Who Gave the Scarecrow a Gun?

As I was sitting here looking forward to a three day weekend, I noted a post by a friend on Facebook:

Do you wanna build a... Soundproof room so I never have to hear that song again? ‪#‎dadtweet‬ ‪#‎ifihadadaughter‬ ‪#‎frozen‬ ‪#‎frozenisannoying‬

For some reason, that post made me think back to when my girls were very young. At some point, they had discovered the wonders of that classic movie "The Wizard of Oz." Now. I had grown up watching that movie every Thanksgiving and still remember how scared I was of the Wicked Witch of the West.

Well, my girls became so enamored of the film that I would check the VHS tape (if you're not sure what that is,,,look it up!) out from the library for two weeks at a time and we watched it over...and over... and over...and over...and...well, I think you get the picture.

By the time my girls had grown out of their fixation with "The Wizard", I had learned so many things about the movie that I had never known growing up, like a throwaway line by the witch that referenced a dance number that was cut from the final edition - "a little bug"[listen for it when the flying monkeys are dispatched] or the fact that while walking through the forest, the lion carries a bug spray can.

The reason I bring this up in reference to the Facebook post is this...never grow tired of enjoying the things your kids take pleasure in. Listen to the song over and over and over and..well you get the picture! You may learn something you never knew and it will create memories that you will never forget (and never regret!)

http://theparentcue.org/kids-are-funny-terrifying/

Perception is...

The normal completion to that phrase is the word "reality" and it's normally used in reference to someone's complaint. The individual being complained about will claim innocence and the complainer will say "that's not how I saw that" and then the phrase flies in...

Well, perception is reality. If that's how they perceived it, it was real to them. What usually follows is a caveat about how we say something or present ourselves to others. Be careful...perception is reality!

I thought about this phrase after a conversation I had with a co-worker. We were talking about how we had handled circumstances in our early careers as supervisors and how our attitudes had changed over time. We both have learned the lesson of the Serenity Prayer - knowing the difference between the things we can and cannot change.

Toward the end of our talk, my co-worker said " you are a good man...a spiritual man...I'm not nearly as spiritual as you." To be honest, I was taken aback. I try my best to be a nice guy and live according to the precepts of my faith, but feel I fall short many times. For someone I work with to make a statement like that humbled me. I can only hope that what they say is true:

Perception is Reality!

Where Have I Been Living?

Jonah 1:3

But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. 

Most people have heard about the story of Jonah. The usual focus is on the fact that he was swallowed by a "great fish" and spent 3 days and nights in its belly. The theological import of that part of the tale is that it serves as a type of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection.

As I sat in my church service this morning, Jonah 1:3 seemed to stand out to me. Our pastor was making the point that God has a determined purpose for us at times in our life and whether or not the door that He places before us is ornate and comfortable or rugged and difficult, we should trust Him and walk through it. Jonah chose not to do so.

Jonah was a comfortable, popular prophet in Israel, a VIP of sorts. He was very pleased to stay in that role...and then "the Word of the Lord came to Jonah" (Jonah 1:1) This Word that Jonah heard would stir him from his comfortable existence and plunge him into the heart of the most evil empire on the face of the earth. God told him to go to Nineveh, the capitol of the Assyrian Empire and preach repentance to them.

Jonah knew about the Assyrians and their well-pulicized atrocities. In his mind, he couldn't fathom the chance that God could possibly want to forgive them. So Jonah said no to God and...

...Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. 

It is interesting that Jonah headed for Tarshish, a destination that was in the exact opposite direction from God's door to Nineveh. It is also interesting that, by coincidence, there was a ship waiting for Jonah going to that very place.

All this talk about running from God got me thinking about my own life. My grandmother had once told me that I would grow up to be a preacher (i laughed!). Through her prayers and others, I finally found Christ as my Savior and ended up at a Christian college. Once upon a time, I had served as a minister of youth for three different churches. At the point where I left the last ministerial position, I took a different path and have functioned as a radiographer and educator for the past 22 years.

The question I found myself asking this morning was...Have I been living in Tarshish? Don't get me wrong...I'm not claiming to be some great prophet that ran from a hard task placed on him by God. But I do see some personal similarities in the story. I just know that I am wondering now if I may have missed a door and ended up in Tarshish. For Jonah, Tarshish was his attempt to flee from God and not do the task assigned. 

I wonder if Tarshish can also be the place people settle for when they don't really see the task...when they are not sure if God has actually placed a particular door in front of them. I don't believe that I actually tried to go in an opposite direction from God. I have still had chances to minister for Him in many different ways where I am today. This morning's message just made me think...did I take the path of least resistance and end up in the less than optimal place that God intended?

Don't get me wrong...I have enjoyed the years I have spent here in this community, serving patients and mentoring students and (yes) ministering in His church. This morning's message just stirred some thoughts.
There is not regret in the thinking, merely a curiosity of how I responded to doors or the perception of the lack thereof.

Out of the Frying Pan…Congratulations FTCC Radiography Class of 2014!

It seems like only yesterday (another one of those cliched openings, like "It was a dark and stormy night") that I stood where this group is today. I had braved the total immersion of my mind with facts, figures, chemicals, positions, techniques, foreign languages (bremsstrahlung, obdurator foramen), Greek mythology (Atlas, Achilles [in particular his tendon]), all in preparation for a looming, foreboding entity known as "The Registry". The Registry - a 200 question Herculean task that would (if I passed) validate me as a producer of radiographs or would  (if I failed) dash my hopes and toss me into an abyss of despair (well, maybe that is a little melodramatic, but you get the idea). In my day (how totally elderly I sound right now) I and my fellow students had to wait with bated breath for weeks to know if we had been successful (large envelope in the mail) or if we had fallen short (small envelope). I hope you graduates realize how lucky you are to have instant gratification!

At the end of the two year course…after doubts and fears…criticisms and counselings…passing and failing…instructors encouraging, techs believing and fellow students rallying…I stood, as you now stand, at the edge of a new future. I look back at what I went through, at the things that seemed hard and harsh and the people that were instrumental in my path, and I find that I do not regret one single step in that process. In fact, those were placed in my path for my edification and I value them highly, as I am sure you will as well.

Whatever may come as you move forward….whatever road you travel down in this career or another… you can always know that you were involved in a monumental achievement…you graduated from one of the best Radiography programs in the country. And as the old saying goes…If it were easy, everyone would do it!

Let's Try This Again...

I remember when I was young (in the day when dinosaurs roamed the earth) that I thought I would like to be an author when I grew up. It seemed so cool to be able to create worlds and characters just from your own imagination. Of course, part of my fascination with writing was my voracious love of reading, especially in the genre of science fiction. I saw myself as becoming the next Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, H.G. Wells or Jules Verne.

Alas, my dreams of literary fame were not to be. Although I still love science fiction, I never really stepped out and tried to accomplish that "author" dream of mine. Life, as it always seems to do, took me in different directions than I had expected and so, here I stand…an individual who can't even discipline himself to write a regular blog entry, much less the next "War of the Worlds".

I am going to try and at least rectify the blog-posting deficit.

One can never be certain that what is written will be of any interest to anyone else. Possibly all that will be accomplished is perhaps some sort of catharsis or cleansing or release or just plain venting. Maybe all it will do is make you think through things for yourself or indulge a fantasy or fill some empty time in the day. Therefore, my motivation is not to achieve some sort of acclaim or notoriety with this or any other post that I may create. I'm just going to try and communicate my thoughts…perhaps random…perhaps purposeful…We will see...