27 years

27 years ago on August 31st, 1990, my dad succumbed to leukemia and passed away at the age of 47. That's way too young! But the Lord had reason for taking him; a reason I'll never understand. I do not question God's omniscience and sovereignty, but in my human-ness it still hurts losing him when it felt like he had so much living left to do. I was only 23 when he died and I was too naive to know that a person could actually pass away at such a young age. Now at the age of 50, I realize our time on this earth is but a blink of an eye. You're here one moment and gone the next. This is why I am so thankful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My soul in eternity is assured because Jesus died on the cross for my sins. He paid a debt I could never repay on my own. I do not fear death because of the assurance of the Gospel. Don't get me wrong... I don't want to leave this earth yet. I still want to live a long life. However, if the Lord has different plans, at least I know where I'm going.

I am missing my dad today. I always wonder what he would have been like as a grandfather and great grandfather. It would have been fun to see him experience the same kind of joy I get when I see MY grandchildren.

27 years is a long time. That time has healed some of the hurt of losing him, but it never fully goes away. He's been gone more than half my life now. Just thinking about that boggles my mind.

No words

No words to describe this. A major interstate highway under at least 8 feet of water. Wow!

More Houston

A few more Houston photos. Crazy times call for crazy actions...

Trillions!

I don't know who figures things like this out, but I know it's somebody smarter than me! I have heard that Hurricane Harvey has dumped 11 trillion gallons (that's trillions with a "t") of water on Houston so far. I've also heard by the time the storm leaves the area, Houston could receive as much as 25 trillion gallons of water. For comparison, that would equal 500 inches of snow (that's more than 41 feet!).

Think about this for a minute... take a 5 gallon bucket of water and dump it on your kitchen floor. What a complete mess... and that's only five gallons. Now picture a 55 gallon drum being dumped on your kitchen floor. It would ruin the kitchen and likely whatever happened to be below it. Now think about 25 TRILLION gallons. This is unprecedented! Unbelievable! Epic! A once in a thousand year storm!

Now expand your thinking for a minute... If 25 trillion gallons is enough to partially submerge Houston, Texas. What number must it have taken God to flood the entire earth to the point that even the highest mountain tops were covered. I know numbers are infinite, but I'm guessing the number of gallons the Lord sent to destroy the earth is a number we don't even have a name for.

I guess it's all about perspective. Houston is underwater. But the flood waters will recede, and they will rebuild. It will take years, but they WILL rebuild. God destroyed the entire earth and spared only Noah and his family. After the flood, God sent a rainbow as a promise that he would never destroy the earth by way of flood ever again. Houston... your rainbow is coming. At the moment it probably seems like the rain will never end, but it will. God promised us it will. Expect a rainbow soon. Look at the end of that rainbow and you will find Houston, Texas. My prayers are with the good people of Texas this week.

Houston? You have a problem

The devastating floods in Houston are like no other in the state's history. Hurricane Harvey will dump as much as 50 inches of rain in some areas when it is all said and done. I feel horrible for this city that is for all intents and purposes completely submerged. I know there must be thousands of pictures out there already, but I decided to post just a few. The sights are almost beyond belief. Houston does indeed have a problem.

Mathematics

Somehow I don't think I'll be breaking this rule any time soon...

A whole new level...

I just don't have the words...

Howard!

This is so strange! Little did Howard Cosell know that the man on his right would undergo a sex change operation, and the man on his left would be a brutal murderer. Life is crazy sometimes!

The Rooster

Here are two photos of me with my co-workers. Notice anything? Yeah, I would be the only guy for miles around. I'm the only rooster in the henhouse. Depending on your perspective, this could be every man's dream or his worst nightmare. Actually for me it's neither of those. I have a great working relationship with these women, and some are good friends. Tami jokingly calls them all my girlfriends. It's true they take care of me on occasion. For example, if my collar is not covering my tie they fix me up. But I take care of them too. They are always asking me to fix things or lift heavy stuff. We all get along well and truly take care of one another.

Cock-a-doodle-doo!

It's easy to spot me in the photos... I'm the bald one!

Honest ads

If companies were honest with their ads...

Things change

My my my... how things change. The shoe's on the other foot now, isn't it?

Not the whole truth!

It’s amazing how the mainstream media twists the facts to further their hatred of President Trump. The bias against him is unfair to say the least. Listen, folks, I’m not a huge Trump fan (yes, I voted for him), but I do not believe he has gotten a fair shake. The man is not only battling the governments of the Middle East, South Korea, and China, he is also battling Democrats, and even Republicans from his own party. Despite the will of the American voters, our President seems to be spending most of his time defending himself against attacks from within his own government, and very little time actually doing “President Stuff”.

