Today we pay respect and celebrate the life of my boss of 21 years and my friend of 30. Last Saturday evening he had a massive heart attack that mercifully was quick and he went home to be with his Lord and his family that passed before him.
Too often we feel like people are taken from us too soon and such is the case with William Dwight Peeler. He worked for our company for 31 years and he was a dedicated man, not only to his company but also to everyone whose life he touched. Even in the work place, where you have to compartmentalize and be "The Boss" he managed to show compassion. Over the years I have been privileged to witness this compassion in action.
Many times he would take the lead and become a big brother for one of the children of our management by taking them with his boys group from church on camping trips. Often he would hold fund raisers to take kids annually to Washington, D.C. to allow them the privilege to see the museums and historic sites. I have seen him roll in the floor with a child and play at their level, never once acting too old or big to play. He had three grandchildren and a great grandchild and he was devoted to them as well as his wife of 39 years and his brothers, sisters and extended family. Recently, he had been tutoring a young boy from his church trying to help him overcome his recent aversion to school.
He loved to camp and he and his family took what I would call "extended family" vacations where all the children, spouses and grandchildren would go as a group. In most families this is called a family reunion but the Peeler family took a family reunion every year. This year, he had been looking forward to taking the entire family to Disney World.
More importantly on a personal note, he was my Boss but he was also invested in me as a person. Over the last 21 years, he was my sounding board as I lived through being a divorced single father. Often when my ex-wife and I were at each other's throats, he urged me to act with reason and civility when the opposite was what I really wanted to do--all because he could see the big picture of what my desired reactions would do to my still pre-teen children. He was a confidant as well. I knew I could talk to him about anything and it would go no farther. I like to think I shared that relationship because we often would sit and he would blow off about a particular thing that was bugging him, and then he would be fine. He just needed someone to allow him to vent his frustrations.
Mr. Peeler sang in his church, led children’s groups, led the kid’s choir and entered competitions with them. He was a former Sunday School Superintendent. He took part in a weekly men’s prayer dinner.
Mr. Peeler, as he was called by everyone including HIS boss, was well respected in the company, his church, his family and in his community. While we will all sorely miss him and we feel he was taken too soon from us, we can all rest assured that he will continue looking out for all the people he cared about from his corner of Heaven. There is a quote that to me identifies Mr. Peeler as well as anyone or thing could:
"Do not be afraid of death, but rather of a life half-lived." Laird Hamilton
This is the man we all knew as Mr. Peeler. He was sure in his faith and he was not afraid to die and most assuredly, he did not have a life half-lived. He lived live all out and he was an example to us all. TODAY I CHOOSE TO LIVE LIFE ALL OUT!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
TODAY I CHOOSE TO CHASE MY OWN DREAM!
This morning I got an email from a site I follow called Launch My Day and It was a message so simple and so true I had to share it with you. In the story, the writer, Eric Scheibeler tells a story of chasing his dog around the neighborhood and finally bringing him home only to find out he had the wrong dog. He likened this to a man chasing his dream in life only to realize one day that his dream turned into someone else's dream and that his own dream had somehow fallen by the wayside.
A sad story to be certain but for many of us, myself included, it is our story. I too had a dream a long time ago to own my own business and be able to do the things I wanted to do. To be certain, I have been a partner in two such businesses in my past. One was a shoe store in Savannah and the other a Sonic Drive-in in Missouri. The first partnership was a dream made for my 26 year old self. I was young, newly married and had my own business. I was ecstatic to be so blessed. That partnership lasted 2 years and I had started making plans to buy out my partner but because of some shady dealings from my own family, the partnership dissolved before my dream was finalized. I went back to work for my old firm and moved to Tampa in time to see my first child born.
Fast forward two years later. I had moved back to Tennessee, changed employers and my wife had just had our second child. I was offered a second partnership at age 31 with a few of my co-workers who were leaving the company and buying into a Sonic franchise. I did my due diligence and felt like it was a good fit for my family. I should have checked further because in less than eight months, I was totally broke financially, moved back to Tennessee from Missouri again and starting over once more.
