1/7/2019
Well, here goes: the final “up-surge” of energy to start the new year. The way the holidays fell on our calendar week this year gave us two starts to the new year. We who were back in the business world last Wednesday noticed not everyone went back to work. But today, today’s the day to really get ‘er goin’! Today, we say, there is no waiting now! …hope y’all feel that way and you get on with it.
Speaking of that attitude, I want to tell you my intention (which sometimes takes right or left veers) is to begin the year’s Monday night bible classes with the start of the book of Ephesians “as I see it.” That is to say, if you disagree with me, no matter how adamant I sound on the video, I’m not angry with you nor am I going to avoid you nor call you names. My reason for teaching this is multiple. First, it is US (you and me) in Scripture. Oh, yes, it is coupled with all of Romans through Philemon and a part of God’s total plan: Genesis through Revelation. But, it is us, it is now, it is imperative we know and understand how this book applies. No matter how many cross-references you hear and read with us in the class, it is Ephesians we are studying and will be in it for a while.
Hope you can make it, or watch on the You Tube channel.
The same attitude as found in the top paragraph above applies in some other areas of our lives this year, also. We’re “kick-starting” a deeper understanding of how to take our business to a different place; a further understanding of how to protect our name, our system, and the world’s understanding of our system and our product. More later, but I’m excited to get to watch this unfold. (and it will take more than just this year, I’m sure.)
The SIMH this morning took me a while to get it found through Google. As usual, it wasn’t the internet’s fault, I was making the wrong words out to be the title. “If you could see me now, one who said he’d rather roam,” is not the name of it—it’s just what I remembered of “Lovin’ Arms.” Kenny Rogers sang it, et al. But the one I liked the best is by Dobie Gray, who also did “Drift Away” and several other great ballads.
Yesterday, I told a short story about an old friend. Today, I’d like to tell you of a life-changing moment, one that I’ve remembered often in my life and the truth of it applies, even though I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the Spirit of God which taught me this. The young man who said the following statement to me did, however, in a very short time after, claim Christ as his Savior and to this day gives testimony to God’s grace.
He graduated from our h.s. about 6 yrs before me; went to the military, come back and started college, playing basketball for a small college in Indiana. He was working on the farm and saw me smoking, at age 15. He said to me, “Are you on the basketball team?” I said yes, I hoped to make the starting five that Fall. He said, “Then, why are you smoking? Don’t you realize you jeopardize your chances and if you make it, you could jeopardize the team’s success?” I didn’t remember ever having heard the word “jeopardize” before. When I went home, I got out the only dictionary we had, used primarily to help my Dad and sister when working crossword puzzles.
After looking up jeopardize, I realized the truth of what he spoke. However, being the smart aleck teenager I was, I said not if I hide my smoking, and didn’t quit. But, I never forgot the magnifying affect of knowing what that word meant. Truly. Just one word. It entered into my thinking about a lot of things from gossip to hurtful words, and other such.
Shortly after that, I was telling another young man (who graduated about 11 years before me) about the jeopardize thing. He said he had that sort of experience when he learned the word animosity. I said, what does that mean? he giggled his funny little laugh and said, “look that one up, also, and take the last explanation of it.” So, I did. I saw it meant a “killer instinct” but the final use was to not let your opponent up if you had him down (or something very similar.) Later, I asked Bob how he had applied that to his life. He said, “ever play checkers, or cards, and feel sorry for the other guy?” I said, yeah. He said, “animosity will teach you how to not let sympathy cause you to wind up losing. If you want to win at basketball, I suggest an animosity toward who you are playing, not to beat them up, just to not let them win.” I never forgot that application, either.
2 words. What a Summer’s education that turned out to be!
Thanks for reading, the Elder
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