Towards.... a New Day

Of course, you ought to know I am getting old and some might even say, senile.  But I vividly remember those days when people really cared for one another - more than just a posting on FaceBook, or Tweeting, or whatever form of "communication" seems to be popular these days.  There are times when I recall those ancient comments about the pending fall of Rome - and others, and wonder, does anyone realize, that unless we get serious about our tomorrows, the life we leave behind could become a torment to the next generation?

Enough, I don't like to complain but I really was disturbed when I forwarded a reference to our future with possibilities and realized, no one responded.  OK, they didn't understand my interest.  For the next few days, I plan on copying the quotes I forwarded and offering my response.  It might be like standing up against a wall and allowing others to shoot at me, but that's OK as well .  Let's see if we can get started on some serious debating.

The reference I forwarded came from the Hoover Daily Report (www.hoover.org) under the heading, "Ideas for Renewing American Prosperity".  First up is a voice that used to be heard with regularity in a time when our leaders were actually serious about our future, yours and my offspring.  I have been amazed about George Shultz since the days when he was heading up one of the several divisions of the Bechtel Corporation in California.  I was in recruiting at the time and had an applicant who had just returned from the Middle East where he had held responsible positions with two major engineering firms.  I had no idea who George Shultz might become, but on the day when we talked about possibilities for my candidate, he was most gracious and a careful listener as I related the items on my applicant's resume that I thought might interest Bechtel.  At that time, there was no interest, but he let me have his personal office phone number in case I had others that I thought might qualify.  Then, of course, he went on to greater opportunities.  Now, let's review what he has had to say recently

"Let's get back to governing in the way called for in our Constitution.  In the executive branch, this means the President governs through people who are confirmed by the Senate and can be called upon to testify by the House or the Senate at any time.  They are accountable people.

Right now, the White House is full of unconfirmed and unaccountable people responsible for various subjects and all too often, the cabinet officers work through them.  The right way is for the President to regard his cabinet as part of his staff.  That way, you have access to the career people - something unavailable to White House staff.  I have had the privilege of leading four units of government and, believe me, when you work with career people, they will work with you and they have lots to offer. Among other things, management will improve, something that is sorely needed today.  Of course, for the system to work, Presidential slots must be filled, so the Senate should give nominees a prompt up or down vote.

Don't you think it's about time Congress lived up to its Constitutional duties derived from the power of the purse.  Continuing resolutions are a total cop out.   The way to build a budget is to set a framework and then work from the bottom up.  Hold hearings, understand what the departments and agencies are doing, and help set priorities.  That way, the budget will be up-to-date, and such a process, which in large part is operational in character, will get everyone into more of a problem-solving mode.  So, better budgeting will also reduce knee-jerk partisanship. 

Our country's prosperity and self-confidence will improve when when we see an Executive branch that can set sensible policies and execute them: management matters.  And we will be better off f Congress does the hard work involved in executing the power of the purse."

OK, let's hear come Sherwood-speak.  As I typed those words, my mind went back to the days when we had some actual "debates" on the power of the Presidency vs. the accountability of the Congress. We used to elect a President on the basis of his popularity and a Congress by their pre-determined interest in representing the people of their State or district.  It should be obvious that it is not the people who are uppermost in the minds of our legislators, but the dictates of their political persuasions.  We have a President elected by the so-called liberal Democrats and a Congress yearning to make certain he is the last of his kind.  I used to think it. was a racial issue, but as we see more and more minorities being elected to the Congress, I have the feeling that race is no longer a factor.

Shultz makes a valid point.  The Congress should give the President a prompt "up or down" vote on his nominees.  That has not been the case, regarding many of his appointees.  This, in my opinion, is why we have the impasse.  The President recognizing his responsibilities has had few, if any, other options. I admit, I am prejudiced in favor of the President for far more reasons that just the impasse with this Congress, but my reasoning has more to do with the intransigence of the Congress.  As soon as his opponents get wind of a probable nomination, sheer politics takes over.

I would like to point out that this President inherited a deficit unheard of in our history and within the six years he has held office, we are well on our way to a full recovery and the future seems brighter than at any time in our history, but I won't.  And I expect you will respect my decision.

I am listening....

Letters to the Editors

As most of you know, I love to write letters to the editors of the newspapers, occasionally magazines, on subjects that I believe need clarification.  Over the years I have learned that the people who read my letters are truly, concerned citizens, and I try to make my comments increase their efforts.  I still recall the early days of our nation when there were newspapers in the major cities, but the people living in the outskirts or the country had to rely on the pamphlets that were being prepared by people with a primary interest and that was to inform the populace.

Nowadays, we have the printed media everywhere.  The other day I noticed that a "grocery" flyer in our community had space for opinions on the service they had been receiving in one of the stores.  That is a great idea because it is not the lack of opinions, but the fact that far too many of the opinions are being expressed by people who are merely relating the opinions of others.

