Deuteronomy 8: 6-13 ~ “So obey the commands of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and fearing him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land of flowing streams and pools of water, with fountains and springs that gush out in the valleys and hills. It is a land of wheat and barley; of grapevines, fig trees, and pomegranates; of olive oil and honey. It is a land where food is plentiful and nothing is lacking. It is a land where iron is as common as stone, and copper is abundant in the hills. When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. “But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today. For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful!

Another day has dawned, and I thank God for it. What say you? Greetings from yours truly and my writing buddy, Lil Miss Biscuit, on this beautiful Tuesday, October 20, 2026. The keyboard sits directly in front of us, and yes, she does make it awkward to type my stories. However, I find a way, and she does seem to appreciate it.

 

Yesterday, I mentioned my maternal grandfather and his impact on my life. After the unexpected death of my dad in January 1954, my mom and us six kids moved from Port Arthur, Texas, to the little village of Hornbeck, Louisiana, where we moved in with Granny and Paw Paw Mac. I was seven at the time. From then until he passed from this life to the next in 1971, he poured into me, in his own direct and sometimes subtle way, much of what shapes how I see things today.

 

Yep. I worked my way up in the big company and was recognized for many achievements. Those experiences influenced me in many ways, but some of the choices I made along the way turned out to be wrong. The consequences were painful, and the hurt extended to others in my family. That is one of the serious dangers of riding what seems to be an unstoppable train of success. I began to read my own press clippings, and there came a day when I took credit for my achievements instead of thanking God for His provisions.

 

Through God’s mercy, grace, and intervention, my family and I recovered from the effects of my self-inflicted sense of self-importance. I’m not proud of those days, but I am thankful that God was there when I turned to Him. And He responded. I’ll never be like my grandad, but I can follow his example of faith because, when all is said and done, that’s what counts, for time and eternity. Amen.

 

We moved to the area where we now live in the spring of 1976, the year of America’s Bicentennial celebration. It dawned on me yesterday that we have lived in this same area for fifty years. As my doctor told me, and as I am often wont to say, “That, my friend, is a good long run.”

 

I’ve learned a few things along the way. Perhaps one of the most meaningful lessons has been learning to cultivate a thankful heart. Here is a song we can all learn to sing back to our great God. What tune? How about one of your own choosing? That’s how I do it. Ha!

 

Psalm 100
 

A thanksgiving psalm.

 

1) Shout out praises to the Lord, all the earth!

2) Worship the Lord with joy!
Enter his presence with joyful singing!

3) Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us and we belong to him;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4) Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give him thanks!
Praise his name!

5) For the Lord is good.
His loyal love endures,
and he is faithful through all generations.

 

That quotation comes from the New English Translation, or NET, which includes detailed translators’ notes. It’s available free to use on the internet; give it a try. I think you will find its attention to detail helpful.

 

Until next time, may God add His blessings. Amen.

"Living out a Bible verse through daily obedience is more important than simply memorizing or quoting it." ~ copied

Good morning and welcome. Today is Monday, October 19, 2026. I bring you greetings from Romans chapter 8. Our teacher yesterday, Bro. Benny, did an excellent job covering some amazing truths from this portion of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the called-out local assembly meeting in Rome, Italy. This chapter includes the widely cherished verse numbered 28 in our Bibles:

 

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose.” —As rendered in the Greek Interlinear Bible (NT).

 

I’ve known many beloved brothers and sisters in Christ who have named this verse as their favorite. I'm reminded of one in particular who claimed this verse. He played a major role in shaping the person I am today. He was my mother’s dad, my grandfather, Paw Paw Mac. He was born in 1900 and left this spinning globe for his heavenly home in 1971.

 

My grandad knew well the meaning of “all things” in that verse. His life was marked by challenges and adversities, along with some gut-wrenching tragedies. He wasn’t perfect, but his life demonstrated his faith in the God he loved. That faith was what he clung to throughout his sojourn here. Romans 8:28, his favorite verse. His lived-out testimony. Don't be mistaken; there were good times too, but on balance, as they used to say back home, he had to carry more than his fair share. 

 

I’ll not go into the truly sad details of all that happened to him and his family, ours too, over his seventy-one years. However, it is a blessing that those in our family today can look back and remember how openly he lived out his faith through it all.

 

The verse he loved went hand in hand with the song he loved: “I Know Who Holds Tomorrow,” written by Ira Stanphill and published in 1950. I’ve mentioned before that he couldn’t sing a lick, but I can still see him swaying back and forth when we sang that particular song in our church service. How does it fit Romans 8:28? Here are the lyrics. I report; you decide:

 

1)
I don’t know about tomorrow,
I just live from day to day.
I don’t borrow from its sunshine,
For its skies may turn to gray.
I don’t worry o’er the future,
For I know what Jesus said,
And today I’ll walk beside Him,
For He knows what is ahead.

