THE CELEBRATION CALIBRATION: A RUMINATOR'S LENTON SEASON

Greetings and Salutations to those who are regular readers of THE RUMINATOR RAMBLINGS...and also greetings and salutations to those who had this Rambling forwarded to them by friends...or you happen to stumble onto it. The Ruminator chews on the Word of God likes a cow chews the cud... reflecting, mulling, thinking about the Word.

Today...I want to talk about the CALIBRATION CELEBRATION in my personal life during the SEASON OF LENT. I like the season of LENT because it is a time of soul searching...repentance...a season of reflection...and taking stock of my life. Some would say...but should you not be doing that 365 days a year? The answer is yes...BUT...I don't. We use all kinds of methods to REFRESH our lives. We take vacations...days off...pamper ourselves with spa days...take a walk on the beach...go on retreats (if you are really spiritual...you don't go on retreats but go on an ADVANCE)...go to meetings...conferences...etc. We go to these place to escape the pressures and cares of the world...and enter into GREENHOUSE SITUATIONS...and prepare to go back out into the "REAL WORLD". Jesus would often pull away to places of prayer and reflection for what needed to be done. For me this time of LENT is that time...where I can clear the clutter...hear God...and RECALIBRATE. Sometimes...as I live out my faith in this NITTY GRITTY world...my calibration gets off kilter...and I tend to do religious stuff...but my guidance coordination's are out of whack...and I need to RECALIBRATE to get back to the standard. Then I can get back to CELEBRATING...thus the title of this Rambling...CALIBRATION CELEBRATION.

In our collage...you see Kool and the Gang...and Three Dog Night...who had some great songs both titled CELEBRATE. When ever I hear these songs...I feel a lift in my load...and a spark in my steps...especially when I think about when the children of Israel were set free from the bondage of Egypt so that they could CELEBRATE IN THE WILDERNESS. Well...we are in this nitty gritty world...and are still called to CELEBRATE IN THE WILDERNESS until we go home. To do that...I PERSONALLY NEED TO BE IN PROPER SYNC WITH MY FATHER AND HIS STANDARD....AKA CALIBRATION.

It has been said that CALIBRATION is the validation of the specific measurement techniques and equipment. CALIBRATION is a comparison BETWEEN measurements...one of a KNOWN MAGNITUDE (God) or CORRECTNESS made or set with one device and another measurement...made in a similar way as possible with a second device.. The known correctness is know as...THE STANDARD. The second (2nd) device is know as the UNIT UNDER TEST (U.T.T.) The word righteousness means the STANDARD...so that would be God...His Word...His Standard...and you and me are the U.T.T. We go through the process of getting back into sync...recalibrating with the standard.
ENTER THE SEASON OF LENT.

LENT is a 40 day long...liturgical...season of fasting and prayer before EASTER (Resurrection Day for the purist).

NOTE: There is much debate on if we should use the word Easter...or celebrate another day...or even celebrate at all. Easter is not about rabbits...eggs..bonnets
...chocolate rabbits...popcorn bunnies...etc. It is about the culmination of the death, burial...and RESURRECTION OF JESUS THE CHRIST.

Millions of Christians celebrate this season...and millions don't celebrate this season. Liturgical to the Orthodox take time to reflect...and many think this reflection is a daily process. Some say...I am giving up LENT...for LENT this year...and I understand that it is not for everyone. I don't even do it in the traditional way. When you start making the DAY or RITUAL...more important than the CREATOR OF THE DAY...or WHY YOU DO THE RITUAL...then you are in error. (Read Galatians)

With that said...for me personally...I look forward to this season as a time of preparation, pertinence, alms giving and self denial.

This year LENT began on February 25th 2009...and ends on April 11th 2009...the day before RESURRECTION DAY. There are 40 days in the LENTEN CALENDAR...with each Sunday being a day of "mini-Easter" ...a celebration of Jesus' VICTORY OVER SIN AND DEATH.
That mean...for example...that if you gave up chocolate for LENT...then on Sunday you may have some chocolate. Of course you will have those who may try to push the envelope...and say that they gave up Jack Daniels for Lent...or gave up illicit sex for Lent...and then on Sunday you can indulge. Mmmmmm...I don't think so. Of course tradition...of pagan origin...institutes FAT TUESDAY as a time to have your one last blow out of debauchery and sin and over indulgence...as places like New Orleans and Rio...turn into SIN FEST with Carnival (the flesh)...and Mardi Gras.

This year...for old Rod...I am taking time for recalibration. In the past I have given up blogging (not doing that this year)...various items of food...complaining...etc.

NOTE: This is not just a time of giving something up...but also adding something in. For example if you give up cussing...add in praising. If you give up negative talk...start talking positive. If you give up candy...add a vegetable. If you give up T.V....add in reading the Word or prayer more than normal.

For me personally...I have asked the Lord...to speak to me daily and specifically in the areas of (1) my spirit (2) my soul [mind, free will]
(3) emotions. I have purposed to daily...minute by minute...choice by choice...to filter it though the Father. He has already spoken to me some specifics...that I don't have to ask Him about during this journey...but along with this...it could be something as simple as a choice about what to eat at that moment...or if I am in the middle of meal...when should I stop eating. The other day...I was at a Chinese buffet with a co-worker...and where I would normally go back 3 or 4 times to fill my plate...I asked the Lord...and I stopped at one plate.

Lord...speak to me in my sPIRIT (little s...human spirit)...where I communicate with you. Let your Holy Spirit who knows your heart...speak to me in my spirit. May I have times of intimacy with you...and know that I know that I know that I know the things of the Father. May I not quench the Spirit by things I say and do.

Lord.. speak to me in my SOUL (my mind...my volition/free will/choices...and my emotions). Lord as I renew my mind with the washing of the water of your Word...may I be transformed into your desire...versus be conformed to the worlds desires. Lord help me to have a different MIND SET...a mind set on the Spirit...where there is life and peace..versus...a mind set on the flesh...where there is death. Lord, may my CHOICES...my volition...my free will...make right choices...based on your Word and my renewed mind...as you speak to me on this LENT JOURNEY. My my emotions be stabilized as I go thorough this time...and not be fluctuating based on what SHAKES ME...but I will have emotions based on my renewed mind, right choices...and my intimacy with you.

Lord...speak to me in my BODY (flesh, blood, bones, ligaments, muscles, organs, etc)...this housing...this temple...of the Holy Spirit. Lord I look to you not only as the Saviour of my soul...but also the HEALER OF MY BODY. Lord...by your stripes I am Healed in every area of my life...my emotions, my sin sickness...and my BODY. Lord you know my specific needs...and I thank you for speaking to me to do what I need to do. Lord if it is to get up and walk...I will. If it is to drink more water...I will. If it is to stretch...I will. Where my inabilities and physician's inabilities...and my own body's inability are...may you be there with healing. By your stripes I am Healed (Isaiah 53).

"Therefore...strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble...and make straight paths for your feet...so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint...BUT RATHER BE HEALED." (Hebrews 12:12,13)

Lord...after this LENT SEASON...may I carry on the RECALIBRATION PROCESS DAILY...so next year...it won't be so hard.

"Remember my affliction and my WANDERING...the wormwood and bitterness. Surely my soul remembers and is BOWED DOWN WITHIN ME...This I RECALL TO MY MIND...therefore I HAVE HOPE. The steadfast love of the Lord (the Lord's loving kindnesses) indeed never cease...for His mercy (compassion's) never fail...they (steadfast love/mercies) are NEW EVERY MORNING (daily)... GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS." (Lamentations 3:19-23)

"My little children...I am writing these things to you that you MAY NOT SIN...and if anyone SINS...we have an ADVOCATE (one called along side to help) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous...and He Himself is the RIGHTEOUS (the standard for calibration)...and He Himself the PROPITITATION (substitute and satisfaction for God)...for our sins...and not for ours only...but also for those of the world."
(I John 2:1,2)

FINAL THOUGHTS...FINALLY!

