Resolution

I don't remember a single year of my life when somebody didn't bring up the subject of resolutions at or around New Years Eve or New Years Day. I guess it is so ingrained in our society that we just can't seem to get through the season without talking about it. Sort of like wishing people a happy holiday, or Merry Christmas. It just sort of flows out of us by habit.

But what I wonder is how many of us recognize the extreme difficulty of changing any part of our life? I am working on changing two minor parts of my life - losing weight and getting into better shape. I am proud to say that I didn't wait for some phony 'reason' like the changing of the year to resolve to change, but I am humbled to admit that I was WAY obese and out of shape. If ever it sounds like I am bragging about how many pounds I have lost or how many miles I have walked, please be aware that I am also admitting that I had packed on that many pounds in the first place. And, that just three months ago I would be breathing hard just climbing the single flight of stairs to my office. And my family and friends have come around me to help! Wow - I have teamed up with people who are also changing. Good stuff.

With God's help, I can change things, but wow - some of these habits are deeply embedded into me. I am using that to my advantage as best I can; I am starting new habits and working to see to it that they become deeply ingrained in me. I get up early every morning now to blog and have a quiet time reading the Bible and Praying. You would be surprised at how much that has helped me with the other two areas! What possible connection is there you may very well ask? Discipline.

I get up early, and I have time to luxuriate in my quiet time. I can make coffee, and enjoy a cup or two. I can blog, read, scan the headline news, follow my Ebay items (I'm selling stuff as the economy tightens)and all manner of little items like that, and then as the time for my morning walk comes around, I'm awake, and ready. It is not a real chore that way - it's just the next step in starting my day. Instead of rushing out the door with nothing really accomplished in the morning, I now have a few completed tasks to point to, and I have invested in my health and fitness.

There is a trade-off. Some of you already have made these kinds of changes to your lives, and you know that you can not pop out of bed at 4 or 5 in the darkness without doing a bit of sleeping the previous night. So I'm in bed early now. And what is it that I used to do with my evenings before I began going to bed before nine?

Nothing.

I just sat around wasting time and eating. I don't have TV, so I would pop in a DVD. But I have watched every DVD I own so many times I can quote the end credits. Yes, there are nights I have meetings and rehearsals and so forth at church, and those usually involve people, and people tend to charge me up. But most nights I would just kick back and relax. As if it was something the world owed to me after a hard day. It was a habit - and I got crabby if I didn't get my quiet evenings to waste.

Sort of poetic - I 'sacrifice' my leisurely evenings to have a better life. Sounds counter-intuitive, but so far it has been one of the most amazing transformations. Give it a shot! I will gladly refund your money if not completely satisfied.

Security

We have just had a news story hit the wires about a man who tried to bring down an airliner with an underwear bomb. This had been headline news on the news/talk radio station I listen to, and it has had the lead position on the news web site I visit, so I will assume that it was the lead story on the nightly TV news, for those of you who still watch that.

And our director of Homeland Security was in front of cameras saying that 'the system worked.' She seemed to want to claim victory over this near-tragedy somehow, even though several bomb experts have agreed that the only thing which kept the thing from exploding and blowing a hole in the airliner was dumb luck. The guy didn't do it just right, and it ignited instead of exploding. That is the only thing which 'worked,' not the security system.

There are no security measures currently in place to detect high explosives in people's undies. There are no undie bomb detectors even in the planning stages. And I certainly hope I don't have to stop wearing undies or have them searched when I travel in the future. And I am going to travel in the future. I am not going to let this frighten me off of travel. Because I believe that the 'system' we need in the US is cooperation.

Do you remember when people first climbed back on board airplanes after 9/11? Pilots and flight attendants all over the world were encouraging people to get to know the folks sitting around them. And we ALL began to keep an eye on each other. We did two very important things: we looked out for each other, and we looked at each other.

That's right: we kept an eye on each other as friends for the first time, with the thought that we were all in the same situation and we needed each other. We needed to work together on this one, as a country and as a team. And it worked. As people came together, it became increasingly harder for a terrorist to do the work of terror. People were just watching too closely. And we got to know each other for the first time in a long long time.

