LOVING THE PEOPLE YOU ARE STUCK WITH

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Christian writer Max Lucado tells about when he received a puppy he named Liz for a Christmas gift when he was a small boy. His mother and father made it clear that he was to be Liz's caretaker. He was to clean her little eating dish and open her can of puppy food. He was to supply her every need. He was glad to do it. But after a few days his feelings changed a bit. He didn't like those words, "your dog." Your dog in sickness and in health. For richer for poorer. In dryness and in wetness. That's when it occurred to him. "I am stuck with Liz." The courtship was over and the honeymoon had ended.

Such permanence can lead to panic--at least it did with Max. He had to answer some tough questions. Can I tolerate the same flat-nosed, hairy, hungry face every morning? (You wives know the feeling:) Am I going to be barked at until the day I die? Will she ever learn to clean up her own mess?"

Such are the questions we ask when we feel stuck with someone. There is a word for this condition--stuckititis.

Jesus Himself knew the feeling of being stuck with someone. For three years He ran with the same crew. By and large, He saw the same dozen or so faces around the table, around the campfire, around the clock.

It's one thing to be stuck with a puppy, but something else entirely to be stuck in a marriage or other human relationship.

The answer to stuckititis is to look at Jesus and to see His heart of forgiveness. The answer is found in the thirteenth chapter of John. Study that chapter and you will see that of all the times Jesus is seen bowing His knees, none is so precious as when He knelt before His disciples and washed their feet.


Any relationships in your world thirsty for mercy? Are there any who sit around your table who need to be assured of your grace?

(Adapted from Max Lucado's wonderful book, Just Like Jesus)

GOVERNOR JAN BREWER HAS MOXEY

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Arizona's Governor, Jan Brewer has the "guts" to get the job done.

A liberal judge here in the state of Arizona "gutted" our new law against illegal immigration.

Governor Brewer says we will keep fighting. She is not a quitter!

A friend I grew up with in Oklahoma and went to college with in Texas tells me I am on the wrong side of this fight. I tell him he would be "fighting" too if he lived here instead of in a beautiful home in California in a special area where there are few illegal immigrants. He and his wife are not bothered at all so they see no reason why we should be wanting to get rid of illegals.

When I was a little boy my mother told me, "If you start a fight I am going to whip you but if somebody starts a fight with you and you don't whip them, I am going to whip you."

I live by a modified version of what my mother taught.

I am supporting Arizona's Governor in every way I can. I appreciate all others who are giving her support.

BOOK REVIEW

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

THE LORD'S PRAYER -- Insight and Inspiration to Draw You Closer to Him

By R.T. Kendall

OVERVIEW: No prayer is better known--or misunderstood--than the prayer Jesus taught His disciples. The words, though simple, can transform the way you pray and live. With remarkable insight, wisdom and depth, respected minister Dr. R.T. Kendall uncovers the transforming truths contained within each line of this familiar prayer, including when and why to pray the Lord's Prayer and how unanswered prayer can be a sign of God's favor. Not only will you find a new model for prayer, but you will experience a revolutionary way to draw closer to your heavenly Father.

AUTHOR: Dr. R.T. Kendall, a graduate of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Oxford University  is a protege of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. He was the senior minister of the historic Westminster Chapel in London for 25 years. The author of numerous bestselling books, he conducts conferences all over the world and writes a bimonthly column for Ministry Today.

MY REVIEW: "As Jesus taught His disciples, prayer was to show them how to speak and how to listen to the Father." In this splendid book, Dr. Kendall shows how Jesus' model prayer has withstood earth's time and man's reluctance to reveal God's heart for us to follow His will. I was privileged to hear Dr. Kendall preach from the pulpit where he preached for 25 years at the historic Westminster Chapel in London. He is an excellent preacher and I have read several of his splendid books. His book on The Lord's Prayer is one of the best I have read on this prayer. I agree with Ed Stetzer who said, "This book will give you fresh insights and encouragement and should be read not just once but multiple times." And I also agree with the words of O.S. Hawkins when he wrote, "This is not just another theoretical treatise but a book that issues out of a life well lived and immersed in communion with God."

(This book was provided to me by Bethany House Publishers for an honest review.)

"NAH, THAT'S TOO MUCH TROUBLE"

Monday, July 26, 2010

Went to the Dr. this morning for my diabetic check up. It wasn't bad. It's just a lot of trouble.

