Good Morning All & Happy Sunday! A beautiful Indian Summer day it is in Spokane!
Happy Birthday to our friends Kathy & Shelby, awesome wives & mothers, who celebrate their birthday tomorrow, Sept. 16th! Here’s to both of you! Belated Happy Birthday to wife, mother, daughter & sister extraordinaire, LuRae, who celebrated her birthday on Sept. 13th! Here’s to you!
And last, but certainly not least, here’s to my cousin and carpenter/maintenance man extraordinaire, Larry in Walla Walla, who celebrates his birthday this Wednesday, Sept. 18th!
I felt like Chip Gaines of TV’s “Fixer Upper” yesterday as I got the chance to demo part of Jake & Sarah’s 60+ year old fence in preparation of the installation of a brand new fence at their home in North Spokane. This old fence is thought to be as old as their house, which was built in 1956, almost as old as I am…and that’s getting old! Dwight Eisenhower was president of the United States when that fence was built! Like Chip Gaines, I love “Demo Day!” I’m not much with a hammer & saw, but I can sure destroy things pretty well!
Speaking of Jake & Sarah, they posted a video of my grandson, Izaak (Ike), taking his first tricycle ride…what a hoot! He got on it for abit and then proceeded to topple over in what looked to be slow motion….something like Arte Johnson (or was it Alan Sous?) did on TV’s “Laugh-In”. It’s fun to watch little Izaak grow up! He brings so much joy into our lives!
Our friend Ray reminded me the other day that September 28th, 2019 is “Hands Across The Falls Day” in Spokane. All of us are encouraged to come to the Monroe Street Bridge at 11:30 a.m.. to line up across the bridge for a moment of silence at 12 Noon to celebrate those in our area who are thriving in addiction recovery and honor those who have lost their battles of addiction. The first 600 people will receive a commemorative medal. Following the event, there will be a Resource & Information Fair on treating substance abuse of various kinds. The Fair will be located on the northeast side of the Monroe Street Bridge at Summit Parkway. Free information will be available for those interested in recovery services and support. I participated in this event last year and it was a moving experience for me. Many of us know someone near and dear to us who has struggled with addiction or lost their fight against their addiction. A member of our extended family, a beautiful young woman, compromised her health and died prematurely due to an extended use of heroin. Even though she had beat her heroin addiction through the use of methadone, the damage caused to her heart by extended drug use caused her to die in her mid 40s. Substance abuse does terrible things to our bodies! Come down and participate in this year’s event…you’ll be glad you did!
I came across the 1969 Topps Football Card for Jim Simon, who played guard for the Detroit Lions and the Atlanta Falcons. He was born in 1940 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and played high school football at Scott Township and then went on to play college football at the University of Miami. He was a 15th round draft pick of the Detroit Lions in 1963. He ended his career with Atlanta, after being taken by them in the expansion draft when the Atlanta NFL franchise was started. According to his Topps Football Card, “Jim blossomed into a fine offensive lineman in 1967 after gaining a starting assignment from the injury-riddled Falcons. Jim now holds down a regular guard position on the strength of his aggressive, hard–hitting play. Extremely versatile, Jim can also handle a tackle or defensive end slot.” He spoke out against strikebreakers in the 1968 players strike over pensions…
Here is the trivia question for the day:
Q: What is the only dog breed specifically mentioned in the Bible?
A: Dogs are mentioned in the Bible 14 times. The only breed of dog mentioned by name is the Bible is the greyhound (Proverbs 30:29-31)…”There be three things which do well, yea, which are comely in going: A lion, which is strongest among beasts and turneth not away from any; A greyhound, A he-goat also.” Many versions, including the King James version, name the Greyhound as one of the “four things stately” in the Proverbs. The fast and graceful greyhound was known in ancient time, at least 3,000 B.C.. It’s image appears in Egyptian tombs.
Here’s the silly question for the day:
Q: How do you know when the moon is going broke?
A: When it’s down to its last quarter.
Here are some thoughts for the day:
I read an article on the internet the other day called “How A Divided Heart Steals Your Joy” and thought it worthy of sharing some excerpts with you:
“…Cultivating a holy, reverent fear of God immediately challenges my divided heart. If I truly fear God, the motivation to divide my heart between the kingdom of God and the things of this world is driven away from me.
The enemy was able to drive a wedge in the hearts of the first couple in the Garden of Eden. They were created with the awesome opportunity to love God and God only. It’s unthinkable that they would do anything else. The great German theologian Karl Barth described the fall as “the impossible possibility.” Although it was possible, it was also incomprehensible. Yet the enemy succeeded by turning Eve’s attention away from complete trust in God and onto the prospect of placing her own needs and desires on the throne of her life. As she contemplated what it might be like to be like God, her heart became divided.
We reenact that sin every time our divided hearts convince us to play the lord of our lives and grab control for ourselves. Once the heart is divided, once we seek to have loyalty to two kingdoms with two different lords, we experience fear, stress, anxiety, and worry that were never intended to be in the heart of a child of God…
…Where has your heart been divided?
There is a saying in politics that if you want to know the real reason why someone speaks, acts, or votes in a certain way, “follow the money.” I believe there is a parallel for us here in this lesson. If you want to figure out where in your life you have compromise, conformity, and disobedience, “follow the fear.” What you fear will lead you back to what you love, what you worship, and in what (or in whom) you put your trust. The challenge in today’s lesson is to follow your fears, your stresses, your worries, and your anxieties back to their source. When you arrive there, acknowledge your divided heart and pray that the fear of God and God alone may overwhelm you.”
—Dr. Scott Rodin, “How A Divided Heart Steals Your Joy,” The Steward’s Journey, September 12, 2019 (www.thestewardsjourney.com)
“Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.”
—Psalm 86, verse 11
Here’s to a great Sunday and lots of love always! GO CUBS….GO PACKERS…GO SEAHAWKS!!!!
Press on,
Papa ‘a (Dad, Uncle Mark, etc.)