mind of the voter.” Sometimes it seems that there isn’t much to be found in the “mind of the voter” so the consultants drop back to trying to determine the “feelings” of the voter.
Feelings can be a tricky thing to predict. One single gaffe, or a wrong gesture, or a funny grimace can change the outcome of an election. The main stream media has manipulation of feelings down to a science. If they don’t like a candidate (read conservative), there is a flood of awkward pictures and quotes. In recent years we have found they are not beneath making up stories to make a politician look bad.
In this quote, Will Rogers indicates that voters are unpredictable, and furthermore, a voter would rather vote against a politician rather than for one. Fortunately, since voters can’t vote against “all of ’em” as Will Rogers says, somebody has to win.
The last election was filled with entertainment value. The main stream media was so obviously biased that it was actually humorous. Liberal politicians had no idea what the voters were going to do, and in the end the only post-election party was the tea party.
Image Info: Wiley Post walks along the pontoon of his aircraft during the fateful Alaska trip in August of 1935. Within a few days, Wiley Post and his passenger Will Rogers would die when the plane crashed on take-off near Point Barrow, Alaska.
The image was taken directly from pictures at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum archive. I apologize for the quality of the image, but this is exactly what the 1920s photo looked like when I scanned it. In the hundreds of images contained in this iPhone application, I wanted to share as many different Will Rogers photos as possible from as wide a variety of times and situations – movies, cowboy, vaudeville, with famous people, and family scenes.
Will Rogers is a man worth remembering, and quoting. His wit, humor and insight into life will amaze and astonish you. His life will inspire you. Watch for new blog posts from my Will Rogers quotes collection.
I hope you have enjoyed this quote from Will Rogers and the accompanying image taken from the Will Rogers iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that might enjoy a bit of wisdom from Will Rogers.
Will RogersIt’s very important for a charity, such as a church, that receives gifts to make sure the donor understands the tax requirements. With the donation receipt a statement must be included such as “With this gift, you did not receive any goods or services in exchange for your donation other than religious benefits.”
With Democrat pastoral leadership, from various high profile Reverends, rallies and meetings take on the air of revival, complete with fainting, screaming and chanting. So, why not toss a few dollars in the collection plate for all the religious benefits? Of course, it’s clear that no goods or services were exchanged for the donation, unless you happened to be the Governor of Illinois.
Now, things got a little confusing and disorganized over time, because people were expecting more than just religious benefits. They were expecting new kitchens, more unemployment benefits, cheaper health care, lower taxes, transparent government, and so on. People that took Will Rogers’ advice and “charged off” Democrat charitable campaign contributions got into trouble with the IRS.
The Democrat campaign is in trouble now. Charitable contributions are down. It’s a classic case of “over promise, and under deliver.” It looks like the only religious benefit left, is unemployed Democrat politicians praying for a job.
Image Information: This pictures shows the Rogers family in a Model A Ford. Pictured are Will Rogers, Jim, Mary, Will Jr., and Betty.
The image was taken directly from photographs at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum archive. I apologize for the quality of the image, but this is exactly what the 1920s photo looked like when I scanned it. In the hundreds of images contained in this iPhone application, I wanted to share as many different Will Rogers photos as possible from as wide a variety of times and situations – movies, cowboy, vaudeville, with famous people, and family scenes.
Will Rogers is a man worth remembering, and quoting. His wit, humor and insight into life will amaze and astonish you. His life will inspire you. Watch for new blog posts from my Will Rogers quotes collection.
I hope you have enjoyed this quote from Will Rogers and the accompanying image taken from the Will Rogers iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that might enjoy a bit of wisdom from Will Rogers.
When you have loved somebody for a very long time, it is a special relationship. Perhaps it is a spouse, parent, grandparent, sibling, or childhood friend that you have known and loved for decades. You share lots of memories and events between you that nobody else can enjoy in the same way. In some cases, that person knew you, before you knew them, as in the case of parents.
In this quote, Spurgeon points out that our relationship with our Savior, Jesus, is special. He knew us, loved us, died for our sins, and chose us, before we knew Him. In Romans 5:8 it says that “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
As we look back into the ancient past, we see that “broad stream of our gracious Lord” flowing to us. This is love so deep that we should seek to nurture the relationship to our Savior with great passion and energy.
Dear Lord, As I continue to grow into a greater understanding of what you have done for me down through the ages, and how you have loved me before I even knew you, help me to respond with praise and thanksgiving for such a wonderful gift. Amen.
I hope you have been blessed by this quote and the accompanying image taken from the Spurgeon Daily Quotes iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.
Will RogersThe “bog hole of financial misery” a couple of years ago was at an unemployment rate one half of what it is now. After the election, people were asking the former candidate for new kitchens, jobs, chickens in every pot and better healthcare. Farmer Jones wanted a new barn and more hogs to slop.Will Rogers might have called someone who promised so much a liar, but my mama told me to never call names. Maybe the candidate exaggerated the truth a bit, making so many promises. A lot of people believed him and voted for him.
