Growing up in church and Sunday School, I often heard “don’t take God’s name in vain,” which typically meant to not use God in swearing. So good Christians were careful, using “acceptable substitutions,” like “Gosh darn.” Pretty weak, but safe. Later, I learned that we missed it. Cursing fits within the command, but it goes deeper. We should not use God casually, without being aware of the respect and admiration and glory and transcendence that is innately in God. For instance, ever use the phrase “God told me…” or “God led me…,” without being 100% sure God was speaking instead of indigestion or your desires? That could be taking God’s name in vain, if he didn’t say what you thought. That kind of…
Read MoreOur Best Laid Plans
Spring and summer had been full of activities. A total knee replacement April 1, recovery in May. June brought a week at a timeshare in San Clemente. A bike trip with Rich in mid-July, with teaching at a writing conference at the end of that month. August had a lot of physical therapy and other appointments, then September featured a treasured trip to Idaho to see our grandkids. That just left early October for a fishing and camping trip to my beloved Rock Creek in the Sierras.
But I had some concerns. My new knee…
Read MoreAsk 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…
Read MoreAn 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…
Read MorePaying 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:…
Read MoreRisk 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…
Read MoreBBQ 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…
Read MoreOur 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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