The Flawed Jeans

I put on my favorite pair of jeans this morning; they are so
soft and comfortable.

I needed to spend the day at the hospital with my husband in the
Intensive Care Unit. We had gone to the emergency room yesterday;
he was having chest pains.

The doctors say there is no sign of damage to his heart and they
will release him this afternoon, but he will need to return for
a stress test in three to four weeks.

Sitting there reflecting on how fortunate we are, I noticed the
flaw in my jeans again. They have an irregularity in the weave
at the front of one leg. I noticed this flaw when I first tried
them on but purchased them anyway because they were so
comfortable.

I love them not because of the flaw but in spite of it.

Each time I wear the jeans I am reminded of God's love for us.

It is unconditional in spite of our flaws.

For Your Convenience

The modern world gives us many things. Some make us better
(maybe) and some weaker. The spell checker is one such thing.

The spell checker is great, it keeps me from making horrendous
and careless errors but it has made my spelling so much weaker.

I was writing a note telling someone that something was for
their convenience. I couldn't spell convenience!

It's not that convenience is an overly simple word. My guess, if
you asked 10 people how to spell it, a significant number would
either get it wrong or wouldn't even try. That's not the point.
The point is I should have known how to spell it but the spell
checker has just made my spelling weaker.

What did I do? I saw the red underline below what was the
obviously misspelled word and Right-Clicked to get a list of
suggestions on the proper spelling. Sure enough, there in the
list was the proper spelling.

Whenever you don't use something, you slowly lose it. I use my
knowledge of spelling less and less, I just let the computer do
it.

Perhaps sometimes too convenient is simply too convenient.

...or is it convineint?

One Lane

Wes Hayes III has a long drive to and from work. The drive can

take more than an hour on busy days.

"I learned something about driving," Wes told me. "I've learned
to stay in one lane." "One lane?" I thought "What does he mean
one lane?"

He explained how he timed the journey driving in the normal
pattern. The typical driver zigged and zagged and switched lanes
to find the fastest flow and to get out of the traffic and to
the destination sooner. Sometimes the highway looked like
driving a shalom course.

"I timed the journey switching lanes every few minutes and then
I tried another way. I tried driving all the way in just ONE
LANE. No matter what, I stayed in one lane," Wes explained.

"I was amazed! The time difference was negligible if any but the
peace difference was huge. There is far less stress and far more
calmness attained by just staying in one lane," Wes said.

As Wes relayed his new found direction, I thought about how much
ONE LANE could help us in life.

We constantly switch jobs. We switch romantic partners. We
switch houses, cars, clothes, computers, phones and even
friends. Much of the time it's not because we need to switch.
It's because fashion, style and updates makes us crave the
fastest and seemingly best.

In many countries people work for one company their entire life.
The thought of so much switching is completely foreign to them.

Perhaps Wes is on to something.

Perhaps WE need to stay in ONE LANE.

Lost and Found

A lady lost her handbag in the bustle of shopping. It was found
by an honest little boy and returned to her. Looking in her
purse, she commented: "Hmmm... That's funny. When I lost my bag
there was a $20 bill in it. Now there are 20 $1 bills."

The boy quickly replied: "That's right, lady. The last time I
found a lady's purse, she didn't have any change for a reward."

The Dog and The Leopard

A wealthy man decided to go on a safari in Africa.  He took his
faithful pet dog along for company.  One day the dog starts
chasing butterflies and before long he discovers that he is
lost.  So, wandering about he notices a leopard heading rapidly
in his direction with the obvious intention of having lunch.

The dog thinks, "Boy, I'm in deep doo doo now."

Then he noticed some bones on the ground close by, and
immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to
the approaching cat.

Just as the leopard is about to leap, the dog exclaims loudly,
"Man, that was one delicious leopard.  I wonder if there are any
more around here?"  Hearing this the leopard halts his attack in
mid stride, as a look of terror comes over him, and slinks away
into the trees.

"Whew," says the leopard, "That was close.
That dog nearly had me."

Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene from a
nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and
trade it for protection from the leopard.

So, off he goes.  But the dog saw him heading after the leopard
with great speed, and figured that something must be up.  The
monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans and
strikes a deal for himself with the leopard.

The leopard is furious at being made a fool of and says,
"Here monkey, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to
that conniving canine."

Now the dog sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back,
and thinks, "What am I going to do now?"

But instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his
attackers pretending he hasn't seen them yet.

Just when they get close enough to hear, the dog says,

"Where's that monkey.  I just can never trust him.
I sent him off half an hour ago to bring me another leopard,
and he's still not back!!"

>

Every doctor will someday need a doctor
Every preacher will someday need a preacher
Every teacher will someday need a teacher
Every mortician will someday need a mortician

No matter how much we know and have,
we all will need someone and something greater than us.

~E. J. O'Neil~

I Lied!!!

I must admit, I lied. I flat out, no doubt about it, lied.

Not only must I admit to that lie, but I've lied many other
times too. Some of you are shocked that I would lie and brazenly
admit it but if you examine yourselves you're not so pure either.

I lied to Apple.

I was downloading something from Apple and they presented me
with their updated Terms and Conditions for the iTunes store.
I had to check a box that said that I had read the Terms and
Conditions and that I agreed to them.

It was 58 pages on my phone.

58 PAGES!!!

Everyone who has an iPhone or who downloads from iTunes has to
say that they have READ and agree to the Terms and Conditions.

I am sure that some have read all 58 pages but I doubt if it is
anyone you or I know. Everyone we know lied too.

The symbol of Apple is an apple with a bite out of it. I wonder
where that is from? It forces everyone who downloads anything
from iTunes to either spend an hour reading the Terms and
Conditions the first time and every time it is updated or it
forces them to become liars.

Sure, it's just a little lie. It's just a little bite out of the
truth. What does a little lie matter?

I don't want to pick on Apple, other companies do it with their
Terms and Conditions and EULA's (End User License Agreements)
that would take a software lawyer an hour to read and
understand.

You should be given three options instead of two:

1. I don't agree and thus reject this product.
2. I have read the Terms and Conditions (or EULA) and agree.
3. I haven't read it because it would take a ridiculously long
time but I blindly accept whatever it says on faith that I won't
get unfairly treated.

They may want to leave that unfairly treated part out since you
may be treated unfairly. Other users probably want to substitute
a more vulgar term for unfairly treated.

Until that third option is added, to Apple and the other
companies with over a two paragraph Terms of Agreement
statement, I am forewarning you, I will lie.

Truthfully,
Pastor Nathaniel Bronner Jr.

Would You Listen???

THE SITUATION: In Washington, DC, at a Metro Station, on a cold
January morning in 2007, this man with a violin played six Bach
pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2,000
people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a
musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds,
and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.

About 4 minutes later: The violinist received his first dollar. A
woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to
walk.

At 6 minutes: A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him,
then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

At 10 minutes: A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him
along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again,
but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning
his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other
children, but every parent - without exception - forced their
children to move on quickly.

At 45 minutes: The musician played continuously. Only 6 people
stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but
continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total
of $32.

After 1 hour: He finished playing and silence took over. No one
noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all. No
one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the
greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most
intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million
dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston
where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play
the same music.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C.
Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a
social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.

This experiment raised several questions:

*In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we
perceive beauty?

*If so, do we stop to appreciate it?

*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best
musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever
written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made . . .

How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?

Remember ...
Yesterday is history,
Tomorrow is a mystery,
Today is a gift.
That's why it's called: The Present.
Enjoy life NOW .. it has an expiration date

Cowboy in Church

One Sunday a cowboy went to church. When he entered, he saw that
he and the preacher were the only ones present. The preacher
asked the cowboy if he wanted him to go ahead and preach.

The cowboy said, "I'm not too smart, but if I went to feed my
cattle and only one showed up, I'd still feed him."
So the minister began his sermon.

One hour passed, then two hours, then two-and-a-half hours.
The preacher finally finished and came down to ask the cowboy
how he liked the sermon.

The cowboy answered slowly, "Well, I'm not very smart, but if I
went to feed my cattle and only one showed up, I sure wouldn't
feed him all the hay."

Quick Start Guide

I opened the box with the fancy electronic gadget in it. It was
the latest version with all of the bells and whistles. Sitting
neatly on top inside the box was a plastic wrapped bundle. In the
bundle (among other things) was a thick manual and a four-page
Quick Start Guide.

The Quick Start Guide walked you through what you needed to
know to setup and operate the fancy equipment without all of the
in-depth details of the thick manual.

"Just tell me what I need to know to get this thing working,"
was going through my mind as I looked at the two documents.
So naturally I gravitated towards the Quick Start Guide.

I then thought, "Why doesn't life have a Quick Start Guide?"

You know, something that would give you the basics of what you
needed to know to get things going right.

Why doesn't someone think of that?

You would only need a few things; say ten or so and I think that
would be enough to get you going and perhaps keep you straight.

It would be a Quick Start Guide of life of ten or so things that
would guide you until you could read the full manual.

Why doesn't someone think of that?