"Never iron a four-leaf clover, because you don't want to press your luck". ~ copied

Well, well, and, that's not only a deep subject, but, it is the truth as in the song, it is well with my soul. This doesn't mean everything is hunky dory, but, it does mean that God is with us and we can count on Him. Amen. Today is Tuesday, St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 2026, and, I do bid each one a warm welcome from here at the ole blogger ranch to your little niche in the world, wherever that happens to be. I'll let the experts and the pundits talk about snakes and why they are not native to Ireland and I add this little tidbit, just because there are no snakes, mosquitoes, or spiders in Iceland doesn't mean I would want to live there. You can wear green or you can choose not to, it's your choice. Yesterday, I accompanied the wife of my youth to her primary care appointment. I told the nurse I was there as her interpreter. She laughed out loud. When I told our eldest son that's what I told them, well, he had this retort, "Oh my!" At any rate, since she does not remember any of the details regarding what led up to the accident last Friday, the subsequent trip to the ER or even coming home afterwards, well, I was there to fill in the blanks as best I know them. To the credit of the nurse she said if anyone deserved to be there with her it would be me. The primary care looked through all the tests run by the emergency room doctor. He did his best to try and figure out if there was some kind of trigger that brought on the episode she experienced. Of course they checked her vitals, listened to her heart, and, we talked and talked. He, knowing we are seeing the neurologist today, pretty much yielded to that specialist to do further investigation. He said they may want to do an MRI to see if it picks up something not seen in the CT Scan. She and her interpreter will be headed over to the neurologist visit and he happens to be at the Katy Clinic today, therefore, we will be driving in the highly discussed and not much ever done about the Houston congested traffic in order to get there. For close to 40 years I drove in, through, around, over the hills and through the woods in the Houston metroplex without even a thought. That was then. This is now. It is a habit that is real easy to quit. But, Lord willing, we will get there and see what comes from this next phase of our journey.

 

It's interesting how we never know exactly what we might be involved in on any given day. We can plan, and I think we should, but, we should never be surprised when things do not always fit what we had in mind. I know I use the 'Lord willing' phrase a lot. I do. I really do. I think about the first writing of the New Testament, that being James, early 40's AD, who we believe he was the son of Mary and Joseph, the half-brother of our Lord and he became a believer after the resurrection, and, was the Sr. Elder in the local assembly, Church, in Jerusalem. Here are some verses to consider: ~ Mark 6:3: Identifies James, Joses, Judas, and Simon as Jesus' brothers, mentioned in the context of his hometown. Matthew 13:55: Also mentions James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas as brothers of Jesus. Galatians 1:19: Paul explicitly calls him "James, the Lord's brother" when describing his visit to Jerusalem. John 7:2-5: Notes that early in Jesus' ministry, his brothers did not believe in him. 1 Corinthians 15:7: Mentions a personal appearance of the resurrected Jesus to James.Acts 1:14: Identifies James and his brothers as being present with the disciples in prayer after the Ascension. Acts 15:13-21: Depicts James presiding over the Jerusalem Council. Acts 12:17: Shows James as a leader, with Peter reporting to him. Galatians 2:9: Paul calls James a "pillar" of the church. ~ Well, he, in his letter covers this very thing about how we should plan the events in our lives. In Chapter 4, (there were no chapters or verses divided when he wrote his letter), as we have it organized, we read these words: ~ 13) Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; 14) whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15) Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” 16) But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17) Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. ~ There you have it, "if the Lord wills", therefore, when I say Lord willing that's exactly what I mean, even though I know it can be a throw down slogan but it really is the truth. It is. It really is. Amen.

