Preview of Christmas No. III -- Dec. 27, 2008

Writing anything of a personal nature, such as this blog, would be missing the mark if I failed to mention the big birthday boy! December 27, 1996 Grady was born! What a wild year that was in Christmas memories!

Since We live in Cedar Rapids we actually become the center of all traveling activity. All our relatives live within three hours of us north, south, east, and west. I should correct that to "used to live" as Kim's grandparents have since moved from Burlington to Ames, but we used to be that "center of the universe" stopping spot.

Anyway, that year Kim could not travel so we had to have everyone come to our house. My folks came during Christmas, hoping Kim would produce a new little Larson while they were with us, but alas, they went home on Dec. 26th disappointed.

My In-Laws then came for Round II and Grady was finally born on Dec. 27. (I am not being so specific with the In-Laws because I don't remember the exact timing of their visit, just that my family left the day before Grady was born!)

All that to say that if Grady were still with us he would have been 12 today. I certainly wonder what he would be like but it is not to be. The Lord had better plans for that youngster so we celebrate with a heavy heart.

Now onto Christmas III, The Bowman Family! This, the final act in our Three part Christmas, is in danger as of this morning. The weather in the Ames area is producing ice today, making travel unsafe so Brian and Colleen might have to come and stay with us tonight but that is still unclear. I'm sure that would not be the first choice since moving from one "hotel" to another with three young children is not the ideal situation!

Also among the threats is the stomach flu. The two little girls had it earlier and Hayden picked it up yesterday. When G-ma talked to them on the phone this morning Hayden was not up yet so it was uncertain his current condition.

All in all, there will be at least some changes to the plans for Christmas III. More adventure!

I will let you all know what the outcome of this most exciting cliffhanger will be late next week. As for today, I am on call but, as history has borne out, it has been quiet. I'm hoping it will remain quiet but now that Father-In-Law has a high speed internet connection, I can do my work from there. That is a great relief on my mind.

Well, for now I will leave you but hope to have more to share in the coming days!

OH I ALMOST FORGOT! I posted another article out on Helium.com today about "The Unpardonable Sin". Check it out if you have time and, as always, I welcome any feed back!

Bye!

Twists Make Life Interesting! -- Dec. 23, 2008

As I took a look at my Paid Time Off (PTO) bank before the Christmas I decided to be frugal with the time I took off over the Christmas. (By the way, how PTO works is that I get about 13 hours of Paid time off every two weeks. This bank of time off is used for all time off purposes: Vacation, holidays, and sick days. You can use it however you choose but when it's gone, it's gone. I am allowed to accumulate up to 480 hours but, as you might imagine, that takes a LONG time!)

Anyway, back to the story. I had decided to just take the 25th off (actually this is a mandatory day off unless you get permission from your boss. Like who'd do that?!) and for our Bowman Christmas, the 29th and 30th off.

So I would be working Dec 24 and 26; and working Dec 31 and Jan 2. As time has drawn nearer I decided I deserved a four day weekend so I would ask for the 2nd off as well. What a great way to end 2008 and bring in 2009!

Then it hit me! WAIT! I cried, That means I only have ONE day to work next week! This is silly! In an impressive display of executive decision making I decided to scrub the whole time off thing and re-submit it taking the whole week off. I think it is a brilliant idea but only if the boss agrees to my request!

So this story is just another of those little twists that make life so interesting!

Bye!

Christmas #1 In Review -- Dec. 22, 2008

We had a most enjoyable weekend even though the weather was bitter cold and wind-blown.

We spent the entire weekend indoors but, unfortunately, my sister and her family had to go in and out. On the brighter side, everyone seemed to survive and have a good time.

We start our "Christmas Day" with breakfast, prayer and a traditional reading of Luke 2. We then open gifts and clean up a bit. The goodies are then laid out and the munching begins. We will have soup or pizza for supper but goodies rule the day. One thing we like to do at my folks house is to watch Christmas movies all afternoon. We watched 'White Christmas' and 'Elf' this past weekend. In the evening we generally will play games of some sort.

Later "Christmas Night" a few of us, my mother and me for sure, cap the night off by watching 'A Christmas Carol'. We particularly like the 1951 version staring Alistair Sim. I like several other versions but this one, for some reason, is my favorite.

Due to the weather, we had to follow the road reports to see if we were actually going to come home or not. As the day went on we decided to 'risk' it and made it home with no problems. It did not take us any longer than normal. There were moments where the snow blew pretty hard but no so as to create a complete white out.

Our next Christmas, the real Christmas (Dec. 25) will be nice too since we will just be at home and have no plans to venture out. Very relaxing. We'll head for Ames for Christmas III on Sunday.

Well, I'm signing off again. See you soon.

Bye!

Odds and Ends; Bits and Pieces -- Dec. 15, 2008

On Friday last I was able to put to rest the truck's registration problems. It was easy but it would have been a lot cheaper if I had not forgotten in the first place. I still need to pay my fine but I am driving legally once again. It's amazing how stressed I was the two days I had to drive before I was able to get the new sticker. I can't imagine ever committing a real crime! Oh, I forgot to tell you! I was pulled over on Thursday by a Cedar Rapids officer for the same thing but he took pity on me since I had just received a ticket on Tuesday. I was very relieved, to say the least. But now it's over until next year!

We are close to being done with Christmas shopping. A few more tidbits and we will be done. Kim went to town the other night and wrapped the gifts we had that she could wrap.

Kim made caramels on Saturday and we cut and wrapped those Sunday. I'm fearful that there will not be enough  tough since there are only 254, so there will be a little less for everyone this year! LOL! (We'll probably still be eating caramels in June!)

I made one batch of fudge so far and intend to make two more, probably tonight night. We don't have anything planned and it's snowed a goodly amount so fudge making sounds like a great plan!

We are looking forward to some family time! Friday night we'll be at mom and dad's for our "Christmas Eve" dinner, always good! And on Saturday we'll have "Christmas". Mom and I like to watch A Christmas Carol one night or the other so I have that to look forward to as well.

The following weekend, Dec. 28 to be exact, we are heading for Ames once again, this time for Christmas with Kim's family. We like to split our weekends so we can spend as much time with our respective families as possible. We feel that even a drive across town dampens the time with family and just adds another layer of stress that is not needed. When we stay for a whole weekend with one family we don't have to worry  about packing up and heading for wherever we're staying that particular weekend. It's one less thing to think about, thus less stress.

I plan to bring my laptop to Ames this weekend and try to keep up with the articles I have been writing. I got one more submitted and have one more almost ready to submit. I have a 90% of my articles that are in the top 25% which is so encouraging to me! I don't mean to toot my own horn but it is simply exciting and encouraging to have a regular good review! I was planning to finish it yesterday but I had to sacrifice my plans for the good of the caramels.

Well, I think that's all the odds-n-ends for now...

WAIT! I forgot. Our computer has started going south, and unless I miss my guess, it is not going with the intent to come home! I'm going to try to repair or reinstall the operating system and see if that fixes the problem. If it doesn't I really hope that the "users" have their valuables backed up! I try to stress that with them but it does not always work out that way.  We'll see. We really need a new computer but right now it is not in the budget. The funny part about this is that fact that the computer is really no longer just a luxury but a necessity. The kids do so much homework on it that it has really become a needful item. We'll see about that too.

Well, Bye for now!

Organization Failure -- Dec. 10, 2008

I am a person who likes to be organized. I should say, probably more accurately, I like the concept of organization. People who are organized, like my Father-In-Law, can find anything at a moments notice and never have to worry if the socks he just pulled from his drawer match. To be fair, I am organized too. In fact, if you asked me for any important document that I should have in my possession I'm sure I could find it in one of my many piles of documents. (Sometimes I'm really organized and I shove those piles of papers into a file drawer!)

Being the organized person that I am, I sometimes find I need help. Let me give you a recent example: I was driving home yesterday from work and knew I had to stop and get some air in one of my tires. As I pulled into the gas station I noted, with a touch of pride, that one of Marion's Finest was monitoring the intersection of Grand and 11th to catch those who might not be cognizant of their current speed or the color of the traffic lights. Very cool! I am a law abiding citizen so I knew I had nothing to be concerned with.

As I finished filling the tires I carefully backed out of the parking stall and with all the expertise of my 25 years of driving pulled out of the station and up to the light. I noted that as I did this the police officer followed me out of the lot.

As the light turned green I once again employed my best driving skills and headed the two blocks to home, again crowing to myself about my wonderful driving talent. Just then the officer's lights came on. He probably wants to let me know what a model of driving I have shown to the community at large! Anyway, I pulled over.

He then proceeded to inform me that my registration was out of date by more than a month and that I needed to get it corrected as soon as possible. I thanked him as he handed me back my proof of insurance and a beautiful citation as a reminder. It is so good when someone is willing to come along side you and  help you in areas you where you have a weakness, in this case my organizational skills are somewhat lacking and this officer was kind enough to help me to get on track.

In looking back on this incident, I have a lesson I would like to share with you. There are cheaper ways to get organized than the $90 fee I was charged that has now helped me to make sure my bills are not tucked away for safe keeping. Out of sight is for sure out of mind!

Happy driving, from the Driving Master of Marion!

Bye!

Prolific Writing Weekend...Sort of -- Dec. 8, 2008

 

I completed another article on the Golden Rule and I have an article that I just need to polish a bit and it will be ready for posting as well. This last article is in regards to how I think President-Elect Obama's presidency will go based on his messiah-like popularity.  You won't be able to see this article for a while since it is a Market Place article which means if it is chosen I will get paid! Really cool! If I do not get chosen, it should be available for your viewing pleasure in a few days.

