I have been amused over the past several months regarding the life issues of Tiger Woods and the public scene it has caused. I find it most amusing how consumed everybody is over it, and how in shock people were to learn that he was drinking and driving, and that he was unfaithful to his wife. Why does this come as a shock to anybody? For as long as I have been following sports, there have always been top of the line, high-profile athletes who are at the top of their games doing stupid things that cause them embarrassment. And it's not just limited to athletes. It covers any high-profile person, whether they are in athletics, entertainment, government, etc. They are brought down by sex, drugs and unethical and/or illegal behavior. Some people are ruined completely and we don't hear from them ever again. Some repent, get on the right track and get their life straightened out, usually to soon fall back into the same pattern. They continue to fall and to fail because they cannot overcome their vices. I think Charles Barkley said it best when he proclaimed that he was not a role model for children. He caught a lot of flack for this statement, but if I were a betting man, I would bet that what Barkley meant was, he shouldn't be a role model for children. He was getting paid to play basketball, not mentor or parent children. Barkley, being Barkley, was just honest enough to say it out loud.
But herein lies the problem. It's not a new problem, it's been around as long as we have had high-profile people to put in the spotlight. People want a tangible hero. They want someone they can see, they can identify with. Someone who has done great things. But then we are shocked, amazed, destroyed when this person turns out not to be the person we thought they were. Their hero status get tarnished. Why does this happen? Because man sins. He cannot help it. It is his nature. We have failed in finding our true "hero." He lived 2000 years ago. He is the only man to have ever lived a sinless life. He died on a cross and 3 days later, He arose from that grave. These actions reserved a place for me in Heaven, and there can be nothing greater than that. This is who are true hero should be. His name is Jesus. There are two things that you can be assured of: 1. If you put your faith in man, you will be disappointed at some point in your life; 2. If you put your faith in Jesus, you will never be disappointed. Ever. I choose to put my faith in the true, living Savior, Jesus Christ. I choose not to care about what trials are afflicting mankind. I have my own sin, disobedience and trials to deal with. I have enough problems dealing with those, I sure don't need to worry or care about somebody else's, unless God has burdened me to be the encouragement or witness for that person. How many women Tiger Woods has slept with outside of his marriage is between him, them, his wife and God. I don't want to know. And the fact that the media and whoever else decides that we need to hear the whole story from him, obviously isn't going to try to explain to their own children what in the world he is talking about and why it is being discussed in an open forum. Keep it in your own house and off of my television set!! Mind your own business!!
To that end, it is now baseball season, and I will watch my game and enjoy them for what they are, entertainment. I will listen to music, watch movies, TV, etc. because I enjoy them as entertainment, not because the star has some looming scandal being discussed on the talk show circuit. And above all else, I will continue to honor and glorify Christ!!! Hallelujah, Amen!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Make a Joyful Noise
Psalm 98
1. A Psalm. Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! For he has done marvelous things; His right hand and his holy arm have gained Him the victory. 2. The Lord has made known His salvation; His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations. 3. He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises. 5. Sing to the Lord with the harp. With the harp and the sound of a psalm, 6. With trumpets and the sound of a horn; Shout joyfully before the Lord, the King. 7. Let the sea roar, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell in it; 8. Let the rivers clap their hands; Let the hills be joyful together before the Lord, 9. For He is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness He shall judge the world, And the peoples with equity.
As I was driving down the road the other day, I got to thinking; our world sure is driven by music. I know that I cannot suffer a drive to or from work without having music going. As I go around campus, more people than not are plugged into some kind of sound while they walk to and from class. Some people even go so far as to listen to them while IN class! When I was growing up, I had to have the radio on to go to sleep. Tara has to have the TV on. The kids usually have either the radio or a CD playing when they lay down. So what kind of music are people listening to? Some people make it known to the world what they are listening to, as they crank it up so loud that the bass shakes my car sometimes. I’ve stopped people on traffic stops before and had to tell them to turn off their radio so I could talk to them.
