tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9685418538833603582024-03-13T16:18:54.191-07:00POKING AROUNDJUST THINGS OF INTEREST TO THIS OLD GUY
AND HOPEFULLY YOU TOO.manthanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16278718492999520900noreply@blogger.comBlogger397125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-968541853883360358.post-728419929664010622023-05-20T02:34:00.001-07:002023-05-20T02:34:15.578-07:00WHEN IN NEED PRAY.<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXBARBLY1yzkfHhmmPsceECg63TxiZ_v72AdZdTWFMNuVnHGEYC-0hyahofYzPG__r9eLOAO1B8zVig_yLEaYN_S5PCdjGsRTUXNZO_BlKYYsc0pVV54njl3bfek2vWhgzmm-u3e7ZrZ0mpslnYx9szhL8xF3BKmyU5R1PWBx4N9riFE_i644GipA/s640/100_1080.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="640" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXBARBLY1yzkfHhmmPsceECg63TxiZ_v72AdZdTWFMNuVnHGEYC-0hyahofYzPG__r9eLOAO1B8zVig_yLEaYN_S5PCdjGsRTUXNZO_BlKYYsc0pVV54njl3bfek2vWhgzmm-u3e7ZrZ0mpslnYx9szhL8xF3BKmyU5R1PWBx4N9riFE_i644GipA/w400-h299/100_1080.JPG" width="400" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 24px;">Quit working. Didn’t know what I</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 24px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>was doing, but tore it all to pieces</b></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 24px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>anyway. Had to pray. I still don’t</b></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 24px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>know why, but God started it </b></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 24px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>working again. PRAISE GOD.</b></p><div><b><br /></b></div></div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /> </p>manthanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16278718492999520900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-968541853883360358.post-72862788204466445862022-11-19T06:36:00.000-08:002022-11-19T06:36:21.498-08:00GETTING OLD<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwu4bEeZyZSsNpsPREVN0wbReTqOb9f74yEbYx4DqcIsTPOPeTTcc5iliO8FeDAc5A-SFMQN2tRrulZo6BT5722LjawnHbD9vNBDF7i8_N6ZFSsrWHtrDj3YipkN9_4Dfai98S-L9gGcVG8nsdHE4eWBYbs_1y7Zfprqd5xE2Z7H5CAvnwB1ggoV0/s2048/IMG_2835.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwu4bEeZyZSsNpsPREVN0wbReTqOb9f74yEbYx4DqcIsTPOPeTTcc5iliO8FeDAc5A-SFMQN2tRrulZo6BT5722LjawnHbD9vNBDF7i8_N6ZFSsrWHtrDj3YipkN9_4Dfai98S-L9gGcVG8nsdHE4eWBYbs_1y7Zfprqd5xE2Z7H5CAvnwB1ggoV0/w400-h300/IMG_2835.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">That old bike looks like I feel at this age.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Years ago I bought a few acres of woods </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">in the state tax sales. At the time I wanted</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">a lot more woods than that little patch to </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">hid in.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The patch of woods came with a trash pile.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">People had been dumping things there for </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">years. I think I hauled out two pickup loads</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">of metal from the pile and sold.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">True I was disappointed that I was able to</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">not buy more. BUT, after about ten years</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and the way things have worked out, I have</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">had to thank God many times that he let me</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">get this little place rather than some of the </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">ones I really wanted.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p>manthanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16278718492999520900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-968541853883360358.post-17513714984749131502022-10-29T03:15:00.000-07:002022-10-29T03:15:01.641-07:00OVERHAUL TIME <p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNDwgMv5pDk1E5-nel8O7YZq1ZUN8pxSZqWPJm5jU77Y24mVqFEP6JOjqBgZ45UtGTlzJwN9ER6tjCmYRtftKi0KR-BWZJ9yHAjwOQ5bS2Jxqo7ci7-aEodkTzq7Ox3uTByK63VpjrKPz-dblctwiEtk1qF13Z-ICAzaxpV1DEBYHjJIfE4CZ2WCw/s3504/IMG_0004%206.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2336" data-original-width="3504" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNDwgMv5pDk1E5-nel8O7YZq1ZUN8pxSZqWPJm5jU77Y24mVqFEP6JOjqBgZ45UtGTlzJwN9ER6tjCmYRtftKi0KR-BWZJ9yHAjwOQ5bS2Jxqo7ci7-aEodkTzq7Ox3uTByK63VpjrKPz-dblctwiEtk1qF13Z-ICAzaxpV1DEBYHjJIfE4CZ2WCw/w400-h266/IMG_0004%206.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">That is an old pitcher pump at Fort Rock</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Family Camp. It probably was installed</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">mostly for appearance sake. But, the small</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">kids just love it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Any time camp is going you can look over</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">at that old pump[ and some kid will be pumping</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">the dickens out of it. It has "city" water in the</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">tub underneath, but the kids don't know the </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">difference.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I have been a volunteer worker at Fort Rock</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Family Camp for possibly ten years. Mostly</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I just repair things. That means when that old</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">pump gets worn out, I have to repair it. I have</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">no idea how many times I have had to overhaul</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">that poor old pump because the kids keep </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">wearing it out.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">But, isn't that just like life. Day after day we</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">go through the motions of life and it puts a </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">lot of wear on us. In time if we are not care-</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">full we become indifferent to the things of </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">God while we are just trying to survive the</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">things of life.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It would be well for us to heed the advice</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">that the apostle Paul gave to young Timothy:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>"This is why I remind you to fan into </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>flames the spiritual gift God gave you</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>when I laid my hands on you."</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(2 Timothy 1:6 NLT)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p>manthanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16278718492999520900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-968541853883360358.post-52476209038099197682022-10-08T03:11:00.000-07:002022-10-08T03:11:40.205-07:00BEWARE<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHr9FIpvzpmOmkPASEyqY58wuEy2b25qlBpisRPHm9xp8utEyie8APwksJDSNjWm-H_EbcUIR6eFi-tHR0xXT-UEna52EKmb1X6pxwUdV8InWG6l1p9FRB6ffdbCeWepqC_TnHO_WNQsi50-u61q8MbFVZnUxjNwzEJXpvbXXnfry3HH1-yUFjbik/s640/IMG_0001.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHr9FIpvzpmOmkPASEyqY58wuEy2b25qlBpisRPHm9xp8utEyie8APwksJDSNjWm-H_EbcUIR6eFi-tHR0xXT-UEna52EKmb1X6pxwUdV8InWG6l1p9FRB6ffdbCeWepqC_TnHO_WNQsi50-u61q8MbFVZnUxjNwzEJXpvbXXnfry3HH1-yUFjbik/w400-h300/IMG_0001.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Thank God it does not belong to anyone</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">in this family. My sun-in-law rented it </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">for a business trip.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Is my contempt for the model or the </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">brand.? No. I did look at the brand,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">but have now forgotten what it is.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It is this kind of thing.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I was sitting here at the kitchen table</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">when I heard a "beep" and the tail gate</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">went up all by it' self. There was </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">no-one around.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I checked with him. Did he want the</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">tail gate up? He did not even know it</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">was up. He had the remote in his pocket</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and had accidentally "butt dialed" the car</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and the tail gate went up.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">That was last night.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Today I happened to look out the window</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and the back door was opening all by it's</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">self. Yes, he was there with an arm load</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">of stuff.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Why does that concern me?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I was an auto technician at an automobile </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">agency for over one forth of a century. One</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">of the things I learned that hard way is that</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">all of those accessories and convinces break</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">down and somebody had to fix them. In fact,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">a very high percentage of our repair work was</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">on accessories, not on things that make the </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">car go.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">If you buy a car with a lot of accessories </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and convinces they will give you trouble.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">If you want more trips to the shop to fix</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">things, buy lots of convinces to impress </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">people with.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p>manthanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16278718492999520900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-968541853883360358.post-42656253466073311132022-10-01T02:13:00.000-07:002022-10-01T02:13:18.219-07:00TESTING<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKObI9Faqf15qbFT7s-yfXFjJLsuP2GH4lXXm-wL1QqvjwvvnaaY72x0bbOfhP43KYCPM6b_H3N2u7T2-_8tYRWo9M0BNPU4E8GMNDlINdDdPEBpmfTf_KNFuwN5V2iDpwq2uwSm6hls/s1600/child.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="593" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKObI9Faqf15qbFT7s-yfXFjJLsuP2GH4lXXm-wL1QqvjwvvnaaY72x0bbOfhP43KYCPM6b_H3N2u7T2-_8tYRWo9M0BNPU4E8GMNDlINdDdPEBpmfTf_KNFuwN5V2iDpwq2uwSm6hls/w370-h400/child.jpg" width="370" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Frankly I do not know what I was testing.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I suspect that I was testing image size and</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">how it filled the page.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I have no idea who the first little girl is. But</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">cute little kids are just too much to pass up.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The second image was taken about ten </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">years ago. She is my great granddaughter.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">She was in need of a Bible. So, grandpa </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and her went to buy her one. She knew that</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">blue was my favorite color, so she dressed</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">in blue.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">As soon as we got home she wanted to have</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">a Bible study. Guess what! She was going</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">to do the teaching.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiQeix2kFv11RWqQJFdLcCGiJnnEhVlWtuKg7wrX2-QGR66kysapnlffKY7Fan7pTntc1E71FXEP5Lp22PONkxePdWqu6AqhrKHcCH80ccHDfYTxzJXI63MYhgOKXgznvP7mZk3LDJes0/s1600/IMG_2939+copy+2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiQeix2kFv11RWqQJFdLcCGiJnnEhVlWtuKg7wrX2-QGR66kysapnlffKY7Fan7pTntc1E71FXEP5Lp22PONkxePdWqu6AqhrKHcCH80ccHDfYTxzJXI63MYhgOKXgznvP7mZk3LDJes0/w400-h300/IMG_2939+copy+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Jesus said;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>"I tell you the truth, unless you turn</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>from your sins and become like little</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>children, you will never get into the </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Kingdom of Heaven."</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Matthew 18:3 NLT)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The older I get and the more foolishness</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I see, both in the church and out of the </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">church. The more I am beginning to</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">understand this truth.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
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manthanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16278718492999520900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-968541853883360358.post-69356974389551083792022-09-24T03:20:00.000-07:002022-09-24T03:20:12.195-07:00GETTING AWAY WITH IT?<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrPvwdNgfWo4WyykPCPIMe_Zj0rhY8-tg1MXUviv77R3LU0IPNXNffIXz8DJzcGVX1dN3ZD1EK5B_LDBMdwsDrBmeUde-GiiGG-3zvziYKt2IhpmjbenCe4xr-gLKef9oOmxPxQPrvStYtmXcwZTy_j1HkqsDfhfja0IouE4VhrGeHJAjC1ctsGt0/s480/DSCN1278%20-%20D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="360" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrPvwdNgfWo4WyykPCPIMe_Zj0rhY8-tg1MXUviv77R3LU0IPNXNffIXz8DJzcGVX1dN3ZD1EK5B_LDBMdwsDrBmeUde-GiiGG-3zvziYKt2IhpmjbenCe4xr-gLKef9oOmxPxQPrvStYtmXcwZTy_j1HkqsDfhfja0IouE4VhrGeHJAjC1ctsGt0/w300-h400/DSCN1278%20-%20D.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">There is a sharp, blind left hand curve </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">with a steep down hill slope ahead.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">But I don't think my truck will even</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">go as slow as one point five mile an hour.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">In fact, I double that I have ever gone as</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">slow as fifteen miles per hour on this curve.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Why?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Because I think I can get away with it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is a rural county and anybody </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">driving as slow as the speed limit is</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">simply holding up traffic.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">[Obviously that bottom mounting bolt</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">makes it look like a different figure </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">than was intended.]</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Arn't we all that way in life? We think</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">the cops can't see us and so we can</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">get away with it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It might work with the cops - some</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">times - but we had better remember</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">that God sees everything we do and</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">even knows everything we think.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p>manthanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16278718492999520900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-968541853883360358.post-30155516350277037962022-09-17T02:53:00.000-07:002022-09-17T02:53:52.309-07:00OLD GRUMPY<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLSUmoixNize9HIxalc9FqMlh-ixhtmHMyie0CD3A0EMw9KBs90XMVTaDqq0PqHRVcCmK7puiRCJ_wYr8DXFt2UYfV1V2vFcHNFuprx5eGLJKj4N5fs58MxLyhBxpr56WeEBTZtTYwGwvNQhJ52SAKkc1QLpZYo6zidsxPhjSiKX5u-IfAunPs5CY/s4608/100_0523.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3440" data-original-width="4608" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLSUmoixNize9HIxalc9FqMlh-ixhtmHMyie0CD3A0EMw9KBs90XMVTaDqq0PqHRVcCmK7puiRCJ_wYr8DXFt2UYfV1V2vFcHNFuprx5eGLJKj4N5fs58MxLyhBxpr56WeEBTZtTYwGwvNQhJ52SAKkc1QLpZYo6zidsxPhjSiKX5u-IfAunPs5CY/w400-h299/100_0523.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A few years ago I was at Shamrock bolt</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and nut supply in Springdale Arkansas.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This dog came out of a side office to </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">either meet me or check me out.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">If all the grumpy looking people in the</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">world were as friendly as this dog is, this</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">old world would be a whole lot better</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">place to live in.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It should have put on a pair of silly </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">looking sun glasses to hide behind</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">like people do.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Anyway, I am happy to have meet</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">that old dude.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p>manthanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16278718492999520900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-968541853883360358.post-29269446300572096672022-09-10T02:45:00.000-07:002022-09-10T02:45:02.735-07:00NEARLY GONE<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Bw4eT1AG1rCp5Crn1PtGCnfTaZhTQtEgW5IA0N0KnWcB7U4RVzUTjSxyVZn4KZJYX3DvytjZfg7PP4rYtTlTLhi89NLNmNaC-PtYwUX4xN5cnqssJ6T6BS_CR5Eai1WaKnH4j0JUAEs/s2048/IMG_8850.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Bw4eT1AG1rCp5Crn1PtGCnfTaZhTQtEgW5IA0N0KnWcB7U4RVzUTjSxyVZn4KZJYX3DvytjZfg7PP4rYtTlTLhi89NLNmNaC-PtYwUX4xN5cnqssJ6T6BS_CR5Eai1WaKnH4j0JUAEs/w400-h266/IMG_8850.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I know. To you kids this is just the sun</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">going down on a winter day. Big deal.