In our neck of the woods it is bright and shiny.  Unfortunate Carla had to accompany me to the doctor’s office and it took almost an hour longer that we had planned.

Meanwhile, though Deed and Josh were in town and took down all the fencing and tomato cages so we can better prepare her garden for when Josh comes back up with his tractor and rototiller to plow the garden.

We will be doing some transplanting of seedlings into other containers shortly, they are looking healthy and, of course, there are hundreds of them.  She will be giving most of them away; she loves it.

Taking some more tests to make sure that super bacteria I had in last fall was completely eradicated.  We shall see.

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Luke 15:4-5 “What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?

⁵ And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.”  KJV

To be honest, verse 4 used to bother me.  After all, the shepherd has a full flock of sheep of 100 to care for, why would he endanger the 99 by leaving them and searching for the lost one. 

The wolves don’t fear the sheep, no matter the number, they fear the shepherd.

But during the search for a three year old, lost in a cherry orchard for over 24 hours before we located him, it came to me.

We had dozens of people searching for this boy.  He was lost and a 3 year old can only last so long without proper help, these were hot days of summer and he had no food or water, let alone clothing that was warm at night.

The parents were beside themselves; they were Mexican, doing migrant work and knew very few of the people they were working with and of course none of the rest of us.  They kept saying how they thought he had been abducted, they knew of other such cases, and that thought was horrifying to them.  We had someone assigned to them to help them and to provide information and comfort to them – but, as with most of us, there was little conciliation, they were so afraid for their child.

We had regular employees assigned to the search as well as volunteers.  We had a helicopter in the air with a deputy inside helping to look and keeping in contact with the search commander.

The boy was located as he came out of hiding to wave at the helicopter, a long ways from where he was last seen.

Everyone did indeed rejoice, the parents, of course were ecstatic.  Their son was lost and now he was found.

Wasco County is 2994 square miles in size; the search area was, at the most, 2 square miles.

The population of the county, while not large, was still over 24,000 people, plus at least 5000 – 10,000 migrant workers in the orchards all around The Dalles.  There was but one boy missing.

While the search was ongoing, so was the need to service the other 24,000 plus people.  We had court to take care of, we had inmates in the jail, we had papers to serve, other areas that had to be patrolled, other cases to investigate, not to mention having deputies available for other calls in the county.

But when we were looking for the boy, the rest of the county received its regular protection.  We continued to work, answered calls, serve critical papers and fulfill our contracts to other agencies.

We did not leave the county unprotected.

In Jesus’ example neither did the shepherd, which of course was an analogy of Christ’s searching for the lost souls while those that were saved were in a place of safety.

He is not going to leave the rest of us without His love and protection; He is there for us whenever we ask and even though His Holy Spirit is continually working with non-believers all over the world, those that have committed their lives to Him are secure in His hands.

Psalm 40:1-3  “I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.

² He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.

³ And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.” KJV

Mathew 28:20 “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” KJV

Lord let us rely on the assurance of your protection that we might serve you as we share your Gospel with others; knowing that while your Holy Spirit is working with them, you are also watching over us as our Good Shepherd.

Later, Art (-:

Been down a few days, since the September bout with a very nasty bug that put me in the hospital, it seems it doesn’t take much to get a ‘relapse’ although I don’t think that is what it is, just system appears more vulnerable – doing better today.

Sunny outside but with a biting wind, yesterday we hit 67 in our neck of the woods, not supposed to go that high today, we shall see.  This doesn’t effect, Carla, but with plants starting to share their pollen, I can do without it.

Both mountains are covered with clouds, but down here is sunshine and trees starting to bloom out, a few crocus have shown their faces, and Carla can go out and play in the dirt.

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“As Christian we need to understand there are consequences for trusting in anything other than God, who is able to meet all our needs - natural or spiritual.”   David Odunaiya

Acts 17:21 “(For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)”  KJV

The world is forever coming up with ‘new’ ideas on how to be a spiritual, or at least a good person.  One who is at ‘peace’ with himself and at peace with the universe.

As Christians we must be very careful not to fall into traps that sound good, but once evaluated have flaws and holes in the way they interpret the Bible that you could drive a Mack Truck through.  That is if they even acknowledge ANY Biblical principles.

When we attend secular workshops, conferences or training we are often introduced to ‘new’ techniques in relaxing or opening our minds to new ways to make ourselves more positive and thus more effective.

At first sight these things may not seem all that bad, they have a purpose and they seem to work – but they do not line up with the Word of God, who has many verses on how to relieve our stress and concerns.

There are always movements by ‘religious’ leaders, also.  The prosperity movement that tells us that God will give us wealth untold and everything money can buy if we just trust in Him to provide it. 

It sounded good, but didn’t hold up under the light of the Gospel; and it has been pretty well debunked – although it rears its ugly head from time to time.

That isn’t what the Bible says, and when we start focusing on ‘wanting’ things because we think we deserve them by ‘trusting’ God we will find ourselves drifting farther and farther away from God.  

Or the preachers that preached if you tell God what you want done and then not follow through as if it has already been accomplished then you need to work on your faith in God.

That was driven home by riding with the preacher that told the traffic lights to turn green and then continued as if they were, fortunately for that drive, it did.  Nope wasn’t interested in going anywhere with him.

But how foolish we are when we think God is just there to do our bidding.  That He must answer to us and not the other way around.

