It happened again!  
Someone was standing near me talking and I thought they were talking to me.
I responded to his question.
I heard him say, “No, someone thinks I’m talking to him.”
He was on his cell phone.

Thoughtless Thinking

Some people will say anything on their cell phone while standing in line at a store.

When will she wake up?!?
I can’t believe what a &^%& he is!
I’ve had enough.  I give up.
She’s such a &*^*&!

It seems every week I overhear someone complaining about “it happening again.”

Friday I met with one of my favorite people. For more than a decade Erica Wilson and I worked together at TreeHouse. While Erica is disinclined to gamble with her money, recently she gambled with her life. Erica left behind her job, friends and family and moved to Belize for three months.

While it was not a permanent departure from her life in Minnesota, it was a significant life transition.

I asked her, “How do you gamble losing all that?“

Erica smiled with a slight shrug, “The only thing that comes to mind is that I trusted God with it completely.”

On a cool summer day I drove to Wisconsin. I had a speaking engagement.  Along the road I saw signs for Turtle Lake Casino.  At that time I’d only been to a casino or two.

While driving home I realized that I was hungry.  I had seen a Subway restaurant along the road and that seemed like a good idea.  Then Turtle Lake Casino came to mind.  I knew I had just been paid, but I only had four dollars in cash.  It seemed kinda silly to walk into a casino with only four dollars, and food seemed like a much better idea.

I grew up in Chicago. This photo is an overhead view of streets by my parents house.

Ever since my folks helped me over the drivers license finish line I had to figure out challenges like congested traffic, the endless stop light delays, and how to merge into traffic.

Merging Into Traffic

In the Chicagoland metro at the end of the ramp you immediately enter into the tragic flow. You get a running start and then you must force yourself into the oncoming traffic.

Either you have initiative and are assertive or everyone behind you will honk impatiently adding to your anxiety.

Yesterday was the 26th anniversary of the day I asked Amy out. Yesterday was also the day the server failed to save our post explaining the gamble that was the day that Amy said “Yes!”.

Guest Post by Amy Volltrauer

Scott and I had known each other for a couple of months and had talked about going out. I knew that Scott might ask me out soon, but I didn’t know when.  I thought Scott might ask me out as part of a conversation.

The Banner

Today is the 26th anniversary of the day I asked Amy out.

Today Amy and I wrote a sweet piece about the gamble she took when she said “Yes.”

Unfortunately, the gamble that I wish that I didn’t take was to hit the “Save” button without copying and pasting into another document.  The server was down and we lost everything.

Amy: I’m sorry.
Scott: Wanna rewrite it.
Amy: No.

Well there you have it.

We laughed, and then we laughed again when I typed “We laughed”.

We will (re-)tell the rest of the story tomorrow.

Life is filled with risks.

Should I buy this present?
Should I give this panhandler money?
Should I invest in this mutual fund?
Should I buy this house?
Should I choose this school?
Should I leave this job?
Should I ask her out?
Should I say “yes”?!?

What gamble are you always willing to take?