The Apostle Paul, via Holy Spirit inspiration penned these words in his first letter to the called out assembly meeting in Thessalonica, Greece, (Chapter 5, verse 18): ~ Amplified Bible~ ".... in every situation [no matter what the circumstances] be thankful and continually give thanks to God; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus."

Today is a very special day here at the ole blogger ranch. It's not because it's Wednesday, September 16, 2026, but I'm calling it a milestone of sorts because your word-slinging blogger has produced, since sending out my first on May 9, 2007, a total of 4,000 blogs. Thus far. That doesn't include those I never saw fit to release. I am aware of my proclivity for using way too many words when I am putting together my prose. Way too many. I am also aware of the many great writers who have warned against this tedious outcome. Here are a few: ~ Thomas Jefferson: "The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do." ~ Mark Twain: "Eschew surplusage." (From his list of writing rules, meaning to avoid unnecessary words or excess.) ~ George Eliot: "Blessed is the man who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving wordy evidence of the fact." Elmore Leonard: "I try to leave out the parts that people skip." ~ As my Baptist preacher father-in-law, the late W. L. Rawles would so often say, "Here's the thing." I often use the grammar program to improve my text; however, there are times when it just doesn't sound like me. Sorry. It may be twisted and backwards at times, but it comes from my little twisted and backward pea-sized brain. And, after all, it is a conversation. You know. My blogs remind me of when I was a little fellow sitting outside the barbershop listening to those older guys shooting the breeze. No one ever interrupted the one telling his story to correct his pronunciation, his use of prepositions, conjunctions, tenses, or predicates. They might argue the facts shared, but not the grammar. Yes. I know about the process. Go back over your writing and take out all the words that are not necessary. Thanks for reminding me. Ha. Here's my final word on this particular event: I thank God. I do. I really do. I thank Him for providing me with the wherewithal to sit here at the computer and transfer what I have to say onto the electronic page. He gave me the abilities I have. He did. He really did. Therefore, it is our Great God who deserves the thanks and the glory for it all. Amen.

 

We all have God-ordained responsibilities as honorable citizens of our country, our state, county, and local governing authorities. (God-ordained examples: Jeremiah 29:7; Matthew 5:13-16, 22:21; Romans 13:1-2; 1st Timothy 2:1-2; and Titus 3:1-2)  I will admit I need to remind one particular individual of these truths given by God, that being me, myself, and I. We see so much waste and corruption in those occupying seats of government. As I have so often said, we vote for folks who end up being the lesser of evils. That in and of itself seems like a bummer. I was reminded of one particular annual fee when I recently paid the tax registration fees on my wife's car. In our state of Texas, they collect over $2 billion dollars via these registration fees. They report spending $1.8 billion on roads. (I hope that's true.) The rest goes to other areas of spending. We are blessed to live in Texas when compared to other states. We pay the 7th lowest in taxes and fees to the state. This means our state ranks very well in having a low overall tax burden compared to other states. My reason for mentioning this matter is that, for me, it's easy to complain about taxes. My wife as well. I believe I heard her say the other day these words, "It's tax, tax, tax!" She said that. She really did. Laying my complaints aside, I conclude we are blessed to live in the land God has provided to us. We are blessed to be able to pay our share of the tax burden. We are blessed from above. We are. We are so blessed. Thanks. I needed that. I did. I really did. Maybe someone else needed it too. Thank You, Lord. Amen. Just in case you are interested, the grammar program had a field day as it underlined much of today's blog. I hope it is happy with the work it did because, at the end of it all, here is my take: It is what it is. Ha!