Rest, Quiet, Confidence & Money
A “Good Sunday” to you all. Sunny and mid-60’s here in Socal (Southern California) and God is Good.
Today the church talked about money. For those of you who are not believers, that should catch your attention. Another reason that you are right not to believe, but if you thought so, your right would be wrong.
And to those of you who believe, but are not regular church goers, “Aha you say” knowing that your decision not to be committed is validated by the money terms. Again I would say, that your non-committal would be wrong based on the term money.
Pastor Dan Kelm at Salem Lutheran Church (http://www.reckless4christ.com )in Orange, CA titled his message “The Sermon on the Amount”. He used Matthew 19:16-26 as the scripture basis for the teaching. The Word tells the story of the rich young man that believes he is keeping all the commandments and wants to know what more he can do to be saved. Our Lord Jesus says sell all, give to the poor and follow Him. The young man goes away with a heavy heart. He missed it.
Nothing we can do is ever enough to save us. Just like money, there is never enough. The point our Lord was making was that the only way to salvation is in Him. Not in anything in this world, of this world or whatever you can do.
So why the money? I have always believed that if Christ does not have your wallet, He does not have you.
That is true in other things as well. One good example is: If you have a separate bank account from your spouse, your spouse does not have you either. Two joined together are one!
Nothing is so dear to a person as their wallet and the money it holds. If you can give that up, you can really do wonders in this world.
As well, the tithe is a form of worship as well as response to a command from God. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse…..(Malachi 3:10) the tithe is a 10th of the fruits of your labor. But you need to understand which 10th. It is the FIRST 10th and that is very important.
“And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's. It is holy to the Lord.” (Leviticus 27:30) “Honor the Lord with your substance, with the first fruits of your increase” (Proverbs 3:9).
Give it up and He will always take care of you. I have twenty five years of proof that no matter what has happened, we have had what we needed. Don’t take my word, test it and see if its true.
Now, I titled this post with Rest, Quiet and Confidence and now you can have the rest from the money talk.
Isaiah 30:15 says, “…in returning and rest you will be saved, and in quietness and confidence will be your strength.”
Trust Him with your wallet, and you will rest and be confident.
LivingTheDream
Lookout Mountain (A Bit Mushy)
Have any of you been to Lookout Mountain in Golden, Colorado on a cold, clear winter's night? What a sight! You can almost see God there.... and you can surely feel Him.
My wife just called me from there as I sit here in southern California telling me about the night sky and how big and clear it is. You can see the Denver Airport nearly 40 miles away from there.
But that is not what inspired me to write this post.
Remembering the nights we used to sit there and just talk to each other. We would pray together. And sometimes share a good Cohiba or Romeo cigar together.
Lookout Mountain was about 15 minutes from our home in Arvada as was a place we went often. All except the 4th of July when the police would block off the road to minimize congestion there with all the fireworks.
We had another mountain not far from there where we would go on the 4th. You could see fireworks from a dozen communities all at once from up there.
Are times alone there were the best though. Good Times. Before I got sick. Before we moved out here to a nice place but with a sky that carries the smog and never is as big, or blue or clear as that in the Rockies.
A place where we grew our relationship with each other and the Almighty. Where we spoke of our needs, our dreams, our desire for others needs with each other and then prayed believing in the blessing that would shower down from above.
If you haven't guessed it, I am a bit emotional about this as she is there and I am here. After nearly 26 years we are still in love.
How you may ask?
Because Jesus Christ loved us first and taught us forgiveness. Without that we could not make it.
I pray you know that love also, and that forgiveness also.
If not, let me know, or let someone know who does know. The change you make is for eternity, not for this finite life, but for the infinite one.
LivingTheDream
Dreams, What Are You Doing? What Have You Done?
Dreams. Do you have dreams? Not the ones that you have during the night while asleep, but dreams about your life. What is it that you want? What do you want to do? Call them goals, objectives or just dreams. Do you have a list of things you have always wanted to do? If not, you should.
