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Married now for 43 years. Working it out constantly. My wife has dementia and sometimes doesn't know who I am. I will never leave her or put her in a "home".
Moved into assisted living so I could be with her all the time with basics covered by someone else.
We sleep together and I wake her up when she has screaming nightmares. This is what it's about. I'm almost 80 now; she's older that that. This is love that I was never taught. I had to learn it.
"For better or worse" means something more than I ever knew. -Walter Trull
An African king had a long time friend who always looked at everything positively, always saying "This is good!" even in the face of the most difficult situations. Hunting one day, he was preparing the king’s guns. When the king took his first shot, his thumb was blown off. Though the friend realized that it was his grave mistake for not properly setting the gun, and even in the face of this furious, bleeding king, he looked at him and said, "This is good!" The king was livid and ordered that his friend be thrown in jail immediately.
A year later the king was hunting in an area where he should have stayed clear and was suddenly captured by Cannibals. They tied him up and were preparing to cook him when they realized he had no thumb. They didn't eat anyone who was less than whole so they released him. On his way home, the king pondered the event that had taken his thumb in the first place. He went straight to the jail, told his friend what happened, and apologized in tears for sending him to jail as he did. His enthusiastic friend looked at the King and replied: "This is good!"
The king, taken aback once again said "What do you mean 'this is good!' I sent you mercilessly to jail and you’ve been suffering for here for an entire year – how is that good?" His friend responded unwaveringly, "Well if I had not been in jail, I would have been with you!"
A new driver for an interstate trucking company was having a difficult time. He found the long cross-country trips extremely tiring. The older driver who traveled with him, however, seemed to thrive on those long trips. He always seemed to look as fresh at the end of the ride as he did at the beginning.
One day, the young man asked the older what his secret was.
"Well, it's really all in the way you look at it," he replied.
"While you went to work this morning, I went for a ride through the country."
Our focus will determine whether life is work or a ride in the country.
An Indian was walking in downtown New York City alongside a resident friend. As they approached a busy street corner in the center of Manhattan, the Indian seized his friend's arm and whispered,
"Wait. I hear a cricket."
"Come on!", the city boy sneered, "This is downtown New York -- how could you possibly hear a cricket?"
His friend persisted, however, "No - seriously, I do!"
As cars were roaring, horns honking, people shouting, brakes screeching, cash registers clanging, subway clamoring and people bustling about, the Indian began leading his friend along slowly, every now and again stopping and turning his ear toward the seemingly noiseless sound. At last, the Indian insisted they were near and proceeded to follow the sound across the street and toward a small dark corner next to a graffiti-covered wall. There, he bent down to a minuscule tuft of grass and pulled out the cricket.
"I told, you", he said, "I heard a cricket."
Astounded, the New Yorker marveled "How could you have heard that cricket in the middle of all this noise?"
"Well", said his foreign friend,
"My ears are different from yours. It simply depends on what you're listening to.
Here, let me show you what I mean."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of change --a couple of quarters, three or four nickels, and a dime and a few pennies.
"Now," he said, "watch this." He held the coins waist high and dropped them to the sidewalk. At once, every head within nearly a block turned around and looked in the direction of the Indian.
"You see, It all depends on what you're listening to."
To what sounds are our ears trained to listen? Are they trained to hear the sound of money, of gossip, of complaining, of worldly things or are they trained to hear the still small voice of the Most High, directing and advising us in the way we should go?
It’s quiet. It’s early. My coffee is hot. The sky is still black. The world is still asleep. The day is coming.
In a few moments the day will arrive. It will roar down the track with the rising of the sun. The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for the noise of the day. The calm of solitude will be replaced by the pounding pace of the human race. The refuge of the early morning will be invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met. For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day’s demands. It is now that I must make a choice.
Because of Calvary, I’m free to choose. And so I choose.
I choose love. No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.
I choose joy. I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical… the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.
I choose peace. I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.
I choose patience. I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I’ll invite Him to do so. Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.
I choose kindness. I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.
I choose goodness. I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I will accuse. I choose goodness.
I choose faithfulness. Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My wife will not question my love. And my children will never fear that their father will not come home.
I choose gentleness. Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice, may it be only in praise. If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.
I choose self-control. I am a spiritual being. After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal. I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ. I choose self-control.
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithful-ness, gentleness, and self-control. To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek His grace. And then, when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest.
It’s quiet. It’s early. My coffee is hot. The sky is still black. The world is still asleep. The day is coming.
In a few moments the day will arrive. It will roar down the track with the rising of the sun. The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for the noise of the day. The calm of solitude will be replaced by the pounding pace of the human race. The refuge of the early morning will be invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met. For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day’s demands. It is now that I must make a choice.
Because of Calvary, I’m free to choose. And so I choose.
I choose love. No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.
I choose joy. I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical… the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.
I choose peace. I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.
I choose patience. I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I’ll invite Him to do so. Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.
I choose kindness. I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.
I choose goodness. I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I will accuse. I choose goodness.
I choose faithfulness. Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My wife will not question my love. And my children will never fear that their father will not come home.
I choose gentleness. Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice, may it be only in praise. If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.
I choose self-control. I am a spiritual being. After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal. I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ. I choose self-control.
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithful-ness, gentleness, and self-control. To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek His grace. And then, when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest.
The best laid intentions of mice and men often go aglee
One of the great marvels of the Roman Empire was the invention of the aqueduct system to provide water over vast distances. It was an absolutely ingenious method which made use of gravity, with stone arches to support the water channels. An aqueduct was built in 109 AD which carried water to the city of Segovia for eighteen hundred years. For nearly sixty generations this aqueduct provided cool water from the mountains above. But fairly recently, it collapsed.
A well-intentioned citizen, observing the ancient structure, remarked, "This aqueduct is so great a marvel that it ought to be preserved for our children, as a museum piece. We shall relieve it of its centuries-long labor." So the city decided to construct a modern water system with iron pipes to carry the water, intending to give the aqueduct a long-deserved rest. What they failed to realize, of course, was that attempting to preserve the aqueduct by stopping the flow of water through it, assured its rapid disintegration! As the sun beat down on the now dry mortar and stone, the centuries old structure quickly began to fall apart. Amazingly, nearly two millenia of service would not accomplish the destructive work of less than a century of idleness!
Dear God, Did you mean for the giraffe to look like that or was it an accident? ~ Norma
Dear God, Instead of letting people die and having to make new ones, why don't you just keep the ones you have now? ~ Jane
Dear God, Who draws the lines around the countries? ~ Nan
Dear God, I went to this wedding and they kissed right in church. Is that okay? ~ Neil
Dear God, Thank you for my baby brother, but what I prayed for was a puppy. ~ Joyce
Dear God, It rained for our whole vacation and is my father mad! He said some things about you that people are not supposed to say, but I hope you will not hurt him anyway. ~ Your friend (but I am not going to tell you who I am)
Dear God, Please send me a pony. I never asked for anything before. You can look it up. ~ Bruce
Dear God, If we come back as something, please don't let me be Jennifer Horton, because I hate her. ~ Denise
Dear God, I want to be just like my daddy when I get big, but not with so much hair all over. ~ Sam
Dear God, I think about you sometimes, even when I'm not praying. ~ Elliott
Dear God, I bet it is very hard for you to love all the people in the world. There are only four people in our family and I can never do it. ~ Nan
Dear God, Of all the people who worked for you, I like Noah and David the best. ~ Rob
Dear God, My brothers told me about being born, but it doesn't sound right. They are just kidding, aren't they? ~ Marsha
Dear God, If you watch me in church Sunday, I'll show you my new shoes. ~ Mickey
Dear God, We read Thomas Edison made light. But in Sunday school, we learned that you did it. So I bet he stole your idea, RIGHT? ~ Sincerely, Donna
Dear God, I do not think anybody could be a better God. Well, I just want you to know that I am not just saying this because you are God already. ~ Charles
Dear God, I didn't think orange went with purple until I saw the sunset you made on Tuesday. That was cool! ~ Eugene
Dear God, Maybe Cain and Abel would not kill each other so much if they had their own rooms. It works with my brother.
Last week the U.S.A. experienced a polar vortex. Historians call it a 100-year storm! Millions of Texans were without electrical power as the power grid almost fully collapsed.
Between the United States and Canada sits Niagara Falls. An estimated 500,000 tons of water go over the falls every minute. On March 29, 1948, the falls suddenly stopped. Those who lived near enough heard the overwhelming silence, and immediately they thought it was a sign – the end of the world had come!
However, after thirty hours had passed – the flow of water resumed.
What happened? Heavy winds had set the ice fields of Lake Erie in motion and tons of ice had jammed the Niagara River entrance near Buffalo. The ice blocked the flow of water until finally, there was a shift in the blockage and the river began flowing again.
The river had stopped flowing because of ice. 500,000 tons of water per minute stopped because of ice.
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