I'm a packer, which means I take a good look at the profiles (the fiberglass cut outs which are then shipped to paint detail, then vaneer, and then the window and doors department where the product is pieced together and complete), wipe them down with some chemical, and then stack them onto their repsective crates.
I've noticed that the longer I will work with this company the more familiar I will be with the routines and opporations; I will also become more familiar with the humor in each individual worker. I've grown to notice that there's a lot of absurdly funny things during my shift. For instance, last night one of the opporators gave out some hats with draw strings which look as if one might go out on a safari any minute during the work hours--but you can't do that for it is against company policy. "No imaginative safaris allowed." And even last night, another example sort of makes it's way into my recollection. At about 3 AM another opporator had put a sticker, which is used around the factory for work purposes, on his blue jump suit which said, "Do Not Stack." Thanks, man, it would have been bad for my credibility if I had tried to stack a human being onto one of those crates. Of course, most anything is funny at 3 AM.
Last week, when checking out the quality of one particular kind of profile, I noticed there was a bow in the 10-15 foot long piece; so I went to the opporator who ran that production line, and trying to put a little humor in the statement, warning him of the problem, I said, "Hey, you've got a rainbow in your profile." He looked at me with his eyebrows up and tried to analyze what I had siad. "A Rainbow?" I haven't said it since.
This morning I went to an employee training meeting with the company's HR lady, learning about the company philosphy (which is really the Golden Rule), the company's expectations from employees, setting goals, the quarterly evaluations that each employee (including supervisors) must take. I also applied for the company;s benfits package of medical, dental, vision insurance. I was pretty tired going into the meeting, my eyes felt as if they were burning, but I made it through in a coherent way; I am thankful to God for the chance to have such benfits on the horizon. God is preparing me for my tasks ahead, as He is preparing each of you.
Friday, March 11, 2005
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Two Expositions: One on God and the Other on the Pride of Man
"All the ways of man are pure in his own eyes,
But the LORD weighs the spirits" (Proverbs 16:2).
As a precurser to my personal discoveries of today, which incudes some insight on the humor found in eating from a pack of sunflower seeds, I wish to expand on yesterday's topic. Love, honor, and respect come into play in one's genuine submission to the will of God. In this submissive state, a man gives his life to the LORD and his ways are directed towards the glorification of being made whole in Christ. In 2 Peter 1:2-3 Peter writes that by the knowledge, the understanding, the faith grounded in Christ He has given to us "all things that pertain to life and godliness" and "called us by glory and virtue". The worship of God isn't any special ceremony (though it is perfectly sensable to say that we honor God's name in singing songs about Him and His characteristics and in the ritual of communion, which is done not for the sake of ritual itself but for the reminder of the union between God and man through the atonement of our sins; for it should only be done by those who have been saved by His grace).
With that said, I'll move onto my experience with sunflower seeds and the moral which I have found from out of the message on the back of the pack. I went to the Dollar Store in Summit this afternoon, buying some chips and cookies for the "junk" part of my work lunches. As I strolled through the rows of goodness for a buck, I happened to come upon some David Sunflower Seeds. I didn't have the yearning, burning desire to eat any seeds before that instant, but once I gazed into the pack of seeds I buckled down and bought it, the Ranch Flavor that is.
Once I was in the truck, I opened the pack and gave it a good rip and took out some seeds, savoring them in my mouth one by one until I cracked each shell open to taste the salty treasure inside. As I cracked, ate, and spit the remainders into a foam cup, I looked down at the back of the pack with the curiosity of today's consumer. This is what caught my eyes:
With that said, I'll move onto my experience with sunflower seeds and the moral which I have found from out of the message on the back of the pack. I went to the Dollar Store in Summit this afternoon, buying some chips and cookies for the "junk" part of my work lunches. As I strolled through the rows of goodness for a buck, I happened to come upon some David Sunflower Seeds. I didn't have the yearning, burning desire to eat any seeds before that instant, but once I gazed into the pack of seeds I buckled down and bought it, the Ranch Flavor that is.
Once I was in the truck, I opened the pack and gave it a good rip and took out some seeds, savoring them in my mouth one by one until I cracked each shell open to taste the salty treasure inside. As I cracked, ate, and spit the remainders into a foam cup, I looked down at the back of the pack with the curiosity of today's consumer. This is what caught my eyes:
CONGRATULATION! YOU'RE A SEEDER!Seeders are unique. They're cool, confident, independent,
active, and hard working. They know that eating DAVID Sunflower Seeds makes what they do more enjoyable. Things are better with DAVID because they're a snack and an activity. Experience SNACKTIVITY(tm).
For a moment as I went down the road, thinking about this message, I thought to myself, I do feel pretty cool, and I know that I'm confident. Heck, I'm a self-made man! I'm full of energy and spunk! I'm the epitomy of manliness! That was when I chuckled and listened to the voice of what is true and good, He said, "You're eating sunflower seeds." Stinkin' seeds! I was sucked in; totally duped into thinking I was some big shot full of good beans; mindlessly lead into the wilderness of meglomania; suduced by sunflower seeds! Come on! Seeds, really?
That pretty much sums up my story. The moral is self explained, I think. Don't falsify or magnify yourself with seeds and pride. If you want to know more, you can drop a comment or question somewhere on my site, and if you don't want to know anymore write me a letter and enclose it with some Jumbo Seeds: B.B.Q style. Because that just completes everything but what needs to be completed. Thanks a lot.
"Commit your works to the LORD,
And your thoughts will be established" (Proverbs 16:3).
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Let Us Seek Him
"'This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me,Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men."MARK 7:6-7, Jesus, quoting Isaiah 29:13, to the Pharisees and scribes in part of his response to the question as to why his disciples did not wash their hands according to the traditions of the Law before they had their meal.
Let's put off disputes of religiosity, shall we? Let us look at the power of God who dwelt in the flesh as a man as the Christ, who came into the world for the purpose of delivering all from the bondage of sin, in a very quiet way. He is the Redeemer of Jacob, the Savior of the Gentile--all those who are not Jewish--He came to us as King, but not in the manner of a king. He was born in a cave! He rode a burro into Jerusalem, not on a stallion as military savior might, and the people shouted "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD" (Mark 11: 9)! I have had an ongoing dispute with myself and sometimes with others about matters of worship and organization, a debate of sorts which comes and goes in laid back and tense forms. It is for the purpose of recognizing that God is the One I, we, ought to focus on.
I've discussed with folks things like rituals, observances, traditional methods of worship in the Church's history, things which are outward practices and not nearly as important for discussion as the things of God, things above. But I have come to realize that something like organized churches, groups of Christians, as the body of Christ, the Bride, are worth discussing. If Christ didn't come to save men then He surely would have come to end the existence of mankind; this Body is a beautiful thing, and in so many ways in so many lives, the salvation ought to be mentioned repeatedly between the members and to the world. "We loved Him because He first loved us" (1 John 4: 19 NKJV). I would much rather talk of God than of our own religious practices, but on some occasions the moment has raised for me to converse about today's methodologies within the many denominations of Christianity. Such talk can be interesting to talk about, so I've learned; but there's a point in which the topic becomes irrelevant, distracting itself from the Word, that the talk is not based on the principles of God's teaching and truth anymore but becomes merely a focal point on the mannerisms of man trying to please himself by his own works.
Yes, I have been caught up with the wrong thoughts towards the Lord, thinking along the lines of pride that something I have accomplished could possibly be the primary reason why God created the universe. Now that's egotistical! If it pleases me it must please God, I have thought.Well, actually, no that is not how it works, chimes in the voice of truth. And such reasoning that our methods, our traditions, our rituals, are to the beat of the ultimate drum of worship irritates me in my mind and heart. I cry inside when I feel pressured by popular practices of corporate worship (singing psalms, hymns, and "praise songs" in a programmed format to fit the fads of the day in a time and place designated for God's children to come together for exhortation, ministering, and preaching) to do the same things as the people singing up front on stage. This are some of my thoughts I think and speak when I am in the conversation on anything to do with today's acts of worship. And suddenly, I've come into the trap that worship is anything finite; God is infinite, precisely God but not precise in time. He is the Lord of the cosmos, of our dusty bodies enveloped in the things of the world. He made us. He is big, we are less significant than a flake of dust, or a drop of water. But He gave us life and loves us innumerably. So if a three minute song and a couple dollar bills is our idea of worshiping God then I think we are sadly mistaken and have limited something of ourselves and our relationship with Him in the process.
I have so many words streaming forth in my soul, longing to be shared in a concise way, so if this is a jumbled, non-seminary argument, then that's fine by me but possibly not what many may think. May God give these words purpose for others to read and understand, to go to their Bibles and look into the Word, and then live out the life of worship unto the Creator. There's a road to walk down, and it's not an easy road to travel on, but may it be more often traveled than not.
To the Christian, in Paul's words: "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread" (1 Corinthians 10: 16-17). Let us seek Him at all times. Should we quibble the same arguments of rituals until the day that Christ returns? It seems useless, but there may be purpose in it even though I don't fully see it. May God grant me the understanding to not partake of useless arguments and at the same time uphold the gospel in the aspects of speech, action, and exemplification.
Let's put off disputes of religiosity, shall we? Let us look at the power of God who dwelt in the flesh as a man as the Christ, who came into the world for the purpose of delivering all from the bondage of sin, in a very quiet way. He is the Redeemer of Jacob, the Savior of the Gentile--all those who are not Jewish--He came to us as King, but not in the manner of a king. He was born in a cave! He rode a burro into Jerusalem, not on a stallion as military savior might, and the people shouted "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD" (Mark 11: 9)! I have had an ongoing dispute with myself and sometimes with others about matters of worship and organization, a debate of sorts which comes and goes in laid back and tense forms. It is for the purpose of recognizing that God is the One I, we, ought to focus on.
I've discussed with folks things like rituals, observances, traditional methods of worship in the Church's history, things which are outward practices and not nearly as important for discussion as the things of God, things above. But I have come to realize that something like organized churches, groups of Christians, as the body of Christ, the Bride, are worth discussing. If Christ didn't come to save men then He surely would have come to end the existence of mankind; this Body is a beautiful thing, and in so many ways in so many lives, the salvation ought to be mentioned repeatedly between the members and to the world. "We loved Him because He first loved us" (1 John 4: 19 NKJV). I would much rather talk of God than of our own religious practices, but on some occasions the moment has raised for me to converse about today's methodologies within the many denominations of Christianity. Such talk can be interesting to talk about, so I've learned; but there's a point in which the topic becomes irrelevant, distracting itself from the Word, that the talk is not based on the principles of God's teaching and truth anymore but becomes merely a focal point on the mannerisms of man trying to please himself by his own works.
Yes, I have been caught up with the wrong thoughts towards the Lord, thinking along the lines of pride that something I have accomplished could possibly be the primary reason why God created the universe. Now that's egotistical! If it pleases me it must please God, I have thought.Well, actually, no that is not how it works, chimes in the voice of truth. And such reasoning that our methods, our traditions, our rituals, are to the beat of the ultimate drum of worship irritates me in my mind and heart. I cry inside when I feel pressured by popular practices of corporate worship (singing psalms, hymns, and "praise songs" in a programmed format to fit the fads of the day in a time and place designated for God's children to come together for exhortation, ministering, and preaching) to do the same things as the people singing up front on stage. This are some of my thoughts I think and speak when I am in the conversation on anything to do with today's acts of worship. And suddenly, I've come into the trap that worship is anything finite; God is infinite, precisely God but not precise in time. He is the Lord of the cosmos, of our dusty bodies enveloped in the things of the world. He made us. He is big, we are less significant than a flake of dust, or a drop of water. But He gave us life and loves us innumerably. So if a three minute song and a couple dollar bills is our idea of worshiping God then I think we are sadly mistaken and have limited something of ourselves and our relationship with Him in the process.
I have so many words streaming forth in my soul, longing to be shared in a concise way, so if this is a jumbled, non-seminary argument, then that's fine by me but possibly not what many may think. May God give these words purpose for others to read and understand, to go to their Bibles and look into the Word, and then live out the life of worship unto the Creator. There's a road to walk down, and it's not an easy road to travel on, but may it be more often traveled than not.
To the Christian, in Paul's words: "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread" (1 Corinthians 10: 16-17). Let us seek Him at all times. Should we quibble the same arguments of rituals until the day that Christ returns? It seems useless, but there may be purpose in it even though I don't fully see it. May God grant me the understanding to not partake of useless arguments and at the same time uphold the gospel in the aspects of speech, action, and exemplification.
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