Jack’s Winning Words 5/29/20

 “Life is a series of commas, not periods.”  (Matthew McConaughey)  There are 11 basic punctuation marks.  Can you name them?.  Commas say: “There’s more to come; life has its ongoing events, the routine.  Periods mean:  The job is done; nothing more to say.  When something really matters, I use the exclamation point!  And, we’ve all had (or are having) experiences that end with a question mark, or two.  Why, God????  ;-)  Jack 

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FROM TAMPA SHIRL:  They all make life interesting!===JACK:  !!!!

FROM ER IN SKO:  I use ellipses all the time. I love them, too===JACK:  Do some of the marks have nicknames?  i.e., bat and ball of the exclamation point?

Jack’s Winning Words 5/28/20
“You cannot teach today the same way you did yesterday to prepare students for tomorrow.”  (John Dewey)  Educator Dewey (1859-1952), a University of Vermont grad, like my granddaughter Margie, would be right at home today.  After 2020, teaching won’t be like most of us remember it.  More classrooms will move to the home, requiring “new” teaching styles and learning measurement.  Even the “old-time religion” will be taught in new ways.  Post-Covid-19 will be challenging, but true teachers will handle it.  ;-)  Jack

FROM SF IN WB:    Dewey’s statement is so ‘today’. The teachers are heroes. Retirement is sweet!===JACK:  Education has to adapt to change...but it's still education.  Yes, retirement is sweet, but some days I wish that I were back in the business (with yesterday;s body).  There is so much interesting stuff for pastors to deal with.  I like excitement.

FROM INDY GENIE:  I think you’re a true teacher.:)===JACK:  I'm proud to say that you were one of my students.

FROM TAMPA SHIRL:  Life is all about changes! Hopefully all for the better!===JACK:  Think of all the changes (and surprises in your life!

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  My daughter has home schooled her two boys.  She got ridiculed, laughed at, shunned, and I could go on and on.  They joined a large group of people who home schooled.  Do you know there is a firm of attorneys formed to protect home schoolers?  It has not been easy for home schoolers.    But it was much worse before.  They were arrested, the children were removed from home, and shunned.    Our children were learning a “dumbed down“ version of history in public schools:  one of the reasons Kimberly and Neil were Home schooling their boys.    Now, we will see how many people elect to teach at home.  This will be a very difficult time in our history.  I wonder as I help my grands with their home schooling now.===JACK:  To each his/her own.  Just like with religion...as long as it's permitted and does no harm...===JUDY:  What do you mean as long as it’s permitted and does no harm?===JACK:  Old example:  Freedom of speech does not allow you to yell, FIRE, in a crowded theater when there is no fire.  If home schooling is NOT teaching what it is meant to replace (basic education), it causes "harm."  Children are part of society, as well as part of the family.

FROM THE FISH IN NOVA SCOTIA:  A young executive at the chemical company I worked for commented that in managing “what worked on me no longer works on them.”  He was regarded highly by those who worked for him as well as by his bosses, and later became CEO of this Fortune-250 company.===JACK:  I experienced that in the church, as well.  Just like in a shoe store, one size does not fit all.===FISH:  I think his point was not so much diversity but generational===JACK:  I would not teach Confirmation classes today in the same way I did in the past.

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  Most students do not get all they need through at-home teaching or  Zoom, especially elementary kids!  I hope they can return to face-to-face teaching in the Fall.

Reliable tests show that if a child masters reading in the 3rd grade, he/she will graduate from High School, if not, that child will likely be a H.S, drop out.  For sure, methods of teaching has

changed since I retired in 1990!! So much more technical skills available and equipment available we never even dreamed of when I was teaching Jr. High!  Yet our students got a very good

education in the basic skills and in music and speech, etc. Good educators do change with the times, and times seem to be changing faster than ever before!!===JACK:  Abe Lincoln seemed to do pretty well with home schooling.

FROM HONEST JOHN:  I think that there is a fundamental problem with stay at home learning...and that is accountability....one will need parents to cause the students to take the time to actually do the lessons and learn....which means that kids with parents who have learning deficiencies....like lack of interest...will be constantly falling behind....and those are the very kids we need to reach with public education.===JACK:  Accountability...like at the Last Judgment.  Once in Art Arnold's class I turned in a paper late and wrote on the front...I FORGOT.  I got the paper back with a D+ grade and the note, "I remembered."  A the end of the paper was a grade of B and another note, I FORGAVE.  I never forgot that message of grace.  

