Stories and other stuff

Sometimes you're in just the right place at just the right time.  I'm confident that today was one of those days and the right place was the Maximized Manhood conference that was this morning. What?  You missed it?  Hey, it wasn't like I didn't invite you several times.  Today though, you missed out on being blessed.  I was there and I didn't.  In fact, I'm claiming one of the promises that was almost like the pastor was speaking to me. It was a promise that God would restore what the evil one had taken away.  I'm claiming that for my own because I lost a lot to the evil one when he had his hand on my life.  But the promise was so much more than that; it was a promise of abundance to bless others with.  I've been praying for these very things lately and this was like God sent a man to answer me. I don't know what that promise is going to look like.  I really don't.  But God does and I know He will lead and guide if I trust and...

Sometimes I think God has to intervene in life so we can win one or two little skirmishes.  I know I need that from time to time so I don't get flat out discouraged.  Today I got a little victory and I know God had to soften a heart for it to happen. I felt I was overcharged for something by a big company so I called and complained.  It took almost a month but last night, I received an e-mail explaining to me why they felt the charge was justified.  I explained that I didn't agree and asked them to have a supervisor or manager to contact me.  Today I got another e-mail and will receive a refund of more than the overcharge.   I didn't get upset. The money was already gone so it wasn't going to hurt me any more than it already had but in all things, I remembered to give God thanks, even in the hard times that I don't understand. I had a bit of a rough day yesterday.  I expect them to happen and understand that when they do, ultimately they ser...

Yesterday afternoon two wonderful things happened.  It took the first to make the second happen, but it did and I'm hopeful for the future.  OK, a lot  of wonderful things happened yesterday afternoon, but two really big things happened that are worth mentioning. Julie and I buried the hatchet yesterday.  Well, we kind of did that a long time ago, but we put everything aside for a bit to show some unison for my son who took himself a wife yesterday.  Our little family grew by one.  She's a beautiful young woman and I'm so happy for the two of them!  I had the honor of escorting my son's mother to the ceremony and from all of the dysfunction on his side of the family, differences were put aside to make his day special for him. I was very happy about seeing that.  Sometimes weddings can bring out the worst in people but yesterday I saw the best in everyone. The other thing that happened is that, in a sense, the prodigal son returned yesterday....

The blog is going to start out one way and go another.  It's not like that's never happened before but as they say, forewarned is fore-armed. I ended last week and started this one with the intention that I was going to better manage my time.  It was the best of intentions, I assure you, so that I could focus more on the things I thought were important and I'm still wondering why I couldn't hear the laughter that must have been peeling through the heavens at that silly notion. But then, things like this happen when you invite the God who created the universe into your life.  Your ideas and His may tend to clash sometimes and He's not afraid to use those opportunities to set you straight.  I don't say that tongue in cheek.  I mean that.  I'm blessed that God has time for me and a plan for me.  I just wasn't on the same path He was and now I am. I'm tired kids.  I mean that.  I've had about 7 hours sleep in the last two days.  The th...

We take lots of things for granted in life and it's when things don't happen like they should that we do stuff.  For example, we take for granted when we flip on a switch that the lights will come on.  When it doesn't, we change a bulb, assuming it's the bulb.  If the bulb doesn't work, we head for the breaker and if that's not it, well, we're in for a whole different set of problems. I got into my car yesterday and as I was backing out the driveway, I pushed down on the brake pedal and the car didn't want to stop.  I pulled a wheel off of it last night and couldn't find what was wrong.  What I did find is the transmission is leaking fluid.  The car is running really rough too.  It doesn't want to start half the time anymore.  It's about on its' last legs and I'm gonna have to get Chevron back from the kid one more time. I need a reliable vehicle to get to and from work. I counted on something happening on Sunday that didn't...

I'm taking a class through the Vine Institute in Salt Lake City on Saturday mornings.  It's called Caring for God's People .  I need this class because there are a lot of them I'm starting to care a lot less for than I used to.  It seems that God's children have been trying my patience this week. My first assignment was to identify something and come up with an action plan.  I did.  I was going to tell y'all about it this morning before church and it's probably a good thing I didn't.  Here's why: God's action plan was to show me that maybe MY actions aren't exactly to HIS plan.  I did a lot of pointing fingers at other people last week; this person did this, I don't have a money problem, etc.... and in some certain aspects, a lot of that was true, but the whole problem of wresting with my priorities came down to a finger pointing at me for my own transgressions. Yup.  The sermon was about wrestling with God.  My action plan was goin...

