Just sitting back pondering. We are all given the same 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 364 1/2 days a year. So, how is it that some folks are able to write dozens of hit songs in a few short years, others write thousands of pages - published in books and articles, Some are able to take a creative idea and some hard work - and make millions of dollars from their efforts.......
And yet, I can barely manage to get the trash taken out to the curb once a week?
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Saturday, July 4, 2009
This just in (a few hours ago)...
In keeping with tradition - given that today is solely dedicated to the tradition of celebrating the fact that we as a nation are free from the tyranny of British Rule! (Hey, look it up! - That's how this holiday weekend got started!), I have made it a point to follow (all-beit loosely over the years) the ever-popular annnual Nathan's Hot Dog eating contest held at Nathan's in Coney Island every July 4th.
This year, Joey Chestnut again beat his arch-rival Takeru Kobayashi, 68 - 64.5 - both setting personal best records, and Chestnut breaking his own former world record. The 10 minute contest featured 19 contestants, but the two of them easily beat out the others - making it an interesting show between two bitter rivals. This was American, Joey Chestnut's third win in a row - securing the coveted Yellow Mustard Belt for yet another year.
Soggy Fourth -
So - it's raining here in Jacksonville, IL. Supposed to be a light rain, but rain nonetheless. Not fishing, not golfing, probly going to do chores and homework all day long.
Happy 4th.
On a lighter note, we BBQ'd yesterday with family - Tim, Lynn and the kids & Carl, Kim, Mom and the kids - also Beth's folks. We had a good time - and some great food.
I'll post again later - but for now, I'll leave you with this haunting childhoood memory.
I was about eleven or twelvish. While playing in the back yard, I spotted a really cool praying mantis. I watched it for a while, then decided I'd put it in a jar and keep it in my room. So, I found a flower pot and turned it upside down over the praying mantis to keep it safe until I could find a jar to keep it in. Somehow I got distracted and forgot about it.
...............several days later............ I stumbled across the upside down pot in the back yard and remembered what I had captured. I took the covering off - the praying mantis was still there - and still alive - but moving slowly. Perhaps the sudden burst of light had it confused. I coaxed it a bit to get it to move. Finally it started moving and walking away. I felt sooooo guilty for having captured it for no good reason, and forgetting about it for so long. I had taken several precious hours out of its already short life. I felt really bad. So, as the praying mantis slowly moved back into the grass, I apologized to it for having captured it.
Then, our cat pounced on it and ate it.
Happy 4th.
On a lighter note, we BBQ'd yesterday with family - Tim, Lynn and the kids & Carl, Kim, Mom and the kids - also Beth's folks. We had a good time - and some great food.
I'll post again later - but for now, I'll leave you with this haunting childhoood memory.
I was about eleven or twelvish. While playing in the back yard, I spotted a really cool praying mantis. I watched it for a while, then decided I'd put it in a jar and keep it in my room. So, I found a flower pot and turned it upside down over the praying mantis to keep it safe until I could find a jar to keep it in. Somehow I got distracted and forgot about it.
...............several days later............ I stumbled across the upside down pot in the back yard and remembered what I had captured. I took the covering off - the praying mantis was still there - and still alive - but moving slowly. Perhaps the sudden burst of light had it confused. I coaxed it a bit to get it to move. Finally it started moving and walking away. I felt sooooo guilty for having captured it for no good reason, and forgetting about it for so long. I had taken several precious hours out of its already short life. I felt really bad. So, as the praying mantis slowly moved back into the grass, I apologized to it for having captured it.
Then, our cat pounced on it and ate it.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Thoughts on politically incorrect slang and other useless tidbits...
I never cease to be amazed at how naive I can be. Take for instance the fact that since I moved from California to central Illinois my eyes have been opened to several blatant instances of racism. Correct me if I'm wrong - but we live NORTH of the Mason-Dixon line - and this is in fact the 21'st century - not the 19th. Nevertheless, negative stereotypes abound - all around. (I made a rhyme!) Where was I?
Needless to say, I've heard a few 'NEW' racial slurs since I moved here. Without going into detail (NO I WILL NOT LIST ANY HERE) - I thought I'd heard them all by the time I had graduated from 6th grade. Apparently not!
By way of background, I grew up in California, in a low - to lower - to somewhat lowest of the low middle-class neighborhoods in a notso fashionable high-desert community in the less than desireable north-eastern corner of Los Angeles County. In gradeschool we didn't care about race - honestly. My best two friends in gradeschool were black, and Thai - and we were inseparable.
There were also families from Mexico, and Central America living on our street. We never - and I mean never, thought twice about who's house we were playing at, or what color they were, or even what langauage was being spoken.
