The telephone rang as I stood in the dark about to climb into bed - interrupting my bedtime routine that includes a talk with God most of the time.

My estranged wife wanted me to come get the children. She was helping her roommate pack to move him out of the townhouse where they lived. She didn’t want the kids staying up late.

The children wanted to come over.

My sister, whose basement I live in, gave permission.

My wife and I met at a gas station halfway between our homes and the children happily piled in my jeep.

I was a bit grumpy and advised the children to be on their best behavior.

They were.

And when it was once again time to climb into bed my son asked to pray for us all.

We used to do that - pray in turns before bedtime long ago when we all lived together and then early on when we parted when the children stayed with me. But recently we hadn’t.

So my son, 10, took it upon himself to spark a revival.

He merely asked God to protect us all and give us a good night’s sleep.

God did.

Hi Mom!

You’re here http://ozarksue.wordpress.com/2008/07/15/grandma-stories-and-beginning-kayaking/ 

My mom has started her blog at the above link. She’s been on mission trips to Ukraine and helped rebuild homes damaged by hurricanes.

I love you mom.

My daughter and I enjoy her seventh birthday together. Guess where?

My son fondly remembers his great-grandmother and how she asked to see him one last time while on her deathbed in a hospital.

To think that even as she prepared to leave us and go sleep with the saints my grandmother wanted to see him and pray for him brings tears to my eyes.

That memory came to mind Tuesday as we counted the days we’ve been on earth while driving toward dropping my son, 10, and daughter, 6, off at the Christ-based summer camp they attend.

I have no way of knowing this side of heaven if that is one blessing brought about by her prayer.

But back to that jeep ride toward camp, as my daughter approaches her seventh birthday to occur this Saturday, roughly about 8 a.m. (my son asked) we started counting her days on earth. I’d miscalculated due to forgetting leap years have an extra day.

My daughter will have spent 2,556 days on earth come July 12.

My son will have lived 4,017 days out of his mother’s womb Nov. 21.

Maybe half of those days, I stopped at one point to talk with God about them. I continually ask God that they come to know his son Jesus and his saving grace (I believe my son has - unsure about my daughter).

My grandmother prayed for her kin every day, says mom, as did papa when he was with us.

Grandma’s gift of service showed this despite her quiet moods and occasional crankiness toward her daughters and spouse.

As I parted with my son this morning I told him “just think what it was like to know that somewhere every day someone was talking to God for you. Pretty cool, huh?”

The Fourth of July serves up photographers plenty of photo pops.

I hope to be out there with them clicking away with my several-times-dropped digital Nikon camera.

To that end, I’m posting a link to Supernovamom’s blog entry that has a few locations around Northern Virginia where you can photograph fireworks.

Supernovamom

Meanwhile, I’m going to go listen to Ray Charles’ version of “America” and get ready for the holiday.

I tried to put up public domain photographs of fireworks but the images didn’t pass the security guidelines for wordpress. That makes me suspicious.

But you can see in your memory those big, loud bursts of multi-colored sparks.

My favorite memories include displays in:

* Arlington, Texas, at a Texas Rangers ballgame. The fireworks set off car alarms all over the parking lot.

* Hailey, Idaho, at a school yard there. Bruce Willis and Demi Moore had helped pay for a spectacular display of fireworks in the Wood River Valley.

* Port Arthur, Texas, along a levee bordering Sabine Lake with my son and pregnant wife. The baby, my daughter, kicked several times that could even be seen as the fireworks exploded so close we could feel their concussion. My daughter was born eight days later.

* Flippin, Arkansas, where a local display of fireworks went off a bit low with concussions again shaking us. My daughter, 2, freaked out and had to be held tightly and driven away from the area. My son hated having to leave early.

This Fourth will be memorable in that I’ve never spent one alone.

But that’s the plan as I have to get some housecleaning done where I live (I rent the basement) and fix the jeep.

The children will be with their mother as she celebrates Independence Day.

My friend from high school has become an anglican priest, or vicar.

That makes him a father.

We’re catching up because it’s been 25 years or so and we’ve stuffed a lot into our heads and done many strange things.

My favorite post of his so far is here:

http://revdjordan.blogspot.com/2008/06/admonition-or-ammunition-admonish.html

Read that and then click on this link - or not: http://diy.despair.com/motivator.php .

My entries here have slowed due to schedule changes with children and pondering where to go with my writing - specifically how to get paid for blogging.

This all comes at the same time I’m wondering and learning what God wants from me and what He might have me write.

What follows is what I’ve come up with as far as the “getting paid for blogging” adventure and research so far. I’ll list some of the sites at the end.

Evidently, blogging for bucks is a popular topic.

My own attempts have an origin dating back to 1988 when I found publications would pay me to write.

I’ve written little freelance because it takes time to first write a query letter, then research, interview sources, write the story and then go through the editing process. Then wait for publication since most gigs involve a “pay on publication” policy. Never know when a story might get axed to make room for a nice advertisement that pays the publisher big bucks.

The advent of internet publications promised another way to write for income.

But I didn’t even explore that path and continued working for newspapers until 2005.

Then my career path took me into Human Resources. I work at a call center helping employees with their benefits.

But I still had an urge to write - somehow to do so while seeking God.

So, while reading a devotional at Crosswalk.com one day I linked to a humorous blog there written by John Shore. That got me to WordPress.com where I started this blog.

Then I started writing and began to lament that I wasn’t being paid for it.
One blogger suggested I try Vox, but I wasn’t ready at the time.

When I was ready, I began by trying two sites recommended by friends - Associated Content and Blogcritics.org.

Of the two, Associated Content proved much easier to use. This proved critical due to time demands that made finding a site quick and easy to use necessary.

Blogcritics.org has a lot of hoops to jump through and hard-to-decipher procedures to follow in order to get review materials or tickets to movie previews needed for movie reviews. When I did sign up for a preview of “Get Smart” in New York City, I could never get confirmation or contact from the Warner Bros. contact listed in the e-mail sent out by Blogcritics.org. So goodbye to them.

Meanwhile, over at Associated Content, I’ve earned $4.18 with posts here http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/216851/samuel_adams.html and have some decent “clips” to point to. The point there was not necessarily to earn the cash but to point to a professional portfolio.

When the muse strikes me, I still prefer to post here because it’s faster and I get immediate gratification and answers. I can write about religion, my children, anything without having to wait to see it published.

Meanwhile, there’s a review period submissions have to go through at Associated Content. Topics and submissions - mine have focused on music, worship and my cat’s autopsy - have to be more focused. They’ve promised to reduce this review time, but my friends live and post in this “bloghood” and its easier to reach.

As far as a more detailed description about the paid blogging process, there’s an excellent post here: http://u.silencios.org/index.php/archives/blogging-money-traffic-my-experience-part-1

There’s a list of sites that pay bloggers here: http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/sites-that-pays-you-to-blog/ .

This is yet a better site I just found after writing this entry.

http://internetmarketermommy.com/blogging/paid-to-blog-resource-list/

I’d like to thank everyone who puts up with my comments at their blogs, my friends, employer and God for all the blessings they send my way.

So I will.

Thanks, all you bloggers over there at the blogroll to the left.

Thanks Jim http://lordibelievehelpmyunbelief.blogspot.com/ and Marcus http://www.goodwordediting.com/ for your common sense, wisdom and responding to e-mails sent through other sites.

Thanks L.L. http://seedlingsinstone.blogspot.com/ for encouragement and kindness.

Thanks Michelle http://considerjesus.wordpress.com/ for your prayers.

Thanks Ric http://ricbooth.wordpress.com/ for poetic enthusiasm and punning.

Thanks Drew http://coffeewithdrew.blogspot.com/ for being so grounded.

Thanks John http://johnshoreland.com/ for promoting God’s love, being so funny and laughing at my attempts at humor.

Thanks Bob http://middlezonemusings.com/ for intelligent writing that blows me away and “what I learned from” contests.

Thanks Jeff http://jmcq.blogspot.com/ for separating the wheat from the chaff as in what’s important in following Christ and what’s not.

Thanks Supernovamom http://supernovamom.wordpress.com/ for providing me money-saving information and details on events to take my children to.

I appreciate you all.

Thanks God, for my internet acquaintances. Bless them richly, show your love to them and fill them with your peace.

This blog entry will cover topics such as being angry at God, trying to decide who to back for president and spending a few vacation days with my children.

The presidential political process gets my goat every four years as I observe it and then try to cast an informed vote.

When I try to bring God into it and guess who God wants me to vote for, it gets even murkier.

It takes the form of “gee God, which party’s platform follows your word most closely?”

I can argue Democrat for God’s compassion, but I can argue Republican for God’s focus on personal responsibility. I could argue Libertarian on the grounds God wants to take it to the next notch and let families and Christ’s followers take care of each other instead of asking government to step in.

But hey, I’m tired of arguing.

So I’m pretty interested to see what Mark Goodyear has to say when he publishes an interview mentioned at his blog.

The blog entry is called “Michael Hyatt, Stephen Mansfield, Tony Jones, and Me and You Talk Politics in Hell.”

It’s found here http://www.goodwordediting.com/index.php/2008/06/20/michael-hyatt-stephen-mansfield-tony-jones-and-me-and-you-talk-politics-in-hell/

Goodyear asks Tony Jones two interesting questions I can’t wait to read the answers to:
   Tony, what does it look like when politicians worship God through their work?
   Tony, what does it look like when voters worship God through their engagement of politics?

 So now, acknowledging that politics may incite some to anger at God, another motivator toward that end is when we think we have done quite enough good and hard work to earn God’s favor and so get angry when he doesn’t give us our heart’s desires.

This is a hypothetical situation that I, of course, would never yell at God over.

And I’ve never, ever lied, either.

“Why is life so hard?” someone in depths of despair asked me recently.

“God gave us free will. It kind of stems from that,” I answered.

“You’re no help” the person responded.

I agreed.

I can write out an answer or argument all day long but ask me a question point blank to my face and I’ll return a blank stare until the wheels slowly turn and I can respond, usually with a glib or pat answer.

Later, of course, I remembered the answer. We asked for it in the garden of Eden when we disobeyed God. He cursed us with work as part of the punishment. But God gave us a way back through Jesus’ death and power to overcome through the Holy Spirit.

We are also promised hard times in the New Testament, but again God promises to help us.

In this case, the person begging me for a comforting answer was really upset because the person wanted what they wanted when they wanted it and blamed God for not giving it to them right away.

Sort of like my children (nice transition, huh?)

They wanted me to entertain them or take them someplace to be entertained ($$$$$) the two days they were with me on my impromptu sudden summer vacation.

They have enough possessions, Nintendo DS games, television, movies, skateboards, scooters, bikes, basketballs and books - heck, even another computer - to entertain themselves.

When they visit me, there’s even my sister’s dog thrown in.

We do things together, don’t get me wrong - like walking my sister’s dog to the park to play. However, my children are learning that as much fun as I can be, dad isn’t the constant entertainer and playtoy. I think they’re catching on I have my own life.

Said dog, shown below with my daughter, will bite you if you attempt to wake the children by shaking them.

God’s peace and love.

The children I wrote about in the last blog entry http://samwrites2.wordpress.com/2008/06/15/for-two-children-i-dont-know-and-yet-care-about/ (no - not my children, but two who are as dear to God) have had a reprieve as the court hearing written about has been delayed until July 16.

The prayer and praise e-mail sent out read:

“Delays are a very common in the Romanian court system, but (the orphanage director) believes that this delay will allow her extra time to prepare complete testimonies and paperwork.

“So, keep praying and I will keep everyone updated on any new problems,” wrote this member of the congregation I belong to. “Thanks for you service in sending out the prayer needs!!!”

Of course, anytime you think about it, pray for both the widows and orphans. And if God moves you to do anything else, by all means pursue it.

Anyone care to comment on what “true religion” is said to be in the scriptures?
(I would look it up but at the moment that’s difficult to do, I’m feeling lazy and I wanted to post this before I went home).

Regardless of all that, I’m encouraged by the above news.