I remember one department head that would go to a conference or meeting and immediately come back and try to implement what he had learned without considering if that was right for his department – not pointing fingers, there were times I found myself in that category and sometimes learned that it wasn’t a proper fit.

I can remember attending a Sunday School conference where the emphasis was on Bus ministry.  They had a young minister from a church in the mid-west come and speak and then give workshops on how to build a bus ministry.

Soon after churches all over the state were going to build a bus ministry and bring in more and more children.

The ideas that minister gave were solid, they worked for him; BECAUSE he had the leadership and drive to get others to help with it.  It was a demanding work.

Every Saturday they went door to door, reminding those children who came, where and when the bus would be coming in their neighborhood.  They passed out leaflets so they could get even more children to come.

They had the classroom space and the teachers to work with the children.  They had the drivers and the volunteers on the bus greeting the kids, and giving them cookies or something to put in their stomachs since many were coming without breakfast.

Every Saturday.  Every Sunday.  Week in and Week out, 52 weeks a year; and then follow-up during the week with first time riders.  

It took a full commitment from the Church Body for this ministry to work and it took time to get that commitment.

He had the vision, the personality and the ability to excite his congregation and it had been a successful campaign for some years.  AND of course, the Holy Spirit was deeply involved in the process and the work was blessed.

However, it doesn’t necessarily translate to every church, every community it takes time and a willingness to help others find that dedication – and, to my knowledge, none of the churches that started a bus ministry after that conference kept it going for very long.

“New, Improved” may sound good for selling soap, but we have a Gospel to ‘sell’ and “New and Improved” doesn’t cut it.

We get wrapped up in what other churches or other parts of the country are doing; we see the world capturing our young peoples’ minds and hearts with their trickery and psychological maneuvers and we think if we don’t duplicate that we are going to lose our youth.

While adapting some of the techniques might work with the mission we have, we want to be careful about looking so much like the world that the world cannot tell us apart from them.

God’s mind doesn’t change; it is the same as it was in the beginning.  HE is God, when man fell to sin He promised a Redeemer, He sent the Redeemer in the human body of Jesus, who bled and died for our sins, AND whose death was accepted by God as the sacrificial lamb for all that believe on His Name.

Anything that trivializes that fact, anything that contradicts God’s Word needs to be not only confronted but discarded.

We are all subject in one way or another with the temptation of trying out ‘new’ ideas without questioning their validity – we cannot allow that to happen, particularly when it comes to our relationship with God, His Son and His Holy Spirit – and how that translates to our relationship with others.

There are new ways of communicating to the world who God is and who Christ is; while the social media can become a hazard to us, where information can be put out there that has no semblance of truth, it can also be used to tell others about Him.

Social media, in and of itself is neutral, it is how we treat it that it can be either life affirming, or lead to the path of destruction.

Lord, may any ‘new’ idea or way of presenting your Word be fully examined before I embrace it as the ‘next great thing.’

Later, Art (-:

BAND OF BROTHERS

“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother;” - Shakespeare

Mathew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” KJV

Yesterday we were in Prineville, OR celebrating the life of Carla’s brother-in-law, Gary.  He is a Christian and the stories about his life here on earth reflected that dedication, as well as his love of family and cars.  Good, humorous, stories telling the story of this remarkable man.

At the beginning of the ceremony the Band of Brothers, from Prineville, held a military ceremony in the best traditions of the military.

I had never heard of the group, neither had Norm, so I cornered one of the Team Leaders to learn more about them. 

They were founded in Prineville about 6 years ago.  He had been with them for the last 3 years.  He said they are not part of a national group (and he had never heard of any,) but there is a group in Redmond and one in Bend.

They are made up of veterans, both retirees and those that served just one tour of duty, from our military and all branches are represented.  They perform the ceremony at any and all veteran funerals, if asked.  This group will be going to Rogue River, OR to conduct a ceremony in a few days – which is a LONG ways from Prineville.

Gary served in the Navy well over 50 years ago, but it didn’t matter, what matters was he served and that qualified him for their respect and willingness to be there for him and the family.

Prineville is a relatively small community – although twice the size that I remember 50 years ago it is still only about 6000 people.  Yet, this was the third service this group served that day.  There were a minimum of 15 and probably closer to 20 men and one woman who participated in the ceremony.

Every flag, of every branch, the POW/MIA flag, and of course the American flag were in the presentation of the colors.  That was 9 of the members.  There was a gun salute and taps – performed outside, that was at least 4 members.  There were 2 bagpipe players, another 2 and quite possibly a person or two I may have missed.

In addition, because he was a Navy Veteran, two Navy men in dress blues (I was not in the military so the insignias didn’t help me identify rank, but they were at the very least non-coms) performed the flag ceremony.

While the Band of Brothers wore their service insignias on their suntan shirts – their uniform – military rank was not considered in the designation of who was in charge, everyone was called Mister, not sure about the young lady.

The team leader I talked to was a First Sergeant; one of the rank and file was a Major.

The team leader told me that they were qualified to actually perform the flag ceremony in the name of the country.  They had to undergo a training program that included how each fold represented something, how it must be done correctly every time.  He was quite proud of the fact that they could serve the family and country in that manner.

Most citizens know the Band of Brothers designation belongs to the military – as stressed in the HBO Mini-Series, Band of Brothers.

