Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts

Friday, March 30, 2018

Easter


Hello Everyone,

Have you ever wondered why Jesus came to Earth in the first place?  If you had asked me that question a year or two ago, I would have said to defeat the devil.  That’s what He came to do but that’s not why He came.  He came to pay a ransom and get His family back.  The devil held His family hostage and under bondage for years.  I asked the Lord about this one time and He told me that He wanted to come.  Right before the cross, He wanted God to provide a different way but He was longing for all His brothers and sisters.  That means he paid the price for you.  He did it to make a way for you to be in his wonderful perfect family. 

When you accept Him as your Lord and Savior, you are immediately put into The family.  There is consideration of any of your past sins.  Jesus paid the ransom for all of those.  Guess what, there is no consideration for any of your future sins.  Jesus paid the ransom for all of those too.  I know some people may struggle with that and think that being a Christian means being perfect.  Let me set you free – You aren’t perfect and you won’t be until Jesus return.  Jesus knows this.  He’s not waiting with God to hit you with a lightning bolt if you mess up in the future.  He didn’t hit you if you messed up in the past. 

Why did you go through struggles?  Just like there is a real Jesus, a real God and a real Holy Spirit, there is a very real devil and he’s looking for ways to steal from you, kill you and destroy you.  Should you be afraid?  Absolutely not!!  Do you think the devil could overcome Jesus now?  He couldn’t do it before Easter.  Jesus said I am freely giving my life and He could have called more angels than the devil has to take Him off the cross if He wanted to.  Jesus could have defeated the devil for Himself personally before the cross.  After the cross, Jesus said ALL power has been given unto me.

“So if Jesus has the power, what does that have to do with me,” you might ask?  Well I’m glad you did.  Here is where it impacts us.  Jesus’ came from God, His father.  The last recorded time that Satan directly tangled with God, God hit him so hard the devil was travelling at the speed of light when he hit the earth.  That’s more than 186,000 miles per second!  That was some punch.  What does that have to do with us?  When you accept Jesus into your heart, the Bible says that Jesus and God come to live inside you.  That means you have all the power you need inside you right now to stop every attack of the devil.  That’s what happened on the first Easter.

If you are not sure about where you stand with God, just repeat this prayer with me.  Say, Jesus, please come into my heart.  I make you my Lord and Savior.”  That’s it!  You did it!  You are now part of the family.  If you said that prayer, would you please let me know.

That’s another Opinion of the Minion

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Love - Watch Out

Hello Everyone,

Today I want to take a small detour from talking about the attributes of love to issue a warning about our study.  Over the last couple of weeks, I have had more opportunities to be unloving than I can remember in the last year.

For instance, just this morning I was sitting in Starbucks reading and going through my daily routine.  When I got done, I had to take my SUV over to get the air conditioner fixed.  While I was driving through downtown Fort Worth, I turned onto a street and pulled up a little and stopped (I was playing Pokemon Go).  When I did, the lady behind me honked her horn at me for stopping.  Now she couldn't see me so she has no idea I did this but I immediately said something ugly to her.  Why?  Because the devil doesn't want me to learn to really walk in love.

He met someone 2,000 years ago who walked in perfect love all the days of his life, Jesus.  Guess what, the devil couldn't touch him because perfected Love was Jesus' shield and protection.  Love is another name for God and he was walking in perfect God all the days he was here and it protected Him.  Now I am not saying we are going to be perfect because we miss the mark sometime.  But what I am saying is that the more we walk in Love, the more impact we have on this earth.

Jesus walk was so different that it impacted the people around Him long before he ever died on the cross for our sins.  See the devil doesn't want me (or you) to walk in Love because he knows it will drive out his only weapon - fear.  The Bible says that perfect love casts out fear.  It also says that Love never fails.

So are you believing for a loved one to turn to Jesus?  Are you believing for a situation to change at work or at your school?  Are you believing for restoration in a relationship?  Are you believing that you can change something in your life that you don't like?  Are you battling addiction?  The list of questions could go on and on.  But what's the answer to any of these problems?  The answer is perfected love.

I know my love walk is not perfect.  I also know that perfected love lives inside me right now and He is working on my behalf to get me to the right place.  Are you struggling with the whole "God thing?"  Would you like to have perfect love living inside you?  You might say something like, "You don't know what I did.  I did something that nothing can fix.  I did something really bad and God can't love me."  Well have I got news for you.  Jesus' blood was shed for ALL sin.  No matter what you did, Jesus' blood is stronger.  Would you like to start a relationship with Him right now?  All you have to do is say, "Jesus, come into my heart.  I make you my Lord and Savior."  That's it.  If you said that prayer and believed it, something just happened inside you.  You got born again and that Perfect Love now lives inside you.

If you prayed that prayer, would you please let me know.  Also, please find a good Bible based church so you can start to learn more about the Love that has been put into your heart.

That's another Opinion of the Minion.

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

I Want to Know What Love Is

"I want to know what love is.  I want you to show me...."  Have you ever heard that song?  Those are lyrics from a song in the early 80s.  Yes, I am dating myself a little because that was the golden age of music for me.  But it's a popular theme these days.  We want to experience love.  We want to be in love.  We want to feel love.

It's interesting that in every song on the radio and for most people when you ask them about love, they tell you that they want some feeling associated with love.  Have you ever heard someone refer to love as a matter of the heart?  Have you ever someone say follow your heart?  Most of the time that means follow your feelings and let me tell you that can lead to disaster.

Another song from my day said, "What is love, baby don't hurt me...."  So let's tackle things that describe love in general.  First of all, we know that God is love because the bible says that He is.  That means that God equals love and Love equals God.  I will talk in more detail about many of the attributes in later blogs but let's look at a few attributes of Love.

The Bible says, "Love is patient and kind.  Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.  It does not demand it's own way.  It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.  It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.  Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance."  1 Corinthians 13:4-7

I want you to notice something about these verses.  Most of the attributes of love listed are action verbs, not feeling verbs.  How many times to you hear people say, "I feel patient" or "I feel kind"?  I don't know if I have ever.  I have been patient with people and I've been kind to people but I don't know if I've ever felt kind.

Take a look at something else.  All these attributes are things that we DO to other people.  Did you notice that not once do these verses say that we should be expecting this from someone else?  Now you might say that if someone is ACTING this way toward you then they are not acting in love and I won't argue that but if we are walking in love, then we won't keep record of being wronged.  Let me be clear, I am not saying that if someone is abusive to you that you should stay in the relationship and never keep record of being abused.  If you are in an abusive relationship, get out!  But when you do, then chose to walk in love and forgive.

It's when we get past feelings and start living into Love the way God sees love, then we will experience the greatest victories in our lives.  The Bible says that Love never fails.  Are you worrying about your parents?  Are you worrying about your kids?  Are you worrying about some other person?  Then make the decision to act and walk in Love with them.

That's another Opinion of the Minion

Monday, February 13, 2017

Love is Patient Part 2

Hello everyone,

I wanted to take moment to tell you about a few things where I have/am learning to love by being patient.  I didn't really understand the power of the force of patience until recently.  See, patience provides room for love to grow.  It's critical.  Let me explain.

Last week, my wife and I were going through the normal things in life.  We were working and raising kids.  Now each of our children is fearful and wonderfully made.  That means sometimes we wonder about them.  Just kidding.  That means they are wonderful and amazing children.  They are God's gift to us and I get excited when we catch glimpses of what's really inside them.  But there are other times where they are challenging.

Parent's have you ever been frustrated because your children don't grow up as fast as you would like?  Have you ever wondered if they would grow up at all?  I can't tell you how many times my wife and I have worried over our children because of their choices or how many times I would ride them about a choice they made over and over.  But what I realized was that in some ways, I wasn't being loving.  Now I'm not saying that we shouldn't correct our children because the Bible says that God corrects those he loves.  But what I am telling you is that in other cases if we will be patient with our children and give God room to grow them up, they will progress so much faster than all our nagging.

The other thing I noticed this week is an area in my personal life where I was not being very loving with someone because I wanted them to do something and they didn't do it.  I got agitated and rolled all sorts of things around in my mind to tell them but in the end, the Lord was telling me to be patient.  See, I was walking in selfishness which is many times the opposite of patience.  What I wanted the other person to do was a good and right thing but I was not giving them time to do it on their own.  I have decided to love them and be patient and wait.

Patience doesn't come across as an action verb.  When you give something to someone, they can see what you give them.  When you do something for someone or say something nice to someone, then they know it immediately.  But with patience, the person you are loving, may never know that you are loving them and waiting.  I think that's what makes it so strong.

How many times do you think the Lord has been patient with us.  How many times has he wanted us to make different choices and we make the same mistakes again and again.  But guess what.  He never walks out of love with us.  It's impossible for God to be anything but Love toward us so I know he is patient with me every day.

Let me leave you with this.  If you are struggling with patience, then ask the Lord to help you stand in faith and pray while you wait.  God is able to do much more that we can ask or think so dare to ask big and then wait.

That's another Opinion of the Minion.

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Time

Hello Everyone,

Tonight I want to talk about time.  Time is finite.  There are 24 hours in a day; 60 minutes in an hour and 60 seconds in a minute.  There's only so much of it and when we run out of time, we run out.  By that I mean when we die and go to heaven or hell, we are out of time.

I recently heard of someone who felt like they were out of time at a very young age.  The felt they had made mistakes that could not be overcome.  They felt like they were behind where they should be based on their peers.  What's so amazing about this person is that they are so young.

Maybe you feel like you are out of time.  Maybe you are 50 years old and have been through a failed marriage.  It could be you think you are too old to go back to school.  Time as run out.  It could be that you are really young and the devil has sold you a pack of lies telling you it is too late for you.  Maybe you feel that time has run out and your situation is now hopeless.  I don't know all the things that the devil uses to make us feel frustrated.  But I want you to know something.  It's not over!  You are not out of time!  God still has a plan for you.  You can accomplish that plan whether you are 15, 35, 55, or 85.  You are not out of time.

I want to tell you about a man named Abram.  He was 90 years old and his wife was almost that old.  They never had kids and wanted them.  Abram had a visitation from the Lord.  The Lord told Abram that he would be the father of so many descendants that they would be more numerous than the grains of sand on the seashore.  Can you believe that?  Well Abram did.  He believed it so much that he started calling himself Abraham which means "father of many nations."  Nine months later, they gave birth to a son and the promise was on.

Friend, God wants to do the same thing for you he did for Abraham.  If there is any area of your life where you feel that it's too late, I encourage you to take it to the Lord and see what He can do with it.  I guarantee you, it's not too late.

Well, I've blogged myself happy again.  That's another Opinion of the Minion. 

Monday, October 10, 2016

Politics or People

Hello Everyone,

In light of the political elections that are coming up in American, I want to take a second to talk about politics but not in the way you might think.

I've noticed that everyone has an opinion about the current political landscape.  Some hate Trump; Some hate Clinton and some hate everyone.  But here's what really doesn't make sense to me.  I see a lot of my friends and family on my personal Facebook page and other places posting about politics.  They all have something to say about what should or shouldn't be done.  They all have something to say about this person's moral character or that person's.  They all have something to say about this person's truthfulness, etc.  Yet not one of the people I have ever talked with has the capability (other than casting 1 vote) to do anything about it.  Furthermore, neither one of the candidates cares about what any of them think on a personal level.  Whoever gets elected is going to do whatever they please regardless of what you and I think.

So I've been asking the Lord what to do about it.  Here's what the Lord showed me.

1.  Whatsoever things are lovely, just, pure and of a good report, mediate on these.  That doesn't mean that you ignore things but it does mean that you shouldn't focus on them.  Focus on God's word.  It will actually make a difference in your life.

2.  Find someone to bless today.  This one is huge.  I can't really influence who gets elected but I can influence the people around me.  Do you know someone who needs encouragement or maybe someone who needs a meal.  The list of needs goes on and on.  Did you know the Bible says that when you give to someone in need, you give to Jesus?  That's really big.

3.  Remove a critical spirit from you.  See I have noticed that before the Lord told me to quit giving the race so much attention that I was getting critical.  Not only was I critical of the people in the election but I started being critical of people around me.  That's no place to live.

So I ask again - Politics or People?  The choice is yours.

That's another Opinion of the Minion.


Wednesday, May 18, 2016

I'm Getting a Divorce ... But NOT from My Wife

Hello Everyone,

It's been a long time since I have posted anything but as I have said before, a couple of times, I am going to start writing more.

Today's topic is Divorce.  Let me say that I am totally for it but not like you think.

