Peaceful Places

 
Today was anything but a day of peace, that is, until I did an abrupt change in my personal state of "head!" I awoke from an argument I was completely absorbed in with one of my daughters concerning musical presentation. The sound of my wife conversing with her sister in Nebraska was what brought me to full wakefulness. I sat up and looked out the windows at the snowcovered ground and rapidly became more attitudinally maladjusted as a result of the weekend storm out here on our little piece of the Great American Desert. Grumbling loudly I made my way to the kitchen via the bathroom and was confronted with a coffee pot cold from the night before and a kitchen full of dirty dishes. I guess my realization of how "bear" like I was didn't really hit me until about an hour later when I had my second cup in front of me. I really do dislike days that don't begin peacefully! I don't mind the days of hurry, hurry, rush, rush and out the door, because even the worst of those require me to keep my wits about me and act somewhat civilized. Today was supposed to be a slow, calm, warm fuzzy day of relaxation in the morning and shared prayers with my wife. We're through the day, now, and it worked out very well considering how it got it's start. Maybe that is all it takes for anyone to have a "bad" day, just waking not the way they would choose to wake. One thing is certain, at least I don't have to go around thinking I've got it all together, I don't! The peaceful time we spend with our God can make all the difference in the world for every day. The first jangling of the alarm clock or the first beckoning call of life other than ourselves doesn't have to turn our attitudes into anything other than gratitude. Today was a good reminder that even the worst beginnings can have a very happy ending. Thank you, Lord, for brothers and sisters, and for giving me another opportunity to learn from my mistakes. In Christ's Love, Preacher. 

Bear With Us

 
One of the ladies sent this out this evening to her husband and I. It's alright, ya know, the feelings of wanting to be a bear in another life. Her "born again" heart allowed her to do this in fun. She knows she isn't coming back as a bear! We don't know for certain what we shall be other than will shall be like our Savior, Christ.
I can understand the humor, and the irony. We might all like to be something other than what we are. The truth is, though, that God created me to be exactly who I am, for better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. It almost sounds like I'm married to myself, doesn't it? In a way we are! When the three distinctly separate parts of us(body, mind, & spirit)come together as one whole being we are truly one as God has created us to be. I wish I understood all the details that must accompany our transition from parts to whole, but I can share this much. For some of us it is essential that we bond with another whole person to become one as God created us to be. When we do find that individual, life becomes a great place to live! My wife and I watched the news together this evening. That rarely happens, but it was the story of Christopher Reeves and his bride and their love that caught our corporate attention. It was good to share thoughts after the news, and it's good to share life. I pray you have that coming together in wholeness, personally, and with your significant other. In Christ's Love, Preacher. 

Celebrating Time!

The title does not really tell you much, does it? Today has been the first in a long time where I have been given the opportunity to do maintenance. A closet rod my wife has been needing, a couple of 'puters that had to be cleaned up, a lot of sweaters to be put away(maybe)until the next snowfall(I may be staying up late to see what the weather brings, as if that is going to change it), and a meal prepared that goes by nobody's book but mine. In otherwords, I'm very relaxed being this busy. Six weeks of praise music picked for the services, and a new arrangement sitting in the studio even as I tap this out. I pray there are more days like this. The picture up there ^ is of the earrings I'd like to get my wife for our anniversary this summer. They fit her to a T! Have you ever wondered about that fitting to a 'T' thing people say? For me it comes from my image of the cross that is carried inside. Faith in my Savior fits me to a T! God only knows why I think this way, but I do, and that's okay. We all think about faith differently, I suppose. Not everyone has to be out in the streets or the aisles of the local Super Store to carry out their mission in life. Here's another one for you, "If I had my Druthers!" What on earth is a druther? Maybe a cross(no pun intended)between rather and something else? I don't know, and that's okay, too! I pray life is going well for you. I'm doing better, and as the weather warms and we get closer to being back on two wheels full time all of life will have come back around to being the way I'd like it to be. God willing, and the crick don't rise! In Christ's Love, Preacher.

