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OUR GREAT UNDERTAKING

1/30/2014

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                                         OUR GREAT UNDERTAKING

                               "So live," wrote Mark Twain, "that when you
                               come to die even undertaker will be sorry."

                                    Life was made for living and giving
                                    Life was made for sharing and caring
                                    Life was made for love not lust
                                    Life was made for faith and trust
                                    Life was made for words sublime
                                    Life was made for the upward climb
                                 
                                Let's not view life too gravely
                                Rather, let us make life to be...
                                Our great undertaking

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DOWN THE DRAIN  

1/30/2014

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                                         DOWN THE DRAIN                                                      
                                   When our children were younger, they 
                                   would, on occasion, go to the kitchen 
                                   sink and wash the sand and dirt off
                                   their prized marbles. Inevitably, two or
                                   three of those roundies would slip out
                                   of their tiny hands and click together 
                                   at the bottom of the curve of the drain
                                   pipe.

                                   Without getting too philosophical, might
                                   we not draw some parallels between this 
                                   innocent childish incident and our own 
                                   occasional feelings about losing our grip
                                   on our life's marbles, watching them 
                                   bounce aimlessly over the precipice of 
                                   the drain of our fret and strain.

                                   Fortunately, we have been given the 
                                   Gospel of Hope. Without it, we would be 
                                   as St. Paul stated, "the most miserable of 
                                   creatures."

                                   The Gospel of Jesus Christ equips us with 
                                   the best tools available to extricate ourselves
                                   from the drain pipes in which we often find
                                   ourselves lodged.
                                   The Gospel is able to set any of us free, even
                                   from the dirtiest and deepest of drains
                                   (By the way, does anybody have a pipe wrench
                                   we could borrow for a couple of hours?)


                                   (This article was written in 1977 when our 
                                   children were really young.)
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HIGHWAY 77

1/29/2014

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                                                HIGHWAY 77


                            Many years ago, somewhere around midnight 
                            of the thirty-first of December, Donna and I some-
                            how meandered off of route 76 onto a new highway
                            ...route 77. (Highway 77 is a north-south highway
                            that extends from Sioux City, Iowa to Brownsville
                            Texas).
                            The snow was descending softly all around us.
                            Yes, indeed, it was a dark and stormy night.

                            We probably wouldn't have noticed any significant 
                            difference between the old 76 and our new 77 

                            passageway, except for the fact that we had the 
                            occasion to pickup a young couple with a new born
                            babe in arms.
                            They informed us that we were now traveling 
                            on a brand new highway. Their names have long

                            been forgotten, but we felt warm that we could
                            offer them some assistance.

                            The scene reminded us of a young couple with a 
                            new born babe centuries ago travelling on roads
                            unsure and out of place not knowing what their
                            future might hold or where they might eventually 
                            wind up. And so it is with all of us, as it always
                            has been.


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HANGMAN

1/25/2014

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                                                                                    HANGMAN
                                               
                               Unlike my twelve grandchildren who 
                               are highly adroit electronic game players,
                               our games are pretty much limited to Mahjong,
                               Minesweeper, and Hangman.
  
                               We do fairly well in Mahjong, haven't beaten
                               Minesweeper in ages, and occasionally win
                               a game of Hangman.

                               If you don't mind we'll allow ourselves a 
                               little rope here and see if we can hang
                               ourselves (figuratively, of course).
                               It has been said many times, that if you
                               give a man enough rope, he'll hang himself.
                               
                               Unfortunately, this has been proven to be
                               true for us all. Chances are that if we live
                               long enough, we will make a lot of little
                               mistakes, and on occasion, a few major
                               ones. And, it eventually dawns on us that
                               we really do need a savior. Over the course
                               of time, many of us have come to rely on
                               the saving grace and atonement wrought
                               by Jesus Christ. 

                               Hang, man, when are we ever going to 
                               learn that only Christ is able to sever the
                               cords of sin and death and set us free?

                               (Written, 10 January 2014)




                                



                               


         


                                  
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DONNA'S PLANTATION 

1/23/2014

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                                                                DONNA'S PLANTATION


                                  Inevitable. We knew it was going to happen.
                                  And, we were virtually unable to prevent it.

                                  About a year ago, my wife, Donna, cajoled,
                                  pleaded, and begged me to let her purchase
                                  just one little indoor plant just to liven up
                                  the breakfest room. 

                                  Knowing the extent of her husband's most 
                                  benevolent, tenderhearted nature, she appealed
                                  to him at a most apropos time...Her entreaty
                                  reached our ears just as the band was playing
                                  the Star-Spangled Banner prior to the start of
                                  this year's Super Bowl.*

                                  So, Donna acquired her one little plant 
                                  and placed it on a small round table by our 
                                  breakfast room windowseat. Today, three 
                                  months later we took count, and there are now      
                                  seven (count them) different plants...from a
                                  cactus to a poinsettia on the same table.

                                  In pursuing her floriferous proliferation, my
                                  sweet botanical wife has now placed two ferns
                                  in our dinning room, a hanging vine in our 
                                  downstairs bathroom, and a Japanese vine that
                                  raps around our neck as we enter the kitchen.
                                  Ah so.

                                  Donna recently informed me that the upstairs
                                  would  be next to receive the addition of any 
                                  new frondescent foliation.
                                  As for me, I'm thinking about opening a discount
                                  floral shop. 
 
                                  (*This article was originally written in March, 1977.
                                  The Oakland Raiders beat the Minnesota Vikings
                                  32-14 in Super Bowl XI, that year.) 
                               

