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   Prompt: "A new month lies ahead. What are your goals for May? Did you accomplish everything you wanted in April? Are you on track for your goals for the year?"I didn't make any resolutions this year because I couldn't really think of any. However, I do have goals for the year and thus far they seem to be on track. I wanted to obtain my peer support certification this year and I am on track to take my test for it soon. it will increase my value. Then I also wanted to obtain memberships in a few professional organizations. I am a chaplain and I need to have the security of a professional membership and the insurance that comes with it. I got that taken care of with a student membership to the American Mental Health Counselors Association. I will be getting my student loans in May and I am planning on using part of that to obtain a student membership in the American Counseling Association as well. The peer support certification is something I have been pursuing for quite a while. It won't give me any type of professional license but it will allow me to earn more money. A certified peer support specialist is a person who has suffered from both drug addiction and a coexisting or comorbid mental illness. I was addicted to drugs a huge part of my adult life and I suffer from bi-polar disorder. I have been stable from both for several years. As a peer support specialist, I work with others to provide services that will either help them recover or prevent them from relapsing. Peer support specialists do a little bit of everything. You never know from one day to the next what you may be doing. You may be taking a client to the doctor or signing a petition to have a client committed to a mental hospital. You provide a variety of services. I have come to believe however that being a peer support specialist is not my calling. My calling is to be a chaplain. Yes I will also provide some of the services I provided doing peer support and the fields do overlap in many ways. I was thinking about it one day. I was frustrated because every door I tried to open to pursue my peer support certification seemed to slam shut. I got to wondering what certifications might be available to me as a chaplain with a baccalaureate. I decided to go online and research it. As always the first thing I did online was checking my email. my spam filters on my email are usually pretty stringent but one email had come through them. It was from Regent University and it said "Interested in chaplain's credentials?" I don't know about anybody else but I don't believe in coincidences. I took the email to be a sign and completed the request for information. The next day I received a call from admissions at Regent University and doors have been opening since. Holy Spirit wants me to be a chaplain. The funny thing is that shortly after I was accepted at Regent I got an email telling me that I qualify to sit for my certification test for peer support as well. I am going to complete my M. Div. and also pursue peer support. I also wanted to get into graduate school. It usually takes forever to get into graduate school but I applied and was accepted within three days to Regent University in Virginia Beach Virginia. I'd say it is going to be a successful year. "Prompt: What topics are you an expert in or have knowledge of?"I have a good bit of knowledge in the Holy Bible. I am adding to that knowledge by pursuing a Master of Divinity degree/ Chaplain's Concentration at Regent University in Virginia. I was offered a Ph. D. by a college in California several years ago based on accumulated certificates and life experiences, but I turned it down. If I am going to have a Ph. D. I'd rather earn it the right way. I now have both an academic associate degree and a Regents Bachelor of Arts degree/emphasis psychology and by 2023 should have my M. Div. I have always known that I was meant to be a minister. What I did not realize early in my life is that God will not use you until he is ready to use you. I tried to self-will being a minister and it did not work. I tried doing a prison pen pal ministry for a while and that was a disaster. I tried to pastor a church and that was not God's will for me. What I did not realize at the time was that God was not going to use an immature Christian. I was very immature. Of course I did not realize it at the time, but looking back I can see it. Only after I grew into the person He wants me to be did God begin to use me in mighty ways. Now I am a soldier in the Salvation Army Huntington WV Corps. More than that I am a local officer with the Salvation Army Huntington Corps. A local officer is the equivalent of a non-commissioned officer in the military. While we have no rank other than "soldier" but we are bonded by our division to carry out certain functions. My function is Adult Sunday school teacher, Community Care Ministries Secretary, and Men's Club Treasurer. The Community Care Ministries Secretary is more or less a chaplain. We go into the community visiting shut-ins and doing Bible studies at nursing homes/rehabilitation facilities, jails, and other institutions. I was the obvious choice for the position in my corps since I was already chaplain here at