My neighbors – my brothers.

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From darkness into light.

I’m a night shift kind of guy. I have worked overnights for a long time, most of my adult life when you get to the nub of it. During that time I’ve grown accustomed to the dark and working alone, or with just a few people around. Part of that is that night people cling together a little more closely than the day crew. Part of it is that we are a bit more at ease with a small view of the world and darkness enveloping our existence.

I get off work and head home to do chores most days. This winter it’s included more than a desirable amount of snow removal. No massive amounts of the white stuff, but just enough every day or two that I’m required to remove it. Because I take care of dead people (my neighbor passed and I keep the house up until it gets demolished to avoid vandalism), absent people (a neighbor who moved but keeps the property up), and old people (one elderly neighbor who I’ve shoveled for for years) I cover a lot of ground with my beloved snow blower. And having lived in the “hood” for almost twenty years I notice things.

I live in the darkness out of choice. I actually have enough seniority to take a different shift (for the moment, anyway.) But there are lots of our brothers and sisters who are in a different kind of darkness and they cannot escape from their captivity. They are caught in addiction.

You probably are in love with someone with an addiction. A family member, a close friend, a mate, someone you know pretty well, or just the guy down the block. You’re supposed to love them according to Christ. But you don’t. You don’t even see them in the shadows of the night fighting the demons of addiction, crying for help and sobriety.

It’s not that you are mean-spirited or cruel. Many of them hide the fact that they are addicts. They do a great job on that account because of shame. But if you look out into the darkness you can see the footprints leaving the light and heading into the shadows. I see those footprints. I see them come back into the light on occasion. And I rejoice. Lots of prayer to work that miracle.

Lest you think this just a tortured metaphor, I was inspired to write this because of real footprints in the snow. I usually get the snow blower out and about just after 0800 and get working. And every time I’ve gone to blow snow this winter there’s been a single set of footprints past my door. It starts a few doors down and heads directly for the liquor store 2 blocks away. Their passage tells me that they’re timed to arrive just as the store opens – the first chance to “get straight” they have under state law.

Whose footprints? I know the family. All are friendly with me. I pray for them and wave to them, but there’s a sadness there that I cannot breach. A sadness and an illness that I’m familiar with in my own life. I have that cursed gene in my family, lost relatives to it, lost friends to it, lost brain cells to it. I see what it does to people and I am filled with remorse and sadness that we got kicked out of the Garden of Eden and took up that burden. And one of those fellow sons of Adam trudges past my door every morning of the week to replenish their stock of alcohol so that they don’t die from withdrawal.

I stop my blower and pray when I see the steps in the snow. I hope that you, dear reader, don’t suffer from that addiction. But if you do – there is hope. You can survive it and take those steps out of the darkness. I know it for a fact. And I’ll be praying that you find that blessing in your life.

Are you addicted? Are you in love with an addict? Are you working your way out of that life right now. Let me know, I’ll add you to my prayers.

Until then, be well and be with God.

More of that serious stuff.

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This post is directed at all of you with children. And those of you that play the games that children do. And those of you who were in any job or position where you ever bashed your head. Today’s topic is concussion.

Before you stop and move on to the next article, I have to admit that I used to think people who complained about this injury, and the danger and damage from a concussion, might be whiners. I no longer think that. I’m a fairly “macho” guy, did my share of risky things and took my share of shots. But I was also more of a nerd, a debater, a book worm than most guys my size and build. I can see both sides of the argument as people present them. Fact is, there is really only one side – it’s bad news. I’m not a doctor, don’t even play one on television, but I hope that you ponder what I present below and give it the reflection it deserves.

Concussion is far more common than most of us will admit, or even sometimes recognize. It includes “getting your bell rung” and other shots to the head that stun or daze you. The overall term is Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.

I’m suffering from a little bit of a headache just writing this blog today. I had a severe concussion a few years ago. It was an accident. I was stooping behind the garage door to pick up something and someone opened the door. Thankfully I was wearing a stocking cap and the thick rolled portion took the blow from the doorknob. If not, I shudder to think what damage might have been done. As it was, it was a rough three weeks following that bang on the head.

But the point is that it did happen. And I did suffer trauma from the blow. It combined with all the other bashes to my fat head over the years. Does this explain my behavior? Nah, my mother will vouch for the fact that I was “a little bit off” long before any head trauma.

After watching the video below I realized that most people kind of amble on down the road ignorant of the dangers, especially to young people. A coworker of mine slipped on the ice at work last week and hit his head. He got a concussion by all of the symptoms he described. And yet I don’t think he went to the doctor or was encouraged to do so by management.

If you would be so kind as to take the time today to watch the video it will be a good way to spend your time. Put it on your mobile device and watch it while your kid is at hockey practice. You owe it to yourself to get educated on this issue.
 


Link to Head Games.

 

 

Greek Honey

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Honey is for the soul.

It’s funny to contemplate the small kindnesses that we do for each other and what a huge impact they have on the recipient. Two years ago I brought some orange blossom honey back from Florida and shared it with some friends here in Minnesota.

