Here’s a real Turn-Around candidate: How about that Rays baseball team. Worst of the worst for all of their ten-year history, they are fighting it out with the Phillies in the World Series. You gotta love that. Could it be that dropping the “devil” from their name made all the difference? President candidates, take notice. Drop the business, get your hands out of the money trough and do right by the people.

And I fight. It’s an old metaphor, but it’s all I have. I’m fighting to become a runner and a healthy person, and giving up either fight is not an option. I may be in the back of the line for the moment, but I am running two races. I am a dedicated runner now, and I plan on finishing both.

Linda Stowell was diagnosed with two forms of cancer and told that whe had better stay sedentary and lay low. But she’s a fighter, not a quitter, and she refused to wave goodbye to every prospect for a healthy life…

I was enveloped by my illness. It was controlling me. The fatigue was so intense, the sleep so deep that it was as if a chunk of my life was sucked away. I rose only to take a shower. One afternoon I tried to make tea and slept through the kettle’s whistle. I awoke to the kettle burned dry to the stove and belching smoke. I had few conversations; that took too much energy. A trip to the grocery store was overwhelming.

Read Linda’s story in the South Bend Tribune when you’re ready to get in the fight. May God continue to bless and keep Linda Stowell and may God bless you too.

While walking down the street one day a US senator is tragically hit by a truck and dies.

His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.

‘Welcome to heaven,’ says St. Peter. ‘Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we’re not sure what to do with you.’

‘No problem, just let me in,’ says the senator.

‘Well, I’d like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we’ll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity.’

‘Really, I’ve made up my mind. I want to be in heaven,’ says the senator.

‘I’m sorry, but we have our rules.’

And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.

Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people.

They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and champagne.

Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he
realizes it, it is time to go.

Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises ..

The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.

‘Now it’s time to visit heaven.’

So, 24 hours pass with the senator joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and,
before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.

‘Well, then, you’ve spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity.’

The senator reflects for a minute, then answers: ‘Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell.’

So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell.

Now the doors of the elevator open and he’s in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage.

He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above…

The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder. ‘I don’t understand,’ stammers the senator. ‘Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now there’s just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?’

The devil looks at him, smiles and says…….

‘Yesterday we were campaigning. Today you voted.’

America really does have talent. The final ten for the big show was announced tonight and they are all contenders. I was amazed to see, though, that my favorite acts–The Taubl Family and Sarah Lenore–were both passed over in the vote. Incredible. One thing is for sure: We haven’t seen the last of Sarah Lenore. If she’s not made for Nashville, then I’m not up the creek without a paddle. You can quote me on that.

In her honor, here’s a glimpse of the performance that the judges dismissed as not up to standards. I thought she was absolutely fantastic. Sarah, you’ve got a fan here. I wish you the very best.

My take on the show tonight is that even though the talent level did not prove to be spectacular, the fun level was apparent. America definitely has fun. A few of the acts showed real promise. Some were downright creative. A few others were outlandish and not worth seeing. Several times, I was forced to change the channel and let the kids listen to the goings on at the Democratic National Convention rather than see travesty displayed as talent. That’s life in a free nation.

We’re going to vote now. I hope you do the same. God bless you and God bless America.

Apparently, the show has moved or disbursed in favor of the Olympic Games, however. At least, we couldn’t find it. Why didn’t we check the internet for a schedule? Well…we’ve moved a bit farther up the road and can’t get a signal from the school. It is back to an AOL dial-up connection (as soon as Bell South can find us and figure out how to get our telephone working.) All told–even with a 56K modem instead of a highspeed hookup–I’d rather live up a gravel road on the bank of Troublesome Creek than on a paved street in any city. I think.

Is there a RoadTurn coming for America? A guy named Barack Obama says so and is taking a tack that many citizens are finding appealing. For instance, he says that he wants to let a very special group of people be the first to know who he chooses for his running mate. Is it NBC News? Fox? Public Television? No, it is the common folk, the public.

Here is part of the email from his campaign staff:

People keep asking me if we’re really going to announce Barack’s VP directly to our supporters.

The answer is yes.

