Where Does Your Compass Point?
I’m not a big Pirates of the Caribbean movie fan. I liked the first one, hated the second one, and tolerated the third. Now with rumors of Johnny Depp signing up for a reprisal of his Captain Jack Sparrow character, I’m dreading the fourth installment of a Pirates movie. However, even though I don’t really like the movies, I’ve always been fascinated with Captain Jack’s compass.
Throughout the first movie Captain Jack is chastised because his compass doesn’t work. It never points North. Instead it spins around and goes in different directions. But never North. However, even though the compass never points North, Captain Jack always ends up where he wants to go. By the second movie we discover the secret of the malfunctioning compass. The compass may never point North, but it does point to something more important.
Captain Jack’s compass points “toward what the heart wants.”
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A Time For Family Tradition
What does Christmas mean to you?
It’s the time of year when there’s much activity. Many people run from place to place trying to find the perfect gift. Others run from place to place trying to see everyone they’ve neglected to see during the past 11 months of the year. Still others simply become overwhelmed with the thought of the Christmas season. I know that last one is hard to believe. But, many people really don’t like this time of year because they’re simply overwhelmed by all the activity.
When I think of Christmas, I think of family. As a kid we would all head off to the Christmas Eve Candle Light Service. Then it would be home with some friends popping over for a quick snack. Later in the evening, just before it was time to go to bed, our parents would allow us to open one present. It was a wet our appetite type thing so we would hopefully not try to get up at 1 o’clock in the morning on Christmas Day.
It was great fun, and I have many great memories of childhood Christmas celebrations. Christmas Day would find us up and moving, usually early, to spend time with the immediate family. Then it would be off for a larger family gathering with relatives.
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A Call For Help!
How many times do I have to yell, “Help! Murder! Police!” before you come to the rescue?
We’ve all heard the phrase, and maybe used it from time to time, “There’s never a cop around when you need one.” There are times when we wonder if anyone is hearing our cry for help. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about crime, or simply addressing a family or personal crisis. Sometimes many feel all alone. A friend of mine wrote a song a number of years ago called Lonely In A Crowd. It’s an alarming song about how many people wander this earth, feeling lonely in a crowd.
Have you ever felt like that? Lonely in a crowd?
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This Post Is Taking Part in Brody Harper’s Positive Post Tuesday Carnival!
It’s been a while since I’ve taken part in one Brody’s Positive Post Tuesday events, but I just couldn’t let another slip by. As we approach Thanksgiving, there’s much to be thankful for. Yes, even in the midst of turmoil, we do have much to be thankful for. Actually, because of the situation many find themselves in today, this could be one of the most important Thanksgiving times ever. This year, the best medicine for everyone to take could very well be an attitude of thankfulness as we find ourselves heading into another Thanksgiving season.
As part of my radio gig, I also host a talk show called The Live Line. From time to time I come across a guest that really stands out in the crowd.
One such guest is Mike Robbins, author of Focus on the Good Stuff.
Mike has an amazing story. He was drafted out of high school by the New York Yankees. But, instead of heading to the Yankees organization, he decided to attend college and pitch at Stanford University where he pitched in the College World Series. After college, he went on to play for the Kansas City Royals for three seasons. When it looked like he had everything going for him, Mike suffered a career ending arm injury.
Faced with the decision of what to do, Mike decided to turn what looked like a bad situation, into a positive situation, by looking for the good stuff.
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Tuesday, November 4 Is Election Day!
When it comes to elections, people can get really crazy. It seems this election cycle is no different. If anything, in this never-ending-presidential-election cycle we find ourselves in, the lines have been drawn even deeper in the sand. Never before have I seen two candidates further divide a nation, or result in a nation of undecideds, as we have before us today. Tomorrow thousands of people will head to the polls to cast their vote not only for State leaders, but also for Congressional leaders, Senate leaders, and yes, the next President of the United States.
I’ve been fascinated with the rhetoric on both sides of the aisle. Not only in the political realm, but also in the church realm. It’s really hard to find balance anywhere, and I must admit, that’s sad, especially when thinking of the church side.
I’m amazed at the number of emails I’ve received from church groups telling me ‘how’ to pray.
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As a Pastor one of the most often asked questions I receive, especially from kids, revolves around pets. Kids always want to know if their pet cat, dog, or even bird, will end up in heaven after they die.
