212 degrees

This is from a sermon I preached on Sunday 27 September 2009. It reflects on the power of turning up the heat in our lives in everything we do. 212Degrees Judges 16:23-30 Have you ever seen the screws also known as the propellers on a large ship? They are immense. I had the opportunity to stand beside a pair for an LPD in a dry dock and they dwarfed me as I stood next to them.. I don’t remember the weight on them but it was a very heavy amount, and the shafts that they attach to aren’t just toothpicks either. While I was in the Navy I was always amazed at the engineering types. They lived most of their lives below decks in the bowels of the ship working their magic that made the ship work. When you did see them above deck they always looked like their eyes were closed in a permanent squint in the foreign sun. I always thought they preferred to emerge from their catacombs in the peaceful serenity of the new moon so the sky was as foreign to them.. They sequestered themselves for hours on end in the nether reaches of the ship in such places as the boiler room, shaft alley, and the machine rooms. When they did emerge they always had this oily dinginess about them that never did quite come out. They were the givers of life to the ship. Without them working their magic in the black hole of the engine spaces, the ship wouldn’t move, the guns couldn’t aim, the radios wouldn’t work once the batteries died. In short without the engineers our glorious Navy would basically be a bunch of big piles of steel rusting away in the ocean. One of the things that the purveyors of Naval life understand is the difference that one extra degree can make. Many people talk of the advantages of going to the Celsius scale where water freezes at zero and boils at 100 degrees. How many of you know the Fahrenheit scale is based on the comfort range of the human body 0 was commonly thought to be the lower end of the comfort range for a moderately dressed man and 100 degrees is the upper range of that scale where the human body is comfortable. Of course we know now that there are other factors such as wind and humidity that play into the equation., as well as length of exposure. But using this premise as a basis, water at 100 degrees is fairly comfortable for the human body for a period of time. I have been told because I am not a coffee drinker that 180 degrees is the ideal temperature for a cup of coffee, so we could safely say 180 degrees is hot. Water at 211 degrees would be very hot, wouldn’t you agree? But we know from basic chemistry, not one of my better subjects, and basic physics, which I enjoyed more, that water boils at 212 degrees, and boiling water transforms the water from a liquid to a gas we call steam.. Steam under the right circumstances can be used to produce a power that drives the huge propellers that move a ship through the water. Without going into it the steam is heated even higher than 212 degrees under pressure to become superheated steam, but it requires that 212 degrees to become the steam in the first place, and steam is required to turn the massive shafts that drive the propeller that pushes the ship through the water. If there are any naval engineering types out there I apologize for the simplicity of my explanation here, but it is the essence of how the system works that illustrates my point. It is that one degree that takes the water from the very hot, or scalding hot, to the driving force turning not only those massive propellers, but driving many tons of steel though the ocean at very impressive speeds. Aircraft carriers for example The USS RONALD REAGAN displaces 104,000 tons, ONE HUNDRED FOUR THOUSAND TONS. Think about that for a moment how heavy that ship is….ONE HUNDRED FOUR THOUSAND TONS. And it is propelled by steam. The vaporous form of lowly water that we all take for granted. It is nuclear powered but the nuclear power is just a way to heat the water and bring it to steam. Think of the power that one extra degree can produce. Can you imagine one hundred four thousand tons driving though the water at over 30 knots? 30 knots being a nautical mile is the same as driving your car at 34 miles per hour. The actual top speed is more than that but is classified. ONE HUNDRED FOUR THOUSAND TONS OF STEEL, with six thousand give or take men, and almost one hundred aircraft driven by steam. Not only does steam drive that massive ship though the water, it is also used to launch aircraft form a standing start to flying speed in an amazingly short distance. I once was told that the catapult of a carrier could launch a Cadillac up to one half a mile , now that is power. Steams launch those wonders of Naval aviation so they can ply the sky above the seas. One extra degree takes plain water and produces not only power, but mighty power, impressive power, unstoppable power. I saw a film once while I was in the navy, of a high pressure steam leak. You couldn’t see the steam leaking out of the pipe, but you could hear it hissing it’s deadly warning. The instructor waved a broom handle through the path of the steam leak, and it cut the handle cleanly through as if it had been cut by an invisible saw. Now that is power. It is the power that that extra degree gives you. In our passage today Samson summoned up that extra degree when he asked God to help him one last time. He summoned that extra degree that God gave him and brought the temple down on the Philistines. Samson could have just given up and let himself be put to death but he summoned that extra degree and went down in a blaze of glory. Abraham summoned up that extra degree of courage when he put his pride and joy son on the alter to sacrifice. Noah showed the extra degree when even though he was probably subject to tons of ridicule and jeers while he was building the ark in preparation to the flood. Daniel showed the extra degree and tolerated the extra degree when he was cast into the fiery furnace with Meshach, Shadrech and Abednego. They all showed that extra degree of confidence that God would take care of them. Moses wavered but did show the extra degree in trusting God by leading the Israelites out of Egypt. In the sermons I have been listening to the pastor was preaching on the book of Nehemiah, in this book Nehemiah turned up the extra degree and rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. What can we do if we apply that extra degree. We work on a daily basis some of you in an office, some in a factory, my wife works in a grocery store, and my 18 year old daughter Hs been working in a restaurant. Both of them show that extra degree in their jobs. My daughter is respected and well liked by the people she works with because she puts her all into the job. She doesn’t treat it as a lowly job of bussing or waiting tables she looks at as an opportunity to grow in responsibility, and in herself. My wife Janet works at Valuland as a cashier. People I run into all the time tell me how lucky I am to have her as a wife, and I am truly very thankful for that. What makes her special is she smiles and greets people, she makes them feel very special when they are at her register. She makes them feel like they are the most important person in the store when she is dealing with them. She goes the extra mile to remember what they like and how they like their groceries bagged. When she can she helps those who are struggling out with their groceries. I have had people tell me how upset they are when they go into the store and learn that Janet is not working on that day. Janet turns up the heat that extra degree and goes from being hot to being a driving force in what she does. She tries not to drag people down, even on days when I have seen her drag herself out of bed in excruciating pain, and come home in so much pain she was in tears; she still makes her customers the most important feature in the store. I have worked on the road in sales, and I meet all kinds of people, from the ones that make you feel like you are an imposition on them for being a salesman to the ones who make you feel like you are their long lost brother. I know how hard it is to keep that smile on you face and work to get the person the right product of their needs, and it is not always what I have to sell. I struggle to find that extra degree, yet I know how important it is. Jesus shows us examples of turning up the heat that extra degree all over the gospels. From the feeding of the multitudes at the Sermon on the Mount, He could have just packed it in and told the disciples they didn’t have enough food to take care of all those people. No he dug right in and worked his miracles. He raised Lazarus from the dead. He healed the lepers. Where in the Gospels can you not find an example of Christ turning up the heat. Right to the end of his earthly ministry when he was nailed to the cross and sacrificed for our sins. And guess what, he didn’t stop there, he rose again and overcame the bounds of death, he walked with and talked with His disciples and prepared them for the trials and the work ahead so they could in turn, turn up the heat to become a driving force in society. They were the steam that got the mighty juggernaut of Christianity going, and we are the steam that keeps it moving forward instead of becoming a rusting hulk in the ocean of society as many churches have a tendency to do. God is always asking us to turn up the heat and put out that extra degree. He wants us to be a driving force in society instead of society being a driving force on us. Many churches have gone from being a hot churches to being a superheated churches. Does God want this church constrained to the confines of this lovely valley? The extra degree that God demands of us can take this church beyond Carroll County, beyond the borders of New Hampshire. That driving force can take us out of Northern New England, and even out of New England overall. God’s driving power will break the bounds of the nation’s borders. God wants to be a driving force in the world. By applying that extra degree that God has demanded of us. It has driven a now deceased friend of mine, Paul Dorian and his group that went down to help rebuild after Katrina. It has manifested itself in the dedication of Rusty Reinhold of Brooks Auto and Doug Kimball of Kimballs Power Equipment and others who travel to Haiti regularly to help minister to those in need in that country. That extra degree manifests itself in a fellow Gordon Alumnae Janet Hammar and her husband Oscar while they labor in love in Peru, teaching and spreading God’s word. That extra degree manifested itself in the new Bible they were able to provide to the people they serve. That extra degree drives churches to assist missionaries in South Africa, as well as other African countries. It drives Christian missionaries into the Muslim strongholds of the Middle East. That driving force drives churches to support missionaries all over the world. That driving force drives churches to support the missionaries in our own back yard who go into the halls of Kingswood to work with our teens and help them find their own driving force in the world, and to mentor them into that force being a positive rather than negative force. The Moving Wall is in Wolfeboro at the Nick this weekend, on that wall are the names of 16 chaplains who didn’t come home, tow of those chaplains were awarded the Medal of Honor Major Charles Watters, his citation reads, For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Chaplain Watters distinguished himself during an assault in the vicinity of Dak To. Chaplain Watters was moving with one of the companies when it engaged a heavily armed enemy battalion. As the battle raged and the casualties mounted, Chaplain Watters, with complete disregard for his safety, rushed forward to the line of contact. Unarmed and completely exposed, he moved among, as well as in front of the advancing troops, giving aid to the wounded, assisting in their evacuation, giving words of encouragement, and administering the last rites to the dying. When a wounded paratrooper was standing in shock in front of the assaulting forces, Chaplain Watters ran forward, picked the man up on his shoulders and carried him to safety. As the troopers battled to the first enemy entrenchment, Chaplain Watters ran through the intense enemy fire to the front of the entrenchment to aid a fallen comrade. A short time later, the paratroopers pulled back in preparation for a second assault. Chaplain Watters exposed himself to both friendly and enemy fire between the two forces in order to recover two wounded soldiers. Later, when the battalion was forced to pull back into a perimeter, Chaplain Watters noticed that several wounded soldiers were lying outside the newly formed perimeter. Without hesitation and ignoring attempts to restrain him, Chaplain Watters left the perimeter three times in the face of small arms, automatic weapons, and mortar fire to carry and to assist the injured troopers to safety. Satisfied that all of the wounded were inside the perimeter, he began aiding the medics ... applying field bandages to open wounds, obtaining and serving food and water, giving spiritual and mental strength and comfort. During his ministering, he moved out to the perimeter from position to position redistributing food and water, and tending to the needs of his men. Chaplain Watters was giving aid to the wounded when he himself was mortally wounded. Chaplain Watters' unyielding perseverance and selfless devotion to his comrades was in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army. Do you think Major Watters turned up the heat that extra degree, and did God’s work protecting and comforting the soldiers he was to serve? I think he did. If that driving force can take a plain quiet, unassuming woman, like my wife and make her a bright spot in many peoples day, how can it change you? By asking God to apply that one extra degree to your life, could it make you the life change force for that one co-worker, or friend who is looking for something more? By adding that one degree could it make you the shining example that would attract people to church through your example. By adding that one extra degree could you help even one person break the shackles of a destructive life, of alcohol or drug addiction? By adding that one degree could you bring the pillars of Satan’s temple down that had been built up around someone? What driving force does God want you to be in today’s society?

