How Time Gets Away From Me

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January 14, 2007

It seems we went on celebrating my B'Day for awhile....in the midst of that work continued and I was there to witness the floor of our new kitchen being polished off. It is getting mighty cold out here on the Great American Desert, but I can't complain, it's way better than some years. The concrete has had time to cure and we should be setting all the little blocks in place very soon. It would seem that I have been in the process of doing that for a lot of years. Everything from square blocks and tinkertoys to lincoln logs and plastic bricks. I pray that this is the last time I'll be moving, but only God knows for certain. The best part of the whole situation is that I have had a wee bit of time to consider what we are engaged in and reconsider the time it is going to take to accomplish all of the tasks. I think I get antsy about progress and God just has to pull a few pins out from under me to bring about a slow up. You see, it does not have a lot to do with what we as people plan, it only sees fruition by the Grace of God. And that folks is how I live and manage to keep on going. I know that in all of the setbacks and errors that have occurred there is a purpose, a design, if you will, to this project. I don't mean the design that I've put down on paper in my humaness but a greater design. We have had folks drop out of the project, put us off for weeks, just not show up to do what they said they would do, and then, following our prayers and in answer to them others have shown up to take over the work. We receive them gladly, and the new relationships that have formed as a result will endure. We've shed tears of joy and sadness in the midst of all that is going on, and for ten days I lost track of time as I scurried about being worried about the stuff(as if by worry I could change anything)and learned in the process, once again, that God's timing is perfect and mine stinks. So, tonight I am thankful that some of the time got away(I could have done without the week of rain early on in the process, but that's life). I really needed it for other things. It may also be that through this ordeal of expectation I am growing a stronger relationship with my wife. That is a blessing! She is sleeping sweetly and soundly at this moment, and I have got to get out of this office. It's unheated out here, and the temp is down to about 40 degrees. I pray your life is going well. In Christ's Love, Preacher.

Happy B'Day To Me

January 14, 2007

I don't know what to write this evening. This has been a very important day for me. How often does one realize they are loved by others more than they could ever imagine? Does the cookie bouquet say it? Maybe the cards and E-mails....or the calls from friends. Nope! I can say without a doubt that is the eternal love of God that makes my 58th B'Day a cause for celebration. You see, I know tonight that God had this day planned to perfection even before my bones were knit together in my mother's womb. She, if still alive, would have called around 6 am to let me know that this was a day to remember. Until 9 years ago she did that every year just to let me know she loved me. God does the same thing for each of us, only He does it every day. In all that we have been given to enjoy, and all the many blessing we receive, He is there to remind us of how very much we are loved.
I was moved to tears, abandoned to laughter, and held close in the arms of my family this night. Each one of them is an unanticipated blessing in an old preacher's life experience. Thank you to my friends. Thank you to my God. You are, each in your own special way, awesome!!! Goodnight and God bless. I pray your life is surrounded every day with the love that we have only to open our spirits up to receive. In Christ's Love, Preacher.

The Big RV

January 14, 2007

I've been trying not to bore everyone with the day to day details of our house project, but it seems I am failing miserably. Last evening the masonry workers called to inform me that the basement floor has been poured and we should be ready to position the house in 7 days. Right now the Beale house is the largest RV in SD....LOL.....that's just me being silly. It was quite the event to watch as they blasted the blocks apart and built up the equipment under the home which would place it on the trailer bed. Videos were shot from every angle, and the entire neighborhood was filled with camera bearing denizons snapping away(me included). I've included a pic of the artist's rendering via 'puter the project as we have it thought out. I know, taking a pic of the printout on the kitchen table isn't a great idea, but it works and I have a lot of far removed relatives anxiously awaiting this blog posting so they can see what we have been up to all summer and fall. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 3800 square feet when completed(probably in a year or so)and we still have to work out the floor plan for the addition that joins 21st century to 19th century. I'll do a thing one day on the homes interior after it has settled in on the property and the new windows and doors have been installed. What a bunch of stuff! Whoosh!!! I awoke in a sweat with nightmares about the concrete work at 4:27 in the am. Today the phone calls have been flying. Then there was the radio thing with a local station manager who went on for twenty some minutes about the historicity of the home and why it should not leave the city. We have even been threatened with folks blocking the removal by lining up cars and trucks to prevent it rolling 5 miles away(where, incidentally, it will be only a few blocks from the county museum). What a deal! Only time will tell, but I know in my heart that God is blessing this piece of work and that in the long run we will be set up to house itinerant christian musicians, fellow preachers, and students of theology. I think for me the most fun will happen when we get to set up the library, music studio, and computerized offices. For my wife, Cheryl, her pleasure will come when she gets to decorate the old and the new. Both of us together, however, will not truly appreciate the creation until it is filled to capacity with holiday guests and dignitaries from the state of South Dakota. Out here on the Great American Desert that means about 15 folks.....just kidding! If you are one to include others in your prayers you might entertain the thought of including us in the months to come. In Christ's Love, Preacher.

