Happy 52nd Birthday to our Jimmy!

Today is Thursday, April 30, 2020, and on behalf of the wife and I, we wish our middle son, Jimmy, a very happy 52nd birthday. Jimmy is currently hospitalized but we do talk to him daily and hope to have a Zoom session today where we can see each other. Jimmy was blessed with intelligence and an ability to catch on to things quickly. He has worn many different hats in the various jobs he has held. He is the proud father of four children. He does deal with some serious mental health issues and has done so for many years. This has caused him to be disabled. We pray for him each day and ask God to help the helpers to help him. Happy Birthday, Son, and my God provide. Amen. ...Our love, mom and dad

I heard a really great sermon the other day and one of the things that got my attention is what the preacher said about the times we are going through. He said there are so many folks who are obsessing in watching the news and they absorb it for hours and hours each day. He said they watch the news and check The Book, (God's Word, the Bible), only occasionally. He recommended that we all turn that around. We should be checking the news but watching with intensity The Book. He also went on to say we have two ways to deal with what is going on around us. We can react or we can respond. The knee jerk, the sky is falling reactions are not in keeping with our understanding of God's provision and watchcare. As believers, God would have us to respond in faith by demonstrating His love for us and others as we go about our day by day living. I'll be honest, those words spoke to my heart because it is so easy to pay the most attention to ourselves, and when we do buy into the world's view of things we end up reacting instead of responding as God would have us to. I often use what may sound like a cliche, "God's got this." Truth is, He does. "The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all." Psalm 103:19 Amen.

As you all know, I have been at this blogging stuff for a good long run. Here is what I wrote back on June 4, 2007, my second month of doing blogs: ~ Obsessive-Compulsive Blogging Disorder, OCBD! The title is supposed to be a joke. But don’t be surprised if it’s not a coming attraction on the next list of addictive behaviors! My wife often asks how I come up with all this stuff. My eldest son wondered out loud if it was a good idea to share private thoughts with the world. My answer to the first is that when you do a lot of living and are blessed to live into your 60’s, you most likely have more stories than those who don’t (Yogi Berra didn’t say this one, but he could have!). My answer to the second has to do with sharing the insight God has allowed me to learn especially how He has worked in my life; therefore, these stories may be an encouragement to others. A song I love, I understand to have been originally a Negro spiritual, has this sentiment expressed: "If I can help somebody as I go along, then my living has not been in vain." On the other hand, I will admit that knowing what to write about next can be challenging. My grandfather, who was a giant in my life especially during most of my formative years, was a man of few words. He used to warn me about talking too much and sometimes when I was really wound up he would say: "Son, are you coming up for air anytime soon?" And even my lovely bride gives me that eye over the eyebrow look occasionally to let me know she thinks I am dominating the conversation. I do notice at times when you do a search of a particular item and land on someone’s blog you might notice how they had much to say and were faithful to keep it going for a while, but nothing has been posted for months or perhaps over a year. Guess they ran out of stuff to share, or maybe they switched to a better blog engine or they just became fatigued from all the effort. Hopefully, if and when, and I realize that’s a big if, I run out of things to share I will use the Porky Pig ending and write a final blog entitled: "That’s All Folks!" ~

Have a great rest of the day and may God bless each one. Amen. .....More later.