Pastor A

I have just a few what I call, “short lessons,” to write about today. They do not need an individual post or a long explanation to be understood. They are designed to make you think though, so here we go:

• When people tell you how rich they are, chances are they are not.
• When people tell you how intelligent they are, they actually are proving how little they know, not how much they know.
• When people tell you how successful they are, chances are they are not.
• When people tell you what a devout Christian they are, they usually are not.
• When people tell you how honest they are, keep your hand on your wallet.
• When people say, “let me be frank with you,” it means in the past they have not been.
• When people say, “and that’s the truth,” be skeptical.
• When people say, “let me tell you this for your own good,” it is for their own good, not yours.
• When people say, “I only have one thing to say about that,” be prepared for a lot more than one thing to follow.
• When people say, “I’ll try,” do not count on it.

Things like honesty, integrity, Christianity, intelligence, success, and most other good things do not need to be said or bragged about. They show! They are just there. Proof is always in the action, not the words. Actions say what you believe and the kind of person you are much more than your words. Results are everything and they never lie.

Sunday, May 20 was Graduate Recognition Sunday at Tucson Baptist Temple. It is always great to acknowledge the hard work and successful completion of each TBT member. I would like to take this opportunity to recap Sunday morning’s graduates. We had five “groups” that we recognized:

1. Although Timothy Ford did not go to school for over three years, we felt it important to acknowledge Tim’s passing of his GED. In spite of struggling and even having to retake part of the GED, he never quit! Pastor Woody was always encouraging him to not give-up. I appreciate Timothy’s faithful attendance and participation here at TBT.

2. Jonathan Armstrong graduated from Pusch Ridge Christian Academy and is planning to attend West Coast Baptist College. Carissa Frisinger graduated from Santa Rita HS and will attend the U of A in the fall. Shelby Jones graduated from her homeschool studies and will attend West Coast Baptist College in August. Alex McCarthy graduated from her homeschool studies and her future plans are incomplete at this time.

3. Flora Flores (mother and grandmother) graduated with an Associates Degree from Pima Community College in Early Childhood and General Studies. Paige Spalding (unable to attend) received her Associates Degree in Baking and Pastry (still has not baked anything for her pastor) with a 4.0 from the Art Institute of Tucson.

4. Brian Beitel (son of bus director, Kelly Beitel) graduated from NAU with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education. Christina Knagge (single mom) graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from NAU. Emily Morrison (mother and expecting) graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Liberty University. April Stephens (wife and mother) graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Multidisciplinary Studies (Accounting and Business) from Liberty University Online. Lindsey Syers graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education from NAU.

5. Dennis Dwyer graduated with a Master of Divinity from Phoenix Seminary. You can read my earlier post on the graduation ceremony for Dennis.

Congrats to all for their hard work and successful accomplishment. The high school grads received a Bible and each college graduate received a gift certificate. I’ve written to each one of them to “Do Right in this next chapter of their life!”

There are only two areas of life: the things you can control and the things you cannot control. Why do so many people worry about what they cannot control? To me this is moronic. If you can control it, then why worry about it? After all, it is in your control, thus making worry a total waste of energy, effort, and sleeplessness.

The past is something you cannot control. It is over. Seek forgiveness and learn from your mistakes and successes. Do not worry about your past. The future is something that you can control. But do not worry about it either. Just do something about it. The present is also in your control. Live it the way God wants you to live it and the future will take care of itself. Worry will only turn it in a direction you do not want it to take.

This is a hard thing to do. I know it is. We have a man in our church who is in a part of the world that he should not be. He has a wife and daughter back home here in the Tucson area. He has privately shared with me some of his duties and the dangers of his job… then he told me that he has placed me as the first contact should something happen to him. It would then be my “duty” to go to his house to talk with his wife and daughter. His wife told me that I had better never come to visit unannounced. Talk about a worrisome situation…

Like all of the families of our men and women in service, I am scared to death for him. But there is not one thing I can do about it. This is his job or career. This is a career that he “enjoys” and it provides a living for his family. My worry about him will do no good and will only cause stress and wreak havoc in my own life. So… don’t worry and place it in God’s hands.

