My problem is that I never met a run on sentence that I didn't like.

Already Thursday, June 16, 2011, and I have a confession to make. I have been rather wordy this week. I too often wonder where it all comes from. One commentator was able to boil down the results from the recent Republican candidate debate by using only 14 words. "Romney won. Bachmann surged. Cain disappointed. Pawlenty whiffed. Gingrich slept. Santorum fretted. Paul scolded." That was just his tweet. This Washington Post writer then went into much more in the way of details. But you do have to give him credit for brevity at least on his Twitter feed. I know most of you must think I get paid by the word since I never met a page that I didn't like to fill up. This past Tuesday the dentist told me that I reminded him of a fellow he knows that runs a biker bar in Center Point, Texas. I told him that to the best of my recollection I am not, nor have I ever been that person. In fact, I shared with him how difficult it was for me to get up everyday and do the heavy lifting involved just impersonating myself. Biker bar person? Hey, doctor dentist, most people look at me and think Santa. I'm not so sure about that fellow. A little weird if you ask me. Just joking. It's better than me telling you what recognition the dentist of the year received. A little plaque, of course. See what I mean?

I could have made some comments about the 15 minutes I waited past my appointment time but since many of the ladies that work in that dental office just happen to be very close friends of my wife, I chose to be on my best behavior. I also could tell that waiting only 15 minutes was likely a better than normal response. My wife would remind me that they did move me up from mid August to this week in order to get this done under my current insurance. That is true and I did get to hear an interesting conversation or two while I was waiting my turn. A fairly large fellow came in and wanted to change his appointment. He wanted to make one so that he could have his girlfriend have an appointment either at the same time or immediately following his. It must be a new girlfriend because he wasn't sure about the spelling of her last name, or her address, but he was able to find her phone number in his cell phone. He said he would have probably remembered more but they had only recently began dating again but had dated before, some two years earlier. He liked using the word 'super'. Here's the best schedule we can get for you sir. Super. We'll call her and get the rest of the information. Super. We'll also call you and remind you of your appointment. Super. He walked out the door and I said to myself, super! Next a lady ran in to breathlessly let them know that the twins had appointments but one of them was ailing and she was going to drop the one off and take the other to the doctor and then return and maybe the ailing one would be ready by then for her dental appointment. She said she spends most of her time trying to juggle all of these things. I thought she was a little less out of breath than she was indicating but then again, I was just an innocent bystander, looking at my watch, and waiting for my late appointment to commence.

My doctor's appointment yesterday was a little unsettling since I had to discuss my upcoming change within the Medicare system. I could stay with my doctor and deal with the additional monthly expense for a more open ended option, and I will admit I am torn, especially after spending 45 minutes with him. But in the end, we have to do what we believe to be best for our long term needs, and doing so, as we all know, means there are times when all things come to an end, and as it relates to my current medical team, it looks like this is the end my friend. I did tell my doctor how much I appreciate him and the work he has done in helping me to manage my diabetes. He reviewed my progress over the past few years and pronounced us as having met the main goal of keeping it in check. Keeping it in check. The one we all would rather focus on is getting rid of it all together. But thus far, that's not a part of the way the disease works in my situation. The good news. We have wonderful medical technology. We have wonderful medications. And, we are a blessed people to be able to have access to these blessings. In our Wednesday evening study time we are reading through the letter the Apostle Paul wrote to the local fellowship of believers meeting in Philippi, Greece. The Apostle was in prison at the time he wrote that letter. Yet, his words are full of joy and rejoicing as he sought to encourage this local assembly to be focused and busy in doing the Lord's work. Paul's conclusion was that adversity, trouble, and difficult times all play a role in working out God's plan, therefore, he said we should joyfully embrace the good, the bad, and the in-between, and to do so in a manner that brings honor and glory to God. May we all be encouraged as we live out the life He has given to us. Amen.    ....More later.