Through It All

It was five years ago today that I had neck surgery to repair and prevent further damage from spinal stenosis.  It was quite an ordeal.  The surgery turned out to be the easy part.  It was the months of recovery and therapy that followed that proved to be the most challenging time for me.

I want to thank God today for bringing me through it.  I can testify that God is good!  In one of the hardest times in my life, God was with me through it all. 

Thinking back on that time, it reminds me how important it is to live life to the full and make the most of the time we have.

"Too many people die at 20 and are buried at 80,” said Robin S. Sharma, the best-selling author of The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari. "We start life with great hopes for our future, but sometimes the pressure of the life causes us to lose our dreams or just settle for less."

John 10:10 says, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”  We all face unexpected challenges as we go through life, but God is here to help us, to lead us and to give us life to the full. 

Life Verses

Do you have a "life verse"?  Do you know what a "life verse" is?  The Dictionary of Christianese website defines a life verse as “A Bible verse that a Christian believes to be specifically representative of his life."

Each morning, I get to sit around the table after breakfast with a group of other residents here at the nursing center while the activities director reads us the headlines from the morning paper.  The paper has a verse of the day each day.  Suzanne reads that to us and then we recite these four verses together:

• "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." -- Philippians 4:13
• "If God is for us, who can be against us?" - Romans 8:31
• "Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only." - James 1:22
• "Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice." - Philippians 4:4

All four of these verses are great life verses, and put all together, they are great words to live by.  If you don't have a life verse, think about one of these or go to the Bible and find one that speaks to you personally and carry it with you throughout life.  It will bring you much comfort and strength as you go through life.

I'll end by sharing my own life verse.  It's 1 John 1:9:
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

Political Bickering

I like to follow politics, but I just don't get it sometimes.  Politicians can act like such crybabies!  We elect them to represent our interests in Washington, but when they get there, they forget about we, the people, and push their own agendas.

It becomes like a sporting event.  Republicans against Democrats.  Us against them.  Two teams competing against each other where one team has to win and one has to lose.  It shouldn't be that way.  Lawmakers should work together for the good of the whole country.  In the end, it should be about making America better and stronger.

This whole government shutdown is completely unnecessary and could have been avoided if Republicans and Democrats would just try to work together.  Both sides need to be willing to compromise.  There has to be a little give-and-take to come up with a solution.

They're not even trying to cooperate.  President Trump wants a border wall, so Democrats oppose it.  If Democrats wanted a wall, I can promise you the Republicans and Trump would oppose it.  Democrats supported a wall back in 2013.  But when Trump made it a campaign promise, Democrats became determined to make sure he doesn't keep that promise.  The Republicans did the same thing when Obama wanted to pass the health care bill.

It's like spoiled children when they don't get their way.  They kick and scream and hold their breath until they get what they want. 

That's how we ended up in this showdown over the wall.  Neither side is willing to give an inch.  They just want to make sure the other side doesn't win.  It's about their pride.  The real losers are the ones caught in the middle.  The federal workers who have been furloughed without pay are the ones feeling the pinch.  They're the ones who are suffering right now.

I don't know if a wall would stop illegals from crossing the border, but it couldn't hurt to try it.  Why not try the wall?  It might actually help. 

Let's put politics aside for once and all work together.  We might be surprised how much we could get done.  So, come on, politicians, can't we all just get along for the good of the country?

Pooh On Philosophy

We can learn a lot from the great philosophers.  A list of the greatest philosophers includes Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Confucius, Albert Schweitzer and C.S. Lewis.  They have revealed some great insights through their deep and intellectual writing.

Can you remember any of their famous sayings?  I can't either.  But I bet you'll remember these sayings:

• “I’m so tired my tired is tired.”
• “The things that make me different are the things that make me.”
• “People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.”
• “Doing nothing often leads to the very best something.”
• “I’m not lazy, I’m just on standby.”
• “I must be thinking too hard.”
• “Always look for the rainbow.”

These words of wisdom are from none other than the great thinker Winnie the Pooh!  His outlook on life is simple.

We often make life more difficult than it needs to be.  Pooh and his friends Christopher Robin, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, Rabbit and Owl remind us not to take ourselves too seriously. The KISS concept of life is “Keep it Simple Stupid.” Pooh kept it simple but was not stupid. He said things like:

• “Life is a journey to be experienced, not a problem to be solved.”
• “Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.”
• “Sometimes we need to simply be there...not to fix anything or to do anything in particular, but to just let us feel we are supported.”
• “Don’t think too much. You’ll create a problem that wasn’t even there in the first place.”
• “Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon.”
• “Birthdays mean cake!”

Pooh always tells it the way it is:

• “I always get to where I’m going by walking away from where I’ve been.”
• “You can’t stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.”
• “It makes a difference to have someone who believes in you.”

Pooh describes friendship this way:

• “As soon as I saw you, I knew a grand adventure was about to happen.”
• “We didn’t realize we were making memories, we just knew we were having fun.”
• “Good friends will stick with you until you’re unstuck.”

Winnie the Pooh had a simple view of relationships:

• “Anyone can show up when you’re happy, but the ones who stay by your side when your heart falls apart, they are your true friends.”
• “We will be friends forever, just you wait and see.”
• “Sometimes all you really need is someone to hug you tight and refuse to let you go until you feel better.”
• “Any day spent with you is my favorite day. So, today is my favorite day.”

