Fear

Hello everyone,

Today's topic is fear.  It's something we see all around us and something we deal with daily.  If you ask any of my five children or possibly my wife, they might tell you that I look really scary in the morning because my hair looks so bad in the morning!  OK, all joking aside, I want to take a more serious look at fear.  Just this past week I was in a meeting with someone who told me that a little bit of fear was a good thing.  This person was trying to make a point and she was very very wrong.  Fear will kill you.  There is nothing remotely good about it.

In her example, she stated that if we don't teach children to fear their hand getting burned by a hot stove, they could get hurt.  What she should have said is that if we don't teach children to respect the heat that comes off the stove, they can get burned.  But they definitely should not fear the stove, there's nothing good that can come from fear.

Now I can already hear someone saying, "Mr. Minion, the Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."  That is what the King James Bible says but what that word fear means is deep respect and reverence of the Lord.  Remember this, the Bible says that God is Love and that perfect love casts out fear.  That means that if we go near God that His love will cast out fear.  Let me put it this way.  I'm a dad and I definitely want my children to respect what I say but I certainly don't want any of my children to ever fear me.  It would hurt me to think that one of my own children was afraid of me.

I don't even think that horror movies are good for us.  Think about it.  They can desensitize us to what fear actually does.  We like to watch movies that have fear in them because most of the time there is no "real" fear that would come after us from them.  But they teach us to live with fear and that fear can be amusing.  I personally prefer comedies because I like to laugh.  The Bible says that a merry heart doeth good like a medicine.

So what about fear?  I heard a preacher say one time that the shadow of a dog never bit anyone. How often do we sit around being fearful of what might happen.  I know someone who is going back to school and this person is afraid of some things that might never happen.  This person is worrying about things before they even come up.  Now I'm not telling you to plan for things and make sure you know what to do if something happens but that is much different that worrying about it.

Earlier this week, I was in a situation at work and worried about it for two days.  The particular thing I worried about never even took place so I worried for nothing.  Worse than that, we can't stand in fear and faith at the same time so I wasn't even standing in faith while I was worrying about it.  How dumb was I?  I have recently realized that there were several areas of my life where I was worrying about things and I am making the decision to quit.  Fear is of the devil.  I am striving more and more to work with one of my wife's 2 Ts (trust and thankfulness) - trust.  When I role the cares of those things over on to the Lord, He can take them and do something about them.

Can it be that simple to stop fear.  The answer is yes.  Quit choosing to live with fear and start choosing to live with trust in God!  When fear comes, tell the devil you aren't buying and choose to walk away from it!

That's another Opinion of the Minion

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

The Apple Seed

Today I want to encourage you to hold fast to the dreams that God has put in your heart.  Sometimes we have to continue to work a while before we see results.  I bet there are some of you who read my blog that are saying to yourselves, "I want to quit.  I've been working toward a goal for quite a while now and it seems like I will never get there.  I'm not even seeing results or at least not the results that I want to see." 

Well I can tell you I have been there before and I even face that now (well sort of).  There are a couple of areas in my life where I truly believe I know what the end result looks like.  But right now it doesn't exactly look that way.

Do you know what happens when you plant an apple tree seed?  If you water it properly and take care of the soil sooner or later it will sprout up an apple tree.  After a while the apple tree will produce apples.  But guess what.  The apple tree doesn't start producing apples the day after you plant the seed.  As a matter of fact, if you were to dig up the seed and look at it right after you planted it there would be nothing different about it.  It would just look like a dirty seed. 

See that seed needs to go through some days where there is no sunlight.  It goes through days that are rainy and it goes through days where people are putting fertilizer (that is manure) on top of it and all around it.  It needs to go through some days where there is nothing but darkness and pressure all around it.  If you left it above the ground where it was always bright and there was no pressure, it would wither up and die.  It would turn to dust.  But if you take away the sunlight, throw in some pressure, manure and plenty of rainy days the next thing you know that apple seed will begin to multiply and push it's way through the dirt to the surface.  It takes the pressure of the soil and the manure and takes nutrients from them.  It takes those rainy days and uses the water to grow.

I believe we are all in places where there is pressure in our lives.  For me personally, I know of a couple of places where I feel pressure.  If I look with my natural eyes, I don't see much movement or much way of getting through the dirt to the sunlight.  I've seen plenty of rainy days lately.  But I know what those rainy days mean.  Those rainy, pressure filled days where I see know light at the end of the tunnel mean that I am one step closer to getting above the ground and bearing fruit.  I'm one step closer to the success that I want and to the goal that I set.

