Sometimes I Have a Dirty Mind

Sometimes I have a dirty mind.  Do you?

Before you jump to bad places let me explain.  By “dirty mind” I mean sometimes I let junk accumulate in my mind as to how I view myself.  My mind gets cluttered with junk, and I get bogged down into dirty thinking.  Zig Ziglar called it “stinkin thinkin”. 

I am a big believer in having a good mindset and a positive attitude.  Attitude is often the critical deciding factor in many of life’s circumstances.

Here are some examples of a “dirty minded person.”

-"I’m no good to anybody."

    -"I can’t do anything right."

        -"Who would hire me?"

            -"My life sucks pretty much all the time."

        -"If you look up the word 'Loser'

          you’ll find a picture of me."

    -"If I disappeared would anybody care?"

Well, enough of that. 

We have to remember how critical our mindset is at all times.  We make or unmake ourselves every minute in every transaction just simply based on the conversations that go on between our ears.  We talk to ourselves constantly, but what are we saying?

The Bible says “Take every thought captive.” 

(II Corinthians 10:5)

So, my friend, allow me to offer all of us a reminder of who we are, what we might accomplish and some good directions in which to take our minds.

^13-16Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;

You formed me in my mother's womb.

I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking!

Body and soul, I am marvelously made!

I worship in adoration—what a creation!

You know me inside and out,

You know every bone in my body;

You know exactly how I was made,

Bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something.

Like an open book, you watched me grow

From conception to birth;

All the stages of my life

Were spread out before you, 

The days of my life

Were all prepared before I'd even lived one day. 

(The Message

Psalm 139:13-16)

If the God of the universe gives that much thought to you even before your birth, do you think we can have a touch of respect for God’s wisdom and give ourselves a chance? 

Don’t despair.  Hold on to your future with hope.  I love this text from the Bible.  Jeremiah 29:11. 

“For surely I know that plans I have for you, 

God says.

Plans for your prosperity 

and not for harm.

I want to give you a future with hope.”

 (MB paraphrase)

Thought leaders down through the ages have expressed the idea of “As a man thinks so is he” in a hundred different ways. 

“You become what you think about.”  (Earl Nightingale)

“Only those who can see the invisible can accomplish the impossible.”  (Dr. B. Lown)

“Vision is what we see when we close our eyes.”  (Kevin Hall)

The mind is everything.  A man’s life is what his thoughts make of it.”

(Marcus Aurelius –Roman Emperor)

“A man is what he thinks about all day long.”  (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

So, what kind of mind do you have?  Is it still dirty, cluttered, and clouded over with the nasty, the ugly, the self-defeating?

Feast on these words.

I am Somebody

I may be poor

But I am Somebody

I may be young

But I am Somebody

I may be on welfare

But I am Somebody

I may be small

But I am Somebody

I may make a mistake

But I am Somebody

My clothes may be different

My face may be different

My hair may be different

But I am Somebody

I may be black, brown, or white

I may speak a different language

But I want to be respected, protected

Never rejected

I am God’s child

I am Somebody

Rev. William H. Borders,

Written in the 1950’s. 

Stand up, man, woman, boy, girl.  

Change your mindset.

Make up your mind today 

that you are SOMEBODY.

And remember - 

God don't make junk!

Too Many Too's

Have you had statements like these said to you?

Do people around you, friends we call them, say “you are too ‘something’”? 

You are TOO …

Fat

  Tall

    Bald

      Loud

        Slow

          Old

              Poor

                Untalented

             Uncoordinated

          Inconsistent

        Messy

      Uneducated

    Unskilled

  Lanky

Weak

Let’s take a look at some famous men and women who have overcome odds and the negative press of the day.

--When John Kennedy announced that we were going to the moon the naysayers said “it’s too far, man can’t stand that kind of pressure, we can’t afford it, and we don’t have the proper equipment”.   Look what incremental steps brought about.

--When we lost the lives of astronauts on three different occasions those lacking foresight said “that’s too many lives.  We can’t afford any more loses.”  But look what we have learned.

--Franklin Roosevelt was told he was too crippled to be president.

