Reverend

Posted on by February 22, 2018

Image result for billy graham

I have a picture somewhere, lost temporarily and forever in the “accumulation”, of me and my mother out on a stadium field.

I’m going down to kneel in the grass and give my life to Christ.

It must have been in California….maybe New Jersey…..I was pretty young.

Our friend clipped the picture out of the newspaper and circled us in the grainy black and white image and sent the picture to me.

I don’t know how she knew it was me.

It could have been some other goofy little kid.

There were a lot of people in the picture.

This isn’t the picture.

My picture is a different one.

Anyway, the picture was taken at a Billy Graham Revival….at a big stadium.

It might be me in the picture….

I know that I was there.

Billy Graham died yesterday.

He was 99 years old.

That’s a lot of good years.

“Reverend” is what we call a minister.

“Revere” means to show a deep respect or admiration for….something or someone.

And “minister” is a pretty heavy word when you think about it, too….”to minister” is a heavy calling.

It’s hard to give yourself over completely….to God and to your fellow man.

That’s hard.

I read a great Billy Graham quote this morning that said, “It is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict, God’s job to judge and my job to love.”

I think that Billy Graham really loved people and I know that he loved God.

He gave himself over.

What a life’s work! To get to the end and have people be able to say something like that about you!

I wonder if, at the end of my life, people will be able to say, without hesitation, “Peter? Oh….he really loved!”

I hope so.

People who are loved are never really gone.

We carry them in our thoughts and in our hearts.

Reverend Billy Graham….that was a good thing that God did with your life.

I’m glad that you were with us.

Thank you….

 

rich to poor….poor to rich

Posted on by February 21, 2018

The world is an interesting place.

Here’s a Ted talk where the speaker talks about a project to photograph and compare living situations for a bunch of folks in different parts of the world.

Some are poor….some aren’t poor.

You can view different situations by using a sliding scale ranging from very poor to rich.

The photographs can be found on their website ….http://lectures.dollarstreet.org

The sliding scale doesn’t measure happiness, though.

Seeing a picture of someone’s toilet doesn’t tell you how happy they are.

Some things are hard to photograph.

That’s not what the pictures are about, though.

They’re just about what the place where the people live looks.

The place doesn’t always completely define the life.

Knowing that doesn’t keep me from wondering if the grass might not be greener on some….other….side….sometimes.

We bloom where we are planted.

If we are doing things right….we bloom.

Awwwwww, shoot….we bloom if we’re doing things wrong, too.

Sometimes we’re so busy pining for “something else” that we miss seeing the flower.

Gackkkkkk….check out the pictures….they’re good.

 

“The fact that you are not happy is because your life doesn’t match the way you think it should be.”

Posted on by February 20, 2018

Morning motivation….what better time to start getting motivated a little?

I took a day off work on Friday to get the well drilling process started….and could really notice when it was time to go back to work four days later… after the long weekend.

What is it about a long weekend that makes the “getting back to work” hit you harder?

And….I don’t think it’s some weird fear of “work” that comes around like a bad dog that I’m feeling.

I like to work.

It’s something else.

Why…..maybe it’s the quiet desperation that Thoreau talked about?

Maybe I’m just being a whiner?

Probably…. just being a whiner.

When you think about what it means to return to your job after a break, and you waste a day because the thought of going back is depressing you….what does that say about what you’re doing for a living?

My job is great.

I couldn’t design something that suited me better.

I like independence….I like what I do.

I love taking care of my family.

But….I think about a lot of things….and wonder what kind of job would feel more empowering….what would be satisfying in a way that I never had another day when I felt depressed that “my time” was almost over and the next day I’d be on “their time”.

What would it feel like if work was a constant…and you never noticed when you had to go back to something that didn’t feel….right?

Awwwww….that’s life.

I am so fortunate to have my job.

Maybe I should ask myself, “what would it feel like to stop being such a whiner?”

Things are good.

I just need to enjoy work as much as the weekend.

