Tuesday, March 31, 2009
CAN YOU SLEEP WHEN THE WIND BLOWS?
Years ago, a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the Atlantic, wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops. As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received a steady stream of refusals. Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer. "Are you a good farm hand?" the farmer asked him. "Well, I can sleep when the wind blows," answered the little man. Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, hired him. The little man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man's work. Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand's sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled, "Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!" The little man rolled over in bed and saidfirmly, "No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows." Enraged by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarpaulins. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down. Nothing could blow away. The farmer then understood what his hired handmeant, so he returned to his bed to also sleep while the wind blew. MORAL:When you're prepared, spiritually, mentally, and physically, you have nothing to fear. Can you sleep when the wind blows through your life? The hired hand in th e story was able to sleep because he had secured the farm against the storm . We, secure ourselves against the storms of life by grounding ourselves in the Word of God. We don't need to understand, we just need to hold His hand to have peace in the midst of the storms.
Monday, March 30, 2009
The Man Minute
You may not be a hunter, but you can learn a simple truth from the wild turkey that just might keep you from the death of all you hold sacred.
A tom is the ultimate male stud. He goes into strut, displays his strength and dominance, and the ladies just can't stand it. They often break into a flat out run to get to him before any competitors come calling. In fact, his created nature dictates that he stays put while they do the work to get to him. He never chases women, they always come to him. Almost always.
On occasion a tom will hear a hen that is elusive. She's sexy in the way she talks to him. She's long legged, and mysterious. She just moves different than the rest of the girls.
Then the tom does something that violates his nature. He will actually investigate her just a bit. He'll move closer. She walks away even more. He can't see every part of her, yet he can't help but visualize what she must look like when the light hits her late in the evening. She keeps talking. Nobody is looking. She's supposed to come to him, and he knows it. They keep talking.
He goes against every thing he knows to be true, and moves closer. The love talk continues. Sweet sounds fill the air right up until he hears the sonic boom of a shotgun blast leading him to his death.
I've looked down my gun barrel countless times as I watched a tom lose his life simply because he violated the truths that have kept him alive in a hostile world.
"For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave ... why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress? The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast. He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly."
- Proverbs 5
www.bethemanministries.com
A tom is the ultimate male stud. He goes into strut, displays his strength and dominance, and the ladies just can't stand it. They often break into a flat out run to get to him before any competitors come calling. In fact, his created nature dictates that he stays put while they do the work to get to him. He never chases women, they always come to him. Almost always.
On occasion a tom will hear a hen that is elusive. She's sexy in the way she talks to him. She's long legged, and mysterious. She just moves different than the rest of the girls.
Then the tom does something that violates his nature. He will actually investigate her just a bit. He'll move closer. She walks away even more. He can't see every part of her, yet he can't help but visualize what she must look like when the light hits her late in the evening. She keeps talking. Nobody is looking. She's supposed to come to him, and he knows it. They keep talking.
He goes against every thing he knows to be true, and moves closer. The love talk continues. Sweet sounds fill the air right up until he hears the sonic boom of a shotgun blast leading him to his death.
I've looked down my gun barrel countless times as I watched a tom lose his life simply because he violated the truths that have kept him alive in a hostile world.
"For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave ... why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress? The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast. He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly."
- Proverbs 5
www.bethemanministries.com
Friday, March 27, 2009
On the cover of GQ
Yea, that's one place that you will never see a picture of me or of any of my attire for that matter. If I was going to be on tv for my wardrobe, it would be on the TV show "What Not to Wear" where I am sure the hosts would make me cry...
I have my own style - if out of style can be considered a style- and it suits me (pun intended). I was recently eating at Quiznos for lunch and I heard a guy say "that shirt is awesome". My first thought was "who still uses the word awesome"? and then I was curious as to what the shirt looked like that was awesome. Well, I looked up and he was looking at me. The only thing that I could say, was "thanks???". He asked me where I got it, so I looked down to see what I was wearing that day. Here is what the back of my shirt said (if you don't watch the office, you will not find this even remotely funny-so stop reading here and just know that I own 1 cool t-shirt).
I realized what I had on and kind of smiled. The fans of The Office have a common bond. I am convinced that "real" fans of The Office all work in an office that has too many similarities to The Office had an episode back in season 4 (there are some clips here) where there was a Run for the race for the cure...for Rabies. It was a funny episode. Not too long back, Reeca and I were in New York and we stopped in the NBC store and I saw the shirt there and bought it. I guess probably said the same thing..."That shirt is awesome"...
