I just found out the most common illness on the Starship Enterprise: Chicken Spocks.

I'm no longer home alone but that will change shortly. There are those who feel better when I have watchers around to help keep me headed in the right direction. She's b-a-a-a-a-c-k! She came home yesterday but she's also leaving today for a Galveston area weekend excursion with our granddaughter Stefani in recognition of her 16th birthday (last November). She started doing this with Tiffany, then Brittany, and now it's Stefani's turn. It's that MiMi and granddaughter bonding deal where they go off and enjoy some time together. Poppy made the reservations and he gets to be involved as part of the financial support team. I'm glad she can do this on this Friday, June 25, 2010, and I'm also glad to be on the team. I do hope they have a great time. It's been a different week for me. My wife has been out of town. My great friend who owns the business where I work has been out on vacation. This always adds a little pressure as we try to cover all the bases. Come to think about it, I've only really shown a little rebellion once and that had to do with the dozen smoking hot gizzards I was compelled to devour on Wednesday. (I was out on the road for the company and you do know that diabetics are supposed to eat scheduled meals, right?) The lady who drew four vials of blood this past Monday asked how I was doing. I told her controlling my diabetes had been rather challenging lately. She asked if I had any idea why. I told her that if I had to guess it might be related to mustard greens, field peas, okra, smothered steak, mashed potatoes, and cornbread, just to name a few. She gave me that telling look of understanding, enough said.

My doctor only shamed me a little the other day but he may do more when we get the lab results in. It's been a real challenge for him to help me in controlling this insidious disease. He is a real character and we've enjoyed our visits. He has some very strong views about the nearness of end time events, and while I respect his right to hold those views, I begin to be a little concerned when they bleed over into his treatment approach. Currently it has something to do with stockpiling medicines and I will have to think more about all of this before deciding how to respond. One day this week I found myself defending the actions of one of our older guys on the basis of how older folks think. While I was explaining this it dawned on me that I was talking about myself as well. I hate it when that happens. Age is supposedly only a state of mind but some of the folks I've seen at the big mall who are older but are busy trying to look and act younger sure seem silly to me. I've learned to embrace the word eccentric as a way to describe the changes taking place in my life. I know the word means strange, unusual, or odd compared to normal but perhaps I'm in the process of defining my 'new' normal. My wife is concerned that I don't match my ties as well as I once did and she said at times I'm up there teaching and she wonders, "What in the world was he thinking?" She may be right but for the life of me I'm still yet to figure out any that were that far off. Maybe it's the "my new normal" thingy that has caused this to happen.

I tell everyone that it is not easy being me but it is the challenge that occupies much of my 24 hour day. You have your own challenges in being you and we all have the challenge of being changed into the person God wants us to be. That Joel Hemphill song that children used to sing makes an excellent point and it really is good news for us all: "He's still working on me to make me what I ought to be. It took Him just a week to make the moon and the stars, The sun and the earth, and Jupiter and Mars, How loving and patient He must be, He's still working on me." This means that I am, at best, a work in progress but isn't it wonderful to know that He's still working on me, and you too? He is, after all, the Master Potter, and He does know how to mold and make His own into objects of notable excellence. (I heard Dr. Charles Stanley say this perhaps 20 years ago.) And, I am thankful that He's not finished with me yet. I need to keep this in mind as I go about defining my 'new' normal. I never thought I would be wearing old people looking white socks but I put them on today and wear them with pride. I won't even mention that ear hair deal because that came to stay quite some time ago. I suppose it's good that I've always held older folks in high esteem, therefore, it should make this transition to my 'new' normal a little easier to handle. Speaking about Him still working, the best place to get in touch with this as a reality is to show up at the Sunday meeting place where the Word of God is taught and practiced. Have a great Saturday and Lord's Day Sunday and Lord willing, matched tie or not, I'll try to have something for you on Monday morning. Amen. .....More later.