Stories and other stuff

To my readers: I'm taking a few days away from the blog.  I do this from time to time.  In the past, it's been because I needed the time to get my head together.  Not so this time.  I'm working on some things and thoughts are kind of rolling around in my head like a box of ping pong balls that have been dropped to the floor.  They're just kind of bouncing around everywhere and I'm just waiting for the balls to quit bouncing before I pick them up. I have a few stories to share, but they're not finished stories.  Life this week is kind of like watching a really good movie and having to pee.  We've all been there before.  Do you leave the movie and go or just hold it?  Well, the "movie" is really good this week, so I'm just going to hold it. If I don't make it back to the blog for a few days, treat this as your invitation to share your story, your New Year's Resolution, or whatever you feel like sharing. I will give you a clue abou...

Well, we made it through Christmas.  I changed the layout on the page.  I took my literary Christmas tree down before New Year's Day.  The real one gets deconstructed starting tomorrow.  My house looks nice at Christmas but it's time to place the decorations and dishes carefully away for next year. We now move into the season of "you're fat!"  TV commercials will start telling us about all the great deals on those new-fangled and expensive coat racks that can sometimes double as exercise equipment.  Will Dick Clark rock our New Year, or is he going to let Ryan Seacrest carry the torch this year alone?  And as we contemplate all these deep thoughts, it's time to start sharpening pencils to jot down those inevitable New Year's Resolutions. Yup, it's that time.  Feel free to share.... Oh, just a note to my readers... if you're noticing the time stamps on the blog, you'll see they're posting shortly after midnight in some cases.  I'm ...

You just never know what's going to happen at Christmas.  It's been a rough year for the Coops.  I wasn't really in the usual holiday mood, although I've had the Christmas Spirit more than I ever have before in my life.  I know that doesn't make sense.  I have joy in my heart but I didn't have any real happiness about Christmas.   That all changed this afternoon.  I was minding my own business when it happened.  Something just kind of caught my eye, and it was love again at first sight.  When I first saw her, my heart started racing.  My excitement level went way up, and I got butterflies in my stomach.  She's beautiful, smart, and makes a great cup of coffee.  We had our first "date" this evening and I can tell you, it's a match made in heaven! Before you either get angry (wife!) or think "here we go again", I'm in love with my new coffee maker!  My mom gave it to me for Christmas and my sister hooked me up the the little co...

I chose to share a Bible passage with all y'all today.  I picked the King James Version of the translation because I like the way it reads in the King's English. My dear friends,  this is Christmas: Luke 2 (KJV).  1And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.  2(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)  3And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.  4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)  5To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.  6And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.  7And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because the...

I got an early Christmas gift from my doctor yesterday.   They were calling me to inform me of the results of my physical.  The verdict?   Elevated cholesterol again.  It was up last year, too.  The doctor told me if it was up this time, she was going to put me on the cholesterol medication.  Apparently I don't get enough vitamin D either, so I get to take a prescription dose of that again for two months and then I get jabbed again to have that checked. Really?  That phone call couldn't wait until Monday?  I was getting ready to bake Gingerbread men.  After that, I was going to make two batches of divinity.  One for me and one for me and the immigrant to share.  I did make some cookies I managed not to burn using the cookie press.  The first ingredient in those cookies was a half a pound of butter.  They're soooo good! On Saturday, for Christmas dinner, there will be prime rib, garlic mashed potatoes, and veggies. ...

Gang, I came across this article on CNN.com, and it's a must read.  These folks, in my humble opinion, get it! The article can be read by clicking here Merry Christmas, readers!

I wrote a little blog about putting the "Christ" back in Christmas for today, but I took it down because I wanted to do a bit more research on the origins of the holiday.  I was in a bit of a hurry and I'd heard something on the radio yesterday that kind of countered a point I'd made about the history of the Christmas tree. I had some errands to run today.  Last minute grocery shopping etc... As I came home, I thought about my little blog post while listening to the news about an increase in holiday spending and holiday travel.  I thought about the impact Christmas makes on our society and wondered this: What would the world be like if we didn't have Christmas? First off, there would be no "Santa Claus", because St. Nicholas would not have led the life he did because there would be no Christianity.  There would be no "Good News" to share.  How different would the Bible be because there would be no prophesy of the Savior's coming?  Vat...

I saw something on my blog today that I deleted.  It was a comment from someone using the name "Nobody's Fool" and it was there just to start trouble.  The comment was inferring that I'm portraying myself as something I'm not, in my opinion.  I deleted it, and would do it again.  Not because I'm hiding something, which I'm not.  What I'm also not going to do is let my blog turn into the circus freakshow from this fall again either. Attacking the messenger when you don't like the message is an old trick.  I don't think talking about my faith or random things that happen to me is preaching, but if you do, then I'm simply going to ask this question:  So what? Are any of us too good to have someone share God's word with us?  What do I have to gain by telling you some of these stories?  Quite frankly, the baby sock story still has me freaked out.  I don't think that's preaching.  I'm just telling stories.  What you get out of...

