...see ya later, Buddy

I never would have thought that I would get old. The odds that I would live past thirty were far and away against me from the start. Some of the wild things I did early on should have taken me but in the end I outlasted them and, well, here I am.
I just spent four long days with a friend of mine on a road trip to Texas. He is almost 80. His mind is going but he thinks he still has good judgement. Some of the things he says and does are so totally out of the realm of reality I can't even respond to them for fear of hurting my friend's feelings. I wouldn't know what to say anyway. His opinions are all but set in concrete.

I had to stop for a minute yesterday to remind myself that I could be him in a few years, if I actually make it that far.
What we do with our lives is so very important. I never used to think about the consequences of my actions but more and more I consider them.What I do matters. What you do matters.
Everything we say or do matters and we have to be aware of the ones around us and how we react to their actions and opinions. I'm not saying keep silent. Not at all. I'm saying be aware and responsive in a positive way. Give good advice and follow it yourself; don't just give advice for the giving's sake. Too many want to 'give advice' but refuse to live by the opinion as a standard. That's being judgmental and somewhat prejudice.
In  the end I helped my friend. He is like a father figure to me anyway so I have to do what I can, given the opportunity. He looked back as I was driving away and I could see him in the rear view mirror.
"See ya later, Buddy...."

... those are the good times

I had to hold my breath for a second or two when I got to the studio today. I was attempting to get some artwork done on a website but I couldn't bring up the hard drive that has everything on it. I'm talking literally everything about every website, art project, video project and more. The two Terabyte drive has been a stalwart tool for over year now and I hadn't backed it up with another one due to lack of funding for equipment. I will be getting a back up soon.
I unplugged it and put it on another computer and it fired right up. I sighed a huge sigh of relief and went about my way finding out what had happened. For some reason that particular USB port on the back of the new computer doesn't read.... and so .... I got the artwork done and went on to other things.
How often do we get surprises I wonder? How many times do we expect one thing and another thing happens, spoiling our otherwise comfortable lives? Probably too many to keep up with, but my point is we should always be ready for changes and we're not.
The latest electric bill arrives and includes a new raise in rates. The refrigerator stops cooling. The neighbor calls and informs you that your son has just broken a large picture window while playing ball in the street and by the way, a valuable vase was destroyed by the 'home run' as well.
Are we prepared? Not for the most part; usually we just take it on the chin and carry on. Most of us have a second gear when it comes to life's adversities. We settle in at a certain pace and when trouble comes we tighten up and ready ourselves for the blow we know is about to arrive, if it hasn't already. That's when the pace changes. Things begin to happen faster and faster until we are overwhelmed and that's when we react.
But just how do we react? Are we calm and cool and unaffected? Or do we become enraged and sullen and arbitrary? I find my self in the second category on too many occasions, wishing I was in the first category.
But I do have to add that there are times... wonderful times that I allow the adversity to 'bounce off' and I carry on relatively unaffected. Those are the good times.

... we shall see

I pulled out my trusty pocket knife and cut the boxes open. The sound of pasteboard cutting has always sounded good to me for some reason. I suppose its because I am usually opening a new piece of equipment or a tool of some sort.
I pulled the two speakers out and set them onstage, replacing two old ones that have no doubt outlived their time.
After plugging them in, I turned on the sound system and pushed the button that activates my mic. A contented smile engulfed my face as I heard the clear, crisp tone of the words coming through. Knowing how long we have needed these 'tools', I felt a sense of completion as I turned the sound system off and closed the doors.
What a difference proper equipment makes. We have suffered with the old speakers for about two years now and I knew it would make a huge difference in how we hear each other, and in the end, how well we sing.
God has been so good to us. We seem to overcome while others are covered up with problems.
I am so thankful.
I am wondering how everyone will respond to the improvement.... we shall see

