20100130.004 OPEN MOUTH, INSERT FOOT!

OPEN MOUTH, INSERT FOOT!

Well, I was looking back over this week and realized that I hadn’t published a blog. OOPS! Yes, it is true that I could have simply let it slide and waited until next week. And I said that I would “TRY” to publish one ever week. At any rate, the fact remains that I wanted to correct what I hadn’t done. And I remembered, shortly after the decision to write this, what I wanted to write about. Some of you, my friends, may read the title and think I am talking about myself. And, in a certain way, I am. But I want to point out someone else, who I feel pity for what he has said over the past couple of weeks.

It all began with the earthquake in Haiti. With the various organizations and groups seeking to send food, clothing, medical aid, and help of every kind, one man opened his mouth and stuck his foot in it, BIG TIME! A certain television evangelist who doesn’t warrant being mentioned by name and his quote, “. . . something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and the people might not want to talk about it. They were under the heal of the French, uh, Napoleon the third or whatever, and they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, ‘we will serve you, if you’ll get us free from the French.’ . . .” The implication that this television evangelist was making is that the earthquake is a result of this supposed pact with the devil. Of course, he has made other claims in the past, as well. He has said that the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 were a direct result because the USA allows gays, and lesbians to live. He also said that the Devastation in New Orleans because of Hurricane Katrina, is because of all the abortions that the USA has allowed. Apparently this guy seems to think that all of the evils and problems happening in the world today are a direct result of some supposed sin that humanity has committed against God and so God chooses to punish us.

So, why bring any of this up? Yes, it is true that many news casters as well as many people on YOUTUBE have condemned such words. In fact, those Television Evangelist who show God’s love in their acts and words have claimed that this particular person really doesn’t know what he is talking about. But, the frustration that I see, is that people actually believe what he has to say. People buy into what he talks about and actually think that he must know what he is talking about because, after all, he is a minister. Here is a man who makes various claims with out substantiation and yet, people buy into it hook line and sinker. And I have to ask the question, “Why?” “Why would someone even begin to believe what this man has to say?” And the answer is, because they want to. They have itching ears (as the Bible puts it) and are willing to believe what they want to believe.

One of my Congregational members has mentioned that when she visits a cousin of hers and attends worship, the pastor tells the congregation all sorts of tales. The one that she mentions often and laughs at is when he said that the poem/song “Mary had a little lamb” was code used by the early Christians. Again, here is another example of people saying whatever they want to simply because they think it SHOULD be that way. And this leads me to all of those numerous emails that I have seen that make various claims concerning our current president, or some other urban legend. People buy into it, because they WANT to believe it. This is where my pity comes in. I have pity for the man mentioned above as well as all those who make false claims because they are so desperate to push their point of view that they lie about what is actual truth. I have pity for those people who are more willing to believe anything than they are searching for the truth and accepting it when they find it. I have pity for myself because I am sure that there have been times when I have said something that I thought was true, when in actuality, it was the furthers thing from truth. I guess the fact remains that we all must have a tongue with shoe imprints on it, because we all have said something or done something that is so false, and yet we espouse it as truth.

So, what can be done about such people? The only thing I can think of is to ask the right questions. We need to ask, “Where did you get your information from?” “How credible is this source?” “Is this something that I am willing to stake my life on?” “Is this something I am willing to hold up at truth no matter what others will say to my face?” I hope that when I die, people will say the following three words about me, “David was a man who had integrity, authenticity, and love for all people and all creation.” And I hope that you all, as my friends, will keep me to those three goals! Blessings always - DL

(20100120.003) SOME LITTLE BUG . . .

SOME LITTLE BUG . . .

I dare say, this topic is not on my topic list. I should note that my topic list keeps growing, and that is a good thing, but I’ve a long ways to go before I get 52 topics. The thought of which is a bit overwhelming. But, if you have any suggestions, please pass them on to me. It will help. Oh well, I digress. This week started with my 46th birthday. Which is both a good thing and a bad thing. The good of it is that I love birthdays. I love celebrating with friends and family and I love having a reason to celebrate. The bad is that for some reason: stress, lack of sleep, medication, immune system flux, food issues, whatever, my mouth decided to breakout in canker sores. It began on Saturday, but Sunday, my birthday, was the day I really felt it kick in. Here it is Tuesday (it will be Wednesday when I get this posted) and I am still struggling with the damn things. For most people when they get canker sores in their mouth it is usually one or two. But for me, I get them all over my mouth. OK, I admit I am a wimp when it comes to health issues, and I am over exaggerating a little. But I have a cluster of three sores under my tongue on the left side, a cluster of two on my lower lip - left side, a cluster of three on my lower lip - right side, a cluster of four on my upper lip-right side, and one on top of my tongue - left side. Honestly, am I the only strange human that gets these breakouts like this? By the way, if you, the reader, are interested, here is a link that you can find out more info on this.: http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/guide/canker-sores . Contrary to what everyone else may say, they are NOT related to Cold Sores. At any rate, They are frustrating and, for me, tend to be the cause of a lot of stress, rather than the result of it.

So, continuing on, I have been battling canker sores, stress over money (who isn’t these days?) Work, lack of sleep (while everyone else is telling me I am getting too much) and depression, as is always the case. Did I have a good birthday? Yes! IT would have been better if I didn’t have to deal with this damn sores, which is the whole point of this blog today. There is a poem/song from the early 1920's entitled “SOME LITTLE BUG” and the full text can be found at: http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiSOMEBUG.html . But the point that I want to make is how amazing it is that something so small can affect us. Something that is actually unknown can change the way we live, change the way we feel, and change the way we live our lives. Of course, this is nothing new, but it is still very profound. Carrying this to another level, how many times have we been experiencing a good day when something happens, someone swears at us or criticizes us, someone condemns or demeans us and our lives go down hill from there. We struggle, we stress, and we get psychological canker-sores, as it were. They are sores within our thoughts and our lives and we must deal with them. They will eventually pass, but, for the moment, they are real and painful and troubling - effecting the very way we live our lives.

