Thought For the Day

Life is like a day at the beach…it is a wonderful experience with all the salty sea smells, sights and sounds. At the beach…like in life…you are going to get a little burned and a little sand in your shorts. As wonderful as it is…once is enough for me.

I look forward to an eternity without sand in my shorts.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the sun, sand and surf.
Amen

Job App

Filling out forms, answering questionnaires and paper work in general are not my forte. Yet, here I am…doing something that was my wife’s idea…applying for a volunteer job. I have never had to fill out so many forms…not even for a real job. The most interesting of all the forms was the “Personal Death Awareness Worksheet”. Some of the questions were very confusing. Such as “which do you fear most?” Do you fear death more that dying or dying more that death?
That seems a bit nebulous to me. Shouldn’t the question be…Do or don’t you fear dying and death?

I don’t like the subjective questions…you have to think. Multiple choice or true/false questions are much easier to deal with and require only the skill for picking a loosing lottery number. So I did my best to give ambiguous answers to the ambiguous questions.

Another question was estimating my remaining life span…I Googled that one. The life span of the average overweight white male in the USA is 80.2 years. So that became a simple math problem. I subtracted my age and got 14.8 years. Surely I will get this answer right.

What death I would prefer? My answer: To wake up dead. The death I would not prefer? Hum…that’s going to be a long list.

And there were a jillion other questions that I was unprepared to answer. I’ve concluded that I will have no say-so in the matter and I prefer it that way. I am convinced that God is in control and he alone knows what is best for me.

I am confident that I will die…statistically 100 percent of all people die.

I believe living is more difficult than dying, especially if you are trying to follow Christ. So I will take whatever He gives me…and I look forward to my undeserved reward. It is not always obvious to me…but I’ve learned…that God only gives me good things and he will not test me beyond my strength.

So I guess if I can pass the written test I will become a member of that elite group of Hospice volunteers. Hopefully I will discover the attraction for those folks who spend all their time pursuing this work that yields such bountiful rewards.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for a wife that always challenges me to do your will.
Amen

Boring

I watched my grandson, Cameron, as he moped about the house with a forlorn expression, mournful sighs and muttering the word “boring”. It took me back…back in time…when I was a child. A child trapped in an intolerable situation…trapped like a prisoner and unable to escape the imagined bonds and bars in my head. I was forced to eat three meals a day and wear clean serviceable clothes and shoes. Worst of all, I was required to get an education. I was not allowed to do what I wanted to do because my parents were strict and unbending people with high moral standards.

Perhaps the purpose of children and grandchildren is to remind me just how foolish I was. What a great childhood I had. It’s a shame I did not appreciate or enjoy it at the time. A childish mind and heart is easily led astray. While I was bemoaning the fact that I was not allowed to “do it my way” I missed some of the joys of childhood.

Maybe the apple has not fallen that far from the tree. Fortunately my grandson is an extremely bright child and I suspect he will figure this all out in a much more expedient manner than I.

Thanks Mom and Dad for all you did. Forgive me for the aggravation I put you through.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for not letting me miss out on the real joy of life.
Amen.

A Note to My Father

Thanks Dad for being the father I needed…a person I could look up to. Sorry it took so long for me to realize that fact. Hope you are enjoying your day, as I am sure it must be wonderful hanging out with Our Heavenly Father.

Thanks for a sample
Of a fine example
For this I pray
Happy Father’s day
From your son
The prodigal one
Amen

Radio Shack

I sheepishly slunk up to the sales counter and asked if I could return the Ethernet cable that I had purchased earlier in the day. I handed it over in the original package along with the receipt. As I answered the litany of questions and signed all the required documentation… I hoped and prayed they would not ask me the reason for its return. That would be far too embarrassing to explain in front of all the other customers.

I had stewed over the loss of my antiquated Ethernet cable for days. I knew I had one and I wanted to hook up my new computer to my antiquated non-wireless router that I had used for years. I stubbornly refuse to go “wireless” even though the computer is capable. Surely the missing cable must be my wife’s fault…she puts stuff everywhere…her schoolteacher style of organizing I have never understood and never will. So finally…I had to bite the bullet and buy a new one.

Upon returning home I examined my router for a vacant port but found none…what were all these wires plugged into? Duh!!! There’s my cable…at that instant I recalled who was the responsible party.

So, Thank you, Radio Shack…thank you for not embarrassing me. Not a soul will know what an idiot I am… not even my wife. I will carry this secret to my grave.


