GOD REPAIRED MY TRUCK

Image courtesy of: www.Pixabay.com   

NO.

This is not the truck God "fixed" for me.

This is only a picture from my files of a pickup.

Back about 1980 I bought the first pickup I ever had

from a fellow mechanic.  It was one of those ugly

1961 chev. pickups.  It seems that chev. designed it

ugly on purpose.  Like some of today's cars.  They

did well.  It was ugly.  And if there are any left on

a scrap heap some where - they are still ugly.

I had borrowed the pickup from my friend a number

of times.  So it did not come with any hidden faults.

It's chief fault was that it would pop out of high 

gear once in a while.   This was one of those old

6 cylinder three speed manual transmissions.

But that was not supposed to be a problem.  I was

a mechanic, and overhauling manual transmissions 

was one of my jobs.

As you can guess, the problem did not get any better.

Over time it got to popping out of high gear real bad.

I counted one time.  In driving to work, that's, 12 miles,

it popped out of high gear 16 times.

I know, the logical thing to have done would be simply

buy a rebuilt transmission and slip in on a Saturday.

But at that time circumstances were such it could not

be afforded. 

The other option of course was to fix it myself.  The

problem there was down time.  Back then we could

get parts for automatic transmissions in a day or two.

But every time we had a car down with a manual 

transmission, it took a week or two to get parts.

This truck was my only transportation and I had

tried every adjustment I could think of.

One day returning home from work it popped out

of gear while going down a straight section of road.

I put it back in gear.  Let out the clutch and it popped

right back out again.

In frustration and desperation I cried out loud enough

He could hear me, "Lord, I don't know how much longer

I can put up with this."

The next morning on way to work the young fellow

riding into town with me ask, "Did you fix the

transmission?"  No.  Then he pointed out that it had

not popped out of gear at all.

I started watching it then.  It must have been about 

one and a half years before it ever popped out of high

gear again.

Talk about a cheap fix.  God is a whole lot better

mechanic than I am.

Ultimately I gave the old truck to the young man

that was riding with me that morning.

PRAISE GOD FOR ANSWERED PRAYER. 

A WILD PARTY

A WILD PARTY.

This is grandpa's idea of a wild party.

This is one of my great grandsons, Easton,

at his first birthday party.

He is teaching grandpa how to dig in and

enjoy life.  Sure am glad that his parents 

had to clean him up.  He did live through 

it O.K.

This does make me think of a portion of 

the Holy Scriptures that say's:

"Young people, it's wonderful to be young!

Enjoy every minute of it.  Do everything you

want to do; take it all in.  But remember that

you must give an account to God for everything

you do.  So refuse to worry, and keep your

body healthy.  But remember that youth, with

a whole life before you, is meaningless."  

(Ecclesiastes 11:9,10 NLT)

MOTORCYCLES

MOTORCYCLES.

It was fun while it lasted.

I was only eighty three years old when my

insurance became due again.  Wouldn't you

know, they jacked the cost of my insurance

about 800%.

So, I simply rode the ride I was using then

over to the sale and hung up my keys for good.

That was the bike closest the ladder on the wall.

I'll admit, Ive hung onto the "Bandit" that shows

only the tail light in the left lower corner.  It is

"hopped" up and the fastest bike I have ever owned.

Well, you hang on to some of you memories too 

don't you? 

True, I wasted a lot of money on motorcycles.

Also true, it was fun while it lasted because God

in his mercy protected me all the way through

the experience.

But,

now that I will be eighty five in a couple of 

days, and know that I cannot live forever in

this old body, I wish I had spend more of 

that wasted money for God and my fellowman.

Just like yourself, one day I am going to stand

before God almighty and give an accounting of 

my life here on earth.

I could have done better.

CHRISTMAS IS COMING

CHRISTMAS IS COMING.

The above image is our only outdoor Christmas 

decoration this year.  That suits me just fine because 

I know who would have (had) to put them up outside.

The cross these lights are on is visible in the image

 below, up the hill on the facing end of the house.  

A few years ago my wife and daughter decided I 

should make them a cross and put at that end of the 

house.  The first thought that came to my mind was 

one of my favorite songs - The Old Rugged Cross.  

So, I built the cross out of some old rugged rail 

road ties.

O yes.

There are some inside Christmas decorations.  They 

are in the truck above when we took them out of 

storage for this years decorations.  Everything on the 

truck in this image is Christmas decorations. [That 

even includes my wife.]

As you guessed, I cannot look anywhere in the house 

without seeing some Christmas decorations.  But that

 is fine because we cannot help but celebrate the fact 

that God the creator in His mercy came down to

 earth as a man (Jesus Christ) and died as a sacrifice 

for my sins.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only

begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall 

not perish, but have eternal life.  For God did 

not send the Son into the world to judge the world,

 but that the world might be saved through Him.  

He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does 

not believe has been judged already, because he 

has  not believed in the name of the only 

begotten Son of God."

(John 3:16-18 NASB)

NO PURPOSE

Yes, this card was sent to me by my oldest daughter.

