I have found that I’m not excited about the new things happening around us. Take music. There is very little in the new world that makes me simply have to tune in and listen like the music from my era. I could name a lot of older names and some of you would chuckle and shake your head, but you can name your names of modern people and I will give you a blank stare!
Fortunately, my kids know my temperament and ear for sound…
…and every so often they suggest someone that I will enjoy!
The basis for what I enjoy comes from my home life as a kid. My dad could sing and yodel, and Hank Williams, SR was something he could replicate. In fact, his choice of older songs that he would be called upon to sing as specials, or at a memorial service…Well, they are some of the best things of his I enjoy.
Even when it comes to Praise music. The newer songs seem to change us into watchers and not participators. If I’m going to sing Praise to my God, then “I” want to do it and not watch “you” do it.
I especially like it when I find (or am pointed to) a new radio program to listen to… Fresh Air. Radiolab. StoryCorps. This American Life. All Things Considered. Add to this the podcasts that keep me fresh and pointed. A Prairie Home Companion. This Is Your Life. Vinyl Cafe. Rick Steves. EntreLeadership. TEDTalks.
Hollywood keeps getting dirtier and techier, and stranger. Little comes out that can be enjoyed as simple as “Arsenic and Old Lace”. Books, even, just keep getting more gritty and it’s harder and harder to find something as good as James Michener or James Alexander Thom. And, if you’ve never read or listened to Tom Bodett (Motel 6 voice – click here), then I suggest you listen to him and his piano music intro’s by Johnny B (click here).
Yes… I have an eclectic taste!
And cars? Whoa. Where did the good ol’ fashioned wheels and tires go? Why does everyone like those gangster looking pimp mobiles? Leg room. Head room. Shoulder room. Where did it go? Everything is getting so much smaller, but labeled by the sizes of familiar verbiage – full size? Since when did a Jetta equal the comparative size of an Impala to be called a Full Sized vehicle?
Then the styles of “stuff” people do to themselves. Body piercings. Tattoo’s. Fashions…. Don’t get me started!
The main thing for me is to find someone better and smarter with an intelligent presentation to hold my attention.
Every so often something pops up on my radar, even from out of the blue, and I turn my attention into a detail search of what’s available. My wife referenced something used in a training course at her job… There is a YouTube channel (click here) and a Facebook page (or click here) called “Smarter Every Day”… The creator is Destin Sandlin, a Rocket Engineer in Alabama. You may have seen some of his video’s without realizing the depth of content. I suggest you check him out.
Finally. Think it through. Unless you are a unique personality the most of what you enjoy was formed by an earlier point in your life. You may modify it with life experiences as you age, but to make yourself feel really settled and happy, then turn to that past when something pleased you so well that you wanted to enjoy it for ever!
I just did something that the Apostle Paul did in many of his letters. He gives a “finally” moment. Sum up what you’ve heard and learned, and take it and do something with it.
2 Corinthians 13:11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.
Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
Philippians 3:1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe.
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.
1 Thessalonians 4:1 Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God;
2 Thessalonians 3:1 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you,
His last “finally” was in his last letter before his death. It’s almost like he knew where he was going and wanted to express himself to his protege, Timothy.
Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing. (2 Timothy 4:8 NKJV)
What would you say, finally, to those who are following you?
If you are searching, bouncing ideas off of someone else can clarify your position.
Diplomacy
If you are our attempting to affirm or rebuild your foundation, then honest dialogue can show you gaps or even shore your belief.
Even casually, conversation can help you understand where someone else stands.
Solomon writes in Proverbs 27:17 ESV “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”
Rather than confusing, I find that conversation carried out over a period of time often brings clarity.
This morning my son and I had breakfast. While passing through our neck of the woods he had time so we met at the local Hawks Prairie Inn. Good time of conversing about his trip, family, events, and finally he got around to something he had listened to on the way north this morning.
If you have never listened to “This American Life” then you are missing a treat. These are stories about life in America, retold in a cross between storytelling and interviews. Some are fun, others are poignant. Some cause a reality check, and others make you proud to be an American. Check them out sometime at www.thisamericanlife.org. They are often found on local PBS stations, and in iTunes.
There was a time that I experienced something similar to a particular episode on This American Life. Before I give you more information, let me share my story. It was 34 years ago. Yes. A story nestled between the ages of my son and my daughter! Old, true, but still a good story.