Went to the lab to have blood drawn. It's not bad. It's just a lot of trouble.

Got my hair cut this morning. It's not bad. It's just a lot of trouble.

When I got home I said to Charlotte, "I need to go out and mow and edge the lawn." She said, "Nah, that's too much trouble."

I said, "Thanks dear. I think I'll wait until tomorrow."

Mowing and edging the lawn is not bad. It's just a lot of trouble.

Somebody said, "Every day you should do something you do not want to do."

OK. I did. No need to push the envelope.

For the rest of the day it's FUN, FUN, FUN!

COME AS YOU ARE

Saturday, July 24, 2010

MY POST FOR TODAY ARE THE WORDS OF KEN GIRE FROM HIS BOOK, THE DIVINE EMBRACE.

I do not have horror stories about my church experience, as some people do. ...Nobody ever made me grovel for penance. All the while, though a subliminal message was being communicated that I don't think was healthy: Come to church, but come cleaned-up, with your best clothes, your best posture, your best face, and keep your secrets and your sadness at home, where they belong.

I don't think the early church was like that. I think it was a place where people came as they were, slaves and freemen, sitting side by side, laying down their burdens; Greek and Jew, elbow to elbow, sharing their heartaches; male and female, revealing not only the dark secrets of how they went astray, but also the luminous secrets of how Jesus pursued them, found them , and carried them home.

The people of the early church were desperate people, for the most part, living in desperate times. They were less likely to be pillars of the community and more likely to be prostitutes; less likely to be aristocrats and more likely to be adulterers; less likely to come from the cities social register and more likely to come from the ranks of the diseased, the demon-possessed, and the down-and-out. Imagine the stories they had to tell. And imagine how the freedom to tell their stories brought freedom to so many who heard them.

Room was made in the service of the early church both for the Holy spirit and for the holiness of their own stories. And in the dim light and dirty mess of such a stable, divine things were given birth.

DESERT RIDGE MARKETPLACE

Friday, July 23, 2010

The economy is bad, bad, bad.

But don't tell the people out at Desert Ridge Marketplace that.

I don't think they will believe you.

I let Charlotte out of the car and then drove around until I could find a parking place.

There were people all over the place.

The restaurants were full inside and out on the patios. Mothers, fathers, children and grandparents were going in and out of the stores. People were out in front of the theater buying tickets.

Is the economy bad. Yes, I guess it is. But if you are trying to find a parking place or a seat in a restaurant at Desert Ridge you find yourself scratching your head and wondering, "Where do these people get their money?"

I did find a parking place and we did find a place to sit at Fat Burger.

We get our money from Social Security. I don't know about all those other people at Desert Ridge.

FRICK'S FRANK ON A BUN

Thursday, July 22, 2010

A Frick's frank on a bun is a lot of fun. And it's good too.

I eat a lot of Frick's franks. I shouldn't but I do.

I also say, "a lot" too much according to my blogging friend, Smiling Sally who is a retired English teacher.

Maybe---maybe I'll make a New Year's resolution to get control of these things in the new year. Maybe.

But I probably won't since I never keep New Year's resolutions anyhow.

At noon I "threw" a Frick's frank on the grill and cooked that "rascal" through and through. I like them burned. I usually just eat them right out of the package but today I wanted something hot off the grill.

I toasted the bun to perfection, slapped some mustard on it, threw on a slice of cheese and a few pickles and "Oh My" what a delight.

I mixed some cold diet Dr. Pepper with some diet Coke and that was like icing on the cake.

Most days I eat very little for lunch and something in keeping with my diabetic diet.

But not today, baby--not today.

TALK LESS AND LISTEN MORE?

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Most of my life has been spent talking.

For years I preached Sunday morning, Sunday evening and Wednesday night. The years I didn't preach on Wednesday night, I taught a class. As a minister I was talking to somebody about something "all" of the time even when I wasn't in the pulpit.

We have all been advised to talk less and listen more.

Six years ago I retired. I have been listening and listening some more.

Am I better off than before? I don't think so.

I listen morning, noon and night.

I never realized there was so much ignorance being spewed out every day in every direction.

I hear it on the news, read it on Face book, blogs, in the newspapers and hear it just about everywhere I go except church.

Is there any hope?

ABSOLUTELY!


But we are going to have to be discerning about what we listen to. Just listening and believing everything we hear is not going to get it. I think maybe we better listen but then speak up!