My "Partners" didn't want a partner, they wanted a manager that would give his every waking moment to the business. My wife and I worked opposite shifts and took turns watching the children so we could devote our all to making the business our own. After six months of this, we went home for a holiday weekend. When we returned, the locks had been changed, the partnership dissolved and all my investment lost. All because I took a weekend away from work. Not really, that was just the straw that broke the camel's back. My partners wanted my wife and I to fire all the employees and work open to close (9AM to 1AM), placing our children in daycare so we could realize a bigger profit. We had gone home to decide if we wanted to continue in the partnership and while we were gone, the decision was made for us.
Back in Tennessee, I took the first job I was offered. It was not meant to be a permanent job, I was just trying to feed my family until something better came along. Twenty-one years later, due to being in the right place at the right time and an aweful lot of hard work I am still there.
Let me say that I am very fortunate because my job is not a hard one. It is a job that I have worked hard to obtain and I feel like I have gained respect and despite not having a college education, I have attained a level that pays well and usually requires a degree.
Now back to chasing one's own dream. It was always my dream to own my own business and to be independent of someone else deciding what is important in my life and what is not. Somewhere along the line, I crossed over from chsing my own dream to chasing someone else's dream. First, I got comfortable with a steady and decent paycheck. I was able to feed my family and my wife was able to stay home with our kids until they started school. It was tight financially, but it was manageable. Then one day, I am not sure I can pinpoint the exact time, I began to chase my employer's dreams instead of my own. I stopped dreaming of my own business and I started fearing not having that steady income. I became used to living the life I had carved out. I got older, divorced, remarried, married off all our children but one, got fat, got skinny again, got fat again, you know the drill. I became complacent.
Then one day, I experienced an ephiphany. It was soon after my Mother died last year. If tomorrow, I lost everything: Home, car, job, and everything I use in life; If everything was gone but my family, I WOULD bounce back. The thing is, I might take a smaller job "till something better comes along" just to pay some bills and eat but this time, Something Better would come along. One of my favorite quotes is from George Bernard Shaw which states: "The people who get on in this world are the people who look for the circumstances they want and if they can't find them, make them up."
This time around, I would look for the circumstances I want and if I fail to find them, I would make them up! While I am thankful for my job, I do not like it that someone else decided I only deserve 2 weeks vacation after 21 years. I did not like having to work the day I buried my Mother and the day after I buried my Father because someone else decided I did not deserve time to grieve after 21 years of service without taking vacation time and mine was all used up.
I have no complaint about my employer. I love my job but I am living their dream, not mine. As long as they pay me, I will give my all at work. BUT, as for me, I have made a comittment. TODAY I CHOOSE to CHASE MY OWN DREAM!
A sad story to be certain but for many of us, myself included, it is our story. I too had a dream a long time ago to own my own business and be able to do the things I wanted to do. To be certain, I have been a partner in two such businesses in my past. One was a shoe store in Savannah and the other a Sonic Drive-in in Missouri. The first partnership was a dream made for my 26 year old self. I was young, newly married and had my own business. I was ecstatic to be so blessed. That partnership lasted 2 years and I had started making plans to buy out my partner but because of some shady dealings from my own family, the partnership dissolved before my dream was finalized. I went back to work for my old firm and moved to Tampa in time to see my first child born.
Fast forward two years later. I had moved back to Tennessee, changed employers and my wife had just had our second child. I was offered a second partnership at age 31 with a few of my co-workers who were leaving the company and buying into a Sonic franchise. I did my due diligence and felt like it was a good fit for my family. I should have checked further because in less than eight months, I was totally broke financially, moved back to Tennessee from Missouri again and starting over once more.
My "Partners" didn't want a partner, they wanted a manager that would give his every waking moment to the business. My wife and I worked opposite shifts and took turns watching the children so we could devote our all to making the business our own. After six months of this, we went home for a holiday weekend. When we returned, the locks had been changed, the partnership dissolved and all my investment lost. All because I took a weekend away from work. Not really, that was just the straw that broke the camel's back. My partners wanted my wife and I to fire all the employees and work open to close (9AM to 1AM), placing our children in daycare so we could realize a bigger profit. We had gone home to decide if we wanted to continue in the partnership and while we were gone, the decision was made for us.
Back in Tennessee, I took the first job I was offered. It was not meant to be a permanent job, I was just trying to feed my family until something better came along. Twenty-one years later, due to being in the right place at the right time and an aweful lot of hard work I am still there.