So let me encourage you in this.  If you are facing what seems like an impossible situation right now.  If you are trusting God and putting your faith to work but you aren't seeing the results you want, don't quit.  All the bad stuff that is being thrown at your dream is a sure sign that your sprout is about to push through the surface!  You may only be one step from getting the result you wanted.  So don't stop trusting God to do what He said He would.  This could be your last day in the pressure!

It's happened again.  I've blogged myself happy. 

And that's another Opinion of the Minion

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

Give Her a Chance

Today I want to talk about something very cool that I did.  Now it may not be that great to you but it felt great to me.  I also learned that I did the same thing the Lord does for us.  Tonight I put my daughter K in a place where she could eventually make her way to the US Gymnastics Team!  Before anyone says anything, it is not my expectation that the does this.  And I will definitely love her whether she ever makes the team or even stays in gymnastics at all.  Either way I am proud to be her dad and I told her that in no uncertain terms tonight.  She knew that this was a place she could dream and if she worked really hard, she might have an opportunity to live that dream.  Let me tell you, I would be one proud dad if she does (but I am one proud dad now so it really doesn't matter).

As I was talking to the gymnastics people today, I found out that K was in the level two class.  If she does well she will be invited to join the level two team in the spring.  This will mean competitions locally and one national competition at the age of eight.  I think both of these are great opportunities for her to challenge and push herself.  I fully support that.  Now if she stays on track, she can make it up to level 10.  At level 10 she goes to a local competition.  If she wins she moves to regional and then national and then it's on to the Olympics!  Even though a lot of kids start down this track, not many of them become Gabby Douglas.  But one of them just might and why can't it be my daughter K?  The answer is, it most certainly can.

This thing has been bouncing around in my spirit since I figured it out a few hours ago and I can see the reason as I write this.  See God does the same thing for us that I have done for K.  He gives us a chance to achieve our dreams.  Many don't but it's not God's fault, it's ours.  If K doesn't go on to be an Olympian, it won't be my fault, it will be because she either chose to take a different path or she didn't dedicate herself to living that dream.  I think we do this in real life all the time.  God gives us an opportunity and we either don't work at it or we decide to do something else.  Regardless of what we do, the doors to our success are right there.

I hear people that are waiting on God to drop success on them like He dropped manna from Heaven on the Israelites in the desert but he doesn't work that way.  I also hear people that say He will just work everything out for their good regardless of what they do or don't do and this isn't true.  The Bible says He has a good plan for our lives and it also says He blesses the works of our hands.  If there isn't work from our hands, He doesn't have something to bless.  Now K is in the same place.  If she works hard and dedicates herself to gymnastics, she has a chance to be the best.  But if she doesn't work hard and eat right, etc., it won't happen. The choice is hers and I believe that the choice is ours when it comes to how successful we allow God to make us.

So let me leave you with this challenge.  If you are waiting for God to drop success on you, don't wait start doing something He can bless and see how He works.  The other challenge is this - find someone who is attempting to live out their dream and give them a helping hand.  Give them a chance.  You will be glad you did.

That's another Opinion of the Minion.

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

Courage

Today I want to talk about courage.  We all know that our military men and women are very courageous and that they have and will lay down their lives in the face of danger.  Policemen and firemen would do the same.  We have stories about people giving their lives for others which is a very courageous thing to do.  As a matter of fact, Jesus did this very thing for us a long time ago.  But today I want to talk about having courage to live life and face problems.

This is a whole different type of courage.  As we enter the Christmas season it is very easy for some people to withdraw emotionally and feel dis-couraged based on their circumstances.  I know that for many years, I didn't have enough money to do the things I wanted for my family at Christmas and it would make me depressed.  I didn't want to go to Christmas parties or watch Christmas movies.  I viewed everything surrounding Christmas as a chore.  Christmas cards went out and gifts were given - the job got done but that wasn't really living.  Do you know what courage is?  Courage is being in a situation that you don't really like and deciding to make the best of it regardless of whether it feels good or not.  Courage is staring at the things in your life that you don't like about yourself or your situation and not letting it stop you from living and enjoying life.

But for years I was unable to face my weight problems or my financial problems.  I was just too afraid to admit that I had them.  Why?  Because then my life wouldn't be so perfect.  And my life was perfect.  it was perfectly wooden.  I was living dead because I didn't have the courage to face my short comings.

Have you ever faced depression?  It takes real courage to recognize it and decide that you are going to do something about it.  See depression is a very serious problem and if your not careful it can kill you.  So what do you call someone who has faced that monster and overcome it?  Courageous.

I knew of a situation where someone was depressed to the point of wanting to commit suicide.  Now the story goes that this person was a young person.  While it's not uncommon, what seemed strange to me about this story was that the person had low self esteem when that person easily could have been just the opposite.  This person was very attractive, smart, caring, funny, had a magnetic personality and extremely gifted but also battling depression.  One thing that caught my attention specifically about this story was that the person in it was strong enough to admit there was a problem and ask for help despite all the fear many fears of doing it.  That person is my hero!  I only hope that I will have that kind of courage when I need it.

That's another Opinion of the Minion

Dirty Politics

Hello Everyone,

I spent a lot of time talking about politics. And I think that it's important to give politics it's due. But it saddens me to see so many people get so excited and so animated about this subject and then when it's over the excitement goes with it.

I wonder what would happen if people channeled the same fervor and excitement that they have for the political issues and directed it toward constructive pursuits.  What would happen if we got very excited about helping our young people today?  What would happen if feeding people that needed food got as much a tension as much excitement as whether or not it's okay to burn the US flag or not?  What would happen if people got as excited about loving their neighbor as they did about condemning their neighbors choice and political party?

I think we would live in a vastly different world. Guess what poverty, low self-esteem, financial need, and  stress those don't have a real political party. So let me ask all my politically active friends what are you doing every day to help someone else in need?  Jesus praised people by saying, "When I was hungry you fed me when I was imprisoned you came to visit me when I was in need of clothing you gave me clothing."   He never said when I ran for political office you bombarded Facebook or the social media of the day with long laborious posts condemning the other party.  He didn't mention how you should vote.  When He judged people, he said, "When I was hungry you didn't feed me, when I was naked you didn't clothe me and when I was in jail you didn't visit."

Now before my far right wing or far left wing readers write me some critical comments, let me say that I am not against anyone voting there conscious.  As a matter of fact, I plan to early vote and I have already made up my mind how I am going to vote.  Many Americans gave their lives over the last 250+ years to give me that right and I plan to honor them with my vote.  I am completely for voting and doing what's right for this country.  I'm just appalled by what I hear through the media, Facebook and other places about politics from what some public entertainment figure has to say to what the left and right media have to say.

What troubles me is that I don't hear much about people helping others.  I remember one time I helped someone by giving them some supplies that they needed for their young kids.  The Lord told me to give them so much and I decided to give more than what the Lord asked me to do.  Now let me say that I did not hear the audible voice of God telling me to do anything.  I just knew in my spirit it was the right thing to do.  Anyway, after I gave them what the Lord told me to plus some, I felt like the Lord was smiling at me and was proud of me for what I did.  It was like He was saying, "Son, you act like me more and more!"  As I sat there in the car that day, I wept with joy at being that close to God and knowing that I pleased him.  I have never ever had that feeling or anything close from trying to make a political point. 

So what am I trying to tell you today?  What I'm saying is that it's high time we got off the sidelines and quit just talking about what needs to be done how we should vote what the right politician is doing or not doing and it's time that we stepped out and started making a difference in somebody's life.  So I want to encourage you today. After you're done voting and making speeches and talking about what's right and wrong with America please take the time to find that single mom and your church that needs a helping hand and give her some help. That's what causes me to have pride in America.  It's seeing Americans helping Americans not bickering and arguing about the political system or who should be in office but just an American helping someone who needs help!

That's Another Opinion of the Minion

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

Conflict

Today I want to talk about something that is a very tough subject and honestly I don't know if I have ever seen people do this right.  I want to talk about how we solve problems between people.  Now I don't think that we can really go around solving other people's problems.  I know several people who have tried unsuccessfully to do that for years.  But what I want to talk about today is a great personal triumph for me.

Think with me for a minute about learning how to drive a car.  If you had never done that before and had never even seen a car, do you think you would be capable of driving one?  Let's say you managed to get the car started and drive it.  Since you don't know the traffic laws, there is a very good chance that you will wreck that car and quite possibly get someone else hurt right?  Well that's the way I think I have been with conflict resolution for most of my life.

