The end of the world...

Well it appears that end of the world is to occur sometime this month. I have heard that it will be on Saturday the 21st while others are saying the 22nd. Every few years or decades it seems that there is always someone who through rigorous biblical study seems to think that they can predict the end of the world. If you ask me when the world is going to end, I will reply when GOD says it is time. The Word says that "no man knows the day or the hour" and I will take it at that. So with that said I think we should be living our lives as if the next moment is our last.
But if the world is going to end sometime soon can I make a few recommendations.
1) I would like the world to end on a Monday, not on the weekend. I look forward to my weekends, thinking of Friday is the only thing that gets me through the week. It would make much better sense for the world to end on a Monday. Of course that might create some confusion as most people think the world really does end every Monday.
2) If the world has to end, can we have it end before the 18th? You see that is when the house payment, car payments and all the other payments come out. I would love to use that money on something else. Who needs a house or a car if the world is no more.
3) It seems like the last three or four times there has been an end of the world date set it has fallen in May. I just hate that. May is a time for everyone to look forward to summer finally getting here, the grass is coming in green, the flowers are blooming, the birds are singing and Memorial Day weekend is just around the corner. If the world has to end can't it be like sometime in late October? Or mid January when it is so cold out no one would really care?
4) And if the world is going to end, can we have it happen at the same time all over the globe? I would just hate it if we hear that Eastern Asia was wiped out and destruction was slowly spreading east. It would be like watching the political election updates on MSNBC. Whoa, Japan just went down, ETA Hawaii six hours, LA in 12.
5) I have another pet peeve with declaring the world is going to end with out declaring how. Is it going to be an asteroid? An alien race? A pandemic? All the machines in the world coming to life and trying to kill us? Someone should make a movie about that. What I mean is if you know that the world is coming to an end, surely you have to know how, right? So share the info if you would so I can get busy building that space shuttle to blow up the asteroids, guerrilla ware fare to take out the aliens, a super serum to counteract the epidemic, or a sailboat with no electrics to escape the evil and blood thirsty machines that are out to get me.
Oh, and if the end of the world really is about to happen, make peace with GOD, and live life to the fullest. Because who knows, it could happen today and if not today, tomorrow.
Be Blessed.

Come in Dick Tracey...

for those of you who are my age or older, that familiar line was a staple in the Sunday paper. You know how the Sunday paper went. Dad got the front page section and the sports, Mom got the local and the celebrity section and the kids got to share the funny pages.
Well Dick Tracey was always a favorite of mine. The vivid colors, the hero of course and the villians. But the coolest thing about Dick Tracey was all of his gadgets. He had all of these neato gadgets that every kids wanted.
Well as I was thinking the other day, most of the gadgets that Dick Tracey had we all have now. Bundled in one little phone package we have the most ingenious scientific gadget ever made. Have you ever really thought about what a "smart" phone can do?
Email? Check.
Day Planner? Check.
Clock? Check.
Adress Book? Check.
Calculator? Check.
Navigation System? Check.
GPS? Check.
Web Browser? Check.
Music Player? Check.
Video Player? Check.
Camera? Check.
Video Camera? Check.
Gaming System? Check.
Facebook? Check.
Pager? Check.
Memo Pad? Check.
And a Phone all wrapped into one little tiny box we can wear on our hip, put in our pocket or slip into a purse.
Calling Dick Tracey! Come in Dick Tracey! I have better gadgets than you do!

What is in your hand?

Got to thinking about that passage of scripture where GOD asked Moses what is in his hand? Moses showed GOD his shepherds staff and GOD told Moses to throw it down and it became a snake, and then he told Moses to take it back up and he grabbed it by the tail and it became a staff again.
There are two keys parts of that story that I have been dealing with in my own life.

The first part is what was in Moses hand. I am sure Moses had that staff for a long while, it had traveled with him, herded sheep and was probably used for most everything while in Moses' possession. But Moses really did not understand what he held in the palm of his hand. I know that I am a lot like Moses sometimes, really not understanding the value that is right under my own nose and in the palm of my hand. To Moses that staff was just like any other shepherds staff, full of knots and blemishes, weathered, stained and really not that pretty to look at. But in GOD'S eyes that staff was a mighty miracle, used of GOD to help set a nation free. Why can't we see our own value when we are in the hands of GOD. Self doubt, feelings of inadequacies and our fears of our shortcomings being revealed cause us to see our own selves like Moses saw that staff, as ordinary. But did you know that just like Moses staff we are a miracle waiting to happen in GOD'S hands. Who knows what he might use you for, what miracles might be awaiting you if you will allow GOD to use you.

Secondly, Moses had to let go for that staff to become a snake. GOD told him to cast it down and when he let go of it miraculously it became a snake. And it must have been a pretty impressive snake as the word says that Moses ran from it. Sometimes when we have to let things go it can get pretty scary. As long as Moses held that staff in his hand, he was in charge. But once he let go of that staff and put it into GOD'S hand, well GOD was in charge and that can be a scary thing. Sometimes we need to let go of the preconceived notions, the shortcomings, the fear of failure and all those other things that make us hold on to the familiar and let go so that GOD can do something extraordinary with us. I love that GOD told Moses to pick up the snake right after Moses ran from it. He was assuring Moses that even though it might be frightening, that HE was in control. I can imagine Moses reaching out his hand ready for the snake to spin around and bite him as he reached for its tail. Imagine the wonder that must have fallen when he grabbed that tail and it transformed back into a gnarly, rugged and knotted staff that had been Moses' companion for so many years.

So in closing, what is in your hand today that GOD wants to use?
Be Blessed!

Its the little things in life...

that make all the difference in the world.
So many times we allow the little things in life to bring us down, but we also need to realize its the little things also that will lift us up.
My top ten little things...
1) The kiss. My wife of almost 23 years still insist that I kiss her when I leave the house and when I get home. It is one of those things you take for granted but should cherish each day.
2) My kids saying "love you Dad" as they head off to bed. Puts the day into prospective.
3) Having my basic needs met. I don't live in a mansion, drive an expensive car or have great material possesions, but I have a house that the roof does not leak (it used to), a car that starts each time I turn the key and gets me where I am going (I used to have one you said a little prayer before turning on the ignition) and enough toys to keep me happy.
4) Good Friends. I mean those kind of friends whom will actually show up and help you move something heavy in their truck and not let you put gas in their truck when you are done. Those kind of friends.
5) Health. I am overweight, work too much, don't exercise enough but still healthy enough to do most anything I set my mind to.
6) Peace. I sleep really well at night knowing my family loves me and I love them.
7) Trust. I live in a town where you can leave the doors unlocked and the keys in your cars. If your car happens to disappear, it will show back up again, washed, vacumned and full of gas with a thank you note from the neighbor for its use.
8) Good Food. There is just nothing in life like preparing a great meal and enjoying it with friends.
9) Indoor plumbing. I remember having to "go" outside, in the winter, in the snow. Thank GOD for indoor plumbing.
10) Air Conditioning. Yep, it is the little things that will keep everything working together.

A little "traveling" music maestro...

I have been going like the enegizer bunny here lately. I kind of feel like Phileaus Fogg I have been traveling so much.
So in the last month I have been as far east as Florida and as far west as Las Vegas, as far North as Chicago and as far South as Dallas, TX. I have literally criss crossed the nation on flights the last few weeks. And in my travels I have noticed a few things...
1) Weather - the weather has been really weird here lately. From major storms to earthquakes to tornadoes the US has seen its fare share of wild weather. There is nothing like flying above a storm brewing below you and watching the billows of clouds and the streaks of lighting race across the sky. It is all nice and fun until the captain mentions a final descent and you realize you are going to have to go through that mess to get to the ground.
2) Of all the airlines - Southwest gets you there the fastest. Or at least it seems that way. I fly commercially all the time but each time I get on a Southwest flight it seems like the people who work there are wanting to "get away" more than I do. My all time favorite lines is this, "at Southwest, it is open seating, so grab the first seat you come to and take a load off so we can get out of here", my second favorite was, "come on people we are not shopping for furniture for the living room, all the seats look the same, just set down in one".
3) I love the National rental car Emerald Aisle - it is where you get to pick your own car out without going to the counter. You breeze right past everyone standing in line, pick the car from the aisle and drive away. It is always a fun day to pick out color, style and wether to go business casual or sporty.
4) Bellagio Rooms in Las Vegas - those rooms are pretty nice, but for my money they can't compare in price to the newest Holiday Inns where they are set up in suites. I was in on a few weeks ago that felt like a studio apartment in Manhattan's upper East side. It was actually bigger than the first apartment my wife and I looked at to live in.
5) IHOP - is there a better restaurant? You can get breakfast at ten o'clock at night. Who doesn't like that?
6) Best Airport - well the fastest airport to get through security is Tulsa International, those TSA people there have it going on. Worst, well Denver International wins this cake. Most frustrating? Dallas Fort Worth, because everyone in Texas who has never flew before flys out of there and they all try to bring their gallon sized shampoo on board with them.
7) Nicest City - well some my disagree but I like Pensacola, Florida. The people there seem genuine and nice, of course living on a beach will do that for you.
8) Toughest City - Chicago, have you ever flown into Midway and had to drive to I55? Enough said.
9) Best Airport Food - Cousin's BBQ in DFW Airport. Just make sure to eat AFTER the meeting, because you will probably get BBQ sauce on your shirt.
10) Craziest Aiport - Well that has to be Sioux City Regional Airport in Iowa. They have T shirts that have the call sign of the airport and the word "flying" under it. Their call sign? SUX.

