Blog Posts

AT THE ALTER 228

12/20/2020

   AT THE ALTER 228

                              Have you got burdens that bother
                                   Have you got troubles and woe
                                   Give them to your Master and Savior
                                   Just drop them at the alter and go

                                   With a heart that's filled with mercy
                                   Jesus is looking for you
                                   He knows all your faults and follies
                                   Now there's only one thing to do

                                   Drop your sins at the alter
                                   Your years in battle with strife
                                   Come, take the hand of your Master
Let Jesus be Lord of your life

                                   Go, go in peace
                                   Go in peace, sin no more
                                   Go, go in peace
                                   And sin no more

(Frist published on October 17, 1976)

THE MASTER CRAFTSMAN

12/20/2020

   THE MASTER CRAFTSMAN

     Near the close of summer, we are did a bit
                                                           of remodeling in our home, patching ceilings
                                                           filling cracks, and painting walls,

                                                           At first, it seemed as though we would never
                                                           finish. And yet, as each day progressed, we
                                                           could see further progress, and this gave us
                                                           hope that we might eventually finish our tasks,
                                                           which after a few weeks we actually did.

                                                           That's the way it is in our personal lives. At
                                                           some point in our lives we realized that we
                                                           need a refurbishing.

                                                           Damage, to our soul, due to lack of concern
                                                           and care, had taken its toll through the years,
                                                           and the task of renovating called for the skills
                                                           of the Master Craftsman. We needed to have
                                                           Him restore our soul. It was obvious that we
                                                           badly needed Him to be our interior decorator.

                                                           We were greatly in need of repairs. Because of
                                                           the material he has had to work with, progress
                                                           has been slower than we would have desired.

                                                           We often become impatient with Him. We
                                                           so often have wanted immediate results. We
                                                           have wanted the job done yesterday.
                                                           But, we are learning to be still and trust and
                                                           have faith in Him.

                                                           And, we are confident that the results shall one
                                                           day be grand. They always are when the builder's
                                                           tools are wielded by the hand of the Master
                                                           Craftsman.

(First published on November 15, 2012)

LAST CHANCE

12/20/2020

   LAST CHANCE

                                        "Marriage, wrote Joseph Barth, "is
                                        our last, best chance to grow up.
                                        And, in fact, many of us don't even
                                      begin to grow up until long after we've
                                        left the alter.
                                       For it is in and through marriage that
                                        we learn...

                                        The art of give and forgive
                                        The art of live and let live
                                        The art of sacrifice
                                       The art of being nice
                                      The art of sincere prayer
                                        The art of being fair
                                        The art of giving in and letting go
                                        The art of permitting love to flow

                                        Marriages really never fail...
                                     People are the ones that fail to grow

FUTURE CONCERNS

12/15/2020

   FUTURE CONCERNS

                                     "We should all be concerned,"
                                        wrote Chrales Kettering, "about the future
                                        because we will have to spend the rest of
                                        our lives there."

                                        Perhaps the reason most of us may wind
                                        up being ill equipped to live in the future is
                                        that we spend too much time squandering
                                        the present and fretting about the past.

                                        Can we not see that our present thoughts
                                        quite often determine our future actions.
                                        And, we cannot escape our future anymore
                                        than we can ignore the present or deny the past.

                                        We would speak well of the past, for it is by
                                        remembering the past that we become educated.
                                        We would applaud the present moment, for only
                                        in the present moment does any action take place.
                                        We would extol the virtues of the future, for the
                                        future permits us to dream, to envision, to hope
                                        and to plan.
                                        Without the future, there could be no past, and
                                        our present would be shallow indeed.

Faith In God Award 643

12/14/2020

FAITH IN GOD AWARD 643

Recently our son, Billy, and on of his friends,
Charley Grogan, earned and received a Cub
  Scout "Faith in God" award by fulfilling certain
  church duties and requirements.

