Have Blog will Travel

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I would love to visit these "Not Visited" states.

Perhaps you live in one of those places? Let me know why I should visit.

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If Vegetables smelled like Bacon

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Bacon, The source of all happiness. -Samuel Victor David Evans

Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon. -Doug Larson

Bacon is so good by itself that to put it in any other food is an admission of failure. You're basically saying, 'I can't make this other food taste good, so I'll throw in bacon.' -Penn Jillette

Even apocalypse looks less dire when viewed over a plate of bacon.
-Stephanie Stamm

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Honoring Sacrifice

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This image moves me deeply. It speaks to me of the sacrifices that soldiers and their loved ones make for us every day. On this Memorial Weekend I thought that it might be good to share a few thoughts about sacrifice from three men who died in the service of our country.

My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. - John F. Kennedy

Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals. -Martin Luther King, Jr.

We never should, and I am sure, never shall be niggard of gratitude and benefaction to the soldiers who have endured toil, privations and wounds, that the nation may live. -Abraham Lincoln

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...originally posted in 2013

Some Things Happen for a Reason

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Love this funny card. I do not know why anyone, regardless of their theology, would feel a need to regurgitate this cliche to a person who is suffering and in pain.

While I do not believe that everything happens for a reason, I do believe that some things happen for a reason. If life has taught me anything it is about how God often moves people to love when it doesn't make sense to love.

Yet I do understand that some, who hold a more mystical theology, see God as a divine puppet-master pulling life's strings. I would not be one of those people.

In essence, I think that some things happen for a reason because I believe that the 'normal' way that God intercedes in our lives is through other people.

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International Greetings

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First thing this morning I got a Facebook birthday greeting from Paul [paullongsramblings.blogspot.com]. Of course, tomorrow is my birthday but Paul lives in New Zealand where it is actually sorta my birthday. This afternoon I got another birthday wish from Chai in Kuala Lumpur. I used to work with Chai when I was designing software.

I love how blogging has brought so many friends from all over the world into my life. Here are a few:

• Pearlie [pearliegates.com] is from Malaysia;
• Casey [hoshuha.com/blog] used to blog from Japan;
• Mike [thisido.blogspot.com] is from Great Britain;
• Eddie [calvinisticcartoons.blogspot.com] blogs from Kuwait;
• Rygel [comingout-clean.blogspot.com] is from the Phillipines;
• Yvonne [orphan2apostle.blogspot.com] blogs from Cambodia;
• Alex [draltang01.blogspot.com is from] Malaysia;
• Lynne [blestpickle.blogspot.com] blogs from Australia;
• Lorna [stf.writeouts.com] is from the United Kingdom;
• Dave [https://simplydave.wordpress.com] is from Scotland;
• Chip and Chari [kingsburyfamily.org/kingsburyblog] write from Kenya;
• Heather [thatgirl-and-islandboy.blogspot.com] blogs from Nepal.

I feel so blessed to have been loved and befriended by so many people from all over the world.

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Hardheaded Kindness

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"We don't have to agree on anything to be kind to one another."

"A friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out."

"It's better to be at peace than to argue until one is proven right,
lest you both just be proven hardheaded."

"A good exercise for the heart is to bend down and help another up."

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... anonymous clips gleaned from Facebook and other places.

Lost in Prayer

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Sometimes the focus of our prayers is all about intercession and petition. We hurt and we seek healing. Needy and we seek relief.

Yet often what we need the most is not to gain but to lose. And in losing we are placed in a position where we can grow and mature.

We grow because loss puts us in a position of humility. And a great loss provides us with an opportunity for great humility.

And this great humility presents new opportunities for us because it transforms our love into something that sees past our losses.

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The Art of Trust

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Love needs two things: it has to be rooted in freedom,
and it has to know the art of trust. -Osho

Trust is built with consistency. -Lincoln Chafee

The only way to make a man trustworthy is to trust him. -Henry L. Stimson

Learning to trust is one of life's most difficult tasks. -Isaac Watts

To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved. -George MacDonald

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