King Charles the Homeless

King Charles is a homeless man that lives in a one bedroom apartment. He is lonely surrounded by people. He was once 45. He doesn’t remember the year. He doesn’t eat much. He would eat TV dinners but doesn’t have a TV.  His meal of choice is Absolut soup. Technology scans him so he refuses light bulbs and listens to the radio in the dark, unplugged as it is. King Charles is my friend but doesn’t know my name. He sees me through the door hole. He says it fogs me and he sees my soul. He had no parents at 4 and was raised in a state home to protect him from his enemies.  

He says he is from England but has never been out of Kansas. 

King Charles always speaks the truth. I believe him. He is a homeless man that lives in a one bedroom apartment. 

-A. Quintin Smith 

The 21 most powerful phases in the English language

20. Where are you?
19. What are you doing here?
18. Why did you do that?
17. When will you be here?
16. Who are you?
15. What's in it for me?
14. How much?
13. Let's negotiate a deal.
12. Are you in love?
11. You are wrong.
10. I remember you.
09. You are worth it.
08. I cannot live without you.
07. Don't lie to me.
06. Tell the truth.
05. Yes.
04.  You are right.
03. I believe.
02.I love you.
01. I forgive you.
0. NO.

Life is full of phrases. Some are acceptable. Some are abhor-able. All carry power. But most people use them with imprudence. The most powerful phrases are the ones that give credence to the person you are speaking too.  NO is the only exception. It has the power to stop a relationship in its tracks. It is the most powerful word used in negotiation. It takes away value from the other person. Yes one word has that much power.
Why do we pick a word that has so much negativity as our most powerful word?  It also provides distance and security. It is the only word in the English language that does so with impunity.

People hate to be told no. It provides a number of emotional responses that are not always acceptable. If people are told no enough they will choose to separate themselves from the negativity eventually. They will seek a yes, you are right, I believe, I love you or I forgive you. They will find more positive answers and phrases. NO may be the most powerful phrase but the user must be prepared for the separation to come. Most but not all NOs soften over time.



What power words do you use?

Missing a Beautiful Day

It was a couple of days ago. I was outside. It was cold and the wind was blowing as I worked. I passed a man younger than I (me). He was bundled in coat, gloves, cap and scarf. Arms wrapped around his body. Cursing the cold. Bitter with each trudging step. Out of no where a man younger than him (I) passed us both. Running. Hat and gloves but little more than that. He sang out loud. A smile on his face. Ear-buds in his ears. Strong powerful strides with intent. Loving the world around him. Breathing deeply and enjoying life. I thought what a fool...
No not this younger man but the older of the two. He was missing a beautiful day. It suddenly didn't feel as cold outside. The wind was not as piercing as I thought. The world seemed a little brighter and I suddenly felt alive. Man number 1 even though younger than I (me) was missing it. He only knew the sorrow of the cold and could not see past it. I didn't run after him but I could have in that moment. I would have shared my insight about man number 2. He was younger than him (me), but smarter than at least one of us. He chose to see the good in living each day. Cold did not stop the joy of just being alive. Then I realized, he wouldn't get it. He reveled to much in his misery. Life to him was a struggle because he chose to see it that way. Yes, what a fool. Today is the day of all days. Which will you chose? 1 or 2. Two for (I) me please. I'm no fool. Not me.

Copyright:  A. Quintin Smith 2015 

It no longer matters if you are Republican or Democrat

Since 1839 the Democrats and Republicans have shared the office of president equally. Each will have totaled 88 years in office at the end of Barrack Obama's second term. If nothing changes between now and then, each will have led us into the same number of wars. Each will be responsible for extracting us from the same number of wars. Each will have led us in times of economic crisis and great legislation. They have both expanded and contracted the government many times.

This two party system of government has grown exponentially. It was derived from a government representative democracy that once represented the people of the land. It has grown into a government representative credential democracy. The difference between the two? One represents the people it governs. The other represents only the people with credentials, the lobbyist, the diplomats, the academics, the generals, the attorneys, the unions, and the CEO's. In the Credential Democracy the will of the general public is left out.

It no longer matters if you are Republican or Democrat in the greater scheme of things. It only matters if you are a member of a group with credentials. A group with enough money to lobby your agenda to the elected officials. It has been said the world is run by those who show up but it would be more aptly said the world is run by those who can afford to show up.

The working class and poor are no longer consulted on issues of government. Representatives do not return to their states with the ideas of listening to their constituents and when they do it doesn't matter. The larger bills are presented to the house preconceived and written by the credentialed few. I am not sure if this is laziness, perceived culture or coerced intent by the elected government but it has been a fact of life they all live with.

The time for a change has come. How to do it is not clear. When people are left out of government there is growing discontent. Since the parties in power no longer represent the people the revolution should start there. It is time to dismantle the two party system. It is time to provide legislation that will oust the credentialed government, remove the lobby and bring government home to the people.

It is time to find a leader that will stand up to the credentialed few and say this is not the government for me or the people of this land.  A leader that will choose not to be Republican or Democrat but a leader for all the people of our great nation.

Why I will never be President of the United States or How to fix the United States Government.

Governments become cumbersome over many years of adding, writing and rewriting laws. It becomes a major burden to the people it actually serves and begins to serve special interest instead. That is the current plight of the United States Government. Such things are not easily fixed because of disparity in goals between political parties, bureaucrats that buck change because that's the way it has always been done and the general laziness or incompetence of the system.

Here is how I would fix it if I were in charge: 

1. Everyone would pay taxes but first the tax code would need to be simplified. Most of the 70,000 page code is on how to spend the money after it is collected which would need to be modified as well but we would first look at a fair tax for all brackets and do away with all the shenanigans of credits and deductions. We would structure the business tax code to be similar to the one used by The Maldives. 

2. Everyone over the age of eighteen would receive a public stipend equivalent to the poverty level and include all current program like welfare, medicare, housing and food stamp allotments all in one check. No more paying for mamma to have babies or people to be out of work. This stipend would be removed when a job or income of the individual will replace it by 1.5 times or may be reduced as income increases over time. 

3. Everyone that received a public stipend would be required to have a job or be given one. Women/men may chose to stay home and raise children only if there is another partner or wage earner in the home making more than 1.5 times the stipend. Work loads may be reduced for families providing adequate reasons to do so. 

4. I would eliminate the current welfare system as it exist, it is not working and keeps poor people poor. 

5. Public employees would not be able to bargain for rights past a current administration. Guidelines for pay, pension and benefits must always be in the budget. 

6. All deficits budget departments would be cut until they are fully funded and functional. No exceptions.

7. The departments of interior, education and  environmental protection agency would be restructured and many of the functions given back to the states. 

8. The affordable care act, medicare, and medicaid would be restructured into a single functioning health care act funded through taxation of the working class, which reading line 3 would include everyone over the age of 18. 

9. Social security would be done away with and employers and employees would instead be required to pay into a retirement plan for the individual insured by the government. 

10. Social Security funding for all current retirees would continue using a combination of line 2 and a phased out plan for social security that would insure retirement for all at age 67. This would be paid for through taxation of the working class, which reading line 3 would include everyone over the age of 18. 

11. Unemployment insurance will become employment and reeducation insurance. It will introduce people back into the work force immediately. The government will provide them a job until they are reemployed somewhere else.

12. We will stop watching people for the sake of watching them. All government agencies will need to have a reason to have your information and have to provide a signed subpoena or warrant  to get it. 

13. There will be an immigration program that will turn undocumented workers into documented workers, these workers will only be allowed access to public services when employed and paying taxes. Any documented worker convicted of a crime may be immediately deported. 

14. The disability system will be revised to provide for short term as well as long term disability and 

will provide for reeducation and introduction back into the workforce for those it deems able. 

15. Public officials, whether elected or bureaucrat will post all meetings with lobbyist on a public website including attendees, detailed subject matter and cost to  provide such meeting, and who paid for it. 

