Free Range Thinker

I love the way you speak to me,
and tell me what I cannot hear.

I love the way you speak to me,
and show me what I cannot see.

When I become so full of this world,
You sober my soul,
and bring me back to You.

When I fall on my face,
or stumble in my walk,
You are there to lift me up.

May I ever focus my life on You,
mighty Lord.
Speak to me the way…
the way only You can do.

Because I’ll always know,
there’s no other rock
than the Rock that is You.

Isaiah 44:8
Do not tremble, do not be afraid.
Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?
You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me?
No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”

Dear Santa-

I didn’t write you a letter this year. It’s not I have lost ability to believe or that I have become even more cynical (yeah, I don’t think it’s possible either). But the truth is that I am content in my own life and am afraid of losing that.

It seems that any time I have gotten greedy, I’ve lost it all.

My life is blessed with a good family and good friends. I’m not wealthy, but I have enough. I’ve enjoyed being able to serve many others this year and that has been a wonderful blessing too.

I guess if I were to have asked for anything, it would have been to help me continue to build upon this newfound contentment with an ability to never expect more. I know that sounds hypocritical – I mean how could you want to build more but not expect more, right?

But here’s the thing: 2009 was a real struggle for me in many ways.

I felt worn down and tired for most of it. Depression sucks! It’s lonely, confusing and downright frustrating. It steals any ambition and makes you miserable. Just a few months ago, I probably would have asked for those feelings to simply go away.

Todya, I’m overcoming it and am enjoying relatively good health, which is allowing me to have a better attitude about everything. And when your attitude is moving you in the right direction, you can be more accepting of whatever comes your way. Sure, I have bad days, but nothing like I had.

So I guess my humble request is that I can continue to maintain my health and that my family can do the same. Unfortunately, I don’t think good health is something you or your elves can build in a workshop.

And that’s the real reason I didn’t write you this year.

I turned to Jesus instead!

Best wishes,

Chad

This is a fine day for the baseball world. I say that because from the depths of the steroid era ballyhoo that has grown all too common, a true baseball great in Andre Dawson has finally received his much deserved call.

In truth, Andre Dawson was THE player that made me into a true Cubs fan. It wasn’t Sammy, Sandberg or Cey or Jody Davis or even Rick Sutcliff. It certainly was’t Larry Bowa, Vance Law or Thad Bosley – yeah, I went Thad Bosley on your a$$!

It was the Hawk!

The hard working Trotter who did what was asked of him – even if it were to his own personal detriment – simply for the sake of the team.

For my money, nobody did it better and I am overjoyed to see hin finally rewarded appropriately.

Congrats Andre.

No player in baseball history worked harder, suffered more, or did it better than Andre Dawson. ~ Ryne Sandberg

See also:

• 1988 Topps Andre Dawson
• My Slugger
• More About Dawson . . . A True Role Model

I’m happy to introduce you to the new theme here at Free Range Thinker. I duh-zined it meself (I even took the picture of the dragon fly)! Let me know what you think.

Something simple. Something easy. Something fun, yet civil. I’ll probably work on that sometime soon.

That is all.

I have long said that my work/job does not and will not define me. To some degree, I still feel that way but only in a worldly context. In truth, should your work define you? I, of course, am not directly talking about your profession.

But  you should seek out a career and profession that complements your passions. In that context, your work can be meaningful and fulfilling. In that context, I don’t think I have a problem being defined by my work.

In my case, I am employed by a credit union. I’ve been there over a decade now. However, it is only in the last couple years that I have really been able to understand, acknowledge and embrace the service nature of what credit unions are all about. In that same regard, I am a Deacon at my church, head the local Angel Food Ministries host site and serve on the board of the Northeast Indiana Baseball Association.

All these varied roles have one common element – service to others. And, if I am defined by my passion for serving others, so be it.

It’s amazing that You remember me,
no matter how often I’ve forgotten You.

It’s amazing the way You always welcome me back,
with open arms,
and Your embrace,
when I’m too ashamed to show my face,
because I sometimes abandon You.

It’s amazing that, no matter how far I stray,
You call be mack to You,
and never ask why I left.

It’s amazing that You’re always there
for me to turn to,
when I’ve gotten lost,
again.

Sober my soul, oh great and mighty Lord!

Wrench from my heart, my misgivings
and free me from the bonds that
cripple my intentions.

I want to love You.
But I’m afraid,
afraid I won’t know how.

It’s amazing, that You will speak to me
and show me the way,
through the depths of Your eternal love.

Lesson Five: Nobody Has All the Facts – But Everyone Thinks They Do!

From the onset of the issue, I have considered myself pretty well informed. That’s despite having not been to board meetings or being privy to inside discussions. I do have a pretty good BS detector, so I can separate fact from fiction. Even so, I was never fully informed about all facets. Then again, neither was anyone else. Many letters to the editor appeared in the Star, many comments appeared on Facebook and throughout the blog. Many made wild assumptions based upon their observations. See my Perception is Reality series to find the folly in this type of thinking. When you are launching a full-scale effort of this kind, public education is a vital key to success. Sure, you can rally the troops and get them to sign petitions. But if you are going to spark the whole community, they need to know the facts. The real facts.

Lesson Four: There is Great Potential in the Power of Social Media

I don’t want to take any credit for the successes that were achieved and the direction that MACC will now take. However, I am not sure much of it could have been accomplished had it not been for the actions we took in the social media sector. From the moment we said “go” I knew we must develop an informative and engaging website followed by creating presences on Facebook and Twitter. These efforts instantly connected hundreds of like-minded individuals, elected officials and other interested parties. Within a one-to-two week’s time, the site boasted more than 2,500 visits and 150+ Facebook fans. Had this been a bigger region, Twitter would have had a much broader impact as well. But the overall scope of using social media aided in quickly mobilizing school board meeting attendees, obtaining petition signatures and communicating with key individuals in ways that telephones, voicemail, faxes and smoke signals never could have.