Life Goes On

Way back in Biblical times the old men of the city would go every day to the city gates and there mediate disputes, give advise and otherwise counsel those who came for help. Their years of experience, knowledge of the local laws and understanding of human nature were all beneficial to inhabitants of the city. It also kept the courts from being over whelmed by penny ante suits. Today we seem to try our best to put our aged ones out of sight and out of mind. We consign them to nursing homes, assisted living facilities, etc. Anything to get them out of our hair. As we do so, we also lose the benefit of their wisdom gained by years of living. As I was thinking of this I was reminded of the book, "Marley and Me". Only occasionally do we find someone who stumbles upon the gold mine of experience and wisdom locked in the minds of those with lots of "miles" on them. This week I took time to watch the DVD "The New Karate Kid" starring Jackie Chan and Will S...

I remember the story of a man who gave Andrew Carnegy a slip of paper with an idea on it and said, "Try this, and then send me what you think it's worth." The story goes that six months later Carnegy sent the man a check for $25,000. So what was on the slip of paper? A simple idea: write down the 10 most important things you need to do tomorrow. Then rank them in order of importance. Tomorrow begin with number one and work your way through the list, not leaving one until it is done. That idea has served millions of people well over the years. Long before that idea, Jesus Christ presented a better one. In Matthew 6:33 He said, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you." Why is it that we find it so hard to do that one thing? Probably, for most, we don't understand what it means to seek first the kingdom of God. Perhaps we have no idea of what the kingdom of God is. Let me share a few thought...

My wife and I were among the thousands who were left stranded by the big blizzard in the NE. Our flight was scheduled to leave on Tuesday Dec. 28th. At bed time on Monday the flight was still scheduled. We awoke on Tuesday, packed and ready only to receive an e-mail from JetBlue that our flight had been cancelled. That began a plethora of phone calls to JetBlue trying to get arrangements made for getting back to Florida. 20-30 of those calls ended with a recorded message telling us that phone traffic was very heavy and that we should call again. The call was then terminated. Finally I was placed on hold and after 1 hour and 5 minutes got to speak with a live person. The earliest flights available, I was told, were on Saturday. We grabbed those reservations and began to make adjustments for an extended stay. We have been at our daughter, son-in-law and 4 grandkid's since December 21. We were to leave on the 28th and the other set of in-laws were to arrive on the same day. N...

It has been almost a month since I last posted on my blog. A combination of busy-ness and writer's block totally derailed me. Now, as Christmas is rapidly approaching, I'm mulling some things over in my mind that I've decided to put into the blog. These are random, and in no particular order of importance. Are we perpetuating a false meaning of Christmas when we spend untold time and money on the search for and purchase of gifts for everyone we know during Christmas? Do we lose focus as to what Christmas is all about in the hectic pace of activities surrounding the season? Even though we'd like it to be true, is Jesus REALLY the reason for the season in our lives (and our churches)? Does it occur to us that most modern depictions of the Nativity scene includes the Magi (who didn't show up at the manger, but months later)? At the first Christmas, only the Christ-child got gifts. Does our current celebration of Christmas draw our attention more to the "unspeak...

Sitting here having a conversation with with Joshua, my 7 year old grandson...for that I'm thankful. Hearing my daughters laughing and talking in the next room...for that I'm thankful. Seeing my wife at the airport last night as she and my son in law Marshall picked me up after midnight...for this I'm thankful. Waking without a headache this morning...for that I'm thankful. Enjoying connecting with friends on the internet...for that I'm thankful . For life, health, peace, freedom, a wonderful wife, 2 brilliant, outstanding and talented daughters, 2 godly sons in law and 7 marvelous, enthusiastic and smart grandkids; best of all, they are all saved...we'll be together for eternity...for all that I'm thankful Reading in Psalm 138 today that "the Lord will fulfill His purposes for me" . For that I'm VERY thankful. I want to live my life giving thanks to the Father for all His gifts...mostly for the gift of His Son, Jesus, my Saviour and my big br...

This has been a hectic week in our lives. On Monday we flew from FL to NJ. Tuesday morning we helped get four grandkids off to school while our son in law took our daughter to the hospital. After getting the kids away to school we joined our son in law at the hospital to await the report from our daughter's surgery for breast cancer. There were actually two surgeries; one for removal of the breasts, and another for the beginning of reconstruction. Five and a half hours later, we finally got to see our daughter in recovery. All of this detail is just to set the stage for this blog update. It seemed that both my wife and my son in law had well defined duties during this ordeal. As for me, I was there. I prayed, I ran errands, I played with the kids, I helped with meals and clean up, but mostly I was just there. At first this bothered me because everyone else was so "purpose driven" to borrow a phrase. Finally, as I asked God to help me be of some use, He gave me pe...

It seems that my blog posts are becoming farther and farther apart. The reason is that I don't see the need for just putting words on a screen. If I don't have anything to say that I deem worthwhile, I just keep my fingers from the keyboard and my thoughts to myself. Come to think of it, that would be a good bit of advice for the many politicians running for office right now. In the absence of any real substance to their platform, most are relying on smear ads aimed at their opponents. Many of those running in Florida are so closely matched in their questionable backgrounds, that the choices have dwindled down to the least crooked, inept, or dishonest. Poor commentary on our times isn't it? The one thing that I find comforting is that God is still on His throne. His position isn't open for election. His plans for America will work out regardless of who is in what office. While I don't know His plans for America, I do know His plan for me and for all believe...