Saturday, October 15, 2011

Oreos and ATMs



We had to have cash to buy "dinner" at Costco, so we stopped at Target and picked up a box of Oreo's and got $20 cash at the same time. Same as a withdrawal fee at the ATM but more rewarding.
We forgot to get milk when we got the Oreo's but we roughed it, and ate about 8 of them without milk. Made a nice predinner dessert.
The Hot Dog: Greatest Invention of 2 Centuries! $1.50 for a foot long & refillable pop at Costco.
We stopped by Mickey's Dairy Twist on Pontiac Trail in South Lyon Michigan but they were closed already, so we had to console ourselves with 2 large chocolate Frosties from Wendy's. Got all the stuff from Costco unloaded. Didn't save any money, but won't have to buy bathroom tissue, paper towels or facial tissue till 2012.
Going to go upstairs and polish off those Frosties and watch an episode of something we DVRd. It's a tough life, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do!
Just read an interesting article about the heart of Detroit Tigers, revealed by how well they played when nursing injuries. Just a thought from a preacher, but when every thing else is equal, heart always wins.
When everything else is equal, heart always wins. Heart wins a lot even when things are unequal. Heart quickly spots the weakness of the over sized, over paid, over trained opponent and exploits it. Goliath had size, training, finances. David had heart.
I'm not a gambling man, but after reading about the heart of the Detroit Tigers, and knowing they are not slack in preparations, my non existent money's on them.
on No comments:
Labels: , , , , , ,

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Who Am I gospel song

Mary sent me this video through the email. Yes, I know, we email each other even though we're in the same house. Go figure.
I love this song written by Rusty Goodman. Seems like I remember The Insights singing this, or perhaps Lynne, or maybe not. Beautifully sung by the  Altar of Praise Chorale a cappella.

on No comments:
Labels: , , ,

Thank you, Amazon customers and Parable Promoters

I just received a report that a Parable Promoter purchased something from Amazon from my store. To do that they had to go to Amazon from one of my links on my blog. Since I just changed the format to a dynamic format, I no longer have the ads around my blog, so I am in the process of placing on each blog, right in the blog itself, a banner that will take you right both the Amazon homepage and to my store. See the banner on the top of this blog.
The address will have a theshear-20 in it such as link that follows: http://www.amazon.com/?&tag=theshshear-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=ur1&adid=1E7HPR5ZN0KBVX4VGFNV
My unknown friend purchased the two items that I have put links to in this blog, a Bunn Velocity Brew 10 cup Home Coffee Maker, and a Cut to Fit carbon for air purifiers.
Thanks so much for your support! God bless you!

By the way, all my Ad links are monetized, which means that if you click and buy, I get paid.
Safe, simple, no pressure, value loaded armchair shopping! Click, bookmark and shop this link to sponsor my blog.
Find more blogs about My Amazing Amazon eStores for Parable Promoters!
on No comments:
Labels: ,

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Why Men Die First: 2


No comment needed.
on No comments:
Labels: , ,

Fall Colors


Monday, October 3, 2011
Getting ready to go to Indiana today. It will be different because Mary and I will have the whole house to ourselves. Wendy, Chuck, Mathew and Liam are renting a home closer to work. Well, actually, Wendy and Chuck are renting the home, Mathew and Liam are just going along for the ride. It will make it easier to stay longer, but I'll miss getting up in the morning to Mathew's, Liam's, and Krypto's cheerful personalities.
Short trip this time. Will stay longer on the next trip.
I have a voice in my head that I call the Preacher ever since I was in Bible College, who would observe something in my life, say, a sunrise, and turn it automatically in to a 3 point sermon, complete with alliteration (power, praise, purity!) to make it easy to remember, an intro and a conclusion. Now the voice speaks in stand alone phrases of less than 140 characters.Monday, October 10, 2011
Getting ready to try my new method of posting for a little while. Printed up my collection of inspirational sayings (99% my original sayings) and humorous sayings (1/3 mine, 1/3 friends, 1/3 Tshirts and twitter) and it came to 37 pages, single spaced, 11 pt print, almost 1000 quotes.
I'm going to post a quote along with a shortened link to my blog to both Twitter and Facebook. I'll be watching reactions to get an idea to see how much of this I should and or can do. I'd appreciate your prayers.
Looked up fall colors on Google today and found that Michigan has a fall color drive that runs right by Mary's condo. Today we drove Milford Road from New Hudson past Holly. Beautiful arching trees and panoramic views, plus beautiful company. Good day.
Mary's happy tonight! Detroit Lions are ahead of the Chicago 21 to 10. Normally I have the remote, but tonight it's in her hands. Either one of us will sometimes fall asleep while watching TV, but she laughed when I reminder her of this. NOT DURING FOOTBALL! she said...
Mary's had a good day... a fall color trip, I bought pizza, the Detroit Lions won.
I feel so bad for the fans of Dancing With the Stars who missed their show because of Monday Night Football... snifff!
Tuesday, October 11, 2011 Mary and I drove another leg of the fall color route we found was right in front of her condo. Drove 9 Mile Road from South Lyon through Pinckney and on to Stockbridge where we turned around. Next time we may drive all the way to Mason, my brother Tim Dittmer's old home town. Beautiful, beautiful colors and very nice company indeed.
Wednesday October 12, 2011 Trying to figure out why I was so tired today even though I am feeling well, and remembered it's the anniversary of Lynne's death 3 years ago. I knew it was today, but hadn't associated it with the fatigue. I know this day is also hard on my family.
Mathew using his computer
to help the hospice nurse
and her computer

