Christmas songs

I take issue with a couple of Christmas songs

Winter Wonderland was written in 1934 by Felix Bernard.  

Original lyrics included: In the meadow we can build a snowman and pretend that he is Parson Brown.  He'll say are you married you'll say no man.  But we can do that job when were in town.

A version came out in 1947 that ditched the good old parson brown for a circus clown.

The second song that I cringe when I hear is Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas... The original was written in 1943 by Hugh Martin.  

The original lyrics were "through the years we all will be together, if the Lord allows."  This was changed at some point to "through the years we all will be together, if the fates allow."

I guess it is my opinion that Christmas is better with Parson Brown and the good old Lord.  I will gladly get rid of the fates and the circus clown to have the Parson and the Lord.

But that is just me.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

Chicken Fried

One of my favorite songs is Chicken Fried by the Zac Brown Band. Here are the opening lyrics:

You know I like my chicken fried.

Cold beer on a Friday night
A pair of jeans that fit just right
And the radio up

The song is a celebration of life in America. Later in the song he thanks God for his life and for the stars and stripes. Which is good. But as I listen to the chorus:

You know I like my chicken fried

Cold beer on a Friday night
A pair of jeans that fit just right
And the radio up

I have become aware that most people in the world have no idea of what a life like this is like.  We can eat chicken any time we want to.  When I was in Mozambique, as a treat for the visiting Americans, the Methodists bought a cows head [just the head] from the butcher and picked the little slivers of meat off of it to put into a soup.  They don't get chicken whenever they want it.

And if you want a beer, you can probably get one, or two or three.  This little treat is out of reach for most people in the world.

A pair of jeans that fit just right... again, the ability that we have to buy stylish clothes is unheard of in most places around the world.  How many sets of clothes do you have hanging in your closet?  In many countries, people are wearing the only set of clothes that they have and it was shipped over from the USA and it is our old donated stuff.

Enough said.

I love the song.  I love the feeling of the song.  But may we also keep in mind that we live in the richest country in the history of the world.  We are so blessed.  Let us never take what we have for granted.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

thoughts on talking things through...

Sometimes there are disagreements with friends or family members or coworkers.  Especially during the holidays, things happen.  Heck, in life, things happen...

Whenever you find yourself in the midst of an issue, whether it is a surprise or not, when things come along, always work to make sure that everyone has a chance to get their feelings out.

People are important.  Relationships are important.  Living with kindness is a must.

Something is going on???  Something needs to be talked about???  Fine.  Of course... things happen.  Just please take the time to make sure that everyone gets a chance to be heard.

Keeping families, friends, and such together is not easy.  But things always go better when we talk...

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

2 questions

I was thinking the other day about how the world effects us.  What effect does the goings on around you have on you?

I win the lottery = good.
I have an illness = bad.
I don't understand something = troubling
I didn't get the job = bad.

Then there is the other question:  What effect are you having on the world around you?

I win the lottery= show generosity.
I have an illness, show courage.
I don't understand something- show patience and grace.
I didn't get the job- stay positive and keep looking.

So you see there is how things come to us, and then there is what we give back to the world.  Understand that you have power in every situation.  We can whine and complain, we can be surly and negative, or we can show love.  We can respond to everything that happens to us in this world with kindness and love.

That is why we are here.  

Which question is controlling your life?  What the world brings to you or what you bring back to the world.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.

Gratitude

 I can't say enough about the power of gratitude.  We should think of it all the time.  We should incorporate it's principles into our every day life.  Our thinking should be marked by a dedication to the pursuit of an attitude of gratitude.

My friend Sue H sent me this picture:

When we focus on what we have or don't have, we want more.  When we look at what we have and give thanks, we turn what we have into enough.

It is enough.  We have enough.  We don't need more.  May we all learn to want less and enjoy what we have more.

Gratitude.  Catch it.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

Happy Holidays

I know that some companies are steering their employees away from Merry Christmas and towards Happy Holidays.

I don't like it.  I think it takes so much of the warmth out of the greeting.

Recently, I was signing up or trying to sign up for a home health visit, it is an annual requirement of my Medicare plan.

I tried to do it online, but the link was broken so I got into a chat with a United Health Care rep.  She gave me the number to call and at the end of our chat, she said this... "Merry Christmas!  I wish you a very healthy and prosperous life ahead, and I am praying for the very best for you."

