As I have grown up and grown older I have had many emarrassing experiences. I tell those stories now and they usually bring a laugh from those listening.

One of them was when I walked into a woman’s restroom because I wasn’t paying attention, and went into a toilet stall, locked the door and then heard the sound of high heels clicking on the hard tile floor as a bunch of ladies entered all at once. I wasn’t sure what to do as ladies pulled on the handle of my locked door looking for an empty stall. I realized that if they looked under the partition they would see my cowboy boots and I would be discovered. I could just imagine a lady yelling “pervert! Pervert!” at the top of her lungs. So I got up on the lid of the toilet and squatted down hiding until they had all left and I managed to sneak out without being discovered. Whoooeeee that was close. As I squatted there on that toilet these prayers from Psalms came to my mind.

Psalms 31:17 Let me not be put to shame, O Lord, for I call upon You;

Psalms 25:2 O my God, in You I trust,
Do not let me be ashamed;
Do not let my enemies exult over me.

Psalms 71:1 In You, O Lord, I have taken refuge;
Let me never be ashamed.

The human psyche is difficult to understand regarding motives, fears, and the need for personal worth or glory. Many verses in the Bible talk about shame and our fear of it. It appears that shame is the first emotion that Adam and Eve felt after their sin, and we all have been feeling it ever since. We will do just about anything to escape or prevent the experience of shame in our life.

Many of the self-protective methods that people have used to guard against shame in their life are wrong, unwise, and will often compound shame if discovered. Some of those methods are lying, blaming others, boasting, hiding, anti-social behavior, and running away, literally and figuratively.

One of the consequences of sin in our life is shame and freedom from shame is a reward that we receive from God when we seek Him and stay close to Him. God’s protection from shame is an often repeated prayer in the Bible suggesting that He can prevent shame or cause and allow shame to come into our life.

A major blessing that God gives to us as a reward for right living is that He fills us with glory or self worth. Very few people have discovered or realize that God gives and takes away a sense of significance as a motive to seek Him, to live for Him, and to obey Him. He does that with experiences that He either brings into our life or prevents from happening.

It is enlightening to collect all the verses in the Bible on shame and read them all together. There are over a dozen prayers to God asking Him to deliver from or protect from shame and embarrassment.

Many of our fears in life aren’t primarily fear of physical pain, but fear of psychological pain caused from shame. I think that is why most Christians do very little witnessing for Christ, we fear that we will somehow be embarrassed.

The more time we spend with God in the Word and in prayer the more courage we will have and we will not be intimidated by possible embarrassing experiences.

Butchered a cow today. We hung it up in my pump house that I made into a “cool room,” where we will let it hang for a week before we cut all the meat off of the bones and run it through my grinder for hamburger. I insulated my pump house real good, put an air conditioning unit in the wall and purchased a thing called a “coolbot” which overrides the thermostat on the air conditioning unit so that it will go down to 40 degrees. Letting the meat hang for at least a week makes the meat quite a bit more tender than it would have been otherwise.

I try not to do this, but I accidentally poked a hole in the ponch with my knife and “stuff” sprayed all over me! Whooooeee that was smelly! It took us about three hours to finish the job and we had a tractor with a front end loader and a chain.

In the book of Levitucus they butchered thousands of bulls. Those priests must have been amazing when it came to butchering a critter.

Leviticus 1:3-9
If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer it, a male without defect; he shall offer it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the Lord. He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf. He shall slay the young bull before the Lord; and Aaron’s sons the priests shall offer up the blood and sprinkle the blood around on the altar that is at the doorway of the tent of meeting. He shall then skin the burnt offering and cut it into its pieces. The sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, the head and the suet over the wood which is on the fire that is on the altar. Its entrails, however, and its legs he shall wash with water. And the priest shall offer up in smoke all of it on the altar for a burnt offering, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord.

Have you ever wondered about this system of dealing with sins in the Old Testament? It is strange that the killing of a bull and sprinkling his blood around would be a “soothing aroma” for God. But all the instructions on what to do and how to do it were God’s idea.

