Long day in Louisiana

This has been a character building day in S. Louisiana. It actually began yesterday when Tommy was put in the hospital with an emergency. He is doing better now but they still haven't cured the problem and if he doesn't do better soon they may be doing surgery. Pat was up all night and two days in the hospital with him.

Then I went to Baker and Zachary to visit a church member who was not expected to live past last weekend and now is doing much better. While I was there, I received a phone call that Randall and the girls were in a wreck down in Gonzales at the corner by Central Elementary. Thank God that they weren't hurt bad, just a couple of scratches and light bruises, but Randall's new Ford Explorer has a busted axle and the side is badly bashed in. Another car ran the stop sign at the 4-way stop and broadsided his car, spinning them around and knocking them into the yard of the house on the corner. It's the same accident that Jamie had when she was at SLU and the car was wrecked on Black Bayou Road, only one intersection farther down.

Tonight we had our Valentine's Banquet at church and we had a good time but I'm glad it's over because we were just too worn out to really want to stay late at the church.

All-in-all, this could have been a terrible day had the Lord not intervened on our behalf. Things could have been so much worse. We are looking forward to a better day tomorrow.

New Bedspread

There is a story told of General Patton that happened during the invasion of Sicily in WWII. The story goes that he was told not to attack a certain city but he decided to do so in spite of the disobedience to a direct order. When he was accosted by his commanding officers, his reply was, "That's not an attack. It's a reconnaisance in force." That was always his way: do what you want to do. Start small and give yourself a reason to really get involved, until the battle is over and you accomplish what you wanted to do in the first place. He always figured it was easier to ask forgiveness than to obtain permission in every endeavor of his choosing. Have you ever felt that way, or thought that way?

I said all of that to say this, "I think I've been had by my own personal "Patton". You see, my dear wife, Pat (uncanny about the names huh), recently bought a new bedspread for our bed. Of course it was a different color, which meant that other things had to change too. Along with the bedspread came pillow shams and curtains. But that was only the recon. Next she reinforced her recon with adding more to the job, then finally it was a full commitment.

After the spread and curtains came the thought that we have to repaint the bedroom, but of course the ceiling had to be repaired first. Then, horror of horrors, the "blue" in the bathroom adjacent to the bedroom clashed terribly with the new burgundy and gold of the bedroom so, "Voila", the bathroom needs to be changed too. Now, after several weeks and hundreds of dollars later, and a few hundred hours of labor, shopping and working, the battle has been won and Pat is the winner.

The bedspread will soon match the walls, the curtains, the pillow shams, the new ceramic floors and countertops, the walls of the bath and the newly refinished shower and tub, along with new trash cans, repainted trim work and cabinets, a new toilet and new crome and white ivory fixtures. Oh, and let's not forget the "coup-de-grass" (spelling may be wrong since I've lost all sense of spelling in recent days due to all the fumes of the epoxy spray paint and dust of the grouting), the custom designed and special ordered bamboo woven window treatment for the bath. I had to go online to get that since no one in our area carried such a thing unless you were willing to donate your left eye and your right foot to get it. (besides, the shipping was free and no sales tax saved enough to pay for the new "slow close" toilet seat).

In fairness, it was long overdue for an updating, and I really didn't mind the work or the cost. The hardest part is just getting started on the project and that part was surely "Pattonized".

Getting ready for groundhog day

Well, here it is again, another of those greatest holidays of the year - Ground Hog Day 2009. I've been practicing all year to say this to every one I meet so here goes . . . . HAPPY GROUND HOG DAY! Old Punxsutawney Bill will be hard at work this year just digging out from 6ft under the snow to see if he has a shadow. Of course he has a shadow; why wouldn't he? He's not part vampire is he? Oh yeah, that's a reflection, not a shadow. Oh well, he still has a shadow but maybe it's like Peter Pan's shadow that won't stay attached. Anyway, whether he sees a shadow in Maine is immaterial to me down here in South Louisiana. I'd rather depend upon the Pecan tree or the Alley Gators.

The Bible Conference is over now and I'm just about worn out. We were at church til 11 on Friday night, then back there again at 9 AM Saturday until around 5:30 Saturday, then back again at 5:20 AM on Sunday until 8:30 Sunday night. I arrived at home just in time to see the Steelers win the Super Bowl and now my life will never be same again. Just think of it! The Arizona Cardinals lost! What a tremendous blow to my life. I just may not recover from this.

Right now, I'm gettng ready to go to sleep, but I'm watching "I Love Lucy" on the TV and writing this blog posting. Now that's what I call a super exciting night. It just doesn't get any better than this except maybe the trip to the dentist tomorrow for two new crowns, then on to the eye doctor on Tuesday for an eye exam check on my glaucoma. Life is like a box of chocolates all right, but every piece in my box is filled with cherries that I can't stand. Pat did that so I wouldn't eat them and she could. Now where did I put that rum sauce?


'

Marriage counseling

I have discovered that I need to expand wedding counseling sessions to cover more issues, especially when the couple does not attend church, or I don't know them very well. With a soaring divorce rate, it's more important to deal with more issues up front. I find myself trying to discourage many weddings because I can tell that they are not being established for the right reasons.

