"Little Things Mean A Lot"

I'm thankful for the few rain showers that fell on Kansas City, this past weekend. Rain may seem like a very small thing, but moisture in any shape or form has been nonexistent here, for much of the summer. I can't even remember when we last had any measurable rain.
Our lawn, and the lawns of our neighbors, are a toasty golden color. The burned out blades crunch when you walk across them. The only green, on our once lush lawn, is from a few rogue weeds. Down the street, there is one patch of green grass which is the result of a frequently used kiddie sprinkler.
Folks with in-ground sprinkler systems quit watering weeks ago. It was a lost cause and a huge monetary expense many were unwilling to make. Home gardens are toast. Local deer have eaten shrubs and even stripped the ivy from our fireplace. There's nothing growing out there. They have nothing to eat.
We are in the middle of a huge drought. I can't remember it ever being this bad. Trees and bushes are drooping or dying. Flora that we had hoped was dormant, is really gone for good.
We need more rain.

Dear God: We are a needy world. When we think we can control everything, it's really difficult to accept that we don't have control of the weather. We are an insignificant part of your universe. How foolish of us to think that we can control our climate.
Help us to focus on what we can change. Show us ways to change our behavior so that we may become the best Christians we can be. We have a great example in our Lord, Jesus.
Mold us; make us; use us.

Revelation

Every day I receive several emails containing photos of old, supposedly forgotten, objects? My friends (the term is questionable in this context) send me these photos and then they write.....LIKE, if you know what this is.
Well, I'm a senior citizen. Of course I know what all of those objects are. So, my friends, quit asking me.
Don't ask me to recall what it was like to spend an hour, in brush rollers, under a hair-dryer bonnet. Don't ask me to remember what my mother's mood was like, after she had spent an hour or so grinding up and cleaning that nasty, hand-crank meat grinder. Oh, and I never could yank hard enough on the handle of those metal ice-cube trays to release the ice properly.  Friends, it's no fun remembering how a "two holer" smelled in Kansas, in mid-July!
I'm all about focusing on the present folks. We older folks spend way too much time remembering the good old days. Beacuse, when you really think about it.......they weren't so good...they were just old..
The present is about TODAY. We have already done yesterday. We may not have tomorrow.

Good Lord. Life is our journey. We need to learn to move Faithfully along the path. Help us to do that and guide us as we travel. Remind us that we don't even have to bring along our baggage. YOU have told us to put the burden on YOU..."for my yoke is easy and my burden light."
Thank you God, for your daily blessings.

Double Dipping

On Fridays, I sometimes travel downtown to meet my friend for lunch. My friend works in one of those 30 story, multipurpose office/bank buildings. The lobby is large and the entrance has both revolving doors and standard opening-type doors.
I arrived a bit early last week, so I sat on a bench and watched the passing pedestrian traffic. Lunch time in a big city is a very busy time.
Now, everyone has heard how dangerous it is to text and drive, but  from what I witnessed, no one thinks it's almost as dangerous to text and walk. Most of the folks who walked through that lobby weren't just walking, they were also texting, checking email on their phones or, at the least, doing something that distracted them from the main thing that they were doing.......walking.
In the few minutes that I waited, I saw numerous "near misses" as texting walkers passed each other on the way in and out of the building. And, two thumb-taskers actually collided, right in front of where I was seated. I also watched the revolving door "catch" a young man who couldn't focus on three things at once.
Thank goodness the lobby didn't have a reflecting pool or fountain , or a few folks would have spent the rest of the afternoon a bit damp. 

Oh Lord: Why are we in such a hurry? Our lives are too short to be rushing through them. Life is not a race. We don't get a bonus for coming to the end, FIRST! Show us how to enjoy life. Our lives are full of great and simple pleasures. You are so gracious to us, allowing us to expeience so many wonderful things.
Thank you, God, for putting us in this marvelous world.

politics...schmalitics

In my county, as in many areas, we are gearing up for an election. As usual, we are starting to see lots of campaign signs on prominent corners. I think it is my civic duty to vote, so I read the signs.
But, today instead of feeling my civic pride, I burst out laughing when I read one of those signs.
Here's why.
We have a career politician, in our county, who has run for many different offices over the last 20 years. Sometimes he wins, sometimes he doesn't. At least once, over that same period,  he has been removed from office, for some sort of shady activity. He is a career politician, by anyone's description, and the exact oppposite of what our founding fathers wanted to see in our governmental leaders.
His current sign reads...
          candidate's name  VOTE   candidate's county
The sign doesn't mention what office he's seeking, in this election. In order to reuse his signs, he has pasted the word VOTE over the title of the office from his last campaign. I guess he thinks his name is enough to get him elected.........to anything.
What a hoot! Very amusing!

Good and gracious God: We are thankful for many of our elected leaders who are fine and upstanding folks. Guide them as they attempt to do their best for our families, our country and for our world. Make us ever mindful of our frailties and remind us to give thanks for all that you have given us. None of us are as powerful as we think.
Your wisdom is over powering.

...gone tomorrow...

While coming home from a trip last week, we drove through what used to be a thriving little burg on the border between Oklahoma and Kansas. According to the census figures, in 1920, nearly 10,000 people lived in Picher, Oklahoma. In 2000, there were 621 housholds and 1,640 residents.  In 2010, there were just 20 folks living there. Now, there isn't a soul in sight.
Picher was once the center of a large scale zinc and lead mining industry. Ore was mined and huge piles of "chat" or tailings were piled near the mines. Chat, by the way, paved many of the streets and driveways, in the ajacent four-state area.
Today, Picher is the site of one of the most toxic areas in the world. Our government bought out all of the businesses and homeowners. There is virtually nothing left, in the 2.2 square mile area, but chain-link fences, piles of rock, and driveways to nowhere.

Creator of the Universe: We are a greedy bunch of folks. In our haste to get what we want, we have hurt ourselves, others and the precious earth that you have graciously given us.
Lord, make us better stewards of your planet. Help us to be thankful for what we have and give us the widsom to plan for future generations.