A couple of observations: sin was a big deal to God, and it needed paid for and the price included death and thousands of bulls were killed because of all the sins of the people. Jesus was 100% God and 100% man and He lived a perfect life, not sinning even once and He became our sin for us, God looked at Jesus as if He actually committed my sins and then God the Father killed His only Son to pay for my sins. That is amazing and strange all at the same time. My sins certainly are a big deal to God, but I get to live with God forever with a body like Jesus’s because He died for me, and I have believed that to be true and have accepted that amazing gift.

I am so thankful that I wasn’t born in the Old Testament as a Priest who had to butcher all those bulls, just one old cow was a chore today.

I used to think that “Terminal fishing tackle“ was called that because I would lose so much of it getting snagged on the bottom of the river, so it was terminal because it was soon gone. But I was reading some Cabella’s advertisements and it seems that the term comes from being on the “end of the line.” So terminal tackle is like hooks, swivels, weights, and spinners that are where the line terminates. It is funny how some words and phrases come about.

I live inside a terminal body because it won’t be long before I come to the end of the line. In the New Testament Paul called our body a tent because it is so terminal, and he also said that in this body we groan. I certainly can identify with that, I groan every time I get out of my recliner, or my bed, or when I get into or out of my pickup, or into or out of my boat, when I tie my shoes, and when Patty asks me if I want to go shopping!

2 Corinthians 5:1-4 For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked. For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.

I have memorized those verses, and I was thinking that the reason we ache more, and get tired more is because God wants us to think about heaven more, which I certainly do. Paul also said in that passage that he would prefer to be absent from his body and to be present with the Lord, and I say a hearty amen to that.

My Dad died of liver cancer. I wonder what I would feel or think if I was diagnosed with liver cancer tomorrow. I am pretty sure I would think, “see you soon, Jesus!”

My Dad used to say, “Do the right thing because it is the right thing; you shouldn’t even have to think about it.” Some people have quite a few things that they do every day, which are not necessarily right or wrong but because they are important. They do these things day after day with seldom an interruption because they are important, and they don’t even think about it or have a personal debate about whether they are going to do them or not, they just do them. Those people are faithful, reliable, and dependable. They are almost always successful in every area of their life. Those who do what is important every day without fail have trained themselves to be that way. They weren’t born that way; they became that way by effort, discipline, and training.

The first step is to decide what is important and what we should do daily or regularly, like brushing our teeth. Then make a list of these things that make up the basic foundation of our life. If they really are important, and necessary, and we haven’t trained ourselves yet to be faithful in doing them, make a goal and read those goals every day. If you read them every day, you will do them. Keep it up until they are an established, entrenched habit.

Obviously, everything has a beginning, and the beginning for those who have become faithful in doing what is important is writing a goal and reading it every day. Without that beginning discipline none of the others are apt to follow except maybe ones like brushing your teeth.

I read my Bible every day, I spend time in prayer with God every day, I review the day and confess all the sins I can remember every day, I exercise every day, I write my blog every day, I spend 15 minutes minimum every day memorizing scripture, I take my Parkinson’s medicine every day, I brush my teeth every day, I read in a good book every day, I step on the scales every day, I read my goals every day, I record how I spent my time every day, I tell Patty that I love her every day.

John 15:15
No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.

Jesus called His disciples friends. I want to be a friend of Jesus.

Job called his friends, “false friends.” proverbs says there are friends that stick closer than brothers. Proverbs also says some friends bail when adversity comes. One of Jesus’s friends, Judas, betrayed Him for money.

Real friends encourage when life is tough. Real friends pray and help in times of need. Real friends endure the ups and downs of life. Real friends forgive offenses, slights, and stupid words quickly and unconditionally. Real friends are loyal and faithful. Real friends are patient and tolerate differences of opinion. Real friends can have an argument and recover quickly. Most people don’t have real friends, they just have friends, acquaintances.

