Pretty day today, lots of blue sky and sunshine.  Have another doctor’s appointment in preparation for the next surgery in a few minutes.  Prayers will be appreciated.

 

.....But if anyone could honestly answer that question, yes, it was Jack........

Jack, continued:

Jack tried to help us with our observation, and at the same time insure we were patrolling our areas.  He would hit a portion of our area and leave a message of some kind.  It could be a note in the snow, or a moving of something from one place to another.  While I never saw them, he was said to leave paper notes prominently displayed.  If you hadn’t contacted him by mid-shift, he would give you a heads up and ask you if you had seen anything different in your area.  You then knew you had best find it.  We usually did.  It helped, but still didn’t bring anyone up to his level.

Frequently officers must meet while on patrol to exchange information they do not want going over the radio.   While sometimes the officers met in the office, most of the times they just selected a parking lot or area and pulled alongside each other driver’s side to driver’s side. These meets were supposed to be for police information and they were supposed to be short.  The idea of a police patrol is being out and around looking for something unusual and perhaps preventing a crime or catching the criminal in the act.  Often just the presence of an officer in an area will deter a crime.

One night Jack and I were meeting in a parking lot of a local store.  We were both in marked police cars.   I was facing the store; Jack was facing away from it.  After a couple of minutes, he said, “don’t hit your brakes or do anything.  There is someone trying to break into that store over there.”  I looked in my rear view mirror and sure enough, I saw someone going over a privacy fence that was in the back of a local pizza parlor.  We set there for a few minutes.  Jack said, “Let’s go.  You take the front and I’ll take the back.”  As we went over there, the person was climbing back over the fence.  He had heard our cars, or something that made him suspicious.  We arrested him and took him to jail for criminal trespass.  He had not gotten into the store, yet, when he heard us.

Since it was a misdemeanor and we still had our jail downstairs, that is where we took him.  As we were booking him, one of the inmates recognized his voice.  He called out, “Jim, what are you in for?”  Jim just replied, “Nothing, I didn’t do anything.”  Jack couldn’t resist, he said, “Nope, just climbed a fence to break into the pizza place while we were sitting across the street in marked police cars, in plain sight watching him.”  Jim denied that he hadn’t seen us; he said, “I saw you, I was just checking out the trash.”  However, it was hollow and he was embarrassed about his oversight.  Especially, since, even at his young age of 19, he was one of our more prolific burglars. 

The judge gave him a couple months in jail, so he had time to reflect on his mistake.  It didn’t stop him from burglarizing businesses, but did make him harder to catch, he was a little more watchful than before – unfortunately police officers weren’t the only ones that learned from Jack to be more observant.

Psalm 86:5 For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.

Psalm 59:16  But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.

So often we forget to praise God for His mercy.  He owes us nothing, yet, we are everything to Him.

He gave us His written Word that we might know His love and grace; so that we will know how to live a righteous life.

He gave us Jesus, the culmination of His Word, that we might have ever lasting life with Him.

He gave us His Holy Spirit that we might live our life in a manner pleasing to Him.

He is there for us at all times, we can rejoice that He has led us to the mountain tops – and we can rejoice that He is with us and leads us out of the trials and tribulations that are in the valleys.

When we allow our heart to sing His praises we are filled with joy and the strength that He gives to those who obey Him.

We feel the surging of His Spirit within us and we find our souls soaring above all things and focused on the love He has for us.

We are overwhelmed by the power within us as the Holy Spirit fills and overfills our spirit and we find that nothing on earth matters, only desire to be with Him, serving Him has any meaning.

When we give praise to Him, we ask ourselves why we cannot remember these times of infilling and why we forget that He is always there for us?

We owe Him everything, yet, we withhold all too much of ourselves and find that we can fill ourselves drifting away from the power He gives us when we recognize Him for who He is and praise Him for all He means to us.

Praising Him renews the Joy of when we accepted Christ as our Savior, renews our commitment and swells are heart with the pride of being His child.

Praise should be an intricate part of our everyday life.  It is as important as prayer.  In prayer we have a conversation with Him; in praise we allow our minds, spirits and souls to be free of anything other than Him. 

In praising Him we open the door to our heart and give him the honor and acclamations He so richly deserves.  It is not about us, our needs or desires; it is all about Him and His Holiness.

While the primary reason for praise is to give Him glory, it also revitalizes and re-energizes our lives and our souls; He honors our praises.

When we praise God, no matter what is happening to us, no matter where we are, physically, we find ourselves on the mountain top and spiritually face to face with Him.

Praise is different from prayer; it is different from giving thanks – both of which are incredibly important in our lives – it is giving one’s self wholly and totally over to Him just as the angels do.

Praise is one of the primary reasons Paul could say in Philippians 4:11-12  Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.  ¹² I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

We need to focus more on praising God; giving Him His due.  It releases our spirit, renews our Joy and it will allow us to follow Him anywhere.

Later,

From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again