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NOT READY!

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     Yesterday was a tough day for me. It was probably hard for my wife also, but I want to talk about my perspective and specifically what happened in my day. How my day went highlighted a problem that is at the core of what it means to be exceptional in our walk with God or just average.       The background is that I have traveled extensively for many years (well over a decade). It was not uncommon to be gone from home for 3 months at a time. On a few occasions I was gone for 6 to 8 months without a return trip home. Most people can’t imagine a life like this. For me it was unimaginable also and I made efforts to get out of it. It seemed like there was no way out. I applied for jobs regularly and would get no response.         One time my youngest son and I applied for the same job. The job required years of experience in my specialty. I hit every tick mark right down the line. My son, by comparison, had been trained by me but had only 6 months of experience. What hap
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God's grace when we flip out

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I have been stuck up here working on a major boiler replacement for a nuclear power plant on the coast of Lake Huron.  The work is long and the time is boring.  As the job continues to stack up delays, I have stopped counting the days until I can get out of here. The churches here have very limited attendance so I go to my home church online. www.eastsidepres.com   It both makes me feel more and less isolated.  I see familiar people which helps me, but I have no real contact with any of them and that makes me feel alone. The time I do spend with church has become critical to me.  Worship, I have found, is almost as critical to a whole human existence as breathing is.  We were spiritually designed for group worship.  It is part of what we will do for eternity. This leads to a week that could have either been a disaster or something entirely different.   The word in worship this particular week was about Lot and really reminded me of several things.  First  about self-gratification and h
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                         Holding Every Thought Captive I have been involved with a group of Christian men in a small group for about a year now. We meet online via Zoom once a week. The reason I got involved is that as a traveler I really could not build good relationships with other Christian men and any of you that really know me know that walking the straight an narrow for me is like a drunk staggering down a path. Sometimes I am falling in the bushes, other times I might be on the path but it quickly turns into a dance gau ntlet like we see a weddings. Sometimes I stumble and skin my nose on the pavement. At others I get totally lost for a while and angrily thrash through the bushes cussing and fuming until I stop and actually look for the signs finding that if I had just looked and listened the path is clearly marked. It has signs, flashing lights, and beepers so that I could find the path again. The entire time I am still moving in the same direction except when I fall i
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Repost for posterity:The Undeniable Facts About the Safety of Diet Coke

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The Undeniable Facts About the Safety of Diet Coke by Julie R. Neidlinger, Lone Prairie   I sat down at the table with friends, enjoying our get-together at the diner.  The waitress took my order for a Diet Coke. She left. A friend spoke up. “They say that Diet Coke increases your chance of getting diabetes  by a factor of seven.” “I heard people were getting seizures from the aspartame in it.” “Today the news said a lady died after drinking 10 liters of Coke.” “That’s nice. Enjoy your glass of city water filled with chemicals like fluoride,” I replied. Are you kidding me? Not much for alcohol. Never smoked. Don’t do drugs, and barely take aspirin. I exercise at the gym three times a week. I walk to work briskly every day, which comes to around 3/4 of a mile daily. When I get home, I try to avoid sitting and work at a standing desk. I go for walks when weather allows. I don’t eat much red meat at all, mainly poultry if any. I drink plenty of water, and often it is in the form
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The Nature In And Of Marriage

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Melanie and I are at the beach to celebrate our 30th anniversary together. I have been sitting here watching her sleep and remembering the young woman I married and the dream we had to grow old together. We are closer than ever to achieving that dream. Success in marriage is something that comes on you without you even realizing it. We have had our stormy times to be sure, but as time has passed and perhaps without consciously realizing it we have learned our way. We have grown together in the same way as this tree pictured above. The terms you, I, or us have actually become convoluted as there is only one tree and not two. Two root systems (our parent's families) but now only one tree. There is no way to separate the one tree back into two without causing immense damage and making something that has grown to be a beautiful curiosity into something hacked up and damaged. In the end, if your marriage is to be truly successful her family roots are your family roots and your
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Location: 499P+97 Melbourne, FL, USA
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Patience

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My boss has frequently told me I have the thickest skin of any guy he has ever worked with.   I do not have a thick skin.   Insults hurt me as much as the next guy.  I have patience.  Even then I still flip out on a regular basis.  I do not have the patience to wait. I feel bad because sometimes the only place I show my impatience is with the people I love the most.   It is a bit crazy that we are at our worst when we are the most secure.  Those people that really know us will understand and forgive us so all hell can break loose, right?  Not right. This Christmas I will spend on the road, away from those that I care about the most.  It will be a day of patience as I deal every day with men who are not where they want to be. They want to be home with their families, with friends and familiar surroundings.  These are men who exhibit on a moment by moment basis a lack of patience, but because of their need find themselves right where I am. Working on the road for whatever reason te
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My Reasons for Liking Living in the Southern United States.

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The List of Why I like the South and Southerners . I wrote this a year or two ago and dedicated it to Pam Price.   I had said a few things that got her a little riled at me and then realized the error of my ways.  I don't even recall what I said.  It may have had something to do with the South, but maybe not.  I really can't remember.  However, I did just come across the list and if a list still rings true to me after several years it has to be a pretty good list so I thought I would share it here. Dedicated to Pam Price......"Things I love about the South and Southerners". 1. Casual politeness is not dead. 2. People still teach their kids the terms of respect for adults, "yes Sir, No Maam" 3. Conservative Culture 4. Its not dominated by environment worshipers. 5. Grits, pulled pork bbq, sweet tea, hush puppies, boiled peanuts, fried chicken, fried Catfish, fried okra, pecan pie, fried green tomato's, pimento cheese. 6. Hot Hot summers, wa
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