“Our life is made up of time. Our days are measured in hours, our pay measured by those hours, our knowledge is measured by years. [...] And yet time eventually runs out and you wonder in your heart of hearts if those seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years and decades were being spent the best way they possibly could.” ― Cecelia Ahern, Irish Novelist

Hello and welcome to today, Wednesday, March 4, 2015. Early in the morning we will be taking the wife in for her surgery. There's always some apprehension in these types of situations and even more so when you've been doing your version of the 'one flesh' deal for over 50 years. The other evening at a dinner with family the subject came up about age, aging, and mortality. I told them there's a utility available online that can give you an idea of how long you might live. That was a turn off to many of the dinner participants. They were more interested in talking about looking younger than your age than considering the fact that we all will one day draw our last breath. I explained my views. I will be 69 in August of this year. That's only eleven years from 80. That online calculator gives an estimate based on my gender and birth date that says, on average, I should expect to live to age 85. That doesn't bother me at all. What does concern me is the challenge to use the time I have remaining in a meaningful way. Who knows? I may make it to 100. The wife might make it even longer than that. We don't know. What we do know is the One who does and I know the wife's desire and my desire is to make our remaining time together be of a positive impact to honor God and to make a difference in the lives of our family and others. Meanwhile, we have this little surgery to deal with and I ask for prayers as we work our way through this process. Thanks. And, Amen.

I was reading this twitter feed that had the designation: #EncourageEveryoneIn4Words. Some of those posting had some interesting encouragements. Here's a few samples. (I left out the absurd and those involving drugs, celebrities, and other foolish notions.) ~ You got this bro. ~ You are alive, today. ~ Work hard stay strong. ~ Broken crayons still color. ~ God is always there. ~ We gonna make it. ~ Cheesecake has no calories. ~ We can do this. ~ It's never too late. ~ Just keep on swimming. ~ Things will get better. ~ Don't stop believing. (I know it's 3 not 4.)  ~ Someone cares about you. ~ This too shall pass. ~ We're in this together. ~ Smile. God loves you. ~ Jesus heals the broken. ~ Someone had first put up one that listed how to offend someone in four words. This was a response intended to encourage instead of tearing down. As believers that is a major emphasis of our calling, the building up of others. That's the idea behind the Bible word edify: "Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing." (The Apostle Paul's inspired admonition to the local fellowship of believers meeting in Thessalonica, Greece, 1st Thessalonians 5:11)

Sadly, truth is that even within the local family of believers this is not always practiced as it should be. This situation has led to the recognized comment about how that we within the Christian community are the only army that shoots our own wounded. That's certainly not a good thing to be said about people of faith. It's has to do with the ongoing battle between selfishness and selflessness. That's a tough one because it hits us all, including me. But, we are always well advised to seek to do better especially as it relates to our influence on others. Astroworld closed down a number of years ago but we still have the roller coaster ride called 'local weather'. Rainy and cold, rainy and foggy, rainy and muggy, rainy and very warm, back to rainy and cold. That's all within 72 hours. I heard a radio host broadcasting from the east where the snow was piled up telling a lady from Florida how much he hated them for their good weather. He asked her to tell him one thing that would make him feel better about his harsh feelings for her state. She told him that if it made him feel any better she did actually use her seat warmer in her car that morning. He let out a great sigh of relief and told her that all was forgiven. See what I mean? When all else fails we still have the weather. Take care and may God bless each one is my prayer. Amen.  ...More later.

Love and Commitment, Commitment and Love.

Today is Tuesday, March 3, 2015 and I bid everyone a hearty welcome. I like a good story as much as anyone. Here's a very recent one that is probably not seen very often: Couple married 67 years dies holding hands By SCOTT SMITH, Associated Press | February 26, 2015 FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Floyd and Violet Hartwig's marriage spanned 67 years, but their love for one another appears timeless. Sensing that the couple was close to death, their children pushed their two hospice beds together and gently placed their father's hand in the mother's palm. Floyd, 90, died first. Violet, 89, followed five hours later. They had a good life and died Feb. 11 at home, just as they had wished, the family said. "They wanted to go together," their daughter, Donna Scharton, said Thursday. "It was meant to be that way." The two knew each other as children, growing up in the Central California farming community of Easton. Romance sparked at a local dance hall one night when Floyd, a decorated Navy sailor, was home on shore leave. They were married on Aug. 16, 1947, and Floyd showered Violet with affection from afar through love letters that the family still cherishes. Returning home for good, the two raised three children on their small farm, growing cotton and raising turkeys. Violet helped on the ranch and kept the house. She prepared breakfast early each morning for her husband, seeing him off to work as a ranch foreman and delivering eggs. "They were dedicated to each other," Scharton said. "Even other people who met them said they had that connection." The two, who had four grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren, remained active until recently. Around the holidays, the family noticed that Violet's dementia had turned for the worse, and in late January a doctor said Floyd's failing kidneys gave him two weeks more to live. The family moved the couches from the living room of their ranch house, making space for the hospice beds. Cynthia Letson said that after her grandfather passed, they told her grandmother, as she faded, that she could go too. They told Violet that Floyd was waiting for her. Letson said her grandparents are a positive example at a time with too many broken marriages. "It would be nice if the world got back to the core of marriage," Letson said. "I don't think people realize that anymore. They need to go back to the basics that marriage is forever."

