In our neck of the woods we have lots of smoke and ash, without any sign of it letting up.  It is very hard to breath and I hear coughing in every place I have been today.

I was at the doctor’s office that is on the banks of the Columbia River.  Across the river, less than a mile away, I could see the small city of Dallesport, but nothing of the Klickitat Mts. which lies right behind them.  Visibility is almost non-existent.

I-84 has been closed for over 24 hours from Hood River to Troutdale.

The fire has jumped the river into Washington in at least one place, but thus far hasn’t caused any real damage over there, yet.  Overnight the acreage on fire has gone from about 3000 acres to over ten with no promise of being controlled any time soon.

Helicopters flying overhead with their water buckets look like specks against the flames.  It is like trying to put out a house fire with a thimble.

Homes and communities are being evacuated with some of the communities at the west end of the Gorge, Troutdale for one, are being told to keep aware of the situation, they may have to vacated those communities also.

As much as the smoke is bothering us here, I cannot imagine what it is like for those who are just a few yards or even miles from the fires, it has to be brutal.

Of course, our area isn’t the only one with fires, California, all over Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana are undergoing the same life and property threating conflagrations. 

Our hearts go out to the victims and our prayers of support go out to the firefighters that are trying to put these things down.

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

Colossians 1:12-14 KJV “ Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

¹³ Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

¹⁴ In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:”

As most of you who are reading this know, we have had a dangerous forest/wild fire in the Gorge.  It has forced the evacuation of hundreds of people from their homes.

Right now, not only is it not contained at all, but in three days it has gone from a few hundred acres to over 10,000 and still growing. 

According to witnesses the fire was caused by a teenager throwing some kind of firecracker off a trail into a ravine, while another was videoing that action. 

The authorities know who the teenagers are and have released them to their parents from what I understand.  Police have not released names.  We don’t know just how old they are, but if they are in their teens they should know better.

Not only are firecrackers and such devices illegal in Oregon, but starting a fire from such an illegal act is also illegal and the penalties can be very severe.

Personally, I believe that they should face the full force of the law for this crime.  In addition I believe they should have to sit down with any victim and firefighter that was involved in this fire, listen to their anger and how it affected them.

If possible they should be involved in the cleanup after the fire is over.

Now, having said that, I also truly believe that if they ask forgiveness of the Father through Christ they will be forgiven of Him.

I do not know their spiritual status, even Christians pull stupid actions, however, as God has forgiven us of all the sins we have committed these young men can also be forgiven.

That is an important thing to remember.  Because these young men are going to face some hatred, and the way people act today, I am sure some will even threaten to do them harm.  When it is all over these young men will have to deal with what they have done for the rest of their lives.

If they have any conscience at all, it will be a heavy burden to bear.  As of now only property has been destroy, no one, that I am aware of, has been seriously physically injured (although psychological injuries can be just as devastating and there is no doubt some of that is happening) and there has been no lives lost.

It is a real danger and if it should happen the degree of the crime goes up considerably.  I cannot imagine how they would feel about costing someone their life.

Should they be punished, absolutely; however,

2 Corinthians 2:6-8  KJV “ Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many.

⁷ So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.

⁸ Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him.”

When the punishment is given, and the young men are serving it, we must also keep in mind that without compassion they could be completely destroyed.

“So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.”

They will not be forgiven by everyone, based on thousands of years of humanity, we know that. 

However, when time has gone by, those that can should tell them.

Their parents have to be mortified and ‘out of their minds’ right now over the grief their sons have caused these victims.

They have to be trying to figure out how to support them while at the same time supporting the victims and the rule of law. At least I hope so, they need to be strong at this time and it is going to be very difficult.

This is their child, they have done a very foolish and serious thing, but they are still their child.

What both these young men and their parents and rest of their family need is our prayers.  They will be punished, if what we have heard about the evidence against them is correct, but if they take ownership of what they have done and do what is required of them in making amends, as much as possible anyway, they also need our prayers  “lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.”