Now I’m an avid believer in having pets because they do bring a sense of calm and peace into your life. If you’ve had a bad day, your pet is usually waiting to greet you when you arrive home. If you have a cat, they curl up on your lap and purr. If you have a dog, they greet you at the door with tail a wagin’ and sometimes full of slobbery puppy dog kisses. If you happen to have a lap dog, that’s even better because they too can curl up in a chair with you at the end of the day. No one knows if Jesus owned a dog during His lifetime, but if He did, I’m sure He’d be very pleased with what’s going on at the Pilgrim Congregational Church in Weymouth, Massachusetts.
Reverend Rachel Bickford is now allowing people to bring their four-legged friends to a special service on Sunday.
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This post is taking part in Randy Elrod’s Watercooler Wednesday!
This week Randy spurred us on to think about email. The title of his entry is Friends Don’t Let Friends Email Drunk. His thoughts came after Google announced a new feature on their Gmail called Mail Goggles. The idea of the new Gmail add-on is to make sure you don’t send a stupid email in the middle of the night. Especially because that’s when most people send email they later regret. So, the fine folks at Google came up with a way to make sure you’re “sober” before mailing in the middle of the night. Kind of a cute idea, but it’s probably more cutesy than functional.
Anyway, from there Randy asked us at the Watercooler what our best email story is. Whenever anyone asks me that question, one story always comes to mind very quickly…
Let me tell you about an incredible man named Jim Pegg.
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This post is taking part in Brody Harper’s Positive Tuesday Blog Carnival.
Please Note: While this Positive Post Tuesday entry is not about one particular person, it does address the idea of how to stay positive in a stress filled world.
Where do you find your sense of calm?
Unless you never pick up a newspaper, listen to the news on the radio, or watch the news on TV, you’re well aware of the fact there’s quite a bit going on in the world these days. Just this morning there’s news of another overseas terrorist attack. In upper New York State there’s a story about a soldier from Auburn, New York who was killed in Afghanistan. A little closer to home, gas prices are up and down like a yo-yo. In some southern States, stations are actually running out of gas. Then, add on top of that the fact that the financial markets seem very unstable and for some reason, the government thinks throwing money at the problem will fix it.
In the midst of all those issues, personal problems can add to stress levels too. Maybe you have a newborn. Maybe you have a child getting ready to start school. Or, possibly you have a child heading to college, or even getting ready to join the work force for the first time. It’s easy to see many aspects in life can add to the stress level in ones life. What do we do relieve some of that stress? All too often most people wait too long to figure out what to do. Time and time again we hear of people having some kind of a breakdown. On the surface people say – “Why? How did this happen?” – But, when we go beyond just scratching the surface, we discover a number of events probably led up to the ultimate breakdown.
So, again, I ask – How do we keep a sense of a calm in the midst of life?
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I discovered a flat tire on my car the other day. It wasn’t totally flat, but it was going flat. Then as I drove to the Service Center to get some air I heard the distinctive rhythmic click, click, click of a nail in the tire. Somewhere along the line I picked up a nail. I wasn’t sure exactly where the nail was, but I knew I had one in the tire. I pumped the tire back up, drove back home, and started scanning the tire for the nail. My son found it before I did. Reaching out his finger he said “There it is!” Just as it looked like he was going to pull the nail out, I quickly said, “No, don’t touch it. At this point, that’s why the tire isn’t going totally flat.”
I left the nail in the tire, parked the car, and didn’t drive it until it was repair time. Yesterday morning, a quick call to the Tire Spot had me rolling once again with a plug in the tire instead of the nail.
‘Stella’ Is Back on the Road!
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Remembering September 11, 2001
Where were you when the planes hit the Twin Towers in New York City?
It’s hard to believe 7 years have past since the terrorist attacks took place on U.S. soil. Seven years ago the United States of America was attacked by terrorists. Two hijacked commercial planes rammed into New York City’s World Trade Center, which eventually caused the collapse of both towers. Another hijacked plane hit the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and a fourth plane crashed into the Pennsylvania woods. There are many memorials around the country today, and of course major memorials taking place at the Pentagon, the site of the Twin Towers, and in Pennsylvania.
Do you remember what you were doing on this date in 2001?
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