I have my own style - if out of style can be considered a style- and it suits me (pun intended). I was recently eating at Quiznos for lunch and I heard a guy say "that shirt is awesome". My first thought was "who still uses the word awesome"? and then I was curious as to what the shirt looked like that was awesome. Well, I looked up and he was looking at me. The only thing that I could say, was "thanks???". He asked me where I got it, so I looked down to see what I was wearing that day. Here is what the back of my shirt said (if you don't watch the office, you will not find this even remotely funny-so stop reading here and just know that I own 1 cool t-shirt).
I realized what I had on and kind of smiled. The fans of The Office have a common bond. I am convinced that "real" fans of The Office all work in an office that has too many similarities to The Office had an episode back in season 4 (there are some clips here) where there was a Run for the race for the cure...for Rabies. It was a funny episode. Not too long back, Reeca and I were in New York and we stopped in the NBC store and I saw the shirt there and bought it. I guess probably said the same thing..."That shirt is awesome"...
FUNNY, ISN'T IT or IS IT?
Received this as a fwd (back when I was still reading them). I changed some to be more applicable to me.
Funny how a $100 bill "looks" so big when you take it to church, but so small when you take it to Wal-mart.
Funny how long it takes to serve God for an hour, but how quickly a 60 minute layover in the airport lasts (if things are on time anyway).
Funny how long a couple of hours spent at church seems, but how short they are when watching a movie.
Funny how we can't think of anything to say when we pray, but don't have difficulty thinking of things to talk about to a friend.
Funny how we get thrilled when a game goes into overtime, but we complain when a sermon is longer than the regular time.
Funny how hard it is to read a chapter in the Bible, but how easy it is to read 100 pages of almost anything else.
Funny how when packing books for a trip, the Bible is that last one that I think about packing.
Funny how people want to get a front seat on Southwest, but scramble to get a back seat at church services.
Funny how we need 2 or 3 weeks advance notice to fit a church event into our schedule, but can adjust our schedule for other events at the last moment.
Funny how hard it is for people to learn a simple gospel well enough to tell others, but how simple it is for the same people to understand and repeat gossip.
Funny how we believe what the newspaper says, but question what the Bible says.
Funny how everyone wants to go to heaven provided they do not have to believe, or to think, or to say, or do anything.
Funny how you can send a thousand 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.
FUNNY, ISN'T IT ? Are you laughing? Are you thinking? Actually, it isn't funny at all!
Funny how a $100 bill "looks" so big when you take it to church, but so small when you take it to Wal-mart.
Funny how long it takes to serve God for an hour, but how quickly a 60 minute layover in the airport lasts (if things are on time anyway).
Funny how long a couple of hours spent at church seems, but how short they are when watching a movie.
Funny how we can't think of anything to say when we pray, but don't have difficulty thinking of things to talk about to a friend.
Funny how we get thrilled when a game goes into overtime, but we complain when a sermon is longer than the regular time.
Funny how hard it is to read a chapter in the Bible, but how easy it is to read 100 pages of almost anything else.
Funny how when packing books for a trip, the Bible is that last one that I think about packing.
Funny how people want to get a front seat on Southwest, but scramble to get a back seat at church services.
Funny how we need 2 or 3 weeks advance notice to fit a church event into our schedule, but can adjust our schedule for other events at the last moment.
Funny how hard it is for people to learn a simple gospel well enough to tell others, but how simple it is for the same people to understand and repeat gossip.
Funny how we believe what the newspaper says, but question what the Bible says.
Funny how everyone wants to go to heaven provided they do not have to believe, or to think, or to say, or do anything.
Funny how you can send a thousand 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.
FUNNY, ISN'T IT ? Are you laughing? Are you thinking? Actually, it isn't funny at all!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Mark sends out a forward - really?
I do not normallysend out a lot of forwards (or any for that matter), but this one came in was well timed. It was good, so I thought I would share....
A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small, desert like island. The two survivors, not knowing what else to do, agreed that they had no other recourse but to pray to God.
However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.
The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land, and he was able to eat its fruit. The other man's parcel of land remained barren.
After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked, and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the island. On the other side of the island, there was nothing.
Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food. The next day, like magic, all of these were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing. Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that he and his wife could leave the island. In the morning, he found a ship docked at his side of the island. The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island. He considered the other man unworthy to receive God's blessings, since none of his prayers had been answered.