The cool thing is, I grew up getting to sample authentic Thai cooking, real "soul food", homemade tamales and hand tossed tortillas, and a host of other great things. Sure, we knew we were different in some ways - but we all had more in common than anything else. We were kids playing together in the neighborhood.
"Well, good for you, Steve. You must be a wonderful person." That is not my point!
What amazes me, is how sheltered and naive I have been about the fact that there still are (apparently) soooooo many ignorant, racist people reproducing in this country.
Then again.... there are several towns out here with not more than two or three last names in the phonebook. Some new brides HONESTLY don't have to change their last name when they get married.
Though the above is NO exaggeration, let it be said, I don't wish to be guilty of the same thing for which I accuse those of the "redneck" persuasion. Let me just say, some of what I have heard and observed - in public, no less - definitely crosses the line, causes me much pain and grief and truly makes me sad. Just thought I'd share.
So, that being said, I'd prefer to have remained in my naive little world where kids just play together and don't care about the color of anyone's skin.
Needless to say, I've heard a few 'NEW' racial slurs since I moved here. Without going into detail (NO I WILL NOT LIST ANY HERE) - I thought I'd heard them all by the time I had graduated from 6th grade. Apparently not!
By way of background, I grew up in California, in a low - to lower - to somewhat lowest of the low middle-class neighborhoods in a notso fashionable high-desert community in the less than desireable north-eastern corner of Los Angeles County. In gradeschool we didn't care about race - honestly. My best two friends in gradeschool were black, and Thai - and we were inseparable.
There were also families from Mexico, and Central America living on our street. We never - and I mean never, thought twice about who's house we were playing at, or what color they were, or even what langauage was being spoken.
The cool thing is, I grew up getting to sample authentic Thai cooking, real "soul food", homemade tamales and hand tossed tortillas, and a host of other great things. Sure, we knew we were different in some ways - but we all had more in common than anything else. We were kids playing together in the neighborhood.
"Well, good for you, Steve. You must be a wonderful person." That is not my point!
What amazes me, is how sheltered and naive I have been about the fact that there still are (apparently) soooooo many ignorant, racist people reproducing in this country.
Then again.... there are several towns out here with not more than two or three last names in the phonebook. Some new brides HONESTLY don't have to change their last name when they get married.
Though the above is NO exaggeration, let it be said, I don't wish to be guilty of the same thing for which I accuse those of the "redneck" persuasion. Let me just say, some of what I have heard and observed - in public, no less - definitely crosses the line, causes me much pain and grief and truly makes me sad. Just thought I'd share.
So, that being said, I'd prefer to have remained in my naive little world where kids just play together and don't care about the color of anyone's skin.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Soggy Father's Day Fun!
Father's day - and it's been raining off and on. Soooo, we decided to work on the basement - painting. As well, Darian and Austin painted a room upstairs. Not quite as fun as golf, but it feels good to get things done finally - and we're still doing something as father and sons.
Soon, we'll be feasting on an awesome pork roast!
I'll put up some pix when we get'r'dun!
Soon, we'll be feasting on an awesome pork roast!
I'll put up some pix when we get'r'dun!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Something is stirring....
O.K. - so here I am at Hardee's (Carl's Jr.'s cousin for those of you on the Left-coast). And though they are making some of those wonderful hand-scooped shakes in the background - that's not what is currently stirring.
Lemme 'splain.
I'm here having lunch with my trusty new Notebook computer open, and I just finished a homework assignment for one of my MBA classes. The other assignment I wanted to work on requires me to watch a Youtube video which their network won't allow me to access (probably wise on their part to restrict certain things in this VERY public location).
The point is - I feel something stirring within me, as if God is preparing me for new and exciting things. I still can't quite explain why I'm back in school - studying BUSINESS of all things. But, though I see through a glass, darkly, I believe things will get clearer as we get closer to our goal. As I've written before, in these posts and elsewhere, I still can't explain why we don't "belong" in vocational ministry somewhere - but I know that we just aren't supposed to be there right now. So what is a fellow with a B.A. in Biblial Languages supposed to do to feed his family? Should I stand on the corner wearing a sign that says, "Will parse Greek verbs for food" - ????? Nope.
