“Nothing is a joke with me. It just all comes out like one.” ― Lorrie Moore, Author of the book,'Like Life'

Here we are again at the bookend to this workweek, on Friday, August 5, 2016. I do enjoy seeing folks laugh. However, I could do without so much laughing at my expense. There's this little C-Store where I purchase all the Company's fuel products. The people there all know me. If I go by there early in the morning I like to snag me this little sausage rolled up in a flour tortilla. $2.00. Nothing on it. Just a good smoked sausage in a tortilla. While I am pumping diesel into the tank on the back of our truck, I mosey on in and pick-up my little snack, then I line up to pay. They are usually very busy. I had to wait a minute or two. It became my turn. I had my money in one hand and the sausage in the other. When I handed her the sausage instead of the money everyone laughed. She laughed too. I told her that's part of the calling that old people have. Making people laugh. To be honest, I didn't think it was that funny, but, I suppose those who responded have the last say or last laugh. I'm not altogether happy to report how this type of situation seems to be occurring more often these days. If I put myself to it I could most likely recall doing a little laughing myself at older folks when I was a whole lot younger. And, a whole lot dumber. That boomerang may go out there and travel a long way, but, eventually, it typically will return, and, sometimes when it does, it's right upside your head.

I've been out in the heat off and on this past week and I can tell you that it zaps a whole lot of your energy within a few seconds. I heard one 'feels like' prediction of 110 degrees and it sure felt that way to me. One fellow said we are supposed to get a big rain this weekend. That was news to me. When I looked up the forecast, it did not appear to offer any hope of that kind. They do have a 60% chance next Wednesday. That's way too far off  to start even beginning to begin to anticipate some relief. Our eldest son's A/C unit went out while he and his wife were on vacation in Mexico last week. I assisted our granddaughter in getting someone out to work on it. It took three days to get it back up and going. She was a real trooper but in the course of our conversations I mentioned to her that I had grown up without air conditioning. She was stunned. She said, "Poppy, how could you survive that?" That's a good question. I actually think it had more to do with the fact there were no alternatives for us to choose from. We didn't have it and that's just the way it was. Were we hot? You betcha! I told her how that when we put a fan in the window it would draw in moisture from the humidity and the next morning you were not only uncomfortably warm, but everything was also damp and sticky. I know it was unpleasant but I really can't remember us doing a lot of complaining. Maybe that's because, here again, it would not have changed anything. The good news is that I lived to tell about it. Joking only.

I wrote about the Pokemon Go craze the other day and how that it continues to prove itself to be dangerous in many ways. Well, just this week, two mid-twenties parents, caught up in chasing wherever the game told them to go, essentially forgot about and abandoned their 2-year-old. Here's an excerpt from the news report: "Police said a neighbor discovered the child at 10:30 p.m., who said the infant was barefoot, alone and wearing a diaper and a T-shirt. After police found the child 'red-faced, sweaty and dirty,' according to the statement, authorities called the dad, who replied, 'Whatever,' and hung up on the deputies." I tried to think of some of the things I heard my grandfather say about people like these two. I'll go with this mild one, "Sorry as all get out!" As for their punishment, his ideas for what they deserved would not be politically correct, I can assure you of that. Becoming addicted to a game is one thing. The 'whatever' response is much worse. To me. But they didn't ask me. And, you didn't either. I suppose it's just another bit of insight into our culture today. Sad but true. We can pray for them, for ourselves, and for all those who seek to find meaning in this fallen world. Getting it all together requires that we know God and His Son. That's the need we all have. Period. Amen. Now it's on to Saturday and Lord's Day Sunday. May God help us all to stay close to Him as we continue our journey. Amen. ....More later.

"Christmas can't be far away." ~ song recorded by the late, great, country crooner, Eddy Arnold

Amanda Faith and Alesha Camille

We send out a very special birthday greeting to our twin granddaughters, Alesha and Amanda. They become 18-year-olds today! We thank God for these girls and we look forward to all that He has planned as they continue their education this fall and as they find His will for their lives going forward. May God continue to bless is our prayer. Our love, MiMi and Poppy
 