But few realize that it is a group that includes the millions of service men and women, from every branch of the service no matter the length of time served.  They signed the blank check saying they would defend this country even to their death and that is all that is needed.

I am thankful for these dedicated men and women.  In a day when far too many of us did not serve and, there are a number that denigrate our military, they don’t forget and they want to honor every veteran that served. 

May God Bless them.

Later, Art (-:

It was raining, hard, it was dark and it was gloomy in our neck of the woods this morning.  Fog on the hills so thick we can’t see the hills – the trees were mere shadowy ‘things’ that loomed out there, waiting to show themselves as either friend or foe.  Winter is not giving in; while I admire its tenacity it is time for it to accept defeat; it really is time for Spring.

We will be attending Gary’s (Carla’s brother-in-law) memorial tomorrow; quite a shock – goes to bed healthy and happy and wakes up with a torn aorta, there was nothing they could do for him.

I felt so sorry for his children and his new wife.  Death comes when it comes.  We have loved ones that had an illness that eventually incapacitated them to the point where death was expected; but, as hard as it is we have time to prepare ourselves.

A death, as immediate as Gary’s, comes so quickly that we can be in shock for a long time before the realization finally comes to us.  Gary was prepared for whenever God called him home and with that affirmation, while we grieve his leaving us, we rejoice with him that he is pain free, praising God and we will once again meet with him, in glory, forever.

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Romans 6:23 “ For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  KJV

In this day and age when equality is a big thing; when equal pay for all is an important topic, the above verse reminds us that in the end, either we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, or we die in our sins.

The wages of sin:  death.  There is no inequality.

We look at wages as earned.  We earn our money to purchase the things we need – and some we want – to live our life, to make a home for ourselves and our family.

The wages of sin is the same for all people.  Whether you are the head of a Fortune 500 Company or work in a fast food place as a clerk the end wage is the same.

It doesn’t depend on your marital status, your politics, the color of your skin or your sex; the wages of sin are the same for all of us.

We cannot buy our way out by doing good works, by being nice, by being a good person, by going to church, by donating money, work or gifts to a non-profit organization – NONE of it counts against those wages if we do not accept God’s gift.

There are far too many religious leaders, even over Christian organizations, that have been softening this message to the point where those that listen to them are not kneeling before God and confessing their sins; not realizing that no matter what they do, no matter how hard they may try to be righteous, without that first step of kneeling at the Cross and accepting God’s gift, they are doomed for eternity.

As human beings each of us has a will.  As adults each of makes our own decisions when it comes to most things.

Yes we are influenced by others.  We are, to a degree, a product of our family, or our community, our education and society in general.

We are influenced by the careers we choose, by the companies we choose to work for, by those we choose to have as friends, but the bottom line is we make our own choices.

We choose careers based on our own core beliefs (or should), we choose who we work for based on their policies and how they line up with our ethics (or should), we choose who we spend time with, who we marry, what we do with our life.

We choose whether to accept Christ as Savior or not.  There is no middle ground here.  And while we have hope for those that still have a breath in their body that they can still accept Him, the longer they wait the less chance they will have to make the correct decision.

I know it is hard for people to accept that by their rejection of Christ they are earning their way into hell.  Why would anyone want to work to get into a prison instead of working to stay out of one?  It doesn’t make sense.

But, that is the exact same thing sinners are doing with their life, earning their way into the prison of hell.

Lord, may I be ever ready to talk to others about your gift and how important it is to accept your Son.

Later, Art (-:

Foggy and raining in our neck of the woods, today.  However, when I let the dog out this morning there was a glow from the sun, it doesn’t happen often, and usually only with clear skies, but it is as if there is nothing that can hide from the sun – no shadows just that reflective glow, lighting up the smallest shadows.

Every time I see it I am reminded of the day we left Ken in front of a hotel in Portland with just the clothes on his back, not even id.  He was going into the Marine Corp and that is where he was staying the night and then leaving with the rest of the recruits the next morning.

It is hard when you have to let them go.  I had to pull over a time or two to ‘rest’ my eyes and regain my composure.  We were coming around the curve leading out of Mosier on I-84 when I noticed that glow on the Klickitats and on our side of the river.  There were no shadows just that yellow glow.

It as if God was telling me, relax, He is in my hands, there is no where he will go that I am not with him, I will take him under my wing and protect him.

Straight out of Psalms – it helps to study God’s Word; you never know when He will use it to comfort you.

Psalm 17:8 “Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,”  KJV

Remembering that day also causes me to remember a few weeks earlier when I was at Lumberman’s, where he worked. 

I was talking with Andy, an employee, and one of the customers when Ken walked up to talk with Andy about something.  At that time Ken had long hair, I mean REALLY long hair, it went down over his shoulders.

As he left I said hard to believe he is going into the Marine Corp (which of course gives the recruits buzz cuts.)

The customer said, ‘that will make a man of him.’

To which Andy replied, ‘he is already a man.’

Never forget it.

While he was in Boot Camp I started writing him letters, a few lines every day for about a week and then sending them off.  Poor guy was getting kidded for those tombs by his Sergeant.

From there I thought why rewrite everything for others, so I just started copying them and making comments for each person, close friends and family members, and pretty soon I was sending out about 20-25 a week.

