One foot on the dock, the other on the boat--choices!!

I have often felt as if I were stepping off a dock into a fishing boat with the possibility that the boat slip away from me without being able to jump in fast enough and yet being unable to regain a foothold on the dock with my other foot. Splash! Indecision is often the greatest risk we face in life. But life forces us to choose to do something at all times and even not acting is a choice. Time being what it is, if we use our time to pursue one course of action, we cannot also use that time to pursue another.

 Unlike us, it seems that God is able to live outside of time. I know we as mortals desire to do more projects, have more interests, and learn more than we could ever pursue in our short lifetimes. Surely we are destined for a type of eternal life in which we can do so. But in this life God wants us to be proven worthy so he can trust us with such an increased knowledge and power. Such freedom would require great responsibility for which we are not yet ready to assume. 

If almost anyone were asked if they would like to be given a few million dollars, they wouldn't turn it down. But without the ability to use money wisely, most of us would probably not learn some important lessons that come with restrictions to our lifestyle. Hard work for our living makes us appreciate what we do have more. We develop an empathy for the poor if we have had to struggle. We can't just “throw money” at a problem but may need to actually sacrifice our precious personal time and energy to solve it. Character is forged by having to decide how to spend our limited resources. Most who have gained great wealth have experienced struggle and failure on their way to riches. A few  seem to be able to retain good character and not resort to corruption on the way up while others abandon it along the way.

A Year Later!!!

I am continuing my blog that I started almost exactly a YEAR ago.  I had forgotten all about my blog until my daughter-in-law mentioned that she had started one.  I went back to see the blog I started and find that I am doing the same things again this year--such as coming to the end of the garden/canning season and selling tickets to the North Dakota Policy Council's speech, this year to be Ron Paul.  We are getting to be Ron Paul junkies.  Duane looks him up almost daily on the web to watch his videos etc.  Saw him twice in 2008 (in Fargo at NDSU and in Appleton, WI, at the JBS 50th Anniv. Celebration). 

A lot has happened in a year.  Our granddaughter is 15 months old now and we just enjoyed visiting with her and our son and daughter-in-law last weekend.  She walks well now and also enjoyed the baby swings in the park and wanted to go down the small slide over and over and over!!  She still eats cooked broccoli and likes it.  We last saw her just after her first birthday in Aug.

Today we listened to a CD made from a tape our family made at Thanksgiving in 1997.  We had made it for our youngest son who was serving a mission for the LDS Church in Argentina.  We were visiting at our daughter's in Denver then and our other son had brought his girlfriend along.  (They  later parted.)  I remember how much fun we had.  It seems like yesterday--14 yrs. ago.

In March we had to put our cat Chicago down at the vet's but got two part-Siamese brother cats who have been so much fun.  They have settled down a lot from when we first got them, although they still have lots of energy.  They are Si and Sam.  Si used to jump on everything and on my back but now seems to be over that.
Sam is more cuddly and less outgoing.  Their personalities are so different.

Got to make dinner--continued later.