being important

"The following help-wanted ad for a garage foreman once appeared in a St. Louis, Missouri, newspaper: 'Qualifications: Patience of Job, leader of men, a lover of people, nerves of steel, six hands, twelve ears, ability to be in four places at once. Experience. See John H....”  Now this job needs an important person!

What in your mind makes a person important? What does the world tell us what makes a person important? What does the Bible tell us what makes a person important? There might be some conflict in the thinking of those sources as to what makes a person important. I think soooo folks, my opinion. Soooo what else is new!

Before we left AZ, we sat at a bratwurst feed in our 55+ community with two couples who both have been coming to AZ and our park for over 25 years (i.e. very nice folks). One couple is not coming back next year—we asked why—to sum it up they said we have aged out. They were saying many years they were important in the park but aren’t anymore; culture and times change. They told us that in years past if folks didn’t play tennis here they were a nobody (i.e. not part of the holy elite huddle, a.k.a. the good old boys club a.k.a. the Post Toasties being just a little bit better, a.k.a. the country club attitude). As soon as folks joined the tennis club they were in and important). One person said he put a tennis racket in his bike basket, and he was instantly much more important to the club members. I thought this example was soooo funny but accurate in life! Soooo what else is new about  being important!

ItchieBitchie says--It appears that some folks try to become important by being a braggart or a narcissist (i.e. they are always crowing about themselves) It appears they think that the more they gloat about themselves, the more important they become, but the reality is just the opposite many think. JoeWise says--A little of how great we are goes a long way.

The word on Main Street is that Bigmouth Braggadocious and his sister Windy Braggadocious can’t even tolerate each other. Huh, interesting. Is that quality genetic or a learned behavior do you think? I really like real folks and we have got to know some folks in AZ who fit the bill (i.e. very real, our kind of folks). We enjoy them very much (e.g. they are not braggadocious related). Jeanne was interviewed by her granddaughter for a class as she fit the criteria of being a 80 plus person. One of the questions was “what is important to you.” I read her response which was soooo real and was exactly her, no faky stuff or braggadocious stuff. It was the real deal and she lives it. Abraham Lincoln said--"If a man is going to be a liar, he'd better have a good memory."

Perspective—Sort out what is important and what isn’t.

Play with emotion but keep it under control! Maclntyre gave the 15th green an obscene gesture, and then later on did a very sportsmanship act by hitting the ground real hard with his club at the Masters tournament. The Masters tournament does not tolerate actions like that and they reprimanded him (i.e. no matter how important players think they are or are). Maybe even not ever letting him come back again. We don’t see many organizations that have a strict code of ethics for such actions. We don’t see it in churches, in schools, in families, in business, in education, politics, etc. very much at all anymore. I did find it interesting that in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament that many of the players played with great poise. It appears to me that the coach has a lot to do with that (i.e. actually any type of leadership). It seems to very much different from team to team it appears to me. So what does that all mean! Does it mean that for some leaders it's more important than to others? Saturday question--Are folks much like their leaders?

Dave, anybody can be a Dave, says-- As mortals our physical lives are fleeting. We really are like grass. As the hymn says, “We blossom and flourish, like leaves on a tree, and wither and perish …” (“Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”). It seems to happen so quickly. Even if we make it to 80 years, or even 100, in the greater scheme of things we’re just like the grass and the flowers. As the saying goes, “Here today, gone tomorrow.” BUT we are all important in our life in different ways on this earth, that is for sure. Even though we might not think or feel sooo some days. We might even feel unimportant at times. BUT we are important to God and we have a responsibility to use our lives for good. That is my opinion but it is based on Jesus’ teaching. Soooo what else is new! Saturday question—Soooo what are we going to do today to use our life in an important way.

You want to be important?  Here is a suggestion: Get in folks’ traffic lanes. In other words, affect folks for the better. Make a difference!

I was walking in our neighborhood and a dog on a lease in front of a house was barking at me. The neighbor lady was standing there and I said to her--I must be an important person--she said, no no, you are not an important person, the dog barks at everyone!

Have a FUN day my friends unless you have other plans. (-:

erv

MyDeceasedFriendJean said--Doing right is never wrong.

what in the world

A support staff named Sunny at our tax preparer office and us were talking about being rich. She said--When I got married to Rich a family member gave us a toast, may your life always be Rich and Sunny! That was 37 years ago! Hey, I met Jeanne, I dream of Jeanne and I got a dream come true. I caught another break! What in the world! 

We saw at a tattoo shop where there were at least 13 people waiting in line for a tattoo and it was a week day. Wow! Our culture has really changed, we use to wait in line for an ice cream cone! But maybe it was a special day like tattoo Wednesday much like taco Tuesday! What in the world!

This is a full circle saying from being a kid to being a senior person--If your feet smell and your nose is running, you are built up side down. What in the world. My mentor would say that to his young grand kids. 

Ride 'em cowboy! And some believe that the cow jumped over the moon! Sarah, anybody can be a Sarah, writes—“Trouble and distress are woven into the very fabric of this perishing world (i.e. everyone understands that). Only if we trust, wait and hope in Jesus can we become impowered to face this endless flow of problems with good cheer” (i.e. not everyone believes that, but many do and understand it—But I believe in that). Some folks say--What in the world are you thinking erv! So be it!