I have seen what can happen to a man who has committed crimes that he feels can never be forgiven, who feels the oppressive weight of those sins, men “who are swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.”  Some turn to alcohol and other drugs, and others commit suicide because they can no longer bear the burden. 

We don’t want either thing happening to these young men.

Later, Art (-:

In our neck of the woods we have more smoke rolling in and extremely low visibility.  Even Cherry Hts. less than a mile away is a blur.  And still triple digit temperatures.

The hikers in the Gorge have been rescued, unharmed.  However, the small community of Cascade locks has had 150 homes evacuated and the rest of the community is on orders to be ready to leave at any time.  And the fire keeps growing.  As does many of the fires throughout the western states.

More devastated lives, more endangered emergency workers.

Carla made and canned her tomato ketchup over the past couple of days, it is a long process, but well worth the time and energy!  It is SSSOOO much better than store bought stuff.  What surprised me was how it doesn’t separate like the ones in the store.

We will be canning more tomatoes and products now that we are getting some hanging on. 

The peaches should be ripened enough to can tomorrow.  Thinking of getting some more tomorrow to can later in the week, our stock is almost gone.

My dentist commented that they use honey as a sweetener; so, Carla checked the Ball Blue Book, (we don’t do any canning without consulting that book, or a college extension site – ‘normal’ internet ain’t the place to go to for ‘safe’ canning procedures) and shore ‘nuff, there IS a recipe using honey.  Gotta try it.

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

John 18:35-36  KJV Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

³⁸ Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.

Gossip.  Ever played the game?  A small group gathers, although the larger the group the more ‘impressive’ the game becomes.

A written statement, with some details but not too complicated, is given to one person, he is asked to read it to the next person; that person then repeats it to the next person as best as they can remember it.

The last person then tells the group what he heard.  The statement is then read and, low and behold, it isn’t the same as it was in the beginning.  Many times it is just the opposite in message than intended by the writer.

It is a good example of how people can twist things around, even unintentionally knowing, that they will be ‘tested’ at the end.

Gossip can even be more devastating than this game suggests; depending on motives, attitude, memory retention and a myriad of other human traits and frailties even a truth can be corrupted into dangerous lies.

Back in the 70’s I worked with a man who loved to start rumors, just to see where they would go and what they sounded like when it got back to him.  They weren’t malicious, but, they were lies none the less.  It was basically harmless, but as far as I was concerned, not a good thing.

Back then everything was word of mouth; oh, occasionally people would put something in writing, but it didn’t travel very fast.

Jump to 2017, there are people out there just like my co-worker, they love to start something.  Only, most of them are not harmless, it done maliciously.

AND they use the foolishness of people on the many social media programs AND the media who feel they must post something before their rivals do and don’t do the ground work to make sure it is correct information.  The last two years this problem has been escalated beyond our wildest nightmares, and it is just getting worse.

There have always been con artists and scammers, now they have taken it to a whole new level, even stealing people’s phone numbers so we will pick up the phone and they can try and ‘sell’ a good deal.

Viruses imbedded in e-mails and web sites to steal our information and steal our funds and sometimes even our reputation are common, “every day” problems.

AND what is far worse, we have people who would steal our very souls.  Again, it has been going on since Adam sinned, but the modern technology has amplified the danger thousands fold.

“Pilate saith unto him, What is truth?”

John 17:17 KJV “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”

When Jesus talked to the scribes and leaders of the Jewish nation He told them to search the scriptures, that His being and mission had been foretold in them.

Some did just that and came to the conclusion that He was who He said He was, the redeemer, the Son of the Living God.

Others chose NOT to research it, either thinking they knew the scriptures so well they didn’t need to go back through it, or were lazy and didn’t want to take the time, or, maybe they were too arrogant and didn’t want to be proven wrong.

Today, even more than in years past, people are searching for answers, they want peace in their hearts, they want to live without fear of dying, of the unknown, and satan is well aware of these struggles and capitalizes on them.

He tricked Eve, who tricked Adam (with satan’s help) and the world has never been the same since.

Satan works hard at trying to destroy God and His creation, He wants to keep people from reading His Word, from accepting the fact it is truth and there is a Savior that loves and cares for us.

