moving

moving. moving! ya know, it's almost a four letter word. at least it's close to a curse. you have to pack up your current house so you can carry it all to a new house. no wonder it's one of the top stressers. ranks right up there with money problems - and it could cause money problems if you don't approach it right. but it's not just about packing and unpacking. it's about painting - and i hate painting - with a passion. it's about getting new appliances and trying to demonstrate your lack of knowledge in hooking about auto ice makers, etc. it's about trying to decide where to put the furniture and stuff in the new place. it's about painting - and i hate - oh yeah, already went there on that one. it's about how things don't work simply when you are trying to fix little things in an older house - you know, plumbing leaks, etc. it's about organizing who will help when and what they will help with. and it's about money and it's about money. aren't you glad God isn't stressful and that the grace found in Jesus is free.

memorial day

we just celebrated one of the most significant holidays in our history - the history of the US that is - memorial day. throughout history man has never come to the place where they get along totally. in other words we have never, ever experienced whirled peas, er, world peace. it hasn't happened. yet we live in this great country. why, because there have always been people who have realized that freedom is not free. it comes at a cost and that cost has been the lives of brave men and women who have been willing to pay the ultimate cost - their lives. i, for one, want to thank them. as a viet nam vet i know that what they do is not always supported. however, i support you. i thank you that you are willing to do what you are doing. i thank you that you are willing to fight the good fight. i thank you that you are following in the steps of Jesus who never gave up on His cause.

hump day

it's wednesday. this day is also known as hump day. i have always found this fascinating. it is my understanding that it's called hump day because it's half way through the work week. on mondays we wish it was wednesdays - hump day - and on wednesday we wish it was friday. when we're 5 we wish we were in school. when we're 10 we wish we were a teenager. when we're 13 we wish we were 16. when we're 16 we wish we were 18. when we're 18 we wish we were 21. when we're in high school we wish we were in college or working and making big bucks. when we're working we wish it was wednesday, then friday. we spend a great part of our life wishing it away. then we hit middle age and we wish it all back again as we wish we were in our 20's. we're always wishing for something other than what we have or where we are, as if we aren't happy or contented with where we are. aren't you glad that in Jesus we can be happy in Him, contented everyday, and that His mercies are new every morning.

bad boy

wow, march 3rd. can you believe it. march 3rd. that's the last time i wrote a blog. what's wrong with me. well, we don't have enough time to thoroughly investigate that question. busy, busy, busy. the american way of life. busy! but, hey, that's not an excuse, is it? why so busy? honestly, two reasons. i don't know how to say no and i don't want to say no when it comes to civic involvement. i love being in the community and helping. i was asked to help on a number of committees and stuff, and couldn't say no and didn't want to say no. so, bye bye blogging. but it was a fruitful time. but, a lot of that stuff has gone by the wayside, so it's back to surfing through life - and jefferson city is now a better place, or so i'd like to think - not so much for what i did, but because of what the committees did to address social concerns here in the city - or at least start assessing the concerns. after all, isn't that what Jesus did - assess social concerns by finding where people were, what they were dealing with, getting to know them, and then helping them.

cell phones

i looked and behold i had not posted anything since february 9th. woe is me, woe is me. so, instead of staying in the woe i decided to post something. they only problem is that i don't know what to post. in fact, i haven't even titled this yet cuz i want to see what pops up on the screen as my fingers randomly float across the keyboard ocassionally pushing this key and that. i got a new cell phone yesterday. it's really cool. you can tune into the weather channel, and fox news, and espn. you can play games and take pictures and play music. oh yeah, you can also make phone calls and receive them. the question i have is why all the other stuff. personally i think it's a conspiracy by the twenty somethings to have something that the 50+ folks can't understand. i think someone should file a lawsuit against someone. but, i'm not waiting for the lawsuit - i'm taking my own action. i'm learning the phone - in less than 24 hours and after only 3 phone calls and 2 visits to the twentysomething that sold me the phone while smiling all the while. aren't you glad that God wasn't involved in a conspiracy when He sent Jesus to the cross?

heart

an amazing organ this thing called the heart. it just keeps on beating - and is so easily taken for granted. same for your other heart - you know, your innermost being. it also can be so easily taken for granted. that can be hard - i mean, it is where love is generated from, which is really kind of scary. why? because it seems to be so fragile. you put it out there and then it gets stomped on and it becomes even more fragile - and kind of self-protective. it does not want to venture out on this road of love so quickly the next time. and if it has another negative experience and another - well, the old heart finds this innermost cave and just goes in and hibernates and we stop using our heart to guide us, but start using the buttons and triggers that replaced it. and that is very, very sad. i am very glad that Jesus never stomps on my heart. i am very glad that Jesus heals my heart so it does not die in the cave.

amazing

you know, when you think about it, life is pretty amazing. let's start with the fact that my lungs and heart keep working. pretty important, don't you think. and i don't even think about them - they just keep chugging along - for greater than 525,600 hours so far - now that is amazing. that's just the beginning. the rest of my body - well, most of it anyway - is still working. and i'm surrounded by amazing things. stores where they charge you the right price by just passing the product over a camera. amazing. how about the mountains. ever just taken a hike and sat up a trail somewhere and just looked at the creation and listened to the elk bugle - amazing. and the ocean. amazing. i have seen the ocean over a period of 40+ years and the waves keep coming in and the tide keeps coming in and going out. wow! how about the birth of a baby. now that is amazing. absolutely beautiful. i could go on and on for hours. i mean we are surrounded by amazing things - cars, tvs, furniture, air, trees, people, ipods, 'puters, pens, pencils, paper, bathrooms, houses, dung beetles, birds, baseball teams, paper clips, etc - all truly amazing. but you know what, the most amazing thing of all is God and Jesus - for in Them is the beginning of everything else that is amazing.