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HOME WITH DELLA, My Good ThingPAUL'S BLOG
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July 01 Here I Sit62 years old for two weeks now. I don't feel old; I think my mind is stuck on 40. I look in the mirror every morning and see some old guy staring back at me. He's not suppose to be there. I know he wasn't a few years ago. I've been in the dumps more these last two weeks than I ever have before. I drank a little more than usual but to no avail. I've got so much on my mind, things I want to do before I'm too old to DO IT any more. May 31 Marriage And The HomosexualThe activist judges on the California Supreme Court have made homosexual marriages legal in that state. Of course, that's to be expected in a state that's been compared to Sodom and Gomorrah in it's moral standards. At least I can take comfort in the fact that homosexuals cannot be and never will be considered husband and wife even with their marriage certificates in hand. Partner marriages and traditional husband/wife marriages will always be two completely different institutions.
May 24 What's ComingMaybe I'm not qualified to make predictions about the near future but from what I see going on around us I believe major changes are coming in all of our lives. Energy & food costs are climbing at unheard of rates and personal debt is soaring as the working middle class tries to sustain the lifestyles they've created for themselves. With no relief in site, personal income at a standstill, the value of the dollar dropping, savings accounts being emptied, home foreclosures, repossessions, etc., etc., an economic disaster is just around the corner. The sad thing is, when it comes, most of us are not going to be prepared. We're going to be out in the cold with nowhere to turn. Gloom and Doom, yes, that's what it sounds like and that's what it will be for millions if they don't start preparing now. Each person will have to formulate their own plan to survive and protect their families in a very unstable society. I know this all sounds silly to a lot of people but that's the way I see it. I hope I'm wrong. May 10 My Relationship With GodMy Grandfather influenced me more than any other person in my life as far as religion is concerned. I didn't see him a lot when I was growing up but I can still see him sitting at the corner of the fireplace in a straight chair with a big bible on his lap. At times I believe I was the only one in the family that wanted to hear him talk about things and the way he seen them. I was fascinated by him and that bible. I guess you could say he planted the seed in my mind about Jesus and it has grown into the faith I have today. When I was about 14 years old a Baptist preacher persuaded me to "come to Jesus" and be baptized. I didn't understand his explanation of salvation or exactly what I was doing but I went ahead and allowed him to baptize me anyway. How could I refuse with my Mother and Father sitting right there waiting on an answer from me. Anyway, this baptism was wasted on me; it brought nothing as far as any realtionship with God.
In the same year I was born my Mother bought a book from a door to door salesman.The title was "Bible Readings For The Home". She never knew this book was actually an explanation of Seventh Day Adventist's doctrines. I read the book a lot when I was a kid, especially those parts about the sabbath. Seventh Day Adventist perspectives on prophecy I never really accepted after further study but their ideas concerning the sabbath stuck.
In my teen years I listened to a lot of radio preachers but one caught my attention above the others. Herbert W. Armstrong was teaching the seventh day sabbath and other doctrines that I had never heard before. He took a common sense approach to the Bible in general and could explain things in a way I could understand. His teachings always had solid biblical support. I followed his understanding of scripture on into adulthood although I wasn't particularly religious or even interested in religion for many years.
My wife and I attended sabbatarian church services occasionally but we never really made any serious decisions for Christ until 1989. I had found a small congregation of sabbath keepers in north west Alabama that were strong in the Spirit and were teaching those things I had come to understand so well in my Bible studies. These were very friendly, simple country folks that welcomed us with open arms and the Holy Spirit was so obvious in their lives. We were baptized together in April of 1989 and hands layed on by ministers of the Church Of God, 7th Day. The water in the creek was awful cold that time of year but the Spirit overwhelmed any discomfort. We both came out of the water trembling but with tears of joy.
My relationship with God has gone through ups and downs during the years since we were on that mountain top. I've slid down and even fell off the mountain a number of times but Jesus always pulls me back up. I forget my obligations to Him sometimes but He never forgets to bless me and remind me that He's there when I need Him.
