It's Freezing in Here!

While eating lunch with Trust Quartet yesterday, we commented on how we enjoyed people-watching. The restaurant was full of folks in their best "Sunday-Go-To-Meetin'" clothes. Of course, there were people who were dressed in clothes that probably should have required some serious mirror attention before going out in public, too. But today is a different day. I'm watching people in my favorite McDonald's. A great deal of my people watching today also involves the temperature. It's a very nice day outside in Vero Beach today. It's not too hot; not too cold. It's just a gorgeous spring day! Frankly, I'm dressed weather-appropriate. In this McDonald's today, I'm seeing people in their work clothes, as is manual labor men coming in for a bit of a break. I'm close to a high school where students are allowed to come over on a break from classes. Attire ~ for high school students? 'Nuff said! The reason people watching in this restaurant in the Spring of the year has turned to a fashion show simply has to do with the restaurant temperature. It's FREEZING in here! The two hottest (no pun intended) tables in the place are the two that sit in the sunshine. I thought about that as I came in to find my seat, but alas, they were already full. They've each been turned once since I sat and ate my biscuit and hash brown. There was a retired couple who purposely sat there. I heard the husband say to his wife, "The air is way too cold over there." She sat, gratefully, in the sunshine and put on her sunglasses. Ahh, one of the tables has emptied and is already occupied since I began the last paragraph. See what I mean? This blog post really was not going to turn into a room temperature blog. It kind of evolved that way. People watching can be entertaining, and I was going to write about the retired couple and some of my observations. I guess that will wait for another blog. Meanwhile, I may speak with the manager and see if we can get some heat turned on in the restaurant lobby. Frank, it's freezing in here, dude!!

Tolerated or Loved

Yesterday, I posted a blog about friends. Today, I want to follow up just a bit about that thought. I try to be an honest person. I also try to be polite and treat people the way I would want to be treated. Sometimes those three are difficult to co-exist. Sometimes, Christians may say something like, "I love you, but I sure don't like you." or "I love you, but only because I have to." Of course, they are referring to Christ's command to love one another. Yes, Christ does expect us to love one another, but He expects it to be a genuine love. There are times when I have wondered if people love me or simply tolerate me. What are the ingredients of loving someone? By no means an exhaustive list, but to love someone is to communicate with them. Find out their needs and problems. Find out their joys and rejoice with them. Find out what they enjoy and strive to do that for / with them. Most of all, to love someone is to pray for and with them. When you pray for them, communicate with them and reassure them that you've talked to the Ultimate Friend on their behalf. That is something I try to do on occasion. I remember one friend in particular who sent me a facebook message to let me know he was praying for me. What an encouragement! That act of kindness and love has stuck with me for a long time. In fact, now that I think about it, (according to our mutual schedules) our paths should cross in the next few weeks. I think I'll remind that friend of that word of encouragement and thank him ~ again ~ for it; maybe this time with a cup of coffee. Now, imagine your phone ringing and when you look at the caller ID, you sigh an impatient sigh. Or perhaps you think to yourself, I really don't want to talk to him right now. I'll call back ~ and conveniently forget. When you see that person in a public place (Heaven forbid it be the church), do you tend to look the other way and hope they don't see you? Does eye contact make you uncomfortable? What if God had felt that way about you? God tells us to love one another. He teaches us that our Christianity will be revealed to others by our love (John 13:35). We are taught to strive to be like Christ. He loves us unconditionally. In fact, Romans 5 teaches us that even in our most unlovely state, He loved us enough to die for us (Romans 5:8). When we are the most intolerable, He loves us. As you consider your friends, have you prayed for them today ~ this week ~ this month? Are you communicating love for your friends or merely a tolerance? Do you feel tolerated or loved?

Having Friends

For quite some time I've been thinking about friendship. God has blessed me with many friends, and I'm thankful for each one. As I was growing up, I didn't really like being a preacher's kid. In fact, I hated it. It wasn't that I didn't like being in church every week. It wasn't necessarily that they were so strict. There were two primary reasons I detested the life of a PK. First, I didn't like feeling as though we lived in a glass house with a double standard. I saw church members who lived a lifestyle that I couldn't take part in. That is another blog for another day. The second reason I didn't like being a PK was the tendency of our family's relocation. I felt as though whenever I had a friend, I would have to move ~ again. Please keep in mind that those were the thoughts of a younger person, who was looking at things quite selfishly. Those feelings brought on very real emotions, and should have been dealt with appropriately. But, looking back on those years, I can now see other benefits that I could in no way predict then. For example, I have friends literally all over the world. I'm basically a shy person. I have to throw myself into 'character' to come out of my shell around people I do not know. My general personality is one that feels inferior to others. Again, if I'm perceived as a very confident individual, either I'm on a good masking roll or the person doing the perceiving is inexperienced at perceiving. There are different kinds of friends. Not that I want to use the word, 'level' of friend, that's essentially what it is. We are closer to some friends than others. Sometimes friends drift apart because of distance, habits, hobbies, or even other people. There are some friends who connect on a monthly, weekly, or even a daily basis. I'm reminded of a proverb from Scripture about friends. Proverbs 18:24, "A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." Are you friendly? Do others perceive you as being friendly? I'm thankful that when I need a friend and no one is around, God is. Aren't you?

What Kind of Friend Are You?

