Letters to my Children. Balance Life's Responsibilities

Dear Mark, Christina, Melissa, Robbie, Keith and Tiffany -

Modern life is so busy that we often have difficulty balancing our responsibilities. There are so many good things we want to do in life that it is difficult to decide where to spend our limited time. Although I am 72 years old and have lots of experience, balancing my responsibilities is still difficult.

Here are four thoughts on balancing your responsibilities:

Write a Personal Plan

Where do you want to be 5 years? What bout 30- 40 years? How about 100 years from now? I will write more about writing a Personal Plan in a future letter, but for now remember that the focus of the Personal Plan is short term, retirement and eternity. As you probably already know, I think the focus of life is eternity. I wrote about eternal focus here. 

Balance Your MarketPlace Responsibilities

Strive to balance the responsibilities of your life while aligning your actions with your Guiding Principles. 

If you write your Personal Plan from a MarketPlace perspective, you will have identified four or more areas of responsibility. The tough job is to balance the time spent in each of these areas. I discipline myself to look at my calendar about 4 times per year and rebalance the time I spend in each of the areas of responsibility. If I don't do this, I tend to become a workaholic and begin to minimize relationships. If you are true to your Personal Plan, you will balance all the responsibilities in your life and successfully fulfill the roles you live. 

You earn what you receive (most of the time)

You are not punished for failure or rewarded for success, you earn the consequences of your actions and the results you produce. This is true most of the time.

If you constantly find yourself spending to much time in one particular area of responsibility (i.e. work) then you must carefully look at the causes and make adjustments. Work is or should be good. Work is necessary if we are to eat. But an employer who steals from employees is not a company to work for long term. And an employee who steals from the company by being a consistently lazy worker doesn't deserve the job.

I know that work is difficult and hard and time consuming because the Bible says that work will be difficult. It is the one area of responsibility that requires the most of our available time. And in my case work was the area of temptation that Satan used to steal me from family time when you were younger.

Exciting and Challenging

Developing and living a balanced lifestyle is exciting and challenging.

Letters to my Children. My Grandchildren and their Calling

Dear Mark, Christina, Melissa, Robbie, Keith and Tiffany - 

One of the most important responsibilities of parents is to encourage their children to mature into the person God intended them to be. Each of you has children and you will be teaching them life principles and modeling these principles for years to come. Here are a few thoughts on raising children and really enjoying the process.

Proverbs 22:6. This verse is a key verse and has a subtle meaning that really guides the entire process of raising children.  The Christian Standard Bible says, "Start a youth on his way...."

I like other translations that read.  "Train up a child" better.

Most interpret this verse to mean that we are to teach our children Godly principles. But there is another meaning I want to emphasize.

Unique Calling. In an earlier post, I mentioned that God has a unique calling, ministry or plan for each of us. I believe he created that plan back in eternity and shapes us to successfully accomplish that plan. This plan is applicable to all of life, physical and spiritual.  When Proverbs encourages us to "train up a child in the way he/she should go," we should encourage children to be aware of God's plan for their life. We should teach them that God calls them first of all to Salvation and then to a ministry that is carried out through a local church in a unique Marketplace. 

Work. The concept of work in a unique Marketplace is important because work is a major component of our ministry. If you encourage your children to understand their spiritual gifts, their passion, their abilities and their personalities, then they will have a much easier time of understanding where God is calling them. Perhaps engineering, perhaps teaching, perhaps in vocational church ministry, perhaps  firefighting, perhaps as an architect, perhaps a housewife, perhaps a shipping agent....There are unlimited possibilities. I suspect that out of 10 grandchildren, 1-2 may be called to work for a church. Most will be in a non religious workplace. 

Once children begin to understand how they are shaped, they begin to zero in on a college major, etc.

My Failure.  I did not understand this verse in Proverbs. Neither did I understand calling and Marketplace until I was about 65 years old so I was not much of a resource to help you as you searched for your calling.