But we also kept an eye on each other as enemies. The countries who support terror became the focus of intense watching, both at the government level and on the streets. I will freely admit that there are plenty of folks who did not deserve the extra scrutiny, and some of them sang sad sad songs of discrimination and mistreatment. Poor them. I have no pity for somebody who looks like a terrorist, as I get ready four hours early to allow time to get through security, and as I stand in line with my laptop computer out of the case and my shoes in my hand. I understand fully that Jesus died for all people, and that if I get a chance I will tell a Muslim about this savior named Jesus who came to set them free from sin the same way He set me free. But I also understand that we need to be wise about who we keep an eye on.

So - what's the next "system" our government needs to install to safeguard our travel and keep our borders secure? Well, let's see. If they put one paid Air Marshall on each flight it will cost us millions of dollars. That cost will be added to our travel costs, as all government programs are paid out of your pocket and mine. OR - we could just encourage people to watch. Watch out for friends all around you - people who are in the exact same situation you are in and who need a little help along the way. And watch out for our enemies.

If we could put two or three hundred Air Marshals on each flight, at no additional cost, wouldn't we turn the tide on terror in the air? It could extend to trains and buses, and even large buildings and the very highways and byways of America.

Let's do it. Let's come back together as a country the way we did post 9/11. The Bible teaches us that we ARE our brothers' keepers. Let's keep each other alive out there. And by the way - did you notice how polite and giving we all were on the highways and in the mall parking lots - even in the stores and hallways of our schools during that post-9/11 love fest? Let's not wait for another bombing to experience that.

Wave at somebody today. One person. I dare you! Start small. Introduce yourself to that neighbor down the street. Swap names, get phone numbers. Let's connect this country the way God wants the church connected. And we may, just possibly, become a better example of Godliness than the church. And heaven knows the church could use the competition.

Photo shoot

Well, some time ago I wrote about a 'photo shoot' I was at. I tried to make it sound like a photo shoot with a photographer, but it actually was a veiled story about getting snapped by one of those traffic cameras. You should go read it - if you haven't already, and see if it is funny now, knowing what it is truly about.

The good news - I have not gotten the ticket. I asked a retired cop about it, and he said that I would have gotten the ticket in the mail within ten days, if it was coming at all. But, he said, they install more of the poles, traffic sensors and flash units than they have cameras for. Then they take the one or two cameras they own and move them around the city. But the flash parts still go off, and it has a wonderful effect of slowing people down.

So - read the story, and know the truth.

And have a nice Monday.

And drive safely.

Happy Easter!

Well, it's Christmas morning. All our gifts have been unwrapped, hugs exchanged, Christmas music is playing in the background, Kodak Moments have been digitized, the fire is burning, the AC is on because the fire is burning, and the turkey is stuffed and sitting in the roaster just beginning to cook. Cinnamon Rolls which were started last night have come out of the oven, adding the fragrance we connect with Christmas around here - but they were consumed a couple of hours ago, so most of us are over the sugar rush.

So, you might wonder, why am I wishing you a "Happy Easter?" Simple.

The day of Christ's birth is proof that we needed a savior. We needed a sacrifice, paid with the blood of an innocent being, but one which would cover us now and forever. But the big day on the Christian Calendar is Easter - because that is the day that Christ rose from the grave. That was God stamping our accounts with "Paid in Full."

Thank-you God for wanting so badly to reconnect with us, and loving us so much that you were willing to give us the gift of your son's very life. But most of all, thank-you that the price was paid, the payment was accepted, and we are now free to join you for all of eternity. Good deal.

Happy Easter!

Stupid dog.

It's amazing how fast I can change from "isn't that cute," to "stupid dog!" My birthday dog just ate my hat. Well, let me modify that a bit: She didn't consume the whole thing, I might not have noticed that for a few days. She chewed part of the brim off. It is a hat that I happen to like, and I do plan on wearing it in the future - once it dries off that is - but she gnawed off a nice piece of the front.

It was cute when she ate the Pastor's shoes. I laughed when she brought out my wife's slippers - especially since my wife was chasing her while wearing the matching slipper on one foot... but this! This is personal! She has crossed a line here. I may have to do some 'training.' Some sort of dog whispering is going to need to take place here. My DIL told me that letting the dog chew shoes (old ones) is not a good idea because the animal will not know which shoes are for her and which ones are not. Turns out to be good advice, and I am going to act on it. But as a result, I am also going to have to lower my vaunted opinion of how amazingly, blazingly, blindingly brilliant this brown doggy truly is. *Large, dramatic sigh*

OK. So I have made the needed adjustments - I have changed. Will she? We'll see. I have also gone on the web site to see about ordering some rawhide chews in bulk. I got some for her from the local pet store which said, "long lasting." I guess to some people, ten minutes is a long time. But as a side benefit, we did get the whole living room floor cleaned. If 'licked by a dog' qualifies as 'cleaned.'