Check out the Golden Rule missive and let me know what you think. It was a fun write!

Bye!

God's BIG Quiz -- Dec. 5, 2008

One last post for today...

If you were to die today and stand before the Creator of Heaven and Earth and He should ask you one question, "Why should I let you into My Heaven?" How would you respond?

If you were to die today, do you know for sure that you would go to Heaven?

When God created the heavens and earth and everything in them, it was just as He wanted them. Things were perfect and the people He created literally walked with Him in fellowship.

But God did not create robots that would obey His every command and make His very wishes their commands, He created people with a will, the ability to choose, choice, freewill, if you will. They could choose to love and follow Him or to reject Him and disobey the rules He had set forth. Choice is the only way to prove love. Is it really love if you do not have a choice? If you are forced to "love" someone or something, is it really love? No, of course not! God built us with the ability to chose.

We took that choice and we rejected God, turned out backs on Him to go our own way. Thus, sin came into the world in which we all are partakers.

God is perfectly holy, we cannot even begin to comprehend what this really means but He is purity incarnate. This means that deviating in the slightest way, a "white lie" even, totally violates His holiness and condemns us to eternal separation from Him, or Hell. Think about this, one tiny, "innocent" white lie condemns us to eternal separation form God! If we move beyond a little lie...WOW! No excuses! God is perfect and demands perfection to gain Heaven. Who can attain to this level? No one can! This is bad news! Really bad news! How do we answer His question? The only answer, in and of ourselves is, we do not deserve to enter Heaven. We deserve Hell.

End Game!

Wait! A light! A light shines in the distance! What can it be? It is filled with hope, with good news! What is it? What is the good news?

God does demand perfection. There is no way around that, but He also knows we cannot attain to His standards so He made a plan. He Himself would pay the price He required of us and not only would He pay the price but He also would give it to whoever desired to have it.

Did you see that! He paid the required price and He then gives it to whoever wants it! What does this mean?

God knew we could not attain to His expected standard of perfection so He sent Jesus, both man and God, to pay the price. Listen to this:

Jesus died for sins and rose again the third day. Ten words that say it all! The good news!

Jesus did the work and paid the price for your sins and my sins and all He requires in return is that you trust Him, that His payment is sufficient to satisfy God's holy requirements and there is nothing more required. He paid it all and He offers you Heaven in return for your trust. Is that too much to ask in return for all He has done for you?

If you, having read through this, see your need for a Savior and you trust Jesus now that you have seen what He has done for you, tell Him so right now. He is with you and can hear you even if you tell Him in the quietness of your heart.

You could say something like this: "Jesus I know I am a sinner and I am in need of a Savior. I trust that what You did for me by dying on the cross and being raised the third day is sufficient payment for my sins. I am now trusting You for my salvation."

That was prayer! But it was not the prayer that saves you. The prayer is simply telling God you are now trusting Him. It is trust in Jesus and Jesus alone that saves you.

If you have trusted Jesus for your salvation today tell someone else so that they can trust in Him too!

If you have trusted Christ you can now answer both of God's questions with confidence and assurance! What peace this will bring into your life!

I would also love to hear from you if you took this most important of steps today. It would e a great encouragement to me to hear your story. Use the "Contact Me" link on the right to send me an email if you trusted Jesus today! Also I would be happy to try and answer any questions you might have regarding all of this information so please feel free to contact me.

The Mood has Struck! -- Dec. 5, 2008

Today, as noted in my earlier blog, I am up early and I have been been blessed with a desire to write, so you get a second posting today.

God is so gracious. I have been brooding for a long time how to insert myself more into my children's lives but as I thought of all of the things I could do with each one it seemed boring even to me so how could I expect them to enjoy the time?

This took me to a place that all of us should go when faced with a nagging problem (The first place for any and everything in all reality!): prayer. For a long time I have agonized how to reach out to my children and leave a legacy of something more than "Whose Line is It Anyway" and "Wife Swap". TV was becoming the legacy my children would inherit. A worthless, time-wasting legacy! (I DO watch TV and can watch too much also but I have been trying diligently to cut out some TV time, with a degree of success, I might add!)

Finally, the week before Thanksgiving I decided I would just start something with Logan and see how it went. Here is what we do:

1) Watch a movie together (I KNOW! It's TV but that is not all we do! Pay attention, now!)       

2) We have a 30-60 minute Bible study and talk about how to apply it to our lives. This has been a terrific time! I am actually getting to know my son! He is a fascinating person! You all should get to know him!

Through this we actually have mission statement for ourselves and we are going to keep each other accountable to our mission statement!

Here is the mission statement Logan and I came up with ( I want to add one more part but for now it helps us to focus): "To love God, love people, and do the best we can in everything we do." Next week we are going to flesh out what those points mean. It is really cool! You might say it's a "mission from God"! :-)

3) We play a game that requires thinking. Chess, Othello, Mind Trap, Bible Trivia Pursuit, etc.  I want Logan to start using his God-given brain to think and this is partly how I am going about doing this. I also do not allow "I don't know" as an answer to the questions I ask him when we're doing our Bible study. This encourages him to think outside the box and it has worked! He really puts forth a brilliant effort to answer my questions! I am inspired and I think we are both growing! I am really loving this time with him! It is so cool! I praise the Lord for it because He has answered my prayer, at least in part.

4) I want to incorporate exercise into this as well but last night we ran out of time.

Now, as most of you know I have a daughter too. She is Alyssa and she is 16. She is not only 16 but she is active in school. She is not only active in school but she also has a job, a real job. She not only has a real job bit she has friends, friends not only from her school but from other schools as well. I think you get my point, she is very busy! This is daunting to my desire to spend some time with her too. I realize it won't work to do the same things with her as I do with Logan but I want to do something.

Prayer. Prayer. Prayer. If God gave me an answer for Logan He will give me an answer for Alyssa too. It will be different and not as much time in one sitting but it will be a good thing.  I'm praying, Alyssa! This means God will give me an answer! Stop rolling your eyes, young lady! You can't run from God's plan! tee hee!

Well, I am done for now. I need to pray and get a dose of God's word before I run off to the office. Maybe even some breakfast in the mix.

God is so gracious! In my next post I will tell you more about this Guy!

Bye!

A Real Wake Up Call -- Dec. 5, 2008

It is currently 0500. For you non-military types, it's 5:00 AM. Note the AM part. It is early and, yes, I am up. This is not by choice but when one is on-call one can be summoned at any moment by the magic of the pager. Its heart-stopping, nerve-shaking tones drags one from the deepest, most pleasant dreams into the harsh cold reality of Friday morning! But no matter. Now that I am up I decided that I would stay up since the alarm was set to go off at 5:45 anyway.

Speaking of Friday morning, in just under two hours I will be off of call for another four weeks. If you care to look on the calendar this puts my next call rotation during our visit to Ames for our Bowman side of Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas, this time of year becomes hard for me to focus at work. It's almost like vacation in the fact that I know I have several days coming up in the near future where I will be off for various holiday festivities and I find myself at odd times counting the minutes. However, the boss has had a great number of extras for me to be working on this past year so the times I get to spend counting the minutes (in these, now rare moments, minutes actually feel like hours! I wonder if this is a phenomena akin to wind chill--it says it's -3 degrees below zero but it feels like -120! We could call it..."On and ON" as in, "This day is dragging "on and on!" The On and On factor today is 2. For every minute you stare at the clock today, it feels like two hours.") is considerably lessened!

In reality, I don't mind being up early. When everyone is in bed it is a lot more peaceful. At night you can get a lot of traffic and even just the feel in the air is of unsettled chaos. But in the early hours of the day, once you get out of bed, the entirety of life seems a bit more peaceful and rested. Once I manage to pry the sleep-coated eyelids open and the heart starts beating again, the early mornings are really a nice time.

(It must be really cold outside, the furnace has kicked on three times in the last 30 minutes. That is such an encouragement to go out and go to work! Brrrr! Or as Alyssa used to say, "BOOOO it's code!") tee hee!

So long for now. Stay warm!

Bye!

Interesting Writing Site -- Dec. 4, 2008

 

If any of you out there would like to boost your writing check out this site:

http://lab.drwicked.com/writeordie.html

I just discovered it and it looks cool. I have not tried it yet but I plan on trying it and I will let you know what I discover. Sometimes we need a push, I ALWAYS need a push, so this could prove to be a good tool...

I'll let you know!

Thanksgiving -- Nov. 26, 2008

I wanted to shoot out a short missive before things get moving for this holiday celebration.

I start call this weekend which, historically, should not be too bad and now much easier since my father-in-law now has a high speed connection to the Internet.

Football is the usual fare on Thanksgiving afternoon so I may pop out the old laptop and work on a article or two. I have an idea or two for an article that I may try to play around with. I really need to get more articles out on Helium. I still have the eight I originally wrote and I have earned a whole 17 cents so it's about time I add to my vast fortune!

The Chicago branch of the Bowman clan will be in town for Thanksgiving this year and G'Pa B will be coming to town for Turkey day too! We will have a full house.

On a sadder note, the Bowman family will be having one of her "firsts" this Thanksgiving. The first without G'Pa A. For my family in losing Grady, the "firsts" were the hardest part and I do not imagine it will be any different for the Bowman clan. It is sad for me...

Though it is more traditional to reflect on the past year closer to Christmas time I'm feeling a bit nostalgic this morning so I will just take a peek backwards.