While basking in the natural pride parents
should have on such an occasion, we also
reflected on the possibility of one day
having to stand before God and
declaring whether we would be worthy
   of a "Faith in God" award.

We suspect that many of us who claim
  to be Christians have staked our lives
on our own weak abilities much more
than in God's capabilities...trusting much more in
our own finite frailties and much less in God's infinite
power and wisdom.

  Faith in God...Perhaps we all have sufficient
for our needs...We simply need to utilize and
exhibit what we have.

LIBERTY 642

12/14/2020

  LIBERTY 642

"Proclaim Liberty throughout the land unto all the
   inhabitants thereof." (Leviticus 20:10)

Liberty give us the privilege to boo the
the umpire...even when he's right.

Liberty permits us to travel from town to town
   and state to state...without unwarranted search
   or seizure.

Liberty lets us all call the president a crook...and
   boot him out of office if he is one.

Liberty provides us with the oportunity to achieve
and become what we will...sol long as we do not
   infringe upon the rights of others.

"Life, liberty and the pursuit if happiness"...But
the greatest of these...is liberty.

(First published July 10, 1979)

COVID-19 AND I (ME, YOU, WE, US, AND THEM)

12/13/2020

COVID-19 AND I (ME, YOU, WE, US, THEM)...
and all the ships at sea. (Okay, forget the ships,
we'll talk about them, next time.)

Actually, I don't know, at this time, where this
article is going or how it will eventually end.
(Sounds like the coronavirus followed by
the experts, doesn't it.

It is obvious, that this article has been written
in a light vein, while paying little attention to
the darkness felt by the hundreds of thousands
who have lost family members and loved ones
the past ten months.

Awareness of sicknesses and deaths have hardly
been noticed by my family in spite of the fact
that five friends, one close relative, and one
   lovable cat (J.J.) have all passed away in 2020.
And, not one of them contracted or died from
the coronavirus.

Where will we be three months or a year from
   now? I have no idea. But, we will keep our eyes
and ears open and let you know what is happening,
from time to time. BM

(Written and published on December 13, 2020)

WISDOM FROM ABOVE

12/6/2020

The wisdom that is from above
is first pure,
then peaceable,
gentle, and easy to be entreated,
full of mercy and good fruits,
without partiality and without
hypocrisy
James 3:17 KJV

THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN AND THE LITTLE GIRL

12/6/2020

    THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN AND THE LITTLE GIRL

    It was a cold and very windy Saturday.
                                It was a couple of hundred yards
                                from warm car to warm building.

                                Nearing the steps of the library,
                                I was complementing myself for only having
                                a few more feet to go, and thinking surely
                                I could hang in there without becoming the
                                abominable snowman.

    Suddenly a little girl age six or seven
                                hopped by, trying to skip her rope with
                                only fair to moderate success. She was
                                attired with coat, mittens, and stocking cap.

                               She seemed oblivious to the windy cold.
                               She was unconsciously concentrating,
                                seeking success, and enjoying herself.
                                And I, I was just trying to get inside quickly.

                                Hey! That little girl is going to make out okay!
                                Say, if she can make it, so can I.
                               Indeed, so can I, said the abominable snowman.

(First published on April 20, 1975)

THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM

12/6/2020

   THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM

                                      One of the grandest adventures
                                      of life is this...to dream the impossible
                                      dream, and then to go out and accomplish
                                      it.

                                      Just think of all the impossible dreams
                                      that have been borne into reality in the
                                      in the last century and a half, including...

                                      The telephone
                                      The radio
                                      Tape recorders
                                      Television
                                      Trips to the moon
                                      Transplants of vital organs...
                                      to name a few.

                                      One of the greatest truths we can
                                      discover is this...God gives to every man
                                     and woman, impossible dreams, and then
                                     He asks us, with his help, to bring those
                                      dreams into reality.
                                      "For with God, all things are possible."
                                      (Matt. 19:26)

(First published on December 29, 2012)