And even those of us, who have accepted that truth, are vulnerable to his lies.

Mark 13:22-23 KJV “ For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.

²³ But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.”

Our children are becoming more and more targets of the world’s desire to destroy God and all He stands for.  They are so involved in the world of social media they are perfect marks for the scams and lies of satan.

“to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.

²³ But take ye heed:”

We need to continue reading God’s Word.  While devotions and aides are nice, and like good preaching they can help enlighten us, they should not be used as substitutes, (the writers are not always right in their interpretation,) for the actual scriptures. 

Just because it is written by a person we admire, doesn’t mean that it takes the burden of making sure that person is correct in their interpretation of God’s Word, it is incumbent on all Christians to study His Word and see for ourselves.

Our eternal lives demand it.

Be safe, keep studying His Word!

Later, Art (-:

In our neck of the woods, the weather is still up and down as it goes from 90+ degrees one day with 100 and 103 in the garden to 70 degrees the following day.

I am not complaining, only reporting, preparing myself for late June, July, August and September knowing that we will be having heat waves.

May was a month filled with a lot of Dr. appointments and recovery.

Feeling quite a bit better today; better than I have been in quite a while.

I do hope that continues.

Josh and Deed weren’t using their treadmill anymore, so gave it to us and took the old one down to Salvation Army.  It has more bells and whistles, which I hope, eventually, to take advantage of in the near future.

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

1 Chronicles 29:11  Thine, O Lord is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all.

So many days we get wrapped up in our selves.  There is so much to do; the ‘Tyranny of The Urgent’ that suddenly appears and makes us feel we MUST deal with it immediately takes us away from our duties, our plans, for the day.

When that happens it throws us off for the day. Yes, there are times we must hurriedly take on whatever comes up.

Most times however, if we are really prioritizing our day we realize it can be set aside, for a while, and we can go about our regular duties and take care of that situation later.

An old saying is very much worth considering and thinking about when this happens:  “Your poor planning does not make an emergency on my part.”  Many times it is someone else who puts the pressure on us, someone who could have given more time – bosses may have a pass, but, even there we can often prioritize our time.  -  Yep, I have done the ‘this needs to be done’ but when they ask if it must be done ‘right now?’ I often realized that the answer was, no.

And of course there are exceptions to the rule. Especially in my line of work, well, what used to be my line of work, responding to emergencies.

Rarely, however, do emergencies come down 24 hours a day seven days a week that take all of our energy and our thought process to complete.

But even with that into consideration, it is still up to us to prioritize our day, to plan our day out; and the very first thing we should put on our list for the day is to remember to praise our God, to thank Him for His many blessings and to meditate on His words even if it is only for a few minutes.

Doing so helps us put into perspective who we are, who God is and why our relationship with God is so important.

We don’t need elaborate phrases, we do not need prearrange prayers, what we need is to take time to be with Him and allow Him to work within our heart and soul; just talking with Him as we would any other relationship.

We have so many distractions in this world, so many things that we are ‘having’ to do that we forget that God is the most important relationship we have.

May we always take time out of our busy day to look around us and to see the many blessings we have because God is God.

Later, Art (-:

Summer has arrived in our neck of the woods. Bright sun. High temperatures and right now I’m looking at blue skies and a bit of wind – with promises of temperatures – in the shade – of 90 it will be closer to 100 in her garden.

It won’t be long before we have fresh vegetables from the garden to go along with our barbecuing the meat from Ken’s cow.

It is been a busy week as we have visited several different medical professionals and enriched the coffers of MCMC.

I am told our healing process is going fine, yes it is slow, but still I am making progress and that is the important thing.

I have my bottom plate back and to celebrate we are having barbecued steak for dinner - I can already taste it.

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

Psalm 119:96-98  “ Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live: for thy law is my delight.

⁷⁸ Let the proud be ashamed; for they dealt perversely with me without a cause: but I will meditate in thy precepts.

⁷⁹ Let those that fear thee turn unto me, and those that have known thy testimonies.”  KJV

Meditation, I remember back in the 60s and early 70s when the “new age” brought all kinds of exciting changes; one of which was meditation.

