Thoughts on Community

This weekend is little bit less active than the past few have been. Chris is working today (one of those few Saturdays that she gets scheduled to work) and I'm hoping that she can get an early shove.

I did manage a quick trip into the farmer's market in Springfield, a fill up on the del Sol (39.9 mpg) and a few errands. Now to spend some time finishing tomorrow's sermon notes.

It's been a little while since I've been to Charity Baptist is Springfield. I'm looking forward to being there again, although it does mean that I'll miss the concert at Hopedale tomorrow night.

This past week seems to have flown by. I guess that's a good thing. One of the things that I'm realizing is that I have a very small community of people in my life. I'm not sure that I can call the people that I work with a part of my community. Sure we are co-workers and serve a common purpose for a few hours each day, but I really have nothing else in common with them. They are not a vital part of my life (the job--well, the pay is) and I am not a vital part of their lives. I actually fell a greater "community" sense with a pastor that I just met than with the people I have worked with for years.

Is it that the shared ministry is more important to me than the shared mission of separating airplanes? Is there a greater sense of brotherhood with a fellow laborer in ministry than with other air traffic controllers? Although I get along with my co-workers, I can't say that I really look forward to seeing them everyday. For the most part, they are just a part of the job. That is not the case when it comes to ministry work.

Strangely enough, church life and work life share a lot of similarities. While I love my church and enjoy going there to worship and serve, in many ways the social atmosphere isn't very different from work. I'm not sure that I can call the people at church a part of my community. Other than sharing a few hours a week, I really have very little in common with most of them. They are not a vital part of my life and I am not a vital part of their lives.

I'm really not sure where this rant is going. I just started writing and this is what has turned up on the page. In rereading what I've written, one might get the idea that I feel lonely in ministry or am dissatisfied with work, church or life in general. Neither is really true. Perhaps it is just a realization that I know very little about the people that I come in contact with every day. Maybe I need to find a way to expand my "community" by being better about connecting with people outside of the areas that define our relationships. Maybe my life is too segregated--work is work, church is church, family is family, etc.

Is that what we've become as a society? Are we different pieces of different puzzles as we wander through the week and find ourselves in different places and different roles? Is it okay that I see you everyday and know nothing about you? Do I care if you you know anything about me? Have we become so narcissistic that other people just don't matter?

I'm going to have to think on this some more. Any thoughts...?

John <><

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Livin' the Good Life

I have a pretty good  great life.
You probably have a pretty good life, too; maybe even a great life.

However, I have found that I can take my great life and turn it into a crappy life by changing nothing more than my outlook. I don't have to give up any of the things that make my life grand. I don't have to work at a harder job, nor do I have to lose the job that I have. I don't have to give up my health (which isn't perfect but free from anything major) and I don't have to worry about a daily food provision--as a matter of fact, I still get to eat some pretty tasty (if not so healthy) foods pretty much as I choose.

I get to keep my modest home and my beater car. I get to keep all of my friends (both of you guys) and I still get to enjoy a great family.

All I have to do to turn my otherwise great life into something that is unbearable and crappy is to start thinking about all of the things that I don't have (whether or not I need or want them) and all of the things that others have (again, whether or not I want, need or have earned them) and all of a sudden, I am burdened with life's woes and am a miserable person to be around.

I can complain about the government and how "the Man" is oppressing me. I can complain about my job and how management doesn't care about my needs. I can complain about my weight and my health as I shovel in another fast food burger or junk food snack. I can complain about pretty much anything I feel like as long as I can think of a way that my own little world would be better if I had or didn't have whatever it is that would make life better.

I can envy those that have larger, fancier homes even though they may have worked very hard to acquire their wealth. I can complain about the young people that drive nicer vehicles even though I've chosen to drive the no car payment beater.

I can complain about my neighbors or the people that I work with that care more about themselves and their needs than they do about me and my needs--in my world, it's okay if it's all about me.

I hope you get the idea.

We can choose to be negative.
We can choose to ignore our blessings and find fault with every situation.
We can choose to be miserable.
We can choose to be victims of a cruel world.
We can choose to have a crappy life.

Or not.

We can also choose to acknowledge our blessings.
We can choose to value the people around us.
We can choose to appreciate our freedoms.
We can choose to be positive.
We can choose to be a blessing to others.

We can decide that in spite of whatever circumstances we find ourselves in, we will be grateful for the people and the things that we have.

I hope that today is a good great day for you.
I hope that somebody offers you a word of encouragement today.
I hope that you will choose to be a blessing to somebody today.

A smile
A kind word
A kind act
It could be enough to change somebody's day--to change somebody's life.

Blessings to you,
John <><

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Trust Issues...

Most of you have heard of or experienced the "trust fall" where one person falls backwards, trusting another person or persons to catch them. We did a few different exercises to demonstrate trust this past weekend at our youth retreat.

It got me thinking about trust--Who we trust? Why we trust? What does it take to earn our trust? Am I trustworthy?

On the surface, most of us would say that it's better to trust an honest person or one that always does the right thing: but is that really the case?

