Can It Get Any Better?

Did you ever have one of those days when you thought, “It can’t get any better than this?” Physically you’re feeling excellent – not aches, pains or twinges. You’re upbeat, optimistic about what the new day has to offer. No financial worries for the moment, the car’s running good, relationships are free of conflict, you have plans to look forward to, and life in general seems cast in a rosy glow.

It can’t get any better than that, can it?

I had a morning like that last week. Woke up feeling good, took a shower, mentally ran through my to-do list. Couldn’t wait to get on with the day. And then…I twisted my back the wrong way. Ouch, and double ouch! Everything was downhill from there. Every time I rose from sitting, I felt an agonizing tweak in my lower back. No leaping tall buildings in single bounds for me that afternoon.

In a single moment, “can’t get any better” turned into not-so-good.

Living in the valleys helps us appreciate
moments on the mountaintops.

Sometimes I’m hesitant to enjoy care-free moments because Murphy’s Law could be lurking around the corner. If something can go wrong, often it will. So I’ve learned to temper mountaintop enthusiasm with a realization the valley lies below. But there’s great value in both the highs and lows of everyday life.

The high moments remind of how good life can be, even the simple joys of breathing, the first glimpse of sunlight, enjoying being with loved ones, having something worthwhile and fulfilling to do. The low moments give good times a context, helping us appreciate them since we know they can pass so quickly.

And there’s one other thing: The good times give us a hint, a small taste of even better times ahead, while the not-so-good times remind us not to cling to this life too tightly. God wants us to long for the life ahead, a life when there will be “no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away" (Revelation 21:4).

Followers of Christ are called to carry on lives of obedience and faithfulness, motivated by the hope – an unwavering assurance – that the best is yet to come, beyond our wildest imaginings. That’s why the promises in the Scriptures are so important – the God who truly loves us doesn’t make promises He won’t keep.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:3-5).

To me, this says when that day comes we can truly declare, “It can’t get any better than this!”

A Bit Fuzzy on This Navel News

Being a former newspaper editor, reading newspapers is one of my everyday habits. But it’s also a way of being constantly amazed by crazy stuff going on in the world.

Last week USA Today reported on something called the “Belly Button Biodiversity Project” (this is not a joke), a joint effort between North Carolina State University and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh. It's an in-depth study of bellybutton bacteria.

This certainly takes navel gazing to a whole new level.

According to the study, after looking into more than 500 bellybutton swabs, researchers have discovered 2,368 different types of bacteria. Most of this “jungle of microbial diversity” (as they call it) is harmless they say, and may actually be helpful in killing miniscule disease-causing critters. Glad to know that!

I thought about volunteering for this study, but given its magnitude of importance, figured I’d just be put on a waiting list. Didn’t want to be a member of the Navel Reserve.

In case you’re wondering, the article stated “innies” (about 90 percent of all bellybuttons) carry more bacteria than protruding “outies,” since they allow microorganisms to propagate more readily in the inward folds. So if you’re like the majority of us, the next time you contemplate your navel, remember you’re looking at a veritable germ factory.

I don’t know about you, but when I read about this, my gut reaction was, “Seriously? They’re paying people to do scientific studies of the human navel? What next – navel oranges?”

I’m finding this germ of an idea difficult to stomach, if you know what I mean. Kind of strikes the wrong umbilical chord, if you ask me. And what do these noble researchers do after work? Belly up to the bar?

Hopefully they will come up with some useful findings in their research. Like whether bikinis are healthier to wear than one-piece swimsuits, since they expose navels to the open air and inhibit their becoming germ-infested breeding grounds. Or whether it’s safe to knit sweaters from bellybutton lint. We the public have a right to know this stuff.

Somehow this revelation reminded me of Ecclesiastes 12:12, which states, “…Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.” The question is, does much study of the body weary the mind?

After the Holidays – Entering Calendar Limbo

The holidays are over. The hubbub and hysteria has gone on hiatus, along with all the hoopla. Hallelujah!

I love Christmas, really I do. But with emphasis on everything and anything other than what it’s all about, it’s good to see the Christmas season fading in rear view. And even though New Year’s celebrations tell us it’s time to start over, for a fresh beginning, that doesn’t mean we get a mulligan. We can’t erase past mistakes, only live with them and learn from them.

I’ve had enough “Blue Christmas” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” and “Auld Lang Syne” (what’s that mean, anyway?) has never been one of my musical favorites. So we can revert to our normal preferences, whether country-western, pop, blues, jazz or whatever.

Speaking of the blues, once the gift wrapping is discarded, along with the last crumbs of holiday treats, many of us find that’s all that remains…the blues.

