A Slow Fade and the Death of Common Sense

I recently heard this song on the radio and wanted to see what the video was like. Casting Crowns did a great job with this song and video.

Isn't it true that changes usually don't happen suddenly, but gradually over time? Couples don't get married with the intention of divorcing, but almost 50% of marriages end in divorce. An employee gets a job to pay the bills, but somehow ends up racking up credit card debt. There are many things that seem to happen slowly over time. Take a look at the video and then continue reading about the death of common sense below

THE DEATH OF COMMON SENSE

By Lori Borgman

Common Sense lived a long life but died in the United States from heart failure on the brink of the new millennium. No one really knows how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He selflessly devoted his life to service in schools, hospitals, homes and factories, and helping folks get jobs done without fanfare and foolishness. For decades, petty rules, silly laws, and frivolous lawsuits held no power over Common Sense. He was credited with cultivating such valued lessons as to know when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, and that life isn't always fair.

Common Sense lived by simple credos: sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn), reliable parenting strategies (the adults are in charge, not the kids), and winning isn't everything (it's okay to come in second).

A veteran of the Industrial Revolution, the Great Depression, and the Technological Revolution, Common Sense survived trends including body piercing, whole language, and "new math." But his health declined when he became infected with the "If-it-only-helps-one-person-it's-worth-it" virus. In recent decades his waning strength proved no match for the ravages of well intentioned but overbearing regulations. He watched in pain as good people became ruled by self-seeking lawyers. His health rapidly deteriorated when schools endlessly implemented zero-tolerance policies.

Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate, a teen suspended for taking a swig of mouthwash after lunch, and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student only worsened his condition. It declined even further when schools had to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student but could not inform the parent when a female student was pregnant or wanted an abortion.

Finally, Common Sense lost his will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, churches became businesses, criminals received better treatment than victims, and federal judges stuck their noses in everything from the Boy Scouts to professional sports. Finally, when a woman, too stupid to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, was awarded a huge settlement, Common Sense threw in the towel.

As the end neared, Common Sense drifted in and out of logic but was kept informed of developments regarding questionable regulations such as those for low flow toilets, rocking chairs, and stepladders. Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by two stepbrothers and a stepsister: My Rights, Only Me and Ima Whiner.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

What are you focusing on???

I thought the video below was priceless. You have to watch the 60 second video before scrolling down, then I'll give you my thoughts on the video.

Here are my thoughts. I think WAY TOO MANY PEOPLE are doing exactly this with their lives right now. They are so focused on what we are TOLD to focus on by the media, like the stock market or politics, that we end up focusing on the things that are actually important to us on a day to day basis, like our families and friends. My best friends last night had their first child, a little boy and I don't think he was too concerned about the stock market and what happened in another state that he has no control over. I'm not saying that what's going on in our country isn't important, because it is and what we do in the next 12 months will ultimately determine the next 10 years for all of us. Somehow we forgot that we live in America, the MOST PROSPEROUS NATION IN HISTORY! Where 3 BILLION people around the world would love to come here and have the "declining house value" problems that we have.

I suggested to a friend this morning that we all play the "pass your problem game". How it works is you take the biggest problem you're facing in life today, write it down and put it into a hat with 20 to 30 of your closest friends. Then you pass the hat around and each pick out a piece of paper and now you have the problem that you pick out of the hat. I'd bet that everyone who agreed to that game would want their own problem back. How does the old saying go, "the man with no shoes stopped complaining when he met the man who had no feet". I think our country needs to have a collective gut check, remember who we are and be proud of it! We live in the freest, most prosperous country in the world where a "nobody" can start a business (just like I did) and have great success with hard work, determination and help from God.

Buck House Dedication

On September 13, 2008 the people who have been praying for Josh and Shelly Buck and their family were able to dedicate their new home on the NE side of Grand Rapids. As Pastor Jim Samra of Calvary Church said about the home, "When people stop and ask, 'where did that house come from?', the only answer we can give them is, 'it came from God!'"

It was a great day and I was able to spend 20 minutes inside BEFORE everyone else made it to the house during the rain. Who knew that 100-200 people could fit into their house, let alone their garage as the rain continued on Saturday afternoon.

If you're interested in viewing more photos, click here or on any of the photos below. If you're interested in finding out more about Josh and Shelly visit www.joshbuck.org to see their daily blog or visit www.thebuckproject.com to learn more about the project that took almost 1 year to complete, but will change their future forever!

Shopping to the Next Level

Call me weird or goofy, but I saw a press release yesterday about something new that Meijer Grocery Stores rolled out in Grand Rapids yesterday. They announced what they call "Meijer Grocery Express", which is a way for anyone to place a grocery order online at the Knapp's Corner Store on the East Beltline. There are over 45,000 products to choose from online and when you show up, you simply pull up to the front of the store and what you've ordered is placed in your car. Not a bad idea!

Think about this service for a mom with 3 or 4 kids. Now she can order her groceries while everyone is napping during the day and then swing by the store with all the kids in the car, not get any of them out, have the groceries loaded into her car and off she goes. Meijer compares it to the "good ol' days" when they first began when a store clerk would actually fill your order for you instead of you walking around the store and selecting products.

I don't know about you, but I'm always looking for ways to save time and money and this service will definately be something my wife and I use. How about you?

59 minutes, 48 seconds...

What a way to spend a Friday afternoon - on the phone with the IRS! I guess the system our government set up doesn't like it when business owners are efficient and place 3 checks in one envelope! I mailed my 2007 income taxes, my 2007 self-employment taxes and my first 2008 estimated payment in the same envelope with three different envelopes inside of it (they were all going to the same place anyway!) and somehow that messed up our 2008 Stimulus Payment. So for those of you whose money from the 2008 stimulus package has come and gone, we haven't even gotten our check yet! So to clear that up it took a 59 minute, 48 second phone call. Talk about efficient! (yeah right).

Think about what I could've done with that hour:

• Cooked and eaten a meal with my wife
• Edited photographs - and gotten paid!
• Spent time with my parents
• Gone for a walk
• Enjoyed the nice, warm Michigan summer

But no, I had to sit in my office dealing with the IRS...the joys of being a small business owner.

-Russ

PS - anyone else feel like we should scrap the entire system and start all over again...?? We don't have TV anymore, so I've been spared the political hype thus far, but it's all anyone ever talks about anymore - anyone else sick of it?

Matt is Back! Do You Know Where Matt Is?

In case you've never heard of this guy, Matt Harding, he's a former video game programmer from Washington state that a few years back saved up enough $$ to take a small trip around the world. He decided that dancing around the world sounded like a great idea and so he began video taping himself dancing at different locations around the globe. When he finally made it home, he put together a video (click here to see the original). If I am a recovering Golf-A-Holic, then my wife and I are both Travel-A-Holics as well. We found Matt back in 2006 when his original viral video hit the airways. After his first trip, Stride Gum decided it would be a great idea to sponsor his next trip and paid for his second worldwide adventure. He recently completed the video below by visiting 42 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES! So here's your assignment - if you were to take a trip around the world, what would it look like? Where would you go, how long would you stay? What's your itinerary? I recently read a book that stated, "nothing happens, but first a dream". What's your dream trip? Enjoy...

An "Amazing" Movie

I am not one to brag on movies that much, but over the weekend I watched an amazing movie titled "Amazing Grace". It is the story of William Wilberforce, a member of the British Parliament....You know what, if you don't know who he is, be sure to visit Wikipedia and read up on a great man in history. The story is very well written and interwoven into the movie is his relationship with John Newton, the writer of the song "Amazing Grace". Wilberforce was a man that recoginzed he had a specific purpose in life and would do everything in his power to reach that purpose. The movie ends with a great sequence of Scottish Bagpipers playing the song written by John Newton. If you're a music fan, you'll appreciate the 2 minute clip below.