--Lance Armstrong was told he was too infested with cancer to ever ride again, yet he won seven Tour de France races.

--Abraham Lincoln lost election after election.  He was tall and gangly; not a handsome man at all, yet he became one of our most revered presidents.

--Mary Kay Ash was told to liquidate her business just days before she launched her first products.

--Arnold Schwarzenegger was told by family members to give up becoming a world class body builder, yet he became Mr. Universe.

--Ray Charles was told "you can't sing and you can’t play the piano.”

--Diana Ross was told “you have a nice voice, but it’s nothing special.”

--James Michener was once told, “you’re a good editor, but why would you want to throw it all away and become a writer.  I read your book and frankly, it’s not all that good.”  (This was said of South Pacific, for which he won a Pulitzer Prize.)

--Akio Morita, then president of Sony was told, “no one will buy a tape player that doesn’t record.”  (That idea became the Walkman.)

Some people once said …

“Personal computers are a hobbyist fad.”

“People will rent videos but they will never buy them.”

“A global twenty-four hour news network will never work” was once said to Ted Turner.

How strong is your faith in whatever it is you want to accomplish?

Do you believe in your idea, regardless of what others say?

When I read stories such as these my heart is encouraged.  I begin seeing possibilities anew for my own hopes and dreams.  Do you?

Here is the take away today…

If you can dream it, plan for it and stay the course, you just might accomplish whatever it is you set out to accomplish.  It has nothing to do with age, ethnicity, or locale.

--First:  See it in your mind’s eye.

--Second:  Work at it every day.  Think about your magnificent obsession; plan for it, dream about it and move toward it every day of your life.

--Third:  Learn, study, read and talk to others who have pursued similar interests.  Gather all the information you can.  You are arming your homing device to move you on a strait path to success and accomplishment.

May you become the next great one in pursuit of your dream!

There Is Enough Love

There Is Enough Love

(I related this story back in November 2011 and it is such a significant story that I repeat it again with a slightly different slant.  Thanks for understanding.  (Based on Brennan Manning’s story as told in The Furious Longing of God)

“Once upon a time there was a college student named Larry.  Larry was rather large; fat actually, and unkempt.  He wore clothes that were dirty and ragged at best.

He suffered with a very low self-esteem.  He dated no one, for others labeled him as “ugly”. 

One year at Christmas time, Larry went home to visit his parents in Rhode Island.  Larry’s father was a typical lace-curtain Irishman.  That meant that on the hottest of days he would come to the dining table with a tie and suit on, and he spoke in subdued tones. 

As the New Year approached, Larry told his Dad that he needed to get back to school the next day. 

“What time, son?”

“Six-o’clock.”

“Well, I’ll ride the bus with you as far as I can.”

The next morning Larry and his father got off the bus at Dad’s work place so Larry could catch another bus to go to the airport. 

There was a group of men in front of Dad’s work place and they begin making loud and degrading remarks about Larry. 

“Oink, oink, oink.  Look at that fat pig." 

Another man remarked, “if that slob was my kid, he’d be out the door so fast, he wouldn’t know if he’s on foot or horseback.  Hey pig!  Give us your best oink.”

The harsh words continued.

At that moment Larry’s father, for the first time in his life, reached out and embraced him, kissed him and said, “Larry, if your mother and I live to be two-hundred years old, that wouldn’t be long enough to thank God for the gift He gave to us in you.  I am so proud that you are my son!”

What amazing and transformational words those were. 

Here’s what happened. 

Larry went back to school.  He began to clean up, and he began dating.  Soon Larry became the president of one of the fraternities.  He also pulled off a 4.2 grade point average.  He had a brilliant mind. 

On June 14, 1974 Larry was ordained a priest in the diocese of Providence, Rhode Island.  After being ordained, he spent the next twenty years as a missionary in South America, living a totally sold-out life to His God. 

Why the transformation?  Why did Larry turn from being a fat slob and an aimless nobody?

In one defining moment in time, Larry felt unconditional love from his father.  That moment changed his life forever.  His father healed him.” 

Larry found and felt enough love in that one embrace from his father and that love proved to be enough. 

My, oh my!  Have you ever experienced enough love?