The only way to have real friends is to be a real friend. A person becomes a real friend by choosing to be, by a commitment to be a real friend. The way things are going we will soon be a friendless culture. COVID, masks, vaccines, and elections have thinned the number of friends most people have down to zero.

Next to my family my friends are a great treasure in my life, a gift from God, that makes living life in the midst of pandemics, political chaos, financial uncertainty, and totally unpredictable tomorrow’s very doable.

There are 150 chapters in Psalms and I read five of them every day so I read Psalms through each month. Most of the Psalms are prayers so as I read them each day, I use them as a guide for my own prayers. Many of them I have memorized so I can pray them, through out the day as situations warrant them.

My birthday was Wednesday, and I am 73 years old. Not that old, but definitely in the “old man” category. Psalms 71 is a prayer of King David when he was an old man, so I have made it mine as well. There are 24 verses in the chapter so I cut out about half.

O Lord God, You are my confidence from my youth.
By You I have been sustained from my birth;
You are He who took me from my mother’s womb;
My praise is continually of You.
Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
Do not forsake me when my strength fails.

But as for me, I will hope continually,
And will praise You yet more and more.
My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness
And of Your salvation all day long;

O God, You have taught me from my youth,
And I still declare Your wondrous deeds.
And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me,
Until I declare Your strength to this generation,
Your power to all who are to come.
For Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the heavens,
You who have done great things;
O God, who is like You?
You who have shown me many troubles and distresses
Will revive me again,
And will bring me up again from the depths of the earth.
May You increase my greatness.

The cool thing about praying the Psalms is that there is a growing confidence and faith in God working in response to my prayers because it is right out of the Bible.

I have found different chapters of Psalms that fit every area of life, and most circumstances that I typically find myself in and I have memorized most of them.

Periodically I feel down in the dumps, like tonight. Usually I don’t have a clue why, but I am pretty sure I am feeling down because all our kids and grandkids have all gone home after being here for a week.

I will probably stay up later tonight than I should, and about midnight eat a piece of lemon meringue pie that I got for my birthday, maybe two pieces, yeh, two pieces for sure! I will sleep in until 8:00 am in the morning, then go into Sportsman’s Warehouse and spend the gift cards that I got as gifts for my birthday. Then I will take Patty out to lunch, and when we have finished eating I will talk her into going to Harbor Freight to buy a tool with the cash that I got for my birthday, 73 one dollar bills. Then a bit later I will go watch Monday Night Football with some friends, if you want to watch it with me, you are welcome. Wow, what a fun day tomorrow is going to be, I am feeling better already!

Emotions are funny things. You can’t predict them, and you for sure can’t control them. The main thing is, I don’t let them control me, with the exception of the pie, of course. I am fortunate in that if I am going to have a downer day it is almost always on Mondays which I take off so I can do what I have planned tomorrow which is a perfect remedy for a blue funk for me.

1 Timothy 6:17b but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.

Acts 14:17 in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.”

There are events and circumstances that bring joy into our life, one of those for me is fishing. I caught this Chinook salmon yesterday fishing with friends on the Alsea River. It was a very enjoyable day.

Intermittent experiences of fun mixed in amongst the regular pressures and trials of life are a key to staying energized and positive. I try and schedule fun events into my life as I ride this train called “the life of Dee Duke,” so as to be as productive as possible, bearing as much fruit for God as I can.

It is often difficult to schedule enjoyable events into our life as often as we would like, and the pressures and trials of life seem to be increasing, some days, increasing rapidly. There are a number of ways to fix that problem, one is to learn to enjoy more of the regular events that occur in our life, events that we take for granted, and that we don’t think about much as they happen. Joy tends to be an emotion that takes more and more fun to maintain if we don’t guard our heart from being unappreciative of these gifts from God, I think it is called “diminishing return.”

Thanking and praising God for the smaller, less impactful events that happen in our life is super important. God gives joy, He can put that powerful emotion into us as often as He likes. Those who assume that God owes them comfortable and positive events tend to take the many good things that happen to them for granted. God does not give joy to those people, so choose not to be one, train yourself to be a person who praises and thanks God for everything.

