Musical Valentines

Just a few lines to note what I have been doing most of the day today. Today and tomorrow several quartets from our Barbershop chorus are going around doing singing valentines for people who paid to have their love surprised. It involves singing a couple of love songs to them, giving them a heart-shaped box of chocolates and a nice card.

During the very first appointment I began wondering if I was going to be able to keep doing it all day. The emotions of these people were so strong that I had to check my own emotions just to keep singing. It was so fun to see the surprise on their faces and some even bursting into tears as we sang to them. Talk about a good feeling fix, this was pretty intense at least for me. I wouldn't mind doing this again next year or even more often.

During some of our downtime between visits we practiced on a song for our upcoming Lenten concert next month. I was very encouraged to see how quickly the guys caught on to the difficult song. I have been trying to introduce some new music into our repertoire without success so far. But there is a good chance that if we get this song down pat before we present it to our director that he may let it be used.

After singing three love songs over and over today you can imagine that I have them circulating in my head this evening rather consistently. We are in the midst of relating to several people in marital trouble right now and am soliciting the prayers of anyone who is serious about prayer. I am actually very excited about these situations because I am seeing God working so clearly in them. I have also been asked to speak at my church in about a week and also desire prayer for that as well. I have never spoken in this format before and am not really a public speaker. I am learning to really enjoy writing but speaking is a whole different thing altogether.

Well, that's what's going on right now. Keep in touch and be full of courage.

Floyd's Song

Well, this is going to be a very interesting post. I must share with you one of the most surprising things that has happened to me in a very long time.

As I had noted previously, last Thursday I woke up very early with a stomach bug of some sort and I have been suffering from it ever since. This meant that I could eat almost nothing every day. When I did attempt to eat some soup in the evenings it sat like lead in my stomach overnight and only gave me further problems. So I have had to be just content to drink a little water and whatever else seemed to not upset me too much and wait this out.

I also tried to continue to work the last couple days of last week which also didn't work out too well under these conditions. I was so weak that by by Friday I ended up having to sit down every few minutes to just get enough strength to continue working a few more minutes. I felt totally drained and even could not think very clearly. By noon I was nearly wasted and went home to take a nap and try to recover a little more energy.

What concerned me was that we were scheduled to attend an annual officer's installation banquet for the Barbershop chorus that I belong to on Saturday evening. I realized by this time that at best I might be able to eat only a few bites of the banquet and I just hoped that I might feel strong enough to even attend. About a week ago the president and the director of the chorus both had strongly encouraged me to try to attend and had even discussed with the restaurant how to provide vegetarian food for us since nearly everything they serve contains meat. After all of these accommodations I felt that it would be rather unkind not to try to respond to their generosity.

By Saturday afternoon, even though I had not eaten all day, I felt that I could probably get through the evening O.K. and maybe even be able to eat a few bites of food. I was hoping that maybe I might even be hungry enough by that time that it might actually start digesting instead of just sitting in my stomach all night. But I also wanted to attend this event because it is one of the social highlights of this organization that has become a positive part of my life over this past year. It was in fact, this very event last year that was the first time I had had opportunity to socialize with this group before I had even gotten to know any of them.

As I was laying in front of my fireplace Saturday morning trying to keep my stomach comfortable and just resting, I suddenly began to have an inspiration very much like many of those that end up as blog posts. Only this time it was something along the line of a tribute to the man that I have come to admire and appreciate very much over this past year. It is the father who is the elder member of the father-son team that directs our chorus and has had such a profound influence on keeping this chorus active and attractive for around forty years now.

He is the only member remaining who has been in this chorus ever since it was started. And interestingly this chorus was being started up in this town at just the same time that I was leaving this same town as a young man to go off to boarding high school never to live near here again until just a few years ago. Of course I had no idea at that time about any of these events transpiring in the same town as I was leaving, but it is interesting to look back and see it from this perspective.

This man is a very unique and gifted man. But much more than that he is a man of heart, of passion, a man who cares about people and shows it openly and sometimes unexpectedly. He not only loves music and the men of this chorus but he is a wonderful family man. His son who directs the chorus with him is an adopted son that was raised in their home with love and affection that still shows yet today. And as I watch the way he interacts with his grandchildren I almost become jealous of the love that so obviously surrounds this man's family.

In addition I have also come to sense that this is a man who cares about how God thinks about him. A number of times I have seen his love for God show through as he prays with our chorus before a series of concerts in maybe eight churches in a row. He is also a man that has surprised me at times when an audience's response suddenly induces another part of him to suddenly come alive and our performance unexpectedly takes on an extended dimension that none of us were expecting to experience.

As I thought about all these things and how much I have come to appreciate this guy, I decided that maybe I should take the time to write down how I felt and present it as a sort of tribute to the members and their wives who would be attending the banquet that night. So I grabbed my computer and began writing down everything I could think about and decided that maybe I could end it with a proposition for a toast. As I explained in the tribute, I don't really know anything at all about toasts because I have never been a drinker. But I presumed that everyone else would know what to do and that this might be something that would be meaningful to them maybe even more than to me.

I finished up this tribute in the afternoon and as usual it ended up maybe a bit longer than I intended. I didn't take the time to read it out loud to time it and I didn't really want my wife to read it because she might want to change it too much. (Sometimes things I write are so personal that I feel maybe over-protective of them for awhile which may be good or bad depending on your opinion.) Anyway, I printed it out and didn't tell anyone what I planned to do until after we got to the banquet room.

After we had been there for awhile I decided to check with the president who was in charge of the program for the evening to find out when I might be able to read my tribute. I didn't tell him what it was about, but he informed me that at the end of the meal I was supposed to step out of the room and practice with a quartet for awhile so we could sing at the beginning of the program. This was news to me, but he told me that just before we sang I could read my paper.

That sounded fine with me. Since it would be right at the end of the meal that meant that a toast would seem to make sense at that point. A few minutes later we stepped out into another room and they had me rehearse a couple songs with the members of the most talented quartet in the group – minus their regular Bass of course. I really enjoy singing with these guys because they have that sensitivity for the nuances of the music and put in the expressiveness that is so important for music and that I like to use. After we practiced for about ten minutes we returned to the banquet room and began the program. Little did I realize the real reason that they had taken me out of the room.

After a few comments by the president, he called up our quartet and we sang our two songs. I was beginning to wonder when I might be able to read my tribute but had no chance to even try. Immediately after our performance the director rushed up to me and announced to the audience that they had a special surprise for me. He then brought forward a chair and made me sit down facing the front while the whole chorus gathered in front of me to sing me a song that the director had obviously just composed in the last few days. This song was titled, “Floyd's Song” and expressed their appreciation for my work to take the handwritten, difficult to read music and transcribe it into professional-looking, readable notation so that we could practice and learn our music much easier.

As they expected, I was completely caught by surprise by this. What I hadn't known was that while I was just out of the room they had been practicing this song themselves for the very first time. Though this is something typical of what our director does, I had never expected anything of this sort in response for the little efforts that I have made to contribute to the improvement of this chorus. They have already purchased the music software for me that I needed to do this job and I have enjoyed just being able to make the music easier to read. I really felt it was not necessary to make such a big deal out of it and I certainly wasn't expecting a full-blown musical production to be made of it. But here I sat in a chair being serenaded by the whole chorus singing about my history with them and their humorous musical appreciation for the work that I have been doing behind the scenes to help them.

At the end of the music, two of the men came forward and presented me with a couple very nice gifts. One was a wrapped present which they insisted that I open and show to everyone. It is a book about music that will likely be very helpful in assisting me to figure out some of the Latin and various sometimes confusing rules needed to write music. The other was a beautiful card with a check enclosed that simply left me speechless. I felt so overwhelmed and almost guilty that I really didn't know what to say. I was about to say that I was simply speechless, but then I realized I would be sabotaging my own plans to make a speech. So then I was really left with nothing I could think of to say.

At that point as everyone returned to their seats while shaking my hands as they passed by, I turned around and announced that I was going to hijack the program and that turn-about was fair play. I then pulled out my own 3-page tribute to the very man who had instigated this whole affair and proceeded to read it out loud while trying to be as expressive as possible. Now, you would have to know me a little better to realize that doing this does not come naturally for me. I have found it far easier to write than to speak in public and this is one reason that I decided to write this out and chose to read it instead of attempting to simply speak it off the cuff. While I don't like listening to others read their speeches, I still don't feel comfortable being able to speak myself effectively.

As I neared the end of the first page I began to realize that this was going to take much longer than I had anticipated (about like this post). But I tried to be as expressive as I could and to make eye contact, especially with the man that the tribute was about who was sitting right in front of me. I have to say that I was extremely glad that I had followed my impressions to write this and to give it, for after the unexpected and almost embarrassing experience of being the center of focus myself, I was so glad that I was already prepared to turn the attention around and express my gratitude and thanks to the one who had been behind all this. I really believe that it was God who had prompted me to write this in the first place and who knew that I would want it just when I did.

I was afraid all day that I might become too emotional to even finish the speech and that I would be publicly embarrassed even more. (Yes, I still struggle with a lot of internal fears) When I got to the place in my talk where I pointed him out for everyone's attention, I almost lost it. I knew I had a lot farther to go, but I also realized that allowing emotion to be seen also reinforces the authenticity of my words so I really didn't want to suppress them too much. I just wanted to be able to finish the talk for myself and not depend on someone else to read it in my place.

Actually, the whole day, both before and after this event, I was thinking about the positive benefits that I was feeling simply from choosing to be appreciative. I began to realize how much I have been missing out on in life because I have such a very low level of appreciation in general. I have had this dreadful condition all of my life but I would like it to change as quickly as possible. I have been learning more and more about the power of praise and have begun sensing that there is incredible power to overcome all sorts of evil influences simply through the exercise of gratitude and praise in all directions, not just toward God. I realize that this is old news to many other people, but it is something that still has to soak into my deeper consciousness for myself, not something that can be forced or imposed on me.

The glow from the emotions and bonding that took place last night still lingers strongly and will continue in various ways for a long time to come. It may even likely become seeds that will in turn germinate to produce other random acts of kindness and appreciation that will in turn germinate yet more. It is really the way that true reality was originally designed to function all the time and has only been severely obscured by the darkness of sin and lies about God. Satan is terrified that we will discover this most potent weapon against his power in our lives, but I am determined to become more familiar with its use and to have much more of its benefits in my life and to influence those around me. I want to participate in God's ways of doing things and to attract others to see God differently. As they come to appreciate the real truth about Him and dispose of the lies they have always thought, they too can join the symphony of praise that brings life and joy and healing to the growing family of God.

New Glasses

A couple weeks ago I wrote about my close encounter with a flying missile that blasted a hole through the corner of my glasses. I believe that an angel was there protecting me from serious harm, for if it had only been slightly closer I could easily have lost at least an eye and very possibly my life with a nail embedded in my brain. After I realized what had happened I also felt a sense of responsibility to acknowledge God's protection and care for me openly and not allow my flesh to try to pass it off as good luck or just a coincidence. I don't yet understand the significance of what is going on, but I sense that there is a much deeper meaning to not only this incident but the following events that have happened as a result of it.

You see, those glasses were my very old glasses that were a wrong prescription for my normal long-distance vision. About three years ago I purchased two more pairs of glasses, one for distance and the other a pair of bifocals for long and very short distance.

But I continued to wear my old glasses even though I was having problems with the frames coming loose and I couldn't read the road signs while traveling on the highways. The reason I continued to use them so much is because they worked very well for my intermediate vision which neither of my other glasses could do for me. When I worked in construction they were ideal for seeing clearly at about arm's length so I could read my tape measure, hammer nails or turn screws and everything else I normally do with my hands. In addition to that they were just right for reading the screen on my computer and so I always used them when writing and reading posts on blogs and pretty much everything else I did around inside the house.

So when I had one lens of those glasses broken into pieces I found that I had a very difficult time being able to use my computer because I had to hold it uncomfortably close to me to see clearly what I was doing. For a few days after they were attacked I continued to use them while on the computer even though I had to peer around the cracks in the lens. But two or three days later they dropped on the floor and all the pieces fell out ending any hope of using them again.

This left me feeling a little stranded as I didn't know how to handle my problem of not being able to focus well at arm's length. I struggled to type with the screen so close to me that my hands felt awkward on the keyboard and at work I found myself making many more mistakes due to not being able to read numbers on my tape clearly or cutting on the wrong marks. I found myself constantly taking my glasses on and off trying to adjust for the varying distances that I needed while working or doing other things and I realized that I needed another pair of better glasses to replace my old ones, but this time preferable safety glasses.

When I got home from Pennsylvania I contacted the office from which I had purchased my last two pairs of glasses. They were the only place I had been able to find after searching for a number of years, that carried the type of frames that I need. So I felt that they were likely the only ones who would still have what I needed now. But to my great disappointment they informed me that the manufacturer no longer makes that kind of frame and in addition the lady informed me that she was certain the doctor would not allow me to simply buy a pair of glasses using my old prescriptions without getting an exam first.

