THE OPEN ROAD

FATHER'S DAY (1981)

6/16/2018

FATHER'S DAY (1981)

O father dear
We still do see
Ourselves when
We were small

And how we
Used to wonder
At your height
And wish that
We were tall

The years so quickly
Have flown away
Our lives
Have changed a lot

The summer's gone
When we were young
Memories now are
All we've got

Your walk, your talk
You had a certain style
But of all your graces
We seek to emulate
It has to be your smile

It's your day, Pop
You'll face it
With a grin

This is our salute to you
Courage and honor personified
Our father and our friend

(First published June 21, 1981 #907)

ISAIAH 40:1,2,3,4,5

6/14/2018

ISAIAH 40:1,2,3,4,5

Comfort ye
comfort ye my people
saith your God

Speak ye comfortably
to Jerusalem
and cry unto her
that her warfare is accomplished
that her iniquity is pardoned
for she hath received
of the Lord's hand
double (recompense)
for all her sins

The voice of him that crieth
in the wilderness
Prepare ye, the way of the Lord
Make straight in the desert
a highway for our God

Every valley shall be exalted
and every mountain
shall be made low

And the crooked shall be made straight
and the rough places plain

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed
And all flesh shall see it together
For the mouth hath spoken it

GOD IN THE BREEZE

6/14/2018

GOD IN THE BREEZE

There's a nice warm breeze
Blowing across our verdant lawn

Sending warmth, comfort and
consolation down our way

To many with anxious heart
Do you not feel God in the breeze

We do

(Written early Sunday morning,
June 10, 2018)

VICTORY IS OURS

6/14/2018

VICTORY IS OURS

Listen up. We're in this thing together.
Whatever your problem is, however
insurmountable it seems, you are
not alone. God is with you. He is on
your side.

He will see you through whatever crisis
you may be experiencing. And you have
our prayers. This article is our prayer for
you. It is our testimony to you. God cares.
About you. And so do we.

We want to see you overcome. By the power
of the living Christ, you may become an overcomer.
God is in the center of your problems. He is the
in the center of your solutions.

Link arms. Link minds. Link hearts with God in Christ.
And the gates of hell shall not prevail against you.

(First published on September 12,1978 #525
Some revisions, June 7, 2018)

ISAIAH 39:5,6,8

6/10/2018

ISAIAH 39:5,6,8

Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah,
hear the word of the Lord
of hosts

Behold, the days come, that all
that is thine house, and that
which thy fathers have laid up
in store until this day, shall be
carried to Babylon: nothing shall
be left, saith the Lord

Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah,
Good is the word of the Lord
which thou hast spoken.
He said moreover, for there
shall be peace and truth
in my days

DAFFY DUCK

6/10/2018

  DAFFY DUCK

Having engaged in name calling
since we were little children, it
thrilled us to read that some of
our Washington elite have elevated
this ancient sport to new heights
(or should we say new depths) of
national notoriety).

According to our newspaper, Hamilton
Jordan, President Carter's Chief of Staff,
referred to Zbigniew Brzezinski as
Woody Woodpecker. Brzezinski retorted
by calling Jordan, Porky Pig.

Now, while we have never met Woody
or Porky while visiting Washington, we,
nevertheless, have suspected that there
is more than one Daffy Duck in our Capitol
barnyard.

What with all the high-costing bureaucratic
shenanigans taking place in D.C., it's enough
to make the folks back home whistle a
Looney Tune.

(First published on September 7, 1978.
Ah, those were the good old days when
disparaging remarks were still courteous
and mild). #523

79.999999999

6/9/2018

79.999999999

Some things just don't come along
too often. Take, for instance, the
the last few moments just prior to
my beginning my eighth decade of
  life on this earth.

I do not have the time or the inclination
to write an exhaustive autobiography
of my life or to write a coprehesive
summary of my philosophy of life.

However, I have gathered a few beliefs
over the course of the past eighty years:

First, thanks to our Constitution containing
the Bill of Rights, American is the greatest
  country in the world when it comes to
  providing the basic rights, freedoms and
  liberties that all countries should enjoy.

Our founding fathers championed
individualism and abhorred a large
federal government. There were no
permanent federal taxes until the
1930s.

Since the 1930s, there has been a
concerted effort to turn our country
into a socialistic state. Sixty million
"deployables" understood this and
thus we had the results of the 2016
Presidential election.

I would encourage anyone to make,
through honest means, as much
money as he or she wants to make.
Yes, you may become highly immoral
if you become filthy rich. But, there are
just as many immoral poor and
and middle class folks as there are
rich ones.

Most Americans understand a family
is better off with a good income as to
a meager one or with no income at all.
Because our entrepreneurial system
allows so many "to get ahead," or become
as rich as a person may earn, this causes
the millions of us to work 40 to 60 hours
a week, so as to purchase a comfortable
home, usually on a mortgage, unfortunately,
or modern car, and sufficient food or clothing
and then any other item we might deem
as a luxury. Along the way, if some of us
become millionaires or billionaires, that's okay, too.

It's always better to have your money in
your pockets than in some politician's
pockets.

(I started this article on June 09, but did not
to finish it until now, 4:52 pm Sunday the 10th.
Way past the 79.999999999. I'm beginning to
feel older already.)

ARE IN THE KNOWING

6/6/2018

ARE IN THE KNOWING

The night is dark
The stars are still
The moon is full
And glowing

In the quietness
Of this night
I may hear
The angels singing

As the spirit of holiness
Whispers low unto me, You
Are in the knowing

(Written June 6, 2018)

ISAIAH 38:1,4,5,7,8,20

5/31/2018

     ISAIAH 38:1,4,5,7,8,20

In those days, was Hezekiak,
sick unto death. And Isaiah
the prophet, the son of Amos,
came unto him, and said unto him,
  Thus saith the Lord:
Set thine house in order, for thou
shalt die and not live.

  Then came the word of the Lord
to Isaiah, saying...
Go and say to Hezekiah:
  Thus saith the Lord, the God of David,
  thy father:
I have heard thy prayer, I seen thy
tears...
Behold, I will add unto thy days,
fifteen years.

  And this will be a sign unto thee
from the Lord, that the Lord will
do this thing that he hath spoken:

Behold, I will bring again the shadow
of the degrees, which is gone down
in the sundial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward.
So the sun returned ten degrees, by which
degrees it was gone down.

  The Lord was ready to save me:
Therefore we will sing my songs
to the stringed instruments
all the days of our life
in the house of the Lord.

STILL THE TRUMPET SOUNDS

5/31/2018

STILL THE TRUMPET SOUNDS

Many men have started
on their journey
down the open road
but the blistering sun
has parched their souls
and they have gone astray

Many have travelled long
down the open road
rapidly and surefooted
while the path was smooth
but lo, the rocks and stones
have forced them turn away

Many have sought
the thorny comfort
of deceitful riches
and the beautiful life
causing their good fruit
to wither and decay

And still the trumpet sounds
for men and women
like you and me
to give of our best
to give of our all
and to point the stranger home

Aye, still the trumpet sounds
for stout hearts
and gentle souls
courage and love to show
for pilgrims coming after
the King's way for to go

And still the trumpet sounds
raise up your heads and listen
for the tones are clear
and the notes are pure
oh help some soul
down the open road
help him now, today

(Written on January 8, 1976 #117.
The "thorny" verse and the "King's
way" line were written and added
on May 31, 2018)