.
Sunday, July 21, 2019
Thursday, July 18, 2019
July 18, 2019. Eureka Springs, AR. What Did You Say?
My memory has been good for some things and pretty poor for others. I have a lot of trivia-type knowledge, can do crossword puzzles, even the tough one, because my vocabulary is quite extensive and can recall obscure things I have read over the years. But when it comes to remembering what I have said, sometimes I can't repeat the last words which came out of my mouth.
Because of this, I never pursued the law career I was planning after completing Law School and passing the Virginia State Bar. A lawyer who can't remember what he says is not one anyone would want to defend him in court. And so I had to find other ways to earn a living and support Karen and myself the past 45 years. Fortunately we have done okay, and God has played a MAJOR role in that.
Now, I find myself presenting information to our Passion Play visitors. I teach about Moses' Tabernacle in the Wilderness, talk about Bethlehem where Jesus was born, the Upper Room where Jesus and His disciples celebrated the "Last Supper", and a host of other subjects from the Old and New Testament, and I have to listen to myself as I present, so that I can remember what I have said in case I am asked to repeat or explain what I have just said. Maybe, just maybe, I have overcome the problem which kept me from practicing law. But when I face the reality that I sometimes have difficulty staying awake during the sermon at church, or I see people starting to nod off during my own presentations, I still have a long way to go in being all God has called me to be. At least, if I want to know what I just blogged, I can always read it again.
What did I just say?
Sent from my iPad
Because of this, I never pursued the law career I was planning after completing Law School and passing the Virginia State Bar. A lawyer who can't remember what he says is not one anyone would want to defend him in court. And so I had to find other ways to earn a living and support Karen and myself the past 45 years. Fortunately we have done okay, and God has played a MAJOR role in that.
Now, I find myself presenting information to our Passion Play visitors. I teach about Moses' Tabernacle in the Wilderness, talk about Bethlehem where Jesus was born, the Upper Room where Jesus and His disciples celebrated the "Last Supper", and a host of other subjects from the Old and New Testament, and I have to listen to myself as I present, so that I can remember what I have said in case I am asked to repeat or explain what I have just said. Maybe, just maybe, I have overcome the problem which kept me from practicing law. But when I face the reality that I sometimes have difficulty staying awake during the sermon at church, or I see people starting to nod off during my own presentations, I still have a long way to go in being all God has called me to be. At least, if I want to know what I just blogged, I can always read it again.
What did I just say?
Sent from my iPad
Monday, July 15, 2019
July 15, 2019. Eureka Springs, AR. Sleeping In
I don't use an alarm clock except on those rare occasions when I have an early morning appointment such as a visit to the VA in Fayetteville. On most other days, I get up when I get up and still have time for my daily "quiet time" with the Lord, and then prepare for the activities of the day.
I have been very tired of late, and decided it was time to try to intentionally sleep later yesterday morning and today, as well. Since I normally get up around 6am no matter how late I get to sleep the night before, I was hoping for a wake up time of ........maybe 8 or beyond. That was the plan. I even decided that not planning to go to Sunday Bible Study and Church yesterday and making no morning plans for today would convince my body to sleep in both days. But, it didn't work out as planned.
Yesterday, I was up at my usual time, and today......the same thing. No naps either day, so the sleep "log" remains the same.....and I'm still tired. Tonight, I'm aiming for being in bed by 10pm, so a wake up at my normal time would still give me 8 hours. Let's see what happens.
Sent from my iPad
I have been very tired of late, and decided it was time to try to intentionally sleep later yesterday morning and today, as well. Since I normally get up around 6am no matter how late I get to sleep the night before, I was hoping for a wake up time of ........maybe 8 or beyond. That was the plan. I even decided that not planning to go to Sunday Bible Study and Church yesterday and making no morning plans for today would convince my body to sleep in both days. But, it didn't work out as planned.
Yesterday, I was up at my usual time, and today......the same thing. No naps either day, so the sleep "log" remains the same.....and I'm still tired. Tonight, I'm aiming for being in bed by 10pm, so a wake up at my normal time would still give me 8 hours. Let's see what happens.
Sent from my iPad
Friday, July 12, 2019
July 12, 2019. Eureka Springs, AR. You Want That....When?
If the answer to that question is "yesterday", there is definitely a problem, and no matter what I say or do, you will be disappointed, displeased and dissatisfied. Too often we face situations where what we want and what we need are different and the timetables do not portend a good resolution. What I'm trying to say, and getting too wordy about is: "You can't always get what you want"....but if you try sometimes you get what you need.
The Rolling Stones performed a song with that title in the late 1960's, just at the time The Great Passion Play was beginning its ministry in Eureka Springs. Although the song and it's lyrics were part of the drug culture of that time and the Passion Play was on the opposite side of the cultural spectrum, we had the song revisited in the 2016 Presidential campaign by the Trump supporters, much to the dismay of the Stones who did not support him.
Life is certainly a conglomeration of wants and needs, and while we may not always get what we want when we want it, I believe God gives us everything we want exactly when we need it, and that applies to every situation and circumstance; political..social..economic..spiritual..et al. And whether it be the 1960's or the present time.......God is in control and he will provide all that we want and all we need, in the necessary time frame, if we place our trust in Him, and believe in faith that IT WILL BE DONE. The Rolling Stones and The Great Passion Play are still in operation, and no matter which side of the spectrum we find ourselves on; God was....is....and forever will be....in control. Thank You, Lord.
Sent from my iPad
The Rolling Stones performed a song with that title in the late 1960's, just at the time The Great Passion Play was beginning its ministry in Eureka Springs. Although the song and it's lyrics were part of the drug culture of that time and the Passion Play was on the opposite side of the cultural spectrum, we had the song revisited in the 2016 Presidential campaign by the Trump supporters, much to the dismay of the Stones who did not support him.
Life is certainly a conglomeration of wants and needs, and while we may not always get what we want when we want it, I believe God gives us everything we want exactly when we need it, and that applies to every situation and circumstance; political..social..economic..spiritual..et al. And whether it be the 1960's or the present time.......God is in control and he will provide all that we want and all we need, in the necessary time frame, if we place our trust in Him, and believe in faith that IT WILL BE DONE. The Rolling Stones and The Great Passion Play are still in operation, and no matter which side of the spectrum we find ourselves on; God was....is....and forever will be....in control. Thank You, Lord.
Sent from my iPad
Tuesday, July 9, 2019
July 9, 2019. Eureka Springs, AR. In It For The Long Haul
Life has a way of slowing us down as we get older. We may try to delay the aging process by keeping at some of the tasks we have done all our life, by changing our diet or adding supplements to that diet, wearing the latest fashions or keeping the grey from overtaking our"natural" color", joining a fitness club or using anti-wrinkle cream or age spot removers. But try as we may, life around us goes faster, and we go slower.
The only way to survive is to accept that life is no longer a sprint (if it ever was) but a marathon.....and we are going to have to pace ourself to reach the end with any semblance of energy left. There is no fountain of youth, the golden years are really the olden years and no matter how may ads we see touting eternal youthfulness, we need to face the fact that we are one day closer today than we were yesterday to the end.......and the only way to get there is to slow down, lighten the load and admit that the person looking back at you in the mirror really looks as tired and worn out as the person looking at him.
As we start into the really hot weather, the heart of the summer and the busy tourist season, our duties at the Passion Play continue, the load stays heavy, the laborers seem to dwindle and we're still not at the halfway point of the season. Pray for our ministry, the stick-to-it-Iv-ness we need to stay the course for the long haul........keep the faith......and finish the race. With God's help...........it will be done.
Sent from my iPad
The only way to survive is to accept that life is no longer a sprint (if it ever was) but a marathon.....and we are going to have to pace ourself to reach the end with any semblance of energy left. There is no fountain of youth, the golden years are really the olden years and no matter how may ads we see touting eternal youthfulness, we need to face the fact that we are one day closer today than we were yesterday to the end.......and the only way to get there is to slow down, lighten the load and admit that the person looking back at you in the mirror really looks as tired and worn out as the person looking at him.
As we start into the really hot weather, the heart of the summer and the busy tourist season, our duties at the Passion Play continue, the load stays heavy, the laborers seem to dwindle and we're still not at the halfway point of the season. Pray for our ministry, the stick-to-it-Iv-ness we need to stay the course for the long haul........keep the faith......and finish the race. With God's help...........it will be done.
Sent from my iPad
Saturday, July 6, 2019
July 6, 2019. Eureka Springs, AR. By The Book
Most jobs have a routine or procedure, which when followed, allows the job to run smoothly. If we're all on the "same page" everyone is happy, problems are attacked in the same manner and nobody gets upset or injured. Life is good.
When we are given a different task to do, there is usually someone who trains us in the proper procedure and within a short time we get in the groove and no one knows a rookie has stepped in. Isn't it wonderful when this happens.
But every so often someone comes along who doesn't "fit in". They may not catch on to the way things are done, think they have a better way of doing the job, or are just plain cantankerous. I remember a manufacturing job I had years ago, where everything worked so smoothly it made the complicated job we were doing seem almost kindergarten-ish. And then Bob came along, and changed the age-old order of doing things on one of the production machines and the system fell apart. No one could budge Bob from his "improvement" and the only way to remedy the chaos was to relieve Bob of his job. Bob was relieved of his job.
