Birthday Blog

The final days prior to winter on the Great American Desert were filled with a flurry of activity. Today is the 59th birthday I have celebrated, although there were many I do not truly recall with any accuracy. Our project has progressed to the point where all work must now focus on the interior of our new home. We(my wife Cheryl & I)began a year ago on a new journey! I can now admit to my wife and myself that I am weary. I love the old house and the addition I designed. My problem is that I have lost touch with many people that I love as a result of doing the necessary tasks to bring this new location to fruition. Not to mention that the election season had me working the 'puter as often as I was able to assist the party whenever I took a break from the physical endeavors on our home. At the present time on this 'puter I am suffering from frequent "crashes" that take quite a bit of time to get back to where I need to be. I suppose that is the result of building a personal computer from the parts and pieces of the last half dozen shells that crossed the workbench. This one is all "junk" from the bottom up. It was fun to put together, and offered a perfect opportunity to test Vista before using it on my main home computer. Would you believe that many of the pieces were gifts and old stuff that I hacksawed(literally)to fit a Gateway 2000 case that was gifted me by the last church I was preaching in. The whole thing was vintage 1997 so I gutted it to rebuild. It sat in the old cave until March 25th of this year, at which time I built this and the one that is operating in the addition to the home. What a year! Pondering the past 12 months I can only say that God is soooo gooood to us. We have had many ups and downs, cost over runs, and financing difficulties(hasn't everyone with the mini crash of the housing industry)and they have only served to strengthen my personal belief in the power of prayer. I have an inkling now of God's plan for our lives but it is too early on to share. We will go out with our friends this evening and celebrate once again the beauty of another year of life. Where God leads we will follow(wish it were easier at times)and come through to the light of a new dawn in this garden we have been planted. In Christ's Love, Preacher.

Project Update

Today it has rained, again, so I don't have to be out riding the Bobcat moving earth! This is a blessing, I'm not certain my bones could take another full day of bouncing around on that particular machine. Night before last I began taking pictures(again)of the work in process. Sunset on our Great American Desert was spectacular. Snickers was done for the day. He was inside, outside, and everywhere he could get to. His job, of course, is very tiring so a nap was in order. Cheryl arrived home to a totally new look on the property. I believe she is pleased and that is a "good" thing. We only have use of the skid loader for a few more days. Originally when this was planned we were to have it on site for two weeks. That would have been plenty of time to accomplish our goals of landscaping and driveways. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate! We had a full week of rain and it is back once again. I think God knew I was in need of a "Snickers" break. I can just see the afternoon snooze now.....Me propped up on our new four-poster queen size bed with my legs up in the air and my paws stretched out in total repose. That just may happen. This fall has been really good, although the distant sounds of shotguns in their attempt to bring down the elusive ringneck pheasant are a bit grating on my nerves. I would much rather be hunting ducks, geese, and other game than riding around in circles on a machine that is quite a bit less than forgiving. As always, I must trust in God's timing. He has never been wrong and I am quite often too busy with my own "stuff" to truly listen to what I am being told. That's one of the difficulties we are each challenged with, knowing when to shut up and listen with our minds, hearts, and the whole of oneself! I pray all of your sunsets are beautifully breathtaking. In Christ's Love, Preacher.

Taking Time And Sharing Time

Hey! This was another day out here on the Great American Desert. It began with a "not so spectacular" sunrise and ended with a sunset that was very ordinary. What did strike me as important was the time I spent shooting pics and the people with whom I can share them. The greater part of my day was spent working on the variety of projects I have happening here at the new digs. Construction stuff for the most part. Measuring, cutting, screwing in place and then checking constantly with the levels to see if I'm getting close to right. Right now doors have become very important. I have to get them out of the way so I can begin the process of insulating every nook and cranny of this new basement. It's getting colder with each passing day. The sun reminds me that winter is fast approaching(that and hunting season)and I had better be ready!
Right now I have a daughter that I can't find. Her phone is disconnected. She and one of our nieces were sharing living space in Soo Foo(better known as Sioux Falls, South Dakota)and now both of their phones are disconnected. Usually if things are not good in my daughter's life she calls to talk about stuff. Sometimes money is a problem, other times it has something to do with relationships and the guys with whom she hangs. This time it makes little if any sense, that is, of course, unless she has decided to return to Colorado and work at one of the ski resorts for the winter season. That would be understandable. I guess deep down inside I truly wish she would come to the new house(I want her to think of it as "home")and share a bit of time. I've been praying for and about her, but have not had any revelations as yet.
So, tonight I write about taking time and sharing it because that is where my heart has chosen to take me. I know my wife is concerned, as well. Perhaps tomorrow we will get a message letting us know that she and her cousin and the baby(cousins)are all just fine and just experiencing a little financial setback. God has a way of letting us know when anything is drastically wrong. As near as I could tell from this day between dawn and sunset everything was normal. Right now it is 49 degrees out side and that is probably normal also. I pray your day has been good and that the night provides us all with much needed rest. In Christ's Love, Preacher.