This came up inside me because of an individual in my life.  This particular person (It's not one of my family or friends) continues to be a constant source of wrong thinking, upset and worry.  You know the type.  The person who is constantly saying something or doing something just to be mean and upset you.  The person that you constantly catch yourself thinking about what you want to say to them and how you want to give them a piece of your mind.  You go through the day and play different conversations out in your head.  They said this and then you would say something back that would really put them in their place.

But the truth is that 99% of the time these conversations never happen.  When you actually talk with someone it never goes the way you thought it out.  The net effect of the whole situation is that you didn't say all the things you wanted and you let that person dominate your thought life for some part of the day.  Maybe you worried about what they would say or do and how it would effect you or someone else.  Maybe you got really angry and dreamed about getting them back.  So when WE spend all that time going through those thoughts and replaying what that person said or did over and over again we miss things.  See I could have all that time thinking about my God or my kids or my wife.  I could have spent that time planning what I was going to do to bless them or bless someone else and then doing it.  But I chose to spend the time day dreaming in a negative way about that person!  So to those thoughts, consider this your official notice - I'm getting a divorce!!

Now let me tell you about a few things about divorce.  My ex-wife and I owned a house and I paid every payment on that house.  But here's the thing - as soon as the judge signed the divorce decree that was no longer my house.  I was no longer allowed in that house without my ex-wife's permission.  That's exactly what happens with our thought life.  You can choose what thoughts you let in your house and which ones have to stay out side.  They may ring the doorbell and ask to come in but you can tell them no.

So to that person who is causing us so much trouble, let me say that we have irreconcilable difference so it's over.  You are no longer allowed in my thought life.  I expect you to say ugly things and I expect you to be selfish and manipulative but I am no longer allowing you in my home!

Here are a few other things that have been served their divorce papers.

Politics - We are through.  I'm divorcing you from my thought life.  I will vote as the Lord leads me but I will not take you to dinner anymore and I will certainly not invite you back to my place.  I know that their are family and friends who would like us to stay together but we simply don't belong together.  Note:  If you like to talk about politics, what are you actually doing?  Remember, discussing a problem without implementing a solution is just complaining.

Judgmental attitudes - It's over between us.  I know we have only been together for a short time but you have been a complete negative in my life.  But I don't want you to meet my family and I don't see us growing old together.  Have you ever spent time judging people?  You know - She shouldn't wear that dress or he shouldn't drive that car.  I actually caught myself judging someone the other day while I was driving down the road!!  I don't know one thing about the person!

Other detrimental areas - I've seen you with other people so you aren't even true to me.  When we are together, you are abusive and cause me to lose my peace.  You don't want me to go to church; you don't want me to tithe; you don't want me to love my wife.  As a matter of fact, you are jealous of anything that I think about other than you.  You are so narcissistic.  It's over between us.  Pack your stuff and get out of my life.

Now friends if this stirs something in you and makes you want to divorce some of those stinking thinking areas in your own life then let me say this.  You must be vigilant.  Those areas can be stalkers and they can try to track you down to get back with you but don't let them.  Stay Vigilant!!!  If you know me and you see me making a V sign with my fingers it's for vigilance.

That's another Opinion of the Minion

Monday, July 27, 2015

A Time to Rest

Hello again everyone.  Today I want to talk about rest.  Before I go into this post, let me say I am not taking my own advice right now.  It seems to me that with the technological advances, we are busier now than ever before.  We might not work sun up to sun down behind a plow like they did 150 years ago but we are still very very busy.

I see it everywhere.  When I was a kid, we played little league baseball and it ran for a couple of months (probably April to June) and if you made the All-Star team it ran a little longer.  Now baseball is a year round sport.  There's fall ball, winter ball, select teams, little league, etc.  It's not just baseball, it's every sport.  In the interest of competition the schedules are much more demanding.  For the kids this is great but for parents it requires more and more running.  You can drive over a hundred miles a day in Texas just running kids back and forth to practices, etc.

Before I get any ugly responses, let me say that I am a sports fan and I enjoy watching our kids.  But you need to count the costs of all those activities.  No, I don't mean the monetary costs although those are important.  I am talking about the time costs.  You see, while every one of these events on their own is really great, we have to be careful that the sum of the events doesn't run us down.  What is the cost of time spent doing anything on the relationships that are important.

Last week, my wife and I were so busy running kids, working, taking care of the house, doing our gym work outs and the list goes on that I rarely saw her at all.  When I did we were rushing off to another event!  Now I am complaining about going, I just began to notice that I was getting tired.  How did I know?  Well, one night my wife and I were in the kitchen talking about the new toll road in Fort Worth.  We were discussing how we seldom see the police on the other major roads but that they were definitely handing out extra tolls on that road every day.  That turned into an argument and we were in agreement on the issue!  Fortunately it wasn't a major argument and we only argued for about a minute before my wife said, "Why are we arguing about this?" and it stopped but it let me see that I was really getting tired.

So let me ask you this.  Are you feeling yourself frustrated and tired a lot?  If so, what type of toll is it taking on your friends and family around you?  Are you short with people you love?  Have you found yourself so busy that you don't have time to read your bible and be alone with God?  If the answer is yes, then let me suggest that you take a minute and re-evaluate where you are spending your time.  It is important to get things done but at what cost?  Are there things you really need to cut out of your daily schedule?  Don't try to keep up with what everyone else is doing.  Run your race.  You'll be glad you did.

And that's another Opinion of the Minion

Monday, January 12, 2015

The Box Revisited

Hello Everyone,

This is one of the first posts I ever created and I think that every once in a while I should repost it because it was so profound to me.



I have given this a lot a of thought and I believe that the Lord showed me something that changed the way I view people.

You see, when God creates a person he gives them abilities, passions, desires, talents and all sorts of wonderful attributes that we seldom ever see.  Then he takes all these things and puts them in a box with silver wrapping paper and very pretty red ribbon tied in a bow around it.  He calls the box - You.  It is a present to the world.  When I saw this for the first time, I looked around at all the people walking by and said to myself, "Merry Christmas!" because all I could see were beautiful boxes waiting to be opened.

The problem is many people don't even know what is in their own box much less have taken the time to look in someone elses box.  This starts when we are in school.  As we grow up, we learn all kinds of new things about ourselves: what we like, what we don't, the changes that our bodies go through, we learn things in school about the world and we learn about social interaction.  But sometimes that social interaction teaches us that the stuff in our box isn't all that important.