All during this time I was sharing my thoughts, feelings and frustrations with God and asking Him for guidance and blessing in getting me the right glasses so I could work and read better. As I am getting in the habit of doing about most things, I simply discussed everything with Him as I went along, but I was somewhat surprised at how providential everything happened in this situation. There were simply too many “coincidences” happening to believe that there was not divine influence working just out of sight in how my new glasses came to be provided for me. Once again I feel obliged to acknowledge and praise Him for what to some might seem like little blessings. But to God everything is important when it comes to taking care of His children. What He wants in return is for me to have a spirit of gratitude awakened and exercised so that the blessings He provides become tools to mature and strengthen my character.

The kind lady at the office, Chris, who was very helpful promised she would try to find me the right frames. She said she would make some phone calls to see if she could locate any leftover frames that might not have been sold yet by the manufacturer or see if she could locate any other company that might sell similar ones. A few days later she left a message on my answering machine that she was sorry to inform me that she had not had any luck finding any frames like what I wanted and that I should just come in and see what else was available. Then about five minutes later she called again and left another message saying that in the intervening time she had discovered one pair of frames identical to what they had sold me previously that had been sent to her without notice evidently by the factory rep. I could come in anytime and get the process going for a new pair of glasses.

That day I had left work early because my boss was not feeling well. That is rather unusual but I later felt was also providential. Since I still had about an hour before they closed I ended up having enough time to run in and provide them with what they needed. But I am getting a little ahead of myself.

As soon as I heard her message upon arriving at home I called her back to discuss my options. Again she informed me that she was very certain after working there for 17 years that the doctor would refuse to let me simply get a copy of my old glasses without getting another eye exam for intermediate distance vision. I prodded her at length to ask the doctor for a waiver but she was adamant that she knew what his answer would be already. So we began to discuss when I might be able to set up an appointment for an exam so I could use the new frames that had mysteriously shown up at the office.

It became clear that the schedule of their office and my work hours preempted me from being able to schedule an exam when I was normally off work. Even though they were open for about an hour after I quit work their office is nearly 45 minutes from where I work and the doctor leaves the office an hour sooner than closing time anyway. So setting up an appointment without taking off work, which would cost me even more money, became very problematic.

She then suggested that I come in on Saturday since they are open then. I told her that Saturday was unavailable and she asked if I work on Saturday also. I then decided to share with her the reason I do not work or conduct any kind of business on Saturdays. I explained to her that I “keep” that day which she seemed to somewhat understand except that it seemed strange as far as which day I “kept”. I then told her that nowhere in the Bible does it talk about keeping Sunday holy but it is very clear that the seventh day is the Sabbath and that those who follow God all the way will keep it holy as He asks them to do in obedience and loyalty to Him.

At this point she said something about getting in too deep and that she was a “heathen” anyway so she wouldn't understand stuff like this. I assured her that it was no problem and that feeling like a heathen was not something that might make me feel any different about her. I told her that I was simply sharing facts of reality with her and what my convictions are.

I then asked her if there were any evening appointments open on Saturday. At this she was quite surprised and asked me what difference that would make if I was unable to come in on Saturday already. Then I explained to her that according to God's perspective each day begins at sundown so Saturday night is not part of God's Sabbath. She thought that was very strange as well. “Why would a day start with the night?” she asked.

I told her that if she read Genesis it would tell her that when God created the world at the very beginning, each day is described as the evening and the morning were the first day... the second day etc. That tells us that the dark part of the day comes first and the bright part of the day comes afterward.

At this point she said that this all sounded a bit strange but what should we do about getting an appointment set up. Again I urged her to talk with the doctor and at least ask him if I could simply bring in my old lenses including the broken pieces and let them make new ones from that prescription. I said, “tell the doctor that it is simply impossible for us to coordinate our schedules, so we just have to do it this way.” She then replied that he would probably say it was impossible too and nothing would happen.

Then she told me to hang on while she went to get my file and look over my history and exam information with them. After a long wait she came back to the phone and began to share with me in amazement what had just happened. She told me that she had just talked with the doctor on his way out of the office and that he had agreed to let me have the new glasses made from my old prescriptions after he looked over all the information and compared it with my most recent exam results. Immediately I sensed that God had once again intervened and that I was watching Him at work in real time.

I told her that I would get my old glasses and come in right away before they closed so I could let them get started as soon as possible. I took in the broken pieces and helped her figure out where they came from in the old frames while she checked them on her instrument. I wanted to share with her my sense of how much God was involved in this whole affair but didn't quite know how to do it effectively. So I just left it in God's hands and decided that it was His job to take what I had already shared with her and use it however He wanted in the future.

The next afternoon while I was working I shared with a coworker what had transpired and told him that I was expecting a phone call from the office telling me that I could come in and try out some temporary lenses as she had told me they would do. About two minutes later I received a call from Chris and she told me that the glasses were ready for me to pick up. They were completely finished with no testing necessary.

Again I was filled with gratitude and even a sense of awe that God was so involved in caring so efficiently for my need for new glasses. It is the awareness of His involvement that is so encouraging even more than having new glasses to make it easier to work and write and read. After work I drove over to the town where the office is and picked up my new glasses. I was thrilled at how well they meet my requirements. Now I can once again see at the distance that I need for so many things I do, and with the doctor's input with a few tweaks on the numbers they seem even better than my old ones. I repeatedly expressed my gratitude to the receptionist and asked her to share my appreciation with the doctor as well.

This morning as I woke up I realized that there is likely something much deeper in this story that what I am yet seeing spiritually. I realize that there are things about my life, my spirit and my relationships that are like the fuzziness that was causing me so many problems when I lost my old pair of glasses. Things may be clear at very close range or far away at times, but my biggest problems in my spiritual life are often with my social interactions with others, my intermediate focal length. I have a very difficult time relating properly at times to those I interact with because things are so fuzzy in my perception of what is going on inside of them. I definitely need a new pair of spiritual lenses to help correct my faulty vision in this part of my life.

But I also sense that maybe God guided every detail of this process of getting new glasses very quickly to assure me that He will do the same for me in my spiritual weak areas as well. He knows all about my fuzzy vision in the way I see others through selfish, pride-based thinking. I do try to see others through heaven's eyes but it always seems to be such a struggle. I really want new lenses so that I don't have to constantly have to try to fight my resentment, bitterness or critical assumptions about them. I want to have the nature of Christ living in me so so thoroughly that my first reaction is one of compassion, forgiveness and love instead of judgment or criticism.

