Go Royals!

It’s late.  It’s past 10pm…almost 10:30.  The Royals are about to win the AL Central Division tonight.  That’s the reason we’re still up watching TV.  We’ve kind of become Royals fans, in part because of their proximity to Wichita, and part because our older son has been a fan for many years and attends many of the home games along with Lauren, our daughter –in-law.

Why is it that we become so enamored with things such as professional sports teams?  Is there something about living vicariously here?  Or maybe it’s the idea that we are part of something that is winning.  And the opposite can be true as well.  A poor team that loses many times has its followers who perpetually say, “Wait until next year.”  And we love even the losers.  Could it be diversion from the routine of life?  Or maybe it IS life for some of us.

I don’t know what it is that keeps my wife and me up later than we should be.  But whatever it is, it sort of has a hold on us with this Royals team.  We’ve come to know more about many of the players than we usually do with teams such as this.  There’s something, well, fun about watching these guys.  And it’s something we can watch on TV that isn’t violent, immoral, or otherwise decadent.

I’m afraid, sadly, that is one of the reasons we watch sports events.  It’s still wholesome (for the most part) TV.  We don’t have to worry about what’s coming.  We are watching a known quantity.  And we appreciate the opportunity to watch something that is appropriate for a Christian family environment.

So, bring on the playoffs, and bring on the World Series!  We’ll be right there, if not in the stadium, we’ll be there through the magic of television.  Go Royals!

Labor Day

So, it’s Labor Day 2015.  And again, as we have done for many years, the family will gather in one place to eat, visit, play, and catch up with the rapidly-growing nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, grand-nephews, and grandkids.  It will be hot, but we will be outside for at least some of the day.  We like horseshoes, croquet, and some of those old-timey things like that.  The banshees will run around, ride the electric cars, and maybe play in the water…or even the mud.

We tend to forget the original reason for Labor Day, and I guess there’s not much wrong with that.  I’m not certain there ever should have been a holiday to remember the “working man” in this country in the first place.  And now that it has become a three-day weekend to usher out the summer, it seems that’s fine with me.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’ve been a “working man” all my life.  And so have those in my family.  But isn’t that what we’re SUPPOSED to do?  Do we need a holiday to remember those who do what they are supposed to do?  You may disagree, and that’s OK.  I just think we could have chosen something more appropriate if we needed a holiday the first part of September.

The Good Book says we are to work with our hands (Paul to the Thessalonians).  It also says we are to work willingly, as unto the Lord (Paul to the Colossians).  And it says that if one is not willing to work, they should not eat (Paul to the Thessalonians again).  The wise man says in Ecclesiastes that whatever a man’s hand finds to do, he is to do it with all his might.

The Bible has a lot to say about work.  The passages are plain and understandable.  They make sense.  They are appropriate.  They tell us that we were made to work.  We were made to be productive.   We were made to accomplish something in our lives.  Everything works better when we all contribute in some way.

So this Labor Day, if you celebrate, take just a moment and think about God’s words to you regarding work and labor.  And thank Him for the opportunity you have to fulfill those words.

Life...It All Depends...

With all that goes wrong in this world, sometimes there are times and events and things that happen that give one a renewed sense of hope.  I have to believe that God in His mercy provides, at times, glimpses of the good, the honorable, the decent, and the right for us so we will indeed not become “weary in well-doing.”

We talk a lot, and I am guilty as well, of those things in life and this world that are not good, not honorable, not decent, and not right.  And we need to not only talk about those things, but work under the strength and provision of God to make changes when and where we can.  We won’t make this world a paradise…it just won’t happen.  But we can make it a better place to live, and we can give others a glimpse of the beauty and glory that is God’s.

I’ve just spent several minutes watching some videos on YouTube.  Yes, I know, there are all kinds of nutty, and even bad things on there.  But there are also some really, really good things too.  I watched the 1,000 voice Kentucky All State Choir sing the National Anthem in the 18 story high atrium of the Louisville Hyatt at 11:00pm, as they do every night they are there.  Hauntingly beautiful, heartfelt, and soulful it is.  Check out the 2013 version here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAEmpdSHC10

And regardless of what you might think of Wynona Judd or Bette Midler, you have to agree that The Rose, and this rendition of it, is one of the most powerful you’ve ever seen.  The words to that song should be, I think, memorized and sung by EVERYONE at least daily.  You can find that performance here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5q0KmjU0Qk

Then there are the various videos that record performances by such as Peter, Paul, and Mary, the Carpenters, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and others, depending on your age and your preferences.  Many of these performances are top-notch and bring back fond memories and a sense of well-being that is sometimes difficult to capture in life.