It’s been a couple of years now and the economy has been stimulated to death. We’ve been looking for “shovel-ready jobs,” but we can’t even find out where the shovels are. I heard Farmer Jones had to lay off the hired hands and eat the hogs. His son got a temporary job from the government counting chickens in Seed-tick County for the chicken census.
People round here don’t take kindly to lying. We like to believe that folks abide by their promises. A few years ago we followed politicians’ promises like hogs called to dinner, but right now that bog hole deeper than a hogwaller.
I think we got even with ’em a couple of years ago in the elections according to Will Rogers – we elected ’em. Now what do we do with ’em?
Will Rogers is a man worth remembering, and quoting. His wit, humor and insight into life will amaze and astonish you. His life will inspire you. Watch for new blog posts from my Will Rogers quotes collection.
I hope you have enjoyed this quote from Will Rogers and the accompanying image taken from the Will Rogers iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that might enjoy a bit of wisdom from Will Rogers.
Will RogersCongress wants to START down the same old worn out and ineffective path again. During Rogers day, in the aftermath of WWI, diplomats had numerous conferences on disarmament. Funny thing was that they could never agree on what battleships to scrap, or weapons to destroy. Rogers attended a number of these conferences for the humor value, and sent his dispatches back to the U.S. newspapers.
If you are a nation intent on peaceful coexistence, you would like to at least have a good defense. If you are an aggressor, you’re not going to give up anything, so what good does it do to try to define what weapons can be used, or not used?
Today, the diplomats have put together another grand masterpiece of useless agreements on weapons restrictions and reductions. The danger today is that we’re the only ones that seem to take it seriously, to the point of dangerously weakening our defensive systems.
Can you imagine one of those diplomats coming face-to-face with some thug on a Washington, DC side-street? The diplomat confidently points out that he has disarmed according to the treaty, and that the thug’s gun is not to spec, and that he is not wearing the proper uniform. The thug then confidently pulls back the trigger and says: “Your money or your life!”
Image Information: Will Rogers was an expert with the lasso. This rope loop is called the big crinoline and the size of the loop, plus the fact that he is on a running horse shows Rogers’ expert skill.
The image was taken directly from photographs at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum archive. I apologize for the quality of the image, but this is exactly what the 1920s photo looked like when I scanned it. In the hundreds of images contained in this iPhone application, I wanted to share as many different Will Rogers photos as possible from as wide a variety of times and situations – movies, cowboy, vaudeville, with famous people, and family scenes.
Will Rogers is a man worth remembering, and quoting. His wit, humor and insight into life will amaze and astonish you. His life will inspire you. Watch for new blog posts from my Will Rogers quotes collection.
I hope you have enjoyed this quote from Will Rogers and the accompanying image taken from the Will Rogers iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that might enjoy a bit of wisdom from Will Rogers.
There is perhaps no more beautiful expression of a desire to seek God than “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.” Once the image is in your mind, you can never forget it. Musicians have crafted it into their melodies (see Sons of Korah below) so …
Will RogersIn 1930 Will Rogers comments that we might starve to death in a land of plenty. How can that happen? Today, I want to share Bushrod Johnston’s (The name has been changed to protect the innocent.) story with you, sort of a parable if you will. Here is “Bushy’s” story. I’ve been farmin’ all …
Will RogersHere’s a story for you. Farmer Jones down the road is a strange bird. Somewhere he got the idea that spending all his money and borrowing like there’s no tomorrow is a way to improve his farm. Papa always taught me to be thrifty and Mama would tan my hide if I wasted a …
Timeless Will Rogers Humor & Wisdom -Click button to buy at Apple iTunes Store- You can also gift one to an iPhone friend! Brought to you by Systems of Merritt, Inc. Get your daily dose of common sense, humor, encouragement and inspiration. Share Will Rogers quotes and images with your friends. . Will Rogers Daily Quotes …
Will RogersThe “bog hole of financial misery” a couple of years ago was at an unemployment rate one half of what it is now. After the election, people were asking the former candidate for new kitchens, jobs, chickens in every pot and better healthcare. Farmer Jones wanted a new barn and more hogs to slop.Will …
For many people, gazing at the heavens brings questions about the existence of a Creator to their mind. The distances are so vast that travel between planets can take multiple lifetimes at the speed of light. Looking at the stars, it becomes possible to imagine infinity – eternity. But a vague belief in God isn’t …
I saw an interesting quote the other day: Nietzsche is dead. – God Of course Nietzsche is the 19th century philosopher who famously proclaimed that “God is dead.” His life was a sad life, and those who embraced his philosophy left hope behind. Those who lose hope will be “overwhelmed by dread,” as the Psalmist …
Will RogersSome of the ideas coming out of Washington these days just don’t seem to exhibit any common sense. My first mistake is probably using the words “Washington” and “common sense” in the same sentence. Folks have been debating disarmament since WWI and Will Rogers has a lot to say about it. I’ll sum up …
People in Alaska and across the country have been completely baffled by the outcome of the recent Senate election there. I was too, until I came across this Will Rogers quote. You see, the only thing worse than having this particular Senator in Washington, is having the Senator in Alaska. It all makes sense now. Alaskans …
