I have written this for women. Men of course can read this but this message is something they already know. I am not giving away some great secret about men, I am just revealing to you ladies some insight into what makes us tick. I want to talk about the four elements essential to man. I will not even keep you in suspense. The four elements are Earth, Wind, Fire and Water.
Earth, Wind, Fire and Water. That’s it! That’s the secret. We can all go home now. Not really. I want to explore these essential elements and tell you why they are so important.
A man needs to shape the earth. That’s why our forefathers starting cutting down trees as soon as we landed at Jamestown. We want to use the resources of the land and reshape our property. We plant trees, prune trees, move bushes and make “natural areas” in our yards. A man needs to get involved in the earth beneath his feet. Earth is one of the essential elements a man needs.
A man needs to feel the wind in his face. I like to ride with the windows down even on a hot summer day just to feel the warmth and wind against me. Men like to sail, drive convertibles, ride bikes, run or just stand facing the wind and lean into it. We like to challenge something bigger than ourselves and taunt it. That is one of the reasons you see men outside walking in a hurricane. You don’t see women outside walking around in a storm with 100 mph gust of wind. It’s usually a man who is walking around taunting the wind, leaning into it and hearing my wife say, “You need to come inside!”
A man needs to be near fire. Building a fire, stoking a fire, starting a fire, chopping wood. Fire is primeval for us. We go way back with fire. Our ancestors were responsible for keeping the family warm and we still claim that responsibility. We also like building a fire in a fireplace, grilling on the patio, burning trash in a barrel. I live in the county and want to put a barrel in the back yard for burning boxes, odd size limbs, construction wood, etc. I ask my lovely wife Patty what size barrel I could have to burn in and she say they don’t make them that small! So I have to settle for burning steaks and hamburgers on the grill and using the chimenia. Chimenia, what a sissy name for a fireplace!
Patty and I were having dinner with some friends; Roger and Topsy. I asked Roger how his week had been. He said it had been good and that he had gone to their place in the mountains for a few days of chores. He said he likes to go up there every couple of months and look the place over good, make any needed repairs and gather up all the dropped branches or fallen trees and burn off the brush. My eyes lit up as he said this! A real honest to God fire… in the woods! He said right before he was ready to light the fire, it began to drizzle. Just enough rain to wet the ground but not enough to dampen the fire. Now I was really excited! Just imagine how much fun it would be to help Roger burn a large pile of limbs and brush. The crackle of the fire and smell of the smoke getting into your clothes and pores and nose. Can you smell it?
I told Roger I could see myself out their in the slight rain, smelling the smoke, hearing the crackle of the fire, feeling the warmth of it. What would make it perfect would be about two fingers of Tennessee sipping whiskey in a red plastic Dixie cup. That’s heaven on earth!
Water is the fourth element and the easiest to understand. We are carried in water and born in water! We need it to live and we need it often. We use it for everything. Most humans live near water. We live near the ocean, creeks, lakes, rivers or access to them. It is calming to hear the babble of a brook, lapping of the waves against a pier or crashing against the shore.
To be on the water is to feel small, to feel challenged. Water can also be tamed and redirected. I was challenged in my neighborhood with storm water issues which we eventually solved. It was a great challenge but we tamed the flooding and solved the problem!
If you combine these four elements together, you have sailing, camping, and a host of outdoor activities that allow us to leave the comfort of our own homes for the “wilds” of nature and the challenge of taming nature. Today’s lifestyle has conquered most of our pioneer ancestor’s struggles. We have technologies which make easy work of the hardest tasks they had to do. What is still a challenge is the four elements which men need to feel like men.
So that is a brief description of the four elements essential to man. Next time you see a man, perhaps your man, “messin” with earth, wind, fire or water; don’t give him a hard time about it. If someone asks why he is doing what he is doing, just tell them he is dealing with the essential elements which make him a man. Tell them, “It’s a guy thing.”
Oh, by the way, there is one other element essential to man but I will save it for another time. That element is “The Fifth Element”.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
The Perfect Christmas Tree
One week in early December, my wife Patty and I went out to look for a Christmas tree. Every year we make this pilgrimage. We go out on a quest for the “perfect tree”. My lovely wife Patty is not a perfectionist but she does know perfection when she sees it. She is a shopper who will look at everything in the store to determine the perfect article.
I learned this about her when I proposed to her. When I popped the question, I did not give her a ring as I knew she would want input on the ring and I was right, for once! We looked at every ring in Wilmington and I was almost ready to hire some diamond mine workers to go looking in South Africa when she found one she couldn’t put down. Success at last!
So now we are off to find the perfect tree and we go to the tree lot at Pine Valley Methodist Church in Wilmington, NC where we have been successful for several years in a row. This has become a ritual for us. I’ve learned to take the tree stand with us so the guy can cut the bottom of the tree to fit the stand which makes it easier on me when we get it home.
So that is step one, get the tree stand, get in the truck and get to the tree lot. Step two is a little more labor intensive. Step two is to look at every tree on the lot and compare the attributes of the trees. Attributes you say? Yes, there are many attributes to a tree.
The attributes are:
· Height. Taller than me but not so tall it touches the ceiling,
· Shape. Full but not fat. Proportional in shape from bottom to top. Not like a weeble and not skinny at the top.
· Branches should be firm and holding strong.
· Moisture. Needles must be flexible and not so dry that they fall off in your hand.
· Color. Green with no brown patches.
· Scent. The tree should smell Christmassy!
· Dialog. It also helps if the tree actually says, “Buy me; I will make your house a Christmas Home!”
So here I am, picking up every tree on the lot, spinning them around and looking at the attributes. As we are doing this, I have an epiphany, a revelation! Here Patty and I are searching for the perfect tree for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ and it hits me, just how much of an imperfect people we are searching for the perfect tree to honor the perfect man. Wow!
I further realize just how imperfect I would measure up if someone were picking me off of a lot like we are grading the trees in our selection. I am tall but my shape is not proportional. I have brown patches different than the rest of my skin. My needles are falling out. I am droopy and let’s just leave it at that. If I were a tree, would you buy me? Patty did!
But this is not my message. I am standing in the tree lot, spinning trees and I am struck by the savior’s love for us that as perfect as he was (and is) his compassion extends to the lowest of us, to me. The message is so simple and so clear to me that my feeble brain gets it right away.
As human beings we should strive for perfection!
We should encourage it,
We should demand it,
We should reward it,
We should promote it.
We should strive for perfection in ourselves, in our families, in our fellow man.
Yet while we are raising the bar, rising up to higher limits we should not decrease your span of tolerance of those who are imperfect. As our success increases, so should our compassion for those left behind, those less than perfect. So should our reach to those who are less fortunate, those who are in need.
The quest for the perfect tree may not lead to a perfect tree. That is okay because the quest is more important than the tree. The journey is more important than the destination. If I had talked Patty into picking the first tree we came to that day I would have missed a valuable lesson. I would have missed the humbling experience of how imperfect I measure up even to a good tree. I would have missed the reminder about the journey being more important than the destination.
I hope you enjoy the blessings of family and friends this holiday season. I hope you live richly and with warmth, happiness and love. I want you to know and be reminded often that God loves us all and wants us to love each other.
Remember that and remind others of this message when you see a PERFECT TREE!
I learned this about her when I proposed to her. When I popped the question, I did not give her a ring as I knew she would want input on the ring and I was right, for once! We looked at every ring in Wilmington and I was almost ready to hire some diamond mine workers to go looking in South Africa when she found one she couldn’t put down. Success at last!
So now we are off to find the perfect tree and we go to the tree lot at Pine Valley Methodist Church in Wilmington, NC where we have been successful for several years in a row. This has become a ritual for us. I’ve learned to take the tree stand with us so the guy can cut the bottom of the tree to fit the stand which makes it easier on me when we get it home.
So that is step one, get the tree stand, get in the truck and get to the tree lot. Step two is a little more labor intensive. Step two is to look at every tree on the lot and compare the attributes of the trees. Attributes you say? Yes, there are many attributes to a tree.
The attributes are:
· Height. Taller than me but not so tall it touches the ceiling,
· Shape. Full but not fat. Proportional in shape from bottom to top. Not like a weeble and not skinny at the top.
· Branches should be firm and holding strong.
· Moisture. Needles must be flexible and not so dry that they fall off in your hand.
· Color. Green with no brown patches.
· Scent. The tree should smell Christmassy!
· Dialog. It also helps if the tree actually says, “Buy me; I will make your house a Christmas Home!”
So here I am, picking up every tree on the lot, spinning them around and looking at the attributes. As we are doing this, I have an epiphany, a revelation! Here Patty and I are searching for the perfect tree for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ and it hits me, just how much of an imperfect people we are searching for the perfect tree to honor the perfect man. Wow!
I further realize just how imperfect I would measure up if someone were picking me off of a lot like we are grading the trees in our selection. I am tall but my shape is not proportional. I have brown patches different than the rest of my skin. My needles are falling out. I am droopy and let’s just leave it at that. If I were a tree, would you buy me? Patty did!
But this is not my message. I am standing in the tree lot, spinning trees and I am struck by the savior’s love for us that as perfect as he was (and is) his compassion extends to the lowest of us, to me. The message is so simple and so clear to me that my feeble brain gets it right away.
As human beings we should strive for perfection!
We should encourage it,
We should demand it,
We should reward it,
We should promote it.
We should strive for perfection in ourselves, in our families, in our fellow man.
Yet while we are raising the bar, rising up to higher limits we should not decrease your span of tolerance of those who are imperfect. As our success increases, so should our compassion for those left behind, those less than perfect. So should our reach to those who are less fortunate, those who are in need.
The quest for the perfect tree may not lead to a perfect tree. That is okay because the quest is more important than the tree. The journey is more important than the destination. If I had talked Patty into picking the first tree we came to that day I would have missed a valuable lesson. I would have missed the humbling experience of how imperfect I measure up even to a good tree. I would have missed the reminder about the journey being more important than the destination.
I hope you enjoy the blessings of family and friends this holiday season. I hope you live richly and with warmth, happiness and love. I want you to know and be reminded often that God loves us all and wants us to love each other.
Remember that and remind others of this message when you see a PERFECT TREE!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
The Older Woman
As a high school junior, I considered myself no better or worse than my peers. I enjoyed school as much as a teenage boy could and life was routine. That was until I met The Older Woman!
I think every adolescent boy fantasizes about having a relationship with an older and experienced woman. Just a fantasy, a passing daydream and then forgotten right? WRONG!
In high school, I was pretty much a loner. I had friends and I enjoyed their company but I liked being by myself also. I had a job as the janitor at the church next to New Hanover High School so during my lunch break from school; I would go over to the church and do assorted chores so I could get home earlier in the afternoon.
For lunch everyday, I would walk down to the Krispy Kreme Doughnut Shop and buy a half-dozen doughnuts. That and a 16-ounce Coke and I was in business! I had a fairly simple life right? School, doughnuts, janitorial chores, school. Then one day, the cycle was shattered.
On an ordinary day, I was heading for the Krispy Kreme with nothing on my mind and nothing in my belly (kind of the way I was after eating half a dozen doughnuts).
I walked into the doughnut shop and there stood behind the counter a beautiful young woman! She was a new waitress and very enthusiastic! I looked at her smiling face, gave her my order and when I paid for the doughnuts, she curtsied as she said, “Thank you.” She was pretty!
I forgot about her though. I had doughnuts and a Coke. What more could a boy want? I was soon to find out what a boy, a teenage boy wanted.
The next day it was the same routine. There was school, lunch break and on my way to the doughnut shop. I walked in… and she was standing there with this big mischievous smile on her face and a bag of doughnuts in her hand. She said, "Six crullers right?" I stood there with the change rattling in my hand, very dumbfounded and said, "Right." I gave her the money, she said, “Thank you” and I left smiling also.
I walked about a block back toward my lunchtime chores thinking how sweet it was that she had my order ready and how pretty she was. Then I looked down at the bag of doughnuts in my hand and saw a phone number on the bag. Her phone number!
Now in high school, I was not naïve about the birds and the bees or the relationship between men and women…I WAS STEWWPID!
This older woman wanted me and she must have known I was stupid yet she wanted ME. I was going to learn about the birds and the bees, about the relationship between men and women from a beautiful older woman who wanted to teach me. A woman of the world! An experienced woman!
I would be the envy of my peers! Girls would notice my savoir-faire. I was bound for glory!!!!
Then it hit me. I was beginning to realize what all of this meant. I hadn't expected this attention, this tutoring. It was all happening too fast. This was too much, too soon! My head was spinning and my vision began to blur. I felt weak in my knees and it was suddenly getting dark. All this was happening while I was walking back to my job. I thought I was going to pass out so I grabbed a tree and tried to compose myself.
Now about this time, my older sister and some of her friends drove by on their way to lunch. They saw me and one of them said, "Penny, what is your brother doing standing there hugging that tree?" She didn't even look up. Her reply was, "He's seventeen! He's an idiot! Leave him alone."
I somehow made my way back to the church where I worked and I ate the doughnuts in the bag but I don't remember tasting anything. I was looking at the phone number and feeling excited and frightened about how my life was going to change.
Then I got scared! I was scared to call the number. I didn’t know her name but I had her phone number, proof positive she wanted me. Still I needed to know more. I decided I needed to know where she lived. Perhaps I needed to find out an impression of her from the look of her house. To make sure a motorcycle gang didn't live there and that she wasn't the leader's "main squeeze". I was uneducated in affairs of the heart. What was I going to do?
I decided I could look her number up in the phone book and get an address that way. It WAS a long shot. She may have an unlisted number. I was determined however to try. I decided I would start at the beginning and check every number in the Wilmington phone book until I found her phone number or got to the end of the book.
I got the phone book, opened it the page one and began going down the list of numbers. To my amazement, on the first page…on the first column… halfway down… was her number.
I said out loud, "THIS IS IT!" I ran my trembling finger over to the name and address. It was the ACE RED TOP CAB COMPANY. In a split second I came back to the real world. I realized what I was seeing. Someone needing a taxi had called information for the number and written it on the closest piece of paper which happed to be a doughnut bag. This bag became my doughnut bag.
All my dreams and fantasies evaporated like a puff of smoke and I was still STUPID about the birds and the bees, about women and I would remain that way a while longer.