Easter Sunrise Service

So I am feeling a little convicted this morning. Yesterday was Easter and as I was heading to church in the morning I noticed that a few of the other churches that I passed were already having service. Then it dawned on me, they were having a sunrise service and I began to wonder if I had missed the voice of GOD.
I have never done a sunrise service. I am somewhat glad of that fact as I am not really what you would call a morning person. I am more of a mid morning person with a tendency to stay up too late. Call it what you want but I don't do mornings well and I know many people who share this trait with me.
So as I was driving to church I began to think about a Sunrise Service.
Who would attend? Would it look like a normal service but just at an earlier time? Do you need those guys with flashlights directing traffic in the dark as people come to park? Would the presence of GOD be more powerful at 6AM than say at 10:30? These thoughts raced through my mind as I pondered the very existance of a service at sunrise.
So as therapy I decided to list the pros and cons for a sunrise service. Pros first.
1) There will be just a few people there so finding a seat should be easy.
2) I bet there will be coffee available and it will be fresh, not left overs from the first service in the morning.
3) I betcha someone would bring donuts. Actually that would probably be the only reason I would even think of attending a sunrise service. I think it should be written into the bylaws that if you are at the church at 6AM you have to bring donuts with you.
4) No youth. Yep there would be no youth at the service banging on the drums and wailing on the guitars for sure.
5) Haven't had Brunch in a while, it would be a great opportunity to go eat at Dennys when no one is there as everyone else is at the normal services.
6) Nap time starts early. I might even be able to finish up those Saturday projects that did not get completed and still get a nap in right after lunch!
Ok the Cons...
1) You know it is going to be a long service. Pastor is jacked up on caffeine and doesn't have to rush because you know we are going to beat the Baptist to Golden Corrall today.
2) Leaving the house before sunrise will mess with your biological clock. Most people are getting in Saturday night late and then having to leave before the sun rises may mess up their entire week.
3) Do you actually watch the sun rise? Like sitting on folding chairs in the parking lot, in the pouring rain as the tornado sirens sound?
4) Kids. Enough said, we all know it takes an hour to get each one of them ready. And double that time on Easter when you have to doll them up in their Easter suits and dresses. Have you ever tried to put a tie on a one year old? We would have to get up about 2AM to make the service and I would be we would still be late.
5) What if you indeed showed up late for a sunrise service. Like 5 minutes after the sun came up? Would Pastor make you come back for the normal service since you missed it?
6) What if it is a cloudy day and you really don't get to see the sun come up? Does that really count?
7) Who will play the piano or any other instrument in the service that early?
8) Does the Bible say when Jesus rose from the dead and the stone was rolled away? What if it happened at 10AM, are we being unscriptual trying to rush GOD?
9) Does the Pastor have to preach the normal service also for all those that want to sleep in on Sunday? Man that is double the work for him.
10) And the number one question of having a sunrise service. Will the Pastor's wife make it on time? Does the service count if she is not there?

So whats new?

So whats new in your life? Well I can tell you in mine I have recently discovered a disturbing piece of news. My two sons spent all day Saturday working with Dad. May GOD bless those two boys as I am not the easiest person to work with. They always seem to be standing right where I need to go and for some reason they don't realize it until I have to tell them. So anyway we are sitting taking a break and my oldest looks over at me and says, "hey Dad, know what?" So I respond that I did not know "what" and he says, "you have grey hairs in your beard". "No I don't I replied, they are blond and it just looks that way as they are covered with sheetrock dust." At this point my youngest says, "Dad I don't think that is dust, sheetrock is white and those hairs are grey". So it is official, I am getting old. I have lost the hair on my head and I have started to see grey in my beard, it is all downhill from here.

I wonder...

There are things I spend some time wondering about. Like... Why do buildings make such weird noises when you are all alone in them. Are those noises there all the time and you never notice them till the you are in the building all alone? It should be quiet in the place when all the kids are gone and your wife is away at a conference, shouldn't it. Peaceful right? But I find as soon as I am all alone in the a house, the house starts to make weird noises. Like it misses all the activity so it decides to make up for it. In the first church building we pastored we were sure it was haunted. Really, a haunted church. The church had originally started out as a hospital back in the early 1900's and in the 80's was purchased by the church and remodeled. Well remodeled was a loose term, the patient rooms soon became small sunday school rooms with a table instead of a patient bed. The childrens Pastor's office was originally the room where they shot the x-rays. There was an upstairs area where the nurses would sleep when not on duty, a kitchen and all sorts of little nooks and crannies that hospitals always have. All of that is well and good till you start realizing that people actually died in that place. Souls were seperated from their physical bodies all over that building. So when weird noises started happening when you were all alone in the building, you said a little prayer and moved the 9 iron a little closer to your desk. I know you are thinking, the 9 iron? Well yeah, if an aparition appears I really need a club that I can hit, so the driver stays in the bag. Anyway I digress. So not long after I took the pastorate I am in my office in the back of the church and I hear this noise sounding like someone running on the hall upstairs. It starts loud right over my head and then slowly gets quieter as the runner heads to the other side of the building. I did not count the steps but I am pretty sure it was 13 exactly, like I said I did not count them but I know if I did it would be 13 steps. So one day I am sitting in my office and I hear the "runner" going down the hall. Clutching the 9 iron I walk into the large expanse of the hallway and say with all the authority I have in my voice, "hello?". It kind of croaked out, it sounded more like Dorothy when she landed in Oz than Sylvester Stalone in Rocky. Of course received no answer, that would have been really frightening. I went back to my desk and attempted to resume my work. But just as I was about to sit down, wham wham wham again going down the hall. I jumped and ran to the hall to pear outside to see if the upstairs runner had decided to come downstairs. Again I said "hello?" with no answering call to ease my mind. At this point my adrenaline is running on overdrive, I am so thankful that the women's leader wasn't dropping by my office, it would have been really hard to explain how I accidentally bashed her head in with a 9 iron as we were makign the funeral preperations. So after I returned to my desk, before I even got halfway across the office I hear the runner again sprinting on the upstairs hallway. Finally fed up, I headed for the stairs to confront whatever was up there. The church really never did much with the upstairs area, it was a collection of rooms for the nurses to stay overnight, a small bathroom and a few storage areas full of stuff. But I climbed up those stairs and found myself standing on the very hall that the runner had been running up and down on. There was a fine layer of dust over everything, and thankfully no footprints going up and down the hall. Although footprints left in dust, as I learned on Scoobie Doo were a sure sign that it was not a ghost I was dealing with. So I made my way down the hallway just to make sure there was no one there when I heard it, a slam that made my heart jump into my throat and my pulse go into racehorse mode. That slam was followed by another and another as it reverberated down the hall. But there was no apparition that was apparent at that time. I know that I closed my eyes at the first slam but after the third slam or so I realized I was still breathing so I took a peek and saw nothing hovering in front of me. So as the slams slowly lessoned I worked my way toward the origin of the sound. I ended up at the end of the hall where there was a large closet, a couple of storage boxes and an old hospital bed. As I was examining the area I heard the slam again but this time from really, really, really close. It was right behind the closet door. So I opened the closet door, ready to fight for my life and saw nothing at all. It was just a closet with normal closet things in it except it had a window in the back of the room. Later I would find out that the last addition to the hospital had been made on that side and that window was the access to the attic. So as I made my way to that window which was propped open I finally solved the mystery of the runner in the hallway. It was not an aparition, thankfully, not really sure what a 9 iron would have done to a ghost but I am sure I probably would have pulled my head when I swung and hit it thin anyway. There was no ghostly activities happening, there was an old attic fan set into the side wall of the attic that we had never used. And apparently whenever the front church door opened, it created a vacumn in the building with enough force that the building would "burp" through the attic fan, 13 times starting very loud and slowly getting less forceful till the atmospheric pressure balanced. I realized this as the attic fan started burping as I was looking right at it. What had happened was one of the church parisioners was opening the front door and dropping off supplies into the foyer. She opened the door, laid down the supplies and went back out to her car, as the front door closed and the attic fan burped. Every time I came out of my office with the lame, "hello" she was back at the car getting another load. By the time I got back to my office she had opened the door, dropped off her packages and headed back to her car starting the cycle all over again. Again I am thankful that no one was injured by a poorly swung 9 iron. Although I did have a lot of fun messing with other people who were all alone working in the church by themselves.

Relational Evangelism

We are doing a series on realational evangelism on Sunday nights that is really thought provoking. What if... how many times have we asked "what if" and then failed to act on that impulse. What if, I purchased gas for the next person who pulled in behind me at the pump? What if, I offered to mow the neighbors lawn when they vacationed over the summer for free? What if, I offered to pick up some groceries for my neighbor and then refused to take their money? What if, I just walked across the room and introduced myself to the person who is all alone? What we discovered last night that we all entertain "what ifs" in our lives, but seldom do we act on them. So we made a list of the obstacles that kept us from taking that first step to reach out to someone. They are as follows: Fear Rejection Pride Laziness Communication Skills Lack of Knowledge Predjudiced Uncertainty Too Busy The company we keep Self Confidence Annoying People Appearance What we realized last night is that all of those "obstacles" were not obstacles that the person we are to talk to must overcome but they are "obstacles" we must personally overcome. Each of those "obstacles" (obstacles sounds so much better than excuses don't you think?) deals specifically with US. And in building relationships with other people it should be all about THEM. So what keeps you from stepping out and meeting a new friend? And how can you overcome the "obstacles" regarding it?

So what about the book...

