THE RE-STUFFING PHENOMENON

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

William Randolph Hearst was a “stuffaholic.” After visiting his castle in California, I like thousands of others who have visited there, said, “Wow, he sure had a lot of stuff.”

The truth is—most of us have a lot of stuff!

We almost need an exorcist to help us get rid of some of it. When we finally do get up the nerve, moxie and guts to let go of some of it, guess what? We immediately start re-stuffing.

Oh, did I mention that after collecting all that stuff for eighty-eight years, Mr. Hearst died? Yep, that’s what he did. He just up and died and left all that stuff.

Every weekend I see signs all over our area advertising stuff for sale. Happy people stand in their driveways counting their money while other smiling people load stuff into their cars. One family is getting rid of stuff and another family is re-stuffing!

MORALS--THEN AND NOW

Monday, May 05, 2008

When I was young we learned moral values from: Our parents, grandparents, other relatives, preachers, church members, neighbors, and friends and although we were not taught directly by them we respected the moral values of almost all people in authority

Today a large percentage of the population does not believe there are any absolute moral values—no absolutes at all. You can not say that anything is absolutely right or wrong. For millions the only venue where moral questions are discussed and weighed is the talk show, where more often than not, the primary aim is to entertain, even shock. When Geraldo and Oprah become the arbiters of public morality we are in deep trouble. Athletes, movie stars, TV stars and politicians are telling us how to live.

What a mess!

ADDRESS CHANGE

Sunday, May 04, 2008

John Ortberg tells a story about a busy florist.

It was a very busy day and the florist got two orders mixed up. One arrangement went to a new business that was opening, and the other went to a family who had a death. The man with the new business came in ticked off: "The flowers that got delivered to my opening day said, "Rest in peace." The florist said, "You think you're mad; you should have seen the peope who just left. A bouquet was delivered to their family's funeral that said, "Good luck in your new location."

Anne Lamott has written, "For the Christian, death is simply a change in address."

EACH DAY HAS ENOUGH TROUBLE OF ITS OWN

Saturday, May 03, 2008

Don’t worry!

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (New International Version)

“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” (The Message)

Amen!

KEEPING TRACK BUILDS GRATITUDE.

Friday, May 02, 2008

For years I have kept a daily organizer. I even do it now that I am retired. It not only keeps me organized it serves as a kind of diary. I write down what is going on in my life—a new purchase, something breaks, I receive a gift—just simple life events.

I haven’t been doing it but I could and should write down things that I am grateful for. Things like eating a great lunch with my wife, stopping by for an ice cream cone in the middle of the afternoon, laying by the pool, running into an old friend at the mall, getting a call from someone I haven’t seen or heard from in awhile—just simple things but things that mean a lot to me.

Every good gift comes from God. He is good! I need to keep track of these things and tell him how grateful I am. I also need to express my gratitude to others who are blessing my life.

NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER

Thursday, May 01, 2008

We should always be in the spirit of prayer. Today is recognized as a National Day of Prayer. I have had these praying hands on my desks for years. They constantly remind me of Albrecht Durer’s story and that prayer and friendship belong together.

The story is told that around the year 1490 there were two young struggling artists who were close friends. Albrecht Durer and Franz Knigstein were very poor and had to work to support themselves, training as artists in their spare time. However, their manual work was too demanding to allow them proper training. In desperation, they at last decided that they should cast lots to decide which of them should carry on working to support the other in art school. Albrecht won the toss, so he went off to spend time with famous artists in training, while Franz worked extra hard to support them both. Eventually, Albrecht returned to relieve his friend. Because he had become successful as an artist, he would now be able to send Franz off to school. But to his horror, Albrecht discovered that the heavy manual work had ruined Franz’s hands forever. He had forfeited his own artistic future out of loyalty to his friend.

One day, Albrecht found Franz on his knees, his hands clasped in prayer, gnarled and yet offered to God in loving sacrifice. Hurriedly, Durer sketched the moment and produced a symbol for the meaning of prayer. Ever since, the intercessory prayer symbolized by that etching reminds us that prayer and friendship belong together. The person to whom we pray had his hands pierced on our behalf.