Friday, October 17, 2008

SOMETIMES YOU CAN HEAR THE MONKEYS part 2

SOMETIMES YOU CAN HEAR THE MONKEYS

Recently I was in my wife Janet's office when I heard a train pass.
WooWoo !! I love trains. My Dad worked for the Southern Railroad for
over 40 years and his dad, Pop Phillips, worked for the same railroad
for 37 years.

At Pop Phillips funeral, during the sermon, a train passed and whistled.
We all laughed and said the train was carrying him to his new
destination. So, you see, when the train whistled lots of memories came
to the forefront.

"Did you hear the train," I asked Janet. "Yes," she said. Then
she said, "Sometimes you can hear the monkeys."  "What?"  She
laughed. The zoo backs up to our office area and sometimes you can hear
the monkeys.

The monkeys suddenly began swirling in my head. I began to remember the
importance of hearing, of listening to what surrounds us. I thought
first of Rev. George Cox, a chaplain at a hospital in Alabama, who
taught me how "to listen between the words." He had the gift of
hearing ones heart and where one hurt and I thought of what a gift
listening is. What do we really hear?

A few weeks ago, at an outlet mall near Locust Grove, Georgia, I picked
up a book by Warren  Wiersbe, at a used book outlet. Dr. Wiersbe was a
former pastor at Moody Bible Church in Chicago and is a brilliant
biblical scholar. Last night as I was thumbing through this book I found
these words:

"The best way to help discouraged and hurting people is to listen with
your heart and not just with your ears. It's not what they say but why
they say it that is important. Let them know that you understand their
pain by reflecting back to them in different words just what they say to
you. Don't argue or try to convince them with logical reasoning. There
will be a time for that later; meanwhile, patiently accept their
feelings – even their bitter words against God – and build bridges,
not walls.

There is a true consolation in our faith, but it is not dispensed in
convenient doses like cough medicine. "It can only be shared by those
who know what it is like to be so far down in the pit that they feel as
though God has abandoned them. If you want to be a true comforter, there
is a price to pay, and not everybody is willing to pay it.

John Henry Jowett said, "God does not comfort us to make us
comfortable, but to make us comforters." God's comfort is never
given; it is always loaned. God expects us to share with others.

So just remember, "SOMETIMES YOU CAN HEAR THE MONKEYS."

P.S. We all go to the zoo in a couple of weeks. When you hear the
monkeys tell this story.

Brother Dan and Thanks Janet

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Hearing the Monkeys !

It is raining and a full moon. When there is a full moon work increases.
Go figure! Well the letter B is working today on my sidekick so I can
blog. Some days it does not work so I can not send an email message.

I am awaiting for my new pocket computer, the htc touch pro, or fuze, or
raphael. Hoping it comes out soon. Have been waiting almost a year to
replace my sidekick PDA.

I have really enjoyed the CC Wifi radio my brother bought me for my
birthday. Tonight I will be able to listen to stations on St. Thomas and
St. Croix to see how Omar the hurricane effected their islands. It picks
up 15,000 stations. Not bad. I enjoy listening to 2GB in Sydney,
Australia, and the BBC world service.

So glad the debates are over. 20 months of political jargon is too much
for all of us.

I am at Janet's work and a train passes. I love hearing a train go
woowoo. Janet tells me, "sometimes you can hear the monkeys." That would
be fun. I forgot that her office backs up to the zoo. It has been a long
time since I went to the zoo. I miss it. I use to throw marshmellows to
the polar bears at the Birmingham zoo. I look forward to taking Jack to
the zoo for the first time.

So WooWoo for now. Have a good night.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

A Day in October

Yesterday, Janet and I drove down the Natchez Trace, ate at the Brass
Lattern in Lawrenceburg, TN and bought soghum syrup at an Amish store in
Etheridge. TN. Passed two horses and buggies on the way.

Today went to an old time radio conclave and helped a fellow ham put up
his first antenna.

I am watching the movie RED now. I had previously watched BLUE.
Interesting movies about meaning in life found unexpectedly.

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Trash

Not doing well with trash. I find more things that I loss than things to
throw away. So sad.

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Major Excitement

Great happenings nearby. A liquor store closed several months ago. A
Krystal hamburger place opened today. It is open 24 hours a day. One of
my favorites.

Garage Cleanup Day

This is garage cleanup week. It seems an impossible dream. Going through
boxes of books, throwing away seminary notes, finding my way to the
dump. I have been to dump once today. I am tired and have made little
progress. Here are some tips. Anymore ideas?

http://housekeeping.about.com/cs/garageandstorage/ht/GarageCleanup%20.htm

Monday, October 06, 2008

A Nation in Need of Prayer - Sermon Outline - In Touch Ministries - Dr. Charles Stanley

http://www.intouch.org/site/c.dhKHIXPKIuE/b.4611921/k.28E/A_Nation_in_Need_of_Prayer__Sermon_Outline.htm

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Garage

I plan on taking next week off to clean out my garage. Unfortunately I
had a revelation: "if I don't know how to clean up and throw things out
of my office at work, then how can I clean up my garage?"