THOUGHTS ON TAKING A VACATION

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

No man needs a vacation so much as the person who has just had one.  ~Elbert Hubbard A good vacation is over when you begin to yearn for your work.  ~Morris Fishbein A vacation is what you take when you can no longer take what you've been taking.  ~Earl Wilson A vacation is like love -- anticipated with pleasure, experienced with discomfort and remembered with nostalgia.  ~Author Unknown A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in.  ~Robert Orben The alternative to a vacation is to stay home and tip every third person you see.  ~Author Unknown We hit the sunny beaches where we occupy ourselves keeping the sun off our skin, the saltwater off our bodies and the sand out of our belongings.  ~Erma Bombeck Those who say you can't take it with you never saw a car packed for a vacation trip.  ~Author Unknown The rainy days a man saves for usually seem to arrive during his vacation.  ~Author Unknown Vacation:  Two weeks on the sunny sands -- and the rest of the year on the financial rocks.  ~Sam Ewing No vacation goes unpunished.  ~Karl Hakkarainen Vacation: a period of travel and relaxation when you take twice the clothes and half the money you need.  ~Author Unknown Vacations prove that a life of pleasure is overrated.  ~Mason Cooley (From Preaching Now, 7/20/2010)

ON STANDBY--MONSOONS AND OBAMA PROMISES

Monday, July 19, 2010

WAITING!

All of Arizona is waiting. Mother Nature has sent out threats, warnings and promises. Wait and watch. The monsoons are coming.

Oh there have been spurts and sputters but nothing to get excited about.

We are waiting at the Arizona border for help to arrive. Obama and "Big Sis" Janet Napolitano have sent out promises but little help.

The weather people say we can expect the Monsoon just any day. We'll see.

Napolitano says help will be on the border August 1st.  We'll see.

We are now on standby. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Is it possible they may just be toying with our emotions?

WISDOM FROM MY FAVORITE "THEOLOGIAN"

Saturday, July 17, 2010

THE FOLLOWING WAS WRITTEN BY ERMA BOMBECK:

Time--November 17, 197l

Time.
It hangs heavy for the bored, eludes the busy, flies by for the young and runs out for the aged.
Time. We talk about it like it's a manufactured commodity that some can afford, others can't, some can reproduce, others waste. We crave it. We curse it. We kill it. We abuse it. Is it a friend? Or an enemy? I suspect we know very little about it. To know it at all and its potential, perhaps we should view it through a child's eyes.

*When I was young, Daddy was going to throw me up in the air and catch me and I would giggle until I couldn't giggle anymore, but he had to change the furnace filter, and there wasn't time."

*"When I was young, Mama was going to read me a story and I was going to turn the pages and pretend I could read, but she had to wax the bathroom, and there wasn't time."

*"When I was young, Daddy was going to come to school and watch me in a play. I was the fourth wise man (in case one of the three got sick), but he had an appointment to have his car tuned up and it took longer than he thought, and there wasn't time."

*"When I was young, Mama was going to listen to me read my essay on 'What I Want to Be When I Grow Up,' but she was in the middle of the Monday night movie and Gregory Peck was always one of her favorites, and there wasn't time."

*When I was older, Dad and I were going fishing one weekend, just the two of us, and we were going to pitch a tent and fry fish with the heads on them like they do in the flashlights ads, but at the last minute he had to fertilize the grass, and there wasn't time."

*When I was older, the whole family was always going to pose together for our Christmas card, but my brother had ball practice, my sister had her hair up, Dad was watching the Colts and Mom had to wax the bathroom, and there wasn't time."

*When I grew up and left home to be married, I was going to sit down with Mom and Dad and tell them I loved them and I would miss them. But Hank (he was my best man and a real clown) was honking the horn in the front of the house so there wasn't time."

BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS AND MORE BOOKS

Friday, July 16, 2010

There are four loaded bookcases in my small office. There are books stacked on my desk, beside me at my computer, across the room on a couch, and on the floor by my "reading" chair.

Looking into the closet in that room I can see the shelves I built there loaded with books.

Some have asked about the bookcase you see when you come to my blog. That bookcase, loaded with books covers one wall in our family room

Most of my books are books on theology, religion, spiritual growth and Christian living. However, since my retirement I have been working with about a dozen different publishing houses and almost every week I receive one or more books in the mail. I now read books I never had time to read before.

