For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. (I Corinthians 13:12)
Vesta Beal-Shephard with Mother Lucille Shazier
On Friday, May 13, 2022, Mother Lucille Shazier, after living 109 years in this world, stepped into eternity. She now sees Jesus face to face.
I met Mother Lucille Shazier in November 2019 after she had celebrated her 106th Thanksgiving with her family. My meeting her is one of the blessings in my life.
Mother Lucille shared the significant events of her life with me. (See 106 Thanksgivings) The most significant event with her was when she accepted Christ as a young child.
The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians that in this life we see dimly, but one day we will see Jesus face to face. When Mother Lucille talked about when she met Jesus, it was as if it was face to face then. She said that she just hugged him because he was so real with her right then. If He was so real to her then, just imagine how it was when she literally saw Him face to face.
The last time we talked was in February 2020. Leslie and I were about to go to Panama for an Army reunion and we stopped by to tell her Happy Birthday before we left for the airport. Covid 19 showed up and I never had the chance to visit with her in person again.
We think of 109 years as a very long life, but in reality, it is the twinkling of an eye in light of eternity. The fact is that at some point you will take your final breath and your heart will beat its final beat.
Are you assured that you will see Him face to face and know Him fully? You can be certain.
When you, with a simple childlike faith, accept the full payment of Jesus Christ for your sin, then you can have that hope. I encourage you to read the story of Lucille Shazier and, if you have never received Christ, then accept Him today.
In addition to being a mother and wife, she has been church worker, foster parent, gospel singer, columnist, cub and girl scout leader, bus driver, life guard, poet, writer, community leader, and political influencer among many other hats that she has worn in nearly a century of her life. Former Governor Sonny Perdue called her “The Conscience of Bonaire.”
Now she can add one more title as the star of a political commercial. Republican congressional candidate, Wayne Johnson recently called on her to be in a commercial. Her role makes a clear and memorable point.
She does pretty much anything she sets her mind to do. I think you will like her role in this 30 second ad.
Early voting starts today. If you are in the 2nd District, I support, and ask you to vote for Wayne Johnson for Congress in the Republican primary. Here is just one reason why.
Joe Biden came out last week with his plan to cancel student loans. Wayne Johnson fired back with a promise to do more than just talk about how bad the plan was.
“I will sue Joe Biden.” Five action packed words summed up Johnson’s practical problem solving approach.
Tucker Carlson said that Wayne Johnson is the most knowledgeable man in America on the issue of student loans. He served in the Trump administration running the student loan program and saw the multitude of problems with the student loan program and recommended that the entire program be killed.
I wrote about Wayne’s common sense approach to solve the problem in an article last January. (“When You’ve Dug a Hole, Stop Digging”) What Joe Biden is proposing is not a solution.
Read Wayne’s press release below and you will see why I support Wayne Johnson. He is willing to tackle serious issues for our nation and the 2nd District. Wayne does not just talk the talk. He walks the walk.
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 28, 2022 CONTACT: Dan McLagan media@johnsoncongress.com
Trump Education Official Wayne Johnson Declares “I Will Sue Joe Biden” To Stop Student Loan Debt Cancellation
“Taxpayers should not be forced to make an in-kind contribution to the Joe Biden or Sanford Bishop re-election campaigns”
Columbus, GA. – Former senior Trump Administration DOE official, and Republican Congressional candidate, Dr. Wayne Johnson said he will file a lawsuit against the Biden Administration if it moves to unlawfully cancel student loan debt by way of executive action, as the administration signaled it is intending to do.
“The White House, the Department of Justice and the Department of Education all know that any unilateral or broad form of student loan debt cancellation requires full congressional approval,” stated Johnson.
Johnson said Biden and Secretary Cardona are bending to the wishes of Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders with the belief that if they push the “idiotic” forward, no one will object in the courts.
“I will bring a Federal lawsuit if this is done,” said Johnson. “I will seek an immediate injunction and make a promise to the American taxpayers that I will do all I can to stop this overreach by Biden.”
Tucker Carlson interviewed Johnson in 2020 and said Johnson knows more about the federal student loan program than anyone in the country.
“Our nation’s student loan situation is a sad, sad mess,” said Johnson. “In fact, it’s a financial abomination affecting millions of families. To do something like what Biden and just about every Democrat is wanting to do — just giving away taxpayer money, without any plan to stop this problem going forward — is political pandering at its worst and a prime example of why we need to ‘Stop the Stupid’ in Washington.”
Johnson, who oversaw the $1.7 trillion student loan program during the Trump Administration as the Chief Operating Officer for the Office of Federal Student Aid, has previously called for eliminating the entire Federal Student Loan Program. His proposals have recommended “defined dollar limit” federal grants and having banks and other lenders, including schools themselves, offer student loans and otherwise provide for the financing of higher education for students.
