“Whenever you feel that things are getting too much for you, go to the mountains or the desert–it smooths out the wrinkles in your mind.” –Louis L’Amour (Brionne)
“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He got up, went out, and made His way to a deserted place. And He was praying there.” –Mark 1:35 (HCSB)
Time to get out and start smoothing the wrinkles out!
I know not what others may say, but as for me, you take the sundials and give me the sun.” –Eugene Manlove Rhodes (Paso Por Aqui)
“Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other. Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom.” –Genesis 13:11-12 (NIV)
When I used to teach Bible in our school I would always pray that the Lord would give me three words to pass on to the class throughout the year. Actually two words, for every year one of them would be HONOR. The concepts behind these words would be emphasized throughout the year. So I have often pondered this idea.
Just this past week I thought about it some more and I think I have come up with three words, or concepts that are paramount to living the Christian life. What I have come up with is Sacrifice–Obedience–Following. What I mean by Following is that it is important to recognize that we need to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit; that He has laid down a path for us to follow. Perhaps that is close to Obedience, but not necessarily the same.
After we have these in place it is easy to add other traits such as knowledge, wisdom, courage, honor, dedication, and numerous others. If we could get down these three, the others would fall into their proper order.
————————
These has been one of those weeks where the Lord reminded me of how good He is. He did this by showing me the friends in my life. On Sunday we had the opportunity to eat dinner with our pastor and his wife. That is always good company. Also on Sunday we saw some good folk that we haven’t seen for a while. They came to me with tears and said, “We didn’t know if we would ever see you again.” Then Wednesday morning I had breakfast with “old” friends. Yessiree, old in the terms of years and old in the term of length of friendship. I mean, one of these guys is actually older than me. Then last evening we ate supper with some new friends.
Now I’m not a fellowship-ridden guy. It is not something I crave, but it is good to know that there are those you can ride the river with. They are not blood-family, but really they are the true meaning of friends. Many people say that so-and-so is their friend, but in actuality they are just strong acquaintances.
So the Lord reminded me that He has placed friends in my life to make the journey more enjoyable, more hospitable, and more pleasant. Even in hard times and storms, friends can bring a sense of assurance to your life and once in a while a smile.
————————
“Some folks look at me and see a certain swagger, which in Texas is called ‘walking’.” –George W. Bush
There is a vast difference between cockiness and confidence. It is really not hard to detect if a person knows what to look for because people produce attitude. I had a student ask me a year ago if I had “swag.” My response to him was, “You tell me.” Being confident is not being boastful, but it is making sure the job gets done.
————————
“Just ’cause trouble comes visiting doesn’t mean you have to offer it a place to sit down.”
“Treat a woman like a racehorse, and she’ll never be a nag.”
“Don’t let your yearnings get ahead of your earnings.”
“I thought of how the vices of all men, no matter what color, seem to multiply as old social orders break down and new ones try to establish themselves.” –Douglas C. Jones (Winding Stair)
“This is what the Lord says: ‘Stand by the roadways and look. Ask about the ancient paths: Which is the way to what is good? Then take it and find rest for yourselves.’ But they protested, ‘We won’t!'” –Jeremiah 6:16 (HCSB)
Take a look at a few verses from Isaiah 13. It speaks of the “day of the LORD”, which is a future time.
vs 6, “Wail! For the day of the LORD is near. It will come like destruction from the Almighty.”
vs 7, “Therefore everyone’s hands will become weak, and every man’s heart will melt.”
vs 8, “They will be horrified; pain and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look at each other, their faces flushed with fear.”
vs 9, “Look, the day of the LORD is coming–cruel, with rage and burning anger–to make the earth a desolation and to destroy the sinners on it.” (HCSB)
Now wouldn’t that make for a popular sermon today? Get up and preach that one. Perhaps the reason why some are wanting laws passed against the preaching of the message of God is to ease their conscience. Hate speech or truth?
I heard a long time ago, when I was a kid, that if there is a pack of dogs and you throw a rock at them, the one that howls the loudest is the one you hit. Hear any “howling” in society?
——————————
If you are a moody person you might not want to read the following, but then again you probably should.
“It will be a sorry day for this world, and for all the people in it, when everybody makes his moods his masters, and does nothing but what he is inclined to do. The need of training the will to the performance of work that is distasteful; of making the impulses serve, instead of allowing them to rule, the higher reason; of subjugating the moods instead of being subjugated by them, lies at the very foundation of character. It is possible to learn to fix the wandering thought, to compel the reluctant mental energy, to concentrate the power upon the performance of a task to which there is no inclination. Until this victory has been gained, life holds no sure promise; the achievement of this conquest is the condition of future success. No matter how splendid may be the natural gifts, unless there is a will that can marshal and command them, the life is sure to be a failure.”