There are all kinds of music: Rap, Rock, Hip Hop, R&B, Country, Oldies, Swing, Big Band, Blues, Jazz, and the list could go on and on. When I was growing up, my parents listened to Country music, or as it was called in the early 80’s, Country and Western. I would listen to the likes of George Jones, Merle Haggard, Conway Twitty, the Oak Ridge Boys, etc. My favorite was Ray Stevens with “The Streak.” But I was also exposed to some of the artists from the 50’s and 60’s as that is the era my mom grew up in (never really sure what my dad’s favorite music was. He didn’t listen to the radio much when we drove places). My mom’s favorites were Elvis and the Beach Boys. As I got older, my tastes adapted as well. I moved into 50’s and 60’s music, and then into more of the rock stuff, like ZZ Top, Aerosmith, Guns n’ Roses. To date myself, when I was a freshman in high school, the anthem of the year was “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns n’ Roses. When I was a senior, it was “Enter Sandman” by Metallica. When I went to college, I was first exposed to MTV and VH1. It was still musically based back in the mid-90’s. This exposed me to other types of music that were becoming more popular such as Grunge and Rap.
The one kind of music I NEVER listened to, though, was Christian music. To me, Christian music were the hymns you sang in church, or one of the Ole Time Gospel groups, that sang “I’ll Fly Away.” It wasn’t until Tara and I were married that I really began to be convicted about my music. And it wasn’t until Tara started nagging me about it, that I actually stopped and thought about what she was saying. I had never been exposed to Christian before. But shortly after that, I got rid of almost all of my secular CD’s, and I had quite a large collection. Shortly after that, I found K-Love radio station. It was then that I realized that I could still listen to the same type of music that I like to listen to, but with lyrics that glorify Jesus. A few years after that, I discovered Air1 and The House radio stations, which play Alternative and harder Christian music. I will admit that some of the stuff I hear, I wonder how it is classified as Christian. Especially after reading some of the artists’ websites.
The other thing that I have noticed though, is that since I almost exclusively listen to some type of Christian music, my kids like it as well. For those people who say they only listen to music “for the beat” and not the lyrics, I say hogwash!! The beat may be what draws you to the music, but if you continue to listen to the song, you will learn the lyrics, whether they be good or bad. My son is especially adept at learning songs, at least the chorus of the song that gets repeated. I first noticed his interest in music one day when “Jesus Freak” came on the radio. He would sit in the floor and sway back and forth like Stevie Wonder to the music. He can sing parts of “Take My Life” by Jeremy Camp and he is now learning the words to “Whispers in the Dark” by Skillet. We bought him a radio for his room about a month ago, so he has now decided that he should go through our CD collection and sample different radio stations. He discovered Blues music one night and seems to enjoy that (not sure who he gets that from, it’s certainly not me!). He has also taken a liking to some Classical music, especially Tchaikovsky and Rossini. I have noticed that Paige doesn’t tend to like the tween idols. She quickly grew out of the Hannah Montana phase, and she will leave the room if the Jonas Brothers come on TV. She is currently into Toby Mac, Skillet and Superchick. I’ll take any of those over the Disney teen idols. We have all seen what kind of track record they have in the long run.
I know this blog has drawn on long enough, so I will close with this: Music we listen to is pumped straight into our brain. The old cliché of “Garbage in, Garbage out” is so true. If we fill our mind with trash, then all we have become is a trash can. We need to be a pitcher fill with cold, refreshing, pure water so that we can be useful to others around us. We may be the person that gives the saving drink to the person dying of thirst.
1. A Psalm. Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! For he has done marvelous things; His right hand and his holy arm have gained Him the victory. 2. The Lord has made known His salvation; His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations. 3. He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises. 5. Sing to the Lord with the harp. With the harp and the sound of a psalm, 6. With trumpets and the sound of a horn; Shout joyfully before the Lord, the King. 7. Let the sea roar, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell in it; 8. Let the rivers clap their hands; Let the hills be joyful together before the Lord, 9. For He is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness He shall judge the world, And the peoples with equity.
As I was driving down the road the other day, I got to thinking; our world sure is driven by music. I know that I cannot suffer a drive to or from work without having music going. As I go around campus, more people than not are plugged into some kind of sound while they walk to and from class. Some people even go so far as to listen to them while IN class! When I was growing up, I had to have the radio on to go to sleep. Tara has to have the TV on. The kids usually have either the radio or a CD playing when they lay down. So what kind of music are people listening to? Some people make it known to the world what they are listening to, as they crank it up so loud that the bass shakes my car sometimes. I’ve stopped people on traffic stops before and had to tell them to turn off their radio so I could talk to them.