"Commonly misattributed quotations abound more than ever before, now that they can be shared so easily on social media. Aphorisms, maxims, sententiae, and inspirational or witty quotations often become associated with public figures or well-known writers who never said or wrote them. And these misattributions can be surprisingly tenacious." ~ Joseph Wallace, PhD in English Literature

Welcome back. I bring you warm wishes and a hearty hello from here at the ole blogger ranch to wherever you happen to be tuning in from on this Monday, March 16, 2026. We've been experiencing some cooler weather in these parts of late and this reminds me of that famous quotation, "Everyone complains about the weather but no one does anything about it." Widely attributed to Mark Twain, but, it does not appear in any of his writings, however, he was known to quote it in his recorded comments. It originated in the writings of a fellow by the name of Charles Dudley Warner, (1829-1900), an American essayist, who actually was a friend of Mark Twain, Dudley not only came up with this widely recognized quote but also this one, "Politics makes strange bedfellows." I suppose being attributed for things you didn't actually come up with wasn't that big of a deal because even Yogi Berra famously said, "I didn't say all the things I said", talking about many of the things that were tagged as one of his sayings that he never said. There is a long history of misattributed quotations tagged to people like Winston Churchill, Thomas Jefferson, and, Mark Twain. Believe it or not, this is an area of literary interest where these types of erroneous attributions are tracked, exposed, and, the correct quote originator identified. I suppose those involved in these kinds of correction efforts must have been hall monitors in grade school. And, you can quote me on that, that is, unless that quote is already taken. Ha! 

 

I ask for your prayers on behalf of the wife of my youth. She had a medical episode last Friday morning which led to a vehicular accident. No one was hurt. Our truck was scraped on the bumper but the car she hit received quite a lot of damage. The people in the damaged car were ever so kind, mostly concerned about my wife. She was taken to the ER by ambulance and today we see our primary care and tomorrow we see the neurologist. She has no recollection of any of what happened. She continues to have some fuzziness, headaches, and, some wobbliness. She had gone to run an errand and on her way there was the unexpected happening. Life if like that. Jimmy was with her and when he called me I was up here working on the computer in the ole blogger ranch office and here's the truth, Lil Miss Biscuit and I nearly fell right out of the chair. I typically can try to be above the fray but I'll be honest, I was shaking. The many tests they conducted at the ER did not indicate what the problem might be, therefore, we were released to get these followups as soon as possible. She told the people at the ER that she wanted to go home because she had a good nurse. That would be me and I am trying to be just that, a good nurse. We've been through many challenges during our 61 plus years, and, we will, with God's help, and, the intercession of so many prayer warriors, get to this one and through it. Lil Miss Biscuit has decided laying behind me is her best spot on my typing chair, therefore, I write this, literally, on the edge of my seat while she snoozes. Y'all have yourselves a blessed day and may God help us all is my prayer. Amen.

"Nothing grows old-fashioned so fast as modernity." ~ Robertson Davies, (1913-1995) Canadian novelist, playwright, critic, journalist, and professor.

Hello to everyone on this Friday, March 13, 2026. One thought came to me concerning the lost episode that I intentionally but accidentally deleted, that being the amount of repetition found in my blogs most likely means the materials that I have not remembered to remember have shown up before, however, since I don't remember what I lost it's best to let sleeping dogs lie. (Let sleeping dogs lie" is an English proverb known at least since the 14th century. This saying suggests that when an old problem is no longer causing anyone trouble, it might be better left undiscussed, and dormant controversies should not be restarted even if they were never resolved. This intent is similar to the meanings of sayings like "Don't rock the boat", "Never trouble trouble till trouble troubles you".)  If I understand that Wikipedia extract, this means I'm still using figures of speech from the 1300's. Now that's what I call cool! Another dated reference,~ Jazz Origins: In the 1940s, "cool" described a relaxed, restrained style of jazz that contrasted with "hot" jazz. ~ I suppose Solomon writing in Ecclesiastes called it, Chapter 1, Verse 9, from the New Living Translation, "History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new." While I am not a Bob Dylan fan, his song, 'The Times Are A Changin' pretty much hits the proverbial nail on the head, at least in the title. Full disclosure: I didn't read the lyrics because I wasn't interested in them, just the title. See what I mean? You don't. Well, that's okay, because often I read my own stuff and am left scratching my head. But, in all fairness, that could be because it was itchy. Solomon's conclusion in that same writing, the Book of Ecclesiastes is one we all should take seriously, Chapter 12, Verses 13-14:

 

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man’s all.

For God will bring every work into judgment,
Including every secret thing,
Whether good or evil."

