Sky was dark with black clouds as we got up in our neck of the woods, now I am looking out at blue skies and sunshine!  While it is a tad ‘breezy’ I just love this Fall weather!

It is so hard to believe it is FALL, I am still thinking back in Spring as far as my mindset goes.  The last day of September, three-fourths of our year has passed me and I don’t remember half of it going by.  Oh, well.

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Psalm 25:2-6  KJV  “O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.

³ Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.

⁴ Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths.

⁵ Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.”

God has always been there for His Believers, and while many have gone through terrible ordeals and tribulations, they could stand tall and not hang their head in shame – they were and are part of God’s family.

Satan strives to make us ashamed of our commitment to God.  He wants to use the hatred of the world to shame us into hiding our faith and thus becoming ineffective for God.

AND of course many of us have succumbed to temptations and have shamed our testimony. 

Fortunately, God IS forgiving and while we may not have fulfilled our earlier promises of service, we can still be of service if we ask forgiveness and once again live for Him.

Jesus was well aware of this happening.

John 17:14-17 KJV  “I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

¹⁵ I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

¹⁶ They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

¹⁷ Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”

I don’t know about others, but I do confess that there have been times that I just asked God why not relieve me from the pain and bring me home?

Evidently He still has some things He wants me to do before He does that, so, I must refocus, not bemoan my circumstances but wait for Him to show me what He wants me to do, searching my surroundings, His Word and asking His Holy Spirit to guide me.

“I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.”

I have heard the comments that if God saved us, then why didn’t He take us into heaven at that time – indeed, sometimes I ask myself that same question.

But if He did that, who would have been around to tell me of God’s sacrificing His Son that I might live?

Maybe, just maybe, God does know what He is doing!!

Acts 10:42-43  KJV  “And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.

⁴³ To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.”

What a glorious message we have to share with others.  That is why he prayed:

“I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.”

Later, Art (-:

One other unavoidable fact in our neck of the woods, is that as Fall arrives, so do cooler temperatures, darker skies and a bit of rain following.  That is what greeted us this morning.

Not much rain, but the clouds were dark and threatening, plenty of sunshine this afternoon, however.

Smoked a whole chicken when I got back from working out this morning.  Brined it all morning and then instead of salad oil to make the rub stay on it and instead of butter inside the skin over the breast, I used bacon fat; and, it was good!  (Just don’t tell the dietician I did that, she and I have gone around and around about bacon!!)

Teresa got me set up with the fit bit.  I haven’t worn a watch in over 15 years.  When I worked as a Realtor I used my pager (for those of you that don’t know or forgot – a pager was a small device men worn on their belt (not sure about women) so if someone wanted to contact them they could page with a return phone number) it was about the size of a pocket watch, and I used it as my watch.

Eventually, I didn’t need to have such a specific time structure, so I use my cell phone, when I think about it.

Anyway, the fit bit is to be worn like a wrist watch.  In my case there is a problem.  To be most accurate it has to be an inch or so above the wrist bone.  I purchased the largest one the store had, but it isn’t large enough.

I have a large wrist and it barely fits between the wrist bone and the hand.  I got readings, they weren’t completely accurate, but ‘relatively’ close.  I called them to see if I might be able to get a larger band and they are sending me one free of charge.

So, I will be without for a few days, but felt they backed up their product, and I appreciate that – course we will see if anything happens, but I have faith it will be done.

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Luke 11:33  KJV  “No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light."

There is so much unrest in our nation today.

There are those that have decided that if you do not agree with them you are either racist or un-American.  There is not room for quiet, reasonable discussion; there is no middle ground you are either one or the other.

If I say something you don’t like, you label me.  If you say something I don’t like, I label you.

Now isn’t that just a fine way to live?

How can we possibly come to any kind of reasonable decision and have respect for the other side’s position when all too often we think the other side’s position is without merit, of ANY kind?

That the other side is too criminal or hateful or just too stupid to understand the real world?

As Christians we often find ourselves not able to support either side because of radical comments and beliefs.  It goes contrary to our commitment to our God, AND, yet we find that we are being forced to comply with actions that deeply offend us.

There is no middle ground it seems. 

How can we as Christians make people realize that our desire is to live for Him and to share His wonderful message? 

A message that contains His love, His compassion, His mercy AND yes, His condemnation of sin – with the promise that when a person confesses those sins and wishes absolution it is freely given.

A message that understands people are not perfect, that people make mistakes and God will still forgive them.

How do we convey that message, when it seems no one wants to hear it?

One of the things I have learned through the years is that people respond to kindness, to being available to them, to standing up for Him, not necessarily shouting out, but letting everyone know you are a Christian and not just by saying so.

Your manner, your language, your willingness to listen overcomes their reticence to talk to you about Christ, about their problems and how they might be able to overcome them.

