Stormy Weather

Stormy Weather
This spring has been unusually wet. There has been more rain than sunshine. Gray clouds have filled the sky competing with the white ones. The rain has come in slow mists or sheets of blinding rains that are pushed by powerful winds. The music of the rain has been accented with rolling thunder and flashes of bright lightning. Sleet and hail join the orchestra with the rat-ah-tat-tat on my metal roof. I’m just glad that the hail and slleet at my house have been only small pellets and not the huge ones elsewhere. The winds have been strong at my house, but I have been spared the damaging powerful wind that has caused trees to be ripped up and roofs to be torn off.
Not so very far from my house, huge pines were toppled and homes were damaged. There have been assaults by the storms but God has given me protection. There have been tornadoes in the southwestern corner of Pennsylvania with power outages, but not the multiple days locally and unlike places like Pittsburgh. The power interruptions at my house were a few minutes to several hours only.
Early this spring we had a teasingly warm week. It was a taste of the summer to come with hot days, cool nights, and a bit of sunshine. That didn’t last long. A cold snap came in. The temperature became cold enough to make me break out a heavy jacket and gloves and aall the while the rains continued and the grass grew. Everything was green. It was difficult to keep the yard mowed with the extended periods of wetness.
Last year we were begging for rain because of drought-like conditions. This year is just the opposite makinf delays in planting gardens and crops. I will say that my apple trees and flowering plants have really been filled with bright blossoms.
 

Alone Now

 I was thinking about D-day and the invasion of Normandy Beach. I pulled this poem from my files to honor the fallen soldiers and sailors that sacrificed so much to keep evil in check and to keep the torch of freedom burning brightly. This is my salute to those fallen heroes who never returned. This is my post for Memorial Day.
Alone Now
She weeps
Tears fall
Folded flag
Held tightly
Remembering him.
Tall and strong
Young and alive
But no more.

She weeps
Broken hearted
Inconsolable, empty
Ribbons and medals
Clutched in hand
Remembering him.
Gentle lover
Protector
Helpmate
But no more.

She weeps
No comfort
Grief stricken
Unbearable pain
Remembering him.
Tender hero
Valiant knight
Blessed hope
To return no more.

America’s Sins

 America’s Sins
There was a time in history that America was a God fearing country. The first men and women came to our shores seeking religious freedom; searching for the ability to worship God without interference from a king or government.  The foundation of the Constitution was based on biblical principles that God described in His Word. The Constitution of the United States is the document that separates a freedom loving people from peoples in the rest of the world.
America has been blessed. The face of God has looked favorably on our nation to make it a powerful entity and a haven for the oppressed. God has allowed our country to intervene when evil men attempted to rule the world. America has given the lives of its men and women to secure liberty for those who were being enslaved.
But year after year America has turned its back on God and year after year God has been saying, “I love you. Come back to me.” The government’s been straying from the principles on which our nation was created. Too many politicians have come to rely on their own strength and wisdom instead of seeking the face of God who is the source of all wisdom and strength.
Morality is on the decline and depravity is on the rise. Our government cannot legislate morality. If the hearts of our citizens remain unchanged, laws will do little to restrain evil or to limit its effects.
I believe God has been showing His displeasure by the increase of earthquakes and weather disasters. When mankind is unwilling to recognize the Creator of the Earth and the weather concerns, but gives credit to “Mother Nature” or “Climate Change” it will only increase. When men do not give God the credit for creation nor see it as a pronouncement of judgment, He will continue to weigh those people and allow that nation to be brought down in defeat.
History shows that when a country removes God from its daily life other than to think of Him as a servant; only to be beckoned when something is needed, that country fails. God will use the same hands that produced the many years of safety and blessings to also deliver the wrath of His judgment on the people of that nation.
It is time for Americans to be less proud and more humble. God is the only strength and refuge in times of trouble and fear. He is our buckler and our sword. God can bless America again if only we turn to Him and seek his forgiveness and face.

USPS Losing Ground in Service

 USPS Losing Ground in Service
If you can’t tell, I’m upset. The ever increasing prices for their postal service’s postage stamps and their continuing decline of service have made me irate. Let me set the stage; I have lived at the same address for over thirty-five years and have not had many issues with the delivery of my mail. I just had a misdirested bill from my water company. The bill had an attached tag covering my home address saying that the bill was “unable to forward/ for Review/. When I received the bill, it was delivered late and because of the late delivery it caused my payment be late. Even though I sent the check out when I recsived the bill.I sent my check to the water authority on Aprin 12, 2025. I received a second bill from the water company saying they’d added a late fee because they hadn’t received payment. So I called the water company to ask about the payment that I just sent in. They hadn’t received that check in the mail which caused to initial late fee.
I drove to the water authority today and was disturbed that they’d not received the check I’d written on the twelfth. It’s a good thing that I did because I would have had a second late fee entered. Although I was upset that the water company was unable to waive the fee, I decided to pay the double month fee to avoid a second late fee. I had no choice. The USPS failed to deliver a local mailing after ten days. What if it didn’t arrive on time?
The lady suggested I go to the local post office to see what they were abe to do. I drove to the Acme post office which is where my rural delivery is distributed. The postmaster was also unable to help but did give me a 1-800 telephone number.
When I dial the number, I am hit with a barage of “if you want… Press number 1, 2, 3, 4 etc.”There were about eight of r so options. Then you are directed into another volley of selections that are voice activated or by pushing a corresponding number. After listening to the offerings for a second time, I chose one that I had a concern about a delivery person, which wasn’t true, but it was as close as I could get in an attemp to talk to a real person. The first option was to give them a phone number so they could send a text message, but I hung in long enough to talk with a real human.
She couldn’t do more than to register my complaint because there was no way to track my mail. I did calm down a bit once I spoke with a human, but suggested that they sell the USPS to an entreprenuer and out of government’s hands.
USPS Losing Ground in Service
If you can’t tell, I’m upset. The ever increasing prices for their postal service’s postage stamps and their continuing decline of service have made me irate. Let me set the stage; I have lived at the same address for over thirty-five years and have not had many issues with the delivery of my mail. I just had a misdirested bill from my water company. The bill had an attached tag covering my home address saying that the bill was “unable to forward/ for Review/. When I received the bill, it was delivered late and because of the late delivery it caused my payment be late. Even though I sent the check out when I recsived the bill.I sent my check to the water authority on Aprin 12, 2025. I received a second bill from the water company saying they’d added a late fee because they hadn’t received payment. So I called the water company to ask about the payment that I just sent in. They hadn’t received that check in the mail which caused to initial late fee.
I drove to the water authority today and was disturbed that they’d not received the check I’d written on the twelfth. It’s a good thing that I did because I would have had a second late fee entered. Although I was upset that the water company was unable to waive the fee, I decided to pay the double month fee to avoid a second late fee. I had no choice. The USPS failed to deliver a local mailing after ten days. What if it didn’t arrive on time?
The lady suggested I go to the local post office to see what they were abe to do. I drove to the Acme post office which is where my rural delivery is distributed. The postmaster was also unable to help but did give me a 1-800 telephone number.
When I dial the number, I am hit with a barage of “if you want… Press number 1, 2, 3, 4 etc.”There were about eight of r so options. Then you are directed into another volley of selections that are voice activated or by pushing a corresponding number. After listening to the offerings for a second time, I chose one that I had a concern about a delivery person, which wasn’t true, but it was as close as I could get in an attemp to talk to a real person. The first option was to give them a phone number so they could send a text message, but I hung in long enough to talk with a real human.
She couldn’t do more than to register my complaint because there was no way to track my mail. I did calm down a bit once I spoke with a human, but suggested that they sell the USPS to an entreprenuer and out of government’s hands.

Lube Job

Lube Job
Yesterday I spent the morning with my friend,. the friend who uses me as her service dog. It’s a good thing that she did. It was her first appointment to see her cancer doctor at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, West Virginia. Most times I go along to keep her ccompany and to drive back if she should have a problem. We started out okay. As is her custom, she stops at Sheets for something to drink and a cup of ice cubes. When sh returned to her truck, she was very pale and looked confused. She climbed into the cab and sat there for several minutes. I asked if she was okay and the only response was that she didn’t feel right. Finally she said, “Can you drive?”
We exchanged places and I asked if she wanted to go to the hospital? She said “No.”
My friend is very bull-headed and she would want to keep an appointment even if I had to drag her dead body into the doctor’s office for him to examine. So off we went. She sat quietly sipping a soft drink. After about ten minutes, sha asked, “Do I look any better?” Her color had reurned and she said that she was feeling better. She explained that her morning blood sugar was slightly elevated and she had taken a higher dose and that was affecting her drop in her blood sugar. Drinking the root beer alleciated much of the problem. I’m a slower driver and she was worried about being late. Later in West Virginia, she said that she was able to drive and again we changed places. We pulled into the parking lot with only a few minutes to spare.
Inside they checked her blood sugar and it remained a little low, but came back up after orange juice and Graham crackers. When her evaluation was over, we drove back home, stopping for lunch. She wanted Wendy’s so Wendy’s it was. I usually eat light for lunch and ordered a Dave’s Double hamburger and a drink at the Uniontown, Wendys. Let me preface this next park by saying I’ve eaten not so great burgers before, but this was the very most greasy hamburger that I’ve ever eaten in my life. The inside of the wrapper and the outside of the bun was oily and the meat had an old oil flavor to it.
Now I wish that I’d have said something, but I didn’t and I don’t need my insides will ever need to be lubricated… EVER. P.S. Later that day the stale oily taste reappeared many times.

