Donuts Are Awesome!
THE BLEACHER REPORT offers the following explanation for why someone had 20 boxes of coconut donuts delivered to the University of Wisconsin-Madison Police Department:
It was in response to the way he was reportedly treated by the department's event staff at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday after having flown out from Los Angeles to see the Wisconsin-Northwestern game. When he tried to meet friends by entering a section he was not assigned to, he was ejected.
The fan explained the gesture to a department representative via email as a way to show his appreciation for the job the officers do ("Donuts are awesome..."), but to also show his "disdain" for his treatment at the stadium ("...but coconut donuts are not so awesome").
What a memorable way to make a point. But perhaps the best thing about the 20 boxes of coconut donuts was how they were used to express not one, but two messages. Rather than just rant over his mistreatment, this man chose to also affirm the Madison Police.
"Donuts are awesome, but coconut donuts are not so awesome," was this man's way of saying, "Police are awesome, but the way they acted in this particular situation was not so awesome."
What a great lesson for the rest of us. We would all do well to remember to express our appreciation along with whatever misgivings we might have—to put forth a little extra effort to make sure we get the whole message across.
Occasionally, you may find something to complain about, but you can always find something to affirm!
"Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone" (Colossians 4:6).
Volunteer Police Force Serves Without Complaint
Arizona police departments, taxed by increasing demands, are leaning more and more heavily on a growing force of both plain clothed and uniformed volunteer officers. One town, Surprise, AZ, hails an award winning team.
In Surprise, what started as a handful of police volunteers and a donated truck in 1997 has swelled to a nationally recognized, uniformed force of 68 with marked cruisers, Sgt. Mike Donovan said. ...
“I cannot say enough about them,” Donovan said of volunteers. “They want to give back and they want to serve.”
They perform any number of non-confrontational tasks from patrol and surveillance to forming crime-scene perimeters and questioning witnesses.
Though at first officers may have balked at help from volunteers, many have come to see “how effective they are,” said Sgt. Donovan.
And the cherry on top of the sundae? “They don’t complain like paid people do. They truly come and want to help us out.”
Like paid labor, Christians in bondage to legalism and religiosity come to "work" for the Lord punching a clock, often grumbling and complaining about how hard things are. Those, however, who walk by grace are like the volunteers in the Surprise, AZ, police force: They "don't complain like paid people do." They simply "want" to help. "They want to give back and they want to serve."
It's amazing how happily and effectively one can serve when freed from the constraints of the "have to's" into the liberty of the "want to's."
"Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!" (Psalm 100:2, ESV).
A Complaint Free World
Will Bowen, a Kansas City minister, has designed an innovative tool in the fight against negativity, murmuring, and complaining. It comes in the form of a simple purple bracelet, which he first offered to his congregation with a challenge to go 21 days without complaining. Each time one of them complained, they had to switch the bracelet to their other wrist and start again from day one.
"It was simple but effective metacognitive awareness training," reports Tim Ferriss of the HUFFINGTON POST. "The effects were immediate and life-changing."
Complaining, Bowen suggests in his book A COMPLAINT FREE WORLD, is a habit which can be broken. And once broken, one can be liberated to enjoy a life of greater gratitude, contentment and happiness.
According to his website, his idea struck a real chord. His organization has, to date, distributed more than 10 million purple Complaint Free bracelets to people in over 100 different countries.
According to research, it can take as little as 21 days to replace an old habit with a new one. Switching the bracelet from one wrist to the other after each complaint, until the bracelet eventually stays put for 21 days, is a simple and easy exercise that yields huge rewards.
As Pastor Bowen puts it, "Don't be an ouch looking for a hurt." Break the habit of whining and complaining about life. Take the 21 day challenge to help reset your mind's default setting from the negative to the positive. As you speak fewer and fewer negative words, you'll generate fewer and fewer negative thoughts.
"Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people" (Philippians 2:14-15, NLT).
Note: You don't have to order the purple bracelets to take the challenge. Any easy-on/easy-off band will do. Our church used Dollar Store jelly bracelets. Others have used string friendship bracelets or even loose fitting rubber bands. The power isn't in the bracelet; it's in the resolve!