One of the joys of working from home again today was having my own personal supervisor who made sure I was getting all my work done. Or at least she did for the first 30 minutes or so before she wandered off, presumably to find a quiet secluded place to nap.

I think she just wanted to make sure I was earning the big bucks so she can continue the lavish lifestyle she’s grown quite accustomed to in her 3 years of life. Instead of blue boxes from Tiffany’s, she’d prefer white cans of tuna, if you please.

“… there are some of us who are sorta stuck here in the middle of the story, God, and we don’t know what the next chapter holds. 
We’ve got no idea how our hearts are about to get broken or when, what the doctor could end up saying tomorrow, how the kids will turn out, or what’s on the next page or the one after that. 
And when you’re stuck in the middle of the story? Well, honestly, it’s easy to feel at the end of your rope. 
And You pull us close, real close: ‘I’d never forget you—never.
Look, I’ve written your names on the backs of my hands.’ Isa49:16(MSG)
You’ve etched the very letters of our name, of who we are, right into You. 
You haven’t forgotten us or this chapter or this story, and if You haven’t forgotten us, we’re not about to go forgetting that Your stories always work out in the end — and if things aren’t working out quite yet, it just means we’re not quite yet to the end. We’ll literally practice our faith — we’ll practice saying thanks in the middle.
Faith thanks God in the middle of the mess, 
Faith thanks God in the middle of the night,
Faith thanks God in the middle of the story — 
Because it believes in the relentless goodness of Him who will won’t stop writing till there’s good at the end of this story. 

#HonestPrayers#ThanksInTheMiddle#1000Gifts” (Ann Voskamp).

The truth is not that God won’t give you more than YOU can handle, but that He won’t give you more than HE can handle. There’s a difference.

If you never experienced anything beyond your ability to manage and strategize and plan your way through, you’d continue to be self-reliant and self-sufficient. There would be no reason to seek God when you’ve got everything under control. You could be your own god.

But God gives you more than you can handle so that you learn how to be dependent and childlike. You truly know that God’s strength is perfected not in spite of your weakness but in the midst of it. You rejoice that you are poor in spirit because you know God’s kingdom is yours. You can endure any suffering, any trial, any cross, thinking nothing of any shame that goes with it, because of the joy of the Lord that is set before you.

“We don’t want you in the dark, friends, about how hard it was when all this came down on us in Asia province. It was so bad we didn’t think we were going to make it. We felt like we’d been sent to death row, that it was all over for us. As it turned out, it was the best thing that could have happened. Instead of trusting in our own strength or wits to get out of it, we were forced to trust God totally—not a bad idea since he’s the God who raises the dead! And he did it, rescued us from certain doom. And he’ll do it again, rescuing us as many times as we need rescuing” (2 Corinthians 1:8-10, The Message).

In keeping with the TCM theme of what’s new every month, I give you my update for the month of September 2020 so you can keep up with all that I’m watching reading, listening to, etc.

I’m working my way through The Complete Father Brown Stories, a collection of all the short story mysteries that G. K. Chesterton wrote around the central character of Father Brown. If you’re a fan of Agatha Christie or Dorothy Sayers or any other old-school whodunit-type stories, these are for you.

I’m listening to Jimmie Rodgers Recordings: 1927-1933, including all the classic sides that he recorded during his unfairly short career that was derailed due to the tuberculosis that eventually took his life. If you want to know where country music started, start with this collection.

If you read my recent post about Doctor Who, then you are not surprised in the least that I am watching Series 12 currently. I have about 7 or so episodes left before I can say that I have seen all the classic and new episodes (minus the ones that are missing, of course).

I think that about covers it for this month. If I remember, I’ll give you an update for October 2020.

