"Life itself is a quotation." ~ Jorge Luis Borges, (1899-1986), Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, and a key figure in Spanish-language literature.

Today is Thursday, July 13, 2017, and I bid everyone a hearty hello as we commence with today's episode. I started to say the dreaded 13th but I remembered that's associated with Friday. Just think how much more drama we could have if we all got spooked every time 13 was on the calendar. That would be, an educated guess here, at least once a month. Think about the marketing potential. There could be a movie about Monday the 13th, Tuesday the 13th, Wednesday the 13th, well, I think you get my thought here. And, as I see it, only me, so don't get all bent out of shape, it could just as well be any day at any time because if we operate our lives based on the truth that God has given to us, stuff associated with unlucky numbers or days have no meaning or application in our day to day living. Truth is, we learn to live by faith, not in our figuring it all out, but, rather, in His provision for us each day. Here's a passage from the earliest letter from the New Testament, James, (most likely the earthly brother of Jesus of Nazareth), that is worth our time to reflect upon,  "Just a moment, now, you who say, 'We are going to such-and-such a city today or tomorrow. We shall stay there a year doing business and make a profit'! How do you know what will happen even tomorrow? What, after all, is your life? It is like a puff of smoke visible for a little while and then dissolving into thin air. Your remarks should be prefaced with, 'If it is the Lord’s will, we shall be alive and will do so-and-so.' As it is, you get a certain pride in yourself in planning your future with such confidence. That sort of pride is all wrong. No doubt you agree with the above in theory. Well, remember that if a man knows what is right and fails to do it, his failure is a real sin." (This is from the modern English translation by J. B. Phillips.)

I can't apologize for how that paragraph drifted into theological waters because my writing ship was more or less on autopilot when it was produced. That's what I mean when I talk about working without a net, one word at a time, one sentence, and then, it's a paragraph. The other day someone asked about my blog. I told them how they could find it. They looked it up on their phone. They began reading the one that popped up. I knew that particular day was one of those where I must have felt a sermon coming on and I could tell from their expression they had expected something different than a 'Church' experience. I did not want to be presumptive by telling them I write about a lot of things other than spiritual matters, but, when it's all said and done, The View From My Pew and/or The View From Here, well, it is, as they say, it is what it is. I'm very much okay with what I write not appealing to everyone who populates the globe. Every now and then I choose one of my blogs and copy the text into a text-to-speech utility and listen to it being read. This is going to sound self-aggrandizing, but, it's not intended that way. So, I'm listening, and the artificial lady voice reads it, and suddenly, I find myself laughing out loud. My point? If it makes me smile, there's maybe someone somewhere that will respond in the same manner. And, we all know the entire world can use a smile. I think that's right. What say you?

I had recently attempted to write shorter episodes but I can tell that often the strong arm of verbosity has taken hold of my intended brevity. I will think about thinking about trying to work on this. Why? Because the woman I love dearly thinks shorter episodes are better. And, I actually do know that many people who keep up with me have better things to do than wade through the deep weeds of my discombobulated thoughts each day. One last personal observation about those verses in the first paragraph. They teach us not to be prideful and presumptive about the living out of our life. This causes some, like me, to throw around that 'Lord willing' as a caveat on just about everything. Here's my point. Adding a God bless you or Lord willing to our expressions is actually no better than an empty 'have a nice day' thrown in without true feeling or sincerity. I must, you must, we must truly recognize that life and all that it entails is truly in God's hands. When we do we move from a slogan to fully depending upon Him. That jumped into my head here at the last moment, therefore, I thought it good to share it. Thanks so much for your support. (Written with sincerity.) May God bless us all is my prayer. Amen. .....More later.