But just like my natural eyes need corrected vision that I cannot do for myself, my spiritual eyes need the corrective lenses of heaven to cause me to see others from a heart like Jesus instead of with the pride and near-sighted vision that I have known far too long. I pray that God will quickly give me new glasses so that my spirit and witness will always be an honor to His reputation and bring glory to His name.

Fire In The Hole

I am aware, but probably not nearly enough, of my lack of natural appreciation and gratitude. But there are times when things happen that simply cannot be missed, especially by someone who really wants to learn to be more grateful. One of those events happened to me yesterday and I do not want to let it go unnoticed or underrated.

I was working with my brother-in-law getting his house addition ready for them to move into in a couple weeks. I have been working with him and his brother for several weeks now and have enjoyed working with them with their fun-loving, hard-working, easy-going attitudes. I was helping to put in a floor addition that will expand the size of the living room to a more comfortable space and was starting to nail the floor joists into place.

The room addition was inside the garage that we recently built and the day was a rather gloomy, rainy day outside so the light was rather poor. In addition I was trying to work down close to the wall far from the doors or windows so it made it even harder to see where I was nailing exactly. Suddenly just after I shot the air nailer gun to fire a 16 penny nail (about 3 inches long) into the floor joist I felt the nail whiz past my ear and felt my glasses sitting a little askew on my face. I wasn't sure what had happened so I stood up and tried to straighten my glasses.

I finally took them off to see what the problem was and then realized what had happened. The nail had ricocheted from where I had intended it to go, had grazed my finger on my other hand drawing a little blood and then evidently had passed through the corner of my glasses on the way past the side of my head.

The more I thought about it the more I realized that I had been extremely close to either getting killed with a nail into my brain or at least loosing the sight in one eye, neither of which I have any desire to experience to say the least. I also sensed that God had used one of His angels to possibly guide that nail past my face and even through my glasses in such a way as to protect me once again from harm that demonic forces would like to inflict on me.

I realize that many people would just chalk this up to really good luck. I know that it would be somewhat easy for me to do that as well unfortunately. But I also am becoming more aware that there is much more activity in the supernatural realm than we ever realize, and that sometimes their effects show up in things that we can detect if we are willing. And I also believe that our choices about our spirit and how we decide to relate to those supernatural forces have a great deal of influence to determine the outcome of events in our lives as well as the abilities of either side to work in our lives in the future.

So in light of this and as soon as it came to my conscious attention, I began to thank God very intentionally and sincerely for the protection that I knew had come from His hand. I also prayed that I would not downplay this incident due to my fear and shame that too often causes me to only talk about Him to people who are like believers. I want to be more real and more consistent in what I believe internally and how I talk and act around those who do not believe in God or think that He is not worth trusting.

I have observed that there are numerous times that I have been very close to serious harm and that it is completely possible that I have many times recently had supernatural assistance to prevent disasters that could easily maim or hurt me seriously. I know that there is no way of proving most of these encounters, at least to a scientifically skeptical mind with a predisposition to doubt God's care for us. I also strongly suspect that most of the deliverances I have experienced go completely unnoticed and the angels must be in constant amazement at my naivety. But that does not prevent them from continuing to serve and protect me anyway while hoping that I will soon begin to be more appreciative which may in turn give them more permission to work more actively in my life.

At any rate, I want to take this opportunity to thank God publicly for this very specific incident of protection. It causes me to be more conscious more about how blessed I am to have eyesight as good as it is, not to mention the rest of my head that could have been affected. And most of all I am so grateful for the fact that the reason God does things like this is because He is like that in His character and His desires toward me. It is because He is such a faithfully caring God that He looks after me each moment in ways I will never know until I am shown my life in heaven. But I can get to know Him better right now and learn to trust His heart and His consistently good intentions towards me irregardless of whether I am hurt or not.

Father, I want to praise you for protecting me and having your angels intervene on my behalf during this close call. Thank-you so much for your grace and mercy and kindness and faithful love. Dwell in me and cause me to be more free in my praise for you. Heal me of the shame that inhibits me from being more lavish in my gratitude. Thank-you for the work you are doing in me and the incredible plans you have for me. You are my God and I worship you in gratitude and humble appreciation.

Church Encounter

I have been spending the past few weeks with my sister-in-law in Pennsylvania. The last two week-ends I visited different churches but with similar results – very disappointing. In both cases I practically walked in, spent the morning in class and church and walked out without hardly a person asking where I was from or what I was doing there. I know that some people would say that it would not be like this if I were more friendly myself and that is probably true to some extent. But I find it difficult to buy into the claims that our churches are generally friendly places to visit after experiences like this two weeks in a row although I am always reminded that I do not do much better to others when they visit my church.

Anyway, I decided last night to get on the web and see if there were any alternatives within reasonable driving distance this week. I found that there were quite a number of churches within 50 miles of where I am staying but most of them were either a bit too far or were of a nature I didn't feel like trying to visit – like being in a different language etc. But one church got my attention partly because it was listed as having about 500 members compared to very small numbers for most of the rest of them.

Now a bigger church certainly doesn't guarantee that it will be a friendly church, but on the other hand I felt that maybe there might be a good reason so may people wanted to attend there. It was at least worth a try for one week. If it didn't work out I still have two more weeks to try to find a place to at least find someone half-way interested in talking with me. Besides, I found out after checking out the map directions that this church was almost closer than most of the others I had visited even though it was in another state.

When I arrived this morning and walked in I was pleasantly surprised to be eagerly greeted by several people at the door who refused to let me go until they had asked me quite a number of questions while they held my hand. It did not change much for the rest of the time. I had person after person come up to me and talk with me, greet me, ask me my name and where I was from etc. and then tell me they were very glad to see me. And I sensed that it was not a put-on but these people had a spirit that was genuinely glad that I had come today. How refreshing.

Besides a friendly environment I was several times deeply moved, even to tears at times by some of the things that people shared during the service. I felt the Holy Spirit using words and music to touch my heart in a deep and meaningful way and I sensed that the Pastor also had an open spirit and mind. He preached on the Holy Spirit and I found it very compelling, convicting and moving personally. I suspect most people there were not affected nearly as much as I was, but God has been steering me along this line more and more recently and this was another step in that direction.

