We had a modest snow in Chicagoland last night Enough to snarl traffic and compel me to rev up the snow blower. I actually don't mind shoveling and snow blowing. It's actually one of the few things I do that has a sense of finality to it. I can look at our walks and driveway and can actually say 'well done'. I can see the result of my labors and I like what I see. If only all of life were so easy.
Interesting to hear the Republican front runner claim that he didn't make much last year from his public speaking. Only a shade under $400,000. Chump change I guess. Think people. Think.
It's said that fear can make cowards of us all. We saw that play out tragically in the cruise ship disaster in Italy. Of course, I wonder what I might have done. The impulse to save our own skin is pretty strong. I do think we have a world full of cowards who stand up for just about nothing but sure can talk a good game at a cocktail party, on a radio talk show call in, or around the water cooler. I'm asking myself this week if their are any 'ships' I'm currently abandoning. Who needs me to get 'back on board'?
It looks like 2012 might be an economic roller coaster. News from around the economic world isn't bright. Who or what am I trusting these days? Not the euro, not the dollar. Thinking that we're all going to need to hunker down with God, in community, and with our eyes alert for helping out those in need.
I'm not looking forward to the 2012 elections. It's going to be nasty. Nasty isn't the means to the end that we need. There are some fundamental issues at stake this time around. I have a sneaking hunch that the way we talk about issues and to each other is going to need to change. Nothing on the immediate horizon leads me to believe that either side is going to look for win/win solutions. How have we lost the ability to sit down, at opposite sides of a table, and civilly make progress on issues?
I like Tim Tebow. I'm not sure if he'll ever amount to much more than he already is as a quarterback but I love his heart and his genuine love for those on the margins of life. May his tribe increase ...along with his arm strength. And for all who make fun of his love for God I'd love to hear you articulate your core beliefs in some sort of winsome way.
Rules change. No more timeouts in the last two minutes of any game. Coaches should teach their players how to adjust on the fly in all kinds of game situations. Pet peeve of mine. That's one of the reasons soccer is the world's game. It depends on the players being coached up so that they have to think for themselves in tight situations.
Speaking of sports. I get tired of coaches who are applauded for their 16 hr. a day work ethic. I'd prefer that they get a life, keep their marriages strong, and know their kids. Why do we desire role models who live insanely?
I was listening to a Christian radio station the other day and every inference was that political conservatives are good and liberals are bad. Who made that rule? Those kind of inferences don't play well in most Christian circles. Nor does any inference that liberals have everything wired and conservatives are all whacko.
I was listening to a sports talk show last week. Some of the callers really do need to get a life. Is it possible to care too much about a game? The answer is _____________?
Reading "The Hunger Games". Bravo. Well done. Nice punchy style, moves well, riveting story line, and raises heaps of issues very much germane to what we're facing in the good 'old USA and for that matter the entire western world.
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