To Be Young Again

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Jeff

The old lady sits quietly in her rocker.  Next to her is the old Grandfather clock that she and her late husband purchased together. She doesn’t dream about the future anymore. She just looks back at the past and wishes. She wishes that she could turn back that clock to a happier time.  A time when she was younger and looking forward to what life had in store for her.

She remembers when she was a teenager and was dreaming of her prince charming,  who would one day come  on his white horse and sweep her away to his castle. Now all she does is sit on the porch of the old house that holds more memories than dreams.  She, like many people her age, has given up on new adventures, and has just contented herself with reliving the past, over and over again. “Oh to be young again”, she whispers to herself.

All of us, as we get older, must guard against dying before our time. The old saying: “Where there’s life, there’s hope” is true.  If we are still above ground and breathing, then God hasn’t finished with us yet.  He still has work for us to accomplish, and it is up to us to get in tune with Him and find out what He has in mind.  My advice to those in their 50′s and beyond, is to stop looking back and wishing you were young again. Rather, start looking forward and see what the Lord has in store for the future.  It is a shame to waste all of that wisdom and knowledge that you’ve accumulated over the years, when there are millions of young people that could benefit from what you have to teach.

If you’re healthy, then get out of that rocker and do something with your life.  The best thing you can do  is to find a worthy cause and give  yourself fully to it.  The past is a good thing.  It has made you what you are. But don’t let living in the past, keep you from making the most of your future.

Did you like this? Share it:
Posted in Clocks, Grandfather Clock | Leave a comment

Spring

Posted on April 7, 2012 by Jeff

My favorite time of the year is Spring. Summer is too hot. And  Fall, although beautiful  in Michigan where I live, is a time when things begin to die. The days are getting shorter and we start to feel the icy chill that finally leads to winter.  Winter,  seems so long and cold.  The clock seems to stand still in this season and you wonder if it will ever be warm again.   You spend more time indoors, and you start to feel caged in.  Sadly, you can’t go anywhere without bundling up to protect yourself from the elements.

But Spring is different.  It is a time of new life, and new hope.  No matter how bad the winter has been,  Spring represents a new beginning.  The Sun shines bright and feels warm and inviting when it touches your skin.  The birds sing sweetly and the plants begin to push their way up through the stubborn sod. The flowers and trees start to bloom and their colors splash across the canvas of the newly rejuvenated earth.

But beyond all this, Spring reminds me that God is still in control of this world. No matter how bad life has been, the cycles of the seasons still move inevitably back toward the Spring,  and the hope of a new season to plant seeds that will reap a bountiful harvest in the Fall. Seeds of hard work, pursuing the dreams that God has placed in each of us.  Seeds of  time spent with our families which will cause us to grow closer together, so that as a unit, we can make it through the toughest of winter seasons to follow. And the seeds of wisdom, love and knowledge that we all plant in the youth of today, that they may grow up to be the wise and loving leaders of tomorrow.

And ultimately, Spring reminds me that there is a life beyond this one. It is the season  we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, who has conquered the grave and given each of us a chance to have eternal life, unmarred by a future of mourning, or crying or pain.

Yes Spring is a wonderful season. And it is my sincerest hope for each of you to have many more Springs to come. Also,  if you are going through a winter in your life right now, just remember, it won’t be forever.  Spring will again arrive, and bring with it a new beginning. Just hang onto hope and bundle up against the elements. There will again come a time when the icy grip of winter will be loosened, and the warm, inviting arms of Spring will embrace you once again.  Thank God for Spring!

 

Did you like this? Share it:
Posted in clock, Clocks | Tagged , | Leave a comment

You Are What You Eat!

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Jeff

My stomach starts to talk to me at certain hours of the day.  I don’t even have to look at the cuckoo clock on my living room wall, or listen for it’s announcement that it’s lunch time. My body is telling me loud and clear, that it’s time to put more fuel into it in order to keep it going strong for another day.  Food is such a big part of our lives. Indeed it is necessary for our very survival.  But here in America, most of us seldom worry whether we’ll get enough. What most of us worry about is how not to eat too much. And our eating habits are killing us.

