Back in the saddle

I am throwing up a quick post, but I will be adding some more later today. I have been under the weather pretty much since Monday. Dropped 9lbs though! You don't need the details. ;-)

What a crazy week. Last Saturday I was honored to be chosen to render the first salute to a graduating ROTC. We have known each other for about 3 years now. He's a smart, hard working kid. I gave him one of my ACU day planners that I had received from our unit (they replaced the old 'Leader's books'), and one of the St. Barbara coins I had bought for the guys over in Iraq. He in turn gave me the traditional Silver Dollar (a nice bicentennial piece) and a WW-I era Artillery Branch pin. Very nice. Yet another example of me working with a kid just starting off in his military career as mine is in twilight. On the way home I stopped by the place I bought my sons beds at and bought a pair of desks and some storage shelving/boxes for me. Oddest thing though, their warehouse was closed! On Memorial Day weekend!?! That has to be a crazy thing, and a not so good business decision.

Sunday we went to a friends house for a BBQ. A great time was had by all. I also had a chance to meet an old friend from high school and his 12 year old daughter. Through him I found out that another old friend may be reachable. This long lost fellow was the one I joined the Guard with back in '86. I need to pick up the phone and call him.

On Monday I went back out for my unit's annual Memorial Day parade. The town supposedly has the longest continually running Memorial Day parade in America. At the end we always perform a salute at the town cemetery. After it's all over the local American Legion Hall puts together a good spread for us. That morning is when I started to fell a little 'under the weather' and by the time I got back home I had to lay down for little bit.

The rest of the week has been a fight. I will not try and gross anyone out, but I am still dragging today. I had some other thoughts, but they have gotten lost in the process of getting through the day. :-) I hope you all have a blessed day, and weekend.
Verse for today:
James 5 : 13-18, ESV
Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. [2] Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

What was a childhood hero?

When we are kids we say our hero's are Policemen, or Firemen, or Soldiers. Maybe it was the Six-Million Dollar man (showing my age now, aren't I ;) ). As we get older we choose professional athletes, or musicians/actors. But I think the true test of who/what our heroes are is who have the greatest impact on our lives. Who helped mold our lives. Last night I think I came to realize one of my heroes growing up was a character few would ever suspect... Walter "Radar" O'Reilly!

I (think I) know what you all are thinking... why him? Well, I am not sure really. I was having trouble sleeping and there was a M*A*S*H marathon going on on TV. The last two episodes I watched were the ones when Radar got sent home.

In part I he is on his way home from leave in Tokyo (I think), and the unit is struggling with their generators. He meets a woman who is on her way home. They have a "moment", and Radar eventually gets back to the 4077th. Of course Klinger has made a complete mess. Radar finds our he's going home, etc. etc. etc.

But as I made some chamomile tea (1st time I had ever done that - I would like to say here and now... that stuff works!) I was thinking. I really liked that character. I liked his innocence. I liked his honesty. I liked his work ethic. As I look at my life I really think that character had the biggest impact on who I wanted to be personally. I am not saying I went out and had a pet rabbit, or have an overwhelming desire to move to Ottumwa Iowa or anything. But I look at my personality now, and reflect on my reactions and opinions while watching the show from years ago, Gary Burghoff (aka Walter "Radar" O'Reilly) had a very big impact on my life. He's no Peter (disciple), or Lance Armstrong. But he had a way about him - even though he was a fictitious person only being portrayed by an actor. Without knowing about the novel, or the two attempts at a series after M*A*S*H, I want to believe that he went home and looked up that nurse, and the two of them lived happily ever after.
Verse for today:
Philippians 3 : 12-16, ESV
Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

What am I scared of?

Or is it that I just don't like doing things without knowing how first? I still haven't tried out the new program I downloaded last week. Just type... that's what I do all day for work anyway. Point-click, type, enter... I mean, I'm not even on the hook for anything. I just want to do it for fun! Theodore Roosevelt said it best:

"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds might have done better.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, if he wins, knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold timid souls who know neither victory or defeat."

Too often I am more among those on the sidelines, even in areas that I want to be a part of. I do not owe anyone this story that I want to write. There is no deadline. I am only writing really for myself. Sure I post them in a blog for all to see, but there are no expectations there either. And it's not just in my writing.

I get "camera shy" in other things I do. I've always wanted to do small time acting... but I get up there and I start to stutter, etc. Once, for church, I was in a small play and I had the only part where I could sit down and read my lines. Do you know I was the only one in our 3 day run that flubbed their lines! LOL

I like to write, I like to imagine, I like to pretend and play - it's just that I don't like to do those things publicly.
Verse for today:
Psalm 107 : 4-9, ESV
Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to a city to dwell in;
hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He led them by a straight way
till they reached a city to dwell in.
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
For he satisfies the longing soul,
and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

Where do we go from here?

Wednesday is for rambling I guess. My mind is pretty cluttered right now. I laugh at, but I am also frustrated by, a "piece of flair" over on Facebook. There is one button that reads, "I'm not random, I just have many tho... Oh Squirell!!". I really need to get tested... maybe do something about it. Another button reads, "I know I came in to this room for a reason!" I feel like that a lot. Even when I am praying I will find that I have "wandered" off in some bizarre, often unrelated, thought. And I hate it. I know that when someone is talking to me, there had better not be some thing going on over their shoulder. It's gotten to the point where when I go out to eat with my beloved I ask to be seated with my back to the room.

I have been working on a story line in my head for about a month now. I'm really excited about it, but I am getting nervous that it will fall by the wayside and I won't get back to it. I still have to finish up the one "commissioned" (unpaid) short story that I started about the same time. This guy is counting on me to get it done and I am dragging my feet. At last count, I have four on-going character threads - all based in the "Necromunda" universe. I don't know why they are all based there. It's probably because I have so much material available to help me know what this fictitious place is like, and I am not able to come up with (and keep track of) such background. This new story idea is also bringing back a character that I used to write about two years ago... so I guess that makes five, and a sixth. Oh well...

I found out today (through yet another Facebook application) that they are remaking the Highlander movie. Now, I have never heard of this webpage before today, and I am not sure how reliable their sources are, but I am interested enough to see if this actually does come to be. I am at a different place spiritually, philosophically, morally, and personally from when the first movie was released... but it is science fiction and thus it has at least some of my interest.

Dan Morgan, formally of the Carolina Panthers, announced his retirement from professional football Monday night. The Panthers had released him earlier this year because of his on going health concerns... and not just from "what can he do for us lately", but for an honest concern for his overall well being. I am glad that he looked around his home and realized and how good he had it and decided to hang up his cleats before something much more serious happened to him.

Ok, before this begins to look like Gunny's, "Sounds like somebody got a case of the Mondays", I will wrap this up with a final tangent. With my up coming retirement from the National Guard, I have been looking into ways I can replace the lost income. Especially because my beloved does not want to go back to work (she has her hands full enough with children's ministry, family life ministry, and being a full time advocate for not just my son but all special needs children in our local schools), and I want to enable her to do that. My little candy store is just not going to cover the loss in income. I have two or three side business ideas floating around in my head, as well as perhaps seeking out a shift change at my work. God has been very gracious to us, but I do not want to just sit on the roof waiting for God to perform a miracle if He's already sending rescuers by other means.
Verse for today:
James 3 : 1-12, ESV
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.

