There is some frustration flowing through the Cree household this morning.
I’ve been struggling to get some software working the way I want. Sometimes computers can be downright infuriating. I just love those times when you follow the instructions laid out to install a new piece of something and yet it still doesn’t work. I know there is a reason, but I can’t figure it out! Grrrr..
But I’m not the only one struggling here today.
Low Rider is about to go nuts.
Gorgeous keeps a free flowing bird feeder just outside one of the windows to the back yard. She likes keeping track of the different kinds of birds that partake of her generosity.
The boys pay close attention too. It is not unusual for Low Rider to run from window to window trying to find a bird he was casing after it flew off. And Fat Boy will go into this weird vocalized convulsion sometimes because he so much wants to get at the birds. Sometimes he sounds like he’s demon possessed. I wish I had a recording of it for you. It truly sounds bizarre.
Gorgeous says it is good for the boys, enriching their lives so to speak. She calls the window on the bird feeder “Kitty TV.”
Well as you can see the boys were watching the telly this morning. Low Rider was more intense than Fat Boy, which is not unusual. I was struggling to get the computer to do what I wanted it to off in my study. (It still isn’t working right. I gave up for now and will attack the problem again when I have more time.)
I’m sitting here and I hear a big thump on the window. It sounded like one of the birds flew into it. Gorgeous, who was sitting right there reading, burst out laughing, which was my clue that it probably wasn’t a bird strike.
She said Low Rider got so frustrated that he thumped the window with his paw. And it was loud too. Scared all the birds out of the back yard. Well for a moment anyway.
As you can see from the second photo they didn’t stay away from the food for long!
Sometimes when I get frustrated or depressed it helps me to put things into perspective. If I look around at other people’s problems, I often realize that mine are pretty much small potatoes.
Job was a guy who had big problems. In a very short time he lost all his wealth, his family and his health. He was tempted to turn his back on God. Listen to his cry…
“Is this not the struggle of all humanity? A person’s life is long and hard, like that of a hired hand, like a worker who longs for the day to end, like a servant waiting to be paid. I, too, have been assigned months of futility, long and weary nights of misery. When I go to bed, I think, `When will it be morning?’ But the night drags on, and I toss till dawn. My skin is filled with worms and scabs. My flesh breaks open, full of pus.
“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle flying back and forth. They end without hope. O God, remember that my life is but a breath, and I will never again experience pleasure. You see me now, but not for long. Your eyes will be on me, but I will be dead. Just as a cloud dissipates and vanishes, those who die will not come back.”
Talk about a guy feeling pain and suffering! Yet when it was all said and done, after Job had complained to God and God had responded to Job’s complaining listen to what Job finally says:
Then Job replied to the LORD:
“I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you. You ask, `Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’ It is I. And I was talking about things I did not understand, things far too wonderful for me.
“You said, `Listen and I will speak! I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.’
“I had heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.”
I especially like the point Job makes about “talking about things I did not understand, things far to wonderful to me.” How many times do I do that in my complaining?
Gives me something to think about.
Now if I could only teach that principle to Low Rider!
Enjoy!
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I knew I wanted to fill up the tank before I turned the car back in because I didn’t want to get soaked paying the rental company $5 a gallon for a less than full tank, or some such. Fortunately on the highway I was on had an 
The trick was the booth at the O’Hare exit. There is no operator at that exit. It is cash only, exact change required. But you have to be a bit of a detective to figure out how much the toll is because the only place it tells you is a little sign on the toll collecting machine itself. It happened to be $0.80 too.
Oh, we totally saw that one coming.
It got me thinking about how much control we really don’t have in our lives. I mean we can plan for all sorts of eventualities but in the end we just plain aren’t in charge of how things work out.
I will have some business at the 
Jesus’ analogy of two thousand years ago still holds up in this modern automobile age. The back roads around here are typically passable and the traffic still flows. But the Interstates tend to get all jammed up with the crowds who flock to them. Now the Interstates are easier to find, easier to stay on, and don’t have any traffic lights. But the side streets will get you there at a steadier pace. And if your way is blocked (by say a stuck draw bridge, a fire truck, or construction — all of which have happened to me so far) you can go a few blocks around the trouble and still keep moving.
When I walked in the place it was really loud and the entry way was filled with a mob of people under 4 feet tall. I quickly weighed out my desire for good pizza against wanting to find a quiet place to enjoy reading some more in my book over dinner and I chose not to wade through all the kiddies to find a table.
Whew! It’s been a busy week so far. Lot’s of stuff to do. But looking at what we’ve got for the rest of the week, it looks like I might actually get a little down time. Gorgeous suggested I make sure I get some authentic Chicago style pizza while I’m up here. We definitely like our food, us Cree’s.
Going up in them to the observation area on a windy day you could feel the building sway in the wind. It was always cool to look down on the helicopters that were scurrying around the city.
I was commissioned as a Naval Officer about 6 months before the fall of the 
airport waiting area has TV’s blaring and all of them are tuned to some news channel. All I heard about was Mid-East violence, Korea & Iran and nuclear weapons, Typhoons killing hundreds in China. Now I’m not a bury-my-head-in-the-sand-and-pretend it’s-all-going-to-be-OK kind of guy. I’m in touch with reality. But I definitely got a reminder why I don’t watch much television news coverage anymore. I can get all the news I need with a quick scan of the headlines online and see, “Yep. The world’s still a mess.” I don’t need some photogenic announcer telling me over and over how bad things are.
For example I haven’t figured out how to pour anything from the little 4 cup coffee pot here in my room without massive amounts of spillage. Fortunately there is a little kitchenette with a sink to spill over and contain the mess.