"The greatest form of praise is the sound of consecrated feet seeking out the lost and helpless." Billy Graham

It's Tuesday, June 25, 2013, and I bid you welcome to our little time of one way chit chat. Several have asked how my wife is faring on the mission trip up to Indiana. They are having a great time and she is getting close to those in her group. It's ironic that she is there as a sponsor with a teen aged girl and you have my wife who used to make the same type of Church trips many years ago with groups that included this girl's dad when he was a teenager. (That's the girl in green standing next to my wife on the front row.) They do not have air conditioning in the dorm where they are staying. The typical pattern is for it to be slightly cooler there than here and they are predicting upper 80's for highs this week in their location. Some have said the temperature really drops off at night but they have not experienced that in a significant way, except for one night after it had rained. I do have some good news and bad news for them. The good involves the prediction of some mid fifties in the overnights coming up, however, the not so good is the fact that it's not predicted until next Saturday and Lord willing they will be back in the Houston metro area by then, appropriately called the most air conditioned area in the world. You know, it's the area where it is not the skeeters humming on the honey suckle vine, but rather it's the rocking and rolling whirring sound of that electrical meter mounted on the side of the house. Just joking. They used to whir. Now they are digital. This means they are silent. They don't make a noise but that doesn't mean they are not busy. And, they can talk to the home office anytime. Day or night. They can also make those numbers change faster than a speeding bullet. (Superman is popular right now so I threw that analogy in for good measure.)

I had wanted to watch that tightrope walk across an area near the Grand Canyon but it conflicted with something else I wanted to see. (Mystery Theatre on PBS) I did watch portions of the replay available online. Why didn't I DVR it? (Digital Video Recording) Is that a trick question? I've not taken the time to learn how to use that feature. That's why. I think my wife can DVR something. I've seen her working the buttons but I'm not sure I've ever watched anything she recorded. But, I had seen Nik Wallenda do his thing at Niagara Falls, and was very impressed with his tremendous talent and especially his open witness for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This time he walked across without any safety tether. It was just him and his balancing pole. He did it! The winds were gusting up to 30 miles per hour. The dust being stirred up made the cable even more slippery. He crouched to his knee twice to regain his balance but in the end he completed this dramatic and stunning stunt, with a live running commentary of prayer, praise, and thanksgiving to the Lord God of heaven. Not too bad for the Discovery Channel if you ask me. Please don't send me one of those Idiot's Guide to using a DVR. That would only lead to me needing an Idiot's Guide to using an Idiot's Guide, or something like that.

Some of you may be bogged down a little because of these early dog days of summer. Supposedly, the Romans connected dogs and summer due to their association of dogs with the star Sirius. I always thought it was more of how my grandfather used it. It was the summer time. School was out. But if we stayed too long in the bed he would complain, saying we were all laid up like a bunch of dogs. I do know that dogs like to lay in the shade when it is really hot. But, that was back when dogs stayed outside. Back to the being bogged down a little. I have good news for many folks. There's a big happening coming up in July. It's going to be something else folks. Yes. They are bringing back the Twinkies! That doesn't do much for me. First, I am a diabetic. Secondly, I never liked Twinkies. Now those Little Debbie Swiss Rolls, those would make you slap your pappy. Bust open a box of those little goodies and eat them with a glass of ice cold milk, and that my friend gives an idea of that image from the Bible: A land filled with milk and honey. But, there are droves who do love their Twinkies as witnessed by all the hoarding and freezing of the last ones before they were taken off the shelf. Therefore, all you Twinkies lovers, take heart, they will be coming to store near you, soon. Have a great day and may God bless each one. Amen.     .....More later.