I herd Brad Underwood, head men's bb coach of IL say in an interview when asked about his success--I have had the opportunity to have a lot really good people surround me (i.e. his environment). Analogy! We noticed when at the ocean beach that the salty air was hard on all metal and wood and even our car (i.e. bad environment for stuff). We noticed that cars that were in this area for a long time, the pant looked terrible and just disappeared. Well, my life does at times get out of whack. I then need to self-evaluate, slow down and get humble. My environment starts to disturb me: ruins my shine. I get out of whack; I need to Be still and…! erv, Be still and...! CoachB says--When we come to a fork in the road, sit quietly for half an hour and think about it and then call two successful people in the the area of our concern and seek their wisdom before making our decision.

Dr. J says--"Spiritual life is not to be found among the spiritually dead." I interpret that to mean to get around good folks.

Ben McCollum, IA men's bb coach said in an interview that when he moved to a new school, he got rid of any previous players who were negative.  Just got rid of them as they could not be part of their team. They just ruin the whole team (e.g. like a bad apple spoils the whole barrel of apples). The team concept is that everyone has to buy into the system and work together).

My big sister, only in age, sent me a note saying—"Several times you have called attention to OBs that you felt were misrepresenting the person that had passed. I saw this OB in the paper and thought you might like.” Here are some of the lines: 

What in the world! Do you and I tell the truth? Maybe we just tell part of the truth or maybe embellish the truth or tell none of the truth at times? My mentor told me—erv, once a person dies, they become a much better person; just read their obituary. My Daddy, Chester, would say to me—erv, if you are good you don’t have to tell anyone, they will know. It has been written many times that once we are dead folks will not remember us by what we write about ourselves but how we made each of them feel, that is the truth as to who we were. MissPerfect says—I don’t know about that, Abraham Lincoln said—"You can fool all the people some of the time, some of the people all the time but you can't fool all of the people all of the time!”

What in the world! I talked to a snowbird in AZ who told me about his father-in-law and mother in-law.  He said—His mother-in-law is a hypochondriac who thinks she is sick all of the time, but it’s all in her head.  It drives my wife and I crazy and she is draining.  My father-in-law has a one-track mind and that is golf.  He didn’t say anything good about either one of them.  Now I wonder what my kids and their spouses say about me. What do you think your kids and spouses say about you? BUT I didn’t get the mother-in-law’s and father-in-law’s side of the story about their son-in-law and daughter! Their story might be way different, maybe! Maybe they think their son-in-law and daughter are way out in left field. There is always two sides to every story! And then there is the right story! What in the world!

Have a FUN day my friends unless you have other plans. (-:

erv

MyDeceasedFriendJean said--What's good for the goose is good for the gander. 

blurred vision

I wear reading glasses sometimes. I can’t see near as well when they are dirty. And when I clean them, I see way better. Da! Sometimes I say to myself, why didn’t I do that sooner! Da! It’s such a simple task but I didn’t do it! The analogy is that I can apply that to many of my little habits. BUT I gotta do it! If I don't, I have a blurred vision!

CadillacJack asks--Who wants to live a life like a bad person? I’m guessing but I don’t think anyone does, do they? Sooo what qualities make a person a good person (i.e. opposite of a bad person)? Does our vision ever get blurred as what the difference is. If soooo, what could blur our vision? What could make our vision clearer?

Most job applications want our resume meaning they want our past history. That includes probably our education, experience etc. (i.e. basically who we are). AI can make us whatever we want to be but if they investigate our past they can pretty much find out who we are. And then they interview us and call references or see what we write on FaceBook. A face to face is important but sometimes people can fake it. Maybe different employers are looking for different qualities; some employers want the basic good qualities and they can teach the rest. If a person has a sketchy past, it might present a problem for the applicant (i.e. what is their history). I guess no one wants to hire a problem! But, don’t we all need a second chance at times!

I find it very interesting how people in the Bible were pretty much not the big hotdogs of their culture but folks of minor importance and some even had bad and sketchy pasts and yet became very important in the Christian history. That is amazing to me. Christianity believes that God looks at all the people the same, no favorites. He loves all of us the same and gives opportunities to the most unlikely folks. I like that! JoeSixPack says--That sorta kinda goes against the American dream and capitalism, doesn't it!

John Wooden's philosophy was--"Fairness is giving all people the treatment they earn and deserve. It doesn't mean treating everyone alike." He believed treating everyone the same was unfair because it ignores individual differences.

Sometimes some of the Canadians don’t like the U.S. but sometimes they do. I went to see an old golf friend who happens to be Canadian and winters here in the Valley of the Sun. He showed me a big jug of vodka and asked me how much I thought he paid for it. Well, it was on sale at Albertson’s for $5 with a limit of 2 bottles per person per day. He and his wife bought 14 bottles. He said they can each bring 5 bottles back to Canada but have to pay duty of 20% soooo he said we have $6 in each bottle. In Canada we would pay $66 per bottle sooo we just saved $600. It’s all about the money and how it affects us; our vision gets blurred when our personal money is involved sometimes, maybe. Don’t kid ourself, money talks! In the world we live in, it's all about the money! We have blurred vision many times! Such is life.

ItchieBitchie says--If you don't pitch in don't you bitch. 

I wonder if we live in a Star War world blurred vision which is not reality but make believe. I wonder!  We just don’t like to or want to see reality. I wonder if we live in a fake world, I wonder. Sooo we ask ourselves, what is reality anyway! Good question folks, good question. It seems that reality is different to different folks. We really don’t all agree what reality is. Soooo in reality, if we are not going the same direction or fighting for the same cause, that might be be a problem. I believe in a sovereign God that is in control which means that He can change anything at anytime. Soooo, I won’t be surprised if that will happen. It has happened in the past and could happen at any time. That is my opinion and I have read it in the Bible of the past in which that has happened (e.g. a huge massive revival; maybe one is starting right now). You might not agree, we might have different blurred visions on this. JoeBlow says--erv, I think you are for sure the one with the blurred vision!!! No way that can happen!!!!

