PETTY PEOPLE

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Petty people are ugly people. They are people who have lost their vision. They are people who have turned their eyes away from what matters and focused, instead, on what doesn’t matter. The result is that the rest of us are immobilized by their obsession with the insignificant. It is time to rid the home, the work place, the neighborhood---society in general, of pettiness. It is time we refused to be victimized by pettiness. It is time we refused to be victimized by petty people. It is also time we stopped ignoring pettiness. It is time we quit pretending that pettiness doesn’t matter. Pettiness has become a serious disease in society. It is a disease which continues to result in terminal cases of discord, disruption, and destruction. Petty people are dangerous people because they appear to be only a nuisance instead of what they really are---a health hazard!

IF I WERE IN CHARGE OF THE WORLD

Monday, February 27, 2006

A young boy wrote the following words. I would also like to be in charge of the world and I would do a lot of the same things this kid has in mind:

If I were in charge of the world I’d cancel oatmeal, Monday mornings, allergy shots.

If I were in charge of the world there’d be brighter night lights, healthier hamsters, and basketball baskets forty-eight inches lower.

If I were in charge of the world you wouldn’t have lonely, you wouldn’t have clean; you wouldn’t have bedtimes, or “Don’t punch your sister.” You wouldn’t have sisters.

If I were in charge of the world a chocolate sundae with whipped cream and nuts would be a vegetable. All 007 movies would be G, and a person who sometimes forgot to brush, and sometimes forgot to flush, would still be allowed to be in charge of the world.

REFLECTIONS ON THE JOURNEY OF SUFFERING

Sunday, February 26, 2006

When The Doctor Says “Cancer”---Reflections on the Journey of Suffering is an excellent article by my dear friend, Dan Anders (Deceased).

Yesterday I was looking through a stack of past issues of Leaven magazine and came across Dan’s message. I’m sure I read it when it was first printed. If so, I had completely forgotten it. Maybe it caught my eyes and my mind more now because Dan has passed away. Maybe it’s because I’m older and feel more susceptible to all kinds of dreaded diseases and ills.

I was a junior at Abilene Christian when I first met Dan. He was a freshman and lived in a dorm close to where I lived. In the evenings he and his roommate would walk over to our dorm and go to dinner with me and my roommate. When he was just a teenager he had traveled to distant places with E.W. McMillian visiting missionaries. He was well known in the part of Texas where he grew up as an outstanding “preacher boy.” For two years we went to classes, told stories, joked and laughed our way through college. Then in 1957 I graduated and went to Southern California to preach. Two years later Dan graduated and went to Texas to preach.

Except for an occasional letter I didn’t hear from Dan for several years. One day my phone rang in the church office at El Monte, California. It was Dan. He wanted to come to California to attend Fuller Seminary. He knew that I had been to Fuller and thought I might know of a church close by where he could preach while attending school. I just happened to know the exact place. I was leaving El Monte after eight years and moving to another church just a few miles away in West Covina. I recommended Dan and he moved to El Monte where he preached while attending Fuller. After he graduated he moved back to Texas. After a few years he came back to California to be the preaching minister at the University Church at Pepperdine in Malibu.

It was in 1989 while he was preaching at the church in Malibu that the doctor said, “Cancer.” Dan struggled and fought a valiant fight for the next several years. He would get good reports from the doctors and then later the cancer would reappear. Finally Dan took his wonderful wife, Judy back to Texas. He went home to die.

The final section of Dan’s message on cancer has the title, “When the Thorn Stays.” He wrote: “Perhaps, till the end of our painful journey, we are left with Mystery. With unanswerable questions. With no alternative but trusting God. Then we can say with Job, ‘I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.'” (Job 42:5,6). That, after all, is our rightful human place. Prostrate, in the dust, before our God. Only then can he lift us up.”

THE GREAT FAIR

Saturday, February 25, 2006

Indian fry bread with beans and cheese and a cold diet coke. Wow! The sun was shining brightly (about 72 degrees) but in the shade it was delightful. We sat eating our lunch and listening to the wonderful music of Brulé. Brulé is a Native American band that plays contemporary music. They are good---very good.