If you are married or in a serious relationship, you are going to have conflict between the two people in the relationship.  If you aren't, you are going to have conflict between yourself and your friends and all sorts of other people.  Now for me, resolving conflict with friends has always been fairly easy but for years I have had conflicts with people who are close to me and had no idea how to resolve it correctly.  As I have said before, for a long time I simply turned my emotions off.  That wasn't the best thing but it made conflict resolution easy.  How?  Well, most of the time I would other people simply run over me. Whenever there was a conflict I was normally the one to try to keep the peace.  I read in the bible that blessed are the peacemakers and I tried to be a peacemaker.  The problem was, many of the people I knew only wanted peace on their terms.

That typically didn't work out well for me because I just gave in.  Was there really conflict resolution?  No because I just bottled up all the hurt and never found a balanced, healthy way to resolve it.  Part of my problem was having to deal with people who didn't know how to resolve it either.  Most of them learned that the way to resolve conflict was to get mad and yell.  If you show enough anger then the other side will back down and the conflict is resolved right?  In the short term, that is true but it is very damaging to a relationship.  So that way doesn't work either.

About a year and a half ago, the Lord really opened my eyes to my emotions and how they work.  Since then, I have felt a lot of things.  Most of them are new.  Many feel good but many do not.  This brought a change in the way I decided to resolve things.  If I didn't get a good solution to the problem and one that was more on my terms then I would simply cut the offending person out of my life.  I applied this to dating and I can tell you it didn't really work either.  What I was saying then was unless you are perfect, I won't be around you because if you mess up once, you must be like the other people I have dealt with who don't know how to do this any better than I do.  Guess what, that isn't a winning strategy either.

So why am I so excited?  Well I recently dealt with a person over a particular issue.  On the issue in question, the other person did something that aggravated me a little.  Now fortunately, I read a book earlier that day discussing conflicts and how we resolve them.  Some people believe that how you resolve conflict will indicate how long you stay in relationship with someone.  If you don't do it well, that relationship won't last.  Well in this particular case, I ran a quick errand to give myself a little breathing room to think through things a little.  When I did, here is what I discovered.  This issue did irritate me and it would be unhealthy for me ignore the emotion.  However, in the grand scheme of life, it really wasn't that big a deal.

The other person in this situation could sense that I was offended and thus became a little defensive.  I was able to share how I felt.  It didn't take long and as soon as I shared my feelings and knew the other person generally cared about how I felt, all of my aggravation over the situation left.  I felt much better.  At the end of the discussion this person felt better too.  The funny part is that I don't know if the other person has had much success in life resolving personal conflict either because I sensed this person was waiting for me to attack.  When I didn't it seemed like it was a little shocking to that person as well.  Did it feel great?  Yes!  I finally let something bother me, expressed my emotions in a calm and respectful manner and then the situation was resolved.

So what did I learn?  When you have a problem with someone, you need to acknowledge that their is a problem.  Don't stuff it down but don't react out of anger either.  Take a few minutes to cool off and get your head under control.  After that, take the time to express yourself in a respectful way to the other person.  After that, you will feel better.  Now let me also say that it certainly helped that I knew the other person loved and cared about me.  This particular person is also very level headed and very capable of rationally discussing the situation which was a big plus.

That's another Opinion of the Minion

Politics

OK, this post might bring some criticism but here goes.  Today I want to talk about politics.  Since we have major elections in the United States in about 5 weeks, I guess it only seems appropriate.

First of all, let me say to all the yellow dog Democrats and all the yellow dog Republicans, "Wake UP!"  For those of you who don't know, a yellow dog Democrat or Republican would vote for a yellow dog for office as long as it ran for their party.  It seems like I see constant arguments from people on Facebook favoring Romney or Obama for president and most of the time, they quote someone else who said something designed to scare you into voting for their candidate.  They say things like Obama is a socialist Muslim.  When they mention Muslim, they want to scare you because we know it was Muslim extremists that attack America and her allies.  The thought behind this logic is that Obama is working to give the country to Muslims.

Additionally, since he is a Socialist, he is trying to turn our country into the new USSR.

On the other side, since Romney made a lot of money on Wall Street, he is going to ruin our country with all his excess spending.  He is only out to take care of the rich and since greed begets greed, he will be responsible for creating a system where only the rich people make more money and they control everything while the poor people suffer all on his own. 

The first problem I have with all the people saying all these things is that none of them have first hand evidence of what either of these people really want.  All they have is second hand accounts of what someone thinks someone else heard from the janitor of some one's hotel.  I think all this fear mongering is terrible. 

Now let me give you my political views.  On Obamacare - I think it's a bad idea.  It will force people who can't afford to buy health care to pay a penalty or by insurance.  That's just plain ignorance gone to seed.  It will also force Americans who have been very successful to pay for those who have not.  This is called socialism and it's wrong.  When we start taking money from the rich and giving it to the poor, that's called theft.  Sorry if this makes you mad but it's just the truth.  The government doesn't have a right to take money from one group and give it to another.  Right all you republicans?