Three crucial Ages.

I believe there are three ages for children as they grow up. I don't have any scientific evidence for this just observations. The first is is about the age of 3 when the thinking and mental processes are beginning to form a pattern of thinking that will last for a lifetime. The second crucial period is around the age of nine when the personality is almost fixed. In fact, some psychologists say that after this age a person seldom changes personality or thinking unless there is a Significant Emotional Event. The third crucial age is about the age of 12 when their spiritual awareness is highest. In fact, I have read that most youth who "check out" of church do so mentally and emotionally between the ages of 12 and 15. 

Don't worry about a Job

When I was born in 1946, my grandaddy worried that there would not be a job on the farm for me when I graduated from high school. Papa was a tenant farmer, and all he knew was farming. He was right. No job on the farm. Thank goodness. But I started by career with Eastex, Inc. - a company that did not exist when I was born, making products that were developed after I was born. Although I did not realize it at the time, that job was God's plan for me from eternity past. That job led to a second career at NC State and Raleigh where I realized that I am called and am here on this earth for His purpose.

Train up your children......encourage them to understand God's calling on their life....let God and the Holy Spirit work our the plan for their lives.

Letters to my Children. People

Dear Mark, Christina, Melissa, Robbie, Keith and Tiffany-

Some comedian once said, "If it weren't for people, life would be easy." I don't know if that is true, but I know that without people life would be sad and boring. I believe that we are created for a relationship with God and relationships with many people. 

Here are 10 thoughts about people. You can probably add many others:

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Treat people like people. The primary difference between good and bad people relationships is the belief that people have a right to be treated with dignity and respect.

Before we can respect others we must have high self-respect. Each human being has self-worth because God creates each of us.  Many people try to earn or prove self-worth by an improper emphasis on material possessions or work or power.  In reality, self-worth is a gift from birth.

Excited people create success; they treat others with dignity and respect.
 

Get along to get along. Don't blame others for your problems and don't ignore the problems. 

Many people go through life complaining about being mistreated by coworkers.  Others complain about the unfairness of office politics or frustration from being used by friends.  The best way to counteract these negative feelings is to build on your belief about your purpose for being in your MarketPlace.
 

Speaking is only half of the communication process.  Successful communication requires good listening skills.

It is difficult to separate the message from the messenger.
 

Initial impressions are important. Firsts are important: first hour, first day, first month and first year all create the impression others have of you.

Some people are afraid to make a decision while others are rambunctious and make the wrong decision before examining all the facts.  In today's fast-paced world, good decision-making is a key competency for a successful business.

Plan now to attend the SEND Conference in 2020. Atlanta GA.


Send 2020 Promo from North American Mission Board on Vimeo.

Letters to my Children MarketPlace - Work

Dear Mark, Christina, Melissa, Robbie, Keith and Tiffany -

In a previous letter, I briefly explained the concept of Marketplace. This letter continues the Marketplace theme with an emphasis on work. 

It's important that we seriously consider work and Marketplace because most of us spend more time at work that we do on any other responsibility in our Marketplace. I was amused at several comments I received shortly after retiring from NC State. I will paraphrase the questions as this, "Now that you are retired you don't have to work, and you can do anything you want to do, right?" Notice the implication that work is not fun and work is something you can eventually stop. 

Work is Good

I am amused by this question because I have always enjoyed work. Some would say that I'm a workaholic, and if so, that is a negative. I enjoyed my experiences at Temple Inland and was sad when that period of my life ended. In hindsight, being asked to resign and then retiring (from Temple Inland) five years later at the age of 50 was a good thing. After I left Temple and went to NC State, I learned that there is more to life than making paper.  Work is good. 

Work is a Part of God's Plan 

I believe that Genesis is real and not just a story. God created Adam and Eve and gave them three things to do: populate the earth, take care of creation and work. These commands were given prior to man's sin, they have not been rescinded, and they still apply to mankind today. Work is good and is a necessary part of God's plan for mankind.