Here it is...four days into the journey...KEEP ON WALKIN'.

Love and Lengthened Kisses
Rodney "Ears Wide Open" Boyd

THE NOTHING AND EVERYTHING PRINCIPLE

PRE-NOTE: This was posted as a note on FACEBOOK... but this is a revised version...so if you read it on FACEBOOK...you may find some extra goodies in this version.

Hello anxious and non-anxious friends. How's your anxiety level...currently?

ANXIETY...is defined as a state of being uneasy, apprehensive, or worried about what MAY HAPPEN...concern about a POSSIBLE FUTURE EVENT.

Do your find your mind wandering to what MIGHT HAPPEN...or the POSSIBILITY of THE FUTURE? One definition of anxiety is being pulled in 20 different directions...and not being able to focus on ONE THING. Another definition is being fearful about something that you can't do anything about anyway. Whatever your definition...being anxious is NOT a God thing. We are called to CAST OUR ANXIETY ON HIM...BECAUSE HE CARES FOR YOU.
(I Peter 5:7)

Enter...THE NOTHING AND EVERYTHING PRINCIPLE...aka...THE ANXIETY BUSTERS (who ya gonna call?) This principle is found in Philippians chapter 4 verses...6-9. The key that makes this principle work is found in verse 5...THE LORD IS NEAR. If HE IS NEAR...what do you have to be ANXIOUS ABOUT.. especially if you are WALKING BY FAITH...and not by SIGHT (things revealed to the senses: Hebrews 11:1, II Corinthians 5:7 The Amplified Bible)

PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7

1. Be anxious: This means DON'T BE anxious. It is a choice. DON'T BE uneasy, apprehensive, worried about what MAY HAPPEN. Don't project your fears on FUTURE EVENTS.

2. For nothing: No thang...zilch...nada...nuttin' honey.

3. BUT: The link between the nothings and what comes next.

4. In everything: That covers all the stuff in the nothing column

NOTE: At this point...take a piece of paper and divided it down the middle. At the top on one side put NOTHING...and on the other side put EVERYTHING. Write down everything that you are ANXIOUS about under the NOTHING COLUMN. Then draw an arrow from the NOTHING COLUMN...to the EVERYTHING COLUMN..because they are exactly the same things.

5. By Prayer: This is communication with God. It is not a monologue...BUT...a two way conversation as you speak to God...and He speaks back through His written Word...and His Holy Spirit (Big S)...into your human spirit (little s). Oh yes...he may use other means of speech and communication...including brothers and sisters in the Lord and/or whatever He decides to use. It is up to us to LISTEN UP.

6. And Supplication: This is a specific, humble, petition of what you need. he will supply your NEEDS (not your greed's) according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus...and there AIN'T no shortage in glory in Christ Jesus.

7. With Thanksgiving: This is where your FAITH is applied to #'s 1-6...aka where the rubber meets the road. You THANK HIM...BEFORE anything ...of the nothings...and the everythings...ever change. You begin to attach faith to your confident expectations (aka hopes)...and WALK BY FAITH...and not what is revealed to your senses. This includes...what MAY HAPPEN...or the FUTURE EVENTS.

8. Let/Allow your requests be MADE KNOWN to God: He knows already what you need...but places the choice in your hands...to WORRY or TRUST HIM. To worry or not to worry...that is the question. The answer: NOT!! As you allow your requests to be released to Him...you give Him permission (as if He needed it...but He chooses to let us limit Him)...to in your life. One thing that pleases God is FAITH (Hebrews 11:6) You must come to Him with your requests...and believe that He is...and that He is a REWARDER of those who diligently seek Him and not those who just passively inquire of Him.

CAUSE AND EFFECT OF DOING #1-8

And the PEACE OF GOD...which surpasses all comprehension...shall GUARD your hearts and your minds in CHRIST JESUS: The areas of attack is the (a) heart (b) the mind. Peace is the guard. The attack is still swirling aroundyou...BUT...you are at REST/WHOLE. The peace you can comprehend is the ABSENCE OF CONFLICT...God wants you to GO BEYOND YOUR COMPREHENSION. (and reel in your worried imaginations).

