Muddled musings for a Monday!

Hello and welcome once again. I do hope you had a good Saturday and Lord's Day Sunday. It is always good to be rested a little and even more critical to meet with your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. I know. I seem to harp on that quite a bit but it is for a reason. If God created all things and He did, then He has some designed objectives built into His creation. Part of His design included the local assembly where His Son is honored and His people get to fellowship and build each other up. We need that. He designed it that way. We are not to be lone strangers. Enough of my mini sermon for a Monday where we continue to deal with a serious drought here in these parts on this June 6, 2011. While we are so very thankful for a brief rain shower last night, we continue to pour gallons upon gallons of water on our parched yard but I can already see that we are losing the battle. Three hours of watering every third day is no match for those super heated rays beating down on our yard, ten hours a day. I know. You've heard me say before that no animals are going unfed because of our browning grass. However, there has already been a huge increase in fires, as well as folks reporting major structural shifting of their foundations because of the lack of moisture. It makes us all realize that we are not immune and that we need the Lord and we need each other. Again, we are so very thankful for some refreshing rain drops. Hearing it pitter-patter outside my window last night was a cause for praise to and worship of our great God.

Have you ever wondered how it would be if we could operate the way our government does? Last week I heard several of the current administration's top folks spinning the auto bailout into some type of victory even though American taxpayers will end up losing 14 billion dollars. I'm not re-arguing whether this bailout should have taken place or not. It was done, period. What has me worked up is the way in which it is being promoted as a wonderful example of what government can do. I work for a small company. I have worked for a multi billion dollar company. No one in either of these environments could ever imagine how anyone involved in managing a business could ever try to spin a huge loss into some kind of great victory. A big loss to a small business usually means a closed business. A big loss to a large corporation usually means goodbye yellow brick road for those at the top. Yet, if you are the government, you can throw 1 trillion dollars at a problem that is supposed to fix many of the ailments, and when it does not, you can shilft the blame, or take credit for it being a smaller hit than was originally forecast. One of the news people was grilling a corporate executive about what the government needs to do to force businesses to hire people, since many of them are sitting on large reserves of capital. Think about that question folks. What can government do to force? The business guy simply responded that government needs to get their act together so that businesses, large and small, can get an idea of what to expect going forward, especially as it relates to regulations and taxes. Right now it is all up for grabs and guesswork. This is an example of what happens when the government continues to take more and more control over people's lives and their ability to succeed. I hope these efforts are the outcome of some misguided thinking. It is very scary to think that it just might be part of a plan to fundamentally change the American Way that has so well served us throughout our history. Something to think about!

I used that little political commentary to let everyone know that while I have intentionally limited my sharing of my reading of the political tea leaves, it doesn't mean that I am not paying attention. I do my best to maintain a balance knowing my own inclinations. Sometimes, if we are not on guard, we can become a little arrogant and smug in our self confidence. I've been around long enough to know that depending solely upon me, myself, and I, is not only a losing proposition, it can lead to total calamity. I well remember that winter when everyone's pipes froze. Many of the folks in the neighborhood were scrambling to get their stuff repaired. Two days went by and we had not yet had a problem. As I stood by the fireplace looking out the window I had an elevated sense of smugness about our good fortune, but it was very short lived. Suddenly, a loud explosion erupted and I thought something had happened down the street. No. Not down the street. It was a pipe exposed in our brick on the outside wall behind our fireplace, the very one I was leaning against. Before we could get the water shut off our downstairs was completely flooded. Talk about a living object lesson and a wake up call all wrapped into one! It reminded me then, and it reminds me today of what the Old Testament Prophet Amos was inspired to write: "It is like a person who flees from a lion only to be attacked by a bear. It is like a person who goes home and puts his hand on the wall only to be bitten by a snake." (Amos 5:19) Get it? I put my hand on the mantle and as the children's song goes, the walls came tumbling down. For those who think my experience was just coincidence, well, it wasn't for me because it caused me to be humbled and contrite, which was a lesson I needed at that time. Isn't it wonderful that our Great God would take the time to teach His children the things they need to learn? Amazing, if you ask me. Have a great day and watch out for the snakes when you lean on a wall or something. May God bless. Amen.     ..More later.