Think About It

          How good were the 2017 Houston Astros?   If you are a baseball fan, you may have asked yourself this question.   Even if you aren’t a baseball fan, if you have been paying attention to the news, you probably understand the reference.   Over the past few months the story of how some of the Astro players used electronic aids to gain an advantage has come to light.   As I have watched this story unfold I have often wondered how much of their success was talent and how much of it was the result of cheating.   The 2017 Astros were a fun team to watch, but just how good were they – really?   Sure, knowing what pitch was coming gave the batter an advantage, but a batter still had to hit major league caliber pitching.   There is no doubt that these players were good, the question remains just how good they were.   Sadly, no one will be able to answer this debate because there will always be an aster...

One of my most intense challenges is knowing when NOT to talk.   As I look back through my life, I can recall a few times when I should have spoken up, but didn’t; however, I can find a lot of times when I said something and would have been much better suited to having said nothing at all.   More often than not, it was when I said something that got me in trouble.   There is an old adage that observes, “It is better to not say anything and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”.   While the source of this quote may be in doubt, its accuracy is generally accepted by all.   When I struggle with this aspect of my life, I can take comfort in the fact that I am not alone in my folly.   In fact, the Bible issues this warning to all of us, “ He who restrains his words as knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.   Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; when he closes his lips...

Have you ever found yourself stuck between two feuding friends?  Whether it was at home, work, school or even out in the community, have you been on good terms with two people who were mad at each other?  While this may seem like an adolescent issue, it can (and does) happen when we become adults.  There are times when we will be called upon to maintain relationships with people who have severed ties with each other.  When that happens, what should we do?  Here are a couple of suggestions: 1.  Maintain friendships with each of the people independent of the relationship with the other person .  Don’t get sucked into the trap of having to choose one relationship over the other.  We should do our best to keep on good terms with both friends. 2.  Don’t talk to one friend about the other .  There is a temptation to get involved in the hard feelings they have with each other.  Sure, if you can be a peacemaker, that’s great, but i...

          Have you ever done something you knew had the potential to get you disciplined at work?  Sure, a lot of us did things at school that might have gotten us called into the Assistant Principle’s Office, but no matter how serious that punishment was, we pretty much knew that we would be able to finish out our high school career.  However, there are some mistakes in the work-world that are serious enough to get us fired and, for most of us that would be a life-changing event.  Now, whether or not you have been in this situation, you can imagine the angst associated with that type of meeting with the boss.  What will they do?  Will I be scolded, suspended or fired?  Now, imagine your employer coming in and saying, “Yes, what you did was wrong and I could punish you for it, but I will be lenient.  I don’t want to lose you as a part of our team, so go on and get back to work!”.  What an incredible feeling that would be!...

          We live in a time when divisiveness is obvious.   It seems like every day there is something or someone creating another issue or spouting another philosophy that has the potential to divide our nation or our communities.   While there are divisions today, it pales in comparison to what our forefathers were going through in the middle of the 19 th Century.   Our nation was heated up over several issues until one day, it boiled over into what has been called the American Civil War.   During the 1860s each side sought to defend their position from their own perspective and philosophies.   In fact, a part of that discussion was the underlying theology each espoused to make a case for them being right.   As I look back on these times I wonder what God thought about being used to “defend a human position”.   The other day I came across on interesting quote that come from that era.   At one point...

I remember the pressure of Valentine’s Day from when I was a little guy.   Not only did we have to worry about making sure we had enough valentines in our little paper sacks to cover the entire class, we also had the added pressure of making sure that that special person got just the right valentine and the candy shaped heart that expressed our sentiment most appropriately.   (I think these sparsely-worded, chalky-tasting pieces of candy may have been the precursor to today’s emojis.) For the past forty years, I have exchanged one set of Valentine’s Day worries for another.   I no longer have to figure out if she will be my valentine – my present concern is what should I do for my special valentine?   Through the years I have tried to come up with the perfect present, but if the truth where known, I have always known what I needed to do for my valentine: 1.   Express my love .   I know that I don’t say it enough, so maybe the best gift I can give Jeane...

The other day I was scrolling through some randomly generated quotes, but I noticed an interesting connection between a couple of them.   The first one, attributed to President Thomas Jefferson observed, “When a man has cast his longing eye on offices, a rottenness begins in his conduct.”.   The second comes from NFL coach, Chuck Noll, “A life of frustration is inevitable for any coach whose main enjoyment is winning.”.   While these men and their quotes might seem quite different, I believe there is a connection between the two observations.   When we measure our lives by our “successes” we are apt to fail.   First of all, for most of us, there are going to be a lot of losses along the way and if we feel the sting of each and every loss, we are bound to be discouraged – a lot.   For every person who ends a career on the top of the heap, there are many more who are buried somewhere in the pile.   Secondly, if we set our heart’s desire on being recogni...