"Thanks to Facebook, I now know what everyone’s bathroom looks like!" ~ unattributed

Dad's eldest, Victor, yours truly, and our dad, 86 years young!

Today our entire family, which is comprised of a huge blended crew, pause, to be thankful for, and to wish a happy 86th birthday to our dad. He is a remarkable man who has proven himself to be there whenever any of us have been in need. He is 100% devoted to taking care of our mom. Steady, dependable, faithful, and available, are the attributes I think about when trying to appreciate dad. And, hard work, could easily be his middle name. He does not have any quit in him and we are so blessed to be able to call him our dad. We were able to run over to Louisiana this past Saturday and carry a home cooked barbecue luncheon with all the trimmings to help celebrate this important occasion. He and mom are blessings. And, I try to always say that very thing when I talk to our heavenly Father. Have a great 86th and know that we love and appreciate you. Our love, al and marilyn



Welcome to Monday, August 1, 2016. What's up with all these challenges people are issuing on Facebook? I challenge you to share 7 days of testimonies about you and your spouse. Really? Seven days? Before that one even gets started good, there's a new one out there. Many of them are good, but, do people think that most folks have nothing else to do in life than to respond to this variety of challenges? Like I say, some are good. I responded to one from a missionary who wanted those who follow his ministry to state in the response line the name of their Church and its location. Something like that sounds very useful. There's a new one asking people to nominate a pet photo. That should totally muck things up for a while. You may be okay with the postings that come with a warning. "If you don't share this, then you need to get right with God. And, I mean share, not 'like'." Or, you don't love Jesus. Or, you don't really care. Give me a break! I don't like those at all. One day the wife said something about one she saw but she couldn't find it to show it to me. I told her not to worry because they typically have a life of their own similar to nuclear materials, therefore, it will show up again at a friend's posting block near you. There's a new one where folks ask people to put a message on their posting if they are connected to them as family, either by blood or otherwise. I've already seen dozens of those popping up here and there. One was from someone who is close to me. I sent them a private message and told them I had seen where they copied that message and posted it, asking for responses. I told them I had one question. Why? I wasn't trying to be rude. I really want to know. That's just me. And, I do know how to ignore a request even those that have threats included. Comes in handy.

I am well aware that Facebook is a social networking site. I know they promote stuff like that because it gives them more traffic and more hits. Advertisers. And, if a person wants to do that kind of stuff, go for it. I would only recommend that people not be so manipulative in attempting to get responses. It's like those Facebook-based games. I've never played one game. Nada. Zero. But, I get dozens or more requests to play each week from people who do play. Yes. I do know how it works. When they are playing, the game automatically sends an invitation to all of those who are friends to the person playing. I see a lot of people who play those games together and that's certainly okay with me. I'm not one of them. I could do without being told every time someone finds a new key to open a treasure box or some sort of thing. But, they are my friend, and I just skip over those and keep on trucking. I'm just sharing my views. I'm not a frequent poster of original material but I do very much enjoy reading the statuses of family and friends, literally, from all over the world. There are probably some folks who see one of the things I've posted about family, ministry, or other such matters, and they could very well feel the way that I do about the constant requests I get to join someone in a game. I can see that. Maybe I should challenge them to come up with 7 days of reasons why they didn't like what I had posted. Maybe I could throw in an 'or else'. With photos. Just kidding. When it comes down to it, it is all in the eye of the beholder and I'm just giving you my 20/20 personal view. (That would be what I see on the screen at 18 inches or less since I am very nearsighted, after that I would have to have my glasses on, and move back to whatever distance would be required for it to be in focus.) Sorry, but, I woke up in a full disclosure mood this morning.

I know what some of you may have thought from time to time. I have thought about it too. What if the Russians accidentally hacked into and captured my archive of more than 2300 blogs? Their spy folks would be challenged to make sense out of the slang and colloquialisms that I am prone to use. I'm currently working on a project where I'm interacting with some engineering consultants located in Elkhart, Indiana. I enjoy conversing with my contacts there. The other day one asked how things were going in my neck of the woods. My neck of the woods? I immediately asked if that particular metaphor was authorized for Indiana. I thought we owned it. But, you live and learn. He laughed and then I got down to the serious business of sharing with him the status of our joint project from my perspective here in my neck of the woods. That, my friend, is more or less how I roll. Now it is on with the rest of the day that God has given to us. I pray for His provision of grace and mercy to us all as we continue to make our way forward in the life He has given to us. Amen. ....More later.