Let me say that I am very fortunate because my job is not a hard one. It is a job that I have worked hard to obtain and I feel like I have gained respect and despite not having a college education, I have attained a level that pays well and usually requires a degree.
Now back to chasing one's own dream. It was always my dream to own my own business and to be independent of someone else deciding what is important in my life and what is not. Somewhere along the line, I crossed over from chsing my own dream to chasing someone else's dream. First, I got comfortable with a steady and decent paycheck. I was able to feed my family and my wife was able to stay home with our kids until they started school. It was tight financially, but it was manageable. Then one day, I am not sure I can pinpoint the exact time, I began to chase my employer's dreams instead of my own. I stopped dreaming of my own business and I started fearing not having that steady income. I became used to living the life I had carved out. I got older, divorced, remarried, married off all our children but one, got fat, got skinny again, got fat again, you know the drill. I became complacent.
Then one day, I experienced an ephiphany. It was soon after my Mother died last year. If tomorrow, I lost everything: Home, car, job, and everything I use in life; If everything was gone but my family, I WOULD bounce back. The thing is, I might take a smaller job "till something better comes along" just to pay some bills and eat but this time, Something Better would come along. One of my favorite quotes is from George Bernard Shaw which states: "The people who get on in this world are the people who look for the circumstances they want and if they can't find them, make them up."
This time around, I would look for the circumstances I want and if I fail to find them, I would make them up! While I am thankful for my job, I do not like it that someone else decided I only deserve 2 weeks vacation after 21 years. I did not like having to work the day I buried my Mother and the day after I buried my Father because someone else decided I did not deserve time to grieve after 21 years of service without taking vacation time and mine was all used up.
I have no complaint about my employer. I love my job but I am living their dream, not mine. As long as they pay me, I will give my all at work. BUT, as for me, I have made a comittment. TODAY I CHOOSE to CHASE MY OWN DREAM!
Saturday, February 18, 2012
TODAY I CHOOSE TO LAUNCH MY DAY!
I recently ran across a blog I felt worth mentioning. This blog is by Eric Scheibeler and in my opinion, he is well worth following. Here is a link to his blog; drop by, read it and let me know what you think. http://www.launchmyday.com/
TODAY I CHOOSE TO STOP MAKING EXCUSES!
My wife and I were talking last night after leaving the Memorial service of a friend's wife. They had been married for 22 years and although I met his wife only once, I know she was his best friend, much the same as my wife is to me. As best friends, we do most everything together. Not because we have to but because we want to.
As we discussed the things we enjoyed doing together, the one thing we have not been able to accomplish is to work together. I think it would be awesome to have a business where we were able to work side by side as a team. We both had businesses with our former spouses but we have not had that opportunity to do it with each other yet.
I have over 30 years experience in Retail Management with 10 years as a multi-unit Supervisor and over 11 as a Corporate Trainer. My wife has experience as a Corporate Trainer and in finance. Why we were never able to see that we both have similar backgrounds is strange, but what brought it to our attention was our dinner last night.
We were eating at a restaurant after the memorial and to say the service was less than spectacular would be an understatement. It was not horrible but it was not good either. The food took forever to arrive and both of us had food that was cold or to be more precise, lukewarm. The bread we ordered never arrived beofer the food. The food was brought by the manager and when she was asked for bread, she then went into a long explaination (read: excuse)as to why the bread had not arrived and she promised it would be out soon. We finally got it when we paid the check and asked for a to go box and the bread we never got. The waitress told us she hoped our experience next time would be better. No apology and we never complained, so it must have been obvious to her that things were not right. Still there was a missed opportunity for a better tip and a possible return visit.
The restaurant was not crowded and they were not understaffed to my reckoning. What seemed to be the problem was that there was no organization of the people there. There also may have been a training (or lack thereof) issue at play here. The waitress got a mediocre tip (and I tip well when it is deserved) and we would not recommend the restaurant to friends. Since we don't live there, it may not make a dent in their business but I assure you if the service continues at that rate, they may not last much longer as a business.
On the way home, my wife and I began a conversation about Customer Service. More specifically, where has Customer Service gone? Growing up, we didn't eat out much but when we did, the service was top notch. Today, it is getting harder and harder to find a place with good customer service. I am not just talking about restaurants here, though they stand to benefit the most from outstanding customer service since the waiters and waitresses make a bulk of their money via tips.
