Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

After we had torn ourselves away from them, we put out to sea and sailed straight to Kos. The next day we went to Rhodes and from there to Patara.

• Acts 21:1

“Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. For the sake of his great name the Lord will not reject his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own. As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will perish.”

• 1 Samuel 12:20-25

Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,
    the son of man you have raised up for yourself.
Then we will not turn away from you;
    revive us, and we will call on your name.

• Psalm 80:17-18

Take warning, Jerusalem, or I will turn away from you and make your land desolate so no one can live in it.”

• Jeremiah 6:8

We recently went on a trip to Texas via Tennessee.  With my wife needing kidney dialysis, we had a hard time, but we managed.  We took three weekends and the two weeks in between.  The middle weekend was a whirlwind drive from Tennessee to the Texas Gulf Coast and back to Tennessee.  We attended a memorial service for my wife’s brother who had passed away and then we went to Tiki Island, south of Houston, Texas for a family gathering.  Most of those who were at the memorial service attended.  You know, some of the youngsters have not gotten the idea that if you do not show up, you will be talked about.  If the grapevine gets back to them, they might show up for the next one.  My wife and I, our son and his family from Tennessee, and my wife’s sister from the twin cities in Minnesota missed those that ducked out early.

But when we spent one day driving to Texas, one day in Texas filled with family activities, and one full day driving back to Tennessee, I had three full days that were AFK (Away from Keyboard).  Thus the title should read for people of my generation – “I was away from my keyboard for three days.”

That is a good thing, bad thing, and horrible thing.

It is good to take a break.  God rested on the seventh day.  God wants us to rest.  I find my writing relaxing, but it is still an effort.

It is a bad thing in that someone may have commented or e-mailed me and I missed that connection.

It is a horrible thing in that there were about 500 e-mails that I deleted.  If the link to your latest post was among them, I apologize, but I simply could not sift through all those e-mails to find the posts that I did not have the time to read.

I just love it when you take a long trip and you announce it to everyone, and then upon your return, there are 20 voice mails asking you where you were, 4-5 from the same person that wished you well as you left.

But as I might have been away from keyboard (AFK), I could never be away from God’s protecting hands.  I could never turn away from God or the teachings of God.  I have no desire to have God turn my land into a desolate place, even though I am simply renting space.

God is someone who we can rely on.  He will never forsake us.  We can never be away from God’s keyboard.  All we have to do is go to Him in prayer.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.