But I am not saying that we shouldn't give to people who need it because we should.  I give to people who need it a lot and I believe very strongly in giving to others.  I just don't believe that anyone should be forced to give to others.

On capitalism - I believe capitalism is a good thing.  But unchecked capitalism is a terrible thing.  Unchecked, unregulated capitalism is what led to the housing problem that crashed our economy a few years ago.  So guess what, we need government and we need it to police the businesses of this country who so greatly effect our nation.  Sorry Republicans, that's simply the truth.

On homosexuality - See my post of a couple of days ago.  But let me add this, if the government should give money to homosexuals for gay pride parades, etc., then it should give an equal amount of money to those who want to take the opposite stance.  My personal opinion is that government should not give any money to either side for these purposes.  But let me say this to both sides, each of you will have to answer for your own stuff when you get to heaven.  Now learn to start respecting the fact that people might have a different opinion than you.  Quit arguing as you will not convince the other side that you are right and start loving.  That's what God commanded us to do!  Sorry both sides, its just the truth.

Let me send this one out to all the Christians who read my blog.  While this may be shocking and may require great faith from the Republicans, it is entirely possible to be a Democrat and be a Christian.  Nowhere in the bible does God mention political affiliation as a prerequisite to going to Heaven.  I think he discussed something about Jesus as the savior not Barak Obama or George Bush.  But here's what I really want you to know.  The bible says we need to pray for our leaders.  It doesn't say pray only pray for the ones you voted for.  So as we go into a time of decision for this great nation, I want to ask each of you to pray about how you should vote and pray for our elected officials that they will govern in a godly manner regardless of what their political affiliation.

That's another Opinion of the Minion

The Box

Hello everyone,

Today I reposted what I believe to be the most significant thing I have ever said.  The post is called, the Box.  Recently my girlfriend and I were discussing homosexuality and I will not discuss whether it is right or wrong.  You have a bible, find out for yourself.  But I do want to stress that hate for people of that lifestyle is totally wrong.  See our job isn't to judge it's to love.  If you look at thing's through the lense of the Box, it will change the way you look at people.  So, here's the Box.




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

Viva Las Vegas

Hi All,

Most of my posts have a message or some point that I try to illustrate.  And generally, I tell a story about something that happened in my life and what I learned from it.

Well today's lesson is going to be a little different.  I want to take a minute to talk about being grateful and thankful.  As I was sitting last night talking with my beautiful girlfriend, D, she said that she never wanted to take me for granted.  It was so sweet and beautiful and I said the same thing.  I am amazed at how quickly I can get used to things.

See when we first started dating, she would tell me sweet things like how nice a guy I was or how amazing I was and thanked me for something almost everyday.  Those sweet comments always touched my heart.  I noticed recently that I was not thankful in the same way.  Those comments use to make me blush and embarrass me a little even though they were always just between us.  She still makes those statements to me almost every day and she is such a blessing in my life.  We both have a deep appreciation for each other as well as a love that continues to deepen. 

So what does all this have to do with Las Vegas?  Well, I found another reason to be thankful.  This past week, I was in Las Vegas for a trade show for my company.  But I noticed that something was off when I got there.  I wasn't depressed or anything.  I just wasn't excited about being there.  I have been to Las Vegas at least 20 times in my career so I have seen a lot of the city.  In times past I always got excited about going out there even though I am not a big gambler, drinker or womanizer.  At first I thought I was just experiencing burn out on the city.

The morning after I got there, D sent me a text telling me to flee temptation from "sin" city.  Now she was just kidding and I know she trusted that I wouldn't do anything wrong and it was just a little funny quip between us and I love that about her.  My response to her was that I didn't need to resist temptation from sin city because the person I wanted to be with was back in Fort Worth (her).  This was why I was a little off when I got there.  For the first time in a long time, I wasn't running away from Fort Worth to get a break from my problems (we all have them right).  Now I love my children and I love being around them but for many years I was a very lonely guy.  I was around people and married but lonely at the same time.

But this trip to Las Vegas made me understand how much I genuinely love that woman and I was looking forward to getting home to be with her.  So let me say - Thank you D, for making my life so much fun and for loving me the way you do.  You are the most remarkable woman I have ever met and I am so grateful that you are in my life.  Life is definitely better with you in it!