I loved that.  What a kind and gracious message!  Merry Christmas!  I wish you a very healthy and prosperous new year.  And I am praying for the best for you all!

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

ambiguity

I have said it before and I will say it again, we humans prefer certainty over ambiguity.  That is why high demand, fundamental churches are growing.  People prefer to be told what to do and think.  We humans prefer certainty.

However, ambiguity is something that comes with all true spirituality and introspection.  It is the awareness that we do not have all of the answers.  It is an admitting that possibly no one has the answers.

I love ambiguity, but I also find that it is sometimes difficult to live with.  We wish that there were answers, but sometimes, there just aren't.  And we work hard on being ok with that.

If you are struggling with some of life's questions, I would say this to you... take a deep breath and relax.  You are not along.  Everything is ok.  Even though we don't have the information or the answers that we want, God is still with us.

That is why we talk about the "peace that passes understanding." Philippians 4:7

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

Speaking of the Italy trip and Sundays Sermon Link

So here is the link from yesterday's sermon if you want to listen or watch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9bUMcqKI_8&t=1616s

click here

And now on to today's post...

We set up a what's app group for the Italy travelers so that we could stay in touch.  A few days ago, some of them started sharing their favorite pictures from the trip.  I loved this one:

In this picture, two old friends are catching up.  Joe [on the left, me on the right] was one of the first people that I met when we moved to Woods Chapel in 1994.  We have been low maintenance friends ever since.

We are sitting in the square on the Isle of Capri overlooking Naples Bay.  It was a beautiful day and we have a marvelous visit.  Oh my, the value of friendship!

Picture credit to Deb Totten.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

Armadillos

The Armadillos was the church softball team that I played on for 15 years.  Here is a picture circa 2002.

Back row, left to right:  Gary Vaughn, Doug Hawley, Me, Kent Chappelow [dec.]
Stu Elliot and Jon Cundiff.  Front row:  Bruce Letner, Joe McMurtrey, Robin
Fisher [dec.] and Darren Evans.  Not pictured:  Matt Swanson

For a while we had a bunch of teams.  All named for road kill.  The possums, the anteaters, the dingos, the woodchucks, turtles, squirrels, coyotes, wolverines and there were more.

On my recent tour of Italy, four members of the Dillos made the trip.

Front to back:  Joe McMurtrey, me, Stu Elliott and Matt Swanson.

It was fantastic to be together with old friends again. 

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

gratitude

I found this quote about gratitude and thought that it was very helpful...

"Even in pain, we can find a place of gratitude, a place where alongside the agony of loss we still count and appreciate what remains."
—Brian D. McLaren

I love this because I think too often we are thankful for the good and unhappy about everything else.  This quote reminds me that an attitude of gratitude is a place that we can land.  An outlook, a posture of gratefulness is a life theme that we can engrain into our being, regardless of outward circumstances.

And those that choose a life of gratitude become truly beautiful people.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

scars and last sunday's sermon link

Here is the link to last Sunday's sermon if you are interested in watching or listening...

click here

Now on to today's post...

I was watching a show the other night and this lady was praying, "Lord, you have given me a lifetime of scars."

That is a lot of scars.  I certainly have some.  I am sure that you do as well.

Let us remember that scars are a part of the healing process.  The fact that we have a scar is a reminder of God's healing power in this world.

And sure, count the scars if you like, but also consider what you learned from the wounds.  Wounds hurt, but in time we can grow from the experiences.

Count scars maybe, count blessings for sure.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

Stealing from self-checkout

I found this article online and I thought it was interesting.  Personally, I would not be able to sleep at night if I intentionally stole a bottle of ketchup from the grocery store...

Self-checkout may save time at the store, but a growing number of shoppers admit they’ve also used it to steal.

Among Americans who’ve used self-checkout, 27 percent say they’ve intentionally taken an item without scanning it — up from 15 percent in 2023, according to a recent survey. 

Millennials (41 percent) and Gen Z adults (37 percent) were the most likely to admit to stealing at self-checkout, while only 2 percent of Baby Boomers said the same. Men (38 percent) were more than twice as likely as women (16 percent) to say they’ve done it.