E-mail came and I started sending out e-mails on a regular basis.  One of our children wanted to make a special calendar for her husband, and wanted Bible verses that have special meaning to those that would send them to her.

From that we have evolved to these going out on several venues as close to daily as my circumstances permit.

Later, Art (-:

Yep, in our neck of the woods it is free of sunshine, low clouds, grey skies, - just like we were ‘promised’ - but no wind and it isn’t too bad working outside.

Carla is outside, playing in the dirt – early in the season so I don’t expect her to spend too many hours out there, but it won’t be long until she gets seasoned. 

Started the therapy on my shoulder.  The cortisone shot has helped a lot and when the pain does need reducing, Ibuprofen settles it down – Tylenol doesn’t help much.

My range of motion has improved over the past few weeks, now if it will just continue as I do the exercises given me.

Got a whole chicken in the oven, dinner will be chicken, mash potatoes and gravy tonight, not sure which veggie we will use.  We will have some left overs for hot sandwiches tomorrow!

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Acts 17:11-12 ^“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

¹² Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.”  KJV

People get excited about games, about their hobbies, about their jobs, their research.  They can’t seem to get enough they study so they can improve their skills or their knowledge.

They can tell you statistics, they can go into great detail which may be boring for the average participant/fan, but for them it is like milk and honey to their existence.

They can become obsessed with their desire to know everything and if they aren’t participating, but enjoying the competition they can give you statistics and everything else about their favorite team or player in the case of sports.

They immerse themselves in the information so it becomes second nature and if something is said that isn’t right they know immediately where to look to verify the information or expose the wrong information.

Their whole world revolves around that interest.  While they do other things, and may do them well, their idea of enjoyment is that particular activity.

They thrive on the information gleaned from the internet, from magazines and newspapers.  It is like they only live for that activity.

They are rabid fans of that activity and rarely can be fooled or taken off course.  They are ready at all times to get new information, new insights.

in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

God expects us to be rabid fans of Him.  He expects us to receive His Word, to study it and make sure that those that are interpreting it are correct. 

He wants us to be like the church of Berea, eagerly listening, eagerly open in all readiness to God’s Word AND He wants us to search the scriptures so we can validate what we are told.

These people listened, and made sure that Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.  What I find reassuring and uplifting is Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.

These were people who were not the original followers of Jesus but lived in the time shortly after.  They listened and then they ‘searched the scriptures daily’ they didn’t just take these men’s word for it they needed to assure themselves that what they heard was correct and Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few

Jesus is on the record of history.  He is proclaimed in God’s Word as the Messiah.  He Himself proclaimed He was the Son of God.

If we could be as excited about that truth as we are about other things who knows what the Holy Spirit could do with us in spreading the Gospel.

We need to reconnect with our awe and appreciation of who God is and what He has done for us.  We need to radiate the glow that is within our souls and allow the Holy Spirit to use us to tell the truth and allow others to hear His Word.

The world needs His peace, needs His comforting more than ever AND WE have the means to help them find Him.

Lord, may I be ever mindful of the trust you have given me in the witnessing of your Son and Salvation.  May I so act that others will be willing to listen and allow your Spirit to wrap His arms about them and give them the peace and joy that can only come through acceptance of Jesus’ sacrifice and obedience to your Word.

Later, Art (-:

Today, in our neck of the woods, we were greeted with sunny skies and the sun brightly shining off Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams – pretty indeed especially for the last day of winter.  It is like it is trying to tell us that we forget December, forget January, February and most of March and remember 2016-17 winter as sunny.

But it can’t fool me...

However, it shouldn’t be too long before we can fire up the pits and started smoking, barbecuing and grilling.  Looking forward to it, food tastes so much better – especially the meat – but fresh veggies caramelize nicely and the flavor is also enhanced.

Watching some of the March Madness college men’s basketball games; yesterday the cameras were on a boy of about 10-12, who was completely ‘traumatized’ by his team’s play.  He was crying and saying, over and over, why, why?

As I watched that I couldn’t help but think if we put more of that emotion and passion into helping each other the world would be a much better place. 

And while I am on the subject of ‘March Madness’ why aren’t there more showings of the women’s games?  They play very good games and are not getting the credit.   

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“But it is within our hearts and our beings that God searches and looks. It is our spiritual heart life that is to be simple. It is in our hearts that we are to meditate and be silent. It is deep within our beings that we must be courageous and open to God's leadings”.  AW Tozer

Psalm 63:1-2 “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

² To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.”  KJV

A good leader lies out a path for his followers to take to complete an objective; he then shows how meeting that and other objectives will help the organization to reach their goal.

But he cannot address his group just once, on a complicated matter or plan, and expect everyone to understand and be on board.

He must continually check in and make sure that everyone is doing their best to follow the plan.  Each person has their role and if one fails it weakens the whole group.

It isn’t long before a leader sees who can accomplish their tasks and who cannot.  It isn’t long before he must either take corrective steps or assign that role to someone else who will get the job done.

A good leader knows his people and assigns his task according to skill, experience and abilities.

Now reality also tells us that there are many things that can interfere with the completion of the goal.  Many of those things are not the ‘fault’ of anyone person.

It could be that the leader is too ambitious and is not taking into account either the breadth of the goal, or the skills of his followers (I can speak from experience.)

His timeline may be too aggressive.  He must reevaluate what his expectations are compared to the end result desired and the capability of his followers.

