Thoughts from a BluesMan

Costello Calls To Buy A Computer From Abbott

2008-02-15T19:07:00.002-06:00

Being in computers for a living I found this very funny, but it also gves away my age........this is a take off "Who's on First"

ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?
COSTELLO: Thanks. I'm setting up an office in my den and I'm thinking about buying a computer.
ABBOTT: Mac?
COSTELLO: No, the name's Lou.
ABBOTT: Your computer?
COSTELLO: I don't own a computer. I want to buy one.
ABBOTT: Mac?
COSTELLO: I told you, my name's Lou.
ABBOTT: What about Windows?
COSTELLO: Why? Will it get stuffy in here?
ABBOTT: Do you want a computer with Windows?
COSTELLO: I don't know. What will I see when I look at the windows?
ABBOTT: Wallpaper.
COSTELLO: Never mind the windows. I need a computer and software.
ABBOTT: Software for Windows?
COSTELLO: No. On the computer! I need something I can use to write proposals, track expenses and run my business. What do you have?
ABBOTT: Office.
COSTELLO: Yeah, for my office. Can you recommend anything?
ABBOTT: I just did.
COSTELLO: You just did what?
ABBOTT: Recommend something.
COSTELLO: You recommended something?
ABBOTT: Yes.
COSTELLO: For my office?
ABBOTT: Yes.
COSTELLO: OK, what did you recommend for my office?
ABBOTT: Office.
COSTELLO: Yes, for my office!
ABBOTT: I recommend Office with Windows.
COSTELLO: I already have an office with windows! OK, let's just say I'm sitting at my computer and I want to type a proposal. What do I need?
ABBOTT: Word.
COSTELLO: What word?
ABBOTT: Word in Office.
COSTELLO: The only word in office is office.
ABBOTT: The Word in Office for Windows.
COSTELLO: Which word in office for windows?
ABBOTT: The Word you get when you click the blue "W".
COSTELLO: I'm going to click your blue "w" if you don't start with some straight answers. What about financial bookkeeping? You have anything I can track my money with?
ABBOTT: Money.
COSTELLO: That's right. What do you have?
ABBOTT: Money.
COSTELLO: I need money to track my money?
ABBOTT: It comes bundled with your computer.
COSTELLO: What's bundled with my computer?
ABBOTT: Money.
COSTELLO: Money comes with my computer?
ABBOTT: Yes. No extra charge.
COSTELLO: I get a bundle of money with my computer? How much?
ABBOTT: One copy.
COSTELLO: Isn't it illegal to copy money?
ABBOTT: Microsoft gave us a license to copy Money.
COSTELLO: They can give you a license to copy money?
ABBOTT: Why not? THEY OWN IT!
(A few days later)
ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?
COSTELLO: How do I turn my computer off?
ABBOTT: Click on "START".............

Blessings BluesMan

Cross of Christ - Series of Posts

2007-08-13T19:46:00.000-05:00

Just to let you in on what I will be doing the next few weeks, months or however long it takes me, I will be going through some ideas regarding the cross of Christ.

These are not all original thoughts many are gleaned through authors who have a much deeper mind than me. I will be posting some of these ideas on how the cross of Christ should affect our daily lives.

Stay tuned more to come

Blessings BluesMan

Long Time No Post

2007-07-17T19:55:00.000-05:00

Let me see the last time I posted anything was, lets see, April 15th so that would be about 3 months ago. Well I have to say that it is high time I get back on the band wagon and post some new information.

So as I set to start this back up, I will have to come up with a new theme of my future posts, so let me ponder what that new theme might be. Stay tune for future developments.....

Blessings
BluesMan

My VisualDNA

2007-04-15T19:33:00.000-05:00

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Voyage

2007-01-19T22:44:00.000-06:00

O LORD of the oceans,
My little bark sails on a restless sea,
Grant the Jesus may sit at the helm and steer me safely;
Suffer no adverse currents to divert my heavenward course;
Let not my faith be wrecked amid storms and shoals;
Bring me to harbour with flying pennants,
hull unbreached,
cargo unspoiled.

I ask great things, expect great things, shall receive great things.
I venture on thee wholly, fully, my wind, sunshine, anchor, defence.

The voyage is long, the waves high, the storms pitiless, but my helm is held steady, thy Word secures safe passage, thy grace wafts me onward, my haven is guaranteed.

This day will bring me nearer home,
Grant me holy consistency in every transaction,
my peace flowing as a running tide,
my righteousness as every chasing wave.

Help me to live circumspectly, with skill to convert every care into prayer,
Halo my path with gentleness and love,
smooth every asperity of temper;
let me not forget how easy it is to occasion grief,
may I strive to bind up every wound,
and pour oil on all troubled waters.

May the world this day be happier and better because I live.

Let my mast before me be the Saviour’s cross,
and every oncoming wave the fountain in his side.

Help me, protect me in the moving sea until I reach the shore of unceasing praise.

(Taken from; The Valley of Vision)

Blessings,
BluesMan

33 Degrees - Yeah!

2007-01-17T21:44:00.000-06:00

Well it is 33 degrees, which is the high today, never thought I would appreciate 1 degree above freezing. I have spent the last couple of days stuck in our house which has been encased in ice, and I have had a bad bout of cabin fever. But now it looks as if it will get above 40 tomorrow which means I can get back to work......now that I think about it cabin fever is not so bad.......

Blessings
BluessMan

A Shiver From Boerne

2007-01-16T11:41:00.000-06:00

Not known for our harsh winters, South Texas is having a very unusual cold snap. Normally a cold snap would be in the low 40's but this beats all.....Ma Hoyt you can have your cold weather!

A New Year

2007-01-06T17:53:00.000-06:00

O LORD, Length of days does not profit me except the days are passed in thy presence, in thy service, to thy glory.

Give me a grace that precedes, follows, guides, sustains, sanctifies, aids every hour, that I may not be one moment apart from thee, but may rely on thy spirit to be supplied every thought, speak every word, direct every step, prosper every work, build up every mote of faith, and give me a desire to show forth thy praise; testify thy love, advanced thy kingdom.

I launch my bark on the unknown waters of this year, with thee, O Father, as my harbour, thee, O Son, as my helm, thee, O Holy Spirit filling my sails.

Guide me to heaven with my loins girt, my lamp burning, my ear open to thy calls, my heart full of love, my soul free.

Give me thy grace to sanctify me, thy comfort to cheer, thy wisdom to teach, thy right hand to guide, thy counsel to instruct, thy law to judge, thy presence to stabilize.

May thy fear be my awe, thy triumphs my joy.

(Taken from; The Valley of Vision)

Blessings,
BluesMan

A New Year - A New Start

2007-01-06T13:30:00.000-06:00

As the old year has pasted there is a year new starting,

As I look back at the old year there were times of great sadness and others filled with with great joy. But as this new year started there was a heaviness that encompassed us. No deaths to report but in a true sense there was....it is so hard to think about that I tried not to think of it but it has filled my mind with wonder.

Friends it seems sometimes can be the greatest blessing, and at the same time this wonderful relationship called friendship can cause us the greatest hurts. The heaviness came not from outsiders but insiders. The hurt was not only on my part but it caused great saddness in my family. As I look to the future I cannot see that the standing we once had with some of our friends will ever be the same, and this of all things has caused me to be filled with sadness.

Yet as the new year begins there are things that I look forward to, my daughter whom I dearly love will be graduating this spring and this has filled my heart with joy as well as my pocketbook will be a little better off *smile*, though this maybe short lived......*sigh*. My prayer for this year is this:

"That the Lord will be magnified in it and all the year my be a testimony of His goodness."

Blessings:
BluesMan

Quotes From A Wise Man

2006-12-07T19:50:00.000-06:00

Born February 6, 1911 Died June 5, 2004
40th President of the United States
January 20, 1981 – January 20, 1989

"Here's my strategy on the Cold War: We win, they lose."

"The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant: It's just that they know so much that isn't so."

"Of the four wars in my lifetime none came about because the U.S. was too strong."

"I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandment's would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress."

"The taxpayer: That's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination."

"Government is like a baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other."

"If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under."

"The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a government program."

"I've laid down the law, though, to everyone from now on about anything that happens: no matter what time it is, wake me, even if it's in the middle of a Cabinet meeting."

"It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first."

"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it."

"Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book."

"No arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.”

"In closing, let me thank you, the American people, for giving me the great honor of allowing me to serve as your president. When the Lord calls me home, whenever that day may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future. I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead." - Letter announcing his Alzheimer's diagnosis

Blessings:
BluesMan

WW1 Airplanes

2006-09-17T17:14:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple of my favorite ones:

"In Remembrance"

2006-09-14T17:35:00.000-05:00

"Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels."
- Ann Richards, 45th Governor of Texas
Born: September 1, 1933
Died: September 13, 2006

God and His Law

2006-09-10T18:35:00.000-05:00

My pastor gave this to us this morning:

The Genesis account tells us that God made the world in 6 days and on the 7th day He rested. Then later God gave the 10 commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai and God instructed the people to observe them. Ok, here is the kicker..one of those is:

"You shall work six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during plowing time and harvest you shall rest. - Exodus 34:21

Jesus in John chapter 5 heals a man on the Sabbath and tells the man to pickup his bed and walk. Later in the chapter the Jews accuse Jesus of breaking the Sabbath law by telling the man to pickup his bed and walk. The reasoning of religious leaders on this was that Jesus was telling the man to "work". Work here was the literal action of carrying of his bed.

When Jesus was confronted he accusation; "Jesus therefore answered and was saying to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner." - John 5:19

So in essence Jesus has stated the Father was working this day and he knew the Father was working so he joined Him in that work. So the question is:

"Does God break His own Law?"