OK - it is Christmas Eve. All day. And I am about to do my very best to stay as far away from any shopping-related place of business as I can possibly do. And you?

Remember the very best gift any of us ever received: Jesus. Given to us by a loving heavenly father to reunite man and God. Thanks God!

I want to be better

I have had problems over the years with people at church. I don't know of anyone - humans, that is - who have not. It goes with the territory: anytime a group of people come together to work on anything there will be opinions which come into the situation. And not all of those opinions are going to line up. Sometimes there are people who have the ability to release their opinions, and that can be good if by 'release' it means to 'let them go.' However it can be bad, if by 'release' it means that they give voice to their opinions and expect everyone else to bow to them and run with them, and generally agree with them. There are plenty of other problems which can come up in the course of people trying to work together. It seems to be just as hard if the people are Godly as not, perhaps because Godly people are often in the midst of doing things which they consider to be of utmost importance.

I am not perfect. I blow it. If that is news to any of you, then God bless you: you have a fine ability to overlook people's flaws, and I admire that. But I do mess up. And, if somebody has a problem with me, or with my way of trying to do something, or with an opinion I 'release,' it is generally most effective if they come and talk to me about it. I don't like to offend people, but I am human and it happens. I try so hard not too, just like you do, but it happens. As I get older, it seems to be happening less often, and I hope that is because I am maturing - finally - and perhaps because I am struggling to be more like Christ. Not having attained perfection, I still press on.

But I have a hot button. Yes, you are reading a confession of a known flaw in my character. I hope once I give vent to it here that I will be held accountable, and that I may even improve in this area. But the 'hot button' is this: if I blow it somehow, you need to tell me. Write me a note, call me, or even get in my face. I'm better with that than the option which seems to be the more common response: go tell somebody else.

Matthew 18:15 says this: If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.

Good word. In case you are wondering, I have just sent off a couple of emails about the situation which caused me to sit down and right this blog. I am trying to take the exact same path that I would want taken with me - I pray that it works.

Coins

I have a bunch of coins that my father left me when he died. He was a coin collector, of sorts. He didn't really know what he had, he just bought from one of those places which tells you that what they have for sale is the best thing you could ever want to collect. As a result, I am pretty sure that there are thousands of retired people around the country with the exact same collections. The coin companies send them out 'on approval,' and you have a certain number of days to see if you want that set of coins, or you can send it back. They kept sending them after he passed away, and I finally had to get somebody on the phone and let them know he had passed. They told me they would close his account and that I could keep whatever coins they had sent out which he had not paid for. Didn't reassure me about the value of the coins they had sent, and it made me question whether or not I was ever going to be able to do anything with Dad's collection: were there any valuable coins hidden among the coins which only had face value?

The problem was that this was not a hobby I shared with Dad, so the only attachment to it was the fact that it had brought him some small joy. So I will keep a few of the nicer coins as a remembrance of Daddy, but little by little I will have to go through the thousands of coins and sell them on Ebay. The first one is up as I write this, and it has some people watching it but no bids. So it goes. A thing is just a thing, and it only has as much value as people attach to it.

People, on the other hand, have as much value as God attaches to them. And he sent his only Son to die for them. Now THAT is value.

Needs

I have studied the needs of mankind at different levels. Maslow, Skinner, Jung - I have read them all. And the most amazing thing about the various concepts regarding the needs of mankind, is that nobody really agrees. Well, they have much common ground, but some went out of their way to study the best people while others tried to get a cross-section of mankind. Sort of the 'average' or 'mean' slice of humanity. So for achievers, the need for Accomplishment or Self actualization is put above food - and I would love to attain that. Who knows, maybe with my recent desire not to die - eating less and moving around more - I may be expressing a need for something that has finally outstripped my need for food. I guess one can chose these things, after all. What would be your hierarchy of need? The best fun would be to map it yourself/myself and then have our spouse/kids map it as they see it in us...

