I love the old story about a little guy who was sitting in a tavern, nursing his favorite beverage and minding his own business, when all of a sudden this great big dude comes in and - WHACK!! – proceeds to knock him off the bar stool and down onto the floor. The big dude says, “That was a Karate chop from Korea.”
The little guy thinks “Whoa!” But he gets back up on the stool and resumes his business. All of a sudden - WHACK!! - the big dude knocks him down again, and says, "That was a Judo chop from Japan."
Obviously, the little guy has now had enough of this. So he gets up, brushes himself off, and quietly departs the scene. He is gone for an hour or so when he returns, and without saying a word, he walks up behind the big dude and - WHAM!!!" – proceeds to whack the big dude off his stool, knocking him to the floor and completely out cold! The little guy then looks at the bartender and says, “When he gets up, tell him that's a Crowbar from Sears and Roebuck!”
On a more serious note, I suppose that about the only thing worse than a bragging dad is a bragging granddad. Nevertheless, I intend to be both of these right here and now! I will brag, first, on my daughter and her husband, because they have clearly demonstrated that they intend to raise their children to engage proactively in life.
By this I mean that they are attempting to provide their three sons (all of whom are under the age of six) every opportunity to get involved and participate in the myriad array of activities life affords. Such things include trips to the zoo, playing T-Ball, taking swimming lessons, going to the Trampoline Park, etc., etc…
And yet, the latest undertaking tops them all. For they have now enrolled their sons in Jiu-Jitsu! And after only a few weeks of participation, each of their sons is now not only learning, but excelling. So much so that each has now been promoted in rank!
If I may be honest, I will simply state that I love it! Not because I want my grandsons to grow up and beat up other people. But rather because I want them to be able to defend themselves against those who would do such a thing to them.
And in this sense, I will now brag on my grandsons. Because, given the opportunities provided them to engage and excel at such endeavors, they are choosing to do just that. And this matters!
Let’s face it... Far too many people choose to go through life failing to embrace, failing to engage, and thereby failing to accomplish much as a result. By contrast, those who do choose to embrace life, and all it has to offer, soon discover that life proves more often than not simply to be what you make of it!
The Bible presents us with numerous pictures of individuals who both chose to embrace and not to embrace the opportunities presented by life. While many such examples exist, perhaps the best is to be found in Jesus’ famed “Parable of the Talents”, as recorded in the New Testament Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25, verses 14-30.
Here, we see two individuals who fortuitously jumped at the opportunity to improve themselves and those they care for. Sadly, we also see a third individual who chose not to engage, but rather to to play it safe, and to let a opportunity pass him by in the process.
It is interesting to note that Jesus chose to conclude His parable by applauding the ones who took advantage of their God-given opportunities, while condemning the one did not. Maybe, just maybe, He is telling us something here about the importance of embracing life and any and all of the opportunities it provides.
What's more, it is little wonder that, in his New Testament Epistle to the Colossians (chapter 4, verse 5), the Apostle Paul admonishes us to “make the most of every (God-given) opportunity”.
I’m proud of my grandsons for doing just this. More to the point, I am both convicted and inspired by them. May I never, ever reach the point that I fail to embrace any and every opportunity life affords me. For in so doing, I may well be spurning the God who makes such opportunities possible to begin with!
Given all this, when it comes to the opportunities life presents me, I think I’ll just do my best to make certain that I’m “Gittin ‘R Done!”
JOKE SOURCE:
Available widely in various forms on the internet. See, for instance:
https://www.ebaumsworld.com/jokes/crowbar/80692344/.
SCRIPTURE SOURCES:
https://biblehub.com/niv/matthew/25.htm;
https://biblehub.com/colossians/4-5.htm.
The little guy thinks “Whoa!” But he gets back up on the stool and resumes his business. All of a sudden - WHACK!! - the big dude knocks him down again, and says, "That was a Judo chop from Japan."
Obviously, the little guy has now had enough of this. So he gets up, brushes himself off, and quietly departs the scene. He is gone for an hour or so when he returns, and without saying a word, he walks up behind the big dude and - WHAM!!!" – proceeds to whack the big dude off his stool, knocking him to the floor and completely out cold! The little guy then looks at the bartender and says, “When he gets up, tell him that's a Crowbar from Sears and Roebuck!”
On a more serious note, I suppose that about the only thing worse than a bragging dad is a bragging granddad. Nevertheless, I intend to be both of these right here and now! I will brag, first, on my daughter and her husband, because they have clearly demonstrated that they intend to raise their children to engage proactively in life.
By this I mean that they are attempting to provide their three sons (all of whom are under the age of six) every opportunity to get involved and participate in the myriad array of activities life affords. Such things include trips to the zoo, playing T-Ball, taking swimming lessons, going to the Trampoline Park, etc., etc…
And yet, the latest undertaking tops them all. For they have now enrolled their sons in Jiu-Jitsu! And after only a few weeks of participation, each of their sons is now not only learning, but excelling. So much so that each has now been promoted in rank!
If I may be honest, I will simply state that I love it! Not because I want my grandsons to grow up and beat up other people. But rather because I want them to be able to defend themselves against those who would do such a thing to them.
And in this sense, I will now brag on my grandsons. Because, given the opportunities provided them to engage and excel at such endeavors, they are choosing to do just that. And this matters!
Let’s face it... Far too many people choose to go through life failing to embrace, failing to engage, and thereby failing to accomplish much as a result. By contrast, those who do choose to embrace life, and all it has to offer, soon discover that life proves more often than not simply to be what you make of it!
The Bible presents us with numerous pictures of individuals who both chose to embrace and not to embrace the opportunities presented by life. While many such examples exist, perhaps the best is to be found in Jesus’ famed “Parable of the Talents”, as recorded in the New Testament Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25, verses 14-30.
Here, we see two individuals who fortuitously jumped at the opportunity to improve themselves and those they care for. Sadly, we also see a third individual who chose not to engage, but rather to to play it safe, and to let a opportunity pass him by in the process.
It is interesting to note that Jesus chose to conclude His parable by applauding the ones who took advantage of their God-given opportunities, while condemning the one did not. Maybe, just maybe, He is telling us something here about the importance of embracing life and any and all of the opportunities it provides.
What's more, it is little wonder that, in his New Testament Epistle to the Colossians (chapter 4, verse 5), the Apostle Paul admonishes us to “make the most of every (God-given) opportunity”.
I’m proud of my grandsons for doing just this. More to the point, I am both convicted and inspired by them. May I never, ever reach the point that I fail to embrace any and every opportunity life affords me. For in so doing, I may well be spurning the God who makes such opportunities possible to begin with!
Given all this, when it comes to the opportunities life presents me, I think I’ll just do my best to make certain that I’m “Gittin ‘R Done!”
JOKE SOURCE:
Available widely in various forms on the internet. See, for instance:
https://www.ebaumsworld.com/jokes/crowbar/80692344/.
SCRIPTURE SOURCES:
https://biblehub.com/niv/matthew/25.htm;
https://biblehub.com/colossians/4-5.htm.