Think About It

What do we allow to interrupt the important things in life?   Okay, now for the follow-up question:   how long are we willing to allow them to derail us?   We are all going to have times when life takes a turn we aren’t expecting and, when that happens, it is bound to knock us off track.   However, for most of us, there will come a time when a sense of normalcy sets in – are we ready, willing and able to get back in the groove of things? As I was thinking about this the other day, I got to thinking about the Apostle Paul.   As dedicated as he was to the rules and regulations (after all he had been a Pharisee) he was able to make adjustments and return to his core responsibilities.   In one letter he chronicled, “Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my...

A few years ago I was growing tired of having to play catch-up when I would have one of those busy weeks and would scramble to get what I needed to get done completed on time.   It didn’t happen often, but something urgent might pop up or I would have one of those weeks where things were stacked on top of each other and would have to hustle to get things ready to go when they needed to go.   I started keeping a monthly “to do” list in association with my calendar and could plan for those hectic times. Now, the reason I bring this up is as a reminder that life can get busy at times, are we prepared for those deadlines?   It might be as simple and routine as hugging our children at the end of the day or as life-changing as the Lord’s Second Coming; but we need to be prepared.   If we simply play things by ear, we are going to end up missing something.   Again, some activities can be done last minute or made up later, but there are some things that we get one s...

If you have spent much time studying the outsides, you have probably heard of John Muir.   The Scottish-born naturalist made a name for himself in the United States – especially in the western part of the country.   There are many aspects of Muir’s life but one that strikes me is his willingness to explore.   He seemed to appreciate this great big wonderful world.   In fact, one of his quotes affirms, “The world's big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark.”.   As I read that quote the other day, I was struck by it – not just as an encouragement to get off the couch and go hike in the woods – but to challenge me to experience as much as I can about life.   It is easy to sit in the safety of my home, but what am I missing by not exploring?   It is comfortable to read what I like, but what have I missed by not expanding my library?   It is easy to hang out with my closely guarded (and chosen) friends and family, but who have I ...

I guess I’d never really thought about it, but the other day I learned that it was on July 30, 1956 that a joint resolution of the United States Congress (and signed by President Eisenhower) was enacted making “In God We Trust” the national motto.   Now, if we were to allow it, this observation could generate a lot of debate; but let’s not go there.   Rather, what I would like to do is ask if we really believe it?   Now, I am not all that interested if our nation believes this as much as if we – you and me – believe it.   It is one thing to put it on our money and license plates, but have we engraved it on our hearts?   I don’t care if we can quote it as a national motto, do we live it in our individual lives?   I find it interesting that – in a material world – we put “In God we trust” on our money.   Are we really disciples of the Almighty God or the almighty dollar?   Let’s not get bogged down in debating this motto in our courts, let’s ded...

I am fascinated by Artificial Intelligence.   I have literally just scratched the surface of what it can do; but it is pretty cool.   I am also a bit leery of AI because without rational monitoring it can get us in trouble.   Again, I don’t know if there is a way to incorporate a moral component into it, but even if we can program it to think with some sort of inputted data, it doesn’t have that “part of its brain”.   Now, while I am somewhat cautious about what computers can teach us, I am also well aware that is part of human frailty as well.   I guess if there is any good news in all of this it is that we have had to learn how to live with this since the beginning of the world.   An Old Testament prophet observed, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” (Isaiah 5:20).   We have had to endure false human logic throughout history, why shou...

Is it warm enough for you?   How many times have we been asked that this summer?   Typically, it is a jovial way to complain about what appears to be a hot summer.   Now, I am not a climatologist so I am not going to get into a discussion of how hot it is (or why it is so hot); but I think there can be a lesson in all of this for us.   While I am not sure that this year’s heat is the precursor of things to come or even a sign of the end of the world, one thing I do know is that is not as hot as it is going to be.   In describing the return of the Lord, Paul caution, “ But  the day of the Lord  will come like a thief, in which  the heavens  will pass away with a roar and the  elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and  the earth and its works will be  burned up . ” (II Peter 3:10).   There is going to come a time when this world will be destroyed with heat – not caused by a climatic shift – rather one caused by t...