Clint's Perspective

You Never Really Know

2007-01-29T12:26:00.000-05:00

You ever have one of those experiences where your life flashes before your eyes? This was one for me a couple of weeks ago. The below article is from the January 17 Beacon Journal:

Norton man killed in crash in Wayne
CHIPPEWA TWP.
CHIPPEWA TWP. - A Norton man was killed Tuesday morning in a two-car crash on state Route 585 just north of state Route 94 in Wayne County's Chippewa Township.
Dead is Robert Johnsen, 54, the Wayne County post of the State Highway Patrol said.
The patrol said the accident occurred at 6:51 a.m., when William Baechle, 39, of Dalton, who was northbound on Route 585, lost control of his car while crossing a bridge.
Baechle's car slid left of center and struck head-on the southbound vehicle driven by Johnsen, the patrol said.
Johnsen was pronounced dead at the scene by the Wayne County coroner, and Baechle was taken to Akron General Medical Center.

The significance, you ask? Well, route 585 is the road I drive to work at Smucker's. And I normally am driving through the spot where the accident occurred at right around 6:50. It just so happened I was a bit late that morning. But I was struck by the fact that this could have been me! I was just like this Robert Johnsen, driving along minding his own business when BAM, it's over.

Life is very fragile, I'd better be sure I'm enjoying and making the most of it.

"Life Means So Much"

Chris Rice

Every day is like a bank account,

and time is the currency.

So, no one's rich and nobody's poor

We all get 24 hours each.

So how are goin' to spend,

Will you invest or squander?

Keep on tryin' to get ahead,

Or help some one who's under?

Teach us to count the days,

Teach us make the days count.

Lead us in a better way.

Somehow our soul's forgot,

Life means so much.

The Sun Did Come Up ... Somehow

2007-01-13T06:54:00.000-05:00

Man alive, the Buckeyes got smoked on Monday! I still can't believe it. I'm afraid it will be awhile before they get to the National Championship again. But, as this post's title says, life does go on. I guess if they had to play such a bad game, I'm really glad they didn't do it against you know who.

I think you can learn a lot about life from sports. Somehow I think the OSU players got a little full of themselves after they beat Michigan, and they badly underestimated their next opponent. I know I'm prone to do the same in my walk with God. I can get happy with myself, especially if I've been victorious over a temptation or done something well in ministry. But as soon as I lose sight of God, I'm in trouble. Romans 12:3 -- "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment."

My wife has her tonsilectomy this Friday. Praying that it goes well, and is successful in ridding her once and for all of the dreaded strep throat.

We went bowling with the Nye's (friends from Katie's school) last night. It was fun, but we might as well have been at an Eminem concert. Loud rap music, lights, smoke (I guess since people can't smoke anymore since they passed that law, they pipe it in through the air ducts) -- I could barely roll the ball straight. It was fun though, many laughs were had.

That's all for now. Happy '07!

Now Bring us Some Figgy Pudding!

2006-12-23T08:07:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's Christmas, and as you can tell, the songs of the season are on my brain ... and bring some right here! We won't go until we get some, we won't go until we get some ..." Come to think of it, I don't want anyone to bring me figgy pudding, at Christmas or any other time of the year. It sounds pretty nasty!

I hope all you readers (2, 3? :)) have a wonderful Christmas, and can personally celebrate the truth of Christ's coming. Unfortunately, not everyone (probably the majority of the people around us) can. Just last week there was a "20/20" special on "The Mystery of Christmas". It was your typical secular documentary on Christianity, trying to debunk the key beliefs of Christianity -- the virgin birth, the deity of Christ, the accuracy of the Biblical account of Christ's birth, etc.. It was frustrating to watch. I kept yelling at the TV, but I don't think they heard me. I wondered, why don't they ever have a documentary on "The Mystery of Mohammed", or the "Really Weird Visions of Joseph Smith", and put other religions under the microscope of presumption and doubt? I think I know why -- because it's the truth in the Bible that threatens the strongholds of Satan. Satan doesn't want the lies of other religions to be attacked, but rather believed! Aside from my frustration, this show also strengthened my resolve to know Christ more than ever, to live a life that pleases Him and spread the truth.

