Wasted Energy

If you have worked in a wood shop you have probably heard the saying "Measure twice and cut once." I wish there was more of this type of attitude in industry. I have to believe that if we were to live by this motto a little more often we would consume less of our precious resources. One obvious area of savings would be time. I don't know how much time I have spent fixing other people's gross negligence. It is very frustrating. We all know that time relates to money, so we could save some of that too. In a more subtle way, it could be the new motto for "going green." Think about the amount of electricity, gasoline, and raw materials that are wasted by producing and transporting products that are not made to specifications. I would venture to say that the amount of precious natural resources that are wasted due to people's careless inaccuracy is astounding. Maybe we could start a new saying "Think twice, act once." That's something to think about.

Percentage Errors

I have been surprised lately by some common errors made when people are calculating/reporting percentages. At first I thought it was just one person who made a simple mistake, but in a matter of a week, I saw 4 people make similar errors. Maybe those are the only 4 people to make this mistake, but I had to post this in the event that I might spare you from making this type of error too. Here is an example:

By what percentage is $1400 higher than $600?
Typical incorrect response: (1400-600)/1400=57%
One way to show that this is incorrect is to add 57% of 600 to 600: (600 *0.57 )+ 600=943
The correct response is: (1400-600)/600=133%

Now, if the question was phrased as "By what percentage is $600 lower than $1400?" the answer of 57% would be correct. It is all about choosing the correct base number to answer the question being asked.

Familiar Features

Recently I was able to see relatives from both sides of my family. As our extended family expands, I am noticing strong familial traits. Of course physical similarities are present, but the more interesting ones come in the form of common behaviors, thought processes, and methods. It is quite intriguing to try to determine how much is passed on by environment or genetics. My immediate family is a laboratory of sorts in answering the nature vs. nurture question. Of us four children, two are biologically linked and two are not, but we all were raised by the same parents and lived in the same home. I see the influence of my parents on all of our behavioral patterns in one form or another. I wonder about my grandparents and great grandparents. Did they have any idea as to what behavioral influence they would pass on to the next generations? Could the familial behaviors be teased apart and be attributed to specific ancestors? What if one of the prevailing familial traits is one that the ancestor did not wish to possess and never wanted his/her children to receive?

Facing a giant

I had to "face a giant" recently. It was not easy. Actually it was with much fear and trembling that I did it. I know that I could not do it by my own strength, but the Lord was with me. The giant doesn't seem so large and looming anymore--funny how that works.

Cooking for engineers

I found a website this weekend called "Cooking for Engineers." It presents recipes in a way that is absolutely wonderful--so succinct and logical. The recipe format takes away the the need for including paragraphs of instructions after the ingredients list. Tonight I made ratatouille using this recipe card. Check it out.

Polishing a diamond

The message at the service this weekend was very thought-provoking. In a nutshell, the speaker talked about how we are being shaped and polished as diamonds. The process is not easy. Because the diamond is the hardest naturally occurring material, it is not easily scratched or marred by its environment and it can only be polished by another diamond. Chipping away the impurities and getting to the pristine core leaves only a fraction of the rough stone. In the same way, we as believers are being refined and polished, so that we will reflect the Light of the Lord while remaining uncompromised by the world.

When all the pieces fit

I have been in a situation at work where I always feel overworked and understaffed. I have recently hired 2 more people to off-load some of the work, and they were immediately very busy (and I am still very busy). What was I thinking? I guess I bite off more than I can chew sometimes. It all sounds simple on paper.

I have learned a couple things from this experience. The first is that I can be many times more effective by delegating (I have had to work on retraining my brain in this area because as a grad student I had to do everything myself for my projects). The second lesson is that there is no substitute for quality workers. Finding people who are dependable and attentive to details is not always easy but so valuable. I don't know what I would have done at this point in time if I had not taken the risk to hire more people. Fortunately, the Lord put good people in my path--I am blessed.

When God doesn't answer

I have been thinking a lot lately about a few situations where I or others have been praying, and the answer is not coming the way that I would want or expect. Clearly, I know that God has a plan that is far greater than what I could ever imagine, but I feel confused. Why do we feel compelled to pray for something when the outcome doesn't happen? Are we praying the wrong things or with the wrong motives? Maybe.

But I think about the Scripture that tells us to "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem." People have been praying that for millennia, but it has not been fully answered yet. Still, the Scriptures instruct us to pray for it. If we don't see the answer we are expecting, does that mean we shouldn't pray for it? From this example, I believe it is clear that we should pray for it regardless of what we see.

We are to pray God's will. The difficult thing for me is knowing God's will in a situation. Is it God's will that we should never experience pain or suffering? I know that He is a good God and does not cause harm for His children, but He allows us to be tried and tested, which we see in the book of Job. God did not forget His servant Job, but He allowed him to endure much sorrow and pain. So, how do we pray? We cannot pray according to what we see, but according to the Spirit of God. Sometimes I wonder why we even pray if God is going to do what is best anyway. But then I think of how much I have grown through those moments of deep intercession even if what I was praying was not granted.