Good morning and welcome back to Christmas in July. I admit I'm typically running late because it's already Thursday, August 4, 2016. I haven't said much about my alter ego, The Santa guy, lately. But, I still get recognized and I still pass out a few cards here and there. When we were in a restaurant one morning a lady came over with her little one and apologized for interrupting but said she had to do something since he was convinced that I was Santa. I told her it wasn't his fault. There I was, wearing a red shirt, red cap, and wearing green suspenders. What was the little dude to think? I gave them one of my cards and wished them well. Here the other day a little girl who knows us well from when they used to go to Church with us had some interesting thoughts. She volunteered that she knew I was not the real Santa but I was his helper, therefore, in her way of seeing it, I was officially connected. I always like it when children explain things. They usually make so much more sense than their parents. In fact, even when I am sitting in the chair and a child asks me a question, I've learned that it might go better if I ask them, "Well, what do you think?" Many times they are then off to the races with their fanciful imaginations. There are always a few skeptics in the bunch. I often tell the story about a couple of young lads who came up and informed me they had been studying me and had figured out exactly how my beard was attached to my face. They thought they could point to where the glue held it on. I listened to their story and then invited them to have a go at a gentle tug, one on one side, and the second little guy on the other side. Needless to say, their little investigation fell apart, and they left with big eyes and some head scratching. I've been listening to some Christmas music now and then, just to begin the process of beginning to begin to get ready. It takes quite a lot of that to get me even started down that road again. Don't worry. It will come. It may have to wait until that first kid is sat in my lap, but, it will come.

Here's the latest from the political front. We have one candidate who has recently been clearly shown to be outright lying about the lying they have done in the past. As a result, they were awarded Four Pinocchios from the Washington Post fact checkers who typically lean left. Them. Not me. We have the other candidate who seems to think it is okay to attack the parents of a war hero killed in combat defending the values of our nation. I don't care where they originated, the color of their skin, or their political affiliation or beliefs. That's just stupid. I don't know how stupid it is, but if it was on a list, it would have to be near the top. I recently had a bout with food poisoning that was the worst I have ever experienced. I was literally up all night. Literally. In fact, the wife was very unhappy with me because I came on to work the next morning. I was only following my own advice. Get up and go because you just might begin to feel better. I did just that and I did begin to feel better. Paw Paw Mac would have been proud of me. I tell you that little story only to illustrate the feeling I get when I see these political shenanigans unfolding before my very eyes. Stomach churning and doubled over in pain. Thank God He knows what will come out of all of this because I can't even think about thinking about how it might turn out.

In case you missed it, that little part about God knowing all about it just happens to be our only hope. It's been a week since I had that little food poisoning episode and I still feel like I was in a car wreck. It feels like my insides have been worked over with a tire tool. And, my little diabetic testing meter has been working overtime just trying to keep up with the numbers since that little event. At the end of next week, I will be going for my annual physical. The electronic form where I made the appointment gave an opportunity for comments regarding my upcoming visit. I put the following: Annual Physical, Diabetic Check-up, and New Developments. I've not put comments before but I thought I would give the doctor something to look forward to. You might want to sit down for this one. They have established that some people do suffer from an ailment called, Election Stress Disorder. I read a piece about this affliction in an online edition of Psychology Today. It has something to do with working up strong emotional feelings that confuse and stress the tensions between the Toddler Brain and the Adult Brain. Really? That could account for some of my problems. My Toddler Brain might be the culprit. Maybe that's why I often want to find a place where I can't see people and because I can't see them I think they can't see me. But, I might want to wait for my doctor. Please don't warn him ahead of time. He likely has his own stress disorder in dealing with me. You do know that's a joke. Well, it's almost a joke. Maybe it's a near miss of a joke. Okay. I've done enough for one day. Do your best to focus on the part about God knowing it all and the fact that we can always rely on Him. Amen. ....More later.

This is how my grammar program sees the world. Correct Question? 1. There is a desire from all over Europe to win back autonomy. 2. There is desire from all over Europe to win back autonomy. 3. There are desires from all over Europe to win back autonomy. Answer: You are talking about one desire, *to win back autonomy", so "a desire" would be best.

Here's what we are doing today: Wednesday, August 3, 2016. I'm trying to get my arms wrapped around it even as I write this particular episode. I know some of you may be wondering how my automatic grammar checking utility is working. He is a very busy fellow. I must be inspiring because he seems to be often moved to tears as he peruses my work. He also has to be a sentimentalist at heart because I often hear him singing, "I want to go home." (He must be a country music fan because he was singing the Bobby Bare version.) When he comes back to me with a grammar suggestion I have several options. I can change what I have written to conform to his suggestion. I can correct what he has pointed out as a potential misuse, or I can click on my favorite, the Ignore button. That ignore button is showing a lot of wear and tear. Don't get me wrong, I do use many of his suggestions and I'm glad that he is there always checking, always ready to pounce. He even pops up with an offer of an advanced fee paid capability that would help with my composition. How nice. I would have to know a whole lot more about its ignoring capabilities before I would try it. How do I determine whether to make a change or not? Gut, instinct, and how it sounds. To me. A lot of my stuff is colloquial. He doesn't speak that language so well. But, we make a good team. I write and he cries a lot. In spite of our differences, together, we typically get something thrown out on the electronic page. Thanks for asking. (I would appreciate it if he wouldn't use the word confused so often. I might be dead wrong in how I am using a particular word, but, let the record clearly state, I am not confused.)

