Metrics Matter

This from the closing "reveal" scene in The Delivery Man... 

"I'm a meat truck driver.  I'm an incompetent meat truck driver."  To which his father replies "You ARE an incompetent delivery man.  It takes you four times longer to deliver the meat than any other driver.  But, every where you go, they love you."

So how do you measure success?  Metrics matter.



bN tGit

An ounce of prevention...

Freedom of conscience

During the battle to ratify the US Constitution, many Americans worried that the founding document failed to list specific rights to be protected against government's tendency to abuse power. Thomas Jefferson gave voice to their concerns in a letter to James Madison: "A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth...and what no just government should refuse."  Indeed, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Reluctant at first, Federalists agreed to add amendments protecting personal liberties. Madison along with several others, crafted a set of 10 Amendments, a "Bill of Rights," which  were ratified December 15, 1781. These of course, constitute the first 10 Amendments to our Constitution. 

These are historic days. Regardless of what the future holds, the strength of our Nation is demonstrated by the civility of our process.  I pray the extremists on both sides of the isle, their Citizen Groups, POTUS and his the Administration will take a breath and stop agitating.

I am proud to be an American.  Our system of governance will outlive these divisive and difficult days. 

Merry Xristos. 


bN tGit

Run hard...finish well

Several years ago I decided it was time to fix my shoulder--torn rotator cuff, labrum and a large calcium deposit on my bursa.  I'd postponed the inevitable surgery for 42 years. Two months after the repair I began my rehab process.  I am intrigued by how fast our joints "freeze up" and muscles atrophe when we don't use them. As I strained to lift my arm above my shoulder, I could only move it half that distance; no matter how hard I tried--I could not "will" it up. Getting my "shoulder back" took discipline and hard work.

Life is like that too. When we live careless, reckless, aimless lives, we miss the best life has to offer. People are filled with potential; we are "wired" for growth, relationships, productivity and yes, achievement. Realizing these possibilities brings shape to life, purpose for living; talent and apptitude must be transformed into ability by disciplined effort. "Willing" it won't make it happen. Success and failure are two sides of the same coin and people tend to get what they expect. Our expectations tend to dictate our effort; dicipline tends to dictate our success. Successful people do the things unsuccessful people aren't unwilling to do; the door to success isn't hard to see, but it demands much of those who choose to pass through it.


But, what about "life" after death?  People of faith believe thatwe've been created with eternity in our hearts. The Scriptures tell us that...

"When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners...God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us."  Rom 5.6,8 NLT

We embrace this gracious provision by trusting Christ as our Lord and Savior. But this kind of effective faith doesn't just kick back and "let it happen." Saving faith points us to "a long obedience in the same direction." Life becomes the canvas where we see worked out, what God has worked in.  Embracing Christ opens a door to a whole new perception of who and Whose we are.

Spiritual strength and godly character are the by-products of disciplined effort and purposeful living. The apostle Paul understood this...

"Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified." 1 Cor 9.24-27 NLT

Good outcomes don't just happen.  Life and eternity demand our very best and our very best, once we have embraced Christ and His work through effective faith, is always more than enough.


bN tGit

No Mulligan's

We don't get many "do overs" in life, but thank God, every 24 hours we get a chance to start over.

Make the most of this GRACE day.


bN tGit

Emmanuel our Safety-net

"The Incarnation of Christ serves as a glorious reminder that God’swillingnessto clean things up is infinitely bigger than our willingness to mess things up."

TULLIAN TCHIVIDJIAN

Not only DO we "mess things up" we don't have the ABILITY or the PROCLIVITY to get things right! Not to worry, the God of the universe has our backs. The Word became flesh and dwellt among us. Emanuel.

Merry Xristos.

bN tGit

Infamy...Grief

December 7, 1941. 

   2400 dead. 1200 wounded.
   18 US Ships and 300 planes destoryed or damaged.

"A date that will live in infamy"   President Roosevelt

"I fear we have awakened a sleeping giant and instilled in him a terrible resolve."  Admiral Yamamoto

Both men were right; the world was rescued from an "Axis of evil," but not before millions lost their lives and the planet was gashed by nuclear weapons. 

America, an idea that produces passion to sacrifice.
Freedom isn't free.

bN tGit

Lost & Found

Christmas is, for many, a difficult passage at the end of each year.  Because our memories are so strong, and so many memories are surfaced by this blessed time of year, those who have experienced loss, feel it most acutely over the six weeks from Thanksgiving to the New Year.  I'm reposting a blog I wrote three years ago about the mystery and paradox we call "loss."  For those in pain today...

Loss. I've had my share over the years.

Two weeks after I graduated from High School, my father died, I was 17. In 1984, just after my 31st birthday, my mother died . I was 38 when I learned I had diabetes. I began a 'rest of my life' battle with skin cancer in 1996, at age 43. Disappointment...oh my, where do I start. Failure--several crushing instances. Unrealized dreams, of course.

My story isn't unique. It's called, 'being human.'  Loss is a part of the 'cycle of life.' Life is hard, and, can be very harsh. Loss, though we all face it, is not simply a one size fits all process. For some, loss means never experiencing 'what could have been.'  For others it's remembering 'what was.'  For all of us it's losing people we love, to death. Life's 'Harsh passages' include broken relationships, disease, tragic accidents, children 'lost' in adolescence and never able to move on to productive adult lives, addiction, betrayal, unfaithful spouses and/or friends, failure...have I described your 'loss-story' yet?

Recently, an extended family member, and friend, facing a number of very difficult circumstances posted a comment about loss, she concluded, 'Easy to be philiosophical...easy to be grateful too.' As I paused to reflect on her words, I was struck by this profound insight.

'Easy to be grateful too...'  Really?  We can't, generally, control loss. Bad things happen to good (and bad) people. We can, however, control our attitude and our response to loss. We can ask 'why me?' or we can declare'"why NOT me!' That's the 'philosophical' part.

The 'grateful' part comes when, our pain notwithstanding, we aren't swallowed by bitterness; through the darkness of the moment, we still see the sunshine we've experienced over the years--as well as the expectation that the sun will shine again. Loss frames our perspective. It reminds us of the providence of God and the blessings we enjoy and have enjoyed through the ebb and flow of life. It's ironic, loss and gratitude are two sides of the same coin. Tennyson understood this when he penned 'It's better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.'

The sentiment that struck me as so profound was 'easy.'  It just never occurred to my friend to not be grateful. The emotional and spiritual place that she 'lives' made gratitude a logical extension, not of her pain, but of His promise. 

The Psalmist (42.5) said it this way.

'Why am I discouraged?

Why is my heart so sad?

I will put my hope in God!

I will praise him again—

my Savior and my God.'

Loss isn't abandonment. It isn't the death of hope. It's an intersection of life where one can step back and see life not just for what it isn't, but for what it is; it's at that place, in that moment, we see the goodness of God, and it's easy to be grateful.

Lost and found. A fitting description.

bN tGit

Art & Power

Jon Meacham's book Thomas Jefferson: the Art of Power is a GREAT read.   The election of 1800 required 32 elector ballots before Jefferson prevailed to become the nations 3rd President.

In his first inaugural address, March 4, 1801, President Thomas Jefferson made this remark.  

"All will bear in mind the sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable.  That the minority posses their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression.  Let us then, fellow citizens, unite in one heart and one mind."  

These words, as with so many preserved and passed down from the Founders, have particular application as we move into 2015 with our current administration of shared power in WDC.

May God bless America with leadership who shall embrace this counsel from ages past, so relevant, yet still so elusive.


bN tGit

NOT the reason!

WE are the reason for the season. HE is the answer to our dilemma.

"When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners...God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us..." Romans 5.6,7

Christmas is joyous because God's love never fails. Never.

Shalom L'Chaim. 

Merry Χριστός (Xristos)!




bN tGit

Liberty v. License

Culture in America is in an out of control inverted spiral--devolution.  "Civil rights" have replaced "the moral imperative" as the final arbitrator in America.  We've come to embrace the idea it's "immoral" to deny the rights of individuals to act as they see fit as long as "no one is hurt in the process."  But this rubric fails to understand that morality isn't defined as just "the absence of a victim."  Debased behavior, wether it's Wall Street, the Silver Screen, Congress, Education, Church or at home diminishes the entire culture and has set in motion a "death by a thousand cuts" cultural bleed-out. 

A little liberty goes a long way.  In the name of freedom we have acted in ways that have produced unintended consequences.  We have come to believe that because we have protection under law to do something, produce something, say something--we can.  The irony is that liberty in that context is license--and license leads, too often, to lawlessness.  One of the most important lessons I learned at home was this; just because I CAN do something, doesn't not mean I SHOULD do it.

If we as a culture, can get back to this simple lesson and apply it with consistency to the way we LIVE our lives, run our companies, invest our money, lead our homes, churches, communities and our nation, THEN I believe we will have taken a FIRST-STEP toward restoring sanity to our decision making process and rebuilding the ramparts that protect our culture from evil and devolution toward certain destruction.

But mark this, the solution leading to "check-mate"  is a spiritual one.  The Older Testament prophet Micah lived in a truly evil world.  The theme of his prophetic letter stresses the integral relationship between true spirituality and righteous conduct.  Toward the end of his letter he turns to an axiomatic concern: Micah 6.6 "...with what shall I come to the Lord and bow myself before the God on high?" 

In today's vernacular it might sound something like this..."What kind of life will reflect and infuse truth in a world whose reality is based solely on pragmatism and driven by relativism?"  He reveals that answer to us in chapter 6, verse 8... 

"He has showed you O man, what is good.  To act justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."   Micah 6.8

Friends, it's not a fiscal cliff we see looming on the horizon.

bN tGit