 

Refrain: 
Many things about tomorrow,
I don’t seem to understand;
But I know who holds tomorrow,
And I know who holds my hand.

 

2)
Every step is getting brighter,
As the golden stairs I climb;
Every burden’s getting lighter;
Every cloud is silver lined.
There the sun is always shining,
There no tear will dim the eye,
At the ending of the rainbow,
Where the mountains touch the sky.
[Refrain]

 

3)
I don’t know about tomorrow,
It may bring me poverty;
But the one who feeds the sparrow,
Is the one who stands by me.
And the path that be my portion,
May be through the flame or flood,
But His presence goes before me,
And I’m covered with His blood.
[Refrain]

 

We did sing that song at his homegoing service. I believe everyone present could agree that it reflected his devotion to God and his servant’s heart. He was a quiet, humble man who lived out his testimony, and that Bible verse and that song help tell his story.

 

I often think how wonderful it would be if I could leave behind anything close to the example set by this simple, godly man. Amen.

"If you get on the wrong train, get off at the nearest station; the longer it takes you to get off, the more expensive the return trip will be." ~ A metaphor, copied.

Hello, and welcome to our visit today. I started to call it a fireside chat, but that would be getting ahead of the cooler weather we’re supposed to wake up to tomorrow. Today is Friday, October 16, 2026, and I am thankful to still be breathing air on the planet. Don’t get me wrong. I look forward to the day I arrive at my long-awaited heavenly home, but I still have things to do here in this life.

 

The expression “a penny for your thoughts” dates back to the English statesman Sir Thomas More in 1522. I believe I heard it a few times when I was accused of daydreaming. Adjusted for today, that penny’s value has been estimated at $5.50. But saying, “$5.50 for your thoughts” doesn’t have quite the same ring, does it?

 

Some believe the expression “give my two cents’ worth” is somehow linked to “a penny for your thoughts.” If so, I guess we could invite someone to give us their $11 opinion.

 

As for the United States penny, we know it is no longer being minted. Spending 3.69 cents to make one penny no longer makes any sense—or cents—at all, especially when that penny is worth just $0.01. My apologies to whoever came up with this jewel: “That’s going to cost a pretty penny.” Ha!

 

I hasten to add that a minted penny can be quite valuable if a mistake is made during production. A 1943-D Lincoln bronze penny sold for $1.7 million in a private sale in 2010. Now, that really is a pretty penny!

 

I’ll leave you with this one because it more or less defines my journey thus far: “Always late and a penny short.”

 

I congratulate all those who have made it to the end of their workweek. Looking forward to “the weekend” is a time-honored tradition in our country. I’ve mentioned many times that, during most of my years in the workforce, Friday typically meant only one thing to me: It was the day before Saturday. Meaning? I worked many Saturdays. I did. I really did. And too many Sundays. Way too many.

 

At the same time, I am very much aware of how eagerly people anticipate the freedom of Saturday and Sunday. No alarm clocks. Get up when you want to. Go where you want to go. Sure. If only!

 

If I had it to do over, I would have spent more time with my wife and boys. I would have. I really would have. One thing I rarely neglected, however, was gathering with God’s people on Sunday at the place where our local assembly met.

 

I may sound like a broken record, but I offer this advice to those still pounding the pavement in their jobs: Your life, my life, and the life of every man, woman, and child are in the hands of our Sovereign God. We all need to take that truth seriously. Put God first, not just on Sunday, but every minute of every day. Make Him first. Plan your life around your relationship with Him.

 

That means starting each week on Sunday by meeting together to hear from God as His Word is shared and to build one another up in the faith. We then spend the rest of the week working hard, pursuing activities, and raising our families, while continuing to seek Him through His Word for direction and provision.

 

That is my simple way of describing a life in which the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—the Three in One, our God—comes first.

 

Okay. There you have my take for today. Yep. At 80, I do tend to go on and on. However, this truth is important for us all. It is. It really is. Amen.

Revelation 4:11~ English Standard Version ~ “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

Welcome. I hope you and yours are doing well today. Today is October 15, 2026, and I’ve mentioned before how quickly the year goes by for us older folks. Researchers have plenty of ideas about why this happens as we age. Time itself doesn’t change just because we get older, but our perception of it does.

 

One common explanation is that we form fewer distinct or novel memories than we did in childhood. Some studies also use brain scans to explore differences in how older and younger brains process the same information. Well-established routines may contribute to that sense of time slipping away, especially when one day begins to look much like the next.

