Help please…

My blog has been about telling a story that I thought could help others, a lot of it is just things happening in my life, and as my niece says showing your recovery will help others see that things can get better.

Today I am begging for the help of you readers. I believe in the power of prayer and I have a friend in desperate need of a miracle.

My friend’s name is Ozzie or at least that’s what I call him. Ozzie appears to be a bit of a gruff fellow when you first meet him, but just like a lot of people like this they turn out to be genuinely good people deep down inside.

Good old Ozzie is a little long in the tooth and he retired a few years back, he came to work with us part time I think just to get out of the house. He and his family have a little place up on lake Erie and they spend time up there on his boat Walleye fishing. Fishing and his garden seem to be his favorite things to talk about.

Ozzie was recently diagnosed with mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer. As Ozzie described this to me, he has no mass or tumor, his lung starts to fill with a fluid and this fluid is the cancer.

Ozzie has just started chemotherapy and his doctor told him that if it works he may have a few years of life left but if not he may only have as short as a month. This is why I am asking you to please try to find just a minute in your busy day to remember Ozzie in your prayers.

With God all things are possible, please join me in prayer.

Dear Lord we ask that you may bless Ozzie with a few more years of life to help take care of his wife, may he please have a chance to enjoy the golden years of his life.

AMEN

Thank you,

Lonnie

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The sights of summer…

Living in Northwestern Ohio there is one thing that is for certain, it will be a long and cold winter. So with this in mind I thought I would put together a few reminders of summer from our little backyard garden before the snow starts to blow.

	Our fine feathered friends, if there is anything that appreciates summer, I’m sure it’s the birds. Can you imagine what winter must be like for them?Dorothy and I spend a lot of time with the birds, feeding or just watching them splash around in the bird bath. There is nothing in this world that appears to have more freedom then birds.

	Pictured to the left is my angel, Dorothy. She is the reason the sun shines. She is the reason dogs wag their tails. She is most definitely the reason I smile. Spring, Summer, Fall, or Winter I love her.
	Meet Maggie Mae, a ball of energy. She keeps me young. This winter I will miss my time out back with her the most.We’ll still fly the Frisbee but not for long in the cold.

Well that’s summer around our place, they are never long enough. I hope you enjoyed my photos it’s one of my favorite things to do.

Practice with me “BRRRRR”

God bless,

Lonnie

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Survival instinct…

This posting deals with a morbid topic. I normally try to keep things on a happier level.

If you where expecting upbeat and happy thoughts do not continue reading.

 

Survival instinct,  self preservation, or conatus, these are the God given gifts that we all have received that may save our lives, if we only listen.

The smart man is the man that listens to what is going on around him and uses that information to guide his decision making.

It is often thought that men are weak if they feel fear, yet fear is a very important gift. Fear is a powerful and necessary force that’s purpose is to steer us away from danger. Why would any thinking person ignore these built in impulses or fall prey to this peer pressure.

With all of that said, 8 months ago I had a brush with death and it has left me with a powerful fear. I saw how easy the transition from life to death can be and this fear just keeps gnawing at me. I don’t know what to do with this information? Is this a signal that I need to get my spiritual house in order?

Why do we all fear death so much? Every person that came before us has “survived death”, so to speak. Every one reading this will also die. Is our survival instinct this strong?

In an effort to get the rest of my life in order I would like to set aside a few minutes every day from now on to try to figure out what my purpose in life is, I’m sure I have fallen behind at this endeavor also.

The only way I know how to get right with God is to pray, so this will be added to my daily agenda. I guess you could say I need to spend some time preparing for death.

This whole topic may seem morbid, and most of us would just like to ignore it. Until last December I did. I’m sorry I wish I still could.

This blog is a place where I have a conversation with myself, I apologize to all of you that I have dragged into this morbid topic, but I really do think it is important to spend some time thinking about the inevitable. If it helps us prepare for our eternal lives then I helped.

May God bless us all,

Lonnie  

Background and source information:

Self preservation is part of an animal‘s instinct that demands that the organism survives. Pain and fear are parts of this mechanism. Pain causes discomfort so that the organism is inclined to stop the pain. Fear causes the organism to seek safety and may cause a release of adrenaline which has the effect of increased strength and heightened senses such as hearing, smell, and sight.

Source: Wikipedia

Conatus (Latin for effort; endeavor; impulse, inclination, tendency; undertaking; striving)
The conatus may refer to the instinctive “will to live” of animals or to various metaphysical theories of motion and inertia.^[3] Often the concept is associated with God‘s will in a pantheist view of Nature

Source:Wikipedia

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Passing…

This morning I received word that a friend and former employee had passed. We all deal with things in different ways, but the thing that has saddened me the most is the way the rest of the world just keeps turning. That doesn’t mean that I am angry at all of you for going about your lives, it just means that when a good, hard working, and passionate for life person forever leaves us it should have more of an impact on us all. People pass every day, I know, and we can’t dwell on this. I would however like to believe that we all matter and that we all will be missed.

On August the 4th, 2008 at 1:08 AM Jean Ann Gross – Patton died at St. Rita’s Medical Center in Lima, Oh.

Jean Ann was one of the hardest working women that I have ever met. She worked three jobs during the time that I knew her and I don’t know when she had time to sleep.

She and I had opposing political ideologies and this brought about some wild debates. She was very firm in her beliefs and although we disagreed this is where I held my highest respect for her. She also was a devout Catholic and I pray that the Lord has finally given her that much needed rest she deserves.

  I am told that Jean Ann also played a role in Dorothy and I getting together. She encouraged Dorothy to send me secret admirer cards which is what started us down the road to matrimony, so for this I am very grateful.

I want to believe that our lives have an impact and that we all leave an eternal mark on this planet. This is my tribute to Jean Ann, and I know that your mark will last at least as long as I do.

I have previously written that I believe that all we ever really accomplish in life is to accumulate memories, both for ourselves and the ones we leave for others. Jean Ann, I thank you for the memories you left for me. 

God bless,

Lonnie

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Dog Gone Fun!

This is Maggie Mae doing what she loves best, playing. She loves the garden hose.

Is it just me or do you also share in someone else’s fun? When they are enjoying themselves’ do we also feel that enjoyment? If this is the case then it would only take a small percent of the world having fun to change everyone’s mood.

Just more lofty idealism and psychobabble, that’s what I like to do.

Isn’t fun the best thing to have?

God bless,

Lonnie

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