Well, it's Monday and I am about to trudge off into the cold dawn. I weigh in on Mondays, and so I am usually motivated to be extra careful on Sundays about what I eat. I also tend to like to get up early and maybe even walk a little extra so I can have a good showing when I step on the scale later this morning. We'll see how well it went this week - We'll see.

My scale here at the house just told me I dropped a pound, and that's not good enough for me, but this scale doesn't match the one at the Weight Watchers office exactly, so - we'll see. But the most important thing I can say about this experience is that I have to get on that scale. Often. A few years ago I got into shape, lost a bunch of weight and then I started to gain it back. The downfall has been pinned on many factors, and depending upon what I am thinking about at the moment, I am likely to blame any number of things which have happened in my life over the past three years. But there is one undeniable fact: at some point I stopped getting on the scale, and the battle may very well have been lost at that exact moment.

So - let a man examine himself. Judge me, Lord, lest I be judged. I have mirrored doors on my closet, and it is impossible to be in my room without seeing myself from head to toe. I wonder - at what point did I actually stop looking at myself? Well, I'm looking now. And it has had a profound effect.

The unfriendly skies

Wow! I overslept this morning. I haven't done that in a long time - I think the last time I did it was after a long night at some meeting or other, at which we decided to do something real important, I'm sure. So I do apologize if any of you noticed that there was no blog this morning. Here you go - a 'late edition.'

I had to get up and go deliver a spa today. That's a real plus! We have had this one in our warehouse for over a week. We set it up for delivery last Friday, but they wanted to get the electrical all wrapped up so we could hook it up, fill it up and heat it up. They did, and we did. They are in Hot Water now!! Or will be in a few hours... And the check is on it's way to the bank right about now.

In local news:

My daughter is coming home from University!! Yay! I can't wait to see her. I may borrow a mini van so I can take the dog with us to the airport - is that bad? I mean, Kristen has never met Sienna, so let's get the two of them together sooner? Right? OK - maybe the dog will just have to wait. We'll see. If Hope doesn't go with me, then KJ can ride up front and the dog will go with us. If Hope ends up going with me, the dog will stay at home. Done. Settled, Phew!

Speaking of bad airline customer service: Hope got an email today announcing that United Airlines had changed our travel plans for Kristen. We are broke - duh - so we have been using our air miles to get KJ around the country. We used to have money, and we used to spend it like crazy, so we have hundreds of thousands of miles. But we are very tired of United, and if we were able to spend any money at all, we would start immediately building up miles with some other airline - ANY other airline. Here's what the newest fun is about:

Hope booked Kristen's return flight from Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida back in August. We got confirmation right away, of course. Then they sent us a note saying the plans had changed. New flight, new time, new stops, new everything. We were fine with that. Then after some time went by, they sent another note saying it was all changed again. And then they did it once again - and then one more time just for fits and giggles. Oh, and this fourth time was just yesterday, AKA the day before the travel was to take place.

KJ has arranged a ride to the airport so we don't have to leave one of her cars in the parking garage for $150, nor do we want to pay the same amount for a one-way ride on a van or limo. But United wanted to move her departure up so that her friend would have to pick her up at her dorm at 3 in the morning - AND she would still arrive in LAX late in the evening. She would have had some huge layover in Maine, or Muskeegan, or Latvia and another stop in Denver, or Dallas, or Des Moines or Duluth or some such place.

But no! Hope went to bat for her beloved offspring - consumer of our retirement money. After four changes, and now this!? Not a chance, not on HER watch, baby. She spent over an hour on the phone to do it, but she got them to book us on a flight on another airline, at a better time, with only one stop - arriving at LAX at a reasonable time instead of the middle of the night! Right on, wife!! Don't ever get this lady mad at you - I have, and it isn't pretty! SHE is pretty, but - forget it.

Oh, and not only will this not cost us any extra money or air miles, but as a way to show they are sorry for trying to mess with her, they are including a $100 bonus certificate for me to spend on a new Blue Ray player! OK - the certificate is for future travel, but it is still $100 we won't have to take out of pocket, so I'm going to rush right out and, uh, never mind.

Wow and anon!

So excited to see my offspring together in one place again - soon - I will certainly keep you posted.

Only slightly more to say today...

Well - I was the target of a joke made at my expense. My wife, God bless her little toes, reminded me that one quote which I spout quite often is, "I love attention, ANY kind of attention."