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">But for myself I see a different symbol.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The Scriptures tell us;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>"Seventy years are given to us!</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Some even live to eighty.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>But even the best years are filled</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>with pain and trouble;</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>soon they disappear, and we </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>fly away."</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Psalms 90:10 NLT)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Now I have passed seventy years and</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I have passed eighty years and am </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">much closer to ninety years. That </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">means my days are numbered. So I</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">see it more as life it's self. You know:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Spring has come and gone.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Summer has come and gone.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Fall has come and gone,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and I am in the winter of life.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Soon the sun will go down for me.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So, for you kids I'll just say;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>"Don't let the excitement of </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>youth cause you to forget</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>your Creator. Honor him in your</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>youth before you grow old and say,</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>'Life is not pleasant anymore.'"</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Ecclesiastes 12:1 NLT)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p>manthanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16278718492999520900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-968541853883360358.post-13923501545867075072022-09-03T02:48:00.001-07:002022-09-03T02:48:40.459-07:00THE DELUGE<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXTsTqvaRz_orOfd-YXC1I6jJAX6vd4rz0jR-FPhDkmet9YycSNPeT8TgQ7kw_w8jKxBiYOaWhv-yHSSs6QxImGTH1X_bX4vnqszbUrMXwXry6wZra0pS2UhzqMsxDqQL8v6_9hqJaHuPg5lntxTg6e2sJ39XR5m6h7KlLZTKTcZBh-1SL4MmEnss/s640/PROOF.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXTsTqvaRz_orOfd-YXC1I6jJAX6vd4rz0jR-FPhDkmet9YycSNPeT8TgQ7kw_w8jKxBiYOaWhv-yHSSs6QxImGTH1X_bX4vnqszbUrMXwXry6wZra0pS2UhzqMsxDqQL8v6_9hqJaHuPg5lntxTg6e2sJ39XR5m6h7KlLZTKTcZBh-1SL4MmEnss/w400-h300/PROOF.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Years ago I managed to buy a small tract</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">of woods for just the taxes on it. My purpose</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">was for a place to go hide. You know, get</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">out of town. Well, I don't live in town, but</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">things are building up too much here to suite </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">me.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">As I begin to explore around the property</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I kept running into these fossils just laying</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">around on the ground. That is several acres</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">with them just laying here and there.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I ask the neighbor who lives behind me if</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">they had the same situation. They have about</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">eighty acres and yes, they also have fossils</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">just laying around on the ground too.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So, what's the big deal? People scoff at what</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">we call Noah's flood, or the deluge. Well,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">laugh away. But I personally own proof that</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">it happened. Consider this.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My property with all these fossils on it is</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">about half way between Clifty and Forum</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Arkansas. The government topo map shows</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">my property to be at an elevation of 2000 feet</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">above sea level. I do not know how far I am</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">from any ocean, but I would guess about</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">600 miles.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Genuine sea shell fossils don't come from the </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">mail order catalog and get scattered around by</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">birds.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>"When Noah was 600 years old, on the </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>seventeenth day of the second month, all</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>the underground waters erupted from the</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>earth, and the rain fell in mighty torrents</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>from the sky. The rain continued to fall</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>for forty days and forty nights."</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Genesis 7:11,12 NLT)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>"Finally, the water covered even the </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>highest mountains on the earth, </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>rising more than twenty-two feet</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>above the highest peaks."</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Genesis 7:19,20 NLT)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p>manthanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16278718492999520900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-968541853883360358.post-72096879567017760612022-08-27T03:02:00.000-07:002022-08-27T03:02:51.334-07:00THAT WAS CLOSE<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO82IJJ-8DzRnkJDFnUy-RmOq6hMegRzAzFkqRiAi66M30Dz6nubSb6XyFtgH4yuEgViPQAIoK2GRbAww57GFoGhK5zcPNs1oLNA5iixOHkB9BKlEDH1F1fikf4kTp-tc5nqy_VLSgOpf5y4pCR6NfTrfvjTCWoTlDYGIhySGfggN8faZcbYgoTI4/s480/IMG_2504w.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="360" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO82IJJ-8DzRnkJDFnUy-RmOq6hMegRzAzFkqRiAi66M30Dz6nubSb6XyFtgH4yuEgViPQAIoK2GRbAww57GFoGhK5zcPNs1oLNA5iixOHkB9BKlEDH1F1fikf4kTp-tc5nqy_VLSgOpf5y4pCR6NfTrfvjTCWoTlDYGIhySGfggN8faZcbYgoTI4/w300-h400/IMG_2504w.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">THAT WAS CLOSE</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I just started to go out the back door</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">when I heard that one hit. Of course</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I did not know where it hit, but when</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">it hit with no warning I knew it was </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">close.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It was a few days before I spotted it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It was about sixty feet from the house.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">But, it was across the fence in the </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">neighbors field. I did not have to worry</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">about cleaning it up, he did.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I have lived on this property for about</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">fifty years. We are near the top of a hill</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">which may make the difference. But </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">there has been lighting strikes at least</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">two other places on the property in the</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">time I have lived here.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">When I consider these lighting</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">strikes over the years, I realize that</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">all three of them have been within</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">a radius of about one hundred feet.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And, I an sitting in the new house</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">almost over where one of those </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">strikes was. Perhaps I should go </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">down to where the old house was </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and pitch a tent there.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>.<br /> <p></p>manthanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16278718492999520900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-968541853883360358.post-39276233453628682322022-08-20T03:16:00.000-07:002022-08-20T03:16:35.305-07:00MISSED IT.