No matter where you go today: (Walmart, Sears, the grocery store, the car dealer, the post office, ad infinitum) customer service seems to be the last thing on their mind. Walmart has 24 lanes and five cashiers. When Sam Walton started Walmart, it was all about the American made goods and the service. The first Walmart in Athens, Tennessee used to call extra cashiers if they had more than two people in line. Now they call cashiers and managers and they never arrive. The self service check out lanes are a joke. For every item you scan, the next three will not scan or will require some form of cashier intervention. Now Walmart is all about Chinese made goods and very minimal customer service. I only shop there if I can't find what I need elsewhere--even if the price is higher. It just is not worth the effort or the time. A company that was made based on quality and service is now reduced to making us do all our own service and the quality is less than good on many items. To make matters worse, try and get an exchange or refund on a defective item. That will get your blood boiling!
Walmart is not the only one like this. Nearly any place you go, you will experience the same kind of thing. Customer Service is dead!
That is where my wife and I came up with the idea for our new business. Using our considerable experience in Corporate Training, we are starting our own business as Management Consultants. We will be offering any business the opportunity to turn around their business by applying the principles of effective leadership to their management team.
Most businesses now cut costs by buying cheaper goods and paying smaller wages to part-time employees so they can get by without paying benefits as an effort to bring more to the bottom line. I believe that by reversing the trend and paying more for better quality (both help and goods) and by giving the best customer service possible, that ANY BUSINESS could turn their profits around and shoot them through the roof.
More businesses fail than survice today and one main cause is the lack of customer service. I have seen people open a restaurant because they love to cook but lose the business because they don't know the first thing about running a business. Knowledge of product does not translate to success in business if you don't realize one simple rule: The Customer IS KING!!!! Giving the customer the best product possible, with the best service possible, will translate into a profitable business. It is a choice, like many other things I discuss on this blog. The choice you make to be a Customer Service Giant or a squeeze the bottom line for a buck is the difference between profit and closing your doors.
I am all about Customer Service. I know it and I know how to teach it to others. So the order for business cards and stationary are going in today. We start canvassing the neighborhood businesses here first and then we will branch out. I am sick of lousy service and I look forward to working with my wife as well. If you have a business or know of a business that could use a good dose of Customer Service Training, reply to this blog and let us know. TODAY I CHOOSE TO STOP MAKING EXCUSES! It is a conscious choice, what choice do YOU make today?
As we discussed the things we enjoyed doing together, the one thing we have not been able to accomplish is to work together. I think it would be awesome to have a business where we were able to work side by side as a team. We both had businesses with our former spouses but we have not had that opportunity to do it with each other yet.
I have over 30 years experience in Retail Management with 10 years as a multi-unit Supervisor and over 11 as a Corporate Trainer. My wife has experience as a Corporate Trainer and in finance. Why we were never able to see that we both have similar backgrounds is strange, but what brought it to our attention was our dinner last night.
We were eating at a restaurant after the memorial and to say the service was less than spectacular would be an understatement. It was not horrible but it was not good either. The food took forever to arrive and both of us had food that was cold or to be more precise, lukewarm. The bread we ordered never arrived beofer the food. The food was brought by the manager and when she was asked for bread, she then went into a long explaination (read: excuse)as to why the bread had not arrived and she promised it would be out soon. We finally got it when we paid the check and asked for a to go box and the bread we never got. The waitress told us she hoped our experience next time would be better. No apology and we never complained, so it must have been obvious to her that things were not right. Still there was a missed opportunity for a better tip and a possible return visit.
The restaurant was not crowded and they were not understaffed to my reckoning. What seemed to be the problem was that there was no organization of the people there. There also may have been a training (or lack thereof) issue at play here. The waitress got a mediocre tip (and I tip well when it is deserved) and we would not recommend the restaurant to friends. Since we don't live there, it may not make a dent in their business but I assure you if the service continues at that rate, they may not last much longer as a business.
On the way home, my wife and I began a conversation about Customer Service. More specifically, where has Customer Service gone? Growing up, we didn't eat out much but when we did, the service was top notch. Today, it is getting harder and harder to find a place with good customer service. I am not just talking about restaurants here, though they stand to benefit the most from outstanding customer service since the waiters and waitresses make a bulk of their money via tips.
