Have you ever been in
THE FOG. . .
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
not the kind you drive in
THE FOG
that comes from the
Perfect Storms
in our lives
that suck all of the
Joy
Happiness
Reason
Purpose
L I F E
out of us. . .

THE FOG
gets born
from all of the
WHY’S
HOW COME’S
WHAT FOR’S
that batter us
from all fronts
and literally leave us
rudderless
and virtually
without any
i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n
to guide us
like we are living in
THE FOG

Sometimes 
there is a 
Fog within a Fog
One dissipates 
While the other
remaining nameless 
s t a y s
trying on different hats
all out of style
and never very
c o m p l i m e n t a r y
discarded for a Salvation Army bin
on an empty lot
but worn as a badge of honor 
by the soul 

Psssssssssssssssssssssssssssssst:
The greatest thing about
THE FOG
is that it lifts. . .
(keep your sunglasses handy)

And if you want to
h u r r y
THE FOG
shoooooo-ing out of sight
CREATE YOUR OWN SUNSHINE
. . .ACT AS IF
(all-ways)

It might be an over simplification of things

O  R        N  O  T;

Bad   Days   Happen

but

Good      Days      Remain

and it’s not the bad things that remain forever
(it   only   feels   like   it)

so   much   as   the   good 

that   overshadows   them; 

It’s   true

when the storm comes

the hurricane destroys

the tornado uproots

the fire incinerates

the flood sweeps away

the blizzard immobilizes

just a minute, now

r e c o g n i z e

n o t i c e

s  e  e

the sun shines warmly

the cool breezes soothe

the candle flickers and glows out darkness

the gentle ocean waves hypnotize

so though it may sound

severely simple

watch a baby smile

smell some fresh baked cookies

listen to your favorite play list

call a friend

send an anonymous gift

Just    a    minute,   now

BE  FOR  SOMEONE

WHAT   YOU   NEED   MOST   FOR   YOURSELF

Just    a    minute,   now

watch the world change

as the way you
                          SEE
                          SMELL
                          TOUCH
                          HEAR
                          TASTE
                          EXPERIENCE 

c         h         a         n         g         e         s

in just a minute

n                    o                    w

What is it?

WHAT  STOPS  YOU ?

What slows you down.          .          .

What   DELAYS  YOU ?

What makes you proceed with caution.        .       .

What   redirects   you

What’ll discourage you.          .          .

What will dampen you resolve.        .        .

What will end your quest.          .          .

Interesting questions, huh?

Sometimes it doesn’t take much to deter us.          .          .

It doesn’t have to be a sign

or a natural or unnatural disaster.            .          .

Sometimes it can just be as random as a

thin sliver of metal

That’s what about did me in

on the way to Church

knowing that I not only needed to get there in time

to Lead Worship/Preach

but to hurry out and go do a funeral some 40 miles away

to hurry across town to do another funeral

so a flat tire was not in my plans.          .          .

s e l d o m

are bad things.          .           .

THE  TAKE  AWAY:

When bad things happen

G O O D       P E O P L E       S H O W       U P

Two   kind   Caring   Catalysts

Steve and Craig were both at Church early that morning

and when I told them of my woe

and even bigger woe of not finding a place that was open

to either fix the tire or buy a new one

E V E R Y T H I N G       W A S       C L O S E D

Steve was going to throw the not-so-effective

DONUT TIRE

and Craig had a better idea of going to a local AUTO ZONE

and put a tire patch on the leak

just as fast as he bought the kit

and I was happily down the road

without a bump or a burp.       .       .

my biggest problem:

GETTING.          .          .

I  don’t   G E T  so  good

a compliment or a fixed tire.          .          .

who thought it wouldn’t be the flat tire

and the

FIXING      OF      IT

would be less of a problem

than my

RECEIVING        THE        KINDNESS

of      having      it      done.        .        .

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.          .         .

what does it say

That   K I N D N E S S

though severely appreciated

would keep me

S      T     O     P          M   E

humble me to a

s c r e e c h i n g

h a l t i n g.          .         .

The Living Sermon

from Steve and Craig

that Sunday Morning

was to teach me

A            G           A             I            N 

wasn’t   to   prove.       .       .

to shame me in knowing

my huge ugly-pimple-of-a-flaw

of not being a good RECEIVER

a GOOD-GETTER.        .        .

No.   .   .No.   .   .NO.          .          .

the   lesson

t o    j u s t 

G                   E                   T  

b  e  t  t  e  r

One   of   our   biggest   flaws

in day to day

l               i               v               i               n               g  

is    N  O  T

n        o        t        i        c        i        n        g

what  we

r   e   c   o   g   n   i   z   e.        .        .

The   Sun   Shines.     .     .

on   Raining   Days

even   if

especially   if

you   n o t i c e

you simply r e c o g n i z e

or better still.          .          .

m  a  n  u  f  a  c  t  u  r  e—

C             R             E             A             T             E    

I    T

The  truest  WEDDING DAY

isn’t when two people come together

to pledge their devoted/dedicated love

it’s when they realize

that there’s never been a moment

T   H   A   T

hasn’t   existed

when   they   first    became

a  h a v e n

S   H   E   L   T   E   R

to each’s

other

.          .          .rain

sleet

snow

sun brightly shining

(especially in the darkest, most stormiest of nights)