Best Dressed

Almost weekly one group or another seems to publish their list of best dressed - celebrities - international figures - men - women - children - senior citizen - teen - child actor - dogs - cats - ad nauseum. We seem to be obsessed with how people look - how clothes look on certain people - who wore it the best - worse. If we believed the media then looks would be the criteria upon which we valued people. Personalities - manners - attitude - aside - only what pleases the eyes - not the mind - heart. Being caught up in these mindless games - not a sign of maturity. Everyone knows that what really matters - is inside - who the person really is - not what they look like. A beautiful woman - man - might just be the shallowest - meanest person alive. 

God knows each of us so well - He does not look at our appearance - clothes - jewelry - homes - cars - bank accounts. He looks into our hearts - minds - where we love - whom we love. Inside where no one can see - except God - is what really matters. The same goes for us - we should not judge a book by its cover - nor people by their possessions - rather their words - actions. When God call us to serve Him - He did not ask us to first buy a new suit - dress - rather He accepted us as we were - no changes needed. As we continue in this Easter Season - we need to continue to celebrate the gift of New Life offered by God - for ourselves - for others - just as we are.

Deacon Dale  

The Glass of Water

As the story goes an instructor asked her class how much the glass of water weighed that she was holding in her hand. Guesses varied from eight ounces up to twenty ounces. She went on to explain that the actual weight meant nothing - rather the time she held it up was the important factor. She explained - even if on the heavy side - she could hold it in her hand for many minutes comfortably - after an hour her arm would begin to ache - after many hours she would develop a cramp - end up with a very sore - tired arm. The point she was attempting to get across was that there are burdens - and there are big burdens. The most common burden anyone has to cope with is mental - emotional. When a person is troubled - the burden weighs on the mind - dampens the spirit - causes depression. The longer we attempt to cope - the longer we stress - the greater the burden - the deeper the depression. Learning to deal with issues immediately - seeking resolution promptly - goes a long way to good mental health - a happy spirit. Often help is needed from others - sometimes professionals. Learning to cope early on - decreases the burden - make it manageable - makes time for other more important issues - like living a happy life.

Jesus told us that He came that we might have life and live it to the fullest. Some say He promised a rose garden - a beautiful garden filled with green leaves - red roses - thorns. Yes - in the midst of the beauty - thorns. Thorns - that stick - prick - hurt - sting - pierce the skin. Just as in real life - among all that is beautiful - pleasant - enjoyable - we have to contend with the thorns - the things that are not pleasant - loss of a loved one - unemployment - unreasonable taxes - politicians who distort the truth - divorce - illness - dozens of unpleasant things. These hurt - cause physical - emotional pain - make us bleed from our inner spirits. Trusting in God - leading us into a full life - He heals the hurts - minimizes the time we suffer - quenches our thirst for relief. If you have been holding your glass of troubles too long - give it to Jesus. He will lift your burden - offer it to God - who in turn will give you the joy you seek. 

Deacon Dale 

ESL

Today I had my first experience with ESL - English as a Second Language - helping local people to become fluent in speaking English. I was a little concerned as this was my first teaching session - obviously I wanted to do well - to help my student. Adding to my discomfort - I was scheduled to teach Level 2 - jumping over Level 1 - where to start - what had the student picked up from her first instructor. As it was - no problem! She was very pleasant - had learned a fair amount at Level 1 - completely ready for advanced study. In the process we are instructed to only speak English - avoid using their native language even if we knew it. Following the teacher's manual was easy - adding in a few words in Spanish - greatly improved the comfort level of both teacher and student. For me this was not only teaching - also ministry - offering myself as a volunteer - to help a fellow human. Facilitating communication - among others - the first step in better relations - understanding.

After God confused the language of the world at the Tower of Babel - the need to slow down - speak in simple words - hand gestures - looking into each other's eyes - to communicate common needs - wants - desires. We have been given a gift from God - the ability to listen - speak - talk - feel - understand. It is in our understanding each other that we begin to better understand ourselves. The better we understand - know ourselves - the closer we come to God.  The closer we come to God - the closer we come to the Divine. That is the goal of most people - seeking to know - God.

Deacon Dale 

Family Feud

Family Feud is a television game show in which two families compete against each other in an attempt to win - money - cars - chance to return for future games. Hosted by Steve Harvey  it is a fun game to watch. The questions - as well as answers - often beyond ridiculous - sometimes embarrassing. Overall - fun to observe - trying to outguess the contestants - all in the name of sharing the experience. All family conflicts should be filled with as much laughter - fun - rather than anger - fighting. It is unbelievable how many families fail to get along with other families - often each other - leading to both verbal - physical abuse. It is especially sad when members of the same family argue - fight - over issues which end up splitting the family - destroying relationships - often in the name of pride.

