"The only steps in this house are the stairsteps and the only half in this house is the half and half creamer." ~ Al Hodson

Welcome. It's Friday, August 11, 2017. I hope everyone in our area is enjoying the fact that we are nearly in the middle of August and due to some rains of late, our grass is still green. Hello! That's not always how it works in this area even when we water as much as we can. I will be heading out to Louisiana later this morning. My brother and I will continue our work on getting everything in order in support of the settling of mom's and dad's affairs. We are making progress and we are so blessed to have the support of our huge blended family. Those who follow my daily episodes are aware that my brother is technically, my step brother. He is our recently departed dad's eldest son. When he and I call each other to discuss a particular estate related matter we never fail to visit and swap stories. Just for the enjoyment of it. Our family crew is well over 100 strong and this closeness among our blended family is something very special to us. Our desire to preserve this family bond is the agreed to foundation upon which we make our decisions regarding the duties mom and dad assigned to us. The wives are going this time. We both are glad. We do need some grunt labor. That was a joke. They both read my blog. I hope they are laughing. We do need their help. One of the main things they can do is to keep us focused on working instead of visiting. Based on prior history, I think they can do that.

Lord willing, we will begin an in-home prayer and Bible study beginning next Thursday evening. Our inaugural gathering has about 20 folks coming with the potential for more. We have wanted to do this for a long time. We have the piano tuned, the song books ready, and a seating arrangement that will accommodate our time together. And, a high priority item, the Community Coffee will be flowing. Why didn't we do this before? Well, sometimes invention is the mother of necessity and sometimes necessity is the mother of invention. At any rate, the time has come and we are so excited to start this new adventure. It has been my great privilege to stand and share God's Holy Word for nearly 50 years. I'm not bragging on myself because I learned a long time ago that true Bible teaching comes from God through the teacher. Therefore, I am praying that God will speak to us all as we seek to honor Him with the lives He has given to us. And, that He will be honored by all that we do. Maybe some of our neighbors will also come. Now that would be such a blessing! Amen.

What a week! I worked on booking some Santa events. I worked on a number of estate related matters. We worked on preparing for the upcoming new Bible study. I worked on doing my blog each day. Oh yeah, I did some work in support of the Company where I spend many of my waking hours each week. Some work. Thus far, they haven't shown up with a mirror to check my breathing to see if I am still alive, but, I'm sure on some days they wonder. Yes. I did nearly pass out in Church due to the side effects from my new diabetic medication. Believe me, that was a come to the altar, wake up call. (Continuing with the Church motif here.) Since that happened, I have been very careful to make sure I have plenty of snacks to keep my blood sugar stabilized. And, the good news, early on, is how my fasted numbers in the morning are coming down. That, folks, is great news to yours truly. Busy? Yes. Hopefully, gainfully so, in terms of being involved in things that do make a difference. And, as I often say, with a goal of making a difference for time and eternity. Until our next time together, enjoy your Saturday and Lord's Day Sunday. May God bless us all is my prayer. Amen. ....More later.