On the Outside Looking In

2008-09-11T16:59:00.000-07:00

A DAY TO REMEMBER

Seven years ago today on 09/11/2001, this nation was attacked by terroist. A day that changed the lives of families across this great land. This attack cost a great number of our people their lives without warning. We can not and probably never will understand why. However, we do know for a fact that there are those in the world who wish to destroy this great nation and are still out there looking for an opportunity to strike again.

Today, our hearts go out to those families that lost loved ones and our prayers are for their continued healing process. Just this year I met Deena Burnett whose husband Tom was on flight 93 that went down in Pennsylvania. Tom, along with others became heroes that day by preventing this flight from hitting the White House. Deena lives in Little Rock with her three daughters, Haley, Madison and Anne Clare.

I keep a picture of the twin towers in my home office area for a special reason. In 1986 prior to my retirement, the company took me to dinner on the very top floor of one of the towers. I don't recall which one but the memory of that event is the important one to me. I suppose remembering the day Pearl Harbor was attacked and this attack on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Flight 93 will always be a day to remember for me. Probably being able to see this latest event occuring as it happened with todays technology will always be the most vivid in my mind.

Lets not forget those who died and their families although we may not know who they were, nor forget those brave men who sacrificed their lives to save as many as possible. Above all, lets remember those tonight that are still out there trying to rid this world of those who would and possibly will strike again. They need our prayers.

2008-09-04T10:20:00.000-07:00

IT'S WHO WE ARE

Thinking about whats going on today in our nation my mind quickly returns to the principles this great nation was founded upon. We seem to continually drift from being a unified people to being a devisive nation where some will stoop to anything to reek havoc on others. I suppose one of the factors that reminds me of this is the demonstrations just this week at the RNC. I have ideas about this situation but hesitate to mention them on this post. Furthermore, those involved are no different from those who sought to bring this nation to it's knees on September 11th, 2001. As we approach the anniversary of this tragic event, God help us to understand that we as a nation are still under that threat and that there are those among us who seek to destroy us.

In a recent issue of the American Legion Magazine i received there is a song written by Michael Peterson titled, "Its Who We Are." It is a tribute to those who have served this nation.

When Grand Dad used to say "Grandma, I'm headed to the Legion Hall"
I thought the Legion Hall was just some place he went
to have a beer and play some cards with all his buddies at the bar
But I didn't know what being in the Legion meant...
to him and all his friends
Until I stood by Grand Dad's grave
said my "gone for good goodbye"..
I swore I wouldn't cry
But one by one nearly two hundred men stepped up
saluted him and then
they stood there at attention till everyone
was through
I stopped one just to ask him "Sir, is that what
you always do?" He said...
It's not just something we do... It's who we are
WE proudly wore the uniform and we
still do our part
Because our love for country lives not just on our lips
but deep in our hearts...
It's not just something that we do.. it's who we are
Just before he turned to leave
He shook my hand, I grabbed his sleeve and said,
"I wish there was a lot more folks like you"
He smiled at me and said, "but unless you
look real hard chances are you'll seldom see us in the news"
"But all across this great nation there are those great
patriots in civilian clothes
who've paid a great price for freedom because we still
believe
the freedom our forefathers left isn't an entitlement
but it's our sacred duty to protect and serve
this land
I said, "I wish I could do something"
He said, "we are all Americans and...
It's not just something we do..it's who we are
We don't have to be in uniform to do our part
When our love for country lives not just on our lips
but deep in our hearts It's not just something we do.. it's who we are
From old brown shoes to desert boots
the future counts on me and you
and who we are.

As I sit the other night and listened with tears in my eyes to Fred Thompson tell of the torture that John McCain went through at the Hanoi Hilton, it caused me to wonder why some really don't care. I suppose it's because of who they are.

2008-08-08T17:49:00.000-07:00

Freeman Family.

The early part of this week I journed back to Southern Mississippi to visit my old home place and the community where I was born. My daughter Cindy wanted to see that area and to have some knowledge of where I formally lived. Since my Dad died when I was only a year old, we left that area when I was about 6 years old. However, I remember the old house we lived in during my early years prior to moving to Louisana. I felt that at this point in my life that this would be my last trip to that area due to my age. I have never known too much of my Fathers family but I do know there are those still living in that general area that are my relatives. There are those also on my mother's side that are still there and live on Freeman road. After visiting my Father's grave it needs some leveling done on the grave marker so therefore Cindy and I will take one more journey there to take care of that. Anyway at least someone in my family will have some knowledge of where I came from.

According to some information that I have, the Freemans were first found in county Cork and were granted lands after the invasion of Ireland in 1172. Early immigration and passenger list have shown many Irish people bearing the name Freeman: Ralph Freeman who settled in Virginia in 1622; along with Thomas, Bennett, Bridget, Francis, James, Jane, Richard, Thomas, and William Freeman, who all settled in Virginia between 1630 and 1670. I wonder if for some reason I was named James Douglas because of James and Douglas Southall Freeman, (a well known American editor, writer and historian) after these men. Just speculation on my part. This information is taken from information available on the internet. All research that has been done in the past has revealed that my fathers records were burned years ago in a court house fire. Hopefully, there is someone out there that would have some knowledge of Ivy Ransom Freeman who was born in Norfield, Miss. in 1887. Since I have never even seen a picture of him, I cannot imagine how he may have looked. I am now the only remaining one in the entire family of my parents and six siblings. My father was only 41 years of age when he died. My mother lived just ten days short of being 75. I only write this in case some of my immediate family might be intrested in this bit of info.

2008-07-04T18:41:00.000-07:00

INDEPENDENCE DAY 2008

It is said that actions speak louder than words, but I don't know of any action more emphatic than the words that were adopted on this day in 1776, the words known as the Declaration of Independence. Nobody who is called upon to speak on this day can hope to compete with the eloquence, the nobility of purpose, the bravery, or the clarity of the great Declaration. But it is the heritage of every American to be able to speak in freedom every day of the year because of those words of July 4, 1776. Now, as then, we hold certain truths to be self- evident. Now, as of then, we rise to speak our minds.
Truly God has blessed our nation and has been good to us. However, it seems almost fashionable for some to talk about what is wrong with the United States. It seems to come with our Puritan heritage. But today I wish to think about how the God in whom we trust has indeed rewarded that trust. Its sad to think that there are those among us who seek continually to destroy those principles upon which this great nation was founded. May God have pity on their souls.

2008-06-30T18:12:00.000-07:00

REFLECTIONS

Do you, like myself stop often and reflect back on the wins and losses in your life? My daughter gave me for Father's Day a book written by Les Steckel who coached the Tennessee Titans. Les talks very candidly about his victories and defeats and how he managed to deal with the situation. In my mind there is a very vast difference in the question of, Have we failed or just been defeated? We all suffer defeats along the way but that does not make us a failure. Its all in how we deal with the situation.
Les, in his book makes this statement, "I think that's why God asked me, Do you have faith? The question is whether I really believe he is in control of everything good and bad--all of it. Can I trust him when I reach the peak of success? Can I trust him when I crash on the rocks? Les's book is titled One Yard Short. I like that title and it reminds me when we come up short in our efforts. I have seen and watched football games when the final play depended on making that one yard. Was it God's fault that the play failed or was it God who made the extra yard for the winning touchdown? No, God did not reach down to run interference so that the goal line was crossed. I do agree with Les Steckel that God cares what happens in a game. I also believe God is very interested in our game of life and wants to be a part of it.
Every aspect of our lives are important to God. Every task we do, he is there with us. He cares deeply about whatever we care deeply about, because he loves us with an everlasting love. Les states; "I believe he is great enough that there are no little things with him, nor any little people.
Les also states; I've heard it said that we learn the greatest lessons through adversity. If thats true, I ought to be a genius by now. I don't know any football coach who has been fired as many times as I have. I expect to be the first inductee in the Pink Slip Hall of Fame, if they ever build one.
Remember, whoever wins or loses in the game, God loves both sides.

2008-06-20T10:22:00.000-07:00

GET MOTIVATED

Tuesday, I was priviledged to attend the Get Motivated Seminar held here in North Little Rock at the Alltel Arena. My daughter Cindy gave me a ticket for the Executive section and I really enjoyed the entire day. There were numerous speakers and all did a very good job of presenting some helpful material to challenge a person's thinking. Speakers like Phil Town, Peter Lowe, Krish Dhanam, Rudy Giuliani, Tim Timmons, Ruben Gonzalez, Jeff Taylor, (Monster. Com) James Smith, Brian Tracy, Dr. Robert Schuller. I was disapointed that Zig Zigler could not attend due to medical problems. His daughter was there and informed the audience that Zig had fallen and as a result of the fall had to have a shunt placed to remove fluid from his brain. His Doctors would not permit him to travel. I have been a Zig Zigler fan for years and will always remember his advice on "stinking thinking" and how everyone needs a "check up from the neck up."

I suppose even at my age, everyone like myself needs to stop occasionally and re assess where we have been and where we are headed. No one ever out grows their need for ongoing needs for improving human relations. We often get so steeped in our thinking that we forget about others. One of my first sessions years ago with Zig Zigler, he made this statement. "You can achieve anything you want in this life, if you help others to achieve what they desire." Its a matter of forgetting the "Me" and seeking to help those around us to a better and more fulfilled lifestyle. Of course, this cannot be achieved without our seeking help from our Maker and Lord above.

One thing kept running thru my mind during the day listening to all the success stories was the fact that our accomplishments cannot be done alone. What will others remember you by when your life is past? I wonder about that question myself. What have we accomplished? What will our legacy be? We hear a lot about these days about legacy. Truly, I have no clue as to how others will perceive or remember my accomplishments. One thing I would like to think is that I have always been steadfast, unmovable, always having faith. But who knows? It behooves each of us to really look at our lives and continually strive to be the type people God would have us to be. Always looking ahead to a brighter future of love, dedication and our service to mankind.

2008-05-27T19:05:00.000-07:00

Well, its been over a month since I have written anything here. Not so much not wanting to but simply for a lack of anything to say. May has been a month of misery with having two major infections. First, was the asthmatic bronchitis deal along with the lung infection. Just as that was improving then the kidney infection set in. After two ct scans and the x-rays it seems that has also been improved and hopefully June will be much better. My bout with Stenosis is still going on and has greatly affected my left side. I am determined to live with the pain until such time as giving in to the back surgery.
Mom and I have our routine everyday and are going about life as usual as best as we can. Staying busy helps a lot and I have certainly stayed busy at church with the Wal-Mart construction going on. Their grand opening is scheduled for the 11th of June. We have purchased 15 acres of land just north of our property in a prime location. We are looking at two options and will make a final decision prior to the end of the year. The options are to either stay where we are and build all our facilities on the south side of Maryland avenue , or move everything to the new location. The projected traffic flow due to the Wal-Mart situation is 60 to 70.000 cars daily. The unknown at this point is how much will this hinder our church services since we only meet a few hours each week. Another concern is our Christian School that meets in our facilities daily. What ever happens, the school will be taken care of. Second to the church, this is my committment to continue what began 38 years ago.
On a brighter side as I go through my daily routine and despite my aches and pain, there seems to be hope ahead. As I read my mail each day, I know there is a way to get my colon cleaned, get my hair restored, let Oprah help me lose 25 pounds overnight by drinking 6 gallons of green tea, fat burners to get my body,beach ready, with another colon flush lose another 25 pounds, get a degree from Kaplan Univ. in one month, take portable toilets with me, save 80 cents a gallon on gas, another degree in psychology in three weeks, borrow enough money to pay off all my bills and be completely debt free, viagra is the answer to all my other ills, and above all, there is someone looking out for me. Life is great, so why worry when you have yahoo sending you all this info.

2008-04-22T14:39:00.000-07:00

Dull Politics

I will certainly be glad when this election season is over. There is simply too much rhetoric going on about how America will be changed for the better and we will all be richer and safer. We have heard all this before but, now from some who don't have a clue as what to do. Some of the greatest men in history won fame because they didn't talk much. They said little and did much. They were not morose or unsocial. They were simply not loquacious.
George Washington was one of the silent men of our American scene. He only talked when necessary, was not hesitant when directions were to be given or advice sought, but the Virginian was not given to small talk, nor noted as a conversationalist.
Abraham Lincoln had his silent hours when he appeared to be withdrawn from the social chatter about him, and was not of the mind to relate incidents of old Indiana and Illinois days. He seemed to have his brooding days, which on occasions were shrouded in deep melancholy.

One of the disturbing statements recently made by one of these candidates. "America is the one of the greatest Nations in the World. Will you join with me in changing It?" If that person is elected then this country will become an Obomanation.

Great phrases seem to be a thing of the past. Henry's, "Give me liberty or give me death," Lincoln's, "Government of the people, by the people and for the people," Churchills, "blood, sweat and tears" Statements like these identified the speakers but also shaped the destiny of nations. I don't seem to be seeing any hope with some in this election year, just rhetoric.

2008-04-21T18:36:00.000-07:00

ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS

Well, it was disapointing today to learn that our track coach was retiring. John McDonnell has coached our track team for 36 years and has led the Hogs to 42 national championships. This is a feat that no other coach in any sport has ever accomplished and probably never will. He is a legend in his own time and has always been a vital part of the overall success under the Broyles era. It was difficult for him today to finish his speech but he did say that his success has been attributed to tough love and his respect for those who participated in his program. Needless to say, they performed under his leadership and he leaves with the respect of all the sport fans and the entire State of Arkansas. Best Wishes John on your retirement. Enjoy your cattle ranch in Oklahoma.

2008-04-19T15:11:00.000-07:00

GRATITUDE

Often times it is probably difficult to offer our gratitude and thanks to those whom have been the real influence in our lives. I suppose reaching the 80 year milestone in my life has caused me to reflect back and to recall those individuals in my life that really played a major role in my developement over the years. The difficult part is that most of these have passed on to a greater reward and I most likely never thank them sufficiently for what they meant to me. The other evening Mom and I sat talking about gratitude and those to whom we have tried to help along the way. I recall being seventeen years old before ever having a father figure in my life. That person, ( my Father in Law) took me under his wings and really helped me to develope into a person seeking all the right things in life. I probably never expressed to him how important he was to me in my life. If you could go back to a person who has gone on and could whisper in their ear, what would you say? Recently, I expressed to family members of a dear friend of mine how much their Dad had helped me to become a stronger person of faith. Did I ever tell him? That seems to me now to have been the most important thing I should have done. Why wait till it is too late. I think we often take gratitude for granted. I often see this in our younger generation who seem to have the Me attitude and just expect people to go out of their way to help you.

One of my heroes of this great nation was Abraham Lincoln. I often reflect back on his words and how he addressed situations of gratitude. Today, yes today, there are those in our country who are critical of this nation and those who have sacrificed so much so that we might have a better life. They fail to recognize they are drinking from wells that others have dug with sweat and tears.
Mr Lincoln said, "We are blessed with bountiful fields and healthful skies. To those bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from whence they came, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature they fail to penetrate and soften the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God."
"Needful diversions of wealth and strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not rested the plow, the shuttle or the ship. Population has steadily increased.
"It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemly, reverently, and greatefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people.
If you are like myself, there are probable numbers of individuals who need to be told how important they are to you. I have begun this approach to let individuals know how much they are appreciated and to thank them for their influence on my life. It is not about Me, its those that walk beside me working together to make this a better society so others can come to know and recognize that Almighty God is in control and he has placed a responsibility on each of us.
Lets be more grateful and do less criticizing and do everything within our power to save this great country.
We are spending entirely too much time dwelling on the mistakes of the past rather than shouldering the responsibilities that we have. We cannot change what has already happened but we can change the future by applying ourselves to the task that lies before us. In all that we do, always do everything for the Glory of God and always asking him to help us become the people he would have us to be.

2008-04-04T09:25:00.000-07:00

Memories.

Well last night was scary for a while. It brought back memories of a Saturday afternoon in 1973 when I stood in my driveway and watched a tornado pass by the northend of our street. I had just picked my daughter from the church building about five minutes before it hit the building. As I recall, we had in access of $150,000 in damage to our auditorium and educational building.
Last night a tornado came almost as close as the previous one. The Sylvan Hills Hi School was hit which is only about four blocks from our church building. The North Little Rock Airport was practically destroyed along with over thirty private and business planes. This damage will result in unknown millions.
It makes you stop and think about how quickly lives can be changed. Thanks to our technology today warnings are available to help save lives. However, everything else is beyond our control. The important thing is to stop and reflect on where we stand in our relationship with God. Not everyone can escape the dangers of disasters. Things can be replaced but lives are the most important aspect of our families and society as well.

2008-03-18T19:54:00.000-07:00

Facing Up To Self

Today, while at the Church Office, our secretaries were going through old files and getting ready to destroy those that had been archived for years and were of no value to keep. In those they found some of my teaching materials that were filed back in the 60's and 70's. I kept a few that they had run across. One of the lessons contained this subject material that I feel is approiate still today.

We all believe in something, whether it be power, money, prestige, or personal growth. We are usually willing to work for these things. But there is a difference in the way unhappy and happy persons approach their beliefs. The unhappy person thinks only of himself. Too much of the world is on the wrong scent in the pursuit of happiness, as Henry Drummond aptly put it. They think happiness is in having and getting and being served by others.

The happy person has outstripped his foundering friends by finding happiness in giving and serving others. As a matter of fact, the happy person dedicates himself to those things that are bigger than he is. He finds happiness more than the joy of serving self. His happiness comes from obligations that are fulfilled, duty that has been discharged, acts of generosity done secretly, and appreciation of the beautiful in nature, art and conduct. The happy person is one who believes that life is good despite setbacks and frustrations and then works to make his belief a reality. Believing in someone bigger than your self and relying on your faith is the main path to happiness.

Would you today consider yourself to be happy or unhappy?

2008-03-18T19:11:00.000-07:00

ANYWAY 3/18/2008

People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.
If you're successful, you'll win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
The biggest people with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest minds. Think big anyway.
People favor underdogs, but follow only topdogs. Fight for the underdogs anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.
Give the world the best you've got, and you'll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you've got anyway.

2008-03-04T09:30:00.000-08:00

DEENA BURNETT AND 9/11

Last evening I attended the annual Partners Dinner for Central Arkansas Christian Schools. The featured speaker was Deena Burnett. Deena's husband Tom was on flight 93 going home to California. Deena shared with the audience the four phone calls that Tom had made to her that morning. The first call, Tom told her the plane had been hijacked and for her to call the authorities. Prior to the call she had seen an image of a plane hitting the World Trade Center. She was busy with feeding the kids breakfast and had not really sensed what was going on. Tom told her he would call her back. The hijackers were trying to get in the cockpit. The second call a few seconds later, Tom mentioned that he was getting the men organized to storm the cockpit. Deena told him that the second plane had hit the other tower. She had contacted the the FBI, but there was not much they could at the moment. The third call Tom told her they were looking for a rural area before attacking the cockpit. She said she pleaded with Tom to sit in his seat and wait. The fourth and final call came and the I love yous were exchanged. She mentioned she could hear the people in the background and she knew they were ready to do something. She had told him the third plane had hit the Pentagon. The actions of Tom and the rest of the men who on that day probably saved countless numbers from losing their lives since it became evident the flight 93 was headed toward another Federal building.
These men along with Tom became heroes on that fatal day. However, she stated that her husband would never want to be classified as a hero but simply a person who felt he had to do as an individual and make a difference in the lives of people. She received e-mails later of individuals who stated that her husband had impacted their lives. These were people that Tom had never mentioned to her even though they shared everything together. Listening to this lady sharing her story was an inspiring and emotional experience. Her message to the audience last evening was one of dedicating our lives to helping people. Going beyond self and reaching out to those we come in contact with daily. A smile, a hand shake, a hug, a pat on the back and all those things that do make a difference in the lives of those we see on a regular basis. This was a good message not only to our faculty and staff but everyone there including our Board of Directors.
Since her loss of her husband she has helped other victims' families in a number of ways.
She successfully spearheaded an effort to have the Flight 93 cockpit voice recorder released in April 2003, and is currently the lead plantiff in a law suit to bankrupt terroist organizations. She has also twice served in Europe as a witness in the criminal trials of AL Qaeda members. In addition, she is involved in other important roles of service to make our country safe.
Deena now lives in Little Rock with her three daughters Haley, Madison and Anne Clare. He has remarried to Rodney Bailey and his son, Tanner.

This message left me wondering. Why are there those in this great nation who are so set against our doing everything possible in fighting terroism not only here but abroad? What scares me most,there is a possibility the next President will do whatever it takes to abort all the efforts now going on. What a tragedy that will be.

2008-03-01T18:33:00.000-08:00

Game of Life Player

God, help me to be a good sport in this little game of life. I don't ask for an easy place in the lineup. Play me anywhere you need me. I only ask for stuff to give You one hundred percent of what I've got. If all the hard drives seem to come my way, I thank you for the compliment. Help me to remember that You won't ever let anything come my way that You and I together can't handle.
And O God, help me to always play on the square. No matter what the other players do, help me to come clean. Help me to study and think about the Greatest Player that lived, and other great players that are told about in the book.
Finally, O God, if fate seems to uppercut me with both hands and I'm laid on the shelf in sickness or old age or something, help me to take that as a part of the game,too. Help me not to whimper or squeal that the game was a frame-up or that I had a raw deal.
When in the falling dusk I get the final bell, I ask for no lying complimentary stones. I'd only like to know that you feel that I've been a good, game guy.

2008-02-25T14:11:00.000-08:00

Just a Little Humor

Two young boys walked into a pharmacy one day: picked out a box of tampons and proceded to the checkout counter.
The man at the counter asked the older boy, Son how old are you? "Eight" the boy replied.
The man continued, "Do you know what these are used for?"
The boy replied, "Not exactly, but they are not for me, They are for him. He's my brother. He's four. We saw on a TV that if you use these you would be able to swim and ride a bike. Right now he can't do either."

"Doctor please help me" says an elderly patient. "I have a silent passage of gas every morning, I have a silent passage of gas every afternoon, and i suffer from a passage of gas in the evenings.
Sometime i have a passage of gas a unpredictable times, for instance just now. Doctor, can you help me?"
The doctor responds, "Sure, I can help you. But first you need your hearing checked."

A man's wife had just bought a new line of expensive cosmetics guarnteed to make her look years younger. She sat in front of the mirror for what seemed to be hours applying the "miracle" products. Finally she finished, turned to her husband and said, "Honey, honestly now what age would you say I am?"
He nodded his head slowly, then carefully said, "Well, judging from your skin, 20. Your hair...mmm,18. Your figure, 25."
"Oh, you are so sweet! she gushed.
"Well, hang on. I'm not done adding it all up yet."

2008-02-11T18:19:00.000-08:00

Life Goes On

Well the past week has been rather hectic. First, spent several days with the galloping crud. Finally got over that and thought everything was going smoothly until Saturday morning. Mom and I are staying downstairs while Noah and Treece are here. With all the room we have downstairs there is not much need to live in the upper part. However, Saturday morning I found water on the floor in the little kitchen area. Out hot water tank was leaking. It was about 25 years old so I knew it was time to replace it anyway. While hooking up the hose to drain it, the faucet broke out and hot water started going everywhere. Thinking about the boy with his finger in the dam to stop the leak, it does not work with your thumb in hot water. Being a 50 gallon tank did not help the situation either. Finally got a dam fixed with all our towels, sheets and anything else we could find we were able to get by with little damage. Fortunately, the carpet in our den is glued down so it has dried out ok. Finally got the tank in Saturday night but still having a few minor problems.
There has been a lot of flu going around here but we have escaped it so far except for the sore throat and chest congestion. I don't like it when it sound like you are coughing up fur balls. The rash that you get occasionally is another problem. I went to the drug store and ask the lady where the baby powder was located. She stated, walk this way please, to which I explained if I could walk that way, I wouldn't need the baby powder.
I have spent the past two days redoing our son's clemency application. I don't understand how attorneys can allow such sloppy work by their secretarys, that you have to go back and redo it all. Everytime I go down to the office, this one is always outside puffing on a cigarette. The next time I go there, I'll tell her where she can stick that cigarette.
Anyway, life goes on and all we seem to have these days is political propaganda. Poor old Huck has ego problems and really needs to fade away. I really hope when the new Wal-Mart opens in our neighborhood, they will still hire 80 year olds. They are going to start frisking people as they leave to cut down on pilferage. I can do that.

2008-02-02T18:40:00.000-08:00

Major Decisions of a Lifetime

As we go through life we often have to make major decisions that effect not only ourselves but others as well. The past four months have caused me a great deal of anxiety as well as being torn by having to make some decisions I had hoped I would never have to make. Dealing with the spiritual lives of individuals can take an enormous toll on a person. I have during this process had to turn to God and renew my faith in him and pray that those decisions that effect the church are those that are pleasing to Him. When we look at our church family that we have known for many years, we can only hope that out of these decisions comes a healing process and we can move forward doing those things that help us to be the persons that God expects us to be. I take consolation in one of the issues that came out of the Restoration Movement, In matters of opinion, Liberty. During the past few days, I have received many words from individuals that feel the right decisions were made and that I am appreciated for taking a stand on issues that our church family has wrestled with for many weeks. There must always be a Spirit of Love and the Bond of Peace. With God's help, all will meet tyhe challenges that are facing many churches today.

Just a note on the results of my recent MRI. Stenosis is the diagnosis that effects my spinal column. This is due to bulges in the disc that has caused the problems with pain in my side, back and left leg. Narrowing in the spinal column is the results of stenosis. My doctor has contacted the spine center at UAMS and hopefully some relief can come through therapy. I have determined to not to let this slow me down but keep moving forward. I can stand pain as long as it does not intefere with my eating or sleeping. Anyway, thats about all to report on me. Mom will undergo a sleep test in about two weeks to determine a cause for her loss of energy. Since she is reaching the 80 mark, I thought about trading her in for two 20's. She informed me I was not wired for 220.

2007-11-12T10:40:00.000-08:00

VETERAN's DAY

Actually yesterday was Veteran's day but today has been designated as the day of observance. Veteran's day is dedicated to the memory of all those who have fought this country's wars. Traditionally, I am reminded the most special tributes have been the moments of memorial silence. It is not the flights of of oratory but rather in the inner feelings of each of us that true memorials do exist. I firmly believe that what we do can also be a memorial. Our veterans fought to protect and advance the American way of life. The least we can do at times like this is to continue their dedication. It behooves us to look out over this great land and continue their dedication and try to make this country even better.
I pause this day to pay tribute to my four brothers who had a major part in helping to win world war two. Yesterday was a special time at worship services to honor those of us who have served our country.
I recall also that yesterday was General George S. Pattons birthday. I had the opportunity to stand at his grave site in Luxembourg in 1971. The cemetery there is a place where one can stand and recognize how important their lives and committment to this country means to us. It along with the memorials here in the United States are constant reminders of how fortunate we really are.
I also recalled that yesterday, November, 11, 1939 that Kate Smith introduced on her radio program a song written by Irving Berlin twenty years earlier, "God Bless America." It is tragic that today, in this great land, songs like this cannot be used in our schools because of the mention of God. I am so thankful this day for those men who continue to fight for this nation and their desire to serve voluntarily. "God Bless Them And America."

2007-11-05T12:24:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking about the medical profession the past few days and realized that we need to continually pay tribute to those who contribute to our physical and temporal comforts and happiness. Times that are uppermost in my mind are Wendy's ordeal not too long ago in California and Cassie's battle to overcome JRA. The highly trained physicians, the skilled surgeons and the trained nurses--all give service the world needs and honors. How blessed we are as a nation yet, there are so many in the world who do have them. We would be poor indeed without them. They relieve pain, heal the sick, prolong life and give happiness and hope often to the hopeless. Our bodies are extremely important to us. They are the houses we live in for sixty, eighty years or more. But no matter how faithful the care our physicians can give us, the time will come when we must change this house for another one, and the physicians' service must end.
A service that aids us not only here, but continues to bless us even through eternity is more priceless even that which keeps our present house in order. Perhaps, then, the greatest servants of all are those who contribute to our spiritual needs, who train our minds, develope our hearts and give us a vision of eternity and the things of lasting value. Oftentimes many of those who give the greatest of all service are often unrecognized and seldom honored and praised. Lets not be guilty of failing to honor those who continually teach us and help us in our daily walk of service to God. Yes we want to someday live in the presence of the Great Physician, Jesus Christ.

2007-11-04T20:51:00.000-08:00

Great week in football.
Disapointed in not going to Fayetteville for the Hogs victory over Spurrier and the Chickens.Hopefully, DMac can keep it up in the next three games. He and Jones will have a place in the pros.
My favorite Pro team, Favre and the Packers won another one today over the Chiefs. Favre is one class A Gentleman.
New England is not one of my favorite teams but I'm glad they beat Manning today.
Glad to see the Cowboys and Romo win another one today also.

Finally, I have been a Frank Broyles supporter for years. He has brought athletics to an all time high at the University. It was touching to see the tribute to him yesterday with the naming of the field after him. I hate to see him go but I know he feels due to age its time to go. Thanks Frank for all you have meant to the University and the Razorbacks.

2007-11-02T10:33:00.000-07:00

Just a side note to ask for prayers regarding my health.

This week I have been to my heart doctor twice and waiting results on the Echo test. In addition, I spent over three hours at UAMS in Little Rock for testing. After about 8 or 10 x-rays on my neck, chest and abdomen I received a call from my doctor stating there was something abnormal about my chest x-ray. I have been scheduled for the CT scan on Wednesday the 7th. Hopefully everything will be ok and all this is just a fluke. Anyway, reaching 80 this month causes me to be concerned. Prayer cures a lot of ills.

2007-11-01T18:13:00.000-07:00

Continuing with the subject of giving.
It is a platitude to say you can't give what you don't have, but the platitude is correct. You can't. Nevertheless, we often make the mistake of trying to give what we don't have. There are those, for example, who think they know everything about everything and if they do not they pretend. They can give advice on any subject. Now and then, of course, they reveal the fact they are speaking from a vacuum of knowledge.
I read what people write on different subjects and am amazed at the number of experts out there who have all the answers. Abraham Lincoln however, was a person who had great knowledge on many things but never claimed to have all the answers. He was vastly disturbed during the Civil War because he was so often denounced and criticized by people who pretended to be wise on a minimum diet of facts and and information. They offered wisdom they did not posess. So, whimsically he told the story of a backwoods traveler lost in a teriffic thunderstorm. The rider floundered thru the mud until his horse give out. Then he stood alone in the middle of the road while lightning streaked, and thunder roared around him. One crash seemed to shake the earth underneath and it brought the traveler to his knees. He was not a praying man but he made a petition short and to the point: "O Lord, if it is all the same to you, give us a little more light and a little noise."
The point is, we cannot give light or wisdom we do not have, and we do more damage than good when we speak with authority from a vacuum of knowledge and information that we may not have.
There are those even in the church who feel they have all the answers and can interpret the scriptures to mean things that that are foreign and contrary to what is intended.

2007-10-31T11:47:00.000-07:00

It is not about ME, but who I serve.
In 2nd Peter 1:1-11, The Apostle Peter tells us three very important things: how to make our life happy and fruitful, how to become partakers of the divine nature, and how to make our calling an election sure. One of the great secrets of happiness is the consciouness that our lives have been constructive, helpful, and really worthwhile. But how much happier would we be if we could know that we really have been a help to others? In this chapter Peter gives us the secret of the happy, fruitful life.
I see so many that are so involved with self, that it makes me wonder why they cannot realize that they are being helped by others. I might call it the ME syndrome. We really need to go back often and look at the Christian graces.
In years past one of my favorite writers was Dr. Lloyd Cline Sears. Dr Sears used some interesting stories that really hits close to home with how we often deal with others. He states this item that has been one of my favorites for many years.
As a boy I pulled a little wagon a mile through the hot sun to the ice plant for twenty-five cents worth of ice. On the plat form was already a chunk about the right size. The man put it on the scales and found it slightly too heavy. He took his ice pick and chipped it down to twenty-five cents, letting the chips melt in the sun. An equal amount probably melted on the way home. The man was honest, he wanted to give me what I paid for, but there was something inside him that would not let him give me a half pound more. That man later became an elder in a city church, and I was told he regularly opposed any effort of the church that would require much giving or sacrifice.
He also told the instance that happened to Z.D. Barber, who managed an orphanage in Texas years ago, told of a woman who brought out to the truck a great arm load of clothes. "I can't use these things any more," she said, "but maybe you can use them." Then as the truck started up she yelled, "Wait a minute. I can use the buttons," and the driver waited till she came with the scissors and cut all the buttons off.