Now before you get all up in arms there is a Theological answer, but for now I will let you chew on that one.....

Blessings:
BluesMan

Match the Epitaph

2006-09-05T16:51:00.000-05:00

(a)"The best is yet to come"
(b)"There goes the neighborhood." (come on, you got to get this one right!)
(c)"Do not walk on the grass"
(d)"I had a lover's quarrel with the world"
(e)"Murdered by a traitor and a coward whose name is not worthy to appear here"
(f)"Cast a cold eye On life, on death. Horseman, pass by!"
(g)"She did it the hard way"
(h)"As the flowers are all made sweeter by the sunshine and the dew, so this old world is made brighter by the lives of folks like you."
(i)"Fly Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore" (come on, you got to get this one right!)
(j)"I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter."
(k)"Beren"
(l)"Against you I will fling myself unvanquished and unyielding, O Death!"

Poeple
Winston Churchill
Rodney Dangerfield
Betty Davis
Robert Frost
Edgar Allen Poe
Virginia Woolf
Peter Ustinov
Jesse James
J R R Tolkien
Bonnie Parker
Frank Sinatra
W. B. Yeats

Answers Tomorrow :)
Blessings:
BluesMan
(For the answers see comments)

The Valley Of Vision

2006-09-03T13:06:00.000-05:00

LORD, HIGH and HOLY, MEEK AND LOWLY,
Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,
where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights;
hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox
    that the way down is the way up,
    that to be low is to be high,
    that the broken heart is the healed heart,
    that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
    that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
    that to have nothing is to possess all,
    that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
    that to give is to receive
    that the valley is the place of vision.

LORD, in the daytime stars can be seen from the deepest wells,
    and the deeper the wells the brighter thy stars shine;

Let me find thy light in my darkness,
    thy life in my death,
    thy joy in my sorrow,
    thy grace in my sin,
    thy riches in my poverty,
    thy glory in my valley.

Author unknown: taken from "The Valley of Vision, collection of Puritian Prayers and Devotions.

Blessings:
BluesMan

Finally!

2006-07-27T10:32:00.000-05:00

Well it has happened - I can now say with pride (smile) I am older than dirt! Yes, I am 50 years, 10 hours, and 28 minutes old (29 now). I am now a half a century old and I probably will not see another half so that means I am on the down side (well at least it is down hill!).

But to be honest I feel no different than I did yesterday. I still got out of bed at my usual pace, got my coffee and ate breakfast, so in essence not much has changed. Maybe 50 will not be so bad.

Blessings
BluesMan
Jesus wept. John 11:35

Totally Bummed

2006-07-26T19:45:00.000-05:00

OK, let me first state that I have 4:15 minutes until I turn a half century old, and the thought of that kinda bums me out. I know that 50 is not so bad and I even understand that many have never reached that golden age, but I can not help but ponder what these last 50 years have brought about.

Looking back I see that my life in many ways has been blessed. I understand many would love to be in my shoes.

But 50 ........ now that gives me pause........

The clock is running an my new mantra is:

.... I am still 49 .... I am still 49 .... I am still 49 ....

(for another 4:00 hours)

.... I am still 49 .... I am still 49 .... I am still 49 ....

Blessings
BluesMan
"in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. - 1Thes 5:1818

Natural Law

2006-07-14T21:43:00.000-05:00

When reviewing the subject of natural law I find it very interesting to view others people discussion on points of fact. I am currently reading a book by "J. Budziskewski" called; "What We Can't Not Know" and I am fascinated at what I see as points of fact that he gives.

There are many interesting tidbits in this book, which I call "pearls of wisdom" and they are scattered throughout this book. Let me give you one to think about (now remember he is discussing natural law):

"....everything in creation is a wannabe."

Think about that statement.

Blessings:
BluesMan

P.S.
I do not often recommend books but I would recommend this one. As with any reading keep an open mind.

philosophia

2006-05-11T18:10:00.000-05:00

Philosophy comes from the Greek word 'philosophia' translated literally it means 'love of wisdom' (philo meaning love and sophia wisdom).

What then is “Philosophy?” The question itself is a philosophical question. Asking the question brings into context the nature of philosophy. The continuum of philosophy itself is broad and is distinctive among the disciplines, and embraces itself in its scope. Philosophy may be described as asking the elementary questions on varied subjects like; ethics, morality, religion, self, and the universe.

In looking at Philosophy there is not just one way that these questions are asked. There are many schools of thought. These schools have developed over the years and each has built upon the other. There are no “true” new schools of thought; they all take pieces from the old schools to create a “new” view.

As we walk through the next few months of posting I will look more closely at the different schools of thought and how we as cogent thinking residents of this planet earth look around and ask the questions and how those questions are formed and thought out.

Stay tuned…

Blessings:
BluesMan

Reflection on Easter

2006-04-16T21:37:00.000-05:00

We server a risen Saviour....
You ask me how I know he lives....
He lives within my heart.....

Blessings:
BluesMan

Vacation Planning

2006-04-04T18:43:00.000-05:00

As we near the time for our annual vacation (which we take every four years) my wife (Rhonda the planner) goes an gets information on the cities we are to visit in the time allotted.

Well this year we are going to drive the pacific coast highway. With the advent of the internet her planning is even more detailed. While doing her searches Rhonda has found that there are many places that offer free material they will send to you, all you have to do is ask (and she has..). Today we received information on San Francisco and there was one event listed with this material that made us laugh and I must share it.

In San Francisco there is a new musical being performed, and we, a musical family, started to see what it was about. Here is the title:

"Menopause The Musical"

No kidding, do a google search and read about it. What caught our attention was that they were offering a free gift for those who attended. Of course this bought to our minds all kinds of things, as you well can imagine, but we won't go there.....

As we plan the drive on the west coast there are always things we all can agree to skip, and guess what — you guessed it, "will probably skip the musical .... "Menopause The Musical"

Blessings:
BluesMan

The New Revolutionist

2006-03-04T21:04:00.000-06:00

As I was reading my new book (remember my last post?) I am continually stunned by the wisdom of the author, G. K. Chesterton. In the part I am reading he is talking about the old style of revolutionist (circa French revolution) and comparing them to today's "new" revolutionists. Let me give to you a quote to think about;

"But the new rebel is a skeptic, and will not entirely trust anything. He has no loyalty; therefore he can never be really a revolutionist. And the fact he doubts everything really gets in his way when he wants to denounce anything. For all denunciation implies a moral doctrine of some kind; and the modern revolutionist doubts not only the institution he denounces, but the doctrine by which he denounces it." G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy (chapter 3, The Suicide of Thought).

Think about it, it is true, the post modern revolutionist is a contradiction, ponder this thought...

Blessings:
BluesMan

Doubt Reversed

2006-02-26T17:07:00.000-06:00

I was given a couple of books for Christmas and I am now getting around to reading them. I am unusual in a way, when I am reading and I come upon something that strikes me as insightful I highlight the passage and then note the highlight in the book for reference later. Let me quote to you something I read that caught my attention;

"A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed. Nowadays the part of a man that a man does assert is exactly the part he ought not to assert—himself. The part he doubts is exactly the part he ought not to doubt — The Divine Reason."

—Taken from Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton.

Have we truly reversed the logic of doubt?

Blessings:
BluesMan
"cogito ergo sum"

Reflection on Affliction

2006-02-24T23:47:00.000-06:00

As I was reading today, I read this and for some reason I could not go on till I pondered it's meaning. Now I put it to you, the reader to ponder it's meaning...

Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust,
neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;
yet man is born unto trouble,
as the sparks fly upward.
—Eliphaz the Temanite to Job, 5:6-7

Resemblance

2006-02-11T18:58:00.000-06:00

Rhonda thought this was interesting picture. For me it reminded me of myself, trying to get up off the floor ..... a little help please! Your trunk would be nice.....

Blessings:
BluesMan

It's Cold ... In Boerne

2006-02-11T16:27:00.000-06:00

As I left my house this Saturday morning for my cup of coffee from Boerne's famous Daily Grind, I noticed a very COLD chill in the air. A chill not known to us here in South Texas.

On my way I turned on the radio to listen to my favorite country station and heard with my own two ears that the temperature here was 34 degrees! Panic set in, and my thoughts within my head started to give way to un-rational thinking. Was my cup of Daily Grind coffee worth risking my life for in such terrible weather? Could I make it home to my loving wife, or would I get stranded somewhere on the streets of Boerne and freeze to death?

Finally a calm took hold of me, and a resolution I that I have never known before pushed me forward for the smell of dark roasted coffee which my body was yearning for. When I made it to the Daily Grind there were others there that had also braved this terrible winter storm as well. We all smiled at each other with a knowing of what it took for us to make this trip in such awful weather.

When I finally made it home the temperature had risen to 36 degrees. Though this winter storm has abated some, there is a lesson that I learned today, and that is, my caffeine fix is greater than my need to survive.

For those who think that I am going overboard here, please note that the temperature hear in Boerne will drop well below 30 degrees tonight, but fear not, while I was at the Daily Grind I bought a pound coffee that I can brew at home!

Blessings:
BluesMan

A Transition We All Have to Make

2006-02-07T20:36:00.000-06:00

Then so small .. - :)

17 Years Later, now so grown up .. - :P

Sometimes I miss my "little" girl.....but I love her even more now...

Blessings:
BluesMan

What Was That?

