Stories and other stuff

It's not been a bad day today in Ogden, Utah.  Indian summer is upon us.  Mt. Ogden is a landscape of red, brown, and gold that is spectacular to behold.  I've enjoyed the view this morning on this beautiful sunny day. I've spent a lot of time yesterday and today reading articles about God talking to us.  A lot of really unusual things have happened over the last three weeks.  I talked to my mom about these and she told me of a dream she had.  I talked to a good Christian friend who offered an opposing viewpoint but in the end, I know God is talking to me.  As sure as the sun is out, I know this.  It comes from an inner voice, reassuring me that in His time, in His way, things will go according to His plan. I think I've been quite anxious about this over the last couple of days.  Today I prayed for patience in the matter and understanding.  I think patience is the key word here because there are so many things I don't understand righ...

It's one thing to tell people you've changed, but how do you convince them? I sometimes write the blog a day in advance, usually on the weekends.  In case you haven't noticed, I've had a bit of writer's block this week, but I finally came up with something.  I was writing tonight about a children's book I think adults can learn a lot from.  I started out asking Why? then telling about the story of a little bug that sneezed and the events caused from that one sneeze.  As I wrote, I began to realize something....a pivotal moment in my marriage was kind of playing itself out all over again. I had a conversation last week with a friend over the phone.  In the conversation, something was said in the moment that wasn't meant to be taken the way I took it.  Sometimes we all say things we wish we hadn't, wish we could get back into our mouths.  Unfortunately, we can't change how people react to what we say.  This person was quite upset that I took wha...

Hi friends, It's been a quiet day, thankfully.  One of prayer and reflection.  I finished reading the Bible today and am proud of that accomplishment.  It took me a few months and now that I'm done, it's time to start over again.  There's so much to understand. Did you know that the printing press was invented to print the Bible so it could be available to a wider population?  Just a little bit of trivia. The chores are done around the house.  I put some things away that I'd been neglecting and took care of some things that needed to be done.  Just a quiet, thoughtful, prayerful weekend. Hope wherever you are, things are well.  And to my married friends, please take a look at the post about marriage and take it to heart. Yours in Christ, Coop

As I have before, I'd like to share with you an e-mail I received from divorcecare.org.  It talks about the covenant you make with God when you wed.  This describes what marriage should be.  I never truly understood that before and I thought it was important enough to share. The content is that of divorcecare.org, not mine. A Covenant Commitment Day 143 The Bible describes marriage as a serious covenant commitment between two people. A covenant is a solid and binding agreement. When two people say, "I do," you can almost hear God affirming, "I do also," because marriage is totally His idea. In fact, Jesus explained marriage as two people being joined together by God (Matthew 19:6). "The Bible says that if I make a commitment, it is a commitment for life," says Dr. Spiros Zodhiates. "Marriage is not a feeling. Marriage is a commitment. It's a contract; it's a covenant. I cannot get out of my covenant simply because I changed my min...

We were telling golf stories yesterday at work.  If you golf, you have a funny story.  Here's mine: We were in Guam and it was the first time in several years I'd played.  My game was a bit rusty, to be sure.  I finally hit a decent shot and I'm about maybe 90 yards out from the green in the rough.  I have a pitching wedge in my hand, it's an easy shot to the green....should be no problem with the wedge, even for me. As golfers tend to do,  I took a practice swing before hitting.  Head down, knees bent, nice easy swing, and BAM! Out of the grass, up in the air about 6 feet is this freaking HUGE bullforg!  I didn't see him in the grass, right next to my ball, but I got ALL of him! Poor froggy didn't make it, I'm sorry to say.  I can't remember if I hit the green with that shot either.  By then we were laughing pretty hard.

I changed the name of my blog page.  It's time to let go of some things.  That included changing the link for my blog page. The new link is http://dalecoopersblog.blogspot.com tell your friends!

The leaves on the scrub oak are turning quickly these days into various hues of gold, brown, and red.  Quickly fading are the dark greens of summer.  The nights are colder, the days shorter.  Fall is in the air. It won't be long before the last tomatoes will be picked.  The cornstalks will be tied together and placed in the front yard for decoration.  It will be time to put away the regular china and pull out the fall china.  The first frost is not far away now.  With it the last colors of summer will go as the flowers that remain die from the cold.  Their remnants will be removed, added to the compost pile, that they may become nourishment for their replacements next spring. I love the fall, the colors, the way the air smells.  One of the things I miss most about hunting trips is the smell of the quakies this time of year.   Fall reminds me of listening to World Series games around a campfire during the deer hunt on a cloudless, sta...

Something really weird happened to me yesterday afternoon.  I was sitting on the sofa reading my bible and half-watching a movie when I got this feeling of calm.  I can't explain the what or the why but it was like the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders. I feel OK today.  Last night I actually was HUNGRY.  I got some gas station food.  I'm looking forward to working in the yard today.  Maybe I'll even wash my truck.  There is no stress today.  I'm happy about that. Maybe for the first time in a while things are starting to get better.  I can't explain that feeling, but somehow I just know things are going to be OK. What a relief that is, and I thank God for taking my burdens.

1 Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. I really mean this, and what Jesus said about those without sin, let him cast the first (or in this case, the next) stone.

I actually had a pretty good blog for today.  I spent some time writing it, using an iPod for a metaphor about being lost and found.  I decided not to post it.  Maybe someday, but not today. As to yesterday, I hear Him.  I fear Him.  I'm listening to what He's telling me.  And, yes I know what was lost. I couldn't hear Him or you because I was sick.  I was lost.  There's so much more, but it's not for the blog.

Editorial note:  Max was the name of the little boy Wendi and I were trying to adopt at one point in our lives.   I couldn't make this story up.  Most of you won't get it, sorry.  The details aren't for the blog, but a few will make the connection: I found my dog from a KSL ad.  The people that picked him up started calling him Max.  He's home now. Just so you know, I think of him often, and I wonder, where is he now?  If he's with them, I don't think the result would have been any different with us. How could I ever look at Bucket and not think about Max? How random though, the name?  Lots of random stuff like that happens to me.  I'll get in the truck and hear Alien Ant Farm's Smooth Criminal on Z-rock.  Why do they only play that stupid song when I happen to be in the truck?  How old is that tune?  I heard it twice last week. Just another day in my life, y'all.  Not bad today.  I got my doggie back...

Busy blogging day, I know, but I thought this was important to share: It's a story about pornography and what it can do to a marriage.  Something you might think is harmless really isn't and if you don't stop to think about all the trust issues it can create in a marriage, yours could wind up like mine.  This was on KSL. com and I want to share the link because it's important.  I'd really like to use the blog as a tool to help people understand what the mistakes I made in my relationship can do to yours if you do the same things.  I'd worded this differently and when I re-read it, I thought there was a better way to express my intent.  If you don't know me, you could have taken what I'd written in a way that wasn't intended. If I'd had a relationship with God, I never would have had this issue come up in my marriage. Here's the link:  http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=750&sid=12464358 Another good example of this is watching the mo...

I finally went to sleep last night about 4:00 a.m.  The time stamps on blog posts are Pacific time. I'd like to talk about my day if that's all right, because at the end of the post, I'll tell you what I learned today. I had to go to Salt Lake and take care of some personal business.  On the way there, I stopped at the Post Office to pick up a registered letter.  The bank has started foreclosure proceedings.  I called my attorney's office today and there's a waiting period before the judge signs the order from last Tuesday.  It may be too late for the house.  I'll have to call the bank on Monday to see.  We showed it today again.  It's weird to have strangers walk through your home, look inside your cabinets. When I got home today, June was outside calling the dog.  She tied him out to do his thing and he slipped off his collar.  I can't find him anywhere.  If he's in doggie jail again, it'll be the third time since we got him...