Confronted By My Beliefs

   There I sat dumbfounded. Everything froze and then began to move in slow motion. Then, like in some surreal time warp, my mind raced to and fro. It had hit me like a curve ball and sucked the wind right out of my sails. The unexpected unexpectedly grabbed the insides of my heart and began to strangle the intellectual jugular of my mind. EVERYTHING I ever believed or thought I believed was brought in front of my face and paraded itself before my eyes.

    It was the fall of 1984 and I was an aspiring intellect at a well known Big Ten university. A college purveyor of ‘truth’ and intellectualism, I was on top of my world. I was at the pinnacle of my career as a young ‘professional’ student.  Emboldened with the teachings of great professors I was going out into the world as secondary education teacher.  If there was anyone in the world walking around with a chip on his shoulder, I surely could have been the poster child of chip holders. Filled with these ‘new’ philosophies, I would surely change the world.  Child by child, student by student, I would teach and help facilitate a revolution of change into the heartland of the American mind set.  How could I fail? I had the teachings of Nietzsche, Freud, Jung, and Maslow at the foundation of my pursuit. With Pink Floyd’s, ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ and the sexual revolution of the sixties pushing me forward into this mass matrix of society, how could I fail? The voices of feminists like Gloria Steinem and Marylyn French screamed down  the corridors of my brain, reverberating and echoing their mantras on equal rights and the feminist movement. I had read so much of the feminist literature concerning the male patriarchs and the biases of this unequal system, that I was mad at all men, including myself.  I was mad at all those who pushed their ‘ways’ and tried to make me into their image. I was mad at anyone in authority or anyone who was unrelenting in the quest to perpetrate an already too far gone and broken system.  Armed with this vast array of knowledge, like an intellectual matador, I had the proverbial bull by the horns and nobody was going to get in my way.  But then the bull came charging home!

    “I am pregnant.” my girlfriend said in a shattered stare of unbelief.  So there I was staggered and speechless, and all I could do was try to reign in the moment.  Vacillating between what I thought I believed and what I truly believed, I momentarily sat stagnant in the midst of a truth that I could not deny. My girlfriend had just told me she was pregnant with my child. There in the student union my thoughts encompassed me with the reality of this truth. In her womb MY baby was growing and in an instant, all that I ever believed or at least what I thought I believed came to a crashing halt.  Like the apostle Peter, weeping bitterly when he was confronted with what he really believed. I too sat motionless in a sea of emotions as my past crowed before me.  I don’t remember thinking how could this happen to me, but realizing that there was a baby in her womb and that baby was mine.  I don’t remember feeling like a victim or even bitter.  To me, the next step was obvious, we would get married and I would be the father to my child.  But to my chagrin the words my girlfriend spoke were carbon copies of all the things that I thought I believed.  Pro choice, women’s rights, and the ERA spoke from her heart and when she said she wanted to have an abortion all I could hear her say was she wanted to kill my baby.  Her lips moved, but I really could not hear what she was saying, because I was finally confronted with what I believed and it did not match anything that I thought I believed.  All the feminist rhetoric and political ideology that was born in the pursuit of logic and intellectualism could not withstand the assault of the confrontation of my beliefs.  This wasn’t a mere piece of flesh in her womb, nor was it a ‘fetus’, a blob, or any other politically protected name the feminist movement hid behind.  This was a growing living human being and not only that, it was MINE.

    Frantic and trying to come to grips with reality.  My words were firm and sure, let’s do the right thing.  But her right thing and my right thing were two different things.  Now that I knew what I truly believed, I would not go down without a fight.  Knowing I could not hit her with an ‘in your face assault’ I tried to move stealthily and subtly.  Hiding pamphlets advocating the birth of our child or statistics concerning abortion, I tried a myriad of plans to dissuade her from her foundation of feminist ideology.  Soon she became aware of my subtle ways and became more openly repulsed by the idea of keeping the baby. The more I seemed to fight the more determined she became to stick to her course of action. She insisted it was her body and she could do with it what she wanted.  With or without me, she was determined to get an abortion.

    I don’t really remember saying much as we walked together to the off campus abortion clinic. And though we walked together, we were both alone. Illusionary. Surreal. Dreamlike. Pretend.  Make-believe.  The memories of that day are faded and somewhat masked behind a pain that is very difficult to describe. Life as I knew it would never be the same.  I was a changed man. And after the abortion, there was no doubt that she was a changed woman also.  Her words expressed it and her emotions forever echoed from her conversations from that day on. Soon, our relationship began to spiral downward and out of control.  Two very different worlds had collided and exploded in our faces.  Like on some Hollywood picture screen, the inevitable course of sin had played itself out.  Lust, sin, and then death.

    I don’t know where she is today nor have I heard from her.  I do admit, that I do think about her from time to time.  How could I not? We shared this past and I do wonder how she is doing and whether or not she has recovered from that tragic moment in our lives.  There is a saying that ‘time heals the wounds that no one can see’ and even though it’s been over thirty years, there are times when my past tries to reconvict me and put me on trial again for the murder of my unborn child, and I have to fight back with all that I have been taught in God’s Word.  I have to resist, believe, and know that God’s forgiveness is as far as the east is from the west.  His mercy is everlasting and my life is now in His hands.  But these are the scars and weights of sin that many of us carry with us into the future.  The deep and hidden pains of ignorant decisions guided by nothing but carnal knowledge that rises up to haunt us and try to stifle the new creature that God is creating in each of us.

    And when this past tries to blur my future and cloud my mind, I look over at my beautiful wife who loves the Lord with all her heart and I hug my two precious daughters and love them with all the love that I can muster up from within me.  I am a changed man.  I am not the same and for that I am thankful.  In these moments, I remember what I have learned and how that moment forever changed me. It was a very pivotal point in my life when I learned that talk really is cheap and it is easy to say you believe something, but in reality, you really won’t know what you believe until you are confronted with what you believe.

The 'Blissful' Fires of Ignorance...NOT!

Ignorance is never out of style. It was in fashion yesterday, it is the rage today and it will set the pace tomorrow. ~ Frank Dane

Thomas Jefferson said, "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." To be ignorant is to be lacking information or knowledge. An ignorant person may be smart in some areas, but still 'in the dark' in other areas. For the most part, in this day of information overload, it is probably difficult to be knowledgeable in ALL areas. Our minds have been over so saturated with a plethora of information it is becoming more and more difficult to even recognize 'truth' anymore. From junk science to government propaganda, our lives have been assaulted beyond measure. But this should come as no surprise. In a prophetic utterance, Daniel said, "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." THIS is the age we live in. The age of 'running to and fro' and the rat race has us so mentally helter skeltered that life itself is losing its true meaning. Material things, pleasures, entertainment, and such like have become the pseudo replacement for life's yardstick of the essence of life itself.

Is it possible that we are so caught up in the temporal world that life itself is measured only by our senses? The idea that living is only measured by what we feel, taste, touch, smell, and see has flipped everything upside down. The chase to fulfill any meaning in life through sensual obtainment is and will always be never ending. There will always be a another 'high' to chase. There will always be another newfangled fad to follow. There will always be a continued push for a pulling out of the wallet. In the Book of Proverbs, written by a man who had everything imaginable to his flesh, said this..."Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied." (Proverbs 27:20) Like burning fires, there are appetites within us that desire 'things' and pleasures. Those in know, corporations, advertisers, government agencies, and similar entities, have long known how to use and control us through our appetites. It doesn't take much to bring a dying fire back to life. Toss in a few pieces of wood and the fire is 'satisfied' and comes raging back to life. Yet the problem still remains, the new wood will burn off and again, and the fire will need more wood to continue its burning.

I find it interesting how George Washington described government as a fire. The Father of our Country said, "Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master." Here he likened government like a fire. Fire (government) is good if used properly. There are many beneficial uses for fire, if contained and restrained. But once fire (government) leaps past the pit and border of rocks it was corralled within, then who knows where or who it will burn! Such are the passions of men! Contained within us are a myriad of fires which many, if used properly, are beneficial, but when left unrestrained, these passionate fires wreck havoc on our surroundings and God's creation. As unrestrained government leads to oppression, so does unrestrained lusts bring a man into bondage unto his own fires. This is easily revealed by a quick look of the world around us. The cornucopia of men and women bound by the fires of alcohol, drug, and similar addictions is clear evidence that the appetites of men have leaped up out of the pit, over the ROCK, and has become an out of control forest fire of spiritual decay and burning!

Dr. Don Colbert wrote a book that says. "What You Don't Know May Be Killing You"... but I would have to say that what you don't know IS killing you! It is easy to claim 'I am a victim' and in this day and age, where everyone is a victim, you may even win a 'victimhood' trophy to put on your mantel. Elbert Hubbard said, “The recipe for perpetual ignorance is a very simple and effective one: be satisfied with your opinions and content with your knowledge” So if you were to truly examine yourself, your life, and the choices you have made, is it possible you have become ignorant to the impact of these choices have had upon your life? Is it possible you are still making choices that feed the fires of your problems? Is it possible the real problem resides within you? As the song says...have you been looking for love in all the wrong places?
A man by the name of Derek Bok said, "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance." Think of what your ignorance has costs you over the years. If the definition of insanity is doing the same behavior over and over again and expecting something different, then why do you continually look for some temporal thing or person to be the impetus of change for your life? Life is NOT measured by temporal things nor can it be truly lived by the things one gained. Though, at the end of life, one may garner to himself the most toys...yet in the end, that man is still dead, and as I have yet to witness, I have never seen a U-Haul following a Hurst at a funeral.

"The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don't know anything about." (Wayne Dyer) The Lord said in Matthew 4:4, "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." When was the last time you picked up your Bible and read it? Remember, the world would have you unrestrained and your fires raging hot. There is much money to be had when the fires are burning bright and hot! The world has pieces of wood to feed your desires, but in the end, what has your out of control fire ever gotten you? The Lord also said in Matthew 16:26, "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" YOU make the calculations! YOU add it up! YOU must balance the budget on the ledger of you own life! In YOUR life, only you can say whether the exchange rate has been fair! Maybe today, its time to make an honest summation of your life's choices and finally, once and for all, put out the forest fires of your life!

Victim or Victor?

"God gave us two ends - one to sit on and one to think with. Success depends on which one you use. Heads you win, tails you lose." ~ Unknown Author

Sometimes it takes people to become sick and tired of being sick and tired of being sick and tired. Many people are definitely tired and many people are sick, but most of them have not come to the place of being sick and tired or they just don't see the connection between the two. It seems that sickness has become this idea that it just hits you. Like some invading enemy from out of the blue, sickness invades your body and pow! you are sick. Whether it is cancer or the common cold, most seem convinced or just accept the idea that it just happens. These things are just a part of life and when they happen you just deal with as best you can. We learn to cope with our sickness, both natural and spiritual, rather than overcome and conquer them!

It blows my mind how most people don't see or are blind to the understanding of the simple cliche I was taught in my youth. "Garbage IN, Garbage OUT!" The principle is simple, whatever you put into your body will produce a similar effect. It is the idea there is a cause and then an effect that was created by the cause. Like a rock or a stone thrown upon a pond, its energy is catapulted into many layered effects. The ripples from the stone surge outward in a surrounding radius of waves and depending on the size of the stone will also impact on the size of the effect. Then there is the unseen side of the rock hitting the surface of the pond and what happens under the surface of the pond. The rock hits the surface and we see the surface effects, but what happens after it leaves our sight, is and could be a whole different story. Maybe it hits a fish or some other organism. Maybe it crushes a home of one of the organisms. Maybe the rock or the stone had some micro organism on it that causes the nearby water it hits to be contaminated. The overall effects are unknown, but they will eventually reveal themselves in the harvest somewhere down the road.

To think the average person today eats over processed foods and dead foods and actually expects or doesn't believe they will face repercussions down the road is a tell tale sign of a very manipulated society, or dumb downed as some have termed it. Maybe its just human nature just to be irresponsible. It seems to be a prevalent mindset through out our culture to NOT have or desire to take any responsibility for what happens in one's life. This victim hood mentality has enveloped our society and woven itself into the fabric of the mental make-up of our way of life. It is far easier to blame something outside of yourself for where you are than to have to 'eat crow' and take responsibility for your condition. Whether it be a spiritual issue or a physical one, the blame game shares equal footing for both. Sophocles said, "It is a painful thing to look at your own trouble and know that you yourself and no one else has made it."

Napoleon Hill said, "If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self." Just because we may choose not be accountable for our actions does not omit the fact that we responsible. Though we may live by the motto, "Out of sight, out of mind" does not mean we don't reap what we sow! Abraham Lincoln put it this way, "You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today." Its one thing to be ignorant, its a whole different thing to be 'willingly' ignorant. Denis Waitley said, "A sign of wisdom and maturity is when you come to terms with the realization that your decisions cause your rewards and consequences. You are responsible for your life, and your ultimate success depends on the choices you make." The blame game only works for so long. After awhile finger pointing must be fixed to the real culprit! YOU! "Peak performance begins with your taking complete responsibility for your life and everything that happens to you." (Brian Tracy)
This pervasive trend of playing the victim is easy to 'fall' into and latch onto, especially in a culture seemingly centered around the superficial and lacking the depth of discussion which is truly needed for honest growth. For true growth to take place in our lives, we must be willing to take responsibility for our choices. We have to accept the consequences of every deed, word, and thought throughout that have occurred during our lifetime. "Within each of us lies the power of our consent to health and sickness, to riches and poverty, to freedom and to slavery. It is we who control these, and not another." (Richard Bach) On a daily basis, we give consent by the choices we make. I know it may seem like sickness just appears, but you cannot evade the consequences of eating fast food and junk food plays havoc on the immune system.

But in spite of all this 'eating crow' it must be made known to you, that God allows U-turns. The beauty of coming 'clean' with yourself is this fact...YOU can change. You can turn your ship around and sail to a different port. Only when the finger pointing and blame game stops, can true maturity and growth begin to take place. "The best job goes to the person who can get it done without passing the buck or coming back with excuses." (Napoleon Hill) You may not be able to change the circumstances, the wind, or the seasons, but there is one thing you can change...YOURSELF. Today, you can step up to the plate like never before and take charge of yourself! No more excuses. There are no more if's, and's, or sitting on your butt's about it anymore! Today you are going to hold yourself to a higher standard than the masses. Today, by taking responsibility of your all your decisions, past and present, you are going to refuse playing the victim and begin a determined pursuit toward becoming the victor!

Are You On Target?

The timid and fearful first failures dismay,
but the stout heart stays trying by night and by day.
He values his failures as lessons that teach,
The one way to get to the goal he would reach.
Edgar A. Guest

Its been almost five weeks since I ran the Detroit Free Press Marathon and lately I have found myself in a very odd place. Unmotivated! They say this happens for marathon runners. Its called the post-marathon blues. After completing nine marathons I have had some of this post 'depression' happen before but just not to this extent. I just don't feel like doing much and it is very difficult to expend any energy to go out and run a few miles. Its quite a change from four weeks ago, when I looked forward to running ten or eleven miles. Now, its difficult to feel motivated to run three miles, let alone go out and do much of anything. When you are training and disciplining yourself for an intense eighteen weeks toward finishing a marathon, when the marathon is over, you wake up with 'nothing' to do! Weeks and weeks of staying and keeping yourself motivated toward that big day have been so ingrained into your psyche, when its over, a foggy like depression seems to overcome your mind.

As I have journeyed through these last few weeks, I have been searching my mind and examining these feelings. It has come to my attention the importance and value of a goal. How the mind works and the necessity of working toward a 'fixed' destination. Elbert Hubbard said, "Many people fail in life, not for lack of ability or brains or even courage but simply because they have never organized their energies around a goal." It's not that people don't have the potential, but most do not take the time to set concrete goals. Though they idealize where they want to go, they do not take the time to truly mark their course toward a certain destination.

Since I began running marathons, and as long as the Lord tarries and affords me the blessings of good health, I have set it in my heart to run at least one marathon a year. Through this small event of life, I am able to get a larger than life snapshot of the power of goal setting. Long before I commit myself to train for a marathon, I am already pondering the 'best' time to commit my energies. When I finally commit to train, I write out my entire training plan on a calender. "Life takes on meaning when you become motivated, set goals and charge after them in an unstoppable manner." (Les Brown) Here I can 'see' my entire eighteen week schedule toward my goal of completing a twenty-six mile run. There is something about marking 'Race Day' on the calendar. From the pen to the mind, a vision is set in your heart that transcends the moment. There is a truth that knowing your destination is half the journey. From that moment on I know where I am going, but more importantly, I know how I am going to get there! Jim Valvano said, "How do you go from where you are to where you want to be? I think you have to have an enthusiasm for life. You have to have a dream, a goal and you have to be willing to work for it."

What is our life without goals and not just any goals, but concrete purposeful goals. Aristotle said, "Man is a goal seeking animal. His life only has meaning if he is reaching out and striving for his goals." I know we hold certain dreams and hopes in our minds of where we would like to be or become, but there is more to obtaining than just wishing it to come to pass. "No matter how carefully you plan your goals they will never be more than pipe dreams unless you pursue them with gusto." (W. Clement Stone) With a proper vision, and your heart set, you must work to achieve your goal with a tenacity of a pit bull. Your vocabulary must change. Your work ethic must change. Your energy must be funneled away from waste and into what will help you to achieve your goal. "Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help with man with the wrong mental attitude." (W. W. Ziege)

Its time we get off our bed of ease and begin to really contemplate where we are heading and then decide if we really want to go there. This requires examination and honesty, which is a difficult task, because it is within our own nature to deceive ourselves. The world has us busy and keeps us busy, but what are we busy about? Is it quality energy propelling us toward our goals, or is it empty energy spent toward some vague point in the distant future? Mary O'Connor said it this way, "It's not so much how busy you are, but why you are busy. The bee is praised. The mosquito is swatted." We must move with purpose and the only way to move with purpose is to create a target worth shooting for! "If you shoot for the stars and hit the moon, it's ok. But you've got to shoot for something. A lot of people don't even shoot." (Robert Townsend)

Zig Ziglar said, "Outstanding people have one thing in common: an absolute sense of mission." What is YOUR mission? What are your goals? Today its time to take some time to contemplate and examine yourself. Don't rely on others to dictate or create your life's goals. Don't allow yourself to be deceived into believing your life is not worth the pursuit of something beyond the statistical many who live without a vision. "Here is a test to find out whether your mission in life is complete. If you're alive, it isn't." (Richard Bach) Today...as a matter of fact...right NOW...get out that piece of paper and begin to draw the target of your dreams. You may be surprised at what you come up with!

Pain Sweet Pain

“We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.” Jim Rohn

Oh how we dread the thought of feeling any type of pain. God forbid we are led to endure any type of discomfort in our lives. Headache? Grab a bottle of Motrin! Back pain? Get the doctor to write a script of Vicodin or Oxycodone! Hurt feelings, remorse, or any form of guilt? Let's drown it all out by consuming a bottle of whiskey! Don't get me wrong, there certainly is a place for 'pain therapy' but it seems America is not only attracted to but also addicted to the idea that pain is meant to escape. Somewhere in our interpretation of 'the pursuit of happiness', we (Americans) have determined that pain was not contained within the definition of happiness. In our Disney-fied Hollywood saturated minds of life, our happily ever after pictures of life have no place for pain. When pain comes, our first move is to escape it! It doesn't matter how the headache evolved, all that matters is the pain is felt, and the goal is NO PAIN.

A quick glance at our love affair with painkilling drugs is quite illuminating. Over an eight year period (1997 - 2005) statistics from the the Drug Enforcement Administration shows the amount of five major painkillers sold at retail stores rose 90 percent. More than 200,000 pounds of codeine, morphine, oxycodone, hydrocodone and meperidine were purchased at retail stores during the most recent year represented in the data. That total is enough to give more than 300 milligrams of painkillers to every person in the country. Without writing a book, although I could, here are a few statistics concerning just the use of pain pills alone in these United States.
* Painkillers are the most commonly abused prescription drugs.
* The U.S. is the world’s largest consumer of painkillers, using 71 percent of the world’s oxycodone and 99 percent of the world’s hydrocodone, or Vicodin.
* In 1991 there were 40 million prescriptions for painkillers worldwide, but by 2001, there were 180 million painkiller prescriptions, most of them in the U.S.

* 7 of the 11 drugs most commonly abused by high school students are prescription or over-the-counter drugs.
* A 2006 survey found that 7 million people 12 and over had abused prescription or over the counter drugs in the past 30 days. Most abused painkillers.
* 2.2 million people age 12 and up started abusing painkillers in the last year.
* Young adults, age 18 to 25, show the most painkiller use and the greatest increases in abuse.
* About 1 in 4 teens will abuse prescription drugs before they graduate from high school
* Emergency room visits related to painkiller use rose 153 percent from 1995 to 2002.
* Admissions to drug treatment programs for people using painkillers rose 321 percent from 1995 to 2005.
* The number of people abusing painkillers is estimated to have risen from half a million to 2.5 million between 1985 and 2002.
* Deaths related to painkiller use rose 160 percent from 1999 to 2004.
* The abuse of painkillers causes more deaths than heroine and cocaine combined.

And on and on it goes ad nauseam...and this doesn't even include all the other prescription drugs Americans swallow, inject, inhale, spray, infuse, and pat on their bodies for medicinal purposes!

It seems the more our society unravels, the more we look for solace in avoiding pain. Every where you look pain is to be avoided at all costs. From physical pain to spiritual pain, the goal is to minimize its signal and strength. Like an ostrich with its head stuck in the sand, we have created this out of sight, out of mind world of illusion. If I don't confront it, then it doesn't exist. It is far easier to mask the pain in our body with a drug than to actually have to discipline ourselves to some requirement of having to change how we do things. The same tune is sung with our spiritual pain. Rather than deal with our inner man, we saturate our minds with avoidance techniques. Recreational drugs of choice helps to enshroud our repressed grudges and anger, leaving us numb to the realities of life.

If for just a moment I could get you to step away from your shrine of victim hood and perpetual pursuit of pain avoidance, I may then be able to get you to 'see' that pain is good. Think of a life without pain. There are rare cases in this world where people are born without the ability to feel pain. There are cases of children, because they were born with the inability to feel pain, biting their tongues and fingers off. If we can perceive pain correctly, pain then is a gift from God. Pain tells us something is not right. The physical pain of a sprained ankle warns us there is something wrong. If we didn't have that ankle pain, then we would walk on, causing more and more damage to our body. The spiritual pain of the psyche warns us we must change our way of thinking and doing things. Yet, rather than confront, we try to conceal. We begin to perform covert operations against our own soul. Then when the harvest of such underground mole work begins to manifest itself in our lives with alcohol and drug addictions, we then shake our fist at God and blame Him. When, if the truth be known, God gave us the gift of pain to guide us back to health.

To confront pain is not easy. It takes guts. It takes honesty. It takes grit and determination to deal with pain head on. Only you can take this journey to confront the inner hurts and pains of life that have seemingly forever slowed you from achieving and grasping the fullness of life. Don't you think its time to 'get your head out of the sand' and confront your life?

Of Mole Hills and Mountains

“There are very few certainties that touch us all in this mortal experience, but one of the absolutes is that we will experience hardship and stress at some point.” Dr. James C. Dobson

Stress...that six letter word floating at the top of the bowl in this alphabet soup we call, 'life'. No matter how much we try to skim the letters off the top, there seems to arise from below another set of these same six letters to take its place! And herein may really lie the problem...its not just how we think about a situation of life, but what we think upon that keeps the soup simmering. Byron Katie said, "Rather than understand the original cause—a thought—we try to change the stressful feelings by looking outside ourselves." If the truth be grasped, known, and understood, most all our problems originate with 'our thoughts'. There is a saying that goes as follows: "Watch your thoughts, they become your words; Watch your words, they become your actions; Watch your actions, they become your habits; Watch your habits, they become your character; and your character becomes your destiny." Like some cosmic domino affect, EVERYTHING begins with a thought! Our thoughts frame the world in which we live. They create our world long before we begin to speak our world into existence. Long before you brutally assaulted your friend, spouse, or child with those verbally charged words of hurt and pain, the anger was resting in your bosom. The words are and were inevitably linked to a stewing anger that finally boiled over onto the fragments of your life.
So, as the myriad of self help and positive thinking pundits have continually tried to persuade us to do over the years, if we would change our thoughts or the way we think, then the obvious result is a change of course in our destiny. If this holds true, then it should not be a surprise to find the Bible is full of Holy Writ admonishing us to change the way we think. In Philippians, the Apostle Paul commands us to 'THINK on these things!' "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." ~ (Philippians 4:8) With the onslaught of negativity all of us must endure from within our own hearts, it is not surprising to see Paul admonishing us to think of positive things.
Job, a man who endured some horrific stress in his life said, "Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble." ~ (Job 14:1) If we could truly tap into the basic understanding of Job's words. Stress is as much apart of life as life itself. None of us will ever avoid stress or be dissolved of stressful situations, but if we UNDERSTAND this, then we shouldn't be so moved when stress hits our lives! "How we perceive a situation and how we react to it is the basis of our stress. If you focus on the negative in any situation, you can expect high stress levels. However, if you try and see the good in the situation, your stress levels will greatly diminish." ~ (Catherine Pulsifer) We may not have control over to all that happens to us, but we do have control over our responses! "Stress is not what happens to us. It's our response to what happens. And response is something we can choose." (Maureen Killoran) I have always found it amazing to read of others who were confronted with life threatening adversity, and yet, are not overtaken by it, but enjoy the power of life and living within the stressful grasp of such wayward winds. Take a man by the name of Viktor Frankl, who was truly a victim of the Nazi Holocaust. Imprisoned, oppressed, and surrounded by death itself, Viktor Frankl lived to tell its tale. "The experiences of camp life show that a man does have a choice of action. There were enough examples, often of a heroic nature, which proved that apathy could be overcome, irritability suppressed. Man can preserve a vestige of spiritual freedom, of independence of mind, even in such terrible conditions of psychic and physical stress. We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken away from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s way. The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity—even in the most difficult circumstances—to add a deeper meaning to life." Wow...and with this picture fresh in our minds, dare I say or write, how many of us live in a concentration camp of our own makings. Though we are not trapped, we are trapped. Immobilized within the walls of our own oppressor and consumed by the tragedy of its fears.
Over the years I have not only heard it said, but deem it to be a truth...that well up to ninety-seven percent of what we worry about never comes to past. Most of us have been beaten down by our minds, minds that have been filled with a broad brush of illuminating imaginations, only to find the painting that was painted never did warrant so much color. Catherine Pulsifer said, "When you find yourself stressed, ask yourself one question: Will this matter in 5 years from now? If yes, then do something about the situation. If no, then let it go." In the 'big picture' of life we cheat ourselves of truly living by majoring in minors and minoring in majors. And if the truth would be known, the mountain we are so intensely climbing is a mole hill of angst and stressful thoughts of our own making.
Joshua L. Liebman echoed Job's words by saying, "Maturity is achieved when a person accepts life as full of tension." We must learn to stop thinking that every rain drop is the beginning of a torrential down pour. "Even to much sunshine can be devasting, while only with rain can growth occur. Accept both as part of the growing process in the garden of life." (Donald S. Neviaser) Today, its time to bring your life back into balance. A balance that allows you to live fully and achieve the HIGH CALLING a MIGHTY God has called you hereunto! Sure, its stressful to 'take up one's cross' but don't be discouraged...on the other side of the cross, there is a resurrection!

Beyond Trivial Pursuit

"Be master of your petty annoyances and conserve your energies for the big, worthwhile things. It isn't the mountain ahead that wears you out - it's the grain of sand in your shoe." - Robert Service


How many times have we heard it said that we lose sight of the forest for the trees. It seems so easy in this image conscious world to lose sight of what is really important. We are constantly inundated with the superficial and the shallow, and if we are not careful, life ends up becoming less about purpose and more of a pursuit of the trivial. Somewhere along the way we must obtain the ‘purpose’ or sense of direction of our lives. We must forge out the answer to the question ‘what are we here for’? Yet, it seems, we are so easily distracted by little nuances and the mirages life’s petty lures. In the ‘to and fro’ of our swaying, we lose track of the true intent of life itself and fall under the manipulating barrage of societies impulses and tendencies. We turn mole hills into mountains and mountains into mole hills. We major in minors and minor in majors. Life is consumed with the he said and the she said's and valuable time slips away into eternity never to be had again.


Think about it. Before we are hardly out of bed and have awakened from a peaceful sleep, we are pounced upon by outside forces. Each force vying for our attention. Each entity telling us what is important and what is not important. The shout from the outside immediately steps into our morning stretch and demands our full attention. From the weather to apparel, food to money, buy here and go there, the voices cry out for our touch. If we are not careful the multitude of distractions can easily beguile us into losing our sense of direction. The scripture says in Proverbs that a man who is given to appetite might as well put a knife to his throat. Why? Because when our appetites rule us they lead us to places we never intended to go. When we are given to appetite we are more easily manipulated into doing things we would never do if we were more assured of our purpose. In the end we become enslaved by the very things we sought to possess!


In our haste to ‘find’ happiness we give over to momentary indulgences only to be left even more empty than before we caved in to the justification of it all. Our life is far more than appetites and true liberty comes with this understanding. We must be honest with ourselves! How many times, after the chase, do we have to end up with empty hands and hurting hearts? How many distractions do we have to fall for before we wake up and see the whimsical ways of our appetites? How many times do we have to get off the beaten path of true purpose and die the death of many regrets? How many times must we be lied to before we are finally compelled to restrain our own appetites of deception? How many times do we have to empty our shoes before we truly climb with a sense of purpose?


Then again, maybe here in lies the real problem. Without meaning in life, life has no meaning! Seneca said, “Our plans miscarry because they have no aim. When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind.” So now begs the question. What harbor are you sailing for? What is or are your goals? What IS important to you? When you are healed, in body and mind, what is YOUR purpose? Today, stop the noise from without and seek some answers from within. Silence the critics and voices of manipulation with a firm resolve to empty your shoes and turn aside for a higher look up the mountain, you may be surprise what you see up there!

A Streetcar Named Desire

In 1951, "A Street Car Named Desire" hit the movie screens starring Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando. History now considers this film to be one of the all time classics of cinema. It was and it is, but I am not wanting to discuss the movie as much as the thought the title of the movie brought to my mind this morning. When one thinks of the word...desire and what the word desire means, it prompts a myriad of inspirational thoughts in my mind. The word desire is a noun which means, an inclination to want things or the feeling that accompanies an unsatisfied state. To desire is to want. To desire something will set in motion a plethora of machinations within us to set about to obtain that inward urge or need. Desire is truly set within the appetites of the human condition. No doubt desire and the word, hunger are mutual in their meanings and pursuits. But desire, at least to me, seems to have a deeper spiritual meaning. It is not just a want, but it is a deeper 'inner man' psyche of the persona of who we really are and where we really want to go.

The cliche, 'Where there is a will, there is a way.' also seems apropos when discussing the nature of desire. As a child I can remember the day when my step-dad quit smoking cigarettes. He walked in from work and said he quit smoking and from that day on he never smoked another cigarette again. He told all of us that he threw his last pack of cigarettes in the trash can and he was done. No gimmicks, no drugs, no hypnosis...nothing but sheer desire to quit smoking surged him forward to obtaining his goal. This incident of my childhood, to this day, still points to the incredible power of a person's desire! Henry Hazlitt said, 'A strong passion for any object will ensure success, for the desire of the end will point out the means.' I have witnessed over the years many seemingly impossible things get accomplished merely because there was a will to get it done or a desire to make a way. It seems clear to me, if you cannot tap into the desire of a person, then it is almost impossible to move them. Andrew Carnegie seemed to feel the same way...'There is no use whatever trying to help people who do not help themselves. You cannot push anyone up a ladder unless he be willing to climb himself.' But if you can fuel the fire of their desire, somehow connect what is to be accomplished to match and attach itself to their desires...well, its almost a forgone conclusion it will get done. The scripture says in Proverbs 18:1, "Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom."

Too many people try to look outside of themselves for their driving motivation, when the reality of their world truly lies within themselves. We can attend seminars, self help classes, and even sit under anointed preaching, but if our own desire is not sparked, then most of what we hear will  merely remain hollow words of little use. Simply put, we are the street car named desire. All of us, day in and day out, reveal who we are by what we do with our bodies and our spirits. Clearly, a person shows what he is by what he does with what he has. The Apostle Paul said that we should '...run that we may obtain'. So many of us are running but our runs are in wild abandonment and without vision. We run to and fro without knowing where we are going. "It is a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it." ~ Somerset Maugham We burn both ends of the candle until our life waxes dull of energy and vision. We use our talents to no avail because our true passion of life is locked away in some foggy childhood dream. Don't get me wrong, talent is good, but there is nothing like a good ole fashion shot of desire. When the fire of our desire is lit, then profound things can begin to happen. Eric Hoffer said it best, "It sometimes seems that intense desire creates not only its own opportunities, but its own talents."

What is it YOU truly want...or should I say, what do you truly desire? Where lies your passion? The scripture tells us that wherever our treasure is, there shall your heart be also. (Matt 6:21) It is time we begin to search within ourselves and not only find our passion, but reawaken that dormant desire to live life to its fullest. Life is too fragile and time is far too precious to be squandered under the blanket of victim hood. Self help author and speaker, Napoleon Hill said, "The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desire brings weak results, just as a small amount of fire makes a small amount of heat."Is it possible the results of your life you feel are not the fault of those around you or by mere happenstance? If you are reading this today...I want you to know there is more to life than what you have settled for. The Almighty God has not ordained His creation to weakness, but would have that all His creation would be endued with POWER! (Acts 1:8) Today is the day you take a step out of weakness and into the power of your passion! Find your passion, and you will find your life!

Climbing Your Dream!

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I... I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. - Robert Frost

"The four-minute mile: This was the barrier, both physical and psychological, that begged to be broken." Neal Bascomb Many told Roger Bannister his goal was "impossible." For many years, the scientific and athletic communities thought that it was impossible to run a four-minute mile. The event was regarded as something more than a sports record to be broken. This 'impossibility' was viewed by society as an epochal barrier that could not, and, more amazingly, should not be broken. Many people believed if a man to run a mile in less than four minutes the result upon breaking the tape would be instant death.

In his 1935 article entitled "The Ultimate of Human Effort," British track coach Brutus Hamilton had listed the "perfect records beyond which man could never go" for a number of track and field events. He declared that the fastest mile possible would be 4:01.6. By the spring of 1954, Gunder Haegg's world record of 4:01.4 was nine years old, and Hamilton was still insisting no one could run any faster.

"Whether we liked it or not, the four-minute mile had become rather like an Everest -- a challenge to the human spirit," observed Bannister in his newly-reissued autobiography, "The Four-Minute Mile." "It was a barrier that defied all attempts to break it -- an irksome reminder that man's striving might be in vain. The Scandanavians, with their almost excessive reverence for the magic of sport, called it the `Dream Mile.' "

History now reveals that Roger Bannister was the man of this moment! On May 6, 1954, this 25-year-old medical student, committed runner, ran a mile at Oxford University's Iffley Road Track in the time of 3:59.4. Its no wonder Roger Bannister could say, "The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win."

Louis. D. Brandeis said, "Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." How many times have we hesitated to venture out of our cocoons and risk what all those around us have determined to be 'impossible'? Peer pressure, societal norms, and traditions keep us stagnant and uncommitted from taking steps toward our dreams. It seems far easier to stay in our comfort zones than to step off the shore of familiarity. "Do not attempt to do a thing unless you are sure of yourself; but do not relinquish it simply because someone else is not sure of you." - Stewart. E. White

Now let me be clear. I am not talking about venturing out to do evil or following after illicit ways. The Word of the Lord says we should not follow after the multitudes to do evil. So our venturing should be within the context of doing what is right for our families and giving back to our communities. All of us have had to endure the snide remarks of another who makes comments from their worldview of impossibilities. Family members, friends, and co-workers are quick to squash any attempt to step out of the known and into the unknown. Fear of failure grips us and leaves us frozen in a frightful fit of all the things bad that could happen! The comfort zone feels good, warm, and fuzzy, but such a zone zaps us of real growth and living up to our full potential. Rather than attempt something new, we are consoled in our complacent progress of staying put in our uncharted waters of a well known shoreline. "The person who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore." - Dale Carnegie Will Rogers said, "Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there."

The God of possibilities continues to call us out of the fleshly ground of impossibilities! He is not a God who waits for us to make a mistake, but He is a God who is calling us UP and out of carnal living of fleshly boxed in comfort zones! Who knows how many God given talents have been locked up on the carnal shores of our earthly vessels? God has called us to take our talents and grow, not to hide them away in fear! Vaclav Havel said, "Vision is not enough, it must be combined with venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps, we must step up the stairs." If you want to eat the fruit, you have to take the risks that come with climbing the tree!

As the years pass, it seems we are more disappointed in the things we didn't do than by the ones we did do. How many times have we looked back on our lives and said, "I wish I would have!"? We are experts at making mountains out of molehills! How many times have we finally found the nerve to step out of our comfort zones, only to find that the mountain of fears we had created in our minds was lower than we originally had created?

There is no doubt in my mind, if you are reading this today, there are dreams you have locked away on some distant shore of apprehension. One of the greatest college basketball coaches, John Wooden said, "Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do." Today, I want you to re-examine those dreams and goals that were once the emblem of your vision. Its time to raise up the anchor, throw off the bowlines, and sail away from the safe harbor of complacency. There is a 'rushing mighty wind' awaiting to fill your sails and push you into the Hands of the One who holds the key to ALL possibilities!

The Face of Physiogomy

Physiognomy (from the Gk. "physis" meaning 'nature' and "gnomon" meaning 'judge' or 'interpreter') is the assessment of a person's character or personality from their outer appearance, especially the face. The term physiognomy can also refer to the general appearance of a person, object or terrain, without reference to its implied characteristics.

Wow! You should SEE some of the looks I get while I am out running the roads. One would think the people driving by saw an alien from Mars. Cigarette burning in one hand, coffee or cell phone in another, (doughnut or doughnuts on the seat), and one knee being used to keep the vehicle straight, they zip past me during the early morning hours. Many look at me with a dis-contorted face. They either have a bad case of gas from the eggs, bacon, and their morning cups of coffee, or they can't seem to fathom why someone would be, of all things, running so early in the morning. As much as I try not to lunge into some evil surmising about the facial pictures that fly by me each morning, it is difficult at times not to break out in laughter. While running I can't help but postulate the irony of it all. Most drivers are stressed out, racing to and fro to their work place or trying to get their kids to school on time. Frantically milling along the hectic pace of life as they consume a barrage of garbage food which paradoxically continues their declining health and stress of life!

All of us have heard the saying..."Never judge a book by its cover", but it just seems to be human nature or at least one of the most used traits of the flesh to do so. As much as I am endeared to 'judge' what I see whip past me at fifty-five miles per hour, many drivers are also seem to be engaged in their own predisposed surmising of me. But there is, I am probably very safe to assume, there is a very big difference! The inescapable difference is this...I have been where the drivers are and its highly likely the drivers zipping past me have ever been where I am. Let's face it, most people don't exercise, let alone get up early for a morning run. The majority of people are content to remain in their learned habit of stuffing highly toxic foods down their throats first thing in the morning and then dash off into the sunrise for a stressful day on a job they hate, with a boss they despise.

While these drivers are urgently zipping to and fro each morning, its no wonder they seem shocked to see someone running so early in the morning. The many facial physiognomies I have had opportunity to witness is usually full of disbelief or, in some cases, even contempt. Most facial witnesses are filled with disbelief. You can see on their faces how they can't even imagine what its like to be running, you know, like outside of their climate controlled atmosphere of their easy rolling vehicle. Consumed by their path of least resistance lifestyle of no exercise, their morning hobble to get into their car was strenuous enough, let alone run along the shoulder of a road.

Over the years I have learned to remain very aware of my surroundings while running, especially if I am running along the shoulder of a road. Most drivers, while driving, are far too consumed with whats going on in their car than with what is going on outside their car. Whether they are playing with radio, talking on the phone, texting, eating their breakfast, lighting a smoke, or just plain rushing to get their child to school, most drivers do not have me, a runner, in their early morning radar. When I see a vehicle, up the road, heading toward me, I have learned to watch what transpires. Sometimes, the vehicle ahead will begin to veer over, which to me, means the driver has identified something is in the road up ahead. As a runner, I am relieved to 'see' this movement to give me room to run. Though I still move to the shoulder of the road, I am relieved, because it tells me the driver is 'aware' of his surroundings. Sadly though, most of the time, drivers seem content to play 'king of the road' and show little acknowledgment of my movement in their direction. When this happens, I never take my eyes off the advancing torpedo and move as far off the road as possible. I have to admit, there have been times where a vehicle's closeness to my body has caused some disconcerting emotions. When this happens, I am sure to spin and make sure the driver sees my frustration in their rear view mirror, that is, if they were even aware enough to look into it!

I guess physiognomy is a two way street! As much as I am able to observe the looks of humans in the metal container that whizzes past me in the early morning, they also get a snapshot of interesting material for their morning mental outlook. There are times when my facial expressions are not necessarily matching what I am truly experiencing. Case in point, one morning a friend of mine was zipping by in his motor vehicle and saw me on one of my morning runs. Usually, a quick horn blast will announce that someone who knows me just zipped by and I try to give a quick wave of acknowledgment. Such is what happened on this particular day, and I remember waving and feeling pretty good on a ten mile run that I was on. Later on during the day, my friend walked up to me, laughing about how bad I looked in my struggle to run. I was somewhat dismayed at his assessment of what he saw and how I felt. As he drove by, he saw a runner struggling, but while I was running as he drove by, I felt very good in my run. So, the point being made here is this...as much as I am able to 'judge' what I see blast by me in a car is a two way street. At that critical moment, two souls collide in a mental juggernaut of quickened conclusions of what is externally seen in a moments passing!

A well known woman's marathon runner, Joan Benoit Samuelson, said when she first started running, anytime she would see a car coming she run and hide. She was worried about how she looked and embarrassed to have someone 'see' her running the roads. I can also remember feeling the same way when I began running some ten years ago. But today...well...today is a different story and I am now thankful to say that people's physiognomy has little impact on my running. As a matter of fact, sometimes it empowers me to run on! The scripture tells the preacher to preach and to 'spare not for the looks'! Basically encouraging the preacher to not let the non-verbals that comes from people's faces affect the burden you have to bring forth the Word of God. So today, I give you the same encouragement to not let the non-verbal communication of those around you to squelch your attempts to better yourself. Get up! Get out! Don't let a momentary flash of discouraging looks stop you from achieving your eternal goals!

A Man Child

And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. ~ Mark 10:13-15

Sometimes, while I am out running or biking, something will 'take me back' to a time in my youth. A certain smell, like fresh cut grass, will bring a flashback to the days of my childhood. The feeling of the summer breeze against my face will remind of the days of summer when all I did was ride my bike and life was contained within this capsule of splendor and awe. What happened? What happened to the 'awe' of life? Where did the splendor and beauty of life disappear to? It seems somewhere between the teenage years and adulthood, the luster of life has faded into this greyness of just living without having really lived. It seems like the laughter is gone. Any silliness has departed into an abyss of everything serious. Playfulness has since been deployed beyond the routine shores of living, while the 'moments of life' soldier along just staying afloat. Maybe its just me...maybe its just my life and what I am feeling, but when was the last time you really stopped and looked beyond the moment and into the beauty of God's creation? I find myself so intent on working to get the bills paid and fulfilling my obligations 'to the man', at times, I can't seem to see the forest for the trees or even the trees for the forest.

The other day, I was watching my three year old daughter play in the backyard. She ran to and fro. She was in her own little world. Everything she came into contact with was a fascination. Flowers, rabbits, trees, and the grass under her feet. At different times she would see a bird and give chase. She would look at the bird and look at me, and say, "Daddy, I am going to catch it!" Then...I caught myself...even as the words came out of my mouth..."You can try, but you never catch that bird"...I caught myself...the all knowing adult squelching the youthful zeal of childhood fantasy. In her mind, she believed she could 'catch' that bird. She would race after it and of course the bird would fly away, and yet again she would try to catch the next bird that landed nearby. Yet, in my regimented life, I found myself extinguishing her childlike fantasy. There in my words, I felt the gap...not the generational gap, but the space between losing my childlike faith and my adulthood mentality of being realistic. You know...the matter of fact, cold hard reality that life is life, and there is no place for chasing your dreams.

As I spoke those dream dashing words, I felt myself cringe. Have we lost touch with the connections? Earth to man and man to creation? Has the same technology we worked so hard to 'free' us,  now enslaved us to its demands? Entrapped within its cocoon of 'safety', has the world become an ominous foreboding place that can no longer contain a place for childhood dreams? Walt Streightiff said, "There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million." As a child, I can remember the days being long. From morning to dusk, I would splash through the manifold manifestations of an awesome God. Walking in a mid-summer's downpour was not a bad thing, but an incredible sensation of being alive. Everything was an exciting adventure. From laying and playing on the dirty ground with the ants, to those late summer nights, feeling the dew form on the grass, while staring up in wonderment and awe at the billions of stars in the midnight sky. Life was real. Its beauty was unsearchable and the quest to have it revealed to my childhood investigations was unquenchable.

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." ~ Abraham Lincoln ~  I am not talking about throwing away all responsibility and acting as a child. I am not advocating becoming a dreamer without action. I understand the dangers of folly and foolishness. The Apostle Paul spoke of 'putting away childish things' when he had become a man, so I understand the idea of maturing and growing up. But life it seems, or should I say, living has been lost in this intense pursuit of things and the hectic pace of the 'rat race' has us looking for cheese in all the wrong places. It seems we end up living to work rather than working to live! Zig Ziglar said, "If standard of living is your major objective, quality of life almost never improves, but if quality of life is your number one objective, your standard of living almost always improves." In our pursuit of living we have seemingly forgotten how to live. Consumed with gaining, getting, and gathering...the luster of living has waxed dull. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "It is not length of life, but depth of life." Could it be possible the 'depth' of life is in the way a child views the world? Has our one dimensional pursuit of life suppressed the childlike three dimensional brilliance of the world around us. Think about it. When was the last time you stopped to 'smell the roses'? When was the last time you laid on the dew soaked grass and looked up in wonder at the billions of stars in the sky? When was the last time you rolled down a grassy hill? When was the last time you walked in the down pour of a warm summer's rain? When was the last time you jumped in a mud puddle? After reading these questions, you may think them to be childish and immature, but I wonder. Not because we question the 'maturity' of doing such things, but at the loss of having that childlike spontaneity.

In the Book of Revelations the Lord talks of a man child. There is a place for the child to still reside within the man. A place where faith in the impossible overrides the reality of the logical man. I believe, still trapped within us all, is that little child who still feels he can 'catch that bird', no matter how many times you may fail in your attempts. This is the place where all things are possible because creation clearly reveals the invisible hand of the One who holds the strings to the substance of life and the only thing that can seemingly cancel our ability to 'see' impossible possibilities is our logically inclined minds.

I wonder...I just wonder...if part of losing weight and playing 'the game' has been lost in all our logic and reasoning. What if we opened up the closet door and let the 'child' within begin to run again? What would happen if we allowed that childlike fascination to trample through the corridors of our minds again? What would your world turn into? Would you go lay on the grass and feel its prickling texture? Would you go for a ride on your bike? Would you sit next to a delicate flower and behold its beauty? Would you play hop scotch, draw on the sidewalk, have a water fight, or just stare up at the clouds and point out imaginary shapes and images? Personally, I don't think its a question of whether or not the world would become a different place, but the real question is...can you even let the child out of the closet?

Multi-Tasked and Over Stimulated

Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied. ~ Proverbs 27:20


Have we lost our ability to remain focused? I don't remember a time in my life where the minds of so many people are so scattered. It seems to be very difficult for people to remain intent on one thing. To get people to bear down and focus on a dilemma or a project is a difficult task these days. Within and without, people seem to have no sense of direction. Better yet...they have no sense of purpose, and yet I find that these two thoughts...focus and purpose are connected. How can one maintain a pursuit upon a 'purpose' when their mind cannot remain focused? How can you ever find a purpose in life if you cannot discipline the mind? When one slows down for a moment (if you can), its not difficult to see how upside our society has become. Earl Nightingale said, "You become what you think about." and if this is true, well then, what are we?

We have become a society of multi-tasked and over stimulated people. We cannot seem to live unless our lives are inundated with some type of stimulation. Look around, what do you see? The next generation, and even our own are caught up in this technological vacuum. Cell phone in one ear, iPod in the other, eyes fixed on the computer screen, or the Ipad, doing homework with one hand while text-messaging someone with the other, and don't forget the television is blaring in the background.


In the documentary, Digital Nation, they researched this 'new' phenomenon that has overtaken our nation, and in fact, the entire world. I found it interesting how they studied students who were considered multi-taskers. Within themselves, these multi-taskers felt like they were very focused and well able to maintain the myriad of objectives in their lives. Yet, after being put through some test, it was quite clear these students actually lost their ability to remain focus, even though they 'thought' they were very focused and able.


You see...multi-tasking overloads and burdens our system. Everything in the media, every television program, every movie, every music CD, every computer program, every phone app, every video game is designed to give us higher and higher levels of stimulating responses. None of these exciting things are necessarily bad. What is bad is that they are unrelenting. It is a constant bombardment of the mind. A continual 'harassing' of the brain. There is no downtime.


It is a no win situation, a catch 22 if you will. The eyes of men are NEVER satisfied. The more we overload the pleasure center, the higher the barrier goes. So we seek greater and more pleasurable activities to get over that barrier to the pleasure center. We become hedonistic in our pursuit of pleasure. Our happiness is defined by the level of excitement in our lives. Then pleasure itself becomes unpleasurable. Overstimulated minds reach a place called anhedonia, which is an inability to experience pleasure.  The truth is excitement is not happiness and true happiness cannot be found in excitement. In fact, excitement is the ultimate drug. It is excitement that people are seeking after when engaging in any destructive or addictive behavior.


I have always felt we were entering another dark age. Where once again, the human mind is unable to perceive the world around them, but not because the information is not available, but because there is too much information available. During the 'dark ages' people were unable to think for themselves because knowledge was locked up. The Bible was not accessible to the common man. The invention of the printing press changed, for the better, the mind of the world. From that point on events have snowballed right back to where they once were...darkened from the truth about living and life. The irony of it all is we have access to a plethora of information, yet we are living within the dregs of a dumbing down of the human mind.

Paul warned of perilous times in the last days. Men would be lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. Jesus said...in the last days the love of many shall wax cold. Love requires focus. If what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13 is true, and I believe it is, then love believes all things, hopes all things, bears all things, and endures all things, and you can't love like this without focus. You can't have a focus like this without a love for the Word of God and without a love for the Word of God, you will never find your calling or true purpose. No wonder there is such an intent in this world to keep us unfocused and continually caught up in its pleasures.


As we enter the sixth week of this 'game', I hope you can 'see' there is more than a game being played here. As a marathon runner and having to learn how to remain focused and keep to a training plan for eighteen weeks, I knew there would be a handful of people who could not keep focused to the end. (I tried to warn everyone!) I knew eighteen weeks of trying to remain steadfast toward a goal would prove difficult for some and overwhelming for a few. Many are having trouble remaining focused. I see many caught within this crucible of pleasure and focus. In this instant gratification pleasure oriented society, we want it all. Not only do we want it all NOW, but we want it all, served our way and in our time. But this is not a true picture of life. If the truth be known, we have lost some precious things in this overstimulated culture. The things of meaning have become mundane. Books are boring. To read their words takes focus and concentration of mind. The outside world has become a threatening place. No longer can the soft breeze of a summer wind stimulate a person enough to be a pleasurable event. To get someone to take a walk in the rain is next to impossible these days. Hobbies of the hands and mind have given way to video games that rob the brain of imagination. Individual creativity is falling to the wayside as we lose touch with the world around us.


Its bigger than just a game!!! This is your life. This is my life. Within our grasps could very well be our eternal life! I hope and pray, in the weeks ahead, as you and I are tossed to and fro in this epic battle to find our purpose. We can 'see' the power we give up when we remain connected to this need for stimulation and so disconnected from reality. When you feel the crux of all this over stimulation fall upon your mind, THAT is the time to step outside its power. Go for a walk. Ride your bike. Sit in the sun and read a good book. Let your God given mind be stimulated by His Word once again! Though it would be nice to win the game, the truth is...in the long run, if you break these chains...you my friend have already won!

MMP=NR+HExT

This is how the American Economic Foundation puts it and Henry Grady Weaver explains it in his book, 'The Mainspring of Human Progress'. No...this is NOT some secret algebraic formula concerning the theory of relativity, but is the formula for natural and spiritual success! Oh, you want to know what those letters stand for? Here's the formula for success..."man's material progress depends on natural resources plus human energy multiplied by tools"

It should be fairly clear by now, after five weeks of 'playing the game', it is tougher to break those bad habits that have brought us into captivity over all these years. No matter what the situation of life, our progress in any of those situations depends upon the resources we have available and then how we apply ourselves to the use of those resources. Think about it. Each part of this formula is contingent upon the other in order for progress to be made. We can have all the resources known to mankind, but if we don't put any energy into the proper use of those resources, just sit around and do nothing with them, well then, no progress will occur. Then on the other hand, we may have all the energy in the world, but if we don't have the necessary resources, then our available energy is squandered. We may have all the brains and know how to build a ship, but if we have no trees, wood, or iron ore...any of the resources necessary to build that ship, then our energy is useless. Now we could have all the necessary resources AND the energy needed to use those resources, but if we don't have the tools to mine and craft those resources, then once again, we will struggle to move forward for the betterment of ourselves. Each component of the formula is dependent upon the other for true progress be achieved.

But lets talk about the spiritual side for a moment. Why, you say? Because, if we would truly be transparent for a moment...the reason why we cannot or have not achieved thus far in this game, is because of some spiritual stronghold in our lives. Somewhere in our past...some emotion...some anger...some resentment...some pain...has allowed us to become captive to the will of the flesh. Instead of tapping into the resources of an Almighty God, we have become prisoners of our own imaginations. Lets face it...without God, we can do nothing!

So then, if this formula holds true for natural success then it must also be relevant for spiritual success. Lets try to write this formula within the context of seeking good success spiritually..."MSP = SP + HE x T" or "man's spiritual progress depends upon spiritual resources plus human energy multiplied by tools". There is a God who is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. He is the Almighty, and All Powerful God who divested Himself of His glory, came down to earth and put Himself in a body. He robed Himself in fleshly body that walked this earth as Jesus Christ, showing mankind how to over the wiles of the devil. Hebrews 2:14 says, "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;" This is why Jesus is our spiritual resource. He was God in a body! He wasn't God's little boy sent here to do God's dirty work, but He was God himself in a body, the Lamb of God, showing us how to put off the old carnal nature of Adam and live victoriously in this life. Jesus felt what we feel and was tempted as we are tempted, yet He would not allow the infirmities of the flesh to rise above His calling to redeem mankind from the wickedness of our own evil doings. "Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." (Hebrews 4:14-15) We call ourselves Christians because we are vying to become like Christ! He is our role model. Jesus Christ is our spiritual resource! He is the way, the life, and the truth and there is no way to understand anything spiritual without understanding who Jesus was and why He came!

Not only do we have the spiritual resource, but Jesus Christ IS the spiritual resource and without Him we can do nothing. Now in order to fulfill any spiritual progress, we must have the human energy and the tools necessary to tap into this resource. The scripture says in Hebrews 11:6, "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." We must have the heart and desire to seek Him! In the Sermon on the Mount, one of the beatitudes was... Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Jesus cried out in John 7..."In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink." In order to mine the resources of the Almighty God, there must be a hunger and a thirst for Him. If you are thirsty, there is no need to walk and draw water out from the well, let alone use any of the tools necessary to help draw the water up out of the well.

There are many who believe on God, but they don't have the tools needed to mine the vast resources of God. This is not God's fault, nor has He left us without the necessary tools. We has left us the richness of His Word. How many times have you sat troubled by life's situations, and yet His Word remains collecting dust on the coffee table? How many times could we have mined a nugget of wisdom if we had just been willing to use the tool of God's Word? Yet, there is MORE than just His Word. God gave us the church, and with the church God gave us preaching, (1 Corinthians 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.)and with preaching, God gave us a God called man to help us understand the vastness of His resources! "For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Romans 10:11-17 There is no doubt about it, if we are going to tap into the richness of God's glory, we must have a preacher, who is sent of God (not a seminary), to preach to our souls! God gave us a five fold ministry! "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:" (Ephesians 4:11-12) And lets not forget the Holy Ghost..."These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:25-27) Really...if we are honest, God has not left us without, but He has supplied us with all the tools we need to tap into His resources. God would have it that ALL men would be saved and tap into the abundant life that is available through His goodness and mercy!

I could go on and on concerning the manifold greatness of God and His resources! God has been merciful to us and rather than neglect His tools, we ought to take advantage of His desire to save us from ourselves.
We are now five weeks into this game and the way to good success is to follow this formula. Our biggest problem is and can be attributed to the laziness of the flesh. Like Cain, we want to present a sacrifice that is acceptable only within the constraints of our lifestyle. God forbid we have to step outside of our comfort zone and job description! I believe we have the resources needed for success. We have the tools. I can encourage you. I can write these blogs. I can write newsletters. I can give you recipes. I can direct you to new and greater revelations of eating right and maintaining health, but only YOU can apply this formula to your life. Only YOU can pick up the tools and put the energy needed to make progress in your health...naturally and spiritually. The old cliche still stands true..."You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink!"

Day 30 ~ I Want My Liver Back (Part 2)

In my last blog (June 6), I spent some time writing about the liver and its importance to our body's. The liver is involved in most every aspect of our body's functions. If something chemically is going on in our bodies (which is pretty much all the time), then the liver had something to do with it. Since we only have ONE liver, it should be understood and well noted, that we cannot live without a liver. I know this seems like a simple and maybe even mundane statement, but I have learned some interesting facts of vital importance lately concerning our livers. Without a doubt, many of us still have our livers, or else how could you be reading this blog right now. But what many of us don't realize is how toxic our livers may have become or are becoming. Though we have a liver, it is more than likely our liver is NOT functioning within its fullest capacity possible, and if our livers are all clogged up due to our toxic lifestyles, well then, as they say in NASA...'Houston...we have a problem!'

Because our world has become so toxic, most if not all nutritionists believe we must do annual cleanses of the body. Everything from the colon to the liver must be cleansed to keep them functioning at optimal levels. Our bodies are working constantly to keep us alive. Homeostasis is the term applied to this balancing act of functions our bodies must perform to accomplish this act. If there is an imbalance of any of the body's systems, the body still works to stay alive. For example, hypothermia is just the body's response to keeping our bodies alive. When the body begins to fall below normal temperature, the body begins to protect the vital organs so we can live. Its a innate natural response. The same happens with any other system in the body. If one of the system lacks something, then the body begins to play a game called...'rob Peter to pay Paul'. Whether we are aware of it or not, sensitive to the reactions in our body or not...our bodies will do whatever it has to do to stay alive. Here is another example. The bloodstream works with a PH factor of 7. The blood is alkaline and MUST stay alkaline at ALL times. If our bloodstream ever turns acidic, we will die. Its as simple as that. When we drink a can (or a liter) of Coke (or any other soda), which is highly acidic and causes many chemical reactions and problems in the body. The sugars, phosphates, and other toxins in the soda unleashes havoc in the blood stream. Seeing then, the blood stream MUST remain alkaline, and it is dealing with all these toxins from the soda, the blood stream begins to play the game...'robbing Peter to pay Paul'! How you say? Well, since Calcium is the most alkaline mineral on the planet and the foods we eat are usually very acidic, with very little usable calcium in it, the blood stream must then turn within itself (the body) to find the calcium it needs to remain alkaline. Where then in the body does the bloodstream get its calcium from? The most obvious place to nab some quick calcium is from the bones. Somehow, someway the body works to stay alive.

This is a natural phenomenon occurring in the body every minute of the day in our bodies. If we are not eating what our body needs to nutritionally support this balance, then the body 'robs Peter to pay Paul' to keep us alive. Needless to say, if our liver's functions are an influence in most every metabolic action taking place in our bodies, what do you think happens when it becomes so full of toxins that it cannot fulfill its duties? Yes, a slowed down, lethargic, tired out liver will definitely create havoc in our bodies, but the good news is...you can bring revival to this all important one of a kind organ! And that's where the coffee enema comes in.

For years I had read about coffee enemas and kind of felt the way you do right now as you read this...like...ewwwww...coffee enemas...that's gross. But if the truth be known, this is one the greatest ways to 'get your liver back'! When you drink your coffee via the mouth, the coffee loses any potential to good. As a matter of fact it does more harm than good. When you use it as an enema, the coffee is siphoned directly to the liver which in turn, not only stimulates it to detoxify, but also to sends out incredible chemicals for healing throughout the entire body.

Doing the coffee enema is surprisingly easy and follows a very simple procedure. I am going to copy and paste a procedure posted online, but it would behoove you to do some research on it...just google it. The protocol posted below is not the procedure I use (although similar). I have used the protocol set by Max Gerson and those who advocate the Gerson Therapy. Make sure the coffee you use is organic...oh and make sure you don't use cream and sugar!

How To Do Coffee Enema?
Well, there are many different ways of doing coffee enema. Each experts might suggest you different ways. From my experience, there are 3 things which are important:
1. Prepare your equipments.
2. Cook your coffee.
3. Use your enema equipment to enter the coffee.
Here’s a brief instruction for the coffee enema process:
Prepare an enema bag or bucket. Next you need organic coffee or non-decaffeinated coffee, purified water, steel vessel, jug and some olive oil.
Put some water to boil 2 teaspoon of coffee. Mix the coffee with cool water and use your hand to make sure the temperature is similar to your body temperature. Pour it into your enema bag.
Find a place in your toilet. Apply some olive oil on the tube, insert the tube into your anus and lie on the floor near your toilet. Release the coffee and make sure you hold the coffee in your body for a few minutes. If you can’t hold the whole bag of coffee, just go to the toilet bowl and release it. Repeat the process until the coffee in the enema bag is finished. Don’t force your body to hold the coffee for too long.

I strongly recommend you to read and research how to do a coffee enema for yourself.

Day 28 ~ I Want My Liver Back! (Part 1)

When I was a boy (a very short time ago), we would go camping and sit around the camp fire and tell 'scary' stories. While we were enveloped within the darkness of midnight we would try to drum up the scariest stories known to mankind. The sparks of the flagging flames of the fire would lap into the air while the eerie unnatural sounds of the woods surrounded us as we gathered together to listen to these stories of horror and death. For me, one of the scariest stories was the tale about the man who had lost his 'liver' and now was roaming the woods in search of 'getting his liver back'! Though I don't remember the exact way he lost his liver, nor did I understand that he could never live without a liver...as a young boy, this story had me shivering in the coolness of the night, desperately trying to peer past the brightness of the flaming campfire as I searched the perimeter of our campsite for the phantom man of horrors as he walked around screaming, "I want my liver back!"

The last few days I have endeavored in my own journey to 'get my liver back'. No, it wasn't cut out in some horrific operation nor have I lost my liver's ability to function. But unbeknown to many of us, and to the detriment of our very own health, we may have a liver, yet it is probably not functioning at its full capacity. Since we only have one liver and this organ has over a hundred different functions within the human body, one would think its role would be of an utmost importance for all of us to understand. How many of us really understand the necessity of our livers? Do you know the role it plays within the metabolism and systems of our bodies?

It seems many of us have 'lost our livers' and we don't even know it! Whether we believe it or not...see it or not...understand it or not, we are living in a world of toxins. Yes, sorry to say, because of the 'love of money' which is the root of ALL evil, our world is becoming more and more toxic with every passing day. The world has become a cesspool of toxins. Compared to life one hundred years ago, most every step of our life is inundated with some type of known or unknown toxic chemical. The air we breath is loaded with toxins. The water we drink is loaded with toxins. The homes we live in are loaded with toxins. The cars we drive in are loaded with toxins. The foods we eat are loaded with toxins. There is no escaping the quagmire of toxins our bodies come into contact on a daily basis. The days of the log cabin in the woods and stepping out to take a breath of fresh clean air, are but a distant historical memory.

So what does this have to do with my liver? Well...pretty much quite everything! The liver is the master organ for creating optimal nutrition for all the 50 trillion cells in your body. The liver is the body's largest organ, weighing three to five pounds in adults. It uses 12 - 20% of the body's total energy, and it must generate this energy to it's own cells. The liver routinely performs over 500 known functions to regulate your cell's metabolism. It is the "alchemical wizard" of the body, transforming toxins into harmless chemicals for excretion, and digestively absorbed nutrients into the proper biochemical forms your cells can use to function. Yet the liver is probably the organ most assaulted by toxic modern lifestyles, full of pollution, stress, junk foods, drugs, etc. In the US 40000 deaths a year are due to liver disease. Yet most people will never suffer from hepatitis, cirrhosis, or jaundice, the "classic" liver diseases. Toxic modern lifestyles may however promote "subclinical" liver disfunction. No matter how good your diet and digestion, if your liver does not perform its many jobs properly, your cells can still be grossly malnourished. Optimal nutrition is a function, not just of what we eat and digest, but of how well the liver bio-transforms incoming food nutrients into forms that the bloodstream can transport to all the body's cells, and that the cells can use to perform their metabolic functions.

In a nutshell, like the oil filters on our automobiles, our livers function as a major filter in our bodies and more importantly, our livers function as the filter of our blood. When we come into contact with a toxin...whether the toxin is the air, land, water, or our food, somewhere down the road, our liver is going to have to filter this toxin out of our body. Our livers must transform a toxin into something 'safe' and escort out of the body as a waste product. It should be easy to see, if we lose our livers ability to function within its optimal strength, our entire body will feel it.

Since we live in a very toxic world, all of us inevitably are dealing with this problematic issue of over worked and lethargic livers. It seems, almost by default, all of us have 'lost our livers' to world gone wild in the use of highly toxic and man made chemicals. The sad thing, is many of us may have 'lost our livers' and we don't even know it yet! In part two of "I Want My Liver Back", I will discuss how we can do just that...'GET OUR LIVERS BACK'!!!