A blast from the past. Does anyone else remember when FB had a “Notes” section in their FB page? They shut it down a few years ago, but the notes are still there and show up in “Memories”. This is one I hadn’t thought about in ages, but it gives a chance to reflect on life and how things have changed over the past 14 years. So, here’s the “note” and I’ll follow the original with updates as appropriate.

25 Random Things About Me
Rules:
Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it’s because I want to know more about you.

(To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app, then click publish.) – note that “Notes” were eliminated from FB several years ago, so those instructions are no longer valid.

  1. My deepest desire is to live in a way pleasing to my creator.
  2. My second deepest desire is to help others learn to live in a way pleasing to their creator.
  3. My greatest disappointment is that I don’t always fulfill my greatest desire.
  4. My greatest joy is that He extends grace and mercy to me when I fail.
  5. My best friend sleeps in the same bed with me and I’m madly in love with her.
  6. We have two sons and two grandchildren.
  7. Our dog, Burka, was adopted from the animal shelter in Dos Quebradas. She’s about the smartest dog we’ve ever had (with the possible exception of Babe Ruth who died at 4 months old)
  8. I’ve ridden my Suzuki GN-125 H to Cali, Bogotá, Villavicencio and Guatapé – a larger bike would be nice, but this one gets the job done – eventually.
  9. The old 1975 Ford built Jeep we had in Brazil still retains a fond spot in my heart – even though it tried to kill me.
  10. I’m a carnivore and proud of it. Hunting is part of my heritage and I’ve no patience for the ignorant Disneyfied bunny huggers who don’t understand the animals they claim to love.
  11. Blood is NOT on the menu. My respect for the animal is shown by obeying God’s ancient law. That some people don’t understand how I can both respect and kill and eat an animal is a source of amusement.
  12. No, I’m not very “sensitive”.
  13. When we were kids we built things and did things that would probably get us locked up today – and I do not believe society is better for having changed in this manner.
  14. “Safety” is an excuse people use to control the lives of others. Living is not safe. Dying is not bad – as long as your sins have been taken care of by the Christ’s sacrifice.
  15. Sometime in the middle of 2009 we should finally personally meet our grandchildren.
  16. Of the computers I’ve owned over the years I’ve built or custom ordered most of them. Only the TRS80 and the Toshiba Satellites have come from the factory as is.
  17. I do not miss the tape drive on the old TRS80.
  18. My cell phone can do far more than the TRS80 ever could.
  19. We have Vonage for a US phone line. EPM for a local landline. Comcel for cell phone service. Hotmail, Yahoo, Skype and Google Talk accounts for chatting. Our own domain name for the mission work and e-mail use. And yet many folks don’t know how to contact us.
  20. My e-mail address hasn’t changed in 10 years.
  21. First place trophies for various shooting competitions sit on my shelf, speaking to the smallness of the pond in which this small frog lives.
  22. I can only take so much urban life before my head threatens to explode.
  23. Hank Williams Junior’s song “A Country Boy Can Survive” and Robin Mark’s “Ancient Words” speak about and to different parts of my being.
  24. My sons were rocked to sleep in a hammock to the sound of their dad singing “How Firm A Foundation” – all six verses I managed to locate over the years.
  25. Besides my Lord and Savior, I am thankful for my best friend, lover and wife – without Him and her I do not know what I would have become.
  26. I selected more than 25 people and now am writing more than 25 things – will I be struck by lightning? Have my facebook account closed???