When asked why they stole, 47 percent said the current financial climate has made it difficult to afford essentials. Nearly as many (46 percent) cited higher prices — including increases they attributed to tariffs — and many (39 percent) said today’s prices “feel unfair” or “too high in general.”

“Even though people know that stealing is wrong and most understand the risk they’re taking, tough times require tough choices, and lots of people are clearly willing to take a risk,” LendingTree’s chief consumer analyst Matt Schulz said in the report.

About a third of those who’ve stolen said they don’t feel remorseful, and a similar share (35 percent) see self-checkout as “unpaid work,” so taking small items “feels like compensation.”

Interestingly, those with household incomes of $100,000 or more were the most likely (40 percent) to say they’ve intentionally taken an item without scanning it. Just 17 percent of those making less than $30,000 said the same.

Interesting article.  I doubt that you would steal from the self checkout line.  I don't.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

you helped me

In my line of work as a minister, whether active or retired, I have tried to help people.  You go about your work planting seeds in hopes that some will take root.

Sometimes you hear a "thank you," but many times you don't.

Recently someone said something to me that I really appreciated.  They said, "Jeff, you have taught me a different way of looking at missions."

I loved this.  They have gone from being a Christian who did missions from time to time, to a person that is living missionally.

We only go around once in this life.  Do everything that you can to affect positive change in the lives of others.  You will be glad that you did.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

Nothing Lasts Forever

 Well, after being in the Superbowl 5 out of the last 6 years, the Kansas City Chiefs have laid an egg.  They are 6-7 and on their way to a losing season.

Some people are mad, but you know, nothing lasts forever.  I prefer to be grateful for the very good years that we have had and hope for better next year.

The rain falls on the just and the unjust.  Things happen.  We people from the midwest are pretty easy going about such matters.

We weren't braggers when the Chiefs were on top and we are not going to grouse when they are losing.  Everyone matters in God's world.  If your team is winning, then I will be happy for you.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

lay down

I had a friend.  Sadly, he passed.  His name was Jerry and he loved to say, "lay down until the feeling goes away."

People would ask for his advice about buying cars and things.  He would simply say, "lay down until the feeling goes away."

Last week one of my kids had the feeling.  I didn't even have to say anything.  A few days later, they said, "Dad, I laid down, and guess what, the feeling went away."

Next time that you want something and you can't help yourself, just lay down and stay down until the feeling goes away.

You will be glad that you did.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

who suffers the most?

Last Sunday we talked about the movie "The Christmas Carol."  At one point in the movie, Scrooge's nephew offers up a toast for him on Christmas Day.  Some of those in attendance object.

They say things like, why should we toast him?  He is such an angry unhappy man.

The nephew however is not phased.  He insists that it is Christmas and we can offer love and a toast.  He adds, "who do you think suffers the most from his attitudes?"

Great question.  great thought.

When someone is snarky to us, we tend to let it sink in, we feel the hurt.  We want to retaliate.  We put them in the "mean person" category.  But there is another way to look at that situation...

Who suffers the most from their bad attitudes?  Not us, they do.  They wake each day in a pool of poison.  They carry the sad face and the small heart.

From each person we meet along the journey of life we can learn something.  From some we learn how to live and how to treat others.  From some we learn how not to live.

May you and I be those people who when a toast is offered in our name, there are no regrets, only a here, here, yes, yes!!!

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

Relationship repair

I listened to a TED talk last week about relationship repair. It was fascinating.

I may post on this for a couple of days.

Point one/takeaway one:  just because you say that you are sorry, does not mean that the fracture is repaired.  

I am sorry is a good first step.  But repair is much deeper and it takes more time and effort.

Are there relationships in your life that you need to repair?

How far are you willing to go to try?

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

when you don't feel good

Last week I was sick.  I did not feel well.  At times I wondered if I was going to pull out of it.

Well, I survived!!!

A couple of things that I thought about when I was sick.

1.  it is harder to see the good when you don't feel well.

2.  a person can still strive to see the good, even when ill.

3.  a positive attitude should be valued more when you see it from those who are struggling.

It's like who would you rather listen to about celebrating life... someone who just won the lottery or a holocaust survivor?

Suffering brings meaning to our living and to our choice of outlook.  Don't let the bad stuff keep you down.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

What do we give to others?

I love this story. I meant to share it in church last week, but time got away...


