SCOTT hamilton

In Perspective

I filled up the gas tank again yesterday.  It always hurts.  But just to keep things in perspective:

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Things I'd Rather Do . . .

Things I’d rather do than watch the “Left Behind” trilogy:

 

10. Wet-willie Chuck Norris

9. Spend a day with any of the political candidates

8. Try running of the bulls wearing high heels

7. Run the Bolder Boulder again

6. Poke a Great White in the eye while wearing a seal fur coat

5. Have a pedicure from Boy George

4. Give a pedicure to Boy George

3. Sit front row at a John Tesh concert

2. Chew on tin foil

1. Get a “physical” every week with Dr. Briggs (OK maybe not)

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God I Don't Get it . . .

I don’t get it. Why did God create us with hair?

 

OK. I get some of the hair. Like Eye brows and lashes. They keep dust and stuff out of my eyes. The hair on my head keeps me warm. But hair on my toes…? I don’t get it. There is hair in the weirdest places (not to worry I won’t be expounding on this).  And why does it keep getting longer the older I get. I recognize why I have ‘peach fuzz’ around my ears – to keep stuff out. But why did a few rogue hairs have to morph into deluxe length repelling ropes.

 

Psalm 139:14

14and I praise you because of the wonderful way you created me. Everything you do is marvelous! Of this I have no doubt. CEV

 

OOKAYY . . . God why couldn't we stay that way then?

 

God is it because the older I get the slower I get and the more vulnerable I am to treacherous specks of dust. Is that why I need the extra protection. But God I still don’t understand the length thing. A higher density medium length solution seems logical. That one extra long hair reminds me of the long stemmed flower catching that pollen dot in “Horton Hears a Who” (hey that may explain the voices).

 

God I’ll just add this to my list of questions . . . right behind your sovereignty and my free will.

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What is Love

Love is not a feeling. You cannot “fall out of love” with someone.
 

Love is a choice. You either choose to love someone or not. The feelings follow the choice. When you choose to love someone you are propelled into action. Love is expressed through action. It is a conscience choice to sacrifice your own desires and put someone else first. When the choice and action to love someone else is present then your attention turns to that person and you develop feelings of affection, fondness, and even infatuation for that person. The feelings are the result of your choice and actions.
 

Love is not a feeling it is a choice. You cannot fallout of love with someone – you simply choose to stop loving them.

Happy Valentine's Day sweetie - you make the choice easy!  I love you.

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Gettin' Chicky with Christmas

With all the distancing of retailers from the term "Christmas", I found it interesting that a fast food joint is leveraging it. Check out what I received with my take-out from Chick-fil-A.

 

Looks like they’ll be having some fun.

(PS. Of all the fast food joints Chick-fil-A out classes them all in the customer service department too)

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Caution: Christmas Rant Ahead

I don’t get it.

For followers of Jesus Christmas is the celebration of Jesus’ birthday. It is his birthday party.

So why do we encourage others to make lists of what they want? It’s not their birthday. I understand soliciting lists from people for their own birthday but not someone else’s.  "Hey Bob did you know Stan's birthday is coming up so I made a list of the things I want." Sounds ludicrous doesn't it?  But that is what we teach our kids.

I understand that I am in the minority with this approach to Jesus’ birthday. For most followers of Jesus it is the usual “must spend” attitude. They ask, “ why not celebrate Christmas by giving? Wouldn’t Jesus want us to be generous like him?”

Great question.

And I would say that indeed we should be generous like Jesus. I think the question should be:  Is our generosity pointed in the right direction? I cringe every time one my girls offer a list of what they want for Christmas. And I yearn for the year when they come to me with a list of what they want to get Jesus for his birthday. Of course they are just acting out of the training they’ve received – training to be self-centered.

But as a parent don’t you want to give your children gifts? Another great question.

The answer is simply - yes. But more important to me is their heart and their relationship with Jesus. Instead of teaching/modeling for them a self-centered, lust-fest of materialism approach to Jesus’ birthday, I’d rather teach them a sacrificial, others first, Jesus focused approach.

So let’s ask the question: Jesus, what do you want for your birthday? I think this might be a list that he would offer to us.

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' Mt 25:35-36 NIV

You might ask, “Well how do we do that?” and I would say that question just shows how unpracticed we are at getting Jesus what he actually wants for his birthday.

“But isn’t giving to my kids right along the lines of ‘whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me' that Jesus taught?” (v 40 same chapter)

Great question but one that I believe is an attempt at veiling our self-centered/family-centered focus. Really, do our kids/family need more stuff? Are they going without food/shelter/clothing/hope/friendship? Is it really giving to Jesus when we give our kid another electronic gadget rather than giving that cash to the Denver Rescue Mission?  The reason we ask for lists is because our kids/families have so much junk we've run out of ideas.  Not only do they not have needs, we have no idea of what they want.  And neither do they.  All they know is they want more.  AHHHHGG!!

I’m not a scrooge. I love celebrating Jesus’ birthday. I wish we would actually do it. I love showering my family with gifts, but I care more about their hearts.

You know our concupiscence-for-stuff approach to Christmas is basically getting what’s on the want list of the corporations and marketers . . . and that’s a big fat profit.

. . .

And Jesus sits patiently by with his list in hand yearning for us to ask, “Jesus what do you want for your birthday?”

(But Scott my family did send $50 to the Denver Rescue Mission.  Well way to throw Jesus a bone . . . now let's get back to shopping . . .)

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Unlocking Opportunities

So we arrive home at dark:30 and start unloading bags from the grocery hauler. My wife comes in with the last load and informs me that the neighbor across the street has locked himself out of his house. So I do what any good neighbor/pastor would do – I go over and offer the services of my lock picking kit.

A pastor isn’t worth his salt if he doesn’t have a good lock picking kit . . . right?

15 fumbling minutes later we were in.

I once picked a lock with a paper clip and another doohickey.  And I'm no James Bond. It struck me how much perceived security we get from things like locks. We feel safe; we think our stuff is safe, we feel comfortable and cozy surrounded by tangible stuff. What a façade.

I think it’s one reason people don’t consider eternity – they feel safe now and believe the feeling will last forever.

Mt 6:19-21:

19"Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or — worse! — stolen by burglars. 20 Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars. 21 It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.  (MSG)

(PS. Joel I wasn't laughing AT you.  I was laughing WITH you)
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Penelope Intelligence

My wife has been freaking out the past day and a half. “The Rodent is loose!” is what I woke up to the other morning. Technically it is a rodent, but to my girls it is their beloved Penelope, a Panda hamster.

So, after looking high and low (mostly real low) we set a trap. Although my wife has threatened to set a mouse trap before, we agreed to go with something a little less traumatic on the girls. The trap consists of our mop bucket set on a lower step, and old towel in the bottom, some irresistible lettuce and carrots, and a ramp leading to the rim.

The idea behind it is that Penelope will smell her favorite cuisine, climb the ramp, jump down on the soft towel, eat the food, and not be able to scale the high, slippery sides of the bucket. It worked flawlessly. It worked flawlessly because Penelope did not plan ahead and was greedy. She did not think about what she would do after she plunged for the produce. The only thing on her mind was immediate satisfaction. She did not weigh the risks. She was limited by “Penelope intelligence”.

Although most Americans are not limited by “Penelope intelligence” they sure act like it. Take for example the recent troubles with home loans. People have made decisions with self-imposed limited foresight and are now paying the price. They plunged after the produce without thinking about their next step.

My father-in-law, whom I love and respect very much, would put the brunt of the blame on the government –specifically a certain political party. But I have to ask why aren’t the individual people who put their signatures on the loan papers responsible? They knew the risks just like everyone else, and yet chose only to focus on the carrots.

Speaking of focusing on the carrots . . . what’s the next step for you after this life?

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Sad to See Shamu

One of the saddest moments in our trip was seeing Shamu (a stage name shared by many orcas both male and female) at Sea World. 

Killer Whales are one of the most majestic animals in the ocean, and one of the characteristics that add to their mystique is their dorsal fin – sometimes reaching to six feet in height.  

Many killer whales in captivity experience dorsal fin collapse. There are several theories as to why it happens, but nevertheless it’s a sad thing to see. To me it stands as a reminder that the best place for these animals is in the wild, not doing cute parlor tricks for us in captivity. I’m no animal rights extremist (If I ever join PETA please kill me!). Humans are the crowning glory of God’s creation. We have been set apart from the animals. No animal should be set above the life of a human – ever. 

But I don’t think keeping these gallant creatures in captivity for trivial entertainment is what God had in mind when he said,

 

Ge 1:28
"Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth."
MSG

 

Like Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus, I won’t be returning to Sea World.

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57 Varieties

Pain has been on my mind a lot lately. Probably because I’m such a wuss. Driving to work the other day I was thinking about the different kinds of physical pain I experience. There is:
 

• Throbbing – when a burst pain is synchronized with every beat of your heart.
• Shooting Nerve – like when you hit your funny bone. This can be a one time occurrence, or a continuous sensation.
• Dull Ache (nerve) – this is somewhat like the throbbing pain except there are no pulses. It is just a flow of low-level pain.
• Dull Ache (muscle) – This pain is felt in the muscles like after a day at the gym or when you have the flu. And like the entry above it is a constant low-level flow.
• Healing – this is an ache that is accompanied by a tingle which indicates that your body is healing itself from an injury.
• Acute – the best example of this is a paper cut. You know exactly where it hurts and it hurts like the dickens.
• General – This is the opposite of acute. It’s when you hurt in a large area and the source is not precise.
• Numb – This is when you hit your thumb with a hammer. The pain is excruciating and yet you can’t feel the tip of your thumb.
• 1000 Pin Pricks – This is pain that you feel when hands that had approached frost bite start to regain warmth. You can feel this to a much lesser degree when blood starts flowing into an appendage that had fallen asleep.

 

I know this isn’t 57 varieties as advertised, but I was surprised at how many I came up with.

Revelation 21:4 He'll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good — tears gone, crying gone, pain gone — all the first order of things gone."
(from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)

 

I can’t wait.

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