Elementary…My Dear Watson

7 Thoughts on Christmas Eve

I finished up flower delivery yesterday. It gave me some time to think about Christmas. And especially Christmas in Florida.

1) Christmas brings out the best in people. I saw an entire street come out and give their garbage-men either cash, home-baked goodies, or gift bags. And this part of Florida means there’s no automatic trash compactor. These guys sling these cans by hand. Merry Christmas!

2) And, it can bring out the worst in people. I’ m sorry, but jaywalkers deserve to be hit. I might just have to speed up unless you give me that little “courtesy wave.” Still, not the best place to cross 6 lanes of traffic on the 2nd busiest shopping day of the year.

3) A Chinese restaurant right next to the Animal Health Clinic. Coincidence? I think not.

4) Christmas in Florida is unique. Two old women dressed as Santa, driving a golf cart on a main road through a trailer park. Unique.

5) When did McDonald’s start becoming classy? I know, I know. I read the news article: They’re trying to compete with Starbucks. Hey, as long as I can get my processed-cheese cheeseburger and greasy fries, I’m happy.

6) Wedding definitely make Christmas more hectic. But I’m always happy to jump in. Besides, I think our work on the car makes us more than even.

7) Straight No Chaser puts on an AWESOME concert! I had an incredible time. But, it’s not for the faint of heart, or those unfamiliar with some of the pop music today. My favorite part? Their mashups. That shows some real talent. And not just the vocal variety.

As for me, I’ll be relaxing this year while reading Genesis 1-4. Check it out here: WTS Books.

7 Thoughts from Flower Delivery

I spent today delivering flowers. It’s a side job. Here are 7 thoughts from the day:

1) Everyone is happy to get flowers. No matter what, people always say “Thank you!”

2) Except for the few Crankies out there. One lady grimaced and said, “Another one? We got one yesterday.” Excuse me while I take your unwanted flower arrangement down the street. I know of several shut-ins who would have loved the attention.

3) People drive like idiots. Especially around Christmas. If you see someone with a clearly marked delivery van, get off my bumper. Odds are, I’m looking for a street sign or house numbers.

4) Buy and Install some decent house numbers. Goodness people. Get big numbers, and put them in an easy to see location. Your next delivery person will love you.

5) I get queasy delivering “Get Well Soon” flowers. I’m kinda worried that the person in that house is contagious and I’m going to catch it.

6) People will come to the door wearing anything. Or, in some cases, next to nothing. Put some clothes on.

7) Finally, It really is okay to say, “Merry Christmas!” You just gave them a flower arrangement. They’re not going to take you to task for “forcing your religious beliefs on them.”

Looking for something good to listen to this holiday season? Try this!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Fundraising Ornaments – Customer Service at Its Finest

I’ve got a problem with companies who ignore their customers. So when I find a company like Fundraising Ornaments that goes out of its way to put customer service first, I get excited.

I just became a manager of a small bookstore. One of my ideas was to create a “Thank-you gift” for a specific purchase. With Christmas coming up, the idea of Christmas ornaments crossed my mind.

Now, a Google search will reveal several “custom ornaments” companies. But I have a very niche market. I only need about 50 ornaments. So I picked up the phone.

I called a company, who shall remain nameless and was informed they do not make orders under 100 ornaments under any circumstances.

Then, I called Fundraising Ornaments. They were friendly, helpful, and when I informed them I could only swing about 50 ornaments, the representative helped me select a product that would be elegant, yet fit my budget.

But I pressed on. I wanted a sample. No problem. I got the sample within two business days. Now, I know they can’t necessarily promise that to everyone. But she got it out the door and into my hands as fast as possible.

I’m getting ready to place the order now. I’ll let you know how it goes. Or better yet, come by and buy one. I’m certain they’re going to look great!

Book Review: Sabbath

This is not your typical book. If you’re looking for a quiet, enjoyable read, this book probably isn’t for you. If, however, you’re looking to have your horizons broadened and to consider the biblical mandate of the Sabbath in a way that is unfamiliar to most of us, then, by all means, pick up a copy.

Booksneeze recently provided me with a copy of “Sabbath” by Dan B. Allender. To be frank, it was a tough start. I already had my preconcieved notions of what the Sabbath meant to 21st Century Christians. The book seemed intent on bringing in a foreign concept.

But the more I read, the deeper Allender went into the biblical and historical basis for Sabbath. The realization hit me that I hadn’t really been doing Sabbath. Oh sure, I understood that “Ministry Sundays” weren’t restful, and I’d usually try and find another day in the week to spend some downtime. But the realization that Sabbath is about so much more had never hit me harder than it did in this book.

