Birthday Wish

“Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal.” - Pamela Vaull Starr

The youngest of the eight turns 19 today, the last teen of so many children we have raised. My four boys and my wife's four girls, one final year with a teenager in the house. So let me get this out of the way first;

"Happy Birthday To You !!"
"Happy Birthday To You !!"
"Happy Birthday Dear Jake-man !!"
"Happy Birthday To You !!"

Sounds better in written format and it will not chase off readers of this article. But as any parent, we are proud of all our children and their individual talents. On his birthday though we turn attention to the youngest. Surely his brothers harass him on being the 'baby' of the family, but he stands on his own.

His musical talent, song writing skills and guitar playing amaze me immensely. The band he co-founded called Electric Eel House Surprize (EEHS for short) is getting close to releasing their first CD. They have had a very successful first live appearance at a local night club where many bands get their start.

Of course, the parent in me wants him to get that college degree to 'safe guard' him against the cruel statistics of the music business. If anything, the knowledge can help guard him against the cruelty of the business itself. But my greater want is for him to reach for his dreams, to be successful and share his talent with the world.

It is anything that any parent would want for their own child. We simply want it for all eight of our children. But again, today it is Steve's birthday and our wish is for him to have success. He will work for it, he will earn it, he will enjoy that success.

Be a cheer leader for yourself, but be a cheer leader for your children. Lift them and if need be, lift them up and past you. There is no feeling like it in this world. And should they fall, you will be there to catch them; to help dust them off; to help push them back up again. Your life will be rewarded far beyond imagine.

So happy birthday Steve, happy birthday everyone!
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Tomorrow

Birthday Wish message for my son and for the child of anyone .... tomorrow !
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Lifting Up

"The truest help we can render an afflicted man is not to take his burden from him, but to call out his best energy, that he may be able to bear the burden." - Phillips Brooks

Every day we have two choices to make in dealing with other people. One, we can put them down and discourage them. Or two, we can encourage them and help lift them up. And in your own life, you have experienced both choices as people interact with you.

It is tough enough going through various circumstances in life without others beating you down. I have to stop and ask myself as well on many occassions if I'm lifting or pushing down others. So I won't claim to be an innocent in this part of life.

But I do work on it and believe if others thought more about their actions, each of our lives would be better. At the very least, we would have more encouragement to endure some of the trials we go through.

So think about your own actions towards others and try to lift them when possible. Soon enough, it may be you that requires some lifting as well.
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Living Attitude

"Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe." - Voltaire

I will admit that I am not very good when it comes to being sick. The kind of sick that is the minor kind like a flu or head cold. My way of battling is to hunker down, drink lots of water and try not to talk very much. Hopefully I am not a whining type of sick person, but only my wife would be able to tell.

When I think about being sick though, I always wonder how I would react to the big ones. When surgery is required or some greater form of cancer or disease. Those would be the things that a person really has a right to be whiny about. And when I look back at others I have watched go through a major ordeal, it is not being whiny that I saw in them.

A good friend of ours had a form of brain cancer many years ago. She was healed and has had many years of healthy living. Then recently, there was a concern, a spot that appeared again. The worst could be thought and the worry came back over, yet she braved it with great faith and resolve.

The spot was revealed to have been just old scar tissue and is not cancerous. She never lost her faith during this ordeal. She smiled, she lived and she fought off all of the bad things that could have overcome her. Never a 'woe is me' came from her on what could have been completely different.

I also remember watching my Mother go through her fight with Pancreatic Cancer this past year. While she had symptoms (knowing what we know now) back in late 2007, she was diagnosed in January of 2008. It is said normally that by the time it is diagnosed, it is already too late.

But my mother fought the good fight, trying the various rounds of chemo treatments bravely and always with a smile. And as she lay in her final days with family gathered around, she continued to teach us with stories and laughter. Her faith is what kept her in good stead through out. She told us at one point that "prayer was for us before we knew what prayer was."

I do not know each of your beliefs on prayer nor do I write to convince you to pray. For me I find prayer comforting in many ways, believing in my faith to help pull me through despite what is happening in the natural. I learned from my mother and many others, that you approach sickness just as anything else two ways. One is to give up and foster a bad attitude. The second is to fight it and keep a good attitude about it.

I choose the second option to live life, fight pain, or approach anything that happens with a good attitude. It will keep my mind clear and energy available to focus on the great things that can happen. Never do I want to waste that on complaint and woe, neither is useful. In the summation of my life, people will have enjoyed being around me through all the ups and downs of that life. And I will have lived a greater life because of it.
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What Inspires You

I came across this video made through Intel by Sir Ken Robinson, author and expert in the field of human resources. It is a short but interesting view into what inspires him.



Yet the point isn't to show you who or what inspires other people. The point is for you to examine your own life and try to understand who or what inspires you.