So is there a moral to my post today?  Well I didn't think I had one until now.  What am I telling all of us today?  BE THANKFUL!  Yes, I know that we all face hard times but try to find something to be thankful for today.  I will cheer you up.

That's another Opinion of the Minion

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

Leadership

Today I want to talk about leadership. 

The thing that really annoys me about this topic is I hear people talk about how to be a leader all the time.  As a matter of fact, four or five years ago, that was the "in" thing to talk about.  People wrote books about it, gave classes about it and in general told you everything you needed to know to become one.

But I really struggled watching people who were leaders that didn't have any people following them.  I saw several people who could tell you what to do and what not to do.  They were "in the know" about all sorts of topics.  In fact, if you needed help with a situation, just bring it up around them and they wouldn't even wait for you to ask, they would just "lead" you out with a lot of advice you didn't request.  Have you ever met people like that?

Well now I want to take a swing at how to be a leader.  Let's start with a good definition.  As I was working out this morning, I was reading a book by Dick Marcinko.  Dick was the leader of a group of Navy Seals in the 1980s and he has written several books about his team.  Now these books are not about his actual team, they are fiction and I would classify them as mental candy.  I don't know that the really expand my mind from reading them.  In the book I am reading now, Mr. Marcinko gave the perfect definition of leadership in two words - follow me.

See I think that is what real leadership is all about.  I am learning as I continue to grow in the places where the Lord put me in a leadership role that this is the crux of how to lead.  In my particular position, I tried to just let things evolve on their own and I basically just sat back and watched a lot of things grow on their own.  I was fortunate that the Lord blessed the work and it did grow but now I understand that I need to lead from the front and provide the vision. 

When I think of leadership, I think of two of my closest friends JC and BL.  They both embody the principal that I am discussing today.  Now let me tell you a couple of things that I learned from both of them while I was at TCU.  First of all, while I was learning these principals from them, I didn't always like them.  They were demanding and they were normally not very tactful in the way they approached getting us to follow them.  But I would have done anything either of them asked because of the way they led. 

See, I followed them.  Why because they were doing what they wanted me to do and they were doing it to such a high level that they did it better than everyone else.  Their challenge was always come up here where I already am and let's get better together.  See, if I wanted their leadership, I only needed to look in front of me because that's where they were.

These two guys embodied what Dick Marcinko said - follow me.  So what am I trying to say today?  If you want people to follow you just start doing what you want people to do.  Quit trying to tell everyone else how they should do something and just live your life as an example of how it should be done.  That's true leadership.

That's Another Opinion of the Minion.

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 

GIGO

Hello everyone,

Today I want to talk about something I relearned just recently.  It's the concept of GIGO.  "What does that mean," you ask.  It stands for Garbage In Garbage Out.

Let's think about computers for a minute.  We all know that two plus two equals four right.  Well what would happen if we programmed a computer to say that two plus two equals five?  If we did that, every time we asked the computer how much two plus two equals, it would tell us five.  And it would be wrong every time.  So what happened?  We put the wrong stuff in the computer and it gave us the wrong answer.  Guess what, it will consistently give us the wrong answer until we take the time to reprogram it.

So what did I relearn about this and why?  Well as you know, I normally talk about life and how to live it better.  I try to be very positive and upbeat about everything and most of the time I am.  Do you know why?  Because I try to feed on upbeat and positive stuff.  Now I'm not saying for one minute that I am perfect at it but as a rule, I don't allow my mind to feed on things that aren't edifying.

Now I can already hear some of you saying, "Well you must live in a dream world.  I bet your one of those people who can't see the bad stuff that is happening right in front of your face!"  Not so - I absolutely recognize that there is bad stuff going on around us.  But if I can't do anything about it, then I really don't want to hear much about it.  I stay informed about the issues to some extent but there have been more than one "crisis" that I completely missed out on because I didn't know it was happening.

Let me tell you one place I try to avoid - the evening news.  Do you know why?  Because it normally goes something like this: three stories about bad things happening to people locally, commercial, one more bad story, the weather, commercial, sports and then it's over.  What a waste.  I would pay money to see a news guy come on the TV and say, "Tonight folks, we really don't have anything news worthy to report so here is the weather (if you live in Texas in August, that's not necessary - we all know it's hot!) and the sports.  Now we are going to skip to Wheel of Fortune twenty minutes early."  Am I saying that you shouldn't watch the news?  Certainly not.  What I am telling you is to spend quality time focusing on good things in your life.