After eating, listening to the music and resting, we made our way around the last half of the Great Fair. The Great Fair is held every February in the town of Fountain Hills. I think it started in 1975. Today there are 500 artists and crafts people that come from all over the United States. About 160,000 people attend the three day event. Fountain Hills also has what they call an Arts and Crafts Fair every November. It has about the same number of crafts people and about 150,000 in attendance.

Fountain Hills is known all over the world for its great fountain. I don’t remember how high the water shoots into the air but they say (The Chamber of Commerce) it goes higher than any other fountain. I have seen the fountain many times but I am always pleased to see it again. A few years ago I performed a wedding ceremony across from the fountain and timed the ceremony so the bride and groom would be saying their vows when the fountain was shooting into the air. It was the bride’s idea, not mine.

Yesterday was one of those, all too few, days when we just moved slowly through the crowd, enjoying the people, the day, and each other.

You need to try it---you will like it!

Do You Really Want To Lead?

Friday, February 24, 2006

A MAN WHO WANTS TO LEAD THE ORCHESTRA, MUST TURN HIS BACK ON THE CROWD.
Max Lucado

FRET NOT THY GIZZARD OUT

Thursday, February 23, 2006

An old man would often say his favorite Bible verse was “Fret not they gizzard out!” Relatives would tell him that there was no such verse in the Bible. Eventually, he reluctantly would admit that it wasn’t there. But he would say, “Well, it ought to be in there.”

The Psalmist said, “Fret not yourself because of evildoers, Be not incensed because of wrongdoers; For they will soon wither like grass, And fade away like the green herb.”
This is good advice. People do all kinds of evil and stupid things---in the home, on the job, in the neighborhood. We shout, “That just burns me up” or “It makes my blood boil.” What good does it do to get angry?

Instead of fretting and making ourselves sick we need to pray and wait for God to take care of the situation. This is not easy but it is best. God can and will show us the way and give us the courage needed to bring about His will.

If you do what is right, it will be alright!

"God Bless You"

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Now, don't ask me why. Years ago, for some strange reason, one of our kids was sneezing and I said,"Blow your head off." Well, that caused a lot of conversation. "Why did you say that? Most people say, 'God bless you.' What are you thinking? Who are you?"

I really don't know why I said it. I probably said it because in my subconscious mind I had real questions about why people always say, "God bless you." Well, maybe those thoughts were in my conscious mind. I have never really understood this "custom" at all. Don't get me wrong---blessing people is a good thing. I like to call for God's blessings on many---but not in a "casual" way.

My research turned up this thought: "In the Middle Ages, when influenza epidemics wiped out hundreds of thousands in a couple of weeks, a sneeze was usually the first sign the victim had been bitten by the fatal bug. The doomed person's friends would mutter, "God bless you," and scurry off as fast as their feet would carry them."

Sounds good to me. I guess that's it. Now, when somebody sneezes in my presence I just don't say anything. If they keep on sneezing I usually laugh. I don't know why, I just do. It doesn't seem life threatening to me.

Ice Cream

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Ice Cream is wonderful. I love it! Is love too strong a word? I hope not. I really do love it. Oh, not the way I love God, my wife, my children, my brothers and sisters in Christ---but I do love it. The Greeks have four words for love: Affection, friendship, eros and charity. But we (those who speak English) use one word to describe this emotion when we are talking about loving God, mother, America or apple pie.

I remember my very first ice cream cone. I was five years old, living in Fletcher, Oklahoma, the flavor was strawberry and my mother bought it at a little drug store.

I remember my last ice cream cone. It was yesterday, in Phoenix, at the McDonalds in the food court at the mall, the flavor was vanilla. There was a time when I didn't think this "stuff" could be called ice cream but I guess it is. Everybody calls it soft ice cream. In my mind it will never rank up there with hard ice cream but I have to admit---it is good.

