A Short Break..

   Back in 2014 we decided to take one more cruise, and we did to Scotland.

   Every time lately, when we ask each other about some sort of travel, one of our sayings has been, "Well, this will probably be the last time, so let's go."

   That worked well in 2014 as we had a great time with good friends and saw a lot of stuff.

   Here we are again, with a somewhat different spin. This May we will have another one of 'those' birthdays. One of those momentous kind where the age comes up to one of those zero years, you know like 30 or 40, etc.

   So, when we say that "probably last time" stuff, we could easily be talking truth.

   Knowing that we will be out of free wi-fi range for some days, I will not have any way to get the word out, but will store up pictures and commentary on my computer, hopefully for a session at home.

   Can't give out too many of the details, but it should be warmer there.

   Keep the light on for us...

This is Hard, for Me...

   I have been using the Bible texts from The Moravian Daily Reader as my focus in my morning times over these past few weeks. I just wanted to hear from God, from His Word, without the temptation of reading what others had to say about any given subject.

   In short, I just wanted Him and not a human filter on this relationship.

   So I have not read anything this morning, yet. I got up with something on my mind, something that looks like a big problem, but wants a satisfying answer.

   But let me digress a little bit.

   One of the verses in the Psalm portion of a reading a few days back contained the phrase:

   "the joys of life" (I'll look it up and reference it later, it is just what I remember right now).

   When I read it, I thought: "If I had to list three things that I thought would bring specific joy in my life right now, what would they be?"

   Without going into any detail, the first three things that popped into my mind had to do with:

   Healing

   Restoration

   Presence

   As I awoke this day, something said "Pray, go into your study room and pray. Don't just do your regular morning routine with walking and all, just go and pray."

   I still had those Healing, Restoration, Presence, things on my mind along with my specific concern, and I thought "what do I pray?"

   (An Aside: my prayer  life seems anemic to me, it does not meet the levels of prayer warriors that I read and hear about, in my opinion it just does not match up.)

   But the phrase from The Lord's Prayer, just kept running through my mind:

   "Thy Will Be Done"

   And as I kept praying this one thing over and over and over and over….

   The main character from Jan Karon's Mitford book series, Father Tim, had a saying, talking about the prayer that never fails, and it was this:

   "Thy Will Be Done"

   And I want to pray that phrase, not in begrudging resignation, but in confident acclamation that I know it is best for all concerned.

   And I want to also live that way today.

   And I know it is so very impossible without help.

   His Help

Blessed, In Spite Of...

   As I sat on my couch this morning early, just thinking on things in general, I took note of a magazine that had slipped down between the cushions. It was one I had saved back from the several that were destined for the recycle bin, and one that brings back a lot of memories for me.

   When I graduated the 6th grade at Sunnyside, an elementary school near our home in Chattanooga, TN, my parents wanted me to go on to a private boys school just across the ridge, but I did not want to go somewhere I knew none of the other students. So I finally talked them into letting me go on to the Junior High nearest us, which I did.

   But my parents would not let up. They continued to press for McCallie, I think because they had seen the quality of the programs there in the lives of boys that they had come in contact with over the years.

   The end result of this educational dilemma was that I was enrolled in the 8th grade there the following Fall, and spent 5 years in the academic, athletic and military environment of that school.

   An average student, in all three areas of McCallie life (listed in the previous paragraph), I nonetheless benefitted greatly from being there, and know now that if I had applied myself to a greater degree, my personal benefits could have been much more.

   "Too soon old and too late smart", Again…

   Just reading the stories in the McCallie School alumni magazine this morning, caused me to sit and think of what the school has done for so many over the last 111 years of its existence.

   The school motto:

   "Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever".

   It's core values:

   "Honor, Truth, Duty"

   These concepts are not just words on a masthead, or written in a brochure, they are incorporated into the grain of the academic, athletic and general life of the school, and for that I will be forever grateful.

   Since most of my adult life (life after school) was lived in Chattanooga, we were privileged to raise our kids there and let them attend school in that city. Our two sons followed their dad into McCallie and our daughter graduated at a sister school, Girls Preparatory School.

   As I read back over what I have written, I realize that there is so much to write about here, that I cannot do it all in one post. Memories of my time there at that school, and the relationships that our family has there are just too many and varied for now.

   But when I began to write this morning, the one point that I felt I wanted to convey was that of the effect on future generations of decisions made somewhere in the past, and sometimes reluctantly.

   Both my sons flourished at McCallie, and I am sure that their experiences in middle and high school served to shape their lives for the better, for themselves, their families and the people that they influence in their careers.

   I did not want to go, but am glad I got the chance.

   I'm glad for me, and I'm glad for them.

   (And I'll write about my fantastic daughter later)

A Funny Thing About Time...