2006-02-01T19:27:00.000-06:00

As I was sitting this afternoon reading a book I heard a strange sound, it was kinda like a soft ka-boom. Later I got up to check on my chicken I was cooking for tomorrow, and I heard it again. This time it was a little louder. As I thought more about it it came to my mind what I was hearing, it was thunder! So I started to listen more carefully. Now I'm starting to also hear the patty-pat of rain drops. It was really starting to sprinkle here, and boy do we need it.

As you may know we are in a drought here in South Texas. This is February and it was 79 degrees here today. This is supposed to winter but the days have been dry and the temperature is averaging about 75 degrees. Man we are in the middle of a long cold snap! I sure wish we would get some cooler weather here, but I need to be careful what I ask for, right?

As I type this the sound I now hear is no longer just the pitty-pat of sprinkles but it is now raining. Thank You, Lord:)
Hope it keeps up for a while........

Blessings:
BluesMan

Holly Bush in Bloom

2006-01-31T18:39:00.000-06:00

Here is a picture I took of our blooming Holly bush. Now if I could just get the hang of this new Photo Shop software .....!

Blessings:
BluesMan

My Major - What it should have been

2006-01-31T15:57:00.000-06:00

Thanks to Ma Hoyt and the link she placed on her blog I have new clarification on the major I should have had. You see, back in the old days, when we walked to our classes, we did so on our knees in respect of our professors (what this has to do with my blog post I have no idea). My major then was Philosophy, with a minor in Religion.

Well, after taking the test I have now come to understand what my major should have been, you guessed it...Drum roll please...

Philosophy

Here are my scores:

Philosophy 100%

Sociology 100%

Anthropology 92%

Mathematics 92%

Journalism 83%

English 75%

Theater 75%

Psychology 67%

Linguistics 67%

Engineering 58%

Biology 42%

Chemistry 42%

Art 33%

Dance 33%

I was not surprised by my scores, other than I do love to dance. But you see, no one wants to dance with me :(

Though, if I think about it, it could be because they would have to put warning signs on the floor about my dancing to protect others....like the road warning signs about curves ahead...

Oh well, I never got to finish my major because I changed it, I decided to Major in Marriage instead and I think I am doing well with that choice as my major. What do you think, Rhonda?

Blessings:
BluesMan

Another One Bytes the Dust

2006-01-30T18:15:00.000-06:00

These past few weeks have been sort of a blur to me. I have not had a chance to read some of my favorite blogs. So today I decided to catch up on my reading. I was shocked to discover that one of my favorite top 10 blogs has bit the dust. As of January 24th (now you see how far behind I was) PyroManiac has become no more.

I have much respect for Phillip and his work. Both in the blogsphere and his ministry in his home church. I know that anything he puts his hands to do he strives for excellence. This was true for his blog as well, and I respect his reasoning for quitting the blogsphere. I counted myself as one who enjoyed his points of view. Though we did not always agree. Sadness has crept in.

Yet there is light, though I have no idea how bright that light will be, Phillip has decided to create a group blog that is taking it's place. If you like to be challenged, sometimes provoked, or even sometimes humored try PyroManiacs. It's not the original but here hoping it keeps the standard he set.

Blessings:
BluesMan

Raging Waters

2006-01-29T14:18:00.000-06:00

Life is sometimes like raging waters. While in the raging water we do not see the beauty that surrounds us. Why is that? It is because we are more focused on the turbulence of the water, but if we would just step back and admire the scenery surround us we then could get a glimpse of God's wonderful creation. The turbulence itself can be a picture of God's sustaining love in that He is in control even when there seems to be no control.

While I took this picture my thoughts were; "My life is like that sometimes, round and round I go and were I may come out, no one knows. But then just as quickly came another thought, there is One who does.

***************************************************

As a second note: Today Rhonda and I had a good time listening to sermons on the Internet. We heard more preaching and teaching today than we have in a long time. If you are ever interested in listening to sermons there are many sites you can go to. Here is one we liked, but I warn you, get ready because the sermons on this site are not your typical 20 minutes...Grace Community Church. Listen to Tim Conway he is a relatively new preacher, and his messages are sometimes very thought provoking.

Blessings:
BluesMan

In Remembrance

2006-01-28T19:01:00.000-06:00

Blessings:
BluesMan

Thy Days Are Done - G. Gordon, Lord Byron

2006-01-26T20:49:00.000-06:00

Thy days are done, thy fame begun;
Thy country's strains record
The triumphs of her chosen Son,
The slaughter of his sword!
The deeds he did, the fields he won,
The freedom he restored!

Though thou art fall'n, while we are free
Thou shalt not taste of death!
The generous blood that flow'd from thee
Disdain'd to sink beneath:
Within our veins its currents be,
Thy spirit on our breath!

Thy name, our charging hosts along,
Shall be the battle-word!
Thy fall, the theme of choral song
From virgin voices pour'd!
To weep would do thy glory wrong:
Thou shalt not be deplored.

Blessings:
BluesMan

Just stop and smell the roses

2006-01-24T14:29:00.000-06:00

A Church on the Olympic Peninsula

2006-01-23T18:43:00.000-06:00

This is a church that is on the Olympic Peninsula. It called out to me to take it's picture, so I did. :P

While in Alberta, Canada we were hiking down through a forest area and took a break by this river. It was so peaceful we stopped and reflected on its beauty.

Blessings:
BluesMan

A Sad Day

2006-01-22T11:25:00.000-06:00

As much as yesterday was a day of rejoicing, today I was reminded of an event that happened on January 22, 1973. This dampened my spirit, such that I had to take time and re-think what this day brought about.

On January 22, 1973 the Supreme Court of the United States of America ruled on a case, Roe Vs Wade that a woman, as part of their constitutional right to privacy, can terminate a pregnancy during its first two trimesters.

Since that historic ruling there has been an epidemic of convenience. What do I mean when I say “convenience”? I mean that the mother and/or father place their lives of convenience before that of the child. That mentality of; "is it convenient or not" has brought about 30+ million abortions.

Now to be fair I will readily agree that some have been to save the mothers life, and some have even been because of rape and/or incest, yet most have been brought about because it was inconvenient to have a child. I was a product of inconvenience but my birth mother allowed me to be adopted and for that I will always be grateful.

Today I mourn those who never had a chance to live out their lives. Matthew 5:4; Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.

Blessings:
BluesMan

Special Day - A Birthday Wish

2006-01-21T14:35:00.000-06:00

Today is a very special day for me. For on this day (January 21) some 19 years ago God brought into this world a person who just by her mere existence is a constant reminder to me that God in His infinite wisdom decided to bless me. The birth of my daughter, Lauren Paige Garner is a constant reminder of the blessings of God and with that it also reminds me that He loves to bless those that are His.

When the psalmist stated that God lets it rain on the just and the unjust rings true to me. For there was nothing I did, or every could do, that would merited such a blessing as my daughter has been to me. God smiled and decided in his infinite wisdom that he would bless my family with her and everyday I give thanks for her. God has blessed me with two of the most precious gifts in my life, Paige is one of the gifts. She has been one of two great joys of my life.

Over the last 19 years when I think back on her life I believe God has shown me through this daughter of mine how much He loves me. Even when I don't deserve it, He still loves me.

With that said, this is not just my daughters birthday but it is a day that I celebrate the goodness of God even when I do not feel His goodness. I need only to look a picture of Paige to know that he is a Good God.

Here is wishing you, Lauren Paige Garner, a special birthday wish. My wish is this, that God will bless you throughout your life. And always remember this one thing, your Papi loves you!

Blessings:
Papi (alias BluesMan)

Lenore - by Edgar Allen Poe

2006-01-20T17:18:00.000-06:00

Ah, broken is the golden bowl! the spirit flown forever!
Let the bell toll! — a saintly soul floats on the Stygian river;
And, Guy de Vere, hast thou no tear?- weep now or nevermore!
See! on yon drear and rigid bier low lies thy love, Lenore!
Come! let the burial rite be read- the funeral song be sung!—
An anthem for the queenliest dead that ever died so young-
A dirge for her the doubly dead in that she died so young.

"Wretches! ye loved her for her wealth and hated her for her pride,
And when she fell in feeble health, ye blessed her — that she died!
How shall the ritual, then, be read? — the requiem how be sung
By you — by yours, the evil eye, — by yours, the slanderous tongue
That did to death the innocence that died, and died so young?"

Peccavimus; but rave not thus! and let a Sabbath song
Go up to God so solemnly the dead may feel no wrong.
The sweet Lenore hath "gone before," with Hope, that flew beside,
Leaving thee wild for the dear child that should have been thy bride.
For her, the fair and debonair, that now so lowly lies,
The life upon her yellow hair but not within her eyes
The life still there, upon her hair — the death upon her eyes.

"Avaunt! avaunt! from fiends below, the indignant ghost is riven—
From Hell unto a high estate far up within the Heaven—
From grief and groan, to a golden throne, beside the King of Heaven!
Let no bell toll, then,- lest her soul, amid its hallowed mirth,
Should catch the note as it doth float up from the damned Earth!
And I! — to-night my heart is light! — no dirge will I upraise,
But waft the angel on her flight with a Paean of old days!"

Blessings:
BluesMan

The Haunted Palace - by Edgar Allen Poe

2006-01-19T18:31:00.000-06:00

In the greenest of our valleys
By good angels tenanted,
Once a fair and stately palace—
Radiant palace—reared its head.
In the monarch Thought's dominion—
It stood there!
Never seraph spread a pinion
Over fabric half so fair!

Banners yellow, glorious, golden,
On its roof did float and flow,
(This—all this—was in the olden Time long ago,)
And every gentle air that dallied,
In that sweet day,
Along the ramparts plumed and pallid,
A wingèd odor went away.