FROM QUILTING CAROL:  After my mother died, we had a house sale.  Standing in her basement I was talking with a school teacher who had come with her college aged boys to find dorm stuff.  We got to talking about how she was finding it so challenging to teach kids at that point to possibly have 5 to 6 career changes in their life.  Not like going from a teacher to a professor, but from a teacher to a nurse to an architect , etc.  How were teacher to prepare them for these major changes?  That was 28 years ago.  There will always be changes and some just get dumped on us.  This has been a challenging time for educators to figure out to teach when not in the classroom; hard for the kids to learn who don’t have internet access or college students who don’t have lab time to figure out what the premise is of their problem to be solved.  Even more challenging when you have kids at risk with no responsible adult at home with them.  Maybe everyone will appreciate more what educators do on a daily basis.  I hope so anyway.  Thankfully we can all learn new ways of learning and worshipping – if we keep open minds.===JACK:  I think that most of us, when we looked thru "saved: school papers and projects, will see that a lot of home schooling was done to supplement what went on in regular schooling.

Jack’s Winning Words 5/27/20
“If you obey all the rules you miss all the fun.”  (Katharine Hepburn)  “There’s no crying in baseball!” is being replaced by a new rule…”There’s no spitting in baseball.”  Statistics show that players spit on avg, once every 30 seconds.  Baseball and spitting have always been the style of the game, but “the virus” is changing that.  Even the Little League “handshakes” are a thing of the past.  New times demand a new style of doing things, even in the “old ballgame.:”  ;-)  Jack

FROM TAMPA SHIRL:   Life is filled with surprises! I am waiting for the rocket launch today! ===JACK:  Anticipation...Will a "private rocket" make it?

FROM HONEST JOHN:  Americans stink at following the rules...even our leader can’t do it....bad example===JACK:  I can hear God saying, "My people stink at following the Commandments." ===JOHN:  Sounds like it comes from Jeremiah===JACK:  ,,,,one of my favorite Bible books.  I also like the song, "Jeremiah was a bullfrog."

FROM THE HAIR STYLIST:  Amen to that.

FROM FACEBOOK LIZ:  i will be soooo glad when the scamdemic is exposed for the political ploy it is... tho spitting/tobacco chewing can go away forever, please!===JACK:  Scamdemic?  Where are you living?  in a cave?  ...and do you mean to say that you've never spit during your lifetime?  I'm glad to see that you're still the same old "fun" Liz.

FROM WILLMAR REV:  Mom used to spit on her thumb and wipe something off my face . . . no wonder I've gotten old and will die someday?! 0;-)===JACK:  ...and I hated it when my mom used to spit on her hankie and try to wipe something off of my face.   I have survived.,..so far!

FROM QUILTING CAROL:   I sure will NOT miss the baseball players spitting!  What a gross habit to get start; maybe this will end their chewing tobacco another awful habit!  Will miss the Little League handshakes or any handshakes – a nice habit to share.===JACK:  How about the "passing of the peace" in church?  Will that be next?===CAROL:  I’m sure it will be for maybe a year or so until they can figure out this Covid 19 better.  Can understand the removal of hymnals, but am truly wondering why they don’t want of singing?  Can we not pass germs saying the liturgy, the Lord’s Prayer and Apostles Creed?  If we can’t do all of these things together, then let us keeping worshipping from home to be safer

FROM FACEBOOK LIZ:  of course i have never spat... ew.  the virus is not what some would lead us to believe. purely political. gisela has great insight into the reality of it as an ER nurse, brand new nurse practitioner (doctorate in nursing from one of the top NP programs in the world). she is soon to be one of four NPs in charge of the ICU.  CDC is backtracking on the “science,” the WHO and china are not forthcoming w/answers and are doing everything in their power to prevent others from getting to the bottom of it.  a cave... hmmm, like the cave the wuhan bat flew out of? if this is a super virulent “novel” virus, the bat caves should be teeming w/bats infected w/it. no one has any info on that, to my knowledge.  time will tell..===JACK:  We each have our own sources for reliable information..

Jack’s Winning Words  5/26/20
“I did what I felt, and I felt what I did…at all costs.”  (Little Richard)  When Little Richard died recently…just for fun, I went to YouTube and compared (backtobacktoback) his piano style with that of Liberace and Vladamir Horowitz. Each one, using the same instrument, made it say what they wanted it to say.  It works that way with the human body, too.  We each have feelings and a style for expressing them.  What’s your style…Richard, Liberace or Vladamir?   ;-)  Jack

FROM MY LAWYER:  Great comparisons. Great message. ===JACK:  Which of the three appeals to your musical taste?===ML:  I like all of them.

FROM ST PAUL:  i think its interesting that at one point he gave up music altogether to become a preacher.  later he went back to his music.===JACK:  Did you ever think of giving up preaching to become a musician...or something other?===SP:  honestly,  no.  I loved most days of parish ministry.  there were a few bad ones but very few.===JACK:  I'm with you...a "job" that I never regretted.

