Monsoon Rains

Here in the southwest we are used to summer rains from monsoon’s that normally setup. They start anywhere from June through July and last till mid-August early September. These cloud formations and showers usually keep our heat down and give some relief to the dryness. The hard part of this phenomenon is guessing where it will actually rain. The storms pop up and move east to west, north to south and sometimes just sit. The latter portion of this is when some areas get flash flooding, like the one that wiped out the Dixon Apple orchard a few years ago. This year the monsoon pattern did not quite show up correctly the high setup over Arizona and pushed record heat into the area and kept rainstorms at bay. Then again this year of 2020 has not been anywhere normal for anything. Our current three month outlook has the area with better forecast to see some late monsoon action during September through August. Maybe a Hurricane can push up some moisture to the area. There are parts of New Mexico that have had rain and other parts that have had none. There are areas that are heading into winter without good grass for the winter that normally sustain wildlife. These areas are in a sustained draught. As a kid when the rains move in there was a fence and cattle guard about a Half mile from our house. Many times, the rains would march up the valley and magically quit at the fence. This would cause my dad frustration because that meant our property missed out on rain. This type of activity creates reason for folktales. Like of it raining in only one side of a double barrel shotgun leaned on a fence. The tale only emphasizes the way these storms can befuddle even experts. The Lord is great and sends showers even though they seem so random to us he knows where to send rain! “Whenever this happens, my heart stops— I’m stunned, I can’t catch my breath. Listen to it! Listen to his thunder, the rolling, rumbling thunder of his voice. He lets loose his lightnings from horizon to horizon, lighting up the earth from pole to pole. In their wake, the thunder echoes his voice, powerful and majestic. He lets out all the stops, he holds nothing back. No one can mistake that voice—His word thundering so wondrously, his mighty acts staggering our understanding. He orders the snow, ‘Blanket the earth!’ and the rain, ‘Soak the whole countryside!’ No one can escape the weather—it’s there. And no one can escape from God. Wild animals take shelter, crawling into their dens,When blizzards roar out of the north and freezing rain crusts the land. It’s God’s breath that forms the ice, it’s God’s breath that turns lakes and rivers solid. And yes, it’s God who fills clouds with rainwater    and hurls lightning from them every which way. He puts them through their paces—first this way, then that—commands them to do what he says all over the world. Whether for discipline or grace or extravagant love, he makes sure they make their mark. Job 37:13 (MSG)

A different meaning

 

A few years ago, in 2012 we did a project in the community of Corona. At the time, the most significant thing about the name of the town was it is derived from Spanish for “crown.” Today in 2020 Corona has a different meaning to many of us. There are several things about Corona, New Mexico that most people think of when you say “Corona, NM” Some think middle of nowhere, to small, too far from civilization. Yes, it is far from any large cities and far from the problems that come with a large town. Yes, it is small in size but big of heart. The middle of nowhere is not very applicable. As the center of New Mexico is near here. Of course, there is also the Roswell UFO incident which has always had considerable debate about what fell to the earth in New Mexico in July 1947. Was it an alien-powered spaceship, a simple weather balloon? The old Foster Ranch southeast of Corona is considered the crash site. There are some other sites that get recognition. One thing you notice and feel in the town of Corona is a sense of the old west in people as you visit with them, they are very full of frontier spirit. The other side of the coin is the people who have chosen to retire in the area and embody the frontier spirit, even if they do not look the part. Somewhat, like happens to people who follow the Christ. What I mean is some people think that if you follow Christ, that you should look like a priest, monk, or nun. Most followers of Christ look just like everyone else, your friends, neighbors, and family. They do not have to wear special clothes, jewelry, or markings. So, if you ever are in Corona notice that there is a spirit of the frontier among the people, no matter how they are dressed. When among Christians no matter how they are dressed you will notice the Spirit of the Lord! This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with him! Romans 8:16-17 (MSG)

 

