Friday 29 February 2008

Scrap Booking!

Scrap booking! Not necessarily a "guy thing" but is something I have done. The picture to the left is no exception. But tells a story. The picture must have been taken in September 1940.

I was sitting at the dining room table looking at old photo albums belonging to my cousin. I really wasn't too excited, but was trying to be cordial. I knew very few of the people in the photos anyway. Besides I had trouble understanding my cousin - she was speaking Svenska (Swedish)! After all, we were in Sweden at her house. Suddenly, I flipped back a page and looked at the picture on the left - again. Barbro, my cousin sensed something was puzzling me. Suddenly I smiled and stated; "This is my mom, dad and her dad on my parents wedding day!" My dad said he only wore a tie once in his life, on his wedding day. Barbro's daughter Anna-Lena and I scanned the photo and emailed the photo to myself back in the USA. Today the photo is in one of my family heritage scrap books.

Scrap booking is a way to save your heritage to memory. We are constantly making memories of our life. Some memories we do not wish were there and yet we can even learn from the mistakes. Hope you are learning from your memories and the memories of others. What are some of your precious memories?

Thursday 28 February 2008

Profound - almost spiritual - wisdom!


I have been watching some of the "profound" discussions on "spiritual matters" such as "Wesley Armenian" vs. "Calvinism" and by the way nobody seems to have moved. I have a different approach. What if you had to answer the following questions from a historical record to "qualify" to enter God's Kingdom? How would you do? Please no internet searching, must be learned knowledge!
1) What was the name of Roy Rogers horse? (Trigger)
2) Gene Autry's horse? (Champion)
3) Dale Evans horse? (Buttermilk)
4) Lone Ranger's horse? (Silver)
5) Tonto's horse? (Scout)
6) Cisco Kid's horse? (Diablo)
7) Pancho's horse?(Loco)
8) Hoppalong Cassidys horse?(Topper)
9) Name of the jeep on Roy Rogers TV show? (Nellie Belle)
10) Name of the plane on the Sky King show?(Song Bird)

Easy bonus question! 11) Name of Roy Rogers dog's name?(Bullet)

Score: 1 to 5 - almost saved!
6 to 7 - on your way!
8 to 9 - Freedom bound!
10! Welcome to the "Pearly Gates"!
If you get all 11 you are "eternally secure"!

Answers above now! 10:35PM EST

Wednesday 27 February 2008

Making a come back!

Well - that was no fun! Since last Friday I felt this nasty cold coming on - last night I was in great misery - the fever, chills, aches & pain - no end in sight! Today, each hour has seen great improvement. Sometimes it just takes time for the "better days ahead" to appear. My "dilemma" did not require great faith, and yet some of you are still looking for those "better days ahead". With your permission (I don't need it!) I am going to give some suggestions.
1) Pray! - Ask God to intervene and to give you encouragement.
2) Seek help! ( I went to the doc immediately).
3) Never shut out your loved ones, they can help & encourage.
4) I was so ill, I couldn't read, but maybe you can- especially God's word.
5) Get a bell!

Monday 25 February 2008

I don't feel so good!"

Went to the doctor today with a "Bronchial Infection" Conversation went something like this:

Nurse Goodbody (term used loosely!): Why are you here?
Me: I'm sick!
Nurse Goodbody: Have you had this before?
Me: Yes
Nurse Goodbody: Well - (pause) I think you have it again - bend over!
Me (bending over) : (slight pause) Ouch!
Nurse Goodbody (with large smile): That will be 70 dollars, come back again!

I think I am going to bed - whoops - think I had better lay on my side! Whoops again - rats! Wrong side! :o(

Sunday 24 February 2008

"Know-So Salvation"


Yesterday mama and I went on a "Sr. outing" (I should not have went I have a nasty cold) we went out for dinner at a nice steak house than went to a "Legacy Five" concert. One of the songs they sang talked about a Know-So Salvation.

I have a favor to ask. Would you help me with my post?? Could you answer the following two questions in your comments?

1) What does "Know-So Salvation" mean to you?
2) How do we change a "Maybe-so Salvation" to a "Know-So Salvation"?

I'm sick! Going to bed! I have a"Know-So Cold!"

Friday 22 February 2008

Mama had a sad morning - reality check!