Without trying to go into great detail, basically meditation was described as opening one’s mind to the universe. Becoming one with nature.

There were slight benefits and actually some of the side benefits were beneficial relaxation, being able to control oneself in situations that were trying but, it took God out of the equation of man’s thought process.

I can recall meditation was roundly and soundly condemned in our churches as being a substitution for God and glorification of what was considered universal energy. The idea was to become one of the universe.

What I found interesting however was I don’t recall one sermon or teachings on the biblical form of meditation.

Several years ago several years ago as I was studying the word of God came upon the word meditation.  Meditation for God’s people is focusing our mind on God, focusing our minds on His truths and promises in his Word.

As we contemplate, meditate, and asking the Holy Spirit to guide us, we develop a closer relationship with him.

The benefit to us is relaxation and as we apply His truths to our life, to our daily activities we find a piece, we find comfort, we find the strength that is not within but it is a melding of our soul and are being with Him.

Our strength comes from God and the beauty of that is when you understand that we are alone are incapable of true peace, true strength, and to power that comes from trusting in Him, trusting in His word.

The term new age has gone by the wayside, you rarely hear the term new age in this day and age. But some of the techniques that take us away from God, the trying teach us that there is an energy field for our spirit that is not controlled by God still exist and taught in today’s world.

Meditation like most things in this world is neutral as far as terminology is concerned. It is what one does with it, how a person applies meditation to their lives that makes a difference.

Are we trying to put ourselves in an altered state of consciousness for our own sake, or we trying to be in tune with the Holy Spirit allowing Him to guide our lives?

but I will meditate in thy precepts.

Lord, I am so thankful that we can grow closer to You, that we can become more in tune with your Spirit as we go about our daily lives.  We are not alone, but have your presence with us for eternity.

Later, Art (-:

Another very warm day in our neck of the woods, however, according to the forecast we won’t be seeing 90+ degrees.  Unfortunately that is in the shade, the garden will be quite a bit higher.

Things are quiet right now, cats are taking advantage of the weather outside, Blaze is sleeping in the bedroom, Carla is at work and I am writing with AllClassical in the background.

Will be starting Cardiac Rehab this week, a long meeting and then setting up the rehab times three times a week.  They have me keeping a daily diary of everything that passes my lips, to be turned in Tuesday.  It won’t be accurate, however, I had a tooth pulled a week ago, so my partial is in the ‘shop’ getting reconfigured – living on soup and very soft foods – not the eating I normally do.

Oh, well my menu, usually, is predictable for the most part so if they need it I can give them an idea of what that is – kinda.

Shoulder is responding to physical therapy and the therapists from both programs will coordinate so I don’t have any avoidable complications.

Carla has a long ways to go in her transplanting of her tomatoes, but they are looking healthy and pretty – she will be giving most away in a week or so, it allows her to fully enjoy that part of gardening and gives her the satisfaction of repeat ‘customers’ who want them every year.

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

“James, earn this.  Earn it.”  Capt. John Miller, “Saving Private Ryan” as he lay dying, reminding Ryan of the great sacrifice men that followed Miller trying to locate him to send him home, had made, many had been killed in action.

“Every day I think about what you said to me, that day on the bridge.  I have tried to live my life the best that I could, I hope that was enough.  I hope that in at least in your eyes, I earned what all of you have done for me.”  Older Private Ryan at the grave of Capt. Miller.

“Tell me I have led a good life.  Tell me I am a good man.” Private Ryan to his wife at the grave.

“You are.”  Her reply.

Luke 3:16  John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:

I so often take for granted the sacrifice of Christ at the Cross. 

If John The Baptist was not worthy of letting loose the latchet on Jesus’ shoes, how much more unworthy am I?

Yet, while we cannot be worthy to receive Christ’s salvation by any actions on our part:

Ephesians 2:8-10  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

⁹ Not of works, lest any man should boast.

¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

We, as Christians, CAN walk as if we are worthy of that great gift of salvation bestowed on us by God through the Sacrifice of His Son.