Whether these performers know it or not, they are displaying the creative glory that is God’s, and they are performing a real service to those of us who need to be lifted up from time to time.

Additionally, and separate from any YouTube stuff, we have the unique opportunity to surround ourselves with those friends and acquaintances who exemplify the best of humanity.  These people unselfishly serve, give, mentor, coach, discipline, train, protect, and a host of other things in their daily lives.  And they encourage others to do so as well.  I am blessed to be able to count as friends several of these folks who, daily, get up and get going in their day to make life a little better for someone else they probably don’t know.

Life is sometimes a grind.  Life is sometimes unfair.  Life is sometimes unkind.  Life is sometimes just the pits.  But I think life can be, and truly is, what we make it.  We can choose to see the dirt and the filth, or we can choose the beauty and the good.  Whatever we choose, it WILL affect our world view and how we see and react to life and living.

It all depends on what you want.

The Fall Garden

If I’m going to do it, I had better get it done soon.  What’s that?  My fall patio garden, that’s what.  I’m about 10 days past what I think is the ideal time to start a fall garden, but I’m hoping that if I can get it going today, I can still have some fall spinach, radish, and other assorted crops that I grow in my bag of Miracle Gro.

I don’t know why I’ve been putting it off so.  I enjoy doing it.  It’s just, I guess, that I haven’t had the opportunity to go by and get a bag of soil and seed.  But that should change today as I will whiz right by the garden center on my way to/from an appointment that I need to keep.  Now, if I can only remember to stop…

Do you catch yourself forgetting things that you really want to remember?  Or do you find yourself writing more notes to yourself or putting more things on your reminder phone calendar?  As you get older, are you finding it more difficult to remember where you’ve put something?  “It will be in the last place that you look, dear.”

Something seems to happen to our “rememberers” as we age.  They just don’t work quite as well, apparently, unless we’re trying to recall something that happened 40 years ago.  Then they work quite well.  It’s almost as if they want to go back to the past and live there when the body that they’re in is definitely living in the present.

I think, though, that having those kinds of issues with memory as we age is a blessing compared with those who suffer the effects of dementia of some kind.  There is something organic…something basic that causes some of us to pretty much not be there anymore.  Folks with dementia present in different ways, but the end result is often the same.  Dementia is one of the most hideous ailments known because it takes away the personhood of the individual and replaces it with a body that has no apparent soul.

On a spiritual level, I haven’t a clue whether the person is “still there” or not in cases of severe dementia.  No one has ever been cured of the illness to be able to tell us what happens during the period of dementia.  Do we perceive, but cannot respond appropriately?  Do we not perceive anything?  Is there any logical functional process during this time?  Or are we “not there,” as it seems to those on the outside?  No one knows.

So while I’m flustered by not being able to remember where I put those keys, I am grateful that at least for now, I have the “normal” forgetfulness of aging and not the beginnings of dementia.  That may come later…who knows.  Until then, I’ll do my best to remember to stop at the garden center to pick up my bag of soil and see if they have any seed packets left so I can get in that fall garden this year.

Revel In His Majesty

This time of the year, I like to go out and see what is flying around the flower beds and other flora in the yard.  We don’t have a lot of that kind of thing.  We have a small, mixed annual flower bed in the front, some rose bushes, a fish pond with some assorted plant life growing around it, and a few bushes that flower.  But the wildlife that comes around seems rather amazing to me.

I’ve seen several kinds of butter lies and also dragonflies.  I don’t know much about either species.  I just know they are beautiful to look at and can do some amazing acrobatics as they flit from flower to flower and plant to plant.  Nor do I know where they come from.  Maybe they come from the park behind our place.  Maybe they fly in from the neighbors.  Or maybe they are migrating somehow from one place to another far, far away.  I just don’t know.

What I do know is that there is an incredible diversity in animal life, whether butterflies or mammals or bacteria.  I know that each has a place in the ecosystem, and each has a job to do.  And I know that each was placed where it was by Someone who knew what he was doing when he designed things many eons ago.

You might try going out into your yard one day and just look around to see what you can see.  How many different kinds of grass and weeds are growing in your yard?  What do you see flying around?  Turn over a rock and see what’s under it.  Dig a shovel of dirt and look through it.  How many colors of flowers do you see?  What about those things that are flying around your porch light at night?  How many different kinds of them are there?  Do you see any spiders?  Toads?  Lizards?  Snakes?  They’re there…if you look.

Find some niche places in your yard and plant some things that attract butterflies, birds, insects, or other animal life.  The area doesn’t have to be large; nor does it have to be intensively cultivated, fertilized, etc.  Plant some milkweed and watch for the monarchs as they migrate. Plant some butterfly bushes, trumpet vines, or other eye-catching flora.