In the Passion Play there are many parts which must come together to make the Play come off in a quality fashion. Many people, many roles, many people asked to perform multiple roles in the same performance and many people being trained to play parts they have never done before. A recorded script, limited time to move from one scene to the next or from one location to another, limited space in which to move and many people going in different directions in the same limited space. When it works as it should it's almost like watching a professional ballet. When it doesn't work as it should it's like watching a train wreck. With many things happening in the dark, on uneven surfaces, steep slopes or stairways there are plenty of opportunities for accidents and injury. If I change my normal routine, I may impact any number of people who will be forced to change their normal routine. I may find myself relieved of my job.
With all this being said, it is an exciting adventure and one well worth the effort expended. People of all ages and backgrounds, varying abilities, different ambitions or goals. Working together to tell a story which has the potential to change lives and impact our eternal destiny. By the book? Yes, the inspired Word of God....... played out in real time, by real people......for real people......for real.
Sent from my iPad
When we are given a different task to do, there is usually someone who trains us in the proper procedure and within a short time we get in the groove and no one knows a rookie has stepped in. Isn't it wonderful when this happens.
But every so often someone comes along who doesn't "fit in". They may not catch on to the way things are done, think they have a better way of doing the job, or are just plain cantankerous. I remember a manufacturing job I had years ago, where everything worked so smoothly it made the complicated job we were doing seem almost kindergarten-ish. And then Bob came along, and changed the age-old order of doing things on one of the production machines and the system fell apart. No one could budge Bob from his "improvement" and the only way to remedy the chaos was to relieve Bob of his job. Bob was relieved of his job.
In the Passion Play there are many parts which must come together to make the Play come off in a quality fashion. Many people, many roles, many people asked to perform multiple roles in the same performance and many people being trained to play parts they have never done before. A recorded script, limited time to move from one scene to the next or from one location to another, limited space in which to move and many people going in different directions in the same limited space. When it works as it should it's almost like watching a professional ballet. When it doesn't work as it should it's like watching a train wreck. With many things happening in the dark, on uneven surfaces, steep slopes or stairways there are plenty of opportunities for accidents and injury. If I change my normal routine, I may impact any number of people who will be forced to change their normal routine. I may find myself relieved of my job.
With all this being said, it is an exciting adventure and one well worth the effort expended. People of all ages and backgrounds, varying abilities, different ambitions or goals. Working together to tell a story which has the potential to change lives and impact our eternal destiny. By the book? Yes, the inspired Word of God....... played out in real time, by real people......for real people......for real.
Sent from my iPad
Wednesday, July 3, 2019
July 3, 2019. Eureka Springs, AR. Happy Birthday, America
Tomorrow we celebrate another birthday of The United States. We're a pretty young country, age 243, and there are many countries far younger than us. When you look at The Bible, you get an idea of how young we really are. Many periods of time in The Bible are far longer than the history of our own country. The descendants of Jacob lived in Egypt for 430 years, Noah lived for almost 950 years, the Tabernacle of Moses had a "life span" of about 440 years and Solomon's Temple, Ezra's rebuilding of the Temple and Herod's Temple thereafter, covered a period of over 1000 years.
By these standards, America is pretty young. We have accomplished some mighty things, had our hand in many of the major events of "modern" world history and been a power to be reckoned with in international affairs, but we are not without our failures, shortcomings and questionable actions at home and abroad. That being said, I am proud to be an American, served in the Armed Forces when called to do so, been blessed to have received a good public school education, allowed to pursue everything I have wanted to pursue and was paid well for the jobs I have held. I have also been free to worship in freedom, make choices about where to live, where to travel and what I wanted to purchase with the money I have earned or been provided with by the Social Security system or my military disability. We have been abundantly blessed.
I pray for our country, our leaders and the path before us. I pray for our world, the leaders of the countries of the world and the path before each of them. And most of all, I pray for God's healing touch on the issues which seem to divide rather than unify us. Happy Birthday, America and may our "present" be a truly United States of America and our future exactly the same. With faith in God and His will and way our will and way.......it will be done.
Sent from my iPad
By these standards, America is pretty young. We have accomplished some mighty things, had our hand in many of the major events of "modern" world history and been a power to be reckoned with in international affairs, but we are not without our failures, shortcomings and questionable actions at home and abroad. That being said, I am proud to be an American, served in the Armed Forces when called to do so, been blessed to have received a good public school education, allowed to pursue everything I have wanted to pursue and was paid well for the jobs I have held. I have also been free to worship in freedom, make choices about where to live, where to travel and what I wanted to purchase with the money I have earned or been provided with by the Social Security system or my military disability. We have been abundantly blessed.
I pray for our country, our leaders and the path before us. I pray for our world, the leaders of the countries of the world and the path before each of them. And most of all, I pray for God's healing touch on the issues which seem to divide rather than unify us. Happy Birthday, America and may our "present" be a truly United States of America and our future exactly the same. With faith in God and His will and way our will and way.......it will be done.
Sent from my iPad
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