Laura and I attended a funeral today of a good friend. He was 49 and died in a snowmobile related accident. He was a good friend who helped our family with lots of building projects over the years. He was a man of God who took trips to other countries to help others by using his carpentry skills.
We went to the reviewal last night and I was struck by several things. First, Pete lived a full life. Yes it's a cliche,' but it was very evident in the photos they had displayed. He loved his wife and kids and did a LOT of things with them. He loved his work and did a LOT for others. He loved ministry and he did a LOT for others.
Second, as I approached the casket, I was noticing his hands. I looked at his hands and realized how much love he conveyed through the use of his hands. He loved people by building things. He loved his family by building things and doing things with his hands. He loved his friends by doing things with his hands. We were recipients of that love. We have a piece of Pete in our home. He built a bathroom, a bedroom and prepared the elevator shaft. He taught me how to lay out and connect my sprinkler system. Those pieces of Pete are still here even though he now resides in heaven. What a privilege to have those pieces here.
Today at the funeral, we walked in moments before it started. We were ushered to a front row seat because that's all that was open. What an honor to be so close to our friend and his family during these moments. We witnessed tears and laughter, sorrow and joy as we saw them send Pete on to be with Jesus. It was encouraging to witness the anchor that his family had in Jesus Christ. That anchor gave them hope during this very difficult time.
Once again I want to state that I KNOW God is in control, but I certainly don't understand things like this.
Why do I tell you all of this personal stuff? Because once again, I am filled with these overwhelming thoughts regarding life. Why am I so blessed to live today? I'm not more special than my friend. And it's not that I want to die, I don't. I enjoy life. I have a great life. But the thoughts continue to boggle my mind that some die young and some do not. We do NOT get to choose the day we die anymore than we chose the day we were born.
I thank God that He accepted me as His child so many years ago. I thank God that if I die, I will spend eternity with Him. I have no doubt about this. At the very same time, I also experience enormous frustration that my friend's wife is without her husband and his kids are without their dad.
This is a very difficult emotional ride to take and I'm only the friend. I'm not the wife or the kids. Their pain has to be exponentially deeper than mine. Today I grieve the loss of my friend. I grieve for his wife and children. I grieve for all of those who have been touched by Pete and will no longer be able to receive blessings from him.
Even though I grieve, I still hold on to the hope I have in Jesus. That hope tells me that I will see my friend again some day. I am very interested to see what Pete is building in heaven with tools that always work! I am thankful for that hope during this time.
To wrap up this post I ask this question, "Are you ready to die?" Seriously, are you? You do NOT get to choose when you die. Where will you spend eternity if you were taken from this planet tomorrow? As for me, I WILL be with God. I will be in heaven and I will be living in His eternal glory.
I hope you have it figured out. If you don't, ask Jesus to come in and be the Lord of your life. Then you'll have the same guarantee that my friend Pete and I do.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
But for the Grace of God
Like many of you, I've been greatly impacted by the devastating news in Haiti these last weeks. Many of the news reports have moved me to tears. I can't begin to imagine the extreme emptiness and hopelessness that many people there must feel during this time. I can't comprehend what it would be like if I had to try and provide for my family in those conditions.
I also end up having a LOT of questions. I know that God is in control and yet it becomes difficult to understand why things like this happen. Like many others, I have feelings of "survivors guilt." I ask why I am so blessed to have what I do when others have had so much taken from them.
Those unanswerable questions could plague me for the rest of my days. They could take away any hope for the future or could even destroy my faith. But the reality is that there will ALWAYS be unanswerable questions. There are just some things that are beyond our understanding. While I try not to merely "sweep them under the rug," I also know that dwelling on them endlessly is vanity.
So I've wrestled through the questions, I've cried my tears and now I want to take some actions to help. First and foremost, I can always pray. There are many people providing support in Haiti and they need our prayers. The victims need our prayers. If there are more survivors not yet found, they need our prayers. Secondly, we were privileged to go to "Feed My Starving Children" one evening with Vicki's Girl Scout troop. We packed food for an hour, but that hour will support many lives. And lastly, there are many, many dollars needed to continue the recovery effort. Now that Haiti is not top news, it will quickly fade into the background of other "hot stories." I urge you to find a tried and true mission organization that can bring both practical needs and hope in God. For us, that will be Samaritan's Purse. They are an amazing group who are well organized and are meeting physical and spiritual needs.
And I've come to a peace knowing that God himself will decide how long I stay on this rock. Until that day, I want to continue to work to serve Him as best as I know how.
I also end up having a LOT of questions. I know that God is in control and yet it becomes difficult to understand why things like this happen. Like many others, I have feelings of "survivors guilt." I ask why I am so blessed to have what I do when others have had so much taken from them.
Those unanswerable questions could plague me for the rest of my days. They could take away any hope for the future or could even destroy my faith. But the reality is that there will ALWAYS be unanswerable questions. There are just some things that are beyond our understanding. While I try not to merely "sweep them under the rug," I also know that dwelling on them endlessly is vanity.
So I've wrestled through the questions, I've cried my tears and now I want to take some actions to help. First and foremost, I can always pray. There are many people providing support in Haiti and they need our prayers. The victims need our prayers. If there are more survivors not yet found, they need our prayers. Secondly, we were privileged to go to "Feed My Starving Children" one evening with Vicki's Girl Scout troop. We packed food for an hour, but that hour will support many lives. And lastly, there are many, many dollars needed to continue the recovery effort. Now that Haiti is not top news, it will quickly fade into the background of other "hot stories." I urge you to find a tried and true mission organization that can bring both practical needs and hope in God. For us, that will be Samaritan's Purse. They are an amazing group who are well organized and are meeting physical and spiritual needs.
And I've come to a peace knowing that God himself will decide how long I stay on this rock. Until that day, I want to continue to work to serve Him as best as I know how.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
What about the kids?
We've all read or heard the news about Tiger Woods and his alleged affairs. Perhaps you've heard or read the news about war in the Congo. Perhaps you've read about the piles of bodies in the morgues in Nigeria. How about the skyrocketing deficit in our country? Or the failure of many to pay their debts by filing for bankruptcy? Or the endless kidnappings, rapes, and murders? You've no doubt read or heard about death, divorce, financial issues and drugs over and over again.
In some strange way all of these stories fascinate us to some extent. There's a curiosity factor in them. However, in spite of the fascination, regardless of the headlines there seems to be something conspicuously missing from these stories. The reports seem to be glaring in their omissions. Well they are to me anyway. The children. What about the children?
In all of these stories there are children affected. Tiger's children are going to suffer for his behavior. There are children in the Congo that are missing. The bodies in the morgue are actually children. Today's debt is going to be left for our children. And think of the countless souls that have suffered at the hand of adults.
When do we, the adults who are supposed to know better, start thinking about the children? When do we put aside selfish ambitions, attitudes and ideas to consider those little humans who are looking to us for wisdom, care and love?
It's way too easy to do what we want and then try and deal with the consequences later. Don't you think that if we always said "how will my actions affect the children?" that we would change many of our actions?
So how did we get here? Consider that we feed ourselves a steady diet of rubbish in our music, our television, our movies, the internet, and our video games. And then we try to act as responsible human beings. We pump out porn and rubbish on the airways and then complain when someone molests another human being. We worship people that are good at *playing games,* aka sports figures, while we leave our churches empty. We allow these so called heros a "free pass" for their transgressions if they can keep it together on the field. We spend so much time making money that we don't have time to actually play with the kids.
With all of these things, we neglect to consider the impact on the children. I don't end up seeing the worst of the worst and yet I encounter children who are being neglected, or fed a steady diet of rubbish more often than I'd like. How will we ever turn it around? When is enough, enough? How many have to suffer or die before we stop?
Well I say start tomorrow. With everything you do start asking the question "How will my actions affect the children I encounter?" Don't think it matters? What have you got to lose? The children are already suffering and dying.
In case you think these words are simply man made musings, consider this verse from the book of James in the Bible- "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
If God cares, maybe we should too.
In some strange way all of these stories fascinate us to some extent. There's a curiosity factor in them. However, in spite of the fascination, regardless of the headlines there seems to be something conspicuously missing from these stories. The reports seem to be glaring in their omissions. Well they are to me anyway. The children. What about the children?
In all of these stories there are children affected. Tiger's children are going to suffer for his behavior. There are children in the Congo that are missing. The bodies in the morgue are actually children. Today's debt is going to be left for our children. And think of the countless souls that have suffered at the hand of adults.
When do we, the adults who are supposed to know better, start thinking about the children? When do we put aside selfish ambitions, attitudes and ideas to consider those little humans who are looking to us for wisdom, care and love?
It's way too easy to do what we want and then try and deal with the consequences later. Don't you think that if we always said "how will my actions affect the children?" that we would change many of our actions?
So how did we get here? Consider that we feed ourselves a steady diet of rubbish in our music, our television, our movies, the internet, and our video games. And then we try to act as responsible human beings. We pump out porn and rubbish on the airways and then complain when someone molests another human being. We worship people that are good at *playing games,* aka sports figures, while we leave our churches empty. We allow these so called heros a "free pass" for their transgressions if they can keep it together on the field. We spend so much time making money that we don't have time to actually play with the kids.
With all of these things, we neglect to consider the impact on the children. I don't end up seeing the worst of the worst and yet I encounter children who are being neglected, or fed a steady diet of rubbish more often than I'd like. How will we ever turn it around? When is enough, enough? How many have to suffer or die before we stop?
Well I say start tomorrow. With everything you do start asking the question "How will my actions affect the children I encounter?" Don't think it matters? What have you got to lose? The children are already suffering and dying.
In case you think these words are simply man made musings, consider this verse from the book of James in the Bible- "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
If God cares, maybe we should too.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Soccer Pride
One of the joys of being a parent is bragging about your kids. Yes, I admit it is bragging, but it's a little more acceptable because it's not about ourselves. I want to brag about my oldest this time. He and his teammates just finished another trip to the Minnesota State High School League tournament for Adapted Soccer.
On Friday night, Josh lead the team with a double-hat trick (6 goals for you non-sports readers) and an assist in an 11-1 victory. The goals were nice, but I am most proud of his assist. Josh worked his way down low to the right side of the goal and passed to a waiting teammate on the left side of the goal. He had pulled the defense and goalie toward himself so all his teammate had to do was drill a shot into a virtually empty net. She did just that and we were all thrilled that she scored a state tournament goal.
I was proud because he could have continued to score on his own, but he showed that he had listened to his coach and passed at the right time giving another team member a moment of glory.
That win took them to the semi finals against an undefeated Dakota United team. The team played very well and they handed the Hawks their first loss of the season, and won 9-5. A fellow senior led the team with four goals while Josh added 3 goals and 2 assists.
This win took them to the final against their division rival the Robbinsdale Robins. It seems that in sports, you never get away from your rivals. The Mustangs and Robins have battled in numerous regular season and tournament contests. This one was one of the most intense and closely fought contests they've had. At half, the Mustangs were down 3-1. In the second half the coach changed the configuration of forwards to a "1-2-1" set up. That left Josh as the lone deep forward for part of the second half. He used his good footwork to move around the larger defenders and eventually score. He and his teammates battled back to a 4-4 tie at the end of regulation. After an aggressive but unsuccessful overtime, the teams went to a shootout.
At the very end of the overtime, one of our players injured his right foot. He is the player that usually is in goal for penalty shots or shootouts. With that injury, he would not be able to be the goalie. The coach decided to have Josh be in the net for the shootout. She showed great confidence in him by asking him to step up and take the pressure of a shootout in spite of the fact that he rarely plays goalie.
I was proud once again because he stepped up and gave his all for the team. He could have cowered from the challenge, but he didn't. He got in there and made 2 out of 4 stops - pretty good for not having been in a shootout before. Sadly the team did not score in their part of the shootout and lost the match.
While everyone wants to win a championship, I am still extremely proud of my son and the team. They could have given up when it was 3-1, but they didn't. Josh could have said "I don't want to be the goalie for the shootout," but he didn't. It takes some fortitude and confidence to take on a challenge you haven't faced before.
I am proud of his athletic accomplishments during the tournament and the fact that he was honored to be selected to the "All-Tournament Team," but I am more proud of the qualities he displayed. He was selfless in the first game when he made a great assist. He played as a team member working hard with his fellow teammates in the second game. And he showed perseverance, guts and confidence as he worked to tie the third game and take on the goalie role.
Now that I've bragged about my son, I want to commend all of the Mustangs. It amazes me every time I watch them play how hard they work and how well they work as a team. You have to realize that each of these kids is already battling some type of physical limitation - some are more obvious than others. Add this to trying to be coordinated enough to kick a rolling ball and execute a pass or a shot and you have an amazing spectacle. When you think of gifted athletes who have done amazing feats and compare them to these kids, there is no comparison. I'll take an adapted soccer team over a Beckham team ANY day.
On Friday night, Josh lead the team with a double-hat trick (6 goals for you non-sports readers) and an assist in an 11-1 victory. The goals were nice, but I am most proud of his assist. Josh worked his way down low to the right side of the goal and passed to a waiting teammate on the left side of the goal. He had pulled the defense and goalie toward himself so all his teammate had to do was drill a shot into a virtually empty net. She did just that and we were all thrilled that she scored a state tournament goal.
I was proud because he could have continued to score on his own, but he showed that he had listened to his coach and passed at the right time giving another team member a moment of glory.
That win took them to the semi finals against an undefeated Dakota United team. The team played very well and they handed the Hawks their first loss of the season, and won 9-5. A fellow senior led the team with four goals while Josh added 3 goals and 2 assists.
This win took them to the final against their division rival the Robbinsdale Robins. It seems that in sports, you never get away from your rivals. The Mustangs and Robins have battled in numerous regular season and tournament contests. This one was one of the most intense and closely fought contests they've had. At half, the Mustangs were down 3-1. In the second half the coach changed the configuration of forwards to a "1-2-1" set up. That left Josh as the lone deep forward for part of the second half. He used his good footwork to move around the larger defenders and eventually score. He and his teammates battled back to a 4-4 tie at the end of regulation. After an aggressive but unsuccessful overtime, the teams went to a shootout.
At the very end of the overtime, one of our players injured his right foot. He is the player that usually is in goal for penalty shots or shootouts. With that injury, he would not be able to be the goalie. The coach decided to have Josh be in the net for the shootout. She showed great confidence in him by asking him to step up and take the pressure of a shootout in spite of the fact that he rarely plays goalie.
I was proud once again because he stepped up and gave his all for the team. He could have cowered from the challenge, but he didn't. He got in there and made 2 out of 4 stops - pretty good for not having been in a shootout before. Sadly the team did not score in their part of the shootout and lost the match.
While everyone wants to win a championship, I am still extremely proud of my son and the team. They could have given up when it was 3-1, but they didn't. Josh could have said "I don't want to be the goalie for the shootout," but he didn't. It takes some fortitude and confidence to take on a challenge you haven't faced before.
I am proud of his athletic accomplishments during the tournament and the fact that he was honored to be selected to the "All-Tournament Team," but I am more proud of the qualities he displayed. He was selfless in the first game when he made a great assist. He played as a team member working hard with his fellow teammates in the second game. And he showed perseverance, guts and confidence as he worked to tie the third game and take on the goalie role.
Now that I've bragged about my son, I want to commend all of the Mustangs. It amazes me every time I watch them play how hard they work and how well they work as a team. You have to realize that each of these kids is already battling some type of physical limitation - some are more obvious than others. Add this to trying to be coordinated enough to kick a rolling ball and execute a pass or a shot and you have an amazing spectacle. When you think of gifted athletes who have done amazing feats and compare them to these kids, there is no comparison. I'll take an adapted soccer team over a Beckham team ANY day.
Friday, November 6, 2009
1990 pages
I was going to blog about the actual statements in the 1990 Pelosicare-Obamacare-I don't care bill, but the WSJ and others did it for me. Check this out:
Defend your health care
WSJ
Ways and Means
The bill will so dramatically change our country that I won't even go out on a limb to say "If they pass it, we (the United States of America) will die."
You will see this country go from one which experiences great freedoms to one that will literally force you to have health care.
Think I'm making it up? Read the bill.
Defend your health care
WSJ
Ways and Means
The bill will so dramatically change our country that I won't even go out on a limb to say "If they pass it, we (the United States of America) will die."
You will see this country go from one which experiences great freedoms to one that will literally force you to have health care.
Think I'm making it up? Read the bill.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Your pay
Did you ever think that your pay would be determined by someone other than your boss or your company? If you did, did you ever in your wildest imagination think that the government would control your pay?
Fox news reports "The Washington pay czar who's ordered steep pay cuts for executives at bailed-out firms could have practically unlimited power to regulate compensation at any company that gets federal funding, lawyers say -- even if his legal authority is sketchy."
Unlimited power to regulate compensation? Really? Yep, that's what's happening. So you get a job, negotiate a contract and plan your life style based on your salary. Your company gets in trouble and decides to get a loan from Uncle Sam and viola they now control your salary. There goes your lifestyle.
I'm not for anyone receiving excessive wages, but if you earn that money, I don't care if it's a dollar or a trillion dollars - it's yours.
The federal government now seems to have the authority to trump a signed contract. Why?
The argument is that these companies owe money to the federal government and that gives the government the right to exercise an "ownership stake" or other not so nice tactics like embarrassment etc.
The first problem here is that the government shouldn't have an "ownership stake" in any private industry. Amendment 5 of the constitution reads "... nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." The private property is the key here. You can call it land, buildings, widgets or even a salary -it's all private property and it's not supposed to be taken by the government. And IF it is then we are supposed to receive JUST compensation. Tell me how slashing anyone's salary by 90% is JUST compensation.
Amendment 8 states "...nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." It sure seems cruel and unusual for the government to control the salary of a private company.
And Amendment 27 states "No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened." The lawmakers themselves can't have pay raises or cuts UNTIL the next election. Not so for these lucky few under the power of the Pay Czar.
Perhaps you don't care for any of my arguments. That's fine you don't need to agree, but you do need to realize that this power grab by the 'savior of the world' and his czar is only the beginning. If they can find a way to alter the pay of these executives or "own" a car company, they can find a way to come after your job and your salary too.
Fox news reports "The Washington pay czar who's ordered steep pay cuts for executives at bailed-out firms could have practically unlimited power to regulate compensation at any company that gets federal funding, lawyers say -- even if his legal authority is sketchy."
Unlimited power to regulate compensation? Really? Yep, that's what's happening. So you get a job, negotiate a contract and plan your life style based on your salary. Your company gets in trouble and decides to get a loan from Uncle Sam and viola they now control your salary. There goes your lifestyle.
I'm not for anyone receiving excessive wages, but if you earn that money, I don't care if it's a dollar or a trillion dollars - it's yours.
The federal government now seems to have the authority to trump a signed contract. Why?
The argument is that these companies owe money to the federal government and that gives the government the right to exercise an "ownership stake" or other not so nice tactics like embarrassment etc.
The first problem here is that the government shouldn't have an "ownership stake" in any private industry. Amendment 5 of the constitution reads "... nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." The private property is the key here. You can call it land, buildings, widgets or even a salary -it's all private property and it's not supposed to be taken by the government. And IF it is then we are supposed to receive JUST compensation. Tell me how slashing anyone's salary by 90% is JUST compensation.
Amendment 8 states "...nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." It sure seems cruel and unusual for the government to control the salary of a private company.
And Amendment 27 states "No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened." The lawmakers themselves can't have pay raises or cuts UNTIL the next election. Not so for these lucky few under the power of the Pay Czar.
Perhaps you don't care for any of my arguments. That's fine you don't need to agree, but you do need to realize that this power grab by the 'savior of the world' and his czar is only the beginning. If they can find a way to alter the pay of these executives or "own" a car company, they can find a way to come after your job and your salary too.
Monday, September 14, 2009
How "rich" are you?
Each day I read horrible things going on in our world. Tragedies that I don't even want to recount here. Each time I read something, I think "Wow! I have been given so much!" Recently I was told that I am a rich man. I want to tell you how really rich I am.
I have enough food each day. I've never gone hungry. I have a home that is very comfortable and clean. I sleep on a bed every night. I have money to buy clothing for our family. We have heat to keep us warm and air conditioning to keep us cool. I have all of my material needs met and most of what I want.
I have a wife who is not only my mate and confidant, but my lover and best friend. She works so hard to take care of our family that I could fill many pages with the details and at the end of a busy day, guess who she wants to hang out with? Me! After 23 plus years of marriage, she still wants to be with ME! It really truly doesn't get better than that!
I have kids that teach me things every day. Sometimes I have to repeat the lessons because I just don't learn very well the first time. But I have them there to help me learn. They also show me amazing things that I would not otherwise take the time to watch.
I have my health. I know a LOT of people that are not very healthy. They have medicine for this or go to doctors for that. My own kids struggle with that issue.
I have choices. I can choose what to do with my time or my money. I can come and go as I please. I have freedom and I am reminded often that many others (primarily our military) have paid the price so I could be free.
I have tools to help me get jobs done. I have friends to call when I need help. I have good neighbors who look out for my kids.
I get the privilege of looking in on various lives that I encounter. Sometimes I can give some guidance along the way so they can avoid the pitfalls I've experienced. Other times I can merely be there and listen. It's an incredible honor when someone invites me to be a part of their world.
I have a faith that guides me day by day. There are SO MANY lost souls in this world. They are trying this or that as they desperately look for some kind of fulfillment. Sadly, most of what they try comes up short and leaves them empty. I really can not imagine where my life would be without my faith in Jesus Christ.
So you can see what was told to me recently is true - I am a rich man.
I have enough food each day. I've never gone hungry. I have a home that is very comfortable and clean. I sleep on a bed every night. I have money to buy clothing for our family. We have heat to keep us warm and air conditioning to keep us cool. I have all of my material needs met and most of what I want.
I have a wife who is not only my mate and confidant, but my lover and best friend. She works so hard to take care of our family that I could fill many pages with the details and at the end of a busy day, guess who she wants to hang out with? Me! After 23 plus years of marriage, she still wants to be with ME! It really truly doesn't get better than that!
I have kids that teach me things every day. Sometimes I have to repeat the lessons because I just don't learn very well the first time. But I have them there to help me learn. They also show me amazing things that I would not otherwise take the time to watch.
I have my health. I know a LOT of people that are not very healthy. They have medicine for this or go to doctors for that. My own kids struggle with that issue.
I have choices. I can choose what to do with my time or my money. I can come and go as I please. I have freedom and I am reminded often that many others (primarily our military) have paid the price so I could be free.
I have tools to help me get jobs done. I have friends to call when I need help. I have good neighbors who look out for my kids.
I get the privilege of looking in on various lives that I encounter. Sometimes I can give some guidance along the way so they can avoid the pitfalls I've experienced. Other times I can merely be there and listen. It's an incredible honor when someone invites me to be a part of their world.
I have a faith that guides me day by day. There are SO MANY lost souls in this world. They are trying this or that as they desperately look for some kind of fulfillment. Sadly, most of what they try comes up short and leaves them empty. I really can not imagine where my life would be without my faith in Jesus Christ.
So you can see what was told to me recently is true - I am a rich man.
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