Wilderness Blues- Ramblings from the Great Land

  I don't know about you, but frankly, I'm really tired of all the protesting, statue molesting, hate mongering and pundit speaking that's going on right now. I was thinking of writing a post with my own brilliant ideas concerning what's going on in this country right now, and indeed, even around the world, but I'm sure it would be controversial, and I don't know what good it would do. Those that agreed with my train of thought might applaud me, and those that didn't would think I was an ignorant dolt, and I don't really think that anyone's mind would be changed because of anything I said. So... I'm going to just air a few thoughts here that I think would be good to keep in mind while we're in the process of living. Not all of these thoughts are mine, some I've printed out from books that I've read. Most notably books by Robert Fulgham and Anne Lamott. I do have a few original thoughts though, brought about by the school of hard ...

 For reasons unknown, it seems that much of the time that the television is on in our house, it's tuned in to the news. I don't know if it's because misery loves company and we like to feel like our lives are certainly no worse and in many cases better than other peoples or if we just like to stay informed . As you know,almost all news is focused on the current tragedy of the day. We can tune in twenty four hours and be unnerved by what is happening in the world. Usually on the major media outlets there is a feel good story at the end of the program to try and soften all the lousy stuff they've thrown at you for the previous twenty five minutes. Personally I'd like to see a national news program that  only delivered the news of all the good things that have happened in the world. I guess that wouldn't really be news though. We all experience good things;breathing, eating, walking, talking. We just don't think about them. They aren't news to us, i...

  What do you do when you want to talk to a friend or place an order or make a complaint to a company? For many in this country, it's as simple as picking up our cell phones and talking or texting. There are a lot of phone plans available with a variety of services and prices. When you need to place an order you call or text and it's done. Chances are you aren't going to talk to the president of the company, unless of course you yourself are someone very important who has some clout.When I receive a bill from the credit card or electric company or phone company, they may send it in the mail to me, but they recognize me by a number that I've been assigned. I may not get credit for paying the bill if I forget to put my account number on the check. It's not like that with God. Just so we're sure, I'm not talking about some unknown spiritual concept floating around out in the universe somewhere, I'm speaking of God the father, God the son and God the ho...

   I was at church a few weeks ago and ran across a paper that said-Billy Graham's Prayer for our nation. This was a prayer that Graham made at the age of 95. He had a birthday this past November. In 95 years of living a person sees a lot of changes. The changes he's seen, and indeed all of us have seen if we've lived any time at all, should cause us to sit up and take notice. You don't have to be a news junkie to know that there is a lot of trouble brewing in this old world. Whether you want to be impacted or not, you will be. There's no hiding from the down hill slide that we seem to be on. Reverend Graham addresses that in this prayer for America that I would like to share with you.   "Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know your word says, " Woe to those who call evil good," but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed ou...

Today is Black Friday, as it's known; the official beginning of the Christmas shopping season. I believe the name is supposed to imply the day that retailers go from being in the red to crossing over to the black-making a profit. As I watch some of the madness unfold on TV of people camping out for a week on a sidewalk so they can be the first person inside to buy a $200.00 flat screen television, or folks getting trampled as they all try to squeeze inside the store at once, or as I saw this morning some lady spraying pepper spray on her fellow shoppers,  I wonder if Black Friday wouldn't describe the condition of some of the hearts of the folks who are rushing to celebrate a season that is supposed to be about good will towards men. How ironic.    Anyone who knows me, knows that I'm terribly cynical, a real pessimist; the male version of a Debbie Downer if you will. I almost always seem to see the glass half empty. No matter how good the situation I'm facing, I have a...