More Musings from Max

Max appreciating Sinking Creek

Taking time to enjoy nature is a very healthy activity. We have all likely experienced feeling better after walking in the park, watching a sunset, or strolling along the beach.

Simple things like sitting on the porch listening to the birds or working in the garden can do far more good than we realize. Max says we all need to spend more time enjoying and appreciating God's Creation.

Max is always ready for an adventure, but he also enjoys the moments he has to relax.

Anticipating good things is part of the pleasure, isn't it? Sometimes the anticipation is more enjoyable than the actual event. Let's be careful not to lose the pleasure of this moment and the anticipation of moments to come by overplanning or such intense preparation for the future that we are too exhausted to enjoy it when we get there.

Max believes in taking advantage of the waiting time for more rest and also enjoyment of the present.

He doesn't mind giving unappealing places some attention.

See what I mean.

Sometimes the most fun and best memories are found in unexpected places. Perhaps sometimes giving the less-than-appealing opportunities a chance could be a good thing. Who knows what joy might be waiting for us in those unexpected places.

Max says to take time to look under the dilapidated buildings and in the drainpipes of life because you never know what interesting surprises might await you. If, however, there is a live critter in there and it comes your way, it's probably time to move on to other places.

Max is always on the lookout for visitors.

No one likes company more than Max does. He is always excited when he hears a vehicle in the driveway or the doorbell ringing. He loves to greet every guest with an enthusiastic welcome.

Max likes people and enjoys meeting new friends and spending time with old friends also. These are things we should all make a priority.

He likes to get exercise every day.

I don't think we can overstate how important it is to keep moving or how easy it is to stop. Max thinks we should all incorporate some daily exercise into our schedules.

He enjoys his toys. However, Murphy is unimpressed.

Max says to do what you love without trying to impress others and let them do what they love without judgment.

They both love grazing on popcorn.

If the opportunity to do something you both love presents itself, jump on board and enjoy it together.

He's happy to begin and end the day on his throne; I mean chaise lounge. Is it just me or is he a very regal-looking dog?

Let's be sure we take time to appreciate what we have, look forward to what may be, and share our blessings with others.

Watching

A few weeks ago, a very special friend shared a memory with me. She remembered riding the school bus home from school, and as Carl, the bus driver, passed our house before stopping at the end of our driveway, she said she would see Mom either sitting on the front porch or standing at the picture window watching for us. I remember that too, but there was something very endearing about someone else noticing that mom was watching for us to come home from school each day.

It's not an isolated event. I am certain many moms have done and continue to do the very same thing, but there was something very poignant about the reminder of how much Mom looked forward to seeing us at the end of the school day. As I have mentioned before, she would always have our early dinner ready and waiting. Because Dad didn't get home at the same time each evening, we didn't have family meals together. Mom would often have a special treat for us. Sometimes it would be a small toy like a Silly Putty Egg, a yo-yo, or a finger puppet. Other times she would have made a cake, pie or cookies for us to enjoy after dinner.

The best thing, though, was her interest in every little detail of how our day had been. She would ask questions about tests or projects. She had a vested interest, since she would have quizzed us on test material or listened as we practiced a presentation or report. She was also interested in the other things that happened that day. She would either celebrate or soothe, depending on whether our day had been good or bad.

So, I have never doubted her interest and love. I do sometimes doubt God's interest and love, though. I believe the Bible, so maybe doubt is too strong of a word. It's just that I can't fathom how He could be interested and involved intimately, as my mom has always been, in my life and everyone else's life at the same time. Now, don't start wagging your finger at me and reminding me about faith and that God is omnipresent and omniscient. I know. I know all that.

Do you ever wonder how something you believe to be true can actually be true? I do, and so the other day when I read an article about Quantum Entanglement, which has also been given the name, "The God Effect," I was very excited. Believe me, I only understood a very small part of the article, but it did give me a tiny window of insight into a reality that seems impossible.

"Nothing is impossible with God." Luke 1:37

I will not even begin to try to explain the science of Quantum Entanglement to you. You'll have to Google it for yourself if you aren't familiar with it.

