Ray's Musings

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noreply@blogger.com (raysmusings) — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 12:16:00 +0000

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noreply@blogger.com (raysmusings) — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 12:03:00 +0000

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noreply@blogger.com (raysmusings) — Tue, 14 Jan 2014 11:11:00 +0000

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noreply@blogger.com (raysmusings) — Tue, 14 Jan 2014 10:50:00 +0000

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Invitation to connect on LinkedIn

noreply@blogger.com (raysmusings) — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 01:43:00 +0000

From Raymond Sharpe

Buyer/Planner at ATC Drivetrain

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Area

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- Raymond

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Invitation to connect on LinkedIn

noreply@blogger.com (raysmusings) — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 01:42:00 +0000

From Raymond Sharpe

Buyer/Planner at ATC Drivetrain

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Area

I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.

- Raymond

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Pauline

noreply@blogger.com (raysmusings) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 05:28:00 +0000

So the last night I went out to pick up a bite to eat. Well, actually 12" of bites to eat. Subway: My wife's favorite. As I pulled in to the parking space in front of the sandwich shop, I noticed there was a homeless lady standing outside the door of the restaurant. Long story short, she was asking for money for a hotel room, "only $20 to go". So I gave her a buck. Then turned back around and offered to buy her a sandwich. She sprung for the Chicken Cordon Bleu Melt. "But NO onions...I'm trusting you!", she said. Of course I produced the promised sandwich without the undesired onions.

So my offering the lady a sandwich is not the point of the story. What piqued my interest and what has been rolling around in my head are the observations during this interaction last night.

The Details:

There are no other customers in the restaurant. Its just me the guy behind the counter and on of his coworkers sitting at one of the tables on his break.
As I'm placing the order with the "sandwich artist" he keeps looking over my shoulder at the front of the store. I'm pretty sure I know what/who he's looking at. Finally, my curiosity must be sated and I turn around to see that the lady is peeking in the window at the exchange between him and I, no doubt to insure the dreaded onions do not make it on to her sandwich. I smile and get back to the business at hand. A minute or so later she pokes her head in and reminds me not to put onions on her sandwich. At this point the two Subway guys get what is going on and the one tells me he is relieved to know why the lady kept looking in the window.

So now he gets it and asks if I want her onion-less sandwich in a second bag. In the process of paying and filling drink cups and selecting chips, she sticks her head in multiple times to assure me I don't need to get her a drink and to tell me she likes the Nacho Cheese Dorito's. Somewhere in all this the guy at his break makes this statement: " You're going straight to Heaven, man."

After I went out and gave her the sandwich and assured her that there were no onions on it. I asked her name..."Pauline"... and I told her mine and that it was nice to meet her and wished her a goodnight. As I walked away she asked, "what church are you from."

The Observations:

1) "You're going straight to Heaven, man."

Sadly, I did not capitalize on this opportunity to share my faith with this man. Hopefully, next time I will be better prepared. By the time I got home I had thought about what I should have said. Something like this:

" I'm not doing this to get into Heaven. I'm doing it because I'm a Christian. That means I believe my faith in Jesus is my ticket to Heaven. But I am doing this because I am a Christian. In serving those who are hungry and hurting I am serving God and hopefully teaching others about Jesus' serving love."

2) "What church are you from?"

Pauline assumed I did this act of kindness because I was affiliated with a church. That means she's seen it- Jesus' serving love. She also informed me that I had given her a pamphlet about God before. I'm pretty sure I never did that, but someone maybe did and it obviously impacted her. So those of you who do share our Lord's care for the hurting keep up the good work, your acts are affecting change.

3) Pauline

She's somebody's someone (a daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt...). She's a child of God and she has a name. I've found that the encounters I have had with hurting homeless people have been much more memorable when I know their names and they know mine. Don't be afraid to open up and ask a name. It can be an extra window into conversation. Let these people know that you know they are a person with a name. They mean something to someone!

As I was writing this I was reminded of this song by Jon Foreman (of Switchfoot).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOCZ3U3Znm8

Also, a movie on the topic of homelessness that I watched and found interesting is: The Soloist (starring Robert Downing Jr. and Jaime Foxx) based on a true story.