For years I declared to everybody who was willing to listen that strawberry ice cream was the world's greatest taste. And then one day, I discovered pineapple/coconut and for years I thought that was the best. One day, I don't know when, I discovered that the world's greatest taste was whatever I happened to be eating at the moment.

When Fran Rapacz was working with me at Lincoln Heights Christian Church she came in the office one morning and told me about what she and John (her husband) had done the night before. They stopped at the Baskin Robbins on Tatum Blvd., got two ice cream cones, drove out into the desert under the stars and ate the ice cream. Wow! I thought, "John you are one blessed man. FRAN, ice cream, under the Arizona stars---it doesn't get any better than this."

Journey of Grace

Monday, February 20, 2006

Yesterday (Sunday) I was wide awake by 5:00 A.M. so I got up around 5:30. We went to our regular Sunday morning Bible Class at 8:10. But today I slept in until almost eight and Charlotte didn't get up until almost nine. This is very unusal for us! Very unusal! I guess we changed because today is a holiday. However, that doesn't make too much sense because for the last two years (retirement) every day has been a "holiday."

I am sitting at the computer upstairs in my study. As I look out the window over the red tiled roof top of the neighbor's house I see a beautiful blue sky streaked with white clouds. The Scottsdale airport is close by and I see planes, one after another soaring by.

I feel like I am on a "journey of grace" as I listen to beautiful piano music. The selection that is playing just now is, "Journey of Grace". This wonderful music is by Nancy Veldman, owner of Magnolia House in Destin, Florida. She is an author, pianist and watercolor artist. The music is powerful, but incredibly relaxing.

You may contact Nancy at:http://www.magnoliahouse.com/nancy-veldman.html.

To Floss Or Not To Floss

Sunday, February 19, 2006

I hate to floss. My dentist has a sign in his office which reads: "Floss only those teeth you want to keep." He tells me the electric toothbrush I use is the best on the market. Guess what? He still wants me to floss. I hate to floss. But I do want to keep all my teeth. The other day while the dental hygenist was digging a route to China in my mouth, I started talking to myself. I hate it when she trys to talk to me with her hands in my mouth. I just grunt and try to ignore her endless questions. So to pass the time, I talk to myself. I said, "Look, you're 71 years old so how many more years do you need these teeth? Not many. They have lasted this long without a lot of flossing, why bear down now?"

Well, after much reflextion I decided I do want to chew right up to the end. So, I went to the drug store and purchased two or three different things to clean between the teeth. Not dental floss. I hate to floss. The way I look at it the dentists don't really want us to floss. If we all did, they would go out of business. You may be saying, "Clif, with that kind of reasoning you probably think that preachers don't want us to stop sinning." If we all stopped sinning that wouldn't put good preachers out of business---just the sorry ones. A good preacher will be happy to stop holding members over the fires of hell and spend all his time talking about heaven.

Well anyhow, I'm trying to take better care of my teeth. I just refuse to dedicate my life to that one endeavor. Once in a while I just like to be a rebel.

PURPOSEFUL PAUSING

Saturday, February 18, 2006

A Chinese scholar whose name I do not know said, “When there is no time for quiet, there is no time for the soul to grow. The man who walks through a countryside sees much more than the man who runs. Sometimes, when you have a task to do, try doing it tomorrow instead of today. In the end, maybe you will get more done---because maybe you will live longer.”

Arthur Gordon said, “…pausing can increase efficiency. For one thing, waiting sometimes dispels the tension that results from an imagined urgency, and so you make fewer mistakes. For another, when you get around to working on the problem, often you find that certain elements of it are already solved by your subconscious mind. Another advantage of pausing is that it gives you a better chance to make a decision that is morally right. A central figure in a celebrated scandal was quoted recently as saying “All my life I’ve been in a hurry.” The result is significant. He was hurrying so fast that he had no time to read the signposts on the boundary that divides honesty from dishonesty. Still another discovery I made was that leisureliness, tranquility, little periods of deliberate aimlessness---these things draw people together. Try spending an hour with your husband or wife just sauntering along the street, window-shopping. When you practice the art of pausing, you are really scattering fragments of Sunday throughout the week.”