Worry is a misuse of your imagination. Worry attracts to you exactly what you do not want to happen. Like Job said, “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.” Several years ago I decided that is was a foolish waste of energy to worry about anything and so I gave it up. Instead I turn my energy toward other areas that can produce an outcome that is truly helpful, encouraging, or uplifting. I have tried to put my energy into the outcome I desire, rather than the outcome of that which I do not desire.

Stop focusing on what you do not want to happen. In other words, stop worrying. Instead, stay focused on what you want to happen. Focus your energy on the kind of life that God desires for you, the relationships that you want, and the way you should feel (diet and exercise). This will work for anything and every area of your life. Change your focus and then watch the changed results. It really works!

“The secret of success is constancy of purpose.“   Benjamin Disraeli

On Saturday morning, Pastor Howard and I had the privilege to conduct the funeral service for long-time member, John Wilbur. The attendance was tremendous and was of great encouragement to the family. The following information comes from the handout that was distributed to family and friends who attended the service.

John Clinton Wilbur was born on November 12, 1936, in Johnson City, New York, as the fourth child of Earl Clinton and Gladys Doane Wilbur. he came after two boys were lost during pregnancy following John’s older sister, Lois. Raised on a small farm in northern Pennsylvania, John learned his hard work ethic at a young age by helping with all of the daily farm chores.

After losing is mother at age 11 and being raised by his sister, who was five years older, and saddened father, life became difficult. John’s mother knew the Lord and faithfully served Him right up until the time of her death. His father was a preacher but became discouraged when he couldn’t support his family and stopped serving the Lord when John was only three. Praise God, a hired hand on the farm took John to church where he accepted the Lord as his Savior in his early teen years.

At the age of 17, John lost his fingers in a farm accident and a year later contracted Bulbar Polio, which almost took his life. After graduating from Harpursville Central high School in 1955, he began working at Demerees Garage as a parts runner. It was then that a friend invited him to a birthday party where he met Winona. They soon fell in love and he made the second best decision of his life. They were married on September 28, 1957.

John and Winona had seven children in nine years, taking the verse, “be fruitful and multiply”, to new heights. The work ethic that he had learned on the farm helped him to provide for his large family. The Wilbur family visited Tucson in 1972 at the invitation of close friends, Dick and Pat Kishbaugh. They attended Tucson Baptist Temple both Sundays during that visit and quickly fell in love with TBT, as well as with February’s weather. They began making plans to relocate their family, and in February of 1974, made Tucson home and joined TBT.

John’s playful personality and easy going manner made most people very comfortable, and he could easily put a smile on their face. He enjoyed bantering back and forth, making up strange names (George Brown) and teasing others. he made sure to welcome newcomers and they would soon look forward to what name (Lucy Jones) he might call them.

The Lord entrusted John with various health issues, the last being cancer which quickly spread throughout his body. His family could not be more proud of him, as he faced his new battle with the measure of grace the Lord gave him, keeping his smile and cantankerous nature to the very end. The Lord promoted him to Glory at 11:30 on Friday night, May 11, 2012. We can imagine the Lord called to Gladys and saying, “Come meet your son at the pearly gate”, as they were able to enjoy their first Mother’s Day together in 65 years.

Psalm 27:4, “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life…”

John and his infectious smile will be missed at TBT. John never missed a service and I do wonder, WHO will replace John at TBT? Who will stand in the gap?

Well I disappeared for a week… and what a week it was! I’ll focus this post on my son, Jonathan, who graduated on Friday night from Pusch Ridge Christian Academy. Jonathan graduated with honors and had the privilege to open the graduation ceremonies in prayer. It was a very nice graduation ceremony.

My mother and Shelli’s parents were able to attend. We had a number of friends from church who made the drive to Oro Valley to attend. That was a great encouragement to Jonathan. His graduation ceremony pics have been uploaded on Shelli’s FB.