If they come to you, it is because of that relationship with Christ and they know you will be counseling them from that point of view.

It is shining our light provided by God, not letting it grow dim (although we WILL make mistakes and there will be those that will condemn, that will point and call hypocrite, at the very least;) but, showing that we are different from the world.

The Holy Spirit will bring them in, we just have to be prepared to minister to them.

We will miss some.  We will make mistakes in the manner we address their concerns, but if we strive to speak as Jesus spoke we will be much more successful in helping them.

We cannot hide our light without destroying our relationship with Christ.  But, when we make the stand for Him, our light will shine into areas we had no idea even existed.

There is that Sunday School Song that little kids LOVE to sing:  “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.  This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.  Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.  Hide it under a bushel NO!  I’m going to let it shine....”

Let’s let our light shine and let God lead us to or lead those that need His light to us.

“No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light."

Later, Art (-:

In our neck of the woods, it is a beautiful fall day.  Comfortable temperatures and clear skies.  Mountains are gleaming and leaves are just starting to turn today, great time of year!!

I was in the gym area of Water’s Edge.  I looked up as a man walked in and did a double take.  The man was a spittin’ image for Paul Nagy, a young Paul, but the resemblance was amazing.

Paul was our Chief of Police from the late 1970’s into the mid-1980’s, he passed away from an intestinal situation.  I introduced myself to the man and asked him if he had ever heard of the resemblance, he hadn’t, but did know of Paul.

I have heard the old saw that everyone has a double somewhere on earth – and I do know that people do have similar characteristics and can be mistaken for someone else, but I really think that is the first time I have seen someone so closely resembling someone else.

I have to really thank Teresa for getting my e-mail working again.  I can’t figure out what happened, it just all of a sudden stopped me from sending and receiving.  She worked a couple of hours and finally got it fixed.

I am very fortunate to have children – and their spouses - that not only have real skills, but are willing to share them with me.

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1 Corinthians 2:14  KJV  “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

I sometimes forget that not everyone can get excited about verses from the Bible.  They just don’t ‘see’ it.

I see where God has done miraculous things and praise Him, someone else reads the same thing and ‘might’ say, that is nice, or interesting or it couldn’t have happened.

Now, certain verses strike us differently at different times.  A verse we may know well, but haven’t been all that interested in suddenly comes alive and has special meaning to us at that time.

I have read verses several times and didn’t ‘see’ the significance at those times.  Circumstances, maturity, growth or challenges often time make the difference.

But this verse isn’t referring to new insights, it is saying that the Bible is meant for those that are searching for spiritual meaning, and are looking at God to provide it. 

Now, we know that the Word can bring people to their knees as they accept Jesus as their Savior; even though they had no relationship or even religious experiences before.

But those that choose to look at the Bible as just another book, or have tried to use God’s Word in a way to try and discourage others from believing in it really can’t see the spiritual significance in God’s Word.

They look at ‘practical’ reasons for the miracles in the Bible.  Jesus didn’t really feed the 5000 from a small basket, the sacrifice of the young boy encouraged others to share.  Moses didn’t really have the Red Sea parted, they walked across a part of the sea that was low at that time of year, and their trying to find practical reasons for it blind them from the reality of God’s hand.

Their eyes are blinded.  They really cannot see!

We often get discouraged because we just don’t understand that fact. 

We think that we are not being effective witnesses.  However, we don’t know what ground we have plowed for others that to also till, deeper, others to add the water and fertilizer, others to care for them and then finally their eyes are open and they can then understand that the Bible is more than just words, it is insightful and shines God’s light so they can truly understand.

I will get excited about God’s Word.  I will continue to praise Him for His many blessings and teachings in His Word.  And I will not allow someone else’s unbelief to discourage or detract me from that wonderful experience I share with God and my fellow  believers.

Later, Art (-:

Nice in our neck of the woods, mild temperatures, again, with little wind.  No air conditioning, just open windows and doors to let the fresh air in.  Just a nice Fall day.

I was in the parking lot of Water’s Edge this morning when I heard a flock of geese honking overhead – but they were heading north, I thought maybe they got their wires crossed. 

I headed into the building when I hear one of the geese calling, what sounded to me to be ‘left;’ then a softer honk.  It was repeated a few times, I looked up and sure enough the flock was turning left – and heading down to the river.

Okay, think what you like, I know what I heard. (-:

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Genesis 18:20-24  KJV  “ And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;

²¹ I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.

²² And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord.

²³ And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?

²⁴ Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?”

VERSE 32  “And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake.

I have heard, more than once, that if God doesn’t do something with certain cities that seem to revel in their sin and promoting it by laws and actions.

However, even the worse of these cities cannot compare to Sodom and Gomorrah.  We still have many Christians in those communities and they could be very well what is keeping those cities from destruction by God.

