Unconventional Christmas Song..

I've always enjoyed the music from the group Goo Goo Dolls. Every Christmas time, when I've tired of all the endless Christmas music that is played on the radio stations during my drive time, I pop in the Goo Goo Dolls Greatest Hits CD. One of their biggest hits was "Better Day's". Even though you have to listen to a Goo Goo Dolls song several times to get the lyrics one thing I've always liked about their songs are the deep and thought provoking lyrics, at least obviously in my opinion. Better Days to me is really a Christmas song and the lyrics are truly powerful.

I do not know if the Goo Goo Dolls are professing Christians, but I do know their song lyrics in a somewhat cryptic manner convey Christian topics, beliefs and to some extent you could say there is a Goo Goo Doll theology. Also, I've seen several of their concerts on Palladia and they always tell their audience "God Bless" at the end.

Better Day's starts out with the following Lyrics

And you asked me what I want this year and I try to make this kind and clear just a chance that maybe we'll find better days 'cause I don't need boxes wrapped in strings and designer love and empty things just a chance that maybe we'll find better days

This is followed by the chorus with the following lyrics:

So take these words and sing out loud 'cause everyone is forgiven now 'cause tonight's the night the world begins again

This last line of the chorus reminds me of the meaning of Christmas, that on that one night the world begin with the birth of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Savior and Emmanuel. The "words" are never mentioned... .but below is a you tube link to a video of the song.. as you listen envision the following words after this line "God So Loved The World" .. In the video they use Faith, Hope and Love..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-kHleNYIDc (note: there is an advertisement played before the video.. )

Enjoy and Merry Christmas.

Blessing from Las Vegas cabbie

I was in Las Vegas last week for a business conference and expo. If you attend or exhibit at business conferences regardless of your industry you’re going to hit Las Vegas at some-time or another and this was my 6 trip out to the city in the desert where everyone goes for a good time.

While most workers in the resorts, hotels and casinos in Vegas are very cordial, they are paid to be, you can sometime sense with many that you encounter a kind unrest or a demeanor of un-satisfaction with perhaps their life or the world in general. I think the great contrast that is displayed in Vegas adds to this demeanor and what I mean is that if you worked in one the resorts or businesses supporting these industries it could be waning on you to be immersed in such opulence. While Las Vegas is much more that gambling and partying it is living in excess that is at the core of everything that’s offered to its visitors here. Many people come to escape or to let go and forget the worries of the world. The question is to let go and let what do what??

However this time I encountered some outside the typical worker in Vegas. Most of the time when I come to Vegas my typical cab ride conversation typically goes something like “Where are you headed, how did you do, Win or Lose?, how was the partying, where did you go and have a good time” all the while most of these cabbies don’t seem too happy because when or if the conversation diverts to other items like I ask them “How’s your day” it digresses into a parade of complaints about the world. I think mainly this is misery loves company if someone agree or indentifies with your problems in life it somehow makes you feel better. For the most part I like engaging the cabbies in conversation, one it helps pass the time.

Thursday morning on my ride from my hotel to the airport I encountered a different cabbie, from the moment I entered the cab and he asked how I was doing that morning I knew something was different and almost as about as quick as this happened I sensed he was a Christian. We started a dialog that progressed into him talking about his family, his wife and children. He was originally from Guatemala, which was interesting because I’m working on a business opportunity in Guatemala. He talked about that he’s been a cabbie for nine months and prior worked for FedEx ground for 9 years, but quit because of the hours and that he wanted Sunday’s off. He indicated that driving the cab paid less, but that he was blessed to have Sunday and Monday off to spend more time with his family. He asked about my family and I mentioned that my oldest child (Daughter) got married this summer. He commented how wonderful I must have felt and he started talking about how great he’ll feel when his daughter who is now 10 gets married, he hopes in no less than 12 years from now, he did go woha is me that I have to pay for a wedding. His attitude was positive and up-lifting he did not complain about one thing, even when I asked him how business was in Vegas, he commented not as good as the past but he said he was thankful to have this job driving the cab. He did not ask any of the typical scripted cabbie questions. I felt a great peace about my brother from Guatemala and that his faith as a Christian allows him to work and live in a place with such great pressure and temptations to do or be otherwise.