This week, I hope you'll be watching my blog for some posts about friends. Names are not going to be mentioned ~ I'm referring to the idea of friendship. The Old Testament man, Job, had three friends. That word, 'friends' is used very loosely! It could be said of those three yoo-hoos, if those are friends, who needs enemies? I suppose they meant well, but they sure didn't bring much to true meaning of friendship. On the other hand, remember David and Jonathan in the Old Testament? If there are any two people who would have been the most unlikely of friends, it would be these two. Jonathan was in line for the throne following his father, Saul. But because of Saul's sin and errors in leading Israel, God chose to anoint David to be their king. Yet Jonathan still loved David with a pure love that was nothing short of incredible! Has God blessed you with a friend like David's? Friends are amazing people. Friends know the good, the bad, and the ugly and still love you. Friends are incredible! I'm thankful for my friends. Whether at work, on the golf course, on the quartet bus, at church, at home. Friends are special! Friends are valuable! When you look in the mirror, which friend would you most likely match? Which one would you LIKE to match? What are you doing to make sure you are being the friend you should be?

I Am NOT Superstitious ~ Honest!

I'm not superstitious. Really. Honest. In fact, I asked someone early Friday morning if Friday the 13th is so bad, why are we not equally as skiddish of Saturday the 14th; or Thursday the 12th? Friday is supposed to be one of the most favorite days of the week. Why should it get the bad wrap four times a year? I should have known this Friday the 13th was going to try to get me when I woke up well before my alarm went off. Since I work midnights and sleep during the day, it is my custom to check my phone for messages when that happens. I have a routine; check for text messages, then check e-mail, then jump on Facebook to see if anything jumps out at me. This particular day, a friend had a statement about her mascara that intrigued me. In an effort to read the comments associated with her post, I inadvertently hit the 'like' button. Since her mascara running today had to do with mourning the anniversary of losing a loved one, I felt pretty bad. I tried to 'unlike' the post, but to no avail. Kept getting an error message. So, I sent her a message to let her know that I didn't 'like' the reason her mascara was going to run, and it isn't a trait of mine to wear mascara, so it isn't as if I can relate to her problem. I rolled back over and went to sleep. Again, well before my alarm sounded to arise from my slumber, I woke up. Rolling back over to go through my routine again, I discovered this friend was gracious to me. Thank you, Janet. I appreciate that. Finally deciding I wasn't going back to sleep, I got up and showered, anxiously awaiting the Braves home opener on television. Many thanks to MLB Extra Innings for the free preview days. Keep that going just as long as you'd like. The Braves bats were doing well ~ they won their third game in a row. Friday the 13th would not jinx me! I began to watch a light show outside. The sound of thunder soon followed. A bit later, I began to hear the rain falling; just as it was time to go to work. I left in plenty of time to actually report to work a few minutes early. I remembered a lesson I learned many years ago: leave in time to be punctual, given any circumstance. The rainfall was brutal. I had the wipers on high speed. Finally, the rain let up a bit just less than a mile from work. I was grateful. The last traffic light was yellow ~ the car in front of me was traveling at a safe speed under the light. Until the driver decided he needed to stop for the traffic light. I slammed on my brakes but the slick road and the split second decision to stop was a bit too much. Even trying to swerve into the other lane didn't help. My left front bumper caught his right rear bumper. Just a few short weeks ago, also on a Friday (just not the 13th), a person rear ended us. That was in broad daylight and beautiful sunny conditions, though. In that accident, I tweeted, "My VUE can beat your Hyundai any day." On this rainy night, I'm afraid I couldn't say the same. His Accura got the best of my VUE. Fortunately, I was able to drive it, and just as fortunately, the driver and the officer were both gracious. Yep, my fault on the insurance, but there was no citation issued. THANK YOU, Officer!!! No, I'm not superstitious. No, the accident had nothing to do with it being Friday the 13th. But it sure did cap it off in a way I'd just as soon not happened. Guess I'll be phoning the insurance folks tomorrow and getting ready to fork over a deductible in hopes my VUE can be quickly repaired. Hopefully, that's not just wishful thinking.

A Blog Post ~ Really!

I'm making absolutely no promises. I can only attempt, but I really want to become a more established blogger. It seems I do so well for a little bit, and then something happens to keep me from writing for a while. Of course, I know you, my reader, have never experienced anything of the sort. Most people are certainly able to relate to Mary Poppins ~ perfect, in every way. Perhaps you've heard of or know someone who is a jack of all trades, and master of none. I don't even know that I'd qualify for the jack of all trades, but I'm certainly no master at anything. Here's the deal: I could write about sports. I love baseball, football, golf, etc. I could write about the Georgia Bulldogs Spring practice and G-Day Game. I could write my opinions about Bobby Petrino and the University of Arkansas mess. I could write about the Atlanta Braves and the lackluster start they've had this season. Or I could write about how their bats came to life today; on a day when their pitching went south. I'd love to write about Bubba Watson and his victory at the Masters in Augusta. After all, he's a Georgia Bulldog who's the number one ranked American on the PGA Tour. Oh, and he's a Christ-follower like me. Ahhh . . . there's another topic of conversation. I could write for a while about Christ and Christianity. Not that I'm a scholar or an expert in theology, but I could write about my experiences. Oh, experiences? I could write about working in radio, hospitality, ministry, sales (both retail and business to business), being a musician, customer service, even umpiring slow pitch softball. I could write about traveling. I've been fortunate enough to travel to over half of these United States. I've even lived in five of them. I suppose I could write about moving vans, too. In any event, I will try ~ again ~ to be more consistent with writing on this blog. If any of these topics strike you as interesting, let me know. I'd be happy to have suggestions of what you'd like to read about.