Week 22 2013 This World Is Not My Home

At times I find myself getting so wrapped up in current politics that I miss the big picture.  As a patriotic American who volunteered to serve his country in the middle of one of our most unpopular wars, Vietnam, I love the nation I was born into.  The United States of America has always represented to me a nation that has been chosen by God to be a beacon to the world, a light that shines brighter than any other, because she demonstrates the freedom Christ died in order to bring to anyone and everyone who would choose to make Him the Lord of their life!  Indeed, the founding fathers held this view, seeing America as the city upon the hill, beaconing all who were weary to its shores, so that any who would choose to live here might be free to worship and live as they please without government intrusion.  They acknowledged the Father as the only true supreme commander, the only King!  In our Declaration of Independence from a nation whose government had stifled freedom, we boldly proclaim, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”  My heart swells when I look at our banner flying, and our men and women in uniform.  For two centuries the U.S. has represented freedom, and peoples from every nation have come to our land to escape intrusive government and enjoy a land of opportunity.

However, in my lifetime I have witnessed the gradual degradation of our freedoms.  Our government has become increasingly intrusive, dictating what we can eat and drink, where we can live, what land we can place our feet on, where we can travel, how we receive medical treatment.  And then, to add salt to wounds, our government demands that we foot the bill for their intrusion on our liberty!  Taxes are more than triple what they were when we declared our independence from England, yet the politicians want to increase our tax burden even more!  The very first “unalienable” right, life, has been denied to millions of unborn babies by a Supreme Court that is supposed to be in place to guarantee our rights.  If you think our liberty isn’t being infringed upon try having a chronic medical issue that requires medications that our government has deemed to be dangerous.  Our doctors and pharmacists’ hands are being tied by federal and state regulations.  Pursuit of happiness is a foreign concept to someone who has been born under bondage to a welfare system that strips people of their dignity and self-respect.  I spent too many years in the classroom, listening to young people who had no hope for the future because the government had been supporting their families for generations.  While opportunity is proclaimed a right for every citizen, in practice opportunity is denied to those who refuse to follow the dictates of superiors in education and government.  America is still the land of the free, but not as much as she used to be.  I am not as optimistic about her future as I once was.  Which brings me back to where I started.

Although a loyal American, I am first and foremost a Christian!  My true citizenship lies not in an earthly nation, but in one that is not of the world.  I am a stranger and an alien in this world (Hebrews 13:14; 1 Peter 2:11).  I must remind myself that earthly kingdoms come and go, but our heavenly kingdom is eternal.  Therefore, I should keep my eyes focused on Jesus, understanding that He is in control.  As mortals, we are prone to follow leaders who lead us astray.  History has demonstrated this sad fact.  Worldly leaders are deceptive, and America is not immune to that sort of deception.  However, our God will never lead us astray, and there is no deception in Him!  On that we can depend and boldly proclaim, “This world is not my home.  I’m just a passing through.”

Week 21 2013 Knowing When to Say When

 Over the years we have been blessed to attend many concerts, from rock and roll to gospel to country western to folk to classical, at venues from school auditoriums to casinos to county fairs.  Over the past week we have attended three separate concerts at a Good Sam rally in Syracuse, New York.  Each one was a different style of music.  Wayne Newton’s was more of an easy listening (I say this tongue in cheek.  You will understand in a moment.).  Reba McEntire entertained us with country western.  The Vogues brought the fifties and sixties back to us.  All three concerts were entertaining.  That is, except for Wayne Newton attempting to sing, well, and talk.

While the lead singer for the Vogues, Bill Burkette, and Wayne Newton are near the same age, only Bill is near the same sound as he was back in the day.  Of the three singers, Wayne Newton seems to have had more cosmetic work in an attempt to avoid aging.  In my humble opinion, Mr. Newton has ruined his voice with the many botox injections he’s received over the years.  As I researched his career, I discovered that he pretty much lost his voice about four years ago.  It is almost painful to listen to him trying to sing when he can barely talk!  He had a wonderful tenor voice that many enjoyed for many years.  It’s unfortunate that he doesn’t seem to realize how much he is embarrassing himself when he attempts to sing on stage, and cannot manage to carry a tune.  Having said that, he is still an entertainer.  When he moved from piano to banjo to guitar to fiddle, he was very impressive.  When he introduced his back up singer and let her sing a solo, it was good.  He has a marvelous orchestra, and his comedy is funny.  I would highly recommend that he change his stage show to a variety performance, showcasing new and upcoming talent.  He could still

a presence and not disappoint his fans.  While some might say his voice is gone from overuse or age, whatever the reason, it’s very important to know when to say when.

