Scripture

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
    and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

~Psalm 34:18, NIV

Quote

To cultivate a heart that desires what is good and delights in the LORD Jesus is the first step to the abundant life that is full and overflowing.

~Warren W. Wiersbe

I know I gave high praise for Psalm 22 not long ago but Psalm 34 is a classic. It is so good, so deep and rich that I stayed in it two days. Psalm 32 was Augustine’s favorite and I am almost sure Psalm 46 was Martin Luther’s favorite. I think 34 may be mine. I don’t know at the times verse 18 has lifted my spirit and restored my soul. I don’t think I am brokenhearted today but I have been. When you are brokenhearted, you can’t eat or sleep and you can’t think beyond the present. I am eating a plenty. I do relate to the crushed spirit. I have given up on jack. He was convicted heavily by verses 13-14, Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. Then I was reading 1 Timothy in the Williams translation and came across verse 19, “Stop abbusive language.” Some understand what I am saying, others would think, “Bro. Jack, you never use abusvie language.” The basketball officials would probably disagree. I have used the word ‘pitiful’ several times just this year and it is not a term of endearment to any official.

I admit that most of the white ones and some of the black ones{fewer I think} have a Barney Fife syndrome. They are arrogant and they love being in control, but some of them are just trying to earn a few extra bucks and they make mistakes, but not nearly as many as I would make if I was taking their place. The truth is, you could not have the game without them. My biggest problem is not with officials, it is with me. I will take humble prayers or condescending ones like, “Thank You Father that I not like Bro. Jack.”  I had Josh put the convicting verses on my phone as a background. I read them a couple of times before going into the gym at Good Hope. You know that no one from Morgan County has ever witnessed good officiating in Cullman County. You spot them 20 points when you walk in their building and they do have nice buildings. Then Ty gets hurt in the first two minutes of the game and he is down possibly for the season. My self-contol was great but Ty didn’t play so I don’t know if I’m making progress or not. I told Mike Williams before the game started: “I am not hollowing at the officials tonight and I want you to hold me accountable.” He said, “I don’t know bro jack, these guys may need hollowering at.” I know one thing: the word of God speaks and it convicts because I have been convicted.

Extra

It is colder than kraut and the cold air is hard on a root canal. I came to the office yesterday evening and just the short walk in the cold air got me to hurting. The root canal was a success I hope. She had more trouble with this one; it took 45 minutes. Due to the cold, I am staying in today. I plan to be at Church tonight but I am canceling my day activities due to the root canal. Hopefully, by the weekend, it will not be a problem.

Have a good day and thanks for reading the blog.

Political Rant

I may have told you but if I did, I am telling you again: Hannah gave me a TRUMP clock for Christmas. Every hour on the hour the clocks speaks: it is Trump saying, “We will make America great again.” I love it and I am not ashamed to say that I admire our president for his courage and honesty. Everytime it goes off, I pause and pray for the president. At the top of the list is protection. I pray for his safety and well being. I also pray for God to give him wisdom. We can’t make America great; only God can do that, but I understand his intention. He hadn’t dissappointed me yet. Some are not happy with the Daylight Savings time issue, I am. If the President says its in our best interest not to do DST, I trust him. He has a reason. Someone told me that it will save us millions of dollars. I don’t know, but even if he is wrong on that issue, I still applaud him on all the others. I saw one of these Hollywooders doing a commercial about an electric jeep that was going up a steep incline. What a bunch of crock. How many electric limos are there is DC hauling these liberals from place to place. How many of them fly in electic jets or ride electric trains? When was the last time Bidden, Obama, Gore, Clinton or any of the rest these climate change greenies put gas in a car? When was the last time they went to krogers and saw the price of eggs? I will tell you: they can’t remember.  The Clintons came from poverty but Gore and Biden were born with a silver spoon in their mouth. They live in gated communities and know nothing about the real world. They are parasites living off of the system. They wouldn’t know work if it bit them on the neck. Many of them have never had a real job. They hate Trump because we love him. That burns them up. How could we peasants {deplorables} be so ungrateful to turn on the ones who have been taking care of us…Bologna…we have been taking care of them because they are bums, freeloaders, draft dodgers and deadbeats. This is their good points; I don’t have time to tell you about their bad.

This guy wrote to advice.com or something of that nature: My brother is 31 years old, smokes weed 10-20 times per day, and plays Fortnite at my Mother’s house all day, every day. He stays up until 3-4am every night, and sleeps until 1-2pm every day, then he repeats this – every day. It has been about 7 years of this pattern. He has never kept a job more than four months and its always the same excuse: his boss was an a-hole or his co-workers were a-holes, or they would pay him what he was worth.