Wanderers in that happy valley,
Through two luminous windows, saw
Spirits moving musically,
To a lute's well-tunèd law,
Round about a throne where, sitting (Porphyrogene!)
In state his glory well befitting,
The ruler of the realm was seen.

And all with pearl and ruby glowing
Was the fair palace-door,
Through which came flowing, flowing, flowing,
And sparkling evermore,
A troop of Echoes, whose sweet duty
Was but to sing,
In voices of surpassing beauty,
The wit and wisdom of their king.

But evil things, in robes of sorrow,
Assailed the monarch's high estate.
(Ah, let us mourn!—for never morrow
Shall dawn upon him desolate!)
And round about his home, the glory
That blushed and bloomed
Is but dim-remembered story
Of the old time entombed.

And travellers now, within that valley,
Through the red-litten windows see
Vast forms, that move fantastically
To a discordant melody,
While, like a ghastly rapid river,
Through the pale door
A hideous throng rush out forever
And laugh—but smile no more.

Blessings:
BluesMan

A Dream Within A Dream by Edgar Allen Poe

2006-01-18T18:22:00.000-06:00

Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow—
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone ?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand—
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep—while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

Blessings:
BluesMan

The Conqueror Worm - by Edgar Allen Poe

2006-01-17T21:53:00.000-06:00

"Lo! 'tis a gala night
Within the lonesome latter years!
An angel throng, bewinged, bedight
In veils, and drowned in tears,
Sit in a theatre, to see
A play of hopes and fears,
While the orchestra breathes fitfully
The music of the spheres.

Mimes, in the form of God on high,
Mutter and mumble low,
And hither and thither fly-
Mere puppets they, who come and go
At bidding of vast formless things
That shift the scenery to and fro,
Flapping from out their Condor wings
Invisible Woe!

That motley drama- oh, be sure
It shall not be forgot!
With its Phantom chased for evermore,
By a crowd that seize it not,
Through a circle that ever returneth in
To the self-same spot,
And much of Madness, and more of Sin,
And Horror the soul of the plot.

But see, amid the mimic rout
A crawling shape intrude!
A blood-red thing that writhes from out
The scenic solitude!
It writhes!- it writhes!- with mortal pangs
The mimes become its food,
And seraphs sob at vermin fangs
In human gore imbued.

Out- out are the lights- out all!
And, over each quivering form,
The curtain, a funeral pall,
Comes down with the rush of a storm,
While the angels, all pallid and wan,
Uprising, unveiling, affirm
That the play is the tragedy, "Man,"
And its hero the Conqueror Worm.

Blessings:
BluesMan

The Raven - by Edgar Allen Poe

2006-01-16T19:01:00.000-06:00

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door-
Only this, and nothing more."

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow;- vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow- sorrow for the lost Lenore-
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore-
Nameless here for evermore.

And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me-filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating,
"'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door-
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;-
This it is, and nothing more."

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
"Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you"-here I opened wide the door;-
Darkness there, and nothing more.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, "Lenore!"
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, "Lenore!"-
Merely this, and nothing more.

Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
"Surely," said I, "surely that is something at my window lattice:
Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore-
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;-
'Tis the wind and nothing more."

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore;
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door-
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door-
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore.
"Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no craven,
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the Nightly shore-
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning-little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blest with seeing bird above his chamber door-
Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as "Nevermore."

But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered- not a feather then he fluttered-
Till I scarcely more than muttered, "other friends have flown before-
On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before."
Then the bird said, "Nevermore."

Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
"Doubtless," said I, "what it utters is its only stock and store,
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore-
Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore
Of 'Never-nevermore'."

But the Raven still beguiling all my fancy into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and door;
Then upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore-
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking "Nevermore."

This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamplight gloated o'er,
But whose velvet violet lining with the lamplight gloating o'er,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!

Then methought the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim whose footfalls tinkled on the tufted floor.
"Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee-by these angels he hath sent thee
Respite-respite and nepenthe, from thy memories of Lenore!
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil!-prophet still, if bird or devil!-
Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted-
On this home by horror haunted- tell me truly, I implore-
Is there-is there balm in Gilead?-tell me-tell me, I implore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil-prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us-by that God we both adore-
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore-
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore."
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

"Be that word our sign in parting, bird or fiend," I shrieked, upstarting-
"Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken!-quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamplight o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted-nevermore

Blessings:
BluesMan

Age 4 - Good Looking Kid

2006-01-12T17:05:00.000-06:00

Many have said; "You were such a good looking kid, what happened?" I wonder sometimes too.

Posting Pictures

2006-01-11T20:58:00.000-06:00

Since my family has begun to post pictures, I might as well join in :D

Look at the pictures below, can you guess who it is? That's right it is Audrey Hepburn! NOT, it is Paigels! They show that her first two loves begun at an early age. Music and books are still one of the ways she unwinds.

God Bless,
BluesMan (alias Papi)

Paige Reading

2006-01-11T20:56:00.000-06:00

Paige at the Piano

2006-01-11T20:55:00.000-06:00

I'm done, this piano need tuning!

Crazy Horse fights his final battle

2006-01-08T12:31:00.000-06:00

On this day, January 8, 1877, General Miles found Crazy Horse's camp along Montana's Tongue River. The soldiers opened fire with their big wagon-mounted guns, driving the Indians from their warm tents out into a raging blizzard. Crazy Horse and his warriors managed to regroup on a ridge and return fire, but most of their ammunition was gone, and they were reduced to fighting with bows and arrows. They managed to hold off the soldiers long enough for the women and children to escape under cover of the blinding blizzard before they turned to follow them.

Later in the year faced by odds that stagger the mind he lead 1,100 hundred Indian to Fort Robinson to surrender. This was the last great battle that the Lakota, Sioux and Cheyenne fought together.

How we treated the natives of this great land has been a dark spot in our American history. I write this not because my heritage is part Indian, but because we as a nation never truly upheld the treaties we made with them. Was there wrong deeds perpetrated by both parties? Yes. But who is truly to blame? This will be a question that will always haunts us.

God Bless:
BluesMan

The Case of the Missing Rolls

2006-01-07T10:55:00.000-06:00

My Saturday morning started out as every other Saturday morning. There were some new twists of course, my daughter is headed back off to college for one thing, and my friend Gaylon is running for County Judge. But other than that, it was a typical Saturday morning.

At my usual time I went looking for a snack which is made up of two Hawaiian sweet rolls, cheese, and some ham. I was thinking to myself as I walked to the kitchen how good this was going to be, it has to be my favorite snack of all time. Yet as I got to the kitchen and started to prepare my snack to my surprise my ROLLS were missing. I was in a state of panic as you might imagine. I looked in all the places rolls might hide, but to my chagrin they could not be located. Now at this time I am truly scared for their safety.

After looking everywhere in my house I am starting to go into panic mode. My first thoughts are that they had somehow gotten out of the house and are lost here in the big city of Boerne, or worse, the little rolls had been kidnapped by some diabolical fanatic who would not know what they had in their possession.

I immediately called the Boerne police to report them missing. After giving a lengthy description of the rolls to the police, they finally asked how long had they been missing? I replied that I had just found them missing a couple of hours ago. They replied they could not do anything at this time. The police seemed not to be worried and even told me that the rolls would probably show up. The officer was friendly enough but after taking my statement he said that if they were still missing after 48 hours to call them and they would put out a missing rolls report at that time.

As you may have guessed this did not sit well with me, I was worried that something awful might happen to them. So I called my friend Jack who is a private investigator to see if he could help me locate my rolls. After telling Jack my story he too seemed not to be worried, but told me they would show up. I tried to impress on him the urgency of the problem but Jack would have none of it. He even implied that I might have eaten them and forgot. Really now, I am only 49 and I would remember such things!

At my wits end I finally decided that I needed to inform my wife of the tragic events of the morning. I had wanted to spare her the pain of learning that these special rolls were missing but she had to be informed of their missingness. As I sat Rhonda down to break the news to her she all but laughed in my face! How could she be so callus to their plight!

After laughing for about half an hour, and trying to keep her composure she gently told me how these rolls had been abducted. She had sent them with my daughter (as you might remember is on her way back to college) to eat as a snack. So the case of the missing rolls has been finally solved. They are now somewhere between Boerne and Longview.

I will think of them fondly and remember how good they might have tasted, but I have the satisfaction of knowing that they are in good hands now and are being loved...... PS, daughter...Is there anything else missing that I might want to know of?

Love,
Papi (alias Bluesman)

A Short Time

2006-01-06T21:06:00.000-06:00

It seems like yesterday that my daughter drove up from college for the Christmas holidays. How the time flies, but she is getting ready to leave for college again to attend her third semester. I know I am not ready for her to go, but I really do not have a choice in the matter ... or do I?

Not really, so goodbye for now pumpkin, hope you enjoy your semester and I will await your return....Hopefully at Easter or Spring break!

Love you,

Papi (alias BluesMan)

Riddle - Philosophical Answers

2006-01-04T20:21:00.000-06:00

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Plato:    For the greater good.

Jean-Paul Sartre:    In order to act in good faith and be true to itself, the chicken found it necessary to cross the road.

Karl Marx:    It was a historical inevitability.

Nietzsche:    Because if you gaze too long across the Road, the Road gazes also across you.

Carl Jung:    The confluence of events in the cultural gestalt necessitated that individual chickens cross roads at this historical juncture, and therefore synchronicitously brought such occurrences into being.

Aristotle:    To actualize its potential.

Darwin:    It was the logical next step after coming down from the trees.

Epicurus:    For fun.

Ralph Waldo Emerson:    It didn't cross the road; it transcended it.