   I have to smile as I look back on this morning;

   There was time to get dressed, walk, and still get back to the condo while it was yet dark.

   There was time to look at my Bible readings for today, and to read a couple of other devotional sites as the world around me woke up.

   There was time to sit and think of other things that had been on my mind over the past few days, especially some videos I had watched on the subject of Time.

   There was also time to ponder the uses of my time, both in the past, and in the present, and perhaps even into the future.

   There was the not-so-flattering notion that my time was limited to whatever God had in His plan, and that corresponded with my time in years, which were not as many as before.

   Then I realized that I maybe had time to write something this morning. It was still quiet in the condo, and writing could be the action that I needed.

   I most always look for a picture to illustrate my thoughts on paper, so I looked for the proper one.

   I thought then to look in my Oxford Dictionary of Quotations for a relevant quote on Time.

   And, of course, there needed to be a Bible verse or verses, so I looked there, and found these in the Book of Ecclesiastes:

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: 

a time to be born, and a time to die;"

   So, time to begin this blog on Time.

   Smiling, I began to write.

   Then, as I pondered what I wanted to say and how to phrase the post, noises coming from our bedroom in the back. Someone else was stirring, and…

   "Time's Up !"

 

A Renegade Puzzle

   One fine day, in a time not so long ago, a man decided to make a new kind of jigsaw puzzle. It would look easy on the surface with lots of detail, so that the person working on it could easily determine what part of the overall puzzle, a specific piece would fit.

   This one puzzle had a new twist. Not only would it have a missing piece, but it would also contain a renegade piece, one that could slightly alter its shape so as to seem to fit in another spot.  Not only that but when this "smart" piece determined that he was about to be discovered, he could tag a nearby one, and thereby pass his unique powers on to that second piece, and this tagging could go on indefinitely until the puzzle worker would either quit or finally get them all in the right place.

   I think I got this "trial" puzzle for Christmas. They probably made only one.

   A 1,000 piece puzzle. No problem, just separate all the side pieces and complete the outer dimensions of the puzzle. Then begin work on the inside, putting together, out to the side, the people, the buildings, the planes, etc.

   Then begin to fill in the other areas of water, trees, grass and bare ground.

   Simple, huh?

   I did not anticipate being the guinea pig for a new type of "interactive" puzzle.

   I thought I heard the sound of muffled laughter coming from the box. I thought it must be me hearing things.

   Snap, another piece into place, as the outer perimeter took shape.

   Snap, snap other recognizable pieces put where they belonged.

   At last I had the yellow foreground mostly put together. There was only one small spot (looking like about 3 pieces fit there) with nothing in it. There were 3 pieces with yellow, but they would not fit regardless of how I arranged them.

   I had all the pieces turned right side up, but no more of that yellow color.

   Then I noticed a piece that did not look exactly correct. Tearing up that spot in the puzzle, I realized I could fit in one of my remaining 3 pieces and suddenly, I could use all the yellow I had and complete that section.

   Little did I know, but that the miscreant piece had tagged a piece of water before he was jerked out and replaced. I sensed a snicker, but it did not register.

   Then, as I worked on the water section, I had the same problem. Everything seemed to fit so well until I only had a couple more to go. They did not fit, and they were all I had.

   Search the water portion until a slightly misaligned piece presented itself (but not before tagging a green tree piece).

   The solution again: tear out the one piece and reboot that section of the blue water.

   Then the same with the green trees.

   Would there be no end?

   Then the capstone.

   I had finally gotten down to the last 30 or so pieces. I tried all of them in this one place, but none fit. I looked for the culprit, but none appeared, so I just worked around it and figured it would present itself as the last piece.

   But there was no "last piece".

   Just a hole in the puzzle.

   And just the fading murmur of giggling.

   And then a final jab from the box…"and you thought you were so smart".

   Gotcha

   But the completed puzzle was not all bad.

Staying Up Late and Getting Up Later...

   Sometimes the game actually is better than the hype.

   Of course if you are Alabama, you think maybe this is the one.

   Clemson may be looking for a few more seconds on the clock.

   But for the average fan, just looking for a great game, this one had it all. Back and forth, up and down, it was all there.

   I've not read any reports, but there are certain things that stand out:

   1. Two very good teams, both deserving to be there.

   2. Two good coaches, the winner and the non-winner (loser is not a good adjective here).

   3. College Football was the big winner.

   4. Two quarterbacks that made it happen for their teams.

   5. Hard-hitting football without many penalties at all. My memory is not too good sometimes, but I just can't remember any.

   6. Well worth staying up past midnight to watch.

   So I congratulate the winner, Alabama, and also the runner up (not the loser), for being a credit to the game. I celebrate the skill of the players and the expertise of the coaches.

   And I know, that for a fan who did not pull for either Alabama or Clemson, who only watched to see a good game, this was one to remember.

   And I'm glad that there was no job waiting for me at 8AM this morning.

Happenchance…I think not

   Our weather down here in the sunny South has been anything but sunny these past few days. A harsh cold wind out of the north, lower temperatures and cloudy skies have made our outside times less common. In short, we are not used to this.

   So, after a bout of cabin fever, I decided yesterday to take a golf club and go out and play a couple of holes. There is a part of our course that goes around a small subdivision, and I can get on at no. 5 and play holes 5, 3 and 4 and be back to where I began.

   I stopped by to see my golfing buddy in his second floor condo and asked if he wanted to join me, which he did. It really was not that bad outside, just a little cool and windy.

   After waiting a couple of minutes for my friend to get his gear together, we started out and played 5 without incident.

   Leaving the course, we walked down a road toward 3 and noticed a two people crossing the road farther down. This appeared to be an older couple, they both had canes, and we commented that we hoped they would not be in our way as we finished playing 3 and 4.

   They passed out of our view, and we did not see them again until we met the cart path leading to no. 3 tee box.

   Then we saw them. One had evidently fallen on the path and the other was kneeling beside. The one on the ground was not moving. They had a problem for sure.

   We moved on down toward where they were and asked if we could help. The lady, the wife, said her husband had tripped and fallen on the concrete and hit his head, which was dripping blood. After helping him sit up and trying to stop the bleeding, we wondered what else we could do.

   Suddenly there was a lady standing beside us, saying she was a nurse and volunteering to help. She had noticed the four of us as she drove by, so she stopped her car and came over.

   We were glad to have "expert" help, and let her take over.

   After a few minutes of getting the husband situated, she volunteered to take the couple to their house where he could get cleaned up and check the cut on his head. She had looked at the wound and felt it needed a stitch or two as it was pretty deep. This nurse had a small car, and the man and wife did not live far, just a block or so, so, as I helped the man get into the front seat, my playing partner walked the wife home.

   As I waited for him to return, I could not help but think of how we happened to be there at the right time. If I had not waited for my friend to get ready, I would have already been past the point where I could have seen the couple. There were no others on the course. It was not a golf day with our weather.

   Not only were we there at the right time, but that nurse was also.

   As we finished playing 3 and were walking down toward no. 4, another thought came to mind.

   We were passing behind the house of a friend who was also a nurse. Knowing that the older couple, even older than me, might possibly still need some help at home, and only lived a few houses down from where we were, we stopped, and I asked her if she would check on them. She knew them, they were from Minnesota and lived here in the winter, and said she would go down.

   The offshoot of that conversation was that my friend convinced the wife that her husband did indeed need a stitch or two, and she got them to the emergency care facility on the Island.

   I know the couple did not anticipate this incident as they walked, but God knew and had put people in the right spot to be able to help. Not only just people, but two nurses who knew what to do and how to do it.

   Happenchance….I think not

The Main Questions in Life

   As I thought this morning about some specific things in my life, I found myself asking a lot of questions, and realized that I was using a formula of sorts.

   The questions centered around these:

   What do I……?

   When do I……?

   Where do I……?

    How do I……?

   And then the biggie:

   Why do I……?

   The questions were good. They were intended to get me going in the right direction.

   But then it hit me...

   The Pronouns were wrong. First person singular, if I remember my terms correctly.

   What if I replace "I" with God (and replacing do with"does") when asking the question?

   What if I replace the "I" with "You" when looking for answers?

   What if "I" am not the focal point of the universe?

   There is an old acronym:

   Standing for Jesus, Others, You, which fits here very well.

   Finding Joy and Meaning in putting God first, and then using the right pronoun in the right order.

   And then following those leads to good answers.

   Stay tuned in to see What happens...

They Could Get Rained Out...

   Yes, I stayed up too late last evening watching football.

   I did wake up this morning, but then rolled over and tried to go back to sleep, all to no avail.

   So I got up, dressed for walking, and slipped out the front door, ready to clear my mind for a new day.

   As I walked down the stairs to the garage area, my mind started to focus on the new year. 2016 was here and how was it going to be? How would I live it? How would I live in it?

   The sky was overcast, the temperature still on the warm side, as I stepped out into the open and felt a slight mist on my head.

   Walking through the garage to the end of Building One, the mist became heavier and the raindrops began splashing into the puddles on the drive. This was a real rain, and I turned and walked back to Building Two.

   My plan was to walk.

   My plan changed.

   And I thought of those verses in James 4:

" Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:  Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."

   A lesson came to mind, one that I had often realized before, but needed to be reminded of on the first day of this New Year.

   It is not my plans that are important, it is God's for me.

   Planning is not bad. It is the importance of my plans to me that I need to be careful of.

   The next verse tells it all.

" For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that."

   I need to hold my plans in my hand loosely.

   They might get rained out.