Stories and other stuff

One of my memories of childhood was that when it was a holiday, the fancy dishes got busted out. We didn't have a lot, but for a time, before they got broken and had to be thrown away, my mom had these dishes that I always thought were a bit odd.  And I was thinking tonight about my affinity with the "good dishes" when I realized that it wasn't my fault.  I was raised that way, so I get to blame my mom. This is a photo of what I remember good dishes to be: Yup, the good stuff had wheat on it.  I think my mom got them from saving Gold Strike Stamps.  We weren't a green stamp family, we were a Gold Strike family.  I remember my mom trundling us into the Gold Strike Stamp showroom and the lady going through the books page by page to make sure no blank spots were there.  Funny what you remember.  I'm not sure where the dishes came from, but they were my mom's; they were for special occasions; after they were washed, they went back into the bo...

My plans get changed frequently.  I've learned to live with that, and sometimes things happen when they get changed that let me know that there might be reasons for them being changed that I might never understand. I'm going with that tonight.  Where I wanted to be just isn't where I was supposed to be.  Where I'm supposed to be is right where I am right now: Home. I just go with things, and I try to understand if there's something behind just having things change.  Sometimes, I don't always understand the reasoning.  I was going to fill in for my pastor friend a few weeks ago.  It snowed and his congregation cancelled church for the day.  I understand that.  The roads in Salt Lake were a mess that day.  I was asked to prepare some remarks for a thing at the Rescue Mission a few weeks ago.  I prepared them, but it was a fight to find the time to do it.  I finally got it done, only to be greeted when I showed up by someone el...

I saw this quote on a couple of plaques in the Hobby Lobby store the other day.  It's a paraphrase of Isaiah 58:11, which reads this way: The LORD will Guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scotched land and He will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail And this week, I've seen this happen in my life.  Except I think, and I don't think it a stretch to say this:  That He's providing for where I'm going, not for where I'm at. I explained earlier about the Chevy and how I came to own the RAV4.  I really like this thing, BTW.  It's at the shop tonight having an item installed that I never knew I couldn't live without until I saw somebody not live without it.  I sprung for the remote start and the dealer is paying 33% of the cost.  I need to interrupt this story to remind you of something else:  about a year ago, I got coerced into rotating to day shift every oth...

One thing I know from being a Christian, and it's a steadfast rule: Tell your story.  Someone else needs to hear it. I was listening to the radio today and heard one of the DJs on KLOVE telling a story of what happened to his family over the last week, and it reminded me that God is very much in control of His creation and that I'm on the right path. The man's story was just a reminder that God is faithful.  God works in His way, and in His time, but He's always faithful.  I needed that reminder because good was trying to win out over best this morning.  It didn't, and I asked for help, and God showed up, and showed off! On a good day, I don't hardly know what's going to happen next.  Today though, I got to see how this new car is a gift from the Giver of all good things, and provision for the future.  To help me afford said car, my insurance is actually going DOWN!  I'm so thrilled about that.  I don't have guaranteed renewal anymore, but...

So, the transmission on my car started to go out last week.  At this point, it's still driveable, but that's not going to last for long.  Sometimes, it's time to move on from things, and the Chevy has been a real blessing to me, but in the last little while, it's needed a fuel pump, a new windshield, tires, and I just can't see spending more money than the car would be worth to fix the transmission.  My truck still runs, and since changing the heater core, it's actually running much better than it was.  It still needs some love, though, and I can, as my son Jake pointed out to me a couple of years ago, literally watch the gas gauge move as I drive it.  Gas is cheap right now, but even at cheap, $40 every four days or so is going to add up to a car payment pretty quickly. I have a new to me 2015 Toyota RAV4.  I love the thing.  It's peppy, comfy, and more me than the last few cars I've owned.  I've learned to be grateful for what I have, and I...

The sermon Sunday was about new beginnings.  I think we all think of them as the new year approaches, and I, among the folks that were present last Sunday am looking forward to a 2019 devoid of any appreciable trouble. 2019 though is off to a shaky start for the congregation at little Ogden First Baptist Church.  The new year yesterday brought tragedy literally, right to our collective doorstep.  A woman was found frozen five feet from the most used door to the church.  As I write this, I have no idea who this woman was.  All the police said to the newspaper was that she was in her 40s, and that they didn't expect foul play to be a factor in her death, but still, no matter who she was, she was one of God's own, and sadly, we don't know why or what brought her to that particular spot, but it's kinda been in the back of my mind a lot today. It was cold out today, and I spent a fair part of my day being cold.  Our hangar was a balmy 58 degrees today....