Dr. Sears used other stories like this and I will share them if anyone finds this interesting

2007-10-23T11:23:00.000-07:00

California Wild Fires

We have been watching the tragic situation on TV regarding the fires that are devasting the southern portions of California. Our hearts go out to these families who are losing their homes and all their belongings. I cannot imagine how they can cope with this. It is good to see people responding and providing shelter etc. for the families. Our prayers are for everyones well being and the recovery process that follows.

2007-10-20T17:03:00.000-07:00

Why can't people take NO for an answer. I keep getting these calls from different groups wanting money. I am supposed to be on the Do not call list. Just today, I received a call from a person raising money for the FOP. I tried to explain to him I was 108 years old and on welfare and had no money to give. He never let up on his spiel and was still ranting when I hung the phone up. It reminded me of the story of last winter.
During last winter's violent snowstorms, one Red Cross rescue team was carried by helicopter to within a mile of a mountain cabin all but covered by deep snowdrifts.
The rescuers struggled on foot through the deep drifts and finally arrived at the cabin, where they shoveled away enough snow to clear the door. They knocked, and when their summons were answered by a mountaineer, one rescuer stepped up and said, "We're from the Red Cross."
"Well," said the the mountaineer, scratching his head. "It's been a right tough winter and I don't see how we can give anything this year."

Oh well, There was a time when a fool and his money were soon parted. Now it happens to most everyone.

2007-10-18T10:59:00.000-07:00

We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power no other nation has ever known=but we have forgotten God.
We have forgotten the gracious hand that preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched, and strenghtened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virture of our own.
Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming grace, too proud to pray to the God who made us.
It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and pray for clemency and forgiveness.
I still have confidence that the Almighty, the Maker of the universe, will through the instrumentality of this great and intelligent people, bring us through present difficulties of our country.

This statement was made by Abraham Lincoln and still rings true today. In our over educated, arrogant attitude about having all the answers, our country is in great trouble. We see God being left out in way too many areas because we are afraid of offending someone. Lets get back to the basics and stand for the principles this nation was founded on.

2007-10-17T13:55:00.000-07:00

On the inside looking out

"Look at that one-- the one staring at us through the bars. Doesn't he look intelligent?"
"Yes, Theres something uncanny about it."
"He looks as if he understood every word we're saying."
"Walks on his hind legs, too, and swings his arms."
"There! He's got a peanut. Lets see what he does with it."
"Well, what do you know about that! He knows enough to take off the shell before he eats it, like we do."
"Thats a female alongside of him. Listen to her chattering at him. He doesn't seem to be paying much attention to her though."
"She must be his mate."
"They look kind of sad don't they?"
"Yes, I guess they wish they were in here with us monkeys."

2007-10-16T18:31:00.000-07:00

What is accomplished in the late years?

Since I am approaching my eightieth birthday next month and if I am lucky enough to make it, I have been wondering what can I accomplish. I don't have much to my credit in the previous years so what would be possible for me to achieve in the late years. Looking back in history we see examples of individuals who continued to use and enhance their creative gifts into very old age. Verdi composed his "Ave Maria" at eighty-five. Pablo Casals played the cello, conducted orchestras, and taught up to the time of his death at ninety-six. Ralph Vaughn Williams composed his eight and and ninty symphonies in his eighties. Grandma Moses took up painting at the age of seventy-seven and continued to do her quaint and appealing work to the end of her life at ninety-nine. Michaelango worked on his sculptures virtually until his death at eighty-nine.
Arthue Fielder vigorously conducted the Boston Pops orchestra in his eighties, and Arthur Rubenstein at eighty-eight continued to recieve standing ovations for his piano concerts.
I could go on and on with others but we must accept the fact that these were exceptional gifted people. But they do give proof that creativity and fresh ideas the power to enrich one's society and culture need not vanish with old age.
Creativity in one's later years does not fall like manna from heaven. It requires an abiding interest in life and conviction that we can continue to grow, learn, and create to the very end of our days.
I have to ask God daily to let me stay until I have accomplished what is still pending in my own life. Resigning of a leadership role continues to haunt me daily but my fellow Shepards insist that I still play a vital role. However, I have to ask God what the future holds and just ask for him to give me the wisdom to decern what is best and hopefully I can still be effective. We all want to grow old but growing old has its problems that has to be dealt with. All we have and are is due to HIM.

2007-10-15T14:43:00.000-07:00

" I Love You Anyway"
This is from an article written by Jack Exum

Years ago I heard a story of a man who was being abused by the boss. He was on time every time and often worked overtime without pay. He was being abused, under appreciated and without recognition. He didn't have the courage to face the boss and ask for what was justly his-- a raise in pay.
Now his decision was made. He said to his wife, "Tomorrow I will go to the office and face the owner and make my case." When he arrived home from work the next day, he kissed his wife, hugged his kids and they all gathered in their usual place around the oval table for supper. Silenced ruled and the tension grew. The meal finished, he placed his napkin back in its holder and said. "Today I faced the boss man. I had been repeating the scripture in Ephesians 6:10, Be strong in the lord and in the power of his might. A strange peace came back over me and I ask for the raise that I felt was fair and due. His response was shocking. He said 'Yes' and more than that. All overtime pay will be at double salary." The kids cheered and the wife cried and they were happy. Then he noticed a slip of paper that was hiding under his plate. It read, "Darling, I am so happy you got the raise. You deserved it and more. I love you."
As the wife got up to clear the dishes, another slip of paper fell from her apron pocket. He picked it up and read, "Darling, I'm so sorry you didn't get the raise. You deserved it and more. I love you anyway."

Are we always supportive of those who are so important to us regardless of what happens?

2007-10-09T16:27:00.000-07:00

Overcoming Fear Through Faith

Back in the late 70's and early 80's, I had the opportunity to attend a lot of Seminars regarding subjects on self-esteem. I have sit in audiences with Norman Vincent Peale, Paul Harvey, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Zig Zigler and others who spoke a great deal on self-worth. I think even today there are a lot even in the church who feel subjects along this line are not necessary. One of the topics I remember most is the subject of fear. Even today, some in the church will not take a leadership role simply because of fear. I was probably not ready to accept a leadership role in my own mind many years ago. However, because of my faith, I accepted the role and for the past 50 years I have not regretted that move.

An inscription above the fireplace of an old English inn says, "Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered; no one was there."
The older we grow, the more we come to grips with this thing called fear--fear of failing health, fear of the future, fear of the unknown, perhaps even fear of age itself. I will reach that 80 year mark next month and needless to say, it does weigh on a person's mind.
We need to remember this thought that fear is nothing to be ashamed of. On the other hand, uncontrolled fear is a poison that can paralyze and immobilize.
One antidote to fear is courage. Courage is not the absence of fear. It is the ability to go ahead in spite of fear. What is the source of of courage like this? Its source is faith in God--faith in that power which created the universe and endowed it with with such virtures as kindness and love.
Another antidote to fear is a healthy confidence in ourselves, a confidence which says, "With God's help, I can overcome my difficulties or find the patience and strength to endure them."
When fear knocks, let faith answer. With God's help we can overcome our fears.

For a year and a half, I taught these type lessons to a divorce recovery group at church which included some from our community who were not members. I can assure you that there were many who responded and even today are living a happy productive life because they gained confidence in themselves.

2007-10-06T11:53:00.000-07:00

This has always been one of my favorites.

The Man In The Glass

When you get what you want in your struggle with life
And the world makes you a king for a day,
Then go to the mirror and look at yourself
And see what that guy has to say.

For it isn't your father, or mother, or wife
Whose judgement upon you must pass;
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the man staring back from the glass

He's the man to please, never mind all the rest;
For he stays with you to the end;
And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the man in the glass is your friend.

You may mimic Jack Horner and chisel a plum
And think you are a wonderful guy;
But the man in the glass says you're only a bum
If you can't look him straight in the eye.

You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years
and get pats on the back as you pass;
But your final reward will be heartache and tears
If you've cheated the man in the glass.

2007-10-03T14:18:00.000-07:00

God and Man
Julia Ward Howe one day was talking to Charles Sumner, a distinguished Senator from Massachusetts. She asked him to interest himself in the case of a person who needed some help. The Senator answered, "Julia, I've become so busy I can no longer concern myself with individuals." Julia replied, "Charles, that is quite remarkable. Even God hasn't reached that stage yet."

We must guard against being smugly satisfied with what we are and what we have done. We must grow. Even though we are so small and the world so large, there is still much to accomplish if we will live as God wants us to live and be the type people he would have us to be.

My boss used to tell me to take the bull by the tail and look at problems straight in the face. I'll never forget that.

2007-09-28T10:57:00.000-07:00

Who am I?
I am an old- fashioned American. I believe it became great because of its faith in God, its hope for independence, and its love of freedom.
I am greatful for America's glorious past; I have been awed by its present, but have concerns about its future; I am in hopes it will have a limitless future, however, certain trends worry me about where we are headed.
I believe there are millions of Americans like myself who want free choice, not a handout to millions of illegals who came here and are recipients of what should be going to Americans who have struggled to build this great nation. There is more money going to help illegals on welfare in the U.S. than is going to our military who is out there defending our freedom.
I am not one to demonstrate in the streets but prefer to use my abilities to care for those I am responsibile for. I will always be determined to do my part to make democracy work even though there are those here that are not in favor of democracy but seek to destroy it.
Arthur B. Motley, publisher, once said, "All the freedom man has achieved to date has been achieved only because individuals accepted responsibility, assumed obligations, performed on promises, and delivered to the rest of mankind whatever gifts and talent with which they were endowed.
"For those in future generations who chose to be free and help others enjoy freedom, there is no other course except to live our daily lives as individuals responsible for our own morals, our own character, our own family, our own industry, our own jobs."
Wake up, America, there are those among us who desire to destroy that freedom. Motley's quote tells me that our concerns have to centered on those ideals that set us apart from those here for the free handouts.

2007-09-23T16:09:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday was a sad day in Fayetteville for Hog fans. The play calling is something that everyone is questioning. Don't tell me that 4 yards from the goal line and 4 downs Jones and Mcfadden can't get the ball in the end zone. Who decided to run 3 straight plays into the middle of a strong Ky line? Who is calling the plays? Apparently this is not much of a priority even though any coach should know opposing teams are aware of our every play we are going to run. Its the same old thing, 3 plays and out.
Its disgusting to drive 400 miles and suffer disapointments like this. Until something is done this is my last year to participate in the Scholarship program. We have enough talent this year to have been a national championship contender, however, we don't have the coaching. Its sad also that 2 conference losses at this point may cost McFadden his chance for the Heisman. Maybe the new AD will make the necessary changes needed in our coaching situation.

2007-09-18T14:15:00.000-07:00

Some More Favorite Bushisms

"I know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe---I believe what I believe is right." Rome Italy; July 2001

"Its in our country's interest to find those who would do harm to us and get them out of harm's way." Washington, D.C. April 2005

"Now, we talked to Joan Hanover. She and her husband, George, were visiting with us. They are near retirement--retiring--- in the process of retiring, meaning they are very smart, capable, active people who are retirement age and are retiring." Alexander, Va. Feb, 2003

"The Bob Jones policy on interracial dating, I mean I spoke out on interracial dating. I spoke against that. I spoke out against interracial dating. I support the policy of interracial dating."
CBS news Feb. 2000

"It"s a time of sorrow and sadness when we lose a loss of life."
Washington DC Dec. 2004

"I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family."
New Hampshire; Jan, 2000

"Those who enter the country illegally violate the law."
Tuscon, Arizona 2005

"Well, it's an unimaginable honor to be president during the Fourth of July of this country. It means what these words say, for starters. The great inalienable rights of our country. We're blessed with such values in America. And I--its--I'm a proud man to be the nation based upon such wonderful values."
Jefferson Memorial, July 2001

"Do you have Blacks too?"
To Brazilian President Cardoso, Washington DC, Nov. 2001

(W)e've had leaks out of the administrative branch, had leaks out of the legislative branch, and out of the executive branch and legislative branch, and i've spoken out consistently against them, and I want to know who the leakers are."
Chicago, Ill. Sept. 2003

"I glance at the headlines just to get a flavor for what's moving. I rarely read the stories, and get briefed by people who are probably read the news themselves."
Washington, DC; Sept, 2003

2007-09-17T14:11:00.000-07:00

How do we cope or how do we handle difficult issues and major circumstances that come our way? While at the cancer clinic this morning and looking at the throng of people, both men and women who were there for check-ups, I could not imagine what each of them were thinking or what might be in their future. Some seem to be smiling and others were not and seemed to be in deep depression. My wife was there for her regular check-up and all seemed to be all right for her. A kind lady there in the waiting room gave me a copy of a testimony written by a gentleman in Texas who faced a major hurdle in his life and how that trauma changed his life forever. These are his words.
The lives we live are full of suprises. I started off as a popular athletic kid. I spent the majority of my young life trying to impress others with what i was doing, what i had done, or my material possessions. Much of my time was spent trying to promote ME. Doing so, I failed to recognize that all of the things that i was able to accomplish and experience were only possible of because of the grace of God. I would try to blame God for all the bad things that happened to me. Strange philosophy there--i was responsible for the good things, God for the bad.
A few years back, God had grown weary of my constant wandering. He put me through a great adventure to bring me back permanently to the fold. This adventure is frowned upon by many, but to me, the adventure saved my spiritual life. The adventure is medically known as Squamous Cell Carcinoma. In my case, the cancer was in the left maxillary cavity. When it was found, it had spread to the dangerous level. God planned it that way, to bring me to my knees, at the foot of the cross.

As I read through parts of the written testimomies of he and his wife along with all the various stages of surgeries and uncertainties they faced, needless to say I was touched. To have a cancer the size of a baseball inside your head and eventually having to have a eye removed and all the prolonged treatments at various major hospitals, I wondered how I would handle a situation like this family did. Would my faith be strong enough to endure all this. I hope and pray that I would never have to face that in my life. Sitting there I recalled the struggles that Job had and wondered how he remained true to God. When we are put to the test, will we truly place everything in God's hands?

"Don't tell God about the size of the storm in your life.
Tell the storm in your life the size of your God."

In 2nd Cor. we read,
who comforts us in all our troubles,
so that we can comfort those in any trouble
with the comfort we ourselves
have received from God.

2007-09-12T10:23:00.000-07:00

The Frank Broyles era as Coach and Athletic Director at the University of Arkansas is rapidly coming to a close at year end. It appears that Jeff Long will be the new man and comes with good credentials. No one can replace Frank Broyles but will have to do their own thing as Athletic Director. Frank has done more for athletics at the University than all the other 5 or 6 former Directors have done combined. Personally, I hate to see him go but age has a way of changing things. We knew this was coming so we have accepted the fact that this was Frank's last year. This means that Wally will have to get a new whipping boy to spew his rhetoric on in his daily column. However, he still has Houston to beat up on. Here is to Jeff Long to do a good job and continue to move the Hogs in the right direction.

2007-09-10T14:04:00.000-07:00

This is one of the best i have ever received.

Everyone concentrates on the problems we're having in this country lately; illegal immigration, hurricane recovery, alligators attacking people in Florida..
Not me, I concentrate on solutions for the problems. It's a win-win situation.

Dig a moat the length of the Mexican border.

Send the dirt to New Orleans to raise the level of the levies.

Put the Florida alligators in the moat along the Mexican border.

Any other problems you would like for me to solve today?

2007-09-10T11:32:00.000-07:00

From Jukebox Collector Magazine
Welcome to the ultimate jukebox: a celebration of the 50 greatest rock and roll songs of all time, chosen by a five star jury of singers, musicians, producers, industry figures, critics and , of course songwritters chosen by the editors of Rolling Stone.
2,103 songs were nominated and here are the results.

