Siggy’s Blurbs

I try not to take anything for granted, even the shower I take.  For fifteen years the house I lived in had no shower.  I still remember that back then the big thing about staying in a motel was it would have a shower.

It is so easy to take your most basic freedoms for granted until you are in a situation when you lose them.  It happen in jails (which I never was in) or in hospitals.

I still remember although it was almost forty years ago I needed permission for almost everything.  To make a telephone call, to take a shower to take a walk, almost everything.

So I cherish my simple freedoms a little more although there are times I forget this.  Everything is by grace.  I keep coming back to this.  Everything is by grace.

Tags: basic freedoms, cherish simple freedoms, don't take anything for granted, everything-is-by-grace, forty years ago, hospital, jail, motel, need permission to make a telephone call, take a walk, taking a shower
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Every day I have to count my blessings.  It is so easy to take the bounty God has given you for granted.  At the moment I have four dogs.  You never know when they are going to outlive you.

Usually it is the opposite:  you outlive them but you never know.  Life is, indeed, very precious.  I am enjoying all four dogs at the moment.

There is Tilla who greets me every day eagerly.  He and I have a special relationship.  I never thought there would be another dog like Daisy who was the first dog I raised from a pup.  She usually did not take her eyes off of me.  I mourned when she died of cancer.

But then Tilla came along.  Unlike Daisy, he is eager to please, although a scoundrel.  We built an extension on our fence, at considerable expense, for he liked jumping it.  The only dog who could.

We had one visit from the local warden when one neighbor complained about one of his escapades.  I know he is only on loan to me, will not be around for ever.  I will enjoy him now.  He is a blessing.

There is his sister, the other pup we kept, Coco who is a real darling.  She has a real sweet personality although she can be quite insistent when she want to go out.  I know she is, also, on loan.

Life is very fleeting and I will enjoy these two dogs while I have them.  Nothing is forever.  And that includes my life too.  I will try to be appreciative of all my blessings.  Every thing is by grace.

Tags: be appreciative, built a fence, Coca, count your blessings, Daisy, died of cancer, dog jumped the fence, dog warden, dogs are on loan, eager to please, everything-is-by-grace, four dogs, God's bounty, life is fleeting, life is precious, mourn, my life, neighbor, nothing is forever, puppy, scoundrel, sweet personality, take for granted, Tilla
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Every thing is by grace.  God really does not owe us anything.  On Christmas eve, a gray partridge (a Chukar partridge) appeared and fed on the ground and stayed for at least an hour.  I spotted it from our living room window and excitedly called my wife so she could see it too.  I never had seen one before and it took me awhile to properly identify it.

Finally we let out our four dogs.  They had to go out and we delayed it so they would not flush the bird.  I was amazed the bird simply froze near our big white pine and the dogs never spotted it and ran right past it.  Finally the bird ran across the yard, through the fence and disappeared.  We were curious whether the quail-like bird will come back (very similar in size to a bobwhite).

I got up this morning and put on my L.L Bean moccasins my sister bought me.  I had forgotten how comfortable they were.  Now I have to keep them out of reach of my dogs.  They could destroy one in one bite:  they are leather, very temping for one to chomp on.

There are plenty of gifts still to be opened.  Lynelle is not up yet.  I was feeling very grateful and thankful for everything.  I know everything is by grace.  Over two thousand years ago a baby was born in a manger.  We do not deserve Him.  And He died for us.  And it is a free gift.  That is totally by grace.  I did nothing to deserve it.  It is only by grace.

Tags: baby born in a manger, bobwhite bird, chew on slippers, Christmas eve, chukar partridge, everything-is-by-grace, feeling grateful and thankful, fence, flush the bird, four dogs, gifts to be opened, God, gray partridge, He died for us, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus is a free gift, L.L. Bean, living room window, Messiah, moccasins, my sister, my wife, quail-like bird, totally by grace, two thousand years ago, we do not deserve Him, white pine tree
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The new can opener worked perfectly the first time.  Lately our can opener which my wife has had for over twenty years was not working properly and we had “to play with it” every time we used it.

A few days ago I remembered I had another can opener which I used for camping.  I looked at it and realized it looked brand new.  My wife had made me buy one solely for camping.

And this one worked perfectly.  The joy of small things.  Isn’t life composed of many small pleasures.  The big things only come along once in awhile.  And they fade in importance very quickly.

And it is so easy to take every day pleasures for granted until they are gone.  Every thing is by grace.

Tags: big things in life, camping, can opener, everything-is-by-grace, joy of small things, life is composed of small pleasures, little things, my wife, pleasure of little things, take for granted
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Every moment is precious.  And it is so easy to take your life for granted and every ability you have.  Every thing is a privilege until you lose it and realize what you had was really on loan.  Everything is by grace.  And to the degree you can consciously realize every moment is precious the less you will take for granted the gifts granted to you are only by grace.  Every sunset and sunrise you come across are only by grace.  Every moment is precious.  And you have to remind yourself of this over and over.

Tags: everything-is-by-grace, gifts, gifts on loan, grace, moments, precious, privilege, sunrise, sunset, take for granted, your life
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Every thing is a privilege and it is so easy to take every privilege we have for granted until we lose it.  I was so used to have the internet until our computer broke down.  Now there were all kinds of things I could no longer do:  for one I no longer had E Mail, something I use every day.

I did not have access to my stored files.  I could no longer access the internet.  All of this I took for granted when the truth was every thing I have is a privilege.  Every thing is by grace.

There are so many other things that are privileges, simple things:  like being able to type, talk, move.  My aunt lost all those abilities when she had a severe stroke.  Everything is a privilege and often we don’t understand that until we lose that privilege.  Everything is by grace.  And may I never forget that.

Tags: aunt, computer, email, everything-is-by-grace, grace, internet, privilege, simple things, stroke, take for granted
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I was doing something this morning I was not looking forward to:  Replacing the urine stained newspaper and then getting rid of the poop in the dining room.  I simply did not want to this morning.  One of my dogs (we have four) still uses this room as a bathroom.

A little voice told me to thank God for doing that.  Most of my life I did not have pets.  I always wanted them although growing up my mother was simply too fastidious to even consider having them so I do not remember even asking her permission to have a pet.

The last twenty-two years I have had pets.  My two wives both loved dogs and cats.  So I decided to thank God for the task of picking up poop and handling soiled newspaper.

That is a small price to pay for the joy of having four dogs and eight cats.  Each pet has a different personality and are a joy to have.  All that is only by grace.  And cleaning up the dining room reminded me it is a privilege to have pets.  So thank you God for that!

Tags: cats, dogs, everything-is-by-grace, joy, pets, poop, thank God, urine
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Everything is by grace.  The first dog I ever raised from a pup, “Daisy”, who died over two years ago, I missed terribly.  She was one stubborn dog and the first one that I trained.  And I trained her when she was an adult.

Her training started when I got tired of replacing broken windows in our front door.  “Daisy” would go crazy every time I left my house.  She would jump at me repeatedly and bark uncontrollably.  When she startled me once and I slammed my front door a little too hard cracking the window again, I decided despite her age it was time to do something about it.

Every time she barked at me when I was leaving the house, I would put my hands around her snout  and keep them there for a short time.  When I released my hands, if she then barked I did nothing but if she did not bark I praised her.  I repeated this technique countless times.  Finally at some point I realized I broke her of the habit of barking at me frantically every time I left the house.  All I had to do was “Shush” her and she would immediately quiet down.

My wife was  amazed that that when she slept on our bed she would go to the furthest most corner and curl up.  She had no idea how many countless times I had pushed her away from me.

Daisy would never take her eyes off of me when I was in the same room.  She was my dog and when she died I missed her terribly.  I never thought another dog would come along like her.

Well, one did, finally to my surprise:  “Atilla The Hun” or “Tilla” for short.  Unlike “Daisy” he was very eager to please.  He was just very undisciplined.  I never had a dog that would want so many belly rubs.  I, almost, never denied him.  It was hilarious.  He would turn over every time I went to bring him in the house.  The turning point with him was when I started giving him walks.

I knew he had become my “Dog” when just about every night he would join me in the bedroom and usually curl up at the base of my bed.  He is not “Daisy” by any means but I realized God had sent me another dog.  Everything is by grace.

Tags: bark, belly-rub, Daisy, dog, dog training, dog walking, eager to please, everything-is-by-grace, God, grace, jump, my dog, puppy, Tilla, undisciplined
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I was lying in bed and thinking as I was trying to fall asleep.  I must thank the Lord for everything–even this comfortable bed and pillows I am resting my head on.

Everything Is by grace.  There is no way around that.  You can think otherwise but it is futile.  You can rail how unfair life is but that is futile, too.

Less is always more.  And God does not owe us anything and everything we have is by the grace of God.  Life is never fair:  some people have more and some people have less.  The poor are always among us.  The war on poverty–a campaign by Lyndon Johnson, the president of the United States, in the late sixties was a failure.

It is true each person has to help the other in any way you can but the poor will always be among us.  Blessed are the poor in spirit.  Being poor sometimes forces us to rely on God for our provisions.  Money can insulate us from God.

There is the illusion we can provide for ourselves when we have enough money but that is only an illusion.  We need one another.  No man is an island, the famous words of John Donne.

It is far easier to lead your life with thankfulness.  Gratitude is a blessing and each person needs to reach out to others in any way they can.  In fact, in the bible it say that if it is in your power to help someone and do not you have committed a sin.

I have to count my blessings each day.  My wife is only here by serendipity.  My attitude of thankfulness for the provisions of the Almighty gives me grace that I can not earn.  And everything is by grace.

Tags: Almighty, Bible, blessed, count my blessings, everything-is-by-grace, God, gratitude, help others, John Donne, less is more, life-is-unfair, Lyndon Johnson, money, no man is an island, poor, poverty, president, provisions, serendipity, sin, sleep, thank the Lord, thankful
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Everything is by grace.  Your new day, the next dawn, is only by grace.  I am so aware of that.  I have gotten a solid night sleep, drunk my morning coffee and now await the dawn.

I know that is a privilege.  It is so easy to take the next day for granted.  And sometimes I do.  But not today.

I am waiting for the darkness to lift and then see the steady stream of the birds come to my feeders.

Today I see my optometrist.  I am glad I can.  I have never seen one who has such a gentle touch.  I think of the many people who service my wife and me, the shop we bring our cars which we depend on.  Bob’s customer service is so good.  I do not take it for granted.

There is my family doctor who I go to for checkups (and their support team).  There are so many people whose services I use who I try not to take for granted.  I am well aware everything is by grace.  And I appreciate everything given to me.  They are all gifts.  I did nothing to deserve them.  And that is such an incomplete list.

Tags: birds, coffee, dawn, doctor, everything-is-by-grace, gifts, grace, morning, optometrist, service
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