Monday; September 10


          I spent some of my youth in South Florida so, naturally, I was interested in hurricanes.  I think it was a thought of filling up the bathtub with potable water that fascinated me, but no matter the prompt, I remember being intrigued by these massive storms.  I remember getting the grocery bags from Publix (the ones with the storm tracking maps) and listening to the 6:00 p.m. newscast so we could track if/when the storm would hit.  I recall my grandfather watching the barometer and adding his experience into the equation.  There were fewer sources of  “information” available to us back then and there was an overriding philosophy that said you can never predict a storm so as I look back, I recall us talking about the storms and planning for the storms, but I don’t recall it gripping our attention the way the storms do today. 
          The reason for this trip back down memory lane is that I think we had less stuff to worry about when we had fewer resources available to us.  It is easy to become overstimulated by information in these modern times and it can have a negative impact on our ability to effectively process the information.  We are so focused on preparation (and control) that we are overwhelmed by the data.  It is easy to become so fixated on mitigating an issue’s influence that we forget that, most of the time, we can’t actually act until we are in the midst of the event.  Maybe the biggest issue with being overloaded with information is that we tend to lose sight of the power of God.  Scientific data and information can tell us where things stand now and can be used to predict what might happen later, but God is the only one who has the power to control the future. 
          There is an adage that says, “ignorance is bliss”.  While this might fly in the face of our desire for predictable answers, it just might be the key to being able to reduce our angst and allowing us to enjoy our lives.
          Think About It!

Popular posts from this blog

Thursday; May 3

I have a fish tank that allows my three Bettas (Larry, Darrell and Darrell) to live in the same structure, but remain hidden from each other – well sort of.   When I go to feed the fish, I believe that one of the Darrell’s can sort of see that the other Darrell is getting fed and he will linger over on that side of the tank even after I put his food in his tank.   I have to tap on the side of the tank where his food is floating to help him refocus and eat.   I get the impression that he is so interested in what is going on in the other Darrell’s tank that he can’t enjoy his own food. I have been told that the brain of a fish is pretty small – which explains their inability to process “blessings”, but are we guilty of the same malady as Darrell?   Are we so worried (or consumed) by what happens to the people around us that we fail to realize what is going on with us?   Are we envious of the blessings that others are receiving and end up missing out on what we have been given?   Are w
Read more

Thursday; February 14

         While most of us are familiar with today being Valentine’s Day, there are some who actually refer to February 14 th as “St. Valentine’s Day”.  This title is often affixed to a criminally historic event known as “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” on February 14, 1929 in Chicago, but that is another story for another time.  Not knowing much about the history of “Saint Valentine” I did a little research and found out he was a Roman religious leader who was martyred in 269 AD.  According to my limited research Valentine was killed because of his encouragement of Roman men (especially soldiers) to marry which was in violation of Claudias’ edict that prohibited marriage to keep their minds singularly focused on their task of defending the Empire.  Somehow, from this beginning – and possibly embellished by Chaucer – St. Valentine became intertwined with the concept of romantic love.           I am not really sure how February 14 th became connected with love, but inspired by thi
Read more

Wednesday; December 6

What does it mean to be a leader? I subscribe to the belief that a leader is someone who seeks the best for others and works with them to achieve their potential. There are others; however, who define leadership as the ability to have a vision and the tenacity to get their own way. Leaders who are this way are often portrayed as having developed the maturity to manipulate people to do things their way. However, is the ability to drive people in our direction mature or is it childish? The Christians of the 1st Century came from a lot of different backgrounds and had to work hard to work together. As the Apostle Paul challenged Christians in the city of Ephesus he challenged them to accept individual differences, “… until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. “ (Ephesians 4:13). Bossiness was not to be viewed as a sign of maturity, a willingness to wo
Read more