(from www.geocities.com/RainForest/1329/ )

(October 31, 1996 6:10 AM CST)
Good morning it's 32 degrees here in Omaha.
Today is Halloween, of course, in the USA.
I pray that it will be a safe and fun day for all.
Tomorrow is All Saints Day.
Let us pray that one day all that read these
words will be saints in Heaven.

(October 30, 1996 5:37 AM CST)
It is cold! 31 degrees with a Wind Chill of 1 degrees.
The high today will be 43 and low tonight 18.
Tomorrow high of 33 for that scary day (Halloween).
Maybe even snow.

I'm working on writing "God Is Calling You",
so pray that I say what God wants me to say.
Thanks.

I received 3 letters in the P.O. Box on October 28.
Thanks to all that have written over the years.
It means a lot to me.
(3 is my favorite number (i.e. Father, Son and Holy Spirit).)

See ya,

Dan

(October 28, 1996 5:41 AM CST)
So you ask what am I listening to this morning?
It's Steven Curtis Chapman and the "Signs of Life" CD. Music is very important to me. I believe it is a blessing from God to us. It is a GIFT. It is a blessing.

On the mirror in my bathroom there is a yellow Post-It note that says:
"What can I do for someone else today?"
I wonder who needs my help today? I wonder who needs your help today. Please, be open to the working of the Holy Spirit to lead you to people in need. Be a friend to them. Give them a hug, if they need it. Mostly just listen to them. Be present to them. Give them the love that Jesus would give to them if he was here today (and he is here today, of course).
Thanks!

(October 27, 1996 5:54 AM CST)
Daylight Savings Time has ended here in Omaha, so we got an extra hour overnight. Windows 95 took care of resetting the clock on my PC at my house.

Yesterday WAS a day like no other. Before the sun came up the full moon was low in the western sky with the clouds blowing quickly in front of it. The wind was out of the south. North of here I heard there were tornado watches. After the sun came up it was scary. The clouds were dark and threatening. Drops of rain fell every once in awhile. The humidity was high and moisture covered the sidewalks and streets. The colors were yellowish. It was like the end of time or something like that. By Noon the sun was out and you could not believe it was the same day. There was not a cloud to be found, but the wind was very very strong. The lake at Boys Town looked like the waves of the Pacific Ocean crashing on an Oregon beach with white caps and splashing wildly into the shore. It was something to witness! I was with my friends Patty and Nina, just ask them. It was something to see.

At lunch Patty told me that Pedro had died at UNMC, so pray for his family. He was just a little boy.

Since it was so windy, I spend at least half an hour picking up branches from the Maple tree in my front yard and so did most of the neighbors. Branches were everywhere. Later I made some new friends, Joanna and Zachary. I had seen them just the day before in front of their house for the first time, as I drove by after work. (I see them one day and meet them the next --- interesting... It is like a sign from God that these two people are very special or something to be noted.)

In the evening I finally got to have a piece of my own cake that I made for my brother's birthday. The cake was great they all said. The only problem was that my brother was not there. Life is so confusing! I don't understand. Pray for my family. Thanks!

I'm just meeting so many new people all the time. Pray for them all. Thanks.

Mary Kay says "God bless you!"

(10-26-1996, 5:16 PM CDT)

(October 26, 1996 5:44 AM)
Good morning. It is another day to be lived by you and me like no other that there has ever been. And I'm teary eyed now because of a beautiful song by Erin O'Donnell. She is in living in Florida now, but is from Omaha. She was at Parables a few weeks ago to promote her new and 1st CD. The CD is titled "A Scrapbook of Sorts". It is song number 9 titled "things i cannot say". The words are: " 'Cause People like me find it hard to speak. The things they can not say." I have to go buy the CD. (Which I did.)

Yes, yesterday MKM and me had lunch. You know what we did at first? Well, we got out the crayons and colored these pictures meant for kids (like us). She is one of the most lovable persons that I've ever met in my life. She gave me the very first copy of her latest newsletter (INsight INk, Volume VII, Issue 7 November/December 1996). I was thinking to myself "Am I that important?" I asked her what she had in her refrigerator and she said "dirt". I told her I had a cake in mine. At 44 I've started to make cakes for people. She is 44 also she said. My brother Tom is 39 today (10-26-1996). I will be delivering the cake and a card later today.

(October 25, 1996 5:38 AM)
What am I listening to? "Fanfare for the Common Man" by Aaron Copland .

Today is going to be a very interesting day for me. I'm going to meet with MKM and I have just a few hundred questions to ask her and she has a lot to ask me I guess. It will be something to experience. I wish that someone could videotape our discussion. It would be fascinating to see it played back. We miss so much in conversations. It is overwhelming sometimes all that is going on. I try to absorb it all but still miss quite a bit of WHAT IS HAPPENING --- to live that moment. I'm going to give her a copy of the song that I wrote ("Jacob's Song") as a gift. Maybe someday you will hear "Jacob's Song" at your church.

You just never know what the future may bring.

God be with you today my friend. Hang in there. Jesus is at your side to strengthen you to do what He has called you to do today. Walk with *His* footsteps.

Sincerely,
Dan

(October 24, 1996 5:25 AM)
I'm listening to Ray Boltz CD The Concert of a Lifetime this morning.
"The anchor holds in spite of the storm."
Yes, Jesus, is our anchor!

(October 23, 1996 6:23 AM)
Last night I played tennis at TTC near 120 and Fort Streets. My first partner was Ginny, but I had forgot her name. (I am bad at names.) She said she had seen my articles in the newspaper. She said they must have cost a fortune. I said I hoped it would help make our culture have more Christian values, but I'm not sure if she heard me. On the other side of the net was Matt and Cindy. They won. Bill was there too. We both went to the same High School that is no longer a High School. I told him I saw "his house" on 34 and Lincoln Blvd just the other day. It is still there. We both grew up near Bemis Park.

We had our first snow yesterday here in Omaha. I just looked outside and it's all gone. That was interesting. It is instant "Wintertime". It is cold and gray and depressing. Hey, I'm a sunshine person. Bring back that sunshine, O Lord!

Yesterday I received a book in the mail from that MKM . She even autographed it: "Thank you for your courage to be Christian. Let your/His light shine." (There was a star(*) to dot the 'i' of 'shine'.) Thanks, that was nice!

And Y-O-U have a wonderful day with Jesus in your heart. He is the greatest! He is awesome. Look to Him for your strength. God bless you my friend. Get out there now and change that world! Amen.

Here's a letter that I received in the "snail mail"
on October 16th at the post office in downtown Omaha:

"Successful people don't even think about defining the word.

Successful people would shy away from being labeled 'successful.'

Successful people have better things to do with their time
than write endless articles on success.

Successful people don't use words like 'must' and 'should.'

Successful people don't write articles full of bold
highlights, telling the reader that he or she might not
catch the significance of the words
if not highlighted."

The letter was not signed and had no return address.

We have so much to learn from each other and
I say 'Thanks' to this person for taking the time to write to me.
God bless you.

Sincerely,
Dan Boeckman
dan@spring2life.com