Conversation With God

I sat down in my quiet place, and let my breathing settle and my heart slow down. I had read my Bible at home, then took my dog out for her walk into the upper field. I let her run chasing unseen scents from where various animals crossed in barely perceptable trails. The mist softly rose off Green Mountain across the street. That morning mistthat clings to the mountain always seems to settle me down, it has a calming effect on me.

I sit on my rock, taking in the sounds of nature, the rustling of the breeze through the grass, the occasional soft neighing of the neighbors horses, and even the sound of the trucks out on the main road past the end of our property. I take a deep breath and try to clear my mind and then begin my daily ritual of prayer. I should say it is more like a one sided conversation with God. Money has been tight, and I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. Our savings has been completely drained, and we live day to day off my job in Internet Sales at a car dealership, where sales has been dreadfully slow. My wife works two part time jobs, one she loves and lives to go to on Fridays and Saturdays, ond one she hates and drags herself to 3 days a week. I start my monologue, “Dear God, I have faith you exist, and that you watch over us, but why do you let me suffer soand not answer my prayers. I need so much and you are very capable of providing, but you seem to turn a deaf ear to me.You don't answer and always seem to leave me hanging.”

A stirring inside of me and a warmth seemed to eminate from within, rising from my toes, up my legs into my stomach and chest, despite the morning chill in the air. My head spun and a dull ache in my heart stirred to life. I heard, or I should more aptly say I felt a voice stirring deep inside of me. I can't quite explain it, I didn't hear the voice in my ears, but rather heard it with my heart, but could understand it just the same.

“What troubles you my son,” it said to me, and I realized it was God speaking to me. It wasn't the deep booming voice from heaven we think of when we see movies like The Ten Commandments, but a soft whisper, neither male nor female.

“Abba,” I responded, “Why don't I hear youwith my ears?”

“Because, my son,” the voice responded, “I speak to you through the Spirit, for when I breathed life into Adam, the life I instilled in him was that of the Holy Spirit, which is in place in all of you my children. It is there before you were born into this world, and it will be ther long after you pass from it. It is what sets you apart from the animals in my kingdom. You have a piece of me dwelling inside you, and I am with you always.”

I felt at peace, and instantly realized this was true, and I started, “so the Trinity...”

“Yes my son, the Trinity does exist,” the voice responded. “I am God the father as I have been called, but more accurately I am God the Creator. Look around you my son, everything you see was created by me. I set the world in motion right down to the great glaciers that set this stone in place that you sit upon and talk to me. Before you Willis Willis would sit upon this rock and rest from his tiring work in this very field, and as a boy he would climb upon this rock as he watched his father toil in the summer heat.” I realized he was talking about Willis Gale and his father Daniel Gale. Willis was my wife's great uncle, and Daniel his father. They owned this farm before I bought it from my in-laws., but this was no secret. They left it to my mother in law, and were very well known in the area, people to this day talk fondly of old Willis Gale.

The voice went on, “So I am God the father and creator of all that was, is, and is to be. I am the common ground that unites all of existance. Inside each of you is your soul, the inner you, the part of you that wasbefore you were. It dwells inside of you, and always will be even after your body passes on to become the dust I created you from. Along with the soul that exists inside of you I have instilled a part of me , that man has come to call the Holy Spirit. The Spirit talks to you on a daily basis, even though mankind has lost the ears to hear it, but you feel it. It is that tugging at your heart, trying to get you on the right path, trying to guide you past the pitfalls in life, and to my heavenly purpose. But you as man through the original defiance you have come to call the original sin, have allowed another to dwell inside of you, and that being controls you through the EGO, and tells you how great you can be, by worshiping things that do not matter, like money and possessions. Essentially when you follow ego, you edge God out of you life and let the dark power take over, aqnd control the direction you take in your life.