What is Included in the Command to Work?

Create something of value that someone is willing to pay for. The various economic systems in the world are a part of God’s plan.

Be creative and innovative. The creativity that man enjoys has allowed us to create a world not imaginable just a century ago. Some would say that this creativity has gone far enough. Of course people said the same thing about the radio and the TV. From my perspective, the Internet and social media are as important as the Roman system of roads when we consider how the gospel will be spread around the world in the next few years.

Work is Hard

I also believe that work became much more difficult after Adam sinned. God placed a curse on creation after Adam sinned and told Adam that work would be difficult. I don’t know of too many jobs that are easy. In most parts of the world, people have to work long hours and very hard to earn a living. Even in the U.S., many jobs require 9-10 hours per day.

Work should be Great Place.

Work should be a great place. It should be a place that provides contentment, satisfaction and encouragement from others. Sadly this is not always the case. Many companies take advantage of their employees both, hourly and salaried, and have expectations beyond which they're willing to pay. I believe that companies who take advantage of employees by expecting long hours without adequate pay are abusing their employees. With the coming labor shortage, companies that take advantage of employees will find themselves without good employees and will either change their management style or go out of business.

Faith and Work and marketplace

Much has recently been written about the workplace being the greatest mission field in the world. This makes sense when we consider our Marketplace as being the place God placed us to carry out His command to Go and make disciples. Work is the component of our marketplace where we know the largest number of people and where we spend the most time. It is probably the place where people know us the best. Because I did not understand Marketplace until recently and because I tend to minimize relationships, I missed many opportunities to meet needs of people working around me and to share the gospel with them.

Balance requires a Personal Plan

My final though on work and Marketplace is balance. There is more to life than work. We must balance our responsibilities in all the components of our Marketplace. There are only 24 hours in a day. If we give too much time to work, we will neglect another responsibility in our Marketplace. The first thing we neglect is that personal relationship with God through prayer and Bible study. The second is our personal health and the third is family. For me a Personal Plan (written and updated at least quarterly) is the best way for me to remain balanced. I first wrote a Personal Plan in 1996 and have kept it current since then.

There is much more to be said about work, but that is enough for now.

Letters to my Children. What's your Marketplace?

Dear Mark, Christina, Melissa, Robbie, Keith, and Tiffany

One of the key concepts in life that I only began to understand several years ago is Marketplace. Marketplace is any place we are on a regular basis where we have the opportunity to interact with people. Synonyms for Marketplace include sphere of influence and community.

Early in my adult life, I learned that I cannot solve all the world's problems. I can't meet the needs of people all over the world. And because I can't meet everyone's needs or solve all problems there is a tendency for me to live in a cocoon without interacting with very many people.

In an earlier post on Foundational Truths, I wrote about being on earth for a purpose and how God’s Plan involves us, individually. I have thought a lot in the last 6 years about being here for a purpose. Particularly "here." Where is "here?" I call here, my Marketplace. it is important for me to live on task, on mission and on purpose in my Marketplace. This means I intentionally interact with people in my Marketplace.

Where is My marketplace?

Marketplace includes home, where I work(ed), go to church, play, vacation, and where I have regular interactions in the community. 

My marketplace includes:

•  Family. Although there are 18 of us in the immediate family, there are about 200 in the larger family. I need to be more intentional in the extended family. 
• Work. Although I am retired, I still have relationships at NC State and a few remaining at Temple Inland, just not as many as when I was working. I spent more waking hours at work than in any other segment of my Marketplace, and during my working career I did not think of work as a Marketplace and missed many opportunities to build friendships. I missed  many opportunities to meet needs of those around me.
• Church. There are probably 300 people in Bethlehem who should be in my marketplace. I ignored church as a marketplace all my life. Looking back, I see many missed opportunities to serve others.
• National and international mission locations.  Szelkeyhid, Romania; Toronto Canada and Barre, Vermont are all a part of my Marketplace.
• Local community. Cleaners, restaurants, barber....