There are three apple trees in the "back 40".  They live right next to each other.  Two are red apple trees, one is a yellow apple tree.  Two days ago, as I looked out over my back yard, I noticed something unusual. The yellow apple tree still has most all of its leaves. The leaves are brown.  Yet the stems are still hanging on to the tree.  Today is December 21.  We've had strong winds over the fall, enough that all the other trees in the neighborhood are barren.  It's just this one tree.... I can't help but wonder:  Why?

I posted a while back some information about how we know when God talks to us.  One of the ways He does this is by sometimes using other people.  What I learned yesterday in church made me realize that sometimes other people can be an answer to someone's prayer as well. I don't want to especially share the story, but I do want to talk about how we, sometimes unknowingly, make such a huge difference in someone's life by a small act.  The things I'm talking about would be things like donating a small can or two of food to a food drive, or by donating a used coat to a clothing drive.  Sometimes these small things we do can be an answer to a prayer for the persons on the receiving end.  Things we sometimes just take for granted can mean all the difference in the world to someone else.  The story shared in church during our Joys and Concerns time, and reinforced by the pastor, using something most of us take for granted, like a box of ramen noodles to illustra...

I have two stories to share today. If you know me, you know I just wouldn't be me if I didn't tell you a story before I get to the stories I want to share with you today, so here goes. The first Sunday morning worship service I attended at First Baptist Church in Ogden, the topic was about who we'd invite to our table to share a meal.  I don't recall the exact words but I do remember the concept because this is a lesson Wendi taught me our very first almost Thanksgiving meal together.  Yesterday, we had a Christmas dinner at church.  June and I sponsored a table for the dinner, which means we were in charge of place settings and decorations for that particular table.  I'm so pleased we made that commitment.  We used Wendi's beloved Christmas China and shared a delightful meal with 6 people I didn't know very well.  Four of the people I knew by sight.  Two of the gentlemen sing in our church choir.  One other attends our church regularly.  O...

I told my mother the story about the baby sock on Saturday.  As I was talking to her on the telephone, I realized something.  I sounded like a lunatic.  I know that.  All day, I've been waiting for the guys with the white coats and jumbo sized butterfly net to show up and ask me to come along quietly. The thing is though, this really happened.  Just like all of the other random stuff that happens I've written about.  It doesn't make any sense to me either.  I suppose it depends on what your outlook on life is.  I think believers in Christ have an easier time accepting the stories I've shared.  My friends who aren't quite where I am with their faith are a bit more skeptical.  Sometimes, I'm a little concerned I'm not coming across as "all there" as well. In fact, I wrote a blog about asking myself if I'm nuts (November 16) and I find the answer today is the same as it was on that day.  No, no, I'm not. I just sound crazy. ...

I heard from my wife this evening.  Wendi had a charming story to tell me that made me laugh because the story was from Wendi's new world of random.  It's not just me; it's not just happening to me and it's all completely random.(?) I lay here on the bed, typing this blog.  As I've said before, I start out in one direction and wind up going someplace I had no idea I was headed.  Sometimes I get distracted and go off and do other things before I finish a blog and it'll just kind of sit there until I delete the draft.  I figured out that this thing saves drafts on its own so I don't often hit the publish key to save something anymore.  I had to tell you that, to tell you this: I started to talk about laughing.  Wendi's story made me laugh.  What happened later made me cry tears of joy.  I'll get to that in a minute.  Here's my day.  I got up, made dutch oven potatoes for a pot luck dinner at work tonight, and sat down and paid o...

I don't watch a lot of TV during the week.  When I get home from work, I'll usually flip on MSNBC for a few minutes while I eat my dinner and try and listen to what's happening in the country. So, here's the trend I've been noticing lately.  The Republican politicians are anxious to ram this "tax compromise" through congress.  Don't change it or you'll wreck the deal.  Don't debate it.  Don't nothing but vote yes because we got what we wanted and gave you what we would have been politically forced into giving you anyway (unemployment insurance extensions and a middle class tax cut).  That was the message earlier in the week. Now that the tax cut passed the Senate, here's the new thing.... don't pass a budget for 2011 until the new congress comes in.  HUH?  That budget should have been passed three months ago.  The Government's fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30.  But now there is a move afoot to bring in the new...

