It's 6am on Saturday morning. What are you doing? I'm giving my self 5 syringes full of IV meds. That should last about 12 hours and I get to do it all over again - for the next 5 days.

Actually, I am very grateful to the medical staff at Group Health for perhaps saving my life. I managed to get a very sever case of bacterial infection in my blood via my ear and face. They think that they caught it in time however I have to take some very strong meds that they can't just give me through a vein but must be administered through a catheter just above my heart. What fun.

There are two very good up sides to all this. My blood sugars are down where they are supposed to be because I'm not eating much and I'm loosing weight. What a miracle. Modern science has come so far. I love it.

The down side is that my butt is getting flat from sitting. I'm thinking that I may duct tape the IV pump to the handle bars on my bike and see if that doesn't work to get things a little less static.

Well, its official now. I am 60 years old. The way I look at it 60 is the new 40! There is still a lot of life to live. Like today for instance.

LOLA and I went off this morning to get the Toad fixed. Les Schwaub changed the front shocks and said that should take care of the problem. It sure drives better now that it did yesterday. But I'm not convinced that was the only (or major) problem. I still think that there is something in the u-joints or transfer case that is not right. Well, we are going to move on tomorrow and see what happens. The adventrure continues.

Twisp, WA, is a wonderful little place. Lots to see and do. The river is still running, the wind is blowing, clouds are shuffeling across the sky adn I have hjad a wonderful day. We visited the local hardware store and bought a new barbarque for the motorhome. Its small and easy to fit in the storage cabinet. Can't wait to see what Weber gives me for dinner tonight. Hope it does not taste like new burnt paint.

Tomorrow we move over to Republic, WA. Fifteen miles from Canada. We will be staying on a parcel my boss ownes on the Kettle River. We are supposed to go fishing together on Wednesday. That should be fun. Need to go for now...I hear that steak calling to me.

Well, its official now. I am 60 years old. The way I look at it 60 is the new 40! There is still a lot of life to live. Like today for instance.

LOLA and I went off this morning to get the Toad fixed. Les Schwaub changed the front shocks and said that should take care of the problem. It sure drives better now that it did yesterday. But I'm not convinced that was the only (or major) problem. I still think that there is something in the u-joints or transfer case that is not right. Well, we are going to move on tomorrow and see what happens. The adventrure continues.

Twisp, WA, is a wonderful little place. Lots to see and do. The river is still running, the wind is blowing, clouds are shuffeling across the sky adn I have hjad a wonderful day. We visited the local hardware store and bought a new barbarque for the motorhome. Its small and easy to fit in the storage cabinet. Can't wait to see what Weber gives me for dinner tonight. Hope it does not taste like new burnt paint.

Tomorrow we move over to Republic, WA. Fifteen miles from Canada. We will be staying on a parcel my boss ownes on the Kettle River. We are supposed to go fishing together on Wednesday. That should be fun. Need to go for now...I hear that steak calling to me.

Well, its vacation week.  We left this morning and drove from Tenino up I-5 to Arlington and jumped on 530 East headed for Twisp, WA.  The drive over the mountains was spactactular.  The Northern Cascades are know as the American Apls.  There were spots where the mountain sides towered over us 5-6000 feet straight up.

At one point the jagged edged saw-tooth snow-capped mountains were right there ahead of us.  Beautiful, thats all I can say.  Winthrop/Twisp area is kind of like going back a 100 or so years.  Western themed ranching country.

We took a drive up the Twisp River Road thinking that it would lead us to some small stream fishing.  When we found a nice spot we pulled over to the side of the road and asked the rancher if we could fly fish the river through his property.  He said "Well, I guess you could but fishing doesn't open here until July 1st."  Oops.  It is only June 19th.  That could have been an expensive mistake.  

We continued on up the mountain road and took a side road that lead us up to Black Pine Lake.  It was 8 miles up a dirt road to the lake.  At mile marker 6 the truck started to make a real loud clicking sound near the transfer case so we turned around and started down the mountain, praying all the while that God would get us home without a long, lonely, dark walk.  As soon as we turned on to the highway the sound started to get more and more faint.  

Les Schaub is only a couple of miles up the road and we will be there Monday morning bright and early.  Hope they can fix it!

We are in Riverside RV Park, Twisp, WA.  What a beautiful place.  The Methow river is 25 feet away.  Only grass and wild roses between me an the water.  Oooo.  Tomorrow the Methow and I have a date.  Time for doing the dinner dishes.  Then some quality time with LOLA.  Now were talking!

I woke up this morning with a question ringing in my ears - what can wash away my sin?  It won't go away, the question, it is with me like a nagging headache.  Even as I sit in my rocking chair with some Anthony Burger playing softly in the background, it won't go away.

Soooo, what is it that can wash away my sin?  I asked Google and Google says it is the Blood of Jesus.  It returned 356,000 pages in 2 seconds.  Pretty good odds there may be something here.