Look at the mess in this world, the collapsed economies, the lost jobs, the devalued properties, it is all a result of greed. Man wanting more than he truly needs, houses were getting bigger and bigger, as were the mortgages, and deceptive ways were devised to cover up the debt incurred. Things are considered neccesities that aren't necessary at all. They ar enice to haves and it would make my life easier if...but not necessary at all to live. Cars had to be fancier and bigger.Things considered neccesities may be nice but truly not neccessitie to live. Things had to be bigge, fancier, more economical. All because the one who controls the ego said it should be. You as a society have strayed from your roots. You government fills your headwith lies and like the rest of you, lives well outside of its means, but no one wants to sufer the hard cuts because of a sense of entitlement. You learned nothing from my earthly incarnation in the form of the Christ. He came to earth as an example of how to lead your life, and howit should be lead, and to hopefully awaken you to the existance of the Spirit inside of each of you. He was sent to be the part of me that exeperienced what you experience. He was sent to be the Rabbi of all Rabbi's. I have listened my son, not only to you but to generation upon generations who were like you.” the voice said unto me.

“How do I know you listened my Lord, I mean my life is so messed up and seemingly empty.” I cried.

Is it now? Empty you say, I would say just the opposite, your life is rich and full. I have instilled in you a purpose to minister to your fellow man, and you have found your niche in caring for your fellow warriors. You warriors hold a special place in my heart because for the most part you fight the evil in this world. You put you lives on the line to fight tyranny and hatred, but you also pay the price with your thousand yard stares, and metal anguish from experiencing the horros that man can inflict on their fellow man. This is a result of evil getting inside and messing with the EGO, and filling the mind with self centered thoughts which result in Edging God Out of your lives.” the voice inside my heart continues, “ now to your original prayer, when have I not answered your prayers? You prayed for help in heating your house and I arranged for one receptive to delivering wood and accepting payment over time, then I went a step further and got you a load delivered free of charge from another source. You prayed for relief of a car loan...”

“Now wait a minute God,” I say,, “ I got out from under the car payment because my daughter totaled her mothers car, now that can't be the same thing.”

“Now my son,” God went on,” why does it have to work out exactly as YOU want? Yes she was in an accident, and totaled the car, but didn't I protect her from injury, as well as the other driver? Didn't you get exactly enough to pay off the loan on the car? I would say it all worked out for you.” “You Prayed for money to pay for truck repairs, and didn't I provide work that paid enough to cover those expenses, as well as provide a lady you have become friendly with and is a huge fan of yours?You prayed fervently for a job when your unemployemtn ran out and I provided one. Ialso provided finacial help whn you needed it to pay your bills. When you though Christmases were going to be dismal, didn't I provide money for you to buy presents for your girls, and you admitted yourself tha those were two of the best Christmas's of your life.”

“So okay God,” I ask, “Why do you let bad things happen to good people?”

My son,” God responded, “I don't let bad things happen to good people, you people alone allow bad things to happen to yourselves. Again you rely on EGO to sort things out, and rely on your own understanding. You Edge Me Out, even when you come to me in prayer, rather than listening to the stirring in your heart, and the murmeurs of the Spirit, you rely more on your own intuition and the direction of the EGO. Yes I created the EGO as an instrument for you to develop some pride in your accomplishments, but you have pushed it furhter and further ahead in your life, and placed it above me. Many people worship themselves above me and fail to acknowledge any control I have over their lives. They turn only to themsleves for answers, and take credit for all the good things that happen in ther lives, but blame me when things go wrong. There are two things and two things only I ask of you as humans, and that is to love your fellow man as you love yourself, and two is to in all ways acknowledge me. You must remember that Gratitude is an attitude, and that it is catchy. Just as you like your children to be grateful for the things you do for them, I like all my children to be grateful for the things I do for them. Just as when your children are grateful , you are willing to give them and trust them more, I am also. However, just as you are dismayed when all your children do is come to you with their hands out looking for more without acknowledging what you have already done for them, I get upset when people come to me in prayer and just ask for blessings in their lives. It is totally within my power to make everyman wealthy in ways you can only imagine, but I do not do so because if you are not to be thankful for the small things in your lives, you will never be for the big things either.. Additionally with the benefits of my treasures comes the awesome responsibility of sharing the treasure with those around you as I share them with you. Do you understand what I am saying? You give so freely of yourself and that which I have entrusted in you, but others do not. They think the amassing of gold and jewels make them rich, they fail to realize it is not the ability to amass the vast amount of riches, but the ability to share what I have trusted to you with others that makes you truly rich..”

“My big fear my Lord,” I muse, “is that I am not praying properly.”

“My son,” my heart murmurs, “is there a proper way to pray? You tell me.”

“I don't know Lord,” I reply, “So many people in the Bible seem to have it wired, with the right amount of formality, even people at church, yo uknow the pious ones that use the flowery words and kneel with their heads bowed. That just doesn't feel right to me, I don't know, I just want to do it right.”

“There is no right way, and there is no wrong way to pray,” the voice assures me. “There is only what is comfortable to you. How do you talk to your friends? Are you all formal and correct when you talk to them? If you are comfortable on your knees, then by all means do that. If you are more comfortable sitting on a rock in the middle of a beautiful field with the sounds of nature all around you, then by all means do that. I really don't care, what I do care is that you share with me and come to me with your joys as well as your fears. I care that you have a sense of gratitude for what you have. Talk to me as you wold your wife and kids. What is right for you is right for me.”

“Okay, I say,”I can see that, but it seems that you don't hear me or care to answer.”

“I always answer you Paul,” the voice assures me, You just have to remember, your time is not my time. To me a day is like a millenium, and a millenium is like a day. I answer you when the time is right, in my time, not yours.

“But God,” I cry, “How do I know that if I don't hear you?”

“Paul, Paul, Paul,” He goes on, “You also have to remember man has forgotten how to hear me. I didn't stop communicating with you, you stopped learning how to listen. Abraham, Enoch, Daniel, David, and even Paul learned how to listen to the murmur in their soul just as you are doing right now, that is how I communicate with you. I also send you messages through your surroundings and nature. Remember when you decided it was right to start a ministry, you were talking to me in a garden. What happened then?”

“I remember,” I said, “A hummingbird landed on abranch right next to me and sat there looking at me. I felt so peaceful and everyhting felt so right.”

“And was that not an answer to you?”

“I see what you mean my Lord, I see what you mean.”

“My son just because I don't ensure you have all the things you think are the finest in the world, I have entrusted you with some of the most precious gifts life has to offer. A good woman at your side, the sound of giggling children at play, the beauty of a sunrise and sunset over the mountains. And you do show gratitude for these, and I am appreciative of that, for many don't and just grumble about what they don't have even when I have given them so much. So go forth my son and enjoy the pleasures I have given you, and remember this, the most precious gift is time, for even though it goes on eternally, your time in this physical body is limited and finite,and you can't replace any of it once it is gone, so spend it wisely, and enjoy every second of it.”

With that the voice subsided and my heart went quiet, but the glow remained and I knew my conversation with God was over, for now. But I also felt if I continued to speak, God would be ther listening. I walked back to the house a few minutes later with a new fresh perspective on life, and my relationship with my Creator.