How will you know if you are doing or have done something that is rare, special, valuable, just so out of the ordinary that you may only get one chance in life to do it? If you have had such a list, can you tick off the things that you dreamed of that came true? Actions, activities, places, experiences that have taken place?
What are they, this list of things (for you younger people) and these completed things for those who have been around the block a few times. And if you have done many of the things on your list, what has replaced them? What are your new dreams? Whether you are 15, or 50, or 75 you need to have your list of at least 5 things you want to do.
Without dreams, we are without direction. We don’t know what we want and would not know if an opportunity presented itself, that there was an opportunity. So, what is your list? I am realizing that I have not renewed my list as well as I should have.
After cancer and new physical challenges left over from that illness, I have only now begun to accept that the Good Lord has kept me alive here for a reason and I need to have dreams back on my list.
Just to give you a flavor I will go over some of the things that were on my list, some I have fulfilled and some not.
Number 1 on my list has always been to launch off an aircraft carrier in a fighter jet. I have never done that, don’t think I will be able to at this point, but it is still on my list.
Number two was to spend time in Asia which I always saw as exotic and different and somehow drew my curiosity. This I have done. I have lived in Asia two years. I have been in Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, The Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan and from Changchun to Beijing to Tianjin to Shanghai and several other places in China.
Number three was to participate in military service. I gave four years to Uncle Sam in the US Cavalry. Being in Jimmy Carter’s army was not very smart, but learning from Pop Baumgartner, SFC Buck and many others is an experience that I would not trade for anything. Its not for everyone, but it was good for me.
Number Four was to fly. I have flown in every major commercial airliner that has been built. I spent eight months flying in helicopters, Kiowa’s, Huey's and Cobras.
Number Five was to drive all kinds of mechanical powered vehicles. I have driven jeeps to tanks to 18 wheelers to motorcycles. Add army trucks, tracked personnel carriers, helicopters and a few boats to caterpillar bulldozers and backhoes and I think I have run the gamut I was thinking of.
Number Six was to hunt Elk in the Rockies, wild turkey anywhere I could, and a Dall Ram in Alaska. I have successfully completed the first two, and do not think that I will ever get the chance to finish the third, but its still on the list.
Number Seven was to see a Space Shuttle launch. This one was special as I got invited to watch the launch of STS 77 which was flown by a man I could call my friend, John Casper.
Number Eight was to visit Alaska which my wife and I did in the summer of 2004 and really enjoyed it.
Number Nine was to finish my bachelors degree which I did when I was 39 at the University of Houston at Clear Lake.
Number Ten was to own a Hot Rod, which my wife bought me for our 25th wedding anniversary. It’s a silver CTS-V. Not your traditional hot rod, but for those of you who know this car you will know what I mean. Its hot rod enough for this American guy.
Now, those were and some still are my dreams. What are yours? What are the things you dreamed of but never thought you would actually do, but you have done?
Next post will cover my current list and why..
LivingtheDream.
Inaugural Benediction
Though I am used to hearing prayers and praying, the benediction at President Bush's inauguration was especially meaningful. Pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell of the Windsor Village United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas offered the prayer and he reached out to all of us if we chose to hear.
As Martin Luther King said in his letter to Clergy in 1963 (see my post from January 17 ) Pastor Caldwell started in the right place by declaring that all freedom and faith begin with God. Protection, peace and prosperity come from Him.
The attitude of thanksgiving, the blessing of those placed over us and the recognition of the true source of power was refreshing and uplifting. We can all take hope that "each American's latter days will be better than their former days".
Our need to get past ourselves and through the evil of our day to truly be one nation under God, indivisible, leaving out none of the 'least, the last and the lost". With clean hearts and agendas we each can make this country better and accomplish it all, "Respecting persons of all faiths...humbly submit this prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."
If you have not seen the exact transcript see (www.sbcbaptistpress.org/bpnews.asp?ID=19954 )
What a way to start a new year and a new term.
