Blog Posts

FALL GUYS!

8/9/2023

Of the four seasons, my favorite is clearly the fall. Admittedly, this has not always been the case. As a child, it was always summer. The reason, of course, should be obvious - no teachers, no classrooms, and no homework! To this day, I remember being utterly disappointed when I first asked my father if he was off work for the summer as well, and then being assured he was not.

In those days, over and against how much I loved the summer was precisely how much I eschewed the fall. After all, it represented a return to the dreaded institution known as grade school.

But as time passed, I began to look at things differently. When one grows up on a farm, visons of summertime spent in luxury around the pool and/or at the beach quickly give way to time spent in drudgery in the garden and/or out in the fields. Simply put, while my friends all basked in the warmth of the sun, I alone sweated in its oppressive heat from dusk till dawn!

Not surprisingly, I soon learned to long for the fall of the year. Sitting in a classroom, as tedious and boring as it might be, was, hands down, an improvement over hoeing gardens, picking beans, shucking corn, bailing and stacking hay, painting fences, cutting grass, and bush-hogging pastures!

Thus it was that I began to see the fall of the year as a time, not so much to be dreaded as to be anticipated. For when it unfolded, it represented the end of a full summer’s labor. Far more importantly, it represented new beginnings. I discovered that returning to school was not meant to be merely a repeat of the previous year, but rather a going on to the next grade.

As the years passed, I found this true not only of grade school, but also of middle school, high school, college, seminary, and eventually, even graduate school. In short, I grew fond of fall because it was always the time of new beginnings. That is to say that it was not just about the next grade, but also about the next level, the next challenge, and by implication, the next great adventure!

As I write these words, it is now the 9th day of August, 2023. While it is not yet September, it is nonetheless the concluding month of summer. Fall is clearly on the horizon. It is also the week in which all of my seven grandsons have now entered a new stage of life.

The eldest of these started the first grade this year. Behind him, grandson number two started kindergarten. Beyond this, the third and fourth grandsons began pre-k. The fifth started two-day-a-week preschool for the first time. And the sixth and seventh each found themselves in the awkward position of being alone at home for the first time without an older brother constantly attempting to micro-manage their lives!

And there you have it! For each and every one, fall has brought a new challenge. For none of them will this be easy. There will be colors and shapes and letters and numbers and a whole host of other such intimidating things to learn and conquer. But they will surely figure them all out. I eventually did.

And after these things, they will go on to even greater challenges which they will also figure out - just as I also once did. Beyond this, I can only hope that their experiences in their childhood years will be followed by similar ones in their adolescent years. And that these will then one day be followed by similar ones in their adult years.

And what I hope for them, I hope for myself. Who says that once one concludes his or her formal education, fall should cease to be a time of new beginnings?! For this reason, I have set myself a goal in the time I have left in life to capitalize upon the fall of each new year to begin some new journey, to commence some new undertaking, and/or to start some grand new venture in life.

These things matter to me. I never need to reach the point that I stop moving forward, being productive, and accomplishing in life. But these things matter as well to my seven grandsons. While they may not do so now, the day will surely come when they will look to me and my life to ascertain as to whether or not my example was exemplary.

Above all, these things matter to the Lord. It was He Who created me, He Who endowed me, He Who gifted me, and He Who rightfully has expectations of me! It is also to Him that I must give an account of how I spent my time in this world, as well as what all I did with the gifts He entrusted to me.

Echoing the words of Jesus in the Gospels regarding the Parable of the Talents, the Apostle Paul reminds us (in his New Testament Letter to the Romans, chapter 14, verse 12) that “…each of us will one day give a personal account to God.”

For my part, I hope to keep on living and to keep on learning and to keep on growing and to keep on achieving and to keep on accomplishing all that the Lord intends for me.

In other words, as long as I live, I hope to always be a “fall guy”!

SCRIPTURE SOURCE:

https://biblehub.com/romans/14-12.htm.

DELIVERING THE GOODS

8/4/2023

Sometimes one reads the neatest things tucked away in the midst of the day’s news headlines. Take, for instance, the following piece titled “Amazon Delivers to Bottom of Grand Canyon, in a Unique Way: Company Can't Use Its Vans to Reach Workers at Phantom Ranch, But Mules Do the Trick” that caught my attention.

The article, posted earlier today (August 4, 2023) on www.Newser.com by Jenn Gidman, was brief but informative…

You may be accustomed to seeing those ubiquitous dark-blue vans with the Amazon logo puttering around your town, especially around the holidays when package deliveries are at a peak. In the northwest corner of Arizona, however, a different mode of transport is employed: mules, saddled up with sealed boxes as they trek down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. There are no suburban neighborhoods nestled 9 miles below the South Rim, but there is the Phantom Ranch, described as a "historic oasis" where visitors can spend the night—and where Amazon delivers to the staffers who both live and work there. In a Wednesday blog post, Amazon deems the Phantom Ranch "one of the most remote places Amazon delivers [to]," explaining that the only way to get to the site is by foot, river raft, or the mules.

The equine hybrids typically deliver mail and such supplies as produce, TP, beer, and fixings for the ranch's steak dinners, as well as the Amazon packages, which are transported down four days a week. The packages are initially dropped off at a warehouse on the South Rim, then are loaded up onto the mules, who set off down the Bright Angel Trail just after sunrise to avoid traveling during the hotter parts of the day. It usually takes the two human pack leaders, each with a set of five mules, about four hours to descend to the bottom of the canyon, then another four or five hours to get back up to the top, an Amazon rep tells USA Today, adding that the delivery method is "one of the most unique ways customers can receive their deliveries."

Mules who regularly make the trip can pretty much get to their destination by heart. "The more you take them down, the more they memorize the trail," one of the mule packers says in a video Amazon features on the blog, showing the animals in action. "Most of the mules that we have at this point could probably walk the trail with their eyes closed." "The supplies that our mule team brings down are a critical part of making sure that life can exist down at the bottom comfortably and happily," says a spokesperson for the ranch's owner in the blog post. "Having a service like Amazon available to employees, especially in a place as remote as Phantom Ranch, is fantastic."

Wow! To begin with, I, for one, did not know that anyone lived at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. That, in and of itself, surely takes considerable resilience. But apparently, it also takes a little help from above. After all, how else are the guest to enjoy meals, bathrooms, and the like? And it is in this sense that the story has a spiritual application.

No matter who we are, no matter where we come from, no matter what our present circumstances or location or predicament, we are fooling ourselves if we think we can get by in this world without regular help from above!

It behooves us to be aware of this. More to the point, it befits us to be appreciative of this! After all, we are fooling ourselves if we think we can get by without regular and abundant assistance from beyond.

In his New Testament letter to the believers at Philippi, the Apostle Paul gave this reminder (chapter 4, verse 19): “God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

We all have needs. There is no denying this. No matter where we are or what we lack or what we face. But praise God, we all also have One who meets those needs, no matter where we are or what we lack or what we face. And He does this day in and day out!

For that, all of us who purport to follow Jesus Christ should be grateful. I know I am. Are you?

STORY SOURCE:

https://www.newser.com/story/338496/amazons-transport-for-grand-canyon-deliveries-mules.html.

NOTE: Check out a video of the above described process at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZGtaESzl3w&t=78s.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE:

https://biblehub.com/philippians/4-19.htm.

CROWN ME!

7/29/2023

Like many of you, I grew up in a world where the game of checkers was ubiquitous. One could find a checker board most anywhere - in front of the local store, at the courthouse, and yes, as in the fictional Mayberry, even at the local barber shop. One could also find one in most every household.

My favorite one was to found in my grandfather’s house. A survivor of the depression, he learned how to make due with whatever was handy. Hence, his checkers set consisted of a homemade checker board and checker pieces made from painted coke bottle caps. As an homage to him, I keep a similar set to this day.

Of course, the greatest move in checkers was to get a piece completely across the board and proudly proclaim, “Crown me!” Once ordinary checkers were crowned, they became immensely more valuable. As well as powerful! Who among us has not played the game and desired to be so crowned?

I share this because of an article in the news this day. Written by Ashley Hume and posted on www.foxbusiness.com, it was titled “Drake Purchases Tupac Shakur's Self-Designed Crown Ring for Over $1 Million at Auction: Tupac Shakur Wore the Ring to the 1996 MTV Music Awards in His Final Public Appearance Before His Death”.

As the title suggests, it seems that acclaimed Hip hop artist Drake has purchased Tupac Shakur's self-designed diamond, ruby and gold crown ring at Sotheby's Hip-Hop auction for a staggering $1.01 million. The solid gold ring, designed by Shakur and inspired by the crowns of medieval European kings, is literally topped with multiple jewels set in a small crown. According to Sotheby’s, the ring features a diamond-encrusted gold band, set with a central cabochon ruby and two pavé-cut diamonds on a gold circlet symbolizing the crown.

Sotheby's also confirmed the sale in a press release, noting that the winning bid for the ring was triple its high estimate of $300,000. According to the auction house, the ring was the "most valuable Hip Hop artifact ever sold at auction" and "the only Hip Hop artifact to surpass $1 million."

It seems that what gives the ring such value is that Shakur, considered the king of Hip Hop, sported the accessory at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 4, 1996, which was to be his final public appearance before he was killed in a drive-by shooting nine days later.

Now, I personally do not listen to Hip Hop music. On the secular side, I bounce between 1960s pop and 1970s rock and 1980s country. And on the religious side, I favor the hymns of my childhood and the praise choruses of the last thirty years. I guess we all have our individual tastes.

After all, my aunt once collected Elvis memorabilia, several of my friends have Eagles’ posters from back in the day, and my son has a picture of Johnny Cash on his basement wall even now.

What is more, I know of quite good church-going individuals who might well qualify as “diesel sniffers” given that they seem to follow their favorite Southern Gospel music artists from concert to concert! It seems that whatever our individual musical tastes, we all seem to value our favorite artists.

And yet, the simple truth is that we all know the artists we favor are human. As such, they are frail, they are flawed, and ultimately, they are mortal! Why then do we place them on such pedestals? Why then do we treat them like royalty? Why do we refer to them as the King of Rock and Roll, or the King of Country Music, or the King of Hip Hop? And why do we emulate them so?

If we are truly looking for a king to emulate, then we would do well to look to a King Whose Kingdom transcends this world! If we are looking for a crown to acquire, then why no look to acquire one that transcends this world?!

The Apostle Paul understood this. In his First New Testament Letter to the Corinthians (chapter 9, verse 25), he refers to people who strive mightily to obtain an earthly crown. But he reminds us that such crowns are temporary and fleeting, whereas followers of Christ should forsake worldly rewards and resources and strive instead for a crown that lasts forever.

Not only did he assert this principle; he also lived it. After a lifetime spent in denial of self and pursuit of the Lord and His will, when Paul neared the end of his sojourn in this world, he could boldly proclaim the following truths to one of his young protégés (II Timothy chapter 4, verses 6-8):

6As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. 8And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.

Note that Paul reminds us that the crown awaiting him can await us as well. In the end, it all comes down to what crown we truly desire. And also to how much and in what manner we are willing to pay for it!

I conclude with the words to one of my favorite hymns penned by George Bennard…

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
the emblem of suffering and shame;
and I love that old cross where the dearest and best
for a world of lost sinners was slain.

O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
has a wondrous attraction for me;
for the dear Lamb of God left his glory above
to bear it to dark Calvary.

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
a wondrous beauty I see,
for 'twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
to pardon and sanctify me.

To that old rugged cross I will ever be true,
its shame and reproach gladly bear;
then he'll call me some day to my home far away,
where his glory forever I'll share.

So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
and exchange it some day for a crown!

ARTICLE SOURCE:

https://www.foxbusiness.com/entertainment/drake-purchases-tupac-shakurs-self-designed-crown-ring-over-1-million-auction.

SEE ALSO:

https://www.foxbusiness.com/entertainment/what-drake-net-worth.

SCRIPTURE SOURCES:

https://www.biblehub.com/1_corinthians/9-25.htm;

https://www.biblehub.com/nlt/2_timothy/4.htm.

HYMN SOURCE:

https://hymnary.org/text/on_a_hill_far_away_stood_an_old_rugged.

UNIVERSAL SOLVENT!

7/24/2023

At the risk of sounding a little repetitive (from previous posts), many of us are familiar with the old adage that says all a farmer needs to survive is: 1) a roll of bailing twine, 2) a pair of pliers, 3) a roll of duct tape, and 4) a can of WD-40. Having grown up on a farm, I can personally attest to the truth of all of this.

But in my own experience, when it comes to expediency, while bailing twine is beneficial, pliers are helpful, and WD-40 is useful, I must also note that few things compare to a roll of duct tape. Down through the years, I have used it for most everything from a means to repair a broken tail light to a tool for retrieving a lost weed-eater head from a storm grate.

However, had I known of the manifold uses of WD-40 as set forth in a recent online article titled “WD-40 Has Many Uses; Here Are Some of the Wildest Ones”, I might have selected it over duct tape. The sub-title of the article says it all: “Consumers Have Put WD-40 to Work in Over 2K Ways”!

Wow! Who’d a thunk it?! Two thousand ways to employ a single can of WD-40! And yet, there they all are.

According to the article…

The original formula has been used to remove an animal from an unsuitable place in at least one instance. Someone utilized WD-40 when they found a boa constrictor curled up their vehicle’s engine compartment, the brand said.

In another occasion, it proved handy to law enforcement who needed help dislodging a suspected thief from an air conditioning vent, according to the WD-40 brand. The alleged burglar, who did not have any clothes on at the time, had apparently got stuck.

Some customers have separated stubborn LEGO pieces with the multi-use product.

The WD-40 brand has received reports of it taking on gum too, with people spraying it to free shoes, clothes, carpets and other things from the sticky substance.

The WD-40 multi-use product has also doubled as a paperweight when its can was full, according to the brand. That’s something auto shop workers have used it for.

Another wild use has occurred when artists have gotten creative with it. WD-40 can create "an interesting textured base to work from" when sprayed on a canvas and help make "unique liquid cell shoes" if mixed sparingly with acrylic paint, the brand said on its website.

Apparently, the multi-use aspect of the WD-40 product is also what drives over 80% of its sales. The article continues...

In the most recent quarter, the WD-40 Company saw total net sales come in at $141.7 million. That marked a 14.6% jump from the $123.7 million it reported in the same period last year. What is more, WD-40’s net income for the quarter, meanwhile, was $18.8 million, widening from $14.48 million.

Again I say, “Wow!” Imagine one single product that has over 2000 uses. Any way you slice it, that’s a lot of applications!

As I read this article, I was reminded that those of us who are believers have a vast array of needs. And yet, the Holy Spirit has an equally vast array of solutions to those needs! Whatever we face, whatever we encounter, whatever we come up against, the Holy Spirit has a solution for our given predicament.

I’m personally glad to know that WD-40 has so many applications. Most assuredly, I’ll be drawing upon that knowledge in the future. And as I said, it will now likely move to the front of the line as regards a farmer’s list of expedient items to have on hand.

More to the point, I will take from this a reminder from Heaven that, when it comes to my ongoing needs, nothing really compares to the ability and/or assistance of the Holy Spirit in my hour of need!

The Bible (in the First New Testament Epistle of Peter, chapter 5, verse 7) encourages us to cast, not part, but all of our cares upon the Lord, because He cares for us. Little wonder then that Jesus calls the Holy Spirit our “Helper” in the Gospel of John, chapter 14, verse 26 (English Standard Version).

To be sure, a list of some 2000 plus uses of WD-40 is truly impressive. But given that over two billion people purport to be believers on planet earth today (not to mention the untold billions of believers who have lived and died in the last two thousand years), then surely the abilities and applications of the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit in all these lives in infinitely more remarkable!

NOTES:

My title, “Universal Solvent”, is an intended double entendre. Webster’s Dictionary defines a solvent as either “that which can or does dissolve” or else “something that provides a solution”. My focus here is on the latter definition.

Cf.: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/solvent.

ARTICLE SOURCE:

https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/wd-40-uses-wildest-ones.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE:

https://www.biblehub.com/kjv/1_peter/5-7.htm;

https://biblehub.com/john/14-26.htm.

SEE ALSO:

https://www.cleoejacksoniii.com/my-ongoing-thoughts/universal-problem-solver;

https://www.cleoejacksoniii.com/my-ongoing-thoughts/threadbare.

THE “WRITE” STUFF?

7/20/2023

According to an article by Representative Mike Gallagher published this week on www.foxnews.com, the Chinese Communist Party is officially rewriting the Bible. Given that the article is an op-ed by a U.S. Congressman, I present it here in full…

As part of a push to "sinicize" religion, the Chinese Communist Party has embarked on a 10-year project to rewrite the Bible and other religious texts.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus famously confronts the accusers a woman caught committing adultery, saying "let the one among you who is guiltless be the first to throw a stone at her." The chastened accusers slink away and Jesus says to the woman, "‘Has no one condemned you?' 'No one, sir,' she replied. 'Neither do I condemn you,' said Jesus. 'Go away, and from this moment sin no more.'"

