A bumper sticker should be made mandatory!

Here we go again. It's Monday, August 20, 2012. Since I don't really have a candidate running for President I suppose I can be your independent observer, here on the sidelines. I didn't say I wouldn't vote because I wouldn't think of not voting, but I'm still very much undecided as to who will get my vote, write in or otherwise. One thing is clear. If there was in years past any pretense of fairness on the part of the mainstream media, that concept has been ejected, perhaps never to be seen again. At least when they were denying they had a bias they would attempt to show cause of their balance. Not anymore. One notable former Republican governor asked a news media personality this question: "Why not just wear an Obama bumper sticker on your forehead?" I actually believe that to be the best idea I've heard lately. Every major news source should require their reporters to wear a Reelect Obama bumper sticker plastered on their forehead. That way for the handful of folks that don't know what's really going on, they will at least have a clue. I've seen bias before. I know bias when I see it. This has ceased to be bias because now they are reduced to being nothing more than an extension of the Obama campaign. How sad to think that we have stooped to this level in terms of the distribution of so called factual information. Sad, folks, very sad indeed!

Let me just say a word to everyone about the conduct of the family of our brother in law Charles during his illness and subsequent passing. They were a model of dignity, class, and spiritual strength throughout this challenge. Their way of responding to the hundreds who came to visit Charles in the hospital, their conduct at the viewing and the home going service provided inspirational insight into what it means to be grounded in truth. I will not soon forget how they stood up for their mate, their dad, their grandfather, their son, and their brother. One of the speakers made note of the legacy aspect in this family. As for Dorothy, the wife left behind, she comes from and represents a family distinguished by their faith and ministry. Her influence was clearly seen in her children as her testimony has been on display for as long as I have known these folks, but when this time of mourning came, it became even more visible for all to see. May God bless them all for their testimony and may we all seek to follow their example. Amen.

It's easy to be reminded of the too many farewells we have said the last couple of years. I received a returned to sender email from my buddy because the company where he worked had disengaged his email address. As they should. It stung a little when I went in to delete it from my contacts list. He had been one of my most faithful blog readers. One of the speakers at the service for our brother in law commented how that he may have delayed his entrance into glory as he paused to talk with anyone who happened to have been there at the Gate. It was a joke and everyone who knew Charles laughed because it fit him perfectly. Over the years, he and I have sat beside each other and done just that, shooting the breeze, as they say back home. I've written about some of those memorable conversations at different times during these nearly 1350 daily visits. That's how it works. People become a part of the fabric of our lives. It reminds me of that illustration where the little guy is on the floor playing. His mom is busy on her embroidery. He looks up and sees a mess of threads and colors. He asks her how it could be of any value. She simply turns over the holder to demonstrate a beautiful scene. And, that's how it is in this life. We often see the knots, the threads, in all of their chaos, but God has a way of setting forth the beauty of His completed handiwork. That's a pretty good way of looking at it, if you ask me. Amen.       .....More later.