We talked the entire time to the airport which is not a long ride from the Vegas strip. When we got out he unloaded my bags, carefully, and he shook my hand thanking me for my business and told me “May God Bless you”.. well I was blessed in that moment to find someone who truly expresses the demeanor of Christ in what appeared to me with limited expose in every aspect of his life…. what a peace he had and I told him before I turned to walk away “God has blessed you” .. .he smiled and I smiled because we knew what each other knew….. Sometimes blessings come in un-expecting ways..

Health Care- Why all the fret?

Health Care - Why all the fret?

In the past few days I’ve encountered and read of many people who’ve been fretting over the supposed eventual passing of the Health Care reform act. Some fretters having reached a view that this is the end of our government as we know it. What is surprising, at least to me, is that many who fret and worry are professing brothers & sisters in Christ. While I may not agree with some of the presented points regarding health care and who could ever read and comprehend it all then discern its impacts good or bad I don’t know, but not me. One thing for sure is that all of these impacts good or bad are in the future or tomorrow and may or may not ever happen as plan. So, to this point Jesus said “don’t worry about tomorrow”

I was reminded, to some extent, of this last night as I watched the first two episodes of the restart for the ABC show Flash Forward. If you’ve not watched the show it’s a story where every human on earth blacks-out and gets what they believe is a glimpse of their future for a specific date and time. The storyline is how this affects each of these individuals in their life. In the part 2 of the restart premier it opens with the story of a window-washer who before the blackout is getting on the platform over hanging the top of a skyscraper and just as he does the blackout happens and just before his partner can secure his security line. In the scene he falls the platform lowers on one end and he begins to slide out falling to his expected death. Then we see the end of his security line dragging across the top of the building then the edge then along the platform then at the last possible moment the hook catching on the very end of the platform saving the window-washers life. In his black out he had a vision of him preaching to a large crowd and he decided to act on his vision. Later in the episode this window-washer now a spiritual man is meeting with one of the other characters who is struggling with her black-out vision where she is being drowned and expresses that she felt during her vision that she deserved it and that it was God punishing her. The window-washer now preacher tells her that we can’t fully understand any picture by a just a glimpse he offers her that perhaps she was being baptized and then tells here that in the moment of Jesus crucifixion that his Disciples were evidently very confused and you could easily suspect horrified by these events. This was because they were focused on the details of the temporal moment and had not grasped the big picture. The point and message here is that we have to be big picture people we can’t get distressed over events that we feel are horrific in the moment.

We know from Paul’s writings in Romans that all governments and government leaders are “allowed” to exist by God. This does not make government or nations divine, there is only one intended divine nation of people and this is “Israel” or those chosen by God. The Israel of the Old Testament cashed in God’s plan for them by demanding for an earthly kingship, thus government. If you studied the Old Testament you know what this got them, it was a big ole’ mess.

What do we have today in our human kingdom is a big ole’ mess, but why should we be shocked, we’ve done no better than the Israel of old looking and putting their hope & faith in a temporal glimpse for things. God never intended that his people “Israel” should need a earthly kingdom. If Christians in this country will be honest it has been the failure of the church that has created this predicament we find ourselves in with health care. It is the responsibility of the church to care for the needy and we have advocated this to a flawed earthly government expecting heavenly results. The good news is that no matter how bad things might apparently be God is in control of the big picture and even if we wake up tomorrow under whatever government authority. To those in Christ “We are Israel” and we have hope and faith in God’s great plan keeping our eye on the big picture, so do not fret about glimpses or what tomorrow may or may not bring.

Hello

Hello my name is Mark McDougald and very soon... I'll be posting my this and that thoughts about many topics from religion ( Christianity), world & current events and culture (Movies and TV's)