Ale for the Soul

Today is my Sabbath day of rest, and I have been enjoying the time immensely.  Last Wednesday, January 20th, I was blessed with starting employment with Goody Goody Liquor on Camp Bowie Boulevard in Fort Worth.  On the previous Friday, I interviewed with the store manager.  By Monday, I was offered employment contingent on passing a background check and drug test.  The following Tuesday brought the good news yours truly had passed both.  Most of the blog readers already remember I do have a black mark in my personal history, but God allowed everything to come back clear.  I was working the very next day beginning at Noon.  After working four days straight, I was exhauted!  Every night after clocking out from an eight-hour shift, I went home sore with hurting feet.  Whew, I was extremely thankful for having both Sunday and Monday off from work.  A family member helped me to run a few errands, making Monday a true day of rest and recuperat...

The year 2020 flew by at break-neck speed.  Yes, it was a rather odd year with the Corona Virus, but I am more amazed at how it seemed to pass me by without much to show for it.  Not knowing how life will turn out, I am continually in awe at how my Abba Father provides for me.  He is all-knowing and ever-present in my life, blessing me beyond measure in spite of myself.  With the "pandemic" ramping up in March, getting the work-from-home job with Enterprise in February was great timing.  This only confirms Ecclesiastes 3:11, "He has made everything beautiful in its time.  He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end."  Leaving that job about eight months later, again I was richly provided for through temporary day labor employment.  Another milestone of the year was the expiration of my ten-year legal obligation.  The underlying reason behind the State of Texas supervision was...

Unfortunately, my week-long vacation is coming to an end.  After a glorious time away from the monotany of routine, I'm actually looking forward to a return to normalcy.  Visiting "family" I didn't know I had, to enjoying another birthday with siblings, I capped off the travels with a few days spent with Mom.  Yoakum is a very unexciting, small country town in the middle of nowhere.  No one ever passes through this sleepy little place on their way to somewhere else.  If a person ever finds themselves there, it's on purpose...a destination of sorts.  Just like everyone else, we headed to the nearest big city of Victoria to satisfy the itch of something to do.  After a few hours of eating and shopping, we had enough.  The next day brought a milder excursion to the city of Cuero: shopping at Wal-Mart and a local thrift store, along with a late lunch at an area restaurant.  Content with our endeavors, we spent my final day in Yoakum by keeping cl...

Yesterday was my 47th birthday!  How did I get this old?  Honestly, I figured yours truly would have passed on by now, but maybe Abba Father has something in store for me.  The day came and went without incident; in fact, there were a couple of times I forgot it was my birthday.  Ha!  All of us siblings went out to lunch at The Oasis near the Austin/Del Valle area.  Afterward, my brother and I found a coffee shop and proceeded to order two mochas while the ladies shopped.  The rest of the afternoon was spent at our brother's house watching the first half of the Dallas Cowboy's football game.  Yuck!  I found a quiet corner of the house to watch TV on my phone.  To my relief, the 1968 World Series between the Cardinals and Tigers was on one of the channels.  The rest of the evening was spent smoking two cigars in order to celebrate another milestone.  Now I'm waiting at the hotel for my mother and step-father to pick me up. ...

As I stare down the end of another year, I am surprised at how much life can get crammed into such a short space.  Since Thanksgiving, I have been working with a friend who is employed by Cowtown Covers.  He hired me as his helper on a temporary basis.  It's general day labor type stuff, but I was glad he thought of me to ask.  Certainly I can use the money for living expenses till I can find something more permanent.  When he called me, the only two criteria for working these types of projects was an extra set of hands and the ability to follow instructions.  Knowing there's nothing in life that simple, I couldn't help but chuckle; however, I agreed to check it out nonetheless.  After assembling a few patio covers, I made the determination this type of work wasn't for me.  My friend was very gracious and wasn't offended.  What I really enjoyed about the time spent in this endeavor was getting to know my co-worker.  Now it's back to the ...

Many blessings on each of you who visit and read these posts.  I am honored!  As I grow older, the years seem to pass by ever faster.  The Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are upon us once again.  This year was the first time since 2011 that I haven't spent the holiday with family, or at least the one related by blood.  Thankfully one of the A.A. groups I frequent was hosting a big shindig, and I joyfully attended with this other "family" of sorts.  There was more food than any of us knew what to do with, and, surprisingly, we had a fairly good turnout considering the Covid mess is still ongoing.  Of course there were a few faces I recognized, as well as quite a few whom I didn't.  Never one to pass on an opportunity to meet someone new, I quickly made the rounds introducing myself.  The fellowship was sweet as we caught up with what has been going on in each of our lives.  Not only on Thanksgiving but also throughout the year, I cons...

This is a crazy world we live in.  A lot has happened the previous few weeks, and I have a feeling this is only the beginning.  I was very pleased to see the high turnout for the Presidential Election.  Without suggesting which candidate would be best suited for office, I implore people to exercise their civic duty in determining who leads this nation.  Forgive the course phrase but "Don't bitch if you don't vote!"  That's all there is to it.  In order to exercise my personal autonomy in the public arena of life, I must first undertake the prerequisite actions: voting, staying informed by listening to the news, engaging in local government, and so much more.  We shall see what the eventual conclusion is to the mess of legal challenges and time-consuming recounts.  In the meantime, I must focus on yours truly and my overall health and well-being.  A paltry effort has been made in looking for employment.  A little over one week ago, I did ...