As is often the case I had to find a piece of paper so that I could capture the many thoughts that were swirling around in my head. All through the service I ended up jotting down things about the Holy Spirit and related ideas that were coming to my mind along with texts that were taking on new life and meaning for me while the Pastor was reading them. I was very blessed by the sermon and even heard it twice today as I attended both early and regular services. Since I had nothing else to do for the day where I am staying I decided to make a day of it if possible after arriving there early.

I was invited to stay for a lunch in the Junior Academy gym that I suspect is prepared weekly primarily in case visitors show up. It was good food and good fellowship as well. This is also a refreshing change from the much smaller church which I usually attend at home. There is generally something about a little larger church that makes it less stuffy and more relaxed than many small churches. In fact, this is one of the most diversely ethnic churches that I have been in for quite awhile and I was impressed with the seemingly complete lack of any racial tension within this community of believers.

I had some good talks with several people, was able to even get a chance to play the piano for a man I just met as he sang a couple songs after the service was over. He had sung one of them acapella for special music and I was wishing I could have played for him then. He is a more expressive singer which makes it much more difficult for him to find an accompanist, but that is also what I really enjoy when accompanying people. I like to play for people who put their heart into their singing in more expressive ways and I enjoy the challenge of trying to sense their emotions and synchronize with their expressions. He sang a couple very old gospel tunes that I recognized right away and we had a good time sharing music together.

At this point I certainly plan to go back to this same church next week and likely the last week I am here as well. Hopefully I can connect even more with some of the people I met today and maybe even establish some longer term friendships that might continue after I go back home. Who knows? But at least I have found a place that fulfills my desire to fellowship on Sabbath while I am away from home and I am very thankful for the welcoming spirit that I enjoyed today from all of these people.

I will likely meditate some more on the notes that I took today and write them up in a separate post. But that is what is happening in my life right now.

Another Sad Passing

Last weekend while getting ready to go to church we heard a commotion outside. We had just let all of our cats out to enjoy the nice weather and wondered what was going on. Soon my wife began screaming for me to come and help and when I ran outside I saw the neighbor's wolf-dog running around in our yard.

Usually he is kept tied up at all times just outside our neighbor's door and so it was quite a surprise to see her running around in our yard. I chased her off back to her own territory and we then began to look around for our very frightened cats. Our neighbor had told us that this dog is definitely a cat-killer and so we were worried about what might have happened to any of our cats in all the commotion.

Soon my wife found Mitsy, the youngest of our cats, hiding underneath a parked car in the yard and injured. Mitsy has been a very long time even getting up the courage to go outside with the rest of the cats but had been doing better lately. When my wife brought her in we found teeth holes around her back end and she was leaking, scared and hurting badly.

We cleaned her up as best we could and let her rest until we could get her to the vet later on. The vet sent her back home with some medication and seemed to indicate that they didn't see anything real serious. However, some time after I left for work on Monday morning she died while no one was at home and my wife found her upon returning later that afternoon. She was very upset about this and we both felt very frustrated with the way it was all handled by the vets office. We are both very sad that yet another one of our feline family has passed away in such a short time.

Mitsy has had a very colorful though short history with our family. My wife and daughter found her about two years ago nearby our home very frightened in a ditch by the road. They stopped and picked her up and for the next several weeks she was nearly unseen around the house. She was very frightened of people, particularly men for some reason. But after awhile she began to learn a little bit of trust with my wife and later my daughter took her up to Michigan to live with her for awhile.

During that time I was staying with my daughter there in Michigan while doing some work locally there, so I had time to spend getting to know Mitsy better. She turned out to be quite a little spitfire at times and rather unpredictable. Because she was often left alone all day in the house, when we returned home she would sometimes suddenly bite my daughter's ankles unexpectedly while she was walking around in the kitchen. Other times she might get on our lap and act like she wanted to cuddle up but we never knew when she might suddenly bite us and then flee before we could react. My daughter became convinced that she was simply psychotic though I continued to insist that she just needed a lot more discipline and careful attention.

After my daughter moved into an apartment where she was not allowed to have pets, we ended up bringing her back home and merging her into the family of felines that we already had here. She quickly asserted herself and tried to get the attention of the other cats, but the only one patient and mature enough to put up with her pestering was our fairly new cat Sir William. Over time they grew to appreciate each other and Mitsy would rush up to greet him when he had been outside for some time. She would sometimes jump on him or bat him about the head and generally try to play for awhile which he usually did not mind too much.

Over the past year I have seen Mitsy's behavior dramatically improve. Over the past few months she had quit her nasty little habit of hit and run biting escapades and often wanted to sit in my lap while I had my devotional time in the morning. She was starting to really settle down and take a healthy place in our cat society here when this tragic event brought her life to a very sad end quite suddenly. We took her body back to the vet for an autopsy which revealed that she had suffered a punctured bladder which is what we had suspected all along. There was not much they could have done for her there at that office, but we were still upset that they did not seem to even notice that problem the first time we took her in.

The last few days I have been greeted by our Resurrection plants that put out leaves in the early summer and then die out only to explode with these flowers later in the summer. Right now all over the yard these tall stalks are asserting themselves almost as a defiant testimony against death itself. It reminded me of a song we heard in a concert at a Mennonite church last night where they talked about renaming a graveyard to call it resurrection ground.

As I stepped through the Resurrection plants carrying Mitsy's body to her grave and buried her next to George in our front yard, I thought about what it might be like when Jesus comes to raise all who love Him. I know this might disturb some purists who don't believe in anything that can't be verified by proof texts, but in my own study and contemplation of what God is really like I have become convinced that I will once again be greeted by all of the pets I have lost just as certainly as all the loved ones that I am longing to see again. I believe this primarily because that is just the kind of thing that God would do because of the way He is.

As I walked back up to the driveway through the Resurrection flowers I took some time to enjoy Willy and Serena who were waiting for me there. I never know when something might happen to any of us and I am reminded that it is important to enjoy those we love in the present and resist the tendency to take anyone for granted. That applies to people and it applies to all the other creatures and blessings that God has filled our life with.

There is now another empty place in our hearts that leaves us with that intensified sense of something missing. When I open the frig door there is no Mitsy to jump inside and settle down defying me to shut the door on her. When we feed the cats there is no longer a frantic Mitsy underfoot acting like she is about to starve if we don't feed her immediately. When I sit down in my favorite chair there is no Mitsy to jump up and settle down to purr in my lap and keep an eye on what is going on around us.

I hate death. We were never designed to get comfortable with death and I have had too much of it lately. In the last year we have now had one daughter and two cats die and I am not at all willing to just accept it as normal. Our hearts were designed for eternity and that is what I plan to prepare for so that I can someday outlive death itself.

