Today is Thanksgiving and while I will not share my list of things I am thankful for with those of you who read this blog I will show you a couple of animals looking for dinner in my backyard today. The hawk and the crow were sharing a tree and the squirrel has a feeder in the background but when there is no corn there he helps himself to the bird feeder.



I wonder if they are thankful in their own way for food, warm weather and whatever else might enter their little animal brains.


That might sound dumb but the Bible reminds us that God takes care of the sparrows and the lilies of the field. I don't know if they are capable of being thankful but I know that we are and hopefully today you and I have taken time to connect with God and genuinely thank Him for all His blessings.

Thursday and Friday of this week I had to be in Ontario California. Because it was lightening and pouring on Thursday morning when I left I did not go back and retrieve the camera from the car. I did have access to a car yesterday afternoon and a couple of hours of free time. No camera, no pictures but I will add a couple from the Internet.

This first one is typical of much of Ontario. Palm Trees and Mountains. I love these mountains. I did drive about 25 miles to the base of one and it was a neighborhood so I drove as far up the mountain as I could and then returned to the hotel. There is something about the west that has always been appealing to me. I am sitting in Phoenix as I write this, waiting on my flight home. It has been delayed by an hour much to the dismay of the Buckeyes fans who are now standing in line demanding another flight so they can make the game!! I am sort of ashamed that I am from Ohio at this present moment. Game of the century or jerk of the century? Maybe both.

On the way into Ontario I saw a raceway from the plane and then in dawned on me. It was Fontana, home of the Nascar race. It has been a quick trip but as always I am ready to be home. Looking forward to being thankful at church tomorrow.

The picture at the right is where the board meeting took place that I was here for.

Someone mentioned gossiping to me today and it got me thinking about this famous Norman Rockwell picture.

I don't think it takes this long for gossip to get back to the person you choose to talk about and I don't think most people are capable of keeping secrets.

I remember attending a seminar in California one time and hearing the high paid facilitator say, "There are no secrets in any organization." That is so true. If you say it to anyone it will eventually get around.

So what are we to do? Speak the truth but only in love. Don't repeat things. Learn to talk to God about people before you talk to people about people. Learn to bite your tongue. Learn to discipline your tongue.

Above all else surrender your life to Christ and you will not have a problem with gossip. Look it up in Romans 1 and see what other sins the Bible classifies it with.

I have been in Nashville for a couple of nights on a college visit. While in this city of music I took in two evenings of very different music styles. On Thursday, my kids and I attended a concert at the historic Cathedral of the Incarnation to enjoy the sounds of the Trevecca Symphony and the Madrigalians Choir.

This historic catholic cathedral has been around since the 1800's. Here are some views of the building.

This music was had a very heavenly quality and it was very enjoyable in the context it was presented. This is a beautiful building.

On Friday night I went alone to the historic Ryman auditorium for the Friday night Grand Old Opry. I have blogged about this building before but it was very interesting to be a part of this decades old radio show. Here are some pictures from that event.

God gives us talent and what we do with it can be a blessing to others. Music is a gift from God. Some can sing and some can't but we can all find a way to let it touch us. I am so thankful that there is more than one style of music. Play it, sing it, or just listen to it but appreciate the gifts that God creates and allows us to have.

Incoming!

This could be the incoming Congress or it could be representative of the folk who defeated every school levy in Licking County. :)

Education is so important that I always find it hard to believe that people refuse to fund it.

This picture could be some of the thousands that didn't bother to vote in our city. :)

Life is about to get interesting.

Thankfully God is neither Republican or Democrat so whatever happens in the political arena should make no difference in our prayer life. We should always pray for those who have authority over us regardless of party. We should always pray for our Country in the area of social concerns that we will become less offensive to God and biblical principles. Don't forget that social concerns include the poor.

The sun will come up today and we still need to be about the Father's business so go do His will and stop fretting. . ."rejoice for this is the day the Lord has made."

Here are some more picture from the great Courthouse trek:

This is a picture of leaves falling from a Courthouse tree. The leaves were raining down!

Courthouse Visit

Once again this year, thanks to a friend, I gained access to the very top of the Courthouse here in Newark. It is 234 steps from the ground to the top of the clock tower. Here is my photo essay of the visit this morning.

So here is what it looks like at the top. In the next blog I will show some pictures of the scenery.

So yesterday I watched John Kerry refuse to apologize to anyone including the soldiers that he insulted. There is no way he can squeak out of the fact that he made an arrogant, condescending and insulting statement about the great men and women who put their lives on the line for freedom every day. I am not a fan of war but I do believe that we live with an evilness in the world and that Iraq is the front line in that battle.

In total disgust I picked up the phone yesterday while Kerry was still speaking and spoke with a staffer in his Washington D.C. office. It felt good to weigh in while he was delivering his angry and bitter statement. I am repulsed by almost all of politics at the moment, but I could not stand by and allow him to make such a haughty and reprehensible statement without challenge.

What I like most is this response from some soldiers in Iraq. For those of you who are uninformed Kerry suggested that is essence if you don't study hard and complete your college education you could get stuck in Iraq. Clearly he was implying that our soldiers are educationally challenged and frankly I find academic arrogance nauseating at any level.