My city of Lake Charles went bananas after the Superbowl. Fireworks exploded all over, it seemed. I watched the game with a good friend of mine (who had bet a dollar with another one of her friends that the Colts would win–what? You, a Louisiana native, betting against the Saints? No, not against Saints, just for Colts ’cause they were heavily picked to win. It was just a business thing–tongue in cheek–but get this:she found out that she had actually bet a pot of chicken & dumplings against a fancy feast at a local expensive restaurant). While I had a hard time following her logic (what logic?), I must say that the outcome of the game, which was crystal clear by the 4th quarter, gave me some hearty laughs and lightly sarcastic verbal jabs to hand out. She took them graciously which was something of a miracle, but then, this was a night for miracles.

Have I told you that in another life I was an artist? Or I called myself an artist. Probably should have called moi a painter and waited until someone in the know called me an artist. Anyway, I took lessons, I sketched, I read myriad books, I traveled with art teachers, taking octillion pictures. (Where did I learn Octillion? Why, on Twitter, of course). I painted in watercolor, acrylic, and pastel. Loved every minute of it. Not having the perseverance of Monet, I stopped painting when arthritis began to give me trouble controlling the brushes. Here are a few pictures of my pictures.

I had a shocking thing happen to me this afternoon. I shared a mystical experience I had several years ago–actually a miraculous experience–and the reactions were amazing to me. The subject came up when one of the four of us mentioned miraculous experiences in general. Since all four of us were Christians, I had no qualms about sharing with them. One of those in the conversation was a son of mine, who saw the experience I told about.

When I finished there was silence. The man and his wife had strange expressions on their faces: His? Stunned disbelief. Hers? A complete blank. My son made fun of the experience, laughing it off. I was disappointed with the husband and wife but horrified by my son’s reaction. How could he make light of it? The years haven’t dimmed my wonder and thankfulness to God for protecting us. What has happened to my son? May God forgive him.

This son and I were on our way back home very late one night, our little car on Highway 165 between the towns of Kinder and Oberlin. Suddenly there appeared a herd of horses–so near to us that no amount of braking power could help us. All I could do was scream: “Jesus!” My son said nothing. No sooner was the Name out of my mouth than a path opened up through the horses, although they were so near our vehicle that it seemed we were swimming underwater with their bodies touching us. Yes, the word surreal comes to mind. I asked my son, “Did you see that?” He, evidently taking his first breath since the experience, whooshed out the word: “YES!”

I don’t remember anything more about how my almost limp body got us back home other than I praised the Lord all the way. I still praise Him today, as I shall until the day I die. And when I see Him in person, I’ll thank Him again.

Tina, the leader of the missionary group from our church (once known as WMU or, Women’s Missionary Union) asked an old friend of mine, Della Melton, age 94, to review her autobiography at the October meeting. Although delighted to be asked, she stated that her memory might fail her at times. No problem–”We just want you to tell us about your book.” Then Tina called me to remind me to attend, because I ghost wrote the book for Della. Tina wanted me to be available in case Della forgot something, or became confused over a time line. Unfortunately I had a previous meeting scheduled and couldn’t get out of it.

The meetings went on as scheduled yesterday and I called a friend to see how Della’s review fared. (Why should a ghost writer be so interested, you may be thinking?) Della’s book took three years of my life to get from her head and into print. It was now in the distribution stage and that was going well. This was my first foray into that type of writing and also my swan song. As her son, Jim, asked her: “Mom, aren’t you sorry you didn’t do this book when you were younger?” She agreed. I also agreed.

Back to her book review: It became really a question and answer period because that was easier for her, even though she knew the book intimately. Everyone chimed in with questions and all came away charmed. The name of the book is Showers of Grace, and what a grace-filled life it was–and still is. At 94 she has only recently given up driving her car and her memory is slipping. Within just this past six months she has accepted having someone come into her home every day to be with her for the better part of the day. Her only grandchild, Carmelita, makes sure that this takes place, over Della’s protests that she really doesn’t need anyone every day.

If you ever get a chance to read it, Showers of Grace will charm you too. Just putting her stories into logical sequence charmed me. A thread of blessed Grace that only our Lord Jesus Christ provides led me through the whole process.

The social site Twitter is a fine place to make new friends. This may not be true for everyone but it has been good for me. I’ve been interacting with a lovely lady named Linda for almost a year. She has a business called “Recover With Angels” where she makes up baskets for those recovering from breast cancer surgery. These baskets contain all sorts of items to help with physical and emotional pain.

Recently, a local Hospice contacted Linda, asking her to design baskets for those who are not recovering, but are dying. She did so and they loved her designs. Now they are in the process of obtaining a grant so that they can begin distributing these baskets in the state of Pennsylvania. They will also spread the word to Hospice nationwide.

Linda is amazed at this wonderful opportunity and called me to share her happiness. We have grown so close that on Twitter we refer to each other as “mom and daughter.” This began after I shared with her the tragic loss of one of my daughters to stage 4 breast cancer in 2001. I have a link to her website in the link list on this blog, as well as on my other blog on:

http://bayoubloggercom-stargazer.blogspot.com

Linda asked for prayer that the new business will take off successfully. I ask those of you who are willing to please join us in prayer. Thanks to all.

My grandson-in-law had a close call on Friday, January22, 2010 while on his way to work. A huge tanker truck ploughed into him and he missed going into the bay by the grace of God.

You can learn a lot on Twitter. It puzzles me when people say, “You’re on Twitter? I’ve never been able to figure out how it works.” I say, “Just remember the word ‘Social’ and go from there.” Remember how our mothers taught us manners: Please and thank you. ??? Sharing interesting and/or timely information is another plus. For instance, just recently someone on Twitter had something nice to say about the website “Ezine.com” They said that this was a great site for writers to have their work published on the web where it would get lots of traffic. I looked into the site, sent in some articles, and had them accepted. Along with this came a nice logo: As Featured On EzineArticles

How affirming is that? I know it’s just a small sticker and I know that if tested, I might not pass the “I am DEFINITELY an expert writer” test. But it does give one that warm, fuzzy feeling that, truthfully, everyone likes to feel. So thanks again, Ezine. You jump-started my Monday! (And the WhoDatNation did its part too!)

Hot off the e-mail press!

Lawrence Livermore Laboratories has discovered the heaviest element yet known to science. The new element, Governmentium (symbol=Gv), has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.

These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons. Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert. However, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact.

A tiny amount of Governmentium can cause a reaction that would normally take less than a second, to take from 4 days to 4 years to complete. Governmentium has a normal half-life of 2 to 6 years. It does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places.

In fact, Governmentium’s mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes. This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a critical concentration.

This hypothetical quantity is referred to as critical morass. When catalyzed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium (symbol=Ad), an element that radiates just as much energy as Governmentium, since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons.

Chris Guidry

No, this isn’t Visa or MasterCard or Whoever in the lineup of credit cards. This is me singing the praises of my friend, Sandy Guillory, for her photography skills and for her generosity in letting me use her pictures on this blog. Oh, and I also use her pics on my other blog, Life’s Autumns on Blogspot.

Sandy took the picture that headlines this blog while we were traveling out west to visit with my daughter Laurie. This picture is a shot on the grounds of a wonderful church high on a hilltop at San Luis, Colorado. It is downright delectable, like a dessert that you can’t wait to dive into.

Sandy, the unassuming dear that she is, always finds fault with her photos. I continually rave about them and tell her to get off the perfectionist train. Will she ever be able to do it? Probably not. And this is probably why she’s so good. She recently told me that all of the pictures from our trip were not to her liking and she sent the new digital camera back to the factory after we got home. Wow, who knew? The company adjusted something or other, sent it back to her and she finds the pictures better–something about the focus.

My first experience with a good camera was years ago with my first SLR, an Olympus OM1. Even I, in my profound ignorance, managed to get some good shots with that camera. Of course, I was never able to be sure until the I saw the developed pictures. These new digital cameras are amazing. As someone recently said, the new “gadgets” are magic. While this seems to be true, it still takes a steady hand and a finely tuned heart and soul to produce great photography. Thanks, Sandy.

Sometimes I wonder if God gets a kick out of our divisions of time–hours, minutes, seconds–He who is eternal. Time to Him is a never-ending stream of Himself since He produced all of it. But He did divide it into day and night, just for us. And we do see in Genesis that He cut short our days of life. Mankind went from 900+ years to 120 years, period. That’s fine with me. Who would want to live any longer? In fact, who would want to live that long? Even with your mind intact, the body does wear out. All of our creams and lotions, exercises and potions, fail us if we live long enough.

Some “Happy New Year” message, huh? My age is showing–in the mirror and in my writing. May 2010 be the year more and more people give their hearts and lives to the Son, Jesus Christ. God’s Son is His new, perfect, and last Covenant we’ll ever need. Our pact with God is secure in Jesus. While it seems simple–recognize your sinfulness, ask forgiveness, ask for Jesus to come into your heart and dwell with you, be baptized and your new life begins–it is not simple after that. You will never be bored. You will never run out of ways to grow in this new life;you will have your new heart written upon time and time again;you will turn in directions that you could never have guessed you would turn; you will climb mountains and walk in valleys, experiencing happiness and sorrow;you will never be alone, for your constant companion, the Holy Spirit, will be with you for the rest of your life supplying that “unspeakable joy” which will underlie every moment of your life.

Joyous New Year.