Echoes From the Campfire

It seemed strange to him that the older you get, the more self-reflective you become.  He never used to dwell on things before.”
              –J.S. Stroud  (The Old Rider)

    “And now, in my old age, don’t set me aside. Don’t abandon me when my strength is failing.”
              –Psalm 71:9 (NLT)
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Un-American, that’s what it is, un-American.  Come on, every man out there carries a pocketknife.  It’s just the way we are, the way we were brought up.  I can’t remember when I started carrying a jackknife in my pocket.  I remember, way back in elementary school we would play mumblety-peg, or stretch. No one thought we were dangerous.  Plus, it was one thing that was used almost every day.  
    Well, a couple of months back I went to the Houston Stock Show.  We walked through the gate and a rather stout police officer called me over after looking at me.  “You’re carrying a pocketknife, aren’t you?”  (talk about profiling) I replied in the affirmative and took it out of my pocket.  He looked at it, smiled, and handed it back.  “Keep it in your pocket.”  I was allowed in.  I didn’t think there would be a problem with a little jackknife in my pocket.  Then yesterday, we went to the Astros game.  The was a loud voice crying out, “No pocketknives allowed inside!”  Well, I had left mine at home.  Things have sure changed–almost un-American it is.
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         “Depression need not rob my day of its vitality and its challenges.  The human heart may be heavy for a multitude of reasons, personal within self or in the world around us.  Our personal problems from within seem never ending.  From without, we are concerned because of the world conflict, the oddities of the day, the uncertainties of our times.  Life was much easier to live when all life’s values and problems were black or white.  They grey areas of doubt and confusion seem to predominate today.
         Why another unhappy day?  Think briefly of life’s blessings–life itself, reasonably good health, and the unlimited opportunity for good.  In Him do I find my strength to believe despite the doubts that assail me, to hope despite my gloom, to live in the face of all the evidence of human hate that surrounds me.
         Make of your daily life the apocalypses of all things made new in the world you live in.  After all, the real business of life is salvation history.  Keep your Christian ideals alive in the human setting in which you find yourself.  In your environment help make religion real, worship meaningful, your involvement total.  The issues and problems of the day are your responsibilities, too.”
                 –Edwin R. Chess, Major General, USAF
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    I had a grand day yesterday.  It was a fun and very enjoyable birthday.  Thanks for all the wishes!