Stories and other stuff

I asked.  God answered. I got a lot of that today.  One was again about why sometimes things work out or don't.  Today's first part of my answers came from 2 Corinthians 8, where Paul talks about why he was harsh with the church at Corinth in a previous letter.  The passage talks about how God uses sorrow to bring repentance. There's a significant difference between being sorry about something and being sorrowful about something  Usually people are sorry...that they got caught doing whatever they shouldn't have been doing.  But sometimes you do something, you make a bad choice, you hurt someone and later feel remorse and genuine sorrow for what you've done.  You try and fix it the best you can and you repent from the thing you did.  Repentance comes from never wanting to do that again and allowing God to change your heart so you don't. It does not mean there won't be consequences for your actions.  What it means is that when sorrow is e...

I am by no means a hoarder.  I save stuff to be sure, but I'm far from a hoarder.  The stuff I save is practical stuff like nails and bolts.  Chances are you have your own coffee can of nuts, bolts, screws, and nails someplace in the house or the garage.  I save stuff that looks like it goes to other stuff, too.  That comes in handy because sometimes I'm able to pair up that stuff. Some stuff I've saved for years.  I have an Atari 2600 that still works.  I have little stuff like a Rio Grande sign that I just hung up in my bedroom.  I have a Denver and Salt Lake Tunnel Company stock certificate that needs a frame and will be joining said sign on my wall.  I hadn't hung up anything after painting and I noticed that the room looked a lot bare. I couldn't do much outside today with the rain and snow going on, so today was inside project day.  The bathroom is painted and I will start putting things away in there just as soon as I'm done w...

"The sovereignty of God is a difficult concept to keep in balance. Christianity is not a fatalistic faith, as though everything in life is rigidly predetermined. But many of the seemingly random events we experience are actually events that the Lord is using to orchestrate his purposes and plans. See 1 Samuel 9:1 - 10:8. This story from Saul's life is an example of that. He went looking for lost donkeys and ended up discovering that he would be king of Israel. He had one agenda, but God clearly had another. And God accomplished his purpose without Saul being aware of it ahead of time. The lesson for us is that we may not know what the Lord is preparing for us, but we can live with a sense of expectation and assurance that he is always orchestrating circumstances according to his plan." —Reflection from the NIV Once-A-Day Bible If ever one man didn't have any kind of a clue what God has in store for him, it would be me.  I think though, that it's a blessin...

I finished my bathroom today.  Well, as finished as it can be right now.  Someday, I will tear out the entire bathroom and start over.  I know that some folks think "pink" is fancy.  I think white is just fine and would look just peachy, thank you.  But for now, I'll let the pictures tell the story. There's only so much you can do with this setup. First off, there's the pink toilet.  It's a wall-mount toilet and they're quite spendy.  A replacement is someplace north of $600.  Then there's this little jewel of a vanity which is made out of plywood.  So is every cupboard in this house.  I had to patch places where the plywood has chipped over the years so staining it wasn't an option.  Painting it black was though and I think, a good one. When we first bought the house, there was carpet in both bathrooms.  We put down the tile as quickly as we could.  The carpet was nasty.  I mean that.  NASTY. I fo...

Technically, it's now Saturday.  But this story happened on Friday. I did not want to go to work today.  I didn't at all feel well.  My tailbone still hurts and my back was killing me.  On the way to work, though, I heard this new radio program.  It's just a little three minute thing called Getting God's Message.  The scripture verse they talked about mostly was Isaiah 41:3.  I got through an 8 hour shift on that promise that God gives us the strength we need.  I needed some and at the end of the day, I saw the same verse again, and another one from Psalm 138 which I also heard I think today as I was further along in my journey to work.  When I went to share the why I shared them on Facebook that's when I learned the program was called Getting God's Message. I got it.

I think sometimes where we go in life is where we're comfortable.  I tend to do that from time to time, or get tempted to do to that at least.  I think I was kind of headed in that direction today for a brief time and then God showed up.   I wasn't doing anything bad or illegal, but oh, the temptation was there.  I miss having someone in my life and missed that badly today for some reason.  Maybe it was because I saw someone I would have been interested in getting to know, but as usual, there as that invisible wall there.  No running ahead of God, but if I would have been able to describe this woman to Santa, she would have almost fit the bill exactly.  But not time right now.  And obviously not that one.  But still... I was chatting online with someone thru Facebook and I was telling said friend I was half-tempted to do something stupid again like run away from home forever or to take my last $20 and go to the bar and try to pick up a...

OUCH! Decidedly, the tailbone hurts worse than where the hot coffee splashed all over me.  It wasn't McDonalds hot.  Thankfully. I'd planned on taking a little rest in my hammock before I came in to write today's blog.  I got a lot done in the upper back yard today and it's quite peaceful up there.  I took my coffee and sat down in the hammock and that's when I heard creak, crack, snap, and then the thuds.  The first was me hitting the ground.  The second was the post falling over. There may have been an inaudible crack when the first thud happened.  I hurt my tail bone and I can't sit down.  Or lay down.  Or stand up.  It's OK, though, it only hurts when I breathe. Anyway here are some photos of the upper back yard before the pole broke.  It rotted at the base.  It's a 4"X6".  Thankfully I was in the middle and it didn't conk me in the head. It looks so peaceful and inviting.  Looks are deceiving. T...

Lots of happy today here at Lark Circle.  My nephew is home from Bible college.  He's spending his summer on Victoria Island, British Columbia as a camp counselor.  That's pretty cool.  College has changed the kid quite a bit.  He's a lot more grown up. We had a nice day, my little family and I.  I found some leftover maple chips which made the treat of grilled steaks an extra special treat.  If you've never tried this, I highly recommend it.  They sell the wood chips at Sportsman's Warehouse.  Soak a handful or two in water for about thirty minutes and then toss them on top of your briquets.  You smoke and cook the steaks at the same time and they have a sweet, smoky flavor to them.  Maple goes really well with steak. I hickory smoked pork chops last night for dinner.  I have the bug to be outside. It was nice.  Miss June was able to attend services with me today and if more than just a handful of people read this t...

I learned a lot of stuff this week.  Mostly because I took the time to notice things and had my nose in the Bible a lot. On Monday, I learned that beatitudes means blessings.   I'm really gonna like the new Bible study at work even if we have to call it something else. I'm learning more about things as I grow in faith.  There's power in the name of Jesus.  I learned that just a bit ago.  Good and very timely lesson.  I needed that about an hour after I learned it. On Thursday, I learned a couple of things about servanthood and loving your enemy.  I really reflected on the things that took place at the Passover meal with the disciples.  Jesus washed their feet.  All twelve of them, even the one that betrayed Him.  The Son of God did that to men.  That's all about serving others.  And loving your enemy. I have a long way to go in some respects. I learned that people really do care about things.  We didn't have a Go...

I know it would have sounded better as two-fer Tuesday, but you go with what you have sometimes instead of what you want. I have two thoughts today.  They're kind of on parallel tracks but they're not thoughts that will merge together.  That's why it's two-fer. Today's first thought is about running ahead of God.  I was too tired to see it last night, but I think it was the right idea.  Sometimes I wonder if I start doing that.  The thought is different than the one I shared with a friend a couple of days ago about not doing what God wants you to do.  I think in your walk if you do that, God just stops and waits for you to come back to where He is.  That happened with me and I try to be mindful of the things that can go wrong when you do. I was thinkin' about all the movies out that I'd like to see.  I don't like going to the movies by myself.  I already feel like a loser sitting in church by myself but at least there people don't mind....

Y'all know by now that I have a story for every occasion but even I'll admit that sometimes the stories I tell sound like I've had one too many hits from a crack pipe.  I cannot help that these things happen to me and quite frankly, sometimes I wish they wouldn't.   Today's tale is going to involve photos because even I don't believe it.  But to help you believe it, I'm going to re-tell a story from a little while ago, but this time with before and after pictures. I told you about replacement Snot.  Snot was Wendy's pussycat.  She took both him and Ba (RIP, guys) when she went back east briefly a few years ago.  Snot was born and died in Indiana.  Simba spent his last six weeks with us and is responsible for the most read blog post I ever wrote.   The pussycat on the left is Simba.  The one on the right is the original Snot. The gigantic Easter bunny is the ex. Meet Replacement Snot!  I took this about two...

Sometimes, I wish I had the ability to interpret dreams.  Sometimes some of the dreams I have make me think I'm ready for the funny farm. Here's the doosey from last night. I was on a cheapo flight to Wendover with a bunch of old people from Michigan.  How I got on that fight I don't know, but the airline and I knew I wasn't part of the group because when we got off the plane, there were ladies at a long table and I had to talk to them about my frequent flyer miles, which were given to me in the form of tickets.  Not airplane tickets, but tickets like the kind you buy for a raffle or get out of the games at Chuck E Cheese.  They had to put mine in an envelope and they had different colors for different amounts of mileage.  The 15,000 mile tickets were yellow.  Don't ask me why. When I got to the hotel, it wasn't a casino/hotel in Wendover, but a building I'd been in before.  I didn't stay where I usually do in that building but I knew where I usu...

Today's post is going to be short and is just a post script to a lot of things in life right now. I was wanting to take a photo of the sign at the church I wrote about yesterday.  It's been changed already.   Sometimes that message from God comes in the oddest way.  I'll take it and remember the lesson.  Funny thing about that scab.  It heals faster than it used to.  I hope this is the time that it just scars over permanently.  It may not hurt as long, but it hurts as much as it did the first time every time it's ripped open. That's the first thing. The second thing is a timely reminder that if God closed the door to anything it was for my own good and there's nothing for me behind that door.  I need to quit knocking.  In my defense, I didn't open that door.  I didn't really even knock on the door.  I just kind of walked around outside the fence on the sidewalk back and forth. The third is something I picked up last night fr...

The thing that drives me nuts about life is not knowing things.  I mean that.  I don't enjoy the hardships when they come.  Sometimes scabs get ripped open and bleed again.  Those wounds will not heal.  They pain my go but they've been ripped at so often, they'll leave scars. If you've been following along, I told you a while back about a dream I had.  The crux of it was that in the dream a voice said that something that was forbidden to me was now OK.  In the dream, I kept arguing with the voice; saying "God said no" over and over again.  I told you about the little battles that I waged with myself because that didn't make sense.  I couldn't find scriptural basis for it.  I can for other things, but not this one.  It just didn't seem right and it finally got to the point where a lot of prayer took place about it. I mentioned that this was something I could have tried to do but in the end it would have been an act of disobedienc...

I've been kind of fighting a little personal battle over a dream I had a month ago.  Listen, sometimes dreams mean things.  Sometimes they come to pass.  It's happened to me and I'd be willing to bet you have too.  It's just part of the world we're not meant to understand.  Sometimes nightmares seem so real.  Sometimes we have those feelings we can't explain and they may or may not come to pass.  And sometimes what seems so real isn't. This one was a doozie, though, because from the outset it didn't make sense.  But every time I turned to something in Scripture, it seemed like "maybe".  But there was something I just couldn't put my finger on about it that didn't seem right.  Part of it got cleared up for me at church and I wrote about that the other day.  I came to the conclusion that if the thing were from God it would come to pass. It didn't and it won't. God still answers prayers and it seemed that no matter what I cou...

I'm really trying to take this whole stewardship thing seriously but I didn't realize just how so until a few minutes ago.  Part of stewardship means taking care of the old body.  It used to be the latest thing, something to be driven hard and fast.  But when you do that without regular oil changes and preventative maintenance, it turns into a "fixer-upper".  In two months, I will be 50 and that makes me a "classic".  (if I were a car, but that's the metaphor for the day, so it works.)  And I accidentally caught myself in restore mode. I know at 50 things have to be checked and I have a couple of options for healthcare (I'm very blessed!).  I go to the VA for my physicals now because they're a lot more thorough and a lot more free.  I still like my primary Dr. but when you're on a budget you have to look sometimes for a better deal.  Not always, but sometimes.  Anyhow, I scheduled my physical for two weeks from now. For those that gr...

I think you come to the realization that God is a lot bigger than your problems the moment you are just having a crappy day and still you find joy in your soul when a lot of you just wants to throw in the towel. I had a night like that last night.  Nothing went right but there was an answered prayer.  Sometimes answers, even when they're the ones we don't want are blessings.  I got some of that last night; enough to know that praying and waiting were good ideas. When I went to bed, I just said my prayers, gave thanks, and felt joy and sorrow at the same time.  Sometimes this little life of mine hurts.  It seems like it's been doing a lot of that lately. That's a lot of why I'm not in a real big hurry to start dating again.  I've dated two women in last 4 years.  The only way I can describe the experience is that it was like dating the polar opposites of the same woman.  They were in so many ways, two sides of the same coin. I have been try...