Those of you that know me will know I did not write this to boast. Please do not think that is the purpose of this post. I write to bring insight and motivation to those who share an interest in serving the hurting people in our world.

noreply@blogger.com (raysmusings) — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 21:38:00 +0000

Bad news never comes in color

noreply@blogger.com (raysmusings) — Fri, 29 May 2009 15:01:00 +0000

Bad news never comes in color.
Hard times- always in black and white
I can't wait 'til this is over.
I'm so tired of this fight.

Without light there is no color.
In darkness- sorrow, pain
I can't wait 'til this is over.
Looks like another dark night again.

The light shatters the darkness.
Color fades back in.
I'm so glad that it's all over,
Trying not to color outside the lines again.

My Little Man

noreply@blogger.com (raysmusings) — Sat, 02 May 2009 03:46:00 +0000

My Heart Your Will

noreply@blogger.com (raysmusings) — Sat, 02 May 2009 03:34:00 +0000

Something I wrote about a decade ago.

My Heart Your Will

Speak to me, your will, my Lord

For your voice I long to hear.

All You ask I shall afford

For in you there is no fear.

Should I not give my all to you

When you gave your life for me?

I must take my cross and follow you,

If your will I long to see.

Take my life and its affections.

I lay all at your feet.

I’ll store my treasures up in heaven

Of this world I shall not seek.

The desires of my heart are yours

When I’m resting in your will.

Guide my life and open doors.

In me your will, Lord, do fulfill.

The Back of the World

noreply@blogger.com (raysmusings) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 04:07:00 +0000

Here’s a poem I wrote a while back based on a potion of a GK Chesterton Novel. I included the excerpt below.

“ ‘Listen to me’, cried Syme with extraordinary emphasis. ‘Shall I tell you the secret of the whole world? It is that we have only known the back of the world. We see everything from behind, and it looks brutal. That is not a tree, but the back of a tree. That is not a cloud, but the back of a cloud. Can you see that everything is stooping and hiding a face? If we could only get round in front….”

~from: The Man Who Was Thursday

The Back of the World

If we could only get around in front

We’d see how it was made,

How words fashioned it with great care

For us to enjoy.

For centuries, we’ve studied

From afar and from behind.

If we could only get around in front

We’d understand the mystery

Of this world of yours and mine.

If we could only get around in front

To see His side of it all.

We’d see the trees, the clouds,

The sunset and the mountains

Bowing toward Him

And singing praise.

If we could only get around in front

We’d truly see the beauty

Of all that God has made.

Leading and Thinking Christianly in the Workplace

noreply@blogger.com (raysmusings) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 03:34:00 +0000

I believe that it is practical and makes good business sense to lead and think Christianly in the workplace. To think and lead Christianly is to attempt to emulate the interpersonal and managerial skills of Christ; to value people as people and not simply as expendable resources. When one begins to think like Christ and view employees a beings created in the image of God, a holistic view of man is developed. Suddenly, an employee becomes more than a paper pusher or a report processer. Through Christ’s eyes one can begin to see employees as humans with strengths and needs, skills and weaknesses. When a leader who desires to think and lead Christianly sees the realness of the person following him, he will desire to not simply use the physical person, but will make efforts to satisfy the whole person (body, mind, and soul). Christ saw the potential in men and women of all social, moral, and physical standings and He constantly worked toward drawing them in the direction of their full potential.
To think like Christ is to view people as God sees them and to treat them with dignity, respect, compassion, integrity. Just as God saw potential and character hidden in the person of Gideon-the “valiant warrior” hiding out in the wine press, so a leader who thinks Christianly should seek to find the true potential of his subordinates and draw it out of them to the betterment of the person and the benefit of the entire workgroup/company. (Judges 6-8) The holistic Christ-like care of an employer towards an employee will not go unrewarded. This type of treatment of others, especially those culturally expectant of a boss who couldn’t care less is likely to increase loyalty, productivity, and ultimately improve the bottom line.
For most employers and supervisors, a large percentage of our world is very much found within the confines of our businesses. Christ called us as followers to a mission of sharing the Gospel to all the World. That World does not stop at the double doors of the office. If we take His value system with us into the work place and use it as a tool to help others we will be better suited to grow our businesses, improve the people we work with, and glorify God in advancing the cause of Heaven.

Turtles Make Great Models

noreply@blogger.com (raysmusings) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 05:18:00 +0000

noreply@blogger.com (raysmusings) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 06:14:00 +0000

Gas Station Garden

noreply@blogger.com (raysmusings) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 06:10:00 +0000

A little flower bed in a not-so-expected place.

View From the Sunroof

noreply@blogger.com (raysmusings) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 06:07:00 +0000

Water on Mars

noreply@blogger.com (raysmusings) — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 07:11:00 +0000

Interesting article about the theories of modern science that hypothesize Mars being covered with water.....but the idea of Earth ever being covered with water in a great deluge is considered fairytale-ish.

http://creationontheweb.com/content/view/6216/

Coworker's B-day

noreply@blogger.com (raysmusings) — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 05:36:00 +0000

Stair Railing Shadows

noreply@blogger.com (raysmusings) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 05:40:00 +0000

Wednesday Mornin' Blues

noreply@blogger.com (raysmusings) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 05:42:00 +0000

Worship and Coffee Grounds

noreply@blogger.com (raysmusings) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 05:24:00 +0000

I love coffee....what good Christian doesn't? = )

My two young kids LOVE to make it with me. They love it so much we have to alternate their turns to help daddy. We do this by logging their initials on the dry erase board mounted on the fridge. If I forget to erase one's initial they are sure to inform me.

The other day I was making coffee with my son and I was struck by the analogies that can be found in the making of coffee and Worship. The more I let this concept percolate (pun intended) in my mind the more connections I saw.

I love worship....what good Christian doesn't? = )
Now I'm no worship leader and don't fancy myself as even that good of a singer, but I do love Worship (props to my brothers- C.Markley & B.Cochrane and crew)
But why do I do it how do I relate to my Father God through this act?

Let me unwrap my musings on worship and coffee.

My son (almost 4) is sooo stoked to make coffee with me he hops up on the breakfast-table chair I provide him and tries to do it all himself (which he cant do). The grinds go AWOL and the filter gets all mushed up...the pot nearly gets dashed to pieces. If its not that, he is easily distracted by the slightest hint of what his little sister is up to.

When it is her (2.5yrs old) turn, she loves to do it mainly because it provides another means of competition with her brother, I think....nah. She thinks its FUN. But I don't think she realizes that I LOVE this stuff that I am helping her make. And I enjoy doing this with her. She's there and all into it, but not really sure what its all about or how into it I am. And she often asks to have a sip and I tell her that it is too hot for her. Not so mention that caffeine consumption is way above her.

You picking up any connections?

Here's what has been bouncing around in my head on this the last week:

I think its about me. So often I don't come before him realizing that I need Him to lift me up on the chair so I can glorify Him in what I'm doing. I am signing to the Creator of the voices of the angels! How often does this cross my mind while I am singing praise to Him? He doesn't need me to do this and it certainly is not about ME. The coffee's not for me, its too hot for me to handle, and this is not supposed to be about me getting a caffeine buzz. It's all about Him. I also find that I easily get distracted by the comings and goings of fellow church-goers. My mind wanders to the NFL game that's on or something else equally as trivial. I forget that this is something I have been longing to do all week- join my brothers and sisters in glorifying him. I step off the chair He set up for me and the grinds fly all over. I've also found that I don't think about this as being something that He thrives on. Not to say He needs me to do this but, oh when I do, it smells so good to Him and He savors it.

So next time you are in a worship service.
Climb up on the chair He's given you. Let Him provide the grinds and the filter. Still yourself and focus on the task at hand. Perk up a good cup of fragrant praise that glorifies Him. And know that He not only enjoys the offering long after the deed is done, but also that He loves guiding you through the whole process as it takes place.

I'm So OLD!

noreply@blogger.com (raysmusings) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 04:23:00 +0000

Best Friends

noreply@blogger.com (raysmusings) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 06:22:00 +0000

OJ in PJs

noreply@blogger.com (raysmusings) — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 15:40:00 +0000