NOTE: Unrestrained minds (what you think)...produces unrestrained words (what you speak) ...resulting in unrestrained thoughts (what you think).

KEY TO A PROPER MINDSET

Romans 5: 5-8 speaks of TWO MINDSETS...(a) one on the FLESH (B) one on the SPIRIT (Big S). The cause and effect of the mind set is (a) flesh/death (b) Spirit/life and peace.. Isaiah 26:3 speaks of a PERFECT PEACE...but it does not come unless you STAY/SET your MIND on Him.

Philippians 4:8 shows where our MINDS SHOULD BE DWELLING. Note: Where you mind is dwelling...will be telling...on YOUR LIPS and YOUR ACTIONS. This is also known as THE WHATEVER PRINCIPLE (again your choice). WHATEVER IS:

a. True
b. Honorable
c. Right
d. Pure
e. Lovely
f. Of Good Report...versus bad report. (Whose report are ya gonna believe...we will believe the REPORT OF THE LORD)
g. Any Excellence
h. Anything worthy of praise.

LET/ALLOW YOUR MINDS TO DWELL ON THESE THINGS!!!!

WHAT NEXT?

In Philippians 4:9...find somebody that is walking in these things...and then...WHAT YOU:

a. Have learned
b. Have received
c. Have heard
d. Have seen
e. PRACTICE THESE THINGS!!!

Well...there ya go...THE NOTHING AND EVERYTHING PRINCIPLE FOR ANXIETY BUSTING.

Love and Non-Anxious Kisses
Rodney "Walkin' By Faith...and NOT Things Revealed To The Senses" Boyd

INTERESTING TIMES....STRANGE DAYS INDEED...MAMA

Greetings Strangers In A Strange Place. How ya doin' in these interesting times and strange days? Have you become so acclimated to the craziness of this world...that you think this is normal? Have you become like Brooks and the other prisoners in the movie the SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION...where they have been in prison so long...that they had become institutionalized...that the normal now seems abnormal and the abnormal is your normal...so you just accept life "AS IS"?

Watchman Nee in his book THE NORMAL CHRISTIAN LIFE ponders..."What is the normal Christian life? We do well at the outset to ponder this question. The object of these studies is to show that it is something very different from the life of the average Christian." We get into the rut of walking out our faith... and and we begin to accept the STATUS QUO...and trade in our living faith in Jesus Christ for DORIS DAY FAITH...Que Sera Sera...whatever will be will be... the future's not ours to see...Que Sera Sera.

On Larry Norman's album (ONLY VISITING THIS PLANET)...the fade out on the last song (Reader's Digest)...you hear Larry saying..."this world is not my home....I'm just passing thorough." Well in these interesting times...and strange days...we do have HOPE (confident expectation).

An ancient Chinese CURSE...that was actually in three parts...goes like this:

1. May you live in INTERESTING TIMES.
2. May you come to the attention of those in authority.
3. May you find what you are looking for.

In the words of Bob Dylan... THE TIMES...THEY ARE A CHANGING.

A cursory look around...reveals that these are INTERESTING TIMES indeed! From a Biblical perspective...we are living in a CURSED and FALLEN world. Jesus came to REDEEM us from the CURSE...by BECOMING a CURSE... by hanging on a TREE (D.B.R...NOTHING MORE...NOTHING LESS). The BLOODY (a curse word to some)...mess on the cross was for the remission of our sins and the atonement, the substitute...the propitiation for our sins. The RESURRECTION sealed the deal...so that because Jesus was raised from the dead...SO WILL WE BE. Until then...we walk as a collective colony on earth as representatives of the CHRIST.

