Putnam church of Christ

11/07/2024

11/06/2024

Veteran’s Day at Abilene State School

11/01/2024

Lets Eat
Mark’s Remarks, 01 Nov 2024
The Sixty Seconds War, Vol. 7

It’s morning and I sit down at my computer trying to decide who I want to invite to come eat lunch with me. The food is good and plentiful. The list of people who might like to eat is fairly long. The list of people who I am sure will come is not so long. The decision I have to make is whether or not I will let my prejudice and past experiences tainted quite might be an enjoyable lunch not just for me but for them. This should not be something that I have to go through. In a perfect world, everyone sits down and eats and enjoys each other’s company. But of course we are not in a perfect world. And also, it’s not just about food.
Our pride and prejudices keep us from visiting, from evangelizing, from loving. These personal defects determine who we want to sit at our table. So some changes need to be made, especially when it comes to our choices. Lets look to Jesus Christ for his hospitality hints. Would Jesus sit down with someone who meant harm to him? Yes. Would Jesus teach someone who would reject him? Yes. Would Jesus still love them? Of course he would. He did with Judas and there is our example. Betrayer, thief, and still he was welcomed at the last supper. It was his choice to not come, to stay or to get up and leave; to do the things he had planned to do. Knowing this, what should I do about my dinner invitations?
First off, we must be realists, understanding that many won’t come for whatever reason. And those reasons are not necessarily bad. Others won’t come for personal reasons, rejecting our friendship, and sadly we have to simply accept that. But for those that do come, of all the ones that were invited, they are the most welcome. And our conscience can be clear knowing that had any of the others come we would’ve been ready with food to spare and we would have welcomed them with open arms. That’s how Jesus invites people to eat. That’s how Jesus invites people to his banquet. It is ours and their decision to come or stay away. Let’s invite everyone to come and then be ready for anyone who accepts our invitation to the banquet. Let’s eat.

11/01/2024

This may turn into the most hotly contested and dirtiest election we have ever seen. Worse than 4 years ago. Both sides are to blame. If you have already voted, it’s time to PRAY THAT GODS WILL BE DONE!

11/01/2024

When I take pain killers, they have to wander around in me for a bit trying to figure out where to start!

10/31/2024

One more day until…1/2 PRICE CANDY!🤩

10/30/2024

(After 70!)
Them: “Mark. You want to go eat out?”
Me: “ITS 9:30! Ive got my slippers on!”

10/29/2024

So this is 70!
And look what I’ve done.
Gotten Another year older!
71 has just begun!

10/26/2024

Bowing to Casper
(Casper is my 2023 Ford Ranger)
By Dennis Mark Burgess

When the supermarket calls,
I must from my
soft couch arise,
To purchase milk and bread for life,
And maybe cake or apple pies.

Off To my trusty steed I pad.
My truck whose door i open wide,
And with a head bowed to my chin
I hie myself inside.

This is not “respect”
That bow,
To anyone alive or dead.
This is what i have to do
To not cold-cock my head.

For little trucks
have tiny doors
And my height
puts me ill at risk
So as I enter,
I bow low
and give my chest a kiss.

If this ritual I neglect,
Upon my pate
a knot will rise
Then stars will swim
in solar system circles
Right before my eyes.

Someday,
someone might say “why?”
I will simply
there confess
That headaches come
And headaches go,
And avoiding them
Is BEST!

10/26/2024

Martha Stewart..makes me laugh! She starts with some instructions, doesn’t she, where you go, “Well, I aint makin’ this”!

10/25/2024

My Imaginary Friend
By Dennis Mark Burgess

Growing up, I had it hard,
Just a dog
and our back yard.
Toys were made of sticks and string.
Heck, we made toys out of any old thing.
Oregon
was cold and wet,
So outdoor play was short,
But yet,
I had a friend who played with me.
An imaginary friend you see.
He didn’t help with play that much.
He didn’t speak or even touch.
But more than once on the edge of doom,
He found the help I needed soon!
My mother got a feeling of dread,
She couldn’t get it out of her head.
“You’re getting warm, you’re getting hot.”
Her feet went flying to my dangerous spot.
Over the years that game went on,
Until I out grew
that mysterious one.
Now looking back it occurred to me
My imaginary friend whom I’d never see,
Still hung around and had my back.
No slouch was he.
No part time slack.
It grew in my mind that it could be
That God had sent an angel to me.
Over the years I’ve found its true,
He helped me, and
I helped him too.
As I grew in Christ,
I learned to hear
The warnings whispered in my ear.
By heeding them I’m still alive
Because I still heed that Angel’s jive!
I think he and Gods Spirit within,
Sit down at times as friend to friend.
They ask me to an imaginary tea,
The Spirit, the angel God sent, and me!
Im not crazy, Im just just in love
With my “imaginary” friend,
A REAL angel from above.