Then Death and the Lord of the Place of Death were hurled into the lake of fire. This is the Second Death--the lake of fire; (Revelation 20:14 TCNT)

Muriel's Date-Filled Cookies

We have had a number of people want the recipe for my step-mother's cookies. We even had requests during her funeral which considerably baffled the presiding minster. So I decided to just post the recipe here so that people could access it whenever they like.

Muriel's Date-Filled Cookies

by Muriel Phillips

March 7, 1985

¾ cup shortening, soft

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

1 egg

¼ cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup sifted enriched flour

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon soda

½ cup nut meats

3 cups quick cooking oats, uncooked

Mix together shortening, sugars, egg, water and vanilla; blend thoroughly.

Sift together flour, salt and soda. Add to shortening mixture, mixing well. Blend in oats.

Filling:

1 lb. Dates pitted and cut up

¼ cup sugar

2 Tablespoons flour

1 cup water

Mix above ingredients and boil until thick. Let cool.

Drop a teaspoon of dough on greased baking sheet. Put ½ teaspoon filling on top of this dough.

Lastly, cover with ½ teaspoon dough.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes or until lightly brown.

Faces From the Past

Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. (Romans 14:1 NRSV)

Do not put on one side him who is feeble in faith, and do not put him in doubt by your reasonings. (Romans 14:1 BBE)

Last night I had a stirring experience of the spirit that I want to continue and I want it to have a directional effect on my whole life. It was not a glorious moment of worship as one might think of typical worship with wonderful music and powerful feelings and sensations of God's presence. It did cause me to feel the presence of God, but much more along the lines of deepening convictions and growing revelations of my own faults and a refreshing feeling of need for the transforming grace of Jesus to radically change my deepest motives.

It all began when I remembered the request from a long-time church member for old pictures of our local church building. They are preparing for a “home-coming” later this month after finishing a major renovation and building project over the past few years that connected the church and the old school building where I attended the first eight years of my education. Since my step-mom was the church clerk for many years and was known for collecting records and making scrapbooks, they were sure that she might have some old pictures that would be useful for showing during the homecoming weekend events.

I have been quite forgetful for a number of weeks about looking for this in our home where my parents lived until they died a few years ago, but yesterday I finally had the thought and the time both together and decided to act on it right away before I forgot again and it would soon be too late. I went upstairs and began looking through old scrapbooks and photo albums and eventually found one or two pictures that will be of use.

However, in the process of searching for church pictures, I also began browsing over many pictures of my own parents and family and their old family pictures. I was surprised at how many of them I had never really noticed before and the feelings that seemed to begin to stir inside of me as I spent extra time staring at their faces and trying to perceive something about their personalities from their expressions. I realized that I had never before really taken time to look at some of these pictures of my parents when they were much younger and their parents when they were at different ages. I began to sense much more about them and see similarities between their expressions and some who have come along several generations later.

I also realized that most of the times I have looked at old pictures it has always been in the company of others who may have had their own emotions so stirred that we were all distracted from potentially sensing our own deeper potential feelings. When things like this are experienced in a group the mutual dynamics tend to overshadow the ability for any individual to go to deeper levels in their own spirit. Of course, there are significant advantages to exploring the past with others who can shed light on it. But the aspect of really focusing on one's feelings and wondering about the identity received from previous generations and how much affect that has on shaping the life and spirit and perceptions seldom happens when many people are discussing and focusing more on the externals and events of the past.

As I have tried to develop the habit of being more alert to real-time emotions over the past few years, I began to note that I had a growing sense of pain very deep in my spirit. I tried to unpack the real reasons and identify just what was involved in this pain. I felt nostalgia in some ways, but more so an intense wish that I could connect with these people and form bonds of friendship with them, listen to their stories, perceive their personalities, ask them hundreds of questions and just have the opportunity to hang out with them. The present impossibility of doing that felt repressively frustrating. I was severely limited to just staring at a piece of paper with ink on it that could only convey a snapshot of a point in time of their life and try to perceive what little could be gleaned from the look on their face, the way they dressed or the body language they expressed in their posture.

I spent some time staring intently at my own mother's face when she was much younger than I had ever known her, maybe when she was in her twenties or thirties. My mother died when I was sixteen and I have very little specific memory of what she was like now. So looking at these pictures for me seemed like trying to probe into the mind of a stranger who looked vaguely familiar. I had an unusual, intensified desire to know her heart much better and wished I could share with her my own feelings and hopes and problems. I know she was the kind of person who longed to do that for me and I caused her a lot of pain as I repulsed her attempts to connect with me. Now I wish I had another chance. But I will have to wait for heaven to reconnect with her and catch up on everything.

What seemed quite strange and surprising was that in some of the pictures of her face I thought I could sense something that reminded me strangely of my own wife. Her cheeks and mouth were distinctly different, but somewhere else in her expression, maybe her eyes, I seemed to sense something similar to the one I have been married to for over thirty years. I wondered about this sensation and also wondered if that was part of what unconsciously drew me to my wife in the first place.

I looked at pictures of her father and mother and cannot remember ever really observing them before. I could see in the faces of her siblings and parents a little of the pain and struggles that they must have felt on a daily basis. I searched their faces and eyes for clues as to how they interacted with each other and what their own deepest feelings must have been about life. But pictures are deeply frustrating things for the extreme limitations they place on communication. But they are still better than nothing.

Anyway, I realized that quite likely my own psyche was being stirred at levels not normally visited by my conscious mind and I was not sure what else might develop from this state of mind. But I also knew that I need to occasionally stir up the much deeper levels of my memories in order to allow freer access to the roots that lie buried in that mud that need much more healing from God. I knew that I was only scratching the surface, but in a sense I felt good that I was at least again feeling at all in areas that have laid dormant for many years.

My search for pictures or records took me into more rooms and old drawers and old scrapbooks that I did not even know were in the house. When I moved my search to the old office of my step-mom that contained many of her meticulous records from many decades of letters and bookkeeping I began to uncover more things that began to stir old memories and emotions. Mingled in with much of her things I also discovered some of my own old records that had been stashed in the closet when we hurriedly moved into this house originally upon her death. I even came across my academy yearbook that I was certain had been lost completely. I wonder if it was not here all along and not with my things when we moved in. Or maybe it was a copy originally given to them years ago.