Unless you’re a CCP official. Then it's a story of a dissident challenging the authority of the state. A possible sneak preview of what a Bible with socialist characteristics might look like appeared in a Chinese university textbook in 2020. The rewritten Gospel of John excerpt ends, not with mercy, but with Jesus himself stoning the adulterous woman to death.

Across Henan province, local CCP officials forced Protestant churches to replace the Ten Commandments with Xi Jinping quotes. "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me," became diktats like: "Resolutely guard against the infiltration of Western ideology." The 10-year project to rewrite the Bible, Quran and other sacred texts is all part of Xi Jinping’s quest to make the faithful serve the party rather than God.

At the 19th Party Congress, Chairman Xi declared "We will… insist on the sinicization of Chinese religions, and provide active guidance for religion and socialism to coexist." Let me translate: Xi Jinping has no problem with the first commandment, just so long as he and the CCP are playing the role of God.

You might expect the Vatican, the leaders of the largest Christian congregation in the world, to be incensed and defiant. Unfortunately, you’d be wrong. In a secret 2018 negotiation, the Vatican agreed to allow the CCP to select Catholic bishops in China, supposedly in exchange for vague reassurances of "safety" for some Catholic congregations which were immediately abrogated.

The CCP wants the authority to select the next Dalai Lama, a sacred tradition in Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhists are attempting to stand up to CCP coercion, but Beijing counters that even Pope Francis, leader of the mighty Catholic Church, accepts their authority over Church leadership.

Religion’s power is tantalizing to the CCP — what better demonstration of party supremacy than bringing global religions to heel? The PRC constitution states that citizens "enjoy freedom of religious belief," but, of course, the CCP’s definition of "freedom" bears a much closer resemblance to what we’d call oppression.

The United Front Work Department manages religious affairs in China because religion is a tool to be coerced, co-opted and corrupted to advance party goals and, once harnessed, control people’s minds. Only five faiths are officially recognized. Less-established faiths face even more intense persecution. The Falun Gong remains an unfamiliar spiritual practice to many outside China, but that does not make their suffering at the hands of the CCP any less real.

The State Department estimated that at times half of the population of China’s "Reeducation through Labor" camps, or modern gulags, were Falun Gong adherents. Thousands were tortured to death and there have been widespread reports of on-demand organ harvesting from Falun Gong prisoners.

But it is in Tibet and Xinjiang that we see the CCP’s unsanitized, brutal attitude toward religion. While other faiths are persecuted throughout China, Buddhists and Muslims in the far west of the country are facing, quite simply, the attempted annihilation of their faith and, in some cases, their population.

The CCP is committing genocide, the crime above all crimes, in Xinjiang while some of the world’s religious leaders, like Pope Francis, barely murmur a word in opposition. Tahir Hamut Izgil, a Uyghur poet, described in The Atlantic how the PRC government "had required all Uyghurs there to hand over any religious items they held … religious books, prayer rugs, prayer beads, articles of clothing. Some were unwilling to part with their Qurans, but with neighbors and even relatives betraying one another, those who kept them were quickly found out, detained, and harshly punished."

One Uyghur woman related to Freedom House that "[n]ow the rule is, if I go to your house, read some Quran, pray together, and the government finds out, you go to jail." Maya Wang, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, summed it up: "The [Chinese] government’s religious restrictions are now so stringent that it has effectively outlawed the practice of Islam."

The CCP is also perpetrating a slow-motion cultural genocide across China’s west and north, targeting the Muslim and Buddhist faiths and the identities of the Tibetans, Uyghurs, Kyrgiz, southern Mongolians, and other ethno-religious minority groups.

Buddhist statues are bulldozed. Monasteries are gutted. Mosques are destroyed. Children are forcibly separated from families and packed off to colonial boarding schools where religion and native languages are often forbidden.

Yet, even under intense persecution, faith persists throughout China and the number of faithful grows. In my work in Congress, I’ve heard unthinkable stories of religious oppression. But I’ve also listened to accounts of underground churches, brave clergy, and steadfast believers every bit as courageous as saints of the early Church.

Religion’s power is tantalizing to the CCP — what better demonstration of party supremacy than bringing global religions to heel?

While Chairman Mao called religion "poison," I’ve come to believe that the CCP’s blood-stained record of religious persecution is actually just a battle within their broader ongoing war on the human spirit, on our very capacity to reach for something higher.

The CCP wishes for there to be nothing higher than their authority, and views love for anything besides their Marxist-Leninist regime with vicious jealousy.

In an interview with The Guardian, the pastor of one Chinese church stated, "In this war, in Xinjiang, in Shanghai, in Beijing, in Chengdu, the rulers have chosen an enemy that can never be imprisoned – the soul of man." The pastor ended with an assessment that we must make come true: "[The PRC rulers] are doomed to lose."

How does one respond to such a revelation? Ultimately, the same way the Chinese Pastor did in the concluding paragraph. Communism as a political approach has been around less than two hundred years. The Chinese Communist Party has been in existence as an entity less than 100 of those years.

And yet, the Bible, as the Word of God, has been around for thousands of years. Which of these do we honestly believe will be around for the remainder of time? Given that the dustbin of history is littered with the remains of failed political agendas, fallen kingdoms, and all-but-forgotten world leaders, I’ll side with the Bible!

Of course, lest we jump too quickly on the bandwagon in condemning the CCP, we may need to sweep around our own back porch, as it were. The re-writing of Scripture is not solely a far-eastern phenomenon. Far too many here in the so-called Christian west are guilty of much the same thing. After all, how many versions and/or editions of the Bible have been produced as of late that have found ways to tone down, restate, and/or alleviate any passage of God’s Word that people might find offensive in the modern world?!

It strikes me that we may be just as guilty in our culture of re-writing God’s Word as are the Godless Communists are!

And we would do well to remember the worlds of the Prophet Isaiah who was moved by the Holy Spirit to write:

20Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. 21Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.

We would also do well to remember that this same Prophet’s writings dealt with the overthrow of two of the mightiest empires the world has ever known: the Assyrians and the Babylonians. Both of these powerful kingdoms lasted far longer than the CCP, yet they still fell. And no doubt the reason they did is that they reached the point that they thought they knew more than the God of the Bible knew, and made it their purpose to outshine Him.

A word to the wise… Ever was it so. And ever will it be! Long live the Word of God!

SOURCE:

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/chinese-communist-party-rewriting-bible.

SCRIPTURE:

https://biblehub.com/niv/isaiah/5.htm.

SEE ALSO:

https://www.cleoejacksoniii.com/my-ongoing-thoughts/there-it-stands.

CAN YOU SEE ME NOW?!

7/16/2023

My title today is an admittedly pathetic attempt to parody a well-known advertising campaign: “Can you hear me now?” Why have I chosen it? Because studies confirm that, while we humans certainly rely upon senses of hearing, smell, taste, and touch, we still depend far more upon our eyesight for sensory input than we do upon any of these other five senses.

In fact, we seem to do so to the extent that we assign a premium of value not only to our own vision, but also to that of other people as well. The proof lies in the fact that few types of evidence carry as much weight in a court of law as does an eyewitness account.

Littler wonder then that the following headline by John Johnson posted earlier today on www.Newswer.com caught my attention: “Some Are Paying Strangers To Watch Them During Work: The Concept Called 'Body Doubling' Is Designed to Keep People Focused On The Job”.

According to Johnson...

Across the US, more and more people logging in to work from home are being observed by strangers as they do so. It's no invasion of privacy: The workers are actually paying for the privilege. As the Wall Street Journal explains, the concept is called "body doubling" and the principle is fairly straightforward: People are more likely to stay focused and less likely to goof off on the job if they know others are keeping an eye on them. The principle of body doubling can be traced to the treatment of ADHD, and CNN explains that it has been used for quite a while in the field.

"The idea is that the presence of another is essentially a gentle reminder to stay on task," says Billy Roberts, clinical director of Focused Mind ADHD Counseling in Columbus, Ohio. "For folks (with) ADHD whose minds tend to wander and get off task, the body double somehow works as an external motivator to stay on task." With the explosion in the number of people working from home since the pandemic, the concept has morphed into helping such workers stay focused on their work.

As the Hustle notes, those who buy in to the concept don't necessarily have to have others watch them—forums on TikTok allow body doublers to check into non-camera streaming sessions. But those who prefer the extra accountability of cameras now have a variety of subscription services to choose from, including Flown, Focusmate, Flow Club, and Caveday. Participants might log in, publicly display a to-do list, then get working on it. Sometimes, a group leader will guide things. "It's weird but it works," reads the headline of a first-person column on the practice by L'Oreal Blackett at Refinery29.

Now, for my part, I do not necessarily have all that much to hide from others. I really do try to live a decent and upright life. Nonetheless, as an American, I pride myself on my fundamental right to privacy. And this with good reason! Ever since I read George Orwell’s classic, 1984, as young man, I do not know that I would want someone else watching my every move throughout every moment of every hour of every day!

And yet, as I read this, I will admit that I was reminded that there is One who watches me night and day whether I desire or approve or not! According to the Bible, that Individual is none other than Almighty God Himself!

In the Old Testament, Job (in chapter 31, verse 4) asks the question: “Does He not see my ways and count my every step?” As if in response, the Chronicler (in Book 2, chapter 16, verse 9) states that “…the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth.” To which the writer of the New Testament Book of Hebrews adds (in chapter 4, verse 13): “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”

Wow! When all is said and done, I need to be far less concerned about whether or not I am being viewed by my fellow man and far more concerned about the fact that I am continuously being viewed by a far greater authority to whom I am accountable!

After all, the worse a bad report from a co-worker could do is to get me fired from some earthly position of employment. By contrast, a bad assessment from my Creator over how I employed my time in this world would have far worse consequences.

In light of this, I believe I’ll continue to do right each and every moment. After all, in light of eternity, how else would I possibly wish to be seen?!

STORY SOURCE:

https://www.newser.com/story/337600/some-are-paying-strangers-to-watch-them-during-work.html.

SCRIPTURE SOURCES:

https://biblehub.com/job/31-4.htm;

https://biblehub.com/2_chronicles/16-9.htm;

https://biblehub.com/hebrews/4-13.htm.

TALK TO ME!

7/12/2023

Apparently, humans are not the only species of primate who spend way too much time monkeying around on social media. According to an article posted on www.newser.com, the Toronto Zoo has now decided to crack down on the amount of screen time their gorillas are allowed to spend.

The article, written by Newser staff member Polly Davis Doig and published earlier today, is titled “Zoo Cracks Down on Gorilla's Screen Time”. Of course, the obvious question is what in the world are gorillas doing being allowed access to social media in the first place?! It turns out that the article’s sub-title pretty much answers that question: “It Seems They Really Like Visitors' Cellphones.”

According to the article…

If you've ever had a kid, spouse, or decidedly boring date you couldn't drag away from their phone, the Toronto Zoo can commiserate. The Toronto Star reports that visitors have for some reason felt the urge to show Nassir the gorilla videos on their cellphones. "Nassir is so into those videos," says Maria Franke, the zoo's director of wildlife conservation. And like any human who's ever developed that glazed look while staring into a screen, "it was causing him to be distracted and not interacting with the other gorillas and, you know, being a gorilla. He was just so enthralled with gadgets and phones and the videos." End result being that the zoo has had to post a notice asking patrons to keep their gadgets to themselves.

It's not the first such occurrence, notes CTV News: Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo put up rope around its gorilla enclosure after a teenage gorilla named Amare started ignoring his pals in favor of visitors' cellphones. The Star reports that a gorilla at the Louisville Zoo in Kentucky, Jelani, got to the point where he would make swiping motions when he wanted visitors to move on to the next photo or video. Meanwhile, back in Toronto, the zoo isn't banning all screen time, says behavioral husbandry supervisor Hollie Ross. While "we just want the gorillas to be able to be gorillas," per CTV, the zoo does show some nature documentaries and videos of other animals. But like any guardian, "we just want to make sure that we know what they're watching."

Wow! Who’d a thunk it?! And yet, maybe the better question is: “Who wouldn’t a thunk it?!” After all, we seem to live in a world where humans are absolutely obsessed with social media. Who among us has not had the extremely frustrating experience of attempting to talk to someone, only to notice that they are completely enthralled in their smartphone?!

Or even worse, to be in the midst of a conversation with someone who, upon receiving either a phone call or a text message, immediately threw up an index finger and said, “Hold on, I really need to grab this!”? Is this not tantamount to saying that whatever conversation, project, and/or activity that one is personally engaged in at present is apparently nowhere near as important as whomever or whatever may be occurring and/or interrupting digitally?!

Here’s a thought... Could it be that whenever we behave in such ways we are actually behaving less than human?! Seriously, if you behave in any such way, one thing is arguably true - you are clearly being less than personal. Why do I say this? Because to place any electronic device, communication, notification, and/or post above any genuine personal interaction is at the very least dehumanizing to the party you have rejected in the process.

For my part, I readily admit that I freely engage in and regularly employ electronic communication. I phone, text, e-mail, post, and even “Marco” on a consistent basis. But I hope I never place such a premium on these things that they supplant doing what is truly appropriate for my status as a human being, which is to intentionally and actively engage in personal communication with my fellow man!

Remember, God Himself may have communicated with us through multiple Old Testament writers, prophets, and poets, but none of these even began to compare to what happened when He clothed Himself in human flesh and actually came into this world and spoke with us face to face in the person of Jesus Christ!

The writer of the New Testament Book of Hebrews puts it this way in his opening remarks (chapter 1, verses 1-4)…

1Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. 2And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe. 3The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. 4This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names.

And there you have it! The personal presence of Christ and His message was immeasurably more significant than any prior form of communication, even what came ethereally and mysteriously from the sky above!

Now, if the Gospels represent the heart of God’s message, delivered in person to us by His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ (as they surely do), then obviously we should consider the critical ongoing importance of communicating among ourselves in a just such a manner! After all, in retrospect, how foolish do those in the Gospels who placed a premium on any other engagement than spending time with Jesus face to face now look?!

Think about that the next time someone is forced to sit idly by in your presence while waiting on you to finish whatever seemingly far more important smartphone communication that you have deemed so critical!

And thereafter, stop monkeying around with things that dehumanize other people!

STORY SOURCE:

https://www.newser.com/story/337560/zoo-cracks-down-on-gorillas-screen-time.html.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE:

https://biblehub.com/nlt/hebrews/1.htm.

WHAT’S IN YOUR LIFE?!

7/7/2023

A well-known credit card company markets itself with the popular tagline: “What’s in your wallet?” From time to time, it may well be worth our time to extrapolate that question out to other areas of our lives. Allow me to explain.

An article in the news this past week told how a plant brought to an office some fourteen years ago has now grown into a 600-foot long vegetarian behemoth! According to the story by reporter Steve Chatterly, and posted on Good News Network website…

For those without green thumbs, it’s often a mystery why some plants thrive and others shrivel away. For Des and Allie Brennan of Protective Solutions Ltd in England, it’s become a very, very big mystery. Bringing in a small potted ivy cutting in 2009, they merely wanted to brighten up the workspace. Now, more than 14 years later, the plant has grown to almost 600 feet long—sprouting new shoots that require pinning up across the office walls and ceiling nearly every day.

It hangs from computer monitors—and even has its own sponsorship deal. “It started off as a bit of a laugh but we wouldn’t be without it now. We’d have to get another one if it ever went,” Allie explains. The ivy grows at an impressive rate of six inches per month and covers almost the entire office of the Brennans Gloucester-based packaging company Des founded in 2006.

“We try to keep it off the desks so it doesn’t get in the way but it hangs down and is joined onto the monitors,” said Allie. “It makes a massive difference to the office. We can’t envision the place without it—it would be dire.”

The open-concept office plan only measures 50 by 25 square feet, meaning that the monstrous ivy has to crisscross the ceiling back over itself a few times. “It’s a big talking point when customers come in as well. People ask if it’s real but I’m not sure where we’d get a fake one this size.”

Allie added that the plant is very low-maintenance, requiring some feed and some water only once a week. The plant has even received a sponsorship deal from a gardening company called Gardening Naturally, which provides seaweed extract food to the office.

Although Allie suspects if the plant continues to grow they’ll have to “bring machetes to the office” to hack through the growth—she says staff love the greenery.

“It changes daily. Sometimes it’s a bit creepy coming in and seeing it changing again,” said Allie. “The most time it takes up is taking the time to pin up the new shoots. Over lockdown the office was manned the whole time, according to guidelines. It was still looked after and the office air was probably purified for it… Staff love it. If it was gone we’d all notice it and we’d just have to get another.”

Now, my first response to this article is simply to say, “Wow!” Kudos to all those involved in nurturing this monstrous plant! Given that both my wife and I are among the very people the writer refers to as lacking green thumbs, the two of us stand amazed that most any indoor plant can be made to survive, let alone thrive for so long and for so much.

You see, for all intents and purposes, the two of us might as well run a plant hospice at our home. Just give us a house plant and we will quickly and assuredly nurture it right out of this world and into the next! And this, all in quick fashion!

All jokes aside, being made to survive and to thrive indoors is an understatement when it comes to living a decade and a half and increasing many hundred-fold in size during that same time period! After all, how can any indoor plant possibly achieve such longevity and /or productivity?

The answer, of course, is that one or more individuals must have always been there to nurture it! He, she, or they will have to had to have continuously fed it, watered it, fertilized it, repotted it, pruned it, and/or done any other tasks necessary to direct it in its continued overall growth pattern. So much so that the logical conclusion is that without such ongoing care and cultivation, it just would never have reached its current outstanding proportions.

And perhaps, in this simple insight, lies a lesson for all of us about life. As humans, we often have a propensity to take things into our lives as individuals that are, at the beginning, relatively small and seemingly insignificant. Over time, however, we tend to obsess over them; and as a result, we continue to nurture them. As we do, they then tend to grow in both size and significance.

Now none of this, in and of itself, is necessarily a bad thing. But neither is it necessarily a good thing. That all depends entirely upon the nature of whatever we have chosen to embrace and to value. If we embrace and nurture good things, they will grow within us and eventually tend to consume us. But if we embrace and nurture bad things, they will do likewise. In the latter case, we should beware!

In chapter 12 of the New Testament Gospel of Matthew, Jesus talks about a wicked spirit first taking up residence in the life of a person, and then later on, going out and finding seven other wicked spirits more wicked than itself to join it, making the final condition of that person far worse than at the first!

And so, my friends, be very careful with whatever you choose to fill your life. Be that the pursuit of a given possession or a given habit or a given pleasure or even of another given individual. For if you first embrace this entity, and then feed it and nurture it a little day by day, do not be surprised if and when it one days grows and abounds to the point that that it literally consumes you from the inside out!

STORY SOURCE:
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/plant-brought-to-the-office-14-years-ago-has-grown-into-600-foot-monster/.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE:
https://biblehub.com/matthew/12-45.htm.

SEE ALSO:
https://www.reference.com/business-finance/s-wallet-19c2cb5d428be010.

WHAT PRICE FREEDOM?

7/2/2023

Like so many of you, I have taken a few days off to be with my family over the days leading up to Independence Day. We have had quite a blast as all of my children, their spouses, and their children all joined my wife and me at my sister’s lake house down in Alabama.

Now add her, her husband, her sons, their spouses, and their children to the mix, and voila! You now have a lake house with 32 people present! I say house; but the truth is that it was more like property. At bedtime, we had people stretched out in bedrooms, living rooms, dens, porches, and even a camper outside in the driveway.

But while it was a little crowded at times, we managed to get by each and every night until the sun came up. Thereupon, we spread out in a dozen places, from the dock to the water to the floats to the wake boat to the pontoon boat to the water skis to the tubes to the Jet Ski… Well, you get the point. If it happens on the lake in the summer time, we have pretty much partaken.

In fact, about the only reason we left the lake in the daylight hours at all was to indulge in all manner of culinary delights. Hot dogs, hamburgers, smoked pork, barbecue, taco salad, low country boil, buffalo chicken dip, guacamole spinach dip, pizza, chicken and dumplings, and even one night with what one comedian famously termed “broke food”, consisting of fried SPAM and macaroni & cheese!

Of course, no gourmet spread, however delicious, is complete without after-dinner entertainment. And so, we undertook such pleasantries as Jenga, Spades, Mexican Train, Eight Ball, and the working of puzzles, to name but a few. We even streamed a Hollywood Blockbuster or two along the way. All in all, it was a pretty good time!

But as the week progressed, I was increasingly reminded that all that we were enjoying came at quite a price. As we cruised up and down the lake and saw the multitude of American Flags and similar patriotic items on display, I could not help but remember that all the blessings we were enjoying were bought with a price by others who preceded us.

This was brought home to me even further when, on the way home, my wife and I stopped by the cemetery where so many of my forbears are interned. As is our custom, we proceeded to clean the graves of all of my parents and grandparents. When I came to the grave of my great uncle, Andrew Clyde Jackson, I was particularly distressed.

The fast-growing centipede grass which permeates the cemetery had overtaken the marker at the base of his grave, all but obliterating his designation as a World War Two Soldier in the United States Army. Knowing, as I do, the rest of the story – that he fought in the infamous Battle of the Bulge itself – I was aghast at my discovery. Frantically, I began tearing away at the shoots of grass. I did not stop until I had completely cleared the marker of this obstruction.

Why? Because I knew that he was one of millions of individuals who laid it all on the line in order that future generations of Americans like my family and me might forever be free, and also that we might celebrate that fact with much enjoyment! As long as it is within my power, his memory and what all he did on our behalf will not be erased!

As you prepare to celebrate Independence Day and the freedom you enjoy as an American, I leave you with a verse of Scripture and a poem.

The verse of Scripture is from the Gospel of John, chapter 15, verse 13, in which Jesus tells us that one’s willingness to sacrifice himself on behalf of others is the single greatest expression of love that there is.

The poem is one composed by retired Coast Guard officer Kelly Strong when he was a senior at Homestead High School in Homestead, Florida, serving as a Junior ROTC cadet. It was written as a tribute to his father, a career marine who served two tours in Vietnam, and is titled “Freedom Isn’t Free”.

I watched the flag pass by one day,
It fluttered in the breeze;
A young Marine saluted it,
And then he stood at ease.

I looked at him in uniform,
So young, so tall, so proud;
With hair cut square and eyes alert,
He’d stand out in any crowd.

I thought . . . how many men like him,
Had fallen through the years?
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers’ tears?

How many pilots’ planes shot down,
How many died at sea,
How many foxholes were soldiers’ graves,
No, Freedom is not Free.

I heard the sound of Taps one night,
When everything was still;
I listened to the bugler play,
And felt a sudden chill;

I wondered just how many times,
That Taps had meant "Amen",
When a flag had draped a coffin,
Of a brother or a friend;

I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands,
With interrupted lives.

I thought about a graveyard,
At the bottom of the sea,
Of unmarked graves in Arlington,
No. Freedom is not Free!

POEM SOURCE:

https://www.yourdailypoem.com/listpoem.jsp?poem_id=384.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE:

https://biblehub.com/john/15-13.htm.

HONEST TO GOODNESS!

6/25/2023

If I’m honest, I can honestly say that I was honestly taken aback by John Johnson’s story posted earlier today on www.Newswer.com. Honest! Maybe you will be too. Honest! You see, his article was titled “Leading Honesty Scholar Accused of Dishonesty”. And, to be honest, the sub-title only served to further intrigue me: “Peers Say Renowned Harvard Researcher Fudged Data in Multiple Studies”.

Now, be honest here. In your honest opinion, can you believe what I read? It’s honestly quite disturbing. According to Johnson…

A behavioral scientist at Harvard Business School who is considered to be one of the leading scholars on honesty has been accused of fabricating data in multiple studies, reports Science. Francesco Gino has been called out by three peers in behavioral science at the data investigation blog Data Colada, per the Harvard Crimson. The trio says they have found evidence so far of bogus data in four studies, but "we believe that many more Gino-authored papers contain fake data," they write. One is a famous 2012 paper asserting that people are more likely to be honest when filling out tax and insurance forms if they are asked to attest to the truth of their statements at the top of the form rather than the bottom.

The odd thing is that the paper already had been retracted because of fraudulent data by another of its co-authors. But Gino's contribution to the paper is now in doubt as well, reports the Chronicle of Higher Education. "That's right: Two different people independently faked data for two different studies in a paper about dishonesty," write Uri Simonsohn, Joseph Simmons, and Leif Nelson in their Data Colada post. Gino is now on administrative leave and has not commented on the controversy. Nor has HBS.

"It's obviously something that is very sensitive that we can't speak to now," a man who identified himself as Gino's husband told the New York Times by phone. The controversy has rocked the academic world of behavioral science because Gino has "so many collaborators, so many articles, (and) is really a leading scholar in the field," says Maurice Schweitzer at the Wharton School. Schweitzer himself is now going over eight studies he co-authored with Gino, and other scholars in the field are doing the same.

The honest truth is that all of this is more than a little troubling. One small error in research might be considered an honest mistake, and thus forgivable. But honestly, dishonesty in four different studies relating to honesty? The poor academician would have been far better off to do an honest day’s work rather be dishonest in is research.

At least that way, even with the name of Francesco, he would still be considered an honest John! And whatever he got in remuneration for his work, at least it would have been considered an honest buck!

Now, be honest, at this point, are you tired of all the honesty puns? I honestly hope so, because at this point, I have all but exhausted my phrase thesaurus of honesty idioms!

And yet, I must say it one more time. If you are honest, you are probably not only tired of the honesty puns here, but also of the headlines being filled with stories just such as this one documenting the impugning of honesty in modern culture!

Let’s be honest! Dishonesty has become almost as prevalent, if not more so, than honesty itself. Far too many in the field of research lie. Far too many in the field of media lie. Far too many in the field of politics lie. Far too many in the field of academia lie. Far too many in the field of politics lie. Far too many in the field of jurisprudence lie. Far too many in the field of commerce lie. Far too many in the field of athletics lie. And sadly, if we would be honest, far too many in the field of religion also lie.

It is as if the practice of dishonesty has become an art form; and we seem to pride ourselves on our ability to distort the truth with the subtlest of methods and in the most delicate of ways. And yet, if we would but honestly be honest with ourselves, all of this is done to our shame!

You see, there was a time in Western Civilization when virtue reigned supreme. When it did, the pursuit of truth was paramount among those virtues, and considered commendable among all. Would that our world still believed this! Alas, the almost universal embracing of dishonesty has all but vanquished the telling of truth!

But whether or not the world any longer embraces the truth, those of us who follow Jesus Christ do. And indeed, we must! For it is in the Word of God that we read such fundamental admonitions as these:

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:16)

“There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers. My son, keep your father's commandment, and forsake not your mother's teaching.” (Proverbs 6:16-20)

“Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight.” (Proverbs 12:22)

“A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends.” (Proverbs 16:28)

“Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool.” (Proverbs 19:1)

“The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.” (Proverbs 11:3)

“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” (Ephesians 4:25)

“Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices.” (Colossians 3:9)

“Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” (1 Peter 3:10-12)

And above all, what we read in Philippians 4:8-9...

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”

Now, be honest… In light of all these things, should not we who follow Jesus Christ practice more honesty in our dealings with others, with ourselves, and with our God?

I, for one, honestly think we should!

Honest, I do!

STORY SOURCE:

https://www.newser.com/story/336909/leading-honesty-scholar-accused-of-dishonesty.html.

SCRIPTURES:

https://www.openbible.info/topics/honesty.

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