“Canceling student loan debt while leaving the program itself unchanged is a recipe for continuously repeating this crisis,” Johnson explained. “That is the definition of insanity and will continue to send future generations into debt. It also creates the ongoing moral hazard of people expecting that if debt is cancelled once, it will be canceled again in the future; so why not borrow to the max, believing full well it will never have to be paid back.”
“Taxpayers who pay their debts, work hard and live within their means should not be handed a bill for a purely political act by a president who is floundering in the polls,” Johnson said. “Taxpayers should not be forced to make an in-kind financial contribution to Joe Biden’s re-election campaign or that of Sanford Bishop and other liberal members of Congress who are running scared from the debacle that is our current situation in Washington.”
“There is a way that we as a nation can solve this problem of runaway, out of control student loan debt and absurd college cost. However, it will require Republicans in Congress to take the “Bull by the horns” to change law and bring fiscal sanity into play. I am the Republican who has the knowledge and experience to lead this”, according to Dr. Johnson.
Johnson is a rock-solid conservative candidate in the Republican Primary in the 2nd Congressional District covering Middle and Southwest Georgia. Johnson served as a Senior Official within the Trump Administration, was an officer in the U.S. Army and is an Eagle Scout.
Johnson obtained his undergraduate and doctoral degrees from Mercer University and his MBA from Emory University. He was born, raised and currently resides in Macon.
For the past three weeks now I have been getting up around 1:00 am to check the news. Dawn is breaking at that time in Ukraine and I want to see if Ukraine made it through another night.
Thus far Ukranians cling tenaciously to freedom. It seems every day that the end of the rope is getting closer as Russia escalates its atrocities.
With every Russian atrocity, the resolve of the Ukrainians grows stronger. It seems; however, that with every Russian atrocity, the United States and NATO throw a few more economic sanctions and perhaps a few small arms to the Ukrainian forces. There has been no serious help for the outgunned Ukrainian army.
While the Ukrainians are appreciative of any help they can get, the fact is that, as Vice President Kamala Harris enlightened us, “Russia is a bigger country. Russia is a powerful country.”
This invasion began months ago as Russia amassed its army on the border of Ukraine. Day after day, Putin promised that these were just war exercises and he had no intention of going to war. Few took him at his word, but at the same time the same ones who did not believe him, did nothing.
After the Olympics, Putin declared that part of the Ukraine was now an independent state. He sent in troops as peacekeepers for an alleged civil war that never was.
At that point, he dropped all pretenses. Tanks, troops, convoys, fighter planes, charged across the border in what was to be a 24-48 hour blitzkrieg that would end with Russia in full control of Ukraine.
The United States and NATO followed standard procedures and offered to take Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy out of the country to set up a government in exile. Zelenskyy resolutely refused with a line that will go down in the history books, “I don’t need a ride, I need ammunition.” He acknowledged that he was number one on Putin’s hit list and his family was number two.
The world watched as civilians took up arms. Small Molotov cocktail manufacturing groups popped up like mushrooms and spread like kudzu across the Ukraine.
The Russians encountered fierce resistance at every corner. Putin learned that this was not the cake-walk he thought it would be.
An early warning sign of the desperation of Putin came when the Russians engaged in an assault on the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. Even conventional weapons could create a nuclear disaster that would impact all of Europe. The United States and NATO, not wanting to escalate, cautiously stayed on the sidelines.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy asked NATO and the United States to declare the skies over Ukraine as a no-fly zone. Both denied the request because they did not want to escalate.
Russia has been accused of using weapons that are outlawed by the Geneva Convention. NATO and the United States press for more economic sanctions and supply ground weapons. They granted no further assistance because they do not want to escalate.
Russia bombed civilian targets including a maternity hospital, killing at least three including one child. Zelenksyy, in a passionate address called on those who refused a no-fly zone to tell those families why they would not establish a no-fly zone.
Poland wanted to supply Ukraine with all of its Russian aircraft. Initially the Biden administration seemed to agree to help transfer the aircraft and backfill Poland with US aircraft.
Then the Pentagon decided it was not a good idea and nixed the deal. They did not want to escalate.
Reports are now that Russia will stage some type of terrorist attack at the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. They will use the incident as a reason to escalate and perhaps even use chemical weapons on Ukraine.
Based on recent patterns, NATO and the United States will stand back and do nothing. They do not want to escalate.
At some point, one must come to grips with the question of responding to Russian escalation. Economic sanctions certainly are hurting the Russian economy but they do not seem to phase Putin.