As I began sorting through many papers and files that I have never seen before, I came across financial records involving the construction of this house including when I spent a summer here 34 years ago helping to start it. I found papers in my own handwriting (that amazingly has hardly changed at all) of the hours I worked getting $2.50 per hour. I also came across notes and documents that answered questions I thought had been lost with my own father's passing memories about his intervention for me when we moved away from Texas many years ago. I found the record of how much he paid my previous landlord for the large debt that I had accumulated there and refused to leave until that issue was satisfied. My Dad took out a loan to pay off my debt so that we could move away and make a fresh start in Michigan, but he refused to ever tell me how much it cost him until he couldn't even remember what he had done in later years.

Then I came across a letter that was not that old, maybe five to eight years ago. It is difficult to read the blurry postmark but it is clearly after the turn of the century. The letter was addressed to my Dad and came from myself. I knew immediately what the likely nature of the letter would be given the dynamics of our relationship at that time, but I decided to open it up and read it a little just from curiosity. Little did I know the impact it would have on my own heart and the state of my spirit that I find in myself today.

As I read through the pages that I noticed my Dad had numbered in his own handwriting, I felt like I was reading something familiar while at the same time listening in on a conversation by someone I didn't really know very well. The words conveyed very clearly a person in touch with their heart and trying to be in tune with the Spirit of God. They were appealing desperately to an old man who had become so embittered by years of indulgence in critical attitudes and interactions with others and from persistent fault-finding that he had nearly lost all ability to connect with anyone else from his heart.

I read with growing interest the words that I myself had written and was sometimes amazed at the depth of passion and the humility that came through in the letter. I felt almost ashamed that I seem to have not grown much since then and have even lost sight of some of the perceptions and attitudes expressed in the letter. It certainly brought back to my consciousness many of the issues that plagued our relationship for much of my life and in a sense I was glad for the reminder. I want to give God access to every part of my mind and memories and feelings, for anything that is not yet faced and repaired is a very dangerous liability for me when I come under unexpected pressure or trauma.

But as I finished up the letter I sensed a surprising but overwhelming conviction that I am still in extreme danger of remaining stuck in the same rut of dysfunctional relationships and attitudes as that which trapped my father and his mother and has strongly influenced most of those who have come from them in succeeding generations. Even in the letter I expressed the insight that we were very much alike, and the Spirit of God did not miss the opportunity to reinforce that point on my heart. What I began to realize is that this letter not only applied to my Dad's condition back then but nearly equally applies to my own condition right now. Even though I may not have the extreme problems of these faults fully matured in the life, the tendencies and habits are very much yet embedded in my own psyche and need to be recognized more clearly.

Particularly, I was convicted by a graphic description that I quoted from an inspired source of the activities of Lucifer when he first began to experiment with his ideas of disaffection among the pure, loving angels of heaven. What was so startling to me was the similarities between the way he related to them and the way I see myself relating to people today. I was shocked and horrified that I have so much of the spirit of the enemy operating freely and undetected in my own heart right now. I began to see the results of the subtle spirit of disaffection that still permeates too much of my attitudes but that stays out of sight below the surface avoiding detection. Truly the evil part of my nature is deceptive to the extreme and does anything to avoid exposure.

The discovery of this letter seemed to be calculated to synchronize perfectly with other convictions that God has been placing on me lately. My relationship to the local church – the very same church that my Dad had so much conflict with for so many of his later years – is unfortunately not a great deal better. My spirit at its roots is all too similar to the attitudes that my Dad was enslaved to in his dealings with religious leaders. As I pointed out in the letter to him, when looking at the results of my Dad's choices in life it is not very appealing at all for me to follow in most of his footsteps. But as much as my logical mind can reason that way, my natural tendencies subtly pull me like a strong undertow in directions that I do not want to be led.

At a deeper level I began to perceive even more the deceptive attributes of my fallen nature and its treasonous tendencies that will always lead me into disharmony with God and with those around me. I often feel like I am escaping its control over me but then come to find that it is just operating more out of sight but still all too effectively. I still feel like I am only glimpsing the tip of a giant ice burg, but I thank God that He is at least letting me see that much so that I can beg for mercy and deliverance and seek for help.

I want to cooperate with the Spirit's promptings in this area. I want to grow up and mature and move beyond the obstacles that blocked my Dad's growth for too many years. I deliberately choose to accept and acknowledge what God is showing me about myself and ask for His continued healing. I realize that I need much more help from others, even though I resent being helped by people I sometimes consider more messed up than I am. (Now isn't that a real revelation of a bit of pride.) Coming on the heels of a fresh mining experience through the chapter of Romans 13 I think I have been prepped for an even deeper work that God intends to accomplish in me.

Father, all I can do is to thank You for Your coordination of circumstances and reminders of my imperfections. I confess that I am all too much naturally like my ancestors who seemed to consistently indulge in roots of bitterness and fault-finding that has poisoned far too many people and infected several generations. I do far too much of this myself and I want complete deliverance and healing from this terrible, pervasive disease of the heart and mind. I plead for Your repair and restoration plans to take place in my heart right now. I choose to listen and respond to and agree with Your convictions and I ask for Your sweet Spirit to shine Your brilliance into my soul and expose all the evil and ugliness that still lurks inside. Cleanse me from all of it and fill my life to overflowing with the perfection of Your unselfishness, compassion, humility and genuine goodness.

Father, deliver me from the subtle habits of insinuation, of planting doubt in other hearts and manipulating opinions to make me look better than others. I can sometimes see that I do this on a regular basis and I desperately plead with You to heal me of this fault. It is so deep-rooted that there is no hope of my deliverance without Your strong intervention. Do whatever it takes to transform me into the likeness of Your Son. Glorify Your reputation in my life.

Funerals and What Comes After

Yesterday I had off work as my boss and I both needed to attend a funeral. It was for one of the men in the Barbershop Chorus that we both belong to who had died unexpectedly and the chorus was singing for his funeral in a nearby town. This man and his wife had been very involved and dedicated to the activities of the chorus for many years and as to be expected it was a very somber occasion.

We sang three songs for the service which were very nice arrangements. The first was called Loving God, Loving Each Other which is a song I had not heard before I joined this chorus but which has become one of my favorites. They said that it was the favorite song of the man who had died as well. We then sang Farther Along and then sat down through the rest of the service until we sang The Lord's Prayer at the end. The arrangement for this last song was a very nice one and I was deeply moved by it.

There were not a lot of people at the service. I would say that there were a few more other people as the number of people who showed up for the chorus itself. I saw a side of the chorus that was interesting to me, a sense of deep loyalty and quiet camaraderie that they share as a group. Many of them took off work and drove many miles to sing for this event and that itself says a lot about how they feel about each other. I like this kind of group who care about each other in ways that almost seem rare in many places these days.