Let me tell you another example.  I have always had a can do attitude for the most part.  I believe that I can accomplish almost anything I set my mind to do.  For the most part, I have seen that come to pass in my life.  So answer this question - What do you say/think about yourself?  Do you say that you can't do it or that you are just too stupid?  The chances are you won't accomplish what you want because you are feeding yourself a lie and telling yourself you can't.  Here's the funny thing about a lie - If you say it long enough, you will start to believe it.  When that happens, you are in serious trouble.  Yet, on the positive side, when you confess that you can do it, you might not believe it at first but keep at it.  If you continue to feed your mind with the positive stuff, eventually it will come to pass.

I remember when I was 350 pounds.  I weighed that for several years.  Then one day, I started saying that I weighed 205 pounds and guess what - Nothing happened.  I still weighed 350 pounds.  I think I said I weighed 205 pounds for a year or two before anything changed but it did.  I finally lost the weight. 

So where did I have to re-learn the lesson?  Well, at the end of June of this year, the Lord instructed me to stop listening to country music and to listen to only christian music for the entire month of July.  Before anyone gets mad, I am not saying that country music is garbage but it is not as uplifting as christian music.  As a matter of fact, I still like country music and I listen to it a little now but the Lord was preparing me for a couple of trials that he knew I would face in July.  Both were definitely learning experiences for me.  See I needed to be extra careful what I was feeding my brain so that when the time came, I would be strong enough to handle what I faced.

Let me sum it up like this.  Your brain is an organ in your body.  What you feed it will definitely effect how it works.  Now I am not talking about physical food although that is important.  I'm talking about thoughts and words.  What you listen to and say about yourself will absolutely make a difference in your life.  So pay attention to what you feed it!  You're worth far too much!

That's another Opinion of the Minion

Don't Bury Your Head in the Sand

OK, today I want to talk about something no one else but me may have ever done - burying my head in the sand when there was a problem.  Now I am sure that you have never done that but I have and it has caused some damage.  But a little more on that in a few minutes.

This is an issue that I think everyone deals with on some level.  We would all like for the issues and problems in our lives to go away.  No one really likes to deal with them because they are uncomfortable and sometimes the things we have to face cause us pain.  Wouldn't it be easier if we just ignored them?  I mean won't they go away on their own if we give them enough time?  In my limited 41 years on this earth I would have to say no.  Problems don't go away on their own.

Think about having a homework assignment that you don't really understand.  If you don't do it, you are guaranteed to get a zero right?  That grade will hurt.  How about adults.  What if you are overdrawn at the bank?  If you don't deal with that problem, you can cause more checks to bounce.  That in turn, can cause your electricity to be cut off, etc.  Now these types of problems are concrete and fairly easy to see.

But what about some problems that are not so easy.  How about the tension between you and a good friend?  I once knew of two friends who both thought the other person was upset with them.  I knew that this wasn't true but because neither of them decided to face the problem head on and call the other, the situation took months to resolve when it could have been over with a phone call.

Now let me put this a little closer to home.  One of my children has had a problem for several years now.  This problem is definitely fixable but for years I did nothing about it.  I was afraid to admit that one of my children was anything but perfect when in fact none of us is perfect.  So because I would not let anyone label my child and accurately identify this problem, it has grown worse over the years. 

It is a tough thing to swallow - Knowing that my child has needed help all these years and because I buried my head in the sand to the whole issue, he is behind on getting it.  That was something I never should have done.  I have been able to face other issues but fear kept me from handling this one.

I encourage you to examine your life and see if there are anythings you need to deal with and resolve.  If so, pray about how to handle the situation and take the appropriate steps to resolve it.  When you do that, you will feel a weight being lifted off your shoulder.  That weight is the stress those unresolved problems puts on your body.  Remember this, Jesus said in this life you will have trouble but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.  If Jesus had trouble in his life (and he had a lot) and he tells us that we will, then we will.  It's up to us to recognize the issues in our lives and deal with them.

That's Another Opinion of the Minion

Hard Times

Hello Everyone,

Today I want to talk about hard times.  What are they?  Are we supposed to have them?  How do we handle them?

Well, as I have mentioned several times before I didn't like dealing with my emotions so I stuffed them in a box.  In the same way I didn't like dealing with the thought of hard times in life.  I didn't like dealing with hard things either because guess what - They came with negative emotions and I really didn't like that.