We are back at our home in Yakima, WA. As we were walking in our 55+ community in Mesa just a couple nights ago, a couple from the Midwest said to us--When we go home, it will be a different world. And it is! Maybe not better or worse but just different maybe. For many it might be back to the real world compared to an senior Disney World here in the South. For others it might be back to a very secure place of comfort of a familiar place of many years or back to the place of the same old problems of many years (i.e. the environment is different); It's a different world. Maybe either world might be a blurred vision for us!

Have a FUN day my friends unless you have other plans. (-:

erv

MyDeceasedFriendJean said--Let's not cry over spilled milk. 

encouragement+

says—"A form of encouragement is talking reality and not just telling folks that everything will be great ‘cause it ain’t.” He went on to say—"It is good to learn to face reality and learn how to deal with it (i.e. learn how to handle real life); if children don’t learn to handle failures, life will be very hard for them; they will live in a make believe unhappy world.” My Daddy, Chester, would say to me—erv, everyone has problems, but they just handle them different.

 CoachB coaches about—"We need to have a balanced life—money, relationships, spirit and health.” Think about that folks. It appears if we get out of balance, life is distorted and isn’t as good which is easy to do (i.e. this is my opinion). 

A devotion I read early one morning said—If we have the right mind, we can be joyful even in and during and while enduring a conflict. AverageJoe says—That seems far fetched for me to understand! Saturday question—Where do we find the right mind?

We saw this on a bench on the Coast Trial in La Jolla along the cliffs. Sooooo who could be our Alex that we would like to live like or do live like? Does our Alex know that they encourage us? Maybe we telling them that they are our Alex might be an encouragement to them. You can’t do it when they are dead, that is for sure! Or as a friend said to me--Give flowers and money with a warm hand!

James, anybody can be a James, says—The business that delivers a quality product every time earns the customer's trust. A  person in a relationship who shows up is reliable — who keeps promises, who responds with steadiness — earns the trust of the other. The pattern is the proof." Now that can be encouraging to have a friend like that.

I encourage you to enjoy every sandwich and give thanks. I believe giving thanks is a great opportunity for us to handle disappointments. Not to complain but to give praise and thanks about something. It works for me. David was a great example of doing that. His example works for me. He's one of the best, my opinion.

SusieQ says--Mommy and daddy shouldn’t always bail Jr or Susie out, no way should they! Children need to know there are consequences from their actions, good and bad and learn to deal with them.

CoachB encourages me with this statement—"Ya gotta move on to the opportunity of a lifetime and our lifetime is the opportunity.” Dale Carnegie said, “Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain—and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving.” Saturday question-- Why not take a moment now to pray for that difficult person in our life? I believe that is a great form of encouragement, my opinion. And who really is the big winner, the person we dislike or us? Most folks don’t even know we dislike them. How crazy is that! LuckieEddie says--I seem to let other people be in control of my attitude. How crazy is that!

I believe there is power in encouraging others. And most people don’t even realize it. It encourages them and it encourages us. It feels sooooo good! And how we encourage others is different for different folks, for sure. AverageJoe says--We need to keep this in mind: People don't remember what we say, but they will remember how we make them feel.

I was getting gas and above the pump was this sign. It appears to be great marketing in tempting everyone to spoil themselves, you deserve it, just go ahead and have something you enjoy, don’t worry about your calorie intake, just eat and be happy. It’s a subliminal encouragement message to our mind. It must work or they wouldn’t do it. I read this while eating my oatmeal with half a banana on it—Self-discipline is the best discipline. Such is life.

I saw some folks throwing coins into a wishing pool the other day for I would guess for one wish. Saturday question--Soooo if we could have one wish what would it be?  That question sounds like a question at the Miss America contest. There they have to answer it politically correct or they won’t win. I guess most folks would wish for money. I know what my wish would be. Do you? Please send me your wish. I would be interested. You can send it with your name or anonymous. I would be interested. Saturday question—Do most folks wish for something for themself or for something for someone else? Now that might tell us something about ourselves. Crazy huh!

Have a FUN day my friends unless you have other plans. (-:

erv

MyDeceasedFriendJean said—A person who never makes a mistake is a person who never does anything.

the way I see it

A senior citizen, a name older folks are called among many other names, said this--The older we get, the smaller our dreams get. When we're young we want to change the world but when we're older we just want to get through the day without any problems. I don't agree with that statement completely. I have a lot of big dreams. My dreams might have changed some but I still have a lot of dreams. But that is me, that's the way I see it!

Saturday question—What do you really like to talk about? Food, pickleball, politics, weather, sports, price of corn, money, quilting, other people, cars, your job, yourself, your family etc. The way I see it, many conversations we like, others might have very little interest in.  Violet Stillwater (i.e. that is her bar name she says) asks--Sooo what are the contents of important conversations?