Johann von Goethe:    The eternal hen-principle made it do it.

Ernest Hemingway:    To die. In the rain.

Werner Heisenberg:    We are not sure which side of the road the chicken was on, but it was moving very fast.

David Hume:    Out of custom and habit.....

My daughter gave the link to site, so if you wish to view the full list go to philosophy.eserver.org

God Bless:
Bluesman

Thankfulness for What I Have

2006-01-01T13:54:00.000-06:00

As I begin a new year I have to take stock of what I have. I have a loving God who in His great mercy saved me, I have a loving wife and a wonderful daughter, and a job that supports us all. And yet, something is still lacking...

During the Christmas season I watched the tradition holiday movie, "It is a Wonderful Life" with Jimmy Stewart and the lump in my throat was not there. Why? Why did not I feel as though I could relate to this movie as in the past years? Time to reflect...

This past year has been somewhat of a downer for me. I have noticed for the first time in my life limitations of my body, I cannot get up and down as easily as I could in the past. I have trouble getting up stairs and I get winded easily. I must confess that the disease that I was born with, Muscular Dystrophy is catching up with me. It has been a thorn in my side all my life but not a complete distraction. This past year however it was becoming just that.

Self pity is starting to creep in...So I need to take stock of what I do have.

I still can get out of bed though somewhat slowly

I am still able to walk with out braces or crutches

I still can work .. Which is a good thing with a daughter in college...

I am not confined to a wheel chair as of yet

When I look around and see those who have the same disease they are not so fortunate as I. Many of them could only wish for those items I listed. Many of those afflicted with MD will not reach the age that I am (but really 48 is not that bad).

So who am I to have self pity? Sure things are harder but I can still function on my own! Praise God for that, many would love just to be in my shoes with all my limitations! I need a dose of the old "gratefulness for what I have" like Jimmy Stewart. For you see, I have much to be thankful for. Life is a gift even with it's limitations. I must then agree with Paul the Apostle,

2 Corinthians 12:10 "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."

God Bless:
BluesMan

Eugene Lives!

2005-12-30T17:43:00.000-06:00

I have some good news for those who had mourned the death of Eugene. I want to let you know Eugene now lives again! Some may call me a mad sciencetist but there are no bolts in his neck ... moo-ha-ha).

Eugene now has a new home as well. He is my backup!

God Bless:
Bluesman

2005-12-02T20:51:00.000-06:00

A Beauty!

Candy Apple Red

2005-12-02T20:40:00.000-06:00

This is one of my favorites that was at the 2005 Boerne Rod Run this year.

God Bless:

For Those Who Love Raw Power

2005-12-01T21:23:00.000-06:00

Just My Luck

2005-10-28T18:29:00.000-05:00

A friend (if you can call him that now) said I saw this and thought of you. Humor only goes so far, I was not speeding!

Just my luck
God Bless:

Almost One

2005-10-25T17:34:00.000-05:00

As I sit and ponder my youth (which has long past me by) there are times in my life were it not for the grace of God I would not be here today. Let me introduce to you an element in my past life that I had some control of, and at other points I had no control.

Let me begin with a story……

There was once a couple who loved each other, but intermingled with their love there was another love that they both shared even more. This other love that they both shared was for a drink. Their love for alcohol made all other issues secondary to this, their first love.

Into this perfect love that they both shared came and unexpected surprise. It was me....

With my arrival came unexpected problems, I cut into a budget that was so carefully setup. My parents were faced with a decision, do they rearrange their priorities to be parents or do they abandon themselves to their first love. A choice had to be made, and it was made. I lost; I came in a dismal third to their first love. Let me say this in their defense, they did love me, but not enough.

You see both my parents where alcoholics. Their dependence on it overcame their desire to be parents. Their lives centered on sharing a drink, then another, then another and so it went. There was not enough money for both me and the bottle.

As you see, alcohol played a big role in the shaping of my early life. My self esteem was affected by this. But it does not end there; it also affected my later years.

As a teenager I knew what alcohol had done to my real parents but I gave no heed to what it could do to me. Surely I would not make the same mistakes they did. I drank with good friends (and with no so good friends) thinking all the while it was just a single drink.

For more that four years this was my pattern till one day I stopped. There came a moment in my life when I took a look around me and asked; “What is it that makes me feel good about myself?” I had to admit there were times the alcohol made me feel good, but afterwards, not so much so. So to get past the bad feelings, I took another drink to make me feel better.

Now to bring this point even closer to home, I was a Christian. When people questioned my drinking I would argue the Bible does not prohibit the drinking of alcohol, so I was spiritually free to use it. But was I?

I looked about me and saw the crumbled and shattered walls of lives that surrounded me, which included my own, and as I thought about this, in my hand was a drink. I had become the person that my adoptive parents had warned me about. At that point in time I sat down my drink and have not picked one up since.

I had finally realized with the help of some medical personnel, family, and friends that I had a really good likelihood of becoming that which destroyed my parents.

So why write this diatribe? It is because I see many others that surround me both young and old drowning. Alcohol has been used in the past for both medicine, a drug, and as a poison. For some like me, we have seen the poison side of alcohol. It poisoned my family; it poisoned my youth, and almost poisoned my adulthood. For you see, I could have easily been my parents all over again…..but for the grace of God.

To end this discourse let me tell you another even shorter story. I got to ask my real mother about drinking and her love for alcohol. I asked her if she had to do it all over again, would she have taken that first drink, and her words came home. Her answer was, ‘No, for the simple reason that after that first drink there was born in me a desire for another, then another, then there was no end in site.’

She now understands the consequences of that first drink some 45 years later, and to her credit she has not had a drink in over 14 years. As she stated she can never recover those 45 plus years she lost. She can not recover the lost love of a son or a daughter that was poisoned by her sickness, which was alcoholism. I know for a fact that I walked a thin line for far too many years. Even today I have to be vigilant in where I go and who I hang with because there is within me that which I loathe, a weakness that with one drink waits to escape. Though you may not sub come to this sickness yourself, those who you encourage to join you in that simple drink may be ensnared by it like my real mother and father. Personal weakness has nothing to do with it. Like any other drug many who try once may have propensity to be ensnared by it after that one drink.

God Bless:

Freedom and God's Moral Law?

2005-10-19T21:03:00.000-05:00

The Greek word for Law is 'nomos'

When one speaks about God's laws what is brought to mind? If one was to study the laws of the OT one could break them down into three categories.

1. Civil Laws - the law of government of Israel.
2. Ceremonial Laws - These surround the special offerings and sacrificial offerings and how they were to be presented. They also dealt with the clothing of the priest and random other issues.
3. Moral Laws - these laws are embodied in what we know as the Ten Commandments.

Let us focus just on God's Moral Law.

So I ask the this question: Are we free from God's Moral law?

Can you remember the The Commandments? Lets summarize Exodus 20:3-17

1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain;
4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5. Honour thy father and thy mother:
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8.Thou shalt not steal.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

Read through these laws and ask yourself, are we free to ignore any of them?

Boerne Rod Run

2005-10-15T18:33:00.000-05:00

This past weekend Boerne (located in south Texas) hosted their Annual Rod Run. There were more than 350 cars this year. Many of the same cars come each year but there are more new ones every year. I got shutter bug happy and took over 150 photos this year. The three posted today are just a glimpse of the ones I took. The hours people put into this hobby baffles me and the amount of money people spend restoring these cars you would not believe. But as they say: "the only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys". But that is not all together true, for many women have their own cars displayed this year. The red Ford belonged to a woman well into her 60's.

It was a great year and I will publish a few more over the next coming months.

A Candy Apple Red

2005-10-15T18:32:00.000-05:00

A gorgeous marroon Ford

2005-10-15T18:30:00.000-05:00

A Sweet Green

God Bless:

Gas Money

2005-10-08T20:28:00.000-05:00

Smile, it is only gas money!

God Bless:

A Quote and My Thoughts

2005-09-20T19:01:00.000-05:00

Where there is sorrow, there is Holy ground. — Oscar Wilde

This quote caught me by surprise, not because of it's insightfulness, but because of who said it. But I digress.

Here are my thoughts on the quote, this quote gives to me remembrance of a certain passage found in the pages of the Bible. There once was a woman who grieved. She had lost a husband, a brother-in-law, and a father-in-law. All she had left was her mother-in-law, a sister-in-law, and the faith that had been taught to her by her mother-in-law. There was sorrow all around. Yet in her sorrow this widow loved and returned love.

There came a time when her mother-in-law wanted to go back home and told her daughters that she would be going home. After telling them they all packed up to go. While on the way the mother-in-law turned to her daughters and told them to go back to their own families, to their old gods, and maybe God would grant to them new husbands. Oh, the sorrow there in that place for all three women cried with the parting of a family that had love each other through their sorrows.

Now to be divided from the one who had taught her how to love God, to trust God, and to depend on Him was more than she could bear. In that place of sorrow she now stood on Holy ground. For you see, her response to her Mother-in-law was this:

"But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the LORD do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me."

Her sister-in-law went back home to her family, but not Ruth. For in the midst of her sorrow, Ruth had found Holy ground. She stood firm on that ground and would not leave the side of her dear mother-in-law. Through all of the sorrow that Ruth felt, God brought redemption. If you are interested in a story that starts off in great sorrow, but ends with God redeeming the lives of people who are suffering, and are in the midst of great sorrow, then read the story of Ruth. For you see, her sorrow became for her, Holy ground.

God Bless:

My Help is from the Lord

2005-09-19T23:41:00.000-05:00

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from whence shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand.

The sun will not smite you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever.
Psalm 121:1-8

Praise the LORD. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit. The LORD sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground.

Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make music to our God on the harp. He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills. He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call. His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man; the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.
Psalm 147:1-11

Waking Up for Church

2005-09-10T18:27:00.000-05:00

One Sunday morning, a mother went in to wake her son and tell him it was time to get ready for church, to which he replied, "I'm not going."

"Why not?" she asked.

I'll give you two good reasons," he said. "One, they don't like me, and two, I don't like them."

His mother replied, "I'll give YOU two good reasons why you SHOULD go to church. One, you're 54 years old, and two, you're their pastor!"

GodBless:

A Mayonnaise Jar

2005-09-10T18:18:00.000-05:00

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front on him.

When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full.

     They agreed it was.

So then the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full.

     They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar and of course the sand filled up everything else up. He asked once more if the jar was full.

     The students responded with a unanimous "yes".

The professor then produced two coffee cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand.

     The students laughed.

"Now", said the professor, as the laughter subsided. "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - your family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions - things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else - the small stuff. If you put the sand in the jar first, he continued, "There is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse to dinner. Spend time with your parents for you won't always have them in your life. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represents? The professor smiled. "I am glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there is always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

"This story reminds me of my favorite Philosophy Professor, Dr. Harvey Solganick. There are many times he comes to my mind, for you see, he is now my daughters professor as well."

God Bless you Dr. Solganick!

Interesting Photos

2005-09-09T20:13:00.000-05:00

After reviewing some rather interesting photos I saw this and thought I would share it.

Interesting

Just Plain Cute

OK, I know....just smile!

God Bless:

Red's Insight on Marriage - Keeping it going

2005-09-08T19:07:00.000-05:00

1. Two times a week, we go to a nice restaurant, have a little beverage, good food and companionship. She goes on Tuesdays, I go on Fridays.

2. We also sleep in separate beds. Hers is in California and mine is in Texas.

3. I take my wife everywhere.....but she keeps finding her way back.

4. I asked my wife where she wanted to go for our anniversary. "Somewhere I haven't been in a long time!" she said. So I suggested the kitchen.

5. We always hold hands. If I let go, she shops.

6. She has an electric blender, electric toaster and electric bread maker. She said "There are too many gadgets and no place to sit down!" So I bought her an electric chair.

7. My wife told me the car wasn't running well because there was water in the carburetor. I asked where the car was; she told me "In the lake."

8. She got a mud pack and looked great for two days. Then the mud fell off.

9. She ran after the garbage truck, yelling "Am I too late for the garbage?" The driver said "No, jump in!"

10. Remember: Marriage is the number one cause of divorce.

11. I married Miss Right. I just didn't know her first name was Always.

12. I haven't spoken to my wife in 18 months. I don't like to interrupt her.

13. The last fight was my fault though. My wife asked "What's on the TV?"
I said "Dust!"

Red Skelton's Comments on marriage.

God Bless:

A Special Quote

2005-08-30T22:11:00.000-05:00

The following quote really sickened me not because of its ludicrousness, but because of its accuracy.

"The world has lost the power to blush over its vice; the Church has lost her power to weep over it." — Leonard Ravenhill

Ponder this thought......

God Bless:

A Birthday That I Celebrate

2005-08-29T08:04:00.000-05:00

Charles F. Kettering was born on this day August 29. Every day I thank this man but on this day, his birthday, I celebrate. Many of you if you only knew this man, would also mark your calendars and thank him.

For a day does not go by that I do not think of him kindly. So the next time you jump into you cars and before you turn that key to start your engine, thank Mr. Kettering. For you see he was the inventor of the electric starter.

No longer do we have to use that stupid hand crank, praise God!

God Bless:

I Have A Dream

2005-08-28T11:40:00.000-05:00

On this day August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King gave his "I Have A Dream" Speech.

Here is a small part:

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!"

Click here for the Full "I Have A Dream" It is worth reading.

GodBless:

Review: Krystal Myers

2005-08-27T22:00:00.000-05:00

I love to listen to new artists, but lately, many of them seem to have the same sound. Of all the new Christian artists that are coming many are very good but their sound and the rhythms are very similar (which of course is not a bad thing...) but Krystal Myers does not fit into that mold. Her style and sounds dares to be different.

Her Christian alternative style varies, some pieces begin soft and mellow then flow into an alternative rock style while others are straight alternative rock. If you like the alternative/mellow rock style of music then I would recommend you try this freshman CD from Kystal Myers, entitled Krystal Myers.

Here is the lyrics to track 1 of her new CD:

Dear God

It's me again down here
Don't wanna sound insincere
I'm lost
Sometimes you're so unclear
What can I do?
I'm feeling so far from you
Frustrated
Irritated
Disconnected from it all
The weight of the world
Has pushed me to the wall

(Chorus)
I surrender - To you I'm giving in
Come take me - Save me -
I want to start again - I'll open my broken heart
'Cause I've reached the end - And you are the way to begin

Ohh ohh...ohhh....

I've seen a million empty smiles
Living in denial
I don't wanna live like that
where nothing's real
I hate how it is to feel
Frustrated
irritated
Disconnected from it all
I'm breaking
I'm aching for something beautiful

(Chorus)

All the riches in this world
Couldn't fill this great big hole (I surrender)
It takes something so much more (I surrender)
Only you can take me
You can make me whole

Its not the end this is the beginning
Its not the end...its not the end...

(Chorus)

(I surrender....I surrender....)
Its not the end this is the beginning

Love it:

Born on this Day: Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu

2005-08-27T18:36:00.000-05:00

Better known as: Mother Teresa (of Calcutta)

Christian missionary in India, born in Skopje, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. She went to India in 1928, and taught at a convent school in Calcutta, taking her final vows in 1937. She became principal of the school, but in 1948 left the convent to work alone in the slums. After medical training in Paris, she opened some classrooms for destitute children in Calcutta. She was gradually joined by other nuns, and her House for the Dying was opened in 1952. Her sisterhood, the Missionaries of Charity, started in 1950, and in 1957 she started work with lepers and in many disaster areas of the world. She was awarded the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize (1971), the inaugural Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion (1973), and the Nobel Peace Prize (1979). In 2003 she was beatified by Pope John Paul II in a ceremony in St Peter's Square timed to coincide with the celebrations for his silver jubilee.

A woman of peace and a servant to all.

GodBless:

All Alone!

2005-08-26T16:43:00.000-05:00

Well my daughter is now off to college for the year and my wife has gone to help her get moved into her college apartment. So that leaves me alone with my steaks and spiral cut ham. **sigh** All I have around me now is comfort food, and I do plan to take some comfort in them. I am off to see if the steaks are thawed....... Will talk later.... ***sigh***

God Bless:
BluesMan

One More Day

2005-08-23T22:43:00.000-05:00

Another day is passing but this no ordinary day. For you see my daughter ”reves plaisants” is getting ready to go back to college. reves plaisants and her mom are going through the checklist and making sure all is in order.

I will be left, “all by myself” (**sniff** - **sniff**) for the next five days starting Thursday morning. All I will have to keep me company are my 6 steaks; spiral cut ham, and my keyboard. So I guess I will be posting more in the next few days as my mind gets itself wrapped around the idea she will be gone for another year. I will try to put all those bits and bytes (0100111010) back into a somewhat reasonable order and in doing so I will have to try to put my thoughts into words (hence the next few postings).

I will bear my soul – well not my soul but my thoughts on this.

GodBless
Bluesman

Nothing But the Blood

2005-08-20T20:02:00.000-05:00

What can wash away my sin?
    Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again?
    Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

        Oh, precious is the flow,
            That makes me white as snow;
        No other fount I know,
            Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

For my pardon this I see,
    Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
For my cleansing this my plea,
    Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

        Oh, precious is the flow,
            That makes me white as snow;
        No other fount I know,
            Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Nothing can for sin atone,
    Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Naught of good that I have done,
    Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

        Oh, precious is the flow,
            That makes me white as snow;
        No other fount I know,
            Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

This is all my hope and peace,
    Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
This is all my righteousness,
    Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

        Oh, precious is the flow,
            That makes me white as snow;
        No other fount I know,
            Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

©Public Domain — Words and Music by Robert Lowry

The words of this hymn reminds me, it nothing I do but it is what he has done through His own blood. — Amen and Amen

BluesMan

Don't make the wife MAD!

2005-08-15T17:05:00.000-05:00

A police officer pulls over a speeding car. The officer says, I clocked you at 80 miles per hour, sir."

The driver says, "Gee, officer I had it on cruise control at 60, perhaps your radar gun needs calibrating."

Not looking up from her knitting the wife says: "Now don't be silly dear, you know that this car doesn't have cruise control."

As the officer writes out the speeding ticket, the driver looks over at his wife and growls, "Can't you please keep your mouth shut for once?"

The wife smiles demurely and says, "You should be thankful your radar detector went off when it did."

As the officer makes out the second ticket for the illegal radar detector unit, the man glowers at his wife and says through clenched teeth, "Darn it, woman, keep your mouth shut!"

The officer frowns and says, "And I notice that you're not wearing your seat belt, sir. That's an automatic $75 fine." The driver says, "Yeah, well, you see officer, I had it on, but took it off when you pulled me over so that I could get my license out of my back pocket."

The wife says, "Now, dear, you know very well that you didn't have your seat belt on. You never wear your seat belt when you're driving."

And as the police officer is writing out the third ticket the driver turns to his wife and barks, "Would you PLEASE shut up?"

The officer looks over at the woman and asks, "Does your husband always talk to you this way, Ma'am?"

She replied, "Only when he's been drinking officer."