Isn't that just like a girl?  And as you can guess, I'm

still not sure why she sent it to me.  Probably she does

not know either.

But you know, that is the way a lot of us live our lives;

WITH NO PURPOSE.  We do not know why we are here

or where we are going.  We just go through the motions 

of living.  Then when it is over we wonder, "What happened?"

Now that I am down near the end of my life here on 

earth I became much more sensitive to such things.  

I have more than lived out my allotted life span and 

will soon be standing before God who made me.  Did I

 just spend my life in fun and games, or serving God 

who gives me life? 

LOOKING UP

Stepped outside the back door one evening and got 

this shot.

Some of the greatest beauty in the world is in the sky.  

It changes almost by the minute.  Sun rises, sun 

sets, storms clouds, white fluffy clouds, you name it.  

Wait just a minute and it will change for you.

We spend too much of our time looking at just the 

things of earth.  We need to look up first to God in 

heaven above who created all this to start with, then 

enjoy the show He is putting on for us.

THE HEAVENS

I admit, I do not know where I took this picture.

It looks like is was out the back door with a 

Canon Rebel.  But the point is;

"The heavens are telling of the glory of God;

and their expanse is declaring the work of 

His hands."

(Psalms 19:1 NASB)

GOD PROVIDES A CHAIR.

Proud of that chair.
Well, how God gave it to me.

I had a chair in my "hide out" that was over a hundred
years old.  My daughter wanted it for a room she was
redecorating.  [That is what daughters are for.]  Of
course she got it.  But I needed another one.

Now being as it was for my old "hide out", out in the
woods, a nice new one would be out of place.  And I
did not want to spend much when and old used chair
would do just fine.  So, it was off to the thrift shops.

Now I am used to praying about such things so I
prayed that God would let me get a cheap one.

I found the chair above for $9.95.  That was good
enough.  So up to the check out counter we went.
After putting it up on the counter the girl said that
would be .50 cents.  I pointed out the tag at $9.95.
She told me that "Today all green tags are .50 cents."

So, she got .50 cents and I thanked God for a nice
sturdy chair for nearly nothing.






.

YOU ARE AN ACCIDENT

Images courtesy of:www.Pixabay.com

This will be no "eye opener" to you

because daily the world is trying to

jam it down your throat.

They want you to think that millions and

millions of years ago - even before your

parents were born - lots and lots and lots

of nothing came together.  In fact so much

nothing came to gather that it finally exploded.

Then after this huge explosion of nothing,

thousands and millions of impossibilities

took place over millions and millions of 

years to produce this universe we live in.

THEN,

by pure chance some of this "stuff" developed 

into simple little animals.  But not being content

to be simple little animals they decided to become

more complex.  That is, become "smart" people.

All of this our brilliant scientist were able to 

figure out with their smart brains.

So the next time someone accuses you of 

doing something stupid - just remind them

that you are an accident just like them.  Our

scientist tell us so.

Now here is where I have a hard time.

Do you see the picture of that simple fence

above???

These same brilliant scientist would try to tell me

that it had to have a designer.  You know, an 

intellegent person gave some thought to its design

and production.

Does that mean that really complex stuff happens

all by it's self.  But really simple stuff has to have

a designer or creator?????

THIS OLD COMPUTER OF MINE

I have had a number of computers the last few years.

But all of them have been used.  You know, cheap.

But Window's "Vista" drove me to "Mac".  And this 

little guy in the photo was my  [My, not my wife's.]

first new computer.

But, that was back in "09".  So, like myself, it was

beginning to show it's age.  It was slowing down 

and a lot of things were out of date.

It came new with "Mac OS X Snow Leopard 

installed.  Big stuff back in it's day.    So, I took

advantage of the free offer of Apple or Mac or who

ever they are, to upgrade [Ha, ha, ha.] to the newer

OS X El Capitan.

Was that ever a mistake.  That may have been about

six months ago and I have been paying the price 

ever since.  It gave it "computer dementia", or 

something.

True, it did have 2 (Only 2) features I liked that were

a real improvement.  The rest of it was, well, just 

crazy. So I had made up my mind to take it into the 

computer shop and have them put in another OS, new, 

old or even windows.  Just make it work better.

But, before taking it into the experts I decided to give 

it one more chance by installing all the "updates",

Wow!  That was even a worse mistake than going to 

El Capitan.  It would barely work.  About all you 

could do was turn it on.

In all fairness.  I read on line and was also told by the 

computer shop that El Capitan was just too much 

program for my poor little laptop.

After being in the shop for about a week they called 

me and talked to me in "Geek" for a while then told 

me I could come pick it up.   It still had the El Capitan 

in it.  It would  be slow but would work.

Wow and double wow.  If there was any improvement 

at all, I could not tell it.  All that money out, and it 

would just barely work.

I could (For example) check my e-mail.  Then dementia 

or Alzheimer's would set in and I would have to force it 

to stop.  Let it rest a while, then reboot.  Then I could 

check the weather, and then go through the same

 process again.  Then, Facebook - or what ever, and 

stop, rest reboot, etc.

