I Hate When That Happens

I just had one of those moments that every married man hates. I lost my Fitbit. We had gone to a graveside service, and I had worn an overcoat since it was one of the few blustery days we have  down here. After the service we came straight home. It was then that I noticed that I didn't have my Fitbit. I searched everywhere for that lost Fitbit and could not find it anywhere. I decided it must have fallen off at the cemetery. I figured that it was gone just like my wedding ring that I had lost a few years ago. I think I lost it at a graveside service.

When we went to the mountains over the weekend Susan, my daughter asked me if I had looked on the computer to see the last time the Fitbit synced. I didn't know what she was talking about. She told me how to check that out. I didn’t have my computer with me so when we got home on Monday I found that my Fitbit had synced five minutes earlier. That meant the Fitbit was somewhere in the house. 

I searched again and no Fitbit. I called Susan to tell her the bad news and she suggested that I purchase the app, Find My Fitbit. So I got the app and started the search again. The Fitbit Finder led me to one of our front bedrooms which happened to be where I keep my winter coats. I went to the closet and pulled out the overcoat that I had worn to the graveside service. I just knew the Fitbit had to be somewhere in that coat. I turned in inside-out but still I couldn't find it. I was frustrated. I yelled for Sherri to come up and help me search in that coat. The coat was lying on the bed when she came in the room. The Fitbit Finder was reading red hot. 

After Sherri searched the coat she said, " Have you looked around under  the furniture? Remember you were moving everything around the other day. Maybe you lost it when you moved the furniture" 

I said, "I lost know it can’t be under the furniture. It has to be somewhere on the coat." 

Sherri knelt down and started looking under the bed as if I had not said a word.

Even more frustrated, I said, "You are so hard headed. I told you the Fitbit has to be in the coat!" 

No sooner had those words left my mouth, Sherri rose from beside the bed with my Fitbit in her hand. She was smiling when she answered me, "Now who is the hard headed one?" 

I really hate it when that happens, but I was glad to get my Fitbit back.

A Big Disappointment

 Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone! Unfortunately St. Patrick’s Day is not the same for me. I grew up thinking I was Irish. If your last name is Brady you are Irish, right? Brady a derivative of O’Brady? 

After working on my family tree recently I discovered that my ancestors came from an area about an hours drive north east of London, England, meaning that the Bradys that I came from are British. I was disappointed, but I guess a British heritage isn’t all that bad. I still had hopes that my journey perusing the tree on my maternal side would reveal an Irish background. Again I struck out. The Christian clan is German. We were originally called Christiansen. I did find one ancestor that may have been Scottish. That was as close to Irish as I got.

I am not an Irishman. I had always wanted to go to “me homeland” as I let it be known in my best Irish accent. And Irish mashed potatoes have always been my favorite, so much so that my brother and I used to fight over who would get the first helping at dinner. Frequently, I would look up as my dad was offering thanks and Mike, my stinking little brother, would have his grubby little hand on the spoon in the mashed potato bowl. As soon as I heard amen I would grab the bowl, and the fight was on. I don’t know how many times neither of us got a taste of mashed potatoes. 

But just when I was thinking that it is all right to be British/German I discovered something much worse. I did one of those DNA tests at the first of the year. I was hoping that it would show for certain that I was Irish or at least British. No Irish whatsoever, but there was some British and German in my blood. But here is the kicker. I am predominately Finnish/Scandinavian. Who wants to be Finish? I know nothing about Finland unless that is where some of the Vikings came from. I can’t even begin to say anything with a Finnish accent. O well, I am what I am. Maybe some day I’ll get a chance to go to “me real homeland”! I’ll see if I can get one of those Viking hats or helmets. The best part of being Finnish is I think that is where Santa Claus is from.