These men give good advice. I have learned the value of purposeful pausing since I retired two years ago. Much to my surprise, I have discovered that everything doesn’t have to be done today. That being said, I still think there is value in “getting on with it” when something needs to be done and you know you are just procrastinating.

The Need For Friends

Friday, February 17, 2006

My thoughts today are taken from Ken Gire’s excellent book, THE NORTH FACE OF GOD.

Ropes are one of a climber’s most essential pieces of equipment. Roped to a partner, a climber can stay the course if his eyes are blinded by the snow or his mind becomes disoriented from the altitude.

A climber named George Frey was climbing Kang Peak in the Himalayas in 1952. For some reason, he didn’t think he needed to be roped to his fellow climbers. He slipped and fell about a thousand feet until he landed on a flat place.

“The parallels in the spiritual realm are frightening. In a moment, we can lose our footing. A moral misstep when our marriage feels shaky, and it can lead to an affair. An emotional misstep when we’re going through depression, and it can lead to the loss of a job or the loss of a friendship. A spiritual misstep when we’re suffering, and it can lead to our falling away from God, falling so hard and so far that it might lead to paralysis of some of the feelings we once had for spiritual things, even to the death of those feelings. This is why the rope is so essential. If we are not roped to other caring Christians, it could result in a catastrophic fall like the one Frey experienced.”

Jesus Christ

Thursday, February 16, 2006

"The work of Muhammad is based on being honored and the work of Christ is
based on being insulted. This produces two very different reactions to
mockery. If Christ had not been insulted, there would be no salvation. This
was his saving work: to be insulted and die to rescue sinners from the
wrath of God."
- John Piper, desiringgod.org


"I wish he (Jesus) would come in my lifetime so that I could take off my
crown and lay it at his feet."
- Queen Victoria, from 444 Surprising Quotes About Jesus

BEANS—OUT OF THE POCKET AND INTO THE POT

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

My bean throwing days are over. (See blog for Saturday, January 7, 2006, “A Pocket Full of Beans”)
For days I threw beans, almonds and shot streams of water. The pigeons flew away, but returned after a few minutes. My plan was to disrupt their routine for where they spent the night. It didn’t work! Night after night they continued to come---roost, poop, make a mess and fly away in the morning. I threw beans, went back in the house, sat down, waited a few minutes and went back to throwing. The birds were winning!

Then it happened! One night, “out of the blue” they didn’t come!

Praise the Lord. I had won!

Nope. After six nights of staying away, “out of the blue” they returned.

I went back to throwing beans and turning the hose on them. They continued to come---night after night, after night, they came!

Finally, one night they didn’t return. One night turned into two, two into three---and now it has been nine nights and they haven’t been back.

Are they gone for good? I don’t know. Probably not, but for now I am declaring victory.

Where did they go? I don’t know. My guess is Vegas. I’m sure those dirty birds have heard: “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.”

Valentine's Day

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

I first met my wife, Charlotte when we were both in our early teens. We met in Oklahoma when she was visiting from California. Years later, when we were in our early twenties, we were married in California. In July we will have been married 48 years. Those 48 years are filled with wonderful memories. I look forward to many more years together but common sense and the "law of averages" says there can't be too many. Today is Valentine's Day. So far, it has just been "another day." She gave me a card at breakfast that she had made especially for me. She makes great cards! I gave her a gift. I then went to have my teeth cleaned. I think the dental hygienist was especially rough on me today because it was Valentine's Day. I started to ask her if her husband forgot it was Valentine's day or something, but decided I had better not. I have to go back in a few months! I then went to our daughter's house and waited for a plumber to install a new water heater. That task took over two hours. This evening we are going out to dinner. We will waddle home full, happy, glad to be together and thank God for 48 years. We are grateful for each other and for the love that we have for one another. MOST OF ALL, WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR THE DAILY LOVE OF GOD! THAT LOVE IS THERE FOR YOU TOO. DON'T EVER FORGET IT!

