Mary's Thermostat

My friend marvelled that some people sleep in a warm room with no fan on.

I'm that guy. Uh, yeah. I think I was that way before I worked the very hot towers, 14 toastey babies 12 feet tall 800 degrees for drying 8 passes of ignition core. If the room temp drops to 78, my hands and legs cramp up. I used to take 20000 milligrams of potassium daily until I learned to stay warm. If I want to keep the house cooler to save money I layer up, put a stocking cap on, and wear cotton gloves on. Because Mary won't keep a cover on herself at night I dress lighter. She's ok at 78 but I get the shivers so I'm her thermostat.

9-28-22 Mary's 73rd Birthday!

9-28-22 Mary's 73rd Birthday! Shhhh. She's snoozing. #maddogandqueenmary #nightowl #amazinggrace #alzheimers #catzen

Her oldest son and two grandkids called last night to wish her a happy birthday. She absolutely recognized their voices. Saying ABSOLUTELY is how Millennials say I AM CONVINCED.

Routine Change Up

Changed up the routine tonight. Went to sleep without caffeine. Used chicken salad instead of peanut butter to take my night time pills; Mary ate a healthy portion of angus burger with keto bun late, plus she ate a little Minudo soup just before that and her ice cream with her ground up pills, so I was comfortable with letting her have a dose of Pepto Bismol and a Lorazapam just before she went to sleep. The two of us went to sleep quickly by 12:30.

I got up slowly at 2:30 and decided to have my weak cup of coffee, using the same pod I had used earlier.

While I was up, I enjoyed a conversation with Pitar from Bangladesh. Coffee helps.

 #maddogandqueenmary #coffee #alzheimers #nightowl #amazinggrace

Coffee Experiment Continues

Some people need coffee to engage their brain. It's the very opposite for me. My brain wakes up quickly but if I need to socialize (which necessitates speaking words out loud) I need coffee. Even that doesn't guarantee conversation until after solar noon. Been that way since I was a toddler. Explains why I did poorly in school even though I understood the subjects completely and why I spared day shift of my snarly side of my personality. 

I'm down to one cup spread out to one k-pod and two cups from the same pod, heaviest dose just before Mary wakes up and lighest when we go to bed around midnight.

This may also explain why so many people thought the nickname Mad Dog was appropriate for me. Mary's up now. Gotta go!

Coffee Experiment

Continuing my coffee experiment. No coffee tonight so I added an inch of diet cola to my night time beverage. Tomorrow morning I will start with a fresh pod, then reuse it before bed for a weakened cup to see how much it will affect me.... affect me.... affect me. Bwahahahahahaha. 

The goal is to have enough faculties to write a little. Right now I'm sitting in bed with a special pillow made for sitting up. I have a small head 'light on, which doesn't seem to disturb Mary.

To copy this to my blog, I will have to switch to my phone rather than my chromebook.The phone is much newer than my Chromebook and is easier to copy and paste. 

Writing and editing on Facebook is a little dangerous because they have a tendency to be glitchy and erase all my work, so I stop every so often and save everything, BUT I like writing on Facebook at night because they have the black background setting, much easier on my eyes and less disturbing to Mary. Also, writing in bed is easier because the cat isn't as demanding of attention here as when I am in the recliner. 

Mary usually drifts off into a deep sleep between 2 and 3 am. Until then she's more relaxed when I am in the bed with her. She sometimes gets distressed if I'm not in the bed. Other times she will get up and hunt me down.

She is often upset when she doesn't know where  she is until I remind her. She also gets upset when she doesn't know what to do next. If it's time to fix something to eat she likes going with me in the kitchen when I prepare her meal. She'll remind me that she's hungry and ask if she can have some of what I'm fixing. I have to remind myself to talk to her about what I'm doing. I can be a little taciturn at times, which upsets her. She'll say Well if you don't want me here I''ll just leave! If I get a little bossy she threatens to call the cops.

Check In September 24, 22

Mary's resting with her eyes closed. I will lay down also. Experimented with a mild cup of coffee (already used k-pod) last night and set aside the first cup for this morning. I was up till 3am and did some study in Hebrews 10 and 11. I often stay up till 3am without coffee so not blaming coffee anymore. Also will mull on problems but I am still resting in the Lord. Maybe I should call it praying.

Document Dump

Before I delete these forever, let me share them one last time.

The Best Teacher

 Even before the age of the Holy Spirit, when Jesus said it was necessary that He should depart so the Holy Spirit would be given to men, David knew that the best Teacher was God Himself. Note how clearly David illustrates this with His prayer in Psalms: Teach me to do thy will, for Thou art my G0d. Thy Spirit is good. Lead me into the land of uprightness. Google it.

