This Milk Tastes Funny!!! Sunday afternoon is family time at Grandpa Dick’s house. We are so blessed to have our girls, their husbands and kids, (our Grandkids) all living close to us for a weekly get together. If you have loved ones spread all over the country, you know what I mean about being blessed to have them close. Family gatherings have a long and rich history.
          In the early 1940’s, I was just a little tyke growing up in a family that included three sisters. My stay-at-home Mom with four kids had quite a struggle to make ends meet. My Dad had been discharged from the Army at Fort Bliss Texas, just before the war started. He was providing for us by running a small electronics repair business. We ate our meals together around the kitchen table and enjoyed family time together. We kids thought we were pretty well off, but we didn’t really know how hard it was to raise a family during this time.
          At one evening meal, my older sister said, “This milk tastes funny.” I can still remember the sweet strange taste. We found out later that we were out of milk, (and money), and Mom had mixed up a batch of condensed canned milk to drink that night. To me, everything was ok. I can’t remember ever having gone wanting for much, even though I’m sure we did. You probably can reflect on your childhood and come up with things you did without. Our bathroom was inside, our phone was a no dial party line with operator, and the family car was an old oldsmobile. We put the Ice sign out in the window, along with a sign to tell the milkman what to deliver. Times were good, so we thought.
          If you are reflecting on your childhood, that’s a good thing, because it helps us to see how fortunate we are today. We are so blessed! God is good. The family structure that holds us together was laid out for us in the beginning, (Genesis 2:24) and has been a cornerstone of existence for thousands of years.
          So this is your assignment this month. Gather round the dinner table, turn off the computer and tv, and tell your kids and grandchildren some stories about the early years. Then if your Mom is still living, call her and tell her thank you and that you love her. And when you taste a glass of fresh milk, stop and thank GOD, and count your blessings. Grandpa Dick

Give Freely Without Judgement
As my wife and I pulled into a parking spot in the lot of a large discount store I noticed a new four door red pickup stopped and unloading passengers. A feeble old man helped an even feebler old woman into a wheel chair. The pickup driver drove off. It looked to me like a day of shopping for the cute old couple. Maybe so, but here’s what happened. See what you think.
          About half an hour later, as we were loading our purchases into our car, we were approached by the same feeble couple. She said they needed money because they were hungry.
          SO-------------- to paraphrase Shakespeare, “To give or not to give, that is the question.” What’s a guy to do in this situation. Were they really hungry, or were they working the parking lot? Am I judging them?
          A whole lifetime of giving opportunities flashed before me in slow motion. “Lord, haven’t we been good stewards? We filled shoeboxes with toys for needy kids, we donated food for Thanksgiving baskets, and donated meat for the church annual Thanksgiving dinner. We gave our tithe and an offering for California Missions. Grandma Bev has donated countless hours in the kitchen and we have given our time for other ministries. What else would be expected of us?
          I thought about the volumes of requests we get through the mail for donations. I thought about the Lottie Moon Christmas offering coming up this month, and the coming Craft Faire and Fudge sale, both fund raisers for our youth, along with other giving opportunities.
          Then I thought about what the Bible says about this situation. Matthew 7:1-3, says….”Judge not lest you be judged……why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye, and pay no attention to the log in your own eye”? God expects us to give as love gifts to Him, without judging need.
          They were still waiting as all this flashed before me……………I finished loading our stuff in the car, shut the trunk, pulled out a few dollars, put them in in the old Lady’s hand and said to them, “God Bless You”. They went their way and we went ours.
          As we drove away, my wife asked me if that wasn’t the same couple we had seen when we drove up. I said, “Yes, and I almost had too much information keeping me from seeing the “log” in my eye.” She knew what I meant, and somehow we both felt better. !!!!!Grandpa Dick