Year 2008 - Blessings???

As another year comes to an end, I can't help but look back and ponder all that has transpired the past 12 months. In doing this, I find myself thinking about how I wish things were different, instead of thanking God for all that He has blessed me with in 2008.

First let me explain the negativity. After working over 30 years and saving for retirement, I was finally able to retire. Living on investment income for the past 7 years and I can't really complain about anything. Life is good. Enter 2008. The economy fails, we go into a recession, and you watch your nest egg dwindle to about 50%-60% of what it used to be. This seems scary until you put it into perspective with the rest of the world.

It seems that it is so easy to focus on things that really don't matter in our lives instead of focusing on the important things. Money certainly falls into the "Don't Matter" box and God, family, friends, health, all fall into the "Does Matter" box. If I were to make a list of the things that God has blessed me with, time and paper would definitely fail me. I suppose you could say the same thing about all the items that don't matter but that would be useless because they, "Don't Matter". Another reason not to worry about the "Don't Matter" things is that it certainly doesn't make you feel good, where thinking about all of the positive things does. So why then, do we do it?? I will have to admit for myself it is the old adage that the more we have the more we seem to want. This is a bad rut to get into and takes some good navigation skills to stay out. (I am not sure if I am having problems with my navigation skills or if the vehicle needs some maintenance.) Imagine what it was like for the Disciples when Jesus asked them to follow him. They gave up everything they had and followed him. They left with just the clothes on their back. If you would put yourself in their sandals back then, could you have done that? I don't know if any of us can answer that one. I know most of us would like to say that we would, but remember what we know about Jesus now compared to what the Disciples knew about him then.

Anyway, I guess what I am trying to say is that 2008 was another year where Brenda and I were very blessed. Sure, we still had all of the normal challenges and scares through out the year but all is well now, at least in the "Does Matter" box. I hope and pray that this coming year is as fruitful. My prayer for you is that your "Does Matter" box is well and abundant throughout your life.

"Life is good if you let it."

Bailout What????

An article in our paper this AM has kind of gotten me stirred up so I have decided to vent a little. If you don't want to here someone rant and rave, (venting), don't read any further.

This article talks about the banks that got bailed out and the salaries that their executives get. What am I missing here???? When I was working, and my project failed, I was guaranteed not to get a bonus and if I failed at this magnitude I would have lost my job. These guys not only get to keep their jobs, they got bonuses. The total amount given nearly 600 executives in these firms, is enough money to bailout 116 of the banks that have received money so far. Can you believe this???

I like the way Rep. Barney Frank put it, "These bonuses aren't anything more than a bribe to get them to do a job that they are well paid for in the first place". Evidently these people need all this money to motivate them! The average annual salary, bonuses, and benefits paid to these guys is 2.6 million. I evidently worked for the wrong company all the years I worked. I wonder how these guys got these jobs? The chairman of Capital One Financial Corp. took a 1 million hit in his pocketbook because they had a bad year but he still got 17 million in stock options. (poor baby)

Wells Fargo of San Fransisco got 25 billion of the bailout money and they still paid their top executives up to $20,000 for a personal financial planner. WHAT???? They get paid millions to run a financial organization but need a personal financial planner???? The bank evidently trusts them with their money but they don't trust themselves with their own money. WOW, I can't figure this one out!

The problem with our society today is that no one wants to be responsible for anything anymore. They spill hot coffee on themselves while driving a car and then sue the company that sold them the hot coffee. It wasn't their fault it was the business that sold them the coffee. Businesses now days spend billions of dollars printing and attaching warnings to items we buy to try and protect themselves from lawsuits because people are too stupid to use the product responsibly. We have groups that want to remove all the guns because of crime and pass laws that enable people to sue the gun manufacturers when someone gets hurt. Here again it evidently isn't the fault of the person who pulled the trigger, stored the gun unsafely, or erred, it is the gun manufacturers. (Like the criminals are going to turn their guns in anyway)

Oh well I now feel much better. Thanks for listening, that is if you read this far.
Merry Christmas!!!