I am in the habit of talking to God about most of my 

problems.  Some people call it prayer.  And I became

more serious in my "praying".  A few days latter I 

noticed that it was working better.  And now, it is working

almost as good as new.  Why?  I don't know.  Whether

 the Lord reach down and tuned it some, or had me 

make a mistake that change it, or what.  I do not

 know.

But I do know that God himself is better at repairing 

computers than the computer shop.  AND, a whole lot

cheaper.

PRAISE GOD.

WARNING

"Do not be afraid of those who 

kill the body but cannot kill the

soul; rather be afraid of God

who can destroy both body and

soul in hell."

(Matthew 10:28 GNT)

GUIDELINES

(Image courtesy of: www.gratisography.com)

That is what happens when we follow

our own guidelines instead of 

God's guidelines.

GARLIC

Garlic is wonderful stuff.

God gave it to us.

But this particular patch is special.

You see, I did not even know it was there.

It survived about fifteen years there 

with out me even knowing it.

And in a bad location.

The leaves,

yes, I put them down last fall to

help keep the weeds down.

And yes,

I dug the garlic up because

it was too crowded.

The second "clump" in the picture

I dug up a little early to check it's 

maturity and it's health.

There were about 50 bulbs in

that clump.

LIFE

"Your only business in this life

is to please God; anything else

if folly and vanity."

(Brother Lawrence)

THE UNSEEN

INFRARED

THE NATURAL EYE

So you think that if you cannot see it, touch it, taste it,

 or hear it, it's not there.

Consider the top image.  It is in infrared.  That is, 

invisible rays beyond the red end of the visible 

spectrum. 

Or consider "radio waves".  These are electromagnetic 

waves at radio frequency.  But they were there long 

before some one found out about them.  Can you

 taste them?  And Yes, we have learned how to measure 

and use them.

There is another realm that few people are aware of,

the realm of the "spiritual".  There is a whole world

out there that most people are not tuned into.

"God is Spirit,

and only by the power of 

his Spirit can people worship

him as he really is."

(John 4:24 TEV)

If you are not tuned into God you are missing every

thing.

IT WILL BE ALONE

photo courtesy of bigfoto.com

www.bigfoto.com

"...you may live in a crowd, but you meet God and face eternity alone."- Rees Howells

THANKFUL

"In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

always give thanks for everything to

God the Father."

(Ephesians 5:20 TEV)

PROFOUND THINKING

Photo courtesy of www.developingdreams.com

Some body was here.

Photo courtesy of scandal.blogspot.com

Vandals were here.

Photo courtesy of www.hshartampa.org

A dog was here.

Photo courtesy of thedirt.areavoices.com

A rabbit was here.

Photo courtesy of www.bonjanssens.com

Somebody made this.

Photo courtesy of orgs.usd.edu.

But this.  No one was here and it came from nothing.

"The fool said in his heart,

'There is no God.'"

-Psalms 14:1 (AKJV)

I STRUCK IT RICH

IF,

"One man's junk (trash) is another man's treasure."

as they say.

Then, I'm rich, rich, rich.

I know the man who owns this property in the neighboring county.

He not only gave me permission to explore around on it,

but also let me know that I could have anything out of his trash pile I wanted.

I'm rich, rich, rich.

Look. A noise maker. An antique radio.

A microwave oven and a bicycle.

We can eat and exercise.

And here is a metal hen's nest near the hood of an old pickup truck.

And below is an old chicken feeder.

We are in the chicken business.

WHAT'S THE POINT?

We are just like that in life. We try to see how much "stuff" or "things" we can accumulate in life. When in truth it is only something else to take care of, then eventually discard.

God said,

"Watch out and guard yourselves from every kind of greed;

because your true life is not made up of the things you own,

no matter how rich you may be"

-Luke 12:15 (TEV)

Do you know what God thinks of all your "stuff", possessions, treasures?

"For the things that are considered of great value by people

are worth nothing in God's sight."

-Luke 16:15 (TEV)

Just prior to this Jesus tell us of a rich man that had too much. He did not even have a place to store it all. And there was no self storage buildings around.

God called him a "fool".

And he died that night.

God's conclusion was,

"This is how it is with those who pile up riches for themselves

but are not rich in God's sight."

-Luke 12:21 (TEV)

WHO DID IT?

Years ago a tornado pasted through in a town about fifty miles south of us. All I remember it taking out was a bar and perhaps a building next to it. Now tornado's are called an act of God. So was this God passing judgement on that establishment?

Then came another thought. What if it took out a church? Would that be showing God's displeasure with that church?

This is not the result of a tornado. Yep, it's a burned out church. Who did that? God or the Devil?

I do not know who to blame for this any more than you do. One of my fellow workers attended there. He said they were thinking about remodeling anyway.

But I did learn something. It was a great excuse to use about a million dollars of God's money to make a nice place to set on Sunday - instead of in the building out back.