There are all kinds of music: Rap, Rock, Hip Hop, R&B, Country, Oldies, Swing, Big Band, Blues, Jazz, and the list could go on and on. When I was growing up, my parents listened to Country music, or as it was called in the early 80’s, Country and Western. I would listen to the likes of George Jones, Merle Haggard, Conway Twitty, the Oak Ridge Boys, etc. My favorite was Ray Stevens with “The Streak.” But I was also exposed to some of the artists from the 50’s and 60’s as that is the era my mom grew up in (never really sure what my dad’s favorite music was. He didn’t listen to the radio much when we drove places). My mom’s favorites were Elvis and the Beach Boys. As I got older, my tastes adapted as well. I moved into 50’s and 60’s music, and then into more of the rock stuff, like ZZ Top, Aerosmith, Guns n’ Roses. To date myself, when I was a freshman in high school, the anthem of the year was “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns n’ Roses. When I was a senior, it was “Enter Sandman” by Metallica. When I went to college, I was first exposed to MTV and VH1. It was still musically based back in the mid-90’s. This exposed me to other types of music that were becoming more popular such as Grunge and Rap.
The one kind of music I NEVER listened to, though, was Christian music. To me, Christian music were the hymns you sang in church, or one of the Ole Time Gospel groups, that sang “I’ll Fly Away.” It wasn’t until Tara and I were married that I really began to be convicted about my music. And it wasn’t until Tara started nagging me about it, that I actually stopped and thought about what she was saying. I had never been exposed to Christian before. But shortly after that, I got rid of almost all of my secular CD’s, and I had quite a large collection. Shortly after that, I found K-Love radio station. It was then that I realized that I could still listen to the same type of music that I like to listen to, but with lyrics that glorify Jesus. A few years after that, I discovered Air1 and The House radio stations, which play Alternative and harder Christian music. I will admit that some of the stuff I hear, I wonder how it is classified as Christian. Especially after reading some of the artists’ websites.
The other thing that I have noticed though, is that since I almost exclusively listen to some type of Christian music, my kids like it as well. For those people who say they only listen to music “for the beat” and not the lyrics, I say hogwash!! The beat may be what draws you to the music, but if you continue to listen to the song, you will learn the lyrics, whether they be good or bad. My son is especially adept at learning songs, at least the chorus of the song that gets repeated. I first noticed his interest in music one day when “Jesus Freak” came on the radio. He would sit in the floor and sway back and forth like Stevie Wonder to the music. He can sing parts of “Take My Life” by Jeremy Camp and he is now learning the words to “Whispers in the Dark” by Skillet. We bought him a radio for his room about a month ago, so he has now decided that he should go through our CD collection and sample different radio stations. He discovered Blues music one night and seems to enjoy that (not sure who he gets that from, it’s certainly not me!). He has also taken a liking to some Classical music, especially Tchaikovsky and Rossini. I have noticed that Paige doesn’t tend to like the tween idols. She quickly grew out of the Hannah Montana phase, and she will leave the room if the Jonas Brothers come on TV. She is currently into Toby Mac, Skillet and Superchick. I’ll take any of those over the Disney teen idols. We have all seen what kind of track record they have in the long run.
I know this blog has drawn on long enough, so I will close with this: Music we listen to is pumped straight into our brain. The old cliché of “Garbage in, Garbage out” is so true. If we fill our mind with trash, then all we have become is a trash can. We need to be a pitcher fill with cold, refreshing, pure water so that we can be useful to others around us. We may be the person that gives the saving drink to the person dying of thirst.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
The Last Shall Be First
Luke 13:22-30 (New King James Version)
The Narrow Way
22 And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?” And He said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ 26 then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ 27 But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ 28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. 29 They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. 30 And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.”
I just returned from a trip to my hometown, Sedan, Ks. This is the place where I was raised and spent the first 18 years of my life. The foundation of my life was laid here in this small agricultural town in southeastern Kansas. If you were not raised in a small town, or spent any considerable amount of time there, I’m sorry. They are an experience all their own. I knew everybody in my graduating class, and in the class that graduated before me, and in the class that graduated after me. I knew most of the town leaders personally, even as a teenager. Unless you came from a family that just has a bad reputation (usually it was one that was well earned), you could expect to be held accountable for your actions, or else count on most of the town expressing their opinions of your less desirable actions amongst themselves!
This brings me to the reason I happened to be in Sedan this past weekend. I was invited to attend an induction ceremony for my high school football coach, Les Davis. He was one of those people that came from a different era of coaches than exist today. He was the one who was responsible for the school’s sports teams. He ran the programs, not the players (or the players’ parents). It did not matter if you were the star of the team, if your dad was on the school board, or if you were the team lackey. The same was expected of everybody. He had conservative based rules that showed that we were a respectful and disciplined team. In the locker room, there was no profanity allowed, no earrings in guys ears, no facial hair, your hair could not be touching your collar. If you didn’t think he was serious, I saw many a player trying to dry shave with a tape cutter or getting a hair cut with the athletic scissors before a game. Off the field, if you didn’t pass your classes, if you were caught drinking, smoking, or dipping, or even being present among others who did it, and Coach found out about it, you were off the team. He expected much of his players because he saw the players as the representatives of the school. He was proud of his school and his team and his expectations exceeded the playing field.
He once made a statement that has stuck with me all my life: “You may BE rinky-dink, but you don’t have to ACT rinky-dink.” On game days, we were required to look professional. During football season, you wore your football jersey and slacks. During basketball, you wore a shirt and tie and the infamous blue blazers. Same for baseball (but I don’t think we had the blazers).
On the field, he expected just as much. He knew that nobody was perfect and that mistakes would be made. And that was okay, so long as you were playing as hard as you could when you messed up. However, you’d better not consistently make that mistake. I can remember seeing many a player (sometimes it was me!) taking that lap around the tree in an effort to enhance our mental alertness. Very seldom did Coach Davis have the superstars. But he had players that respected him and would follow his instructions. He had excellent game plans that could only be accomplished if his players trusted him and played harder than the opponent, regardless of how good they might be.
As he gave his acceptance speech in a crowded gymnasium last Thursday, his true humility came out. He made it a point to thank everyone who had helped him over the 48 years that he had coached. From all of his assistant coaches, to players who had helped him achieve the things he did. He realized that he could not have accomplished the many things he did by himself. And he closed the speech with “Remember that God is the one who makes it all possible.” I doubt he set out to be one of the best in his profession. But because he put his life in the proper order, he came out on top in his profession and in his family, and will carry it into eternity. There are countless numbers who have been impacted by this man. He is truly a hero of mine.
http://www.taylornews.org/pst/2008/10/16/davis-inducted-into-kansas-sports-hall-of-fame/
The Narrow Way
22 And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?” And He said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ 26 then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ 27 But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ 28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. 29 They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. 30 And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.”
I just returned from a trip to my hometown, Sedan, Ks. This is the place where I was raised and spent the first 18 years of my life. The foundation of my life was laid here in this small agricultural town in southeastern Kansas. If you were not raised in a small town, or spent any considerable amount of time there, I’m sorry. They are an experience all their own. I knew everybody in my graduating class, and in the class that graduated before me, and in the class that graduated after me. I knew most of the town leaders personally, even as a teenager. Unless you came from a family that just has a bad reputation (usually it was one that was well earned), you could expect to be held accountable for your actions, or else count on most of the town expressing their opinions of your less desirable actions amongst themselves!
This brings me to the reason I happened to be in Sedan this past weekend. I was invited to attend an induction ceremony for my high school football coach, Les Davis. He was one of those people that came from a different era of coaches than exist today. He was the one who was responsible for the school’s sports teams. He ran the programs, not the players (or the players’ parents). It did not matter if you were the star of the team, if your dad was on the school board, or if you were the team lackey. The same was expected of everybody. He had conservative based rules that showed that we were a respectful and disciplined team. In the locker room, there was no profanity allowed, no earrings in guys ears, no facial hair, your hair could not be touching your collar. If you didn’t think he was serious, I saw many a player trying to dry shave with a tape cutter or getting a hair cut with the athletic scissors before a game. Off the field, if you didn’t pass your classes, if you were caught drinking, smoking, or dipping, or even being present among others who did it, and Coach found out about it, you were off the team. He expected much of his players because he saw the players as the representatives of the school. He was proud of his school and his team and his expectations exceeded the playing field.