I would have really enjoyed visiting with C.S. Lewis. Actually, he would at every 4 o’clock go to the pub and sit on the end stool at the pub, have a pint, and talk to anyone. Some of his writings are very hard for me to understand and some are sooo full of wisdom which I think I understand such as:  "To be happy at home is the end of all human endeavor. The sun looks down on nothing half so good as a household laughing together over a meal, or two friends talking over a pint of beer, or a person alone reading a book that interests them; and all economics, politics, laws, armies, and institutions, are only valuable in so far as they prolong and multiply such scenes." A friend some years ago gave me one of Lewis' books and told me, I can’t understand it, maybe you can.” I couldn’t!

When we were in San Diego, Jeanne saw a skirt in the window just like the one she had when a young lady soooo she went in as a throwback feeling. It was an up-scale women’s store for young women. As she was leaving, she noticed a security guard sitting by the door soooo she asked him if they have a lot of theft—no very little but they hire us to give the young ladies a feeling of security sooo they will want to shop here. Soooo I had to think, where do humans get their security or think they get their security? The way I see it…

The way I see it when faith moves out worry moves in. Those two qualities cannot occupy the same thought. It’s just like you can’t be thankful and discouraged at the same time. But the way I see it, I have a choice as to what I'm going to think about. It is certain that two folks can look at the same situation and see two different things (e.g. an opportunity or a problem). Why is that do you think? Isn’t the mind interesting! AverageJoe says—What you put in your mind will come out of your mind soooo try to be around good people (i.e. they rub off on us). If you don't believe me, just look around folks! It's not rocket science. That's the way I see it!

I would like your opinion as to what changes folks or is there anything that can change a person. The way I see it is that folks don’t change much or at all or maybe they do but it takes something really bizarre for that to happen. Ok, the way I see it, some genetics just can’t be changed, and the mind is trained by our environment of past and present to a point that it’s rather dialed in for the long run it appears. Sooo what is your opinion as to what might change folks—maybe like a disease, catastrophe, experience, money, accident, The Holy Spirit, ageing, etc., it has to be something that we have absolutely no choice on and I still wonder if folks change. Sooo if that might be true, why do we keep trying to change other folks. That is the way I see it. JoeBlow says—C’mon erv, people change all the time, you must be blind, where have you been! CrazyMarivin, who is as smooth as butter,  asks—Soooo does that mean that good people don’t chance as well?

A friend and his son were in a car accident that really could have resulted in serious injury or death. They were spared. It recently has been a year since that happened and I asked him if he still thinks of it—everyday when I get into the car; we have been very blessed. The way I see it, it appears that his thought process has changed.

I saw this on a car in Costco parking lot! The evenings have just been beautiful sooooo we go for walks. An acquaintance who we met walking told us she got hit by a car the other night crossing a street in our 55+ community. She got knocked down but didn't get hurt. She has tire prints on her toes to prove it. The person didn't even stop, maybe they didn't even know they hit her.

Do you like to set people straight? That means then that we think we are right and they are wrong. I know folks who always think they are right and love to argue what they think is their perfection. I like discussions but not a lecture sooo much, there is a huge massive difference in those two. Saturday question—Should we try to change folks who are legally wrong, morally wrong, destructively wrong, with possible addictions, ethically wrong or let them be? ItchieBitchie says, as I see it—You can’t win a pissing match with a skunk! Ya, I read in the Book that it’s foolish to argue with a fool! It’s better to smile and say nothing (i.e. that's the way I see it)!

The way I see it--Besides praying for wisdom in the specific areas that arise in life, we should also pray daily for wisdom to walk wisely through this world. Suck it up cupcake and let's get going!

Have a FUN day my friends unless you have other plans. (-:

erv

MyDeceasedFriendJean said—Actions speak louder than words.

attention span

I tell you what I would do! BUT I realize that you probably don’t much care what I would do; I got it! And here is part of the reason: The female population aged 80 and over accounts for approximately 2.3% of the population and males 80 and over account for1.6% of the population. I’m 1.6% of the U.S. population and that is a very small slice! Soooo who really cares much of what the 1.6% of the folks think. I get it! ItchieBitchie says--Unless they want money!

We were at a concert, and the leader of the singing group told us that they do little clips on YouTube of their group. They do them acapella and they have to be less than a minute. Anything longer, people won’t watch them. That is about how long the attention span is of folks now a days. Da! He said, they have had many thousands of hits (i.e. very successful). Soooo I’m going to try to keep this short—under a minute! Read fast! And it’s acapella!

I have noticed more recently that if a person is telling a story or talking about their family or telling about their vacation, if it’s longer than about 15 seconds, the folks have lost interest. JoeSmiley says—Who really cares about other folks’ 48 vacation pictures!  In watching tv ads they move soooo fast and quick that my mind sometimes can’t keep up (i.e. of course I’m 80)! The only thing I see that is not true is with praise songs at church; they repeat the same 7 words 11 times soooo they are called 7-11 songs! And the same is true, most folks lose interest! Some just sit down and read their text messages! We live in bing bang done world.

My personal gal at the car dealer when I was getting our vehicle serviced was maybe in her 20s and she really knew cars, I was just amazed, and a nice girl too! I asked her how she learned soooo much about cars and she said from her father and her husband (i.e. what does that tell ya). Her husband and her do car drifting. We did not know what that was and she explained what it was and showed us videos! Crazy! That’s something you might do but not me! My attention span could not handle that! Besides she told us that it's very expensive!

Analogy! Soooo a friend and his wife were riding in the back seat of our vehicle. He told me that it sounds like your real wheel bearings need to be replaced as they are growling and you should do that before driving to San Diego.  Sooooo, yes, they were bad and I had them replaced because of the noise and for safety sake. Soooo, I got soooo used to the noise that I didn’t even notice it but after they were replaced, wow, was it quieter, way better! Da! Sooooo, if we would tell someone that their life would be better if they become a believer, they wouldn’t know the difference until they became a believer now would they! Da! We can become soooo use to the nose!