True Fan

I tried to watch NASCAR this past Sunday afternoon but my driver was having a bad day. When he has a bad day, I have a hard time watching. The Rockets were playing the Cavaliers and I was switching forth and back between the two and also keeping up with one of the Beat Bobby Flay episodes on the Food Network. I may have lapsed a time or two for a brief nap. The wife taking her siesta in the bedroom said things got awfully quiet a few times in the family room. Meaning: She didn't hear the channels being switched. I've been told that not watching the race when my driver is doing poorly makes me a less than committed fan to the sport itself. Hello? Surely I don't have to take some kind of loyalty test. Do I? The Rockets game was bruising. The tension could have been cut with a knife. Towards the end the wife joined me in watching but she said it was too intense so I switched to Bobby Flay and alternatively finished the last 15 laps of the race. Just another afternoon of letting my fingers do the walking/switching at our place of tranquil abode. (The Rockets did win in overtime 105-103.)

I agree. It would be easier if I had that feature to put multiple screens up simultaneously. I think my TV is capable of that but I'm not sure I have whatever it is that causes it to work. That would be almost too easy. I know I could easily keep up with four at a time, and maybe that should be a consideration next time we do a TV upgrade. I did my diabetes check up last Friday. I must have had on some really heavy clothes because that scale they use, well, it has always been very unfriendly to me. I do have a great primary care physician. He is young, articulate, and he specializes in the disease that dogs my steps on a 24 hour basis. Now we await the all important lab results. It was the last day for the lady technician who drew my blood. That can be either good or bad. It was good. She was excellent at sticking a large needle in my vein. Folks were dropping by to give her their farewell and best wishes. She will be working in a doctor's office closer to her home. I did have one little mishap. My doctor is in a brand new facility. Very nice. I knew about the new address. I looked it up. I even looked at a photo of the building on Google Maps. However, I drove to the old address anyway. I was on the elevator and it stopped on my floor. Yikes. You needed a card to swipe to get off on that floor. It then hit me. Wrong place. (The new facility was at least 15 minutes away.) This caused me to have a slightly elevated blood pressure reading and when I explained my little diversion that almost made me late, my doctor told me not to worry about it because it is nothing more than brain memory running on auto pilot. Did I tell you I liked my doctor? Have a great rest of the day and may God bless us all. Amen. .....More later.

"Walking To School, In The Snow, Uphill, Both Ways!" (copied)

A new wind is blowing. It's the wind of a new month, and we find ourselves bracing for whatever might whistle its way towards us on this Monday, March 2, 2015. It really doesn't matter that much what your background may have been because all parents at one time or another give their kids a dose of, "You think you've got it tough, well, let me tell you, back in my day...." Often that involves walking to school, doing chores, or any number of other things. I saw the photo above and it struck me as telling a pretty important story. These are children in Indonesia. They are crossing a dangerous river on a very precarious rope bridge in order to attend school. I don't know about you but that pretty much tops all of my stories. It also reminds us all of how special it is for people in far away places to get the opportunity to participate in something we mostly take for granted. I hate it when my sad stories are upstaged by a single photograph. I'm still thinking about it. I only lived about a little more than a block from school. We hardly ever had any snow. No river crossings. We did have a big ditch and I did get hit a couple of times with some pretty serious mud balls flung at me from the end of a stick. It left a welt. That may have happened during an episode of playing war but if you think you had it tough, I'll tell you what tough is!

