It's (not just) the Thought that Counts

For all of you out there who have moms (which, if I'm not mistaken, is just about everyone) I would like to say this: it's not just the thought that counts, it's the action which spawns from that thought. For example, today, I had the thought that I should call mom today and wish her a happy mothers day, and say how much I wish I could be home for this special day. But if that's as far as I go, then she will never know! I have to actually call her and tell her those things for the thought to count. Which I did. Even though I dropped the ball on getting her gift mailed to her by Mothers Day, she knew that I was thinking of her, and that's the important part. She could go out and buy my gift just about anywhere that sold electronics, but it's not the fact that I saved her money that makes her feel loved, it the fact that I took the time to think of what she would enjoy, and then acted upon that thought (though perhaps a little tardy on the acting part).
So go give you mom a good night hug, and remember, with out her, there would be no YOU!
~Paul

Chivalry in the little things.

"Oh, thank you!" She said as I nearly did a face plant stumbling over the door stopper to open the door for wheel chair confined lady. No joke, those things (door stoppers) are dangerous!
I was milling some parts at the local machine shop. and I had walked across the hall to get a different bit, and she was just about to try opening the door, while holding some long unwieldy things in her arms. So I stepped out of my comfort zone, reached out, and (without falling) opened the door. She seemed somewhat surprised, But was grateful non the less. Then I went back to drilling away on my part, with the satisfaction of helping someone else out.
It's the little things in life that can really make a difference.
~Paul

Your Greatest Ministry

Probably one of the most overlooked opportunities for ministry, and not just to unbelievers, but also to those who are already saved because we still need to be fed, is your family.
My brother and I were given the great privilege of spending the weekend with the Botkin family. I've listened to a lot of the material that they have produced, so getting to actually meet them, and see how they live day to day, was an invaluable experience. They are an amazing family, and I hope we get the chance to visit them again. Which makes me wonder, how do you develop a family culture like that? It's something I'll be pondering.
~Paul

Awesome Bumper Sticker

Ross and I are on our way to Tennessee, and we saw a car with a bumper sticker which read

I (heart symbol) my Wife

Now there's a bumper sticker that I would (will) put on my car one day.
~Paul

The Gimme Generation

We live in an entitlement culture.

I doubt that any of you balked at that statement.

Everyone feels that they 'deserve' something or other.

"I deserve a well paying job."
"I deserve to go to college."
"I deserve a break."  

Or my favorite, which I saw on a billboard for a grocery store recently:

"You deserve fresh."

Whenever I see a billboard that says something like, "You deserve fresh produce," my first reaction (and one that I often make out loud while I'm driving), is WHY?
WHY do you "deserve a well paying job?!" Did you work hard? Are you industrious?
WHY do you "deserve to go to college?!" Because you got good grades in preschool?
WHY do you "deserve a break?!" Because you are just sooo awesome? WHY!?!?

The feeling that we are owed anything, just because, is a huge problem in our society. It can come from a lot of different places, and things like allowances are probably about the worst.
Think about it, Dad goes to work everyday, and brings home a paycheck because he has been productive ( <-- key word there). But now, little Johnny and Sally want their part of it, so Daddy kindly gives them a portion of his salary. "Why" you may ask? He may have any number of reasons:

"Because they're not old enough to earn money themselves."

Let me get this straight, because he's not old enough to earn some money, he deserves to have it handed to him on a silver platter? So when he's old enough to earn money himself, is he just going to stop taking the free money from you?

"Because they've just been so good this week,"

Hmm, I sure didn't get paid to behave. Good behavior was expected of me. I was punished for bad behavior.

"Because they deserve it."

No comment.

Etc, etc, and etc.

We need to develop an earned mentality. Don't give me something because I deserve it. Give it to me because I earned it by doing something! Live so that you can say:

"I earned the privilege of a well paying job." Because I worked hard to get there.
"I earned the privilege of a college education." Because I studied hard, and can afford it.
"I earned the privilege of taking a break." Because I've been working hard. (Just make it a short break.)

~Paul


P.S.
And whatever you do, please, Please, PLEASE do NOT give your kids an allowance. Ever. Being on the parent dole is just one step from being on the government dole, and we know where that leads. Just say no! (And make that little guy rake the leaves or something. So what if he's only 3. Trust me, he'll thank you for it later.)

If I Wanted America to Fail

Here is is really good video on the current state of America. On their website is says that this was inspired by Paul Harvey's classic essay "If I were the devil."

(You can turn my blog music off in the side bar)

History gets more expensive

"Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it."
― George Santayana

“Each time history repeats itself, the price goes up.”
― Ronald Wright

Am I the only one who looks at what's happening, and thinks "Hasn't this happened before?"
And it's only going to get more expensive.

~Paul

True Chivalry by Sophia Smithe

Here's a really good poem by Sophia over at Sophias Siege. May we all in this generation work to restore the concept of Godly chivalry.

“Let the women and children be first”

Rose the courageous cry

From the throngs of men aboard the ship

Who were destined that day to die

Their hearts were saddened by the grim proposition

Yet they clung to their manhood and stood

Willing and ready to give their own lives

As a man of true chivalry should

Nary a word of dissent was heard

Upon the forlorn decks

As scores of men boldly met their deaths

And were buried at sea with the wreck

A century past, and the men of our day

Have all but forgotten the call

Of “Women and Children first, Gentlemen;

Let not one of them fall”

 The sacrifice of Titanic’s heroes

Must shine out to the end

“Greater love hath no man than this:

That he lay down his life for his friend”

 ~Paul

Semper Reformanda

I came across the phrase "Semper Reformanda" in the signature of a blog I follow (Sophia's Siege) and didn't know what it meant. So I, not being one to just pass over something I don't understand when I have the whole internet at my fingertips, did a quick search, and this is what I found:

Ecclesia semper reformanda est Latin for "the church is always being reformed", sometimes shortened to semper reformanda, "always being reformed"

Here's a life principle that we would all benefit from. I've met people who are set in their ways, and not open to critiques, and they always seem to be, well, kind of stale for lack of a better word. We should always be striving for closer adherence to God's word, and to be open to being corrected by others, we all (at least, I know I do) have blind spots that we can't see, but may be blindingly obvious to others, so when they point them out, thank them! We all need one another to help build each other up!
Paul

The Bride of Christ

"I do."

Those are two words which I look forward with great anticipation to saying, to know and be known through and through by a woman with whom I can share everything that I am, every hurt and every joy, every laugh and every cry. And yet, how much more should we long for that kind of relationship with our Lord? Ultimately, that's the purpose of marriage; to portray to the world the kind of relationship that we will have with the Son. He is the ultimate Bridegroom, and we, The Church, are the Bride of Christ.

This is one of the reasons why divorce is so destructive . It's not just two people breaking a convenient that they made before the Almighty God, but because their marriage is so much more then that. God didn't institute marriage simply as a means to propagate the human race, nor to make us happy. He designed it to be a picture of something that is much more, something beyond us. Marriage is a picture of the relationship that the Son will have with his Church! This is the reason why there are such harsh punishments for people who divorce and who commit fornication, it's a blatant violation of the marriage covenant, and what the marriage represents!

The culture has really lost sight of the holiness and sanctity of marriage in our day and age. So let us be the shining lights in this dark world of what marriages should really look like!

Paul