How to Dance in the Rain

My wife sent the following email to me. I love its message. Perhaps, you will as well.

Ron

It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80's arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00am. I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.
While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry.

The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer's Disease.
As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late.
He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now..
I was surprised, and asked him, 'And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?'
He smiled as he patted my hand and said,
'She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is.'
I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought,
'That is the kind of love I want in my life.'
True love is neither physical, nor romantic.

True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.
With all the jokes and fun that are in e-mails, sometimes there is one that comes along that has an important message. This one I thought I could share with you.
The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.
I hope you share this with someone you care about. I just did.
'Life isn't about how to survive the storm,but how to dance in the rain
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Not Just A Building

I have always said that a church is not a building but people. Certainly we need a building for the people to gather for worship, fellowship, study, and other things. However, the people are the primary church.

As I stated in a previous post, I was guest minister today at the First Christian Church, Gainesville, MO where I had served as an Interim Minister.

My wife and I were greeted with hugs, handshakes, and smiles as we enter the building. Those greetings set the mood for the worship service as the joy of the Lord abounded in the hallways and in the foyer. We were not the only ones greeted that way--each person who entered was embraced and given a smile. I had time to visit with some of the people who were there during my ministry. Each one had the same story to tell: "Ron, you kept us together during a difficult time. Bobby Jo is a real blessing to us as she had lifted our spirits to great heights. We were going through the motions of being a church while you were here and you challenged us to do great things for God. Bobby Jo has not only challenged us to do the same but has been our motivator and encourager every step of the way. We are so glad to have her as our pastor and so fortunate to have had you as our Interim Minister."

The worship service was great. The people were ready for worship. And, there were children and teenagers in worship which was a great joy to behold because while I was there there were just one or two children and no youth. It was great to see two teenagers bring in the flags and lead us in the pledges to both our nation's flag and the Christian flag. The service was a blending of traditional Christianity and the celebration of our nation's birth. I noticed about 8 to 10 children come forth for the children's moments and what a joy that was.

People, young, middle aged, senior citizens, long term members, new members, and a host of visitors all participated in the worship experience. They sang with enthusiasm and joy which thrilled this ole heart. Communion was a time of great reverence as the family of God gathered around His Table. It truly was good to be in God's House in Gainesville today.

I told the congregation their church was my spiritual home away from home. If it were not so far from Springfield, I would attend there each Sunday as they are what I believe a church truly ought to be...a loving, caring fellowship of people who are dedicated to Christ and ministering to the community and the world.

After worship, my wife and I were invited to eat dinner with several church families. It was a good time of fellowship and renewal of friendships. I sat across the table from a couple who were new to the church and they are so thrilled to be a part of that church community.

Was a day of blessing upon blessing for me at the First Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, Gainesville, MO. Trust your day was a blessing as well.

Ron

Guest Minister

This Sunday, July 29, I will have the joy and pleasure of being the guest minister at First Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, in Gainesville, MO while their pastor is on vacation.

I served as Interim Minister during 2006-2007 while they were seeking a new resident pastor. They were and are a wonderful group of dedicated Christians. It will be great visiting with them again as they hold a special place in my heart.

Their new pastor has lead the congregation in spiritual renewal and community outreach. If you reside in the Gainesville area or visiting in that part of the Ozarks take an opportunity to visit with them. I'm confident you will find a warm welcome and a loving spirit.

Ron

Stress Test

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, I had a two part chemical stress test. For several months, my arms and leg leg have had a numbing sensation especially during the sleep hours. Actually my limbs were getting a better night's sleep than I was so I told my doctor about this. He ordered this chemical stress test.

Needless to say, my pre-test stress level began to rise and on the Sunday prior to the test the cartoon on the right appeared in our Sunday paper. You may need to double click the cartoon to view it in a larger size. While it is funny, I am certainly glad the stress test technicians and doctor did not dress like that. :) You can imagine what it would have done to my stress level if the doctor had entered the room dressed as the "grim reaper," I would have not need any if the chemicals. The shock itself would have been enough to stress my heart to a level whereby they could get a good reading and photograph. :)

On Tuesday when the technician injected the isotopyes into my system and it got to the heart, I was heard to exclaim, "Yoooooh." The technician smiled and said, "It got to your heart, didn't it?" "Oh, yes," replied. She injected some more and the ole heart endured the second wave of chemicals. The technician informed me that I was more than half way through the test and was doing fine. Easy for her to say. :) Soon the experience was over and I was allowed to have some peanut butter crackers and coffee prior to having images taken of my heart.

While lying on the imagine 'bed' really a slat with arms extended above my head, I listened to the music playing over head and took a well deserved nap. This experience lasted for about 13 minutes. I was a free man. I could go home and eat a real breafast and take a real nap. :) Which of course, I did.

Have a great and wonderful day.
Ron

The Winds Did Blow

Yesterday, June 19th, our area was subject to a severe thunderstorm. We have had several this year and as the saying goes, "If you don't like the weather in the Ozarks, just wait 20 minutes or so and it will change." Yesterday was one of those sudden change days as the thunderstorm rolled in with all of its glory and splendor. Lighting and thunder with torrents of rain. Our electricity went out about 3:30 pm. So we sat in the dark while the winds blew harder and harder and the sky became much darker.

The wind reaching 70 mph blew the screens out of our living room windows as well as blowing the blue glass items from the shelf below. Not only did the winds do that, it also closed both windows.

When the power came back on the weatherman on the TV indicated an EF1 tornado had hit several commercial buildings near our home. Fortunately no one was hurt or killed. As the crow flies, they are about 2 miles from us. Thus, we figured that's what caused our windows to lose their shelf items, screens, and close.

