Men vs Women

Another busy morning. Mary was soaked, so I pulled off a layer of bedding, then worked with Mary to change her wet clothes. To keep the lioness from lashing out, I thank her profusely for being patient with me and keep my head down to avoid the appearance of being bossy.

There is a built in conflict between men and women, an intentional design by the Creator so that we have to depend on Him for strength. It's part of the curse. Look it up in Genesis.

Even Jesus got a little frosty with His mother when she gently nudged her Son into helping out at the wedding. "My time is not yet." This was not part of plan A. She wisely did not get bossy, but turned to the servants and gave this epic advice: Whatever He tells you to do, do it!

The servants trusted Mary enough to obey her advice and voila! A miracle happened! What an awesome woman! And what an awesome Savior! 

Lesson? God's plan B is better than Satan's plan A. His strength is perfected in our weakness. #maddog #AwesomeGod

Mary vs Jesus by Mike Dittmer

Advice from Jesus and Solomon

Jesus said "Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves."

Taking on bullies takes training and preparation. My dad was an expert on explosives, but always took us to the 4th of July city displays, handled by professionals. Let the professional bully fighters, cops and soldiers, protect you.

Get training. Martial arts is always a good idea.

Have an exit strategy. Doves appear harmless, but can explode into flight.

Serpents keep their head down and stay in the background.

Being prepared may include being armed. Jesus made sure one of the disciples had a sword on the night He was accosted.

Be prepared to go the extra mile with your enemy.  Citizens were conscripted to carry the gear of Roman soldiers one mile. Jesus said take it two miles. Jesus healed the ear that Peter cut off. Good thing the bad guy ducked. Jesus also advised turn the other cheek when your enemy slaps you. That's a hard one, especially if you've been trained to defend yourself.

A friend of mine was a youth leader and martial arts expert who was attacked in such a way he had no opportunity to defend himself. 5 men burst into his motel room, beat him badly, put a gun to his head, then said, "Is there anything you'd like to say before you die?"

"You may blow my brains all over this wall, but I'll still love you and Jesus loves you."

He was spared. God intervened.

Solomon also advised against interceding between two fighting neighbors, something about grabbing a tiger by the ears.

My fearless daughter is a supervisor at a halfway house for troubled teenage boys. She threw herself between two young men and was knocked unconscious by one of them.

I had two neighbors who were at war with each other. I saw them fighting. One neighbor had what looked like a black lead  pipe and was beating the other neighbor with it. I called the police, then rushed across the street to intercede.

That night someone set my car on fire. It was parked below our bedroom window. The fireman who investigated said if the fire had been a little hotter the gas tank could have exploded, destroying the house and possibly us. I was shaken.

All week I was sleepless, waiting for another attack. Then the words of Jesus came to me. Turn the other cheek. The next day I went to the angriest neighbor and told him, since I no longer had a car, he could use my driveway if he needed it. The family had three cars that they were always jockeying around. That night I slept like a baby.

The angry neighbor became less angry. He quit mowing his lawn during church services when the church windows were open. That Christmas he sent both the senior pastor and myself a Christmas card. They both had $10 in it.

Later he became gravely ill. The pastor who followed us was privileged to lead him to Jesus.

It appears Jesus knows what He is doing.

#maddog #awesomeGod

Nudging the Lioness

I manged to wake up when Mary went to the restroom. Sure enough, her pajama bottoms were wet, along with the bedding.

I worked with her by gentle nudging (she is fierce like a lioness) to change her underwear and bottoms, then slipped off the wet bedding and soaked super chuck from Hospice. Rachel is our awesome personal assistant who stops by almost daily. She had put down several layers of sheets and bedding protectors ahead of time. When the time comes, I just pull off the top layer and voila! Dry bedding! Rachel calls the disposable bedding protectors chucks. When you're done with them you just chuck 'em in the trash.

#maddog #awesomegod #alzheimers

Mary's Eating Better

Am I nudging Mary into eating better? It works much better if I sit with her and share the meal. Otherwise she wanders off. Today she ate voraciously. Is this gentle training? This is a new experience for me. I lack words to describe what I am doing, always my short coming, even in music. I also feel God is gently nudging me in this process.

I will say it helps to have no fear. Thanks, Mom. And Dad, for training me to be a fearless driver. And Jesus Christ, for taking away my fear of Death and rejection. And the Holy Spirit, who whispers in my ear.

It also helps immensely to have faithful friends and fearless family, whom I know have my back and pitch in when I need help.

Death and disease are bullies. But the Heavenly Father and His Son the living and written Word have my back.

#alzheimers #maddog #md48

Have you been bragging about me again, God?

 In the Book of Job, Job's friends secretly think that Job must have done something wrong to deserve all the calamities that fell on him so spectacularly and dramatically. They were unaware of the big picture.

Our calamities happen, I think, because our Creator brags on us. Mostly. There is also our stupidity. And arrogance.

In THE beginning, even before Genesis, God created a menagerie of Eternal, Invincible Beings. Angels.