What if somebody does something that is wrong--anything from spreading gossip to taking something that doesn't belong to them? Do they really trust an honest person or somebody that always does the right thing to keep their misdeed a secret? Wouldn't they be more likely to trust somebody that has the same values (or lack of them) as they have?

I suppose there are many different levels of trust as well as different areas of trust. I may trust a coworker to have my back in a difficult session of air traffic control, but not really trust them in other areas of life. A person might trust another person to be honest about fixing their car but not feel like they would leave them to care for their children. Things like these are based on experiences and knowledge of situations as well as people.

So how does somebody earn your trust?
By keeping their mouth shut?
Or by telling the truth?
By doing what's right?
Or by doing what you need them to do?

Is an honest person really the kind of person that you want to trust?
Or would you rather trust a person that has pretty much the same level of dishonesty as you have?

Is there honor among thieves? Do we count on the bad deeds of others to keep them silent about our own bad deeds?

Are these really the kinds of things that we want to base our "trust" of others upon and are those really the kinds of people that we want to trust?

Hmmm...

Just thinking.

John <><

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Quiet Homes and Dysfunctional Families

Have you ever had that experience of family coming to visit--it could be grown kids coming home, parents coming to visit, siblings or other relatives--and then experiencing the quiet and almost lonely feeling when they are gone?

I'm talking about people that you really love and really miss and really don't want them to go--or you don't want to have to go.

I realize that there are families that don't get along. Families that rarely, if ever, keep in touch with one another. When they do call or visit, it's more out of a sense of guilt or obligation than out of love for one another.

I wonder if that's how God feels on Monday mornings. The kids have all gone about their own busy lives and won't be back again until next week--makes for a kind of lonely and quiet week. They may gather together once or twice during the week, but they don't really plan on including Him in their mid-week get-togethers. There will be no conversations during the week--unless we need something. We'll drop by on the weekend because we're expected to; not because it's what we really want to do. There are other things--more important things--that we would rather be doing. Things like being with our kids for sporting activities or a day at the lake. Surely God would understand our need for family time, right? Maybe we'll just skip our visit for this week...and maybe for next week, too. After all, what's the big deal with going to church? Isn't God everywhere?

The problem is that we don't acknowledge God everywhere. In fact, we pretty much ignore Him everywhere. He's like an old parent that is troublesome to acknowledge before our friends. We would rather that they didn't know that we belong to Him.

Weird thoughts, I know.
Just wondering...

John <><

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Self Assessment: It's not all it's cracked up to be

I spent some time reading some of my past posts the other day. It started as a project of finding some past information that I've posted and ran into a hour or more of just enjoying some of my past reads. In one post from last month I linked to four previous posts that are about me. In re-reading them, I noticed that I'm a pretty good guy. Feel free to go read them. There is a lot of good stuff there. There is also plenty of stuff missing.

Truthfully, I'm not all that grand. We seldom come clean about our dark tendencies in self evaluation. If given an anonymous opportunity to point out my faults, I'm pretty certain my friends and family could come up with a list that would be long. If not long, at least emphatic about the negative traits on a shorter list.

It's not too difficult to be a nice guy at church. There is a certain expectation that people at church be...well, nice. And since we're only around church people for a couple of hours per week, how hard is it to throw on a fake "nice" persona for a couple of hours? Piece of cake, right?

What about work? Work is a little bit different in that some people appear to want to be jerks at work. I'd say that it's a pretty easy environment to be a jerk and a not so easy environment to be a nice person if being nice is still an act. It's more difficult to be nice because there are people that are not nice. At church, at least everyone is either nice or pretending to be nice. At work, there is more of the survival of the fittest, dog eat dog mentality that gives us permission to act without regard to others. Some meanness is in response to a previous act of meanness and will, of course, demand an additional mean response until everybody acknowledges mutual hatred for one another and agrees to live in relatively peaceful hatred with only an occasional jerk action to remind everybody that the contempt still exists.

Yeah, sometimes it reminds me of kids on the playground where bullies get away with bullying because everybody knows that nobody is going to do anything.  In any case, our work personas can be our work personas and they don't necessarily mean that we are like that outside of the work place. If it's an act, it does require us to be a better actor than the church actor because we're at work more than we are at church. Our work personality is probably a better indicator of who we really are than our church personality.

Not too long ago, a co-worker said that I was a nice person. The truth is that I have to work very hard at just not being a jerk. Of course, the comment came from one of the "nice" people and nice people are easier to be nice to and more forgiving when you are not.

I think there are a lot of bad actors out there--both at church and at work. It may be that I am one of them. It's pretty easy to write a post that inflates good qualities and claim them as the real you for readers that don't really know you and never interact with you outside of the blogosphere. It's not too difficult to fool a few people for a few hours a week at church. It's certainly possible to shield coworkers from your true personality and keep them outside of your life away from the work place. It's pretty impossible to fool the people that you live with.

Unfortunately, the people we love the most are also the people that get to see our ugliness the most. If there were ever people that could testify to the poor qualities of character that are mine, it would be my family. Sorry, guys. I'm still a jerk--working on it, but still a jerk.

Maybe it would be easier if everybody just realized it. Most people are self-centered jerks. Most people really don't care about our lives and only pretend to be interested in our stories about our kids/family/hobbies/whatever, so that they can tell you about there meaningless lives--which you probably don't care about, either.

Are there really people that are "nice people" in the world?
Yes! I believe there are.
And I believe that I know many genuinely nice people.
I believe there are also a great number of people that really want to be nice people--people (like me) that have to work very hard at not being a jerk all of the time.

I think that these are the people that make me smile. Maybe it's because there is a sort of kinship with them. Maybe knowing their struggle makes it easier to forgive their transgressions. Maybe seeing their "niceness" gives me hope that the good guys are holding their own in a world full of jerks that are waiting to help them fail and then laugh as they struggle to regain lost ground.

These are my people. We are jerks, but we don't like it. We are working on being nicer people. Please have patience with us. I realize that we don't deserve your patience and we haven't cut you any breaks in the past. But remember, you're better that we are. You are the nice people.

Recovering jerk, apprentice "nice" guy,
John <><

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Walk a Mile...

Given that I've been working on getting a little bit of exercise lately (and I want to emphasize the little bit part of that), one might think that this is going to be a post about the health benefits of walking...
...it's not.

It's a post about the adage of not criticizing somebody until you have walked a mile in their shoes.

Perhaps it's age, or perhaps it's being more aware of people around me that are finding themselves in situations that they once criticized others for being in. In any case, I seem to have encountered several recent instances of people having eye-opening experiences that have helped them to see people in a different light and to help me see people differently, as well.

I saw this picture posted on Facebook recently:

I think there are some good rules here--numbers 2 and 4 really jump out for me.

2) What others think of you is none of your business.

I don't buy into that completely, but I do understand that I don't need to be obsessed by what others think of me. Often, their thoughts are more about how I fit into their experiences than about what I might actually be experiencing. Number 4 turns it around and reminds me that I may not have the information to make an accurate judgment of somebody else.

4) Don't compare your life to others, and don't judge them. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

I hear a lot about people that are receiving some kind of social assistance--welfare, unemployment, disability payments, WIC--you get the idea. Often times, such recipients are looked down upon or thought to be too lazy to take care of themselves. Many times they appear to be able bodied persons and so we think that maybe they just don't want to work or are too lazy to find a job.

I do not doubt that there are wide abuses in programs that are designed to help people that are in need. But it is also true that there are real needs. There really are people that are terribly under-employed or are working without much needed health benefits. There really are people that have lost their jobs (through no fault of their own) and find themselves desperately needing help to feed their families. There really are people that appear to be perfectly healthy but are suffering from chronic pain or are unable to concentrate or use extremities because of an injury or illness.

And there really is such a negative stigma attached to getting help that the people in need are often humiliated and made to feel like second class citizens when they apply for the assistance.

If a person that we know to be on welfare or disability has a nice phone, expensive camera, nice clothes, nice car, whatever; it's not okay for us to make negative assumptions about their character. They could be gifts. They could be possessions from before a life changing event. They could be from a settlement that came from an injuring party. The thing is--we don't know.

In churches, we might look down on somebody that has been divorced. We don't know if it was an abusive relationship. We don't know if a spouse was unfaithful. We don't know if every effort was made to save the marriage. We just know that somebody is divorced and that must mean--well, it must mean something! Right?

What about an unmarried single parent? Now that's a situation that we can make a judgment on, right?
No. It's not.

Rather than continuing to go on ranting, let me just say that I think these are some good rules to follow.
Here's a quote I like that is attributed to several different people:
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.

John <><

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The Rise of the Christian Left and the Fall of Christian Conservatives

Recently I have read several articles that are about a study that shows a decline in conservative Christianity and a rise in the Christian Left. Here is one. I think that there is a blending of definitions that creates a great misunderstanding between the difference in conservative politics and conservative Christianity. 

I am a conservative Christian. I believe that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through Him. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God; that it is in his death, burial and resurrection that we have the hope of eternal life. I believe that the Holy Spirit of God lives in those that proclaim Jesus as Lord and guides us as we strive to follow our Lord. I believe that we are called on to share the Good News of salvation so that others may be drawn into the Kingdom of God.

I am not a political conservative--at least not as defined by today's standard. Most would say I am a social liberal. I believe that we have an obligation--both as Christians and as fellow citizens--to help those in need. I am not a political proponent, nor am I a political opponent of issues like abortion, birth-control, gay rights or other issues that seem to be so divisive between the politically conservative Christians and ... well, everybody else. I believe that any argument on legislation of social issues that begins with "the Bible says," is a poor argument. It's not a poor argument because the Bible is right or wrong about a subject, it's a poor argument because I don't want the Koran, the Book of Mormon, the Tripitaka or any other holy book or religious belief to be the sole reason that we make the laws to govern all of our citizens.

I don't think that I really fit into the character of "The Christian Left." There are enough issues that I am uncomfortable with to keep me from identifying with them completely. Nor do I believe that the people that believe in the core theological beliefs of the Bible are in decline. If fact, I would say that they are on the increase. I would say that many new followers of Jesus are abandoning the judgment and the politics of "The Christian Right" and working to fulfill the Great Commission of Jesus by sharing His love and compassion rather than condemning the behavior of those outside of the faith. Just because they are not followers of the Tea Party or any of their spokespersons, doesn't mean that they are not conservative in their Christian beliefs.

