The Olympics started yesterday.  North Korea seems to be getting a lot of coverage because they are joining  some of the events.  I can't help but wonder where that situation would be if the USA hadn't stopped at the 38th parallel in the 50's.  (The Korean War)  It is easier to figure out what we should have done after the fact.  When you look at the advanced culture of our democratic ally S. Korea, and the situation that exists in totalitarian N. Korea, you wonder how the people in North Korea endure the oppression.  Maybe they don't know that they are oppressed??

Maybe because they don't have anything to compare their condition with.  There is no freedom of the press, or speech.  And they don't have access to news outside their country.  It is a closed society.  They are fed a constant stream of propaganda.  They don't know about the truth.  All they know is what they are told.

The problem with freedom of the press, however, is that you can print and distribute things that aren't true.  And with the massive explosion of the media, we are bombarded with words.  True words, or false words.  It is hard sometimes to figure out.  Some people think that if it is in print, it's true.   Ha.

Those of us who are Christians have depended on the truth of the Bible for over 2000 years.  And when you examine the lives of those who have truly given their lives to Christ, the truth is evident in their changed lives.  His applied truth works, and is evident.  The truth presented in the Bible has stood the test of time.  Truth lasts.  It endures.  It doesn't change.  And God's truth endures.

I would not live the life that the non Christian lives.  There is such peace in "The Way," as the first Christians called themselves.

There is a "way" to live that brings joy.  There is a "way" to find happiness.  There is a "way" to have peace in the midst of trouble.  If you aren't a Christian, you won't get what I am talking about.  The words of Jesus are truth that have stood the ages.

You aren't a Christian??  How's that working for you?

Squig drags my houseshoes, or my socks, or gloves--any thing that I wear that hasn't been put away high enough that he can't reach it--into the family room every day.  He doesn't chew on anything.  Just repositions it.  And he always brings it into that one room where I spend most of my time and plops it down.   I don't get it.  He's trying to tell me something?  I have no idea what.

He never goes into the back of the house.  (Neither do I.)  But while Becky Bacon was here, he went back there (where she was staying).  He dragged her things into the front of the house as well.  Maybe he thinks he is helping everyone??  I'm always putting stuff back where it goes.

Trying to figure other people out is just as difficult as well as trying to figure Squig out.  My next door neighbor is a retired pastor.  He and I were talking this morning--about figuring people out--why they say and do the things they do.  He said something interesting that I will put in my mental storehouse.  He said, "The thing that makes us frustrated with people is that we have expectations.   And sometimes, what you expect, is something that person doesn't have the capacity to do."

I expect people to grow.  Get better.  Grow in wisdom.  Be kinder.  More mature.  But some people don't do that.  They are satisfied where they are.  They see what they want to see, and no more.  They think what they want to think, and no more.  They do what they want to do, and no more.  Even if it is wrong and self destructive.

So--if you stop expecting anything from people, you won't be disappointed.  Which sounds good to me because I hate to be disappointed in people.

My problem  is that I keep expecting something...which means that I am doing the same thing over and over again thinking there will be a different outcome.  Spinning my wheels.  Trying to help people who don't recognize help when it comes their way.

I guess we are not in charge of the outcome of what we do.  We are simply called to love people, and try to help them.  Some people are difficult to love.  But God doesn't excuse us from trying.

I have a friend who is going through a tough time.  She has a problem which she can't solve.  There is nothing she can personally do.  These are the toughest type of problems that we encounter.

When problems arise, we stew, and fret, and try to solve the situation.  Sometimes, we can use our wisdom to figure out what to do.   The Bible says, "Get wisdom, get understanding....Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all your getting get understanding." Proverbs 4:5-7.

In other words, some problems we can solve.  With wisdom.  Previously acquired knowledge is critical in becoming a wise person.  Using that knowledge is an indication of maturity.  But sometimes, there is no solution within our abilities.  Sometimes it doesn't matter how wise you are.  There is no obvious solution.  Nothing you can do.