Most of the time my office (study) is neat and well organized.

Not today!

My days and life are not as well ordered as before retirement. And also in September I am going to return to the pulpit for a month of preaching. So I need to hit the books. But mainly THE BOOK!

Books, books, books and more books---especially the BIBLE. When I stop typing, turn my eyes to the right and reach out---it's right there!

BOOK REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

Thursday, July 15, 2010

WRONG--Why Experts*Keep Failing Us And How to Know When Not to Trust Them
*Scientists, finance wizards, doctors, relationship gurus, celebrity CEO's, high-powered consultants, health officials, and more
By David H. Freedman

OVERVIEW: Our investments are devastated, obesity is epidemic, blue-chip companies circle the drain, and popular medications turn out to be ineffective and even dangerous. What happened? Didn't we listen to the scientists, economists, doctors, management gurus, psychologists, and other experts who promised us that if we followed their advice, all would be well?

Actually, those experts are a big reason we're in this mess. According to the acclaimed business and science writer David H. Freedman, experts' professional wisdom about everything from what we eat, to how to raise our children, to the medicine we take, to school improvement, to how to run a business, usually turns out to be incorrect--often wildly so.

Fortunately, there's hope. Wrong spells out the means by which every individual and organization can do a better job of unearthing the crucial bits of rightness within a vast avalanche of misleading pronouncements--some of which are literally a matter of life and death.

AUTHOR: David H. Freedman is a science and business journalist. He is a contributing editor at Inc. magazine and has written for The Atlantic, Newsweek, the New York Times, Science, the Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Wired, Self, and many other publications. He is the coauthor of A Perfect Mess, about the useful role of disorder in daily life, business, and science, and the author of books about the U.S. Marines, computer crime, and artificial intelligence.


MY REVIEW: I did not, like many of you, need David Freedman to convince me that experts are often, and possibly usually, wrong. But I was very happy to have him educate me about why expertise goes wrong and how we may be able to do a better job of seeking out more trustworthy expert advice. This is very important to me and Freedman does an excellent job with this subject. This is not the kind of material I usually read and so it did not flow for me like a book on theology would. However, I feel this is a book that will be of interest to many and that you will find it easy reading. I want to close my review with two quotes from the book. The first one from Albert Einstein and the second one from Bertrand Russell: "If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?" "Even when the experts all agree, they may well be mistaken."

WIN A COPY OF THIS BOOK

The generous folks at Hachette Book Group are allowing me to host this book giveaway for three (3) copies!

• Winners are restricted to the US and Canada. No PO Box mailing address please. You do not have to be a blogger to win.

• I must have a way of contacting you, so be sure to leave your email address in your comment.

• Some choose to omit the @ sign and the . dot by writing it in "code" like this: you (at) your email (dot)com.

• I'll close the comments July 29 and pick the three winners. I will contact the winners via email to get their mailing information. The winners will have three days to respond. If I do not hear from them within three days, I will select another winner(s).

YOU KNOW YOU'RE IN PHOENIX

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

We like to go around saying, "Oh yes, it's hot but it's a dry heat and it doesn't feel so hot."

Well not today folks. And not yesterday. And probably not tomorrow. The humidity is higher than usual and there is no monsoon associated with it to bring down the temperature.  What's up?

I don't know!

But I do know you're in Phoenix when:

*You can say 117 degrees without fainting.

 *You can make instant sun tea.

*You discover that in June, July, and August, it takes only 1 finger to drive.

*Hot water comes out of both taps.

*You actually burn your hand (first degree) opening the car door.

*You notice that the best parking place is determined by shade instead of distance.

*You break a sweat the instant you step outside at 3:30 a.m.