Colossians 1:9-11 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

¹⁰ That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

¹¹ Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;

We should be asking ourselves, every day, whether we are showing the obedience of a worthy servant to our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Lord, may I never forget the compassion, love and mercy you displayed for me by your sacrifice.  May I live each day striving to be worthy of that gift.

Later, Art (-:

In our neck of the woods it is going to be very warm for the next few days.  We have already experienced the 90 degree weather in the garden, but quickly followed with lower temperatures, high winds and rain.

Carla is about ready to plant her tomatoes.  We are a good four to six week off our normal schedule for her efforts. 

We are thankful that the reservoirs all over Oregon are filled with water and the drought has been ‘officially’ declared over – at least for this year.

It is sad to see, however, other areas of the USA as well as other parts of the world are having extreme heat and fires that have caused havoc with the farmers and ranchers.

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

“I thank Thee, my Creator and Lord, that Thou has given me this joy in The creation, this delight in the works of Thy hands; I have shown the excellency of Thy works onto man, so far as my finite mind was able to comprehend Thine infinity, if I have sad aught of Thy glory, graciously forgive it.”  Johannes Kepler

Colossians 1:16-17 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

¹⁷ And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

As I have said, many times, I am in awe of the abilities of men and women that work with their hands.  Artisans that build buildings, vehicles, pathways through mountains and means to make life easier for themselves and others, fascinate me.

Science has come a long way learning more and more and inventing machines that can detect minute problems within our bodies.  People who have done things so that the rest of us can live a longer and more productive life.

Many inventions build upon the inventions and ingenuity of others as they adapt those plans to accomplish a new ‘creation’ that allows them to do a better job.

More and more man is realizing that animals and vegetation can teach them a lot and have used their unique abilities to perfect their machines or whatever they are working on.

Blueprints are made, materials are gathered together, plans are shown to those that will build and these men and women bring the blueprints and ideas to life. 

While others, like myself recognizing our limitations, watch these men and women and are in awe.  While others work alongside them overcoming obstacles and producing a finished product they are proud to say they worked on it.

So why do so many give respect for man’s abilities and use physics that remain constant; knowing that there are certain things that they can depend on to make their creation stable and solid so it performs at the highest level – not recognize that the greatest builder had a plan, He carried it out and the minutest detail is not forgotten and call it evolution.

We look at the intricacies of what God had created in this universe, in every single aspect of its existence, from the smallest insect to the largest animal and from the smallest plant to the giant sequoias – each has a uniqueness about it but all show the commonality of a planned creation.

Why do we not give credit for what has been done to the Creator? 

His hand can be readily seen, even in the simplest of things.

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

That verse is not made for debate.  It is a declaration of who God is and what He has done.

I am so thankful that the God who created all things and gave man the ability to create out of those things items that allow us to live a more comfortable and healthy life, also created me and thought I was worth sending His Son into my life that I might be saved.

Later, Art (-:

I am deeply saddened and very concerned this morning.  The past two days I have watched news casts that make me wonder where we are really heading in teaching our children the realities of life.  It brings tears to my heart and eyes.

The first one was on the decision by a school district in Washington not to allow their band to travel to Victoria B.C.

The reason given was it wasn’t equitable to their students.  They may have some ‘undocumented’ illegal students “that might not be allowed to cross into Canada and they sure wouldn’t be allowed back into the States.”

So, a tradition of at least 20 years must be scrapped and those students who live in our country legally must set aside their dreams so someone else who is in this country illegally can feel better. 

Probably 90+ percent of the students that are illegal were brought over by their parents, and while I understand it isn’t their fault, neither is it the fault of the students that have looked forward to a special trip to be deprived of that experience.

And of course it isn’t just the fact they can’t go, it is the message that is being sent.

To me the message is:  “So, if I do something illegal, then I don’t have to worry, because I am going to be excused and I am going to be protected by authorities from the repercussions of those acts?” 

Yes, there are those that are applauding that decision. 

Now, we all are upset with the division in our country, the hate that is being spewed by both sides of the division. 

