Writing comes in spurts for me.  Sometimes I’ve got a message to share and it just clicks, and then sometimes even coming up with a cogent paragraph is a struggle.  Today, I’m really leaning toward the latter.  But there’s something definitely stirring and I only hope I can do it the justice it deserves.

I chose a few years ago to avoid as much daily news coverage as I could.  Some will say I’m avoiding, others will accuse me of being irresponsible, and all will probably call me a little crazy.  I can’t say I disagree with any of these assessments.

Three news stories made it through to me this week before I could get my walls built back up.  One story came through an email at work – one of our employees had experienced what I would personally fear the most.  In a national news story, you’ll hear of two girls, cousins, in Iowa, have gone missing.  I saw another article that the FBI strongly believes the girls are still alive right now.  I personally ask all of you to remember those two girls and their families as you say your personal prayers.

Then, I’m sure all of you have seen the endless coverage on the horrors that occurred at the movie theater in Aurora, Colorado a few days ago.  There are too many parallels to these types of things we’ve seen over the years.  Again, prayers to all affected…from the wounded to the families left behind to grieve the loss of a loved one.

It is no wonder why I build a wall between my soul and the news.  It can drain life from you in an instant…if you allow it.

Many of you know I’ve taken up running the past couple of months – my own “Custer’s last stand” between a health hurdle I set for myself earlier this year.  I’ve finally made it to the point where I can run fairly continuously for a half hour…but it started with measuring runs in seconds rather than minutes.  It’s been a long grind but it’s finally working for me, and, while I will NEVER say I love running, I do like what I’m seeing in terms of rewards.  Anyway, the other day while I was nearing the end of my run, “Times Like These” by the Foo Fighters came on and really made the next few minutes of running quite easy.

I thought about all these events going on, knowing that all of us have even more pressing personal news that eats at us daily.  It’s times like these that we do truly learn to live again.  Whether in terms of family, friends, or just the world buzzing by, these daily trials are what teach us to live again.  We learn where to focus our love.  We learn how to give and give – without the expectation of anything in return.  Most of all, we learn what it means to grab life while it stands before us.

In his famous “Farewell to Arms” Earnest Hemingway wrote, “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong in the broken places.”  For me personally, I know this to be true.  I was broken in ways I never saw coming and the aftermath seemed messier than I’d grown to expect.  But I also learned to live again.  And those broken places…they’re stronger now as well.

I know when my fears rise about something, that there’s no real reason to run and hide – it’s life presenting an opportunity to grow.  That is true healing in the broken places.

The Texas Rangers baseball coach, Ron Washington, is routinely quoted for some of his funny quips about baseball.  We’ve all heard “that’s how baseball go” in the past couple of years.  But there’s one quote he made that I find distinct applicability to life in general.  He said, “If you treat the game with respect, the game will respect you.”  Those that follow baseball know that the Rangers are the furthest thing from a boring team.  They pitch, they hit, they play defense, and they’re aggressive on the bases – stealing bases when they can and risking outs in order to score runs.  So when he says “treat the game with respect”, he doesn’t mean to do so by just going with the flow.  He really emphasizes that EVERY player come ready to play ALL aspects of the game, EVERY game – and to do so within the rules of the game.

It’s a great metaphor for life.  You’ll get out of it what you give to it.  If you go with the flow forever, then the flow is about the best you’ll ever get back.  But if you approach EVERY day with renewed focus on just what needs to get done for that day, and play the game of life with respect, then life will undoubtedly give you that respect back.

For those that were counting, there was a third news story that I haven’t yet mentioned.  John Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, was covered on the NBC Nightly News for a film project she’s been working on for years.  She had a dream of seeing everyone in the world smile…thinking that if we’d all just smile, the world would be a better place to live.  I’ve gotta side with Yoko on this one…let’s all consciously smile a little more.  And if you’re interested, there’s more information about the film project on the NBC website.  Yoko has also created a website for folks to upload a picture of a smile…get yourself in this great movement by visiting smilesfilm.com.

Remember, it’s times like these we learn to live again.  It’s times like these we give and give again.  It’s times like these we learn to love again.  And it’s times like these…time and time again.

Every day is a new day to live, give, and love again.  Treat it with respect and you’ll get it back…more than you’ve ever imagined.

 

Be blessed,

Tim

 

Times Like These – Foo Fighters

 

I am a one way motorway

I’m the one that drives away then follows you back home

I am a street light shining

I’m a wild light blinding bright burning off alone

 

It’s times like these you learn to live again

It’s times like these you give and give again

It’s times like these you learn to love again

It’s times like these, time and time again

 

I am a new day rising

I’m a brand new sky to hang the stars upon tonight

I am a little divided

Do I stay or run away and leave it all behind?

 

It’s times like these you learn to live again

It’s times like these you give and give again

It’s times like these you learn to love again

It’s times like these, time and time again

“Well, that was awkward.”

How often do you mutter those words?

The idea of being “off” is trained from an early age.  We sense from the visual and verbal feedback of others when our timing is perfect, and struggle from those internal shots of adrenaline when it’s not so perfect.

Timing…

Timing is universal.  We learn as children when our timing stinks – usually with a crack to the rear-end for opening our mouths at the wrong time.  In the medical field, timing is truly the difference between life and death.  In cooking, timing is the difference between delivering the perfect piece of chocolate pie or presenting a soupy mess (yes…I’m experienced in this one).  Every sport has an element of timing – from a home-run swing, to a perfect pass, to every twitch of every muscle creating the difference between breaking an Olympic record or having just another average performance.  Comedians are made famous most often with how well-timed a punch line is delivered.

Examples abound throughout every part of our daily lives as to the importance of timing.  We even attribute our luck, good or bad, to our own timing.  We say we were either “there at the right time, right place” or “right place, wrong time”.

Mark Twain once wrote, “I was seldom able to see an opportunity until it had ceased to be one.”  One of history’s successful authors would appear, to those of us looking back over his life, to have had plenty of good timing and an ample supply of opportunities.  Yet in Twain’s own words, his timing wasn’t always perfect and, in fact, he missed many opportunities along the way.

For me, many of these missed chances lie in the awkward moments.

We’ve all heard the sayings “dare to be different” and “nothing worth having comes easy”, etc.  Thomas Edison said it best, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”  These opportunities…these life-changing, breathtaking nanoseconds often sneak up on you and look nothing like our everyday lives; and they certainly don’t look like something much fun.  Nope…instead they look like a whole bunch of work.  But take those chances and grab on to those moments – you’ll find you change the portrait you’re painting for your own life.  And timing will be what colors between the lines of your story.

A seized opportunity is the product of perfect timing, while missed opportunities are a lack of such.  And perhaps opportunity was knocking when one of those awkward moments popped up.  Think about that…the next time you’re inclined to mutter those words “that was awkward”, take a mental picture of exactly what is going on at the time.  Your window of opportunity to capitalize on a potential opportunity is closing fast.  Could this be that seize-the-day moment that could change your path?  And then, don’t think much about it…don’t let the moment pass.  Grab it!

Commercials often depict a nice-looking man and woman, randomly at the store who catch each others’ glances.  The commercials continue to seize the day – showing these two strangers talking and laughing after that awkward moment passes.  Too often in real life, those moments are left in the aisles of grocery stores with both people thinking, “what if I’d just said ‘hi’”.  These mists of time present themselves every day.  We all have many more opportunities to make a difference than we know.  Wouldn’t you prefer to make the most of those opportunities?

Try it today.  Snap that mental picture when you know something from within is calling you to take a simple step.  Play it out quickly in your mind as to how you’ll grab that opportunity.  Then do it.  Make those awkward moments life-changing…and watch just how often these moments present themselves.

You too will believe – timing truly is everything.

 

Best

Tim

A couple of nights ago, I was fortunate enough to see Cirque du Soleil’s tribute to the late Michael Jackson.  The show is titled “Michael Jackson: The Immortal”.  Lay aside all your thoughts about MJ’s personal life, or, for that matter, his musical talent – as I know it’s not for everyone.  Few can argue this person’s impact on society during the 80s and 90s.  Obviously, he was no immortal – but his music reached lengths around the earth that no musician had before…and arguably, none has since.

Cirque du Soleil has always put on a good show, and they certainly fulfilled that expectation.  And while I did have quite an interest in seeing how they’d dramatize “the immortal”, I also looked quite forward to being immersed in an evening of nostalgia hearing old Michael Jackson songs replayed with concert-like volume.

