A PLAQUE ON THE WALL

A PLAQUE ON THE WALLrnA few days ago, I wrote a blog post about the Bag of M&M's that I thought that I deserved. I have thought about those ideas often in the last few days. I am never quite sure how that Bag of M&M's might come back to me, but in the last day or two, I have gotten a couple of answers. Yesterday, my wife and I, and two of our friends went out to dinner......by the way...the chargrilled Ribeye at Outback was great. Of course, the bloomin' onion goes without saying. But, back to my point of today's post. On the way to the restaurant, we had an appointment that we needed to keep. About two or three weeks ago, we lost one of our best friends to his battle with cancer. His widow does not feel like trying to live in their house yet, so she is staying with her sister in Charleston, SC for a while. Our appointment was to serve her by stopping by their house and checking in on everything and making sure that nothing was amiss. It is a beautiful home that had served a beautiful family. When we opened the door and walked in, the house was immaculate, just as it always was when we visited. However, something was missing.....Life....Jerry was in Heaven, and Grace was in Charleston....and the "Life" that had been lived there was absent. We walked around the house, checking the lights, the windows, the plumbing, etc....everything was o.k....but the "Life" that had been a resident here was gone. As I was walking and thinking, I came across a plaque on the wall and the words have echoed in mind since then...."I asked God for things, so I could enjoy life. Instead, He gave me life, so I could enjoy things." My mind went back to what I was thinking about in my previous posts in this blog. I had always hoped (and thought) that the business that I enjoyed running for so many years would be with me until I decided to "CASH IN" on my efforts. Then, my wife and I would be able to ride off into the sunset just as we wanted to. But, when the economy changed its mind, it changed the direction of my "SUNSET". What I have learned is that it didn't take away my "SUNSET", it just changed the direction in which I had to look to find it. rnToday was a very clear statement from Above, that I have been given "Life" so I could enjoy "Things". I got a good night's sleep last night, and was able to wake up this morning. As a friend told me this week...It is good to be Vertical and Ventilated!! Then, I got to go watch my only grandson play in the 4 year old basketball league. He even hit a shot or two!! I believe that he has his Grandpa's talent! Then, I took him and his sister to "Extreme Play" at the mall. You know...one of those indoor "jump, bounce, scream, laugh, and run emporiums. One thing about it..It is extreme. It is extremely wild, but fun. rnNow, I am sitting here at the computer with those two grandbabies along with my youngest granddaughter climbing all over me. I am trying (not too successfully I might admit) to explain to them what a "Blog" is. But, they really don't care about the explanation, but I can tell that they do care about their "PaPa" So, today I realize very clearly that I could have all the Things in the world and not enjoy life, but, since I have been given Life, I can enjoy all things. rnSo, I want to refocus myself even more to help fulfill my theme in this newsletter. I am going to be in touch with all of you that I can about anything that I can think of that has value and truth attached to it. I am walking this path, and I hope that I can be of help to you as well. rnRemember, My Theme: BUILDING UP HOUSES BUILDING UP BUSINESSES BUILDING UP OTHERSrn