Charles Dickens: Called the Bible "the best Book that ever was or ever will be in the world".

I'm back. Thanks for waiting. Joking only. Today is Tuesday, September 8, 2026, and I bid each and every one of you tuning in a hearty hello and welcome. You did not miss my blog yesterday because I didn't climb the stairs to get anything done in the ole blogger ranch office. Why? We were otherwise occupied, so to speak, doing this, that, and the other. We did have a most wonderful Lord's Day Sunday where the wife and I showed up to honor God and fellowship with Him and our dear brothers and sisters in Christ. The wife is still in recovery mode from her surgery, but she made it through our Life Group gathering and the worship music time before we needed to get her back to the homestead. She was hurting pretty badly, but she made the effort. Showing up counts, folks; it really does. Every day she does more and more to get back to her normal, hard-working self. She told me the other day that we must be saving a ton of money, since she is not her well-known shopping self. I nodded because she normally is a very active person, and it doesn't take much of a suggestion for her to be ready to hit the road. Speaking of saving money, I filled out a very long survey sent to me by the Republican Party. I usually don't participate in surveys, but I did spend about 15 minutes on this one. It had to do with gleaning information about how the rank and file views how things are going, connected to the upcoming midterm elections. We are conservative and will vote for conservative nominees as best we can find them. Even if we have to hold our nose, we vote conservative. This particular survey tried to hit the issues from a myriad of different angles. I answered how the leadership spends their time telling us how much better off we are, and sadly, most folks on the street are not feeling it. Why? The quote is attributed to James Carville, who advised Bill Clinton during the 1992 race against George H.W. Bush: "It's the economy, stupid!" We have children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who are challenged by the high cost of living, where their incomes are not keeping up. That was my theme in my responses. Will I end up voting mostly Republican? I likely will, but I may wear a clothespin on my nose to do so. Enough said.

 

I hope I didn't come across in a negative way, but I tend to lean towards cynicism when it comes to politics. When it comes to the political shenanigans that permeate our system, well, I often use the quote from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, where Mercutio says these words as he dies from a wound: "A plague o' both your houses!" Again, we do our best to investigate the candidates and choose the best conservative available to vote for; however, we know only God can be trusted, and that's who we are relying on. You may think that is a jaded view of the world, but we are still entitled in our country to have our own view of how things are going. Or, at least I think we can still have our own opinion. I hasten to add that I know there are good, God-fearing people holding political office. There are. There really are. And if you find one, let me know. It's a joke. Calm down. My advice is that we all continue to seek God's help in every aspect of our lives, including how we participate in the political realm. He gives the truest and best advice. He does. Every time. Always. Forever and ever, Amen.