A Matter of Perspective

It has been said that a weed is a desirable plant that has just grown in the wrong place. This is very true in many cases. During the summer I was working out in the field and my wife made the comment to me, that she wishes we could get rid of the milkweed that grows in places around the field. Ilooked at her and said I would like to see a half acre of the field covered in nothing but milkweed. Janet asked me why, and I told her, when I look at milkweed I can smell the sweet aroma of the flowers as they bloom in the summer. I look and I can see the monarch butterflies flitting from flower to flower as they feed (Monarchs love milkweed and it protects them from many predators as the predators do not like the taste of the monarch as it takes on the flavor of the milkweed) Ialso see my children standing in the field as youngsters picking the pods and pulling the seeds out and blowing them into the wind and then saying "Look daddy angels floating over us" Yes when some people look at the milkweed they see a noxious plant that seemingly has nothing to offer, but they don't look beyond the plant to the beauty it brings with it, and the wonderment of children at play. What a boring world it would be if we didn't have children watching the "angels" floating on the breeze. Yes things may appear as weeds in our lives, noxious and unneeded, but if you dig deeper and look at them deeper you may see the beauty they put into your life because they are there. An illness or medical condition may be a pain, but it may make you slow down enough in your life that you actually take time to smell the roses. A layoff from work may give you the time to lay on your back with your children and see the animals that float over head in the clouds. These weeds, may also be God's way of leading us on to greater things and becoming more elegant and beautiful humans as the milkweed helps create and protect the monarch butterfly. Life is all a matter of perspective, and hwo we look at it determines how we react to it. Be positive and understanding and life becomes positive and understanding to you.

New Posts

It has been a very long time since I paid attention to this site. When I started it, I was going to light the world on fire, and then things happened and I got sidetracked. I was out of work for an extended period of time I did some posting, but mainly sat around feeling sorry for myself, but then started a new job and pushed it all to the back burner. I have realized one thing, and that is my thoughts don't stop. Instead of a blog this could be called ramblings becasue I shift from one subject to another, but they are all near and dear to my heart. I am vowing now to start all over again and be more faithful to my writing. I am going to ask for accountability partners to keep me on track of at a minimum 1 blog per week but hopefully one per day. SO watch for some great stuf to be coming out of my head.

Declutter your life

I was struck by a fact the other day, it had actually been there buried in the back of my mind for some time, and something my daughter Grace has been doing brought it to the forefront and cased me to reflect on it more and more.
Since Khrys came home from college she has been nagging Grace to clean her room and organize. Khrys has always been a clutter free type of person, at least in her own room (don't ask e about the rest of the house.) Through this verbal sparring, Grace finally started the decluttering process. Last Sunday, Janet and I went through a utility closet in Grace's room and disposed of several boxes of "important" stuff that we hadn't looked at in probably fifteen years, and ended up taking a truck load to the transfer station (ie. dump). Grace has continued on and produced about eight bags of trash for me to dispose of on Saturday. When I asked where it all came from, she responded it was stuff important to her when she was little, and that she was not little anymore, so it was time go. There were toys that were broken, games missing pieces that hadn't been played in years, but up until now she just couldn't bring herself to part with. She has books she has outgrown she wants to give away to someone who would enjoy them. When she said this I felt hit up the side of the head with a two by four. Out of the mouth of babes, and she is so wise beyond her twelve years.
We spend so much of our time in our lives cluttered by the junk of the past, and it seems like the older we get, the more we are cluttered, because more has accumulated to clutter us all up. I look into my office and I see the stuff I just can't live without. I haven't used it in years, but just can't do without it. My bedroom is the same way, pants I haven't worn in years have to stay there because I may fit in them again (yeah right).
Don't get me wrong, memories of the past are a great thing and do have a place in our lives, but not all the junk we tend to collect as humans. We must remember our past, for it is a part of what has brought us to where we are today, and it is important to remember. A famous quote warns us that if we do not remember history we are condemned to repeat it. The danger my friend is when we dwell in the past, pining for the "good old days". When we do this we have a tendency to lose the future and all of its possibilities. We cling to what was and seem to miss the the possibilities of what is and what could be. We tend to cling so tightly to what we think is important that we miss the path to what is so truly important.
An analogy I was thinking of, is a driver on the freeway. Where he is at any given moment is the now, anything behind the car is the past and anything in front of the car is the future. He is looking for a particular exit, one that he knows will get him to his destination. To do this he must be looking forward, facing the future. If he spends to much time looking in the rear view mirror watching where he has been, he can miss that most important sign telling him where he is to go.
The same thing is true in life. If we spend so much time looking to the past we miss the important signs for the future, and let us face it, the future is where we are going to spend the rest of our lives, regardless of how hard we try to block it, not in the past. is it time to get rid of the clutter in your life, so you can get out of the past and start your journey into the future. Loosen your bonds on the past, how many bags of trash can you get rid of, so you can journey boldly into the future.

The State of the Union

We are at a crossroads in society today, depending on who you talk to we are either still mired deep in a recession that hasn't been seen in several decades, or just climbing out of the back side. Whichever you listen to, we still have a high percentage of Americans out of work and looking for virtually non existent jobs. I know the hardship those who are unemployed are going through as I am also stuck in that mode myself. It is a road full of highs and lows, and many of the policies the government has implemented do not work. I am a veteran, yet because of my time of service, after Vietnam, but before Desert Storm I do not qualify for a lot of the help out there for veterans, so you do it all on your own. I listen every night to the debate on the overhaul of health care, yet no discussion on how to help those who do not have a job...Obama has made comments that he would like to impose penalties on those who do not have insurance, but what about those who do not have a job and can not afford it, then they have to pay a penalty to the government as well? Doesn't make sense to me. We have to many people in this country with their hands out expecting the government to take care of them from cradle to grave. Yes insurance rates are rising faster than the rates of pay are increasing, but I do not see the government being able to do anything about that. It is our responsibility to take care of ourselves. We have to destress ourselves and work towards trying to live a healthier lifestyle, not drink as much, not smoke, not use drugs, the government can't do this for us, we have to do it for ourselves

DeStress

I read once a long time ago that every person should have a place they can go that is within 5-10 minutes of where they work, and where they live that they can destress and just get back on track. I was thinking of this the other day when Pastor Mitchum and I snuck away to talk for an hour at one of my secret locations, and Dan had made the comment that "it was so nice to get out there and hear the river in the background rather than the clicking of keyboards, and the hum of machinery, and people's voices in other offices. I was thinking about this for the last couple of days and realized how blessed I am to have so many of these "secret" places to get away to even though I haven't really taken advantage of them to their fullest potential. My own back yard up in the field is one of the first places, and they are all in their own way God's outdoor cathedrals, a place where we can reflect on the grandeur of His great creation. It may be noisy as in the river but it is God's noise not man's noise that predominates, and it can be a place that is very quiet for the most part as it is in my field, with the only real noise being the wind blowing through the trees and the rustling leaves. I think we all need to find such places, and if they were utilized I think you might find our stress levels as a country decrease, and with the decreased stress levels, I think we would find that our medical needs go down also.

Just a thought.

The Awesome Journey

The Awesome Journey


Don't be anxious
Wait on the Lord
Don't let fear take hold
Trust in the Lord
Your life is a journey
Let God be the guide
Let God take hold
And follow His will
And His patient hand
Guide you on your way
Let His eternal calmness
Settle your troubled soul
Let the whisper of His vice
fall gently upon your ear
Open up your senses
And let Him into your life
Feel the warmth of His love
wash over your body like the sun.
Let His desire for your life
change your eternal soul.
His still hand allows
you to reach beyond the grave.
When you learn to trust
In His will for you
You set upon a journey
of awesome proportions
Don't be envious
of what others have
Be joyful of what you have
In God's great plan.
And enjoy your ride
On God's awesome journey.

