If a picture is worth a thousand words, then I wonder what a thousand of my blogs might fetch.

Welcome to this auspicious occasion on this Monday, April 11, 2011. I struggled with auspicious and perhaps suspicious would have been more accurate but I decided to go for the gold because today I am pausing to recognize the 1,000th time that I have sat myself down and wrote myself a letter and included many others as part of the distribution, in this, what I will call, my great blogging adventure. (It actually happened last Friday, so there you have it, me being a day late again.) If it is true that every journey begins with the first step, that means my bulging blogging file had to start with the very first one I wrote. It was back on May 9, 2007 and I want to celebrate this 1,000th episode by sharing that very first one with you because it does speak to my motivation in beginning this daily exploit. But first I want to thank those of you who have read my blogs. That's right. There are many who faithfully read what I have to say. In fact, when something goes wrong and they don't get my blog, they become concerned because it is usually there early each morning. You would be right to think I'm talking about my mom because she is one of my faithful readers and my wife. But, believe it or not, there are many others and from time to time I hear about how a particular theme, story, or Bible text used in my blog has struck a chord and brought a smile, a tear, or a word of encouragement. I have some who think I really am a good writer and while I greatly appreciate their kind words, I wouldn't want to test their confidence in any formal way because of how that might turn out. Some have told me that I missed my calling and they intended it as a compliment. Truth is, maybe in some ways, my blogs reflect me finding my calling because if I have done anything to help anyone along the way, then I give God thanks for giving me that opportunity. How long will I continue? Good question. It fits in well with my grandfather's comment as I was growing up, "Son, are you ever going to come up for air?" He was talking about me talking, therefore, in honor of his observation, I will say that while I might not be doing this every day for the rest of my life, I'm not yet ready to quit click clacking the transfer of my thoughts and ideas to the keyboard, into the blogging utility, and then out onto the world wide web, or as Buzz Lightyear would say, sending it, "To infinity and beyond!"  As always, any and all glory, if it is genuine and praise worthy, then it should go to our Great God. Okay. Here's how it all got started. Enjoy. Thank you for tuning in and may God bless us all as we continue our journey together. Amen.            ......More later.

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

May 9, 2007

Well, it took me over sixty years to get here and as Yogi Berra reportedly said, "You sure can observe a lot just by watching". That observation stuff, however, can be both good and bad especially if you are determined not to revise any of it, that is, if that's possible since reflections and memories over time tend to take on a life of their own as they all become fused together. Some days it's "Wow, I can't believe the life I have enjoyed!", while another day might be, "Hey, I'm not sure I can make one more day!". This is how it works in the so-called real world and we have trouble because the roller coaster ride can start without notice at anytime even right smack in the middle of one of those really great days and suddenly you find your heart pounding and breath interrupted by the crashing ride. Okay, maybe not quite that dramatic but with age, maturity, family, more family, relationships, issues, challenges, and chaos all around, it can be quite daunting.

However, I call this blog The View From Here because when it's all said and done, it's the way I see it. You most likely see it differently but that's what blogging is all about. We can speak from our viewpoint, our way of interpreting all the things we have to deal with, and in general, the viewfinder through which we see the world, and especially our world.

One final thought in this opening monologue: I know that without God as the foundation of my life through my identity with His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, there would be little hope in all the ups and downs encountered in this journey called life.

Posted by Sixty-plus at 1:27 PM