As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from heaven booming, "Why are you leaving your companion on the island?"
"My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for them," the first man answered. "His prayers were all unanswered and so he does not deserve anything.""You are mistaken!" the voice rebuked him. "He had only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of my blessings."
"Tell me," the first man asked the voice, "what did he pray for that I should owe him anything?"
"He prayed that all your prayers be answered."
For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone, but those of another praying for us.
My prayer for you today is that all your prayers are answered.
Mark
"What you do for others is more important than what you do for yourself"
A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small, desert like island. The two survivors, not knowing what else to do, agreed that they had no other recourse but to pray to God.
However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.
The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land, and he was able to eat its fruit. The other man's parcel of land remained barren.
After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked, and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the island. On the other side of the island, there was nothing.
Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food. The next day, like magic, all of these were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing. Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that he and his wife could leave the island. In the morning, he found a ship docked at his side of the island. The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island. He considered the other man unworthy to receive God's blessings, since none of his prayers had been answered.
As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from heaven booming, "Why are you leaving your companion on the island?"
"My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for them," the first man answered. "His prayers were all unanswered and so he does not deserve anything.""You are mistaken!" the voice rebuked him. "He had only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of my blessings."
"Tell me," the first man asked the voice, "what did he pray for that I should owe him anything?"
"He prayed that all your prayers be answered."
For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone, but those of another praying for us.
My prayer for you today is that all your prayers are answered.
Mark
"What you do for others is more important than what you do for yourself"
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Why I do what I do…at work anyway
For those of you that wonder just exactly what I do, join the club. There has always been a lot of confusion about my job, my vocation, my degree, etc. Well wonder no more, here is a brief explanation of what is I do and why I do, what I do.
First, contrary to popular belief, I am not a spy. Even though when people ask me what I do, my first response is “did you ever watch the tv show Alias?” Well, I am not really a covert operative, although some of the work that we do and the clients that we work with might make you think so. My official title is Senior Consultant. Confusing enough. Think the “Bobs” from Office Space. That is closer to what I do than to a spy.
Some background. I have a degree in Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology. That is on the total opposite end of the spectrum from Clinical or Counseling Psychology. I have never worked with a client that involved “therapy” (although many of our clients desperately need it). Most of our clients are Organizations. That is cities, counties, states, government agencies. We do have private sector clients such as retail, transportation, food and hospitality, but the bulk of our clients (this week anyway) are protective service clients.
So what is I/O Psychology? Basically its psychology of business, personnel, and organizations. If you think of clinical psychology (the lie on the couch therapy) with the individual, I/O involves groups; most of the time large groups. Here is a link if you want to know more. http://www.siop.org/. We work with personnel depts., HR, and Legal Departments.
So what classes did I take to get a degree in I/O. A lot of courses in statistics and research. Also took general psych courses, but most of the course were specific to I/O. For example, performance appraisal, employee selection, motivation, attitudes, etc. While taking courses, was helpful in that I learned basic info, most, if not all, the real learning takes place “in the real world”.
Here is an example ‘typical’ project. A large city in the southern United States is having a problem with the police officers. There is a public perception that the police are corrupt. Whether true or not, often times perception is reality. Our job or mission, is to hire or screen out “bad” or poor employees and to make sure that the jurisdiction hires the cream of the crop. We set up several procedures that screen out these potential bad hires. For example, we give a basic reading test, a personality test, psychological tests, physical ability tests, background checks and, oral interviews.
I do a lot with computers, but I am not a “computer or IT” person. I create, maintain and administer online tests around the world. On any day we test people from all over the United States and occasionally from the Middle East.
So that is the what. Now for the why. Basically, I can sum it up rather quickly. I like it. It is rewarding and no 2 days are ever alike. A lot of people can tell you what they will be working on 2 days from now or 2 weeks from now and in some cases even 2 years from now. There is nothing wrong with that, it just doesn’t fit with my personality. I like not knowing what the day will bring (sometimes anyway).
First, contrary to popular belief, I am not a spy. Even though when people ask me what I do, my first response is “did you ever watch the tv show Alias?” Well, I am not really a covert operative, although some of the work that we do and the clients that we work with might make you think so. My official title is Senior Consultant. Confusing enough. Think the “Bobs” from Office Space. That is closer to what I do than to a spy.
