Stormy weather and partly cloudly life!

It's now officially July and we are dealing with the landfall of our first Atlantic hurricane, Alex. I understand our four year old grandson Alex is very interested in this storm that bears his name. It no doubt has been amusing for him to hear his name mentioned so often on TV. It is Thursday, July 1, 2010 and I welcome you to another episode of the long running series, "Why is everybody picking on me?" Just joking. But there are days when we all feel like maybe there's a conspiracy afoot. It doesn't have to be huge things but as they say, the steady knock wears the rock, and there are times when we all think we have just about all we can handle. I talked with someone who has had a life long battle trying to help their child deal with Juvenile Diabetes (Type 1). Her husband, step father to the child, has been an active participant in this treatment program but now he has been diagnosed with advanced diabetes and must begin insulin shots immediately. The lady told me it would be interesting to see how he adapted to the disciplines for himself that he had tried to enforce on their daughter. Isn't that just like life? Reality has a way of smacking any of us up side the head and then we have to deal with it. It's like the proverbial folks who give all kinds of enlightened advice about child rearing before they have any of their own. We've probably all been there and done that but we also know that folks that do this had better watch out. Right?

Being folks is a pretty messy affair and we are pretty funny as we go about the messy business of life each day. At my house we are not mainstream TV program watchers. We have no contact with any of the 'must see' programs that I am aware of. What do we watch? Believe it or not, we like investigation programs like the First 48, police programs like COPS, NASCAR, PBS Masterpiece Theater, BBC comedies, CSPAN, nature shows, travel programs, and documentaries on different subjects. My wife watches the Game Show Network when I am not watching. Other than these, we do try to catch the news and keep up with what is happening in our local area. These are our preferences. Yours may well be different. I did enjoy watching several of the world cup soccer matches and I rooted for the US when they played. It's interesting to me to see how many seem offended by the mere mention of the word soccer. They have determined it is not a sport and it is not worthy of their time and they act as if they might be reported to their sports buddies if they even mention the word. How funny is that? But, that's okay. We all have different interests and mine belong to me and yours belong to you. The problem we have is when we look down on someone because they don't share our interest. Some folks express amazement that we didn't watch the finals of American Idol or the dance show or the final episode of a popular series but we don't follow those and they do. We all like different things and that's a good thing. Diversity actually makes life a little more exciting.

There are areas where we do draw bright lines. These have to do with Biblical principles and we should not be ashamed of standing up for what we believe God would have us to hold sacred. Sometimes folks turn their personal preferences into principles and then defend them like they are straight from the Bible. This is absurd and it often is what causes folks to reject the Gospel message that should be emanating from the life and practice of believers. I don't know about you but I detest it when Christians are portrayed as being hateful and arrogant. Sadly, way too often we might just deserve these names based on how we live and act. I have an older gentleman that I work with and he and his wife have learned to use the DVR funtion on their cable system to record all the westerns from the past. They watch as many episodes as they can of Gunsmoke, Bonanza, High Chaparral, and many others. I have nothing against these programs but I wouldn't cross the street to see one of them. I love the fact that they are able to use technology to enjoy these programs together. He comes in early to work and he and I enjoy coffee together and I do hear about his favorite episodes from time to time, and he hears about something I have been watching as well. Our common bond is not based on the programs we like, it is our belief in God and we are joined in our fellowship because we have been saved the same way, by the blood of Jesus. When he leaves the office I always wish him a blessed day and he does the same to me. Differences? Plenty. But unity and love, one for another and this is what counts. Have a great day and may God bless! Amen. .....More later.