the big "W"

A friend who is on a rocket ship to the moon, sent me a message and here is a part of it “… I think that's our mission. To give back! That is a big part of my religion! I do enjoy laughing and giving back to the people I really enjoy! I have grown to like that part of me!” Now that is a big “W” folks and this friend is a big “W!”

I talk about friends and acquaintances a lot in “It’s Saturday.” Good friends and acquaintances are soooo important to all our lives a.k.a. very very important for sure.  Thanksamillion for being such good friends and acquaintances. Christmas seems to remind us of good times and good things and especially good folks. You folks are big “Ws!”

I have a tendency to do things right now. Maybe I’m toooooo impulsive at times. Maybe it would be better if I would wait awhile for better timing.  I’m thinking about controlling my enthusiasm about something that I’m excited about.  There’s a lot in the timing for sure but you gotta get it done toooo; you just can’t sit on it forever (i.e. a person loses the opportunity). I read this recently while eating my oatmeal with half a banana on it--When God puts a dream in your heart, you don’t necessarily have to act on it right away. The Bible says, “There is a right time and a right way to do everything” Ecclesiastes 8:6.  Yabut God, I’m excited about it; I want to get after it. I’m also a planner soooo I need toooo spent time watching, observing, listening, and learning. Slow down erv, slow down. Soooo how do I know when the right time is anyway? Now that is a good question. But when it is the right time, it’s usually a big “W!” Also, in Ecclesiastes it says there is a time for everything! Soooo throw those chips down and get your butt of the couch and do something!

Do you ever think it’s time to change the scene?  MissPerfect who is prime time, says—To change the scene can mean many things and done many ways. That is for sure. It is as simple as painting a wall in your house or as big as moving to a different country.  Some folks like a change of the scene and others don’t; it’s that simple. Some folks change their kitchen every 5 years and others have the same kitchen for 50 years and are very satisfied.  Some folks just love Butler County and want to live there all their life and others can’t wait to leave Butler County (i.e. just recently I had an acquaintance tell me that when she graduated from hs, she was out of Butler Co the next day).  But it is for certain that if you don’t ever see a different scene then you don’t know what you are missing (i.e. but then again maybe that’s not bad).  And sometimes we are forced to change the scene and we really don’t want tooooo.  Sometimes changing the scene is a big “W” and sometimes not soooo much! Saturday question--Soooo what is your record with change?

Talk about changing the scene that could be an actual applied opportunity, Lou, anybody can be a Lou, says--Years ago, Alcoholics Anonymous published a little pamphlet titled “Just for Today,” encouraging a list of practices for recovering alcoholics to perform. For example, “Just for today . . . I will do somebody a good turn, and not get found out; if anybody knows of it, it will not count.” Try it. In this Advent season, when we especially strive to be charitable, do your good deeds in secret. Don’t call attention to yourself. Remember a true gift has no strings attached! If there are strings attached, then it’s a business deal or it's show biz!

A friend sent me this as a reminder. It is what Billy Graham wrote--“A man is saved by trusting in the finished work of Christ on the cross and not by bodily sensations or religious ecstasy.” I had an old friend that would tell me that salvation is more than about faith and excitement, it is knowledge which produces faith and excitement.  He and Billy agree maybe.  Maybe excitement is good, but it doesn’t necessarily produce the big “W.” Again, now maybe for me to have a big “W” in my life about someone, it’s more than just the good feeling.  Oh, the good feeling is fun and good, but it maybe doesn’t really produce the big ”W.”  It might be a flash in the pan, soooo I might want to test the situation to see if it is real and not just a sensation. Ah! Good idea.

I went to a men’s’ prayer breakfast recently and Hank (i.e. anybody can be a Hank), the speaker, said that our lives will be remembered by more what we give than what we have.  Huh, interesting.  Is that a big “W?”  Here is an application that I read—"A new study from the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that small gifts, coming as a surprise, have a big impact on the recipient. So do unexpected notes, calls, or texts of encouragement. Have you ever received an unexpected gift—a bouquet of flowers, a box of your favorite tea, a tray of cookies, or some curious item for your kitchen? Someone saw something nice and thought of you.“ I am thinking of a person who has been a giver of their life and because of them many folks are way better folks (i.e. you know who you are). What a giver and a great person you are. I like this person and folks like their giving attitude, don’t you? I think they got the big “W.” That is the kind of person I want to be around.

I was having breakfast at a table with 5 guys at a men’s get-to-gather.  The breakfast was really good (i.e. biscuits and gravy, one of my favorites) soooo I was eating like a pig while listening to the discussion.  They were talking about their lives and different situations.  Very interesting.  One guy was telling us that he has been married for 46 years and from day one his wife never had any confidence.  A guy asked him how come—it was her upbringing by her parents who were not good folks; I have been very loving to her and very supportive to her all these 46 years to help her.  Soooo now I did talk—I asked him—Did it help—not very much, she hasn’t changed hardly at all.  Ouchy ouchy.  No big “W” here folks!

Mybestfriend and I have talked many times that for folks to make a major change like the lady above (i.e. put the fire out in the brain), there has to a God experience or it seems like it just doesn’t happen. AA calls it the believe in a higher power.  An AA member tells me that change will hardly ever happen if a person doesn’t believe in a higher power.  Soooo isn’t it really what Christmas is really about—the celebration of the birth of Jesus who I believe died on the cross to forgive my sins soooo I can have hope, love, faith etc. and eventually have eternal life.  I believe it is! I think that is the big “W” folks that produces a big “W!” Yes I do.  

There is a joke about someone asking a local resident from Butler Co. for directions to another destination. The native looks at him and says, “You can’t get there from here.” In a very real sense, many changes reflect that. Maybe we could not have reached a new stage of our life without first going somewhere else, often to a situation that we would not have considered which had circumstances that pushed us in that direction. And which produced a big “W” in our life. Does any of this make any sense to you?  I would guess it does!

A pickleball buddy/new friend which I met down here in the Valley, shared his story of his finding Jesus with me. I asked him if he would share it with you folks.  Here it is in his words.

My friend, Erv and I, happened to pass each other on the street one day while out for a walk. Our conversation somehow brought us to me talking about my current pickleball injuries, and my acceptance of them and my change in attitude on patience and healing. In my previous life, I would have been angry and disgusted that I couldn’t manipulate things so that I could get “back in the game.” However, over the last eight years, my personal viewpoint has been greatly modified to one of acceptance and gratitude. So what has changed?

Eight years ago, when I was at what I perceived as my “personal point of power,” I was brought to my knees by a debilitating mental health crisis. For the sake of time, I will simply say that it hospitalized me in St. Mary’s, and after three weeks of treatment, followed by outpatient therapy, I found new self-care skills and a personal relationship with my friend Jesus. Now I am not saying that St. Mary’s was giving me spiritual training, that happened alone in my room when I finally fell to my knees in despair and sought God’s help. I will say that individuals in the outpatient therapy did address their personal need for Christ, and one guy mentioned an app, Jesus Calling, that I have used every day since I found out about it. It is a long, slow battle, and I fail daily, but with Christ’s help and a personal commitment to spiritual growth, I am moving forward.

I cannot fix things; I cannot manipulate enough things or bull my way through life to make it turn out the way I want it. I was raised in the Lutheran Church and Luther wrote: “I cannot by my own reason or strength…” Those words didn’t mean a lot to me as a kid, but they mean a lot to me now. Over the last eight years I have built a regimen of daily spiritual training through reading the Bible, accumulated a list of verses that give me personal strength like Philippians 4:6-7, Psalm 118:24, and Matthew 6: 25-34, and each day I get a little bit better at accepting things the way they are and being grateful for what I have and not for what I am missing. And isn’t that what Christmas is all about, being grateful for the greatest gift humans have ever been given, Jesus, the Savior of the World?  MesaMark

Dr.J says--Take the initiative this Christmas season to reach out to God with thanks and praise for Jesus and to others with the Christmas message of grace and salvation.

Merry Christmas to all of you folks.  I pray for peace and prosperity for you and your family. 

Have a FUN day my friends unless you have other plans. (-:

erv

MyFriendJean said—Faith is believing the impossible and trusting the impossible.

P.S. I was walking and was passing Dick and Jane's place (i.e. they say that's their real names). I read about them in 1st grade at Roseland Elementary. haha  They are from Akaska, SD population 42. Jane told me--Our kids and grandkids always ask what I want for Christmas. I tell them I would like them to go to church on Christmas Eve or on Christmas Day and give me a report.  They do.