2 Corinthians 1:3-5 New King James Version (NKJV) Comfort in Suffering 3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4) who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5) For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ."

My dad's marker. He actually was born in 1923 but falsified his birth date for an early entry to serve in WW2.

Good Monday morning. It is August 12, 2019, and, I bid you a good start to the generally recognized work-week ahead. Have you ever witnessed something and thought to yourself 'I've been there and done that'? This happened to me not too long ago. I drove into the parking lot of the place where our local congregation meets. Next door to us is a very large cemetery. I saw a fellow standing by a newly dug and decorated grave. He was sobbing. It also appeared he was talking. His body was shaking some. I don't know any of the details, but, I do know exactly that feeling. I've been to our ancestral burying place many times. Often, very early in the morning. No one there but me. Remembering those who were so close and so influential in our lives does produce a response. In my case, several left so soon and there just never seemed to be enough time with them. My point? I understand where that fellow was coming from. Grief. Pain. Sadness. Hurt. Yep. Been there and done that. I always feel better after I've visited 'my people'. I hope he did as well. We've been blessed with a lot of good things in this life. At the same time, we, like everyone who breathes air on the planet, have had our share of difficulties. God can be trusted. And, He sees our tears. ("Go and say to Hezekiah, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David, "I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.'" Isaiah 38:5) Bolding is mine.

I'm only four days away from suiting up as Santa Claus. The BIG SUIT! Tis the season to be jolly, or, better put, Tis the season to be melting hot. I will be doing promotional photos with some children to preview the upcoming sets in the studio. The folks there are aware of how hot I get. They always crank down the A/C and they provide a fan too. I will be wearing my cooling vest and it will help as I am scheduled to do four hours. Lord willing, if we can, we will be doing a special Christmas program for some Headstart kids the second week in December. The lady coordinating the program said they were willing to pay but did not have much of a budget to work with. When I told her, if we are able to make their schedule, we will donate our time, she said her eyes were filled with tears. I have been wanting to do more charity events and this one seemed to pop up from nowhere. I guess we will learn later how she even got our name. The program will provide breakfast, a gift like a bicycle, and some other goodies to take home for Christmas morning. The lady told me she grew up in an impoverished home and knows all too well how much this will mean to the 50 to 100 kids who will be there. The mission of the Santa Enterprise: To Bring Joy to Children of all Ages.

Here's one for the record book. After the horrific shootings last week, the NY Times, who claims to still report 'just the facts' put up a headline that read, "TRUMP URGES UNITY VS. RACISM". That is exactly what the President did. However, the left went completely berzerk. They didn't like that headline at all. It was too positive. They began to have an apoplectic fit in all social media outlets, screaming about the NY Times selling them out with this headline. The assault was relentless. Supposedly, here we have the newspaper that still calls itself the record of truth, but, they folded up like a wet paper sack when the criticisms came their way. They ended up changing the headline to,  "ASSAILING HATE BUT NOT GUNS." So much for their independence or journalistic integrity. But, we knew that already. Right? Here is the news. We don't like that version of the news. Okay. Sorry. We will change it to make you happy. Where I come from, there are names for stuff like that, but, I had better not repeat any of them here. The left has only one agenda. Blame President Trump. Any nuance of varying from this narrative will not be tolerated. Period. They claim the President is responsible for the shootings. But they do not blame President Obama for the several that happened on his watch. Sadly, many of the folks at home are buying this stuff. Sadly. Okay. That should do it for today. Have a great Monday and may God help this country of ours. Amen. ....More later.