kenoshadave's Xanga

24 Questions . . .

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:34:47 GMT

It used to be so easy to shop. You went to the store, gave the cashier your money, got your change, and left. Not any more. Now, every transaction produces what can only be called "24 questions."

I went to Sears today to buy a coat. For all of you who know me well, let it be said that I went by myself to purchase a coat that I liked without Judy. You immediately recognize that this could all be futile in the end – if she doesn’t like it, don’t put your money on me. But it did produce the following scenario.

Cashier: Would you like to put this on your Sears charge card?

Me: No maam.

Cashier: Do you have a Sears charge?

Me: No maam.

Cashier: If you apply for one today you could get $15 off your coat immediately, even if you are turned down for it.

Me: No thank you maam. The last thing I need is another charge card.

Cashier: Oh there’s no obligation and there’s no finance charge. You’ll still get $15 off whether you ever use it or not.

Me: No thank you maam.

She rings up my coat.

Cashier: That will be $59 – but if you open up a charge account today you could have it for only $44. Are you sure you don’t want to do that?

Me: Yes maam.

Cashier: You understand we do have to ask you all this.

Me: Yes maam.

I give her my money.

Cashier: (Picking up a card of some sort) Would you be interesting in joining our "shopping club"? [It had a fancier name than that, but I can’t remember it.)

Me: No maam.

Cashier: You can earn points for everything that you buy and you could begin accumulating them with this coat.

Me: No thank you.

Cashier: Its very easy to join. Are you sure?

Me: Yes maam. I’ll send my wife into join.

She gives me my change.

Cashier: [picking up something from the counter and swiping it through the machine]: Since you spent over $50 today, you are eligible for a free gift card.

Me: Thank you maam.

Cashier: It is worth $10 but can only be used on these dates.

Me: Thank you maam. I’ll give it to my wife.

She bags up my coat.

Cashier: Oh, did I give you an invitation to our "Family and Friends VIP Night?"

Me: No maam.

Cashier: [picking up a flyer] Here it is. You are invited on Sunday between 6 and 9 pm for a special sale just for our important customers. Here, let me put it in you bag for you.

Me: Thank you maam.

Cashier: Now, is there anything else I can do for you today?

Temptations and Prayer . . .

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:37:57 GMT

Regarding temptation, Martin Luther wrote: “You can’t keep the birds from flying over your head; but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.” The temptation to sin is a regular part of every day. Temptations regularly “fly overhead.”

I enjoy Facebook. I enjoy keeping up with friends and relatives and clicking through pictures of diverse adventures for them. But it gets just a little frustrating when the advertising in the right hand column is quite blatantly risque. [Even for someone who is almost 60 – who would have guessed?] The goal of my life should be and is to have every thought and word and deed be honoring to the Lord Jesus Christ. But I discovered long ago that a simple passing temptation, when given into, can lead to a host of unprofitable and quite sinful thoughts and behaviors. It’s the proverbial match that touches the fuse.

Facebook illustrates just one avenue of temptation. There are many more. My Sunday newspaper tempts me continuously to be dissatisfied with my current possessions and to crave the “best, biggest, and newest” highlighted in the slick advertising. And when someone acts badly, I’m tempted like the Pharisee in the temple with the thought, “at least I’m not like him!” Temptations . . . a continuous assortment flying overhead.

The most affective antidote is available to me if I’ll use it wisely and well – prayer. The problem is that I don’t. The days when the temptations are strongest are generally days without prayer. The advice of none less than Jesus is extremely relevant today: “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." Jesus spent much time in prayer each day and he was the eternal sinless Son of God! How much more do I need that time in prayer.

The issue really boils down to how serious I am about this. I often seem to have the mindset, “what’s the minimum I can get by with to keep myself out of serious trouble?” And so I pray a half hour in the morning and hope to slide by the rest of the day without serious damage. That’s pretty arrogant when it comes right down to it. I am discovering that the Apostle Paul’s admonition, “pray without ceasing” is really a call to a daily regimen of prayer, not to simply “stay out of trouble,” but to focus my being – every part of my being – on the only person in whose strength I can conquer temptation – my Lord Jesus Christ. It is a call to have regular and intense meetings throughout the day, not just to beat temptation, but to revel in the company of the Son of God, giving Him full permission to conform me to whatever He wants. And as an added side benefit, temptations may lose quite a bit of their power.

October 31st . . .

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:43:38 GMT

What do you think of when you see the date October 31? Most people undoubtedly think of that quasi-celebration called "Halloween." I don’t, but then again I tend to often think in a different direction anyway – just ask Judy.

October 31^st is also, and primarily in my mind, Reformation Day. At noon on October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door of the castle church in Wittenberg, Germany. The 95 Theses were an invitation to debate the abuses in indulgences by commissioners appointed by Rome. And this singular act, although no one would have known it at the time, launched what is known in history as the Protestant Reformation.