Paul Bartoswicz 7/26/09

I wrote this poem during church on July 26th as I reflected on what life had to offer as well as a reflection on Pastor Dan Mitchum's sermon series he has been preaching on. The whole financial mess we find ourselves in today is in part due to envy, we must be able to keep up with the Jonses and have everything they have regardless f how much debt we must bury ourselves in to get it, then our financial lives are so finally balanced, that one little blip in our finances slips us over into the abyss of despair.

A Wake Up Call

As unpopular as my posting today may be with some people, I have been reflecting on the current economic situation we are currently going through not only in this country, but in the world overall. I think we are going through a wake up call of historic proportions. We are a world that has gotten to materialistic, and dependent on physical things, and creature comforts. More often than not both parents work to provide nicer vehicles, and bigger houses than we really need.

The banking crisis was a result of people stretching their mortgage payments out to the maximum they could afford in order to buy houses far to big and fancy for their needs. We are a society that has to have all the latest and greatest in the world of electronics and entertainment. Our homes are not complete without them. We all have to have cell phones, and the highest of speeds on our internet. I just read an editorial about teenagers using cell phones to cheat on tests as well as sending naked pictures of themselves out into cyberspace. It is estimated according to this writer that 1 in 5 kids have taken a nude photo of themselves and passed it out into the electronic world. Cell phones have also made it easier for kids to arrange drug transactions, and go around behind their parents back in regards to relationships, especially when you tie the internet into that. We use a computer in my house as I have to have internet in order for me to do my daily work, but we restrict the computer to the living room or kitchen for the kids under 18 where my wife and I can keep some semblance of an eye on our kids while they are using it. Many kids are not that restricted and can go just about anywhere in the house and have access to a world that is begging for them to find mischief of some sort.

I think the overall economic crisis is a wake up call for us to examine our lives and find a lifestyle that calls for family values and learning to do without some of the extravagances in life rather than having all the creature comforts. I can remember a time when dining out was a big deal and we were all on our best behavior because it happened so seldom. As a family of 6 we lived in a modest house of less than 1600 square feet and and I shared a room with my brother while he was still at home and my sisters shared a room, rather than each of us having our own room. Even today my wife and I have a house that is only about the same size of less than 1600 square feet. We don't have a luxurious master suite with walk in closet, and private bath, we have one bathroom for the entire family (I do admit as the only man I would like to have at least another 1/2 bath) We don't go out to eat all that often to a restaurant, we may order subs or a pizza in for a special treat, but even that is not all that often. My wife tried to stay at home when the kids were younger than school age, and event today with one a senior in high school and one in 5th grade, we try to have one of us at home when they get home from school. We eat dinner together as a family,and yes still say grace and ask for God's blessing before our meal. We do without a HDTV, and our kitchen does not have all the latest gadgets you can buy, event though I do like to prepare some gourmet meals every now and then. We don't find the need to travel to extravagant locations for vacation, we do spend time exploring some of the things to do in our own home area. Yes it would be nice to be able to go to some luxurious location for a vacation, but we think it is more important to be a part of our children's lives on a daily basis. We still ask how our kid's day was when they come through the door (even though sometimes they want to take our head off when we ask) Nothing makes me feel more like a dad than when my 17 year old still asks for my help with her homework.

We have tried to ingrain on our girls the importance of community and community involvement. The lessons seem to have made an impact, when I watch my girls take part in events, and help where ever they can. All three girls worked on the moving wall when it was in Ossipee, and on the last day when asked if she wanted to go home with her mother after the closing ceremony my then 10 year old told her mother she could not abandon her post because the veterans were counting on her. When my 17 year old seeks out projects that will make an impact on the community it makes my heart swell with pride. She recently wrote an essay for a scholarship application that in essence said that volunteer work makes life worth while, and makes her feel so good when she sees how she has helped other people.

Let us take this opportunity to learn a lesson and simplify our lives. We don't really need all the extras that we have somehow decided are necessities. We can get by with a lot less then we really have. I recently listened to a Pastor talk about why they grow a vegetable garden each year. they don't do it because they need the food, they do it so their kids will learn that a tomato comes from the ground rather than just coming from the supermarket. They do it so the kids will learn that they have to take care of the plants and fertilize them, and water them for them to grow strong and produce fruit. Well guess what we have to do the same thing for our kids. We have to nurture them, we have to care for them, we have to be there for them, and not just leave them for others to care for all day long, or to leave them to their own devices. When I sit in my chair and watch my daughters still cuddle with my wife on the couch I know all is right with the family and that even though we have our moments when the girls yell at each other and say they hate each other, they still know the value of family and supporting each other in all they do.

Oath

I was reflecting over the last week, with the 11th being Veteran's Day, the Oath of Office I swore some 28 years ago.

I Paul H. Bartoswicz, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

At the time I took that oath it was a very serious thing for me to do. I put a lot of thought into the oath before I swore it in front of the admiral, my pastor, and very close friend Polly. I had just finished a pretty intense training program over the past several months including military history, small arms qualifications, navigation, protocol, and the such. I was about to be commissioned an Ensign in the United States Navy. In the reflection I had taken upon myself regarding the oath of office I was about to I came to the following conclusions:

I Paul H. Bartoswicz, The one possession that I have that can never be taken away from me is my name, my background...the I Paul H. Bartoswicz, is the one thing that can never be taken from me. I may lose money, I may lose my health, I may lose my freedom, bu the fact is that I am who I will always be, and that can never be changed. My name may change, but me as a person will not. I am a culmination of the experiences of my past.

Do solemnly Swear. I had to make a solemn public affirmation in front of classmates, friends, and officers that I would do something. This affirmation is not to be taken lightly nor without deep soul searching of what it meant to me.

that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution of the United States, the one document above all others that sets the course of American life apart form that of any other country. Our founding fathers thought long and hard about what was to be set in stone so to speak as the founding document and guiding light for our great country. It is not a living document as some would try to make you believe, but a foundation for the country to be built, and the guiding light for our illumination through tumultuous times. It is the foundation upon which all other laws guiding our actions must be based, and the template for which the Supreme Court to rely upon for judging the admissibility of those laws. Before i swore this oath, I took the time to read and study the document I would be swearing to defend, and I came to the conclusion that these brave men in the infancy of our country were so wise beyond their years for the guidelines they set up. The electoral college to give all people of the country equal weight in electing the President, and not just leaving it to the heavily populated urban areas. The freedom of the press, the right to bear arms as well as the rest. It is a document and set of ideals well worth defending. I still pick up copies of the Constitution and read it today. It would be my wish that every graduating Senior form High School be given a copy of the Constitution along with their diploma as they set upon their future. We would all benefit from reading it and learning what our founding fathers meant when they set the pen to the parchment it was written upon. (The other document every senior should receive is the Declaration of Independence to give them insight as to what we were leaving behind when we set on the course of history we set upon). With the studying of this great document came the reading of some of the Federalist Papers to get a little better insight to what our founding fathers were trying to do. As a result of this intense research, I found that the Constitution was a document well worth supporting and defending, and that our states must remain United in a common cause.

all enemies, foreign and domestic, we have to remember there are people all around the world as well as within our own country that would love to tear down the structure and the very fabric of life we enjoy on a day to day basis. It was part of my oath that I would defend the country and our way of life from those people and ideologies, with in the confines of the procedures set upon me by the very document I was swearing to defend.

that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same. I interpreted this to mean that I would hold my faith and allegiance to this document the Constitution of the United States as the guiding light of the governance of this country. I had the most trouble with this part as a Christian Man of Faith, in that in Sunday School we were told to swear allegiance to no power but God's. It was only after talking to a chaplain that I was able to overcome tis obstacle to my searing the oath, In that we were not swearing an oath that made the Constitution a divine guidance, but a political guidance for the governance of the country, and that we could hold a faith and allegiance to God as our religious belief, but also a faith and allegiance to the Constitution as the guiding light of our countries political future.

that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion. I was not coerced, or in any other way forced to swear this oath of affirmation. I was able to do so with a clear conscience, and no wavering, or using as a method of evading any other responsibilities I may have had.

and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. This is an affirmation I try to do in all aspects of my life now as well as then, whether it be my job, my extracurricular interests, my marriage, or my family, I will faithfully execute the responsibilities expected of me in all aspects of my life. I will try to be a builder rather than one to tear down. I will try to be a supporter rather than one to be supported. I will try to be a positive influence, rather than a negative one.