That older woman made an impact on my life she never realized. I felt foolish, humble and safe again. Sometimes when I get too cocky, I think about the older woman and I remember how human I really am and this valuable lesson I learned so easily.
Let's look on the bright side! The lesson could have been much harder to learn. The phone number (which I was so determined to find) instead of being the Ace Red Top Cab Company could have belonged to the ZEBRA TAXI SERVICE!
Phil Brady
I think every adolescent boy fantasizes about having a relationship with an older and experienced woman. Just a fantasy, a passing daydream and then forgotten right? WRONG!
In high school, I was pretty much a loner. I had friends and I enjoyed their company but I liked being by myself also. I had a job as the janitor at the church next to New Hanover High School so during my lunch break from school; I would go over to the church and do assorted chores so I could get home earlier in the afternoon.
For lunch everyday, I would walk down to the Krispy Kreme Doughnut Shop and buy a half-dozen doughnuts. That and a 16-ounce Coke and I was in business! I had a fairly simple life right? School, doughnuts, janitorial chores, school. Then one day, the cycle was shattered.
On an ordinary day, I was heading for the Krispy Kreme with nothing on my mind and nothing in my belly (kind of the way I was after eating half a dozen doughnuts).
I walked into the doughnut shop and there stood behind the counter a beautiful young woman! She was a new waitress and very enthusiastic! I looked at her smiling face, gave her my order and when I paid for the doughnuts, she curtsied as she said, “Thank you.” She was pretty!
I forgot about her though. I had doughnuts and a Coke. What more could a boy want? I was soon to find out what a boy, a teenage boy wanted.
The next day it was the same routine. There was school, lunch break and on my way to the doughnut shop. I walked in… and she was standing there with this big mischievous smile on her face and a bag of doughnuts in her hand. She said, "Six crullers right?" I stood there with the change rattling in my hand, very dumbfounded and said, "Right." I gave her the money, she said, “Thank you” and I left smiling also.
I walked about a block back toward my lunchtime chores thinking how sweet it was that she had my order ready and how pretty she was. Then I looked down at the bag of doughnuts in my hand and saw a phone number on the bag. Her phone number!
Now in high school, I was not naïve about the birds and the bees or the relationship between men and women…I WAS STEWWPID!
This older woman wanted me and she must have known I was stupid yet she wanted ME. I was going to learn about the birds and the bees, about the relationship between men and women from a beautiful older woman who wanted to teach me. A woman of the world! An experienced woman!
I would be the envy of my peers! Girls would notice my savoir-faire. I was bound for glory!!!!
Then it hit me. I was beginning to realize what all of this meant. I hadn't expected this attention, this tutoring. It was all happening too fast. This was too much, too soon! My head was spinning and my vision began to blur. I felt weak in my knees and it was suddenly getting dark. All this was happening while I was walking back to my job. I thought I was going to pass out so I grabbed a tree and tried to compose myself.
Now about this time, my older sister and some of her friends drove by on their way to lunch. They saw me and one of them said, "Penny, what is your brother doing standing there hugging that tree?" She didn't even look up. Her reply was, "He's seventeen! He's an idiot! Leave him alone."
I somehow made my way back to the church where I worked and I ate the doughnuts in the bag but I don't remember tasting anything. I was looking at the phone number and feeling excited and frightened about how my life was going to change.
Then I got scared! I was scared to call the number. I didn’t know her name but I had her phone number, proof positive she wanted me. Still I needed to know more. I decided I needed to know where she lived. Perhaps I needed to find out an impression of her from the look of her house. To make sure a motorcycle gang didn't live there and that she wasn't the leader's "main squeeze". I was uneducated in affairs of the heart. What was I going to do?
I decided I could look her number up in the phone book and get an address that way. It WAS a long shot. She may have an unlisted number. I was determined however to try. I decided I would start at the beginning and check every number in the Wilmington phone book until I found her phone number or got to the end of the book.
I got the phone book, opened it the page one and began going down the list of numbers. To my amazement, on the first page…on the first column… halfway down… was her number.
I said out loud, "THIS IS IT!" I ran my trembling finger over to the name and address. It was the ACE RED TOP CAB COMPANY. In a split second I came back to the real world. I realized what I was seeing. Someone needing a taxi had called information for the number and written it on the closest piece of paper which happed to be a doughnut bag. This bag became my doughnut bag.
All my dreams and fantasies evaporated like a puff of smoke and I was still STUPID about the birds and the bees, about women and I would remain that way a while longer.
That older woman made an impact on my life she never realized. I felt foolish, humble and safe again. Sometimes when I get too cocky, I think about the older woman and I remember how human I really am and this valuable lesson I learned so easily.
Let's look on the bright side! The lesson could have been much harder to learn. The phone number (which I was so determined to find) instead of being the Ace Red Top Cab Company could have belonged to the ZEBRA TAXI SERVICE!
Phil Brady
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
The Inlet and the Beach
I was taking vacation day from work to have a “quiet day”. My spiritual growth class at church takes these days once a season to reflect. We have very specific rules to follow and are encouraged to leave home for the day and find a quiet place away from phones, chores, housework left undone. We are to go away if possible from the everyday world and be quiet.
We pray, we think, we listen, we don’t make a sound.
For my day I decided to go to Wrightsville Beach and be quiet. I took a beach chair, my Bible, my journal and settled in to be quiet. Once I got into my checklist and finished with my readings, I got quiet and almost nodded off.
To wake up, I took a walk down to the inlet at the north end and looked out at the ocean as I went. When I got to the inlet, I found a spot that had a deep drop off and squatted down at the edge of the water. I was amazed at what I found!
Looking into the water, I could see deep down the steep bank and I marveled at the life that existed. The current flowed out and minnows swam by, sometimes remaining stationary as they fought maintained their position against the current.
All sorts of creatures you usually cannot see in the surf were present. I parade of life flowing through the inlet. The water swirled about and I realized that God has truly made a wonderful world!
I left this place and began to walk back to my chair. Along the shore I walked over dead reeds, trash, shells and all sorts of junk. Everything was dead and the contrast to the inlet was revealing to me.
The sea throws up the dead on the shore. Life fights the waves to remain in the sea but the dead cannot.
It occurred to me that unlike this reflection, we as humans are saved not by our ability to fight the current but by our God. We cannot live on our own and that is why we are often afraid. Our God saves us when we release ourselves to him.
And that brings me to the following poem; The Inlet and the Beach.
The Inlet
The Inlet flows out,
Minnows school,
A Jelly fish swims by.
The water’s deep as
The current strengthens.
Fast moving vortexes
Twirl about.
Life, abundant life,
Moving to and fro.
Amazing life, in
Harmony with God’s plan.
With purpose, living,
Growing, dying, living.
The Beach
The high water mark
Reveals all that has died.
Cheap sunglasses, hinges rusting.
Broken reeds, broken shells,
A dried up crab…two!
The sea has rejected
That which it no longer needs.
What no longer lives,
The living sea throws out
What once was alive
And is now dead.
It will not relive as it is.
In Jesus,
We who were once dead
Are now alive.
Forever living by
His love, his grace.
The sea is living, the beach is dead.
No wonder we cling to the water’s edge!
Phil Brady
We pray, we think, we listen, we don’t make a sound.
For my day I decided to go to Wrightsville Beach and be quiet. I took a beach chair, my Bible, my journal and settled in to be quiet. Once I got into my checklist and finished with my readings, I got quiet and almost nodded off.
To wake up, I took a walk down to the inlet at the north end and looked out at the ocean as I went. When I got to the inlet, I found a spot that had a deep drop off and squatted down at the edge of the water. I was amazed at what I found!
Looking into the water, I could see deep down the steep bank and I marveled at the life that existed. The current flowed out and minnows swam by, sometimes remaining stationary as they fought maintained their position against the current.
All sorts of creatures you usually cannot see in the surf were present. I parade of life flowing through the inlet. The water swirled about and I realized that God has truly made a wonderful world!
I left this place and began to walk back to my chair. Along the shore I walked over dead reeds, trash, shells and all sorts of junk. Everything was dead and the contrast to the inlet was revealing to me.
The sea throws up the dead on the shore. Life fights the waves to remain in the sea but the dead cannot.
It occurred to me that unlike this reflection, we as humans are saved not by our ability to fight the current but by our God. We cannot live on our own and that is why we are often afraid. Our God saves us when we release ourselves to him.
And that brings me to the following poem; The Inlet and the Beach.
The Inlet
The Inlet flows out,
Minnows school,
A Jelly fish swims by.
The water’s deep as
The current strengthens.
Fast moving vortexes
Twirl about.
Life, abundant life,
Moving to and fro.
Amazing life, in
Harmony with God’s plan.
With purpose, living,
Growing, dying, living.
The Beach
The high water mark
Reveals all that has died.
Cheap sunglasses, hinges rusting.
Broken reeds, broken shells,
A dried up crab…two!
The sea has rejected
That which it no longer needs.
What no longer lives,
The living sea throws out
What once was alive
And is now dead.
It will not relive as it is.
In Jesus,
We who were once dead
Are now alive.
Forever living by
His love, his grace.
The sea is living, the beach is dead.
No wonder we cling to the water’s edge!
Phil Brady
Saturday, March 8, 2008
The Circle of Life
I would like to tell you about Bob. Bob is my lovely wife Patty’s brother. I have listened to stories of Bob and one story in particular has given me a great idea. When Bob turned 40, he ran forty miles on his fortieth birthday. I was impressed. Now he didn't run 40 miles all at once. He got up before the crack of dawn and he ran about 10 miles before breakfast.
He had a good hearty meal, cooled down and then took off around 9:30 and ran another 6 miles. By Noon, he had run a distance of 16 miles. In the early afternoon, he took a short nap, handled a few errands and took off on another 10 miler. At ten o'clock that night, Bob was running and by midnight he had accomplished his goal of forty miles on his fortieth birthday.
Now his family thought he was crazy, insane, out of his tree for wanting to run forty miles in one day at the age of forty. I didn't think he was crazy. I saw Bob's vision. I saw the power of multiplying 40 with 40, the exponential power of stacking numbers. It causes forces, which are rarely understood to align for a release of energy greater than the input. It’s like all the planets lining up and pulling their gravitational fields together. The mind, body and spirit connect and not just with a slender thread but a wide pipeline to exchange information.
Just because we cannot explain something doesn't mean we cannot take advantage of it. Bob understood this and he was able to capitalize on it. I have thought about Bob's achievement and it has inspired me to do the same. I want to seize this power of aligning numbers to achieve my full potential. I have set a goal for myself and I want to share this goal with you.
But I’m not turning 40, I’m turning 50. On my Fiftieth birthday, I’m not running 40 miles. On my Fiftieth birthday, I am going to Krispy Kreme and I am going to eat 50 doughnuts. That’s right, 50 doughnuts!
Now I am not going to eat them all at once. I am going to start off with a dozen… and a half gallon of milk. Then I am quietly going to doze off in a sugar coma and have a nice nappy. After the initial dozen and doze, I may eat a half dozen with a cup of coffee. I will walk around the building and maybe go to over to the mall for a few minutes. It's going to be a great day!
I was telling a friend of mine about my plan and she said, "Let me know what day you're going to do this and I will come by and have a doughnut with you." Many other people have said the same thing. Now my big concern is traffic flow in and around the Krispy Kreme. Do we need a shuttle service from the mall? This thing is growing exponentially. Do you see the numbers at work?
Now I can't just go to Krispy Kreme and sit down and eat 50 doughnuts. This takes strategy. It takes training. Strategy is the pacing. How many per hour? How many bites per doughnut? This is not a place for children or the weak.
As I begin to train, I may start off with a dozen a day and work up to eating two to three dozen a day. This is really a summer time sport but I need to do this in January so training, diet and exercise need to be planned for the winter.
I hope you will wish me well in my quest for the fifty on my Fiftieth. You are all invited to come to Krispy Kreme on South College Road on January 5th, to join me in one of the sweetest pleasures of life. If there is something better than a Krispy Kreme doughnut, frankly I don’t want to know about it!
Now what have I really been talking about? What is the message here? Is it about doughnuts? It could be? Is it just for fun? It could be that too. But it could also be about taking an event that many people do not want to think about and anticipating it, celebrating it, looking forward to it. I hope to create (in my birthday extravaganza) a way to rejoice in the things we cannot stop, like aging.
To make fun what is considered ordinary or what we consider a “reluctant milestone”. This brings me to my slogan for next year, “I'm damn near fifty and I've got the empty doughnut boxes to prove it!"
As the milestones come in our life, let's prepare and embrace them with gusto! Let's look forward to every day, every birthday.
· Don't despair about what you didn't do.
· Reflect on what you did and what you have learned.
· If you do that, what you didn't do is now what you have left to do.
Life is a gift. It is a sweet gift to be savored.
And so is a doughnut.
Footnote: I wrote this in 2001 a couple of years before turning 50. My wife and I had lots of fun talking about this “speech” I gave to my Toastmasters International club. When I turned 50, my lovely wife Patty threw me a surprise birthday party at Krispy Kreme with a “cake” made up of 50 doughnuts of different colors and toppings. We all wore the paper Krispy Kreme hats and it was great! Phil.
He had a good hearty meal, cooled down and then took off around 9:30 and ran another 6 miles. By Noon, he had run a distance of 16 miles. In the early afternoon, he took a short nap, handled a few errands and took off on another 10 miler. At ten o'clock that night, Bob was running and by midnight he had accomplished his goal of forty miles on his fortieth birthday.
Now his family thought he was crazy, insane, out of his tree for wanting to run forty miles in one day at the age of forty. I didn't think he was crazy. I saw Bob's vision. I saw the power of multiplying 40 with 40, the exponential power of stacking numbers. It causes forces, which are rarely understood to align for a release of energy greater than the input. It’s like all the planets lining up and pulling their gravitational fields together. The mind, body and spirit connect and not just with a slender thread but a wide pipeline to exchange information.
Just because we cannot explain something doesn't mean we cannot take advantage of it. Bob understood this and he was able to capitalize on it. I have thought about Bob's achievement and it has inspired me to do the same. I want to seize this power of aligning numbers to achieve my full potential. I have set a goal for myself and I want to share this goal with you.
But I’m not turning 40, I’m turning 50. On my Fiftieth birthday, I’m not running 40 miles. On my Fiftieth birthday, I am going to Krispy Kreme and I am going to eat 50 doughnuts. That’s right, 50 doughnuts!
Now I am not going to eat them all at once. I am going to start off with a dozen… and a half gallon of milk. Then I am quietly going to doze off in a sugar coma and have a nice nappy. After the initial dozen and doze, I may eat a half dozen with a cup of coffee. I will walk around the building and maybe go to over to the mall for a few minutes. It's going to be a great day!
I was telling a friend of mine about my plan and she said, "Let me know what day you're going to do this and I will come by and have a doughnut with you." Many other people have said the same thing. Now my big concern is traffic flow in and around the Krispy Kreme. Do we need a shuttle service from the mall? This thing is growing exponentially. Do you see the numbers at work?
Now I can't just go to Krispy Kreme and sit down and eat 50 doughnuts. This takes strategy. It takes training. Strategy is the pacing. How many per hour? How many bites per doughnut? This is not a place for children or the weak.
As I begin to train, I may start off with a dozen a day and work up to eating two to three dozen a day. This is really a summer time sport but I need to do this in January so training, diet and exercise need to be planned for the winter.
I hope you will wish me well in my quest for the fifty on my Fiftieth. You are all invited to come to Krispy Kreme on South College Road on January 5th, to join me in one of the sweetest pleasures of life. If there is something better than a Krispy Kreme doughnut, frankly I don’t want to know about it!
Now what have I really been talking about? What is the message here? Is it about doughnuts? It could be? Is it just for fun? It could be that too. But it could also be about taking an event that many people do not want to think about and anticipating it, celebrating it, looking forward to it. I hope to create (in my birthday extravaganza) a way to rejoice in the things we cannot stop, like aging.
To make fun what is considered ordinary or what we consider a “reluctant milestone”. This brings me to my slogan for next year, “I'm damn near fifty and I've got the empty doughnut boxes to prove it!"
As the milestones come in our life, let's prepare and embrace them with gusto! Let's look forward to every day, every birthday.
· Don't despair about what you didn't do.
· Reflect on what you did and what you have learned.
· If you do that, what you didn't do is now what you have left to do.
Life is a gift. It is a sweet gift to be savored.
And so is a doughnut.
Footnote: I wrote this in 2001 a couple of years before turning 50. My wife and I had lots of fun talking about this “speech” I gave to my Toastmasters International club. When I turned 50, my lovely wife Patty threw me a surprise birthday party at Krispy Kreme with a “cake” made up of 50 doughnuts of different colors and toppings. We all wore the paper Krispy Kreme hats and it was great! Phil.
Old Bricks and New Bricks
[Prelude. This message was given in my church, Covenant Moravian Church, Wilmington, NC in June, 2007. Our church has recently completed a building program to provide a new fellowship hall for our congregation. We also were between pastors and my fellow board members and I were taking turns giving the Sunday message.]
Today I want to talk about Unity in our church. I intend to do this by talking about old bricks and new bricks.
When our church was in the early stages of our last building project, I came over here one afternoon with a hammer and a chisel and removed some of the bricks which had been the steps to our old fellowship hall which was scheduled from removal. I removed these bricks because they have sentimental meaning to me.
Now about a dozen of those bricks occupy an honorable place in our garden. They hold up garden pots and provide a foundation for various planters. I like the fact that these old bricks are around our house.
I want to tell you what makes these bricks important to me. These are the same bricks that my parents trod across thousands of times coming to church, to Sunday school, to dinners and chores around the church. I carried my own children as babies into the church up those steps and across these bricks and years later followed them down those steps as young people stepping out into the world.
I walked across these bricks one day in April of 2000 and met my lovely wife Patty. That happened in our old fellowship hall which a few years ago; was disassembled, had wheels re-installed under it and was hauled away. Some of our members bid farewell to that old fellowship hall with joy and some of us bid farewell to it with tears.
It wasn’t just an old building; it was a structure of our church’s history and to me represented memories of the members who over the years have passed through it. Many of the members who helped bring that building into a reality have passed on to their eternal reward. Many have moved on to other churches in other towns and states. The congregation which started that building is no more and that congregation was replaced by another congregation which built the original version of the building we are in now. A good portion of the congregation which built this original building has also moved on to their reward or moved to other churches.
Now we have another group of people here today who are new to Covenant. They (in a sense) are the new bricks and represented by the bricks from the batch which encloses this newly renovated building. This new group of members and the ones yet to come will be a part of this new congregation for which our most recent building project was intended to provide.
So here we have two kinds of bricks; the old bricks and the new bricks. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I am an old brick. Recent members to our congregation and those yet to come would be the new bricks. Now here is the question, “How do we get the old bricks and the new bricks to bond together to be the church God wants us to be?” That’s the question isn’t it? How do we embrace one another and stick together?
Fortunately, the scripture can help us.
Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:
1Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, 3being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling;”
Paul tells us to act in a manner worthy of being followers of God. To be humble, gentle, patient, tolerant and show love for one another.
In Matthew 7, the gospels says,
24"Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.
25"And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.
26"Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
27"The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell--and great was its fall."
If we follow Matthew’s advice, we should act in unity so that our church’s foundation built on love can withstand the pressures of storms and remain whole, remain one.
In Colossians 3: 12-17 we hear;
12”So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;
13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.
14Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.
15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.”
Here Paul is reminding us we were chosen to be God’s people and of our responsibility to be compassionate, kind, humble, gentle and patient. He goes on to instruct us to forgive one another “just as the Lord forgave you”. Finally Paul says to put on love “which is the perfect bond of unity.”
There are perhaps many mixtures for old bricks to be bonded to the new bricks. I am not a brick mason so I don’t know the compounds used but bonding mixtures can cement the old to the new so the foundation will be strong.
For us as Christians, we are called to stick together, to be united, to love one another, to forgive one another and to let the “peace of Christ rule in our hearts”.
Over the next few months our church faces great change. We will be getting an interim minister to work with the church board and minister to us as a congregation. The board will be talking to congregation members to listen and take note of your concerns, your needs and your desires for our church.
Our new building project has been completed.
The bricks and mortar of the building are set fast.
Now we must set the bond between of our fellow brothers and sisters.
We must hold fast to one another in a bond of unity.
The mortar we will need to use to bond to one another is love.
Amen. Thanks be to God.
Today I want to talk about Unity in our church. I intend to do this by talking about old bricks and new bricks.
When our church was in the early stages of our last building project, I came over here one afternoon with a hammer and a chisel and removed some of the bricks which had been the steps to our old fellowship hall which was scheduled from removal. I removed these bricks because they have sentimental meaning to me.
Now about a dozen of those bricks occupy an honorable place in our garden. They hold up garden pots and provide a foundation for various planters. I like the fact that these old bricks are around our house.
I want to tell you what makes these bricks important to me. These are the same bricks that my parents trod across thousands of times coming to church, to Sunday school, to dinners and chores around the church. I carried my own children as babies into the church up those steps and across these bricks and years later followed them down those steps as young people stepping out into the world.
I walked across these bricks one day in April of 2000 and met my lovely wife Patty. That happened in our old fellowship hall which a few years ago; was disassembled, had wheels re-installed under it and was hauled away. Some of our members bid farewell to that old fellowship hall with joy and some of us bid farewell to it with tears.
It wasn’t just an old building; it was a structure of our church’s history and to me represented memories of the members who over the years have passed through it. Many of the members who helped bring that building into a reality have passed on to their eternal reward. Many have moved on to other churches in other towns and states. The congregation which started that building is no more and that congregation was replaced by another congregation which built the original version of the building we are in now. A good portion of the congregation which built this original building has also moved on to their reward or moved to other churches.
Now we have another group of people here today who are new to Covenant. They (in a sense) are the new bricks and represented by the bricks from the batch which encloses this newly renovated building. This new group of members and the ones yet to come will be a part of this new congregation for which our most recent building project was intended to provide.
So here we have two kinds of bricks; the old bricks and the new bricks. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I am an old brick. Recent members to our congregation and those yet to come would be the new bricks. Now here is the question, “How do we get the old bricks and the new bricks to bond together to be the church God wants us to be?” That’s the question isn’t it? How do we embrace one another and stick together?
Fortunately, the scripture can help us.
Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:
1Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, 3being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling;”
Paul tells us to act in a manner worthy of being followers of God. To be humble, gentle, patient, tolerant and show love for one another.
In Matthew 7, the gospels says,
24"Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.
25"And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.
26"Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
27"The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell--and great was its fall."
If we follow Matthew’s advice, we should act in unity so that our church’s foundation built on love can withstand the pressures of storms and remain whole, remain one.
In Colossians 3: 12-17 we hear;
12”So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;
13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.
14Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.
15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.”
Here Paul is reminding us we were chosen to be God’s people and of our responsibility to be compassionate, kind, humble, gentle and patient. He goes on to instruct us to forgive one another “just as the Lord forgave you”. Finally Paul says to put on love “which is the perfect bond of unity.”
There are perhaps many mixtures for old bricks to be bonded to the new bricks. I am not a brick mason so I don’t know the compounds used but bonding mixtures can cement the old to the new so the foundation will be strong.
For us as Christians, we are called to stick together, to be united, to love one another, to forgive one another and to let the “peace of Christ rule in our hearts”.
Over the next few months our church faces great change. We will be getting an interim minister to work with the church board and minister to us as a congregation. The board will be talking to congregation members to listen and take note of your concerns, your needs and your desires for our church.
Our new building project has been completed.
The bricks and mortar of the building are set fast.
Now we must set the bond between of our fellow brothers and sisters.
We must hold fast to one another in a bond of unity.
The mortar we will need to use to bond to one another is love.
Amen. Thanks be to God.
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