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Found

8 May

You Find The Lost When It Is Too Late

I had a gym card and lost it. It vanished like a ghost never to be seen again, it seemed. To replace the card, it cost me five dollars. Once I had paid for a replacement, I shuffled some books on my desk, and there was my lost gym card waving hello to me.

Ed, my old neighbor, had no sympathy for me as he said, “That is just the first time you have lost that card, you are forever losing keys, glasses, cards, and even your ball cap.” When you want a little encouragement, it is hard to find.

On The Trail Again

8 May

Going Where Thousands Have Gone Before

Ed, my old neighbor from Saskatchewan, and I are planning a trip to the various spots, gold was discovered here in B.C. From 1850 -1899 gold was found in multiple areas of the colony of British Columbia, so there is no shortage of gold strike places to see and explore including some fascinating ghost towns.

Forest Fires last year shut our plans down, but this year we are hoping to explore the Cariboo Gold Rush sites. We will be tourists along with others following the gold rush routes into the heart of the province. Our travel by car will be comfortable through mountain highways, no hard deed to accomplish.

First Things First

26 Apr

Too Hard And Cynical To Believe And Trust

There is no doubt that Ed, my old friend in Saskatchewan, is a cynic in temperament. My old neighbor called last weekend and was skeptical of my plans to attend Maundy Thursday and Good Friday church services, as well as Easter Sunday morning. Since he tends to see any church attendance as pointless, extra services in one week had him questioning my motivation for attending them.

Since Jesus lived and died more than two thousand years ago, Ed is sure that the church’s Holy Week is rooted in antiquity that is irrelevant to sane people today. He is a naysayer about Jesus as both man and God. He believes Jesus was a man but not the Son of God. My old neighbor is like Thomas unwilling to accept Jesus is God and is risen from the dead. He must be able to touch the nail holes in his hands and see Jesus alive in the flesh with his own eyes. Until this happens, Ed is unwilling to have faith in Jesus and worship Him.

Confusion

20 Apr

If You Are Confused, I Am Totally Mixed Up!

I told Ed, my old neighbor in Saskatchewan, that it had been our time to deal with confusion. Things had spiraled out of control, like when you drop a glass that shatters, into many pieces.

It began two weeks ago when we heard the news that a friend had died suddenly. Her death was confusing for our friend had not been facing a major health problem, but was abruptly dead, with her husband and seven children left to pick up the pieces of their broken hearts. It was a hidden health condition that snatched her life away in the same way that heart attacks and strokes steal lives in a few hours.

Maximum Pain and Suffering

12 Apr

It Tastes Awful, But It Works!

Most folks dislike the taste of Buckley’s cold medicine.  Ed, my old neighbor in Saskatchewan, swears by it for stopping a cough. Personally, I think that Buckley’s tastes awful, but it works, so it’s a definite cure if you take it of your own free will.

The Romans forged a mighty Empire by using some methods that were awful but extremely effective. One such approach, to kept law and order, was crucifixion.  As a punishment, crucifixion maximized pain and suffering while killing rebels and criminals in a truly horrible way. It worked so well that it was a real deterrent to trouble makers. Crucifixion was the favored way of the Romans at the time of Jesus for executing slaves, foreigners, revolutionaries, and criminals. The only time a Roman citizen was crucified was for desertion from the army.

No Escape

5 Apr

Trouble May Turn Deadly Even For The Innocent

Ed, my old neighbor in Saskatchewan, believes a lousy day is unavoidable once in a while, but he feels some folks have months and years of bad days. My old neighbor feels going to church is a bad day for himself. He considers churches the location of funerals. They are events that are as bad as it gets for the dead and the living. Ed also believes churches are the source of trouble because people get married at churches, and once the wedding is over the problems starts.

Trouble and bad days go together. Trouble usually comes in bunches which seem beyond our control. There is a delightful children’s book by Judith Viorst called, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. In the book, Alexander a seven or eight-year-old boy had a day when everything went wrong. His day started when he woke up with gum in his hair that had been in his mouth when he went to bed. At school, at the dentist, at the shoe store, at dinner, in his bath, and in bed trouble found Alexander. He was sure if he could run away to Australia his Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day would not happen there.

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