"My home is in Heaven. I'm just traveling through this world." ~ Billy Graham

Good morning and welcome. It's good to visit with you today on this Tuesday, May 5, 2015. I was thinking about the homing instinct that most of us have when we dwell on our hometown where we grew up. I say that fully realizing and respecting those whose memories do not afford any pleasant thoughts. But, for the most part, home is a matter of the heart. I've been in Texas since 1969 and we've lived in the same house since 1984. That is our home. That's the one our boys identify with and I'm glad they do. At the same time I consider that little hole in the road of a town over in Louisiana to also be my home. There's a special place in my heart for that little place. I've said all of that to say this. I think God wants us to feel even more anxious to travel to and be in our real home. I know sometimes we think about heaven my home and it's more of an escape than a treasured anticipation. God has told us in His word that our homecoming is precious in His sight: "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." (Psalm 116:15) How powerful is that? May God help us as believers to get past the melancholy as we develop a sincere yearning to be home with our Lord. Amen. You can file that one as my thought for today.

Dr. Ben Carson

Dr. Ben Carson has thrown his hat into the ring as a candidate for the Republican nomination for President. This is an African American physician who is distinguished for his intellect, courage, and his stand for moral and spiritual values. You can already hear folks saying he will be a fringe entry and if anyone supports him they will be wasting their vote. Really? I will tell you this my friend. While I am not certain who I will vote for, I get really sick and tired of people telling me about how that I must be pragmatic in the use of my vote. If it is based on my conviction I will gladly WASTE my vote as a way of taking a stand for those things that we believe in and cherish. And, I thank God for men like Dr. Carson who are willing to put themselves through all that awaits his run. May God help us to elect those who honor Him is my prayer. Amen.

No. I am not on a roll. I just got up in a sharing mood/mode and you by now are aware of that famous computer technical designation WYSIWYG. It's actually pronounced wiz.i.wig but it actually means 'what you see is what you get.' I'm not going to attempt to appropriate this print format symbol, but, it's like the old adage goes, if the acronym fits, well, it just fits, it does. This means that on most days I am pretty much following the 'what you see is what you get' format. But, my readers have all the power. It's just a delete key away. Do we live in a great country, or what? The wife and I were watching some program the other evening and they had this joke. She commented that from her vantage point it was a sign of the times. ~ Two people were sitting on the park bench when one observed: "Look at that young person over there with the short hair and jeans. Is it a boy or a girl?" The other replied: "It's a girl. She's my daughter." Puzzled, the first person said: "I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were her father." To which the final response: "I'm not her father. I'm her mother." ~ No wonder we live in the state of Confusion. Okay. You can think about that one and I'll say goodbye for now and ask that God will add His blessings to our day. Amen.  ....More later.