Some background. I have a degree in Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology. That is on the total opposite end of the spectrum from Clinical or Counseling Psychology. I have never worked with a client that involved “therapy” (although many of our clients desperately need it). Most of our clients are Organizations. That is cities, counties, states, government agencies. We do have private sector clients such as retail, transportation, food and hospitality, but the bulk of our clients (this week anyway) are protective service clients.
So what is I/O Psychology? Basically its psychology of business, personnel, and organizations. If you think of clinical psychology (the lie on the couch therapy) with the individual, I/O involves groups; most of the time large groups. Here is a link if you want to know more. http://www.siop.org/. We work with personnel depts., HR, and Legal Departments.
So what classes did I take to get a degree in I/O. A lot of courses in statistics and research. Also took general psych courses, but most of the course were specific to I/O. For example, performance appraisal, employee selection, motivation, attitudes, etc. While taking courses, was helpful in that I learned basic info, most, if not all, the real learning takes place “in the real world”.
Here is an example ‘typical’ project. A large city in the southern United States is having a problem with the police officers. There is a public perception that the police are corrupt. Whether true or not, often times perception is reality. Our job or mission, is to hire or screen out “bad” or poor employees and to make sure that the jurisdiction hires the cream of the crop. We set up several procedures that screen out these potential bad hires. For example, we give a basic reading test, a personality test, psychological tests, physical ability tests, background checks and, oral interviews.
I do a lot with computers, but I am not a “computer or IT” person. I create, maintain and administer online tests around the world. On any day we test people from all over the United States and occasionally from the Middle East.
So that is the what. Now for the why. Basically, I can sum it up rather quickly. I like it. It is rewarding and no 2 days are ever alike. A lot of people can tell you what they will be working on 2 days from now or 2 weeks from now and in some cases even 2 years from now. There is nothing wrong with that, it just doesn’t fit with my personality. I like not knowing what the day will bring (sometimes anyway).
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Dilbert - in real life
A magazine recently ran a "Dilbert Quotes" contest. They were looking for people to submit quotes from their real-life Dilbert-comic-strip-type managers. These were voted the top ten quotes from the managers we work for in corporate America.
"As of tomorrow, employees will only be able to access the building using individual security cards. Pictures will be taken next Wednesday, and employees will receive their cards in two weeks."
"What I need is an exact list of specific unknown problems we might encounter."
"E-mail is not to be used to pass on information or data. It should be used only for company business."
"This project is so important we can't let things that are more important interfere with it."
"Doing it right is no excuse for not meeting the schedule."
"No one will believe you solved this problem in one day! We've been working on it for months. Now go act busy for a few weeks and I'll let you know when it's time to tell them."
Quote from the Boss: "Teamwork is a lot of people doing what I say."
My sister passed away and her funeral was scheduled for Monday. When I told my Boss, he said she died on purpose so that I would have to miss work on the busiest day of the year. He then asked if we could change her burial to Friday. He said, "That would be better for me."
"We know that communication is a problem, but the company is not going to discuss it with the employees."
Some more random quotes:
"If you think your boss is stupid, remember: you wouldn't have a job if he was any smarter."- John Gotti
"The secret of successful managing is to keep the five guys who hate you away from the four guys who haven't made up their minds."- Casey Stengel
"Management by objective works - if you know the objectives. Ninety percent of the time you don't."- Peter Drucker
"Kill my boss? Do I dare live out the American dream?"- Homer Simpson
"Show me a man who is a good loser and I'll show you a man who is playing golf with his boss."- Jim Murray
"The higher a monkey climbs, the more you see of his behind."Gen. Joe Stillwell
"The first myth of management is that it exists. The second myth of management is that success equals skill."- Robert Heller
"Everyone rises to their level of incompetence."- Dr. Lawrence Peter
"The only time some people work like a horse is when the boss rides them."- Gabriel Heatter
"To make a long story short, there's nothing like having a boss walk in."- Doris Lilly
Monday, March 23, 2009
The Man Minute
My dad taught me a lot about friendships, though the education was mainly non-verbal. I grew up in a small town, and dad would often stop by the firehall to check in with his buddies. They'd all grab a Coke, eat some peanuts, and catch up for 30 minutes or so. No agenda. Just hanging with the fellas. He'd let me tag along many times. For a five year old boy, being given free reign to explore a fire truck was the highlight of my week, maybe even my month.