the West Virginia Veterans Home where I also live. None of this would have been possible twelve years ago because I was much too immature. I thought I was okay but God knew better. I was addicted to drugs, steeped in sin, mean as a rattlesnake, and lacked integrity. God could have used me and he did in small ways, but the real ministry did not start until a few years ago. Prompt: "Shelters are seeing an increase in adoption and fostering rates right now since nobody wants to be #SaferAtHome alone! Tell us about your pet. If you don’t have one, tell us about your ideal pet!"I don't have a pet where I live and to be honest, I would not want the responsibility of a pet. I don't think I could afford to feed a pet. If I had a pet though, it would be a dog, probably a Pomeranian. I've had two poms in my lifetime. They belonged to my wives, but they claimed me as their owners. The one dog's name was Sandy. She was a red-furred Pomeranian. I declare I think if that dog would have had the anatomy to do so she could have spoken English! She was as intelligent as any human and when she didn't approve of something she would certainly let you know. I was arguing with my wife one time. I don't recall what the argument was about. It was obvious to everybody, including myself, that I was wrong. I was just being stubborn and bullheaded like I was back then. Sandy came into the bedroom where I was and almost bowled me over jumping into my lap. I thought she wanted me to lie down so she could lay on my shoulder as she was in the habit of doing. I laid down and she stood on my chest giving me the evil eye as I continued to argue with my wife. I realized that even the dog knew I was wrong so I apologized to my wife and kissed my wife. Then I lay back down and the dog started licking my face to let me know she approved! She was one smart dog!    |
| Prompt: "What do you wish more people knew about you and why?" I really hadn't thought too much about that to be honest. I guess I would want people to know that I love them. I am a people person. I guess perhaps it's because God hardwired that into my personality. I give people a clean slate, even if they don't deserve it. I take people at face value until they prove otherwise. I tn other words I extend trust until given a good reason not to. I don't believe in being suspicious of everybody and wondering what they are trying to get over on me. I have a friend who lives that way. He suspects everybody of trying to get over on him. He's paranoid and edgy all the time. I couldn't live that way. I believe people are basically good and I extend them the courtesy of trust until that trust is broken. "Prompt: "All things seem possible in May." Edwin Way Teale Use this quote in your Blog entry today."I would say that all things seem possible anytime, but May is probably the best time to do them. May is one of my favorite months because the weather is usually just right. It isn't suffocating hot nor is it cold and wet. The weather is usually perfect for working. It's a good time to get projects done that require good weather. Prompt: "How have you been (or not been) keeping track of the days?"I guess I haven't been keeping track of days. I thought yesterday was Wednesday most of the day until I asked a friend what day it was and then looked at a calendar. I do keep track of the dates by computer. I blog just about every day and the blog title is usually the date. I keep track of dates that way. Then if I am confused about the day I look at my calendar. This quarantine has all the days running together. That will soon change though because I am starting graduate school on Monday May 11, 2020 and I will be tracking days for that. I will have classes on Mondays, discussions online on Wednesdays, and assignments due on Saturdays. |
| "Title Prompt: _____ Year(s) After the Pandemic of 2020. Chose the number of years in the future this blog entry takes place." In 2119 or 100 years after the pandemic of 2020 some college student writing a term paper, will analyze every action we took to stop or slow the pandemic. he or she will be critical but trying to remember that we did the best we could do with the knowledge and technology available to us. I know this to be true because I wrote a paper for History 103 concerning the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 that killed 25 million people. They did many of the things we did today except that they did not do the social distancing that we practice today. They quarantined the sick and I believe finally came up with a vaccine. The pandemic of 1918, like the pandemic of 2020 was a boon for the rich because people bought the shelves clean and the rich gouged the prices, just like they are doing today. Just like back then I predict that it will initially be a boost to the economy of the rich but there will be consequences such as the stock market crash of 1929. Prompt: "Have you learned anything or acquired any habits during this quarantine/lockdown that you plan on keeping with you and/or practicing once it is lifted?"Short answer: Not really. Long answer: I have been going out every day and sterilizing the hand rails and stairwells in my building. I will probably continue to do that, at least on my floor. Then when COVID-19 