Those Yellow Roses 4/3/2026

 Good Morning. 

My day began with a hot cup of Door County Cinnamon Hazelnut Coffee and prayer.

Where I grew up on the South side of Milwaukee my parents had wild yellow roses in their back yard. These roses would spread along the fence and to say the least the roses were sturdy. They would bloom early, sometimes while there was still cold weather and a touch of snow on the ground. My mother especially looked forward to the wall of yellow opening up in the spring. 

Habakkuk 2:3 ESV For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end, it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it , It will surely come, it will not delay. 

One particular year the roses were late to bloom. My mom had just lost a brother to cancer and she was depressed over the loss of our uncle. I recall her saying something about how she wished that the roses were in bloom. I was far from religious at that age. The best I could do was to say a small prayer asking God to wake up the roses, because my mother needed to see them. 

I was up early on Easter Sunday and it was a warm morning. I was outside enjoying the warmth when I looked in the back yard and every one of those rose buds had blossomed out. Like I said it was a wall of yellow.  I will never forget the look on my mother's face when she saw the two small roses I clipped and brought inside for her. 

My point for the day is this. Sometimes you don't have to go much further than your own back yard to see a miracle The boy in the story prayed a simple prayer with the right heart  and God came through and the timing was perfect. His timing is always perfect.

Have a great day. God Bless,

Marty

Finding The Blessing In The Midst Of Calamity 4/2/2026

 Good Morning, 

My hot cup of Door County Salted Caramel Whiskey Coffee is working overtime to cut through the coldness and dampness this morning. We are winning the battle!

In life we all experience calamity and chaos now and then. We pray and nothing seems different after our prayers. We eventually get through the situation and we wonder why we went through it. What good could come from this plight? 

Philippians 3:8 NKJV Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ. 

For me, I went through a personal terrible time in the early 1980's. It hit me hard.  But later I saw the impact this crisis had on me as good. I was as low as you can go and it was because of the rough times, I found my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It was a total life changing experience. If it wasn't for that rough spot in life, who knows where I would be right now? A loss of a job that I liked sent me to work in health care. My cries of loneliness were answered when I met my wife at the hospital where I worked. A cancellation of that job which I also liked brought a change that set my course up the corporate ladder. So what I saw as losses were all blessings. God's hand was in everything that happened to me and it took some time to see that He was working in my life and the losses were actually good for me. 

If you are in the midst of  crisis, and you asked God to intervene on your behalf, wait patiently to see how it works out. God might be leading you in His direction not yours. Painful now? It might be the pain sending you in a direction never thought of by you.

Food for thought.

Marty

Hello Ukraine! Hello World! 4/1/2026

 Good Morning,

I will be heading out soon to work at the early voting polls for our city and I must say that I enjoy the duty and the people I work with. I will be carrying in my Thermos bottle with Door County Salted Caramel Whiskey Coffee for a cookie break later today. It is time to write

My blog tracks how many readers look at my writings and how many come from any individual country. Unless the readers comment on the blog I can't identify any readers. The readership varies daily. For the longest time the Ukraine was one of my top readers. Then the war came and rarely was there notice of any Ukrainian readers. It has been a long time since I have seen a sign of readership at all. But this last week I have noticed the blog is being looked at by two readers in the Ukraine. I want to say to those from the Ukraine. You were never forgotten. You were prayed for for almost every day and the prayers will continue. 

I look at the readership statistics daily, not to stroke my ego, but to pray for those countries listed. I will never meet most of you, but you are cared for and prayed for. God knows who you are and my prayers go up for you and I consider it a blessing to call upon the Lord on your behalf.

Have a great day!! 

Marty

A Lonely Cross 3/31/2026

 Good Morning,

My day began with prayer and a hot cup of Door County Cinnamon Hazelnut Coffee. 