For our part, it was good that he was the first concert, because the other two could only be better, and they were!  Even though I am not an avid country western fan, I must admit that Reba put on a fantastic show, sounding every bit as good as she did thirty years ago.  She also showcased her backup singers and band, while providing solid entertainment.  Granted, she is a bit younger than Wayne Newton, but she is no spring chicken.  She has obviously taken steps to protect and enhance her voice.

Many of you have probably not heard of the Vogues.  Or, if you have, you might not remember.  They were a very popular group in the sixties.  Some of their greatest hits were “Turn Around, Look at Me,” “You’re the One,” and “Five O’clock World.”  The only original member of the group was Bill Burkette.  Fortunately, he was the lead singer of the original group.  One of his accompanying vocalists is the son of one of the other original members who is deceased.  While Bill Burkette did not sound as good as he did back in the day, he still sounded good.  He didn’t embarrass himself, or disappoint his fans.  The group was highly entertaining!

Week 20 2013 Digital Losses

I suffered a case of déjà vu recently.  Forty-five years ago I worked at a camper factory in Grants Pass, Oregon, Caveman Campers.  It was a great example of perseverance.  I had recently been discharged from the Navy.  The primary employer in Grant Pass was Caveman Campers.  I had a friend who worked there.  So, every morning I would take him to work, dressed in my work clothes and a bag lunch in hand.  After three weeks of my everyday vigil, a supervisor came up to me, chuckled, and said, “I gotta hire ya.”  The first week he had me setting cabinets in campers as they rolled down the assembly line.  I was terrible!  Try as I may, I could not pick up any speed at this job.  At the end of the week, the foreman came and told me that this was not the place for me.  However, instead of letting me go, he switched me to a different position, making cuts on a table saw.  Forty-five minutes before quitting time, I inadvertently touched the blade with my left thumb.  With the tip hanging by a piece of skin, I went to the foreman and told him I had a problem.  I thought he was gonna pass out.  They rushed me to the hospital where they successfully sewed my thumb back together.  On Monday I returned to my table saw with a thumb guard on my hand.  This was the position for me, for even with the limitations of my bandaged thumb, I was able to get ahead on my list of cuts on the saw.

All of that to lead up to my case of déjà vu.  Recently, while at a camper rally, I was working on making a pen, when a block of wood I was cutting got caught in the saw blade and pushed that same thumb into the blade!  Well, this time it was my sweetie who got excited while she rushed me to the emergency room in Goshen, Indiana.  Once again, the skilled medical personnel was able to put me back together.

However, it gave me pause to consider my digits and what I would do without any one of them.  We are used to having all of our body parts.  When we are unable to use one of them, it becomes somewhat of an inconvenience, to say the least.  God created us to be a whole person, with many functions, all for our benefit.  Yet, He tells us that we would be better off without some parts of our bodies if those parts lead us into sin.  Now, I’m not suggesting that my thumb would lead me into sin.  Nor am I intimating that I was attempting to remove it so as not to be lead into sin by it.  What I am saying is that we would do well to consider how we use our separate parts.  Does the use of our functions bring honor to God, or do we let these functions come under the direction of Satan?  We live in a world that is filled with wickedness.  There is evil at every turn.  A day doesn’t go by without the news reporting some heinous crime committed by someone using the functions of their God-given bodies in ways that God never intended.  While my damage to my thumb didn’t come through the commission of a crime, it did come by my not paying close attention to how I was using that digit.  God has given us this wonderful body.  It is priceless!  We need to consider how we use it.

Week 19 2013 Free at last!