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.

Why ruin it for those who do enjoy it? I wouldn't even think of doing so. If they enjoy that type of fake food, I say, go for it. That was intended to be a joke, so don't write me. At the same time, that doesn't mean that I have to enjoy it. I still, however, continue to go to a lot of those places. There's typically a fellowship element to our times of eating out, and, I enjoy that part of it. Here's how I read the menu these days. What is it they are least likely to be able to mess up? What is it that would have to be made fresh and has not sat under a lamp for the past hour or two? Like I say, I go because we enjoy spending time with family and friends. I do not go for the food. As I write this I am thinking of a few exceptions. Thank God for a few exceptions. The wife and I went to a seafood place to celebrate our anniversary last year. Everything they served was fresh and well prepared. We keep saying we need to go back there. That was last December. We plan to take a week of vacation in a couple of weeks, to recognize my 70th year milemarker, so, maybe we can try it again at that time. No. I am not attempting to be difficult. Notice I didn't say I wasn't difficult, just that I am not attempting to be that way. One of the most favorite things I love to hear from the wife: "What would you like for me to prepare for supper tonight?" Supper. We may have talked about ringing the dinner bell which meant to go and fetch everyone to the table, but, it was always supper to us. Needless to say, it didn't take me long to get there. May God bless us all is my prayer. Amen.   .....More later.

Exodus 4: 10-12, Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” So the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.”

Good Tuesday morning and welcome to the world where we embrace the day and this particular today is registered as August 2, 2016. If you have been reading along with me of late you know that I discovered a young singer for the Lord that I now follow. His name is Christopher Duffley. He was born drug addicted, blind, and later diagnosed with Autism. God has placed within this 15-year-old young man a gift of moving audiences as he openly sings worship to the Lord God above. He is very busy doing appearances and conferences. His story is amazing. Just like the song, Amazing Grace. As part of their family ministry, he does a weekly podcast where he interviews people in ministry and those committed to serving God and making a difference in the lives of others. The other day he and his mom interviewed the para-professional lady, named Lisa, who helped him so much as a special needs child in elementary school. She learned Braille so that she could teach him. She was first to see him potty trained. She contributed so much of herself to this child. They had a program at the school to honor veterans. Christopher was to sing the national anthem. He was a second grader. They had to keep him outside in the hall because the noise was too much for him. When they brought him in and everyone stood up for the anthem, it was his first public singing of the song we all learned as kids. The para-professional lady began to weep as she told how this little kid had everyone in the room crying, including the veterans, as he belted out the song. They all sensed that even with all his liabilities, God had something very special in mind for this child. Christopher's mom said that Lisa was only one of a countless number of people that gave so much to help their adopted son to grow and develop. Today, he continues to inspire wherever he performs and I am so thankful to God for him, his family, and for all those who contributed to his life. It reminds us that God can use what seems to be unusable to reach people and bring great honor and glory to His Name. With God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26) Amen.

Many days when I am feeling a little downhearted I pull up some of the worship songs by Christopher Duffley and he always helps to refocus my thoughts. We need to be reminded that regardless of the situation or circumstances, we have so much to rejoice over and to be thankful for. Waking up every day and reading the latest headlines is enough to make anyone see their shadow, crawl back into their bed and cover up their head. However, as we studied together this past Sunday morning, God would have us to have a different response. The Apostle Paul wrote an inspired letter to a local called out assembly of folks, (typically referred to as Church today), meeting in Thessalonica, Greece. Some of these folks were Jewish and because of their expressed faith in Jesus, they had been ostracized by their Jewish families and the community in general. Others had been pagan in worshipping false gods. Having found Christ, they now found themselves at odds with their former associates. They woke up each day to some serious concerns and persecutions. What was God's message to them through His Apostle?  "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (First letter to the Thessalonians, Chapter 5, Verses 16-18) My take: Knowing God through His Son Jesus transcends all that we face in this life, and we have Him as our help each step of the way as we complete our sojourn here. Amen.