returns, which I'm pretty sure it will, we will have a jump on it. I think they are lifting the quarantine way too soon. Of course their big concern is the economy. I mean we can't have the rich man losing any money for goodness sakes! It would be horrible for some of these silver spoons to lose a dollar or two. So let's put their slave labor back to work and if we kill a lot of people so what? Of course I am being sarcastic. It just really singes my feathers when they put the good of the economy ahead of human lives. The only ones helped by a healthy economy are the rich. The only thing they really look at to indicate a good economy is the profit margin of the rich. "Prompt: Which issues or topics do you find yourself thinking about, defending, or discussing passionately?"I have been passionately discussing man's permissive, tolerant attitude toward the things that God clearly condemns in His word. For example gay marriage. Man has not only tolerated it but now the government recognizes it as legal. Wake up people! God condemns homosexuality in His word and that is all there is to say on the subject. Marijuana is being legalized by states all across the United States. Yet what good does marijuana do? Yes some of the chemicals in it help with certain ailments. So let's isolate those chemicals and use them but don't be getting high on the stuff! Getting high is witchcraft. God condemns witchcraft. Abortion murders thousands of babies every day. Those babies are innocent. Perhaps the baby you just murdered was meant to be the doctor who found the cure for the next major pandemic? Wake up, you foolish person! Greed and deceptive, misleading advertising and extortive business practices are tolerated because some shyster lawyer finds a loophole to make it legal. Just because man's law says it is legal does not mean God says it is legal. You are misleading people and "stretching" the truth. God says not to lie. He says to treat others exactly as you would have them treat you. Would you want somebody misleading you and stretching the truth? Of course you wouldn't! |
| Prompt: "What do you think you'd be doing today if this pandemic had never happened?" If this pandemic had not happened I would be at the Salvation Army Huntington Corps distributing food boxes and doing peer support. I would be anyway, but my commander and I felt it best that I stand down until this thing has passed because I live in a home with 90 other people. It's an assisted living home so we are mostly able-bodied people. We're just getting along in years and benefit from living here. Prompt: "Prompt: "Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious." Stephen HawkingUse this quote to inspire your blog entry." Hawking was a fool. He did not believe in God but rather believed in all kinds of manmade theories, including a few of his own theories. How could anybody look at some of God's beauty and not know that it was created? "Prompt: The same task could be painful to one person and pleasant to another. Which kinds of tasks feel easy and pleasant to you?"Math always seemed painful to me but writing, literature, grammar, term papers, etc always seemed easy to me. |
| Prompt: "How has your idea of lockdown/quarantine changed since the beginning of this month?" I don't know that I like calling this "lockdown". It makes it sound like we are all in jail and we aren't. We're in quarantine for reasons of health. I do have to say that quarantine for me hasn't really been that much different. Yes. There are things that I did before that I cannot do now. I was going to the Salvation Army Huntington Corps to work every day and I'm no longer doing that. I still could be because the Corps is definitely open during this state of emergency and on disaster status. However my commander did not want me to take a chance on bringing COVID-19 back to the home I live in. The West Virginia Veterans Home where I live is an assisted living facility and we have over 80 people housed here. It wasn't worth risking their lives. I am staying quite busy though. I sanitize the handrails, stairwell handrails, and doors throughout the building once per day with bleach water solution. That takes on average about two hours. Then I sit and write letters or read my textbooks. I'm fortunate enough to be a graduate student now so my textbooks are usually something I'm truly interested in. They aren't just classes I have to take to meet a requirement. Right now I'm 300 pages into a book on hermeneutics or Biblical interpretation. I don't always agree with what the author says, but sometimes they have to teach a point that even they disagree with because it is part of the curriculum. Aside from being written on a graduate school level and a slow read, the book is interesting. I guess what I am saying is that aside from a few minor changes in schedule, this quarantine has not really slowed me down much. I still have plenty to keep me busy. I do my sanitizing. I have written letters to everybody on Snail Mail Forum who has a North American address, and I read. I also talk to a lot of people on the phone. As a chaplain I find that those conversations are often spiritual in nature or at the very least "helping" conversations. People need to vent and whether it is a professional relationship or not, I often find myself counseling them. I stay busy. Lockdown? What lockdown? |
