Another lovely fall day is here. It rained buckets last night. I am glad the Painting Project is complete. As the song says Life is like a mountain railroad. Peace is elusive calm is fleeting. Or as I told my friend Jim you have to work to have fun…

Do we leave the world better than we found it or focus on our heavenly home without concern about where we are? Things creep up on us. The little kids we dandled on our knees are middle-aged. We are too old to plan and too slow to implement the plans. The years are like the little train who could find that the destination is closer than the side mirrors revealed them to be.

A mother held a large handwritten sign outside Aldis. A little girl sat next to her. The sign asked for help of any kind. The woman waved the little girl looked sad.

I had a minister when I began the Christian walk who admonished young men to not be foolish. Politicians say the strangest things. Calling names like a schoolyard bully. Word salad that has no beginning or end. Words intended to create violence for innocent people. Tears suffering chaos for those not in the movement. How can we divide today? Who can we hurt? I have worked with and for people with this mindset. No matter my best efforts I could not remain in their good graces.

A settled soul is more valuable than the Gold of Ophir. As the storm wreaks havoc there is peace if we remember the mission…

We are climbing Jacob’s Ladder. Not to get to Heaven but to climb above the banality of evil. It takes courage to be different than the crowd. It is not fun to be belittled. When others laugh and point their fingers at us we must climb up another rung…