Say What?

There was a time not too many years ago when I never questioned my faith or what would become of my soul once I'm gone from this life. Attending weekly services at Hosanna (the megachurch a mile from home) was oftentimes the highlight of my week. I had a reading plan that would take me through the entirety of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible within the span of a year and I did this for many years on end. I was all-in with my Christian faith. Jesus was the answer and the only way to receive the gift of eternal life. There was nothing more to discuss or consider, or so I thought.  I don't know if I should feel sad or relieved, or possibly even angry, but I'm no longer that person.  I've been slowly but steadily drifting away from the moorings of my faith for a number of years. Initially, it was realizing that the more I read my Bible, the more I questioned what I was reading—especially what's written in the Old Testament. I could no longer read the first 5 book...

Our monarch caterpillar chrysalis produced a beautiful butterfly. We set it free in our backyard garden with talk of planting more milkweed next year to attract even more of them. I had hoped to capture video of it as it emerged but I was on the golf course and forgot to check its progress before leaving home. I was trying to imagine what it must be like for a caterpillar to emerge from its chrysalis where previously it spent its life among the milkweed moving at something less than a snail's pace, to now, able to flitter above the ground, taking in so much more of the world while trading a diet of milkweed for the nectar of flowers. Our world is so amazing My uncle Norm passed away last week at the age of 85. He'd been in poor health for years so when he recently contracted the COVID-19 virus he had little chance to overcome it. Norm was always our "cool uncle", several years younger than my other uncles and very active in golf, hunting, softball and other pa...

Tammy and I are keeping watch over a monarch caterpillar chrysalis that's metamorphosing in our den. It formed its chrysalis on the 24th of July—9 days ago. The monarch butterfly usually appears within 9-14 days. I'd like to capture some video of it as it emerges if I'm around so I can bookend this video I took of it forming its chrysalis . I was amazed at how quickly it changed from a caterpillar to a chrysalis.  Tammy had ordered a dozen caterpillars from an online site but they were never able to fill her request. We needed to go only as far as our backyard garden where we'd planted a few milkweed plants to find what we were looking for. We figured one was enough and allowed any others to remain in the garden. We'll be planting more milkweed next spring to attract them.  I've got a nice rotation of riding, walking, and golfing that's keeping me active outdoors. I like the variety. It wasn't all that many years ago when my only focus was road ridin...