Thursday, May 31

I pray this prayer in public often. "Lord, we thank you that you are Lord of the sunshine and Lord of the rain. You know what we need and when we need it."
That is a sincere prayer. Where I live and work, we have experienced a lot of rain lately. This morning everything looks so clear and fresh (including my grass, which is going to get too long before I cut it).
I will admit, as I have in the past, that I don't know why God does what He does, but I do know that no matter what kind of storms come, there will always be that morning when everything will look clear and fresh.

I pray that your day today will be that morning. It will help if you remember that:
It's all about Him!

Tuesday, May 29

Most folks received a welcomed and much deserved break from the daily work schedule yesterday. I took advantage of that and played golf with Gabe, Craig, and Phil. It was a good day. And I suppose that, looking at my golf game, no one could tell that I have been sick. I can hit some ugly shots whether I play every day or twice a year.
What made the day so good was that I was able to spend it with people that I wanted to be with, doing something that I wanted to do. Now, I am sure that I look at that a bit differently than most. But there was a time or two yesterday that the realization came to me how blessed I am just to be alive and to be able to be there. When I think about those times, I thank the Lord for letting it be a little bit about me, remembering that it really is all about Him.

Have you ever had those times?

Sunday - Monday Memorial Day

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.

John McCrae, 1915

Friday, May 25

So far, all of the tests that Dr. West had run have been negative. It took me awhile that this is one time that the word negative is a positive thing.
Yesterday I went to the dentist for my yearly cleaning and check up. For the first time in about 20 years, a cavity was discovered. The doctor filled my cavity. While he had me in the chair, he also fitted me for a crown that I had needed due to a broken tooth.

As bad as experiences like fillings and crowns on my teeth can be, it is really kinda nice to have something that everyone else has - something "normal." And compared to cancer treatments, cavity and broken teeth treatments are a breeze. Going to the dentist is part of life. And I like being part of life.

Gotta go to the dentist? Quit whinning. It could be worse.

Tuesday, May 22

It is kinda weird, but the fevers that I experience happen almost every Monday. They happen other times also, but my wife, Doctor Diane has a theory.
She says that I only have two speeds - stop and wide open. When I go wide open for too long, my body tells me that I need to slow down by giving me a fever. This past week was a great wide open week. As I looked back over the past seven days, we had something going on every day and every evening. But they were all good things. Yesterday was a day that my schedule caught up with me.
Oh well, Diane may be right. She usually is. So I am really trying to rest a few days.
Diane, my mother in law, and some other well-meaning church family members tell me that I need to learn that there is a third speed between stop and wide open.
I don't know if I will ever "get it."

God also teaches us things that are good for us. Maybe if I do a better job at listening to those who love me, especially Him, I will eventually get it.

What do you need to hear today? Are you listening?