So I had no choice. I smacked her. No, not really. I love my wife, and I always enjoy the harsh, demanding, self-examining things she says. Just not right away - sometimes it can take years to get to that point, but I always do. She was right - I did enjoy the attention.

So - thanks to all of you who have stuck with this blog. Both of you. And let's continue to grow in God as we do the work of the kingdom. And as Christmas rolls around, be aware that there are many people who find more pain than joy at the holiday season. So be ready to be a friend, a comfort, even a listening ear. Harder for guys than the women folk, but needed just as much.

OK - my walking partner is off on a job for a few days, so I am about to embark on a walk with my amazing wife. Honk and wave if you see us out and about - and remember the reason for the season.

Wordless Message

I have nothing to say today...

Available from:

Despair Inc.

Is it on You Tube?

I have an amazing Christmas Light Show in my front yard. Dozens of cars have stopped by to see it - and I hope there are more than one person per car - so I'm going to estimate that hundreds of people have seen the show so far. But if you are not comfortable with that estimate, at least give credit for dozens, and let it go.

OK - so I am excited about the show. My son, daughter-in-law, niece, and a few friends have all pitched in to make it happen, and it's got to be as good or better than anything you have seen on youtube. But when I invite people to drive by and see it, the most common answer I get is a question, "Is it on YouTube?"

In other words, "I'll have my people call your people."

"I'll glance at it someday if I'm bored out of my mind..."

OK - it's quite common for us - humans that is - to get excited about something we have put a lot of work into, and yet we can have trouble getting others around us excited about it. We are all designed to be good at certain things, and sometimes those abilities give us a bent toward finding enjoyment in strange places or in strange ways. And you know what? Sometimes it is our own loss when we don't share the excitement of the people around us.

So - I'm sure you can find our show on line. I don't think it is on YouTube just yet - my son or DIL can help me with an update here - but I know it is on some other video servers. But I'm not going to post those links just yet - because it is really so much better if you drive by, sit in your car and see it first hand. You can tune your stereo to the numbers on the sign out front of the house and then you get the music right in your car. The show has grown to about twenty minutes in length, but even if you sit there for five or ten minutes, you will be glad you did.

And maybe, just maybe, I'll be aiming the video camera out the window at you, and THAT will end up on YouTube....

Have fun!

Talent

We had a "Christmas Variety and Dessert Theater" last night at our church. It was great fun. I was thinking, as I sat enjoying the acts after my fine comedy routine, that some of these folks really don't have as much talent as they think they do. But I was immediately struck with two thoughts: 1. I may also not be as funny as I think I am, and 2. what better place for people to love and accept each other regardless of the level of talent or ability? Along with that second one was the thought of what better place to BE loved and accepted for just what I am, and what talent I may or may not have?

Once those thoughts made it through my Chas brain, I was free to enjoy the evening much more, and just generally love on the people all around me. I also noticed that it was a kind crowd! They cheered and applauded for every 'act' as if they were all the best thing they had seen or heard. And that warmed my heart. Let's be encouragers - every one of us needs encouragement in our daily existence, and heaven knows the world will do what it can to beat us down. So why not buck that trend? Why not offer a word of encouragement now and then?

OK - I will. Thanks for reading!

Line in the sand

I have two 'kids.' Neither of them are actually kids anymore, one is at University in Florida, the other is married, working a good job and going back to school for continuing education which is the life of anyone in computers and IT. Very proud of both, and my daughter-in-law as well, so let me up the number to 'three.'

One of those fine people is having trouble with a friend or two. They are young people, the friend, and they are engaging in self-destructive behavior. Not unusual for young people, but these are people my kid cares about, and my kid is suffering pain over the whole situation. Yes, I am more vague than usual this morning - but the fact of the matter is that all three of my kids have people like this in their lives right now, and the pastor of our church has a bunch, I have more than one, and my wife has more than one.

Let me start all over again - we all have people who we care about who are engaging in self-destructive behavior. Drinking, drugs, overeating, not exercising, not using their brains, not pursuing a better life or education, hanging out with the wrong people who may be doing all of the above.

One friend literally announced that they were going to go out and get drunk the other day - another has abandoned not only his faith, but the ministry and has entered a life of amazing self absorption. Walked away from family and friends too.