... follow his lead

I have waited for awhile now, watching the news, before giving an opinion. Not that my opinions carry any weight or have any significant value, I merely wanted to get as many facts possible before blundering into the mainstream with personal thoughts.
We are in big trouble. From what I have read in the Bible coupled with is on the television screens each day, I really have a great concern for where we are headed as a country. Now don't get me wrong, I really haven't ever cared for soapbox statements for the most part but if we as Christians don't speak out now, where will we end up? What's to become of the people that love God and are called according to his purpose? The beginning of that scripture says, "All things work together for the good..."
The leadership is nil and the honesty factor has all but disappeared from public arenas from top to bottom.
Do we just sit by and not say anything? Can we? I can't. Anyone that knows me understands that I seldom keep my opinions to myself and have no problem addressing issues as they are encountered. It may be a flaw in my character or just having a big mouth, but I really think we need to take action. As to what action, I am certainly open for any and all suggestions.
The climate is such in our capitals that anyone with half a mind can probably get about anything they set their hearts and minds on, except Christians. 

The evil one is working overtime in every area.  His relentless pursuit of good is gaining momentum by the day. Not everyone sees what we see as Christians because we have been given back our sight and senses when we asked God to take over in our lives and make things happen as he originally designed them.
 I realize that there are only a hand full that read this and I also understand how hard it may be to do anything from where you are standing at this point, but anything is better than nothing.
Pray. Read. Listen and then pray again. God can and will direct those of us that care enough to follow his lead.

"nothins' better than an answered prayer"

Today I thought, "duty calls but so does nature", and wondered which one do you answer first? I would probably choose nature if I had to make that choice but one never knows. 'I would also have to add the 'the spur of the moment' often determines my actions; or whatever I feel to be most important at the time.I don't know if it was the food I ate the night before or the odd surroundings but I dreamed some very weird things last night. One of the dreams was about a group of people that lived in a big house or a large compound and everyone was either deranged or dishonest except for a small handful. One guy tried to get me alone in a room with vicious rats hiding in the walls and another was up to no good involving the air conditioning system. I don't know but it could have been the strawberry cobbler.
I don't like it when I dream weird things. and to make matters worse, there are always several 'chapters' during the dream sequence with each one being totally different from the one before and the one after. It's like putting on your overalls backwards; nothing seems to fit.

We had another good day at the Trade Show/ Flea Market. Jack was pretty sunburned from the day before and the crowd was twice the size of yesterday. I sold product at the motel as we sat having breakfast in the lobby. A lady from Mississippi bought $200 worth. She asked for prayer as we were leaving and so I grabbed her hand and prayed right there. She is a Baptist and I don't think she was quite ready to 'let it all hang out' right there in the lobby but I did anyway. I believe that you need to pray right when the person asks for prayer; otherwise it could go undone and then where would they be? No prayer... no results, that's the way I look at it.
I'm glad the wind was easier on us today as well. I think we had some 40 or 50 MPH gusts yesterday. It took down several booths near us and we all pitched in to help them get back up and going.
I'll be happy to be home tomorrow night. I so miss my sweet woman. I know, I'm spoiled. Enough said.
One good thing has come from the trip thus far. I have gained new perspective regarding the Word. I know that I don't read near enough scripture. I have been seeking out Proverbs and doing the daily reading as I return to the room for rest. It has done so much good; even setting in motion a new desire to look up things that come to mind in relation to circumstance. I used to do that all the time and  don't know why I ever stopped. Silly me. Hit me with a hammer.
I recall a line from one of our songs; "nothins' better than a answered prayer."

...had I not reported it?

I pulled into the parking lot at Jack's office about 8 am; right on time. He was fumbling with a bag, trying to get it into place with several other bags and boxes he had lined up by the front door awaiting my arrival.
"Good morning", I quipped as I exited the car and stepped inside.
"I think we ought to put this in the back first and then this ...and then this...", was his reply. Never one to waste words, unless it was while making a sale, Jack was deep in thought struggling to keep everything organized. I noticed a tiredness in his manner and took note of it wondering how much rest he had been able to garner during the previous days.
"I guess that about does it", I said as I closed the back door to the Suburban.
"I know I'm forgetting something but we need to get on the road. I'll just have to buy whatever I don't have when we get there." He seemed resigned to the fact that he hadn't had enough time to plan the trip like he had done so many times before.
"We'll do fine", I answered, hoping to lighten the load a bit.
What is it about travel that brings on stress? Getting out of the comfort zone is probably a big part of it.

