"It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood." James Madison, 4th President of the United States, 1751-1836

Welcome back to that place where I'm doing my best to put some keystrokes out of their misery this morning. If you hang around for a while you might hear a few of them making some noise, like a shovel being dragged on the concrete driveway. At any rate, it is Monday, May 13, 2013, and I bid you a hearty hello and welcome. All the news stories flying around often not only get our attention, but they also cause us to gasp. Example: Three ladies were kidnapped, chained and abused by a school bus driver for ten years in a rather ordinary looking working class neighborhood in Cleveland, Ohio. Ten years? It reminds me of what I heard growing up when my folks were trying to make sense out of this messed up world. "What's this old world coming to?" As it relates to a fallen human race, I believe this has long been and will continue to be the question moving forward, probably even more so. However, we do have the Creator's Life Manual that describes how this world came to be, how we should live each day, and what we can expect in the future by and by. That, of course, is the Holy Bible, God's breathed out truths that give us the before, during, and after of all things. I recommend to us all that we consult it often. Amen.

Yes. That would be yours truly. Before and after!

Facebook allows us to see how folks look today that we grew up with, went to school with, and literally saw often in those golden days from our past. I believe the operative word is change. The chorus to an old Gospel song comes to mind: "Time has made a change in the old home place; Time has made a change in each smiling face, And I know my friends can plainly see, Time has made a change in me." The experts tell us that we typically can readily see these changes in others but at times we have trouble recognizing it in ourselves. I worked with a fellow one time who dreamed about returning to Germany where as a young GI he had been stationed for a few years right after finishing high school and boot camp. I had seen pictures of him in his uniform. Very slim. Fast forward to thirty five years later and he was maybe 125 pounds heavier and the roadmap of life had left some indicators on his facial features. He wistfully thought of meeting up with the young ladies that he dated when he was there. Finally, he and his family arranged a skiing trip to Austria. He took a day off from their trip and traveled by train into Germany. He found some of the ladies he was anxious to see. He arranged to meet them but it was not close by a landslide to what he had envisioned. I'm sure they felt the same way. You just have to know, we are a funny lot. Don't you think so?

Some of you looked at that picture of me and while you didn't say it out loud, you thought it: "What in the world happened to that young fellow?" Life, my friend, life. The good news is how that young fellow didn't have a clue about all the challenges he would face later on. I believe that is a good thing. After all, it is how the Master Designer set it up. When that younger photo was taken we still had my older brother, my younger brother, and my baby sister. Granny and Paw Paw Mac were still around for us learn from. There were many wonderful things that young fellow didn't know about either. Like a young lady he would meet in about three years that would literally rock his world and change his life. He wasn't aware of the three boys that were destined to carry his name along with the children they would be blessed with. He couldn't have guessed that he would end up with so many great job opportunities, the privilege of teaching God's Word for forty plus years, and to rub shoulders with and be a part of the lives of some of the most wonderful people in the world. All these blessings came with their own set of challenges, good times and bad, but on balance, that young fellow would grow over time in his great thankfulness to God for the life He gave to him. That's about it. Life, my friend, life. And, that's my story and for the time being I'm sticking to it. Have a great Monday and may God add His blessings to it. Amen.    ....More later.