With a little help from my friends...

My limited Alexandr Solzhenitsyn collection. The Gulag Trilogy on the left, followed by "The Oak and the Calf" and "Invisible Allies". These two books could be labelled as "The Rest of the Story". They deal with the unsung heroes, the unnamed allies who sacrificed as much or more than Solzhenitsyn himself so that his works could be published.

A Clarification...

Why we ask for prayer...

11:40 pm, Thursday, Feb. 06, 2014, the second of Linda's three-night hospital stay.

About 48 hours ago, Linda was in a dangerous place with a severe bronchitis event, never good for someone who suffers from pulmonary hypertension and a weak heart. The deep, unstoppable coughing left her exhausted, her heart rate was rapid and unstable.

I ain't dead yet...

(a thought for the new year...)

"Well it's all right, even if you're old and gray

Well it's all right, you still got something to say"

 "End of the Line" by the The Traveling Wilburys

Ok, possibly not the strongest of references for making a philosophical point, but it works for me.

After watching a recent interview of the reknowned Canadian author, MARGARET ATWOOD, I decided that PERSPICACITY might be a worthy goal for 2014.

Around the same time, I was studying the life of Samuel: such an inspiring example!

The Denouement...

“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face:
now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” (1Co 13:12)

denouement: the final part of a play, film, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved.

My least favorite moment while watching an interesting program is when these words pop up at the end: "To Be Continued...". I like things resolved, loose ends connected, mysteries unraveled. And I don't want to wait a week either. Similarly, it may be more realistic to read a book where the ending is anti-climatic and you are left wondering... but it is not as fun.

He should have stayed in Zoar...

“The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.” (Ge 19:23)

From Scripture, we have been apprised of two underlying truths about the human condition and the temporal existence assigned to us:

• the world lies in wickedness. (1 John 5:19)
• nothing new ever happens. (Ecclesiastes 1:9-11)

Demythologizing the Beats...

What a difference a decade makes. In the mid-1950's, I was happily growing up in what sociologists defined as a NUCLEAR FAMILY: dad, mom, son (that would be me) and daughter. Dad worked, Mom was the homemaker, my sister and I went to school.

Consoler-in-chief...

This is not a partisan statement. U.S. presidents do this, regardless of party affiliation.

This is not a statement intended to question the appropriateness of a U.S. president addressing a painful national tragedy.

This is not a statement about being patriotic or unpatriotic. It is about registering a concern for the proper exegesis and application of the Word of God.

The lovebird incident...

 Linda has a pair of lovebirds.

Their cage hangs outside on the balcony during the day. We keep a closer eye on them than we used to.

I recently happened upon a snake inside the cage. It was about 3' long, coiled and working its way up. The birds were silently glowering at it from the highest corner they could squeeze into. I wisely froze and screamed "no! no!" Jeremy (our son) came to the rescue (paramedics are good at this). He shook the cage and the snake flew out. It was beaten to death posthaste with a broom. 

But that's not what I want to write about.