For centuries, Protestant Germany has celebrated this day as a great holiday. I think they got it right. Obviously, however, the United States is no longer a nation which would be tolerant of such an idea. So I enjoy it privately. At some point during this coming Saturday, I will sit back and reflect on the boldness of that German monk who ultimately turned the world upside down, or, the boldness and legacy of the "reluctant reformer" who changed the world through books and education in Geneva. And I may take a book or two from my shelf written by the English Puritans, cousins of both Luther and Calvin, and be reminded that they are our spiritual forebearers.

The church of Jesus Christ has a very rich history. Reformation Day is one of its great highlights. Let’s not allow it to get lost behind costumes and candy. Take a few moments this weekend to reflect on the greatness of our Savior in the building of His church.

Nostalgia . . .

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:00:08 GMT

Nostalgia. It’s a wonderful thing.

I was reminded of that twice this afternoon. I was walking with my wife Judy when we went through a yard full of leaves. Judy began kicking the leaves and listening to the distinct sound that makes. And she said, "I love doing this. It reminds me of when we used to do it in my backyard when I was a little girl." Memories. Nostalgia.

About an hour later, we stopped at a Dairy Queen in a small Wisconsin town to get some ice cream. [It was actually 63 degrees today – heat wave these days!] There was a older man [translate ‘older than me’] who was enjoying a banana split. We struck up a conversation which went something like this. "Every once in awhile I come here for a banana split. It always takes me back to my younger years." Nostalgia.

There’s just something special about triggering something deep in the files of our mind in the here and now – one of those experiences that transports us back to an earlier time.

What does that for you? What’s your best nostalgia story?

Frantic family life? . . .

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:17:13 GMT

Do the following words describe your family life? Scattered, frantic, chaotic, stressed, reactive. Do you find yourself working harder and harder only to find yourself getting further and further behind? For those who are married, does it seem that often you are just "two ships passing in the night"? For those who are parents, does it seem your entire life is simply getting the children to their next activity or appointment? Are you secretly longing sometimes for the empty nest?

Then just maybe Patrick Lencioni’s book The 3 Big Questions for a Frantic Family is for you. Lencioni is best known for his business leadership books, books with the fascinating titles like Death By Meeting and The Three Signs of a Miserable Job. The book I am suggesting is his first book addressing the family.

All of Lencioni’s books are easy to read. The first 2/3 of the book is a fable, a brief novel of a make believe situation illustrating his principles. The final 1/3 of the book articulates more clearly the principles that have come up in the fable. The 3 Big Questions for a Frantic Family is a fable starring Jude & Theresa Cousins and their three children. There lives are completely out of control with no end in sight. The fuse is lit when Theresa’s husband makes the statement, "If my clients ran their companies the way we run this family, they’d be out of business." Theresa wasn’t very happy about that statement and it sends her on a quest, with Jude, to rectify their family life.

This book is not a "Christian" book. But in the fable itself, faith is given a primary place in the priorities of the families involved. There is nothing here that will offend you.

So, if this sounds like a book that would help you regain control of a hectic schedule, I would strongly encourage you to buy it and give it a read. I enjoyed it very much.

Year Round School . . . Part 2

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:54:53 GMT

I closed my previous blog with the statement that "everyone will have an opinion." That wasn’t a difficult prophetic announcement – schools and children generally always bring a strong reaction to any proposal concerning them.

Having thrown the idea out there of virtually year round school, let’s consider some of the obstacles. For the sake of argument, we’re not talking about lengthening the day – just the year. Kids will still go to school 8 until 3 (or some variation of that) but will now go September through July. August will be the summer vacation. What would the obstacles & possibilities be?

1. Imagine July in Lance Middle School. 1,000 middle school students in a school that is not air-conditioned. 90 degrees outside – 100 degrees inside. No problem – we’ll just install air-conditioning in every school that does not have it. Who is going to pay for that? And how much would that cost nationwide? Maybe General Motors and AIG could donate a few billion to us.

2. Imagine enforcing the dress code during June and July if there is no air-conditioning. On both students and staff. Of course we could have a modified dress code when the temperature reaches a certain level. That way parents get to go shopping twice for clothes each school year.

3. Most college freshmen need to be at college around August 15^th for freshman orientation. Imagine graduating on July 31 and two weeks later you are on a college campus. Better yet, imagine thinking your are going to be on a college campus August 15^th but two weeks earlier you don’t graduate because of a failed test.

4. Many fall college sports teams report August 1. Enough said.

5. Tourist destinations like Wisconsin Dells depend on teens for 90% of their staffing needs. Will they survive without them in June and July? But then again, will any families take a vacation in June and July if the kids are in school?

6. If the school year goes eleven months, will we still have quarters? Or will we have fifths? And if we have fifths (5 sessions of classes instead of the current 4) is it possible that someone could graduate in 10 years instead of 12? [Do the math: 12 years x 4 quarters = 48 sessions; 10 years x 5 fifths = 50 sessions – 2 bonus sessions!] And are we ready to have millions of 16 year old heading for college? All hypothetical of course.

7. Part of every school districts challenge is hiring staff – administrators, teachers, custodians, etc. Will they be able to do that in 30 days? And even if they can do it within those 30 days, how prepared will the staff be for the new school year?

I’ve got confidence in all my friends – what other obstacles or possibilities could you think of?

Year round school . . .

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:08:08 GMT

Interesting article in today’s paper – "Obama thinks students need more schooling." There really is not a moral component to this request – not like abortion or pornography – but it may be a more difficult issue for the President to tackle.

Why? you ask.

First of all, education is not free. In fact it is rather expensive. In the United States the average requirement is 180 days in the classroom. At the other end of the spectrum is Indonesia with 239 days in the classroom (obviously Indonesian children have no concept to summer vacation). Let’s say that we adopt a middle ground approach and go with Israel’s model – 208 days in the classroom – that adds 28 days or almost 6 weeks in the classroom, a 16% increase. That’s not going to be cheap. When you realize that the average school district is struggling to find funds, this will not be easy. Again, it is not a moral issue – certainly a challenge.

Secondly, teachers will have to work 6 weeks more than they currently work. They are not going to do that for free, nor should they. In any occupation, a 16% increase in required time would expect a corresponding increase in pay. I would and so would you. Where will this money come from? And can you imagine the bargaining sessions for something like this?

Thirdly, there would of necessity have to be additional training. The idea is not to take what children are learning now and divide over a longer time period. The idea is to teach them more each year so that at the end of 12 years they would have gained 16% more than they have right now. That would require a complete revamping of the current curriculum, and a possible revamping of the expectations of every subject. That is not a bad idea but it is a very expensive idea.

Fourthly, there is simple tradition. My grandparents enjoyed summer vacation, my parents enjoyed summer vacation, I enjoyed summer vacation, and my kids enjoyed summer vacation. Now, instead of half of June, July, and August, there will be an August vacation. That’s it. And if there is to be a family vacation, it will have to be in August. [It might be that the US would end up duplicating the French – the entire nation takes 30 days of vacation at the same time - works for them.] We’ve been spoiled and it will be hard to change what we’ve always known.

Further, one of the greatest perks to attract potential teachers to the profession is the summer vacation. [For those who would argue that teachers have an easy job – you ought to try it for a month. Try spending your days in classrooms where the children can’t be disciplined and the all-inclusive theory of education has filled your classroom with 1/4 special needs children. And then spend every evening correcting papers and planning lessons for the next day – a good teacher works 12 hours a day during the school year and usually a weekend day each week. They earn their vacations. So don’t go there.] Take that perk away and I fear that there would be a drain on the profession. Which could result in larger classrooms and greater challenges for those who go into it. If we truly want to accelerate learning by a longer year we will have to find creative ways to attract good teachers to the profession.

Now please understand – I love education, always have. And I think that it is ridiculous that the United States does not lead the world academically in every discipline. But the answer may not be a longer school years. The answer, first of all, may be streamlining the current curriculum, eliminating the frivolous courses that bureaucrats who have never been in the classroom have mandated for most school districts. Focus on reading, math, English, science, and history. Secondly, free the teachers from the every increasing mandates of paperwork and reporting on each student. Let the teachers teach. The comprehensive testing will give you all the results that you need. Just let the teachers teach. Finally, we need to return to some kind of system that allows for learning at individual levels. The inclusivity in the classroom means that the classroom can only proceed at the pace of the slowest student. This means we are shackling our brightest students. C.S. Lewis warned 75 years ago that this would happen and the result would be to ultimately deprive a nation of great leaders. Something to think about.

This will be an interesting debate to watch. And there will be a hundred different opinions. And they’ll all be very vocal.

Greasy hands and pleasure with work . . .

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:02:07 GMT

Israel’s King Solomon, considered by many as the wisest man who ever lived, said,

"There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God" (Ecclesiastes 2:24). Most of us have no problems with the "eat and drink" part of that verse but many struggle with the "enjoyment in his toil" part, i.e., finding pleasure and satisfaction in our work. It seems to many that the whole purpose of work is to simply put food on our table rather than fulfillment with a job well done. Somehow we’ve managed to lose the pride and satisfaction, and yes, pleasure, found in simple work.

It was not a big thing, but I was reminded of that yesterday. The "Check Engine" light came on in the truck. Since I also received a notice that I had to put the truck through Southeast Wisconsin’s Emissions test, I knew I needed to do something about it. I went to AutoZone and they hooked their tester up to the truck and it said I had a defective EGR pressure sensor, also known as a DPFE sensor. Pretty much sounded like Greek to me. Fortunately, I had on my shelf a Chilton manual for the truck and proceeded to do my homework. The manual came with the warning: "the truck will still run with this problem but will not be able to pass an emissions test." So I had no choice. Popping the hood, I found the defective part and decided it was a doable job, even for me. I bought the part, some new vacuum hosing, and in a half hour had the old part off and the new part on. Then of course I started up the truck to find to my delight, the "Check Engine" light was now off. My delight was then multiplied when the truck passed the emissions test!

You might be thinking, "that’s not a big thing." Well it is if you are automotive challenged. And it is if you realized I saved myself $150 by doing it myself. But that’s not the point of this blog. Here’s the point: working on the truck (and getting my hands all black and greasy!) and fixing the problem brought an incredible amount of fulfillment and pleasure. It made my whole day! I was able to do something constructive with my hands and then enjoy the fruits of my labor. And I found that a pleasurable thing.

Maybe we’re just too busy. Maybe we’re in such a hurry that we don’t stop to enjoy what we’ve just done. Maybe we "sub-contract" so many menial tasks that we never get to enjoy starting and finishing a simple job. Maybe managers are so intent on the next job that they don’t stop to admire and encourage a job well done, and if the manager doesn’t do, the worker will get the message its just not that important. Whatever it is, we need to somehow get back to "enjoyment in [our] toil." It brings much more to life and our existence than just putting food on the table.

What do we do about rain?

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:55:32 GMT

Have you noticed how many people complain about rain on Facebook? It doesn’t make any difference whether there has been 14 days in a row of sunshine – let the rain come and we whine.

Part of our problem, of course, is that God’s "rain schedule" often conflicts with my schedule. To make matters worse, He doesn’t even check with me when it comes to sending rain. I can live with rain on days I have to spend 10 hours working inside. What is happening outside is of no concern to me at those times. But let it rain on my day off, or on a holiday, or on a day I planned to mow the lawn [I might add that it never rains on the day I wash my car – but always on the day after!] and I’m pretty upset about it.

Another part of the problem is that we’ve learned to control just about everything in life but we can’t control the weather. And it really bugs us not to be in control of something.

But I think there is a way that you can learn to really appreciate the rain. Honest! And it’s simple yet pretty profound. When on this earth Jesus said this: "[God] causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." (Matthew 5:45) Simply put, rain is always a reminder that God is gracious to everyone, giving everyone much more than they deserve. He just doesn’t give rain to the "good" people – he also gives it to the "bad" people. Not because they deserve it or don’t deserve it, but because he knows they need it, regardless of who they are. We call that "grace."

So the next time it rains, go outside and let it rain on you just a bit, and revel in the fact that God is giving you what you need, regardless of who you are and how much you’ve griped about it in the past.

Why a Ford? . . .

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 19:29:12 GMT

Many of my friends were surprised (and a few delighted) when I purchased a Ford pick-up truck. After all, I was a Dodge man. If you count Jeep as a Chrysler product (it is currently owned by Chrysler), my nine last vehicles were all Chrysler/Dodge products, six of them in the Dodge lines. And when I watched a NASCAR race, I was the one rooting for Dodge to win. Now, all of a sudden, without warning, I’m driving a Ford F-150 pick-up truck. Why?

Three reasons. The first two are what I might call “red-neck” reasons, but reasons nevertheless.

1. It bothers me greatly that the government is in the bail-out business. Giving tax money that we don’t have to private companies does not sit well with me. Chrysler and GM took the money – Ford didn’t.

2. It bothers me that the Chrysler plant in Kenosha is closing down. What we are capably doing now in our city will be farmed out to Mexico. Recently, I did a brief Internet study on which vehicles sold in America are “most American” – i.e., they have the most American made parts, are assembled in America, etc. Guess which vehicle is at the top of the list, and has been for many years? The Ford F-150 pick-up. Check it out: http://www.cars.com/go/advice/Story.jsp?section=top&subject=ami&story=amMade0707

3. Last Spring our church Leadership Institute traveled to Iowa for a workshop. All of us who had 4-wheel drive vehicles drove for the trip. On the way back we had to drive through an icy blizzard and I drove a good friends F-150 4x4 all the way home. It drove incredibly well, better than any car I had driven to that point.

So, when it came time to get another pick-up truck, it was not a difficult transition from Dodge to Ford. It doesn’t mean that I’m a “Ford man” yet, but it does mean I greatly appreciate a solid American made truck from a solid American company. That may change down the road, but for the moment, I’m a happy camper.