Misery Loves Company

I'm noticing things about myself these days...more than the obvious like my hair is falling out or that it wouldn't hurt for me to lose two or three or thirty pounds. I'm noticing that I have to work hard not to have a negative attitude about things. Instead of looking at the good things happening around me I tend to focus on the bad. Being negative seems to come naturally. Sometimes my sarcastic side comes out before I can stop it – or maybe I don't want to stop it. Other times I'm just plain mean. If there's something going on that I don't like I'm going to make sure others don't like it either. Misery loves company.

Where's the joy in my life? Why is it so easy for me to focus on the negative rather than celebrate the positive? I really have a lot to be happy about - a beautiful and loving wife, a caring family with a whole bunch of fantastic nieces and nephews, great friends that I can share life with, a stable and fulfilling job, the opportunity to see beautiful places and meet amazing people around the world, a comfortable and well built home, an abundance of food, reliable transportation, the freedom to openly worship and talk about God...I could go on and on about how blessed I am and yet more often than not I find myself dwelling on the bad. What's up with that? Where does this negativity come from? Why can't I be content instead of grousing about insignificant things or looking for someone to blame for my unhappiness and trying to bring others down?

Maybe that's it...perhaps I've stumbled onto something as I write this. Why do I need to assign blame to someone or something instead of taking responsibility for my own actions or feelings? If someone does something that I don't particularly agree with why do I let it bring me down? I can't control what other people do or say so why do I let it affect me as much as I do? I'm the only one who can really control how I react to situations or something someone says. It's up to me how I respond to any given situation that I find myself in. I can either live my life thinking the worst about people's motive's or intentions or I can choose to look for the positive. If I choose to wallow in the negative, why shouldn't I expect my life to be negative? If I choose to focus on the good things that surround me doesn't it make sense that my attitude will mirror those positive things? Too often I let my attitude be affected by external influences that are completely out of my control. The only person who can truly make me happy is me. I can find joy in the people around me and we can share good times but ultimately it is my responsibility to choose whether I am going to be positive or negative in how I approach life.

I'm not naive...I know that sometimes bad things are going to happen. There will be difficult times and situations that come up more often than I would like. How I've reacted to those situations in the past has determined whether I'm in a funk for an extended period of time or whether I've picked myself up, shaken off the dust, learned from the experience and moved on. If I dwell on the negative and try to control what others are doing I end up trapped in a cycle of self pity and that's exactly where Satan wants me. If I give it over to God and let Him be in control things tend to swing back toward the positive a lot faster. Everyone has different life experiences that shape how we think and feel. I may not have had an "ideal childhood" (whatever that is) but it was far better than what a lot of other people had and I believe my parents did the best they could given the circumstances. I would be taking the easy way out to assign blame for the situations of my upbringing and using them as an excuse for my behavior instead of taking responsibility for my actions and making an effort to change how I respond to challenges today.

Does that mean that I'm going to be so optimistic that I begin to believe I'm living in some sort of utopia? Hardly. I have enough life experience to know that there is no heaven on earth...that comes in our next life. I also know that God never said our lives would be easy and without pain. What matters is how we react to the challenges we come across and ultimately how we live our present lives as a result. I'm tired of being negative and focusing on the bad or dwelling on the past. From this point on I choose to look forward, to search for the positive things in my life and to not get caught in the undertow of the bad things that will most certainly continue to happen. With God's help I will change the things that I can change within myself and stop focusing on what is beyond my control and allowing it to pull me and the people around me down. I am truly thankful for everyone and everything that God has placed in my life and it's time for me to start expressing that appreciation.

Thank You!

I want to thank everyone who stepped up and became a hero yesterday during Compassion's Global Food Crisis Day. The totals are still coming in but as of this post more than 15,000 people donated over $1.6 million and nearly 1200 children were sponsored.

THANK YOU, HEROES!

Please

About a year ago there was a lot of talk in the media about something that became known as the "Global Food Crisis." Reports were coming in from around the world detailing how the rising cost of food in developing countries was making those living in impoverished conditions struggle even harder to feed their families. It was becoming a serious issue and thousands upon thousands of people were in danger of starving to death.

Then the worst thing possible happened. The media got distracted by the US Presidential elections. The mortgage crisis hit and the economies of the First World Countries tanked. Suddenly people were more concerned about their devalued retirement accounts or their mortgages and the people starving to death around the world were pushed to the back page. Unfortunately, they have remained there as the media focused our attention on the inauguration of the USA's first black president and the billions of dollars in bailout money being dolled out for failing banks and automakers. In the meantime, things haven't gotten any better for the starving. In fact, it's gotten worse in a lot of countries. As prices rise and we worry about inflation here in the US, the developing countries are experiencing hyper-inflation and the cost of food has risen dramatically. Some of the original factors that turned this trend into a world calamity recently include unstable oil prices, increased meat consumption in countries like India and China, droughts in major crop-producing countries, and increased production of biofuels. When someone is only making a dollar or two a day and the price of a bag of rice increases by 50, 60 or 100% that's a huge deal. The UN World Food Programme calls the current global food crisis “a phenomenon, a silent tsunami,” that is affecting millions of families in every nation on every continent. This global food crisis is more rapid, urgent and devastating than any other in the history of our planet.

March 11, 2009 is a significant day. It's the day that Compassion International has dubbed "Global Food Crisis Day." The goal is simple. Raise money to provide food to families around the world who are starving. Compassion is partnering with radio stations, media, churches and bloggers to spread the word about the Global Food Crisis and raise funds that will make a real difference to those impacted by it. Here's the best part. You can help. You can make a donation that can literally save someone from starvation. Go to compassion.com/please and make a donation. Tell your family, friends and co-workers about it. Your donation will provide food vouchers to children and families needing immediate relief, buy seeds and agricultural tools so that families can grow their own food as well as earn extra income, and provide supplemental nutrition services at Compassion-assisted centers around the world. Be a hero - give, spread the word, save a life. Do it now.

Please.

Shhhh...Top Secret!

Here's a first glimpse of an upcoming version of the iPhone. Don't tell anyone where you saw it and don't spread it around to too many people. We wouldn't want to tip off the folks at Microsoft or RIM.



Pretty cool, isn't it?! Too bad this is just someone's dream - someone with access to some very nice 3D software!

Of course I want one – you know you do, too!

Real Life, Real Change

Today is a big day. There's a big event happening and someone's life will never again be the same. As with most life changing events there's a ripple effect. Other people's lives will change, too.

While lots of people around the world will experience change today, I'm talking about one specific event. My nephew, Travis, and his wife, Lindsey are becoming parents. Talk about a real change! Travis and Lindsey are 20. He's in the Marines and is currently stationed in Georgia. Travis' parents and grandparents are there for the birth...I'm sure Lindsey's parents are there, too. So, today Travis and Lindsey become Mom and Dad to little Gunner. Lori and Kirk become Grandma and Grandpa, and Travis' 16 year old sister becomes Aunt Savannah. Bob and Karin become Great-grandparents and Lisa and I become Great Aunt and Great Uncle. We, of course, feel we're far to young to be "Great Aunt Lisa" and "Great Uncle Ric" – we'd prefer to just continue to be the "great" aunt and uncle. I have to stop and think what Lori and Kirk must be feeling about becoming grandparents because Lori is only a year older than me. Kirk's got a few extra years on top of that but I know he's thinking he's not old enough to be Grandpa Kirk yet...he prefers to be called Captain Kirk.

Little Gunner will make his first appearance in the world sometime today. I love him already because I love Travis. I know there are a lot of other people who feel the same way. Even though we probably won't to be able to play as big a part in Gunner's life as we have with our other nieces and nephews it doesn't mean we won't love him as much. I'm proud of Travis for pursuing his dream to become a Marine and serve our country. I'm proud of both Travis and Lindsey for committing to being the best parents they can be. I wish I could be with them to give them both a big hug and to welcome Gunner into the world, but we can't always get what we wish for. There will undoubtedly be bumps in the road as life moves forward for this new young family. Lisa and I, and the rest of our family will do all we can to support and love them.

Happy Birthday, Gunner!