LivingtheDream
Martin Luther King Day 2005
Since the inception of this holiday I have never worked for a company that recognized this day as a holiday. Each January 17th I have spent some time, like I have today looking deeper into this man, this thoughts, his actions and his legacy.
Like many people who do not admit it at first, I was skeptical about the value of elevating this man, but each year I grow past my initial ignorance and draw closer to him and what he stood for. These yearly visits with Dr. King have convinced me of not only his value, but his rightful place among the founders, patriots, statesmen and leaders of this great Country.
This day should be a day to reflect not only who he was and what he stood for, but should also be the day to elevate those who are today making this country into more of what it was always intended to be, the land where all men are created equal.
Real growth and development take effort and real justice and freedom take sacrifice. If you don’t think so, then go read Dr. King’s letter to Clergymen written 41 years and 8 months ago yesterday from jail in Birmingham, Alabama. http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/frequentdocs/birmingham.pdf
He speaks of freedom, honor, nonviolence, tension, keeping promises, injustice, action, and consequences. Not just speaks mind you, but describes how it has been delivered and is being lived out. He lived presenting their very bodies for the cause of justice and right just as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did with Nebuchadnezzar in the Book of Daniel in the Bible.
Dr. King uses the analogy of sin separating us from God no different than the sin that separates us one from another and he is right. I don’t hear those who consider themselves the voice of the African-American community speaking with those terms. However there is a new voice rising from the African-American community that does speak in those terms. The words of faith, of responsibility and of ‘color-blind’ brotherhood.
The struggle Dr. King speaks of still is not complete and this writing is not making that assumption, but the wisdom that is so skillfully penned in the letter needs to be applied across a much broader spectrum here in 2005.
Dr. King’s letter I believe is an ‘important read’ for every Christian, especially Christian pastors and leaders. Not just as a rebuke of complacency about racism as Dr. King meant it in his day, but as a rebuke of complacency about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the need for action in communities to get the Gospel out to those people so that the “brotherhood” Dr. King spoke of can be realized.
This letter also needs to be read by all those who oppose the war in Iraq and President Bush’s fervent drive to see freedom spread over the world. Dr. King says that “freedom is never voluntarily given” and he is right.
The political left who want to call Iraq a new Vietnam need to come back to Martin Luther King, Jr. and absorb his words of freedom and that “the time is always ripe to do right” and that “progress never rolls on the wheels of inevitability, it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co-workers with God…”
“Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever… The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself…” and in Iraq those who are readying to vote and those who are training to defend the voters like Dr. King in Birmingham have put their very bodies at risk for the just cause of democracy.
Today the news media should be filled with special stories of how people are reaching up and becoming home owners, how in the midst of challenges people are doing the work of education, entrepreneurship, justice and freedom.
Unfortunately the stories will be filled with the whiners who complain about what isn’t and want to wait to get what they think is to be given them. The Mainstream Media cover these and others who in the true measure of time have demonstrated that they are not in it for the people, but for the money.
"There is [a] class of [black] people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the
wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Some of these people
do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their
jobs." Booker T. Washington
To see alternatives in leadership in the African-American Community see Project 21, The National Leadership Network of Black Conservatives, where entrepreneurial drive, family values and individual responsibility are the leadership qualities and would submit that these leaders, who you don’t hear of every day in the mainstream media are the leaders that Dr. King would identify with in his Birmingham letter. (http://www.nationalcenter.org/P21Index.html )
Look at the abuse that Bill Cosby has received recently for his comments on education, responsibility and positive actions if you want to see that Booker T. Washington’s statement is still true. Drill down in Project21 site to “Bill Cosby, You Say the Darndest Things”, by Kevin Martin and Tom Florip in the “papers”
( http://www.nationalcenter.org/P21NVMartinCosby604.html ) section of the site to get more detail on Cosby and other African-American comedians who are taking on leadership issues even in their entertainment.