I welcome those that would share Jesus with others. I welcome those that share his love by taking care of those that are in need. And I welcome those that share the Hope of eternal life found in Jesus. I welcome those that are living out their faith and not just going to church on Sunday. It may be okay for outsiders to label us as Christian Right and Christian Left. However, inside the family of Christianity, shouldn't we just call one another brothers and sisters in Our Lord Jesus?

John <><

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Mind Your Own Business!

Tonight I'm wondering just how often a younger, more arrogant John managed to look like a real jerk by offering an opinion that was neither requested nor welcome on a subject that he knew little about.

 I see that happening fairly often--in the work place, at social gatherings, even church groups. It seems that some people always feel the need to appear to have some special insight about matters that don't concern them and they are completely ignorant about.

Is it just something about youth and immaturity that causes us to want to appear to be more knowledgeable than we are? It embarrasses me to think of times that a person must have been thinking, "What an ass!" as I was the one butting in on a conversation where I had no business being involved. 

It's not often that I appreciate the aging/maturing that I am experiencing, but I'm glad that I'm less embarrassed by ignorance and more willing to say that I don't know anything about something rather than talking out of my butt and just rambling on to hear my own voice. It seems that the less people know, the louder and more belligerent they are about their misguided opinions. 

I'm appalled at the lack of simple courtesy in our society today. I'd call it "common" courtesy, but unfortunately it's become an uncommon way of treating one another. Have we become so narcissistic that we completely disregard the impact that our words and actions have on others? Do we think that it is okay to be a jerk because that's just the way we are?

I wonder if I owe them their time to be the immature jerk that I once was; or should I save them some future embarrassment and gently tell them that they need to mind their own business? 

Maybe their maturing process is none of my business. In all likelihood, they're just repeating the behavior that has been modeled for them by our professional politicians and outrageous news media.

In any case, I'm becoming more curmudgeonly about bad manners and poor behavior. Some days I really want to call on "Ugly John" and set some people straight. Fortunately for everyone, "Ugly John" has been banished to a far away place.

The kind curmudgeon,

John <><

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What would happen if...?

A recent political conversation has me wondering...

Given the number of conservative GOP governors that were once very much against ObamaCare but now embrace it because of the money it brings to their states and their states' economies;

And given the number of times the Republican controlled House has voted to repeal it, knowing that it will never pass in the Democratic controlled Senate;

What would happen if just enough Democratic senators voted in favor of repeal that it would take every Republican senator's vote to pass?

Would it pass?

Or what if the Senate passed its own bill and sent it to the House? Would a Democrat proposal be able to pass in the House?

When it comes down to the monies for healthcare providers and the benefits for their citizens, it would appear that the once vocal opponents have seen the light. If it appeared that repeal actually had a chance of passing, would they now lobby their Congressional representatives to oppose a repeal?

Would the House quit playing games that appeal to a shrinking base?
Could we expect them to...I don't know...start governing?

Just wondering...

John
<><

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Accentuate the Positive

I hesitate to write the following words that condemn actions and attitudes that I have been guilty of in the past. As I have grown older, it would appear that I have accidentally matured to the point that I no longer want to be the negative, hateful, complaining person of the past. Oh, I still have my moments to be sure; I just no longer want to live that miserable life in general.

And I don't want to be around it, either.

How do you protect yourself from the negative people that worm their way into your life? Some of them are hard to avoid. Some may be your neighbors, co-workers, friends and even family. Avoiding their presence is not possible. Is avoiding the joy draining negativity possible? How do you deal with it/confront it/eliminate it from your day?

Does a positive attitude and disposition shine a little light into the gloom of their life or does the gloom eclipse the light?

My problem is that is so easy for me to get caught up in that negativity; to find fault in people, things, work, life. I have to work pretty hard at being a nice guy. The natural John is kind of a jerk. He's the kind of person that I try to avoid--and really don't want to be.

So...
How about a little bit of help from my readers? Tell me how you maintain your positive attitude in the presence of such people.

John <><

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Some will win, some will lose...

...some were born to sing the blues.

These lyrics from Journey's Don't Stop Believing are going to prove true for all of the government agencies and for all of the people that are affected by the sequester cuts.

After the week of delays that resulted from the FAA cuts that caused air traffic controllers to be furloughed, our Congress has instructed the Department of Transportation (DOT) to find the money someplace else. So here's the deal in a nut shell. The FAA cuts it programs back as far as it can and still needs to furlough ATC one day per pay period (original talks were one day per week). They've cut back training (for new hires in the system), placed a freeze on hiring (in spite of nearly half of the current controller workforce being eligible to retire), and scaled back on the upgrades to the National Airspace System (NAS).

