Crossroads

What do we do at the "crossroads" moments of our life?  Those moments that make us choose ... they make us take a side or make a change.  You can't stay put or choose the status quo, because "the same" is not an option.  These are the times that self confidence, self image and self discipline are measured.  These are the times that we prepare for with personal growth activities like reading and going to seminars and finding mentors.  It also is a time to pray. 
Today ... lot's of people are at a crossroads.  The future will bring inspirational stories of overcoming and triumph.  Will you be telling yours?

The enemy is me ... huh?

"I have met the enemy...and it is ME"  As I was doing my reading this morning, this was the title of an email I received.  I realized in a hurry that it was a true statement.  As ridiculuous as it sounds and as bad as I wished it weren't true... I am my own worst enemy.  If I could only get out of my own way.  Thank you God for your grace!  Redemption ... Oh how I need a savior! 

Prejudice - common but dangerous.

The last few days the talk on the news of the Mexican president's words, the new Arizona law, illegal immigration, etc, have brought up thoughts of stereotyping, racial profiling and prejudice.  A prejudice is a prejudgment: i.e. a preconceived belief, opinion, or judgment made without ascertaining the facts of a case.  Whether right or wrong, don't we all prejudge, to one degree or another?  When I was young, I remember wanting to grow my hair long and my Dad refused for a long time.  I know why now.  Long hair was a symbol of rebellion and lack of discipline.  That isn't fair because the hair didn't define me.  But, I do the same thing today many times.  I look at clothes and jewelry, hair and other things to make a prejudgement of someone.  "Don't judge a book by it's cover" is a great rule.  This is what first impressions are all about.  When we meet someone important or someone that we want to like us, we make extra effort to make a good impression.  But all of this is based on conscious choices of appearance or style.  We can cut our hair or change our clothes, so even though it may not be fair to judge due to how you look, it is something you can change.  However, in our world today many are being condemned due to their looks that they have no control over.  Is it right for us to prejudge someone because of the color of their skin, the color of their hair or eyes, the accent they have or religious beliefs?  That seems to me to be so hateful and unfair, Jesus said thousands of years ago to "love your neighbor as yourself".  He put no conditions on that, and the attitude of looking at someone and deciding whether or not I respect or like them because of their color or ethnicity is flat wrong.  Let's now talk about reality.  If I went to another country, and the citizens of that country had been plagued by terrorist activity and 90% of that activity was conducted by light skinned, light haired, blue eyed, males with protestant religious beliefs and they were from the part of the world that I am from, would I expect to be looked at differently.  Would the law enforcement of that country, even the fathers of families have the obligation to want to know what my plans are, why I am there?  I didn't do anything, why would I be lumped into this.  I have no hate!  But, someone did and they fit my profile, my stereotype.  Would I feel infringed upon, my rights violated.  In truth, absolutely not.  We have to be real here, the reason we are looking for people of a certain ethnicity, color and religious belief is because people that fit that profile have murdered and terrorized people the world over in the name of hate.  We wouldn't be very responsible if we didn't protect ourselves, the citizens, our families.  The same is with the people who are in our country illegally.  Many of these people are hard working and good people, but some are dangerous criminals.  The reality is that what we see is important in policing these problems.
What really bothers me about this and where the wrong in all of this really resonates... is that our children don't know this.  They see someone that is different in any way and they are intrigued, but certainly don't have feelings of hate or ridicule.  Where does all this hate and deep prejudice come from?  Someone teaches children this, some of it comes from experiences, but much of it comes from adults teaching children their prejudices and hatred.  My prayer is that we will teach them acceptance and love.  How dare we as parents and adults and children of a loving God, teach them any different.  I hope to live my life with a caring caution, a prudent diligence, but covering everything I do and every personal interaction with love.  God Bless us and help us!

The Best

"True success is not necessarily about being the best at all cost. It's about DOING your best at all times. If you do that long enough, who knows, you might just end up being the best."

Tope Popoola

Self LESS

First of all let me say ... I really struggle with this.  And I am not talking about being too selfLESS, I am talking about being too selfISH.  I am fortunate to have had great examples of selfLESSness in my life.  It is great to see the happiness that comes from being selfLESS.  People who are selfLESS are interested in others and their well being.  They are interested in spreading love and peace to all that they come in contact with.  On the opposite side of that, is selfISHness.  People that are selfISH are typically unhappy, take themselves way to serious and have very few people who really care about them.  They spread jealousy and hate to the world around them.  I really want to be more selfLESS.  It seems to me that both are a choice and both are habitual in nature.  Creating a habit daily to do something for someone else without them knowing about it is my first step on the journey to being more selfLESS.

Always

Marriage, relationship and family counselors warn against using words like ... always & never.  You are always late or you never take out the trash.  They are words that create defensiveness and usually are way to broad and make the statement untrue.  While doing some reading I came across something the Apostle Paul wrote when he wrote his letter to the church in Phillipi back in 62 AD.  He wrote, "Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say again rejoice". The original language used here for the word always is 'pantote' and the definition is 'at all times, always, ever'.  So nothing was lost in translation over the 2000 plus years.  Paul really did tell them to Rejoice in the Lord always! If I am going to always do something, I have to give a concerted effort.  If I am going to always watch what I eat, it must be something I do on purpose.  If I am going to always smile at my staff, it must be something I do on purpose.  See ... the reason we don't use the word always in a relationship is because we can't meet that standard of always.  But, Paul tells these people he loves dearly to .... Rejoice in the Lord always ... no matter what.  Think about that ... no matter what!  What would my life be like, what would my relationships be like, how much good could I do, if I Rejoiced in the Lord always?

Humor

What role does humor play in your life? I would say I am probably considered, no I know I am considered a serious person. I tend to get very focused on what I am doing and then I get serious about it and it becomes no joking matter. Being to serious about anything can remove the enjoyment from whatever it is that you are doing. If you are too serious about raising your kids, you can take the enjoyment out of it. I didn't say that you take away the importance of raising your children. Nor did I say that you shouldn't be focused on nurturing them every moment. What I am saying is that when your attitude in approaching anything in your life is too serious you are taking a chance on removing the enjoyment from it.
My wonderful wife of almost 31 years, has tried to teach me the lesson of humor. She has told me many, many times that "there is always humor, you just have to find it." Not only does she enjoy everything she does, she is very good at everything she does.
What does humor do to make us better at what we are doing? Why are we better at a job if we don't approach it with a no-fun attitude? Have you ever heard of Getology? Gelotology is the study of laughing and laughter, and its effects on the human body. Did you know that? There is a recognized study of laughing ... com 'on let's get serious here. Can you really laugh your way to health, you know laughter is the best medicine.
When our attitude about something is too serious or we take ourself too serious, we tend to pile pressure on the situation or ourselves. The pressure doesn't always bring about success, especially if it is misunderstood or unproductive pressure. However, when we tend to take an approach that it's not life or death, it's only a job or a grade or a project, then we usually create an atmosphere of enjoyment and less stress. This is an environment that leads to production and achievement. It also leads to better health. The best way to create this "it's not life or death at stake here" type of attitude, is to insert humor into your life.
Smile ... Jim ... Smile! :) Hey Becky - this one's for you ... I really am trying!! Love you!

Clarity

How important is clarity? Most of us really strive for clarity. The questions we ask ourselves, do they need answers? What am I supposed to be doing? What makes me happy, really? What am I passionate about?
How do we get the answers? First of all, we must listen. Listen to our thoughts and listen to God working in our life. We talk to ourselves through our thoughts. Some times we sabotage ourselves by corrupting our minds with negative self talk. How do we rid ourselves of these negative thougths? We must make a focused effort to recognize them and then replace them with positive and effective inner conversation. One ot the ways we do this is to listen and recognize God working in our life. Examine the choices we make and make the one that God would lead us to. Most of the time, not always, but most of the time it is very easy to recognize the choice that God would have us make. Isn't this God working in our life? Also, who are you spending your time with? Who are you listening to? What are you spending your resources on? Are you letting God work in these areas, by making the Godly choices?
Without listening, we can't have the clarity in ourlives that we seek.

What we ponder and think about sets the course of our life --Jim Rohn

I started really plugging into authors and speakers who focused on our thinking and how it effects us about 20 years ago. I have listened to and read the best, but I came upon the most inspirational 2 paragraphs that I have ever read, this week. This was spoken by Jim Rohn - a speaker and author and mentor to many - who died December 2009. Here it is...
"What we ponder and what we think about sets the course of our life. Any day we wish; we can discipline ourselves to change it all. Any day we wish, we can open the book that will open our mind to new knowledge. Any day we wish, we can start a new activity. Any day we wish, we can start the process of life change. We can do it immediately, or next week, or next month, or next year.
"We can also do nothing. We can pretend rather than perform. And if the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable, we can remain as we are. We can choose rest over labor, entertainment over education, delusion over truth, and doubt over confidence. The choices are ours to make. But while we curse the effect, we continue to nourish the cause. As Shakespeare uniquely observed, "The fault is not in the stars, but in ourselves." We created our circumstances by our past choices. We have both the ability and the responsibility to make better choices beginning today."
Wow ... this is great!