"Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make makes you." ~ John C. Maxwell

I know what some of you might be thinking. One of these days you think you are going to tune in only to find that the blogger guy at the ole blogger ranch has run out of any more to say. While some would say that happened a long time ago but I never stopped writing, I must interject that while running out of something to say is a distinct possibility, it doesn't happen to be on this day, Monday, August 21, 2017. I suppose we wake up to some serious choices for the day ahead of us. No. I am not talking about Washington, DC. Sadly, that train left the station a long time ago. I'm thinking about the solar eclipse that will be seen today. It has been widely reported with very dire warnings concerning the potential for doing eye damage if it is viewed without appropriate eye protection. Then, we have all the doomsayers grabbing hold of this event to peddle their version of the end of the world. You have to wonder what children are thinking about all of this. It's not as if they are not already living in some pretty weird times. Don't get me wrong. I do believe everyone should prepare themselves for that day when they will meet God, however, I have no use at all for these charlatans that use something like the eclipse to promulgate their whacked out claims. The bottom line, be careful. I think you'll be okay if you choose from what is behind the following three doors: 1) Don't watch at all. 2) Use a minimum of 14 rated welding goggles to glance only. 3) Drink another cup of Community. Thanks. I choose the prize behind door number 3.

We had a great time of singing and Bible study in our home last Thursday. It was our first meeting. We had 16 regulars, plus, 3 visitors and a beautiful baby boy. Six more called in with late last minute cancellations due to circumstances that came up. I get emotional just thinking about the love and fellowship that permeated our time together. I give a shout out to our Jimmy Sr. and Jimmy Jr. for their willingness to plan out the parking for our guests. Oh, how the rafters rang as we joined our voices in praise to our Great God! We prayed for those near and dear to each heart. Then, we opened up God's Book and allowed Him to speak as we shared from the 139th Division of the Psalms where we were reminded of our unfathomable infinite God who intimately cares for His own.Thanks to the wife for getting everything ready and for the refreshments she had for all to enjoy. It was a little crowded on a super hot Thursday evening. (It's August in our part of the world. Right?) We plan to join together again this week and I am already looking forward to it. Think about it. You really can't go wrong when you join your hearts and voices together with songs like: "Victory in Jesus" ~ "Glad Reunion Day" "Jesus is Coming Soon" ~ "What a Friend we have in Jesus" ~  "I Know Who Holds Tomorrow" ~ and "The Family of God".

I owe Facebook an apology. I've been boasting about how Facebook doesn't really know my location and how proud I am of that. Here's a sampling of what I see every morning: "Good morning, Al! It'll be hot today in Ventura. The forecast shows a high of 95°F." I assumed it thought I was in Ventura, California, however, after doing some checking, I discovered it is actually the name of a small community less than two miles down the road from where our Company is located. I do hate it when I miss something like that. My little story did fit my narrative so well. You know. I was happy to be messing with the mental genius, Facebook's founder, Mark Zuckerberg, only to find out he was messing with me. Yes. I will get over it. It's stuff like this that really makes my day challenging. Not really. I do hope you folks out there in the just-down-the-road Texas community of Ventura have yourself a mighty fine day out there in your 95°F weather with a heat index of triple digits. As for as Ventura, California, I guess I need to apologize to them as well. Maybe I will. Okay. I'll think about it. Does anyone have one of those shells where you can hear the ocean? I need a little inspiration. I hope you take all of this with less than a grain of salt. (For the technically inclined, a grain of salt, on average, is 0.0393701 inches.) See you next time, and in the meantime, may the Good Lord up above smile on us all. Amen. ...More later.