Kermit the frog: "Here's some simple advice: Always be yourself. Don't take yourself too seriously. And beware of advice from experts, pigs, and members of Parliament."

I do hope you are up and at'em this fine Monday morning, formerly known as back-to-work Monday, on this November 12, 2018. Here's a corny but funny one to get our day started. I found it on a gospel radio facebook page, but, the joke itself was unattributed. ~ A guy is 72 years old and loves to fish. He was sitting in his boat the other day when he heard a voice say, 'Pick me up.' He looked around and couldn't see anyone. He thought he was dreaming when he heard the voice say again, 'Pick me up.' He looked in the water and there, floating on the top, was a frog. The man said, 'Are you talking to me?' The frog said, 'Yes, I'm talking to you.' Pick me up, then kiss me; and I'll turn into the most beautiful woman you have ever seen. I'll make sure that all your friends are envious and jealous, because I will be your bride!'. The man looked at the frog for a short time, reached over, picked it up carefully and placed it in his shirt pocket. The frog said, 'What, are you nuts? Didn't you hear what I said?' I said, 'Kiss me, and I will be your beautiful bride.' He opened his pocket, looked at the frog and said, 'Nah. At my age, I'd rather have a talking frog.' ~ It brought a smile to my face, and the fellow in the story was the same age as I, therefore, I thought it might do the same for some of my readers.

We have our annual Thanksgiving meal and service coming up at our local fellowship on November 19. That's on Monday evening. The other day when our pastor was talking about the service I found myself automatically thinking about what time I would need to leave work in order to get home, get changed, and, get ready to make the scheduled start time. See what I mean? Old habits. After about 20 seconds it dawned on me. I can show up with the earliest of the early if I choose to do so. One thing about me no longer being on my public day job, I am now available. A need arises, I can go. Things I hesitated to be involved in before, I can now do if I so choose. Think about it. That was a huge amount of time occupied in my weekly schedule. It was part of the hub that I rotated my time and availability around. I'm already getting invites from folks who would like for me to become a part of the ministry they are involved in. My point? I can either get involved in those I choose to participate in, or, I can find a new excuse since I no longer have the 'biggie' of my work schedule to fall back on. No matter what our age, we will always be in the 'valley of decision' when it comes to our service and response to God. That gives us all something to think about. Amen.

I on purpose did not watch the election return programming last Tuesday evening. The wife gave me some updates that popped up on her phone. I knew we would get the 'rest of the story' Wednesday morning. On my way to the services at our local fellowship Wednesday evening, a local radio station ran some excerpts from one of the national media outlets. The segment was their response when it was announced that Ted Cruz would retain his Senate seat, thus, guaranteeing a Republican majority. The people on that network sounded like they had lost a beloved member of their family. They didn't know what to say. These are all seasoned primetime news veterans. They were struggling to make sense of how Texans could do such a thing. There were long pauses because they couldn't decide what to say or who to go to. Finally, they switched to the fellow in Austin who was at the losing opponents watch party. He was almost in tears. He said he had been told that a progressive winning in Texas was like someone trying to break out of prison. With help, they could make it to the wall. But, in Texas, that wall is so tall, it's next to impossible to climb. I'm sorry. But, their open lamenting was comedic to me. We had an election. People voted their convictions. The result came in. This is our system. How sad that a so-called neutral news reporting agency would be so obviously in the tank for one candidate. Oh well, it did make for some interesting listening on my commute to Church. You felt and can identify with their pain? Good for you. Let's all remember that we are blessed to live in the country God has given to us even when things don't go our way. Amen. ....More later.