I know this may seem insignificant, but the media painted President Trump as some buffoon for looking at yesterday’s eclipse without protective glasses. If you watch the video clip you will see the President glance for a second or two into the sun. By no means did he stare or watch the whole eclipse with his naked eyes. However, the media took a still photo of his quick glance upward, and made it seem as if he was stupid enough to stare into the sun. This is INTENTIONAL! This snapshot from a moment in time is meant to make the President look less than Presidential.

The first photo is what the mainstream media would have us believe really happened. The second photo shows what happened a very short time later.

Soup's On!

Waiter? I'll have a large bowl of your soup of the day and a beer.

Back to school

I went back to school last week. Teachers are in mourning and parents are celebrating. This mom wins the back to school parenting contest...

My new favorite word

I have a new favorite word and there isn't even a close second place. My new favorite word is "Boppa". This is how Asher says, "Goppa". It's so cute for many different reasons, but mainly it's because Asher says so very little, but he uses this word all the time. It melts my heart every time he says it, which is pretty much all the time.

Sooooooooo.... Boppa it is! I'll take it!

Grandchildren

We get to babysit this little guy and his two older siblings tonight. Tiring? Yes, exhausting. Fun? Exhilarating! Can't wait to see these sweet kids!

Getting Old

I would not be surprised to get a card like this one day... The truth hurts!

Pencils

As a teacher who sharpens pencils all day long, this happens way more than you'd think. I have no idea why, but my guess is cheap manufacturing. UGH!

Take a knee

Last year NFL football player, Colin Kaepernick caused a tremendous controversy. To protest police violence against minorities, Kap knelt down and refused to stand for the national anthem. To me, this was the height of disrespect. He is protesting a nation that makes it possible for him to make millions of dollars for playing a GAME. Don't get me wrong. Kap is completely within his constitutional rights to protest peacefully in this way. There is nothing illegal about it. But just because it is legal, doesn't make it right. Maybe if he thinks this nation is so horrible he could move to Canada and play in the Canadian Football League. Heck, I'd even help him pack the moving van. However, we all know the truth. These poor ol' athletes are so mistreated they swear up and down they should move someplace else. But deep down they know they live in the greatest nation on earth. He ain't going anywhere!

Taking a cue from Kaepernick, last week Marshawn Lynch sat on the bench and ate a banana while the rest of the stadium stood and honored the flag during the national anthem.

Then there's Tim Tebow. Yes, the same Tim Tebow who was obliterated in the media because he DARED to kneel and pray before a game. He did not kneel and pray during the national anthem though. He stood respectfully for that. The media says Kaepernick and Lynch are merely exercising their constitutional right to protest, while they rip Tebow for praying in public. Oh the nerve of Tim Tebow putting his faith on display like that! Religion has no place in sports they say!

Hmmmmm... question for the media. Double standard much??????

Quiet

I have been accused many times of being too quiet. That's why this blog is called "Silence Runs Deep". My grandfather was a very quiet man, and I believe I take after him in many ways. This subject has been documented in sayings like, "I'd rather be quiet and let people think I'm a fool than open my mouth and remove all doubt". In the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy asks the scarecrow how he can talk if he doesn't have a brain. The scarecrow brilliantly replies, "Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking!". And then there's Ohio's own Bill Watterson. Watterson is the creator of the wonderful comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes. Not only was this comic strip extremely funny, but it was also a very insightful look at the world through the eyes of a young boy. Here's a nugget of wisdom from Calvin and Hobbes...

Dark Day

It's a dark day here at Lago Vista Resort in Hidden Valley Lake. Tomorrow I return to work after a much-too-short summer vacation. Here's how I'm feeling right about now...

Getting Old

This describes me. I don't like to admit it, but it does.

Decaf

When someone asks me, "Regular or Decaf", I must have a smirk on my face a mile wide. Decaf????? What's the point? Regular coffee is the gasoline of life. Decaf is just hot, brown stained water. When it's coffee time, please don't ask me if I want regular or decaf. If you want to ask me a question, ask me if I'd like a refill of my regular coffee. Do you pull into a Shell station and ask for water in your car? Nope! You put gas in it! Gas makes the car run! Caffeinated coffee makes ME run. Decaf? Oh puh-leeeeeeeeze spare me!

I don't think so

Hmmmmm.... Antique tables? I doubt it!