Another day, another episode of this, that, and, oh yeah, the other thing too!

Update on my brother Donald. He had a successful tracheostomy on Tuesday evening and on Wednesday evening he was transferred to the ICU at a long term acute care facility. He continues to be stable but still on the respirator to assist his breathing. He did seem to be more awake during these activities but his cognitive abilities are still very weak. Thanks again for all the prayers offered up on his behalf.

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It's Thursday, September 9, 2010 and I bid you greetings to another day's tip toe through my often meaningless meanderings. It's been a busy few days but I noticed that didn't stop me from writing a very long blog yesterday. I know you think I get paid by the word but that's not true. Some days it takes longer to say the little I have to say than on other days. I landed in the thick of that blinding rainstorm Tuesday evening trying to get home from the hospital. I know they talk about the white out in a snow storm but it was raining so hard even the lemmings were having trouble seeing their neighbor to follow off the cliff. That's a pretty eerie feeling when you are driving 60 MPH and you cannot see any lines on the highway. Why didn't I slow down? Listen up class: We are talking drive or be driven over regardless of the conditions at hand! And, I would just like to say one more time how much I appreciate those in the jacked up mega trucks and Hummers that love to hit standing water at a high speed, further blinding and sending wave after wave into the lanes of the other folks who can't see but who are at least trying to be safe. Yes, I was one of the other folks. My wife tells me I can't see very well at night anyway. I have some driving glasses in my satchel but I never had the opportunity to release the steering wheel long enough to ferret them out. Here's the good news. When I landed safely at home I paused to thank God for providing His protection. And, as we all know, these kinds of nerve racking experiences are always easier to look back on than being smack in the middle of the action.

Freedom of speech is precious. So much so that even the burning of our nation's flag is protected. However, this fellow over in Florida who is preparing to burn the Quran stretches the limits of our freedoms, because his action, if he carries through with it, may cause the death of many folks including our soldiers throughout the world. In places like Indonesia that have a fairly large Christian population, the Muslim majority are already openly hostile to believers in Jesus. It doesn't take much to push them over the edge. I heard one expert saying that something like this, even from a man with only a 50 member congregation, may end us costing the lives of many Indonesian Christians along with the burning of their homes and Churches. I've heard this so called reverend speak and I can tell you one of the main texts he uses to justify what he is planning to do, he has mishandled badly. He said that when the folks got saved as a result of the preaching of the Apostle Paul in Acts 19, the pagan writings and occultic works were all burned up. That's true. But it was not the Church or the Apostle Paul who burned the books. It was the people who were saved that brought them and as an act of their testimony of repentance before God, they volunteered the destruction of these evil writings. Do you see a difference? I hope so because folks who use the Bible to defend their grandstanding acts need to make sure they are on solid ground before they spout out their fractured theology. Speaking the truth in love would be a better path, but on the other hand, this is America, where freedom rings, for everyone, including Terry Jones and others like him. He, obviously, has little respect for another freedom we hold dear as Americans, the freedom to practice our chosen religion, or to practice no religion at all.

I heard the President talking about how mean the opposition had been to him. He supposedly went off teleprompter to say those on the other side had been talking about him like he was a dog. This remark has prompted (not teleprompted) thousands of responses. Many have picked up the dog remark and tried to figure out what kind of dog the President would be. Others have, of course, denigrated themselves by adding very inappropriate commentary, that, in my opinion, has no place when we are talking about the President of the United States. It would appear the White House is trying to add to the mix that the President may have been using a lyric from a Jimi Hendrix song. I say he supposedly went off the teleprompter because we have him saying that he did. I think we should always be leery of what we hear whether it's George Walker Bush, William Jefferson Clinton, or Barak Hussein Obama. This story now has legs and folks are talking more about the "dog" comment than they are about the unprecedented calamities we as a nation are facing. My way of looking at it from the administration point of view is that any story, even one that may be of little consequence, is much better than having to face the music as it relates to failed policies. While I love and respect President Reagan, I am well aware of those who crafted the image they wanted us to see. Their 'morning in America' strategy was nothing short of a full scale production that was intended to make us feel good about America and our President. It worked for me! "Dear Mr. Obama: Perhaps you could try some of that for a change because most of us are not feeling that good about things and the way they are going." I do believe in fair and balanced with the truth being the key to knowing. But truth is highly illusive in the political realm as we see all kinds of games being played, even perhaps one about how they are treating me like a dog. Source of truth? Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life." I would refer you to Jesus in your search for truth! Amen. ......More later.