Ale for the Soul

          What a year 2018 has been!!  Even though I felt as if I had been on a crazy roller-coaster ride, the Lord Jesus was with me every step of the way.  The main cause for the sense of instability was the transition I experienced as I tried my hand at four different jobs.  As I gave up a merchandising job for a food service one with more full-time hours, I could tell the move was the right decision in spite of not being a good fit within the company.  Eventually, I did become distressed as the manager made me feel more and more alienated from the rest of the staff.  Moving on from the baker's job, I thought the promised land had finally arrived in the form of working for a shoe company.  Apparently a lot has changed in my twelve year absence away from the industry.  Either that, or I was the only non-childhood friend the manager decided to hire at her store.  (Again, an outsider!)  Ugh!  Thankfully this job ...

The holidays have come and gone, and humanity is probably none the wiser for the true meaning behind Christmas.  At any rate, I was able to spend four glorious days travelling to visit family and friends.  On the day after Christmas, I headed to Victoria, Texas, in order to meet a long-time friend I hadn't seen in well over a year.  We are both getting older and experiencing health issues.  That's only one more thing we have in common.  Ha ha!  After a great time of fellowship over lunch, Mom and I went shopping at the local mall, Wal-Mart, and the neighboring Goodwill store.  In spite of a bad back acting up, we both enjoyed the time spent together.  Thursday the 27th was my 45th birthday!  Woohoo!  Hopefully I don't look as old and I feel.  Once Mom and I bid our farewells to each other, I headed to Austin to spend the morning and part of the afternoon.  Genuine Joe, my favorite coffee house, had my favorite blend brewed: Gua...

          The Christmas season is upon us once again.  Seems like time passes by faster and faster every year.  Maybe the advancement of age has something to do with that.  Anyway, looking around to see people scurry for the latest deal or that one perfect present makes me realize how selfish humanity has become.  In cases such as this, Christmas ought to come around every day.  And let's not forget what the holiday is all about.  It is (Jesus) Christ-mas!!!  The King of kings came to save us from the wrath of God.  As a result, we ought to give freely of ourselves every day.           I ended up with four days off for the holiday this week.  Of course the store is closed for Christmas, and I'm usually off on Wednesdays.  In addition, I asked for time off to celebrate my 45th birthday on Thursday.  To have Monday off was simply a bonus as the owners were planning to work only until ...

For almost the entire tenure of my residence in Fort Worth I have attended Christ Chapel Bible Church.  Recently, this all came to an end.  Every Wednesday for the previous few months, the internet campus pastor has held a time of fellowship for those who attend via online.  After our time together this previous Wednesday, I decided to walk the campus in order to take pictures for my own photo collection.  While doing so, one of the lead pastors called security on me.  Apparently there is a no picture-taking policy in place at the church.  That would have been nice to know beforehand.  To the security guard's credit, he was real nice and diplomatic about the situation.  He did recognize me as an attendee of the church and a friend to the internet campus pastor.  However, I thought the actions taken by the lead pastor were crappy.  I am already overly sensitive about stuff like this considering my legal background.  Even though I und...

The President of the United States and the Prime Minister, Mr. Churchill, representing His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom, have met at sea.  They have been accompanied by officials of their two Governments, including high-ranking officers of their military, naval, and air services.  The whole problem of the supply of munitions of war, as provided by the Lease-Lend Act, for the armed forces of the United States, and for those countries actively engaged in resisting aggression, has been further examined. Lord Beaverbrook, the Minister of Supply of the British Government, has joined in these conferences. He is going to proceed to Washington to discuss further details with appropriate officials of the United States Government. These conferences will also cover the supply problems of the Soviet Union.  The President and the Prime Minister have had several conferences. They have considered the dangers to world civilization arising from the policies of military do...