Grant, my Great, Grand, Gritty Guru, let me know last week that I was passing the 200 mark of Inside Out pieces. Wow! You can access ALL of these by hitting the "Archive" button toward the bottom of this page.

     Because of this, I’m going to celebrate this milestone and share a story with you that may not have a great deal of spiritual significance. You may respond with stories about the strangest thing you’ve ever done on the spur of the moment, but don’t feel bad if you can’t mine unbelievable truths out of the veins running through this one. (g)

     A day or two before December 14, I decided that on Saturday night I would go Christmas caroling - by myself!!! I would go on Sparky (my electric wheelchair) and just sing my heart out as I cruised the streets of our neighborhood.

     Now I’m going to do a little stream of consciousness, as it happened, "rest of the story" for you. Don’t look for interesting segues and connecters.

     About 8:00 pm, I downloaded Sparky from the back of Tonka 02. I put on my heavy jacket, closed the garage door and took off. Almost immediately, I saw a mother and her two daughters walking down the road. It was very dark, but I could see their outline due to the Christmas lights on neighbors houses. I asked them if they would mind if I’d take their picture. They agreed. THEN, I asked them if they would like to sing a Christmas Carol with me. They seemed delighted. We sang as heartily as we could. What a neat beginning to my caroling adventure.

     Down the street a few blocks, I heard some joggers coming up behind me. They each had a BIG dog on a leash. The dogs were friendly. They licked my ungloved hands and wagged their tails. The joggers asked me what I was doing. I told them that I was singing carols. Well, after a bit of conversation, they joined me singing a couple of lovely songs.

     It wasn’t long before I heard a vehicle coming behind me. As the pickup passed, there were about ten young middle school aged youngsters in the back. They hollered, "Merry Christmas". I hollered, "Stop". They pulled over. We sat there and sang Christmas carols together for about twenty minutes.

     Well, I began to see that single singing wasn’t going to be the only activity that night. It was quite cold for Florida, so I headed down to my favorite convenience store. I’ve gotten to know the folks who work there pretty well. I got a can of diet Dr. Pepper, poured it into a cup and stuck it in the microwave. Yummmmmy in the tummy. That helped me warm up a bit. I also took a picture of one of my favorite employees. As we visited a bit, she asked me to pray for her and a special need. She is rearing three little kids. One is a niece whose mother lives in Cuba. Due to several setbacks, she was unable to do anything for them at Christmas. Well, you know my views on Papa’s Pipeline. The day before, I’d cashed a check that came as a personal Christmas present. Yep, you guessed it. The little ones WILL have Christmas this year. PTL! This employee renewed her experience with the Lord as a result of a previous visit and a gift CD of "Grandma’s Songs". Wow!

     Several people in and out of the store sang some carols with me. I was still on a roll. In between singing with all those with whom I came in contact, I just kept on singing by myself and taking pictures of various home lighting scenes. The graphic at the top of this piece is our Florida version of an outdoor Christmas tree!

     My last encounter was with a County Mounty (deputy sheriff). It was about eleven as I headed ol’ Sparky towards my garage and a fresh recharge of the batteries. I heard a vehicle coming while I was sitting beside the curb and getting ready to take a picture. The deputy rolled down his window, asked if I had any donuts (just kidding about the carbohydrate request), and asked if everything was all right.

     I told him that I couldn’t be happier. As we visited, he asked me what in the world I was doing out so late on "that thing" on a chilly night. I told him that I was singing Christmas carols. He said, "I know a lot of carols". Soooooooo, I asked him if he would sing one with me. He chose "Joy to the World". We really got into it and had the best time!

     Now that I’ve revealed a bit about my bentness, I hope you got a chuckle or two out of this story. If you have any interesting stuff to share with me, please hit my name in the lower corner of this page. God’s best and Merry, Merry, Happy, Happy! (g)

SOME RESPONSES TO "CONCENTRATE & FOCUS"...

- Here's what I caught from your battery story. Spending time in the Word and in prayer is our very own "time getting recharged". Yes, it's good to be in fellowship with other believers, but nothing can take the place of getting recharged from the source -- spending time with God the Father, the Son & the Holy Spirit. How's that?

- Thank God for what He is doing in you, Jerry. Interesting gadget to start vehicles. Never heard of it til now. Amazing how technology is these days.

- The power of prayer, especially corporate prayer, is indeed a power beyond human capabilities. At our church we like to put hands on someone when we pray for them. Quite often there will be several of us. I like to be one of the last to touch this group of prayers. I know it is not in my head or a figment of my imagination, I feel it! I feel the power of the Lord instantly! It must be what a battery feels when you give it a jump. Instantly my body feels a surge of His strength, of His Love and Glory. It never fails to happen. I can't describe it very well, but it is like turning on a robot so to speak. Instantly, I feel my back straighten and all fatigue and stress leaves me. I really feel Him going through myself and all of us there. At that moment nothing can or does disturb me.

     I know that Jesus is right there, not only spiritually but physically. It is wonderful beyond my ability to state!! What a gift it is to have the ability to talk to the Father and Son and the Holy Spirit. To be able to tap into Their power of Love, Mercy and eternal Grace. Then, when I am in my quiet place and have finished my prayers, I like to stay and wait. It is then that God will speak the most. It is then that we can feel Him by letting Him speak His Heart to us, just as He did to the Samaritan woman at the well. Amen. Glory be to God in the highest, and on earth, Peace, Good will toward men.