"I hope some animal never bores a hole in my head and lays its eggs in my brain, because later you might think you're having a good idea but it's just eggs hatching." ~ Comedian Jack Handey

Welcome to the widely anticipated, by some, final day leading up to what we typically call the weekend. That would be Friday, of course, and this one defines itself as February 24, 2017. The designation of the weekend is slightly misleading. Saturday actually ends the current week and Sunday begins next week. But, you knew that already. It is still for many, if not most, two connected days away from the workplace. This means the weekend idea translates into leisure time to rest, relax, and get resuscitated for the next workweek. At any rate, it is Friday and I do bid you a hearty hello from my world to yours. I recently saw a very interesting interview with Mark Lowry, the Christian comedian, singer, author, and award-winning songwriter. The interviewer was talking about being able to connect to an audience and how Mark sees his ability to communicate. Mark said that being hyperactive all his life could have been a disability but God allowed him to turn it into a gift. He talked about how that often he doesn't have any idea what he might or might not say because his runaway brain is coming up with new stuff on the fly, even while he or someone else is talking. He said he had learned to go with that and he is humbled in how God has used it to reach out to so many people. He talked about how uncanny it is to be fully absorbed in what someone is saying to you while your brain may have finished a new paragraph at the same time. Instead of trying to manage that, he learned to embrace it, and God has blessed. There's a lesson in there somewhere for you and I. Since my brain tends to work a whole lot slower than what Mark described, I will have to wait until it catches up and gives me some feedback on what it might mean to me. Meanwhile, feel free to make your own application.

If everything goes according to plan, I will be doing a preview run-through of my 2016 federal taxes tomorrow. By design, we typically always pay in each year so it helps to have an idea of how much we will have to fork over. Sorry about the 'fork over' comment, but, when you are talking taxes, things like that tend to come to mind. The work involved in preparing a federal tax return is for lack of a better way to describe it, very taxing. We file a joint return but the better half is on a weekend getaway, therefore, I will have to cover for the both of us. Again, the things you think of. When I said joint return I immediately thought of how people might be drawn to smoking a joint because of the stress involved in this arduous process. Don't get nervous. It was just a thought. Not based on experience, based solely on the use of that word. Maybe I am trying out Mark's approach where I share whatever it is that comes into my mind. For me, that could be a very dangerous approach. But you might as well laugh. Right? Do you know why sharks will not attack a tax collector? Professional courtesy. No wonder Albert Einstein left us with this memorable quote, "The hardest thing to understand in the world is the Income Tax." There's an old one floating around from an unnamed comic that had this sentiment, "While the wages of sin is death, by the time the taxes are all paid, all that is left is a tired feeling." Taxes are a part of living in a free nation. I support that. God supports us paying our taxes. Look it up. He does. At the same time, it is something we can always have a little fun with. Come to think about it, the funny part ends up being very little indeed!

I will not lie. I can easily be talked out of working on that particular project. That is, if something very important happens to come up, what could I do? Let me see. I'll try out some excuses just in case I need them when 'you know who' returns. ~ I really wanted to but my leg went to sleep and I couldn't make it up the stairs. ~ I heard someone had won the lottery and was waiting to see if they were going to call me. ~ I thought I may have smelled gas so I didn't want to turn on the computer, just in case of an electrical spark. ~ I had a bad dream about the IRS and didn't want to risk having a breakdown of some sort. ~ I thought you had told me to break in the new mattress so I decided to stay in bed. ~ I recently opened a fortune cookie and I can't be sure but I think it advised me not to start any new projects. ~ I needed to watch a documentary that would help answer the question once and for all, 'Where is Waldo?' ~ I have a feeling those may not fly but I remember from the Bible one time when David was in a bad situation and needed to find a way out. He fell down on the ground and acted like he was a lunatic. They fell for it and he escaped. (1st Samuel Chapter 21) I'll keep that one in reserve. Enjoy your Saturday and Lord's Day Sunday. Lord willing, I will see you next time. May God bless. Amen. ....More later.