| Prompt: "Describe the best place to hide in your home (closet, bed - under it or the covers, basement, attic, behind the couch, in a cupboard, etc.), and why it is the best?" I live at the West Virginia Veterans Home. There are plenty of places to go to avoid being seen, but the best place is your own room. There are no actual hiding places that I have access to because I don't have the key to most of them. I don't want the liability associated with a master key. Prompt: "What are your plans for the weekend?I plan on getting some writing done. I am working my way down the Snail Mail Forum Birthday list, which has all the addresses and names of people in the Snail Mail Group. To date, I have written to everybody who has a birthday from March until early January. I have January and February to finish. I'll be working on that. "Prompt: Write about your favorite fruit and/or cookie?"My favorite cookie is soft chocolate chip or better yet, fudge brownie cookies from "Grandmas". Grandmas is a brand they sell locally. I don't know if they are available everywhere but they are delicious. They're soft cookies and full of delicious flavor. Each cookie is five inches across so they don't skimp on the size either. They're really good. My favorite fruit is Mandarin oranges. Before this infernal shutdown began I ate with everybody else in the cafeteria. I had fresh mandarin oranges every day. Now the closest I can get is mandarins in jello and they just aren't the same. In time this too shall pass. Whether life is ever the same remains to be seen. |
| Prompt: "Write a post inspired by this word: Music" I don't listen to much music anymore, basically because there is nothing that I like. There is a little that I can tolerate, but most is simply garbage. If I was to listen to music it would be oldies country or oldies rock. The problem with them is that I've heard all the songs so many times I'm burned out on them. I do like listening to Big Al Downing, a country singer who died in the 90's. My cousin was his steel guitar player and my cousin is the best in the world. He has played professionally since we were children and he can make that pedal steel sing to you. The following link has one of his songs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyScxrRweUw Steel guitar I could listen to all day, but then I am an old country hick hillbilly type. I was raised around pedal steel guitar, acoustic guitar, and rhythm guitar. I guess I'm use to it. Prompt: "I was listening to a song by Tim McGraw about spending time at his childhood home and all the things he swore he'd never miss at the time but did. What do you miss that you swore you wouldn't? (example: wiggling your toes in a stream, or making mud pies)"I always swore that I would never miss floods that occurred every year, and living so far out in the country that God had to pump in sunshine just to sustain us. I swore I'd never miss not having running water or at least not having an indoor bathroom. I always swore I would never miss walking a mile to catch the school bus every morning. I always swore that and guess what...I still swear it. Prompt: "What do you think that noise was in the middle of the night coming from below? Describe it. If you didn't hear it, but your faithful dog (cat) alerted you, are you concerned?"No. I live at the West Virginia Veterans Home with eighty other guys. Somebody is always wake milling around. If it isn't one of the guys it security or some other staff. It may even be a train. The tracks are just below me and trains pass through every few minutes. It's when things don't go "bump" in the night that I worry. |
| Image #1997652 over display limit. -?- Image #1971183 over display limit. -?- Image #2066112 over display limit. -?- Prompt: "What will you never take for granted again once we are no longer under 'Stay At Home' orders?" I try to never take anything for granted. I figured out a long time ago that life is simply too unpredictable to take anything for granted. One thing I certainly look forward to is getting back to church. I miss my church group. Of course I have chapel here to keep me busy but I still miss my home church. As far as taking anything for granted though, my life has been anything but predictable. So I take nothing for granted with the possible exception of air. Image #1997652 over display limit. -?- Prompt: "What was your childhood like? Did you grow up around books or was literature something you discovered on your own?" My childhood was rough in some ways and good in others. I guess all-in-all it was much like that of others. Literature was not a big deal in my early years. I guess that is why it was such a joy to me when my teacher began to teach us the alphabet and the sounds different letters made. The first word I ever read on my own was "go" and I have been going since. I was an avid reader and read nearly everything. My favorite in childhood were biographies and mysteries. I was particularly drawn to the "Hardy Boys Mysteries and Nancy Drew" mysteries although I now remember none of the cases. I never read the same book twice if I could help it. I never did like reruns unless I hadn't read or seen them in years. Image #1971183 over display limit. -?- "Prompt: What projects did you start this year? Which ones did you finish?" I am not a big project person. I am working on one project that I started during this quarantine. I am writing letters to everybody on Snail Mail Forum whose addresses I have. I have written more than 30 letters. Image #2098718 over display limit. -?- Image #2118746 over display limit. -?- Image #2187503 over display limit. -?- Image #2187984 over display limit. -?- |