We reside in a neighborhood of trees. Our front yard has 15 trees...all of which are old. Of course, each time we have a thunderstorm or a winter ice storm we fear that our trees will fall into the house. So, far we have been lucky. That, however, was not the case for an individual homeowner near where the EF1 tornado hit as one of his 100 year old trees was uprooted and crashed into his home. He was inside and not harmed...just alarmed.

If you don't like the weather where you live, come on down to the Ozarks we'll treat you to a mixture of weather and floodings.

Have a great day.
Dr Ron

Mule jumping highlights Ozark Heritage festival in West Plains

This is what we do in the Ozarks for fun. No, that is not me leading the mule. Have a great day and enjoy. Click the following to access the sent link: Mule jumping highlights Ozark Heritage festival in West Plains*

A House Guest

We had an unexpected house guest yesterday. I needed to take care of some business in the bathroom and when I turned on the light, I noticed something that was not there on a previous visit: a black snake about 3 feet long. Needless to say, I did not take care of the business I had intended but attended to the business at hand. Now, being a city boy, I really don't like snakes....but, I knew I had to get this one out ASAP.

Went my "office" to get my camera and a coat hanger. The battery was so low on the camera that I could not take a picture of our guest. I did manage to get it onto the coat hanger after several tries. As I moved the little step stool, the step fell on the snake which immediately went into a very defensive mode and hissed. As I was carrying it out on the hanger, it fell to the dinning room floor and scurried behind the buffet where it crawled to the door. I opened the door helping him out. Ah, the business at hand was over. Now, I could take care of business.

When I told my wife about it she indicated that perhaps that was what Cali, our cat, kept stalking under our bed. Now, I won't sleep for a month. :) We both agreed that the snake was in the bathroom because it "didn't have a pit to hiss in." ;)

An Icon of the Baking Industry Dies

This has been around the internet before however I thought you might get a chuckle out of it today.

Please join me in remembering a great icon of the entertainment community. The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection and trauma complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was 71. Doughboy was buried in a lightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, and Captain Crunch. The grave site was piled high with flours. Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded. Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers. He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes. Despite being a little flaky at times, he still was a crusty old man and was considered a positive roll model for millions. Doughboy is survived by his wife Play Dough, three children: John Dough, Jane Dough and Dosey Dough, plus they had one in the oven. He is also survived by his elderly father, Pop Tart. The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes. If this made you smile for even a brief second, please rise to the occasion and take time to pass it on and share that smile with someone else who may be having a crumby day and kneads a lift.

Nice Email

I just received the nicest email from a lady in TN who took time to read all My Front Porch postings. She had many nice things to say about my blog and my picture remindered her of a very dear friend. She thought her friend and I just had to be related.

Her friend turns out to be my dear friend as well. His daughter was married to my son and from this union we have two of our four grandchildren. So that is about as far a "relatedness' goes.

The TN lady and I belong to a religious chat group so this is how she knew to email me. I appreciate her comments and look forward to meeting her one day.

Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling 2008

Here's a fun thing to do on a Sunday afternoon.

A Rare Day

It is a rare day when I sleep beyond 7 am. Today was one of those rare days as I slept in until 11 am only to be awakened by the phone ringing. Other than the fact that my body may have needed the rest I can think of only two other things which allowed me to sleep longer that usual: no place to preach this morning; and last night I watched a PBS telethon which featured the songs of the 60's...so I might have been "California Dreaming" this morning. :)

Whatever it was, I enjoyed sleeping in late. Let the good times roll.

She Did The Right Thing

Last evening, Thursday, June 5, on a local news was a story about a young lady [late teens or early 20's] who was traveling alone in her car around midnight or so. According to the story, she saw lights flashing in her rear view mirror, however, she proceeded to a well lit area before stopping believing that the car behind her may not truly be an official law enforcement car.

When she pulled into an all night convenient store lot, the police yelled for her to get out of the car; handcuffed her; and inspected her car. The young lady tried to explain to the sheriff why she did not immediately stop. {There have been several situations during the last several months in which young ladies have been raped or abducted}

According to the story, the young lady was arrested for failing to yield to a law officer. The sheriff told the news, his men did the right thing as they never know what they will encounter during a pull over. That's true but, not listening to a young lady who tried to explain why is inexcusable in my book.

I have two daughters and I always taught them to do what the young lady did the other night. I, also, caution my female students to do the same. I applaud the young lady--who said she would do the same thing again--and for her folks in trying to help their daughter live safely in an all too unsafe society.

That's my take as I sit and ponder this on My Front Porch.

June 7 update: The Sheriffs Department has withdrawn the failing to yield to a law officer ticket after her parts, the Sheriff and others reviewed the tape from the unmarked officers car. The speeding ticket was not withdrawn. Our daily newspaper is filled with responses in support of the young lady. I won't go into what the Sheriff told her to do next time suffice it to say, what he suggested would get her in deeper trouble.

Blogging

There's a lot more I need to learn about blogging. Someone has indicated you can't teach an 'old dog' new tricks. Well, this 'old dog' is still trying to learn something new each day. Such as "links to this page,' 'Rss,' etc.

I've been looking at other blogs just to see what they do and how theirs are set up. This morning I made some adjustments to my blog in order to have a more presentable communication between us. I hope you enjoy the new look.

I discovered some "porch" slides for the slideshow. In some way, they communicate what I am trying to express here at My Front Porch. A place to muse, to ponder, to discuss the issues of the day or review the past.

So, as always...enjoy your visit. Leave a comment if you'd like as I would love to know what you have to say. I always learn by listening to the other person as we each have our point of view.

Lazy Day

Ah, a Sunday afternoon snooze after preaching and blogging.

Don't wake me up until dinner time.