An observation that saddens me and encourages me at the same time: Mathew was 2 and 1/2 years old the time of her death. My daughter Wendelyn Daly says Mathew says almost daily that he miss his Grammy. So does his older cousin Zach, who was 4 then, 7 now. Although it's painful, I'm glad they remember her. I can't, I won't, I don't want to forget her. 


on No comments:

Friday, September 30, 2011

Friday, September 30, 2011


Mary and I went to WalMart to pick up my medicine and buy myself a new pair of jeans. I had to go down two sizes to get them to fit right. The bad news is they fit so well I don't need my suspenders, my fashion statement.


On the other hand: There once was a Man who was interrupted graciously by one of the most beloved women in history. He bluntly told her: Woman, this is not on My agenda... and walked away silently. Yet He loved her, and she honored him, and they UNDERSTOOD each other. 
The Man was Jesus, the woman was Mary His mother, the occasion was The Wedding in Cana.
Point? There is a structural conflict built into male female relationships, even in the BEST. God made it that way and He LIKES IT.


Suddenly I am an expert on a subject that no one likes to speak of or think of, including me, Hell. Since I first spoke on this, a world wide search has started looking for my blog on Hell, with 375 searches for the word Hell and 1000 views of that blog. Interesting that I did not make the connection between the spiritual heart and Hell, until well after I had learned to Praise and Thank Him in all things. Perhaps a deeper sense of gratefulness is directly connected to an awareness of what I have escaped.


God takes no joy in vicious words, destructive relationships, proud hearts!
The bitter word, the indifferent heart... will have no place in God’s Kingdom.
Doing the right thing will cook your goose, but the aroma of that sacrifice pleases God!
An old cold heart can hide in a young beauty, but fiery passion is agelessly beautiful!
The JOY! of a God cleansed heart is ever flowing, & infinitely greater than the happiness of a good day.


So far. I’m the oldest I’ve ever been!
I HUFFED & I PUFFED and I got out of my chair.
Horse lovers are STABLE people.
I’M THE BOSS!! my wife said I could be...
ME BOSS - YOU NOT!
on No comments:
Labels: , , , ,

Selena's Story





My niece Selena wrote a powerful testimony and I asked her if  I could copy and paste it into my blog. The only change I made is I added a title. Oh, and I added a little quote of my own at the end. Check out the bottom for Annabelle's latest pic.


Selena (center), her husband Christopher,
and Annabella
Selena's Story (in her own words)

