...was longer than expected, but turned out well. He's to spend the night in the hospital; should be able to go home tomorrow afternoon or evening. Pathology reports are expected around Monday.
Stopped by to see Aunt Margaret, who is doing pretty well. She has some tests scheduled for next Monday.
Now I REALLY miss you! We ended up with just over 8 inches from the Tuesday morning blizzard. Vis was under 50 yards for about half the trip to work at 5:00am! Love you fine people!
A few sprits of snow and sleet here this morning...a quiet day. A fresh a pot of vegetable soup is on the stove. Wayne is ready to trim some of the venison fron grinding. I'm sewing up a few fabric coasters ... not necessarily enamored with the craft, but it seemed a reasonable, nearly mindless use of time for today. Quiet times are good for life's ongoing adjustments.
This has turned out to be a difficult week. Yesterday evening I found out that Aunt Margaret's oldest son, Steve, had been killed in an ATV accident. It was devastating news for her as you can all imagine. She is eighty-seven and she had three sons. Steve was the oldest in his early sixties. Margaret has a lot of health issues but she is still very much alert and in charge of her life. She has a very strong faith in God and has never shown any signs of wavering. She will get through this tragedy by the help of God and good friends and family. Pray for her and send any sympathy cards to her at her home address: Margaret Cross, PO Box 35, Falling Rock, WV 25079.
We have had fairly mild weather this week with some showers toward the end. I have been bow hunting in the evenings and was able to get a nice buck on Thursday. It was a seven point and a good size deer for our area. I cut it up into roasts on Friday since it was so warm, and it is now aging in our 44 year old refrigerator downstairs. I will finished packaging it and grinding up the burger sometime next week. There is a deer story about this deer as there always is and I will be more than happy to tell it to those who might be interested in such things. You will have to ask me sometime.
Peni and I spent a few hours this morning with my medical insurance man going over the new Humana policy. Everything is going up in price except my Social Security benefits. We just have to make it until next July and then Peni will be eligible for Medicare and we will be able to save a great deal on her insurance premiums and medical costs. She has not been to a doctor this year as she has a very large deductible on both the medical and the prescription drugs. You know you are really old when your medical events are the highlight of your conversations. Yes, I know that is morbid but it is a fact.
Lord willing, I will be giving a lesson tomorrow on the subject of, "TRUST IN THE LORD". To trust means we place confidence in the one we trust or that in which we trust. On all of our money the phrase, "In God We Trust", has been printed for many, many years. The fact that that statement is not true is a sad commentary of our time. Does America really trust in God? I think not. It is, never the less, a good sentiment that should be true. If folks really trust in the Lord, they will obviously do what the Lord says. Jesus said, " And why do you call me 'Lord, Lord', and do not do what I say?" (Lk. 6:46,NASB). It is very obvious that this nation does not do what the Lord says. You cannot kill unborn babies by the millions, accept homosexuals as good moral people and condone those living together outside of marriage and say you are trusting in the Lord. It is absurd to make such a claim of following the Lord and then live contrary to that claim. If I trust the Lord, then I will live as closely to the Lord's commandments as I possibly can. Just makes sense, doesn't it?
My sister June sent us a DVD entitled, "The Silencing of God". I think the more appropriate title would have been, "The Ignoring of God". Puny man cannot silence God. The video was very well done in that it shows how this nation has tried to remove all mention of God and His word out of society and public places. But, God's word speaks just as forcefully today as it always did. No one can silence God. But folks can ignore what He has said. The problem is that mankind has decided in the last sixty years or so to just ignore what God and His word teaches. Completely! The Founding Fathers of our nation did intend that God and godly principles would be foremost in all political and moral issues of the day. But the atheists and those who just don't care are determined to remove all mention of God from our society in every way they can. The tragic thing is that the majority in this nation is willing to let them get by with it. God speaks with the thunder and lightning from Heaven that shakes the world and when He does, we are left to witness the power He has over the universe. God can be ignored----for awhile!
As I was sitting on one of my deer stands (17 feet up a maple tree,)(why do they call it stand, when I mostly sit?) a pretty young red fox came by. He had such black front legs and a white tip on his tail and he was so cute---and deadly! He was out hunting, too, and as he moved along he would take the quietest path by walking on the down logs in the woods. He would jump from one to another or to a rock as it was so much quieter than walking on dry leaves.They are really smart creatures like all small animals. Even the squirrels and ground squirrels will do the same. I watched it pass within ten feet of my stand and it never once suspected I was above it watching every move it made. I call these events "bonuses" as they are just icing on the cake to my hunting adventures in the woods. You can't spend a few hours in the woods without seeing something unusual or out of the ordinary that most people never see. I really enjoy these kinds of events just about as much as the actual hunting. God has placed all of these things in their own order and what we call "nature" is really very balanced. It should be as God is the one who set it all in motion.
A friend of mine also has the "The Silencing of God" video. If only more people would watch the video. I'm also surprised at some Christian's reactions to the video. I have friends that believe this country was not founded by God-fearing men. xoxox
Aunt Margaret's oldest son Steve was killed in a 4-wheeler accident last evening. It's going to be a very hard time for her, as you can imagine. Please pray for the family.