Jonathan SAFELY drove over 7,000 miles this past school year. His beautiful car (no speedometer, no A/C, no radio, no heat, no etc.) survived an entire school year for which we are extremely grateful. The speedometer stopped working a long time ago so we have no idea for sure how many miles are on the car… the last time it worked the car was over 250,000 miles. It has been a great Honda Accord that has been passed down three generations.

Jonathan is off to West Coast Baptist College in August. I am looking forward to spending these last couple months with Jonathan before we experience the empty nest… one married and two in college.

“But what am I supposed to feel when I do something I am sorry for?” This is a good question and I believe there is an easy answer: regret.

It is natural to have regret when you have made a mistake or sinned against God or another person. We all make mistakes and it is certain that we all sin AND we should feel bad about it. This is why God gave us I John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” To me, the guilty conscience comes from a deliberate failure to obey I John 1:9. On the other hand, regret means you are sorry and do not want to repeat the same action again. Guilt is an emotion that immobilizes you. This is why guilt serves no good purpose. It will not help you in any way. Guilt is a waste of time. You cannot change what has been done by feeling guilty about it.

Do you remember the story of David? He was so wracked by guilt that in Psalm 51 he suggests that it was affecting him physically. His bones ached within him. In other words, he was immobilized and he simply acknowledged to God what God already knew. David was liberated from that point forward. Sure, he had plenty of regret, but he was no longer paralyzed by guilt.

The past is just that… passed. Gone. Slipped away. Not to be repeated again. If you need to make restitution, do it. If you messed up, apologize. If you are forgiven your mistake by the offended, give thanks and move on. If you are not forgiven for the mistake you made, then move on anyway. Forgive yourself; learn from the experience. Act differently next time. God promises not only to forgive but to cleanse. That means that you are given freedom from your past. Don’t be chained by guilt!

I am trying to attend as many events as my schedule permits. On Friday I was rather stretched to the max. The pastoral staff went to the hospital to be with the John Wilbur family and I stayed until the last possible moment before I had to leave to drive to Scottsdale, Arizona. This was a 2 1/2 hour drive.

Dennis Dwyer, one of our newer church members, was graduating with a Master of Divinity in Biblical Communication degree from Phoenix Seminary. Dennis traveled for eight years between Tucson and Scottsdale and put an astounding 110,000 miles on his car in the process.

Dennis wrote the following:

For the past eight years and one hundred thousand miles plus, which is four times around the planet, half of which were driven at night in line with a string of lights, Phoenix Seminary became (and still is!) a very big part of my life. I will treasure and remember it for the rest of my days.

I really never thought that this incredible opportunity to be with like-minded people, having the same passion to know more about Christ, would come to a completion. I shared with Dr. Paul Wegner that towards the end of my studies in communication skills and languages that I wanted to transfer into the counseling program and start over so that I could stay on longer, because what I received in this journey through the studies of the Bible is this thirst to know more about who God is, where I am going and what His plan is. What I have seen in my sixty plus years on this tiny planet is that time is very short and it travels very fast the older we get. I have also witnessed that getting older is not easy, the mind is not as sharp, the wrinkles and loss of hair and when I look in the mirror I see that time is not very fair to our body; the reality hits that we are here for a short period of time and we need to make the best of it, but also I believe there is something better, and that there is an eternity that awaits us.

Friday evening’s graduation commencement ceremony was surreal! It is difficult to describe the emotions that Gina and I were going through as we stepped onto the platform to receive my degree, it seemed as though time stood still: was this really real? My first emotion was thinking that I am not worthy of this honor, that God would use someone like me to bring to this point in my life. The second emotion was, what will I do next?