At 194 pages to the conclusion, with Study Guide, Sabbath is a great book to go through with your small group or to simply read on your own. Just be warned: You might need to change a few things once you’re finished reading.

Why I’m Turning my Phone Off and You Should Too

I’m turning my phone off… for dinner. Sorry to scare you. I’m taking baby steps.

Actually, it’s part of a suggestion from Michael Hyatt, 44 Things to Boost Your Energy.

I consider myself an “On-the-Go Professional.” If my phone vibrates and it’s my boss, I could have a new project within the hour. It’s the beauty and the curse of a flexible work schedule. Because of this, I went with, yes, the standard, iPhone 3GS. It’s great. And it allows me to stay connected and aware all the time.

All the time. Funny, it started out that I only checked it at regularly scheduled intervals. And when nothing was there, I put it away. All of a sudden, I noticed, “I’m out with friends at a restaurant and I’m glued to my iPhone.”

In all fairness to me, they typically have a similar problem. But after reading suggestions numbers 38 and 41 on Michael Hyatt’s Post: “Have dinner with a friend and be fully present.” and “Turn off your mobile phone.” I hit upon an idea. Combine the two. Turn off my phone and be fully present while at dinner with friends.

It’s really quite simple. I just use airplane mode.

So far? Results are great! Once you get over that initial “twitch” to reach down and check for new mail, it’s perfect. When I enter the restaurant (after I’ve found my party) I switch my phone over to airplane mode. When I leave, I turn it back on and get caught up with everything I missed. Or rather, everything I didn’t miss. Because I, unlike so many of you, enjoyed my meal and time to myself, with my friends.

So, ready to boost your energy? Enjoy a meal with no cell phone.

Blessed Be the Name

This song was in my mind this morning, for reasons known only to the Holy Spirit. After last week’s post, I thought it provided a good balance and describes what I’m trying to say.

Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

Blessed Be Your name
When I’m found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I’ll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name
When the sun’s shining down on me
When the world’s ‘all as it should be’
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there’s pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I’ll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name

God is Always Doing GOOD Things in Our Lives?

The title of today’s post came across my news feed today. “God is always doing GOOD things in our lives.”

My knee-jerk reaction is that this statement is horribly wrong. But am I correct? Is God always doing GOOD things in our lives? Let’s take some Biblical examples:

Job – God is taking his children, his livelihood, and finally his health.

David – God allowed numerous people to chase him from his home to live in the wilderness. Not just in the beginning of his life, but later and through his own son, Absolom.

Elijah – God used him to send a famine into the land and then sent this prophet to the heathens on the backside of the desert.

Jesus – God sent his Son (himself) from a perfect heaven to a sin-soaked world where he would live with the man who would eventually betray him for 3 years before finally being horribly and painfully murdered.

Now before I provoke you to wrath and to pull out your Bible to read me Romans 8:28, please read the chapter yourself. The focus of Paul’s writing is not that bad things won’t happen, or to phrase it positively, that God is always doing GOOD things, but rather, that God’s election and our security FAR OUTWEIGH the bad things that happen to us.

³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”^[j]

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

If you want to say that God is always at work to glorify himself, I’m with you. If you want to say that God is always at work, redeeming his chosen people, I’m with you. But if you want to say that God is always at work doing GOOD things in our lives, I think you have a faulty view of God.

Too harsh? Perhaps. But I would much rather hold to what the text says, than what some cute phrase a preacher says.

The Credability Game

I play it. You play it. We all play it. And it’s not a game.

The Credability Game may also be called the Trust Account. When you meet a person, they have a certain degree of credability. You trust them. Some people naturally have more than others. For example, I may trust the police officer with a uniform on to direct me through an intersection, just because of his position. I trust the financial advisor who sits behind a desk because that is his job. But what about the people with whom we interact on a daily basis?

Let’s take for example two friends, Chad and Phil.

Phil says “Let me borrow $20 to go to the movies.  I’ll pay you back later.”  Chad, being a friend, lends Phil the money which Phil quickly goes and spends.  Two weeks later, when Chad asks for his money back Phil replies “I thought you gave it to me as a friend?” and refuses to pay.  Now depending on the size of Phil’s trust account, he may never get another loan from Chad.  Phil had $20 dollars of trust in his account, and he spent it.  But perhaps they are closer friends, and Phil has $400 dollars.  Well then Chad will continue to loan money until he reaches that point.

