April 21,1836, the Texian army defeated Santa Anna at the short Battle of San Jacinto. When the news reached the General (national) Conference of The Methodist Church, three men came forward to volunteer to be missionaries in the newly independent Republic of Texas.
One of them, Martin Ruter, was president of Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa. A fine scholar, he left that career to go to Texas. He had already done two spectacular things: 1) passed legislation in a previous national gathering to establish a college in every area as the Methodists moved westward (now numbering more than 170 nationwide), and 2) founded the Western Book Concern. Southwestern University at Georgetown was founded as Rutersville College in his honor.
After a short time in Texas, Ruter died of an illness and is buried in Navasota.
And today, we are connected. I got a reminder of his work: a catalog came from Cokesbury Books, now so named, which grew directly out of the Western Book Concern. This scholar who came to Texas as soon as he could, this one who could speak five languages and read and write seven others, this creative leader of lots of people, came to Texas.
He believed and gave his life in the fulfillment of the mission to Texas. That might not be YOUR mission, or MY mission, but he performed HIS mission in such a way that EVERYONE should be inspired to find and fulfill THEIR mission in life just as energetically.
Texans have a fine heritage! Sometimes as earthy as the backwoodsman, and sometimes as noble as the ones who shaped our high ideals. And almost uniquely to Texas, sometimes it was the backwoodsman WITH the high ideals who models out best.
Aim high.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Sunday, April 14, 2013
One Influential Rabbi
Dr. Goldstein, rabbi in Port Arthur, was an unforgettable character. Holder of five doctorates (Law, Philosophy, Medicine, Canon Law, History), a survivor of the Holocaust as a child, he had a love of life. Rabbi Goldstein drove an enormously long, old, gold Chrysler, and was "fearless" about things like stop signs and such.
I met him when he brought a program to the Port Arthur Ministers Alliances with a provocative title: "The Egyptian Roots of the Christian Communion." In part, it was a summary of the Passover rituals, and their influence on Communion through the Last Supper setting. But, in part, it was an exploration of Egyptian religion and its influence on the Hebrew Scriptures. Like most folks, I was of a mind that there was little influence flowing from Egyptian to Hebrew.
Moses grew up and was educated as an an Egyptian nobleman. He knew the law. He knew what was called the Book of Courtesies, much of which is quoted in Proverbs. And he knew another thing lost to us until after Napoleon's discovery of the Rosetta Stone: Egyptian poetry.
The spiritual poetry, with so much reflection on the world of nature and the mysteries of the stars, just the simple wonder of a starry night, was lost for such a long time. Each "new age" of rulers has always tended to erase the culture of the former dominant figures (just as the Spanish erased much of the Aztec and Inca cultures which they conquered.) But Moses knew it all well.
Bit by bit, we discover treasures, all over again, from the ancients. To slowly read ancient Egyptian poetry about the wonders of the created night sky, the magnificent gifts from the divine to the human, is to recognize that God has never hated any people, but revealed himself to those who seek him.
The key? Once I stop looking at the ancient world as a "more modern" person, and see the products of those of another time who are my equal, history and history's God begin to open into an incredibly broad view. God loves all his children. Never told more profoundly than in Jesus Christ, but never left UN-told.
(To follow up on some interesting reading: Awakening Osiris by Normandi Ellis, and The Hermetica by Freke and Gandy.)
I met him when he brought a program to the Port Arthur Ministers Alliances with a provocative title: "The Egyptian Roots of the Christian Communion." In part, it was a summary of the Passover rituals, and their influence on Communion through the Last Supper setting. But, in part, it was an exploration of Egyptian religion and its influence on the Hebrew Scriptures. Like most folks, I was of a mind that there was little influence flowing from Egyptian to Hebrew.
Moses grew up and was educated as an an Egyptian nobleman. He knew the law. He knew what was called the Book of Courtesies, much of which is quoted in Proverbs. And he knew another thing lost to us until after Napoleon's discovery of the Rosetta Stone: Egyptian poetry.
The spiritual poetry, with so much reflection on the world of nature and the mysteries of the stars, just the simple wonder of a starry night, was lost for such a long time. Each "new age" of rulers has always tended to erase the culture of the former dominant figures (just as the Spanish erased much of the Aztec and Inca cultures which they conquered.) But Moses knew it all well.
Bit by bit, we discover treasures, all over again, from the ancients. To slowly read ancient Egyptian poetry about the wonders of the created night sky, the magnificent gifts from the divine to the human, is to recognize that God has never hated any people, but revealed himself to those who seek him.
The key? Once I stop looking at the ancient world as a "more modern" person, and see the products of those of another time who are my equal, history and history's God begin to open into an incredibly broad view. God loves all his children. Never told more profoundly than in Jesus Christ, but never left UN-told.
(To follow up on some interesting reading: Awakening Osiris by Normandi Ellis, and The Hermetica by Freke and Gandy.)
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Canards and Canaries
The dictionary says:
Canard:
a : a false or unfounded report or story; especially : a fabricated report. b : a groundless rumor or belief.
"Canards" show up when political debates get long, when one side or the other is too eager for something persuasive, especially when they feel their argument is "in trouble" for one reason or another. They are the meat and potatoes of propaganda.
"Canaries" were the old-fashioned early warning signal for gasses inside mines. When the canary died, being sensitive to the gasses, it was time for the people to leave immediately.
Canards and canaries BOTH signal, in their own ways, that things are really going downhill. When a politician fabricates stuff, he or she begins to lose "believers". It is sometimes a desperate move.
You hear canards every day, usually making up "reasons" for things, or causes that really don't fit. One example of a canard is this one: "Women are about eight times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than by breast cancer, so all that concern about breast cancer is overblown." Extreme and ridiculous, but an example of what can come up in a financial argument.
Physicians and surgeons already make more money than burger-flippers, some arguments seem to run, therefore we don't need to pay them much from Medicare. Canards appear attacking most anything that does not benefit ME personally. Ranting about property taxes is a good source for finding some, if you look.
So, in healthcare discussions, gun control discussions, any good hot-button conversation, when the "Here's why...." argument comes up with unbelievable stuff, you usually have some of those weird "canards". I would wager that the Congressional Record is the depository of the largest number anywhere in the world.
And they keep recurring! 53 years ago as a college sophomore, the debate topic was "National Health Insurance", and part of our task was to recognize and refute the same canards you can hear in any conversation or political speech on the subject today. More emotion than logic (death panels, for example) they still stir up folks.
But, if you've been fooled by these weird things once, maybe twice, they lose their influence (for most folks!) and we can get on with the conversation. Our nation has plenty of conversations that need to be productive, and fewer of these old propaganda tools running around.
Canard:
a : a false or unfounded report or story; especially : a fabricated report. b : a groundless rumor or belief.
"Canards" show up when political debates get long, when one side or the other is too eager for something persuasive, especially when they feel their argument is "in trouble" for one reason or another. They are the meat and potatoes of propaganda.
"Canaries" were the old-fashioned early warning signal for gasses inside mines. When the canary died, being sensitive to the gasses, it was time for the people to leave immediately.
Canards and canaries BOTH signal, in their own ways, that things are really going downhill. When a politician fabricates stuff, he or she begins to lose "believers". It is sometimes a desperate move.
You hear canards every day, usually making up "reasons" for things, or causes that really don't fit. One example of a canard is this one: "Women are about eight times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than by breast cancer, so all that concern about breast cancer is overblown." Extreme and ridiculous, but an example of what can come up in a financial argument.
Physicians and surgeons already make more money than burger-flippers, some arguments seem to run, therefore we don't need to pay them much from Medicare. Canards appear attacking most anything that does not benefit ME personally. Ranting about property taxes is a good source for finding some, if you look.