 

Except for those Scriptures, the rest of paragraph one can be summed up in the modern slang, a nothing-burger. That word, by the way, is now in the dictionary and it's meaning goes like this: Something that is or turns out to be insignificant or lacking in substance. Who knew? It's been an interesting week here at the ole blogger ranch. Most weeks are. Or, at least I make them out to be interesting. Now we have days coming up called the week end. It actually ends on Saturday, tomorrow, if you like. Sunday begins a brand new week. Check it out for yourself, that's how it's formatted. This means Sunday, the first day of the week, Resurrection Day, and following the New Testament pattern, Lord's Day Sunday, and, it's typically the day Christ followers gather together as a local called out assembly (Church) to honor God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. What a great way to start out a brand new week. Amen? Yes! Amen!

"When any man-made tradition or expression of worship—old or new—is held on equal par with the Scriptures, we have gone too far." ~ copied

I know some of you are likely more tech savvy than me, and perhaps you have an idea how to retrieve that lost episode, maybe from the cloud, or, in my case, from the clouds themselves and maybe it will somehow be rained down. Ha! Before I turn to any technology solutions I need to do some work on the frontal lobe, sides and back lobes here on what my grandfather used to say it like this, "Son, are you going to use your noggin for something other than a hat rack?" No. I refuse to do an interpretation of that observation because I think you can figure it out. It is Thursday, March 12, 2025, and, I do bid everyone a hearty hello and that each one will experience the presence of God as provided through Jesus Christ via the abiding Holy Spirit. You will notice that I am much better at packing sentences together than I am at unpacking them. I've told you before how I watch quite a few different Church services, small, medium, and large out on YouTube originating from across the fruited plain. One thing I notice. Church services today are quite different than they were when I was growing up. I did not say they were not better, but, they are different. Here's something that intrigues me. Maybe not you, but, as I have said over and over from the beginning, feel free to skip any and all at any time. Back to my thought here. It's almost like the changed environment has become a template as in everybody's doing it. I'm talking about how so called worship is conducted. I say so called because genuine worship comes from the heart to God and it may or may not be responded to in a 'worship service'. The current template goes like this: There's the praise team, the choir, the orchestra, and, then the hand off to the pastor/teacher. That would be the template for mostly larger congregations but some facsimile of it does edge into the medium sized as well. Now the smaller gatherings tend to reflect what's available in the congregation, maybe a piano and an organ for instruments with no orchestra. Then, yes, then, you have those who intentionally do it only the 'old fashioned way', or at least the version of old fashioned they envision, and they do it that way because God loves it better than the other ways, along with the 1611 King James Version only of the Bible. I happen to think that particular approach is basically nonsense but I do see it being embraced by some. My point? The more things change it is the more they pretty much stay the same. I heard one preacher saying this about his local fellowship, "Y'all love the music and the specials and you can't get enough of it, but, when I stand up to deliver God's Word you tune me out." There are many who believe Churches have become centers for entertainment, and, there are probably a good number who have. Here's the critical issue for us all: God honoring worship comes from the individual's innermost being and God inhabits the praise of His people whenever that praise is genuine. I believe that can happen in a large congregation, a medium sized fellowship, or, even, yes even where just a handful show up to seek God's face. If you can't say Amen, here it is, I will say it for you, AMEN!

 

Sorry about the length of that first paragraph, but, you should hear me talk about it, then, you will be glad you only got the abbreviated version. I saw one comment of a teacher about the student's essay, "It's much too wordy but not nearly long enough." Yikes. I feel some serious conviction coming on. I would say I was recovering from long running verbosity, but, the recovering part would be incorrect, as proven in paragraph one. I do appreciate those who take the time. Time. That is accurate my friend because it does take time to read one of my blogs. Thank you. Having said all of that I will make it even longer by saying this, may God add His blessings and may we all find ourselves worshiping Him in spirit and in truth. (John 4:24) ~ Amen. 

"The good physician treats the disease; the great physician treats the patient who has the disease." Famous quote by Sir William Osler (1849–1919)

I prepared Dr. McAden a thank you card and with the help of ChatGPT, the front included him in our photo. He said he would always treasure it. 