All the recent talk about God destroying earth and nations on a particular day, is the same foolishness that others have done throughout hundreds of years.

We can know that we are close to God sending Jesus back to claim His own, but we don’t know the date He has chosen to do that.

AND He told us that.

Acts 1:6-8  KJV  “When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

⁷ And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

⁸ But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

He told us not to focus on when He would be coming back, but to tell others about Him; all over the world. 

Abraham begged for the safety of those that were righteous in those cities, but as it turned out there weren’t even ten righteous people in those communities.

Is God going to use the same criteria for the world?  That really isn’t important to us.

What is important is that there are still people in this world and in our nation that need God.  People that need to be told of His forgiveness through His Son.

Yes, they should be aware that they will not always be given the opportunity to delay their decision.  So, focusing on end times is probably beneficial, I really don’t know, but the thing we have to consider is that Jesus hasn’t come back for the past almost 2000 years.

Everyone that focused on the last days during that time died, they had their own last day on this earth and then they faced God Himself.

As long as there is one day left before Jesus comes to call us home, we need to continue sharing His love to the world.

I have seen too many times where a person was alive one moment, only to be killed by an accident or an act of deliberate violence the next; literally without warning.

It should make us aware that whatever our age, whatever our physical condition may be, we may find ourselves facing God after our death, at any time; without warning. 

As well as those people we care about.

That is why it is so important to live each day as if it might be the last day of our life.  To focus on living for Him and doing what He has told us to do.

Maybe we should be using Abraham’s example and pray to God that we need one more day to pray and bring that loved one into the fold of Christ, asking Him to send the Holy Spirit to convince that person to understand and accept Jesus as their Savior. 

We don’t want to skip a day, thinking there may be more in the future.

Today, may be the very day He does come for us, in one way or another.

Later, Art (-: 

In our neck of the woods, indeed throughout most of eastern Oregon, we have overcast skies.  Sun is peaking through, but just enough to remind us it is still up there.

Carla and I like to watch the hummingbirds and they feed and fly around, they can be aggressive to each other as well as humans, size doesn’t seem to matter.  However, we have a couple of bees that have discovered one of the feeders and there is a challenge between these two small creations as to which is going to have the dominance of that feeder.  Thus far it seems to be a draw, one time the birds back down, next the bees.

Don’t measure the fight by the size of the animal, but by the heart.  Although I have to admit, I would rather be attacked by one of them than a Grizzly Bear.

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1 John 2:1  KJV  “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:”

We are imperfect, even though we turn our lives over to God in thanksgiving for the Grace He has bestowed upon us by the sacrifice of His Son which makes us perfect, we all too often listen to satan’s lies and temptations, and falter in our dedication to Him, thus loosing that perfection in Him.

Jesus lived among the people.  While both He and God know our frailties, He also experienced it as He preached and consoled those that came to Him.

He saw people fall back, Peter being one of the most prominent, but He also assured them, and by His teachings and love, us, that He would still forgive us for those transactions if we come to Him with an honest heart.

The only perfect man that walked this earth was Jesus.  Even the most pious among us cannot begin to make that claim.

All we can do is strive to do our best with the assistance and love of the Holy Spirit as He teaches, guides and directs us.

It is not a complicated process as some would try to make out, and as satan supports and propagates thus making people feel they can never, again, reach out to God. 

It is simply realizing we have sinned against Him and genuinely confess that sin(s) to Him being truly sorry for them.

If He tells us to forgive 70 times 7, (as an example given to the question how often should we forgive) then He is going to do the same thing, and more, Himself. 

He looks at our heart, not our numbers, and sees the true us as either being repentant, or just acting like we are, and bases His forgiveness or not, on the condition of our heart.

Every person alive has weaknesses.  Satan knows every one of them and will do all he can to tweak them, and when we listen we fail God – and while satan may say there is no hope for us ever again, God says:  “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:”

I am thankful that He used John to give us that assurance.

Later, Art (-:

In our neck of the woods we are having those cool brisk mornings.  Nights in the mid-40’s and days in the 70’s and low 80’s, soft breezes, fall has arrived. 

Thanks to Teresa and Ian we got a new couch in and set up and the old one (which was a ‘bit’ over used) out before Carla got off work.  Been wanting to do that for some time and get her a new one.

I was surprised it was almost the same length as the old one; I hadn’t measured but thought it was a couple feet smaller, fortunately there was plenty of room had it been larger.

The cats weren’t sure what to make of it, but it didn’t take long for them to try it out!  That is why all our furniture has fabric covering them.

Carla settled into it and after the initial shock of seeing her 40 year old couch gone, likes it.  AND, visitors will have a more comfortable place to sit.