While he can inspire, or harangue, eventually it comes down to how willing is the follower to do the job?  If he is truly willing but still falling down, is training the answer, is a pep talk the answer, what will help this follower to be successful and therefore the project be successful?

Leaders come in all areas, the parents are the first leaders for their children, then the child joins organizations where others are the leaders, school teachers and staff, coaches, employers, all have to have some leadership skills and abilities to get the best out of those that they are in their care.

Parents use ‘time outs’ to get their children to think about what they have done and why they should not have done that – and hopefully after considering what the parent has said, they will change their ways.

The leader may give them extra work that will hopefully make them realize that either the path they are on is going to be successful and how to improve those skills, or to show them that they need to reexamine their actions and get back on track.

As followers of Christ, He is the undisputed leader.  There is no other.  The Word is the guide that we need to follow to assure ourselves to be willing and effective witnesses for Him.

Now we do have Christian leaders; leaders that have been appointed over us that are supposed to be in touch with God and know what is expected of not only their selves, but those that are under their care.

Still it is dependent on the individual Christian to make sure he is on the right course.  He is the only human that has any idea of what is truly in his heart – and even he may not know some problem that is interfering with his total commitment to God.

The only way we can make sure we are following the path God has set before us is to continually be in conversation with Him.

We should be reading His Word, daily; having quiet meditation, daily; open our heart for Him to search it and purify our thoughts and actions, daily.

Psalm 139:23-24 “ Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:

²⁴ And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”  KJV

It is far too easy to let that daily communication slide, especially when we have to ‘get going’ and our day is full of things we must do.

It is especially on those days that we need to put at the top of our list of things to do ‘spend time with God.’

With all that is going on around us we can feel like we are lost, that we are, indeed, in a dry and thirsty land where the living water of Jesus is unavailable to us.

It is easy to get discouraged, to get frustrated, to get angry – and far too easy to just give up and say that I cannot do anything about this, so why should I even try?  My pitiful abilities are nothing compared to the challenge in this world that I face every day.

But the challenges are not ours to face alone.  If we are following the path laid out for us by God, then the Holy Spirit is not only within but alongside us.  And while we may not fully understand how our small input can be used of God to conquer and lead others to Him, He does and that is all that matters.

A soldier on the front line, in the trenches that is doing physical battle with the enemy does not know the whole battle plan.  Even if he did it would do little good, sense, he has no impact on it, only on what he is assigned to do.

However, if he performs his job well and overcomes the enemy he faces, and others do the same thing then all together they accomplish the goal and become victorious.

The soldier must have trust and faith in his superiors and follow his orders without question, it is the coordinated effort of all – from the highest General, to the lowest private – that gets the job done.

Our God is our leader, HE is our General and we can trust in Him far more than any man no matter how skilled they may be.

To know Him more and better each day allows us to trust in His judgement more each day.  He wants us to check in with Him, daily; to make sure we are doing the tasks He has assigned the way He wants them done; to be open for anything that comes our way that will help others come into and grow in His Kingdom.

Lord, may I always put you on my daily schedule to meet with and meditate with; may I read your Word daily, meditating on the words and thoughts behind them that I may faithfully serve you.

Later, Art (-:

SUNSHINE!! In our neck of the woods!  Today!  Bright and spritely!  It has banished all the clouds and lightened up the moods of the people here abouts.  Well some of them are coming back, but they are the light fluffy cumulus that just add a dot of beauty to the sky.

Carla was looking forward to this today, alas, she has to work.

She is working to help out a co-worker who is on doctor’s restrictions.  This is the same person that suffered in the Rajneesh attacks in 1984 and spent several weeks in the hospital and has never fully recovered.  How much of her weakness is due to the poisoning and how much from other sources I don’t know, but I do know that it has an impact on her.

I won’t get on my soap box, but you know my feelings about unfettered individuals that think they are above our laws and will go to all lengths to get their way!  AND the foolish people that enable them.

Getting the snow tires off the Toyota today.  Because of the huge amounts of snow we had this year it lied buried under several feet of snow.  We used the “Family” 4X4 exclusively, so it was almost not worth the changing into winter tires – but ya never know and those cars have front wheel drive and under most winter conditions in our area work very well in the snow and ice.

But when the snow is above the bumper, they don’t do so well.

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“May our Lord’s sweet hand square us and hammer us, and strike off all kinds of pride, self-love, world-worship, and infidelity, so that He can make us stones and pillars in His Father’s house.”  Samuel Rutherford

Colossians 3:12 “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;”  KJV

There are 31,173 verses in the Bible.  In one way or another they deal with Holiness before God.  It is all about Him in the form of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, the Great three in one.  It is God’s promises of redemption through Jesus Christ – whether looking to the future as in the Old Testament, or showing the promise has been fulfilled in the New Testament.

They tell us what we can do when we turn our hearts over to our Lord, and they tell us what will happen if we do not.

There are uplifting verses, which give us great joy.

There are warning verses, which should scare the socks off of us.

There are examples of those that followed God and accomplished great things as well as those that followed God and were murdered for their faith.

There are examples of those that refused to acknowledge God and suffered the consequences of that denial.

Many of us have read the bible through, multiple times. 

Many read devotionals and the verses they are based on and try to apply that to our daily lives.