FROM WILLMAR REV:  I’m my own “one finger on the keyboard” type of guy?!?!  0:-)===JACK:  In seminary there was student who had lost all fingers except "the pointer.":  We called him, "the finger."  In touch football games he was really strong with that finger.  What a nice guy! 

Jack’s Winning words 5/22/20
“We all enjoy a trip down memory lane as long as we can avoid the potholes.”  (Anon)  I like it when Memorial Day comes around, because I have some good memories.  Not that the bad didn’t happen, but I choose to focus on the good.  Cemeteries don’t depress me; I see the stones as a tribute to someone who has made a difference in this world.  My father would take me to the cemetery and show me the grave of his best friend who died in the 1918 flu epidemic.  ;-)  Jack

FROM GUSTIE:  I used to take my Peanut butter sandwich out to the cemetery and sit by my grandfather’s (Whom I never knew) headstone and have a picnic.  Ok—I’m weird!  Ha! ===JACK:  That's not weird.  That's great...and a good suggestion for the rest of us.  A celebration of a live that has been lived...and an anticipation of the promise of eternal life.

FROM ST PAUL:  I often think of standing out on Orchard Lake Rd and Cass Lake Rd selling little American flags to support the Optimist Club of Keego Harbor.  lots of fun when Ledge was along.  I can still smell his cigars.  have a good weekend,===JACK:  Ledge and I hatched the idea of a Memorial Day Service at the Pine Lake Cemetery...when we were having coffee together.  I miss having him around.

FROM SK AT SJ:  That’s a good thought for Memorial Day ! It doesn’t have to be ALL sad and somber. We will all be there someday. Best to live every day as best as we can . Here is a funny joke about that. My Dad would ask us when we drove by a cemetery, how many dead people are in that cemetery? We would hurry and try to count the gravestones. The answer: All of them. ===JACK:  Some people wonder why they put fences around cemeteries...Are they afraid of people escaping?  In my "work" I had occasion to visit cemeteries often.   A mixture of feelings...  But, ultimately, God is good.

FROM TAMPA SHIRL:  That brings back the memory of one of our neighbors who would take us to riverside cemetery for the same reason!===JACK:  Wasn't there a "Black Angel" somewhere in that cemetery?

FROM COPPER COUNTRY PASTOR:  Heaps of thanks for the memories you have created in my life, and in thousands of others.  Sometimes, even the pot-holes are good memories because they were means of correcting and redirecting me.===JACK: 

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  My twin's memory was all but erased when she suffered a major stroke at 78. It is really devastating not to have that connection of years of memories! Not to remember

your marriage, your children, your siblings!! She regained bits and pieces, but of course never the same. Since I was with her every day, mostly all day, we became close again. We  didn't dwell much on the past!  I don't spend much time in the cemetery, except to decorate the graves, and pay my respects (!) as we know these loved ones are now in a place prepared for them by Jesus!  But good memories do keep us connected and are wonderful to have and cherish!!===JACK:  This week's Zoom Bible Study was the "resurrection."  We talked about how mysterious is death and life after death.  I like Hadel's, "Behold, I tell you a mystery."  Death (and even life) is a mystery.

Jack’s Winning Words 5/21/20 “Old friends are like angels.  You don’t have to see them to know that they are there.”  (Saying on a pillow)  The word angel has a Greek origin meaning “sent from God.”  Are there persons in your life who have seemingly been sent from God?  During this current pandemic there seem to be flocks of them.  But, who are the angels in your life?  I’m fortunate to have some old friends to reminisce with, to re-tell jokes and to call on anytime!  God is good!  ;-)  Jack FROM WILLMAR REV:  I will not be surprised one of these day to find out I had more than I was aware of at any given time?!?! 0;-)===JACK:  i WILL be surprised that I have much more than IO currently have.  I feel blessed...and I believe that there are many more of God's blessings, beyond my imagination.  "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has entered our mind..." FROM ESSCO:  Cher is my celebrity mentor; she just doesn't know it. I am not a huge fan of her music, but I love everything else about her.  Thanks for the appropriate quote. ===JACK:  Did you know that Cher is short for Cherilyn?  I didn't.  Did you know that she celebrated her 74th birthday yesterday?  I didn't.  But I do know that she is a strong female personality in an industry that is male-dominated. FROM QUILTING CAROL:  Yes, I’m blest to have two awesome sister angels, but also two amazing friends.  Linda and I started Sunday school together at the age of 3 and have been friends since.  We attended the same grade school, different high school, but saw each other every Sunday during high school in the HS Sunday school class.  We’ve led very different lives but have kept in touch through the years.  I met another angel friend in teacher’s training and have shared so many things together via letter writing, e-mails and on occasion a phone call.  Always nice to have someone to share your good, bad, ugly and oh so good times!  I do know they are always there when I need them and vice versa!===JACK:  Isn't there a movie or TV show, Angel on My Shoulder?  It sounds as tho you have angels who've "got your back." FROM LBP:  Got a friend I met in preschool who fits that bill....  nearly 40 years we’ve been friends. She and I don’t talk often but we are always comfortable to talk about anything. ===JACK:  My angel has no wings and is closing in on 100 yrs old. FROM PR AW IN IL:   And, old friend, you are one of them. Thanks and God bless you and loved ones.

