The Wintery Blasts of December

Winter has arrived, and I, having finished my fall work just in the nick of time!  Friday and Saturday found me ladder-bound, in Ritzy Land, Ohio, cleaning falls leavings from gutters up high.  My sidekick, a seventy-ish fellow of great value to me, helped round up a gaggle of customers on his street, all in need of my services.  What, pray tell, are my services, you ask?  The answer could almost be "Yes".  You see, I am a self-employed, self-governing, autocratic, entrepreneurial, jack-of-all-trades, and I clean gutters.  Okay, to be fair, I've never tried heart surgery, brain surgery, civil engineering, and a host of other potential occupations, and that would be a scary prospect.  But I can drive a fair nail, buck my share of firewood, form, place and finish my fair share of concrete, skin out a deer, raise rabbits, chickens, and more.  I've been known to drive a mean skid-steer, and I'm a passable writer, I hope.  I have a penchant for poetry, believe it or not.  This you could see by visiting my other blog, The Dark Isle Gazette, at http://darkislegazette-panchito.blogspot.com/, and digging around in there.

But enough of me talking about me, what do you think about me?  No, just kidding.

A friend of mine called yesterday to say that his kid and friend had finally bagged a deer.  That was welcome news.  I'm not sure whether he was calling to actually tell me that, or whether that was just an excuse to call me.  We've had a slight falling out, or perhaps a lapse in confidence on my part, rather.  Some personality types tend to run me over, and trample me into the dust, and I just let them.  I don't know why, but eventually I tend to leave those well-intentioned individuals to their own devices, usually at least for awhile.  This particular individual seems to be incapable of looking beneath the surface of his friends' veneer, unable to plumb the depths of my soul, and find that there is more to this friend of his than meets the eye.  I guess it's just one of those lessons that my friend has to learn the hard way.  Mounted on the post of his front porch is a flag that reads, "Don't Tread On Me".  That is the lesson my friend needs to learn about dealing with HIS friends.  Quiet, quirky, and non-confrontational doesn't equal stupid.  I love the guy like my brother, and feel that we have a shared destiny in the Lord, but I can't follow him.  The lamb must lead the lion.  The foolish in the eyes of man, is the wise in the eyes of the Lord.

That scenario has transpired multiple times throughout my life.  I get shoved into a situation that I look unqualified for, God moves his hand, and the proud get humbled, the humble get lifted up.  Sometimes that's me.

Which one are you?

I read an interesting article the other day, that made me stop and think.  It speaks of the times we're in, where we're going, and what we have left.  Check it out here: http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2010/December11/1186.html.

Any thoughts of this sort need to be, if not taken with a grain of salt, then scrutinized with a microscope prior to being considered as legitimate.  So, having said that, I am NOT endorsing any of this as authoritative, but merely food for thought.  If nothing else, it is meant to make christians stop and think, and to make pre-christians pause as well.

That's all the energy I have for this post.  Sleep well, in peace.  May God richly bless you.

Ciao,

Panchito

The Slatts Paracord Belt

Here is a super cool, super handy belt that could potentially save your life some day.  It's easy to make, and only requires the 550 paracord, and time.  If you have hands that work, you can make this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGDIm5bcQRM&feature=player_embedded

Having one of these wrapped around your waist means always having a strong, light rope that is around 120 feet in length.  That is a serious length of rope.  This could come in handy when you really need it.

Ciao,

Panchito