Archive for March, 2020
March 25, 2020 at 12:21 pm · Filed under Food for thought, funny stuff, Mostly fiction, Some truth to it, Stories ·Tagged health clubs, karate gal, karate kid, minding my own business, not my job, social distancing, walking trails
Was taking my morning walk when I spotted three ladies standing together talking, and as I got closer, I recognized two of them from our PACE group at the health club. Didn’t know the third one. They were too “busy” to notice me, so when I was about twenty feet away, I yelled, “Ah’ight, y’all spread out!” I will NOT do THAT again!
Okay… to be honest, what I said next probably caused the scene that followed. “I think I’ll just come over there and hug all three of you.” THEN:
One of them bolted into the trees, one screamed and threw her phone at me, and the one I didn’t know grinned a wicked grin and took this odd looking Karate Kid type stance.
I managed to outrun the Karate Gal, but I gotta tell you folks, this social distancing thing is henceforth out of my realm of responsibility. I will, however, keep my distance from groups of more than two women on the walking trail.
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March 23, 2020 at 9:43 am · Filed under Food for thought, Politics, Random Thoughts ·Tagged corona virus opinion, how did this happen, not to mention the future, our altered present, setting a precedent, the future of the flu
Just my humble opinion:
Imagine for a moment that this is how all future flu virus outbreaks will be handled. Will our lives be put on hold virtually every winter while we distance ourselves from others to “save lives”? How did this come to be? Who is the mastermind behind this decision? Thousands have died virtually every year from the flu, yet this is the first time we’ve been told to take drastic actions with the promise (there was a promise, right?) it would save millions of lives. Yes, “they” claim millions will die if we don’t follow their directions.
And when it’s over, you can bet everyone will have an opinion as to who was responsible for saving the lives of those who survive. And, as is the norm these days, those opinions will be divided by “party lines”. About half will bestow glory on Republican “leaders”, while the other half claims the credit should go to the Democrats. And then… what will happen next year?
Yes, the rules have been suddenly changed and the future, not to mention the present, has been altered drastically. So… what do we do now? What can we do? Not a thing. We’ve already done it.
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March 22, 2020 at 9:10 am · Filed under Food for thought, God's love, Inspiration ·Tagged faith, it keeps right on a-Hurtin, Johnny Tillotson, making songs about God, no fear, What if God were suddenly gone
I often hear the words in a song and think if they were slightly changed, they’d make a good worship song. It happened this morning as the Johnny Tillotson song, “It Keeps Right on a-Hurtin”, was playing in my head. The thought struck me, “What if God were suddenly gone?”
I have tremendous faith, and I fear nothing. But, it’s all because of God. If He were suddenly gone, I can imagine myself singing these words:
But … truly… I can’t even imagine…
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March 21, 2020 at 4:09 pm · Filed under Crazy stuff, Family, funny stuff, Mostly fiction, Random Thoughts, Stories ·Tagged family gatherings are trick sometimes, Grandpa messes up again, just kidding, shooting daggers, stirring the pot, tattoos and such, university of texas football
The grandson is home from UT for spring break, which got extended for the Corona scare, so yesterday we had a little get-together.
We were just standing around shootin’ the breeze, when I leaned into the boy and said, “Got any tattoos yet?” Every head in the room snapped my way, the boy looked down at me, grinned and chuckled, then mayhem ensued. Shots were fired!
Actually, they don’t own any guns and the shots were merely daggers fired at me from the eyes of all present. Except the granddaughter. She was behind me, but got me with a well-placed “accidental, I’m sure” elbow to the ribs as she walked past on her way to assist her grandmother, who was spitting and sputtering, having apparently shot a mouthful of iced tea out her nose.
Turns out the boy doesn’t have any tattoos yet, but I think the granddaughter might be hiding something.
Apparently, their mom and dad are “kind of” against the idea of ink on their babies and didn’t want me putting ideas in their heads. Who knew?