–unknown
It would behoove the millennials to read this and adhere to it.
——————————
“History is moving, and it will tend toward hope, or tend toward tragedy.”
–George W. Bush
——————————
“An onion can make people cry; but, there’s never been a vegetable that can make people laugh.”
“Any cowboy can carry a tune. The trouble comes when he tries to unload it.”
“Always take a good look at what you’re about to eat. It’s not so important to know what it is, but it’s critical to know what it was.”
My mercy, the road from Silverton to Ouray was clogged. I had never been north of Silverton and the hills were loaded with mines, miners, camps and the road was filled with wagons and pack mules. To add to the problem, the road was extremely tight in some areas; definitely no room for two wagons to pass. It reminded me some of the time I worked as a teamster in the Boulder region while working for Dave Cook.
The little office of Wells Fargo in Ouray was sturdy and doing work. Most of the ore, however, went over the mountains to Silverton where it could be transported by rail. Most of what was in Ouray was from the local region. I spent a day there in town before heading down toward Montrose. I purchased some supplies for the trail: coffee, bacon, and some cans of beans and peaches.
I spent that night in the mountains enjoying the coolness of the evening and hot, strong coffee. I kind of felt weird. Guess I was getting real used to Molly be around me. A couple of years back and I would have just enjoyed the weather, but now I felt just a little empty. I’ve heard a good woman does that to you; you just get used to her being around.
Leaning forward to pour another cup of coffee before going to my blankets, I felt a strangeness in the camp. I didn’t hear him come in, and being upwind I didn’t smell him either.
“Pour me a cup, friend Miles,” came the voice with laughter behind it. “You sure do leave me busy sometime, but I’m still waiting for the day when I get to gather up your soul.”
“First of all, I ain’t pourin’ you no coffee. You don’t drink it anyway, and I’m not goin’ to waste it. Second, I’m not and never will be your friend. And one more thing, you will never gather up my soul!”
That got to him. I could see the blue veins pulsating under his pale skin. There was a little snarl coming from deep in his throat. “Maybe not you then, but Molly. I’ll take the missus.”
“Listen, you imp from the pit, you may get our bodies, at least temporarily, but never our souls. When it’s time to pass over He’ll be there to gather our souls.”
He was gone, but there seemed to be a putrid smell in the air around a little green mist left behind. I was sorely tempted to move to another campsite for the night. Then I saw the mist move toward the fire and it hovered there forming a smile and then disappeared.
It had been many years now since I had first seen the devil’s grin. It was in the burning of my wife-to-be’s plantation. I can see it clearly in my mind, just like it was then, at wide grin that seemed to mock me. Over the years, the taking of the Shenandoah, riding with McNelly, the trail drives, working with Cook and then being on my own, either that grin or the Pale Rider would occasionally appear. Sometime it agitated me, but tonight when the threat was placed on Molly, it brought a dread upon me.
I decided I might as well crawl into my blankets. At first I couldn’t sleep, just tossed and turned. That also perturbed me. I should be able to rebuke that ol’ devil, but sometimes he was just hard to ‘buke. Then I heard the howl of coyotes off in the distance and I sensed someone else in camp. I remember taking a deep sigh and that was it until morning.
It was decidedly warmer down off those mountains. A couple days later and I was in Montrose. I had been there a couple of times before, and it was definitely growing. It was a ranching and farming community and was certainly a’bustling when I rode to the Wells Fargo office.
That office needed some real work. It was only a wood building and that made it susceptible to fire. They had a good safe, but it was also old and needed to be replaced. The two men working seemed qualified enough, but they were paper-shufflers and they hadn’t hired any guards. I would put in my report that a brick building needed to be found or built and that guards needed to be hired. I figured Montrose would continue to grow and they would need a banking center.
Upon leaving the office I noticed a person standing across the street was giving me some attention. He was looking at me and then down at a piece of paper that he unfolded. I was getting ready to mount Hawk, take him down to the livery and then get my room, when he crossed the street.
“This be you?” he asked and showed me the bounty paper, which had covered a drawn pistol.
“Nah, he’s older than me, and much uglier.” That took him back a moment and he glanced at the dodger. Then…