Louisiana, along with other states, has established a Covenant Marriage that eliminates the No-Fault divorce for those who opt for it. It's a shame that such a thing has to be done because, in the sight of God, every marriage should be a Covenant Marriage where the marriage is for life except in the case of abandonment of an unbelieving spouse, adultery or death. Those are the only scripturally acceptable reasons for divorce and subsequent re-marriage. Christians who divorce for any other reason are commanded in the New Testament to remain unmarried or be reconciled lest they cause themselves and their new spouses to live in the sin of adultery. I know that our modern society frowns on such common sense teaching but if we could just embrace God's original plan for marriage between one man and one woman for life, that would sure simplify many of our present ills.

I have also had to write 6 new resolutions to be added to our church by laws to establish legal guidelines as some sort of protection against those who would want to perform same sex marriages, or have such a wedding at our church, and we refuse to allow it.

I'll go to my grave standing upon God's Word that never changes and never fails. It may be unpopular and unacceptable to society but so be it. I'll not compromise for the sake of being acceptable. God is against same sex marriage and that's that. Truth is truth no matter what anyone thinks about it. I don't hate those who believe in these types of marriages; and thank God I won't have to judge their eternal souls on Judgment Day, but I'm not comfortable around them and they aren't likely to hang around me. I doubt seriously that many people who refuse to give up their "alternative lifestyle" will ever attend our church because I refuse to compromise the message just to keep them. God can still deliver them.

We love all people; we just hate the sin that has them bound and blind to their sin. I wish I could have a church full of thee dear people to preach to but I doubt they will want to hear what I have to say from the Word of God.

Much Ado About Nothing

Oops! I forgot to actually type anything before I accidentally hit the "Publish Post" button. I guess the blank post probably made more sense than some that actually had writing in them. This blank post doesn't say anything positive or negative about anything, anybody, anytime or anywhere. To read this is just an absolute waste of time, which is the stuff that life is made of. But if you must do so, just keep reading this and something may actually be said that will change your life, but I doubt it. Saying nothing about anything is a lost art because too many people have a whole lot to say about nothing. Nothing, added, multiplied or divided by nothing, still amounts to nothing. Nothingness is what existed before some things came into existence but much of what came into existence really amounted to nothing at all so was there really any change? Nothingness amounts to nothingness and it always will. To those who actually take the time to read this bit of nonsensical nothingness all the way to the end, let me say unequivocably, that what you have just completed reading is really "Much Ado About Nothing" and will leave you empty and wondering why you wasted these few minutes of your life. Adieu, mon Cherie'

Merry Christmas to all!

I don't know if anyone will read this but I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.

I have been busy doing some "honey do" jobs these last few days. We finally removed the old glass doors and frame from the shower in the back bath and replaced it with a shower curtain. Then I have repaired the holes in the plaster so we can repaint the bath next week. The next thing will be removing the old blue ceramic tile floor and putting in a new ceramic tile floor and then painting all the trim work white. The walls will be a sort of light gold color to match all the new curtains, bedspread, etc. I will also replace the old toilet with a new one while I'm replacing the flooring. Then I'm going to see about refinishing the bathtub unless I can polish the old one good enough.

After the back bath, then comes the front bath, then the kitchen/dining/hallway areas with flooring, and finally removing and repairing the main hall in front. When the weather is better we are also going to repaint all the exterior areas and trim and clean off the carport and gutters. Once I finish all that, I'll be 7o and ready for a short rest.

We also bought a new Samsung 40 inch HDTV with left over insurance money, so now I can actually read the writing on the screen again. The old TV was ready to give up the ghost, but I think Charlie is going to take it when he moves out in the Spring. (YEE HA!) He'll finally be done with Drug Court in a few months.

Adios Amigos! Hasta Luego, muchachos!

Snow in the Deep South!

This is the closest to a White Christmas that we have ever been in S. Louisiana. It's very unusual to get snow at all, much less have it fall heavily for over 3 hours and accumulate to nearly 3 inches deep in some places. To have snow that lasts all day and still covers part of the landscape all day is nothing short of a 100 year event. But that is just what we have had today. So much for global warming - HA!

I went to work at St. Amant High this morning because the School Board didn't cancel classes in time. Of course I only had 6 or 7 kids for the first two blocks and then they let everyone go home. It was impossible to get anything done; and even if I had tried, there were too many absent and all the work would have to be repeated anyway, so we just let the kids sit around, or play in the snow if no administrator was there to stop it. I couldn't blame the kids for wanting to be in the snow. I wouldn't have minded it too much myself. I did get a few pictures for posterity.

Pat went to Gulfport, MS shopping with her sister and it took them so long to get there that they could have gone to Dallas instead. But, like the postman, "neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow, nor dark of night", shall keep a woman from hitting the stores around holiday time. I don't know what time they will be back; and it may not even be tonight.

I have to say it's been a most unusual day and one most of us won't forget for a long time. This is the first time, in my 60 years on this planet, that I almost saw a "white out" in Gonzales, LA.

Yee Ha, and Ho Ho Ho, Ya'll!