I don’t much like to get ‘political’ on my posts, they really serve no purposeful end, especially now.  However, with the comments from the President and the reaction of the liberals, media and NFL personnel I am going to make an exception.

I believe the President is foolish in his comments.  I think he is talking too much on too many issues, large and small, and many of his comments can be considered divisive; as was his predecessor’s. 

The problem is, many of those that condemn him and say they have a right to free speech and can say what they want – are forgetting that goes both ways.  For far too long the politicians, the news media and many others think only their comments are valid; and tell the conservatives theirs are not. 

For the past 8 years those with opposing views of the prior president and his supporters were told things they said were racists, hateful and the media and politicians tried to shut them out completely from any positive communications that may have been able to be done.

Communications that may have led to greater understandings on both sides. 

Most of the more conservative among our population are quiet, their feelings run deep and when they see the utter distain for them and their beliefs, and the feeling they have been shut out of any conversation, are going to vote with their money and their ballots.

How did Trump get elected?  Look at his opponent.  Both pandered to their supporters.  But, the media and so many others believed their own dogma, and had refused to listen to those that disagreed with them; they were humiliated by Trump’s win.

And can’t admit it.

They should have seen it coming; they had used wordings in their polls to support their beliefs and didn’t look at the less bias polls that were showing Trump was getting huge support.

They loved to show the blocked freeways and streets by liberal people trying to keep people from Trump rallies, while not realizing they were creating anger among those that saw that act as being against free speech or the ability to express support for a candidate.

They may have gotten cheers from their believers, but they got jeers from the rest of us who may have voted differently had there been a stronger candidate that understood our issues.

This nation needs to understand that the division didn’t start with Trump but it has always been there and was exacerbated over the last 8 years. 

Until this nation understands that the so called (in many cases) leaders of these movements need to quit spouting words against the opposition and physically attacking them in one way or another and sit down with sincerity and a real mission of how they can help get this nation back on track, we are going to see this cesspool deepen and the stench created by both sides getting stronger.

Are there valid points on both sides?  Absolutely. 

Can we reach some kind of agreement?  Yep. 

But not by yelling and shouting at each other, calling each other names; by not listening, not physically attacking and causing riots and destruction of property; and not wanting to step back because it feels like their side might be losing more ground.

We are at war in this country, and like all wars the so called leaders of both sides must take account of themselves and how they are contributing to the chaos, they can’t pander only to their supporters, they need to find common ground (and it is there) and see what they can do to reach a common goal; peace, respect for differing views and as much unity as possible.

Just my humble opinion.

With this new exercise program they do not take blood pressure or heart rate.  So, I decide to go ‘high tech’ and get a fit bit.

I followed the instruction to get it registered and started the process of getting it on my computer.  I got to a site that said, to put in the dongle.  From that point on I was lost, I had no idea what a dongle was, and I sure didn’t have one.

Teresa came over to help me.  She got in contact with the help desk and found out that they don’t include a dongle with their initial package “because most people use a mobile device.”  They promised to expedite one to me and I should receive it Monday or Tuesday.

Guess I wasn’t as ‘high tech’ as I thought I was; I use my ‘mobile device’ for a phone and texting, period.  Don’t need to have all the falderal that comes with all that other stuff on the phone.

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1 Samuel 15:22 KJV  “And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”

“Have you noticed how much praying for revival has been going on of late-and how little revival has resulted?”

“Prayer is never an acceptable substitute for obedience. The sovereign Lord accepts no offering from His creatures that is not accompanied by obedience. To pray for revival while ignoring or actually flouting the plain precept laid down in the Scriptures is to waste a lot of words and get nothing for our trouble.”   Tozer

We do NEED a revival of the Spirit of God in our nation. 

But, what am I doing to help make that happen?

Not enough.

I have got to do better.

Later, Art (-:

Sun is a shining in our neck of the woods!  We can see part of Mt. Adams and while white fluffy clouds are blocking our view of Mt. Hood, the sky is blue above it.  Milder temperatures has the blood flowing in Carla as she happily plays in the dirt!

Looks like the State Highway Dept. feels they have the hills stabilized enough to allow opening I-84 east bound to be opened later today.  While I was concerned ( and rightly so ) for the fire fighters I hadn’t really thought about the men who were trying to stabilize the Gorge hills after the fire ( and wrongly so ) there is footage of these men hanging down the hill on ropes as they dislodged rocks and trees about to fall – a job I sure would not have wanted!  VERY dangerous!

It does feel like fall, right now, love this time of year.  My allergies don’t act up quite as much and I can breathe easier.

Got signed up for the Medical Exercise program, it takes over where the Cardiac Rehab leaves off.  I will be on my own with minimum supervision, but I will learn to how to continue the exercise program and the use of other equipment.