I was honored by the many people who attended the service, by sharing their time in this special celebration, and not just for me, but for all who ‘ran the race.’ I am grateful for all the people who have prayed and supported us, who continued to encourage me when I felt that the end was not near enough or even attainable. I especially want to thank Quent and Ana Quiner who were always praying for us from the beginning, and I am so grateful to Col. Don Nixon and his wife Jo who continually supported us in encouragement to stay in the battle and our friends Kim Dupuis, Manny Torres, and Charles and Joanne Isgett for loving us as dear friends. I am indebted to my library friends as well; Doug, Janet, Jim and Mitch who were always cheering me on and my alumni brothers and sisters, who are many, who knew the cost and also supported me along the way. I appreciate the care of Pastor Armstrong and Deacon Fred Vanley from my church, Tucson Baptist Temple, for believing in me. I am also truly grateful for the ones who did not believe in what I was doing in this quest to know the word of God, because they gave me the wherewithal to press on for the cause. But most of all I am blessed to have a wife who was able to endure this quest with me in the midst of her personal physical suffering and I could have never finished this dream without her love and commitment to see me through.

I was moved by Dr. Daryl Delhousaye’s message about having courage in the midst of the hardships to stand firm against the nay-Sayers; to not be afraid of fear of what people thought or said, but to face it, embrace it and to look for the justice in the truth in order to press on for the cause. I believe many hearts were touched and encouraged that night by his commission and charge to the graduates and the audience as well. I will always treasure the servant hearts of ALL of the professors who have shared so much wisdom, care and love. Each of us is set upon a journey with one cause, purpose and end: to seek justice, love mercy, walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8).

So the question is what is next? Gina and I want to ‘go to Disneyland!’ Just kidding, but I have to get back to work. Time is short and I have much to share. My desire would be to continue on in academics, but there is a battlefield to stand on and I have asked God to send me. I would like to write and teach, but the real comfort comes from knowing that all that is given to me is this one day. Jeremiah 29:11 for I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Imagine that, just for a moment; God knows what will be, for each of us. What I do know is that I am going to continue to live for Jesus, a wretched sinner as I, who is saved by grace, God’s grace that sees beyond all of our faults, it’s not about a degree, but about the degree of love I give to others.

I am blessed to have you as part of my life, as well as many others who have made an impact in my journey through this life, by challenging me, testing me, pushing me, encouraging and praying for me. I ask that you will forgive me for the times that I have hurt or disappointed you. It is my prayer that God will bless you as well and thank you for taking time to read this and again thanks for being my friend.

So many in life never complete the journey and are filled with excuses. I would like to congratulate Dennis for completing an arduous eight year journey. I can think of a dozen reasons to quit; yet, he finished the job. Well done!

What is success? Success can be defined in different ways. Success is finding the will of God and doing it. Success is being all you can be in each area of your life without sacrificing your ability to be all you can be in each and every other area of your life. I believe that a successful person has learned the art of living a balanced life. For example, it makes no sense to me if a person is the world’s greatest salesperson and they have bad health. It is nothing but sad to have made a ton of money but sacrificed your family along the way. One should not sacrifice one area over another. Someone said, “To be rich and sick is stupid.” When I read that, I had to stop and consider what the author was really saying.

There are so, so many unbalanced people in this world and especially in the Christian life. There are people who play really hard. There are people that have a child-centered relationship and everything revolves around their children… sad! There are people that are obsessed with making their next dollar. There are people that could care less about their debt and continue to spend money they do not have to buy things they do not need. There are people that eat at the buffet bars in town like pigs slopping in the hogpen. Balance is the key! Think of your life in terms of a wheel with spokes. The hub (center part) represents your relationship with Christ. Christ should be the most important area of your life and from that relationship extends all of the spokes of life. Each spoke represents the physical, social, financial, health and exercise, career, family, fun, play, alone time, hobbies, friends, civic responsibilities, etc. With each of these areas as the spoke of a wheel, considering your own life, how smooth is the ride? Or do you have some flat spots?

Growth in one area of your life, generally speaking, means you will let another area slide slightly. But slightly is the operative word. Do not completely abandon any one area in pursuit of another. People who do that, and I am sure you can name a few, are one-dimensional, boring, and end up leading sad, unfulfilled lives. They have cheated themselves, those around them, and the rest of the world by not living a balanced life. Put Christ first today! Then begin to balance the spokes of your life.

Don’t try today; DO today!

