“The surest way to work up a crusade in favor of some good cause is to promise people they will have a chance of maltreating someone. To be able to destroy with good conscience, to be able to behave badly and call your bad behavior ‘righteous indignation’ — this is the height of psychological luxury, the most delicious of moral treats” (Aldous Huxley).

These days, people who hold opposing political views are fair game for any kind of name-calling and stereotyping. Obviously, they cant’t just be wrong, but they must also be ignorant and evil.

True children of Abba will never stoop to slandering the opposition. They know that all people, not just the ones on “their side” who think like they do, are made in the image of God and have dignity and worth.

Furthermore, it does no good to demonize those who disagree with you. It may be emotionally satisfying for a season and may make you feel morally superior for a time, but in the end it changes nothing and serves only to strengthen those who already agreed with you in the first place.

To seek to understand is far better than to seek to undermine. Abba’s children will always seek to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them as Jesus taught and demonstrated. They know that there are no political answers to spiritual problems.

There’s my obligatory soapbox post for the time being. We’ll go back to posts about omelets, kittens, and rainbows next time around.

I think the older I get, the less I’m able to tolerate heat. Not that I was ever a big fan of 90+ degree weather. I tend to wilt more on hot and humid days than I used to.

Plus I sweat a lot, which is not pleasant for anyone.

I’m looking at a whole week of 90+ highs and it’s not even officially summer. That’s June 21, also known as the longest day of the year.

In the mean time, I get to enjoy my favorite summer outdoor past-time, which is going back inside where the A/C is.

Seriously, I love A/C. Right now, I’d put it up there as one of the greatest inventions ever. Screw the ozone layer and the environment. Just keep that beautiful cold air flowing at me and I’ll be as happy as a pig in the mud or a cat in a sea of tuna.

How many days until the official start of fall?

Two years ago, I took Lucy to the vet over concerns that she had been losing weight. She got a clean bill of health and all was well. She was a healthy, happy 16 year old cat.

One year ago, I was still in shock over a devastating visit to the same vet where I was told that Lucy was severely jaundiced and probably not going to live much longer than a few days or a few weeks. I watched helplessly as she was wasting away before my very eyes. It turns out that she lived another 6 days after her diagnosis.

Today, I visited the spot of earth where she is buried. It didn’t make me cry, but it made me a little sad. As much as I love and cherish my new cat Peanut, there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think of Lucy and miss her. There isn’t a day where my heart doesn’t ache a little.

Sometimes, I wonder if I missed something. Maybe if I’d paid a little more attention I might have caught something that could have saved her or at least given her more time.

Tonight, I’m choosing to count my blessings and be thankful for the 17 wonderful years that made saying goodbye so very hard. She might not have been the perfect cat — she did have her eccentricities and a bit of a temper– but she was the perfect cat for me when I needed her.

Now she lives on in my Facebook and Instagram posts, my photos, and most of all, in my memories. There are still stories, most of them happy and a few of them hilarious, that I keep for whenever I start to forget. I will pass on the love she gave me to Peanut, then the next cat (or dog) and so on. Hopefully, the legacy will live on for as long as I live.

Yes, I’m glad it’s Friday. And I’m thankful that grace still exists (and it’s still free).

“Our prayers for guidance (or for anything else) really begin here: I trust him. This requires abandonment. We are no longer saying, ‘If I trust him, he’ll give me such and such,’ but ‘I trust him. Let him give me or withhold from me what he chooses.” (Elisabeth Elliot, God’s Guidance: A Slow & Certain Light)

I can’t say that the week so far has turned out like I wanted or expected, but it has given me some highlights and memories.

Tonight, I had some Buffalo Chicken Pizza from Pieology that set my mouth on fire. When I took a bite, I think I quoted Paris Hilton– “That’s hot!”

I also took in another fantastic concert. So far, I’m batting 4-for-4 when it comes to hearing good music and good venues. It’s been Eric Johnson, Mary Chapin Carpenter, U2, and– as of this evening– Rodney Crowell.

Work got a little hectic, but I managed to persevere through it with only minimal grumbling and complaining. I have to sometimes remind myself of what it was like when I was unemployed in order to reorient my attitude.

I’m closing in on 338,000 miles in the Red Sled, also known as the Jeep That Just Won’t Quit. I very much doubt I’ll ever have another vehicle that will be that sturdy and dependable. Maybe a little newer and trendier but not nearly as lasting.

To sum it all up, life is good, God is great, and I’m still blessed.

“When things happen which dismay, we ought to look to God, remembering that He is not taken by surprise nor can His purposes be thwarted” (Elisabeth Elliott).

God is never taken by surprise. There’s nothing I can say to Him that will shock Him or change His mind about me.

Whatever happens, I’m still safe and secure underneath those Everlasting Arms.

“We pray for the big things and forget to give thanks for the ordinary, small (and yet really not small) gifts. How can God entrust great things to one who will not thankfully receive from Him the little things?” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Faith in Community)

Two words– give thanks.

At my latest trip to Goodwill, I scored on a stash of old Jimmy Buffett music. Yes, I still rock the CDs. I know there’s such a thing as streaming and digital downloading, but I still like something tangible that I can hold in my hand.

Holding one of those CDs in my hand instantly took me back to my days in the College and Career ministry at Central Church back in Memphis. For three or four years, we’d go to Panama City for a kind of summer retreat.

I distinctly remember there were the same two guys who’d set up at the beach and play nothing but Jimmy Buffett music. Basically, it was them singing and playing guitars with canned music behind them. Apparently, that was okay back in the 90s.

I need to get back to the beach sometime. I miss the feeling of wet sand between my toes and hearing the ocean waves crashing into the shore. I miss the way the ocean air smells.

I’m thankful for the memories I gained, even if some of them involved cheesy Jimmy Buffett impersonators. At least I can think of them and Panama City every time I listen to the real thing.