Stories and other stuff

Hey gang.  Hope you're enjoying this snowy Tuesday in Utah.  I spent some of the day today running errands.  The Saturn is all road legal and registered.  That saves a ton of money from driving Chevron (my Ford F250) every day.  I enjoy driving my truck but the car is so much easier on the walletto. I just kicked on the TV and heard some Republican talking head say one of the stupidest things I've heard on television.  He was trying to defend Rick Santorum and the Republicans talking about helping folks.  His point is that the Government subsidizes welfare. Duh. He also says record numbers of Americans are on "food stamps".  Again, Duh! Has he looked at the unemployment numbers lately?  If there were more jobs, more people wouldn't need help.  The more jobs, the less unemployment.  The more these jobs pay, the less money the Government spends on welfare programs.  And where would these folks be without that aid? Liste...

Dear Wendi, For the things I said about you on the blog that were noone's business but ours, I apologize.  For the things I did to destroy our marriage, there aren't words to describe the sorrow I feel for them.  I do own them, I take full responsibility for them, and I have tried to fix them. I've explained my reasons for saying what I did, but those reasons don't justify the outcome which was one where I shamed and humiliated you.  Intent means nothing when that was the result, and for that too, I apologize.  Talk is cheap, Wendi, I know, so I'd invite you to look through the archives of the blog.  When you are mentioned, it's positive, on in passing to tell a story.  Often times, you'll find the stories full of holes because I learned enough from that experience; in that the details that would make a story better aren't there.  I sincerely believe the best apology I could give you would be one where contrition is shown, not said, and I have tried ...

I'm gonna be talking today in generalities because I didn't see the story I'm gonna talk about in full, just that it may happen (and probably will happen).  It's likely a Christian will be executed in Iran for no other reason than he believes in Jesus Christ and wants to share this good news.  I prayed for this man just a short time ago.  I'd ask that you do too. What makes this so stark is that our President, and rightfully so, apologized for burning Qurans in Afghanistan.  We should as a country and a military, show tolerance because one of the tenets of our beliefs is a belief in freedom of religion.  As Christians, we should be loving people to Christ, which is a whole other topic for another day. Sometimes I wonder to myself what our nation would look like if we Christians were as zealous about our faith as others are about theirs.  I can tell you that I don't share the extreme views that some do, but just turned off a news program I enjoy because ...

When I tried to go to college last fall I had every intention of pursuing a degree in supply chain management.  I think it's a good field to go into because of how the world operates these days.  We've come up with a term for this called "logistics". One concept that fascinates me is the "just in time" philosophy that keeps companies from having excessive inventory on their shelves.  They design their production schedules with their suppliers so that they have what they need at just the right time they need it to avoid production delays while avoiding the costs of excess inventory.  It's a pretty smart concept; although really over-simplified for the sake of discussion this morning. It's not a new concept.  God has been in the Logistics business since He created the world.  I found this morning an answer to a prayer.  I know this is gonna not make sense, but on Monday that still small voice I heard asked me this:  what do you want? And I cou...

When God does something impossible, he first takes an impossible man and crushes him! Today's sermon at church was about forgiveness.  Great timing, Pastor Karl.  I know he prepares his sermons in advance but it seemed today that this arrow was aimed right at me.  In fact, all I could say to him at the end of the service was "wow". His point is one I hold dear to my heart.  If I forgive less than Christ forgave me, then how do I justify that? Good advice and lots to think about, dear readers.  Forgiveness, like love, sometimes involves a choice.  What that choice boils down to sometimes for Christians is to choose to believe Christ's teachings or not.  As the man on the radio said, we are the only things created on this planet who can say yes or no to God.  I say yes. I choose to forgive like Christ forgave me.  I didn't deserve Grace.  God gave it to me.  I didn't deserve mercy, but in His mercy God didn't give me what I deserv...

This week was car week here at the house.  I still have a couple of tasks left to do for the cars this week.  If I can get Miss June to hold still for five minutes, I need to change the serpentine belt on her Saturn.   Mine needs a bath and I need to get it inspected.  I put two new tires on it yesterday so I can get this done. I have a couple of new tools this week too.  One is a replacement for one I lost.  That one would be a 14 mm wrench.  The last time I used a 14 mm wrench was to change the serpentine belt in June's car after having it towed home.  I swear I set the thing on the grass but when I went to get it to put it away, I couldn't find it. I have a rivet gun, too.  I only tried to use it once.  Notice the word tried.  My front license plate holder fell off someplace so I have a new one and new plates.  Some little cop at Hill chastised me in his "cop voice" that I had to have a front plate.  The thing is he...

