BIG ONE DAY BLOG SELL

Friday, August 17, 2018

I have been blogging for 13 years. Well, that's not exactly true. I have been a blogger for 13 years.

There was a time when I posted on my blog every day. Not so much anymore.

Almost all of my blogging friends have closed shop.

Many of us are spending more time on Face Book and less on blogging

In recent years most of my posts have been book reviews. However, that too is now in decline. At one time I was reviewing books for many different publishers. Most of them have stopped having book reviews and I am now down to only two.

This week I renewed my interest in posting to my blog and did three. How about that? Three in one week. I would be pleased if you turned aside and read them clif74blog.blogspot.com.

Many of my dearest friends who say they are interested in what I am thinking and doing have never even once looked at my blog.

Well, that's all I wanted to say about blogging.

Oh, what about the BIG ONE DAY BLOG SELL? That was just hopefully to get your attention.

IT WORKS FOR MACY'S.

BOB, BOB, BOBBING ALONG-----A Love For Fish And Fishing

Thursday, August 16, 2018

Some of my fondest childhood memories are of hours spent sitting on a grassy creek bank with a fishing pole in my hand. I loved to see the bright little bobber on the line start to move. It meant a bluegill was messing with the worm on the hook. Ah, the days of youth.

There was also much joy in moving up to the wily days of sneaking into ponds where I didn't belong and casting out a long trotline. Coming back hours later to find a catfish on almost every hook.

Deep sea fishing gave me thrills up my spine and sickness in my stomach. Sometimes fish. Sometimes nothing.

I love fish and other sea food. I have enjoyed it from near and far.

Journeying to Ethiopia to help with a famine, I found myself eating almost nothing but fish. I ate it in a beautiful hotel restaurant in down town Addis Ababa  when a respected Doctor suggested it from the menu. I ate it out in the bush, of all places, in a small restaurant that seemed to almost appear out of nowhere.

In India, I enjoyed one of the largest prawns I have ever seen. It was so large I used a knife and fork to cut it up and eat it. It will always be one of my favorite memories because a dear friend and missionary to India found such joy it buying it for me and watching me eat it.

I had a big smile on my face when I enjoyed fish and chips in London, England. I have always liked Long John Silvers and Red Lobster is a favorite. But my favorite of all time was in the lovely little town of Rockport in beautiful New England. Maybe it was because I was with my wife and daughter.
Come to think of it, maybe the joy in all of this----fishing and eating came/comes not from just the activity but from who I am/was with.

Ah yes. That's it. Who I'm with! So as I go bob, bob, bobbing along I hope to see YOU soon.

YOUNG, SEXY POOL BOY OR OLD, SHOT POOL MAN

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

The monsoons are going to finish off this old man.

Night after night they come. It looks like there is no end.

BUT I get the job done. Our pool is sparkling clean. It's gorgeous.

NOW, would one of those young, sexy, pool boys do a better job?

I don't think so.

Would Charlotte like to see him running around in our back yard?

Probably.

She might fib and say, "Why no, I rather see you stumbling around out there."

We all know the truth. She's in her eighties now but hey, those "Old" eighties
gals are not dead.

Truth is she can't afford him. She's stuck with the old, shot pool man----me.

Pool looks good. It's gorgeous.

THE BUCKET LIST OBSESSION

Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Bucket list. I don't have one. Don't want one. Don't need one.

It's not that I have done it all. I haven't. 

But I have done a lot. I have ridden a camel up to the pyramids and walked inside. I have seen the Taj Mahal. 

I have done some big things. I have sat at the Captain's table for dinner on a Greek ship as we sailed the Mediterranean. I have been on the Island of Patmos where John wrote the book of Revelation. I have led the communion service of the Lord's Supper on the Lord's Day in the city of Jerusalem in front of the tomb where Jesus was laid. 

I grew up in Oklahoma doing a lot of small but interesting things. Did a lot of stuff in the exciting Los Angels area and also San Francisco. I have done a little bit of everything in Arizona. I have traveled to many distance and exciting places. I loved Paris.

Bucket list? I don't have one. No ambition? Absolutely not!

I have done and am doing what comes to me in the natural course of events. Yes. I plan some things. I just don't have a list of must dos before I die. I haven't put things to do on a list and I haven't been marking things off in my mind.

If I see tomorrow I will be happy. If I don't--- the Bible tells me I will be even happier.

I'm studying Spanish and teaching myself to play the piano. You would like to do that? Don't put it on a list, just do it. Got too many things on your bucket list? Rapidly approaching the final curtain?

It raises the question of what have you been doing all the time.

Bucket list? I don't have one. But I do have a bucket or two. I have an old bucket I got from Charlotte's Dad. He used it to feed his animals. I poked holes in the bottom and use it for a planter.

And I have a couple of bright orange buckets from Home Depot. The white letters on the side read: Let's Do This.

Good idea. I'm going to cook dinner tonight.  

  

THE SECRET OF LASTING FORGIVENESS

Thursday, June 28, 2018

THE SECRET OF LASTING FORGIVENESS
How To Find Peace By Forgiving Others And Yourself
By Bruce Wilkinson with Mark E. Strong

OVERVIEW: Through the teachings of Jesus, The Secret of Lasting Forgiveness reveals the link between our suffering and our unforgiveness. But it also shows how to forgive—for real and forever. Our Story doesn't have to end with the pain of our wounds. Whatever happened to us happened. But the God who made our hearts has shown a way through the wounds, back to the life and love that we were made for—a path to lasting peace.

AUTHOR: Dr. Bruce Wilkinson is the #1 New York times bestselling author of over sixty books, including The Prayer of Jabez. Bruce currently leads Teach Every Nation, a Bible training movement educating church leaders who cannot access or afford traditional academic institutions.
Dr. Mark E.Strong is the lead pastor of Life Change Church in Portland, Oregon, and the author of The Blessing Maker, Church for the Fatherless and The Divine Merger.

MY REVIEW: This book comes with a money back guarantee. But you will not be asking for it. Bruce Wilkinson delivers what he promises. This excellent book will show you how to find the illusive peace you have been searching for.

I like what Katy, a reader said after reading The Secret Of Lasting Forgiveness, "Do I feel differently about forgiveness? YES! I laughed, I cried, I danced, I wrote, I meditated. I stayed on the potter's wheel to let God do more work that had been hidden. A delight, a wonder." She liked it! I didn't laugh. I didn't cry. I didn't dance. But I certainly did meditate and I profited greatly.

The book is divided into two sections. Part one is Our Secret Plan. Part two is Our Path to Peace. There are eleven brief chapters. Each one packed with wonderful truths from the Scriptures that will help lead you to forgiveness and peace. This is a book you should want to read. It is a book you need to read. And I feel after reading it you will want to share it with others.

(I received this book from Zeal Books in exchange for a fair and honest review.)

FINDING THE LOVE OF JESUS—FROM GENESIS TO REVELATION

Friday, June 15, 2018

FINDING THE LOVE OF JESUS
from Genesis to Revelation
By Elyse Fitzpatrick

OVERVIEW: The Bible is about Jesus and his love for you! Elyse Fitzpatrick reveals how each section of the Bible—the law, history, poetry, the epistles—points to God's eternal love and the good news of redemption through his Son. You'll find yourself drawn to the Bible like never before as you begin to see Jesus on every page. Discussion questions make this a great book for individual or small-group study.

AUTHOR: ELYSE FITZPATRICK is a frequent speaker at churches, retreats, and large conferences such as The Gospel Coalition and True Woman. She has an MA in biblical counseling from Trinity Theological Seminary and has authored twenty-three books on daily living and the Christian life. She lives with her husband in San Diego, California.

MY REVIEW: Amanda Bible Williams said, "Reading this book made me want to read my Bible." I agree. I think after you have read this book you will want to dig into your Bible. From Genesis to Revelation. That's a lot of love. I agree with Susan Hunt, a pastor's wife, who wrote: "Whether you have studied the Bible for years or just begun, Finding the Love of Jesus from Genesis to Revelation will renew your mind and refresh your soul. In her engaging style, Elyse makes deep truths understandable as she teaches us how to see Jesus in all of Scripture."

This splendid book has eight chapters: 1. It's All about Him; 2. Seeing What's Right before You; 3. Finding the Love of Jesus in the Books of Moses; 4. Finding the Love of Jesus in Israel's Stories; 5. Finding the Love of Jesus in His Songs and Sayings; 6. Finding the Love of Jesus in His Prophets; 7. Finding the Love of Jesus in His Law; 8. Finding the Love of Jesus in the gospel. And there is an appendix: Coming to Saving Faith.

This book is written especially for women—but not just for women. I found it to be enlightening, helpful and hard to put down.

(I received this book from Bethany House in exchange for a fair and honest review.)