Category: The Human Condition

Deception

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I can hardly wait for the polls to come out!  Are we gaining on “them”?  Are they gaining on “us”?  Last time we gained a whole point, now we are only 17 points behind.  Is that a trend?  I can hardly wait for the polls to be announced!  Silly?

Have you read Ann Herbert’s short essay about “The Snake”?  She spins a tale about God creating not one man and one woman, but God creating a whole bunch of humans and putting them in the Garden of Eden.  He instructed them to play and have fun.  And they did.  They ran and frolicked.  Climbed trees and rolled down hills.  They waded in the streams and played hide and seek in the forests.  They had fun until they were exhausted and went to sleep.  In the morning the fun started all over again and the humans were happy and carefree. This was Paradise. Continue reading

Annoying Grace?

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Not long ago, Philip Gulley, author and theologian, spoke in our church on the topic of grace, God’s grace.  His talk was engaging, humourous, and filled with both current and ancient examples of grace in action.  While I will not quote specifics of Gulley’s talk, I did have a visceral reaction that caused me to consider a negative side of grace when applied to our self-centered society. Continue reading

Life as It Comes

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Sir William Gilbert (of Gilbert and Sullivan fame) in his treatise on “Patience” offers this bit of advice:  “Life’s a pudding full of plums;  Care’s a canker that benumbs, therefore waste our elocution on impossible solution?  Let us take it as it comes!” Take it as it comes, bumps, bruises and all.

“One morning, months ago, I visited a good friend who had been ill for some time. He was a man that exuded energy and goodness and talking with him was such a treat for he had a knack of putting his friends at ease and engaged. Each time we visited, the conversation included a nice dose of teasing and catching up, and often it turned to matters of health. Shortly after that visit, at 89 years of age, he played 9 holes of golf with his wife and enjoyed the day, without having to pay with aching joints or fatigue. He told me then that he would play in our summer golf league, and he did, for the first few weeks! Continue reading

Storytelling

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Are you a storyteller?

A good friend of mine has been a storyteller all his life, and he has used that talent to communicate humor and interesting ideas, all with a moral.  He has for many years, journeyed, on a weekly basis, 40 miles to the children’s cancer ward of the nearby hospital where he would share his stories and amaze the children with his magic act.  He has shared his talent at our church as a lay minister and has given the children’s message with his stories.  His is a talent we all seem to admire. Continue reading

Life Interrupted

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Passing by on the other side.  How many of us have done that over the years?  Maybe not as dramatically as the parable that Jesus tells, but nevertheless real.  Passing by on the other side is an easy way out.  It is similar to saying I haven’t got time to do this, or I am not qualified, or maybe I could get sued, or better yet, I might get dirty.  Indeed!

Whatever the reason, passing by on the other side is a standard.  We all have done it at one time or another.  We divert our eyes, we cross over to the other side of the street. We don’t want to be inconvenienced and we are not sure we want to get involved in another’s trouble. Continue reading

Under the Influence?

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Under the influence!  What does that phrase bring to mind?  Did it register with you as being in an altered state of mind because of the use/abuse of alcohol or other drugs, such as marijuana.  Or, possibly that altered state was the result of a crisis in your life, or perhaps the powerful influence of those around you? Continue reading

Two Silver Coins

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Street Scene: There’s that guy, standing at the corner, holding a sign:  “Homeless.  Need food”.   Or, the sign reads – “Will Work for Food”.  Or, you are on your way into a store and are stopped by a young man who tells you he hasn’t eaten in two days, could you spare some money? Then there is that plea on television showing these sad little puppies or kittens who have been abused, and asking for donations.  And, of course, we are asked to help victims of Katrina, or the tsunamis, or the crisis in Nigeria.  It seems like everybody wants money!  And all those pleas tend to give us pause when the next “opportunity” presents itself. Continue reading

The Law of Averages?

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The law of averages is a layman’s term used to express a belief that outcomes of a random event will “even out” within a small sample.  Taken from a different standpoint, one could make the argument that left to our own devices or proclivities, each one of us would not be considered average, would not be part of the “evening out”.  However, we are a product of society, and as such we are influenced to move toward that average, like it or not. Continue reading

Comfort Zone (Teller)

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Several years ago, on a ferry from Dover to Calais, heading for Antwerp, Belgium, I had no idea that I was in the process of having a heart attack!  That night, this wonderful trip we had planned, visiting the Martin Luther sites in Germany, on to England for the Phantom of the Opera at the Palace Theater and, then, on to the Lake District, came to a crashing halt. Continue reading

Don’t Bother Me with Facts!

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Would you believe that 25% of the general public that participated in a recent National Science Foundation survey believe that the sun revolves around the earth! Or, how about this one: Many believe the “most interesting man in the world” who appears in a beer ad, is a real “most interesting person.”  They are among those that believe that he really once experienced an awkward moment just to know how it feels!  Try to argue with these folks…see how far you get!  Don’t burden them with facts! Continue reading

The Lesson – Dedicated to Teachers

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My dad was a preacher for nearly 60 years and when he died I became the holder of all his files, his sermons, his notes, etc., box after full box.  Some of the material was just background stuff, little snippets here and there, often unrelated,  some were just items he collected because he thought each was interesting.

Recently I came across the following “Lesson”.  I have no idea where this came from, who might have written it (assuming dad did not), or when.  The only date on this yellowed piece of paper is nearly 40 years ago.    If you are currently a teacher trying to keep up with the constant changes that seem to be handed down by administrators who may never have been in the classroom, you can relate.  I present it here because it has humor and truth.  You can figure out which is which. Continue reading

How Do You Like the New Year?

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How do you like the new year so far? And those resolutions…what happened to those? Keeping them? Ah, good. Really? Well sort of. Okay.

Frankly, there are times when I would like a do-over! You know, start this year over, get it started right without all this “stuff”. You know the “stuff” I mean. Things not going exactly the way you planned, or perhaps your cold morphed into something that has lasted too long. Or maybe car trouble, kid trouble, trouble at work, trouble with your computer or other gadgets. You name it, things just didn’t go the way you planned it. Do you know what that’s called? LIFE! Continue reading