In closing, for those of you who have not really grasped the meaning of this holiday, and to those of you who have, I strongly recommend you pull up the link and read the Birmingham letter. One of these days, this holiday will be recognized by all.
And as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stated, “I have no fear about the outcome of our struggle…we will reach our goal of freedom… because the goal of America is freedom.
LivingTheDream
Blakely, Booker, Fanfan Follow Up
Rather than post the whole decision I have summarized from the Booker/Fanfan ruling. In a nutshell it says two things, deviations from the sentencing rules is a violation of the sixth amendment. Secondly because the sentencing rules were mandatory they violated a fundamental of the judicial system by taking sentencing power away from the judge and giving it to the prosecutor which was not and should not have been an intention of Congress when the rules were established.
The government was smart when they chose the two cases. Booker of course was a case where his sentence was enhanced significantly, above the statutory maximum, but Fanfan was sentenced for less than the rules required. Both were found illegal and remanded back to the district courts for resentencing. Booker will get his sentence reduced but it is very likely that Fanfan will get his increased!
The remedy for the two problems (violation of the Sixth Amendment and the subversion of the traditional judicial system of bench holding the decision authority) was set out in two parts. The court set out that it was Congress’ intent to allow mitigating information to be presented to the court for the judge to make the sentencing decision and to somewhat standardize sentences.. It also said that it was not Congress’ intend to violate the Sixth Amendment. In order to remedy the two problems the court changed the ‘RULES’ to ‘GUIDELINES’. Thus the judge should seriously take into consideration the guidelines but cannot be held to them as requirements. So the pre-sentencing report will still take place but if the judge uses that information to increase the sentence, it will be increased on the charge that was convicted or plead to, not seen as additions that should or could have been interpreted as additional charges for which the person has not been convicted or plead to.
For the whole ruling go to www.supremecourtus.gov and look under recent rulings for Booker.
LivingTheDream
Sorry, but Priorities Do Happen
Apologies for the gap in postings but several things are going on at once just now. I am taking time to read "Blog" Hugh Hewitts book on the information revolution and the Supreme Court has ruled on Booker and Fanfan (see the post of Jan 8) and reading the decision and working through the implications takes some time.
As well, we went over to our neighbors house for our small group Bible study which was on the Holy Spirit. The more understanding of the Spirit we can all get will be of great benefit.
Just remember, anything you dont know... check Jeremiah 33:3 Call unto me and I will answer thee and show you great and mighty things which you know not.
So thanks for some slack, I will be back in the swing of things and posting normally soon.
LivingTheDream
Nuggets, In, But Not Of
As promised, here are some nuggets of wisdom from Hugh Hewitts book, "In, But Not Of" (visit www.hughhewitt.com) . As it is my tradition to do, I glean what I believe to be items of insight, knowledge, good judgement or just common sense and list them out in bullet points either in direct quotes or paraphrases. It has taken a couple of days to accumulate them all as it is a second reading of the book to do so. (My mind always needs repetition to get things in and to stick.)
So here are some of the bullets, but if I were you, I would get the book as the value it brings cannot be displayed in a set of bullet points:
In, But Not Of
•Genuine conversion cannot be accomplished by force, and all of recorded human history attests to that.
•Christian ambition-the desire to help shape the world in large ways and to do so in conformance with Christ’s teaching.
•Success is a function of disciplined effort.
•We joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit immortals. Each soul is immortal and changing the trajectory of a soul’s path is a matter if infinite consequences.
•Influence is not a gift, it is earned.
•Influence must be acquired.
•Never take yourself out of the running for a credential.
•Knowledge of the trials and struggles is necessary to all who would comprehend the problems, perils, challenges, and opportunities which confront us today. (Winston Churchill)
•Leadership is a package of skills and disciplines one of which is intellectual curiosity.
•Serious people do not seek attention except for serious purposes.
•This era demands credibility and credentials.
•There is rarely (if ever) and upside to anger in the workplace.
•Basement colonels do not get noticed.
•Build a network of influence, and work to maintain it.
•Pride stalks successful people (the deadliest sin).
•When you begin to think you are the ‘key’ to, most important to, indispensable to an organization be careful as you are about to be shown the door.
•Consider the virtue of humility (keep a can of instant humble around where you can spray it on yourself as needed)
•There is no upside in bitterness. (“If one has to submit it is wasteful not to do so with the best grace possible” Winston Churchill)
•If you believe in the infinite trajectory of souls, the knockdown in this life that produces humility is the best thing that can happen to you.
LivingTheDream
In, But Not Of
Three days ago I received my shipment from Amazon that contained a book by Hugh Hewitt called "In, But Not Of". The three days since have been immersed in the book as time was available and it is finished today. First let me say that the premise of the book, the need for Christians to seek positions of influence in this world is one not often spoken of but sorely needed in my opinion.
Second, I wish someone had given me a copy of this book when I was between 18-25 which would have been over 25 years ago. Though not written at that time, the value of what I have learned is up near the top of what my most respected mentor's have given me over the years.
Third, this is a must read for my three children of 22, 20 and 18. I am buying three more copies (as my copy has enough nuggets in it that I need to keep that one available for me to continue to review and use it). In fact, if I can pull it off, I intend to buy a copy for every graduating senior in my youngest son's class at Orange Lutheran High School. Though many may not even crack the cover open, if one or two read and heed, their lives will get a jump start to the Christian leadership path that we need new generation leaders on.
Not since I read "The Pursuit of God" by A.W. Tozer or "The Memoirs of the Second World War" by Winston Churchill have I been as moved by the content, recognized the genious of the thinking or just plain enjoyed what was being said. The single most moving thought is the understanding that all people are immortal souls and that impacting any one of them has infinite consequences.
In my life I am only beginning to really understand the infinity of something as finite as I am and as we are. Having gone through some medical challenges and currently living with several equipment appendages from those medical issues (like breathing through a trache) the frailty of our bodies has been clearly understood and though known and said and believed for many years the eternity of our spirits is only now really sinking in. And by sinking in I mean grasping the meaning of infinite and eternal and forever. Its been in my head, but only now becoming real in my heart and this book has helped support that in a clear, concise and simple way. Did I say simple? Hugh Hewitt is clearly an intellectual, but has reached out in humility with what I like to call a Simple Elegance.... and made the point.
For many of us our fathers, the people of influence in our lives combined have not said as much with wisdom as this book has spoken and that is why it is a must read for anyone who is a believer and believes that God has a purpose for their life. Even for those who don't believe, this might bring you to the point where you can have some hope for this life and the life beyond.
In the next few days I will post the nuggets I have gleaned from the book in bullet format which is something I do with all I read and regard enough to want to remember and hopefully apply to my life.
I dont know Hugh Hewitt personally, but someday I hope to meet him. He lives in the same county I do in Southern California. Don't know where, and I don't know how, but someday I will meet this man and know that he is a leader of integrity, faith and intellect. Any time spent with a person like this is a time of value and a time of learning. You only get a few of these so if I get the chance I will jump on it.
Anyway, enough rambling for one post, except that I have to be thankful for this evening my son slid off the road in the rains of California and the car stopped on the edge of an embankment. The car is finished but my son is not hurt. Another 15 feet and only the Good Lord knows how many times it would have rolled over and over.
LivingTheDream
Blakely, Booker, Fanfan
I am a bit out of my normal relm here, but this one is critical so I need to get it out.
With all the other things that are loading our attention time these days, from the tragedy in Asia to Iraq, to Barbara Boxer's off the planet election invalidation nonsense there is another item of infrastructure that a few know well, but many know nothing of.
If you believe in the Law, and Justice (and I do) then you need to know that in the next month there may be a complete melt down of the federal courts system which will bring a certain amount of chaos in this country.
