MAX YOUNGBLOOD STARTED THIS BLOG JULY 4, 2005,IN HONOR OF HIS PARENTS, SAM AND BESSIE YOUNGBLOOD. (SAMUEL NEWTON YOUNGBLOOD AND BESSIE PAULINE TOUCHSTONE YOUNGBLOOD).
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
SAMMY YOUNGBLOOD
Just talked to Joyce Rushing Youngblood. Sam is home for now; the boys are with them. Going to Winfield tomorrow am for PET scan, meet with surgeon on Thursday. Sam is on antibiotics for now. Radiation and chemo starts right away. Surgery will be in about a month. I talked to Sam briefly; he is very week, still in some pain, and has no appetite. Winfield Hospital has a complete cancer diagnostic and treatment center. Continue to lift them up in prayer.
Monday, August 01, 2011
CANCER
Sammy is my younger brother; he was diagnosed today with colon cancer. He faces surgery and chemo. Pray for his wife Joyce and their family.
I am the oldest of five. My mother and father, younger brother an younger sister died with cancer; my two remaining siblings now have cancer. Cancer is a dreaded word isn't it.
I am the oldest of five. My mother and father, younger brother an younger sister died with cancer; my two remaining siblings now have cancer. Cancer is a dreaded word isn't it.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
9 Lessons From God Concerning Sickness
1. Sickness is meant to make us think—to remind us that we have a soul as well as a body—an immortal soul—a soul that will live forever in happiness or in misery—and that if this soul is not saved we had better never have been born.
2. Sickness is meant to teach us that there is a world beyond the grave—and that the world we now live in is only a training-place for another dwelling, where there will be no decay, no sorrow, no tears, no misery, and no sin.
3. Sickness is meant to make us look at our past lives honestly, fairly, and conscientiously. Am I ready for my great change if I should not get better? Do I repent truly of my sins? Are my sins forgiven and washed away in Christ’s blood? Am I prepared to meet God?
4. Sickness is meant to make us see the emptiness of the world and its utter inability to satisfy the highest and deepest needs of the soul.
5. Sickness is meant to send us to our Bibles. That blessed Book, in the days of health, is too often left on the shelf, becomes the safest place in which to put a bank-note, and is never opened from January to December. But sickness often brings it down from the shelf and throws new light on its pages.
6. Sickness is meant to make us pray. Too many, I fear, never pray at all, or they only rattle over a few hurried words morning and evening without thinking what they do. But prayer often becomes a reality when the valley of the shadow of death is in sight.
7. Sickness is meant to make us repent and break off our sins. If we will not hear the voice of mercies, God sometimes makes us “hear the rod.”
8. Sickness is meant to draw us to Christ. Naturally we do not see the full value of that blessed Savior. We secretly imagine that our prayers, good deeds, and sacrament-receiving will save our souls. But when flesh begins to fail, the absolute necessity of a Redeemer, a Mediator, and an Advocate with the Father, stands out before men’s eyes like fire, and makes them understand those words, “Simply to Your cross I cling,” as they never did before. Sickness has done this for many—they have found Christ in the sick room.
9. Last, but not least, sickness is meant to make us feeling and sympathizing towards others. By nature we are all far below our blessed Master’s example, who had not only a hand to help all, but a heart to feel for all. None, I suspect, are so unable to sympathize as those who have never had trouble themselves—and none are so able to feel as those who have drunk most deeply the cup of pain and sorrow.
~ J.C. Ryle
Tract: Christ in the Sick Room
2. Sickness is meant to teach us that there is a world beyond the grave—and that the world we now live in is only a training-place for another dwelling, where there will be no decay, no sorrow, no tears, no misery, and no sin.
3. Sickness is meant to make us look at our past lives honestly, fairly, and conscientiously. Am I ready for my great change if I should not get better? Do I repent truly of my sins? Are my sins forgiven and washed away in Christ’s blood? Am I prepared to meet God?
4. Sickness is meant to make us see the emptiness of the world and its utter inability to satisfy the highest and deepest needs of the soul.
5. Sickness is meant to send us to our Bibles. That blessed Book, in the days of health, is too often left on the shelf, becomes the safest place in which to put a bank-note, and is never opened from January to December. But sickness often brings it down from the shelf and throws new light on its pages.
6. Sickness is meant to make us pray. Too many, I fear, never pray at all, or they only rattle over a few hurried words morning and evening without thinking what they do. But prayer often becomes a reality when the valley of the shadow of death is in sight.
7. Sickness is meant to make us repent and break off our sins. If we will not hear the voice of mercies, God sometimes makes us “hear the rod.”
8. Sickness is meant to draw us to Christ. Naturally we do not see the full value of that blessed Savior. We secretly imagine that our prayers, good deeds, and sacrament-receiving will save our souls. But when flesh begins to fail, the absolute necessity of a Redeemer, a Mediator, and an Advocate with the Father, stands out before men’s eyes like fire, and makes them understand those words, “Simply to Your cross I cling,” as they never did before. Sickness has done this for many—they have found Christ in the sick room.
9. Last, but not least, sickness is meant to make us feeling and sympathizing towards others. By nature we are all far below our blessed Master’s example, who had not only a hand to help all, but a heart to feel for all. None, I suspect, are so unable to sympathize as those who have never had trouble themselves—and none are so able to feel as those who have drunk most deeply the cup of pain and sorrow.
~ J.C. Ryle
Tract: Christ in the Sick Room
Monday, July 11, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Thursday, June 02, 2011
Parenting Police Language
Parenting Police Language
Written by Stephen Altrogge
Parents and police have a lot in common. Both have to contend with individuals who do strange and random things. Both see the value in donuts (I’m sure the donut thing is a police stereotype, but work with me). Both are skilled in the art of negotiating.
But the police have one distinct advantage over parents: lots of code words. When something big “goes down” (that’s police lingo for “happens”), a police man can grab his radio and scream something like, “We’ve got a 115 in progress. We need back up immediately!” The police can communicate a lot of important information to each other through a simple number system.
As far as I know, unless someone has really been holding out on me, we parents don’t have any sort of universal code language for communicating with each other. The other night, Jen was giving our girls a bath when I suddenly heard her saying, “Oh no! Charis, stand up, quick!” Then lots of screaming and laughing. Now, because of past experience, I knew right away what had happened: Ella, our adorable one year old, had pooped in the tub. I quickly ran in to the bathroom and was able to lend my assistance.
But what if this had been my first encounter with poop in the tub? I wouldn’t have known what what was happening, and I wouldn’t have known what to do, and I might have frozen with terror and panic. Things could have gotten real bad. Real fast. That’s why I’m proposing that we, as parents, create a universal number system to be used in parenting.
For example, a 503 would be code for “Turd in the tub, send backup.” A 115 would be code for, “Empty juice cup, potentially volatile child”. A 111 would be code for, “Domestic disturbance, stuffed monkey involved”. A 914 would be code for, “Child armed with permanent marker, proceed with caution”.
Do you see how useful this would be? This simple number system could literally revolutionize parenting!
So what do you think? Am I on to something?
Written by Stephen Altrogge
Parents and police have a lot in common. Both have to contend with individuals who do strange and random things. Both see the value in donuts (I’m sure the donut thing is a police stereotype, but work with me). Both are skilled in the art of negotiating.
But the police have one distinct advantage over parents: lots of code words. When something big “goes down” (that’s police lingo for “happens”), a police man can grab his radio and scream something like, “We’ve got a 115 in progress. We need back up immediately!” The police can communicate a lot of important information to each other through a simple number system.
As far as I know, unless someone has really been holding out on me, we parents don’t have any sort of universal code language for communicating with each other. The other night, Jen was giving our girls a bath when I suddenly heard her saying, “Oh no! Charis, stand up, quick!” Then lots of screaming and laughing. Now, because of past experience, I knew right away what had happened: Ella, our adorable one year old, had pooped in the tub. I quickly ran in to the bathroom and was able to lend my assistance.
But what if this had been my first encounter with poop in the tub? I wouldn’t have known what what was happening, and I wouldn’t have known what to do, and I might have frozen with terror and panic. Things could have gotten real bad. Real fast. That’s why I’m proposing that we, as parents, create a universal number system to be used in parenting.
