Think About It

Having spent much of the last twenty-five years in and around public service I have come to realize there are a lot of wonderful people who have been willing to sacrifice financial gain and public praise to make a difference in our communities.  One of the most underrated segments of this population is correctional officers.  These men and women spend most of their careers – not just outside the spotlight, but for the most part out of the public’s eye.  It seems like the only time anyone recognizes them is when one of them does something egregious ... but, at least for a day I would like to try to reverse that trend.  This is National Corrections Officers Week – a time originally set aside by President Reagan to honor those people who invest their lives in keeping our people safe – not just those on the “outside”, but those within the penal system as well.  They serve as guards to and for the inmates, but they are so much more.  They are teachers, mentor...

Several years ago a lot of people were walking around displaying WWJD in various ways.  While the most popular manifestation was probably a bracelet, people found diverse ways to remind ourselves to consider “What Would Jesus Do”?  I like the concept of processing our decisions through the lenses of Jesus, but I think there is something even more powerful – the concept of WDJD – What Did Jesus Do!  Wondering how Jesus MIGHT respond to an event or an issue provides us with guidance, reflecting on what Jesus DID do assures us of getting it correct. After challenging the early Christians to recall the great leaders of faith, a First Century Christian writer adjusted the spotlight to shine on Jesus and stated, “... let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of...

Here is one from the “I Bet You Didn’t Know This” category:   it was on this day in 1978 that the first “spam” (unsolicited bulk commercial email) was sent out.   When I read this, two things crossed my mind:   first, I didn’t realize electronic mail had been around that long and second, I wish we could go back in time and get a do-over on that one.   It seems that each and every day we are bombarded with all kinds of unsolicited information – in our snail mail, email and on our phones.   It has gotten so bad that I am sure I am missing out on a lot of good, legitimate offers just because I don’t pay much attention to anything I don’t originate. As I got to thinking about “spam” and such, I got to reflecting on how much stimulus we have flooding into our lives and it reminded me of the first time I walked down the Las Vegas Strip – overwhelmed by the volume of what was surrounding me and trying to be especially aware of the really bad stuff mixed in with ever...

When George H. W. Bush accepted his party’s nomination for the presidential campaign of 1988 he reflected on his concept of the American community, then after listing several examples of service organizations observed, “... a brilliant diversity spread like stars, like a thousand points of light in a broad and peaceful sky.”   Shortly after his election he underscored his inauguration by noting, “The old ideas are new again because they are not old, they are timeless: duty, sacrifice, commitment, and a patriotism that finds its expression in taking part and pitching in.”.   While I personally like President Bush, I think his challenge transcends political agendas and can serve to inspire us to do more for our nation and our fellow man.   At the risk of sounding like an old fogy, the concept of service to community and our fellow man is in danger of being overshadowed by the pursuit of self-serving fulfillment.   Taking care our neighbors has been shouted down by tho...

One of the lessons that has been drilled into me through the years is that this world doesn’t owe me a thing.  Now, before I go on, I will be the first one to tell you that I have lived a blessed life.  The Lord and the people in my life have bestowed countless blessings on me and I am grateful.  I am far from a “self-made man”.  Yet, that does not negate the earlier observation – the world does not “owe” me anything.  In fact, more often than not, society has tried to take away more things than it has given me!  When I have relied upon the innate nature of the world it has taken away my hope, my joy and, too often, my commitment to my purpose in life.  If we depend upon society to fill our needs and dreams, we will be left empty. As I think about what makes a successful person I am drawn to a biblical principle, “ For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, eithe...

The other day I noticed that someone had attempted to throw something away in the trash can and missed.  It wasn’t anything too obtrusive or disgusting – they just missed the can.  I noticed it, but I didn’t do anything about it.  Then, the next day I noticed that the item was still there – again I noticed it but didn’t do anything about it.  Then the next day ... I am not sure if I even noticed it – oh, it was still there, I just didn’t notice it.  At this point, I think I just came to subconsciously expect that it was supposed to be there and just left it alone.  Today, I finally noticed it again and I realized that the piece of trash was going to be there until I finally did something about it.  Now, the reason for this discussion on a single piece of trash is to ask how many things have we come to accept just because we didn’t deal with them when we first noticed them?  No, I am not (necessarily) talking about trash I am talking about bad h...

Last week our church lost one of our long-time members, Clara Hess.  I didn’t have the privilege to know “Miss Clara” as well as did others, but when I posted her passing on our internal social network it was incredible to see the impact that she’d had on people.  In fact, one of the things that was mentioned was how she had knitted tissue box holders for people – many of whom still had these handmade gifts.  As I thought about Miss Clara’s death I was drawn back to a character of the Bible whom Luke described in this way, “ Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translated in Greek is called Dorcas); this woman was abounding with deeds of kindness and charity which she continually did.” (Acts 9:36).  When Dorcus died, her friends called on Peter to come to Joppa and showed him the gifts she had made for them.  Touched by their love for Miss Dorcus, Peter raised her from the dead!  What a great gift for such a wonderfu...