Game of life

In my life I was lucky enough to have grown up being part of hunting, football, baseball, soccer, and horseshoes. In time I have tried bowling and golf and found golf did not fit me. What I learned that is common in all the sports I have tried, is there is a direct correlation to being prepared and practice. Now in most sports you have a coach, in hunting a mentor, these people show you the ways of the sport. We have a friend who grew up playing hockey and is still addicted to it, she was from Texas and learned to embrace hockey. We would spend some holiday weekends at their house and have cookouts and enjoy life and laughter. We would watch hockey sometimes and let Bill try to explain the game to us non-hockey interlopers. Her life just ended, and she left him in a transitional mode from husband and partner to widower. In sports there are ways of preparing for the game by practice, in life sometimes there is no way to be prepared for what is handed you. In Golf lower numbers mean higher achievements on the course. In marriage lower numbers mean you’re alone and no longer a team. At this time of my life I want to let my wife know how much she means to me and our home team. To also be reminded of one of the rules in Horseshoes, it is if you are close to the pin you can score a point. I do not want to be just close enough I want a Touchdown and the championship and make it to heaven together. So, as we look forward to the rest of our life together, understanding God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good. Thank God because he’s good, because his love never quits. Tell the world, Israel, “His love never quits. “And you, clan of Aaron, tell the world, “His love never quits. “And you who fear God, join in, “His love never quits.” Psalm 118:1-4 (MSG)

 

Back Half

 

What is the world going to see in the back half of 2020? There will be changes in electronic gadgets we must have, there always something new. There will be nonstop news coverage about the presidential race. The ongoing “peaceful protests” seem to be planned for long term and will produce feelings of anxiety and fear. The feeling of civil unrest that is permeating through the United States as we know it, is a real problem that most feel. And yes there will be some sports to follow and watch as they somewhat have decided to play, somewhat of a distraction. As all these things unfold in the next few months will this lead more people to Christ. Will they meet Christ, will they commit to him/ will there be an outreach of people moving forward in the great commission?  Will more of the churched reach out to more of the unchurched. Will we see God in 2020? Do you know somebody that you should introduce to Jesus to? Remember most people see what is in their own interests much better. So, help them to see that coming to Christ is in their best interest. Sooner they become Christians the better, because no one knows the hour or time of Christ’s return. “Take a lesson from the fig tree. From the moment you notice its buds form, the merest hint of green, you know summer’s just around the corner. So it is with you: When you see all these things, you’ll know he’s at the door. Don’t take this lightly. I’m not just saying this for some future generation, but for all of you. This age continues until all these things take place. Sky and earth will wear out; my words won’t wear out. 36 “But the exact day and hour? No one knows that, not even heaven’s angels, not even the Son. Only the Father knows. Matthew 24:34-36 (MSG)

 

Labor of Love

The Labor Day weekend in the past was an excellent time to get away together. Reconnect as a family and with others in an outdoor setting. Labor Day also symbolizes the end of summer for many Americans, and is normally celebrated with parties, parades, and athletic events. Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contribution’s workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. This year there should be a special recognition for the Essential workers and first responders. These people have had to endure much this year with the virus and the so called “peaceful protesters.”  In years past the big winner for Labor Day weekend in New Mexico has been BBQ’s and a last camping trip. A lot of New Mexicans used to trek to see Zozobra burn in Fort Marcy Park in Santa Fe, New Mexico which has traditionally been held in September. The burning of Zozobra dates from 1924 is a tradition of burning the unworthy, bad thoughts and disappointments. The slips of paper are tucked inside his enormous body, destined to go up in smoke when he is set alight in a fiery extravaganza culminating in one of Santa Fe’s finest fireworks display. This year there will be no crowds on site it will be televised instead. Also, in years past some made it to the annual Hatch Chile Festival, a two-day celebration of our world-famous crop. The festival normally attracts over 30,000 visitors from all over the United States, including such notables as the Food Network and the BBC. Festival goers can sample famed chile recipes, watch the crowning of the chile festival queen, or toss a horseshoe in celebration of our most famous crop. But not this year you will have to order chile online, because anything fun is pretty well canceled. With Labor Day approaching, our Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham asked everyone to “buckle down” and stick to the five-person limit mandated by the state’s public health order. Meaning no family gatherings, large BBQ’s, no family reunions, and picnics.  For us, this Holiday says end of Summer and hello Fall which brings a change to temperatures and ushers in the wind. Which can make cooking outdoors harder.  So this Labor Day will be about cooking outdoors and enjoying family and having a picnic. I went to a very rural small school my counting skills are not all that great…lol. In this post I used some of the examples of happenings in and around us locally. Some of these represents things that some of us may not like or not partake of. Religion can be a divider when we begin to hold up standards as to what is spiritually superior. It is not what we partake of, but the motive, and heart behind it, that matters to God. But fortunately, God doesn’t grade us on our diet. We’re neither commended when we clean our plate nor reprimanded when we just can’t stomach it. But God does care when you use your freedom carelessly in a way that leads a fellow believer still vulnerable to those old associations to be thrown off track. 1 Corinthians 8:8-9  (MSG)

 

Small Town

There are always things to fear the unknown, is one of the worst, it is the thing most of us fear. Humans have always feared the unknown. There is a stigma of the unknown for the obvious reasons that we are not sure, and we do not understand the consequences. This year the stress level is up for most people as the unknowns of covid-19 causes fear and anxiety. Public health orders, such as social distancing, can make people feel isolated and lonely. There is also somewhat of a confusing factor in the heath Orders in New Mexico, as they change back and forth. The systematic responses by our governor to us the citizens of New Mexico always feel like we are being chastised like children. Our governor can even rachet the rhetoric up and be pointedly abusive to citizens, like the city of Espanola. She specifically berated the entire community, on her update last Thursday. “I want to give you an anecdotal this is what I see, last week I traveled to Northern New Mexico and in traveling to Northern New Mexico I went through Española. I saw a lot of activity in Española traveling through main street as we were going north. I didn’t see a single mask. Not one. Not in a parking lot, not outside a grocery store that we passed, not at a convenience store, not at a gas station, not by someone in a car. Not by…Not hanging on a rearview mirror, not on a wrist, not as people were walking. Nowhere. Not one. The only masks I saw were in the car I was in. And we have to do better than that.”- Governor Grisham. There is so much wrong with the conditions we are enduring in this state, we are on the wrong end of many lists. Some of our citizens maybe are not as cognizant of all the rules in the mandates, but most people comply with masking to shop and keep social distancing. Most of us growing up had fears. What makes us have these fears is in our own reasoning. Nearly everyone has memories of childhood fears. Perhaps you needed a night light to keep the bogeymen at bay. Maybe there was a ditch or stream near your house, where you were sure a witch looked for children to drown, (aka La Llorona). One of the fears I had was always fearing that being from a small town would be hard for me to overcome and succeed. This is something many people feel also. Last week the Governor comes out and trashes your town it creates another layer of anxiety and fear that was not needed. Comments like that, lead to economic and health disparities that have a lasting effect on people. This is not he only small town she has singled out she has used her bully pulpit to pick on many towns, Espanola is the first to receive an apology. Her apology came across like when we were kids, and you were forced to apologize. Even in apologizing she came across as condescending.  He told his next story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noses at the common people: “Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax man. The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: ‘Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like this tax man. I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income.’ Luke 18:11-12 (MSG)

Work Till I die

 

The Great recession of 2008 changed how we did things and where we worked, based on how you were impacted. January 21, 2008 – Stock markets around the world plunged amid growing fears of a U.S. recession, fueled by the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis. And into the abyss of recession that defined many of us to the end of 2017. We saw the beginnings of the world changing for us in America as a rebound in the market took place and many people went back to work. The optimism of many across the nation was very good and the stock markets answered as well, by rising and hitting all time records. This enthusiasm and available work burst all lot of gloomy forecasts of life many people had, we entered the heart of what America was built on a shot at the American dream. There was the understanding of you didn’t have to work until you die. Or you could continue to work at your current job if you loved it, or you could retire from work altogether. Whichever you choose was fine if you had put in the sacrifice in your younger years and built a retirement account.  Then as we moved forward into the start of this new decade and the opportunities that the new “Roaring 20, s “could offer us. Most of us were looking forward to this new decade, we were all exuberant on the possibilities of life. The workforce was at capacity and the stock market was roaring. People were excited to be alive and happy to be living in America. Then the world as we know it began to change in March of 2020. While some of us work by choice rather than need, millions of others must work. While that is standard fare for the majority of America, there is a vast amount of the population on idle right now because of the covid-19 and the varying rules across America. The upheaval of the work force with stay at home rules and layoffs are devastating the economy of many states and people’s life savings. Two recent recessions have devastated personal savings. Leaving many people with little or no options on how to continue to live the life once dreamt of. Pretty scary to think about- people’s savings are gone and the powers that be continuing to hold back the economy, because of the virus. This is a theme I have covered before that the cure for this virus is getting to be worse than what the virus was purported to do. Now many people that had plans to retire and travel have come to the stark realization of “I’m gonna work till I die.”   So, are we living at the beginning of a second Great Depression? With the movements of leftist’s that condemn America and want to make people not want to be Americans. Which brings up the next question are we living at the beginning of the end of American dream?

We’re all adrift in the same boat:

    too few days, too many troubles.

We spring up like wildflowers in the desert and then wilt,

    transient as the shadow of a cloud.

Do you occupy your time with such fragile wisps?

    Why even bother hauling me into court?

There’s nothing much to us to start with;

    how do you expect us to amount to anything?

Mortals have a limited life span.

    You’ve already decided how long we’ll live—

    you set the boundary and no one can cross it.

So why not give us a break? Ease up!

