A Matter of Faith

Posted on June 10, 2011 by harold

When I was but a lad, there was a time when my mother and grandmother had exhausted all of their meager resources and we were completely without food. The icebox (No! NOT ‘refrigerator!’) was empty, save a mayonnaise jar of water, and it didn’t even have crumbs in it! We were hungry…they trusted God to provide.

“Go in there and make a fire in the stove”, Mama told me. I’m thinking, ‘For what? There’s nothing here to cook!’ BUT, I knew better than to let that thought become vocal! I built a fire in the stove and Mama went to her bedroom to continue praying. I went outside to play and forget.

Later Mama called to me to not let the fire go out…I came in and added wood to the stove; she returned to her praying.

Just before dark (I’d been keeping the ‘home fire burning’) a knock came at the door. Mama went to the door and there stood a man, woman and two small children…all Caucasians (that matters here; after all it was Georgia in 1951)! My mother had cleaned house for the family some years back when her asthma allowed it. She hadn’t heard from them since she had to quit working. Each of them had bags of food! The wife said, “We were just thinking about you and the thought came that we should bring you some groceries…we hope you can use them.” Mama’s prayers were answered, as she KNEW they would be; that’s why she had me to keep the fire burning.

It was then that I learned that trusting God is indeed a good thing! OK…so I know this to be an absolute, demonstrated fact! So then, why has this NOT resonated throughout my entire life??? I suspect it’s because I, unlike Mama wasn’t in the habit of listening to God, only asking and waiting! Mama is really good at listening to God and super great at trusting God! I’m getting better!

And, how about you? Are you engaging in a monologue that precludes your listening for God’s still, small voice? Where is your trust level? Are you fully able to Let Go and Let God?

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Asking for help…it’s good for you!

Posted on November 12, 2010 by harold

Not knowing what you should do next in any circumstance is NOT necessarily a bad thing. 

You can be absolutely certain that from time-to-time you will be completely clueless! Admitting to a trusted friend that you don’t know what you should do about the many confusing, sometimes scary circumstances and experiences in your life, can open the door for God to reach us. That’s often the way help comes to us. At times you’ll open the Bible or another book and an inspiring passage will jump out, or you’ll wake up feeling as if God has answered you in your dreams. But most often and with great clarity, help is in the gentle and sometimes seemingly harsh words of a friend.

Maybe you are one to put off getting help because you just can’t bear the thought of asking for it. Perhaps you think that asking for help would make you look weak, uninteresting, or overly needy. Maybe you so want to be liked and admired that you ‘it’s all good’, while in reality it’s all quite awful! Look more closely! You will find it’s a great relief to share your burdens with other people. And the best part is, you’ll get needed guidance…the help you need!

 
So don’t be afraid to cry “help” today. God not only can help but wants to help you…just look up!
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Gratitude

Posted on October 23, 2010 by harold

Be thankful…always be thankful…no matter what, there’s always something to be thankful for.

I have observed that being thankful can be fitful; that is, sometimes we are thankful, usually for the ‘big’ things…a house, car, a child, great job, big raise, that certain ‘someone special’…the really big things. Boy! When those things happen we jump up and down with a hail of thank yous!!

But, what about the not-so-big things? How thankful are you for rain (ahh, man!! messing up my hair!); a smile or hello (didn’t even notice…didn’t even respond!); or something way more basic: you woke up this morning; you were in a warm bed, in a climate controlled home; you are mobile, you can see, hear. There’s always, always a lot to be thankful to God for…always.

Develop and maintain an attitude of gratitude. Meister Eckhart said it nicely: “If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, ‘thank you,’ that would suffice.”

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Fatherhood

Posted on October 17, 2010 by harold

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4

A new father approached me today, head bowed, with tears filling his eyes. He wanted to know what the bible says about being a father. He realized in this moment of reflection what an awesome responsibility he now has and he was seeking help, perhaps even desperately. The best I could come up with follows.

I reflect back to my initiation into the fatherhood club and note, that like this young man I was clueless AND didn’t have a source close-by to reach out to. I didn’t have a relationship with God that would have pointed me to scripture (although had I heeded my upbringing, I would have!). I didn’t have a father in my own life that I had seen modeling the traits of a good father. Since then I’ve learned that a father’s first responsibility is to acquaint his children with the word of God. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

How a father goes about teaching God’s truth, that is, the means and methods that fathers may use to teach God’s truth vary. As the father is faithful in role modeling, what children learn about God will put them in good standing throughout their earthly lives, no matter what they do or where they go.

Ensure that your daughter always knows that all the days of your collective lives, she can always come to you…no matter what, no matter when. Let your daughter always see that you love her mother.

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Early addiction recovery is a very marvelous time!

Posted on July 31, 2010 by harold

Yes! It is! Our thinking clears up, our emotions come alive, the sky is bluer, colors are brighter, food tastes better and life starts to get good! I mean really good!

That is all just marvelous. The danger I see in early addiction recovery becoming over-confident in our ability to deal effectively in the ‘real world’. We tend to move much too quickly toward ‘independence’, that is, we don’t need the steps, don’t need meetings, don’t need a sponsor! After all, we have are sober and in control!

While this attitude can be exciting, invigorating; not knowing one’s limitations in the early phase of recovery is all too often a setup for disaster. In the early recovery stage we tend to take on far more than we are capable of handling. Our addictive mindset is imposes unworkable time frame for getting things done, for changing circumstances, and especially for entering or repairing relationships. We want it done yesterday. Instead, we can avoid relapse by establishing stability by selecting and using the right tools from recovery toolkit.

Keep it fresh…take baby steps…walking and running will come in time!

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Love Day

Posted on February 15, 2010 by harold

Got a call from Houston, a long time friend, but one I don’t speak with often…perhaps not often enough.

Houston, I said, how nice to hear from you! How are you?!

“Just fine,” he said. “And you?”
Great! So, what’s going on with you these days, I asked?
“Nothing…same ol’ drag!:
“How was Valentine’s Day?!?”
Kind of a long pause…then Houston replied, “Just another day, far as I can see, why?”
Oh, just curious, I said. Did you buy candy and jewelry, and stuff?
“No, why should I?” he asked.
It’s Love Day, man! What’s up with you?
Houston, was quiet again, then: “Got a couple of questions for you.”
OK, shoot!
Houston began, “Will you buy candy and jewelry and stuff the rest of the year?
Do you love the person more on February 14th than any other day of the year?
What do you expect in exchange for your ‘gifts’ Why do you think you’re deserving?
What will you do on the 15th, or 16th, how about on May 3rd?”
Then he said, “Ponder on these and get back to me later!
But…wait, I stammered.
Click!
It’s February 15th, where is the love?

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Forget Everything And Run…

Posted on November 30, 2009 by harold

Is one of the acronyms for FEAR…I’m particularly drawn to: False Evidence Appearing Real. Hundreds of quotes by the famous and the not-so-famous tout the latter to be the case has been my experience and has always just made sense (even when I didn’t subscribe so wholeheartedly to the definition!).

A fear cycle: “When I saw you, I was afraid to meet you… When I met you, I was afraid to kiss you… When I kissed you, I was afraid to love you… Now that I love you, I’m afraid to lose you.” Anonymous

Looks like each of ‘Anonymous’s ‘afraid ofs’ just didn’t happen. Think about the last time you were fearful of something…did it happen? Did you survive it? Was it ‘real’?

Face your fears…change your life…Live your life!

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MS Office 2010

Posted on November 26, 2009 by harold

I’ve been checking out the 2010 beta version of MS Office and have found a number of interesting additions and enhancements. My focus to this point has been on Excel and I like! The first change I noticed was that ‘File’ is back! Woo hoo!

 When teaching intermediate or advanced Word 2007, a number of students have asked if they can change the tabs or add a tab of their own…nope, no can do. Well, now let me tell you in the 2010 release CAN DO! 

I like PivotTables! (I know…weird!)  A really neat enhancement: “Slicer”!! It is so cool…Stay tuned…just getting started!  More about this next time!

Peace and Happy Thanksgiving!!!

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No surprises!

Posted on November 20, 2009 by harold

Bruce Johnson’s recent ‘Accelerated Growth Caffeine Issue #79’ reminds me of my first civilian supervisory position. Had 13 people who were responsible for writing/maintaining the company’s operating procedures…might say I was the supervising editor.

So, it is evaluation time for one of the writers and I’m busily preparing the evaluation and she’s pacing the isle! I don’t know what’s wrong and not really paying close attention.

 

All of a sudden, she runs back to my desk, slams her fist on it and says, “If you’re been waiting until now to tell me I’ve not doing my job…well, I don’t know what I’ll do! I know that’s not right! And that’s what Mary (I took Mary’s place when she was promoted) did!”

I asked, ‘What have I told you all along about your performance? Proverbial, pregnant pause, “That I’m doing well and that I need to improve on my spelling and learn some new words.” ‘So, have you strayed from that?’ I asked. “No, I’ve been working on it and you said I’m getting better.” So, you might say, ‘we’re on the same page’? “Yes…” ‘And I can get back to work and you too?’ Smiling now, “Yes.”

Lesson learned: Employee evaluation is an ongoing activity and should provide frequent feedback…avoid surprises! In preparing the formal, written employee evaluation, there should never, say it with me, never be any surprises, especially of the unpleasant type!

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Well, I’ll be…!!

Posted on November 16, 2009 by harold

Some auto racing competitions require participating vehicles to be available for sale to the general public, and not be custom made for racing. The process of homologation verifies this. The initials GTO listed after some auto names (Ferrari, Pontiac, etc.) mean “Gran Turismo Omologato”, Italian for “Grand Touring, Homologated”.  Source: http://wordsmith.org/words/today.html

And all this time I thought GTO was ‘gas, tires, and oil’!!

Learning’s a wonderful thing!

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