thoughts on the news of the day: yesterday's news

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            Not much really new in the digital world today.  It’s mostly a rehash of yesterday’s news.  That sometimes happens, there’s just not that much that is fresh to report.

            I am having that same problem with my Christmas letter this year.  Usually there are trips to write about or moves or changes in jobs or relationships, but this year is pretty much a repeat of last year.  So I considered not even writing a Christmas letter this December.  After all, aren’t they usually just a brag book of exaggerated accomplishments no one really cares about?

            An elderly friend from the Houston area is faithful to write to me each Christmas.  I haven’t seen her for years, but we always catch up each December with our annual Christmas cards and notes.  To be honest, as I prepared to address the envelope, I wondered if she was even still alive.  But sure enough, the next day I received a beautiful card and letter from her.  She wrote a note asking about all the things I had mentioned in last year’s letter and it made me realize that keeping in touch with old acquaintances is important to me.  Even if the news seems mundane, corresponding at Christmas keeps the relationship fresh and current.  My task today is to get that Christmas letter written and update my address book.  I don’t want to lose touch with folks who have meant so much to me over the years.

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Thoughts on the news of the day: what America wants

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            “What America Wants”. USA Today asks that question on its internet site and invites us to send in photos and captions depicting the answer to that question.  What does America want?

            Each year on December 10, I celebrate the anniversary of the best day of my life.  No, it’s not a wedding day; it is not even the date of the birth of my only child.  Actually, its an ordinary day in all respects but one.  On December 10, 1984 I was living in rural Central Arkansas.  My infant daughter and I were alone, her father had left us; our house payment was months in arrears; my new job as a real estate broker was not panning out; and the bank account was bare. 

            My life was a shambles and I knew it.  So, I went outside that afternoon to enjoy the unusual bright spring-like weather and to rake some leaves in an attempt to freshen my yard and get the house ready to put on the market.  Despair all but overwhelmed me. 

            Then, out of the blue I had a realization of the warm sunshine and the beauty of the day.  An overwhelming sense of gratitude for blessings of good health grabbed my soul.  God was in charge and it would all be OK.  I knew that from then on, I was not alone; the universe would eventually come together; and life, despite its up and downs, was good. 

            Have things been perfect since that day?  No.  But they have always worked out.  And the peace of mind I have enjoyed from surrendering that day has never left me. 

            I believe that what Americans want is what everyone on the planet wants: peace of mind; the knowledge that we are not alone and that no matter what happens it will eventually be OK. 

            And I pray that on this December 10, that peace of mind will be given to you.

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thoughts on the news of the day: starlight

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            A spectacular starlight event is scheduled for December 13.  The massive Geminid meteor shower returns every year; but also showing in the winter sky will be the December 20 total eclipse of the moon. This eclipse claims to be the best one to view before 2014.

            There is something sacred about gazing into the sky to see the light.  A few years ago, I traveled to the Texas Hill country for a pastor’s retreat.  One of the nights I was there, I trekked  alone to the highest point in the area and sat in my lawn chair gazing at the planet Mars.  It was at its closest point to our little world and was a giant pink orb gleaming in the sky.  Later on that same year, I had the opportunity to sit atop a mountain in Vermont and view the Milky Way. I felt as if I could touch the sky, the stars were so bright.  Both events reaffirmed my belief in a Master Creator who bathes our world in glowing light and watches over each of us.

            The Bible has stories of stars and one of the most famous is the account of the wise men following the bright light to Bethlehem.  We remember that story this time of year as we celebrate a special birth of a very special child.  I wonder if the Magi felt the same closeness to creation and Creator as they journeyed so far in search of greatness.

            I invite you to follow the stars this December. Grab your lawn chair and your cozy blanket and venture out into the night.  God’s grand showing of nature’s fireworks awaits.

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thoughts on the news of the day: spontaneity

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                Random acts of culture are overtaking our world.  Seems like everywhere you turn these days, another video is out on that features choristers belting out Handel’s Messiah at large department stores and food courts in shopping malls.  I think aside from the power and majesty of the composition, the appeal of these events is their spontaneity.  Interestingly, my thesaurus lists “artlessness’ as a synonym for spontaneity, but these videos are anything but lacking in artistic value.

                Tonight our church is having its annual Christmas Dinner and Party.  We will eat together and then have a program.  Our plan is to have a Christmas pageant with folks volunteering to participate having no previous knowledge of the event.  The narrator will have a script, but those attending will be asked to play the parts of the shepherds, angels and wise men.  It’s not like we all don’t already know the story!  There will be appropriate Christmas Carols interspersed among the scenes of the play and everyone will be invited to join in on them.  The key to the success of this program will be the willingness of our group to spontaneously respond. 

                In our planned a packaged world today, there is not much room for spontaneity.  We want to know in advance what is going to happen and what will be expected of us.  But much of life is spontaneously responding to events over which we have no control. 

                In the Spirit of the Christmas Season, I invite you today to be spontaneous.  You may find a new joy that has been lacking in your life.  I bet you will feel a new sense of wonder and awe.  Try it, you may like it!!

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thoughts on the news of the day: remember when

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                December 7 will always be a day to remember.  On that day in 1941, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was attacked.  If you are of my father’s age group, you can probably describe where you were and what you were doing when you heard the details of the attack.  My generation is marked with the memories of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. For my daughter’s contemporaries, I suppose it will be the events of September 11, 2001. 

                I remember exactly where I was on November 22, 1963.  We were sitting in the classroom working on math problems when our principal came to the door and announced that the president had been shot.  Immediately the news reports were broadcast over the loudspeakers in our classroom and we huddled there listening in anticipation of what eventually was to be the final tragic outcome of the shooting.  I remember questioning if we were safe, if our country could survive the loss of a great leader; probably in much the same way that folks wondered if our country could withstand the hostile assault on Pearl Harbor or the attack on the World Trade Center. 

                We were safe, but I don’t ever want to take that for granted.  I want to remember that we are blessed to live in a great nation that has withstood the attempts to bring down our greatness.  I want to continue to be grateful for young men and women like my nephew who choose to serve our country in the armed forces. 

                Let’s remember today all those who serve and protect our great nation.

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thoughts on the news of the day: resumes

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                Several of my friends are looking for jobs right now, so I thought it might be interesting to read the news item that popped up today on my server titled: 8 Ways to Fix Your Resume and Land a Job.  The article lists things like analyzing the job post’s wording, getting rid of redundancies and looking for ways to use exciting language.  The tips were valuable, but the most worthwhile point made by the piece was that career experts all think that customizing your resume for each new application is paramount in resume writing.  In other words, show ways in which you are uniquely qualified to hold the position.

                We forget that we are unique.  There is no other person on the planet with the same characteristics and qualifications as the person we look at in the mirror each day.  And that is a good thing.

                God made each of us one of a kind.  No one else has had the same life experiences, the same feelings and thoughts, the same combination of family and friends as we do.  Even twins are different.  If this is true, then each of us is distinctively qualified to hold a place in our world.  Each of us is needed, no one is redundant.  We don’t have to pretend that we are something that we are not, we don’t have to try and be like someone else, and we don’t have to change who we are to make someone else happy.

                Relax and enjoy who you are; God wouldn’t have it any other way!

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thoughts on the news of the day: polls

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            Fort Smith, AR, a city in my home state is ranked among the least “brainiest” cities in the United States.  This is according to a poll done by an internet newspaper.  The research measured the income and education of the inhabitants of a number of cities to tabulate the results. 

            Just about anyone can take a poll on just about anything these days and get away with it.  I read an article about a survey that was taken to determine the most trusted professions in the United States.  Ministry ranked almost dead last.  Of course, this poll was taken by a scientific journal, which ranked scientists among the most trusted.  

            Who do we trust for good information?  What sources can we have faith in to give us honest, unbiased facts?  Have you scrutinized the news sources available to you to determine their value and honesty?  I tend to rely on several, but I admit that they do lean toward a certain bias. 

            One thing is for sure, we can’t depend on only upon ourselves to know what to do or think in a situation, the world has gotten far too complicated for that.  So when all else fails, I pray.  And the answer that gives me peace is usually the one that is right for me.  Maybe that will work for you, too.

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