A Much Needed Closure

We all have a need to find closure for the traumatic events in our lives. The move to a new location is generally in the top ten of stress related difficulties in lives. The old house came down ten days ago, and yet I did not revisit the site until a week later. I did the services and interments for both of my parents nine years ago and still have not made a return to that site. I suppose other folks are like I am in the respect that whatever the change it is difficult. This latest change will get easier as I began using the paneling and other stuff that I salvaged from the old house to the new basement. I've even preserved the house number, 1316, to place above the great stairwell leading from the addition to the basement of our project. Healing will come in time. Hopefully before Christmas. The top pic is looking at the old home from the street on Christmas day 2007. The reason I relate the events of the house coming down and the death of my parents is that I originally purchased the house at 1316 for them in '93 when dad was in a wheelchair and everything needed to be on one accessible level. So, there you have it, my most recent bout with depression.
I've found through the years that my best way of coping with unsettling events is to pray regularly(I do that anyway)specifically for the healing I need emotionally. God answers these prayers in His time and in His way. The positive side of the situation is that I know without a doubt that there will be healing, and prayers will be answered! After that it is up to me to deal with acceptance of the answers. We all have to go through something similar to this from time to time. Isn't it wonderful to know that God has already prepared a solution to our difficulties even before we knew of their existence. That is where the "trust" factor begins.
I cannot imagine what John McCain went through during his five years of captivity! He must have a wonderful trust of our Creator, not to mention the faith to follow his convictions even during the darkest of hours. I believe McCain will be a great president and that our country will experience(under his leadership)a truly needed closure to the difficulties we now share. I am personally offering prayer for the Republican nominees. Sarah Palin has gained my respect, and even though I am registered as a democrat I believe that they don't have the "right stuff" to pull my country back from the brink of depression.
Well, there you have my thoughts and feelings. It's time for me to get back to work on the positive sides of my personal closures. God never closes one door without opening another for those who believe. In Christ's Love, Preacher.

Times Have Changed

This week the old house we lived in(originally built in 1947 added to in 1957)was razed. I have been informed via E-mail that even the slabs are gone. Tomorrow I'll retrieve my mom's last auto, a 1977 Oldsmobile Toronado, from the empty lot next door and take some pics. Times change! While in the process of unpacking at the new place I came upon a box filled with stuff mom packed up in 1980 when she truly retired from being a hair bender. The solo cup thing was cool! To think that 19 cents could purchase such an amazing dispenser(for that time)and offer a free 45 rpm record for free. Just include postage. What about those musical choices? It would be hard to choose wouldn't it? I took the pics of this treasure on top of our local grocery store's weekly ad. Yup, it is only one fold out page, and the store has only three aisles! Things have changed throughout the years and not always for the better. We live in an entirely different world today than when the house was built or when the solo cups came out and it will continue to become different at an ever increasing pace.
It is because of change that I write tonight. Everyone of us has a need to grasp that which is unchanging, unfailing, and continues to offer a source of comfort and peace in our fast paced world. Cheryl and I sat out by the 100+ year old wood burner tonight and looked up at the stars. Both of us had moments of prayer and praise for our Creator, God, who has brought us to this point in our lives. Never changing, ever present and always in the process of creation. He is the reason that even when times change life goes on. There are losses along the way. Motorcycles come and some remain, people die and new ones are born, and we are here. One of the most often asked questions is, "What am I here for?" Folks of all ages have posed that one to me, not just out here on the Great American Desert, but in major cities across our country. The answer is always the same. God has a purpose for each one of us. He loves us and is present in the heart of every believer. His Son, Jesus Christ, my personal Savior, came to earth to perform a miracle. He has paid the one price for all time for my sins and yours. He has opened up the gateway to eternal life and offers that path freely to all who believe.
Enough already with me campaigning for Christ. We've got enough of that political stuff going on right now in the media to last us all for at least another four years. I don't do political stuff here, but I do want everyone to know that my vote is for the McCain\Palin ticket in November. That election is 3 days prior to my 59th birthday and I fully intend to cast my ballot for the republican presidential candidate. I'm a registered democrat! My grandparents and great grandparents were democrats! I come from a fully democratic background and I believe the democrats have chosen to *&%$ over the American people with rhetoric that does not engender any of the principles on which the party was founded. Again, enough already.
God is at the forefront of the USA. People can try to take him out of the schools, out the the government buildings, and even out of many of the churches, but He is still present and working to accomplish His will for me, and for you. God bless you this night. So, do you want that 45? In Christ's Love, Preacher.