<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg0HhfhTnhr_wypcnaXA7yray2HaMbIWx-ac3oV8YAP61gGIBz2Mgi9t8nD3PR_7OFedN98-2TYcahWabp_0IYcQ3iQOiXv_uiv5jCszyETPhPeZnp97MwcbIUpQg6PvdAd8mzn5UwNEgzl7GOlHbse12WKxVqnWWae5dOj1L3kggO56KcHUpi6Ns/s3072/IMG_0009%203.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg0HhfhTnhr_wypcnaXA7yray2HaMbIWx-ac3oV8YAP61gGIBz2Mgi9t8nD3PR_7OFedN98-2TYcahWabp_0IYcQ3iQOiXv_uiv5jCszyETPhPeZnp97MwcbIUpQg6PvdAd8mzn5UwNEgzl7GOlHbse12WKxVqnWWae5dOj1L3kggO56KcHUpi6Ns/w400-h300/IMG_0009%203.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Yes, we live on a narrow road.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is only a couple of hundred</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">yards down the road from the house.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And, this is right on a curve. But,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">still some body missed the road.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It is so much like the world today.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Everybody is so intent on; money,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">pleasure, sex, popularity etc. that</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">they actually are missing out on </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">true life its self.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>"You can enter God's Kingdom</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>only through the narrow gate. The</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>highway to hell is broad and its</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>gate is wide for the many who</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b> choose that way. But the gateway</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>to life is very narrow and the road is</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>difficult, and only a few ever find it."</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Matthew 7:13,14 NLT)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p>manthanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16278718492999520900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-968541853883360358.post-24598846433658162772022-08-06T03:31:00.000-07:002022-08-06T03:31:56.141-07:00THE FIRE<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Bqxx3BMrQZdJWC3XlqmO76alLLlUjBw130EvKcsapa4UoXNREylerrtwiLAVuzRydfbQq9-N6DIU68oskneUbozWMxWnF3UqQ7yq5bvqS5xSowmeiP23zn0K_Qal6u10MNE23SQMmSjFepfYw60qRWRAq7__lwpp_7djzT05XM2152K6861Oo6o/s640/IMG_2832%20-%20H.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Bqxx3BMrQZdJWC3XlqmO76alLLlUjBw130EvKcsapa4UoXNREylerrtwiLAVuzRydfbQq9-N6DIU68oskneUbozWMxWnF3UqQ7yq5bvqS5xSowmeiP23zn0K_Qal6u10MNE23SQMmSjFepfYw60qRWRAq7__lwpp_7djzT05XM2152K6861Oo6o/w400-h300/IMG_2832%20-%20H.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Years ago I had a friend who rode his motorcycle</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">home through the rain from two counties over.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Something happened during that ride and he was</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">not able to start the motorcycle again.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I was wanting to make a motorcycle up for long</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">distance touring. So, I bought the motorcycle off</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">of him.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">What got me in trouble was that he, myself and </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">another fellow or two got together one night a </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">week to have a meal together and talk motorcycles.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So, "pride" took over in me. I wanted to be able</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">the next time we got together to just casually say,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"Oh yaw, I got it started.", or some such remark.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Because of my extreme desire to start it where he</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">had not been able to, I got over zealous with the </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">starting fluid. That made it backfire and start a fire</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">in number one carburetor which of course was</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> under the gas tank about half full of gas.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">By instinct I started trying to beat the fire out </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">with a shop rag in my hand and especially to keep</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">the fire off of the gas tank. That was not working.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">In years past as an auto mechanic I had simply</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">blown out fires in carburetors when an engine</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">would back fire with the air cleaner off. You </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">had to blow real hard, but it worked most times.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">But this time - it only singed my eye brows.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Back to beating the fire with a rag. I finally </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">spotted my fire extinguisher. I grabbed the</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">fire extinguisher, pulled the pin and pulled the</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">trigger. NOTHING. The fire extinguisher had</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">simply sit around too many years and lost it's</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">pressure.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Back to beating again I begin to consider simply</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">pushing the motorcycle out of the shop and let it</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">burn up. But, my car was sitting just outside of the</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">shop door. And if I pushed it past the car and over </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">the drive way it would be close to the house.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">As an old man I was getting very tire of beating</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">at the fire and not knowing what to do. So I simply</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">cried out loud enough they could hear me in heave</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">above, "JESUS HELP ME."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I no more than got the prayer out of my mouth and</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">the fire went out with out me doing a thing.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">THANK YOU JESUS.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p>manthanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16278718492999520900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-968541853883360358.post-82596429854792746772022-07-30T03:56:00.000-07:002022-07-30T03:56:32.367-07:00WHAT IS IT?<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDJ9dYb1NNvh1hVMWUgvm7-jdonis4XkWFhbupKaH3TNiTs6uoxKkSy7d3REY4I3cl_JcvRVYtsLHlmLjDG8KwIlhSqC-QOBDKaZT8Q8b5vTQ3fnjR71vwRr2JHDMjaCSIbRwwP0IxFBGGsbINxJhn82avljmfQhUyOnGqgnnXR33eUGLLWbNqHLU=s372" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="372" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDJ9dYb1NNvh1hVMWUgvm7-jdonis4XkWFhbupKaH3TNiTs6uoxKkSy7d3REY4I3cl_JcvRVYtsLHlmLjDG8KwIlhSqC-QOBDKaZT8Q8b5vTQ3fnjR71vwRr2JHDMjaCSIbRwwP0IxFBGGsbINxJhn82avljmfQhUyOnGqgnnXR33eUGLLWbNqHLU=w400-h376" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">WHAT IS IT?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I have driven past this old building many</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">times over the last ten years. But what </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">is it for?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The community I live in is (was) like so</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">many in this area years ago. We have a </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">community building, several churches and</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">a lodge. But driving by the above area</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">it is not even obvious that it is a community.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So what is the building for?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Since taking the above picture they have</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">repainted it. It probably was during the</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">repainting process that I drove by one day</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and the door was open. I could see pews</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">inside. Then I pulled it up on a Google map </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and they show it as "Lone Star Church". </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So, it is a Church.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I kind of like that.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">No big signs with service times,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">who is speaking,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">or even who the pastor is.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Just sitting there being used</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">week by week for what</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">it is intended for.