Complaining About Hardships

Posted on February 22, 2017 by James Gorton

It seems that every segment of life has its ups and downs.  When we were little children, the hardship we encountered happened when someone took our toy away from us, or when we couldn’t have the ice cream that our mouths drooled for.  We grew out of playing with toys, but relationships with the opposite sex caused us to spend hours upon hours thinking of the way we would ask that special someone on our first date.  Little did we know that hardships would come when they wrote a “Dear Jim” letter to us and read it to our face just before they walked out of the Cantina.

The hardships seemed to get bigger as we found out that jobs we wanted were snatched up by someone more qualified than we were and were devastated by the “better luck next time” thoughts.  Growing into adulthood had its ups and downs, but the downs in life have more ramifications and pain attached to them as we journey through life.  We have a choice on whether to focus on the downs that come our way or focus on the positive aspects.  Whether we are a child, or a teenager, or have reached the adult life, hardships come and hardships will go.

I was reading in Deuteronomy where the nation of Israel was on a journey and began focusing on the hardships they were encountering.  “Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.”  ‭Numbers‬ ‭11:1‬ ‭NIV‬‬  They had escaped from Egypt and had been wondering in the wilderness for about 1 1/2 years when God lead them to the promised land He wanted them to enter.  They probably complained about the mana they ate everyday for the last 1 1/2 years.  Thinking about it, if I had to eat the same food every day, for over a year, I might find myself in their shoes unfortunately.  Mana every day.  Nothing else but mana.  The people complained about their hardships.

It’s easy to focus on the negative of life rather than focus on what’s positive.  The people took the easy way and looked at what they didn’t have, rather than what they had.  God’s perspective when we encounter difficulties and hardships of life is to focus on what’s positive.  In Phil 4:8-9, Paul says, “Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is right, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.”

On this journey, there will always be hardships and those hardships will become more and more difficult to deal with.  In the midst of our journey, we have a choice of whether we focus on the hardships, or put our focus on those things that are true, and right, and lovely, and excellent and worthy of praise.  It’s our perspective that determines our focus.

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Wanting To Be In When Out

Posted on February 21, 2017 by James Gorton

An interesting thing has been happening at out house the last two weeks.  We started noticing it at the breakfast table when we began hearing a pecking sound that was tickling our ears.  It wasn’t like a woodpecker that sounds like a machine gun.  It was a peck that was infused with silence.  Then another peck.  Silence.  Then another.  It got our attention so we began to look as to what might be inside our house but found nothing.  We looked up at the window just above our front door and found this in the picture.

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As you can see just below the light, this bird would sit on the bottom of the window and peck.  He (or she) would then begin to fly from one side of the window to the other seeking a place to enter our house (it would seem to us).  This just didn’t occur for a couple of minutes, but for hours upon hours.  This bird was relentless about wanting to get through the window into what he or she was seeing on the other side.  This experience has gone on for days upon days upon two weeks now.  This bird never gives up.  It wants in and nothing will seemingly stop the quest to go to a place that it isn’t.

I have been reminded because of this bird that we have similar patterns on our journey.  When we were in junior high, we wished to be in high school.  When we got to high school, we wished that we were in college.  When we were 15 we wished for the day when we could drive.  When we began to drive, we wished for our own car and a new car and a newer one.  When we were single, we wished we could be dating.  Dating carried with it similar patterns as we looked for other men or women to date.  As a single, we began to think that being married would be better than our present situation and found out that marriage has its own set of problems.

I could go on and on with the pattern of wishing we were somewhere else or with someone else than our present situations or relationships.  I do believe that if someone is being physically and or emotionally abused, it is important to do something about that relationship and seek the necessary help to alleviate the problem.  But if we are trying to escape a difficult situation or relationship because we think the someone or something on the other side of the glass is nicer, we might want to rethink it.   Our perspective can change when God sheds His perspective on our relationships or on our situation.  He can give us insight as to what He wants us to learn in appreciating our present life.

On this journey we are called to “bloom where we’re planted” so today we can start the blooming process by looking at all the positive things we have in our relationships as well as our situations.  It might give us a whole new world out there to explore and appreciate.

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Speeding Up To Stop

Posted on February 20, 2017 by James Gorton

Nadine and I went on a date in South Scottsdale and decided that we would drive back on the main side roads versus the freeways as we were heading home. Scottsdale Road is a six lane road with stop lights every half mile. In the more congested places there are stop lights every block, so it can be slow going at times. The speed limit for the street was 45 mph so that was what I was doing as we headed north.

We were talking about life as I drove and I began to notice something as we were driving. When stopped at a stop light there were 10 to 15 cars around us obeying the traffic lights. When the light turned green, it seemed as if I was being left in the dust as all the cars were in fast motion and I was in slow motion. They most certainly beat me to the next light, but they had to stop for the red light and I was slowly approaching them as the light turned green and off they went. There are at least 20 street signals on the stretch from where we started to Shea Blvd. where we turned. At each light we would catch the cars, truck, and vans that started fast, but would have to stop at the next light and wait for it to turn green.

It seemed like they were all in a hurry to get somewhere, but were getting to their destination about the same time we were. They were in a “hurry up and wait” mindset. Hurry stunts the opportunity for God to speak to our lives and give direction to our steps. Dallas Willard said, “We must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life. Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day.”

A good exercise to do if you are one of those drivers is to see whether or not you can get to your destination without using your brake or come to a stop. It means that you have to be intentional in looking forward to see what’s in front of you and drive accordingly. This kind of driving allows you to slow down and remove the stress that driving can cause when you see others in a hurry.

On this journey we have the opportunity to make decisions and choices that slow our daily routines down so that we can truly smell the flowers that come our way.

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Hidden Treasures

Posted on February 17, 2017 by James Gorton

On Tuesday we as a nation celebrated Valentines Day.  Well, I’m not so sure that we celebrated it, but maybe Hallmark cards created it and we have accepted it as one of the days that we mark on our calendar.  Anyway, Nadine and I took the afternoon off to recognize our love for one another by taking some time to be together and decided to go to a place I had never been, Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden.  I have lived here 30+ years and have never been to a place that draws thousands of people daily.   I have never been into cactus and their beauty, so I have never had a desire to spend hours looking at cactus.  For me, when you have seen one cactus, you have seen them all (by the way, I surveyed my friends who have lived in the Phoenix area for years, and none of them had gone to the Desert Botanical Garden either).  Nadine had gone a handful of times and wanted to go so off we went.

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We got to the place only to find that the $22.00/person was waved because of Valentine Day, so we got in free.  We heard of Gertrude’s Cafe right inside the entrance so we stopped to have a bite.  The sky was blue with a hint of paper thin clouds off in the distance, topped off with 72 degree weather and a slight breeze rustling the trees.  It was a perfect day to look at cacti.

I found out that there are over 1200 different kinds of cacti that I had no idea of.  One of the most unique cacti that I saw was the one on the left called the moon cactus.  It is like a vine that crawls all over rocks and up trees as in the picture.  The more we walked the more I began to appreciate these spiny things that I had seen as only a nuisance in the past.  By the time we left, I was interested in coming back to investigate more of what we didn’t have time to see.

The Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden was a hidden treasure for me that I  had never investigated in my 30 years of living here.  How many of those treasures we miss in our life because we have a preconceived perspective of what it might be and choose over years never to step out and see if our perspective is true or will be blown to smithereens.

On this journey, we will all encounter opportunities to look for hidden treasures.  Don’t let assumptions and perspectives cover over those opportunities to see the beauty that God created.

 

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Fair-Weather Fan

Posted on February 6, 2017 by James Gorton

I have a flaw that I need to admit to.  I am a fair-weather fan when I watch the teams that I say I’m a fan to.  To be specific, I follow the New England Patriots, the Denver Broncos, and the Arizona Cardinals.  I lived in Boston for 7 years, grew up in Colorado, and have lived in Arizona for 32 years.  I love to watch my teams, but when they get behind, I have a tendency to get up from the couch and go into the kitchen, or other places, because I hate to see them losing.

Yesterday was the Super Bowl featuring the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons. If you have heard the news, the Falcons went up 28-3 over the Patriots and I was in the kitchen trying to find some comfort food to soothe my feelings.  Tonight wouldn’t be the night that the Patriots would get their 5th Lombardi trophy.  My tendency as a fair-weather fan was to turn off the television, but this time I decided to hold off on my emotional desires and continued to watch.

Little did I know that what was unimaginable began to happen.  What went against all odds began to go against all odds.  The New England Patriots began to crawl out of the hole and score one touchdown after another.  They scored 31 unanswered points and in overtime beat the Falcons, the first overtime in the 51 years of playing the Super Bowl.

I learned something last night.  Nothing is impossible even when it seems doomed to defeat.  The New England Patriots taught me something last night and that is to never give up.  It reminds me of Winston Churchill who when he was asked to give a high school graduation speech to a military school of young men.  He got up and said, “Never give up!!!  Never give up!!!  Never give up!!!” and he sat down.  When all seems to be lost, there is always another way out.

