Last Tiger Lily...

...of the season; very sad.  

Scoured the property in all their usual haunts to no avail; they're gone too soon.

On the other hand - and on the same day - we have our first Rose of Sharon blossom:

Very lovely, with more on the way in the days ahead.

Seasons change, time marches on.

Too obvious?

Sorry; it's reality and just happens to mesh with our personal circumstances of unexpected - but now, two weeks later, no longer unwelcome - retirement.

In the meantime we've made progress on the transition - signed up for Medicare (for me) / COBRA (for Karen), huddled with our financial advisor, kicked around plans for selling our home...

...and moving to our next one...

...maybe; time will tell.

These are all detailss we planned to be dealing with 2 or 3 years hence, but here we are.

Lots up in the air at the moment, and we're doing our best to prayerfully follow God's leading...

"A man's heart deviseth his ways, but the LORD directeth his steps."

    - Proverbs 16:9

...confident we'll end up where He wants us to be when all the shoutin's finally done.

Since the homestead is in its florescent glory, here's a pictorial on your way out the door:

daisies in Ryan's Corner

shasta daisies on the right

these will be a beautiful strawberry color in the fall

flowering hostas on the right

upper patio garden

perennial geraniums, daisies and cone flowers

gorgeous hydrangeas going up the hill to the front yard

black eyed susans and daises in the front garden

For much of recorded history, mankind's life plan was very simple:

A few short years of childhood, then work until you die.

"Retirement" as we think of it today was a foreign concept.

In a way, that makes sense.

The Bible opens with God working for 6 days, then resting on the 7th (Genesis 1:1-15).

When He was done with His creative work, He deemed it good (Genesis 1:31).

Furthermore, God reveals Himself to all mankind through His work:

¹  The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament sheweth His handiwork.

    - Psalm 19:1

God also decreed that we should work:

¹⁵  And the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and keep it.

    - Genesis 2:15 

And the Apostle Paul affirms working is our calling:

²⁸  And let him that stole, steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

    - Ephesians 4:28

⁸  But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith and is worse than an infidel.

    - I Timothy 5:8

So I'm not comfortable embracing self-absorbed leisure as a lifestyle.

Being on eternal vacation and having my life reduced to shuffleboard and bingo...

I don't know these people

...sounds like a pretty good working definition of hell to me.

On the other hand I'm not rushing around trying to find another job so I can become a nameless cog in someone else's wheel.

Lord willing there's some productive activity in my future, which may or may not involve trading my time for money.

I'm asking God for guidance on that score while dealing with the plethora of minutia this unexpected change has dumped in our laps.

More to come, I'm sure.

later, mcm fans...

    

Happy 250th Birthday, America!

You must see <Marco Rubio's July 4th Message>.

As true and inspiring as that is, the question remains: how much longer can we survive? 

There's been much conjecture on this subject lately as clearly their are societal forces at work hell bent on destroying this country as founded.

And why is that?

You need only read what our founding fathers said on this subject, 250 years ago:

"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion.

"Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.  

"It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

    - John Adams, 1st Vice President and 2nd President of the United States of America

"Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom.  As nations become more corrupt and vicious they have more need of masters."

    - Benjamin Franklin

It is self-evident we are no longer a unified people characterized by morality and religion.

Instead we have largely splintered along party lines: R vs D.

We are indeed a deeply divided nation; witness the D's current fascination with DSA (read: communist) candidates.

A recent CNN poll highlights this schism:

93% of Republicans are proud of our country and celebrate its founding, history and direction.

D's on the other hand are ashamed of being an American.

This should come as no surprise if you take an honest look at our past; D's are regularly on the wrong side of history:

D's are the party of slavery - Republican Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves in 1863.

D's are the party of segregation - post-Civil War, they started the KKK, authored Jim Crow laws and opposed civil rights for black Americans.

In his 1963 inauguration speech...

...Governor George Wallace pledged "segregation now, segregation tomorrow and segregation forever".

D's are the party of killing babies in utero.  In a 2025 gallup poll, fully 83% favor abortion, whereas 77% of Republicans are pro-life.

D's are the party of insurrection.

Remember Covid restrictions in 2020?  Public gatherings prohibited to prevent the spread of Covid - but not for BLM / George Floyd riots.

CNN (in)famously described the looting and burning of buildings as "fiery but mostly peaceful" protests.

And most disturbing of all, D's have become the party of anti-semitism.

While "from the river to the sea" has become their party's motto and they elected a Jew hater as mayor of New York, God's Word affirms His continual blessing for Abraham and his descendants:

³ And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

    - Genesis 12:3

The only remaining sane member of that party <recently condemned this alarming trend>.

Their lust for power has been divorced from all moral underpinnings, so it makes sense they now embrace the overthrow of our constitutional republic in favor of communism.

Will they succeed?

As has been noted through the years by different men in various forms, the gist of our answer is contained herein:

"For evil to succeed, it is only necessary for good men to do nothing."

So Happy 4th of July!

And remember: if you want more of them in a free country for you, your children and grandchildren, vote your conscience.

Our journey from full time employment into unexpected retirement continues...

...and we're seeing God's hand in this more and more each day.

In our mind there were at least another 2.5 years to work and grow our retirement savings.

Even so, we decided to get a jump on things and find a financial advisor.

We prayed about it, talked to several advisors, and strongly felt God was directing us to Alex Bos of Edward Jones here in Holland, MI.

Alex is a young guy but he impressed us with his knowledge, honesty and enthusiasm.

Thinking we still had plenty of time, we went ahead and rolled most of our 401k into an Edward Jones IRA.

With Alex's help we also sketched out a blueprint on how we could transition from working to retirement.

Little did we know we'd be putting that plan into action this quickly, and we're still working through some details - we're rolling the last of our 401k into an EJ fund this week - but Alex has been solid with his help and guidance.

Our new adventure continues, and there's one change to which I'm adapting quickly:

No more Monday blues.

For this 23 Skidoo, we're answering the question on everyone's lips:

Karen, Karen, lovely maiden, how do your gardens grow?

hydrangeas in bloom

first black eyed susans of the season

yuccas still hanging on to their blossoms under Marilyn's watchful gaze

ditto in the courtyard

foxglove making their 1st appearance

and my personal faves, gorgeous orange tiger lilies

I'm reminded of God's Word from Proverbs 16:9 -

⁹  A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps. 

It's clear God is directing our steps, and for that we are very thankful.

later, mcm fans...

First, The Bad News...

“a legend in his own mind”

...but not of my own volition.

The company for which I worked 42 years closed suddenly this past week.

Not one of those "chains on the doors with employees milling about in the parking lot" scenarios...

...but emotionally it had the same impact.

They claim they're shutting down for 6 months to "reboot" as a new, smaller entity with a skeleton crew and all new software.

Considering how the new owners comported themselves in the last few years while running the place into the ground, 6 months seems wildly optimistic.

Either way, it implies a chapter 11 bankruptcy and dumping the homegrown ERP system I and others wrote / enhanced over 4 decades to accommodate the constantly changing business landscape.

Their champagne wishes and legal machinations aside, what it means for most of us in the IT and admin groups, along with all of the whse employees is a sudden and unwelcome farewell.

Translation:

Naturally all of us are still processing this - that’s not a small blip on the radar for many of us - but it happened, so it’s time to deal with it and move forward.

Yeah...like that.

And now, the good news: 

You either believe God is in control of all things or you don't.

I do.

So I know this must be a good thing; part of God's overarching plan for our lives.

That doesn't mean it will be easy, painless or fun; but if done God's way in His time, it will be best.

Thus, we have embarked on the 3 P's program:

1) Pray - we're diligently seeking God's will for what's next in our lives.  He speaks to us through His Word, life circumstances, people around us.

It's our job to listen.

³¹  Therefore, take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

³²   (For after all these things do the gentiles seek) for your Heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

³³    But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

    - Matthew 6:31-33

 

2) Plan - we're meeting with our financial advisor early next week to discuss best options for transitioning from full time employment into full time retirement.

I may be doing some contract work over the next few months, and we're meeting with a realtor re: possibly selling our home and rightsizing to something else.