He once made a statement that has stuck with me all my life: “You may BE rinky-dink, but you don’t have to ACT rinky-dink.” On game days, we were required to look professional. During football season, you wore your football jersey and slacks. During basketball, you wore a shirt and tie and the infamous blue blazers. Same for baseball (but I don’t think we had the blazers).
On the field, he expected just as much. He knew that nobody was perfect and that mistakes would be made. And that was okay, so long as you were playing as hard as you could when you messed up. However, you’d better not consistently make that mistake. I can remember seeing many a player (sometimes it was me!) taking that lap around the tree in an effort to enhance our mental alertness. Very seldom did Coach Davis have the superstars. But he had players that respected him and would follow his instructions. He had excellent game plans that could only be accomplished if his players trusted him and played harder than the opponent, regardless of how good they might be.
As he gave his acceptance speech in a crowded gymnasium last Thursday, his true humility came out. He made it a point to thank everyone who had helped him over the 48 years that he had coached. From all of his assistant coaches, to players who had helped him achieve the things he did. He realized that he could not have accomplished the many things he did by himself. And he closed the speech with “Remember that God is the one who makes it all possible.” I doubt he set out to be one of the best in his profession. But because he put his life in the proper order, he came out on top in his profession and in his family, and will carry it into eternity. There are countless numbers who have been impacted by this man. He is truly a hero of mine.
http://www.taylornews.org/pst/2008/10/16/davis-inducted-into-kansas-sports-hall-of-fame/
Monday, February 23, 2009
My Purpose for being here
Since I have figured out how to make more people aware that I have a blog (thanks Joey!), meaning somebody other than me might actually read it, I should explain why I have it, and what purpose it serves.
The blogs I post come up spontaneously in my head. Sometimes I post to vent and to just feel better about myself, sometimes it is to get the thoughts and opinions of others. Some of the material comes from stuff that I read in the news, some comes from things that I encounter while I am at work.
The important thing for people to realize is that whatever opinions I have, the foundation for those opinions comes from the Holy Word of God and His instructions as to how I am supposed to live my life. We all interpret things in our own ways, and perhaps this will be a viewpoint that you had never thought of. I encourage comments by all means, because you have viewpoints and interpretations that differ from mine and this should hopefully be a learning experience for all of us. We should know that we have someone else to whom we can talk and share our feelings with. It is not my goal for this to become a blog of anger. Hopefully we can share input about the world and how to deal with it while we are still in it. God bless you, and thank you for following me.
Dale
The blogs I post come up spontaneously in my head. Sometimes I post to vent and to just feel better about myself, sometimes it is to get the thoughts and opinions of others. Some of the material comes from stuff that I read in the news, some comes from things that I encounter while I am at work.
The important thing for people to realize is that whatever opinions I have, the foundation for those opinions comes from the Holy Word of God and His instructions as to how I am supposed to live my life. We all interpret things in our own ways, and perhaps this will be a viewpoint that you had never thought of. I encourage comments by all means, because you have viewpoints and interpretations that differ from mine and this should hopefully be a learning experience for all of us. We should know that we have someone else to whom we can talk and share our feelings with. It is not my goal for this to become a blog of anger. Hopefully we can share input about the world and how to deal with it while we are still in it. God bless you, and thank you for following me.
Dale
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Looking for the payoff
This morning I sat down to read my email. In my in-box, I had a personal letter from the Honorable David L. Boren. Well, I'm not really sure how personal it was, but he did sign it. In this letter he proclaims how bad the economy is and how the University is struggling and that we, as faculty and staff, must ride this economic struggle together. To sum up the main point of the letter, we're not getting a raise this year. Although, I am waiting for the announcement of how much additional money Bob Stoops will receive for losing another national championship game!! I've been at OU since 1994. There has always been something under construction there. If the economic times are so bad, then maybe we should stop building new buildings!!!
But the thing that really popped into my mind out of nowhere, was, the Oklahoma Lottery. I mean after all, this is what got Brad Henry elected as governor. The lottery was supposed to be the salvation of our public education system. All of this money was supposed to be pumped into our schools. This money was supposed to be in ADDITION TO what was already being budgeted. The state was not supposed to decrease the budgeted amount of money given to education with the expectation that the lottery would fill the gap. So, if this is the case, then why is our education system still in shambles? Why do we still have some of the lowest paid teachers in the country? Why can I not even get a cost of living raise that will off set the amount that they raised my insurance premiums this year?
