Monday, March 28, 2016

I Am In Pain

I can feel the age creeping up on me. I went out into the yard and worked today and my body feels like someone beat me with a tire iron. That might be an exaggeration. Maybe a whiffle bat. Whatever. My back hurts, I have a bit of a headache, but my left pinkie finger is intact. Let me explain. I was trimming the lavender back with a pair of garden shears. I would grasp a bundle of branches with my gloved left hand and I would trim with my right. You can get up some speed doing this if your shears are sharp. Mine were very sharp. On one swipe I clipped off the end of my leather glove pinkie finger. Fortunately, my actual finger was down a bit in the glove so there was no blood spurting trip to the ER. I did not notice this until I came into the house. It would have been a wake up call and that's no mistake and by the way, my wrists hurt too. Excessive clipping and trimming is the culprit.  On the plus side, lavender branches are very aromatic when clipped. At least things smelled good.

I am trying to recover with coconut water and aspirin. The coconut water has loads of potassium. It helps with my hypertension and muscle lubrication. I'm not what you would call buffed, but I do have some musculature left despite my age. I had roasted chicken in a wine sauce with broccoli and new potatoes for supper. Stouffer's makes some wonderful stuff. I know. Processed, microwaved food. Even so I was not going to stand through 45 minutes of meal prep. I am in pain. It had to be done. Dad had the mac and cheese. He loves it.

Speaking of Dad, it was day one of lawn mowing season. He got on it, figured out how to start it and mowed for a couple of hours. I was so proud. I really thought there might be an issue, but I guess he loves it so much, that he made it happen. Thanks Lord for that treat today. He is happy, tired and explaining the latest episode of Swamp People to Oliver the dog right now. He will sleep tonight. This is just what he needed. Maybe some sanity will return for a bit.

It warmed up quite a bit today. I'm hoping for a rainy day, maybe even stormy. I want to go fishing this week and a good low pressure system might help that. I know the water is still cold, but I might be able to stir up some interest with some live bait. I'm thinking large minnows down at the river where Four Mile Creek runs in. I bet them smallies would come out for a minnie. It's like shore lunch for a fish. There might be a walleye available too. We will see. Dad loves walleye. I would so be a hero if I brought home a walleye for supper. We will see what develops. All of this fantasy is of course based on my ability to walk in the morning. Right now I'm a cripple.

I am so sore. Getting old is a bitch. The last time I felt like this I had been running for 12 miles. Where are my endorphins when I need them? I am probably in this condition because I'm not getting any exercise. I need to remedy that I suppose. Right now, I'm feeling like I could sleep. Zzzzzz. G'nite.

           

Funny That

It's odd how just a few words in a public place can change things. Have you ever thought about that? Information is valuable in many ways. One of them is publicity. Yesterday this blog got mentioned in our Easter church service at church and traffic has increased considerably. Thanks Steve. I do appreciate it, but his may come with it's own set of problems. People will hold me responsible for the things I say. I do tend to shoot off my mouth, sometimes without much thought, but that is at least partially what TDGH is for.

Anyway....yesterday I had 102 blog hits; not bad for a holiday and a Sunday to boot (what does that mean? I don't know). Today I am already at 75 hits and moving up. I just wanted to say thanks for stopping by. Leave a comment if you like, even if you want to take me to task for something. I would love to hear from you. I like to think I communicate better in writing than in person. As an introverted personality, I like time to think about what I say. Writing allows me the privilege of editing.

Some of you that have read a few blog posts by now are wondering if I actually think about anything before I say it. In answer, I would say I do. I am flexible though. I do change my mind from time to time. I am not the absolutist that I used to be. Some times I react rather than think. Some times that works. Some times it does not. Whatever the case, I am glad you are here.

Yesterday's sermon was good; "What If Easter Never Happened?". It was dead on correct on so many levels. Indeed, western civilization would not exist were it not for Jesus Christ. Many would argue that Jesus' followers have done more harm than good. I would disagree with that. Christianity may have been upheld as the reason for many bad things, but generally speaking, it was more likely used by men with evil intent to justify their actions. The faith was not to blame for these atrocities. It is the faith that has held things together for so long. Only now in the age of the faithless do things start to fall apart. As People depart from Jesus, Islamic terror rises, families crumble, walls of fear go up and people become islands to themselves, failing to love their neighbors as God intended. And that does not even begin to describe how a life lived apart from God leads to destruction.

Anyway...good job Dave!

Have you ever wondered what is behind the mass emigrations of 3rd worlders to western nations? Being of a conspiratorial nature, my first thought is that western nations have brought this on themselves and maybe with purpose. Interventionist westerners have created havoc in the homelands of these peoples and displaced them, forcing them to look for other places to live. I could go on about that, but I'm not sure it would be productive or solve the problem.

There was one other thing that occurred to me not long ago in this regard, and its got nothing to do with any spiritual insight, though it may have been God that made me think about it.

What if it's God that is sending these people into the west? We did not go to them in the spirit He intended, so now he is sending them to us. Possibly. What could His purpose be?

Maybe He wants Europeans to come to grips with their Christian roots again and rediscover a life of faith. Maybe He wants Americans to share the gospel with these people. Whatever the case, there seems to be a power behind this mass movement of people greater than the manipulations of governments and other power brokers. Westerners are being put to the test. Will we embrace our faith and love our neighbors or will we radically over react to them? Interesting question.

Nationalism is on the rise here and abroad in Europe. What happens next is anyone's guess. Thoughtful compassion is the key. We cannot just hand them the keys, but we can show them how to use their own keys. Culture clash is inevitable. Some things will not change without the interjection of the Faith into the lives of these people. If they have no reason to restrain the savagery of the cultures that they leave, they will continue it here. We must bring them the Peace that Passes All Understanding.

Can we learn to love sinners as much as Jesus did? Even when He was nailed to a Roman cross, he managed to forgive and offer grace. The thought overwhelms my mind. How do we love people that commit crimes against our way of life, our nations, even ourselves? I think we have to remember who we are and where our citizenship lies. We are not Americans or Brits or French or white people or whatever. We are citizens of the Kingdom of God. Our lives were paid for by the blood of our King. How can refuse this honor to others? We have to bring them in do we not? If I'm right, it will change them...Jesus will change them.

If you are one of those hate laden Christian bashers that takes everything they hear in the media about Christianity as fact, then you are not going to understand what I am talking about and you are a bigot in your own right. I would ask you to look beyond your own preconceived, media manipulated opinions and consider how there would be no civilization without without Christian thought. Imagine people living by their own moral codes in complete disregard to others. This is where we will be soon unless we embrace Jesus. Do not let your heart harden to the possibility of an unselfish peace.

To you that call yourselves faithful, I would say love. Jesus did not put conditions on His love for you. Why would you put conditions on yours? You may well have an immigrant next door because God put them there. Instead of buying a gun and a burglar alarm, invite them to church. You are a subject in His Kingdom first. If you are not, then something is wrong with your faith Christian!

I need to go. I'm rambling. Such is the way of old men. See ya in church.