No one wants WWIII, especially with a nuclear power, but how far do we go with the line of “we do not want to escalate”? The fact is that Russia has escalated, is escalating, and obviously will continue to escalate.
Is there a line in the sand? Is there a point where NATO and the United States must take more direct action, even if only through combat aircraft supply and support for the Ukrainians?
The fact is that Russian power against Ukraine is not a war, it is a massacre. Ukraine has done nothing to provoke a Russian invasion. There was no reason to invade other than the evil desire of Putin to conquer.
Let’s put this situation in an understandable model. Suppose there were kidnappers in a neighborhood who loaded a house with explosives and began to invade surrounding homes, taking hostages. They threaten to detonate the explosives killing the hostages and destroying homes in the area if there is any interference from law enforcement.
Obviously all these factors would play into the response by law enforcement agencies. One thing is for certain though. Law enforcement would not stand back and do nothing saying, “we do not want to escalate,” while the kidnappers took more and more hostages from surrounding neighborhoods.
The world faces this scenario. There is more than enough evidence to declare Putin a war criminal. We are in the third week of destruction and terror in Ukraine.
Are we going to stand by and watch Russia escalate the massacre of innocent civilians? Are we going to stand by and watch Russia continue to use prohibited weapons possibly including chemical warfare? Are we going to stand by and watch until eventually Russian soldiers capture and execute President Zelenskyy and his family?
I do not advocate for US soldiers entering a ground war. I do not advocate for overt US air combat operations over Ukraine. I do advocate that NATO and the US stop saying, “we do not want to escalate.”
Putin has already escalated beyond the point of reasonable and cautious tolerance. We cannot fear Putin but it appears that we do. It is well past time to seriously ask, “Is there a line in the sand?” The truth is that there is a line and Putin has crossed it.
Congratulations on being named sole finalist for Chancellor of the University System of Georgia. It is fitting that in the year that the flagship school of the University System wins the National Championship should also be the year that the Regents select a national champion to serve as Chancellor.
Since I heard the news, I knew that I wanted to write a commentary to congratulate you and I have been thinking about how I wanted to do it. by
Over the past few weeks, I have been burning up the road again with Wayne Johnson. We completed the final visit of the 30th county. The Press release is below. Thanks for reading.
Wayne Johnson, Republican Congressional Candidate For Georgia Completes “Every County Counts Tour”
Montezuma, Ga – Thirty counties make up Georgia’s 2ndCongressional District. It includes the cities of Americus, Albany, Bainbridge, Butler, Buena Vista, Leesburg, Thomasville, Columbus, Cairo, Richland, Warner Robins, Macon, Morgan, Cuthbert, Ft Gaines, Georgetown, and Montezuma; along with many, many other small cities, and towns.by
In this commentary, I will address the Federal Student Loan program. For full disclosure purposes, I am paid as Campaign Manager for Wayne Johnson for Congress. The opinions I share on DonCole.com are mine and I am not being paid to write this article.
Student loans were in the news when the Covid suspension of payments was about to end this month. President Biden kicked the can down the road until May, thus postponing another political disaster within his administration when millions would have to begin making payments again.by
January 10 is a special day to Georgia. The Georgia Bulldogs proved that Alabama can be beaten as the Dogs won the National Championship.
January 10 is also a special day for 96 year old WWII Veteran, Bob Bright of Cordele, Georgia. It was January 10, 1945 when Bob Bright climbed into the gun turret on his 23rd mission. A short time later, at 25,000 feet Bob was donning his parachute to jump from the burning plane before it exploded.
Of the 9 crew members, only 3 survived. Bob was captured and spent the next six months in a German Prisoner of War camp. General George Patton and his troops liberated the camp and Bob came home.
I had the privilege and honor to talk with Bob Bright and another World War II veteran, Jack Roche. This is Bob’s story.
In my last post, I introduced you to Wayne Johnson, candidate for US Congress in the 2nd District. I had not planned to write regularly about Wayne on my site, but this commercial he is running was too good to let it slide by.
With the big National Championship game on Monday night, Wayne made another brilliant commercial. It will be running during The Five on Fox News between 5:00 – 6:00 PM
Here’s the 30 second commercial. Read the full press release below:
Wayne Johnson hits Sanford in ad on Fox News, “The Five” Monday between 5:00 – 6:00 pm
Go ‘Dawgs! Johnson Shoots Commercial with Famous Bulldogs in Leesburg
LEESBURG, Ga. – U.S. Second District congressional candidate Wayne Johnson produced a television commercial with Wills American Bulldogs in Leesburg on Thursday, wishing the Georgia Bulldogs good luck in their national championship game against Alabama. by