For example, a 503 would be code for “Turd in the tub, send backup.” A 115 would be code for, “Empty juice cup, potentially volatile child”. A 111 would be code for, “Domestic disturbance, stuffed monkey involved”. A 914 would be code for, “Child armed with permanent marker, proceed with caution”.
Do you see how useful this would be? This simple number system could literally revolutionize parenting!
So what do you think? Am I on to something?
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
SAVANNAH GA
This time tomorrow we will be on our way to Savannah. We are traveling with a group of 48 senior adults from Grace Life Baptist.
We look forward to this trip.
We look forward to this trip.
Alzheimers
MAY 26, 2011
Alzheimer's and Gospel Transformation
A few weeks ago, I met Karyn Heath at a conference. As she spoke to me about her job caring for people with Alzheimer's, I immediately asked her to write a guest post for my blog. This is necessary reading for all those who fear the future and those who are dealing with this disease right now. --Carolyn
-----------------------------
Recently, I left two years of teaching in China to return to my home and job in the U.S. For me, introductions have become routine. After a few months in China, I could predict which questions would be asked when I met someone and what responses my answers would provoke. Now, as I transition back into my home church and hometown, I am finding that the questions and answers are equally predictable. While “Where do you work?” may seem to be a standard question, people’s responses to my answer are usually revealing.
I currently work in the activities department of an Alzheimer’s special care unit. This translates into the fact that I spend eight hours per day in a room with 20-30 people who are experiencing moderate to severe dementia from Alzheimer’s disease or another cause. Revealing this usually opens up interesting avenues of conversation. One sentiment that I hear often from people who talk to me about my job is this one: “I’d rather be dead than go through that.” People have a variety of ways of expressing this feeling, and most often I just nod and say something like, “It is a difficult situation for people and their families.” There are very few ways to accurately communicate anything about Alzheimer’s without becoming too intense for a “Hi! I just met you” conversation.
However, when I am speaking with someone who professes to have been transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I often cannot contain my passion when I hear him or her make a comment of this sort. Until recently, this passion would have come across with a strong flavor of righteous indignation, but now wise admonition, further study of God’s Word, and personal experience have tempered the expression of my views. To look ahead, even in one’s imagination, and see something as difficult as Alzheimer’s disease looming over one’s last days is naturally heart-wrenching and daunting. As Matthew Henry commented regarding Jesus’ prophecies in John 21 about Peter’s own difficult death, “He that puts on the Christian does not put off the man. Christ himself prayed against the bitter cup. A natural aversion to pain and death is well reconcilable with a holy submission to the will of God in both.”
That very concept of “holy submission” in the face of certain humiliating and ugly death is that with which my heart longs to challenge the body of Christ.
As Christians, we should recognize and revel in the sovereignty of God in every aspect of our lives. Our goal should be to bring glory to God, and, as we face trials and difficulties in this life, we spend much time in learning how to do that. In our growing, we learn to submit to God in all the twists and turns of life’s pathways. This is a common theme of our times of fellowship around the Word, of our songs, of our books. If we face death in an early or unnatural setting such as persecution or disease, we exhort one another to glory in the affliction as it brings us closer to God and brings to pass His purposes in the world. His joy and strength shine through our most trying moments with a light that is so much brighter than anything we could possibly manufacture with our own willpower or resources. The whole of life seems a classroom in which we learn these lessons.
I believe that we fail to see the fullest scope of God’s plan when we do not actively encourage one another to think rightly about God’s sovereignty over the last days of our lives. Perhaps, I exaggerate, but it seems that we envision that each godly Christian is entitled the perfect death scenario. We want be in our right minds, surrounded by loving family and friends in graceful dignity or otherwise slip away to heaven gently in our sleep. An extended illness we might face with fortitude, but certainly not one that might steal away our memories or personalities on its way. Yet in the very loss of self that terrifies us when facing Alzheimer’s or similar diseases is there not an unparalleled opportunity for seeing the transforming power of the Gospel?
