my careless contagion

It's time again for the retro madness! Buckle up and enjoy (0r hide your chagrin)! Strap on your inflatable pants and off we go!  I can't read what that says, but that bear sure has some stiff legs. I hope the flan helps him loosen up. We'll never know if his playmate shares her flan with him, but I'm pretty sure this is going to be a sticky mess regardless.  Okay, I get eating sardines. They're good for you and all, but this could not be a less appetizing image to promote a product that already has image problems. Is this guy in a dimly-lit cave? Is he hiding in the shadows under someone's eaves? Is he a cellar dweller? I don't know, but I hope I never see him and his meal again.  One of the things I noticed about old ads involving cans was how awkward a shape it is to make appealing. It's just a can. Putting it in the ad doesn't help sell the product.  I guarantee this child will not remember that image in a positive light. He's going to burn t...

My grandmother (the last of my grandparents) passed away a couple of weeks ago. She was born in 1917 during WWI and nearly made it to her 106th birthday. I attended her celebration of life (it didn't feel much like a funeral) and had some thoughts and feelings I'd like to share. My mother wrote the following about her mother and spoke to those who attended these words. God did something at this service I'd like to share at the end. It was a blessing to me.  Thank you for coming today. And thank you for your friendship with my mother. I know each of you was important to her, as was this church. I don’t know how to condense a person’s life into just a few minutes. But I would like to share some of the things my mother taught me. My mother never told me I could do anything I set my heart to do. But she did teach me that — without words — as I observed her life. Those of you who know her well know that when she is determined to do something, she will not be denied. That evident...

A good man, they say, is hard to find. That's possibly true, though not as true as some would like to believe. Men had to unlearn how to be men in the face of feminism, which robs us of our God-given drive to love, protect, and provide for those God puts in our lives. I often have the urge to help a woman (say she's stuck in a snowbank or can't lift something), but unless she asks, I hesitate. Why? I don't want to be the creepy guy no one asked for but showed up anyway. I'm sorry, but that's the world now.  These are some things I gathered about good men. These are not all me (I'd like to think I'm a good man), but I am some of these things. I will say this: a good man is a game-changer, not just for women but everyone they affect. When a woman loves a man, that love multiplies. She gives him much more than just herself. It's hard to explain, but that's how it works. Women are amazing and created by God to do certain things. What they do, I canno...

I don't know if she still reads here. I don't know if she thinks about me much anymore. I really don't know much, but I know she means the world to me. I see her trying. She's afraid. She's holding on to what she knows. She's afraid of what she doesn't know. I wish it was easier. Someday it will be. I know she'll be okay. I know because my Father told me.  When someone has been through hell in a relationship, they don't have the same fire to begin again. The fire is gone, but the need for love remains. The struggle of that person is a spectacular thing. It is a precious fight for sanity and safety and to not lose oneself in love. I want her to know it will be okay. We will both be okay. Because neither of us are in control. There is One who is in control, and He knows our struggles. He sees every tear and frustration, every moment of terror. Every fear. Every time we look in the mirror and wonder if they see what we see. Every moment we see that slip...

You're forgiven if you've never seen the 2017 movie The Greatest Showman. I don't believe it was as popular as it was intended. It is about P.T. Barnum and his circus. It's Hollywoodized, clearly, so it's not entirely accurate, but it does make for a good story.  There is a verse in Proverbs that says, "The eyes of man are never satisfied." There is something in us that pushes always toward more and greater. The movie has many messages, but the overriding one is to be satisfied with the good things in your life. Of course, it's easy to say that once a person has achieved greatness just as P.T. Barnum had, right? Haha. To those of us who struggled most of our lives to achieve a modicum of normal it's quite another thing.  But, this is really about the song for me. Never Enough is amazing in the movie, and it stands well on its own. It's quite impressive. It gives me goosebumps every time. What's even greater is realizing someone actually san...

God answered my prayer. I won't say what it was exactly, but it was on my mind and my heart for quite some time. (It doesn't have to do with a certain wonderful lady; that's all I will say.) God did the most amazing thing. I didn't see a way out. I didn't see a solution. I submitted it to Him and left it there. The solution was the best possible outcome for everyone involved. It was simply a miracle. I haven't ceased to thank and praise Him. God is so good.  *** Watched a documentary called Grizzly Man recently. It's free on YouTube . What struck me about it was how destructive it is when people put anything before God in their lives, how it can lead to tragedy after tragedy. We can't expect anyone or anything to save us except the Lord.  This blog is now five years old. Though it's not really alive, it's also not dead. It's like a zombie, perhaps. Happy five-year anniversary to the zombie blog! Thank you for reading. And God bless. Christian...

By no means am I old but sometimes feel that way. I'm not on any medications. Am fairly active. God blessed me with good health. Still, I've been around a while and sometimes feel the weight of that. Here follow some things that painfully point out the fact that I've been on this planet a while. In case you wonder just how long, most would say I'm from Generation X. You know, the ones who grew up feral. If some of this sounds familiar, as if I've already talked about it, well, that makes sense. That happens when you get older. Grab a hot chocolate and pull up a chair. Let's get it on.  1. Young people. They have a lot of confidence that comes chiefly from being young. Just wait until the world makes you cry until you realize you know absolutely nothing, then get back to me. That's not bitterness speaking. But you don't know what's holding the world up until you realize it's certainly not you. Younger people have different expectations and don...