where am i?

oh no! here it comes! another random thought. now, what in the world could he be thinking about now, you ask? well, who knows. just a lot of random thoughts. hey, i know, let's play a game. i'm going to describe a place and i want you to see if you can guess where it is. now, no cheating. don't look for the answer at the end. in this place there is continuous music. there are kids (and adults) dancing. people have smile on their faces. others are sitting at their computers (like me) and typing, surfin the web, or whatever. others are walking around. a few are stretched out on chairs, motionless, probably sleeping. some folks are reading while others are singing. small groups of people huddle here and there in private conversation. people walk up to each other and greet one another with hugs and kisses. over time people come and go. and always, always these people are relaxed, at peace, and even joyful unto the point of being giddy. so, where am i? am i in a coffee house? am i at the mall? am i at a bar? am i at a dance? am i at a family reunion? am i at a big picnic at a park or somewhere? where am I? if you guessed any of those then you're wrong. i'm at church - the church God imagined, not the church man built. imagine that.

life

you know, i was sitting here thinking about life. man, is it ever so fleeting. here today and gone tomorrow. now, why am i saying this - so seriously. a couple of things. first, my mom died, er, rather as my wife put it, "went to be with the Lord", the other day and i just came back from a press conference at the salvation army center where it was announced that they received an emergency grant from the united way to continue to operate. these two things got me to thinking. life. what is it all about. and for me, it came down to this choice - is life about getting or giving? my mom's life was about giving, even though she never had much - but she was always generous with what she had. that's what happened this morning, too. the united way gave so that the salvation army could keep on giving - and everyone was smiling and clapping and happy. why? because they were giving. ever watch a person that just kept getting. two things usually mark their personaity - the desire to get more and being unhappy that they haven't gotten enough. my mom was always happy in her giving. getting didn't excite her. ya know something, kind of reminds me of someone else that more into giving than getting - Jesus.

paranoia

i was thinking the other day - yeah, i know, there he goes again - thinking. anyway, i was thinking about stuff - nothing in particular, just stuff. and i came up with this great idea. in fact it is so great i'm sure i can get a patent on it and make millions. i'd love to tell you about the idea, but i can't - you see, it's not patented yet. however, it is a great idea. it will make your life a lot more interesting, if not fun. yes, in fact, it will radically change your life. for the better, i might add. gee, it's too bad i can't tell you about it. or maybe i can. nope, i don't think so. i mean, you might patent it yourself and i'd be out millions. i mean, you might know how to navigate the highways and biways of the beauracacy better and quicker than me. you might know how to fill out the applications quicker and in a more acceptable way. you might even have a computer program that can fill it out and submit it before i could fill out the first line. and i'd be broke before i became a multi-millionaire. now what do i do? what can i do? you're out there. i know it. you're lurking in the shadows trying to figure out how to steal my idea, my millions. and you're probably smarter and better looking. the beauracacy will think it's your idea and not mine. i'm doomed. it's been stolen. i've lost it all. my patent application will be rejected because yours was there first. i think i'll just take a sleeping pill and go to bed. it was great having an idea. too bad it didn't work out. too bad you got the patent on toilet paper before me. good night.