Stories and other stuff

On a good day, my life doesn't make sense.  On a GOOD day.  I'm not so sure what kind of day today is going to be, but I know there's direction.  One of the things I'm looking for these days from Jesus is some clarity about where we're headed and I think I may have gotten that this morning, from, of all places, a conglomeration of posts I shared on Facebook. My ex, Wendi, explained to me once after I posted some stuff on her Facebook page, that it was like her virtual front yard, where friends walked by and waved.  That made a lot of sense to me and I took down what I said.  That was years ago, by the way.  But the analogy stuck with me.  It's why I only have people I know as friends (with one exception).  I like that we can walk by each others' front yards, and sometimes stop and say hi.  On days when it seems I'm oversharing pictures and memes that have a Jesus theme, there's usually a reason for it, and often it's that they're tellin...

Yesterday afternoon, I received a very sad telephone call from one of the ladies at church.  Brady, a young man who was disabled, went home to be with Jesus yesterday morning.  A couple of famous people died yesterday.  There was a bombing in Brussels that has us preoccupied.  /There were lots of things going on yesterday, and someplace in there, a young man who wasn't any of those things left the pain and sorrow of this world. Brady was wheelchair bound.  He had a feeding tube.  He was a part, and an important part of our church family.  Brady had an infectious smile, and over the last couple of months, I had a few chances to interact with him.  I got to give him and his mom a ride home in Chevron about six weeks ago.  I was blessed to be able to help put him in the car from his wheelchair.  Brady couldn't speak but that didn't mean he didn't understand when he was being spoken to or what was being said.  And that smile...... I...

What I've learned lately, I'm trying to apply to the oddest thing I've ever faced.  I mean that.  Over the years I've learned that when you lose, it's best to lose and walk away.  But this time, walking away seems to be not part of the plan.  It's like being forced to watch as the decision you made has consequences you could never imagine, and having to watch them as they play out. Running away isn't in the cards. I deserve that.  I mean that.  It's a blessing because it will keep me from being stupid tonight. And tomorrow.  It kept me from being stupid yesterday, etc... You get the idea. Whatever your opinion about where I'm at, where I'm at is where I am.  And this is what the Bible has to say:  Psalm 127 v1:  Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. From Jeremiah 10:23...Lord I know that peoples' lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps. From Proverbs  16:1  To huma...

Everything I'm going to write today really happened to me. Almost a year ago, I met the friend of a friend and I thought we might have a lot in common.  Pretty gal, lovely personality.  We went out twice.  The first time was to dinner and a weird evening watching a movie here.  The second time, we spent the day together on the 4th of July hanging out with her friends.  Twice was enough to know we weren't going to be a good match. Somewhere in there, we were Facebook friends for a minute or two, and my Who got pissed off about it, which I found odd.  Well, maybe not so much so, but at the time, we were still trying to figure out why the heck we were in each other's lives in the first place. So, needless to say, it was a disaster.  Fortunately all it cost me was a battery charger.  It cost my roomie his friend, so she must've been a lot more mad about it than she let on.  I find that odd, too.  I didn't even kiss this woman. Tami J...

So, I'm in pain.  I haven't had a gout attack in almost a year.  I'm having a doozey today though.  And man, does it hurt.  I took a muscle relaxer last night that usually knocks me out.  Not through that amount of pain, though. My back probably still hurts but I don't care right now. I missed church.  Mostly because I couldn't stand to sit that long, and I couldn't stand to stand even less.  I did church via radio today and listened to a good message.  I think sometimes God gives us stories that we can relate into gospel truth by drawing parallels and the pastor used one today to make a good point about Jesus being all we need. I found it interesting too when he was talking about hell.  He was explaining to a woman that instead of taking her word that a loving God wouldn't send anyone to hell, he would rely on Jesus.  Jesus, the pastor pointed out, talked more about hell than heaven.  I'm going with it's a real place, and tha...

So, I misplaced my wallet today. But I didn't get crazy searching for it, swearing, blaming anyone, or getting into a fret, or a snit.....all of which I've done in the past.  I carefully searched for it.  I went to the last place I knew I had it and it wasn't there.  I thought maybe I'd driven off and left it on the roof of the car.  But I did remember to ask God about it as I left the Sam's Club.  That still, small voice....go home and look in your dresser. I did.  It wasn't there.  But keep that thought in mind. I stripped the bed.  I searched under it.  I looked in the garage.  I searched the Chevy at the Wal-mart parking lot.  Twice.  I asked Miss June if she had moved it somewhere.  She hadn't.  I looked in the recliner.  I moved the couch cushions.  I searched the trash.  Not there. When it wasn't in my dresser, I came to the conclusion that I'd driven off with it on the roof of the ca...

Out pastor has been out ill and I was asked to give the sermon at our church today.  It was more of a talk, which started out with this video. From there, I read 1 Kings 19: 1-15 as the Scripture verse, and you can read it here . Here is the message: --> Today’s Scripture reading is from 1 Kings 19 1-15 Lent is a time for introspection; a time for us to take a look at where we’re at in our Christian walk and to compare that to where we should be.   In keeping with that, today we’re going to talk about trusting and obeying God.   I’m not giving the message today from the pulpit.   I’m not preaching TO you.   I’m talking   WITH about this as one of you.   I struggle with trusting God sometimes.   I’m not as obedient as I should be.   I’m working on it. The idea for today’s message came to me as I was driving down the road and is pretty much in response to a question God asked me.   That’s kind of an audaciou...