I Wonder...If I ...

Just a quick check in to see how I'm doing. God bless, Preacher.An what on earth did this do?

TheRadicalReality

TheRadicalReality
Just happened on your blog. Interesting to say the least. A bit hard for me to read(if I could adjust backgrounds or colors it might help)maybe that's just age, too! I'm bookmarking this one. I pray you never hunger or thirst again. In Christ's Love, Preacher.
www.wintersunsets.blogspot.com

Happy Birthday Kyra!

What a beautiful young lady! She's learning so rapidly that there are times it's hard to contain her enthusiasm. Why would we want to do that? That's one of the really cool things that go with living out here on the Great American Desert, you've got a little more time to understand life than some places I've lived. Take any major city with a population in excess of the millions and life takes on a sinister perspective. I haven't heard of anyone getting thrown out of school for praying lately, nor have I heard parental complaints concerning our "Pledge of Allegiance" to the flag. A new law just passed making abortion illegal, and the worst drug problem in our high schools is alcohol. What a world! I suppose I've grown more naive with the years, but we don't seem to have the multitude of difficulties rearing children as other parts of the world. We live, more or less, at peace with creation. God wants that for our lives. He loves us so much and wishes only the best for us. Now if we could come to grips with the needs of folks that are lacking in Godly influence in their lives perhaps South Dakota would become a haven for all of the disillusioned people in our world. Nah, our population will probably never exceed a million, and we probably won't ever make the national news as often now that Tom Daschle is no longer in office, but we will maintain a really high level of moral fibre in our citizens. These truly are the "salt of the earth" types that you have heard or read about. Vehicles are quite often seen running with no one behind the wheel at shopping centers. If you look closely walking in to the big places about 1 in every 10 cars have the keys in the ignition and the doors aren't locked. Neither are the homes always locked. My wife insists that we should never leave our home unlocked, and I agree that is a good habit to get into. I guess it urks me sometimes to go around looking under mats to find the spare key. Then there is always the possibility that someone is watching me to see which mat we keep it under. There's that paranoid streak again! I think if I had never lived anywhere else I would be completely oblivious to the dangers of our world that seem to flood every television news program. Tonight I thank God we are where we are in His world. It's still cold, and there may be more snow for the weekend, but for the most part it's pretty much the same as everywhere else, only better! In Christ's Love, Preacher.

What A Weekend!

 
No, I didn't get like this picture might indicate! There is a great deal of understanding that comes with looking into the picture and imagining who came up with the thought. Have you ever felt like one more complaint or problem could just make you explode? I guess There were a few moments yesterday(The checkout girl at the gas station was not doing well)when I came across someone having a worse day than me. "Why didn't you say you didn't get gas?" That was her response to the purchase of a Coke on ice for my honey. When I got back to the house my wife said, "Where were you, we looked all over?" A few minutes later I answered the phone with my usual, "Hey! You got the Preacher." What came next was totally laughable, "Where have you been? I've been trying to reach you all day!" Those precious moments between the severity of our response and the attitude that we engender in others has got to be measurable in milliseconds. For myself it is somewhat likened to a coin toss(it has to do with a perpetually guilty conscience). Do I return fire with fire or try to put out the flames? God, I'm sure, would prefer that we really attempt to curb our own feelings in situations like this. I try to think about it from the other person's point of view, and fail miserably. The one thing that helps to keep me in line is considering the depth and number of apologies that will be necessary if I lose my temper. I suppose I don't always do a very good job, but I have noticed that the frequent need for apologies to others has lessened as I've gotten older. It doesn't mean that the temptation isn't there, but it does save a lot of time over the course of a week to not have to go back and make amends with folks that probably meant no harm themselves. What was it the man said about words being like bullets fired from a weapon? Something about just as hard to take back! God bless, Preacher.