                          






















      
                                             


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WHILE WE HAVE TIME

1/17/2014

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                                             WHILE WE HAVE TIME     

                                   When we carry our past into the present,

                                   it usually affects our future.
                                   
                                   Our past is filled with stuff, some good
                                   some bad, usually consequential, affecting
                                   both our present and our future.
      
                                   We spend much of our present time living
                                   in the past, largely because we remember it.
                                   (Hey, it's a very difficult task to remember
                                   our future, since we haven't lived it yet,
                                   and our present is oh so fleeting, it comes
                                   and goes faster than the speed of light, or
                                   so it seems.) 

                                   What should we then do?
                                   Let us live now
                                   Let us live well now
                                   Let us enjoy to the fullest,
                                   the present moments    
                                   for they are rapidly gone.

                                   Bring up the past only when absolutely
                                   necessary, only when beneficial.
                       
                                   Anticipate our future. Dream about our
                                   future. Make plans concerning our future,
                                   Let us build our wonderful future by the 
                                   auspicious actions we take at the present 
                                   time.

                                 
 Let us use our present time wisely, gently,
                                   energetically, and compassionately.
                                   Let us do go good while we have time.
                                   While we have time.

                                   (Written December 26, 2013)

                                   
                                   (There's a large gap of space here, why,

                                   I don't know. Just continue to scroll down
                                   until you come to "Hearing Aids.")


                                                                       



                                   




                                   
                                       Please keep scrolling down.
                                   


                    
                                   


                                    






                                   


                                       Please keep scrolling down.











                                            






















                                            
                                                    
                                   


                                   


                                   
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HEARING AIDS

1/17/2014

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                                                                             HEARING AIDS

                                   According to Groucho Marks, "One 
                                   of the best hearing aids a man can
                                   have is an attentive wife."

                                   Along with the three r's, we could 
                                   easily aid the art of responding.

                                   There seems to be within most of us
                                   the desire to be heard, and to have 
                                   what we say appreciated by those 
                                   whom we love or respect.
           
                                   Perhaps we should discover, before
                                   it is too late, that one of the major
                                   causes of broken homes is the heedless
                                   inattentiveness on the part of the 
                                   partners in marriage.

                                   In our hurried paced lives, we may need
                                   to slow down and listen. And, listen well.
   
                                   This night, do yourself and your family
                                   a favor, become...a hearing aid.
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CHICKEN POX 

1/17/2014

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                                                                        CHICKEN POX

                                  When our youngest daughter, Heather,
                                  was a three-year old, she had a cute little
                                  alibi which she often used when caught in
                                  an act of mischief. She would say, Chicken
                                  pox did it."
                              
                                  Now, the business of shifting the blame
                                  for our miscues has been with us from the
                                  very beginning, when Adam and Eve sought
                                  to pass the buck.

                                  "He who excuses himself," wrote Gabriel 
                                  Meurier, "accuses himself."
 
                                  Far too many of us, while in our youth, 
                                  acquire the life long pattern of behavior
                                  of accusation and alibiing. And then, we
                                  pass this habit on to our children and
                                  grandchildren.
 
                                  Let us watch our excuses and avoid 
                                  putting a pox on our houses if we can.


































 
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CLIMBING THE SLOPES  

1/10/2014

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                                           CLIMBING THE SLOPES

                              On many a occasion, through the years, 
                                  most of us, in January, have made a written
                                  or mental list of resolutions which we try,
                                  usually futilely, to keep for the rest of the
                                  year, and which are quite often broken
                                  by the end of the month.

                                  Often, we are like beginning skiers who, 
                                  promise themselves that in just one winter 
                                  season, they shall become experts on the 
                                  slopes, but instead, they find themselves 
                                  nursing a broken leg into the springtime.

                                  So, once again, at the beginning of a new
                                  year, we find the mountains are before us. 
                                  Carefully now, we shall not try to leap them
                                  in a single bound, instead, we shall simply
                                  try to climb them one minute at a time.

                                  All of us may increase our private prayer 
                                  time for one more minute a day.
              
                                  While fifteen minutes might be a difficult stretch
                                  for some us, surely all of us may increase our
                                  scripture reading, one more minute a day.

                                  We may increase our praise and adoration
                                  of the Lord for one extra minute a day, even
                                  if we have to break our praising into increments
                                  of few seconds at a time.                                  

                                  And surely, we can find one more sixty seconds in 
                                  in which to praise or complement our spouse or 
                                  or children in a most positive way, making the
                                  most of a worthwhile minute.

                                  Mountains often may seen difficult or beautiful
                                  depending on how we view them or climb them.
                                  Climbing the slopes may become a most joyous
                                  undertaking if we simply stride upward one 
                                  minute at a time.


    
          


               





                                   
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THE INWARD DRUM

1/9/2014

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                                             THE INWARD DRUM  

                                   "Have a conscience of your own,' wrote 

                                   Harry Emerson Fosdick," and when in private
                                   life, the clamor of public custom grows very
                                   loud, do you grow quiet, quiet enough to hear 
                                   the beat and the rhythm of that inward drum?"

                                   Regardless of the pressure of current popular 
                                   opinion, we do not have to follow the shallow 
                                   present trends of our times.

                                   God made us to be our own individualistic selves.
                                   Unique. Particular as each and every snowflake...
                                   with a far greater potential and much higher destiny.
                                   Snowflakes were made to fall. Man was born to rise.
                                   Listen for the upward beat of your own inner drum.











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