Ale for the Soul

Thank you. Thank you very much. I am obviously the most unorganized. Everyone else has nice boxes to bring their script up in; I just like kind of got it all messed up here put inside of a magazine so, in fact, I don’t even have it in the right order, let me get it in the right order here. So if it starts like flying around the stage just, you know, run around and grab it for me and bring it back up here for me. I’ll keep going as I can. President Gutmann, Provost Price, Board Chair Cohen, fellow honorees beautiful, and today’s graduates, I’m honored and grateful for the invitation today. It’s always been great to be on the Penn campus. I’ve been to a lot of basketball games at the Palestra because my son played on the basketball team. Yeah that’s right; he played on the basketball team. Coach didn’t give him enough playing time but we’ll talk about that later. No, I’m really pleased with the progress Coach Allen has made and I wish them success in the future. I’d always get a warm ...

"He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him. He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope."—Lamentations 3:28, 29. Thus the prophet describes the conduct of a person in deep anguish of heart. When he does not know what to do, his soul, as if by instinct, humbles itself. He gets into some secret place, he utters no speech, he gives himself over to moaning and to tears, and then he bows himself lower and yet lower before the Divine Majesty, as if he felt that the only hope for him in the extremity of his sorrow was to make complete submission to God, and to lie in the very dust before him.  It seems to me that such conduct as this, which is characteristic of every truly gracious man in his hour of trouble, should also be the mark of all who are seeking God's grace, those who are not yet saved, but who are conscious of their need of salvation. I must, surely, be speaking right into the heart of some who are feeling the crushin...

"Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass."—Matthew. 21:5. We have read the chapter from which our text is taken; let me now rehearse the incident in your hearing. There was an expectation upon the popular mind of the Jewish people, that Messiah was about to come. They expected him to be a temporal prince, one who would make war upon the Romans and restore to the Jews their lost nationality. There were many who, though they did not believe in Christ with a spiritual faith, nevertheless hoped that perhaps he might be to them a great temporal deliverer, and we read that on one or two occasions they would have taken him and made him a king, but that he hid himself. There was an anxious desire that somebody or other should lift the standard of rebellion and lead the people against their oppressors. Seeing the mighty things which Christ did, the wish was father to the thought, and they imagin...

The Christmas season is upon me, along with a seasonal illness.  Yes, yours truly is suffering from a cold.  Several factors, I believe, have contributed to this ailment.  First, the temperature change.  Good ol' Texas weather is at-hand with warm weather one day and cool to cold temperatures the next.  How does one properly plan to prepare for such roller-coaster weather?  Every morning I do check the forecast in an attempt to adequately plan for what's ahead, but trying to predict my day even then is a roll of the dice.  Secondly, a co-worker at the bagel shop had the "cough", a sign of foreboding that gave me a sense of caution.  Thank you, God, for such provisions as Tylenol Cold and Flu medication.  Maybe it is too soon to tell, but I already think the worst of the cold is behind me.  Last year, I was sick for literally the entire month of December and well in to the new year.  Hopefully this will not be the case now.  Hav...

Today was very much a day of rest as I was off work from both jobs.  However, I did make a trip to the bagel shop, at the manager's request, in order to move tomorrow's prep work from the freezer to the walk-in cooler.  Even though this endeavor only took a few minutes, the simple fact of having this chore weigh on my mind detracted somewhat from the day's intended relaxation.  In addition, I am feeling as if I'm about to get sick.  Hopefully this isn't the case as every measure of prevention is utilized to possibly circumvent any illness.  (Resting thoroughly, taking medication, and drinking plenty of fluids.)  For the holiday's special meal, I purchased a Marie Callender's turkey TV dinner.  Many years have passed since experiencing such a meal, but I must confess how unlike the memories of other TV dinners this particular meal surpassed.  The food actually tasted great, and I gobbled it up like a hungry man.  Then I ate a slice of Marie Ca...

Thank you, God!  More people, including myself, need to recognize and continually remember where true blessings come from.  Every time I think everything is under control, I immediately have to correct such erroneous thinking.  Apart from God, I don't have anything even remotely resembling order and calm.  It is only by God's grace, mercy, and provision do I have anything under any sort of personal management.  It is God Almighty who holds the world in His hands.  Through both good and bad times, I pray for the cognizant realization of Jesus walking alongside me, sometimes carrying me when I'm not sure how I endured life's circumstances.  One lesson I've learned lately, is that God's blessings also carry a price.  Of course there are consequences to poor choices, but have you ever thought that blessings call for sacrifice?  For example, I prayed for a second job.  When I did receive that answer to prayer, I had to make a radical cha...

Not normally prone to visit the doctor for illness or physical discomfort, I finally relented in seeing one last Saturday evening.  A few months ago, I applied for and was accepted in to the John Peter Smith (JPS) Connection program.  This is through the county hospital and designed for people who don't make enough money to purchase health insurance.  With the skyrocketing cost of premiums and regardless of their annual income, I have no clue how people afford policies.  The first appointment was scheduled with a wait from August to November.  Yes, a four-month wait.  Thankfully I was able to tolerate the back and hip pain long enough to see the doctor.  Fearing the worst, I was relieved to discover it is only back strain and spasms.  In two more months, I will have a follow-up visit with lab (blood) work included.  During the interim, I have an appointment for a sonogram of my kidneys, and to spend an hour with a physical therapist.  Wo...