Remember, God's got this. Amen.

I bid you a hearty hello on this Wednesday, March 10, 2021. The story continues. Everyone has their own story and we learn, over time, as believers, God is at work in each portion of every day. "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28) This past Sunday, our Church sang along with the choir the song, "Way Maker". There is a part of this song that speaks to my heart:

Even when I don't see it, You're working

Even when I don't feel it, You're working

You never stop, You never stop working

You never stop, You never stop working

I don't know about you but I need to be reminded of this truth. The verse doesn't say all good things, it says all things, and, I thank God for His working in and through the circumstances in my life. Amen. 

I am thankful to report the wife's sister is out of the hospital and doing well. Thank God! Later this morning, our Jimmy has a consultation with the medical folks to discuss his heart cath procedure and potential follow-on treatment options. Thanks for all the prayers on his behalf. I will be dropping him off again and maybe this time I will wear my track shoes. Just joking. I think the wife's sister was discharged around 2 p.m., but they didn't get out of the hospital and back here to our home until nearly 7 p.m. I prepared them a hearty supper. It didn't all turn out great but as my mother-in-law used to say, it was eatable. They feasted on pot roast with carrots and potatoes, rice and gravy, field peas and fried okra, homemade cornbread, and sliced tomatoes, followed by pecan pie. My cornbread didn't hold together as well as I would have liked and the rice was a wee bit sticky, but based on how they ate, I would say it was acceptable. I will do better next time.

I do hope you all have a great day and may God continue to work in and through the circumstances we all experience. Amen. .....More later.

“I try to stay in a constant state of confusion just because of the expression it leaves on my face.” ― Johnny Depp

Good morning and welcome. It's Tuesday, March 9, 2021, and, we get up today with a thankful heart that God has allowed us to continue our journey. Of late, we have been pretty much as the sign on the airplane restroom door often indicates: Occupied. Last Thursday, I accompanied our middle son, Jimmy, to his heart stress test. I dropped him off and went on a quest. That involved finding a parking spot in a huge medical complex. I gathered that circling around and around wouldn't be too productive since there were already dozens of folks doing that very thing. Therefore, I went to the next lot, and the next, and the next. I finally located a spot and began my trek back to the building where Jimmy was awaiting his test. I was there to help him with the copay. The screening lady said they had a strict no visitor policy. I mentioned I was there to help with the copay. She said she had been told about me and she believed they could make an exception. She took my temperature, asked me all the pertinent questions, and then she handed me a little green dot to place on my shirt. She then directed me to the office where they had permitted the strict no visitor policy to be waived. They do have shuttles operated by what appeared to be volunteers but none of them showed any interest in slowing down at all as they whizzed by me. They probably didn't know I would be eligible for a green dot. After the stress test and EKG, the cardiologist did identify a couple of blockages and they will soon be scheduling a heart cath procedure to see what to do next. I appreciate prayers on our Jimmy's behalf. Thanks. Amen. 

Last Friday, the wife's sister, Dorothy, had foot surgery here in our area. She came to our home to recuperate. It was supposedly a fairly routine surgical procedure but as we all know, nothing typically ends up being routine. Our first issue had to do with the pain medication the doctor had set up for her. The CVS that received the prescription did not have the drug in stock. CVS cannot transfer a pain med to another location without the doctor's involvement. No problem. We had been given a phone number. That number would get to the doctor quickly. Hello? Call after call, message after message, no response. When you have your foot cut on, pain typically follows as the anesthetic wears off. We did what we could to help. Then some onset nausea set in. We would get that stopped for a while and then it would start back up again. Finally, at 1 a.m., Monday, she was kept at the ER for an extended period to administer fluids and pain meds. As I write this note,  she is in the hospital to continue this process. I can report she feels tons better and her spirits are good. We believe she will be released today and she sees her surgeon on Thursday for a follow-up visit. She has been a real trooper through all of these challenges and it has been our privilege, (the wife has done most of the heavy lifting), to do our best to help her and her husband, Jim, to deal with it all. Political correctness alert: The thought came to me whether trooper was accurate or should I have used troopette. Just joking. 

I must be doing some better on my writing. I don't say that due to any quality threshold being crossed but I have noticed the grammar software I use is finding more and more of my words to question. It may mean I am beginning to begin to be back to slinging my own version of slang. Enjoy the rest of your day and be sure to remember that we all are in God's hands. Amen. ......More later.