Around Thanksgiving a few years ago, radio commentator Paul Harvey shared a true story of a woman and her frozen Thanksgiving turkey.

The Butterball Turkey Company set up a telephone hotline to answer consumer questions about preparing holiday turkeys. One woman called to inquire about cooking a turkey that had been in the bottom of her freezer for 23 years. That's right—23 years. The Butterball representative told her the turkey would probably be safe to eat if the freezer had been kept below zero for the entire 23 years. But the Butterball representative warned her that even if the turkey was safe to eat, the flavor would probably have deteriorated to such a degree that she would not recommend eating it.

The caller replied, "That's what I thought. We'll give the turkey to our church."

Just something to think about.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

real growth and sermon link from last sunday

Here is the link from the Nov 30 Sermon, first sunday of Advent.

click here to watch or listen

And now on to today's post...

I have a friend/co-worker Ashley who posted this... I thought it was great!

"Real growth is when you start checking and correcting yourself instead of blaming others. In effect, you are taking your power back by being responsible for your life."

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

Permission

I was listening to a podcast about high demand churches.  In one church, you were not allowed to do certain things... no drinking, no dancing, no smoking, no coffee, no tea, etc.

The results of such prohibitions is that members of the church end up living false lives.  They go to church and pretend they agree with the rules, and then break them during the week.  This creates a painful sense of incongruence that is often accompanied by fits of guilt and shame.

I thank God that in the United Methodist Church, I have permission to be myself.

I believe that Jesus gave people permission to be themselves.

That is a very freeing thought.  True spirituality gives you the permission to be yourself.  It should not be any other way.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

Malcolm Baldridge Framework

Some years ago, Carol Quiring led our lead staff through a Malcom Baldridge training.

Now I just want to take a moment and tell you that Carol is a fantastic human.  So bright and so caring.  Anytime we had issues on staff that we could not resolve, we would call her and she always had an angle on the situation that was so helpful.  She is truly one of my life heroes.

Anyway, Carol was leading this class and it had many points, but the one that I remember the most was the importance of "engaging key stakeholders."

Key stakeholders are the people that are going to have a say or are going to be effected by the plans that you make or the actions that you take.  

The importance of this cannot be overstated.  If you engage a decision without running things thru the proper channels before, you run a great risk of resistance and failure.

On the other hand, when you take the time to visit with the key stakeholders and get them on board, the momentum behind your initiative becomes all the stronger.

Always engage the key stakeholders.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

hacked

Well I guess the hackers are having fun with me.  First they sent emails from me to church members asking for gift cards.

Now I am hearing that a duplicate Facebook page of me has been created with some pretty inappropriate comments on them.

1.  please do not buy gift cards or think that I am asking for something.

2.  if you get a Facebook or any message from me that is odd or inappropriate, please just delete.

And finally, does anyone know someone who can help me resolve some of these hacker issues?

It's still a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

Last Sunday's Sermon and a remembrance of my friend Mike Carter

I love thanksgiving and I love to talk about gratitude.  There is too much complaining in this life and not enough thanks-giving.  Here is the link to last Sunday's sermon on gratitude.  I love talking about this stuff!!!

click here to listen to the sermon from Nov 23

Now on to a moment to honor the life of Mike...

Mike Carter was a member of the Woods Chapel United Methodist Church.  Mike was a friend of mine.  Mike passed away last Sunday.  He had been in poor health.

But, one thing that he did, as long as he could, was to send me and many others simple positive emails every day.

I knew when he was sick because they would not come.  Then he would feel better and they would continue.  Now, I guess we have received the last one.

These are the kind of things that he would send...

Jeff, It's Momentous Monday. A good Day to be Alive. 

Jeff, Sunday is a day to worship. Each in our own way.

Jeff, Welcome to Thoughtful Thursday

Good morning Jeff. Let there be Peace. Peace be with you. Go Chiefs

Good morning Jeff. Wednesday is Wonderful. It's National Cherries Jubilee Day. 

Although Mike struggled with many health issues, he always worked to brighten up the day of other people.  

This is something that we all should work harder at.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

I love thanksgiving

I love thanksgiving.  It is my favorite holiday.  Everyone is usually very nice.  There are fewer cars on the road.  

Thanksgiving is just about gratitude.  It doesn't have any weird theological beliefs attached to it.  Nor is it polluted with gift giving... did I get them enough?  Did I get them the right thing.  No one got me anything.  Wah wah wah.