I learned from dad that relationships matter, but like everything else in life, they don't come free. A person who wants to keep friends must invest time in them. In today's society, time is the most valuable commodity we have, and yet we rarely have time for people. I honestly do believe that the pace at which we now live life is out of control. We have PDAs, emails, faxes, and high speed internet to keep us constantly accessible for communication, yet we rarely have time to actually spend time with people if its not business related. Worse yet, how about we actually do carve out time for lunch with someone and they spend 42 minutes of the hour answering 17 different phone calls, basically sending you the message that every person who calls me is more important than you.
Jesus said, "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." It's hard to express love outside of time. It's hard to show a brother that you love him when all you can do is send a text message to stay in touch. People matter more than business, because people are the business the matters most.
www.bethemanministries.com
I learned from dad that relationships matter, but like everything else in life, they don't come free. A person who wants to keep friends must invest time in them. In today's society, time is the most valuable commodity we have, and yet we rarely have time for people. I honestly do believe that the pace at which we now live life is out of control. We have PDAs, emails, faxes, and high speed internet to keep us constantly accessible for communication, yet we rarely have time to actually spend time with people if its not business related. Worse yet, how about we actually do carve out time for lunch with someone and they spend 42 minutes of the hour answering 17 different phone calls, basically sending you the message that every person who calls me is more important than you.
Jesus said, "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." It's hard to express love outside of time. It's hard to show a brother that you love him when all you can do is send a text message to stay in touch. People matter more than business, because people are the business the matters most.
www.bethemanministries.com
Scars
I don't have the actually quote, but Brennan Manning says something about Nouwen and Wounded Prophet...anyone that God is going to do great things with will be wounded or scarred. Later on he says that when we meet Jesus in Heaven, he will not be looking for awards, plaques, trophies, etc, but he will look for, or at our scars.
I actually have a short Sunday School lesson about scars (titled Papa Roach and band-aids)...not originally from Manning's book...Its by Papa Roach (not the healthiest band by any means). The chorus of their song "Scars" has a line...'the scars remind me that the past is real'...Sometime back, I was asked to describe myself and not use my job, my family, where I was from, or anything that people would usually use to describe themselves. The first thought that came to mind was my scars, which got me to thinking.
I think the coolest thing about Jesus and his scars are that when we see him in Heaven...he will still have those scars.
The people that we connect with the most and the deepest often have or share the same scars that we do. I am thankful for the scars that I have and how I have been able to use those scars. I am still not sure what some of them are for, but I am sure that one day, someone will cross my path...
quote of the day:
Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the floor in the morning, Satan shudders & says... "Oh no...he/she's awake!!"
I actually have a short Sunday School lesson about scars (titled Papa Roach and band-aids)...not originally from Manning's book...Its by Papa Roach (not the healthiest band by any means). The chorus of their song "Scars" has a line...'the scars remind me that the past is real'...Sometime back, I was asked to describe myself and not use my job, my family, where I was from, or anything that people would usually use to describe themselves. The first thought that came to mind was my scars, which got me to thinking.
I think the coolest thing about Jesus and his scars are that when we see him in Heaven...he will still have those scars.
The people that we connect with the most and the deepest often have or share the same scars that we do. I am thankful for the scars that I have and how I have been able to use those scars. I am still not sure what some of them are for, but I am sure that one day, someone will cross my path...
quote of the day:
Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the floor in the morning, Satan shudders & says... "Oh no...he/she's awake!!"
Friday, March 20, 2009
Reeca's dog is crazy
He is not my dog. No actual dogs were harmed in the filming of the following videos. Not physically anyway.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
The enemy is here...its us
I think my family and friends would say that I am driven by achievement. I always try to be something more or better. I think that the driving force of my life has been my motivation to succeed at any and all costs. I want my driving force to be God. To live life for the Kingdom doing the stuff to further the Kingdom and to revive the Christian life and unleash the Holy Spirit inside of me.
Leading the discussions in Sunday School and in Faith has really challenged me to change, to move toward this goal. It has challenged me to talk and walk differently. I have to practice what I preach, (even though at times I fail miserably)…This has forced me to examine myself spiritually in many aspects and evaluate myself from the position of a spiritual -dare I say - leader. A very difficult and intimidating task to fulfill from day to day.
Ever been almost asleep and you "hear" something. Happens to me a lot when I am in listening to and in tune with God. Here is a recent quote that was in my voice:
The enemy is here...its us...to be more specific look in the mirror.