REALLY??

Monday, February 13, 2006

Let’s take a second look at some “wise” sayings that are put forth as absolute truth:

EARLY TO BED AND EARLY TO RISE MAKES A MAN HEALTHY, WEALTHY, AND WISE. Now, this is not necessarily true. It seems to me that these things come from what a man does with his time.

IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCEED, TRY, TRY, AGAIN. Maybe, but it may also be true that other doors are open and available. Don’t force it.

LIGHTNING NEVER STRIKES THE SAME PLACE TWICE. I read about one guy who was struck nine times. I don’t know if he was standing in the same spot every time--but come on.

THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HILL. Nope! I have looked.

IT’S NOT WHETHER YOU WIN OR LOSE THAT MATTERS, BUT HOW YOU PLAY THE GAME. Vince Lombardi said, “If that’s true, then why does someone always keep score?”

ACT YOUR AGE. Why?

A FOOL AND HIS MONEY ARE SOON PARTED. Nope. Some fools keep their money for years and have it right up to departing time.

DON’T CRY OVER SPILLED MILK. I came home with a leaky milk carton today. I felt like crying. I didn’t, but I think it would have been alright if I had.

WHERE THERE’S A WILL THERE’S A WAY. There have been lots of time when I had plenty of will but there just wasn’t a way---not that I could see at least.

YOU CAN’T TEACH AN OLD DOG NEW TRICKS. Sure you can. And you can teach old people too. I’m old and I’ve got a few new tricks I could show you. Want to see them?

Memories

Sunday, February 12, 2006

We were all (my family and my brother's family) on our way to Disneyland. Oh happy day! I became ill. Everybody (my family and my brother's family) went to Disneyland. I stayed home (My brother's house) in bed. Bummer!

That was several years ago...many years ago. A few days ago I came across an old menu from The Golden Horseshoe they brought to me.

The front cover read: Golden Horseshoe Revue
Refreshments
Coca-Cola .80
Sprite .80
Tab .80
***
Corn Chips .45
Tortilla Chips.45
Potato Chips .45
Cheese Puffs .45
Brownies .60

Inside they had written: Get well soon. From all the guys down at the saloon.
It was signed by my family and my brother's family.

Last December my family went to Disneyland to help celebrate their 50th Anniversary. We ate at the Golden Horseshoe. The menu is larger and the prices have gone up. I was happy to be there and not home in bed. I was sorry my brother (Deceased) and his family could not be there.

Red Neck Jokes

Saturday, February 11, 2006

Some days I'm just in a silly mood. This is one of them.

YOU MIGHT BE A RED NECK IF:

1. You think Dom Perignon is a mafia leader.

2. You go to your family reunion looking for a date.

3. You've got more than three cousins named "Bubba."

4. Taking your wife on a cruise means circling the Dairy Queen.

5. The Halloween pumpkin on your front porch has more teeth than your wife.

6. You had to remove a toothpick for your wedding picture.

7. You have a rag for a gas cap.

8. The bluebook value of your truck goes up or down depending on how much gas it has in it.

9. Someone asks to see your ID and you show them yoru belt buckle.

10. If you have ever made change in the offering plate.

11. You've been to a funeral and there were more pick-ups than cars.

12. You think the stock market has a fence around it.

13. You have every episode of Hee-Haw on tape.

14. You wonder how service stations keep their restrooms so clean.

15. You've painted a car with house paint.

16. You don't understand any of this.

Ancestors

Friday, February 10, 2006

"Whenever you pass by the field
Where you have laid your Ancestors
Look well there upon, and you shall see
Yourselves and your children, walking
Hand in hand,--all are part of you."
--Kahlil Gibran

