How about this? Two entries. Some time off from work and a little learning of the new machine and I can get something done. It's good to have some perseverance, if not particularly disciplined. There is light at the end of the tunnel, or at least I'm far enough into the tunnel I know there's another end somewhere if I don't get turned around and lose my way going through. Each day is a new adventure if I struggle and get out of bed to enjoy it.

Not quite dead yet...

Do you like my high school senior picture on the right? Let me know.

Quite a long while since I've written

anything and this will be short. Since last we met, I've bought a new computer and surely there is a way through the fog of Vista...I just haven't found it yet. Printer and computer are talking, but think they need relationship therapy. They've consummated their relationship, but haven't publicly committed to each other yet. Norton's out of the way so that might help. God, if I were drinking like I used to, this would send me on a bender. On the plus side, because of relocating wiring and machinery, this room is probably the cleanest room in the house. Still messy & overflowing, but cleaner.

Ron Kahl, on the left, doesn't know computers, but does know publishing. He's been the driving force behind that area of the Society of Great River Poets for the past ten years, and, we hope, for ten or more years to come.

Here's to ya' Ron!!

Has it been almost a month???

It doesn't seem possible, that most of the month of January, 2009, has gone by without so much as a word from me. Most of the month has brought us cold, snow, wind...all of the hallmarks of winter in middle America. One warm bright spots was January 22, my 55th birthday. We almost made it to fifty degrees that day!

You may have noticed the picture on my profile. It was taken, let's see, roughly six years ago. I'd have to check some other things to be more accurate than that. With me in the background, on the deck in front of Mom's house in Orient, Iowa, are my sister, Coyla and Mom. Since Mom passed away in 2005, a little over a year after moving out of the house she'd lived in since 1955. Coyla lived in the house briefly, until she moved, first to an apartment in Creston, twelve miles from Orient, and then to a care center in Afton, Iowa. She is six years my senior, and has had some health issues to deal with these days, but seems to enjoy her environment and the people she interacts with there.

Since it's a new year for me and the Western World, and Chinese New Year was this week, it's another chance to evaluate and move forward, fixing those things I can, figuring out what direction I feel I'm being led, and, hopefully, make a positive contribution. Though it sometimes feels like one step forward, three back, knowing that God is there supporting in good and bad times, I move on. This is what I''m sure I must do.

Almost a New Year

Wow! Has this week gone fast. I have had holidays and scheduled vacation time, and gotten some things done, but the days have gone by fast. I've been blessed spending time with friends and a moving Christmas Eve church service. All of these things have brought the true meaning of life and Christmas crystal clear to me. Keeping focused on this will be my challenge and my blessing for the new year. I've often reminded myself and friends that we are called to be mindful of our blessing in all things, including challenges that may come our way. Using precise and correct words, and being mindful of the meaning of those words and how their use effects our mind and its healthy functioning...this is my hope in 2009. Be aware of your blessings and count them one by one.

Shalom,
Peace,
Joy,
Love,

Rod

Merry Christmas, World

It's now almost 11 PM, Christmas Day--at least to most of the Christian world. December 25 is the day most people of the faith celebrate the birth of Jesus. Others celebrate on the 12Th day after, January 6, when the wise men of the east (Iran?) arrived and recognized birth of the King of the Jews. But that's not really the reason I'm writing.

After having some friends over for dinner and enjoying their company for several hours, I reflected on the preparation for the day. I would consider myself a pack rat, with a disconnect between bringing things into my house and organizing and, hopefully, removing things. Some people would call this cleaning, storing and basic "house 101". Recognizing it as a problem and coming up with a solution I can make work for me is, in my opinion, akin to defeating an addiction, like smoking, drinking, or drugs. It is also one of the reasons I do not entertain very much and only open the doors to a select group of people. There also seems to be a connection with a deep seated depression and anxiety. Couple that with the fact that, at an early age, most things came easy for me, especially schoolwork. Whatever didn't, I learned to avoid. Or am I just a lazy slob who finds excuses to avoid tasks I find uninteresting to spend my time on other things I get immediate satisfaction from?

So, in this last week of 2008 I will be looking for some solutions to help me move forward and be able to more effectively advance through 2009. It's only a start, but each journey does begin with a single step.

Mother Christmas, Hold Me Dear

After presents, Christmas makes me think of food. For most children of my generation, food immediately brings up Mom. For me, it's a time of special cookies and candies, especially fudge. Peanut butter fudge was always my favorite. All through the year things might seem slim as far as treats go, but Christmas time would seem to unleash a whole array of confections that every child would look forward to, even surpassing Halloween. After all, that was only one night. Christmas would go on for two or three weeks. Through all this, Mom would help us share something with others, as we'd work on gift packages of cookies and candy to give to relatives and family friends. It was a wonderful time.

So, in this week of Holiness, thoughts of sharing and food go hand in hand. Warm glows of kitchen stoves heated up to bake Christmas cookies and pans with fudge, ready to be poured and cooled, then eaten, all fill my head. I hope children of this generation can have some memories as good as that when they're much older.

Approaching Storm

Today, one week before Christmas, 2008, all seems calm. Writing from Burlington, Iowa, USA, hills above the Mississippi River in SE Iowa have two to four inches of snow on them. It is chilly; some would say cold. Our high temperatures today are predicted to be somewhere around freezing.

But weather forecasters warn us that a nasty winter storm is approaching. Between noon today and noon tomorrow we can expect a mix of freezing rain, sleet and snow. One week before Christmas, shoppers can be expected to add "survival" needs to their lists. Runs on bread, milk and other staples are a definite possibility. Many may be buying electrical generators, in the distinct possibility of losing their power. Others will purchase fuel oil or propane.

Jesus seems amazed when he talks of those in Jerusalem who can predict the weather on earth but can't see the signs of other things coming. In Luke 12:36 He says ,"Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don't know how to interpret this present time?" (NIV)

We often pay attention to what we are most interested in, ignoring that which we don't want to face. Spend time looking with open eyes at the world around you, knowing that God so loved the world.