So, in healthcare discussions, gun control discussions, any good hot-button conversation, when the "Here's why...." argument comes up with unbelievable stuff, you usually have some of those weird "canards". I would wager that the Congressional Record is the depository of the largest number anywhere in the world.
And they keep recurring! 53 years ago as a college sophomore, the debate topic was "National Health Insurance", and part of our task was to recognize and refute the same canards you can hear in any conversation or political speech on the subject today. More emotion than logic (death panels, for example) they still stir up folks.
But, if you've been fooled by these weird things once, maybe twice, they lose their influence (for most folks!) and we can get on with the conversation. Our nation has plenty of conversations that need to be productive, and fewer of these old propaganda tools running around.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
A Reality Check on "OLD"
I know, life gives you some reality checks when you start GETTING old, but there are some good moments to learn lots earlier that we sometimes want.
One of my first came in Zilker Park in Austin, in the swimming area then called Barton Springs.
Coldest water in the world! My great-aunt came for a visit, and wanted to swim a bit, so the whole family went. I was 10 at the time, and Laura was about 60. (In 10-year-old-eyes, that is OLD!!!) I waited on the long sidewalk as Laura came out of the bath-house, then we walked to the edge.
"Let's race across", she said with a grin. I thought: "this is NO challenge." But I remember being polite about it. Toes at the edge of the pavement, we both dove and hit the water at the same instant. It was SO COLD that I couldn't catch my breath, finally stood, and looked across at Laura stroking smoothly half-way across. No way to catch her, so I followed along.
"Race back?" she said. "Sure!" This time we started even, a standing start. No competition. She pulled easily away AGAIN. She waited, smiling at the bank where we'd started, and said (kindly) "You might be pretty good with practice, you know."
I was a kid, with a kid's little inexperienced world, so sure that the small, red-haired woman I was talking to was as old as the hills! Looking back at me with a world of understanding was Laura, director of Women's Physical Education and coach of the swim team at Tarleton College in Stephenville.
The lesson started then, but it took a long time to learn it (like every kid and most grown-ups) that: 'older than me is not over the hill'.
Laura loved teaching, loved physical competition, and she was (some years later) younger at 85 than some folks are at 30. She understood that faith is all about abundant life, and that kind of life just keeps growing and getting better, day after day. Her faith was not just about going-to-heaven-when-I-die; her faith was about being every ounce alive in every day that God gives.
And THAT is a reality check on getting older!
One of my first came in Zilker Park in Austin, in the swimming area then called Barton Springs.
Coldest water in the world! My great-aunt came for a visit, and wanted to swim a bit, so the whole family went. I was 10 at the time, and Laura was about 60. (In 10-year-old-eyes, that is OLD!!!) I waited on the long sidewalk as Laura came out of the bath-house, then we walked to the edge.
"Let's race across", she said with a grin. I thought: "this is NO challenge." But I remember being polite about it. Toes at the edge of the pavement, we both dove and hit the water at the same instant. It was SO COLD that I couldn't catch my breath, finally stood, and looked across at Laura stroking smoothly half-way across. No way to catch her, so I followed along.
"Race back?" she said. "Sure!" This time we started even, a standing start. No competition. She pulled easily away AGAIN. She waited, smiling at the bank where we'd started, and said (kindly) "You might be pretty good with practice, you know."
I was a kid, with a kid's little inexperienced world, so sure that the small, red-haired woman I was talking to was as old as the hills! Looking back at me with a world of understanding was Laura, director of Women's Physical Education and coach of the swim team at Tarleton College in Stephenville.
The lesson started then, but it took a long time to learn it (like every kid and most grown-ups) that: 'older than me is not over the hill'.
Laura loved teaching, loved physical competition, and she was (some years later) younger at 85 than some folks are at 30. She understood that faith is all about abundant life, and that kind of life just keeps growing and getting better, day after day. Her faith was not just about going-to-heaven-when-I-die; her faith was about being every ounce alive in every day that God gives.
And THAT is a reality check on getting older!
Friday, March 22, 2013
Ah, Grumpy Cat Profiles
Is there anyone who doesn't have a mental picture of "Grumpy Cat"? And, as important, is there anyone who doesn't know SOMEONE who really looks like "Grumpy Cat?"
I know someone, looks just like that famous cat, almost all the time. I first met her when we moved here as newcomers (more or less) about 10 years ago, looking not at all like "Grumpy Cat". She was very pleasant. I asked about background for her and her husband, and discovered they were "church people", devoted Christians who had spent much time in service. They described their history with warmth and friendliness, told of the joy they had had before their retirement, the different jobs they had done.
I listened, and then their turn came to ask. As soon as I said the denomination of my ministry, "Grumpy Cat" appeared. Short responses took over, mostly guaranteed conversation-stoppers. I was the wrong kind of cat! There was to be no "next" conversation. Over. Done.
The strategy from that point forward was a religiously based "shunning", an approach used by some groups to demonstrate their disagreement with other groups. It has yet to be demonstrated that "shunning" ever persuaded the one shunned to suddenly draw closer to the "shunner." The only result, so far as I know, ever, is to erect a wall that is then grumpily maintained over the years. Different groups have done this throughout history, and, as an example, you can find documented in the lives of American presidents and their families who has shunned who.
It has never seemed to have a good outcome, persuaded anyone, or drawn people or families together, but some do persist.
John Wesley evangelized in a time in England when polarization and shunning were familiar. He was banned from preaching in churches of the Church of England, although he remained a priest in that church until he died. His response was quite simple: let's lay aside the doctrinal fine points. "If your heart be as my heart, give me your hand." If you belong to Christ, if you love Jesus, if you are part of the Body of Christ, then we are close kin! That blew fresh air into the church in that day, blew out the smoke of old and smoldering arguments, and kindled a new joy into relationships.
Still works! Except for those who are committed to shunning. But along the way, you discover so many who DO respond to the joyful opening of new friendships, you soon don't take Grumpy Cat seriously.
There is so much joy to be discovered, it is worth it to put aside one of the rougher elements of human nature, and celebrate whoever it is that God places in front of you.
Smile. Take a hand. Find joy in life. Discover what Jesus intends for every life.
I know someone, looks just like that famous cat, almost all the time. I first met her when we moved here as newcomers (more or less) about 10 years ago, looking not at all like "Grumpy Cat". She was very pleasant. I asked about background for her and her husband, and discovered they were "church people", devoted Christians who had spent much time in service. They described their history with warmth and friendliness, told of the joy they had had before their retirement, the different jobs they had done.
I listened, and then their turn came to ask. As soon as I said the denomination of my ministry, "Grumpy Cat" appeared. Short responses took over, mostly guaranteed conversation-stoppers. I was the wrong kind of cat! There was to be no "next" conversation. Over. Done.
The strategy from that point forward was a religiously based "shunning", an approach used by some groups to demonstrate their disagreement with other groups. It has yet to be demonstrated that "shunning" ever persuaded the one shunned to suddenly draw closer to the "shunner." The only result, so far as I know, ever, is to erect a wall that is then grumpily maintained over the years. Different groups have done this throughout history, and, as an example, you can find documented in the lives of American presidents and their families who has shunned who.
It has never seemed to have a good outcome, persuaded anyone, or drawn people or families together, but some do persist.
John Wesley evangelized in a time in England when polarization and shunning were familiar. He was banned from preaching in churches of the Church of England, although he remained a priest in that church until he died. His response was quite simple: let's lay aside the doctrinal fine points. "If your heart be as my heart, give me your hand." If you belong to Christ, if you love Jesus, if you are part of the Body of Christ, then we are close kin! That blew fresh air into the church in that day, blew out the smoke of old and smoldering arguments, and kindled a new joy into relationships.
Still works! Except for those who are committed to shunning. But along the way, you discover so many who DO respond to the joyful opening of new friendships, you soon don't take Grumpy Cat seriously.
There is so much joy to be discovered, it is worth it to put aside one of the rougher elements of human nature, and celebrate whoever it is that God places in front of you.
Smile. Take a hand. Find joy in life. Discover what Jesus intends for every life.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Growing Up Fast
His Mom was a widow, he'd been told. No one mentioned she was, in the language of the day, a "grass" widow (a woman whose husband had just left). So when the state senator needed a page in Austin, he was eager to go.
At age 12, he was the page for the state senator from Tyler, discovering Austin. Legislative sessions are less than a half year, once every other year. So, before the Great Depression, he was living in Austin, at first with an uncle, and then in his own apartment, writing for a small newspaper.
At age 14, a man approached him on the Capitol grounds, asking about his relatives in Smith County, knowing all the names, but refusing to identify himself. A short conversation, then the man disappeared. This prompted him to pursue just exactly what had happened to his father. The truth came out, and he found his father living in Florida. By this time, as the Depression deepened, he was alone in Austin, with a secure job, feeling a bit detached from the economy around him.
Some folks grow up slowly, extending "youth" through graduate school, having to be "grown-up" as late as 28 or so. For him, it was like learning to swim by being thrown off the end of the pier!
The lesson in all this? It does not have to be made easy for a person to succeed. Success is a matter of finding purpose and direction, finding that internal compass which guides us to "make something happen".
(It can be a characteristic to search out in historical figures. From Abraham Lincoln becoming the best self-taught lawyer and orator in our history, to simple folks that you and I know, what happens internally is the key. )
The boy who started growing up very early went back to Austin after World War II, but this time as an honor doctoral student in graduate school, preparing to be a teacher. A calling to ministry interrupted him, in a way, turned a corner in his education, and the boy who left home at 12 became a life-time student, and an articulate pastor and preacher.
Some folks grow up fast, and discover that growing up doesn't ever need to stop! Jesus' gift of abundant life can always be a life-long adventure of becoming. And then looking back and celebrating just how good life has been!
At age 12, he was the page for the state senator from Tyler, discovering Austin. Legislative sessions are less than a half year, once every other year. So, before the Great Depression, he was living in Austin, at first with an uncle, and then in his own apartment, writing for a small newspaper.
At age 14, a man approached him on the Capitol grounds, asking about his relatives in Smith County, knowing all the names, but refusing to identify himself. A short conversation, then the man disappeared. This prompted him to pursue just exactly what had happened to his father. The truth came out, and he found his father living in Florida. By this time, as the Depression deepened, he was alone in Austin, with a secure job, feeling a bit detached from the economy around him.
Some folks grow up slowly, extending "youth" through graduate school, having to be "grown-up" as late as 28 or so. For him, it was like learning to swim by being thrown off the end of the pier!
The lesson in all this? It does not have to be made easy for a person to succeed. Success is a matter of finding purpose and direction, finding that internal compass which guides us to "make something happen".
(It can be a characteristic to search out in historical figures. From Abraham Lincoln becoming the best self-taught lawyer and orator in our history, to simple folks that you and I know, what happens internally is the key. )
The boy who started growing up very early went back to Austin after World War II, but this time as an honor doctoral student in graduate school, preparing to be a teacher. A calling to ministry interrupted him, in a way, turned a corner in his education, and the boy who left home at 12 became a life-time student, and an articulate pastor and preacher.
Some folks grow up fast, and discover that growing up doesn't ever need to stop! Jesus' gift of abundant life can always be a life-long adventure of becoming. And then looking back and celebrating just how good life has been!
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
One Generation and Another
My mother's best friend stayed in touch all their lives. Every trip meant a post-card, every holiday a greeting. By the time their 50th high school reunion came around, they were both eager to get back to Jacksonville.
Mom's friend had been her tennis partner in high school, and they made a run for the state tournament the last year. Having a familiar name in Galveston, and later in Indianapolis, she was always a fun guest to see in the hometown.
Taking Mom to her reunion, my son rode along.
"How did she get to Jacksonville today?" he asked.
"I think in her plane." Mom replied.
"She flew a plane???" he asked.
"Oh, probably not. I think she has a pilot now!"
"Probably not??? You mean what?"
"Well, Amelia Earhart was her idol when we were in high school, and she got a license early on. She's flown all over the world, and her husband has the record for being the oldest licensed pilot in Indiana. But today, I imagine her pilot flew the plane for her." Mom filled him in.
There was a long, almost silent sound from the back seat: "Wow!"
My son discovered in that moment that folks now old, in fact with LOTS of years, haven't always BEEN old. She and her husband had flown all over the world, hired pilots when they needed them, and finally graduated to a company plane when they no longer wanted to own one personally. She had studied Amelia Earhart just like my son had studied Luke Skywalker and a whole collection of basketball players.
And it was just like the day that my Dad said to me and to my son, "Now, when you go to Austin, and visit the State Capitol, don't you be even thinking about crawling out a second floor window and walking that ridge that goes all the way around the outside of the building. Don't even think about it!" Which immediately did two things: first, it made us look at that ridge and check out that it was possible to do it! and second, re-envision my Dad as an adventurous teenager!
What do you see? Ah, what do you perceive? I see an older neighbor all ancient and stooped, but I perceive a 19-year old fearless young man (hidden inside) who flew back and forth over Omaha Beach, in the early morning darkness, flying paratroopers behind the enemy lines on D-Day.
Seeing doesn't amount to much without the perceiving! And there's a world to perceive all around us.
Mom's friend had been her tennis partner in high school, and they made a run for the state tournament the last year. Having a familiar name in Galveston, and later in Indianapolis, she was always a fun guest to see in the hometown.
Taking Mom to her reunion, my son rode along.
"How did she get to Jacksonville today?" he asked.
"I think in her plane." Mom replied.
"She flew a plane???" he asked.
"Oh, probably not. I think she has a pilot now!"
"Probably not??? You mean what?"
"Well, Amelia Earhart was her idol when we were in high school, and she got a license early on. She's flown all over the world, and her husband has the record for being the oldest licensed pilot in Indiana. But today, I imagine her pilot flew the plane for her." Mom filled him in.
There was a long, almost silent sound from the back seat: "Wow!"
My son discovered in that moment that folks now old, in fact with LOTS of years, haven't always BEEN old. She and her husband had flown all over the world, hired pilots when they needed them, and finally graduated to a company plane when they no longer wanted to own one personally. She had studied Amelia Earhart just like my son had studied Luke Skywalker and a whole collection of basketball players.
And it was just like the day that my Dad said to me and to my son, "Now, when you go to Austin, and visit the State Capitol, don't you be even thinking about crawling out a second floor window and walking that ridge that goes all the way around the outside of the building. Don't even think about it!" Which immediately did two things: first, it made us look at that ridge and check out that it was possible to do it! and second, re-envision my Dad as an adventurous teenager!
What do you see? Ah, what do you perceive? I see an older neighbor all ancient and stooped, but I perceive a 19-year old fearless young man (hidden inside) who flew back and forth over Omaha Beach, in the early morning darkness, flying paratroopers behind the enemy lines on D-Day.
Seeing doesn't amount to much without the perceiving! And there's a world to perceive all around us.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Doing History
How do you "do" history? When enough of us share memories and insights, then a picture develops. I like to share family and other stories that are just good, and provide some historical insight. Here's a part of the picture that sent me down this road.
For a long time in Texas public schools, J. L. Clark's textbook on Texas history was the standard for junior high school mandatory classes. My mother was his secretary for a season, and one afternoon when I was 9, sitting in his office, he offered me a simple project. Fold some paper, and seal it with sealing wax. Blue and red were available, along with a signet ring with a large H. I did a few, and stamped the insignia in the wax with the ring.
I looked over at him and he asked if I liked the process. "Yes, but what is the H?
"Sam Houston", he said.
"The college?"
"No, Sam himself. That is his kit and his ring you're using. If you're through, I need to take them back to the museum this afternoon."
That capital H became more than Houston in that moment. It became a new face for History! History in your hands is just not the same as history on a printed page! It takes on a life of its own, and grows when it is shared.
History is not irrelevant stuff you gotta memorize! History is the retained past, things other people did in their own "moment" when they were all involved in their "today".
When you track your own heritage and history, and understand how things got to be the way they are, you're equipped for tomorrow, as well as you can be.
New York Faces a "COST" of Democracy
Whatever can we do about obesity? New York's answer was to ban super-size sugary drinks. Not so bad, on the surface, but after reflection, that law by a judges decision is out. And that's good.
Democracy means the freedom of choices. Limits are there (the freedom to swing my fist stops at the tip of your nose!) but generally we have a lot of freedom. Check it out historically, and by comparison to most of the rest of the world. We are free.
If I want to visit my son's family, I just get in the car and go the 90 miles. For my daughter's family, I get in the car and drive 1800 miles. I don't check with anyone, it's just a thing to be done. Many parts of the world don't have that freedom of movement.
Of course, it's not good for me to be obese (maybe a little chubby is o.k.), but freedom means I have the right to do dumb stuff! I can eat all the double cheeseburgers and king-size fries available, washed down with vast quantities of carbonated sugar drinks. I can drive irresponsibly whenever and wherever (tickets may happen). But that is my personal freedom of expression, and it is basic.
Restrained from doing harm to my neighbor and free to make personal choices is a fundamental value. The court was right to allow drinks to be whatever size one wants to order!
But, there are consequences to freedom that are a part of its makeup, part of its cost. And that's good; it encourages us to be grown-ups. I choose not to smoke, but I remember my grandfather's laughter as he said, "Turkish tobacco and Scotch Whiskey are gonna do me in someday". At 84, they finally did, I suppose. But we are free to weigh the costs, and that's good!
Sometimes, whatever seems like a cost just may turn out to be a very worthwhile bargain.
Democracy means the freedom of choices. Limits are there (the freedom to swing my fist stops at the tip of your nose!) but generally we have a lot of freedom. Check it out historically, and by comparison to most of the rest of the world. We are free.
If I want to visit my son's family, I just get in the car and go the 90 miles. For my daughter's family, I get in the car and drive 1800 miles. I don't check with anyone, it's just a thing to be done. Many parts of the world don't have that freedom of movement.
Of course, it's not good for me to be obese (maybe a little chubby is o.k.), but freedom means I have the right to do dumb stuff! I can eat all the double cheeseburgers and king-size fries available, washed down with vast quantities of carbonated sugar drinks. I can drive irresponsibly whenever and wherever (tickets may happen). But that is my personal freedom of expression, and it is basic.
Restrained from doing harm to my neighbor and free to make personal choices is a fundamental value. The court was right to allow drinks to be whatever size one wants to order!
But, there are consequences to freedom that are a part of its makeup, part of its cost. And that's good; it encourages us to be grown-ups. I choose not to smoke, but I remember my grandfather's laughter as he said, "Turkish tobacco and Scotch Whiskey are gonna do me in someday". At 84, they finally did, I suppose. But we are free to weigh the costs, and that's good!
Sometimes, whatever seems like a cost just may turn out to be a very worthwhile bargain.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Wealth at the Third Generation
The older mall in Houston was about to be torn down, replaced by something new. A men's store offered a going-out-of-business sale. When I went in, there were two salesmen, both well past 70, with a style that seemed a bit out of place in that little store. They had the air of specialists, selling to Houston's most prosperous men over a whole career. Polished, articulate, they were just winding down a successful lifetime of selling the very best merchandise offered anywhere.
Friendly, they shared easily that they had just retired from Houston's now-closed premier retailer. Both had gone to work as young men, sold men's wear, served Houston's high society. And they had ridden the store in it's downward spiral. And that day, they were talking about that spiral, that decline.
"The old man, incredible worker, started with almost nothing - but oh, he could sell! And customers became like family, loyal, loving, perpetual, they bought everything right there. When the store grew, and moved, and became huge, there was the old man, still family with customers."
That was generation ONE. Generation TWO worked a 40 hour week, depended on staff, delegated customer care and relationships. The business slowed, but was still incredibly good. The old man would have been concerned, though, recognizing that it was running a flat line, not growing at all.
Then came generation THREE. Play time! Everything was delegated, and management adopted a new style. Not so much in 21st century language that has become familiar: "too big to fail", but the mental set was there. "WE are too big to fail."
But then the incredible size of the retail operation somehow distanced itself from the "customer-family", and began to come apart, to un-ravel, and finally slide into bankruptcy.
The two men reflected: First generation builds; second generation inherits and maintains; third generation has no idea what they have in hand. Then it fades away.
Farmers know that truth, retailers know it, students of nations and politics know it.
And WISE people resolve never to forget that NOTHING just happens! Un-wise people, year after year, look around at their momentary comfort, say to themselves: "We be US! We deserve all this! It will last forever."
Which are we? Whatever we think of ourselves will inevitably play itself out, won't it? Retailers, nations, individuals. We can always choose which generation we will be!
Friendly, they shared easily that they had just retired from Houston's now-closed premier retailer. Both had gone to work as young men, sold men's wear, served Houston's high society. And they had ridden the store in it's downward spiral. And that day, they were talking about that spiral, that decline.
"The old man, incredible worker, started with almost nothing - but oh, he could sell! And customers became like family, loyal, loving, perpetual, they bought everything right there. When the store grew, and moved, and became huge, there was the old man, still family with customers."
That was generation ONE. Generation TWO worked a 40 hour week, depended on staff, delegated customer care and relationships. The business slowed, but was still incredibly good. The old man would have been concerned, though, recognizing that it was running a flat line, not growing at all.
Then came generation THREE. Play time! Everything was delegated, and management adopted a new style. Not so much in 21st century language that has become familiar: "too big to fail", but the mental set was there. "WE are too big to fail."
But then the incredible size of the retail operation somehow distanced itself from the "customer-family", and began to come apart, to un-ravel, and finally slide into bankruptcy.
The two men reflected: First generation builds; second generation inherits and maintains; third generation has no idea what they have in hand. Then it fades away.
Farmers know that truth, retailers know it, students of nations and politics know it.
And WISE people resolve never to forget that NOTHING just happens! Un-wise people, year after year, look around at their momentary comfort, say to themselves: "We be US! We deserve all this! It will last forever."
Which are we? Whatever we think of ourselves will inevitably play itself out, won't it? Retailers, nations, individuals. We can always choose which generation we will be!
Friday, March 8, 2013
A New Pope
The Wall Street Journal today did an article on what to expect/want in a new pope.
Here's a piece of that:
Here's a piece of that:
Can democracy "long endure" if public policy compels religious institutions to be conveyor belts for government "services" that a religious community considers immoral? Or if the state decides who ought to be a religious minister? As an advocate for religious freedom in full and religious freedom for all, the new pope can help to strengthen civil society and its free institutions, which are both elementary schools of democracy and barriers against the encroachment of the Leviathan state.
Can democracy "long endure" if democracies lack a critical mass of citizens who cherish the common good as well as individual freedom, who complement self-reliance with voluntary charitable service to others, and who understand that they have obligations to future generations, not just to me, myself and I? A pope who calls the West out of the sandbox of self-absorption and into a nobler vision of human possibility could do wonders for the democratic project.
The next pope should be, in short, a charismatic, missionary culture warrior, challenging the world's democracies to rebuild their moral foundations and offering Catholic social doctrine as one tool for that urgent task.
-
In all this, there is a call for Protestants to join Catholics in prayer for this hugely significant time for the entire Body of Christ, all of us.
Legal? Well, it depends-----
Mid-morning on Sunday, on the front porch of a rural church in the middle of an almost-wilderness in eastern Texas, many square miles of forest with no paved road cutting through. It was a beautiful spring morning, no breeze, no clouds, totally clear sky.
As I talked with the county judge, directly in front of us, maybe 1 mile distant, a slim, white, straight plume of smoke rose up, and up, and up.
"What's that?" I said.
"What?" said the judge.
"There" I pointed.
"I don't see anything, preacher, and you don't either."
Obviously it was a still, a maker of moonshine, long after most folks presumed illegal whiskey had disappeared years before. Not so.
Legal? No. Was anyone going to pursue it? No. It was local, probably everyone known by name, and that plume would rise like that on most any clear day, for a long future.
Listen to conversations sometimes. Bad things that are OUR things are often laughed off`. Bad things that are someone ELSE'S things are roundly condemned. "Home Game" is not just a sports thing, you know.
And those little exceptions that all of us know about can become big problems for a tight population. It works in the country, sometimes, but in the population density of a crowded city, not so well.
There's a big difference between doing what's right and doing what one can get away with.
Worth pondering in my own choices. Maybe yours.
As I talked with the county judge, directly in front of us, maybe 1 mile distant, a slim, white, straight plume of smoke rose up, and up, and up.
"What's that?" I said.
"What?" said the judge.
"There" I pointed.
"I don't see anything, preacher, and you don't either."
Obviously it was a still, a maker of moonshine, long after most folks presumed illegal whiskey had disappeared years before. Not so.
Legal? No. Was anyone going to pursue it? No. It was local, probably everyone known by name, and that plume would rise like that on most any clear day, for a long future.
Listen to conversations sometimes. Bad things that are OUR things are often laughed off`. Bad things that are someone ELSE'S things are roundly condemned. "Home Game" is not just a sports thing, you know.
And those little exceptions that all of us know about can become big problems for a tight population. It works in the country, sometimes, but in the population density of a crowded city, not so well.
There's a big difference between doing what's right and doing what one can get away with.
Worth pondering in my own choices. Maybe yours.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
The Mentor Who NEVER Gave Up
After retirement, the mentor I've written about took time to travel. When I worried about the expense of some of the trips for a lifetime teacher, she said, "I prepared for retirement, so that my disposable income went up when I retired."
There was the trip to Japan. She wanted to see so much, but particularly the Kyoto Zoo. Making a long story short, she was startled by a large deer and tripped over the edging along the sidewalk, breaking a hip. Surgery was done quickly, therapy followed, and she took a flight back to the U.S. A short time of therapy near home, and then the Physical Therapist announced one day that there would be no further improvement. It was "as good as it would get", with her still limping on a cane.
She simply said: "I don't think so!", took her cane for a long walk outside, and began immediately shopping for a better recovery system. After checking several exercise programs, she settled on one called Body Recall. She became convinced of the value, and went to Kentucky to visit with the national head of the program. She sold her church on sponsoring it and promoted it. She traveled to other churches (including one that I served), and started Body Recall in several places.
For her? She made a full recovery, left the cane behind, resumed her travels all over the world. China and Africa followed. Problems caught up with her now and then, but she was never passive!
How? She absolutely refused to give up! Aging happened. Frailty came in its time. When you live past 90, sometimes things don't work like you expect. You boldly look reality in the face, head on, and learn how to say: "It is what it is." You pray and study, you love your people, including your church people. You push yourself, but you never, never just give up!
But life is too precious and too good simply to give up!
Jesus offers "the abundant life"; and that is not a matter that just says: "I used to....", not for "in heaven by and by", it is for today!
There was the trip to Japan. She wanted to see so much, but particularly the Kyoto Zoo. Making a long story short, she was startled by a large deer and tripped over the edging along the sidewalk, breaking a hip. Surgery was done quickly, therapy followed, and she took a flight back to the U.S. A short time of therapy near home, and then the Physical Therapist announced one day that there would be no further improvement. It was "as good as it would get", with her still limping on a cane.
She simply said: "I don't think so!", took her cane for a long walk outside, and began immediately shopping for a better recovery system. After checking several exercise programs, she settled on one called Body Recall. She became convinced of the value, and went to Kentucky to visit with the national head of the program. She sold her church on sponsoring it and promoted it. She traveled to other churches (including one that I served), and started Body Recall in several places.
For her? She made a full recovery, left the cane behind, resumed her travels all over the world. China and Africa followed. Problems caught up with her now and then, but she was never passive!
How? She absolutely refused to give up! Aging happened. Frailty came in its time. When you live past 90, sometimes things don't work like you expect. You boldly look reality in the face, head on, and learn how to say: "It is what it is." You pray and study, you love your people, including your church people. You push yourself, but you never, never just give up!
But life is too precious and too good simply to give up!
Jesus offers "the abundant life"; and that is not a matter that just says: "I used to....", not for "in heaven by and by", it is for today!
Sunday, February 24, 2013
More on the Mentor
Her name as I grew up was "Sis", the older sister among my aunts and uncles.
She stayed "older sister", mentor, pattern setter, all her life. And she acted out what she taught.
My favorite story happened during the rapid growth phase of Lamar U. in Beaumont. On her way to class, arms full of papers, walking through an area where a Ditch-Witch had cut several channels in the grass along the sidewalk, she got bumped to her left by a student in a hurry. There was, of course, a channel cut along the side walk to her left side.
After two steps it was clear she was falling to the left! Grey hair in a bun, sensible shoes, very professorial, arms full of papers, the angle of the lean made things clear. She was falling. Ah, but with a flex of the left leg, and a strong extension pushing off, a dip of the shoulder, and a quick twist, Sis rolled across her back and shoulders, arms clutched around the papers, completed the roll shifting balance to her feet, and stood in the grass.
There was applause!
And what did she say? "Oh, that's nothing, really. I've taught that move to young actors for the last 40 years. Anyone could do it. But thank you for the applause."
Later that year, I was privileged to go along for the Speech Department Christmas party. Good grief, there were professors tripping over doorways, missing the "sit down" on chairs, stumbling down the stairs! Laughter everywhere. As an exhibition for a 19-year-old college student, it was a game-changer!
What's possible in life? Almost anything you want to prepare for! Want to be a highly skilled surgeon, design a flight simulator, create breakthrough moments in some field that fascinates you? Well! Prepare for it! A rule of thumb for "mastery" in many fields is like that for music: Invest 10,000 hours to master your target. Violin or dentistry, acting or surgery, there is an investment that might mean starting in the teen years and last until you're 30 or more. Invest 10,000 hours in "goofing off" and you KNOW what you get.
What's possible? A lot more than some folks think, for sure.
That's what the mentor was all about!
Thanks, Sis.
She stayed "older sister", mentor, pattern setter, all her life. And she acted out what she taught.
My favorite story happened during the rapid growth phase of Lamar U. in Beaumont. On her way to class, arms full of papers, walking through an area where a Ditch-Witch had cut several channels in the grass along the sidewalk, she got bumped to her left by a student in a hurry. There was, of course, a channel cut along the side walk to her left side.
After two steps it was clear she was falling to the left! Grey hair in a bun, sensible shoes, very professorial, arms full of papers, the angle of the lean made things clear. She was falling. Ah, but with a flex of the left leg, and a strong extension pushing off, a dip of the shoulder, and a quick twist, Sis rolled across her back and shoulders, arms clutched around the papers, completed the roll shifting balance to her feet, and stood in the grass.
There was applause!
And what did she say? "Oh, that's nothing, really. I've taught that move to young actors for the last 40 years. Anyone could do it. But thank you for the applause."
Later that year, I was privileged to go along for the Speech Department Christmas party. Good grief, there were professors tripping over doorways, missing the "sit down" on chairs, stumbling down the stairs! Laughter everywhere. As an exhibition for a 19-year-old college student, it was a game-changer!
What's possible in life? Almost anything you want to prepare for! Want to be a highly skilled surgeon, design a flight simulator, create breakthrough moments in some field that fascinates you? Well! Prepare for it! A rule of thumb for "mastery" in many fields is like that for music: Invest 10,000 hours to master your target. Violin or dentistry, acting or surgery, there is an investment that might mean starting in the teen years and last until you're 30 or more. Invest 10,000 hours in "goofing off" and you KNOW what you get.
What's possible? A lot more than some folks think, for sure.
That's what the mentor was all about!
Thanks, Sis.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
The Power of Purpose
I've been reading a bit about Viktor Frankl this week, and about purpose, and the superiority of purpose over happiness. Other people's purpose can sometimes inspire us in ways that surprise them and us.
My aunt taught. She loved teaching speech and English. She loved speech therapy, and did a bit of it. She loved theater, and got a Masters in theater and costume design.
As she approached her 50th birthday, she started working on adding speech therapy to the curriculum at the college where she taught speech and story-telling. Bit by bit, she got others enthused about the college being able to offer a clinical speech therapy program, and a degree in the subject. Year after year, she worked with accrediting agencies, and with the administration of the college (by this time called a University), until she could see the program beginning to happen.
She could also see that, in developing higher criteria for education in speech therapy, she was no longer qualified to actually teach in the program. But, she kept working through the process, the first courses were added to the curriculum, the subject was offered as a major, and a department was funded.
When she came to her retirement, the department had its own building, professors and assistants were on staff, and the first graduates received diplomas.
She was delighted! Did she ever teach? No. Was she ever named or recognized as being integral to the program? No. Was she happy? Yes, and in a particular way. There is a kind of happiness that, as Frankl said it, ENSUES when purpose is fulfilled. It is a kind of happiness that you can't PURSUE, hoping to find a particular feeling. It is a kind of happiness that almost finds us when we are looking the other way, pouring ourselves into purpose that is worth the effort. And it is the best kind, you know.
My aunt taught. She loved teaching speech and English. She loved speech therapy, and did a bit of it. She loved theater, and got a Masters in theater and costume design.
As she approached her 50th birthday, she started working on adding speech therapy to the curriculum at the college where she taught speech and story-telling. Bit by bit, she got others enthused about the college being able to offer a clinical speech therapy program, and a degree in the subject. Year after year, she worked with accrediting agencies, and with the administration of the college (by this time called a University), until she could see the program beginning to happen.
She could also see that, in developing higher criteria for education in speech therapy, she was no longer qualified to actually teach in the program. But, she kept working through the process, the first courses were added to the curriculum, the subject was offered as a major, and a department was funded.
When she came to her retirement, the department had its own building, professors and assistants were on staff, and the first graduates received diplomas.
She was delighted! Did she ever teach? No. Was she ever named or recognized as being integral to the program? No. Was she happy? Yes, and in a particular way. There is a kind of happiness that, as Frankl said it, ENSUES when purpose is fulfilled. It is a kind of happiness that you can't PURSUE, hoping to find a particular feeling. It is a kind of happiness that almost finds us when we are looking the other way, pouring ourselves into purpose that is worth the effort. And it is the best kind, you know.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Against False Fears
It's been a while since I did a blog; medical issues have come to our house, resolving now, and life is better and lighter!
I've been thinking about the very verbal folks these days working on (and building up) fear. Fear about the economy, fear of the government, fear of secret and hidden forces that are a clear and present danger to simple folks such as us living in East Texas. There's just a lot of it.
I remember when I was a youth, there was a huge amount of fear being "stoked" by Senator Joseph McCarthy and other, the anticommunist crusaders who saw communists and communist-sympathizers everywhere. They must be exposed. They must be black-listed, not allowed on stage or screen or in newspapers. Huge hearings in Washington, recruiting people to turn other people in.
There was an uncle who was totally into "the cause". He was a "true" patriot. My Dad was NOT into the cause. I asked him one day why not? "Well, most of the charges being made are false, in the first place. In the second place, they are being used to attract attention and further the political careers of a few folks. And, in the third place, communism, especially as practiced in the Soviet Union, is so flawed a system that it will fall of its own weight!"
Well, McCarthy was totally discredited, a major assistant, Richard Nixon, lasted a bit longer and went higher, only to collapse in intrigue and dishonesty. And the Soviet Union? It collapsed, from the inside, because it was a totally unworkable system of governance.
Every government that lasts rules with the consent of the governed! No consent: no durability. We've forgotten that basic political truth, it seems. Truth works. Wild charges, re-writing the Constitution to favor a political viewpoint, obstuctionism, and the apparent chorus of Chicken Little, all roll along. But TRUTH continues to win arguments.
I remember Dad coming home from the office one day, after having met with a very influential leader of the city who was paranoid about communists. They managed a pleasant conversation. Dad said the only reason it stayed pleasant was because the man across the desk had no idea of the contents of the books on my Dad's shelf! Paranoid, uneducated in either history or politics, emotionally over the top, the visitor never stopped talking! But he followed Senator McCarthy without question. And his day passed, and the emotions are largely forgotten.
Learning history BEFORE pronouncing judgement on leaders or on the Constitution is really a pretty good idea. But human nature forgets that. When we choose to listen to whoever talks at the greatest volume, we can be both fooled and frightened. Unfortunately, some folks try to defend the Constitution without reading it.
The next time someone angrily tells you what the Constitution MEANS, don't argue, just go and read the relevant part. Maybe they just don't know, after all, and it is just the paranoia speaking.
We can do better, you know.
I've been thinking about the very verbal folks these days working on (and building up) fear. Fear about the economy, fear of the government, fear of secret and hidden forces that are a clear and present danger to simple folks such as us living in East Texas. There's just a lot of it.
I remember when I was a youth, there was a huge amount of fear being "stoked" by Senator Joseph McCarthy and other, the anticommunist crusaders who saw communists and communist-sympathizers everywhere. They must be exposed. They must be black-listed, not allowed on stage or screen or in newspapers. Huge hearings in Washington, recruiting people to turn other people in.
There was an uncle who was totally into "the cause". He was a "true" patriot. My Dad was NOT into the cause. I asked him one day why not? "Well, most of the charges being made are false, in the first place. In the second place, they are being used to attract attention and further the political careers of a few folks. And, in the third place, communism, especially as practiced in the Soviet Union, is so flawed a system that it will fall of its own weight!"
Well, McCarthy was totally discredited, a major assistant, Richard Nixon, lasted a bit longer and went higher, only to collapse in intrigue and dishonesty. And the Soviet Union? It collapsed, from the inside, because it was a totally unworkable system of governance.
Every government that lasts rules with the consent of the governed! No consent: no durability. We've forgotten that basic political truth, it seems. Truth works. Wild charges, re-writing the Constitution to favor a political viewpoint, obstuctionism, and the apparent chorus of Chicken Little, all roll along. But TRUTH continues to win arguments.
I remember Dad coming home from the office one day, after having met with a very influential leader of the city who was paranoid about communists. They managed a pleasant conversation. Dad said the only reason it stayed pleasant was because the man across the desk had no idea of the contents of the books on my Dad's shelf! Paranoid, uneducated in either history or politics, emotionally over the top, the visitor never stopped talking! But he followed Senator McCarthy without question. And his day passed, and the emotions are largely forgotten.
Learning history BEFORE pronouncing judgement on leaders or on the Constitution is really a pretty good idea. But human nature forgets that. When we choose to listen to whoever talks at the greatest volume, we can be both fooled and frightened. Unfortunately, some folks try to defend the Constitution without reading it.
The next time someone angrily tells you what the Constitution MEANS, don't argue, just go and read the relevant part. Maybe they just don't know, after all, and it is just the paranoia speaking.
We can do better, you know.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Defeating "Straw Men"?
He's at it again!
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to defend his country against hostility from the U.S. after the totalitarian state said last week it will test a nuclear weapon. In fact, there is no hostile activity from the U.S. toward North Korea. In fact that we have offered assistance for the frequent famine in his country, but Mr. Kim roars in defiance against a non-existent threat. It is old-fashioned political theater!
In our country, A sheriff campaigned that he "would not allow Sharia law in my county!" Another sheriff announced that he would oppose the President's unconstitutional mandates. Later he admitted that he didn't know if there was any unconstitutional mandate actually issued. Ferocious statements about bravely fighting threats that are only straw men; that don't exist.
Bravely announcing that they are our champions against governmental tyranny, some politicians slay the straw men that don't exist. Over and over. Until some folks fearfully believe that they DO exist, and follow along.
Waving the flag and declaring patriotism don't guarantee the truth of what the speaker says. "Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel" is a piece of wisdom that goes back to the founding fathers. and Grandma's response is still appropriate: "pretty is as pretty does".
And what should we do personally in this mix? Ignore some of the rhetoric, and focus on taking care of local business. Help someone close at hand. Do something to make someone more cheerful. Spend some time as a volunteer to make your neighborhood more responsive to people who need you. Say less and do more.
And first of all, if the potential leader wants to lead by "fear" maybe it is a false fear that the speaker is stirring up. Demagogues and dictators rule by raising fear. And when the fear is a "straw man" that doesn't even exist, it is time to "tune out" that speaker, and make up your own mind.
Nothing builds a sense of freedom so securely as the moment of realizing what enthusiastic speaker to "tune out".
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to defend his country against hostility from the U.S. after the totalitarian state said last week it will test a nuclear weapon. In fact, there is no hostile activity from the U.S. toward North Korea. In fact that we have offered assistance for the frequent famine in his country, but Mr. Kim roars in defiance against a non-existent threat. It is old-fashioned political theater!
In our country, A sheriff campaigned that he "would not allow Sharia law in my county!" Another sheriff announced that he would oppose the President's unconstitutional mandates. Later he admitted that he didn't know if there was any unconstitutional mandate actually issued. Ferocious statements about bravely fighting threats that are only straw men; that don't exist.
Bravely announcing that they are our champions against governmental tyranny, some politicians slay the straw men that don't exist. Over and over. Until some folks fearfully believe that they DO exist, and follow along.
Waving the flag and declaring patriotism don't guarantee the truth of what the speaker says. "Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel" is a piece of wisdom that goes back to the founding fathers. and Grandma's response is still appropriate: "pretty is as pretty does".
And what should we do personally in this mix? Ignore some of the rhetoric, and focus on taking care of local business. Help someone close at hand. Do something to make someone more cheerful. Spend some time as a volunteer to make your neighborhood more responsive to people who need you. Say less and do more.
And first of all, if the potential leader wants to lead by "fear" maybe it is a false fear that the speaker is stirring up. Demagogues and dictators rule by raising fear. And when the fear is a "straw man" that doesn't even exist, it is time to "tune out" that speaker, and make up your own mind.
Nothing builds a sense of freedom so securely as the moment of realizing what enthusiastic speaker to "tune out".
Saturday, January 26, 2013
A Pre-Amendment Freedom: First for Me
With all the talk of freedoms of various kinds, here's a reflection: here's one that is non-governmental, can't be restricted or defined except by myself. I am free to listen and receive. I am free to INTAKE, to receive, to read, to absorb from any and every source out there. I am responsible only to myself.
This morning, I enjoyed Wait-Wait-Don't-Tell-Me on NPR ( hilarious!). Every chance I get, I enjoy CAR GUYS on NPR. The other day, I asked a friend if he liked CAR GUYS, since he is a total "car guy". His response: "I never listen to NPR. It's all liberal, you know."
"So," I asked,"you NEVER listen? How do you know it's all liberal?"
Ah, the answer came: the Guru of the airwaves told him! And he quit listening. So, he never tested the "guru", just listened to what he was allowed to hear, limited by his own political beliefs.
Somehow, a freedom easily and voluntarily given away to a political spokesman is hardly a freedom worth dying to preserve! I listen, and in listening to lots of viewpoints, it becomes pretty clear who is straight, who is running propaganda, and who I respect even in disagreement.
If a tyrannical government takes away someone else's freedom of speech, I am deprived of content that might show me the truth, and that is bad. The Soviet Union did that on a massive scale, and it fell apart! If I deprive myself, then that is, at best, kinda dumb!!!
Listen to those who show themselves honest, even if different in belief. Separate out those who use propaganda techniques to deceive. But never give up the freedom to grow, to learn more than what we knew yesterday, to become more knowledgeable than we were, and to become more able to serve God and country than we once were.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Humor Helps!
These are "sqawks" concerning aircraft problems, and the mechanic's corrective action, supposedly culled from aircraft logs.
Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
Almost replaced left inside main tire.
Auto land system lands rough!
Autoland not installed on this aircraft.
Autopilot doesn't.
It does now.
Something loose behind lower left instrument panel.
Something tightened behind lower left instrument panel.
Evidence of hydraulic leak on main gear strut.
Evidence removed.
No. 3 engine missing.
No. 3 engine found on right wing after a short search.
DME volume unbelievably loud.
DME volume reduced to a more believable level.
Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
That's what they're there for.
Autopilot altitude hold produces 200 FPM descent.
Cannot reproduce problem on ground.
Dead bugs on windshield.
Live bugs on order.
And finally, the pilots win one!
No. 2 prop seeping fluid.
No. 2 prop seepage normal.
(New writeup) Props. Nos. 1, 3, 4 lack normal seepage.
Life's often funny all over!
Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
Almost replaced left inside main tire.
Auto land system lands rough!
Autoland not installed on this aircraft.
Autopilot doesn't.
It does now.
Something loose behind lower left instrument panel.
Something tightened behind lower left instrument panel.
Evidence of hydraulic leak on main gear strut.
Evidence removed.
No. 3 engine missing.
No. 3 engine found on right wing after a short search.
DME volume unbelievably loud.
DME volume reduced to a more believable level.
Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
That's what they're there for.
Autopilot altitude hold produces 200 FPM descent.
Cannot reproduce problem on ground.
Dead bugs on windshield.
Live bugs on order.
And finally, the pilots win one!
No. 2 prop seeping fluid.
No. 2 prop seepage normal.
(New writeup) Props. Nos. 1, 3, 4 lack normal seepage.
Life's often funny all over!
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Better than a Resolution: Purpose and Focus
The Bishop, Mike Lowry, in the UMC Central Texas Conference, put the issue very well back in September, in an article titled "The Challenge of Focus....."
It's not so much what you announce that you plan to do, as what vision actually determines what you set out to do. Bishop Lowry described a visit to Seattle (one of my favorite destinations!) and a Sunday morning choice.
He was invited by someone he didn't know to attend Mars Hill Church (see Acts 17), which is a multi-site (14), independent Bible church, at their downtown location. Full of young couples, friendly, welcoming, diverse economically and ethnically, with a gracious greeting and vibrant worship.
Part way through the service, a pastor told their history. In 1908, the church at that location dedicated a marvelous sanctuary, and became one of the largest churches on the West Coast. But gradually, the pastor said, that church got busy with other things and drifted away from offering Christ. Amid many good things, they lost focus on Christ and slowly the congregation dwindled and eventually relocated.
The great sanctuary was acquired by the City of Seattle, renamed the Daniels Recital Hall. Now, it was being re-purposed, "replanted" to its original purpose, by Mars Hill church, in order "to serve our city, love our neighbors, and be as active as possible so people see good works and give glory to our Father who is in heaven". "We hope to fill it with people who love Jesus and love Seattle".
The concept that the church "lost focus and drifted away from offering Christ as their mission" haunted the visiting bishop. It can happen in churches, has happened in churches, and we must never forget the outcome of that failure and the very predictable response of God, who never gives up!
The name of the original church? First United Methodist Church of Seattle. The bishop did a search and found the current church of that name: busy, vibrant, relocated, brought by God to rediscover its purpose! God has plans for BOTH churches.
Meaning? Don't lose focus! Don't drift from the primary point! Christians share Christ! God intends that, and if one tool loses its sharpness and focus, God will continue to try to revive it, but pick up another tool-of-the-moment to do HIS primary work.
If you like this perspective, take a look at A Bishop's blog. If you feel somewhat kin to this good Bishop, take a "read" through II Corinthians 5:14-15. Not a new idea, just a fundamental one!
Blessings.
It's not so much what you announce that you plan to do, as what vision actually determines what you set out to do. Bishop Lowry described a visit to Seattle (one of my favorite destinations!) and a Sunday morning choice.
He was invited by someone he didn't know to attend Mars Hill Church (see Acts 17), which is a multi-site (14), independent Bible church, at their downtown location. Full of young couples, friendly, welcoming, diverse economically and ethnically, with a gracious greeting and vibrant worship.
Part way through the service, a pastor told their history. In 1908, the church at that location dedicated a marvelous sanctuary, and became one of the largest churches on the West Coast. But gradually, the pastor said, that church got busy with other things and drifted away from offering Christ. Amid many good things, they lost focus on Christ and slowly the congregation dwindled and eventually relocated.
The great sanctuary was acquired by the City of Seattle, renamed the Daniels Recital Hall. Now, it was being re-purposed, "replanted" to its original purpose, by Mars Hill church, in order "to serve our city, love our neighbors, and be as active as possible so people see good works and give glory to our Father who is in heaven". "We hope to fill it with people who love Jesus and love Seattle".
The concept that the church "lost focus and drifted away from offering Christ as their mission" haunted the visiting bishop. It can happen in churches, has happened in churches, and we must never forget the outcome of that failure and the very predictable response of God, who never gives up!
The name of the original church? First United Methodist Church of Seattle. The bishop did a search and found the current church of that name: busy, vibrant, relocated, brought by God to rediscover its purpose! God has plans for BOTH churches.
Meaning? Don't lose focus! Don't drift from the primary point! Christians share Christ! God intends that, and if one tool loses its sharpness and focus, God will continue to try to revive it, but pick up another tool-of-the-moment to do HIS primary work.
If you like this perspective, take a look at A Bishop's blog. If you feel somewhat kin to this good Bishop, take a "read" through II Corinthians 5:14-15. Not a new idea, just a fundamental one!
Blessings.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Who Had the Big Influence?
Who knew? What would stand out as the most impact of one person, between my 15th and 70th year? By now, it is an annual story, a sort of New Year's review of how I got where I am.
For understanding the place of influence, it would have to be Mrs. Hawes and the gift.
Mrs. Hawes lived in the South Liberty oil field, IN the field in a shack made of scrap wood, covered with tar-paper. Her cooking and heat was from a pipe that ran directly from a well, just the throw-away gas, salvaged. Water from a faucet somewhere, but she was the definition of poor.
She gathered pecans that year, all along the Trinity River bottoms, and took them up to the highway that ran to Houston, selling on the roadside. But for the last week, she'd been home, her dentures broken. She was getting money together to get them fixed. My dad went to visit her on Monday, and came home to tell the story of her gift.
When he came into her house, she apologized for missing, specially because it was Mission Sunday, and she always gave a gift for missions. She handed him $5: "This is mine, so thanks for taking it and putting it with the others."
"But, Mrs. Hawes, you're getting money together to fix your teeth!"
"That will come along, but this was Mission Sunday. I just don't miss that!" Nothing would do but for Dad to take her gift.
He knew how poor she was. He knew that was pecan money, planned for denture repair.
Plain, simple, unmistakeable, generous, focused, exactly the attitude Jesus told us to have every day. But rarely seen. We give out of our surplus, after the needs are met. Mrs. Hawes didn't do it that way.
It's been 56 years since that moment, but every time there's an offering destined for mission work, that sweet lady's face comes to mind. I've known missionary families, been a type of missionary, studied all the maps and charts and history. But the persuasive moment that is always fresh is Mrs. Hawes.
I've known a life-time full of people who motivated me: Professors, family members, musicians, work companions and peers, leaders in and out of churches. But none of them have had the lasting single-moment influence of Mrs. Hawes.
All of us find our highest motivation for performance, accomplishment, academic achievement, whatever, from something just like that. And if it has a name and a face, we are blessed by it.
Thank God for His disciples who reflect His Word and will. I do believe He speaks through them.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
New Year Possibilities
The turning of the New Year is one of the oldest celebrations. From the pyramids in Egypt to Stonehenge to the great cathedrals, there are countless festivals, all celebrating the period from winter solstice to whatever marks the New Year. The restoring Sun, the renewing, enlivening, restart the year moment is fundamental.
Solstice is written into the design of ruined temples from the ancient Americans and Maya to the design of Egypt's pyramids. Paying close attention to Solstice is basic to ancient religions. The "dying" sun of late fall as days get shorter, and the "renewed" promise of the sun NOT dying is a central story, the hope for new life.
New life at New Year? Only if we make it so! (And making it so usually depends on some considerable level of grace from God, in Christ, so that we don't do the same dumb stuff all over again!)
For us, this year, it clearly becomes more than just personal. There is an old half-truth to be left behind this year, if we are to make progress digging up out of the dysfunctional political situation: "Compromise is an evil." We need to substitute an understanding that compromise is unavoidable, always. We need to use it well. It will happen, we need to work to make it happen for good.
Human nature gathers us into groups. A positive gathering says: "We hold these beliefs, together, for the common good." A self-destructive gathering says: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." This is self-destructive because the compromises involved here have no common, agreed-upon future, only an enemy. And when the enemy is removed from the formula, the gathering self-destructs.
For this year, let's make our part of whatever groups or discussions we're in a simple matter of positive promotion of the best common future we can imagine. Let's make every group where we associate a group based on common hopes, rather than common angers. Let's make 2013 a year where we, minority or not, decide to influence for good. Let's make a higher intention than just "fitting in".
There is an ancient bargain involved here, the bargain embedded in Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. God said to Abraham: I bless you - go and be a blessing. Make that your "test-phrase" and there will be a great newness to YOUR New Year.
Blessings!
Solstice is written into the design of ruined temples from the ancient Americans and Maya to the design of Egypt's pyramids. Paying close attention to Solstice is basic to ancient religions. The "dying" sun of late fall as days get shorter, and the "renewed" promise of the sun NOT dying is a central story, the hope for new life.
New life at New Year? Only if we make it so! (And making it so usually depends on some considerable level of grace from God, in Christ, so that we don't do the same dumb stuff all over again!)
For us, this year, it clearly becomes more than just personal. There is an old half-truth to be left behind this year, if we are to make progress digging up out of the dysfunctional political situation: "Compromise is an evil." We need to substitute an understanding that compromise is unavoidable, always. We need to use it well. It will happen, we need to work to make it happen for good.
Human nature gathers us into groups. A positive gathering says: "We hold these beliefs, together, for the common good." A self-destructive gathering says: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." This is self-destructive because the compromises involved here have no common, agreed-upon future, only an enemy. And when the enemy is removed from the formula, the gathering self-destructs.
For this year, let's make our part of whatever groups or discussions we're in a simple matter of positive promotion of the best common future we can imagine. Let's make every group where we associate a group based on common hopes, rather than common angers. Let's make 2013 a year where we, minority or not, decide to influence for good. Let's make a higher intention than just "fitting in".
There is an ancient bargain involved here, the bargain embedded in Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. God said to Abraham: I bless you - go and be a blessing. Make that your "test-phrase" and there will be a great newness to YOUR New Year.
Blessings!
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