Happy New Year

2005 is almost over and I have not completed many of the things I hoped to accomplish this year. I doubt there's time to get it all done in less than an hour, so I will not fret over it.

Also, I didn't keep all my resolutions made so resolutely a year ago. Some of them I will make again this year, others will just be forgotten.

There is one I make every year and I want to encourage you to do the same. Spend some time in God's Word every day. Keep a Bible near your favorite chair and another by your bed... handy and ready for a quick read any time. Carry a Bible in your car and have one in your desk or locker at work... and get in the habit of reaching for that Bible every time you have a bit of spare time.

Also, plan to set aside a specific time every day for prayer and Bible study. Write it in your planner if you use one (almost everyone can profit from a planner). I schedule "lunch with the Lord" in my planner and usually keep the appointment. I am resolving this year to be more diligent with that.

I am also making a promise to spend more time in prayer in 2006. Prayer is not only those times we "formally" pray, but can be conversational as well. Talk with the Lord about your day as you go through it. Develop a rapport with Him by spending time with Him. He's your best friend, treat Him that way.

Prayer is more than praise, gratitude and petition although those are vital elements. Prayer is also a dialog, so be sure to open your spiritual ears to hear Him. Don't be afraid to let God know how you feel, even if you are angry with Him... He already knows it, but talking with Him about it can lead to better understanding and opens the door for Him to communicate more deeply with you.

I am resolving to be a better communicator in 2006. I get over 700 e-mails a day and I easily let myself get behind. As I open each one, I need to reply right then, but many times I want to write as more detailed note so skip it right then thinking I don't have the time. Then my in-box is laden with 200-300 notes I need to deal with and I never seem to have that much time.

Well, more on resolutions next year. Next year is about here. I thank the Lord for 2005 and sending me on into 2006... and I am thankful to have a chance to share all that with you! Happy New Year!!!

Mental Meanderings

I have a severe headache and have taken my pain meds, so am a bit fuzzy, but I do want to get an entry out each day as much as possible. I believe God uses these ramblings to touch people now and again... Only He knows. It will be interesting to discover all that during my walk through eternity. I know others' blogs bless me... Pastor Rob, Joe (who has new entries) Eva and more.

I heard from Eva again today! She sent a slew of pictures in her e-mail... and she is posting to her blog again as well. Their new house is lovely and she always keeps things neat and orderly... a sign of good stewardship, I believe. I am often not as good a steward as I'd like to be... especially with my car. I am not fond of cleaning my car. I like it to BE clean, I just hate to DO the cleaning.

It's funny, back in my truck driving days, I kept my tractor immaculate inside and out, and even though I usually pulled other people's trailers, I kept them spotless as well. Still, even then I was not as good at keeping my car clean. I imagine James and Eva's vehicles are kept nice and clean.

Richard usually washes my car and his pickup; when I do it, I go to the automatic car wash. I have not been back, though, since the time I went through it with the driver's window down. It's just a coincidence; I'm not afraid to go back, nor do I have any "bad" feelings about it.

My day was busy but I got little done... again. I did some experimenting with my Magic Bullet (as seen on TV) and really love it! I used the juicer part this morning, making a great frothy drink of big globe grapes and orange juice. Very tasty! I rarely buy stuff sold on TV, but one trip to Stanford, Donna and I saw the infomercial for the Magic Bullet and she ordered one, and got another one for the same money. We split the costs, and I am surprised to say it is worth every penny. I am quite impressed at all it does.

So, now that I've meandered into all sorts of mental side streets, I'll leave you with this thought... Life is great because a great God is the giver of life. I have decided to be happy. That is a choice, you know... and in that area, I am pro-choice. I am pro-choice for happiness and life.

A Ray of Light and Hope

As promised, I addressed the comments made to various of my blog entries. You can click the comment links below the blog to see any comments and my responses, OR if you are viewing this from the FBC site, I have posted any comments below the entry they pertain to.

I had another meeting with Social Security workers today. Previously, I had been notified I owed them $12,360! Of course, I went to talk with them about that, and of course I was quickly bound and gagged by red tape. They were still adamant that I owed the big bucks. I officially asked for reconsideration. That was November 3, 2005. On November 4 of the same year, they sent me a letter and huge form asking about my work history... Surely they know more about that than I. They keep detailed computer data on all workers, whereas I can't remember what I did 10 minutes ago!

Immediately, I began calling to make another appointment. I got voice mail. I left a message and waited for a response. I waited for days... Then called again, every day! Still nothing. My messages took on a more urgent tone until finally they called back SIX WEEKS LATER! I was so grateful, I didn't even bother to ask if they were really that far behind on their voice mail.