Good morning and welcome. It's a good day in the neighborhood, or, at least I think it is on this Wednesday, March 11, 2025. I was up early this morning since I had the first appointment for my annual wellness checkup, but, sadly, for the wife and I, it's the last time we will get to see our primary care physician, Dr. Brett McAden, since he is retiring at the end of March. I hear people talking much about how difficult they have had it finding a good doctor. We feel blessed to have had Dr. McAden to see after our medical needs over the past ten years or more. We signed up with him when our previous primary care, Dr. Tony Nguyen, left to become a medical missionary in the Philippine Islands. Here's my simple test for knowing you have a good doctor: They take care of the issue at hand. Dr. Nguyen did that. Dr. McAden has done that, and, we are now signed up with a new doctor beginning in April. That is always an interesting transition because how many doctors have to treat the patient along with their alter egos, Santa and Mrs. Claus? The staff at Kelsey are always excited to see me because I have one of my Santa photos as my profile on my medical record. The new doctor is from Laos, a country in Southeast Asia. We had four suggested to us and, after watching their introduction videos, I chose him because he speaks perfect English with very little accent. Before you call me a racial profiler, hear me out. As one gets older, communication becomes more and more important, especially when it pertains to responding to medical challenges. Back in the mid 1960's I worked in the VA Hospital system and I can attest first hand to the communication breakdowns that occurred between foreign born medical staff as they diagnosed and treated many elderly veterans. Here's what I will say about our experience with medical care over these past many years: We have been blessed and we thank God for the level of care we have received. And, I think I am unanimous in my opinion.

 

This is not the blog I wrote for today's edition. I had a really good one finished yesterday but through a series of intentional actions on my part I unintentionally did not save it, therefore, this is the mostly an all new replacement since, being honest, I can't remember everything I had on my mind this morning, much less yesterday. You know what I mean, right Vern? I felt really good about the lost one and whatever comes out of this one, well, it will have to do. I do know this. You can never go wrong by mentioning the source of all truth and our ability to access it. There are an estimated 6 billion copies of the Bible in circulation with 100 million new copies printed every year. This means a God breathed compilation of His truths is readily available to most of us. Let me take it a step further. There are myriads of audio versions of the various translations of God's Word available on many different applications, like YouTube and many others. In light of this, it means the truth found in Romans 1:20 is even more profound, "For from the creation of the world His invisible qualities, both His eternal power and divinity, are clearly seen, being understood by the things made, for them to be without excuse." Add to that truth the easy availability of the written Word of God and I think we all can agree about humanity being without excuse. I'll leave you with this well known quote attributed to Mark Twain, "It ain't those parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand". I hear that loud Amen. Mine too. If I happen to meet up with whatever was in that lost blog I'll be sure to share it with you, but, until next time, may God bless us all. Amen.

"Growing old is not a disease, it is a triumph." - Unknown

We are to live in the present or for some, perhaps not, but, I remind us of this truth: that to wake up and live another day is a present from the Lord, therefore, I advise us all to rise and shine and give God the glory on this Tuesday, March 10, 2026. A saying that I have heard most of my adult life is how that getting old is not for the faint of heart. There was a time when I laughed out loud at even the prospect of that statement. Fast forward to today where faint of heart might just be an understatement and to mention fainting at all could very well describe the experience of those of us who are in that 'old' category. That concept of how old age is very challenging and the idea about it not being for the run of the mill type person, well, the experts see the origin to be connected to a statement made by Bette Davis, the actress, who was quoted as having said this, "Old age is not for sissies." This is a guess because the sentiment has been illustrated in many ways over time, therefore, there isn't a identifiable origin. The Bible has much to say about the aging process and it mostly reflects the legacy of a long life of one who recognizes and serves God. “Moses was 120 years old when he died, yet his eyesight was clear, and he was as strong as ever” (Deuteronomy 34:7 NLT) ~ “With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation” (Psalm 91:16 NIV) ~ “Never speak harshly to an older man, but appeal to him respectfully as you would to your own father… Treat older women as you would your mother” (1 Timothy 5:1-2 NLT) ~ “Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old” (Job 12:12 NLT) ~ Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12 NIV) ~ "Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained in the way of righteousness." Proverbs 16:31 ~ “You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord. Leviticus 19:32 ~ The most important thing about our life, short or long, is how we live and whether we know and serve God, or not. 