DRINKING FROM MY SAUCER

Thursday, February 09, 2006

I’ve never made a fortune and it’s probably too late now
But I don’t worry about it much I’m happy anyhow
And as I go along life’s way I’m reaping better than I sow
I’m drinking from my saucer ‘cause my cup has overflowed
Haven’t got a lot of riches and sometimes the going’s tough
But I’ve got loving ones around me and that makes me rich enough
I thank God for His blessings and the mercies He’s bestowed
I’m drinking from my saucer ‘cause my cup has overflowed
I remember times when things went wrong my faith wore somewhat thin
But all at once the dark clouds broke and the sun peeped through again
So Lord, help me not to gripe about the tough rows that I’ve hoed
I’m drinking from my saucer ‘cause my cup has overflowed
If God gives me strength and courage when the way grows steep and rough
I’ll not ask for other blessings I’m already blessed enough
And may I never be too busy to help others bear their loads
Then I’ll keep drinking from my saucer ‘cause my cup has overflowed

Wow! It never fails to amaze me how much I have been blessed. Never!

Mother's Letter To Son

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Don't know who originally wrote this letter. I took the liberty of changing it from Kentucky to Oklahoma (my home state.)

To: Oklahoma Son
From: Oklahoma Mom

Dear Son,

I'm writing this slow cause I know you can't read fast.

We don't live where we did when you left. Your dad read in the paper where most accidents happen within 20 miles of home, so we moved. I won't be able to send you the address as the last Oklahoma family that lived here took the number with them for their next house so they would not have to change their address.

This place has a washing machine. The first day I put four shirts in it, pulled the chain and haven't seen 'em since.

It only rained twice this week, three days the first time and four days the second time.

The coat you wanted me to send you, your Aunt Sue said it would be a little too heavy to send in the mail with them heavy buttons. So we cut them off and put them in the pockets.

We got a bill from the funeral home; said if we don't make the last payment on Grandma's funeral, up she comes.

About your father, he has a lovely new job. He has over 500 men under him. He is cutting grass at the cemetery.

About your sister, she had a baby this morning. I haven't found out whether it is a boy or a girl, so I don't know if you are an aunt or an uncle.

Your Uncle John fell in the whiskey vat. Some men tried to pull him out, but he fought them off playfully, so he drowned. We cremated him, he burned for 3 days.

Three of your friends went off the bridge in a pickup. One was driving, the other two were in the back. The driver got out, he rolled down the window and swam to safety. The other two drowned. They couldn't get the tailgate down.

Not much more news this time. Nothing much has happened.

Write more often.

Love, Mom

P.S. I was going to send you some money, but the envelope was already sealed.

Stress, Paper

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

"An average person handles about 300 sheets of paper per day including catalogs, magazines, flyers, newspapers, notes, junk mail, faxes, and school papers. In five days, a family of five can accumulate 7,000 pages. In a month, this figure jumps to 45,000 pages. Americans annually handle 660 pounds of paper, and we save a lot of it. The average four-drawer filing cabinet holds 18,000 sheets of paper." (from Recognizing and Coping with Stress)

Believing God

Monday, February 06, 2006

Beth Moore is an excellent writer. In her book, Believing God, she says: "Faith is the way believers jump on board with God and participate in countless wonderful things He has in mind to do. Faith happens when believers believe."

She encourages us to get out there "where we can feel the wind of God's Spirit blowing in our faces."

She refers to Isaiah 43:10, "You are my witnesses and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me." BELIEVE ME. BELIEVE ME. BELIEVE ME.

WE NEED TO READ

Friday, February 03, 2006

Several years ago, The Christian Science Monitor coined a word to identify a dimension of America’s reading habits. The word is alliterates, referring to those who can read but won’t or don’t. There are millions of illiterates in this country but there are also many millions more who are alliterates. The American Booksellers Association did a study that found that a large percentage of American households never buy a single book.

