As our pastor likes to remind us, "Satan never takes a day off."

Our Tiffany with her family.

On Sunday, we will pause to remember the birth of our first grandchild, Tiffany Marrie. She is a remarkable woman, and mom to our first great grand, Madi. Now she will be bringing forth another great grand this year. Sadly, they now live in San Antonio, and, with all that's going on, we will have to settle for some other means of making contact. We so love her and miss seeing her and her wonderful family. May God continue to bless and keep. Happy Birthday. Our love, MiMi and Poppy.

Good morning and welcome. It is another day in the neighborhood and this one happens to be Friday, April 3, 2020.  I was notified by our bank that someone tried to pay for an order for $51 at Domino's Pizza using my bank card. They denied the purchase and canceled my card. No other details than that, however, in checking the entries in our account I found one that did go through. It was $28 for pizza from Pizza Hut. I wish there was a way to communicate with them online. You can do some things, but, not deal with this type of situation. You have to speak to a customer service representative. The last time I checked there was an estimated 51 minute wait. I kept all the information and I will try again, maybe in the wee hours of the morning when Mr. Bentley gets me up. My point? Wrongdoing never takes a holiday. Be on the alert. During hard times it is hard on the thieves too, therefore, they are likely accelerating their efforts. I watched the President's press conference devoted to the attempted escalation in the flow of drugs into our country by the cartels. They are seeking to exploit the distraction of resources brought on by the virus pandemic. Instead, they will be getting the full force of our military and policing authorities on land and sea. I do pray this response will be effective in dealing with this issue. Amen.

Here is some more meaningless blogger related nonsense written nearly 10 years ago. ~ Today I am going to turn over a new leaf. I haven't figured out any of the details yet but you will have to admit that it is a start. Right? The other day when I wrote that opening paragraph using all those phrases and figures of speech, my wife asked what exactly I was trying to get across. First and foremost, I happen to enjoy those anecdotal types of slang and it really wasn't much to it other than to lament how that some of these are getting away from us as the follow on generations fail to use them and embrace them. Other than that, it was just some game playing with words. What's that you say? Got it. I am very much aware that many out there in bloggerland have very little interest in those types of wordplay games. That's great. Me too! I don't have an interest in a lot of things that circle around the internet. Things like a report from a scientific study that proves that dog fleas can jump higher than cat fleas. It may occupy space out on the web but to put it succinctly, I couldn't care less. When you hit one of those subjects in my blog, do what I do, skip that part. In fact, it's good to know how to quickly get away from something that you are so unfond of it makes you irritated just to think about it. Hopefully, I won't be delivering those types of things but it could happen. And, even as I write this episode I am beginning to wonder just how they were able to measure those flea jumps. Inquiring minds and all of that, know what I mean? ~

Another week ends and I am so thankful to report we haven't thrown anything at each other. Yet. Joking only so please don't send me one of those 1-800 numbers to call. Sadly, they tell us that domestic abuse will increase during these stressful times and they predict a rise in the divorce rate. The stress is real when your job has gone away and your reserves are depleted. This is why we all need to do what we can to help struggling families. Our faith doesn't come from our strength or our determination and resilience. "So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17) I don't know if I will contract the coronavirus. I don't know if the wife will. We can't be certain about things like that. We can do what we can do, but, regardless of what happens, it will all work out according to God's provision. That's not an empty platitude, it is the very word of God to all those who have put their trust in Him. When folks say talk like that is fatalistic, I would argue it is faith-alistic because God told us through the Apostle Paul that things described by faith or more real than the tangible things we can see and touch in this life. That's a powerful truth for us all. May God help us to live by it during these troubling times, beginning with yours truly. I pray that you will. You pray that I will. Until next time, may God undergird our day by day living. Amen. .....More later.