How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, [1] and set on fire by hell. [2] For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, [3] these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

Music Monday - 20080520

Ok, I know... I am a day late. But I have a good reason. It's because I took yesterday off. :)

Over the weekend I could not get this song out of my head. It played over, and over, and over... and not in that annoying kind of way. I ended up downloading it so I could listen to someone who was actually a good singer, sing it. LOL

Agnus Dei
by Michael W. Smith
Album: Worship - 09/11/2001

Alleluia
Alleluia
For the Lord God Almighty reigns

Alleluia
Alleluia
For the Lord God Almighty reigns

Alleluia
Holy
Holy are You Lord God Almighty
Worthy is the Lamb
Worthy is the Lamb

You are holy
Holy are you Lord God Almighty
Worthy is the Lamb
Worthy is the Lamb

Amen

I remember when I first purchased the DVD for this album. I won active duty and feeling kind of lonely around Christmas time. The entire album has left an impression upon me and I like to put the DVD in when I am pittering around the house. I guess the song came to my mind because this weekend was another drill weekend, and I am running out of those. The lyrics really do not reflect the power of the music. The lyrics are powerful, but when you feel them in your soul... music has a way of filling you with the words. You feel them for a lack of a better word. One thing has come to mind however... can you be this "worshipful" when it is just you and God? When it is just you and the Lord, singing with no one else - or even those you are not familiar with - around? I confess that I have a harder time when I am around those I am not 'comfortable' with. And when I am alone I sometimes struggle to stay focused. But, I still love to sing and praise the Lord.

I love music, I love to sing, I love to hum, I love to whistle. I once tried to teach myself how to play the keyboard, but got discouraged (in only two months). If I had more time I'd like to think I would take music lessons. I am almost jealous of Phil Connors (Bill Murray) in Ground Hog Day.

I hope you all had a grace and peace filled weekend.
Verse for today:
Psalm 42 : 1-4, ESV
As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God? [2]
My tears have been my food
day and night,
while they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
These things I remember,
as I pour out my soul:
how I would go with the throng
and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise,
a multitude keeping festival.

We're all fine here, um... how are you?

This has been an "interesting" week to say the least. With my beloved being home again (YEA!), and the kids in the middle of standardized test week, me trying to pull together some minor projects around the house, working on some short stories, and all of the other routine things that happen around my little "dojo"... my mind has really not been on blogging much this week.

Oh! One thing I would like to comment on for all you writers out there. I have been having trouble keeping track of my story ideas for this really long short story I want to write. I must have three different notebooks I have scribble notes in, not to mention some Word documents, so I have been searching on-line "how to outline stories". There are a ton of useful websites, but I am suffering through information overload. :-) There is a program out there that has a really flashy front. If the program is half as useful as the website is designed, then I will be forking over the license fee when the trial period is up. The program is called "Liquid Story Binder XE". I am going to give it a try over the weekend and see how much I like it.

If anyone has good advice on how to write a story, how to submit stories, or just plain story writing experiences, I'd love to hear about them.
Verse for today:
Proverb 16 : 1-6, ESV
The plans of the heart belong to man,
but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,
but the Lord weighs the spirit.
Commit your work to the Lord,
and your plans will be established.
The Lord has made everything for its purpose,
even the wicked for the day of trouble.
Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord;
be assured, he will not go unpunished.
By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for,
and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil.

I have nothin', so instead of trying to make it up on the fly, here are some blogthings...

What Your Taste in Music Says About You

Your musical tastes are reflective and complex. You are intellectual to the point of being cerebral. You are very open to new experiences, and even more open to new ideas and theories. Wisdom and personal accomplishment are important to you. You are naturally sophisticated. You are drawn to art, especially art by independent artists. You are likely to be financially well off... and not because you were born that way.

What Does Your Taste in Music Say About You?

What Your Peanut Butter And Jelly Sandwich Means

Your eating style is gluttonous. If you like something, you're going back for seconds... no matter how full you are! You don't really have a sweet tooth. If you go for dessert, you tend to go for something light. Your taste in food tends to be pretty flexible. You may crave sushi one night, and your favorite childhood recipe the next. You belong to a class that's all your own. You resist rules and traditions of any sort. You are a tough person who isn't afraid to live life fully. There isn't a lot that scares you. Precise and controlled, you can be a bit anal retentive when it comes to how you like things. You're definitely a perfectionist.

What Does Your Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Say About You?