What do you think? A picture should be worth at least ten words in this economy!

I believe our new president is on the fast track for learning new things and I want to consider a few of them on this Tuesday, February 10, 2009. Learning quickly shouldn't be that difficult because he is a very bright man with a supposed stratospheric IQ even though no one seems to know what it might be. One lesson learned would be to never announce how you are going to enforce the highest ethical standards for anyone and everyone associated with your administration, only to have stuff immediately flying all over the place that prove just the opposite. Another might be to never allow the House democrats a blank page when it comes to putting together a spending bill. He generally stated some very lofty goals and Nancy and her team immediately piled on the pork to the extent that the American people had to say: “Enough is enough”. He may also have figured out that extending an olive branch to a madman leader in Iran might not be the best policy when that person responds with a demand that you get down on your knees and ask forgiveness before he will have a dialogue with you. Oops! Many say it takes more than a handful of days to get everything sorted out and working but we were not the ones who groaned on and on for weeks about how they were ready day one to not only hit the ground running but to do so with dazzling effectiveness and efficiency. You may be one of those still dizzy from loitering around that huge smelly pile of rhetoric but the results or facts will typically always have the last say.
There’s little doubt he will get the big spending bill he is currently fear mongering through congress. I thought he ran on promising not to operate his administration by using scare tactics. He already has found several new avenues that will add more funding for killing additional babies and all were made operable with only the stroke of his pen. As he has made it clear, he won the election; therefore, he gets his way. Presently, this continues to work and will work until it doesn’t work and when it quits working it will be time to bring forth his report card for review by the American people. So far, he continues to be very popular (65%) and that’s always a major factor as one seeks to get their agenda dealt with on the front burner. However, his numbers, while high, are not nearly as high as they were, and they could continue to take hits as people learn more and more about some of his paybacks being paid off in the form of appointments being doled out and in his issuance of executive orders. This legislating with the pen was one of the major complaints against President George W. Bush by the folks that now show up at the signing ceremonies to lavishly praise his successor who is doing the exact same thing. Go figure. Warning: Watching politics may not be suitable for younger viewers!

Now some might think I to be someone who just sits around tying to find reasons to criticize our new president. While it is true that I have very pointed disagreements with his philosophy and his plans, I do hope that being critical just for the fun of it is not what I am trying to do. I am aware there are some who provide their steady stream of critical comments because that is how they make their living. Talk radio is filled with these types of high paid guns. Often their information is not accurate or fair but many who call themselves red state patriots will continue to believe even the absurd long after being shown the facts. I have no time for that kind of foolishness but rather think we all would do well to weigh the impact that some of these new initiatives will have, not only for us, but for generations to come. What kind of America do we want to have? What kind of values do we want to see emphasized? Take those and then use them to compare the actions, deeds, and plans being pursued by the new administration. For me, there’s a huge disconnect and while I poke fun at some of the obvious examples of this, it really is not a laughing matter. Let's all do our best to have a really great day and realize that God is America’s only hope and when we return to Him, now that’s change we can believe in! Amen. ....More later.

It's one of those Monday deals!

Okay, so I am human after all, because guess what? I am actually running a little behind schedule this Monday, February 9, 2009. Perhaps it is the drizzly weather or maybe the melt down Saturday and Sunday I experienced, or a combination of ‘all of the above’. Me being late (5:10 a.m. instead of 4:30 a.m.) is not a major event when you consider we don’t start officially until 7 a.m., but it does register on my internal time clock who is still trying to figure out what in the world is going on. I do exaggerate. My wife was concerned enough to tell me before I left not to drive fast to try and make up my time. Make up my time? I’m still nearly two hours early! I had some fairly decent rain in a spot or two coming in this morning and do we ever need the rain! Unfortunately, the areas where it rained the most were populated mainly with parking lots and businesses and I wonder why it always seems to be that way.

But good morning any way and welcome to another addition of my meanderings through wonderland. No one ever said this life would be easy and we at times find ourselves like the TV character Fred Sandford grasping our chest and mimicking his calling out to his wife in heaven that he’s coming to join her. The great news for us is that we do not have to carry our burdens alone. The truth as reflected in the Bible says that we can bring our heavy load to our Savior and He will help us to deal with all that weighs us down. He also has His very own special helpers that come along side and do their best to support that load that seems to be so heavy at times. We are blessed to be surrounded by these types of folks who care enough to pray, to encourage, and to do what they can to help in our time of need.