Friends living in the Southern Hemisphere are ready to enjoy their springtime. But for us Northern Hemisphere types, Mother Nature seems to have entered hibernation, maybe to sleep off too much holiday revelry. Winter has settled in, with its cold, damp, snow-ice-slush combination. A glimpse of the first snowflakes is fun, but after a while it’s just “stupid snow!”

But even more than the cold and frigid precipitation is the gloom brought on by diminished sunshine. Mankind wasn’t made to live in the dark. We need sunlight to feel energized. So those short winter days and long nights lead to dimmed, lethargic spirits. Experts call it "seasonal affective disorder."

Combined with the reality that the anticipation of the holidays is now history, we face months with little to look forward to. That is, unless you’ve booked a Caribbean cruise or a trip to Hawaii.

As a student at The Ohio State University (we didn’t make a big deal of the “The” when I was there), my spirits generally were uplifted – except during winter quarters. Those were the times when I came closest to clinical depression. It seemed like a dark cloud dropped on the campus during those months, with nothing to look forward to besides exams for boring classes I detested. Blue Christmas? I endured Blue after-Christmas.

Winter or not, we often experience a letdown after something long-anticipated arrives and departs. Kind of like reaching the mountaintop, and then remembering you have to return to the valley.

This is where faith is particularly valuable. For followers of Jesus, we have much to look forward to – along with the confidence that when God’s promises are fulfilled, they will far exceed our expectations.

For instance, Titus 2:13 talks about, “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.” In Ephesians 3:20 we’re told about “Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.”

One of my favorite promises is 1 John 3:2, which says, “now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he (Jesus) appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”

And in John 14:2-3, Jesus Himself said, “In my Father’s house are many rooms…. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you may also be where I am.”

I don’t know about you, but those promises can rouse me out of any post-holiday, wintertime doldrums.

Living an Exciting Life

Recently one of our daughters informed my wife and me that we’re “boring”; we don’t do anything “exciting.” Ah, to be young again.

Well, she’s right if she meant we don’t go hang-gliding, skydiving, mountain climbing or bungee jumping (unless you’re referring to the “fiscal cliff”). We do watch the July 4^th fireworks displays every year, sometimes more than once. Doesn’t that count?

Roller coasters don’t excite me as much as they once did – although I still ride them. When we went to Disney World last year, I rode the Tower of Terror – and wasn’t terrified. But to me, that wasn’t “exciting.”

What’s exciting, I believe, depends on your perspective. As you get older, the meaning of “exciting” seems to change. Sally and I have dealt with serious health issues, so awakening to start a new day is exciting. Each day is a gift, filled with surprises and unlimited potential. And having been married to the same person for more than 38 years and still loving each other – when strains on marriage seem stronger all the time, and the institution is sometimes ridiculed – that’s exciting.

Observing our children mature and marry, having children of their own and carving out their own niches in life, is exciting. The fact they share our foundational beliefs and values is exciting. And having grandkids around, seeing them develop and learn, discovering and doing new things all the time, that’s exciting.

My career has enabled us to travel around the country and stay in very nice places. I’ve had the opportunity to travel to Europe twice, as well as Central and South America and the Caribbean, and that’s been great fun. But most exciting of all have been the relationships I’ve been able to form, some of which I maintain to this day.

For me, exciting is creating an article, authoring or collaborating with someone on a book, even posting on this blog – writing about things important to me and hearing what I’ve written was meaningful for someone else. Many people hate their work, so not only enjoying what you do but also knowing without a doubt you’re fulfilling your calling, that’s exciting.

And it’s exciting to invest time with other men in mentoring relationships, helping them to grow personally and professionally. Especially in their faith, understanding what it means in today’s increasingly secularized society to be a follower of Jesus Christ, believing and applying the Bible's eternal truths in everyday life.

As it says in 3 John 4, relating to both biological offspring and spiritual children, “I have no greater joy than to hear my children are walking in the truth.”

It’s all part of building a legacy that’s worth leaving behind.

Most of all, to me “exciting” means having a daily, growing relationship with the God of all creation. Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” He’s done that for me – and much more.

I’m still not planning to go cliff diving any time soon (the U.S. Congress notwithstanding), but I’m convinced of this: “Exciting” is in the eyes of the beholder.

“Garbage In, Garbage Out Syndrome”

Recently I cited an old phrase, “garbage in, garbage out,” used by computer technicians to describe faulty data. No matter how good the computer, if it’s programmed improperly or software isn’t working as intended, you’ve got problems.

Sometimes it seems as if our American society – and perhaps the world in general – has become afflicted by what we could call the “garbage in, garbage out syndrome.” We all seem mad, sad, and feeling bad.

This “garbage” comes from many sources. We have violent TV shows, movies, video games and websites, as I referred to recently. But it’s even more pervasive than that.

We celebrate self-absorbed, narcissistic individuals on reality shows and crown them “celebrities,” making them famous for no other reason than they are…self-absorbed and narcissistic. Modern sitcoms and dramas feed us a continual intellectual diet of immorality, greed, selfishness and generally negative thinking.

What's on your mind - or more
accurately, what are you putting into it?

We listen to incessant talk shows on radio and TV, few of them uplifting or encouraging. Most are disparaging toward someone or something, heeding the philosophy, “If you can’t say something bad about somebody, don’t say anything at all.”

We watch cable news networks, where “experts” deliver gloom and doom 24/7, shouting down anyone that disagrees with their commentaries. If you’re not convinced the world is marching toward a cataclysmic end (erroneous, supposed Mayan predictions notwithstanding), you just need to watch more cable news.

Recently on Yahoo.com, top trending “news items” were: the breakup of a celebrity athlete and his girlfriend; the Newtown, Conn. shooter’s haircut; misdeeds of another athlete; a country-western singer’s personal despair; conflict in the Middle East; a huge storm-related traffic pileup in the Midwest; and a woman stealing Christmas lights in the dark of night. The only “uplifting” article was about how good an aging actress looks in a bikini.

But it’s not just the fault of the media. How often do we find ourselves listening to gossip about coworkers, friends or acquaintances, and then passing that information to anyone willing to listen? Or read books with such dismal content that prescriptions for antidepressants should be included?

The Bible states, “As a (person) thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). Information we store in our minds not only affects our attitudes, but also our actions.

As we embark on this new adventure called 2013, maybe it’s time to turn over the proverbial new leaf by adopting the advice of Philippians 4:8 – “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -- think about such things.”

It’s easy to consider the negative, to find fault, to criticize and demean. What would happen if we each made a conscious attempt to focus on things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy? It could be revolutionary!

Knowledge or Wisdom? You Choose

Proverbs is considered one of the Bible's "wisdom books."

Knowledge or wisdom – if you had to pick one or the other, which would you choose?

My father had a favorite saying to describe some people: “He’s so smart, he’s stupid.” His meaning, you might surmise, was just because individuals have a certain level of intelligence and may have acquired a substantial amount of information, that doesn’t ensure they know how to put it to use effectively.

Kind of like people that don’t have enough sense to get out of the rain.

There’s a link between wisdom and common sense. Some of the wisest people I’ve met didn’t have college degrees or a lot of what we used to call “book learning.” But if you were trying to make a decision or looking for practical advice, they were the ones I’d consult first.

One friend used to say, “I’ll never understand why, if we didn’t have time to do it right the first time, we have time to do it over again.” Another friend had a sign posted in his office, “Failure to plan on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.”

Maybe not quotes we'd attribute to Einstein, or Newton, or da Vinci. Not the kind of material that would make you the life of the party at a Mensa International conference. Just the same, these observations make good sense.

How do you get wisdom? Some experts say it comes from experience, the experience of making good decisions. And how do you make good decisions? By making bad ones – and learning from them, they say.

We’re about to enter a new year. For many of us that signifies a chance for a new beginning. I’m a person that likes to review the year past and set goals for the year ahead. One worthwhile goal, it seems to me, would be to grow in wisdom. But how can we do that?

The book of Proverbs offers
much to think about.

You could make a bunch of poor decisions, try to learn from them and make better decisions down the road. That might work. But a simpler, less painful way I’ve found is to regularly read from the Old Testament’s book of Proverbs, one of the Bible’s so-called “wisdom books.”

I suspect most the readers of this blog, because of its content, are already people of faith or at least spiritual interest. But even if you’re not, hear me out.

For years I’ve made a daily practice of reading the chapter from Proverbs that coincides with the date of the month. For instance, today would be the day to read chapter 31, which happens to describe an exceptional woman, the so-called “the Proverbs 31 woman.”

Tomorrow I plan to start reading again from the beginning, chapter 1, which makes the declaration, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:6). Hey, the Bible said it, I didn’t.

I've found reading Proverbs so helpful, I often make notes
in margins about key principles it presents.

Why read Proverbs over and over, month after month, year after year? Maybe it’s because I’m dense and it takes time for things to sink in. But I’ve learned reading these simple yet profound verses serve as a continual reminder of what to do and how to think, and what not to do and how not to think.

Over the course of its 31 chapters (you might have to double up occasionally in February, and in months with 30 days), it covers a wide range of topics, including anger, handling conflict, discipline, seeking counsel and guidance, sexual temptation, hard work and laziness, discipline, speech and communications, generosity, inner motives, honesty and integrity, pride and humility, the use and abuse of money, planning, security, even leaving a legacy.

Proverbs offers practical wisdom for the workplace as well as one’s personal life. Groups of business and professional people – believers and non-believers – have met regularly to discuss how principles from Proverbs apply to their careers and circumstances.

Why not give it a try? Tomorrow, just for the heck of it, read chapter 1 of Proverbs, and the next day read chapter 2. See what you think. Some of the ideas might not connect with you, but you may find a few that make you go, “Hmmm!” You might even decide to read chapter 3, out of curiosity if for no other reason.

If you try it, let me know how it goes.

Are We Ignoring the Obvious?

Shootings take the lives of 20 young children and six adults in a Connecticut elementary school. Similar senseless, horrific events claim many other lives at high schools, colleges, entertainment and retail centers, and businesses across the country. Each tragedy prompts us to ask, “Why?” The question seems to defy answers.

We struggle to determine what can be done to curb such shocking outbursts of anger and violence. Debates about gun control intensify. Curiously, the morning of the Sandy Hook Elementary School slayings, a man went to an elementary school in China and slashed 22 children and one adult with a knife. Should knife control be added to the debate?

“How could a good, loving God allow something like this to happen?” some people ask. It seems strange that when something terrible occurs, people want to know why God didn’t intervene, but when things are going well, they hold Him at arm’s length as if to say, “Mind Your own business.”

At the movie theater in Aurora, Colo. earlier this year, the gunman’s weapon jammed or more people might have been killed. At Newtown, police said the gunman had additional weapons and ammunition, but took his own life. Perhaps God did intervene?

I’m not a gun person, and have no idea why anyone other than military and law enforcement personnel needs semiautomatic or assault weapons. Perhaps bans on those would be warranted.

But I doubt more stringent gun laws will end growing mayhem in the United States and around the world. Those intent on performing violent acts, especially people with imbalanced mental states, will find ways to obtain what they need. If not guns, they’ll opt for knives, machetes, sharpened pencils if necessary.

The problem is far deeper than available weaponry. Look at our entertainment industry. It glorifies killing in the movies, TV, and computer and video games. Just the other day, at the close of one of my favorite crime shows, one of the detectives killed a criminal, and moments later he and his partner walked away, sharing a joke. As if taking the life of a human being – even a bad one – was of no greater consequence than flicking lint off their slacks.

Video games turn killing into contests. The more you kill, the higher you score. “But it’s only make-believe,” game designers and movie producers say. “It’s just fantasy.” Perhaps, but these aren’t Pac-Man or Donkey Kong graphics – they’re designed to look as real as possible. And with mentally unstable individuals that easily mix reality and fantasy, are we surprised when they move “fun” from the world of fantasy and into the real world?

Daily our minds are bombarded with images and messages of murder and mayhem. No wonder some are adversely affected. As the Bible states, “For as he thinks within himself, so he is” (Proverbs 23:7). Or to borrow the old computer phrase, “Garbage in, garbage out.”

But I believe the greatest factor is that for decades society has systematically and aggressively sought to eradicate God – and thoughts of Him – from our collective psyche. We’ve made the Ten Commandments (including “you shall not kill”) abhorrent. Symbols of faith are treated as offensive. Anyone expressing spiritual beliefs is conveniently discredited as “religious.”

When I was a boy in school, every day started with the Lord’s Prayer and reading a passage from the Bible (usually the Old Testament, perhaps in deference to Jewish students), along with the Pledge of Allegiance. I didn’t fret a single day that some gunman might enter the school and cause us harm.

Today, these practices are either prohibited in public schools or opposed. We’ve “evolved.” We’re “enlightened.” Really? Seriously?

I don’t believe we “took God out of the schools.” As they say, wherever there are tests and exams, He will always be summoned. And God is not subject to human legislation. But by attempting to remove the divine from our daily consciousness, whether in school, business, or even the playing fields, we’ve discarded our moral compass, the foundation for making good and informed decisions.

Proverbs 29:18 states, “When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild” (New Living Translation). Another version puts it this way: “Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint.” Then the verse ends, “…but blessed is he who keeps the law.”

“Running wild.” “Casting off restraint.” Observing the landscape of 21^st century society, don’t these descriptions sound appropriate?

When are we going to acknowledge the obvious – that there is evil in the world, and God is the only solution to this growing evil presence?

On Dec. 14, a troubled, perhaps deranged young man terminated the lives of 20 children and seven adults (including his mother) in Newtown, Conn. The chapter from Proverbs coinciding with that date included these words: “He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge” (Proverbs 14:26).

In refusing to rightly fear God, are we depriving our children of refuge?