"Life is good if you let it." (I just have to let it)

Music Is Good For The Soul

I really do love music, listening, playing and singing. When it comes to playing and singing I know I am better at listening, but I still enjoy it never less. For me music is truly good for the soul. It is a great way to communicate and worship. It can be used to provide entertainment while working, it can bring you up when you are down, and at times can even be used to get something off of your chest or out of your mind. Give me a microphone and I have to start singing a song, I just can't help it.

I guess I had better like it as it seems to occupy a lot of my time. I currently sing in three different groups, Mixed Choir at church, Voices in Harmony, (a men's group mostly from church), and the Western Way Chorale, (a mixed group mainly from my neighborhood and two other adjoining neighborhoods. I am also chairperson of our Worship and Music Ministry at church. Our main purpose is to set up and plan special worships and also special music for each event and Sunday service. Along with all of this I manage to sing a solo here and there also. I also play the guitar and was the Music Director for the "Via De Cristo" men's weekend this year. Via De Christo is a Christian weekend for men and women where during the weekend you renew your relationship with Christ and learn how to be a better Christian. Like movements are "Cursillo" (Catholic and where it all started from) "Walk To Emmaus" (Methodist) "Tirosh" (Lutheran Youth weekend), and "Kiros" (A weekend for those in prison) And as if all of that didn't keep me busy enough I have also been teaching basic music and the recorder to the 7th and 8th graders a San Xavier mission school. They had there Christmas program last night and it went well.

The Western way Choral also just has their Christmas concert. I used to sing tenor but a couple of years ago we were down to only two bases so I volunteered to take a promotion and sing base. (Depending on whom you ask the Tenors or Bases it could have been a demotion also.) Anyway I have enjoyed it. If you go to http://www.jenenan.com/corral/index.html you can listen to our Christmas concert. Just click on the Winter Concert 2008 button and all of the selections are there at each of the two locations we sang at. We sang better at the second location Tucson Estates and a couple of my favorite selections are "Santa Needs A Vacation" and "A Christmas Celebration". (You won't see me on the picture as it was taken last year at the Spring Concert and I was gone so did not sing with them for that concert.)

Remember also that all music lifted up to God in praise is beautiful to His ears no matter what you may think it sounds like.

Life is good if you let it.

Well Here Goes

I haven't done this before so you have to bear with me. First let me start on what brought me to this point.

It all started looking through out the house for some cereal mix that my wife had made for Christmas. (Not sure what the real name is but it is a mixture of Rice Chex, Cheerios, peanuts, M&Ms all held together with melted almond bark.) I was sure my wife had hid it so I wouldn't eat it all. Anyway I found it in our spare bedroom,(I knew she hid it), and I was munching on this delectible snack while looking at all of the family photos we have in that room. There is pictures of my family, a nephew that is gone, and a plaque made by a brother that has a picture and poem about our first fishing trip in Canada, and many others. Well looking at all of these got me started thinking about family and I realized I hadn't visited my son Randy's blog for a while. So I thought I would do that. I read those that I hadn't read yet and started thinking what a great diary or list of thoughts and events that a person goes through.

All of you bloggers have probably already thought of this but if a person saved all of these, what a great artifact for children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and so on to read. I know if I could read a blog from my Dad's life and grandfathers life how cool it would be. So anyway I decided to start my own blog and here it is. My plan is to save all of these in a book that family and friends can read. I guess I am assuming that someone will want to read it but I guess that is their choice. At least it will be there for those who want to.

My wife Brenda has an aunt whose husband had a log/diary and we got a hoot out of reading it last summer. I thought it was funny when her Aunt talked about the family arguments that the log had settled about when something happened. After he passed on she continues to write in it at least a couple of time per week.

Well that will have to do it for now as we are having our neighbors over for dinner and I am the cook in our house and I have to start to do that.

I am going to close with a saying from Peter Chuchmouse, (a mouse that writes an article in our church newsletter). "Life is good if you let it!"