Monday, January 30, 2017

Super Quandary



Image result for super bowl 51











Every day is special if you invest it in others and getting to know them better.

Every year it’s the same old thing, two weeks before the Super Bowl, the hype train comes rolling down the tracks. It gets so bad sometimes I just want it to stop.  Talk about controversy and shocking new twists and doubters galore.  Not to mention some don’t even tune in for the game, but rather are entertained by the commercials and halftime performance.

It is time for a reality check.  Can you name the big media stories or commercials or halftime performance from last year’s Super Bowl?  From two years ago? Or better yet, from five years ago?  Most of us cannot…

For me, I can remember many a Super Bowl when no one seemed much to care.  It was important, but people did not stop what they were doing for it.  I can remember as a kid, well before video recording devices, when I missed parts of the game due to going to church.  There were even some years when I went to a church camp for a weekend and missed the whole game.  The earth kept spinning and I survived. 

In some ways I long for those simpler times.  Like the Coke commercial in which Mean Joe Greene tossed his jersey to a young fan who gave him his Coke.  Like when the halftime was performed by marching bands and none of us even heard of a wardrobe malfunction.  Like when pregame shows were more like an hour instead of lasting all day long.

Somewhere along the way we fell in love with the hype, the baloney, the banter, the stirring every one up into a frenzy.  Kind of like when you hear a used car salesman on the radio tell you he is having a year-end blow out sale like you have never seen of before or ever will again.

As I grow older, I become more concerned with the people I spend my time with, such as friends and family, not the event so much.  Life is so short.  And what did we do on the first February of the year before the Super Bowl fifty one years ago, anyway?  Probably, we just entertained each other by chewing the fat with one another or played card games together or shoveled snow depending on your location.

In a perfect world, it would be nice to just watch a good game and well if the game gets out of hand, change the channel and watch some old Andy Griffith re-runs.  Then again, maybe I wouldn’t, but it is nice to remember that there are other things in the world besides just being entertained by men who run around with helmets on crashing into one another. 

A super quandary should be who we spend special times with, not the event itself.  

Swavel






Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Chasing Whales




Image result for heart of the sea

He who follows the wind ends up dizzy and more than not lost at sea.

This is the time of the year when many of us make resolutions to better ourselves. Simply put, a resolution is just an effort to try our hardest to change the things that annoy us about our lives. 

Sadly, I think we got this all wrong.  Instead of resolutions, gradual change is a better answer.  However, it seems more in vogue to resolve to do something or go all out till we gain our objective.

It reminds me of the infamous Captain Ahab who would stop at nothing to capture the illusive, enormous white whale, Moby Dick.  The outcome was a wasted life and one that ultimately resulted in his death.  Yet, as one who speaks from experience, I have chased a whale or two in my life as well. 

My biggest whale, that I chased for longer than I would like to admit, was the idea of writing a book.  At first I believe my intentions were rooted in sincerity and what I thought what God wanted me to do, but I just believe I got the cart in front of the horse.   But, as I have grown older, I realized it is fine to have dreams, but make sure they are designed by God. 

With all that said I have not given up the idea of writing a book someday, but God would have to do that, not me.  Till then I will continue to write blogs and be open to what God wants if He so chooses.

This however does not mean one cannot have a list.  And in my opinion it is not a bad idea to have aspirations, just not to go down with the ship if it doesn’t happen.

Here are some of my more realistic aspirations: 

·                - Empty myself of all but love on my wife
·                 -Be the best dad I can be to my kids
·                - Be a consistent directional arrow that points others to Jesus
·                 -Love my neighbor as myself
·                 -Smile more, not just with my mouth but with my words as well
·                 -Say thank you more and mean it

Now, that’s not to say I wouldn’t mind authoring a book that ends up on the top ten list of the USA TODAY.   But, you won’t find me wasting my life trying to harpoon that illusive beast.

Chasing whales is fine if you are a fisherman, but I believe God would rather us spend our time being fishers of men.

Swavel