Ghosts of Christmases Past

I thought I would share an image from a past Christmas celebration with the family. I actually cannot tell you what year it took place but you can check my references on their authenticity.

I remember the year we almost didn't have a Christmas tree at my Grandmother's house. Earlier in the season my Aunt Joan, has tradgecally messed up her ankle and was on crutches. As we were gathering for a pre Christmas get-together, Joan made her way into the living room with her crutches. Just to give you a little insight, Joan is not the most graceful of individuals. Though she is not the most clumbiest person in the world she does struggle. Honestly I think it is a lack of paying attention. My grandparents tree, as most grand-parental trees consist of ornaments that are truly one of a kind. They are handmade school projects, dated figures from the beginning of time, and ornaments from their grandparents trees. A priceless treasure to some and useless junk to others. But on this ocassion it was reduces to smashed "what-was-that's." Yes Joan the Graceful fell into the tree and almost redured it unrecognizable. My grandparents, being the lovers of tradition that they were, had an artifical tree. We spend more time bending the trunk and branches out, replacing the broken ornaments, and finally going to the store to buy new lights than we ever have before. All in all we did learn a few lessons from this experience. First do not let Balance-handicapped people on crutches near the tree. Second, always buy an artifical tree for family gatherings just in case you have to mend it from a crushing fall. Lastly, we learned to start buying the smaller light that so many people have today. Those larger bulbed lights for trees are pretty but you do not want to be the one to help your aunt to get the shards of glass out.

Have a Merry Christmas!

Do rocks think I'm stupid?

Do rocks think I'm stupid? Seriously, have you ever thought about what nature thinks about our faith in Christ? Have you ever walked though the woods and heard a sound of whispering or laughter? Was nature talking about my faith? Do they have a clear view of its weakness? And why don't they tell us when we are being stupid? We have never skipped a season change, but I worry about what to fix for supper that evening. The sun shines so bright that artificial light wasn't needed on earth for thousands of years, but I fret when the power flickers. Birds don't have central heat and air, but I worry about where to place my Christmas tree so the vents won't dry it out. Have you ever heard a dog ask what job he can get after he has completed his Puppy Chow years? God makes promises to people he never even intended for the rest of creation. Christ came for people. His sacrfice is for people. His unending love is for people. Of all the things he created in 6 days, we were the only thing he breathed into and created in his image. We bear his fingerprints in our basic design like nothing else on earth. But we doubt more and stray further than any other entity of creation. Why? Thanksgiving is coming and our prayer request list is longer than our list of things to be thankful for, why? Is it because God has fallen down on the job of helping people and focused more on plants and animals? Or maybe it is because we focus more on what we don't have rather than the millions of things he has given us? Ungrateful? Yeah. So when the Bible talks about "rocks crying out," does some of that include hystericallaughter to the point of tears because of my stupidity? I don't know if that is totally true, but they would have every right.

Cliques

Alright this is dedicated to Judith, who suggested this topic to see what I would say.

Cliques are an annoying substance, like Mold. It gets in your way and can eventually make you very sick. So why have them? Because we have to have somewhere for those people to go. Seriously, if cliques didn't exsist we would not think highly of acceptance or unconditional love. To have a closed group of people reject you makes you appreciate those who actually accept you. So for the record..."Thank you people of the cliques!" Thank you for sticking together, because God knows no one else would like you. Thank you for being snobby, because it makes us realize you really do suck. Thank you for rejecting people who are not like you, because they are so much fun to hang out with.

Moral of this story: Cliques aren't bad when you take it into the proper prespective.

Ignorance.

Ignorance is bliss. Or is it? They say that wisdom comes with age and we all remember the thoughtful sayings of the young and stupid; but do these really apply? Does gray hair come with intelligence? Maybe not, I mean doesn't gray hair come from stress? And if that is so, does intelligence come from stress? NO! They are just strung-out people frequenting the Walmart for Clariol #5 hair coloring. Seems to me if they were smart they would know of ways to avoid stress. But why do we always associate intelligence with age? All old people are not smart; some still can't work a VCR much less a DVD player. And how many people have you tricked with the "Spell VCR" joke? Seriously can we ever get to the bottom of the young/old intelligence arguement? Probably not, but here are some things I have noticed.

A) Young people have an enthusiam that everybody wants. They don't know their limits yet so they seem unstoppable. Notice I said "seem." Most young people find a realization of their limits in their mid twenties. The body starts to fail, health insurance goes up, but car insurance goes down. They usually make mistakes that will follow them until they are old. Young people do still have a thirst for knowledge, even if the lessons are learned the hard way. Some (without naming names), learn by challenging the limits of their own knowledge. Enthusiasm is great until it is pitted against experience. Then we see that kids don't know crap!