I want to share what God has been doing for my family over the last few weeks. Let me briefly give you some background information on my husband and me. Some of you may or may not know that Chris and I were diagnosed infertile nearly 7 years ago. When we received our diagnosis, I was devastated. There are no words to express the depth of my misery and pain at that time. The dream I had of a family had been shattered in one conversation with our doctor.
In 2008, Chris and I moved to Colorado Springs to get a fresh start on life. After being diagnosed infertile, we had 4 failed adoptions. This too was incredibly painful for me to bear. It was like losing a child each and every time.
In 2010 Chris and I became foster/adopt parents and this is how our son, Nathan, came to live with us. We became his Forever family on January 24th, 2011. He is 13 years old.
In December of last year we discovered I was pregnant. It was very unexpected and our whole family was shocked by the news. It was truly a blessing. I had an incredibly healthy pregnancy, aside from the enormous fibroid attached to my uterus. Now, this brings us up to the last few weeks….
I had a beautiful baby girl, Annabella, via a c-section on 8/19. And she is doing so fabulous. Growing like a weed and very healthy. She is honestly the cutest and most facially animated baby ever. Her birth was so smooth and it seemed that I was healing quickly from surgery. However, on 9/7 I started hemorrhaging and cramping badly. By the time I made it to the ER, I had lost so much blood that they immediately cross-referenced me for a transfusion. The amount of pain I was in was terrifying and unbearable. I really thought I might die. My body went into complete shock. As I started to convulse uncontrollably and continued to bleed out, I could see the faces of the nurses, doctors and my family…..everyone was contemplating the worst. I had an emergency D and C (dilation and curettage) that morning. The doctors found that I had a major infection in my uterus caused by the enormous fibroid and that tissue that had been left behind from my c-section. I was in the hospital 4 days and received 4 units of blood while I was there. My doctor told me that if I had waited one more hour I may not have made it, because I had lost so much blood. (This was frightening for my family, especially Chris who had taken on full-time Mommy duty while I lay in a hospital bed trying to recover from the trauma placed on my body).
Everything again seemed to be going smoothly until 9/16, when I started hemorrhaging and cramping again. This time the doctors came in and we discussed my options.....my fibroid was causing all of my issues. It was 14 cm in diameter and not allowing my body to heal from the pregnancy. My fibroid had basically enveloped by my uterus and there would be no end to the pain. So, on 9/19 (one month after giving birth to my first biological child) I had a hysterectomy. I was in the hospital 6 days. In addition to this, they are checking for cancer. The emotional and physical scars that have been left behind are so difficult to deal with. Literally I feel as though all new hopes for more children has been stripped from me again and my heart is breaking.
However, the God I serve is so mighty and gracious. And I am standing here before you today as an example of His love. I can’t tell you how many times I doubted. How many times I thought He must not exist; He must not be listening and if He is He just doesn’t care. But, now I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that God loves me. He had a plan, He has a plan. I just couldn’t see it. I couldn’t conceive it. I couldn’t control it. But, He was placing the pieces of my life together so perfectly, so that my family (the one I’d been praying for since I was 7 years old) could come together. None of it happened the way I thought it should. My son came to us a little scarred and little broken, but He equipped us to be the best parents for him. My daughter came to us so much later than I would have liked and the events that followed have shattered the hope of more kids. But, I truly believe that God made a little miracle. And without Him Nathan would still be lost in a world without love, compassion and stability. And Annabella would have never entered the world. Every time I look into those bright eyes of hers I can see God’s love shining back at me.
I am so grateful today for my life (thank you Jesus for not taking me from this world just yet), my husband (who has been such a wonderful support to me through all of this) and my children (who are both my little miracles).

Here is the conclusion of the matter: God doesn't smoke a cigar, but every so often I think I see Him in Heaven saying, "I love it when a plan comes together". You can befriend Selena on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/selena.boyts and thank you, Selena, for sharing! - Mike  

How God orchestrated my life with miracles and grace into a living parable! 
By the way, all my Ad links are monetized, which means that if you click and buy, I get paid.

Annabelle is now 6 months old.
on No comments:

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Mary and The Parables




Today is Wednesday, September 28, 2011. Today is Mary’s birthday. She was born 62 years ago.
We met on the Internet on a Christian dating site called Christian Mingles. On our first face to face meeting we had a blast! I was an answer to a very direct prayer of hers to God. She laid on the floor face down and cried out to God that if He willed, would He send her a man of God?! Right after that prayer her sister sent her a note that also contain the an ad for Christian Mingles.
Mary was an answer to a heart cry I did not want to verbalize, but I felt very deeply. I had a difficult time admitting to myself that I longed for someone to see beautiful things with, and to worship hand in hand with, but God knew, and Mary was His answer. God was setting up something bigger than both of us.
I was just thinking today about how radically my life changed since meeting and marrying Mary. In January I was worked at a factory, pastored a church, lived with my daughter and her family, very involved in music, and only caually involved in my internet ministry.
I had 40 followers on Twitter, 100 friends on Facebook, and I had no idea if anyone was reading my publishings on Facebook or Twitter.
I had published The Parables on a Website called worshipjournal.com started by Noel Richards. The site was actually designed for worship musicians, and the journal aspect was not intended for publishing written articles. It provided a feedback mechanism by ranking popularity of the profiles. There was also feedback on how many visited the site and read or down loaded articles and songs.
I was surprised at how well my articles were received, and somewhat shocked when my profile popularity hit the top 100. My profile rose in popularity week by week until it hit number 7. About that time the website had a break down.
I was not faring as well on Facebook and Twitter. Then Mary entered the picture.
I had decided to retire from the 3rd shift factory job before meeting Mary. After meeting Mary, I had new family responsibilities, and I had no idea what they would involve. After very careful and prayerful deliberations, I announced I was retiring from the pastorate, which freed me to relocate to Michigan and see what developed with Mary's family. I did not want my new “children” to blame the church for the loss of their mother. It also freed up time to work on my web ministry.
Before Mary, I was a musician as well as a preacher, but the music was dropped, and I became a wordsmith instead. I had much to learn.
Before Mary, I was a factory worker, Pastor, musician, Hoosier, and involved daily in my families' life. After Mary, I was a wordsmith, Michigander, and travelled monthly and bimonthly to be involved with my family.
Perhaps such a radical change would have been hard in any other setting, but in the “remote” location with Mary’s full time company, it was delightful. I was, with the Lord’s help, able to wrap my mind around Internet workings and language, and began to put my Internet ministry on a solid footing. My Twitter followers grew 10 fold, and then grew 10 fold again. My Facebook friends grew 10 fold also. I even earned a little income.
Through trial and error, and God’s guidance, I discovered the power of a short quote. What was most incredible is that I was the one doing the quoting. The short quotes were the key to drawing in an audience for the Parables. People would stop by my posts for the quotes, and then stay to read a Parable.
Now things are changing again. We’ve learned that Mary’s family needs us less than we had thought. We always knew that my family would enjoy us as much as we could be there. The home in Indiana will be available for Mary and me to stay in.
I may get a part time job in Indiana, and possibly take on some music students as well. Since we will be there much more often, I may assist Family Bible Fellowship with the music. I have a lot of work to do on my Indiana home.
Mary can’t sell her home in Michigan, and there are tax advantages for us to keep our residency in Michigan. But my family, my home, and most of my time will be in Indiana.
The publishing of the Parables will remain a major part of my life. Thanks to the year and a half in “seclusion”, it will be on a solid footing, reaching 110 countries in 34 languages, telling the story of how God used a miraculous gift of rain to transform my life into a living Parable.
If you are thankful for the Parables, then thank the Lord, and if you should ever meet Mary or care to drop her a line, thank her. She has been a mighty catalyst in the publishing of these Parables around the world.
Happy birthday, Mary!
on No comments:

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

The Insights Trio


Once upon a time, a very long time ago, when girls wore their hair very long, and boys had big lapels on their shirts, and wore cranberry herring bone bell bottom trousers, there was a group called The Insights Trio.
The beautiful woman in the picture is my late wife Lynne. I played the piano, Dave Royer played the bass guitar, and we all took turns at the lead.
The song that is embedded is one I wrote, The Cross is a Symbol.
You can hear more of The Insights Trio and learn more about them on their profile on MySpace Insights that was set up by my friend and fellow member of the group, the one with almost as much hair as Lynne.
There is a story behind the song. We were travelling in Colorado and were singing at The Montrose Church of the Nazarene one Sunday. Lynne and I sat in a Sunday School class by a guest teacher who was vacationing in that beautiful mountain area for the summer.
She had a simple outline for the lesson that I never forgot. The Cross is symbol of 1. man's hate and greed 2. God's love so free 3. Man's only hope.
To play the song, simply click on the arrow below. I hope you enjoy the song.
The Cross is a Symbol by Insights


Would you do me a favor? Would you click and bookmark my estores by clicking on the banners? Doesn't hurt to look, Amazon is THE place for safe, low pressure shopping. Congratulations! You just became a Parable Promoter! 
Safe, simple, no pressure, value loaded armchair shopping! Click, bookmark and shop  this link to sponsor my blog.

All my Google Ad links are monetized, which means that if you click and buy, I get paid.
Also check out (click the links) and bookmark my other blogs.
How God orchestrated my life with miracles and grace into a living parable! My ebook blog The Gift Parables
I post ALL my blogs FIRST on The Shepherd's Heart Journal

on No comments:
Labels: , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)