Why's

2005-08-15T16:57:00.000-05:00

Why do toasters always have a setting that turns the toast into a charcoal briquette, which no decent human being would eat?

How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?

Since bread is square, then why is sandwich meat round?

Why do you have to "put your two cents in".. . but it's only a "penny for your thoughts"? Where's that extra penny going to?

Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity?

Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby" when babies wake up like every two hours?

Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV?

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?

Why do we choose from just two people for President and fifty for Miss America?

Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They're going to see you naked anyway.

Why is "bra" singular and "panties" plural?

If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song about him?

If the professor on Gilligan's Island can make a radio out of a coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a boat?

What do you call male ballerinas?

If Wyle E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that ACME stuff, why didn't he just buy dinner?

If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, what is baby oil made from?

Why do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?

Why did you just try singing the two songs above?

Just a few questions we ask and really never have the answers for.........

Just smile:
BluesMan

Sing It BB

2005-08-14T22:23:00.000-05:00

Nobody loves me but my mother,
and she could be jivin' too

Nobody loves me but my mother,
and she could be jivin' too

Now you see why I act funny baby,
when you do the things you do

Bad Choices

2005-08-01T20:25:00.000-05:00

There are times in our lives that we are faced with choices. Many times we do not really know what lies beyond them but we make them anyway, not thinking how the outcomes will affect us.

One of my best friends (let's call him "D") had a son (lets' call him "B"). "B" was a good son who loved his dad, but there was something physically wrong with "B" which caused him physical pain most of his teen years. It was that pain and the emotional pain that was secondary to the physical, which started "B" using drugs.

Many state that the reason for using drugs is one of three reasons.

1) Peer pressure 2) For the high 3) To mask the emotional or physical pain.

"B" used drugs because 3 first and then 1. It masked the pain and it also made him feel a part of a group. "D" loved his son and tried for seven years to help "B" to overcome his drug addiction and he provided money and resources to help "B" break the cycle of this life style, but "B" constantly made bad choices. At the age of 20 "B" made one last "Bad" choice and it took his life.

"B" was a Christian but his life was riffed with bad decisions and the last one was his last. The lesson "D" would like all of us to know is that the choices we make affect not only you, but it affects all those around you. Pray for "D" and his family as they grieve the loss of "B" but also remember that the choices we make, they have lasting consequences.

Follow the Leader?

2005-07-10T12:11:00.000-05:00

Surely you have heard from your mother this famous quote; "If your best friend jumped on a cliff would you do it because he did?" You must understand that if one does something really, really stupid that does not mean you have to accomplish the same act of stupidity, and then prove yourself just as dumb or dumber than your friend. Take a lesson from what occurred just this week......

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) - First one sheep jumped to its death. Then stunned Turkish shepherds, who had left the herd to graze while they had breakfast, watched as nearly 1,500 others followed, each leaping off the same cliff, Turkish media reported.

In the end, 450 dead animals lay on top of one another in a billowy white pile, the Aksam newspaper said. Those who jumped later were saved as the pile got higher and the fall more cushioned, Aksam reported. "There's nothing we can do. They're all wasted," Nevzat Bayhan, a member of one of 26 families whose sheep were grazing together in the herd, was quoted as saying by Aksam.

The estimated loss to families in the town of Gevas, located in Van province in eastern Turkey, tops $100,000, a significant amount of money in a country where average GDP per head is around $2,700. "Every family had an average of 20 sheep," Aksam quoted another villager, Abdullah Hazar as saying. "But now only a few families have sheep left. It's going to be hard for us."

This brings this in to perspective - if your friend dares to "jumped off the cliff", be smarter than those sheep! Playing follow the leader can be hazardous to your health!

Latin Phrases

2005-06-28T22:15:00.000-05:00

A new interest has started in me and it is Latin phrases. So here are a few that I have found interesting:

Cogito ergo sum doleo — I think, therefore I am depressed

Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscripti catapultas habebunt — When catapults are outlawed, only outlaws will have catapults

Sic hoc adfixum in obice legere potes, et liberaliter educatus et nimis
propinquus ades — If you can read this bumper sticker, you are both very well educated, and much too close

Vah! Denuone Latine loquebar? Me ineptum. Interdum modo elabitur. — Oh! Was I speaking Latin again? Silly me. Sometimes it just sort of slips out.

Disorder in the American Courts

2005-05-31T17:01:00.000-05:00

These are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts, and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court reporters who had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges were actually taking place.

Question : What is your date of birth?
Answer : July 15th.
Question : What year?
Answer : Every year.

Question : Were you present when your picture was taken?

Question : The youngest son, the twenty-year-old, how old is he?

Question : How was your first marriage terminated?
Answer : By death.
Question : And by whose death was it terminated?

Question : Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
Answer : No, this is how I dress when I go to work.

Question : What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
Answer : Gucci sweats and Reeboks.

Question : What was the first thing your husband said to you when he woke up that morning?
Answer : He said, "Where am I Cathy?"
Question : And why did that upset you?
Answer : My name is Susan.

Question : This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
Answer : Yes.
Question : And in what ways does it affect your memory?
Answer : I forget.
Question : You forget? Can you give us an example of something that you've forgotten?

Question : All your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
Answer : Oral.

Question : She had three children, right?
Answer : Yes.
Question : How many were boys?
Answer : None.
Question : Were there any girls?

Question : Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
Answer : Did you actually pass the bar exam?

Question : Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people?
Answer : All my autopsies are performed on dead people.

Question : Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
Answer : The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
Question : And Mr. Dennington was dead at the time?
Answer : No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy.

Question : Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
Answer : No.
Question : Did you check for blood pressure?
Answer : No.
Question : Did you check for breathing?
Answer : No.
Question : So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
Answer : No.
Question : How can you be so sure, Doctor?
Answer : Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
Question : But could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
Answer : Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere.

These are just a few and if by chance you are a lawyer, think before you ask your next question - Grin : )

True Friends – Why are they rare?

2005-05-17T17:53:00.000-05:00

Thoughts fly through my mind and I wonder sometimes why it is that true friends are hard to find. Have you every wondered that?

Well as I thought about this question there was some things that came to mind. One of those was; “what is a true friend?” and “what would a true friend look like?”

A true friend would have your best interest at heart and would be a person who could hold you accountable for your actions. What! Accountability? That hurts! I am accountable to NO one! Isn’t that true?

As my teenage daughter would say; “NOT!” Ultimately I am accountable and I will give an account one day. But for today, a true friend is one who knows your weaknesses and holds you accountable about what you are doing in regards to those weaknesses.

That is why true friends are hard to find. We personally do not want to be accountable to someone who has our best interest at heart because we want those around us to think that we have it all together and that we have no weaknesses.

People, people, people, we don’t have a monopoly on making all the right decisions. We all make poor decisions and the outcomes they produce many times reveal our shortcomings and our weaknesses. A true friend would be one who knows us and about the time we are going to make decisions would call us into account and correct us so that those outcomes, which are mostly bad, do not come about but they help re-think and with re-thinking, decisions are modified and the outcomes more enjoyable.

That is why I think they are few; it is because we do want to reveal our weaknesses or faults to others. A true friend loves the person even if we are frogs in disguise and will hold us accountable and ask the hard questions we do not want to hear.

Oh to have a friend that will only praise! But then I ask; what value is that to me? I need someone who is free to point out my warts as well as my beauty. I need someone to not only to praise the “beauty” but also to hold the “beast” accountable.

Remember what you think, influences your decisions and those decisions determine the outcomes. A friend will call into question your thinking…before they become bad decisions.

The Thrill Is Gone -- NOT, 28 years Strong!

2005-05-11T22:33:00.000-05:00

The Thrill Is Gone by BB King

The thrill is gone
The thrill is gone away
The thrill is gone baby
The thrill is gone away
You know you done me wrong baby
And you'll be sorry someday

The thrill is gone
It's gone away from me
The thrill is gone baby
The thrill is gone away from me
Although I'll still live on
But so lonely I'll be

The thrill is gone
It's gone away for good
Oh, the thrill is gone baby
Baby its gone away for good
Someday I know I'll be over it all baby
Just like I know a man should

You know I'm free, free now baby
I'm free from your spell
I'm free, free now
I'm free from your spell
And now that it's over
All I can do is wish you well

Runescape

2005-04-05T19:42:00.000-05:00

A Game that can consume Your time!

I have found a game in which (if you ask my wife) has consumed much of my time. It is a fairly interesting game but please take it from me, it will get more interesting the more you play it. And the more you play it the more time it consumes.

I will have "WILL" power and limit my time each day, so I must end this blog....Time to PLAY!

A Month Has Gone By

2005-01-23T22:05:00.000-06:00

Well let me first state many things have happened since the last time I posted. What has transpired over the last 35 days I cannot contain in one Blog. So let me try to hit the highlights (or in some cases the lowlights).

Highlights:

My daughter who I love has now turned 18 and is a sophomore in College.
She is doing well and is enjoying every minute of it (well not the ponding).
I have made it through another Christmas.
I woke up this morning (as I have done for the past 35 days)!
My life has been full many of the days, and not so full others.
My wife still loves me (though I do not know why).
I still have a job.

Many good things have happened. Yet in the midst of all this some things have really taken my breath away.

Lowlights.

In the past 35 days some of my friends have died.
A young 17 year old friend of my daughters was killed in a car accident.
Another friend of hers was diagnosed with cancer.

The Good Lord never said life would always be easy, or without sadness. Grief would be ours like all of humanity. We would suffer losses. But what he did say was that he would never leave us or forsake us. Trust in that Thomas! Though the last few days have been a little dark for me and others here in Boerne God has not lost control.