No matter where you go today: (Walmart, Sears, the grocery store, the car dealer, the post office, ad infinitum) customer service seems to be the last thing on their mind. Walmart has 24 lanes and five cashiers. When Sam Walton started Walmart, it was all about the American made goods and the service. The first Walmart in Athens, Tennessee used to call extra cashiers if they had more than two people in line. Now they call cashiers and managers and they never arrive. The self service check out lanes are a joke. For every item you scan, the next three will not scan or will require some form of cashier intervention. Now Walmart is all about Chinese made goods and very minimal customer service. I only shop there if I can't find what I need elsewhere--even if the price is higher. It just is not worth the effort or the time. A company that was made based on quality and service is now reduced to making us do all our own service and the quality is less than good on many items. To make matters worse, try and get an exchange or refund on a defective item. That will get your blood boiling!
Walmart is not the only one like this. Nearly any place you go, you will experience the same kind of thing. Customer Service is dead!
That is where my wife and I came up with the idea for our new business. Using our considerable experience in Corporate Training, we are starting our own business as Management Consultants. We will be offering any business the opportunity to turn around their business by applying the principles of effective leadership to their management team.
Most businesses now cut costs by buying cheaper goods and paying smaller wages to part-time employees so they can get by without paying benefits as an effort to bring more to the bottom line. I believe that by reversing the trend and paying more for better quality (both help and goods) and by giving the best customer service possible, that ANY BUSINESS could turn their profits around and shoot them through the roof.
More businesses fail than survice today and one main cause is the lack of customer service. I have seen people open a restaurant because they love to cook but lose the business because they don't know the first thing about running a business. Knowledge of product does not translate to success in business if you don't realize one simple rule: The Customer IS KING!!!! Giving the customer the best product possible, with the best service possible, will translate into a profitable business. It is a choice, like many other things I discuss on this blog. The choice you make to be a Customer Service Giant or a squeeze the bottom line for a buck is the difference between profit and closing your doors.
I am all about Customer Service. I know it and I know how to teach it to others. So the order for business cards and stationary are going in today. We start canvassing the neighborhood businesses here first and then we will branch out. I am sick of lousy service and I look forward to working with my wife as well. If you have a business or know of a business that could use a good dose of Customer Service Training, reply to this blog and let us know. TODAY I CHOOSE TO STOP MAKING EXCUSES! It is a conscious choice, what choice do YOU make today?
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
TODAY I CHOOSE TO RESPECT LIFE!
Yesterday in my hometown, a sad event happened to someone I did not have the opportunity to know. I am not privy to the details it seems that a young girl in high school was bullied to the point she felt she couldn't go on living and she took her own life. There is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON this should have happened!
My heart goes out to the family and the friends of this young girl. No matter what happened, they have a loss that will haunt them for the rest of their lives. I only hope it haunts the people who bullied her to the point of suicide because her life is ended and their actions pushed her to the limit of her ability to withstand the taunts.
No one knows the extent of the taunts or what was her reaction. Did she seek help? Was she ignored if she did? Regardless of the answer to those questions, what gives any of us the right to make fun of another person? Who appointed us the judge and jury of what is or isn't acceptable? Who gets to choose who is cool, or pretty, or otherwise socially acceptable?
With the recent flux of cases in the news, it should be obvious that bullying has taken a new viscous level that has never been seen before. Part of this is due to the Internet and 24/7 news coverage. The Internet has also been used to implement several bullying cases. No matter the cause or the reasoning behind bullying, where is human decency? Surely some of the people who bullied are just following others but what possesses any human to deride someone to the point that they feel overwhelmed? Have we become so ensconced with outer appearance that we feel anyone who does not conform to our idea of beauty, or coolness deserves to be mistreated. If so, then God forgive us all. There are many who are outraged and rightly so. However this outrage needs to be turned into action. It is time we enact laws that allow the bully to be tried for murder and regardless of age, be sentenced to life. Sch blatant disregard for life is reasons for a similar punishment. Until we begin to respect life like God intended, then we are incapable of respect ourself. TODAY I CHOOSE TO RESPECT LIFE!