Psalm 34:10 (NLT) says:   The young lions sometimes go hungry but those who trust in the Lord will never lack any good thing. This was the memory verse last week from BBN Radio.  They share a verse of scripture a week to help folks hide God's word in their hearts.  I need to work on this one and I have a story about it. I must've heard this verse at least a half-dozen times before a week ago today.  Earlier in the day last Friday, I asked God if there was anything He wanted to share with me and turned to this very page.  The verse is at the top of the page.  On the facing page in this particular Bible (It's a devotional Bible) is a story about Ira Sankey.  He was a hymn writer in the 1800s and fought in the Civil War on the Union side.  The story goes on to tell how he had a chance encounter with a man who fought for the South.  One night while Mr. Sankey was on guard duty, he began singing a hymn.  The Confederate soldier, unbeknownst...

For all the technological advances I've seen in my lifetime there's one I'm still waiting for.  I'll get to it at the end. I remember when we got our first color tv.  I was twelve.  It was in 1976 and it was a 19" Zenith.  My mom paid a small fortune for it.  It was a huge deal for us.  We didn't have a lot of money back then so when I look back on that, it means a lot. My first cell phone was big.  It worked great.  I could hear through it and I never pocket dialed anyone.  It spent most of its life in the car because the thing was too big to carry.  But I had one and I thought it was cool.  Not that I was so important that I had to have it.  It was just cool, so I got one. One thing, with my old phone, I never pocket dialed anybody.  Not so much with my new one, but I can use my cell phone to surf the internet on my laptop, which is how I'm writing this today. I speak a lot about gadgets.  I saw an ipad at wal...

The snow melted and I own dogs.  Guess what I got to do today... I try to keep up after my dogs, but in the winter sometimes that's a challenge when the weather doesn't cooperate.  Today though, was warm if not sunny and a perfect day to pick up the yard a little bit.  Which is what I spent some time doing today. Glamourous?  Not by any stretch of the imagination?  Gross?  Probably. That's just a testament to the fact that not much is going on today.  I did do some shopping and I'm never surprised anymore by how expensive things are.  June misplaced her phone a while ago and it didn't turn up so I bought her a replacement today.  She got a new phone number, too, because transferring her old one was too big a hassle.  Anyway, I'm not boasting about the phone or anything, but telling you this to explain that I spent more on a box of vacuum cleaner bags for the electrosux than I did on the phone.  That's not an exaggeration. ...

I really haven't had a lot to say lately which is why you're not seeing a lot of new stuff on the blog.  There are lots of things going on in the world that I'm following with interest, but my opinions are just my own and there's no point in blogging about them. I'm venturing out to grow as a Christian.  I'm excited about that.  For everything I know, there's an ocean of things I don't so I'm really looking forward to this adventure. I'm really enjoying my job.  Especially this time of year, when it's cold outside.  Staying busy is a plus some days. God still works in my life, to be sure.  I know I don't talk too much about this these days, but He does.  I heard on my favorite radio program last night that the absence of God in your life ought to be a telling sign of His view of your relationship with Him.  The program is going through ten lies people believe about God.  I'm learning a lot from this program and I'm so blesse...

Now I'm cookin' with gas!  Propane to be exact.  There's a brisket out on the patio being gently smoked as I type this.  It's for tomorrow, but the process is a slow one.  Brisket can be a little tough, so I'm gonna try something new this time:  Smoking it for a few hours, then put it on for a slow bake in the oven to finish it up.   There are ribs and Amish rib rub from Indiana for tomorrow, too.  I love this particular rib rub and only use it for special occasions.  That's a long drive for rib rub.  Super Bowl Sunday is gonna be super spread Sunday at the house.  June wanted wings, so I have them ready to fry up for tomorrow.  When I'm done with this, I'm off to make some macaroni salad for tomorrow, too.  For some reason, things like that always seem to taste better after sitting for a while. I wrote another blog today, about deja vu, but decided that was just for the archives.  I'm kinda curious about what's cookin, ...

Really, I want you to listen to this.  Over the next couple of weeks, on the radio program Running to Win (the short version)  the topic is 10 things about God.  There are a lot of lies out there.  I touched on some of them the other day and thought this was a timely program to share with you.  Dr. Lutzer can explain things to you so much better than I ever could.  His program is one of my favorites.  The first time I ever listened to Running to Win , the topic was about what to do when you blow it. Let's face it.  I really blew it. I want to share something else with you too, in a way I never thought before.  I was listening to another program earlier yesterday morning called Insight for Living .  Pastor Swindoll said something worth sharing.  It's not a direct quote; just a paraphrase of what he said, which went something like this:  We all have a choice to make regarding Jesus, and the Bible.  We become responsible ...