THE LAWS OF LIFE

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

1. Law of Mechanical Repair: After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch and you'll have to use the bathroom. 2. Law of Gravity: Any tool, nut, bolt or screw when dropped will roll to the least accessible corner. 3. Law of Probability: The probability of being watched is directly proportional to the stupidity of your act. 4. Law of Random Numbers: If you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy signal and someone always answers. 5. Law of the Alibi: If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the very next morning you will have a flat tire. 6. Variation Law: If you change lines (or traffic lanes), the one you were in always will move faster than the one you are in now (works every time). 7. Law of the Bath: When the body is fully immersed in water, the telephone rings. 8. Law of Close Encounters: The probability of meeting someone you know increases dramatically when you are with someone you don't want to be seen with. 9. Law of the Result: When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will. 10. Law of Biomechanics: The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach. 11. Law of the Theater and Hockey Arena: At any event, the people whose seats are farthest from the aisle arrive last, and they are the ones who will leave their seats several times to go for food, drink or the bathroom and who leave early before the end of the game or performance. Those in the aisle seats come early, never move once, have long gangly legs or big bellies, and stay to the bitter end of the performance and beyond. The aisle people also are very surly folk. 12. The Starbucks Law: As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something that will last until the coffee is cold. 13. Murphy's Law of Lockers: If there are only two people in a locker room, they will have adjacent lockers. 14. Law of Physical Surfaces: The chances of an open-faced jelly sandwich landing face-down on a floor covering are directly correlated to the newness and cost of the carpet/rug. 15. Law of Logical Argument: Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about. 16. Brown's Law of Physical Appearance: If the clothes fit, they're ugly. 17. Oliver's Law of Public Speaking: A closed mouth gathers no feet. 18. Wilson's Law of Commercial Marketing Strategy: As soon as you find a product that you really like, they will stop making it. 19. Doctors' Law: If you don't feel well and make an appointment to go to the doctor, by the time you get there you'll feel better. Don't make an appointment and you'll stay sick. (Taken from Preaching Now, July 13, 2010)

A BUNCH OF LOONS

Monday, July 12, 2010

For months I have been searching for something---anything, that would indicate that somebody in the Obama administration had a "lick of sense."

Nothing!

Nobody!

I can't find a single shred of evidence to indicate that anybody in Obama's administration has any sense at all.

They are all just a bunch of loons and they are destroying our great country.

I'm using these strong terms to describe them because I don't want to be misunderstood.

I know by experience that if I use nice, proper, weak words, that nobody will pay any attention.

But when I call them a bunch of loons, which they are, people are shocked.

"Oh my, you shouldn't say that about the President and his administration."

Who made that rule? The same person that said, "If you can't say something nice don't say anything at all"?

Yea, that's a pretty good rule, generally speaking. But sometime you just have to sit down and face the facts.

And the facts are that these loons are destroying our country and we need to stand up and say, "Stop." "Now." And we don't need to say, "Please."

IN CELEBRATION OF MARRIED LOVE

Friday, July 09, 2010

Charlotte and I have been married 52 years. We have known each other for 62 years. These have been great years for me. Sunday we will celebrate our 52nd Anniversary. I want to dedicate this post to her and offer up a prayer of happiness for all married couples. This poem by Roy Croft is one of my favorite.

WHY DO I LOVE YOU?

I love you,
Not only for what you are,
But for what I am
When I am with you.

I love you
Not only for what
You have made of yourself,
But for what
You are making of me.

I love you
For ignoring the possibilities
Of the fool in me
And for laying firm hold
Of the possibilities for good.

Why do I love you?

I love you
For closing your eyes
To the discords--
And for adding to the music in me
By worshipful listening.

I love you because you
Are helping me to make
Of the lumber of my life
Not a tavern
But a temple;
And out of the words
Of my every day
Not a reproach
But a song.

I love you
Because you have done
More than any creed
To make me happy.

You have done it
Without a word,
Without a touch,
Without a sign.
You have done it
Just by being yourself.

After all
Perhaps that is what
Love means.
                        Roy Croft

IF YOU CAN DO ANYTHING ELSE, DON'T PREACH

I grew up hearing and believing the old saying, "If you can do anything else, don't preach"

To me, this meant than unless you feel the "call of God" on your life you should not be preaching. If you can do anything else in life and be happy doing it--then you should.

Today, many feel that if you have a Bible in your hand and an opinion on your heart you should preach.

For forty-seven years I went to the pulpit feeling like "a dying man preaching to dying men perhaps never to preach again." There was a message on my heart that had been bathed in prayer. This was no small thing we were about to do--it was worship.

I was not the only one that felt this way. I knew that the congregation had come with Bibles in hand waiting to hear a Spirit filled message from the Word of God. Therefore I went to the pulpit prepared to present with passion the message that God had laid on my heart. Did I ever fail? YES! I am ashamed to say that there were Sundays I should have been honest and just said, "Not today dear friends, not today" and sat down. But those days were few and far between and I was ashamed and repented. In those days almost everybody got up on Sunday morning and got ready to go to church. They didn't get up and ask, "Are we going to church today?" That would have been like asking, "Are we going to breathe today?"

