Have you ever lost something that you considered valuable?... And then, when you've found it, it becomes even more precious?... Something you thought was gone forever...and then, suddenly it's back in your possession?
My mother-in-law and father-in-law both died a few years ago. They left behind a house full of memories. Decades of raising a family, friendships, struggles, love and laughter.
My wife and I had to put a lot of their stuff in storage, especially since she wasn't ready to deal with all the memories...yet.
So, as we're unpacking stuff the other day, we run across a couple of old paintings. Paintings that had been hanging on the wall of her folks house ever since she could remember. Old watercolor paintings. No particularly "beautiful" (in my limited artistic estimation), but nice. We considered taking them to the thrift store along with a few other things that didn't hold any particular sentimental value.
As I was looking at them I noticed that they were "original".... not your common art-store knock-off....and that the artwork was signed by the artist,... someone I didn't recognize.
So... I decided to do an Internet search, just to see who this artist was. Was he still living?...and, if so,...where?
It took me a while on the Internet to track him down.....but, eventually I did. He was still doing art and lived in a city just a few hundred miles from where we lived. He was now in his late 80's....and there was a telephone number. So I called.
"Hi, is this Mr. __________, who is an artist/painter?...
(I hear the voice of an elderly gentleman)...
"Yes, this is he.... who am I speaking to?"....
I told him who I was and that I thought I might have a couple of his paintings. Did he remember them?..... He didn't.
But, his wife suddenly got on the phone. She said, "Who is this calling?".... So, I explained to her the situation. I told her that I thought I had a couple of her husband's watercolors paintings, but wasn't sure. She said she didn't think that was possible....
I told her I would take a few pictures and email them to their email address. I did...
The next day I received an email response:.... "Yes, these are my husband's paintings! It's been years since he painted in watercolor!..... He painted stuff like this before we were married....60 years ago......
60 years.
And it just happened to be their 60th Wedding anniversary on THAT DAY!.... Amazing!
I told her I would love to mail her the paintings and she was ecstatic about it....even more than her husband.
Anyway, it's an interesting chain of events that lead to my mother-in-law having these paintings in her possession for the past 60 years. She had lived in the same city as the artist, had worked in a grocery store just down the street from his parents. To this day, my wife and I will never know, this side of heaven, the details of how she came to own them....for the artist says he never remembers selling any paintings "back then"......
Perhaps they were a wedding present when they were married in 1945?...
Things that were thought "lost".... are suddenly... "found".....
I know these paintings will mean more to him and his wife than anything he's done over the last few decades. That's just the way life is.. We lose things. Sometimes we find them and are overjoyed...sometimes they are lost forever and we mourn their loss. In this case, interestingly, they didn't even know they had "lost" something....something of sentimental value.
Well... now they do.
It's a story with a happy ending. Their own daughter is an artist also....and she will inherit something that her dad painted, even before she was born.....
Jesus said that "people" are like that. That HE came to seek and save the "lost"... (That would be us).....
Most people don't even realize that they're lost. That God has lost something of value that HE would love to have back......us. And, through Christ, He has provided the opportunity to get us back...to "redeem" us. That makes all of us valuable....whether we acknowledge it or not.....
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Famous Last Words
I have come to believe that when a person is dying, the thing that is foremost on their mind is (usually) the subject which interests them most in life. For most people I think, if they had the time to chose their last words it would be something like, "I love you".... or "tell my wife/kids /parents.... that I love them."
Recently I heard about the famous last words of P.T. Barnum (of Barnum And Bailey Circus fame), who was mostly interested in making money: "How were the receipts today at Madison Square Garden?"......
Those were his last words before he was ushered off into eternity.
It got me to thinking about other folks we might all have heard of and how they chose to utter their final thoughts in this world. Here are a few I found interesting...
"Is everybody happy? I want everyone to be happy? I know I'm happy". (Ethel Barrymore, actress) June 18, 1959......
"Go away! I'm alright." (H.G. Wells, famous author 1946
"I have a terrific headache." (Franklin Delano Roosevelt, President 1945
"I've had 18 straight whiskies. I think that's the record." Dylan Thomas, poet 1953
"Why not. Yeah." (Timothy Leary, famous for his psychedelic drug use) 1996
"Let's cool it, brothers" (Malcolm X, right before he was assassinated)....1966
"Nothing matters. Nothing matters." (Louis B. Mayer, film producer)...1957
"I've never felt better!" (Douglas Fairbanks Sr. actor)...1939
"I've had a hell of a lot of fun and I've enjoyed every minute of it." (Errol Flynn, actor...1959
"Yes, it's tough. But not as tough as doing comedy." ( Ed Gwenn, actor)...1959
"That was the best ice-cream soda I ever tasted." (Lou Costello, comedian)...1959
"My God, what happened?".... (Princess Diana)...1997
"I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis." (Humphrey Bogart, actor).. 1957
"Either that wallpaper goes, or I do!" (Oscar Wilde, writer)... 1900
"Damn it!. Don't you dare ask God to help me." (Joan Crawford, actress)...1977
(One of my personal favorites)..."They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist....."... (General John Sedgwick, Union Army General... 1864 (during the Civil War)...
"I'm not the least afraid to die." (Charles Darwin)....1882
"All my posessions for a moment of time." (Queen Elizabeth The First)...1603
"Do you hear the rain? Do you hear the rain?" (Jessica Dubroff, seven-year-old pilot, minutes before her plane crashed)...1996
"I'm about to...or I am going to...die. Either exprssion is correct. (Dominique Bouhours, French Grammarian)...1855
"Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit."... (Jesus Christ, Savior and Redeemer, Jewish Messiah) Three days later resurrected....still living.... 2011....and counting....
Recently I heard about the famous last words of P.T. Barnum (of Barnum And Bailey Circus fame), who was mostly interested in making money: "How were the receipts today at Madison Square Garden?"......
Those were his last words before he was ushered off into eternity.
It got me to thinking about other folks we might all have heard of and how they chose to utter their final thoughts in this world. Here are a few I found interesting...
"Is everybody happy? I want everyone to be happy? I know I'm happy". (Ethel Barrymore, actress) June 18, 1959......
"Go away! I'm alright." (H.G. Wells, famous author 1946
"I have a terrific headache." (Franklin Delano Roosevelt, President 1945
"I've had 18 straight whiskies. I think that's the record." Dylan Thomas, poet 1953
"Why not. Yeah." (Timothy Leary, famous for his psychedelic drug use) 1996
"Let's cool it, brothers" (Malcolm X, right before he was assassinated)....1966
"Nothing matters. Nothing matters." (Louis B. Mayer, film producer)...1957
"I've never felt better!" (Douglas Fairbanks Sr. actor)...1939
"I've had a hell of a lot of fun and I've enjoyed every minute of it." (Errol Flynn, actor...1959
"Yes, it's tough. But not as tough as doing comedy." ( Ed Gwenn, actor)...1959
"That was the best ice-cream soda I ever tasted." (Lou Costello, comedian)...1959
"My God, what happened?".... (Princess Diana)...1997
"I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis." (Humphrey Bogart, actor).. 1957
"Either that wallpaper goes, or I do!" (Oscar Wilde, writer)... 1900
"Damn it!. Don't you dare ask God to help me." (Joan Crawford, actress)...1977
(One of my personal favorites)..."They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist....."... (General John Sedgwick, Union Army General... 1864 (during the Civil War)...
"I'm not the least afraid to die." (Charles Darwin)....1882
"All my posessions for a moment of time." (Queen Elizabeth The First)...1603
"Do you hear the rain? Do you hear the rain?" (Jessica Dubroff, seven-year-old pilot, minutes before her plane crashed)...1996
"I'm about to...or I am going to...die. Either exprssion is correct. (Dominique Bouhours, French Grammarian)...1855
"Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit."... (Jesus Christ, Savior and Redeemer, Jewish Messiah) Three days later resurrected....still living.... 2011....and counting....
Sunday, June 12, 2011
DONE!
There is an older gentleman in our church who wears a lapel pin with simply the word "DONE" on it.
Webster's definition of the word "done" is: Quite finished and relegated to the past. To have done with, to put an end to, to have finished with.
One of the great satisfactions in life is to have a task completed, especially it's completed in a way that makes you proud of the accomplishment. It seems we humans are always "doing". We always have a list of things we want to get done. The same is true of how we think about things in the Spiritual realm, especially in our service to our Creator. If we are sensitive to our relationship to God we are constantly making promiese to ourselves and to "Him" that we are "going to DO better." Perhaps that means we're going to try to be kinder to our fellow man, more loving to our family, more active in our Church, Synagogue, Mosque, etc. I think all of us would agree that there is always room for improvement, that we could always do things better than we are doing at the present time.
Did you ever consider that when Jesus lived His life here among us that He had a task to accomplish also? Even though the Bible records that he spent the last three years of His life teaching about the things of God and healing the sick, even raising the dead back to life, the main message of the Gospels is that Jesus' primary task , or objective, was to... "die."
A lot of people will tell you that the death of Jesus Christ on a Roman Cross was one of history's greatest mistakes, one of life's greatest tragedies. The Bible, and Jesus Himself, would disagree with that conclusion.
Jesus said, "I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of Him (God the Father) who sent me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me. That everyone who looks to the Son of God and believes in Him shall have eternal life." (John 6:39-40)...
He also said, concerning the time immediately proceeding His death on the cross, "What shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour." (John 12:27)....
You see, Jesus' primary purpose on earth was to die. The Bible teaches that the death of Jesus was of utmost significance because, through His death, Jesus was paying the penalty (punishment) for all the sins you and I have ever committed in our lives. He died in our place so that the justice of God could be accomplished and that by simply believing in what he did for us, we could be saved from facing judgment for our sins. Jesus was able to do this because He was uniquely God in human flesh. HE was (is) the Creator, Who died on behalf of His creation (you and I).
Jesus said an interesting thing as He was dying on the cross. He said, "It is finished."
What was finished?....
The sacrifice for our sins. He had paid the price for our sins once and for all. He had DONE it all on the cross...and then confirmed it three days later when he arose from the dead.
What do we have to "DO" to be in a right relationship with God? Simply believe what Jesus has already done and accept it by faith on our behalf. The Bible says, "It is by GRACE you have been saved, through FAITH, (believing what Jesus has already done),... it is the GIFT of God, not by "works"... (Ephesians 2:8-9)....
The elderly gentleman in our church realized that he had found something very profound in believing the good news of the Gospel, ... and it could be summed up in the one little word "DONE".
It is a profound message....and a life-changer....
Webster's definition of the word "done" is: Quite finished and relegated to the past. To have done with, to put an end to, to have finished with.
One of the great satisfactions in life is to have a task completed, especially it's completed in a way that makes you proud of the accomplishment. It seems we humans are always "doing". We always have a list of things we want to get done. The same is true of how we think about things in the Spiritual realm, especially in our service to our Creator. If we are sensitive to our relationship to God we are constantly making promiese to ourselves and to "Him" that we are "going to DO better." Perhaps that means we're going to try to be kinder to our fellow man, more loving to our family, more active in our Church, Synagogue, Mosque, etc. I think all of us would agree that there is always room for improvement, that we could always do things better than we are doing at the present time.
Did you ever consider that when Jesus lived His life here among us that He had a task to accomplish also? Even though the Bible records that he spent the last three years of His life teaching about the things of God and healing the sick, even raising the dead back to life, the main message of the Gospels is that Jesus' primary task , or objective, was to... "die."
A lot of people will tell you that the death of Jesus Christ on a Roman Cross was one of history's greatest mistakes, one of life's greatest tragedies. The Bible, and Jesus Himself, would disagree with that conclusion.
Jesus said, "I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of Him (God the Father) who sent me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me. That everyone who looks to the Son of God and believes in Him shall have eternal life." (John 6:39-40)...
He also said, concerning the time immediately proceeding His death on the cross, "What shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour." (John 12:27)....
You see, Jesus' primary purpose on earth was to die. The Bible teaches that the death of Jesus was of utmost significance because, through His death, Jesus was paying the penalty (punishment) for all the sins you and I have ever committed in our lives. He died in our place so that the justice of God could be accomplished and that by simply believing in what he did for us, we could be saved from facing judgment for our sins. Jesus was able to do this because He was uniquely God in human flesh. HE was (is) the Creator, Who died on behalf of His creation (you and I).
Jesus said an interesting thing as He was dying on the cross. He said, "It is finished."
What was finished?....
The sacrifice for our sins. He had paid the price for our sins once and for all. He had DONE it all on the cross...and then confirmed it three days later when he arose from the dead.
What do we have to "DO" to be in a right relationship with God? Simply believe what Jesus has already done and accept it by faith on our behalf. The Bible says, "It is by GRACE you have been saved, through FAITH, (believing what Jesus has already done),... it is the GIFT of God, not by "works"... (Ephesians 2:8-9)....
The elderly gentleman in our church realized that he had found something very profound in believing the good news of the Gospel, ... and it could be summed up in the one little word "DONE".
It is a profound message....and a life-changer....
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Honesty
One of my favorite Geico commercials is the one where "honest" Abe Lincoln's wife asks him this question: "Does this dress make me look fat?"... And Abe, not wanting to lie, says, hesitatingly... "Maybe just a little". And his wife gets real mad and storms off....
(Actually my FAVORITE Geico commercial is the one where the woodchucks are throwing chunks of wood into a creek and the farmer pulls up on his tractor and says, .. "YOU DANG WOODCHUCKS QUITE CHUCKING MY WOOD!").... That one's a hoot....
Anyway, Abe Lincoln was known as "Honest Abe"..... Not sure why exactly, but it's not a bad thing to be thought of, ....being honest.