I was thinking about this last night when I tuned into Andy Stanley's video in NBC, following Saturday Night Live.  That means it has to be a re-run as the program is definitely directed to youngsters.  I have to doubt that there are many in that age waiting up until past midnight to hear a Pastor talk.

And you might note that Andy is the son of a rather well known Pastor in the Atlanta area.

Both talk fast and I often have a difficult time keeping up with Andy's pace.  But he is always "right on the money" in my opinion in dealing with the youth in his audience.  Last night, he seemed to be dealing with pre-teens, but as I listened, I realized that the lesson was applicable to all ages.

I don't know if you have noticed but we are all walking around with labels.  I am, for example, a senior citizen, a veteran, a college graduate, a Democrat, supposedly a Southern as that is where I live, and a PinTA to some of the people who disagree with my opinions.  (PinTA in case you hadn't heard, is a pain in the - you know where!)  And Google, FaceBook, Twitter and others in the "social soup" that I have yet to hear of, are earning billions in earned revenue by sharing what they know about you, and me, and yes, you - the others who tend to deny this.  I am not really opposed to this as their earnings are what we like to call the "economy" and as the economy goes, so goes our prosperity.

Back to the younger, Pastor Stanley.  In my opinion, he is creating a real service for the "body of Christ" in general by dealing with thoughts that escaped me in my tender years.  For example, last night he asked the question, "Who has the right to label?"   His answer: manufacturers of product and services, owners and purchasers.  Think about it.  If you can add to the list, let me know.

Once he had discussed that information fully, he turned to this question:   "Who has the right to label you?"  His answer: ..."only you and God".  "Just beware", he cautioned his audience, "of the labels you put on yourself,"  For example, 'hot', 'popular', 'attractive', and others that merely are tentative opinions.

I could think of others I had heard my teen aged friends use, but I did not want them to think that I was only expressing the views of an "old timer".

The foundation of his talk came from Romans 12:1-2   "I urge you - all of you, therefore, by the mercies of God, to present yourselves as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship,  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

We seem to live in a world where there are Christians everywhere, but then, so often, there are those labels that are applicable to many among us.  We really do need to take advantage of the Bibles that are available everywhere and then, not just listen to others, but take them seriously.  Otherwise, beware of the labels

Who is this God?

To be perfectly honest with you, I still do not understand FaceBook.  At my age - I suppose, I am more interested in the people involved and not what they have done, are doing or even plan to be doing.  We live according to the instincts we have developed in our lifetime and that means, each and everyone of us behave differently.  There are similarities, of course, but that suggests that we do not have a grasp of why we were created in the first place.

Who is this God, we ought to ask.  What follows is little more than my own personal opinion, but since I have been consciously "walking" with Him for almost 40 years, I believe I know Him, well.

Yesterday, I was present at a memorial service for a good friend. Jerry DeVolder by name.  It was held in our church and that is where I met him.  He was a bit younger, but as I listened to some of the things he had said  to others, I became aware that he was a quite a bit wiser.  That was verified by the numbers of his friends who recognized that he had a terrific sense of humor.  Well, I believe I know something about humor by the jokes I enjoy and the people who employ them, but I sense that the jokes I have heard along the way are fading away.  Now, we are besieged with "sight" jokes.  Apparently, the "experts" believe it isn't supposed to be funny if there is no action involved.

I will really miss Jerry as now, I won't have an opportunity to learn more from him.

And I believe, in a very real sense, God planned it that way.

Remember, our relationships to the One we call God all started in a place called the garden.  Yes, you have heard that the first couple sinned and as a result, they were cast out of their home grounds.  We never hear any more about them, but as we continue we read about others, literally, thousands of them, and as we put ourselves in their positions in life, we are able understand about our own lives.  I used to hate the chapter that dealt with the "begats" - I trust you know what I mean.  As I began to sense that God was involved in my life, I asked, "Why, are we supposed to remember these confusing names?"  It was as though He responded, "Listen, you can change their names to ones that are more familiar to you, but the persons would still be there as they are important because they were involved in the times in which they lived".  It also made me start to believe, God cares enough for each one of us that He can recall our names, regardless of our individual significance in the times in which we are involved.

Having said that, let me say this, the reason I believe there is a God, a Creator, is because the Bible has taught me about the significance of the individuals whose names are recorded there.  And since we know there are relatively few people of significance involved in our own lives, it seems to me that we all ought to pay more attention to our Biblical counter parts.  I have learned this because of the fact I wanted to forget my childhood and the people who loved me then, and I discovered it was easy to "use" others rather than obey the most basic commandment of God - we are to love others, all others.

