Happy 53rd Birthday, De!

A Quick Quote by Knucklehead's Productions

Sometimes the ignorant are ignorant because they have closed their eyes to the obvious, stopped their ears to the truth and have closed their minds to the facts.

Relationships: Church or God

This is just a thought. I may elaborate on it later, but I better jot it down before I forget it! Since I'm an observer of people and patterns of behavior, this is one about people who attend church. Mind you, at various times in my life, I have fit in both categories.

A lot of people ascribe to a church as an institution, but forget that at its origins were people who had a personal relationship with Jesus, who met together to worship, learn and fellowship because of that relationship.

My Favorite Steve Jobs Quotes

I never paid much attention to Steve Jobs as a person. I'd heard of him, knew of his products, actually used his products, but that's about all. Since the world is abuzz about his passing tonight, I heard and looked up some quotes by the man. Here are the most profound that I found:

WikiQuotes: Steve Jobs

•     Death is the destination we all share, no one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be because death is very likely the single best invention of life.
•     Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
•     Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
•     No one wants to die. Even people who wanna go to heaven don't wanna die to get there.

 
 

"Waaa!", cries the President. "They're talking about me!"

The latest buzz yesterday and today was about Hank Williams Jr.'s comments likening Obama to Hitler. ESPN yanked his song, "Are You Ready For Some Football?" He was asked something about John Boehner (the 61st and current Speaker of the United States House of Representatives) and President Obama playing golf together. He replied, "That would be like Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu." He went on to explain that it's because Obama & Boehner are enemies.

Do you remember how the media and everyone who could get national attention was all over Bush, laughing at his remarks putting him down, disregarding that he was the President of the United States? Adolescent attacks. It got so bad that I turned Leno off because of his attacks on Bush. It was apparent that the Liberal Media that is so prevalent on the airwaves hated our President Bush. Did he 'waaa' about it? Did he mention it in a speech before cameras how everyone was talking about him? Naw. But Obama has. Heard him just today.

Vicki explains it like this:

‎ESPN pulled Hank Williams Jr.'s classic intro song from its broadcast of Monday night's NFL game after the country singer famous for the line "Are you ready for some football?" used an analogy to Adolf Hitler in discussing President Barack Obama.


In an interview Monday morning on Fox News' "Fox & Friends," Williams, unprompted, said of Obama's outing on the links with House Speaker John Boehner: "It'd be like Hitler playing golf with (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu."

Asked to clarify, Williams said, "They're the enemy," adding that by "they" he meant Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.

Anchor Gretchen Carlson later said to him, "You used the name of one of the most hated people in all of the world to describe, I think, the president." Williams replied, "Well, that is true. But I'm telling you like it is."

That's my 2-cents worth...

Racist!

Just a quick thought:
Hollering "Racist" is so typical, intended to smear one's reputation and good name. Understand the source, understand their fear.

A Different View of Death

This is an exchange between my cousin and me:

Becky: I made myself laugh ruefully the other day. I tried to run across the road with traffic oncoming to my right. I looked exactly like Tim Conway's old man. My feet felt like they were really running rapidly, but, unfortunately, my forward motion was very minimal. Since I made it to the other side without getting squashed, I can only assume that raucous laughter caused the driver to step on the brake.

Me: I used to run wherever I went. I'd park at the opposite end of the parking lot just to run to the store. I couldn't run far, but I could run fast. That all stopped when I managed to sprain both ankles and one wrist in one fall. Now when I run, it feels like I have wooden legs. That spring in my step is more like a 'clunk'... I guess it beats the alternative (making the family go through another funeral while we unite with our Lord face to face.)

Becky: Good outlook!

The Book's Cover

Several years ago I was in a situation where I had a chance to talk to someone who would frighten me in a dark alley. By appearance, he wasn't the kind of person I was comfortable with, but when I had a chance to talk with him, I was amazed! He was just like anyone else! I had been judging the book by its cover without realizing that people are people. It changed the way I look at and interact with others.

So often we judge folks by the clothes they wear. Cowboy boots, jeans and a black leather jacket conveys a different impression than shorts and a t-shirt.

For my 40th birthday, I bought a wide brimmed brown leather hat. It was just a hat, but it changed the way people responded to me. And it changed the way I acted. A little boy looked up at me with his mouth agape. I think I scared him. Other people looked nervous around me. As for me, I walked taller and felt more confident.

The point, the cover of the book doesn't always tell you what the book is all about.

The Circle of Life

When I was growing up, my parents were young. They chose to have their kids early in their life. I remember being surrounded by my aunts and uncles, all of whom didn't seem very old either. I mean, they still played football and baseball with vigor. They would still dive for the ball in volleyball and jump to spike it over the net. They were young. It was my grandparents that were old.

It's called the circle of life, but in reality, it is linear. We are all growing older together. It's just that the grandparents are further along than we are. We were the kids and didn't realize that our parents were the kids to our grandparents. But things change; roles change. Our grandparents die off and our parents become the old folks. Our aunts and uncles, also, are suddenly the old folks. I'm sure they wondered how that happened, how time somehow shifted that they were now regarded as the old folks.

Now, it's happened again. Where once we were the kids, then the parents, we are now the old folks. Our parents, aunts and uncles are passing away. Time has once again shifted and we are in the spotlight of the old folks. It seems like just yesterday the six year old neighbor boy was riding by on his bike and stopping to chat with us. And now, we hear that dear boy is a father himself, married with two kids. What has happened? It's the circle of life.

Tough Hides

Sometimes we just have to have tough hides. If we look to 'man' we are always going to be disappointed, let down or hurt. It is in our nature (as the old man) to hurt even those whom we love. I'm sure you know, even within your own family, how we can hurt one another unintentionally, or intentionally. This is true as well in our church family. The answer is to keep your eyes on the Lord. That is the way to navigate through challenging times.