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>manthanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16278718492999520900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-968541853883360358.post-2807014617931546472022-07-23T03:22:00.000-07:002022-07-23T03:22:05.386-07:00DECEPTIVE <p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOL_8V6Xte4jl_ptffAk3j_oqa2Iq_5NwmDphAHCUFie04-jwY-OX_NteFITMCKUyJzEJbcWn1CA3X1ILpLvXBhHKGaX0Cm58zbFpsz8moP5lVlUY9FXZuK3RmxjwoUCBKKUYJ1VNUbjp5nmDY7xd3vj-UE0y39H5HN6Wn197SZb3lWUnCX99BfpA/s640/100_1038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="640" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOL_8V6Xte4jl_ptffAk3j_oqa2Iq_5NwmDphAHCUFie04-jwY-OX_NteFITMCKUyJzEJbcWn1CA3X1ILpLvXBhHKGaX0Cm58zbFpsz8moP5lVlUY9FXZuK3RmxjwoUCBKKUYJ1VNUbjp5nmDY7xd3vj-UE0y39H5HN6Wn197SZb3lWUnCX99BfpA/w400-h299/100_1038.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I think it is cute.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Obviously it is a raccoon that is in jail</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">for destroying property and stealing food.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Over the years from time to time it has been</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">necessary to trap a varmint for one reason or</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">another. This one has been tearing up the </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">place for several days and stealing food.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I think of all the "critters" I have had to </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">trap over the years this was the most vicious</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">one of the bunch. It is hard to believe that </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">something this small and this cute could be</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">so mean. So, I hauled it twenty six miles </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">away and let it loose in the woods.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Is it possible that we some times allow </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">something this cute and destructive in </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">our lives? Paul the apostle tells us that </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"Even Satan disguises himself as angel</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">of light." Does my life actually line up</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">with what God wants, or am I being </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">deceived by Satan's tactics. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p>manthanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16278718492999520900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-968541853883360358.post-32221415147505799102022-07-16T02:52:00.000-07:002022-07-16T02:52:25.186-07:00DEPENDENT ON GOD AGAIN.<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg64nvbOBsuqFS-R8KuZ6h_Mxw5Zh0Ln-A1bosMdWeV4EC3xdM69Py15has3Exqh4q-8sIKplor3uBksXhUhAkMIdmjoRJuk9zlsbvm6APYVZgaw0oCtvCGy-y9NwrBcBkCUDwljKVbQ2oahgYknZ1qpIpbMC-zaOptEwMdO9eqR6s3vvQZMmv_qwk/s640/100_1028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="640" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg64nvbOBsuqFS-R8KuZ6h_Mxw5Zh0Ln-A1bosMdWeV4EC3xdM69Py15has3Exqh4q-8sIKplor3uBksXhUhAkMIdmjoRJuk9zlsbvm6APYVZgaw0oCtvCGy-y9NwrBcBkCUDwljKVbQ2oahgYknZ1qpIpbMC-zaOptEwMdO9eqR6s3vvQZMmv_qwk/w400-h299/100_1028.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Being retired now - </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">[I call it "real tired".]</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I get a lot of volunteer work to do.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I am not real smart. Just an "old tired</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">mechanic." But I do what little I can as </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"good works" unto God.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Often of course I am called on to work on</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">things that are clear out of my line of work -</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">like the cut off saw above.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My simple testing showed that the switch</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">was not getting a connection through the</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">switch. So I put a new switch in. That was</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">a total waste of money, time and effort.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Finally I just gave up. Put the thing back</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">together intending to give it back to it's owner.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">How ever I prayed.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">God led me to the problem and it was a real</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">simple fix. Yes, it works good now.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">PRAISE GOD.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p>manthanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16278718492999520900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-968541853883360358.post-21599518076211570662022-06-25T03:06:00.000-07:002022-06-25T03:06:27.557-07:00THANK GOD.<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIxXLUZzwrVPdP-j5ZelkWGknuFTvk36MvkATsanP_hIAlnAVH-jY0tpwq3bhPRuAjJPcaJ8k-i1TOL9fmM_tFmaN0XB4CVlz7JK5Ay23C9xA8gA_0gfUXSHDt2tSoOEk10HoW8UHtYUos0B1weUVpsw9IOQdyaRGlKu-vIyzYnW3d1bEqyL-CSms/s640/VIEW%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIxXLUZzwrVPdP-j5ZelkWGknuFTvk36MvkATsanP_hIAlnAVH-jY0tpwq3bhPRuAjJPcaJ8k-i1TOL9fmM_tFmaN0XB4CVlz7JK5Ay23C9xA8gA_0gfUXSHDt2tSoOEk10HoW8UHtYUos0B1weUVpsw9IOQdyaRGlKu-vIyzYnW3d1bEqyL-CSms/w400-h300/VIEW%201.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7oaUpKfkfwS5zCW22iRwEdn1K6xd0bFw-qkmbQ3VCbo3-npHPo0sPtsmZWWQZmgrB1nDw8j4sYBplkCE7LIaX1VE0tkFygoRCMEdGvmMHRJkRprh1v9UnAanQguereHUlMbdJtgp82tkBZLQSNPGlUoy0G3nt0HtkGU1JPXyTWR-dbfvBM0bXYG4/s640/VIEW%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7oaUpKfkfwS5zCW22iRwEdn1K6xd0bFw-qkmbQ3VCbo3-npHPo0sPtsmZWWQZmgrB1nDw8j4sYBplkCE7LIaX1VE0tkFygoRCMEdGvmMHRJkRprh1v9UnAanQguereHUlMbdJtgp82tkBZLQSNPGlUoy0G3nt0HtkGU1JPXyTWR-dbfvBM0bXYG4/w400-h300/VIEW%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I spent the first thirty nine years of my</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">life as a city boy. And most of that was</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">in an area where we seemed to only have</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">two seasons, i.e. a wet season and a dry</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">season. [Mostly a dry season.]</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">God in his mercy allowed me to move</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">into this area back in 1973. The view</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">in these two images is from my kitchen</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">table. That is what I have looked at for</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">years while eating.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">No, it is not a majestic or picturesque</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">view, but to this old city boy it sure </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">beats looking at a row of houses.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">THANK GOD FOR THAT.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p>manthanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16278718492999520900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-968541853883360358.post-88912332068499072392022-06-18T03:04:00.000-07:002022-06-18T03:04:28.485-07:00GIVE ME AIR.<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSKUZfJ22JXcPMvo5SLbvFEgqsRMEE22sYibcl7FCmQlivgmm8D5vTJxpxXcGEGcq20nTfrhw4K6SNbfWHOCuGZTPEo8K8aqyHnNYbWIDuuGHuvUi-yTOYlx5v_qqRyCZ-1iot5i5GOCAO6NOBdy_SuOjH_TVjniUgQaPsjJ6WW8snvbciKNQU6W4/s640/100_1024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="640" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSKUZfJ22JXcPMvo5SLbvFEgqsRMEE22sYibcl7FCmQlivgmm8D5vTJxpxXcGEGcq20nTfrhw4K6SNbfWHOCuGZTPEo8K8aqyHnNYbWIDuuGHuvUi-yTOYlx5v_qqRyCZ-1iot5i5GOCAO6NOBdy_SuOjH_TVjniUgQaPsjJ6WW8snvbciKNQU6W4/w400-h299/100_1024.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I did not have a chance to talk to the</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">owner of this car. But in this area it</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">would be hard to think of a car ever </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">being in water more than hub deep.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">That is, with out purposely driving </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">into the lake.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It is just my guess that the air intake </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and lights on the hood is more just an</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"attention getting device."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">But if you like it, you would be free</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">to copy it.</div><br /> <p></p>manthanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16278718492999520900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-968541853883360358.post-34894895960266627712022-06-11T02:44:00.000-07:002022-06-11T02:44:26.695-07:00STUCK<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5sH6BJc64O9Wz3qvIem9aldO18K0N2IAiLTPhqhr5DU_WG0fXgpXvYYLSK47L8STBuTDBJD6F2gDV6u9bl8rQ8E4tQUGcEFVNvC2UCdwEwyuRtakWEecekuJx-SJ4xp8eOELtgg25LcCCcewwTwzZfqPJI_3kejweTizYwD6c3cpoJ6rrwEpibvg/s640/JEEP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5sH6BJc64O9Wz3qvIem9aldO18K0N2IAiLTPhqhr5DU_WG0fXgpXvYYLSK47L8STBuTDBJD6F2gDV6u9bl8rQ8E4tQUGcEFVNvC2UCdwEwyuRtakWEecekuJx-SJ4xp8eOELtgg25LcCCcewwTwzZfqPJI_3kejweTizYwD6c3cpoJ6rrwEpibvg/w400-h300/JEEP.