Have you ever felt like the stuff inside you doesn't really matter?  Can you look back to a point in your life where you were doing something you really enjoyed and someone else called it or you stupid or worthless?

When you pull the most precious parts of your life out of the box and let other people see them, it is scary because you are definitely vulnerable at that point.  But know this, the Lord put all those wonderful things inside and they are of great price and value.  Don't let someone cheapen what is so precious by their comments.

Everyday, I see people who are alive but aren't living.  I think it is because they have told themselves that the treasures in their box aren't important or worth much so they don't do anything with them.  They may not have done this openly but below the surface it happens.  You have to know that if God took the time to create you and put all those treasures inside you, they are important both to him and to me.

When was the last time you looked in your box and pulled out something you truly enjoyed and used it?  When was the last time you opened the box?  When was the last time you were passionate about anything?  Are you so caught up in the rat race that your box isn't important any more?

Here is another interesting question - When was the last time you opened up someone else's box to see who they really are and celebrate the gifts inside them?  Do you always know what is wrong with your husband, wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, kids, friends, parents, family, coworkers but never look inside the box for what is so awesome about them?

Husbands, what would happen if instead of criticizing your wife, the next time you saw her, you decided to look at something that was so precious to her, so beautiful, so tender, so amazing and something she loved about herself?  What would happen if you nurtured that gift and encouraged it to grow?  What would happen if, after you opened her box, she decided that your box was the most special one on earth and decided to touch the core of who you are?  What if you both decided to go deep in your relationship?

Boyfriends, what if you looked at her and decided that you wanted more than just what was inside her clothes, you wanted what was inside her heart.  Girlfriends, what if you decided that you wanted the same thing?  What if you wanted to explore who they are and make them the best person they could be while they did the same thing to you?  What if you looked at them and asked, "What can I give?" instead of "What can I get?"

Is this a little intense?  Yes.  Is it worth it if just one person decides to open their box or open someone elses?  Yes.  You see, I believe that I got to see a little glimpse of the creation through the creator's eyes when He showed me this.  It was truly an eye opening experience and I can definitely say I will never be the same.  I got to see how He looked at and longs for His creation to be all that we can be and how His love for us goes so deep His heart aches for us.

So I guess the real question is what is in your box?  I want to know.

That's the Opinion of His Minion

Friday, July 25, 2014

Toothpaste

Hello Everyone,

It's been quite a while since I wrote anything but today I want to talk about toothpaste.  Toothpaste comes in all different sized tubes and in more flavors than I can count.  There is wintergreen, spearmint, peppermint, and the list goes on and on.  Now I am not sure about how it comes packaged in other parts of the world but in the United States, most of the time it comes in squeeze tubes with a screw on cap.  The tubes are normally bright colors to make you feel good about using their brand and to make their brand look good.  It's supposed to be pretty important stuff because it helps us keep our teeth and gums in good health.  I can't remember how many times my mom asked if we had brushed our teeth before we went to bed.  As a grown up dad of five, I can't count how many times I have asked the same thing to ours.

So why am I talking about toothpaste?  It's because we humans have a lot in common with that tube.  At a factory somewhere, there are machines and people that put the toothpaste in the tube but did you ever notice that you don't really know what's in the tube until you take the cap off and squeeze the tube?  You can't see through the tube normally.  As I said a minute ago, you can see the outside of the tube and it may look great but you can't see the inside.

Some of you have probably figured out where I am going with this.  See, we can't really know what's inside a person until there is pressure put on that person.  It's when the pressure comes from all sides and starts to really squeeze that we get to see what's really inside their "tube."  We are all the same way.  We can look great on the outside but have real trouble on the inside.  But let me tell you this.  Whatever you put down on the inside of you is going to come out in words when the pressure is on.  Just like that factory, if you put God's word in your heart and you meditate on it regularly, that Word will come out of your mouth when you get into a tough situation.  If you're putting negative thoughts and ideas down in your spirit then those same negative things will come out of your mouth under pressure.

Let me ask you this.  What kind of toothpaste is on the inside of you?  Is it good thoughts?  Is it based on the Word of God?  Is it something that will help you when the tough times come?  Or are you saying things to yourself like, "I'll never make it.  My dreams won't come true.  I'm not good enough.  I'm not pretty enough.  I'm not smart enough."  If you are doing that, then stop because those negative thoughts are lies.  You are good enough, smart enough, pretty enough and God can make your dreams come true.

Let me end it with this.  Check out what's on the inside of your tube because the pressure will come and it will come out.  If you don't like what's there, then change it.  It's not hard.  Get a good Bible and start feeding on what God says you are and what God says you can do.  Then when the pressure comes, you will start using the words of your mouth to bring you out of that situation and into the place God has for you.

That's Another Opinion of the Minion

Friday, April 4, 2014

Random Acts and Bank Accounts

Random acts, we've all seen them on the news.  Someone gets mad at someone else in traffic and communicates something ugly.  Someone else comes home from a bad day at work and yells at their kids.  Someone else gets really upset and punches someone out.  This list could go on and on.  So what do they have to do with bank accounts you might ask?


Well I am not talking about the bank account you have at Bank of America or Citibank.  I'm talking about people.  Did you know people are like bank accounts.  Every time you do something negative to them, their emotional account gets lower.  Every time you do something positive to someone, it goes up. 


Let me try to illustrate this.  Last week when I went to pick up three of our five kids, our youngest daughter was having a fit.  She was going to get to go where we were because she was sick and it wasn't a good idea.  Now she is 9 years old but was acting more like 9 months and having a toddler fit.  This particular day, I did not have a great day at work.  To top it all off, I was late to get the other two boys to swim practice.  So what did I do?  I did the "natural" thing to do - I lost my temper.  Now I don't really have a bad temper but I did get really mad (for me) at my daughter.  I was so mad, I was raising my voice at her and she was yelling at me. 


It ended with me spanking her and her still throwing a fit.  At one point, she said some really mean things to me.  Because I am her dad and she is a child, the things she said didn't really bother me.  After all, she is only nine.  Her behavior was in appropriate so I corrected it but what if she was 20 years older and said she hated me?  It could really hurt my feelings and damage my self esteem.  Now this wasn't premeditated, it was a random act that could have really drained my emotional bank account.


Let me tell you another random story.  Most of you know that I am from Texas and I still believe in saying ma'am and sir.  I think it's polite and I like it.  It's a way for me to show someone respect.  Now the other day, I was in a Starbucks in a different state (if you know me that's a shock right?).  The person behind the counter asked me a question and I said, "Yes ma'am."  However for a split second, I was mortified because there was a distinct possibility that I just said yes ma'am to a guy.  It would have been a totally insulting thing to do.  Fortunately, it turned out to be a girl so I was safe.  Again a random act but it could have definitely hurt some one's feelings.  That could have definitely drained that person's emotional account.


Up to this point, everything I have discussed centers around not hurting someone and draining their account.  I suppose I could stop right now and say that it's best to be careful that we don't hurt other people and that is certainly true.


But I want to take a minute and talk about the other side of the ledger.  If you take $100 to your bank and deposit in your savings account what happens?  Your account balance goes up right?  So what if we took that same approach and started adding to other people's emotional accounts instead.  When was the last time you walked up to a total stranger and given them a compliment?  Are you too shy for that?  Well let me ask you this.  How would it make you feel if someone in line at Starbucks that you didn't know (assuming you are a lady) that you really looked nice in the dress you were wearing?  How would it make you feel?  How about if you told someone you work with thank you for doing a good job on something?  It's going to make their account balances go up.


So let me encourage you in this today.  Try to find someone and give them a random act of kindness.  Be careful though.  Because whatever you do to someone, it will be done to you.  If you start giving out random acts of kindness, sooner or later, they are going to start coming back to you!


That's another Opinion of the Minion

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Letting Go

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post in a long time and for that I apologize again.  I know I need to write more and I hope to in the future.

Today's post is about letting go.  It's a message that has come to me from several different places in the last week which usually means the Lord is trying to tell me something.  I want to start with an illustration from a very good friend of mine, CS.

He recently told me about something that happened to him.  He was visiting with one of his closest friends when several of his friend's family showed up and had a lot of negative things to say about C.  They were very bitter about some "perceived" wrong that he did to them.  Now from our discussions, I don't think he really did anything wrong to them but this perceived transgression was really bothering several of them.  Here's the kicker.  This happened over a decade ago.  They have been harboring this grudge for a long time and guess who wasn't bothered about any of it until recently? - CS.  He didn't even know it was out there.  Pretty crazy stuff.  What's my point?  If you harbor a grudge against someone the only person you are really hurting is yourself.

I think that's a good point but I want to talk for a minute about the definition of letting go that the Lord keeps bringing to my heart.  I have to let go of the past.  In my current life, I don't have as many "things" as I once did.  I don't live in as nice a house as I used to and as a matter of fact, my ex-wife still lives in the nice house where I used to live.  I also don't have a boat like I used to.  And here's something else from my past that I don't like - I can't run as fast or as far as I could five years ago.

I've noticed lately that I have spent some time regretting not having the "things" that I used to enjoy.  What makes it worse is I am facing a couple of struggles.  Lately, it's been easy to be frustrated about the past and not really notice the great things that are going on around me.  So the Lord finally dealt with me to let go of the old house and let go of the boat.  Part of the problem of remembering the "good old days" is that they really weren't all that good.  I was just remembering the best parts of the "old days" and forgetting all the hard stuff that made them not so good at the time.  Another part of the problem is that while I was focusing on how things were, I forgot to focus on the good plan that God has for my future.  I'm on the verge of a couple of very significant breakthroughs in area's of my life that will put my family and I in the best financial place I have ever seen.

This year one of my businesses suffered a pretty big setback but it's still going strong and looks like there are opportunities to grow back some of what we lost.  Another of my businesses is on the verge of taking off in a way I would never have seen back in the good old days.  So what the Lord was finally saying to me is that at this stage of my life it's time for a new beginning not a being bogged down in trying to my recollection of the good old days.  But in order to move higher, I have to let go of some of the things I have held as important.

Something else I noticed was that I was holding on to feeling guilty about some bad choices I have made.  The worst part about that is I can't change any of them.  I can make choices about my future.

So I want to encourage you.  If your are holding on to things that are holding you down, it's time to let go and move up.  It's time for you to move out of your past and move into your future.  Maybe the devil has told you that because of something you did wrong it your past, that your life can't be as great as you would like.  That's just simply a lie.  Did you know that after the prodigal son came home from wasting all the money his father gave him that his father not only took him back but blessed him with fine clothes and a big feast.  God has a great plan for your life and nothing in your past can stop you and God from achieving a bright future. So let go and get going!!

That's another Opinion of the Minion

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

The One That Got Away

Hello everyone.  It's been a long time since I put anything together and I am sorry for that.  Today I want to talk about the one that got away.  Have you ever heard a song by Garth Brooks called "Unanswered Prayers"?  Basically Garth Brooks is talking about going back to his old high school and looking at his life growing up.  He's with his wife and apparently loves his life.  But his life isn't exactly what he thought it would be back then.  He prayed for God to do certain things in his life and God didn't answer those prayers but things turned out good anyway.

I find this very interesting because it happens so often in life.  It happened to me recently.  I pray every day that God will protect my business and that I will not lose any of my clients.  Now my company has had this one client for over 15 years and it's a big one.  We learned in December that effective at the end of July of this year, they will no longer need our services.  At first I was really upset.  Their decision not only effects my life but the lives of 20 to 30 people around me because it either effects their check or someone in their family.  That was a tough pill to swallow because I prayed about it all the time.

Now let me rewind a couple of years.  In January of 2010, the Lord instructed me to start a small company.  This company is very similar to the company that I run now with some marked differences.  This company isn't very big yet but it has potential for tremendous growth and we are already seeing it start.  After a couple of weeks of figuring out my current company in the aftermath of our upcoming loss, I began to see what the Lord had in mind when He wrote, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11.  I finally got a glimpse of His plan.  I could see that this decrease was actually increase in disguise and it's already coming to pass.

What I didn't see at first was this.  The one that got away needed to go away so I could land a bigger better fish.  I think that happens often to us in life.  Now let me ask you this.  What are you feeling so dis draught about right now?  What set back or disappointment are you facing?  Is it a bad grade at school?  Is it the loss of a girlfriend, boyfriend or job?  Maybe it's the loss of your house or something else due to the economy and you are mad at God about it.  Well I can certainly understand your frustration.  Let me tell you this - God does too.  It's OK to get mad at him.  He has big shoulders and He loves you very much.  He will even let you yell at Him.  So get it off your chest.