The fact is, I work in an office setting. The stranger fact is, I'm good at it! How could that be - especially in light of the fact that I truly belive that I am called to the ministry? Well - for starters, I know that God has a plan for me, for us, for my family. He hasn't left us high and dry yet, and I know that He won't - despite my failures and my profound ability to make masses of things. The second thing is, I always have to remember to ask - what does "the ministry" look like? I love people - that's a topic for another day I s'pose. Ministry, of course doesn't involve working at a church or "christian" organization. However, I do feel ultimately called to that sort of thing - but perhaps in a different context. It's all quite fuzzy still. But I believe that in the near future, full-time vocational ministry will be the "exception" but not the rule- particularly in the U.S. This goes to my belief about the church in North America - get ready for some toe-stepping folks. Two things:
First, I really, truly believe that the church is in transition. Basically, I think we're really good at having meetings - but we're notso great at meeting people where they are "at" (bad grammar alert). I was excited to talk to a dear friend (and my former pastor) regarding their church's transition from the "traditional" model of having lots of meetings, to a small-group structure that seems to be taking root. Again - this obviates the point that by and large, the church is in transition - from having meetings, to reaching people where they live. Don't get me wrong - there's still a need for corporate worship - but by and large, the people aren't coming in droves just to attend one of our "meetings" - which are generally designed "by us, for us" - those of us who are already "In" so to speak.
Secondly, I firmly believe that churches who don't face the facts and do something to change in this regard are going to become irrelevant - soon, if they aren't already. (Ouch!) How can you say that, Steve? Well - look around! Are we reaching the next generation? Not only are they not even coming through the door, but what if our ultimate goal is to actually disciple people? In most cases (not all, but most) - our goal has been to somehow get them through the door, and down front mumbling "the prayer" at one of our "meetings." But, what if the goal is to help them become Jesus-like? Are we doing the job? Are we anywhere close? With little exception - in my opinion, nope.
But we do have some really great meetings,... don't we?
I'll probably regret posting this later.
Lemme 'splain.
I'm here having lunch with my trusty new Notebook computer open, and I just finished a homework assignment for one of my MBA classes. The other assignment I wanted to work on requires me to watch a Youtube video which their network won't allow me to access (probably wise on their part to restrict certain things in this VERY public location).
The point is - I feel something stirring within me, as if God is preparing me for new and exciting things. I still can't quite explain why I'm back in school - studying BUSINESS of all things. But, though I see through a glass, darkly, I believe things will get clearer as we get closer to our goal. As I've written before, in these posts and elsewhere, I still can't explain why we don't "belong" in vocational ministry somewhere - but I know that we just aren't supposed to be there right now. So what is a fellow with a B.A. in Biblial Languages supposed to do to feed his family? Should I stand on the corner wearing a sign that says, "Will parse Greek verbs for food" - ????? Nope.
The fact is, I work in an office setting. The stranger fact is, I'm good at it! How could that be - especially in light of the fact that I truly belive that I am called to the ministry? Well - for starters, I know that God has a plan for me, for us, for my family. He hasn't left us high and dry yet, and I know that He won't - despite my failures and my profound ability to make masses of things. The second thing is, I always have to remember to ask - what does "the ministry" look like? I love people - that's a topic for another day I s'pose. Ministry, of course doesn't involve working at a church or "christian" organization. However, I do feel ultimately called to that sort of thing - but perhaps in a different context. It's all quite fuzzy still. But I believe that in the near future, full-time vocational ministry will be the "exception" but not the rule- particularly in the U.S. This goes to my belief about the church in North America - get ready for some toe-stepping folks. Two things:
First, I really, truly believe that the church is in transition. Basically, I think we're really good at having meetings - but we're notso great at meeting people where they are "at" (bad grammar alert). I was excited to talk to a dear friend (and my former pastor) regarding their church's transition from the "traditional" model of having lots of meetings, to a small-group structure that seems to be taking root. Again - this obviates the point that by and large, the church is in transition - from having meetings, to reaching people where they live. Don't get me wrong - there's still a need for corporate worship - but by and large, the people aren't coming in droves just to attend one of our "meetings" - which are generally designed "by us, for us" - those of us who are already "In" so to speak.
Secondly, I firmly believe that churches who don't face the facts and do something to change in this regard are going to become irrelevant - soon, if they aren't already. (Ouch!) How can you say that, Steve? Well - look around! Are we reaching the next generation? Not only are they not even coming through the door, but what if our ultimate goal is to actually disciple people? In most cases (not all, but most) - our goal has been to somehow get them through the door, and down front mumbling "the prayer" at one of our "meetings." But, what if the goal is to help them become Jesus-like? Are we doing the job? Are we anywhere close? With little exception - in my opinion, nope.
But we do have some really great meetings,... don't we?
I'll probably regret posting this later.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Confessions of a first class procrastinator...
Soooooo,
I'm working on my Master's in Business Administration. It's a lot of work. So far so good. I've been getting solid A's so far. I've actually turned in papers that came back with perfect scores and no criticism - not because they weren't graded, but because there was nothing wrong with them. However, I have noticed something rather disturbing about myself, particularly this past few weeks. I can't seem to get motivated. I've always had a problem with proctrastination particularly when it comes to school and more specifically with homewok assignments. In many cases it is tied to lack of interest in the subject matter - this semester i'm doing marketing - which is actuallly quite cool, and I'm also studying Human resources planning and admin - yawn....