Did you know that dietary factors are involved in the development of 4 out of 10 of the leading causes of death in America?  Our overeating and bad diet can lead to diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and even cancer.

Today 7 out of 10 adults are overweight and 1 in 4 children.  All together that’s about two thirds of the population of our wonderful land that are eating ourselves to death. And it not only affects us individually. The current health care cost to our economy is 147 billion dollars a year. With the economic woes of our country today, it would help immensely if all of us would start to take our health more seriously.

We talk about the problems associated with us all getting older. But did you know that only 30% of how we age is determined by our genes.  That means that 70% of this is in our hands.  In other words, if we take better care of ourselves, most of us can be healthy and active well into our golden years.  There is an old saying: ”You are what you eat.”  Well that is more true than most of us are willing to admit.

It is high time we stop blaming our family heritage,  or our age for our weight problems and start taking responsibility for our own life. Just like the alcoholic, we need to admit that we have a problem.  Most of us are fat because we eat too much and exercise too little.  The faster we admit it,  the more likely it will be that we will do something about it.  I have taken that first step myself and have lost close to 10 pounds. It is my hope that those reading this will stop committing suicide by eating, and will join me in this worthy cause, that will not only lengthen our lives, but give us a better quality of life for as long as the Lord allows us to be here on this planet.   Let us all commit to healthy eating habits, and do everything in our power to change, before it’s too late!

Did you like this? Share it:
Posted in Clocks | Leave a comment

When Life Gives You Lemons

Posted on March 24, 2012 by Jeff

We all seem to go through times in our lives when absolutely nothing seems to go right.  We are going along smoothly.  We have a good job or a stable business and enough money to pay our bills.  Our family life seems to be doing well. Then all of a sudden we lose our job, or there is a sudden downturn in the stock market, and  before we know it, that business that,  at one time, was doing fine may not be able to keep out of bankruptcy.  The bills pile up, and we wonder which ones to pay, and which ones to leave until next month.   There is tension at home because of this. We tend to fight a lot more with our spouse and we wonder if our marriage will survive this crisis that we’re in.

Then when we think life couldn’t get any worse, it does. We are confronted with an illness.  And of course, there is no insurance, because it lapsed when we lost that job, or the business we own can no longer provide the income to pay for it.

The saying: “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade” is just made for times like these.  It simply means that we need to make the best of a bad situation. The truth is that life, at times, is unfair.  Bad things happen to us all. Not even the rich and famous are immune to the inevitable hardships of life.

What many of us are tempted to do in a crisis situation, is give up. But that we must never do.  Like a tree that grows stronger because of the winds that blow against it, we get stronger and become better,  more capable individuals,  when we stand up to adversity. Another saying that comes to mind is: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Getting going, and making positive steps in the right direction are the best things we can do. Eventually, like a pendulum clock, things will begin to swing in a more positive direction if we don’t lose hope.

It is my prayer that none of us will ever give up on our hopes and  dreams because of adversity.  The inevitable lemons of life will come our way, but we must continue to take those lemons and make lemonade.  Eventually, when the troubles pass,  they’ll leave us with the sweet taste that comes with having faced the worst life had to offer and overcoming it at last. That will be a sweet victory indeed!

 

Did you like this? Share it:
Posted in Clocks, Pendulum Clocks | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The little Things

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Jeff

We worry about the major happenings of our day. We set our alarm clocks for work and hurriedly get out of bed to spend a great portion of our life on the job. We look forward to the major times in our lives  when our routine is altered by a vacation and a trip to that part of the world we’ve always wanted to see.  We worry about the bills, the taxes, the repairs,  and all the many things that come at us on a daily basis.  Sometimes we’re too busy to notice the little things in life that make it all worthwhile.

It is easy to ignore the beauty of a sunset because our mind is on the business deal that we have to close the next day. Or how about  the gentle pulling of our  child upon our sleeve as he seeks to get our attention in order to ask us to play ball with him, or to see  his latest work of art, drawn with his own hand. Before you know it, he’ll be grown up and those days will be gone forever.  And part of us will always wish that we had given in and played with him more and enjoyed his artwork.