I was awakened by Jack's announcement that I only had fifteen more minutes before I had to get up. That would make it 5:45 am. We had agreed to get up at 6am the night before but since Jack had been awake since 4am I guess he couldn't help himself. There's only so much self restraint.
Our trip to Texas had been planned for almost a month. Jack had asked me to help him work a big Flea Market in Canton, Texas and I jumped on the chance to get out of the park for a few days. I relished the idea of getting a break from the boredom of trailer maintenance. The positives far out weighed the negatives as far as I was concerned and so I volunteered to be on hand for the four day event. I wanted to be around Jack anyway. He is always a good source of information even if most of it is historical. I more or less look on him as a second father so the trip gave me a chance to enjoy his company for awhile before having to return to the tediums of mobile home management.

Just now we are back in our room at the motel waiting for the rain to subside, if it does. The forecast was for a slight chance of rain yesterday but the "slight" changed to probable this morning and now we are listening to the rain on the rooftop and watching the local weather channel.

I know all of this is so very exciting to whoever may be reading this, but I couldn't pass up the chance to chronicle an adventure of this magnitude. Think of what you would have missed had I not reported it?

"...and get out of the way"

I arrived at the studio with one goal in mind. I wanted to complete a 'render' of a video that I did for a friend featuring his new dragster. A render is like making a cake. All the parts are assembled and 'baked' or 'rendered' until done; that's an explanation that I hope will help, in simple terms for those of you that do not do 'video editing'.
I had been unsuccessful in two attempts the day before but I was determined to get it accomplished if it took me all day.
Thus far it has. I stopped briefly to eat breakfast with Di and went right back to work trying to figure this 'little puppy ' out.
I will have to have it working properly if I'm going to get any videos out in the future.

There are always adjustments to be made when you change equipment or software and this is one of those learning curve things I hate so much, but I endure it to get things right. The whole idea of creating something that entertains is intriguing to me to say the least. I endure these little 'traumas' to get to the finish line and jump up and down like Rocky at the top of the steps in Philadelphia.Enough on that for now.

I recently experienced a crazy event with a client/ friend that had a problem with the CDs I made for his ministry.
He was trying to play them on an I mac computer and came up with a startling discovery he thought was my fault. For whatever reason, when iTunes comes up it offers a lot of choices after you put a CD in to play it. Instead of just playing the disc it displays a lot of different artists' and various other material. My friend misread the page and thought that his disc had someone else's material on it. Some of the material; was not for ministry; at all.
I got an enraged email and was devastated. He had always been so nice.
In the end he figured out what he had done and called me straight away to apologize. Thankfully I had already given it to the Lord to it work out and sure enough, he had and it all came out in my favor.
Not only did I not have to replace a bunch of CDs, (Thank you Jesus!), I was given favor in the man's eyes for the way I handled the situation; not getting mad or mouthy in my reply, just humble and open and transparent like a good little man. I was elated at the outcome and look back on it smiling, remembering my thoughts at the time and my subsequent actions. Not bad for an old fat boy from Texas!
Isn't it funny how things seem to work out when you don't get mad or upset or afraid? I have a tendency to do all three when bad things come my way but I'm so glad I didn't this time. I actually trusted God to do what he said he would do all along. That's a kinda miracle in and of itself, ya know. Me trusting.
And so, here I sit , watching this monitor while this video renders.
I don't know what will happen this time, but I'm putting into practice the same principles I used the other day  I'm going to trust God to fix it ...and get out of the way.