All the Way!

Sometimes,

I feel just like Waffle House hash browns…

…scattered

…smothered

…covered

…chunked

…diced

…peppered

…capped

…and topped.

But at least I am country.

Other times,

I just feel like Waffle House hash browns.

Know what I mean?

The post The Waffle House in me…or me in the Waffle House appeared first on The JourneyMan.

God said…!

Dear Preacher,

I have a thing or two to say to you.

In church Sunday, the preacher I was listening to was talking about how to listen to a sermon. He was teaching us how to listen to him and apply what he told us. I powerfully resisted the inclination to consider how self-serving such a sermon might be and my heart instead acknowledged that the points he made were valid…and biblical…and wise.

Still, I could not help myself. When he talked about how listening to him was listening to God speaking to us through him, it gave me pause for reflection.

I reflected on how many times I might have said a similar thing…and meant it. I reflected on how natural such a thought once seemed to me. How I might think and say such a thing without much consideration of what I was actually saying.

How many preachers really stop to think about the gravity and enormity of such a claim?

In researching the size of the universe (aka, Googling), I found this interesting scale.

When it comes to how big a statement it is to claim to be the mouthpiece of God, you have to consider: Just how big is God? By how big, I mean how big of a deal; not His size.  God is, after all, spirit and hardly seems quantifiable as to dimensions. He is also, we believe, Creator of all that we see and all that we cannot see.

I do not know how big the universe is and neither does anyone else. But, it’s big. Wiredscience.com puts the size of the universe into perspective, sort of:

To try imagining how big, place a penny down in front of you. If our sun were the size of that penny, the nearest star, Alpha Centauri, would be 350 miles away. Depending on where you live, that’s very likely in the next state (or possibly country) over.

Attempting to imagine distances larger than this quickly becomes troublesome. At this scale, the Milky Way galaxy would be 7.5 million miles across, or more than 30 times the distance between the Earth and the moon. As you can see, these are rather inhuman dimensions that are almost impossible to really get a sense of.

But that doesn’t mean it’s completely impossible. Astronomers have made observations and simulations that in some way capture the enormity of our cosmos. In this gallery, Wired will look at the size and scale of the universe’s largest, farthest, and most mysterious objects.

We know that, in the grand scheme of things, we have no idea how grand the scheme of things is. Whatever its grandeur, we are—you and I—but a mere speck. Heck, less than a speck. We are to a speck as a speck is to earth, or something of that order.

You see, then, how enormous an undertaking it is for a speck of a speck to purport to speak on behalf of the One that designed and created everything. To claim to know His mind, His will is rather a big deal.

I am not saying the preacher doesn’t or cannot know the mind of God. I am just saying most preachers I know never seem to consider how big this thing they do really is. Look, I don’t want you speaking my mind. I don’t want you presuming to know what I want or think or need or desire. And I am nothing more than you.

Speaking on behalf of anyone that isn’t you is a great responsibility, fraught with snares and entrapments. Just ask any presidential press secretary

If you are going to speak for the God of the universe, you ought to at least let the awesome weight of that responsibility wash over your soul. If you do not feel the awe of it, if you do not feel the weight of it, if you do not somehow try to grasp just what it is you do…then, please, don’t.

Please do not reduce God to some low-grade level of ignorance just because you undervalue what you do.  And please don’t use God’s name to get YOUR message across. Don’t sully the great and holy name of Jesus to further your own agenda or validate your personal beliefs. If what you are saying is to your benefit, then just say so. If it is to prove yourself right or some adversary wrong, then say so. If it is for the purpose of keeping the people over whom you preside in the kind of order you want them, then say so.

That is all just fine. It just isn’t real biblical preaching. It isn’t responsible. And—tell the truth, now—it isn’t God speaking through you.

Please, for the sake of all that is holy, preach responsibly.

By the way, this is not God speaking through me, either. It is me observing what I believe to be the flippant way too many people claim to be God’s mouthpiece and calling foul on it. Feel free to disagree.

The comment section below awaits.

The post Dear Preacher: Do you really speak for God? appeared first on The JourneyMan.

The idea that anything anybody ever does is 100% selfless is just not so. There are heroic acts—acts of great abandon and sacrifice. But every person is motivated by how he or she perceives a thing, by the values or ideals important to him or her.

Selfless Facebook statuses and magnanimous Tweets

I see people on venues like Facebook and Twitter talk about how they just love to minister and give of themselves to others.

“I just love to give to others.”

“I find it so rewarding to minister to people in need.”

Beautiful. Outstanding.

But the first word in each of those sentences is “I.” If you were not fulfilled by serving in that soup kitchen, if it did not make you feel better about yourself to give your time to serve others, you wouldn’t do it.

Also, why share such things on social media? Is it to inspire others? Is it to impress? Where is the widow quietly giving her last coin? Why the pomp and circumstance? Why the drum-banging?

Don’t get me wrong: I think givers are far more blessed and much to be preferred as companions than takers. They are better adjusted. They are happier. They are more of a joy to be around. (That last observation is a rather selfish one, I know.)

The Apostle Paul put the “I” in ministry

If you are one to constantly give your credentials as a selfless person on FB or Twitter, don’t feel too badly. I have always thought that the most remarkable New Testament character was also the most self-promoting. The Apostle Paul was often defending his credentials or rattling off his resume. I know that sounds a little sacrilegious, but I don’t have a congregation from which I can be fired, so I am free to make an honest observation.

In Galatians 2:11-14, Paul talks about how he set Peter straight. There are numerous examples throughout Paul’s writings where he was seemingly thumping his chest about a position he took or something he did or said.

Apparently, God is good with that. He even inspired Paul to share it.

Why is that?

I bet God is impressed with that!

Well, I think it is because false pretenses are unimpressive to God. What use does He have for them? Why does he need you to pretend everything you are doing is an act of absolute self-abandon and that there is nothing at all in it for you? Why does he need you to pretend  anything at all? He knows.

He made us this way. He made us in His image. Look at God’s own nature. Even though He made everything about us and gave the ultimate sacrifice to redeem us, He insists we make it all about him.

Doesn’t he?

This is more than survival.

How would we survive as a species if we did not have this sense of self-worth, self-preservation? Even our self-sacrifice is a means of preserving the ideal we have of ourselves as a higher form of being than the brutish beasts.

We do not buy Darwin’s survival of the fittest, every man for himself mentality.

But we are selfish, nonetheless, and we may as well get our minds around it and stop lying to ourselves.

Even the Christian call to salvation is one that appeals to our selfish nature. We tell people they can avoid the wrath to come, they can be reconciled to God, they can find meaning for their lives. In other words, we tell them what is in it for them. You don’t have to go to Hell. You get to go to Heaven. You get to live a more abundant life.

And in conclusion…

The first knowledge is to know yourself. If you do not honestly recognize who you are and what makes you tick, how can you honestly relate to a holy God or a world in need?

Some people are needy, while others (the better ones among us) mostly just need to be needed. And we do need you. We need you giving the way you do, living the way you do.

Just don’t lose sight of who you are and why. If you do, even your selfless acts will stink of selfishness.

May God be pleased to bless all you give and do in His name.

Here’s some Toby Keith…

The post I like talking about you, usually—or putting the “I”, “I” in ministry appeared first on The JourneyMan.

A Killer Career

Last night, NFL pundits celebrated the illustrious career of one of the fiercest competitors to ever don an NFL uniform. From the analysts in the booth and studio to the hundreds of media types tweeting sentimental snippets, Lewis was hailed as a great leader, a great competitor, a great tackler…great, great, great.

One last time. #INDvsBAL #raylewis #nflplayoffs instagr.am/p/UJxdaYvCgp/

— NFL (@nfl) January 6, 2013

Congratulations to the great Ray Lewis, who lives to fight another NFL playoff Sunday.

— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) January 13, 2013

It would b great to see #raylewis go out with a #SuperBowl win

— Jeremiah Trotter (@JTrotter_54) January 6, 2013

1/3/13 -”Do you want him to dance? He already dances. Do you want him to give a speech? He already gives speeches.” #MrTony on #RayLewis

— Tony Kornheiser Says (@MrTonySays) January 6, 2013

Meanwhile, an obscure nobody named Priscilla Lollar suffered through another day without her son.

It has been 13 years since that fateful night after the Ravens won the Super Bowl and Lewis and his entourage were somehow involved in the stabbing deaths of two men. One of the victims’ blood was found in Lewis’ hired limousine. The white suit Lewis was wearing was discarded and never recovered. Yet, Lewis was never convicted of anything but a misdemeanor obstruction of justice. He was initially charged with murder, but cut a deal.

Lewis received probation and the NFL fined him, but never suspended him.

He went on to enjoy a singular career, one that will have many saying he is the greatest linebacker ever.

But for the Lollar family, Lewis’ fairy tale is their nightmare. Brent Schrotenboer of USA Today wrote about this very dark side of Lewis’ story:

Priscilla Lollar still doesn’t believe her son is dead.

Any day now, she hopes he might finally return from Atlanta, walking through the door of her home in Akron, Ohio, as if nothing happened on the morning of Jan. 31, 2000.

“If I truly accept that he’s not coming back … ” says Lollar, her voice trailing off. “I don’t discuss him in the past. I don’t really acknowledge anything.”

Deep down, she knows he’s gone. She knows it every time she turns on the television and sees Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis – a reminder that her son, Richard, has been dead for 13 years, stabbed to death outside a nightclub in Atlanta, along with his friend from Akron, Jacinth Baker.

Their murders remain unsolved. But as the anniversary of their deaths approaches – and as Lewis dances into the sunset of his NFL career – the victims’ relatives are still seething at him. While Priscilla Lollar says she’s “numb” to Lewis, others want answers. And justice.

“My nephew was brutally beaten and murdered and nobody is paying for it,” Baker’s uncle, Greg Wilson, told USA TODAY Sports. “Everything is so fresh in our mind, it’s just like it happened yesterday. We’ll never forget this.”

Ray Lewis wraps himself in Christianity now. He boldly wears the big C on his chest like he is the big celebrity Christian, giving God all the glory for his life and career.

After his Ravens pulled off an inspired and unlikely upset victory over Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncose, Lewis was found on the sideline by a CBS reporter. Lewis, hoarse but passionate, kept repeating a portion of Isaiah 54:17.

“No weapon formed against you shall prosper,” he shouted several times.

Many, myself included, found his choice of Bible verses odd. You would think a man associated with the violent stabbing deaths of two men would avoid referencing weapons when thumping his chest and giving “witness.”

Now, I, of all people, know the importance of forgiveness and restoration. I believe all kinds of sins can be and are forgiven, even the biggest and ugliest of them.

But I do not believe in this convenient form of Christianity that people in trouble find in order to reinvent and redefine themselves. I do not believe in using Jesus as a reputation repairman.

I do not believe in redemption without repentance.

The Apostle Paul, himself was party to murder prior to his conversion. But he never hid behind a plea bargain. He never covered up a thing. He never discarded evidence. In fact, he made himself an example of the ugliness of sin and the riches of grace.

1 Timothy 1:15

Lewis’ celebratory Bible quoting was defiant in tone and generally confusing.

What did it mean? Was the weapon Peyton Manning’s arm? Or was it an article in USA Today? Was it the nagging gnawing of his conscience? Or, does he even feel remorse?

Who knows? He won’t talk about it.

Has Lewis ever met with the families of the victims? Has he ever tried to give them closure, to explain what happened, how he didn’t murder their sons? Or, has he, with the aid of the NFL and the media, simply swept it under the rug?

How do I know Lewis remains unrepentant? He said as much…

Lewis declined to comment when asked about the subject Thursday by USA TODAY Sports. Messages left for agents and attorneys representing him were not returned. Oakley, recently living in Atlanta, didn’t return messages seeking comment. A relative of Sweeting, living in Miami, hung up when reached by USA TODAY Sports. And the prosecutor, Paul Howard, declined a request to be interviewed.

Said Lewis: “You want to talk to me about something that happened 13 years ago right now?”

I refuse to celebrate the career of this man. I refuse to identify myself with him in some bond of a common faith.  The Jesus I know is not a force field to ward off the inspection of a life or investigation of a deed. He deals in truth AND grace. He is full of both.

John 1:14

Am I wrong?

I know some are willing to give any celebrity a pass, as long as they proclaim Christ. They somehow think the cause of Christ is more apt to be furthered by the endorsement of celebrity.

Here is a news flash: Jesus doesn’t need your endorsement. God is not impressed with accomplishment or human acclaim. He is not some outsider, hoping an insider puts Him on the map.

Those without Christ are the outsiders. They can celebrate one another and promote themselves all they want. Without Him, they are dust in the wind. A tale already told. A puff of smoke. A vapor.

Ray Lewis needs Jesus; not vice versa. And…if he knows Jesus, he needs to stop misrepresenting what Christ is all about.

The post Ray Lewis and the culture of convenient and celebrity Christianity appeared first on The JourneyMan.

It’s (not) the end of the world!

I was going to give an end of the world address before December 21st, but then I thought that if the world ended on the 21st, it would hardly be worth the effort.

So, I didn’t.

Since the world has not yet ended and there is no official word on when it will, I have decided to postpone the speech until further notice.

In fact, I think I will forgo the entire thing and refer everyone to The Revelation of Jesus Christ by the Apostle John.

That done, on this 24th day of December, I will turn my attention to other matters.

My Christmas Eve Speech

Fill in the blank: “It’s the most _____________ time of the year.”

What word did you use? Stressful? Commercialized? Overrated?

Bah? Humbug?

Or did you answer “Wonderful?” “Joyful?” “Blessed?”

Truth is, for most of us, all of those words apply at one time or another.

When you put so much stock, so much hope, so much emphasis on a single day, it can be difficult for that day to meet your expectations.

At the moment, at least.

But then, look back.

Look back on Christmases past and what do you see? You remember those moments and those people you may have failed to fully appreciate when you were actually there. Overrated moments, stressful family gatherings, Christmas blahs and blues become precious memories.

Vance Havner used to say, “Distance lends enchantment to the view.”

That is true.

It is also true that we need perspective. Life is, in a real sense, a matter of perspective.

I could tell you to remember the reason for the season and to remember the One Whose birth it is we celebrate. But you already know that is the right thing to do.

Right?

You have it for your Facebook status or you have “liked” it on someone else’s. You have tweeted and re-tweeted it. You have posted it on Pinterest and implied it on Instagram. You have even trumpeted it on Tumblr.

So, I won’t repeat it here.

Instead, I will simply suggest you try to experience Christmas this year the way you want to remember it next year and 10 or 20 years from now. I will suggest you focus on giving more than the things you bought on Black Friday or (if you are like me) will buy today.

Give that gift God wrapped in your flesh. Give the stocking He stuffed with his Goodness and stamped with his image.

Give yourself.

And then, have yourself…

a merry little Christmas now.

Merry Christmas to you and yours from me and mine…

Oh, what fun…In a 350HP sleigh

The post My End of the World Speech Postponed Until Further Notice | Merry Christmas, Y’All appeared first on The JourneyMan.

Mom and me

The life of a catastrophe adjuster is uncertain. One day, you can be up to your elbows in claims and the next, the storm is being wrapped up and you wonder where you will be tomorrow. Maybe you will go home. But, if so, for how long?

So, here I am on October 27, 2012, winding down one storm in Canada and watching the gathering storm in the Atlantic.

I am wondering, “Where to next, Lord? For how long?”

And then I remember an old song—one I have not heard or even thought of in years. And when I remember it, I sing. And when I sing it, in my mind, I hear the familiar, comforting, rich, alto voice of my mother, the person I most often heard sing the song from her perch at the piano in whatever church my Dad or Granddad happened to be pastoring.

It was impossible to listen to my Mom’s passionate delivery of this song and doubt a single word of its message. No preacher ever covered the subject more forcefully or eloquently. No one ever made its message more believable…

I don’t know about tomorrow,

I just live from day to day;
I don’t borrow from it’s sunshine,
For it’s skies may turn to gray.
I don’t worry o’er the future, For I know what Jesus said;
And today I’ll walk beside Him, For He knows what lies ahead(chorus)
Many things about tomorrow I don’t seem to understand;
But I know who holds tomorrow, and I know who holds my hand

There are many songs I associate with my mother, but none more than this. I can tell you that she believed—and still believes—every word of it. She has faced every trial, every setback, every heartache with incredible grace and unwavering faith. And that includes the sudden, premature loss of the love of her life.

We kids do not have Dad’s reassuring voice telling us everything will be okay. But we still have Mom’s song.

And today is her birthday.

Happy birthday, Mom!

The post Mom’s Song (A Life of Faith, Love and Hope) appeared first on The JourneyMan.

Let’s talk about Jesus and American politics.

What would Jesus do?

Would Jesus vote for Mitt Romney or Barack Obama for president?

Would he vote at all?

I am a Christian and a political conservative. Depending on your world view and approach to hermeneutics, you will either say those two go hand-in-hand…or they don’t.

But here’s the trouble I am wrestling with at the moment: Christianity and Patriotism. So many that occupy our camp have so intermingled the two that the message is more than simply saying one is the natural result of the other. The message is that the two are the same thing. To be a Christian, you have to be a patriot. To be a true patriot, you have to be a Christian.

Again, I ask, what would Jesus do? Would He simply ignore the fact that Mitt Romney’s theological ties are to a cult-like religion, one that has perverted and revised the gospel, a religion that reduces Jesus Himself to a son of God, but not God the Son? Would he vote for Romney on the basis of a “common moral platform?” Or, would he vote for the one that claims to be an evangelical but coddles the religion that has persecuted His chosen people, spewed hatred and murder, and followed a false god?

WWJD?

For whom would Jesus vote? Would He vote at all?

Jesus’ earthly journey was one of singular focus. To the dismay of a beleaguered Jewish nation in the grip of a tyrannical, corrupt, godless enemy, Jesus was not a political activist.

Those Jews thought Jesus might have come to lead a revolution., to free them from the iron clutch of Caesar.

Thus, we have Palm Sunday, remembering how they sang so hopefully and exuberantly, “Hosanna to the King.” (This event has been labeled the “triumphal entry.”)

But then we have Easter Sunday a week later to remind us how many of those voices were silenced while their owners shrank into the shadows. Others of them joined a new chorus…

“Crucify him!”

John 18:38-40 tells the story of how these people turned on Jesus.

Disillusioned by His message of redemption (rather than revolution), they chose a radical, a corrupt political dissident named Barabbas over Jesus of Nazareth.

They wanted revolution, not the revelation of God’s truth.

Before that event, however, when faced with the question of taxes, Jesus used a coin with the image of Caesar on it to teach a lesson.

“Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and unto God that which is God’s.”

That should serve as an insight into how Jesus viewed politics and government.

What I gather from the example and the teachings of Christ is that political involvement and activism are not in themselves inherently good or evil. Neither are they satisfactory substitutes for kingdom living.

I believe that, in a free society, Christians ought to exercise their freedom to stand up and speak up for truth. We ought to combat evil and shine the light on corruption. We ought to influence our nation because “blessed is that nation whose God is the Lord.”

But we also ought to remember that there is a higher calling and a higher office than president of the United States. We ought to remember that Jesus has advised us to be wise as serpents, harmless as doves; that He has sent us out as sheep among wolves— Matthew 10:16 —; and that this world and its order are under the dark, sinister, deadly influence of the god of this world. — Ephesians 6:12

Is Romney-Ryan to be preferred over the current administration?

In my book, yes.

Are they the ticket to heal what ails us?

Nope.

Jesus is the answer—and that is still the heart of the gospel and the message America and the world at large needs to hear.

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

The post Decision 2012: Jesus and American politics appeared first on The JourneyMan.

“We must be willing to let go of the life we’ve planned to have the life that is waiting for us” ~EM Forster

What’s the plan, man?

I posted this quote as my Facebook status this morning. Today wasn’t the first time I had run across it. But it was the most recent, and, as every time before, it resonated with me, struck a chord in my soul.

I know that my being in a reflective—and melancholy—mode comes as a great surprise to those who know me best. ~Smirk~

Here I am, nonetheless.

Since early 1997, I have been living in a post-apocalyptic state where personal plans for my life are concerned. Nothing I have done professionally since that time was part of the plan. Whether it was delivering pizzas and driving a taxi (yes, I did both for a short period), working as a salesman, managing a rent-to-own store, teaching middle school or adjusting homeowners’ claims all over the US and (now) Canada, it has all been unscripted.

I had a plan, but my own failures drove me off course. So, I have done what I must to keep the wolf at bay and the fire in the family hearth while I navigated uncertain waters and explored uncharted territory.

For the longest time, I figured this was but a detour. I would get back “on track.” I would be a pastor again. It was just a matter of time. None of this was part of the plan, but the plan was still intact.

How slowly I have come to realize the plan is not about the man. The man and his plan are both subject to the will and way of the only One whose plan is never thwarted, whose way is never lost.

But then I look back on my life and realize how little of it I really planned anyway. It was not my plan but His that I was born into a family of devoted believers. It was not my plan but His that the greatest influences on my formative years were preachers.

I didn’t plan to get married so young, but when I fell in love with Donya, I sure didn’t plan to let her get away.

I guess Donya and I planned to have a family, but we surely didn’t plan to welcome our firstborn into the world just 11 months into our marriage.

I didn’t plan to live in California for seven years or become a senior pastor at the tender age of 23. I didn’t plan my dad’s death or my return to Texas in 1991. I never planned to live in Paris, Texas and serve as pastor to that wonderful family of believers.

So, none of this was planned.

Or…was it?

Jeremiah 29:11-13 ”For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord . “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. ¹² In those days when you pray, I will listen. ¹³ If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me…”

I have finally let go of my plans, so I can learn day-by-day where I fit into His.

That’s my plan and I’m sticking to it.

The post Planning your life is easy; living your plan is not appeared first on The JourneyMan.

To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven…A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away;
Eccl. 3:1,6 (NKJV)

I watched the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma State Cowboys last night. I was elated that my Longhorns won the game, but I was also cognizant that it was one of those games nobody deserved to lose. Both teams played well enough to win. Both of the young quarterbacks were on their game. Both teams fought and scrapped and took advantage of almost every opportunity.

It reminded me of a poem I stumbled onto a decade or so ago…

Here’s to the Men Who Lose

Here’s to the men who lose!
What though their work be e’er so nobly planned,
And watched with zealous care,
No glorious halo crowns their efforts grand;
Contempt is failure’s share.

Here’s to the men who lose!
If triumph’s easy smile our struggles greet,
Courage is easy then;
The king is he who, after fierce defeat,
Can up and fight again.

Here’s to the men who lose!
The ready plaudits of a fawning world
Ring sweet in victors’ ears;
The vanquished’s banners never are unfurled;
For them sound no cheers.

Here’s to the men who lose!
The touchstone of true worth is not success;
There is a higher test –
Though fate may darkly frown, onward to press,
And bravely do one’s best.

Here’s to the men who lose!
It is the vanquished’s praise that I sing,
And this is the toast I choose:
‘A hard-fought failure is a noble thing!
Here’s to the men who lose!’
-George L. Scarborough

To the men who lose

America loves a winner. We love front-runners and underdogs (who win.) We celebrate the victors while relegating the vanquished to historical footnotes. And that makes us…no different from any other people populating planet Earth.

Ah, the thrill of victory!

Oh, the agony of defeat!

If you have been long in this world, you have experienced both. One is sweet; the other bitter. But both are invaluable.

If you never lost, how would you know how good winning could feel? If you never failed, how would you know how sweet the taste of success? Babe Ruth knew the feeling of success. He hit more home runs than anyone else in his day. He also knew better than anyone the bitterness of failure, because he led the world in strikeouts.

Think about it! The best in the world fail more than they succeed. No one wins all the Super Bowls or all the World Series or all the Masters’ jackets…

Show me a person who never fails and I will show you a person who never accomplishes anything worthwhile.

That business venture of yours may meet with wild success…or you may have to close your doors soon. Your proposal may be accepted, or it may be rejected. You may ace that test or you may barely squeak by. Regardless, if you have laid it all on the line, if you have done the absolute best you can do, then you have won! You have won the smile of God. You have won the admiration of those who know you best and love you most. And you have won the right to lick your wounds, learn from your mistakes, reload your gun…and fire again.

A Thought for Today: The loser is not the one who does SOMETHING and fails; the loser is the one who does NOTHING and succeeds.

A Prayer For Today: “Father, help me to meet the challenges of my life with determination and commitment. If I stumble, steady me; if I fall, pick me up; if I go the wrong way, stop me. But help me, Lord, never to quit. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

The post Here’s to the men who lose! appeared first on The JourneyMan.

Rockin’ my leisure suit

Today I turned 51.

And that is the first lie I have told today.

I woke up this morning thinking I would wax eloquent and pontificate on lessons learned in my first half century on planet earth. Now that I am 51, I can tell everybody what to look for in those first fifty years.

That’s when I remembered that the birthday number is the first lie we tell ourselves to make us feel younger. You see, we ought to celebrate our first birthday as soon as we are born. Well, not as soon as…let the nurse clean you up and give yourself time to get over being pissed off about being ripped from the only home you have ever known. Then…cake with a single candle, birthday hats, a clown…the works!

Happy first birthday!

If we did it like that, then, when we turned two, we would just be starting our second year, rather than being done with it.

I do not, however, know a single woman that would be in favor of this formula, so I won’t push it.

Still, I can’t talk about everything I learned in my first 50 years today. I should have gotten on that a year ago. I probably spent this 51st year unlearning about half of it anyhow, so go figure it out for yourself.

At any rate: I do not turn 51 today. I end 51 today and start 52 tomorrow. If you want to wish me a happy 52nd tomorrow, I won’t complain about being celebrated two consecutive days.

Age Is Just a Number

I am constantly amazed at how old I am. It just doesn’t seem possible that I could still have so much to do, still act so immature, still feel so uncertain, still have so many questions…and be this dadgum old.

I think it is because the body ages, but the spirit is meant for eternity. I am beginning to understand that the “old folks” I come across every day do not see themselves as I see them. In their hearts and minds, they are the young, vibrant, sometimes-exuberant, often-overwhelmed youth they always were.

So am I.

Still. If one more smug well-meaner says to me, “C’mon Brother Gene. Age is just a number”…

Not long ago, a fellow said that very thing to me and then proceeded to complain about the temperature outside and the size of his paycheck.

Does anyone else see the irony here or do I have to spell it out?

We talk about grumpy old men without realizing that half the reason they are grumpy is because we treat them like old (aka, out of touch, over-the-hill, no longer relevant) men.

It beats the alternative

Inevitably, when someone celebrates a birthday that has a fairly big number attached to it, someone will say, “Hey, it beats the alternative.”

Yes. Yes, it does.

But weren’t these same people just singing “I Am Bound for the Promised Land” and “When the Roll is Called Up Yonder” last Sunday?

I guess we are all like Little Johnny. He was the only one refused to raise his hand when the Sunday School teacher asked the class who all wanted to go to Heaven.

Concerned, the teacher asked, “Don’t you want to go to Heaven, Johnny?”

“Of course!”

“Why didn’t you raise your hand?”

“I thought you were getting up a group to go today.”

You are only as old as you feel

God, I hope not.

If so, there is nothing the least bit linear about my aging experience. I am bouncing all over the calendar. One day, I feel like a lost child, wishing I could ask Dad which way is home and the next day, my hip is aching with the change of weather.

You are not as old as you feel. You are as old as you are. That said, you may as well “feel” good about where you are, because that is where you are.

But you don’t get to stay there. You have to keep moving. Keep pushing forward. Keep going where you are going.

But, slow down. Take your time, because, amid the birthday lies, I found this truth…

The Journey called “Life” goes by fast enough without us hurrying it along

Every kid wants to hurry up and be 16, so he can drive. Every 16 year old wants to be 18, so he can graduate and be an “adult” and go to college. Every college kid wants to hurry up and get that degree and storm the real world with the knowledge and enthusiasm he and he alone in the history of humankind will bring to the world of adults and the business they conduct.

The weary adults punching the various clocks of the world want to hurry up and retire.

The singles want to hurry up and get married. The marrieds want to hurry up and have a baby. The ones with babies want the little farts to hurry up and grow up and stop messing their pants already.

Meanwhile, the retired people are watching the smug, young doctor snap the latex gloves into place so he can poke, prod and otherwise rob them of their dignity. They shake their weary heads and wonder why everyone is in such a big hurry to get where they are.

So, happy birthday to me. Age is just a number and mine is still pretty low. You are only as old as you feel, and I feel fine.

It beats the alternative.

It’s a great day to be alive. Thanks to all who wished me a happy birthday. It is…because you are.

The post The Greybeard Chronicles | Age is just a number and other happy birthday lies appeared first on The JourneyMan.