Amazing times when you have a weekend full of 70percenters - Eli's Birthday Trip

So Eli, my son, turned 8 this past week, so I decided to take him to Dallas so he could have his first passenger jet rides.  He has been wanting to fly for a long time, and I had been looking for a place where we could have fun (Ranger's game and Six Flags water park) and do the hotel and rental car thing.

Well if you have been reading this blog long, you know that I have made a commitment to speak to everyone I can, in search of those 70percenters who respond positively, and who are looking for or are willing to have a pleasant conversation.  In most cases, this is not a deep friendship possibility, more likely as passing of ships where each persons life is a little better from the interchange.

So we get up Saturday morning to fly to Dallas.  We get to the airport and head up to security.  The TSA agents were in a real good mood, and they were very nice to Eli - good start!  We went up stairs and bought a drink - nice guy behind the counter.  I'm feeling good about the morning.

We fly to Atlanta, with Eli just ooohing and aahhhing at the flight.  We get there and I take him to get a Pepperoni pizza for breakfast.  Don't get to that every day.  We then go to Delta's sky club.  We get some coffee and hot chocolate.  People are very courteous and Eli is good at responding to people which helps.  We get on the tram to ride to another concourse and there are several soldiers on there heading home.  Eli had several of them speak to him and wish him a great birthday.  Soldiers can be some of the most positive 70 percenters, as talking to us can make it feel like home for them if we are kind and ask good questions.  Elie did and he was rewarded with some cool conversations.

As we are walking down the jetway to the plane to Dallas, I notice the pilot just ahead of us.  I tell Eli, "there's the pilot".  Eli says, I want to be a pilot when I grow up.  At this, the pilot turns around and says so you want to be a pilot.  Eli says yes.  I tell the pilot this is his first plane trip and his birthday.  He asks if Eli can come with him.  He takes him to the cockpit where he lets him sit in the pilot seat and work the controls.  Such a cool 10 minutes.  He didn't have to do that but he was an obvious 70 percenter who responded to our friendly conversation.  The flight attendants did, too, giving Eli a whole can of Coke - "this is what I was wishing for"  He said.

We arrive in Dallas, and ride to the rental car site.  My name is not on the board so I have to go inside.  I joke, "my name is not on the board because you wanted to know Eli's favorite car was a mustang.  She laughed, and said, well you have a Camry.  I say, that is a nice car too, and is fine.  She says, so you don't want the Mustang?  She gave us the car without an upgrade fee.  I thought he was going to bust out when we arrived at the parking space and there was a brand new silver Mustang.  He could not believe it.  We get inside and it has SAT radio, so he gets 2 days of Radio Disney.  (whoopee!  Not)

We get to the hotel and the desk clerk is a young guy, who hears it is Eli's birthday trip and really makes a big deal out of it.  He helps us with directions to the Baseball game, checks us in early, and allows us to go to the pool before hours on Sunday.  Just a fund guy who likes to talk about the Rangers.

The game was awesome - real nice people around us who laughed as Eli cheered.  The room was awesome - king size bed where we could practice football moves!  He can fall down now -a trick I am an expert at.

We get up at 5 am.  Yuck.  Breakfast lady is still putting stuff out at 6:30, but stops to make Eli a waffle.  Then we head to the water park, where the crowd is slim - the lifeguards are in good moods, and joke with me and Eli about the difficulty of the rides.  Wow, he got such good attention. One lifeguard even rode a ride with us that needed three people.  Another time, a father and daughter asked to ride with us so a four person ride would be more fun.

Most of the time, I initiated the conversations.  In all cases, I was looking for chat, not a privilege.  However, the sincerity that is at the base of the 70% solution paid off for Eli.

The day ended so cool.  We got to the Dallas airport and the sky club personnel bragged about his cowboy hat so much, while moving us to an earlier flight.  On the plane, we sat next to a father of three girls.  He was in radio, and was a good Christian man who appreciates children.  This meant we had lots of cool stuff to talk about.  He was very patient with Eli, even when small bladder syndrome set in.  At the end of the flight, he pulled out a new CD and gave it to Eli for his birthday.  This man did not have to do any of this - he had his movie to watch.  But he would take off the headphones and chat up Eli frequently enough for Eli to really get into it.

We arrived home at 11:15 - exhausted and full of stories.  Eli couldn't wait to tell them and to show his mom the CD -even before he showed her his Ranger's hat.

Thanks, 70 percenters for a great weekend.

Heard a cool thought from a local preacher that fits the model

So we have a visit from Greater Spartanburg ministries at work today, and the pastor shares with us some very cool ways they present the need for the gospel to people who come in for assistance.

He talked about how many of the ten commandments people know, versus how many different brands of beer we can name.  It was funny to listen to him talk about how he gets people to face up to the reality of the 10 commandments.

Then he made a statement that rocked my world.  The ten commandments speak to the conscience not to the mind.  It is not about keeping the ten commandments - how we "score".  It is about how our inability to obey these rules given to us show us how impossible it is to save ourselves.  The fact that we sin by breaking the law is so we can see we need an advocate - a savior to restore our relationship with God.

So do we care about the law?  Yes, of course, because it shows us what God does not approve of.  Without the law we don't know.  However, we are all capable of rationalizing that we are not so bad - using our intellect to overcome our conscience.  See how it can affect your ability to share with someone?

If you have someone who is not willing to feel the pain of disobedience, and the hurt on their conscience, then the head will not see a need for help.  People who are very successful can say - well I must not be doing to bad or life wouldn't be so good.  Or someone could be so unsuccessful that their situation does not allow their conscience to exist.  It is too painful to face.

We have to be able to communicate relationally, in order to help a person see the affect of sin on their life, not try to explain it to satisfy their head knowledge needs.  A person who will only deal with the head has so many barriers to the conscience that it is a waste of your time to argue or explain!

The conscience is a great thing, and never underestimate its existence in those people around you, even the 30%.  It shows a person their need for a savior - a need you can help them fulfill.

Keep your eyes and ears and open to look for the tug of the Spirit in others, and in yourself.  Don't waste the opportunity!!!!

Don't act stupid near a blogger, especially one talking about people!

So my wife and I are at a McDonalds, and this older guy walks in to buy some food, but also to add money to his gift card.  The ladies behind the counter are Hispanic, and while they understand and communicate well, the first one did not understand his request.  He lost his temper and began criticizing her "if you don't know how to do this, you ought not to be back there", and glaring at her and the woman who came to try and help.  His last comment before he left was, I knew you could do it if you tried.

So my wife and I are sitting there fuming, and I am so tempted to go get in the guy's face.  However, there was no indication he had any self control, and I might regret it later.  We also contemplated speaking to the ladies later, but the lines were too long when we got up to leave.  So we just left it laying out there, and they had to deal with the feelings on their own.

So I have spent all this time learning how to be a more natural relater, and I wasted a valuable time to use it.  You know, we are all blessed with different abilities, and mine is not naturally mercy, but I have found by committing to communication skills that would have come in handy in this case.

I guess my natural skills at explaining would have come in handy if I had gotten in that guy's face to explain to him how not to be such a jerk.

So what should I have done?