 There's a few quotes that can change our outlook on life:

• “Only look back to see how far you’ve come.”
• “We only regret the chances we didn’t take.”
• “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think, and loved more than you know.”

 

At the start of a new year, it's the perfect time to read Pooh's sayings and maybe put them into practice this year.  Life doesn’t have to be as complex as we make it.  Take time to enjoy the journey!

Hail to the Chief

The calendar hadn't even turned to 2019 before the political frenzy began over who will challenge Donald Trump in 2020. 

There has been speculation for weeks with names like Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Beto O'Rourke, Michael Bloomberg, Cory Booker and dozens of other left-wing loons considering a run for the Democratic nomination.

One name that has risen to the top of the list is Elizabeth Warren, or as President Trump calls her, 'Pocahontas.'  She claimed she has a Native American ancestry so she could list herself as a minority.  Maybe Trump should call her Pinocchio instead of Pocahontas! 

A DNA test showed about the only Native American heritage she has is when she drives her Jeep Cherokee.

The Indian maiden had a powwow on New Year's Eve to announce she is forming an exploratory committee to run for president.  That means she's all in... unless she turns out to be an Indian giver, too.  Trump says he hopes she does run, and I do too!  In fact, I have a little advice for her.

First, the little squaw will have to raise money -- a lot of money -- so I suggest she get a giant teepee and have a fundraising dinner.  It would cost 1,000 wampum to attend, and she can serve her famous Powwow Chow.  She can write out all her campaign promises on . . . what else . . . a Big Chief tablet!  (Or she could just send smoke signals.)

She can travel around the country holding rallies where she can pass around the peace pipe to try to calm any 'reservations' voters may have about voting for a minority. 

She definitely marches to the beat of a different tom-tom.  I wonder if Tonto is available to be her running mate.

Imagine the debates between Ms. Wigwam and President Trump.  He would scalp her!  Which is exactly what will happen if she runs against Trump in 2020.  Instead of commander-in-chief, a better title for her would be Sitting Bull.

2019

Happy new year!  I like New Year's Day because it gives us a fresh start.  A new beginning.  New hope.  Whatever happened last year, we can put it behind us and look to the future.

This year will be whatever we make it, and it starts with having the right attitude.  I came across these quotes about how we should live our lives.  Let them help you jumpstart your life into the beginning of a new year:

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”  -- Ghandi

 “You don’t get to choose how you’re going to die. Or when. You can only decide how you’re going to live. Now.” -- Joan Baez

 

“Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans.” -- John Lennon 

 

“You can’t have a better tomorrow if you are thinking about yesterday all the time.” -- Charles Kettering

 

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” -- Oscar Wilde

 

 “We are not here merely to make a living. We are here to enrich the world.” -- Woodrow Wilson 

 

“Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save.” -- Will Rogers

 

“The only man who makes no mistakes is the man who never does anything.” -- Theodore Roosevelt

 

"Don't be defined by what life throws at you and that you cannot control.  Accept the hand you are dealt with grace and then go on to play that hand as joyously and as vigorously as you can." -- Charles Krauthammer 

 

Political Divide

What's happened to the old adage "agree to disagree"?  America has always been divided by politics.  It's the liberals vs. the conservatives.  I was a senior in college in 1992 when Bill Clinton was running against George H.W. Bush.  Many — if not most — of my classmates were liberal Democrats backing Clinton.  I supported the Republican Bush.  We had many lively debates over politics, but we had respect for  each other's views.  There was a level of civility.

Not so anymore.  Since Donald Trump became president, there has been a growing level of intolerance on both sides.  But there's been a wave of liberal rage since Trump took office.

Most of their targets have been on Trump himself with Madonna saying she had "thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House."  Kathy Griffin posed for photos with a bloody replica of the president’s decapitated head.   

From the first day of his presidency, Trump has been met with resistance on everything he's tried to do.  Democrats have been screaming for impeachment and looking for ways to block his agenda.

The latest uproar has been over President Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court — Brett Kavanaugh.  Even before Trump announced his pick, Democrats vowed to fight the nomination.  It didn't matter who he nominated, the Democrats vowed to do whatever it takes to destroy the nominee.  And they have kept their promise, using every dirty trick in the book to bring Kavanaugh down.

When attempts to disqualify him based on his judicial record failed and it looked like Kavanaugh was going to be confirmed, the Democrats were desperate to find another way to destroy him.  They went after his character.  It got nasty.

A former classmate accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her at a high school party 36 years ago.  She had no proof, no evidence, no witnesses, and Kavanaugh unequivocally denied her claim.   That didn't matter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, though.  Instead of 'Innocent Until Proven Guilty,' he was declared 'Guilty By Accusation' by the liberals on the committee and most in the media.

In a fiery hearing last week before the Senate Judiciary Committee, the accuser laid out her claims against Kavanaugh.  Her story was sketchy and lacked any collaborating details.  Kavanaugh also testified, adamantly denying the accusations.  Despite the lack of evidence, the Democrats are still demanding an FBI investigation into Kavanaugh's background. 

Delay, obstruct and resist has been their plan all along.  From the very beginning, Democrats have tried anything and everything to tank Kavanaugh's nomination.  If it wasn't Kavanaugh, it would be whoever Trump nominated.  The same would be true if the Democrats were in power.  Republicans would try to tear down their nominee. 

It's one thing to disagree over issues, but it's quite another to make such personal attacks and try to ruin someone's reputation because you don't like his political views.

Why can't we all just get along?  We all want the best for the country — whether there's a conservative in the White House or a liberal.