Ecclesiastes 12:10

  An aquarium manufacturer was in the midst of a major business crisis.  Despite their best efforts, a large percentage of its custom made glass aquariums were arriving at their destinations broken, if not completely shattered.  Desperate to figure out a shipping solution that wouldn’t break the aquariums or the bank, they turned to Edward de Bono.  De Bono was no experts in aquariums or glass or even shipping methods, he was however known for being an expert in thinking.  He had literal coined the term “ lateral thinking” in his 1967 book.  His solution not only eliminated the company’s breakage problem, it also ended up saving them money in packaging as well!   What was the solution?  Instead of packaging the aquarium for shipment, he had them instead place the label on the aquarium itself.  That way the handlers could see for themselves they were dealing with glass and mishandling it would affect them personally.  Now the packa...

   After the State of the Union address earlier this year, I ran across this photo that showed the difference of President Obama from his 1 st address to his last.  I guess it really is the toughest job in the world.  It isn’t just this president however. Look at the last one.  Or one from 150  years ago.     It seems the massive responsibility of being the commander in Chief takes a very physical toil.  No matter your party affiliation or your view on the person, we all must recognize the demand leadership takes on those in charge.  That amount of stress and responsibility comes with a weight, a burden that can wear down a man.   That weight and burden is just reserved for those that carry the weight of the free world on their shoulders, but is also felt by those men that carry the responsible of the souls of the flock, the elders.  Being an elder is one of the weightiest position...

  Why not let someone else pay for it all?    That seems to be the new thinking.   You see the hints of it everywhere.   Friends reposting just in case Mark Zuckerberg is giving away millions on Facebook.   Email forwards that might get you a piece of Bill Gates’ fortune.   People lined up at the convenience store to buy a worthless piece of paper that might turn into a windfall. Folks feeding nickels into a machine hoping it will turn them into millionaires.   Links to group funding sites to have someone else pay for my desires.     What they all have in common is the desire to gain wealth without work.  Let someone else who has more give it to me. I deserve simply because I desire.  It seems the American work ethic has changed quite a bit in the last several years.   That should not surprise us since the American worth ethic used to be a Christian work ethic .  I think many have forgotten that th...

  John Paul Jones is known as a naval hero and the father of the American Navy.  His most famous battle occurred on September 23, 1779, when Jones’ squadron met a large British convoy in the North Sea. His ship, The Bonhomme Richard attacked the leading ship of the force, the Serapis .  The Serapis was larger and better armed than Jones's ship, so Jones took his vessel alongside it. The ships were so close that their rigging became entangled and the muzzles of their guns touched.  When asked if he would surrender, Jones famously quipped, “ Surrender, I not yet begun to fight !”  That battle would make Jones and his ship legendary.   Many folks know that his ship was named in honor of his friend Ben Franklin.  But few know why he named it after French title of Franklin’s famous book Poor Richard's Almanac instead of just after Franklin.     That story lies in how he got the ship in the first place. The revolutionary American ...