For whatever it is worth, if you have had a heart related incident and qualify for a Cardiac Rehabilitation program offered by your hospital, take them up on it.  If your insurance covered the surgery it will more than likely cover the program.

It is a scripted program used in a lot of communities, but, the people here in The Dalles were great and it made the program even better, positive attitudes, professionalism – knowing what they are doing, and helpful advice with a smile were greatly appreciated by me.

Watching the Navy vs Cincinnati football game and saw a hummingbird buzzing the camera, never saw that before.  Our little guys are brave though.

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1 Corinthians 1:19-25  KJV  “ For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

²⁰ Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

²¹ For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

²² For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:

²³ But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;

²⁴ But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

²⁵ Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

Why do Christians talk so much about Christ and God and living for Him?

First when you have a good relationship with someone you want to tell others how much you care for the person. 

We talk about our children – in our case also the grandchildren – our spouses, our good friends sharing what they are doing and how much they mean to us.  It is just human nature.

In the case of Christ, when you have that strong relationship, when you know what He has done for you, you want to share that freedom and love that He gives you and can give others.

Are there those that deride us for our ‘pathetic’ belief in a God?  Yep.

Are there those that try to convince us of how delusional we are?  Yep.

Are there those that will do everything they can do undermine you, your credibility and your witness?  Yep.

Are there those that will persecute you, tell lies and gossip about you?  Yep.

Are there Christians who have been humiliated, tortured, incarcerated, prosecuted and murdered for their faith?  Yep.

So why not just keep it to yourself, let others live as they want and not stand out from the crowd and invite all these things to come down on your head?

We were told by Jesus this would happen, to expect it – but that doesn’t let us off the hook to not proclaim His Gospel.

John 15:18-21  KJV  “ If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.

¹⁹ If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

²⁰ Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

²¹ But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.”

Because, ²³ But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;

²⁴ But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

And because, some will be listening and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to them and their hearts and they will accept Christ’s sacrifice and live for Him.

That is why we do it.

Later, Art (-:

Our neck of the woods is doin’ just fine, thank you.  Bit chilly – heard someone say that a about four weeks ago we were saying we could use some 70 degree weather, now, again, we are saying we could use some 70 degree weather.

Don’t know if I told this story before, but I always get a kick out of it anytime someone talks about how hot or cold it is.

Several of us were in Warm Springs Indian Reservation taking a class on bombs.  It was hot, as it gets in that part of the country, and we were out in the middle of the sun and hot sand while our instructor was demonstrating what different type bombs could do.

Somehow we got to talking about air conditioning in the patrol cars.  Our chief had finally talked the budget committee into allowing them to be part of the new vehicle purchases a few years before.

The Warm Springs Police Department had cars assigned to them from the Bureau of Indian affairs.  Based on the ‘average’ temperature for the year they didn’t qualify for air conditioning.

Course the highs were over a hundred and the lowest below zero, but the average was only in the neighborhood of 50 some degrees.

Federal bureaucrats so often don’t have a lick of common sense.

Anyway, I was glad to have the air conditioner, AND the heater for whatever the temperature was outside as I patrolled the streets.

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I realize I am ‘preaching to the choir’ on my devotional this morning, but:

Luke 10:30-36   KJV  “And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

³¹ And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

³² And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.

³³ But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

³⁴ And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

³⁵ And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

³⁶ Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?”

I just have to get something off my chest concerning the Salvation Army and by extension St. Vinny’s critics.   

“I have no intention to depart in the smallest degree from the main principles on which I have acted in the past. My only hope for the permanent deliverance of mankind from misery, either in this world or the next, is the regeneration or remaking of the individual by the power of the Holy Ghost through Jesus Christ. But in providing for the relief of temporal misery I reckon that I am only making it easy where it is now difficult, and possible where it is now all but impossible, for men and women to find their way to the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Wm Booth

I have to admit I get rather testy when I hear people degrade the Salvation Army as ‘just a religious group,’ or like someone on the other side was upset because the Salvation Army was “just a thrift store” and therefore he should be allowed to have a marijuana store within 1000 feet.

Frankly tired of people clamoring that they don’t want to give to ‘religious’ thrift stores like St. Vinney’s and the Salvation Army; but would rather give to the newest big kid on the block with the million dollar store and of little help to the afflicted in our community.

For whatever it is worth “The Salvation Army exists to meet human need wherever, whenever, and however we can.”

“The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church.  Its message is based on the Bible.  Its ministry is motivated by the love of God.  Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.”  Both quotes from their web site.

The Salvation Army has given their services to the homeless, the down and out, the single parents, the children, the needy stranger, and anyone else that comes to them.  They have been a solid standard in our community for scores of years and have given aide to others quietly and without thought of compensation – and without considering whether these people were deserving or not.