Not sure exactly what that means, but I have a good idea. I am the major obstacle to my relationship with God. The blame falls on the man in the mirror. We would all like someone to blame. Now what is the enemy's chief weapon of mass destruction? For me, I would have to say- apathy. When things are going good or as well as I would like them to. I am not happy, sad, or anything else. I am just there. Content. A very dangerous place to be.
Matt Friedman from DaySpring Church shared this poem on a recent Saturday night service:
Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.
-Sir Francis Drake, 1577
Interesting tidbit about Sir Francis Drake...the night before he died, he asked a crew member to help put his armor on because he was "going to sleep". Makes me wonder how many battles we fight during the night with "the enemy".
Leading the discussions in Sunday School and in Faith has really challenged me to change, to move toward this goal. It has challenged me to talk and walk differently. I have to practice what I preach, (even though at times I fail miserably)…This has forced me to examine myself spiritually in many aspects and evaluate myself from the position of a spiritual -dare I say - leader. A very difficult and intimidating task to fulfill from day to day.
Ever been almost asleep and you "hear" something. Happens to me a lot when I am in listening to and in tune with God. Here is a recent quote that was in my voice:
The enemy is here...its us...to be more specific look in the mirror.
Not sure exactly what that means, but I have a good idea. I am the major obstacle to my relationship with God. The blame falls on the man in the mirror. We would all like someone to blame. Now what is the enemy's chief weapon of mass destruction? For me, I would have to say- apathy. When things are going good or as well as I would like them to. I am not happy, sad, or anything else. I am just there. Content. A very dangerous place to be.
Matt Friedman from DaySpring Church shared this poem on a recent Saturday night service:
Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.
-Sir Francis Drake, 1577
Interesting tidbit about Sir Francis Drake...the night before he died, he asked a crew member to help put his armor on because he was "going to sleep". Makes me wonder how many battles we fight during the night with "the enemy".
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Mark - Anthony
at 7:45 pm, when I walked outside of my hotel, I was planning on going to Quiznos grabbing a quick sandwich and heading back to my room to eat and watch some TV. God however, had other plans.
Quiznos had closed down. Not just closed for the night, but shut its doors completely. My next thought was Lenny's, just a short walk away...nope. Not open at night. So I started walking north on Main street to a place called Napoleon's cafe. Small place with good food and nice people. I walked up at 7:50. The lady met me at the door. "We are closed".
I thought "OK", now where too. I turned and walked south towards Beale - wanting to stay away from all the craziness that goes along with St. Patrick's day, I thought "I will just stop by Walgreen's grab a microwave something and go back to the room. Yep, you guessed it. Closed. It was 8:01. A group of people stepped off the trolley at about the same time I was walking up to Walgreen's. They were talking about what they needed to get from Walgreen's. That is when I heard Anthony.
He said "if you want something better hurry up. They are getting ready to close." The group ignored him and the manager told them the news. "We are closed". I made eye contact with Anthony. He asked me what I was looking for. I told him a store with something to eat. He directed me down the block. Not far he said. Anthony sort of looked homeless. His clothes looked pretty good, but you could tell that he was not a Tourist here for St. Patrick's Day. The group of people did what I have done so many times when dealing with a homeless person---ignore them and hope they go away---. I did not ignore him. I am not sure why I didn't but I talked to him. He asked me where I was from. I told him that I was originally from Memphis but lived in Jackson now. We talked about Memphis and how we had been here his whole life (I later found out, he was 45). He told me to make sure that I stayed on certain streets in downtown to make sure that I was safe. I shook his hand and said nice to meet you, thinking he would go on his way and that would be the last I would ever see of Anthony. He said "I will wait out here for you" and it didn't really register to me that is what he said until I was checking out and noticed that he was waiting outside the door.
I got some vitamin waters, some chips and a sandwich that I could microwave. I went back and got a coke for Anthony after I noticed him waiting outside. Normally, I pay for everything on credit card, and that was my intention. The guy working behind the counter said "I am sorry, but our credit card machine just started acting crazy and was not working". I had to pay with cash. I thought about Anthony as I put the change in my pocket. On the streets of Jackson, we do not give out money, but I thought, I will give him what is left over if I felt it was 'ok' and that he was on the up and up. I had a $5 bill from the change in my pocket when I walked out of the store. I gave Anthony his coke and he was very appreciative. Then he started his story. You know the one that he tells countless times a day, how he is down on his luck and needs...then he stopped. Something changed. I looked him in the eye. I got the feeling, not too many people did that. He told me he was working with a temp agency and recently got in trouble with the law. He needed a place to stay and I knew that there was a shelter 2 blocks over. I told him I would pay his way in. Guess how much it cost? $5.
