Tag: Spirit

Got 70 pounds?

A few nights ago, I asked our son, eight, to weigh himself.

The scale said 70 pounds.

Wow!

Sometimes, as much as I claim to live in the moment, the moments pass by unnoticed.

Guilty as charged. Seventy pounds. How did that happen? When did that happen.

Every adult I’ve asked for advice on raising children – and there have been hundreds over the years – has said the same thing, “They grow up fast!”

Our lives can be one big flurry of activity with little time in the slow lane.

My goal is to be the slowest of the fastest. Seriously. Check out tomorrow’s post at Lane 8.org for the “punch line”.

Carpe diem, jeff noel 🙂

Some mistakes are easier to make

Mistakes!

We all make them. We all are “victims” of them. We can never escape that reality that we’ll continue to make more.

Maybe all we can hope for is two simple things.

1. To try to make fewer mistakes as we grow.

2. To forgive ourselves (and others) when a mistake happens.

Case in point, five minutes ago, at 6:47AM, I realized I’ve been working since 5:00Am, and forgot to kneel and pray after waking. Remember the post a few days ago where I challenged myself to start every day on my knees?

Anyway, I forgot this morning. So I simply forgave myself, walked back to the bedroom, knelt and prayed.

Easy.

Our dog followed me from our office to the bedroom. With my eyes closed, I could hear him enter. I extended my hand out.

I knew he would accept it and place his muzzle on my hand. Then he nestled right up next to me.

He’s so predictable. His love is an unconditional love. My goal in life is to become the kind of person he thinks I am.

Do you have a big goal? Hope so. Carpe diem, jeff noel 🙂

Why?

Why do I write five blogs every day?

Not sure exactly. Trying to figure it out actually.

Maybe this is why:

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For whatever measure you use, it will be measured to you”. — Luke 6:38

There’s a part of me that (probably falsely) believes if I pour myself out to try to make the world a better place, in my own small way, that God will protect my Family. Sort of like a trade off.

I pay the price to try to help others, so that my Family will receive whatever help it needs.

That was really sort of weird to write that. Not sure I like how it sounds. Maybe I shouldn’t post it.

For now, I will. I’m more afraid of not trying, than I am of making mistakes. This may be a mistake, but at least I tried.

Today may be a great day for you to try. Carpe diem, jeff 🙂

Present Attitude?

“”Happiness is a present attitude – not a future condition“. — Hugh Prather

I can not claim to be an expert in anything, except my own personal opinion.

There was a time in my life, decades really, when I waited for external conditions to influence my happiness. Perhaps I even thought that I was happy, with the daily “partying”. Obviously, I can’t trade those years back for a do-over. And maybe in the midst of all those years, I actually was happy. It’s just that I eventually came to realize, it wasn’t the happiness I longed for.

So, the happiness I feel now, is very different than the past 30 years. It’s a simple and thankful happiness. Breathe in my nostrils, food on my plate, a clean shirt.

It’s my opinion that Hugh Prather speaks the truth. Carpe diem , jeff noel 🙂