Dear Friends;
Below is an e-mail that I received from my dear brother-of-the-heart....Blake.
It speaks, eloquently, of a truth that should be reiterated....over and over...
Anyone that does not recognize the facts of our country’s origin is choosing to be ignorant....of their own free will!
God help us all....and deliver us from the hands of such...stupidity!
May God continue to BLESS AMERICA....the good ole USA!!!

Did you know ..

As you walk up the steps to the Capital Building ,which houses the Supreme Court, you can see near the top of the building a row of the world's law givers and each one is facing the middle. Who is facing forward with a full frontal view ?
......It is Moses and the Ten Commandments!

As you enter the Supreme Court courtroom, the two huge oak doors have the Ten Commandments engraved on each lower portion of each door.

As you sit inside the courtroom, you can see the wall right above where the Supreme Court judges sit is a display of the Ten Commandments!

There are Bible verses etched in stone all over the Federal Buildings and Monuments in Washington, D.C.

James Madison, the fourth president, known as "The Father of Our Constitution" made the following statement: "We have staked the whole of all
our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of GOD."

Patrick Henry, that patriot and Founding Father of our country said, "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religions but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

Every session of Congress begins with a prayer by a paid preacher, whose salary has been paid by the taxpayer since 1777.

Fifty-two of the 55 founders of the Constitution were members of the established orthodox churches in the colonies.

Thomas Jefferson worried about that the Courts would overstep their authority and instead of interpreting law would begin making law, an oligarchy, the rule of few over many.

The very first Supreme Court Justice, John Jay, said, "Americans should select and prefer Christians as their rulers."

How then, have we gotten to the point that everything we have done for 200 years in this country is now suddenly wrong and unconstitutional?

Celebrate Life!

Celebrate LIFE!!!

Come on now let's dance and sing....
Life is really a wonderful thing
Each breath you take
Each smile you make
Brings blessings your way
Making good things happen today
Have faith this is true
Allow it to happen to....YOU!

Be Blessed!!!

The Answer That Is
Right Under Your Nose!!!

Yo!
Does this topic sound familiar?
Searching for the right answer to a very complex situation in my own life has led me to all kind of.......dead ends!
While listening to some of my ‘soothing’ music this early morn....suddenly an answer appears out of the blue.
The answer is.......I AM TO DO.....
.......N O T H I N G!
Lord knows that is very hard for me to do....close to impossible even!
Being a person of action makes me want to do ’somethin’ to find my answer, to create a solution....somehow, someway.....and keep trying until I find something that works!
Now this.....doing nothin.....that’s hard!
What in the world am I supposed to do....while I am ’doing nothin’?
Perhaps......Enjoy Life....Seize the Moment.....continue to carry my little teaspoon of oil and observe the wonders of God’s great Universe.....daily!
But that would be just....TOO MUCH FUN!!!
I’m supposed to be concerned about ’weighty issues’, ‘family situations’, an ’imperfect world’, ‘crazy politics’, ’injustice’, ‘all my personal responsibilities to God, family, nation etc.
Enjoying life and having fun in a care-free day would be .....HEAVEN.
Only children in their innocence are awarded that privilege.
Guess I’ll just have to take another lesson from 2 yr. old, Joshua.
On Saturday as his Mom, Britt, Ashley and I helped carve his ‘Mr. Pumpkin’.....he and Pops ran around, played games, and generally created havoc and......FUN!
That’s my answer! Guess I can leave out the ‘havoc’ part.....
I’ll leave that to the ‘adult’ world from which I wish to ‘escape’....
Really it could be fun to do.....’nothin’!
Nothin ‘important’....except in the eyes of a child!
What a way to live!
See Joshua’s Mr. Pumpkin on photos...Link #1 Family Fun Album

Contentment.....