Today, I still slip and slide but I know where my salvation is and God judges me personally, not through or by some rule of men. My heart yearns for God but my flesh wants to pull me back. Is this not a problem of all Christians? April 23 Life QuestionsWhy do we sometimes feel trapped in a world that restricts our passions and keeps us in check? Maybe it's called being civilized but if your mind is in turmoil all the time, what good is it? Why can't we occasionally step out of our little everyday world and get crazy for awhile, a day of total abandon? Sounds sinful doesn't it? And I guess it would be in my case since I still think like a sailor on leave after 6 months at sea. The one thing I've got that keeps my passions roped in is my wife, totally disabled, confined to a hospital bed yet she looks up at me every morning, smiles and tells me she loves me. She may not say anything else all day but that's all it takes to keep me in my place in this little world of mine. April 13 Talking about Israel snubs ex-President Carter - Israel-Palestinians- msnbc.com
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April 04 Talking about MLK's rougher edges re-examined - Washington Post - TODAYshow.com
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March 18 Mr. Obama's Questionable CharacterDoes anyone wonder why Mr Obama has waited 20 years to distance himself from his former United Church of Christ pastor, the "Reverend" Jeremiah Wright? The racism and hatred this "minister" is preaching is nothing new or unusual. I'm sure Mr Obama knew of his attitude long before now if he attended church at all. I don't believe Mr Obama expected the main stream press to pick up on what his pastor was saying so now he has to feign disgust to keep up his innocent appearance. In my opinion, his character adjustment is not working. It's too little and way too late. March 15 Music And MeI've gone through a lot of changes in my likes and dislikes in music over the years. I think the earliest music I can remember hearing as a child was southern gospel. I was immediately attracted to the harmony and happy feeling I felt when I heard this kind of music on the radio. Southern Gospel has stuck with me all these years and I still like the old time sound of groups like the Chuck Wagon Gang and the Catherals. Southern Gospel today has lost a lot of it's appeal for me because of the theatrics and silliness of the participants. I really prefer gospel groups that are family. It seems they are the ones that sing more from the heart instead of just trying to put on a show.
Of course, living in the South, country music was a big part of my life as a child. I can still remember Cowboy Copas, Hank Williams and Kitty Wells when they were in their prime. Again, I think country singers of that era were more singers from the heart than those of today. The flash and glitter of modern day "country" music has taken over the heartfelt songs of the 50's and 60's. I think original country music began to die out in the mid 70's. It's just not the same real "country" any longer. Maybe you could call it citified country with a lot of plastic people singing a lot of trash.
Good old rock'n'roll. And I mean old, not the hard rock, screaming filth that developed in the late 60's and 70's. I guess, like many others, Elvis was the one that introduced rock and roll to me in 1956, Heartbreak Hotel, Don't Be Cruel and of course You Ain't Nothing But A Hound Dog. I really liked the DooWop groups because of the fantastic harmony that seemed almost impossible to me. By the time I graduated high school the Beach Boys was my favorite group. I never did like the Beatles except for one song, Get Back. At that time in my life I considered men with long hair to be sissies and weirdos but I eased up a little later on because I really liked the rock sound coming from Creedence Clearwater Revival. They had a definite country flavor in most of their music however they did have some hard rock that I didn't like. Southern rock started coming into the picture in the 70's and those groups were good to an extent since they tried to retain the old rock sounds in much of their music. True rock and roll died with these groups.
R&B Percy Sledge, Clarence Carter, BB King, Fats Domino, Arethra Franklin and Otis Redding; I liked them all and still listen to them every chance I get. I don't think black singers today even come close to the talent these singers had.
Disco music, forget it. It wasn't that good anyway. And that thing called rap isn't music at all so any further mention of it would be useless. I think you can imagine what I listen to in music today. 50s, 60's and 70's rock oldies, R&B, classic country and Southern gospel. Maybe a little classical now and then although I don't have a working knowledge of composers and pieces. Louisiana Swamp music has been around for decades but I just recently rediscovered this sound; Tony Joe White (country) and Lightnin Slim (blues) being my favorite artists. March 09 The BeachI guess about the favorite place my wife and I enjoy is the Pensacola Beach/Fort Pickens area of Northwest Florida. I was stationed at a helicopter training base at Pensacola during the late 60s and my fondness for the area continued after my Navy tour ended. There is nothing more peaceful to me than those white sand beaches and the beauty and sound of the ocean waves and sea gulls. The last fifteen years or so the price of beach hotels forced us to take up camping at Fort Pickens campground. I believe we should have been camping all along not just because it's cheaper but because we were closer to nature and away from the crowds. We love to explore the woods and beach comb on the sound side shore. Seems we always came back to camp with prizes we found, drift wood pieces, old fishing lures and sacks of seashells. If you've ever walked along a deserted beach at night under a full moon with the one you love then you've had a small taste of the pleasures we enjoyed. My wife is not able now to make those trips any longer but I would give most anything if I could take her back there and feel the sand under our bare feet again and the ocean breezes. Maybe in another life.
PLAY ANY OF THESE SONGS AFTER MY GOOD THING'S SONG FINISHES. 20 SONGS TOTAL.
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