Have you ever wished you could wake up and all the things that are currently on your stress list would have disappeared? I can’t say that I have done that but given the impact the challenges in life bring with them, I can sure understand why many might do so. As believers, we do not look for a magic wand or a fantasy escape, we trust in our Great God to work according to His plan and purpose, and to keep every promise He has made to us. This includes His being with us in the good times and the bad. Bottom line is that we come away knowing this to be true and because we do, we end up grasping at words just to describe how blessed we really are. That’s right. If you have the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, then you have God as your Father, and you have His living presence in the person of Holy Spirit God living in you, then let me inform you, my friend: Welcome to the ultimate in blessings, regardless of what this life might send your way. Hey, if I keep reading my own stuff I might just get excited about the day! There’s still hope, for you as well! Have a blessed day and may God be with us all! Amen. (I apologize for some of the wording. The grammar checker went wild. He kept saying you’ve got to be kidding but I didn’t change anything!) ….More later.

Some things just cannot pass the smell test!

Hello again Americans, it is Friday, February 6, 2009, and time for some pugnacious if not ponderous punditry pillaged from the pages of those charged with keeping us well informed. Don’t get the idea that my thoughts and ideas come out of a ‘think tank’ because I would never give myself that much credit. However, I do believe, even to the casual observer, these are some very strange times that we are living in. If our recently departed President George W. Bush had experienced the problems and subsequent fall out from his nominees we can pretty much know what the mainstream media would be saying. Another of President Bush’s nominees has been forced to fall on his sword. Obviously, the ‘decider’ made a bad decision because so far his touted MBA has not been able to deliver clean nominees. Many believe President Bush is so ‘hands off’ he doesn’t have a clue regarding those who are withdrawing their names even as we speak. However, this is not the type of press the new occupant at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is receiving.

Here’s my take on much of what I have read. Isn’t it refreshing to have a president who is willing to take responsibility for mistakes that have been made? This avalanche of praise causes most to totally neglect the incompetence shown behind the losing of so many nominees as they focus their praise only on the Great One’s confession that he ‘screwed up’. Give me a break! Am I the only one who can see that President Obama’s charm tour where he loudly took responsibility on every outlet available was nothing more than a strategy employed to deflect attention from the mishandling of finding qualified appointees? We all should be so lucky! No lobbyists will serve in my administration. Except for the dozen or more exceptions that were necessary to make certain the most qualified individual was put in place. No one having ethical problems will be in my administration. Except for those already confirmed like the new secretary of state with Whitewater all over her hands and the new treasury secretary who gives smart tax evaders a good run for their money. The list goes on and on but the press is focused on the cult personality of this one dripping with Harry Trumanesque: The buck stops here. My take says it's more like: The phony baloney is alive and well! Okay, one more time for good measure: Give me a break!

Please believe me when I say that I am not making excuses for President Bush because he will be thoroughly examined by left, center, and right leaning historians. What I am telling you is instead of there being a vast right wing conspiracy (which never existed) there is now in place a vast left wing consortium who have as their mission to fulfill Isaiah’s curse: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil.” (See Isaiah 5:20) Well, that’s about it from my “View from here” and I am very much aware that we all are inclined to not always be right in our opinions. Hopefully, those of us who care will be willing to stand up and tell the Emperor that while being told how beautiful his lovely robes are, he actually is parading around without a stitch. Enough already. Have a great Saturday and first day of the week Sunday where we will have an opportunity to go and worship together with other believers. Until next time, may the good Lord bless and keep each one. Amen. ….More later.

Hey doc, can you stop your lecture long enough to take time to listen to my heart?

We have us one of those damp penetrating near freezing mornings here but we are up and going and thankful to welcome a brand new day on this Thursday, February 5, 2009. My doctor's visit went very well I think. He did check me over but as always he wanted to talk about end time prophecies and their fulfillment. He has ordered up a complete lab workup to make sure we are within our plus or minus range but I am thankful that he found me to be pretty much okay from his examination. I did finally get to the bottom of why the medical insurance folks thought I wasn't taking the proper dosage of diabetic drugs. The mammoth drug chain we use had misreported the number of pills they were giving me and that caused the insurance company to record me not taking the right dosage. They sent me a letter about it. Yesterday I found out they had dinged my doctor for not making sure I was being treated properly. Of course this situation only lead to another discussion from my doctor about how the mega insurers are more and more taking over patient management and how that ultimately they will be dictating to him what he should and shouldn't do and how this fits into another one of his views on the end times. Whew! You see why going to the doctor can tire me out?