Geographically, my Marketplace is very large. It includes a large number of people. God placed me in a specific location and shaped me to be successful in that Marketplace.  And, He wants me to be successful in my total existence - physical/material and spiritual.

Where is Your Marketplace? 

Each of you has a unique Marketplace. You have been placed there by God, for His purposes. While you are reasonably young in life, begin to think of Marketplace. Think of God's purpose for you being in your Marketplace. And be prepared for God to change, shrink or expand your Marketplace. After all, it is His plan that He is working through you.

My next post will continue the theme of Marketplace, exploring how the concept of Marketplace can influence your entire life.

"I feel your pain,* Really?

Dear Mark, Christina, Melissa, Robbie, Keith and Tiffany -

Every so often I hear someone say, "I feel your pain." My immediate thought is, "No you don't." You don't know that my mother told me, "You are ugly." And my father was convinced that I had fewer mechanical skills than anyone he knew. You don't know that the person who introduced me to the Paper Science program at NC State once advised me to leave the University because I would be a failure and an embarrassment to him. I know that my parents unconditionally loved me and Roy thought the world of me, but their words impacted me for a long time. You don't know that I am so shy that I flew to Raleigh twice around 1998 for meetings and pretended to be sick so that I would not have to meet new people and then flew home the next day. [In 1998, a round trip ticket from Houston to Raleigh cost about $900 so my shyness was dumb and expensive on my part.]

There is no way that I can understand what it's like to be Mark Randolph Ashcraft, Melissa Ann Courtney, or David Keith Ashcraft. And they have my DNA.
Sometimes, I am not even sure that I understand myself. 

It's even more difficult for me to understand what it's like to be Christina Ashcraft, Robbie Courtney, or Tiffany Ashcraft. If I do not understand those who have my DNA, how can I hope to understand others?

But God......
Because God created everything and knows everything, God fully understands who, what, where, when, why and how about each of the 110 billion people who have lived on this Earth. Read that statement again and let it sink in. 
And, God understands who, what, where, when, why and how about all of those who are yet to be born.  

I never thought about what it means for God to be all knowing until last night. I know that Jesus lived on earth and experienced life as a human, but I never thought about God fully knowing me and everybody who ever lived and anybody who will ever live. 

There really is somebody, God, who unconditionally loves me and totally knows me and understands me. And that is very comforting.

Like Father, Like Son
Because I am created in the image of God and am His adopted Son and serve Him; it is important that I try to understand people for several reasons:

1. I can encourage them and do a better job meeting their needs.
2. I am less likely to criticize or hate somebody that I understand.
3. I am more likely to see my own weaknesses.

I will add more to this post in a few weeks when I determine what I am trying to communicate.

Vision? Yes!

Dear Mark, Christina, Melissa, Robbie, Keith and Tiffany -

I believe in the Visioning process: identifying strengths and weaknesses; working from a 3-5 year plan with strategies and identifiable goals. Many of you would agree. At least you would agree that a vision is good for a business. Fewer of you would agree that a visioning process is good for a church and even fewer would agree that a personal vision is necessary.

I believe that all business need a vision. All churches need a vision. All people need a vision. Today, economic power belongs to consumers; the old days of a manufacturer having a successful strategy of "you buy what I make" are long gone. The days are long gone when a church can say, "Come visit us Sunday"and really expect visitors to show up.

Three reasons for a visioning process:

The past might not predict the future

An inability to anticipate the impact of trends on businesses and individuals can lead to outdated products or services that are no longer required by customers. The lack of an up-to-date analysis of business capabilities may generate a false sense of security when change is undertaken. Misapplication of management principles causes complaints that continuous improvement or business process re-engineering "don't work" and leaves stakeholders dissatisfied.

