yep,.............that's right,..............that's all it took to work out the issue of my cold house!! i awoke this morning to a warmer home. the temp. outside was a brisk 31 degrees, with a 23 degree wind chill factor!!
what i done was simple to make the difference. i shut down the usage of the fire place. it was only a romantic idea, and it didn't heat well at all. it gave me the illusion that it was heating, and it was 4-5 feet away, but it did nothing for the whole room.
i remember when it first started to get cooler that i laid on my back, and looked up the chimney to make sure it was free of any clogs. the first thing that i saw was two pillows stuffed up in there. i thought that was strange, but i quickly figured out that it was to keep the draft from the fire place at bay. i stuffed those back up yesterday to stop the air flow from going out.
the next thing that i did was to make sure all the windows were closed tightly. you know that most of them wasn't, because not too many days ago i was using them for fresh air. things change quickly here in Florida!!
there wasn't a door going from the kitchen into the living room, so i put one in place. now i have all points sealed from letting the cold air inside, and my small radiator looking space heater can do it's job, and warm the house.
i moved my computer into this space that I'm living inside of now, so i don't have to worry about pecking to y'all with cold fingers anymore. ..............life is so good!!!
the state of Florida is a melting pot of people. all different culture co-exit with each other on as daily basis. during the cold times you have a better change of determining who they are by how they dress. i especially like to see the ones from the colder lands like Croatia, and the Ukraine. they dress just like they do in their home land. even on a slight nippy morning you will see them bundled up to the hilt!! big thick wool coats, scarfs, and gloves. the part that tickles me the most is the hats that the women wear. everyone of them wears a hat, and some of them seem appropriate, and some are just plain weird!! these folks have learned to stay warm in a more treacherous land that most of us will ever know. unless you live in the area closer to Canada. i don't know how those people live up there!!! i would freeze to death the first winter!!
then we have that different class of people that i call the Florida Fools!! these folks wear short pants all years round. you can easily spot them. they will be wearing a skull cap, light jacket, and a pair of shorts. i can say one thing about them. they are true to their form. even during the coldest times, and no matter how much the wind is blowing they stick to their wearing apparel.
I've never been the type that paid much attention to the cold until now. i could used to work out in it all day long without out much being affected by it. these last couple of years have been different for me. when i get cold, i pretty much stay that way. i don't know if it is just the fact of aging, or living here, and my blood has got thinner. i know that people that live here has thinning blood to accommodate the extreme heat conditions during the hot months. i don't think that we have enough time for it to thicken again for the cold months, because it don't stay cold all that long. it supposed to be back in the 70's this weekend, but who can tell? forecasting the weather in Florida has to be a pain. they seldom get it right. there are no mountains, or hills here.then the river here in Jax runs backwards!! there are only two rivers in the world that run backwards. that is the Nile, and the St. Johns rivers. they actually run from south to the north. that has to have some kind of effect on the people that live here. i just ain't sure what it would be. i know that we have some very strange folks that live here. i wounder if the river has any effect on them?
i was sitting out front of Memorial hospital the other morning waiting on a bus. there was this guy sitting on the bus stop with me shaking like a dog trying to piss a peach seed!! i knew that it was from alcohol, because I've talked to this man several times before, and he was always drinking. he told me that his girlfriend was in the hospital with pneumonia. i knew that they were both homeless, and the last time that i saw them they were having a fight, and seemed to break up.these are his actually words to me,............." we always make up,............i love her,...............you have to love somebody out here in this situation,..........if you don't you want make it!!"
i was moved by his statement. i was moved by his compassion for her that instead of going out, and finding relief for his morning shakes that he was staying close to her!!...........i reached down in my pocket, and pulled out one of my last dollars, and handed it to him. i said that when you can't stand to shake anymore go buy you a beer, and get some relief. he smiled as he took that buck, and headed back up to check on her once more, before he went to the store.
I'm not condoning his alcoholism. he put himself there in that state, and it will be between him and God to get him out of it!! he was going through a real bad time, but to me,.......he had his priorities right. he cared about that woman enough that he wouldn't leave her. i have absolutely no regret in helping that man out with the problem that he was suffering from. can you imagine if it had been you in that sick state of being, with a loved one in the hospital?
i believe that we need to slip in the shoes of folks that are going through tough times. we need to feel what they feel, and if possible,...........we need to help them out. if we have any God living inside of us, then we need to let Him shine out by showing compassion to others. it's so easy to talk the talk, but when when push comes to shove............how many of us are prepared to walk the walk?
it takes a sacrifice from us to walk the walk. it takes a little time to listen to others, and it takes some of that hard earned money, sometimes to make a little difference. sometimes it might cost you the the coat off your back to keep somebody from freezing to death, but how many of us don't have more at home? i lost everything not to long ago, and i already have three in my closet again.
actually God has blessed me with more clothes that i actually wear again. i went from a couple pair of raggedy socks, to over a dozen pair of brand new socks. i have better looking clothes than i had on the streets. i can dress up for classy occasions like going to church, or i can dress down for comfort. it don't matter, because I've been blessed beyond any reason!!
for some reason i have found favor in God's eyes. I'm not sure when it happened. i simply know that it has happened. i can tell by the life that I'm living now. not long ago i was living on the streets, and now I'm living in a home. i have all my needs met. I'm not hungry, and often i feed Bubba, Sanka, and the animals outside. i make enough money to help with the bills. all my medical expenses are covered, and i have quite a few of those......................yeah,.............your just living of the state!! if God was running your life you would have a job!!...................well,..........you might be right, but please define a job? what is a job?..........a real job is where you devote many hours a week to making some cooperation rich, and they pay you a little, and provide insurance.
actually,...........i have a job in a different type of economy. i have a job writing two different blogs for my readers. my job is spreading the goodness of God in my personal life with others. God is my employer, and He covers all my bills.
I'm not the best writer in this world, and i don't write eloquently at all. I'm just simply myself doing what the good Lord has told me to do to bring Him the glory that He so richly deserves. i have a good communication with God. I'm always talking to Him, and He is always talking back to me. i rarely hear His voice directly. most of the time He speaks through others. I've never had a burning bush experience, but i know His voice when i hear it.
actually,........God talks to us all, but most of the time we miss it. were not looking for it to come from the places that He may speak to us from. i never heard a donkey speaking to me, but i have had the experience of a few jackass's speaking the words of God directly to me!! God uses all of us to communicate through. whether you want Him to or not!! i have heard devout atheist singing the praises of God......they just didn't know it!!
i could simply write about the goodness of God in my life forever, but some of y'all would become bored, and simply leave. that not my goal. my goal is too slowly show you the effects that God has had on my life a little at a time. i want you to be interested enough, and continue reading. maybe if you realize that there is something missing in your life that you can recall the words that I've said to you, and receive the goodness of God in your life.
....................much love
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