There is no escaping the fact that it was a tough year for the East Iowa Larson branch this past year, and as I look back it occurs to me that  I really never want to face another year like that again. On the other hand, it is the tough times that force us to look to God who waits for us to call on Him. He answers prayer, too! Oh, it is true that the way He answers those prayers may not be the way you would like for Him to answer them but He is faithful.

When I see all the times this past year that He took part in our pain and brought us to see Him in action, it was a real blessing in spite of a poor heart attitude. In fact, in the darkest times of the past year He provided. It is incredible to look back and see where He intervened.  Right now? Right now God has granted to us some relief. I would not say a mountain top time but the stress is of the normal, holiday type and not manufactured, as it is when you look ahead and worry about what might happen. No wonder God calls worry sin. It really comes down to a lack of trust in His provision.

No, it has not been a fun year but it is very good to look back and see how God has provided but I need to take what I have learned and remember it for the future. Because even though God has granted to us a reprieve from a difficult year, He also promises that this life is hard and there will be ups and downs. But when we learn to see God's hand in those times, how He moves to help us, as He promised He would,  we then experience a growth in faith and, if we have gained any wisdom form our past, are quicker to turn to Him when the next "tunnel experience" comes our way.

Have a God filled Thanksgiving! We all have a tremendous amount to be thankful to God for this year.

Bye!

Late Night Reflections -- Nov. 21, 2008

It's Friday night and my house is quiet. Kim is in bed watching the news. Alyssa is still working. She closes tonight so she won't be home until after midnight. Logan is at the first-ever Junior High Retreat at Camp Wapsi. This leaves me me in a quiet place for a while.

I'm not overly interested in going to bed and I really want to write but my attempts to get a Helium article out have crashed into a smoldering heap. Not discouraged but still needed to bang out some words, I'm turning to the faithful blog. Where I don't have to have a real plan but I still need to make some sense since there are some folks who do read this thing!

I made a plan to spend time with Logan at least once a week. A time where we can look at God's word, talk, play a game and perhaps some other activities just to hang out together.

I have wanted to do something for a long time but I have always talked myself out of it because I did not think I could compete with PS 2. But after praying about this and having been encouraged in Men's Fraternity, I decided to just do it and an interesting thing happened: we had a great time! I am now looking forward to doing this more often.

I want to do something with Alyssa too, but it will not be quite as intensive since she is much busier, but I still think a regular time with her at lunch or some other little activity will prove to be a real blessing. It sure was with Logan! It was most encouraging and I am so grateful to the Lord that He was able to talk me into it.

When I was still at home, around Logan's age, I did not appreciate the talks I had with my folks. Since that time; however, it has become a real joy to spend time talking with my parents. I do not feel I have missed anything. I do wish I could get over to see them more often but that doesn't work out too well at this phase of life.

It is interesting how your perspective changes on certain things as you grow older and mature. I can;'t say that there are many things I still have the same perspective on that I did 25 years ago. I know that career-wise I certainly have evolved.

Well, my teeth are feeling fuzzy which means I need to brush, and I think I hear my bed's siren song, so I will sign off for now.

Have a wonderful weekend and I hope to be back on-line next week!

Bye!

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made! -- Nov. 18, 2008

On Wednesday mornings before most of your alarm clocks are even awake I am meeting with a group of men at church. We are going through a series called Men's Fraternity. It has at least three years' worth of material and each years' material runs for about 16 weeks.

Last year I opted out but this year caught my eye. It has to do with finding out how you are built by God and leveraging that design to its fullest might to glorify God. I was really excited about this program!

Part of the program is taking an on-line personality test called, "My Design". We will be going into these evals over then next month or so but it was really fun taking time to sit down and think about your likes and dislikes. I took my eval last night. I learned some surprising things about myself and I had confirmed things I strongly suspected.

Before I read the results I had Kim read them and see what she thought and if she thought it it was accurate. Overall, she thought it was pretty accurate but there were a few odds and ends that did not fit me at all. After I read it I thought the same thing. It will be interesting to see how it all fits together once we are finished with the process.

I personally think it makes me look better than I at least think that I am but I can also be too hard on myself too. It's good to be honest with yourself both in the areas that you need to "fix" and the areas that may be strengths for you. I can be tough on myself without being honest about my strengths and that is wrong too! God has gifted all of us in certain ways and I think that it's wrong to diss the good in trying to be "humble". No, I do not think we need to brag about we can "do" because it all comes from God but what if we don't use the giftedness God has given to us? I think we dishonor the Giver along with the gift and we miss out on blessings god may have planned for us. Think about that...

For now, I will keep exploring who God has made me to be and see where He wants me to go and do! It is really exciting!

Good bye and may God direct your paths today!

The Story of This Week-- Nov. 14, 2008

I took some time last night to pull all of the pieces of the story I have been working on, together into one location. It is such a relief to actually have some organization to this beast! I really can see how an author can get lost in the details. I have three pages of just generic plot outline, no meat, mostly questions that need answers but there are a LOT of them! The more the merrier! Half the fun is in the creation! I'm hoping to spend a large number of minutes on this project this weekend!

Well, that's all for now.

Bye

The 'Pre' Week-In-Review--Nov. 11, 2008

I have a cold. I have a cold and I have to blame my father for my cold. No, I have not been close to my father in better than a week but he called on Saturday to say that he would not be coming over because he had come down with a cold. Now after talking with him on the phone I have come down with a cold and I stayed home from work yesterday because of it. Distance is no barrier to colds! Thanks, Dad! I think I need to upload Symantec's anti-virus suite so I can better fight this thing. If colds are now being transmitted over the phone lines, as seems quite obvious to me right now, then SURELY a good anti-virus software should cure my cold. Wouldn't you think??

Alyssa's musical was this weekend and as usual the kids did a great job but the overall story was a little lame! (NOT your fault Al, just not a great story) I can't wait for the spring and the play! Last year's play was so fun and Alyssa and the group she works with did such a terrific job in preparing! I love plays! I miss being involved myself so I now have to live vicariously through my daughter! Go get 'em, Little Love!

We also went to see the 'Wizard of Oz' this past weekend. Kyle's school did this classic for their musical and they did great too! The 'Wizard of Oz' is a much better story and I got to play with Emmy. WHO is Emmy you might ask? Emmy is one of the Renning's (from church) dogs and she is a sweet little poodle-ie  type dog who is immune to all excitement making her the best candidate to play the infamous 'Toto', as in, "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto...", remember?

The Renning's also have a six month old mixture of energy and excitement named Riley and I really thought they should have used Riley as Toto. This dog would have added a new level of energy and probably changed the whole complexion of the play. tee hee! But I was the only one that could see the brilliance in that particular suggestion so the play went on as it was first scripted...Ho hum! Oh well, there's always next year!

Well, I have an upgrade to do tonight so I should sign off. See you later and have a pleasant evening!

Bye!

The Falling of the Snow -- Nov. 7, 2008

A crisp chill hung in the air as I left for work this morning. The distinct feel of snow caressed my face and I knew we'd see snow today. I also heard it from the weather guy but sometimes they forget to put their rocks out so they can't determine exactly what the weather is like at the moment.

I have a number of eccentricities about me which makes me a hard one to figure out at times but one thing I really like is to see snow falling. We can have a winter like we had last year and I still get a feeling of peaceful awe when it snows. (Note: I don't always like the results of the snow falling but I love to watch those fluffy pure flakes falling!) So, much to my delight, snow flakes were swirling around the crisp late fall air! I have often wondered what it would be like to float without a care in the world, down to a world full of cares and concerns and just maybe, add a bit of lightness to someone's day...

This reminds me of God's grace. Even the tiniest, most delicate creation on this earth can bring some tranquility to our lives if we would take a single moment to just appreciate what there is surrounding us. It's amazing what you can find when you take the time to stop and look and listen. No! Don't speak just observe. See the flakes fall; feel them on your skin as they lay their cool touch on exposed flesh; and hear...the silence. No one wants to be out in the snowy weather so silence can reign supreme; what a great go that can be! Especially if you take a walk down a park trail. What a wonderfully peaceful place to be! try it sometime. It's not that cold!

God's grace. Simple, elegant reminders are everywhere just take time to see them. Once you have experienced these joys you will never look at a snow flake in the same way, I promise you!

Bye for now!

Election Reaction -- Nov. 5, 2008

It's FINALLY over! Hurray! This round of presidential elections seemed to go on FOREVER and with good reason: They started so much earlier! BUMMER for most of us!

I have to say I did not vote for Mr. Obama but I am not disappointed. It is my firm belief that God allowed him to get into office and God is in control. I am also firmly convinced that nothing will really change. Why? Because there is a lack of team work. We do not have the UNITED States we have Democrats and Republicans. I feel that we will not really move forward unless we all work together.

I have more details in my article on Helium.com. Check it out for more of my thoughts.

 

Bye!~

The Gospel Truth -- Nov. 4, 2008

We are in the middle of a new evangelism training system at church that has been really eye opening. The Elders are going through the training now and then we have a plan to try and get sixty or so more folks trained by Fall 2009.

This system is from a group called "Evantell" out of Dallas, Tx. The Elders of our church spent two days with them back in September and we started the training six weeks ago.

It's a twelve week program that gives you a simple way to share the gospel in everyday life. You don't have to add more items to your "list" but just find ways to incorporate those who need to hear about Christ and His gift to us into your daily life. It also gives you a simple way of sharing the gospel.

What is the gospel? In essence, it comes down to ten words:

"Christ died for sins and rose again the third day." That is the gospel! See I Cor. 15 for proof.