That photo of the Indonesian school children was an award winning shot. The one of the shepherd and the sheep also won an international award.  After I saw it, I had to go back and find it because it said something to me. It reminded me of what may be the greatest of word picture object lessons that God chose to define Himself and His relationship to us who are His own. The Great Shepherd and His sheep. This reminds us of our Lord and Savior who personifies the loving Shepherd. David was a shepherd boy who knew what it meant to care for, defend, and protect his sheep. He was inspired to pen the words to what may be the song that has brought more encouragement and comfort than any other:

The concept of a picture being worth a thousand words conveys the thought that an image can speak as much or more than a large amount of descriptive text. This is an ancient concept. A very old Chinese proverb stated: A picture is worth ten thousand words. Some early quotes in our history helps to track how this became a well recognized slogan. ~ "One timely deed is worth ten thousand words" - The Works of Mr. James Thomson, 1802. ~ "One fact well understood by observation, and well guided development, is worth a thousand times more than a thousand words" - The American Journal of Education, 1858. ~ Ivan S. Turgenev's novel Fathers and Sons, 1862: "The drawing shows me at one glance what might be spread over ten pages in a book." ~ From the text of an instructional talk given by the newspaper editor Arthur Brisbane to the Syracuse Advertising Men's Club, in March 1911: "Use a picture. It's worth a thousand words." ~ God created us as visual people, therefore, He chose to use word pictures to help communicate truth to us.

I am so thankful He did it that way because while we may not be able to comprehend it all, we can apprehend by faith His provisions to us. May God help us all to respond to His call. Amen. ....More later.

Happy Birthday to our baby boy, Rodney Darrell!

Today is a special day for us. It's Friday, February 27, 2015, and we are thinking about and thanking God for our youngest, Rodney Darrell, born 44 years ago today. I chose that particular frame because he has become somewhat of a devoted outdoorsman over the past several years. He is an avid hunter and also enjoys fishing. He includes the kids in his outdoor activities. He's also the all around sports dad for his children in their athletic endeavors. He and his wife Mitzi are busy people. Much of their time is spent doing their best to groom and develop the children God has given to them: Kyleigh, in college, Lexie, in middle school, and Brady Darrell, in elementary. Happy Birthday son and may God continue to bless is our prayer. Love, mom and dad.

As for all that political stuff from yesterday, I didn't mention the fact that you have every right to come to your own conclusion. I am close to people who see some of the same things I see but they interpret them differently. I'm not going to disconnect from them because we don't agree on everything, even if they are about as wrong as they can be. It's a joke folks. Don't get all huffy. And, by the way, we all can be wrong at times. I certainly don't see things today as the world looked to me, based on the environment I was in, as a child and youngster growing up. I read this interesting quote: "Because today we live in a society in which spurious realities are manufactured by the media, by governments, by big corporations, by religious groups, political groups... So I ask, in my writing, What is real? Because unceasingly we are bombarded with pseudo-realities manufactured by very sophisticated people using very sophisticated electronic mechanisms. I do not distrust their motives; I distrust their power. They have a lot of it. And it is an astonishing power: that of creating whole universes, universes of the mind. I ought to know. I do the same thing."  (Philip K. Dick, (1928-1982), American writer, essayist, and philosopher)

So, what can we do about it? As always there is a source of truth that we can always depend on. God and His word. Everything else is iffy at best, including our own thoughts and interpretations. This has been some week. Busy. I try always to be thankful for being able to actively participate in a busy week. With all the technological prowess at our finger tips that supposedly saves us so much time, why in the world do we end up being so frazzled? Me thinks maybe the labor saving gizmos may not be so effective in the labor saving arena. They give us added capabilities that end up adding to our schedule. But, that would just be my gut check view of how it may be working. Whatever our situation, if we are too busy for taking time to visit with our Lord, we are just too busy, period, end of story. Therefore, I do hope you will have a wonderful Saturday and Lord's Day Sunday, and if all goes according to plan I will try to be in my place, once again, come Monday morning. May God bless us all is my prayer. Amen.  ....More later.

“I believe in true love. But my opinion is tainted, because I also believe in Bigfoot, aliens, and in the existence of honest politicians.” ― Jarod Kintz, Author

Okay. Today is Thursday, February 26, 2015, and I think it's about time. I've held my peace long enough. I've done my best to withhold my thoughts but it's time to share them with my readers. I do not know what goes on behind closed doors at the White House but someone is not advising our President very well. He cannot bring himself to call those attempting to terrorize the world for who they are: Islamic Radicals. When three Muslim students were killed here in our country the President immediately made a statement that no one should be harmed because of their faith or the way they are dressed. In that particular case, thus far the authorities are yet to link the man who did the killing to anything connecting to the students being Muslim. Yet, the world reported on a recent video of the brutal execution by those calling themselves the Islamic State or ISIS. These were 21 Egyptian Christians who were murdered and the majority of the world's news sources stated clearly they died solely because of their professed belief in Christ. The world. When commenting on this butchery, the President could not bring himself to mention the fact they were Christians, merely referring to them as Egyptian citizens. He also indicated the attack by terrorists on a Kosher Deli in Paris was a random event that could have happened anywhere. This was despite the fact that the terrorists themselves had made phone calls indicating they were going to kill some Jews. I am not one who goes around trying to dig up dirt on the President. But, even to a lay person, these things should be concerning to us all. Surely, someone in his circle can make him aware of how this comes across. If so, one is left to consider the fact that he is comfortable with how he responds to these sad events.

Since I am on a roll, let me mention a few other things. Having taken over our nation's healthcare system, having decided by fiat how immigration will be managed without regard to the laws of our land, they now are moving closer and closer to a federal takeover of the internet itself. Yes. I know. They are doing it supposedly to make sure the little guy gets a fair shake in terms of response and data storage. Why is this dangerous? Read again that first paragraph and think about how it might be when folks who write things that go out on the internet and they do not please the regulators of the information highway. This potential, over time, could begin to have a chilling effect on free speech. They tell us this could never happen. Those telling us that are a part of the same administration who said you can keep your doctor if you like your doctor and your healthcare costs are guaranteed to be dramatically reduced. There's always a thought-to-be good reason to do something that often leads to huge unintended consequences, however, I'm not so sure how unintended they might be, given what I have observed in those pushing this new federal bureaucracy. I am not done but I am going to leave it at that and let you think about it and come to your own, hopefully, informed decisions on these critical issues that face our nation.

No. I don't need to take a time out to get my blood pressure back under control. I would much rather deal with my personal disagreements with the current administration based on policy as opposed to personal. The personal attacks I see posted here, there, and everywhere regarding the President, his wife, and his family do not reflect well on those who do the posting. Many times they are clearly cruel and mean-spirited. They also often include racial undertones. I know we all have our faults but I see these personal attacks at times juxtaposed to postings by these same folks speaking about spiritual values and love for all people. What a disconnect folks. What a disconnect! Therefore, I recommend that we stick to the facts, as best we can determine them. That's not easy to do. And, I might add that those on the other side of the aisle have their own games to play. I know. I said I was going to leave it at that but now I have written another paragraph. You should know by now the pen is mightier than the promise. Or something like that. Pray for our leaders including those in the highest levels of our government. Pray for our nation. Pray one for another. And, pray for revival. Amen. ....More later.

“Most of the basic material a writer works with is acquired before the age of fifteen.” ― Willa Cather, (1873-1947), Pulitzer prize winning author who wrote novels about frontier life.

"I woke up this morning feeling fine, I woke up with heaven on my mind." Those are lyrics from a well worn Southern Gospel standard, but, when you think about it, that's a pretty good way to wake up. What say you on this Wednesday, February 25, 2015? I'm glad you took the time to stop by today. I suppose one of the ways I became interested in story telling was from the rub off I got when I saw others practicing the art. I heard many a tale standing outside of the Church building where the fellows were getting the last puff or two from their cigarette or pipe. Many times the lead line would be, "Did you hear about?" Then there would be the retort, "That ain't nothing, let me tell you about..." Then there was that bunch who hung out at the downtown barbershop. (Downtown is definitely a figure of speech here because there wasn't much to it.) Some of them pretty much hung out there all day long like that was their job. My grandfather's assessment of those fellows was pretty harsh: "Not fit to kill." They also did a lot of story telling. Then there was the hardware store and it had a heater in the corner where you could hear some good ones. I mostly was a listener because it wasn't proper for younger folks to speak when the older ones were telling their tales. Come to think about it, I can't recall very many young guys, if any, beside myself, who spent any of their time standing around listening to all that stuff. Maybe that's what's wrong with me. You do know I've been trying to figure that one out for a long time.

Okay. Most of you know that the world we live in is in a pretty big mess. This is not a pessimistic half-empty view, it's reality for everyone to see. Wars and rumors of wars permeate the news. The reason I mention this is because of several people asking me if I thought the current state of affairs were connected to the Biblical descriptions of end time events. Much of these inquiries have to do with Israel and how that it seems the world, including the leaders of our nation, are slowly but surely opposing the Jewish state. My answer is this: Yes, and I don't know. I believe we have been living in the last days since Jesus ascended back into heaven. It was then that the angelic declaration rang clear: "They also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven." (Acts 1:11) Therefore, every single day puts us closer. These recent developments certainly point us to the truth that God does have a timetable. I think it to be a good thing that we recognize all events as being a part of His plan, in one way or another. There is some good news here. The Apostle Peter answered the skeptics who mockingly challenged the prophesied calamitous end of all things. Here's how he put it in perspective: "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9) As the song says there is still room at the cross for any and all who will come. Amen.

Okay. Now it's time for me to do a flash back 'I told you so' reminder. Back during the Clinton administration, our nation cast an official vote in the United Nations Security Council against Israel for the first time in our history. I made the comment that once there was a first time, this made it possible for more to come. Look at the progression since then and make up your own mind. This is why we should always be ready, and always be looking up, for our redemption will one day, (in the twinkling of an eye), be realized in its ultimate fulness. What a day that will be! These inquiries made to me have been within the last few weeks which tells us that all current events or under the Sovereign control of our Great God. Believe me, while I love observing and telling stories, the truth is that which God has revealed to us, and we can always count on it. Period: Beginning, during, and at the end of the story! Now that you have my input on these times that we are living in, let's get out there and make this day count for time and eternity. Amen. ....More later.

"A characteristic of the normal child is how he or she doesn't act that way very often." ~ Author Unknown

Handful on purpose!

Good Tuesday morning here on this February 24, 2015. The other evening when I stayed with our eldest in honor of the women of faith shindig, well, I forgot to mention the handful on purpose that became a surprise blessing to me. When I arrived there and knocked on the front door, well, well, well, here comes our little great grand Madi girl to welcome me. She was there on a surprise visit to her Maw Maw and Paw Paw and her Great Grand Poppy could not have been more happy to see her. I had been exchanging notes with her mom, our granddaughter Tiffany, about when we might be able to schedule her to come and visit us. We missed her at Christmas time and we were not able to be at her birthday party, so we had begun to be ready for the great grands to spend some time with that girl. She is a little character. At five, she has more energy than you can shake a stick at. And, she is funny. She is the youngest in our clan and the closest we have to the pitter-patter of little feet. At any rate, the wife and her sleepover gang enjoyed all their special time together, you know what I'm talking about, all that lady bonding stuff where they all bawl their eyes out, and, when you think about it, I didn't do so bad either. In fact, I kind of thought it turned out to be a pretty decent women of faith conference.

Back in the day I always wanted to do the pen pal thing with someone from some far flung place across the globe. I never got around to doing it. Today we have Facebook. I have a number of running dialogues with some interesting folks from the Philippines. They are native missionaries there and we stay in touch using the private message feature. While I have never met these people in person, it is very heartwarming to converse with them as they share their day by day dealings. One of the things we all know is how that everyone, no matter where they are from, face issues and challenges in their lives. Illness, financial stress, family concerns, and a host of other situations impact their day just like they impact ours. In addition to that messaging opportunity, we also have a sizable family messaging set-up so that we can keep in touch with our greatly distributed clan. When a prayer request is identified within our family we can let everyone know about it using this utility. I know there's plenty of bad stuff that gets posted on Facebook. Some of it ought not to see the light of day. Much of it is posted by people who should know better. (My opinion.) At the same time there are the positives that can be experienced, like the ones that I mentioned, that I am very thankful for.

I know many of you who read my blog are prayer warriors as well. I am seeking prayer on behalf of my wife. She will be undergoing some surgery at the end of next week to repair some gastroesophageal reflux problems that have bothered her for many years. The surgery itself is called routine. However, with my wife, she has an inherited gene system that rarely ever meets the definition of routine. We are thankful they have a surgical procedure mapped out and we anticipate her full recovery and then she can go back to eating those things she loves perhaps better than most. Like a big plate of sliced homegrown tomatoes. That was one of the first on the list to quit and one of the last she finally had to set aside. If all goes according to plan she will be in the hospital overnight and we appreciate your prayers on her behalf. This lady is a remarkable woman. Since her retirement from her day job, she has flung herself into a variety of ministry oriented endeavors. God has blessed as she has reached out to many different folks. I hear about how that folks who are together for a long time begin to resemble each other in their elderly years. So far, best I can tell, she has no interest in having a beard so I doubt seriously we will ever favor each other that much. Sorry to disappoint but we have to go with the flow. You too? I thought so. Do the best you can with it and Lord willing I will see you next time. May He provide is my prayer. Amen. ....More later.