I had my left hip replaced about 9 months ago. I was pretty much back to normal after two months. There was a little bit of pain, but not much, and I could walk pretty much better than before. I got my right hip replaced almost two months ago, and the pain is still very severe, and my walking is slow and painful. I went to my orthopedic surgeon, who did the surgery last week, and asked him why there was such a difference. He looked at the X-rays and then at the papers in his file folder. He said, “You went to physical therapy twice a week for six weeks on your last hip replacement, but this time you didn’t go at all. Why was that?” Well, the exercises and stretches they had me do weren’t very complicated, so I figured I could save myself the drive into Salem twice a week and do them myself. The next question he asked me was quite embarrassing. “So did you do them the same way and for the same amount of time?” I responded, “No, I mostly forgot.” He laughed and said, “Well, the good news is that the consequences are that you will be a month or two longer recovering than last time, but you will fully recover.” 

In our spiritual walk and growth toward being like Christ in character, the worst words you can say are, “I can do it by myself, I don’t need you.” Small groups, accountability groups, support groups, Bible study groups, and prayer groups are essential for our growth and Christian maturity. Still, many sincere Christians don’t want to take the time and say, “I can do it by myself, I don’t need you.”

I had my left hip replaced about 9 months ago. I was pretty much back to normal after two months. There was a little bit of pain, but not much, and I could walk pretty much better than before. I got my right hip replaced almost two months ago, and the pain is still very severe, and my walking is slow and painful. I went to my orthopedic surgeon, who did the surgery last week, and asked him why there was such a difference. He looked at the X-rays and then at the papers in his file folder. He said, “You went to physical therapy twice a week for six weeks on your last hip replacement, but this time you didn’t go at all. Why was that?” Well, the exercises and stretches they had me do weren’t very complicated, so I figured I could save myself the drive into Salem twice a week and do them myself. The next question he asked me was quite embarrassing. “So did you do them the same way and for the same amount of time?” I responded, “No, I mostly forgot.” He laughed and said, “Well, the good news is that the consequences are that you will be a month or two longer recovering than last time, but you will fully recover.” 

In our spiritual walk and growth toward being like Christ in character, the worst words you can say are, “I can do it by myself, I don’t need you.” Small groups, accountability groups, support groups, Bible study groups, and prayer groups are essential for our growth and Christian maturity. Still, many sincere Christians don’t want to take the time and say, “I can do it by myself, I don’t need you.”

I had my left hip replaced about 9 months ago. I was pretty much back to normal after two months. There was a little bit of pain, but not much, and I could walk pretty much better than before. I got my right hip replaced almost two months ago, and the pain is still very severe, and my walking is slow and painful. I went to my orthopedic surgeon, who did the surgery last week, and asked him why there was such a difference. He looked at the X-rays and then at the papers in his file folder. He said, “You went to physical therapy twice a week for six weeks on your last hip replacement, but this time you didn’t go at all. Why was that?” Well, the exercises and stretches they had me do weren’t very complicated, so I figured I could save myself the drive into Salem twice a week and do them myself. The next question he asked me was quite embarrassing. “So did you do them the same way and for the same amount of time?” I responded, “No, I mostly forgot.” He laughed and said, “Well, the good news is that the consequences are that you will be a month or two longer recovering than last time, but you will fully recover.” 

In our spiritual walk and growth toward being like Christ in character, the worst words you can say are, “I can do it by myself, I don’t need you.” Small groups, accountability groups, support groups, Bible study groups, and prayer groups are essential for our growth and Christian maturity. Still, many sincere Christians don’t want to take the time and say, “I can do it by myself, I don’t need you.”

I like to set goals and then plan and strategize on how to accomplish them. Some of my favorite goals are fishing, hunting, bicycling, and traveling. These goals all require days on the calendar and space in our budget, so some juggling takes place, usually starting about now. Almost all of these goals involve other people, so I am not only considering my calendar and budget but also theirs. New and unexpected events often get thrown into the mix periodically, which usually force adjustments to my goals and schedule. One such new event is that my granddaughter, Praise, recently got engaged, and the wedding will take place in Liberia, West Africa, in August. Round-trip tickets to Liberia cost money that will cut into my hunting and fishing funds, and August 28th is when many of my hunting goals start and run through November. So adjustments need to take place. When planning, the events that are most important to me take priority. When I have ten things I really want to do, but only 7 will fit on the calendar and in the budget, what goes? The events I have already done or can do next year or at a later date are the first to get the axe. Praise is the first of our 28 grandkids to get married, so it is a very high priority in our lives, and adjustments are now being made to the calendar. Time is limited; there are 24 hours in a day, seven days in a week, 4.33 weeks in a month, and 12 months in a year. That is all there is, and I am getting to the point in my life where every year I live from here on out is gravy, so I need to choose and plan with wisdom. 

Psalms 90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.

Psalms 39:4-5 Lord, make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days; Let me know how transient I am. Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; Surely every man at his best is a mere breath.

It looks like I will have to shoot my moose next year.

Well, here I am back to writing my blog. I have enjoyed the break from the pressure of writing something that was motivating and edifying every day for those who read it, but I also missed writing it. I missed writing it because it was the most stimulating thing I did in order to think and communicate clearly. It isn’t particularly easy to think clearly because our brains are so full of garbage that we hear and see every day. That garbage is like sewage running into a clear, clean creek. Trying to write intelligently and clearly from what is in my mind is like trying to get water out of that creek with a straw and spitting it into a glass. The exercise and discipline of doing that is more profitable for me than it is for those who read my blog. Having great discernment between what is good and what is bad, and between what is true and what is false, can only be done by someone who has wisdom. Wisdom is the great pursuit of life; those who seek it diligently will find it. Wisdom comes to those who read the Bible every day, spend time memorizing and meditating on the Bible every day, spend time with God, pray and ask for wisdom every day, read good books, listen to amazing podcasts and sermons, seek advice and counsel from wise people, and learning from our mistakes and failures. One more major discipline in the pursuit of wisdom is to think about what you have learned and write it down intelligently and clearly. That is why writing this blog is so much more important to me than it is to those who read it. 

Well, here I am back to writing my blog. I have enjoyed the break from the pressure of writing something that was motivating and edifying every day for those who read it, but I also missed writing it. I missed writing it because it was the most stimulating thing I did in order to think and communicate clearly. It isn’t particularly easy to think clearly because our brains are so full of garbage that we hear and see every day. That garbage is like sewage running into a clear, clean creek. Trying to write intelligently and clearly from what is in my mind is like trying to get water out of that creek with a straw and spitting it into a glass. The exercise and discipline of doing that is more profitable for me than it is for those who read my blog. Having great discernment between what is good and what is bad, and between what is true and what is false, can only be done by someone who has wisdom. Wisdom is the great pursuit of life; those who seek it diligently will find it. Wisdom comes to those who read the Bible every day, spend time memorizing and meditating on the Bible every day, spend time with God, pray and ask for wisdom every day, read good books, listen to amazing podcasts and sermons, seek advice and counsel from wise people, and learning from our mistakes and failures. One more major discipline in the pursuit of wisdom is to think about what you have learned and write it down intelligently and clearly. That is why writing this blog is so much more important to me than it is to those who read it.