Without vision, people perish

A vision must focus on the future and serve as a concrete foundation, an enduring promise. Unlike goals and objectives, a vision does not fluctuate from year to year. A successful vision paints a vivid picture, and though future based, is written in the present tense as if it were being realized now. It illustrates what the organization will do in the face of ambiguity and surprise. A vision must give people the feeling that their lives and work are intertwined and moving toward legitimate goals.

Without a vision that clearly defines the future, people will perish and businesses will fail.

Without action, vision dies

Visions are only accomplished through operating plans - actions.

A business is defined by the wants the customer satisfies when buying a product or service.

In the business world, all customers in the supply chain must be satisfied.

All stakeholders should be able to readily see that the actions of the company are directly related to the vision.

  

Letters to my Children. A Principle of Life I Don't Like

Dear Mark, Christina, Melissa, Robbie, Keith, and Tiffany-

There is a principle life that I don't like. In fact, I don't even understand it. The principal is this, Bad things happen to good people. 

This principle is hard. It is difficult to understand. Extremely difficult to accept.

We have all seen this principle at work in life:  

• The person who deserved the promotion did not get it. 

• A local church member who is extremely active in the church is devastated when his house burns to the ground.

• A volunteer worker at a food pantry is killed on the way home from the mission. 

• A forest fire in California destroyed homes of totally innocent people.

When we see bad things happen to good people, we might even say, “Life isn’t fair.” Some people even think a loving God would not allow this to happen and begin to doubt the existence of God.

Think on these things when bad things happen to you:

Love of God

God loves us unconditionally The Bible clearly teaches that there is nothing that you can do to make him love you more. The nearest analogy that I can think of is my unconditional love for you, my children. There is nothing that you can do to make me love you more or love you less.

So the first thought when bad things happen is that God loves you. Unconditionally. He always has and He always will.

Satan is Mean

Evil, bad things, calamities, natural disasters exist in this world because of sin and Satan. Spiritual warfare is real, and we suffer the consequences in the physical world. The Bible describes Satan as a liar, a roaring lion, seeking to devour us. My 72 years confirms this.

Bad things happening to you should be a reminder that Satan is real.

Power of God

The Bible teaches that God uses everything to advance His kingdom, Romans 8:28-29. Nothing can stand against His church, Matthew 16:18. His ways and thoughts are higher than mine, Isaiah 55:8-9. No matter what is happening to you, God will use it to advance His kingdom.

Prosperity gospel is false.

We tend to be susceptible to a Prosperity Gospel here in the west that says, “If we do good and if we do more and more to try to please God and to be good to other people then God is going to reward us. Life will be good.” This gospel is false. Run from it.

Focus on eternity

It is important to live life with eternity in mind. (Remember the story of the string which was posted here.) When our focus is on eternity then what happens in the short period of time we're on this Earth is really immaterial. I know this is hard to accept when bad things are happening, but the older you grow, the more this makes sense.

Letters to My Children. Do Overs 2

Dear Mark, Christina, Melissa, Robbie, Keith and Tiffany - 

Yesterday, I posted the first six things that I would do over if I could. Today's 
post finishes the list.

If Do Overs really were possible, I would:

Listen to intuition more often. I look back at life and realize that my intuition was right more often than it was wrong, and I should have followed by gut rather than second-guess my original decisions. I think some of the failure to follow intuition was my relatively young age for the leadership positions I held and the lack of a mentor - at church or in the business world.

Initiate more conversation with superiors. Because I never had a mentor, I learned how to manage my boss on my own. I should have involved him in some of my decisions; and with his involvement some of the resistance to changes I wanted to make would have been eliminated.

Encourage more input from peers and subordinates. I always thought I was open and receptive to input from everyone I worked with. I now realize that the perceived power of my position kept many who had good input from sharing that input. Had I been more encouraging, some would have provided much needed corrective feedback. Because I received very little negative input, I thought I was good.  Really good. Now I know better.