We attend Sunday School, Worship services, Bible studies and we gain new insights into God’s expectations on how we should live for Him.

Many spend hours, daily, in His Word, meditating and absorbing; talking to Him, seeking guidance and trying to focus on what He is telling us to make us better Ambassadors for Him.

Many spend hours in prayer for loved ones, those in need of prayer and the nation and world in general.

As we study His Word through the years we may read over some verses that are important but do not strike into our hearts, while at the same time other verses strike like an arrow burrowing deep and causing us to re-evaluate our life in Him.

Verses that had little relevancy in good times, or younger times take on new importance as we read them in the bad or adverse times.

Sometimes there is a theme that God is showing us, over and over again as we find ourselves, each day, studying verses that are the same pattern, the same revelation of how we should be living our lives.

When that happens we need to listen, we need to open our hearts and commune with His Holy Spirit and we need to yield to His wisdom.

It is amazing how God will use those studies – in whatever form – to get our attention and to help us become Holy before Him.  If we find we are reading the same theme, same type verses, over and over again, He is telling us that we need to strive to attain that position, that lifestyle, that obedience to God so that these expectations we read and hear can be fulfilled.

No one is perfect.

We must continually desire to improve our relationship with God and His people.

It is an act of our will.

We must continually strive to be the best follower of Him we, or anyone else, could possibly be.  (We are not in a contest with others, but all of us should strive to attain the highest level of dedication and service we are capable of having.  God is not keeping count one against another, we are not trying to score against another person, we should be striving to be at our utmost height of obedience to Him.  AND help others do the same thing.)

Our entire life is one of living for Him and there is no time to sit back on our laurels and feel we have fulfilled our responsibility to Him and can now coast.

Our missions change as our relationship with God changes, as our abilities – either physical or mental – change, but our duty to Him never changes.

The message He has been giving me the past few days all deal with the issues in this verse, “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;” 

And for good reason, I have a long way to go to accomplish any of it with any semblance of truly following Christ.

Lord, help me.  Remind me that as a Christian I need to take on the mantel that Christ has given all of us and show kindness, humbleness of mind and spirit, meekness and longsuffering as I deal with the things and people that come to me each day.

Later, Art (-:

In our neck of the woods we are awaiting for the new arrival of a baby, the mother is a friend of Deed’s. 

She arrived at the hospital this morning at 0100 and as of this writing is still in labor.  Deed and her husband were talking and he told her he was going to go home and feed the dogs, she explained to him that in doing so he may very well miss the event since they live over an hour away.

Deed will take care of the dogs – I don’t think they will starve over the next few hours, anyway.

This is the couple’s first child and it has been an interesting journey of not fully understanding the process, ‘Grandma’ Labrousse has helped answer some of the questions and concerns and I just kinda shake my head.

But, I wasn’t much better with our first born.  We went on a fishing trip on the Metolious River with Carla’s sister and her husband.  To get to where we could fish we had to drive for well over a couple of hours and the last part of it was on a narrow dirt road.  We didn’t catch any, in case you were wondering, although Carla did lean far over the swift waters to get the line out of a tree...

This was about three or four days before Vicki was born.  I can remember a friend at church telling me how foolish I was to take her so far away and ‘YOU will end up delivering that baby yourself” then asked me if I knew how.....

All our kids survived Dad’s ignorance, and I have stories on each of them and some of the ‘now’ entertaining issues on their births – none of them were ‘simple.’

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“I hope, by God’s Grace, that I am truly a Christian, not deviating from the faith, and that I would rather suffer the penalty of a horrible death than wish to affirm anything outside the faith or transgress the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Jan Hus

John 14:6-7 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

⁷ If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.”  KJV

Jesus was clear: I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

As a Christian how can we preach anything but that?  As Peter preached after being filled with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost:

Acts 4:10-12 “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.

¹¹ This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.

¹² Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”  KJV

This was the power Jesus told them to wait for, and this is the message that the Holy Spirit demanded to be told.

There are those that said Jesus never said He was the Savior; yet, He said it many times, if not directly but showing how He fulfilled the Scriptures of the promised one, and then many times as above, He was clear about his divinity.

There are no excuses, the Bible contradicts itself; does it now, or is that what you try to say it does?

The Bible was written by a bunch of old men and therefore not really relevant; of course it was written by men, but as the Holy Spirit directed them.

The world has changed and we, as Christians, need to change with it; or are we just too lazy or too ‘scared’ to stand on the Word that says God changes not?

The excuses continue in so many ways, but that is all they are excuses.

If a person doesn’t want to accept God’s promise of salvation through Jesus Christ we cannot force them.  We can share until either they do, or they tell us to shut up – and, yes, I have had some tell me that, even in my own family.

Doesn’t mean that we give up on them, we can pray and one of the things we can pray about is to have someone else, who can reach them, come into their life.

The mission of a Christian is not to water down or change the message from God so it is more palatable to today’s society, but to stand firm on His Word, regardless of what others may feel.

I have been told that I am going to feel awful foolish when I die and see others in heaven that followed a different path, or when there is nothing after death.

My answer is simple, if I am wrong and you are right I have nothing to worry about, if I am right you are wrong then you have an eternity of pain and suffering that you will receive and will look back at all the times you had an opportunity to accept Christ and made light of it.