The short term impact (delays) is felt immediately but isn't even the real danger in the "across the board" cuts of sequestration. The long term consequences will have a far greater impact. But to take care of the immediate pain, Congress has instructed the DOT to find the money (from other areas) to put the controllers back to work. One Congressman said that the bill is unnecessary because the DOT already had that authority. I say it's unnecessary because Congress has the authority and responsibility to fund the FAA.

And I wonder--where are they getting the money? Are other programs being gutted (think other transportation programs)? Are other employees being laid off?

This band-aid fix might address the immediate pain, but it really doesn't do anything to address the irresponsibility of "across the board" cuts and non-management of our nation's funds or to address the gradual replacement of an aging workforce. If a third of the eligible controllers retired, the impact would be far greater than the 10% furlough that we've been facing; but we're still in a hiring freeze and the Academy is still shut down for training.

Sure, I want to go back to work. But where is the outrage over the other programs that are being cut? Is Congress only going to address the cuts that create massive social and corporate outrage? And what of the bogus fix that tells the DOT to rob one of the other agencies to keep air traffic on the job? What can you do with a Congress that refuses to govern and with an electorate that keeps putting them back in office?

AARRRRRGGGGHHH!!!

That's it for today's rant.
(Ugly John is wanting out.)

John

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A Little Empathy, Please

I hesitate to write this post. I really don't want it to be taken the wrong way.
It is not meant to be a condemnation of others. I just want to share some of the hard lessons that I've had to learn myself in order to save somebody else some of the trouble. It's been said that experience is the best teacher, but we should try to learn from the mistakes of others because we really don't have enough time to make them all ourselves. I've made plenty of them; trust me.

I recently mentioned how some of our posts can drive away the very people that we should be trying to reach. Unfortunately, I keep seeing the same types of posts and they often come from pastors, preachers or other pretty solid Christians. I'm not without a sense of humor and I enjoy a joke as much as the next guy, but there isn't anything funny about people that are living without God.

In the recent past, I've seen the story of an atheist bringing a case to court for a holiday that atheists can celebrate. The judge rules that they already have a holiday and refers to the Bible saying that a fool says in his heart that there is no God. He rules that April Fool's Day is their holiday.
I've seen the same thing posted as a sign.

There was a time in the not too distant past that I would quip that God doesn't believe in atheists. The problem with that is that God does believe in atheists--and He loves them, sent His Son to die for them and has tasked us to tell them the Good News of salvation in Jesus.

The online Dictionary.com defines empathy as "the intellectual identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another."

It could be that you don't have any atheist friends. It could be that it's supposed to be humor for your Christian friends. For some reason I keep thinking of how the Republican party keeps saying that they want to reach out to minorities but politicians keep making insulting ethnic comments. One the one hand we (Christians) say that we are concerned about the eternal lives of unbelievers, but on the other hand we say things that will pretty much insure that we'll never be able to reach them.

If you're an atheist, you're a fool.
If you're gay, you're an abomination.
If you've had an abortion, you're a murderer.

Put a little hate and judgment (or laughter and a condescending tone) in your voice as you say those last sentences and tell me if you would listen to yourself if you were the person on the receiving end. Let's try to keep focused on the end game...reaching the lost with the Good News of salvation in Jesus. Let's try not to make it more difficult for ourselves or for others to talk to non-believers about God's love.

I figure that my own words and attitudes of the past have done enough damage to the reputation of Jesus and His kingdom. While I can't go back and un-say my harsh words, perhaps I can save somebody else the regrets that come with the realization that you may bear some of the responsibility of giving Jesus and Christianity a bad name.

John <><

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Thinking Ahead...

It's Good Friday.
It turned out to be another beautiful day in the Ozarks. Spring decided to make a brief appearance as the temps made into the 60s and the sun managed to break through the overcast clouds that had been forecast for the day.

I know that there are many Christians that are honoring the day by remembering the suffering and death that Our Savior endured in our place. And I know that Sunday will be a day of celebration. But in thinking ahead, I'm wondering what Monday will hold. Will it be back to life as usual? Will the majesty of the resurrection be gone until next year? How many opportunities to tell the marvelous story of God's love will we waste in the days that follow?

Will be like the followers of Jesus in that first week after the resurrection--hiding and afraid to let others know the truth that has been revealed to us? In the modern day Christian world, we don't have to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus' followers were told (by Jesus) to wait for the Spirit to come. In seven weeks, we will remember that day--Pentecost Sunday. In the weeks that followed Pentecost, the small band of 120 followers of Jesus grew to thousands of followers. I'm just wondering what could happen in our community if we prayerfully prepared for Pentecost Sunday (May 19) and expected the Holy Spirit to pour himself into our lives and our churches and our communities with a great movement of God.

I wonder if we would prepare ourselves to boldly proclaim the truth of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts, words and lives with the love to lead others to know Jesus as Lord and Savior. Can you imagine pastors preaching in the public squares of our lands and thousands of people coming to know Jesus? Can you imagine individuals, filled with the Holy Spirit telling friends and neighbors about what Jesus has done and believers being added to the church daily?

I'm wondering if the believers at Hopedale would be willing to pray with me for fifty days that the Holy Spirit would once again empower His people to greatly influence the world around us for the sake of the Cross.
I'm wondering if other followers of Jesus that read these words would join with me.
Would the Holy Spirit empower us once again?
Would we see people being added to the kingdom daily?