Mama got a reality check today and was not prepared for it. Most of you know by now that Mama and I are volunteering at a shelter for the homeless. Today was our 2nd Friday at work. Last Friday we took two men out to look for employment. Both men were excited And filled out several job applications. Two days later one of them walked off. Police were looking for him - has out standing warrants. Mama was devastated and in tears. She has been praying every day for these men. What will Mama do? She will pray harder for him. Mama is special and no one escapes her prayers. I count it a blessing to be prayed for by this best friend of mine - my wife.

Several have asked about "Carlos" (see earlier post this month). He was given food after three days of none and given some cash to enable him to get to Tampa (75 miles) where he has family. The counselor at the shelter says Carlos appears to be a bright young man who should be fine.

Thursday 21 February 2008

My Psch report - Benevolent leader

Not sure how to do this but this is my psych Report. I am tired of being a leader - However, it's better than the last dog on a sled team! If you are the lead dog, at least the view is better!

Wednesday 20 February 2008

"Thats not my mommy, she's not that ughly"

It was 1948, I was about 5 and daddy had just come back to the car. He took me out of the car and excitedly took me by the hand and said; "'thats mommy over there in the window, wave to her!" I don't remember waving, but I remember saying the words; "'thats not my mommy, she's not that ughly."

It was November 7, 1945, the instant my younger brother was born (the little boy in daddy's arms). My mother began to cough uncontrollably. They quickly discovered she had Tuberculosis (TB) of the lungs, she was 37. A few weeks later she was placed in a TB Sanitarium. I never saw my mother again until that day at the sanitarium. Even then, almost 3 years later, she looked awful. They had removed all the ribs from one side, collapsed a lung and she was very weak. They thought she was on the mend, but not so. She soon got TB of the bone in her left leg. They cut out the entire knee joint - shortened her leg 3" and bolted the two halves together. They put her in a body cast and leg cast and she had a total weight of 60 pounds. She said she remembered at that time a doctor coming in and looking down at her and saying; "I think she is going to make it!" Mom said she couldn't even blink an eye she was so weak, could not utter a word. Finally after 3 1/2 years in the sanitarium she was released to go home - 1949, she was 41. The doctor said; "Alice, if you don't lift your arms high, take it very easy, you will probably live 3 more years and if very fortunate 4 years to 45."

Shortly after going to the sanitarium, mom and dad became Christians. Mom believed that God "healed"' her for one purpose, to use her wit and gift of gab to help others find Christ as their personal Savior. So her "mission" began in 1949. With less than 4 years at best to live she began earnestly to witness -- going door to door in her neighborhood, no stranger was exempt from her testimony. Unfortunately, her day to meet Jesus came too early, she passed away January 15, 2003 - at the age of 94, almost 95! She led a normal life, worked with dad on a small farm, never used a cane or walking device until well into her 80's - unfortunately she drove into her 80's as well! The neighborhood rejoiced when she parked her car! :o) She was a terror on the road!

She was a miracle - some that glance at this blog remember her. Life to her was witnessing about Christ. To wrap this up, I close with this exert from her life.

In 1967 dad called and said mom was having heart tests and was in the hospital. She was "stable" but they were going to run tests. I lived 3 hours away. Mama and I decided to go visit her in the hospital. Got there about 8PM and had just a short time to visit and then go back.
Problem !! We could not find her! Nurses did not know where she was and I was upset! Finally I spotted her - coming down the hall! I chewed her out! "Where you been? We drove 3 hours to see you, now we have to leave!" Excitedly she said; "I went for a quick walk, heard this lady crying in a room by herself, and I went in and led her to Christ!" The lady died the next day in surgery.

How are you doing with your priorities? I am still working on mine!

Tuesday 19 February 2008

Message to my earthly father

Hi dad, I miss you! You were the greatest! I think this is the second letter I have written to you. The first letter was almost 28 years ago now - October 1980, a month before you went to be with Jesus. Mom said my first letter was hard on you because I said too many mushy things. Well, I loved you then and still do.

I told all my blogging (thats a good term dad, not new swearing!) friends how you helped me get my first horse. Thanks again! That was awesome dad. I remember how you taught us to take care of the horses. Remember when we broke old "Tom" to pull the buggy? We did it in February in the deep snow so he wouldn't run away.
I cherish the memories of fishing on Bartlett Lake. You bought this old wooden boat for 15 dollars, re-glued it and let it sit in the lake that joined our farm. The water would swell the wood so it wouldn't leak too bad. We used the old coffee cans to bail out the water so we could row out and fish for perch with you. Going behind the barn to dig for worms was always fun.

