I heard a story I’ll never forget.

My three year old son had a lot of problems with potty training; and I was on him constantly. One day we stopped at Taco Bell for a quick lunch between errands. It was very busy, with a full dining room.

While enjoying my taco I smelled something funny, so of course I checked my seven month old daughter. And she was clean. Then I realized that Matt had not asked to go potty in a while, so I asked, and he said, “No.”

23-year-old Laura Kaeppeler – Miss Wisconsin – was crowned the 2012 Miss America. As a daughter of a convicted felon Laura had many challenges in her personal life.

When she was eighteen years old and graduating from high school her father started an 18-month jail sentence in federal prison for mail fraud.

Don’t Put Limits On Your Dreams

“If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is compromise.” Robert Fritz

On more than one occasion someone has suggested that I am competitive. The truth is they’re right, but it’s much deeper than that “I am competitive.”

Broomball

I learned to play broomball courtesy of Bethel U’s VP Ralph Gustafson. In 1987 Ralph was the youth pastor of Bethel Baptist Church of Green Bay, WI. I was Ralph’s “Youth Ministry Associate” or some such title. I worked long hours, got paid for a few and loved my boss and the teens so much I volunteered the rest of the time.

I almost never remember my dreams. Yesterday I wrote to my friend Anastasiya, “I wish I had pleasant dreams”. This morning, just before I woke up, I was dreaming of hanging out with musician Dave Matthews after a show.

While there are several reasons not to like Dave Matthews’ music, but I still love most of his songs.  I and Paul Thyren, a friend and fantastic co-worker of mine, love the Dave Matthews Band.   One of our favorites is “Two Step.”  Listening to the extended jam that often accompanies Two Step played live brings me peace in a surreal, mellow, “I’m just glad to be here” kind of way.

Yesterday I asked you to think back to your childhood views of marriage.

Do you have the same view of marriage when you were a kid, or has it changed?
Happily ever after is what I hoped for.  Maybe you did too.
Has your view changed?  Mine has.

I watched and learned from my parents. They shared hopes, dreams, hobbies and dramas. When my best friends’ parents divorced, I was so confused.  They seemed to love one another. It’s easy to feel disillusioned when all around you is heartache and heart-break.

Here’s how I deal with my sins, honestly and directly, first with God, and then with the people I’ve hurt.

I have found  that the Scriptures, and especially the Psalms, help me to have words to express myself when I am guilty.

“Save me, God, for the water has risen to my neck.” [Ps. 69:1]

God I’m drowning. I know I chose what I chose, but I had no idea that this would happen!

“God, You know my foolishness, and my guilty acts are not hidden from You.” [Ps. 69:5]

To recap, I had lost faith, given up hope and my solutions I chose left me feeling guilty, dirty and foolish.

Any one of my miserable days, lonely nights or stupid decisions could have been life-altering, but it was a conversation with an equally lost friend that changed my life.

My Journey

Fortunately, since I was seven, a guy named Steve Schesvold, cared about me.

Steve invited me to join him in church.

I am the grandson of a depression survivor.  My maternal grandfather Ray Brausam was frugal man.  I admire how he found ways to save money. 

One of the ways he saved money was finding uses for things other people discarded.  He sold cans and newspapers to recyclers to earn extra cash.   My dad later helped me to do the same thing.

By Nature I Am A “Saver”

I am no where near as frugal as my grandfather, nor as smart as my dad, but I did manage to take the saving strategy to an extreme in the wrong direction. 

Please keep reading. This advice might make your life better! Seriously!

No gimmick, no scheme, no quick fix, I just found some common sense that was not common to me.

I’m not working today because I’m on a furlough. I’m not being paid to not work. The economic challenges hit TreeHouse.

At the risk of sounding like a martyr, Amy and I still struggle with the financial impact of my choice to work at TreeHouse. In 1990 during my first month at TreeHouse I made $30. As the months went by I had several paychecks of less than $200.