One of those Neat Little Surprises

Yes, it is true, I continue to use a "pay as you go" cell phone. Yesterday I sat down and calculated what the cost of the phone would be under the different available plans. Presently, I pay $60.00 per month for unlimited talk and text.

Wouldn't you know, my calculations show that if I were using a different plan ($2.00 per day, but only charged for the fee on dates the phone is actually used) the totals worked out to be remarkably close.

So, I decided to call the carrier and change plans, reasoning that I might save $20.00 per month with better use. All the while I was thinking to myself, "why don't they just lower the price on the unlimited package to be more competitive with other carriers?".

When I spoke with "Hector" he immediately explained that starting today a new plan was being rolled out as $50.00 per month for unlimited talk, text, and internet use.

One of those neat surprises ... I changed to the new plan.

Opinion Piece On WWJC? [sic]

Retrieved from http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=1365610 on 6/12/11.

Keep Jesus out of your socialism (Part 1)
Dr. Michael Youssef 6/9/2011 9:35:00 AM

The headline of the full-page ad asks, "What Would Jesus Cut? -- A budget is a moral document." The text continues, "Our faith tells us that the moral test of a society is how it treats the poor."

The ad was produced by Sojourners, a self-described "evangelical" organization whose slogan is "Faith in Action for Social Justice." The ad was signed by Sojourners president Jim Wallis and more than two dozen Religious Left pastors, theologians, and activists. They urge our legislators to ask themselves, "What would Jesus cut?" from the federal budget.

How would you answer that question? My answer would be, "It's a nonsense question. Your premise is faulty. Your priorities are not His priorities."

A Pattern in Music When MP3s Shuffle

Growing up in Detroit there was a radio program on WJR entitled “Patterns in Music”. Each Sunday morning a theme would be gently explored through song. Out walking with an MP3 player in hand and “shuffle” mode in gear I noted something probably far less than a pattern, but all the same a good reflection among a pairing of songs. “Many times I’ve been alone, and many times I’ve cried … anyway, you’ll never know the many ways I’ve tried … you left me standing here a long, long time ago …”

My first impulse was a very selfish and, I’d like to think, a very human one. I thought of people to whom I might like to express this sentiment. Then, in an instant, my focus changed as I considered the possibility that there might be someone that I’ve hurt who could easily recite and apply this lyric from the Beatles’ “The Long and Winding Road” to me. I wondered about people that I may have “left standing [t]here, a long, long time ago …” I thought about those to whom I may have been a cause of tears and disappointment. I thought about how hurt I have been by individuals that did not seem to appreciate or “know the many ways I’ve tried”, and then reflected on the discomforting likelihood that I, too, have unfairly discounted the many ways, unknown to me, that others have tried.

It was a good reflection for a walk on Memorial Day this 2011.

Then another lyric began “There are people in your life who've come and gone, they let you down and hurt your pride … better put it all behind you; life goes on, [if] you keep carrying that anger, it'll eat you up inside … I think it's about forgiveness …”

The Writing On The Wall

A weary mother returned from the store,
Lugging groceries through the kitchen door.
Awaiting her arrival was her 8 year old son,
Anxious to relate what his younger brother had done.

"While I was out playing and Dad was on a call,
T.J. took his crayons and wrote on the wall!
It's on the new paper you just hung in the den.
I told him you'd be mad at having to do it again."

She let out a moan and furrowed her brow,
"Where is your little brother right now?"
She emptied her arms and with a purposeful stride,
She marched to his closet where he had gone to hide.

She called his full name as she entered his room.
He trembled with fear--he knew that meant doom!
For the next ten minutes, she ranted and raved
About the expensive wallpaper and how she had saved.

Lamenting all the work it would take to repair,
She condemned his actions and total lack of care.
The more she scolded, the madder she got,
Then stomped from his room, totally distraught!

She headed for the den to confirm her fears.
When she saw the wall, her eyes flooded with tears.
The message she read pierced her soul with a dart.
It said, "I love Mommy," surrounded by a heart.

Well, the wallpaper remained, just as she found it,
With an empty picture frame hung to surround it.
A reminder to her, and indeed to all,
Take time to read the handwriting on the wall.




As heard told by Glen Leverantz on "Glen's Story Corner" on Releavant Radio, www.RelevantRadio.com

Open Letter To A Friend That's Hurting

Dear Christine,

You are a strong-willed person and that is one of the greatest things I like about you. It is an attribute that makes you a wonderful friend and a wonderful competitor.

You believe in things greater than yourself and for that you will always run into others that treat you unkindly, dishonestly, and even maliciously at times.

I don't know their motives or why they behave as they do toward you. They will talk the talk of "tolerance" and yet treat you very coldly and with a rage of intolerance.

You are a very loving person, Christine, and I know I myself have treated you at times with something less than love. For that I, I'm sure you know, am sorry.

Things for which I'm thankful this Thanksgiving 2010

For this year, a list of things for which I’m thankful – in no particular order –

I am thankful for the health I have – the gift of senses – sight and hearing and touch and smell and taste – and the ability to feel emotions – compassion and love and joy and happiness – and even sadness and hurt and guilt and shame (for from these, too, I learn things if I’m willing to listen).

I’m thankful for smiles from checkers at the grocery store and the stories that patients share with me.

I’m thankful for the unconditional love of my family who I think sometimes could only love me unconditionally.

I’m thankful for the work I get to do and the co-workers with whom I get to work – sometimes they confuse me and annoy me and disappoint me and even hurt me (and yes, you can be hurt without your permission), but other times they cheer me up, the listen, they encourage me, they teach me, they make me smile, they share with me, they care, and I think, in their own way, some of them love me (not unconditionally, but inasmuch as is appropriate among co-workers).

I’m thankful for the gifts that God has given me – His Mercy, His Love, His Grace, His Charity. Goodness knows I rely on all of these in abundance.

I’m thankful for friends God has placed about me – some who – sometimes it seems – out of nowhere surprise me with a call or a letter or a smile or they just pop into a memory and offer me wonderful insight or an escape to some distant time of different hopes and dreams.

I’m thankful for this little place I call “home”.

I’m thankful for raindrops and snowflakes and mud and sunshine and rakes and brakes and streams and ponds and rivulets and lakes and oceans and swimming pools and running shoes.

I’m thankful for steering wheels.

I’m thankful for the understanding of people who see with a clarity of soul beyond the pale and veneer and for the depth of wisdom of human nature they possess and share.

I’m thankful for wood and stud-finders and laughter and TVs and computers and antennas and radios.

I’m thankful for pants and pens that write and pocketbooks and pencils and teacups and pencil sharpeners.

I’m thankful for chairs and pliers and spoons and stable tables and forks and nails and knobs and picnic blankets – that all do what they’re supposed to …

I’m thankful for dogs and fish and marbles and to a lesser degree cats (only because they make some people happy).

I’m thankful for the warmth of blankets on a cold night, fans when it is hot, good books and the ability to read, and electricity.

I’m thankful for the people that help me when I need it and I’m thankful for those who accept my help when I’m able to lend a hand.

I’m thankful for many, many, many, many things I all too often take for granted.

I’m thankful for a wonderful life that God has given me for which all too often it may appear I am something less than thankful.

This day of Thanksgiving is a miraculous day to give thanks to God – and this day is a gift unlike any other, Thank You, God!

Give It Back With Love

Take it easy, take it slow,
Take it as you may
Take it where the wind may blow
For another day

Words can bruise, words may wound,
By thoughtless word or deed
The tongue's a sword
And surely may lead a soul to bleed

Mistakes are made and bruises fade
This too shall pass, they say
Take it easy, take it slow
Then give it all away

The darkest night precedes what might
Be the dawning of
The day you take it in with pain
And give it back with love