Hey The Coffee Tastes Great 11/20/2024

 Good Morning,

My bones are telling me that the weather is going to change and rough us up a little bit. It is time to write.

3 John 2 Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. 

I just poured a hot cup of Door County Caramel Apple Coffee and for the first time in a week coffee tastes good to me. This cup tastes great. I think I will be drinking two cups today!

Last week at this time my wife and I were laid out with some type of stomach virus. We are at the end of the bout and each day now is better. We are thankful for all of the concern and prayers that came our way. 

The one question that I could not answer for people was when they asked me "where did you catch this illness from"? Even if I knew the source of the pestilence I could not go and give it back or do anything different to have avoided it. I actually found that question amusing. 

The point for the day is this. Winter is upon us now and with it comes the colds, flu, and other junk. Practice good hand hygiene. Drink plenty of fluids, and get plenty of rest. Take time to take care of yourself and your loved ones. You owe it to yourself to take care of you!

You are important!

God bless,

Marty

A Good Morning Prayer 11/19/2024

 Good Moring, 

A hot cup of Door County Pecan Cinnamon Ice Cream Coffee is steaming at my desk and it is time to write.

This virus seems to be on the run today. Although I and my wife are feeling weak, we are keeping food down and resting better. Another day and we might be fine. Today I am praising God, just because this could have been worse and it wasn't. There wasn't a time in this past week that I could not pray for us and all of you. 

Each morning I go over my prayer list and kick off the day by knocking on Heaven's door. This prayer time brings the morning to life and places peace in my heart. I do pray as led during the day and close out the night with prayer. But it is the morning prayer that sets my heart on fire and kicks off the day. 

Psalm 7:17 I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness. I will sing the praises of the name of the lord Most High. 

Give prayer a chance and start a morning routine that praises God and be thankful.

God bless,

Marty

Frosty Mornings 11/18/2024

 Good Morning,

My mug is filled with Door County Cinnamon Pecan Ice Cream Coffee this morning.

Proverbs 18:2 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only expressing his opinion. 

The trip upstairs to our den was a little easier this morning. I do believe that healthier days are on their way. I woke up to a blanket of frost on the ground and sunshine in the East. The outline of this day is a beautiful one. 

I like frosty mornings and and the crisp air that greets me on such days. I know plenty of people who would vehemently oppose my ideas about frosty mornings. There is just something special with a light layer of ice on the bay of a lake or marsh. A heavy frost is like a blanket on the land given to us by God.

The coffee tastes better while sitting outside taking in the morning sounds and the scenery. Over the last few days I have been slowed down by a virus, and not much time at all was spent outside. 

Liking the frosty mornings might not be for some, but they are glorious to me. My point for the day is this. Each day around the world is different to each person. No one will really care about my preference, even though it might cause them to scrape a windshield, or dress warmer. My preference might be uncomfortable, but in time, the weather will change. Things change all the time and we need to accept that each day might be the preference of others. You see, I can't control the weather nor most anything in the world. God puts the spin on it and when we don't like the spin, we wait until it changes. Sometimes the wait is burdensome and long enough that we despise the days God has made. This is an unfortunate state of the soul. Despising God leads to despising one another and that leads to things being said that aren't friendly or uplifting. 

The world lacks the wisdom to be respectful of others. I may not like your days in the sunshine, but I respect you for your choice of preferences. It just works better that way. 

Food for thought. While battling this virus, my wife and I both spent a lot of time vomiting. What came out of my mouth, I didn't want to hang on to . I preferred a clean well rinsed mouth. Today as you talk about others and their views of life, are you still holding on to the vomit of your soul and the hatred within or are you cleansing your mouth with God's word and respect for others?

God bless,

Marty

Some Hot Soup For The Soul 11/17/2024

 Good Morning, 

O will be pouring a hot cup of Door County Peanut Butter Crunch Coffee for myself very soon. This day began with prayer and will end that way tonight. 

I have four friends battling with cancer right now and each day I am reminded to pray for them. My wife and I are fighting off a virus that doesn't understand the word "quit."  But in reality the virus doesn't scare me like the word cancer does. 

Romans 12:12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 

Yesterday I made a pot of vegetable beef soup and it was delicious. It actually stayed down and was very soothing. While eating my soup, my thoughts turned to another friend who is hiding out in the hills with his family. Gangs have taken over his country and he is in dire straights,.

So as I look back a few days and assess my issues, a virus just doesn't seem that bad compared to the word cancer and hiding from ruthless gangs. It is funny that all four of my friends with cancer, took time to let me know that they were praying for me and my wife. Just the thought of them taking time to pray for me is Hot Soup for my soul. The other friend who is in hiding, contacted me and asked me how I was doing. He prayed for my wife and I. 

