Good morning! How are we faithing? To say I am blessed while having a wild week is understating everything. I had a pulmonary embolism sucked out of my lungs that should have killed me weeks ago. But God. God obviously has other plans for this old guy. Y'all were on my mind. I don't like missing the daily because one person might not be nudged to seek Jesus and if my shortcomings caused that to happen...man. Anyways, I had doctors and nurses that blew me away on their professionalism and their "bed side manner". These people deal with the worse of situations daily. The firefighters and paramedics that carted my fat butt to the hospital and transferred me to the premier heart hospital in Louisville were why I am still proud to be a retired fire marshal. We shared many stories and I encouraged them to press on without letting the bad times get them down. The best job for an old firefighter is to help young firefighters become old firefighters. As I lay in that hospital bed pondering many things I came to some realizations. Some are personal and some are quite matter of fact. Whatever time we have on this orb we need to be about our Savior Jesus' work. Don't let an opportunity to share the grace and love we have been granted. When someone asks how you can be so kind, thankful and unafraid when faced with monumental trials, place the praise and honor on a savior that did the same when faced with even bigger trials. If you have trouble being kind, thankful and unafraid...we need to talk...

  1Pe 2:1-10  Therefore laying aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisies and envyings, and all evil speakings, desire the sincere milk of the Word, as newborn babes, so that you may grow by it; if truly you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.   For having been drawn to Him, a living Stone, indeed rejected by men, but elect, precious with God;  you also as living stones are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  Therefore also it is contained in the Scripture: "Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner Stone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him shall never be ashamed."  Therefore to you who believe is the honor. But to those who are disobedient, He is the Stone which the builders rejected; this One came to be the Head of the corner,  and a Stone-of-stumbling and a Rock-of-offense to those disobeying, who stumble at the Word, to which they also were appointed.  But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for possession, so that you might speak of the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;  you who then were not a people, but now the people of God, those not pitied then, but now pitied. 

Heavenly Father, thank you for blessing this lowly servant of yours. Lord, I thank you for all the interactions this week and pray a spark of light lets those people seek you. Lord, the people who were praying on my behalf ..I lift them up to you. Bless them in all their endeavors. Let them know you hear them and that their prayers work! Lord, I keep praising you for your Word that is the only truth worthy of praising. Lord I lift that nurse to you, you know who, that she finds you intimately. In Jesus name, amen