In the years that I’ve worked in Alzheimer’s care, I’ve never actually heard someone say, “This may not be my choice, but it is God’s choice for me. I relinquish control of even my mind to Him. I can trust Him with even this.” I have, though, watched a tiny handful of people live this out. The beauty of their lives truly demonstrated the fact that God is magnified through weakness. They reached people that no one else will ever reach. In the process of Alzheimer’s disease and other illnesses that cause dementia, there is a point beyond which a decision like this can no longer be made. Whatever is inside will just begin to spill out, embarrassingly and uncontrollably. So, it is the thought processes or, rather, the heart processes that a person goes through before hand that have potential to shape their experience. Sometimes the emotion that pours out of a person in the throes of such a disease is fear or bitterness or anger long forgotten but now providentially dredged to the surface. In such a worst-case scenario, the witness of the Spirit of God’s work in that life is preserved in the memories of family members and friends who rehearse the Truth that ultimately sustains. More often in my experience, grace still shines through in small joys and courageous humor, in peace that transcends turmoil, in love that gushes out around the jagged edges of the mind.
I am reminded of a dear friend who recently died after struggling with early onset Alzheimer’s for a number of years. When I met him, he was only sixty-five years old. If you didn’t know his diagnosis, you’d have never guessed. His confusion and cognitive issues were slight and only his recent memory was unstable. Without a trace of bitterness, he gave up his dreams of retirement and threw himself wholeheartedly into “volunteering” at an Alzheimer’s day center. While he paid to attend, it truly was volunteering. He helped run programs and activities. He cleaned and cooked and sang. He courageously watched people around him lose their abilities and memories, knowing that this was his own path, also. He loved the other patients and the staff with a joyful passion that was free of bitterness. He comforted families with his humor and endured the breakup of his own marriage with longsuffering grace. By preparing for his future wisely, he was ready when it really was his time to live in the full care program since it had been his life for years. He was unashamed of his tears. Once he told me, “It’s like I’m going down a ladder into a dark hole with no way out. I feel like Job and ask God why.” Yet the darkness that shadowed his last days could not erase the blessing he had been to residents, staff, and families for so long. Examining my heart in the light of this possible painful path for my own family, I pray that we would have transparent dependency on God’s grace if such a situation were His plan for us.
We live on the edge of a time when a large section of our population will be heading into old age together, and the transition will include diseases like Alzheimer’s, financial problems, relocation, grief, and other problems. Our churches are full of people who, now in their fifties and sixties, will be facing these issues along with their families. The communities around us are already filled with needy seniors--physically, emotionally, and spiritually needy. While education and resources and programs are important, the preparation of our hearts before God is primary.
To return to Matthew Henry, “What a change will certainly be made with us if we should live to be old! Those who, when they were young, had strength of body and vigor of mind, and could easily go through business and hardship, and take the pleasures they had a mind to, when they shall be old, will find their strength gone, like Samson, when his hair was cut and he could not shake himself as at other times… It is the great concern of every good man, whatever death he dies, to glorify God in it; for what is our chief end but this, to die to the Lord, at the word of the Lord? When we die patiently, submitting to the will of God—die cheerfully, rejoicing in hope of the glory of God,—and die usefully, witnessing to the truth and goodness of religion and encouraging others, we glorify God in dying: and this is the earnest expectation and hope of all good Christians, as it was Paul’s, that Christ may be magnified in them living and dying.”
By God’s mercy and grace, may we endeavor to uphold our senior brothers and sisters in Christ who aspire to live and die this way!
Posted by Carolyn in Elder Care, Trusting God | Permalink ShareThis
Alzheimer's and Gospel Transformation
A few weeks ago, I met Karyn Heath at a conference. As she spoke to me about her job caring for people with Alzheimer's, I immediately asked her to write a guest post for my blog. This is necessary reading for all those who fear the future and those who are dealing with this disease right now. --Carolyn
-----------------------------
Recently, I left two years of teaching in China to return to my home and job in the U.S. For me, introductions have become routine. After a few months in China, I could predict which questions would be asked when I met someone and what responses my answers would provoke. Now, as I transition back into my home church and hometown, I am finding that the questions and answers are equally predictable. While “Where do you work?” may seem to be a standard question, people’s responses to my answer are usually revealing.
