From now through Friday, January 20, the ebook of The Methuselah Project is available for only .99 cents! Already read it? Then please consider sharing the news with a reading friend who hasn’t.

Thank you, dear readers, for each mention, each share, and each tag you’ve made to reach an even wider audience. Blessings to you all!

Amazon Link: http://amzn.to/2iyZoyG

 

 

And in case some of you have heard about the book but still aren’t sure it’s right for you, let me share a quick screen capture of the latest reviews:

 

 

 

 

I’m honored to be featured in the January/February issue of Southern Writers Magazine with The Methuselah Project. Thank you to everyone who has purchased the book or Kindle version, and special thanks to all those who have given it such high ratings on Amazon! You readers are tops!

No, as an author I truly don’t endorse the pilfering of another writer’s material. However, once the inspiration for the following poem sprouted in my mind, creativity took over. The idea practically begged me to write it, just for fun. This poem is a repeat, as I shared it on my blog one year ago. It’s one of the very few poems this author has attempted. So many people got a laugh that I’m rerunning it. Enjoy!

Stopping to Plagiarize on a Snowy Evening

By Rick Barry (with inspiration from Robert Frost)

Whose words these are I think I know.
His lawyer isn’t watching, though.
He will not see me scanning here
To steal his words, which nicely flow.

My little dog must think it queer
To filch these lines without fear,
To pinch the words and be a fake,
The darkest cunning of the year.

He gives his dog tags a loud shake
As if to warn, “A lot’s at stake!”
The only other sound’s the beep
My printer makes as lines I take.

These words are lovely, rich and deep,
But me? I have deadlines to keep,
And lines to type before I sleep,
And lines to type before I sleep.

 

 

In any group, ask for a show of hands: “Who here would like to be considered kind and helpful by others?” Chances are, a good number of hands will go up.

Now try another question: “Who here enjoys being interrupted when you’re busy doing something?” Probably fewer, if any, hands will rise. And understandably so. After all, when we’re pursuing a hobby, or studying for a class, or even writing a weekly blog post, we know how we planned to use our time and aren’t excited when someone disrupts our schedule.

But here’s something interesting to chew on: In the Bible, Jesus taught many truths, and He performed many miracles. Pay close attention to how many of His most memorable miracles resulted from someone interrupting while He was busy, either engaged in doing something or walking toward a goal. Here are a few:

Luke 5:17-19 – While Jesus was teaching a crowd, several men showed up with an ill friend who needed healing. These men had no appointment. They didn’t even wait until Jesus had finished, but barged right in with their paralyzed friend. Jesus not only stopped His lesson to heal the paralytic, but used that opportunity to teach those present yet another lesson.

Luke 8:22-24 – When He was sleeping, the disciples awoke Jesus because of a storm. Rather than simply roll over (He was in no danger!), Jesus rose and rebuked the waves and the wind for their sake.

Luke 8:43 – While on His way to heal the daughter of a man named Jairus, a woman with an issue of blood touched Jesus’ garment and received healing. The crowed pressed all around, and no one but Jesus and the woman realized what had happened. He could have continued walking toward His original goal, but Jesus stopped and singled out the woman to spend a moment of conversation with her.

Mark 10:46-52 – While walking with a huge crowd of people, an “unimportant” blind beggar named Bartimaeus began noisily shouting to Jesus. Some rebuked the beggar. Didn’t he realize Jesus had more important things to do? But Jesus stopped and called for the man. The beggar hurried forward and requested the gift of restored eyesight. Jesus did the miracle, and a joyful Bartimaeus joined His followers.

Yup! Some of Jesus’ most well-remembered miracles occurred during moments when He was basically busy with something else, but was interrupted. How do you respond when someone with a need interrupts you–in irritation, or with compassion and a heart to help? That interruption just might be a God-given opportunity to accomplish something bigger than the interrupter expects. Think about it!

 

Years ago, I received a powerful lesson on thankfulness from a man whose name I don’t know. The man didn’t realize he taught me anything, because he doesn’t realize much of anything. Literally. Here’s the story:

One Sunday afternoon I was in a nursing home to participate in a short church service for residents. Because the elderly folk often forgot what day it was, let alone what time it was, we visitors roamed the hallways and invited people to the activity room. At the junction of two corridors I noticed a man who looked to be in his upper twenties sitting in an armchair. I assumed he was waiting for a grandparent. As I walked past, the man sat as if daydreaming.

“Hello!” I said.

He remained silent. This fellow gazed in the direction of a wall without focusing. After finding and inviting a few more senior citizens to the activity room, I asked one of the nurses about the man in the chair.

“Oh, that’s very sad. He has the body of an adult, but his brain never developed. He has the mind of a baby.”

So the “visitor” actually lived there, even though he was decades younger than other residents. I couldn’t help reflecting on the many things I’d done in life that man had never done—and never would. He hadn’t attended school. He hadn’t shared jokes. He’d never driven a car, read a book, gone swimming, carried on a conversation, fallen in love, gotten married, or done countless things I took for granted. Except for the grace of God, I could have been the mindless man languishing in that armchair, and he could have been the one looking at me with eyes full of pity!

Dear friend, this Thanksgiving you may question whether you have much for which to be thankful. Perhaps you wish you were richer, more attractive, more intelligent, more muscular, more successful, more _________ [fill in the blank]. But realize this: No matter what you do not have, apart from the grace of God you could be sitting in a nursing facility this very instant with the intelligence of a turnip. Rather than focus on everything you do not have, thank God if you can simply think. Not everyone can.

 

 

 

 

One of the lessons 2016 has driven home to me is that, of all possible forms of humor, mockery is the one I appreciate least. Unfortunately (in my opinion) mockery remains popular across a wide spectrum of people seeking a way to belittle others for anything from physical disabilities to differing views on religion or politics.

I do understand the temptation to mock. Mocking can make the mocker feel smug, intelligent, and witty at the expense of his target. Mocking provides a verbal way to shoot at someone we don’t like without the danger of getting arrested. So in a sense, mocking brings the mocker a reward, particularly if the mockery succeeds in inciting others to join in the jeering and finger-pointing. And I’m sure I’ve mocked before, but I hope in the Lord to have outgrown this particular form of humor.

As a follower of Christ, I do find many incidents of mocking in the Bible. A few include:

– Job was mocked in the midst of his calamity and depression (Job 21:3; 30:9).

– God’s messengers, the prophets were mocked by ungodly listeners (2 Chronicles 36:16).

– Local civic leaders mocked Nehemiah and his followers when they were rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:19).

– David was mocked by his enemies, people who resented God’s hand of blessing on the young man (Psalm 35:15-16).

– Soldiers mocked Jesus with words, but added their spittle, slaps, whip lashing, and a crown of thorns (Matthew 26:67-68).

– The Jewish king, Herod, joined in mocking Jesus (Luke 23:11)

– The apostles were mocked by a crowd, who accused them of being drunk early in the morning (Acts 2:13).

That’s only a quick sampling. Many more Bible verses speak of mocking, and they provide food for meditation. But the truth that strikes me over and over is that the mockery in the Bible generally comes from people with whom I wouldn’t care to associate. In contrast, Jesus certainly pointed out sin, and He didn’t hesitate to tell people when they misapplied the Scriptures. Jesus definitely got angry when He drove out those money-changers who turned the temple created for worshiping God into a place for buying and selling animals to sacrifice. (Even without divine power, Jesus was definitely no weakling!) But did Jesus ever put on goofy faces to mock Herod or faraway Caesar to the cackling of His followers? Did He draw slapstick caricatures of the sinners who refused to heed His teachings? I’m not finding it.

I won’t dictate what others should or shouldn’t do with mockery. But if I have to make a choice, I’d rather be mocked than stand among the ranks of mockers. If someday I slip from this goal, somebody please give me a kick in the backside and remind that I’m not being the kind of person I aspire to be!

When I was young, my family lived one whole block from Dublin elementary school. So, I walked to school every day. But no matter how short the distance, as I headed out the door armed with my brown paper sack lunch, Mom would say, “Be careful.”

That parental warning has always hovered over me in one form or another. When I turned 16 and got my driver’s license, Mom’s goodbye warnings changed from “Be careful” to “Drive careful.” That was decades ago, but to this day when I visit, Mom’s parting words are “Drive careful!”

Dad (now 88) gives me the same warnings. If I cook him a meal and need to step out to his breezeway to fetch something from the freezer, he’ll say, “Be careful.” Or if I head to his basement to use the weight bench or to bring up canned green beans, I know he’ll call out to be careful.

Now, understand that I’m not a reckless person. I do drive defensively. I don’t text while driving. I watch where my feet are going on stairs. But those parental admonitions still pop out, and I’m they always will.

Then, just over a week ago, I noticed something. I’d driven my young grandsons to Falls Park on the Reedy in Greenville, SC. It’s a beautiful place for photos. There are footbridges, waterfalls, pools of water, ducks and geese. My grandsons are still at that young age where water lures them with magnetic attraction. As five-year-old Jonny peered into the pool where geese bobbed along, I heard a voice caution, “Be careful!”

Surprise — the voice was mine. Even though the water was shallow and the danger mild, my automatic response was to repeat the same warning I’ve heard all my life. Life is full of accidents, dangers, and various causes of unhappiness. They happen. We can’t always shield loved one from life’s scrapes and bumps, so our inner voice (or actual voice) urges them to take care. And that’s a good thing.

Friend, the world is fraught with dangers. Some dangers are small, such as stepping into a puddle and getting a shoe wet. (Yes, Jonny managed it despite my vigilance!) Others are life threatening. None of us can save the whole world, but we can care enough to show concern for loved ones. So, friend, if you cared enough to pause and share these thoughts, then I care enough about you to say, “Be careful!”

(And Mom would be proud!)