On this journey, there will be times when it seems like there is no way out but to give up.  I’m here to tell you to stick with it.  If the New England Patriots can come from 25 points behind and win, your circumstances, no matter how bad, can be turned around if only you don’t give up or give in.

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Putting The Fear Of God In You

Posted on January 27, 2017 by James Gorton

For those of you who are reading this and are familiar with the title’s saying, you know what it means.  It was usually used by parents who were exasperated with their children and told them that if they didn’t obey, they would put the fear of God in them.  It was an ultimatum that obedience better be the next choice or else.

As a child, I didn’t know what it meant, but I knew that I didn’t want whatever it meant and would obey whoever was giving me the saying.  The saying came to my mind when I was reading from the bible this morning.  I will get into that in a moment.  I did decide to look at the present day resources to see what they had to say.  In the dictionary.com, it says that the saying seeks to convey a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc, whether the threat is real or imagined.  It connotes a feeling or condition of being afraid or anxious.

As I was reading the bible, I came across a passage in Exodus 20.  The backdrop involved Moses being the leader that had led the nation of Israel out of Egypt and was in the process of leading them to the promised land.  They had stopped on their journey and God called Moses to the mountain to give him the Ten Commandments.  Once they were given to Moses, he came to the people and said, “Do not be afraid.  God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” Exodus 20:20

The first thing that I see is that God, speaking through Moses, didn’t want the people to be afraid or fear.  The fear of God is not for the purpose of making people afraid, but of being in awe and reverence of a God who is able to protect and lead His people to the promised land irrespective of what they encountered.  Wherever the nation of Israel was to go, God wanted those who came in contact with Israel to be in awe or respect who He was.  The fear of God with us is a two-pronged perspective.  He wanted us to have an awe and respect and reverence for God but he wanted those who came in contact with us to have the same fear of God.

The last piece of this passage spoke to me is a preventative piece.  If we had the fear of God (awe, reverence, and respect) with us, that perspective would keep us from sinning.  It would prevent us from making bad choices or having bad attitudes when we come in contact with others.  It would cause us to control our tongue and not say things to others that we would later regret.  What I see in this passage is that the fear of God was actually a wonderful perspective to have to keep us on the right track, encourage others whom we come in contact with to see the God we worship, and give us the power to keep from sinning.

On this journey, it might be helpful to see the fear of God as a helpful resource in your walk with God rather than a concept that brings fear and anxiousness.

 

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Thankfulness

Posted on January 26, 2017 by James Gorton

There are so many ways that we can learn through life experiences.  We can learn from a trusted friend or a colleague at work.  We can learn when we have little or when we have much.  We can learn when our physical life is challenged with health issues, or when we are feeling wonderful.  When life takes a turn and we encounter situations that are beyond our control provide times to learn.

Today is another one of those days that I have learned, but not from any of the above.  Let me tell you what I mean.  It involves my early morning routine that happens every morning.  I am awoken to my dog Monty wanting to relieve himself with first of all tiny cries and small grunts.  When he can’t get me out of bed by those noises, he resorts to outright barking, first with one bark, and when that doesn’t do the trick, he barks continuously.  Getting me up to let him out caused the next series of actions on my part.

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I go to the kitchen and pull our a can of moist dog food that I then take to the laundry room and mix a spoonful of canned food with dry food.  With the mixture thoroughly mixed, I add the hottest tap water to the mix to allow the water to soften the dry food.  All the time I am doing this, Monty is at the back door looking to see that I have done every step to his liking.  You realize that if I don’t do these steps immediately after I let him out, he will relieve himself and then begin to bark incessantly until I let him in.

I put away the left over canned food in the refrigerator and let him in.  By the way none of what I have written about is what I have learned from him.  What comes next is the aha moment.  He finishes his food and then he finds me and comes to my resting place, sits down and says to me in his body language, “Thank You”.  This has happened over and over again for 10 years to be exact.  It doesn’t matter who has fed him, he goes to the person in charge of delivering his goodies and does the same thing.  He is a thankful dog and expresses it daily.

On this journey, there are so many things that we can be thankful for.  Expressing our thankfulness to those who help us is one way of not taking life and others for granted.  I on my part want to demonstrate this kind of action to everyone who touches my life.

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Wild Animals

Posted on January 23, 2017 by James Gorton

Living in the southwestern part of the country carries with it the fact that you also live with wildlife of the area.  There are wild pigs or javelina who are seen early in the morning or late at night.  Coyotes propagate the area and are often heard late at night when they have secured food for their young by howling as a group.  Every once in a while a road runner can be seen running through the fields or deserts.

There are other animals, but one that came into our community about a month ago was the bobcat.  She evidently loved the environment and produced a young child as can be seen in the picture below.

Sometimes we get so focused on the roads and building that we have built over the years that we miss the real beauty of life.  Our hurriedness stops us from seeing God’s beauty and His creation.  I am not a cat lover as anyone around me would attest.  I am very allergic to cats and will find breathing very difficult if I get close to a cat.  But I do see the beauty in these bobcats that have been in our neighborhood, especially when I take time to see them as they cross my path.

On this journey, God will bring His creation into view for us to look at and appreciate.  An unhurried life will stop and truly take in the beauty along the way.

 

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Analyzing My Limitations

Posted on January 20, 2017 by James Gorton

I have been spending my spare time getting our house in order to sell so that we can downsize.  This last week I have been scraping paint, replacing boards, priming walls, and painting sides of the little doll house in our back yard.  When you think of a doll house, it may be a bit deceiving.  This house is 12 feet by 12 feet, with air conditioning to cool it in the hot months.  It has a cathedral ceiling with a chandler in the middle of the room with a refrigerator and a microwave for snacks.  The only thing that isn’t available is a bathroom. I guess I went a little overboard when I built it for my daughter Victoria who is now 24.

Well, back to the story.  A couple of days ago I was painting and before you know it, three hawks swooped just over my head and flew just overhead of my dog, Monty.  Monty and these hawks have a love hate relationship with one another.  They love to dive him and he hates them with a passion.  In the past they have not gotten within 20 feet of him when they fly over our yard, but he doesn’t care and goes crazy with his barking at them for 15-20 minutes.

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Today was different.  As they flew over the playhouse, they flew to within 2-3 feet of Monty and then settled in a backyard tree within 10 feet of where Monty was going out of his mind.  They were analyzing their abilities to see if they could engage their talons into his back and pick him up.  Monty weighs about 21 pounds, so the three hawks had visions of dinner floating in their minds, but they were limited in their skill set to take on such a big potential dinner.  The more he barked, the more realistic they saw their limitations and eventually flew off.

Have you ever heard the saying, “Don’t bite off more than you can chew.”  We on this journey will encounter times when events and circumstances of life are very tempting to grab.  It’s in those time we need to take some time to ponder whether or not we have the time, skills,  and resources to take on the task at hand.  It’s counting the cost of the venture.  Realistic evaluations along this journey will help us become wise in making decisions that will eventuate in success.

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Doing The Opposite

Posted on January 10, 2017 by James Gorton

Teenagers are hard to figure out sometimes.  They sometimes act like they are an adult and want to be treated like an adult.  They make reasonable requests and are able to defend their position for what they want like a defense attorney.  During these times they act so responsibly and you as a parent are sucked into thinking that my adolescent is growing up.

On the other hand, and sometimes within the next sentence, they are acting like a child not wanting to take any responsibility and not wanting to have any accountability slapped upon them.  During this time, they are irresponsible and don’t do any of the chores that they are asked to do around the house unless you yell or tell them 50 times–I am exaggerating at this point, but it seems like 50 times at the time.

Teenagers vacillate from one extreme to the other and causes a parent of the teenager to feel like they are going crazy–the parent that is.  These swings in being responsible and switching to being irresponsible can and does wear the parent out.  We long for either the childhood stages where the child is compliant and obedient, or we wish that they would grow up and get out of the house.

What I have just described for you is a normal teenager, and yet there are some exceptions to normality.  Some teenagers hold on to being a child and balk at growing up.  They want to be treated like a child and have you do everything for them.  These teenagers are in danger of becoming dependent on you and staying around for years and decades.

On the other side of the coin, the other extreme teenager rebels from the parent or parents and seems to do the opposite of what the parents want them to do.  If they want the teenager to do well in school, the teenager will do the exact opposite and not study for a test, or not turn in homework they did under the parent’s supervision.

I am reminded of a story in Genesis.  It’s a story of Issac who had two sons, Esau the oldest son and Jacob, the son who stole the birthright and the blessing from his older brother.  The story unfolds when Esau finds out that the father wanted the younger son to go to a far away place to find a spouse for Jacob.  “Not Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman,” and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram.  Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac; so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, (a Canaanite woman) Genesis 28:6-9

Esau didn’t get what he wanted, so he found out what his father and mother really wanted and did exactly the opposite.  It may be that if you are a parent and find that your child or teenager is doing something that is opposite values that are important, it may be that they are doing those things to get back at you for something that is unresolved between the two of you.

On this journey, actions that we see in children are often a reflection of the connection or disconnection we have with them.  Looking at the relationship in this way can get to the source of patterns of behavior in our next legacy and turn their direction around.

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