So, we pray.  Maybe you are thinking, "You should have done that in the first place."  But most of the problems in our lives, we solve with the knowledge and wisdom we possess:  Should I buy a Lincoln, or a Chevrolet?  Should I go to the grocery store this morning, this afternoon, or wait until tomorrow?    Shall I wear my yellow dress to church, or my pink one.  We weigh the possibilities, and make a decision.  You don't pray about every decision you make.  Neither do I.  Some decisions have obvious or automatic solutions.

But some decisions are beyond our wisdom.  Beyond our understanding.  They usually involve other people.  Like taking a new job.  Or picking a person to marry.  Or choosing a church, etc.  The decision will affect other people.  It will have lasting consequences.  You want to know what God wants you to do because you want to be in His will.  Not like whether you wear yellow or pink.

My prayer in such situations goes something like this:  "Father, (although I usually start with "Dear God") I am stumped.  I don't know what to do.  I don't even know if there is something that I can do.  Could you help me with this?  And if not, could you let me know so I will stop trying to figure it out."

Sometimes, doing nothing is the answer to the problem.

I love underdog stories.  When someone overcomes all obstacles and reaches their goal.  That was the Philly Eagles, Sunday night.  But most of all, it was about a quarterback that gave up, was ready to quit football altogether, came back, got an unexpected chance, and and beat a super champ.  Not that I am against Brady!!  But Foles was calm, did his job and led his team consistently.  I'm not a football fan, but watching Foles against a superman--Brady--was interesting.  It will be talked about for years to come.

Sometimes we think our adversaries will overcome us.  That Christ won't win.  That our problems are too big for God.  I think it is because we look at the problem rather than at our leader--Jesus.

You may think that I don't have problems with people because I always try to write positive things.  Wrong.  I have problems with people that sometimes seem impossible to resolve.  You can't put yourself "out there" in the world without facing problems.  And sometimes they get me down.

Then I remind myself that my problems are God's problems--and that it is not necessarily my job to solve them.  My job is to trust Him.  And some problems don't get solved.  At least like I want them to be solved.  We don't see the big plan.  We have to remember that we are just a cog in the machinery of the Big Plan.

We have been studying the Book of Acts at church, about Paul's journeys.  Mercy.  Talk about someone who had problems, Paul had them.  But he didn't let it stop him.  And we are the recipients of his steadfast journeys, as he traveled thousands of miles by foot to spread the gospel--at some points dusting off his feet when he was rejected, and moving on to another city.

But primarily, writing.  And writing, and writing.  I'm thankful he ended up in a Roman prison so he had to limit himself to writing rather than preaching--because we now have the letters he wrote.  I don't want to end up in prison--neither do you.  But who knows what God's plans are for us.  I just want to be sure that I am in tune with His plan.

I did something yesterday that I don't remember ever doing before.  I watched the Superbowl.  All my life when football was on, I left the room to Ken and Scott and Jon.  Who (all three) were All State Oklahoma athletes who went on to play for colleges and the Navy.  I am definitely not an athlete and never understood the fascination of watching people running into each other and knocking each other down.  So I left the field--so to speak--to the guys.

But through the years, I softened up, and by the time the boys had graduated, it was just Ken and me, so I would sometimes watch with him--we knew some of the players--and that made it more interesting.  NEO at Miami was #1 in in football in the nation a number of years while we were teaching there, and we had dozens of young men that had passed through our classes and gone on to four year schools to play football--and a number who went pro.  It is more interesting when you know the players personally.  I had Scott Case in algebra...for one example.

So there I was yesterday.  Alone.  Nobody to watch anything with.  Much less football.   And I watched the Superbowl.  I wonder how many times I could have watched with my three guys and didn't.   Oh, well.

There are times in life we wish we could get back and do something over again.  But it doesn't work that way.  You get one shot.   You have to remember that it's not about you.  It's always about them.  Whoever your "them" is.  I doubt the boys cared whether I watched football with them or not.  I kept the food coming while they watched.  Food and football.  They were happy.

Life is like that.  Sometimes, you miss an opportunity to do something you wish you would have done.  Let it go.  Do something now.  With the people in your life that are here now.  And it certainly doesn't have to be football.  Intersecting people's lives is the object.  We have a story to tell, and it would be sad if there wasn't anyone to tell it to.  Make friends.  Put yourself out there.  Go on the offensive.  (I learned that word watching football.)

Try to be the person God wants you to be--in other people's lives.  You might make an eternal difference.

I have another wonderful grandson who calls me every week.  Scott's youngest, Sam.  He brought his wife Tiffany, and baby daughter Olivia, to see me last Saturday.  He was a golf pro in Colombia, Missouri, but they wanted to get back to Oklahoma and family.  Tiff got a really good job offer in Tulsa, so they moved back and are living with her folks until Sam finds a job.  Sam checked with the golf courses in Tulsa, but nobody was hiring in January.

We talked for over an hour about how hard it is to make ends meet with only one of them working.  And the difficulties of living with family while Sam tries to find work.  And about what Sam was going to do--recognizing that someone had to take care of Olivia while he looked for a job, and there was no money for childcare while he looked.  Catch 22.  A real estate agency offered him a job, but that has no guarantees and it's only commission--you have to sell a house before you get the money for childcare--and in the meantime you have a baby on your hip.  Catch 22 again.

Sam recently qualified for the PGA with two back to back rounds, of 69.  (He's 24 years old and has been a golfer all his life.) He has started the process of getting a PGA card--but it costs a lot of money--and you have to be able to have the time to do it and the money to do it.  Catch 22 again.

We decided to pray about it.  He said, "Tiffany and I are tithing, but by the time we do that, there isn't any money left over.  And sometimes, I think I am tithing to see if God will give us more money--and I know that isn't right.  I want my attitude to be right.  But it's hard when money is so tight."

He called me today to say, "Grandmother!! I got a job offer at two different golf courses today.  This has to be a God thing!!!  One of them offered me a job, gave me papers to fill out, and as I left, the other place--where I really wanted to work, called me and asked me if I wanted a job--they needed me now.  I'll be able to give lessons on the side."  (Of course it's a God thing!)  He was so excited.  And I am so excited for him.  He will make enough to pay for childcare and have money left over."

God is good.  He answers our prayers.  One way or another, he is going to take care of us.  Sam and Tiff can both work, Olivia can go to a fabulous childcare center, and maybe we'll see Sam playing golf on TV someday?

Steven and I wandered around the old part of the city of York for days.  I was fascinated by the curving narrow streets that had served the people fairly well a thousand years ago.  They couldn't be made wider unless they tore down the shops--which were the "draw" to get people to wander around.  And the stone walls around the town were interesting as well. Steven loved the shops.  I think we went in every one of them.  Steven spent his money on a Cloisonne' turtle for his mom.

We missed our train one evening because we were having so much fun.  So I got a train schedule to see if there was any way we could get back to Grimsby that night.  I finally figured it out, but it would take a one hour train change at an obscure place with no station.  So we trusted the schedule and got on the first train.

It stopped to let us off.  We were the only two people who disembarked.  Onto a concrete slab.  That's it.  No town, no people, no building, no nothing.  And it was snowing.  And I knew my daughter would start to wonder what had happened to us when we didn't return on time.  I didn't own a cell phone.  I didn't have a number to call anyway.

We stood on the slab.  I prayed to God that He would send a train to pick us up.  I prayed to God that someone would tell the conductor of the train to look for us.  I prayed to God that we wouldn't freeze to death.  And like a good grandmother, I said, "Steven!!  We are on an adventure!!  This will be a great story to tell your mom when we get back."  We jumped up and down to keep warm.  And I checked my watch a million times--wondering if there was going to be a train at the scheduled time--or any time.  I even worried that the train personnel might have gone on strike.

The train came on time.  It stopped for the two of us.  We got on and arrived late at Grimsby.  And Steven had a great story to tell everyone at dinner that evening.

I love my grandson.  But my daughter Becky gets the credit for our relationship.  She purposely wanted her boys to have a relationship with me and got us tickets to go with her to Europe at least a zillion times.  She is a generous, giving person.  I am a lucky mom and grandmother.  God blessed me with two daughters, two sons, and ten grandchildren who love me.  What more could I ask for.