Dad, thanks for the Christian heritage. I still remember "family altar" time in the evening. Mom would help us memorize scripture - and learn the books of the Bible. Still can say all 66 of them in order! :o)

Well dad, gotta go. If Jesus has an iMac maybe we can do a iChat sometime! If not just check out my blog. Miss you. You were the greatest dad - I'm trying to be the same. Bye for now, see ya before to long.

Love, your son

God's Timing Part 2 - The saga continues!


Scripture: “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?” Luke 18:7

Timing Continued - God cares about us!

Note! If you have not read the Post "God's Timing Part 1" you will enjoy the second part better if you do!

It was a Sunday afternoon, we had just had lunch and dad asked me if I would like to go back to Copemish tomorrow to see if another horse would come through the auction ring. I was still angry, upset; disappointed and thought the trip would be wasted. I had just missed “my horse” last Monday and was not very confident we would have any success tomorrow. “Well, I guess we could try” I muttered.

On Monday we went to the auction. We took our seats near the front of the auction ring. The first couple of horses that came through were not what I was looking for. Then this horse came in and my eyes bugged open wide! It was the same horse from last week! My dad immediately looked around. Sure enough the man who was a friend of the owner placed the first bid – 100 dollars! My dad did not bid. Instead he went up a few rows and sat next to the man and he whispered something to the man. My father than placed the next bid, 116 dollars! My father then turned to the man and watched him. “Going once, going twice, sold for 116 dollars,” said the auctioneer. My dad got up, came down to where I was sitting, never smiled, and simply said: “lets see if we can get a new saddle with what’s left.” We did! If I had got that horse the week before I could not have afforded the saddle.

This may not be a “miracle” to you, but for this 14-year-old boy at the time, it was huge. To this day, decades later, I still remember this event and trust God’s timing in my life. He never has failed me.

Prayer Thought: God, I am grateful for your timing in my past and trust my future to you.

Monday 18 February 2008

God's Timing Part 1 !!


Scripture: “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?”
Luke 18:7 NIV

TIMING - Not always to my liking!

I saved money for years to purchase my first horse. I earned $2.50 a week for chores and had finally saved up $165.00 for my first horse. Finally the day came, it was a Monday and we were at the farmer’s auction at Copemish, Michigan. This beautiful horse was being shown and I knew she would be mine, if I got the highest bid. I was only 14 and my dad had to do the bidding. The bidding began, $100 dollars! Not bad, I can afford that. But the price kept going up, I just knew this horse was going to be mine! The bid went to $140.00 and my dad bid $145.00 then another man bid $150.00 and my dad got up and walked out! I was very disappointed and I asked dad why he stopped bidding? He then revealed that the man bidding against him was just upping the bid for his friend the owner of the horse. In fact the owner came over and offered us the horse at the price of $140 dollars! I was excited and then dumb founded when dad walked away, got in the truck and went home! I was angry! We had missed the opportunity to get my first horse! I thought today was the day!

I am sure you get frustrated when God seems to get the timing wrong. We sometimes are just so confident that we know His timing. Sometimes we see His timing, but other times we don’t. The one thing I know his timing is best. The horse? Well there is a part two to that story!

Prayer Thought: Lord, help me to always trust in your timing.

Stay tuned for part II of this very true story -- You can always rest in God's timing.

Friday 15 February 2008

Mixed Emotions Today - Pray for Carlos!

Today mama and I started our new adventure with the PATH. We took two men to look for employment. They filled out several applications, brought many blank application forms back to their rooms to fill out and submit later. Mama led us in prayer as we started today's journey. We put 50 miles on the car going from one employer to the next. Pray for these two men in your prayers.

Carlos (do not know his real name) arrived at the PATH while we were on the road this morning. He is about 21 years of age. He walked there from who knows where. He had not ate for three days. I think of Tam's "Fill in Friday" for today; "It's much easier to turn and look the other way than to get involved." I know, each of us is limited in what we can do, but I also think we need to make sure we are instruments and servants of Christ. Pray for Carlos - as we sleep tonight he will be also looking for a place to lay his head.

Thursday 14 February 2008

The possible hazards of woman

Part of my employment career was spent as a Safety Specialist in a manufacturing environment. As a Safety Specialist I was responsible for making sure employees handling chemicals knew what those chemicals are made of and the hazards of that chemical as well. I found this informative "chemical analysis" of "woman" and thought that on this Valentines Day it might provide needed insight to those men who may not be aware of the handling cautions suggested.

Tuesday 12 February 2008

Valentine's Day is coming! My love story!

