Think About It

What does it mean to “accept” someone? We live in a time in which people demand to be accepted. Like me or not, you have no choice but to accept me. In essence, you have to take me as I am or I am going to become angry or offended. Isn’t it interesting, that there is less emphasis on being acceptable than the demand to be accepted. I guess I can understand where this is coming from. I realize that throughout the years the “haves” or the “cool kids” may have set the standard for acceptance and have left a lot of people out in the cold. Understandably, this does alienate some, but does that mean that everyone doing anything is automatically okay? What would happen if we changed our perspective from accepting everything to respecting everyone? It wouldn’t be the actions that would tolerated, rather it would be innate human value that would be appreciated. Even if there was something that someone did that we found unacceptable, we could still value them as a human being. ...

It is time for my annual Public Service Announcement – Sunday is Mother’s Day! Okay, now that gives you a couple days to get your order delivered or your reservations made. You have no excuse now. I know a little bit about the American Mother’s Day celebration, but even if it did reach its current state through the efforts of the greeting card industry, it is worth the investment. Our mothers are an important part of our lives. Not only did they give us birth, they also provided us with an insight into life. They taught us what we needed to know, but they also influenced how we think. They helped us to be able to function in the world, but maybe the best lesson most of them taught us was how to care about others. I am about to make a generic statement that isn’t always true, but a lot of us learned the “softer side” of life from our Moms. They helped us develop those caring relationships we have today. Sure our fathers influenced us, but there is something special about a Moth...

I have never really counted how many networks I have on my main television provider, but I know it is well over fifty and might be closer to one hundred. I find it interesting that there are times when I scroll all the way down and can’t find anything I want to watch. In addition to this, I have several other streaming services that feature shows, movies, music and sporting events. There are times I also go through these apps and end up not making a choice. There are all kinds of ways to watch a variety of options and there are times I feel frustrated that there just doesn’t seem to be much to occupy my time. Does this sound familiar? If so, we both need to have a little talk with ourselves. You see, we can fuss about how much junk there is out there, but those same options provide us with some good stuff. Sure there are things that shouldn’t be seen or heard, but today’s society has a plethora of options with good, wholesome, uplifting material. If you look for it, you can fi...

Last week I all but lost my voice. I didn’t feel bad, but I wasn’t ready to run a sprint either. As I sat around not feeling up to doing much, it was tempting to get to feeling bad – not physically, but emotionally. As I looked back on my week, I can see how it would have been easy for me to get down on the dumps. I mean, here it is – right in the heart of spring and I am feeling puny. Then something interesting happened. I got to thinking about how it was five years ago this month that I had open heart surgery. It was four years ago that we were just learning about the dangers (and the drag) of the COVID epidemic. Compared to that, a scratchy throat didn’t seem too bad! How do we feel about our lives? Are we pleased with where we are or are we sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves? Are we thankful for what we have, or do we lament what we lack? Perspective is what we make of it. Are we willing to invest in a positive outlook? If so, we will probably be more likely ...

Do you think God is mad at us? That may be an interesting way to start a discussion, but I get the feeling that a lot of people who profess Christian tendencies are struggling with their understanding of our national relationship with God. There is a belief among some that our nation has been given a divine mission and purpose. However, there are others who are concerned about the national immorality that has invaded our nation. How can these two beliefs coexist? Well, let me throw another issue into the mix – one that comes from the wise old man of the Old Testament. In Proverbs 6:16-19 Solomon observes, “There are six things which the Lord hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers.”. When we consider these qualities, it isn’t how we vote or even our foreign policy ...

What do you do when you have a conflict with someone? There are some people who are very good about dealing with issues when they immediately come up, but many of us tend to let things linger. Maybe we don’t like confrontation. It could be that we feel embarrassed when we are odds with people. It might even be that we have a fear that if we bring it up something bad could happen. The problem is that not dealing with things doesn’t make them better – in fact, for a lot of us, it makes us bitter. So how do we deal with issues? To effectively deal with conflict, we have two healthy choices. First, we can confront those with whom we get crossways. When something comes up, we just stop and say, “My feelings got hurt.” or “Did I understand what you said or did correctly? If so, we need to address this because I am uncomfortable with it.”. The Apostle Paul reminded early Christians, “Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil a...

Whitey Herzog passed away on April 15 at the age of 92. Herzog had been in and around baseball for a lot of my early lifetime. While his playing days preceded my birth, he was a presence as a field manager for a lot of years including as World Series winner with the Kansas City Royals in 1982. Speaking of being a player, Herzog said, “Baseball has been good to me since I quit trying to play it.”. When I first read this quote, it sounded almost like something Yogi Berra would say, but the more I analyzed it, the more sense it made. Herzog made his name when he quit being a player and started managing them. When he made that change, his teams won 1281 games. Whitey made his mark from the dugout, not on the field. How often do we resist change when a new way of doing things might open us up to success? We are convinced that if we just keep trying doing what we are doing, we’ll eventually hit our stride – however, there is no guarantee in that. Sometimes success comes with a chang...