Ale for the Soul

A quick look at my life immediately renders a shocking reminder I am not in control, never have been and never will be.  Almighty God and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, are the only ones in firm control.  Each morning and throughout the day, I remind myself of this very poignant fact.  To even remotely think I have anything under control is a recipe for disaster as I find myself on very thin ice.  Whenever the thought of control enters my mind, I quietly pray to Jehovah God that He is the only one who has the world and life's circumstances in the palm of His hand.  Nothing transpires by happenstance.  The great Creator orchestrates life and the subsequent events, leaving nothing to catch Him by surprise.  There is an axiom I hear occasionally, "There is a God, and I am not Him!"  Oh how true this is, if people would take this truism more to heart.  On this obscure holiday, use the time to remember how the Almighty God is the only one in cont...

Pain knocked upon my door and said That she had come to stay, And though I would not welcome her But bade her go away, She entered in. Like my own shade She followed after me, And from her stabbing, stinging sword No moment was I free. And then one day another knocked Most gently at my door. I cried, “No, Pain is living here, And there is not room for more.” And then I heard His tender voice, “Tis I, be not afraid.” And from the day He entered in— The difference it has made! For though He did not bid her leave, (My strange, unwelcome guest), He taught me how to live with her, Oh, I had never guessed That we could dwell so sweetly here, My Lord and Pain and I, Within this fragile house of clay While years slip slowly by!

Matthew 8:23–27:  And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. A windstorm arose on the sea, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him up, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm. They were amazed, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?” The overcoming of fear—that is what we are proclaiming here. The Bible, the gospel, Christ, the church, the faith—all are one great battle cry against fear in the lives of human beings. Fear is, somehow or other, the archen­emy itself. It crouches in people’s hearts. It hollows out their insides, until their resistance and strength are spent and they suddenly break down. Fear secretly gnaws and eats away at all the ties that bind a person to God and to others, and when in a time of need that pe...

Now, today I will turn to the 17th chapter of the book of Acts, beginning at verse 30. Beginning tomorrow evening I am going to ask how many have brought their Bibles. I want everybody to bring a Bible. Now, I'm not a Bibliographist [sic]. I am not asking you to worship with the Bible. I don't use the Bible as a fetish. But I believe that the Bible is God's inspired Word, and in this book we find God's message for us today. I want you to get in the habit of carrying your Bible, reading your Bible, searching the Scriptures with me. I am not here night after night to put on a show. We are not here to put on an entertainment. We are here to tell you what the Bible has to say. What does the Bible have to say about your problems? What does the Bible have to say about the problems we're facing in the world in which we live today? Night after night, I'm going to ask you to bring your Bibles. Now you may have just a little Testament; you might not have a Bible at all...

Mondays have been firmly established as my weekly day off from work at the bagel shop.  As a result, a big sigh of relief passed between my lips to show the departing weight of the previous week as I clocked out at 11:30 a.m.  The burden of responsibility won't become my own again till Tuesday morning at two o'clock.  In spite of a few chores, I wasted no time in unwinding, promptly setting about to enjoy the time to myself.  Once cleaned up and fed, I sat in the office chair to read.  Unfortunately, the ever-persistent back issue has been agitating my peace of mind and physical well-being.  "Father God, please allow me to experience your perfect strength while experiencing this thorn in the flesh."  I am in good company as I think about the Apostle Paul and his thorn.  Today is the Christian Sabbath.  I state "Christian" because to the people of Jewish faith, Saturday is still considered the Sabbath.  (The Seventh Day Adventist also hol...

Over the weekend, my mother and step-father travelled to Fort Worth for a visit.  Twice in seven months, I was honored and privileged to have them as guests once again.  We didn't have elaborate plans, but our itinerary was ironed out beforehand in view of my strange work schedule and sleep routine.  On their first day in town, about all we had time for was dinner; however, we had a little more flexibility on days two and three since I was scheduled off on Monday.  On Sunday, we shopped at Home Depot and then treated ourselves to dinner at Texas Roadhouse.  I must not be accustomed to such rich food as my stomach almost immediately began showing signs of becoming upset.  This doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the time spent with family, but rather the good eats and sweet fellowship have almost slipped in to the realm of foreign activities for yours truly.  Sunday was capped off by a visit to the Log Cabin Village on University Drive.  Even though I have...

"Shew me wherefore thou contendest with me."—Job 10:2 And will God contend with man? If God be angry, can he not take away the breath of his nostrils, and lay him low in the dust of earth? If the heart of the Almighty be moved unto hot displeasure, can he not speak in his anger, and will not the soul of man sink into the lowest hell? Will God contend—will he set himself in battle array against his creature? and such a creature?—the creature of an hour—a thing that is not, that is here to-day and gone to-morrow? Will the Almighty contend with the nothingness of man? Will the everlasting God take up the weapons of war, and go out to fight against the insect of a day? Well might we cry out to him, "after whom is my Lord the King gone forth? After a dead dog: after a flea?" Wilt thou hunt the partridge on the mountains with an army, and wilt thou go forth against a gnat with shield and spear? Shall the everlasting God who fainteth not, neither is weary, at whose rep...

Mondays are my usual day off from work, a weekly reprieve from the rat race so common to us working folks.  When I mention how the day was filled with rest and relaxation, as in "I did absolutely nothing on my day off!", I should clarify this summation by merely confessing the day was void of outside errands and chores.  However, I did perform a few items on the never-ending to-do list.  Husbands know this "list" as honey-do chores, but I have no one to generate such a list for me.  I simply must stay proactive in keeping up with maintenance around the apartment: cleaning, cooking, and so much more...the very stuff of life that is essential to daily living.  Included along with the true enjoyment of not having to work, I had the one goal of reading through some of the magazines placed on the coffee table.  I am pleased to announce mission accomplished.  For the upcoming weekend, both my mother and step-father are travelling to Fort Worth for a visit....

** A friend sent me these rules.  Figured sharing them would be okay.** * Lerman's Law of Technology: Any technical problem can be overcome given enough time and money. Corollary: You are never given enough time or money.  * Murphy's First Law for Wives: If you ask your husband to pick up five items at the store and then you add one more as an afterthought, he will forget two of the first five.  * Law of the Search: The first place to look for anything is the last place you would expect to find it. Corollary: It will not be in the last place you expect to find it.  * Kauffman's Paradox of the Corporation: The less important you are to the corporation, the more your tardiness or absence is noticed.  * The Salary Axiom: The pay raise is just large enough to increase your taxes and just small enough to have no effect on your take-home pay.  * Miller's Law of Insurance: Insurance covers everything except what happens.  * First Law of Living...

The previous week at work was brutal!  Einstein Bros. Bagels offers a catering service to businesses, groups, and individuals.  It isn't anything elaborate; however, there is quite a demand for bagels, especially in the later part of the week.  Last Thursday and Friday I probably baked closed to fifteen hundred bagels just for catering.  This is in addition to the five to six hundred I cook simply to run a normal day's business at the shop.  By Sunday, I was visibly worn out and running on half speed.  Once off work, I performed my normal chores but still found it necessary to take a two-hour nap.  I don't like taking naps because the act of doing so interferes with the normal time for heading to bed.  Thankfully that wasn't the case yesterday.  For my day off today, I do have a few chores to accomplish and a couple of errands to run, but I already feel as if I am getting recharged.  I am so thankful for a day off to mentally and physica...