Mama and I met, face to face, for the first time on October 3, 1963. We got engaged November 21, 1963, 48 days after meeting. Prior to meeting each other we wrote over 300 letter to each other. Shortly after our engagement we wrote over 500 more letters before we were able to see each other again. We were married July 10, 1965. Our first child came along February 1968. The first time Judy got to hold Gordon, he weighed 235 lb.s, was 6'4" and wore a size 13D shoe. Any questions ??

Caution! Watch your step!

My son suggested after seeing my post with the dually toilets that I paint my bathroom floor like the picture above! Kind of unnerving don't you think? Any suggestions like maybe a seat belt for the toilet?

Friday 8 February 2008

The Best!

No matter what your interest is strive to be the best! Maybe you are a snowboarder, a mom, or a dad. Are you striving hard to be as successful as you can? The young man in the picture was ranked #1 nationally last week in his division and age group as an amateur. This week he is ranked #3, needs some more 1st places! He must have his dad's genes. Yep, you figured it out he is my son. Do you think I am proud of his hard work and success? You bet - I am his father! I hope my Heavenly Father is pleased with how I am doing in my race to serve Him. I haven't finished the course yet, but I am getting closer to the finish line - piece of cake! Oh no !! I think there is another Table Top - Yiiiiiiii!! Well, they say pride goes before a fall, I WILL finish the course!

Wednesday 6 February 2008

Communication!


Mama and I decided to remodel our bathroom. We needed more time where we could discuss those personal issues that are important to a marriage. You may think b/c the picture is humorous that this post is going to be the same. Not even close - I plan to take some shots at us guys, share from my heart.

1) Guys, who is in charge of family altar/devotion time? Mom or Dad? I was a slacker here. Mom got it going, I chimed in but really mama led it. I should have been the leader.
2) Fella's, do you pray with your wife? Or does that seem too unmacho like? We should do that. Our wives need that and our children need to catch us doing that every once in awhile.

A couple of years ago I counseled with my pastor about these two same issues in my own marriage. I still need to work on them more but I am doing much better at it. My grown children are still watching there dad. Just a couple of months ago our son "caught us" praying together, he is 38. My heart was blessed!

I suspect some of you that take a peek at this post may be a single parent or a one-person household. Make sure that personal and family devotion time are important and God will bless you. Thanks for letting me share from my heart. If you are ever in the neighborhood stop by to chat - I have a nice private place we can talk!

Tuesday 5 February 2008

Evidence of faith?

I have started preparing for next weeks SS lesson (Marks of a Christian) and ran across this statement; "There may be no clearer
evidence of our faith than how we treat our friends." Then a second statement even slapped me harder. "A revealing clue to how humble we really are is our reaction when we discover that one of our Christian friends has sinned. Are we tough or tender?" I am learning that my Christian faith and growth is directly proportionate to how I treat my Christian friends. My closest friend is Mama, I guess I had better start there!

Monday 4 February 2008

Trash & Neglect!

Same horse -- six months later! When we get the neglect and trash out of our lives, God will change us, if we let him. Cookie is a phenomenal horse - I have ridden her a couple of times.

Trash & Neglect #1

I was reflecting on the latest post by Tam in which she was dealing with that unwanted job of cleaning up the "old house" after you have moved out. Not fun, you find dirt and garbage you didn't know was there.... and you thought your house was quite clean.

Poor Cookie, the horse in the picture, neglected, dirty, filthy needs some TLC. I fed her today and she is doing well. I will post an update of Cookie when I reach 10 comments on this post! :o) That is if you want to see if she recovered.

You and I need to make sure we keep the trash out of our lives and not neglect our souls. Neglect can be devastating just as much as accumulated trash. Cookie? She is fine - however, shortly after this picture was taken, she gave birth to a beautiful foal that was still-born. Neglect and trash can destroy your life - and others.

Friday 1 February 2008

Excited !!! Pray for us! New Adventure!


Today Judy and I had an employment interview! Really! We decided to volunteer one day a week to a shelter here in Citrus County. We thought we might work in their thrift store or maybe help with some needed administrative tasks. However, the assignment they gave us is quite humbling. We begin Friday the 15th.

We will arrive at the shelter at 8am Friday mornings. We will assist both men and women residents look for job opportunities in newspapers, yellow pages or other resource material. Then we will take them to various job opportunities they have selected and coach them in filling out job applications and interviews. We are "coaches" only, not enablers. They need to do as much as they can on their own. We will pray with them and hopefully be Godly witnesses as well. We are so excited! Pray for us!!