None of that on thanksgiving.  Just pure happiness and appreciation.  Joyful reminiscing about days gone by.

I hope yours was great.

And by the way, you don't have to wait until next year to be thankful.  We can all choose to live a life of gratitude.  One day at a time.  

May it start today.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

O Give Thanks

I am thankful for so many things!  

For a sound mind!

For the gift of humor!

For a faith that makes sense.

For the ability to ask questions!

For new Italy friends!

For old friends!!!

For cooler weather.

For at least one good or decent shoulder.

For learning to be compassionate.

I hope that you can find some things to be thankful for this day!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

And to my reader whose birthday it is today, Happy Birthday!!!

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

Robert

Every Sunday in church, someone asks for prayers for the mentally ill.

So it was last Friday afternoon. The church office is closed, but Ed and I were there.  He’s the trustee Chair. Ed was waiting to meet a technician to work on the oven.  I happened to be wandering through the lobby.   A guy comes up to the door.  Our church is like many churches, people can’t just walk in you’ve got to be let in.

Since this is the technician I let the guy in. Clearly as soon as he comes in the door, he’s not the technician.  He’s filthy. He’s wearing rags. He’s about 6 foot eight and 150 pounds just a twig of a man.

And you can tell that something is not right.

He moves into the middle of the foyer, claiming his space.  He starts mumbling about calling a lawyer. Ed has something to do. He is meeting a technician.  My schedule is not pressed.  Since there are only two phones in the building, I take him back to my office and let him call a couple of lawyers.

What I experienced for the next 45 minutes was complete and total psychosis. His children were poisoned. His family was murdered by the Gambino family.  He’s been undercover for the FBI... on and on it went.  He talked nonstop.  Some of the most crazy talk that I’ve ever heard.

Someone turns in a prayer request every Sunday for families dealing with mental illness.
Clearly, Robert fits the bill.

I started to worry about how this encounter was going to end.  For the first time in my life, I opened my phone and brought up 911 in case I needed to call for help.

After a while, I carefully helped him understand that it was time to move on.  He stopped several times along the way to offer more babble.  Then he left slowly and awkwardly out into the world that he’s created for himself.

Please keep the mentally ill in your prayers.

We have so much to be thankful for.

35-B

I was flying back from the Italy trip. I was literally the last one on the plane because one of our party was escorted away by customs and I had to wait for them to be returned.

So seat 35b is an aisle seat. The configuration on the plane is 2-3-2. Two seats on the left, three in the middle and two on the right. The plane is full so I know that I am going to have a seat mate. As most of us, when we find ourselves in this situation, we pray for a small person who won’t hang over into our space. My prayers were answered.

In 35A was a young woman of small size. We didn’t talk, and that is fine with me. I don’t get on airplanes to talk.

I did notice that she was texting a lot. I saw one of her texts. It said, “the old guy that just sat down next to me gave some chocolate to the flight crew.”

The old guy.

It struck a chord. Sometimes I mention that I am old. 68 I am. Sometimes I feel old. After this trip to Italy, there was so much walking that my entire carcass is sore.

But to think that other people look at me and think, that is an old guy… it is a funny feeling. I don’t feel old on the inside. I still feel young and full of ideas and full of desires.

But her text reminded me that I am in the 4th quarter of life, whether I recognize it or not. And so, may I, may we all who are headed for the home stretch, use our time wisely and make good choices to love everyone that we can and show kindness every day in every way that we can.

Go ahead and be that old guy or gal who gives chocolates to the flight crew.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

What ever happens

I was flying back from Italy to the states. I was watching one of the Jurrasic Park movies. In the movie, a plane was making a controlled crash… one of the main characters asked the pilot, “what’s the plan.” The pilot answered, “what ever happens, that is the plan.”

In other words, she could not control the landing, the impact or the aftermath. What ever happens is going to happen, so that is the plan.

Sometimes in life, we feel that things are out of control. We don’t like what is happening. We want a different plan. But sometimes, there is no different plan and we have to learn to play the cards that we are dealt.

Sure, you can pray to be rescued, and maybe you will be. But if you are not, then what ever happens is going to happen. You can be mad, you can be angry, you can fight, but the circumstances are not going to change.

