March 5, 2016 Saturday #walk/work#unity!#goodfriends#MarkAlan#sadhistory

Get Fit
I walked this morning, outside for vitamin d and fresh air.  I walked behind my snowblower, but it still counts right?

Get Faith
Colossians 2:16-17  This is a repeating theme I am hearing this week.  Pastor talked about this at Bible study on Thursday morning while reading Romans.  It is important because we separate ourselves from one another based on what food we eat, or where we worship or what and how we celebrate.  The important thing is Christ, who he is and what he did for ALL of us.  We are united in that love that we share from God.  Celebrate unity!

On this day
2005 It was the day after my gall bladder surgery, not a big deal anymore, kind of like getting a mole removed.  So on this day I had friends bring food, send cards and call and visit.  Now that's important.

1624 - In the American colony of Virginia, the upper class was exempted from whipping by legislation.  I join the outcry on this one.

Family
Not a March 5 that goes by that I don't remember my kid brother Mark's birthday, which is today.  It has been 30 years, he would have been 59 today.  He was a juvenile diabetic and died of a heart attack at 29.  It was all preventable, kind of.  He could have taken better care of himself and had better access to better drugs and information, but that isn't what happened.  That health issue is accompanied by depression and quite often feeling ill.  Two things responsible for each other.  I choose to remember what a cute child he was, his great sense of humor and his deep faith in God.  Rip Mark Alan.

Mark in the middle.

Sea of Okhotsk port of Magadan

SEA OF OKHOTSK
SEALS, SEABIRDS AND A LEGACY OF SORROW

Perhaps no other sea in the world has witnessed as much human suffering and misery as the Sea Okhotsk. Between 1932 and 1953 it is estimated that over 3 million prisoners (the vast majority of them innocent) were transported across the Sea Okhotsk to the Gulags of the Kolyma Goldfields. It is estimated that only five hundred thousand of those prisoners survived to make the journey home. The town and port of Magadan were built to process these prisoners.  Sad but important to know I think as long as we are here.

Enjoy the day!  Make it memorable!  Happy Birthday Mark!