A couple weeks ago a gas-station owner lost 20,000 dollars in one day. There was some sort of mechanical malfunction which didn't allow the pump to tally up the actual price of gas that was being pumped. Instead of registering 3.75 a gallon, when folks filled their cars up, it registered something like 1.75 a gallon, thereby saving each customer about 60 bucks. The amazing thing is that this went on all day long without one customer going in and saying, "Hey, your pump is messed up. It's giving the wrong price!".... It was at least 7 hours before the station owner realized what was going on and was able to realize he was having one of his busiest days ever.
1....2....3...4...5...6....7..... hours...
What were all these people thinking? They were thinking: "I gotta call my wife/cousin/brother/mother/sister-in-law/boss/babysitter/baby sitter's cousin twice removed/...and get them down here to get in on some of this!"....
I'm sure there were a few who filled their tanks and said: "Thank You JEEEZUS!...I just KNEW God wanted to bless me today!"
(And all the while Jesus is chasing down the street after them saying: "WAIT!... Come back!... That wasn't from ME!... The guy's gas pumps are broken!".....WAIT...COME...baaaacccckkkk!)
Honesty.
It seems to be sorely lacking today as our society collapses into a "me" oriented society. When that happens we fail miserably to watch out for one another.... to be our "brother's keeper" as the Bible states we should be.
It's an easy place to slide into for some of us. I've been just as guilty as anyone in trying to justify my actions. Honesty isn't easy.
Sometimes we just do dumb things and we want to cover our tracks by being evasive.
"Is that YOUR Twitter picture, congressman Weiner?".... or..."Mr. President,...Did you have sex with that Lewinsky woman?"...
These would appear to be questions with a simple "yes" or "no" answer....don't you think?
Every once in awhile we hear stories about folks who go out of their way to return something that doesn't belong to them. A mistake had been made in their favor or they found a bunch of cash lying by the side of the road and turned it in to authorities. Stories like this. We admire those folks for their honesty, and,... somewhere down in our heart of hearts, we really DO want to be like them.
I think Jesus said it best when he said the second greatest commandment was to "Do unto others what you would have them do unto you". (Actually, it was "Love your neighbor as you love yourself", which is basically the same thing).....
I'm sure the gas station owner would have appreciated an honest person coming along sometime during those long 7 hours when he was being, literally,... robbed.
So...if my (or your) wife one day asks you the question: "Does this dress make me look fat"?...You should do the right and proper thing...which, in that case, would be.... lie like crazy and say..... NO!....
But...aside from that... we should strive to treat others the way we would want to be treated. It's a pretty good rule to try our best to live by.
Hope you all have a great week.
I mean that. .....I really do....
honestly....
(Actually my FAVORITE Geico commercial is the one where the woodchucks are throwing chunks of wood into a creek and the farmer pulls up on his tractor and says, .. "YOU DANG WOODCHUCKS QUITE CHUCKING MY WOOD!").... That one's a hoot....
Anyway, Abe Lincoln was known as "Honest Abe"..... Not sure why exactly, but it's not a bad thing to be thought of, ....being honest.
A couple weeks ago a gas-station owner lost 20,000 dollars in one day. There was some sort of mechanical malfunction which didn't allow the pump to tally up the actual price of gas that was being pumped. Instead of registering 3.75 a gallon, when folks filled their cars up, it registered something like 1.75 a gallon, thereby saving each customer about 60 bucks. The amazing thing is that this went on all day long without one customer going in and saying, "Hey, your pump is messed up. It's giving the wrong price!".... It was at least 7 hours before the station owner realized what was going on and was able to realize he was having one of his busiest days ever.
1....2....3...4...5...6....7..... hours...
What were all these people thinking? They were thinking: "I gotta call my wife/cousin/brother/mother/sister-in-law/boss/babysitter/baby sitter's cousin twice removed/...and get them down here to get in on some of this!"....
I'm sure there were a few who filled their tanks and said: "Thank You JEEEZUS!...I just KNEW God wanted to bless me today!"
(And all the while Jesus is chasing down the street after them saying: "WAIT!... Come back!... That wasn't from ME!... The guy's gas pumps are broken!".....WAIT...COME...baaaacccckkkk!)
Honesty.
It seems to be sorely lacking today as our society collapses into a "me" oriented society. When that happens we fail miserably to watch out for one another.... to be our "brother's keeper" as the Bible states we should be.
It's an easy place to slide into for some of us. I've been just as guilty as anyone in trying to justify my actions. Honesty isn't easy.
Sometimes we just do dumb things and we want to cover our tracks by being evasive.
"Is that YOUR Twitter picture, congressman Weiner?".... or..."Mr. President,...Did you have sex with that Lewinsky woman?"...
These would appear to be questions with a simple "yes" or "no" answer....don't you think?
Every once in awhile we hear stories about folks who go out of their way to return something that doesn't belong to them. A mistake had been made in their favor or they found a bunch of cash lying by the side of the road and turned it in to authorities. Stories like this. We admire those folks for their honesty, and,... somewhere down in our heart of hearts, we really DO want to be like them.
I think Jesus said it best when he said the second greatest commandment was to "Do unto others what you would have them do unto you". (Actually, it was "Love your neighbor as you love yourself", which is basically the same thing).....
I'm sure the gas station owner would have appreciated an honest person coming along sometime during those long 7 hours when he was being, literally,... robbed.
So...if my (or your) wife one day asks you the question: "Does this dress make me look fat"?...You should do the right and proper thing...which, in that case, would be.... lie like crazy and say..... NO!....
But...aside from that... we should strive to treat others the way we would want to be treated. It's a pretty good rule to try our best to live by.
Hope you all have a great week.
I mean that. .....I really do....
honestly....
Sunday, May 15, 2011
You're Gonna Miss This
She was starin' out the window of their SUV
Complain'in saying "I can't wait to turn 18"
She said, "I'll make my own money and I'll make my own rules."
Momma put the car in park out there in front of the school
And she kissed her head and said, "I was just like you"
(chorus);
You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days
Hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this
Before she knows it she's a brand-new bride
In a one bedroom apartment, and her daddy stops by
He tells her it's a nice place, she says "It'll do for now"
Then she talks about babies and buying a house
Daddy shakes he head and and says, "baby just slow down"
(repeat chorus)
Five years later there's a plumber working on the water heater
Dogs barking, phones ringing, one kid crying, the other one screamin'
And she keeps apologizin'
He says, "They don't bother me"
I've got two kids of my own
One's twenty-six, one's thirty-three
Huh,...it's hard to believe
But you're gonna miss this....
(from "You're Gonna Miss This" by Trace Adkins)
Complain'in saying "I can't wait to turn 18"
She said, "I'll make my own money and I'll make my own rules."
Momma put the car in park out there in front of the school
And she kissed her head and said, "I was just like you"
(chorus);
You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days
Hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this
Before she knows it she's a brand-new bride
In a one bedroom apartment, and her daddy stops by
He tells her it's a nice place, she says "It'll do for now"
Then she talks about babies and buying a house
Daddy shakes he head and and says, "baby just slow down"
(repeat chorus)
Five years later there's a plumber working on the water heater
Dogs barking, phones ringing, one kid crying, the other one screamin'
And she keeps apologizin'
He says, "They don't bother me"
I've got two kids of my own
One's twenty-six, one's thirty-three
Huh,...it's hard to believe
But you're gonna miss this....
(from "You're Gonna Miss This" by Trace Adkins)
Peter was a boy who was strong and able, yet sadly flawed by an attitude of impatience. Always dissatisfied with his present condition, Peter spends his life daydreaming about the future.
One day while wandering in the forest, Peter meets a strange old woman who gives him a most tantalizing opportunity...the chance to skip the dull, mundane moments of life. She hands Pater a silver ball from which a tiny gold thread protrudes. "This is your life thread", she explains. "Do not touch it and time will pass normally. But if you wish time to pass more quickly, you only have to pull the thread a little way and an hour will pass like a second. But I warn you, once the thread has been pulled out, it cannot be pushed back in again."
This magical thread seems the answer to all of Peter's problems. It is just what he has always wanted. He takes the ball and runs home.
The following day in school Peter has his first opportunity to put the silver ball to use. The lesson is dragging and the teacher scolds Peter for not concentrating. Peter fingers the silver ball and gives the thread a slight tug. Suddenly the teacher dismisses the class, and Peter is free to leave school. He is overjoyed!. How easy his life will now be. From this moment, Peter begins to pull the thread a little every day.
But soon Peter begins to use the magic thread to rush through larger portions of life. Why waste time pulling the thread just a little every day when he cal pull it hard and complete school altogether? He does so and finds himself out of school and apprenticed in a trade. Peter uses the same technique to rush through his engagement to his sweetheart. He cannot bear to wait months to marry her, so he uses the gold thread to hasten the arrival of his wedding day.
Peter continues this pattern throughout his life. When hard, trying times come, he escapes them with his magic thread. When the baby cries at night, when he faces financial struggles, when he wishes his own children to be launched in careers of their own. Peter pulls the magic thread and bypasses the discomfort of the moment.
But, sadly, when he comes to the end of his life, Peter realizes the emptiness of such an existence. By allowing impatience and discontentment to rule him, Peter has robbed himself of life's richest moments and memories. With only the grave to look forward to, he deeply regrets ever having used the magic thread.
The moral to the story?..... Don't be so quick to want to rush through life. Whether the times are tough and disappointments arise, or whether the times are exciting and exhilarating.... it's all just a part of the journey...and the journey is the gift we have in this life here on earth. Take it all in,....you might just miss something you'll regret....
Thursday, May 5, 2011
A Great Evil... Part 2
Last week I talked about the Ten Boom family. A family who suffered greatly during the Nazi regime for their stand against the evils of Nazi-ism and German Socialism.
After World War 2 many of the German S.S. high command (military leadership) went into hiding. They were harbored by many nations. Most thought that they had escaped the world's wrath against them for their atrocities. Most were also hunted down and captured. War crimes trials were held in Nuremberg. Adolf Eichmann, one of Hitler's top henchmen, was allowed to speak and defend his actions.
His words: " I have broken no laws. I was simply following the laws of war and my flag."
Eichmann was correct.
German "law", in 1935, had deprived the Jewish people of German citizenship. There were also laws forbidding them to marry or have sexual relationship with anyone of the Aryan, "Germanic" Race. There were thirteen administrative regulations against the Jews that would later outlaw them completely, and, eventually, through intense propaganda, they were given the status of "non-human".
With Hitler's ability to make arbitrary "laws", there was no opposition, or at least, no opposition without the threat of severe punishment or death. Even pastors could be arrested for treason for resisting the new "laws" of the new German Socialist Government. Since they were "breaking the law" by resisting, they had no recourse.
It's hard, almost impossible, in our day, to imagine that a law could actually be imposed which would strip a person of his or her status of being "human". It's unfathomable, isn't it?
If such a law were passed, then the taking of a human life could be easily justified and rationalized. If it's resisted, then it must be a flaw on the part of the person who is not willing to validate the law of the land. They must be "subversive" in some way. If it's "legal", then it must be correct. Case closed.
At least that's the way the Nazi Party saw it. That's the way the German citizen accepted it without much opposition. (There were other, economic reasons also).
A pastor of a German church tells the story that, on Sunday, when the church would gather for worship, at a particular time, every Sunday, they would hear a train go by the back of their church during the service. They could hear the cries of the Jewish people as the train passed. It was a horrific sound. So, what did they do?
At that time, every Sunday, when they knew the train was to pass by, they made that time their "hymn singing" time. They would all sing just as loud as they could as the train passed by. That way they couldn't hear the cries of those "non-humans" barreling down the tracks towards Auschwitz.... and the ovens. It worked. They didn't hear them at all after that.
There's a saying, "If you want to see a Nation's God, then look at that Nation's Laws."
Eichmann's argument, although valid, succumbed to the decision of the War Crimes Tribunal. They weren't going to argue that what they Nazis did were "illegal" according to the laws of Germany. They were going to insist that there was a "higher" law in which to ultimately yield. There was a natural law that superseded the arbitrary laws of any particular nation. Although they couldn't exactly explain it, they knew that, just because something was "legal", it didn't make it "moral", and the hideous nature of the crimes stood in start contrast to human decency and sensitivity.... and morals.
Anyway, that's my rambling for this week. What does it all mean?
You decide.... Only as individuals can we decide when to resist and when to sing louder....
After World War 2 many of the German S.S. high command (military leadership) went into hiding. They were harbored by many nations. Most thought that they had escaped the world's wrath against them for their atrocities. Most were also hunted down and captured. War crimes trials were held in Nuremberg. Adolf Eichmann, one of Hitler's top henchmen, was allowed to speak and defend his actions.
His words: " I have broken no laws. I was simply following the laws of war and my flag."
Eichmann was correct.
German "law", in 1935, had deprived the Jewish people of German citizenship. There were also laws forbidding them to marry or have sexual relationship with anyone of the Aryan, "Germanic" Race. There were thirteen administrative regulations against the Jews that would later outlaw them completely, and, eventually, through intense propaganda, they were given the status of "non-human".
With Hitler's ability to make arbitrary "laws", there was no opposition, or at least, no opposition without the threat of severe punishment or death. Even pastors could be arrested for treason for resisting the new "laws" of the new German Socialist Government. Since they were "breaking the law" by resisting, they had no recourse.
It's hard, almost impossible, in our day, to imagine that a law could actually be imposed which would strip a person of his or her status of being "human". It's unfathomable, isn't it?
If such a law were passed, then the taking of a human life could be easily justified and rationalized. If it's resisted, then it must be a flaw on the part of the person who is not willing to validate the law of the land. They must be "subversive" in some way. If it's "legal", then it must be correct. Case closed.
At least that's the way the Nazi Party saw it. That's the way the German citizen accepted it without much opposition. (There were other, economic reasons also).
A pastor of a German church tells the story that, on Sunday, when the church would gather for worship, at a particular time, every Sunday, they would hear a train go by the back of their church during the service. They could hear the cries of the Jewish people as the train passed. It was a horrific sound. So, what did they do?
