Malcolm Baldridge Framework

Some years ago, Carol Quiring led our lead staff through a Malcom Baldridge training.

Now I just want to take a moment and tell you that Carol is a fantastic human.  So bright and so caring.  Anytime we had issues on staff that we could not resolve, we would call her and she always had an angle on the situation that was so helpful.  She is truly one of my life heroes.

Anyway, Carol was leading this class and it had many points, but the one that I remember the most was the importance of "engaging key stakeholders."

Key stakeholders are the people that are going to have a say or are going to be effected by the plans that you make or the actions that you take.  

The importance of this cannot be overstated.  If you engage a decision without running things thru the proper channels before, you run a great risk of resistance and failure.

On the other hand, when you take the time to visit with the key stakeholders and get them on board, the momentum behind your initiative becomes all the stronger.

Always engage the key stakeholders.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

hacked

Well I guess the hackers are having fun with me.  First they sent emails from me to church members asking for gift cards.

Now I am hearing that a duplicate Facebook page of me has been created with some pretty inappropriate comments on them.

1.  please do not buy gift cards or think that I am asking for something.

2.  if you get a Facebook or any message from me that is odd or inappropriate, please just delete.

And finally, does anyone know someone who can help me resolve some of these hacker issues?

It's still a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

Last Sunday's Sermon and a remembrance of my friend Mike Carter

I love thanksgiving and I love to talk about gratitude.  There is too much complaining in this life and not enough thanks-giving.  Here is the link to last Sunday's sermon on gratitude.  I love talking about this stuff!!!

click here to listen to the sermon from Nov 23

Now on to a moment to honor the life of Mike...

Mike Carter was a member of the Woods Chapel United Methodist Church.  Mike was a friend of mine.  Mike passed away last Sunday.  He had been in poor health.

But, one thing that he did, as long as he could, was to send me and many others simple positive emails every day.

I knew when he was sick because they would not come.  Then he would feel better and they would continue.  Now, I guess we have received the last one.

These are the kind of things that he would send...

Jeff, It's Momentous Monday. A good Day to be Alive. 

Jeff, Sunday is a day to worship. Each in our own way.

Jeff, Welcome to Thoughtful Thursday

Good morning Jeff. Let there be Peace. Peace be with you. Go Chiefs

Good morning Jeff. Wednesday is Wonderful. It's National Cherries Jubilee Day. 

Although Mike struggled with many health issues, he always worked to brighten up the day of other people.  

This is something that we all should work harder at.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

I love thanksgiving

I love thanksgiving.  It is my favorite holiday.  Everyone is usually very nice.  There are fewer cars on the road.  

Thanksgiving is just about gratitude.  It doesn't have any weird theological beliefs attached to it.  Nor is it polluted with gift giving... did I get them enough?  Did I get them the right thing.  No one got me anything.  Wah wah wah.

None of that on thanksgiving.  Just pure happiness and appreciation.  Joyful reminiscing about days gone by.

I hope yours was great.

And by the way, you don't have to wait until next year to be thankful.  We can all choose to live a life of gratitude.  One day at a time.  

May it start today.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

O Give Thanks

I am thankful for so many things!  

For a sound mind!

For the gift of humor!

For a faith that makes sense.

For the ability to ask questions!

For new Italy friends!

For old friends!!!

For cooler weather.

For at least one good or decent shoulder.

For learning to be compassionate.

I hope that you can find some things to be thankful for this day!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

And to my reader whose birthday it is today, Happy Birthday!!!

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

Robert

Every Sunday in church, someone asks for prayers for the mentally ill.

So it was last Friday afternoon. The church office is closed, but Ed and I were there.  He’s the trustee Chair. Ed was waiting to meet a technician to work on the oven.  I happened to be wandering through the lobby.   A guy comes up to the door.  Our church is like many churches, people can’t just walk in you’ve got to be let in.

Since this is the technician I let the guy in. Clearly as soon as he comes in the door, he’s not the technician.  He’s filthy. He’s wearing rags. He’s about 6 foot eight and 150 pounds just a twig of a man.

And you can tell that something is not right.

He moves into the middle of the foyer, claiming his space.  He starts mumbling about calling a lawyer. Ed has something to do. He is meeting a technician.  My schedule is not pressed.  Since there are only two phones in the building, I take him back to my office and let him call a couple of lawyers.

What I experienced for the next 45 minutes was complete and total psychosis. His children were poisoned. His family was murdered by the Gambino family.  He’s been undercover for the FBI... on and on it went.  He talked nonstop.  Some of the most crazy talk that I’ve ever heard.

Someone turns in a prayer request every Sunday for families dealing with mental illness.
Clearly, Robert fits the bill.

I started to worry about how this encounter was going to end.  For the first time in my life, I opened my phone and brought up 911 in case I needed to call for help.

After a while, I carefully helped him understand that it was time to move on.  He stopped several times along the way to offer more babble.  Then he left slowly and awkwardly out into the world that he’s created for himself.

Please keep the mentally ill in your prayers.

We have so much to be thankful for.

35-B

I was flying back from the Italy trip. I was literally the last one on the plane because one of our party was escorted away by customs and I had to wait for them to be returned.

So seat 35b is an aisle seat. The configuration on the plane is 2-3-2. Two seats on the left, three in the middle and two on the right. The plane is full so I know that I am going to have a seat mate. As most of us, when we find ourselves in this situation, we pray for a small person who won’t hang over into our space. My prayers were answered.

In 35A was a young woman of small size. We didn’t talk, and that is fine with me. I don’t get on airplanes to talk.

I did notice that she was texting a lot. I saw one of her texts. It said, “the old guy that just sat down next to me gave some chocolate to the flight crew.”

The old guy.

It struck a chord. Sometimes I mention that I am old. 68 I am. Sometimes I feel old. After this trip to Italy, there was so much walking that my entire carcass is sore.

But to think that other people look at me and think, that is an old guy… it is a funny feeling. I don’t feel old on the inside. I still feel young and full of ideas and full of desires.

But her text reminded me that I am in the 4th quarter of life, whether I recognize it or not. And so, may I, may we all who are headed for the home stretch, use our time wisely and make good choices to love everyone that we can and show kindness every day in every way that we can.

Go ahead and be that old guy or gal who gives chocolates to the flight crew.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

What ever happens

I was flying back from Italy to the states. I was watching one of the Jurrasic Park movies. In the movie, a plane was making a controlled crash… one of the main characters asked the pilot, “what’s the plan.” The pilot answered, “what ever happens, that is the plan.”

In other words, she could not control the landing, the impact or the aftermath. What ever happens is going to happen, so that is the plan.

Sometimes in life, we feel that things are out of control. We don’t like what is happening. We want a different plan. But sometimes, there is no different plan and we have to learn to play the cards that we are dealt.

Sure, you can pray to be rescued, and maybe you will be. But if you are not, then what ever happens is going to happen. You can be mad, you can be angry, you can fight, but the circumstances are not going to change.

Sometimes in life we have to learn to play the hand that we are dealt.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

From my friend Dave... a little bit of joy!

01. If a bottle of poison reaches its expiration date, is it more poisonous or is it no longer poisonous

02. Which letter is silent in the word "Scent," the S or the C.

03. Do twins ever realize that one of them is unplanned?

04. Every time you clean something; you just make something else dirty.

05. The word "swims" upside-down is still "swims".

06. Over 100 years ago, everyone owned a horse and only the rich had cars. Today everyone has cars and only the rich own horses.

07. If people evolved from monkeys, why are monkeys still around?

08. Why is there a 'D' in fridge, but not in refrigerator?

09 - 09 is censored.

10. I'm responsible for what I say, not for what you understand.

11. Common sense is like deodorant. The people who need it the most never use it.

12. My tolerance for idiots is extremely low these days. I used to have some immunity built up, but obviously, there's a new strain out there.

13. It's not my age that bothers me - it's the side effects.

14. I'm not saying I'm old and worn out, but I make sure I'm nowhere near the curb on trash day.

15. As I watch this generation try and rewrite our history, I'm sure of one thing: it will be misspelled and have no punctuation.

16. As I've gotten older, people think I've become lazy. The truth is I'm just being more energy-efficient.

17. I haven't gotten anything done today. I've been in the Produce Department trying to open this stupid plastic bag.

18. If you find yourself feeling useless, remember: it took 20 years, trillions of dollars, thousands of lives and four presidents to replace the Taliban with the Taliban.

19. Turns out that being a "senior" is mostly just googling how to do stuff.

20. I want to be 18 again and ruin my life differently. I have new ideas

21. I'm on two simultaneous diets. I wasn't getting enough food on one.

22. I put my scale in the bathroom corner and that's where the little liar will stay until it apologizes.

It's a humorous, and beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

quote

Well before we get to today's post, evidently my email has been hacked.  So if you get a note from me asking for gift cards, please don't buy any as I don't need them.  But please do let me know.

Thanks.  Now on to today's post...

From my friend Bruce...

You may not always see the results of your kindness, but every bit of positive energy that you contribute to the world makes it a better place for us all.

                                                    Lisa Currie

So again, true kindness, true goodness is not motivated by a need to see results.  It simply understands that goodness/kindness is extremely valuable in and of itself.  Even if we don't see the effect of our actions, they are moving out there like ripples on a pond.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

Government Shutdown

First of all, I apologize that there was no post yesterday.  I thought that I had one set up, but I made a mistake.  Sorry.

Now to today's post... I am writing this on November 3.  Tomorrow I leave for Italy for two weeks.  I return on the 17th.  I hope to post many great pictures of our travels between the 5th and the 18th.  I also hope that by the time that we return, the government shutdown will be over.

Why a government shut down?  Because we ran out of money.  We are not running a balanced budget.  In most governments, in most homes, we run a balanced budget.  Income and expenses match, or close to it.

If you overspend in most worlds, it catches up with you.

In the United States, we have given up on a balanced budget.  Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle overspend and print money to cover it.  Whatever amount they approve for the year, when they have overspent it, they need a continuing resolution.  In other words, raise the debt ceiling and borrow more money to keep the overspending going.

Can you imagine what would happen if our country actually balanced the budget???  All spending would have to be cut by about 25%.  Can you imagine the austerity measures that would have to be put in place?  Every  program cut by 25%.

My friend Paul reminds me to relax about all of this because it is more complicated than I think and it is not as bad as it sounds.  But it does concern me.

Anyway, I would like to think that me and 99 friends could go to Washington as Senators or congressmen and congresswomen, get along, speak with kindness to each other and balance the budget.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

Pompeii

Today we saw the city of Pompeii which was covered in ash from the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79ad.

Because it was totally covered up with ash, it was very well preserved.  Archaeologists have been working on it for many years.

It was very cool.

many frescoes were visible on the walls

you can see the height of the ground around the excavated area...

Mt. Vesuvius... imagine the left and right sides rising up and 
meeting in the top.  The guide told us that 1/3 of the 
mountain was blown away in the eruption.

amphitheater

And so our visit to Italy has come to an end.  We have made great friendships on the trip.  Many people are already talking about where we will plan to go next year.

We are so fortunate to be able to visit such places.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

Capri

Regarding these Italy pictures, I feel funny just posting pictures and not saying very much.  But I so appreciate those of you who have enjoyed the pictures.  

The heavens declare the glory of God, the world shows the work of his hands.

The beauty of the hills and seas is so humbling.

Day 7 was spent on the Island of Capri.  Again, fantastic.

local grocery store with vegetables in the narrow
alleyway outside.  Very cool to see what the locals
have the opportunity to purchase.

harbor of Capri was used by the Greeks and Romans.

Another lovely day.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.