Jack’s Winning Words 5/20/20
“If you can’t go straight ahead, you go around the corner.”  (Cher)  Cher is more than an entertainer.  She’s also a good source of quotes about looking at life in a positive way.  Most of us have come to places where we’ve faced a problem, seemingly, without a solution. Cher suggests looking for a corner around that roadblock.  A person I know lost his job, but found a way to teach his skills to prisoners so that they might be able to find work when released.  ;-)  Jack.

FROM ST PAUL:  Cher also said that marriage is a wonderful institution but who wants to live in an institution?☺===JACK:  All marriages aren't perfect.  I've performed some "clinkers."  You probably have, too. ===SP:  i would call a few of them worse than clinkers!   altho some marriages i thot would fail are still going and some i was sure would last,  did not last.  we never know for sure what goes on behind closed doors or how sincere people are when they do marriage prep.  its a kind of crap shoot at best.===JACK:  Is there a secret to "doing" a successful pre-marital counselling?

FROM SK IN SJ:  I’m all for that! One has to be resourceful to get where you think you want to go. I end up taking the scenic route A lot. That’s what we say when we get lost. I suppose you could call that “The Road less traveled” ha!! That seems to be my path!===JACK:  You seem to be following the advice of Robert Frost.  I think that most people who hjave "new" experiences are better off because of them...in spite of some briers, slips and falls and mosquito bites.

FROM WILLMAR REV:  The first person I thought of was Chuck Colson, when you mentioned your friend . . . I've always known you of being a friend with those in high places. 0;-)===JACK:  Colson... There's a name from the past.  Did he covert to becoming an A of G? 

FROM SKO:  I wasn't aware of either tidbit. Thanks for sharing! She looks pretty good for 74! ===JACK:  Age is just a number.  It's how you feel that counts.

Jack’s Winning Words 5/19/20
 “Good morning America, how are you?”  (Steve Goodman)  This line is from Goodman’s song, The City of New Orleans.  BTW, how are you this morning?  Since over 500 people receive WWs there are sure to be a variety of responses.  With unemployment, the virus, anxiety and depression, things aren’t good for “millions.”  By chance I came across Steve’s version of “Blue Skies.”  Feeling blue?  Need a picker-upper?  Listen to Blue Skies! ;-)  Jack     

FROM EMT MF:  Five hundred is an impressive number Jack, you continue to do great work.  We are well in Clarkston, doing our best thru this pandemic new lifestyle.  Staying busy with projects around the house and lots of walking.  We’ve started relaxing quarantine rules around the grandkids on Mother’s Day, visiting with them 3 times last week, they love to ride bikes from their house to ours, have pretty much stayed home since mid March.  Today, league golf starts,” hooray”! Learned yesterday that church is open to drop in to pray.  Going out for dinner and going to mass are what we have missed most.  Will continue to stay positive, keep moving forward, will be traveling to Alaska in July,  Grandchild # 7 is due on the 17th.===JACK:  Blue Skies seems to fit your life, even during the pandemic.  So, the church is open for prayer?  Hooray for that as well as Hooray for golf!

FROM HY YO SILVER:  I’m fat. I’ve put on an unacceptable amount of weight. And you?  How are you!?===JACK:  I'm still in Minnesota, eating well, walking regularly...and I'm still at the same weight I was when I was in my twenties.  I was doing some reading and saw that Navin Field (Tiger Stadium) was opened in 1912 and the Tigers player went on strike over the suspension of Ty Cobb.  A team of coaches and other non-pros replaced them

FROM TAMPA SHIRL:  That is amazing that u have 500 people on your list! Congratulations! ===JACK:  ...and you were one of the first of the 500.  Keep breathing!

