First things first, I have been in contact with Julie Reynolds who is compiling a book on the impact the Rajneesh had on local citizens.  She has already spoken to dozens of people that I would speak to and has their stories recorded and some of them transcribed.

    This is a daunting task.  It can be overwhelming when you start on your do to list.  It takes time and energy – both she has already expended.  From all I have heard about her she will do an excellent job.

    So, I offered my assistance but will not be writing on that subject.  If she has not contacted you and you wish to speak to her, please let me know and I will let her know.

    However, after talking with her, I may go forward with a book on the law enforcement activities and perspectives concerning the Rajneesh; she will not be covering the more in-depth parts of that action. 

    For that I will need assistance from those that are, or know of, Officers that were involved in one way or another with the Rajneesh and their shenanigans; or legitimate activities.

    Since I have to shift gears, so to speak, I will have to review my list of priorities on a book, that will take a bit of time.

    Meanwhile, Carla brought up several pounds of cucumbers a couple of days ago – and I canned 18 pints of sweet pickles the last couple of days.  Now, for my doctor friends, I won’t be eating them all, (but a few, I am shure, will join other condiments – and of course I gotta test them!)

    She brought me an early birthday gift.  A canner – we have at least three of the porcelain kind, but this was different.

    It is a stainless steel hot water canner.  It is larger than the others by a few inches high and in circumference, but the real ‘neat’ thing about it is I can use it for cooking acidic food.

    We may not have the tribe here we used to have in the house, but there are times that I need a large ‘soup’ pot to conjure my “potions;” she mentioned that I am always frustrated when brining whole chicken.  So, I now have another large stainless-steel pot to do that and other things like the tomatoes that are starting to come on strong and I will be making salsa, tomato sauce, taco sauce, maybe more pizza sauce, etc. and my regular pots may not be quite large enough.

----------------------------------------

    This morning I woke up with the book of Job on my mind.
    As I thought about it I kept asking myself, have I lived my life so that God could say to satan: “Have you considered my servant Art?”

    My answer, sadly, was, ‘no.’

Job 1:8 KJV “ And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?”

    God was willing to put Job to a test, knowing that He would pass it well.  Knowing that no matter what he would never let God down.

Job 3:3 KJV “Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived.”

    He lost his children, he lost his animals – his livelihood, his fortune - and still didn’t yield.

    While to begin with God had forbidden satan to test his loyalty by attacking his body – but when Job didn’t yield to satan’s tactics He agreed to allow satan to attach him physically and it was so painful that Job wished he had never been born.

    Even his wife gave up on him:

Job 2:9 KJV “Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.”

    Friends came to console him, but their counsel was without merit; and only made things worse.

    Job is a difficult book to read, it shows the feelings of a man who cannot understand why he is enduring these trials – yet, he never falters in his faith that God is GOD and deserves Job’s loyalty.

    The problem I was having in my early morning thinking of Job, was that I was trying to compare myself with him. 

    He was a man of God, but, he also admitted he was not perfect, he was a sinner – and on that I can find common ground, but it does me no good to compare my life, my work, my servitude to God with other people.

    God doesn’t, so why should I?

    Each of Christian has a relationship with God, that is his alone.  Each Christian goes through trials and tribulations – sometimes daily or even hourly – while we can use others as inspiration, we cannot understand all that they went through and we cannot compare our experience to theirs.

    Satan knows how we are vulnerable, he knows what enticements to put in front of us to tempt us into sinning against God.

    For some it may be lying, for others stealing, for others lust, for others gossip and the list goes on.  But ALL of us have weaknesses that satan can exploit IF we let him.

    However, we don’t have to dwell on those temptations, we don’t have to yield to them.  And we can rest in the fact that God will make a way for us to be free of that temptation.

1 Corinthians 10:13 KJV “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

    Those temptation often come up when we are at our weakest, and all to frequently we yield to them.

    However, if we stay close to God, make a habit of walking and talking and LISTENING, daily, our ability to recognize temptation as it starts and cast it away will be enhanced.

    And even if it comes on full bore we know God is with us and will guide us away from it.

    Job is an inspiration, as many men of God have been in my lifetime.  But, it is a mistake to compare myself with them, we each have our own cross to bear and my responsibility is not to compare myself with others to see how I stand up, but to do what God has placed on my heart to do; and do that with the best of my abilities.

Later, Art (-: