Category: trials (Page 2 of 5)

The Furious Weather We Are Having Causes Much Pain and Destruction

February 16, 2021 / Butch / 0 Comments

+If you like what you see, please subscribe at the top of this page where it says, “subscribe.” When you do, all future posts will come directly to your inbox. Also, if you know some else who could benefit from this site, please let them know about it.

________________________________________________

What a scary few days we have had here lately. It’s called freezing rain! I feel that freezing rain is one of the most destructive weather situations you can face.

There was an inch of frozen rain on the ground and trees. The ground was a problem, but the real danger was the trees. They couldn’t take the weight of the ice.

There were trees that broke in half everywhere. Right across the street from me, there is still a tree on the roof of the house. The crews are totally swamped right now.

Next door to them is another tree that lost a massive limb that completely blocked the driveway.

You do not think of the ramifications of a storm like this until you have no electricity. That is devastating. You can’t cook. You can’t use your electric toothbrush, or electric razor.

You can’t use the toaster to even make toast.

There was no heat as well. That was very hard on us. We had to sit in front of the natural gas fireplace wrapped in blankets. We threw extra blankets on our bed at night.

We had to eat out of a cooler that was in the garage. BTW… the garage door wouldn’t open either.

This went on for 48 hours.

We have survived, and the electricity and heat is back. We have a friend staying with us that doesn’t have any electricity or heat. We are so glad we can help her.

__________________________________________

How are you doing this winter? Have you had severe weather like we have had?

I pray that everything is going in the right direction for you now. This is the time to lean on God. He knows what is happening. He knows what you are going through. Pray for His protection, and calmness.

___________________________________________

God didn’t promise us a rose garden, and of course there are those thorns. He will not make you face anything you can’t handle. He is a loving God, and wants the very best for you.

Stay strong in this not so friendly world. Don’t let the dark side overcome you. I realize that our country is close to chaos right now. Many wrong things are happening. Cling to the promises that God has for us and survive.

___________________________________________

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

__________________________________________

Going to the Hospital Can be Scary, But Doesn’t Have to Be

February 12, 2021 / Butch / 0 Comments

__________________________________________

This week is give blood time. Not voluntarily. Had to do a test to see how my blood thinner is doing. Then I had to go to another lab to have a test for a procedure I am doing next Friday.

Between now and next Friday, I have an echo done on my heart . At the heart clinic I was told I was getting a new generator in my defibrillator. I looked shocked and asked what she meant. She laughed and said, “No, no it is the new name for batteries in defibrillators!”

My surgery on Friday is an in and out. Quick replacement of the “generator,” and quick recovery.

I have been having a serious time with dizziness. I hope this procedure will help with that.

___________________________________________

Have you had a situation where you have had to do some corrective surgery? Were you worried before the surgery.

I have so many surgeries, I have been OK, and not worried. The people know my by my first name! The last count I had there were 22 incisions in my body. After a while I feel I know more than the surgical people do, and laugh with them during prep.

When I had my first pacemaker put in during the year of 2008. The post op was pretty funny, because the doctor kept telling me the funny things I said during the procedure that had the whole surgical team laughing.

Anywhere I can help!

__________________________________________

All we need to do is pray for God to be at our hospital visits, and keep us safe. He will be there the whole time holding your hand.

The time in the hospital is to help you be better. They will do everything they can to get you up and running again and healthy.

___________________________________________

Remember:

Your never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

___________________________________________

We Need to Slow Down Now and Let God Show Us the Way

February 8, 2021 / Butch / 0 Comments

___________________________________________

The timing of the COVID-19 vaccinations seems to be rolling along right now. However, I know there are many of you who haven’t even gotten your first one yet. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason for the format they have going.

In my home state the process seems to change every day. Caregivers only one day. Teachers only the next, then 80+ starting today. There needs to be some consistency to help the people be clear when they can get their shots.

_________________________________________

Random thoughts:

Lord, I am sorry when I forgot you are enough for me. I just want you and nothing else.

Ingratitude is bad and is very contagious like the virus.

Do you think our lives are much more enriched than existed in Moses’ time?

People are self centered when they pray, “Give us this day our daily bread, but throw in a Filet Mignon while you are at it.”

God always gives us what we need WHEN we need it.

__________________________________________

Is your world rotating just right for you, or is it too fast. Are you caught up in the “rat race?”

Time to slow down and enjoy the smell of the roses. This world is spinning out of control right now, but you do not need to be a part of it. We need to pray for patience and gratitude.

God will take care of everything if we just relax and let Him do it. The,
“I can do it on my own,” attitude doesn’t cut it.

Lean on God in prayer. You will feel better, and He will answer your prayer. Not necessarily the straight answer you want from him. But it is the answer He thinks you need.

__________________________________________

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

___________________________________________

We Need to Still be Careful Even Though the End is in Sight for the COVID Virus.

February 6, 2021 / Butch / 0 Comments

___________________________________________

Two days ago I got my second COVID vaccine. It seemed like it was going OK after the shot, Then yesterday, I starting feeling some of the side effects they predicted. I had slight headache, nausea, and shortness of breath. They weren’t severe and I am feeling better today.

I was able to get my vaccine so soon, because I have many underlying problems, mostly with the heart.

I am not sure what happens now. I am just going to keep wearing my mask until they tell me is OK to stop.

___________________________________________

Tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday. I hope people are very careful and not have big parties. I usually do every year, but not this year. Next year I will have the mother of all Super Bowl parties!!

Things are not changing much. We all still should to be wearing masks, and be distancing ourselves.

___________________________________________

I was almost going to have a pity party, but couldn’t come with a valid excuse. I am feeling OK. None of my family has come down with the virus. Life is not pounding on me right now. So why the silly “poor me” attitude?

I have found it is far too common to easily fall into the trap of depression. We need to fight back by thinking about good things and push the bad things out of our thoughts.

__________________________________________

How are you doing? Is the earth rotating too fast for you. Does it feel like you are being weighed down by a huge magnate?

Well, then you need God to come to your aide. Lean on Him for your concerns. He is willing to listen to your pleas, and He answers our prayers. Not on the timeline we may want, but His timeline.

Don’t let the dark side overcome you. Seek the light of Jesus.

___________________________________________

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

___________________________________________

Fear of Not Having the Virus Vaccine is Very hard on Us.

January 29, 2021 / Butch / 0 Comments

___________________________________________

Got some very good news this morning. I am eligible to have my second virus shot. I will be getting it on February 4th.

I know…there are many of you who haven’t had your first. My health condition is severe enough that I am able to get the shot.

In the state of Oregon, where I live, the governor has said that only teachers can get their shots right now, and that would be ahead of the seniors. Many people are furious about this decision.

___________________________________________

What has been your experience? Have you had your first shot yet? Do you fear the virus will spread very fast before everyone can get the vaccine?

I hear you! We need to have faith in God since He is in charge.

We also need to be patient. It will be God’s timing and not ours.

___________________________________________

Somethings to give you hope:

Prayer is vital in these times. Pray for the people making the virus so that there is an abundance.

Read the Bible every day. I have found such comfort in that.

Concentrate on only positive things. Kick those negative things out of your brain.

Be a comfort to those around you. I find this gives them hope and gives me joy.

____________________________________________

There will also be storms in our lives. Storms go away, but God doesn’t. He is always there with you.

Rely on Him to carry you through your storms. He has big shoulders.

___________________________________________

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all….never, ever, give up!

___________________________________________

Battling Illnesses Can be Very Hard to Handle

January 27, 2021 / Butch / 0 Comments

___________________________________________

I am not usually negative about anything, but lately I have seen some alarming things happening with our government.

President Biden, has signed a massive amount of executive orders. I think some of them a very wrong.

He stopped building the border wall, which means thousands of people who are up to no good can still cross.

He ended the construction of a huge pipeline that caused over 11,000 people to be suddenly employed. I thought the democrats were union supports.

___________________________________________

I am OK now since I was allowed to let off some steam. 🙂

I have not been feeling all that good the last week. Had blood tests that do not look to good. Got a doctor’s appointment coming up.

___________________________________________

Have you battled with problems with your health? You can tell I understand. It is hard, at best, to face illnesses. They seem to come knocking at our door like a long lost relative and don’t want to leave.

What can we do to overcome those type of troubling times:

God is always with you. He knows your hurts and will hold your hand.

95% of what we worry about never happens. I my first book, Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World, I had a chapter title that said, “Worry is the Dark Room Where Negatives Develop.

It stresses us to rely on God, and let him have to other 05% of our worries. He has big shoulders.

Be strong and face the storms head on.

__________________________________________

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

__________________________________________

How Do We React to Someone Who Had done something Wrong to Us?

January 20, 2021 / Butch / 0 Comments

___________________________________________

Well…The inauguration is over and there was very little problems. That is a very good sign at the moment. However, we have to ask, “What is next?”

Such a divided nation. Split right down the middle. This causes lots of turmoil, and hardships. We have to let God be in charge, and hope He will get our country to where He wants it.

___________________________________________

What would you do? Coming face-to-face with someone who has caused you so much pain, how would you act? What would you decide in that moment? And maybe the more important question is to discover, is why?

We find an example of this type of situation in the Bible. The story of Joseph.

Genesis 50…

2 This is the account of Jacob and his family. When Joseph was seventeen years
old, he often tended his father’s flocks. He worked for his half brothers, the sons
of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. But Joseph reported to his father some of
the bad things his brothers were doing.
3 Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph—a beautiful robe. 4 But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kind word to him.

1) Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers, who decided to profit off of him, rather than kill him.
2) Thrown into prison, after being falsely accused of attempted rape because he refused to sleep with his master’s wife. 3) For two years, alone and forgotten in prison by the man he witnessed to. I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a rough life. For anyone, this would give them ample reasons to turn to anything but God—to give themselves over to bitterness and anger—to turn inward—to turn to self-pity—or have a legitimate cry for JUSTICE and VENGEANCE! ALL THAT TIME IN PRISON TO STEW OVER THE WRONGS THAT HAD BEEN DONE!

__________________________________________

Well, here is what happened next…

The brothers had come to Egypt because their families were starving and were asking for mercy. They didn’t recognize Joseph and bowed down before him seeking help. Then Joseph broke down and started weeping. He said,

3 “I am Joseph!” he said to his brothers. “Is my father still alive?” But his brothers
were speechless! They were stunned to realize that Joseph was standing there in
front of them. 4 “Please, come closer,” he said to them. So they came closer. And
he said again, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into slavery in
Egypt. 5 But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to
this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. 6 This
famine that has ravaged the land for two years will last five more years, and there
will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 7 God has sent me ahead of you to keep
you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors. 8 So it was God who
sent me here, not you! And he is the one who made me an adviser to Pharaoh—the
manager of his entire palace and the governor of all Egypt.

__________________________________________

So how would you have handled this? What would you have done?

Can you forgive someone that had done so much wrong to you? Will you forget the past and open your arms to this person, or persons?

___________________________________________

I have to admit it would be very hard for me, but I would do it. We must think of Jesus hanging on the cross and had the complete right to be angry, bitter, and want revenge, but He said, Father, forgive them for the do not know what they are doing.

He was being killed and He ask God to forgive them!!

With that always stuck in my mind, I overcome any bitterness I may have and forgive.

___________________________________________

Think about this in the future. Think, what would Jesus do?

____________________________________________
Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

_____________________________________________

Being a Senior Citizen Has Good Points and Bad Points

January 4, 2021 / Butch / 0 Comments

___________________________________________

It has been a rocky start to 2021 for me. I was helping my wife put some boxes up on a shelve in our storage closet. I slipped off of the ladder and feel onto the vacuum cleaner.

I thought I only had a smashed finger that will cause the nail to fall off eventually. However, I woke up the next morning with pain on my upper leg, and on the left side of my upper back. I took clothes off to checked.

I was shocked to see a huge eight inch by two inch bruise running done my leg, and then found a deep bruise on the left side of my upper back.

The pain followed closely behind. I had a very bad day. Not enough to go to the ER, and taking Tylenol seemed to keep me feeling OK.

I decided I am grounded from any type of ladder, and my wife agreed. I apparently hit her with my feet and gave her a big bruise on her arm, plus something big landed on her foot causing much pain. We both grounded ourselves. My son lives close and he can do those kind of chores for us.

It is a huge sign of old age. I can’t do many things I could ten years ago. It hurts me to tell my wife I can’t do something.

___________________________________________

Have you been there? Is the daily chores seem to be getting harder to do? I use to think being called a senior citizen was a good thing. Not so sure now.

I have, since my fall, come up with some thoughts on how to slow down gracefully:

Only plan things that will not need physical help.

Try to help yourself, by exercising even if it only walking. I try to do that now at least twice a week.

Do not be ashamed to ask for help. I called my son and he said he will be there when ever I need him. He is such a caring person.

Do not climb ANYWHERE. Ladders can ruin your life.

___________________________________________

I just started working on my third book called, Signs of Hope for Seniors: The Alligators that Chase us.

It will cover getting older with grace and dignity. The Alligators are:

Loneliness

Rejection

Death

health

Losing a loved one

And a few more I haven’t come up with yet.

I will let you know the progress I make with this.

___________________________________________

My second book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life, is ready to be published. I am close to choosing the right publisher.

I have worked on this book for over three years. There was much research, and many calls for interviews of soldiers.

I have found that many veterans are excited about this book and I need to get it going so they can have it.

___________________________________________

How are you doing? We have a new beginning, and new hope in 2021. Forget the past and move on to new challenges.

God has planned a new path for you in 2021. Be open to His calling.

__________________________________________

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

__________________________________________

We Must Always Remember What the Christmas Season is For

December 23, 2020 / Butch / 0 Comments

__________________________________________

Just two more days until Christmas. Are you ready? Did you buy all the presents you wanted?

If you did, time to stop and think about the season is really about. It is nice to get presents, but that isn’t what Christmas is about. It is nice to see loved ones, but that isn’t what Christmas is about. It is nice to donate to our favorite nonprofits this time of year, but that isn’t what Christmas is all about.

___________________________________________

Christmas is about a little baby being born, that changed the world. It is about Jesus Christ laying in a manger is smiling at the wise men. He is our biggest gift ever.

___________________________________________

Back to my poor me stories. Today one of my grandsons stopped by so we could give him his present. We all had our masks on, and talked for a few minutes and then he was gone. I hadn’t seen him in months! I will so miss all my family not being here in person, but we are doing a Zoom gathering tomorrow night. Just not the same though. I am a hugger. How can you how hug someone on a screen?

___________________________________________

The vaccine is finally flowing. I know it will take a while to get to me, but I saw on the news that people with my health risks will next after the first responders. That will be great.

One thing that caused my blood to rise greatly was the fact that our governor had the prisoners in the prisons of our state to get their shots before even the assisted living people. The inmates complained that they can not social distance, so the governor felt pity for them. I am a very compassionate man, but this is a real stretch.

__________________________________________

We must ALWAYS remember that God is with us. He is with you when you are sad, and He is with you when you are happy. Let Him guide you through this awful storm we are all facing. He wants to best for His children.

__________________________________________

Remember:

You are not alone.

You are not forsaken.

You are not unloved.

And above all….never, ever, give up!

___________________________________________

The Rush is Peaking. Don’t get Caught in the Rat Race.

December 21, 2020 / Butch / 0 Comments

___________________________________________

My last post I told you that I wasn’t able to get any presents for my wife. Well, I got brave and took off shopping. What I got wasn’t too romantic, but I think she will like them. She collects metal reindeer. I bought her a beautiful silver plated reindeer last year.

I went to same place where I bought last it year. I was hoping I would find something. GOD IS GOOD!! When I walked into the shop I saw it instantly. It was a matching silver plated reindeer with the head looking the other way. Perfect!

I got two other gifts I hope she likes.

___________________________________________

I also told you in my last post that I wasn’t going to be able to see my children in person. It would only be by Zoom.

That changed completely. On Saturday, my daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren came to give us their gifts. They didn’t stay long.

Then yesterday, we were surprised again as my son, and daughter-in-law came by bringing gifts. They stayed a little longer, and we got lots of talking done.

THEN! Last evening my third child came knocking at our door with gifts. It was my oldest son, daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren. I couldn’t resist, I gave my youngest grandchild a huge hug.

___________________________________________

All that worrying I had done wasn’t needed. I found presents for my wife, and I saw all three of my children, plus four grandchildren. Doesn’t get much better than that. We will still do our Zoom gathering, but I will have a bigger smile on my face.

__________________________________________

How are you plans going? Do you still have Christmas shopping to do? By the way it looked out there, I think many haven’t finished yet.

Here is the key thought. Do not let the rat race pull you down like a huge magnate. In just five days the rush will be all gone. Time to relax and smell the roses.

___________________________________________

2020 is a year we won’t forget. It will be on our minds for years. The thing we need to do when we get through this storm, is to thank God that we made it through the storm. Over a quarter of a million people in the United States didn’t.

There is a reason God wants to spare you. Seek that reason out through prayer.

___________________________________________

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

____________________________________________

Category: trials (Page 2 of 5)

Social Media

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories

Meta