I currently work in the activities department of an Alzheimer’s special care unit. This translates into the fact that I spend eight hours per day in a room with 20-30 people who are experiencing moderate to severe dementia from Alzheimer’s disease or another cause. Revealing this usually opens up interesting avenues of conversation. One sentiment that I hear often from people who talk to me about my job is this one: “I’d rather be dead than go through that.” People have a variety of ways of expressing this feeling, and most often I just nod and say something like, “It is a difficult situation for people and their families.” There are very few ways to accurately communicate anything about Alzheimer’s without becoming too intense for a “Hi! I just met you” conversation.
However, when I am speaking with someone who professes to have been transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I often cannot contain my passion when I hear him or her make a comment of this sort. Until recently, this passion would have come across with a strong flavor of righteous indignation, but now wise admonition, further study of God’s Word, and personal experience have tempered the expression of my views. To look ahead, even in one’s imagination, and see something as difficult as Alzheimer’s disease looming over one’s last days is naturally heart-wrenching and daunting. As Matthew Henry commented regarding Jesus’ prophecies in John 21 about Peter’s own difficult death, “He that puts on the Christian does not put off the man. Christ himself prayed against the bitter cup. A natural aversion to pain and death is well reconcilable with a holy submission to the will of God in both.”
That very concept of “holy submission” in the face of certain humiliating and ugly death is that with which my heart longs to challenge the body of Christ.
As Christians, we should recognize and revel in the sovereignty of God in every aspect of our lives. Our goal should be to bring glory to God, and, as we face trials and difficulties in this life, we spend much time in learning how to do that. In our growing, we learn to submit to God in all the twists and turns of life’s pathways. This is a common theme of our times of fellowship around the Word, of our songs, of our books. If we face death in an early or unnatural setting such as persecution or disease, we exhort one another to glory in the affliction as it brings us closer to God and brings to pass His purposes in the world. His joy and strength shine through our most trying moments with a light that is so much brighter than anything we could possibly manufacture with our own willpower or resources. The whole of life seems a classroom in which we learn these lessons.
I believe that we fail to see the fullest scope of God’s plan when we do not actively encourage one another to think rightly about God’s sovereignty over the last days of our lives. Perhaps, I exaggerate, but it seems that we envision that each godly Christian is entitled the perfect death scenario. We want be in our right minds, surrounded by loving family and friends in graceful dignity or otherwise slip away to heaven gently in our sleep. An extended illness we might face with fortitude, but certainly not one that might steal away our memories or personalities on its way. Yet in the very loss of self that terrifies us when facing Alzheimer’s or similar diseases is there not an unparalleled opportunity for seeing the transforming power of the Gospel?
In the years that I’ve worked in Alzheimer’s care, I’ve never actually heard someone say, “This may not be my choice, but it is God’s choice for me. I relinquish control of even my mind to Him. I can trust Him with even this.” I have, though, watched a tiny handful of people live this out. The beauty of their lives truly demonstrated the fact that God is magnified through weakness. They reached people that no one else will ever reach. In the process of Alzheimer’s disease and other illnesses that cause dementia, there is a point beyond which a decision like this can no longer be made. Whatever is inside will just begin to spill out, embarrassingly and uncontrollably. So, it is the thought processes or, rather, the heart processes that a person goes through before hand that have potential to shape their experience. Sometimes the emotion that pours out of a person in the throes of such a disease is fear or bitterness or anger long forgotten but now providentially dredged to the surface. In such a worst-case scenario, the witness of the Spirit of God’s work in that life is preserved in the memories of family members and friends who rehearse the Truth that ultimately sustains. More often in my experience, grace still shines through in small joys and courageous humor, in peace that transcends turmoil, in love that gushes out around the jagged edges of the mind.