We all have heard the old, old story of the farmer who saw the letters G P in the clouds and thought it meant go preach. He later found out it meant go plow!

Sad to say too many elders of the church believe that if they can find a Tom, Dick, Harry or Mary that wants to preach they should send them to the pulpit.

What about the call from God? What about the leading of the Holy Spirit? What about not being able to do anything else but preach? 

I am praying today that God will fill our pulpits with men who have been called by him, filled with a message empowered by the Holy Spirit. And that they will preach that message with a passion that comes directly from the heart of God.

THE ULTIMATE DRIVING MACHINE

Thursday, July 08, 2010

Many men are "into cars." I mean they know and love everything about cars!

I have never been one of those men.

Oh, don't get me wrong, I appreciate having a good car. I see their beauty and know their value.

I'm just don't "lose it" every time somebody drives by in a Mercedes or a Jaguar convertible.

Yesterday I was strolling around the BMW showroom waiting for my car to be serviced.

As I stood looking at all the beauties on the showroom floor, salespersons would walk by and ask about my interest. I would just smile and tell them I was passing time while I waited for my car.

As I stood by one of the cars labeled the ultimate driving machine I just happened to glance at the sticker on the window. I jumped back almost loosing my balance and struggled to catch my breath. In my mind I was screaming: "I didn't touch it, I didn't touch it. I didn't sneeze on it. I didn't even breath on it. Honest, I didn't. You have got to believe me."

A sales lady walked by and smiled. She didn't say anything but it looked like she was wondering, "Are you alright?"

The sticker price for this ultimate driving machine was $139,000 and some cents. I thought to myself that anybody buying it will have lost all sense.

My idea of the ultimate driving machine is a car that runs and has a good personality, a happy car.

BOOK REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

Wednesday, July 07, 2010

DELIVERING HAPPINESS － A Path To Profits, Passion, And Purpose
By Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos.com,Inc. 


OVERVIEW: In Delivering Happiness, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh shares the different lessons he has learned in business and life, from starting a worm farm to running a pizza business, through LinkExchange, Zappos, and more. Fast-paced and down-to-earth, Delivering Happiness shows how a very different kind of corporate culture is a powerful model for achieving success﹣and how by concentrating on the happiness of those around you, you can dramatically increase your own. Hsieh offers the following as standard operating procedure at Zappos: Pay brand-new employees $2,000 to quit, make customer service the responsibility of the entire company﹣not just a department, focus on company culture as the #1 priority, apply research from the science of happiness to running a business, help employees grow−both personally and professionally, seek to change the world, oh, and make money too.

AUTHOR: In 1999, at the age of twenty-four, Tony Hsieh (pronounced Shay) sold LinkExchange the company he cofounded, to Microsoft for $265 million. He then joined Zappos as an adviser and investor, and eventually became CEO. He helped Zappos grow from almost nothing to over $1 billion in gross merchandise sales annually, while simultaneously making Fortune magazine's annual "Best Companies to Work For" list. 

MY REVIEW: I agree with Seth Godin, bestselling author of Linchpin when he said, "This book is funny, true, important, and useful." Now, Tony Hsieh may have a different world view than I do, but he has passion for life and enjoys making other people happy and I like that. This is his story ﹣ and he tells it well. I am always interested in how some people are able to "make it big." I was so intrigued by Tony's story that I read the book through the first day I got it. The back of the book lists the top ten reasons why you should want to read the book. I will just mention five of them: You want to learn from all the mistakes we made at Zappos over the years so that your business can avoid make some of the same ones. You want to build a long-term, enduring business and brand. You want to create a stronger company culture, which will make your employees and coworkers happier and create more employee engagement, leading to higher productivity. You want to find inspiration and happiness in work and in life. You ran out of firewood for your fireplace. This book makes an excellent fire-starter.

WIN A COPY OF THIS BOOK

The generous folks at Hachette Book Group are allowing me to host this book giveaway for three (3) copies!

• Winners are restricted to the US and Canada. No PO Box mailing address please. You do not have to be a blogger to win.

• I must have a way of contacting you, so be sure to leave your email address in your comment.

• Some choose to omit the @ sign and the . dot by writing it in "code" like this: you (at) your email (dot)com.