God Bless,
Bluesman

Wings Like Eagles

2004-12-13T19:31:00.000-06:00

Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary. — Isaiah 40:31

Modern Revivalism

2004-12-12T19:48:00.000-06:00

Spurgeon voiced his concerns for his age, and they echo my concern with our own:

"Sometimes we are inclined to think that a very great portion of modern revivalism has been more a curse than a blessing, because it has led thousands to a kind of peace before they have known their misery; restoring the prodigal to the Father's house, and never making him say, 'Father, I have sinned.' How can he be healed who is not sick? or he be satisfied with the bread of life who is not hungry? The old-fashioned sense of sin is despised, and consequently a religion is run up before the foundations are dug out. Everything in this age is shallow. Deep-sea fishing is almost an extinct business so far as men's souls are concerned. The consequence is that men leap into religion, and then leap out again. Unhumbled they come to the church, unhumbled they remained in it, and unhumbled they go from it."

Serious Concerns on PDL

2004-12-12T15:10:00.000-06:00

In the course of the Purpose-Driven Life video presentations, Rick Warren makes some very questionable assertions. I believe his most flagrant error is his statement that; “that if Christians fail in their duty to evangelize, there will be people who are not in heaven who should have been there.” This is a direct challenge to the biblical concept of God and if this statement is true, then that implies that the Lord will not be able to save some people who “should have been!” Does Mr. Warren realize the implications of this statement? A few moments of serious reflection will convince any thinking Christian that this conclusion presents a seriously distorted view of God and the Biblical doctrine of Salvation. This view cannot be squared with Scripture and is as dangerous as it is flawed.

If we accept that Mr. Warren is correct in his view, then God is not the almighty sovereign of the universe that the Bile depicts. God is not in control of anything and is at the mercy of creatures that owe their very existence to Him. Far from being the “Author of our Salvation”, the omnipotent, loving Savior who is worthy of the believer’s complete trust, Jesus Christ is a wretched, frail figure that cannot be relied upon to get anyone to heaven. If the failure of finite human beings can actually derail God’s plan of salvation, then how can He be trusted for anything else?

If the salvation of lost sinners is reliant upon the faithfulness of other sinners, how secure can any Christian be? How can we trust God for divine help in the trials and temptations of daily life if His best efforts can be trumped by the failure of the very creatures He is wanting to help? The concept of God that Warren gives us, knowingly or not, is calculated not to encourage faith, but to undermine it. This unscriptural notion is inconsistent with everything the Bible reveals to us concerning the character of God and how He interacts with the people He has created. Any assertion that undermines the character of God undermines the confidence of those who are trusting in Him. It strikes at the very heart of revealed religion by weakening the foundation of the divine-human relationship. An individual’s relationship to God depends upon that person’s response to Him, not what other people do or fail to do. It maybe that Mr. Warren was just careless with his words here, but that does not make the implication of what he said any the less dangerous.

The “Author of Life” is not in any way at the mercy of fallen human beings, and thank God for that! All of the nations are as a drop in a bucket compared to God; He does what He pleases in the heavens. The Lord is sovereign in His universe and can be relied upon to bring every one of the precious souls His Son died for safely home to heaven. All those who “should be there” will be.

“13 Just as it is written, ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.’ 14 What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! 15 For He says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ 16 So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, ‘For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.’ 18 So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. 19 You will say to me then, ‘Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?’ 20 On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, ‘Why did you make me like this,’ will it? 21 Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use, and another for common use?" - Romans 9:13-21

Sad Day In Boerne

2004-12-05T13:27:00.000-06:00

Well its a sad day in Boerne, even the weather seems to go along with the feeling of the town. One might ask, "What has caused this dreariness, this gloom to settle over our small town?" Well it has happened, the unthinkable, the mighty, mighty Greyhounds of Boerne lost!

Even though we lost our boys have nothing to be ashamed of. They fought hard and they never gave up. The boys of Boerne have a winners heart, just not the trophy. The Greyhounds are still "Number 1" in the hearts of the fans here in this South Texas town of Boerne.

It's Playoff Time Again!!!!

2004-12-04T12:24:00.000-06:00

The Mighty Greyhounds of Boerne are in the state semifinals! We face the Marshall Mavericks. THIS should be a great game! It's crunch time! Can we do it? CAN WE DO IT? Well as the lttle engine said - We can make it - we can make it - we can make it!

Go Greyhounds!

See Shadow Run

2004-12-03T21:05:00.000-06:00

See Papi.
      See reves plaisants.
            See Shadow.
See Shadow run.
      Run Shadow. Run, run, run.
            Look, look, look. See, see, see.
See Shadow run.
Run, run, run.

I am Iron Man!

2004-12-03T20:44:00.000-06:00

I am Iron Man!

Has he lost his mind?
Can he see or is he blind?
Can he walk at all,
Or if he moves will he fall?

Is he alive or dead?
Has he thoughts within his head?
We'll just pass him there
Why should we even care?

He was turned to steel
In the great magnetic field,
Where he traveled time
For the future of mankind.

Nobody wants him....
He just stares at the world....
Planning his vengeance....
That he will soon unfold.

Now the time is here
For Iron Man to spread fear,
Vengeance from the grave
Kills the people he once saved.

Nobody wants him
They just turn their heads,
Nobody helps him
Now he has his revenge!

Heavy boots of lead
Fills his victims full of dread,
Running as fast as they can
Iron Man lives again!

Software Woes - Wife 1.0

2004-11-29T16:43:00.000-06:00

An Email from a frantic user to tech support!

Dear Tech Support:

Last year I upgraded from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0. I soon noticed that the new program began unexpected child processing that took up a lot of space and valuable resources. In addition, Wife 1.0 installed itself into all other programs and now monitors all other system activity. Applications such as Poker Night 10.3, Football 5.0, Hunting and Fishing 7.5, and Racing 3.6

I can't seem to keep Wife 1.0 in the background while attempting to run my favorite applications. I'm thinking about going back to Girlfriend 7.0, but the uninstall doesn't work on Wife 1.0. Please help!

Thanks,

A Troubled User.

REPLY:

Dear Troubled User:

This is a very common problem that men complain about.

Many people upgrade from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0, thinking that it is just a Utilities and Entertainment program. Wife 1.0 is an OPERATING SYSTEM and is designed by its Creator to run EVERYTHING!!! It is also impossible to delete Wife 1.0 and to return to Girlfriend 7.0. It is impossible to uninstall, or purge the program files from the system once installed.

You cannot go back to Girlfriend 7.0 because Wife 1.0 is designed to not allow this. Look in your Wife 1.0 manual under Warnings on Alimony-Child Support. I recommend that you keep Wife 1.0 and work on improving the situation. I suggest installing the background application "Yes Dear" to alleviate software augmentation.

The best course of action is to enter the command C:\APOLOGIZE because ultimately you will have to give the APOLOGIZE command before the system will return to normal anyway.

Wife 1.0 is a great program, but it tends to be very high maintenance. Wife 1.0 comes with several support programs, such as Clean and Sweep 3.0, Cook It 1.5 and Do Bills 4.2.

However, be very careful how you use these programs. Improper use will cause the system to launch the program Nag Nag 9.5. Once this happens, the only way to improve the performance of Wife 1.0 is to purchase additional software. I recommend Flowers 2.1 and Diamonds 5.0!

WARNING!!! DO NOT, under any circumstances, install Secretary With Short Skirt 3.3.0 This application is not supported by Wife 1.0 and will cause irreversible damage to the operating system.

Best of luck,
Tech Support

Smile it's Monday!

How Things Change

2004-11-26T20:59:00.000-06:00

This weekend I really saw my little girl, not as I remembered but how she is today.

This is how I remembered her :P

I went to pick her up from college and wow, how things changed. She has grow up into a beautiful young lady :P

You will never realize the shock on my face when I thought where have the years gone! But our little ones grow up and we have to allow them to start making their own choices.

Just remember it is not always easy

Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it. — Proverbs 22:6

Great Country Song

2004-11-21T16:33:00.000-06:00

I'm Gonna Miss Her

Well I love her
And I love to fish
I spend all day out on this lake
And hell is all I catch
Today she met me at the door
Said I would have to choose
If I hit that fishin hole today
She'd be packin all her things
And she'd be gone by noon

Chorus

Well I'm gonna miss her
When I get home
But right now I'm on the lake shore
And I'm sittin in the sun
I'm sure it'll hit me
When I walk through that door tonight
That I'm gonna miss her
Oh, lookie there, I've got a bite

Now there's a chance if I hurry
I could beg her to stay
But that water's right
And the weather's perfect
No tellin' what I might catch today

Chorus

Well I'm gonna miss her
When I get home
But right now I'm on the lake shore
And I'm sittin in the sun
I'm sure it'll hit me
When I walk through that door tonight
That I'm gonna miss her
Oh, lookie there, I've got a bite

Greyhounds 33 - Vikings 7

2004-11-20T18:42:00.000-06:00

Well we have made history! The Boerne Greyhounds have made it past the second round. We will be playing next week for the final of Division I and if we progress beyond it we will be in the quarter finals for state! Go Greyhounds!

Friday Night Football - Round 2

2004-11-18T19:48:00.000-06:00

Here in the state of Texas High School Football playoffs reigns supreme. Many will travel 100 + miles to watch their local teams play and I will be one of them. The mighty mighty Greyhounds are going into the second week of the playoffs we we face Austin Lanier. Should be a great game and hopefully the Greyhounds will win! All we can do is hope and be like the little train and keep in our minds, "I think we can...I think we can!"

GO GREYHOUNDS! GO GREYHOUNDS! GO GREYHOUNDS! GO GREYHOUNDS!