When you do, it will help you better understand who you are. So take some time and find those inspiring people and things in our life. Do those things lift you up or drag you down? If they drag you down, discard them and find new inspirations. If they lift you up, learn from them and draw upon the strength they can give you.

By allowing yourself to be inspired by those that lift you, will one day find you being the inspiration to others.
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Roll Away The Stone

I listened last night to a wonderful speaker name Jurgen Matthesius give a new perspective, at least for me, on letting go of our old ways. You know those things that you carry like a wagon full of stones, never letting go of past hurts or complaints.

He spoke on a Bible verse, John 11:38 in which Lazarus is raised from the dead. Now most readers know I do not get into religion in my writings. But this story told by Jurgen was a beautiful spin on letting go of those past issues. To "roll away the stone" and "step back out into the light" gives us a new life.

I will likely write more about this as it is still sinking in. It is a story that can help you get on with life and experience a renewed chapter of greatness. So if interested, pick up and read the verse and subsequent verses. Then sit back and think about all of the past things you drag along behind you.
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Belief In Miracles

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
- Albert Einstein

The word 'miracle' comes from the Late Latin word miraculum, a wonder, marvel or amazing event. The Merriam-Webster dictionary calls it an "extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs." Or an "extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing, or accomplishment."

There are many different stories told through out the ages of miracles. From the Bible story of Jesus turning water into wine, to Dr. Paula Mahone at the Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa who delivered septuplets in six minutes. The wide and varied examples of miracles would fill a multitude of books.

You are probably wondering if I believe in miracles and the answer is yes. There are things that happen in life that are simply unexplainable. But not only the unexplainable, I marvel at what we as humans can and continue to accomplish. Whether it be from divine intervention or something else, 'everything is a miracle' in my eyes.

You can find miracles in your everyday life as well. Though you might ask, "why should I believe in miracles?" My way of thinking is that by believing in miracles, we open ourselves to possibilities that otherwise we may not have considered. It will allow us to try things that without the belief would not have been tried. Others have called this type of belief a form of desperation. I call it courage to accept the impossible.

Common sense would tell you that a man could not lift a car to save another man's life, but it did happen. Or that a young boy accidentally shot in the head would live to walk out of a Brooklyn Hospital. On the surface you would say neither of these could happen, but they did. Is there an explanation, probably of some sort, but they are amazing and a belief in the miraculous certainly didn't hurt.

So as you see a wondrous sunrise or a spectacular sunset, everything in between can be viewed as a miracle. Amazing events that fill our lives each and everyday.
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Marriage Of Figaro

Today is a big day for my daughter Sarra and Chester. A wedding of two wonderful people will occur this evening. It is exciting and full of possibility when two people begin to share their lives together.



May the loving memory of today's event live on and hold them in good stead for an entire lifetime of togetherness. I wish this for them and for all married and soon to be married couples.
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Career Change

Federal Art Project, WPA, [between 1936 and 1939]

"To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly." - Henri Louis Bergson

Another great day ahead of me as my oldest son ventures back home from where he lives in Denver, Colorado. Another of those guys that is walking through a door of change currently.

For the past several years, he has been both Executive chef and Sous chef, having done very well at it. But the nature of that profession can be very difficult in terms of hours and days worked. The longevity in any one location can be short as well as other demanding aspects of the job.

He has made a career decision to go back to school and learn a new profession. It is a big step and one that has its own challenges. But it is a step out in faith to go for something that will change his life. His story is similar to those in my book, CHANGED LIVES in which a step towards something new is what begins the journey.

So while you sit and worry about your current circumstance, life if moving on with or without you. The only person that can achieve things for you, is you. By making that first step through a door of decision will put you on a path to something new.

For advice on seeking a new career, I suggest a good informational site on the USAA website. They offer a checklist and "no, I get nothing as an endorsement". It is one of several great sites out on the web providing great advice.

So make that decision and walk through that door. So many have and so will you.
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Salute To Change

Big, big day as my son Dan is returning from Germany where he was stationed with the 1st Armored Division. He is an Iraq war veteran and is being transferred back to a base here in the United States. It has been nearly a year and half since last seeing him.

This is a man that was slowly driving himself down further into the depths of nothing. He was out of high school, drifting around trying to figure out his life and falling even further.

It was on his own that he made that decision to join the military. He made that decision to change his life. It is a decision much like those made by the people from my book, CHANGED LIVES. There will be tough times and there have been during his change of direction, but he is heading in the right direction. He is made it to the level of Sargeant, earned awards and doing very well at this time.

The point in sharing this with you is that along with being proud of my son, it also shows that you can make a change for the better. Even when all seems to be going down hill, the push back up can happen.

So stand tall, know that change can happen, life can get better.
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