That's All He Wrote

14 1/2 years. 3.7 million pageviews (insofar as Google stats can be believed). 8,165 posts. 36,600+ comments. It's been a nice road, and all y'all have been fun to trade comments with. I've learned quite a bit by reading your remarks, and your blogs, as applicable.

But everything changes, and so must I. I still read around the blogs, and may comment from time to time.

So with this final note, I say fare thee well, go with God, and be blessed, my friends. 

The Lord bless you, and keep you;

The Lord make His face shine on you,

And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,

And give you peace.

Merry Christmas to All Our Friends

May there always be work for your hands to do.
May your purse always hold a coin or two.
May the sun always shine on your windowpane.
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you.
May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

* * *

The LORD bless you and keep you;

The LORD make His face shine upon you, 

And be gracious to you;

The LORD lift up His countenance upon you,

And give you peace.

As 2016 Approaches

The grace of our Lord Jesus the Anointed, and the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

Be blessed, protected, happy, healthy and prosperous in the coming year.

The Blessing of the Pets and Animals

A number of denominations hold an annual service wherein pets and other animals are blessed by the priest/rabbi/pastor.

In my experience, it can be a lovely time as pet owners brings their beloved four-legged (and often, finned) family members to church. It helps also if the pastor is an animal lover.

It can also be ... well, less than lovely when the above conditions don't apply. I'm sure you can imagine.

And then there are the critters which don't appreciate getting sprinkled:

This happens, too. You can trust me on this.

Happy New Year

May hope, love, and warmth be in your heart's possessing,
and may the New Year bring you and yours many blessings.

May 2015 be better than you planned, 

and may the Lord hold you in the palm of His hand.

January 1st, 2014

May God bless each and everyone of us with all His blessings, according to His riches in glory.

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Father's Day, Part 2

The whole family is heading to the range. Am I a blessed man, or what?

About That Prosperity Message

Prosperity isn't a be-all and end-all of Christianity. It's part of the total package, because God wants you to be able to give when He asks you. He told Abraham that He would use Abraham to bless others - and that Abraham would be blessed in the process. 

It's a by-product of faithfulness, folks. 

"Give away your life; you'll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity." (Luke 6:38, The Message)

Or, if you prefer the King James translation: "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again."

Words for the Weekend

What would be an adequate thanksgiving to offer God for all the joy we experience before him because of you? We do what we can, praying away, night and day, asking for the bonus of seeing your faces again and doing what we can to help when your faith falters. 

May God our Father himself and our Master Jesus clear the road to you! And may the Master pour on the love so it fills your lives and splashes over on everyone around you, just as it does from us to you. May you be infused with strength and purity, filled with confidence in the presence of God our Father when our Master Jesus arrives with all his followers. 

~ 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

A New Year, a Turn of the Page, and

this has been a good weekend already, even if it's only Saturday morning.

I haven't discussed this much ... at least not lately ... but I've been playing guitar since 1969.

When my wife & I took sabbatical from ministry, a few years ago, we were serving in the capacity as music ministers of our church. She plays keyboards, and I play guitar - six strings, 12, and bass. Rhythm & occasionally the odd lead break, if the song permits. I also finger-pick. (I love finger-picking!)

I went through a series of different guitars while at that church, starting out with an Italian electric 12-string which I bought in Naples in 1975. It played well, but the pickups were ... well, let's just say it had a funky sound ... sounding sometimes more like an electric banjo than a guitar. It took a bit of experimentation with tone controls & the sound man to make it okay.

After that, I had an Alvarez Yairi acoustic-electric ... then a Fender Stratocaster ... and finally wound up with another Alvarez acoustic-electric.

But then we had to step down. We'd been providing the music for two different churches (three, in my case) for 20 years, and finally became burnt out.


But it's been five years, and the muse is finally stirring again. Time to get out the guitar, replace the strings, and start building calluses. I pulled out the Alvarez, but it didn't inspire me. It's a nice guitar, but there was no excitement there.

After some conversation w/ Mrs. Paul, we agreed that we both need new instruments: she wants an electric piano, and it's high time she had one of her own.

While her keyboard has been selected, it will be a month or two before we pick it up. We went shopping yesterday for the guitar, and I found my new toy.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

To all my readers, many of whom are now friends, have a very, very merry Christmas day!

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."