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” 

With that truth in mind, Lord, give me the wisdom in dealing with the people you send my way to give them the words that will strike to the heart of their souls and make them more open to your guidance to Christ.

Later, Art (-: 

This morning in our neck of the woods, we couldn’t see our woods.  The fog was so thick we just had shadows for trees less than a couple hundred feet away.  Lifting now, but slowly.

Carla went in early in a shift change so that person could work Carla’s shift, which is easier for her.  Unfortunately she just called and Carla will have to work both shifts, it is the same person who gave Carla flowers and a beautiful card as referenced in the below message.

If you like Classic music and haven’t discovered AllClassical yet, you can find it on 96.3 or 88.1 here in The Dalles or streaming on-line at AllClassical.org for the rest of the world whose listeners are not able to get them via the radio.

They are in a fund raising mode and this is the last day with a need of a lot more donations, so if you like them please donate a dollar or two – or more – to support them.

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2 Peter 1:5-8  “ And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

⁶ And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

⁷ And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

⁸ For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  AML

I am a vocal person.  My personality, though I am an introvert, is, sometimes, over the top. 

Carla on the other hand is a less intrusive personality.  When I tell people that their ministry to Christ is as individual as they are, that they don’t have to be outspoken but show Christ’s love and are will to tell others why is also a ministry.

They can be quiet and deliver the message, sometimes much better, than a more vocal person.

Carla is an excellent example of that type of witness of Christ.

When we started going together she never pressured me, she was a Christian, I knew that she was an avid church goer (whatever I thought that meant – really had no idea other than she went to church often.)

One of her friends though wasn’t shy and was inviting me to all the youth group’s activities (the three of us were going to college and attending many of the same classes) and of course Carla and I would go together.  I made several friends who welcomed me in, not pressure, I was Carla’s friend and that was enough.

Eventually, due to her witness, I found out the truth and accepted Christ as my personal savior.

I am specifically talking about Carla because of a card I found attached to a bouquet of fresh flowers from one of co-workers.

This is a person who is still suffering from the Rajneesh poisoning of the salad bars here in The Dalles and sometimes has to call in – she know Carla will help her out.

Carla isn’t aware I saw this, she didn’t mention it, it isn’t her way, but I believe it is a great tribute to her and I want to share it.

The co-worker brought in a flower for each person she was working with and the bouquet for Carla, this was her comment:

“Carla, you weren’t the biggest because I love you the most.  It’s the biggest because you remind me of my mother who passed away in 2010 and you remind me of her.

She was the best friend a daughter ever could have.

Thank you and God Bless.  You have the compassion of a Saint.  I love you, and thank you for caring so dxx much.  You are admired greatly by me.

Love you heaps and thanks – Love XXX”

So, if you think you have to be a great Orator or real outgoing to show your love of God, remember Carla.

Lord, help me to use my gifts that you have given me to show your love and mercy to others.

Later, Art (-:

Talked with both sons today, both are in the process of getting rid of a cold.  But the rest of the families are doing okay, busy.

Our older granddaughter is getting ready to go to college a short few weeks after graduation.  Can’t believe she is that old – of course still can’t believe that our oldest grandson is in college – not sure when they got that big.

Saw the orthopedic surgeon today, I don’t want surgery if we can do something else, so he gave me a cortisone shot (don’t like them,) but he is in hopes it will relieve some of the pain so physical therapy won’t be so bad.

We will re-evaluate in a few weeks.  I have had problems with that shoulder for years, as I think back it is probably at least 40, off and on.  But it is quite a bit more torn up this time and I ain’t as young as I used to be, hopefully this will be enough to either heal it completely or make if more bearable.

Our neck of the woods, yes I am going to talk about it, is pretty quiet right now.  The last smidgeon of snow is gone this morning, first time we have had no snow on the property since December 8; 92 days.  Yesterday was nice, Thursday (Carla’s day off) should be nice; the rest of it is blah.

Snow is starting to melt in the highlands so we are seeing rivers rising.  Hopefully it will continue to be a slow melt so we can keep flooding to a minimum.

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“The Christian’s conquest of death is absolute.  The result is final.  He has vanquished the last enemy, and has no more battles to fight.”  John Foster

2 Corinthians 5:7-9  (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

⁸ We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

⁹ Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.

Death is always sad.  The family and friends left behind will grieve and for some will never completely get over it.

They will be working on a project and realize they used to do that together, or they will go to a location and the rush of memories will come over them.  And the fact they are no longer with them, that they can’t share that experience with them will make them sad.

When a person dies, only his body sees death, his soul will live on for eternity.

For a Christian the joy they will see as they are now experiencing the fullness of God and His presence and know they will be with Him forever is a great comfort to his loved ones and friends.

Christians know that death of the body is going to be emotionally painful, but they also know that in due time they will see the loved ones again and will rejoice with them forever.

The soul lives on, either with God and all His glory, or, without God in the flames of hell in eternal death and damnation suffering far more than they could possibly have conceived on earth.

It is one of the things that drive a Christian to tell others about Christ, they know that without Him there is no hope.

We lost the companionship of Gary.  He will be missed and his family will grieve for a long time.  But, while his earthly body has died, his soul lives on and they know and can look forward with joy that someday they will join him.

Mathew 22:32-33  I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

³³ And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine.

God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

And all those that are with Him in heaven, are living – truly living - that everlasting life begins with acceptance of Christ as Savior and never leaves us as we look forward to that hope and promise of eternal life with Him.

