Another Anniversary!!!!!!!

Forty one years ago the most beautiful girl God ever made became my bride! She was breathtaking. I was smitten the first time I met her and I can hardly believe to this day that she chose me to be her mate and companion.

We have had a good and happy marriage, mostly because she is so patient and considerate. We made pretty babies that are great blessings to us. We have a comfortable home and an encouraging congregation. We have had good health, seen lots of the world. We have laughed and cried and learned a lot.

I am most blessed among men! Thank you, Lord!

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Experinece

I have been blessed over the years to have had some great teachers, from Mrs. Morrow in kindergarten to Dr. Willis in grad school. But I believe that my best teacher, by far, is Experience.

Experience is the most persistent of teachers, always providing opportunities to learn and advance my understanding. S/He lets me know there are things I can do and must do. S/He has shown me that there are things that I cannot do and need to depend on others. Experience teaches me dangerous things to avoid, as well as beautiful things to pursue and embrace.

Experience has helped me get jobs and taken me to exotic places. S/He has given me confidence that I could accomplish and achieve. S/He has brought me disappointment when I did not reach a goal, but also brought great satisfaction when a job has been done.

Experience has introduced to a vast number of people. S/He has brought me into contact with people that are the greatest joy in life, and taught me to love them. Experience also has taught me that there are some folks with whom I will have no positive interaction. Experience has taught me how to endure them, at times even honor them.

Experience has helped me realize a lot about life and how to handle the ups and downs. Through Experience, I know that when I am having a mountaintop moment, it will not be long till I have to go back down into the valley to continue my journey.
And when life has dealt me a severe blow, Experience reminds me that it is another hurdle to be overcome, but that the sun is still shining behind the clouds.

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California Homeschool Criminals

I saw on a news report a little while ago that a court in California has ruled that those that homeschool in the state must be accredited or they will be subect to penalties under the law. The rationale expressed was that they want to assure the consistency of what children are taught across the state. But there is no requirement for accreditation for private schools. And beside that, the standardized tests administered by the state indicate that homeschoolers surpass the performance of the students in the public schools. Surely this ruling will be overturned!

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Old Stories!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last night I had a new and pleasant experience when attended the first ever public reading of a play at a repertory theater in Houston. The reason I went was a play written by Larry Dierker.


I have been following Dierker's career since he broke into the major leagues with the Astros on who it is 18th birthday, back in 1965. He was a top quality pitcher for many years. Following his retirement from the game he went to the broadcast booth and became a color analyst. And in a very unusual move, he was hired to be the manager of the Astros though he had no managerial experience at all. The team flourished under his leadership and reached the playoffs five of his seven years he served as the manager. Larry was a writer for the local paper when he was a broadcaster and has written a couple of books since his managerial days have finished.

But to the great surprise of many of us Dierker has written the lyrics and the play called Old Stories. He has worked with composer Paul English, who wrote the music for the play.

The play is about a mythical team in the National League called the Washington Capitols. The setting is the 1970 season, he character is Arthur "King" Cole. Cole is a super star, but approaching the end of his career. The drama around the changes this makes in his professional and personal life is the crux of the play.

The manager of the Capitols is a former player, who was on a pennant winning team 21 years earlier. Three of his old buddies and former teammates like to tell Old Stories and remember the good old days.

The play really appealed to me, perhaps because of where I am in life. I like to tell old stories and keep alive the things that matter to me and shaped me. As the play unfolds, each of the old guys gets to share an old story with a current player and give him some advice.

The joy of the play is that the old stories gain new life in the telling to the next generation and in seeing that they make a difference to the ones following in their footsteps.

There are 13 original numbers, with a wide variety of styles of music incorporated. Larry was like a proud poppa when the show was over. I was able to congratulate him and get him to autograph my single sheet playbill.

I hope Old Stories gets backing to become a full blown stage presentation, but I know for sure that I am going to continue to tell old stories!

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Serendipity

Happiness is really something we find, almost by accident, when doing something worthwhile. It is a serendipity. The days that you awake and say to yourself, "I'm gonna be happy today if it kills me", usually turn out to be the worst days.

It is on those days when you are actively doing something beneficial that you find yourself most happy. God intends for His people to be happy, but their self-gratification is not to be their prime motive.

Psalm 40:8 "I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart."

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Six - o

Friday, the 29th, was the sixtieth day of the year 2008. Some of the ladies in the congregation where I worship came up with a Leap Year Day plan to have a party celebrating all those in the congregation that will turn 60 in this calendar year. I happened to be one of five guys "honored. We had food and fellowship and fun. There was a "Not So Newlywed Game" that brought several laughs.



One especially creative lady came up with a bingo-type game using information about the guys in the squares. The idea was to be the first to correctly identify the guy described by the information for five squares in a row, across, up & down or diagonally. Some things were brought to public knowledge that might not otherwise been broadcast, thanks to the wives of the guys.



Here is a complete playing board. Your task is to identify the five bits of information that describe me!

At age 2, was wanted by the police	Wore Mutton chops in the 70s	Went to an Ice festival in Japan	Was escorted through Little Rock by National Guard	Set a high school track record
Won science fair awards	His family had the first TV set on their block	Was lost in mountains as a young boy	Owner of Deacon's Men's Shop	Had surgery to remove a toothpick
When a teenager, owned 2 horses	Drove a candy apple red Mustang	Owned a '68 Chevelle	Used Morse Code in Vietnam War	Had 3 near death experiences
Oldest of our 60s guys	Made a rain suit by sewing and gluing	In 1979 was offered a job in Iran as National Coach	Is a SCUBA diver	Knows over 10 languages but speaks only one
Hung his neighbor's cat (accidentally)	Played trumpet in high school band	Gator Frat Boy	Vietnam Veteran	Builds his own telescopes

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