Ghosts, Goblins, Witches and More

The pictures are courtesy of the Lopers in BelFouche, South Dakota. They do an amazing thing with decorations and lights for holidays. Gary is like a kid in his enjoyment of the process of installing a setting that reflects his "inner child." That is, in and of itself, a great trait to enjoy. He does the same thing for Christmas and the Fourth of July. He and Char's home and yard become a personal playground upon which he paints a vivid picture in color and light. I sit and look at this year's edition and just smile. I get to see the canvas every year in August, and I must say the changes are always welcome. People are probably in a constant state of change in one way or another. As for me, I have never much liked change. Even the seasons are difficult to accept. I would have every day be like every other day, and that has got to be a boring way to live. This is my 8th and final fall in this home from which I swore we would not move. Never swear by anything under heaven, it might crop up to bite you later. This morning saw a dawn of chilled air and frosty ground out here on the Great American Desert. The house we are taking to the country was due to be lifted at noon but because of high winds in the country on another project we won't get it done until tomorrow(today later). I've been in a tizzy over the entire project for the past hour. Worrying about details! As if by one moment of worry I can change any aspect of the future. For sure we can't change the past, but a lot of folks spend a great deal of time fretting the past, as well. Here is a thing I got for my B'day about thirty years ago....

I was regretting the past and fearing the future
Suddenly my Lord was speaking,
"My Name Is I Am"
He paused. I waited. He continued,
"When you live in the past with its mistakes and regrets,
it is hard. I am not there. My name is not I WAS.

When you live in the future, with its problems and fears
it is hard. I am not there. My name is not I WILL BE.

When you live in this moment it is not hard. I am here
my name is I AM."

That was written by Helen Mallicoat and has been hanging in my offices longer than I care to remember. That is a good thing. Carl Jung had a sign hung over his door which read, "whether invited or uninvited, God is present." If I didn't get that exactly to the letter please forgive me the memory is getting more lax as time progresses. If you have needs in your life this day, fears, apprehensions, doubts, please know that they will stop your ability to enjoy the beauty of all that God has given us. That includes everything!!! I'm smiling once again as I tap out a few words for folks. Maybe this is another example of me talking to me, I do that quite often when I'm working. That and singing songs. Have a wonderful day and may this November be your best ever. In Christ's Love, Preacher.

Moving Forward

Change has never been an easy thing for me!

I keep telling myself this is not change it is progress. The hole in the ground has now become a congregated, concreted group of blocks that form the basement for our new home. Odd to think of it today that it has been exactly one year since my neighbor, Professor Joel, passed away. Today the crew comes in and lifts what was his home off it's foundation in preparation for moving it to the site out by the cornfield where my wife and I will be residing. God never ceases to amaze me! I never would or could have imagined a year ago the scope of the project that we are now involved in. I'll continue to update this blog as the work progresses. My anticipation of the photo opportunity when this old bed and breakfast rolls down the highway has juices flowing this morning. I pray others enjoy the progress as much as I will. In Christ's Love, Preacher.

January 14, 2007

Project In Process

That is Britany in the background. At the present time I am painting her home and her brother Zack's place. It is a tedious task but one that I am capable of completing if the weather allows. Tonight the temps on the Great American Desert are supposed to dip to 25 degrees. That is cold, but not as cold as it can get. Today I worked on the roof and the areas that require me to be over 20 feet from the ground. You know, I never worried over the height 20 years ago, but this past week I have found myself considering the healing time required should I experience a fall from the heights. Thankfully I would submit that the worry goes away once I am high up in the sky doing the work that I am so familiar with in painting. Perhaps we all have spaces and places that cause us to sound an alarm deep within ourselves. Being uncertain in life is a condition that I can only describe as "human." If you don't get this little feeling now and then you are not truly living. Feelings are a part of our process and experiencing them makes us more than whole, it helps us to understand why we are alive. I've got a hunch that if I should fall from a height greater than mine by factors of four I would probably be thinking about where I'm stopping, more than where I'm going. That is just an observation, but God does know where we are all going! In Christ's Love, Preacher.

January 14, 2007

Some Days Are Diamonds

I know, and some days are stones! LOL....the thing is we have to keep a perspective on is what is happening in our worlds. Today there are folks in California who have lost their whole lives, the home and all that was in it is gone forever! My cousin, Lenore, out there, is safe(spoke to her the day before yesterday)but she does know people who are not. Meanwhile, out here on the Great American Desert we are in the process of building. My job at the present time is one of putting paint on an old structure to make it look "good" for the folks nearby and the people that work in the banking industry. That will work out according to God's plan, I just wish I had an answer or a clue as to what was coming around the next bend in the road!
Scott Narragon is doing the concrete work[if I misspelled please forgive me]. His crew are the best I have seen out here! I observed and took pictures as they worked today. Well oiled and primed for the task are the first descriptive phrases that come to mind. Mind is an operative word. Inside this mind is the brain which still finds it impossible to fathom that my wife, Cheryl, and I have embarked on this journey of construction. Tom, the plumber, was on site today helping me to understand what his needs are for making the home(we'll see how that works out)a workable entity in terms of where we take care of life's business. I need to sit down with a pencil and paper plus a ruler and position the plumbing. Never have I had to do that before. I don't know that I will do it well this time, but I do give thanks to my shop teacher, Mr. Bruggeman, if not for him I wouldn't have a clue as to what to do next.
It does appear as though we have a project in process and that in the next year my residence will once again be altered. I presume that there is a plan in all of this, and that we will be beneficial to\our Creator. I do wish He would fill me in on what part in this I will be playing. Never lose sight of how funny life can be. Lenore(my cousin in San Diego)shared her thoughts following a local news cast interview with some elderly people who had lost their home in the fires. "I guess we'll just start over." What can any of us do, other than start over again. That is what our Lord offers us. The opportunity to begin anew the process of living life to its fullest within the context of God's forgiveness. This is not a one time thing. It begins every day when we reach back within ourselves and choose to begin anew the life(gift)that we have been given. No matter what happens, we can always begin again! In Christ's Love, Preacher.

January 14, 2007