A while back (three years to be exact) I started writing a book. It was one of those, I have a little down time so I sat down and started writing. It is a book that will not change the world, it is a work of fiction but it all comes from somewhere deep inside my cavernous melon. Now I don't want anyone to think I am Max Lucado (I am not that deep), Frank Perretti (I am not that creative) or Ted Dekker (I am not that crazy) but I enjoy all of their writings so I penned my work with some aspects of theirs played out in my story. In describing it to someone one day I said it is like an angelic battle of psychopaths played out in the recesses of someone's mind at the same time also in another realm of reality that is really not real. Confused yet? So anyway, I have these friends who are book publisist, not book publishers, but those that help get the word out about the new books the publishers are publishing. Confused yet again? Anyway, they know books, so I have gleaned all sorts of information from them. Stuff like how many words should a first novel have? In case you are wondering somewhere around 90,000 (I am at 39K right now, so I have some more work to do). How do you know if it is any good and worth publishing? They suggested that I let teenagers read it as they will tell you if it is good or if it is like warm puke, gotta love the honesty of the American teenager. So I made a first draft the other night and gave it to my 14 year old son to read, it sure is handy having a teenager in the house. He is a voracious reader and it is right up his alley as far as fantasy meets the fantasical and is fantasticlly unreal and impossible. So last night my son spent about two straight hours in the living room reading my book while his sister was watching "Prince of Persia" with Jake Gyllinhal on the TV. Talk about tough competition! And he has ADD to boot so keeping focus is an issue, but I apparently passed the teenage litmus test as he kept reading till bedtime. My wife picked it up this morning and found some notes he left for me in the margins for me, nothing too bad and he is over half way through already. So keep your eyes open for a new novel soon to find it's way somewhere, if I ever get it finished...

Religious post

I have been posting about sports for the last couple of weeks now, I thin it is time to get back to a Pastoral type post. The thought of suffering was brought up last night in small groups. Why would GOD allow suffering if he is a GOD of love and grace? That is a very good question. Why would GOD not just give us an utopia on earth, where no one got sick, no one fought, there were no wars, no scars and no death? Well he did actually, in the beginning. GOD created the heavens and the earth and then he created all the creatures of the earth and then he created man. GOD called him Adam and Adam worked as GOD'S overseer of a place called Eden. Eden was perfect. There was no sickness, no death, even the animals seemed to get along with each other, it was paradise. But Adam was alone, so GOD created woman and called her Eve and she was to be his helper and it was all very good, until this one day. You see the Devil has been around a while already, and described as a serpent he turned Adam's and Eve's eyes to look upon the world they lived in a distorted way. He tempted them and although GOD gave them very little limitiations in Eden, they disobeyed GOD. And because of that disobedience they had their utopia taken away. No longer would they be allowed to live in paradise. And with their banishment from Eden, Adam and Eve were forced to work the land for their substanance. To depend on themselves for every need they had. And with their banishment all the things in this life that afflict us today was allowed to affect their lives then. Pain, sickness, and even death now had equal footing with Adam and Eve in this new environment. And it has been that way ever since. Because of their disobedience suffering was allowed to affect GOD'S creation, man. Now the good news. GOD realized for a true utopia to be again, he needed to make a way to purge the world of the sin (disobedience) that caused sufferings in the first place. So he offered a sacrifice, one so holy and so valuable that the blood of this sacrifice could not only cleanse a person or a family of their sin, but an entire population. The blood of the sacrificial lamb was poured out willingly to redeem man from his disobedience. The blood of Christ. One day man will once again live in a world without suffering, without war, without hate, without death, but none of that would have ever been possible without the suffering of the Christ. It is somewhat ironic that the suffering that man inflicted upon himself with his disobedience was only absolved with the suffering of GOD'S only son. Be Blessed.

It is HOW OLD?

So I live in a small town and bought this house about 10 years ago. The lady who had live there did so for the last 40-50 years and raised her family there. When she passed away we were fortunate to be able to purchase the house. Now here is where it gets dicey. We were told when we bought the house the estimated age was somewhere around 70 years. So we believed the house was built in the 1930's sometime. While I was working on my remodel of the bathrooms a few years ago I came across a couple signatures of the home owners from 1957 and their relatives from somewhere in Kentucky who apparently worked on the original bathroom remodel. That date felt about right since in our bathroom at that time it had PINK fixtures. I am sure it was called a "dusty rose" or something like that to look like one of the fancy cadillacs at the time but it sure looked PINK to me. So after the bathroom remodel I turned my attention to the master bedroom. Our house never really had a master bedroom, it had a small closet leftover from the bathroom remodel, and one large room that had a dividing wall splitting it into two small rooms, neither of which was big enough to really accomodate a king size bed. So our plan was to eliminate the dividing wall, take down all the lathe and plaster that covered the interior walls and insulate the exterior walls as there is no insulation in there now. So after spending a few days taking down all the lathe and plaster I discovered that when the house was built they used old clothe, bluejeans, burlap bags and newspaper to seal the area between the floor joist and the wall framed opening. I was yanking the old trash out of the bottom of the wall when I found a newspaper that was actually readable. I carefully unfolded it and found that it was the a paper from May of 1899! Yes, 1899! So I am trying to think how my house could have been built in the 1930's and have a newspaper put in as insulation from the 1890's? I smell a mystery here, going to break out my Scoobie Doo lunch box and go and solve this mystery!

The Underdogs...

I just love an underdog story, don't you? Take a person or a team who isn't supposed to accomplish something, have them set their minds to accomplishing that goal that seems impossible and have them overcome tremendous obstacles on the way to achieving their goal. That is a movie ready to be made! I am following the Final Four as March Madness winds down and low and behold there are a pair or underdogs, or as they call them in the tournament; Cinderallas, in the Final Four. Granted, two of them have to play each other for a chance at the national title so it is set that no two Cinderellas will meet in the national title game but still, it is great to see the underdogs doing what no one expected. Viginia Commonwealth and Butler University are in the Final Four. Now Butler was there last year, riding on the talents of a great player who now plays in the NBA. But no one thought they would be back! And Virginia Commenwealth? They were not even a lock to make the tournament, they had to play in an extra game to even get into the field of 64, talk about an underdog! The story lines of underdogs are the stuff of legend. David versus Goliath, The NY Jets and Broadway Joe winning the Super Bowl, Texas Western winning the National Title over Kentucky, and now? Who knows? But it sure makes for an interesting story.

It's Madness I tell you...

The NC2A basketball tournament got underway this week. Did you know that the first Thursday and Friday of the NC2A tournament days are the most missed work days of the year? And those that are at work are more than likely watching the live stream on their computers instead of working.
I remember the first year that CBS started live streaming the games over the internet. I had a co-worker send me a link that the games were on. I just could not believe him so I had to click the link. Of course when the game booted up I had forgotten to turn down the sound on my computer so Billy Packer screamed out of the speakers in front of my computer to my embarassment. As quick as a cobra I hit the mute button and then sheepishly looked around to see if anyone had noticed. I am sure they thought I was talking to myself in one of my many voices like a ventriloquist without a dummy.
So as I sat in wonder with live basketball playing on my computer. I was in hog heaven when I noticed a button on the bottom of the screen that was labeled, "boss button". Well you know that I had to push that and low and behold a microsoft excell spreadsheet pops up on my screen. It had highlights and figures all layed out in some accounting type function, I am sure it was probably the P&L statement for CBS sports but it was genius. I am sure our bosses wondered why everyone in the office was working on a excell spreadsheet when we normally never used that program. So I got to wondering what other uses a boss button could be used for?

How about a boss button in your car, you know when you are late coming back from lunch. You could hit that button and have your best client's voice sound over the car speakers talking to you like you had him in the car. Your boss then would understand why you took a two hour lunch and you could then expense it to the company.

How about a boss button when the boss catches you for the fifth time loitering around the coffee maker. I am thinking something like a sheet that falls in front of you that looks the exact same color as the wall paper. You are standing there and the boss glances in and sees you and when he does his double take you hit the switch, the sheet falls and when he looks again you are gone! That would be awesome.

How about a boss button when you need to leave work early? You need to get out at 3 but you have burned up all your sick time and vacation time. How about a button that inflates a blow up replica of you that looks eerily like you sitting at your desk. Of course we would need a sensor that as someone walked past the hand would raise in mock greeting. That would be great.

Of course these are great ideas but I know that many would use them for purposes other than the NC2A tournament and the productivity of the country would go down the toilet. So for now we will just have to use the boss button on the CBS live feed. Just don't forget to turn down the sound, or you may have Billy Packer screaming out of your speakers, "GONZAGA DID IT!! CINDERELLA REIGNS IN INDIANAPOLIS!!".
Have fun everybody!

Easter is coming...

With Easter around the bend we are doing a series on Wednessday nights regarding the final week of JESUS' life. Last night we studied over the Passover meal.
Did you realize that Judas had already sold out Christ at this point, willing to turn him over for 30 pieces of silver. But what I had missed in the story was not that Judas was as the Last Supper, but that Judas was also one of the disciples whom JESUS served by washing his feet.
Can you imagine the scene. The disciples are jostling for position to see who gets to sit on JESUS's left and his right. They are debating who the best disciple is, who get the special honor of sitting closest to Christ, and then JESUS comes in. He wraps a towel around his waist, gets a basin of water and goes to the first disciple and starts to wash his feet. The Bible does not say that JESUS even asked to wash that disciples feet, he just did it. All the disciples probably did not even notice when JESUS came in as they were arguing over who the best was. But I will tell you what, I am sure when that disciple felt the water on his feet and saw it was his Master who was washing them a hush fell over the crowd. But what is amazing is that JESUS even washed Judas' feet. The dude who would betray him, the guy who would turn him over, the man who would sell him out. JESUS knelt down and took Judas' foot in his hands and washed the dirt and such off of his feet. Feet which had just earlier that day trod into the High Priest presence with an offer of betrayal. Feet that would carry Judas back to the soldiers and then on to where JESUS was staying that night. Feet of the betrayer and yet JESUS washed them as well.
A true servant will even serve the one who will betray you later...

Life goes on....

and on and on and on.
I read a statment the other day that kind of shook me up. It said, "some people never start living till they are told they are dying". Have you really thought about that?
If I were told today that I had one year left to live, I would have to seriously think about how I would use that year. I can tell you that I probably would not waste a single minute of it that is for sure.
So I got to thinking what would I eliminate from my time constraints if I had one year to live.
So here are my top ten.

10) Waiting in line for a fast food meal. I mean it is "supposed to be" fast food, I would walk to the front of the line and tell everyone I have one year to live and I can't stand around waiting for them to decide if they want a number one or a number two.
9) All my banking would be done on direct deposit and autodraft. Why wait at the bank to cash a a check or pay a bill. Just have them take it out and do it without you, they will get it all at the end of my one year anyway.
8) The DMV - I would never wait at the DMV again, period. I would not renew my tags, liscense or anything else by waiting in line at the DMV. If it could not get done by phone or email then it won't get done and whoever gets my car will have to pay the late fees.
7) Facebook - I know people whose whole lives are tied up in facebook. I guess they would put up a status post that they have a year to live and see how many would like or dislike that status. I would just quit it all together and let those friend request, mafia war helps, coins, pillows, flowers and whatever else gets given to your facebook account just pile up and up and up... I am sure some will get mad that I never did "friend" them after I am gone.
6) Waiting on Red Lights - Before you going calling for the Sherrif, I would just pull up to a red light and make a right turn if the light was red, even if that was not the direction I was wanting to go. Remember I am dying here, so forward moving is the goal.
5) Waiting in line for movie tickets, for movie seats for anything movies whatsoever. I don't really think Saint Peter is going to ask me if I saw "Inception" and what I thought about it.
4) Sports Events of any kind (unless I have an immediate family member participating) - Who knows, in a years time the only winter sport we might have will be hockey. But I am not going to waste my time watching guys play a game for hundreds of thousands of dollars when I can be out playing catch with my own kids.
3) Video Games - This one is going to hurt... yeah I really want to finish that seventeenth level and win the game finally but I have already wasted 12 days, 14 hours and 32 minutes sitting in front of the TV with controller in hand, no wonder I have a weight issue.
2) Home Improvements - I know that light socket needs fixed, and the receptacle by the TV needs a new plate but I figure when I kick the bucket there should be enough insurance money left to take care of those things.
And my number one Time Waster I will eliminate:
1) Blogging - I know you will miss me, you will miss the wit and sarcasm and the deep thought provoking topics and all but it takes too much time to just sit and write about things I would rather be out doing. So a fair warning, a heads up, if that call ever comes and you see that my blog has not had an update in a month or so, say a little prayer for me. Even if I have not been given a year to live, I probably need your prayers even more...
Be blessed.

Its been a while

Well sports fans, it has been a while since I graced the blogosphere. So I am back to give you some random thoughts and insights as only I can.

So the NFL owners have locked out the players? I wonder how long it will be before we start to see those guys sending out resumes to get jobs other than playing football. I would love to sit in an interview room with a few of them.
Interviewer: So tell me about yourself.
Candidate: Well, I am 6'5" tall, weight 290 pounds and can bench press 450 pounds 16 times in succesion.
Interviewer: Thats impressive, but you know that you are not going to be bench pressing anything in this office. We do internet marketing for highly competitive creative businesses.
Candidate: Well I am ultra competitive!
Interviewer: Great. Lets talk about job experience, what have you been doing since graduating college.
Candidate: Well last year I was in Green Bay, pretty much worked each and every day with an emphasis on Sunday, knocked down other people and tried to kill the guy behind the lines. You know, ran through the grunts and middle management and then tried to pile drive the CEO of the company. I put that in company speak for you so you understand.
Interviewer: Well that is interesting. What kind of goals are you setting for yourself?
Candidate: I want to get 15 sacks a year and make the Pro Bowl.
Interviewer: No one gets sacks here, and we don't have a Pro Bowl.
Candidate: Oh yeah, I knew that.
Interviewer: Lets talk compensation; this job will pay you $40K starting off, with an option on bonuses and yearly reviews for compensation increases.
Candidate: A month right?
Interviewer: No we get paid Bi Weekley. Every two weeks, understand.
Candidate: Oh that is even better. $40K every two weeks is a little under what I made at my last job but you said that was just starting out right?
Interviewer: I think you misunderstood me. $40K is for the entire year.
Candidate: You mean $40K total, for August through January? That is like just over $6,000 per month. You have to be kidding me, my car payments are more than that!
Interviewer: Uhmmm, when I say the entire year, I am talking January to January.
Candidate: What kind of company are you running here. People can't live on that kind of money in this economy!
Interviewer: Well that is our starting wage, if it is not satisfactory you might want to look elsewhere.
Candidate: Well I do have a few more interviews, hopefully those companies will pay me what I am worth!!
Interviewer: Good luck.

I have a feeling if this thing drags on you might actually see this scenario play out in real life.
Can't wait, but I will miss football too.

Snow snow everywhere.

Let is snow let it snow let it snow.
Man we are getting hammered by snow right now. As is most of the US.
But down here in the south we are unprepared for it and don't know how to deal with it.
I saw a guy go by a minute ago who had four shovels taped to the front of his car, not really but it would not surprise me.
So here are some wintery snow tips for us southerners to make it through the white stuff.
1) get a SNOW shovel. That little spade shovel is made to dig dirt, not snow. Go get a snow shovel and if you can't find one of those get you a big ole manure scooping shovel, it will work.
2) put chains on your car. Not like big old decorations but on the tires that drive your car. They will give you traction to drive out of the bar ditch you did not see, sometimes.
3) and most importantly, take it slow. Just because you have four wheel drive does not mean you are driving a tank and can go the speed limit everywhere. Take it nice and easy, remember traction is more important than anything and be safe.

Plumbing is like life...

I hate doing plumbing, it is the one thing about home improvement that I just do not like at all. Let me explain why.
1) You never have the right tools. Do you know why plumbers drive those big trucks always sagging in the rear? Because they have to have every tool known to man to make plumbing work. Usually I am using the only tool that will do what needs to be done and it is never the right tool which means plenty of bloody knuckles and lots of effort.
2) You never have the right parts. An adapter here, a reducer there, some joint compound over here. Every time you start a plumbing project you end up buying double the parts you really need and most of the time you have to make at least two trips to the store to finish.
3) It is cramped in there. Most plumbers have to work in small spaces. Under the sink, behind the toilet, in the crawl space of the house. As a big man I am space challenged when it comes to those kind of things.

Life in a lot of ways resembles plumbing.
We very seldom have the right tools to do lots of things that we are asked to do. Which results in a lot of blood, sweat and tears to accomplish something. But if everything was easy, where would the sense of accomplishment be at the end of a trial.
We seldom have the right parts laying around the house. Wether it is a bag full of money, a helping hand, an extra car, a replacement dishwasher, a replacement spouse... Usually we have to make do with what life has left us, we just can't run to the store in most cases when we are going through a trial in life. We just have to make do with what we have and see if we can make it work. And if we can't make it work we might have to ask for help or go somewhere to see if we cna get the right parts to complete the job.
And life can get really cramped sometimes. We find ourselves lots of times squeezed into small places without room to breathe. But take heart, remember that it is only for a time, it is only for a few agonizing minutes until we can stand again.
Be Blessed

Been gone for a while...

Hope everyone had a great Holiday and a great new year.
Here are some thoughts to start out the year...
1) It is never as important than you think it might be unless it is dealing with your health, your kids or your wife!!
2) Make time for you this year, sometimes we get so busy doing everything that we burn out. Take some time to read, write or even play.
3) Take time out for your family this year. Spend time with them, play, teach and most of all listen.
4) Pinpoint three areas in your life that you want to deal with this year. It might be your health, it might be family relations, whatever. Make a point to improve those three items the first half of the year and then celebrate the improvements the second half of the year.
5) Have fun. Remember, we have only one life to live. It would be a shame to live it and never have any fun!

Vacation... sweet vacation

Been gone a vacation for the last few days, much needed. Some signs to tell you that you are indeed in need of a vacation.
1) you start to dream about work. We should never dream about work, we should dream about being off of work. When you start dreaming about getting that project done on time, it is time for a break.
2) you start thinking of excuses why you should not go to work. Excuses like, maybe I have menagitus, or some unseemly rash comes on after you haven't washed in a few days, or you have nothing clean to wear. Those type of excuses that don't hold water normally, become reachable when you need a vacation.
3) you start worrying wether or not you can afford a vacation. Come on, you don't have to spend a lot of $$ on vacation, you just need some Calgon and a good hot tub of water to get away.
4) you worry what your boss will think if you take vacation. Can I tell you that he does not worry about what you are thinking as he is jet setting himself off to Cancun!!
5) your wife starts dropping hints that you are starting to look like a tiger in a zoo. Here is the mighty desk worker in his natural habitat...

What's your favorite Christmas time candy?

We asked this question of our kids and we got four totally different responses. You would think kids growing up in the same house, sharing a set of genetic codes from just two people would be somewhat alike, but not our kids, they all picked something totally different.
So I got to thinking about my favorite holiday candy, and I found that I don't have one. I know weird isn't it. All my kids have one, my wife has one (can you say chocolate covered strawberries?) but I don't have a favorite. I guess I am kind of a "one candy fits all" kind of person.
So I decided if my wife is reading my blog to give her some hints. So here are the top five...
5) The Ultimate Gobstopper. Now this isn't the little marble jawbreakers you get at the C store. Now the "Ultimate" is a the mother of all Jawbreakers. It is so big you can't bite it in half even if you tried. Actually I think you might need a diamond tipped cutter to make a dent in it. It is the greatest, and it last and last and last, and if you are in a pinch you can play marbles with it. Just dry it off first!
4) The Watchamacallit. I just love saying it when you went to the store when it first came out. You go to the counter and ask, "do you have a watchamacallit?" The clerk gives you a weird stare and you ask again. Then you look down and say, "well here it is" and you put it on the counter and try to keep the smug look off your face.
3) Mr. Werthers Original Hard Caramel Candies. My Grandfather used to keep these around the house. I assumed since he liked them they were nasty like polk greens. But one day I thought I would try one, and wow, it is like a caramel candy that last and last. I think I ate a whole bag in one sitting. Now the only problems with these are they are individually wrapped, so when you sit and eat a whole bag there are a bunch of wrappers and they are hard to hide.
2)M&M's. I don't know if there is a better candy than the good old M&Ms. Hard candy shell, with a chocolate, peanut or peanut butter center. It is one of those candys that you can feel confident eating even if you found it in the floor boards of your car. Kids, adults or even grandparents love them and a bowl of them will go for a long time. Pour them out into a bowl and unless my father in law is around they will last a long time.
1) Whoppers Malted Milk Balls. I think these are my favorites. I have always loved Whoppers, it is the only candy I have ever found that came in a recycled milk carton. I just love eating a whopper, letting the chocolate melt off of it and getting that puckered malt flavor at the end. You can eat about a handful and feel good about your self and still have half a half gallon left at the end of the day. And nothing beats those that the malt center has become gooey and it kind of like a soft nuggety center. Yum...

So what is your favorite.

Letting go...

I think with me letting go is a problem. I do not think I am quite at that "hoarders" stage but I can see the signs of that disease in my life. Now don't get me wrong, my house is not littered with old newspapers, magazines, pizza boxes and clothes strewn all over the place (OK well we are not counting the laundry room). But I find in my physical and spiritual life I have a hard time letting things go.
I was going through my closet a couple weeks ago and saw a suit that I have not wore in over 10 years. It is a great looking suit, double breasted, pin striped and about five sizes too small for me now. So instead of donating it to some foundation, I looked at it, wiped the dust off the shoulders and hung it back up thinking that I will one day be skinny again and put that dude on. When in reality if I get back to that weight I am not sure I want to be wearing a fifteen year old suit.
I was looking through my stack of stuff and found I have a briefcase fetish. I have about ten briefcases laying around my den. I have briefcases for all sorts of situtations. I have messenger bag briefcases (4), I have a briefcase that has a handle and wheels (1), I have a soft side leather briefcase (1), I have a hard side leather briefcase (1), I have a soft side egonomic laptop computer briefcase, I have a briefcase that will allow you to put a change of clothes in it as well as all the papers and laptops you might need (1) and I have a stainless steel clad briefcase I bought on a whim one time because it was cool. Okay, so I only have 9 briefcases but really how many do I need? I think I am going to get a backpack briefcase so I can have a nice round number of ten. See there I go again, adding and not releasing.
I have a hard time letting go of things. Do I need a stainless steel briefcase? No so why do I still have it? That is the hard question.
Do I need to work weekends? No, so why do I? Do I need to allow others to take on things I am doing currently? Yes, so why won't I embrace them and allow them to help me instead of wrapping my arms even more tightly around my problems?
Sometimes letting go is the hardest thing to do.

Brrrrrrr....

Was Chicago the last weekend and I have come to one conclusion, it is really COLD up there in Winter.
I started to wonder why people would want to live in an area where the temperature rarely gets up over the single digits for long periods of time.
Here are some must haves if you need to go to the frozen north sometime in the near future.
1) a HEAVY coat.
I live in Oklahoma, you know the place where if you don't like the weather hang around a few days and it will change. It gets cold here, but not cold like it gets in Chicago. You have to have a heavy coat. Something that will break the cold and keep the heat in. My coat is not a heavy coat, it is a middleweight coat, kind of like Sugar Ray Leonard. But in Chicago you need a Mike Tyson kind of coat, one that will bite the ears off of the wind if it has to. The happy people in Chicago in the winter are the ones walking around looking like the Michelin man. A Heavy coat is a must.
2) A furry hat.
Now you can do a regular hat but only the furry hats survive Chicago winters. I do not know if it is the fact that they were once alive, or at least partially alive still, but those furry hats will keep your noggin warm. I tried to wear different hats in Chicago but to no avail. You can wear a baseball hat only till the next gust of wind rips it off of your head. By the time you reach up to grab it, it will be in the next county and in 30 seconds will be somewhere over in Michigan. Plus baseball hats are meant to be worn in the summer anyway... You can try to wear a stocking hat, but only certain people can pull those off. You either look like someone spray painted your head a bright color or you look like you are somehow related to the clone heads from Jersey. And as far as keeping your head really warm, well they have a shelf life of about 15 minutes when at that time the stocking hat is colder than the outside temperature. You can also try to wear some of those "cool" hats, like a scottish driving hat (won't keep your ears warm), a beret (unless you are Phil Keagy or in the Special Forces please don't even wear these in the summer) or a cowboy hat (see wind notice here) nothing works like the animal pelt molded to your noggin. There is just something about fur around your ears and balding pate that just makes you warm. So when picking out your warm weather hat, go for the dead animal that has been turned into a beanie.
3) Gloves.
Gloves are also a must have in the windy city. And I am not talking those sheer skin driving gloves either. I am talking gloves that you can hold car keys in your gloved hand kind of gloves. Ones with fur on the inside AND the outside to keep your digits doubly warmed. My gloves are the nice looking, very distinguished leather looking gloves with a little fluff around the wrist area, that absolutely positively do not work in cold weather. I would have been better off making sock puppets and wearing them on my hands than those thin little wisp of what passed as a glove that I had. I would recommend again furry gloves that come all the way up to your armpits, if you can't get them that long at least settle for ones that will go up to the elbows. Believe me you will need it.
4) Boots.
You need adequate footwear if you are going to take on Chicago in the dead of winter. Lets just say that my topsiders and my slippers would not cut it, even with two pairs of socks. You need those boots that have insulation in them. Now in Oklahoma we have steel toed boots for rough work, in Chicago you need steel toes, heels, insteps and ankles if you are going to make it through the winter without getting frostbite. And don't get those slick soled bottoms either, get some that can grip in the winter, you might be walking on snow, ice or really cold mud that is only slightly above freezing that seeps into your socks and leaves you all day wondering if your toes actually ever did have any feeling in them. I have been in Oklahoma a little over 12 hours now and I still can't feel my toes, I hope they are still there.

So if you are heading to the great North, dress accordingly, or you might not make it back.

Staff...or Staph?

I will never forget the one time I told someone that I had "staff". They looked at me like they needed to immediately wash their hands. It was then that I realized what I had said. I should have said that "I have A staff" as there is a difference.
I am so thankful for the staff that I have. They are all pretty much home grown, came up through the minor leauges so to speak in our church.
Out associate Pastor John Dorsey is such a rare treasure. If anyone knew how much money we pay him for all that he does, they would snag him in an instant, just saying. He does it all. I used to joke with him when he was doing his studies at ORU when he was taking a carpentry or a plumbing class because all Sr. Pastors need to know how to do those things. But Pastor John really does know how to do all those things. He has a heart for our community, a real desire to make a difference in the people of our community. He even volunteered to serve on the city council when a seat became available, so he is either committed or needs to be committed, as to a psych ward. But he loves helping people. There is no one I know that if a widow woman calls because her toilet is leaking will get all giddy and excited about fixing a leaking toilet than Pastor John. When we first arrived in Welch he was a teenager just out of school and off chasing skirts and big money in the mining towns of Neveda. When he returned to Welch he started leading worship in our church and we had to put some limitations on him. Boy he did not like that one bit, even walked away for a bit but I am so glad he stuck it out. GOD is really making him into one in whom he delights. He took his schooling and applied to get credentials and for a while actually held higher credentials for a while than I did. It was at that point he was pushing me onwards and upwards. And his wife, Christina, she is the director of our day care. She is as much a blessing as Pastor John is. Servants one and all.
And then we have Pastor Mike and Pastor Katie, our youth Pastors. They are so much like my wife and myself it is scary. Katie is the pushy one, always on the run and always planning something. Mike is like myself, thoughtful to the point where we forget to move on sometimes. But they are really being shaped by GOD to be the couple that he will use for decades to come. I sometimes forget they haven't even hit 30 yet! They were not always on staff either. Katie grew up in the church, her and Mike got married and they kind of did their own thing for a while. I remember some of the gifts that were given at their wedding and thinking that they might have some problems later. They did, but they worked through them and GOD called them to do ministry as only they can. Katie leaped first in getting credentials and Mike followed soon after matching her. They are still working through their ministry style, still raising a family and working in carreers but the sky is the limit for them. One day the light will turn on and they will find their groove and then watch out world...
Pastor Charlie and Elaine are our music/performing arts Pastors. My wife and I have known them for a long time. We actually attended church together when we were all riding a pew instead of standing on stage. They were a crazy pair then, still are today. Elaine is a PK (Pastor's Kid) so she has been doing this all her life. She has seen it all and then some. Elaine was a stay at home Mom who took care of their SIX kids and Charlie was working for a dog food company as a design engineer. Our wives had a mutual interst in sign language which meant they left Charlie and I with his six kids and my three. So after one night of that Charlie and I found we both loved music and we both played trumpets so from that night on the screams of the kids were drowned out by the blasting of our trumpets. I probably owe my musical talents that I have today to Charlie, without him showing me, training me and challenging me I would have never rediscovered my musical talents. We spent a number of years with Charlie and Elaine until they decided to change churches. A situation came up and they left to attend another church, it wasn't long after that we took the Church in Welch. We of course asked them to come and be part of our new church when we started in Welch but they were just getting settled at their new church so they declined. Of course the relationship faltered as our common interaction dissolved into a once a month or eventually a once in a while visit. It was not until we opened our new building that we invited Charlie and Elaine to come entertain us with some music and acting. After that interaction my wife wanted to reach out to them but we put it on the back burner to make sure that GOD was speaking to us and not our own desires and wants. About two months later we met with them and offered them a staff position to be our Worship Pastors. I was not sure they would accept, but when they told us they were feeling called we rejoiced and they came and joined us at Gateway. It has been a few years now since they joined us, Pastor Charlie is now credentialed, and they are using their talents and their kids talents to bless our people. It is amazing how GOD has used them for his glory.
Pastor Lynda and Darrell are our Childrens Pastors. They have been with us since the beginning. Not as staff but as a part of our family. Darrell is my wife's brother, my brother in law. We had some childrens pastor at the time that they started at our church and Lynda mentioned that she would like to work with kids sometime. Unknown to us, GOD was working to prepare them for that work as our childrens pastors left about a month later and Pastor Lynda and her husband moved into that position. They served for a while before we asked about them getting their credentials and found out that Pastor Lynda actually graduated from a Bible College with her degree in teaching. Lynda applied for credentials and with her schooling was able to get credentials as a minister as well. Darrell decided he did not want to pursue pastoring was was willing to be a helper and a helper he is. They have been such a blessing, spending each and every sunday working with our churches kids, ministering to them and investing in their lives. I tell them all the time that their efforts are like planting an oak tree. They dig the hole and put in the acorn but it will be years before their labors are realized. But over the course of time GOD will reward them for their efforst.
So in our little old church, we have a gold mine of staff. And each and every day that I work with them I am blessed.
Many churches have staff, our staff is like a shepherds staff that you can lean on and will help you reach areas that you could never reach.
Other churches I have heard about have said that their staff is like staph, an infection that causes discomfort. I am so glad our staff is not like that.

How in the world did I survive?

I was thinking of my childhood this weekend and as the memories continued to flow by as I strolled down memory lane I had a dramatic moment where I realized I was lucky to be alive...
Let me recount some of my experiences...

I rode in the back of a pickup truck going down the highway. Yeah, I know what were my parents thinking? I guess they were thinking we only had a pickup truck, and with my Dad driving and Mom riding shotgun there was only enough space between them for my two youngest brothers. Which means me and my next youngest brother got to ride in the back.

I went through a auto accident once with my Mom and I was not wearing a seatbelt. I think we were in this big old station wagon. I remember brakes squealing and then hitting the big padded seat in front of me and ending up on the floor board. Then I remember Mom saying something she shouldn't have...

I remember owning a BB gun at the ripe old age of six, and I never shot my eye out with it. But I did shoot my brother once, right in the keister.

I remember drinking water straight out of the water hose...multiple times. I know, I was a daredevil.

I remember making a gasoline bomb out of a beer bottle and a hankerchief. It burned up the entire backyard and an acre of pasture.

I remember running through the house while my brother threw LIT matches at me. I grabbed a can of hair spray and just happened to catch one of the lit matches in mid flight with the spray, viola, FLAME THROWER.

I remember putting a speedometer on my ten speed and going down the biggest hill I could find. I got a little scared when I hit 70 about halfway down the hill. I think I coasted about a mile.

I remember eating dog food on a dare; trying to get the swing to go ALL the way around the pole it was hanging from; having BB gun wars with friends; and riding inside a tractor tire down a hill till I got stopped by the barbed wire fence.

And that is just the half of it... yeah, I am indeed lucky to be alive.

Its the most wonderful time of the year...

I always love to hear that Christmas song because it means we are getting close to Christmas. The Holiday decorations go up, the Christmas tree goes up and the presents start showing up under the tree.
But for many this is the hardest time of the year. They are reminded of past joys that multiply the sorrows they feel in their hearts. They may have lost a loved one this year that will not share this special time. They may have relocated because of careers putting them in a position away from family and friends for the first time. They may have lost their job this year putting presents on the tail end of the to do list behind the mortgage, insurance and food.
So as you enter this Holiday Season, as you pass one another on the street, in the mall or at Wal Mart. Remember there are those who are having a hard time right now. Do something out of the ordinary this Holiday Season.
Invite a homebound neighbor over for Christmas dinner.
Buy the person behind you a cup of coffee at the donut shop with a hearty Merry Christmas.
Shovel the snow out of your neighbors driveway.
Drop off a present at that Single Mom's house that is just for her.
Know a family struggling to pay their bills? Pick one of their bills to pay for them.
Adopt a child in your neighborhood and leave some gifts at the front door. You could put a note that Santa gained weight this year and couldn't fit down the chimney and the front door was locked!
There are a million things that we can do to brighten someones Holiday season, get creative and see what you can do to turn this into the most wonderful time of the year.

If I had hair...

I would be pulling it all out sometimes.
There are things about human nature that just astound me. Let me give you a couple of examples.
Iwas watching some TV the other night while on the road and saw a show called "Jail". It is filmed in local lockups as they bring people in who have been arrested that night and go through the booking process. It amazes me how people who have handcuffs on, who are being fingerprinted, and put in a jail cell keep telling those people who arrested them that they did not do anything wrong.
There was one lady who was clearly intoxicated, slurring her words and could not walk a straight line. And as they put her in the cell she shouted out for all the hear, "I not drunk, no drinking I have done." So from translating those words, either she is Yoda's padawan trainee or she is drunk as a skunk. She proceeded to later try to tear a phone off the wall before she was restained in the restraining chair.
And another guy who was being arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, could not figure out why he was being arrested. He did not actually shoot the guy, he missed, so why should he be arrested for shooting at a guy and missing? Iwas thinking are you serious?
I guess I should not be amazed at what I saw on TV, I see it all the time in the church world. People who profess to be Christians doing things that they should not be doing and when they are caught in their lies and their sin their first inclination is to blame others, or if there are not others to blame to ignore it and pretend it did not really happen. And then there are others who take on the victim mentality that it is not their fault, the world is against them and they should not be held responsible for their actions. Are people so blinded that they can't see their forest of sin and rebellion for the trees in front of them?
Just wondering...

So I am sitting in an airport minding my own business...

When a lady's voice comes over the speaker and says my name and that I needed to go to the gate counter. I had flashbacks to my grade schoold days when you would get called to the office that way. I could nopt figure why I was needed there as I had already checked in for my flight, had my ticket in hand and was starting to get upset because I was afraid they were going to bump me from the flight. The earlier flight had some electrical problems AFTER takeoff and had to come back to Omaha and the flight was cancelled. So I get up there ready to tell the woman that I am a PLATINUM frequent flier when she hands me a different ticket and says she bumped me to FIRST CLASS. I was kind of shocked and then she said "is that OK?". I was almost speechless and finally got out, "you bet".
Well I went up to that counter ready to give that lady a piece of my mind, tell her where the corn grows and the cows graze. I went up there ready to battle, ready to throw down and get down because it was on like Donkey Kong. And it was all for nothing as she did not mess me around but blessed me abundantly.
So have you ever been called to the principal's office thinking you were in trouble only to find out you were being blessed?

My Favorite Commercial

I just love the Gieco commercials right now. The introduction dude always gets my attention when he says, "can switching to Gieco really save you 15% or more on your car insurance? Does ..."
So I decided in this blog post to rank the top five Geico "Does..." commercials.

1) Does an ex drill instructors make really bad councilors... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhlWddAXSRA
Drill Instructor berates an emotional young man who is expressing his feelings. Favorite line, "well let's go over to Mamby Pamby Land and see if we can find you some self confidence"

2) Does the little piggy really cry wee wee wee all the way home... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F_G2zp-opg
A lady is driving her SUV with the eerily high cry of WEEEEEEEEEEE reverberating through the car. We finally see a little piggy crying WEEEEEEEEEE out the back window all the way through the commercial even after the car stopped in which the driver says, "Max, Max, MAXWELL, YOU'RE HOME" at which time the little pig stops saying WEEEEEEEEE.

3) Is Abraham Lincoln honest? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdy3orO6tQA
Old grainy black and white footage show Abraham Lincoln in a room when his wife walks in and ask "does this dress make my backside look big". Abe is certainly flustered as his wife's backside is indeed big, after a moment he raises his hands and puts his fingers just so far apart and says "Perhaps"...to the angst of his wife.

4) Is having a snowball fight with pitchig great Randy Johnson a bad idea? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yenuvSUKugc&feature=channel
The Big Unit Randy Johnson throws a snowball through a guys arm, feathers from his down jacket falling out as Randy picks him up. The look farther on and see holes in someones garage in a snowball shape...

5) Does Charlie Daniels play a mean fiddle? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aZLw_KBdqc&feature=channel
Country Western star Charlie Daniels is seen playing the tar out of a fiddle. As he finishes you realize he is in a fancy restaurant as he hands the fiddle to a man wearing a tux and says, "That's how you do it, son."

Did I mention that I don't even use Geico? They couldn't save me 15% on all my insurance needs but I love thier commercials non the less.

Christmas is coming...

We always decorate our church so the Sunday after Thanksgiving we have our Christmas Decorations up. It is a real pain in the neck for our staff as we kind of go overboard for Christmas. At our church it is not acceptable to have one little tree on a tabletop with some twinkle lights. No, we go BIG. Multiple trees, lots of light and lots of Holly everwhere.
I know many times as a staff as we are dealing with hanging the lights and the greenery, we probably look at it as a temporary thing that we have to take down in a little more than a month. But JESUS is the reason for the season, and I think we should do it BIG to celebrate him.
So pray for our staff as they bring the seasonal items out of the attic, dust them off and put them on display for all to see as we celebrate the coming of the Savior.
Do you do it BIG at your church or do you just get by?

Shattered lives...

We have the pleasure each weekend before Thanksgiving of hosting a Teen Challenge program in our area. Each year we have ten to fifteen girls from that program grace us with their presence for our service. And each and every year I am beset by tears and emotions as these girls share the stories of their shattered lives. Many of them abused as children by those close to them. Many of them turning to drugs, alcohol and self mutilation to ease the pain of their suffering souls. But each and every year as I cry tears of sadness hearing the stories of their lives, I also cry tears of joy as I hear the redeeming stories of their lives by the living GOD.
Where pain and shame once lived, now joy and pride of a newfound life is testified to all.
These young ladies are a living testimoney of how GOD can truely change a life.
GOD is still today taking shattered lives and mending them once again into a life worth living.
Shattered lives to Redeemed and repaired.

Planning...

I am remodeling my wife's closet. It was not a planned remodel. After our bed disaster we had to take everything out of our bedroom to dry out the floor. So the closet got trashed and today my wife complained that she did not have enough closet space because the closet was unorganized.
So I jumped into my SuperHero tights and thought I would save the day. Alas, I think I am more prepared to be a SuperVillan than a SuperHero.
You see SuperVillan's usually plan some monumental disaster but forget one little thing leaving room for the SuperHero to save the day. That seems to be what is happening on the closet. I am always a half inch this way or that way from making something work. It seems that everything is just a hair too big or a hair to small for it to work and it is frustrating me.
Now I should not expect some miracle, I am working with absolutely no budget and I am cobbling things together that were leftovers from something else.
I am not sure why I jumped into it without doing some proper planning. Well I do know why I did not plan, and my excuse is not good. My reason for not planning was the job was too small to plan. I figured by the time that I worked out a plan on paper I could have the entire job done. But alas my fiendishly clever plan to conquer my closet has turned into a nightmare. I guess there is nothing that is too small to plan. I just need a SuperHero to come and finish the job.

Drip, drip, drip...

For the last twenty or so years I have slept on a waterbed. Yeah I know I should have grown up many years ago but stay with me.
When I first got married back in the 80's waterbeds were all the rage. My wife and I however went conventional and bought a standard queen size matress and box springs to start our house. However not long after that we developed a hatred toward that matress and box springs. If I remember we bought it used, and we were starting to figure out why its previous master released it. My mother though was dealing with arthritis and the queen size waterbed she had was bothering her joints so we agreed to a trade. We took over our parts, swapped out with her and soon we were floating on a bed of water, warm water to be precise. It was one of those bladder type waterbeds where if your spouse was sleeping too close to the edge, you could actually send them flying out of the bed with a well timed flop. We absolutely loved that bed, it was warm as soon as you got in, soft as a pillow and the gentle waves lulled you to sleep. Waterbed 1.0 was great, then we got a pair of cats.
Yeah those cats ran through our bed one night while we were sleeping and we awoke with wet sheets from about a hundred claw marks that had penetrated the bladder. It is never a good thing to wake up feeling wet and cold in your own bed. It brings back bad memories of childhood that no one wants to relive. Well that was the end of that water bed, waterbed 1.0 died so we went searching for another bed.
What we found filled our hearts with joy. My brother in law was moving and decided he did not want to move his KING size soft side waterbed and offered it to us. It was the best of both worlds!! It was WATERBED 2.0! The hard wooden sides that greeted you every morning with a smack to your ankles or cut into your thighs as you manuvered yourself out of waterbed 1.0 had been replace with soft foamy edges on the 2.0 model. The free floating bladder from model 1.0 had been enhanced with some kind of foam in the middle that made bed 2.0 "waveless". Now I will tell you in just certain situations a flop from enormous heights still will create enough of a wave in a waveless waterbed that is capable of spilling your spouse right out into the floor. But the smaller waves of just rolling over disappeared overnight with that magical foam. The other great thing about this bed was it took standard size sheets. No longer did we have to shop at "Waterbeds R Us" to get our sheets. No longer would we awake in the night to find the sheets had slipped off and we were laying on a cold plastic filled zip lock bag. We could shop at normal stores, buy those neat frilly sheets that were in style today and they fit like a glove. We were so happy... and then it happened.
We had our first experience with a leak late one night many years into our ownership of waterbed 2.0. We probably had that bed at least 10 years before we ever had a leak. It had this thick cover that wrapped around the entirity of the bladder so cat claws would never come near to penetrating the liquid filled center. It was made of such thick plastic I actually considered putting some goldfish in there so they could swim around. It would be so cool to actually sleep in an aquarium. Of course my wife would never go for that, it would freak her out knowing that she was sleeping actually WITH the fishes!!
So it came as a shock to me when we first experienced a leak in waterbed 2.0. I remember waking up in the middle of the night feeling cold and clammy. As I laid there I realized that I was wet from chest to toe. My first instinct was that I must have had an "accident". I know, I know, I was at this time in my mid 30's, mature and still the first thought I had was that I had wet the bed. As I laid there, cold and wet I suddenly realized that I really had to go to the bathroom, and if I had to go to the bathroom then I could not have wet the bed. It was then that the most horrible thought came to my mind. My thirty something wife must have wet the bed and I am laying in HER "accident".
As a young child I always had to share a room with someone. And because of that sharing my brothers and I always had bunk beds. You know where I am going with this, but don't jump to far ahead. There is a reason why the OLDER sibling always gets the top bunk. There is nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night to the feeling of rain falling on your body. Nothing worse except when you realize that you are indoors, and that is not rain that is falling.
So as I laid there, cold and clammy in my wife's "accident" I did what every husband, father, and grown man would do. I yelled at the top of my lungs, "YUCKKKKKKKK!!! YOU WET THE BED!!!!" which immediately waked my wife who was still sound asleep. as I jumped out of bed my hasty exit created another problem. You see in a water bed, the heavier of the two individuals displaces more of the bladder's water creating a hole or a depression in the bed. That hole or depression will collect andy and all liquids that are on top of the vinyl bladder of the bed. As I rolled out of the bed the depression that I had been causing was suddenly no longer there and the water quickly found the depression that my wife was now occupying, soaking her from chest to toe as well. She quickly awoke only to tell me she had not had an "accident" ("Yeah right" I thought to myself) and that I was a moron for thinking that of her. Actually she did not call me a moron, I added that part as that was what I thought of myself after I falsely accused her of being a five year old with a bladder problem. Anyway after a night on the couch (both of us) we discovered what had happened was that somehow something sharp had slipped down between the bladder and the soft edge of the bed and poked a hole in the bladder. We did a patch job on that hole the next day, dried out the covers and had a good laugh at our "accident" and went back to enjoying our waterbed 2.0.
That is until this last Monday. I had to catch an early flight that day so I was getting up early anyway but I was not planning on getting up quite that early. About 4:45 AM I heard the distinct sound of "drip", "drip", drip" which I chalked up to an early morning thunderstorm. But then I realized that the sound of this drip was not falling from the gutters outside but sounded like it was coming from inside the house. Since we had just finished remodeling out master bathroom I just knew that we must have broken a hose or the sink faucet had sprung a leak. My thoughts were derailed though when I put my foot upon the floor and found the carpet to be cold and clammy and really really wet. Not just soak it up with a towel it will be OK wet but water standing on the floor wet this is a sinking ship wet. It was then that I realized waterbed 2.0 was out for the count. I grabbed a towel and tried to stop the outflow of its precious liquids but it was beyond what I could repair. As I began to gather my things to quickly put it out of its misery and as humanely as possible drain its remaining fluids this thought caused me to choke up. My days as a waterbed owner were coming to an end. No, I would never again be lulled to sleep by the slow rocking of the waves, or have the opportunity to fling my wife out onto the floor with a well timed flop. No, that morning as I drained the last of its still warm water from its radidly deflating shell I realized that I had finally grown up, no more waterbeds for us. Sleep is too precious a commodity now than to wake up wet, cold and clammy every so often. But it was sure fun while it lasted.

What do you do, when you don't know what to do?

That is a question that many have been struggling with lately. I have counciled many people lately who have asked that question. What do we do in this situation?
Well the answer is not always what they want to hear. It is not always the situation that they want to go through. And it does not always lead to an area of their life that they want to explore.
But through every situation we need to remember that GOD is still there. Many times we feel like GOD has abandoned us, that he has left on vacation and is not returning our calls.
But GOD has never left us or forsaken us. He is still there even when we feel like he is not.
But many times his answer to our cries is "not yet" or "no". And when we do not hear what we want to hear we think that GOD is not there. It is not that he is not there, it is just that he is not telling us what we want to hear.
So when you don't know what to do, make sure you are listening for everything that GOD is saying even those things that you may not want to hear.

Coffee... yum

So for Pastor's Appreciation day the church got me a coffee maker. Now before you go, "well they must not like him too much" they got me the bomb diggity coffee maker ever made.
It is one of those that makes one cup of coffee from those little packets you insert into the machine like loading a shotgun. The only way for it to be cooler would be if it made some sort of whoosh whish noise like on Star Trek.
So with the maker which is too cool (Oh I have already said that) came all these different kinds of coffees. There is of course the typical girly coffee, Hazelnut, Irish Cream, Vanilla, but there is this stuff called BOLD, Caribou, Columbian Roast that look promising. See I grew up on coffee made in a percolator, on a stove top. That coffee was the kind where if there wasn't grounds in the bottom of your cup it wasn't REAL coffee.
So I made pancakes for supper last night and decided, yum Coffee! So I made a cup and then I see my kids bringing cups in filled with... wait for it... HOT CHOCOLATE!
My coffee maker makes steaming hot cups of HOT CHOCOLATE also!
So I got to thinking, what other options could I put in that machine?
So here are FIVE things the little coffee packagers should put out for my do it all coffee and more machine.
1) Chicken soup - now I am not sure how they could get the noodles and chicken chunks to go through the little strainer but I am sure they can figure it out. Something like those sea monkeys that when they were added to water expanded and get bigger. That would be great to get a steaming cup of soup without using a can opener.
2) Milk - now stay with me. Nothing can cure insomnia like warm milk sipped from a mug. Not an every night drink but maybe one where you keep a couple of those little canisters next to the antacid in the medicine cabinet.
3) Sweet and Sour Sauce - pop some frozen chicken nuggets in the microwave and cook on nuclear. Then drizzle some HOT sweet and sour sauce on them. YUM!
4) Gravy - I can not make gravy to save my life, but if they had one of those little canisters, I could make gravy all day long!! Oh we ran out of gravy for the potatoes? Let me pop in one of these little canisters, whoosh whish and Viola!! Gravy nice and hot!
5) Pudding - Everyone needs a quick and easy desert every so often. How about a pudding canister that pops in there and out comes some chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, caramel, butterscotch or any kind of pudding you can think of.
It won't be long now when we stand in front of a little door and say, "computer, I would like a chocolate shake please" and whoosh whish the door rises and there is a chocolate shake.
I can dream can't I? Captain Pat, star date 76985 signing off.

Surprised? You should't be...

When the church helps people with no strings attached, why are the people being helped surprised? Isn't that what we are supposed to do?
We had a house in our community burn down the other night so my wife sprang into action. She started finding out what they needed. It is amazing the little things that you find you need when everything is gone.
So the people of our church started donating things, little things like razors, toothpaste and a hairbrush. My wife handed the hair brush to the lady of the home and she immediately ripped it out of its package and started brushing her hair. She said she had been wanting to do that all day.
And last night at church my wife mentioned that they were getting settled into a small RV but that they still had some needs. She had asked them if they needed a coffee maker (some of us would run out of a burning house clutching one thing, it might be the coffee maker) for the morning. They said yes but that they like to perculate their coffee on the stove top. They did not like the "drip" coffee makers. Well we did not have one of them but a lady in our church had two. So she offered it to them. My wife takes it out last night and pulls it out of a bag and says look what one of the ladies in our church had and the lady smiled a little bit. Then she pulled out some creamer and said she had found this also, and the the lady smiled a little bit more. The my wife pulled out two coffee cups and the lady's smile lit up the room. She told my wife that the coffee pot was good, and the creamer was good but they would not be able to drink it because they had no cups to put the coffee in. My wife is the bomb! She was told over and over how surprised they were that total strangers were helping them out. Church, we need to step up and quit helping people with hidden agendas and trap doors to get them in our church. We need to help because that is what Christ would have done.
In the end those people lost their home and everything that they owned inside went up in flames. But this morning as the sun rose once again they were able to sit together, side by side, maybe even holding hands and they get to drink a cup of coffee together. I am glad we got to surprise them.

Cowboys fire head coach...

Yeah I know it is old news but I just can't get over the look on Wade Phillips face as the Packers just beat the tar out of his team on Monday night football. He looked lost, he looked disappointed, he looked like his world had just turned upside down and he was the only one that was still with his feet on the ground.
Now I am not going to get into should he or shouldn't he have been fired. I probably would have fired him a few weeks ago before the season totally got out of hand. But what I want to discuss is what happened?
The Cowboys have all the talent in the world. Now don't get on the our star QB got hurt and that is why they are so bad train. He got hurt two games ago, and they only had ONE win then. They have arguably the most talented offense in the leauge. Their defense is not that much different than the one that ranked in the top ten last year. So what happened?
I think it is something that happens to many "teams", they get to believing in their own success and forget how hard it was to get successful. Stay with me a moment. To be successful in anything it takes a lot of effort. Nothing can replace hard work, nothing. But many times we become victims of our own success and we begin to feel entitled and that we have arrived. It is at that point that you have to check the ego at the door and put on the hard hat and go to work. When I looked at the Cowboys in the preseason they made all sorts of mistakes, missed assignments and yet all everyone talked about was that they were going to be the first team to host a Super Bowl. This was all before the season started. Some of the NFL commentators said there were big problems in Big D but most of the talking heads just brushed it off and said once the season started they would be fine. Well they are not fine today and because of it Wade Phillips is on enemployment.
So what can we do as leaders and coaches to avoid the pitfalls that snared the Boys this year.
1) Don't buy into the lie that you are all that and more.
Many times we get enamored with our success that we forget we are all still human and do not have GOD powers to simply speak something into existance. We still have to do the little things right, still have to lay the foundations and work hard.
2) Don't get complacent.
Abraham Lincoln said "the enemy of great is not bad, but good". I try to live that because there are a lot of people who could be great but settle for good. And the problem with that is the same problem the Boys are having today, they were pegged for greatness, just being good is not good enough.
3) Do the little things right.
GOD promises in his word that if we are faithful in the little things he will give us the larger things in life. It works like that in all aspects of life, start small and slowly as you gain experience you get bigger things to work with. But if you never do the little things right, you will keep repeating that job until you do.
4) Do your job with all your heart
I have watched some of the Cowboys play their tails off, and still I have seen others, well not look like they had their heart into it. I would be the last one to ever question an athletes heart, but I know that during my athletic carreer there were times when I just gave up when there was still time on the clock. Working in a losing effort is not fun, it is work. But that work will pay off later in life, trust me.
5) And finally, Sometimes change is needed.
Do I think that the new coach will do any better? Probably not. But I will say this, I guarantee you that this week in practice and in the locker room things are different. It may not be large change, it may be something as insignificant as a change of pace of schedule but many times change is needed to jump start our lives. As humans we love to be comfortable, but only in our uncomfortable state do we truely start to look for opportunities, for options to make life better. The world is changing around us and we need to be ready to change with it or we might find ourself on the end of a loosing record and a boss looking to fire somebody, think about it.

Conflict...

Man, who does not love conflict?
I love to watch conflict happen, especially when it is not happening to me. How many times are you drawn to a story becuase of the conflict found inside?
Think of all the great movies. What do they all have in common? They all have conflict. Great books? They all have conflict. It is part of the story, it is part of the backround, it makes life exciting. Yep, I said it, conflict makes life exciting.
It is that part of life that is unpredictable and uncontrolable. It just happens and how we deal with it defines our lives in so many ways.
Now when I am in the midst of conflict, I am never happy. I do not like conflict, I avoid it like the plague. But in every season of conflict I have come through I have changed and learned from it.
I have become a "better" Pastor because of conflict. I have become a "better" person because of conflict. I have learned to be a "better" employee because of conflict. I have learned to be a "better" boss because of conflict. I have become a "better" husband because of conflict. I have become a "better" father because of conflict. In every situation that has arose the conflict within it has made be "better". That does not mean that they were not painful, that they were comfortable and everything was rosey as I was going through them, but they all made me "better".
That is the key, for you see in every conflict there is the opportunity for you to get "better" or for you to get "bitter". The only difference in those two is the second letter. For when you get "bitter" it most times revolves around the "I" part in your life. When you get "better" is when you resolve the conflict and the we part of it becomes the central part. When you are wrong you get to appologize. When you are pridefull you get to be humble. When you are right you get to be a gracious winner, and when you are vindicated, you get to be free.
But when you get bitter, it becomes all about the "I". I have been made to look bad, I have been attacked, I have been wronged, and I have done nothing wrong. Sound familiar?
That attitude can cause bitterness to creep in and the conflict will never go away because it soon becomes a part of you. Instead of freedom being found when conflict is resolved you stay inside a prison made from bitterness.
So the next time you are in conflict, choose to be "better" than get "bitter".

So what move what moves you?

Remember that car commercial a few years ago whose tag line was "what moves you?"

Well I got to thinking about that yesterday in relation to my life. What really moves me, to action that is. See there are many things that move us emotionally. A scarry movie, speaking of, I hear they are making a remake of the "Thing". I will never forget that movie the rest of my life. We were living in Odessa, TX and during one of those free cable months we got HBO. Well I waited till all my brothers went to bed and Mom and Dad had turned in and I snuck back out to the living room to catch some late night TV (who am I fooling it was probably around 8:30, Mom and Dad were freaks like that). So anyway "Thing" comes on. The premise is these people in the artic find an alien frozen in the ice, after it thaws it comes alive and starts killing everyone. That movie MOVED me. I did not sleep a wink for the next few weeks just knowing "thing" was out there stalking me. I was emotionally scarred.
And who can't cry when they have to shoot "Ole Yellar" in the end. Oh and "Chariots of Fire" when the race is going on and your heart starts pounding like you are running for you life. And how about the original "Rocky" when he is running through the streets of Philly. All those things move us emotionally, but do they "move" us to action?
I am seeing a trend in our society that people are not as easily moved to action anymore. Is it because we are more educated? Is it because we are more selfish? Is it because we are too busy?
I do not think so, I think it is because we are oversaturated with suffering and needs. I will never forget the first time I saw a starving child in Africa. It was burned into my mind so badly that I wanted to box up the leftovers we had after dinner (it was goulash I think) and send it over to those starving kids. My Mom said it would spoil before it got there (I am not so sure) and not be any good to them. She then said that we needed to adopt a child, send money each and every month so that they could be fed and taken care of. The problem being, there were four young boys in our household and if we sent off money to feed someone in Africa one of the four in our home would be going hungry (we were really poor, yet I did not know it till I was almost grown). Even though I was unable, I was moved with compassion to the point that I was willing to DO something to help. Today we are so inudated with the needs of the world that I think we become insulated to the suffering and needs of people today. It all becomes white noise to our receivers and just does not garner our attention anymore. So much so that we even filter out the needs of those that are living right down the street from us.
So wake up America and see the needs around you for they are many and be moved to do what you can to make a difference in someones life.