Think About It

After several very hectic weeks, I sat down with at my desk with a little bit of time on my hands. Yes, I was tired, but the thing that really struck me was how lethargic I felt. On more than one occasion I found myself just staring at my computer screen. (By the way, I learned that unless you do something with them, computers will just sit there and stare back at you!) After a couple days in a fog, I realized something … we need things to keep us busy. Sure, I believe in the value of rest and relaxation; but, overall, to feel good we need to have a purpose. I grew up with the warning, “Idle hands are the devil’s worship.” and, while this is true, idle hands are also the brain’s worst nightmare. Unless we are working on something productive, our brains begin to suffer from an atrophy that will cause our days to come and go without doing anything of value. Again, I am not talking about being a workaholic but when we find things to do we’ll be able to accomplish even more in our ...

I am not sure when your young people will head back to school, but those in Southern Maryland are beginning to trickle back into the classrooms. After a couple years of weirdness, the fall of 2022 is beginning to resemble – in some ways – a more routine year. Yet, while things are moving toward “normalcy”, our young people and their teachers need our support and our prayers. With this in mind, here are a few prayer themes that might be beneficial. 1. Safety – It is a shame, but for many of us the biggest challenge we see in schools is the exposure of children to danger. Let’s pray that our students and staff stay safe. 2. Focus – The essence of school is to teach our children how to be successful. Unfortunately, schools have out grown the basics of reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic. Schools can be a positive environment for a lot of children, but first and foremost they are institutions for education. 3. Enjoyment – This may sound a little off the wall, but school should be a ...

Have you noticed how easy it is to embellish what is going on in our lives? When most people read this statement, their first thought is probably the vanity of pride and arrogance. Now, while this can be a problem, I think there is another issue. Have you noticed how easy it is to exaggerate how bad things are going in our lives? Whether it is our health issues, job problems or even church difficulties; it is tempting to talk about how tough things are for us. When we do this, it might make us feel better (and in an odd way more relevant to the world around us); yet it comes with a cost. First of all, when we develop a reputation of constantly seeing the half-empty glass people will stop wanting to spend much time with us. There is so much negativity being spread around these days why would I want to expose myself to even more gloom? Secondly, when we embellish what is going on, we lose trust. When we inflate our problems, people will tend to dismiss us – especially when thing...

Last weekend I was out at a community event in my role as a Law Enforcement Chaplain. These days we are hard to miss – especially when we wear a badge and a ballistic vest with “Chaplain” written on it. During the event, I had someone come up to me and ask if I knew two particular deputies. When I said I did, she asked me to tell them “thank you” for what they had done for her. In her words, because of what they had done, she now had hope in her life. She didn’t elaborate and I didn’t ask what had happened. I didn’t need to know the details, I knew all I needed to know – they had helped her by doing what they did. As I reflected on this incident, I got to thinking about how many times it is has been played out – not just by those in Law Enforcement – but, by caring people all over the world. There are a lot of good people doing good things – not for the glory, but because it is the right thing to do. Often, when the dust settles, people don’t get a chance (or take the opport...

Long before the social media movement of the 2000s we had another social phenomenon called the CB radio. During the 1970s the Citizen’s Band Radio craze a lot of people purchased a Realistic (Radio Shack brand) radio and developed an alter-ego described by their “handle” (nickname). It may seem simplistic by today’s standards, but almost fifty years ago it was a national craze that encouraged people to interact with strangers – without exposing too much of their true nature. While there is an allure to the anonymity of veiled communication, whether it is on a CB Radio or through an online post, we will still be held accountable for what we express. It is tempting to hide behind the veil of a pseudo-identity to express things people find offensive, we have to accept responsibility for the impact it has. Those “anonymous” posts in response to a newspaper article can create a negative environment or begin an adversarial conflict that escalates just because there is not face-to-face...

How do we keep score in life? Is our success measured by how many “things” we accrue before we die? Do we determine our value by the position we occupy when we retire or die (whichever comes first)? Is life’s final score measured by how much money or status we have gained? While a lot of people live this way, unfortunately too many of them die without winning. They never get all they want out of life, therefore they leave this world still missing out on true contentment. Yet, what would happen if we reevaluated our measure for success? What if, rather than material or social goals, we focused on attaining the truly good life? The wise man of the Old Testament observed, “How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver.” (Proverbs 16:16). Sure, it can be fun to gain things, but when that isn’t our absolute goal we are able to find joy more easily. Where is our focus? What have we set as our “true north”? When we set out to g...

Everything that we hold precious begins with one central principle. For those who are patriotic, it is a belief that the form of government established is the best way. For those who are scientific, they place their faith in what can be postulated and proven by science. Interestingly, Christians have that same type of foundation, however it isn’t what is laid out in the foundational principles of the Constitution, nor is it what can be proven in a classroom. Disciples of Jesus build their hope on the unalterable presence of Jesus. We start every principle based on the Kingship of Jesus and funnel all ideas through the message of the Messiah. If there is a foundational principle of Christianity it very well could be how John recalled Jesus’ response to Thomas, “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.’” (John 14:6). Too often, the thing that gives Christianity a bad name and makes it so hard to believe is when thos...