Me, a great student....
It's not for lack of engagement, however - sometimes my energy and interest just gets misplaced. I remember similar times while attending LIFE as a freshman back in L.A. I had a Western Civ.class and I got really excited when the instructor Chuck Middlebrook -( a really cool, but somewhat monotone guy), one day held up a book called "X-raying the Pharoahs" - I was hooked! I was so excited about my class that I immediately checked that book out from the library and that book led to another book, which led to another, and pretty soon I knew everything there was to know about mummies, and the latest and greatest finds in ancient Egyptian archaeology - I thought I was being a great student by showing soo much interest in the material!
...a great student of nothing important.....
Meanwhile, the rest of the Western Civ. class had moved on to...... well, to later periods in Western Civilization. And me....? Well,... I was left behnind, still covered in the dust of the ancient Pharoah's mummified remains. I didn't do so well that first term at LIFE.
The difference now, is that I am not pre-occupied with mummies - neither am I going to the library to check out additional books concernning the latest theories in Human Resources management - that is NOT likely to happen. However, I am a great deal more busy these days - and tired. I'm especially tired these past few weeks for some reason.
Lack of motivation? Or just tiredness...
The pattern that disturbs me is this. I don't seem to get motivated these days unless I have a pressing deadline. That bugs me. In some cases it is just the facts of life. Its not that the task is so unpleasant, or that there aren't rewards for doing well. The classes are quite challenging, and I have found that I am readily able to apply the material I am learning to my work environment - its just that I feel that I should have matured a bit as a student, since I am doing this voluntarily - and I am 40 years old - hence, I'm a little more tired than I was in my late teens and twenties, ....and thirties.........
Hypocrisy in action
We get on our kids about putting things off - chores, dishes, homework, etc... Am I really any better, or more grown up when I can't seem to do my bloody reading and response questions until the night before the deadline? Just food for thought.
Oops! Time to crack the books - I was going to do it earlier, but I thought I'd rather blog instead. Now, do you see my predicament?
I'm working on my Master's in Business Administration. It's a lot of work. So far so good. I've been getting solid A's so far. I've actually turned in papers that came back with perfect scores and no criticism - not because they weren't graded, but because there was nothing wrong with them. However, I have noticed something rather disturbing about myself, particularly this past few weeks. I can't seem to get motivated. I've always had a problem with proctrastination particularly when it comes to school and more specifically with homewok assignments. In many cases it is tied to lack of interest in the subject matter - this semester i'm doing marketing - which is actuallly quite cool, and I'm also studying Human resources planning and admin - yawn....
Me, a great student....
It's not for lack of engagement, however - sometimes my energy and interest just gets misplaced. I remember similar times while attending LIFE as a freshman back in L.A. I had a Western Civ.class and I got really excited when the instructor Chuck Middlebrook -( a really cool, but somewhat monotone guy), one day held up a book called "X-raying the Pharoahs" - I was hooked! I was so excited about my class that I immediately checked that book out from the library and that book led to another book, which led to another, and pretty soon I knew everything there was to know about mummies, and the latest and greatest finds in ancient Egyptian archaeology - I thought I was being a great student by showing soo much interest in the material!
...a great student of nothing important.....
Meanwhile, the rest of the Western Civ. class had moved on to...... well, to later periods in Western Civilization. And me....? Well,... I was left behnind, still covered in the dust of the ancient Pharoah's mummified remains. I didn't do so well that first term at LIFE.
The difference now, is that I am not pre-occupied with mummies - neither am I going to the library to check out additional books concernning the latest theories in Human Resources management - that is NOT likely to happen. However, I am a great deal more busy these days - and tired. I'm especially tired these past few weeks for some reason.
Lack of motivation? Or just tiredness...
The pattern that disturbs me is this. I don't seem to get motivated these days unless I have a pressing deadline. That bugs me. In some cases it is just the facts of life. Its not that the task is so unpleasant, or that there aren't rewards for doing well. The classes are quite challenging, and I have found that I am readily able to apply the material I am learning to my work environment - its just that I feel that I should have matured a bit as a student, since I am doing this voluntarily - and I am 40 years old - hence, I'm a little more tired than I was in my late teens and twenties, ....and thirties.........
Hypocrisy in action
We get on our kids about putting things off - chores, dishes, homework, etc... Am I really any better, or more grown up when I can't seem to do my bloody reading and response questions until the night before the deadline? Just food for thought.
Oops! Time to crack the books - I was going to do it earlier, but I thought I'd rather blog instead. Now, do you see my predicament?
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