Large Or Small, A Cat Is Still Just That, A Cat! 

Finding The Pressure Release Valve On Life's Overheating Systems! 

Personal Prioritizations For The Day!

The times when life is at it's busiest and everything around you seems to be moving at too great a speed offers a rare opportunity. Quite a while back a fellow by the name of Paul wrote a letter advising us to make our physical beings subject to the spirit rather than the other way around. Our bodies do seem to control a great many facets of our lives, from the simple hungers and less simple cravings to the pleasures and pains of our existence. Paul wanted us to fast in an attempt to make the body subject to the will. He knew without a doubt that it was possible to do so. Each of us has the power within ourselves to withdraw from the pace we are setting internally. How often have you heard someone say, "Things are moving so fast I can't think," or a similar phrase? That is the precise time we need to be able to pull back, kind of like letting up on the throttle and coasting to a stop. This action won't halt the speed at which the rest of the world is moving, but it will allow us to become observers for however long, instead of participants. This slowing down also provides us with an opportunity to use our ability for discernment to reevaluate the moment. There are those periods when we are rushing headlong through life and haven't taken one moment to consider what may be around the next curve or over the next hill, and even our vision becomes a tunnel with no end in sight. The world doesn't do this to us, we allow it to happen! Much in the same manner that we allow ourselves to become so wrapped up in living that we have no time for life! Maybe that is one more reason we need God, a reminder to slow down and ease back, do a check on our progress, and seek counsel from the source of all wisdom. Paul also wrote to us about running a "good" race, and fighting the "good" fight. To do this well we need to make pit stops regularly and perform needed maintenance to prepare ourselves for continuing the journey. I know, it's hard to watch everyone else continuing on without you for a moment, but in the long run you'll catch up, and you will pass many who haven't taken a break. Sunday is a great day to make that pit stop, but there are six other days available as well. The more hectic life becomes, the greater our need to pause to get our bearings and keep our wits about us. The world we live in is not going to provide us the opportunity to stop, it is going to insist that you keep on keeping on! So it is of our own volition that we make the conscious choice to take care of our vehicles. If this all sounds like old fashioned common sense, I'm glad, because I believe it is! The race is not always won by the most swift, and life will only be so long. Ride it well! God bless, Preacher.

Made Entirely Of Ratan This Life Size Work Of Art Took Longer To Construct Than The Real Thing! 

Creating Memories To Take Home Out Of Moments Spent Away! 

Inspiration + Imagination = Vision!

Rain settled in for several hours this morning, chilling the day's beginnings to a considerable extent. I have no idea what time it ended(all appointments on two wheels were postponed and I slept), but in this corner of the world where corn is "money in the bank," it couldn't have come at a more opportune time. This is the weekend of Brookings locally famous "Arts Festival." What began(Arts in the Park)back around 1972 as a quaint gathering of local arts and crafts folks has now reached out and grown to include 80,000 people from across America. The food, fun and the "for sale" creations have outgrown the park so if you want to see all of it you have to travel the city side to side and end to end. Well, there goes another twenty minutes out of your day. Seriously, though, if you have the time and can stop in you will not be disappointed at the amazing array of treasures waiting to be procured. Personally, I go to watch and photograph the people. This is the biggest gathering in the area and holds endless possibilities for the shutter bug in all of us.
The other draw, one that caters to my more culinary side, is the vendors of new and exotic dishes drawn from the melange of ethnic diversity that is America. It's great! And then there is the inspiration that this gathering brings to one another's lives. You can actually watch the imaginations as they are spurred by each new individuals creative efforts. I would imagine that through the years many have given birth to a new "vision" right here in rural South Dakota. Last but not least is the gathering for worship on Sunday morning, which brings together those who have faith. A gathering that can only be described as totally without recognizable denominational influence takes place each year. This is an inspired byproduct of the festival and gives all of us an opportunity to share in worship that is open to everyone. My thoughts on this run strongly in the direction of this being how God wants His people to come together. You don't have to dress a certain way or feel guilty about the offering plates(or your singing voice)just come and give thanks and praise. Hailing from homes separated by distances you can ascertain from the license plates, vehicles of every imaginable configuration have brought their owners to this place for one morning of worship and fellowship. The gathering is mostly vendors, but the past few years there seem to be quite a few locals coming to share this feeling of spiritual unity in the midst of the diversity that exemplifies God's initiative in the "Great Commission." There is a unique warmth and comradery that usually pervades any and all gatherings of artistically inclined believers, and this Sunday will be no exception. It's a moment to look around and recognize that we truly are much more alike than we are different, and that is how God created us to be, even out here on the plains of the Great American Desert. In Christ's Love, Preacher.

Each Of Us "Feeds" One Another's Imagination!