Happy Monday!!

I have been doing a lot of reading lately ~~~ I know you have just fallen over and are grasping your chest; because most that have known me for any length of time know I went through school and most of college without reading a single book. In High School I did a book report on a book title I made up and did the report all made up as well. I got a "B" on it due to some spelling and grammar errors; you have to remember, when I was in school we used these things called "typewriters" (google it, they did exist!) we did not have red or green squiggly lines under words or spell check!!

I was given a book by a friend the other day call My Utmost for His Highest. It is a book of daily devotions and a message that you can study what is in your heart.

One that got me thinking was titled Leave room for God. Based on Galatians 1:15 ~~ "When it pleased God...." Are we making room for God to work in our lives? To sanctify us? What if God walked into your next business meeting, your conversation with a friend or family member, while you ignored something that He wanted you to do or say??

What I learned from this was I do not make God enough "elbow room" in my life. I have schedules, appointments, chores, etc to keep, but I have not "scheduled" time to allow God to come and go through me as He desires.

Kind of makes me think ~~~~ where are my priorities set??

Scalise

Blessed

What does it mean to be "blessed"? Is it money, a big house, having employment ~~~~?

Websters definition is: held in reverence, honored in worship, bringing pleasure, contentment, or good fortune, or enjoying happiness; specifically: enjoying the bliss of heaven.

I say I am a blessed man because I have a wife that loves me, two grown sons, two wonderful daughter in laws; I say "I now have two daughters that have husbands" :-) two grandchildren and two more on the way. I can add to that I also have two dogs, so I am considered the "A" typical family. This all could fall into the part of the definition, "held in reverence, bringing pleasure, contentment"because my life does.

What about "enjoying the bliss of heaven"? What does that entail? I have my own thoughts on this matter but I would like to hear yours as well!

Post comments and lets talk about this item of being blessed!

Scalise

Been awhile ~~~

I really thaought I would do this blog thing to help me cope throughout the day ~~~then I lost how to get back to it; it has been over a year since I last posted anything!

Well Carol and I are going to be grandparents by the end of the year. Eric and Lindsey (who are still at Camp Pendelton CA) are having a girl and her mane is Madalynn Lucille .... I have enough ammo to last till her 30th birthday so we should be set!!

Jonathan and Sarah have decided to stay in Tucson for a few more months ... some health issues arose so he has to complete some follow-up care and such so they signed a 6 month lease at the same location but at the end of the month they will vbe moving to the Townhome section ... they are really excited!!

Carol and I are still trying to figure out where we want to be living ... niether of us like Tucson much but we have great friends and a great church ~~ so of course we are torn. We are continually seeking God and what we believe is His will for our lives.

Know that I know how to get back into this I am hoping to at least update weekly!

Till next time......
Jono

Love ~~~

Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, Love does not boast, Love is not proud. Love is not rude, Love is not self-seeking, Love is not easily angered, Love keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

This is the passage from 1st Corinthians ~~~~ What would it read like if you changed the word "love" with your name ????

Jon is patient, Jon is kind. Jon does not envy,Jon does not boast, Jon is not proud. Jon is not rude, Jon is not self-seeking, Jon is not easily angered, Jon keeps no record of wrongs. Jon does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Jon always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Wow what if we all lived with this in our forefront thoughts???

Just a thing to think about!!!

5 Lessons in Life

Five (5) lessons about the way we treat people

1 - First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady.
During my second month of college, our professor Gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student
And had breezed through the questions until I readThe last one:"What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the Cleaning woman several times. She was tall,Dark-haired and in her 50's, but how would I know her name?I handed in my paper, leaving the last questionBlank. Just before class ended, one student asked if The last question would count toward our quiz grade."Absolutely, " said the professor. "In your careers,You will meet many people. All are significant. TheyDeserve your attention and care, even if all you do Is smile and say "hello."I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned herName was Dorothy.

2. - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African AmericanWoman was standing on the side of an Alabama highwayTrying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car hadBroken down and she desperately needed a ride.Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, generallyUnheard of in those conflict-filled 19 60's. The manTook her to safety, helped her get assistance andPut her into a taxicab.She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down hisAddress and thanked him. Seven days went by and aKnock came on the man's door. To his surprise, aGiant console color TV was delivered to his home. A Special note was attached.It read:"Thank yo u so much for assisting me on the highwayThe other night. The rain drenched not only myClothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dyingHusband's' bedside just before he passed away... GodBless you for helping me and unselfishly servingOthers."Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.

3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember thoseWho serve.. In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less,A 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop andSat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in Front of him."How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked. "Fifty cents," replied the waitress.The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket andStudied the coins in it."Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired.By now more people were waiting for a table and theWaitress was growing impatient. "Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied.The little boy again counted his coins."I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.The waitress brought the ice cream, put t he bill onThe table and walked away The boy finished the iceCream, paid the cashier and left.. When the waitressCame back, she began to cry as she wiped down the Table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish,Were two nickels and five pennies..You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he hadTo have enough left to leave her a tip.

4 - Fourth Important Lesson. - The obstacle in Our Path. In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on aRoadway.. Then he hid himself and watched to see i fAnyone would remove the huge rock. Some of theKing's' wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by And simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed theKing for not keeping the roads clear, but none didAnything about getting the stone out of the way.Then a peasant came along carrying a load of Vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, thepeasant laid down his burden and tried to move thestone to the side of the road. After much pushingand straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticeda purse lying in the road where the boulder hadbeen. The purse contained many gold coins and a notefrom the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. Thepeasant learned what many of us never understand!Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improveour condition.

5 - Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts... Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at ahospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her onlychance of recovery appeared to be a bloodtransfusion from her 5-year old brother, who hadmiraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat theillness. The doctor explained the situation to herlittle brother, and asked the little boy if he wouldbe willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking adeep breath and saying, "Yes I'll do it if it will save her." As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded.He looked up at the doctor and asked with atrembling voice, "Will I start to die right away". Being young, the little boy had misunderstood thedoctor; he thought he was going to have to give hissister all of his blood in order to save her.

Busy week!!!

Wow ~~~ where do I start?!?!?!?
Let's see .... well Eric called me at 4:45 on Thursday morning to say he was leaving Maryland where he was stationed and heading to California ... his new duty station. One problem lead to another than another ~~~~ he was not given any leave to move his wife to California so Lindsey and I loaded Carols vehicle with the essentials they would need and headed to San Diego. We arrived about 20 minutes before he did ... once on the ground he put his duty bags in the car and I went to the other terminal then flew home to Tucson. Eric reported as required and then was given time off due to the holiday but without all their furniture and stuff ... they have been without anything!!ie refriderator, couch, table, bed and the list goes on!! Meanwhile on Friday Carol and I drove to Phoenix to fly out to Sacremento for one of my nieces wedding!!! Arrived late Friday evening and Saturday was spent running around doing last minute items ... So here we are today ~~~ Sunday ... The Lord's day ... A day of rest !!! NOT

It was a beautiful wedding and my niece was beautiful on the outside but even more on the inside!! She saved herself for her husband ~~~ which in this day and age it is a true blessing!! Well the weather here in the Sacremento area is beautiful I think it was like 75 degrees today ~~~ I know it will not last long since we will be heading home to Tucson tomoow and back to 100 + degrees!!!

Busy but amazing weekend ~~~ my love to all type to you soon!
Jon

I can only say that I actualy laughed so hard the first time I heard this; I think it was the same as doing a million situps!

Please enjoy the video and post comments as well.

I love the look on the wifes face when she realizes the content!

Laughter is the best medicine ~~~ watch and be healthy!