But, how is this going to make those feel that are being kept from ‘their’ enjoyment?  What makes these people think that there isn’t going to be resentment and repercussions in the future from that decision?

It is fuel for the fire.  And there isn’t anything to use to put it out because reasoning has gone out the window.  It will be left up the law enforcement to deal with these repercussions; and, of course, they are going to be chastised for doing their job.

Which brings me to the second news cast.

The second news cast was this morning; I watched a local news cast on a high school where the students don’t want police officers to come to their school any longer.  They feel “uncomfortable.”

When I worked for the City, I spent a lot of time in the schools, both on duty and off-duty.  I spoke with dozens if not hundreds of classes and students through the years.  I sat down and ate lunch with them, walked the halls and talked with them.

Were some of them uncomfortable, undoubtedly, but the reason I did this was to let them know Police Officers ARE their friends and can be counted on to help them in their distress.

Through the years I have had many of them tell me how much they appreciated my service.  They introduce me to their spouses and children as a friend.

When I was Sheriff we brought in the “DARE” program.  A deputy went into the schools and taught the dangers of drugs and the ways to avoid them – among other lessons.  He interacted and became friends with most of them.  He helped more than one deal with a home environment that was toxic.

He made lifelong friends with many of them.

My son was a Police Resource officer in his schools for several years.  I had the opportunity to visit the high school with him and saw the interaction and the respect that was given him by both students and teachers.

I know of one occasion that stands out to him.  He had several years of contact with one young lady who came to know him as a standup guy and someone she could trust to help her – she was a victim of incest and had been going through it for years. 

There were others, but this is one that showed him the value of his years of service to the schools.  Who knows what would have happened to that young lady had she continued to bury her fear and assaults because of that positive action she was taken out of that environment and given a chance to live life without fear or self-degradation.

He taught a class on leadership and took those students to state wide conferences. 

School Resource Officers are chosen because they can relate with the kids, because they have the personalities and ability to work with them and become a resource to them.

It is time the adults in this country start standing up and saying, “Enough is enough.  If you feel ‘uncomfortable’ that is not a bad thing.  If you can’t understand that this society does have rules and laws, you NEED to understand that before you get in trouble; and we aren’t going to let you duck behind, “I feel uncomfortable,” reason.

If you can’t interact with Police officers in this kind of environment, what are you going to do when real life hits you in the face and you have to deal with them in times of stress?

AND those times are coming!  Especially for those that think they can cry and get their way.

Like most Police Officers, Law Enforcement was my life work.  This was my ministry in life.  It wasn’t just enforcing the laws - making arrests, issuing tickets - but making our community safer and helping those in need.

The kids in our society NEED that positive interaction with Police Officers. 

They NEED to see they are human beings and sincerely care for their well-being.

Are we all perfect?  No.

Are those that are good officers perfect all the time?  No.

But the vast majorities take their job very seriously and are willing to lay down their lives to protect others – even those that feel “uncomfortable” around them.

There should be MORE, not less, officers in the schools of our communities.  That interaction is in the top five of the most important duties an officer has, interacting with the kids and the public in general.  Making contacts that will help those kids now and in the future is extremely important.

This is heart breaking and very discouraging to me.  

I fear for these kids, who are they going to turn to when they find out that they need help and that will not come from any other source than the police?

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

“None of us can approach a serious study and consideration of the eternal nature and person of Jesus Christ without sensing and confessing our complete inadequacy in the face of the divine revelation.”  AW Tozer

2 Corinthians 3:5 “ Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;”  KJV

It is times like these that I rely on these kinds of scriptures.

Comforting, reminding me that I am not alone, and no matter what I am feeling and going through God is going through it with me.

I take far too much on me and forget that God wants to take over for me – it is so hard to remember, and even once reminded, to let go and allow Him to carry me through.

But, that is on me, not on Him. 

I thank Him for His mercy and His love and that once I do release myself to Him, He helps me through it.

Lord, I so need to learn this lesson, and not go through minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and even years of frustrations that could have been rectified if I had let you do it.

Later, Art (-: