There was another color TV in the office we were not using so I quickly hooked it up to our antenna and “box” so we could watch it.  We found out the color was crisper than the old one and although the screen was smaller, it did not seem too small.

The next day I tried to figure out how to wire the DVD player and also the VCR to it.  I quickly drove to the nearest Radio Shack and they sold me something called a modulator, which enabled me to hook up a DVD to the old TV.

Now I had to figure out how to wire the VCR also.  I called my brother-in-law and he suggested a type of splitter, which I had.  I used it and now I was back into business:  both the DVD and VCR were now hooked up to the TV and worked.

Everything is by grace including advice by people and old TVs that still worked.  It even had a remote and now I can go back and watch my “Touched By An Angel” episodes again.  I know the latest thing is all these gigantic flat screens with brilliant color but I was happy to have this old color TV.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.