Let me be very clear. You are the ones who built this campaign, and Barack wants you to be the first to know who will join him in leading our movement for change.

So, if you haven’t signed up to receive an email or a text message, sign up now. Or you can text VP to 62262 from your mobile phone.

Now, I’m not a party affiliate; I’m a registered Independent. There is much of Obama’s style that gives me hope–and there is much that scares me severely. My guess, though, is that any way you cut it America and the world are amidst changing times. My prayer is that it is all for the good. I saw a sign today that made sense to me: We may not all have arrived here on the same ship–but we are all on the same boat.”

God bless you and God bless America!

Couple that with the latest Miley Cyrus exploit–pictures of her trying to act sexy in the shower–and you pretty well have a commentary on why Hollywood should be moved to Tehran and the troops brought home. We have located the enemy and he is us.

According to a report by the Associated Press, the whole thing is causing disruption amongst even the faithful. Here is a blip from an article by writer Travis Reed:

His tactics, sometimes violent, have made skeptics even of Pentecostals who believe in concepts that aren’t accepted by all branches of Christianity such as speaking in tongues, miraculous healing and spontaneous twitching from the Holy Spirit.

“Some of the language used during the Lakeland Revival has created an almost sideshow atmosphere,” wrote J. Lee Grady, editor of the Pentecostal magazine Charisma, in an online column. “People are invited to ‘Come and get some.’ Miracles are supposedly ‘popping like popcorn.’ … Such brash statements cheapen what the Holy Spirit is doing.” Grady wrote another column this week expressing concern that the Lakeland event has the potential to cause a “charismatic civil war.”

It’s doubtful that I will be able to get out there and see for myself, and it is just about certain that I wouldn’t be able to get inside anyway, but it looks to me like Todd and God are putting on a show that makes America’s Got Talent, Britain’s Got Talent, and the World’s Got Talent look like…well, like talent contests. Todd is rocking with something–is it the Spirit of God? Look and see what you think…

A Nation’s Strength
by Ralph Waldo Emerson

What makes a nation’s pillars high
And it’s foundations strong?
What makes it mighty to defy
The foes that round it throng?

It is not gold. Its kingdoms grand
Go down in battle shock;
Its shafts are laid on sinking sand,
Not on abiding rock.

Is it the sword? Ask the red dust
Of empires passed away;
The blood has turned their stones to rust,
Their glory to decay.

And is it pride? Ah, that bright crown
Has seemed to nations sweet;
But God has struck its luster down
In ashes at his feet.

Not gold but only men can make
A people great and strong;
Men who for truth and honor’s sake
Stand fast and suffer long.

Brave men who work while others sleep,
Who dare while others fly…
They build a nation’s pillars deep
And lift them to the sky.

God bless America!

I went back a year, to July 2nd of 2007, and my post entitled What’s the Plan? I was excited about the “18 Vows of Success” found in Og Mandino’s Part II: The End of the Story sequel to his classic work The Greatest Salesman in the World. Here is what I said one year ago:

The methodology of Part II: The End of the Story is to work through a set of life principles (”scrolls”), taking them one per week. No doubt, many of you are familiar with the first Greatest Salesman book by Og. This is the same approach, but a different set of scrolls…the protagonist (Hafid) has matured. I have found that, by doing as recommended and sticking with one principle for the entire week, the idea takes hold, clarifies, and becomes a part of the reader’s consciousness.

I was reminded of the excitement going on then–a plan was developing. I felt as if I was going somewhere on purpose…but then I got busy. Things happened: Our Sarasota house needed fixing up in preparation for a new renter. We decided to leave Florida and head north. I took a teaching position at a little mission outpost. The house we moved into needed cleaning and repair…ad infinitum. Yes, I have remained active, very active, but my sense of direction is pulled this way and that. I’m feeling a bit dizzy. It’s time to regroup and reconsider.

Think about it, if Paul Potts had gotten sidetracked and failed to enter the Britain’s Got Talent contest last year he would still be barely making it and we would not know his name. He took his One Chance when it came to him. Will we? Or will we be so busy that we don’t recognize it?