Is it a religious organization?  Yep!  But they have a mission pretty well laid down by their founder, and it hasn’t change in over 150 years:

“While women weep, as they do now,
I’ll fight
While little children go hungry, as they do now,
I’ll fight
While men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now,
I’ll fight
While there is a drunkard left,
While there is a poor lost girl upon the streets,
While there remains one dark soul without the light of God,
I’ll fight-I’ll fight to the very end!”  General Wm. Booth 

Yes, I am supportive of the Salvation Army’s mission and work within our community; I know that they are there to truly serve and not line their own pockets or the ‘corporate’ people running the show.

And, I am supportive of their thrift store, which helps them give back to this community!!

Later, Art (-:

In our neck of the woods, for those far a flung here and abroad, we had a bit of rain, .14 with some traces since early this morning, which did a good job of spotting the car windows.  It also cooled us down a bit.

Coming out of the Water’s Edge facility I found that the north wind doth blow, and it is a bit chilly. 

Haven’t heard how it has affected the fires, but I am sure it isn’t hurting in that regard.  Freeway to Portland area is open, but back roads have to be taken to get back home.

Storm clouds are hovering so we should get the rest of what has been ‘promised’ sometime this evening/overnight.

Getting’ along okay, shoulder still bothers me, but working with it.  Finish up some of my rehab program this week and starting a less supervised program the end of the week. 

Hopefully will be doing somewhat better.

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Philippians 4:4 KJV  "Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice”

This is one of the hardest things to do when the world seems to be coming down on us, but the focus shouldn’t be on us, but on Him.

When we understand that, understanding He really is with us always – no matter the problem – our soul and spirit and even our mind can be rejuvenated, we may hurt emotionally or physically, but thanking Him, praising Him, worshiping Him really does help with our attitude.

Nope, not easy.  And I can’t say I have always followed this advice, but when I have, I feel better and the problem doesn’t look anywhere near as bad as it did just before.

Later, Art (-:

In our neck of the woods we have lots of smoke, but interestingly enough, the air quality is better – I can’t smell smoke, but it has to be worse than the ‘pros’ are recording.

The wind obviously has impact, places that were high yesterday are almost normal today and vice versa.  No ‘safe place’ right now.

A-N-D s-o i-t g-o-e-s.... now, less than an hour later, we are in an unhealthy zone and Bend and Sisters are even worse.  Wind picked up and smoke is more than evident – of course we have ash over everything from the past few days.

Rain will help us, however, I am really concerned about the Gorge, with over 3 inches forecast for Cascade Locks area, it could be another disaster on top of the fire.

Now, I can buy that the first teenager that threw a firecracker into the dry canyon was just not thinking – still has to have a lesson taught; however, another group of teens deliberately set off bottle rocks at the edge of the City limits of Hood River – that wasn’t being stupid, that was criminal it threatened homes and of course could have done a lot worse, I really hope they find out who those kids were and go after them as hard as they can.

And as the wind blows, and the day goes on, we have more pollution and we are now in the unhealthy arena close to what Central Oregon who is in a very unhealthy arena, as they have very serious air quality issues, with Bend and Sisters being the worse. 

I want the rain, to help wash out the particulates in the air.  I want the rain, to help put out the fires blazing throughout Oregon.

But, I am also worried about our fire fighters who will be in the middle of unstable terrain as the rain loosens the rocks and trees that are barely holding at this time.

It is a hazard they “signed on for” but that doesn’t mean we should take their safety for granted.  They need our prayers.

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Hosea 10:12  KJV  “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, till He comes and rains righteousness on you.” 

“What God in His sovereignty may yet do on a world-scale I do not claim to know. But what He will do for the plain man or woman who seeks His face I believe I do know and can tell others. Let any man turn to God in earnest, let him begin to exercise himself unto godliness, let him seek to develop his powers of spiritual receptivity by trust and obedience and humility, and the results will exceed anything he may have hoped in his leaner and weaker days.”  Tozer

We have always been responsible for our relationship with God, not the church, the Pastor, the teachers, but ourselves.

It took me a while to understand that fact.

We can be guided and encouraged by Christian leaders, but, until we fully realize that God works with individuals and those individuals need to fully accept HIS guidance and are obedient, then we can only go so far in our spiritual growth.

It has ALWAYS been that way.  We look at the people chosen by God in His Word to lead His chosen people and we find most of them are common people, not great leaders from birth, but men and women who opened their heart to the Holy Spirit and obeyed.

He did the same in the New Testament.  Who would have thought that Peter would become the leader to the new Christians; who would have thought that Mathew, a hated tax collector, would become a leader for Christ?

John the Baptist, was out in the wilderness, a grubby “street person” who foretold the arrival of Jesus and His ministry.

Mary, a young teenager, who God chose to bear His child – and Joseph who accepted his responsibility and helped raise this child in the Jewish religion.