So help me God. My divine guidance, my religious faith is not separate from my civic responsibilities. My life is an intertwining of my religion and my civic duties, and as an American Citizen it is my responsibility to balance the two aspects of my life and not let one over run the other. The very document I was swearing to uphold and defend, was the very document that guaranteed, not the freedom of religion as we hear so often touted, or the freedom from religion that others would have you believe, but the freedom that we would not be imposed with a state sanction religion as they are in so many other parts of the world. We are free to believe and worship as we see fit. The country was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, but the founding fathers were to weary of making the government the controlling factor in ones religion. So many had come to this country to get away from state mandated religions.

So the oath the I swore that day some 28 years ago was without reservation that I would not be able to uphold the office I was being commissioned into, and is pretty much the same oath the President swears every four years on January 20th. I think we should all reflect on what this oath means as we move forward to that date again this year

I need Your Help

My family has been on a terrific journey for the last 23 years. We are a family that steps up to the plate and helps people and groups when they need help. It is not uncommon for us to spend our vacations and free time helping out in some volunteer capacity. To me it can be much more rewarding and relaxing then just laying around on a beach somewhere. I have bitten in lately to several projects which are to say the least huge.

A minor project which is no less important than any of the others is where I need the help right now. In an effort to collect can tabs for the Shriners Hospital of Boston


One man's trash is another man's treasure, and in this case the little aluminum can tabs are collected at approximately 1300 tabs to a pound. The tabs are sorted and then sold for recycling value to help pay for the Shriners Hospital of Boston which provides free care to children up to 18 years of age.

My family is undertaking a collection drive for these tabs, and help raise money for this much needed project. I need 5 gallon buckets to help in the collection and storage of these tabs. I strongly encourage anyone to collect these tabs, and if you have clean 5 gallon containers that we can use at collection sites and for storage in my barn I would greatly appreciate hearing from you. Please e-mail me at bartoswicz@roadrunner.com

How much for minimum wage?

I had an argument with someone yesterday about minimum wage. He was going on and on about how much easier it will be for working people now that the minimum wage has increased in New Hampshire to over $7.00 an hour. People will have so much more money in their pockets for the things they need he exclaimed.

This is a fallacy and I will try to show you here. Suppose I own a small business. I am buying raw material from another small business. It takes that business one hour to produce the material I need, being a small shoestring business they hire high school kids to produce the material and pay minimum wage for an entry level position. So two weeks ago the labor cost of that material was $6.50, now die to the increase of minimum wage it goes to $7.50 so an increase of $1.00 per unit. Now suppose he has uses a basic profit margin calculation to make his money on the product and he figures 10% for profit, so now his product has raised $1.10 in cost to me for my product.

My material cost just went up $1.10 overnight, and it takes an hour to produce my product, so I have to pay my entry level high school employee an extra dollar to produce my product, so now my cost of production has gone up $2.10 per unit. In order to stay in business I need a 10% margin to stay in business, so to cover my increase in material , and labor increase, I have to raise my price by 21 cents per unit on top of the $2.10 for a total of $2.31 increase in my product., and this does not even include the increased cost of employing people such as my share of employment costs, insurances, energy increases. But for the sake of simplicity I will just stay with my original supposition. Now my product goes out on the market at it's increased cost of $2.10, and the retailer adds their markup on the product a minimum of 25% so this brings the cost of the item up (I'll make it simple here) another 50 cents so know my product costs another $2.60. Now the person who makes minimum wage has to pay another $2.60 to buy my product, and guess what they are no further ahead then they were before the wage increased.

Now you have another unintended consequence. You have a person who has worked several years for a small business and his wage has increased $1.00 per hour over that time, now he is back to making minimum wage again, his employer is not obligated to giving him another raise so he is actually taking a step backwards, because in order to buy some products his dollar does not go as far. We could increase minimum wage to $20 an hour and we would still be in the same position, maybe even worse because a lot of small businesses would go out of business because they could not pass the added costs on and keep selling their products or services, so more of our jobs go overseas to countries where workers make pennies a day.

How Do You Respond?

I am currently reading a book by Robert Schuller Tough Times never last but tough people do, Inspirational writings. in this book Dr Schuller poses a question, How do people repsond when you ask them how they are doing? He rates the answers on what he calls "Schuller' Scale of Spirit". Everyone's answer falls somewhere on this scale of 1 to 10, but it totally reflects their attitude on life and ultimatley how well they may succeed in life.

1. Silence, trembly lips, eyes filled with tears.
2. Profane Anger, a torrent of swear words
3. Awful, you would be too if you had the problems I face
4. Not to bad. ( this is barely just one step above awful)
5. Pretty Good (just a a step above not to bad)
6. Good
7. Great
8. Terrific
9. Fantastic
10. Sensational

While we may never get to many responses in the 1 to 3 range, even though I have heard 2 and 3 a few times. The same is said of responses in the 7 thourgh 10 range. I hear a lot of Not to Bad, and pretty good responses, even the good or fine range, but they do tend to be pretty negative comments about us. We have become a very negative society, we tend to look down on our lives, and not counting our blessings. We grow complacent about our abilities, and when things go wrong we feel helpless to change them or climb out of our complacency. Negativity is running rampant in society today, especially with the economic downturn we have experianced. Even now with signs of the country coming out of the slump we still tend to be negative and fatalistic. The dollar is growing stonger, prices seemed to have peaked and seem to be edging back down off the crest, but we moan and groan about what we don't have, instead of being thankful for what we do have.

Just as negative, we seem to part company by another seemingly innocuous statement such as Take care, or Take it easy. They seem on the surface a pretty neutral comment to be making, take care, don't do anything to rock the boat, don't venture to far from land. Discoveries weren't mande by taking care. Continents would still be undiscoverd if we all took care. Answers to medical problems would still be unanswered if we all just took care. The same goes for take it easy. Many things worth accomplishing would go undone if we all took it easy. The world would be a much different place if we all just took it easy. When the times get tough, tough people have to roll up thier sleeves and do things the hard way, not take it easy.

On the scale of life where do you fall, not to bad or sensational? Do you plan to take the bull by the horns, or stand around and just take it easy? And for those who care to ask I am sensational. I woke to a beautiful sky, I have a loving wife, and I have all the opportunity in the world, I just have to work at it and not take it easy, or for granted. I don't sit around waiting for opportunity to fall in my lap but I get out and try to make my own breaks.

Saturdays

We tend to take time for granted and feel that things will always be the same and that those we love will always be there. A friend sent me this story. I had seen it before but forgotten all about it. It will put a lump in your throat.

"3900 Saturdays


The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it's the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it's the unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable.


A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the garage with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. What began as a typical Saturday morning turned into one of those lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time.



