Monthly Archives: September 2022

 

It’s simple, thought I might share some favorite images!  Have to lead with my dear shooting buddy, Charles Stanley, I did not shoot this my dear brother, Carl Turner shot this one!  Hope you enjoy them!

 

 

So enough for now!  Try to do this again next Thursday!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

 

Roger Staubach one of the richest ex-NFL quarterbacks, worth over 600 million. He made most of it in the real estate and construction business after his playing days. I shot this photo many years ago!!!  He is a great guy, if anyone deserves success this man does!

 

Let’s start here:  Who are the highest paid state employees by state in the entire United States?

In 39 states it’s a college basketball or football coach. The rest are all college administrators at Universities.

 

Here are some of the top highest paid public employees, all per year:

 

Nick Saban, Alabama football coach  11.7

Kirby Smart  University of Georgia football coach 11.5 million

Jimbo Fisher Texas A&M football coach  10.8 million

Dabo Swinney, Clemson University football coach 9.3 million

John Calipari, University of Kentucky basketball coach 9.3 million

Jim Harbaugh University of Michigan football coach  7.5 million

Lincoln Riley just got a new contract at Southern Cal and it is undisclosed but likely 10 million plus, for sure.

 

How about pro athletes?

Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys  4 year contract for $107.5 million

LeBron James,  L.A. Lakers  96.5 million this list goes on with dozens of athletes making almost this much or more!!!!!

 

If you are a football coach at a middle of the road sports program like Nebraska, once a national football power, and you are there for 5 seasons and do not have a winning record the fans and sports media are calling for you to be fired, sounds awful until you learn that if Scott Frost is fired, they have to buy out his remaining contract for a measly 7 million!

Considering that a fireman in America has an average salary is $50K and a policeman’s median salary is $54k and they both risk their lives to do their jobs, does this make any sense?

 

I’m a capitalist to the bone, and I understand the these salary are based on how people are valued for their profession, and the money involved.  Sports in America is a multi, multi billion dollar industry.   I’m just saying that our values and expectations are terribly skewed.  A good school teacher that really loves her students and helps them build a foundation for a successful life, and has a profound on their futures. isn’t that valuable? It’s fun to watch a 7 foot tall man slam a basketball through the hoop, but how many lives does that change?  No matter how many Super Bowl Rings you have, that alone, is not a considerable contribution to others lives!

 

I attended the University of Kentucky in the early to mid sixties and we had a terrible football program, and lots of coaches came and went.  At the moment we have a pretty good program and have played in 5 straight bowl games, this coming weekend we play Florida, who will be a real challenge for us, I’m considering not watching the game, because I know how frustrated I will be if we loose, which we well may.  What’s wrong with me, it’s a game, when it’s over no matter what happens my life will not be changed in any significant way, why do I care so much?

 

I don’t know the answer, but I know I can only speak for myself and I need to get a better perspective on this whole thing!

 

Blessings

 

the pilgrim

 

 

 

 

This is going to be along blog entry and I pray you will wade through it to the end,  because I feel led by the Holy Spirit to share this, it is weighing heavy on my heart!

I started to think about it all yesterday and shared with Sherelene this morning what was on my mind and heart, and she shared with me that today’s In Touch Devotional was a perfect fit, so you are getting both in this entry!

Let me tell you how this started to ferment in my mind.  Yesterday Jack shared in a text chat about a man he saw in a restaurant wearing a t-shirt with a message on the back that would make a sailor blush, I won’t repeat it here, but trust me it would shock any of you!  Yesterday I was driving home when I stopped for a red light, when it changed to green the vehicle on the other side turned left in front of me when I was signaling right and had the right of way, It is a good thing I paused to see what he was going to do!  On a recent flight I was standing in line to board with my group when someone, not in that group stepped to front of the line in front of all of us that had been waiting for 20 minutes.

 

None of these things are federal crimes, but they are a signal as to where our society is heading.  Many people don’t have any regard for others and think only of  themselves.

 

While this might frustrate us, how are Christians suppose to respond to a coarser and coarser world.  The devotional that follows sets the example of how we are to respond, not react.  We are to be in this world, but not of it!  Dr. Stanley will say it much better, but the take away for me is to be Christ like and do to others not what they do to us, but treat them how we would want to be treated ourselves.  It’s hard, but remember we are trying to win over a lost world and acting like them is never a good start to that goal.

 

This as the Devotional this morning on In Touch – Dr. Charles Stanley

1 John 2:1-17   New Living Translation

2 My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. ² He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.

³ And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. ⁴ If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. ⁵ But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. ⁶ Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.

A New Commandment

⁷ Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. ⁸ Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.

⁹ If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer,^[a] that person is still living in darkness.¹⁰ Anyone who loves a fellow believer^[b] is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. ¹¹ But anyone who hates a fellow believer is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.

Do Not Love This World

¹⁵ Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. ¹⁶ For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. ¹⁷ And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.

R

Dr. Stanley’s Commentary

Are you seeking to know and understand the Lord? Even though He’s beyond human comprehension in many ways, God has revealed much of Himself in His Word. And as we search for Him in Scripture, we’ll grow in our understanding of His nature. But this isn’t merely an academic pursuit. Knowing God practically impacts every area of life.

For one thing, knowledge of God influences our prayers. Instead of asking for whatever we want, we’ll seek to ask according to His will (1 John 5:14-15). And we won’t limit our requests in size or scope because we’ll realize that nothing is impossible with God.

The way we view the Lord also affects how we think, behave, and relate to other people. Knowing Him intimately transforms our natural tendency toward doubt and sin. Then we desire to walk obediently before Him, with a pure heart. Instead of loving the world, we seek to please Him by loving His people unselfishly and resisting sinful lusts.

Paul thought knowing the Lord was so important that he made it the primary pursuit of his life (Philippians 3:8-10). Could that be said of you? Self-reformation soon fails, but knowledge of God renews you from the inside out.

 

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I believe we are to seek being renewed daily so that we might love others as Christ did and does. I pray every night and every morning that God will help me to become the man He wants me to be, something that is completely impossible….. but with God, all things are possible!

 

I will pray for your journey!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

I’m really looking forward to my annual, at least for the past 4 years, trip up to the Upper Penninsula of Michigan!  Jack and Rick Browne and I run a fall workshop out of Munising each late September – early October.  This region produces some of the most spectacular fall color and I never tire of seeing it again.  There are no crowds and the weather is really. usually, enjoyable.  I think we still have a spot or two open, if this looks good to you, check with Jack (jackgrahamphoto.com) for a spot with us this fall.  October 3-6, 2022.

 

 

Sure hope you decide to join us!

 

Blessings

 

the pilgrim