Greetings Church Family. I have returned home from vacation at beautiful Niagara Falls Ontario Canada. It was a first-time visit for me, and it was only my second-time ever to Canada. (I visited Windsor for a few hours about 13 years ago.)
The Falls were spectacular to see, hear, feel, and experience up-close. The rides and walks through the endless mist were refreshing in the Canadian heatwave (mid-to-upper 90s Fahrenheit / mid-30s Celsius).
“O Sovereign LORD ! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you ! (Jeremiah 32:17 NLT)
Me, my brother, and his wife stayed within walking distance of Clifton Hill – the shopping and entertainment tourist district of Niagara Falls. It was a lot of fun for a couple of days, but it’s always great to return back home again – where I belong.
Tomorrow night at a local church revival I’m preaching a sermon titled “Accepted & Anointed”. That’s what we all are on this fantastic journey towards God’s bright light. If we believe that fully – then we can change the world with our works – using our strong hands and our powerful arms.
Saturday October 23RD 2010
Volume 3 / Number 7 / Edition 104
Back during the memorable Summer of 1977 I was a 10-year-old kid roaming my hilly Lanham Maryland neighbourhood streets named after birds such as Red Wing, Wren, Wood Thrush, and Nightingale. I liked to ride my bike up and down the hills. I liked to play down by the creek and in the woods. Me and my friends had our own territory in the woods that we converted into our own private park with the use of rakes. We even had our own park flag with all of our names on it. We kept our park neat and tidy, and we only allowed our closest friends entry into our exclusive area. Those were fun times from my childhood that I’ll remember forever.
No matter how old you are always live your Life to its fullest. There will be unsuspecting bumps and sharp curves along the way that make you feel uncomfortable, but then there will be those real good times too that you may take for granted until you realize that they are no longer there. Savour those good times as they happen. Enjoy every second of them. You’ll be able to share those memorable experiences for years to come with your children, their children, and your closest friends on this journey of Life.
Music has always played an important role during my lifetime. It reminds me of the good and the bad – the memorable and the forgettable. It’s the soundtrack of my Life at any given point in time. ‘Saturday Night Retro’ gives me an opportunity each weekend to share my Life with you via memories and music.
Back during that fun Summer of 1977 this song shot to the top of the Billboard Hot 100. It’s teen pop idol Shaun Cassidy with his # 1 smash “Da Doo Ron Ron”, and it was playing on the radio as I was playing in the woods:
– It’s the 4TH season premiere of my ‘Walk-A-Thon’.
– This all started towards the end of 2007.
– I changed my diet and I quit drinking in 2007.
– I started taking care of my body during my ‘Rebirthing’.
– I quit smoking completely 30 months ago in April 2008.
– I am in the best physical and mental condition of my life.
– Thank You Jesus for giving me a second chance at Life.
– Thank You for giving up your Life so that I could Live !
– This morning I enjoyed a nice walk around my neighbourhood.
– It was a 40-minute and 19-second walk at dawn.
– Sunrise occurred 25 minutes into my walk.
– There wasn’t a cloud in the sky this morning.
– My neighbourhood was peaceful and quiet as the day began.
– There was 1 feline sighting and 1 fellow walker.
– Felines know that I am their friend and not their foe.
– Nearly halfway into my walk I realized that I forgot my iPod.
– I realized that I was listening to nature rather than loud music.
– Nature sounded beautiful – as it always does.
– My legs actually ached a little bit before the walk.
– That’s because of all of the walking from yesterday.
– I’m certainly out-of-shape as I begin this new season of walking.
– My legs were even more sore after walking a tough 2.1 miles.
– That’s 2.1 miles towards my goal of a 26.2-mile marathon.
– And my ‘Walk-A-Thon’ continues next Saturday morning.
Happy Columbus Day Weekend ! Let’s BLAST-OFF this weekend !
WEEKEND GRAB BAG O’ THOUGHT:
Well the cooler temperatures and the lower humidity arrived with a vengeance just as soon as October arrived a week ago, and it’s been no fluke. The South Florida dry season has officially begun – a few weeks earlier than normal. Lately we’ve been struggling to get in to the 80s in the afternoons, and we’re dropping well into the 60s early in the mornings with wind chills into the 50s at times. It’s our coolest weather in about 6 months, and it feels so good ! I must get out and enjoy this scrumptious Chamber Of Commerce weather. Last weekend I quietly kicked-off my ‘Cultural, Historical, & Economical Stimulus Tour’ for the Winter of 2011 with visits to Homestead Bayfront Park and Biscayne National Park. This weekend my fun-in-the-sun plans include the upper Florida Keys and Monkey Jungle. Between now and next April I’ll also plan to spend some quality time at Zoo Miami, Jungle Island, Miami Beach, West Palm Beach, Jupiter, Stuart, Naples, Fort Myers, Sanibel Island, Jacksonville, Panama City Beach, much of the NW Florida panhandle, Dallas Texas, The Bahamas, The U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Have fun will travel !
BEST LUNCH OF THE WEEK AWARD: Chili’s – For the 2ND time in 6 weeks the Quesadilla Explosion Salad wins the coveted award. If you’ve got a hearty appetitite for nutritious vegetable goodness then check out this masterpiece. It’s got grilled chicken with cheese, corn relish, cilantro, tortilla strips, and citrus-balsamic dressing – served with cheese quesadillas. I dig.
THOSE CRAZY CRAZY CATS:
Some day – maybe 5 or 10 or 15 years from now – I may be a cat owner again. It’s because of these lovable shenanigans from my feline friends:
BLATANT PROMOTION: Tomorrow night on my ‘Saturday Night Retro’ I’m flashing back 23½ years ago to the Spring of 1987 – back when I was a young resident of the British Isles. I’ll take a glimpse at what I was doing back then during my final memorable months as a teenager. After that I’m bring blogging back to Sundays ! That’s right – it’s the 4TH season premiere of ‘The Major’s Walk-A-Thon’. This year I’ve set a reasonable goal to walk a marathon – not all at once – but combined between now and April. I’m looking to walk 26.2 miles above and beyond my normal everyday walking. That’s an average of about 3.75 miles per month from October to April. In the fine tradition that is ‘The Major’s Walk-A-Thon’ I’ll blog about my walking adventures, and I’ll track my progress towards the goal. Don’t forget that you can follow me on Twitter in-between all of the weekend blog posts. Have yourself a safe and fun holiday weekend my friends.
CountUp 