Let me tell you about it.



I turned the dial up into the phone portion of the band on my ham radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning swap net. Along the way, I came across an older sounding chap, with a tremendous signal and a golden voice. You know the kind; he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business He was telling whomever he was talking with something about 'a thousand marbles.' I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had to say.



'Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job. I'm sure they pay you well but it's a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. It's too bad you missed your daughter's dance recital' he continued. 'Let me tell you something that has helped me keep my own priorities.' And that's when he began to explain his theory of a 'thousand marbles.'



'You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years.'



'Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900, which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime. Now, stick with me, Tom, I'm getting to the important part. It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail', he went on, 'and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy. So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to round up 1000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside a large, clear plastic container right here in the shack next to my gear.'



'Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away. I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life.'



'There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight.'



'Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure that if I make it until next Saturday then I have been given a little extra time. And the one thing we can all use is a little more time.'



'It was nice to meet you Tom, I hope you spend more time with your family, and I hope to meet you again here on the band. This is a 75 Year old Man, K9NZQ, clear and going QRT, good morning!'



You could have heard a pin drop on the band when this fellow signed off. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to work on the antenna that morning, and then I was going to meet up with a few hams to work on the next club newsletter.



Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss. 'C'mon honey, I'm taking you and the kids to breakfast.' 'What brought this on' she asked with a smile.' 'Oh, nothing special, it's just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. And hey, can we stop at a toy store while we're out? I need to buy some marbles.'



A friend sent this to me, so I to you, my friend.



And so, as one smart bear once said...'If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you.' - Winnie the Pooh."

I hope you go out and buy your marbles. Let us get a real perspective of what is most important in our lives

Lives

Publius Syrus once wrote, "We should not live one life in private, and one life in public."

Those who know me well know I love to collect quotes, as a matter of fact I have filled two journals with quotes I have collected and am currently working on my third. This is one quote that seemed very very appropriate just after I found it. It was shortly after I wrote it in my journal that we got news of the John Edwards affair. This was definitely a case of a person living two separate lives, his public personae of a man who adored and supported his wife's battle with cancer. A loving man who was there for her ignoring his personal needs (but not his public ones in running for President) to help her with her battle. Then there was the personal life where he sought and acted on the relationship with another woman during this time. he stated that he grew into the assumption that due to his successes he could do whatever he wanted without any reprisal or ramifications, he had become a legend in his own mind.

We must live transparent lives willing to let what we do in our private lives be as upright as that which we let be seen in our public lives. If anything we should be more upright in our private lives as our giving spirit should be a private matter. God knows our hearts and He knows our intentions. If we do what we do for public acclaim it may be for the wrong reason.

March Out

I meet the most amazing young man yesterday at the annual family concert at Camp Sentinel in Tuftonboro New Hampshire. He went to college to play baseball, and after an injury changed his life around he now plays guitar, writes music, and sings for a group called Fort Pastor. A group who challenges all their fans to join a group called Social Justice Army. The challenge is to donate an hour per month to a worth while cause such as Habitat for Humanity, Food Pantries, Soup Kitchens, and spend some time helping your fellow man. I am actually thinking of joining as it would end up giving me some extra time each month if I only donated an hour a month instead of all the volunteer time I do give each year. The young man's name is Brant Christopher, and if you ever have a chance to hear him and his message, or that of Fort Pastor, I strongly advise you to go and see him. The following video and song really has meaning to me.



FORT PASTOR MUSIC VIDEO

Heroes

It seems a lot of times when I am working on a piece to post, I go to church on Sunday and the Pastor talks on a subject very close to the subject I am working on. It happened again today. I was working on a piece listing heroes in my life, and when I got to church this morning Gordon McDonald was preaching on a hero of his. He started the sermon with the fact that when he is getting to know someone one of the questions he invariably asks is "Who are your heroes?" He says he can get a lot of insight out of how a person answers this, and I agree with him. I have been amazed for years by several people who have become heroes in my life, some more recently than others. I would like to take the opportunity to list them today.

Jesus Christ for some obvious reasons. When I state someone is my hero I am saying I would like to be like that person, or there is something in that persons life that I deeply admire and would like to emulate. well in the case of Jesus, I strive to be more Christ like in my life. I strive to treat people fairly and the same regardless of their station in life. I strive to be happy with what God has bestowed upon me. I try not to be bitter when bad things happen to me. I strive, but because I am an imperfect person I know I can not ever gain that lofty goal, but I know that God loves me anyway.

The second hero in my life is the Apostle Paul. He makes the list because when confronted by the reality of God, he did not take the easy way out. He left his life of privilege and became an outcast to most of mainstream society of his time. He strove to do what was right and just. He supported his fellow Christians and helped them grow in their walk with God.

Third on my list is Ronald Reagan, again because he strove to do what was right even when unpopular. He brought some pride back to both the country and the military, both of which had been devastated after a long protracted war in Vietnam. When I joined the Navy in the early 80's it was still a negative connotation to be in the service, but when I got out the attitude had come about 180 degrees. He helped the country back on a path of prosperity and growth. he lived by his convictions.

Fourth on my list is more a group of people than a single individual, it is the likes of Milton Olive III, Jack Lucas, and every other person to ever receive the bauble we call the Congressional Medal of Honor. These are men who gave their all to save the lives of their fellow soldiers, sailors, marines or airmen. They gave no thought to their own safety, and I can never help but wonder if I were in the same position coul I bring myself to do what they did, for no man has a greater gift to give than his own life.

Fifth on my list would be William Bartosiewitz my paternal grandfather ( name has changed several times) I never really got to know the man except through stories my father and grandmother had told me, but he was a self made man who worked hard to get where he did in life. The stories about him have inspired me in work, and my personal life. Those stories taught me the importance of voting, and hard work.

And after today's sermon I have added a sixth to my list in the person of Barnabas as told about in the Book of Acts. He personified courage and was an encourager, he worked hard at being generous to a fault, and encouraging people on their walk with Christ. I try to be the uplifting person who helps people to see the bright side instead of dragging them down all the time. I try to be generous to a fault. As Gordon talked you realize that there is two prefixes that you can add to courage with two totally different results, En/courager, the person everyone is glad to see, and the DIS/courager, the person every one is glad to see....leave. The encourager builds up and supports, while the discourager tears down and demoralizes.

Those are the heroes in my life, the people I strive to be more like....Who are yours? Feel free to write me and let me know.

Responsibility

I was not going to comment on this but over the last couple of weeks I have been stewing about a lady form Rhode Island whose family rented some canoes in Conway. They wanted to spend a quiet day on the Saco River. I know that when you rent a canoe from any of the reputable outfitters they give you a briefing on the hazards of the river, and you have to sign a waiver, waiving any rights to go after the outfitter if something happens on the river. Now while the Saco river is not a white water river by any stretch of the imagination, there are areas where the river does get a little fast and rocky. Now if I had to sign a waiver to rent a canoe or raft, I would consider that the activity was at least moderately dangerous. This lady had an incident on the river and her son almost fell into the river, and could have possibly drowned. They lady started a letter writing campaign to the local papers as well as politicians that she thought the state or local government should post signs warning that tirps down the river should be considered hazardous. Right about this same time another lady from out of state drowned while she was going out in the lake over her head holding onto the beach markers, it turned out she could not swim. Water is a hazardous medium. Just like the mountains are dangerous. We always seem to have the perennial hiker who goes out on the trails in late fall, and get caught in a snow storm, or slips on rocks and gets hurt. Outdoor life can be dangerous, get over it. If you want to enjoy the mountains and rivers of New Hampshire there are inherent dangers in it and you have to realize the risks.