We can guess that God gave them the basics. Who He was, is and will be. Infinite. All powerful. All knowing. Alpha and Omega. That means He knows the ending because... He's already there!

They were to be witnesses to what God was going to do. And they were going to assist Him in His greatest project... us!

God spoke, "Let there be light!" And light exploded into existence. Spectacular!! Yada, yada all the way to the Garden of Eden. Then He made us.

Wait a minute! Sir, do you realize how weak these creatures are? Here, I'll show you. And Lucifer went down to Eden, started a whispering campaign against God (Hath God said?) and just as he thought, Adam and Eve fell. Hard. And the calamities began!

So, why did God do this? To show a better way.

If you would be great in God's Kingdom, learn to be servant of all.

There is great beauty in weakness, such as a baby. Or a sunset.

When trials come, God says "My grace is sufficient for you."

I suspect God has been bragging about me. Satan appears to be after me.

My name is William Michael Dittmer Jr. My father had polio. William Michael Dittmer the 3rd died in infancy. William Michael Daly also died an infant.

My youngest daughter Wendelyn (my late wife wisely intervened when I wanted to name her Willimina Michelle) had a tragic car accident. She should have died. Her mother's prayers intervened.

My first helpmate and strong right arm died of cancer too young. My second wife has early onset severe Alzheimer's. I am caring for her, with an immense amount of help and Hospice, even though I am now disabled.

And yet I am smiling, partly because I suspect God is using me to help others.

God, are you bragging about me again? Thank you for using me to upset your opponent and reveal how powerful your grace is.

God's most powerful moment was when His Son Jesus was at His weakest, dying on the cross.

Running

RUNNING:
I am 71 years old. I like to run.
I use toe strike running to avoid pain.
So far, so good.
I am slow.
I run one direction, jogging, perhaps 600 feet, (???) then I turn around and push myself to run as fast as I can.
I am improving. As soon as I turn around, I push myself to move my legs faster, stride bigger, and bounce on my toes higher. As I get to my starting point, I push myself more. I go till my legs turn to jelly or I run out of of breath.
I run past my starting point, still at top speed, trying to find my exhaustion limit. It is encouraging to run at my utmost for a while and realize I am not yet exhausted. So I run a little farther both ways each day, trying to find my limit.
Because of that, I look forward to running each day.

Very Good! #meatheals #zerocarb #Carnivore

Today, I felt good. 
So I ran. Also good. 
I did not die. Very good!
#70yearoldrunner
#meatheals #zerocarb #Carnivore

Easily Distracted!

Ceaselessly pray! - Paul 
(Working on this. Extremely helpful to me, but a long ways to go! So easily distracted.. SQUIRREL!)

Spectacular Mistakes #rmdo #maddog

Spectacular mistakes humbles a proud, handsome, talented man - me, and blesses me with Grace. #rmdo

My brother, Ted, and me, on the right.

Extreme Night Owl

After a lifetime of shift work, I remain an extreme night owl married to another night owl. I look at it as a gift. I can't sleep until everyone else (in this case Mary) is asleep. 

This was very useful when baby-sitting, chaperoning youth groups, staying in high crime areas, or anticipating practical jokers. Walking up quietly behind someone who is hiding in my room and me scaring the Bejesus out of them are treasured college memories. On the downside, I did not well in classrooms. Fortunately, I was always a speed reader with a high retention rate. I also listened while I slept, which frustrated teachers who tried to sneak up on me or ask me a question. My late wife said I was snoring when the teacher tried to surprise me with a question. I woke up, recited the question, answered it, then went back to sleep.

With low carb, and no caffeine, I can go to sleep after Mary does, which is early in our book, 2 am. Lately, I've sleeping 3 to 5 hours, then supplementing it with 3 to 5 power naps of half an hour. Mary likes to lay down with me and sometimes will sleep maybe 9 or more hours per day, which seems to help her. She has advanced Alzheimer's.  

Noting the pre-industrial hunter gatherer sleep efficiency rate of 81 to 86%, I may actually be doing better than that, so I am happy with it. It helps that I am retired. I am also unsafe to socialize with in the morning and I like it that way. #maddog #alzheimers #AwesomeGod

A Good Hair Day

At 70 years old, a good hair day is when I look up and it's still there.
A few unruly hairs is a cowlick. A head full of unruly hairs is a fashion statement.

Reassuring #runforrestrun

Reassuring to have Mary cheer me from the balcony while I ran, knowing she'd call 911 if I collapsed. #70yearsold #runforrestrun

It Was 96 degrees. I am 70 years old.

It was 96 degrees. I am 70 years old.
I ran today. I ran faster and longer than I ever have before. I normally run till I am winded or my arms and legs feel like jelly.
But today I did not get winded, nor did my arms and legs turn to jelly.
I felt good when I started to run. I felt good while I ran. When I stopped, I was not winded or tired, and I felt good.
I felt so good that I looked forward to running again.
But not today.
For it was 96 degrees.. and I am 70 years old.