April in the Sanctuary 

Letter To A Friend 

Friday the Fifteenth

Rising from slumber in the early hours of the morning has always been a favorite of mine. Never really had to for any other reason than the peace that I find before the rest of the world is up and rushing about. Cheryl arrived home from work shortly after 7 am and actually entertained thoughts of sharing breakfast with me. I was preparing one of those healthy ones, 5 strips of not quite crisp bacon(don't you just love that smell in the morning), two eggs fried in the bacon grease, sunnyside up(basted) and four pieces of toast(two fried in the bacon grease, mmmmmmm). There are lots of people out there who will shudder at the thought of ingesting this combination of foods, but for me they are the farm revisited. Did I forget to mention the hot black coffee that I linger over while things are in the fry pan, or the 100% butter that I slather on my unfried toast? I gave up drinking a lot of milk about 15 years ago when I could no longer procure it from the farm. It really is best when it is unhomogenized, unpasteurized, undiluted, unenriched and unfortified with any essential vitamins. That was how it was when I was growing up. Add to the assortment of culinary delights a short stack, maple syrup and sausages and you really have one of those "farm" breakfasts that grandma enjoyed for 93 years and grandpa for 89 years. If this makes you wonder why doctors are so set against this eating style today it is because it is not healthy! Makes you wonder if it was unhealthy why people from my grandparents generation have become the longest lived in America. I personally think that the life style of most people is far to sedentary. Myself included! I simply don't excercise. I did once, it wore me out. But I don't think it's the lack of excercise that does us in at an early age. Locally we just lost a 47 year old physically fit teacher that was much loved by everyone that knew him. I pray for his wife and children and all of those he left behind so suddenly due to a heart that blew up. People, if you're reading this tell me if I'm wrong! It is stress. That is what I believe is killing all of us on a daily basis. Gut wrenching, lay awake at night, worry burdened, workaholic, modern world, pressure cooker driven lives. Yes, there are a lot of 'things' that bring about one's early demise from this physical plane. If you follow all the life threatening diseases one can contract as they bounce up and down in national priority, they may not amount to a hill of beans in comparison to what stress is doing to people. Each one of us knows that person who drinks too much, smokes too much, overmedicates with prescription drugs, takes God only knows how many antacid tablets a day, and we haven't even touched on what stress is doing to people under the age of twenty one. Okay, I have to stop. This one could go all night. If you read this and you'd like to do something 'good' for 'you,' start dumping the stress. Every person knows what they need to do. Whatever it takes, whatever, dump the stress. God bless you, Preacher.

When Truth Is Heard THe Heart Hears 

How Long Does It Take?

That question keeps popping up from Cheryl and family members, but not nearly as often as from friends. One of my nearest and dearest is so excited there seems to be no way to quell the number of questions related to my latest literary attempt. Have you ever had children in the backseat of the car on a journey start asking that "Are we there yet?" question, or repeatedly wanting to know, "How far is it?" or "How many miles do we have to go?" This final enquiry became a favorite of mine with our last set of twins. My response, "All of them!" I did an update on my own timeline thing today. I'm about through with chapter 39, and do not anticipate going much over 50, 55 tops and that includes the inevitable epilogue. That is the very best estimate I can offer at this point in time. My daughter, Marla, is going to a 'scrapbook' party on Saturday and would like for Cheryl to go with. I think I knew what she was referring to, but I had to check it out. A scrapbook is much like a joint bank account. When I was growing up my mother maintained one for me. I appreciate it a lot more now than I did when I was..... younger. Whoosh! I nearly told you that I'm 55. Yes, the same as the double nickel speed limit, it went up, too. I guess I had better return to the tapping on my 'puter for the project. God bless. In Christ's Love, Preacher.

Our Wedding Day #2 

The Reason For The Bear

Our home is a haven for bears old and young alike. They come to live at our house where they are treated with great respect and offered love in many languages. Cheryl and I began collecting them when we first got married. They were cute, cuddly, and seemed to reflect a little of each of our personalities in their many guises. This one in the picture below(Oh, I do so pray this thing is working the way I think it should)is in a frame on my office desk. I could go on and on about the Biker bear family and the largest of the group(Cheryl won the giant white Valentine's Day bear from Hallmark three years ago) standing taller than me and when seated occupies the entire loveseat by himself. His most endearing characteristic is his ability to hold young children between his legs while they enjoy their favorite cartoons or movies on the tele in the bedroom. Even our eldest grandson(Matthew, age 15)enjoys cuddling with our big white bear buddy, but he doesn't like to get caught enjoying it these days. I found the all american biker bear in a magazine offering to sell me a statue that looked just like the picture shown for only $34.95 plus tax, and not including shipping and handling. I just liked him, so here he is. Some of the cutest are the mama and papa santa bears that come out for their season. We love them all. We have many pieces of framed artwork to complete our "bear" decor. The only problem we have ever experienced that is related to the bears residing in our home is one that occurs when we are away for several days at a time. They'll throw parties! You would not believe it! We get back and they have drained every beer and smoked all the cigarettes in the house. They've rumpled the beds and left electronic equipment on all over the place. Oh, well, such is life. In Christ's Love, Preacher.