Summer: An Early Ending

I know that the end of July isn't really the end of summer, but this year it is at our house.

Today, my girl makes her way back to college for the fall semester. Training for her new on-campus job starts on Wednesday, followed by training for the people she'll be supervising and other campus student workers. Then come the new freshmen with their orientation and finally classes. It makes the summer seem pretty short.

She is looking forward to having an on campus apartment as a part of her work compensation and at least one of us is happy that she's moving back to campus already (it's not her mom or dad). With the completion of her online summer course, she is on schedule to graduate a semester early (Dec 2013).

We had a great time at the lake yesterday, spending our last full day with her boating, skiing, tubing and just having a fun. It really is hard to believe that summer (or at least her summer break) is over.

I'll be making the trip with her today to carry the overflow of "stuff" that won't fit into her car.

Life goes on...

John <><

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The Downside of Bible Study

If studying the Bible is meant to bring us closer to God, the downside is the realization of just how far away from Him we are to begin with.

As I begin to prepare materials to share with others about sharing our faith, the questions that comes to mind are: Why is this an issue? and Why aren't professing believers sharing their faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus?

I believe the reality is that we have failed to identify ourselves with Jesus. We say we are Christians but that has just become a word and doesn't really say much about who we are. Actually, it says more about what we are than about who we are. Maybe it's time for us to be more purposeful about becoming more like Jesus.

I was looking back over previous posts. There are several that give insights into the person of "John" and tell about who I am. Here are a few: Who Am I, Who Am I (again), Facebook and Random Things and Ten Honest Things About John. These post all were written within a few months. Maybe I was going through some kind of identity crisis or personal struggle. Maybe I was just having a difficult time finding something interesting to write about.

In any case, these posts make a point. Even though I do identify myself as a Christian, the posts are about me and not about Him -- Jesus.

As self-identified Christians, we have to ask ourselves if we are becoming more like Jesus or if we are content just being ourselves -- even if it's a better version of ourselves. Better versions of our old selves are not going to make great witnesses for Jesus. We may be more likely to make purposeful attempts at sharing our faith, but those attempts are going to be short-lived and mostly unsuccessful.

Why do we make sharing God's love so difficult? Why does it have to be practiced? Why do we need to have programs and classes and methods to tell people about our relationship with Jesus? Could it be that we don't really have a personal relationship with Him?

Could it be that we don't really ... LOVE ... Him?

Yes, I really did just ask that.
Check out these two statements by Jesus:

"If you love me, you will keep my commandments." Jn 14:15
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations..." Matt 28:20

Okay, so how are we doing? Are we even making disciples in our neighborhoods?

Could it be that we don't really ... LOVE ... Him?

Have you ever taken a class on how to tell people about your kids? Your spouse? Your friends? Your job? Your hobby? Your favorite restaurant? You get it, right?

We easily and quickly share the things that we like and love with people around us. There are no classes on Sharing Your Favorite Restaurant or Showing Pictures of Your Kids, yet we do these things on a daily basis.
Maybe we just LOVE ourselves and our things more than we love Jesus.

Could it be that we don't really ... LOVE ... Him?

John the Baptist was confronted by his followers about Jesus and his followers teaching and baptizing. John's response was, "He must increase, but I must decrease." Jn 3:30

Paul also wrote that we should be becoming more like Jesus. To the Corinthians he wrote, "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." 2Cor 3:18

If He is not increasing as we decrease; if we are not become more like Him (even a little at a time), well...

Could it be that we don't really ... LOVE ... Him?

Could that be the real reason that we need to have classes on how to share our faith?

I believe that I am called to equip believers to grow in Jesus (Eph 4:11-12), but I also believe that perhaps, our first order of business is to examine our personal relationship with Jesus.

Could it be that we don't really ... LOVE ... Him?

I think it's time for this preacherboy to fade and let real Preacher take control.

John <><

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Boycott

There are a lot of boycott lists out there. I was going to list companies that are currently being boycotted by somebody, but found that there are really just too many.

Some are being boycotted because of their conservative stance on social issues, while others are being boycotted because of their liberal contributions to organizations that have a liberal stance on the same issues. Some are pro-labor. Some are anti-labor. Some organizations are boycotted, some countries are boycotted.

As a fan of etymology (study of word origins), I feel compelled to share the origin of the word boycott. As with many of our words, boycott comes from a name; Captain Charles Boycott. Wikipedia provides a great background which you can read here.

So I'm curious. What companies/brands/products/organizations do you boycott because of a political or social reason? And what companies to you go out of your way to support?

I'm really not wanting any hateful, hurtful or disparaging remarks about somebody else's lists and reasons, but feel free to share your own.

Maybe you're one of those that looks for a good product at a good price and don't really care what the company does with the profits that you've helped them earn. You can just leave that comment, too.

John <><

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Blogoversary!

