"This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles." Psalm 34, Verse 6

Prayer vigil, Sutherland Springs, Texas.

I am back but feeling particularly saddened today, on this Monday, November 6, 2017. The sadness is prompted by another mass killing of innocents in our nation. This one occurred at a Baptist Church some 200 miles from where we lay our heads down to sleep. That's about a three-hour drive. Last night in our gathering together as a local fellowship of believers, the same type of regular gathering where all those people died, we all responded to a time of crying out to God on behalf of those impacted by this senseless act, for our divided nation, and for families in crisis. Many of us found our way to the altar to make our prayers and petitions known to Almighty God. Our pastor used a portion of David's testimony from the Psalms, in the 34th Division, "This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles." (Verse 6) The details continue to trickle in, but, as I write this account there have been at least 26 killed and 20 injured. The perpetrator has also died either by his own hand or by the intervention of someone in pursuit. The answer is not to shut the doors of our Churches. People need to be changed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Church is the ordained emissary chosen by God to proclaim this message. These senseless acts reinforce our knowledge of how corrupted the heart can become, but, it should also reaffirm our outreach with God's message of love and salvation. Amen.

We got back from our little getaway trip this past Saturday around 6 p.m. God blessed us with a great time of relaxation and enjoyment in our time away. We ended our brief excursion by attending the sold-out concert of Andre Rieu and his orchestra in Sunrise, Florida. We enjoyed the music from this world-class group of performers. Getting into the BB&T Center was not so pleasant. Sold out, but they still didn't open the doors until 7 p.m. The wife's purse was maybe 1/8" too wide, therefore, we had to go to the edge of the entrance area and check it in at a security truck and then get back in line. (Fortunately, a lady recognized the wife because she had the same problem and she let us in near the front.) I love the fact that older people continue to find opportunities for gainful employment. However, I'm not sure the lady checking us out should have been given that duty. She was an almost clone of Tim Conway playing the 90-year-old man on the old Carol Burnett Show. We missed a part of the grand opening but we finally got into our seats along with the thousands of others filing in even as the performance went on. It was all good and we thank God for the opportunity and the means to be able to enjoy our time away. Saturday night when my head first touched my three ancient feather pillows, I couldn't help myself. I told the wife I felt a tear in my eye. I'm not certain, but, I thought I might have. Later, when she rehearsed that same story she said it like this, "I was so glad to be back in our own bed, but, I don't think I cried about it like you did." See how things get started?

I did miss our daily visits while I was away but when I woke up this morning at 3:05 a.m., I knew that my normal schedule had adjusted to the time change, and I was back on track. The wife had reassured me that she didn't think much could stop me from immediately getting back into my own routine. She told our eldest son that his dad did quite a lot of sleeping while we were gone. She didn't mention that I was really tired from walking around one of the largest shopping malls in America. At the entrance of that particular mall, there was a currency conversion kiosk and I counted some 12 different nations represented for converting their money into dollars. Since we were in Southern Florida, we recognized the huge Cuban influence in those we dealt with there. However, there were many other nationalities we encountered as well. As I sat out in front of a shoe store, a fellow came and sat down beside me. Soon, his daughter came out and they were engaged in an animated conversation. I chuckled. He turned to me and said, "Hey, you must speak French, right?" I told him, no, but I did understand what they were talking about. I told him that he wasn't sure it was a bargain to pay full price for one pair and get the next pair for $10. He laughed and said that was 100% correct. They were from Montreal, Canada where he continues to be a real estate agent for over 35 years. I gave them our Santa Enterprise card. About that time the wife walked up and I introduced her as Mrs. Claus. He said he thought it might have been my daughter. She loves that kind of stuff. I don't. She really does. And, I'm still trying to decide whether it was a real tear or maybe my eyes were watering. Allergies. Enjoy and may God add His blessings. Amen. ....More later.