I'm certainly not sermonizing here because as I see it, I'm first in line in need of God's provision of grace, mercy, and love, every moment of every day. Never would I want anyone to think that I am looking down from some kind of elevated perch, spewing out religious gobbly gook to them. I may not know others very well, but, I can assure one and all, that I know all too well the fellow who writes this stuff each day. That, me-myself-and-I fellow. Therefore, when I feel a need to share a particular matter of spiritual importance, you can be sure that I most likely have experienced it before I share. It's more than a we-are-all-in-this-together situation. It's the reality that every human being, individually, must deal with as it relates to recognizing, responding to, and accepting God's provision through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. While I've used it many times in my writings, sorry, but, I grew up hearing that old song that says "It's me, it's me, it's me oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer." I actually heard it playing in my head in the background as I wrote this final paragraph. I'm thankful that He is always there and while I can never be absolutely sure about myself, I know that I know that I know that I can count on Him. Amen. .....More later.

"Thanks to Facebook, I now know what everyone’s bathroom looks like!" ~ unattributed

Dad's eldest, Victor, yours truly, and our dad, 86 years young!

Today our entire family, which is comprised of a huge blended crew, pause, to be thankful for, and to wish a happy 86th birthday to our dad. He is a remarkable man who has proven himself to be there whenever any of us have been in need. He is 100% devoted to taking care of our mom. Steady, dependable, faithful, and available, are the attributes I think about when trying to appreciate dad. And, hard work, could easily be his middle name. He does not have any quit in him and we are so blessed to be able to call him our dad. We were able to run over to Louisiana this past Saturday and carry a home cooked barbecue luncheon with all the trimmings to help celebrate this important occasion. He and mom are blessings. And, I try to always say that very thing when I talk to our heavenly Father. Have a great 86th and know that we love and appreciate you. Our love, al and marilyn



Welcome to Monday, August 1, 2016. What's up with all these challenges people are issuing on Facebook? I challenge you to share 7 days of testimonies about you and your spouse. Really? Seven days? Before that one even gets started good, there's a new one out there. Many of them are good, but, do people think that most folks have nothing else to do in life than to respond to this variety of challenges? Like I say, some are good. I responded to one from a missionary who wanted those who follow his ministry to state in the response line the name of their Church and its location. Something like that sounds very useful. There's a new one asking people to nominate a pet photo. That should totally muck things up for a while. You may be okay with the postings that come with a warning. "If you don't share this, then you need to get right with God. And, I mean share, not 'like'." Or, you don't love Jesus. Or, you don't really care. Give me a break! I don't like those at all. One day the wife said something about one she saw but she couldn't find it to show it to me. I told her not to worry because they typically have a life of their own similar to nuclear materials, therefore, it will show up again at a friend's posting block near you. There's a new one where folks ask people to put a message on their posting if they are connected to them as family, either by blood or otherwise. I've already seen dozens of those popping up here and there. One was from someone who is close to me. I sent them a private message and told them I had seen where they copied that message and posted it, asking for responses. I told them I had one question. Why? I wasn't trying to be rude. I really want to know. That's just me. And, I do know how to ignore a request even those that have threats included. Comes in handy.

I am well aware that Facebook is a social networking site. I know they promote stuff like that because it gives them more traffic and more hits. Advertisers. And, if a person wants to do that kind of stuff, go for it. I would only recommend that people not be so manipulative in attempting to get responses. It's like those Facebook-based games. I've never played one game. Nada. Zero. But, I get dozens or more requests to play each week from people who do play. Yes. I do know how it works. When they are playing, the game automatically sends an invitation to all of those who are friends to the person playing. I see a lot of people who play those games together and that's certainly okay with me. I'm not one of them. I could do without being told every time someone finds a new key to open a treasure box or some sort of thing. But, they are my friend, and I just skip over those and keep on trucking. I'm just sharing my views. I'm not a frequent poster of original material but I do very much enjoy reading the statuses of family and friends, literally, from all over the world. There are probably some folks who see one of the things I've posted about family, ministry, or other such matters, and they could very well feel the way that I do about the constant requests I get to join someone in a game. I can see that. Maybe I should challenge them to come up with 7 days of reasons why they didn't like what I had posted. Maybe I could throw in an 'or else'. With photos. Just kidding. When it comes down to it, it is all in the eye of the beholder and I'm just giving you my 20/20 personal view. (That would be what I see on the screen at 18 inches or less since I am very nearsighted, after that I would have to have my glasses on, and move back to whatever distance would be required for it to be in focus.) Sorry, but, I woke up in a full disclosure mood this morning.

