My Car Turned 150,000 Miles Today

My Champagne Colored 2000 Chrysler Concorde turned 150,000 miles today!

I pulled over and took this close-up photo:
















You can see that I have a sticker on my dash that says "Not about me." This is a reference to the book "The Purpose Driven Life" ( you can read the first seven chapters at the link to the book). The author starts the book by making the point that the purpose of life is bigger than us, it's about God. I have these "Not about me" stickers in other places too. They are great reminders to me in my life of following Christ. They remind me that instead of focusing on me, I need to focus on him and how big, great, loving, mighty, powerful, overcoming, and saving he is.

I bought this car new in April 2000, so it will soon celebrate it's 10th birthday.

It's been a good car without much maintenance required. The original battery died just last week. Car batteries usually last only about 6 years or so and this one lasted almost 10!

Here's some good advice on how to get your car to last past 150,000 miles:
http://cars.about.com/od/adviceforowners/a/ag_livepast100k.htm

We've given names to most of our cars, but this one has yet to be named. I just haven't been able to think of a name for it. Any suggestions?

I experieced today the depths of our recession

Today, the depths of our recession hit home for me.

We had about 2 to 3 inches of snow overnight and I set out to shovel. We usually pitch in to help two neighbors with their shoveling (our neighbors also help them).

You've probably seen teenagers walking around your neighborhood looking for a few extra dollars in return for shoveling your snow.

Well today, I saw three grown men walking around with snow shovels! That's when it hit me. It's come to that point! Men who are looking for work to support their families are now to the point of need that they also do snow shoveling.

I paid them to finish the shoveling for one of the neighbors while I finished off our 125+ foot sidewalk around our corner. I thought it was good to see people willing to work for an honest pay. When they were done we paid them. I asked them where they were from. "Mexico" was their answer. I sent them off with a hearty "Dios Te Bendiga" and said "Thank you and God Bless you!" to them.

I continued on to finish the driveway shoveling for our neighbor who is almost 90 years old now. He and his wife have been in the neighborhood here for more than 60 years; they were the first owners of their home when this development was built in the 1950s. They're Jewish and have great stories to tell about the war. He said it's his back that gives him pain. I told him we'd pray for him. It was great to hear the birds singing while I shoveled and prayed.

Maybe you'll pray for him too. And, while we're at it, let's take the time to say a prayer or two for the many people looking for work.

Dios Te Bendiga!