Jack’s Winning Words 5/18/20
“Experience is a hard teacher, because she gives the test first and the lesson afterward.”  (Vern Law)  Law, a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates, was nicknamed Deacon, because he didn’t cuss, smoke or drink…and he went to church.  “As a Mormon I knew I had to keep my nose clean and set a good example.”  That kind of life must have worked for Vern, because at age 90, he says he wouldn’t trade his life with anyone.  How about you?  Anyone open for a trade?  ;-)  Jack

FROM NORM'S BLOG:  We are all living through the test right now and the real-time grades that we see on the news every night show that many are failing and even more are failing to learn. Even the national health official in Sweden who made the call not to impose any stay at home guidance now is saying, “Gee, I didn’t realize that so many would die.” Sweden has experienced one of the highest per capita death rates in the world because of that decision.  ===JACK:  Thanks for your opinion on making right and wrong decisions.(  Google Norm's blog for more...)

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  No, don't think so! At 90, looking back, I feel I've had a truly blessed life! Tho there are always a few things you'd change...If you don't cuss, smoke or drink, you're in pretty

good shape. Bill, on the Augie campus, was known to be a  teetotaler in a Frat that was notoriously not! The football team often said they worked so hard to win the  Conference for Bill, just to see him guzzle a beer, which he had promised to do if they won it. And he kept that promise! :-) He was Cap't. of the Football team his Soph, Jr. and Sr years at Augie. which was most unusual. I like this saying today; so true! We all learn some hard lessons, amidst our life-journey!!===JACK:  i'll always remember Bill as a Little All American...not because he was little.  He was on the first team of All Stars made of of schools with small enrollments....but, you already knew that.

FROM BS IN ENGLAND:  Not today===JACK:  ...nor tomorrow, either.

FROM PRFM IN RACINE:   I’ll soon be 93 ½ - and I’m not interested in any trading!===JACK:  I wonder if there's anyone out there who wants a trade...maybe someone who's 94 1/2.

FROM RS IN TEXAS:  No trades.  Been some tough tests and tough lessons along the way, but I can't imagine trading and not having the family and blessings I have.  Heck, if I had been someone else I probably would be getting Winning Words, and what kind of life would THAT be?===JACK:  i  believe that you meant to write (I probably would NOT be getting Winning Words)...at least, I hope so.

Jack’s Winning Words 5/15/20
“If you have a hard time forgetting the past, remember you can’t drive a car forward by looking into the rearview mirror.”  (Sent by Bill Bertakis)  Because of a curve, I use the rear view to back out of my driveway.  If I were to use that mirror when driving forward-oops!.  The past is like a mirror.  Some people have trouble taking their eyes off the past.  This world needs people who know the purpose of the rearview mirror and are forward-looking.  ;-)  Jack 

FROM LBP:  Ooh. I like that last line. It’s not that we disregard the past but we are forward looking. A few years ago I was director of Sunday school at my church. Many people came asking for a children’s choir. Then I would be regaled with memories of the many kids of all ages and the Sunday afternoon picnics and field trips they’d take. It didn’t work to say that this didn’t fit the current situation. So finally I asked, what was most important to you most about the choir? We cannot recreate the choir of our childhood, but we can aim to find an activity that meets it in spirit. It’s a good philosophy now. We cannot do activities in the ways we used to. So how can we recreate the spirit of them? ===JACK:  Thanks for your observation.  Many churches are experiencing the downward trend of Sunday School, and it's often perceived as a negative.  You have helped me to see it as a sign of the times, and new strategies need to be developed as a way of passing on the faith.  Just as someone in the past came up with the idea of Sunday school, someone needs to come up with a new "way."  That someone can be a someone like you...or me...or ????

FROM WILLMAR REV:  A friend of mine for many years enjoyed driving his various private coaches, one being formerly owned by Conway Twitty and he called it the "Twitty Bird". One of his favorite sayings was, "What I enjoy most when driving the coach was to look into my rearview mirror and find the sign saying, 'Welcome to Willmar!'" 0;-===JACK:  What do you mean, coaches?  Funeral hearses?  Buses?  Limos?  I know of a college student who had a hearse as his drive-around car.  It certainly got the attention.===REV:  "bus"  would be better understood . . . I have always thought when one took a bus and redesigned it into sleeping, eating and traveling transport, it was called a "coach"-- but that is just me. 0;-))  

FROM SM IN MN:  Working on it!===JACK:  Forgetting (or learning from) the past is something we all have to work on.

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  At 90 you have a LOT of past! But you're right, you gotta keep going forward with the times. My "great-grands"  help me do that! My son also has a curve in his driveway

that necessitates the help of a rear-view mirror. There are times when looking back into the past helps you with making decisions for the present, however! Many lessons learned! :-)===JACK:  Each item, including the mirror, has its purpose.  Don't use the oven to keep ice cream cold.