I’m working on “just not looking but learning more to see!” CoachB says, we look with our eyes but see with our mind and spirit, meaning we look at the same things but understand things completely different. That is because of our genetics and past and current environments. I’m going to try to increase my ability of seeing more and not just looking  (i.e. adjust my attention span). BUT I question if we as humans can really change very easily or at all. AverageJoe says—I have a very hard heart! Listen AverageJoe, everything is possible! Even surprises happen sometimes like a jack in the box! Fliptheplancake--If folks are really good folks, the odds are very good that they are not going to change!

Writer and scholar C. S. Lewis reminds us that skills are not acquired at a distance, but through participation: "If we want to get warm we must stand near the fire: if we want to be wet we must get into the water. If we want joy, power, peace, eternal life, we must get close to, or even into, the thing that has them."

A-SmartPerson from La Jolla said, “erv, success is often found by practicing the fundamentals that everyone knows they should be doing but find too boring or basic to practice routinely." I agree but ‘the fundamentals everyone knows’ aren’t all the same for sure! Da! Look around folks, it’s not rocket science!

We really enjoyed attending Shadow Mountain Community Church and hearing Dr. David Jeremiah speak. He is an icon and is 85 (i.e. it was great to see and hear him in person). He still preaches at 3 services each Saturday/ Sunday despite his age and bad health. Amazing. A great experience. For some of you, hearing Dr. David Jeremiah speak doesn’t mean anything! We see things differently now don’t we. Or as a person said to me—erv, we don’t think alike!  Maybe our attention spans and beliefs are different! Could be! Such is life.

Have a FUN day my friends unless you have other plans. (-:

erv

MyDeceasedFriendJean said--You can catch more flies with honey, then you can with vinegar.

what I thought about

Here are a few thoughts that I thought about while walking on the ocean beach the last month. A few of the zillion zillion zillion thoughts I thought about!

Contentment feels good

God whispers gently in my ear and I heard many things that refreshed and restored me a.k.a. great encouragements.

In 20 years it won’t make any difference about soooo much stuff, but what will matter is what I have done with what I have been given.

What is important in my life and what isn’t.

We are all individuals, it appears. Psychologists tell us that every person struggles to understand their own identity. 

erv, remind myself today to not be discontent as the Lord wants me to be happy and to do good while I live. Live my life joyous!

What goes on in my mind is invisible, undetectable to other people

Be humble erv or you will stumble

I think once again that God is God and God is unfathomable to me, God is way beyond my comprehension.

Ecclesiastes many times tells us to enjoy life.

We saw thousands of gals up to the age of about 26 wearing shoe-string bikinis. After that age, swim attire seemed to change to the far extreme of our age group were we saw very few folks our age walking the beach and the ones that did wore long sleaves and a sun hats! Very little skin showing! Age seems to change folks alright!

Real growth is about becoming more of who I already am

It's a great feeling to love and be loved!

Am I persistent and am I consistent

Why have I been soooo blessed and why haven’t I been blessed more or less!

Some feelings are indescribable; they are beyond words. Watching dawn of a cloudy dreary rainy day over the ocean was just beautiful to me; hard to explain. Very touching.

I think that some folks talk in code and I need to figure out their code; they just don’t talk straight out!  

We heard Dr. David Jeremiah speak in person every Sunday we were in San Diego. He is dynamic and is soooo humble, my opinion. I have thought a lot about humility and the ocean atmosphere is very conducive to that thinking; it’s very humbling to me. It makes me think what Dr. J says—We are not in charge of the world, but God is. I sometimes think I’m in charge and try to make everything work the way I want it, but it doesn’t happen. I try to manipulate reality; I can’t do it. Sometimes I learn the hard way that I’m not God but just erv! It appears that humanity really struggles with this!

 Hope is soooo great!

Our minds are amazing and hard to understand

And the conclusion of matter is: Life goes on!

Have a FUN day my friends unless you have other plans. (-:

erv

MyDeceasedFriendJean said—A chain is only as strong at its weakest link.

exhilarated

Charlie Brown, the famous character in Charles M. Schultz’s Peanuts comic strip, is quoted as saying, “I think I’m afraid of being happy because whenever I get too happy something bad always happens.” We all seem to have had that feeling at times, maybe!

I’m sitting by the window in our apartment and watching the waves of the Pacific Ocean  pounding the beach and hearing the thundering crashing noise which both are very exhilarating to me. It is something that was on my bucket list of sorts. It is hard to explain what this does to me, it seems to touch me—we are all unique folks (i.e. like different dogs on the beach) and think differently (i.e. maybe we are like the dog on the beach trying to catch a seagull on the fly). What goes on in our mind is invisible, undetectable to other people and vice versa!

Take a listen and a look folks! We are all unique alright! Every person on the beach is different looking and is thinking of something different; even all the dogs are different (i.e. and there are a lot of them). Crazy! What are you thinking about currently? Why are you thinking about that? You are unique alright! Don’t kid yourself! I was told that what ever we think about and talk about the most is the most important to us (e.g. if folks talk about themselves or their dog then probably that is the most important to them. Huh, interesting! Soooo based on that assumption, what is the most important in our lives? Da! I have been in many houses during my business career and I think I can tell what is important to folks by what they have on their walls. It's not rocket science folks! Just listen and look around! Such is life.