Anthony then asked me to pray with him. I did. He reached out his hand and I took it. First he took his hat off and put his book bag on the ground. Then it got weird. Anthony then prayed for me. He thanked God that we crossed paths and that we had the opportunity to meet and for people like me that are willing to help. After he said Amen, we started walking towards the hotel. He was talking about God and the people that he puts in your life. I asked him if he knew a guy in a wheelchair named Kevin. He did. Kevin is one of Anthony's good friends. I told Anthony to tell Kevin I said hi. Anthony said that we would tell Kevin that Mark Mincy says hello.
How many times have I been un-willing to help? I can't tell you the number of times that I cross the street to avoid the homeless or street people. Thank you Anthony Merriweather for reminding me...Thank you God for putting Anthony in my path.
Quiznos had closed down. Not just closed for the night, but shut its doors completely. My next thought was Lenny's, just a short walk away...nope. Not open at night. So I started walking north on Main street to a place called Napoleon's cafe. Small place with good food and nice people. I walked up at 7:50. The lady met me at the door. "We are closed".
I thought "OK", now where too. I turned and walked south towards Beale - wanting to stay away from all the craziness that goes along with St. Patrick's day, I thought "I will just stop by Walgreen's grab a microwave something and go back to the room. Yep, you guessed it. Closed. It was 8:01. A group of people stepped off the trolley at about the same time I was walking up to Walgreen's. They were talking about what they needed to get from Walgreen's. That is when I heard Anthony.
He said "if you want something better hurry up. They are getting ready to close." The group ignored him and the manager told them the news. "We are closed". I made eye contact with Anthony. He asked me what I was looking for. I told him a store with something to eat. He directed me down the block. Not far he said. Anthony sort of looked homeless. His clothes looked pretty good, but you could tell that he was not a Tourist here for St. Patrick's Day. The group of people did what I have done so many times when dealing with a homeless person---ignore them and hope they go away---. I did not ignore him. I am not sure why I didn't but I talked to him. He asked me where I was from. I told him that I was originally from Memphis but lived in Jackson now. We talked about Memphis and how we had been here his whole life (I later found out, he was 45). He told me to make sure that I stayed on certain streets in downtown to make sure that I was safe. I shook his hand and said nice to meet you, thinking he would go on his way and that would be the last I would ever see of Anthony. He said "I will wait out here for you" and it didn't really register to me that is what he said until I was checking out and noticed that he was waiting outside the door.
I got some vitamin waters, some chips and a sandwich that I could microwave. I went back and got a coke for Anthony after I noticed him waiting outside. Normally, I pay for everything on credit card, and that was my intention. The guy working behind the counter said "I am sorry, but our credit card machine just started acting crazy and was not working". I had to pay with cash. I thought about Anthony as I put the change in my pocket. On the streets of Jackson, we do not give out money, but I thought, I will give him what is left over if I felt it was 'ok' and that he was on the up and up. I had a $5 bill from the change in my pocket when I walked out of the store. I gave Anthony his coke and he was very appreciative. Then he started his story. You know the one that he tells countless times a day, how he is down on his luck and needs...then he stopped. Something changed. I looked him in the eye. I got the feeling, not too many people did that. He told me he was working with a temp agency and recently got in trouble with the law. He needed a place to stay and I knew that there was a shelter 2 blocks over. I told him I would pay his way in. Guess how much it cost? $5.
Anthony then asked me to pray with him. I did. He reached out his hand and I took it. First he took his hat off and put his book bag on the ground. Then it got weird. Anthony then prayed for me. He thanked God that we crossed paths and that we had the opportunity to meet and for people like me that are willing to help. After he said Amen, we started walking towards the hotel. He was talking about God and the people that he puts in your life. I asked him if he knew a guy in a wheelchair named Kevin. He did. Kevin is one of Anthony's good friends. I told Anthony to tell Kevin I said hi. Anthony said that we would tell Kevin that Mark Mincy says hello.
How many times have I been un-willing to help? I can't tell you the number of times that I cross the street to avoid the homeless or street people. Thank you Anthony Merriweather for reminding me...Thank you God for putting Anthony in my path.
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