B) Older people see thier limits and refine to perfection their actions within those limits. This is what makes them seem wise. Again, "seem." With the possibility of losing their minds to disease or just natural decay, they try to hold on to their youth. This is a complete waste of time. When you can pass your knowledge on to others doesn't that make us last longer than dating people 10 yrs younger or buying a sports car? However, there are few who learn valuable lessons about pretending to be young or don't go that route altogether; they are truly wise. These people tend to live life to its fullest. They make the most of what little time they have left. They use their experience to shame the enthusiastic. It is wonderful.

Moral of this story: God uses people of all ages, but the ones we always talk about are over 25. IE...Paul, Moses, Abraham, Peter, JESUS!

Consequences

God's Word is really great. It applies to every aspect of life. It also has some incredible verses of sarcasism packed with wisdom. If you don't believe me just read it, books like Malachi...come on that is classic sarcasm. I recently found a verse that was just great for those who think their is not consequesces for doing wrong. It is Luke 12:48a, and it says:

"But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows."

Doesn't this just speak to you! Think about it from a drunk drivers point of view. He broke the law and deserves punishment. But it gives a real picture of what sin does. How? It shows us that wrong is wrong whether we know it is or not. Right and wrong is not relative, it doesn't depend on how a human feels. It doesn't matter whether we feel that what we do is wrong it matters whether it IS wrong. So how do we know? You may ask: "Is cussing really wrong?" "Is drinking beer wrong?" "Is leaving flaming bags of dog poo on a doorstep wrong?" How do we determine what is wrong? I have one question, who gave you that job? To know what is truly right is to know God. He determines right from wrong. Need a good place to start try Exodus 20. It is more commonly known as the 10 Commandments. Oh I must warn you that there are consequences for doing wrong. The least is embarrassment; the worst is never knowing God.

Moral of this Story: Avoid being "beaten with few blows."

Sign me up

Okay we are going to take a look at the issue of church membership. Most people have a very weird idea of what church membership means, and they miss out on what God wants to do with them. I went to college about 45 minutes away and then I went on to pursue a graduate degree in TX. I moved into a dorm at both schools. I found a church during my undergrad schooling in which I was on staff, but when I went to TX I didn't work on staff at a church so I had to find one to "plug-in-to." My school gave us one semester to find a church and join. Some of you would have a problem with that. You would whine..."I don't want to leave my home church," that you only go to rarely now that you have moved away. "It will be dropping all the people who love me," those people would understand if you are following where God leads.

Now to get down to it...watch your toes! Do you want to be considered an adult when you go to college? Most of the college students are 18 and over, so act like it. Make a decision. Cut the apron strings. Follow God with your own faith and not relying on Mom or Dad's to surfice for you too. Church membership is simply joining in with a group of like-minded belivers to follow the vision God has given for that church. Most people think that church membership is a permanet venture, they are getting that confused with salvation. In Jeremiah 40 before 40:31 the "Graduation verse", God speaks to the exiles and tells them to build, plant, eat, marry... In other words He says grow where you are without holding back. When we hold back somethings and give fully in others are we really truly abandoning ourselves for God to use as instruments? I don't think our tune will be as pleasant. College years are suppose to be an opportuntity for young men and women to prove themselves as adults.

Moral of this story: Grow up and Join God where He is working.

Center of the Universe

I am not a scientist. I just wanted to clear that up before we get started so that there is no questions on this fact.

The Hurricanes are coming and the earth is revolving and rotating so we see changes in the seasons, weather, and life in general. Now it is my understanding that when the earth revolves, it is going around the Sun. Just to be safe we can say that the Sun is the center of the Universe, right? Seasons change because The Creator has set His design in the Universe for this rotation, correct? And according to His design everything revolves around the Sun. (Feel Free to insert Christian based analogy here.) Knowing this, why is that so hard to understand? "Come on we understand?" Really??!! If this is such deeply ingrained knowledge then why do we have people talking about themselves every moment. Basically these people are superficial and self-absorbed. Oh they ask about how your day went, but upon the expectation that they get a turn when you are finished. And if you had problems they can always top yours. Sometimes I plainly just don't want to hear about them. Don't you understand that when all you talk about is yourself you are just giving opportunistic people like me ammunition. And we love ammunition, it can be stockpiled, sold, and used to advance our forces at any given moment. Some of you talk so much about yourselves, giving others ammunition, that you would put gun runners out of business. No wonder they didn't find Weapons of Mass destruction in Iraq, they had talked about themselves so much everyone else had the ammo. Isn't it more fun to have conversations that are not centered on you. I mean really, if we are to treat others as better than ourselves, then shouldn't we shut-up and let them talk. There are thousands of people in the world who are labeled as "quiet", but maybe you won't hush about yourself long enough to hear them speak...or they try to speak but get cut off by overbearing windbags. You have heard it before...2 ears, one mouth. "Be quick to listen and slow to speak..."