Lord, while I mourn with family and friends over the loss of one more friend, may I remember now and in the future that those that are Christians are abiding with you and I will see them once again.  And while mourning their loss, here, I will rejoice with them forever.

Later, Art (-: 

In our neck of the woods Spring is slowly approaching, but the signs are out there, the budding of the trees, the greening up of the grass (and weeds,) more and different birds sharing their voices in the morning.

We actually hit 62* in Carla’s garden yesterday and the sun, late in the afternoon, shined down on us.  Today we are supposed to see 61*, but as of yet we are still in the 40’s.

It is quiet this afternoon, no wind, traffic is down and even though we rarely hear much of it, is as if we have none.

But, the surest signs of Spring, in Carla’s home, is the little green houses made up of cookie containers, one on the bottom and the second on the top inverted, with potting soil and seeds as it sits on her warming mat in front of her picture window.

Won’t be long until she starts transplanting and we get the real greenhouse up and running.

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Galatians 5:22-25 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

²³ Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

²⁴ And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

²⁵ If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”  KJV

Every profession I am aware of has a code of ethics.  With very few exceptions every business has a code of conduct in a policy and procedures manual; even family businesses where there are very few employees have policies and procedures for everyone to follow whether written down or not.

These codes, these requirements of working for an organization are lined out so everyone knows what is expected of them, what they can and cannot do.

Most have some kind of uniform or dress code, even if it is only an apron or name tag, so that customers can readily identify them as part of that team.

Sports teams have identically designed uniforms so that their players stand out and you can determine which team is which.

Many of us men remember the skins and shirts teams we played on the playground as kids; that way we could tell instantly who was on our team.

As long as you are employed by a company, in a professional organization, even as a volunteer, you are expected to behave a certain way, conduct your activity in a certain way so that the customers, other side, even your own team knows what to expect of you.

You are expected to walk the line.  Variance from it may be corrected with a warning or some other discipline if the variance is not too outlandish, or in more serious or repeated cases you may find yourself out of that organization and on the street looking in.

Romans 8:4-6 “That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

⁵ For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

⁶ For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” 

Verse 14 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”  KJV

God’s code of conduct is within His policy and procedures manual, His Word, the Bible.

It is filled with not only the requirements of living a holy life for Him, but how we can attain that life in Him and what we should avoid if we are to maintain that life for Him.

While we do not have a uniform per se, we do have a code of conduct that we need to follow; conduct that will identify us to fellow believers and the non-believers as a follower of Christ, a member of His family – a Son of God.

Mathew 7:16 “ Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?”  KJV

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

²³ Meekness, temperance:

Lord, you know how I have struggled to have these fruits in my life and testimony for you.  I need you, every day, to help and lead me; that I may give you good fruit.

Later, Art (-:

Our neck of the woods is once again in low clouds and misting rain.  Although the sun is trying to break through at this time, 1300, who knows we may see it in a little bit.

And, @ 1304 we do and it looked like it was actually breaking through, 1307, hidden again.....

Carla is at work where she can’t see this, so she shouldn’t have any yearnings to go outside in it.

Watching some barbecue shows this afternoon, won’t be long before I start smoking, barbecuing and grilling the meat out of our freezer.  Good eatin’ coming up - soon.

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2 Timothy 2:11-13 ^“It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:

¹² If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

¹³ If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.”  KJV

We love scriptures that make a positive promise from God to us.

We frequently quote them trying to remind Him and others that He has made these promises for us to receive His Grace and Mercy.

However, what also frequently happens, is that we forget all God’s promises have a requirement for us to obey.

If we be dead with Him – accepting Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins, - we shall also live with Him, there is a condition for us to live with Christ forever.  We must accept Him as our Savior.

If we suffer – in obedience to Him – then we shall reign with him forever.

However, if we deny Him, - denying His sovereignty, denying His relationship with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, denying that He has a right to provide those requirements, and so many other ways – then He will also deny us – a terrible consequence for our life, on earth to live with and for the beginning of eternity our life in hell.

God cannot deny Himself.  The world believes God is too gracious too loving to send anyone to hell; but just as His promise of protection, love and mercy for those who obey will be honored His promise of eternal damnation will also be honored.

We have been warned.

Man’s laws are forever changing often times overnight.  Courts can be lenient or harsh depending on how he interprets the actions of the defendant.  Sentences can be modified, a suspect can get off with good behavior, all kinds of factors enter in to how a suspect is punished for his crime.

He can appeal to a higher court for relief; he can claim mitigating circumstances in hopes of a lighter or no sentence to jail or prison.

With God there is no appeal.  There is no relief.  There is no lighter sentence or getting out of hell for ‘good’ behavior.

The sentence will not be modified, it will not be overturned, the only way man can escape hell, is to accept God’s Son and to obey Him.

I don’t know how many times I have heard non-believers try and quote the Bible to include their sinful behavior; it happens all the time, they take things out of context, they twist the Word to mean something entirely different than what it says.

It doesn’t matter, God doesn’t listen to man’s false interpretation.  He doesn’t listen to twisted logic or excuses. 

He will not recant His promises, both the good and the bad.

“If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.” 

Lord, may I be able to get that point across to those that resist Your rightful place in our universe and our lives.

Later, Art (-: