“Run — flee the evil desires of youth; run away; run away from infantile indulgence; run from temptations that capture young people; run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts — instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.“  1

Okay, yeah love is the obvious choice, but why does the choice STILL have to be so [expletive] hard!

1 – 2 Timothy 2:22

I know that this has happened to you.  Today it happened to me.

The clock showed “10:41″,  I relaxed, settled in and took a deep breath.  I had time.  No need to rush.

I did a couple quick things that needed to get done, took a quick glance at the clock, “Wow, I’m really efficient today.”

Then.  Then!  THEN!  I thought to myself, that was too efficient.  I checked another clock, “11:16″!

Noooooo!  The clock had stopped!

Panic

My leisurely lunch deadline, now became my dead spring lunch deadline.

I’ve made many mistakes in my life.
Many of them could easily have been avoided.

Fortunately, not one of my mistakes has ended in the headlines.

Headlines

Dallas Morning News reported today that Major League baseball player, “Rangers’ Josh Hamilton has relapse with alcohol at area bar.”  USA Today, Washington Post, Fox Sports, it’s on the news, it’s filling the headlines.

“Someone went to a bar” is hardly news. “Someone had a few drinks” isn’t either.  Unless that someone is, as Jeff Passan described him, the “most famous addict in sports.”  Then, everyone who knows about you knows that that’s a problem.  Josh Hamilton’s story of self-destruction, sobriety, redemption and success have been well-documented including his autobiographical Beyond Belief: Finding the Strength to Come Back.

Cuts lined her arms.
He drinks himself into oblivion.

She chases after “Mr. Perfect.”
He’s looking to “hit it.”

She’s settling.
He’s settling.

You must love yourself before you can love another.

Accept yourself for who you are, but don’t “settle.”
- Don’t let addictions stand in your way.
- Don’t let lies blind you.
- Don’t let self-pity poison your heart.

“You’re better than that!!!”  That’s mysilentscream.

It’s the 13th; the 13th of the month.

It’s FRIDAY the 13th. 

For some of you that conjures up images of Jason Voorhees, and others a superstitious fear of Friday the 13th. 

My Friday the 13ths are neither a horror story, nor unlucky.  Just the opposite! 

Amy & I started going out on Friday the 13th.   
We married on the 13th.
Amy’s birthday is on a 13th.

Today is the 313th 13th that Amy & I have been “going out.”

It’s been 1361 weeks.
It’s been 9527 days.
And, I’m still counting my blessings!

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has been defeated.  MSNBC reported that his last words were: ‘Do you know right from wrong?’ I do not know whether he was treated as he should have been or not. I know that he deserved justice,  just like you and I do.

I don’t interact with world leaders, but in my sphere of influence I have to ask myself: ‘Do you know right from wrong?‘

I want to treat people, especially my loved ones, with the ultimate respect.  I try, but sometimes I get in my own way.

Recently I’ve written about the value of self-esteem insurance.  Access your strengths first.  Admit your weaknesses second.

Bad Habit, Deep Roots

Friday while helping friends move I saw Marla’s Caribbean Cuisine.  I wanted a menu.

For no apparent reason when I pulled into the parking lot I thought to myself, “I’ll just say I just moved into the neighborhood. They’ll gladly give me a takeout menu.”

It made no sense.
– If they had takeout menus, they would gladly give me one.
– If they did not, saying I was new to the neighborhood would not create one.

Limits Drain Me

Actually that title was just a clever word play.  The truth is some limits drain me, other limits free me.

Let me tell you about my drain problem.

Our washing machine drains into a tub in our laundry room.  A couple days ago we discovered the sink that the wash machine drained into was stopped up. After we whined, tried to assign blame and avoided the problem we began to conquer our drain problem.

After two days later we finally conquered it.  Now our basement looks like this photo.

Limits?!?!

Really?  Limits?

I’m sure it’s a flaw of some sort, but I’m not very respectful of my own limits.

Physical Limits

Since elementary school I’ve struggled to fall asleep.

Some people love to sleep.  Other people need more sleep.

I seldom sleep more than six hours.

Amy’s adjusted.  Josh doesn’t care.  Shannon still chides me, “Dad, go to bed.  You need your sleep.”

I don’t know if I’m dysfunctional, but even when I go to bed at different times I always sleep about six hours.

I love this picture.

I see friendship, camaraderie, community, peace and hope.

On our best days TreeHouse feels like that.

Every time I meet someone I know they have legitimate needs and wants, hopes and dreams.

One of our hopes and dreams includes are desire for genuine community.

Community Vs. “Community Compromisers”

We want to know others and to be known by others.  Known for who we are are, not for who we pretend to be.  There are practices that compromise our safety in a community.