My heart goes out to the family and the friends of this young girl. No matter what happened, they have a loss that will haunt them for the rest of their lives. I only hope it haunts the people who bullied her to the point of suicide because her life is ended and their actions pushed her to the limit of her ability to withstand the taunts.
No one knows the extent of the taunts or what was her reaction. Did she seek help? Was she ignored if she did? Regardless of the answer to those questions, what gives any of us the right to make fun of another person? Who appointed us the judge and jury of what is or isn't acceptable? Who gets to choose who is cool, or pretty, or otherwise socially acceptable?
With the recent flux of cases in the news, it should be obvious that bullying has taken a new viscous level that has never been seen before. Part of this is due to the Internet and 24/7 news coverage. The Internet has also been used to implement several bullying cases. No matter the cause or the reasoning behind bullying, where is human decency? Surely some of the people who bullied are just following others but what possesses any human to deride someone to the point that they feel overwhelmed? Have we become so ensconced with outer appearance that we feel anyone who does not conform to our idea of beauty, or coolness deserves to be mistreated. If so, then God forgive us all. There are many who are outraged and rightly so. However this outrage needs to be turned into action. It is time we enact laws that allow the bully to be tried for murder and regardless of age, be sentenced to life. Sch blatant disregard for life is reasons for a similar punishment. Until we begin to respect life like God intended, then we are incapable of respect ourself. TODAY I CHOOSE TO RESPECT LIFE!
Monday, February 6, 2012
TODAY I CHOOSE TO BE AMAZED!
A friend of mine I have known for years is in the hospital and is not doing so good. His family is continuing to pray for his recovery as are many many friends of the man himself and his family. There a many views of God's role in the lives of people and to be honest the only way we will know which, if any of those views is true is when we arrive in heaven one day.
My friend is a God fearing, and God believing man. I don't mean he fears God in a way we fear death or bad things happening. What I mean by God fearing is simply he is in awe of God and his power. A healthy respect if you prefer. My friend respects God and His omnipotence and omnicicience. I know those are big words but it takes a big word to describe God in the terms my friend (and me too) understand Him to be.
God is not some obscure being that looks down on us and never interacts with our lives. He moves within our lives in a way as to not force His will upon us. We have to choose Him. It is like a friendship. When we meet someone new, it is not enough to just choose them as a friend, we also have to be chosen by them. God has already chosen us to be his friend, He is just waiting on us to choose Him back. This is a concept my friend understands well.
My friend introduced me to God in a personal way 38 years ago when I was just 14 and still in need of a mentor to help me through life. I credit my friend with giving me the tools I needed to survive in this world. Faith in God and someone who had faith in me. That was all I needed at that time.
Now some 38 years later, it is still all I need. My faith in God has evolved as I grew older. I now have a better understanding of God's participation in my life. That faith in God has gotten me through many bad times: the loss of both my parents; a very bad divorce after nearly 18 years of marriage; a child who spent almost a year in a hostile country fighting for our country. It has also brought me into some very great periods: I have a wonderful wife who believes in me, and however blinded by her love for me, she believes me to be a better person than I feel I am. More importantly, I have come to believe in myself. Not in my importance or greatness, but in my ability to take what God blessed me with and use it to make it through life.
Each day in life, my friend has chosen to live his life in amazement of a God he loves, admires and reveres. This outlook in life he passed on to his sons and also to me, his mentee from 30 odd years ago. It is a legacy I will forever cherish because he took the time to invest time in me.
Getting back to the different views of God's participation in our lives, many people look at God as a being that is all powerful but they feel you can't really know God. Others look at God as a friend in time of need, but rarely ever interact with Him otherwise. Those are the ones we labled C & E Christians (for Christmas and Easter) because that was the only time they came to worship. Still others, like my friend, look to God as a confidant, a friend, a redeemer. Still others look at God with a little g. A mere figment of our imagination, an invisible friend to help us through the things we don't understand. What it all boils down to is something called FAITH, either you have it or you don't. I have no physical proof God exists that would satisfy a non-believer. What I do have is my own faith and the one thing that while it proves to me the existence of God, it wouldn't prove it to someone without faith. That thing is the life of my friend. Every day of his life has been a testament to the existence of God to me and those who have been fortunate to know him.
