Politically Correct - Political Correctness really?

Political correctness has been a long evolving process. The term actually became a regular part of frequent conversation in the 1990's. Sparing usage of the phrase 'politically correct' can be discovered from speeches and some published articles from the 1960's but the meaning has varied with individuals and organizations. For example the term during the 60's referenced a consumer or a lifestyle choice. The White Panther Party used the term to work toward a cultural revolution. They were a counterculture era group that started at the suggestion of Huey P. Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther Party. The White Panther Party was not a white supremacist group. To the contrary their efforts worked with ethnic minority groups. How is that for politically correctness? If you are confused I might suggest you are not alone. Names can be misleading and it is only through conversation about vision, purpose, mission statements that explain direction and learning about goals can one make an informed evaluation of intent regarding the term 'politically correct'. To be a person that is kind or listens to others as they speak some would describe as 'politically correct'. These actions I personally would describe as characteristics of a descent human being. To hear someone make a false statement and to not share correct information is the actions of someone attempting to be 'politically correct'. To agree with someone's opinion or thoughts when you disagree is the work of being 'politically correct'. The ability to agree to disagree is the work of maturity. To hold a different opinion and respect the thoughts of others is a mark of integrity. 'Politically correct' is overrated even though it appears society applauds it's every turn at the moment. Jesus Christ certainly was not 'Politically correct' oriented. He loved sinners, hung out with prostitutes, and Jesus even demonstrated love to a thief that was being put to death at Calvary on a cross for crimes. Jesus was so not 'politically correct' that He even showed love to the Roman Soldiers that nailed Him to His cross on Golgotha's hill. In the political correctness of our current day the accepted practice is to treat everyone equally and to never show a difference in people. The practice being pushed today includes that you and I forget we have an opinion or the ability to think for ourselves, much-less demonstrate the skill to think outside the box. The very fact that Jesus Christ loved us before we loved Him and even if we never love Him, clearly marks Him as a person not in the slightest way 'politically correct'. If you are a Christian then I believe our lives will be marked as followers of Christ as not in the least 'politically correct'. Our lives will demonstrated a fairness as exemplified by the actions of Jesus Christ where He offers a plan that is exceedingly abundantly above and beyond all that we could ever ask or think. Until then

Happy Birthday Thoughts

On everyday of the current calendar year someone, somewhere is celebrating a birthday. For children the importance of the day is marked in the early years by our parents. Remembering our first or second birthday's is best reflected with photos taken and looked at later in our lives. These earlier photo reminders provide us a glimpse back in time. We marvel in laughter at hairdos and clothing realizing that time has a way of changing things ever so uniquely. My siblings and I are each a part of the baby boomers generation. The benefits of this distinction include some historical moments that I believe the younger generation are well served by being reminded of from our personal lives and our time back in the day. I've never been a fan of the television soaps fan of "Another World" or "As the world turns" but it all began in 1964. Think about the salaries of this year, 2015 and look back to the year 1964 when the average yearly income was $5,880.00. I grew up watching a black and white television watching the original Bewitched, Addams Family, Lost in Space, Flipper and yes, Gilligans Island. Reflecting on birthday's can be a lot of fun. I remember the big brown bear my Aunt Imogene Mills bought me when I was three (which I still have) and I remember the train cake my mother made me too. I also remember the words of my grand-father C.H. Mills when we moved from Warren, Michigan to Kentucky. He asked my parents when loading up a U-Haul "..just how many toys do these kids have"? Obviously he thought no matter the answer to the number of toys we had, we had to many toys. To a child the statement might seem mean. How dare someone take toys away, but in proper perspective it was a valid question. Comparing my childhood to my grandfather's and even my parents is a totally different experience than mine. On my grandfather's birthday he was fortunate and felt really blessed to receive candy, nuts or fruits. His parents strived hard to make sure once a year he had new Bib-Overhauls. A growing foot received hand me down shoes before receiving your own pair of boots which were to be used for working. Any toys he received were handmade, so if my grandfather thought I had too man toys he was probably correct. The best gifts are personal. Personal gifts include a phone call, card, and your favorite desert back then. The personal has evolved today into text messages, emails and post of facebook. There is one gift that still requires an old fashion conversation. The best gift anyone can receive is offered by Jesus Christ. The Bible says that "He stands at the door and knocks". To accept His gift on your birthday or any-day will require your acknowledgment. Accepting His forgiveness last for eternity! Until then

A helping hand

Have you ever noticed your personal difficulty in receiving help? It could be that this first sentence has you already saying to yourself "no I haven't noticed". If that's the situation for you then allow me to share my situation which is just the opposite. I want to be someone that says I receive free and unsolicited help very easily but this is just not true about me. I am not sure where the root of this battle begins but I know I've seen the current face of this monster many times. There is something about our fight for personal independence that creates walls that seem to be a hundred feet high and barriers fortified so strongly that penetration is perceived to be impossible. The battle for self begins in our lives without any training or even a suggestive hint. As a baby the skill is natural and shows itself way to often for those shouldering the role of parent. The difficulty in receiving help is more than an extra hand volunteering to assist us on a project or working with a team to accomplish a goal. I am writing about that inner battle that rages inside of even the meekest of individuals when it comes to receiving help. In saying no to help we provide answers like "oh no, I can". We express no in a positive way by saying "thanks" following by our reason why help is not required. By accepting help the initial fear is that we are somehow giving up control or acknowledging our inability to handle a situation or complete a project. These thoughts are the difficulty we struggle with because they are true. We each have issues, situations or moments where help is the only answer. There is no shame in admitting this truth, rather I would suggest there is great character in seeing our need and realizing the solution. One topic that help is a requirement is the matter of sin. The only control over sin that I have is the ability to admit I have sinned and I am a sinner. The only solution for sin is the helping hand of Jesus Christ. It maybe you don't want help, but if you want the solution, He is the only answer. Until then

What no one wants to talk about....

When you have had to deal with a major illness the experience itself has a profound impact on not only the individual who has to personally face the situation, but these types of medical experiences impact the family and care givers too. Major illness covering several months of hospital admissions, surgeries, procedures and treatments is exhausting! The experience of keeping up with dates, medications, and attempting to manage yourself under these conditions is more than one person can handle. When we add others individuals into this type of situation the patient now has additional stresses. Even when it is family members that are attempting to give aid by handling household bills, or helping the patient to keep track of their scheduled appointments or treatments is frustrating. I am smiling as I type this sentence because I'm thinking to myself, this is frustrating to the patient and to the care giver too. Frustration on both ends of the spectrum, now that's a mess! Handing major illness and sickness challenges everything about us. Being sick with the flu, dealing with shingles, having a pain in your knee or experiencing pain in your back are all challenging. Personally having to use a medication dispenser with morning, noon, evening and bedtime labeling is one sign of the medical situation challenges. In a funny way there are many learning opportunities from such experiences. For example, when I came home from the nursing home my mother had purchased a medication dispenser. This tool we used and I am still using, to keep me on schedule with certain medications at specific times. One thing I've learned that is funny to me is the many options available to purchase. That is options on medication dispensers you can buy. I learned about all the options because I had a change in one of the medications I was taking. These new pills are best described as 'horse pills'. Country folks will know what I mean in describing them this way. For the city folks reading my column 'horse pills' is a mountain way of saying the pills are so large they would gag a horse when swallowed. Challenges are those moments or situations in our lives where we must think objectively, weigh out options and consider consequences. Making decisions with respect to our individual health can be a challenging event. While ultimately we are able to make our own decisions the timing for such moments do not always arrive when we are able to take our time and think our situation through with no rush for judgement. Thankfully prior to being ill or emergency issues we have legal options. These options allow us plenty of time for considering our wishes, preferences and health plans. Everyone needs a 'Last Will and Testament'. No one wants to talk about dying or death but this is a true reality that must be talked about and planned with preparations. A health 'Living Will' is most important too, along with a designated 'Health Surrogate'. That person is able to make health decisions for us when we are unable to do so. Granting 'Power of Attorney' so your personal affairs can be attended to in your absence while you are still alive is an absolute must. These subjects are not easy conversations but they are necessary. Every individual 18 years of age should have at least these four documents signed, notarized, and in a place where those trusted have access to these documents. Make your health care decisions while you are able. Discuss your thoughts and actions about eternity too. All of these decisions I have squared away. Knowing I have empowered others to act on my behalf was easy for me. Jesus Christ acted on my behalf on a cross at Calvary. Having personally discovered the satisfaction of knowing Jesus and I have eternal matters settled, making these earthly decisions were important too. Leaving behind answers to questions, directions and personal thoughts I believe is a part of God's Plan and a part of His peace that remains once we are gone. Until then

Believing & Faith

Who likes talking about the weather? The most popular comment often made by folks regarding the weather is that the meteorologist "never get anything right". The weather report calls for sunshine and it rains. The prediction for the weekend is gloomy and the weather is perfect. We have all experienced those types of weather moments. Looking at a 7 or 10 day weather forecast and planning is something we all do but with little stock that it will be correct. There are plenty of professions that have good and bad predictions but I'm pretty confident that the weather report brings out the 'nay-say' in us as far as believability is concerned. Believing can be a real challenge because we are asked to demonstrate our faith about something that has yet to occur. Believing the Bible describes as being able to see that which at the moment, you cannot see physically. One might suggest that if we don't believe, or refuse to give any belief to the weather forecast it might be impossible to believe in a God that is yet unseen by our human eyes. After all, seeing is believing or at least that is the practice of some individuals that I know. As for me personally, I remember the moment that I believed in God and the practice of my then new Christian faith. My first experience with faith came through my relationship with my parents. My parents made promises like many parents do. Do you remember your parents saying "if you do this then they will respond with....". These conversations were my first lessons in faith. My parents did what they said so the foundation was established early in my life about believing and having faith. My faith as a child was a simple. If I would do as I was told rewards would often be handed out by my parents. Childlike faith is more than basic faith. Childlike faith becomes the testing ground for every decision to believe and for ever action that requires faith. As an adult it is this childlike foundation of faith that has grown with my experiments as a teenager and adult. The issue of Christian faith revolves around one question. Will the practice of this faith about Jesus Christ lead to eternal life and a place the Bible calls Heaven? Christian's practice a belief that because of what Jesus did on the cross our sins are forgiven forever. By believing in Him our actions should tell the story of Jesus Christ and His love. Anyone can receive this forgiveness too. It is a free gift to all! John 3:16 says, 'For whosoever" and this includes every person on the earth, red, yellow, black and white. Me and Jesus had a talk that began in 1972 and this conversation has continued to grow throughout the years. My faith began as a child and today it continues as an adult. As for my faith, I believe more in Jesus today than ever before. While I have not yet seen Him personally, face to face yet, I look forward to that day when the realization of my faith will be made whole. Until then

Citizenship in the USA - 4th of July

Happening throughout the world are battles between governments, people groups dedicated to a single cause, waring fractions and splinter organizations committed to their political points of view. Some of these battles are being fought on religious grounds and beliefs. Throughout the history of the world we have seen these types of events and we in the United States of America have our history beginning with such a conflict with a declaration of our independence from Great Britain in 1776. The birth of America was an idea of a free and independent nation that allowed her citizens to live freely, to worship God supremely and to do so without undue restriction and ternary. The freedom that was carved out between our founding father's also included the freedom to no worship God but there was no doubt in the responsibility of citizenship that was to be embraced no matter one's political or religiously held beliefs. On this year's 4th of July Celebration I believe there needs to be a resurgence of Citizenship and a love for the U.S.A. developed among we citizens. Watching the news, listen to the radio commentary one can easily see the belief held by individuals that believe they can do whatever they want, whenever they want with no accountability or responsibility for their actions. America belongs to all of us and when one part of us is being burned there is another part of us that is hurting and weeping. Weeping is the word to use too. I weep when I see citizens disrespecting authorities. I believe that the President of the United States needs to always be addressed as Mr. President. This belief I practice when I agree or disagree with their leadership. As for elected officials, they receive citizenships highest honor when elected to public office. I also believe they are to serve all the people not just 'liked kind'. Citizenship carries with it responsibilities to be engaged and involved. Voting being an example of engaged and involved. America is strongest at her biggest arguments and disagreements but our unity and love for country should easily been seen in our actions and heard in our words of protest and debate. Freedom is a word that creates images of sacrifice, dedication and great cost in my mind. Freedom is the word that defines America and the rights of her citizens too. On this 4th of July while enjoying the fireworks, watermelon, and reunions remember that this date is a historical date that deserves our reflection and a thought of our individual duty as citizens. It is our duty to build positively on the foundation that was laid by those who came this way before us. I pray for America and that our next history will record our unity to Country, Citizenship and Cause that waves proudly the Red, White and Blue. Until then