I know that we don't have to wait.
I know that the Holy Spirit lives in the lives of believers today.
But I also know that we have largely ignored the power of the Spirit in our lives and in our churches.

We need a fresh touch from God!

This will be my prayer plan for the seven weeks following Easter. Would anybody care to join me?

God loves you.
Jesus died for you.
And he died for your neighbors, too. Will you be the one to share the Good News with them?

John <><

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Rats! I'm becoming one of those people...

I'm afraid that my recent neglect of blogging has been in part due to my new toy -- a smart phone.

I have been skipping time with the laptop and getting online info from my phone. Unfortunately, posting to my blog from my phone is not a pleasant experience. I'm either going to have to go back to bringing my laptop to work for my breaks or just deciding to spend the time to sit down and write.

The good news is that I am still able to follow all of you other bloggers and keep up with your regular posts.

I am going to have to make the effort to not become a person that is so attached to the world through his phone that it becomes on of those gotta have at all times kind of things. So far it's not too bad. Recently, I found myself on an airplane and realized that I hadn't even downloaded any games that I could play without an internet link! Smart phones apparently work better for smart people!

I have corrected that oversight and downloaded a few other apps, as well. I have to say that one of my favorites is the YouVersion bible app. A few months ago, Pastor Terry mentioned that there really is no good reason for most of us to not be reading our bibles daily; that with smart phones and tablets, we can have our daily bible reading at any time. Pick your plan, pick your translation, read daily!

I (of course) have the social media apps a few games and several that were on the phone that I don't use.

What are your favorite apps? What apps would make my life easier? Which ones will make me smarter?
I know that I am greatly under-utilizing the technology that my phone offers--and I'm okay with that. I'm certain that I'll learn as I go and as others share their experiences and knowledge with me. Until then, I'm going to be cautious about over-using my phone and becoming dependent on AT&T for all of life's most recent updates.

John <><

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Random Thoughts...

There are several random thoughts that are rolling around in my otherwise empty head. I thought that if I would take a few moments to write them down in an unorganized fashion, maybe they would find an escape and leave me alone.

I'm laughing a little bit at the arrogance that we often have. Many years ago I was invited to an evangelism conference and then subsequently uninvited. At the time I suspected that it had something to do with the sometimes negative perception that "magic" has among Christianity's conservative core, although the reason that was given was that they had invited too many evangelists and had to cut back a few. Years later, I did find out that it was because of magic. That's okay. I've learned to accept that it is going to be a part of what I face as a Gospel Illusionist. I did get to go to that conference about six or seven years ago, but haven't been invited back since then.

Really, I'm good with it today. The only reason that it comes to mind is that I was at a church in the area of that conference last night and this is the weekend that it is being held this year. Perhaps the churches in that area are better served by the more traditional evangelists. We all have our places in the work of the King.

Many years ago, I was invited to a church for a children's program. I suspected that the church had a very fundamental core and so I asked the pastor if using playing cards would be a problem. He told me that it would be better if I didn't.

My initial reaction was -- Really? You've got to be kidding!
But as I thought about it, I realized that he was probably really sticking his neck out by having me come in the first place. I decided to honor his request and give him a great program, sans playing cards. I've been invited back to that church many times now--and the use of playing cards in no longer an issue. I've developed a relationship with them and they trust me to deliver a clear gospel message. Today they give me the freedom to share using whatever props or illusions I feel led to use.

Building relationships is often the key as we work to share the gospel. I recently saw a Facebook post that shared a picture with the words, "A woman that has an abortion isn't a victim; she's a murderer!"
I thought, "How sad."

Regardless of where you stand on the issue of abortion, this is not the way to build a trusting relationship so that we can share the love and forgiveness found in Jesus.

I immediately thought of Jesus when the adulteress was brought before him. The crowd wanted to stone her to death and pointed out that the Law called for her death. Jesus didn't condemn her; the Law already had--the people already had. He would have been "right" to say that since she had violated the Law and the penalty was to be stoned to death, they should stone her. But he didn't. He said that whoever had not violated the Law (whoever had not sinned) should throw the first stone.

I'm wondering if Jesus would have the same thing posted on His Facebook timeline. I don't doubt that Jesus would preach against sin. It's just that I remember all of the times that Jesus seemed to go out of his way to build relationships with sinners! There was the woman at the well in Samaria, the tax collector's home where he had dinner, the Pharisee's home and the encounter with the prostitute who washed his feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. There were great numbers of unclean lepers that he touched, blind that he gave sight, sick that he healed, hungry that he fed.

And what about you and me? What about our sin? Our uncleanliness? Jesus came a great way to build relationships with us. He left the glory and majesty of heaven to take on our flesh; ultimately to take on our sin and our punishment so that we could have eternal life in heaven. Isn't that the story that we need to be telling?

Last night I issued a challenge that I've issued many times before. I'm issuing it here, again.
Tell somebody--somebody that desperately needs to hear it: God loves you. Jesus died for you.