I am reminded of a dear friend who recently died after struggling with early onset Alzheimer’s for a number of years. When I met him, he was only sixty-five years old. If you didn’t know his diagnosis, you’d have never guessed. His confusion and cognitive issues were slight and only his recent memory was unstable. Without a trace of bitterness, he gave up his dreams of retirement and threw himself wholeheartedly into “volunteering” at an Alzheimer’s day center. While he paid to attend, it truly was volunteering. He helped run programs and activities. He cleaned and cooked and sang. He courageously watched people around him lose their abilities and memories, knowing that this was his own path, also. He loved the other patients and the staff with a joyful passion that was free of bitterness. He comforted families with his humor and endured the breakup of his own marriage with longsuffering grace. By preparing for his future wisely, he was ready when it really was his time to live in the full care program since it had been his life for years. He was unashamed of his tears. Once he told me, “It’s like I’m going down a ladder into a dark hole with no way out. I feel like Job and ask God why.” Yet the darkness that shadowed his last days could not erase the blessing he had been to residents, staff, and families for so long. Examining my heart in the light of this possible painful path for my own family, I pray that we would have transparent dependency on God’s grace if such a situation were His plan for us.
We live on the edge of a time when a large section of our population will be heading into old age together, and the transition will include diseases like Alzheimer’s, financial problems, relocation, grief, and other problems. Our churches are full of people who, now in their fifties and sixties, will be facing these issues along with their families. The communities around us are already filled with needy seniors--physically, emotionally, and spiritually needy. While education and resources and programs are important, the preparation of our hearts before God is primary.
To return to Matthew Henry, “What a change will certainly be made with us if we should live to be old! Those who, when they were young, had strength of body and vigor of mind, and could easily go through business and hardship, and take the pleasures they had a mind to, when they shall be old, will find their strength gone, like Samson, when his hair was cut and he could not shake himself as at other times… It is the great concern of every good man, whatever death he dies, to glorify God in it; for what is our chief end but this, to die to the Lord, at the word of the Lord? When we die patiently, submitting to the will of God—die cheerfully, rejoicing in hope of the glory of God,—and die usefully, witnessing to the truth and goodness of religion and encouraging others, we glorify God in dying: and this is the earnest expectation and hope of all good Christians, as it was Paul’s, that Christ may be magnified in them living and dying.”
By God’s mercy and grace, may we endeavor to uphold our senior brothers and sisters in Christ who aspire to live and die this way!
Posted by Carolyn in Elder Care, Trusting God | Permalink ShareThis
Monday, May 16, 2011
SHOPPING TRIP
Clutching their Kohl's shopping bags, Ellen and Kay woefully gazed down at a dead cat in the mall parking lot. Obviously a recently hit..no flies, no smell.. What business could that poor kitty have had here?' murmured Ellen..'
Come on, Ellen, let's just go...'But Ellen had already grabbed her shopping bag and was explaining, 'I'll just put my things in your bag, and then I'll use this tissue.. .'
She dumped her purchases into Kay's bag and then used the tissue paper to cradle and lower the former feline into her own Kohl's bag and cover it. They continued the short trek to the car in silence, stashing their goods in the trunk. But it occurred to both of them that if they left Ellen's burial bag in the trunk, warmed by the Texas sunshine while they ate, Kay's Lumina would soon lose that new-car smell.
They decided to leave the bag on top of the trunk, and they headed over to K & W Cafeteria. They went through the serving line and sat down at a window table. They had a view of Kay's Chevy with the Kohl's bag still on the trunk.
But not for long! As they ate, they noticed a large woman in a red gingham shirt stroll by their car. She looked quickly this way and that, and then took the Kohl's bag without breaking stride. She quickly walked out of their line of vision. Kay and Ellen shot each other a wide-eyed look of amazement.
It all happened so fast that neither of them could think how to respond. 'Can you imagine?' finally sputtered Ellen.. 'The nerve of that woman!' Kay sympathized with Ellen, but inwardly a laugh was building as she thought about the grand surprise awaiting the female thief.
Just when she thought she'd have to giggle into her napkin, she noticed Ellen's eyes freeze in the direction of the serving line. Following her gaze, Kay recognized the large woman in the red gingham shirt with the Kohl's bag hanging from her arm. She was brazenly pushing her tray toward the cashier.
Helplessly they watched the scene unfold: After leaving the register, the woman settled at a table across from theirs, put the bag on an empty chair and began to eat. After a few bites of baked whitefish and green beans, she casually lifted the bag into her lap to survey her treasure.. Looking from side to side, but not far enough to notice her rapt audience three tables over, she pulled out the tissue paper and peered into the bag.