Sometimes in life we have to learn to play the hand that we are dealt.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

From my friend Dave... a little bit of joy!

01. If a bottle of poison reaches its expiration date, is it more poisonous or is it no longer poisonous

02. Which letter is silent in the word "Scent," the S or the C.

03. Do twins ever realize that one of them is unplanned?

04. Every time you clean something; you just make something else dirty.

05. The word "swims" upside-down is still "swims".

06. Over 100 years ago, everyone owned a horse and only the rich had cars. Today everyone has cars and only the rich own horses.

07. If people evolved from monkeys, why are monkeys still around?

08. Why is there a 'D' in fridge, but not in refrigerator?

09 - 09 is censored.

10. I'm responsible for what I say, not for what you understand.

11. Common sense is like deodorant. The people who need it the most never use it.

12. My tolerance for idiots is extremely low these days. I used to have some immunity built up, but obviously, there's a new strain out there.

13. It's not my age that bothers me - it's the side effects.

14. I'm not saying I'm old and worn out, but I make sure I'm nowhere near the curb on trash day.

15. As I watch this generation try and rewrite our history, I'm sure of one thing: it will be misspelled and have no punctuation.

16. As I've gotten older, people think I've become lazy. The truth is I'm just being more energy-efficient.

17. I haven't gotten anything done today. I've been in the Produce Department trying to open this stupid plastic bag.

18. If you find yourself feeling useless, remember: it took 20 years, trillions of dollars, thousands of lives and four presidents to replace the Taliban with the Taliban.

19. Turns out that being a "senior" is mostly just googling how to do stuff.

20. I want to be 18 again and ruin my life differently. I have new ideas

21. I'm on two simultaneous diets. I wasn't getting enough food on one.

22. I put my scale in the bathroom corner and that's where the little liar will stay until it apologizes.

It's a humorous, and beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

quote

Well before we get to today's post, evidently my email has been hacked.  So if you get a note from me asking for gift cards, please don't buy any as I don't need them.  But please do let me know.

Thanks.  Now on to today's post...

From my friend Bruce...

You may not always see the results of your kindness, but every bit of positive energy that you contribute to the world makes it a better place for us all.

                                                    Lisa Currie

So again, true kindness, true goodness is not motivated by a need to see results.  It simply understands that goodness/kindness is extremely valuable in and of itself.  Even if we don't see the effect of our actions, they are moving out there like ripples on a pond.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

Government Shutdown

First of all, I apologize that there was no post yesterday.  I thought that I had one set up, but I made a mistake.  Sorry.

Now to today's post... I am writing this on November 3.  Tomorrow I leave for Italy for two weeks.  I return on the 17th.  I hope to post many great pictures of our travels between the 5th and the 18th.  I also hope that by the time that we return, the government shutdown will be over.

Why a government shut down?  Because we ran out of money.  We are not running a balanced budget.  In most governments, in most homes, we run a balanced budget.  Income and expenses match, or close to it.

If you overspend in most worlds, it catches up with you.

In the United States, we have given up on a balanced budget.  Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle overspend and print money to cover it.  Whatever amount they approve for the year, when they have overspent it, they need a continuing resolution.  In other words, raise the debt ceiling and borrow more money to keep the overspending going.

Can you imagine what would happen if our country actually balanced the budget???  All spending would have to be cut by about 25%.  Can you imagine the austerity measures that would have to be put in place?  Every  program cut by 25%.

My friend Paul reminds me to relax about all of this because it is more complicated than I think and it is not as bad as it sounds.  But it does concern me.

Anyway, I would like to think that me and 99 friends could go to Washington as Senators or congressmen and congresswomen, get along, speak with kindness to each other and balance the budget.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

Pompeii

Today we saw the city of Pompeii which was covered in ash from the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79ad.

Because it was totally covered up with ash, it was very well preserved.  Archaeologists have been working on it for many years.

It was very cool.

many frescoes were visible on the walls

you can see the height of the ground around the excavated area...

Mt. Vesuvius... imagine the left and right sides rising up and 
meeting in the top.  The guide told us that 1/3 of the 
mountain was blown away in the eruption.

amphitheater

And so our visit to Italy has come to an end.  We have made great friendships on the trip.  Many people are already talking about where we will plan to go next year.

We are so fortunate to be able to visit such places.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.