Are you a person of prayer? Do you put the needs of others first? Be that hot soup for another's soul whenever you can. You never know who just might be praying for you.

God bless,

Marty

Dealing With Disappointment 11/16/2024

 Good Morning,

I am sitting at my desk with a very hot cup of Door County Peanut Butter Crunch Coffee and I will do my best to keep it down. This virus is still hammering on both of us but I wanted to try some coffee this morning and see how it goes. 

Luke 14:11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. 

Psalm 112:7 He is not afraid of bad news.; his heart is firm trusting in the Lord. 

My wife Rene and I were supposed to be attending the wedding of our niece today. Our daughter was supposed to be flying in with our grandson for the occasion. This was in the planning for a whole year. Rene has a new dress for the occasion and I have a new spiffy tie and shirt to wear with my suit. There was so much planned for this weekend. On this last Monday I saw that the plans were going to the toilet and there was nothing I could do to stop the mudslide of life caused by this virus. 

I am not throwing a pity party here, although it sounds like it. Life has it's ups and downs and a long time ago I learned that disappointments are often for a reason. I am not sure what this mess is leading up to or what I am to learn from it, but I know that God has a plan for everything that He allows to happen. I may have an idea as to what is to come from this, but I will keep that to myself for now. I sure am learning patience for one thing!

Friends and family have offered to help us with anything we need. And I had to humble myself and ask for some assistance with a couple of things. Our nephew and a neighbor helped us out. This is new to me and I am not used to needing help. We are used to helping others. So that is lesson One. Don't think that you will never need help and it is good to keep humility on your shoulder. Lesson Two, don't wait on special occasions to visit family, anything can happen and cancel those plans. Lesson Three is to trust in God no matter what, and He will show you the "why". But better yet, trust Him blindly and accept what is going on, and just maybe you don't need to know the why. There is greater peace in blind trust. 

Have a great day. Food for thought.

Marty

Reaching Out To The Future 11/15/2024

 Good Morning,

This day is beginning very early for me. This virus that has been attacking my wife and I just is not giving up. Once again I am going without coffee because it would be a little tough on my system to handle. 

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare, and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 

I was thinking about some folks I know who have a hard time enjoying life just because of something that occurred in their past. For instance after many years of steady employment something changed in the work setting and the change brought some hardship. It could be that the change brought about finding new employment. Those who manage the change well are those who let go of the past. Those who don't manage change are stuck in the past. They will be the ones who when gathering together as friends will still be complaining about what "the company did to them." They don't talk  about what the new work venue is doing for them and the new people they met. They are missing out on the present and the future. 

It could be that they had been burned by a love that went wrong. They have a hard time forgiving and moving on. They shut down the ability to trust again and never have a relationship of love with another person. 

In order to embrace and grab on to the future, one must let go of the past. You can't get to the other side of a river, without leaving the shore. I feel sorry for those who are missing out on the joy of the future by living in the past. My prayer today is for those who are reading this and are having a hard time dealing with change, is that you let God show you the blessings you are missing by not letting go. And then reach out and embrace the future with both arms.

Food for thought!!

Marty

Guys, Know Your Wife's Routines 11/14/2024

 Good Morning,

I wish I could tell you what flavor of coffee I am enjoying this morning. This illness my wife and I are battling makes me sweat just thinking about a cup of coffee. I want to thank all of you for your prayers and concerns. I thought I was doing much better last night until I drank some chicken broth. It just started another round of ugliness. Our den is on the second floor and I made the journey upstairs to my desk this morning. I think that I will just stay up here for the day. 

Proverbs 31:10-12 10. An excellent wife, who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. 11. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. 12. She does him good and not harm, all the days of her life. 

This illness that Rene and I have is one nasty virus. It hit her first and she still is a long way from being better. This event did however teach me a few lessons. The main lesson is that I do not know enough about my wife's routines. Once we left for the hospital where she ended up staying, there were things that Rene needed. For instance, she is Insulin dependent and has a pump that needs insulin and tubing changes. This challenge led me to finally calling the patient and saying " where do you keep this stuff"? Rene has a lot of clothes and when she asked me to bring some clean clothing to her I had to search in three areas to find what she was talking about. . Then there was the search for her insurance cards and the list goes on. I will now know more about what she does on a daily basis. I would like to think that I am the king of the house, but the queen actually runs things!

Men, you need to know more than you already think you do!

God Bless,

Marty