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Wednesday, August 28, 2013

LABORIOUS DAY'S HODGEPODGE!



    Can you believe it, that Labor Day is upon us already? Where does the time go? Won't you pull over for a spell and enjoy a pause in your travels? Please join us! Well, thank you Joyce for these brief rest stops along the highway that is our life. 

1. Labor Day weekend (in the US of A) is approaching...what's something you've labored over this year?
     I have labored over learning the craft of expository preaching. I have taught on an adjuct basis at the college level. I have taught adult bible classes. Expository preaching is much more involved than simply teaching a class.

2. What is one word to describe your 'job' or career?
     Retired! When I did work, however, the word that described what I did was "servant." I approached my job as a police officer as being more of "Service" then of "Enforcement."

3. What was your worst or least favorite job ever? Why?
     Bus boy/dishwasher at a department store restaurant. I developed a serious allergy to the caustic soap used in the dishwasher. It was miserable!

4. How do you measure contentment?
     Sharing a meal with the kids, their respective spouses and of course the grand babies. It's family, short and simple, that is real contentment.

5. Pickles-like or dislike? What is something you eat that requires a pickle? Dill, bread and butter, sweet gherkins...what's your favorite kind of pickle?
     I like pickles. I like pickles on some sandwiches like subs and grilled cheese. I like pickles alongside other sandwiches like hot dogs and cheeseburgers. I prefer bread & butter pickles but I like them all.
    
6. In your current house-town-state, what is it you like living close to?
     One of the wonderful things about living in New Hampshire is that anything you can think of doing is not much more than an hour's drive away. We have moutains and wilderness to the north and west. We have the ocean to the east. We have big city life to the south. We also have many beautiful lakes all over the state. I love living close to everything.

7. What is one thing on your 'want-to-do' list before summer draws to an official close?
    I've got nothing!

8.  Insert your own random thought here.
     Milestones! As we go through life we reach a lot of milestones. When we're babies our parents anxiously wait for us to speak our first coherent word. Likewise, a baby's first step is a big moment for our parents.
     Other milestones might be our first birthday, or our first day at school. These milestone, as well as many others, just happen without any effort on our part.
      Still other milestones mark our achievements in life. Graduations come to mind. Graduation from elementary school, graduation from High School, and for some, graduation from college. 
     We mark milestones in our jobs. We mark our five, ten and twenty year anniversaries, and sometimes longer, with the same employer if we are fortunate to stay that long.
     In like manner, we mark milestones in our marriages. The 25th Anniversary and the 50th Anniversary are huge milestones, although being more rare these days.
     SWMBO and I just achieved another milestone. Yesterday we completed sixteen weeks of chemo treatment for SWMBO'S cancer. We did not set out to achieve this milestone voluntarily. This journey was forced upon us by the vicissitudes of life. This achievement is a finish line of sorts for most people. However, for us it is not! For us it is the end of one battle in a series of battles yet to come. 
     This war called cancer incessantly wears on body, soul and spirit...and not only upon the person who has the disease. We are thankful that we have endured thus far and we are determined to see this through. However, our doctors tell us that at this time there is no ultimate cure, only treatment. We are hopeful that research will eventually discover a cure, but that is not case as I write this post.
     We are thankful to God, to our family, to our church family, and to our friends who have taken this journey with us and have held us up with their prayers, with funny cards, and with other demonstrations of love. It is more helpful and appreciated than I am able to express.
      And so, we have reached this milestone and begin to prepare to reach the next one...whatever that one may be.     

4 comments:

  1. Oh I love sharing a meal with you and the rest of family. What fun.

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  2. I like the word you use to describe your job. I'm happy you have this battle behind you and pray there is rest and refreshment before you begin the next phase of treatment. Keeping you both in my prayers!

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    1. Thank you, Joyce. Really!...thank you for these weekly questions that require us to focus and think on other things. Also, thank you for your prayers and encouragement. May God bless you as you have need.

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