Random Musings, Volume 13 | On the weather, breakfast, bird seeds, and a few other things (Dedicated to Zelda)

April 3, 2022: My wife has no problem believing that God so arranges the global weather patterns to accommodate her plans.  I’ve seen it appear to happen so many times that I’m tempted to believe it.  Just this morning (April 3) we awoke to beautiful snow pouring down.  When I mentioned it to Sonja she exclaimed, “Isn’t God good.  He held off the snow until today so that it would not interfere with my Women’s Retreat.”  (No wonder the weather man gets is wrong so often in Bismarck – he doesn’t consult Sonja first.)  

Job 37:11-13

New King James Version

¹¹ Also with moisture He saturates the thick clouds;
He scatters His bright clouds.
¹² And they swirl about, being turned by His guidance,
That they may do whatever He commands them
On the face of the whole earth.
¹³ He causes it to come,
Whether for correction,
Or for His land,
Or for mercy.

Also, it was good to have our dear friend Debbie Dyches with us this weekend.  Snow in April—she was impressed! 😊 Nothing like life in the amazing Dakotas.  And thanks Debbie for a great job of speaking at the Women’s Retreat.

March 30, 2022: On this day 41 years ago, Ronald Reagan was shot in the chest by a deranged man who was seeking to impress Jodie Foster.

• In one of the more baller moments in the history of the American presidency, the 70-year-old Reagan walked into George Washington University Hospital under his own power, told his wife Nancy that he “forgot to duck,” and removed his oxygen mask in the operating room to joke with his surgeons that he hoped they were all Republicans. They weren’t but said they would be for the day.  _Source: The Morning Dispatch

March 30, 2022 – woke up to the ground covered in snow.  Why did I fall for that old lie that the snow is gone for good?!  But it was beautiful snow.

March 25-26, 2022: It’s been great to have Mark and Al’Lora Leonhardt back in the Region this week.  This outstanding couple and the Fort Mill Church of God has been an amazing blessing and champion for our region.  And this weekend Al’Lora hit an out-of-the-park homerun at the Women’s Retreat.  Thank you for all you do Team Leonhardt!

March 20, 2022: This past weekend Sonja and I came home from an out-of-town trip to an empty home. For the first time in 25 years—there was no cat to greet us at the door.  Very, very sad.

RIP Lucy (1997 – 2017) & Zelda (2005 – 2022)  We miss you girls.   

I’m really, really rooting for Ukraine.  Their plight has gripped my heart.

• To hear the Ukraine National Anthem: https://youtu.be/0u2h1tjCAZk

I’m tired of humor that is at the expense of someone else.  It’s so sad (and wearying); in our nation we are either screaming accusations at each other or mocking each other.  That’s no way to live and no way to make our nation greater.

This tweet from President Biden @POTUS on March 14: “This year, through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re going to start fixing over 65,000 miles of highway and 1,500 bridges in disrepair.”  The word “bipartisan” brighten my day.  Oh for us to be USAmericans first!

*****

I don’t know why women want to be like men.  Take breakfast for instance.  The other morning my breakfast was a banana and a pack of mixed nuts.  Later I stepped into the kitchen and it was awash with tantalizing smells of cooked food.  There was a recently used skillet on the stove, spices, condiments, and cooking implements on the counter and an empty plate that looked like it had contained a gourmet feast.  See the difference? 

Now I must confess that this difference does not entice me to want to be a woman, but it sure makes me very grateful for them—especially my amazing wife (she’d cooked breakfast for me if I would slow down enough to eat it). 

But for her, I’d probably be living in a cave or under a bridge somewhere eating cold pork ‘n beans out of a can.  Thank God for women! 

02/22/22 – I like that date.  It just seems right.  Glad I lived to see it.

RE: The woman with the issue of blood – we never learn her name; but Jesus did call her “daughter”.  Don’t let your issues define you!  Let Jesus define you.

(February 22) The high today is projected to be -4.  How do birds live in that!  Yet, looking out my widow I see them.  Each morning (no matter how cold) I step outside on my office front porch toss a few handfuls of birdseed on the steps.  The birds love it and it always assures that I do at least one good deed every day. 

Standout Quotes:

• “When an old person dies, I grieve for the family that lost a precious loved one.  When a young person dies, I grieve for all us.” _My reflections on the death of Nathan Peterson, age 19

• “Back pain is especially hard, because everywhere you go, there you are with your back.” — No Other gods: Confronting Our Modern Day Idols, by Kelly Minter

• “Endurance is frequently a form of indecision.” _Elizabeth Asquith Bibesco, 1897-1945

• “It is easier to kill an organization than it is to change it.”  _Tom Peters

• “Brevity with completeness is a virtue.” _Jerald Daffee

Live well my friend…Run2Win (I Cor. 9:24-26)

_david l. kemp