 

I know, by experience, that older age can come with agonizing finishes. I have been there and seen that several times, up close and personal. If you hang around long enough you will likely see this played out in the lives of those you love and perhaps even in your own life. Why does it often happen this way? That my friend is in the purview of God Almighty. No. That's not a cop out. For believers, it is where we reflect on this promise, "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." Romans 8:28 KJV ~ All here means just that, all, without exception. And, the way the Greek is structured it emphasizes that it is God who causes all things to be for the good of those who love Him and are the called according to His purpose. The naysayers can call that a cop out and I can see where unbelievers would do that, however, for me, I've seen it time and time again as it becomes the extension of an individual's faith as they deal with tragedy or seemingly hopeless situations. When in doubt, trust the Creator of all things. The older I get it is the more I get it. Trust in Him. The sooner the better. Right? Yep. It is my advice for being able to deal with the many challenges faced in this life. Got it? I pray so. Remember. The sooner the better. Amen.

"There are two kinds of forecasters: those who don't know, and those who don't know they don't know." — John Kenneth Galbraith.

The proverbial weather person struggling for the camera while others walk by.

Well, well, it's another day here at the ole blogger ranch and I do bid each one a hearty hello and God bless you on this Monday, March 9, 2026. We didn't get the predicted huge storm with egg sized hail, praise God, but, we did get enough rain to help dissolve the fertilize put out by the wife this past Saturday morning. Nearly everyone lampoons the weather people because of the job they do. I think the interesting thing is how much technology they tout in today's modern world but with all of that they still miss it from time to time. They tell us they have the biggest, the best, the most powerful of radar systems known to mankind, but, that doesn't mean their predictions are always right. Jesus actually had something to say about forecasting the weather. You didn't know that? He did. He really did. Matthew Chapter 16 records this encounter between Jesus and the religious leaders of the time, the Pharisees and Sadducees, verses 1-4, ~"The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.  He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away."~ In other words, Jesus told them they knew something about forecasting tomorrow's weather but in the Presence of the Son of God they missed entirely His coming, His mission, and the fact that He had come to offer salvation. Today, the weather people can miss the forecast and they do from time to time, however, for someone to miss Jesus, well, that my friend is a tragedy beyond description. No Jesus, no heaven. Know Jesus and you will spend eternity in His Presence. Amen.

 

I will have to admit we were a wee bit anxious when the local weather people mentioned up to egg sized hail. We've had a car or two hit by hail and it was fairly small but it left many tiny dents. Imagination comes into play as one considers egg sized hail. As we talked about the incoming stormy weather it seemed the potential for egg sized hail was the thing most feared. Thankfully, and I do mean that in the thank God sense, we didn't have to deal with that. Yes. I did see the videos that showed the results from the savage storms over the weekend where several people lost their lives. So very sad. Speaking of storms, I don't have a problem with people being for or against the attacks from our military along with Israel on Iran. People can make up their own minds. However, I hate to see public opinion shaped by the news media with their own bombardment of slanted news stories that present any and all things regarding our current government leadership in the most negative light possible. That firestorm, my friend, is happening, 24x7. I do hope people will see it all for what it is and come to their conclusion based on the best set of facts they can get, and, may I tell any and everyone out there, those facts will not be coming from the mainstream media, period, end of story, over and out. Just my input on the storm subject. And, I would be remiss if I didn't mention how our God is Sovereign and He will see to it all in His own good time. According to the Apostle Peter, God hasn't shut it all down yet because He is still reaching out to those who are lost with the opportunity for them to trust in Jesus and be saved. (The 2nd Epistle of the Apostle Peter, Chapter 3) I do pray each one will have a wonderful week and that we all will pause and give thanks to God. Yep. You too. Right now? Anytime is a good time. Amen.