"You don't need a silver fork to eat good food." ~ The late famous New Orleans chef, Paul Prudhomme

Hello and welcome. Today is Monday, March 8, 2021, and, I do hope you are inclined to rise and shine and give God the glory. Amen. The brotherly biscuit challenge is underway with our eldest, Chris, throwing down his version of the gauntlet. The photo is of Chris's first shot, this past Saturday morning, at made-from-scratch biscuits based on his mom's approach. His gravy didn't do as well as he wanted it to, but, he knows what he did wrong and is ready to get it 'right'. Those, my friend, are beautiful biscuits. In fact, they look a whole lot like the ones we had Saturday morning. Will someone please send this photo to Crackerbarrell so they know what a real homemade biscuit is supposed to look like. Sorry. I couldn't resist. A few weeks ago, the wife and I ate at one and they brought out these little biscuits. I told the wife they must be the appetizer, you know, like the ones Red Lobster serves. She said she thought they were their famous buttermilk homemade biscuits. You've got to be kidding. Right? Oh well, to each his or her own, but, let me describe it the way I had mine last Saturday. I had it oozing with butter and I crammed a nice piece of beef sausage into it, and, I can't say I saw a bright light, but, it reminded me of what I heard Charles Barkley say one time. He was commenting on an unbelievable play made on the court and he said this, "I have no idea what the word surreal means, but, I think what we just saw might be it." I think you get my drift here. Good as it gets .... and then some!

Bentley here, "Trying to be sociable, I told this little joke to the lab next door, 'Why do you have to be careful when it's raining cats and dogs? Because you might step in a poodle.' He just shrugged his shoulders. Tough neighborhood folks, tough indeed!"

Mr. Bentley believes that if we go to the grocery store we should always come home with something special for him. He does. He really does. He goes from bag to bag awaiting the reveal. Last week, the wife returned and he was going crazy. I asked if she got him something and she said she had bought another bag of those bone-like chewies with peanut butter since the one in the cabinet was getting low. (Those things are outrageously high. Twenty of these smallish bones are nearly $11 at the big box store.) He does love them. She said she would fetch him one from the cabinet. I told her that wouldn't do. She needed to open the new package and give him one from it. That way he would know it was bought especially for him. I wouldn't want him to be disappointed. When I told Chris about this, he said he wished I hadn't. A wee bit over the top I guess. Right? Oh well, I'm only reporting the facts here, nothing more and nothing less. 

I get the idea that Mr. Chris thinks maybe the dementia train has already left the station. I've always loved trains. Have a great rest of the day and I hope God will add His blessings. To us all. Amen. ....More later. 

"The so-called cancel culture on the Internet, the extremism that sometimes flares up on university campuses and newsrooms, and the exaggerated claims of those who practice identity politics are a political and cultural problem that will require real bravery to fight." ~ Anne Applebaum

Welcome one and all. It is Friday, March 5, 2021. These are some mighty unusual times we are living in. The meme photo above reflects on some of what we are seeing each day. Dr. Seuss has now been deemed to have violated the rules of political correctness in five of his books. The Coca-Cola polar bear is deemed to be too white in keeping with the Coca-Cola corporate emphasis on teaching their employees to be ashamed of being white. Mr. Potato Head was deemed to be too gender-specific. They are all in the unemployment line now. I know. It is a joke, but, the reality of where all of this is going, especially for our impressionable children is quite frightening. Just when I think there has to be some level of including the long-held common sense values our nation was built on, bam! another round of craziness shows up. As I so often say, we better hold on, stay prayed up, and hope for God's intervention. That's how I see it. Feel free to have your own take. May God help is my prayer. Amen.

There is still a buzz whirring around the forth and back conversations regarding the wife's made-from-scratch homemade biscuits. It seems a lot of folks would like to see a video of her making them. I know I write my stuff in an over-the-top exaggerated style and I do that for effect. I hope folks recognize it for what it is. I never intend to offend anyone just for the sake of being able to. Here is a little ditty I wrote a few years ago on the subject of homemade cooking: "My wife eats out quite often. She is out and about doing ministry here and there, and they often stop for lunch. She pretty much enjoys eating out. She believes that I no longer am well suited to eating out. She thinks I'm way too particular and that I would rather stay home and eat whatever it is that she cooks. I actually cannot dispute her reading of the situation. The older I get, it is the more difficult I have in enjoying restaurant-prepared food. The other day someone was talking to her about how wonderful the homecooked meal they had enjoyed at a particular establishment. The wife was telling me about it and she saw my eyes roll back in my head even as she mentioned the place. I'm not for the government getting involved in the day-by-day aspects of our lives, but, something should be done about the false advertising that is being perpetrated with the use of that word 'homemade'. I volunteer to testify when they call a hearing. My approach to questioning would be along these lines. "Did they actually ever eat any of the homemade cooking from my Granny Mac, my mom, my mother-in-law, or my wife?" "Were they, like my wife, before age 8, taught how to make biscuits from scratch where you squeeze them off the dough and roll them up by hand to place them in a greased cast iron skillet?" "Were they ever in the presence of a house full of people licking their fingers because the food was so good, way before the Colonel ever even had a clue?" Homemade, my foot! They should be ashamed but they are not. I am but they aren't. No wonder this world is so messed up."

I do hope everyone has a really great Saturday and Lord's Day Sunday. I will do my best to come up with some more over-the-top exaggerated observations for the next time we visit. May God bless us all and may He bless our great nation. Again. Amen. .....More later.