Let me set the record straight. He did eventually get to all that needed to be done and I knew he would be wanting to talk about his latest theories, therefore, I came with a few nuggets of my own to share and believe it or not he ended up taking notes when I was talking. See there. Your mother was right. It does pay to be prepared, or was that the boy scouts? I did make Tender Foot and come to think about it "Be Prepared" is the Boy Scout motto. As I mentioned yesterday, I didn't have much in the way of medical information to discuss, so I jumped right in and gave him a few things to ponder in his very well researched but often misguided (my opinion) views. I suppose Forest was right about how each day is a new day and life really is like a box of chocolates because you never know what you are going to get. I did confess to the nurse that I had consumed four cups of coffee (+ or -) and I had hoped my blood pressure wouldn't be off the chart as a result. My blood pressure turned out to be just fine, therefore, I wonder if it was the coffee that made it higher before OR me thinking about the coffee making it higher OR something entirely different OR maybe it was even thinking about thinking about the subject that ended up producing a bad number. We do have a complicated life, don't we? But I am thankful that God has brought us this far and I am trusting Him to carry us through to the end. I pray that you are doing the same. Amen. ....More later.

We are some very funny people at times, don't you think?

This may not be the day we had in mind but it is the one that God has given to us on this Wednesday, February 4, 2009, therefore, let us be glad in it! As I sit here at my desk before most folks are stirring this morning I am thinking about my doctor's visit coming up later this morning. It has been six months and I always become a little tense about these times of check-up and reevaluation. That's rather silly when you think about it. I'm a paying customer and this is a service being provided by a medical professional. Why should I be concerned if I have all my ducks in a row for this type of appointment? In the past I have held back on my coffee because I didn't want the caffeine to impact my blood pressure reading and get him all stirred up. I drink coffee every day. Who am I trying to kid? Maybe if I hold my breath when they weigh me it will show a good number. Okay, I was just joking on that one but you get the idea. We are some very funny people at times, don't you think?

The good news is that I don't really have much to talk to my doctor about today. I typically go loaded up with questions and comments regarding the latest diabetic studies and how they relate to my diagnosis. However, everything is pretty much going along according to plan. We are pretty much staying within the plus or minus goals for my blood sugar. I am pretty much maintaining my weight. I feel pretty much okay. And, generally speaking, I am pretty much getting along well and feel like God has blessed in the treatment plan I have followed and the lifestyle changes I have made. Perhaps part of our tension is based on the unknown. What new ailment might we discover today? What's going on inside my body that I might not be aware of? Precisely! Hey big dummy, that's the very reason you go to get yourself checked out! We are some very funny people at times, don't you think?

I think I may have figured out the reason we are running such huge deficits as a nation. Given the daily revelations of the fat cat democrats we are discovering to have been dodging their taxes over the years while at the same time they have bemoaned the fact that more of the little folks aren't doing their patriotic duty by paying more in taxes, .....Houston, I believe we have found the problem! Our greatest challenge is trying to get our economic house in order, therefore, it makes sense that the single most influential person confirmed to fix this very problem would turn out to be an admitted tax dodger! Now two more nominees have withdrawn along with the earlier exit of Governor Richardson, and we haven't even begun to hear all that I predict will eventually come out of the Chicago mess involving the recently deposed governor. (Mark my word on this one!) Is it time already to say: The more things change the more they stay the same? The mainstream media is still in the tank but I believe their need to sell copy will eventually wake them up to what thus far has been mostly a repainting of the decks and a rearranging of the deck chairs on the unsinkable Titanic! Okay, so I am serving up a little ironic sourness to go with your toast and jelly this morning. Think about all of this why I try to determine how much caffeine accumulates if you drink the same four cups but do so in quarter cup increments. We are some very funny people at times, don't you think? Have a great one and I'll see you next time with some more quarrelsome quips! May God bless. Amen. .......More later.

It may be a small world afterall, but it's also quickly becoming a financially distressed world!

