And so it begins ...

They told me, "You really need to blog", so I write. They told me, "You need to write where others can read it", so I write. They told me, "I have learned so much from what you've written", so I write. My hope is that you, my kind readers, will benefit from my blogging.

So, who am I? I'm an oxymoron - a happily married man. Most who know me, however, would leave off the "oxy" part of that. I'm older than I feel, but don't much mind. Between my wife and I we have four children, none of whom live at home anymore. The oldest, my step-daughter, has two children of her own, so I'm sure they'll creep into these blogs from time to time. Beyond that, I'm mostly invisible. It's something I've perfected over the years. I'm suspicious that blogging might make that more difficult.

I have been a Christian since I was a child. I was raised by godly parents and have much appreciated them over the years. It hasn't always been smooth, however. In my late teens I decided I could run my life much better than God could and set off to prove it. Four years and much sin later, I came back with my tail between my legs. I did many years in the U. S. Air Force and learned to teach there, but didn't do enough years to retire. I enjoyed a 12-year marriage, but it ended in divorce. I remember asking my father, "Have you ever had to endure anything that hurt this bad?" and he told me, "Yes ... when you ran from God." Oops! But, amazingly, God has worked all things together for good and I am, at the end of the day, a contented fellow.

So, let's see where this little blog journey takes us. I hope you will benefit. I hope I will benefit. With all the random thoughts that often swirl around in my brain, writing them down helps clear the cobwebs. Maybe God can use them to help you as well.