Devotion as the crown jewel to the early church's success.

Amazing the impact that the local church had on the world.
I am amazed even today at my friends and their devotion to the word of God.
When I read an interview with my friend Chip, he stated that he read the Bible 3 to 4 times a year through. Now that takes commitment.

And I glance back through world history and I see the birth of the early church.
And that church went through many growing labor pains.
Yet these people had a secret that seems to be lacking now.
Especially for me-
That is a devotion to the Holy Word.

Yes, I will carry it with me. put it in my pocket. Glance at its pages. Point to a passage.
Yet back then in the first century, there were no verse numbers, handy cross references or concordances. Just the first edition of the Holy Spirit deposited into each of those believers.

Men and women willing to die for the faith that Jesus expressed.

Sure some confusion when Jesus left.

At that moment, there was no Paul having written discourses on the elements of the faith.
Or Peter having written warnings on fighting the false teachers.

Just ordinary men and women who met the Lord Jesus and heard of him and what he did.

Think of it this way.  A summer blockbuster just came out and word is buzzing on the street.
Think Oscars.

Yet the success of the early church was their devotion to the simple elements of fellowship and the discipline to carry it through.

Even with the impending death of some of them if they carried it out.

SO I salute my friends who have that deep devotion.
And I aim to emulate them.

And to deliberately do those things which make one godly and try harder to not deliberately do the things which cause so much harm.

Glory be to God!!!

Making Impact

Good morning World.
I came from my 30th High School Reunion.  A long time passed even though only 5 years from last time.
As I looked at the crowd, I wish I could have scratched some surfaces and seen how the insides of their souls were.  Yet I did the best to make an impact on their lives by smiling and being friendly.

Being a little awkward too. But I heard from a few that was their experience also.

I guess we all have those awkward moments. And to make a ripple, a  pebble does have to fall from the hand of the thrower and go at an arc of some distance and then skip across the surface of the pond until it falls beneath the surface of the water and disappears from sight.

Its ripples from above mark the surface of the water with an ever widening arc.


And then may reappear years later into another hand
  To make that same journey.
Not knowing its impact.

Only maybe seeing how a life was changed.
To take on a new arc.
A new path.
A smile to warm the soul.

A tingle of excitement within the body.

Remember not to give up hope as one travels through life.

In Search of the Lost and Found Department

Today, we are going to look at humor and its effect on our lives.
Have you ever had a time in your life when you have ever lost something?
Or many things?

I heard a joke once that goes like this.  A gentleman kept losing his stamps that were on the envelope.
He asked, "How can this be for I am very careful to place it on the envelope"  The other gentleman said, "well, have you checked how you licked them. It is really dry on this adhesive side. Maybe you should lick them on the other side!!"

Well,  I have and I'd like to show you some ordinary circumstances in my life when this does occur and some ways to overcome them.

Once, when I traveled to Washington DC for a rally on the national mall, I went alone on this journey.
I just turned 23 and said, " I wanted a day of adventure and a way to prove that I could control life well.  When I got to the bus, I ran into one of my friends from church so I would not have to be alone on that day for the journey.  We rode together and then headed out for the national mall.  I got there and then decided to saunter off to the Minnesota delegation since my brother lives there and get some trinkets  as a memento to my visit to DC.
Then after deciding not to get the trinket, I headed back into the crowd and realized somehow it DOUBLED in size and my delegation sign got lost within it!!
I wandered the mall for what seemed a few hours until my friend waved his arms as he was calling, "Is Scott there?"
This served for me one of the tangible examples of what it is to feel lost and then to be found and secure.

Now, to maybe help our government stop from wandering for the next 36 hours, it might be helpful to have some sentries in the crowd watching out for someone who is maybe lost? But what really is lost?  Now that would be for another session!!

Another time that I have experienced losing something was my job. I have a good track record of that in that I  lost my first job after college after about 14 months and then lost another one after our company was sold.  Now, these first two banks i worked for I had an excellent track record of losing 2 out 2-100 percent. My mom and dad said, maybe you should change where you work and you will have more success.  Well, I took their advice and then landed up in a company where I was for 20 years.
At Schrier and Bunzl, I kept my job but did have some adventures with the lost and found department.
On my first day to the office for the interview, I did get a little lost since the sign for 306 Black Rock Turnpike was not readily on the building. So I wandered for what seemed like a few moments until I found the building.
And then once inside, it can be a challenge to find that needle in the haystack. I sure had those moments when a supervisor would want a given piece of paper only to go back in the haystack and wonder where in the haystack it really was.

Now, I am in charge of the celestial lost and found department.  We are hiring for a position in this department.  But there can be some conflicts arise when something is lost and then is found.  Let us listen in on a conversation of a typical work day here.

Thunderbolt #1.  Someone stole my thunder?
Galaxy 1:            Really?
Thunderbolt 1:   Yes, really!!  I had my thunder in the corner over here.
Galaxy 1:            Your thunderbird??
Thunderbolt 1:   No, my thunderbolt!! You see, I was wandering the galaxy that you are supposedly                              watching and my thunderbolt disappeared.
Galaxy 1:            Have you consulted with lightning about this.  I hear she has lightning speed.                                       She can   help you find it for you!!  Do you want me to call her in on this?
                           And we can use speed dial for this one, for sure.

Okay, candidate, now as you can see from our Galactic firm we do  need some help. This could be the  ideal position for you as it is a seasonal job.  You mainly work evenings  or in the late afternoon.  Yet, you need to be on call for these disputes do happen often.
You do need a tremendous attention to detail in this matter and do need to see  far into the future .
You do need to have NO fear of heights for you will be way up in space.  And you will need a change of wardrobe with these big white suits for your job.
And you need a reliable source of transportation with excellent gas mileage.

candidate:  Yes, I am up to this job.  As I told you, I have a track record of finding stuff that I lost while operating in gravity!!  Now, what is the training program for finding this stuff in zero gravity!!!
Can I apply for a training grant from WIA for several million dollars?

And then there are the times when one loses lets say their cool.  Their emotions.  How do we package these anyway?  It would be nice to have an aisle 5 where we have our cool and then an aisle 9 where our joy is found. But there are those aisles that have the wrong items in when our hotter emotions are often found.  Only to find a way to bring it all together.

Now remember , it is real important to have these qualities because you never know when someone may ask you, 'SAY, SIR, I LOST IT!! CAN YOU HELP ME FIND IT?"

The Eagle's Spirit

In the world today, the spirit influences much of how we live.  It has been described as the wind which is invisible within our sight. But it has also been said that you can see its effect from the blowing on a piece of paper.   It has been said that relationships bring a grand Karma and blessing to our lives that heals our lives.  And the way that spirit manifests itself is how we impact our lives by our actions and attitude.

Life has those special moments of bright colors that emanate from the horizon.  That is why I love the fall and the possibility of new opportunities.  And how we can get those unexpected surprises when you are not actually looking for them.  For bright colors do not always last forever. They sometimes fade after a strong Maine sunset over the coast.  Or how those brilliant fall colors come strong on the trees and then fall off and fade into the ground as nurturing soil.

The same can apply to how we impact one other in our relationships.
Special relationships can be eternal-those moments where we call out to one another.  Calling out from within the crowd, Bianca brought me into bring me into her circle while I was on the Bellarmine lawn during freshmen orientation at Fairfield University in 1983.

Even though we did not stay in touch often during our college years, it is an ember that sits quietly and patiently in the coals of our lives and gets reignited during our lifetimes.
 And relationships spread across time and place and get rekindled by a sweet note or postcard sent from across the world.  And it has continued on for the last 30 years.

Bianca has a good hearty and infectious laugh that can punctuate the silence.  I enjoy being around her during these special times.   Her handwriting is big and flows from her hands like the  flowers of a petal.

During one of the reunions at Fairfield University, Bianca shared with some of her friends how her dad came out and rescued her from a relationship that was not going too well and being protective of her.


It was during this time that she was called home after her father died. I was heading home from work and brought home the newspaper and opened up the obituary section at my kitchen table and saw that her dad passed on. I was shocked since he seemed so strong.

Often her family had special parties in her palatial backyard with a pool at it. Music played in the background.  Another evening, we had a special get together planned at an area restaurant but we headed to her house to pick up something. Bianca invited me out to her backyard for a moment, and about 15 of her family and friends were there to offer me a surprise greeting for my 39th birthday.  Her family had a nice outdoor bar where we shared some sodas and drinks in the outside cool breeze with her established family.  I received a nice crystal eagle wrapped in tissue paper and I have it displayed on my television console.  And I am currently known as Eagle from another good friend of mine.

Spreading through time, I have had some special times with Bianca as we traveled throughout Fairfield for several great lunches. Once it felt real special as I got my hair just right and wore my Fairfield University sweatshirt.  And I had a a beaming smile on my face.  The office knew I was  in a good mood for it felt good to catch up with my best friend, Bianca.

 And during the third of one of these gatherings at noon, she failed to show up but that Friday afternoon, a nice bouquet of cut fall flowers arrived at my office!!

I was the talk of the office since men often did not get flowers. And they wanted to know who my special admirer was.  That was prior to a  thanksgiving holiday.  I kept my flowers on my living room coffee table and kept them watered.  The flowers had a special aroma.  Often they asked, "Scott, is this the one?" but I responded back, "No, grace has flowed into Bianca's life with a friend from across the pond!"

A couple of months later during a winter afternoon with the snow freshly on the ground, we headed out to a lunch and Bianca shared great news that she was engaged and going to get married.  I was very happy for her,  For she found her friend from another friend.  Phil lived in England and they hit it off well.  And the special thing about Phil was that he lost his wife a while back and  complemented Bianca's loss of her dad.


And during one of our special lunches, we took an extended time after a quick bite at Boston Market and got my glasses at Pearle Vision Center.  Then I picked them up on a Saturday when Bianca got married for their U.S. wedding in her backyard.

And while he was briefly in the states to be introduced to Bianca's mom, on one of Bianca's first dates I was included as we went to the movies. Not a particularly great movie but just a great time to be together as friends.

And I got to be on her radio show as she interviewed me on how I overcame my struggles and was her bright spot. This occurred a few weeks before halloween when I was interviewed from my home.

Often we exchange emails and I share special inspirational writings and emails.  Bianca has encouraged me to write a book for I am a brilliant writer for I am great at it.

When my dad died, the first person in the world that I shared the news was with Bianca for I knew she would understand.

See, for the fall season brings many great blessings from the time that we met, to the time I received her flowers to the time of being on her radio program.

And I am reminded of how I need to extend and reach out from my soul to bless other people and let the moments flow.
And music flows from these times and they can be magical when we are present.

And to witness how people can be resilient with some of the struggles that they face.

And I need to find and create those moments for others to enjoy and not be cognizant of a time frame but to see it as a long horizon that changes over time in the strength of its color and beauty.

Just as I have found with my special friendship with Bianca and her family.

Celebrating Life and its mirrored beauty.

Good day World. Been a while expressing joy outside of the world of facebook.
I have been reminded of the brevity of life from a post by someone I knew who lost her husband of 50 years tonight.

I realize that we have an appointment that we can not put off. It can be easy putting off a medical procedure or assignment to another day. But we are all given an appointment of our passing.

but more significantly we are each given an appointment of what to do with the hundreds of thousands of breaths each day and the seconds that line them as well.

May we all live those moments well each and every day.

Even when it may not appear pleasant sometimes with disappointments that we all must face.

Let us splendor in the moments where the flower has not faded. Let us look on its reflective beauty which brings us back to our heavenly Creator who greatly loves us.

Many peaces and joys that fall upon the readers of this reflection!!!