Living by faith and not by sight

Reflecting on the heritage of the hymns of the Christian faith, I recall a woman who lived in the hometown of Brigeport, Fanny Crosby. She authored over 8,000 hymns of the story of faith.
Even though she was without her sense of sight for her entire life, that did not stop her from reaching out to others in her music to God. He was glorified by her words that inspired her of her undistracted communion with God.
I knew in my college years, a student, Timothy Dailey, who was blind and got along with his guide dog, Nona. He had a good voice and a love for chorale music. And he had a sweet temperament and disposition. Nothing could stop him for what he did. I had the opportunity to help him learn his lessons by reading the texts of his books ranging from Jonathan Edwards sermon, Sinners in the hands of an angry God to texts on sociology. He was one of the first students I met at a dinner picnic . Another blind man that I met was Dr. Coleman who I had for intro to philosophy for my first class. The lessons I learned from him were to keep on perservering moving with one foot in front of the other and to keep the guide stick in front of him and tap on things in front of him.
Not always easy to see what is in front of us. Whether it is a guide dog or stick, we have the holy spirit within us to guide us and move us forward in our lives. It is a nudge to our spirit and enables us to have courage to live our lives to the fullest!!!! Thank you, Lord, for providing two excellent examples of men who lived by faith and not by sight and for the hymnist, Fanny Crosby, who has blessed the world with your music.

A minor delay

Delays are not always pleasant in life. Missed my bus by 2 minutes this morning. At least I am not dealing with the major decisions that NASA faces with the launching of the shuttle Discovery. Delays are required in life to build one's patience for the what the future will bring.
I remember in my early years in school being delayed for 6 hours in getting to Washington DC on a field trip because of a broken down bus. Not fun being by a road stop service center. But I was young at that time and I only wish that I fathomed the mysteries of life more.
Remember to reflect on life in those delays even when it appears costly.

The Fourth of July 2005

As our society has grown over the years, it would be interesting to be a caveman from the early part of society during the fourth of July. No fireworks existed at that time nor were picnics a popular part of the time or era. Hot dogs and potato chips were not invented at that time. But family was extremely important at that time. The family units helped unite the society at the time.
No living rooms existed back then replete with furniture, but almost certainly, there were cozy nooks and crannies in the caves. The men and women adorned the walls with their favorite shades of animal blood and dyes from plants. No distractions existed like today's distractions of the internet and television that so mesmerize so many, including myself, who are drawn to the constant bombardment of images-exploded exponentionally with the use of the remote control.
No, nothing is wrong with our society, but it is interesting to take a quick look back at the early ancestors!!!! And we have reason to celebrate it since our country has its 229th birthday-making it much older than mine that just occurred a few days back!!!!