“Let there be not only the roses,
Not only the buds of the day,
But the noon and the hour that discloses
The full flower torn away:

Not only the bliss and the sweet
When the sun is soft and low,
But the weary aching of feet
Tired out by the harrow and hoe:

Not only the gazing and sighing
Where the heather stands thick on the moor,
But the lonely watch and the crying,
With hunger awake at the door:

Not only the anthems eternal,
Song without hurry or pause,
But the sweat and the stink and the screaming
of circular saws –
Not only the mercy of dreaming,
But the labor and learning of laws:

Not only the wonder of reaping
The fruit that hangs red on the bough,
But the strain and the stagger of creeping
In the brown wake of the plough.

Let this be the way that I go,
And the life that I try,
My feet being firm in the field,
And my heart in the sky” (Phillip Britts, Water at the Roots).

I think that covers it.

Don’t worry. Turn every anxious thought into prayer and every moment of worry into a moment of worship.

Pray about everything, even the silly, small, stupid stuff. God cares even about the number of hairs on your head.

Worry is a choice. So is peace. Choose wisely.

Well, I can’t believe it, but I have reached the proverbial home stretch of Doctor Who. Only 11 more episodes (including the New Year’s Special) and I will have officially seen all the episodes (not counting the many that are missing and considered lost).

The latest incarnation of Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor has been divisive to say the least. There’s lots of love and hate going around with both being equally passionate about their views.

I for one tend to follow the pattern of the Olympic judges. I discount the highest and lowest scores (and ignore the Russian judge who is always biased when it comes to figure skating). It’s better for me to form my own opinion. And what is my opinion?

Is what I’ve seen the best ever Doctor Who? No. Does it live up to the 50+ year legacy of the 13 Doctors and varied companions? Yes.

I’d rather immerse myself in the story rather than stand outside it to criticize it. That’s not to say that I love absolutely everything about the newest series. I just understand that nothing will ever be 100% perfect.

Oh, and I still prefer the Classic series to the New series. But that’s just my preference.

“Bad times, hard times — this what people keep saying; but let us live well and times shall be good. We are the times. Such as we are, such are the times” (Saint Augustine of Hippo).

I keep hearing how bad 2020 is. I keep hearing how people can’t wait for 2021 to get here so everything will be perfect and right.

Granted, we’re in the middle of a pandemic. Granted, there are more than the usual numbers of natural disasters, i.e. wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc.

Just because I’m having a bad day doesn’t give me the excuse to behave badly. It doesn’t let me off the hook from trying to do good and to be good.

I think the same applies for the calendar year 2020 and all those infamous resolutions you and I made on January 1. I’m not saying you will absolutely accomplish 100% of every one of your goals this year, but you can still strive to improve.

I still believe that the year is what you make it. Bad things can happen, but if you choose to be the good in the world. I believe it was Jesus who said the key to life was to love God completely and love people the same way.

Just because you might have had a bad start to the day or week or year doesn’t automatically guarantee that you will have a bad ending. That’s still for you to decide by the choices and responses you make starting now.

2020 will pass. COVID-19 will pass. This pandemic too shall pass.

What will remain?

What remains is what you learned and who you became during this time. What will last is the stories that you are now weaving in and out of the days that come and pass all too swiftly.

What you will remember most aren’t the daily grim statistics or the dire prognostications but the small daily victories that gave a glimmer of hope in the deepest of the darkness.

Every single adventure worth telling has a moment when darkness reigns and defeat seems inevitable but where the heroes keep hoping in spite of hope until the dawn breaks through.

Sometimes, I run across an old relic from the past that stirs up long-dormant memories.

I found this sticker on a CD case and I was instantly transported back to about 20 years ago when I was still living in Memphis. Back then, I frequented a certain record store called Cat’s. Back when there were actual record stores that sold records and tapes and CDs.

One of my favorite past times back then was going through the dog pound where they had all their used . . . I mean pre-loved CDs. You could even bring in your own CDs and trade them for cash or credit.

I remember every now and then getting really excited over a good music find. More often than not, I didn’t find anything worth parting me from my money, but on rare occasion, I struck musical gold.

Life is like that. There are a lot of days where nothing magical or extraordinary happens. Then there are those precious few days that you talk about and dream about and remember for the rest of your life.

I do recall those stickers were really hard to peel off.