Category: General

No one cares how much a person knows until they know how much a person cares. I am sure everyone has heard that saying but do we really take notice or are we so consumed with getting our point of view across that we ignore others? I have been blessed and humbled in current events in my life which lead me to question myself. Do I care about others or is all about me? If I am honest, I have to admit my human weakness and say yes, it is all about me. However, there are moments when I am so overcomed with the realities of life that the selfishness is overshadowed by grief for others. Two very dear people in my life went on to eternity and we celebrated their lives on February 12th of this year same time but different timezones. Being torned between the two, we relied on Devine intervention. Both celebrations of life were well attended and prayers across the vastness of water and time were felt by so many caring people. In this instance, we all put down our consumption for our own needs to show our compassion for each other. We all knew this moment in time that we all cared.

 

Life is Life! You have heard the cliche, “that’s life”. I say life is life. You have to take the good times along with the bad times. The laid back days along with the dam breaking moments. Can you picture a dam about to break and the little boy sticking his finger in the leaks to prevent a disaster? I am sure you can relate
to those days when it seems all and everything is working to stress you out. But stop, take a breath and remember the good days and say “this too will pass”. Just last week, I am saying to myself. All is well. My tax prep is underway, all my audits are completed, our health is well, business side is going well and suddenly all hell breaks loose. Problems with sewage (crappy situation lol), transmission goes
out in my daughter’s 10 year old car. They just don’t make cars like the old days. Yea right! Our dear friend is now under hospice care. Last straw was my father in law passes on to Glory. He was just under 96 years old and I have to say this without any prompting from my wife that he was the best communicator I have ever met. He knew when to speak and more importantly when to listen. I personally will miss him dearly. Life is life. The sewage will be fixed. The car will be replaced. My father in law is in a better place where he can look over us all, continue to cheer our accomplishments and help strengthen us when we are loaded down with the burdens of life. He is our newest Saint in God’s Holy army. May he rest in peace and may his wife of over 70 years find inspiration in his memory.

Okay, what now? We have put up the reminders of Christmas and New Year, we have visited with friends and family, we have eaten too much so back to the diet and exercise that we put off last year, we have paid all of our insurance, taxes for 2015, etc, etc. What now? Well if you are like me, it is time to regroup and get in gear for a new year. I am finished with the Auditors (no not tax guys, but just as bad), I have backed up my 2015 tax info and now time to draw the line for a new year. As I had mentioned in one of my messages last year, we have a certain amount of discretionary time which is truly up to us. If you eliminate all of the boss time, sleeping, eating, or other bodily functions, we have about 2.5 hours each day that is truly discretionary. I believe I used up most of my time this past couple of weeks not too productively but who’s counting. Right? Okay, what now? In the next couple of weeks, I will get back in routine, posting my abbreviated sermons from December 27th to now. Also, I start back posting some teaching subjects and of course just general stuff. Stay tuned.

Welcomed to a new opportunity to make a positive difference in 2016.

T

Discretionary time. What does that mean? Golf, tennis, gym, grand kids, good friends and family are excellent examples of using your discretionary time. You do the math. A typical year is 2,000 hours (ie: 50 wks × 40 hrs per wk) yeah right! Since we all have the same allotted time of 52 weeks in a year, 7 days in a week and 24 hours in a day that totals 8,736 hours. That gives us 6,736 hours to be considered discretionary. How much time do we need to sleep each day? 8 hours of sleep would equal 2,912 hours in a year. Now we have 3,824 hours left which is our own and still almost twice as much as a typical work year. So why is it we still have no time for ourselves, our families or our dreams to be fulfilled? Okay, we can get technical and allow time to eat, remove waste resulting from eating or drinking, have sex or other activities. I contend we can use these times intelligently. For example, when we eat, let’s share our day with our loved ones. Sex is left to your own imagination. However, other activities is where there may be a lot of time wasted. You may be thinking that this whole message is a waste of time. Have you ever considered how you spend your discretionary time? Let’s just say we have only 1,000 hours of discretionary time per year. That is about 2.5 hours each day to be totally creative. Can you imagine what can be done with all that time? I have just spent 1 hour of my time to share with you. Enjoy your time as we all have the same allotment if our Creator blesses us with another full day. What will you do with your 2 1/2 hours of discretionary time today?

Happy New Year,

T

Yes, that is right. I had a “do nothing day”. That is okay isn’t it? Well in this world of go go go, it is hard for many of us to justify doing nothing. We, that survive in the market place, are perhaps a little guilty doing nothing. We, that live an entitled life style, perhaps  are just fine with that do nothing atitude. I could bore you on what I did so far today, like fixed a big breakfast, watched a little TV, then walked outside to looked for deer signs to see which deer stand I would set in today. I will get back to that in a minute. This morning as I watched the reaction to threats in California, I ask have they won the terror battle today? When I came from my endeavor to fine a productive deer stand, the news was still debating but I think very clear. Yes, they won this day. Let us pray we win the war.

By the way, I am writing this message while sitting in I hope a good stand. Saw lots of signs but time and patience will tell. In the meantime, I am still doing nothing. On the otherhand, I am communicating to my readers so I guess I am doing somthing. You count for something don’t you? I hope you get a chance to recharge your batteries by doing nothing once in a while. It is great especially when you can be surrounded by the natural beauties through God’s grace.

T

Ps: No deer today but felt very peaceful.