National Bank of Alaska hired me from Texas and paid my relocation to Anchorage, AK, in 1980. I had been with Gray Tool Company for 4 years and had migrated from a computer operator, to programmer, and back to supervising the mainframe computer staff. During a major conversion I had been asked to not leave until the conversion was completed. Namely, do not migrate to Alaska. The company knew my interest as I had moved my parents there (5,000 miles by auto) in 1977, and then vacationed there with my wife and son in 1979. This is where Jason took his first steps. Well, one day out of the blue I get a call from a headhunter. A job placement agency. They had my resume from the previous year and were located in Arizona. “How did you get my resume?”… Come to find out, back then, once your resume is mailed to companies looking for a job then many of them simply forwarded it to an agency, and there is no telling how many places my resume ended up at.
So, a hiring manager flew to Houston, interviewed me at the airport, and then a week later called with an offer package that include relocation!
The first day on the job (the move is a story all by itself!), they treated me to a nice lunch at Clinkerdagger Bickerstaffand Petts, a nice restaurant with some really good “Burnt Creme” dessert. The next day, I am told, is a day they would normally bring in their lunches and play a game of Diplomacy, a World War I board game. “Do you want to play?” Sure, I’ll try. It is a game where Europe countries are divided among the players and time is given to all to try and form alliances and battle plans for the coming season. You make plans with another country to overrun a different country, shore up defenses, or try to confuse other players with some movements that leave them guessing what your real intentions might be next season. Each of you write out your own troop movement orders and then they are read by a game master and the game pieces that represent your armies, navies, and other pieces are then moved around the board. What you diplomatically hope for is that your troop movement matches the plan you set in place with another country.
Europe at WWI
What you are aiming for is domination. What normally happens is annihilation! At least in my case.
What I learned is that my boss cannot be trusted, and my team mates are trying to stab me in the back and overrun my country!
At the end of the first season of troop movements, I have nothing left. My armies and navies have been obliterated, and my country is overwhelmed by my friends, who are now my enemies.
John, Al, Rick, Mike… I remember your names!
“Not fun!” says I. They all laugh at my calamity and continue playing to completion of the lunch hour.
I never played that game again!
But it makes for a good story!
I learned something from this game – I would never be a diplomat, nor a politician! I don’t have the stomach for it, nor do I like the way I felt when everyone turned on me. Additionally, I want to be a person of my word.
Life is not full of people who have your best interest in mind. It seems like many are into relationships only for what they get out of it for themselves. There are few people to trust your life with!
Key words in life revolve around core principles of how we conduct our lives – with each other, strangers, and even ourselves. Trust. Principled. Faithful, Kind. Caring. Concerned. Along with many others that you use and would easily prescribe for others as well. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander, an American Proverb that tells me you cannot live or expect one thing from someone else, and a different standard for yourself.
In real life a Diplomat works with best intentions to settle disputes and negotiate matters on behalf of the countries they each come from. Probably. Yet, it seems like the job of a Diplomat often calls for the ability to get what’s best for his or her own country, often at the cost of another Diplomats country expense. Diplomacy might even be a board game that you play with friends and enemies, but you must be ready to let your true nature shine, as well as the other persons falter.
If you do listen to This American Life (Click Here), check out episode 531, “Got Your Back”. It has some foul language. They are looking for some feedback whether they should continue to bleep their stories and this is one they chose not to bleep as a test… But the story is about a man who gets so involved with the game of Diplomacy and he finds he is not good at the effort. Things backfire on him.
According to the summation of the broadcast… You must be cutthroat to be a diplomat…
There are some situations where Diplomacy will never work for you. Diplomacy does not work with the devil. You cannot make a deal with the devil as Faust tried in German legend, get all you can out of life – knowledge, riches, fame, but in the end the Devil gets your soul. Diplomacy may work with friends and family as you attempt to better your situation and you may require the assistance of others. But you must learn that true Diplomacy is a game of give and take, maintaining the self esteem of another, and never becoming the bully on the street corner.
I wonder, was Jesus a Diplomat? Can a Diplomat trade his life for his friends? This is the greatest sacrifice (John 15:13), and Jesus had just called his followers his friends. In fact, scripture speaks deeply of the things we do with our friends. Again, Solomon writes in Proverbs 17:17 ESV “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” This does not mean you fight with your brother, rather, it speaks that in the midst of adversity you need a brother on your side. It may mean that it’s your loving friend, but more than likely the brother is simply those you are aligned with. Perhaps even someone you do not know.
A final thought. If you do not have guiding principles in your life then you will be subject to every whim of life that passes you by. You need to find some backbone and define what you believe, and stand up for it even when others change their principle. Rules of life may change, but the principles behind them never should. Principles are often rooted in rules of life that produce positive results…
If you are searching, bouncing ideas off of someone else can clarify your position.
I have found that I’m not excited about the new things happening around us. Take music. There is very little in the new world that makes me simply have to tune in and listen like the music from my era. I could name a lot of older names and some of you would chuckle and shake your head, but you can name your names of modern people and I will give you a blank stare!
Michael Gurley 
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