kenlassblog

One thing I have noticed as we drive through the heartland of America is that small cities adopt their colleges and universities as their public persona and identity. It’s the first thing they put on their welcome road signs. Paducah’s sign boasts “Home of Murray State University”. Clarksville wants you to know Austin Peay is located there. The city of Normal proudly displays the colors of Illinois State. The marquee as you drive through Rockford, Illinois reveals “Rock Valley College, Home of Champions”. I’m not sure what they’ve won, because I had never heard of Rock Valley, but apparently they’ve won something.

These schools are the life blood of these relatively small communities. It makes me thankful we live in a nation where we can choose where we go to school and what we want to study. I suspect young adults in places like North Korea and Iran don’t have those choices.

Thank you Lord for freedom, including the freedom to learn and achieve.

I get the strangest feeling when we travel through the endless, sprawling farmland of Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. It’s almost eerie. You drive through miles of cropland, and everywhere you look there are these futuristic looking, thin, white propeller structures towering over you. They look like something aliens from another planet might have come and installed as weapons to facilitate taking over the earth.

In reality, I am told they are wind turbines. Somehow, the slowly turning, long white blades generate power for these remote rural areas. Since wind is a free, sustainable energy source, it saves cash-strapped farmers many thousands of dollars in power bills. Some farmers also lease their turbines to power companies for extra income. In these days of challenging economy for agriculture, the turbines enable many farms to survive. Funny how nature (read God) provides where help is most desperately needed.

Whew! That’s a relief. For a moment there, I thought I was in the middle of a bad sci-fi movie.

My blogs this week will be written during our cross country car trip. We are driving from near the Gulf coast to nearly the border of Canada. I hope you will find my observations interesting and relatable.

One of my first impressions is I wish I had bought stock in the company that makes those orange and white striped barrels used to mark off lanes for construction. We have run into so much road work, and the lines of those barrels sometimes stretches for miles and miles. Thousands of them. It’s somebody’s job to put all those barrels out and then eventually gather them all up again. Can’t imagine how long that must take.

Thank you, Lord. for rising up people who do the kind of work most of us don’t want to do. They provide a certain kind of ministry that largely goes unnoticed and unappreciated.

Size does matter in the bird world. I’m certainly not an expert on birds, but I’ve learned quite a bit just by observing the feeders in our backyard. Size is everything for them. The little chickadees and finches eat until the bigger cardinal arrives and chases them off. The cardinal eats until the larger blue jay chases him off. The blue jay eats until the mourning dove comes, and so on. Everybody scatters when the hawk enters the scene. He’s the biggest and baddest. He rules.

Being a person of smaller stature, it makes me glad I serve a God who doesn’t care how tall and strong you are. He loves everyone the same. Those who would seek to overpower and intimidate you have no standing with Him.

If you remain faithful, He will make sure it’s your turn at the feeder every day.

Have you ever heard the expression: “The days are long but the years are short”? It really does ring true. Sometimes it seems like a day, especially if you’re having a bad day, drags on and on and never ends. But then you look up and years have passed so quickly, and it catches you by surprise.

We usually don’t think much about our time having a limit until we approach the end of it. The thing is, we never know when that end will come. No doubt, you know of many whose time ended suddenly and unexpectedly. So the opportunity to get your priorities in order is now. Make sure the people you love know it.

If a day seems long, spend part of it ministering to others. Now that’s time well spent.

One way to improve the quality of your life is to hold yourself accountable. When this day is over, ask yourself “Was there at least one thing I did today to bring joy to someone else?” If you can’t think of anything, be intentional about tomorrow. Plan a compliment or kind word or support for someone you know you will see.

Maybe an act of kindness that a friend was not expecting. Perhaps a little treat for your child or grandchild. Just something, or several things, that will make someone else happy. But you can’t rely on it happening spontaneously. Better to premeditate it.

Spreading joy always comes back to you. Thoughtfulness is never a waste of time.

I often envy a young child’s lack of the concept of time. As adults, our lives are controlled by the clock. We have a sequence of things that must be done before the clock reaches a certain point. The time determines when we have to get up, go to work, keep appointments, eat, and sleep.

A toddler, by contrast, could care less what time it is. He gets up when he wants, asks for food when he’s hungry (and usually gets it), plays until he’s tired, naps when he’s tuckered out. He lives completely in the moment, focusing on what is at hand. He doesn’t worry a bit about tomorrow or have any concerns that he is running out of time. He is never late for anything because he doesn’t know what late is.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could just put the clocks and the watches in the closet, sit down and let life just come to us for a while. We need to find room in our lives to do that. Let’s find a little space to live like a toddler.

I am learning the hard way about the various things that become more difficult as you get older. One of them is the ability to lose weight. In younger days, I could just go on a diet and drop several pounds right away. But now I am on the same diet, and not only am I not losing weight, but I’ve gained a couple of pounds!!

I have been working out so I would prefer to think it is additional muscle weight, but in reality I know it’s likely because my metabolism has slowed down to the pace of a sloth. Yep, this growing old is not for sissies. Still, if this is my worst problem, I am incredibly blessed.

Don’t dwell on what you can’t do today. Focus on what you are still able to accomplish. That’s my mission today. I’ll just avoid stepping on the scale.

Walt Disney World likes to call itself The Happiest Place on Earth. For them, it’s just a marketing slogan, but what does it mean to you? What is the happiest place on earth for you? Where do you feel the most peace, the most joy, the most comfort?

Hopefully it’s some place where you are surrounded by family and friends. Most of us are happiest when we are giving love and receiving it in return. You can rent happiness for a while with exciting trips to places like Disney World, or buying extravagant gifts, or attending big events. But the joy is always temporary, and will only leave you wanting more.

Being a good husband, wife, parent, grandparent or friend will make you the happiest place on earth to other people. And that’s a ride you will never want to get off of.

Ever wonder why movie sequels are never as good as the original? It’s probably because the original caught lightning in a bottle, touched just the right tone, told just the right story at just the right time. It captured your interest because it was something you had never quite seen before. Sequels are an attempt to copy the magic. But once you’ve seen how the magic is done, it’s not as magical.

You are the original you. Don’t waste your time trying to be the sequel to somebody else. Your true friends will love you just the way you are. Treat people honestly and be genuine without pretense.

You will be the movie everyone wants to come to see over and over again.