The training encourages you to get people talking about themselves and for you to listen to what they say. As you listen you can pick up on areas where you could grab onto and turn the conversation from secular things to spiritual things. Asking questions and listening are two keys to this process.  As the Holy Spirit leads sprinkle liberally with salt and light (Colossians. 4:6) and if the Lord opens the door share the gospel! The target of our conversations with non-believers.

Of course this can only happen within God's strength so it is vitally important to bathe all of your evangelistic endeavors in prayer, asking God for boldness and opportunities. If you do this be warned: God WILL provide those opportunities so you need to be prepared!

One great method of sharing the gospel is the "May I Ask You A Question?" track. It is straight forward, short, and simple.  If you don't have a way to obtain the track you can go to this web site and read all about it:

http://www.morningside.ws/question.htm

Remember: We can only share the truth with others, bring them to Christ; God brings Christ to them! He does the real work of conversion! He just wants you and me to partner with Him in leading the lost to Him.

If you get involved with evangelism I would love to hear of your experiences, good and bad. We may be doing a news letter once we kick this off in January and we want to include stories of how God has used people in His mission to find lost souls!  If you do have something you would like to share use the 'Contact Me'  link and email me.

God bless you as you walk in His ways!

Bye!

The Year of Celebration -- Nov. 3, 2008

We had a fun weekend! We went to Ames to celebrate the ninetieth birthday of G'ma Allee.  Ninety years old! That is so cool! (Each year I get older makes those who celebrate birthdays seem much younger than they used to! Odd...)

We had good food and the kids and women folk went to an art studio they have in Ames to paint ceramic. They appeared to have a good time and we men folk were able to quietly cheer for our favorite football teams while they were gone. (If you count snoring a quiet activity!) We also played some table games and I actually won! That is a rarity!

On Sunday we went to my folks place and had some delicious Angus beef steaks grilled by my culinary wiz of a brother-in-law! He does a great job in the food department.

My nephew and sister also celebrated birthdays in the last few days so it was an entire weekend of celebrations.

Every other year Kim's brother and family stay in the Chicago area for T-giving so we don't get to see them until Christmas but this year is not that year! This year we have had the opportunity to see them them on several occasions.

1) We saw them at the funeral for Kim and Brian's Grandfather, Guy Allee. Not a happy thing to happen but it was most enjoyable being together. G'ma, as noted above, seems to be getting on fine but she certainly does miss her mate.

2) Our annual Chicago trip. Since this was an Olympic year we had the now traditional "Backyard Olympics". Fun was had by all and the pairings allowed us to play with any number of nieces, nephews, in-laws...it was quite a riot!

3) This past weekend for the big 9-0 birthday bash.

4) Thanksgiving

5) Christmas.

All in all we will have some good quality family time by the end of this year.

I hope you all had a great weekend and year too!

Bye

Tough Love -- Oct. 30, 2008

A happy 40th to my Sister! (No, this is NOT the tough part! I'm coming to that part...)

I have done mean things in my life and I can come across a bit aloof at times but I would not categorize myself as a mean person. In fact, I often will go out of my way not to be mean and sometimes I loose out because I am not assertive enough, but that is not really my point either.

I am caught in a situation that I am actually struggling with. In our walk with God our faith can only truly grow as we endure hardships. This is not to say we should go looking for trouble but it's only in times of adversity that we grow closer to God. This is true in our relationships too. As we face trials of various kinds, whether it be with a friend, family member, or spouse, often relationships are strengthened through hardship. It certainly can go the other way as well, but it is through hardships that we grow. I would bet God is sorrowful that this is the way it has to be but He also knows that in the end we can be strengthened in faith toward Him.

This is true for good stories as well. How many times have you read a book (or even FOUND one for that matter) where everything was all peaches and cream with no adversity and no pain? It would not be a good seller. Conflict is what makes for a good story. The ending may turn out "happily ever after" but in getting to that place our heroes must go through the crucible. In other words, as a writer I have to be mean to my characters, I have to deliberately place them in harm's way and as they jump out of the frying pan they fall fast and hard right into the fire. Not the uncomfortable edge but right into the white hot middle. I hate that!

As the author, the creator of my story, I am god to those in the book. No, they do not worship me or even know that I exist for that matter but I give them life, raise them, give them a cause and send them out into the cruel world, into the tricks and traps that I set for them! That is hard for me to think about let alone do but without it my story becomes flat and boring prose regardless of how flowery. I must exercise tough love. Some may die and others prosper but guess what? That is how life plays out. God obviously has our best in mind but I must think of new and more sinister ways of getting my characters into trouble.

It is hard! I have created these folks and I want the best for them so it is...difficult to purposely place them in harm's way to the point that they despair of life itself.

Well, just call me "meany" because I am, even as you read this, plotting harm for my characters and I am anxious to see how they will react! Stay tuned!

Bye for now!

In God's Image - Creator --Oct. 29, 2008

When God created mankind (Male AND Female!)  He made us in His image with intelligence, will, and...CREATIVITY! Just look around you and you will see creativity everywhere! From the buildings we live in to computers we work or play with, creativity is everywhere. To deny we are a people of creativity is to not only deny what is right before your eyes but also deny God's image. For indeed He is THE Creator.

As I have been exploring who I am (I wish I would have started this YEARS ago!) one thing that comes to light again and again is my desire to create. I love to create! Especially with words. For me to create however, is much different than my Creator, for He is able to create with just the thought but I have not been granted that skill, I have to apply myself.

I have read a LOT about writing novels, short stories, etc., and time and time again they authors tell me, clear as day, that it is not an easy task, it takes time and effort. For me, being a little slower than you out there, it takes time for all of this to really sink in and only when I truly apply myself to a task do I finally come to understand. It is the same with my writing. Even though all these veteran writers are telling me that there is no magic bullet to writing and even the veterans have to dig a scratch and fight to get the words onto the paper (however much they love their jobs!) it is still work. This realization has FINALLY dawned in my heart and mind!

I picked one of my many story ideas and have determined to go as far as possible with it, following the teachings of those I have decided to follow for writing advice. There is so much good advice out there that if you don't pick a small portion to follow you will never be able to get any writing done as I have been discovering!

In this story I have began to develop a plot line and a few characters. Of course I already have a map but right now I am focusing on my characters. Wanting them to be more than talking heads or two dimensional freaks I am spending time trying to develop who they are by asking questions as to their history, what they want, where do they want to go, what is preventing them from getting what they want, etc. It is a long process, especially if you have more than one character. But it is exciting! Why? Because I am creating! Just like my Heavenly Father only with a lot more effort! I can't simply speak a story into existence but I can take what I know and mold it into a character with a real life, real history, real wants and needs. The really cool thing about all this work is that you, the reader, may never see any of the character's history but, if done correctly, this information makes the character someone real to you and has you cheering for him or against him, depending on the circumstances. It is very very cool!! In fact, (you're gonna laugh at me hear!) I have read books where the characters were so real to me I almost felt the need to pray for them! Can you believe that?!? That is how I want my characters to be and spending time planning their past lives, giving them a life outside of the story brings them right off the page and into your hearts! That how I want to create!

I owe all this to my Creator, God Himself! He has created me in His image and I want to follow in His footsteps to glorify His name! And in His strength alone will I be successful.

Bye for now!

Another Friday??? -- Oct. 24, 2008

It amazes me that time appears to be moving faster the older I get. I say "appears" because time has not changed since I was a boy, twenty four hours is still twenty four hours in length but for some unusual reason my perception of time makes it appear to me that time goes faster as I get older.  I wonder what it will be like when I get to eighty years of age (Lord willing, of course!)...Will I celebrate Christmas one day and the next day be preparing for Thanksgiving the following year? It makes me grin just thinking about that!

I have never been one who was concerned about getting older and I feel like I have been growing old with grace. Oh sure, the signs of age are there and I still get a surprise when my aches and pains don't heal as fast as they used to (Ironic don't you think, in light of my theory of time seeming to be going faster!). It just has never bothered me.

Well, all this to say to you, "Welcome to Friday!" Though I have struggles that take my eyes off of Jesus and thus cause me great stress, I still look at each new day a wonderful potential for learning and growing making each day, even Monday, new and exciting! They obviously do not all turn out good but difficulties are our path to growth in trust to our God and the very life of any good story. Thus our lives, all of our lives, have the potential for great stories!

So minutes glide past on the face of each clock giving birth to new hours which in turn bring forth new days. New days bloom bright and flare brightly as they merge into the week and the weeks expand until they fill our months. Each month then adds its strength to the making of our lives; short or long. Each part of these building blocks are our opportunities for God to use us and help us to grow that His love would stir in our hearts and, as we cry out for understanding and wisdom from the Giver of Such Things, our eyes are open to those around us, our neighbors.

How do you use your time? I have to go now and put some thought into how I am spending the time given to me. There is ALWAYS room for me to improve. :-)

Have a God filled day! "Redeem the time..."

So long!

Breathing Helium – Oct. 23, 2008

I had some really fun news today! I got an email from Helium.com telling me that I am now a PREMIER WRITER! It is a motivation for me to receive this encouragement.

From what I have been able to tell so far this really only means that enough of the articles I have written have been good enough to get a top 25% rating which means that I get access to premier articles in the "Market Place" writing area. This is the area that publishers use to get the best article and pay more than the penny or two I get for someone like you reading my article.

For me this is a wonderful encouragement from God to continue writing and that I need to kick it up a notch!

Thank you to all who have read my articles and I would ask that you would pray that God would use my articles to glorify His name. If I gain anything from my writing, then that would be a bonus but if God gets the  glory that is what is really important.

Bye for now!