For those of you (all two of you) that have been reading Out of My Hat since the beginning, today is the six year blogoversary of publishing at Out of My Hat! Happy Blogoversary!

I was recently scanning past posts and have noticed that the more controversial posts receive far more hits (and a few more comments) than other posts. Religious posts get a fair amount of hits and few comments. I haven't done any "Favorite bible stories," "funny stuff"  or "What I like about..." posts lately (and probably need to).

I know that the demographics of readership has changed over the (few) years as Out of My Hat has found its own personality. I seem to have more younger readers than in the beginning but am still grateful for my favorite curmudgeons that continue to visit and offer their view points from a perspective that other readers have not yet attained.

This is my 19th post this month, making it the second most posts in a single month. I have enjoyed writing more often and will try to keep that up in the coming months.

For today, I'm going to take the lazy man's way out and just say--Thanks for reading. Thanks for your comments. Feel free to stop by and visit anytime.

John <><

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Chick-fil-A

Okay, I'm weighing in on this one...
But only because I really don't understand what all of the fuss is about.

At the risk of offending my more liberal friends, I have to wonder, "What were you thinking?"
Did this information of how the corporate leadership feels about "the sanctity of marriage" issue catch you by surprise?
Why the sudden outrage?

If you are unfamiliar with the hubabub, Here's an article about the interview that was picked up by CNN and thus began the outrage. If you don't want to read the whole article, here's the part (at the very end) that is at issue:

Some have opposed the company's support of the traditional family. "Well, guilty as charged," said Cathy when asked about the company's position.

"We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.

"We operate as a family business ... our restaurants are typically led by families; some are single. We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that," Cathy emphasized.

"We intend to stay the course," he said. "We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles."

Crazy, huh?
A business that runs on Christian principles has a biblical view of the family unit.
Seriously, does that surprise anybody?

So if you don't want to support their business or you have a problem with that...what do you call it?...oh yeah...Constitutional Right of religious freedom, then don't go there. No biggie. We all chose which businesses we patronize and we all have different ideas of what makes a business a good business. I don't think that Chick-fil-A has been hateful towards any group of people.

For the record, I'm not a big Chick-fil-A fan. I'm more of a burger fan when it comes to fast food. I do like their "ice dream cone," but don't ever think Chick-fil-A when I'm thinking of a place to go to eat. On the other hand, I may stop by on Chick-fil-A Day.

Protest by boycott if you like; it's your right. Support with your business if you like; it's your right. Believe in the biblical definition of family...or not; it's your right. Just remember, it's as much my right to do the opposite.

The most silly reaction that I've read regarding the issue is the reaction of the Mayor of Boston. With only two stores in Massachusetts and no stores in Boston, this appears to be some political grandstanding that can only have negative effects. He's not going to offend those that already support him and he's not going to gain any moderate conservatives by taking the stance. He's also not hurting Chick-fil-A (although I doubt that he ever thought that he might be). Apparently he's just getting more headline time.

Okay. That's my rant for today.

John <><

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A Post About Nothing

Sitting here this morning with several ideas to write about but wondering if any of them is really blog worthy.

Somewhere in the past, I remember advice from a writer's meeting -- Write. Just write. So this morning's post may not be worth your time, just an exercise in rambling.

We spent yesterday on the lake with friends. Hannah was struggling to learn to water ski. I remember the first time I attempted to water ski. The water beat me up badly. Hannah finally got up on her skis for a couple of short lived rides. She'll be sore today from the exertion and a couple of falls. She also had some fun tubing. As for me, it's been too many years since I've been on skis and I really don't feel like I'm up to it now.

Maybe I'm just being overly cautious, but this is the first summer in a couple of years that I've not had swollen knees or problems with them and I just feel like a few moments of thrilling ride is not worth the potential for weeks of regret. Today, I'm happy to watch others ski while enjoying the boat ride and applauding their work and wipeouts. I don't know if that means I'm getting older or smarter; it's just where I am these days.

All-in-all, we had a great day. Next weekend will be our last before Hannah heads back to school for some pre-semester training and orientation of the incoming freshman. The summer has really flown by. It continues to be hot and dry in the midwest and looks like that will continue for some time.

John <><

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Man Cave

I'm planning on spending the day in the basement. It's time to really get to work on putting the "Man Cave" in order. Some time ago, I started to convert Aaron's old room into my room but I haven't really put any consistent effort into finishing it.

It's time.

Putting the "cave" into order also means getting the rest of the basement in order since some things will be in the main area of the basement instead of the "man" area of the basement--a kind of man cave overflow. For example, the man cave will primarily be a place for my magic stuff and to practice magic. The TV will be in the main room of the basement along with most of the exercise equipment.

I'll still be able to watch the ball game in quiet comfort and the TV will be available for Chris to use for exercise videos. The main room will also be home to the futon and thereby the "guest room" for anybody that happens to stay with us for a few days.

Time to get to work...

John <><

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