We saw many yachts in the different harbors that are luxury yachts from all over the world. Soooo what do those folks do when sailing; what do those folks think about? They have hours, days, months to think. I just wonder why they do that?

Billy Graham is right...at least for me...in that it is hard to concentrate solely on good things and God. So many distractions. Why do I allow that to happen? But walking on the ocean beach is a great opportunity to think, think about things that I normally probably wouldn’t think about (i.e. it is a great atmosphere for me for sure). Besides, it’s a good way to get the dirt cleaned from between my toes!

The tide does changes alright! A lady at our complex was sitting by the pool as we walked by. She was reading a book about emotions. We asked her what her emotions were—I have so many as I battled cancer last year and my two children have left home. Soooo, I have many emotions and am working on how to handle them. At the ocean is a good place to think through issues, my opinion. It’s an enjoyable place for me.

We went to the tide pools during the negative low tide to observe another world that normally we don’t see. Very educational to me (i.e. you don’t do that in Butler County IA). The analogy I made is that part of our lives we don’t easily expose until we have negative low tide and even then many folks don’t get to see what is down there unless they really look hard (i.e. and if we let them).

It’s not a nail biter! One good question that I asked myself while on the beach the other day--Which relationships deserve more of my attention?

Pretty tricky! I learned a new trick here near the beach. I learned how guys just put a towel around themselves (i.e. gals use a gown) and take their clothes off and put on their wet suits on underneath them and and also when taking their wet suits off. I think I better practice that a few times before doing it in public.

But there are down sides here toooo! I was waiting in our vehicle at Trader Joe’s parking lot for Jeanne when a senior couple was pushing a shopping cart full of groceries along with their maybe 35-year-old son who was driving an Audi parked next to me (i.e. probably visiting their son). As they were putting the groceries in the trunk, dad says to his kid—A person needs a second job just to pay for the groceries. Yes, the cost of living is high here. Our complex manager is in his 30s and he told us that common apartments are from $2,000 to $4,000 a month; many folks pay 75% of their monthly pay on rent and insurance. As my mentor would say to me—erv, nuttin is as good as it looks and nuttin is as bad as it looks! Such is life!

Have a FUN day my friends unless you have other plans. (-:

erv

MyDeceasedFriendJean said—A strong wind makes a strong tree.

what do we beleive

I saw a billboard sign that read—100% of boring billboard signs are useless! Do you believe that?

Accelerating! We see surfers, bikers, walkers, kite flyers, a lot of dogs, and runners on the beach and board walk but more in the mornings and evenings and on weekends. Most runners are young folks between 18 and 30. And there seems to be a ratio of 3 to 1 being CA  gals with their tummies showing (i.e. surfers are more like 8 out of 10 young males). Pacific Beach has to be the spandex capital of America! That is what I believe. It also makes me feel like the acronym that our neighbor told us is popular which is FOMO meaning --Fear of missing out! We really do enjoy the boardwalk and the ocean beach! They are accelerating! TheQueenOfPacificBeach tells the world, ya gotta keep moving! 

Dr. J says—"While there are a number of countries that have practiced atheism as the official position of the state, there are only three countries that currently practice state atheism: the People’s Republic of China, North Korea, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Yet even within these officially atheistic countries, religions flourish. Wherever humans exist, the longing for God is ongoing. This reality reflects the words of King Solomon near the end of his life. He recognized that God ’has put eternity in [men’s] hearts’—that is, a longing to connect with man’s Creator. Solomon also observed that ‘no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end’ by simply recognizing His existence. General revelation—for example, nature (Romans 1:19-20)—can show us God exists, but it takes special revelation—through the written Word and living Word, Jesus Christ (John 1:14)—to show us how to fill the God-shaped vacuum in our heart.” Do we believe Solomon and Dr. J? I do!

What do you believe? My hypothesis is that 67.86% of folks who have dogs on the board walk are female. I have no idea why, maybe you do. Also 89.26% of the surfers are male. Again I have no idea, maybe you do. Maybe they just are mental quirks!

What is the key to our heart? Maybe you don’t think there is a key to our heart, that could be! I know as well as you do, some folks have a very hard heart (i.e. it seems as hard as a rock). We were standing behind the first tee boxes of Tore Pines (i.e. one thing I wanted to do) and another guy was doing the same. He asked about us and we gave him our short story. He toooo told us that we are soooo fortunate to be together (i.e. that is what he told us out of the blue--Life is meant to be together.) We told him that we are very thankful! We asked him if he was a believer; I sure am, he said and that is what I believe!

Playwright and actor Woody Allen, 89, gave an interview last fall to The Wall Street Journal. He said, “The older I get, the more horrible I think everything is. I mean, the more life experience you have, you start to see what a foolish, meaningless, tragic experience it is.” Dr. J says—"What a bleak way to view the world! Yet without Christ, life really is foolish, meaningless, and tragic. The writer of Ecclesiastes grappled with just that issue.” That is what Dr. J and I believe.

We asked a surfer who rode his bike up to us carrying his surfboard (i.e. you don't see that in Butler County IA) how much does a surfboard cost. He said I have six of them in the range from $100 to a $1,000+. You must be pretty good surfer to have that many! I am a good surfer compared to somebody who doesn’t know anything about it! Well that’s us! So you’re good! And maybe he was just smoking some marijuana; there is a lot of that smoked here; we see it and smell it!

CoachB says—"The promised land lives in what we do daily. Not something out there but something in there!” It appears that maybe a 25-year-old gal lives in this van by our apartment maybe 50 yards from the ocean (i.e. at least for a couple of days). She has her wet suit hanging on the mirror and her surfboard hanging on the back of her van. She seems to work and has her car in front of the van (i.e. maybe even works from her van). She is an attractive CA gal. They tell us that housing is very expensive here. Maybe this is her promised land! Could be. A down side is that the San Diego Parking makes them move their vans every 2 days it seems. A tour guide told us that the top three money makers for San Diego are ship building and repair, military, and tourism. Soooooo, the homeless lifestyle is really policed it appears maybe for the money reason related to tourism (i.e. it ain’t pretty).

This is like the surfers' "duck dive." King Solomon says--Whatever amount of money God has entrusted to you, pray for even more wisdom. Whoever finds wisdom finds life (Proverbs 8:35). I believe that!

TheCA-SurferGirlWithTheGTO says--“I’ve never met a person who enjoys life who is unhappy doing so!” I agree with King Solomon as what he said--“People ought to enjoy every day of their lives, no matter how long they live.”

Have a FUN day my friends unless you have other plans. (-:

erv

MyDeceasedFriendJean said—Speech is silver—silence is golden.

new and improved

These two words, new and improved, are the most often used words in advertising, sooo they say. They must work. They are what folks what to hear probably (i.e. that is my opinion). But remember folks, opinions are just opinions; most are less than 50% correct at best. My mentor would tell me—if a mutual fund manager is 51% correct, the person is considered a success! If they are 49% correct, they get fired.

SaltySeagull  says--"Which is easier—to make your bed in the morning or leave it unmade? To volunteer for a community project or to watch TV all weekend? To vacuum, wash, and wax your car or to leave it dirty? The easiest choices reflect the Second Law of Thermodynamics: all work processes tend toward a greater state of disorder over time without fresh injections of new energy. This law applies to us physically, mentally and spiritually." That is maybe considered an opinion to some!

Opportunity! Two girls down in the weeds: one a slave, one a princess. Two girls down in the weeds, and one baby crying in a basket. This story is about Moses; a great story, my opinion. The story is about helping someone who needs our help, but we think it’s quite unlikely it will be us, but all of a sudden it is our opportunity. And it changes the future—a new and improved future! Do we think sometimes that we are of the opinion of being tooooo important of a person to be the one to help someone? Who what me! HotSauceOfSanDiego says--Life is all about me and that's how I like it!

Never toooo old for an opportunity! Soooo at Shadow Mountain Community Church last Sunday, a lady approached us who was dressed nice and had her hair done nice as well; she had to be 90 at least, her name was Joyce. She talked to us, greeted us and showed us around a little. After church, we ran into her again in the church's restaurant where we were having brunch. She was with a young gal maybe 20. Jeanne asked the young gal if she was her grand daughter--no no, I just met her 5 minutes ago! Yes, we heard Dr. David Jerimiah speak. A great experience and opportunity for us. My opinion!

For the new and improved teams Charles Barkey says—It’s not so much about Xs and Os but it’s more about the Jims and the Joes. If you are not a sports person, it means it’s not soooo much about coaches diagraming the plays but it’s more about having the better players to have good teams—good players make good coaches. As we have seen, some teams that have really gotten better in the last years (e.g. Indiana football—from the bottom rung to a championship team—new and improved—but they spent millions, word is $100,000,000+)! My opinion is that it looks to me that this philosophy applies to many things! You think sooo? Hey, the Super Bowl was not won with poor players! Da!

$$$$$$ Some of my sports buddies told me that one Indiana alumnus gave $100,000,000 to the football program to beef it up. Now that will give new and improved life to a program. They said that this type of donor is called a "white whale". These guys are from MN and they say U of MN does not have a white whale. Soooo, MN’s chance of winning a national championship is nil to none! They told me that Miami’s quarterback received $4,000,000 this last year to play there. Does this just make you wonder where this is going to stop? It’s all about the money! Or is it not! 

It is written--If the heart is receptive, the seed can bear fruit thirtyfold, sixtyfold, or a hundredfold (i.e. if we have a new and improved heart and mind—my opinion). Soooo if the heart is hard or non-receptive, guess what will it produce? Mr. Stingray says—But it also depends on what the seeds are that we plant in our hearts doesn’t it? If the seeds are cockleburs, it will produce cockleburs! JoePublic, what part don’t you understand?

The word Stingray (i.e. Stingrays are very common in the Pacific Ocean here) was modified here in San Diego years ago to Stingaree as the business people stung the sailors who came to port after a long time on the sea. The main places that they got stung at were at the brothels, gambling halls and saloons soooo they got the name Stingarees! Nuttin new I would guess! 

We were having  dinner with two old-friend couples before we left for CA (i.e. in more ways than one) who are our age. Joethehike said that we are 80 and about 4% of the U.S. population are 80 or more. Being in that 4% isn’t always new and improved. But it’s different alright! Something is still the same though, we enjoy each other’s company! We had a hoot!

Help help, please help. When we were still in AZ we had a lady stop at our place as she had 6 bags of cloths to give to Jeanne to take to New Hope. She said many of the clothes still had price tags on them yet. Her family member has dementia and bought clothes online and didn’t know what she was doing. Soooo sad! She also told us that she got scammed out of $9,000. Soooo sad. We need to help our family members if they need help; they need an advocate; we must admit that they need help. I can tell you this as I know from being a care giver of my wife who had Alzheimer’s (i.e. a first-hand experience)--don't kid yourself; we need to face reality as it's best for everyone. 