Philippians 4:19 "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."

Bentley here, "The people here marvel how smart I am. I heard him reading this to her: 'Research has suggested that dogs can read our cues, show emotional connection to their owners, and even display jealousy. Studies have found that the brightest dogs appear to be capable of learning hundreds of words.' Really? I could have told them that."

Good morning and welcome to Thursday, March 4, 2021. I will be brief today since I am accompanying our middle son Jimmy for his heart stress test this morning. There seems to always be something on the agenda here. I know you have noticed all the forth and back going on regarding the Governor's relaxation of the mask mandate here in Texas beginning on March 10. He took a beating on the power grid issues during the recent deep freeze, and some are saying he is doing the mask deal as a way of changing the subject. I do know the liberals are going crazy over it since their plan is to keep all the people controls in place until they 'sound' the all-clear. I did see a pop-up talking about how the masks have greatly influenced and reduced the number of flu cases reported for this season. This has led some to suggest wearing masks during flu season may become part of dealing with the flu post-Covid-19. The governor must have known he would catch heat for his decision to open up 100% and dealing with the mask situation. President Biden said this decision reflected neanderthal thinking. I thought that to be a pretty big word and I was impressed he read it without stumbling. Sorry. I know that sounded sarcastic, but, I was sharing what I thought when I saw the clip. Any stumble by President Reagan was interpreted by the mainstream as being a mental issue while in Biden's case it appears to be a stylistic endearment. Again, dripping with it, but, that's my take.

I do hope you have a most wonderful day and that we all will take the time to thank God for all He does for us. Amen. .....More later.

"We humans make plans, but the Lord has the final word." ~ Proverbs 16:1

Good morning and welcome. I am running a wee bit behind this morning and I might add, a little slow as well. It is Tuesday, March 2, 2021. I posted a note on Facebook about the cooking show where made-from-scratch biscuits and gravy were on the menu. Many folks requested a copy of the video. Unfortunately, Rodney's video was shot mostly in bits and pieces, more like crib notes so I will consider shooting another one for distribution. At the cooking demonstration, our eldest, Chris, was also an observer. I think he and Rodney may be planning a 'throwdown' at some point and time to see who gets it the closest to their mom's recipe. For the wife, this was very difficult since she has never used any measurements. Since she was a little girl she did it all by sight. She did try and provide them with an idea of the amounts as she went through it. It was all in good fun. Rodney's son Brady said he thought mastering the biscuits and gravy was a really great idea, but, if it was him, he would concentrate on learning how to do MiMi's fried chicken. I agree with all of the above and thank God to be a recipient of her culinary efforts. Amen.

Well, we have the heat on again, as of this morning. We have been running the A/C for the last several days. Texas weather. Like a yo-yo. But, we are thankful we can adjust as we go along our way. Speaking of running hot and cold, some of the stuff coming out of this new administration would be laughable if it was a skit on Saturday Night Live, but, sadly, it is our day-by-day reality. Speaking of SNL, which we do not watch, I read where they are staying away from any jokes or criticisms of President Biden or his staff. This is a huge change since they lampooned or harpooned President Trump every week. The gaffes alone from President Biden would write weekly scripts, but, they would be in trouble from the leftist elites. At any rate, we are in for a white water rapids ride over the next few years, but, as I always remind us, God knows all about it and He always has the final say. Amen. 

Have a blessed rest of the day and let's all remember to pray for those in authority. Amen. ....More later.

Happy 50th Birthday to our baby, Rodney. Saturday, February 27.

Good morning and welcome. It is Monday, March 1, 2021, and I bid each one a warm March welcome.

Happy 50th to our baby, Rodney! May God add His blessings. Our love, mom and dad

A little poem I found:

Fifty years have come and gone

since the day that you were born.

Half a century, or five decades,

is the amount of time that it equates.

Yet no matter how much has changed,

the math remains the same.

But why worry about the amount of the number

when you cannot ever be a second younger?

For no one can subtract years or time.

In fact, they will keep on multiplying.

Understand that each year that you live,

you and the world have been given a gift.

And for this, we should celebrate.

So I'll begin by saying "Happy Birthday!"

Nine of us gathered for a late Sunday afternoon birthday supper to honor Rodney's 50th. He chose the menu and mom did the cooking: Her special fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, black eyed peas, corn on the cobb, homemade yeast bread, and, old fashioned banana pudding for dessert. Yum! Yum!

Celebrity Cooking Instructor.

After finishing with our feasting, it was on to the gift Rodney had requested. He wanted only to observe, take notes, and video his mom making homemade biscuits and gravy made from bacon grease. So, we set up our kitchen version of The Food Network and the cooking show was on. Yep. She actually made a cast-iron skillet of made from scratch biscuits and a castiron skillet of gravy. It was a great day and we thank God for it. Take care now, you hear? And, may God bless each one. Amen. .....More later.