Moral of this Story: Shut it up.

Stray Pet Peeve

I really don't know if I have a solution for this or not, but I have beef to pick with folks who "pre-excuse" their behavior. They usually preface a sentence with "I apologize ahead of time for the way I will act." Most women will blame it on PMS. I don't believe that this is a valid reason for acting inappropriately, even if you do apologize for it ahead of time. Doesn't that mean you are planning to act ugly to someone? Is this premeditation? Would this sort of statement get a murderer off at trial? "I am sorry ahead of time for those I will brutally kill today." Apologies before hand are not true apologies, they are plans. Maybe if we spent more time controlling our actions and less on pre-excuses we would not have to apologize at all.

Moral of this story: I am sorry ahead of time if I offended anyone.

Greatness

Tony the Tiger started something when he first muttered the words, "GRRRREAT!" Honestly we all want to be considered great at something. Whether it is a sport, a job, or just looked up to for who we are; it is what drives us to perfection. But is the pursuit of greatness often selfish? I mean really does trying our hardest to get others to notice how good we are serve others or ourselves? What is our motivation for doing our best? Recognition? To be a part of something bigger than ourselves? Better pay? More friends? As I struggle with the perfect balance with confidence and humilty, I often have to choose in situations to either further myself or stand back and let others be furthered.
I must say that I really look up to Jesus who had to watch the stupidity of humanity and resist the urge to blow us all of the map. He instead shows us a way to react to these situations by his example. Philippians 2:6-7 says, "Who, (Jesus) being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness." Perfection chose imperfection. Creator subjects himself to the created. I think another point we can take home from this is that even though Jesus stepped down from Heaven for people, that act of love and grace has given him the title of GREAT!

Moral of this story: Greatness sometimes doesn't come from making it to the top, but holding it all up from the bottom.

Needy People

You may not recognize these people until it is too late. They are not you typical leeches that suck the life our of people at the drop of a hat. No these folks are subtle in their vacuuming process of life. Usually it is the ones you lest expect. Haven't recognized them yet? Let me give you a few clues to watch out for. During conversation do they often relate back to the same short list of issues that usually deal with them not having something? Is it getting clearer? Does alot of what comes out of there mouth have to do with the lack of relationships in their lives? Are they telling you about the latest "Joshua-Harris-how-to-find-spouse-in-30-days-or-less" book they just read? Do they mask their reason for reading it as wanting to get closer to God? It should be pretty clear now, you should have names in mind. These are Needy people. Actually they "needy" to get their head unstuck from their own rear and live life. God never meant for us to pursue marriage with as much time, money and energy as most people are giving it today. He wants us to take advantage of our time with out a spouse to capatalize on the opportunities we will miss when we are married and have different priorities. When was the last time you help a stranger at the grocery store? Or cut your neighbor's grass? Or took a friend out to lunch for no reason? Why have we put so much into our own selfishness that we miss lessons from Jesus' parables. Remember the Good Samaritan? That guy didn't think selfishly but used his time, money and energy to help someone else. I wonder if he was single? I wonder if he had a copy of "Find 'Em and Marry 'Em Jehovah's Way" in his bag? Maybe he just got it and understood that right then he could stop and help someone without a screaming kid in the minivan.

Moral of this story: Don't stare at your left hand ring finger so much that you miss what is going on around you.

Buying the cow

Lately I have been pondering the simple phrase of "Buying the cow." No this isn't a relationship issue it is the high price of milk. I have seen some places go to $3.50 and the nation's average is close to $4. Milk may do a body good but the finances...Ouch. So what about buying the cow? Will it help to just purchase "Bessie" and have milk anytime you want it? What about just cutting milk out of your diet? I am not a milk expert but I think that after all the processes of feeding the cow, caring for it, and cleaning the milk so it is drinkable; I think I will pay the extra dollar to have the milk. Moral of this story: It is cheaper not to buy the cow, But pay for the milk by the gallon. This is the proven theory behind prostitution, so is buying milk like prostitution. No how dare you think so little of milk.

What is this?

Ok this will be a series of posts that will bring out BIG truths but in small "bite size" packaging. It will be straight forward and blunt. Which mean it will be fun. It will be a collection of things that are noticed and learned from others.

#1 Have you ever noticed how many people pick their noses in their cars? It is more than you think. Ramming their fingers so far up there it pulls their lip up revealing a snarl. Why don't they just take care of things before they leave home? Where do they put their findings? Nose picking in places where others can observe is like people who air their problems everywhere. Sometimes things are best taken care of at home. Now some of you are thinking that the "problem" people need help and someone to hear their problems. I agree. Many people are qualified to listen and aid people with their problems, they are called shrinks. Basically this is all I have to say about this at the moment. I may relive this issue again. Moral of this story: Pick it at home, and you will not flick it on a friend.