This is a multiple choice question. Who do you think said this statement, a pickleball partner, a car salesman or Jesus?  "For a new and improved life anything that tends to make you anxious is a growth opportunity. Instead of running away from these challenges, embrace them eager to gain all the blessings I have hidden in the difficulties." Saturday question--Are difficulties opportunities? As Dr. J said in his talk, "When I was struggling with cancer, I told God I had enough opportunities, I got it!"

Have a FUN day my friends unless you have other plans. (-:

erv

MyDeceasedFriendJean said--Failure is one thing you can achieve without much effort.

juiced

You think wintering in the South is just a piece of cake and we are just juiced up all of the time. Well, it ain’t soooo. The other morning I had a blackout for 20 minutes!  Then I realized I had my hoody on backwards!

Something different! We are spending the month of February in San Diego (i.e. something different). And it is different. In Butler County, IA everyone waves at everyone even if you don’t know them and the same in our 55+ community in AZ. In fact, when I ride my bicycle in AZ I had to learn to ride with one hand as I have to continuously wave with the other. Here in San Diego, no one waves at me. It’s CA sooo maybe they haven’t caught on yet! The country was developed from the East to the West! hahaha

One of our neighbors in our 55+community is always juiced up with enthusiasm; he is always doing something from light to dark. And he can do anything and everything; he’s really good at everything plus he is a nice guy (i.e. we really like this guy). We asked him how come he’s soooo smart—he said, I ask myself that as well!

It is amazing how my emotions, thinking, happiness etc. can be affected by how others react to me in mixtures of situations. Soooo, you all affect me; you motivate me, discourage me, uplift me, deplete me, encourage me, spark me, humble me, make me feel loved, make me feel not loved, on and on and on; you get it. And I can juice you up or take your juice away I would guess as well.

Saturday question—Where did you get your juice? I’m asking where did you get what you got; what makes you you? Something Jeanne and I discuss a lot is genetics vs. environment. Maybe we are influenced by both; we think. Soooo which one is the most prominent in our life? Are we like our parents? Are we like the home or homes we grew up in? Do folks ever say we look just like our parents? Or do others say we act just like the home we grew up in? How about our children? John, anybody can be a John, says—I hope our children don’t grow up like me! Maybe we are all juiced up! BettyLouFromMissionBeach says—Our children seem to be pretty good people in spite of their father and me!

What is our favorite juice? Chester and Anna were good parents to me, my opinion. They were good people in many ways and taught me a lot of good stuff (i.e. I can see threads of them in my life). Unfortunately, my Daddy died  when I was 17 and my Mom died when I was 22 sooooo I was on my own early. BUT I was around some really good folks who were very influential in my life during that period of making a lot of important decisions. Another break I had or made was developing a very good relationship with a client who became my mentor. He shared soooo much of his wisdom (i.e. wisdom under the sun meaning earthly wisdom and wisdom under heaven meaning spiritual wisdom). We developed much trust in each other and he shared a lot with me. In fact, he told me that I knew more about his life, spiritually, personally and financially than anyone else; he said--erv I don’t know why I tell you all this stuff! He was a great man, my opinion. For sure he juiced me up!

When I think of an eternal flame I think of the one at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Paris and the flame on John F. Kennedy’s grave. Do we have an eternal flame in us that burns continuously and forever? If soooo, what is it? Where does it get its fuel, what juices it up. I would guess it has to do a lot with the folks we are around (e.g. if our flame is sweetness we are probably around sweet folks and if it is bitterness, we are probably around bitter folks). My take on it is that we are much like who encourages us. They fuel us. They juice us up! Look around, It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out! Da!

Who knows for sure! SurferJane says—The truth of certain stories are open for debate but this one is true, maybe, I think!  Here is a story told to Jeanne by a lady in in our 55+ community in AZ and she told it to me. Soooo it’s a third hand story and by that time most of the information is wrong or embellished as you know. Soooo take it for what’s it worth. This lady has a dog and takes it to the dog park regularly. She told Jeanne that there is a lady there that is just soooo nice to me; I have no idea why she is soooo nice to me; she is nice all the time to me; I just don’t get it. Jeanne asked who it is—I don’t know—what does she look like—what does her dog look like (i.e. dog folks are known by their dogs)—ok, that is so and so and yes she is a nice lady. Soooo Jeanne texted that lady and told her the story. That lady just took it pretty much in stride (i.e. she is a humble lady). BUT don’t kid yourself, I am sure she appreciated Jeanne’s encouragement! It juiced her up I bet!

There are a lot of surfers in the ocean here by our unit. They are interesting folks alright (i.e. you don't see guys and gals carrying surf board on their bikes in Butler Co.). Something else that is interesting for us here in San Diego is that neither of us have any family here, neither of us have any friends here nor neither of us have any business connections here. We are in an oasis all by ourselves without those stimuli for a month. We are creating our own environment between us. JoeSanDiego says--That is pretty juicy! A marriage is a valuable, unique relationship!

Have a FUN day my friends unless you have other plans. (-:

erv

MyDeceasedFriendJean said—If you got something for nothing, that is usually what it is worth.

PS Valentine hint! We stopped at the Post Office for some stamps for valentine cards to our grandkids. We asked the clerk if he could give us our change in some $5 bill for our grand kids. He said--Where have you folks been! Grandkids don't want $5 bills; they expect $100 bills!