Charity and Poor Performance

There seems to be a strong aversion in our culture to criticism, unless of course it is the mainline media criticizing Conservatives or Christians. In many places little league baseball is played without keeping score. Apparently the parents want the children to enjoy playing the game without the disappointment of losing. They certainly do not want to bruise the children's delicate egos. Some schools do not give children grades. Their egos and confidence could be damaged by achieving a low mark or a failing mark.

Who decided it was better to protect children from failure than allow them to experience real life? Is losing a game or earning a low grade such a bad thing? Is it unloving to keep score and to give real grades in proportion to performance? Of course not! Games are won and lost because of the performance and preparation of the competing teams and players. Poor grades represent poor effort and poor preparation. Children will never be challenged to excel if they are protected from the truth. Good preparation and good performance must be rewarded and poor efforts must not be ignored.

It is not unloving to say that someone did a poor job.

I Am A Relic, But Not for Long

I fear my brain is old. No, I'm not making a comment on my physical age. I fear my brain is old because I can't seem to grasp the so-called post-modern age. I am locked into the old institutional thinking of the past. I watch NFL Football on Sunday afternoon and I hate that the NFL season is soon to be over. Yet, I find fewer and fewer other football fans with whom to banter. There are still those that wear their team image on their jackets or in the front window of their small business, but I can't seem to find anyone to watch a game with other than my wife. I have two adult sons and neither one is a football fan. They never played the game and they could care less about it. My oldest son was never interested in team sports. He skied, snow-boarded, rock climbed, and hiked. I am a sport watcher, he is a sport doer. Fortunately we do hunt together. My second son participated in team sports until injuries ended his athletic career. He no longer participates or watches.

I did participate. I played three sports in high school and did well. I went to college on a full athletic scholarship. Since then I watch more than I participate. I need to rediscover how to participate.

I don't understand reality television. It has no appeal to me. Yet, literally millions watch and participate. I have a Blackberry. To me it is a telephone with a huge directory of names and numbers. I get email on my Blackberry and even send some now and then. Occasionally someone sends me a text and I can answer it (very slowly). I even have a Facebook page, but hardly appreciate its full potential.

When my Dad died my Mom did two things immediately. She bought a new car with leather seats. Dad would have none of that foolishness. She also bought a computer and got an email account. She could not stand it that life was passing her by. She was not happy being a relic.

I don't do self-learning easily. I prefer that someone show me. Well, no-longer. I am not happy being a relic either. I do know some people that understand the post-modern age and I need to go to school on them. I am on a mission, "understand and participate fully in the post-modern age."

Life is an interesting adventure. It does not always go as we plan or hope, yet it moves forward at a constant pace. How we deal with the events that we cannot control measures our character and our level of happiness. Many rail against the events of life. Crying, "Its not fair!" Life is never a matter of fairness, life is neutral. There is no "fair" or "unfair" it just is. Our response is everything.

Many people are positive thinkers and respond to life at its best and worst with grace and joy. Others are negative thinkers and find fault with every event in life. They are constant victims. Who are you? it is your choice. Abraham Lincoln said that most people are just about as happy as the choose to be. Are you happy? Happy is not something that you strive for, it is a state of being during the trials of life. "Happy" is who you are during the journey.

Recently I spent some time in Palm Beach Gardens and Jupiter Florida. We were in the midst of a family health crisis and it was stressful. Yet, we were able to maintain a level of joy and happiness regardless of the circumstances. As we went about our days I noticed how unhappy so many people were. We were in the most beautiful place in the country with extraordinary weather and people were grumpy. It didn't matter where we were, the grocery, a restaurant, or Starbucks. People were grumpy.

Grumpy is a hard way to go through life. Are you grumpy? Sad? Angry? Aggressive? Happy? Polite? Pleasant? It is your choice. As for me, I choose Happy!

Christmas 2008

Christmas is an amazing time. I was in charge of gift giving, etc. this year. I worked out no gift giving with anybody but the grandchildren. I was blessed by the total absence of pressure. We went to our son's home for Christmas Day after presents were opened. The focus was on the people that are most important and not on stuff. I loved it.

I got a real lesson in technology this Christmas. My son, Charlie, introduced me to "Facebook." I have had the most wonderful time writing my profile and adding photo albums. It has made me think about what is really important. The only thing I want people to know about me is what is important to me; family and Jesus.

There was a time when I would have populated my Facebook with professional accomplishments, etc. Not now. My Lord and my family, that's it.

Reflection on the Election

I could not watch the news last evening November 4, 2008. I am on political overload. I awoke at about 2:00 AM November 5 and turned on the news to learn of our new President. Admittedly, I was sad and it took a few moments to realize that God is in control. He did not fall off His throne, but has brought us to just such a time as this. I immediately went into prayer for U.S. President-elect Barack H. Obama. I pray that the Lord will protect him physically and guide him with Godly wisdom in the days ahead.

I watched the speeches of both Barack Obama and John McCain. John McCain is such a class act. He may not have run the best campaign in the world, but he is a true man of character. During the speeches I watched as the cameras panned the audiences. Obama's audience was filled with young enthusiastic people of all colors. McCain’s audience looked like me, older and very white.

I could not understand why people did not understand Obama's Marxist views until I saw those crowds. The majority of his supporters have no real life memories of communism or socialism. Karl Marx is an obscure historic figure. The Soviet Union, the Cold War, The Peoples Republic of China, and Mao Tse-tung are only distant historic footnotes. Most were not alive or were very young when Ronald Reagan demanded, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall."

Obama has appealed to a populace that either is too young or too ill-informed to really understand what his socialist political philosophy really means. They have no knowledge of or experience of communism, socialism or the terrible conditions these political philosophies foster in any populace. It might be helpful if we got a good look into Cuba now after 49 years of communist rule under Fidel Castro. The current conditions in Cuba are Marxism at its very best.

If ever there was the possibility of the "Perfect Storm" Barack Obama discovered it; a young multi-racial populace that was very unhappy with the current President and the state of affairs in the U.S. I commend Senator Obama for understanding his constituency and speaking their language. He is a shrewd politician. Now let's pray that he has the stuff to back it up.

I can't help but wonder if John McCain didn't get up this morning and say, "Thank you Lord that I'm not President."