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From the Left of the East.


The Lodge conferred the Entered Apprentice Degree on Jan. 9th and we welcome our youngest Entered Apprentice and we look forward to conferring the rest of the degrees. Brethren please try and attend a meeting when we confer a degree and are a part of what makes new Masons. Remember when you went through the degrees how happy and impressed you were when you saw the sidelines with your brethren there. I cannot always print in this article when the degrees will be conferred but they will always be in a Special Meeting so call one of the Officers and ask when we are conferring a degree so you don’t show up on a night and there is no one there.
The Lodge is discussing doing some upgrading to the Lodge room proper like replacing the carpet, dry walling the panel walls, retiling the floors, and finding new seats. The carpet is torn and old and we fear someone might trip when walking around and the rest of the room needs to be addressed. If you can help or have ideas please contact one of the Officers.
The Spring Pancake Breakfast is schedules for Feb. 26th at the Lodge Hall. Letter and 2 tickets have been sent out to every member and the Lodge is asking that you purchase the tickets to support our efforts and the Lodge. The Lodge Hall has some much needed work to be done to it. The carpet is worn and torn and needs to be replaced along with some of the seating and other floor work. Crete Lodge has remained in the same location since it was chartered in 1894. That alone is remarkable. The building we now occupy was built in 1964 so you can see why we have been putting money into it. Nothing lasts forever and the time has come for upgrading. If you have any ideas or can help please contact one of the Officers.

The dues cards were coming in great at the started and now have slowed down drastically. It costs the Lodge money to send out the second notice and I really hate to do that. Please look at your dues card and see that it is up to date I know with the Holiday season that the notice gets set aside and forgotten so I hope that when you are reading this you take a look at your card. The Lodge like your household cannot exist if the members do not pay the dies. The Lodge has bills like everything else and if we cannot keep up with them we will have to sell and move. Again If you need assistance and you’re behind please go to the Grand Lodge web site, ilmason.org and go to the Masonic Outreach or call the Grand Secretary’s Office to direct you to the Outreach Program for help. They have a new program to assist brethren who have fallen behind in their dues. We have quit a few that are behind. Also if you are getting this newspaper please send me your phone number because there are quite a few who we cannot contact to see if they need help. I will not share your number with any other source.

Mental Nourishment: I know that all Master Masons when raised receive a Bible to use and read for their blueprint in life. How often do you open the Greatest Book written and read it? We all know the 10 commandments were given to Moses but when asked of our Lord which is the greatest of these commandments Jesus answered written in Matthew 22:37-40, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and prophets hang on these two commandments” Isn’t one of the tenets of Masonry Brother Love? Aren’t we supposed to go into the Lodge Hall and leave our egos in our vehicle outside? Open discussion is good for all and when finished should end. We all know that we are going to disagree once in a while just like you do in married life because you will not always get along all the time but we as Masons need to be better, show more understanding, and show our brotherly love. We all say things that may offend a brother but if you know it offended someone apologize to them and the offended brother should forget it because it is water under the bridge and can’t be brought back. Don’t hold grudges because they hurt you more than the brother or person you are mad at and believe me life is way too short to hold that grudge and it really didn’t’ matter anyway did it? There are brethren who can’t seem to forgive and get on with being a Mason in the true since of what Masonry is. Maybe if you are having a hard time and can’t forgive pick up that Bible and give it a chance to turn you around and I will guarantee that you will be happier and become a better person and Mason.


Humor: This was sent to me today and I think that you will find it interesting.
If you're not familiar with the work of Steven Wright, he's the famous Erudite (comic) scientist who once said:
"I woke up one morning, and all of my stuff had been stolen and replaced by exact duplicates."
His mind sees things differently than most of us do. . .
Here are some of his gems..........just for you, my friend! 1 - I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize.
2 - Borrow money from pessimists -- they don't expect it back.
3 - Half the people you know are below average.
4 - 99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
5 - 82.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot.
6 - A conscience is what hurts when all your other parts feel so good.
7 - A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
8 - If you want the rainbow, you got to put up with the rain.
9 - All those who believe in psychokinesis, raise my hand.
10 - The early bird may get the worm, but the next mouse gets the cheese.
11 - I almost had a psychic girlfriend, ...... But she left me before we met.
12 - OK, so what's the speed of dark?
13 - How do you tell when you're out of invisible ink?
14 - If everything seems to be going well, you have overlooked something.
15 - Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
16 - When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
17 - Ambition is a poor excuse for not having enough sense to be lazy.
18 - Hard work pays off in the future; laziness pays off now.
19 - I intend to live forever.... So far, so good.
20 - If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends?
21 - Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
22 - What happens if you get scared half to death twice?
23 - My mechanic told me, "I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder."
24 - Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?
25 - If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.
26 - A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.
27 - Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
28 - The hardness of the butter is proportional to the softness of the bread.
29 - To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research.
30 - The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard.
31 - The sooner you fall behind, the more time you'll have to catch up.
32 - The colder the x-ray table, the more you are required to be on it.
33 - Everyone has a photographic memory; some just don't have film.
34 - If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.
And the all-time favorite -
35 - If your car could travel at the speed of light, would your headlights work?

REMEMBER YOUR BLUE LODGE
See you there, Dave