"This is all the inheritance I give to my dear family. The religion of Christ will give them one which will make them rich indeed." ~ Patrick Henry, American patriot and one of our founders

Good morning where I'm glad to sit a spell with you, sip a cup of hot, strong Community, and see if we can get everything in the world headed in the right direction. Tall order? Sure it is, but, we can only do what we can do, one day at a time, and at this moment, the one we have before us turns out to be Tuesday, July 12, 2016. The other day our daughter-in-law put up the photo above of her daughter and granddaughter. On the left is her granddaughter and on the right is her daughter. Those girls would be our great granddaughter and our granddaughter. Please try to keep up. Notice that both are wearing a cast on their left arm. Like mother, like daughter. I've mentioned before how that spending time with our great grand is nothing less than a walk down memory lane as we recall her mom at her same age. Her looks, temperament, and actions typically have us doing a double take. Since her mom was our first grandchild, well, we were very very proud of that girl. Some compared my actions to that big bird going coo coo for Cocoa Puffs. (His name is Sonny.) Hopefully, I wasn't quite that silly. Although, when I think back, it must have been a tiresome imposition on the large staff that worked for me. My office was plastered with photos. My wallet was bulging with extras in case someone wanted one as a souvenir. I no doubt opened every meeting with an update on all things pertaining to my first adventures as a Poppy. It's amazing to think how family traits are handed down. People who knew my dad told me when I was growing up that I had characteristics that reminded them of him. I think about my wife and her sister who are literally two peas in the same pod. To me, memories are a way of enjoying the blessings that God has privileged me to receive during my lifetime. Sure, there's plenty of the not so pleasant to remember as well. But, on balance, things like enjoying our granddaughter all over again through our precious great grand, well, I'll just thank God for that one. Amen.

I have a reasonably good recall. Yet, it took seeing that pink cast to prompt my memories of when our Tiff broke her arm. Once I saw that cast I could then recall more of the details. Images do that. I've been capturing them since I was a little guy and storing them somewhere in that gray cell storage system God provided to us. I think my trouble comes with the indexing process. They tell us our brains are like computers. (It's more likely the other way round.) I know what it means to have information in a computer storage area but the access index is messed up, therefore, it is very hard, if not impossible, to view the images even though they are there. I know for sure that is a huge part of the problem with my childhood memories prior to dad passing away in 1954. I am absolutely convinced those images are still intact, however, the trauma associated with his passing has really done a number on my access mechanism. Every once in a while, I see a vague but blurred picture and it makes me know there's so many more out there. If. And, that is a huge if, I ever get those access mechanisms working properly, look out! There are some seven years of stuff for me to review, evaluate, and write about. Will that ever happen? It hasn't yet but it's not for a lack of trying on my part. Like I say, I do have a few where I can see my dad and they are precious to me. I am thankful for those and I'll let you know if any others show up. That is, if they can be shared. Knowing me, myself, and I, there's probably plenty that are better kept in the filing cabinet. That's right. Even as a kid. Trust me on that one.

As you can tell, I have done my best to steer away from all the chaos that is currently dominating the news cycle. I am aware of it. I'm sure you are too. One of the most telling developments from these recent tragic events has been the number of young people expressing their bewilderment in what is happening in our country. That could be a good sign. Recognition of the need, the problem, and the situation is the place to start in terms of evaluating how we got to where we are today. I'll not belabor my time here with the details, but, I will only say that we must have God's help if we are to overcome these reactions fueled by hate. I see a lot of folks calling for love. But, most of us know that love conjured up on our own is never going to be enough. We need the kind of love that put our Savior on the Cross. He's the only One that can provide that kind of love. Supernatural, sacrificial, selfless, love as defined by the inspired word through the Apostle Paul, "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails." (1st Corinthians, Chapter 13, Verses 4-8) Without Jesus, all other attempts to reconcile will be futile. That's my take. What say you? May God bless each one. Amen. ....More later.