Celebrate more special moments in life. I have always tended to focus on the half empty portion of the glass - the difference between actual and perfection. I now realize that it is important to celebrate success while continuing to work for improvements. This is true in business, church and non profits. Heaven celebrates when anyone is saved, and we should celebrate also.

Pay less attention to programs and processes and more to relationships. I am task oriented. I like To Do lists. I don't like idle chit chat. At least I didn't until a few years ago when I realized that talking with others is a necessary step in building a relationship. I now know that life is nothing but relationships - with God as Father, with my family, with friends and with others in my marketplace. At the end of this life, I won't be worried about To Do lists, but I will regret not having a better relationship with many people I have known through the years. 

I regret not having said "I love you" often enough to you (my children) and to Mary.

Travel a little slower and enjoy the journey more. Family. Music and photography. I regret that I did not lead us on family vacations when you were young. I thought I had to work. I wish that I had acted on my joy of photography earlier in life. I wish that I had kept my piano skills in better shape. 

My goal now is to live so that I don't need so many Do Overs. I can enjoy the Journey going forward. And I am enjoying each day. Vacation time with 18 people as a group and as families, music, photography, a little travel, relationships with people, trying to follow God's plan in my marketplace.

Not only is live very enjoyable, but it is also exciting.

God has blessed me so much, and in my last quarter of life I want to demonstrate my love for Him and others. Not because I have to live this way,but because I want to live this way.

Letters to My Children. Do Overs. 1

Dear Mark, Christina, Melissa, Robbie, Keith and Tiffany - 

A couple of weeks ago I was playing miniature golf with two grandkids and every time they mis-hit the golf ball, they wanted a do-over. 

We all have decisions we have made that we would like to change, personality quirks that we don't really like and fears that are irrational. I have more than my share of actions when I needed a Do-Over.

If Do Overs really were possible, I would:

Live a closer relationship with Jesus. Unfortunately, I was 66 years old before i realized the importance (make that necessity) of actively seeking a relationship with God through Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Actively seek to understand and then follow God’s calling for my life. Until six years ago, I thought pastors and church staff were the ones who were hired to do the work of Going and Making Disciples. Since I wasn't "called," I only needed to financially support them. Now I know that God called me to salvation and then to His plan for my life. The plan God has for me (and for you) is just as important as His plan for a pastor or evangelist or missionary. I wish that I had understood the concept of being called by God to His plan in my marketplace when I was a teenager. [I will write more about this in a later post.]

Begin a disciplined practice of spiritual disciplines (PBSMF) early in life. I have only been practicing spiritual disciplines of prayer, Bible study and meditation and fasting (PBSMF) for six years. During this time, I think I can see a difference in my relationship with God, with you, with Mary and with others.

Hold myself and others accountable for achieving a jointly developed plan that is developed through a strategic management process. I have always been a planner in the business world, but I did not always seek broad input for the plan and I did a lousy job of holding people accountable for achieving the plan. I assumed that people would work and enjoy work as much as I did. I learned too late that I am a workaholic,which is not good.

Follow up on exceptions quicker. This gap is related to achieving the work plan. I wish I had done a better job of understanding systems and the statistical nature of all systems. A system or process (life) always seeks equilibrium. In order to change (improve) the results of a process or system one or more components of the system or process must be changed. I often waited too long to change a process that needed to be improved.

Resolve conflicts sooner. A team will always have internal conflicts. A good manager knows when to step in and mediate a solution and when to allow the team to solve their problems. Because I don't like to confront people with their failures, I often misjudged when to involve myself in team squabbles. I did not want to be a micro manager and often waited too long to help the team find a solution.

I will complete the list of desired Do Overs in my next post.

Letters to my Children. Use the Entire Circle

Dear Mark, Christina, Melissa, Robbie, Keith and Tiffany - 

We live in a secular society, particularly in the Western world.  Those who espouse a secular society almost demand that we separate anything related to spiritual beliefs from the decision-making process. People who are  nominated for a political position or interviewed for a job are sometimes questioned about their spiritual beliefs, and often are criticized for allowing religious beliefs to influence their decisions. Canada is wrestling with the role of religious influence in society; you can read about the latest ruling from their Supreme Court here. 

