Happy (Traditional) Tax Day! So… Stick with me on this.
Last week, in news you probably missed, some engineering experts sounded a major alarm to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The subject: Self-driving cars.
The concern: We’re not ready yet.
The evidence: Unresolved technical issues, including some accidents.
The request: Please, Dear Government Agency slow down your aggressive approach to issuing guidance for technology that is not ready for guidance yet.
That seems reasonable. Safe. Wise for someone whose name has the word “Safety” in it.
That creates some tension for the agency, however. After all, they have a job to do – a service to the American people. So Mark Rosekind, Director of the NHTSA, commented:
“Everybody asks, ‘When are they (self-driving cars) going to be ready?’ I keep saying they’re not coming; they are here now.”
Then he added this little revealing gem: [click to continue…]
Emilie was jealous. Eyes open, staring at the dark ceiling night after night, jealous.
And the focus? Her husband, Chris.
She was jealous of how he could carry an enormous load of stress from his work, simply say a prayer or two at bedtime, and effortlessly fall asleep.
Chris was actually 19th-century pastor Christoph Blumhardt.
One night Emilie couldn’t take it anymore, so she pleaded with her husband, “Tell me your secret!”
He replied: “Is God so powerless that my worrying would help the well-being of our parish?”
Then he added, “There comes a moment each day when we must simply drop what weighs on us and hand it over to God.”
That’s what Paul meant when he encouraged his friends in Philippi:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7).
Stop, drop and roll, friends. That’s how to put out the fire when you’re burning. [click to continue…]
This is James Harrison.
He was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2008.
He does pushups with a 300-pound man on his back. Lots of them.
I want him on my team.
Which team?
Whichever one needs linebackers who can do pushups with a 300-pound man lying on his back.
James has a few tattoos. One says, “PEACE” and has a cross next to it. Others are very sentimental – one for his grandmother, his sons, his mom and dad. He also has one that says “Colossians 1:16.” Here is what Colossians 1:16 says, in case you’re wondering.
“For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.”
I am NOT a tattoo dude. Not my thing. But I want James Harrison on my team.
Which team? [click to continue…]
Nobody talks about the life-changing leader who helped them raise their umbrella at the beach. Influence happens only rarely in comfort zones or times of ease. Vision is not the starry-eyed product of Monday morning quarterbacks or couch potatoes. Adversity was made for leadership. And leaders were made for adversity.
Seth Godin puts it this way: [click to continue…]
Why?
It’s the favorite question of three-year-olds, because at three you’re still innocent enough to believe it always merits an answer.
But as time passes and our “whys?” become more sophisticated, we begin to understand that there are often multiple layers and perspectives of answers to that question.
Then sometimes there is no answer at all. At least no answer that will ever satisfy our demand to know what on earth (or heaven or hell) is going on.
I don’t know why, and probably never will, somebody decided to stop dead still with no lights of any kind on in the fast lane of a freeway in New Orleans – just around a little curve.
I don’t know why, and probably never will, that had to take place just ahead of me.
I don’t know why, if such an appointment was necessary, it couldn’t have taken place during one of the many times I’ve cruised that stretch of highway alone, instead of when I was driving with my daughter and two grandsons.
I don’t know why, and probably never will, that high-speed rear-end collision turned into a hit-and-run. I hit and he ran, never to be seen or heard from again. [click to continue…]
Hop on the Hypothetical Bus with me for just a minute. Let’s take a ride.
Let’s assume that as far as you know you’ve been doing everything you know to do correctly.
- You brush and floss 2-3 times a day.
- You have your daily devotions.
- You exercise devotedly.
- You give your money regularly to your church and other places.
- You do a really good job at whatever you call work.
- You only eat organic Cheetos.
- You get your milk from a Christian cow.
Yet despite all the good things you’re doing and the faith and expectations you’ve been exercising, you just checked the scoreboard and,
Uh oh…
Your life is something like that mean football cheer:
Watermelon, watermelon, watermelon rind!