I know what some of you may have thought from time to time. I have thought about it too. What if the Russians accidentally hacked into and captured my archive of more than 2300 blogs? Their spy folks would be challenged to make sense out of the slang and colloquialisms that I am prone to use. I'm currently working on a project where I'm interacting with some engineering consultants located in Elkhart, Indiana. I enjoy conversing with my contacts there. The other day one asked how things were going in my neck of the woods. My neck of the woods? I immediately asked if that particular metaphor was authorized for Indiana. I thought we owned it. But, you live and learn. He laughed and then I got down to the serious business of sharing with him the status of our joint project from my perspective here in my neck of the woods. That, my friend, is more or less how I roll. Now it is on with the rest of the day that God has given to us. I pray for His provision of grace and mercy to us all as we continue to make our way forward in the life He has given to us. Amen. ....More later.

"Failing conventionally is the route to go; as a group, lemmings may have a rotten image, but no individual lemming has ever received bad press." ~ Financial Wizard and Author: Warren Buffett

Okay. We made it through two political party conventions and when we come up for some air we find that it is Friday, July 29, 2016. There's a lot of speculation about the validity of using the comparison between the little rodents, lemmings, and people. It has come to symbolize people who blindly follow without question and that supposedly mirrors the lemmings going off the cliff together. Like I say, experts dispute what lemmings actually do and they challenge the idea that they commit mass suicide. I'll not try to sort all of that out but I recently participated in something that was a perfect example of the blind leading the blind. The other day I was out on one of the toll roads in the Houston metroplex. You know what a toll road is, right? It's where people pay a fee to drive whatever speed they want to. Why? Because they paid a fee. The speed limit is 65 MPH but the average on a good day is closer to between 75 and 80. The day I'm talking about was not a good day. I was going along when suddenly a deluge literally fell from the sky. I'm talking rain coming down like an open fire hydrant. No one could see. However, with apologies to the lemmings, we all kept going anyway. I couldn't have stopped if I had wanted to. If you can't even see the lane you are in, how in the world would you be able to pull over? In addition to that, everyone was still driving at least 40 MPH as we all blindly took advantage of the privileges from our fee paid access. After about 20 minutes the rain let up enough for me to more or less get my bearings. Back to 75 as I attempted to figure out exactly where I was. I don't really know what's accurate or not about the lemmings, but, I can assure you they have nothing on us. Nothing at all!

I know that's likely not such a big deal for younger folks, but, for those of us who are high mileage vehicles, well, it can be extremely challenging. I kept taking my glasses on and off to see if I had them on. Maybe I was checking to see if they had quit working. One day I got in a downpour like that and when I came out of it I was driving on the shoulder. I must have been following the lights in front of me. I recognized it when I saw that concrete barrier right up against my truck. That was scary. This stuff is not for the fainthearted, I can assure you of that. I read one young lady's encounter with an older fellow using a walking cane that nearly ran over her. Come to find out, he was looking down while actually playing Pokemon Go on his smartphone. I have no plans to do that, but, you do have to admire his spunk. So far, no one has said anything about me having the proverbial 'old man smell.' Maybe they are just trying not to hurt my feelings. I did read another little tidbit about a very elderly gentleman that had to plan around a special 9 a.m. appointment every day. When he told his doctor he was in a hurry to make his 9 a.m., the doctor asked him about it. He replied how his wife has suffered from Alzheimers Disease for the past five years and they have breakfast together every day at 9 a.m., even though she has no idea who he is. His doctor asked why he went if she couldn't even recognize him. He simply said he went because he still knows who she is.

I'm surprised I haven't received a warning from the keystroke policing folks regarding my disregard for the amount and the applicability of those I sling onto the electronic page each day. Back when Dan Quale was in the political arena, he got everyone all stirred up when he somewhat missed the meaning of the NAACP slogan. Their slogan said, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste." Quayle took a shot at it and it came out like this, "What a terrible thing to have lost one's mind. Or not to have a mind at all. How true that is." I may be eligible for a double whammy award in being able to apply the sentiments expressed in both of those statements as it relates to what ends up in my blog each day. I suppose we should take a moment and pause to be thankful for the skip, escape, and delete functions that help us deal with stuff we would just as soon not have before us. There's a lot going on these days and my head spins at times in trying to keep up with it all. I use my daily visits to express my interpretation of things happening along with my opinions about them. Others see the same happenings and come to a different conclusion. While I might disagree with their way of seeing it, I do respect their right to do so. Mark Twain is credited with this statement, "Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see." That's a good reminder to us all, beginning with me. Have a great Saturday and Lord's Day Sunday and I plan to be cranking out some more keystrokes come next Monday morning. Lord willing. Of course. Amen. .....More later.

