1/17/2019
Happy birthday to my wonderful wife, Barbara! She, once again, has caught up with me in years old. We’re both 46, (what do you mean, “are you kidding?!)
After the short, late day, rant-of-a-blog note yesterday, I thought I should start this one with the great old gospel SIMH of the day: “Just a Closer Walk With Thee”—“I am weak but thou art strong, Jesus keep me from all wrong, I’ll be satisfied as long, as I walk, let me walk, close to Thee.” “Just a closer walk with Thee, grant it Jesus is my plea, daily walking close to Thee, Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.’
“Through this world of toil and snares, if I falter Lord who cares, who with me my burdensshares, none but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.”
Isn’t that great? Isn’t that settling? doesn’t that make the ills of this world seem easier through which to live? Does for me, does for me. Let it be.
Yesterday was actually a very nice day. Some really good ol’ friends stopped by and we had a wonderful visit and fellowship in the grace of God. So glad we had the opportunity to do so. When friendships go back 20,30,40 years our time spent together becomes more precious. Heck, we didn’t even argue!! Actually with these particular friends I don’t remember ever having an argument. Doesn’t sound like my nature, does it. Anyway, it was a good afternoon. Thank God for good friends.
The events of our capital city get more ridiculous by the day. Sometimes when I get home in the afternoon I want to know something about where we stand on this, that, or another thing. Generally, this means I have to listen (wade) through a host of other prittle-prattle news junk till they get to the story I want to know about. Sometimes, I’m struck by the worthlessness of what is being reported on and it serves as a reminder of something I learned in the late ‘70s: My boss decided to run for Congress, so he incorporated me into the campaign and he and I visited Washington, DC. We visited several offices of Congressmen and Senators, finding out more things than we could have imagined were possible. (Like the guy my boss wanted to replace, who had been in Congress 22 years didn’t vote the previous year but 11 times on a total of 471 votes of Congress???) But, the big thing we were told, was from an old man sitting in one Congressman’s office, a man who had retired from Congress. He said to us, “Boys, remember, it isn’t what you read in the headlines about politics which matters, it is what’s going on not in the headlines! Check on about page 46, somewhere deep below the headlines—that’s what is really going on.”
I’ve never forgotten that, and it usually can’t even be found buried on page 46. If you and I can ever find out what’s truly going on today, it is usually found in some alternative news website or magazine. Never trust a media to be unbiased. Every one of the “outlets” for news is going to fail to tell the “whole truth, nothing but the truth.”
Last week I watched Indiana and Duke (basketball) both get beat. Last night, I watched my 3rd favorite college team (Butler) and was just about to conclude my teams were all going down to defeat, when with about 15 minutes to go, being behind by 11 points, and having looked like a 2nd or 3rd rate bumbling squad, one Butler guy hit 4 straight shots (3-3s and a layup). They just came alive as a team, roaring past DePaul and winning by about 20 points!! Faith in winning basketball restored! Basketball is the greatest team-forming game ever invented! No other team sport does what basketball does: immediate transfer from offense to defense over the whole court and vice versa; has a support process that grants anyone can score at anytime, all they need is the ball. (And, if you watched the Duke game, even from 80 feet away!)
Hope I’m talking to a bunch of basketball fans so this is not prittle-prattle to you. Have a great Barbara’s birthday day.
Thanks for reading, the Elder
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