What Is a Woman?

 What Is a Woman?
What is a woman? That seems to be one of the most important questions being posed to people today. Not so long ago it had a very simple answer. That was until the intelligencia began to alter, accept and include different definitions. By changing the meaning of words to define a person’s sex at birth with the word gender, they opened a Pandora’s Box. With the introduction of the word gender, it allowed a crack to open where slight variations could be inserted and finally recognized as acceptable. What was once diagnosed as a mental disorder was now being legitimized as real.
For some reason, it reminds me of a child who has been given the toy of a wooden workbench consisting of a board with holes in it. The rest of the toy is made of square pegs, cylindrical pegs, and a small wooden hammer. The child is expected to put the square pegs in the square holes and the round pegs into the round holes with the assistance of the wooden hammer tapping them into place.
Sometimes a child will try to fit the round peg into the square hole or the square peg into the round hole, but soon learn what they are expected to do. Some children become frustrated and angry when they pieces don’t fit. Instead of the child using the pieces of the toy as the Creator intended, the child tries to force things, pounding harder and harder with the hammer. In a last attempt to get its way, the child may trim the corner edges of the square peg or remove the curved surface of the round peg to get them to be inserted into a mismatched hole. At best, the pegs can be go into the hole, but the pegs may not be functional as the toy was designed in the first place.
Now with great pride, the child shows another child the finished product. The other child may make a comment about the pegs in the toy are misplaced not fitting correctly. In anger the toy is snatched back and the first child is offended that the other child doesn’t see the work that was necessary to make the parts fit. Irate, the offended child can’t see that the other shild sees the correct way to enjoy the toy is the way the Creator shaped it and intended it the toy was to be used. The offended child wants the adulterated toy to be accepted as the normal way for all children to see and to believe that this toy is fitting and proper for anyoone who says so.

Making Time to Make Friends

 Making Time to Make New Friends
Sometimes it isn’t the close bonding of a deep friendship that will arise, but doing little things for strangers that make a big difference. Things like talking to a cashier as I check out at a store. They slowly change from being a stranger to become an acquaintence, then to a friend who recognizes you, returns your smile, and is friendly in return. It becomes better if you remember something that they’ve shared with you about their family.
Sometimes it’s just doing something unexpected for someone who needs help. I am taller and when I see a shorter person, especially and older person, trying to reach a product from a higher shelf, I ask, “Can I get that for you?” Most times the person ssays, “Thank you, yes,” returned with a smile.
Recently a new family has been attending our church regularly. As most often, new people are cordially greeted by other members and welcomed to join us in our worship services Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday evening in Prayer Service.
Slowly as they got used to my face, I began to talk with them, finding more about them, their occupations, their likes and dislikes, and family histories. I found out from one of the kids the name of a great grandfather. When they mentioned his name and his occupation, I remembered that we had information at the Chestnut Ridge Historical Society in Stahlstown, Pennsylvania.
Last Wednesday as I put in my hours of volunteer work, I took photographs of a book we had about their great grandfather, several other photos, and a rocking butter churn. I sent them to the family, hoping that they might be entices to visit the society’s show room.
This weekend we are having a young Ambassador Baptist College graduate visit our church in a “Meet and greet” session. Our church is searching for an assistant and youth pastor. The meet and greet is an event to allow him to see if he might be led to and interested in being a candidate for that position. A game night Saturday, then he will be able to give the sermon Sunday morning. It will allow the congregation to visit with him and if he is interested, it will allow him to candidate and for me to pssibly make a new friend.