I love watches. I have a couple watches. I tend to think of my watches more as jewelry than as timepieces. One reason is that when I turned 45, I could not see those little numbers as I once was able to see. My favorite watch is a $6 watch that I purchased in China from one of those vendors in a little booth who begged me to stop and look at his wares. John Buntin and I laugh about my purchase. I purchased two watches that were identical Tag Heuer “knock-off” watches. Impressive! $12 total for two watches. Well, the first one worked less than one day and the face fell off. John used it until one of the arms fell off. To our surprise, the other one is still working even as I write this post. We are ten months later and the watch still works and it looks like I actually own a Tag Heuer watch.

The most important reason I do not pay that much attention to my watch any longer is something that I read once, “We do not wear a watch to know what time it is; we wear a watch to know what time it isn’t.” That is an interesting statement. Do you really ever care what time it is? Now hold on; do not answer too quickly. Do not start yelling, “Well, of course I do! I have appointments, planes to catch, things to do, people to see.” Big deal – we all do. How busy you are does not impress me or anyone else. So hang on and let me explain.

Do you look at your watch to see if it is time to leave for your appointment or to see if it not yet time to leave for your appointment? I would imagine that it is the latter. We really do not care what time it is, we only care what time it is not. It is not time to go to lunch. It is not time to go to the airport. It is not time for bed. It is not time to go to work.

And if it is not time to do those things, there must still be time to do something else! That is what you really want, right? Time to do something else. Time to get another cup of coffee. Time enough to relax a little longer. Time do do what you want to do instead of what you have to do.

So what time is it? Time to do the most important thing that needs to be done. If the most important thing gets done, regardless of what it is, nothing else really matters much.

Don’t try today; DO today!

Do you have things in your life that need to be done – things that you really want to see accomplished; yet, you just have not been able to find the time to get them done? Right now, face the fact those things are never going to get done until they become a priority to you. Figure out what is really important to you. In other words, it is time to establish priorities.

Is it your health? If it is, then you will know it is when you do things that make you healthier like eating properly and exercising regularly. Nothing will stand in your way. Not your work, your favorite television show, or any other excuse. There will be enough time for you to get healthy because you will make enough time to get healthy.

Is your priority to spend more time with your family? If it is, then you will know when you really begin to make time for them. You will turn OFF the television set. You will all eat supper around the dining room table, instead of mom cooking a meal and everyone grabbing a plate and going their separate ways. You will DO something together! Nothing will stand in your way.

Is your priority to have a right relationship with God and the church? If it is, then you will know when you start making the things of the Lord real. You and your family will be in church; better yet, you and your family will serve in your church. No excuses – just involvement. WOW! Just think what your children and grandchildren will learn from you when they see you living the same way at church that you do at home. Make it a priority and it can change your life and your family life.

Face these facts… people talk a good game… but they never PLAY the game. Quit talking and start doing. In the normalcy of life sometimes the things you do not want to do have to be your priority. Things like picking up the children, meeting the repairman, picking up the dry cleaning, and accomplishing your list of honey-do’s. I would rather take a beating than meet a repairman. They are never on time and rarely call to advise they will be late; they usually have to come back a second time because they do not have the right things with them to do the job the first time. All of that drives me insane! Yet, life dictates that I sometimes have to do it. Been there? Establish your priorities and do what it takes to get the job done.

Life is full of have-to’s. There is no way around it. I have them and you have them. There are things that we are not wild about doing but still have to do. Welcome to this thing called… life. The key is to figure out how to get them done and still have time to do what you enjoy doing.

Just please stop saying there is not enough time. There is plenty of time. Time to take care of the crazy things that have to be done. Besides, it is not the crazy things that are keeping you from having time to accomplish what you want to accomplish. It is all of the things you let creep into your life because you do not have clearly defined priorities.

God – First; Family – Second; Church – Third; Work – Fourth; etc. Have you ever established your priorities? There is plenty of time to do what is really important to you. Stop being frustrated. Yes, time is short and as we age, it seems to get shorter. But there will never be enough time to do everything there is to do. However, there is plenty of time to do the things you really want to do. You will establish priorities and then work your plan to achieve those priorities.

Stop trying and DO today!

Each time I am invited to a sporting event, play, recital, etc. by one of our parents or children, I try to go so that I can encourage the children of our church. I love getting to know our church families and this is an excellent way to do so.

I had the opportunity to go watch Trinity and Harley in their school play. Both had singing parts and really did an excellent job. As is the case with most children when there is an audience, there were nerves; however, the students were able to remember their lines, in spite of this pressure. It was good to see Fred and Helen Vanley at the play supporting this family. Patty, Harley and Trinity’s grandmother, was so excited to see all of us show up for the play!

Patty Cox is working hard to keep her granddaughters in church and making right decisions. I certainly have an admiration for all grandparents who have taken up the mantle to train their grandchildren when the parent(s) are unavailable. Patty, keep up the good work you are doing!

I was able to capture these two pics during the play. Harley is the top pic and Trinity is on the right with the yellow flower in her hair.

I need more time. I want more time. There is too much to do and not enough time to do it. What to do, what to do? Go to a time management seminar. Or buy an organizer and carry it with you all of the time so you can plot and plan every moment of your life. Those things will work. Yeah, right!

Time management is a joke. Time cannot be managed. Stop trying. It will only frustrate you. Forget about having the time or not having the time. There is nothing you can do to get more of it anyway, so give it up.

Instead of focusing on how much time you have, or do not have or need to have, begin to focus on what your priorities are. The problem is never a lack of time; the problem is poorly defined priorities. When you have established the most important thing in the world for you to do, then time will take care of itself.

If I came to your house, opened your garage door and began to look at your messy garage, like most people, you would probably say you have been meaning to clean the place but have just been too busy. Yes, wrong. You have not been too busy at all. You did not clean your garage because it was not a priority to you. If it had been a priority you would have found the time to clean it. Our priorities almost always get done because we find and make the time for them. On the other hand, the things that are not at all important to us we let slide.

This applies to every area of your life. If I gave you a book that, if read and the principles implemented, would guarantee you more success, happiness, and fulfillment in your life, would you read it? Well, you are reading this blog because you somehow made the time to make this a priority.

Funny how even though you are a busy person – and I know you are – you were able to either find the time or make the time to read my blog. Other people say they want happiness, prosperity, fulfillment and they will never find the time to read. And their excuse… I just didn’t have the time. Watching Survivor, DWTS, or even Everybody Loves Raymond or Seinfeld reruns – those were their priorities. They found time to watch TV but did not find the time to read a book, blog, Bible, or clean their garage. Doing well is not a priority to them.

Too busy to clean the garage? To play with your children? To read a book? To call your mom? To go on a date night with your spouse? How about if I called and offered you a round of golf at the best course in town for free? Would you be too busy for that? If you were a golfer, you would find the time. You would make the time, because that round of golf would have become a priority to you.

We all reveal exactly where our priorities are placed by what we DO!

The golden rule is wrong. Do not just treat people the way you want to be treated. Treat them better. Your level of expectation might be pretty low. My expectation when doing business with others is sometimes too low. (I go to restaurants and if the food even shows up, I have a party.) Therefore, you might be willing to accept a lower quality of service than your customer, neighbor, coworker, or family member is willing to accept. Do not judge what others want by what you are willing to accept. Err on the side of more. Give more than they expect. Be nicer than they expect. Give better service than they expect. Surprise people by going the extra mile. Even the Bible says that we are to go the extra mile, not one but two!

The number one most important lesson about your work, career, and potential success is this… do what you say you are going to do, when you said you were going to do it, in the way you said you were going to do it. No excuses. No pointing the finger of blame elsewhere. No nothing! Just keep your word. Period. Be the person your coworkers and your customers can put their trust, faith and confidence in – without exception.

Don’t try today; DO today!