I had to attend the funeral of my brother-in-law recently.  As we went through that experience I kept thinking "There is a lot of love here today.  Enough love to make it through such as time as this.”

I am married to Carolyn.  Never have I been loved to the degree that she loves me.  We are discovering enough love to make it through life, together. 

I’ve attended a few AA and Al-anon meetings.  The one thing that strikes me about these meetings is that there is enough love in each of those meetings to help the participants make it through another day and night.  Just enough love to make it through.

I believe that someone near you today needs a sense of ‘just enough love’ to make it through whatever they are facing.  They need you.  They need your love.  They need your word or touch. 

May you find the grace to extend just enough love to someone near you today.

After all, there is enough love for you and me!

What Does God Think about You?

Have you ever wondered what God thinks about you?  I read something this week and the writer commented that “he felt he was God’s biggest disappointment”.

Some people go along in life holding onto these concepts of what God thinks about them.

--“I am a loser who will never win.”

   --“I am his worst drunk.”

      --“I am the biggest misfit in this world.”

      --“I’m an accident waiting to happen.”

   --“He doesn’t like me very much.”

--“I’m a ‘has-been’.  I’m no longer useful"

If you’ve ever had thoughts like these, then I want to throw you a lifeline.  I can’t ever imagine God holding any of these thoughts about any person.

And that means you.

In some of the reading I’ve been doing lately, the following thoughts and concepts rise far above all other negative and hurtful thoughts anyone may level against you, or even what your own mind repeats back to you. 

<Think on these things for a while>

God loves you just the way you are. 

He is seeking for a dozen ways 

to bring you to him.

He not only loves you, he likes you a lot.

God is very fond of you.

Even if you take one darting glance back toward God, 

he is already opening his arms wide 

to receive you back.  

Just run to him. 

So what does God say to you?  How does he respond when you feel you are at your worst?

God says …

“You are my chosen one.”

“You are mine.”

“I want to redeem you.”

“I want you close

so you can hear

my heartbeat. “

“I forgive you.”

“I’m seeking you for you

 at every turn.”

“I will never leave you

  nor forsake you.”

“Find solace in my

arms of grace.”

“You matter to me.”

“You are a significant  

  person in my kingdom.”

“You have a future with hope,"“

“You are somebody.”

Now, stand up, hold your head up high and re-establish your place in the calm, loving, forgiving heart of God.

Become the person He planned for you to become. 

Living without Regret

I have a speech that I give to civic groups called Living without Regret.  In it I share this thought. 

“Most elderly people, when they come to the end of their lives and are asked “if you could do it all over again, what would you do differently, they respond, “I would have taken more chances.” 

I love that. 

Dawna Markova says it clearly in her poem. 

I Will Not Die an Unlived Life.

I will not die an unlived life. 

I will not live in fear of falling or catching fire. 

I choose to inhabit my days,

To allow my living to open me,

To make me less afraid, more accessible,

to loosen my heart until it becomes a wing,

a torch, a promise.

I choose to risk my significance;

to live so that that which came to me as a seed

goes to the next as a blossom

And that which came to me as a blossom,

goes on as fruit.

Dawna Markova

Don’t die with your music still in you. 

There once was a master violin virtuoso who had to sell his expertly crafted violin.  After selling it to the pawnshop he vowed to one day buy back that very violin. 

Time passed.

He saved his money until one day he went to that pawn shop to purchase back his violin only to find that it has been sold to a collector to be placed in a shadowbox and hung on a wall.

The virtuoso paid a visit to this collector and pleaded with him to sell him back his violin.  The collector refused.  In desperation, the violin virtuoso asked if he could at least play his violin one last time before it became a part of this man’s collection, never to produce another note.

The collector agreed. 

The virtuoso tuned the strings and played a lovely melody.  As the sounds of this instrument filled the room, the collector’s heart was softened and he agreed to sell the violin to the master musician.  How could he deprive the world of the lovely sounds being produced from this finely crafted instrument?  He could not let this violin sit in silence. 

Don’t you sit in silence. 

Don’t let the world pass you by. 

Live your life without regrets. 

-Write your books.