Well, I went out and did my part today to help the economy.  I went to one store to get something and they didn't have everything I needed.  I went to another store and they didn't have everything I needed either, so I had to make a second trip to the first store to finally get everything I needed. I went to the grocery store.  Today, butter was on sale for $2.  Last night, the same butter was $2.88.  Just my luck, but prime rib was on sale for $3.99 a pound so Christmas dinner is tucked nicely away in the freezer. I did some Christmas shopping today, too.  I'm nowhere near done, but I'm closer today than I was.  Progress. I like this time of year because people are more friendly.  A very nice young woman at JC Penney could tell I was lost, so she helped me find what I needed.  They had exactly what I was looking for and I was surprised at how affordable it was.  I paid half of what I thought I would for what I wanted. You wouldn't...

My pastor will appreciate today's blog because he's responsible for it. On Sundays, I try to follow along with the scripture reading in the Bible as it's read.  Last Sunday, I read ahead a little bit.  I have to tell you that little story to tell you this: As I listened to the sermon last Sunday, these words jumped out at me:  "Who are we, really?"  They were important enough to write down and fortunately, the family that sat in the pew last week strategically placed a brown crayon there so I could write down this important question on my church program.  I laugh about this because using a crayon to write down something so meaningful was so fitting for who I am. The question popped out at me because of some of the comments left on the blog lately and something Wendi said to me the last time I talked to her.  As I thought about this, my mind took me back to the part of the Bible I read in the pew on Sunday, just a few verses past where the pastor left ...

So, I have this blog.  Anyone can read it.  I know this, but I also know that if every time someone told me something about their life, or this or that, and I posted it on my blog it wouldn't be very long before I didn't have many friends.  I'd have readers, but no friends. There are things that happen in my life I don't share on the blog.  I'd love to share them, but sometimes things are best left private out of respect for others.  I can't tell you these types of stories but I can tell you this:  God answers prayers.  He performs miracles, big and small, to this day.  I can share with you that prayer works. Sometimes the answer may be "No" or not as quickly as we want things to happen.  Those are stories I can tell. I can share this story with you, too.  I was on fire once.  A bunch of us were trying to warm up after the afternoon hunt and we were standing by the fire.  An ember popped from the aspen we were burning and e...

Well, this will make you laugh.  Someone from Pakistan left a comment on my blog.  Whoever it was cut & pasted text from one of my posts and when you clicked on the name to look at the blogger ID, it took you to a website for jobs in Pakistan. Really Pakistani guy?  My poor little blog? I keep telling you, it's fun because I just never know what's going to happen next.

Good Saturday morning, readers.  I think you're really going to like today's blog because it's kind of funny.  Yes there's a good dose of preaching but that's kind of what today's blog is all about. I kind of wonder sometimes if I come across as an idiot.  I don't try to but I know some of the things that have happened in my life have been, well, unless you're a believer, hard to believe.  I know that and I've talked about it a couple of times.  Well, I kind of wondered about the two comments on one of my posts.  The first one was "God, where's Coop", and the reply about being "abducted by aliens".  I enjoy sharing what God does in my life with you, for reasons I've already touched on.  That's not what today's blog is about.  This week, random things were telling me two things:  Share the news about Jesus with others.  Maybe it's because I was worried that I wasn't doing a good job of that.  The second on...

Two posts today?  Well, I didn't have much to say this morning.  I have something to share this afternoon and it's kind of a wrap up to some things I've shared before.  Maybe this will make me look less "abducted by aliens" and help make some sense of things to my friends. Our church offers a devotional book called "Our Daily Bread".  It's a daily devotional booklet with little inspirational stories and a Bible verse to read each day.  I haven't been feeling well this week so I got a little behind.  The devotional for Tuesday talked about little things and why it's important to share them. The end of the devotional ends by asking a question about using the lessons learned through trials in life to touch the lives of others.  Friends, that's why I share the little things that happen in my life with you.  Maybe to you it looks silly. Maybe, though, there's a friend who's quietly suffering something who can get something from the...

I suffered through this stupid cold for two weeks.  I go to the clinic yesterday and actually get to see my own doctor.  Turns out I have a sinus infection.  Two weeks of feeling like crap, a blossoming addiction to cherry Nyquil, and not being able to breathe get wiped out by taking one dose of an anitbiotic that comes in a horse pill size.  I only have to take 19 more of these but at least I'm feeling a little better today. I had a house guest yesterday.  The lady from the Tax Commission stopped by to have a little chat with me about some things.  She didn't remember me at first but after a few minutes of conversation, she started putting everything together.  She was nice and told me we had the house decorated cute for Christmas.  That's all June. I did stop on the way home from the doctor's office and supported my local train shop.  I bought two light bulbs for my Christmas tree train and some little plastic clips to hold the track to...

Did you know that Social Security recipients and Disabled Veterans receiving payments from the VA have not received a COLA for two years?  If you look at my facebook page, you'll see a link from yahoo news that talks about how the Republicans blocked a bill to give seniors $250 one time payments because we can't afford them. This is the same Republican party which gave a letter to the Senate Majority Leader informing him that unless the Bush tax cuts were continued for ALL Americans, they would in effect block all legislation from proceeding through the Senate. Our own Senator supported this move to get tax cuts for the top 2% of this country, yet it's OK for our veterans, our seniors, and our federal employees to sacrifice.  For what? They keep saying these top 2% are responsible for job creation.  We've had this tax policy for ten years now.  Where are the jobs?  Seriously, where are the jobs? These are the same Republicans who don't, as a group, suppo...

