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Memories and Musings

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I have used this phrase many times, “God willing and the creeks don’t rise”, and I’ll wager that you have, too. I have understood the phrase to mean that I would be somewhere, or accomplish some task unless prevented by some unseen circumstance. Amazingly, there is much discussion about what this really means. Research shows that there are two different opinions about the saying, and both sides are avid that their positions are correct.Some people have problems with acknowledging a higher power called God, and that this God does not interfere in the actions of man. So, to them blaming God for being unwilling that something happen is unrealistic.

Fincher’s Corner

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And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.” Ecclesiastes 3:13 We who remember the 30’s and 40’s remember what trying times they were. The Great Depression had made “pore folks” out of many Center, Texas families…and our family was no exception. I remember the day that John, Bill and I made a total of $9.00 picking cotton from daylight to dark. We gave it to Mother to buy her a dress, but as usual, she spent it on us. Many people farmed back then and we boys were often asked to pick dried peas “on the halves”. After “dehusking” them, Mother stored them for future use. As the peas aged, we often found weevils in them. My brother Joe was telling a friend about the weevils one day and his friend asked him if we threw the weevilled peas away. “Naw”, Joe laughed. “We ate weevils and all.”

Postscript

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I drove my parents to their cabin this week. My mom is having some terrible pain in her jaw and wasn’t sure she was up to the drive, and my dad doesn’t see well enough to drive anymore.
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2023: End-of-year Veteran benefits update

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As we head into the new year, we wanted to give you a quick update on VA’s non-health benefits for Veterans. Partly thanks to the historic PACT Act, Veterans like you have applied for benefits at record rates over the past year—surpassing the previous all-time record by 39%—and that’s a great thing. As a result of your benefits applications, we at VA have been able to deliver more earned benefits to more Veterans than ever before, including $150 billion in benefits during 2023 alone. That’s exactly what Veterans like you deserve.
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Veterans Affairs calls on mortgage servicers to pause foreclosures

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Helping Veterans and their families stay in their homes is a top priority at VA. Over the past year, we’ve been able to help more than 145,000 Veterans and their families retain their homes and avoid foreclosure. Even in the dynamic housing market of the last several years, rates of foreclosures of VA-backed mortgages are among the lowest in the country. And at the same time, we know that there are still V e t e r a n s struggling to make their payments.