Paul, who was a leader in the Jewish culture and hated Christ and His followers, became one of the most prolific teachers after his acceptance of Christ and guided the new church through some difficult times.

BUT, there are many who were not mentioned.  Men and women who led their lives for Christ, who didn’t get mentioned in the Word of God, but without their commitment to Him we would not have the church today.

We don’t have to be a great leader like David, Moses, Ruth, Paul, Peter or the many others God used to do His work; we but, have to be ourselves, AND “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, till He comes and rains righteousness on you.” 

From the past few days’ devotions I realize I have not yet turned myself enough over to Him.  I have no idea what is to come, but, I feel He has something He wants me to do – now it is up to me to be spiritually prepared for the mission.

And not just me, but those that these words are being written to – many of us need to reevaluate where we are with the Living God.

Maybe, if enough people in our nation actually bow before Him, God will use us to help bind the wounds so prevalent in our nation right now.

Later, Art (-:

In our neck of the woods we have calm winds and below 60 degrees outside.  Still smoke in the air, but air quality is not as bad as yesterday.

My friends in Prineville, on the other hand, are getting unhealthy air one of the worse conditions, right now in the state, not like we got last weekend.

Weather people are forecasting rain, heavy in the Gorge area, with as much as well over 3 inches in Cascade Locks.  Air will be cleaned and it will help on the fires, not only in our area but elsewhere – Montana is already getting snow.

They are correct, but I have heard no one warn that with the desolation of the trees and underbrush, the rain is going to pour down on already loosened rocks and trees barely standing – it is not going to be pretty.  They closed I-84 again for a few hours to cut down more trees – I wonder if they will have to close it again for mud slides that are sure to come.

It is going to be an ‘interesting’ fall and winter and potentially more damage to the lands that were engulfed with fires, not only in the Gorge, but throughout the state and our neighboring states.

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Mathew 6:6 KJV “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”

“Nothing can prevent the spiritual rejuvenation of the soul that insists upon having it. Though that solitary man must live and walk among persons religiously dead, he may experience the great transformation as certainly and as quickly as if he were in the most spiritual church in the world.” 

Every prophet, every reformer, every revivalist had to meet God alone before he could help the multitudes. The great leaders who went on to turn thousands to Christ had to begin with God and their own soul. The plain Christian of today must experience personal revival before he can hope to bring renewed spiritual life to his church”  Tozer

Meeting with fellow members, praying together, praising and worshiping together is important.  But our growth in service to God, comes from the willingness to meet with Him privately.

To prepare our hearts like an actor prepares for a play, reviewing the script (God’s Word,) memorizing our lines (verses,) practicing by oneself (prayer closet) and then going onto the stage (world) and play our part to convey the author’s (God’s) purpose.

We need that private conversation with God to fulfill all our potential and the plan that He has given us.

Later, Art (-:

In our neck of the woods the air quality shifts with the wind.  Last night it was good, there was a vegetation smell similar to cut grass or hay, just a good feeling smell.

This morning we are experiencing air quality that is very unhealthy – for everyone – wind is barely moving the leaves on the trees so not sure whether we will be getting worse or better today.  Wood ash is covering everything.  Even Carla gave up trying to be outside this morning.

As I finish my thoughts tonight, the air quality is a bit better, still not ideal and still a hazard to many of us, but it has improved.  The hills are a bit more visible, even with the smoke still hovering around us.

Last night I was thinking maybe I could have smoked those ribs this weekend – nope!  But, I did the 3-2-1 method in the oven and other than no smoke it tasted pretty good.  However, instead of the meat falling off the bone, the bones fell off the meat.

That surprised me, as I picked the meat up the bones fell out, never had that happen before.

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Psalm 139:14-15 KJV “ For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.

¹⁴ I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”

I look at these verses and I look at myself.  I am fat, I know not ‘politically correct,’ but fat none the less.

I have allergies, false teeth, thinning hair, bad eyesight, some health problems, numerous aches and pains and can be grouchy at times.

How could I have been wonderfully made?  And I am far better off than many of those my same age and of course those that have had disabilities from birth.

So, what is going wrong?

First of all, most of my problems are caused by me – yes some are hereditary, some are because we live in the age we live in, but the bottom line is most of my problems were brought on by my not taking stock earlier in my life – some I can correct.

I wear glasses, I have false teeth that replace, to a degree, my original teeth; I can eat better, exercise more and thus (hopefully) reduce the amount of fat that is in/on my body.

But, God brought me from the womb with a purpose – some of which I fulfilled, others I did not.  That wasn’t HIS fault, it was mine.

No matter our status in life or how we were born, God can use us and in doing so we can communicate the love and affection He has for each of us.

Bad things happen in this world, and good people are not exempt. 

God made a perfect world, the minute man made the decision to listen to satan and disobey God, the world became imperfect.