On December 8th 1980 at 10:49 P.M...the INTERESTING TIMES were manifested in New York City when Mark David Chapman...assassinated John Lennon. I remember where I was...and how shocked I was when the news came on the T.V...at Courtsouth Racquetball Club where I was mopping a floor. John had a resurgence with his career with a new album... DOUBLE FANTASY...and had been recording that night. He had autographed an album hours earlier for his killer. That's how it is with INTERESTING TIMES...when you least expected...do like BRUCE COCKBURN sings about...and leaves us hanging by the "TATTERS OF OUR FAITH."

In 1984...a posthumous release of Lennon's last album appeared...called MILK AND HONEY (a mixture of the Caucasian/Lennon... and the Oriental/Yoko).

One song is called NOBODY TOLD ME. The line that grabs me...is "NOBODY TOLD ME THERE'D BE DAYS LIKE THESE...STRANGE DAYS INDEED...MOST PECULIAR MAMA...OOOOOHHH".

The song was originally written for Ringo's new album STOP AND SMELL THE ROSES...but Lennon's death CHANGED THINGS. Death usually does that. Think how your life changes when someone you know or love dies. Things shift...times become interesting...strange days indeed.

I think of how things shifted and changed when ASLAN (the Lion in The Chronicles of Narnia)...allowed the witch to mock Him, shear His mane, tie Him down on a stone altar...and then ultimately allow the witch to kill Him...in place of someone else). All hope was lost...as the children...saw the lifeless Lion on the altar...and the apparent victory of the witch. INTERESTING TIMES...STRANGE DAYS INDEED. As the children turned away...they did not observe the mice...coming up to the altar...and begin to nibble away at the bounds. Suddenly they heard a crack...and turned to see the altar split in half (much like a veil in a temple torn from the top to the bottom Jesus was crucified)...and standing on the altar with the glory of his restored mane...was ASLAN. They then climbed on His back...broke in the gates of the witches fortress...and breath His breath on those who were turned into stone by the witch. INTERESTING TIMES...STRANGE DAYS INDEED. Things changed with His death... and life.

John Lennon died...he was buried. Many people in this world have died...many people were buried. They all have that in common... the DEATH...the BURIAL...but one thing they don't have in common...is THE RESURRECTION. Aslan...who is kind...but NOT A TAME LION...is "ON THE MOVE".

Sometimes...when someone comes to Jesus...they were given the idea...that now that they have become a Christian...life will become EASY...but really...you are now a threat to the devil...and life becomes a challenge. The line...nobody told me there'd be days like these... is a play on the old saying..."My mother told me there'd be days like these." Well...be forwarned...there WILL BE DAYS LIKE THESE in these INTERESTING TIMES...but you DON'T have to be bound by the CURSE of INTERESTING TIMES...but walk in these STRANGE DAYS...with confidence...that JESUS IS LORD...and you have a MISSION...with PURPOSE and AUTHORITY (exousia:delegated authority/power)...and POWER (dunamis: dynamic ability to back up the authority).

Jesus is a kind Saviour...but He is not a TAME Saviour...Jesus IS ON THE MOVE...and He will move through...not necessarily STRANGE people...but definitely will move through PECULIAR PEOPLE (I Peter 2:9,10)

"You are a chosen generation generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a PECULIAR PEOPLE...for God's own possession, that you may PROCLAIM the excellencies of Him who has called you out of DARKNESS (interesting/strange days indeed)...into HIS MARVELOUS LIGHT...for you once were NOT A PEOPLE...but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD...you have not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." (I Peter 2:9,10)

Love and Peculiar Kisses
Rodney "Jesus Told Me There'd Be Days Like These" Boyd

25 Random Things About Me

Hello Fellow Chewers of the Cud. For those of you who are NOT on Facebook... I was asked to write 25 Random Things About Me. It is away that people get to know you a little better on this social interactive network...so I wrote 25 little things that most people don't know about Ol' Ruminatin' Rod. I decided to go ahead and put it on the blog site...in case anyone was wondering..."What makes this guy tick." Well...after reading this you may not know what makes me tick... but you will know me just a little bit better...and have more insight in how to pray for me.