The tribute was nice – probably different than what I expected, but not a bad thing.  As any good show does, they really saved some of the best for last.  The second half of the show really picked up in both drama and music selection.  But, for me, the last song of the night blew away the rest of the show.

I noticed a void throughout the night…one song missing.  They hit “Beat It” for a few seconds somewhat early.  “Billie Jean” came early, too.  The “Thriller” tribute was memorable.  But one of my personal favorites had been completely avoided all night – and I began to wonder if maybe I was the only guy who liked the song, “The Man in the Mirror”.

We noticed performers walking from the stage up into the seats while the lights were mostly out…very near the end of the show.  And as the first few notes of my favorite began to play, I muttered “they had to do this song tonight.”  The performers could only be spotted by the basketball-sized hearts they held in their respective places throughout the arena.  About a verse in, the hearts all made their way to the stage and the arena was somewhat spellbound by the spectacle as various human rights images were played on the large screens behind the stage.  It was quite moving…

For those who don’t know the song, it simply states:

I’m starting with the man in the mirror.

I’m asking him to make a change.

And no message could’ve been any clearer,

If you wanna make the world a better place

Take a look at yourself and then make that CHANGE!

In my previous post I quoted Gandhi (who was indeed one of the images flashed behind the stage during the song) who said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”  It truly does start with us, folks.  I see comments posted on Facebook every now and then that echo the sentiment, “Smile, it confuses people.”  I laugh because it’s true…unfortunately, it’s too true.

We do all truly have a cross to bear.  As the economy drags thinner and thinner, more and more are affected.  The more that are affected, the more stress it puts on just about everyone.  We’re all asked to do more, pull more weight, spread ourselves thinner and thinner.  Smiles for no reason?  They really do confuse people.

But you know what else happens?

When people see a smile, they are more likely to smile.  Sometimes it’s guilt – returning the favor to the silent smile of the passerby.  Sometimes it’s that lack of comfort.  And hey, sometimes they share in some level of joy.  The reasons why don’t really matter.  What matters most is the fact that something as simple as a smile can have ripple effects.

Try it.  One day.  Just smile for no reason – all day.  Play your favorite comedian in your ear all day if you have to, but smile so much that people think you must be up to something.  And then…count.  Watch how many smiles you create simply by smiling.

You know, we all have bad days.  Those who know me well know I have plenty.  But it’s a sweeter existence to try to find all the joy you can.  For me personally, my smiles come from my kids, my friends, my music, my reading, my work…really, just about anywhere.

My perfect world is one that’s smiling…and that’s the change in the world I’ve chosen for myself.  It’s not a perfect world, but it’s the best one I’ve found yet.

 

Start with the mirror, and make that change.

Tim

 

Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror”

Gotta make a change

For once in my life

It’s gonna feel real good

Gonna make a difference

Gonna make it right

 

As I turned up the collar on

A favorite winter coat

This wind is blowin’ my mind

I see the kids in the street

With not enough to eat

Who am I to be blind

Pretending not to see their needs

 

A summer’s disregard

A broken bottle top

And a one man’s soul

They follow each other

On the wind ya’ know

‘Cause they got nowhere to go

That’s why I want you to know

 

I’m starting with the man in the mirror

I’m asking him to change his ways

And no message could have been any clearer

If you wanna make the world a better place

Take a look at yourself and then make a change

 

I’ve been a victim of

A selfish kinda love

It’s time that I realize

There are some with no home

Not a nickel to loan

Could it be really pretending that they’re not alone

 

A willow deeply scarred

Somebody’s broken heart

And a washed out dream

They follow the pattern of the wind ya’ see

‘Cause they got no place to be

That’s why I’m starting with me

 

I’m starting with the man in the mirror

I’m asking him to change his ways

And no message could have been any clearer

If you wanna make the world a better place

Take a look at yourself and then make a change

 

I’m starting with the man in the mirror

I’m asking him to change his ways, yeah

No message could have been any clearer

If you wanna make the world a better place

Take a look at yourself and then make the change

You gotta get it right, while you got the time

‘Cause when you close your heart

Then you close your mind

 

