Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

The Lottery is my retirement plan

June 4, 2025

Is this your attitude to estate planning? Do you play the lottery in your state or wager in other ways regularly? In my state of Missouri, the lottery began on January 20, 1986. Do the math. If you purchased one ticket each week from that day to this, you would have spent over $2,000. That does not sound like much over thirty-nine years.

I know some people who “invest” ten or twenty dollars out of each paycheck. That puts you out of pocket up to more than $20,000. Check the lottery website for your state. Statistically speaking, if you put that amount in the bank for the same period, you would still have the money. It would be earning interest.

Do you have that much in your retirement fund? Why not? Ten dollars a week is less than one meal out at most restaurants. Do you smoke, or drink coffee, sodas, or beer? Could you give up that much of those for your future? We don’t think about it that way.

If your employer offers a matching plan on a 401k account of up to four percent of your annual wages like mine did this would take away about $2,000 each year from your salary. They added that to my investment. I quit buying vending machine food at work and saved that much. I could pay my bills with forty dollars less each week. That would be $90,000 by the time you retire. Add the interest to that.

Remember that some accounts compound interest daily. At 5% in 45 years, you would have more than double what you put in, as interest in your investment. The amounts will vary. Check with your company or bank for a return on what you can afford. I think you will be surprised. A financial planner can help you as well. Make sure you get their charges in writing before they receive your money.

Some people will offer unheard-of returns from speculating on a wild shot. These are usually no better than the lottery. Before-tax money may not be the way you want to invest. That money may not be able to be removed before you reach a certain age.

The mantra to remember is to start early in your career and invest what you can from every paycheck. Most of us do not start saving on our first part-time job in high school or college. A friend of mine taught his children by buying them a used car when they turned sixteen. He and his wife required a payment like a loan company would charge on that purchase each payday. When their child decided they needed to finance another vehicle they would give them a check for the money that had been paid to them plus the interest earned at the bank.

That amount was how much the next purchase could be. These students learned it was better to pay themselves and let the bank pay them than pay interest to loan companies. I wish my parents had done that for me.

Think about how you spend, invest, or waste the money you earn. Wisdom does not have to come with age. Begin wisely and things will get better for you as your responsibilities increase. Do not learn it the hard way like I did.

How many sides are there?

May 31, 2025

Once again, Race is in the news. Groups of racists were allowed to march for their rights. It seemed at first that they wanted a peaceful protest. Counter protestors marched against them. Both groups had peaceful individuals in them. As with any organization, there were those on both sides that wanted a violent confrontation.

Those nonviolent people were overshadowed by the ones that wanted to kill the other side. Whose fault was this outbreak of tragedy? It could be the authorities which authorized this march. Those who organized the meeting can be accused of knowing that counter protestors would be there. It happens with almost every gathering of any kind. Someone comes that opposes their views.

The groups that marched in opposition knew they were confronting some violent antagonists. The authorities had a police presence available to keep the peace. What went wrong?

Our Constitution guarantees a right to peaceful assembly. Has this type of violence been present at other rallies by these groups? If so, the event should not have been authorized. If opposition groups had been known to start fights, that should have been defused before the two groups met.

In hindsight, we know that the National Guard and a stronger police presence were needed. Someone misjudged the danger that was forming. The blame, however, is justly placed on those individuals who started the fights. The man who drove into the crowd is responsible for his actions as well.

The problem is that no one wants to admit that they were partially at fault. This is a growing problem in this country. More of us refuse to accept responsibility for our actions. We also deny guilt for those who agree with us.

We need to remember that just because you disagree with me does not mean you are wrong. There is almost always more than one side to every disagreement. Violence is never the answer. Just as we have seen in other demonstrations in the last few years, the violent minority can cause problems for the peaceful majority.

I’ve seen a suggestion on Facebook that if you are part of a protest and violence breaks out, sit down, raise your hands and let those assigned to protect lives and property know that you are peaceful. Be sure you obey the instructions of the police and National Guard. If they tell you to disperse, walk away to protest another day.

Choose the side of truth. Not truth as you see it. Truth as it really exists. Each of these opposing groups believe they are correct. Neither is completely on track. Who is the most important person in your life? It should not be you. You must choose someone else as most important.

Always put others first. The philosophy that you are number one will put you on a downward spiral. I’ve seen books that encourage you to make yourself most important. I hope you eventually learn, as I have, that these writers are incorrect. Jesus said we should treat others as we want to be treated.

The Book of Love

May 29, 2025

In 1957 the song “Who Wrote the Book of Love?” came out. As a youngster, I did not understand what love was and the actual meaning that question held. Is there a book of love and if so, who is the author? As a writer, authorship is of personal importance. I have learned that the Book of Love is also known as the Bible. It has many authors and many of the Bible books speak of love.

Let’s take the book of Genesis first. Jehovah created the universe. He also made men and women, the Hebrew Nation, and the freewill He gave them caused a lot of trouble for humanity. He showed His love for us by giving us a second chance. Even if you do not believe in a worldwide flood, I hope you can see that exterminating almost all the people on the planet was an act of love.

The next four books finish out what is referred to as The Law. It can be difficult to understand why a loving God would create these rules that many believe spoil their fun. The Law is Yahweh’s love letter to humanity. We rejected His love when Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

You and I had no choice at that time. Today, we do have the opportunity to say yes or no to Jesus. He showed His love to us by giving His life to renew the relationship that was lost in the garden. The Law was put in place to show us that we had missed the mark. That is what sin is. Being unable to accomplish what we need to do is a failure.

The books of history from Joshua through Esther tell how Jehovah kept trying to convince the Israelites and Gentiles of God’s love. God guides the Hebrews to take the land He has given them. Killing those who oppose God’s law may not seem like love to you. Jehovah wants the Children of Israel to learn who He is and who He can be to them. Israel as a nation needed to give Yahweh a place to be born and teach us what He wants to do for us.

Poetry like Job and Psalms tell us about love. God’s love is shown to Job by not allowing Satan to destroy him and giving him a new life as we can have through Christ. Look at Psalm 8, 23, or 119. These are love songs from David and others to God. The 119^th Psalm declares the writer’s love for the law, word, and statutes of our Lord.

Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are books of wisdom from Solomon and David. The love of a father is expressed throughout the proverbs and is seen in the frustration of the preacher and his realization that the only thing that we can believe in is Jehovah and His promises.

The greatest love story in the Bible is in the Song of Solomon. The King of Israel declares his love for an unidentified woman. As a teenager, I found the use of certain terms such as breasts to be sexual. They are but God created them and sex. The language describes the sexual desire of a man for a woman. This can be an expression of love.

Both the major and the minor prophets show the love that Jehovah has for the Hebrews as well as all the people of the world. These books predict the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus and identify Him as the son of God and heir to David’s throne for eternity. What more can love be, than that God would become a man and die for us.

The gospels and the book of Acts show us Jesus’ love for humanity and how the plan of salvation through his death and resurrection brings us to new life through Him. His words of love for mankind and His promises to get us into His presence speak volumes.

The New Testament letters all point us to the fact that our only hope is accepting the salvation that Christ brought us. These were written by several men who Knew Jesus both as a man on this earth and as their Savior and Lord after His resurrection.

Revelation is the final statement of God to His followers. He wants us to know that we will win the battle with Satan. We don’t know when this war between Jehovah’s goodness and the rejection of Him which is evil, began. It will end in time at some point in our future. Much of this book is a mystery.

Symbolism is rampant here. The love of Christ which is the love of God is shown in those who love Him coming to be in His presence and those who reject Him will spend an eternity separated from the one they would not even acknowledge existed. Which are you?

Every kiss begins with . . .

May 28, 2025

No, it isn’t Kay or Hallmark. It is with desire. When my wife and I watch rom-coms I have a saying, “It’s a Hallmark.” Most Hallmark movies have the starring couple kissing in the last five to fifteen minutes. Others like Larry Levinson productions have lovers kissing much earlier.

My wife and I kissed for the first time after our first or second date. I can’t remember exactly. I think it was the first time. It might not have been. I know I wanted to kiss her every time I saw her and I still do. This was the start of love.

Remember that I do not believe love and lust are the same. Lust is a kind of desire. Love prompts desires of its own. These are not the same. Love makes you want to be with someone. Not for sex or any of that superficial stuff. You want to spend your life with them.

We have been together for over fifty years. Today is our forty-ninth anniversary. We are both retired now and spend almost every moment together. We don’t have to be together all the time; we just enjoy each other’s company. We share the chores around the house, run errands together most of the time, and still sleep in the same bed.

We both have sleep apnea which means without our CPAP machines we snore. During the first year we dated I spent ten weeks over a thousand miles away for the summer. When I returned home, I had turned twenty-one and decided that we needed to be married as soon as possible after I graduated from college the next spring.

Two weeks after the wedding My job moved us to another city, and this gave me justification for marrying her before she graduated from high school. She completed school in the new community and found a job after she was out of school.

Many people think that if you get married at a young age it will be difficult to stay together. For us that has not been a problem. We have learned that the key to loving each other is forgiveness. Everyone has disagreements and makes mistakes. Don’t let these problems break up your relationships.

What we need to do is watch what we say to each other and forgive when we have differences in opinions. Another requirement is to make compromises. When our first daughter was born Cindy wanted to start a tradition of talking about Santa Claus with our daughter. I disagree with that idea.

I felt that promoting this kind of falsehood in our children’s lives would make them distrust what we told them about Jesus and God. She wanted them to be given the fun things these fantasies could bring. It turned out that we were able to explain the differences between real and pretend at the appropriate ages with each of them. Love sometimes is a compromise.

‘Hey man, you good?’

May 27, 2025

I just heard about this program that began in September of 2023. It was started by the Healthy Living Alliance of the Ozarks. The hope is to reduce the suicide rate for men in our area. Men account for 80% of suicide victims in our country. We are only around 50% of the population.

Why do we kill ourselves more often than women? We have been told not to cry. We are to man up and internalize our emotions. We do not want to look weak in front of our wives, kids, and other men. When we do not ask for and receive help, this causes us to fall victim to depression and succumb to unhealthy emotions.

This new program is supposed to get you and me to ask each other, “Hey man, you good?” Then as we tell each other, “Yeah, I’m fine” don’t accept that answer. Ask questions. Confess your own times of needing help. Ask for help and offer it.

I want you, my readers to know that I am like 53% of men in Greene County and had thoughts of suicide in the last year. Earlier this year, I walked away from home with the intention of not returning home alive. Others intervened and I was not successful. Without their help, I would not be here.

That was not the first time I wanted my life to end. I do not want you to feel sorry for me. I want you to recognize that I am no different from you. If you have never felt this kind of frustration with your life, count yourself fortunate. My hope is to get you to open up and share your story.

Start with me. Comment below and let’s share e-mail addresses. If you are close to Springfield, MO, let’s meet. I will share what gets to me and why I need help. You can tell me what’s up and we can find some others that we can join and back each other up. For those that are not local to me, we will put you in contact with men in your area that will be your support group.

We know we can’t continue to do this alone. Let’s be men, take charge of our lives and admit that we need each other. It is not just your life. It includes your family and friends. Doctors are researching the effects of genes on suicidal tendencies. This will take years to determine. I can answer some of these questions now.

Suicide is contagious. It is hereditary. There is no bacteria, virus, or gene that transmits it. It is passed along by making others think that what we did is acceptable to them. Have you heard the question, “If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you do it as well?” This is the attitude at work here.

When we use drugs, alcohol, or sex to deal with our problems the first time, we are not considered an addicts. We follow the lead of others to begin. These things are known to be unhealthy if not controlled properly. Our emotions are the same. Letting them control us is not beneficial.

Don’t let depression, anxiety, or grief drive your actions. You can oversee your decisions. No one and nothing should be your boss. You hold the reigns. Drive your own wagon. Substances, emotions, or others should not be allowed to determine your path.

Remember the next time you talk to family or friends to ask how they are. Do not always take the answer that they are fine as the last word. Follow Regis Philbin’s lead and ask if that is their final answer. Let them know that you care about how they are. Be a true friend and show concern.

In his book “Manhood”, Senator Josh Hawley talks about a friend that took his own life. The last time he spoke to him he thought that something was wrong. As we men are prone to, he did not pry. Now he wishes he had. If you have not read this book, you need to. It does not matter if you are a man or a woman. Republican or not.

Hawley explains what a man should be and why. I find his explanations and reasoning to agree with my own beliefs. Check it out and make your own decision. Your eyes might be opened.

Warriors of the past

May 25, 2025

Memorial Day is traditionally a day when those in the United States and especially Springfield Christians remember ones who have died. As thoughts of friends and family have flowed there are some that should be shared with you. When you read these words, ponder on those you have lost that bring back similar memories.

Mom and Dad were the type of parents who took their children to Sunday School and church every week when they were young. As teenagers they allowed them to choose a different church to attend despite their moving to another congregation. Prayer was always one of Mom’s methods of ministry. Dad served in more practical ways as a bus driver. This tradition of service has made their son who he is today.

Everett Long and Lester Stratton were two teachers who demonstrated how to lead young men to become the men they were called to be. Lester was in his sixties and retired at the time. He was the oldest high school student your writer ever met. He was a mentor and a friend to his classmates.

Everett was the teacher who made us question our own salvation experiences when he made a public profession of faith while teaching Sunday School and being an ordained Deacon in the church. At his baptism, many admired him for his bravery to openly admit he had been playing church all his adult life.

Brother Maples, the elderly minister encouraged the young preacher boy with the comment that he did not feel like he had been in church if he did not have to shine his shoes when he got home. The ministers’ job is a rough one and Allen knew that from his years in the pulpit. He is also the one who first used the phrase, “It’s a good day when you can sit up and take solid nourishment.

Vern is another friend who has gone home to be with the Lord. When asked to teach a senior adult men’s class years ago, thoughts of being with men twice my age and trying to lead them in Bible study were troubling. With Vern’s encouragement, it was possible. That became an experience that will never be forgotten.

My friend from high school, Mark, was another hero of faith. Instead of being depressed after a stroke, heart attacks, and eventually having his aorta explode while having an angiogram, he accepted a call to the ministry while in his sixties. He became our church’s senior adult minister as a volunteer. When he went home to Jesus, we all wept and rejoiced.

As we pause on this Memorial Day, remember those who have been in your life. I could spend hours telling you stories of others that have meant a great deal in my life. Keep tuned to this site to hear more of these as the years proceed. If you want to share a story of your own, post it in the comments below.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

May 23, 2025

Twenty-five years working for a power transmission distributor starting in purchasing, going to sales both inside and outside, and taking the office manager position which led to the operations manager, has put me in a unique place to know what customer service should be and what it usually is not. What we strive for is treating the one we are serving in a way that would be pleasing to ourselves, if in their shoes. That is the Golden Rule. “Do to others as you want them to do to you.” (Matthew 7:11-13)

I say we strove for that knowing that often that high peak is not attained. The difficulty there was in recognizing what was needed to please the one we served, not in identifying who the customer was. In purchasing it may appear that we do not need to supply customer service because we do not have any customers. My philosophy is shared by many in the purchasing profession. Our customers are those who have requested products or services ordered by us.

We indeed work for the same company they do. It is also true that not respecting the person and delivering the needed outcome may adversely affect our employment status. Aside from the possibility of reprimand or even termination, I strive to deliver my “customers” the best service I can because my work is to be “as unto the Lord”. (Colossians 3:23-24)

I never had a job title of customer service representative (CSR). One of my managers referred to me as the best CSR in his region. He pointed out to me that I was not one of the best salespeople. That disqualified me for being given a position that was considered a sales job. My title at one point was sales service specialist. This was what others called a salesman.

One radio host is well known for talking about customer no-service. What he wants us to realize is that companies we deal with do not put service ahead of getting the order. This manager of mine showed me that the most important part of what our employees did was to close a deal. Service was not important.

This was the same company that issued business cards that had sales service specialists on them, not salespeople. I call this hypocrisy. This is saying one thing but doing the opposite. I left that company and returned to purchasing and retired as a purchasing manager almost twenty years later.

Instead of overseeing delivering the best service for a company I became the one that judged if this business and others employed those that gave the quality of product and service that I had proven that I would give. I believe the customers lost on that transaction.

14 years and counting

May 21, 2025

That is correct. March 24th is the anniversary of the first article I published on Examiner.com. In 2011 they began making my pieces available to you. Examiner.com was a respected way for authors to build an audience and polish their prose.

Wordsmiths have many reasons why they need or want to express themselves. Writing can be an obsession or a casual means of telling others what you are thinking. Some write even when they have no hope of being published. For a Christian from Springfield, MO this was a great opportunity.

As a child, the urge to record one’s thoughts started early. A newspaper with a friend was not successful. Who wants to read what nine-year-olds know about? Just because you win a small printing press selling seeds door to door, does not make you a publisher. When the Pipkin Jr. High School newspaper staff was chosen, it was another disappointment. Missing that English class because of Spanish class was unavoidable. Missing out in High School had to be prevented.

Journalism I class in my junior year was a favorite. The assignments were not work. Putting pen to paper has always been enjoyable. Being selected as feature editor senior year was disappointing. Page three is not as impressive as page one. Articles were published all over The Herald even though writing and editing features were my focus. The Highlighter even features sports photos from my personal camera.

Creative writing was the best Southwest Missouri State University offered as a major in the 70‘s. Focusing on getting accepted to Missouri University’s Journalism School was the main thing. Saving money was also important. When the acceptance letter came from them in 1974, being published was not the priority anymore.

Those of you who place God’s will above your desires know why years can change your focus. When I was laid off in 2009, I saw a job description and Examiner was the opportunity to return to being published as God is obeyed. I continued looking for full-time work. My unemployment lasted over three years.

When Examiner stopped publishing my articles and eventually stopped working with everyone, I began my own website. That has been my method of sharing what I write for the last nine years. My web page was self-titled for years. It is now called DouloiGroup.org as you know. Doulos is the Greek word for servant and Douloi is the plural.

I have plans to add more options to my offerings including fiction, complete daily Bible studies or even videos. I would be happy to promote your materials on my website. I just need to be able to view anything before I endorse it. I am not in this just for the money. I have a responsibility to my readers.

Just $19.00 per month

May 19, 2025

That is the price to help children at two different hospital groups. Many veterans’ organizations also ask for this amount to help their clients. I will not list these. You might think I am telling you not to support these groups. I am sure many of the ads asking you for these monthly contributions are doing a great deal of good.

The problem is that not all television ads and very few internet requests are investigated by anyone to determine where these funds are going. The amounts are not always under twenty dollars. You are targeted online for organizations like the ones you may currently be supporting.

I want to show you how to confirm that you are helping not-for-profit groups that are good stewards of your money. When I say good stewardship, I mean doing everything to use the money donated effectively for the purpose for which they state they collect money.

Many charities have been investigated over the years and have been found to have outrageous benefits for staff. Some have used funds for types of services that do not match what they advertise.

I remember years ago hearing of a major organization that paid their CEO millions of dollars a year and continued to advertise for volunteers and donors telling the public that they needed money to help others. When this information came out the group lost workers, funding, and respect.

If they had been upfront and honest with those who supported them, they would not have had the problems they did. Other nonprofits were formed around the country to provide the same services they had. Locals believed they could not trust national businesses that were disconnected from them.

Many of these grassroots groups are still thriving. The original company is distrusted by many of us. I am one of many who still remember this and other scandals.

There have also been para-church ministries that were involved in bad publicity of a similar nature. Whenever I see an advertisement for assisting any group of people or other types of good deeds, I am suspicious. Before I send money to anyone, I need to know who they are and where my money is going.

I have recently heard on the news about a person who created a GoFundMe page to collect money for people who had been through a tragedy. They were given a small portion of the money contributed. She is now being forced to pay them the money she wasted.

Once again, I must remind you that I would send no money to anyone I do not know personally. I contribute directly to those who need assistance. I will not allow money to be taken from my debit or credit card for a retailer that has a foundation that does something. If they want to fund a foundation, take the money out of their profits.

Be watching for a column that is related to this. I am entitling it “The Man with the Twisted Lip.” It also deals with how you might want to use your money. The title is based on a Sherlock Holmes story. I hope you will watch out for it.

Welcome home, Carl

May 18, 2025

Some of you would say that you lost another friend. Carl is not lost. He hasn’t been lost since he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior around the time I was born. I know he is in the presence of God which we often refer to as Heaven.

Carl and I had many conversations about Jesus and Heaven over the forty plus years that we have known each other. I met him when I joined Hamlin Memorial Baptist Church. He was our deacon for years.

He recruited me to lead Church Training classes and recommended me for the position when he stepped down. We served on the BTN committee at church for its short-lived tour. The Greene County Baptist Association joined this organization which provided training materials to churches and associations.

He was my mentor in the deacon ministry when I was first ordained. A few years later when he was the chairman of the deacon body, he asked me to be the assistant chairman. This meant I would be the next chairman. Thanks to Carl I got the pleasure of leading the congregation during the retirement of our friend and pastor.

His son Greg worked for my wife before she had our first daughter. Carl and Harriett became surrogate grandparents for our children when we moved into their neighborhood. For almost twenty years we remained neighbors and would visit them while Harriett was homebound.

As our deacon he joined me in the waiting room when Cindy had surgeries. We ministered together with the other deacons and leaders in the church. The stories I remember are too numerous to recount here. I’ll share one that very few know about.

Greg was working in Kansas City when a walkway collapsed at the hotel where he was employed. It was a story that hit our local news. We called Carl and Harriett and asked if they had heard from their son. They had a call from him. He was fine.

While they were dealing with Harriett’s health issues, I was often his sounding board. We did not live far from each other and before Carl had to stay home with her, I saw him at church every week. We had an agreement that nothing we said to each other would ever be repeated.

I used to say that I would see friends in Heaven when I arrived there some day. Today Jesus’ words have led me to believe that we are already there. It is not like we drop into God’s presence when we accept Christ. Being outside of time, He has us with Him even before our death on this planet. I know that sounds strange. Trust Him and you are with those you love who trust Him as well.

Walk With a Servant