So what are hard times?  Well, it's interesting that the definition changes based on your circumstances.  I have helped a couple of kids with homework in the last six months.  Now to them, they were in hard times.  The deadline to turn the homework in was rapidly approaching and there was a lot to do.  Also, because they had never done a couple of these projects, it was even more difficult because sometimes they were unsure of what to do.  Because I have had a lot of school and done a lot of projects (and because we were talking about sixth grade stuff) it didn't really bother me so I didn't consider the situation all that intense.

That makes sense right because I am comparing where I am at 40 years old with where sixth graders are.  But let me tell you this.  I have also noticed that there are certainly challenges that come with being a parent that seem very hard to me.  Now my girlfriend, D, who is an amazing parent has already been through some of what I am going through and while she encourages me and tells me that I am doing a great job, some of these things seem easier because she understands them already.

Of course there are other circumstances that most of us adults either have faced or face now like financial hard times or the loss of a relationship.  All these things hurt.

Now I am sure this is obvious to you but I really didn't understand that all of these things are normal and a part of life.  Even Jesus said, "In this life you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world."  That was a revelation for me.  I hated conflict and trouble and did everything I could to avoid it.  I even buried my head in the sand a few times and tried to pretend that hard times didn't really exist.  I know you have never been as stupid as I was and I am glad. 

Very recently I went on a trip that was very hard for me.  The people I was with caused me a certain amount of challenges and I was definitely emotionally overcome.  Now nothing really bad happened but I didn't know how to handle several situations and there seemed to always be a situation to handle.  But, by God's grace, I was able to handle each one and with his help, I was told that I did a very good job.  So what do we do when hard times come?  The answer is pretty easy - Face the hard time and overcome it.  Like Jesus said, He has overcome the world. 

I heard someone say the definition of courageous is not that you are never scared.  The definition of being courageous is being afraid and doing what needs to be done anyway.  This week, I got an opportunity to face something that really had me worried.  Fortunately for me, the other person in this situation is amazing and we were able to work through what we needed to.  But one of the things that made me feel good about myself is that I didn't bury my head in the sand - I faced the hard time head on and with the Lord's help, we overcame it. 

Guess what - Every time you face something hard and overcome it, you grow.  So don't worry about hard times.  They will come.  But with God's help you can overcome everyone.  I will leave you with this - when you face a hard time and overcome it, the next time you see it, it won't seem very hard.

That's another Opinion of the Minion

Be You

Today I want to deal with another subject that grew out of a very sensitive conversation that I had with someone recently.  As in my last post, I will not go into the situation because it was a very sensitive one and it could cause the person who talked to me harm even though I don't think anyone involved reads this blog.  I am not sure why people want to talk to me but it seems that they do.  (If I am fortunate, it is because people see the love of God come through me to them).

Let me use an example from my own life to illustrate my point.  When I was married, I changed a lot.

Some of it was for the better - I was a financial train wreck waiting for a place to come off the tracks for many years of my life.  As a matter of fact, some people who knew me back then thought I was crazy for going to law school because I was so irresponsible that they didn't think I could make it through.  Eventually I changed over time and grew out of that which is a very good thing.

I also became a father.  That was definitely a change for the better.  When the movie, Courageous came out I watched it and my heart broke.  I realized then that I did not know how to be a great father and I really wanted to be one.  Now I don't think I am a bad dad but I definitely know I can improve.  But being a dad for the first time definitely changed me in a good way.

But I also changed in some not good ways.  I quit being myself because part of me seemed to always make my ex-wife mad.  The Bible says that people who make peace with other people will be blessed so I always tried (most of the time unsuccessfully) to make peace with her.  But in doing so, I lost touch with part of who I was.  I was never really comfortable around her.  I don't think that she was responsible for this.  As a matter of fact, there are parts of me that I should have refused to change because they were really who I am. 

As an aside, don't use this as an excuse to be mean or act inappropriately to anyone.  I can hear some guy saying, "Well I just like a lot of girls.  That's part of who I am so it's OK for me to date other girls while I am married to someone."  NO I am not saying that.  Quit being a jerk.

But what I am telling you is that you need to be true to who you really are.  If you like football, that's OK as long as it doesn't rule your life.  If you like romantic movies, that's OK as long as it doesn't rule your life.  See it is important to stay true to yourself.  Don't let people change you to the point that you don't even recognize you anymore.  That's a mistake.  Now I have decided to just be me.  That doesn't mean that everyone has to like me.  Some people probably don't but that's OK. 

So I want to leave you with this.  Stay true to who you are.  Be you.  Do the right thing even when it's not popular but be you.

That's Another Opinion of the Minion