This will be the final Haiku Tuesday for a while, so let’s go out with a bang. This week’s topic is Christmas.
God born in a barn
Mystery of mysteries
Happy birthday, Lord
Joy to all the world
He has come to save us all
This is just the start.
Your turn!
I love music. I listen in the car, at home, at work. I try to sing. Sometimes I just want background music. Sometimes I want something to sing along with. Sometimes I just want to relax and concentrate on it. Rock, pop, jazz, classical, choral, hip-hop, even some country – my taste is all over the place. One look at my iPhone music library will convince you.
For some reason, certain songs are welded to specific memories in my mind. The minute I hear one of them, I go back in time to see a person, place, or event, Sometimes it’s a good memory, other times a bad one, but it’s a powerful connection to my past.
Here are a few of those songs and where they take me:
Am I alone in this, or do songs take you back in the same way? If so, what are some of the songs and the memories they bring back?
One of my favorite singers gives a stunning performance of one of my favorite songs. This gives me chills.
Too many Americans have their heads in the sand in the face of obvious savings deficits. Barring a miracle, a winning lottery ticket or a big inheritance, they’re going to be forced to dramatically cut back their lifestyles after retirement. – Laurie Nordquist, director of Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement Trust
This interesting but scary article discusses a recent survey about retirement planning among middle-class Americans. The gist of the article is simple: many middle-class Americans have no clue how much they really need to retire like they want, and they have saved only a small fraction of that amount. As a result, many won’t be able to actually stop working.
The reasons for the retirement shortfall are numerous. For some, it’s hard to save for retirement because it requires cutting back on their lifestyle now. Maybe there aren’t any good places to cut back. Some choose to stay home because their spouse earns enough to support them right now, even though working would go a long way toward closing their savings gap. But according to the survey, financial ignorance is one of the main problems. Many people simply haven’t done the math to figure out how much they’ll need to retire and how much to set aside each month to get there.
Need help? CNN has a nice retirement planning calculator that can give you a rough idea of where you’ll be with your current savings plan. Obviously, it would be more helpful to meet with an actual financial planner, especially if you aren’t comfortable with financial matters. But the online calculators are a place to start.
I don’t plan to retire from Southwest for a few more decades, but I believe in retirement planning and started saving for retirement the minute I started working full-time. Southwest helps tremendously with a generous 401k match and profitsharing that functions as a second retirement account. But we still have to make the difficult choice to sock away lots of money each month, money that we could use for any number of short-term needs like groceries, gas, medical bills, or house repairs and improvements. I avoid the temptation by funding my 401k automatically. The money goes straight from Southwest to my retirement account so I never see it. If we continue this approach throughout my career, and God doesn’t throw us any surprises that derail our plans, I am confident we’ll have enough to retire comfortably. Like about 80 percent of people my age, I have no confidence that Social Security will be available for us and don’t even consider it in my planning. If it still exists, it will be gravy.
Sir, I had Commander Heatherly in my sights. He saw me move in for the kill. He then proceeded below the hard deck. We were below for just a few seconds. I had the shot. There was no danger, so I took it. – Maverick, Top Gun
I have a confession to make. Sometimes I break the law. Yes, yes, I know your jaws just dropped to the floor, but it’s true.
As a kid, I clung to a passage in the New Testament, Romans 13, that commands us to submit to the “governing authorities” because “all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.” I interpreted this verse to include obeying the law to the letter, much to the chagrin of those around me. I refused to pirate music or software. I obeyed the speed limit. I reported cash income that I could have easily hidden. I worked hard to make sure people didn’t copy my work and I didn’t copy anyone else’s work in school.
Yes, I was pretty annoying at times. But I wanted to please God, so if I had to choose between pleasing you and pleasing God, I wasn’t afraid to disappoint you.
As I got older, though, things changed a bit. I came to realize that some laws are unjust and others are straight-up stupid. Lawmakers lost their moral authority due to corruption and scandal. Situations arose in which following the law conflicted with other noble goals.
Now I choose which laws to follow and which to ignore. I’ll bet you do, too.
Our society has created a ranking system for crime, with murder and rape near the top and traffic violations near the bottom. Criminals at one end are often hated, spat upon, protested against, and rejected by society. Criminals at the other end are regarded as normal or even celebrated. For example, have you ever heard someone brag about how many speeding tickets they’ve gotten? Christians often do the same with sins named in the Bible. Idol worship, murder, and homosexuality are often at the bad end of the spectrum, while Sabbath-breaking, greed, and white lies are perfectly acceptable.
Today, I am largely an obedient, law-abiding citizen, the kind that cops don’t bother to pull over because they know they won’t find anything good. I’ve still never been pulled over by a cop, a quirk in which I take too much pride. But sometimes I do break the law. Sometimes it’s even intentional.
I try to limit my crimes to “nice” ones. Although I do annoyingly abide by the speed limit and look down my pointy, judgmental nose at those who ignore it, on occasion I have been known to speed. It’s often when I’m going to work and need to make up a bit of time. I justify it by saying I would rather speed than be late, which is a bigger crime in my office. Naturally, I try to drive no more than 5 mph over the limit so I won’t get caught. But when someone blows past at 80 or 90, I get mad. Sometimes I even honk at them, but only when I’m driving legally myself. I don’t want to be TOO hypocritical, just a little.
I also ran a red light once. No one was around. I didn’t want to wait.
I occasionally take medications that were prescribed to other people, which is a violation of federal drug law. Why? Because when I feel bad, and my wife or kid has a few leftover anti-nausea pills or asthma inhalers that are exactly what I need, I’m not going to waste time and money going to a doctor and getting a new prescription. The fact that I’m highly unlikely to get caught makes my decision much easier.
I gave alcohol to a minor. (At a Baptist university, might I add.) Why? I knew the recipient would handle it responsibly, and, well, I was feeling a bit naughty.
Why do I feel that I can decide which laws to follow and which to flaunt? On a related note, why do I feel I can decide which parts of the Bible to obey and which ones to ignore or reinterpret? I’m not quite sure. I just do it. Maybe I simply don’t like being chained by rules. Maybe it’s a subconscious reaction against legalism. Maybe it’s a realization that the law is limited and imperfect, unable to provide the proper answer for every situation.
What are your thoughts?
We can do no great things; only small things with great love. – Mother Teresa
On Saturday, my family lost a beloved member: my Great Aunt Will. She was my grandmother’s identical twin sister. They both taught elementary school in Wichita Falls for decades. For most of their 50+ years in the area, they both lived on the same street with their husbands, dropping by each other’s houses often. Because the four of them were so close, both in spirit and in geography, for us grandkids it was more like having an extra set of grandparents.
One of my favorite memories of Will is our holiday meals. Both Will and Grandmother considered it blasphemy to serve their families a simple, store-bought meal at any time, much less for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Since they lived across the street from each other and our respective branches of the family got along well, we always gathered together both our side and Will’s, including her son, daughter-in-law, and two grandsons (my cousins). If Will hosted Thanksgiving at her house, Grandmother hosted Christmas across the street at hers, and the next year they switched.
The morning of each meal was an awe-inspiring symphony of culinary mastery. They planned the menu together in advance, deciding who would cook what and scheduling time in their combined four ovens. They employed the ladies of the family as sous chefs and sent us grandkids running dishes, ingredients, and folding chairs back and forth between the houses. It was like watching Miguel Harth-Bedoya direct the Fort Worth Symphony. Seemingly without breaking a sweat or tossing a snippy word at anyone, they focused all their talent, passion, and experience into creating a fantastic meal for all of us to enjoy. And fantastic it was. Sweet potatoes with marshmallows. Fruit salads. Roast turkey and ham. Cranberry sauce. Stuffing. Rolls. Mashed potatoes. Green beans. You name it. Plus a tableful of desserts.
Once we all sat down to enjoy the meal and company, Will and Grandmother always drew protests by continuing to fuss over us instead of enjoying their triumph – going to fetch hot bread for everyone from the oven (cold bread was unacceptable, of course), bringing replacement silverware when one of the kids dropped theirs, refilling drinks. The adults, and later the kids, tried to stop them, but they were there to serve, not to be served.
The food was always amazing, but lots of people can make great food. Will and Grandmother, though, cooked great food with great love. They adored their families and treasured every minute they got to spend with them, especially when we could all be together for the holidays. Those decadent feasts were one of their favorite ways to show their love.
Will got to demonstrate her great love in another, less happy way later in life when her husband developed Alzheimer’s disease. I have decided that Alzheimer’s is one of the cruelest diseases I can imagine. As his mind deteriorated, Will stood by her husband of over 50 years and became his rock, even after developing some health issues of her own. With remarkable grace and patience, she loved him well through all the questions, confusion, loss, and pain that Alzheimer’s brings. While many patients become crotchety and mean from the disease, her husband actually softened. I’m sure the endless love and patience of his angelic wife played a large role in his ability to remain so pleasant in such a terrible situation.
We love and miss you, Will. Your life was a lesson in great love. May you rest in peace.