Just a series of random thoughts this morning:

Is anyone else getting tired of hearing about the drones? Find out what they are and shoot them out of the sky for crying out loud if they are invasive. Quit playing around (can anyone say Chinese spy balloon?), get to the root of the problem and take care of it. Sort of like the moles in my front and back yard. They are invasive and a pain in the you-know-what. If I knew blowing up my front and back yard would take care of them, I would be tempted. Nothing has worked and it has been worse since my knee surgery because I couldn’t go hunting.  I believe if was able to look I would find a whole city and amusement park underneath. There is some reason God created them. If you figure it out let me know.

Another senseless school shooting. If they know what led to it they are not telling. Those poor parents. They will have to live with the reality of their daughter’s suicide, as well as the stigma that she took other lives as well. The trauma the others will experience is unthinkable. I have a daughter who teaches Kindergarten in our local school. Is it any wonder I pray for her everyday and that our church focuses on a different educator each week to pray for?

Getting the knee replacement was an absolute necessity. Because I was bow-legged the doctor told Tami he had to shave the bones and move ligaments and tendons around. “He will be sore for awhile (ya think?), but in about 6 months your dad is going to feel absolutely fantastic.” Is it 6 months yet? Nope. Just 5 weeks. I have graduated from a walker to a cane and now to falling flat on my face (just kidding). I do not need the cane anymore, but I still ice it several times a day. Hey, it is a great excuse for sitting in my recliner and reading or watching the inside of my eyelids. 🙂  The worst part has been where they gave me the nerve block and used the tourniquet (upper thigh not at my shoulders). It is still pretty tender and keeps me up at night. My sleep pattern is all messed up. I sleep anywhere from 1-3 hours in bed then I am up. I usually find my way to my recliner where I hope to fall asleep again. Last night I did that and actually decided to try going back to the bed after about a half hour of icing my knee. (This was at 12 midnight). I actually slept 3 more hours in bed! I’m praying for a full night’s sleep since we will be heading to Ohio next week and two nights in a hotel with no place to go will be a real trial.

Rehab is going pretty well. They measured my knee bend Monday and it was at 125%. They were shooting for 120. The backside of my knee lying flat on the surface was around 3% (they want 0%). I’m not sure it was ever flat but I will keep trying. I go to the Y as often as possible to rehab it and to get on the recumbent bike. He said I’m about a week away from trying my bike at home on the trainer. I’m guessing there will be a mixture of joy and fear at the same time.

Speaking of rehab: it is done to measure progress during recovery. There has to be a way to measure the growth and maturity of a person in his/her walk with Christ. In preparation for the concentrated effort of reading through the Bible next year using Everyday Gospel Devotional, I finished reading Psalms for the second time in 2024 this morning and closed my Bible after reading Revelation 14 (second time through the NT in 2024). But how does one tell if growth has taken place or if reading the Bible was just that…reading?  Any thoughts?

Thanks for “listening” to my ramblings this morning. Have a great day!