God created mankind as one giant human family - many fail to acknowledge this fact. Differences both visible - intellectual - spiritual - emotional - divide the one great human family into thousands of smaller groups. This was never God's plan - He sent Jesus - to heal  the hurts - close the gaps - stimulate conversation - to restore the family as one. In many instances families have been reconciled - many more have yet to heal the hurt - close the gap. As people of God it is up to each of us to - pray - work - help - to defend the family - restore it as God planned. We start in our own family - venture out from there - to the community - the world. It may seem an impossible task - with God - all things are possible.

Deacon Dale 

Speaking in Tongues

Glossolalia - speaking in tongues - according to those who study language - is the action of vocalizing speech-like syllables which lack any easily understandable meaning. Sometimes this is considered merely babble - other times in religious use - a divine language which the one speaking does not know - has not been trained in that language. The most common place where one might hear someone speaking in tongues is at a Pentecostal or Charismatic religious service. Many are confused - apprehensive - of those who speak in tongues - not sure of the validity of this phenomenon.  It has been explained that this happens when one has connected intimately with God - unable to express in their native tongue the - joy - happiness - reverence - they have for God - receive this gift from God - to be able to continue their praise - worship - at a much higher level of communication - known only by God. 

When God created the world - one language was all that was needed - when mankind became too caught up in themselves not listening to God - at the Tower of Babel - He confused the people by creating a multitude of languages - a means to slow them down - to stumble - to pause - reconsider - what they were doing. Today it is estimated that there are approximately 6500 languages in the entire world. Add to that number - different dialects - one can see how difficult it may be to communicate with each other. Solving the world's issues means that all of us need to be able to speak a common language - not in tongues known only by God - a language that although spoken with different sounds creates a sense of cooperation - a common bond - serving the people of God. The one language shared by all peoples - the one spoken by Jesus - God - the language of Love.

Deacon Dale 

Reader's Survey

It is very fashionable today for everyone to perform surveys to see how they are performing - if they are meeting goals - expectations - keeping everyone happy - addressing issues if and when they arise. Sometimes one wonders - do these surveys really mean anything - does anyone really care - does the data collected have any affect - benefit anybody. I believe that the majority are well founded - intended - to keep customers - clients - happy with the product - service they receive. A few - very likely - lead nowhere - benefit no one - basically a time waster - keeping some corporate official happy that the survey was designed - implemented - although never followed up on. As a blogger - I wonder from time to time - who am I benefiting - is my blogging a waste of time - energy - or do people really read and benefit from these wanderings of my mind. I reviewed my statistics earlier and I found it interesting the countries where my readers come from. Obviously since I am based in the USA - that is where the largest group of my readers live. Following is a list of countries identified as following my blog in descending order of page views - you might find this interesting. 

                                                          #1 USA

                                                          #2 Russia

                                                          #3 Ukraine

                                                          #4 Germany

                                                          #5 France

                                                          #6 Canada

                                                          #7 China

                                                          #8 Latvia

                                                          #9 United Kingdom

                                                        #10 Poland

                                                        #11 Portugal

                                                        #12 Japan

                                                        #13 Sweeden

                                                        #14 Netherlands

                                                        #15 United Arab Emirates

                                                        #16 Brazil

So I ask you - the readers - if you are able - to please leave a brief comment on who you are - not your name - rather - student - teacher - priest - housewife - writer - and your country. Hopefully;I will receive some interesting feedback.

Jesus asked us to trust in Him - although none of us has ever seen Him or the Father - we have been asked by Our Lord to - give Him the benefit of the doubt - to believe His words - what has been written about Him - that He is the Son of God. He does not ask us to answer questions - do surveys - jump through any hoops - fill out sheets of papers. His request is that we become people of faith - living as He did - open - honest. Following with out questions - accepting Him - just as He is - just as He accepts us - no questions asked.

Deacon Dale 

Color Blind

If you look up - color blind - on Google - you will be taken to Wikipedia which describes it as the inability or decreased ability to see color or perceive color differences under normal lighting conditions. It is estimated that about eight percent of males of Northern European ancestry have this condition - much less in women. This condition was first recognized in 1798. The gene for color is found on  the X chromosome which explains why women are affected less since they have two X chromosomes versus men who have only one X chromosome. Even if the gene is missing on one chromosome in women - the gene on the second X chromosome is enough to allow them to see and discern between colors. Although interesting - the issue to address is the current issue of - lives that matter - that people of color - yellow - brown - red - white - black - are no different than people of different languages or cultures - as if a yellow skinned person is more or less important than a brown or red skinned person. Color is an inherited trait - none of us selected the color of our skin - most of us do not look at a person's color as the first thing we notice - rather the eyes - the windows of the heart - the gateway to really knowing another. 

When God created mankind - He allowed for variations in skin color - texture - based on the region in which people lived - different skin types developed in response to environmental influences - as a means of protection from the elements. When He created mankind - He was not focused on the skin color - rather that the skin would be strong - yet pliable - able to reproduce itself - to grow as the body grew - to afford protection from the sun - heat - other environmental factors. He created each one of us to be equal - with the same opportunities - same hopes - same dreams. To God each and every one of us is extremely important - every one of our lives matters - each of us has significance. As children of God - we should all share that same belief - no matter what the color of another is - all lives matter.

Deacon Dale 

La Fée

La Fée - The Fairy - is a French movie - English subtitles - that I watched the other night. There are three interesting things that I learned watching this movie - #1 - people believe in fairies - magic - hope - #2 - I was surprised how much of my one year of French 50 years ago I remembered - #3 - The French make unusual movies.  Why did I watch it once I realized it was subtitled - curiosity - it started off weird and stayed weird. It was filled with so many visually funny scenes - I was hooked. In the end - left me with the question - what did I just watch? Why?  Basically it became a love story about two unique individuals - living very ordinary lives - partially delusional - nothing going for either - until they met. I will not say anything more about the movie except - people flying through the air - a baby on the back end of a Mercedes - three wishes - a scooter - free gasoline.

When God created the world and all that is in it - He created possibly one of His greatest gifts - Diversity. We are all - not the same - different - colors - body types - languages - cultures - likes - dislikes - mindsets -  preferences. We come from different places - one side or another when looking at oceans - continents - North - South - East - West. Some like it hot - others cold - many - in between. Although different - we are all  the same - children of God - created in His likeness - loving - thinking - beings - one common goal - life. It is amazing that in our differences - we are so very similar - in our hopes - dreams - desires.  It is even more amazing - that we lack tolerance - acceptance of others - judgmental - unforgiving. The Easter Bunny brings eggs - multicolored eggs - everyone loves them - perhaps we should take a lesson from those eggs - all signs of New Life - signs that we should learn to love - everyone - after all - we were all eggs of another kind - at one time in our life - not from bunnies or fairies -  loved completely - by God. 

Deacon Dale 

Dream Big

Dream Big - shoot for the stars - go for the gold - all phrases encouraging people to try their best. Everyone wants to be an achiever - to excel at things where others have failed. Unfortunately - many dreams - shattered before attempted. How often have you heard the comment - you can't do that - nobody does that - why do you want to do that - are you crazy?  Most often spoken - out of jealousy - fear of another achieving  - something others haven't - lacking faith in possibilities previously untried. All improvements - new discoveries - changes in techniques - a dream - the hope of a potential success. Rather than questioning any one's ability- the possibility of success should be encouraged. People should be taught to - color outside the lines - speak up even when not invited - attempt where others have failed.  If no one ever tries the impossible - dreams will die - fail to exist.

God knows the limits - abilities - of mortal men - women - children. He calls us to explore - to investigate - to push ourselves - to achieve our fullest potential. If we believe Holy Scripture - we have been created in His likeness - each of us is a promise - of great things - awesome successes - mighty dreams. We are called - to glorify God - to dream - BIG.

Deacon Dale 

Taxing Times

I will venture to guess that those who know me - think I am going to write about doing my income taxes. As a matter of fact - about 98% done - so there - time to write about other taxing issues. One only has to watch their local news channel - pick up a newspaper - browse the internet - visit Facebook or other social media - to realize that there is something seriously wrong with this country.  I will not even wander into the political battle ring - filled with so much human waste - both spoken - real - my commentary on the fiasco - politely called - campaigning. In other news - it has become a daily event - videos - stories - about people acting in unbelievably poor ways - treating each other with such little respect - yesterday's post - that it seems more like a bad movie - poorly written - badly acted. It seems to me - in my humble opinion - that way too many people have taken the kool-aid - swallowed - the lies - hook -line - sinker. Sinking to a very low level in society - rich - poor - alike - no one spared. Police brutality - snipers killing fire fighters - police - erratic driving - for no reason - students beating students - parents leaving babies abandoned - the list goes on and on.

Jesus died on the Cross - for you - for me - for all of us - no distinction between color - race - creed - gender - position in society. Today - looking down upon us - He might ask - why? Luckily - He is so much smarter than the whole lot of us - He knows the whys - wherefores - reasons He did what He did. In God's plan - there is humanity - love between different peoples - cultures. In this Easter Season - we pray - Come - Lord Jesus - Save us from ourselves.

Deacon Dale