Look at the scoreboard and see who’s behind…
You!
What do you do when the news should be good, but it’s discouraging instead? [click to continue…]
In an old strip from “Bloom County” back in the early 80s, Opus, the beloved big-nosed penguin, is sitting at a bus stop with a Polish guy, a black guy, a white guy, an old lady and a midget (um, vertically challenged person)…
Black Guy (to Opus): Ya know… you penguin types offend me.
White Guy: Hey… I’ll tell ya what offends me… dirty words, that’s what!
Polish Guy: Polish jokes offend me.
Black Guy: Stereotypes offend ME.
Old Lady: TV sex offends me!
White Guy: LOOK! That sign is offensive!!
Midget: I made that sign and I’m offended!
Polish Guy (to Black Guy): Frankly sir, you offend me.
Black Guy: Well! I’m offended at your offense.
Old Lady: Those nudes offend my womanhood!
White Guy: Those gays offend my manhood!
Midget: This comic offends my offensiveness!
All: MY GOSH… LIFE IS OFFENSIVE!! AAAAAIGH! (they all run away, leaving Opus sitting at the bus stop)
Opus: Offensensitivity.
Have you checked your offensensitivity levels lately? Some days it just seems that all of life is offensive. And other days, well, maybe we have enough grace to let a few people be completely wrong. This just in from Serenah:
I have just read your put your stingers up piece and it was helpful. But how do you put your stingers up permanently when you are in a situation you can’t remove yourself from? I know God is trying to teach me to let go of defensiveness but I don’t know how?
Fair question. How do you drop your guard when every day feels like a march into the enemy’s camp? Here are a couple of thoughts on the fly, but thoughts worth taking a look at. Offensensitivity is the result of three overlapping things: Fear, Framing, and False Beliefs. [click to continue…]
Hey… you on the treadmill or the carousel.
Yes, you. I have a question for you.
Remember the time you had an idea that would make a difference in your world? Remember when you aspired to something better? Something richer? Something gloriously possible because you imagined it so?
Yeah, so… whatever happened to that idea? Whatever happened to your dreams?
Remember when you were on a mission – when you had a sense of calling and clarity, and you even gave the G-word as your source? Remember when you stepped out in confidence because God told you to?
Yeah, so… whatever happened to that calling? Whatever happened to your dreams?
Remember when you were enflamed with passion or infused with hope because you could see it, taste it, enjoy it even before you experienced it? Remember when you were so excited you could hardly sleep at night?
Yeah, so… whatever happened to that passion? Whatever happened to your dreams?
Remember when you were determined to get something done – to solve a problem or meet a need or advance a cause? Remember when you swore that you were done with idle living and wasted time?
Yeah, so… whatever happened to that determination? Whatever happened to your dreams?
Remember when you were surrounded by can-do people who spoke into your life with encouragement and faith and offered to help you get where you were going? Remember when they convinced you that you had what it took to get it done?
Yeah, so… whatever happened to that connection? Whatever happened to your dreams? [click to continue…]
Imagine going to the mailbox and getting a letter – a personal letter – from a famous person. Not a politician or media darling, but someone who is supremely respected in spiritual circles. Let’s say for the sake of illustration that it’s a hand-written letter from Billy Graham.
And since I’m making all this up, let’s say you’ve never met Dr. Graham, and are a little surprised he knows you exist, much less knows your address. But there you are and there in the mailbox is his letter.
After some preliminaries, some kind greetings, Dr. Graham gets around to his reason for writing. “I want you to know, [insert your name here], that I’ve been struggling lately.” (Oh… step back… Let’s assume this isn’t a fund raising trick. Now on with the story…)
Instantly your concern and attention gravitates to these words. Egads, he’s getting personal! Why is he struggling? Why is he telling me he’s struggling? What does his struggle have to do with me?
“This has been going on for some time…”
Wow, this is serious.
“And I’ve been battling this with everything I have.”
He’s not kidding around.
“And the struggle is over you.” [click to continue…]