As my friend struggles, I am not sure if God will answer the prayers of family and friends the way we wish for him to and allow a complete recovery. One thing I do know is this: my friend is a friend of God's and he has already won this battle. If he recovers, he wins. If he does not recover, and God calls him home, he wins. This battle is already won. See we will miss our friend, but he will be forever with his friend and his God.
We are praying for a miracle but the miracle already happened. The miracle is that I met this man and he became my friend. Regardless of the outcome of this battle, I am amazed at the life I have had because someone took the time to care about me. I am amazed at the chance he took on me and the time he chose to spend with a young man like me who had no one to guide him in the way he should go. He took the time to be amazed at the wonders of God and passed them on to me. TODAY I CHOOSE TO BE AMAZED.
My friend is a God fearing, and God believing man. I don't mean he fears God in a way we fear death or bad things happening. What I mean by God fearing is simply he is in awe of God and his power. A healthy respect if you prefer. My friend respects God and His omnipotence and omnicicience. I know those are big words but it takes a big word to describe God in the terms my friend (and me too) understand Him to be.
God is not some obscure being that looks down on us and never interacts with our lives. He moves within our lives in a way as to not force His will upon us. We have to choose Him. It is like a friendship. When we meet someone new, it is not enough to just choose them as a friend, we also have to be chosen by them. God has already chosen us to be his friend, He is just waiting on us to choose Him back. This is a concept my friend understands well.
My friend introduced me to God in a personal way 38 years ago when I was just 14 and still in need of a mentor to help me through life. I credit my friend with giving me the tools I needed to survive in this world. Faith in God and someone who had faith in me. That was all I needed at that time.
Now some 38 years later, it is still all I need. My faith in God has evolved as I grew older. I now have a better understanding of God's participation in my life. That faith in God has gotten me through many bad times: the loss of both my parents; a very bad divorce after nearly 18 years of marriage; a child who spent almost a year in a hostile country fighting for our country. It has also brought me into some very great periods: I have a wonderful wife who believes in me, and however blinded by her love for me, she believes me to be a better person than I feel I am. More importantly, I have come to believe in myself. Not in my importance or greatness, but in my ability to take what God blessed me with and use it to make it through life.
Each day in life, my friend has chosen to live his life in amazement of a God he loves, admires and reveres. This outlook in life he passed on to his sons and also to me, his mentee from 30 odd years ago. It is a legacy I will forever cherish because he took the time to invest time in me.
Getting back to the different views of God's participation in our lives, many people look at God as a being that is all powerful but they feel you can't really know God. Others look at God as a friend in time of need, but rarely ever interact with Him otherwise. Those are the ones we labled C & E Christians (for Christmas and Easter) because that was the only time they came to worship. Still others, like my friend, look to God as a confidant, a friend, a redeemer. Still others look at God with a little g. A mere figment of our imagination, an invisible friend to help us through the things we don't understand. What it all boils down to is something called FAITH, either you have it or you don't. I have no physical proof God exists that would satisfy a non-believer. What I do have is my own faith and the one thing that while it proves to me the existence of God, it wouldn't prove it to someone without faith. That thing is the life of my friend. Every day of his life has been a testament to the existence of God to me and those who have been fortunate to know him.
As my friend struggles, I am not sure if God will answer the prayers of family and friends the way we wish for him to and allow a complete recovery. One thing I do know is this: my friend is a friend of God's and he has already won this battle. If he recovers, he wins. If he does not recover, and God calls him home, he wins. This battle is already won. See we will miss our friend, but he will be forever with his friend and his God.
We are praying for a miracle but the miracle already happened. The miracle is that I met this man and he became my friend. Regardless of the outcome of this battle, I am amazed at the life I have had because someone took the time to care about me. I am amazed at the chance he took on me and the time he chose to spend with a young man like me who had no one to guide him in the way he should go. He took the time to be amazed at the wonders of God and passed them on to me. TODAY I CHOOSE TO BE AMAZED.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
TODAY I CHOOSE TO GET BACK UP!
Yesterday someone new was told that their job was being downsized or that it no longer existed. Most of them cried, some were in shock and disbelief, some chose to be angry, some took to violence or name calling, some might even have become depressed enough to take their own life. Still, some took time to grieve for their loss and then dusted themselves off, pulled their shoulders back straight and decided it might be the best time to go into business for themselves.
