Backgrounds & Borders, Bathrooms & Biffys

When we unite in the bonds of Holy Matrimony we also commit ourselves to a life of sharing space. Oftimes in our modern day world we have been "sharing space" for a long time before the ceremony & vows. I'm a bit old school. LOL....I'm probably as old school as you can run across these days. As we continue the process of creating in actuality our vision for a haven we come across the meaning of tonight's title. All of the elements that comprise a home(the home is actually Cheryls and I have a cave and office attached to it)are those which we must wrestle for another few months. After that they will be forever(at least for our lifetimes)set in cement.
I ere quite often on the side of practicality and usability. This will not become entirely apparent until I set the interior walls of our project and proceed to make it habitable for humans. My wife, Cheryl, does not care to have a lot of doors in her home. Where we are now one can enter a small(very)hall and encounter doors on three sides. I like that! Doors offer opportunities. One never knows what might be on the other side of a door. We recently had an accountant friend attempt to exit our home via a walk-in closet in our foyer. That is still providing many chuckles for those who were present.
There are many doors present in our life experience. Some we fling wide open and rush through only to find ourselves disappointed, dejected, depressed, and sometimes behind bars. That has to do with our personal choices. No person can make them for us and we all must face the decisions concerning our lives alone, unless we have received an initiation into the hall of a greater power. Others may have suggested this course of action. Friends and family may have tried to help us find it. But, the truth is, we can only make this big decision for ourselves. There is not a single person who can change us other than ourselves! What color we would like our walls to be, what type of floor covering we would choose to live with for a few months or the rest of our lives. I can say this from a personal background of prison ministry that if we do not choose the state will, and we will not appreciate the interior decorator! Gray is not a favorite color of mine, although I worked in that environment for eight years. I may have always known that I would be there, what I did not know was that they were going to let me in and check me out every day while I preached repentance! Those were wonderful times! Now I look forward to creating a haven for those who serve the Lord and need a place to be for awhile. Maybe even perhaps a bit of a retreat from the pressures of our world. That is why we are in the midst of choosing backgrounds, borders, bathrooms(there will be four)and biffys for all the Lord brings to us. In Christ's Love, Preacher.

In Search Of Earth

Adama, Obama, are we watching SciFi or what? Folks are telling Hillary to get out now and strive to unite the party behind a single leader. She is not about to listen. This will be a bloody battle that is going to tear a party apart. Democrats(of which I am a registered one)need an opportunity to recapture the White House. This is not a game of capture the flag waged via children on a field of green, but it is beginning to appear as one. Adama is leading his people through space in flight from the Cylons who wish to destroy them because they are human. Obama is leading his people through a difficult time in America's history in hopes that he can make a difference and capture the flag of leadership that will make all of our lives better. Now we are living the SciFi life in real time. The directions that our country takes are not determined by a single person in an oval office. They are the directions which the past has imposed on them and the situations they inherit in that office for which the ramifications of decisions made last for decades. The legacy of the oval office is the respect it is given in other countries. At this point in time we are "under the gun" economically. There is no quick cure, but there can be prayer. I'm referring to the nation that could return to God and place Him in charge of the destiny of a country rather than resorting to the solutions proposed by people who truly only wish to advance themselves across the field of power. We have observed as greed, lust, and a host of seven sins have inflicted their influence over the country's capitol. Perhaps the time has come for the influence of those who sit in the pews(not Rev. Wright's)on Sunday to truly take a stand and influence the outcome of a political battle that(one way or the other)must be in the best interests of all concerned. That means the American people. There was a time when we were "isolationists" and that was right for that era. We can no longer be isolationists, but we do need to take charge of our country, our future, and our people. Those born and raised here(to the best of my knowledge according to the big book of Huycks we got off the boat not too far behind the Pilgrims)who run generations deep and have a vested interest in the outcome of our next election need to pray every day for our leaders and for those who live down the street, next door, and a few miles down the road, that their hearts will turn to the only salvation our world can know.
So, that is my spin on the situation we are in. Things are not looking really good folks! The economy is in trouble that runs way deep and way wide. There must be change, and it is up to us to encourage that change in a manner that will be the best for the folks we live with, share a neighborhood with, and sit in worship with us on Sunday. Maybe not all in the same church, but it is the same God we worship.
In Christ's Love, Preacher.

In Search Of America

No Rides For Awhile!

A dismal day has dawned for those of us living in the Great American Desert. I took this picture through the screen on the patio. It did not improve the looks of our outdoors. The ducks aren't very happy and Snickers has the opinion that he would rather do his "business" in the bathroom. Maybe I should build him a little potty bippy of his own to see if he could manage it. This weekend we have the annual spring swapmeet in Sioux Falls, SD. I doubt that anyone will be riding their scooters. I had looked forward to attending but the weather is proving to be less than cooperative.
Looking on the bright side, though, I do have two new Vista builds up and running. One with 3gb of ram, the other with half that. I waited for Vista sp1 to come out before building the wee beasts. It seems everyone has had major problems with the operating system. Thusfar I have only experienced one lockup and that was after it had been left running for two days with no attention. I suppose I'll keep the three XP Home builds for backup. After a few years of use even the largest of hard drives is stuffed with stuff. Then there is the Win '98 sitting in my wife's office that we will have to decide what to do with before the big move. Can you tell I've been staying in to avoid the weather? There is also an UBUNTU build on the drawing board that I am really looking forward to having in my future office. I've had it all together and running for a few hours, but that was just a test. Now I'll do the real thing with a larger hard drive and more stuff. When I think about this it puts me in mind of how pleased I am that my Creator doesn't do that with us. Yes, I know He did at one point, but there was a remnant spared! It seems that there are a lot of folks in the ecumenical community subscribing to "end time" theology. They scare a lot of the ordinary church goers, and they scare me, too! My Bible tells me that no body knows the time of our next "tear down." There is a calendar pointed to by some that say 2012 is the final year. Personally I think they ran out of space to carve in the stone any more dates. Every medium has it's limitations. In God's time all will work out as it is intended. You and I are to be faithful, patient, and kind to one another in the meantime. As for today, I will probably have to go out at some point and wage war with the snow. That is truly a losing battle. Maybe, on the other hand, I will just wait it out and let the heat of the sun disperse the snow. It has been known to happen, even here this time of the year.
God bless, Preacher.

Happy Easter 2008!

My wife has a "new" thing happening in her experience of life. They are called "ducks" and they not only live in the backyard but are now moving into the house we presently occupy. The first one(big mallard)came to us from a farm where he could no longer get along and play nice with the other ducks. Personally I find him amusing, but he has some really bad habits. This past spring and summer he followed Cheryl around the yard just like a pet duck(really quacked me up-pardon the pun)does. Then there came the white duck with the broken leg which we could not heal properly so she just gimps around and enjoys the water a lot because once immersed she is not handicapped. Then there came the whole ancient house project which may or may not ever truly end, but that is part of our life. Now, in this old bed and breakfast someone 80 or 90 years ago hand painted a duck on the bathroom door. He's a little on the cartoonish side, but Cheryl took a liking to it and insists that it will be preserved. Now we have a pattern forming. A passion, if one can call it that for the duckish things that continue to come our way. So the piano bench has now seated her three little duckie friends who are headed for a home in the original bathroom of the bed and breakfast. Needless to say the ducks will probably drive me crazy but I didn't have that far to go. Anyway as we close the night on a theme that is just "ducky" I wanted to share how much we enjoyed worship this morning. Easter is always special in many ways. The best part of the morning was just sitting back and actually worshiping without having to play, preach, or perform. Thank you Lord. God is like that! He always seems to know what we truly need, even if it is not exactly what we wanted. Praise God for a beautiful day, an opportunity to share great food with family and friends, and the reminder that I am forgiven as a Child Of God and therein we find ourselves being really lucky ducks!
In Christ's Love, Preacher.

Ideas, Thoughts, Assumptions!

I ran across a blog of interest that has to do with "collages" and their true beauty as experienced through the eyes and hence, minds, of others out here on the net. Fascinating stuff to say the least. So I put together the photo you see up above. A natural collage of objects in my kitchen(well, one was on the entertainment center, and the vase filled with flowers was brought to me by my loving wife in honor of St. Patrick's Day)so one might say it was a collage of "stuff" prepared on a whim and without the aid of the camera that does good photography(this was from the phone 'cause the other was not anywhere to be seen). God has a wonderful way of bringing things together when we least expect them. One of my favorite stories concerns my own road, which has not always been easy, but it has more often than not, been fun to travel. Even in the midst of riding the Ultra Classic back into the garage to get her out of the snow this morning I was grinning. Who would think I'd be riding my Harley through the snow, again! I was amazed that the engine started up and ran. Life has a way of doing that with each of us, the blessings intermixed with the not so blessed feeling times. For those of us attempting to live this life in faith, of faith, and through faith there is a wonderful bottom line. Maybe it lets us off the hook, but I think not. We have to be and must be responsible for all that we do and share with others. Be it for better or worse we are ultimately responsible for the impression we leave on other's lives. Sort of like the collages that impacted my perceptions this evening, each of us provides a different slant on how life is viewed through the eyes of people we come in contact with every day. I love Lloyd the ancient greeter at our local Walmart! He always has a smile for me and his life experience has been shared a number of times. I would not want it to be any other way, for in him I see both the past and the future. And it has all been good, and will continue to be as long as we place our faith in the One who has given His all for us. In Christ's Love, Preacher.

Are We What We Are?

If one has a creative bent, do we create because of "Who we are," or do who we are dictate what we do with our creativity? I don't know, but I have the question in my mind and I do wander(wonder)through the possibilities. In music we create, quite often, on the fly. What happens is what is on the recording and to recreate it could be impossible. In recent years I have met Rod, blind since 'Nam, who plays the guitar in extraordinary ways. What he sees and hears falls far beneath my threshold and yet he creates images musically which are indescribable. Where do we take this? It is similar to a painting which JoAnne might say, "I don't know where it is going, but it is where I want to 'be' today!" For all intents and purposes that is modern jazz. I don't really play it, but I can appreciate the form and content for what they say to me as I listen. Maybe that is part of life that each of us must get close to. We can realize our inner selves! Perhaps it is not immediate or as personal as we might like. But truly possible if sought in sincerity with our heart and mind focused on the end result. For those of us dwelling within the context of the Christian Faith it has to do with being willing to subject ourselves to the "Mind of Christ" attitude and therein becoming that person we would have ourselves be. Too deep and too long these thoughts run this evening. I pray that your days provide you with space to postulate and enjoy the life we have been given. In Christ's Love, Preacher.