There is a song that tells us to stop and smell the roses, and count our many blessings every day. But most of us really never learn to do this. We keep on allowing the worries of life to get us upset and rob us of the joy that comes with doing and being thankful for the simple pleasures.

May we all begin to realize that in the day to day routines of life, God is speaking to us and letting us know that He’s still there and has everything under control. The world continues to spin, the dead of winter still turns to the new life of spring,  and our heart continues to beat giving us a chance to enjoy  and be inspired by it all. We can never be too grateful for the little things.

Did you like this? Share it:
Posted in alarm clocks, Clocks | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Making a Difference

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Jeff

The wall clock in my bedroom is always in motion.  The pendulum continues to swing back and forth and is a constant reminder to me that life waits for no one.  Whether I choose to stay in bed and get more sleep, or get up early in order that I might have a head start on my many projects, the clock doesn’t care. It continues to faithfully count down the hours of life.

We are placed on this planet by God to make a difference.  Everyone you see is a special creation of a sovereign Being, who has given us all talents, gifts and other resources in order to make an impact on this earth, in some way.  Some will make a giant difference that all the world will recognize.  Most will  make a smaller, but not less important difference.  Just by being on this earth, you affect others in some way, even if you don’t try.  Any time you interact with another, you are affecting his or her life.  Both you and they are taking the valuable time that each of you has and sharing it with the other.

It’s not a question of if we are making a difference in this world. The question is: “ What kind of difference are we making,  Is it positive or negative?” It is my ambition in life to take what God has given me and to do my best to make this world a little better because I was here.  Time stands still for no man and the end of life comes all too soon. But what we have done, or failed to do, can have an impact far beyond this 70 to 100 years of life that we all are allotted.  Let us all make every moment count, so that we can point the way for future generations, so they will follow in our footsteps and make a positive difference of their own.

Did you like this? Share it:
Posted in Clocks, Wall Clocks | Tagged , | Leave a comment

What Time is it?

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Jeff

I was sitting here looking at a picture of a grandfather clock today and remembered a joke about time.  It’s  an old joke that I learned as a child. It may not be very funny, but it is quite profound.  It goes like this: “What time is it when an elephant sits on a fence?” Answer: “It’s time to get a new fence?”  The message that I take away from this, not so funny joke,  is that there are certain actions that one does in life that cannot be reversed.  The choices that we make today may seem innocent enough, but they  can affect the rest of our lives.  Like the elephant that sat on the fence, the devastation can be so profound that we can’t even begin to pick up the pieces.

We all hear of those who choose to drink and drive, for instance.  They may go for years and not once get caught by the police, or have an accident. But just like Russian roulette, it only  takes one time to lead to devastating results.  I had a brother, who was killed by a drunk driver.  He was 16 at the time and today he’d be almost 52 years old, if not for the choice of that driver that day to get behind the wheel of that truck. My brother may have had a wife and children, and even some grandchildren by now.  But the choice of that one man forever destroyed a life and altered the lives of a whole family.

The choice of one teenager to jump in a river without checking how shallow it was, lead to a woman who has spent her whole life in a wheelchair.  She is now in her 60′s and no matter how sorry she is, or how much she might like to have a do-over, that choice has affected her for the rest of her life.

I cannot stress enough the necessity to think ahead and contemplate the consequences of each of our actions.  A little forethought today could prevent a world of regret down the road.  Today we need to be wise and choose our actions carefully. Because none of us wants to be the one who has to replace the fence that was destroyed by our own foolishness!

 

Did you like this? Share it:
Posted in Clocks, Grandfather Clock | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Moderation in All Things

Posted on March 4, 2012 by Jeff

The idea of  “moderation in all things” is actually a slightly  inaccurate paraphrase of  Aristotle’s Doctrine of the Mean.  He believed in finding the mean or middle ground between excess and deficiency.  One example I found was the idea that courage is the middle ground between one extreme of doing rash actions and the other extreme of being a coward when a person faces danger.

Some people have used this phrase of approaching all things in moderation to justify doing a little bit of a bad thing, as long as it isn’t too extreme.  That is a gross misinterpretation of what Aristotle actually meant.

Some have  attributed this idea of moderation in all things to the Bible.  There is no direct quote of this, although Paul appears to come close in I Corinthians 9:25 when he compares the successful athlete to the successful Christian life. He states:

“And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things.  Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.”

What Paul is actually saying is that an athlete, as well as a Christian, should be ”wholly self-controlled” or ”self-disciplined.”  An athlete in training takes control of his body  and abstains from unhealthy foods, wine and sexual indulgence.  This is so he can remain at the peak of  his potential. In the same way, the Christian should keep his body under control and abstain from immorality.

This is obviously good advice but not exactly what the paraphrase of Aristotle is saying.  What I think we can learn from Aristotle is that most of the time, extremes in one direction or another are a bad thing. For example, water is healthy for us, and we should drink more than we do.  But there is a thing called water poisoning.  That happens when you consume excessive amounts of water in a short period of time. And it possibly could kill you. But don’t worry.  Most of us aren’t any where near that point at any time in our lives.

Also, food is a good thing, but too much will make us fat and unhealthy.  Too little  and we will starve to death.

Another example is giving your time to helping others doing charity work.   This is good, but if you spend too much time on the needs of other people and neglect your own needs and the needs of your family, then your are overextending yourself in that area.

And looking at television is not necessarily a bad thing, but most people spend a good portion of their lives watching other people and viewing fantasy, while their own lives are passing them by.

All in all, it is good to have a balanced life; one that seeks moderation in all things. Truthfully, there are only so many hours on the clock.  We have time to do only so much with our lives. We need to choose wisely what we dedicate that time to doing.  The more we seek moderation in what we do, the more time we’ll have to do the things that are most important.

So let us follow the advice of Aristotle and live a moderate lifestyle. It will make us much healthier and happier people.

 

Did you like this? Share it:
Posted in clock, Clocks | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Negative Attitudes

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Jeff

Have you noticed that the average person that you talk to has a very negative attitude toward life?  It could be a bright and sunny day, and you will hear how it’s supposed to  rain next week from someone.  And don’t bother talking about politics, or you’ll get an ear full of how the present administration, whoever that might be, is destroying our country. And yet a good percentage of these same negative people didn’t bother to vote  in the last election and won’t do it in the upcoming one either.

Negativity , is like a virus, in that it is extremely contagious.  One person with a bad attitude can cause everyone around him to become discouraged and negative as well.  But the good news is that the opposite is also true.  A person with a good attitude can light the flame of passion of everyone he comes in contact with.

It is my hope that all of us will be determined to be the one positive voice in this world filled with discouraging people. No matter what time it is on the clock, it is always time to be positive.

Did you like this? Share it:
Posted in clock, Clocks | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The End Justifies the Means?

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Jeff

The phrase: “The end justifies the means” is attributed to Niccolo Machiavelli, an Italian historian, philosopher, humanist and writer who lived from 1469 to 1527.  The phrase means that you can do immoral things as long as you accomplish good things by doing them. Some would even say that you cannot determine whether an action is morally right until you know whether or not it leads to a morally right consequence. If the consequence of an action is right, so the steps that lead up to it must be as well.

Think about this for a moment. Under this philosophy, a person can lie, cheat, steal or murder as long as something good came from it.  This might sound good to some until they are the ones lied to, cheated, stolen from or murdered.

The truth of the matter is, this universe is ruled by both natural and spiritual laws because it is ruled by a creator of those laws.  And that means that there are certain things that you should and should not do. You shouldn’t jump off of a cliff and expect that you’ll be the only one in history that defies gravity, for instance. You might look at your clock and say to yourself: ”The laws of gravity don’t work at 12 p.m. and I can jump then and be all right.” Truthfully those laws apply all the time.    The same is true in the spiritual realm, cheating, stealing, lying and murdering are always wrong and all have consequences as well, either in this life or the one to come.

In a universe governed by God, the end never justifies the means. We must always decide when doing things whether or not they are morally correct. And if they are not, then we should always choose not to do them.  Let us determine always to do the right thing, no matter what. It may not always be easy, but it will always be best for all concerned.

Did you like this? Share it:
Posted in clock, Clocks | Tagged , | Leave a comment