Yesterday had a small computer job.....
Helping my daughter, Lynn, make some simple corrections and connections caused a 15-minute job to turn into a 2 hour....... treasure hunt.
The end result after all ‘complex’ options had been exhausted.
(I.e.; uninstall.....re install etc. call brother Chad for more expert technical support etc.).....a ‘bad’ transfer cord.
The ‘process of elimination’ expedition was frustrating, time consuming, aggravating and stupid in some cases....
Assuming that all the exterior cords were functioning properly is a statement of faith......each time the computer is booted up!
Even taking a new cord out of a package gives one the confidence that the thing will work simply because it is ’new’.....
Yesterday....it was the ’new cord’ that was the problem at the end of a two-hour ’hunt’.
The elimination part of the job led us to dig up an old cord to prove the connection was ’live’........
There was the ‘problem’.....the new cord was faulty!
There is absolutely no way we could have known that.....going into that job!
Only after every known avenue of possibility had been explored....could we see it as a ‘trouble spot’.
That is called EXPERIENCE!
Yesterday we gained an experience that we didn’t want, hadn’t anticipated and could have done without.
Having successfully completed the little job.....we were contented.
Aggravation was out the window....sharing a glass of tea, laughing
at Joshua’s antics dispelled the stress and anxiety of the previous two hours.
Yep, another one bites the dust!
All is well.....until next time.
With all this ‘experience’....and help and support from other ‘experienced family members’......we can face the next issue of life....be it mechanical or personal.
In this I find extreme.....CONTENTMENT OF LIFE!!!

Having Faith?

In God we trust......
One Nation, Under God.....
“I swear to tell the truth,the whole truth and nothing but the truth....so help me God!”
God Bless America.....
Words....Words.....Words.....
Americans are bombarded with.........Words!
Used excessively.....they become meaningless.
Yet I suspect that many American learned the meaning of ‘faith in God’ upon their Mother’s knee!
Surely our forefathers did!
Today’s ....debate....to continue to invoke....or involve.....God in the affairs of man......Americans....is still our choice as a ’free’ people!
I simply can not believe that a person faced with......terminal cancer, tragedy of a beloved child, or any kind of deep human suffering......would not choose to WANT TO INVOLVE GOD.....in the affairs of man!
Only a fool would think that they hold within their very own humanness.....all the powers they need for their life and that they can....’cheat death’.
My morning’s devotion today was from a ‘Southern phrase’ Bible and I quote from the 49th Psalm entitled......
Trusting Money Is Foolish.....
......“They (foolish people) trust in their money and brag about their riches.
No one can buy back the life of another.
No one can pay God for his own life, BECAUSE THE PRICE OF A LIFE IS HIGH......NO PAYMENT IS EVER ENOUGH.
Fools and stupid people also die and leave their wealth to others.
Even rich people do not live forever; people die.
Don’t be afraid of rich people because their homes are more beautiful.
They don’t take anything to the grave; their wealth won’t go
down with them. Even though they were praised when they were alive......and people may praise you when you succeed........they will go to where their ancestors are.”
Trusting Money IS Foolish!!!

Faith Is Trusting the Word of God that I learned on my Mother’s knee.
Our forefathers founded this wonderful nation by invoking and involving God.....of their own free will......into the affairs of finite man.
Using the power words of our ‘faith believing‘ forefathers......
......“We are endowed by our Creator
with certain inalienable rights....
that being.....life, liberty and
THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS....”
......Faith is a gift from God’s heart.....to our hearts.
......Faith Is A Very Real Force
......Faith Is.....L I F E!

Mission Accomplished!

Just returned from a 225mile-boat trip on the 32’ Eagles Nest.
Left Lake Tohopekaliga around 12 noon on Wed. and pulled into Valkaria (south of Melbourne Beach) on the Intra Coastal around 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. Every day was...weather wise...perfect.....until Sunday.
Sunday produced rain, dark clouds, and winds and it was not advisable to ‘go boating’...We did it anyway.....
After having spent 2 days and nights at the Ft. Pierce Municipal pier and relaxing, first-class, the ‘sorry weather’ of Sunday was just a slight inconvience.
On Saturday, Aaron and Ruth Ann came from Daytona to Ft. Pierce in his small boat called the “Pretty Ugly”. It was approximately 140 miles for them. They arrived at our dock in Ft. Pierce around 5:00 p.m. along with Sam and Sally who drove over from Okeechobee. We were able to catch up on everyone’s news....and verbally solved a few mechanical boat problems as well. A ‘good time’ was had by all.
The purpose of the trip.....to take Dockie’s boat with the new ‘hard tops’ that he and Ann had ‘custom made’ their very own selves.... to his canvas people
in Valkaria for the final process of vinyl and canvas.
See pictures...Link #1...Recent Trip Eagles Nest albumn ....
Anyway, such days on the water makes me wish for.....more of.....
.....The Good Nautical Life!
Guess I will just have to keep walking with my little ‘teaspoon of oil’...daily...as I enjoy the wonders of the world....land or sea...
Remember...The Alchemist?