     -Sing your songs

          -Build your dreams.

               -Start your company.

                    -Launch that enterprise.

              -Make that widget.

          -Go on that cruise.

     -Take that trip.

-Write that play.

Get your music out.

Go and live your life without regret.

Faith Does Not Come with a Guarantee

When we have the privilege of staying in a hotel somewhere, one habit of mine is to leave a light on in the bathroom so we can find our way in the dark.  I know my way here at home, but in a strange place, I need light. 

All my life, I’ve heard dozens and hundreds of sermons on faith. 

     Have faith

          Test your faith

               Stretch your faith

                    Grow up in faith

Recently, the thought came to me that faith is not lived in the light.  It’s learned and lived in the dark. 

Think about this: 

Faith does not come with a guarantee.

Wow!  That puts things into perspective.

The whole concept of faith is trust. 

And faith, I might add, is not just for people in the church.  Every day of our lives we demonstrate faith in varying degrees. 

Driving on any freeway in the world is an act of faith.

We ate at one of our favorite restaurants recently and Carolyn got a touch of food poisoning.  We had faith in that restaurant, yet …

Living a life of faith is not lived in the light.  It’s lived in the dark. 

That is the beauty of faith, I think. 

We understand that faith is discovered in darkness over and over again, and we learn to trust the darkness. 

Trusting the darkness.  That is huge. 

Faith means

Not seeing where the money comes from, yet it arrives
  

Not seeing the next step to take, but taking that step anyway

Not seeing the job needed yet discovering odd jobs that bring in the money

Not seeing the improved behavior but trusting that it shows up soon

Not seeing love expressed yet knowing it is there.

Living life is an act of faith every day.

There are no guarantees in faith.

Just trust.

Scary isn’t it?

Yes it is. 

But with time, we embrace faith; we embrace the unknown, in all of the varied experiences of our lives.

Faith with Guarantees?

No such thing.

               Just faith. 

                              And so we go boldly forward.

I Believe

I believe in the sun, even though it doesn’t shine.

I believe in love, even when it isn’t shown.

I believe in God, even when he doesn’t speak.

(Written by eyes that chose to see the unseen.)

Choose Your Color

If you won a million dollars in the lottery, what color would you use to color your life?

If you were injured in a tragic auto accident and came out crippled, what color would you use?

Someone once said, “Suffering colors all of life, doesn’t it?

“Yes,” came back the response, “but I get to choose the color.”

“I GET TO CHOOSE THE COLOR!”

I love that!

The word we are dancing around is “Attitude.”  It’s not the circumstances in which we find ourselves in life that matters most.  It is our “ATTITUDE” in the midst of those circumstances.

We get to choose the color during our disappointing moments.

During my lifetime I’ve faced stuff that was hard, lonely, and difficult to understand.  .  No one likes going through those times, however, if we can come out on the other side with insight and perspective, then perhaps we can appreciate the “valley of heartache” for what it was.

But mostly, we can choose the colors with which to paint the valley walls.

In December of 1980, I awakened one morning and discovered that a third of my back yard had washed down the ravine behind my home.  At first, I wanted to go to bed, cover my head and never come out again. 

I was worried, and I experienced periods of depression and despondence.  But soon a level head and an optimistic heart prevailed and I began seeing the small steps that could be taken to lead to the larger decisions toward a remedy.

Here is a formula I found helpful:

1.       Process the situation.  What has happened?  Did I cause it?  How serious is it? 

2.      Accept what has happened as fact.  You can’t change what has already come to pass.

3.      Act!  What can I do today to help?  Ask for help.  Find a remedy.  Begin the steps of rebuilding and recovery. 

4.      And above all, CHOOSE a good color with which to paint this experience.  If you are still standing then it is not the end of the world.  Color it as bright as you can allow yourself. 

Maintain an attitude of “we’ll get through this.”  “This too shall pass.” 

Easy?

In a word, NO!

However …

However!

In time the situation got resolved.

Life happens.

Color it … WISELY!

Henley captures it perfectly. 

It matters not how straight the gate,

How charged with punishment the scroll,

I am the master of my fate;

I am the captain of my soul. 

William Ernest Henley