Set out a hummingbird feeder.  Feed the other birds in the winter when food is scarce.  You’ll see cardinals, juncos, and other winter birds flock to the feeder.  Buy a good bird identification guide and use it.  If you’re a photographer, get a camera with a long zoom and maybe an inexpensive tripod and take photos.  Use a free program on your PC or tablet to fix and enhance those photos, including cropping.  You can get some marvelous shots that way.

But above all, find some way to enjoy God’s creative glory.  Whatever you do and however you do it, revel in the majesty that is His for us to enjoy.

We Are Called

I went to the hospital first thing this morning before I stopped in at the office.  A member had been admitted for observation the evening before, and I told him I would be stopping by.  As I was walking the hall from the parking garage, I passed a younger woman.  She smiled at me and said “Good morning.”  I smiled at her and returned the greeting.  It’s a little unusual for a younger woman to greet an older man she doesn’t know in a mostly deserted hall.  Most of the time, everyone looks straight ahead and goes on.

As I got into the elevator, an older woman got in with me.  As we were going up, we exchanged pleasantries, again, somewhat unusual.  I could tell from what she said that she was a “veteran” of the hospital and knew her way around.  I could only surmise that a friend or relative had some kind of chronic issue that mandated her familiarity with the hospital.  As she exited the car on her floor, she said, “Have a good one.”  Normally, I wouldn’t think much of this phrase, but coming from her and what I presumed was a life that as of now revolved around a hospital and an illness, it was indeed unusual.

There was a third incident.  No words were exchanged.  But it was “interesting”, nevertheless.  As I went down the hall toward the room, I met up with one of those floor cleaners that the operator rides on as it goes down the hall. The cleaner puts down a small amount of water, scrubs the floor, then vacs up the remaining liquid.  The operator was running the cleaner as close to the wall as he could, but there was about a four inch space that he couldn’t get with the machine.

To solve that problem, the operator, who was riding on the machine, had a wet mop in his hand that was closest to the wall, and was dragging the mop over that four inch space behind the machine.  A novel way, to be sure, to clean that small area (if not necessarily the best way).

Normally, I don’t see much when I visit a hospital that evokes comment from me.  But all three of these incidents stuck in my mind as I processed the morning and my visit.  Someone I didn’t know, and who possibly was having a very eventful day wishing me a good morning.  One wishing me a good day when they possibly could be having a very tough day.  And one ingenious guy finding a better way (at least in his mind) to do things.

These people have made my day.  They don’t know that, but they did.  And hopefully, I can make someone’s day today (and every day) just by being friendly, civil, or courteous.  I’ll never know it either, but it’s certainly worth the effort.

Jesus told us to be salt and light.  We normally think of that as some kind of big missionary effort or some big service project.  But for the most part, being salt and light in this world can well be a smile, a greeting, or even the putting into practice of a thought or idea.  It doesn’t have to be world-shattering.  It doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. And it doesn’t have to affect 10,000 people.  One person can easily make a difference in the life of another.  And THAT is what we are called to do.

Living Without Fear

We’re getting ready for a vacation later on this summer.  Already, I am becoming a little nervous about it all, even though we are going somewhere that I chose and pretty much planned the schedule.  I get mild anxiety whenever there is anything that happens that is a little out of the ordinary for me, and this is no exception.

I think many people get a tinge of the anxiety when new things or things not in the ordinary come along.  Most of us can function just fine.  We go on and do what we need to do and no one knows otherwise.

But some of us have anxiety that disables us and makes us non-functional.  We break out in sweats.  We get chest pains.  And we become literally paralyzed.

Why is that?  Well, if I knew the answer to that, I’d probably be richer than Bill Gates.  But I don’t, and I’m not.  The fact is, I don’t think anyone really knows the root causes of anxiety, whether mild or severe.  Fear of the unknown, fear of what might happen, fear of failing and other fears may well come into play.  Of course, there can be organic causes of the ailment as well.  Who knows?

What I do know is that in the Bible, Jesus told us to not fear several times that have been recorded for us, and probably many more that haven’t been written down.  The concept of living without fear is a big one in the Christian faith.  Yet it is, I fear (there we go again) it is one of the most difficult of things to do.

So, if you’re one of those who can hide his anxiety and carry on with life, good for you.  If you’re one of those who becomes paralyzed by anxiety, don’t feel like you’ve failed yet again; rather, continue searching for ways to cope with the syndrome in your life.

And, this may seem like a platitude, but hear me out.  Whatever your anxiety level, you can truly cast your cares onto the One who can deal with them all.  If not in this life…then in the one to come.  And you WILL indeed live without fear.