“We often use the Bible as a source for personal validation and defense, a sidekick and a shield, but these will prove ineffective without first the other part. We must also allow ourselves to be wounded by it. We tend to forget its authority - that it is a double-edged sword. Our decrepit, depraved hearts must be completely ripped out in order to welcome that of God.” ― Criss Jami, American poet, essayist, and philosopher.

Good morning and welcome. Good to see you as we begin another work week here on this Monday, September 12, 2016. I think the word inundated is appropriate. It has to do with being overwhelmed. Picture an avalanche or maybe a tsunami wave. I'm actually talking about all the political stuff being posted by my 423 Facebook friends and their friends and the friends of their friends. I'm not sure what any of us had to do before social media became our political lifeline. It's hard to categorize some of the stuff that ends up being posted. Some of it may be informative but much of it probably could use some fact checking before being disseminated. I know that everyone has a right to express their opinion. I support that with every fiber of my being. At the same time, I do get a queasy feeling when I see such virulent and hateful words and graphics being used. Folks who are typically God fearing examples of Christian love and respect, end up copying and pasting stuff that should have some type of explicit rating on it. Here again, I have no problems with people expressing their freedom of speech, but, those of us who are set apart by the Spirit of Almighty God have a calling to make sure we exercise our rights and privileges in a way that is God-honoring. Have I ever been guilty of posting stuff that in retrospect I wished I hadn't? You betcha. But, we live and we have the potential to learn. I'm not being critical, just making observations, and wondering out loud. I do a lot of that here on this page. You've noticed? Good.

I know that when I write about things like this some wonder who died and left me in charge. I'm very familiar with that response, perhaps, from using it myself. I have, at times, when something is so egregiously off the chart in terms of its lack of truthfulness, sent a note and gave the correct information to the person who posted it. Often, they get angry with me for pointing it out to them. They also let me know that they didn't do the original statement. Someone else did. They just posted it for their friends to see. The implication? Maybe I'm not their targeted friend(s). I don't always get my information stated correctly. Surprise! Surprise! (Picture Gomer Pyle.) Even in my blogs. While it may sting a little to have someone send me a note questioning the factual basis of something I have written, I am so thankful they took the time to do it. You may not have noticed since I saturate the page each day with so many words, but, I have attempted to acknowledge and correct something I put on the page that turned out to be wrong or wrongly portrayed. Not on every little detail. The other day I credited my youngest with some input that should have been credited to my eldest. I didn't do a formal correction because that's inside family business. No animals were injured in the writing of that particular blog. It's a joke. Lighten up a little. No animals are ever injured, that I know of, in the writing of my blog. Does that make you feel better? Now those that run out in front on me on the highway, well, I will do my best to avoid, but, it may not always be possible. Confused yet? Me too!

My wife does not use the words disjointed or discombobulated, however, she often lets me know when a daily episode seems to her to be a bridge to nowhere. She even gives me good advice about composition and subject separation, but, as the great Belgium detective, created by Agatha Christie, Hercule Poirot, would say it, "No, the little grey cells, I fear, they grow the rust." You know. My connections may not always function as they should. Like on a battery when its posts get corroded. Speaking of Agatha Christie, (1890-1976), I read the other day that her estate is one of the most aggressive in terms of protecting her literary and copyright entitlements. She was prolific. Here's a short note from Wikipedia: "The Guinness Book of World Records lists Christie as the best-selling novelist of all time. Her novels have sold roughly 2 billion copies, and her estate claims that her works come third in the rankings of the world's most-widely published books, behind only Shakespeare's works and the Bible. According to Index Translationum, she remains the most translated individual author – having been translated into at least 103 languages. 'And Then There Were None' is Christie's best-selling novel, with 100 million sales to date, making it the world's best-selling mystery ever, and one of the best-selling books of all time." I remember reading "And Then There Were None' as a teenager. The wife and I have feasted for years on the delightful antics of her characters in the Masterpiece series on PBS. We especially have enjoyed the 'Miss Marple' and the 'Hercule Poirot' characters. That would be our idea of 'must see TV'. Okay. That should be enough for today. Take care, enjoy the day, and may God bless us all is my prayer. Amen. ...More later.