    Even ditchdiggers get occasional days off.

For a tree there is always hope.

    Chop it down and it still has a chance—

    its roots can put out fresh sprouts.

Even if its roots are old and gnarled,

    its stump long dormant,

At the first whiff of water it comes to life,

    buds and grows like a sapling.

But men and women? They die and stay dead.

    They breathe their last, and that’s it.

Like lakes and rivers that have dried up,

    parched reminders of what once was,

So mortals lie down and never get up,

    never wake up again—never.

Why don’t you just bury me alive,

    get me out of the way until your anger cools?

But don’t leave me there!

    Set a date when you’ll see me again.

If we humans die, will we live again? That’s my question.

    All through these difficult days I keep hoping,

    waiting for the final change—for resurrection!

Homesick with longing for the creature you made,

    you’ll call—and I’ll answer!

You’ll watch over every step I take,

    but you won’t keep track of my missteps.

My sins will be stuffed in a sack

    and thrown into the sea—sunk in deep ocean. Job 14:14-17 (MSG

Ransomware

Back in 2008 I opened my computer up to view on the web and BAM! I had pop up explaining that my computer was infected with a virus and for a fee they would allow me to have it back.  No matter what I did it kept popping up. It took over my home page and security encryption. I took my computer to my computer fix it man and he was able to stop this attack. This was the first time I had heard of Hostage ware or Ransom Ware where they steal your computer and for a fee sell it back to you. Now we have “peaceful protestors” and activists have issued to dozens of businesses in NuLu, a small commercial district in downtown Louisville, sending out flyers with a list of demands that need to be met, with grading system. Implications are you need to meet their demands or watch your business burn. Which is like the computer hostage ware tactic, and probably similar outcomes. With computers they wind up taking over your computer and steal your info if you pay. There is no guarantee your business will not be attack even if you meet the criteria of the standards they ask for, this is just a shake down. This will trickle out of Kentucky and be a tactic elsewhere. Don’t allow us the U.S to be hostages in our own country and communities.

God made my life complete

    when I placed all the pieces before him.

When I cleaned up my act,

    he gave me a fresh start.

Indeed, I’ve kept alert to God’s ways;

    I haven’t taken God for granted.

Every day I review the ways he works,

    I try not to miss a trick.

I feel put back together,

    and I’m watching my step.

God rewrote the text of my life

    when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes. 2 Samuel 22:24-25 (MSG)

Food Box

One Thanksgiving as we were helping load food for people that needed it, we learned a valuable lesson. We would wait and take turns carrying out their box or boxes. Each box had a number and the amount of provisions that each box would feed for a Holiday meal. The boxes were ordinary business storage boxes plain cardboard color. We first assembled the boxes and filled them with the mixture of canned food, dry goods and made sure the was enough to meet the goal of how many the family was feeding. We then topped of the gift box with a Turkey. At this point we could have left because we had fulfilled a good deed. When the people started coming in to pick up the boxes. We stayed and help take out the boxes to their automobiles. Some allowed us to pray with some of them and let them Know God loved them and wished them a Happy Thanksgiving. There were those that did not seem as needy as others and some that were very needy in my eyes. Then as me and my wife talked, we agreed that the Lord was the one who would know who was needy. We were able to connect with some of the people and thereby fulfill our need to help. Thanks for the chance to help Lord! Over the last few weeks, the Roadrunner food bank has been using the parking lot of the local Wells Fargo to distribute food out of the back of a tractor trailer. The vehicles line up through the parking lot and down the street. Again, we were reminded of the Thanksgiving many years ago, as we passed the long line of cars. Some cars in line seemed more appropriate for needing help, others did not. It is God who knows the true heart as well as need. Those people are on a dark spiral downward. But if you think that leaves you on the high ground where you can point your finger at others, think again. Every time you criticize someone, you condemn yourself. It takes one to know one. Judgmental criticism of others is a well-known way of escaping detection in your own crimes and misdemeanors. But God isn’t so easily diverted. He sees right through all such smoke screens and holds you to what you’ve done. You didn’t think, did you, that just by pointing your finger at others you would distract God from seeing all your misdoings and from coming down on you hard? Or did you think that because he’s such a nice God, he’d let you off the hook? Better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but he’s not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change. Romans 2:1-4 (MSG)

 

Never Changes

These are still true even in this wacky year of 2020……………..

 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”Revelation 1:8  (ESV)

 The Master declares, “I’m A to Z. I’m The God Who Is, The God Who Was, and The God About to Arrive. I’m the Sovereign-Strong.” Revelation 1:8 (MSG)