I dreaded going in for my appointment today, yet was desperate to do so. I needed to clear up this work record thing and find out what was happening about their wild assertion that I somehow had twelve thousand of their dollars. I prayed for strength and patience as I drove to Lodi. I found the office but could not find a way into the parking lot. There was no turn in from the street! I vaguely recalled that I had had a problem on my first visit but could not remember the solution.

After retracing my route and making two unproductive tries, I finally found a way in. Now, I was late. My brain began to bog down, processing ever more slowly. Finally I was sitting at the window of a smiling lady with great hair... and I could not think of why I was there!

The guard came over and said something but I know not what. He frowned, probably expecting a reply, then looked through my purse which sat on a chair next to mine. I suspect I smiled dully because I recall him grinning and shaking his head as he left. Blessedly, the smiling lady in the window had to do something, so I had a few minutes for my brain to return.

Her name was Francine and she took the time to listen to me and to research my case. She was patient, efficient and caring. She explained things well and even wrote the info down so I could take it with me. I plan to write the SSA to let them know how much it meant to me that Francine was a ray of light who offered hope in what was a seemingly hopeless situation. At least now I know why they think I owe them and can counter their claim with why I do not really owe them. It all hinges on a form no one can find... It all relates to whether I opted to draw my retirement at 62 or 65. I know the truth, have stated the truth, but they have yet to believe the truth. Oh well, it's wonderful to understand the problem anyway!

Francine says I will hear from the SSA on their ruling at some future date. Meanwhile, I am blessed to have met her. I hope in some small way I brought a ray of light into her day as she did mine. Thanks, Lord, for Francine!

The Evil That is Cancer

Writtten Wednesday, Dec. 28
I have returned from a two-day trek to Palo Alto where my niece Donna receives apheresis treatments at Stanford Cancer Treatment Center every other week. She must undergo two treatments per visit, the second not more than 36 hours after the first.

Every time I go, I am reminded of the dreadful toll cancer takes and the vast number of lives it touches in one way or another. The very nature of this disease which in all its variety of forms retains this similarity, healthy cells go astray, growing and behaving in aberrant ways, reproducing inappropriately, transforming wholesome tissue into something foul.

Now, isn't that just like sin? Unchecked, one sin leads to another, and another, ad infinitum... It will suck the freshness from your life and ultimately, like a sore that never heals, rob you of sensation. You become numb to it, calloused.

When I was in college, I worked as an O.R. scrub tech at LeBonheur Children's Hospital in Memphis. One teen we operated on was a strapping high school football hero who had a sore on his hip. The lesion didn't heal but wasn't particularly painful... so it was semi-ignored. Before long, the young man had an oozing hole in his hip. He kept it covered with a bandage and, being the busy and popular quarterback he was, decided to wait till after football season to have it checked. By then it had metastasized and when we opened him up, we found this beautiful specimen of young manhood was just full of cancer. He was dead within months.

Part of the evil of cancer is its insidiousness, and the same is true of sin. The more we expose ourselves to or participate in sinful thoughts, questionable activities, unwholesome entertainment or companions... the more we assault our sensitivities, the less we will "feel" the wrong. We become numb to those twinges of conscience and those "little white lies" become OK... before long, we don't give a second thought to things we might have thought we'd never do, think or say. Satan is quite adept as he sneaks sin into our lives...

BUT believers have an early warning system on board... the Holy Spirit! He will warn us in "that still small voice," but it is our responsibility to listen! Sometimes I am hard of hearing, how about you? Bible reading and prayer are a couple of good "hearing aids."

NOTE: I have received several comments lately and have yet to address them. I shall do that tomorrow morning.

Pleasantly Tired

After a wonderful visit and tasty Christmas dinner cooked by my brother and shared by our niece, Pam and her fiancé Phil, we watched some video clips with English comedy (Phil's mum is British). It was a delightful day overall.

Monday, I was quite tired. Indeed, Richard and I were up all night somehow so slept half the day away and spent the rest of the time playing games... hearts and pinochle online. Also a bit of Scrabble. Then I made my chicken soup and prepared other foods for my trip to Stanford with Donna today... was still very weary so went to bed early.

Now, in our motel room and full of soup and rice krispy treats, we (Donna and I) are both ready for lights out. The day starts early for us tomorrow in the apherisis lab where Donna receives her bi-weekly treatments.

Sacred Season - Merry Christmas

Last night there was a very unusual and special candlelight service at FBC and to further remind us of how sacred is the season, we observed the sacrament of the Lord's Supper this morning as part of another unique time of worship. Pastor Rob never runs out of fresh ways to present God's love and His presents.

We pray you are aware of God's greatest present (gift)... no, it's not life, it is instead the Giver of Life Eternal, Jesus Christ our Savior. God's greatest gift is Himself! All else pales in the face of that, yet from our earthly family and friends, we still enjoy gifts, both material and intangible.

It is our tradition to open one gift on Christmas eve. I had Richard open my anniversary gift to him. If you recall I forgot our anniversary, number 30, on the 14th. Because of who he is and his deep understanding of who I have become since my brain injury, he was not really hurt... and we shared this time with no hidden feelings as sometimes can happen when a special day or even is missed.

Another great gift we received last night was an e-mail from Eva! Actually, I didn't see it until this morning. Great to hear from her! I was so tired last night I lay down for a nap and didn't wake up until morning. It was the first time since I have been a grown up that I didn't help Santa fill stockings. He made out OK without me.

Now, as we travel to visit family in Diamond Springs, our hearts are full and we wish you all God's most perfect and best.... most of all we pray you know Him! Merry Christmas!

P.S. The comment links below work... Why not leave a comment!

Holy Night

There's a chill in the air here in California. Was it chilly the night Mary delivered the Lord Jesus? Birth is messy and wet and mother and child can easily become chilled even in warmer climes.

The young mother wrapped her newborn in swaddling cloths as was the custom. She had come prepared for the possible birth of this most precious babe. Even so, the stable was drafty and the damp night air would have caused her to huddle over her child protectively.

I'm sure she was afraid. Young and far from home, her labor pains must have brought some anguish for this was not a proper place to give birth. But then she also recalled what the angel had said... this baby was the Son of God! Surely God would take care of everything...

So on that holy night in the most humble of condition the Savior came into this world "wearing skin," as fully man and fully God. Nothing like this had ever happened before nor will it ever come again. He brought such warmth and love, the cold night air is forgotten... Oh, Holy Night!

Now, for the techie stuff...
I am posting this from my browser... a link on the blog page... no special software needed, I can even e-mail my blog if I want to and it will still post... from anywhere. Wonderful! My sidebar links, however are still not opening in a new window.... even though I coded the template to have them do so... bummer.

Linkin' & Learnin'

Ah ha! I think I've solved a problem. I like to insert links people can see, make sense of and click without having them whisked away from my page... Let's see how this works...
My FBC-Galt blog is here.

Now, we're cooking! Well, no, not really... we're still having leftovers for supper, but I'm more happy I found a way to code what I want in here. Of course, I still need to restore the index page of my personal site, ionanet.com.

OK, so time for a quick break and a sincere "Praise God!" Then I will mull over some ideas about getting this to feed into my old blog... If that works, it could be something other FBC bloggers would want to do.

Movin' & Shakin'

Internet blogging is all the rage and I have been into it for just a little while. No longer satisfied to merely reach the visitors to my First Baptist Church blog at http://www.fbcgalt.org/iona's_blog.htm I decided we ought to do a bit of networking. Looking into possibilities, I soon found out about RSS feeds, Atom and more... A little knowledge is a dangerous thing!

I got started as soon as I had an inkling that I could do the thing "right." Then I quickly discovered I did the thing WRONG! I ended up replacing the index page of http://ionanet.com with my half-done blog... Is it any excuse that the brain injured are typically impulsive?

Oh my! Well, fix the blog first, then work on my site. That's why I practiced on my own site rather than FBC's site where my blog has been living. Ultimately, I want to connect the entries to be hosted their and have that site become linked with the blogger network. A great deal more visibility. Meanwhile, we will want to eat something sometime today and I have been at this blog thing since I got up this morning. Left overs will do.

Now I need to learn how to embed links in my text. If they would let me do my own coding, I'd be alright. We'll see what develops. Keep me in your prayers!

iona's blog
Today is my maiden venture into the community of bloggers. True, I've been journaling for years and blogging for months (see http://www.fbcgalt.org/iona's_blog.htm ) But all work has been hand done and hand archived... The comments capabilities were less than wonderful and again had to be done by hand. So we will see how this venue works.

Will add more to the post in a bit.

This is my first foray into the pre-packaged blog arena. My blog has heretofore been published directly by me from sites I own, manage or work on. This is a test, more or less of the efficacy and ease of this sort of medium,