Preschool Song: "It is raining, It is raining, On my head, on my head. Pitter, patter raindrops, Pitter, patter raindrops, I'm all wet, I'm all wet!" ~ Unknown Author, Sung to "Frere Jacques"

Welcome to our little one-act play for today, being presented on this Thursday, July 28, 2016. I heard growing up how that some people didn't have enough sense to know when to come in out of the rain. I actually can identify with that statement. It has been nothing but hot here in these parts over the past several weeks. We've had a very occasional spotty shower here and there, but, for the most part, everything is in meltdown. The other day I needed several drawings printed out so I called up to the main office and asked them to print them for me. It was ten pages. While I was there fetching the printouts, the bottom fell out. It began to pour. I stood on the porch for a few minutes and then went back in and found a Wal-mart plastic bag. I folded up my drawings, put them into the plastic bag, and took off walking back to my office. It was raining hard. I was getting wet. I not only didn't have enough sense to come in out of the rain, I actually was very much enjoying it. I ended up being wet but not soaked completely. Here's what I discovered. The A/C works much better after you've been out in the rain. In spite of some strange looks on the part of some of our workers, I actually felt very refreshed. Even though I love that dancing in the rain scene by Gene Kelly in the great 1952 movie, "Singing in the Rain," I didn't do any of that, I just slowly walked through the happy, happy liquid falling from the sky.

I follow a number of different posters on Twitter. One is a fellow who is in ministry but he likes to poke fun at Church related activities. He operates under the name, Back Row Baptist. You can locate him under that hashtag. Here's one he put up the other day that brought a chuckle from me: "My church accidentally scheduled a bake sale and a Weight Watchers meeting for the same night. There were no survivors." A few more from his page: ~ "Hello, you have reached Moses. I'm out at the moment, but if you leave a message, I'll return your call within roughly 40 years." ~ "I live every day likes it's my last. Which is why I haven't updated the church's website since 2007."  ~ "Happy 3rd birthday to that half empty bottle of french dressing in the side panel of the Church fridge!" ~ "I'm so saved, I won't even play Gin Rummy, in case one of my friends is struggling with alcoholism." ~ "Welcome to our church! Here's the seating chart. You can see all the best seats are reserved, but you can sit in the front row." ~ I realize that some of these are insider jokes, and, they, for the most part, are not roll-on-the-floor funny. Yet, I don't know about you, but, things like this do help to lighten the load a tad along the way. They also have a ring of truth to them and that always helps. On a side note, I enjoy stand up comedy, but, the stuff by those who are popularly acclaimed out on YouTube are so filthy I end up shutting them down almost from the get go. Fortunately, there are some clean ones including those identified by their faith. These include Mark Lowry, Tim Hawkins, Chonda Pierce, Michael Junior, Ken Davis, Taylor Mason, Brad Stine, Rich Praytor, Thor Ramsey, Jeff Allen, Aaron Wilburn, and I would also add the late Jerry Clower to this grouping. All of those on this list are available on YouTube.

I'm doing my best to keep everything lighthearted for today. I'm working at it. Staying away from politics and our chaotic disintegrating world is not easy, but, I'm trying. Here are some random memes I saw on a blog posting. The memes were unattributed as they had come from various sources. ~ "Unless you fell off your treadmill and smacked your face, no one wants to hear about your workout." ~ "Negative people have a problem for every solution." ~ "I'm so thankful I had a childhood before technology took over." ~ "The older I get, The surer I am That I'm not running the show." ~ "Some days the memories just knock the wind out of me." ~ "If I had my life to live over, I would find you sooner so that I could love you longer." ~ (If that were true for the wife and I we would have needed to have met while we were both in diapers.) ~ "Have you ever had a memory that sneaks out of your eye and rolls down your cheek?" ~ Maybe one of those had something to say to you. Several got my attention. I suppose it proves the fact that today's short attention span causes us to live mostly with a bumper sticker mentality. You know. Tweets can only be 140 characters long. No wonder I don't do a lot of tweets. That's not even enough time for me to come up for air. Oh well, hope you and yours will have a blessed day. Until next time, may God provide for us all is my prayer. Amen. .....More later.