Of course, the other side of the coin also shows its shiny side and begs the questions, “How many times have we given “psychological canker-sores” to others? It may seem innocuous, but there are times when we react to someone, yell at someone, strike out at an issue or circumstance, and we may have started this painful sore to form within our fellow humans. If there was ever a reality of karma, this is it. There is a reason why Jesus said, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Because, it isn’t about what they are doing to you that matters, it is what you are doing to them that affects the world around you. A side note here, most people look at Jesus’ admonition and assume it means treat people the way they treat you. But it really means treat people THE WAY YOU WANT THEM to treat you. In other words, even if they treat you badly, treat them good, because that is what you are wanting from them. Talk about doing something that is tough! At any rate, it comes down to this question you must ask yourself. When life is giving you canker sores, is it worth passing those painful sores psychologically onto others, or is it better to apply the soothing balm of peace and allow them to eventually go away? Because, when all is said and done, there are far too many canker sores in our world today. - Blessings be with you all - David L.

AND THE GREATEST OF THESE IS . . . GREED?

20100113.002 AND THE GREATEST OF THESE IS . . . GREED?

Recently a major chain grocery store where I live has started a renovation. Because of this renovation they have moved to a temporary location. Hopefully, within a year, they will move back to the location near-by and I will get to shop at the new up-graded store. And it will include a gas station. Of course, what is really strange (and what brings me to my current topic at hand) is there is already a small mom & pop gas station on the corner. Rumor has it that the mom & pop gas station is holding out for a cool $1,000,000.00 (that is one million for those who can’t count those zeros that fast) as the selling price to this major grocery chain. And of course, the rumorists go on to note that there is no way that this afore mentioned grocery chain is going to pay $1,000,000.00 for this two pump gas station. So, why would this mom & pop station request so much? Simple! GREED! If you didn’t get the reference from the title. 1 Corinthians 13 ends with this passage, “And the greatest of these is LOVE” So I did a play on words here.

Of course, what is really sad is that our country is founded on greed! Don’t get me wrong, I love my country! I love those who fight for my country! I love my government even though it feels like they want to deny me simple rights. Having said all of that, I also realize that the greed that drives our country, the greed that has driven the big corporations to give their top CEOs’ millions of dollars as bonuses, is the same greed that is driving this mom & pop station to their demise. And it is sad that they will eventually close and they will cry foul on the grocery chain. But the problem was, to begin with, greed!

But, greed is even more entrenched in our society than simple money matters. Greed is also coupled with power. And often times, if you don’t see someone fighting for more money, you see them fighting for more power. The same force of greed is driving them.

SO, the question that comes to mind is, “Is there a way to curb this drive without putting a damper on the actions and livelihood of our country and our economy?” In other words, can we stop greed with out stopping how we “do business?” I am afraid the answer is, I don’t know. What I do know is that I can only control one person - ME! And I hope a pray that my friends will follow suit and try to control that inner deamon called greed! - Blessings to you all - DL

SO WHAT DO I DO NOW? (20100105.001)

SO WHAT DO I DO NOW?

Here it is! The 5th day of the new year. And I am just now getting to posting a BLOG. It isn’t for lack of effort or trying, mind you. It is because of the most wonderful thing called SINUSES! Yes! That’s right! A great person once said “With big noses comes bigger sinus problems” Or at least it was something like that. At any rate, I have been down with the “YUCK” and it has kept me from getting anything of real importance done. On December 31,2009, I made several resolutions to myself. I chose not to mention them out loud, because it seemed like I always failed at following through. I figured this time that if I didn’t state them out loud, then, at the very least, I would feel like I had failed a little less. Well, one of those resolutions was (is) to crank out a BLOG every week. And so, I will still aim for that. And, if I don’t get another BLOG posted, at least it is better than not having ANY BLOGS posted, right?

So, in my spare time when I am not sleeping, one thing I have been doing is watching several other’s VLOGS and noticed that most, if not all, carried some sort of theme. So, I figured that I am going to aim at doing that here. I think in 2010, I will aim at writing about the following subjects. Please note, however, these are not listed in any special order and I may find myself repeating a couple of themes, ideas, or thoughts. Here is my list: (If I am lucky, I will end up with at least 52 of them, right?)

DEALING WITH GRIEF

MY PURPOSE IN LIFE

FAILURE VRS SUCCESS

LABELS ARE GOOD & BAD

WHAT I TRULY WANT OUT OF LIFE

WHAT DO I FEAR MOST OF ALL

SOUL MATES

FINDING YOURSELF

WHAT ARE SOME OF MY DREAMS

IS THERE A GOD

OK, so I didn’t get as far as I wanted. At least I have a few options and ideas. And, Yes, I know they probably over lap. But they all grow from the one major question I always ask everyone else, “WHY?” Why are we here? Why do we do what we do? Why are we the way we are? Yada, Yada, Yada. ( which I’ll explain YADA sometime as well!) And periodically I will post a check up list to see how I am doing. And if you have any ideas you want me to tackle, simple send them to my email address: tye.dye.gye@gmail.com and I will add them to the list. So, until nest week, (or next time I sit down to bear my soul on paper) Blessings always be with you all - David L.