Akash

My name is Pastor Naveed and my city is Warburton and my country is Pakistan and my service work is in the places where no one can reach.  I teach, I gave books to these children, and these are the children who work in Bricks Company, in which it is written about Jesus Christ, how we can know and recognize Jesus Christ, and I would like to make a promise to you.  May you pray for me in this work of God, I will be grateful to you 🇵🇰🙏🏻

Dangerous Thoughts About Political Warfare

This post will definitely be a Work In Process. Observations: Politics are dangerous. Everything is dangerous. I enjoy experimenting with dangerous things; hence my nickname Mad Dog. Politics is warfare. It uses satire, sarcasm, and humor to belittle the opposing party. I am skilled and fearless in this form of warfare. BUT I also observe that warfare is destructive. What is needed are parties from both camps to lay down their arms, come to the no man's land between them, and begin discussions on how to solve problems that plague both sides. I also recognize that this is a perfect time to lay a trap. May I suggest there is a Holy God in Heaven  who weighs and sifts the hearts of men? The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. I am just a catalyst. I must decrease. Jesus must increase. May His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. #maddogandqueenmary

 

Wanted: Fearless Givers

Martin Luther King once said: I Have a Dream!

I, Mad Dog, also have a dream. My dream is to build safe, dependable avenues of charity to worthy gospel preaching individuals around the world.

There are, of course, many established organizations already doing so. I say more power to them! May their tribe increase!

But I have learned that God's work is bigger than the super highways of the established denominations. Through circumstances beyond my control, I was forced to continue my gospel preaching work outside denominational boundaries. There I learned and became a supporter of many small groups and individuals that travelled many varied  pathways to share the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Circumstances have greatly curtailed my ability to travel. I am mildly disabled. Swollen feet have curtailed my ability to drive. I am also the full time caregiver of my Alzheimer's afflicted wife.

But God has greatly expanded my reach through the creation of the internet. My stories and sermons have gone out to a multitude of countries that were, until recently, hostile to the Gospel. Saudi Arabia, Iran. Russia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Japan, Indonesia are among  the over 100 countries that have viewed my posts. May God be glorified in this!

Through my communications I have learned of many fearless, hard working gospel preachers that would be greatly encouraged by small donations. I use the word small deliberately. Smaller donations would avoid the scrutiny of sometimes hostile governments, who are monitoring the internet. Small gifts of $25 to $100 would be wiser than larger gifts. Anything smaller than $25 would be eaten up by the expenses of the transfer. Little is much, if God is in it.

My role would be the catalyst. I will be keeping an offline journal of contact information, and feedback, both good and bad, of how the charitable event went. Of necessity I will have to proceed slowly, because my time and energy is limited. I have learned that moving slowly gives me great strength and clarity. I suspect God has designed me for this great moment in history. #maddogandqueenmary

GOD EXALTS THE POOR

 Do we blame the poor for being poor? Maybe. We use zoning laws to keep them out of our neighborhoods and our schools. Their problems affect our property values. 

But God views the poor in an entirely different light. James, the brother of Jesus, writes: Let the brother of low  degree rejoice, in that he is exalted. Let the rich remember he is made low, a servant  to his riches, which has to be constantly minded and nourished, for riches fade faster than a beautiful flower in the field.

I have heard it said that if only the poor had faith, they could just speak riches into existence. This is false. For God's Word says He has made the poor rich in faith.

According to James, encouraging the poor with positive pronouncements is not enough if we walk away leaving them naked and cold.

I have an ambition. Is it from God? We will see. Is it dangerous? Maybe. Let me explain. My ambition is to build internet bridges of charity to worthy gospel ministries across the globe. I suspect this will be a laborious, tedious, and somewhat risky work.

The first step will be the search for those who are doing good works that will be seen by men who will then glorify our Heavenly Father.

The 2nd step is simple but risky. Say a kind word to a stray puppy and it may follow you home. But remember this is a 2 way transaction. The impoverished but hard working ministry you find has a gift for you...prayers of faith that can turn around your situation. You may have wealth, but money can't buy a happy marriage, good health, blessed children. But prayers of faith can make a huge difference in your life.

As I reconsider the story of Job through this new lens, I see an unstoppable process of overwhelming grace. First, our adversary is stirred to a jealous rage when God the Father brags on His good and upright servant Job. Before we indulge in a pity party for poor Job and also ourselves, let's remember that the story is much bigger than we can see with earthly eyes. There is spiritual warfare going on. Both Satan and God are seeking to prove points about God's Creation.

Satan is convinced that he is God's greatest creation. Satan immediately spied our weakness from the beginning, and our flaws are beyond redemption. His philosophy is to rule through strength. He utterly despises our weakness, highlighted in men's frequent mistakes and failures. On top of that, God seems to build folly on folly, with the creation of the even weaker sex, woman, then to top it off, the fragile growth of the baby, a creation of the Father that our Adversary deeply despises. In our recent history, there has been a holocaust of the unborn.

Which now brings us back to the poor. The God head has chosen the poor, along with His other creations, to illustrate His mission statement: God's Strength perfected in our weakness. Amen. Amen.