I will be working today at the early voting poll center for our city, so I had to pack a small lunch for break time. I impressed myself with the lunch. Dried fruit chips, 1 small sandwich, a small bag of fruit and nuts and an energy bar. There should be quite a bit left for tomorrow's lunch. And my goodness I did not forget to pack my Thermos bottle of coffee. 

When I surveyed my break and lunch effort I started to feel guilty for having it so good to be able to eat like I planned.

Romans 5:8 NKJV But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

On Friday we observe the death and burial of Jesus Christ. Jesus was beaten and spat upon before He dragged himself and a wooden cross up the Golgotha hill. There wasn't a lunch break or rest time. The day was sheer terror and torture. 

I will take some time today to reflect on how blessed I am and how nice my wife and I have it. I will pray on bended knee to clean my heart of being ingenuine and weak in my appreciation for the One who endured what we call Good Friday and lived to the end of it. 

Food for thought. 

Marty

A Level Of Excellence 3/30/2026

Good Morning,

I filled my cup with Door County Heavenly Caramel Coffee and it is now time to write. 

This morning has mee headed out later in several directions. I have a small plumbing job to do for a neighbor and I started it already by praying about it. It really should not be a big issue and should not capture much time. But no one who ever does any plumbing work ever wants to see a water leak when they are finished. 

1 Corinthians 10:31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 

I am asking God to grant me the skills I need to do this job once and then walk away pleased with the work. I for one will say this. If a task or job is worth doing, it is worth praying about it. 

I suppose you never thought about God being involved in the plumbing of your home. But He is. If you are doing it and you prayed He is there in all you do. God even cares about the little things in your life and wants you to do all things with a level of excellence.  Any job, big or small, do it right or not at all. The first tool I will use today will be to reach into my heart and pray. 

Food for thought. 

Marty

In The Garden A Mother's Heart 3/29/2026

 Good Morning,

I just poured a hot cup of door County Highlander Grog Coffee and it is time to write.

Isaiah 41:10 Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 

Yesterday I had the honor to deliver a sermon at a funeral for a young man. We have known the grieving family for a long long time. This young man suffered the impacts of tumors for many years and they finally took their final toll and he now is residing in heaven free from any pain or sorrow. Earlier last week the church pastor, myself and the family met to discuss the order of the service and the desires of the family. They had some music picked out that was just right. Then I was surprised to hear that his mother was going to sing one of the hymns by herself. I thought to myself that this would be  huge undertaking by her. I couldn't imagine her being able to carry this through without breaking down.

Yesterday as Mom approached the microphone to sing, you could hear a pin drop. This little lady with a very beautiful voice began to sing the song "In the Garden". It was beautifully done. As a matter of fact her voice got stronger with every verse. 

I witnessed two things yesterday. I saw how God carries us through times of sorrow and the strength He bestows during those times. I saw the strength and love of a mother for her family. 

My point for today is this, God is good and gives us what we need, when we need it. I have witnessed twice now the love of grieving mothers and I will never underestimate their strength.

Have a great Sunday. 

Marty

It's Your Dream 3/28/2026

Good Morning, 

I woke up to a very cold house this morning and my cup of Door County Cinnamon Hazelnut Coffee  is working overtime today. Spring cannot make up it's mind as to when it will really arrive.

Jeremiah 23:28 The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell the dream, and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat?

We would all be lying if we say we never transposed ourselves into a movie we are watching. In some instances you become the villain and at other times you are the hero. 

I have been known to be listening to some music and then turn the music into a video in my head. I write the video to match the tune. I am the main character in my dream video.

We must remember that dreams are just that, "Dreams". 

Sometimes dreams can be used to set legitimate goals of success for us. To know if a dream is legitimate as a goal, check your dreams against the skill set you were given by God. If the skill set has you bent toward the dream you just might be on the right road. 

No matter the dream or skill set, asking for a direction in prayer is very prudent. God knows how He wired you and will always send you out as He wired you. Test a dream against Scripture. Scripture never contradicts itself. 

Food for thought. 

Marty