| Image #1971183 over display limit. -?- Image #2066112 over display limit. -?- Image #1997652 over display limit. -?- Prompt: "Doctors recommend we do different stimuli to keep our neurons active in our brain. What do you enjoy doing? Here's some examples: suduko, crosswords, word finds, jigsaw puzzles, play cards, speak another language, or dance." I believe doctors are correct and we do need to challenge our brains. Brains are like a muscle. They get better with use and atrophy without use. My exercise is college. I am in college working on my masters degree as I will be for the next three years. I know. Most Masters programs are only two years. Mine includes one year of residency. I will be a chaplain as soon as I earn my M. Div. I am a chaplain now, albeit a volunteer one. When I graduate I will be paid for my work. Image #1971183 over display limit. -?- "Prompt: What are 3 things you are looking forward to today?" I'd like to say I am looking forward to getting my mail because I am expecting some important mail, but the mail came today and I did not get what I was expecting. I did get a couple of packages, including a box of Matthew Henry commentaries on the Bible. Matthew Henry was an old commentator but they are well trusted. I'll be getting a lot of use out of them. I'm also looking forward to doing some writing. I'm writing to people on the Snail Mail Forum and so far I've really enjoyed myself. I've written almost 40 letters since the quarantine started. It doesn't show any signs of weakening soon so buckle your seatbelts folks. Image #2098718 over display limit. -?- Image #2118746 over display limit. -?- Image #2187503 over display limit. -?- Image #2187984 over display limit. -?- |
| Image #2066112 over display limit. -?- Image #1997652 over display limit. -?- Image #1971183 over display limit. -?- Prompt: "I don't know about you but I've been reading a lot with this shelter in place, Write about a book you recently read that stayed with you after you closed the last page or something you've read here on WDC that impressed you." I've done quite a bit of reading since the quarantines started but I don't believe it was reading that would interest most people. I have read two of my textbooks for the upcoming semester at Regent University and have several more to read yet. I am starting the Master of Divinity CVhaplains Concentration there. If all goes well I will have my degree by 2023. Say a prayer for me. Image #2066112 over display limit. -?- Prompt: "Be silent for 5 minutes with your eyes closed. What do you hear? What regular sounds does your house make that you aren't consciously aware of?" I have two sleep disorders: sleep apnea and narcolepsy. Due to them I take medication to keep me awake during the day and another to put me to sleep at night. I also wear a mask to force positive pressure to keep me breathing in my sleep. If I could close my eyes for five minutes I would find my house making all kinds of noises. My "house" is the West Virginia Veterans Home in Barboursville WV. There is always somebody awake and moving around. Doors are slamming and heaters/fans are running. People are talking and televisions are blaring. I usually keep my door shut at night and my fan/heater/air conditioner running for "white noise". Silence defense me. I have hearing problems so silence results in ringing ears. There are also three railroad tracks running past my building and the trains run constantly. It doesn't matter how late it is or who is sleeping, the trains go through and the engines are loud enough. The worse part is that they cross three or four crossings between Huntington and here and they blow the horns three or four times for long blasts at each of them. The fan drowns them out (almost). I usually sleep through them. Image #1997652 over display limit. -?- "Prompt: Describe a spring thunder storm." Thunder storm should be "thunderstorm". Anyway thunderstorms are one of nature's prettiest beasts in my opinion. I love the sound of rain on a metal roof. We have a metal roof over the patio out front and there are gliding rockers there. Give me a good glider and a thunderstorm and it's nap time. I sleep like a baby, which isn't really all that hard for me. I have narcolepsy and I could go to sleep on a boulder pile. No kidding! Thunderstorms add to the effect with their sounds. Now if it is a wicked thunderstorm it may keep me awake due to the crashing thunderclaps. Lightning has woken me up as well. I have been struck by lightning twice and survived it. Lightning naturally scares me unless I am inside. Image #2098718 over display limit. -?- {2118746-33%}{2187503-33%} Image #2187984 over display limit. -?- |
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