Oh no, I’m gonna make a change

It’s gonna feel real good

Sure mon

Just lift yourself

You know, you got to stop it yourself

Make that change

 

Notes left behind by those who’ve gone on before us seem to have a special way of opening up our hearts.  It’s as if we have a special connection with the afterworld that often propels us in the days, weeks, months, and years following a loved one’s death.  We’ve all heard of these stories where people, knowing their lives were coming to a close, left notes for loved ones to open after their passing, or videos to watch sometime down the road – an everlasting gift of that special connection relayed through their words, voice, or even motion pictures.  The movie, “PS – I love you” (based on a novel by Cecilia Ahern of the same title) was a dramatic and imaginative portrayal of just how precious life is – and how our occasional toils and troubles are really not all that significant in the grand scheme of things.

I started a new fitness routine earlier this year, and lately it’s incorporated jogging (I dare call what I do “running”).  Friday night, with an empty house and some energy to burn, I decided to move up a day’s workout so I could spend Saturday recovering.  The training run called for much longer running segments than I had yet run – and I was a bit nervous about how I’d make it through the workout.  As the warmup walk ended, and the first segment began, I knew I was going to need to keep my mind occupied so I didn’t spend the entire segment staring at the clock.  As usual, a song came on that inspired me towards this note – and I can’t even tell you which song it was.  But the movie came to mind and the result that follows below is really the direction I had wanted to head anyway.

People often ask why I write…and I can tell you there are any number of reasons.  But more than anything, I want my two kiddos to have something to hold onto for a lifetime.  They’re too young to understand much of anything I write about at this point, but if somewhere down the road, they can pick up a sliver of wisdom out of something I’ve written, then all the time spent behind this keyboard will have been worth it.  But even with that, until now, I’ve left nothing direct.  While these are but small snippets of all I’d like to say, they’ll hopefully get the ball rolling to let each of my family members and friends know just what impact they’ve had on me.

First up…Momma.  I told the story just last night of how you were an active member of the PTA for 27 straight years.  Why you and dad “planned” me after the first two “surprises” 15 and 12 years earlier, I’ll never understand (haha).  Selfishly, I’m glad my own two kiddos came pretty quickly together – there are days I’m not sure I’ll keep it all together.  To do that for 20+ years straight without a break…you deserve more than a medal!  You fret too much, worry endlessly, and still do too much at holidays.  All that said nobody ever doubts the love you have for any of us.  And as much as my brother and sister (mostly my sister) and I like to claim you love one of us more than the others, the 3 of us all know that if there was ever a mother who didn’t play favorites, you are it.  I wouldn’t be a father without you…I love you, mom!

To my brother, know that my envy of you started in my very early years.  Perhaps it was the family dedication to watch you play college football every weekend possible, or just the fact that I was your chick-magnet…I always wanted to be like my big brother.  I remember that Chevelle Super-Sport hot rod you had.  And I remember you correcting me as I was learning to read by pulling my finger off the book as I tried not to lose my place – as that was considered bad practice at the time.  I remember peanut-butter-balls made by my loving hands with mom’s help.  I hate to tell you at this point but there’s no telling just how many times I licked my fingers while I was making those things…without washing.  I watched you navigate some really tough waters over the years and, even though our ages separate us by a considerable gap, I still consider you a close friend and one of the smartest men I know.  I love you, brother!

Sister…there’s just too much to say in not enough space.  You’d think I was emotionally scarred as much as I like to tell the stories about you slamming the bedroom door in my face as a toddler (repeatedly) when I’d try to bother you and your friends visiting the house.  It’s actually just a fun story and one of my fun memories of childhood.  I’ve watched everything from you marrying a really great man, to having kids of your own, to getting them both married off and becoming a grandmother along the way.  You and your husband amazingly found a balance to support one another through every season of life – and continue to to this day.  You are loved and respected by anyone who knows you.  I love you, sister!