25 RANDOM THINGS ABOUT ME (Rodney Lewis Boyd)

#25 I am the president of the Andy Griffith Show Rerun Watchers Fan Club... the Rockvale Chapter. The name of the club (named after a phrase or line from the show) is...JUST A BED AND A BIBLE. Brenda had T-shirts made up for the club on my 40th birthday with Andy's picture on my shirt...Helen Crump's picture on her shirt...and Opie's picture on Phillip's shirt...with JUST A BED AND A BIBLE on the back.


#24. I met Elvis Presley in 1967 behind RCA Recording Studio...Studio B on a Sunday Afternoon. There were around 20 people there and it was a surreal experience as he stepped out of the Eldorado Cadillac. After it was all over...I cried like a baby.

#23. I met Brenda Williams at a band practice in a garage (a garage band) on a Sunday Afternoon. Hmmmmmmmm....God things seems to happen to me on Sunday afternoons. NOTE: I did not cry like a baby when I met Brenda.

#22. Brenda liked the lead guitar player at the practice mentioned in #23. I played rhythm guitar. You do the math.

#21. I received my Black Belt in Wado Ryu Karate. I originally started taking karate in 1972...and dropped out after a couple of years. I started back when I turned 50 years old. I persevered for 6 years and accomplished the goal when I was 56 years old.

#20. I attended a Bible school in Chattanooga Tennessee in 1971 to get my degree in Bible...and become an Evangelist. I dropped out before I got kicked out after being accused of running a house of ill-repute. Oh by the way...the allegations were false.

#19. I was a "song leader" at New Life Chapel (early charismatic church in Murfreesboro)...Followers Fellowship (a Chi Alpha Assembly of God College ministry at MTSU)...and The Full Gospel Businessmen Fellowship International (FGBMFI Murfreesboro). This was before the working titles of Worship Pastor, Psalmist, Creative Arts Pastor ,etc.)

#18. I attempted to go to school at Oral Roberts University. When I applied to ORU...I had a grade point average of 1.6. I told them that I realized that this was below their standards of acceptance...but I was EXPECTING A MIRACLE. They did not respond back. Years later I went to the ORU campus...and one of their clean cut students told me..."I know you are not a student here." When I asked how he know...he told me..."We don't allow beards here at ORU."

#17. I submitted articles for CHARISMA MAGAZINE...and got a letter of rejection..BUT...they told me that if I was a writer...that if I never got published...I should WRITE. That was the beginnings of the RUMINATOR RAMBLINGS. The current form of the RUMINATOR RAMBLINGS...is because of Richard Jacobson...who recommended that I should start blogging. Thanks Ricardo.

#16 At one point I was so DISCOURAGED about teaching the Word of God...that I declared that I WOULD NEVER TEACH THE WORD OF GOD AGAIN. Never say never. Thanks to Mark Robertson and Wade Hutchinson who encouraged me to take up the chalk stick once again (pre-dated erasable markers). Also...thanx and a tip O Da Hat to my pastor Ronnie Meek for giving me the opportunity to walk in my giftings at Smyrna Assemblies (S.A.)

#15 I have been known to put on (1) pink tights (2) boots (3) a shirt with a glitter heart (4) a flowing scarlet cape...and appearing in public as CAPTAIN LOVE.

#14 The name of the band that I was in was called THE BLIND DISTORTION. We also went by a second name (ala Plastic Ono Band) called THE BLACK ROOM...because I had painted my room black...and it was a play on Cream's song WHITE ROOM. i was also in a swinging little Christian band called HOSANNA where we not only sang...but praised the Lord just as much as we wanted (ala Archie Bell and the Drells from Houston Texas). My band mates in Hosanna were Tom Rutherford (vocals, guitar, drums) and Mark (Weedhopper) Webster on bass guitar.

#13. Brenda led me to the Lord in her driveway...after we had a conversation at Shoney's drive in (where car hops came out with your food...before Sonic)...and she told me as I was eating an onion ring...that I was going to hell. (Ask me for full details)

#12. In high school (Central High School) I got a couple of teachers grade books and change some F's to B's. After a convoluted college career....Bible School...Telecommunications...I eventually ended up with a Masters of Education in Speech Communication...and am actually working in the field for which I went to school as a Speech-Language Pathologist.