But after you are done yelling and getting upset, I challenge you to take a look around and see what God has in store for you.  If you ask Him, He will reveal the next door that needs to open.  And guess what, the thing to replace what you lost is probably right around the corner.  If it's from God, it will be better than what you lost.  Remember, sometimes you have to prune a tree so it can grow taller and stronger.

That's another Opinion of the Minion

Monday, December 3, 2012

The Lens

Today I want to talk about The Lens.  What is The Lens?  Good question.  I'm glad you asked.  Before I talk about The Lens, let's talk about lenses in general for a minute.  When I think of lenses, I think of glasses.  Have you ever put on prescription glasses that weren't yours?  Everything looks very distorted doesn't it?  I used to wear glasses but I had lasik surgery several years ago and don't need them now.  I didn't wear them at all until I was an adult.

I will never forget this.  It was my first year of law school and I had to drive to Dallas and back to Fort Worth everyday because the classes were in Dallas.  Now on the way home, everything was always a little fuzzy at night.  The lights weren't clear and I always had trouble seeing the street signs on the freeway.  Then one day, I went to see an eye doctor and I was prescribed glasses.  I got my first pair of glasses from a Wal-Mart off of Rufe Snow Drive in Fort Worth and I will never forget the day.  I put the glasses on and walked outside.  I was completely amazed at all that I could see.  It was as if scales had fallen off my eyes and it was amazing.  If you have ever had glasses, you completely understand.

So what is The Lens?  The Lens is what we see life through.  It's what we look through when we see other people.  It's also what we look through when we look in the mirror.  The Lens effects everything.  The thing I want to focus on for a minute is how the lens effects the way we see other people.

Have you ever seen someone you thought was strange or weird?  What makes them weird?  It's the way they look when you compare them to yourself or other people.  See I believe that we are all a little weird in our own ways.  But what if you are looking at that person through the wrong lens and instead of being weird they are actually just unique.  I think sometimes if we would take off our glasses that filter what is cool and what isn't we will find some very amazing individuals.  I think we should all look at other people through a certain lens though - the lens of love.

Now I am not talking about the mushy gushy feeling you get when you are around your boyfriend or girlfriend, what I mean is that we should love everyone.  God does.  Does that shock you?  God loves sinners.  Now I can already hear you screaming that he doesn't but it's true.  God only hates the sin but he loves everyone.  That means he can feel when others hurt even if they aren't living exactly the way he wants them to.  I say if it's good enough for God, it's good enough for us.  So let me ask you who are you looking at and seeing the wrong thing?  As you walk through tomorrow in this Christmas season, would you look at everyone you are near through a lens of love?  That's a tough thing to do but well worth it.

And that's another Opinion of the Minion

Monday, November 19, 2012

Consistence

OK today I want to talk about consistence.  That's a good word even though it can be a hard one.  I heard a preacher named Gloria Copeland say that God told her that in consistency lies the power.  I think this is such a true statement.

As many of you may know I went to law school and have my license so I am a lawyer in Texas even though I don't practice law very much.  Now when I went to law school, I was determined to give it my best shot and whether or not I failed, I was going to try hard and I was very successful.   Right after I realized I was going to do fine in law school, my goal changed to becoming a lawyer.  I wanted to try cases like Perry Mason (He was a lawyer on an old TV show and I think he won ever case except for a couple.).  I was determined that I was going to be the best trial lawyer ever.  Guess what.  After my first year of law school I was so high in my class I got asked to be on the law review which is a pretty prestigious deal.  I was doing great.  Now after that first year, what if I walked up to you and said, I'm through year one of school and I'm not a lawyer yet so I quit!!

You would have probably looked at me and said something like - Well you can't be a lawyer yet.  You haven't made it through the next two years of school and you have to take (and pass) the bar exam.  It's ridiculous for you to think you should be a lawyer yet.  Just hang in there and do what it takes to get to your goal.  You have to consistently chase it for a few more years before it gets there.  If I then said - That's it I don't care if I'm not supposed to be one yet, I quit anyway.  You would probably think something was wrong with me.  And you would be right.

But I have done this many times and I have seen other people do this more times than I can count.  No, I'm not talking about quitting law school but I have seen so many other people quit on their dreams before they ever had a chance to materialize.  The reason they quit was because they expected to reach their goal without doing what was necessary to get there.

Let me use another example that will bring this closer to home.  As many of you know, I used to weigh 350 pounds.  What if I tried to diet for two weeks and got frustrated because I hadn't lost all the weight I thought I should and I quit?  Let me see a show of hands from anyone who has ever tried to lose weight and quit your diet when you didn't see immediate results.  OK put your hand down, I can't count all the hands!  I did it myself more than once.  See for me to lose the weight I had to consistently eat the right things and exercise over 14 months to get where I wanted to be.

But that's not the only place it can effect you.  How many of you were believing to get out of debt and haven't?  Well don't quit.  If you will consistently spend less money than you make, you will come out of debt.  How many of you have pursued a dream to be a writer or an engineer or a singer or something else?  Well don't quit!!!  If you will keep pursuing your dream, you can achieve it.

I want to leave you with one thought that is a little harder than the ones above.  How many of you started believing God for something and you haven't seen it yet?  Maybe you are believing for a loved one to be saved or someone to be healed.  Maybe you are believing God to heal your marriage or something else.  Maybe the situation looks pretty bad right now and you don't see how God is going to fix your problem.  Maybe you wonder if He even wants to do it.  Well let me tell you that God does want to fix your problems but He needs you to have faith and the right actions to go with it.  He needs you to be consistent with doing them and He will see you through!!

That's Another Opinion of the Minion

Monday, October 22, 2012

Sitting at Starbucks

Tonight I am sitting outside of Starbucks in Fort Worth.  My friends who know me personally would be shocked that I am here (not really - I come to Starbucks a couple of times a day for Earl Grey tea).  As I sit here tonight, the weather is beautiful.  It's in the mid 70s and we got a little rain earlier.  People are walking around and talking and generally enjoying the night.  So tonight I want to talk about love.

I harp on this subject a lot because I see so much hatred in the world.  Tonight, everyone around me seems to be having a good time but we all know that hate is around here somewhere.  Now my girlfriend D and I had a discussion last night about politics and some of the more hot topic issues that always seem to come up.  Now as I said in one of my very first blogs, I know that there are definitely issues that need to be addressed and they are serious.  Whether or not you are for or against same sex marriages or abortion or flag burning or you fill in the blank.  I want to challenge you to love people.  I sat at lunch with my good friend J to day and this is one of the things he and I discussed.  Not love specifically but allowing others to have a different opinion and still being able to love and appreciate the person.

Regardless of whether you are a die hard Republican or die hard Democrat, God calls us to love people.  Did you know that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and yet He gives each of us the free will to go to Hell if that's what we chose?  Guess what, He will love you all the way there.  He will hate that you chose to go but He will love you and respect your decision and opinion on the subject.  Did you know that when they nailed Him to that cross He said, forgive them Father for they no not what they do.  He could have called 10,000 angels to get him off that cross and destroy the world but He chose not to do it.  He chose to love those who were putting Him to death.

Now I know a lot of us would like to walk around in the same power that Jesus walked the earth.  I think the reason that it doesn't happen is that we wouldn't say forgive them.  We would call the 10,000 angels to wipe out anyone who doesn't agree with our position, political party or choice of snow cone flavor.  Folks, this isn't the right way to run a railroad.

Now I am not saying that you shouldn't have an opinion and I do believe that you should stand up for who you are.  Guess what I have seen both sides of the isle work to run the other one over.  What I am telling you is stop the hate.  If you can't express your opinion in love, then don't express it until you can.   Quit making fun of or speaking badly of people who don't share the same opinion as you and start walking in love.

That's Another Opinion of the Minion

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Feelings

Hello everyone.  Today I want to write an opinion on something I know very little about.  So read at your own risk!

Today I want to talk about feelings.  This has been a hard area of my life to deal with.  For years, I didn't want to feel anything because feelings brought with them a lot of hurt and not much joy.  Now I am a business man so I definitely look at things in terms of return on investment and to me, if I let my feelings out then the bad ones definitely outweighed the good ones so why bother.

But then about 18 months ago, through reading a book that a friend of mine asked me to read, all those bottled up feelings came out after 30+ years of holding most of them in.  Let me tell you it was an experience.  I cried for a long time.  Then I just hurt.  Then I was so overcome with emotions that I freaked out a friend of mine by asking her out.  It was quite a mess and I realized now that I liked part of it but I really didn't like another part of it.

I liked feeling things because I finally felt alive.  Yes, it is possible to go through life feeling down and depressed and still be successful on the outside.  I did that and there were times when I had some feeling but I kept them as muted as I possibly could.  Why, because the ups didn't justify the downs.  But I did like all those feelings because at least I was alive. 

Now I have heard people say that we can't trust our feelings and that was easy for me for years because I suppressed all of them I could suppress.  But that statement is actually the point of my writing today.  I finally realized that while I enjoy all these new feelings, I can't rely on my feelings alone to make decisions about my life.  That is probably a "duh" statement for most of you but for me it is a revelation.

There are times in our lives when we want something so bad on the inside that we will do almost anything to get it.  Have you ever wanted to go out with a girl or do something so that she will notice you?  I have.  As a matter of fact, let me tell you a funny story from my time at TCU.

See during my senior year, I had a girlfriend, A.  Now A was a very nice person and I wasn't.  I was very selfish and only wanted what was good for me without really giving any thought to what was good for her.  Eventually, she figured this out and decided it was time to move on.  But since I had never really had a serious girlfriend and wanted to keep one (I wasn't in love with her but I was in love with the idea of being in love.) I decided that I was going to do anything to get her back.

So one night, I went over to her dorm and called her.  A friend of hers was there and they came down to check me out.  I made up some stupid story of being hit in the head and faked a concussion.  Or at least I did my best to fake one.  I have never had one and didn't really know the symptoms of one at the time so I gave it my best guess.  Why?  For sympathy of course.  I guess I hoped that she would take me back.  Well ultimately she took me to my parent's house.  Now my dad who used to be an ambulance driver took one look at me and knew I was faking it.  Needless to say, I didn't get the girl back.

Why did I do such a stupid thing?  My emotions told me to.  Now just today, I realized while having emotions is great, I can't allow myself to be ruled by them

That's another Opinion of the Minion

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Ask the Minion

Hello Everyone.

Last week, I asked you to post your questions on Facebook and I told you I would do my best to answer them.  Before I get to the questions, let me give you a couple of things.  First of all, I am not associated with the movie, Despicable Me so any questions regarding those minions, I will decline to answer.  Second, please remember that when I write these posts, they are just my opinions and what I believe the Lord shows me.  I do not have any type of degree or certification counseling so if you have a serious problem, please seek professional help as I don't want to lead you astray.

OK, let's get to the questions.

1.  MB - How do I get a guy like you?  Let me start by saying how flattered I am at the question.  While this may sound like false humility, I really don't consider myself all that special but I am a good guy.  So how do you get a good guy (someone better than me, I hope)?  My first thought is that you have to find one.  So when you are around boys or girls, ask yourself how they make you feel and why?  Are they good to you and do they treat you right?  Do they always strive to do the right thing (even if they aren't perfect)?  Do they make you feel special and are you compatible?  Is there any real attraction between the two of you?  If the answer to these questions is yes then you have found someone.

Now here's the hard part - How do you get them to like you?  The answer is - you can't.  Just be yourself, if they like you for you then great.  If not, then they really aren't the person for you.  If you have to change yourself to be someone else for them to like you, eventually you will go back to being your real self and then you have a problem or you will change so much that you won't like yourself.  So just be you.  Be bold enough to go say hello to them and talk to them and then see what happens.  MB, if you have more questions, please don't hesitate to ask and I will try to answer.

MP - What is the meaning of life?  According to Webster's dictionary one meaning is - the condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms, being manifested by growth through metabolism, reproduction, and the power of adaptation to environment through changes originating internally.  If you mean philosophically, I really don't know.

TTS - Why is life so confusing when it gets hard?  There are a lot of reason for that but I think one thing that happens to me is when life gets hard my emotions tell me one thing and my head tells me something else.  When that happens, sometimes my heart is right, sometimes my head is right.  The only thing I can tell you is to take your decisions to God.  When you get peace from Him about the right decision, then go with it.  I will probably try to expand on this in another post.

JAE & AA - What's your favorite food? - That is a hard question and the answer changes based on the mood I am in at the time.  I like almost all kinds of food.  Over the course of my life, my absolute favorite has probably been pizza.

KL - Why does God allow awful things like abuse, especially child and domestic to occur? The Lord is supposed to be this all-knowing, all-loving, kind, caring God. Yet He lets his children suffer?  KL, I have struggled with this question for many years.  I mean, why did God let the serpent take the blessing in the garden of Eden anyway?  Part of the answer is that we are free will beings and we can choose what we do.  Thing about this - If you could make someone love you and you knew that the only reason they loved you is because you made them, would you make them love you?  I wouldn't because it wouldn't be real love.  I believe that God set a system in place and he expected us to follow that system.  As adults when we don't then there is the risk that we will get hurt.  Now let me say, I can feel pain from thinking about child abuse and I don't know why this happens.  It is so awful and so wrong.  I believe that God's hands are tied in certain places and sometimes he can't interfere but I really don't know why.  Now I can hear some of you saying that God is all powerful and he can do anything.  If that's the case, why did Jesus have to come die for my sins?  KL, I don't feel like I did a good job of answering this question but I hope this helps some.

PC - Who is better - Batman or Superman? - In my book, Superman is better.  Why because he always stood for truth, justice and the American way plus he could fly and was super strong.

FB

That's another Opinion of the Minion

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Be Where You Are

Today I want to talk about being where you are.  That sounds pretty redundant right?  Well the Lord really began to deal with me about this subject a few weeks ago.  As you all know I have this amazing woman in my life, D.  I love her a lot.  She's the right type of person for me because she's different than me in so many ways and I have learned so much from her.  We have had many conversations about this topic but she really brought it home to me a couple of weeks ago.  It was just a passing comment but sometimes the Lord will use those types of comments to speak to you and this was one of those times.

She is a first grade teacher.  Now I believe that God anoints preachers to preach but from what I have seen, I think teachers need more anointing than most preachers.  One day we were talking about school and she said it was a very demanding job because with twenty kids who are only six years old, she has to stay very focused on what is going on around her.  She said that is something she works on in her life - giving whatever you are doing 100% of your energy while you are doing it.  That was very interesting on a couple of levels. 

First of all, it gave me more insight into her as a person and I really enjoy getting to know her.  But it also made me examine my own behavior.  It made me ask the question - Am I giving what I am doing my full attention?

Now I have seen this picture for a long time in a different area of my life.  When I was married, I was not happy so I was always looking forward to the next thing.  I tried to look forward to going to play golf because playing golf was fun and it helped me cope with the unpleasant things going on around me.  It was sort of my way to escape from the real world.  But here's what I noticed.  When I got to the golf course, I would play a few holes and then I started looking forward to going out to dinner or the movies or something after our round of golf.  More importantly, I quit enjoying the round of golf and found my only enjoyment coming from looking forward to the next thing.

I lived that way for a long time.  So when I was with my friends, I was only partially with my friends because the other part of me was on to the next thing on my agenda.  That wasn't fair to anyone.  It certainly wasn't fair to my friends who were hanging out with me because they were giving me their full attention (at least as far as I could tell) but I wasn't doing the same thing.  But it also wasn't fair to me.  The people around me are all gifts from God and I wasn't enjoying the gifts that God put into my life.

Which brings me to another point.  I wasn't being fair to God.  He was placing all these great people and opportunities in front of me and I didn't enjoy them.  To make matters worse, I didn't appreciate them like I should so I didn't value them as high as I should.  That's terrible.  Now the reverse of this can also be true.  You can be so focused on some negative situation that it causes you to act the same way.

Now fast forward to the present.  While I don't really look forward like that anymore, there is another place that is just as bad.  I can be not totally present for no apparent reason.  A person that I work with brought that up to me yesterday.  He mentioned a specific incident where I was disconnected from a situation that I should have really paid attention.  A person needed me to be caring and considerate and I was mentally absent.  That is horrible and I have no excuse for my actions.  But it is something that I want to watch.

So what am I saying today?  Wherever you are, be there completely!  Thank you D for reminding me of this very important issue.  I love you.

That's another Opinion of the Minion 

Monday, July 30, 2012

Old Friends

Today I want to discuss a subject that I have come to appreciate more in the last week.  I want to talk about friendship.  Before I get to my Opinion for this blog, I need to back up a little.

Not that long ago, a good friend of mine, A, went home to be with the Lord after a long fight with cancer.  Now A and I stayed in touch over the years but we didn't stay as close as we were growing up.  I met A when I was in the 7th grade and we are both 41 (A is very much alive, he just went to a place called Heaven).  I still have fond memories of playing football.  A played center and if I remember correctly, he was a starter on the 1st team (or A team) when we were in middle school.  We are a lot alike.  I can still see him wearing his 3/4 top Nike Monster cleats when we played ball.  Later we called him "Hair" because when we were in high school he had long hair.

I also have very fond memories of us playing hide and go seek when we were in middle school with a whole group of kids from our neighborhood.  When we played, our boundaries were several blocks in every direction and we had a lot of fun.  Now A wasn't the only kid I hung out with.  There was B.  He was the high school baseball stud pitcher when we were in school and interestingly enough, he was also very smart.  For a while B and I were best friends and we were inseparable.

There were other kids in the neighborhood too - B and his little brother A, B and his little brother C and  several others.  For the sake of time I will stop right there except to say that B and I went to see my friend A the other day.  It was a very hard time for both of us.

Now let me fast forward to watching my own kids.  Over the last week, I had the opportunity to watch my kids pretty closely and one thing I noticed was that a couple of them were not very well adjusted to playing with other kids.  Why?  Well, one answer is that they don't have very many kids around them to play with.  That small fact - having kids around to play with - was something I realized was a true blessing in my life and also something that I see missing in my kids lives.  I learned a lot last week.  I can't say it was an easy week but it was certainly rewarding.

So let me leave you with the two things I learned from this past week.  First of all, kids need to be around other kids.  So parents please find ways to help your kids socialize.  Second of all, grew to really appreciate all the great kids I grew up with.  A, you will be missed.  I love you and even though we didn't stay as close as either of us would like, I miss you.  Let me leave you with this - Appreciate your friends.  They are truly a gift from God.

That's another Opinion of the Minion