"We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavors and furniture polish is made from real lemons." ~ Alfred Newman

Hello and welcome to this Thursday, October 3, 2013. Okay. I admit it. I did attempt to log in to the new healthcare government website. Curiosity got the best of me. At any rate, when I tried to access the system I got the equivalent of 'all lines are busy, please stay on the line for the next operator' type of response. They reported that 2.8 million people visited the website on the first day but they either don't know or they are not yet reporting how many actually signed up. The one thing the President has going for him is the 'can do' innovative spirit of the American people. I am against a government takeover of the healthcare system and while this initial system may not fully accomplish this, it is a huge step in that direction. Meanwhile, given the fact that this system is now the law of the land, I have confidence that our uniquely American brand of capitalistic magic will begin to find ways to make it less onerous. After all, that's who we are and that's what we do! I, for one, hope that it will kick in sooner rather than later.

In the midst of all this angst, perhaps it would help us all to think about the real meaning of love. Here's an excerpt from a book written by Norman P. Grubb, the late devoted missionary and Christian writer, talking about 1st John, "And, finally and supremely, you've got the Apostle John on perfect love...the golden verses of the Bible. The first paragraph is in the middle of the second chapter, about the 8th verse of the second chapter. The second paragraph is about the middle of the third chapter, where he talked about Cain and few things around there. And then the third paragraph is the greatest paragraph pen has ever written. There has never been a paragraph like it...never been a revelation like it...the depths are just beyond us. That is in the middle of the fourth chapter, where he says twice over, "God is love"...the profoundest statement ever made. And he says in another part of the statement (4:16), "He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him." What a statement! There again I've circled round and round that and said, "Whatever does it mean?" "He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him." There are some astounding statements in this letter and I suggest that there is no paragraph in heaven and earth that has ever been written greater than that paragraph in the middle of 1st John 4."

Some food for thought on a Thursday. I highly recommend that you read the references in context from the Bible texts he comments on and I do think it will be a blessing to you. It's very easy in the heat of the battle as we defend our political viewpoints to forget that our thoughts, ideas, convictions, and every expression we make should be filtered through the love that God has for us and for others, the source being His love that dwells in us. This doesn't mean we fail to take a stand but it does have to do with our attitudes when we do stand up for what we believe in. God came to Cain and asked him why he was angry. That might be a good question for us too. Don't you love it when I come up with something I didn't even know that I was going to come up with? One thing I can assure you of, I need to be reminded of this as much as anyone. So, there you have it, another day and another version of my two cents worth. You are welcome to use any and all of it that might help you along your way. Take care and may God bless each one. Amen.   ...More later.