Fred Phelps is dead? Good!
Did you ever have a thought like that one?
I did, once. Mine was a guy I knew in high school. Not a friend, by any stretch. His name was Greg Owens. In high school, I took his spot in the select choir. (As a result, he became a pain in my life from that point on.) Actually, he gave it his spot away, with his drug abuse and all around bad behavior. I just happened to come along at the right time to fill the open spot.
Greg was a drug abuser. If there was a drug on the list, he probably abused it. I lost track of him after graduation, and that was fine with me. However, a mutual friend continued to have some contact with Greg. I heard from this friend that Greg had killed himself, and would I like to go with him(and another high school friend) to the funeral. I'm not sure why, but I decided to go.
People there were sad, I was not. People grieved, I did not. In fact, the only reason I was there was so that I could go to lunch with my other friends following the service. I didn't really care that Greg was dead, and I didn't really think God cared either.
In Acts 7:54 - 60, we read:
"When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep." The next verse says that "Saul was there, giving his approval."
Saul...The apostle Paul. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Paul authored much of the New Testament. He wrote the book of Romans, viewed by many as Paul's statement of his faith.
Paul wrote in Romans 3:22-23
22 "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
All? I thought we were talking about Greg Owens...and Fred Phelps.
And then we read in John 3:16
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
Whoever?
None of us are worthy, not Fred Phelps, not Greg Owens, not me. But, God loves us anyway. Thanks be to God!
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast."(Ephesians 2:8, 9 NIV)
Monday, March 24, 2014
Monday, March 3, 2014
The Kindle Fire
I had a Kindle Fire, and now I have an I-Pad. Let's face it, that doesn't even sound interesting to me. Let me see if I can make this a little better.
Two years ago, Susie and the girls gave me a Kindle for my birthday. When I opened it, I said three things: (1) Thank you. (2) What is it? I was told that the Kindle was an "e-Reader." (I still didn't know what it was.) (3) How do I use it to get on the Internet? I was told "You don't get on the Internet with the Kindle." So, I took the Kindle to Wal Mart and exchanged it for a Kindle Fire.
"Why not an iPad?", you ask. Too expensive. After a coupon, and finding the Kindle Fire on an after Christmas sale, I didn't spend any extra money to upgrade to the Fire. And the Kindle Fire did most of what an iPad did, and everything I imagined that I wanted to do.
One of the great things you could do with the Kindle fire was download the bible. A free download from "You Version" was available, and was the first application I accessed. The application has a feature that divides the bible into 365 daily readings, allowing me to easily read through the entire bible in a year. I did that the first year. I also downloaded other apps, like Uno. I felt a little bit like Steve Martin in his movie, "The Jerk," when he says he doesn't need anything, well, except this chair and a few other things, and says, "but that's all I need." The bible and Uno, that's all I needed.
So, I had my Kindle Fire and all was right with the world. Until, that is, about a month ago.
A month ago, I was in church on a Sunday morning. I had my Kindle Fire, and was using the bible app. I decided (in church) to download the New International Version. I did not make sure the sound was off. (Embarrassing) That was the same day I left my Kindle at church, and then it was gone My Kindle Fire had been stolen, at church
Well, I was sad. Sad, because I thought someone had stolen my Kindle. We have a coffee shop at church. It is called "Common Grounds." Susie and I were sitting in the coffee shop with our friend, Azure after church. I figured that I had left my Kindle in the coffee shop. Sad, because I didn't figure that I would get to replace it, at least not right away. But then I remembered it was Christmas. We usually receive a cash gift from some of our relatives. I also have a birthday in January, so I figured that with the money I might receive at Christmas, and the money I'd probably receive for my birthday, I could replace the Kindle, with an iPad.
Susie and I have two wonderful daughters, with two equally wonderful sons-in-law. Hannah and Nick live in Manhattan, KS., and Sarah and Mark live in Lone Tree, CO. Since Sarah was pregnant, and could not travel at Christmas, we all met in Lone Tree for Christmas. On our return trip, Susie and I talked about what iPad we would buy, (if we were looking for one.) We called Apple and decided that a certified, refurbished, third generation iPad would be our choice. After we had been home about a week we agreed that the Kindle was gone for good. So, I called Apple and ordered the iPad. That was three weeks ago.
Until recently. I have been out of work. Call it between assignments, unemployed, or looking for a new opportunity, it all means the same, no income. So, since I am not working and Susie is (thank goodness), I try and do most of the household maintenance. Last Thursday, I was picking up around the house. As I picked up, I decided I had looked at a pile of "I wonder what's in that pile" long enough. It was mostly Wal Mart trash bags. I picked them up, one by one. Nothing unusual about the first bag, or the second; but the third bag, well, it was heavy. My immediate reaction was "You have got to be kidding." Yep, I knew before I even opened the bag what was in it. The Kindle Fire.
There it was, in its protective case. I laughed out loud. (LOL, right?) I did not call Susie and tell her, I decided that could wait. I called Amazon and had the Kindle reactivated.
I called Susie and asked a question. "Suppose," I said, "suppose the person who took my Kindle returned it. Would you be happy?" She said "yes." "Suppose," I said, "suppose my Kindle wasn't stolen, but lost. Would you be happy if it was found?" She said "yes," so I decided to go for broke. "Suppose," I said, "suppose the Kindle was not stolen, or even lost, but was here in the apartment all the time in a Wal Mart bag, laying in a spot where I really should have found it before we spent money to replace it with an iPad that we really love because we can FaceTime with our girls who don't live in the same town we do, but would have preferred to not spend the money on and I found it today." (whew!) Would you be happy or mad? Susie's response was "Did you find the Kindle? Where was it?" My response - "Please answer my question."
She was glad, and didn't even make me feel guilty. I had already done that myself, thank you very much.
So, I lost the Kindle, replaced it with something that if I had just paid attention to where I left things, I wouldn't have had to buy. I was literally walking right over the Kindle. I am surprised I didn't step on it.
There are lessons there, I think. There at least observations.
First, I wanted to buy an iPad. Even when I was using the Kindle, I wanted an iPad. Let's face it. Kindles are useful, almost utilitarian. They are e-Readers. They perform other functions, some of them very well. But they are not iPads. iPads are sexy. I looked for the Kindle, but in the back of my mind I knew that if I didn't find it, there was a plan B. Newer, more functional, and sexier. Maybe I look hard enough.
Second, I looked everywhere except where it was. (duh!) I looked anywhere I could think to look. Heck, I looked in my car four times. It wasn't there, but that didn't stop me from looking. I quit looking in the apartment, convincing myself that I had looked there enough. It turned out to be in plain sight. I was literally walking right over it. I should have paid closer attention to the obvious place it could be. Pay closer attention to the obvious, humm...
Third, I gave up too early. I was less than thirty days away from finding it. I gave up. You know what? I give up too easy. I gave up on college, more than once. I have given up on jobs when I might have been on the verge of success. I have walked away from broken friendships. Could they have been repaired? I'll never know. I gave up.
Finally, pay attention to how I treat what is important to me. It's easy at this point in my life to not pay attention to things, or people, that I value. People like my wife, Susie. Twenty eight and a half years married, and she thinks it's a good deal. People like our kids, our parents, and our brand new granddaughter. (Her name is Macy Claire.) People like my friends; Garry, Russ, Damita, Tim, Pam (most of the time), and others. People like my new choir director, Rosie and my friends Fred, Dave, Lane, Dave, Tom, and Jamie. And don't forget where you put your Kindle.
Two years ago, Susie and the girls gave me a Kindle for my birthday. When I opened it, I said three things: (1) Thank you. (2) What is it? I was told that the Kindle was an "e-Reader." (I still didn't know what it was.) (3) How do I use it to get on the Internet? I was told "You don't get on the Internet with the Kindle." So, I took the Kindle to Wal Mart and exchanged it for a Kindle Fire.
"Why not an iPad?", you ask. Too expensive. After a coupon, and finding the Kindle Fire on an after Christmas sale, I didn't spend any extra money to upgrade to the Fire. And the Kindle Fire did most of what an iPad did, and everything I imagined that I wanted to do.
One of the great things you could do with the Kindle fire was download the bible. A free download from "You Version" was available, and was the first application I accessed. The application has a feature that divides the bible into 365 daily readings, allowing me to easily read through the entire bible in a year. I did that the first year. I also downloaded other apps, like Uno. I felt a little bit like Steve Martin in his movie, "The Jerk," when he says he doesn't need anything, well, except this chair and a few other things, and says, "but that's all I need." The bible and Uno, that's all I needed.
So, I had my Kindle Fire and all was right with the world. Until, that is, about a month ago.
A month ago, I was in church on a Sunday morning. I had my Kindle Fire, and was using the bible app. I decided (in church) to download the New International Version. I did not make sure the sound was off. (Embarrassing) That was the same day I left my Kindle at church, and then it was gone My Kindle Fire had been stolen, at church
Well, I was sad. Sad, because I thought someone had stolen my Kindle. We have a coffee shop at church. It is called "Common Grounds." Susie and I were sitting in the coffee shop with our friend, Azure after church. I figured that I had left my Kindle in the coffee shop. Sad, because I didn't figure that I would get to replace it, at least not right away. But then I remembered it was Christmas. We usually receive a cash gift from some of our relatives. I also have a birthday in January, so I figured that with the money I might receive at Christmas, and the money I'd probably receive for my birthday, I could replace the Kindle, with an iPad.
Susie and I have two wonderful daughters, with two equally wonderful sons-in-law. Hannah and Nick live in Manhattan, KS., and Sarah and Mark live in Lone Tree, CO. Since Sarah was pregnant, and could not travel at Christmas, we all met in Lone Tree for Christmas. On our return trip, Susie and I talked about what iPad we would buy, (if we were looking for one.) We called Apple and decided that a certified, refurbished, third generation iPad would be our choice. After we had been home about a week we agreed that the Kindle was gone for good. So, I called Apple and ordered the iPad. That was three weeks ago.
Until recently. I have been out of work. Call it between assignments, unemployed, or looking for a new opportunity, it all means the same, no income. So, since I am not working and Susie is (thank goodness), I try and do most of the household maintenance. Last Thursday, I was picking up around the house. As I picked up, I decided I had looked at a pile of "I wonder what's in that pile" long enough. It was mostly Wal Mart trash bags. I picked them up, one by one. Nothing unusual about the first bag, or the second; but the third bag, well, it was heavy. My immediate reaction was "You have got to be kidding." Yep, I knew before I even opened the bag what was in it. The Kindle Fire.
There it was, in its protective case. I laughed out loud. (LOL, right?) I did not call Susie and tell her, I decided that could wait. I called Amazon and had the Kindle reactivated.
I called Susie and asked a question. "Suppose," I said, "suppose the person who took my Kindle returned it. Would you be happy?" She said "yes." "Suppose," I said, "suppose my Kindle wasn't stolen, but lost. Would you be happy if it was found?" She said "yes," so I decided to go for broke. "Suppose," I said, "suppose the Kindle was not stolen, or even lost, but was here in the apartment all the time in a Wal Mart bag, laying in a spot where I really should have found it before we spent money to replace it with an iPad that we really love because we can FaceTime with our girls who don't live in the same town we do, but would have preferred to not spend the money on and I found it today." (whew!) Would you be happy or mad? Susie's response was "Did you find the Kindle? Where was it?" My response - "Please answer my question."
She was glad, and didn't even make me feel guilty. I had already done that myself, thank you very much.
So, I lost the Kindle, replaced it with something that if I had just paid attention to where I left things, I wouldn't have had to buy. I was literally walking right over the Kindle. I am surprised I didn't step on it.
There are lessons there, I think. There at least observations.
First, I wanted to buy an iPad. Even when I was using the Kindle, I wanted an iPad. Let's face it. Kindles are useful, almost utilitarian. They are e-Readers. They perform other functions, some of them very well. But they are not iPads. iPads are sexy. I looked for the Kindle, but in the back of my mind I knew that if I didn't find it, there was a plan B. Newer, more functional, and sexier. Maybe I look hard enough.
Second, I looked everywhere except where it was. (duh!) I looked anywhere I could think to look. Heck, I looked in my car four times. It wasn't there, but that didn't stop me from looking. I quit looking in the apartment, convincing myself that I had looked there enough. It turned out to be in plain sight. I was literally walking right over it. I should have paid closer attention to the obvious place it could be. Pay closer attention to the obvious, humm...
Third, I gave up too early. I was less than thirty days away from finding it. I gave up. You know what? I give up too easy. I gave up on college, more than once. I have given up on jobs when I might have been on the verge of success. I have walked away from broken friendships. Could they have been repaired? I'll never know. I gave up.
Finally, pay attention to how I treat what is important to me. It's easy at this point in my life to not pay attention to things, or people, that I value. People like my wife, Susie. Twenty eight and a half years married, and she thinks it's a good deal. People like our kids, our parents, and our brand new granddaughter. (Her name is Macy Claire.) People like my friends; Garry, Russ, Damita, Tim, Pam (most of the time), and others. People like my new choir director, Rosie and my friends Fred, Dave, Lane, Dave, Tom, and Jamie. And don't forget where you put your Kindle.
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