"Some people talk in their sleep. Lecturers talk while other people sleep." ~ Albert Camus, (1913-1960), Nobel Prize winning author

Hello out there. Don't be nervous. It's only me, and I'm only here for a brief visit on this Wednesday, June 24, 2015. I am so happy that sleep works like it does. I came in last Saturday evening pretty much spent from my journey over to Louisiana and back. It was a good tired because God had allowed me one more time to be with mom and dad. I got to bed around 10:30 p.m. I slept in until 4:30 a.m. but when I woke up, got up, I was stunned as to how rejuvenated I felt. It just struck me that I needed to thank God for the restorative function of sleep. You do know that scientists still see sleep as somewhat of a mystery. They have studied it for hundreds of years but the exact reason it works the way it does is still not fully understood. They do know that it works, not by shutting everything down, but by doing a different form of processing that tends to provide this outcome of freshness and vitality. We do know that it was God's design, therefore, He gave it to us for our good. Here's a good verse from the Proverbs: "When you lie down, you will not be afraid; When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet." (Chapter 3, Verse 24)  I say Amen to that!

I do thank my family for making my personal Fathers Day very special. Our eldest, Chris, surprised me by showing up for my Bible study class. He is a well respected Bible teacher himself and it was so good for him to come across town to be with us. I knew it was his way of showing respect and I do appreciate it. He and our daughter in law had just come back from a week up in Colorado. He brought me a nice souvenir Santa cap from the North Pole Park near Pike's Peak. It was so good to have him in our class. He may send me a critique of my lesson later. Just joking. I know he doesn't have much to add because on that particular Sunday I chose to read the entirety of the letter the Apostle Paul was inspired to write to the local fellowship meeting in Ephesus, Greece. It's one letter even though we have it broken into six chapters. My reasoning was quite simple. On Fathers Day we talk about behaviors and outcomes associated with God's will and His desire for dads. That's well and good but the Apostle Paul wanted his readers to know about what it means to be chosen by God, to be saved by faith through the blood of Jesus Christ, to be in Christ, before he covered the relationships in the family and in the local fellowship. We often start in the section on behavior. My belief is no one can pick up in what we call Chapter 4 without having the power of God on their lives covered in the first three chapters. Just me. A long reading? About 20 minutes. God speaks through His Word. You knew that? Right. 

Sunday evening. Great time. We had 7 unable to attend.

Then on Sunday evening all three of my boys and some of their families all got together with the wife and I to celebrate Fathers Day at a local restaurant. We had us a wonderful time of food, family, and fellowship. It was so good for us to be together again. It also gave us the opportunity to recognize our Chris, Jimmy, and Rodney, as they are dads to our grandchildren and our eldest is the granddad to our great grand. Saturday with mom and dad. What a blessing. Sunday, a wonderful time of celebrating with our local fellowship, and then to top it off with a family gathering Sunday evening. Once that was all said and done it was time to repeat the first paragraph involving sleep. I believe the wife can testify that I did not need to be rocked to sleep, but it was all good, very good indeed. I come away humbled and with a grateful heart. That should do it for today. I do pray that you and yours are well. Take care until the next time we meet and may God add His blessings as we continue the journey. Amen.  ...More later.