Through the years man has continued to make wrong choices and condemned those coming after him to deadly perils, diseases and these have been perpetuated by his offspring, right up until now.

In all the inventions, in all the research, in all the desire of mankind he still hasn’t developed anything that compares to what human beings are; oh, computers can almost think for themselves, however they have to be told the information by man.

Robots have been developed to do incredible jobs, but they have yet come to the perfection of the operation of the human – or for that matter – any body that has been created by God.

We really are wonderfully made.

God had a plan for us, even in our mother’s womb.  His Holy Spirit has guided us, has helped our spiritual hunger and led us to the cross from which Jesus died.

He has given us many opportunities to live a holy life and continues trying to help us attain that life. 

When we look at our bodies – the whole body, including mind, spirit and soul – we can see the intricate work God has performed in us.

When we accept that as a gift from Him, we realize that we really do belong to Him and owe Him our love, devotion and obedience above all else.

I need to remind myself that He made me to perform a service; I didn’t make Him to do that for me.

Later, Art (-:

In our neck of the woods, according to the web site on Worldwide Air Quality we are in the Unhealthy Zone, a hazard shared with Prineville and John Day.  Carla isn’t feeling the effects, at least right now, but I can’t spend much time out there.

She is harvesting some plums and Italian prunes today, not sure if there is enough to can, or just eat.  We will see.  We will be canning peaches, probably tomorrow.

We are getting ash falling, again, but the smaller particulates, from what I understand are particularly dangerous and very difficult to keep out of our lungs.  So, I am staying inside.

I got my daily walk on the treadmill in; my daily devotion and meditation and finally gave up on thinking I might be able to smoke/barbecue ribs outside.

The sell by date is upon us, they were previously frozen so I needed to get them done with little likelihood of working on them outside and contributing to the smoke I am baking them in the oven.

It will work, but I just won’t have the smoky taste and I don’t like the idea of putting liquid smoke on them. 

Birds are not detoured by all this, the gold finches are feeding on the sunflowers and singing away, the hummingbirds are still eating and fighting over the feeders, the quail are still walking around and feeding off seeds and the deer are still visiting Carla’s garden each evening early morning hours.

Blaze is staying inside, he goes out to do his business and look around, but he is satisfied being in the house.  Can’t always tell where all the cats are, one just came from behind a chair another in the bedroom, who knows where the other two are, they come and go as they please.

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Isaiah 4:28-31 KJV ” Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.

²⁹ He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

³⁰ Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

³¹ But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

God called His seventh day of creation His day of rest.  Knowing who God is we know that He didn’t kick back in front of the television and say I am tired and I am not going to do anything today – which of course would include answering prayer if we take it to the ludicrous extreme.

He said this for OUR benefit.  We need to rest at least that one day.  Today we may not have the physical work that our forefathers had, they worked day break to sundown.  They worked with hand tools assisted by animals, sometimes, and others, sometimes.  But it was hard work.

The statement that women’s work is never done, is quite true and they not only often worked in the fields next to their husbands and fathers, but then went on to prepare meals, clean house, clean clothes, help their children and the list goes on.

But, just because we don’t do the physical labor that they did – or at least not with the intensity – doesn’t mean we aren’t weary.

Relationships whether be work, friend or family can be hard and require energy we would rather put someplace else.

The stress of getting the job done, particularly when pressures of getting it produced or someone else will take over, can get exhausting. 

I think of the larger cities where people have to commute for hours through difficult traffic to get back and forth to work.  Whether it be by public transport or their vehicles, stress is so common that many don’t even realize how it is affecting them.

Those of us in smaller communities who don’t have to battle the traffic, still have our own stressors as many still have to drive long distances for services or work.

Modern technology hasn’t helped a bit, as a matter of fact it has made it even worse, it is hard to get away from the phone or other people, we take everything with us, even on vacations.  Many have stress if they get away from social media even for a short time.

People send texts or whatever and expect immediate returns, and if you are a sales person relying on commissions, this can be a serious struggle – if you answer it you are letting the call interrupt whatever else you are doing, if you don’t they find someone else.

We NEED that day of rest, but even more we need to take time each day to sit down with God and just allow Him to take those pressures off of us. 

Allow ourselves time to meditate on His Word, to praise and worship Him without asking for something in prayer.  Prayer request ARE important, but just as important is that daily time where we are just are with Him.

We too often become like little kids who keep demanding of their parents, but never sit down with them and thank them for all they have done.  Just sit and listen to what their parents have to say, because they are too busy with their own perceived needs.

God wants us to wait on Him, He wants us to rest in Him, He wants to rejuvenate our spirit, to make us truly whole in spirit mind and body. 

To do that we must allow Him more than a passing place in our lives.

“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

Later, Art (-: