Movin' On Up...to a New Site

 Hello everyone and welcome to the last Keil's Comments on Blogspot.

In case you missed the last blog post, I have decided to move this blog to WordPress so hopefully it will be better viewed. Go to this site and bookmark it on your computer/phone/tablet, etc.

I have had fun bringing the blog on this site to you the last several years. I hope to share more of my thoughts with you on the new site for as long as I am able to have thoughts to post.

That is it for now...I will see you on WordPress!

Pressed but not Crushed

 Hello everyone and welcome to Keil's Comments. We enjoyed some wonderful rain here in the Shawnee area over the last couple of days, and looking forward to the cooler temperatures. Read on through this blog for a special announcement toward the end.

As I'm writing this, I am getting ready for another season of high school football with the Wewoka Tiger broadcasts (my 3rd season behind the board). We're not only hoping for a great season to build upon last season, but also hopefully we can get a full season in given everything going on with the pandemic. At last check, they're having to look for a replacement team in Week 2 with the team we were supposed to play having to cancel out due to COVID-19. 

Sharon is back in school now and things are going real well. So far *knock on wood*, everyone in Harrah has stayed healthy and there haven't been any cases reported. I pray it stays that way. One little minor adjustment had to be made though. Sharon's teaching partner this year was moved to teach the virtual classroom so she was moved to another team with two other teachers. We were concerned at first about how that would work but so far it's turned out good, although we can't wait to get back to some sort of pre-virus normal.

Now that you've read through most of this blog and wondering why the title would be like it is, I will tell you. I've decided to move this blog to WordPress beginning next week. I've had this blog here on the Blogger site for about 10 years or so I thought it would be time for a change. The new site will go live on Tuesday at keilscomments.wordpress.com

I'll make one more post on here this weekend to remind you about the move but go ahead and bookmark the new site now.

That's it for now...I'll write more next time.

I'm not like most folks...

Hello everyone and welcome to this edition of Keil's Comments.

This post comes out of something that I was talking to Sharon about this week, so bear with me if things don't make sense.

As much as I love doing what I do at the radio station I work at, it's becoming more and more clearer that I should be working more than one day, three hours a week...especially in the last couple of months since Sharon's mom passed away. Since I got out of broadcasting school 15 years ago (!), I have wanted to work for stations in either Oklahoma City or Tulsa. I realize that in everything regarding the pandemic, stations have had to lay off a lot of folks including some people that I know because the money wasn't coming in but still I want to still say that I work for stations like KOMA, KMGL Magic 104.1, The Franchise or even the stations owned by Griffin (News 9/News on 6) and Cox Media out of Tulsa. 

There are probably a few strikes against me...including how old I am. Who (outside of my current employer) wants to take a chance on someone approaching 50 with a total of 6 years of radio experience spanning 26 years (my first radio stint was 1994-98 out in the Clinton/Weatherford area). Station groups today would rather prefer someone fresh out of schools like OU or OSU with a journalism degree in hand ready to hit the ground running...and dare I say it, people that are a hell of a lot better looking than me.

This doesn't mean I am willing to give up my duties with Community Renewal or the Red Cross...I volunteer my time with those organizations and I have a blast doing so. I have developed lots of friendships with the people I work with. Of course if Sharon and I have to relocate outside of Oklahoma that would be different.

This was something that was just stirring around in me in the last couple of months and right now just putting fingers to keyboard and airing my thoughts out. Hopefully with high school football season coming up there will be more opportunities for me on Friday nights outside of producing Wewoka Tiger broadcasts.

That's about all I have for now. Until next time...

Living 52 -- Serenity

Hello and welcome to another edition of Keil's Comments.

This post was originally a part of an initiative led by my sister in law Tonya here in the Shawnee area called Living 52. It focuses on one word per week and lets people think about that word. This week, the word is Serenity so Tonya gave me this word to do a blog post on.  It's live on their site now, but I wanted to give the people who follow this page a chance to see it too.

Serenity

 

I am sure by now you have heard of a certain prayer that goes “God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and Wisdom to know the difference”. Have you ever thought about what the word Serenity means?

Serenity according to the Oxford Dictionary means “the state of being calm, peaceful and untroubled”. If you’ve ever been out to a lake, either the Twin Lakes outside of town or driven out to any lake on a day when the Oklahoma wind is not living up to its billing, you might have felt that serenity through the water – when there aren’t any boats on it of course.

If you have children, more than likely you probably have felt that serenity either when they are sleeping or if you left them with Grandma and Grandpa for a few hours. My wife Sharon and I do not have any kids together (we do have two older daughters that I inherited when we got married) but when that day comes, we will probably take advantage even though my parents live two hours away – doubt it but worth the shot.

You might be looking at the word serenity and thinking “now isn’t it the same thing as having peace?” From what I have read in researching for this blog, it is. In fact, an Australian named Kevin Bar on the site quora.com puts it this way:

“Each one of us has our own degree of consciousness and our own unique density of intelligent light/love. The true meaning of peace and serenity is that they are positive catalysts that we can aim to achieve on an individual basis.” So while everything around you is collapsing, you can have a sense of peace (serenity) that everything will turn out fine.

The prayer that I mentioned above is not in Scripture per se, as it is used by those who are involved in Alcoholics Anonymous or other 12 step programs to encourage those who might be struggling in their recovery. But the Scriptures do make a lot of references when it comes to peace. A notable example would be when Jesus talks to His disciples.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:27, ESV)

The Apostle Paul in his letter to the church in Philippi tells them to not be anxious about anything “but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your prayers be made known to God, and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (4:6,7)

Think about any situation right now that could use a little bit of serenity…and work toward changing it. As we move into the summer months, it will make things a lot easier, even if it does mean leaving the kids with Grandma and Grandpa.

Leaving a Legacy...

("Legacy" by Nichole Nordeman)

Hello and welcome to a very special Keil's Comments (kinda like those "very special episodes" you may have seen back in the day -- yes I have watched entirely too much television, but that's not the point right now).

To say the past 24 hours has been a whirlwind of emotions for Sharon and I as well as Sharon's family is the understatement of the year. Even with all the madness about COVID-19, who would have guessed that we would be dealing with such a loss.

I have only known Mom for 4 years and one thing that is standing out in my mind as I am typing this is the reason I broke out the song at the top of this post.

Mom left an indelible legacy on this earth. For 40-plus years, she served with her husband (my late father-in-law) in ministry as he pastored churches in Arkansas, Colorado and California and developed ministries like one in Colorado for whitewater guides. All of this while raising three wonderful children to know and trust God in everything. She used her gifts in a tremendous way, using crafts as her way to minister to people (I guess you would say in a sense she was crafty). She had a gift of card making that will probably be unmatched.

If you know David or Joe or Sharon, you can immediately see the impact that legacy has, whether it is teaching 4th graders to sharpen their reading skills or ministering to college students or serving their community. Add to that the support of their spouses (Tonya, Angela and myself) and the grandchildren and eventually her great granddaughter Erza and future greats, it's easy to see that the legacy will hope to continue until Jesus returns.

Just sitting here typing out this post, it is going to be hard going forward to mention anything about Mom and it being in the past tense. As a family, we know that one day we will see Mom again and she will definitely be showing us around her Mansion.

Wanda Lou...it's been a pleasure to get to know you and to be your 3rd son! Thank you for instilling your wisdom into me and for giving me the figurative swift kick in the pants when I needed it. I will be forever grateful for this short time that I have had with you. I am running out of words to say so I will let Carrie Underwood finish this post out for me.

(Human) Malware Protection...

Hello and welcome to this edition of Keil's Comments. Before we begin, you may have noticed I changed up the look a little bit. I wanted to freshen the blog up and keep things looking pretty good.

Now to the subject at hand, knowing that this will probably look dated in a few years.

I have had loads of thoughts rolling through my brain regarding what's going on with the coronavirus, or as a YouTuber I follow calls it "Human Malware" because if you say the CV word, YouTube demonitizes the video for some stupid reason. Anyway...I have seen lots of comments on it, especially when it comes to blaming the media for supposedly "overblowing" coverage and making it sound apocalyptic. Let me defer to someone who actually kinda knows what he's talking about...former Tulsa radio newscaster John Durkee.

“This is being overblown.” Maybe. Time will tell. However, sometimes you have to slap people upside the head to get their attention. You are much more likely to get the seasonal flu, but the mortality rate is higher for Covid-19. Do the math.

Also...as far as "the media" goes, odds are you're listening to State-run Television aka Fox News Channel. If you follow any of the network newscasts or even local news (whether it's our local folks in OKC or elsewhere around the country), you're going to at least get it straight. Once you get to CNN or MSNBC or the aforementioned Fox News you're going to run into either the doomsday prophets or those who think this is one big joke (ie followers of our illustrious POTUS)

Another thought that people have that I want to address...there was a meme that there was no panic about H1N1 or Ebola like there is with the current "Human Malware". Did you ever stop to think that maybe back when H1N1 and Ebola were around that Facebook/Twitter and all the socials were in their infancy and people hadn't developed their lack of intelligence in regards to this? Also, there were actually folks at the CDC that were nipping them in the bud...the same folks who would have done that this go around but they got fired two years ago because of said POTUS.

There's more I want to say but at this point I've probably rambled long enough. I'll do another go around at another time. Until then, take care of yourself, your family, and your neighbors.

Lent 2020 Thoughts...

Hello and welcome to another edition of Keil's Comments.

Before I start talking about the subject at hand on this blog, I wanted to give an update on my mother in law Wanda in case you don't follow Sharon's Facebook page. Mom is doing extremely well, but her heart surgery that had been scheduled for tomorrow has been postponed. Apparently Medicare couldn't see the "benefit" of doing another surgery in the same hospital visit so today Mom is being transferred to a skilled nursing facility in Norman (why there? So she would be close to the folks doing her prosthetic leg -- Hanger Orthopedics -- could help her get used to it and help her in rehab) and stay there until Sunday then go back to the hospital and have the surgery Monday morning.

In the meantime, I have decided to scale back on my Red Cross duties for a couple of weeks while this unfolds so I can be the support that Sharon needs at this time.

Now that that's out of the way, let's get into what I wanted to write about on today's post.

For the last few years, I have shared my thoughts as today we enter the Lenten season on what it means for me. In fact, here it is...


As we start the Lenten season, you see posts on Facebook and Twitter of people announcing what they are giving up.  I say this every year...is it our business what you are announcing you are giving up?  Not really...it's really between you and the Lord.  It's the case of not letting the left hand know what the right hand is doing.  And it doesn't always have to be anything physical (if that makes sense) like meat, sodas, sweets, etc.  It could be something like giving up an hour of TV or computer time or whatever is hindering your walk with God.

I always hearken back to Hebrews 12:1,2 (New Living Translation)

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.

We don't all have to walk around like modern-day Pharisees and proclaim what we are giving up for 40 days. Pray that during this season God will strengthen your walk with Him...and if it means going without a Dr. Pepper or a Braum's hamburger, so be it!!!

And in the meantime, I'll continue trying to work on me.

That's about all I have for now. Please continue to keep Mom in your prayers for healing and strength...and keep Sharon and I in your prayers also.

Until next time...