Radio/Television Randomness Rant

   I suppose I got a little spoiled living an hour away from the fourth largest city in the land.  You see, I'm a media junkie.  I love radio and television and enoyed having an abundance of high quality and for the most part profession broadcasts available.

   Out here in the Big O, there aren't many choices. I would expect that as it would be considered a small to medium media market.  However, one would expect that folks that have degrees in radio/television communications would be able to read and report information in such a way as to be able to listen to it easily.  Unfortunately, that isn't the case.  Perhaps it is because I read well. Not to brag, but I think I read  very well and I get anoyed when things aren't read well.

   A couple of botherations involve "dead air" on the radio and the lack of  sporting events on radio here.  It seems to me that this market could support live broadcasts of college and professional football. 

   Oh well... iTunes has finished downloading so I had better get onto something important...

New Year's Eve in New Mexico

Amazing wind blowing in New Mexico... Gusts up to 60 mph...

2010 blowing out with vengeance... Glad to see it go...

First six months really sucked (untrue perceptions and allegations really hurt others, but the Lord is good! see Genesis 50:20)

The last six months consisted of recovery...

I'm ready for a truly great 2011!! Are you with me? Can I get an "Amen"?

Kids telling the tale!

I'm attending the St John's Episcopal School's annual Christmas program! Kids telling the tale of the advent of our Lord!

If you haven't taken in a Christmas program, find a church and go. You don't need any kids to attend, just go! It'll do you good!

Happy Day of Gratitude

Happy Thanksgiving!

Change isn't always helpful!

   Part of moving to a new community is the beginning of new relationships with doctors, dentists, and the like... I've never had a problem with that and adapt pretty well.  However, my "new" doctor here in Odessa decided that my (moderately) high blood sugar would benefit from a change in my blood pressure medication.  The medication that I had been on for over 10 years was a combination medication in that it helped control my blood pressure, but also kept my heart rate steady. 

   Sunday after church I felt my heart begin to race and didn't feel well.  Even after a good lunch and a restful afternoon, my heart rate was still somewhat elevated, but I didn't bounce back like I generally have done the few times that it has happened. After a good night's sleep and a check of my blood pressure and blood sugar which were both acceptable, I still didn't feel well.

   A visit to my doctor resulted in him realizing that I probably needed to remain on something to help steady the heart rate, so he put me back on the same medication that he had taken me off several weeks earlier! I'm glad he did!  I think I will begin to feel better soon!

   How does this episode relate to Church and Ministry?  Glad you asked!  I'm "old school" enough to realize that change just to change isn't always a good idea. I also realize that you must consider how the change will effect everything else before you implement it. It is also important to be willing to reverse the decision to change if the change isn't effective.

   I've always been of the mind that methods of communicating God's love must always be changing, while our message never changes! Some things must always change, but the essential truths of God's Love and God's Word are never to be changed!

  

A Different View?

   I took a different way to get to work today... I had a breakfast (Thanks to Odessa Regional Medical Center for the breakfast and appreciation gift!) meeting and came to work from there.

   I found it somewhat disconcerting.  The traffic flow was different. I found myself at different traffic lights becoming anxious because I couldn't anticipate the changes as I do on my normal route. I saw different things. It wasn't comfortable! Some of the things I saw were nice to look at, while some of the things I saw weren't so nice to see...

   So what's the point? Glad you asked!  It is really easy (too easy!) to go the same way to work everyday. It is really easy to do the same thing the same way every time we do it.  It is easy to become predictable.  It is so comfortable to be in our rut.  Ritual and routine is nice, however, we miss out on so much if we limit ourselves to the rut of it!

   There is a danger in being comfortable. We can lose our focus and not see what is around us. There is a difference in seeing and really seeing. Ritual and routine can cause us to become comfortable and not really see what the Lord might want us to see.

   Take a different route to church, work or wherever you go sometime... Take a close look and ask God to show you what you need to see!



  
  

Excellent Customer Serivce!

A brake light on my truck was out, so I stopped by the Kent Kwik Lube at 42nd and Grandview in Odessa to get it looked at. The guy removed the lens and replaced the bulb. When finished, I asked how much I owed him and he said, "Just a handshake." Wouldn't take any money...

Guess where I'll go to get my oil changed?

Any ideas how this might apply to church?  I do!