Who Are Tammy and Chris

This morning Sherri was sitting on the couch looking at a video on her iPhone. I was in the kitchen fixing eggs and bacon for breakfast. I wasn’t paying any attention to the conversation coming from whatever Sherri was watching. The video ended and Sherri said, “Chris and Tammy Nichols have  sold their mobile home and their house in Florida and moved to Georgia.” I was trying to think how I knew Tammy and Chris. There was a Nichols family down the road where I lived when I was a kid. There were several children in that family, and I knew all of them, but I could not remember a Chris. 

Sherri continued to tell me about this couple. Chris wanted to move back to Georgia because he missed fishing in a lake near where they had moved. They had downsized because their two daughters were in college. When COVID hit the girls had moved back home, and they discovered that living in a 1,500 square foot house was a mistake. I was still racking my brain to remember who Chris and Tammy were. I was wishing I new Tammy’s maiden name. After Sherri had finished telling me more about Chris and Tammy I asked her who they were.  How did we know them? Her reply was, “Oh, I don’t know them. I was watching Tammy show some of her breakfast recipes on her website. She has over forty thousand viewers who watch her on “Collard Valley Cooks”

Sherri’s grandmother, Mimi, always watched “As the World Turns”. She would tell Sherri how she worried about a character on the show who had been going through some very hard times. Mimi had commented how bad the character was looking. I hate to say it, but I think Sherri has finally become her grandmother. I can’t believe that I wasted all that brain energy trying to figure out how I knew Tammy and Chris! You know, I would like to meet them now that I know so much about them. I feel like I do know them since Sherri told me so much about them.

A Crazy Story

Last Friday I went to Lowes and bought three bags of topsoil, three bags of mulch, some plants and a small Juniper tree. I got everything loaded in my trunk except for the tree, I don’t know what I was thinking. I had gotten one a few weeks ago, but that was all I got. There was no room for the tree, but I managed to squeeze it into the back seat, which reminds me I need to clean my back seat.

When I got home I unloaded everything and got busy planting what I had bought. After I finished I went inside, cleaned up and went to get my iPhone. I couldn’t find it. I looked everywhere. Sherri couldn’t  find it either. I have a “find my phone” app on my iPad so I checked, and there the phone icon was in the parking lot at Walmart. I had not been anywhere near Walmart. Someone had stolen my phone. I deduced that I had forgotten to lock my car when I was at Lowes. 

We called and reported the phone stolen, and had it locked so no one could use it. Sherri had given me the phone for my birthday last October, but didn’t get the insurance to cover a stolen or lost phone. I was going to have to buy a new phone. Those things are expensive. I had no idea that they cost so much. I decided to wait about buying another one, and see if I could make it without one. I couldn’t keep up with that phone anyway. 

On Sunday Sherri got a message from someone who had found my phone. She messaged him back and arrangements were made for him to bring my phone to us that afternoon. He lived in Wake Forest not far from where we live. We were excited and couldn’t wait to find out where he found it. We couldn’t believe what he told us. He knew who took the phone. You would never guess who made off with my iPhone. It was Sherri. 

When I was unloading my purchases from Lowes I had inadvertently laid my phone on the back of her car. While I was behind the house working she went to the grocery. About a mile from our house she was stopped at a traffic light. The young man in the car behind her saw the phone on the back of her car. He jumped out of his car and managed to grab the phone. Before he could get Sherri’s attention the light turned green and she took off. The young man started banging on the side of her car, but she kept going despite the fact that she heard the banging. He tried to catch her, but obviously he never found her. 

The mystery was solved. Just another reason why I should not have an expensive IPhone. I made it fine when all I had was a land line and an answering machine. If I want to take a picture I can use a camera. Also I won’t have to remember a password. I hate passwords and constantly trying to find my phone really upsets me.

A Hard Road Traveled

 A Hard Road to Travel

A child begins his or her life with a mind full of wonderful dreams and expectations for the future. At first those dreams may only be the child’s fantasy. As they mature those dreams turn into realistic goals. Many travel the course of preparation and training to achieve their desired profession. Although the journey is hard and grueling with numerous temptations to give up, they continue onward until they succeed. After the goal has been achieved they are able to look back and say, “It was worth it! Every bump in the road, every pothole, every steep hill and curve, and every detour was worth the effort!”