#11. At one time...I played the bass guitar in the Smyrna Assembly House Worship Band. I was known as THE RIPPER...because I played a borrowed 1964 Gibson Ripper Bass Guitar. I would warm up with the theme to Barney Miller.

#10. It's a little known fact that I am a fan of PHIL KEAGGY...and NO...contrary to urban legend...I AM NOT A STALKER OF PHIL KEAGGY.

# 09. I had the honor of giving Phil Keaggy my Fender Princeton Reverb Amplifier (tube amp)...and it can be seen on the DVD The Master and Musician 30th Anniversary Tour. When I gave it to Phil...he told me that it was this same type of Amp that he used on his album WHAT A DAY...and had been think lately that he wished he had that amp again. WOW...it's the little things that make me happy.

#08. 1989 was a turning point in our lives...when we were blessed with Phillip Stephen Boyd joining our family when he was 3 days old. He is now 19 years old....and is still a strong blessing in our lives.

#07. I went swimming with Phillip in the AMAZON RIVER when he was 8 years old. We ran into Stephen Curtis Chapman at the airport on our way to Peru...and told him we were using THE GREAT ADVENTURE as our theme song. Since then Phillip has saddled up his horse (first line of the song)...and gone to Peru...Wherry Housing as an intern...and multiple trips to Biloxi. We love that boy.

#06. Brenda...the love of my life since 1969...my wife since 1972...and I love to watch NCIS. We watch reruns and the regular run on Tuesday nights. Brenda says that I look like Gibbs (played by Mark Harmon who was voted the Sexiest Man Alive by People Magazine). Hmmmmmmmmm....Brenda smiles and stifles a laugh when she says that. Could it be that I am not the HUNK that I think I am...but more of a CHUNK?

#05. Brenda and I occasionally smack each other on the forehead...because years ago we were standing in line at a place called THE BURGER BROIL...and we overheard a couple arguing...when the woman said..."I will smack a knot on your head that Oral Roberts can't take off." NOTE: This pre-dates the GIBB SLAP on NCIS.

#04. I backslid (actually it was more like faceforwardslid) in 1972...and sinned more than before I was saved in 1970. I smoked more dope, sniffed more chemicals, drank more booze and did more disgusting stuff after I was saved than before. I was like a DOG RETURNING TO HIS VOMIT. If you dug up the pig poop and mud under the Prodigal Son...you would find me. NOTE: I came back to the Lord...and am still standing by the grace and mercy of God.

#03. When I was 6 years old...I was listening to Elvis Presley (Jailhouse Rock)...Brook Benton and Dinah Washington (Rockin' Good Way and Baby You Got What It Takes)...Woody Herman (Woodchoppers Ball)...Glenn Miller (In The Mood, String of Pearls)...while my little frineds were listening to Rootie Kazootie and Mary Had A Little Lamb. That is why now...I love PAT BOONE...and RESURRECTION BAND. I am an ecclectic, schizophrenic music lover.

#02. My aunt Christine bought me a Philco Color T.V. Set in 1968...so I could watch the 1968 Elvis Christmas Special (later known as the 68 Comeback Special)...in COLOR. Life was tough in 1968.

#01. And the numero uno random fact about me is...IT'S ALL ABOUT ME BABY...IT'S ALL ABOUT ME. Oh I'm sorry that goes with the various TOP TEN LISTS that we ramble about periodically. The number one random fact about me is I LOVE THE FATHER, SON AND HOLY GHOST...WITH ALL MY HEART, SOUL, MIND AND STRENGTH...AND MY NEIGHBOR AS MYSELF.

FINAL THOUGHTS...FINALLY

Well...if you hung in to the bitter end...reading this thing...the you are an offical RUMINATOR. You know have a thumbnail sketch about who I am...but I have withheld some stuff for another day.

Love and Random Kisses
Rodney "Nobody Told Me There Would Be Days Like These Boyd