Work seems to be such a dirty word anymore. Everyone is trying to get out of work or work as little as possible. When you work, work! When you play, play! Do your best not to mix the two. This is especially true if you work from home. Be able to walk away. Many people have home offices these days. Sadly, many people are good at having a home office. They just do not get much work done. Or even more sadly, they do not get much living done.

You must be able to walk away from “home” and its duties and responsibilities to go to “work” and take on those duties and responsibilities. More important, you have to be able to walk away from the work and live your life. This is very hard for most people.

Make your work area a place where you only do work things. Do not eat at your desk or do any personal things at your desk. When you are not working, stay away from that area. If your work area has a door, then close it. If it does not have a door, put one in! Close off the area where you work from the place where you rest, relax, and play.

Get the hard stuff out of the way first. It is kind of like being a little kid and having to clean your plate. If you were smart, you learned to eat the broccoli first and save the macaroni an cheese for later. The same applies to work. Do the stuff that is not your favorite when you first get there. Do not put it off. Just get it done, get it out of the way, and move on to the stuff that you enjoy.

Stay focused. Do one job until completion when at all possible. Figure out the most important thing that has to be done today. Prioritize and then do it. If it really has to be done, you will have accomplished something meaningful regardless of what else does not get done. Focus on things of real importance and let the less important things move down your priority list. No one ever gets in trouble for doing the things that really matter. The things that really matter produce results that really matter, and we are all measured on the quality of our results, not the quality of our activities.

Christians NEED to be better employees. You have a testimony to uphold so work when you work, get the hard stuff out the way first, and stay focused. You will be a better employee for your boss!

Don’t try today; DO today!

First of all, right out the gate, let me say that I am not a PETA fan! I do believe it is okay to kill animals for food. I even think it is okay to kill animals to make clothing. And I definitely believe it is okay to kill snakes to make purses, shoes, and boots. Having stated that, I also believe that it is wonderful for families to own animals and treat them with value and respect.

There are 37 widow(er)s in our church. Most of them have an animal to keep them company. Whether a cat (yuk), dog, pig, skunk, ferret, monkey, or whatever your favorite animal; I know there is great value to have a “friend” in the family.

Growing up on a farm setting in West Virginia, we were privileged to be around lots of animals. In fact, we had dogs, chickens, goats, a horse, a skunk, pigs, guinea pigs, and a couple that I have probably forgotten. Most had names: my first dog – Tiger; Mary Magdalene – a chicken who was allowed to come into our house, Flipper and Skipper – goats who were also allowed inside our house, a horse named Spirit, and all of our cows were named… names like Brenda and Tiny. Our skunk was named Scooter. I’ve forgotten the names of our pigs but I didn’t much care for them.

Growing up, I didn’t know that it might be considered abnormal with our animal loving family. Every morning at 5:30 a.m., I had the responsibility to feed and water all of the chickens in the chicken coop. I had to open the door for the chickens to be able to go outside in the fenced-in area and then gather the eggs. I had to feed and water the cows. I never thought of it as a “hard life,” although growing older I didn’t always have the greatest attitude with respect to my chores. Now I have a great respect for how hard my parents made me work. They were slave drivers (another article on that later)!

Here is what I have learned: there is great value in owning an animal. It teaches responsibility to your children (if you make them do chores like feeding, watering, and cleaning up). But for the most part, animals provide companionship, almost as if they have another sense that we do not have. They understand when you are going to leave or even if there is a death in the family. Animals can mourn and get sick too.

Last week I had the opportunity to spend a few days with my mother. She has a chocolate lab named, Hershey. As a widowed lady with no children living close, I don’t know what my mom would do without her dog! She loves Hershey. Hershey, as big as she is, still climbs up into mom’s lap, as if she is a lap dog or something. She talks to mom, runs with mom, follows mom around, and genuinely loves mom. I’m thankful that God put animals on this earth for I know that my mother’s life would be much more difficult without a Hershey in her life.

The pics in the post are of mom’s dog and from my recent trip to see her. I had such fun throwing balls and sticks to mom’s dog. She even sat in my lap! One of these days we will just have to own a dog like Hershey. Love your animals the right way.