 

The suggested remedy? Engage in new experiences. Maybe I should sign up for skydiving, bungee jumping, whitewater rafting, or swimming with sharks. No, thank you. It’s okay. Things are different as we age. I can live with that.

 

After today, we have 77 days left in this year to live out the life God has given us. Being actively engaged in serving Him can keep anyone focused and involved. I greatly enjoy preparing to teach Bible lessons. I am also comfortable acknowledging teaching as “the gift” given to me by God the Holy Spirit. (Romans 12:6–8) As I understand it, this gift was given to me; therefore, the Giver deserves the praise whenever I use it to build up my brothers and sisters in Christ.

 

My aim is to use my time, my talent, my testimony, and my treasure to honor God, since He has provided them all. He has. He really has. Being dedicated to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and putting His provisions to use—well, that should keep the “Occupied” sign on my door until I leave here for my heavenly home. Amen.

 

The wife and I recently welcomed our 12th great-grandchild into our family. We are blessed: three sons, eleven grandchildren, and now twelve great-grandchildren.

 

Our desire for our family? To see each one become a follower of Christ and live for the honor and glory of God. That would mean spending eternity together in our heavenly home. Selfish? I don’t think so. We pray not only for all of them to be saved, but also for others to accept God’s offer of salvation.

 

Can we make this happen? Each must respond individually as they come to know the truth. But we know God can save them, and we pray that He will.

 

A true legacy is rooted in a testimony of serving our Creator God, rather than making worldly achievements the priority. That’s a lesson many of us learned later than we should have. Putting God first in all things is what we want to do, and it’s what we want for our family.

 

We can do our part, but only God can change hearts and minds. We continue to pray for every one of them—and for others, too. We do. We really do. Amen.

“The constitutional freedom of religion [is] the most inalienable and sacred of all human rights.” — Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States

To blog or not to blog: that is today’s question. It’s Wednesday, October 14, 2026, and I just finished reading the new content rules for the blogging utility I use to publish each edition. The policy is very broad. While it allows adult content, it also appears to expand its policing of political and values-based content. To me, it sounds like another form of the thought police at work.

 

I mention this because my blogs often reflect my Christian beliefs and the values I try to live by. Based on my reading of the new policy, those viewpoints could run head-on into their flagging process, and I might even be banned. We will see. If I don’t show up one day, don’t be surprised. Those who espouse biblical truths are often portrayed as promoters of hate and division. Sad.

 

Reading the policy leaves me concerned about how much room there will be for viewpoints like mine. Those of us who use the service must understand that the provider sets the rules and decides how to enforce them. So I’ll keep writing and publishing my blogs, and we’ll have to wait and see whether they pass muster under the new guidelines.

 

I suspect their artificial intelligence component will be keeping a watchful eye on what I write. You know, another agent seeking whom it may devour. Let’s face it: if you use a free utility, you agree to operate under its rules. That’s the world we live in. Still, it troubles me when nearly anything seems acceptable, while expressions of biblical values may draw scrutiny.

 

Today’s edition is number 4,021, and here’s to continuing this adventure!

 

Here in the Houston metro area, most of us are breathlessly awaiting the first significant cold front, due this coming Friday. Morning temperatures are forecast to be in the mid-50s, with highs staying below 80. Wowie, Zowie! Plop, plop, fizz, fizz—oh, what a relief it might be. Sorry about the silliness.

 

Living in our humidity-prone area, with all the warnings about exposure to mold spores and grass and tree pollen, we could use a wee bit of a reprieve. We could. We really could. Some readers of my blog probably can’t identify with our weather woes, since they’re already enjoying freezing temperatures. Not us.

 

I take that back. We had a couple of so-called Arctic blasts earlier this year, in January and February, when they say we experienced freezing weather. I suppose we did, but I don’t have a clear memory of the cold. I had to look it up.

 

At any rate, bring on the cooler weather! I love sitting outside on a coolish morning, sipping my Louisiana-roasted Community Coffee. That’s my chosen brand, and it is so good. It is. It really is.

 

Enough about our first true taste of fall weather. I’m pretty sure I own a jacket or two. I’ll check that out. Until next time, may the good Lord take a liking to us all. Amen.

Abraham Lincoln said this about an opponent who was a lawyer, “He can compress the most words into the smallest ideas of any man I ever met.”

Good morning and welcome. It’s a beautiful day here in the ole blogger neighborhood, although it’s still dark outside the window of my upstairs office on this Tuesday, October 13, 2026. I’m here to wrangle a few words and herd them onto the electronic page. Maybe I should add that I just might mangle a few along the way as I put together today’s edition.