If a person cannot understand that, I urge them to make sense of the Tenth commandment, "Thou shalt not covet anything that belongs to anyone else" - my interpretation.  I've known lots of people and I have yet to meet the first one who does not "covet" what others have. at least to some degree.  Those who dictate their interpretations of God's word makes them hypocrites when it comes to the most basic of all of God's laws.  That is why the New Testament - in reality, boils our obligations to God down to this - we are to love one another.

And yes, I know we have interpretations of the word - love, offered by modern scholars, but it was Jesus who taught us, "Greater love has no one but this, that one lay down his life for his friends."  (John 15:13)

Who are my friends?  The next person I meet and the next one, and so on.  We, who identify ourselves as Christians, do not have it easy.  There are "bad" people everywhere, not just those who we want to believe that they do not believe as we do.  It may be just because they have yet to meet one of us.  Our problem is that we must first understand who God is.

I know, I walked under that delusion for almost 45 years.  I had been attending church for almost all of those years and thought I was a good man.  Then, it was revealed I was not.  There was no escaping from that fact.  I knew that I knew and I was determined to find out - why?   And I did, I had been "worshiping" the wrong "Gods" and there were many.

Upon examination, I discovered the reality of the One true God and I have been blessed as we walked together, day by day.  Nothing happens in my life that cannot be explained by a simple prayer, asking for His help.  It isn't magic or "voo doo" religion, it is juts the way that it is

This God - to me, is as close to me as my next breath.  If you have doubts, you have my address.  Let's talk about Him and what He would do if you began to follow Him as I have.

February 5, 2014

I am amazed by what appears to be happening to me in recent weeks.   All of a sudden I seem to have a supernatural concern for others; something I cannot really explain and if continues, I will keep writing about it.   A couple of days ago, I was thinking about my next post; actually worried about it as I have been screwing it up as you may have noticed, and then a perfect quote appears in an e-mail that  was really a condensation of what I had wanted to say.

Now, today, I got a notice that a friend of mine had posted something on her FaceBook page for the rest of us to read.  I will quote her in a minute, but first I had to add my two cents worth and was startled to read a response to my thoughts.  It really made me think.  My comment was rather basic and here is a quote of what another person added:  "But how can we change the hearts of those who are heartless?  We are so few and they are so many?"

This started with a comment by my friend:  "We as a society want to "blame" someone for our country's lack of 'values'.   As parents, it is our responsibility to teach our children to be strong and instill values that will not be swayed, strength and values that they will teach to their children.  If we want to change the world in which we live, we are going to have to change the examples we set and the way we raise the next generation.   It's the only way to make a difference..."

On second thought, I could have added a simple "Amen" and went about my day.

It seems to me that Kim (my friend) was right about the 'blame game' that so many among us seem to enjoy; assessing blame to the other guy.  If you read as many newspapers as I do, you will find it common place among a majority of writers in virtually all of their newsworthy articles.   It troubles me because of my age.  I have always liked to think of myself as a world changer, always trying to come up with a better idea to apply to the problems we face, but I don't have that many days left to continue that practice.  And I will be leaving it to my children and a bunch of grandchildren to clean up the mess.   That's not fair.   When I was a child our nation went to war and defeated three other nations that were intent in destroying all that our fore-fathers had created.  They did it in short order and we were able to return to normal.  It appears to me that - as a nation, we are doing very little to clean up the messes created by my generation and the one that followed.  I can understand the thoughts of the person responding to Kim's statement.

A few years ago I discovered something in my house that I never really noticed.  In fact, there were several and as I became aware of them, I had to stop and examine my own thinking about many of the problems we face.  That "thing" was a mirror.   The "man in the mirror" is responsible for many of these problems.   I began to change my way of thinking.   Since I was not personally responsible for the really big messes, I started looking at them as opportunities.   Rather than fussing at those I thought might be responsible, I began searching for people who were in a position to bring about change.  And I didn't go to them expecting they would; I merely encouraged them to take a closer look at the opportunities and with few exceptions, I was thanked for my interests and heard that they would consider my thoughts.  To this day, I continue this practice.   My prayer is that others might do the same.

So, to answer the young man with a very serious question, I would have to say that I have seen a few really heartless people in my day.  I used to visit "death row" in Nashville and found within those ranks, a man who had been changed by the experience and worked to educate himself so that now - by the grace of God, his sentence has been overturned and he will soon be released.

But an overwhelming numbers of the people I have met in the eight plus decades of my life, are just like you and me.   We all have "hearts" and the only thing that will help others to reveal theirs is for you and I, our friends and neighbors, to offer them encouragement.

Life has taught me that there are ups and downs in the lives we live, some days are better than some others, but as long as we keep an eye in that person we see in the mirror, and offer encouragement, you might you might be surprised to observe how many others are out there.