So what do we do when this strikes us? I told one of my kids that we can't really care more about these people than they care about themselves. If we do, we are in danger of losing it when they do. We can end up self-destructing as we tear ourselves apart watching them do the same thing.

We may not go do drugs or get bombed, but we give the drugs or the alcohol the power to destroy one more life: ours.

Jesus said that he came to give us life, and life more abundantly. I want to be more of an influence on the lives around me than they are on me. I am drawing a line in the sand of my life - I will not allow other people's choices to come in and ruin mine. I will still care about them, still pray for them (a lot) but I no longer want to make an opening into my life through which death can come in.

In Jesus' name.

"Whaaaat......"

What.

This response has never really worked for me. My wife was trying to tell me that my dog was doing some minor thing wrong. I think the critter was doing some adorable thing such as laying in the middle of the kitchen floor, or knocking over the Christmas tree, or licking inappropriate areas - some tiny thing like that...

My loving and gracious gift-from-God wife came in, hands on hips and announced, "He is chewing my slippers!"
I quietly and lovingly said, "She."
"What?" she asked, with a slight snap.
"She is chewing your slippers - it's a she."
"You know what she is, you who I'm talking about - don't correct me!"

And then I tried it - the one-size-fits-all answer: "What" You know, with the innocent upward look and the slightly shrugged shoulders. It's not really a question. The way teenagers do it when you have caught them doing something which they think is ok but which is illegal in several eastern states.

That sort of "what..." which really does NOT translate well in print. You know? THAT "what."

I may give up on this - I don't know if this is working without hearing it. Maybe you should just call me. Or come to the Variety show at our church this Sunday evening. Free dessert, lots of fun. And I'll be doing stand-up.

Come and do what you have wanted to do for years (if you know me at all) and laugh right in my face! You can even point and shout if you wish.

<sup>I don't have a clue what to blog about today. I'm tired of cold weather, sore backs and bouncing trucks. Even dogs carrying shoes around the house just doesn't seem to hold my interest today. Excuse me, I have to go retrieve my shoe from the living room floor -

I'm back.

OK - so I decided to just jot down a note or two about the passage I read in my quiet time this morning. It comes from Revelation, the third chapter, and it was part of a study the men of our church did about a month ago. I am one of those people who takes home the notes from a preacher, teacher or speaker and reads them over, even going so far as to read the passage of the Bible which may have been used - but I like to read the surrounding verses to see if they were taking out of context. I know, I'm a nut you say. Thanks a lot! But true.

So the passage I was looking at started with verse 17: You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

If you go look at the whole chapter, you will see that this is a bunch of notes written to various churches. The passage that I was studying was written to the church at Laodicea. The church, people. Us - believers. Yes, we are being challenged.

Want some true fun? Ask God which of the churches in this part of the Bible YOU are in. And, as the passage above challenges us, ask God to open blinded eyes. The problem I have is not wanting to fix my own problems, I do want that. The problem I have is not knowing that I have them. Show me, Lord.</sup>

Brother

Cold. Cold. Cold. It is cold today. Yesterday was a rain storm, and I was mocked by a friend for saying that I had expected it to be warmer. But here in SoCal it generally IS warmer when it rains. Comes from the warm moist air that carries in the storms, not from politicians' hot air. Or maybe it's a combination of both.

But yesterday was an interesting day. It was rainy, oh that part is sure. But it was also COLD! Very unusual. And I had dressed expecting rain but not cold. Great! Hence the mocking. OK - perhaps I deserved it, but I was having a hard time laughing at myself this time.

My back was in spasms, and I had to drive to Vista, CA - over 300 miles round trip. I had some minor trouble with the truck I usually use on that run, so I had to take my larger truck. The big truck is more than up to the task, but it has the unfortunate ability to shake and shock. That is, the "suspension" transfers the road bumps and bounces directly to the spine of any hapless humans who are lucky enough to be aboard. I have had full 32-ounce drinks jump out of the cup-holder and deposit themselves on the floor more than once, and that was from driving over a sheet of paper in the roadway. You should see what it does with a string of expansion joints on the freeway. Truly, you could film special effects in this thing.