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Yes, that's a Jeep.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Yes, it is a four wheel drive.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Yes, it has good all weather tires.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">YES, IT'S STUCK.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">What you can't see is that there is a drop</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">off on the drivers side into what is a simple</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">planter for vegetables. So it is soft soil</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">for growing things - not driving on.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And you can see that there is not a good</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">retaining wall there. It is maintained by</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">a few loose timbers stacked on each other.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">If you were there so you could see the </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">situation, you would understand that if </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">the driver had tried just a little harder,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">the Jeep would have slid on off and into</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">the shop you can't see.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And yes, with just a little help from a</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">pickup truck and a chain the Jeep was</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">brought back up onto hard ground.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">What this makes me think of is some of</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">the stupidity I see on social media today.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">You know;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"Try a little harder, you can do it."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"You can do anything you set your mind to."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"Hang in there, you'll make it."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"etc. etc. etc. etc."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Hey! God made humans with limitations.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">That is so when we hit our limitation - we</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">have to look up to Him for help. God wants</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">to be our help and our source.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">That is why Jesus said;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>"Come to me, all of you who are</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>weary and carry heavy burdens,</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>and I will give you rest. Take my</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>yoke upon you. Let me teach you,</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>because I am humble and gentle at</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>heart, and you will find rest for your</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>and the burden I give you is light."</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Matthew 11:28 - 30 NLT)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p>manthanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16278718492999520900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-968541853883360358.post-42691962816405185852022-06-04T02:04:00.000-07:002022-06-04T02:04:02.564-07:00VALUE OF HIGH TECH.<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6a0vBCJxgcuUAppJTNWo1t-68R1GpvSR2g-YR3MWRh6MrxivOtwywdzvFFJd29JnxA4RSPhBaaZxHAQuHJClSjSoI-GoD6JErmoKNAVARlXRDFxH8RVwDrqO054AXxSiHULA04cmvD8o_lFphmrBSEmuSFdn1lFodFhC08BIpRLNlH_VNEwzSMOI/s640/IMG_0001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6a0vBCJxgcuUAppJTNWo1t-68R1GpvSR2g-YR3MWRh6MrxivOtwywdzvFFJd29JnxA4RSPhBaaZxHAQuHJClSjSoI-GoD6JErmoKNAVARlXRDFxH8RVwDrqO054AXxSiHULA04cmvD8o_lFphmrBSEmuSFdn1lFodFhC08BIpRLNlH_VNEwzSMOI/w400-h300/IMG_0001.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">For an old man like my self,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">the chief virtue of these silly</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">things is, that when they give</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">you trouble - they will drive </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">you to prayer.</div><br /> <p></p>manthanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16278718492999520900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-968541853883360358.post-77043093541790153932022-05-28T03:01:00.000-07:002022-05-28T03:01:10.442-07:00THIS OLD HOUSE <p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjr8-U9vkk6epdPXkIt1Jv_gMR_CFAbzQ5J8wSLplyny1KDH84YnJXF6UsPY-b02ipa80ZQkmH1kGTSiVQckPeO-AN7nYGpEi5969O3PL80SwUeiWGwazrI4BxFNofVPwHN-LwUWj6tOfzHmh76OAZXHIlAsuSBPPQhyKW-KIs44TLJnoMR6sYe2eY=s640" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjr8-U9vkk6epdPXkIt1Jv_gMR_CFAbzQ5J8wSLplyny1KDH84YnJXF6UsPY-b02ipa80ZQkmH1kGTSiVQckPeO-AN7nYGpEi5969O3PL80SwUeiWGwazrI4BxFNofVPwHN-LwUWj6tOfzHmh76OAZXHIlAsuSBPPQhyKW-KIs44TLJnoMR6sYe2eY=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Ever since I arrived in this part of the country</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">in 1973 I have been fascinated by this house.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Why, I don't know.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It is located on Hwy. 412 East of Hindsville, AR.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Very likely it was occupied at that time. Then</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Hwy. 412 was only a two lane Hwy. in front of </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">it. But when the Hwy. was moved a few hundred</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">feet from it and made into a four lane divided Hwy.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">possibly it was vacated then.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">[If evolution worked, it would be improving,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">instead of getting worse.]</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">But, my point is;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">it reminds me of a song written by </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Stuart Hamblen back in the 1950's.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The chorus goes like this:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Oxygen, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: start; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Ain't a-gonna need this </span><a href="https://www.definitions.net/definition/house" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Oxygen, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">house</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Oxygen, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: start; white-space: pre-wrap;"> no longer</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Oxygen, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: start; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ain't a-gonna need this </span><a href="https://www.definitions.net/definition/house" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Oxygen, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">house</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Oxygen, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: start; white-space: pre-wrap;"> no more</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Oxygen, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: start; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ain't got time to fix the shingles</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Oxygen, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: start; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ain't got time to fix the floor</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Oxygen, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: start; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ain't got time to oil the hinges</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Oxygen, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: start; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nor to mend the window-pane</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Oxygen, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: start; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ain't a-gonna need this </span><a href="https://www.definitions.net/definition/house" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Oxygen, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">house</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Oxygen, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: start; white-space: pre-wrap;"> no longer</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Oxygen, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: start; white-space: pre-wrap;">Im a-gettin' </span><a href="https://www.definitions.net/definition/ready" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Oxygen, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">ready</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Oxygen, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: start; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to meet the saints"</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Oxygen, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); white-space: pre-wrap;">It is obvious that Mr. Hamblen was influenced</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Oxygen, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); white-space: pre-wrap;">by the Scripture where the apostle Paul was</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Oxygen, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); white-space: pre-wrap;">writing to those who were in a relationship</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Oxygen, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); white-space: pre-wrap;">with Jesus Christ when he said;</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Oxygen, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: start; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Oxygen, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: start; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>"For we know that when this</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Oxygen, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: start; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>earthly tent we live in is taken</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Oxygen, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: start; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>down (that is, when we die and</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Oxygen, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: start; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>leave this earthly body), we will have</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Oxygen, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: start; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>a house in heaven, an </b></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Oxygen, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>eternal body</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Oxygen, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>made for us by God himself and not</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Oxygen, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>by human hands."</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Oxygen, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); white-space: pre-wrap;">(2 Corinthians 5:1 NLT)</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>manthanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16278718492999520900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-968541853883360358.post-84541243783796423462022-05-21T03:03:00.000-07:002022-05-21T03:03:15.842-07:00EXASPERATED<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheFXDnfdadJX-sR9dP9z-3TLhtKmmwDnCMZ27AM0lMs_5rgB3RvaN2hfN2GZ5eFRCAKfkq4B46HNf8MAegnb7qNKVO3nfOorKZe91PZE5sIuC4qlezYFXZyymVAd8_q9tc-lnSZuLEffIENne6k3BCJJcVwWW81TrjIJjG-kQA_h-9zMNjsXbNdd8/s640/P1020956.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="425" data-original-width="640" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheFXDnfdadJX-sR9dP9z-3TLhtKmmwDnCMZ27AM0lMs_5rgB3RvaN2hfN2GZ5eFRCAKfkq4B46HNf8MAegnb7qNKVO3nfOorKZe91PZE5sIuC4qlezYFXZyymVAd8_q9tc-lnSZuLEffIENne6k3BCJJcVwWW81TrjIJjG-kQA_h-9zMNjsXbNdd8/w400-h266/P1020956.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I am not a small engine expert.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I AM NOT A SMALL ENGINE EXPERT.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I repeat;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>I AM NOT A SMALL ENGINE EXPERT.</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">However.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I like engines, and small engines has been</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">a part of my life for at least 70 years now.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I spent over 25 years as a professional auto</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">technician and even took an expensive </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">small engine repair course before I retired.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Of course, since retirement I have had lots</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">of lawn mowers, chain saws, weed eaters</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and other small engines to work on.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Then this weed eater came along last week.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It would not take the gas. It would sit there</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and run like a brand new weed eater, until</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">you gave it the gas. Then it would starve</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">out, just like it was running out of gas.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I took the carb completely apart cleaning</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">ALL the passages and ports. Checking the</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">fuel lines etc. Put it all to gather, AND,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">it still would not "take the gas". I was </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">exasperated.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I did not know which way to turn,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">except to pray.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">After a while it seemed that God was</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">trying to impress on my mind to check</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">the muffler. So, I did. Would you know,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">it was so full of carbon I was surprised </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">that the engine even ran.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A closing thought.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It appears to me that the owner has been</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">just using regular old engine oil to mix</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">with his gas rather than 2 cycle engine </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">oil. It looked like the exhaust system was</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">drowned with oil, which of course made</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">it carbon up so bad.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So, if your grandmother is having trouble</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">with her weed eater, have her check the</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">muffler.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p>manthanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16278718492999520900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-968541853883360358.post-76239071663339289762022-05-14T04:58:00.000-07:002022-05-14T04:58:24.684-07:00ROCKS, ROCKS AND MORE ROCKS.<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKcBoG-Dyk-rm81pJSTyUh7Z-Vi7cce0AXbJrbaNXwChRWUq4w1fJAEavu9sH_4xNwZNwEO8NimBuiOQjtD6LXpSZ5kBhmZdTSExDUNYcdWIRo8ftlL-rWrlnyII-fl6bXddVFceeYoRa5uTaAOJ9W7iXGSeKi1s6Y18uu3ldeg2jjm7WUbjpLThU/s640/100_1021.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="640" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKcBoG-Dyk-rm81pJSTyUh7Z-Vi7cce0AXbJrbaNXwChRWUq4w1fJAEavu9sH_4xNwZNwEO8NimBuiOQjtD6LXpSZ5kBhmZdTSExDUNYcdWIRo8ftlL-rWrlnyII-fl6bXddVFceeYoRa5uTaAOJ9W7iXGSeKi1s6Y18uu3ldeg2jjm7WUbjpLThU/w400-h299/100_1021.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Many years before I moved here to Arkansas</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">a man who had been a "boot legger" in this area</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">in the 1920's or so, told me that Arkansas was</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">built on a rock. Boy did he know what he was</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">talking about.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Those rocks in the truck are what I took out of</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">the area of the old chicken pen I mentioned the</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">other week, so we could mow it. These of course</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">were only the surface rocks. When putting in pipe</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">lines for water some rocks as big as a wheel </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">borrow were dug up.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Down the road about a quarter of a mile I used</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">to hike in the woods some. There are some rocks</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">there the size of an old VW beetle.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">But all is not that bad. The area of woods that</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I own for a hide-away in the adjoining county</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">is like a pipe of rocks. But, thus far I have not</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">found but one rock that I could not pick up with</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">one hand there.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">One place king David said;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>"For he will conceal me there</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>when troubles come;</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>he will hide me in his sanctuary.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>He will place me out of reach</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>on a high rock."</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Psalms 27:5 NLT)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">O.K. So God did not put me on a </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">high rock. But he sure put me on </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">a pile of rocks.