Sunday Greetings To All Of The "Different" People!

Good afternoon from the sometimes sunny "Great American Desert." One of my 23 year old twin daughters used to whine and complain when she was a teenager because she wanted to be "different, like everybody else!" It took a lot of years, but she finally got her wish, I can certify that she is different just like everybody else(always has been, but it took her a long time to learn that). The weather in SD has no idea what it is doing. Our usual monsoon season has run way past the point of acceptability. One of the ladies up north of here has been waiting for over two weeks for things to dry up enough to put in fence posts for her new dog enclosure. She acquired a Corgi recently and didn't realize until the pup had familiarized itself with the surroundings that they have a penchant, literally a canine passion, for digging under, around, and through all obstacles. That in and of itself is a fine attribute for a dog designed for the task of digging a badger out of it's hole, but with the rains we have been experiencing the pup is now a mud covered fur ball with stubby little legs and a nose that remains mostly obscure. Linda has everything she needs for establishing a proper dog run. All that is necessary now is some "dry down" time for the yard and that animal will be secure. I've often wondered if the animals we choose to keep in realize that we're doing that for their own good. I know that teenagers don't operate that way. They think that we're trying to keep them from experiencing their freedoms in the manner that 'they' choose. My personal pups have all gotten past the "teenage" syndrome. Thank God for small miracles, we all survived! Now it's the older grands that most often concern my wife and I. You would think with all the years we have been in the habit of trusting God with these youthful lives that we might have learned some useful lessons. We have! We learned everything we could about the ones that are past that phase, and the most important thing we found out was that each one is different. Even when they include in their number two sets of twins! They may be about the same size and exactly the same age, but each one is different. The last two were born of opposite gender(trying to be pc here). My fondest memories of them in the double stroller come from visits to the local shopping center where invariably some woman would ask(men never bother with this type of thing), "Are they identical?" No, lady, the one in blue is a boy and the one in pink is a girl. Lol......Different, each one of us, male and female, similar and yet, distinctively different! Is that not cool? Even identical twins, aren't. No two snowflakes are ever the same, no two sets of fingerprints, or genetic dna code, so many possibilities, so much potential and all of it unique in every way. God works that way. Every one of us different, and every one precious to Him! God bless you, today, and everyday, and your precious ones. Michael and Alyssa had a baby, 9 pounds 11 1\2 ounces of healthy(already holding his own head up without assistance)male child. Thanks be to God! In Christ's Love, Preacher.

Perhaps there are new and unique ways of communicating out here that I have yet to discover! 

A Perfect Place For An Afternoon Ride In A Canoe, Just A Gentle Breeze And A Temp Of 82 Degrees. The Sounds Of Two Paddles As They Gently Caress The Water's Surface! 

Deserts I have Visited Have Been Not So Very Real!

We have nothing on this continent that compares to the desert pictured below. What we do have I've gone to visit and come away less than excited. From California to Texas in the US we've got a few places that stand out in memorable visions. West Texas in particular, where during the last world war the government came up with the idea of constructing huge concrete bowls in the desert to stockpile oil. Now there was an idea! It didn't work! The concrete cracked in the shifting sand and the oil leaked right back out into the earth. What we have left is several deep bowls approximately three times the size of a football stadium. You can visit them out near Monaohans, Texas, where local inhabitants gather after sundown for the sake of revelry. Real deserts, like the picture with the camels and the sand that goes on endlessly, I would love to visit. Think of it as an unpainted canvas that all traces of use disappear with the next breeze. The potential is as limitless as the deserts themselves. Everyone has seen the movie scenes with an "oasis" in them. Those places where the water continues to rise to the surface and creates a veritable garden in an otherwise barren region of the world. I like the imagery that the "oasis" brings when we think of the peaceful place that God provides in the midst of the barrenness life often presents to us. I don't suppose it's too bad if one 'has' to travel that way, if you have many to accompany you and a route to follow. But I'm sure we have all faced those journies through life's deserts without a companion, or so it seemed.
The oasis that God provides in the midst of our sojourning is so cool, so laid back and inviting, I can't express anything more than thankful amazement! Combine that with the reality of God's willingness to share even the most desolate of travels with us, and you have before you a veritable feasting place in the throes of life. South Dakota has a place called the "Badlands," where(35 years ago)I used to go camping. I don't think it's legal to be out there anymore, may not have been back then, but it's a great place to encounter the desert in a personal way. I never knew how alone I was until I began my walk of faith. I survived, just barely at times, and the surviving has brought me to one conclusion, much like Alice in her travels through the looking glass. "Which road do I take?" she asked. "Where do you want to go?" responded the Cheshire cat. "I don't know," Alice answered. "Then," said the cat, "it doesn't matter." Whatever road you choose, it does not have to be traveled alone. God bless, Preacher.

Moses And The People Of Israel Wandered In The Desert For Forty(an indeterminate number)Years.  

The Sky Is The Limit, Well, Almost!

While attempting to post the "USA" picture last evening I inadvertently wandered in to my personal frustration zone. The photo came by way of one of my service buddies. I had it looking so cool, but for some reason it simply refused to post. Then I got paranoid of where the picture came from and how it was taken and perhaps I was divulging military information without knowing it. The mind can do some really strange things when it is allowed to roam untethered by reason. My personal favorite of the "paranoid" person was portrayed in a movie starring Mel Gibson quite a few years ago. I won't bother you with the details, you've probably seen it, but there was this underlying current of frustration that he experienced that made the entire plot come alive for me. Right now I am experiencing one of the most frustrating times I can ever remember having. It seems that God is in the process of attempting, once again, to teach this "old dog" some new tricks. I tackled the computer last fall in an attempt to learn some of the "new" things I needed for the program. Frustration after frustration assailed my waking moments with the "oh so popular" 21st century tool I was led to learn. At Christmas I remember thinking, "Lord, what need have I for this 'puter?" Well, now I understand in part, but it took half a dozen rebuilds and learning an entirely new language to get here. Honestly, I was happier with my half dozen dead languages and my poetry and music mixed in with the passion for photography. But, frustration or no, we carry on. That's what life is all about(either that or the song was right years ago and the hokey-pokey is what it's about)striving, building, and learning. In our everyday lives we need to know that we are continuing to grow, that we have not become stagnant in our thinking or in our spirits. The best way I know of to "freshen up" that spirit is to get closer to God in prayer(Cheryl, my wife, likes to "freshen up" with a visit to the salon and a new hair style. I think she does some praying there, mostly for her stylist, Miriam). Then there is the refreshing feel of the wind in my face on a day filled with sunshine(haven't seen one of those in awhile)and the roar of one of my Harleys as we roll mile after mile isolated from frustrations by the beauty of the world that surrounds us. Seek that time to refresh yourself, guard it jealously, use it wisely, and share it abundantly with your God, it makes Him happy when we are enjoying all He has done for us. In Christ's Love, Preacher.

San Antonio, Texas Is The Sight Of This Never Before Seen Flight Formation Of Pilots In Training At Over 400 Miles Per Hour!