There are many people who are in bondage today, slaves of their own making.  Some are in bondage to their own bigotry, while others are in bondage to their own bitterness.  Hatred is the chain that binds.  Love is the key to unlock the chains of bondage.  I have known people of various races who are racist toward others who are not of their particular race.  This sort is often based on ignorance, but is sometimes grounded in hatred.  Either way, the racist views only enslave the one who holds them.  This person has willingly deprived themselves of sharing in the brotherhood of mankind.  Freedom from racism allows love to reign supreme and joy to enter in.  While we cannot change the attitudes of others, we can work on our own.  Some are so eaten up with bitterness they are blind to loving relationships that are being offered up to them.  These are generally lonely creatures, stuck in a prison of their own making.  Instead of looking for opportunities to share the love of Christ, these often seek out ways to destroy another person’s character, saying hurtful things and severing ties.  Their world is a dark dungeon, shut off from the world of reality.  While there may be a basis for the bitterness, the only result coming from harboring bitterness is enslavement of the worst order.

Some are under the wrong impression that bondage through bigotry is confined to the white races.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  I have known bigoted people from nearly every race.  In fact, I would venture to say that bigotry is part of the human condition.  We inherited it at the fall.  Satan appealed to Adam and Eve’s bigotry in the temptation.  He told them that they could be elevated above others if they were to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Instead of being content with the station in life God had given them, they were tempted to desire more, to become something they were not intended to be, elevated above God.  And, this elevation came at the expense of damaging their relationship with God.  After succumbing to the temptation, Adam and Eve found themselves in bondage.  This was dramatically demonstrated when their son, Cain, sought to elevate himself above his brother, Abel.  His bigotry resulted in the murder of his brother, and the murder has continued on throughout all generations.  Jesus equated calling your brother a derogatory name with murder in the Sermon on the Mount.

So, since we are afflicted to some degree with this bondage, how can we be set free?  The answer is simple – not easy, but simple.  We put into practice to two most important commandments, love God and love each other.  We make a conscious decision to love God unconditionally, and then do the same for all humans.  We love because He first loved us.  We love because we choose to love.  No one can take that from us.  It is ours to give, regardless of what the other person is or does.  Their wrong attitudes or beliefs can have no power over us, because we are free at last!  My grandfather was one of the most bigoted people I have known.  He was born and raised in Texas in the early part of the twentieth century.  His racist views came from ignorance.  When I was a teenager, we would have red-faced, shouting matches over racism.  I hated his racist views, but I loved him.  There was nothing I could do to free him from his bondage, but I did not have to join him in that bondage.  Am I totally free from bigotry?  I would like to think so.  However, as with every aspect of my life, I am not perfect.  But, I am choosing to love others, whether or not they love me.  Martin Luther King, Jr. looked forward to a day when all of God’s children would be free at last.  He knew that we had not yet attained that lofty goal, but he knew which road we must travel if we are ever to reach it.  His message was one of love and peace.  I pray that we all share his goal.

Week 18 2013 Planes, Boats, and Recreational Vehicles

This year we have experienced our first RV rallies.  These are gatherings where people of a common interest meet to share ideas and experiences.  We are finding them to be very useful, discovering valuable information about our motorhome and various points of interest around the country.  We have also had the opportunity to share our own ideas and experiences with others.  Facebook is fine for social networking, but nothing compares to face-to-face networking.

Throughout our lives, Una and I have traveled all over the country, as well as, to places outside our national borders.  We have been blessed with many adventures, meeting people from all walks of life, and drinking in the beauty of God’s creation.  This month we are enjoying a long stay in Goshen, Indiana.  There has been a week long maintenance session for owners of Holiday Rambler diesel pushers, followed by week long break, and ending with a week long International Holiday Rambler rally.  Along with having some necessary repairs and maintenance done on our coach, we have been taking in the local sights and enjoying social connections shared at the rallies.  It embodies the essence of why we began this adventure four years ago.  It is all possible because we chose to buy a recreational vehicle, and then use it more than a couple of weeks a year.

However, an RV is not the only mode of transportation we have taken over the years.  We have flown to numerous destinations, and we have taken a number of cruises.  We have also taken a few trips where we stayed in motels, hotels, and bed and breakfast inns.  These have all been enjoyable.  Yet, they lack an important ingredient we have only found in Rving.  I have yet to find a rally for frequent flyers.  There are no social gatherings for people who stays at various inns.  And, cruise lines don’t sponsor gatherings for people to share their experiences from cruises.  Thus, for those who have wondered why we have chosen this particular lifestyle, this offers a small glimpse.