James 1:17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

The flip side of that principle is don’t grumble or complain about anything. Grumbling and complaining destroys our ability to feel joy and have fun.

Psalms 9:1-2 I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart;
I will tell of all Your wonders.
I will be glad and exult in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

Notice the number of “ I Will’s” in those two verses, making a commitment, a goal, choosing to rejoice always is something that we can all do.

Yesterday I wrote about blind spots. Those sin habits and character flaws that we have excused, justified, ignored, and blamed others for to the point that we become totally unaware of them, blind spots. I wrote how we can begin to discover and conquer them, but what about helping others with their blind spots. Can we do that, should we do that?

So you have friends whose marriage is in trouble, and you can see clearly what the problems are, and what needs to change. You are pretty sure that if the changes are not made their marriage will end in divorce. Do you say something? If you do will they accept it? Will they get angry and possibly end your friendship? If you say nothing for fear of their reaction, and their marriage does end in divorce, will you kick yourself for doing nothing?

You have some other friends whose kids are terribly misbehaved, and you are certain that if nothing changes they will probably all be in jail before they graduate from High School. Should you say something or just let happen what will? If you do say something, how will they react?

You have another friend who seems to create conflict wherever he goes, and you can see what appears to be a blind spot in his character that is the reason he is such a trouble maker. He needs to change if he is ever going to have many friends or amount to anything in the work world, but he probably won’t unless someone points out his blind spots to him. Should you risk being the one who does as one of his few friend’s or do you just let him keep going the way he is.

The fact is, those who seek input, counsel, and correction from others grow and change very rapidly. It is one of God’s chosen methods for character growth because it takes great humility and God loves humility and blesses those who have it.

Psalms 141:5 Let the righteous smite me in kindness and reprove me;
It is oil upon the head; Do not let my head refuse it,

Proverbs 17:10 A rebuke goes deeper into one who has understanding
Than a hundred blows into a fool.

But what about those in my life who are not seeking it?

Three suggestions:

1. Make sure you are working on the log that is in your own eye, then you can see clearly to take the speck out of your brothers eye. Examine your own life carefully, and develop the habit of doing so regularly. Ask friends for input on things you are weak in, possibly even the ones you want to help.

Matthew 7:3-5 Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

2. Think about what you will say and how, and be very gracious and gentle.

Galatians 6:1 Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.

3. Pray for those who have blind spots that God will work in their life, and give you wisdom about what to say, when to say it, and if you should even say anything at all.

James 1:5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

A blind spot is a character flaw that we are unaware of. Everyone around us can see it, but we are oblivious to it. It is sad to think that I could have a sin habit or weakness that I could be working on to eliminate it or conquer it, but instead I act like it doesn’t exist. Blind spots are a major cause of relational problems, and because we are unaware of them in our life the bulk of our sinning is in this area.

Personal shame is one of our greatest fears. We were created by God for glory and majesty so feeling and experiencing shame is especially repugnant to us. When we attempt to protect ourselves from shame by blaming others for our sins and weaknesses, or excusing it as not so bad, or justifying it, or simply ignoring it, we begin to desensitize our conscience, callous it so it doesn’t do it’s job. If our cover up takes place with one particular sin or weakness pretty soon we have programmed ourselves to be blind to it.

If it weren’t so sad to see someone so disconnected from their own irritating behavior it would be funny as we watched people do and say dumb things that don’t make them blush even a little bit. It ought to make us really nervous that we could be acting like a fool, but be thinking that we are right up there with King Solomon.

A good way to begin to discover what these blind spots may be in our own life is to think reflectively about what we did or said before, during and after a conflict with another person. We see other people’s blind spots easily and come to the conclusion that the conflict is their fault, thus increasing the seriousness of our own blind spot. Those who really want to eliminate blind spots from their life will choose to take the blame for conflicts and then search for the reason, asking others for their input on what we have done to create the problem between us.

Because we are so reluctant to discover faults in our own life most people live their entire life with major blind spots that everyone can see but themselves.