Explosions, a Pig and 100 Intentional Years. Happy Birthday Art!

"HOOYAH!  HOOYAH!  HOOYAH!  HOOYAH!"  Art exclaimed while moving through a very large gathering of his family and friends signaling the beginning of a powerful and inspirational night of celebration.  In response, a standing ovation offered in honor, appreciation and encouragement with countering shouts of "HOOYAH! HOOYAH! HOOYAH!  HOOYAH!" rang through the air.  I can't imagine a more fitting way to begin this celebration for Art, a WWII Frogman.

I attended the 100th birthday party of an amazing friend last night.  It's hard to imagine living that long.  Even more, it's difficult to imagine living as long as Art has successfully.  Fortunately, Art's 100 years have been filled with intentional and meaningful living.  Art has not just occupied each year he has been given, he has packed each year full with bravery and vigor as he has worked hard in building relationships, helping others, connecting others with one another, learning new concepts and processes and thinking and working outside of the box. 

A few of the outside of the box things Art has done that were shared last night were: using explosives to remove tree roots, making a coat rack out of rebar, using rebar to guide the growth of tomato plants, raising a pet pig with his brothers and sisters, flying his friends and family in his own airplane from Stark County to Pennyslvania for an evening supper date ("not anything fancy"), using a FAX machine when they first became available, using computers when they first became available, talking on SKYPE to others at a beach at the age of 99, allowing his grand kids to shoot machine guns, and working in non-traditional ways.

I had the opportunity to speak with one of Art's engineering friends for a while at his party.  His name was Jack.  Jack told many stories of how Art used to get in at ground zero and help out on each project as if he were a laborer.  As the president of his firm, he could have delegated the responsibility of supervision.  Instead, he got right in and helped out on the job site.  He told a story about how one of the products on the job site was not working properly and how Art had a new product provided on site within hours of discovering the problem. This was all arranged after discovering the problem late at night.  He was very impressed with Art's long life of hard work, commitment to progress and getting things done right.

Yes, Art enjoys talking, but he also enjoys getting things done.  If he sees something that needs taken care of, he takes care of it.  He doesn't waste a whole lot of time contemplating whether or not he should get involved. He figures out a way to make a difference and he takes care of problems.  A good example of this is how he immediately purchased a state of the art scale for his son's wrestling team when he found out they were using a bathroom scale for weigh-ins. 

Many may look at growing to be 100 as a life that must have had many problems...especially in the later years.  However, Art doesn't seem to have the ability to get down or depressed by the problems that come his way.  Of all the time I have spent with Art over the last 10 years, he has never told me not to get old!  As a Physical Therapist, I hear "Whatever you do..., don't grow old..." at least four or five times a week.  Art has never said that.

There is much to say about a man who wrestled for Ohio State, was the Commanding Officer of the of the Under Water Demolition Team 17 in WWII., was the president of an engineering firm and the father and grandfather of many wonderful, bright, ingenuitive and proactive children and grandchildren.  I hope to reminisce off and on about the things Art has taught me.  But, after leaving the party tonight, I was just reminded of the importance of living a life on mission.

What mattered most to all the people at Art's party tonight was the way Art befriended them and helped out in one way or another.  It seems Art has made a difference in people's lives by giving them books to read, buying them helpful gadgets and devices to use to make their jobs run more smoothly or more efficiently, connecting people to others who have experience, sharing some of the secrets he has learned along the way and by leading the way by not falling into the traditional patterns and ruts that come along over the process of living in our daily routines.

What a great celebration of life!    HOOYAH!

No talking! No emotion!

"If you have trouble talking too much, how do you accomplish the difficult goal of remaining calm and quiet in a discipline situation?"  Great question!  I am enjoying the book, 1-2-3 Magic for Christian Parents.  Effective Discipline for Children 2-12, by Thomas Phelan and Chris Webb.  They state that the more parents talk, the more frustrated their kids will tend to be and that parents should not spend a whole lot of time trying to reason with their kids during times of discipline.  They state that parents are often mistaken by treating their kids like little adults.  They call this the "little adult assumption."

Back to the original question...for those of us who enjoy talking, we may have a more difficult time keeping our mouths shut in times of intense emotion than someone who finds it more easy to be on the quiet side.  Being an outgoing, talkative person, I have found the following verse helpful to say over and over. "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.  For man's anger does not bring about the righteous life God desires." James 1:19  "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs so that it may bring grace to all who here." 

The authors sum it up by stating: No Talking!  No Emotion!

"A full gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control."  Proverbs 29:11
"When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise."  Proverbs 10:19

Teachable Spirit

I remember our prior pastor, John Hampton, talking about the importance of having a teachable spirit.  I love learning more.  Gaining new perspectives and learning new thoughts always makes me feel refreshed.  I recently learned that learning new things actually stimulates our Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS).  The PNS is the opposite of the Sympathetic Nervous System.  The PNS helps us relax and rest while the Sympathetic Nervous System allows for fight or flight.

I am currently reading 1-2-3 Magic for Christian Parents.  Effective Discipline for Children 2-12 and the authors recommended the following scripture:

Proverbs 13:18 (New International Version, ©2011)

 ¹⁸ Whoever disregards discipline comes to poverty and shame,
   but whoever heeds correction is honored.

Good thinking and accurate perceptions

We have our second transformation meeting coming up.  The theme is renewal.  In preparation, I was looking to confirm the author of the quote that "if we think the way we want to feel we will eventually feel the way we think" and I came accrossed the following quote by John Ortberg, "Over the long haul, good thinking, accurate perceptions, healthy emotions, wholesome desires, honorable intentions- cannot produce bad results; bad thinking cannot produce good results." If You Want to Walk on Water You Have to Get Our of the Boat

I couldn't make the small dirt pile move

When I was real little (probably second or third grade), I remember hearing that all I needed was just a little faith to move mountains.  So, I went outside one day and thought I would give it a shot.  Except, I figured I would try it on a little pile of dirt.  So I got my toy John Deere backhoe and pushed some dirt around to make a little pile.  Then, I remember sitting behind the pile and praying that God would make it move.  I believed he could make it move, but it never moved.

Lately, I have been working on memorizing Matthew 17:20.  While I run, I like to say it over and over in my head.   Sometimes, I think I get discouraged with the idea of faith moving mountains because I couldn't even move a pile of dirt...I have tried that experiment off and on through the years :).

Matthew 17:20 (New International Version, ©2011)

 ²⁰ He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

www.biblegateway.com 

Appetite stewardship

I am listening to a Podcast right now by Andy Stanley and he is talking about how to manage spending.  He states that the more aware we are of what we do not have, the more discontent we will be.  He also states that the more we feed our appetite for more, the more our appetite will grow.  He states the only way to make our appetites smaller is to feed them less.  Sometimes, I think our appetites make us believe that if we just "eat a little more" we will be fulfilled.  However, we know that is not true.  The more we eat the more we want. 

We have to be stewards of our appetites.