I see the problem as being two fold. First, our schools do not properly manage the money that is given to them. While this lottery may not being holding up its end of the bargain in the amount it was able to give, there is some extra money available. Why is it that during the good years the schools did not make provisions to survive the lean years. The economy is like a roller coaster. It will always have its ups and downs. Everyone is screaming about how this is the worst the economy has been since the Great Depression. Doubtful. The problems that do exist were created because people do not know how to live within their means. And financial institutions in their greed, did not know how to say no. The system itself is set up for failure. All government systems I know of base their budgeting strategies on "we gave you money last year. You didn't spend it, so you're not getting as much this year." Institutions and departments are being punished for making sound decisions with their money. I know that within my department, near the end of the fiscal year is the time to start putting in requests to buy any nifty little toy you might want. Because we have to spend our money or we won't get it the next year. Plum foolishness.
The second part of the problem is that how can you expect to fund anything based off of gambling? Even if the lottery generated massive amounts of money for education, you have now created new problems. Gambling addictions and the crime that is associated with any type of addictions. You are breaking apart the foundation of the state, the people that live in it. You are putting forth a temptation that some cannot resist. And ironically enough, the people that gambling seems to target the most are low income folks. Do you really thing Donald Trump plays Powerball, or grabs a scratch off ticket when he stops in his local 7-11? I seriously doubt it. He did not become the wealthy man he is by putting his money in a place that is almost statistically impossible for it to make money. Yet people are doing it every day. If you really wanted to make a difference in public education, take that $1 or $5 or whatever it is you're spending on gambling and just give it to the school your child goes to. At least it won't be wasted (or at least it can be wasted directly by the school instead of the government wasting it).
Well, I could go on and on about this topic, but I'll stop. I think you are somewhat clear on my view of gambling, state sponsored lotteries and so forth. The sad thing is, it's becoming the norm. Good day and God bless.
Dale
But the thing that really popped into my mind out of nowhere, was, the Oklahoma Lottery. I mean after all, this is what got Brad Henry elected as governor. The lottery was supposed to be the salvation of our public education system. All of this money was supposed to be pumped into our schools. This money was supposed to be in ADDITION TO what was already being budgeted. The state was not supposed to decrease the budgeted amount of money given to education with the expectation that the lottery would fill the gap. So, if this is the case, then why is our education system still in shambles? Why do we still have some of the lowest paid teachers in the country? Why can I not even get a cost of living raise that will off set the amount that they raised my insurance premiums this year?
I see the problem as being two fold. First, our schools do not properly manage the money that is given to them. While this lottery may not being holding up its end of the bargain in the amount it was able to give, there is some extra money available. Why is it that during the good years the schools did not make provisions to survive the lean years. The economy is like a roller coaster. It will always have its ups and downs. Everyone is screaming about how this is the worst the economy has been since the Great Depression. Doubtful. The problems that do exist were created because people do not know how to live within their means. And financial institutions in their greed, did not know how to say no. The system itself is set up for failure. All government systems I know of base their budgeting strategies on "we gave you money last year. You didn't spend it, so you're not getting as much this year." Institutions and departments are being punished for making sound decisions with their money. I know that within my department, near the end of the fiscal year is the time to start putting in requests to buy any nifty little toy you might want. Because we have to spend our money or we won't get it the next year. Plum foolishness.
The second part of the problem is that how can you expect to fund anything based off of gambling? Even if the lottery generated massive amounts of money for education, you have now created new problems. Gambling addictions and the crime that is associated with any type of addictions. You are breaking apart the foundation of the state, the people that live in it. You are putting forth a temptation that some cannot resist. And ironically enough, the people that gambling seems to target the most are low income folks. Do you really thing Donald Trump plays Powerball, or grabs a scratch off ticket when he stops in his local 7-11? I seriously doubt it. He did not become the wealthy man he is by putting his money in a place that is almost statistically impossible for it to make money. Yet people are doing it every day. If you really wanted to make a difference in public education, take that $1 or $5 or whatever it is you're spending on gambling and just give it to the school your child goes to. At least it won't be wasted (or at least it can be wasted directly by the school instead of the government wasting it).
