Strange concepts of helping God

Thank you for your many prayers and well wishes. I’m sorry that I didn’t answer all your e-mails individually, but there were just too many, and to use an old expression of my dad’s, “I’m weak as cooter pee”. I don’t know how that expression became part of his vocabulary, but I’ve heard him say it for many years. A cooter is an old time slang expression for a snapping turtle. And I don’t have a clue as to where he came up with snapping turtles having weak pee, but it sounded appropriate to how weak I feel at the moment.

I went to the doctor and he told me I had acute bronchitis and possibly pneumonia. So he ordered a chest x-ray and gave me a prescription for some antibiotics, but most importantly from my perspective was that he ordered up some prescription cough medicine that actually worked. After coughing deep painful coughs that came exactly one and a half minutes apart, nonstop for the past two days and nights, I was at the point of going absolutely stark raving mad. It was like experiencing a miracle of God not to cough for an entire night. I went to bed last night at 7:30 p.m. and slept until 7:30 a.m. this morning. Considering that I normally go to bed around 10:30p.m.and get up at 2a.m. that was something. So although I’m weak as cooter pee, I definitely feel like I’m on the mend.

So another crisis appears to be passing and today my goal is to continue working on the new website for Honey Lake Plantation. I have finished writing all of the copy and now have the delightful task of selecting the photographs. I have perhaps a thousand photos from which to choose including stunning landscapes, glorious sunrises/sunsets, gorgeous wildlife, stately centuries old live oak trees, equisitely designed buildings, cuddly farm animals, and photos of happy beautiful children riding in airboats, feeding donkeys and horses, and proudly holding their first bluegill catch. It will be a monumentally enjoyable task and a great day.

I stand amazed and in complete awe at God’s creation. I was happily thinking about relishing even the thought of going through all of these beautiful photographs today and marveling at God’s handiwork and for whatever reason I suddenly thought about the radical jihadists around the world. Somewhere some young man or woman is planning their day too, except they are planning to blow themselves up today and murder innocent men women and children in the process.

What kind of religion can this be where young men and women think they are doing God a favor by committing suicide and committing horrendous murders? In Psalms 2:1 the question is asked, “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot a vain thing?”

The prophet Micah answers the question: “Because they know not the counsel (instruction) of the Lord” (Micah 4:11). I feel sorry for those who do not know our loving God. He is so full of compassion and hope and being a child of God is such a joy. It is difficult for us to even comprehend how someone could think they were actually doing the work of God by shedding innocent blood. But the power of satan to deceive should not be underestimated.

Don’t think you can be deceived by satan? Get real! Did you ever watch one of those Hitler black and white movies where hundreds of thousands of people are saluting and shouting homage to his name? It is no different today when one of these young people shouts “Allah Akbar!” right before they blow themselves up.

We don’t need to kill anyone or commit genocide to be deceived by satan friends. We must stay in our Bibles and put on the full armor of God.

Eph 6:13
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.