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March 19, 2020 at 8:20 am · Filed under Daily Encouragements, Food for thought, God's beauty, God's love, Inspiration ·Tagged 1962 music, covid-19 and church services, faith, hope, Little Jimmy Brown, love, praise and worship, praise is prayer, The Browns
It happens quite often to me; I wake in the morning with a song in my head. The strange thing about it is that the song is often an obscure song, or at the least, one I haven’t heard for years. Such was the case this morning when I awoke with the song, “Little Jimmy Brown” doing a continuous loop in my head. Where in the world did that come from?
Anyway, I felt I needed to share it with you. In light of our current situation, especially with regard to churches closing temporarily. Many will gather in small groups in their homes to worship and praise God, and I offer this–the slightly altered chorus of the song–as encouragement.
Here’s a link to the song if you’d like to listen to it:
Little Jimmy Brown
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March 16, 2020 at 7:41 am · Filed under Food for thought, God's love, Good stuff, Poems, Romance ·Tagged deep love, forever love, how true love should be, is wanting enough, shooting stars, true love, when love dies, when the fire goes out, who wrote that
There are times I write something and it seems it’s not me doing the writing. Such was the case with this one. I actually set out to write something entirely different, but this is what came out. Sometimes it’s fun, because folks get all big-eyed and wonder what’s going on at Charlie’s house. It’s all good here, folks. It’s all good.
…………….
Copyright © 2020 C Mashburn
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March 4, 2020 at 11:13 am · Filed under Daily Encouragements, Food for thought, God's love, Inspiration ·Tagged all have sinned, God's unconditional love, I'm not worthy, the big lie, the gift of grace, what's happened to the truth
I’m Not Worthy
In this day when truth seems to have lost its luster, there are two sides to the coin. On one side there’s the ego, typically an opinion of one’s self which hasn’t been earned, and, in most cases, isn’t deserved. On the other side of the proverbial coin is the tendency most of us have to deem ourselves unworthy. Both are lies, but, surprisingly, the latter has more truth to it than the other.
We’re not worthy of God’s unconditional love, and there’s nothing we can do to change that fact. Except, that is, to believe Jesus is the son of God.
And so, not because we have earned it—not because of what we might say, think, or do—we are worthy, because God has given us the gift of grace. And, once we accept His gift, when He looks at us all He sees… is His awesome Son.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23
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March 3, 2020 at 11:28 am · Filed under Daily Encouragements, Food for thought, God's beauty, God's love, Inspiration, Uncategorized ·Tagged life, love has no strings attached, loving people the way they are, no demands, reflections, Striving for peace, truth, we can't make others be who we want them to be
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March 1, 2020 at 8:58 am · Filed under Daily Encouragements, Food for thought, God's love, Good stuff, Inspiration, Some truth to it, the good old days ·Tagged found money, God always provides, I hate suits and ties, out of gas, so broke I can't pay attention
I push aside worn shirts looking for my suit. I hate going to these “parties”, but not as much as I hate wearing a suit and tie. I’ll get over it—always do—but the thing is… well, as usual, we’re so broke we can’t pay attention.
The car’s got less than a quarter tank in it, and I got a buck or three to my name until payday. I couldn’t sleep last night, but her! She just gave my shoulder a pat, then slipped right off to dreamland. Then, as I was finally drifting off to sleep, I heard Mom’s voice; “Don’t worry, Charlie. God will provide.” I groaned and answered out loud, “Sure, Mom. Is He gonna leave a twenty under my pillow?”
Then! Tonight, we’re getting ready and when I shove my wallet into the inside pocket of my suit jacket I feel something. “No way,” I whisper. But yes way! I pull the wallet out, reach back in, and stare at a folded twenty-dollar bill.
She’s in front of the mirror, checking her hair—again—and I grin at her.
“What?” she says, returning the grin.
I give her a playful pat—not on the shoulder—and say, “You look gorgeous. But come on, we have to stop for gas.”
Copyright © 2013 C Mashburn
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