Her eyes widened, and she began to make a sort of gasping noise The noise grew. The bag slid from her lap as she sank to the floor, wheezing and clutching her upper chest. The beverage cart attendant quickly recognized a customer in trouble and sent the busboy to call 911, while she administered the Heimlich maneuver.
A crowd quickly gathered that did not include Ellen and Kay, who remained riveted to their chairs for seven whole minutes until the ambulance arrived. In a matter of minutes, the large woman with the red gingham shirt emerged, still gasping, and securely strapped on a gurney.
Two well-trained EMT volunteers steered her to the waiting ambulance, while a third scooped up her belongings. The last they saw of the distressed cat-burglar was as she disappeared behind the ambulance doors....... ......... the Kohl's Bag perched on her stomach!!
God does take care of those who do bad things!
AND once in a while...He allows us to witness.
SHAKE IT OFF
From the album: Wall Photos
By James H Cook Jr
"JUST SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP ON UP"
Years ago in rural Georgia, there was a farmer who had a mule named Ol’ Clyde. One day Ol’ Clyde fell into a deep dry well and began to cry loudly. Hearing his mule cry, the farmer came over and assessed the situation. The well was deep and knowing that Ol’ Clyde had gained a lot of weight over the years and was heavy, the farmer knew it would be difficult, if not impossible, to lift the animal out.
Because Ol’ Clyde was also old as well as too heavy to lift--and the well was dry--the farmer decided to bury the animal in the well. This way, as folks had to be very practical in those days, the farmer could solve two problems: put the old mule out of his misery and have his well filled at the same time. He called upon his neighbors to help him and they agreed. And off to work they went. Shovel full of dirt after shovel full of dirt began to fall on the mule's back. Ol’ Clyde became hysterical!
Then all of a sudden, an idea came to the brute beast. Each time they would throw a shovel full of dirt on his back he would shake it off and step up. And that’s exactly what he did. Shovel full after shovel full, Ol’ Clyde would shake it off and step up on the new pile of dirt.
At last, exhausted and dirty, but quite alive, the mule stepped up and over the top of the well and walked through the crowd!
How about that for a dumb ol’ mule? But, hey, what a great attitude that would be for you and me. What a great way for us all to approach life. Think about it, the next time you’re in too deep to get out and some folks just keep piling on, “Just shake it off and step on up!”
Because Ol’ Clyde was also old as well as too heavy to lift--and the well was dry--the farmer decided to bury the animal in the well. This way, as folks had to be very practical in those days, the farmer could solve two problems: put the old mule out of his misery and have his well filled at the same time. He called upon his neighbors to help him and they agreed. And off to work they went. Shovel full of dirt after shovel full of dirt began to fall on the mule's back. Ol’ Clyde became hysterical!
Then all of a sudden, an idea came to the brute beast. Each time they would throw a shovel full of dirt on his back he would shake it off and step up. And that’s exactly what he did. Shovel full after shovel full, Ol’ Clyde would shake it off and step up on the new pile of dirt.
At last, exhausted and dirty, but quite alive, the mule stepped up and over the top of the well and walked through the crowd!
How about that for a dumb ol’ mule? But, hey, what a great attitude that would be for you and me. What a great way for us all to approach life. Think about it, the next time you’re in too deep to get out and some folks just keep piling on, “Just shake it off and step on up!”
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
PRIDE
Like a weed upon a dung-heap!
from Ocean of Grace by
(Kevin Philpot, “Wilderness Hunger and Heavenly Manna“)
“I hate pride and arrogance!” Proverbs 8:13
Our hearts are desperately proud.
If there is one sin which God hates more than
another, and more sets Himself against, it is
the sin of pride.
Like a weed upon a dung-heap, pride grows
more profusely in some soils, especially when
well fertilized by . . .
rank,
riches,
praise,
flattery,
our own ignorance,
and the ignorance of others.
We all inherit pride from our fallen ancestor
Adam, who got it from Satan, that “king over
all the children of pride.”
Those, perhaps, who think they possess the
least pride, and view themselves with wonderful
self-admiration as the humblest of mortals, may
have more pride than those who feel and confess
it. It may only be more deeply hidden in the dark
recesses of their carnal mind.
