Sunday, February 08, 2009

Alan's 25 Random Thoughts

1. A large part of me wants to sort this list of thoughts by importance, but I’m resisting that temptation because the title of the list is supposed to be “random thoughts”.
2. I really enjoy reading my friends’ thought lists so I’m assembling one of my own to reciprocate their sharing.
3. Grace is undeserved favor - getting what you don’t deserve. As I grow older I find it permeates my life. I wish I was good enough to deserve some of the blessings in my life, but I’m glad I have them all the same.
4. I love to watch sports. I frequently get too emotionally involved in them for my own good. My teams have very rarely won championships and the frequent disappointments make me wish I didn’t care and make me wonder why I do.
5. My wife is amazing… a primary example of me receiving something I don’t deserve.
6. Parenthood is incredible.
7. I often wonder if I missed a call to be a preacher. I ask God about that frequently. I haven’t yet recognized a response.
8. I have found a good Christian discipleship ministry. I grow spiritually from things I learn from Chip Ingram’s podcasts at Living on the Edge (www.livingontheedge.org).
9. It drives me nuts that I can’t seem to control our spending well enough.
10. I love my children. It is hard to let them grow up and make decisions which are different than I would make. All I can do is love them, pray they don’t get hurt too badly, and be ready to help them as I can. Parents, your window of influence in your childrens’ lives is temporary.
11. I am surprised at how much I enjoy ballroom dancing classes with my wife.
12. I love deer hunting. I love that I learned it from my Dad and my brother. It doesn’t hurt that I enjoy eating venison. ;)
13. I enjoy teaching (Sunday School, Boy Scouts, or wherever). My father taught for a living. I admire educators who care about their students.
14. I have a tendency to be overdramatic.
15. For a job I manage computer programmer types. I think I’m a pretty good manager in that I do the important stuff well… but lately I’ve really been poor at some of the little things.
16. Some days I seem about as observant as a washcloth.
17. America won’t see significant economic revival with band-aid “stimulus” spending bills; especially if the spending is based so much on debt. We need to quit taxing income and start taxing consumption… until we go to a system like the Fair Tax, other efforts won’t make much of a difference.
18. Rev. Rick Warren’s popular book “A Purpose Driven Life” has the best topic sentences I’ve ever seen. You could get the sense of the entire book just by reading the first sentence of each of the forty chapters. Chapter One starts with “It’s not about you.”
19. America’s biggest problem isn’t economic – it’s moral. Many of us live as if we’re the center of the universe and we can do as we please without consequences.
20. I appreciate the friends in my life who care enough to confront me when I’m wrong… especially if they’re kind while they’re doing it.
21. My younger two kids are ten years separated from their older three siblings. I love all five of the kids. It’s really fun to be reminded of the first three’s childhoods by stuff we see the latter two doing. It helps ease the pain of seeing the older three grow up and leave (or prepare to leave) the “nest”.
22. I love to laugh. I enjoy making others laugh when I can.
23. I admire Millard Fuller, who founded Habitat for Humanity. He wasn’t perfect, but he had a deep if indirect impact on the lives of more than one million people in need.
24. I wish my church was larger, but I wonder if that isn’t merely a pride thing.
25. I had my first opportunity to go snorkeling this past summer. I loved it. It was like swimming in an aquarium.

No comments: