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How I'm Built

2026-02-16T13:06:00.003-05:00

Christian men are not built behind closed doors. We are built in the rough and sometimes sad times. Leaning in on our faith is what drives us.

What am I doing wrong?

2024-03-08T10:35:00.003-05:00

This question was posed on a recent video I watched and it has me pondering what am I doing wrong? I'm still delving into it and will get back with you on this same post.

Update: I’m doing a few things wrong IMO. I’m self centered, and do not give grace when I should. I’m not good at taking advice when I don’t ask for it. Perhaps I’m stuck in my logical mind and I think that’s because I’ve been burned one time too many. Am I too broken to be vulnerable again? I’m very wary of what I say to those close to me for fear what I say will be a weapon later on. It’s a Mexican standoff between my heart and mind.

Servant Leadership

2022-10-04T08:58:00.004-04:00

I've recently taken on a role in my community out of a sense of duty. I've always been one that has sought to serve others. This is very much different than when I served in the Navy. While on active duty it was expected/demanded that each perform their duties as prescribed. There was recourse when a link in that process failed.

In this community role, there are voices of those with a financial stake that have a right to voice opinions and vote on the outcome of desired actions. As with all things in life there will be triumphs and defeats on both the individual and the collective.

It is my goal to let those know that think they have been defeated in an outcome to know they have been heard and to allow them time to be upset and process their feelings. Hopefully I can be part of a team that lets the community know that our positions in these roles is that of support for the entire community since we are also subject to the process.

I have been praying for guidance and this morning I received an email, to which I subscribe, reminding me about servant leadership.

Wake up call

2022-08-30T09:10:00.000-04:00

Recently I had a health scare and at first I brushed it off to an oddity. Even though it only happens to 3 in 100,000 people (all about my age) I eventually took it seriously. With my sedentary job and retirement form the workforce approaching I had to take control of my health. It started with a very easy fitness regimen and I have been adding to it. I finally had the foresight to know that I can't immediately bench 325 and do 100 pushups on day 1. Will I get there? Time will tell. What I do know is that even the smallest of steps gets me closer to my goal. A goal without a plan is just a wish. Today I encourage you to make a goal, figure out a plan (whether it takes you 6 months or 2 years) and then hold yourself to your plan. Happy
goal hunting!

New Year new challenges

2022-01-27T11:16:00.002-05:00

I suppose it could be said about every day. A new day full of it's own challenges. Certainly we must have a plan for the future but we cannot get to the future without first getting through today. Sometimes when life feels overburdened, it's all some can do to get through the next hour or even the next minute. Personally, I have been in that position on more than one occasion. When I get in these doldrums I end up being embarrassed to think that I'm in that position. I have the innate ability to focus on things that are wrong, or that I don't like instead of focusing on the areas in my life that are rich and full of joy. Today, I focus on the good.

God answers prayers

2021-12-15T11:39:00.003-05:00

I've been praying for a certain outcome over a situation to be resolved by my birthday. When I checked the situation yesterday morning (my birthday), no resolution. I thought, it's okay because God doesn't work on my timings.

This morning I checked on the situation again and lo and behold, I got the positive outcome I desired and the update to the situation was yesterday. God answered my prayer and was generous enough with his grace to influence the outcome when I asked this of Him.

I feel that through obedience to His word and doing what He asks of me I get favor. I'm not bragging by any means. I just want you to know that if you're praying for something it will be answered.

I heed my own advice.

2021-04-21T11:39:00.002-04:00

Just sayin', get over yourself.

It's not about not caring

2021-04-20T09:31:00.000-04:00

It isn't a hardened heart because I have great empathy for those less fortunate.

It isn't about how much I have for I have a sufficient amount and can live within my means.

It isn't about not caring, for I do care about the situations around the world and the people suffering.

The more clarity I have on life the less concern I have because I know I can weather the storms.

It comes down to my circle of influence and my circle of concern. My circle of concern is much larger that my circle of influence. It's at the point where those 2 circles intersect is where I focus my abilities to assist.

When it's all of sudden

2021-04-19T10:50:00.005-04:00

When I reached an all of a sudden moment I had to realize that any changes I desire to make in me wasn't in that aha moment. It was a culmination of events that finally got me to that point.

Sometimes the desire to change is driven by negative circumstances (ok, a lot of the time) and then there are circumstances that just make me want to change how I think about myself. We can live in the slurry of negativity or take the time to think what we think about ourselves and others.

I feel like just changing how I think about myself in general will have a positive impact on my perceived self-worth, my character and how I view the world. As I sit here and think about it, it reminds of what it was like being a little kid. Shoveling the years of negativity and anxiety out of my mind creates new space for letting in the new thoughts.

So it's only taken my X amount of years to get here. I'm rather excited about what the future holds once again.

20 cents

2021-04-09T15:30:00.002-04:00

I'm still working on my own paradigms (pair of dimes - 20 cents). I'm determined to live in the freedom in Jesus Christ and not be weighed down by Lucifer's incessant lies and deceptions.

I will wake up daily and claim my freedom and remind myself throughout the day.

Out of the cave

2021-04-08T17:02:00.001-04:00

What a year it's been. I just realized that I've posted nothing on the pandemic and thinking about it I'm glad I didn't. It may have just added to the noise.

Life during shutdowns and social distancing seemed to be okay for the most part. Like many of you reading this, our family felt the pain of losing a family member to COVID. Sadly, I couldn't attend.

In this early spring it feels like the world (and me) are coming out of hibernation. Warily sticking myself a bit further into the world. We have been able to do many of the things we enjoyed pre-covid with only the addition of a mask and hand sanitizer wherever we go.

I've been taking this time to work on myself. There are things about me that I don't like and I know others don't either. I did three months with Shift Society with Julia Kristina (worth the money), Anger Management classes with the VA and bible study.

I feel myself making the turn towards who I desire to be and am excited to ditch all the crap that I've believed about myself. The biggest thing I've learned this year is that most of everything I have ever believed about myself were not and are not my original thoughts. They were put on me by family, friends, workers, etc.. The things I do believe about me are some of those I want to change.

I won't list everything I'm changing, but I will say that change is slow and it takes work. It felt good to post again today. I've been meaning to do it for weeks and will keep this a good habit.

If you are looking to make some changes, search YouTube for Julia Kristina.

It's lost somewhere in the minutia

2020-07-14T16:32:00.001-04:00

I'm talking about truth. There is an old adage that says there are 3 sided to the truth; yours, mine and the actual truth.

In today's soundbite, click-bait world there is SOMETIMES some truth to the story. It's so easy to get a rumor started and if strategically placed, it becomes the truth somehow. It saddens me that the world has become this way and that there are those that believe whatever is put before them.

I am skeptical of anything that sounds like the masses complaining and skeptical of any news outlet. I'm not painting my own reality, I'm thinking about what may or may not be true.

Adage #2
If it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck and walks like a duck, it's a duck.
Now replace duck with truth..has to be all 3.

Good luck my friends.

Step Back Jack

2020-05-12T10:50:00.000-04:00

I don't know why, but I'm constantly amazed at how easily someone is offended. This is not to say that there are offenses that need to be called out. However, the digital world seems to bring out the worst in a lot of people. It also provides a bully pulpit. I think it's also a mask too. Social media is filled with perfect this and perfect that, a million selfies a day (at least) all for some sort of e-gratification. Life gets ugly, people hurt and the only way we really know how someone is feeling is to ask. We should even ask ourselves about how we are truly feeling. I think what this boils down to me is this; if we get all fired up about everything, then we fall for anything.

Take a breather today and try to find some sunshine to sit in.

What to leave

2020-04-30T00:01:00.001-04:00

Today’s struggle is about what do I leave for my granddaughter. I haven’t really known her but I want to leave her with more than I ever thought I have been worth. I see a piece of me in her, yet what she has is way more than I ever thought I could be. She is the very best of what I ever wanted to be.

Changing of the Norms

2020-04-28T10:07:00.000-04:00

For some, the greeting "Norm!" in the television show Cheers began to make us feel as welcome as Norm was. I have developed similar greetings for those I socialize with. Norm has changed. Norm is not the norm we once new, and it may never be again.

What a peculiar time in which we live. Social distancing, sanitizing, avoiding others except for immediate family members inside our home.

With the slower pace of life for most I began to wonder what our social lives would be after we weather through this situation. Will we want the same relationships with others we had before? Will we change our habits to spend more time at home?

There is uncertainty in any future and with a global pandemic in our midst, it seems even more uncertain. What if, what if, what if, what if.... We can try and think about every possible outcome and have a plan for it. Personally, that would drive me nuts.

I'm incapable of developing every situation so, my plan is to make the best of whatever comes my way and wait for "Norm" 😃

More Hurry Up and Wait

2020-04-21T14:06:00.000-04:00

I will stand at my watch
and station myself on the ramparts;

I will look to see what he will say to me,
and what answer i am to give to this complaint. (2:1)

Today, spend some time simply waiting and listening to God.

www.habakkuk.health

Not so fast, my friend.

2020-04-15T11:59:00.001-04:00

It occurred to me that as I age I don't do a lot of things physically as fast as I used to. It also occurred to me that in my younger days I spent a tremendous amount of time and energy running to the next thing, and the next thing and the next thing, hoping to find love, security and acceptance.

As I get older, and look inside myself and get nearer to God, I realize if I had just been still and believed what God was telling and showing me, I wouldn't have gone where I had been. I'm not beating myself up for where I've been or what I've done, the past is the devils playground. What I am eluding to is this: Once I realized that be being still and opening up to God, more weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

That old saying "Let go and let God" was something I had previously failed to grasp. It's not that I'm getting older that gets me closer to God, it's my willingness to admit failure and weakness to Him and accepting His version of me.

I'm strongest in my weakness before Him.

Normalizing the abnormal

2020-04-15T09:07:00.001-04:00

A strange spring has been sprung on us. It seems like months and months ago that March Madness was canceled, then baseball, concerts, in person meetings...now social distancing is (should) be the standard practice.

I was thinking the other day that in the early stages of the virus invading our country I thought that all these cancellations were unnecessary. Looking back, I'm glad there are brighter minds than mine making decisions that affect all of us. I can only imagine what the magnitude of the infection rate would have been without the cancellations.

Pray for your local, state and federal leaders to seek wisdom and make wise choices.

Stay healthy my friend.

Peace in the Storm

2019-10-09T14:42:00.000-04:00

When the world is swirling around me and I find myself becoming anxious, the mercy of God runs to meet me where I am. I am eternally thankful that every once in a while, I get the feeling of peace so grand that it has to be a taste of heaven. I pray you experience it regularly.

Get in groove

2019-10-01T11:13:00.004-04:00

I realized today that I had lost confidence in myself. I cannot recall the exact moment that I started feeling this way. I believe it is a conglomeration of events that led me astray from who I really am. I can, however tell you when I came back to my senses. It was today while listening to a song I haven’t heard in a few years.

The wake-up call to get back to me wasn’t a seismic event. It was a gentle nudge to get out of the rut and back in the groove. One of my favorite sayings is “There is a fine line between being in a groove and being in a rut”.

Groove on my friends.

I am, therefore I must.

2019-09-13T08:56:00.000-04:00

I am a lot of things to a lot of people. One word titles, monikers, nicknames, and associations all give some view of who I may be. However, those don't describe what I am. I am an encourager. Even on my darkest days I seek the light and the joy in the situation. It's what and who I am. My wish for you is that you find that speck of light that brings you joy. There is no darkness, only the absence of light. Be the light for others.

Prepare for impact

2019-09-06T10:32:00.000-04:00

Since the inception of social media, networking sites, blogs, podcasts and apps, people have been supplying their own bits of wisdom and insight. In today's world, the impact is generally immediate.

I think we all get a bit of satisfaction if we find out that our words of wisdom or humor has made a positive influence on someone. We also need to consider that whatever is posted in the e-world, has the capability of having a positive impact years from now. It is also quite possible that the posting can have an impact long after we depart this life. Much like books from days gone by and the impact they can still have.

I think the burning question is this...Are you okay with making a positive impact on a life and never knowing of it?

Money isn't real

2019-09-05T06:32:00.001-04:00

Of course it's tangible and we place a value on it. Yet to me, it is just an idea. I say that because the value that is put on one US Dollar has different value depending on a lot of socioeconomic settings.

One US Dollar to millionaires has less value that someone that is homeless, jobless and hungry. You see, a dollar can just be a dollar, or it can be a lifeline. If you're reading this, I can venture a guess that you wouldn't miss just one dollar. If that's the case, I challenge you to give one away today.

One may think that it's just a dollar, what good can it do? It's not just your dollar, it's a dollar from hundreds, or even thousands, where the impact is truly seen.

Please, give a dollar to charity today.

Salt, Pepper & Smoked Paprika

2019-08-14T09:52:00.000-04:00

No matter what season in life you are experiencing, you are there for purpose. As for me, my previously salt and pepper hair is nearly all salt and I find myself more relaxed in life and eager for each day. I know that each day I will encounter someone that needs a smile or a kind word, or it can be the person I encounter lifts me up. My calling in life is not affected by my occupation nor my station. It is in those occupations and different seasons where I must put my calling in action. Take some time today to find your calling and use it wherever you are.

This just in!

2019-08-13T08:37:00.002-04:00

We get the opportunity everyday for a fresh start, a new attitude, a chance to do good. We also have the grace daily to be forgiven and to forgive. I know a few people that have held on to hurts they experienced years and years ago and still hold a grudge, or anger, or sorrow. If you think that forgiving someone lets them off the hook, you're incorrect. It lets YOU of the hook. Forgive that person and wriggle free of the hook that has held you for so long.