Unexpected Drama

Lately my wife and I have been watching wrecker/recovery businesses at work, on YouTube It,s more technical and high cost than you might think. Semi recoveries often run $ 10,000.00. Just the cost alone is often life changing!
Take the independent trucker, already burdened with truck payments and diesel fuel at $2.85 per gallon and since he feels that he is a good driver has cut back on insurance to the bare minimum and then hits an iced over bridge and the truck jackknives with 20 tons on the back of expensive merchandise. The big wrecker comes that cost the wrecker company, 3/4 million and the costs shoot up, up and up.
State and federal laws kick in, one lane of traffic must be kept open to keep from backing traffic up for miles and possibly causing other wrecks. The ambulance crew and the fire department are first to work the scene and then the recovery people must figure out how to extract the vehicle without doing further damage.
Every move can rip a brake line, rupture a fuel tank, or puncture a $ 1,000.00 radiator.
Now days recovery personnel have video cameras that record every move they make to protect themselves from errors and omissions and to justify their charges. It's a dangerous job and is often in a hard place to work. Cold and/or heat, rain or snow goes with the job. Yet it's hard to imagine a more important job. Just think that if the recovery people went off the job for even one week it would tie up the highway system and make the roadways a junk yard. 

How did Cats and Dogs survive as a species?

HOW DID THEY MAKE IT?This week as I have taken care of our pets, I wondered how they as a species have made it down through the centuries. First there is the pet section in the grocery store. A whole isle on both sides is loaded with choice after choice; there is at least a hundred choices for our cat. Time after time again we have struct up conversations with other cat owners over which cat food to buy. Which brand does your cat like? Are they picky like ours is? I have threatened to bring Kaya to the store with us and let her see how hard it is to make a choice.

Back to the question; how did our cats and dogs get by before the modern era? We love them and don't mind taking care of them but Coley likes to take a walk, he want's to say hello to the other dogs in the neighborhood. I can't walk much any more so I put him in the van and with the window down drive him around the neighborhood, he barks at all the dogs and at the kids playing in the street.

Kaya is an indoor and an outdoor cat so we get our exorcise getting up and letting her out and in. Think of all the veterinarian clinics around the area and our town just opened a dog park.

So how did cats and dogs get by and survive as a species before we took it upon ourselves to be their guardian?

Overwhelmed by Chaos

Teachers Giving Up

Sunday's paper reported that 32 teachers have already resigned from their contract with the Hamilton County School system. That's double the number from one year ago. But Why? The salary is above average for most of the workers in the Chattanooga area. Insurance, retirement ( especially early retirement) is better than most occupations and job security is good; so why the drop out?
Could it be that there is a feeling of chaos in the class room? Teachers by the very nature of their work need control and discipline in the class room environment. Having 15 to 22 kids who come from undisciplined homes leaves a teacher feeling overwhelmed. In some class rooms, where there is enough funding to support an assistant, that person can keep order while the teacher works with children to actually get their school work done.
Where there is no way to keep order the teacher feels more and more helpless. Of course children coming from undisciplined or malfunctioning homes bring their wildness and their lack of respect for authority to school with them.
So what is the instructor to do? First try to get some perspective by looking at many other occupations. A book I once read was entitled; How to manage Chaos. In short the writer said that you can never be chaos free. It keeps breaking out, in industry, in law enforcement, in military activities, in dealing with animals Etc..
You can still accomplish good things even though you will never obtain the order that you desire. No teacher expects to see more than a little improvement as students pass through their class rooms on the way to the next class. What students are picking up is invisible and in rowdy classrooms it is even harder to detect but hang in there, chances are that nobody could do it better. Chances are that your students are learning more than you think. Many people exist and even prosper in the midst of chaos to have everything quiet and orderly would seem strange to them. To the average teacher chaos is anathema but remember you are doing God's work. He worked to bring order out of chaos and He's still working at it. Continue to be his helpers.

Taut Truth Disguised in Rhythm

This week I got a new book on how to read and enjoy poetry. I have always been intrigued by poetry but never thought I understood most of it. Here are few of his suggestions. I. Read it slow and with a dictionary. 2. Poetry is high voltage and should not be read like you would a newspaper. 3. Poetry usually is not trying to get you believe something but rather is to share an experience. 3. You must bring your intelligence, senses, emotions and imagination to it. 5. Expect to find imagery, metaphor, symbol and paradox in good poetry.
For he that is a super realist,
must learn to perceive taut truth.

Taut Truth-- look up the word TAUT

Learn to Listen

The purpose of a sermon: A sermon can have many purposes but I like to keep in mind that it is used to repair souls. Each week when they gather, some just need a wash job, others need an oil change, some have malfunctions in their computer system. This often takes specialized knowledge and is delicate.

What we must remember is that a sermon can do as much damage as it can do good. Sometimes a doctor does as much damage as he or she does good. So if you are preaching Sunday, remember that a lot of responsibility lies in your hands. Pray for the right insight and the right attitude. If you are a listen be gracious and charitable; getting it right in the pulpit is one of the toughest jobs going!

More Of the Same !

Time Magazine came today but I find that I am reluctant to read it. I understand that professional Journalists have been working for days if not weeks and yes some have even risked their lives to bring me information about the world, still based upon what I've read in Time in recent months it will only bring me pain.

Every week there are reports of great hordes of people having to leave their homes on short notice. This week the fires in California are forcing them out.Last week it was a hurricane. Last week it was the Hispanics from South America still trying to get into the U.S., this week the Curds are being forced out. It seem like their destiny has been determined by the President of Turkey and the President of the United States. Both countries purport to believe in freedom and yet they are taking away the freedom of the Curds. So its little wonder that I am hesitant to open Time Magazine again this week.     

THEY ARE NOT CRAZY

Now that I have grown up ( 85 qualifies ) I see a much larger problem in the field of mental illness. This week a new report says that eleven million Americans are so mentally ill that they cannot fit into normal life.
Lets put that into perspective: the Southern Baptist Convention has about eleven million members. The United Methodist about eight million members and eleven million is more than all the charismatic movements put together.
Another way to think about this widespread illness is to realize that almost every congregation has someone who is suffering from a mental condition. To narrow in down even further; few families have escaped some form of mental illness.
Trouble is, the problem is getting worst! There are many reasons for this. There are more people in the world. Life is more complicated. Many people have failed to find a deep faith that brings peace of mind. This same faith believes that life has a purpose even when they can't see that purpose.
It's true that eleven million represents only about one percent of the population but that brings to mind the parable that Jesus told about leaving the ninety nine behind and searching for the one lost sheep. As Americans we should give far more attention to these one percenters. To create a safe loving environment should be our goal and it is possible. Just because the problem is difficult doesn't mean we should avoid it.