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p>manthanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16278718492999520900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-968541853883360358.post-28975624012026622212022-05-07T06:03:00.000-07:002022-05-07T06:03:56.320-07:00SNAKES<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWnFrDDwvszvYVtX5zU9B_BCDMHySs4nyqIXoUEd2JjKSPyzMug6_x23gmXeg1tYrxssx6kYzAwCC2lBJI3jutm551ODr8naQMl-kP5opneXI5flmhuWAFZqpgiLCYyWFml4eWJATvBPU/s2048/100_0425.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1529" data-original-width="2048" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWnFrDDwvszvYVtX5zU9B_BCDMHySs4nyqIXoUEd2JjKSPyzMug6_x23gmXeg1tYrxssx6kYzAwCC2lBJI3jutm551ODr8naQMl-kP5opneXI5flmhuWAFZqpgiLCYyWFml4eWJATvBPU/w400-h299/100_0425.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>"Look, I am sending you out as sheep</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>among wolves. So be as shrewd as </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>snakes and harmless as doves."</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Matthew 10:16 NLT)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We are to be as "shrewd" or wise or smart</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">as snakes. How shrewd is that?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I have had more experience with snakes than</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">most people. But, I am by no means a </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">herpetologist. My experience with snakes is</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">limited to to some as "pets" in cages and those</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">around on my property.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">In cages as "pets" where I had to feed and </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">water them I've had several gofer snakes as</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">they were called in that area. And here, a</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">garter snake like above, a boa constrictor</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and a hog nose snake.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Out side on the property I have experience</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">with; copper heads, black snakes, speckled</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">king snakes, ring neck snakes, cotton mouth</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">snakes and of course garter snakes.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">What can I learn from them.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">1. They are quiet. You never hear snakes</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">going around talking a lot or making a</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">lot of noise. When was the last time you</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">heard a snake going around bragging on</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">it's self?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">2. They mind their own business. They </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">did not go looking for you. You stumbled</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">across they while they were looking for </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">something to eat, or were resting.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">3. Generally they would only strike or</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">bit you in self defense or if they thought</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> you were going to harm them.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">From here, you add to the story.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div> <p></p>manthanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16278718492999520900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-968541853883360358.post-57910723230244503052022-04-30T02:52:00.000-07:002022-04-30T02:52:34.371-07:00END OF AN ERA<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEH-HMevaolVvpuefHTbNACRZW5iDaPU9Ewb2Jmu-xtyj2f2n1aiZWJGtWdobuKEoUoaU2Ba3oEriOf4Nf_olmRv8HcrCuknSCOMtGS2FAnLHmqrqoTQymB2V-cx36brpTOThKpc_FNbLYfZcmAhAAMwTkJhtzvFuj_xtB-Y0-uLHSbPKW-gLR4hA/s640/IMG_0001.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEH-HMevaolVvpuefHTbNACRZW5iDaPU9Ewb2Jmu-xtyj2f2n1aiZWJGtWdobuKEoUoaU2Ba3oEriOf4Nf_olmRv8HcrCuknSCOMtGS2FAnLHmqrqoTQymB2V-cx36brpTOThKpc_FNbLYfZcmAhAAMwTkJhtzvFuj_xtB-Y0-uLHSbPKW-gLR4hA/w400-h300/IMG_0001.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Years ago I got "fed up" with living</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">in town. So, in 1973 I moved to my</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">present location. You know, rural, </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">out of town, in the country.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And of course I then went into all of</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">the country living. A garden, chickens,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">geese, ducks, sheep, milk goats and</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">more.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">At that time the closest community was</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">only a couple of miles away with a population</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">of just over a hundred people. But, but, but.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Today that community has grown to over a</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">thousand people, and new houses going up</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">all over the country.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Things have changed. Not necessarily</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">for the good. I'm 88 years old, have </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">passed the property on to the kids who</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">are not farmers, but city dudes living</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">in the country.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So, even the old chicken pen, pictured</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">above, is getting ready to come down.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This old place is becoming a very large</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">city lot.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Yes, I am even weary of all the constant</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">change that goes on around me. But</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">there is still one "constant" in my life.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">God. He does not change. Any more</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">God himself is the only thing I count</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">on to not change.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p>manthanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16278718492999520900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-968541853883360358.post-15112766044396649772022-04-23T03:38:00.002-07:002022-04-23T03:38:43.132-07:00RESTED<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeavQyeMPCVgq3mqMLNx6ZrIhu6knLcOh26OAyOAh15xAo2DlylH9OCit8iD_HbH1f-TlMybGxM-cTk-_VQeVsJKRTw11drYXEih3kyr0tERTcWVycd4NzmsZJiqUcxdyyCJ4LkvylqcA/s2048/IMG_9019.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeavQyeMPCVgq3mqMLNx6ZrIhu6knLcOh26OAyOAh15xAo2DlylH9OCit8iD_HbH1f-TlMybGxM-cTk-_VQeVsJKRTw11drYXEih3kyr0tERTcWVycd4NzmsZJiqUcxdyyCJ4LkvylqcA/w400-h266/IMG_9019.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">You know what I mean when a person</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">gets tired of the daily pressures. Even</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">though things might not be unreasonable,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">we still get weary.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">If everything always went right, there</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">would be no fight. But we all need a</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">break from time to time from the routine.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Consequently, I decided to take the advice</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Jesus gave to his disciples.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>"Then Jesus said, 'Let's go off by</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>ourselves to a quiet place and rest</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>awhile.' He said this because there</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>were so any people coming and </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>going that Jesus and his apostles</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>didn't even have time to eat."</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Mark 6:31 NLT)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So, yesterday I ran off and hid in the</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">woods for a while. Sat in the shade </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and just listened to the wind in the </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">trees and watched the hawks soar</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">overhead.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Then went home to a good meal.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">When the sun set, I was able to </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">thank God for a refreshing day.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p>manthanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16278718492999520900noreply@blogger.com0