"The Bible is clear that those who fail to heed the Lord's discipline - whether nations, cities, or individuals - suffer devastating consequences." ~ Charles Stanley

Hello and welcome. It's Wednesday, October 28, 2015. Thanks for dropping by the ole blogger ranch. Maybe we can visit for a few minutes to get our day started. My new little coffee maker must know he's on probation because thus far he is doing a pretty decent job of making the most of each of those Community smooth and full flavored, medium to dark roast, K-cup individual serve pods. That would be more of an embracement statement as opposed to an indorsement. I will be the first to say there's not a lot of wiggle room between the two. I'm thinking seriously about disconnecting from the political stuff for a while, at least as it relates to the national scene. I'm not sure what God is up to regarding the future of our nation, the United States of America, but I do believe in His sovereign working according to His will and purpose. The way that I see it, the national election coming up next year will reveal something about His plan being worked out. My fear is that He will give us what we as a people deserve and that could make for very difficult times indeed. Why would He do that? The pattern we see in His word shows Him doing things like that to get the attention of those who need to turn back to Him and seek Him first in all things. I really don't see a lot of viable alternatives in terms of candidates who will challenge the far left liberal track we've been on for the last eight years. The operative word would be 'viable'. But that's just little old me. One thing is certain. I believe God will work it all out for the ultimate good of those who love Him and who are the called according to His purpose. We do have His word on that. (Romans 8:28) Amen.

God's promises are the basis for our hope. Our hope is not found in the concept of 'hope so' or luck, but rather, it is the assurance that comes from His presence in our life making our hope in Him a reality to be lived out each and every day. I'm not sure exactly why I shared that but I do know it is true and perhaps I needed to be reminded of it today. This means we don't have to be pessimistic because we have God with us. Amen. I read the statement the other day from a young lady who was announcing that she was disconnecting from Facebook. She said it had become too much of a distraction and for the most part it did not add anything positive to her life. She did enjoy keeping up with her family and her friends but so much of what she waded through each day was junk since it typically was either self adulation or ego driven. She asked her family and friends to message her so they could find a different avenue to stay in touch. I see where she's coming from. There's a lot of stuff flying all over the place out on Facebook. For me, however, it is still productive in maintaining contact with folks all over the world. From family to missionaries in far flung places I am able to communicate and share on the fly. The other stuff, well, I will agree that it can be both dominating at times and also vexing, but, the good still outweighs the bad for me, and, I am pretty good at skipping. You know what I am talking about? The old joke. The blacksmith told the visitor not to touch the horseshoe because it was hot. The visitor grabbed it anyway. He put it down right away. When the blacksmith asked what he thought he was doing, the fellow replied, "It just doesn't take me that long to look at a horseshoe." That's my mode when dealing with some of the junk out on Facebook.

I get questioned from time to time about how I put together my daily blogs. The best way to describe what I do is to say they are always a work in progress. I write a paragraph here and there. Most of the time my blogs are pretty much put together before I do the final edit on the day I send them out. There are times when I do them from scratch at 4:30 in the morning. That can be challenging but it just works out that way. I recently heard some people discussing the huge success of the Seinfield TV franchise and how that show was self proclaimed as being about nothing. It made a big deal about the trivial and insignificant details in life. There are times when I have that feeling about the stuff I write about. Much ado about nothing. However, I am convinced that when I share a word of testimony about the Lord, well, He can use that to accomplish whatever He chooses. I'm not grasping for some redeeming quality here, just stating the facts. I know much of what I talk about is 'me' centered. It's that way because it's my life and I will be the first to recognize it's not always that exciting. I am encouraged from comments where folks say they were caused to laugh, remember something from the past, even shed a tear, or were encouraged in the Lord. That does help to keep my motivation stirred. Thanks. Have yourself a wonderfully blessed day as God provides for each of us. Amen. .....More later.