A scene from yesterday, or a page from history? Hopefully both! History is full of examples of people that were either handed bad news by someone else or they experienced the loss of their own business. In today's society, these scenes are happening more and more every day. People who have worked for years for a company, through no fault of their own are let go because their job has been eliminated or because their company can no longer afford to pay them. When this happens we look for someone to blame. Is it the fault of government for regulating and taxing businesses to bankruptcy? Perhaps it is the greedy businessman who thinks their livelihood is more important than yours? Whatever the reason, laying blame will not reduce or reverse the loss and might possibly be the most detrimental thing you might do.
Stuff happens in life that we have absolutely no control over and despite all the PC RHETORIC and all the little league games that stress everyone gets to win, LIFE IS UNFAIR! Let me repeat that: LIFE IS UNFAIR and there are just some things that make no sense or have no rhyme or reason to us. Now let me repeat some sound words of advice from my little league coach when we lost a game: "Get over it". That's right, GET OVER IT! MOVE ON! Make your life about the next phase, not about the past. It is okay to grieve for your loss....for about a day then you have to get up and move on and MAKE something happen.
In the face of adversity, some will look for another job, some will collect unemployment, others will sue their company, and there are a few that will begin their own business. They will look at this as their one opportunity in life to do what they always dreamed of doing but never had the guts to try. Face it, if you are comfortable most people are content. It is not until they face adversity that they are willing to try anything. Many entrepreneurs became entrepreneurs because of some adversity in their lives. It was only when they faced the prospect of no job that they realized their dream of being their own boss. Ask one of those people today and they look at their old company laying them off as a blessing, not a bad time of their life.
In today's society, there will be many more jobs losses before the economy improves. Those that survive the recession will be the ones that decided not to lay down and take their loss personally. Rather they will be the ones that looked at their glass as half full and immediately began to look at how to fill it the rest of the way and keep it full for a lifetime. They decided to stop depending on their J.O.B as their meaning for existence and decided to make their own meaning for existence and means of support. They decided to get back up. As Les Brown says "when life knocks you down, and it will...try and land on your back because if you can look up, you can get up". TODAY, I CHOOSE TO GET BACK UP!
A scene from yesterday, or a page from history? Hopefully both! History is full of examples of people that were either handed bad news by someone else or they experienced the loss of their own business. In today's society, these scenes are happening more and more every day. People who have worked for years for a company, through no fault of their own are let go because their job has been eliminated or because their company can no longer afford to pay them. When this happens we look for someone to blame. Is it the fault of government for regulating and taxing businesses to bankruptcy? Perhaps it is the greedy businessman who thinks their livelihood is more important than yours? Whatever the reason, laying blame will not reduce or reverse the loss and might possibly be the most detrimental thing you might do.
Stuff happens in life that we have absolutely no control over and despite all the PC RHETORIC and all the little league games that stress everyone gets to win, LIFE IS UNFAIR! Let me repeat that: LIFE IS UNFAIR and there are just some things that make no sense or have no rhyme or reason to us. Now let me repeat some sound words of advice from my little league coach when we lost a game: "Get over it". That's right, GET OVER IT! MOVE ON! Make your life about the next phase, not about the past. It is okay to grieve for your loss....for about a day then you have to get up and move on and MAKE something happen.
In the face of adversity, some will look for another job, some will collect unemployment, others will sue their company, and there are a few that will begin their own business. They will look at this as their one opportunity in life to do what they always dreamed of doing but never had the guts to try. Face it, if you are comfortable most people are content. It is not until they face adversity that they are willing to try anything. Many entrepreneurs became entrepreneurs because of some adversity in their lives. It was only when they faced the prospect of no job that they realized their dream of being their own boss. Ask one of those people today and they look at their old company laying them off as a blessing, not a bad time of their life.
In today's society, there will be many more jobs losses before the economy improves. Those that survive the recession will be the ones that decided not to lay down and take their loss personally. Rather they will be the ones that looked at their glass as half full and immediately began to look at how to fill it the rest of the way and keep it full for a lifetime. They decided to stop depending on their J.O.B as their meaning for existence and decided to make their own meaning for existence and means of support. They decided to get back up. As Les Brown says "when life knocks you down, and it will...try and land on your back because if you can look up, you can get up". TODAY, I CHOOSE TO GET BACK UP!
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