But I had a friend along to help. No, not my dog. An actual human being who took time out of his life to sit and listen to a one-sided conversation which started at 3:30 am and never let up until early in the afternoon. Ah caffeine, wonder drug - and thou art legal. The diatribe was punctuated with "ah, ooh!" and "ow!" with some other expletives of like nature as we jounced over every lump and bump. It had to be fun. Great gobs of fun. It is always amazing to any normal person to ride in this truck and feel just how rough our roadways can be, but to have each bump expressed out loud by me as my back pointed out the fine differences between a minor and a major jolt, well, it just had to be special. And the way it reset my thinking - directing me to completely change subjects and not even know it... well it just had to be amazing.

And it was raining, so we both got pretty wet as we loaded up and secured the truck and trailer. However, God had a sense of humor: it rained the hardest as we were exposed the most, and let up a little now and then as we would climb back into the truck or walk into the shipping office.

So why am I writing this? Simply to say "thank-you" to the friend who gave up so freely of his time, comfort and effort. I need more people around me like this - OK - I bet that is what you expected me to say. But what I really want to say is this:

I need to be more like this person, to those around me.

Lessons from the beast

My dog. What a gift! What an amazing animal. What intellect, sensitivity. What a cold nose!! She likes to carry my shoes off and lay on them. She hasn't chewed one to bits, yet, but I suppose that's because she usually tries to carry them off while I am right next to them - more than once she has carried off the right shoe as I was in the act of putting on the left shoe. Fun times.

But the thing she likes to do above all, is to be with me. I take her to work, I take her on deliveries, I take her on trips to San Diego, I take her to the park. And she will sit and adore me, and heave large contented sighs of amazement. I like dogs in general, but I really like this one in particular.

Just yesterday afternoon, I was sitting in my recliner, fighting with a sore back. I have a good strong back which no longer gives me the trouble it once did, but just like anyone else I can overdo things. I did. So I came home early from church and was trying to find a comfortable position. Not able to do so, I just turned on some mindless drivel and tried to get my mind off of getting old. The dog, sensing my discomfort (I'm sure) came over and nuzzled at my arm and hand. It was a wonderful gesture of love for a master, but I didn't want any of it at that moment. I turned to her and said, "get a life!"

My niece - another brilliant being in my life - overheard my comment, and opined that, "you are her life." Wow - truer words were never spoken! This dumb beast would have only my wife to depend upon if not for me, and I'm sure you would see my wife walking around in a soft brown dog-skin jacket within a week. I feed her, brush her, bathe her, buy her things. And, I clean up after her, speaking again of the dog, not my wife. I chase her to get my shoes back and I really chase her quickly to get my wife's shoes/slippers/clothing items back ... life-saving, that last one. I am her life.

OK - put it together yourself this time: God... is... our ... life.

There you go. Happy Monday!

Opiate of the apathetic

Religion. What a dangerous thing. We can so often build our lives around a group of man-made beliefs, habits and codes, only to overlook the most important part: God. Passion. Movement. Growth. Pick one, any one.

I have just finished a 12 week study aimed at igniting the hearts of believers. I did it with a group of men, and I got the feeling that most of them were not going to burst into flame anytime soon. Sort of wet kindling, if you know what I mean. I think that the best reason that most of them could give for showing up week after week is that we met on Wednesday night, and they have always gone to church on Wednesday night. Fine - if one or two of us catch a spark, so be it. The amazing part is that we watched a video which had some exciting ideas in it, was full of scriptural teaching, and contained challenge after challenge. Exactly like our Pastor has done for the past 16 years...

OH! I forgot to put up the RANT ALARM: the following is a test of the "Chas Rant" system. If this had been an actual blog, I would have been sneaking in some scripture or a hidden truth by now. I just had to vent. Phew! Thanks, I feel better now. Really.

Book of James - first chapter: ²⁶If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. ²⁷Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

So - we need to speak carefully, help the helpless, and pursue purity. Works for me. I'll let you know if I achieve perfection, but in the meantime, I'll be working on the pursuit. Join me?

Pain

Pain can cause people to do amazing things. I have been in several castles in England and other parts of Europe, and one of the things they always seemed to have on the tour was a dungeon, equipped with a torture chamber. The various land lords or other folk had to keep the people in line, either to be sure they kept serving them, or just keeping the general peace. And the fear of time in the torture chamber seemed to be sort of a universal way of getting that accomplished.

Physical pain from our own physical ailments can have amazing impact on our personalities. I have had some sharp back pain over the past few days, and I have had to battle fiercely two things: I have had to not allow discouragement to enter, thinking that this may be something serious as it was before - and I also have to keep a close reign on my tongue. As my Pastor says, "Hurting people hurt people."