Random Randomness -- Oct. 22, 2008

I am eating lunch right now and I want to write but I don't have any real direction so you can understand the title of today's muse.

Went to Men's Fraternity this morning and it was interesting. Our table has some fine men who are willing to open up and share and as we go through the various lessons there is a veritable feast for thought! As men we can sure find ourselves lost in all we are supposed to be doing for our families, churches, community, etc.

We went for a bit of walk and explored as far as we could to see how far the we could make it in the skywalk system. We discovered that we could access roughly half of what we could prior to the flooding this past summer. It felt more like home, walking in the skywalks but I am still waiting for the day the library will be open again.

While I was eating lunch I started reading a writing class I 'won' from one of my favorite author\teachers, Holly Lisle, about scene creation. As I was reading I found my desire to write growing once again. She has a great way motivating me. I can't say for sure what it is that motivates me but she has what it takes. I need to take an injection of discipline and to get busy! Right now I am ready.

Work has been "odd" lately. I have really enjoyed the oddness but it has been odd. I have asked for more responsibilities and have been given them and these new responsibilities have started taking over my time. I REALLY enjoy these tasks so it's not a bad thing just different. In fact, I feel a bit guilty because these tasks do not feel like work thus I feel like I'm not earning my way. But I must remember these are supplements to my "usual" work.

I am going to try to get my hair cut tonight, Lord willing. If you look at the new photo of me on this blog, you will undoubtedly notice my hippie hair. Usually my hair needs to be cut every 6-8 weeks and at 8 weeks I can not stand it anymore! I have thought about letting it grow out long again, just for kicks but I can't seem to get past the 8-week barrier. Mullet has come to mind because it's the front that drives me nuts but I'm just not cool enough for one of those things. Do a Google on 'mullet' and you'll see why I do not consider myself cool enough to sport one of those bad-boys!

Meetings, meetings, meetings! I am in another meeting in which I have no input but there seems to be a thing that my name needs to be included in all meetings. It's a curse. LOL!

I get an hour break and then more meetings.

Well, this really has been random thoughts today. I hope you are not all spinning with the change in subjects. Like I said, I wanted to write but had no clear pathway or idea so what you see is what you get.

Have a God filled day!

Bye!

2x4 Indentation--Oct. 20, 2008

It used to be that people would quit their jobs, sell all they have and travel to some remote part of the world (it helps to have a high mountain readily available too) to find themselves. I have never met anyone who has gone on one of these quests and actually found themselves. This does not mean that someone out there has not accomplished this largish feat it just means I have never met any of those people. Considering all the people that live in this world my web of relationships is quite small; infinitesimal even, so it is no surprise that I haven't ever met anyone coming back having found themselves. In fact, most of the people I know I think are pretty secure in who they are and have no need to go find themselves. On the other hand, most of those people probably think I should maybe at least take a hike around the block to see if I might at least get a glimpse of who I am. (If I walk one direction there is a bit of hill I must walk up. Not quite a mountain but it least it has an incline to it!)

There comes a time when you do so many stupid things that you hit rock bottom. Before you get too comfortable there, however, more stupid things crash in on you and though you've hit the solid floor of stupidity the the rest of the stupid things you've done then fall on you to crush you. (You know! The old 'Rock and Hard Place!' This is the place!)

I have been doing a lot of reading trying to understand how to think better, how to treat people better and how to be a more effective leader. In fact, these areas have become something of a passion for me. I am reading all sorts of wonderful books and articles and even am trying to apply them in my work environment. There does seem to be some merit in these things. But..(there's always a BIG but...) these things don't take into consideration that the idiot (or in technical computer talk, The ID-10-T error) should be allowed to play with these toys. In case you are wondering I can assure you that one's increase in knowledge, and even one's attempt to practice that knowledge, does not decrease the size of foot that can fit into one's mouth.

I was at small group last night and the ice breaker was a favorite soup or soup story. I am not a big soup lover so, being several people away from having to answer, I had plenty of time to come up with a really big mouth sized shoe fitting.

First, it is import for you to understand that one of the easiest dishes to bring to a get together like this is soup. We have soup regularly at our small group and it is really fine. I do not mind soup but...

My response was this: "Given any other choice besides soup I would take the other choice in a heart beat." Now that is not too bad in and of itself but as soon as the words left my mouth I tasted dirty rubber from the souls of my sneakers filling the vast cavity known as my mouth. The whole thing just came out wrong and the only right thing was that there was one other who, a few minutes later, agreed with me. (Thank you, Jim!) But it does not leave out the fact that my statement did not come across with tact or anything resembling pre-thought.

So I have requested of our leader a moment at our next meeting to apologize for my comments. (That is if I can get my foot out of my mouth by then!)

This all led me to take a hard look at all aspects of my life and when you do a stupid thing all the other stupid things you've done, are doing or will do come into sharp focus and give the appearance of being what your entire life is built on. You would think that after reading all the books on building people up, watching all the respectable people doing such a wonderful job of building people up even by just saying, "Hello" to someone, that you would learn, but it does not always happen. Sometimes you simply get a hearty helping of leather instead, with the added bonus of hurting someone's feelings.  Nothing like wounded hearts to go along with some tasty Wal-Mart brand pseudo-leather.  UMM! UMM!

My only comfort today is that God is graceful and can change even me (although I have to be one of the toughest cases He's ever faced!) and a plan to apologize in person.

What I have discovered in trying to find myself is that the tongue is not so easy to tame and that reading a few books can't substitute for a genuine and gracious heart. A word spoken to build someone up is better than trying to get a laugh and hurting someone's feelings.

If you plan on trying to be clever or could potentially contract this foot-in-mouth dieses, wear flip-flops!

Bye for now! 

Twitter Update...Oct. 16, 2008

I decided to remove the Twitter posts from my Blog. I felt it was too cumbersome and a bit tacky looking too. Rest assured I'm still Twittering but I am not posting the results on my blog anymore.

If you want to join Twitter and start following me!

 

Bye

Hidden Treasures...Oct. 16, 2008

I don't like throwing things away. It seems to me that somewhere somehow I could find a use for it and, it is a known fact, that the minute I do throw it away I will need that very item the next day. However, there comes a time when I know I'm being a psycho so when I can't stand it anymore,  I employ a tool I learned a long time ago called, "Getting Brutal". This means that once you decide that you are throwing something out you do it regardless of your mental and emotional attachment to the object. It's brutal! (Thus the name...get it?!?!)

One area that I draw the line in brutality is books. I LOVE books! I have always loved books and I don't even care if I read them  or not, I love books. There's no ego here, there's no bragging, no nothing,  just a plain love of books. This love extends to notebooks as well.

I have notebooks from years back in which I wrote Bible studies or notes from a Bible study but I have saved them.

The other night I ran across some notebooks that I had been using a year or so before Kim and I got married and there, on the first page, Kim had scribbled this note, "ONLY 11 MONTHS LEFT TO GO!". She was talking about our wedding, of course!

I also found that I had written notes on an evangelistic message I wanted for our wedding since there would be people there who would never darken the door of a church outside of a wedding or funeral. (Christmas and Easter don't even make their lists!) This is where the wedding was almost off, at least at Kim's home church.

The pastor looked me in the eye and said that he would in no way do this type of message because it just did not work in this type of environment! That was the whole of his answer. I was FLOORED! What do you mean it doesn't WORK?!?! There will be people here who need to hear this message! What doesn't work??? I was THIS close to walking out and not coming back! Not that I would not have married my Kim but I was not doing it in that church!

Needless to say I DID get married, for family peace,  in that church but to this day I still feel anger toward his unwillingness to have an evangelical message for MY wedding! (I mean OUR wedding, Honey!)

(This has gotten WAY off the point I started with! Well, at least you have some history of the Larson wedding days!)

In my mini treasure hunt, I also discovered a neat study guide that I acquired some years back, how I don't recall, but I have been using that for my "fast" this week and it is REALLY cool! Simple yet it forces you to think and I love to do think! (Not real good at it but it is fun when I can focus!)  (This was where I was REALLY going before I got off track with that wedding stuff!) (Do you like Kryspy Kremes?)

I don't think books are a stumbling block for me but I hate throwing out books. If you want to win your way into my heart give me Barnes and Noble gift cards (Note the 'S' on the end of CARD. LOL!) for my birthday! I go crazy when I get those little beasties!

Well, though I could go on and on you are now bored out of your skulls so I will sign off! Have a good weekend!

REMEBER:

McCain or Obama just as long as you exercise your God given responsibility and VOTE! It's coming soon! Roughly three weeks to go!

Fast Times...Oct. 13, 2008

It has been brought to my attention that I have been spending so much time doing so many things that I have allowed any real time with God to slip away. It's time to get back on the "fast" track!

No, this will not be a food fast but a "things that take Greg's attention from God" fast; i.e.: TV, books that are just for fun reading, etc. I do this from time to time and it is no easier than a food fast. It's too easy for me to get caught up in the things I like doing and now it's time for me to make some sacrifices.

This week is going to be  a busy one outside of work. Donating plasma tonight at 1930;  tomorrow we start our SEEDS training, a new evangelism method we're employing at church starting at 0630; Wednesday is Men's Fraternity, 0600; Elder's Meeting at 1700; 1930 is another plasma donation; and last but not least, Friday at 0600 I meet with my friend and accountability partner, Jim. Oh yeah, on Saturday at 0930 I get to meet with H&R Block because this year we used them for our taxes and for the first year the State of Iowa has sent us a letter saying we owe more than what H&R Block said we did.

This looks even worse on "paper"! WOW! Oh well, that's a part of life.

Well, I'd better go! It looks like it could be a long week!

Bye for now!

Homecoming Weekend -- Oct. 10, 2008

The crisp nip of Fall is in the air. Not quite chill enough to put on heavy clothing yet but enough so to remind you that colder weather is not far off.

Leaves are crisping on the branches and float to the ground to be crunched by passing walkers. The fall weather seems to bring the walkers to life. The smell of Fall, the fading light of the year gone by, seems to revive one's heart. Strange, since Fall is the twilight of the year; the fading of the old and the promise of the new.

Sports fans of all type turn their hearts to football this time of year and not more so than during Homecoming! And Homecoming is what we have in Marion this week. The activities for the students have been many and varied From Super hero day to Red and Gold day. (Suspiciously like ISU Cyclone colors but the kids deny this fact.) The air is full of peppy energy! Go INDIANS!

They have a tough assignment tonight as they face the the Knights of Union. This team is supposed to be very good but Marion is tough and prepared! They are scrappy and it's HOMECOMING!

Though Kim and I will not be attending the game tonight we are sending a great delegation consisting of: Alyssa, Logan, and Kyle! They will add their energy to the crowd which will be huge as it always is during Homecoming. I wouldn't mind going but tonight is Friday and I have $36.00 of Barnes and Noble gift cards that may find the end of their life tonight. Gone but not forgotten.

Whatever your Friday hold for you, Homecoming or travel, or just an evening of relaxation, enjoy the time God has given you! Relax and forget the past week; look to tomorrow where once again, God's grace is renewed!

Get out and crunch through some leaves this weekend!

Bye!

I have a Twitter... Oct. 9, 2008

No, this is not something inappropriate for younger viewers nor is it a disease...To tell you the truth, I'm not really sure how to classify it. It is just kind of fun.

I guess I would call it a mini blog. Each entry can only be 140 characters long and it's meant to be used to answer the following question, "What're you doing today?" I really like to consider it a mini-blog or an minute by minute, "What's up?".

Here's the link if you want more info:

http://twitter.com/

Check it out for yourself and let me know what you think. It is being used in a lot of different ways including on-line marketing. No, you can't put a whole marketing scheme in Twitter but you can inform your clients of new material in 140 characters or less. Or point them to your updated web site etc.

The jury is still out as to its practicality but it is kind of fun and it would be even better if a bunch of you would jump on my "Follower" list. (If you join, I'll become one of YOUR followers as long as you let me know you joined!)

Stress Alert!! -- Oct. 8, 2008

There are times in my life when all of the stresses begin to accumulate to a point where nothing seems to help. It's at this point where I know God is the only answer and to take some time to just sit back and do nothing except maybe read. I must say that in some strange manner writing helps. Though this is certainly not one of those moments of revelation, I have known this for a LONG time, it's just that it's hard to motivate myself to write when I find myself in this place.  It's a cruddy place but it does bring me to me my knees which is a good place to be, proving that the tough times are the times God cherishes most because they are the times that draw us to Him.

I don't know what this means for this weekend. I get off of call and that is always a good thing. It's homecoming for Marion so there are a number of activities planned including, odd as it may sound, a football game. The Indians play the team from Union, a very tough opponent I am told. We'll see what our guys are made of this week.

I will say that if it's nice, a walk is another welcome distraction. 

All in all God knows me, wants me to know to know Him better and He can use things like this to draw me closer. Keep this in mind because He wants YOU to get to know Him better too! :-)

Go with God on your way the rest of this week.

The Poems – Oct. 4, 2008

Here are two poems I wrote the other night. These are not to make you laugh so, if after reading them you feel like busting out, please remember that I am not a poet and not really trying to be one I'm just "tinkering". These things just come to me once in a great while and it feels good, somehow, to write them down. I posted one a LONG time ago on this very blog so this is not the first time.  Hold on, here we go!

A pearl of wonder

A pearl of great price

Locked deep inside

Sealed, out of sight

 

A lamp aglow

Beneath the basket

No light does show

Seeming dead, a casket

 

Unlock the depths

Unleash the light

Into the darkness

Glorious sight

 

 

Number two:

 

First bite so sweet

Now eyes opened wide

Shameful faces flushed

Longer to abide

 

Naked they fled

Running to hide

Seeking them out

Surely to chide

 

In pain and sweat

Now to live

Love sought them

Still willing to give

 

The price to be paid

He knew in his heart

In darkness wad laid

But soon to depart

 

 

Poetry Unleashed -- Oct. 3, 2008

I do not yet have them ready but once again I have tried my hand at a little poetry. I have NO IDEA really, how to write a poem properly so I will spruce them up and place them out here sometime this weekend. I like them but my taste is usually way different than other peoples' taste. :-)

See you soon!

Leadership Unveiled -- Oct. 2, 2008

Today started out early because I had an upgrade to do on our retail pharmacy system. Due to their odd schedule I had to do this at 0500 this morning. Once I got out of bed it was not too hard, but...0500?? YAWN!

That really doesn't have anything to do with leadership but it was just a "fun fact" about my day.

I have become a student of leadership. I think I enjoy it so much because I really enjoy people. I look at leadership as a way to help people grow. My boss has come along side me in my desires to get into management and has taken a direct hand in mentoring me.

He has put me into all sorts of situations and given me all sorts of extra tasks to accomplish. I have found it an exhilarating experience that has brought new life to my once hoo-hum job. It is so cool to once again be excited about the new day! Even Mondays have been better.

I have been ready books, listening to tapes, going to seminars, and, the most important part in my opinion, observing people. I like to see how people react in certain situations and then I take what I see and see if I can apply it to my life. I want to apply what they do that is good and verify and change in my own life, anything that I see in others that I don't like. It is so cool! I am really excited to see what god can do with this!

Keep leaning on the Lord and keep learning! The day you stop learning is the day your life ends. Keep up the curiosity!

Bye for now!

A New Record! -- Sept. 29, 2008

I have set a brand new record! This is a not a record I was trying to break nor have I been training for it but it just goes to show you how perseverance can overcome any obstacle!

The record, you ask? First let me say that the previous record was two hours and now the record is ZERO hours! That's right! Zero, Zip, Zilch, Nada, Big Fat Goose Egg 0! This record was for hours slept. (my eye is twitching. I'm so proud!) Yes I got no sleep last night. Surprisingly I feel pretty good so far but I know that once lunch is done I am toast.

Though it was a sleepless night it was not fruitless. I had a lot of thoughts that I was able to weed through, prayer was involved, and I came up with some new writing ideas, so all in all, not too bad if I can make it through...fourteen more hours! No problem! I just can't stop moving for one moment, eat lunch or lay down on the bosses' desk for too long. Should be no prob...YAAAWNNN--lem.

That's it for now. When the throttle of your mind sticks open thoughts come unbidden to your mind and one shows up boundless others are sure to follow. Think, if you will, of a small hole in a dam. Once a little water starts flowing it's not long before the entire reservoir pours through. Get your life jackets! Or better yet, your Tylenol PM!

 

Bye for now! I'm off to see if the boss is using his desk.

Just A Random Ramble... -- Sept. 28, 2008

Liquid lead flows through your veins where blood should be flowing and your mind is wrapped with a shroud covering your seemingly dead creativity. Try as you might thoughts come only through Herculean effort and through unmitigated suffering.

You have been invaded by lethargy. A monster so insidious that it can swallow life whole. No mercy and no escape, when lethargy bites its poison penetrates to the deepest recesses and paralyzes as sure as a torn spinal cord. It is cold and unfeeling and does not discriminate, all are vulnerable to its vicious bite.

Within the icy grip, lethargy can seem like prison, a pseudo depression, like a mini-ice age of the heart, freezing activity and seducing inactivity, soothing the guilt as though induced by drugs. You want to lay down and melt into the deep fabric of Swamp Couch.

As gangrene begins to envelope your heart, your very being, hope opens a most unusual avenue of escape. That hope? That hope is to grasp the guilt lethargy sets to smoother in its viperous caress. That's right, grasp the guilt hold on to it like it's your lifeline; do not let it go! Don't give in to siren song that the hag known as lethargy croons , lulling you toward oblivion.

Normally we fight tooth and nail to rid our selves of guilt. Guilt makes us feel bad and as it grows it does not allow us to rest contentedly. Ahh! Starting to see the big picture? Starting to see the answer to overcoming the beast? Lethargy wants to lull us to sleep, to give up and pool up into a soggy stupor. However, if we grab onto the guilt it can bring us to a point action.

The beauty of this plan? When we fall into the lethargy trap our activity slows to near-death and we can feel as we're floating but floating away from what we should be or would like to be doing. Guilt begins to set in as mold as our minds slow and lead flows, but the beast's venom begins to numb our guilt sense, our conscience, and we slip into the bliss of oblivion. However, if we fight the effects of the oily poison, and do something, anything, the lethargy weakens its grip and as we do the things we should be doing the guilt fades away as well.

This is not new age cosmic psycho babble but a biblical inspiration. God wants us to do our best in all things and He has provided the Holy Spirit as our Helper; God living in us! What a great gift! The Holy Spirit uses our consciences as a tool to help keep us on the straight and narrow. When we get off-target He pulls the trigger of conscience to help us to see our error. When we listen we can be free of the guilt but when we choose to ignore that still small voice we grow deeper in guilt. This is not to say that we can use guilt ourselves and overdo the guilt feelings but it is a tool God uses to help us to stay on track. When we let lethargy win we become lazy and unresponsive. God can use guilt to bring us back on track.