That’s an internal issue.

I should be able to get a handle on that…right?

I need to figure out what I think my life should be……

 

Don’t build This thing When it’s Raining….

Posted on by February 19, 2018

“No….this is our new HOME!!”

I think that when I explained that it wouldn’t burn….and would withstand small arms fire….and had the potential to last for 10 YEARS (!!!) would be a strong selling point.

(Those are points the video brings up…)

I don’t want to live in one of these.

You would have to be pretty short sighted to build one of these to convert to a home.

I wonder what the country building permit inspector would have to say about something like this?

It sure would be a shame to unpack the cube and then get caught in a downpour before you got the air inside.

What a mess that would be.

It’s kind of an interesting way to build something, though.

I’d never seen this before.

2 People? Living in a Jeep Wrangler? We can’t even fit all the Mail!

Posted on by February 18, 2018

Awwww…..

This is kookie.

Not “cookie”.

Kookie.

Here’s some folks living in a Jeep Wrangler.

The guy’s name is Jake and he’s been living in the Jeep for a while.

He’s making room for the girl to live in the Jeep with him.

That’s going to be crowded, huh?

You can live in just about anything, though, if you’re motivated.

You could live in a cardboard box if you needed to.

You could live in a cardboard box if you….wanted to.

Man…it would be a tight squeeze….2 people in a Jeep.

Tight, tight….tight.

go down for water….

Posted on by February 17, 2018

We’re going to have a well drilled over on some property we own a couple of miles from the house.

We’re going to move over there when we get the house that’s on the property up to speed…but until we can refurbish the house, we thought it would be good to have some water for gardening or….whatever.

The “whatever” is a big variable.

The well drilling process is pretty amazing.

Imagine all that water somewhere under the ground….waiting for us to reach out and figure out a way to bring it to the surface.

Here’s a short section of a Superman show that terrified me when I was little.

There was something really scary about tiny people with outsized heads coming up from deep below the surface.

I think that they came up some kind of pipe that was for a well of some kind.

I hope nothing weird comes up out of the hole that we are going to drill.

That would be too weird.

I think that would freak me out….even though I’m older now.

I want water…but I don’t want to be freaked out.

Stay down in the ground, Mole-Men.

I’m not ready to see you….still.

“to love”….is not a suggestion

Posted on by February 16, 2018

Here’s a question: why is it so hard for all of us to figure this out?

That “to love each other” isn’t a suggestion….it’s a commandment.

I’m not so good at loving.

I’m better at reacting “in kind”….and I don’t mean that I always react with kindness.

I give back what I’m given….usually.

That’s not good.

I should be a mirror that lets people see how good and kind they are…or could be.

I should rise.

When am I going to figure out how to do that?

This is a great sermon….

Donny Hathaway…..We need You right Now, Lord!

Posted on by February 15, 2018

Awwwww, Donny Hathaway!

Here’s a message that never goes out of style.

I think it’s true…..right now….”we need you right now, Lord”.

What generation has ever been spared from the thought, “what is wrong with some people? What’s wrong with this world?”

Kids shooting kids….people stealing…hurting each other….dying for nothing…

What’s going on?

I’m not going to be able to figure anything out sitting at this computer, that’s for sure.

But….this message holds true and strong….we need You.

Thanks for that song, Donny!

And….I’m going to “sneak” this Smokie Norful song in here….because….because….just because I need some of this in the morning….

fix the “unfixable”….iPad repair

Posted on by February 13, 2018

Make sure you stick around to the end of the video to see Jessa teaching her son to repair electronics.

Here’s a crew that fixes electronics at a level that the manufacturer says isn’t possible.

They’re fixing things at a different level than most repair shops do.

Electronics are throw away devices.

When they break, we get rid of them.

Mostly….it’s because we don’t know how to repair them….or, even, that a repair is possible.

I like seeing people figuring out how to do things.

It’s a hopeful thing to see that.

These “Motherboard” videos are great.