• I'll close the comments July 21 and pick the three winners. I will contact the winners via email to get their mailing information. The winners will have three days to respond. If I do not hear from them within three days, I will select another winner(s).

HOLIDAYS A LOT LIKE RETIREMENT DAYS

Monday, July 05, 2010

I started working at an early age and I have worked all my life. Six years ago I retired.

Now, for six years I have had an opportunity to look at holidays from a different perspective---retirement.

Yesterday, Sunday was Independence Day and so today, Monday is a holiday from work for many people.

But for me, this Monday looks a lot like last Monday or the Monday before that---just another Monday.

After church yesterday our son and daughter came over, which they don't do every Sunday. We had hamburgers and hot dogs from the grill, along with all the other things a diabetic is not suppose to be eating. And then, since I had already blown my diabetic diet, we had watermelon and homemade strawberry ice cream. Hey, my doctor says if we can't enjoy eating this kind of "stuff" on occasion then we might as well not be living. I love my doctor. He may let me die. But I still love his attitude. I will die with a smile on my face.

Today, will be a little bit of the same but putting "stuff" away for another year. The big flag will come down and I will gather up the small ones from around the yard.

The celebration will be over but the love of God, family and country will still be in my heart.

I know I am blessed to live in a country where I can worship freely, provide for and love my family and be free to manage my own work schedule, money (what money?) and LIFE.

Yes, this Monday looks a lot like last Monday and that's good---that's very good!

A DECLARATION OF DEPENDENCE

Saturday, July 03, 2010

This is the time of year the people of the United State celebrate Independence Day.

We will observe this national holiday in a variety of ways: display the flag, shoot off fireworks, cookouts, sporting events--the list is long.

The Fourth of July is one of the supreme days in our national calendar. On this date in 1776 the original thirteen colonies issued their unanimous Declaration of Independence. The now famous Declaration included these memorable words: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." 

Our country has been great because her government has been built on the principles of God's truth.

There are those of us who fear that our nation has begun to decline from its former greatness.

What can we do? We ought to renew a declaration of dependence upon divine Providence.

Listen to the climactic conclusion of the historic document: "For the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

Today, as perhaps never before, we as individuals and as a nation need to recognize how utterly dependent we are upon divine Providence. We need to make a Declaration of Dependence on the Providence and the Grace of Almighty God. 

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

BOOK REVIEW

Thursday, July 01, 2010

WAITING FOR JACK — Confessions of a Self-help Junkie: How to Stop Waiting & Start Living Your Life
- By Kristen Moeller 


OVERVIEW: Do you find yourself waiting for the right moment? The ideal relationship? The perfect job? Are you waiting for your "real" life to begin? Do you think the gifts of life are just around the corner/That one day you will arrive and everything will be okay? Do you endlessly search, yet never seem to find?

This is the book you have been waiting for!

Through the sharing of authentic personal stories and profound life lessons, Kristen Moeller explores our pervasive human tendency to wait for life and to look outside ourselves for answers.

Too often, we are Waiting for Jack—whatever or whoever "Jack" is. So we don't try; we give up. We sell out and we forget who we are. We are afraid to succeed, afraid to fail, and afraid to say we are afraid. But as Wayne Gretsky said, "You always miss one-hundred percent of the shots you don't take!"


AUTHOR: Kristen Moeller is an author, coach, speaker and radio show host who has been searching for answers for as long as she can remember.


MY REVIEW: The thing that drew me to this book was its title: Waiting for Jack. The "Jack" the author is referring to is Jack Canfield, the co-author of the best-selling Chicken Soup for the Soul series. She was waiting for an email from him with words of encouragement. She woke up one day to the fact that she needed to stop waiting and take action. Her book is about the truth that we all are waiting for some "Jack" when we need to be taking action. I like this book. I like it a lot. I don't agree with everything she says but we rarely agree with everything another person says or writes. One thing I don't like about the book is the drawings or pictures of playing cards that begin each chapter. I think they distract from the quote that begins each chapter and they add nothing. I agree with Robin Spizman, New York times bestselling author who said of this book, "Refreshing vulnerable, witty and wise. Waiting for Jack feels like a conversation with your best friend over coffee. With an honest approach and take action message, Kristen Moeller motivates readers to make it happen. This book is a special gift." This book will inspire you to get on the path, move forward and remember that you don't have to wait for Jack.

(I am grateful to FSB Associates for providing this book for review)