What is blood and how can it cleanse?  You've seen it, blood that is.  Probably some of your own.  It's sticky, gooey and drys to a crusty scabby kind of mess.  It gives us life.  It restores our bodies from the beatings we give them every day.  It stains!  It is hard to remove.  It leaves a residue on every thing it touches.  Just watch NCIS or one of the other cop shows on TV.  They have this really cool light and colored glasses that show where the blood is/was even after it has been cleaned up.  I should ask my nephew about this.  He works in the Crime Scene Unit for the Washington State Patrol.  He probably would know.  

Ok, if it cannot be cleaned up, if bleach won't remove it, if water only dilutes it, somehow, I'm thinking, it is not blood that does the cleansing.  It must be something else.  What?

But Google is usually pretty reliable in answering my questions.  Jessie Stone (Tom Sellick, TV cop) says to always go back to the beginning when you come to an end.   I'm going back to the beginning.

The first page Google returned in answer to my question says, 'Nothing but the blood of Jesus;  What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. ...'  Ah!  Now we have it, here it is, right in the first listing.  It takes a special type of blood!  Not just any blood.  Yours or mine won't work.  There is no cleansing power in our blood, its gooey and stains.  In fact it will only make things worse.  But Jesus' blood...now that's a whole other thing.

Jesus, the one who died on a cross and rose from the dead.  It is His blood that cleanses our sin.  Well, that is what Google says.  And, it's also what the Bible says.  Imagine that.  Google and the Bible giving the same answer.  It must be right!  

Jesus took our sins, yours and mine, and in a remarkable event, became sin in the face of God.  And, God had to look away from Him.  Ouch.  What's that all about?  That's another post some day.  

God could not look on Jesus because He became sin (for you and me).  This is the supreme act of selflessness throughout all history.  One son, God's son, gave up the only thing he wanted most in life, to shine in his fathers eyes, for you and for me.  He gave it up by dying on a cross with nails driven in his hands and a sword piercing his side.  He died in disgrace and dispair.  He died bleeding, physically and emotionally.  A broken body and a broken heart.

A magical moment happend that day.  At the exact moment when he died, God tore the curtain (seven very heavy curtains hung as one) that seperated the holy place in his dwelling place (the temple) in two, allowing the common person access into the Holy of Holies.  In other words, he made a way for you and me to gain direct access to Himself.  We didn't have to go to God through the priest any more.  And we didn't have to sacrifice another living thing (that blood thing again). But it only happened because God's son, Jesus, became sin and died on a cross, for you and me.  Jesus was heart-wrenchingly seperated from his father for a brief moment.  

Because of that selfless act, the blood that was spilt that day, Jesus' own blood, now has special powers that no other has.  It cleanses sin.  Your sin, and my sin, it cleanses it all, it takes it away, it destroys it, it is forever removed - gone for eternity!  Wow!

Thank you Jesus!  Thank you.

I like stability!  Repeats are great.  As I get older (just turning 60 this month) I find that routine is just fine more and more.  Somehow it seems to make life easier.  Get up at the same time...go to the same barista for morning coffee...drive the same route to work each day...manage the same tasks and coworkers...take your meds at the same time...watch the same TV shows...go to bed at the same time...they all add up to a full and enjoyavble life.  

Add too much additional drama to the mix and life seems a little off kilter.  I don't like being off kilter.  

This past year has been full of additional drama.  We see it playing out in our national politics, in our local communities, in the lives of our friends and even in our own.  It feels disconcerting to me.  As a nation it seems like we are at war with ourselves.  There is not a defined enemy other than "its the other guy" and we really don't have a clear definition of who that is except for anyone who does not profess the same values you or I hold so dear.  And, that just does not make too much sense.

We all know that it takes diversity for life to work.  We see it in nature.  When too much inbreeding happens dramatic changes occur.  Changes that are not good.  The same is true when we want everyone to do the same thing or think alike.  We very quickly become a herd of sheep headed for the cliff.  A very high cliff.

I have started to pray that I could find some leadership to support that would not be quite so polarizing and that would be clear in what it stands for.  It seems to me that we don't need more drama, finger pointing or blasting away at the other guys but clear and concise statements of understanding and knowing exactly where we stand on the issues.  I need a national cheerleader who can cheer me on towards the future.  Some one who can pull us back from the brink of the cliff.  

Please, please show your self!

Tuesday Morning

It's Monday, err, Tuesday morning after a very nice long weekend.  Wow, did I need the extra day of rest.  Feeling pretty good this morning.  

Kathleen and I took time yesterday to go for a drive.  I promised her that I would make sure we were back home by noon.  We went looking for a new fishing spot that one of her co-workers suggested.  It took some time but we were able to find it.  I think that it will be one of the first places I try when the season opens next weekend.  

Oh, yeah, we got home at 11:53.  Seven minutes early.  Took a nap, putzed in the yard, cleaned the garage, and generally goofed off the rest of the day.  Wonderful.