At that time, every Sunday, when they knew the train was to pass by, they made that time their "hymn singing" time. They would all sing just as loud as they could as the train passed by. That way they couldn't hear the cries of those "non-humans" barreling down the tracks towards Auschwitz.... and the ovens. It worked. They didn't hear them at all after that.
There's a saying, "If you want to see a Nation's God, then look at that Nation's Laws."
Eichmann's argument, although valid, succumbed to the decision of the War Crimes Tribunal. They weren't going to argue that what they Nazis did were "illegal" according to the laws of Germany. They were going to insist that there was a "higher" law in which to ultimately yield. There was a natural law that superseded the arbitrary laws of any particular nation. Although they couldn't exactly explain it, they knew that, just because something was "legal", it didn't make it "moral", and the hideous nature of the crimes stood in start contrast to human decency and sensitivity.... and morals.
Anyway, that's my rambling for this week. What does it all mean?
You decide.... Only as individuals can we decide when to resist and when to sing louder....
Thursday, April 28, 2011
A Great Evil
In the introduction to Corrie Ten Boom's amazing book, "The Hiding Place" she writes a snippet about her brother, Willem. He was a seminary student in Germany. In the year 1927 he wrote his doctoral thesis. In it he said, "A terrible evil is taking root in the land....seeds are being planted of a contempt for human life such as the world had never seen.
The few who read his paper had laughed.....
Few people could foresee the rise of Adolf Hitler and The Third Reich...and the systematic genocide of 6 million European Jews. It was unthinkable.
Several years later Corrie Ten Boom, her father and her sister were rounded-up, placed in railroad cattle-cars and shipped off to Ravensbruck Concentration Camp, where Corrie watched thousands die of malnutrition, the firing squad, or placed in ovens. She witnessed her sister die of malnutrition. She only learned of her father's death after she was released, years later.
Corrie Ten Boom and the Ten Boom family weren't Jewish. They were Dutch. They watched helplessly as Nazi troops stormed into their quaint village in Holland in 1938. They had many friends, neighbors and business acquaintances who were Jews. One of their Jewish neighbors was, like the Ten Booms, a clock-maker. One day he didn't open his business. They thought he was ill. The next day he didn't open his business,... or the next. He simply "disappeared"....
They started noticing people on the street wearing yellow stars stitched to their clothing. It was the Star of David, with the word, "Juden" (the German word for "Jew") splashed across it. If you were Jewish you were required to wear it. If you didn't, then you were executed on the spot.
The Ten Booms lived in a large house that was actually two houses connected to each other. A house with a lot of strange twists and turns and mis-shapen rooms... an architectural nightmare. They were approached by a Jewish friend. Would they be willing to hide Jews? There were several who knew they were next to be rounded-up by the S.S. Would they be willing? There were risks.
They didn't hesitate. They said, "yes", of course, these are God's People. We'll do whatever we can.
Shortly they were visited by a nice older gentleman who went through their house and picked out a special "hiding place",... a small, narrow space behind Corrie's bedroom wall. It was perfect. He spent the next few days "remodeling" Corrie's room and turning it into a safe place to hide the Jews. Several came. There was room for approximately ten, if they didn't mind being stuffed like sardines while the Nazi soldiers tried their best to ferret them out.
The never could find....The Hiding Place.
But Corrie and her family members were identified as being those who were sympathetic to Jewish people. The Germans "knew" she and her family were hiding Jews,...whether they could be found or not.
So.... that's how Corrie Ten Boom and her sister, Betsie, and their elderly father found themselves arrested and imprisoned. They were physically beaten...but they never gave up their friends, the Jews. They were well aware of the evil that had overtaken their nation...the evil, as Willem had said years earlier,....which was a contempt for human life unlike the world had ever seen.
It's called "Antisemitism". It's defined as a hatred towards a particular people group based on nationality or religion.
You may be asking yourself..... "Why is Bob writing about something like this?"....
I had just completed reading this book, "The Hiding Place". I read it probably 25 years ago and it had made a lasting impression on my mind. Twenty-five years ago.....
Then, I just happen to turn on the television and I saw this video that came out just a few days ago. It was a video from Germany. An Islamic cleric was giving a hate-filled speech and a rant against Israel and "The Jews".
The link to the video that was placed on Youtube is on my original email to you. A new Corrie Ten Boom perhaps? We should all ask ourselves.... "Could I do this?".... "Would I be brave enough to stand up to the hate and violence of evil?".... "Could I, at least, "try" to keep history from repeating itself?"
There's an old saying: "Those who won't learn from history are bound to repeat it".
That saying is so true,...and, I believe, especially relevant for the days in which we live.
"When the Nazis came for the communists, I remained silent; I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats, I remained silent: I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists, I remained silent: I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews, I remained silent; I was not a Jew.
When they came for me.... there was no one left to speak out."...... Martin Niemoller
The few who read his paper had laughed.....
Few people could foresee the rise of Adolf Hitler and The Third Reich...and the systematic genocide of 6 million European Jews. It was unthinkable.
Several years later Corrie Ten Boom, her father and her sister were rounded-up, placed in railroad cattle-cars and shipped off to Ravensbruck Concentration Camp, where Corrie watched thousands die of malnutrition, the firing squad, or placed in ovens. She witnessed her sister die of malnutrition. She only learned of her father's death after she was released, years later.
Corrie Ten Boom and the Ten Boom family weren't Jewish. They were Dutch. They watched helplessly as Nazi troops stormed into their quaint village in Holland in 1938. They had many friends, neighbors and business acquaintances who were Jews. One of their Jewish neighbors was, like the Ten Booms, a clock-maker. One day he didn't open his business. They thought he was ill. The next day he didn't open his business,... or the next. He simply "disappeared"....
They started noticing people on the street wearing yellow stars stitched to their clothing. It was the Star of David, with the word, "Juden" (the German word for "Jew") splashed across it. If you were Jewish you were required to wear it. If you didn't, then you were executed on the spot.
The Ten Booms lived in a large house that was actually two houses connected to each other. A house with a lot of strange twists and turns and mis-shapen rooms... an architectural nightmare. They were approached by a Jewish friend. Would they be willing to hide Jews? There were several who knew they were next to be rounded-up by the S.S. Would they be willing? There were risks.
They didn't hesitate. They said, "yes", of course, these are God's People. We'll do whatever we can.
Shortly they were visited by a nice older gentleman who went through their house and picked out a special "hiding place",... a small, narrow space behind Corrie's bedroom wall. It was perfect. He spent the next few days "remodeling" Corrie's room and turning it into a safe place to hide the Jews. Several came. There was room for approximately ten, if they didn't mind being stuffed like sardines while the Nazi soldiers tried their best to ferret them out.
The never could find....The Hiding Place.
But Corrie and her family members were identified as being those who were sympathetic to Jewish people. The Germans "knew" she and her family were hiding Jews,...whether they could be found or not.
So.... that's how Corrie Ten Boom and her sister, Betsie, and their elderly father found themselves arrested and imprisoned. They were physically beaten...but they never gave up their friends, the Jews. They were well aware of the evil that had overtaken their nation...the evil, as Willem had said years earlier,....which was a contempt for human life unlike the world had ever seen.
It's called "Antisemitism". It's defined as a hatred towards a particular people group based on nationality or religion.
You may be asking yourself..... "Why is Bob writing about something like this?"....
I had just completed reading this book, "The Hiding Place". I read it probably 25 years ago and it had made a lasting impression on my mind. Twenty-five years ago.....
Then, I just happen to turn on the television and I saw this video that came out just a few days ago. It was a video from Germany. An Islamic cleric was giving a hate-filled speech and a rant against Israel and "The Jews".
The link to the video that was placed on Youtube is on my original email to you. A new Corrie Ten Boom perhaps? We should all ask ourselves.... "Could I do this?".... "Would I be brave enough to stand up to the hate and violence of evil?".... "Could I, at least, "try" to keep history from repeating itself?"
There's an old saying: "Those who won't learn from history are bound to repeat it".
That saying is so true,...and, I believe, especially relevant for the days in which we live.
"When the Nazis came for the communists, I remained silent; I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats, I remained silent: I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists, I remained silent: I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews, I remained silent; I was not a Jew.
When they came for me.... there was no one left to speak out."...... Martin Niemoller
Friday, April 22, 2011
Imagine....Easter
Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No sky above us
Below us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today....
The stereo resounded with the latest album from ex-Beatle, John Lennon.
Smoke from marijuana and hashish filled the room. A young man sits quietly to one side of the room....thinking...contemplating.... his last day(s) on earth. Suicide is an awful thought,...but sometimes one feels painted into a corner where there is no escape...
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too...
How did he get to this place in life? ... and at such a young age. Everything seems against him. Life sucks. Friends?.... What friends?... Other people who like to drink, get stoned, listen to music? But what do they say behind his back?... loser....screw-up..... The kid who has no future, ... no hope....
In the corner a television is on. The volume is muted. It's Easter Weekend and on this Friday a Passion Play is being broadcast. A man carries his cross up a lonely hill. Bruised and battered and bloody, this unrecognizable figure of a man. Soldiers accompany him. They lay him down on this rough-cut timber. A hammer is lifted.....nails are driven....
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll come join us
And the world will live as one
The young man is transfixed.... watching....
The nails. They are driven mercilessly through the man's wrists and through his feet. Agonizing. Time seems to stop. The cross is lifted into the air where the man struggles with every breath.
Now, it's just the young man...and the scene before him. The cross,...the execution... the...dying...
The young man hears a still, small voice. It seems to come from within him, but he's not sure. The voice speaks: "I did this for you." I have come for YOU tonight!... Trust in Me and I will deliver you from death and give you life."
The young man looks around the room at his "friends". They're all stoned, having a grand time. The music plays loudly. But,.... what is real? Is this "real"?... Or,... is Jesus Christ "real"?.... What have I been missing all these years?...
Sure, he knows about Jesus. But,... he's never been broken before so he's never really found the need. What did he ever have to be saved from?...
But.... What if it is true?... What if Jesus Christ really did live and die... and rise from the dead?... For him?.... What if God really loves him that much?....
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...
The young man breaks down into tears. Locks himself in the bathroom,...sobbing. His friends are knocking on the door? "What's wrong?"... "What are you doing in there"?...
Finally, the young man composes himself. Out of the bathroom,... out of the house,... across the yard, ...into his car... Starts it up.
Where is he going? He doesn't know.... just away from there.... hopefully, away from this whole world. But where is God? Where IS God? Where IS Jesus?.... "Lord, I need You".... answer me."
A familiar face peers at him through the driver's window. "Where are you going?" It's someone from the party.
The only answer?...." To find Jesus."
"Jesus!".... Are you crazy?".... There's no Jesus. I know. I've been there... done that. There's nothing there."....
"There's nothing there."
The young man stammers. "O.K... But, I have to find out for myself.... goodbye.".... He starts the car and drives away.... for the last time.
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one....
The search is on. The heart is stirred. A Greater Love is in pursuit... or, is it "being" pursued?.... Sometimes it's hard to tell who is doing the seeking.
The young man finds himself in a small bible study a few days later, invited by an old friend from his past. A "Jesus Freak"... who now, suddenly, doesn't seems so weird after all.
It's an interesting bible study...but, the young man is anxious. Do these people know Jesus? Do they know how to find Him? Do they have any idea how important it is that this young man find Him?.... His very life is at stake.
The study ends. The leader of the bible study has a question. "Is there anyone here who wants to know Jesus Christ?.... Who wants to follow Him?
The young man's hand shoots straight up into the air!
Is this guy for real?
What is he saying? Is Jesus in the back room somewhere?.... Confusion.
But, the young man is all in. Whatever it is that he has to do to find salvation, he's there. Say a prayer. Did a hole and jump in. Crawl through barbed-wire? Run through a fire?.... Whatever it takes.
Whatever it takes.....
It takes a prayer.
And a heart that is hungry and a soul that is broken and needy. The young man finds himself there again,...at the foot of the cross... looking up into the face of love.... and forgiveness.... and peace... and joy... and LIFE.
Easter, ... 1972. The Easter that changed my life...forever....
I pray that this Easter finds you at the foot of the cross. And I pray that your life is changed,... as mine was... all those years ago. Newness of life. I've never been the same since. My "old friends" can testify to that..... I never looked back.....
to that "old" life.
There's nothing there. ...
"He is risen"!
"He is risen...indeed...."
It's easy if you try
No sky above us
Below us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today....
The stereo resounded with the latest album from ex-Beatle, John Lennon.
Smoke from marijuana and hashish filled the room. A young man sits quietly to one side of the room....thinking...contemplating.... his last day(s) on earth. Suicide is an awful thought,...but sometimes one feels painted into a corner where there is no escape...
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too...
How did he get to this place in life? ... and at such a young age. Everything seems against him. Life sucks. Friends?.... What friends?... Other people who like to drink, get stoned, listen to music? But what do they say behind his back?... loser....screw-up..... The kid who has no future, ... no hope....
In the corner a television is on. The volume is muted. It's Easter Weekend and on this Friday a Passion Play is being broadcast. A man carries his cross up a lonely hill. Bruised and battered and bloody, this unrecognizable figure of a man. Soldiers accompany him. They lay him down on this rough-cut timber. A hammer is lifted.....nails are driven....
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll come join us
And the world will live as one
The young man is transfixed.... watching....
The nails. They are driven mercilessly through the man's wrists and through his feet. Agonizing. Time seems to stop. The cross is lifted into the air where the man struggles with every breath.
Now, it's just the young man...and the scene before him. The cross,...the execution... the...dying...
The young man hears a still, small voice. It seems to come from within him, but he's not sure. The voice speaks: "I did this for you." I have come for YOU tonight!... Trust in Me and I will deliver you from death and give you life."
The young man looks around the room at his "friends". They're all stoned, having a grand time. The music plays loudly. But,.... what is real? Is this "real"?... Or,... is Jesus Christ "real"?.... What have I been missing all these years?...
Sure, he knows about Jesus. But,... he's never been broken before so he's never really found the need. What did he ever have to be saved from?...
But.... What if it is true?... What if Jesus Christ really did live and die... and rise from the dead?... For him?.... What if God really loves him that much?....
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...
The young man breaks down into tears. Locks himself in the bathroom,...sobbing. His friends are knocking on the door? "What's wrong?"... "What are you doing in there"?...
Finally, the young man composes himself. Out of the bathroom,... out of the house,... across the yard, ...into his car... Starts it up.
Where is he going? He doesn't know.... just away from there.... hopefully, away from this whole world. But where is God? Where IS God? Where IS Jesus?.... "Lord, I need You".... answer me."
A familiar face peers at him through the driver's window. "Where are you going?" It's someone from the party.
The only answer?...." To find Jesus."
"Jesus!".... Are you crazy?".... There's no Jesus. I know. I've been there... done that. There's nothing there."....
"There's nothing there."
The young man stammers. "O.K... But, I have to find out for myself.... goodbye.".... He starts the car and drives away.... for the last time.
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one....
The search is on. The heart is stirred. A Greater Love is in pursuit... or, is it "being" pursued?.... Sometimes it's hard to tell who is doing the seeking.
The young man finds himself in a small bible study a few days later, invited by an old friend from his past. A "Jesus Freak"... who now, suddenly, doesn't seems so weird after all.
It's an interesting bible study...but, the young man is anxious. Do these people know Jesus? Do they know how to find Him? Do they have any idea how important it is that this young man find Him?.... His very life is at stake.
The study ends. The leader of the bible study has a question. "Is there anyone here who wants to know Jesus Christ?.... Who wants to follow Him?
The young man's hand shoots straight up into the air!
Is this guy for real?
What is he saying? Is Jesus in the back room somewhere?.... Confusion.
But, the young man is all in. Whatever it is that he has to do to find salvation, he's there. Say a prayer. Did a hole and jump in. Crawl through barbed-wire? Run through a fire?.... Whatever it takes.
Whatever it takes.....
It takes a prayer.
And a heart that is hungry and a soul that is broken and needy. The young man finds himself there again,...at the foot of the cross... looking up into the face of love.... and forgiveness.... and peace... and joy... and LIFE.
Easter, ... 1972. The Easter that changed my life...forever....
I pray that this Easter finds you at the foot of the cross. And I pray that your life is changed,... as mine was... all those years ago. Newness of life. I've never been the same since. My "old friends" can testify to that..... I never looked back.....
to that "old" life.
There's nothing there. ...
"He is risen"!
"He is risen...indeed...."
Sunday, April 3, 2011
P.T.S.D. Part two
Thanks to those who responded to my last posting about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Evidently it had meaning to a few of my readers... To elaborate on major symptoms mentioned in previous post. Intrusive thoughts and flashbacks... Flashbacks are the reliving of the traumatic experience, just as if you were back there again. This can be brought on (triggered by): certain sudden explosions, helicopters or motorized heavy equipment, the smell of human waste, decay or blood, diesel or jet fuel, dirty canvass, driving down a dusty or sandy road (especially if you've been in a war zone)...people screaming, crowds, hot, dry days...etc. Only you know what your trigger might be. Isolation and avoidance... You may subconsciously be trying to avoid activities, places or people...things which "might" be a trigger to arouse bad memories. The desire to become a hermit by leaving all behind only takes you further away from the objective to re-integrate into normal social situations. In this case it might be necessary to limit your exposure to people and events and try to use good judgment of when to avoid and when to engage those around you. Emotional numbing... Distancing oneself from a topic of conversation, a situation, person or potential trigger which reminds you of a traumatic event. The fear of losing control emotionally, which causes you to deal in negative, aggressive way. This is why war veterans (or the victims of any trauma) have a hard time talking about their experiences. It brings back too many bad memories, which they believe, should be avoided. Depression... Overwhelming sadness and fear that the feelings your experiencing will never get better. A depressed person can feel helpless, hopeless and unworthy of being loved. A big warning sign is sleeping to excess. This is a way of escape for a lot of people, unless sleeping brings with it nightmares, which is often the case. If that is the case, the person who is depressed often "self-medicates" by excessive drinking or drug use. Depression can be totally overwhelming and anyone experiencing symptoms of depression should be encourage to reach out and get help. Seek out help...find something, anything...to look forward to. Learn to practice self-care. Get a time-consuming hobby. Learn a new skill, spend time with an animal friend, get some good, old-fashioned exercise, find a trusted friend or family member you enjoy being with. Get yourself on a schedule, forcing you to get up, take a shower, get motivated, even if it's just a small thing...set some goals... Anger.... You are angry that you have had to experience what you have experienced. Anger reflects a variety of feelings such as betrayal, lack of trust, frustration, sadness and guilt. Anger is a way of "acting out" frustration, leaving you and those around you stunned and afraid. Often this anger is taken out on loved-ones and can end up in domestic violence. Realize that at the bottom of your anger and frustration is the fact that most of those around you don't understand the depth of the trauma and have no ideal, or reality, as to what you have experienced. Sometimes this anger is the reason for "road rage", a form of acting out your aggression. I talked a bit about this in my last blog. The soldier coming home from Iraq who is used to driving in a convoy that is always hyper vigilant when it comes to driving in traffic. Being cut-off, or rear-ended by another car can be an explosive trigger that can lead to an episode of road rage. Some suggestions that have worked for other veterans are: Physical exercise that is appropriate for your physical limitations Reduction of caffeine, alcohol or drug use Relaxation/study/meditation Well-balanced diet and getting appropriate amount of rest If these are things you can't do on your own or with the help of a close friend or relative, it is critical that you get professional help in this area. Contact the Veterans Administration and they can get you the right help to begin dealing with these issues. We will continue to look at more symptoms of P.T.S.D. next week. As I mentioned before, for war veterans, a great resource is the book, "Down Range...To Iraq and Back" by Bridget C. Cantrell and Chuck Dean. Even though the book deals with the Iraq War, it is relevant to the veterans of any war or military action. Also, a good resource is a video series called "The War Within", ...contact Day of Discovery, P.O. Box 2222, Grand Rapids, MI 49501-2222 or on the web at: www.rbc.org
Sunday, March 27, 2011
P.T.S.D.
Most of us don't have an anxiety attack when we we're driving and see a pop can or a dead animal by the side of the road. Most of us don't have the impulse to drive back and forth across lanes of traffic when we're going under a bridge. You might if you've served military duty in Iraq or Afghanistan and wached in horror as one of the vehicles in your convoy was exploded by and I.E.D. (Improvised Explosive Device).... or had someone try to drop a grenade on your vehicle when you were driving under a bridge. Symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Back before there was a proper clinical diagnosis, this post-war phenomenon was simply known as "Battle Fatigue", or "Shell Shock". Soldiers from all nations have suffered from PTSD after confronting the mayhem of war. PTSD occurs when any person, military or not, has been confronted with a traumatic event which involved actual or threatened death or serious physical injury to themselves or others. This is a point in their lives when they responded with intense fear, horror or helplessness. The most recent primary diagnostic criteria for PTSD falls into three groups and are summarized as follows: * Re-experiencing the trauma through nightmares, flashbacks and intrusive thoughts. * Numbing and avoidance of reminders of the trauma. (Avoidance of situations, thoughts and feelings, etc.) * Persistent increased arousal (sleep difficulties, irritability, anger outbursts, startled responses, etc.) Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can happen to anyone, even those not in a war zone. Examples might include, rape, a mugging, child abuse, etc. (Consider what the people of Japan are now enduring with the tsunami and the earthquake and nuclear plants).... Any "event" that leaves lasting scars on the memory. One of the men in our church group who has served three terms in Iraq (one as a civilian, still working for the army as a private contractor), recently told us of his own unique challenges since coming home and striving to return to a "normal" life. One of the symptoms he described since coming back from the war is his "hyper-alertness"... always on-guard, watch the people and his surroundings....always looking for the "attack" that could happen at any time. He shared with us that one time, his car was re-ended in an accident. It brought back a flashback of the convoy he was in while Iraq and how the enemy sought to "block in their vehicle" so that they were helpless to escape a fire-fight. Suddenly, just with the impact, as small as it was, to the rear of his vehicle, he found himself back in Iraq, getting ready to fight for his life. Below are the major symptoms of someone suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Some of them may reveal clues that you, or a loved-one, might be dealing with the results of PTSD. *Depression *Cynicism and mis-trust of government and authority *Anger *Alienation *Sleep disturbances *Poor Concentration *Tendency to react under stress with survival tactics *Psychic or emotional numbing *Negative self-image *Memory impairment *Emotional constriction *Hypersensitivity to justice *Loss of interest in work and activities *Problems with intimate relationships *Survivor guilt *Difficulty with authority figures *Hyper-alertness, Hyper-arousal *Avoidance of activities that arouse memories of trauma in war zone *Emotional distance from children, wife and others *Self-deceiving and self-punishing patterns of behavior, such as an inability to talk about war experiences, fear of losing others, and a tendency to fits of rage. *Suicidal feelings and thoughts *Flashbacks to dangers and combat *Fantasies of retaliation and destruction *High-risk employment and/or recreation Just by acknowledging some of the traits mentioned above can have healing effects for you and your loved-ones. If you or someone you know are exhibiting some of these behaviors you should consider addressing some of these problems in a timely manner. There is help available. For combat veterans I highly recommend the book, "Down Range" to Iraq and Back, written by Bridget C. Cantrell and Chuck Dean (WordSmith Publishing). We'll be looking at this issue further next week in my next Monday Morning Blog.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Green Beer and Snakes
I thought this title might stir some attention......:-)
St. Patrick's Day is approaching. Most folks think of partying....wearing green and drinking green beer. Like myself, most have never given much consideration to the story of St. Patrick. So.....here's a bit...
Patrick was a missionary to Ireland, and the only missionary to be honored with a global holiday, known for it's distinct color of green. Legend has it that he drove all the snakes out of Ireland. Historically this is inaccurate and most likely is simply a reference to Christianity unseating the Druid religion of the time, the Druids being the "snakes".
He was born in the year 373 A.D. in the country that is now "Scotland", the son of a church deacon and the grandson of a priest. As a teenager, his village was raided, his small village torched and Patrick was taken captive by ship to Ireland, where he was sold as a slave to a master who was a druid (a pagan religion). While in Ireland Patrick gave his heart to Jesus Christ. He wrote... "The Lord opened my mind up to awareness of my unbelief in order that I might remember my transgressions and turn with all my heart to the Lord my God".
Patrick eventually escaped from his Irish master and returned home to Scotland.
One night he had a dream and saw in his dream and Irishman calling out to him to come and evangelize Ireland. When Patrick was around 30 years old he returned to his country of captivity and began to preach the gospel. Multitudes turned out to listen to the message, and although he was violently opposed by the Druids, he became the most fruitful evangelist of all time, planting about 200 churches and baptizing 10,000 converts to Christianity.
Patrick's work endured, and centuries later the Irish Church was still producing hymns, prayers, sermons and songs of worship.
An unknown Irish poet wrote a prayer asking God to be His Vision, His Wisdom, and his Best Thought by day or night. In 1905, Mary Elizabeth Byrne, an Irish scholar, translated this poem into English. Later, another scholar, this one from England, crafted it further into verses with rhyme and meter. Eventually it was set to the music of a traditional Irish folk song, "Slane", named for an area where Patrick reportedly challenged the local Druids with the gospel.
Today it is one of the best known, most loved hymns ever written....
Be Thou My Vision
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart
Be naught all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best thought, by day or by night
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light
Be Thou My Wisdom and Thou my true Word
I ever with Thee and Thou with me Lord
Thou my great Father and I Thy true son
Thou in me dwelling and I with Thee one
Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise
Thou mine inheritance now and always
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart
High King of heaven, my treasure Thou art
High king of heaven my victory won
May I reach heaven's joys, bright heaven's sun
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all
St. Patrick's Day is approaching. Most folks think of partying....wearing green and drinking green beer. Like myself, most have never given much consideration to the story of St. Patrick. So.....here's a bit...
Patrick was a missionary to Ireland, and the only missionary to be honored with a global holiday, known for it's distinct color of green. Legend has it that he drove all the snakes out of Ireland. Historically this is inaccurate and most likely is simply a reference to Christianity unseating the Druid religion of the time, the Druids being the "snakes".
He was born in the year 373 A.D. in the country that is now "Scotland", the son of a church deacon and the grandson of a priest. As a teenager, his village was raided, his small village torched and Patrick was taken captive by ship to Ireland, where he was sold as a slave to a master who was a druid (a pagan religion). While in Ireland Patrick gave his heart to Jesus Christ. He wrote... "The Lord opened my mind up to awareness of my unbelief in order that I might remember my transgressions and turn with all my heart to the Lord my God".
Patrick eventually escaped from his Irish master and returned home to Scotland.
One night he had a dream and saw in his dream and Irishman calling out to him to come and evangelize Ireland. When Patrick was around 30 years old he returned to his country of captivity and began to preach the gospel. Multitudes turned out to listen to the message, and although he was violently opposed by the Druids, he became the most fruitful evangelist of all time, planting about 200 churches and baptizing 10,000 converts to Christianity.
Patrick's work endured, and centuries later the Irish Church was still producing hymns, prayers, sermons and songs of worship.
An unknown Irish poet wrote a prayer asking God to be His Vision, His Wisdom, and his Best Thought by day or night. In 1905, Mary Elizabeth Byrne, an Irish scholar, translated this poem into English. Later, another scholar, this one from England, crafted it further into verses with rhyme and meter. Eventually it was set to the music of a traditional Irish folk song, "Slane", named for an area where Patrick reportedly challenged the local Druids with the gospel.
Today it is one of the best known, most loved hymns ever written....
Be Thou My Vision
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart
Be naught all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best thought, by day or by night
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light
Be Thou My Wisdom and Thou my true Word
I ever with Thee and Thou with me Lord
Thou my great Father and I Thy true son
Thou in me dwelling and I with Thee one
Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise
Thou mine inheritance now and always
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart
High King of heaven, my treasure Thou art
High king of heaven my victory won
May I reach heaven's joys, bright heaven's sun
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all
Friday, March 4, 2011
Denial: It's Not A River In Egypt
Charlie Sheen is all over the news. I've watched a few interviews with him. I think, to a lot of people, they're entertaining. I guess they are...to a point. Then again, it's hard to watch a human being implode on national T.V.
When I first saw him I said to myself, "There's a textbook case of addiction and denial. He could be the poster-child for "denial" in the realm of addiction.
There's an old saying, "Denial isn't a river in Egypt".
Denial is a self-defense mechanism that addicts use to reflect any confrontation concerning their drug use or subsequent actions. If one doesn't "see" a problem, then, in their warped way of thinking, they don't have to do anything about it. Nothing has to actually change. "My life is just fine, thank you very much.... now.... butt out!"...
Addiction isn't "subjective". It's not based on how one feels. It's more "objective". It's observable. How has the life you are now living affected those around you? How does it affect your job?... Your children?... Your health?... Your circle of friends? (Assuming that not all your friends share in your addictive behaviors)..
In Mr. Sheen's case, his actions have definitely affected the lives of all the people who work on his television show, those whose jobs have been put in jeopardy by how he has chosen to act.
Another thing that I noticed was the "grandiose" way in which he speaks. He puts himself above all other people. He's "different" than us, the common folk. We couldn't "handle" having his superior brain in our bodies. He's not "terrestrial" like the rest of the human race.
One interviewer mentioned to him that some professionals in the health care field would label him "bipolar", meaning that he has wide mood swings, going from feeling ecstatic to being depressed. Often, addiction and mood disorder goes hand in hand. A person with a mood disorder will often "self medicate" to control the way they feel. Someone who is truly bipolar may use alcohol or pain pills to counter the effects of mania. Someone who is feeling depressed might turn to stimulants like cocaine or amphetamines. It's a constant battle over the emotions to try and "feel right". The disorder can definitely lead to drug abuse and addiction. As many as 60% of people with bipolar disorder have some sort of substance abuse problem that goes along with it. It's called a Dual Diagnosis. I don't know if that is what is going on with Charlie Sheen. Since he doesn't want any professional intervention, then only time will tell.
He mocked the interviewer who suggested he might be bipolar by saying, "So, if I'm bipolar shouldn't there be a time when I crash, when I'm crying, lying in the corner saying it's all my mom's fault? Shut up!"...
Just because his mood swing (if in fact, that's the case) hasn't run it's course, doesn't mean that, in the long-term, he won't find himself right there in that exact position. That takes the disorder into even more dangerous territory. Over-medicating (overdose), or suicide. Perhaps both...accidental suicide by taking too much of a substance. It has happened to quite a few famous folks. Marilyn Monroe is one who comes to mind.
Denial. That's the first hurdle to get over, and by far the hardest one. No one wants to see himself/herself as "different". (Apart from the grandiose feelings associated with mania).
The number one symptom of denial is the "denial" of it's existence. It causes everlasting blindness. It will fight viciously for it's own survival all the way to insanity, institutionalization and even death. Addiction welcomes the person who has vowed to "beat it by themselves". The last thing addiction wants is for others to join in the fight against it. I guess you could call denial a "river". It's the river that carries a person down to a watery grave.
I don't know how Charlie Sheen's story is going to play out. Only time will tell.
I was thinking about him the other night and I heard a still, small voice speaking to me. The voice said, "Why don't you pray for him?"
I thought that was good advice... So I did. I am. I hope you will too. It would be great to see him turn his life around and become a role-model for the power of God and the power of grace.
I believe it could happen.
When I first saw him I said to myself, "There's a textbook case of addiction and denial. He could be the poster-child for "denial" in the realm of addiction.
There's an old saying, "Denial isn't a river in Egypt".
Denial is a self-defense mechanism that addicts use to reflect any confrontation concerning their drug use or subsequent actions. If one doesn't "see" a problem, then, in their warped way of thinking, they don't have to do anything about it. Nothing has to actually change. "My life is just fine, thank you very much.... now.... butt out!"...
Addiction isn't "subjective". It's not based on how one feels. It's more "objective". It's observable. How has the life you are now living affected those around you? How does it affect your job?... Your children?... Your health?... Your circle of friends? (Assuming that not all your friends share in your addictive behaviors)..
In Mr. Sheen's case, his actions have definitely affected the lives of all the people who work on his television show, those whose jobs have been put in jeopardy by how he has chosen to act.
Another thing that I noticed was the "grandiose" way in which he speaks. He puts himself above all other people. He's "different" than us, the common folk. We couldn't "handle" having his superior brain in our bodies. He's not "terrestrial" like the rest of the human race.
One interviewer mentioned to him that some professionals in the health care field would label him "bipolar", meaning that he has wide mood swings, going from feeling ecstatic to being depressed. Often, addiction and mood disorder goes hand in hand. A person with a mood disorder will often "self medicate" to control the way they feel. Someone who is truly bipolar may use alcohol or pain pills to counter the effects of mania. Someone who is feeling depressed might turn to stimulants like cocaine or amphetamines. It's a constant battle over the emotions to try and "feel right". The disorder can definitely lead to drug abuse and addiction. As many as 60% of people with bipolar disorder have some sort of substance abuse problem that goes along with it. It's called a Dual Diagnosis. I don't know if that is what is going on with Charlie Sheen. Since he doesn't want any professional intervention, then only time will tell.
He mocked the interviewer who suggested he might be bipolar by saying, "So, if I'm bipolar shouldn't there be a time when I crash, when I'm crying, lying in the corner saying it's all my mom's fault? Shut up!"...
Just because his mood swing (if in fact, that's the case) hasn't run it's course, doesn't mean that, in the long-term, he won't find himself right there in that exact position. That takes the disorder into even more dangerous territory. Over-medicating (overdose), or suicide. Perhaps both...accidental suicide by taking too much of a substance. It has happened to quite a few famous folks. Marilyn Monroe is one who comes to mind.
Denial. That's the first hurdle to get over, and by far the hardest one. No one wants to see himself/herself as "different". (Apart from the grandiose feelings associated with mania).
The number one symptom of denial is the "denial" of it's existence. It causes everlasting blindness. It will fight viciously for it's own survival all the way to insanity, institutionalization and even death. Addiction welcomes the person who has vowed to "beat it by themselves". The last thing addiction wants is for others to join in the fight against it. I guess you could call denial a "river". It's the river that carries a person down to a watery grave.
I don't know how Charlie Sheen's story is going to play out. Only time will tell.
I was thinking about him the other night and I heard a still, small voice speaking to me. The voice said, "Why don't you pray for him?"
I thought that was good advice... So I did. I am. I hope you will too. It would be great to see him turn his life around and become a role-model for the power of God and the power of grace.
I believe it could happen.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Keeping Your Eye On The Ball
I started writing this blog in November, 2010. My "New Years" resolution was to write this blog and expound upon issues that dealt with life, love and addiction. One year. Well, I kept it up now for about 15 months and I've gotten some good feedback from folks, which I appreciate.
I started the blog to promote my new CD, "12 Steps And A Winding Road"... and also, to try and "make a difference" in someone else's life. I hope I have succeeded, at least to a small degree.
My first blog was called, "Barn Building". It was inspired by something my son Nate told me about the Amish and how, whenever adversity strikes in the community, or if they simply need it, they get together and work together to make a positive difference. A lot of the time they get together to "build a barn" for someone in the community. Nate told me that he was taking a year of barn-building,... just making himself available to anyone who needed a hand, if he was able to do it. I thought that was pretty admirable. It motivated me to try and do the same thing with my music.
So, this past year I've sort of "put myself out there", making myself available to people, especially as far as my music ministry goes. I've had some good response, but I must admit, for the most part, as I mentioned in a previous blog, I've also had a lot of doors that simply didn't open. Am I disillusioned? Yea, I am somewhat. But, I made a commitment to at least try, and I'm still as willing as ever to be of service.
I wrote a blog called, "The One Thing Rule", about having one thing that you make a commitment to accomplish. That "one thing" might be accomplished in a day, or a week, or a month, or even a year.... but, it is something that you keep on your radar and try to do. If it's a year then you have to handle it in bite-size chunks so it doesn't overwhelm you. That's the way it was the year I recorded the 12-Steps CD.... a bit here and a bit there until I finally got it done.
This year my goal is to get rid of "stuff" in my life that doesn't need to be there. The baggage that somehow all of us acquire that sort of "weighs down" our lives. I want to live a bit more "clutter free".
Do you know what your "baggage" is? Most of the time it's simply "stuff", but, it might even be a relationship with someone who is dragging you down. People can do that. Addicts are told that they need "new playmates" and a "new playground". This is important if they are to achieve any success at sobriety. But, even if you don't consider yourself an "addict", there might be the possibility that, at least in some regard, you might want to consider changing playmates or playgrounds, just for the sake of good health or sanity. This doesn't mean necessarily that you desert your friend(s) altogether. It might simply mean that you need to distance yourself from a particular relationship that is hindering your physical or mental health. Something to think about anyway.
So,... whatever it is that you are trying to accomplish, whether it's building a barn, keeping sobriety, setting any particular goal,.. it's good to remember to keep your eye on the ball....so it doesn't knock you in the head...
If you know of someone who might be interested in my 12-Step music CD, I have made it available on Ebay and plan to keep it on there as long as it seems feasible to do so. You can go to ebay and simply type in the words: 12 Steps And A Winding Road
Thanks again for all your good comments over the year. You've been an encouragement to me.
I may change things up a bit and, though not altogether stopping the blog, I may just limit it to times when I think I have something useful to say and not simply put it out there every week.
If you have some suggestions I'd love to hear them....
I started the blog to promote my new CD, "12 Steps And A Winding Road"... and also, to try and "make a difference" in someone else's life. I hope I have succeeded, at least to a small degree.
My first blog was called, "Barn Building". It was inspired by something my son Nate told me about the Amish and how, whenever adversity strikes in the community, or if they simply need it, they get together and work together to make a positive difference. A lot of the time they get together to "build a barn" for someone in the community. Nate told me that he was taking a year of barn-building,... just making himself available to anyone who needed a hand, if he was able to do it. I thought that was pretty admirable. It motivated me to try and do the same thing with my music.
So, this past year I've sort of "put myself out there", making myself available to people, especially as far as my music ministry goes. I've had some good response, but I must admit, for the most part, as I mentioned in a previous blog, I've also had a lot of doors that simply didn't open. Am I disillusioned? Yea, I am somewhat. But, I made a commitment to at least try, and I'm still as willing as ever to be of service.
I wrote a blog called, "The One Thing Rule", about having one thing that you make a commitment to accomplish. That "one thing" might be accomplished in a day, or a week, or a month, or even a year.... but, it is something that you keep on your radar and try to do. If it's a year then you have to handle it in bite-size chunks so it doesn't overwhelm you. That's the way it was the year I recorded the 12-Steps CD.... a bit here and a bit there until I finally got it done.
This year my goal is to get rid of "stuff" in my life that doesn't need to be there. The baggage that somehow all of us acquire that sort of "weighs down" our lives. I want to live a bit more "clutter free".
Do you know what your "baggage" is? Most of the time it's simply "stuff", but, it might even be a relationship with someone who is dragging you down. People can do that. Addicts are told that they need "new playmates" and a "new playground". This is important if they are to achieve any success at sobriety. But, even if you don't consider yourself an "addict", there might be the possibility that, at least in some regard, you might want to consider changing playmates or playgrounds, just for the sake of good health or sanity. This doesn't mean necessarily that you desert your friend(s) altogether. It might simply mean that you need to distance yourself from a particular relationship that is hindering your physical or mental health. Something to think about anyway.
So,... whatever it is that you are trying to accomplish, whether it's building a barn, keeping sobriety, setting any particular goal,.. it's good to remember to keep your eye on the ball....so it doesn't knock you in the head...
If you know of someone who might be interested in my 12-Step music CD, I have made it available on Ebay and plan to keep it on there as long as it seems feasible to do so. You can go to ebay and simply type in the words: 12 Steps And A Winding Road
Thanks again for all your good comments over the year. You've been an encouragement to me.
I may change things up a bit and, though not altogether stopping the blog, I may just limit it to times when I think I have something useful to say and not simply put it out there every week.
If you have some suggestions I'd love to hear them....
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Easily Offended?
Offend...Defined as:
"To affront, hurt the feelings of someone; to arouse feelings of disgust in; to act contrary to law, moral principal etc; to cause resentment. (Websters)
"A brother (or sister) offended is harder to win than a strong city, and contentions are like the bars of a castle".... Proverbs 18:19
I think I offended someone recently.
I got an email from one of my readers telling me to "take me off your list" for 12stepsandawindingroad.
My immediate reaction was, "Well... fine then... done!".... And I simply deleted their name.
A few days later, as I thought about it a bit more, I wish I would have handled it differently. I wish I would have gotten in touch with this person and asked them exactly what I had said in my blog that offended them. I thought the particular blog that weekend had been pretty innocuous, nothing controversial about it at all (I thought). But, there must have been that one line or two that they read which somehow triggered this reaction.
It's easy to offend someone, even when it's not our intention to do so. There have been cases where I have purposely offended someone just because I didn't like them or their position on a subject and I really didn't care whether they were offended or not. I'm not proud of it, ... I think it's just part of the human (fallen) condition.
A few years ago I had a casual business relationship with a company I did a small amount of work for. One day, the business owner was dealing with a customer in a particularly unhelpful way. I thought I was going to be "helpful" and so I told the business owner that there might have been a better way to handle the situation. Bad move. I offended him. His only thought was that I was trying to tell him how to run his business. I thought of it only as a suggestion,... he took it as a hostile takeover.
A couple of days later I called him and apologized for interfering. His response?... "Yea,.. O.K."... And he never called me again to do any work for him. So, obviously, as King Solomon said in Proverbs 18.... The bars to the castle were locked and in place. There was no winning this person's favor.
The longer I travel down this road of life I see how easily our words, and especially, our motives, can be misconstrued. Even though we may mean well when we say certain things, most of the time trying to be helpful and offer what we consider "constructive criticism", we end up simply offending the other person. Sometimes it seems like life is like walking a tightrope across a great chasm... one small slip and it's, as the old saying goes,... all over but the shouting.
I'm sorry that I offended this particular reader with something I said in a blog. I really wish I had pursued it and found out exactly what it was. Perhaps I could have explained things better, or at least had a dialogue.
I guess when one says more than most about life, love and addiction issues, there are going to be some points of contention. I just hope that next time the person writes me a personal note and we can discuss it in an open, honest fashion. I can always be reached at this email address: coloringmoses@yahoo.com
I hope this email address doesn't offend anyone;.... you know... coloring "Moses".
(Could I be belittling a beloved Bible Character?)....
One never knows ....unless they ask.....
"To affront, hurt the feelings of someone; to arouse feelings of disgust in; to act contrary to law, moral principal etc; to cause resentment. (Websters)
"A brother (or sister) offended is harder to win than a strong city, and contentions are like the bars of a castle".... Proverbs 18:19
I think I offended someone recently.
I got an email from one of my readers telling me to "take me off your list" for 12stepsandawindingroad.
My immediate reaction was, "Well... fine then... done!".... And I simply deleted their name.
A few days later, as I thought about it a bit more, I wish I would have handled it differently. I wish I would have gotten in touch with this person and asked them exactly what I had said in my blog that offended them. I thought the particular blog that weekend had been pretty innocuous, nothing controversial about it at all (I thought). But, there must have been that one line or two that they read which somehow triggered this reaction.
It's easy to offend someone, even when it's not our intention to do so. There have been cases where I have purposely offended someone just because I didn't like them or their position on a subject and I really didn't care whether they were offended or not. I'm not proud of it, ... I think it's just part of the human (fallen) condition.
A few years ago I had a casual business relationship with a company I did a small amount of work for. One day, the business owner was dealing with a customer in a particularly unhelpful way. I thought I was going to be "helpful" and so I told the business owner that there might have been a better way to handle the situation. Bad move. I offended him. His only thought was that I was trying to tell him how to run his business. I thought of it only as a suggestion,... he took it as a hostile takeover.
A couple of days later I called him and apologized for interfering. His response?... "Yea,.. O.K."... And he never called me again to do any work for him. So, obviously, as King Solomon said in Proverbs 18.... The bars to the castle were locked and in place. There was no winning this person's favor.
The longer I travel down this road of life I see how easily our words, and especially, our motives, can be misconstrued. Even though we may mean well when we say certain things, most of the time trying to be helpful and offer what we consider "constructive criticism", we end up simply offending the other person. Sometimes it seems like life is like walking a tightrope across a great chasm... one small slip and it's, as the old saying goes,... all over but the shouting.
I'm sorry that I offended this particular reader with something I said in a blog. I really wish I had pursued it and found out exactly what it was. Perhaps I could have explained things better, or at least had a dialogue.
I guess when one says more than most about life, love and addiction issues, there are going to be some points of contention. I just hope that next time the person writes me a personal note and we can discuss it in an open, honest fashion. I can always be reached at this email address: coloringmoses@yahoo.com
I hope this email address doesn't offend anyone;.... you know... coloring "Moses".
(Could I be belittling a beloved Bible Character?)....
One never knows ....unless they ask.....
Monday, February 7, 2011
STUFF
Stuff...(stuff)..stack it on, stack it on up
Stuff...never gonna ever get enough stuff
Oh it's treasure til' it's mine then it ain't worth a dime
It's stuff (stuff) spreading like weeds
Dragging me under in an endless seas of stuff
(Stuff) There ain't no end
Got to get a bigger place so I can move in...
More stuff...
From the song: "Stuff" by Diamond Rio
People love collecting things.
One of my favorite television shows is called, "American Pickers". It is a show about two guys who travel the country looking through old barns and building where people have spent a lifetime collecing "treasure".... old toys and cars and signs and some really crazy stuff. It's interesting to see all the stuff that people accumulate over a lifetime. The "pickers" try to buy the various items so they can re-sell the stuff at their own flea-market type of store....
It seems most of the collectors are older guys and gals, coming to the end of their lives, so they are ready to part with some of their things. Some of their things,... not all.. just "some". It's still amazing to me the stuff they just can't let go of.
I remember when Beanie Babies were the big "collectible". Folks were trading them, buying them, making showcases for them in their homes. They were all over the place,.. and they weren't, as I recall,.... cheap.
Now you can go into about any thrift store and find them. Pitiful little things,...lambs and frogs and squirrels and bunnies and lobsters. Once dearly treasured and loved,.. now abandoned by their owners on the ash-heap of history.
Then there was the big baseball card bonanza. I particularly remember that one because my kids were at the age when they just "had" to have that Jose Conseco rookie card. The one that sold for about 70 bucks. I think it's now worth about a nickel, especially since that game where Jose tried to catch the outfield fly with the top of his head. And Mark McGwire. Well,... his card used to be on steroids. Now it's just a skinny little cardboard reminder of the once heralded superstar.
Stuff....
I collect (collected).... record albums. You probably remember the old, black vinyl records with all the cool artwork and inserts.... and clicks and pops and "white noise".... being "spun"on the old turntables. I still love the smell of the old vinyl records, and, occasionally will rummage through an old stack at a garage sale, searching for that elusive "Butcher Cover" album. (Google it, young'uns).
Stuff....
As I've gotten older I've had to take a serious look at the time I spend on this planet. It's gotten a lot shorter,... and, I hope I've learned to value it a bit more than I have in the past.
I am finding that I no longer have the desire to collect "stuff".
I can just picture my kids or grandkids sitting around sifting through my "stuff" after I'm gone. They're saying things like.... "What is all this junk!"... "What in the world is THIS thing?....and why did dad keep holding onto it?"....
And finally.... "Hey, can you grab another trash-bag? I've gotten these three filled up already?"...
Stuff.....
It's sort of an indication of the human condition. We're always trying to fill our lives with "something" that hopefully will give lives some meaning. I think it's our attempt to fill this God-sized hole in our souls.
Whether it's Beanie Babies, old records, baseball cards, cars, old clocks, old lunch-boxes (the list is endless),.... or the next "big thing", whatever it may be, I think it helps to take a step back and look at our lives and what we're doing with our time and talents.
One reason I started writing this blog is to share some of my feelings about life, love, and addiction issues. It's sort of my way of "journaling". When I write about these things, in a lot of ways (most ways), I'm simply preaching to myself or venting, and trying to fumble my way down this road of life the best I know how. I don't want "stuff" to get in the way, as it usually has a way of doing. I want to get the "junk" out of my life so I can move about more freely, have more time to give back a bit of the God-given life that I've been blessed with.
I don't want my grandkids filling up trashbags and thinking....that's my life.
Stuff..... How much of it do we need....really?
Stuff...never gonna ever get enough stuff
Oh it's treasure til' it's mine then it ain't worth a dime
It's stuff (stuff) spreading like weeds
Dragging me under in an endless seas of stuff
(Stuff) There ain't no end
Got to get a bigger place so I can move in...
More stuff...
From the song: "Stuff" by Diamond Rio
People love collecting things.
One of my favorite television shows is called, "American Pickers". It is a show about two guys who travel the country looking through old barns and building where people have spent a lifetime collecing "treasure".... old toys and cars and signs and some really crazy stuff. It's interesting to see all the stuff that people accumulate over a lifetime. The "pickers" try to buy the various items so they can re-sell the stuff at their own flea-market type of store....
It seems most of the collectors are older guys and gals, coming to the end of their lives, so they are ready to part with some of their things. Some of their things,... not all.. just "some". It's still amazing to me the stuff they just can't let go of.
I remember when Beanie Babies were the big "collectible". Folks were trading them, buying them, making showcases for them in their homes. They were all over the place,.. and they weren't, as I recall,.... cheap.
Now you can go into about any thrift store and find them. Pitiful little things,...lambs and frogs and squirrels and bunnies and lobsters. Once dearly treasured and loved,.. now abandoned by their owners on the ash-heap of history.
Then there was the big baseball card bonanza. I particularly remember that one because my kids were at the age when they just "had" to have that Jose Conseco rookie card. The one that sold for about 70 bucks. I think it's now worth about a nickel, especially since that game where Jose tried to catch the outfield fly with the top of his head. And Mark McGwire. Well,... his card used to be on steroids. Now it's just a skinny little cardboard reminder of the once heralded superstar.
Stuff....
I collect (collected).... record albums. You probably remember the old, black vinyl records with all the cool artwork and inserts.... and clicks and pops and "white noise".... being "spun"on the old turntables. I still love the smell of the old vinyl records, and, occasionally will rummage through an old stack at a garage sale, searching for that elusive "Butcher Cover" album. (Google it, young'uns).
Stuff....
As I've gotten older I've had to take a serious look at the time I spend on this planet. It's gotten a lot shorter,... and, I hope I've learned to value it a bit more than I have in the past.
I am finding that I no longer have the desire to collect "stuff".
I can just picture my kids or grandkids sitting around sifting through my "stuff" after I'm gone. They're saying things like.... "What is all this junk!"... "What in the world is THIS thing?....and why did dad keep holding onto it?"....
And finally.... "Hey, can you grab another trash-bag? I've gotten these three filled up already?"...
Stuff.....
It's sort of an indication of the human condition. We're always trying to fill our lives with "something" that hopefully will give lives some meaning. I think it's our attempt to fill this God-sized hole in our souls.
Whether it's Beanie Babies, old records, baseball cards, cars, old clocks, old lunch-boxes (the list is endless),.... or the next "big thing", whatever it may be, I think it helps to take a step back and look at our lives and what we're doing with our time and talents.
One reason I started writing this blog is to share some of my feelings about life, love, and addiction issues. It's sort of my way of "journaling". When I write about these things, in a lot of ways (most ways), I'm simply preaching to myself or venting, and trying to fumble my way down this road of life the best I know how. I don't want "stuff" to get in the way, as it usually has a way of doing. I want to get the "junk" out of my life so I can move about more freely, have more time to give back a bit of the God-given life that I've been blessed with.
I don't want my grandkids filling up trashbags and thinking....that's my life.
Stuff..... How much of it do we need....really?
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Well, Aren't You Special?
If you were to go back ten generations, or 250 years, which is just a blip on the historical time clock, the chance of "you" being born at all is:
1 in 6,000,000,000,000,000,000,00000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000..!!!
That's 6 with one hundred zeros behind it.... (6x10 to the 100th power)....
That's just if you go back a short 250 years.
If you are reading this you've already beaten the odds of being born... which are basically so astronomical that you could simply say.... "zilch"....
But, that's a bit overestimated. These figures simply follow the "father's" contribution to the person you are. They don't take into consideration:
Your mother's contribution....
The men and women who died in war, famine, disease or without offspring... in some generations, 50% of humanity....
men and women who died of natural causes.....
Children who died before reaching reproduction age....
Fetuses and fertilized eggs that died and were naturally aborted....
Remember that particular distant relative of yours who was killed during the Revolutionary War?...Of course you don't. Besides, he DIDN'T get killed. If he HAD been killed, you wouldn't be reading this today.
An average man, age 25 to 30 years old, produces 300 million sperm per day. (Is this the part of the story where you send your children into the other room?).....
An average man, age 30 to 50 years old produces 230 million sperm per day. (Did I mention this was per "day"?)....
Age 50 to 75... 50 million per day. (sorry, old guys... that's life)...Still, 50 MILLION is nothing to sneeze at!)....
Only 1% of all sperm produced have the chance of possibly fertilizing a woman's egg, if they ever arrive at their destination at all...(99% have already dropped out of the race).
Since the average man will have 2 to 3 surviving offspring, (keeping "Octomom" out of the equation).... the fraction of one male sperm (at one given moment in history), resulting in the birth of another human being (that would be "you').. is 1 in ten trillion.
If you consider almost any time in the past and try to calculate the probability of "you" coming into being, even going back just 2 generations, your possibility of existence is so low that it is almost not worth thinking about.
So... why are you thinking about it?... Perhaps because you're reading this blog at a certain date, at a certain time in history, in a particular country, in a particular part of the country, in a particular city, from a particular family.... and you, really, ...given the odds,... shouldn't be.
Now... to get the the point of all of this....
When you wake up every morning, just remember, that you've already beaten astronomical odds just for the opportunity to open your eyes, to take a breath, to live, to pursue a career, to fall in love, to have children... to use your unique opportunity to either be selfish... or self-less. You can run rough-shod over the the amazing grace of God and walk all over other people, ... or you can use the opportunity to serve and really make a difference in someone else's life; Someone who has also beaten the odds of showing up in your life at some point.
So, ... go and hug your wife,... your kids... your husband... your friends... maybe even have a kind word to say to a co-worker.... maybe someone you don't even really like.
They are all special. You're special. Let's try to make the most of what we've been given. If you are reading this, the odds are, .. miraculously... in your (our) favor today...
1 in 6,000,000,000,000,000,000,00000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000..!!!
That's 6 with one hundred zeros behind it.... (6x10 to the 100th power)....
That's just if you go back a short 250 years.
If you are reading this you've already beaten the odds of being born... which are basically so astronomical that you could simply say.... "zilch"....
But, that's a bit overestimated. These figures simply follow the "father's" contribution to the person you are. They don't take into consideration:
Your mother's contribution....
The men and women who died in war, famine, disease or without offspring... in some generations, 50% of humanity....
men and women who died of natural causes.....
Children who died before reaching reproduction age....
Fetuses and fertilized eggs that died and were naturally aborted....
Remember that particular distant relative of yours who was killed during the Revolutionary War?...Of course you don't. Besides, he DIDN'T get killed. If he HAD been killed, you wouldn't be reading this today.
An average man, age 25 to 30 years old, produces 300 million sperm per day. (Is this the part of the story where you send your children into the other room?).....
An average man, age 30 to 50 years old produces 230 million sperm per day. (Did I mention this was per "day"?)....
Age 50 to 75... 50 million per day. (sorry, old guys... that's life)...Still, 50 MILLION is nothing to sneeze at!)....
Only 1% of all sperm produced have the chance of possibly fertilizing a woman's egg, if they ever arrive at their destination at all...(99% have already dropped out of the race).
Since the average man will have 2 to 3 surviving offspring, (keeping "Octomom" out of the equation).... the fraction of one male sperm (at one given moment in history), resulting in the birth of another human being (that would be "you').. is 1 in ten trillion.
If you consider almost any time in the past and try to calculate the probability of "you" coming into being, even going back just 2 generations, your possibility of existence is so low that it is almost not worth thinking about.
So... why are you thinking about it?... Perhaps because you're reading this blog at a certain date, at a certain time in history, in a particular country, in a particular part of the country, in a particular city, from a particular family.... and you, really, ...given the odds,... shouldn't be.
Now... to get the the point of all of this....
When you wake up every morning, just remember, that you've already beaten astronomical odds just for the opportunity to open your eyes, to take a breath, to live, to pursue a career, to fall in love, to have children... to use your unique opportunity to either be selfish... or self-less. You can run rough-shod over the the amazing grace of God and walk all over other people, ... or you can use the opportunity to serve and really make a difference in someone else's life; Someone who has also beaten the odds of showing up in your life at some point.
So, ... go and hug your wife,... your kids... your husband... your friends... maybe even have a kind word to say to a co-worker.... maybe someone you don't even really like.
They are all special. You're special. Let's try to make the most of what we've been given. If you are reading this, the odds are, .. miraculously... in your (our) favor today...
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Choices
I've had choices...Since the day I was born...There were voices...That told me right from wrong...If I had listened...No, I wouldn't be here today... Living and dying with the choices I've made...
I was tempted...by an early age I found... I liked drinkin'...Oh, and I never turned it down...There were loved-ones...But I turned them all away...Now I'm living and dying with the choices I've made...
I guess I'm payin'.... For the things that I have done...If I could go back..Oh, Lord knows I'd run...But I'm still losin'...This game of life I play... Living and dying with the choices I've made....
George Jones (from the song: "Choices")
Choices....
They built a new Dunkin' Donuts close to my work. I love Dunkin' Donuts!... They built it right across the parking lot from "24-Hour Fitness".... I call that,....irony. I usually stop at the big double D at least once a week and get my favorite,... the Toasted Coconut Cake Donut. And, every time, I look across the parking lot and see the Fitness place and feel this twinge (not a big twinge)... but a "twinge" of guilt. I could "choose" to be part of the 24-Hour Fitness brigade rather than the Dunkin' Brigade. The fact that the donut is less than a buck and the fitness club is $300 a MONTH might have something to do with my choosing to pursue the path of fattiness (not to mention pursuit of "donut happiness".... rather than being the ideal physical specimen. (Though I have seen some going out the door of 24-Hour who could use a good dose of donut here and there)....
Choices....
I read somewhere that life is just a series of choices. Hopefully, we make some good ones. A lot of the times we do not, we choose things that take us down the wrong path. Just like George Jones, sometimes we choose things that set-in to ruin our lives... drugs, alcohol, etc. ...
Nobody I know sets out to be an addict. I've never seen a little kid tell his parents, "When I grow up I want to be a stoned-out drug addict... or maybe a drunk.... and, by the way mom an dad,... can I borrow a few dollars to get started?"
Choices....
The hardest part about being a counselor is convincing someone that, as long as they're still breathing, they are able to make choices. The choice doesn't have to be "put the bottle down and walk away and never pick it up again." The choice is a lot simpler. Hard, but simpler. You have the choice to start making small decisions that will, eventually, lead to freedom.
Small choices: Admit powerlessness. Accept good counsel. Get into fellowship with fellow travelers (like A.A or N.A.).... Attend meetings. Begin to take small steps. Get a sponsor. Begin learning to "trust" someone. Be open. Be honest..... be "willing"....
Choices....
Even if we've made some very bad choices in life, there is a God of grace who is willing to meet us,...redeem us,... set us on a good path....
An old friend of mine made one bad choice which caused him to become a quadriplegic for life.
I dare say that most people would have let that bad choice become a black cloud of depression for life. But, ...this remarkable man went on to make some really good choices. He made some very good friends, .... he pursued art. He was a painter and he painstakingly created some beautiful watercolor paintings. He had art exhibits. He went back to school and got an art degree. Helped others to see beauty in art and nature. This was a man I seldom saw who didn't have a smile on his face or an encouraging word to say. He never lost his faith in the mercy and goodness of his God. An amazing man.
Choices....
"Living and dying by the choices me make".... small ones, ....big ones,... daily choices...
Sometimes it's just Donuts Vs. Carrots.....
I was tempted...by an early age I found... I liked drinkin'...Oh, and I never turned it down...There were loved-ones...But I turned them all away...Now I'm living and dying with the choices I've made...
I guess I'm payin'.... For the things that I have done...If I could go back..Oh, Lord knows I'd run...But I'm still losin'...This game of life I play... Living and dying with the choices I've made....
George Jones (from the song: "Choices")
Choices....
They built a new Dunkin' Donuts close to my work. I love Dunkin' Donuts!... They built it right across the parking lot from "24-Hour Fitness".... I call that,....irony. I usually stop at the big double D at least once a week and get my favorite,... the Toasted Coconut Cake Donut. And, every time, I look across the parking lot and see the Fitness place and feel this twinge (not a big twinge)... but a "twinge" of guilt. I could "choose" to be part of the 24-Hour Fitness brigade rather than the Dunkin' Brigade. The fact that the donut is less than a buck and the fitness club is $300 a MONTH might have something to do with my choosing to pursue the path of fattiness (not to mention pursuit of "donut happiness".... rather than being the ideal physical specimen. (Though I have seen some going out the door of 24-Hour who could use a good dose of donut here and there)....
Choices....
I read somewhere that life is just a series of choices. Hopefully, we make some good ones. A lot of the times we do not, we choose things that take us down the wrong path. Just like George Jones, sometimes we choose things that set-in to ruin our lives... drugs, alcohol, etc. ...
Nobody I know sets out to be an addict. I've never seen a little kid tell his parents, "When I grow up I want to be a stoned-out drug addict... or maybe a drunk.... and, by the way mom an dad,... can I borrow a few dollars to get started?"
Choices....
The hardest part about being a counselor is convincing someone that, as long as they're still breathing, they are able to make choices. The choice doesn't have to be "put the bottle down and walk away and never pick it up again." The choice is a lot simpler. Hard, but simpler. You have the choice to start making small decisions that will, eventually, lead to freedom.
Small choices: Admit powerlessness. Accept good counsel. Get into fellowship with fellow travelers (like A.A or N.A.).... Attend meetings. Begin to take small steps. Get a sponsor. Begin learning to "trust" someone. Be open. Be honest..... be "willing"....
Choices....
Even if we've made some very bad choices in life, there is a God of grace who is willing to meet us,...redeem us,... set us on a good path....
An old friend of mine made one bad choice which caused him to become a quadriplegic for life.
I dare say that most people would have let that bad choice become a black cloud of depression for life. But, ...this remarkable man went on to make some really good choices. He made some very good friends, .... he pursued art. He was a painter and he painstakingly created some beautiful watercolor paintings. He had art exhibits. He went back to school and got an art degree. Helped others to see beauty in art and nature. This was a man I seldom saw who didn't have a smile on his face or an encouraging word to say. He never lost his faith in the mercy and goodness of his God. An amazing man.
Choices....
"Living and dying by the choices me make".... small ones, ....big ones,... daily choices...
Sometimes it's just Donuts Vs. Carrots.....
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Windshield Wipers
Robert Kearns changed my life.....
And.... your life....
Back in the 1950's Robert Kearns got a brilliant idea one day when he was driving through a rainstorm. He kept having to stop and start his windshield wipers as the rain came down either heavier or tapered off to almost nothing. His idea?... Why not invent a windshield wiper that you could control to come on "intermittently"... constant in a downpour but perhaps just once every few seconds when there was only a light rain or mist?...
So... he did. He called it The Blinking Eye Windshield Wiper. Since Robert was an inventor at heart it didn't take him long to get the electronics just right...and installed on his own car.
The next step?... Take it to FORD MOTOR CO...... And he did.
They were impressed. They wanted to know how it worked... but, Robert wouldn't show them. He simply wanted them to buy his invention and give him a small cut for every one they sold.
They told him they would think about it. And they thought about it.... and thought about it.
Robert waited, but never heard back from FORD. But, about a year later Ford came out with the brand new Mustang, ... and, lo and behold,... one big selling feature of the new Mustang... the brand-new "Intermittent Windshield Wiper!"
Robert was crushed.....and he was mad. They had stolen his idea.
So... Robert hired himself a lawyer and started to pursue a lawsuit against The Ford Motor Company. The law firm he hired was really good. They filed a lawsuit and soon they got a really good response from Ford. Ford offered to settle for 250,000 dollars. Remember, this was in the early 60's. That was a lot of money back then. (I wouldn't mind someone offering me that kind of money today)....
But, Robert balked. He said it wasn't enough. His pride was at stake and he wasn't about to sell out for such a low figure. The law firm he hired was furious that he wouldn't take the deal.
So,.. Robert fired the law firm and started a long, solo battle against Ford Motors. He started studying up on law suits, spent hours pouring through law books at the library. Robert became obsessed with his invention and in wanting to get notoriety for his wonderful invention. He filed legal briefs and began the process to take Ford to court.
One day he got a surprise visitor..... a representative from one of Fords lawyers. Ford didn't want to fight anymore. The visitor told Robert that Ford wanted to give him 1,000,000 dollars to settle out of court. One MILLION dollars!.....
Robert told him to get out!....
Robert was determined that his pride was at stake and it was no longer about the money. He was insulted that Ford has stolen his idea, .... his baby.... the Blinking Eye...
So the lawsuit continued....
And years passed....
And he was so obsessed with justice that he neglected his family.
His wife divorced him.
His children grew-up without him around. They became teenagers. They became young adults.
Robert pursued the lawsuit.
Finally, after so many years of wrangling, a court-date was set...the court was ready to rule on his case.
Ford balked again. They approached Robert one last time. They offered to settle out-of-court for 30,000,000..... 30 MILLION dollars!.....
Robert told them no. He was ready to do battle in court. He was ready to get credit for his invention.
The case was heard, the evidence was presented.... and, lo and behold.... Robert won!...
Robert won..... 10,000,000 dollars...10 MILLION dollars..... 20 million than Ford had offered to settle the suit for.
But Robert was happy. He had won. He had salvaged his pride. The world would know that HE invented the Intermittent Windshield Wiper.
Did YOU know that Robert Kearns invented the Intermittent Windshield Wiper?
Nope?..... Well... me neither. Neither has 99.99999999% of the world's population. Nobody cares, really. Only Robert cared.
He cared so much that he sacrificed his life with his wife and children. Now he was rich.... and alone....
I don't know if Robert ever figured out that there is actually a moral to his story.
Sometimes "pride" can become an addiction... it can become just as obsessive as heroin, or alcohol,...or sex.... or (fill in the blank)....
Addiction is often described as an "obsession".
All of us have to be on our guard against anything that becomes such an obsession that we're willing to lose everything that really matters in order to obtains something, that in the long run, doesn't really matter that much.
Pride.
Robert died a rich man.
OR..... did he.....?
You decide....
And.... your life....
Back in the 1950's Robert Kearns got a brilliant idea one day when he was driving through a rainstorm. He kept having to stop and start his windshield wipers as the rain came down either heavier or tapered off to almost nothing. His idea?... Why not invent a windshield wiper that you could control to come on "intermittently"... constant in a downpour but perhaps just once every few seconds when there was only a light rain or mist?...
So... he did. He called it The Blinking Eye Windshield Wiper. Since Robert was an inventor at heart it didn't take him long to get the electronics just right...and installed on his own car.
The next step?... Take it to FORD MOTOR CO...... And he did.
They were impressed. They wanted to know how it worked... but, Robert wouldn't show them. He simply wanted them to buy his invention and give him a small cut for every one they sold.
They told him they would think about it. And they thought about it.... and thought about it.
Robert waited, but never heard back from FORD. But, about a year later Ford came out with the brand new Mustang, ... and, lo and behold,... one big selling feature of the new Mustang... the brand-new "Intermittent Windshield Wiper!"
Robert was crushed.....and he was mad. They had stolen his idea.
So... Robert hired himself a lawyer and started to pursue a lawsuit against The Ford Motor Company. The law firm he hired was really good. They filed a lawsuit and soon they got a really good response from Ford. Ford offered to settle for 250,000 dollars. Remember, this was in the early 60's. That was a lot of money back then. (I wouldn't mind someone offering me that kind of money today)....
But, Robert balked. He said it wasn't enough. His pride was at stake and he wasn't about to sell out for such a low figure. The law firm he hired was furious that he wouldn't take the deal.
So,.. Robert fired the law firm and started a long, solo battle against Ford Motors. He started studying up on law suits, spent hours pouring through law books at the library. Robert became obsessed with his invention and in wanting to get notoriety for his wonderful invention. He filed legal briefs and began the process to take Ford to court.
One day he got a surprise visitor..... a representative from one of Fords lawyers. Ford didn't want to fight anymore. The visitor told Robert that Ford wanted to give him 1,000,000 dollars to settle out of court. One MILLION dollars!.....
Robert told him to get out!....
Robert was determined that his pride was at stake and it was no longer about the money. He was insulted that Ford has stolen his idea, .... his baby.... the Blinking Eye...
So the lawsuit continued....
And years passed....
And he was so obsessed with justice that he neglected his family.
His wife divorced him.
His children grew-up without him around. They became teenagers. They became young adults.
Robert pursued the lawsuit.
Finally, after so many years of wrangling, a court-date was set...the court was ready to rule on his case.
Ford balked again. They approached Robert one last time. They offered to settle out-of-court for 30,000,000..... 30 MILLION dollars!.....
Robert told them no. He was ready to do battle in court. He was ready to get credit for his invention.
The case was heard, the evidence was presented.... and, lo and behold.... Robert won!...
Robert won..... 10,000,000 dollars...10 MILLION dollars..... 20 million than Ford had offered to settle the suit for.
But Robert was happy. He had won. He had salvaged his pride. The world would know that HE invented the Intermittent Windshield Wiper.
Did YOU know that Robert Kearns invented the Intermittent Windshield Wiper?
Nope?..... Well... me neither. Neither has 99.99999999% of the world's population. Nobody cares, really. Only Robert cared.
He cared so much that he sacrificed his life with his wife and children. Now he was rich.... and alone....
I don't know if Robert ever figured out that there is actually a moral to his story.
Sometimes "pride" can become an addiction... it can become just as obsessive as heroin, or alcohol,...or sex.... or (fill in the blank)....
Addiction is often described as an "obsession".
All of us have to be on our guard against anything that becomes such an obsession that we're willing to lose everything that really matters in order to obtains something, that in the long run, doesn't really matter that much.
Pride.
Robert died a rich man.
OR..... did he.....?
You decide....
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Racism
In the 1960's a Southern church deacon-board mobilized lookout squads, and on Sundays, these took turns patrolling the entrances to the church lest any black "trouble-makers" try to integrate them. The church printed some cards that they would hand out to any "blacks" who might appear at their door.
It read:
"Believing your motives to be ulterior and foreign to the teaching of God's word, we cannot extend a welcome to you and respectfully request you to leave the premises quietly. Scripture does NOT teach "the brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of God." He is the Creator of all, but only the father of those who have been regenerated.
If any of you is here with a sincere desire to know Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, we will be glad to deal individually with you from the Word of God.".....the Pastor and Deacons...
Philip Yancey, in his wonderful book, "What's So Amazing About Grace" writes....
"I grew up a racist. Although I am not yet fifty-years old, I remember when the South practiced a perfectly legal form of apartheid. Stores in downtown Atlanta had three rest rooms: White Men, White Women, and Colored. Gas stations had two drinking fountains, one for Whites and one for Colored. Motels and restaurants served white patrons only, and when the the Civil Rights Act made such discrimination illegal, many owners shuttered their establishments.
We used to call Martin Luther King Jr. "Martin Lucifer Coon." We said that King was a card-carrying Communist, a Marxist agent who merely posed as a minister. Not until much later was I able to appreciate the moral strength of the man who, perhaps more than any other person, kept the South from outright racial war."........ Yancey, from the chapter, The Arsenal Of Grace.
Racism.
Unfortunately, it's still with us today. We've learned to practice it in perhaps less obvious, gentler ways, but it still exists in a lot of our churches, businesses, politics....
I, too, like Philip Yancey, grew up in a racially-charged atmosphere. My father was a racist and he passed down to me a lot of negative feelings towards those of a different color. It wasn't until the 9th grade that I found myself in an integrated school. The racial tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. I made no black friends and didn't really "want" to make any black friends. I look back on a lot of my youth as one who was clueless about the continuing struggle of the Black Community, not just for "equality", but for simple human respect and decency.
As I have studied the Bible, I have, to my relief and joy, found that the "Deacons" from the South really didn't know much about God and His Grace, and had somehow, in all their study, completely skipped over the 17th chapter of the Book of Acts.... the "acts" of the first apostles, those who followed Jesus Christ through his life, death and resurrection.
So, the struggle continues, whether we care to recognize it or not. Fortunately, as the generations pass, the racism of the 60's lessens. My own children have found and embraced Black friends, Asian friends, Latino friends, friends with mixed marriages and their beautiful children....
I pray they don't take this for granted, for it is a sign of true "grace",... to look beyond skin color or national boundaries to embrace all of God's children. We can look to men like Martin Luther King Jr. as the pioneers that they truly were.... men and women who struggled for justice and equality, but did so by walking the God-ordained road of peace and non-violence.
"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. He is not served by human hands as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives "ALL" men life and breath and everything else. For from one man he made very nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for then and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one for us. For in Him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, "We are His Offspring."......Acts 17:24-28
We honor God when we honor one another......
It read:
"Believing your motives to be ulterior and foreign to the teaching of God's word, we cannot extend a welcome to you and respectfully request you to leave the premises quietly. Scripture does NOT teach "the brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of God." He is the Creator of all, but only the father of those who have been regenerated.
If any of you is here with a sincere desire to know Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, we will be glad to deal individually with you from the Word of God.".....the Pastor and Deacons...
Philip Yancey, in his wonderful book, "What's So Amazing About Grace" writes....
"I grew up a racist. Although I am not yet fifty-years old, I remember when the South practiced a perfectly legal form of apartheid. Stores in downtown Atlanta had three rest rooms: White Men, White Women, and Colored. Gas stations had two drinking fountains, one for Whites and one for Colored. Motels and restaurants served white patrons only, and when the the Civil Rights Act made such discrimination illegal, many owners shuttered their establishments.
We used to call Martin Luther King Jr. "Martin Lucifer Coon." We said that King was a card-carrying Communist, a Marxist agent who merely posed as a minister. Not until much later was I able to appreciate the moral strength of the man who, perhaps more than any other person, kept the South from outright racial war."........ Yancey, from the chapter, The Arsenal Of Grace.
Racism.
Unfortunately, it's still with us today. We've learned to practice it in perhaps less obvious, gentler ways, but it still exists in a lot of our churches, businesses, politics....
I, too, like Philip Yancey, grew up in a racially-charged atmosphere. My father was a racist and he passed down to me a lot of negative feelings towards those of a different color. It wasn't until the 9th grade that I found myself in an integrated school. The racial tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. I made no black friends and didn't really "want" to make any black friends. I look back on a lot of my youth as one who was clueless about the continuing struggle of the Black Community, not just for "equality", but for simple human respect and decency.
As I have studied the Bible, I have, to my relief and joy, found that the "Deacons" from the South really didn't know much about God and His Grace, and had somehow, in all their study, completely skipped over the 17th chapter of the Book of Acts.... the "acts" of the first apostles, those who followed Jesus Christ through his life, death and resurrection.
So, the struggle continues, whether we care to recognize it or not. Fortunately, as the generations pass, the racism of the 60's lessens. My own children have found and embraced Black friends, Asian friends, Latino friends, friends with mixed marriages and their beautiful children....
I pray they don't take this for granted, for it is a sign of true "grace",... to look beyond skin color or national boundaries to embrace all of God's children. We can look to men like Martin Luther King Jr. as the pioneers that they truly were.... men and women who struggled for justice and equality, but did so by walking the God-ordained road of peace and non-violence.
"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. He is not served by human hands as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives "ALL" men life and breath and everything else. For from one man he made very nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for then and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one for us. For in Him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, "We are His Offspring."......Acts 17:24-28
We honor God when we honor one another......
Monday, January 10, 2011
Prayer
Prayer: talking to God...
Seems like a daunting task.
In Alcoholics Anonymous, (or any of the other 12-Step Programs), one of the things your are told to do is to have a prayer life... to begin to speak to your "Higher Power".
Folks who have never prayed before find it a struggle because they aren't aware of the nature of God and the freedom of The Spirit.
One of my favorite authors is Brennan Manning. He wrote a book called, "The Ragamuffin Gospel". It is on my list of top-ten books that I recommend for people to read. Brennan's main emphasis is on the grace of God.
In this blog I would like to tempt you (in a good way) by giving you a taste of his writing.... in this instance, on the subject of prayer...
"Let us suppose you give your three-year-old daughter a coloring book and a box of crayons for her birthday. The following day, with the proud smile only a little one can muster, she presents her first pictures for inspection. She has colored the sun black, the grass purple, and the sky green. In the lower right-hand corner she has added woozy wonders of floating slabs and hovering rings: on the left, a panoply of colorful, carefree squiggles. You marvel at her bold strokes and intuit that her psyche is railing against its own cosmic puniness in the face of a big, ugly world. Later at the office, you share with your staff your daughter's first artistic effort and you make veiled references to the early work of Van Gogh.
A little child cannot do a bad coloring: nor can a child of God do a bad prayer. A father is delighted when his little one, leaving off her toys and friends, runs to him and climbs into his arms. As he holds his little one close to him, he cares little whether the child is looking around, her attention flitting from one things to another, or just settling down to sleep. Essentially the child is choosing to be with her father, confident of the love, the care, the security that is hers in those arms.
Our prayer is much like that. We settle down in our Father's arms, in His loving hands. Our mind, our thoughts, our imagination may flit about here and there; we might even fall asleep; but essentially we are choosing for this time to remain intimately with our Father, giving ourselves to Him, receiving His love and care, letting Him enjoy us as He will. It is very simple prayer. It is very childlike prayer. It is prayer that opens us up to all the delights of the kingdom."
----Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel
Sometimes I really struggle with prayer. Sometimes I'm ambivalent about praying. Sometimes I take prayer for granted.
Sometimes my best prayers have simply started by saying, "God, I don't feel like talking to You today".... or, "God, I'm in a bad mood, so if I'm going to pray about it You really have to help me."
Prayer: Think of it as a conversation. A conversation where the other party (God) already knows your struggles and your frailness and even your often inability to express exactly what you are feeling, exactly what you're trying to say.
How often in my own life have I started out a prayer by simply saying, "God,...I really messed things up this time....."
And then I just start talking.....
Perhaps, to God, It's like I'm painting a picture with my words. Like the little child in Brennan's story,... painting the sun green, the flowers are black and pink and my rendition of the ocean is at the top of the page rather than at the bottom.
It doesn't matter to Him... just as long as I'm sharing my painting with Him. Maybe He'll tack it up in His Heavenly office and show it to the angels....saying something like, "Look what my kid did!..... Isn't it great!"........
And the angels will say in return, "Yeah...it looks like a real Picasso....all kinds of crazy... but really valuable!".....:-)
Seems like a daunting task.
In Alcoholics Anonymous, (or any of the other 12-Step Programs), one of the things your are told to do is to have a prayer life... to begin to speak to your "Higher Power".
Folks who have never prayed before find it a struggle because they aren't aware of the nature of God and the freedom of The Spirit.
One of my favorite authors is Brennan Manning. He wrote a book called, "The Ragamuffin Gospel". It is on my list of top-ten books that I recommend for people to read. Brennan's main emphasis is on the grace of God.
In this blog I would like to tempt you (in a good way) by giving you a taste of his writing.... in this instance, on the subject of prayer...
"Let us suppose you give your three-year-old daughter a coloring book and a box of crayons for her birthday. The following day, with the proud smile only a little one can muster, she presents her first pictures for inspection. She has colored the sun black, the grass purple, and the sky green. In the lower right-hand corner she has added woozy wonders of floating slabs and hovering rings: on the left, a panoply of colorful, carefree squiggles. You marvel at her bold strokes and intuit that her psyche is railing against its own cosmic puniness in the face of a big, ugly world. Later at the office, you share with your staff your daughter's first artistic effort and you make veiled references to the early work of Van Gogh.
A little child cannot do a bad coloring: nor can a child of God do a bad prayer. A father is delighted when his little one, leaving off her toys and friends, runs to him and climbs into his arms. As he holds his little one close to him, he cares little whether the child is looking around, her attention flitting from one things to another, or just settling down to sleep. Essentially the child is choosing to be with her father, confident of the love, the care, the security that is hers in those arms.
Our prayer is much like that. We settle down in our Father's arms, in His loving hands. Our mind, our thoughts, our imagination may flit about here and there; we might even fall asleep; but essentially we are choosing for this time to remain intimately with our Father, giving ourselves to Him, receiving His love and care, letting Him enjoy us as He will. It is very simple prayer. It is very childlike prayer. It is prayer that opens us up to all the delights of the kingdom."
----Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel
Sometimes I really struggle with prayer. Sometimes I'm ambivalent about praying. Sometimes I take prayer for granted.
Sometimes my best prayers have simply started by saying, "God, I don't feel like talking to You today".... or, "God, I'm in a bad mood, so if I'm going to pray about it You really have to help me."
Prayer: Think of it as a conversation. A conversation where the other party (God) already knows your struggles and your frailness and even your often inability to express exactly what you are feeling, exactly what you're trying to say.
How often in my own life have I started out a prayer by simply saying, "God,...I really messed things up this time....."
And then I just start talking.....
Perhaps, to God, It's like I'm painting a picture with my words. Like the little child in Brennan's story,... painting the sun green, the flowers are black and pink and my rendition of the ocean is at the top of the page rather than at the bottom.
It doesn't matter to Him... just as long as I'm sharing my painting with Him. Maybe He'll tack it up in His Heavenly office and show it to the angels....saying something like, "Look what my kid did!..... Isn't it great!"........
And the angels will say in return, "Yeah...it looks like a real Picasso....all kinds of crazy... but really valuable!".....:-)
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