You know, sometimes I wonder about that myself. But I know where I'm not.  I'm not a drunk at the bar feeling sorry for myself.  I'm not out chasing women around and I could be.  I'm not where I want to be, to be sure.  Nor am I where I thought I'd be at the beginning of the fall. Where I'm at is at this place:  I'm where God wants me to be right now.  Where He takes me from here only He knows right now.  It doesn't make much sense to me either.  I just do what it says in the Bible.  I trust in HIm, believe in His word, and believe that eventually I'll know where He wants me. I''m very blessed.  I've never seen God but I know He exists because I've seen Him working in my life.  We all have things that fascinate us.  It always fascinated me that something so big as the airplanes I work on could fly.  Now I'm fascinated by more subtle things like how the right thing comes along at just the right time, or how this or th...

Just wanted to share this with all y'all.  It's from an e-mail I received: ...He often answers prayers through other people and through circumstances, but you have to be prepared to receive His answers. Sometimes God will allow you to go down a wrong path and suffer the consequences of your own willfulness, but He does this so that you will turn to Him. You will then be in a position to understand how much more sensible His path is, and you will let Him take the reins of your life. Can there be any doubt?  Even the most skeptical of you have to see a pattern here! Praise God for answering prayers.  A friend of mine was very ill and I got a text this morning that she's doing much better today.   I hear the Lord.  Loud and clear.  

Dear readers, When does random stop being random?  This little thing happens to you and you think to yourself, well that was odd.  Or, you might say to yourself when events warrant, "that was a coincidence".  They happen.  I know they do.  Some things are just coincidence like thinking of someone then running into them someplace a short time later.  That's probably happened to everyone once in a while.  But what if a long series of random things started happening to you and as you listened to them they pointed you down a path you never, EVER dreamed you'd be going down.  Would you listen? I hope you had a chance to read my "Going Around" post because I think it's going to lead nicely into this one.  I talk about how I believe that God is influencing my life in a very visible and positive way.  This really started happening in a noticeable way in the middle of September and I've shared with you bits and pieces of the  not-so-rand...

An airplane cockpit is a busy place during a landing.  There are lots of things going on, especially when you're landing at a busy airport.  I was on this particular flight, if memory serves me correctly, coming home from fixing this particular airplane in Florida.  Anyway, the flight was normal after barely escaping the leading edge of a really bad storm in Ft. Walton Beach.  After a bit of taxiing around the airfield we found a window of weather we could leave in and off we went.  The ride home was nice, and I got to ride up front with the flight crew.  The landing approach was normal.  Everything worked fine, until we were handed off to the SLC tower for landing clearance.  We were close to the field, lined up just fine, but either the clearance was passed as the copilot changed the radio over or the tower controller missed passing it along. After two attempts to contact the tower to verify the clearance, and though the runway appeared clear, t...

Snot was, without a doubt, a snot. His name fit him.  He was a black and white, smallish pussycat.   At his best, I don't think he ever weighed more than eight pounds, soaking wet.  I never saw Snot wet. Most cats, as the old wives' tale goes, are afraid of water, but not Snot.  I think water was afraid of HIM. Snot was Wendi's pussycat and unfortunately, his journey came to an end a couple of days ago.  I'm told he went peacefully and I'm thankful for that.  I have a great many fond memories of that little furball. I have to say this...I don't particularly like pussycats.  I think it's a waste of time to name them because by and large, they just ignore you.  Cats are just kind of there, for the most part.  Wendi's pussycats were different, though.  They could do stuff.  Snot could open doors.  Seriously, he figured out how to hang on to and twist doorknobs.  I didn't believe this until I saw him do it.  Noth...

I'm not feeling bery bloggy today.  I hab a code. I cant' breeb.  My head feels like it's going to blow up.  All I want to do is crank the heat up to 80 degrees and stay in bed. But I can't.  I have a class at work I HAVE to go to.  So I'm doing something I absolutely detest.  I'm going to work sick and I get to share my cold with the people in class with me.  How nice of me... and how lucky for them. Really, this bothers me.  I feel bad enough and I don't want to make anyone else ill.  Unfortunately, though, I have to have this class.  It took them a year to schedule it and my boss actually yanked someone else out of this class so I could go.  But then, life is full of these little dilemmas.  Sometimes, we have to do things we would rather not do, for the greater good.  So, I'll be sure to pick up some hand sanitizer on my way to work, cough only on me, and take some drugs for the cold.  I'll do my part to not in...