Ask Clearly

A few weeks back, I flushed our toilet and turned away, only to hear someone whistling at me. Sheila was nowhere in sight, no one else was in the house, and I sure didn’t whistle at myself. Not too loud, and I kind of like receiving whistles, then Sheila mentioned it. Then came some YouTube research on how to fix it, which worked! No whistle. I kind of missed it, but within a few days it returned, got louder, and Sheila again mentioned it.

On our next errands trek, I dropped her off at her nails salon and headed to Home Depot. In the toilet section, a young mother with a four-year-old boy in the cart (must have been a sale on boys that week) asked me…

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An Ephemeral Life

Mike Scott, a friend from high school daze, took this pic of a New Mexico sunrise, which I came to love. Sunrises and sunsets blend beauty and brevity so well. Their glory changes almost by the second—I’ve often called Sheila to see one, and in the 20 seconds before she gets there it’s changed, or gone.

That’s life—as slow as it seems to go looking ahead…

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Paying Attention Pays Off

Our local Total Wine store occasionally does educational and tasting events, and not long ago we celebrated our Happy Hour at their “Napa and More” event, where we learned a lot about wine in California, and particularly the Napa/Sonoma area. Our host Joseph said California has 600,000 acres in vineyards, and if we were a nation, we’d rank #4 in wine production. Each wine region has an AVA name; California has over half of our nation’s. These nuggets came as he gave small tastings of various Napa area wineries to go with the food they furnished. Then Joseph added a twist—a question that yielded several gifts to the first person who answered correctly. He even made it multiple choice! Already interested, I began to pay more attention in hopes of another trivia question. Then the next quiz came:…

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Risk Factors

Rich almost joined our first Penasco, NM mission trip in 1973, so when we discussed a 2025 ride, he suggested Colorado and New Mexico, with several days in Taos, and wanted to ride the 25-miles to Penasco to see what he’d missed. We met some friendly locals, got some old-time soda pops. I spotted the house we’d rented that year, and pulled off to the side and parked, intending to walk back to avoid two U turns in “downtown,” and Rich would wait.

After taking the pic, I turned and saw people standing around Rich. Turns out he wanted to get farther from the road, but the asphalt had a good 2” drop onto some loose ground and rocks. Rich and his Sportster took a tumble, two cars saw it and stopped. They helped…

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BBQ and Divine Appointments

About a month ago, after worship at our church and lunch at Lucy’s Mexican Café, Sheila and I headed to a local winery and relaxed at a patio table. A few moments later a woman, mid 20s, sat down at the next table with a plate of BBQ piled high on a bun. Even after eating, my mouth began to water at the aroma and sight. “Excuse me, ma’am, but you’re torturing me. That smells and looks so good!”

She replied with a smile, “Would you like a taste?”

I…

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Our Tie-Dyed Earth

Frankly, barren deserts don’t excite me much, although our long Gray Hog trips often had to cross 300 to 400 miles of them that surround SoCal, before arriving at the majestic mountains and forests that soothe our souls. Just a dues-paying part before reaching God’s beauty and majesty. But my last ride is changing my attitude. How?…

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God's Transcendence

The more I learn about God, the farther from me he seems. Let me explain. Not particularly in our relationship, but in the huge gap between our natures. I read in biology about the tremendous complexity of the inner reaches of cells. I read in astronomy about the billions of trillions of stars, all needed for life on earth to exist. Then on last year’s trip to Sedona, I jumped on a backcountry jeep tour that took my level of God’s actions to an undreamed-of level. The guide could have been a geology prof, and he pointed out this cliff above. He got my attention by saying this was all underwater, even the top. Then he told us to look at…

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Signs or Coincidences?

How can we tell if events are merely a coincidence, or a sign from God guiding us? Some never sense that leading; others see a sale on toothpaste as an omen. Having seen God guide in amazing ways, I’m in the middle. Back in ’75, I planned on leaving California for a new phase in Colorado. Starting with a desire to go dancing about 8 PM in Albuquerque, nine separate events, all outside my control (well, apart from the dancing) combined to…

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