Secularism is not new, the secular world view was the basis for the Enlightenment period of the 1700's and 1800's. One of the leading secular philosophers was Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher. My interpretation of his belief is illustrated by this figure. He believed that we must make decisions and explain the world we live in by science, only using the physical world. 

The rapid push toward secularism in the West is establishing a first: we are the first society that tried to remove God totally from the public domain. Ancient China, Egypt, Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks, and Romans - each of these societies had gods they worshipped. They may not have worshipped Jehovah, but they did have gods. The west is rapidly removing God and gods from the public square. Scary

Is it right or even possible to try to separate our lives as the figure proposes? I believe that we must use the entire circle seamlessly as we live life. The triune God must be a part of our lives.

1. God created us as unique human beings with body mind and soul. He created us with an individual plan for each of us and shapes us so that we can be successful achieving that plan. I believe that when we separate God from our decision-making process we find ourselves unable to answer basic questions like "Why do I exist?" "What is my purpose in life?" "Where did this world come from?" Why is there evil in this world?" "Is anyone or anything controlling this world?"

2. Eternity should drive our living. I discussed this here. 

3. Separating God from everyday life leads to an absence of truth. Without a biblical world view which says that that God is involved in our world on a continuous basis,we try to answer the questions of life from the viewpoint of government, education or science and soon find ourselves with multiple conflicting answers - none of which is true or complete.

4. Conflicting answers, resulting from the absence of God in the decision-making process result in multiple "truths." Which means that in our age of extreme individualism, everyone's answer to a question is "truth." When everyone's (conflicting answers) are truth there is no truth. 

5. The opposite of a secular society (one that excludes science and government and education from the decision-making processes) is as harmful as a secular society. God created mankind and everything in the universe, and He said, "It is good." God created the world and us for his pleasure. He intended for us to live in the world, to populate it, to sustain it, to be creative and inventive and to work. And He wants to be a part of us and this world. Sin, which impacted the world, beginning in Genesis 3:1 causes our work and our  stewardship of the world to be difficult, but sin did not change God's desires for us and this world and a relationship with Him, which is possible through Jesus.

I will write in a future post on why the secularization of society may result in a spiritual awakening that will advance the worldwide church similar to the growth during the first century.

Making Lemonade

My mother encouraged me as a youth - make lemonade out of lemons. I understood this advice to mean that I should look for something good in everything that happens and apply what I learn to my life.

Yesterday was a day to make lemonade. I am task oriented and usually have my day planned, several days in advance. About one hour into the first task of the day, I received a call that Mary had passed out and that EMS was on the way.

Several lessons for me:

1. Stay in contact. As we age, things happen. I need to let people where I am, and I need to keep my cell phone with me. I normally don't have my phone with me when I'm working outside, but yesterday I was expecting a call from a service company so I had it with me.

2. Answer the phone. I don't like all the unsolicited calls I receive on my phone any more than anyone else does. But sometimes a call is important. I did not recognize the number yesterday but answered the phone, expecting a serviceman to tell me he was on the way. Instead a nurse told me EMS had been called for Mary. (When I answer now, I will be listening for ways to engage the caller in a profitable conversation!!)

3. Be proactive with respect to safety. As we age, we are prone to falling, passing out, dizziness and etc. We should be proactive to minimize the danger to ourselves and to others resulting from these incidents: (i) Follow the Two Adult Rule when working with children. The rule is: two adults must always be in a room with children. If Mary had been teaching in a preschool classroom by herself, there would have been at least short term chaos, (ii) Don't climb on ladders. This is a tough one for me because I think I need to continue to climb a ladder to change light bulbs and paint and trim the hedge, and ...One serious fall would cost more than the money I save by doing the work myself.

There are probably other lessons but these three certainly apply to me.