Dear Lord please
Remind me to
Pray before I eat
Look before I leap
Think before I speak
Amen

The Sky Is Falling

I’ve developed an ostrich mentality and prefer to bury my head in the sand as opposed to being well-informed of all the “Chicken Little" news. I’ve given the bird to all the soothsayers and shamans. These clairvoyants and fortunetellers masquerade as experts doing nothing but upsetting and causing stress to the gullible and naïve…like me. For it is always the end of something…if not the end of the world…the end of a nation, the end of a great society, or the end of prosperous times. Whatever! If it is just the end of the day or the end of “our days”…it matters not.

In spite of all the doom and gloom, I was encouraged by Father’s words as he elaborated on Friday’s reading (1 Peter 4:7-13) “The end of all things is at hand. Therefore, be serious and sober for prayers. Above all, let your love for one another be intense, because love covers a multitude of sins…..”

It is a sobering thought that there is NO END to eternity…and in eternity...I will spend most of my time. So when that ship sails the only question is…where will I be assigned?...in the boiler room or on the bridge with the captain. I need to be more serious about my praying.


Dear Lord Jesus,
Let me walk with You amidst the jeers.
Please hold my hand and calm my fears/
And stand with me to wipe my tears.
Comfort my soul throughout the years.
Amen

5/28/2010

Sitting On the Back Porch

The altostratus clouds stretched out in drifts like sand on a deserted beach. Random waves of wispy white lie against a backdrop of baby blue. They appeared motionless, frozen in an abstract painting of ghost white smeared on a canvas of Bleu de la France.

A light breeze rustled through the trees. The sparrows, doves, and pigeons chirped, cooed and warbled as they found their roost for the night. The temperature was perfect…while the thermometer said eighty four it felt like seventy two and the air was as fresh as if it had just rained.

The early evening’s sunlight pierced the atmosphere at a low angle and the suspended particles filtered out the shorter wavelengths leaving the longer ones to illuminate the underside of the clouds in shades of crimson and pink.

I sat there mesmerized until the last ray of light had faded and a mosquito whispered in my ear “it’s time to go inside”

It was that magical hour before sunset…the perfect end to a perfect day…the Lord ’s Day.

News Flash

Here is another breakthrough in solar technology. The solar clothes dryer is most economical of all appliances known to date. Its low initial cost and zero cost of operating make it the most efficient renewable energy and eco friendly device yet to be invented. Construction of this device should the restricted to the serious DIYers. Parts are readily available at Wal-mart (bag of 50 wooden C Ps for 97 cents)

The Spiral Notebook

I opened my single subject wide-ruled spiral notebook and paged through the scribbling and scrawling looking for a blank page on which to write. It occurred to me that I had been derelict in my duties of transcribing the notes and atrocious penmanship into a readable and logical sequence of events. Now, I must go back through all these pages of nonsense and try to figure out what I was thinking or if I was thinking…searching for some special nugget of wisdom in my incoherent rambling and writing. The editing process is like panning for gold…a laborious and painful process…there’s a lot of worthless silt, dirt and gravel that must be tossed aside.

Upon finding a blank page I realized that I had absolutely nothing to write about. So…there I sat in the wee hours of the morning, in the last pew, in an almost vacant chapel staring at the golden monstrance that holds the Lamb of God. It’s kind of humbling to be in the presence of the One who is responsible for all of my undeserved blessings. We all have different gifts…undeserved blessings, graces and charisms. I must recognize that they are not for me to hoard, but to share…to share with others. They must be given away if they are to be of any benefit to me.

This part is easier said than done…for me…someone who is a bit possessive with stuff and has some difficulty swallowing when it comes to pride. My preference would be to receive credit when it’s not due and enjoy the proverbial pat on the back…never acknowledging the true source of my gifts but rather to wallow in the admiration of the wide-eyed fan. Truth be known… it is you Lord Jesus that deserves all the credit…you are the One who is responsible for all I have.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for all the wonderful blessings, graces and charisms.
Please give me the courage to acknowledge their true source
As I look forward to the best and most undeserved reward of all.
For nothing compares to the promise I have in YOU.
Amen

Solar Project Update

Received my heat transfer plates today…how exciting!! Now, I can complete the construction of the "third generation" solar panel. I had no idea how much fun could be had with such a simple project…at least in theory. Turns out I have learned many things “Not To Do”. So many things it would be impractical to include the list here. The biggest accomplishment was overcoming the mountain of skepticism from a member of my family who does the washing, cooking and child bearing. Comments like, “I can’t take a hot shower any time I want?” have subsided as the refinement to the system have improved.

My next challenge will be selling her on the yard art and roof decorations. I feel that all the piping, pumps and panels add a certain abstract quality to the house that breaks up the tidiness and stuffy straight lines. Besides…who wants to live in a house that derides their neighbors?

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for all of my blessings.
Not just for the sun that warms us and heats our water
But for You who warm our hearts even on the cloudiest of days.
Amen