Welcome to a world where your very own bailout may be lurking just up around the next bend, on this Tuesday, the 3rd day of February 2009. That's right! Old MacDonald had a government, E-I-E-I-O, and from his government he had a plan, E-I-E-I-O; with a bailout here and bailout there, here a bailout, there a bailout, everywhere a bailout, old MacDonald had a government, E-I-E-I-O. Well, it does seem this way, at least to those who are the recipients of what many estimate to be a one trillion dollar give away. It's really hard for most of us to make sense out of what's really going on and what's really included down in the details of this so-called stimulus package. This doesn't mean the debates forth and back are not stimulating because like most things that Washington comes up with, one person's pork is another person's absolute necessity. In the end, we will be the ones that have to pay for all of this, or as some have pointed out, it will still be on the bill each month of our great-great-great-great grandchildren. That's something, isn't it? The birth announcement from the year 2350 will read: Welcome to our world, you come at a time when your portion of the national debt is only $25,000,000.00!

We know intuitively that while we joke, the economy is no joking matter at this time. I read a number of the comments coming out of the world economic forum last week held annually at Davos, Switzerland. You would have thought it was a hand wringing commemoration based on the dire proclamations I read. One New York Times writer said it is like the entire world is looking for one guy who can make sense out of all this chaos and chart a way forward. He went on to say that in many of the conversations he had with world leaders, and the general themes he observed, they are for the most part hoping against hope that Barak Obama is 'that guy'. Okay, we all know how easy it is to become paranoid and alarmist over world events, but I must wonder out loud: Do these types of comments remind you of anything? How about The Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ? That prophetic text speaks of a time when the world will suffer such calamitous events, they will long for, look for, and desire a leader who can rise up and lead the world back to peace and prosperity. Wow! I did not say that our President was this person but folks we are always admonished to be looking and waiting in anticipation of that time when God will fulfill His word. This may be the beginning of the beginning and for us who are believers, our Savior said to look up for your redemption draws near! These are tough times for us all and my reading is that it will become even tougher as we move forward. But, we can have peace in the midst of turmoil as found, not in any earthly leader or bailout, but in the person of the One who came and died for all who will accept Him as Savior and Lord! Think on these things and have a blessed day. Amen. ...More later.

Thanks to all who have cared so much!

Welcome and greetings on this Monday, February 2, 2009. The Steelers won the Super Bowl (heard it on the radio this morning, did not watch it) and the groundhog will be testing his shadow spotting technique later this morning with many waiting to hear his forecast. But how in the world are you, anyway? My mom was admitted last Friday to the hospital where she is being treated for her pneumonia. I went over to Louisiana and spent the day with her on Saturday. She is making slow and steady progress but still has a ways to go. Our Bro. Milton may require additional surgery to deal with his current blood clot situation. The family will be meeting with his doctors this morning to find out where things stand and what options are being contemplated. This recent setback has been very hard on Bro. Milton's wife and boys. It has also been a hard lick on my wife and the rest of the family. The doctors have determined his loss of eyesight to have been caused by a stroke. His short term memory has also been impacted, however, he continues (loudly at times) to praise God for his mercy, grace, and goodness. He told the nursing staff that he did not want to be a bad patient because he desired to be a good servant of His Lord. This he has been, is now, and continues to be throughout this ordeal. Thanks to all who are praying for Bro. Milton and for my mom. Bro. Milton told me he knew that God was hearing the prayers going up on his behalf.

We are so very appreciative for all the prayers and expressions of support. My wife was at the hospital Sunday morning and I attended our regular services with our local fellowship of believers. The outpouring of sentiment was overwhelming. I know much of it was directed towards my dear wife but I was the one receiving it from person after person. God cares and one of His greatest tools of showing His care is through His people. I told my wife it was so much I almost became tired of telling the story over and over again but the hugs, prayers, and tears from those who share faith with us is a blessing hard to describe. The Bible calls it edification which simply means we are to build each other up. We are to do what the Holy Spirit or Comforter does, that is to come along side someone who is in need of a lift, and to lift them up with whatever means God has placed at our disposal. I have mentioned often about the outpouring of love and support shown towards Bro. Milton from Churches and people all over our country, but I must say our local congregation has also stood by us, prayed for us, and stood in the gap for us. In the end, while we know neither the outcome nor our reaction to it, we can be assured of God's love and how it has been and continues to be expressed through folks who care. That's a pretty good calling in and of itself. To be someone who cares enough! Have a blessed week. Amen. ......More later.