"God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble." (46th Division of the Psalms, Verse 1)

It is Wednesday and I send out a hearty hello from the old blogger ranch to you wherever you happen to be, on this April 3, 2013. I know when I talk about that little hole in the road over in Louisiana where I was raised up, (I never liked that reared word myself), I tend to wax nostalgic. I suppose I can plead guilty but at the same time I will once again make clear that I actually treasure the upbringing I had. I know people who have a different attitude about where they grew up. Some more or less say if they never see it again it will be too soon for them. Whew! I'm so thankful I don't have that kind of feeling. This doesn't mean that my life in that little town was without its moments of sadness and pain. However, on balance, it was in many ways much like Andy Griffith's fictional portrayal of Mayberry R.F.D. A good place to be molded and shaped for the future. I did sleep well the other night in my old home place. It wasn't just the good memories. They all laughed but those three feather pillows I brought along are like magic when it comes to me enjoying my slumber time. Why three? It's a long story but suffice it to say they do tend to lose their bulk over time, being feathers and all, therefore, as it relates to my ancient feather pillows, well, it takes three of them to tango, or something like that.

I used that wherever-you-happen-to-be greeting because I've had more and more folks tell me they read my blog each day on their smart phone or tablet. I don't always think about that because my little cell phone is not very bright and I don't own one of those book reading devices or a tablet. I do know according to the network statistics there are views of my pages coming from all over the globe. Mostly in the US, but there's some, intentional or not, from the UK, Germany, France, India, Ireland, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, and the Netherlands. It doesn't say how long they stay but I can only imagine how challenging it might be for someone from a far flung place to be able to identify with my writing style, especially the examples and word pictures I use. Technology, I suppose, may actually bring to reality the song, 'It's A Small World After All.' But it is not all good news folks as the recent funds seizures were announced for the island of Cyprus. They are in a huge bind financially, so much so they cannot exist without billions in loans. (SOUND FAMILIAR?) In order to meet their loan obligations they determined that anyone who had bank deposits over a certain amount would immediately forfeit 40% of their money. Note: This has now been raised to 60% for some depositors. The kicker: They are using technology to get hold of these funds! And, that model is being praised by many of the financial gurus around the globe. Instead of Phil's "Happy, Happy, Happy" on Duck Dynasty, we might all respond differently with a "Scary, Scary, Scary." Why? Because, that my friend, could be a preview of an attraction we would never ever want to see coming to a bank near us. Just saying, it made sense to them!

I would like for all my blog readers to pause and say a prayer for my nephew Todd's wife, Rachelle, and her family. Last Sunday, Rachelle's grandmother passed on to her reward. She was gravely ill and advanced in years, (92). On Monday, her dad also made his final journey to that home beyond the sky. Rachelle is an only child and our prayers are with her and Todd, her mom, their son Cameron the grandson, and all the others mourning these losses. They will be observing a time of remembrance for the grandmother this morning, and then, this afternoon they will observe the memorial service for her dad. Her dad served a long and successful career in investigative work as a law enforcement officer. These past several months have been hugely stressful for this family and while they were particularly shocked about her dad's unexpected terminal diagnosis last year, they are thankful to God for His mercy in relieving his pain and suffering. Life is real folks. Life is tough. But we can join together in lifting up these who are going through this difficult time. May God bring His blessed presence and peace, that according to the Scriptures, surpasses any that we might know or be able to imagine. (Philippians 4:7) I pray this for these folks on this day in the precious name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.          .....More later.