Last fall one of those friends handed me this can of honey in “repayment.” This can, however, was hand-carried from Greece by the man’s mother. She brought it from the apiary next to the family home. If you have never had honey of this kind you may not understand the sheer joy it brought to my palette.

Greek honey is like the love of the friend who had it carried across the oceans for me. It is thick, almost like ribbon candy just before it sets. It has a pure, clean taste to it that refined honey never seems to maintain. And it comes reluctantly out of the can, clinging to the sides until you scrape the last of it out.

That’s what kindness does in your life. It coats you with that honey of love and joy that friends bring to each other. The can is empty of honey but it sits on my desk as a reminder that I have good and decent friends who will do great things to show their affection. I am honored. And I have to make sure that I score some more orange blossom honey soon, they could use the reminder of my friendship as well.

Odious and vile.

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Those are the two words to describe the current attack on religious freedom in this country. Cowardly, wrong, and evil are right in the running as well.

This morning it was again brought to my attention that nobody is as intolerant as those on the left reviling conservative Christians for their intolerance. There was a story published about a business owner who happened to be an ordained Deacon in the Catholic Church. The man teaches at Seminary and holds his belief dear. He has a heart and a soul that follows Christ and trusts in the Bible and the teachings of his church.

This man has protested Obamacare and the requirement that his company fund contraception and abortion drugs. He is not telling his employees that they must follow his spiritual goals. He is not telling them that they must do anything. He is, however, telling the federal government that he doesn’t approve of the money they will force him to spend on items that are outside his faith structure. He is considering closing his business rather than be forced to defile his faith.

And the response I saw was from a man whom I consider to be well educated. He is not stupid. He attends church each week and considers himself to be a Christian. But he is so wrong that it pains me greatly. The title to his Facebook post was “American Taliban.” His gaggle of friends (mostly) jumped in and excoriated the Deacon for his intolerance and willing women into slavery and unwanted pregnancies. Some hoped his business failed. Other less civil thoughts followed on other forums about the same news article.

How did we get to the place in America where a man simply saying, “I’m not going to use my business to fund items that I find morally wrong, I’ll close it instead.” is the equivalent to the Taliban. For those of you that need a recap, the Taliban is the charming group that destroyed all music in Afghanistan, blew up ancient statues in the desert, requires women to be virtual possessions of men, mandated complete body covering for all women, throws acid in the face of school girls, and decapitates people based on their faith alone. I am completely unable to fathom how the Deacon is of this ilk.

Be careful, America. Your soul is in jeopardy.  You are dangerously close to the behavior of the ancient Israelites seen in Judges. Go take a read there to see how God reacts to this kind of behavior. You cannot be a Christian and ponder this kind of attack on another believer. Paul had quite a bit to say about that kind of behavior.

And lest you think I’m judging – you’re right. I’m sick to death of being told what a horrible person I am for having beliefs.

Personally I have no urge to wander under another tribe’s dominion and be enslaved. Yet we are perilously close to that in this country.

I debated posting this at all. But as I was standing in a crowd of Christians engaged in worship on Friday night I felt myself drift away from the crowd and spend a few moments of utter clarity on this topic. And here’s my conclusion:

You cannot be a true follower of Jesus Christ and endorse abortion as a right. You can do a lot of things, but killing a child before it is born is beyond the pale. You can have remorse and ask forgiveness for that horrible decision and still be saved. But you can never actively endorse it. You cannot force others of faith to fund it. You cannot claim that they are Taliban for refusing to work on the behalf of those that would.

God has a plan for all of us. Even the unborn. And there is no way in 2013 that you can call a child in the womb anything other than a child. If the argument is that the fetus is “an nonviable tissue mass”  then all children fall into that category until about the age of five. Because you aren’t going to find feral children under five. They need our support, love, medical care, feeding, and nurturing from the moment of birth until they can run fast enough to get away. Is killing four year old children good with you?  How about kids that are 50 months old. Remove all support and they’re not able to get along. Get the point?  If not, I refer you to the New Testament where John reacted in the womb to the news of Christ. Done. Argument over. They’re humans.

And if you want to call me Taliban, drop on by and do it in person.  Don’t bother posting something nasty about me. I’d like the opportunity to point out the error of your ways in person. The cowards who destroy fellow Christians by remote control, savage their integrity, and set the dogs of discredit on them are not worthy of my notice unless they have the guts to stand face to face with me and explain how I am the equivalent of Osama Bin Laden. If you can find the passage in the Bible that says you must provide abortions and birth control, I’ll shut my mouth.

We now resume our normal blogging.

It’s not snowing!!!!!111!1!!!!!!!1111

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Just had to mention that. I’m able to blog again without the stink of snow blower exhaust fouling my beard.

Is it spring yet?

That’s all going to change in a few hours. Life is such a joy in the northern latitudes.

 

Sorry about the light posting this week. Still doing the asthma dance, finishing a book for submission to a contest and living life.  Blog took a hit.

 

More next week.

 

In the meantime, here’s a video to chew on!