Nautical Trip

Will be taking to the waterways again today.
Dockie and Ann need to take their big boat, Eagle’s Nest, from Lake Toho to Melbourne in order to get new canvas made.
After the grand project of creating a hard top for their 32’ Carver, it is necessary to get new vinyl and canvas made-to-order. Their canvas shop of past experience is out of Melbourne but the boat must be docked there for the custom fitting.
We, Charlie and I, are going with them in their boat, towing another small ‘tender’ for emergency use. It is approximately 250 water miles so will probably make the trip in 3 days staying at various marina’s along the way.
This is a good time of year for water travel.....if we decide to ‘swing on the hook’ it is cool enough without air conditioning....yet they do have a generator which is truly sufficient for air conditioning if needed.
So I will write upon my return and let you know what great adventures we encounter along the way.
Anchors away, mate!

That’s “Nice”....

Lately I’ve found myself using these archaic words above as I have been going about my daily life.
My reply of....’that’s nice’ has been said more in surprise than just a flat statement. I am really and truly surprised when so many people....strangers rather than family and friends.....do or say something extraordinarily unexpected.....for my benefit.
One who does something really ’nice’ just because of the goodness which resides within them is truly a good hearted human being.
I love it!
For example, recently I ordered a ’creative item’ from e-bay to work on as a Christmas gift for my children.
The individual seller, Bert from Kentucky......sent me an e-mail to tell me that if I needed others I could get them from him before he listed them on e-bay. Writing with a personal touch which included words of cheerful greeting made this purchase a ‘nice’ and very pleasant encounter.
From experience I can tell you.....even strangers being ‘nice, cheerful, upbeat’ etc. can make another persons day......better!
That’s what the good life is all about!
Enjoy yours.....

Let Me Tell You A Story...

I just received in the mail a small book, The Alchemist ...from my niece, Alida, in Puerto Rico. This book is similar to the legendary, The Little Prince.
....The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho has been translated into 56 languages.....
It is a “Follow Your Dream” Fable about a shepherd boy who travels from Spain to Morocco to Egypt until he has a ’fateful encounter’ with the alchemist...There is one little analogy that I wish to quote for you.....

......”A certain shopkeeper sent his son to learn about the secret of happiness from the wisest man in the world. The lad wandered through the desert for forty days, and finally came upon a beautiful castle, high atop a mountain. It was there that the wise man lived.
Rather than finding a saintly man, though, our hero, on entering the main room of the castle, saw a hive of activity: tradesmen came and went, people were conversing in the corners, a small orchestra was playing soft music, and there was a table covered with platters of the most delicious food in that part of the world. The wise man conversed with everyone, and the boy had to wait for two hours before it was his turn to be given the man’s attention.
The wise man listened attentively to the boy’s explanation of why he had come, but told him that he didn’t have time just then to explain the secret of happiness. He suggested that the boy look around the palace and return in two hours.....”Meanwhile, I want to ask you to do something’, said the wise man, handing the boy a teaspoon that held two drops of oil. ’As you wander around, carry this spoon with you without allowing the oil to spill.’
The boy began climbing and descending the many stairways of the palace, keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon. After two hours, he returned to the room where the wise man was.
‘Well,’ asked the wise man, ’did you see the Persian tapestries that are hanging in my dining hall? Did you see the garden that it took the master gardener ten years to create? Did you notice the beautiful parchments in my library?’
The boy was embarrassed, and confessed that he had observed nothing. His only concern had been not to spill the oil that the wise man had entrusted to him.
“Then go back and observe the marvels of my world.’ said the wise man. ’You cannot trust a man if you don’t know his house.’
“Relieved, the boy picked up the spoon and returned to his exploration of the palace, this time observing all of the works of art on the ceiling and the walls. He saw the gardens, the mountains all around him, the beauty of the flowers, and the taste with which everything had been selected. Upon returning to the wise man, he related in detain everything he had seen.
“But where are the drops of oil I entrusted to you?” asked the wise man.
“Looking down at the spoon he held, the boy saw that the oil was gone.
“Well, there is only one piece of advice I can give you,’ said the wisest of wise men. ‘The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and NEVER to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.’”
......My personal analogy......be stable, and steadfast in your common ordinary daily life (walking with your teaspoon of oil) yet always be an active observer as you view and rejoice in the beauty of nature, love, faith, joy, fun, and the wonders and miracles that surround you.....daily!
This balance results in......The Good Life!