It's nice to come back around to the truth of God's presence and knowledge of each one of us. What a difference seeing Mom on the porch or at the window made each afternoon. Her interest and understanding of our daily triumphs and failures meant so much. Still, she was only human and balancing a whole host of other things. Try as she might, she could not totally understand each of our daily experiences.

But God can, and He does.

How very thankful we should be!

Clara, Kim, Mom, Deidra, Susanne, Amelia

Carolyn and her three girls

Have you heard about letting the cat out of the bag?

Relax and enjoy the day.

Heaven

I pulled this book off the bookshelf recently. I read it a year or so ago. Was it C. S. Lewis who said, "The only book worth reading is one worth reading twice."?

Apparently, according to Goodreads, it was Francis Bacon and he actually said, "If a book is not worth reading twice, it is not worth reading once." I have a tendency to attribute many bits of wisdom to Lewis so I'm glad I checked.

Anyway, this book caught my eye when I was looking for something to read before bed. I'm not surprised it did, because I have been thinking a lot about heaven. C. S. Lewis thought a lot about heaven too.

Near the middle of the first chapter of A Place Called Heaven we find a quote from Lewis, "This life is only a prelude to eternity."

Jeffress follows the Lewis quote about eternity with the final two paragraphs of The Last Battle. Both illuminate Lewis' thoughts on heaven.

Since you may not have The Narnia Series at your fingertips as I do, I am going to share the quote with you. It's a little lengthy for this short blog but well worth reading. If you haven't read the Narnia Series or haven't read it recently, it might be a good time to delve into those books. I'm pretty sure I'm going to give them another go. It will not be my second time visiting Narnia. I have been there many times before.

"There was a real railway accident," said Aslan softly. "Your father and mother and all of you are - as you used to call it in the Shadowlands - dead. The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning."

And as He spoke, He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before."

Immediately following the above excerpt from The Last Battle, Jeffress discusses four benefits of being "Heavenly Minded".

1. Focusing on Heaven reminds us of the brevity of our earthly life.

2. Focusing on Heaven prepares us for the certainty of judgment.

3. Focusing on Heaven motivates us to live pure lives.

4. Focusing on Heaven places suffering in perspective.

It's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day responsibilities, joys, and difficulties of life and forget this life is only a mist, a passing vapor. It will be over much sooner than most of us think we want. However, I am certain that once we are there, (I'm assuming most of us have indeed accepted the gift of grace offered to us by God through Jesus), we will wonder why in the world we didn't want to get there much sooner.

Perhaps some of us have already decided we are more than ready to go whenever Jesus calls us home, but since we are not yet in the thick of dying, it's hard to say how tightly we will hold onto this life when it is being pulled from our grasp.

How much easier it would be if the trumpet would sound and Jesus would split the eastern sky. Wouldn't it be wonderful to see the bodies of those we love, who have gone before us, rising to meet Jesus in the air? Then, up we go to meet Him and them! Maybe He will return today. Come Lord Jesus!

Whether it be today or many, many days before we come to the last day of our earthly lives, I think we would all be wise to take the advice given in A Place Called Heaven. Spending more time thinking about our future home will be time well spent. Praying about what we can do today in order to be better prepared for our life there and then following the Holy Spirit's leading will make each day more meaningful and our final day more peaceful.

Mom used to talk about Dr. Delgado, a professor at Bluefield College. She said he was kind and very encouraging. She also said Dr. Delgado used to say, "Heaven is my home but I'm not homesick yet."

We may get a little laugh out of that comment, but if we are honest, I expect many of us agree with him.

Perhaps learning and thinking more about heaven will cause us to truly "love His appearing" (2 Timothy 4:8). Maybe it will deepen our desire to use our remaining time here differently. As we focus more on eternal things and less on the temporal, we are sure to find greater meaning and deeper joy each day. No matter how much time is left, it is only a short time. Let's use what we have to build up treasure in heaven rather than in the pursuit of worldly things.

"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also." John 14:3

"This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” Acts 1:11b

"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus, we shall always be with the Lord." 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

"Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown." Revelation 3:11

"But the end of all things is at hand; therefore, be serious and watchful in your prayers." 1 Peter 4:7

Mom with roses, circa 1972

Mom with carnations, February 2026

Murphy likes to play 'Cat Taco'.

Max resting with his buddy.