When I started writing this, I was going to cover a few more of the random thoughts in my head, but this rant has gone gone on long enough. Be kind to the masses that are struggling with life. Share the love of Jesus with them. Give them hope in a hopeless world.

And remember--
God loves you.
Jesus died for you.

John <><

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Politics: As Usual

Ugh!

Politics!

What ever happened to government? Has our entire legislature gone crazy? In fourteen days the sequestration deadline (that they imposed on themselves and then delayed until March 1) will go into effect. To make sure that the whole country knows just how serious they are about solving the budget problems we face, Congress is taking a ten day recess!

If they were grade schoolers that hadn't completed their work, the teacher would take their recess away and make them complete their work first. If they were responsible adults (instead of the entitlement minded brats that they always rail against) they would stay without being told that this needs to get handled before anybody takes a break.

The across the board cuts will affect everybody in varying ways. The following is from Politico's summary on its effect on transportation:

SECRETARY SOUNDS SEQUESTER SIREN: Senate Appropriations Democrats joined their House counterparts in raising a warning flag on the sequester’s aviation impacts, as the upper chamber committee posted a letter (http://1.usa.gov/Z0XszQ) from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood explaining the tangible impacts of the nearly $1 billion in automatic transport cuts the sequester would serve up. His chief worry is that thousands of air traffic controllers would face furloughs, causing a reduction in air traffic that threatens to have tangible effects on Americans’ everyday travels. “The result will be felt across the country, as the volume of travel must be decreased. Sequestration could slow air traffic levels in major cities, which will result in delays and disruptions across the country during the critical summer travel season,” LaHood wrote.

But don't worry, "safety will not be compromised."
The FAA isn't waiting to start waving that tired old flag.

I know and trust my fellow air traffic controllers to be doing what we do every day. But I also know that the industry will push the limits of balancing reduction in workforce and maintaining as much volume as possible to the limits.

I also expect each government agency to follow the irresponsible leadership of Congress by making "across the board" cuts. That is the simplest (not the safest or best) way to solve the less money problem. What that means is that we'll still have money in the budget for new office furniture (that we'll have to spend or lose) but won't be able to move it to the pot that pays controller salaries where it is really needed. Instead of looking for ways to cut waste, we'll just cut everything. Instead of prioritizing our spending needs, we'll treat everything as equal. We'll just follow the lead of our Congress.

Of course, following the lead of Congress might mean that when it's critical to be on the job, separating airplanes...

...it will be time for recess.

I can promise you, the Federal employees that provide safe service for the flying public have a far better work ethic than the legislators that represent them. We'll be on the job every day that they'll let us...

John <><

By the way, you can help. Go to this link, type in your zip code at the bottom and then follow the instructions. A letter will be generated and sent to your legislators urging them to deal with the issues and avoid sequestration.
Thanks.

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Old Blogging Habits and Other Old Habits

It is the end of the first week of February and it may appear that I have fallen into the old habit of irregular postings here at Out of My Hat.

And while that may be true, I am comfortable with not posting daily. I would prefer to post more often than once or twice per week but would rather be devoting writing time to other projects. I suppose that I'll work on sharing those as time goes on.

Last month, I posted about enjoying a good cigar and got a few comments on Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn. Nobody that commented seemed to have anything positive to say about the habit; some were comfortable in expressing their opposition to the habit and any neutral or positive comments have come from personal contacts and from other cigar smokers.

I understand that cigars are not for everybody. Currently, I smoke just one (if that) per day and am generally enjoying a nice walk while I'm at it. For those with health concerns, there is this from Wikipedia:

"...for those who don't inhale and smoke 1–2 cigars per day, the risk of dying from all causes is statistically insignificant when compared to non-smokers..."

I think the greatest impact from this minor indulgence will be the cost. Even when buying from a warehouse or through an auction site, a decent cigar will cost several dollars per cigar with some getting quite expensive. Since I don't appear to have any cigar smokers as readers, I'll probably not post reviews of the cigars I sample here. In fact, I will probably not write about cigars or cigar smoking again. The only reason that I am thinking about them today is because I just received notice that by previously back ordered shipment is on its way.

You enjoy your indulgences. I'll enjoy mine.

John <><

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Superbowl Sunday: Who Wins? and Does it Really Matter?

If you've followed Out of My Hat for very long, you already know that I'm not a big NFL fan. Back in the day (it was a Tuesday) I was a Viking fan. To give sports fans an idea of how long ago that was, names like Jim Marshall, Alan Page and Carl Eller were a few of the names on the roster. The Scrambler managed the offense and they still played in an outdoor stadium.

But back to the point--today I'm not a big fan and Sunday is the BIG day for football.

I know that the NFL season is a big deal to its millions of fans. I just don't understand how everybody can get so worked up over seeing your favorite team play a grand total of twenty games--if you're one of the lucky few; sixteen games for the majority of fans.

But that's also off point.

Does it really matter who wins?
And not just for football. You could ask the question about baseball's World Series.
In the grand scope of things, what does it matter?