Wow is it true! I am human, and I tend to let that pain out just a little bit: why keep it all to myself? I get snappish when I hurt, and I think that God loves me enough to let me pull a muscle or raise a bump now and then just to hone my skills at keeping it to myself. I was flat on my back in sharp pain with my back for close to six months a couple of years ago - surgery finally set things right - but looking back at that time I am so amazed that my family didn't just shoot me! I was spreading the pain around - very tough time for all of us. It would have been a mercy killing - for them!

I was somewhat surprised and even a little relieved to read that I am not alone in this. How many times do heroes of the Bible, great men who spoke for God, rattle off amazing truth which has the power to change lives, only to follow it up with a rant about some pain or affliction? Quite often. David was even good at complaining about the simple fact that the ungodly men around him prospered, or that there were people who seemed to take delight in speaking ill of him personally.

Jeremiah 15:16 is an oft-quoted passage, but if you read on a bit, it contains a little twang which does NOT get mentioned in most of the teaching I have heard. Here it is - watch how it moves from amazing truth which can challenge our very lives, to a very human-sounding rant:

Jeremiah 15:16-18 (New International Version)

¹⁶ When your words came, I ate them;
they were my joy and my heart's delight,
for I bear your name,
O LORD God Almighty.

¹⁷ I never sat in the company of revelers,
never made merry with them;
I sat alone because your hand was on me
and you had filled me with indignation.

¹⁸ Why is my pain unending
and my wound grievous and incurable?
Will you be to me like a deceptive brook,
like a spring that fails?

So - I want to hunger after God's word as Jeremiah did. God was able to speak to the world at the time, and even to this present day through this prophet. But it seems that pain was able to make him begin to wonder if God was just a mirage. Wow - Lord, I know I will have pain, both physical and emotional in my life. Please help me see to it that it only drives me closer to you.

"You can't go wrong with land, they're just not making any more of it." That statement has been attributed to Will Rogers, Mark Twain, and just about every other source you can imagine. It was used in advertising by people trying to push the western expansion, and it still pops up now and then as sage investment advice. But I just don't see it.

I own several chunks of land, and every one of them has dropped in value over the past three years. So where's the big demand? Well, so much for sage advice - in fact, one of the pieces of land I own is in Arizona, and sage may very well be the only thing on it of any value. I have looked at it via Google Earth, Google Maps, and a few other computer imaging sites, and there truly is nothing for miles. No roads, no power poles, no water, it's a good five miles off the highway, and nobody seems to be developing anything anywhere nearby.

I inherited that one from my late father, and he owned it since as long as I can remember. He kept saying that the city would expand and people would want to live in the suburbs... but the city is Bullhead City, and people don't seem to want to live in town, much less the non-existent suburbs.

So I pay my property taxes of $84 per year, and hope that by the time I find a buyer, I will have not spent more than I get. And as I said, I got it for free.

So where's the true good value these days? What can we invest in which will never drop in value? I sure don't see anything, other than each other. We can invest in friends, relatives, each other - people. Yes, they will let you down now and then. And no, I don't know of anything on the planet capable of inflicting more pain on humans than other humans. But I'm not looking to make a 'profit' off of this one, I'm just trying to spend my time wisely. So I am investing in people - I have for most of my life, and I will continue to.

And there you have it.

Our closest planet: Earth

I just saw the Earth, from space. No, I wasn't really there, and I had hoped that by this point in my life I might, but no. So, I put one of those IMAX DVD on my 'new' bigscreen and there is was. It was amazing - and I don't even have all the latest and greatest technology as far as the DVD player yet. But if you have ever gazed at the stars and wondered if there could be any way that we evolved from slime, let me tell you this: yesterday in the space of a few hours I watched some of the best video and film footage of our planet from space, and then I went outside and gazed at a star-filled sky. At that moment I remembered why I love God, why I believe that an intelligent being created us, and why I want to thank Him for doing so.

Look around you today - there are people hurting. It's harder around the holidays for some people. Be aware of that. And be aware that an intelligent being created not only the world we live in, and the space that world is hung in, but the plan laid out for each life around us. And if He didn't scrimp on the details of creation, He won't scrimp on the details of our lives.

Cool, isn't it?