A ramble about random thoughts on a Sunday morning in which I have a sense of impending doom...

My daughter coughed half the night and so I am letting her sleep in. This is an illustration of why you go to Church when you can because sometimes you need to go to Church and there is a crisis.
I have not been to Church in a Month.
I did not understand the full importance of Church until I stopped going. It is not my intent to convert any of my readers nor is it my intent to annoy any atheists, well actually, I really like to annoy atheists, but that is another story...
I think your life needs balance. You have work, family, friends, and then you have the stuff that goes on in your head. My head is stuffed full of odd and useless information. Strange books I've read, odd philosophy, interesting bits of social science theory I picked up, various out of context Bible verses, random country western and blues songs, and Spike Jones singing about the daring young man on the flying trapeze.
For example, did you know that a WWII PT boat had three Packard V-12 engines rated at 1200 hp each and consumed 450 gallons per hour at the top speed of 40 knots.
It is perhaps why I am not a very good farmer. I am unable to process useful information...
But, I digress...
I find going to church pretty stressful. I have to get there on time. There are people I don't know. They have communion every Sunday.
However, if I can sit there, enjoy one old hymn, listen to a sermon which gets me interested enough to draw a cartoon to illustrate it, get a few issues/people to pray for, have a good ritual prayer at the end, somehow it puts me into a better mood for the week. Clears my head a bit, and things seem to go better.
Also, there is the issue of prayer. Several people of my odd and eccentric friends and customers have said they were praying for me. I think it helps.
Again, I am not trying to get anyone's scientific knickers in a knot but I think there is more to "life" that what we understand. If it makes you feel better I suggest just thinking of it as a very complicated computer program. I like to think of it as divine.
I'm being a bit introspective as I got quite the speech from a fellow who I did not expect to be a person of faith. Being somewhat surprised by his "testimony," and having heard similar expressions by people who do not fit into mainstream Christianity I have been thinking about these things in a different framework than I was brought up to think in.
1. There are people who appear to be very nice and who appear to be devout and who call on you to "do the right thing," but the best way to understand them is to do business with them. Of course it will be your own fault it the deal goes wrong. You needed to read the contract and well, it is just business of course. You get the idea.
2. There are people who are gruff and perhaps swear a bit and have a few "issues," but when you actually start talking to them you find them to be people of faith and understanding who don't fit into the short pants wearing Amway selling morons who are our supposed defenders of the faith.
3. You have your faith for your own personal reasons. The Christian faith has for many years given individuals a direct link with God. It gave us a shared philosophy of a type of individualism where you took care of yourself but which also looked after your neighbors in times of crisis. You have forgiveness of sin. You can make mistakes, learn from mistakes, start over again.  I see the faith losing the treat others as you would be treated and trading it for tough love and "zero tolerance," and "well, business is business."
4. People who are nice often appear to be nice because they just fear disapproval. Inside they would like to slice your tires and pee in your coffee. When they are given a little power they then do those things but since they have been living in denial for so many years they rationalize it as to it "being for your own good, or just taking care of what is they are have been in-trusted-to."

Ok, stream of consciousness blogging, and not in the style of James Joyce...
I think we will listen to Jr. Walker and the All Stars play Shotgun, perhaps I will make an omelette? Or should it be a Tom T. Hall morning.