Mental Musings

Facebook has problems. No social media is perfect. But I really like Facebook. It has become a vital source for connecting with others and for getting information about my friends and family. Those who have always lived in the same location or live around most of their family members may not understand this, but for 25 years I have not lived anywhere near my family and I have lived in 5 states and 2 countries during that time. Nothing beats face to face communication. Yes, there are other apps and tools for connecting with people who do not live near you and this is not a new problem. Just 100 years ago some people moved and never heard from or saw their family and friends again. But humans have an innate desire to communicate, even across distances. Ships used to carry messages from one port to another. The Pony Express carried mail across the United States. Benjamin Franklin helped to start the post office in 1775 before we were even a nation. In 1836 Samuel Morse invented a m

2012 was a tough year. I am not generally one to look back on the negative things, but as I was thinking about this past year I realized that there were many difficult situations for us. There were many good things, but surrounding all of that was some very tough times for our family. I am sure that others can relate. Our year started off with bad financial news. We had just returned from a wonderful Christmas break visiting relatives. After unloading the car, I started to sift through our pile of accumulated mail only to find a letter from a law group in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The letter informed me that by order of the Harford County Courts my pay was going to be garnished $300 a week. After two years of paying the mortgage on two houses, we could no longer financial handle that. We had gone through all of our savings and even took some equity out of our Maryland home in order to keep paying until we could sell the home in Florida. The home appears to be unsellable for mu

Christmas Eve is here and Christmas morn will soon be upon us. There is no telling what special memories I will have from this year to one day share with others, but I already have many fond memories from year's past. I remember listening to all of the old Christmas carols on my dad's reel to reel tape player. We had hours and hours of Christmas music that he had taped from the Armed Forces Radio while onboard his ship during one Christmas. I still hear those songs each year thanks to our Time Life Christmas collections, but I do miss the occasional radio announcer comments to the men and women serving our country. There was the Christmas I discovered the truth about Christmas. It all happened in 1969 as my sister, brother, and I were playing hide-n-seek. I never understood why they were both so bad at that game. I could hide so well that they would never find me. Hours later I would come out of hiding to laugh at them for being such lousy seekers. On this particular

I write because I have difficulty saying what I am thinking. I guess that is a typical problem for anyone with ADHD. My brain is usually 4 or 5 steps ahead of what I am currently doing. But writing helps me to organize my thoughts. One style of writing that I do more for my own enjoyment is poetry. Some of these have been combined with music for hymns, but most are simple poetry that I have done to express my thoughts. I thought I would share a few of the Christmas poems that I have written over the years, beginning with one I wrote this year. Because of Who You Are Stephen R. Poole December 11, 2012 Days of travel on dusty trails, Bethlehem was still to far Yet they continued with the trip, Because of who You are Shepherds left their flocks, Wise men followed the star, Angels sang peace on earth, Because of who You are Wise men came from the East, Each one bringing a jar Gifts for kings lay at Your feet, Because of who You are Gold was used to buy a tomb,

Wow! That doesn't even begin to express the feelings that I have for how hard everyone worked and for the dedication it took for you to be a part of this year's musical. I woke early this morning just overwhelmed by how incredibly helpful everyone was throughout this process this year. I wanted to thank each of you in person, but with very little voice to speak, I could not do that. You each made a difference in many lives because of your willingness to allow God to use you. Approximately 30 people gave their lives to Jesus and nearly 100 people rededicated their lives to Christ. That is more than 16 decisions per performance, or about 3% of the approximately 5000 in attendance. And these are only the decisions that we know about. God really used this musical to reach people in our community. Let me share a couple quick stories. One individual invited 6 adults knowing that all 6 are lost. One of these had only been to church maybe twice in his life, but after seeing

Sometimes I want to cry or wallow in despair For evil seems to strike uncalled everywhere Sometimes I cannot see a good deed anywhere A world lost and dying and they don’t seem to care Sometimes I see Satan entice them with a dare Hooks ensnare and slowly drag them to his lair Sometimes I want to scream that life is unfair To give up hope and join those who sit and stare Sometimes my heart aches beyond any compare But all the time I know for sure that God is always there I wrote this as I was reading about the tragic school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Not sure if I will add more or not. Please pray for the families of these students.

I have never understood discrimination I grew up during the desegregation of America. I was going into first grade the year that the Commonwealth of Virginia decided that they needed to desegregate the school systems. Rather than redraw the school districts to include a blend of races, they choose to bus a certain segment of the population of children from one neighborhood to another neighborhood and vice versa . I was bused from our home on Bess Street in the Norvella Heights subdivision in Norfolk to Bowling Park Elementary School , now Richard Bowling Elementary School, on Princess Anne Road in the Bowling Green community. I knew nothing about racism, segregation, hatred, or even class warfare. These are things that you must be taught and my parents did not raise us to discriminate against others. I may have wondered why my brother and sister had to walk to school while got to ride a bus, but it never entered my mind that what I was doing was controversial at the time.

Last year I lost twenty-five pounds as I made a concerted effort to get more exercise. I had felt lousy for a couple years and thought that maybe I needed to take off some weight to feel better. Little did I know that I felt lousy because I had a chronic gallbladder infection. This past July I had my gallbladder out and I feel like a new man. However, my exercise routine was directly resulted. For about 6 weeks I could not do my exercises because the recovery from my surgery was slower than I would have liked. After I was recovered enough to get back into an exercise routine, I started working 12-15 hours a day, 6-7 days a week helping to get our musical set built and decorated. Needless to say, my exercise routine has gone out the door. I knew in the back of my mind that even if I was doing a lot of physical labor I still needed to exercise. I could even tell that those long days with quick trips to a fast food restaurant for many of my meals were not helping. I even starte

After nearly 15 months of planning, 9 months of meetings, 6 months of rehearsals, 2 months of set design and painting, and many hours and miles of searching for props and costumes, we had our opening night for Jingle in the City: a 1940s Christmas in New York City. And from all reports and comments, it was very well received. The most important details: 6 people indicates that they accepted Jesus into their life for the first time tonight as a result of the musical and there were 8 people who shared that they rededicated their lives to Christ. Now for some of the comments: Excellent! Wonderful production and cast. Beautiful message to keep us always mindful of Christmas and God's ever present love. Each year's play is better than the one before. Truly inspiring and well performed. It truly reminded me of the meaning of Christmas. Such lovely voices and talented young people! Kudos to the director! I thoroughly enjoyed this production and all the effort that we

In 1995 we spent Thanksgiving in Ajloun Jordan. Wendy was very pregnant with Ashton, who would be born only about 10 days later in Amman Jordan. I am not sure that either of us were too excited about the Thanksgiving meal or even fellowship time. Wendy was miserable because of gestational diabetes. I was exhausted because the little bed we had to sleep in was not big enough for me and a very pregnant wife. Wendy typically took up 80% of the bed. I usually tried to sleep on my side with my arms hanging off the side of the bed. The next year, we were driving through Louisiana on our way from Blue Springs, Missouri, to Big Point, Mississippi, to attend my niece and nephew's wedding. Around lunch time we tried to stop somewhere to get lunch in this little town in the middle of nowhere. The only business that was open was a Piggly Wiggly grocery store. We went in and found out they were closing in a few minutes. We grabbed a can of Gerber's baby food (turkey) for Ashton, a bag

It is easy for us to look at scripture and wonder how in the world the Israelites kept making such poor choices. Their journey started immediately after miraculous displays of God's power and protection, yet as soon as they came upon a watery obstacle they started to whine and complain. Then they all witnesses the power of God to dry up the water before them so that they could cross out of harms way, yet shortly after they started making idols to gods who had shown no such power, no such protection for them. For forty years they traveled with visible representations of God leading them, with God providing for their meals miraculously every day, and still they complained and wanted to go back into slavery. They continually made bad decisions even though they were in the very presence of God Almighty. They made very bad choices. But we continue to do the same things even though we have the historical documents of the failures of others to remind us. The Israelites were in n

Perhaps President Obama was right when he said that America is not a Christian nation. We used to be,. We were founded on Christian values. Religious freedom was at the core of our Constitution. But I believe the evidence shows that as a nation we have turned our face from God. Have we finally reached the tipping point where Christians have no real sway in the moral direction of our country? When Evangelical Christians and the Catholic church cannot convince Americans that issues such as abortion on demand and same-sex marriage are things which should not be allowed in our nation, I think we must face the fact that we are on the losing side of the culture war. I was beyond sad to see Christians show their support for same-sex marriage, abortion, and even gambling. When we see Christians who have been blinded to God's word by those who claim that these sins are "rights of women" or "equality for all" than we are not only losing the culture war, we are losing

If I had been born into a wealthy family, I probably would have never come so close to death so often. While we never had to do without food or electricity, we were far from being considered wealthy. This was partly because my dad did not want to exercise his right to get cheap housing and live on a military base with his family. To be honest, I think he was afraid to live on base. And I don’t think anyone who knew the Poole family would have blamed him. You see, the military had this very effective method for ensuring peace and tranquility on base: they punished the enlisted personnel for any crimes or misdemeanors by their family. This meant that my dad would be punished for any infractions on base that were caused by his children. Therefore, he took his small housing allowance and used it to buy or rent a home off base. This decision did make it difficult for him at times. Mom told us how Dad would go fishing after he was finished with his duties on base each day. If he caugh

Only a few days until the elections and here are a few things I want (not in any specific order): 1. people who will uphold our constitution instead of trying to rewrite it 2. people who will defend our country from enemies without and within 3. people who will protect our freedoms instead of listening to the politically correct 4. people who will protect all life, including life in the womb 5. people who will provide an atmosphere for stability and growth 6. people who will encourage us to strive for the best rather than teach us to depend on the government 7. people who believe in State's rights rather than Federal control 8. people who care for our military and first responders and will not use them for political gain or damage control 9. people who desire for our country to be energy independent 10. people who will stand for America and our allies 11. people who believe the US should lead rather than follow the authority of the UN 12. people who believe in using th

Communion: The Lord’s Supper. Along with baptism, it is one of the two ordinances of the Southern Baptist Church. Our own church observes the Lord’s Supper once per month, some churches observe it once per quarter and some churches observe it every week. But what exactly is communion and how should we observe it? 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 gives us the basics. “For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” Jesus took the occasion of a special feast, the Passover, to share His last meal with His inner circle group. Sometime during this meal, Jesus to

This is part 4 of an article on Ethnomusicology and the local church. Click here to begin with part 1. THE FUTURE Where does the church want to be musically? Regardless of where you believe God is leading the church, the members have their own thoughts and desires for the music ministry. It is likely that the church will have very diverse opinions on their musical tastes and desires. Determining where they would like to be in five, ten, or even twenty years may be a daunting task. The process could create undo stress on the church if they believe that change will be forced on them. However, if due diligence has been paid by long term studies and analyses coupled with data taken directly from a cross section of the church membership, this could be one of the most exciting times for your church. This process must begin with historical data showing the process of past musical patterns. Your local church may have a long tradition of worship that includes a choral ensemble s

This is part 3 of an article on Ethnomusicology and the local church. Click here to begin with part 1. THE BACKGROUND - continued How did they reach this level? For many churches, it will be tempting for the new minister to respond, "They did nothing." That is how we often feel about new people groups. It does not matter if they are far advanced when compared to other local groups. We look at where they are and immediately want to pronounce them dead on arrival, and we decide that the previous minister is to blame. As you investigate their past, you may soon discover that they only did what they were told to do. If the team is not up to par, then the leader failed to direct sufficiently. You may also discover that the past ministers took their new church body and threw them headlong into new programs, ministries, styles, etc. Some crazy foreigner came into their midst and tried to convert the heathens . . .and failed. The heathens choose to revert to what was know