Ale for the Soul

Give me time to care The moment's here for us to share Still my heart is not always there What more can I say to you? Could I lie to you? I'm just too weak to face the truth Now I know, I should make a move What more can I say? How can I fall? How can I fall? When you just won't give me reasons When you just won't give me reasons at all When all faith is gone I fight myself to carry on Yet I know of the harm I do What more can I say to you? Now I hold this line I know the choice to leave is mine I can't help what I feel inside What more can I say? How can I fall? How can I fall? (How can I fall?) When you just won't give me reasons When you just won't give me reasons at all I'll follow through, I'll see I do When the time is far more right for you I'll make that move and when I do Will I doubt again the way I do? How can I fall? How can I fall? (How can I fall?) When you just won't give me reasons When you just wo...

About a week ago I began giving serious consideration to stepping down as the district trainer for TNG.  This morning I sent a text message to my supervisor expressing a desire to discuss the matter with her.  She was receptive to my message and stated we would talk concerning the issue later in the day.  When she did call me, we had a great conversation regarding other subjects.  As the phone call drew to a close, I brought the desire of my heart to bear.  Two of the reasons given for wanting to step down were: the direction this position is taking me within the company is not somewhere I care to go, and it is no longer fun for me anymore.  Not wanting to place her in a bind, I offered a proposition to work as the trainer till a replacement could be found, hopefully in roughly two weeks time or less.  She counter-offered by saying she would phase me out over the course of the remaining week.  At the dawning of the new week next Monday, I will bec...

In posting the first list of pet peeves, there were quite a few that merited listing; however, since I wanted to keep it at a true top ten list, here is another list of pet peeves.  In this case, I shall limit it to five.  Maybe it's because I don't want very many people to truly realize how the outside world grates on my nerves and continually assaults my sense of reason and logic.  Sometimes simply leaving the apartment and interacting with the general public is enough to send me screaming to the funny farm (insane asylum).  Anyway, here we go... 1)  Barking dogs 2)  Loud car radios, especially when the bass is turned up 3)  People who don't pay attention (no clue what's happening around them and how their behavior affects other people) 4)  Getting treated like I'm stupid or an idiot 5)  People who are gossip-driven, and as a result participate in character assassination Well, folks, here they are.  Yes, these very things bothe...

We come here to-day to commemorate one of the epoch-making events of the long struggle for the rights of man — the long struggle for the uplift of humanity. Our country — this great republic — means nothing unless it means the triumph of a real democracy, the triumph of popular government, and, in the long run, of an economic system under which each man shall be guaranteed the opportunity to show the best that there is in him. That is why the history of America is now the central feature of the history of the world; for the world has set its face hopefully toward our democracy; and, O my fellow citizens, each one of you carries on your shoulders not only the burden of doing well for the sake of your country, but the burden of doing well and of seeing that this nation does well for the sake of mankind.   There have been two great crises in our country’s history: first, when it was formed, and then, again, when it was perpetuated; and, in the second of these great crises — in the ti...

In these talks, I've had to say a good deal about prayer. And before going on to my main subject tonight, I'd like to deal with a difficulty some people find about the whole idea of prayer. Somebody put it to me by saying: "I can believe in God alright, but what I can't swallow is this idea of Him listening to several hundred million human beings who are all addressing Him at the same moment." And I find quite a lot of people feel that difficulty. Well, the first thing to notice is that the whole sting of it comes in the words "at the same moment." Most of us can imagine a God attending to any number of claimants if only they come one by one and He has an endless time to do it in. So what's really at the back of the difficulty is this idea of God having to fit too many things into one moment of time. Well that, of course, is what happens to us. Our life comes to us moment by moment. One moment disappears before the next comes along, and there...

The name of this holiday is a huge understatement.  For those who have seen God at work and have a personal relationship with Him, already know and have experienced His greatness.  Almighty God is seated on His throne, uncontested in authority and ruling in splendor and majesty.  The dictionary has a few synonyms, which somewhat adequately capture the meaning of the word preeminence.  They are as follows: supremacy, distinction, prominence, predominance, prestige, stature, fame, renown, and celebrity.  Wow!  Who is this God these words describe?  To use Old Testament terminology, He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  He is also the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth.  Yes, this means evolution is erroneous, and mankind did not have its origin from some primordial ooze.  On a more personal level, God also condescends to humanity's level through the person of Jesus Christ, also fully God and fully man, to seek a saving relationshi...

Ten years ago today, I ceased to imbibe alcohol.  At first, this wasn't a conscious or willing decision on my part, but in the end I decided to keep carrying forward the great affect this had on my physical and emotional sobriety.  Through it all, I have discovered many things about myself, both positive and negative.  For the positive, I realized how truly smart I am.  Concerning the negative, I still deal with many resentments over people who have done me wrong and how poorly life has turned out.  (Most, if not all, of my dreams and goals have never come to fruition.)  Some would argue this is a great excuse to drink.  Why not have at least one thing in life you enjoy if nothing else has gone your way?  That's a great observation, but fatally flawed.  Consuming alcohol in the quantities I once drank would only heap more misery and failure on this life.  Overall I am content...I wouldn't say happy, but somewhat satisfied.  If any o...

What exactly is a thrift shop?  The most common concept for such a store, is one in which used items are on sale for a great value.  Many stores come to mind when discussing thrift shops, for example: Goodwill, the Salvation Army, and the YWCA.  My first experience with a thrift store was in Austin.  On many visits with Mom and Grandmother, we would make a trek to the local Salvation Army store a few miles from the house.  This was the highlight of our visit, like kids in a candy store.  Regardless if we thought the item was a "want" or a "need", we were sure to walk out with purchase in hand.  Since living in Fort Worth, there are many thrift stores I regularly visit, mostly Goodwill stores.  The key to shopping in these venues is frequency.  To show up once in a blue moon may or may not reap very many treasures; however, to shop several times a week will surely guarantee greater odds of finding that hidden gem.  Many times I have found...

I've come to you this morning with a topic that probably in an earlier age would have sounded a little bit absurd. And that’s the question of whether  character matters , whether it has anything to do with public service. Now even as recently as a generation ago, probably no one would give a commencement talk on that address to educated people -- people getting their degree -- because education was considered to be not only the acquisition of knowledge, but the formation of moral character. That’s what education was all about. As a matter of fact, the president of Harvard University, until the middle of the last century, personally taught the courses in ethics. Every college in America before the twentieth century was started by Christians, with one exception, the University of South Carolina. Even when I was at Brown in the 1950's, chapel was mandatory. Can you imagine in that liberal bastion today? How dramatically things have changed. And so, we have taken the moral c...

I see her as a little girl hiding in her room She takes another bath and she sprays her Momma's perfume To try to wipe away the scent he left behind But it haunts her mind You see she's his little rag, nothing more than just a waif And he's mopping up his need, she is tired and afraid Maybe she'll find a way through these awful years to disappear Ask me if I think there's a God up in the heaven Where did He go in the middle of her shame? Ask me if I think there's a God up in the heavens I see no mercy and no one down here's naming names Nobody's naming names Now she's looking in the mirror at a lovely woman face No more frightened little girl, like she's gone without a trace Still she leaves the light burning in the hall It's hard to sleep at all So she crawls up in her bed acting quiet as a mouse Deep inside she's listening for a creaking in the house But no one's left to harm her, she's finally safe and sound There's a peace...