1. Like a Rolling Stone---Bob Dylan
2. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction--- The Rolling Stones
3. Imagine---John Lennon
4.What's Going On---Marvin Gaye
5. Respect---Aretha Franklin
6. Good Vibrations--- The Beach Boys
7. Johnny B. Goode---Chuch Berry
8. Hey Jude--- The Beatles
9. Smells Like Teen Spirit--- Nirvana
10. What'd I Say--- Ray Charles
11. My Generation--- The Who
12. A Change Is Gonna Come--- Sam Cooke
13. Yesterday--- The Beatles
14. Blowin' in the Wind--- Bob Dylan
15. London Calling--- The Clash
16. I want To Hold Your Hand--- The Beatles
17. Purple Haze--- The Jimi Hendrix Experience
18. Maybellene--- Chuck Berry
19. Hound Dog--- Elvis Presley
20. Let It Be--- The Beatles
21. Born To Run--- Bruce Springsteen
22. Be My Baby--- The Ronettes
23. In My Life--- The Beatles
24. People Get Ready--- The Impressions
25. God Only Knows--- The Beach Boys
26. A Day In The Life--- The Beatles
27. Layla--- Derek and the Dominoes
28. (Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay---Otis Redding
29. Help!--- The Beatles
30. I Walk The Line--- Johnny Cash
31. Stairway To Heaven--- Led Zepplin
32. Sympathy For The Devil--- The Rolling Stones
33. River Deep Mountain High--- Ike and Tina Turner
34. Light My Fire--- The Doors
35. ???
36. One--- U2
37. No Woman, No Cry---Bob Marley and tth Wailers.
38. Gimmie Shelter--- The Rolling Stones
39. That'll Be The Day--- Buddy Holly and the Crickets
40. Dancing in the Street--- Martha and the Vandellas
41. The Weight--- The Band
42. Waterloo Sunset--- The Kinks
43. Tutti-Frutti--- Little Richard
44. Georgia on My Mind--- Ray Charles
45. Heartbreak Hotel--- Elvis Presley
46. Heroes--- David Bowie
47. Bridge Over Troubled Water--- Simon and Garfunkle
48. All Along the Watchtower--- The Jimi Hendrix Experience
49. Hotel California---The Eagles
50. The Tracks of My Tears--- Smokey Robinson and the Miracles

Number 35 was ommitted from my list in Jukebox Collector Magazine. Maybe a correction will be in next issue

2007-09-08T12:20:00.000-07:00

Well, the process at the skin cancer surgery clinic went rather well. Everything looked good. There were a couple of cells that the Doc said he would remove at the suture process. This clinic is really unique in the way they do things. I really felt good with the two doctors and nurse that did mine. Will go back next Thursday to get stitches removed.

2007-08-22T11:27:00.000-07:00

There is a lot to be said about how we look at life.
For instance, a local nurse was on her way to the hospital at a rather fast pace. She fail to stop at the red light at a corner. Of course John Law caught her in the next block. He ask her. "Doesn't a red light remind you of something?" "Yes, the nurse replied, someone wants the bed pan."
Or like the man who went into the psychiatrists office, took out a cigarette and stuffed the tobacco up his nose. "I see you really need me," the startled doctor said as he headed toward the man.
"Sure do," said the man, "I need a light."

Young lady to mother, "Oh mother I took Henry into the loving room last night and...."
"Thats living, dear..."
To which the daughter said, "You're telling me."

2007-08-21T15:54:00.000-07:00

Well, the report came back today on the biopsy done last week on my forehead. The results were grade 1 carcinoma. Waiting now on the Dr. who will begin treatments. I was told that additional tissue will be removed until nothing else shows up. Hopefully, that will not be too bad or to the point of plastic surgery. If that happens who knows, I might get a facelift. Now that would be an improvement, but considering the present, it would be a miracle.

2007-08-21T12:02:00.000-07:00

My family went to this big Luau recently where they had all kinds of fancy foods, but i had to stay at home and guard the house. All i got was this bunch of flowers around my neck. At least they could have brought me some of that fancy pork or chicken. After all, considering i am a valuable asset to this household. Everybody knows it takes a lot of effort to be a smart dog like me.
I know one dog that is a setter. His owner sends him to the store for eggs, he refuses them if they are not fresh. What a nose that dog has. I know about a springer whos owner sends him out for cigars and the springer will refuse any that are not his owners favorite brand. He won't smoke one either until he gets home and his owner offers him one.
Anyway, I know a Chihuahua like myself who is a lot smarter than those two dogs. He runs the store where these other dogs trade. It is said that every dog has his day. But if he has a sore tail, he has a weakend. So long folks.

2007-08-20T13:08:00.000-07:00

Some Thoughts on Family by Dennis Miller

In Washington sometime back, a special twelve-person committee was formed to address the problem of teenage pregnancy. You know, there used to be a two-person committee that handled that, it was parents.

Now, I don't want to get off on a rant here, but family life has never been the Saturday Evening Post cover the conservative right would have us believe it once was. I mean, where's the Norman Rockwell painting entitled"Son Announces He's Gay over Easter Ham," or "I Saw Mommy Soul-Kissing the Sparkletts Guy," or the classic "Menendez Brothers Give Their Parents a 22-Caliber Explanation As to Why They Didn't Want to Eat Their Vegetables"?

Y"know, when we look to politicians for answers, what do we get? They parrot the phrasr "family values." "Family values has become a bigger catchall than the front of Rush Limbaugh's shirt after an all you can eat nacho blowout. It's been pounced on to promote school prayer and decry film and TV violence and end the welfare state and attack single mothers. Intrestingly enough the dogs who bark the loudest about family values---Dole, Gingrich, Gramm---all left their wives. Put that little nugget in your irony hookah and smoke it. These people should pay attention to their own lives and stop trying to run the lives of others.
Newt Gingrich had an affair while married to his first wife, who had been his high school math teacher, a woman he divorced while she was recuperating from cancer surgery, and then he had to be pursued for adequate child support. Talk about the putz calling the kettle black.
More to come.

2007-08-18T17:41:00.000-07:00

How Dependable Are You?

I am reminded of a couple whose marriage was going on the rocks and sought the advice of a marriage counselor.
The counselor pleaded with them to patch up their quarrel, but they were adamant. "So," said the counselor, "you know the consequences and you want to part. Remember this. You must divide your property equally."
The wife flared up. "Y ou mean the $4.000 I have saved up? I must give him half? My money?
"Yes said the counselor. "He gets $2.000. You get $2.000."
"What about the furniture? I paid for that."
"Same thing," ansewered the counselor. "Your husband gets the bedroom and the living room, you get the dining room and the kitchen."
Then there was challenging gleam in the wife's eye. "What about our three children?"
That stumped him. Shrewdly he assayed the situation, then he came up with a Solomnic answer.
"Go back and live together until your fourth child is born. Then you take two children and your husband take two."
The wife shook her head. "No, I'm sure that wouldn't work out. If I depended on him, I wouldn't have the other three I got.

2007-08-17T17:03:00.000-07:00

Some Reflections From The Past
Over the past few days, staying mostly inside due to the hot weather, I have taken some time to reflect back on my entire life. Having lost my father when I was a year old has caused me to wonder often, how would it have changed my life as a child if he had lived. Having a father during my early years, how would it have changed my relationship with my children during their childhood? This is one of the things I think about most often. Maybe its getting older that causes one to reflect back and try to determine what changes they would have made. I must say my children were great growing up. However, i learned in later years they would slip out at night and take the family car for a spin or to see some girl.

I am so thankful that I have a father. God is my Father. God is my Father in the sense that he looks upon me as an individual child. Growing up I don't recall anything about mercy being taught in my home. This is not being critical of my mom who was raising 7 children on her own. I do and always will love and respect her life and struggles she went through. I really did not know much about Christ during those early years. It was at the age of sixteen when I began to be taught and come to realize that Christ lives in me through my obedience to him. I realized that if Christ is in me, then Mercy is in me.
I have come to realize more vividly that it is not about me. The importance is HE who lives within me. I believe without any doubt that it is HE who
has forgiven me of all my failures. I know that when we become too concerned about "self", we are blinded to the needs and feelings of others. We must deny "self" and give up our own desires and own will. As I mentioned in my last post, we are faced with many struggles in this life. We must continually pray that the Lord's energy be powerful within us that we might have the inward compulsion to labor and struggle.
In John 15:6 Christ has made it clear what will happen if we (branches) are not fruitful. If we are not laboring, struggling,preaching,teaching,warning and presenting will be cast forth as withered branches and will be destroyed. Paul to the Galatians, 4:16 states. "Am i therefore your enemy, because i tell you the truth?"
I can humbly say, I have been blessed far more than I deserve. With the struggles that lie ahead, somehow with God"s help, we will make it. Prayer is always welcomed.

2007-08-16T08:19:00.000-07:00

The Forgiving Spirit of a Father
Its time once again to make an appeal. I am a father whose heart aches for a son to come home. I am comforted in the fact that there is hope, but at the same time there is uncertainty.
In Luke 15: 11-32, I see a father whose heart was aching as he sees the son he loves leaving home. I'm sure he must have prayed for that son not to go and would change his mind! The son did not and he left. As time went by, the hurt and ache he felt in his heart must have given way to dread and fear. He had no word or letters to know where his son was.
He would probably ask himself over and over. " Will I ever see him again?" " Is he well?" "Is he dead?" I cannot imagine how many times this father might have walked out to the roadside and look both ways hoping to see him walking down that road. More and more with the passing of time, his hope would fade. Yet, he would not cease to look down that dusty road.
Then one day, he walks out to that road. He stops and strains his eyes and looks at what seems to be a person on the road. He shades his eyes with his hands and looks again. Yes, there is someone coming. His heart probably pounding or maybe skipping beats, and he cries out. "Can it be?" "It is--IT IS!"
He rushes to the son and throws his arms around him knowing full well that all would be forgiven. You know the rest of the story.
This event with the Prodigal son is different with my situation. I know where my son is and I know he is OK. I wrestle with this question. Will I get to see him come home in my lifetime? Who knows, but there is and always will be that longing to see him home. Why do we continue to pursue every avenue of possibility to get him released? Its because he is loved just like the father in Luke loved his son. More importantly, it is the picture of the heavenly Father. You see, we have a heavenly Father who awaits us with open arms and who is a personal forgiving Father. First of all, we have to know Christ in order to know the Father. We live in a world of hurt, pain, suffering, tears and death. Someday, my Father will reach down, gather me into his arms, and with his powerful hands wipe away every tear from my eyes. What a day, glorious day that will be.

2007-08-15T09:51:00.000-07:00

If there is anything in my archives that any of you might want, go ahead and copy them . Shortly I will be closing out and discontinue my post. I know some complained when i deleted all the CAC history. Anyway, if you are intrested.

2007-08-01T11:52:00.000-07:00

I have been ask to do something that is very special and means a lot to me. On Saturday, August 11th. I will do the wedding ceremony for my grandson Noah. I have really been thinking this past week how and just what to say to Noah and Treece as they exchange their vows. Being an emotional type person, can I do it without choking up. These are two very special people and hopefully everything will be done by me that will make it special for them. I recalled just recently about speaking at Noah's graduation, then baptizing him and now doing his wedding. The wedding will take place in the new Cone Chapel at Harding University. Treece, our new granddaughter to be won our hearts over the very first time we met her and will really be blessed by having her as a member of our family. Please pray that all will go well for them and that I get thru the ceremony without tearing up.

2007-06-28T21:29:00.000-07:00

I put several pictures on today but they are in reverse order from they way i had intended. Anyway, they are some pictures of new construction going on at Mustang Mountain.

2007-06-28T15:41:00.000-07:00

Looking to the southwest section from Mustang Mountain, you will see the beginning of CAC's new baseball field. Having purchased this additional 40 acres of land a few years back will afford the opportunity to have 3 athletic fields with also sometime in the future an enclosed practice field. In the beginning, we never dreamed that so much could be accomplished on this mountain side. Hard work and dedication of a great host of individuals have made it happen and still continuing to make this school one of the great ones.

2007-06-28T15:30:00.000-07:00

All of the new construction going on has taken a toll on a large amount of our shurbbery around the school. Our former President, Bob Diles has worked extremely hard to save a lot of the plants that had been put out over the years by loyal parents. One of those men who worked hard was my close friend and encouragement in the early days of the school was Dr. Gene Word. Dr. Word passed on and really never got to see what he had done in making the campus beautiful. Bob Diles, even though being retired (pictured here) has saved a lot of the plants by relocating them. He has done this on his own because he has that genuine love for CAC and led it through the main growing years.

2007-06-28T15:13:00.000-07:00

This is the area previously mentioned where the student commons area will be. This was the original entrance to the school building on the right and the gym entrance on the left. This will become enclosed and serve as a gathering place for our students and will provide shelter while going from building to building. The bell from one of the last steam engines of Baltimore and Ohio Railroad that was donated to CAC had to be removed. Hopefully I will be able to relocate it. It seemed to have gotten painted every year by one of our athletic rivals.

2007-06-28T15:00:00.000-07:00

This is another view fron the west showing how the new construction is being tied in with the current facilities. The overall complex will have a great appearance and will overlook the west parking area as well as the new athletic fields.

2007-06-28T14:53:00.000-07:00

This is the west view of the Science and Technology addition. The extra excavation will allow for some additional classroom space. In addition to outside appearances, additional space is now available drama and dressing rooms where the previous science lab was located. It is very encouraging to see our enrollment figures back above the 1100 mark for the coming school year. Work is also continuing on the three new fields. When finished there will be a baseball, soccer and practice field. Additional photos to follow with more of the new construction going on. We are now one of the three largest private schools in the state.

2007-06-28T14:40:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of the beginning construction of the Science and Technology Building at Central Arkansas Christian School. This view is from the North side and at the entrance of the main drive. I went through the building last week and was overwhelmed by the size and how far along the building is. Needless to say, this part of the 3.6 million dollar construction now going on is of special interest to me. The entire north side of the facility will have a face lift with the student common area in between the gym and the entrance to the original building.

2007-06-26T17:21:00.000-07:00

Well, at the beginning of the war in Iraq, I was supportive of the Presidents decision. Especially after the 9-11 event that cost the lives of thousands of Americans, I felt that we had to do something to keep our country safe from terroists. I believe that need is still there and whatever needs to be done to protect our families, I still support. However, I have decided that our troops must be brought home now rather than waiting any longer. If those people over there choose to kill each other, so be it. I feel we have already lost way too many servicemen for a cause that at best is hopeless. I feel also that here in the U.S. we are more concerned about Paris Hilton being in jail than we are about losing our military men. Thank you Dick Luger and the other Republicans that are now coming to the forefront and wanting our troops home.

I have been watching the TV program on America Has Talent. I wish they would take this program to the Senate and House in Washington to see if there is any talent there. A good place to search for talent would be the presidential candidates. I have my doubts if any of them could solve our problems here at home. Hillary was in Little Rock this past week telling how she was going to solve the health care problems for all Americans. Hold on, didn't she have this project for months in the 90's and never came up with the slightest hint of a solution? What about Edward's wife kicking off the Gay Rights Parade this past weekend? There are problems also with the GOP candidates as well. I long for another Ronald Reagan but there is no one among the bunch that would be worthy of tying his shoes. This is my story and I'm sticking to it.

2007-06-05T16:37:00.000-07:00

Well, I will attempt to do some more postings after a couple of months or more having trouble with my blog. I had to hire two Hi-tech experts to come in and show me how to get back on again. Since I have been away, I begin to think of the old adage that when we get older we enter our second child hood. I also know that if you don't succeed, find someone who knows what they are doing. That is why I depend on a host of friends and family who keep me going in the right direction. A lot of things have happened in the last couple of months that I missed out commenting about. Especially folks like Imus, Rosie and Paris and several others I will not mention. These folks have been most mistreated. After all, if it were not for folks like this, who could we use as examples of those you should not pattern your life after? Oh well, there is a whole host of folks I would like to see find them a place in some foreign land and pitch their tent. People like Rosie, Al, Jesse, and the others that despise this country could sit around under the big tent and sip cool aid and pour out their venom all day. But I should not even wish this on any other country. Its good to be back.

2007-03-27T14:29:00.000-07:00

More George W. Bushisms

"The ambassador and the general were briefing me on the --the vast majority of Iraqis want to live in a peaceful, free world. And we will find these people and we will bring them to justice."
Washington, D. C. Oct 28, 2003

"If you're a younger person, you ought to be asking members of Congress and the United States Senate and the president what you intend to do about it. If you see a train wreck coming, you ought to be saying, What are you going to do about it, Mr. Congressman, or Madam Congressman?"
Detroit Michigan; Feb 8, 2005

"I'm also not very analytical. You know I don't spend much time thinking about myself, about why I do things."
Aboard Air Force One; June 4, 2003

I'm also mindful that man should never try to put words in God's mouth. I mean, we should never ascribe natural disasters or anything else, to God. We are in no way, shape, or form should a human being play God."
ABC'c 20/20; Washington, D. C. Jan 14, 2005

"Well, I think if you're going to do something and don't do it, that's trustworthiness."
CNN online chat; Aug 30, 2000

"I don't have to accept their tenants. I was trying to convince tyhose college students to accept my tenants. And I reject any labeling me because I happened to go to the university."
NBC's Today Show; Feb 23, 2000

"The great thing about America is everybody should vote."
Austin, Texas Dec. 8, 2000

"There's a huge trust. I see it all the time when people come up to me and say, I don't want you to let me down again."
Boston, Ma; Oct 3, 2000

"They want the federal government controlling Social Security like it's some kind of federal program."
St Charles Missouri; Nov. 2, 2000

"If affirmative action means what I just described, what I'm for, then I'm for it."
St. Louis, Missouri; Oct. 18, 2000

"Listen, whoever thought about modernizing this room deserves a lot of credit. Like, there's very little oxygen in here anymore."
White House Press Briefing Room; Washington, D.C. March 16, 2005

2007-03-26T16:12:00.000-07:00

Well, today Frank told Stan Heath he had coached his last game at Arkansas. This comes with some mixed emotions on my part. Stan was a most likeable person, but for some reason he could not have consistency with either his coaching or keeping the team focused. I realized after his two last games that his stay at Arkansas was doubtful. I personally wish him the very best and hope he stays in coaching and to eventually get the experience he needs to coach a major University team. There are rumors here that Billy Gillespie may be the next Razorback coach. I suppose we will just have to wait and see. Arkansas has some very good talent and I hope they stay with the team.

2007-03-19T17:33:00.000-07:00

Last nights message by Greg was entitled, An Audience Of One
In the introduction he read the words of a song about an audience of one. I didn't get the Artist name but the words to the song were great. The introduction to the lesson had these two points.
* One of the most liberating truths you and I can experience is that our life is ultimately lived for an audience of One.
* It is a dicovery that clarifies and energizes our spiritual development.

One God
Ancient polytheism was concerned with appeasing the various gods who were in an antagonistic relationship with mankind.
Pantheism is the idea that all of nature, including mankind, is a part of a higher spiritual existence. Nature and man are equal in value.
The biblical truth is there is just one true God, there is no other like him (Isa. 46:9,10; Ps. 83:18

One to Worship
Assembling together for worship is not about personal entertainment.
Outside of the assemblies, there is the opportunity to continue to glorify God with our entire being ( Rom. 12: 1,2; 1 Cor. 6: 9,10).
Comments; Even though there are no scripture that forbids things like social drinking, smoking, all sorts of body piercing and many things people do for show, these things are a negative influence and only done for self pleasure rather than pleasing God.

One To Please
Many Christians serve in the dark. It may be that the reason they are there is to please someone else rather than God, or they are there because they are forced to be there.
The light comes on when Christians discover church isn't about performing for people, its about pleasing God.
"Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for God rather than men; knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve" (Col: 23,24).
Benefits:
* He is aware of everything! Heb. 4:13
* He will never forget any good deed! Heb. 6:10
* He will never desert you! Heb. 13:5
* He will give you the power to serve consistently and joyfully.

One Way Home
Our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20)!
Christ is:
* The only sufficient sacrifice for sins
* The only one to rise from the dead never to die again
* The only son of God--Rom. 1:4
* The only Savior-- Acts 4:12
* The only way home--Jn. 14:6

When we worship, it is not about me, it is the one who died on that cross. No matter what I do or try to accomplish in this life and do all the good deeds I can, these will never take the place of Christ.
"For am I now seeking the favor of men, or God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a Bond-Servant of Christ." (Gal. 1:10)

2007-03-10T16:34:00.000-08:00

Well, what can I say. This has been a great day. This morning Cindy, Hunter and myself traveled to Hot Springs to see out CAC Lady Mustangs play for their third State Championships in basketball. This year started with a tragedy that stunned the entire CAC family with the death of Andrew Brady our assistant coach. Little was known at the time how this would affect our team. However, there is a great deal of strength in our young people in how they handle situations like this. They rallied together and dedicated this season to the memory of Andrew. They have had a remarkable season and today played Lonoke for the championship. At times, it seemed as if they were playing against odds and a very good Lonoke team. One never knows what is going through their minds in situations like this. With about 3 minutes left in the game we were down by 10 points and I felt they could not win their 3rd championship or threepeat as it was called. However, they responded and ended up by winning by 5 points. Needless to say, there were many tears shed as Coach Q. and the team called Anthony and Paula down on the court and shared with them the celebration. Their warm-up jerseys had a picture of Andrew on the front and Brady Bunch on the back. Gee, I love this school.

The other event is our Arkansas Basketball team. Who would have thought 2 weeks ago that the Hogs would win 5 straight and be in the championship game against Florida tomorrow in Atlanta. Most of the fans in the state had written the Hogs off this year and talking about getting rid of our coach. I believe they will get a bid to the big dance. It would be icing on the cake if they could beat Florida tomorrow. As I said earlier you never know what these younger folks can do. One thing for sure, regardless of what Wally Hall writes in his column, I am in favor of giving Coach Heath another year. Go Hogs Go

2007-03-04T19:27:00.000-08:00

There is an old saying that goes. After all is said and done, there is usually more said than done. This leads me to ask this question. Why are some individuals not willing to do something extra?
It is self - evident that many persons are bored with the regular routine of daily existance. They go thru the day with little or no zest. In a humdrum manner they drag from one task to another as they look forward to the end of the day. There is no justification for such miserable living.

There is too much of the spirit of just wanting to do what is necessary to get by. In fact, there are people who are constantly on guard to make sure that they never do more than they are paid to do or more than they are expected to do. Of course, they are miserable and unhappy.

The commonplace chores of daily living can become tiresome, but the remedy is in realizing the true purpose of life--"to glorify God"-- and relating our necessary work to this purpose. Responsibility is not doing less or in shirking our obligations.

This however, will bring only limited satisfaction if we try to limit our actions to just what we consider our duty. We must learn the value of doing something extra, something beyond the demands of duty, something over and above what is expected of us. The principle of "the second mile" as taught by Christ will make a dependable guide for us.

When we limit our doing and serving to just what duty demands and to the unavoidable necessities of life, we limit our living to the boredom and meaningless existance.

Doing something extra, when it is properly related to the devine purpose of life, will both enrich and enhance our living.

One final thought: The only person to get all his work done by
Friday was Robinson Crusoe.

2007-02-27T15:52:00.000-08:00

GEORGE W. BUSHISMS: These are some of my favorites, thanks to Scott.

I like the idea of people running for office. There's a positive effect when you run for office. Maybe some will run for office and say, vote for me. I look forward to blowing up America. I don't know, I don't know if that will be their platform or not. But it's I don't think so. I think people who generally run for office say, vote for me , I'm looking forward to fixing your potholes, or making sure you got bread on the table. March 16, 2005

"We cannot let terroists and rogue nations hold this nation hostile or hold our allies hostile."Aug, 2000

"Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB/GYNs aren't able to practice their love for women all accross this country." Sept. 2004

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." Aug. 2004

"One of my hardest parts of my job is to console family members who have lost their life." April, 2004

"In other words, I don't think people ought to be compelled to make decisions which they think is best for their family." Dec. 2002

"It would be helpful if we opened up ANWR (the Artic National Wildlife Refuge). I think its a mistake not to. And I would urge you all to travel up there and take a look at it, and you can make the determination as to how beautiful that country is." March, 2001

"The war on terror involves Saddam Hussein because of the nature of Saddam Hussein, the history of Saddam Hussein, and his willingness to terrorize himself." Jan, 2002

"It is clear our nation is reliant upon big foreign oil. More and more of our imports come from overseas." Sept. 2000

"The best way to find these terroist who hide in holes is to get people coming forth to describe the location of the hole, is to give clues and data." Dec. 2003

"This has been tough weeks in that country." April, 2004

"I think we ought to raise the age at which juveniles can have a gun." Oct, 2000

2007-02-26T15:17:00.000-08:00

I believe the Apostle Paul dealt with humility in a way that we can best use for our own lives. I've called this post: Paul Servant Hood Enfleshed.
Paul in many of his letters described himself as a servant. Romans, Philippians and Titus.
He exemplified servanthood in three basic categories.

1. Transparent Humanity: In 1st Cor. 2:1-3 Paul stated, When i came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3. I came to you in weakness and fear and with much trembling. (NIV)
Was Paul being modest? No, just being honest. Paul was not perfect and he admitted it. Like Paul, a servant does not try to hide his or her humanity, but lays it out in the open for others to see.

2. Genuine Humility: Ist Cor. 2: 4,5 Paul states, My preaching and my message were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in the demonstration of the spirit- his preaching was unempressive. Paul desired that people become increasingly more impressed with God and less so with himself. This suggest two revealing test of genuine humility. The first is a willingness to be accountable. The second- A sensitive awareness to the needs of others.

3. Absolute Honesty: 2nd Cor. 4;2 Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful acts we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
Ulterior motives, hyprocrisy, duplicity and political games are not marks of a servants life. There must be dedication to follow through with ones word and an unwillingness to manipulate others.

2007-02-25T13:30:00.000-08:00

Guides to Effective Listening

You can appreciably increase your ability to listen by adhering to these practical suggestions:
1. Realize that listening requires work on the part of the listener. Listening is characterized by faster heart action, quicker blood circulation and a small rise in body temperature.
2. Recognize your own biases. Try to keep them from interefering with the message.
3. Resist distractions. Good listeners adjust quickly to any kind of abnormal situation. Poor listeners allow bad conditions infringe upon conversations; in some cases they create the distractions themselves.
4 Find an area of interest. Good listeners find ways to make even the most boring routine messages relevent to themselves and/or their jobs. Make your listening efficient by asking yourself: what is he/she saying that can be mutually beneficial? What is the most worthwhile point of his or her message?
5. Show empathy. If you show empathy we create a climate that encourages others to communicate honestly and openly. To see the speakers point of view.
6. Be patient. Don't interrupt the speaker. And delay making judgements about the speaker's personality, the principal points of the message and the approiate response until you understand what the speaker means.
7. Capitalize on thought speed. Most of us think about four times faster than the communicator speaks. The good listener uses the "waiting" time to think about the message.

These thoughts work extremely well in my interviewing of respondents whom I deal with while working for the Government.

2007-02-23T17:44:00.000-08:00

Listening Effectively

Most of us are acquainted with the old riddle that goes: If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is in the area to hear it, does it make a noise> From a communication point of view, the answer must be a definite "No." Even though there are sound waves, there is no sound because no one perceives it. For communication to take place, there must be both a sender (speaker) and a receiver (listener). Each of us plays the role of speaker and listener many times each day. Thus it is important to learn to play both roles.
Having worked for Johnson and Johnson for 36 years, I learned that the value of executives who possess good listening skills is recognized as highly important. Executive counselors at J & J for example, advise that sympathetic listening to subordinates in day-to-day informal contacts within and outside the the work place is the most effective method by which executives can tap ideas. They feel that there in no system that will do the job in an easier manner...and nothing else that can equal an executive's willingness to listen.
I believe very strongly also that Ministers and Shepherds in the local church can better feel the pulse of the congregation by being good listeners.
What is listening? Listening is the ability to understand and respond effectively to oral communication. Listening requires more than hearing; it requires comprehension of the communication received. We hear with our ears, but we listen with our mind.
There are barriers to effective listening; Some barriers to effective listening are: Listening to only those things that are relevent to our own goals and objectives or that serve to satisfy our own needs. Just stop and think about your own listening habits. Also filtering the thoughts and ideas of the sender according to our own beliefs, expectations and relationship to the speaker is also a barrier. Just think about communications between wife to husband or, husband to wife. Most time we only hear what we want to hear and ignore the rest.

Coming up next: Guides to effective listening.
If these type post mean anything to any one please let me know. They served beneficial for me in years past and still even now in the church.

2007-02-21T14:48:00.000-08:00

Sooner or later a man, if he is wise, discovers that life is a mixture of good days and bad, victory and defeat, give and take.
He learns that it doesn't pay to be a too sensitive soul; that he should let some things go over his head like water off a duck's back.
He learns that he who loses his temper usually loses out.
He learns that all men have burnt toast for breakfast now and then, and that he shouldn't take the other fellow's grouch too seriously.
He learns that carrying a chip on his shoulder is the easiest way to get into a fight.
He learns that the quickest way to become unpopular is to carry tales and gossip about others.
He learns that buck passing always turns out to be a boomerrang, and that it never pays.
He learns that the business could run along perfectly well without him.
He learns that it doesn't matter so much who gets the credit so long as the business benefits.
He learns that even the janitor is human and that it does no harm to smile and say"Good Morning" even if it is raining.
He learns that most everyone else is as ambitious as he is, that they have brains as good or better, and that hard work, not cleverness, is the secret of success.
He learns not to worry when he loses an argument, because experience has shown that if he always gives his best, his average will break pretty well.
He learns that no man ever got to first base alone, and that it is only through cooperative effort that we move on to better things.
He learns that bosses are not monsters, trying to get the last ounce of work out of him for the least amount of pay, but that they are usually pretty good fellows who have succeeded through hard work and who want to do the right thing.
He learns that folks are not any harder to get along with in one place than another, and that the "getting along" depends about ninety-eight percent on his own behaviour.

2007-02-20T11:41:00.000-08:00

Goal setting is the most important aspect of Self Motivation.

Goals defined; A goal is a dream with a deadline. Goals must be written down inorder to crystalize thinking. To be successful in every endeavor- individuals must set and work toward specific goals. Important; Goals must be measurable.
Specific goals can be short range or long range. Specific goals can be based on, (1) Family goals, (2) Personal goals, (3) Physical goals, (4) Spiritual goals.
Why are there reasons for people not setting goals? Probably because they are afraid they will not make it, or no one has ever told them how.
Examples: Wright brothers had a specific goal, a better solution to transportation.
Roger Bannister had a specif goal, Break the record in the 4 minute mile.
Henry Ford: First assembly line.
Goals must be clear in our own minds. How can we improve ourselves? We tend to delay but someday will never come- we must set deadlines. Do not take your eyes off your goal. Be positive- trust your own ability. Your ideas are as good as the next persons. Don't be afraid- talk up your ideas, they may just work for you. One idea leads to another. It is not what it is but how you see it. We must know where we are going.
Negative goals: We can't depend on luck. The goal might be too big. For instance, I can't play Pro Football, I'm too old-too tired-too scared etc. Another negative is its not your goal, don't set a goal if someone else suggest it. For instance weight loss.
Experts tell us that only 5% of the people know where they are going.
Remember Babe Ruth struck out more than home runs. It is our attitude not aptitude that determines altitude. Live one step at a time until you achieve your goal, then set another one. Become all you can be.
Zig Zigler calls negative goals, losers limp.

I have one more post and then will close out my blog.

2007-02-19T15:26:00.000-08:00

Success and Failure:

John Keats wrote: The imagination of a boy is healthy, and the mature imagination of a man is healthy; but there is a space of life between, in which the soul is in ferment, the character undecided, the way of life uncertain, the ambition thick-sighted: thence proceeds mawkishness.

The difference between success and failure can usually be reduced to one word--Goals.
Goal setting tends to be difficult for some people. They never plant the seed of a clear goal in their mind. A person growing toward a worthy goal is a success.

J. C. Penny said: Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I'll give you a person who will make history. But give me a man without a goal, and I'll give you a stock clerk.
Acts: 19:10, Paul dreamed of a world for Christ in his generation. This goal was ever present in his own mind, made him what he was. All in Asia heard the word of Jesus.
The one talent man had no goal except to put his talent in a bank for security. Therefore he was a failure.
Goals always make the difference. I recall back in 1970, when there was some talk about having a program of Christian Education in Central Arkansas but the belief was that it was not possible.Setting a goal after my failure for a County School Board position to start a Christian School became a reality. My life time has been blessed because of goal setting. God has made us the masters of our lives.
Any person with a definite goal and a well-thought out plan will become an effective leader for Christ
Our lives should reflect crucial times in history. We should live a life which is rich, abundant and full through serving others. Goal setting is the most important aspect of self motivation.

Someone has written:
Please God grant me
The spark to imagine
The daring to inovate
The discipline to plan
The skill to do
The will to achieve
The commitment to be responsible
The leadership to motivate

More thoughts later on goal setting

2007-02-14T09:03:00.000-08:00

I have been going through my files that have been put back after many years and destroying most of them that would be of no value to anyone. I ran across this one I wanted to share because i feel is is worthy of posting.
Today I Saw Truth by Elam Hill
Today I saw truth. For a moment I lived and breathed in the great presence of truth and felt its sweetness plunge deep into my soul.
I am a coach in a Junior High School. I work with 500 boys each day. This has been my occupation for over 20 years. I enjoy it.
Traditionally, I am supposed to be rugged, tough, crusty; yet underneath this exterior, feeling and understanding must exist if the job is to be done.
Today was test day in climbing the rope. We climb from a standing start to a 15 foot height.. One of my tasks these past few weeks has been to train and teach the boys to negotiate this distance in as few seconds as possible.
The school record for this event is 2.1 seconds. It has stood for three years. Today this record was broken. But it is not my story. How this record was broken is the important thing here, as it so often is in many endeavor in life.
For three years Bobby Palacio, a 141/2 year old Mexican boy, has trained and pointed and, and I suspect, dreamed of breaking this record.
In his first of three attempts Bobby climbs the rope in 2.1 seconds, tying the record. On the second try the watch stopped at 2.0 seconds flat, a record! But as he descended the rope and the entire class gathered around to check the watch, I knew I must ask Bobby a question. There was a slight doubt in my mind whether or not the board at the 15 foot height had been touched. If he missed, it was very very close-- not more than a fraction of an inch-- and only Bobby knew the answer.
As he walked toward me, expressionless, I said, "Bobby did you touch?" If he had said "Yes," the record he had dreamed of since he was a skinny 7th grader and had worked for almost daily would be his, and he knew I would trust him at his word.
With the class already cheering for him for his performance, the slim brown-skinned boy shook his head negatively. And in this simple gesture, I witnessed a moment of greatness.
Coaches do not cry, only babies cry, they say. But as i reached out to pat this boy on the shoulder, there was a small drop of water in each eye. And it it was with great effort through a tight throat that I told the class :"This boy has not set a record in the rope climb. No, he has set a much finer record for you and everyone to strive for. He has told the simple truth."
After the other boys had finished their next turns and Bobby came up to the rope for his try, a strange stillness came over the gym. Fifty boys and one coach were breathlessly set to boost Bobby Palacio to a new record. He climed the rope in 1.9 seconds! A school record, a city record and perhaps a national record.
When the bell rang and I walked away, now misty eyed, from this group of boys, I was thinking, "Bobby, little brown skin, with your clear, bright, dark eyes and yiur straight, trim, lithe body--Bobby, at 14 you are a better man than I am. Thank you for climbing so very, very high today."

2007-02-13T09:56:00.000-08:00

Personal Relations continued.

Example: If someone hurts our feelings and we are agressive, we would attack him personally, attack his character by saying insulting things to him. If we are passive, we would not say anything but would pout about it.. We would perhaps talk to others about him behind his back. If we are assertive, we would go to him and say something to this effect. I've been feeling angry about what you said, but I woild like for us to resolve our differences. Can we talk about it? Remember that no matter how we verbalize our anger, we must always be willing to forgive. Forgiving starts with an act of will. Forgiving is a choice. Sometimes it takes time to reprogram our feelings but we can always forgive a person by an act of the will.

The Ten Commandments of Human Relations
1. Speak to people. There is nothing as nice as a cheerful greeting.
2. Call people by name, not names. Sweetest music is to hear ones name called.
3. Have humility. there is something to be learned from every living thing.
4. Be friendly. If you want to have a friend, be one.
5. Be cordial. Speak and act as if everything you do is pleasure.
6. Be interested in others. You can like everyone if you try.
7. Be generous with praise, cautious with criticism.
8. Give your word, and keep it.
9. Be considerate of the feelings of others.
10. Be alert to give service. What counts most in life is what you do for others.

Plato said: "When individuals speak ill of you, so live that nobody will believe them."

2007-02-12T10:47:00.000-08:00

I will continue to post some items that may be little or of no value to those who read them, but they helped me during my years in industry and education.

Interpersonal Relations

Todays society has a strong tendency to evaluate human beings on scales which make some persons better than others.
Assumptions:
Adults are better than children
Bosses are better than employees
Men are better than women
Whites are better than blacks
Doctors are better than plumbers
Teachers are better than students
Winners are better than losers
and so on.
We are undergoing significant changes in every aspect of our society, our religion, our families, our work, our life styles, our educational systems, and our government. Education, like society and all its other institutions, is experiencing painful and profound crisis and confusion.
I am aware that many persons continue to believe in a thrust towards betterment- call it evolutionary, intellectual, scientific or humanistic- it is vital that human beings, especially those with responsibility to and for others, attempt to make sense for what is happening- for their own fullfillment and for that of others.
We never- no never outgrow our needs for ongoing courses in human relations. I endorse without qualifications the concept of the quality of human beings. Caring, sincerity and honesty are essential parts of human relations. I am sure we all want to do right.
What we are going through now is the deepest and most dramatic of changes- How the human being views the human being- How man envisions Himself as a person- What it means to be human- What consciousness means- to express emotion- How to relate to others. We are often put down or made to look down on ourselves.
In traditional western culture, man has been conditioned to see and experience himself in negative ways- with much fear, shame and guilt. Whatever the relationship, ( parent and child, teacher and student, minister and worshipper, politiician and constituent) man has been impressed to look outward and upward, to the authority figure, for instruction on how he ought to be.
Let's look at it in a different light. Let's think about looking inward and seeing ourselves in a positive way. Learning to be assertive is education for living, for being human, for becoming ourselves in much more human ways and for making society more human also.
Romans 12:3, 9-16 What does it mean to be assertive, as opposed to being overly aggressive or over passive. Do not think more highly of yourself than you ought, but think of yourelf with sober judgement. Aggressive and passive are the two extremes we want to recognize and correct in our lives that cause us to have a negative feeling about ourselves and others.
When we are agressive with our anger, we rid ourselves of our own feelings and vent our own anger at someone else's expense. We attack his character, we attack him personally. We lose control of ourselves.
When we are passive or use non-assertive behaviour, we do not express how we feel, but we take out our in some kind of unconscious passive behaviour by putting things off, pouting, doing a poor job, letting other people run our lives and at the same time resenting it. We will say yes when we really want to say no. Neither extreme is healthy.
When we are assertive, we do express the way we feel, but we use love and tact in the way we say it and what we say. We say yes when we mean yes and no when we mean no. We stand up for what we think we should stand up for and we ask for what we feel is important. We must take a real interest in someone if we expect to know him or her well enough to understand where they are coming from.

More later on Human Relations.

2007-02-09T10:38:00.000-08:00

This is Friday and I encourage everyone to feel good today. Remember, 90 percent of your feelings are based on how you want to feel.
Logic will not change an emotion, but action will. If someone ask you how you feel, tell them "super good, but i'll get better. Or maybe, " fantistic" but I'm improving.
Take care of your health. Feed your mind. Take some time to be quiet, and above all, take some time to love.

Build a better world

"Your task is to build a better world,"
said God and I answered, "How"?
This world is such a large vast place,
And, Oh so complicated now!
And I'm so small and useless, there is
nothing I can do."
But God in all his wisdom said,
"You just build a better you."

2007-02-08T12:37:00.000-08:00

I feel often like the cross-eyed discus thrower. I don't set any records, but i like to keep everyone on their toes. I don't know why i post these things but hopefully it helps to keep important things upper most on our minds.

How should a person feel about himself? How should a Christian feel? Should his or her self-image be primarily positive or negative? Should a Christain stress continued sinfullness or should his primary emphasis be on newness of life?
What is meant by self-image as desiginated by the psychological term self-esteem? By self esteem we refer to the evaluation which an individual makes and customarily maintains in regard to himself. An expression of approval or disaproval-- it indicates the extent to which the individual believes himself to be capable, significant, successful and worthy.
Generally our self-esteem is either high or low, either predominately positive or predominately negative.
Again, generally speaking, I believe that what someone thinks of themselves has much to do with the kind of life they will live. A person tends to live up to his self-image.

Lets look at Paul's self image.
Paul had a very positive self image. He saw himself as a great sinner but he refered to the
Grace of God who forgave his sins. In 1st Tim. 1:15 he refered to himself as the chief of sinners.
Paul was accepted by God and was useful in God's Kingdom. Paul stated, " I am the least of the Apostles, unfit to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God, but by the Grace of God, I am what I am and his Grace toward me was not in vain."
We might say then, that though Paul does have a very deep sense of sin, he is able to maintain a predominately positive self-image.
His confidence was not so much in himself, but in God. It was not I, but by the Grace of God which is with me. 1st. Cor. 15:10. As a matter of factin 2nd. Cor. 11 : 30 Paul goes so far to say,
" If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weaknesses." Paul despite his deep sense of sin, always maintained a positive self-image. He believed in God's Grace.

What better example can we use than Paul's life? I believe entrenched in his life was what he could accomplish in God's Kingdom more so than dwelling on past mistakes.

Having a positive self- image has helped me tremendously in my life. I have always felt that i could overcome the difficult years and lack of education and succeed. I am assured that God's hand was leading me on along with the love and support of a great family and host of friends.

This concludes my post on self-esteem.

2007-02-06T18:28:00.000-08:00

How we view ourselves: part 2

The bible teaches that we belong to God and to each other. The bible teaches that becoming a Christian is basically a submission of ourselves to God and each other, Eph. 5:21 and James 4:6. None of us lives to ourselves alone. When a Christian is willing to consistently "lose themselves" for the sake of others, it builds personal worth and dignity, ultimately resulting in our finding "life" Mark 10. Conversely, when an individual is self oriented, self occupied and self concerned, the abundant life Jesus promised is not possible.
We must have a clear, honest and objective view of our strengths and weaknesses. This comes from both personal examination and from shared observations of those closest to us. Rom. 12:5, We must see ourselves with sober judgement. However we must be careful not to compare ourselves with ourselves. 2 Cor. 10:12. Scripture teaches us to imitate and model ourselves after people who are stronger and have proven themselves effective 1 Thes 5:12.
We must see ourselves as people with a purpose. We do have a purpose, a reason for existence! Contrary to worldly thought, we are not here for our own enjoyment and pleasure-- but to serve God and others. When we fully comprehend the opportunity which all Christians have to effect others for eternity, we will develope a personal confidence and assurance of our own worth, which those living by the world's standards could never attain.
Far too many Christians are plagued by feelings of inadequancy, self doubt and spiritual weakness. We are mistaken if we attempt to let the wisdom of this world convince us to "be good to outselves" or to just "accept ourselves" the way we are. Jesus came to redeem us from an empty way of life, to give us the power and the resources to become "like God," and he expects us to share our redemption with those about us! It is imperative that Christians have healthy, Biblical attitudes concerning themselves. These attitudes must not be the result of self-delusion or the acceptance of worldly principles but the result of our remaining in Christ and His word. Our pattern for spiritual living has to be Christ Centered and those who are striving to live that life according to God's will. Not those in the world that encourage pleasure at all cost and especially the Hollywood crowd who flaunt that sinful life style. This creates an unteachable spirit and severely hinders spiritual developement.

2007-02-05T19:10:00.000-08:00

Back in the late 70's and the early 80's there was a lot of emphasis put on the subject of how we ought to view ourselves. Books were written to help individuals to feel better about them selves, to grow in self awareness, self esteem and self appreciation. It seemed as if the divorce rates along with suicides were increasing at a rapid rate. Products and magazines became available to help individuals to feel better about them selves.
I was provided the opportunity through my company to attend seminars that dealt largely with this subject. I learned about "stinking thinking," and how we all needed a "check-up" from the "neck-up" from men like Zig Ziegler, Norman Vincent Peale, Paul Harvey, Dr. Joyce Brothers and others that traveled the country with lectures on self worth. For about a year and a half I taught classes at church to the various adult classes as well as divorce recovery groups on this very subject.
It became more evident that God's word has much to say about attitudes toward self, and as christians it is vital that we are aware of, and teach these biblical attitudes and perspectives, instead of being solely influenced by contemporary philosophies and the thoughts of non christian psychologist and others that claimed to have all the answers.
How we view ourselves is deeply inrooted in the fact thar we are created to be like God. In Gen. 1: 26, we read that we are created in the image of God. Contrary to what many teach, human beings are unique in all creation; we are special. We have an unlimited potential for growth and change. In Eph. 4:22, Paul teaches us that the new creation we become at conversion is unlike our former way of life. Rather, we are to put on the new self created to be like God, in true righteousness and holiness. It is unfortunate when Christians view themselves as weak, helpless, hopeless individuals at the mercy and whim of their environment.
Isaiah, 64:8 tells us we must see ourselves as "clay" in the potter's hand. Our goal is not merely to become more religious, but to become more like Jesus, until ultimately as Paul said, "Christ is formed in you" Gal. 4:19. If we wonder why we are not becoming more christlike, the problem may be that we are not consistantly and totally submitting ourselves to the Lord. Clay, regardless of the quality cannot form itself; it must be worked by the potter's hand. It does not argue, or resist the hand of the sculptor. I have found that self-help programs have at least one fundamental weakness: the reliance upon man instead of God. Is our attitude one of submission or rebellion?

To be continued

2007-02-02T09:55:00.000-08:00

Five Categories of Mistakes

1. Panic Prompted:
These mistakes are made out of fear or being in a hurry, or they could result out of worry. When we find ourselves in this state, we sometimes panic and make a wrong decision.
Gen. 12:10 tells of a mistake made by Abraham. God had said to Abraham, "you are my man" and through you a nation will be born. You will have a heritage that no other man will have. Stand fast , trust me through all the cares of life and I will bring through your life a nation. With these words still ringing in Abraham's ears, Abraham panicked. The scriptures read, Now there was a famine in the land- there was no bread or meat- apparently not much water either. Things had gotten tight so Abraham went down into Egypt.
Why? He got shook- even though God had said, Abraham stay by me at the altar at Bethel.
Usually when you make a mistake- others follow. Like dominoes falling.
And it came to pass when he was near Egypt, he said to his wife Sarah- See now, I know you are a beautiful woman, and it will come about when the Egyptians see you, they will say, this is his wife and they will kill me and let you live. Please say that you are my sister so that it may go well for well for because of you and that i might live on account of you. Gen. 12, 11-13.
When we panic our whole focus gets twisted.
Another example is when the spies went into the promised land, they came back saying, "no way" there are giants in the land. We are only grasshoppers. Where did they place God?

2. Good intention mistakes
These are mistakes that are made ignorantly when we use the wrong planning or the wrong method.
Moses is a good example of this mistake. Ex. 2: 11, 12 states, when he saw the egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his bretheren, he looked around and when no one was looking, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
There was a good motive in delivering the Hebrews. Moses desire was to defend what was right but his good intentions led to tradegy, the sin of murder. Moses probably thought everyone would understand but they did not. Acts, 7: 23-25

Have you ever mistaken someones wife for their mother? I have

3. Negligent mistakes
These mistakes come from being lazy or from oversight, inconsistancy or just a olain lack of discipline. Oftentimes dads get too busy, preoccupied and therefore negligent. Its a mistake among successful high achieving fathers. Ben Franklin said a little neglect might breed mischief.
For the want of a nail the shoe was lost:
For the want of a shoe a horse was lost:
For the want of a horse a rider was lost:

4. Unrestrained- curiosity mistakes.
These are most attractive to young people. Unrestrained curiosity usually relates to the sensational. We must restrain curiosity to a certain extent. Curiosity is a major part of our lives and common throughout the world. There is an old saying that curiosity killed the cat.

5.Blind spot mistakes
These are the one we repeat most often. The ones we commit out of ignorance or habit and maybe poor parental influence.Paul had a blind spot for John Mark. He was not willing to accept John Mark for what he was. Paul considered him a failure.
Peter had a blind spot- when he was around the Jews he ate Kosher food, but he ate differently around the Gentiles. Usually blind-spot mistakes are more detectable by other people more so than the person or victim.

As individuals, we are probably sure we made the right decisions. However, are we always correct?

2007-02-01T10:41:00.000-08:00

Mistakes---Marks of imperfections

We, as christians suffer from a very common ailment: making honest mistakes: not willfull sin, but mistakes that can lead to sin, but there are honest mistakes.
Webster: To make a mistake means to choose wrongly or to make a wrong judgement.
There is also a second meaning: a wrong attitude, action, statements proceding from faulty judgement, inadequate knowledge or intention. ( Out and out rebellion.)
We are all prone to honest mistakes, but can open the door to sinful activity.

There are basically five (5) categories of mistakes.

1. Panic prompted mistakes.

2. Good intention mistakes.

3. Negligent mistakes.

4. Unrestrained- curiosity mistakes.

5. Blind spot mistakes.

If anyone is intrested, I will define the five different categories with some additional comments.

2007-01-27T12:51:00.000-08:00

Life is Now by Bob Conklin

A farmer had been desperately looking, with no success, for a hired hand. Finally a young man showed up and said, " I hear you've been looking for some help."
"I sure have," replied the farmer. What can you do? Can you run a tractor?" "Nope," answered the fellow. "How about a milking machine?" "Never worked one of those either."
After a few more questions with the same negative responses the farmer finally ask, "Well, what can you do?"
"I can sleep while the wind blows," said the young man.
In no mood for joking, the farmer almost told the fellow to be on his was. But he needed help so badly that he decided to give the youth a try.
A week or so later the farmer woke in the middle of the night. Outside a storm was blustering; swatches of windblown rain was battering away at the windows. The farmer jumps out of bed and went to the hired hand's bedroom. Efforts to rouse the helper were like trying to waken a sack of oats.
So the farmer by himself rushed outdoors to take care of things. But when he got to the barn the doors were shut and bolted. The animals were securely in the shelter. Remembering that there was straw and feed in back of the barn that could be ruined by the rain he hurried outside once more. But his concerns were unfounded for the piles were covered with canvas and fastened down.
It was then that he realized the significance of the youn man's prophetic claim, "I can sleep when the wind blows."

This is a neat little story that reminds us not to wait until we are burdened with desperation or calamity before accepting personal responsibility for living our lives successfully. Almost all of the strains, anxities, and worries of the future could be eliminated by the way we conduct ourselves today. We must remember, "Life is what happens while we are making other plans!" Even as we think about all the things that we are going to do someday, life is still going on.
Do you want happiness? Do you want success? Do you want more love and friendship? Start giving some away today. Write a letter. Phone a friend. Say a kind word. Smile. But do it now.
A lifetime is a bunch of moments, a lot of "right nows" that are chained together hour after hour, week after week, year after year. Using today to show kindness to those around you, you saturate your mind with positive thoughts, and to do your work as well as you know how will enable you to "sleep when the wind blows"!

Probably those who read what I have been putting on this blog do not really need the this type of information. I simply write it as a reminder and relay to you some of the things that have helped me thru the years.

2007-01-24T13:10:00.000-08:00

Treat Others as You Want Them To Treat You

How well you relate to others is very important, because much of your success and happiness depends on it.
Christ gave the perfect rule for human relations, and for personal conduct. We call it the Golden Rule, a name it got somewhere around the 17th century.
Near the the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Christ summed up a series of sayings or profound thoughts on human conduct by saying, "Treat others as you want them to treat you."
This statement is the most remembered and most quoted one that Christ ever made.
Books are written about it.
Lectures given to expound on its meaning.
But the depths of its wisdom have never been fully probed, and never will be. It is profound beyond all human explanations. Yet, like so many divine laws, it appears very simple at first glance. See Luke, 6: 27-30

With these thoughts in mind, ask yourself how you want others to treat you.

Five things we want from others:
1. we want encouragement.
2. We want appreciation.
3. We want forgiveness.
4. We want attention.
5. We want understanding.

Encouragement:

Encouragement helps us to reach our goals more easily. It helps us to focus on our strenghts. It helps us to overcome weaknesses. When we give it to others, they are drawn closer to us. When we withhold it, we alienate them from us.
We all want encouragement, so we need to give it to others. By doing so, we practice the golden rule.
Look back at the times when someone encouraged you or praised you and caused your self- concept to grow. It formed new goals for you. It sold you on yourself and made certain accomplishments seem more possible.

Appreciation:

The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.
How much do you want to be appreciated?
How much do you want to be recognized?
How much?
The need for recognition is a powerful motivator. Its probably stronger than your need for money or material gain.
We all go through life silently screaming, "Notice me! Notice me!"Just stop and think how many of your actions result from this strong drive.
When properly handled, it becomes a very creative drive. The drive that causes many to excel-to become successful in business, teaching, athletics, housewives, writers and many other things.
We all want to be recognized and appreciated.
When you show appreciation to others, you show belief in them.

Forgiveness:

The kind of faith that brings peace of mind, confidence, and a feeling of well being must also be accompanied by a spirit of forgiveness.
Forgiveness is the very essence of the Golden Rule, its involved in almost every application of this great law.
Christ said: "Love your enemies! Pray for them!"
How difficult is it for you to love someone who doesn't love you? Can you think of anything so opposite to human nature? But, Christ said, "I'll show you a more perfect way."
Remember; To condemn is human, to forgive is devine.

Attention:

We are not always good listeners
We all have a psychological need for others to listen to us. This attention is very therepeutic and cleansing. People are drawn consciously and unconsciously, to those who listen to them.
Listening actually changes peoples attitude and actions
Listening draws out the best in people- it sells them on themselves. It gives them confidence and helps their creative powers.
There's probably no better way to help your self and others enjoy living more than listen to them.

Understanding:

How often do you feel misunderstood?
We all feel misunderstood at times--we want understanding from others although at times we won't admit it. We act tough and aggressive when in reality we are seeking understanding but we are just going about it in the wrong way. However, regardless of how we act, we want understanding from others.
When we get to know a person and find out some of his or her sorrows and suffering, we usually understand why they are like they are. This helps to melt down hostilities.
To practice the Golden Rule, we must give understanding to others since that is what we want from them.

2007-01-23T13:36:00.000-08:00

A CREDO FOR OUR RELATIONSHIPS

You and I are in a relationship which I value and want to keep. Yet each of us is a separate person with unique needs and the right to meet those needs.

When you are having problems meeting your needs, I will try to listen with genuine acceptance, in order to facilitate your finding your own solutions instead of depending on mine. I will also try to respect your right to choose your own beliefs and develope your own values, different though they may be from mine.

However, when your behavior inteferes with what I must do to get my own needs met, I will tell you openly and honestly how your behavior affects me, trusting that you respect my needs and feelings enough to try to change the behavior that is unacceptable to me. Also, when some behavior of mine is unacceptable to you, I hope you will tell me openly and honestly so I can change my behavior.

At those times when we find that either of us cannot change to meet the other's needs,let us acknowledge that we have a conflict and commit ourselves to resolve each conflict without either of us resorting to the use of power or authority to win at the expense of the other's losing. I respect you needs, but I must also respect my own. So let us strive always to search for a solution that will be acceptable to both of us. Your needs will be met, and so will mine--neither will lose, both will win.

In this way, you can continue to develope as a person through satisfying your needs, and so can I. Thus, ours can be a healthy relationship in which both of us can strive to become what we are capable of being. And we can continue to relate to each other with mutual respect, love, and peace.

This works out in the real world, where differences and feelings exist that tend to drive a wedge between healthy relationships. In our christian relationships we should all be striving for the same things, but there are times when attitudes even cause differences in the church. Things cannot always be like what we think they should be, but the end solution is following the examples that Christ set forth.

2007-01-22T09:34:00.000-08:00

SOME HUGS ARE NOT HUGS

Non Hug 1. The A-Frame Hug.
In this non-hug, two people come together; their heads touch, but nothing else does. The feet remain absolutely 3 - 4 feet away from their opposite pair. The effect is a massive leaning so that the two people look like a ski lodge or at least a collapsing pyramid.

Non Hug 2. Half a chest is better than none
Here people make contact with one-half of the top part of their bodies. They twist at the waist and touch in the most limited manner possible. These hugs are to be seen everywhere and I would ask you to keep your eyes open the next time you go to a party or a family gathering and count how many half chesters you see.

Non Hug 3. The chest to chest burp
Lucky us! We actually make full chest to chest contact here but it makes everyone so nervous that they have to defuse the contact immediately. As soon as the two bodies touch, one, two, three, or four hands all start to pat on the opposite back-- just as if they were burping a baby. It is a way of neutralizing and reducing the person being hugged to a safe, infantile status. Just observe the next ten hugs you get-- you'll be burped everytime.

Non Hug 4. The wallet rub
In this non-hug, the two people make contact by standing next to each other, not looking at one another but merely touching hips--or their wallets, as if it were.

2007-01-20T14:27:00.000-08:00

Every Sunday I have a certain place to stand and a fairly large number of our church family comes by for a hug. I refer to it as the hugging line. Some will even look me up if for some reason we missed.

Hugging Can Improve Your Health

Hugging is a miracle medicine that can relieve many physical and emotional problems facing Americans, experts tell us.
The type of hugging recommended by Dr. David Bresler, Director of the Pain Control Unit at UCLA, is use both arms, face your partner and perform a full embrace.
"I often tell my patients to use hugging as a part of their treatment for pain. To be held is enormously therepeutic."
Researchers have also discovered that hugging can help you live longer, protect you against illness, cure depression and stress, strengthen family relationships and help ypu sleep without pills.
"Hugging is an excellent tonic," declared Dr Harold Voth, senior psychiatrist at the prestigious Menninger Foundation in Topeka Kansas. "It has been shown scientifically that people who are mentally run-down and depressed are far more prone to sickness than those who are not."
"Hugging can lift depression-- enabling the body's immune system to become tuned up. Hugging breathes fresh life into a tired body and makes you feel younger and more vibrant."
"In the home, daily hugging will strengthen relationships and significantly reduce friction."
"I'm convinced that the tender embrace can prevent or cure a host of different problems," said Dr. Robert Rynearson, who is chairman of the Psychiatry Department at Scott and White Clinic in Temple, Texas.
"A hug can have an astonishing therepeutic effect by providing a sense of companionship and happiness."
"Researchers discovered that when a person is touched the amount of hemoglobin in their blood increases significantly," said Helen Colton, author of "The Joy of Touching."

Coming next . Some hugs aren't hugs

The previous article and some others to come are selected from my files during the many years I spent in Management.

2007-01-20T10:15:00.000-08:00

I read a lot of comments regarding writers views on the word of God. I find peace and contentment in what the bible teaches us about his word and his direction for us.

BE MY SERVANT

This is God speaking--
I made you a human being, but I still want you to be as much like me as you can. So try your best to act as I would act and do my work in the world. Tell the truth about me. Set an example for others to follow. Show them what it is like to keep my agreement and live the good life.
Start living according to my guidelines now. Don't ever hide the fact that you are following me. Be like that city that is built on a hill--that is seen from all directions--or a bright light that is not covered or turned off--let the light that is in you because of me, shine, so people can get to know me through you.

If you turn away from me and refuse to live according to my guidelines, you are like the salt that has lost its saltiness. You don't do yourself or anyone else any good. So listen to me carefully, learn from me and do your best to understand me. Serve with your heart and soul. Do everything I tell you to do--make it clear to those who refuse to follow me just how much you love me.

If you try to be as much like me as you can, anyone who knows you will also know me. Someone who thinks highly of you will think highly of me.

Being my servant is a joyful task. Sing and rejoice in everything you do. Think of keeping my agreement as a privelege and not a hardship, even though you may give up certain things in order to follow my guidelines, you will gain much more in return.

This may sound too elementary but I see too much out in the world today with individuals wanting to change God's word. The bible is sufficient and it is God's love and grace that sustains us. What else could be any better?

2007-01-16T19:26:00.000-08:00

Well, this afternoon word out of Fayetteville is Mitch Mustain has ask to transfer. No word as of yet on Cleveland. Anyway, this solves the problem of who will be the starting QB for the Razorbacks. We have a red shirt freshman and Robert Johnson will be back. It was great to see Johnson get the Paul E. award recently.

I spent about two hours watching the American Idol program to see what all the hoop is about this show. I determined it was a total disaster and offered nothing spectacular. Maybe 2 or 3 had some talent but nothing to brag about. Ted Mack would turn over in his grave if he knew how talent shows were conducted today. Especially with the ones calling themselves judges. Who is this Simeon anyway? He is one of the rudest I've seen and all the coverage of people crying because they were sent away shows no compassion for hurt feelings. Is this the same program where Carrie Underwood got her start? Carrie had talent. Why aren't these contestants screened before putting them on National Television to be downgraded? This is the first time for me to watch so I am not up to date on how it is run and will not be watching it unless they improve it drastically.

2007-01-15T12:03:00.000-08:00

Hopefully, the rain has subsided and we can dry out with out mildewing. It has turned somewhat colder though today. Sure hope everyone has escaped the terrible weather that has come our way without any damage.
There has not been much happening here so far this year to write about. One joyous note is the upcoming marriage of Treece and Noah. Noah came by last Friday and showed Mom and myself the ring. He told of his plans for the evening and how it was planned out to give her the engagement ring. We are excited about the event and especially having Treece as one of our granddaughters.
Maybe soon we can have something more to write about. I get disturbed with a lot of the things happening in our country so I am just waiting for something to do outside the house. There is only so much housework inside that is enjoyable but at the sametime that has to be done.

2007-01-01T09:59:00.000-08:00

Well, the new year arrived with little fan fare here at home. We want to wish each and everyone a very Happy New Year with many blessings and good health. We never know what tomorrow holds for us so we should enjoy each day. In other words, we don't know what the future holds but we do know who holds the future.
I am not a person who makes New Year Resolutions, but there are a few things Mom and I hope this new year brings. 1. Some additional relief from the pain each of us have on a daily basis. 2. That you all have a good safe and healthy year without incident. 3. We hope for some intervention with our new Governor on Steve's behalf. 4. Hope for some mending of hard feelings in family members. 5. Hope for George to get the job he is seeking.
There are many things that we could mention and the list would go on and on. However, our hopes and prayers are for each of you and we ask God for a special measure of his love on you in this year of 2007. And by the way, a special one for Treece and Noah on their upcoming marriage. We are anxiously waiting to find out when.

2006-12-30T17:27:00.000-08:00

Well, there is an old saying that all good things come to an end. The Holidays will come to an end tomorrow. It was good to have all the kids and families except for Steve here for a short stay. We now await all the football games on Monday. The only one that matters to me is the Razorbacks. Sure hope the Hogs are ready.

Today while watching the ceremonies honoring President Ford on his death, I reflected back on the number of Ex-Presidents that have died in my lifetime. There were a total of nine. I am in awe of the respect we have for our Presidents who have passed on. It brings tears to my eyes to see the protocol carried out by our country and especially the Military. Regardless of Party, when it happens we give honor to all who have served as our Commander and Chief and that is the way it should be. I suppose the most vivid that I have recalled is when President Kennedy was assassinated. This was I suppose with the ability to cover everything by Television. I go back to President Roosevelts death but everything was by radio. Anyway, we are fortunate to live in a country where by we can feel a part of the life that these great men have shared in service.

Also today, watching the Ceremony at the airport in Palm Springs for President Ford, it brought back memories of my visits to that same airport on several occasions. It was June 3rd, 2003,at about 3:00 am I received the call from my Daughter that my Granddaughter was critically ill and had been air lifted to the Desert Regional Hospital in Palm Springs. I flew to California with my 2 Grandsons and stayed with the family about four and a half weeks. Thanks to the Doctors at Desert Regional, and the power of prayer by people worldwide, they pulled Wendy through that ordeal when even the Doctors were not sure she would make it. During her days while in a coma, one of her specialist commented that there was a improvement or gap as he called it in her progress that they could not explain medically. We have first hand knowledge of what prayer can do. Today, that beautiful young lady is in her second year of college.
Its amazing how one picture you see on television can carry you back to days past and you relive moments in time. Some good memories, some not so good but what is important is what we make out of those memories.

2006-12-16T14:54:00.000-08:00

Well, today is our 62nd Wedding Anniversary. We really celebrated by staying home and trying to get things ready for the Holidays. This is the time we really look forward to. Someone asked recently how we managed to stay married this long. When we celebrated our 25th, we made another vow. We agreed that the first one that decided to pack up and leave would have to take all the kids. Apparently this worked and we were able to raise 5 without too many problems. We are proud of them all and wish their marriages to last for many years as ours have. We especially look forward to time together during the Holiday Season and really long for the day when the gathering will be complete.

2006-12-14T12:18:00.000-08:00

Some more thoughts on peoples actions during the Holidays. Why do some folks get so uptight when they have to wait in line at checkouts? I know I do when stores are so busy and all the checkouts are not manned. Another gripe is waiting behind someone especially a lady who waits till everything is checked and looks over the sales slip before looking in her duffle bag for a check book and pen. While waiting in line a couple of days ago, the clerk while finishing with the person in front of me politely placed her closed sign at the register. The man behind me hit the ceiling first and I followed. Anyway, there was enough verbage forth coming that they had her stay till we were checked out. This is when i want to seek revenge. Do any of you out there have a revengeful feeling at such annoyances? I sometimes would like to slap a skillet of hot water out of somebody who have no regard for other people. However in some cases revenge is sweet. I like this little story.
This should make you smile.
After 17 years of marriage, a man dumped his wife for a younger woman. He wanted to continue living in their downtown luxury apartment with his new lover so he asked his wife to move out and get another place. His wife agreed to this, provided he would give her 3 days alone at the apartment to pack up her things.
She spent the first day her belongings into boxes, crates and suitcases.
On the second day she had the movers come and collect her things.
On the third day, she sat down for the last time at their beautiful dining table by candlelight, put on some soft background music, and feasted on a pound of shrimp and a bottle of Chardonnay. When she had finished, she went into each room and deposited a few of the half eaten shrimp shells into the hollow of the curtain rods. She then cleaned up the kitchen and left.
When her husband returned with his new girlfriend, all was bliss for the first few days. Then slowly the apartment begin to smell. They tried everything; cleaning and mopping and airing the place out. Vents were checked for dead rodents, carpets were steam cleaned. Air fresheners were hung everywhere. Exterminators were brought in to set off gas canisters, during in which they had move out for a few days, and in the end they had to pay for having all the expensive carpet replaced.
Finally, they could not stand it any longer and decided to move. They could not find a buyer for their stinky apartment so they had to Borrow a huge amount of money from the bank to purchase a new place.
The moving company arrived and did a very professional packing job, taking everything to their new home... including the curtain rods.
THIS SHOULD TELL US , DO NOT MESS WITH A WOMAN.

This brought back a reminder of the dead squirrel in Scott and Tracys dryer vent that had caused one dryer to go bad and Sears replaced it. While they were at work, I set out to find the odor in their laundry room. Between gags i finally got the squirrell out. Also the dead rotted possum underneath Lydias floor that i had to remove.

2006-12-12T15:40:00.000-08:00

Continuing with thoughts on the days prior to Christmas, the cartoon says a lot about some of our frustations. It reminds me of my trip to West Memphis not too long ago to pick up my 1957 style Chevy cafe booth that I had made. After loading the booth and table by the fellows at the Company, I headed back toward home. Just after getting back on I-40 I heard this noise and looked in the rear view mirror and saw one section of my booth in the left lane. Just as I pulled over a tractor trailer demolished it. After loading it back on the truck I headed back to the company that had made it. Before getting back to the company I was stopped by a State Trooper who said he had a call that I had a wreck. He looked the truck over for damages and finding none, he accepted my version of the situation but he wanted me to wait for another Trooper who had taken the call. Anyway after a couple of hours with the Troopers I made my way back to the booth manufacturer. The Manager there stopped a crew of workers and had them make me a new section at no charge. This time, everything was anchored down tight enough I don't believe a tornado would have caused any problem. During all this time I was devastated to the point that my wanting the booth was not important anymore. But, after the kind actions of the Company and their willingness to help me made a world of difference. Probably, we let things upset us at Christmas time that are really not that important. We let impatience interfere with our lives to the extent it nearly ruins our Spirit of The Season. I know I speak for myself, but I also observe the actions of people who need to calm down and just enjoy Christmas. Remember, life is too short for ordinary jewelery to which i am sick of hearing.

2006-12-11T16:42:00.000-08:00

Yes, the frustrations have begun again for another Christmas season. Traffic and shoppers everywhere looking for bargins. But afterall, its the season of the year when we all should be in the right frame of mind and expect the hustle and bustle that normally takes place. I just wonder how many gifts that will be purchased for someone to take back to the stores after Christmas. It seems that I never get the right size or the right color and so on. Anyway I enjoy Christmas because it is Family time. There is always plenty of food that helps us to add to the waistline. The sad part of the season is all those in the world who do not have the opportunity to enjoy all the things we are blessed with. I look back to the past and recall the Apple and Orange that was my gift to enjoy. However, I don't feel that I was short changed in any way because I have received more blessings in my life time than one deserves. It was probably around the age of 16 or 17 when I really got the Christmas spirit. I owe that to my wife of almost 62 years now and her family for helping me to understand what Christmas is really all about. Since then, I get excited about snooping and trying to find out what I am getting for Christmas. Then I also begin to realize it is not about me and what I will receive, but what can I share with others. Hopefully, we can in some small way make someone else's Christmas a little brighter. Maybe, in the next few days I can write about what I would like to have for Christmas and the next year. So as you all get caught up in the hectic shopping days ahead, just remember to show kindness to those like the one in the cartoon.

2006-12-03T19:47:00.000-08:00

In my last post I mentioned the hectic week we just experienced and was in hope of having a much better week this week. Well, it has not started off well at all. One of our Central Arkansas Christian School's Math teacher and Basketball Coach died just before noon today. Andrew Brady, 33 years of age had been diagnosed about 2 weeks ago with Leukemia. He was in the process of starting treatments but was still participating in coaching our girls teams. While at Carlisle Arkansas yesterday with our Jr. girls he became ill. While in route to Little Rock, he passed out and never recovered from excessive bleeding of the brain. This morning he was removed from life support after a scan showed no brain activity. He died shortly after. Andrew grew up in the Sylvan Hills Congregation and his parents are still active members at S.H. His funeral will be held at CAC Hi School either Tuesday or Wednesday. Andrew was a CAC Alumni and came back to teach after getting his degree. His mom Paula has been a Kindergarten teacher for CAC a number of years. Needless to say, this has really had a traumatic impact on the campus as well as the church. This was evident yesterday when I arrived at the hospital and witnessed at least 150 plus students teachers parents friends and relatives waiting and praying for his recovery. Please remember the Brady Family in your prayers. Ashley, Andrew's sister is also a CAC alum.

The other sad note is the Razorbacks loss to Florida last night. We shot ourself in the foot on several plays. However the Hogs will be going to the Capitol One Bowl. I was hoping for the Cotton so i could go but I will be rooting the Hogs on to beat Wisconsin. I have one concern. I never want to hear Verne Dumquist call another Razorback game. Maybe he will lose his voice and no one will have to sit thru his tirades.

2006-12-01T18:50:00.000-08:00

Well, after a hectic past few days I thought i would come back and kinda catch up to date. We had a good Thanksgiving and probably had too much to eat. This was not a traditional day for us. Instead of turkey, we grilled steaks and also had ham. We are not really enthused about turkey or leftovers. Thats probably why we ate too much. Our Razorbacks played on Friday and lost a heart breaker to LSU. However Arkansas won the west division and plays Florida tomorrow for the conference championship. I'm scared but win or lose we should go to a good bowl game. We got to visit for a little while on Saturday with Scott, Tracy, Chloe, Cassie and Shala who spent Thanksgiving in Russellville and were on their way back to Texas. We had a good visit with Steve on Sunday.
Monday evening I got the call that my friend and fellow Elder had just passed away. We knew it was just a matter of time since he had battled cancer for about a year. Carroll and I had made 6 trips to Russia and Siberia together and had worked together 29 years in church work. His funeral was on Thursday.
Tuesday was my 79th birthday and was just a normal day. Kathleen and I did go out for breakfast at the Cracker Barrel. That night was spent at a CAC Board Meeting. This School is an important part of my life so I didn't mind spending it at the school. Last night I worked at the concession booth at the school gym. The Ortho Diagnostic tournament is going on. I was happy to see our CAC boys team beat Sylvan Hills in overtime.
Thinking about age I suppose it has effect on most people. I met a fellow I have known for years and we were good friends. While visiting, I told him I could not remember his name and to tell me what it was. He glared at me for several minutes and then replied, "How soon do you need to know?"
Now, its time to start the Christmas Season. It will be a busy month but we are approaching it gradually as we feel like. We can't go for hours on end like we used to but a little shopping etc daily will get the job done. We look to the Holiday Season as family time together. We know everyone can't be here at the same time but we do look forward to having all our kids and grandkids here. We will enjoy the time together and especially this year since Mom is feeling much better than last year.

2006-11-22T16:58:00.000-08:00

On this Thanksgiving Eve, there are numerous blessings we are so thankful for. There are so many it would be impossible to mention them all here. Mainly, we are thankful for life and the pleasures we enjoy day by day. I think we probably let our problems sometimes out weigh our thinking rather than dwelling on the good aspects of life.
I know Kathleen and I are thankful for our health. For the past two years we have encountered several physical ailments that have curtailed our usual activities. Her pain problems still exist to some degree but its far less today than even a year ago, and for that we are so thankful.
I thank the Lord so much that my heart seems to be doing good after having had a major heart attack two years ago. The stents are working great and my last heart stress test went good. At the present time, I am having a lot of pain from Arthritis. I decided two days ago to stop taking pain medication. It seems that hydrocodone is addictive and Aleve is not reccommended for persons on blood thinners. I don't know why the Doctor prescribed a medication knowing I was on a blood thinner. Anyway, Dr. Doug decided two weeks ago to go the Glucosamine route. I can bear the pain and give it a chance.
We are thankful also for our family. Everything seems to be going well except an occasional bump in the road. Hopefully, all except for Steve will be home for Christmas. We have not lost hope for his return but the proceedual matter still exist and a new Governor coming into office in January. We are so thankful for Steves attitude during this long process and the fact he knows we are trying. He can re apply in July of 2007.
We are thankful for our freedom and for those that are sacrificing their lives so we can enjoy times like this Thanksgiving.
In just six days, the Lord willing, I will reach my 79th birthday. There are still several things I want to happen in my lifetime. I will mention some of them when I make out my Christmas wish list. I have said that I like to tell everyone how old I am so they will understand why I look this way. I have traveled many roads already, and most of them have been unpaved.
Yes, we have so much to be thankful for and especially not only for our physical family, but our spiritual family. You know that it is God's love for us that sustains us. Without him in our lives, we would be most miserable. Like i mentioned earlier, there is so much to be thankful for but from Kathleen and myself we wish everyone a most enjoyable Thanksgiving. We love you.

2006-11-18T16:37:00.000-08:00

Well, it was a nail biter from start but our HOGS pulled out a great win today. On Friday we have another opportunity to add to a winning season then to Atlanta for the overall SEC championship. I believe it can be done because these HOGS have spirit. We have good coaches who can motivate them so, GO HOGS GO.

2006-11-12T15:08:00.000-08:00

I happened to run accross this tombstone for a bargain price so i opted to purchase it. It will save someone from having to worry with one when the time comes. It seems approiate since actually some new ground will plowed up. Anyway, i always like to find bargains and this was one I couldn't turn down.
There are a few items that I will remention about the 60's that were highlights of that decade in our family history. Of course, I will have to start with the birth of Cindy in January of 61. As I recall George was about 12 years of age at the time. One event mentioning was his Mother had him watch Cindy while she went somewhere. During her absence Cindy developed a bad case of diarrhea and it going everywhere. George didn't know what to do. I'm supprised he didn't call the fire dept to have them hose her down. I think he called in the neighbors for help. He graduated from High School in 1966 and enrolled at Harding. Larry graduated 1n 1968. By the way, Larry's nickname given him by his granddad was Rabbit. In between Larry and Georges graduation, Scott was born in June of 1967. He was the biggest supprise of all during that ten year period. I remember Kathleen and I being already 40 when we found out she was expecting. I came home from work one day and she told me i had better sit down because she had something to tell me. Anyway, that turned out to be one of our greatest blessings. George was already in college, Larry was ready for the 12th grade, Steve was probably in the 6th grade and Cindy in the first grade. I may be off somewhat on the grades but close. All in all, we have been blessed beyond measure. As i look back and think about this old house we live in, it has had numerous changes as our kids have grown up. As rambunctious (spelling) as they were growing up, it is still in pretty good shape. I was not aware at the time that having a full basement it would be so easy for Larry and George and possibly Steve to sneak out at night and go courtin. Having a stairway caused a few minor problems along the way. I believe it was Cindy and mom having the accidents.
As i mentioned earlier it was 1969 that i reached the Manager level with the Company. I was President of North Hills Kiwanis Club. It was around the end of the 60's when i became so disgruntled about our school system, in fact it caused us enough anxiety that I considered moving to Searcy. As i said earlier, the 60's were great years and it helped us to grow stronger in our faith and would be able to deal with situations that were not expected. This one piece of advice that I would like to pass along helped our marriage probably more than anything was, we always discussed every major decision and would be in agreement before taking action.
I do recall doing something that I should not have done. I went to a Kiwanis Club on the night of our 25th Wedding Anniversary. She never gave me a hard time about it though.

2006-11-09T18:05:00.000-08:00

Twas the night before Christmas, he lived all alone,
in a one bedroom house made of plaster and stone.
I had come down the chimney with presents to give,
and to see just who in this house did live.
I looked all about, a strange sight I did see,
no tinsel, no presents, not even a tree.
No stocking on the mantle, just boots filled with sand,
on the wall hung pictures of far distant lands.
With medals and badges, awards of all kinds,
a sober thought came through my mind.
For this house was different, it was dark and dreary,
I found the home of a soldier, once i could see clearly.
The soldier lay sleeping, silent, alone,
curled up on the floor in this one bedroom home.
The face was so gentle, the room in such disorder,
not how i pictured a United States soldier.
Was this the hero of whom I'd just read?
Curled up on a poncho, the floor for a bed?
I realized the families that i saw this night,
owed their lives to these soldiers who were willing to fight.
Soon round the world, the children would play,
and grownups would celebrate a bright Christmas day.
They all enjoyed freedom each month of the year,
because of the soldiers, like the one lying here.
I couldn't help wonder how many lay alone,
on a cold Christmas eve in a land far from home.
The very thought brought a tear to my eye,
I dropped to my knees and started to cry.
The soldier awakened and I heard a rough voice,
"Santa don't cry, this life is my choice,
I fight for freedom, I don't ask for more,
my life is my God, my Country, my Corps."
The soldier rolled over and drifted to sleep,
I couldn't control it, I continued to weep.
I kept watch for hours, so silent and still
and we both shivered from the cold night's chill.
I didn't want to leave on that cold, dark, night,
this guardian of honor so willing to fight.
Then the soldier rolled over, with a voice soft and pure,
whispered, "carry on Santa, it's Christmas day, all is secure"
One look at my watch, and I knew he was right.
"Merry Christmas my friend, and to all a good night.

We don't know who wrote this but I would like to dedicate this to all those who fight for my Freedom, and security. Freedom comes with a price and so many are willing to serve our Country without hesitation. If you oppose what is being done today by our servicemen, just stop and think of where we would be today and the freedom we enjoy if it were not for those who have fought in the past and those fighting today so we can live a peaceful life. When you go to bed tonight, say a prayer for those who today are in harms way that they be safe and above all, appreciated.

Doug.