I guess all of us have had to travel tough roads to achieve our goals. But none of us have endured a journey like that of a man we all know. This man from the time he was a young boy knew his purpose and the goal for his future. His preparation had  begun at least by the time he was 12 years old. Jesus knew that his goal was to finish the mission for which his Father had sent him. Therefore, from the beginning, as Jesus set out on that lonesome road his eyes were fixed on his goal. From the beginning Jesus’ eyes were focused on the cross, always on the cross. The end of his journey was the cross, and he traveled an extremely tough road to get there. His motivation? It was love for his Father. He was motivated by his uncompromising desire to obey his Father. And he was driven by his love for a lost and dying world.

May the joy that is found in Christ bless you throughout this day.

Someone Who Listens

 There is someone who we talk to just about every day. That person listens to us, and we listen to him or her. Sometimes that person wants some advice. Other times he  doesn’t want advice, but he  needs you to listen to him, to support and encourage him. And sometimes she is not looking for conversation, she just wants you to be by her side to hug her and love on her. 

Every one of us would feel more secure and focused if there was somebody in our lives to give us wise counsel, encouragement, support, and show that they love us and care about us. Also, no matter how old we are we need that person in our lives to point us in the right direction. Of course even a wise friend can not always know how to advise us about a difficult choice we need to make. 

Not knowing fore sure what direction to go can cause much emotional stress. Is there a way that we can know for certain the road that we should travel? The Apostle Paul and young Timothy had been going from town to town preaching and encouraging the people to obey the word. At some point Paul decided that they would journey to Asia to continue to preach the gospel. We would assume that they had been praying about where they needed to go, but maybe not. Paul and Timothy had been going in the direction of the Asian province of Mysia, and their plan to cross the boarder was abruptly halted. Here is the reason, “When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to go any further.”

Paul who encouraged those who were believers to pray without ceasing evidently followed his own advice. At just the right moment the Holy Spirit told him he was not to go into Asia. Paul is a great example of someone who carried on a conversation with the Spirit of Jesus everyday. If we really want to know the path our lives should follow we should not miss a day talking and then listening to Jesus. He is the only one who will not give us incorrect advice. He is our friend on whom we can always depend.

The Joyful Sound

 "Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance. In Your name they rejoice all day long, and in Your righteousness they are exalted. For You are the glory of their strength, and  in Your favor our horn is exalted." Psalm 89:15-17

There are many sounds in our world today that are not so joyful. Sounds of the world’s kingdom are meant to  upset, frighten, cause separation, fear, doubt and ignite a furry of anger in the world. Those who fall for the lies of evil only hear sounds of despair and conflict. 

In contrast the Bible teaches us that God has put a glorious sound in place, a joyful sound that will provide lasting happiness and peace. We are blessed because of this marvelous sound. Those who are surrounded by this sound are lifted to a higher level of understanding of the One who created the heavens and earth. What is this sound? It is the song of love. It is perfectly pitched in kindness and compassion. This sound is a melody of hope, sacrifice and salvation for all. There is no sound sweeter to the ears of those who are weary of helpless wandering in the world of lostness, and are willing to put their trust and faith in the One who composed the joyful sound.

Those offensive sounds from the world's screeching and clanging make us cringe. The demented music on the ears of the lost is applauded because they have never heard the joyful sound. They have rejected the glorious melody of the only One who can redeem them from the clutches of Satan, their slave master.  And so, the joyful sound prepared for the redeemed comes down from the Father and lands gently on saved hearts. Blessed are those who know the joyful sound of the righteous One for they will rejoice in his name all day long. In his righteousness thay are exalted to walk with the Lord in the light of his countenance.