Everyone Needs To Relax

The photo reflects relaxation in various portions of our world. Now that we have officially moved in we have our "places" to be. The ducks have their same old pond and they are quite content with it wherever I put it. My wife loves her corner windows(we curtained them tonight with rods and everything)they are a replica of her office space at the old house. When we were going through the design phase of the addition I asked her what she enjoyed most(besides me & Snickers)in the home we were vacating. The corner spot where she had her personal computer set up and where she did hours of surfing while enjoying the TV and stereo system was number one on her list of hits. The new corner is great! The point of it is exactly Southwest. Angles have always been a little on the tough side for me. Let it suffice to say I was not very good at geometry. This time, though, I really, really tried to line things up with where the sun and moon are in the sky for the different times of year. The sunlight for the wintering of favorite plants. Moonlight for nights such as this. Windows to share them all on the inside of the house as well as the outside. I suppose that is because we live out on the Great American Desert and for a lot of months of the year we are not outside often. Excluding, of course, time spent "out in it" battling the elements and shoveling snow!
My personal best place for relaxing is in front of a fire. I love to watch the flames dance amidst the logs and listen to the crackle. I often do this in the dead of winter at 20 degrees below zero, and it works! That 100+ year old stove can throw heat like you would not believe. I also love the sky above me. We are now out away from city lights(if you can call where we moved from a city with only 18,437 folks)and the traffic on 6th street. Having been raised on a farm I have always wished to be back in the "sticks" where one can listen and not hear anything. Well, that is where I am now. You can look out those corner windows and there is nothing out there for a long, long ways. Suits me just fine! I have God to commune with and my faith to sustain me plus the opportunity to revel in creation! How much better can it get before I go home to be with my Lord?
Everyone needs to have a place that brings peace to their spirit. Wherever that place is I pray you find it often and enjoy your every moment there to the fullest. In Christ's Love, Preacher.

Moving Days

We are down to the end of moving our stuff to the new home. One by one and sometimes eight at a time the boxes are getting emptied. Just a few days ago we passed another milestone. The number of boxes emptied is now greater than the number left to be emptied. We're wearing down at this point. Yesterdays load included the ducks for whom we have now erected a temporary enclosure. They were happy to come back with us. How does one tell if a duck is happy? When I cornered them and boxed them up for the journey(they are in the big boxes Cheryl is examining prior to loading in the back of the van)the mallard was not happy. I was wearing buffalo hide gloves so the hands were spared the uncomfortable feeling of being totally pecked. Usually when moving animals that are cantankerous we used a noose on a stick sort of like they use for snakes. Cheryl worries that it might harm their precious necks so I opted for a combination of noose on a stick and snatch fast. Once their wings are pinned and they are off the ground they become very complacent. Cheryl couldn't believe how quiet they were in the boxes. I didn't explain to her that fear causes that silence. It's like that with people as well. Take any one of us and put a box around us and close the lid we get very quiet. Maybe not right away like the ducks, but eventually silence will reign. Life has a way of boxing us in at times. We have nowhere to turn(or so it seems)and nobody to help us out of the darkness. That is precisely the moment when God has always provided the answers for me. Faith can bring us through the darkness and into the light if we are willing to be patient and make our needs known in prayer. God is faithful and just. He will not allow His children unnecessary suffering.
That trailer appears to be filled with junk of many descriptions. But it is our stuff and for us it is "good" junk. We are God's children! He does not create junk, it's always "good" stuff. The ducks, for the most part, trusted us. Now they are out in their swimming pool splashing about enjoying the new digs. Out here on the Great American Desert there are plenty of grasshoppers and crickets to enjoy plus the vitamin enriched food we provide. And lest I forget---the bread that falls from their heaven many times a week. The big treat for them is popcorn. They love it! So, as God has provided for us we have provided for the ducks, and Snickers, of course. He was happy to see his fowl friends. In Christ's Love, Preacher.