I am truly thankful at Christmas for the gifts in my life -- most of all, a relationship of love and acceptance with Christ, something I do not at all deserve. I am also thankful for my dear wife, my cute kids, and the priviledge of serving Christ with the youth group and in other areas.

Thanks for reading! So, I leave you with the ending of "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" --

And though it's been said

Many times, many ways

Merry Christmas

To you.

Is Anybody There?

2006-12-05T22:31:00.000-05:00

If you're still looking at my blog, you are one persistent little critter! Updates come on this blog like a rain shower in the Sahara -- VERY rarely. But thanks if you do, otherwise this typing would be all in vain.

Things have been going pretty well. You probably read on Kristen's blog about our anniversary trip to Tennessee. Great, great time. What a blessing to be married to such a wonderful (and real purdy, as they might say in Tennessee) woman. Proverbs 18:22 -- "He who finds a wife finds what is good." 10 years ... man. Then home from the mountains for Thanksgiving and a nice long weekend back with the kids. So that was your basic amazing week.

And this trip was of course preceeded by the classic triumph of the Buckeyes over Michagan (Bobby's spelling :). Awesome game, and a great time with the YG. Audrey gave us all a good reality check at halftime -- good stuff on our desire to share the Gospel. Buckeye fans -- enjoy these games -- there may not be another team like this one for decades. I've watched Buckeyes football for 25+ years, and haven't seen anything even remotely like Troy Smith. Probably won't again!

Now it's on to Christmas. I think my heart longs to know and grow in Christ, but the world around me seems to pull on me, just like gravity. Pulling me down to less important and wonderful things (dare I say it, things like the aforementioned Buckeyes!) than knowing God and serving Him. As a leader, I am struck and humbled by how many times I need to teach myself the same lessons that I am preparing to teach. I know I am not worthy of doing anything for God unless He enables me. I knew that the change in jobs would require me to make some changes in how I manage my time if I was going to honor my priorities (Christ, Kristen and the kids). But I find myself too often living under the deception that I can get away with the same routines. Zig Ziglar says that the truest definition of insanity is to keep living the same way and yet believe that things will change. If Zig's right, then count me insane, and in need of God's spurring onto a life lived with consistent purpose.

Well that's enough for now. I'll try to post again in '06.

The Usual

2006-09-19T05:38:00.000-05:00

Hello all. Just a quick update --

Smuckers is going well. It's definitely weird being in the position of learning new things. There are plenty of challenges at Smuckers to keep me running. Everyone is pretty nice, especially my boss. I am all but sure that he is saved -- I need to ask him. It's been tough adjusting to the longer drive and work schedule, but I think we're getting there. My wonderful wife has been very accomodating and helpful in this transition.

Salt Fork camping was great a couple weeks ago, except for the scads of yellow jackets flying around. They even stung little Karlee on the face! I think the highlight was going horseback riding as a family. Katie loved it -- she would have rode that horse all the way back to Akron if they'd let her. There was this meadow we rode through that was full of wild flowers and butterflies. It was beautiful -- like we were the Ignalls family (Little House on the P) riding to our cabin. There were seriously hundreds of butterflies all around.

I'm looking forward to going to the men's retreat at CP. I'm hoping and praying my brother (not sure of salvation, definitely not walking with Christ) comes too, but I haven't heard back from him. Kristen has been gracious enough to let me go -- thank you dear! You are the bestest!!

Will post #12 in the near future!

#10 -- Encourging Words

2006-08-28T05:20:00.000-05:00

Yep, it's my 10th post. I know this is big news but don't get too excited.

I wanted to share an e-mail I received from a co-worker at Roadway (my former job as of this Friday) last Thursday. This was a big encouragement to me:

Clint, I may not be able to make your "Good Luck Lunch" today. But I wanted you to know I really enjoyed working with you over the years. The thing that I will remember the most about you is your "Christian glow". Back in 1996 when I first met you I didn't understand the "Christian glow", I was just one of those people that went to church. But now that I've had a chance to grow, I sure have a great respect for how your little light shines. I hope you understand what I'm saying.

This is what I wrote back:

Thank you for the kind words, Dametra. I'm glad you think my light shines, I hope others saw it too. If there's anything good in me, it comes from a personal relationship with Christ. He's the Way!

That e-mail meant a lot to me. One thing I regret about leaving my current job is that I feel I wasn't the strongest witness for Christ there. But I guess God was work in spite of my timidity. Praise God!

It's sort of fitting that I start "jammin" at Smuckers right after Labor Day, when school should start. In a sense, it'll be back to school for me, having to learn all kinds of new stuff. I'm just glad I won't need a hall pass to use the bathroom.

Take care you all! Thanks for reading.

With a Name Like Smuckers ...

2006-08-08T04:54:00.000-05:00

it has to be good. Yes, it's official, I am leaving my current job at Yellow-Roadway (the big trucks on the highway) to work at Smuckers. It has been an exciting and trying couple of months seeing this all play out. It was a very difficult decision, because I've been at Y-R for over 10 years and had the chance to do some pretty neat things there.

I definitely prayed about it a lot, and I'm confident that I have made the right choice. I'll be learning a completely different computer system and programming language, so I'll need to be on my toes.

It's been a busy and fun summer so far. Hard to believe there's only about two weeks of it left! I'm anxious to get the missions week started. I feel like I haven't given it the attention it deserves in planning, but I am still hopeful that it will be an awesome week.

I will try to send my next update BEFORE October!! Thanks for reading.

It's Alive!

2006-06-15T05:40:00.000-05:00

In case you haven't given up on my blog completely, here's an update.

Life continues to be busy as we head into the summer months. I'm looking forward to Katie's coach pitch baseball team starting up tonight. I really enjoy coaching and working with the kids. It's fun to see them learn things about baseball. Timmy Keys is on the team too.

Good time at the YG picnic last night. It was nice to see a good sized group. The hamburger grill fire was so hot, I was almost incinerated a couple times cooking the burgers and dogs, but it ended up pretty well. I'm really excited to see how God works this summer, through VBS, CP, our missions week and all the other events.

If you read my wife's blog, you'll see that she wrote about a nice date that we had. It most definitely ... I mean "mos def" was. I'm so glad for Kristen in my life.

We figured out a cool way to pick movies. Do you ever go to Blockbuster and just can't decide on a good movie (often times, there aren't many)? That's definitely true of Kristen and me. We can honestly spend an hour looking for a movie. Well, this time we found a better way. We narrowed it down to three options, and then I said "let's flip for it". So I took "Flight Plan" and said "if it lands front side up, it beats "Red Eye". Then I flipped "Flight Plan" and it landed front side up. Then I took "Firewall" and did the same thing. It landed face up so "Firewall" won. Now this method does not guarantee a good movie -- Firewall was far from an all-time great -- and you may draw the ire of a Blockbuster associate who doesn't like their DVDs being thrown around, but it is quick and fun!

Off to work now. All of you young and not so young people are welcome to leave a comment!

Checking In

2006-05-27T06:22:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's been a while since I've updated. I've been busy -- not necessarily very productive, but busy!

Camping last weekend was very fun. Went on a date last night with my wonderful wife, but it wasn't the best. Don't get me wrong, Kristen was great, but we had a long interruption because I had an emergency at work. For all you guys planning a nice date for that girl of yours, a word of advice -- don't work for an hour in the middle of the date!! Sorry dear, you deserved better from your man!!

Work has been crrrrazy this week. That, along with the surprise arrival of an exciting opportunity (it's a secret for now) has gotten me a bit off kilter. Got to get back to the basics of knowing and growing in Christ -- the Word and prayer.

That's it for now. See y'all around.

Kristen's Top Ten

2006-05-14T15:06:00.000-05:00

In observance of mother's day, I offer this top ten in honor of my lovely Kristen -- a truly awesome wife and mommy. So without further ado ... the top ten reasons Kristen rules:

10. She is a great cook, and takes the time to cook meals that are not only delicious, but healthy too!

9. She's hot!

8. She is an athlete -- a regular running machine and Tae-Bo "masta" (said like Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid). She has a competitive spirit that pushes her to do her best in whatever she pursues.

7. She lives her life for me and our kids. She takes care to nourish our children physically and spiritually.

6. She is an adventurer who likes to try new and sometimes crazy things. She makes life exciting.

5. She is a sensitive person. She sees things in people that I (being rather dense at times) would never see.

4. She loves people, and desires meaningful, Christ-centered relationships.

3. She's hot! (I know, that was #9 too -- it's worth mentioning twice).

2. She serves the Lord. It is a pleasure to work alongside her in Youth Group and other ministries.

And (drum roll please), the number one reason that Kristen rules is ...

1. She is my wife and best friend!

Happy Mother's Day, my dear.

I can't imagine ...

2006-05-11T05:20:00.000-05:00

... what the Shoup family must be feeling right now. I don't know them well -- the wife, Kristen, was friends with my Kristen when they were young -- but my heart breaks for them.

Yesterday their youngest son, Noah (2), was severely injured. After being life-flighted to Children's Hospital, he was put on life support, and now is showing no brain activity. It appears that this little boy's life will end suddenly and tragically.

As a parent, I just could not imagine losing one of my children. The hurt must be unbearable. I am praying for the Shoups (they were on the prayer chain yesterday). I've been thinking of my kids alot, and how easy it is to take them for granted. Kristen and I have been so blessed to have healthy and happy children -- it's only by God's kindness and grace that it's like that. I definitely gave them each an extra-big hug at bedtime last night.

I don't want to ever take my kids, or anyone else for granted again. Each day is a treasure, even days like plain old May 11. Nothing special about that day, except that it's the day that the Lord has made!

It's May!

2006-05-01T06:20:00.000-05:00

Hello all. Not much time to type, but wanted you all to know that my blog did not die a premature death.

Can't wait for the Extreme Makeover: Patmos Edition. Do you think Ty will be there? No, not our Ty -- of course she'll be there! I'm talking about the Ty on the Extreme Makeover TV show with the goofy hair and the megaphone. We'll see!

It'll be a busy week. I'll certainly need God's wisdom and energy to get through.

Katie's school Spring program is tomorrow. Those are always a treat. Let me tell you, those kids sing loud! I especially like to watch Katie belt it out!

See you all later!

Hmmm, Let's See ... Who to Offend?

2006-04-24T05:53:00.000-05:00

It seems to me that these days the only people that it's safe to offend are Christians. For instance, I heard on the radio last week that the producers of the cartoon show "South Park" removed a scene with Mohammed, the (now dead) founder of Islam from their show, for fear of offending Muslims. Meanwhile, they do have a scene with Jesus Christ defecating on a picture of George Bush. I guess the producers were scared of inciting another round of rioting and violence in Muslim nations around the world, as happened a few months ago when a Dutch newspaper published an offensive cartoon of Mohammed.

And that's just the start of it. The week before Easter, there were numerous news specials where "experts" basically dismissed all the facts of Christ's death and resurrection from the dead. There's the popular book turned movie, The DaVinci Code, which attempts to completely discredit Christ and the Bible. Ironically, the movie trailers run with the subtitle "Seek the Truth".

Don't get me wrong, this isn't a "poor little me" sob story because I'm a Christian. Nor am I saying that it's OK to offend Muslims or people of other religions. What I am saying is that it's sad that people think it is OK to offend the Lord of Glory, the one true God, and the only way to Heaven.

Guess I shouldn't be surprised. Jesus said that the world hates Him and His followers (John 15:18). If anything, the offenses inspire me to stand stronger for Christ, and to live a life controlled and enpowered by Christ that shows that Christianity is no joke.

Well, that's all for now. What do you think? Have an awesome day!

A Real Post

2006-04-19T22:18:00.000-05:00

Had a good youth night, a bit small in numbers, but there was a good time of prayer and very fine devotions from Vicki. It was a big praise to hear that Kristen has a clean bill of health as far as the moles go. Half-marathon ... wow, that's a haul. I like to run, but I've never done much than five miles at once.

I've been very tired at work these days. I need to get motivated there!

Better get to bed, but before I go, a quick joke (not competing with Bobby) -- What did the snail say when it rode on the turtle's back? WEEEEEE!!!

So, you see, life is a matter of perspective!

Have a good day!

Blig-Blog!!

2006-04-17T21:42:00.000-05:00

Clint has a blog! Now isn't that special!!