Today I turn 50. What have I learned?

• I guess I am finally not a teenager anymore. Maybe I will grow up and act your age.
• You are only as old as you are. ha ha ha.
• Spell check helped me find out that ‘this’ and ‘shit’ have the same letters. Typing too fast can make a mess when you leave the ‘o’ off of ‘hello’ in greetings to important people.
• Why are so many HR employees bad with people?
• Networking with people is how you find better jobs. The internet will suck your life away.
• Baby wipes help adult males stay clean. Clean yourself up since you are just a big baby anyways.
  

Now that I finally graduated from being a teenager, here are a few insights I have gleaned from my long life:

• Make the main thing the main thing. Don't make mountains out of mole hills. Most things are mole hills.
• Solve problems and issues, not people. There is an unseen enemy who wants to destroy all humans and their relationships. Be patient. We are all works in process.
• Never watch reality TV. Immoral brats behaving badly will damage your brain cells and soul.
• Fear, worry and procrastination are wastes of time. Stop them!
• Persevere, work hard, be productive, think deeply, pursue truth.
• Buy gifts for people that they want; not so you might partake too.
• Be the team member you want your co-workers, family, church, etc. to be. Build people up into someone better than they think they can become.
• All people are spiritually blinded by the unseen enemy and their own rebellion until the One Who loves them removes the blinders. We all have blind spots and need loving people to gently help us past them.
• The death of a child is horrible and takes many years to stop crying over.
• Failing as a husband and a pastor stripped me of my identity and dreams, but neither of those really defined me and could not destroy me.
• Neither health, wealth, world travel, cool stuff or great experiences determine the quality of one's life. You can have hope, joy and peace without any of those things.
• Your body is a finely tuned, amazing sports car; feed it good fuel and you will feel much better than when you give it treats that merely tempt the taste buds. This applies to most temptations in life. There is a difference between what looks or tastes good and what IS good.
• Love your children and pour grace all over them. The world will tell them what is wrong with them, so you tell them what is right with them.
• Believe in your spouse more than they do and you can turn them into your dream soul mate...if they believe you, know you love them and are willing to grow in a healthy manner.
• Allow God to love family, friends, everyone; even, your enemies through you as you become a humble, kind, gentle, honorable person.
• The hardest job on earth is being a step-parent and having a successful blended family.
• Never miss an opportunity to encourage someone.
• Jesus is more awesome, real, wonderful, miraculous, holy, creative and gracious than we can imagine. He alone is worth living or dying for. Because He rescued me from sin and adopted me as His son, I am filled with hope, joy and peace. I know I will celebrate and worship Him for eternity. Death no longer scares me. It is merely the door this body passes through so we can meet our Creator and Savior. Do you know Him? Nothing else on earth matters if you don't.
• Got to drive my fantasy car today. WOW! Fantastic, but not even slightly close to how awesome my wife is!

• Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit are the One God Who created and sustain everything. Yes, it is too complex for our simple minds that do not understand something that is eternal and not created. God is good. God is a community within Himself. That is why He created the family to mirror heaven's own perfect relationship. Seek to know God. Relationship with Him is why He made and loves you.

Have a great day. Get to know the Author of life.

Our National Pastime: Bullying

Schools and children’s advertisements are very busy with anti-bullying campaigns and demonstrating how wrong it is to bully people. They show the merciless wounds caused by bullies, who are usually larger physically but have low self-esteem issues.

Apparently this information has not made it to any politician running for office.

How can we expect young people to stop bullying when they are bombarded with adults behaving so poorly? Have you seen a news channel discussing politics in a rational, kind, respectful manner? Are both or three of four sides to an issue presented where all views are presented in a classy manner with etiquette? How often have you seen more than two views presented? We have become such an either or society that we refuse to think broad enough to look for other options or opinions. That, in itself, is a shallow way to think. When was the last time you saw, heard or read discussions on or in the media that honored all people when discussing race, religion or politics?

The people with the money [read ‘control’] over the presentation usually show their side as the only rational, intelligent view while vilifying the other side with ad hominem attacks: "If you believe like that, then you are a hateful, bigot from the dark ages." We have failed at becoming a kinder, gentler nation. We attack each other in the USA with more verbal violence than we attack world-wide hunger, poverty, sex-trafficking, slavery and violent regimes. Are our priorities correct? Do we make the main thing the main thing? We seem to be more concerned with our personal liberties than we are with our societal responsibilities to make our neighborhood and world a better place.

Have we left common sense and decency behind for the sake of pursuing hedonistic pleasures that will never satisfy our souls? That is one reason why the Declaration of Independence phrases the epicurean world view as "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." When we place the pursuit as the priority, we redefine the first two on the basis of our perception of the third; which is unending and never fully satisfying. "If you don’t allow me to do what I want in this pursuit of happiness, then you are judging me by getting all up in my bizness and robbing me of life and liberty also. Therefore, I will call you names and demean you as evil so others will side with me as we bully you into submission for being stupid for thinking the way you do."

Look and listen carefully to what you read, hear and watch. Do you see this bullying? Is it being fair and unbiased? Are you getting all sides and views to issues? Have you thoroughly explored options and searched for truth? Are you open to having decent and orderly dialogues with people of differing opinions? Are you getting facts or just passionate emotional arguments? There is a HUGE difference between those. A lot of angry emotional heat is being spewed all over. Bullying is passionate from all sides. Is it possible or conceivable that you might possibly be wrong?

Can we talk like civilized humans? We seem to have forgotten the rules of kindergarten about being nice and sharing. We seem to have thrown out the golden rule about treating others like we desire to be treated. It’s very easy to dismiss the views of people we turn into our emotional enemies. What if people are not the real enemy? Can we be gracious and loving toward those who despise us or our views? Are we doing what is right? Are we pursuing truth? Where are we getting out information? How valid are the facts we use? Is it possible that our perception is incorrect?

Will you make a difference in the USA to stop this intellectual violence and make the world a better place?