Imagine you are in a raging river with only one paddle. The river is full of rocks and fallen trees and if you don’t pay close attention to them, you will crash. The water is moving so fast that you don’t even have the time to look up and enjoy the scenery. This goes on all day long and when it finally gets dark you pull ashore to get a few hours rest and the next day you start all over again. How long do you do this? For some they do it until they run out of river, till the Lord takes them home or until they crash and give up.

Folks that is what life is like for many people. They are so busy just trying to stay afloat that they don’t even know where they are headed and if they stop for a minute to reflect on the past, it is mostly a blur with only a few moments of time that really stand out.

That is not living and it certainly isn’t enjoying life to the fullest. If you are married you really better watch out because your spouse may not want to stay in that river as long as you do and the next time you wake up, you might just hear them tell you that they are not getting back in the boat with you anymore.

Every river ends at the sea and every life ends in the graveyard. What matters most is how much time we took to enjoy the things God placed in our paths along the way. Many of you need to stop and ask yourself, why am I doing this and is this how God wants me to live? If you don’t have the time to enjoy life, especially the people God has around you, my friend you better pull aside, and look to see if there is a different river that doesn’t move so fast that you can take. You are the one who decided to take the course you are on and only YOU can change it. Think about the absolute worst that can happen if I got out right now. Then compare it to the absolute best that you will have if you do and take your family and RUN after the best!

Stop Wasting Your Life

Every time we put effort into battles that we cannot win, every time we spend time doing things that will not benefit ourselves or someone else we are essentially wasting our life. What if you add up all of those minutes you wasted over the years arguing about foolish things, debating issues you have no control over or reading useless information? Most people could add months to their life. Now what if you took that exact same time and intentionally invested it in things that would make a difference? Would you now be qualified for that raise? Would you now know how to start up that business you've dreamed about all these years? Would you now have that great relationship with your children or spouse?

Let's make this a little more personal:

So you know who won American Idol last year, do you know who your children's friends are?

So you know who won the ball game or who the Indy Driver is, do you know how to cut 10 years off your mortgage? Do you know how to retire with a million dollars in the bank?

So you remember all those jokes and riddles people send you, do you remember to call your loved ones, visit your parents or send a card to your lonely neighbor?

Put the following on your desktop background or on your screen saver:

"Is what you're doing right now going to help you get the things in life you want"

Be careful of your time. You only have so much of it and none of us knows how much and wasting it on things that don't matter will get you nothing but regrets.

Lastly: Because of the internet, we have tons of information dropped in our lap. Some of it will be useless and some of it will be extremely fascinating and than some of it we can actually use to make our lives better. Know the difference and spend your time on the latter. Your life should have purpose and direction and if what comes across your desk will not benefit that purpose and direction, spend very little if any time on it.

Learning to Listen

Author Unknown We all know what it's like to get that phone call in the middle of the night. This night was no different. Jerking up to the ringing summons, I focused on the red, illuminated numbers of my clock. It was midnight and panicky thoughts filled my sleep-dazed mind as I grabbed the receiver. 'Hello?' My heart pounded, I gripped the phone tighter and eyed my husband, who was now turning to face my side of the bed. 'Mum?' The voice answered. I could hardly hear the whisper over the static. But my thoughts immediately went to my daughter. When the desperate sound of a young crying voice became clear on the line, I grabbed for my husband and squeezed his wrist. 'Mum, I know it's late. But don't ... don't say anything until I finish. And before you ask, yes I've been drinking. I nearly ran off the road a few miles back and...' I drew in a sharp, shallow breath, released my husband and pressed my hand against my forehead. Sleep still fogged my mind, and I attempted to fight back the panic. Something wasn't right. '... and I got so scared. All I could think of was how it would hurt you if a policeman came to your door and said I'd been killed. I want to come home. I know running away was wrong. I know you've been worried sick. I should have called you days ago but I was afraid, afraid ...' Sobs of deep-felt emotion flowed from the receiver and poured into my heart. Immediately I pictured my daughter's face in my mind, and my fogged senses seemed to clear, 'I think .... ' 'No! Please let me finish! Please!' She pleaded, not so much in anger, but in desperation. I paused and tried to think what to say. Before I could go on, she continued. 'I'm pregnant, Mum. I know I shouldn't be drinking now ... especially now, but I'm scared, Mum. So scared!' The voice broke again, and I bit into my lip, feeling my own eyes fill with moisture. I looked up at my husband, who sat silently mouthing, 'Who is it?' I shook my head and when I didn't answer, he jumped up and left the room, returning seconds later with a portable phone held to his ear. She must have heard the click in the line because she asked, 'Are you still there? Please don't hang up on me! I need you. I feel so alone.' I clutched the phone and stared at my husband, seeking guidance. 'I'm here, I wouldn't hang up,' I said. 'I should have told you, mum. I know I should have told you. But, when we talk, you just keep telling me what I should do. You read all those pamphlets on how to talk about sex and all, but all you do is talk. You don't listen to me. You never let me tell you how I feel. It is as if my feelings aren't important. Because you're my mother you think you have all the answers. But sometimes I don't need answers. I just want someone to listen.' I swallowed the lump in my throat and stared at the how-to-talk-to-your-kids pamphlets scattered on my nightstand. 'I'm listening,' I whispered.

'You know, back there on the road after I got the car under control, I started thinking about the baby and taking care of it. Then I saw this phone booth and it was as if I could hear you preaching to me about how people shouldn't drink and drive. So I called a taxi. I want to come home.' 'That's good honey,' I said, relief filling my chest. My husband came closer, sat down beside me and laced his fingers through mine. 'But you know, I think I can drive now.' 'No!' I snapped. My muscles stiffened and I tightened the clasp on my husband's hand.
'Please, wait for the taxi. Don't hang up on me until the taxi gets there.' 'I just want to come home, Mum.' 'I know. But do this for your Mum. Wait for the taxi, please.' I listened to the silence in fear. When I didn't hear her answer, I bit into my lip and closed my eyes. Somehow I had to stop her from driving. 'There's the taxi now.' Only when I heard someone in the background asking about a Yellow Cab did I feel my tension easing. 'I'm coming home, Mum.' There was a click, and the phone went silent. Moving from the bed, tears forming in my eyes, I walked out into the hall and went to stand in my 16-year-old daughter's room. My husband came from behind, wrapped his arms around me and rested his chin on the top of my head. I wiped the tears from my cheeks. 'We have to learn to listen,' I said to him. He studied me for a second, and then asked, 'Do you think she'll ever know she dialed the wrong number?' I looked at our sleeping daughter, then back at him. 'Maybe it wasn't such a wrong number.' 'Mum, Dad, what are you doing?' The muffled voice came from under the covers. I walked over to my daughter, who now sat up staring into the darkness. "We're practicing," I answered. "Practicing what?'" she mumbled and lay back on the mattress, but her eyes already closed in slumber. "Listening," I whispered and brushed a hand over her cheek.

Watch this and then tell me what is holding you back!

Talk about making lemonade out of lemons ? This man gives all of us a reason to quit complaining and get out and do what we can.

If we spend out lives focusing on what we cannot do, we will never do what we can!

Pursue your dreams!

Paul Potts, a cell-phone salesman who dreamed of spending his life “doing what I feel I was born to do.”

WARNING: This video may cause goose bumps and even tears. Watch at your own risk…and then get your dream out…polish it off….and put it back on the mantle so you see it every day.

If Paul can do it, so can you!

String Beans and Fruit

I had a discussion with my nephew last week about vegetables. We talked about their health benefits and in doing so I mentioned string beans. My nephew stopped me and said I can’t count string beans as a vegetable because they were a fruit just like the tomato. I said that is ridiculous, everyone knows that string beans are vegetables and to prove my point I began to poll the people sitting around us in the restaurant. EVERYONE agreed with me. Of course I got the wobbly head syndrome and said, “There you go smarty-pants what do you have to say to that?” His reply was “Well, everyone is wrong.” This debate went on for the entire meal and person after person agreed with me that it was simply ridiculous to think that string beans were fruits and not vegetables. This leads me to today’s Blog.

One reason we have disagreements with people is because in our minds we create this mold that we think all people must fit into and if they do not fit into this mold we say something is wrong with them. We have this preconceived notion of the way people should talk, dress and act and we have standards we put in place that we measure them by. If people do not measure up to our standards, we often critique them in a negative way. If they don’t do something the way we would we get upset. If they dress different or cut their hair different we say they are weird and if they are not as good at something as us we elevate ourselves and in the process we lower them. We even classify them based on the job they have or the type of house they live in. This should not be folks. Who are we to create a mold for a person and then expect them to fit into our mold? Shouldn’t we first realize that God created them and He is the one who should set the standard? We should accept people as they are, love them and help them become what God wants them to be, not what we want them to be. If we spent more time loving people as they are, understanding that is how God made them and spend less time trying to squish them into our self-made mold we won’t get upset near as often. Me? I tried to fit something as simple as a bean into a mold I made and even though I had everyone agree with me, everyone including myself was wrong.

String beans are fruits. Love people just the way they are, eat your greens and then…. Have a wonderful week!

Racism is Ignorance at its Highest

I recently saw a documentary about a group of young white men who were brain washed into believing that whites were superior to blacks or Jews. They promoted their views through public demonstrations, the media and one of the countries most racist organizations, the KKK. Now if these young men were graduates of Harvard or Yale and in the top 5% of the countries smartest people I might respect their opinion a little more . However, they idolized Hitler, lived in a shack in the woods, slept on the floor and admitted that their sleeping quarters were cold, damp and smelled. And they thought they were more advanced? (Here's your sign!)

Let's use a little intelligence when looking at racism, especially when it comes to skin color. Does the color of someone's skin have anything to do with the real reasons people are against a particular race? Has that skin broken the law, has it dealt drugs or suppressed people? Of course not, you can find black people who have sold their own into slavery, white people who do drugs and abuse the welfare system. You can find Asians who steal, Mexicans who abuse their wives and children, Italians who commit murder and Irishmen who rape women. You can find Jews hooked on crack cocaine, Christians hooked on ecstasy, Mormons hooked on heroin, and Jehovah's Witnesses who are alcoholics. You can find Southerners who won't work, Northerners who sell their Food-Stamps for drugs, Easterners who are dead beat dads and Westerners who are prostitutes, and do you know what else? You can take every problem we have on earth and you will find that every race, nationality, religion or gender has someone involved in causing those problems. So before you support racism and start blaming one particular group of people for the world's problems, you had better look in the mirror and ask yourself, what about the group you are in?

I do not agree with racism but I do discriminate. I discriminate against anyone who abuses the welfare system. I am against dead beat dads and anyone who deals drugs, rapes or abuses women and children. I am against anyone who steals, lies, cheats or takes advantage of another human being. I'm against evil in any form that is performed by any individual or any group of individuals, regardless of the color of their skin, where they grew up, their religion, their financial status, their hair color or even their sexual preference; and I will do my best to keep those who commit such deeds away from myself, my family and anyone else I feel they will hurt or influence. Oh yeah! I discriminate against one more thing; people who support racism.

Instead of being ignorant and joining the racists, why not put your time, money and efforts into real problems. Why don't you picket dead beat dads or march against those who abuse the welfare system? Why don't you form an alliance against lazy people who will not work or against those who just want to suck the tax payers dry of their hard earned income? Why are you not out educating young girls to keep their legs closed and young boys to keep their pants on so we don't have so many babies having babies? Why don't you volunteer at the boys club, the church youth groups or the homeless shelters to help turn people around and why don't you sit down with men who bail on their families and help them stick it out? In other words, why don't you do something that actually makes a difference in society?

People who honestly think that all our problems will go away if we were suddenly all one race have a problem themselves, its called being narrow minded. Focusing on racism will not help the problems we have, however focusing on the problems will. People need to stop beating a dead horse and bury it already because it really stinks and besides that, there are so many other things we need to be doing with our time and resources to make this world a better place.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!