We had a tornado, or micro burst go through the area on Thursday, and several homes got damaged. One of the houses featured on the news was under construction and the people interviewed stated they did not have insurance on the structure because they did not realize that they needed it on construction without a mortgage. Now they are wondering what they are going to do about their house. I went up to Walmart and heard some people talking about the storm and the poor people who didn't have any insurance, and that the state should pay to rebuild their house. I own a home and I take the responsibility to make sure their is insurance on the house. Yes I feel bad for the people that their house was damaged, but face it they volunteered not to take any insurance out on the house in order to use the money elsewhere. I think we as a people are becoming to dependent on the government to tell us what is safe and what isn't. We need warning labels to tell us what products we shouldn't use. I feel if we really want the government to warn us about all the dangers in life then we should make an edict that all babies born get a tattoo on their forehead just after birth reading "Warning the Surgeon General has determined that being born is the leading cause of death in the United States."

Come on folks get real. The government is not and should not be our baby sitters. We are capable of thinking for ourselves, or at least some of us are. we can make judgments when an activity is going to be dangerous, and then make the decision if we are going to participate in them. An excerpt form my daughter Grace's letter home from camp where they just installed an extreme swing as part of the program. She wrote to us "I went on the swing, all the way to the top, I was so scared I almost peed my pants" now she has made a determination that the activity might not be the activity for her. We all have that ability, to realize when something may not be right for us, we do not need a baby sitter to tell us that we shouldn't do something, or that it may be dangerous with inherent risks. Life itself is dangerous, and we take risks every day we breath.

Joy

My daughter Khrys brought home the movie, The Bucket List with Morgan Freeman, and Jack Nicholson. If you haven't seen it I strongly recommend you do. It is about two men who have cancer, and not long to live, live out the things they want to do before they kick the bucket. They come from two totally different walks of life, but reach across that chasm with the common bond of their deadly disease. One scene in the movie Carter (Morgan Freeman) and Eddie (Jack Nicholson) are sitting on a pyramid and Carter talks about the Egyptian views on the afterlife. He stated that when an Egyptian died and they walked up to the gates of the afterlife and they are asked two questions. How they answer those two questions determines how they spend their afterlife. Eddie asks what the two questions are, and Carter responds, "Have you ever had joy in your life?" and secondly, "Have you ever brought joy to someone else's life". I spent the day today thinking about those two questions and how I would answer them. The first question, "Have you ever had joy in your life?" Most definitely,yes, I have, many times. When I saw my wife walk down the aisle of the church on October 5th 1995, dressed up in her lovely wedding gown. Again when I saw the doctor hold up each of my three children for the first time. I felt true joy when I saw my oldest walk across the stage getting her diploma from High School. I felt tremendous joy the day we picked her up from the hospital after her cardiac scare when she was only three months old. I felt tremendous joy when I saw Khrys in her prom gown. Again on the day each of my children took their first steps. I see true joy each and every day as I look up at the White Mountains that have become my home. I find joy in the cold crisp winter day as I snowshoe through my field and into the woods, I find joy in sitting quietly filling my blueberry bucket. I find joy in sitting at my desk putting words down on paper. I find joy in watching my wonderful daylillies bloom. I find joy in many of the small things in life that others may find mundane. The second question, "have you ever brought joy to another person?" I find this much harder to answer. I would like to think I brought Joy to my wife as she saw me standing at the front of the church in my full dress uniform. I would like to think I brought joy into her life when I asked her to marry me. I would like to think that the anonymous gifts I have bought for kids at Christmas have brought joy into their lives. I hope some of the people who read my writing finds joy in my writing. I really do hope I have brought joy into people's lives.

Responsibility

I wasn't going to do a post on this occurrence, but the more I thought about it, the more I decided I had to. Before I get in to the meat of the post I ma going to tell you a little story. Saturday July 5th started a most Saturday's do in my house. My wife got up early and did her puttering around the house before she left for her job delivering the mail in town on Saturdays. I was up with her, and at 7 I woke Khrys up so she could get ready to leave for her babysitting job. She babysat all day arriving home about 5:15 grabbed a quick dinner, and changed clothes before heading out for her evening job busing tables at Whittier House Restaurant. Janet and spent the evening home watching television and I went up to bed around 10:30 (yes a late night for me, just after Khrys called saying she was out of work and on her way home, something she always does so her mother and I will not worry about her. About 10:45 she called her mom and said a friend had called her and asked if she could take her friend up to the store to get a movie because she was bored, and then Khrys said she would be home right after that. About 11:20 the phone rings again, it is Khrys informing us she had been pulled over and one of the people in in the car had put some beer in the trunk , and she was being charged with transporting alcohol as a minor. Janet got me up and we drove to West Ossipee, where we found her car by the side of the road, and two police cars behind her, and the K-9 unit sniffing the car. The police officer told us what happened and we told him we did not agree that she knew what was going on and he explained what he thought she did, which sounded reasonable if you did not know the way we had brought our daughters up. He had said there were a couple of cars in the store parking lot and she elected to park away from the door on the other side of the cars that were at the store...Well we have taught our children to be respectful and if you are able and there is a parking spot in front of the door and one away from the door to take the one away from the door to allow those less able to park nearer the door. however when the other cars left she moved over closer to the door, which the officer said set off another red light in his head. So when she pulled out of the parking lot they tailed her and pulled her over and asked if they could search the car. Not knowing she had done anything wrong she let them and they found the beer the "boy" had put in the trunk, and cited her, they also brought in the K-9 unit to sniff the car which he found clean. I do not fault the police officer as he was just doing his job. The car was impounded and she was released into our custody. it cost her 160.00 hard earned dollars to get her car back the next day. I explained to her it was her fault as she was the operator of the car and ignorance of the law is no defense, and she understood. I did not yell and scream at her as she half expected me to I just gave her a hug and drove her home. I also explained that if the shoe was on the other foot and she got a friend to giver a ride and knowingly put beer in a car driven by a minor not only would she be in trouble for the beer but as a father I would expect her to pay her share of the impound/towing fees as she was just as guilty, or even more so than the driver. SO she told her "friend" how much the fee was and surprisingly has not heard back from her. The "boy" turned out to be 27 years old, and I still use the term boy, because there are MEN out there at 17 showing a lot more maturity than this boy does. At 17 we have MEN making conscious decisions about joining the military and going to war to defend this country. This 27 year old boy has 5 children probably by 5 different girls, though I do not know that as a fact, but I have been told he does not take full financial responsibility for the kids. His idea of a good time is spending and evening with an 18 year old girl and getting a 16 year old girl to drive him to the store to get more beer, so he can get a buzz on and maybe make a 6th baby, after all he must be super stud. the ironic thing is this 27 year old boy lives across the street from a store and can not plan his day enough to get his beer there, which he can buy legally, before the store closes at 8 o'clock. this 27 year old boy stood beside the police car and assured us he was extremely sorry that he got our daughter in trouble with the police, but never offered to help with the cost of the towing or impound fees on the car. Now Khrys has a court date of August 13th where she has to appear before the judge, and admit she was guilty of a crime that she was unaware of and hope he doesn't take her license away from her as that would exclude her from being able to drive her senior year of high school and work after school to help make money to pay for her college education. This is a good kid with a big heart who takes people at face value and trusts them until they giver a reason not to trust her, and now Meagan has lost that trust, and this 27 year old boy is brought out for the scum he really is.