I know that professional sports are major league industries and billions of dollars are at stake for those that are vested in the business. But for the average guy or gal that is watching from their Super Sunday gathering, isn't it just a momentary escape from the burdens of everyday life. So often, we have elevated these sports super heroes to the point of modern day gods that not only do we shower them with indecent amounts of money and attention, but we choose to look the other way for their bad behaviors and even their cheating through the use of illegal substances.

Oh we are quick enough to condemn them when the obvious meets with hard evidence, but we would rather give them the benefit of the doubt until then because we all know that it makes for better sport. Here's a great article for any sports fan that is tired of the accepted practice of cheating and the example that it teaches our kids.

Of course, there are also great stories in sports; so much so that some would have us believe that God really cares about who wins and might influence the outcome of the big game. (I guess they've forgotten about that Notre Dame game.)

Yes, we can look on as cyclist Lance Armstrong bears his disgrace on national TV (part 1 and part 2 if you really want to watch it) and we can join those that are piling on with the long list of lives he's ruined. We can excuse the people in charge of monitoring the sport as we do in other sport venues, but we all know that the game, the race, the sport is more about making obscene amounts of money than it is about competing fairly. Here is an audio clip of Daniel Tosh's take on pro athletes. There is probably more truth in it than we care to admit. And I should make this language warning. If you stop listening when he gets to the NBA part, you can avoid the unnecessary foul language.

In the end, I may or may not watch the big game Sunday. If you will be pulling for one of the teams, I wish you well and hope that your team wins. I'd rather watch the UFC 156 fights tonight.

John <><

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So Much in the News This Weekend--But Not Here

It's been a couple of days since I've had time to sit and read the blogs that I usually follow. Naturally, that also means that I haven't had (or at least taken) the time to post on my own.

It's been a big weekend for things in the news: Inauguration weekend, MLK Day, Sanctity of Life Sunday, Gun control protests on a day when 5 are injured from gun accidents at gun shows, the NHL opens its long delayed season, Baseball great Stan "The Man" Musial dies--so many things to write about. If you've done much reading of news articles or blogs over the past 48 hours, you've been reading about these things.

Personally, I'm more interested in writing that I had a great visit with my daughter this past weekend and am looking forward to visiting with my son and daughter in-law next weekend. The weekend visit with Hannah wasn't an exciting time or anything. It was a pleasant time to see her in her college environment. The campus was quiet. Due to the long weekend, many students went home. The visit was short but we managed to replace a headlight on her car, eat out a couple of times, visit the bookstore at the mall (and buy her a book, of course), catch a movie, go to church together on Sunday and even managed a stop at Starbucks. One more year and my baby will be out of college and on her own.

Wow! How did that happen?
My baby is a great young woman.

Next weekend I'll be in Chicago with Aaron and Jenny. I am really looking forward to going to the UFC fights with Aaron. I'll get to go to church with them at HTC and I always look forward to that, too. I'll stop and visit my folks on the way back home and am hoping and praying for good travelling weather.

I write about these things because life matters and life goes on.

I'm not saying that we shouldn't be concerned with political or social issues. I'm not saying that we shouldn't feel free to voice our opinions on gun rights, pro-life, pro-choice, gay rights, taxes, spending, or the state of our country.

I'm just saying that we all have lives to live in spite of what happens in Washington D. C.

In many ways the above discussions have divided us and pitted us against one another. But in spite of the things that tend to divide us, we are not so different. We want what's best for our kids--and our parents. We want opportunities for them. We want to live in a safe environment. We want to live with the freedoms that citizens of The United States are supposed to have.

I know that there are people that have to be more passionate about social, political, religious or environmental issues because they are directly impacted on a daily basis. I know that there are activists that stand for them that would say that I'm making light of those issues when I choose to ignore them in favor of writing about personal things because I'm tired of reading about, writing about the things that are dividing us.

I'm not ignoring them with the expectation that they will go away. I'm ignoring them here, today--to give you a break, to give myself a break. It is only for a moment, I know. But it is a break.

Pause.
Breathe deeply.
Whisper a prayer for a loved one.
Call a friend.
Smile.

I enjoyed the weekend without TV. I missed having my computer handy (remember, I don't have a smart phone) but could get used to less of it. I can see that I didn't miss anything important by not reading Facebook for a day.

Maybe I'll see you again tomorrow.
Maybe tomorrow will be your day to take a break.

For today, be well. Be kind. Be a blessing to somebody.

John <><

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Growing Old...er

I'm not old...right? Just older...right?
Whatever!
Rats! When did that happen?

Before the end of summer, I'm going to be the "Old man" of the facility. The new supervisor that has recently arrived at SGF was born the year I was a senior in high school. The one that arrived last year, after that!

I used to respond to people that addressed me as "Mr. Hill" with "I'm John. Mr. Hill is my dad."
Now I'm starting to realize that I AM Mr. Hill!

With the erratic hiring practices of the FAA, the controller workforce is nearly divided into two groups--one that is eligible to retire and one that averages five years or less experience with only a few that fall in between the two. Because I came into the controller work force at the age cut off, I am pretty far down the seniority list. I think they should give seniority points for age, too!

In any case, I am now older than the parents of most of the new kids coming into the controller work force!

Sacre bleu!

John <><

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