 

Is it any wonder that a word like “run” reportedly has the most definitions in the English language—645 different meanings, depending on usage? I honestly wouldn’t know where to run to find all of those. Some estimates put the total number of English words at around one million, with just over 170,000 in current use. Furthermore, the average English speaker is said to know between 25,000 and 35,000 words, yet typically uses fewer than 1,000 each day.

 

While people may debate the greatest use of the English language, many consider John 3:16 the greatest Bible verse: “For God so loved the world, He sent His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (My rendering.) As for the greatest sentence ever written, one of the leading choices is William Shakespeare’s famous line from Hamlet, written around 1600: “To be, or not to be: that is the question.”

 

Those who enjoy playing with words can come up with some fun results:

 

~ All the faith he had had had had no effect on the outcome of his life.

~ I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.

~ I don’t trust the stairs; they’re always up to something.

~ What do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear.

~ If it is “it,” it is “it”; if it is “it is it,” it is.

 

There’s much more. But you knew that already. Right? Meanwhile, back at the old blogger ranch, I’ll keep on wrangling and mangling.

 

Most of the people I know say they will be very happy when the upcoming election cycle is over. Me too! As for me and my house, we will be voting, but election fatigue has set in. Text messages, TV spots, Facebook posts, radio pleas, and a mailbox full of flyers—every day and twice on Sunday!

 

We consider ourselves to be values voters, but to tell the truth, finding candidates who reflect those values can be difficult. Choosing the lesser of two evils is an ancient concept, but it has become prominent when considering candidates for office. I read a statement from a preacher in Tennessee who said he was voting for the lesser of two evils and praying that God would use those elected, as He so often used imperfect rulers in the Old Testament.

 

God used Pharaoh not only to bring about His people’s freedom but also to display His mighty power. (Exodus 9:16; Romans 9:17) God also called Nebuchadnezzar His servant and used him to execute judgment on His people. (Jeremiah 25:9; 27:6; 43:10)

 

Since we believe God is sovereign, we will do our best to choose wisely and leave the ultimate outcomes in His hands. That’s my take. What say you? May God bless each one, and may God bless our country. Amen.

Matthew 6: 28-29, Jesus speaking, "And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these."

Good morning, blog readers near and far. It’s Monday, October 12, 2026, and this is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24) Since the wife has been recovering from her surgery back in August, I have been the designated plant-watering technician. Don’t report me to the authorities, but I have actually been talking to our plants. I have. I really have. It takes around 45 minutes to water all the plants the wife has placed in and around our yard/home. One plant in particular amazes me with how much it proliferates. I’m talking about the periwinkle. These plants seem to grow anywhere, poking out of nooks and crannies in the most unusual places. Here’s some information I found about common periwinkle:

 

~ Common periwinkle—also called vinca, myrtle, ground myrtle, creeping myrtle, and “flower of death”—is an evergreen, trailing ground cover. According to a paper from a native woodlands project, it is native to Europe and has become invasive throughout much of the United States. In European folklore, it was known as the “flower of death” because its vines were woven into headbands worn by deceased children or criminals on their way to execution. The paper suggests that the name may also fit its behavior in North America, where the extensive mats it forms on forest floors can crowd out native wildflowers and other plants. ~ 

 

I can certainly testify to our plants’ determination to spread all over the yard, but I wasn’t aware of the potential harm described in that paper. We know God created plants on the third day, and, as today’s title suggests, plants also appear in examples given by our Savior. The recommendation in the paper is not to let common periwinkle run amok. Even so, I think our flowers are quite remarkable. That’s coming from someone who knows pretty much nothing about horticulture, but I do recognize the effort they put forth. I do. I really do. And I tell them so. What say you?

 

(The wife read this and contends that the periwinkles we have are not the troublesome kind described in the paper. So there you have it—a word from our resident expert.)

 

We have several Christmas projects underway. I am impressed by the number of hours we have dedicated to preparing for the spectacular Church Christmas program coming up in early December. Here on the home front, we are making plans for our Santa and Mrs. Claus appearances and thinking about how we will take photos here in our home. We have purchased a backdrop and are considering setting aside one room just for Santa-related photos. If it involves decorating of any kind, the wife is 100% on board. We have over a half-century’s worth of accumulated Christmas decorations; however, she always seems to be looking at new stuff. She already has an overflowing she-shed, but no matter how much is stored there, it’s never enough. You do know what I mean. Right, Vern?

 

Y’all have yourselves a blessed day, and remember to thank God for it. Amen.