Well, I could go on and on about this topic, but I'll stop. I think you are somewhat clear on my view of gambling, state sponsored lotteries and so forth. The sad thing is, it's becoming the norm. Good day and God bless.
Dale
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
I am Resovled!!!
Resolve: to reach a firm decision about
Well, it is the start of a new year. And this year, just as in every other year that has been, we decide that we need to make resolutions. We see it as our chance to get a fresh start, a new beginning. A mulligan if you will. 2009 will be our chance to right all the wrongs that occurred in 2008.
Now, I’m sure that somebody has the statistics on it, but it seems like the majority of New Year’s Resolutions that come down the pike are broken, usually within weeks of making them. I know that is usually the case for me. Why is it, that we continue to make the same resolutions year after year, only to give up on them weeks after making them? They say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result (that’s not a Webster’s definition by the way!). Yet every year we set the same goals for ourselves. But do we approach them differently than we did last year? Do we actually have a plan for how we are going to be successful in fulfilling the resolutions that we have set? Another common phrase is, “ Failing to plan is planning to fail.” If you want to lose 20 pounds this year, what is your plan to do it? If you don’t have some means by which you are going to accomplish your goals, they never will be accomplished. Now, I raise my hand in embarrassment as well. I always have these grandiose plans that never get followed through with, because I never made to plans to accomplish them. It was something that sounded good in my mind, but it is a long way from there to reality.
Webster says to resolve is to reach a FIRM decision. The decisions we make are seldom firm decisions. They are usually some passing fancy in our mind. Something that sounded good at the time. But things get too hard, times get tough, or we just get lazy and we don’t follow through with these plans. It was something we wanted to do last year but couldn’t. Now for some reason, we think if we make another resolution, by golly we will make it this year. And next year, we will be doing the same thing.
So, what is the solution to this resolution conundrum? Well for starters, make a resolution that is reasonable. It is probably not reasonable for you to become a millionaire this year if your salary is only $30,000 a year. Be specific about what you want to accomplish. If you are too vague, then you won’t know what you are trying get to. Have a plan. Written is probably the best. Set markers for yourself throughout the year. For example if you want to lose 20 pounds this year, set a goal to have lost 5 pounds by the end of March. This will help you break it down and help you to see that you can reach your goals. Staying with the weight loss theme, devise a plan on how you are going to reach your goal: are you going to change your eating habits, your work out habits, etc. Have a friend or family member who will keep you accountable. Peer pressure works wonders! If you have someone there prodding you along, and propping you up when you feel like giving up, it will benefit you greatly and help you to keep pushing towards the goal. And finally, set a goal that will be a benefit to you. For example, read through the Bible in a year, pray every day, etc. Look beyond just the physical and into the spiritual. If you can get your spiritual life in order, it will make the rest of your life easier to deal with.
Well, that is all that I have for this blog. I wasn’t sure where it was going to go, but this is what I came up with. So have a blessed 2009 and may you succeed on your resolutions!
Dale
Monday, December 15, 2008
The Social Networking World
Here recently I have been inundated with all of the new forms of the computerized social networking scenes. First there was MySpace. I finally got into that. I wasted a lot of time coming up with neat backgrounds and adding videos and making posts and what not. I tried to check it at least once a day to update my status. Sometimes it only managed to be once a week. But I pretty much stayed on top of it.
Next came the smart phones. For the longest time, I tried to keep my cell phone technology to a minimum. I only needed it to make phone calls, after all, isn't that what a phone is for? Then I apparently needed the ability to text message. Then Blackberry's were the rage. Then iPhones. I finally broke down a couple of months ago and ended up buying an iPhone. This one device will be my downfall. I waste more time now than at any other point in my life. But the worst thing is that it is like a gateway drug. Once I had the phone, I had to justify the money I spent on it by doing all that I possibly can with it. I now can get my email anytime. I get text messages anytime. I have also been drug into other areas of social networking.