Now carry this beyond mere money.  Chad and Phil agree to meet to go to a basketball game.  Chad is driving, but Phil has the tickets.  If they want to make it there for the 7:00 game they must leave at 6:30 sharp.  Chad is waiting outside Phil’s house from 6:25 (being the mature, time-conscience young man that he is) while Phil runs around the house hops into the shower, and emerges after a 15 minute shower, throws on clothes, grabs his wallet and run out of the house.  6:45.  Phil is dipping into his trust account.  If this is just another game, perhaps it’s only a $5 withdrawal.  But if they are going to see Michael Jordan’s final championship game with locker-room passes, that could be more like a $500 withdrawal.  As they speed off down the Road, Phil pats his pockets, checks his wallet, and then informs Chad that he has somehow managed to “lose” the tickets.  Back to the house again as Phil rummages through drawers, empty pizza boxes and couch cushions to find the tickets.  7:15.  By the time they get to the arena, it’s 7:50 (bad traffic) and half the game is over.  Phil has continued to dip into his trust account and makes withdrawal after withdrawal.

But suppose this is not the first time, nor the second, but the seventh time! (Chad is a very patient guy.)  Phil has been taking out various amounts from his account each time, and this time he overdrafts!  Frustrated, Chad drives Phil home and tells him point-blank, “I will never drive you to a game ever again!”  To Phil this is confusing; he’s been doing this every game for the last seven games and Chad had never indicated more than mild concern, and now he’s canceled everything!  Phil had been slowly siphoning off his trust account and finally overdrafted.

What can Phil do?  There is really nothing Phil can do.  As a Christian it is important to go to Chad, and ask forgiveness, seek the reconciliation between them, but reconciliation does not automatically mean another trust account.  Once that account is gone, it’s gone.

We all play the credability game. We all dip into our trust accounts. Every time we show up late. Every time we forget we were supposed to help with something and don’t show up. Every time we tell someone we can’t make it and don’t send a replacement. Maybe it’s time to consider who  you’ve let down and to go ask their forgiveness. It’s one of the ways to rebuild trust, and credability.

3 Easy Steps to Pick-up, Pack-up, and Shape-up!

It’s time for damage control, folks.

It’s summer time. For many, if not most Students, that means a break. A time for a breather. A relaxing time. Of course, I just got back from a Missions Trip to the Dominican Republic, and I’m getting ready to leave on a family vacation, in addition to a Church History course that’s kicking my butt, but hey, it’s not as busy as a regular semester.

My problem right now is that life is a mess. My clean clothes are piled up, my dirty clothes are piled up, my desk is piled up, my overdue library books are piled up, my lasagna supplies are piled up (I make them in batches and freeze them). The only thing that isn’t piled up is my bed, and that’s only because I need that to sleep on.

Sure, I’ve been trying to pick up here and there. And, for the most part, that has been an entirely losing strategy. So it’s time for some pick-up, pack-up, and shape-up!

1) Work in Zones

I live in what might be termed a “Studio-Apartment.” It’s really a FROG (Front-Room-Over-Garage) with house access. Because of that, everything is really just one big room. Never fear! Zones are here! Today’s laundry day, which means the first thing to go is the sheets. That leaves the bed clean for a staging area. Then, I move onto  the Desk area. EVERYTHING gets cleared off of the desk area, and moved onto the bed. It’s easier to sort and put it where it belongs. Move from one zone to the next, using your staging area.

2) Play it Loud, Play it Proud!

I prefer music while cleaning. And usually, it’s Johnny Cash that’s makes me work the hardest. Whatever you like, crank it up, play it, get moving. Avoid the TV like the plague. At least until you get to number 3). TV tends to just put you in a lethargy that is difficult to escape.

3) Batch It!

 Michael Hyatt just had a great post on Batching. No, not how to be a single guy (though it helps some of us). It’s the concept of grouping like tasks together, and focusing on them exclusively for an extended period of time. After a set period of time? Take a break! Relax, chill, cool down. And then hit it again! If you absolutely have to, this might be the time for a teency-tiny bit of TV indulgence. But don’t get caught up in a show you can’t finish. Most batch rest-breaks are only 20 minutes at the most.

Granted, batching doesn’t work well for some things like laundry, at least not for me. The 30 min. it takes to wash, and the 1 hr it takes to dry each load usually means I only spend 5-10 minutes getting them set up before I set it and forget it! But for tasks like I”m going to conquer today? It’s perfect.

So there you go. My three easy steps to Pick-up, Pack-up, and Shape-up!

What tips do you use to quickly and efficiently get things done?