Lyle's Blog

Eighteen months ago we sold our home in the north country and drove our motorhome to Arizona via California. After six months we bought a home in Sun City, a retirement community. Of course we miss our family and friends and have traveled back for a month long visit but we have fast acclimated to desert living. My wife spent a week in Boise which solidified her reason for moving here. We do have family here and that is a big bonus. However I believe it pays to follow the society trends and people are moving south. The disintegration of the nuclear family has softened the bonds holding people in the locale where they were born or raised. My wife and I (like most of the old generation) have outlived our usefulness. As living costs are reasonable here and the weather and one level living
make being older easier to contend with, it made sense to be where we could accommodate our needs and yet afford to travel a couple times a year to visit those we left behind. The trade-off is a less than desirable relationship with our children and grandchildren. But it was years before I fully appreciated what my parents had been through and what they had done for me. My parents were a great blessing to myself and my siblings. My wife and I did what we could but not necessarily what we should. We’re not looking to be remembered well. We’re just hoping that after all is said and done they’ll understand a little more and realize it’s not as easy as it would seem at the onset of it all. If I’d known how difficult it was to be a good parent I wouldn’t have taken the responsibility on. I didn’t intend to fail. Maybe starting over at sixty five in Arizona is silly. But like the song says, sunshine on my shoulder make me happy; sunshine almost always makes me cry.

It seems we are evolving into a country of law breakers. Blacks ignore the fact that many in their communities have a knack for being on the wrong side of the law. The commander-in-chief has emboldened other blacks with his breaking of the law and further encouraged them to be as cocky as he. He is the quintessential opposite of Martin Luther King, judging everyone by the color of their skin. In his arrogance he usurps the power of congress and spews out lawless executive orders daring anyone to oppose him. Many black teenagers have chips on their shoulders and are ready for a fight at a moments notice. They are just like the him. He is right; everyone else is wrong. Along with Sharpton, Jackson, and others he has taught most blacks to play race cards. This is intentional. Even though this country elected this bum twice, he’s still spouting his mantra of hate. He promised to change this country fundamentally and he has; but he’s not finished. I believe in the future police will view confrontations with black youth as a lose-lose situation and let them break whatever laws they want. This will cause the white citizens to fight their own battles and in the end they will lose their property in court. It’s revenge time. Reparations are on their way. No one has the guts to play race cards with this scoundrel. The Republicans are afraid of him because he’s black. They should be afraid of him because he’s evil.

Following the “Wives” post with one on submission may seem strange but sometimes one idea or thought should be pondered before moving on. Submitting is a voluntary action. It can’t be coerced; you’ve got to want to do it. The church is the bride of Christ. We all volunteered to submit to His authority. We didn’t have to. But when we fully understood HIs love for us it became a no-brainer. Submitting became the only thing we could do. How could we not. When a husband empties himself of all his worth as Christ did for us then perhaps he probably has his wife’s welfare at heart. Christ submitted to the will of His Father. He didn’t have to. No, you don’t have to submit; but you do have the privilege of doing so. Yes, I know, there aren’t many men worth trusting out there. Maybe, just maybe you have to see them as they should be and not as they are and understand that they are but a shadow of Christ; now we see dimly but one day we shall see Him and each other as we really are, servants of Christ. Submit to each other; you are one in Christ.

In the fifth chapter of Ephesians women are told how to treat their husbands and husbands are told how to treat their wives. There is not just a little controversy over the wives instruction to submit to their husbands. Men are supposed to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. If a husband truly obeyed this command then his wife would have little trouble understanding submission. Christ came not to be served but to give himself as a sacrifice for the church. In like manner husbands are to give their wives the unquestionable love that Christ gave the church. He had compassion on their problems; he continually assured them of the permanence of his commitment to it. With the Word of God we are to wash her, which is to study scripture together so our one flesh is saved. The Bible tells us elsewhere that the wife is the glory of the husband. The church is to become glorious to Christ meaning that his humble and sacrificial life was well spent, for Christ’s reward is the souls of mankind. If we love ourselves (and we do) then we are to nourish (build up) and cherish (keep a loving eye on) our wife. For as the church is the body of Christ our wives are our body. We are one flesh. Her salvation is just as important as our own. One thing to note is that there is no condition on love. Love is defined in first Corinthians thirteen which I won’t elaborate on in this writing but suffice it to say that there is no self in love and kindness. Our wives have short-comings just as we do and if we both fell short in the same areas we would understand each other better. But it’s not important to understand everything but forgive each other as Christ forgives us and knowing that the only thing of value in this life is the salvation of our souls. So let us help each other so we don’t stumble and if we fall to help each other get back up. So submitting to perfect love is easy if the one you’re submitting loves you the same way Christ loves us. We just have to become better lovers.

I heard the news today; oh boy as the song goes. There was a shooting in Mesa, someone chased their neighbor down the street; they threw things at each other and one pulled a gun and killed his neighbor. A tragic story indeed; the newscaster then said “and now some good news”. What followed was to me disturbing and one of the myriad of reasons I don’t watch or listen to too much “news”. It seems a local police officer had found a batch of five kittens the week before and the good news? He found homes for all of them! Needless to say I am tickled to death the little furry dudes have new homes. Let’s get real. Five kittens getting new homes is good news. Is that as good as it gets? We don’t dare dwell on the sorry state of our country too long do we? Yes, after police officers and the ET’s clean up the nasty murder scene, let’s celebrate a police officer in another side of town saving the lives of five kittens. Does anyone sense the anguish in those two homes in Mesa is of far more consequence than the lives of kittens? I don’t know about you but I think I’m surrounded by lunatics.