I Am What I Am

Sometimes my sermons are stories and my stories are sermons. I am what I am.

Useful Quotes from Abe and Will

I sent a friend a couple of useful quotes: 
I never met a nap I didn't like. - Will Rogers. 
Don't believe everything you read on the internet. - Abraham Lincoln

Thought's About Future Book

This is rough draft material that I'm working on to put in my blog and future book Clarity, Threads of Grace, and Riding Shot Gun With Jesus. I thought you might enjoy it as is. Some of it has been posted separately as wisdom poetry.

If we would know who we are, we must know who Our Father is. If we would know Our Father is, we must look to the Cross. 8/26/15

When I clarify who God is,  I glorify Him.  8/26/15

“I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me;
    I was found by those who did not seek me.
To a nation that did not call on my name,
    I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’ Isaiah 65:1 NIV

Never underestimate God's ability to orchestrate the smallest detail. 9/18

Pray for specifics. God has an eye for detail.

Pray for the impossible. God doesn’t mind a challenge.

Women were made in the image of God, as well as men. Women are not alien creatures.

God can be a fierce warrior as well as a gentle shepherd. His children are made in His Image. Men who callously ignore this fact about women risk injuries that are life changing, or even life ending. Ever heard of the scissors of Lorena Bobbitt? the burning bed? the tent peg that ended Sisera? as Willie Nelson learned, before he was sewn up in the sheets and beaten with a broomstick, you have to sleep sometime.

God is not a puppet, nor is He a button that you push to turn on the power. He is not a Force to bend to our will. He is a Person with a Plan. You are part of that plan. Learn what it is, and don’t try to take over.


Find out what He would delight in giving you, the gifts that would further His plan rather than hindering it. Talk to Him. Find out Who He is, and what He is doing. He has a warehouse full of gifts with your name on it, but you haven’t asked for them.

(this next section are about VW Bug adventures.)

From my Facebook friend Jim German: Hey Mike Dittmer....scrolling thru and saw your post about a vw......I seem to remember....vaguely...10 college kids in your vw one night at ONC 3 in the front....u drove, your brother in the middle..not sure who was in shot gun. Don Sutherland, Bob Duteau, Galen Bennet, me and 2 other guys in the back Gambrelski was behind the back seat.....stopped traffic when we got out ar the ham and Egger downtown K3.....good times great memories

Michael DeMint was not there, but he was there for the time the freshman decided to challenge Hill's Hall, but first they personally recruited all the guys from Gary, which somehow included Phil Gambrel who said he was from Gary to avoid initiation. Michael was there because he tried, along with several other guys, to give me a swirlly. Didn't succeed, but it put him on the Call list. Funny thing, when the guys came roaring out of Hill's Hall, the only guys who didn't bolt were the guys from Gary, including Michael, and it wasn't our idea. Hill's Hall did a lot of chest beating, but nobody was touched except me. The guy who was wrestling champ took me down in half a second. I gave up, but when he wouldn't let up, I used the same technique that I used when they tried to give me a swirly, pinching extremely painful pressure points (nuts, ears, Achilles heels, solar plexus) The wrestling guy jumped away like a scalded cat and said I cheated. I saw Michael, Joe, (from Gary) and Phil all surrounded, but after the wrestling guy walked off, the event dissipated.

Thank you, Jim German, for that recollection. It confirms that Tim Dittmer was on the stick shift. You left out the part where we all lined up beside the car outside the Dunkin Donuts while two Sheriff's Deputies counted (we could read their lips) as the 9 of you guys got out, then scattered before we could be arrested. The deputies were laughing so hard they almost fell of their chairs. The average weight of the 10 guys was 178 pounds. It was 4 in front. I like math. (boys and girls, do not try this at home!)

Editing the Internet

You may notice I revised today's post I Forget That. The beauty of the internet is it is so much easier to edit and revise than paper, carbon ribbon, and Whiteout. The beauty of Twitter is it forces me to shorten the post, and I notice that shorter versions have more power.
These insights, from the Lord, are what made me into a leading anti social social internet leader who seeks grace but struggles with pride, because I'm so talented and good looking.

I Forget That!

Sunset picture by Mary.

You, Lord, are my Teacher. I forget that. Lead me, step by step, into Truth. Keep me from deception. #rmdo #wisdompoet

What is Kalamazoo?

What is Kalamazoo?

a. a band instrument for Senior Citizens.

b. a Presidential election slogan. "Kalamazoo and Tyler too!"

c. a fried seafood popular with yuppies, urbanites, and millennials. 

d.a city in Michigan halfway between the Dalys, the Taberskis, and the Dittmers.

e. all of the above.

My daughters, grandsons, Mary and I met at the halfway point between us at the Cracker Barrel in Kalamazoo Michigan

Arranging Flowers

Mary has arranged her birthday flowers.
Me to Mary: You've done this before!
Her late husband and his brother owned a flower shop. She worked there for decades.

Indiana Car WARSH

In Boston, they remove the R's.
They pahked the cah on the boulevahd for a quatah.
In Indiana we keep the R's. We parked the car on the boulevard for a quarter. Then we add one more R.
Take the car to the car warsh.

Humility, My Greatest Challenge

Humility is my greatest challenge, especially since I'm so talented, intelligent, and good looking.