There are trying days in life.  We all have them. This is my yesterday: I offered to do something nice for someone.  I don't expect anything in return but I am having a bit of a schedule conflict so I asked someone to do something for me yesterday and the person declined.  It would have really helped me out but I know it's not the person's responsibility, it's mine.  Now whether or not the weather is gonna cooperate, the thing will get done today. I had a tough choice to make yesterday.  I committed to doing something that's gonna require me to sacrifice my Saturday mornings for the next three months.  That might not sound like a big deal but it means I get to see less of my GF than I do already.  It's like anything else in life, you sacrifice a little now for a benefit later.  The biggest thing I sacrificed is a commitment to be where I'm at for at least another six months.  I don't see me packing up and moving n the middle of winter. ...

Sometimes I forget stuff.  I had to think for a minute about the story I was going to tell you that happened yesterday. I had the radio on and was listening to a program where the pastor was talking about why stuff happens over and over and over sometimes.  His theory, and I think it's a good one, is that sometimes we need to learn a lesson so God takes us back to to similar circumstances just to make sure the lesson takes. It's the only explanation I have for the whole divorce thingie and it's the one that makes the most sense. I hope I've learned that lesson.  I mean that.  It's not something I want to go through again. I have a couple of burning questions from it though.  I still wonder about that picture frame.  I know it wasn't for me, but I'm curious about why.  I guess when I'm meant to know, I will. Much more closer to home, I wonder what the whole Oregon/Homedale thing is about.  I know it's something.  I just don't know wh...

I told the story of getting yelled at for doing what I thought was a good deed the other day and mentioning a thank you I thought was deserved.  I didn't expect it, but I kind of thought I deserved  it.  That's my side of things.  Clearly, the other person involved had other ideas.  That's life. I don't like talking about stuff like that.  I think it tends to be murmuring.  That's a sin, by the way, and one I'm really trying to avoid these days.  I think though telling a story like that in a certain context is OK and today's blog is going to build on that story. First, though, the setup: I got up early for me today.  I wanted to see a friend and the only time I could do it was this morning, early.  I'm glad I did because another friend of mine stopped by and was heading to the scrap yard.  A quick trip to my house paid dividends for both of us.  My garage is less junky and his wallet will be a bit heavier.  We b...

I had to speak to the most recent ex the other day about an insurance matter.  It's never pleasant and there's no nice way to say to someone that you suspect they've not been honest with you.  I've heard so many stories about the situation I found myself in that I was never sure which one was correct. However, to get myself out of it, I need to do it in writing, through my employer, and evidently have some kind of paperwork to back it up.  I work for the Federal Government.  They have rules. I asked for some cooperation and the truth.  What I got was the cooperation.  It was wedged in to a whole bunch of name calling.  But it was there and, sadly, what I expected.  What I thought would be appropriate would be just a simple thank you for helping out.  Instead, I got the internet version of being screamed at for helping out.  I thought not having to pay a rather large hospital bill because my insurance was going to pick up the tab was ...

Sometimes the best of intentions can result in less than the best of outcomes.  It's just part of life and I know that not everything I do will be successful.  I get that.  But what I don't try to do these days is blame other people for things going wrong, which they inevitably will. Here's my go wrong stories:  To make the trip to KF, we rented a car because when I dropped the truck off, mine decided to spit out coolant from the recovery tank.  There's something wrong with the Saturn and I need to be looking into it soon.  It's OK to drive local, but not taking it on a 1400 mile roadie anytime soon.  I dropped the car off and nobody was at the desk so naturally things went wrong and I got charged for an extra day, which, in my piano wire tight finances was a domino that knocked down a couple of other dominos. A couple of phone calls was all it took to break the chain before all the dominos came crashing down. It's nice to have someone to talk to a...

I told y'all in the last post about the story of having the key made for the GF's truck.  There was a reason for mentioning that.  The guy's name is stood out in my mind because of the oddest thought I had, which was:  Oh, that must be the name of my NO!'s boyfriend. A little later on, while we were out on the porch, her son and her dad started telling jokes.  Her son told a joke about a physical characteristic that affects some women.  My NO! would be included in that group! It's kind of an unusual thing and I thought it just meant I'd hear from my NO!. Miss June told me two weeks ago she thought my NO! would show up unannounced on the doorstep.  She didn't, but kind of did when she called this morning. My NO! and I are friends.  We always will be; the kind where you don't talk often but when you do, you're still friends.  We're never going to be close friends and we're never ever going to be in a relationship together.  NO! means NO! ...