After the service we gathered outside and took this picture. It is the first time that I have had my own picture taken with this group as I have missed most of their public concerts so far. But even so I enjoy singing and practicing and associating with them just for the fellowship and getting to know more people in this region.

As I listened to the sermon during the funeral I was encouraged by the many Bible references that were shared. And even though the pastor did not share my knowledge of the sleep that people experience after death, the verses that he used reinforced that truth and reminded me of how much peace this fact can bring to those who are left grieving after a loved one's death. To realize that someone is not whisked away to either heaven or a supposed hell to live on in some other state of consciousness, but is oblivious to everything going on in this world until the resurrection brings a great deal of sense to life for those who grapple with the difficult questions that always arise after someone's passing.

As I have learned more and more about the bigger picture, the context in which all of our events take shape, I realize again how human-centered most religion has made our perspective and how important it is to see things from the true and broader perspective of heaven for them to really make sense. For to think that the resurrection will require people who have already lived in heaven for many years to somehow return and move back into an earthly body so that they can then be resurrected simply makes no sense whatsoever. But the Bible is very clear that there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked and then the judgment will take place.

So much of popular religious doctrine seems to imply that there is no specific day of judgment. They may talk about it that way but it seems that it must be a different day for everyone because it is often implied that it takes place just after someone dies. But this simply does not align well at all with the rest of the events that are clearly prophesied in Scripture and the whole thing does not fit well together as taught by most Christian churches.

But when the truth as understood by a correct reading of the Bible is seen it all makes a great deal of sense and brings peace and comfort to those who wonder what has happened to their loved ones. Those who die fall asleep just as Jesus described because the judgment is not finished yet. God does know each person's heart at their point of death and knows if they are safe to save in heaven or not. This allows Him to know who will hear the voice of Jesus when He returns again as promised to this earth the second time to gather all the ones who have responded positively to His plan of redemption. Those who have chosen to depend on themselves or others as their source for hope and life will simply not be able in death to hear the voice of Jesus at this time. But even at the Second Coming of Jesus the Judgment still will not occur in the final way that is yet in the future. This is only a transition event in the grand trial that centers around the Judgment of God Himself that is at the core of the real issue going on in the Great Controversy of the universe.

So I find it very encouraging that nearly everyone who has died is still unconscious in their graves waiting for the time when they will be raised up to complete the process that they have chosen to start while living here on this earth. Yes, there are a few who have already experienced resurrection ahead of time as symbols and representatives of those who at last will join them in heaven. But the vast majority are sleeping until either Jesus comes the second time or when He returns the third time after a thousand years of preparation with the saved in heaven. At that time the final day of judgment – of full revelation – will take place that will completely vindicate God in the hearts and minds of every intelligent being that ever existed in the history of the universe.

The big picture centers around God and His vindication in the judgment far more than it has to to with our going to heaven or to some place called hell. The real issue to be resolved in this great war, this conflict between the diabolical accuser of the brethren and the Creator of the universe is whether God is fair, is just, is right and whether His form of government can really work or whether Satan's inventions of force and fear must be employed to bring about unity through conformity.

So in this broader view of the background, it is comforting to know that we are not being watched, analyzed or second-guessed by our deceased loved ones somewhere or wondering if they are suffering the agonies imposed on them by an angry God (who is really the invention of His worst enemy in our minds). God is keeping all those who have died in safe protection in their graves until the right time and then the end of all sin and suffering will be accomplished.

Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? (1 Corinthians 15:51-55 KJV)

A Day in the Life...

Today was one of those get-things-done-around-the-house-and-yard day. I cultivated the garden with the Mantis tiller and found that several rows of plants never came out of the ground. I guess we may have had too much rain the past few weeks for some of the plants. Also, some of the tomato plants are not doing well and one or two have died. I left some areas uncultivated in hopes that maybe some of the original plants may still come up, but that is doubtful.

We have been having some Baltimore Orioles visiting us lately and found out that they very much like to feed from the Hummingbird feeders. One of the feeders that is easier for them to sit on was empty so we had to fill it back up for them today. We also put back up the regular bird feeder that we had taken down to put up the Hummingbird feeders. We now have three feeders outside our front bay window with hookups for one more if we want.

We also have been noticing a Titmouse who built a nest inside a hollow limb on our apple tree. Today our cat Peaches decided to tear the nest out of the hole and we found a baby on the ground unhurt. We pushed the nest back down in the hole with another egg still in it and placed the baby back into the nest. The mother bird finally came back to the nest and we began to try to think of something to keep the cats out of the hole.

I finally settled on cutting a small milk jug that we had just emptied honey out of to fit over the limb and be held on by a side limb still attached to the hollow part to keep it on. We cut the top of the jug a little bigger so the bird could get in but the cat couldn't. As I began writing this after dark my wife screamed from outside that the cat was after the bird again and trying to tear the jug off the limb. When the cat started scratching at the jug the bird poked her head out and the cat hit her on the head. She flew off in a fright and we captured the cat and put him back inside again. We hope after all the traumas the bird has been through today she will still come back and finish raising her young'uns. The cat may just have to stay inside for a few weeks until the babies are grown since it is obvious we cannot trust him at all with this situation. I'm not sure about the other cats.

Tomorrow I will go back to work building on a deck and boathouse that we have been constructing for the past week for a customer who lives on a lake. I have been working with a contractor in a nearby city who I met from the Barbershop Chorus that we both sing in. He has been very good to work for and he wants me to help him with some other big jobs this summer including finishing a log home that will be set up later in the summer.

The Barbershop group is putting on a concert the end of this month but I will not be singing in it. I do hope to take my wife to the dress rehearsal on the Thursday before the concert so she can hear the songs we have been learning and see some of the acting and costumes. I hope we also can hear the High School group sing at the same time as I understand they too will be singing some Barbershop music in the same concert. It has been a lot of fun singing with this group and the men are really great guys. It has been good to get a little acquainted with some people who live in this area as we hardly know anyone around here very much yet. We are just not very good at getting connected with people.

Well, I better wind this up and get to bed. I have to get up the same early hour that my wife does to get everything done so I can get to work on time. I'm very glad to have some work after being mostly out of work for nearly a year. God has been very faithful in taking care of us though, and we desire to learn more faith and want to have more of a spirit of gratitude and praise instead of gravitating so much toward looking at problems. That seems to be the assignment I am supposed to be working on I think.