16. The budget will be balanced 

Other things I would consider: elimination of the federal reserve system, changes to the commodities exchanges that would limit speculation and fluctuation of markets like oil, gas and grain. Restructuring the penal system to provide education and training to all prisoners, including behavior modification for drugs and alcohol and anger management. 

Things I would encourage: the elimination of the direct deposit requirement (people should start using cash more often), remove the issues of gay marriage, abortion, and gun control from the federal level and let it be handled by individual states, Tort reform capping the awards of damages, a federal voter picture id for everyone, removal of pensions and expansive benefits from elected officials, term limits, line item veto and value engineering for all federal projects. 

This won't fix every thing and may create other problems but it would creating a large class of people all in the same boat working for the common good of the government and each other. It would provide for checks and balances but allow much more freedom. It would also reduce large fluctuations in the workforce and tax base. I want our country to be great. It can only be as great as our weakest member. My system would make the weak stronger. It would support the family model of having more than one parent in the home. It would encourage productivity. It would make us  a country for the people, led by the people again. It would give each individual more power in their own decision making process. 

Maybe I don't need to be president to affect a change. Maybe I just need to put some good ideas on paper that others can consider.  So if you like my ideas, let me know, let others know, it will take all of us to make it work. 

Top 10 things to help you live a longer life.

1.       Believe in God, he extends life indefinitely

2.       Eat bacon

3.       Eat chocolate

4.       Exercise your mind and prepare to lose it sometimes.

5.       Believe none of what you hear and half of what you read.

6.       Always be prepared to change your mind on any given subject except number 1.

7.       Care deeply for people not things

8.       Love at least one person more than life itself.

9.       Stop and smell the flowers, it doesn’t matter if it’s a rose.

10.   See the sunset from as many places as you possible can.

Bonus:

When you realize nothing will make you live longer than you are destined too, make sure you live happy instead. Oh and read my blog it will help:

  Andy's Top Ten Things to Make Your Life Wonderful

http://understandingandy.blogspot.com/2013/04/andy-top-ten-things-to-make-your-life.html

White Christmas Dream

What if on Christmas morning when we woke up and looked out the window, everyone had the same amount of snow? A child would be born on that same day, a ray of hope in a desolate winter. The snow would last a lifetime until the child became a man and died and then it would fade away. Everyone would look out and praise him because the snow would turn to an eternal spring.

Christmas should be white according to the song but many have never seen a white Christmas. We create ideals of what a perfect life should be like but most of the time we project it on other people.

Sin seems to be the same way. If sin were snow then everybody would have a white Christmas, no one would be exempt. But we would see 10 feet of snow in our neighbors yard when we only see a few inches in our own.

The truth is we all really have the same amount of snow. No one's would be greater than their neighbors.

 Sin is clearly defined in the bible as well as who is to judge that sin. Most people don't like to have their sins singled out but in the same breath will lash out at another damning them for their transgressions.

We focus on things like sexual sin but give light to using God's name in vain. We curse the vagrant for being poor while we binge on all that is unhealthy for our bodies and our souls.



My dream for Christmas is one day sin will be looked at like snow. Before we shovel our neighbors driveway we must shovel our own realizing as we shovel the snow is always falling around us. When we learn to manage our own snow and see our neighbor doing the same we will understand the truth about sin.

Then we can look across the street and wave, invite them in for a warm cup of cocoa and talk about a God that has forgiven both of us. A loving God that sees us as equal and wanted. A God that wants us to seek him out no matter the snow fall. We can share our experiences without judgement and live with each other not just in harmony but in the joy of knowing the amount of snow each of us has is the same.

Merry Christmas 2013

© A.Quintin Smith

http://understandingandy.blogspot.com/2013/12/white-christmas-dream.html

Would you like to walk on the moon some day?

Wake up America. It's Patriots Day 2013

Wake up America. It has been 12 years since the fall of the twin towers and we are still healing from our wounds. September 11, 2013  is a great day in our nation's capital. There is a Million American March led by our American Muslim community. In response there is also a 2 Million Biker Ride that will fill our capital with motorcycles. But these groups will get it wrong if they don't come together. It is time we stopped being afraid of each. This is the land of the free and the home of the brave. We have the right to demonstrate peacefully and are still a power to be reckoned with on any given day. We are even more powerful when we come together.

What would have been better than these two groups organizing separate rallies would have been if they would have done it together. Imagine 2 million bikers showing up to be the security detail for a community of Muslims that want nothing more than to be Americans and have the religious freedom to worship their faith just like all other Americans. Imagine muslims and bikers high fiving in the street, waving the American Flag and shouting freedom, while standing next to each other. Imagine these same people standing on the capital steps discussing politics, making friendships and sharing a story or two about how they arrived at this moment.

It is time to stop looking at people as a different color, differently dressed, or with different beliefs as someone to fear. It is time to stand up and say we are American. We live in a land that not only gives us these freedoms but we will fight to defend the right to do so for us and others.

Politicians have divided us. They would like nothing better than a people that disagrees with each other and argue to the point that we refuse to talk to each other. It gives them power and takes the focus off them.

The recent Syrian crisis brings to light what a powerful people we are. The conservative right and the liberal left, for there own reason, opposed the bombing of Syria. They came together and forced the hand of the President to seek a diplomatic resolution instead.

Wake up America, it is time for this great nation to say once again, we are the land of the free people, we will support the people in our country and not confuse them with foreign intruders. I am not afraid of them and I don't want them to be afraid of me. They may have chose to be American or were born here, regardless we are brother and sister in a land of democracy, a land of free speech and a land when challenged by a foreign threat will respond as only American Patriots can.

God Bless us on September 11th and every day. Wake up America, It's patriots day 2013.

Finding Angels

A MYSTERY PRIEST  SHOWED UP AT A CRASH SCENE THEN VANISHED in a small Missouri community , he gave hope to a dying girl and STRENGTH and calm to the emergency response team that saved her. Some said he was an angel...until he was found. 

Christians have a very odd way of looking at the world. They get excited when miracles happen from unexplainable circumstances but when it is simply a man or woman who creates the miracle the story doesn't seem near as compelling or exciting. 

Rev. Patrick Dowling, a priest from  Jefferson City Missouri was travelling along Hwy 19 between his work assignments that morning in northern and central Missouri when he came upon the accident. He parked his car and ask the sheriff if he could approach the scene. He absolved and anointed Katie, (the girl in the mangled car) and, at her request, prayed that her leg would not hurt. Then he stepped aside to where some rescue personnel and the pilot were waiting, and prayed the rosary silently.” 

Then, he left the scene just as the helicopter was about to leave. Interestingly, he notes that he gave his name to one of the emergency personnel, but somehow it was seemingly not passed on. 

This story became an instant sensation, he became a miracle worker, a saint, or an angel depending on who was telling the story. But now he has been found. He has a name. He is just a man, a holy man that had reason to do his job. This story doesn't seem as spectacular now  does it? 

That is exactly the wrong way to look at things to me. God gives us grace as Christians our entry ticket in to heaven, all we have to do is ask and he opens the door. Our heaven starts hear and now, as soon as we chose to be Christian. Many seem to wait. They are looking for something greater, waiting to see dead loved ones arise from the grave, waiting for evil to be banished and everyone around them live forever. They refuse everyday happenings as miracles like the one above because they want something more than the here and now. They forget to walk through the door. 

What if Patrick Dowling is more than a priest? What if he is already a Saint or an Angel? What if he has already walked through the door?

I am surrounded by Angels in my heaven on earth. I feel there presence and see them do good works. They may not be the Angels of heaven in the bible. They certainly don't have wings but they do God's work. They accomplish things I couldn't begin too and sometimes in very mysterious ways. 

My mother is one of those Angels. She has answered the call to care and heal many times. She prays and forgives. She has martyred herself for the sake of others more times than I could count. Those that have not opened the door see her as just a woman. They struggle even when she is there to help. Sometimes they don't believe in the miracles she provides. She doesn't seek recognition for her acts but is humble and I am humbled by her. 

My wife is also an Angel. She has given me grace and mercy many times. I have watched as she has saved lives. I have held her when she could not. She is harder on herself than she should be. She wants to be perfect at everything she does and I have found even Angels fall short sometimes but Angels they are anyway and an Angel she is. 

If we as Christians are given grace and an open pass to heaven, why do we wait? Why doesn't our heaven start now? Why can't we see Angels among us? 

I think we can. Most of us chose not too. Heaven has too many barriers. We would have to give up everything we are to get there, at least that's what we believe.  

If our heaven started hear and now. If we believed there are Angels among us. If our God was present in everything we do then Patrick Dowling just might be an Angel. The story seems to sound better when you say it that way. Why don't we want it to be true? 

Understanding Andy: Killing the College Education

Understanding Andy: Killing the College Education

Killing the College Education

Feeling blessed today that my kids do not have to borrow money to go to school in 2013. 

College students that have to, will see interest rates almost double to 6.8%. This applies to 1/3 of all kids in college that will borrow an average of $6500.00 for the school year. 

That will be more than 42 billion dollars borrowed and almost 3 billion owed in interest per year from here on out. Most of these will be paid to colleges and universities that are also subsidized by tax dollars. 

After the Affordable Care Act takes effect in 2014 students will come out of college owing more than ever in debt, required to have health insurance whether they have a job or not, expect medicare and social security to still be bankrupt within their lifetime and make less than a student that graduated with the same degree in 2007. They are less likely to buy a home, own a new car or take long vacations in the first 5 years they leave school. 

Yes and 50 percent of these students will drop out before they receive a degree. The class of 2013 may create the largest working class poor population of all time and this is just the beginning. College enrollment is declining at 2.3% this year and will continue to fall at a much larger rate as the cost of education goes up. The cost of a 4 year degree at a public school is now above $80,000.00. Many of these institutions have been on a building spree to keep up with other schools and soon will be searching for funds to sustain what they have. 

So what will the next crisis be the government will try to solve and be unsuccessful in doing so? You got it, they will try to save the college education. 

Institutions that are smart and see this coming will have more and more classes online and less infrastructure. Text books will be digital and professors in lecture halls will become less necessary to the curriculum. Most of them will try to save their precious buildings instead. 

The largest union of the government, the department of education will cry foul and sadly find out while they have diverted too many employees to the school lunch program they should have been coming up with a plan to prevent the coming crisis. 

My suggestions to students, instead of borrowing money, find a job in or close to the field you would like to pursue and take longer to get a degree. Start at a community college, keep your grades high and finish at a school that is well established in finding jobs for the graduates for the degree program you are in. Look for every scholarship or grant you can get and apply. Or plan to live in mom and dad's basement for quite some time after you leave school. Students still have choices. They are just different than what they used to be. If it takes the student six years to finish college instead of 4 and they come out debt free they will still be ahead by not having to make a student loan payment for 10 years or more. Another option would be military service which still provide for a great subsided education and experience along the way.

Education is not the end all for those that can't afford it. You can self educate yourself online now for next to nothing if you have the desire to do so. Search engines provide answers to almost any given question. You can learn to program a computer or create an app easily now. 

The death of the public education is on the clock now. It will come sooner than we think. Make plans to succeed anyway. I know my kids will.

Andy's Top Ten Things to Make Your Life Wonderful

1. Eat everything people tell you not too. Just don't eat to much of anything.

2. Laugh out Loud often. This is the only infectious thing in life that is worth giving and receiving.

3. Make friends that last a lifetime. Stay in touch. It is worth that much.

4. Make a few enemies and then love them like your friends.

5. Dance. Dance. Dance. You will never feel bad when you are dancing and when you move, others will follow.

6. Travel, go places you have never been. Meet the people learn the culture and enjoy the differences from home.

7. Drink water and nothing else. It will save you thousands of dollars over a lifetime and you will be healthier for it.

8, Remember what you work for, your job is there to feed you, clothe you, and put shelter over your head but it should never become so much that you loose yourself in it.

9. Dream, wish, think, plan, take action. A simple model for every thing you do.

10. Love passionately. Find a person you can sleep with, even when they snore, a person you can fight with and is worth fighting for. Find a person that will fight for you and love you with passion back. Love deeply.

11. Believe in God, you will find he listen's when no one else does. He will love you during the times you deserve it and the times you don't. He will give you strength. He will give you peace.

12. Share your gifts. You have talent and others will benefit from it and So will you.

13. Always give more than you promise and take less than you want. © A.Quintin Smith

Running Toward the Bomb

I am the guy that heads straight into danger when most everyone else runs away. I don't do it to make people like me or dislike me that is just the man I have become. Why do I stop for a guy changing a tire in a pouring rain on a dark night? Why do I run into the burning building? Why do I say and do things that that others won't?
When I was 15 I was a life guard at a local pool. A ten year old boy who I had seen there a few times left the pool and got on his bicycle to go home. He drove down the hill and out of site. Just then from the pool we could here the screech of a car brakes and then the collisions and a deafening scream. I couldn't see but I knew what had happened.
Some one shouted he has been hit by a car, get the lifeguard, he needs first aid. Many adults stood at the fence looking out. One mother with small children looked at me and said you need to go help. So I jumped off the stand and ran down the hill. A crowd had formed around this small child as he lay crying in the middle of the road. None of them dared to approach him.
It was my job, I was as much as told so but what I learned in Boy Scouts and from the Red Cross did not prepare me for this. He was slumped over a mangled bike his leg broken in two places, blood flowing from his side, head and hands.
I tried to calm him down. I pulled him from the bike and helped him straighten his leg. I removed my shirt and used it to put pressure on the wound on his side, the most critical issue I could see. Then I sat there and held him and talked to him, not really knowing what to say but wanting to keep him conscious until real help arrived.
The ambulance arrived, the real care takers took him from me. They splinted the leg, cleaned his wounds and treated him for shock. Someone told me I was a hero, a few others applauded as I made my way back to the pool. I looked around and most never left the pool deck. The ones that did were merely spectators, curious or otherwise. I felt terrible. How would I know if he was okay, I was not sure if anyone knew his parents or how they would know where their child was.
Someone pointed out I was covered in blood. At that moment I went from hero to almost getting fired because of what I did next. I jumped into the pool.
The mother that had told me "I needed to go help" screamed for me to get out of the pool. She grabbed her children and rushed to tell my supervisor that I had turned the pool into a septic pond.
From that point on I knew that no matter what good I did in life there would be someone that could make it all disappear in a moment. Someone who sat by being both commander and critic but really did nothing of value to improve anyone's quality of life but their own.
I didn't care. That boy needed me. I was there when no one else chose to be.

Six years later I became the boy, I had an accident, crushed by an overturned forklift, my pelvis broken in eight places, my leg dislocated with my foot dangling in front of my face. A crowd gathered round as I screamed and bled from a hole in my back. A man who was with me on the forklift had been thrown clear but he was hurt as well. He could of laid down but he got up. He cared for me until the ambulance arrived. There is more to the story but what matters here is this: the man, my hero was also the driver of the the forklift. It was not his fault it tipped over. It was an unavoidable accident. There were people that wanted to crucify him. They made him feel bad when he should have only been glad he could help.

I have been the hero. I have been the victim. In neither case did I feel like it was my choice. The only person I never want to be is the one who doesn't act but judges those who do. At times I ruffled a few feathers and maybe I meant too. I have made the choice to live big, to say and do the things that many only dream, to be the guy that runs toward the bomb.

Pointing the Gun at Parents

We have a  need for mothers and fathers to make children their priority.  It is time to stop the substitution of electronic gadgets for parenting. It is time to get our kids back to the dinner table and converse with them and know what they are doing and where their hearts are. We need to teach them about an all knowing God that has set rules and limits for us to live by so that we may prosper. It is time for grown ups to grow up and be responsible for the generation they are raising. Giving children permission to be and do anything they want needs to be replaced with taking responsibility for their actions and knowing that being the best they can be is some times tough and will take courage to do so. It is time to stop making excuses and using weapons and medicines as scapegoats. The responsibility of children falls directly on the people that care for them. Parents and grandparents, teachers and pastors. It is time for grown ups to be grown up, to set boundaries and expect them to be followed. It is time  to educate, to love and discipline our children. It is time to share the message of hope and forgiveness that God has offered willingly. Evil children don't always come from evil parents but they do come from contrite, uncaring and/or overwhelmed care takers that chose to ignore the child when they need them most. They come from allowance and permission that excuse actions that should have consequences.  Corporal punishment was replaced by putting a child in time out years ago, time out has been replaced with redirection. We have spared the rod and spoiled the child at the expense of their sanity and well being. I am not suggesting we bring back corporal punishment but children do have to have consequences for wrong action. They have to understand right from wrong. They also need to have a purpose and reason for being the best life has to offer. It may take a village but it starts and ends with the parents.

The parents have given the children the weapon of doing and saying anything they like without consequence and seem to always be surprised when the child takes this weapon and points it back at them.

Understanding Andy: Social media works even for the church

Understanding Andy: Social media works even for the church

Social media works even for the church

Social statistics now says my true reach of people on a daily basis is more than 4 times the number of my facebook friends. That means about 2800 people follow me on a daily basis. That is more than the number of people that go to my church. Or more than go to the local high school and more people than within a mile of my home. I reach people on four continents and 20 US states. I reach ages 13 to 81. Am I saying this to brag. Maybe a little. 
My real point is social media works and churches should be using it to reach people. I can ask people on 4 continents and in 20 US States to go to church with me. I think I have a few times but I have not seen a post from a single church in my area, including my own, inviting me to church. I belong to my church's facebook page but don't remember being invited. It doesn't have a schedule or calendar. Post are random and inconsistent. 
It is time for churches to use social media to it's advantage. Make friends, stay in touch and invite more each day. A program will only fill up with a good marketing plan. Churches are not exempt from this. They should share there weekly schedule. Invite more than the church body to events and create an inviting and welcome atmosphere. Not one like the church below. 


I saw this picture on facebook, Shouldn't it read instead, If your are going to hell, why not come to church with me first.






It is time for churches to step up and step out of their comfort zones. If you haven't looked Jesus Christ is on facebook but he has less than 5 million followers. With half a billion people on facebook, this tells me the church is not doing it's job. It is easy to reach people, stay in touch, and provide all the information they need to bring them into the congregation. Christians should make sure something inviting and welcoming shows up in there feed everyday and it should come from the church they belong too. 

If there is something I want or someone I want to have a relationship with I will make every effort to make it happen.

Ecclesiastes 1


Nothing Makes Sense


1When the son of David was king in Jerusalem, he was known to be very wise, [a] and he said: 2Nothing makes sense!
Everything is nonsense.
2-11 Smoke, nothing but smoke. [That's what the Quester says.] There's nothing to anything—it's all smoke.
What's there to show for a lifetime of work, a lifetime of working your fingers to the bone? 

One generation goes its way, the next one arrives,but nothing changes—it's business as usual for old planet earth. The sun comes up and the sun goes down, then does it again, and again—the same old round.
The wind blows south, the wind blows north. Around and around and around it blows, blowing this way, then that—the whirling, erratic wind. All the rivers flow into the sea, but the sea never fills up. The rivers keep flowing to the same old place, and then start all over and do it again. Everything's boring, utterly boring— no one can find any meaning in it. Boring to the eye, boring to the ear. What was will be again, what happened will happen again. There's nothing new on this earth. Year after year it's the same old thing. 

Does someone call out, "Hey, this is new"? Don't get excited—it's the same old story. Nobody remembers what happened yesterday. And the things that will happen tomorrow? Nobody'll remember them either.
Don't count on being remembered.

Knowing that the world and people never changes is a hard thing to grasp. Understanding that people no matter who they are, are people. Each one seeks understanding, attention, affection and acceptance. If you wanted to be friends with someone and you knew you couldn't fail would you pick up the phone, send them an email, or stop them on the street? Would you share what you have in common? Listen to them? Be compassionate and caring for them? Help them write their life story? You can be friends with anyone you share something in common with, from the homeless to the rich and famous and everyone in between. You have to want what they want and share in what they want to share. You have to be persistent and consistent. Sometimes you will find out they are not the friend you wanted and sometimes you must expect to be forgotten over time.

That is the smoke of life. You rise from the fire, strong and full of hope, you spread over a larger and larger area touching many and thinning out as you go, until you simply disappear. You will just become so much smoke on the water as they say.

If you wanted something you don't have, would you work to find a solution to get it if you knew success was only a few steps away? Who would you ask for it? What reason would you have that you deserve such a thing? Would you be persistent to get it or would you give up if the road gets too hard? Would you change with the wind or get bored? Objects like people have to be wanted, understood and accepted. Each needs attention. If you want something bad enough it will never just happen or fall in your lap. You have to plan for it. You have to ask yourself and others the right questions. You need to be persistent and consistent.

Everything in life takes effort. Friendship, companionship, and anything else you desire can be yours but you have to make time for it. You have to create a plan for success and stick to it no matter what. Sometimes your plan will change or have to be modified but it will be a plan with an end in mind. 

Creating a successful life first starts with the understanding the words of King David. You are but a part of a generation that has mostly forgotten what the generation before has done. There is really nothing new, only different than it was before. Time will pass and the sun will rise and fall, the winds will blow and rivers and seas will ebb and flow. The next generation will have forgotten all this again when your time is passed. So what is really important is the here and now.

Write down what your life's expectations are. Make a plan to get the things in life you desire. Choose wisely because your time is limited. Don't count on being remembered. Count on living each day until it is done.

Understanding Andy: I would have worked harder to maintain the relatio...

Understanding Andy: I would have worked harder to maintain the relatio...: Job 2:11-13 (Contemporary English Version) Job's Three Friends 11Eliphaz from Teman, Bildad from Shuah, and Zophar from Naamah [a] were t...

I would have worked harder to maintain the relationships I have and worry less about the ones I don't.

Job 2:11-13 (Contemporary English Version)

Job's Three Friends
11Eliphaz from Teman, Bildad from Shuah, and Zophar from Naamah [a] were three of Job's friends, and they heard about his troubles. So they agreed to visit Job and comfort him. 12When they came near enough to see Job, they could hardly recognize him. And in their great sorrow, they tore their clothes, then sprinkled dust on their heads and cried bitterly. 13For seven days and nights, they sat silently on the ground beside him, because they realized what terrible pain he was in.

Friendship is an amazing thing. It ebbs and flows like and ocean tide. There are highs and lows. There are storms and moments of calm. Why people don't remember to maintain friendships is one of life's mysteries to me. Most people don't attempt to keep a friendship going because they think the cost is too high or the reciprocation from others is too low but the one thing I know is it is worth the cost.

The great divide among friends seems to be the end of high school or college. People leave to create a different life than the one they have. They seek other friendships and leave the one's behind they already have.

Years later they spend time seeking out old friendships from the past. I can't tell you how many times someone has said to me," do you know what happened to so and so? I wish we would have kept in touch".

Reconnecting can be hard. After years of being apart circumstances have changed. We miss out on our friends life story, the birth of their children, marriages and divorces, death of parents and other life changing events. We could have shared our life story as well. Catching up will never make up for time lost but it is amazing to restart a friendship any way.

Friends are a support system in good times and bad. As with Job, friends are there when life is a little rocky or worse.

With the invention of social networks, life has become easier to keep in touch with people. If you want to see what they are up too or where they are you need only to check there facebook, twitter or linkedin account. Still people loose touch. Sometimes they just lurk in the background never saying what is on their mind. Wishing, instead of actively saying we should still be friends.

No matter how long it has been, a friendship can be picked up from where it left off. Old friendships can become new again with just the simple act of saying hello.

I have friendships that have lasted more than 30 years. Some all the way back to grade school some of these people I don't see often but we do stay in touch.

Realizing people and not things are the important part of life when you are young will make it much easier when you get older. You won't care how much money you have or how many houses cars or toys you have if there is no one to share them with. It is easier to keep an old friend than make a new one.

So work hard to maintain the relationships you have. It will be worth every minute you spend.