First came Twitter. I first heard about this on the radio. So I checked it out. Nothing special. A few months passed and something brought it to my mind again (I probably got an email from them saying that somebody was "following" me). So I re-explored it. And I became hooked. If you are not familiar with it, what it is, is that you leave short little messages telling people that "follow" you what it is you are doing at a particular time during the day. At first, I just posted from my PC. But off course once I upgraded my cell, the world opened up and I can now Twitter any where I am at! And even upload pictures to go with my posts. I'm not sure why this has been so addicting...well yes I do know. I love to people watch. I'm a cop, I watch people all the time. With this you can watch people that seem to be of interest to you. For example, I am "following" Mark Hall from Casting Crowns, Bart Millard from MercyMe, Natalie Grant among others. These folks are avid Twitterers. This is like people watching from the perspective of the people you are watching! I'm not sure why I post so much, because I only have like 5 followers, none of whom I know. My friends have not picked up on this latest craze. It is essentially like electronic stalking!! But now, I have figured out how to link my Twitter posts to my Facebook account.
Which leads me to that: Facebook. I've had the account for awhile, but the only thing I used it for was to find suspects in crimes I was working. But in the last, say three weeks, I have revitalized the account. Everyone seems to have gone away from MySpace and are on Facebook now. So I have now located friends from High School, from both Colleges that I attended and scads of folks from Graceway, plus former Graceway members that had kinda been forgotten since they left. It has been pretty cool to re-establish some of these relationships. But now I am trying to keep up with 3 social networking sites, plus trying to be productive around the house. I'm sinking in this technological world of being in everybody's groups, being friends, finding friends, etc. HELP!!!!!!
I think I will take some time out, go fold some laundry and try to pick up the house a little for Tara before she comes home! It's the least I can do for her! But if you would like to now where I'm at or what I'm doing, I'm pretty easy to find at one of the 3 sites!!!
Have a Blessed Day, and stay warm!
Dale
Next came the smart phones. For the longest time, I tried to keep my cell phone technology to a minimum. I only needed it to make phone calls, after all, isn't that what a phone is for? Then I apparently needed the ability to text message. Then Blackberry's were the rage. Then iPhones. I finally broke down a couple of months ago and ended up buying an iPhone. This one device will be my downfall. I waste more time now than at any other point in my life. But the worst thing is that it is like a gateway drug. Once I had the phone, I had to justify the money I spent on it by doing all that I possibly can with it. I now can get my email anytime. I get text messages anytime. I have also been drug into other areas of social networking.
First came Twitter. I first heard about this on the radio. So I checked it out. Nothing special. A few months passed and something brought it to my mind again (I probably got an email from them saying that somebody was "following" me). So I re-explored it. And I became hooked. If you are not familiar with it, what it is, is that you leave short little messages telling people that "follow" you what it is you are doing at a particular time during the day. At first, I just posted from my PC. But off course once I upgraded my cell, the world opened up and I can now Twitter any where I am at! And even upload pictures to go with my posts. I'm not sure why this has been so addicting...well yes I do know. I love to people watch. I'm a cop, I watch people all the time. With this you can watch people that seem to be of interest to you. For example, I am "following" Mark Hall from Casting Crowns, Bart Millard from MercyMe, Natalie Grant among others. These folks are avid Twitterers. This is like people watching from the perspective of the people you are watching! I'm not sure why I post so much, because I only have like 5 followers, none of whom I know. My friends have not picked up on this latest craze. It is essentially like electronic stalking!! But now, I have figured out how to link my Twitter posts to my Facebook account.
Which leads me to that: Facebook. I've had the account for awhile, but the only thing I used it for was to find suspects in crimes I was working. But in the last, say three weeks, I have revitalized the account. Everyone seems to have gone away from MySpace and are on Facebook now. So I have now located friends from High School, from both Colleges that I attended and scads of folks from Graceway, plus former Graceway members that had kinda been forgotten since they left. It has been pretty cool to re-establish some of these relationships. But now I am trying to keep up with 3 social networking sites, plus trying to be productive around the house. I'm sinking in this technological world of being in everybody's groups, being friends, finding friends, etc. HELP!!!!!!
I think I will take some time out, go fold some laundry and try to pick up the house a little for Tara before she comes home! It's the least I can do for her! But if you would like to now where I'm at or what I'm doing, I'm pretty easy to find at one of the 3 sites!!!
Have a Blessed Day, and stay warm!
Dale
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