Weekend Time! -- Sept. 26, 2008

It is finally time for the weekend! It has been an interestingly good week. I have really enjoyed the last few weekends and interestingly enough Friday nights have been particularly good. Not so much that good things have happened but I have had a overwhelming sense of peace and refreshment on Friday nights. (It's best if you just leave this one alone and chalk it up to one of my idiosyncrasies.) I don't know why because that has not been true historically for me but lately it sure has!

That's all I wanted to say. In truth I just couldn't not write something today and it had to be something that I could just let flow. Best place to do that is right here!

Have a great and wonderful weekend!

Bye!

I Have A Plan...--Sept. 25, 2008

I have a plan. This may not seem like a big deal to most of you, especially you "planner" types, but to me it is a step in the right direction, at least I think it's a step forward.

Saturday promises to be a nice day and my yard needs some spring cleaning. No, I am not confused, at least not any more confused than normal. (OK! I AM confused but it has nothing to do with my plan so back off!)  I know it's Fall but my yard did not get its annual cleaning this year. That time of year that I pull all the weeds and trim all of the foliage and generally make the trash man unhappy. Not a bad plan in and of itself but that is not all! (I know what you're thinking here: "How could it get more elaborate?")

Well, here is where I plan to kill two birds with one stone. (Where'd the stones come from?) I have been weighted down with guilt about my lack of time I have been spending with my wonderful family. My daughter is at the age where she has so many things going on that she makes Buggsy the Famous Juggler (C'mon! You have to have heard of Buggsy!) look like a fraud! She is BUSY and handling it with poise and in-human responsibility! I am not only amazed but incredibly proud but she never has the time for me to tell her so! So here it is, Alyssa:
I am PROUD of you! Keep up the good work! (She's probably too busy to read this but I tried!) Logan is busy with TV, video games and football. I would add school but he does not formally recognize school as an activity worth mentioning! And Kim she is her usual motherly self busy keeping our house rolling along.

So Saturday I am planning an adventure in the yard. After saying all I said I am offer Alyssa an escape because she has been so busy and has very little downtime. She is very welcome to join us but it is not a requirement for her.

Kimberly also has the choice since she has other household activities that could occupy her time but again she would be most welcome to join us.

Logan and I have a mandatory roll this Saturday. I have any number of tasks which would allow us to work side by side and gain in two ways: 1) we gain satisfaction form a job well done; 2) We get to spend time together away from electronic diversions!
I realize that this is not necessarily a "fun" activity for Logan but I wanted us to do something together. Again this is open to the whole family but the girls will have an out. Besides, us men will be hungry for lunch after we do all that work!

Ready or not family, here Saturday comes!

By the by, Kyle, you are welcome to join us too!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! -- Sept. 22, 2008

Well we went to Adventureland on my company this past Saturday and had a nice time even though we missed Alyssa.

Before we hit the park we had the privilege of meeting with the Holmes as they were in Des Moines for a family get together. It was so nice to see them even though it was for a short time. It is always a blessing for me to sit and talk with Greg.

Anyway be broke away from that fun and headed for the park. We all were hungry and lunch is usually around 1130 and goes until 1300 but...

We got to the park and found our tickets and instantly noticed a mistake, a real typo right on the ticket. Instead of 1130 the ticket proclaimed lunch was at 1300! That had to be a mistake, my stomach wouldn't lie! I boldly proclaimed to my starving family as we dragged our weakened bodies across the tarmac that I would straighten it all out by walking right into the Palace Theater and prove to them it was a mistake! 1300 has always been the ending time not the starting time!

As it turned out the ticket was correct so we had to find someway to distract our stomachs for a whole hour and a half! Do you realize how difficult it can be to try and soothe a cantankerous stomach let alone THREE cantankerous stomachs?!? Not pleasant, let me assure you! It took all my will power not to break down and get a funnel cake...for each of us!

We did make it until lunch but only because some kind soul opened the doors early. We went at 1245 to get in line and discovered to our joy the doors were already opened, there was not much of a line and the food was ready!

Tears streamed down our cheeks as we cried out with joy at the sight of people serving our lunch. OUR lunch! I sobbed to the older man whose line I had stepped into and with tear stained cheeks I went to kiss his him for the bounty of his grace toward my family and me! I suspect that the joy we felt was contagious because he has not been seen since he screamed and ran out the door. It's good to be able to be an encouragement to others!

Another perk of coming to Adventureland on IHS day is that during lunch they have door prizes. Usually they hand out gift certificates from various businesses and just as usual I never win, so as we finished our lunch we decided it would not be worth the effort to see EVERYONE else gather there prizes so we headed back out to the park.

Later I met a friend who told me I won! I scowled at him for making fun of me and the winless streak I was on. I threatened to bring him to HR for...for...well, for something! It's never a nice thing to tease someone in regards to their shortcomings!

So today I went straight up to HR and told them what I thought about my friend and his callous treatment and wondered what form of torture they would inflict on him, thumb screws I was hoping, when lo and behold they handed me an envelope with my prize. MY PRIZE! I had won! It's a first! No it was not a chicken dinner but a gift certificate to Wal-Mart but, come to think of it, they do have chicken dinners so it might turn out to be a chicken dinner after all! Very cool! SO flexible!

Ok I'm back. Sorry about all of that! My mind left but my fingers stayed behind and just kept typing. Oh well, I don't have time to fix it now so I'll just leave it for now!

Have a wonderful day and if I don't see you before have a good weekend too!

Bye.

Today is the Day...Sept. 17, 2008

I have two more articles in the chute but one is just barely started and I'm not having near the success with that one as I thought I would when I first jotted the idea down so it sits there staring at me with accusing eyes wondering where the flare went. I can't answer that right now.

However, I have a full first draft done on the second article that I wrote last night but it needs rewriting so it's not ready for the limelight yet, but at least I have the first draft done. I have more hope for this article than I do for the first one mentioned here. This article is not being quite so elusive although I have this unrealistic notion that all my articles should flow freely from inspiration instead of that being the exception and work and sweat being the norm. Well, as they say, "Forewarned is forearmed". Cool saying but who are "they" anyway? I think they must be quite influential because "they" say a lot of things; some of the things "they" say are even profound.

Today is my last day of work as I will be heading off to an Evantell conference with some of my fellow elders. We leave at 0630 tomorrow morning and return on Friday afternoon. It should be a great time and I pray the Lord will take what we learn and help us to disseminate to our church family that we could all employ what we've learned for fruitful labor for the Lord.

On Saturday the company I work for is having a day at Adventureland for us and we are going. The sad news is that Alyssa will not be able to go with us as she has other pressing business but at least Kim will be there to keep Logan and I in line. Tall order, Honey!

Well, I'm signing off for now. Have a God filled day and week!

Bye!

First Week Back -- Sept. 15, 2008

It has been just over two months since The Flood of 2008 chased us from home and work. Gazing out the window this morning I remembered taking a break during our evacuation back in June. The water swirled and then roared down the same streets my cohorts and I two days before had been walking on during a break at lunch time. Quite surreal.

Of course the downtown has not fully recovered and may not for many years but there are some real signs of life. Restaurants are opening, businesses are coming back on line and people are starting to filter back to their abandoned offices. I don't know the numbers but there are sure signs of new life in downtown Cedar Rapids.

We walked by the library the other day I took a moment to peek into the window. The appearance is that they are ready to put it back together but the rumor is that is will be another two to three years before it's operational again. It's a sad thing to think about being a library fan. It was a wonderful place to steal away to when things got to stressful in the ol' cube here in the office. Oh well, Lord willing it will be back eventually.

Since the new Cedar Rapids government took over a couple years ago the library seems to have taken the brunt of their fiscal cuts. The joke in my circle of friends it that whenever there's a leak in the skywalks they have to cut the library budget to be able to afford to fix it. What I can't understand is how all of a sudden CR has fiscal problems when all the years before they did not seem to have any issues wit money? Hmmm...Oh well, I live in Marion so just curious.

Well, that's it for now. I did not get any more articles written this weekend but I do have at least two more ideas but they really don't fit into any of the known helium categories that I have been able to find yet but I won't give up that easily!

Good by for now.

Walk humbly with God and trust Him even when things look bleak. He won't leave or forsake you even in the tough times.

Bye!

Title Change? New Blog?? -- Sept. 12, 2008

I am just coming off another week of call and it wasn't to bad, but it's ALWAYS good to be coming off of cal as opposed to just starting call..."Only seven more days of call left" I'd say wryly at 5:00 PM on Friday night of my first day of call.  Usually the worst part of being on-call is a mental game--"I have to start call tomorrow! Woe-is-me!"  (Usually!) In reality call is normally not that bad. It really doesn't hinder plans too often.

I have another article I'm working on on how to study your Bible.  I have it mostly done but as I was re-reading it, it just didn't flow like I wanted it to so I need to do some revising. This will be my second how-to article and though I am writing instructions for installing software multiple times a day I find this type of article the most challenging so far.

This will be my sixth article, doubling my previous output. It is really exciting to me as I begin to become more prolific! I really like writing and I am especially enjoying these shorter articles right now. Perhaps it's because it's helping me to grow in the writing mechanics and helping me to become more comfortable in the whole writing arena. I still would like to do a novel  or six but for now I am content in writing these smaller articles.

I still am not sure how I'm really doing, if my writing is any good, but it is great to just to write! The rating system on helium.com goes a goodly way toward a benchmark but it can't compete with the verbal feedback of a writers group. I may have to see if the Noble Pen is still meeting and get back in with them. they always had good feedback for writers. I'll see.