FROM FACEBOOK LIZ:  thanks, i needed that today!===JACK:  The past is past.  What we all need is the ability to separate the good from bad when looking back.  Today, why not concentrate on making a list of some of the good memories that you have?  I remember the fun day we met in Moline for the 1st time, and you brought some cake for me and my daughter===LIZ:  i was so glad to meet you in person finally. i’m touched that you keep that in your happy memory file also!  ==JACK:  Life has "precious memories" when you take the time to look for them.

FROM RS IN TEXAS:  Along the same lines, someone said that's why the windshield is so big and the rear view mirror so small....spend 95% of your time looking ahead and 5% looking back (to perhaps learn from the past).===JACK:  ...and the brake pedal is larger than the gas pedal.

Jack’s Winning Words 5/14/20
“It is sometimes easier to be happy if you don’t know everything.”  (Alexander McCall Smith)  A  Palm Reading store in our area had a sign in the window: “Going out of business.”  I’ve never had my palm read.  I’m satisfied without knowing the future.  Doris Day sang: Que sera, sera, Whatever will be, will be.  I have enough to handle without adding my tomorrows.  We pray in the Lord’s Prayer, Thy will be done on Earth.  That’s good enough for me.   ;-)  Jack 

FROM FACEBOOK LIZ:  https://youtu.be/xZbKHDPPrrc===JACK:  What a great way to start off  the day, listening to Doris Day singing Que Sera Sera.  I think of you, your dad and your daughter ...Que Sera Sera.

FROM WILL MAR REV:  "Good enough for me!" 0;-) ===JACK:  There's a song..."Into Your hands I am safely abiding..."  I'm for letting it go at that.

FROM NORM'S BLOG:  One reason that blissfully ignorant people are so happy is that they don’t know what they don’t know. In addition, they could care less. We sometimes feel sorry for people with no computer skills and no access to the wonderful world of knowledge that we find there, but that is really just a self-centered feeling of superiority. “How sad for them”, we think, that they cannot enjoy all of the posts and Tweets and other electronic mumbo-jumbo that we revel in. How can one know what the weather is outside, if one cannot look at one’s phone to find out? Their reply is, “Go outside and see.” How quaint.===JACK:  "Ignorance is bliss," goes the saying.  In other words, "I don't want to change!"

FROM TRIHARDER:  Almost like  "perfect can be the enemy of good."===JACK:  I'm reminded of the response, "It's good enough!"  A miss is a miss.  In sports, the TV slo-mo ruins the game for me.  Umpires, like players, make errors.  "arguing" is part of the game.===TH:  I had a brief due in the Court of Appeals. I finished it. It was perfect. Except for one problem. It was too long. (There were many bases for the appeal, many topics to be covered by it. I needed to get it down to 50 pages without extracting a page, a sentence, a word. That task was as difficult as writing the brief. ===JACK:  Winning Words, for me, is like talking a sermon and putting it into a few words.  That seems to be an   

FROM TAMPA SHIRL:  I love Alexander McCall smith and have been reading him for years! ===JACK: I don't know everything.  In facr, before this quote I didn't even know that thewre was an Alexander McCall.

FRFOM RS IN TEXAS:  Sgt. Schultz must have been a happy guy - “I know nothing.”===JACK:  In fact, he did seem to be a jolly person, a pleasant kind of guard in a concentration camp.  In this life many people don't want to be bothered with the facts.  "No more virus...Just let me get back to the way things were."===RS:  Yes, and in my opinion that (ignoring the facts and warnings) is going to make this a major problem for some time to come.  A shame that so many don't seem to care if they wind up infecting someone else.

FROM ST PAUL:  the problem is that there are those who pray that prayer and really have no intention of having God's will be done.  its their will that they are most interested in having enacted.  and i am guilty too. ===JACK:  Hey there!  Look closely...It's THY will, not MY will be done.

FROM EMTSINGS:  I wanted to share something with you.  You may recall (or not) that Rick and I moved up here to T.C. from Plymouth several years ago. The thing I missed the most in the move was leaving the Bible Study group that I had been in for years down in Plymouth. I have kept up with several of the friends from Plymouth and a couple of weeks ago I was invited to join that same Bible Study group via Zoom!  The idea was appealing but totally out of my comfort zone, being as I am very untechy! But with the help of husband, Rick and granddaughter, Sara, I managed to figure it out!  Now every Wed morning at 9:30 I can see the same familiar dear faces and actually participate in my old Bible Study group!   I  have felt all along that good things can come out of our present situation and this has certainly been one of them! ===JACK:  I, too, just finished a Zoom Bible Study.  One of the "good" things about the "bad" virus is that we have forced to do things in a new way.  I have even come to like the online church service, especially when it's done in a way that doesn't try to be a duplicate of what we have been used to.  New situations can be teaching and learning situations.  

FROM MAILMAN MIKE:  Excellent advice, Jack.  I used to read palms, or at least try.  It can drive a person nuts after a while.===JACK:  I try to see God's presence in all of my life...even the unknown.  God is there, too.  There's a sa\aying..."Wherever I am, God is."

Jack’s Winning Words 5/13/20
“It’s OK.  I see Jesus!”  (Dad’s last words)  Someone told me recently of her father’s final words as he died.  He’d been in a coma, when suddenly he sat up and spoke those words.  In these days when so many people are distraught because of uncertainty, “It’s going to be OK, because I see God as present in life.  “I will never leave you, nor forsake you!” is His promise.  I’m holding on to that and encourage you to do the same.  “It’s OK.  I see Jesus!”   ;-) Jack

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  Somewhere in all my papers, I have death bed quotes of famous people, but can't recall it at  the moment! :-(  My grandmother saw an angel in the corner of her room  which

none of us could see, of course, but very real to her. "Dad's" words are pretty powerful! We do have to "keep the Faith" through all the ups and downs life hands us, including these crazy times. It is a comfort to know we are never abandoned!  Thanks for the reminder, today, Jack!===JACK:  In today's true story, each child remembered the story in a different way.  The "truth" was the way each remembered.  Is the "truth" of the Bible in the way each of us perceives it?  (That thought just went through my mind....  Hmmm

FROM BB IN CHGO:  .  Amen! Your words ring so true, “I see God as present in life” – we don’t need to wait.  The comfort of having that divine presence every day is such a blessing. ===JACK:  There's a "classic" book, Practicing the Presence of God," written by Brother Lawrence who saw God as he cleaned pots and pans in the kitchen of the monastery.

FROM WILLMAR REV:  Me too, Jack!! Feeling the same!! 0;-)===JACK:  "Our hope is built on nothing less..."

FROM HONEST JOHN:  Mary Lou had a nine year old cousin whO was in the UofM hospital dying....told his parents not to worry for he had seen Jesus coming for him....and he, therefore, was not worried.   I experienced a very personal call to ministry.   I am very much anchored to the historical revelation but at the same time am convinced of the spiritual dimension of life. ===JACK:  A dying church member told me that he had seen Jesus at the foot of his bed the previous night, and he had said, "Everything's going to be alright."  We see what we see...even in our belief system. 

Jack’s Winning Words 5/12/20  “How long is a minute?  It depends on which side of the bathroom door you’re on.”  (Sent by Fred Marks)  Our B.R. door has a dent reminding us of the time when son David thought his sisters had spent too much time in that room.  Patience is sometimes difficult to learn.  Time often moves so slowly in hospital waiting rooms and so fast as we watch our children grow up.  How long are your minutes these days?  Jack FROM WILLMAR REV:  Brings back a poem I’ve used on occasion at funerals:    I've only just a minute, Only sixty seconds in it. Forced upon me, can't refuse it, Didn't seek it, didn't choose it, But it's up to me to use it. I must suffer if I lose it, Give an account if I abuse it, Just a tiny little minute, But eternity is in it.===JACK:  That's a good one.  All of a sudden my mind unlocks a memory...My father would say, "Just a mindy", and my sister and I would laugh. FROM KZB:  Hahahaha!!!! Hope you are hanging in there!===JACK:  Hanging in there is like waiting, and it depends on what you're waiting for. FROM NORM'S BLOG:  Our recent collective experience with the COVID-19 pandemic has really been a test of our patience and resolve as a people and many have failed that test miserably. For many it really depended upon which side of the economic-impact “door” they were on when the crisis hit. Some had the wherewithal to withstand an interruption in their normal revenue stream and others did not. Many entered this crisis already in “barely hanging on” mode in their business or life and for them any interruption was bound to be devastating. Others either had sufficient reserves to whether the storm or they were able to work from home without an interruption of their pay.===JACK:  As was said in the quote...  Coronavirus means something different, depending on which side of "the door" you're standing. FROM KZB:  Or even worse than that, since hanging onto something is pretty hard to do. So it's almost like trying not to fall.  So, instead, I hope you are making the most of these days, taking time to - enjoy the company (sometimes virtual) of your loved ones, - learn something new, - cultivate your relationship with God, - appreciate the miracle of Spring ===JACK: This "virus time" does not seem to drag for me.  Of course, retirement means that every day is pretty much what you make it.  Circumstances that may change it are the weather, and how you're feeling in your bones.  I feel sorry for those without a safety net. FROM BLAZING OAKS:  HAHA! Yes, most of us grew up in a home with one bathroom. There were five in our family, and you didn't usually dawdle in the bathroom!  My minutes still go too fast, most days, even in retirement, and now this "at home'  pandemic! Days fly by! And the Great g.kids, grow up even'faster  than the grandkids! Glad to have the  time to watch their varied activities, teach my great-granddaughter to play the piano, and read good books, share meals, enjoy plays and musicals (In normal times) travel, and enjoy life. But it all goes by so fast!!  Lucky me, I'm guessing!===JACK:  Besides multiple bathrooms, many have king'queen size beds.  In fact, in the olden days, some family's kids shared beds. (Youtube...Little Jimmy Dickens singing, "Sleeping at the foot of the bed). FROM THE LITTLE A:  Hahaha! Kyle was wearing his roller blades when his sister wouldn't open the bathroom door....the front wheel put a hole in the door. Great story. I have a mantle clock, that dad had, on my desk. It 'tic-toc's all day long and that gets my attention more than the chimes. Tic-toc, tic-toc, tic-toc,....===JACK:  Beth and I had a chance to go back and walk thru the Grayslake house.  The walls had lots of stories to tell.  Have you ever had a chance to do that with any of your childhood homes?  BTW, in grade school each room had a big Seth Thomas clock o0n the wall that went tic toc, tic toc.  I spent alotta time looking up at them. FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  Minutes become hours, hours become days and days become years.  They fly by!  Today is our 42nd Anniversary!  We ponder our wonderfully blessed time together!===JACK:  I remember going to 50th Wedding Anniversary parties and thinking, "Boy, those people look old."  42 is only 8 eight years from 50.

Jack’s Winning Words 5/11/20 “I’m telling you, things are getting out of hand.  Or maybe I’m discovering that things were never in my hand.”  (Gordon Atkinson)  I recall the “olden days” before child-safety car seats …when my son would sit on my lap and “drive the car.”  He thought that he was driving, but dad was the one in control.  Thankfully, God is really the daddy “driving” this world of ours…and I trust that His foot is near the brake.  Will we ever be mature enough to drive for real?   ;-) Jack FROM NORM'S BLOG:  For many, if not most, the situation that we find ourselves in right now is a humbling experience that demonstrates to us how little we really control in life. For a few, this leads to frustration and anger. You see them yelling and demonstrating on the news shows, all without masks, or you see them congregating in groups, again without taking any precautions.  We are tempted to ask, “who’s in charge here”, but we already know the answer – God is in charge. The only things that we have any control over is how we react to what is happening. It is that realization that allows us to revisit our faith and put our trust back in God. That is not to say that we can then act stupidly and go out without taking precautions, just that we revisit the faith that allows us to say , “Not my will, but Thy will be done.”===JACK:  That's one of my favorite petitions from the Lord's Prayer: "Thy will be done...ON  EARTH!"  Let's keep on praying that! FROM ST PAUL:  good one, Jack,  thanks.===JACK:  Maybe God is "allowing you to "drive today.   FROM WILLMAR REV:  “I’m thinking of the five year old the news media recently printed that took dads car out on the freeway until pulled over by the law enforcement . . . Sometimes, no matter how cute and cunning the situation may be, it is time for Dad to be called upon and the “child” to be properly disciplined for the right reasons . . . Those cars move in and out pretty fast out there on the freeways! 0;-)===JACK:  We do some "cute" things in the name of religion that ought to be left in the garage.  For example...trashing other religious beliefs, because they don't agree with ours.===REV: So true . . . been on both sides of that . . . being a Pentecostal has proven to be a good target from some of my fundamentalists' Baptist friends . . . the homosexuality and abortion issues are areas we often have to wrestle today; however, the opponents themselves are found in an attack mode quite often with ones who would not support such a lifestyle. I believe I'm asked to officiate a number of funerals today because I don't necessarily place everyone in heaven or hell, as I place them before our most gracious Father in Heaven with our knees bowed. 0;-)===JACK:    Being "community chaplains" as we are helps us realize that not everyone is meant to be a Pentecostal or a Lutheran, that God see each one as "His creation." FROM CONFIRMAND NG:  Hi Pastor Freed!  I love this post today!  It's so relevant.  I hope you are doing okay with everything!  I'm going to repost this on my Facebook page, and quote you, if that's okay?  Take care!===JACK:  Facebook is a pretty large pulpit with a loud sound system.  Go ahead! FROM TAMPA SHIRL: God is definitely in control! Enjoy each day!===JACK:  Have you ever heard the song, Life's Railway To Heaven?  It's on Youtube. FROM BB IN CHGO:  What a great metaphor.  Thank you thank you for haring.  Those of us a bit older will probably all have fond memories of “driving” with our parents.===JACK:  No "driver's rd" for me.  I taught myself to drive.  I think that we'd do a better job of "driving" this world, if we'd take "driver's ed" from God.