Week 17 2013 Age Matters

“Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m sixty-four?”  This line from an old Beatles song became reality for me on May 1st.  Fortunately, I’m married to a woman who would answer in the affirmative at any age.  The Beatles released this song shortly after I turned eighteen.  At that age I couldn’t imagine being sixty-four.  When I looked upon people who were in their sixties, I considered them to be nearly ancient.  Over the ensuing years I have almost been convinced that age doesn’t matter.  We’ve all heard the cliches, “You’re only as old as you feel” or, “Age is a state of mind.”  While there is some truth to these statements, the years have taught me that age does matter.

With age comes experience, along with a failing body.  It is often assumed that old age is also synonymous with a failing mind.  While there are those who suffer from dementia or alzheimers, there are many who enjoy the same thought processes they had as a young person.  Unless I’m deluded, I fall into the latter category.  My body is deteriorating around a still fertile mind.  Interests have changed, along with priorities.  Thus, I don’t often think about the same things I did as a young father or a working man.  Instead of thinking about the next lesson plan, I now think about the next pen I will turn, or the next place we will visit.  Instead of thinking about what my daughters’ needs might be during the next week, I find myself thinking about the activities my grandkids are involved in.  As to experience, it is always a great teacher at any age.  So, my life’s experiences have taught me many lessons.  What they haven’t done is make me perfect.  In fact, I seem to be as far from perfection as I was at the start.

Thus, age has its pros and cons.  As complicated as it can be, it is important to realize that there are some areas where age is a great benefit.  Most cultures have recognized this and exalt the aged for their wisdom.  Our founding fathers in the United States recognized the value of age when establishing guidelines for our leaders.  Our presidents are men who have the benefit of years behind them.  On the other hand, we must remember that these who have the wisdom that comes with age are still human and subject to the same imperfections as anyone.  Respect them for their wisdom and experience, gain from their sharing, but don’t deify them.

I am enjoying old age, and I look forward to enjoying it for many more years.  While perfection will continue to elude me, it is my prayer that I will improve and better reflect the One who has granted me the blessing of a long life.

Week 16 2013 Hospitals, Caskets, and Life?!

We made our way into Batesville, Indiana this week.  Both the Batesville Casket Company and the Hill-Rom hospital bed manufacturer are headquartered in this town.  I was amazed at the size of the Batesville Casket Company’s manufacturing site.  It is enormous!  As part of my constant practice of taking pictures wherever we travel, of things and sights I find interesting, I took some pictures of this facility.  Una was not nearly as impressed as I was.  In fact, she thought it downright silly that I would waste my time taking pictures of something so ghoulish as a casket factory.  She explained that as she is getting older, the thought of dying is not very pleasant.  Talking about graves and caskets and funerals make her a little uneasy.  Death is just not a very pleasant subject for her these days.  Imagine that!

Of course, I’m being a little facetious.  However, when I place these two manufacturing plants in one place I find it difficult to not reflect on our mortality.  In the early seventies one of my psychology professors made the statement that death is a part of life, and that we simply can’t go through life without experiencing death, that there has only been one person that he has known of who has gone through life without experiencing death.  Therefore, since death is an inevitable part of life, should we not be able to openly discuss it without fear or anxiety?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  I suppose it depends the value you place on life, or the faith you have in the afterlife.  Yet, I am convinced that death is a personal matter.  It isn’t a shared experience.  We must face it alone.  Oh, sure, a loved one can hold our hand while we expire.  But, to actually experience death is left to the one who is dying.

Scripture tells us that our life is but a vapor.  We are here today and on the morrow we are no more.  While it is true that in the scope of eternity our earthly existence is minuscule, but in our finite state, this short life is all we know.  Life, then, takes on extreme significance.  What do we do with these numbered years?  How do we maximize their effectiveness?  During our earthly years we have few boundaries.  We live life large, so to speak.  Our bodies are not confined to a two by six-foot box.  What about our spirits?  Do we live as large in the spirit?  Are there spiritual boundaries?  I’m pretty sure that our spirits are not confined to a coffin when we die.

I don’t have the answers.  I’m just supplying the questions for your consideration.  Hospital beds and caskets remind us of our mortality.  As for me, I would rather be reminded of my immortality.  For this to take place, I must be assured that my spirit does not, will not, experience sickness and dying.  With this knowledge, the thought of death doesn’t really concern me.  It seems to me that it is just necessary portal to a much fuller life in the spirit.