As much as I have actually been writing lately the "Lazy Writer no longer applies, I may have to change the title. Having said that I'm not even close to some of the writers on Helium. Most have a at least one writing star and have written tens if not hundreds of articles. WOW! I have  ways to go. But guess what? I'm not them, I'm me and me (I? No, me is funnerer) has only five articles completed to date and one in the tube ready to launch.

One thing that I have been exploring is starting a second blog that I would entitle, "Triple E". This stands for Enlightenment, Encouragement, and Entertainment.

I would use this site to write articles that would have the three-fold purpose of enlightening folks to God and the many benefits of His kingdom, encourage those who are looking for hope, and, hopefully, some entertaining short stories as well. Triple E! (Get it?)

I have not put any more thought into than that but I want it to be professional and well thought out so you probably won't see it before the beginning of the year, Lord willing.

If you're looking for something to pray about and don't have anything better to pray for, this could be a good subject.

Good bye for now! Go in God's grace and may His mercy find you every moment of every day.

Bye!

A Stray, Although Odd, Thought -- Sept. 10, 2008

I have an interest in a broad area of disciplines: Science, literature, mankind, the list goes on and on. I read an article about the Higgs particle, or commonly referred to as the God particle, in a news article this morning and one tiny portion having nothing to do with the article itself, caught my attention.
A new multi-billion dollar particle accelerator is to be utilized to try and discover this “God particle” by racing protons around a seventeen mile ring at near the speed of light and cracking their skulls together at the end. Through this process scientists hope to discover how particles get their mass. Dr. Stephen Hawking, renowned British astrophysicist, indicated that he hoped that they would not find the particle so that they could spend more time thinking about it, studying it, getting to know the idea better, really dig into it more. This sentiment intrigued me and caused me to think for a moment. The following is the culmination of my thoughts:

I have been reading a trilogy based on the popular computer game, “Myst”. The characters are from a fictional land deep within the earth called D’Ni. (Pronounced Duh Nee)They have lived there for many millennia and their society has formed into a number of groups called “guilds”. Each guild has a separate skill set that has evolved over the years as each has improved upon their particular specialty. The bottom line is that they are intelligent, thinking beings who desire to learn and build upon their knowledge. Of course, they have problems like any other society but I love the thinking and learning that their culture is built upon. Simply put, their role in life is to learn as much as possible and then to take action from what they have learned. The main character, Aitrus, always has a notepad with him and is constantly documenting what he observes from the environment around him. This is passion for him.

Most of us have been on a treasure hunt at one time or another. We attend a birthday party or, in the case of my children, visit their grandparents’ for a week in the summer. This hunt can take many different forms and in the case of my kids treasure hunt, there are clues they have to solve to finally find the hidden treasure. What I love about this is that it requires thinking--using the mind God has given us. What does this have to do with the “God-particle” and Stephen Hawking? There is one common thread: The desire to think; to seek; to explore. This is so cool!

During my brief time of thought on this subject I have come up with a theory that gives me chills. Not chills of fear but of excitement.

God gives us so much including salvation, but our lives are not about religion or even just about salvation. We have been created in the image of God and that means we have the capacity to think, to dream and to create. All of us have these abilities in one degree or another. To search out a thing is the glory of man.

Here’s my theory:
When God created all things He did it in such a way that would require us to learn, to dig, to seek if we wanted understanding. We’re not created to lounge about and simply reach up to pluck a fruit from the vine when the urge takes us but we are to glorify God by doing. Whatever you do, do it all as though to the Lord. We glorify God by working hard. That may be physical labor or it might be in puzzling out the mysteries of the universe. As God was putting all of this wonderful creation together (By the way, He didn’t have to look at the install instructions!(They were in Spanish anyway!) Now you know where we guys come from when we think we can do it without the instructions. We’re just following our Father’s example! :)) He placed treasures and mysteries, just like the summer treasure hunts or the God particle, for us to apply our minds to discovering! Isn’t that cool?! Whether it is archeology, biology, medicine, physics, art, whatever, we can apply ourselves to uncovering the treasures and mysteries that God has planted for us to find in His creation. And, if we take these discoveries and look at them objectively, we can see that, indeed, there is a God and He does want to be found. That desire to be found is catalogued in His word, the Bible. That book also, requires investigation and time. As you roll through this masterpiece you soon discover, as many others have discovered throughout history, that many lifetimes would never be enough to know all that God has reveled about Himself to us through His word.

I think that God, being infinite, can never be fully known by us but when our time in this world is over and we are in Heaven we will have eternity to continue our research and have God Himself by our side!
Apply your whole self to all that you do because in doing that you glorify God and set a good example to those around you, pointing others to the Master in Heaven.

Floating on Helium -- Sept. 8, 2008

You may recall that I took up residence on a web site called Helium.com a few months back. Since that time I have reviewed almost two hundred articles (called 'rating' on the web site) and now have written five articles.

In one way or another I have liked all the articles I have written but mostly they have ranked in the 50-60% area in terms of the number of articles written for a given topic.

This past weekend I wanted to write and was intrigued by a title that came to my attention called "Thief on The Cross". Earlier in the week that topic had come to my mind, the reason escapes me at the moment, but there it was in all of it's glory. I had to write!

It took me a good three hours, which is typical for a 400-1500 report including some rewriting, but I succeeded in doing it.

I published it out to the sight and left it alone for critique.

There were only three others that had published to this title so I figured I couldn't do much worse than fourth but I felt pretty good about this article.

The next day I went out to investigate and low-and -behold I was number 1! That's right, my article was chosen the best out of four! I was really excited and there is no better motivation to write than to get some good critiques! I had to praise the Lord for His kindness toward me! I am still pretty stoked! (Is 'stoked' still ok to use now days?? Oh well, I used it anyway!)

By the way, the number one rating doesn't mean a whole lot in and of itself but as I rate others and as my writing improves and I start nailing articles in the 25% range, I can earn money. And YES I have earned money as of this writing! (At this point if you struggle with greed or are inclined to jealousy you'll want to turn away for a moment while I brag about my writing income!) I have earned, sit down now, $0.02! Yes you did see that correctly! Two Cents! One cent for an article I wrote a while back and one cent for the other! They were both in 50-60% range so I can't wait to see if I get paid for my No. 1 article! I would think five or maybe even, dare I think such extravagant thoughts, ten cents! WOW! (I'm quitting my day job, Honey!) Honestly, I'm not sure how I get paid it has never been clear to me but getting a no. 1 article sure was a boost of encouragement to continue!

This has fired my imagination for another blog that I would like to start but I have not worked out the details yet so I'm not sure how or when I will start it but it is tumbling around in my noodle at this time.

If you would like to read my articles click on the helium.com link on the left of this page and it will take you to my articles page on helium.com. Feel free to give me feedback as I am always wanting to improve my writing skills!

Put the Lord first in all you do and He will guide you in His will!

Good Bye, all!

Update on my Type -- Sept. 3, 2008

 

I am at home today not feeling well. My sinuses are full to overflowing and that makes doing anything difficult. In fact, Kim and Logan are here with me suffering from the same thing. It's not a usual happening around here, to say the least.

After a break this weekend I got back into "Do Who You Are" and I have made a decision: I need to go back through all the material I have already done but more carefully. As I was reading about people with my type I discovered that what they really cherish I don't find I had the same desires. I'm not sure I'm wrong about what I did pick but I want to reevaluate and make sure I am spot-on.

Now that I am done with the Book of James I have started a personal study using Chuck Swindol's book "growing Deeper in The Christian Faith" and I am excited about it and I will tell more as the days go on.

Not much more for today.  Don't forget to spend some time with God today, He's waiting for you!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight." 

Proverbs 3:5 - 6

What You Are? -- August 29, 2008

As I grow older I have discovered that I have changed. No, not just the extra weight and the gray hair (I actually like to think I'm going back to the blond I was when I first entered this world) but in a number of areas.

I used to accept anything that anyone told me as "gospel"; I had a very narrow view of life; and work was something you had to do to get the money you needed to pay the bills you had to have in order to have the things that made for life...in other words work was a necessary evil.

For a number of years I have been putting a lot of thought into what kind of job I would like to do and how could I find this mythical "Nirvana". I have discussed this with a number of close friends and I have spent a good amount of time in prayer, seeking God's council.

One tool I have been using is quite interesting.

To start I have to bring to the foreground, once and again, Kim and my friends from the little hamlet of Heston, KS., Greg and Kelly. These two people have become a sounding board for my inner man. They fired my heart to write, they challenge my walk with the Lord, and they introduce me to the most wonderful books!

One such book is "Do What You Are", a book written by Paul Tieger and Barbara Barron.

This book expands the age old receipt for finding that elusive "perfect" career form just what are you good at and what do you want to do? to include your personality type or type.

How you are wired can also affect what career would be best for you. Are you a person who loves excitement and thrills? You probably would not be happy being a number crunching accountant. Are you shy and retiring? Perhaps the accounting job would be quite appealing to you.

To determine this they help you to take the Briggs Meyer personality test. The amazing thing about this process, if you are honest in answering the questions, is that it is remarkably accurate! It pegged me, if not 100%, 90% for sure. It's sort of freeing when you stop for a moment and take a look at yourself, who you are as a person.

We can mold ourselves into being who we have to be for the sake of our careers and that can have an impact on how you answer the questions, but if you follow the authors' advice you can get remarkably close to who you are personality-wise.

The authors brilliantly but gently guide you through the process of finding your personality type. They are most accurate! I was surprised.

This is as far as I have come so far. I will update you with more later.

Oh, in case your wondering about my personality type: I am an INFJ...

:-)

Sail on with the Lord fighting the good fight as you travel the path He has placed you on.