Updated List

  1. My deepest desire is to live in a way pleasing to my creator.
  2. My second deepest desire is to help others learn to live in a way pleasing to their creator.
  3. My greatest disappointment is that I don’t always fulfill my greatest desire.
  4. My greatest joy is that He extends grace and mercy to me when I fail and that He has been helping me to be transformed through the renewing of my mind.
  5. My best friend sleeps in the same bed with me and I’m madly in love with her.
  6. We have two sons and six grandchildren.
  7. Our dog, Burka, was adopted from the animal shelter in Dos Quebradas. She was about the smartest dog we’d ever had (with the possible exception of Babe Ruth who died at 4 months old) We had to put her down in 2014 and we now have two other dogs, Biscuit and Blackie, who have their own Facebook Page and Instagram page as well.
  8. I rode my Suzuki GN-125 H to Cali, Bogotá, Villavicencio and Guatapé as well as to many other destinations. It was replaced by a Honda XL200 and then by a Royal Enfield Rumbler 500. Indeed the larger bike makes for a better travel experience!
  9. The old 1975 Ford built Jeep we had in Brazil still retains a fond spot in my heart – even though it tried to kill me. My wife thinks I’m nuts that I still cast a longing eye at the old Jeeps around this part of the world.
  10. I’m a carnivore and proud of it. Hunting is part of my heritage and I’ve no patience for the ignorant Disneyfied bunny huggers who don’t understand the animals they claim to love.
  11. Blood is NOT on the menu. My respect for the animal is shown by obeying God’s ancient law. That some people don’t understand how I can both respect and kill and eat an animal is a source of amusement.
  12. No, I’m not very “sensitive”.
  13. When we were kids we built things and did things that would probably get us locked up today – and I do not believe society is better for having changed in this manner. And the world is becoming more and more asinine in its frantic search for “safety”.
  14. “Safety” is an excuse people use to control the lives of others. Living is not safe. Dying is not bad – as long as your sins have been taken care of by the Christ’s sacrifice.
  15. We met our first grandchildren in 2009 and each of the others that came along we met as soon as possible. Living a couple of continents away from the kids and grandkids is one of the more difficult parts of our life and ministry.
  16. Of the computers I’ve owned over the years I’ve built or custom ordered most of them. Only the TRS80 and the Toshiba Satellites have come from the factory as is. In the past 14 years we’ve had a few more, to include a couple of laptops and a tiny form factor “desktop” unit. Unfortunately I’ve had little time to keep up to date with the “latest and greatest” and have resorted to purchasing with a view towards obtaining a useful tool that will serve for several years down the road.
  17. I do not miss the tape drive on the old TRS80. One of my builds included 5.25″ and 3.5″ diskette drives, a tape drive backup unit, a zip drive, a CD and a DVD drive/burner and a 3.5″ hard drive. It was a hoot to have such a wide variety of storage media “on tap”.
  18. My cell phone can do far more than the TRS80 ever could and has enough storage to contain the information for over 180,000 3.5″ diskettes.
  19. We have Vonage for a US phone line. Claro for a local landline cell phone service. Hotmail, Yahoo, Skype, Google Talk, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp accounts for chatting. We have our own domain name for the mission work and e-mail use. And yet many folks don’t know how to contact us even now – despite the fact that these methods of communication have been available for years.
  20. My main e-mail address hasn’t changed in about 25 years.
  21. First place trophies for various shooting competitions sit on my shelf, speaking to the smallness of the pond in which this small frog lives. I’ve got a few more in different disciplines now, most reflecting on the same small frog/tiny pond phenomenon.
  22. I can only take so much urban life before my head threatens to explode. Thankfully we have access to a place where I can get out and barely hear trucks on the road, but no urban roar.
  23. Hank Williams Junior’s song “A Country Boy Can Survive” and Robin Mark’s “Ancient Words” speak about and to different parts of my being. Don Williams’ “Good Ole Boys Like Me” and Vincent and Daley’s “By The Mark” are a couple of other songs that dance through my mind and memory at times.
  24. My sons were rocked to sleep in a hammock to the sound of their dad singing “How Firm A Foundation” – all six verses I managed to locate over the years.
  25. Besides my Lord and Savior, I am thankful for my best friend, lover and wife – without Him and her I do not know what I would have become.
  26. No one has been selected in some FB chainletter type of operation, but I AM writing more than 25 things – will I be struck by lightning? Have my facebook account closed??? – FB has indeed censored my account a couple of times. Their “community standards” do not include inclusiveness towards a conservative and truth oriented world view. I refer them to Romans chapter 1 which they will deny the validity of until such time as they are called to account, each for his/her own decisions and actions. But yours truly will continue to do his best to speak the truth in love.
  27. And since we’re expanding on the former list a bit, there are those who use the same logic as stating that a dog has five legs since you can count its tail as a leg. To those I will continue to point out that you can call something what it is not, but that does not change the essence of what it is. From the beginning marriage has been between a man and a woman. Folks call other arrangements “marriage”, but that’s like calling a dog’s tail a leg. Just because you say so does not make it so.