Papa B
He had served the purpose of God in his own generation
From time to time I wonder what my great-grandchildren will know about me. Personally, I don’t know anything about what my grandparents were like much less my great-grandparents. Will my children have happy memories of when they were growing up in my house? Will they read my blog post years from now and gain an insight into my love for God? Will the sermons that I preach or the classes that I teach cause others to glorify God? In short, how will I be remembered?
The Apostle Paul had this commentary on King David’s life in Acts 13:36 “For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers…” Acts chapter 13 is Paul’s sermon to the Jews in Antioch concerning how their history was all leading to the redemption through Jesus. Of all the great things Kind David was and did, Paul could have emphasized how David unified the Jewish nation, how he was the greatest king they ever had, or how the promised Messiah was going to come from his line. Paul summarized all the importance of Kind David simply with “he had served the purpose of God”.
I pray that I have the opportunity to do mighty things for God but more than that I hope that I the reflection on my life will be “he served the purpose of God in his own generation.”
Pirahna Principle
Just one can’t kill you
Over the years I’ve developed the concept of the Piranha Principle to explain why in our modern society we feel overwhelmed and defeated despite our obvious wealth and blessing. I’ll use me as the example. I have a great wife (mamakay), five great kids, I don’t carry consumer debt, I have a great career and a job that more than covers our monthly expenses, I’m active in my church, and generally regarded as a good Christian father.
With all that, I still get worn down bit by bit by the slight annoiances of everyday life. The alarm didn’t wake me up in time, the guy in front of me didn’t pull out fast enough, the line in the super market didn’t move, the kids didn’t get the mess cleaned up, and the like. Each little thing taking a bit of me like piranha taking down a water buffalo. One piranha by itself can not kill; it’s jaws are not big enough to inflict enough damage but you let it invite 200 of its friends and then you’ve got trouble. Read on…
May 1st
Things that happened on my birthday in history
- 1751 - The first cricket match is played in America.
- 1778 - American Revolution: The Battle of Crooked Billet begins in Hatboro, Pennsylvania.
- 1834 - The British colonies abolish slavery.
- 1884 - Proclamation of the demand for eight-hour workday in the United States.
- 1930 - The dwarf planet Pluto is officially named.
- 1931 - The Empire State Building is dedicated in New York City.
- 1940 - The 1940 Summer Olympics are canceled due to war.
- 1950 - Guam is organized as a United States commonwealth.
- 1956 - The polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk is made available to the public.
- 1961 - Fidel Castro proclaims Cuba a socialist nation and abolishes elections.
- 1972 - I was born
- 1982 - The 1982 World’s Fair opens in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Book Review - Got Sun? Go Solar
Got Sun? Go Solar by Rex Ewing and Doug Pratt is not an exhaustive work on solar energy but it is an excellent primer on the subject. If you are clueless (like I was) and want to get a handle on the concepts and vocabulary of Renewable Energy, this might be a good place to start.
The authors give a basic overview of electricity and how it applies to solar energy, the distinction between grid-tied and battery-based systems, system sizing and the cost of producing your own energy.
Greedy Green
It’s almost a cliche that when the cost of living goes up the desire of average people to save money goes up. If you are attuned to any media outlet or have to pay utilities, you may have seen a rise of interest in renewable energies. By in large, that’s a good thing and I believe that the marketing guru’s are stating to catch on.
Here’s the problem that I have seen with the “Go Green” people: they focus on saving the planet. Unfortunately, not everyone wants to do that or cares about that. I don’t. However… if you can save me some bucks that I don’t have to dump month after month into my house via electrical bills AND I don’t have to radically change my lifestyle, you’ve sold me. Read on…