Time . . . a measurable period during which an action, process, or condition exists or continues . . . the grouping of the beats of music . . . a person's experience during a specified period or on a particular occasion.  I picture in my mind that God hands each individual an hour glass with sand at the top moving to the bottom.  When the sand reaches the bottom . . . time's up.  Only He knows how much sand we receive, or perhaps, how fast the sand moves to the bottom.  For some, the sand is a large amount moving slowly to the bottom.  While others hold an hour glass with a small amount of fast moving sand.

I also look at the sand from the composition of its material.  These individuals have gold dust or silver dust while others may have coal dust.  To me, this represents, not the amount of time, but the quality of the time.  Now before I go too far, let me tell you that God does not judge us by either the amount of the time nor the quality of the time.  The Bible tells us that there is only One way to heaven . . . the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.  No good works will get us there.  Likewise, our bad deeds cannot prevent a us from going there if we give our lives to Him.

Back to time.  I look at people like Mother Teresa and see a large hour glass filled with slow moving gold dust.  She dedicated her life to the service of the poorest of the poor.  No matter how discouraged that she was during her time here, she looked to her Lord and Savior for strength and courage.  Her life even touched me, though I never met her, never visited the slums in India, or any other task that could physically draw us together.  Her example is one of the reasons that I could take a small portion of my time and travel to another country to fill a need.

So I get to reexamine my time.  Is the sand gold?  Or is it coal?  Do I have a great volume?  Or is the sand falling quickly?  This week I was swamped . . . I had very little time to accomplish what I needed to accomplish.  I even had to work late to accomplish the tasks that we needed to accomplish prior to coming home.  And my schedule?  Help Jo with her resume' . . . help Scotty haul stuff to the dump . . . fix . . . clean . . . sort . . . throw . . . more than general housework.  Quality time with the family?  I wish I could spend more time with them.  Quality time with my Ukrainian girls?  Don't ask them . . . their biggest complaint would be that I am never on Skype (though I will try to do better).  Quality time with my best friend . . . my lovely wife?  I've saved up almost ten weeks of vacation so I could spend precious time with her these next few months.  (In case you forgot, this year is our 25th wedding anniversary on September 8th.)

So, my time, being limited by a number of priorities, is very precious to me and my family.  So, I apologize if I am missing from xanga for a day or so, but time is what we dedicate to ourselves and those around us.  I want to use my time wisely . . . I want my sand to be gold or silver . . . I want to be there for my family and my friends (which does include my xanga friends) . . . I am juggling my priorities.

Time.

Blessings to you this weekend.

For the most part June was a wet month.  We set some records for moisture for June and the year.  Looking at July, it is not going to end.  Now don't get me wrong, we still have some wonderful weather here in eastern Idaho.  It is just that most evenings end with these dark clouds rolling in.  I have not had to water my lawn in weeks and it is still green and lush.  Most years we have to water three to four days each week.  I tried to capture some lightning but it is even harder than capturing fireworks.  Oh well, maybe next storm.

Blessings.

As we approach Independence Day, we think about fireworks.  In my profession as a safety engineer I have a difficult time with fireworks.  This video sums it up as to just one outcome of fireworks.  But I need to explain some things behind my apprehension with fireworks.

As a safety engineer I have a slightly different outlook on life.  I tend to look at things as I evaluate hazards and plan accordingly.  Many of my neighbors probably think that I a little weird in that I wear sturdy shoes, long pants and shirt, and hearing protection while mowing my lawn.  I wear safety glasses most of the time when I am doing stuff around the house.  I am very cautious about anything I approach.  The reason?  Besides being a safety engineer, I lost the use of my right eye from an accident in the Navy.  So I am a walking example of accidents.

So lets rewind about fifteen years ago or so.  I took my family (wife D, son P and daughter K) back to St. Louis, Missouri to spend Independence Day back home.  This also turned into one of those few times that all of us were together as a family.  All of the kids ranged from about five years old to nine years old. 

One evening, the older of my two little sisters decided that we would set off some fireworks.  I am a firm believer that fireworks should be set off by trained professionals (the closest thing we had to a trained professional was my little brother who was a noncom in the Army and he was far more interested in real explosives).  I had the kids sit back a ways from "launch site" to keep them safe.  However, most of the other adults told them that they should be closer to fully enjoy the display.  So I stood close so I could try to avert a situation if I could.  About half way through the hundreds of dollars of fireworks, the bottle holding a lit bottle rocket tipped over.  The rocket went right into the small crowd of kids exploding in the middle of the group.  I heard the screams but could not immediately locate which child was hit.  Sorting through the group (more like throwing the uninjured kids to each side) I finally located my injured niece . . . it hit her in the face and exploded.  I carried her into the house and into the kitchen to apply cold water to her burn.  My wife D brought me some aloe gel to apply to the burn.  Luckily her eyes were unharmed.  She sat in my lap and we watched the remainder of the fireworks from the safety of the living room.

So, why the story?  And why the video?  I know that telling kids and adults to leave fireworks alone is a futile expression so I figured that I should at least warn everyone about how to set off fireworks.  First of all, a bucket of water (I prefer a charged garden hose) and a fire extinguisher can reduce the amount of damage that a fire can cause.  A first aid kit and aloe gel (or some other burn ointment) needs to be nearby.  Next, always wear safety glasses to protect your most precious commodity . . . your eyesight.  Finally, use common sense when playing with these underpowered explosives.  Do not "light and throw" because the fuses could be much faster than you realize.  Watch for kids and other hazards.

Beyond this . . . enjoy the holiday.