The point is to gather information and prayerfully consider best options before racing into action.

It's important in times like these to remember:

Moving fast is not the same thing as going somewhere, and frenetic activity doesn’t always equate to forward progress.

⁵  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

⁶   In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct thy paths.  

    - Proverbs 3:5,6

3) Perform - once we've attended to the steps above, then we'll get busy "doing"...whatever that implies and wherever that leads.

We have ideas about how and where we'll land, but patience and planning are key.

My dad used to say, "make a speech when you're angry and you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret".

The same is true with snap decisions; their frequent companion is remorse.

Most important in the busy-ness that is undoubtedly in our future is remembering to humbly depend on God, not ourselves:

¹⁰  The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it and is safe.

¹¹  The rich man's wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit.

 ¹²  Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honor is humility.

    - Proverbs 18:10-12        

It's going to take awhile to get used to my new reality.

I have signed onto the company system literally every day of my life for at least the past 25 years, no exceptions...weekends, holidays, vacation, sick days...I've always been on for at least a brief system health check and email review.

That wasn't altruism in action; it was self-preservation.

For many years all system problems landed either on or near "my desk".

Those days are officially over; exactly what comes next is yet to be fully revealed.

No matter, I know it will be for the best:

¹¹  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

    - Jeremiah 29:11

more to come, mcm fans...

If You Lead...

1st Tiger Lily of the season

...they will follow: 

Elvis keeps a watchful eye as the copycats arrived a few days later

This life lesson provided *free* of charge courtesy of Mother Nature.

Karen and I enjoy sitting in the command center...

...not just for the relaxing views...

best place on the property on a warm summer afternoon

...but also because there's live entertainment:

He's here all summer, don't forget to tip the wait staff.

Speaking of summer, the official astronomical start of summer is here:  <the summer solstice>.

For a variety of reasons, Stonehenge is closely associated with this day...

...but I say we skip the druids / crazies that congregate each year in England at Stonehenge...

...and move this party somewhere more American in honor of our 250th birthday.

Thus, I give you <Fridgehenge>:

Well, it's now more accurate to say "gave", as in past tense.

If you click on the link above you'll see it was a popular creation of Adam Horowitz, but sadly is no longer "extant" (their fancy way of saying it was taken down by the city of Santa Fe).

Not to worry, however...apparently there are many of these knockoffs around the world, made from various materials, including <Strawhenge> near Ann Arbor, Michigan...

...and <one right here in West Michigan>:

Whether you go sightseeing for your nearest faux-Stonehenge or not, give thanks to God in heaven for the start of this beautiful season:

¹⁷ Thou has set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.

    - Psalm 74:17

Enjoy it!

And finally - as if the summer solstice / 1st day of summer isn't enough to blow your hair back - it's the happiest day on the calendar, the day everyone looks forward to celebrating with unbridled adoration and ceaseless praise!

That's right, it's <National Carpenter Ant Awareness Day>!

No need to thank me.

Really.

I think it's sponsored by Terminix and Orkin.

I do have a vague recollection of something else happening on this day, but I can't remember what it is...

don't mind him; he's not too bright.  Happy Dad's Day.

...hm...it'll come to me eventually.

Unbuckle your seat belts and make a run for it...we're just about to 23 Skidoo...

who needs Mike Hammer when you've got Downtown Brown on the job?  gotta love AI film noir.

when he's not standing in the shadows under the yellow light of a street lamp on the gritty streets of the city or solving cold cases for hot dames, Larry still relaxes at his cottage "up north"

taking the chill off of a recent morning in the 50's 

yuccas starting to bloom

another episode of "hollyhocks gone wild"

a cacaphony of color courtesy of our lilies and geraniums

chippy on the lookout

not only did she plant and weed the garden, Karen also rebuilt and mortared the curved wall in front of it.  my wife...I think I'll keep her. (counting on the fact she rarely reads this blog.)

As you rush the exits - and no matter what your relationship is or may have been with your father - do your best to obey God's 5th commandment on this Father's Day:

¹²  Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

    - Exodus 20:12

later, mcm fans...