Cows, Buckets, and Attitudes

 

This Sunday, June 18,  we will celebrate Father’s Day. This special day is difficult for many people for different reasons. Some people either did not know their father, or perhaps they had a less than stellar father in their life. This was not true for me because I had a great daddy who taught me many valuable life skills and lessons that I still practice today. Even though my daddy died 20 years age,  I have tried to pass his lessons on to our son and nieces and nephews who adored their Paw Paw.

In recent days I have been struggling with some difficult issues in my life. At my age of 63, it is a daily pop quiz of which possible aches, memory lapses, or challenges I may be asked to handle in the ever changing world around me. The days of friendly people and caring communities seem to be fading fast, and instead have been replaced with disrespectful and impatient younger people with little time or patience for those of us who were not born in the technology driven age. Truthfully, this is not a new issue. My daddy also had  challenges in his lifetime. He was born in 1926, and during the Great Depression of the 1930’s his life was a true survival story, not a contrived TV show.

Daddy was one of eight children, and his mother died when he was only 12. He grew up in rural Louisiana, and at that very early age he learned to milk cows and was paid about 10 cents a day for this job. One of the many life lessons he taught me was based on his vast experience with milking cows. Since I was not a farm girl, it took more than one telling of the lesson for me to grasp its importance, but after all these years, I can still  hear Daddy’s voice in my ear.  Here is the lesson as he explained it to me.

Apparently, milking requires a certain relationship between the person doing the milking and the cow. I’ve been told that milk cows are moody, but then since they are female, this is understandable. Milking requires a skillful and firm touch for the milk to fill the bucket; otherwise, the milk splashes all over the person and is wasted.  Once the bucket is full, it must be moved away from the cow immediately, or else the cow will kick the pail and the milk is wasted.  

So how does knowing about milking cows translate into a life lesson? My daddy’s summation statement for this story was this: “Doing good things for others with a bad attitude is like a cow that gives a good bucket of milk and then kicks it over.”

I find it increasingly difficult as I get older to maintain a good attitude. I could blame society in general or a list of specific individuals who make it hard for me to be my wonderful self on a consistent basis. The truth is that in recent days and months I have kicked over more buckets than I have filled. I am not proud of this fact, but I am trying to be honest. My attitude has been more like the smell of cow manure than the sweet smell of a fresh glass of milk. I have let the simple joys of life be obscured by the disappointments and distractions of this world. Ultimately, my attitude is my responsibility, and I choose my responses or reactions. Going through life and doing things for others from a resentful, or critical spirit is being that cow kicking over the bucket.   

So on this Father’s Day, I want to honor God and my daddy by doing a better job of applying this lesson. I want to fill each “bucket” in my life with kindness and caring for others and not kick it over with a bad attitude.  Thank you, Daddy  for being my greatest teacher and such a great dad.

 

Elections, Selections, and Directions

 

 
 Is it just me, or does it seem to you that we have been in a constant state of campaigning and elections since 2015? Maybe it is because I’m older and time passes more quickly than when I was younger; or maybe it is because we barely finish with one election cycle before campaigning for the next series begins. I mean, come on… every two years there is a Congressional election. Every 4 years it is national, state, and local office holders. If there are more than two people running for the same office, there will most likely be a run-off to determine the winner. So I'm wondering...Why does anyone run for public office?

Don’t get me wrong—I am an active participant in the voting process and have been since I was 18. I believe in the process, but the fact that running for office at any level has become more of a money and power game than wanting to represent the people that a candidate will represent may be a major reason why fewer people participate in the voting process.

I ran for office once… in high school in the 1970’s. (Yes, I am ancient). I wanted to serve as an officer on the Student Council, so I ran for the position of secretary. At the tender age of 16, I gained first-hand knowledge of how appearance, popularity, and money impacted people’s opinions. I was not in the “popular” crowd in my high school; I was not a cheerleader or even well-known. My campaign posters were hand made by my close friends contrasted with the professionally printed signs of my opponent. Still, I prepared my speech for the assembly of the student body and garnered the courage to stand on stage before more than 1,000 teenagers to inform them of my qualifications. Just as I began my speech, the microphone went dead, so only the first 10 rows of students could hear what I was saying.  The only sentence that the entire audience heard was the beginning of my opening statement: “Last night as I was reading my Bible…” and then the PA system died. Of course, as a teenager, I was humiliated by that experience. The audience of “mature adolescents” collapsed into raucous laughter at my attempt at public speaking, and for days after that fiasco, I was taunted by comments like, “Hey Bible girl” or worse. (Because as we all know, teenagers are very understanding and kind by nature.) Oh, and obviously, I lost the election.

What is my point? Running for elected office at any level is not easy. The individuals running for office have made the decision to put themselves (and their family) in the public eye and under scrutiny. He or she will propose a direction for the future in hopes of being selected to represent others. This is not a small decision.

So, once again I will participate again in the election process. I have personally communicated with some of those who are candidates for our local elected offices. I will select the person I believe will do the best job to lead our city, county, state, or nation in the right direction. Once the election results are decided, I will do my best to accept the decision and continue to participate by holding the officials accountable. This is how our country was designed to function.

Elections are the foundation on which our nation is built. Make your selection of candidates wisely. The direction of our future depends on it.  

A New President... Now What?

I have now lived through the administrations of 11 Presidents of the US. That means I’m old! I grew up during the administrations of Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson; I was an adult during the terms of Nixon, Ford, Regan, George HW Bush, Clinton, George W Bush, and Obama. (The first election in which I was old enough to vote was in 1972, and I voted for Nixon. We all know how his tenure ended.) Now, after his inauguration on January 20, 2017, Donald J. Trump will be the 12^th President during my lifetime (so far).

I have lived to see many changes to America as a result of the leadership of these Presidents. During their  terms in office, our country has seen several wars, political and moral corruption, impeachment of two of them while in office, resulting in the resignation of one of them; death of one President by an assassination and attempts on the lives of two others. Yet, we have also witnessed changes for the good of our country such as changes in voting laws to include 18 year-olds and people of every race. Each man who was elected had detractors; each one had secrets and character flaws. We may not have known about them instantly, but many of these men’s skeletons have been eventually revealed by history.

Whether your candidate was Mr. Trump or Mrs. Clinton, your new President-elect is Mr. Donald Trump. Like him or loathe him, He is now our Commander-in Chief.  As President, he will face some of the same challenges as his predecessors, both Democrat and Republican; he may also face new ones. Now, we as Americans are given the opportunity to stay involved and engaged in the privilege and responsibility of citizenship.

"Now is the time for all good men [and women] to come to the aid of their country." We must step up and speak up for the unborn, the un-welcomed, the poor, the tired, the “alien and stranger” among us. It is time to join together to fight to recover the principles of freedom and faith on which this nation was founded.

Will we disagree? Yes! Can we dialogue and discuss with respect and honor for each other so as to determine an outcome that will be best for everyone? I hope so; I know I am going to do my best to try!

RADIO SILENCE

If you are old enough to remember the term, “radio silence,” then this blog will make sense to you. If you are a youngster, here is the definition. 

•  In telecommunications, radio silence or Emissions Control (EMCON) is a status in which all fixed or mobile radio stations in an area are asked to stop transmitting for safety or security reasons. https://www.google.com/#q=radio+silence

• a period during which one hears nothing from a normally communicative person or group. https://www.google.com/#q=radio+silence

For the next 40 days (October 1- November 8, 2016) until the election polls close, we will be constantly inundated with media ads, news commentary, and opinions regarding the election. If I am not careful, I could become depressed, disgusted, disillusioned, or even distraught because of all the noise on TV, internet, Facebook, and yes, even radio—since I am a dinosaur and still have more than one of these.  😊

I’m not important enough to issue an order for radio silence, but I can choose to be silent on certain topics for safety or sanity reasons. 😊 So, I have made a decision regarding the next 40 days. (Ironic number, don’t you think?) As much as I possibly can, I am going to invoke EMCON over my mouth regarding the election. Yes, I have strong opinions about most issues, events, and general nonsense, but I think enough has been said by more people than probably should have entered the conversation, so I’m taking advice from King Solomon, described by many scholars as “the wisest man who ever lived.” He wrote much about how much we talk. Here are a just a few examples from Ecclesiastes 5:1-7.The entire book of Ecclesiastes is full of wisdom, in case you are interested.

Ecclesiastes 5 (bold emphasis is mine)     http://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/5.htm 

1 …keep your ears open and your mouth shut… 

2    …let your words be few.

3   … too many words make you a fool. 

5   … It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it.

6   … Don’t let your mouth make you sin. 

7   Talk is cheap, like daydreams and other useless activities. Fear God instead.

I have made my choice of candidates for each position to be filled on November 8, 2016. It has not been an easy choice, but I have done my best to choose based on prayer for discernment and my own independent research of each candidate. I have listened to the persons who are running for each office and tried to learn as much as I could from trusted sources about their voting record and their stand on issues that are important to me. No person is going to meet every criteria 100%, but there are some issues that are not negotiable for me. I will cast my ballot with pride in my country that still allows me to vote. The persons I choose may not  be elected, but I will still be true to my convictions.

So, I will do my best to keep my vow of silence for the next 40 days regarding the election. (Come on… a girl has to set limits.  You would miss me if I were totally silent.) 😊

Semi-silently yours, 

Jennifer

Grace... Reflection or Rejection?

"I like your Christ; I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." Ghandi

 

Have you ever heard anyone say this or something similar? Could it be said because of me (or you)? 

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1

I have been struggling for several days over this verse. My struggle is not with knowing if I am in Christ, because I know I am and have been since I was seven years old. Rather, my struggle is with those who claim to be “in Christ” but are so condemning of others.

So I am wondering: Why is there so much condemnation coming from those who claim to be “in Christ?”

Before you stop reading because you see me as thinking I am without sin or holier than anyone else, let me hasten to state that I have been condemning of others. I have sat in the judge, jury, and executioner’s seat at times and held court and pronounced the sentence on others more often than I wish to admit.  When I look back at my life, I have vivid images of breathing fire and damnation on many who didn’t “do church” or had a different way of expressing their faith than I do. For that, I am truly sorry and hope those people will have the grace toward me that I did not afford them.

Maybe one reason I am wrestling with this verse from Romans is because of so many recent events that have caused me to rethink my understanding of mercy and grace. Recently, I had a conversation with a precious young woman. We were talking about how our lives have had similar experiences with others being so quick to condemn or keep us under constant scrutiny because of our being in ministry families. She said, “Maybe that is why I have had such a hard time giving myself grace.”

This resonated so strongly within me! I have spent most of my life trying to live up to standards imposed by others who claim to know God’s grace, yet they do not offer it to others. As a result, I have not given myself grace or pardon or mercy. Instead, I have realized I am living under condemnation, from myself and others. This negates the reason for which Christ came and died and rose again.

So, what is the solution? I’m still working on this, but I have thought of a few steps toward a remedy. First, I have asked my Lord to forgive me for being condemning, and I also hope anyone who has felt condemned by me will forgive me. Next, I am going to do my best to be more grace oriented toward myself and others. This goes beyond making excuses, and it will be a learning curve for me because I have been steeped in religious legalism and judgment all my life.  I will continue to cogitate on what grace means, and maybe I will have a chance at being able to experience God’s grace and show grace to myself and others.

Please  Lord, help me be a true reflection of your grace so that people will say, “I like your Christ, and I want to know Him because of your reflection of Him, instead of rejecting you because of me.”

Let me know your thoughts, and please be gracious about it.