A study of Old and New Testament Scriptures would compel us to conclude that God promotes literacy. He may even command it. There are more than ninety biblical passages either commanding the readers to read or describing someone reading. Almost another 400 verses refer to the act of writing. This implies a heavy emphasis on the ability to read and write---literacy. God commanded the Israelites to choose a king who would “write for himself on a scroll” and who would “read it all the days of his life” (Deuteronomy 17:18,19).

The answer begins in the home. We need to establish early that reading is a priority. That means that parents need to set an example and then do everything they can to restrict distractions like television. Generally illiterate parents produce illiterate children.

It is estimated that the cost of illiteracy to businesses and taxpayers runs into the billions each year. A majority of America’s prison inmates are illiterate. Seventy-five percent of unemployed adults have reading or writing difficulties.

I have always done everything I could to encourage people to read. As I set at the computer I am surrounded by books. A small shelf next to my computer now holds the following: Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey, Rumors by Philip Yancey, Believing God by Beth Moore, Heaven by Randy Alcorn, Job by Charles Swindoll, Come Thirsty by Max Lucado, Down In The River To Pray by John Mark Hicks & Greg Taylor, The Meal Jesus Gave Us by Tom Wright, and The Rabbi’s Heartbeat by Brennan Manning.

SO MANY GOOD BOOKS---SO LITTLE TIME. START READING NOW! PLEASE!

The Peter Principle

Thursday, February 02, 2006

The expression, "The Peter Principle" was made popular by Laurence J. Peter. The principle is that employees will advance to their highest level of competence and then be promoted to remain at a level at which they are incompetent. I have seen this in practice all over the world.

The employee that sweeps and mops the floors at McDonalds becomes very good at doing that job, in fact he does an excellent job. He is promoted to taking orders at the counter or worse at the drive through. The problem? His English is worse than mine!

The computer operator in India excels at operating a computer. He is promoted to a computer specialist working through problems for those who call into America Online. The problem? The person with the computer problem can't understand a darn word he/she says.

The church member who serves at every opportunity is made a Deacon, which means servant. As a Deacon, there is none better---a great servant. He is "promoted" to serve as a Shepherd/Elder. Problem? He has a servant's mentality and personality and not that of a leader.

It happens every day all over the world. People are being moved "up" the line to a position they do not deserve and cannot handle. This is not a good thing! It makes everybody dealing with this situation unhappy. Not always, but many times the most unhappy person in all of this is the one being promoted to the level of incompetence.

Ted Kennedy was very good at being a Kennedy so he got promoted to being a Senator. Never mind that he can't find his rear with both hands---there he remains. Bob Dole was an excellent Senator, maybe one of the best. He was nominated to run for President but was rejected by the people. Why? Senator Dole is a great man but he was not competent to win the race. This is good that he didn't win. We need to stop putting people in position to fail. I know men who can teach Bible Classes, lead prayer groups, give spiritual counsel, etc. that become Pastors. Problem? They can't preach! They weren't called by God to preach, they aren't going to learn by practice---they can't do it. They make the people miserable who "have" to listen to them.

What's the answer? Just stop promoting people to a level of incompetence? Yes, that would be good but it isn't going to just happen. I SUGGEST PRAYER, A LOT OF PRAYER.

HOW TO KNOW YOU ARE GROWING OLDER

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

(I didn’t write this but I agree with it)

Everything hurts and what doesn’t hurt doesn’t work.

The gleam in your eye is from the sun hitting your bifocals.

Your feel like the night before and you haven’t been anywhere.

Your little black book contains only names ending in M.D.

Your get winded playing cards.

You join a health club and don’t go.

You know all the answers, but nobody asks you the questions.

You look forward to a dull evening.

You need glasses to find your glasses.

You turn out the lights for economic rather than romantic reasons.

You sit in a rocking chair and can’t get it going.

Your knees buckle but your belt won’t.

Your back goes out more than you do.

You have too much room in the house and not enough in the medicine chest.

You sink your teeth in a steak and they stay there.

YOU WONDER WHY MORE PEOPLE DON’T USE THIS SIZE PRINT.