As God then sees all hearts, and knows every
movement of pride, whether we see it or not,
His purpose is to humble us!
When I look back upon my life, and see . . .
all my sins,
all my follies,
all my slips,
all my falls,
my conscience testifies of the many things
I have thought, said, and done, which . . .
grieve my soul,
make me hang my head before God,
put my mouth in the dust, and
confess my sins unto Him.
When I contrast my own exceeding
sinfulness with . . .
God’s greatness,
God’s majesty,
God’s holiness, and
God’s purity . . .
I fall down, humbly and meekly before Him,
I put my mouth in the dust,
I acknowledge I am vile.
“I am nothing but dust and ashes.” (Abraham)
“Behold, I am vile!” (Job)
“Woe to me! I am ruined!” (Isaiah)
“I am a sinful man!” (Peter)
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
TECHNOLOGICALLY BLESSED
Recently blessed with:
IMAC, IPHONE, LED/LCD TV , BLU-RAY PLAYER, GOOGLE CHROME CR48 NOTEBOOK, AND THEN MY FRIEND ROBERT LET ME BORROW HIS WINDOWS LAPTOP SO I CAN ONCE AGAIN RUN MY 'PC STUDY BIBLE
Not boasting: humbled and thankful to the Lord. Praying that He will be Glorified.
PUNS
Puns for Educated Minds
The fattest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference.
1.
He acquired his size from too much pi.
2.
I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian .
3.
She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.
4.
A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class, because it was a weapon of math disruption.
5.
No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.
6.
A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.
7.
A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.
8.
Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.
9.
A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.
10.
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
11.
Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
12.
Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other: 'You stay here; I'll go on a head.'
13.
I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.
14.
A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: 'Keep off the Grass.'
15.
The midget fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.
16.
The soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.
17.
A backward poet writes inverse.
18.
In a democracy it's your vote that counts. In feudalism it's your count
that votes.
19.
When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.
20.
If you jumped off the bridge in Paris , you'd be in Seine .
21.
A vulture boards an airplane, carrying two dead raccoons. The stewardess looks at him and says, 'I'm sorry, sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger.'
22.
Two fish swim into a concrete wall. One turns to the other and says 'Dam!'
23.
Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.
24.
Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says, 'I've lost my electron.' The other says 'Are you sure?' The first replies, 'Yes, I'm positive.'
25.
Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during a root canal? His goal: transcend dental medication.
26.
There was the person who sent ten puns to friends, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh.
No pun in ten did.
Feb 15, 2011
Ir is 5:20 AM. Watching Rick & Bubba streaming radio show on my new Chrome CR48 Notebook (free from Google....part of a Pilot program).
Studying this week's SS Lesson (2 Kings 18-19); "Got to Have Hope". King Hezekiah demonstrates faith in difficult times. The truth of this lesson is that we can have Hope if we rely on God's power always.
Praying for needs on my prayer list and rejoicing in His goodness.
Bible study here at 10am with Robert and Jerry.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Lunch
Had a great lunch today at the Bright Star, celebrating Dave Snyder's birthday.
There were eight present from our Sunday School Class: Dave & Diane Snyder, Buddy & Pat Whitfield, Jimmy and Gayle Tucker, Max & Carolyn Youngblood.
We all sang "Just a Bowl of Butterbeans"; yeah, out loud at the Bright Star.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
Getting Old
I've had two bypass surgeries, a hip replacement,
new knees, fought prostate cancer and diabetes.
I'm half blind,
can't hear anything quieter than a jet engine,
take 40 different medications that
make me dizzy, winded, and subject to blackouts.
Have bouts with dementia.
Have poor circulation;
hardly feel my hands and feet anymore.
Can't remember if I'm 85 or 92.
Have lost all my friends. But, thank God,
I still have my driver's license.
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Tuesday, February 08, 2011
ANCESTORS
This is a link to a genealogy work done by by daughter Virginia:
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/b/r/o/Virginia-Y-Browning/index.html
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/b/r/o/Virginia-Y-Browning/index.html
Sunday, February 06, 2011
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