In June of 2004 there was a case in the Supreme Court called Blakely vs Washington (the state of) in which the Court said that the sentencing was unconstitutional. Now hold your horses here, not all sentencing but a specific kind. When someone either is convicted of or pleads guilty to a charge then there are guidlines for sentencing on that charge.
What happened in Blakely (and happens throughout the Federal system) is that the prosecutors do a pre-sentencing investigation and find other things, like drugs were found with the accused, or that they resisted arrest, or other items that make the situation worse and then recommend that the judge take that into consideration when sentencing. That consideration is to add time because the accused did more bad stuff so to speak. These other items are called enhancements in the federal system. So most judges have been adding extra sentencing time because of these enhancements.
The Supreme Court said these 'enhancements' are unconstitutional because the addional 'bad stuff' has to be validated, meaning that a jury must convict of those additional charges or the accused has to plead guilty to those charges before they can be used as a basis for sentencing. In other words, if an accused pleads guilty to bank robbery, then the sentencing can only be for the bank robbery. Not for and extra large amount of money, or someone was roughed up or there were drugs involved or they carried a weapon. Unless of course the accused is convicted of those additional things or pleads guilty to those additional things on top of the bank robbery.
Now the chaos, Blakely vs Washington involved a state's sentencing guidelines. Two cases are now in the Supreme Court (Booker and Fanfan) which are to be decided in first month or two of 2005 to see if the same decision will apply to the federal courts sentencing system. It is expected that the Court will apply the Blakely rationale to Booker and Fanfan. (For those of you who like to research check Apprendi v New Jersey as well).
If that decision is made as expected it is estimated by several legal blogs that as many as 600,000 cases may be effected. Up to 62,000 sentences are given out annually in the federal system and the guidlines with enhancements has been used since 1987. So do the numbers. This decision could back up the federal courts for years. As many as 100,000 current inmates of the federal system have ALREADY filed for there sentences to be reviewed even before the decision is taken just on the basis of Blakely.
This may be nothing to the average person, but if the federal court system gets flooded by this situation new cases will languish or inmates that should be or should not be released may or may not be. Just the individual review of as many as a half a million sentences is such a monumental task that it is incomprehensible on an individual basis.
The Congress and the Executive branches must work with the Federal Judiciary and come up with some sort of solution process, or law and justice in the federal system of this country may come to a halt.
livingthedream.
Relevance and Overload
Today as the work was continuing it became clear that information overload was creeping in. There is always so much to see and learn. There is always so much information to be absorbed to make decisions, to offer solutions and just to know.
The hard part of all that information is determining what is relevant. You can be diverted from the focus you started with and need to complete so easily. Not just from email and the internet, but from those who drop by the cubicle or office or when you drop by someone else's. Focus.
What is relevant to what you need to do today? That is why I live with a list. I am still learning how to best take advantage of the task list in Outlook. Its also why I have been keeping telephone logs and meeting notes by day for over ten years now. My feeble brain cannot keep up with all the information. In fact, I dont want to keep up with all of it.
I did a study of emails once in a company and fully 1/3 of them had nothing to do with the person's job who got them. The second third was nice to have information but did not really affect the outcome of their work and the last third was relevant and were needed to accomplish the tasks at hand. That probably holds true to you as well, and this is NOT considering spam in your email inbox!
Just work with what you need for today. Leave the rest out, or throw it away. Tomorrow will get here soon enough with a new load of information needed to do your work and lots of junk that may divert you.
Sometimes those diversions seem like fun, but as the day winds down, you end up stressed out because you are behind on what today required.
Set your list, know whats relevant to accomplish that list and keep focused. The day will fly by and you will be happy with what you have accomplished.
LivingTheDream
Well, Learn Another Lesson
A prior post was about Texas Tech and what they did to Cal, and I was as sure that Oklahoma would do the same to Souther Cal. But, alas, I was wrong and I have to admit that Southern California can play with the best. I was not sure that Pac 10 could stand with SEC or Big 12, but tonight I have been shown 'the light'.
Well, I will crawl back into the weeds now .... and continue to live the dream.
