I’ve never been a particular fan of Gene Autry. In fact, it’s likely that the only reason I’m acquainted with this song of his is because of a comedy album by The Firesign Theatre that was regularly quoted in my dorm during my freshman year in college. Thus, to be sure I have the actual words from Mr. Autry, I googled the lyrics before typing them: “I’m back in the saddle again, out where a friend is a friend, where the longhorn cattle feed on the lowly jimson weed. I’m back in the saddle again.”

I think I first saw the email some time Thursday afternoon, too late for me to deal with it that day.  That night I was driving to Houghton Lake with Joel.  We would rake leaves on Friday, prepare the cottage for the winter on Saturday morning, and then return home in the afternoon.  And, of course, I did not want to bother people on Saturday night or Sunday.  So, on Thursday I simply sent a quick reply with the offer a partial solution.

The election advertisements are behind us (hopefully … perhaps the only good thought I have about them is how much they help the economy).  The weather looks as though it might finally be cooling down (not that I am complaining about the wonderful fall we have had thus far). And I was all set to write about how important our Christian witness is in lifting up the people we meet – and how three words to consider as we seek to be more effective are 1) intentional, 2) inspirational, and 3) invitational.