To the brother-in-law…or the “first outlaw”, stories are just about as endless.  I learned how to tie knots, do multiplication tables in my head, start a campfire, and learned all about that Aggie Spirit thanks to you.  I learned how to mix drinks and cook some mean barbecue thanks to you – and shoot, we even developed Mesquite Grilled Toast together with the brother!  But more than any of those things, I had you by my side for so many of those formative years.  I still remember you showing up at RLT to get me out of an after-school FFA meeting when dad went in the hospital my junior year.  And nothing will replace the memory of what you did to my cap at graduation from A&M.  I still remember us bawling our heads off out in front of G Rollie White Coliseum wishing Pops was there to watch.  In fact, when I was deciding to get the license plates I still carry to this day twenty-plus years ago, my alternative plates were the words you’d decorated my hat with: “4U POPS”.  I love you, brother-in-law!

And to the “second outlaw”, that wonderful wife chosen by my brother, I have memories of everything from “Cowboy Stew” to playing Skip-Bo, to my most embarrassing moment back around 4^th or 5^th grade when you visited me in the hospital (any male who’s worn a hospital gown can imagine why it was my most embarrassing moment).  You are, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the sweetest person in all our family.  Every person that comes in your presence is welcomed unconditionally.  You are absolutely the most sweet and loving person I know.  You’ve got a great sense of humor (a must in this family), a great laugh, and a huge heart.  You’ve had your own health-adversities and have fought every step of the way to keep your quality of life – never letting anyone feel sorry or worry for you.  I love you, my sweet sister-in-law!

For the nieces and nephew, I clump you together simply to save space.  But never doubt for one minute what each of you mean to me individually.  I am so happy that all of you have found a love in your lives and are successfully balancing the challenges of work and family.  If you’ve learned anything from this family, all of you know the importance of family-first.  I love each of you!

Pops, even though you’re going to have to catch this in today’s “Heavenly Times Herald”, I know you’re looking for it.  Heck, you’re probably helping me with some of these thoughts.  My brother wrote a really great tribute to you today and it opened my eyes a bit more on just what adversity you’d been through in your own life.  I knew you were tough but soft-hearted at the same time.  I guess I didn’t really fully grasp just what had made you so tough.  I know we all say this from time to time, but if I’m half the man you were, I’ll be just fine.  I love you, Pops!  I miss you…and I love you…oh, and Happy Father’s Day!

And to my own kiddos, first off, my sweet daughter…please stop pickin’ on your brother!  Ha!  I remember the precise moment when I first heard a sound from either of you.  Life had always been pretty good for me, but it got so much sweeter when you made your entries into this world.  I can’t wait to see what you’re both going to do with your lives.  Know without question that I am proud of both of you individually.  I will always be there for fatherly advice – whether you want to hear it or not.  To my sweet girl, you’ve been through a lot in your young life but you’ve managed to draw strength from your own challenges.  Our hearts tore when we’d watch you deal with one challenge or another, but you always found a way through.  I love your art, your mind, and your creativity amongst all your other great traits.  You’re a great young lady…I’m lucky to have you as my daughter.  To my young son, the family calls you Tim Jr.  If that’s the case, you’re the smartest, cutest, funniest, and kindest person in the world.  Ha!  Buddy we’ve only had a short amount of time together – almost eight years now.  But nobody questions just how smart you are, and just how witty you are.  You’ve already mostly perfected the art of timing with your jokes.  Trust me, so many folks never learn that – and you’ve got it down.  Your creativity – with both your stories and your humor will propel you to great heights.  To both of you, I hope you learn the drumbeat laid throughout this message – the love of family is enough to win any battle.  I hope you share the love with each other that I share with my siblings.  I love you both…endlessly!

Finally to all my friends – you’ve made life sweet at times when it had no taste at all.  You’ve been there for me when I needed, and I’ve tried to repay the favor to you as often as necessary.  It’s ok to share this sentiment of “love” with friends.  In John 15:13, Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”  While I can honestly say I hope to never be tested on this one, I do feel this sort of love for you.  You are all great people with great accomplishments, overcoming your own adversities in admirable ways.  I love you all, for living life and sharing a part of it with me along the way.

And for the movie buffs out there that saw this movie, don’t sweat it…I have no knowledge of my own pending doom and no intention of leaving you anytime soon.  I just wanted to have the letter written in case I got too busy to do it sometime down the road.  😉

Love and Peace to you all

Tim

Two little words can truly change your life.  The best part about it – they can change the lives of those to whom you say it as well.

 

I spent much of my life having everything I wanted…but somehow always feeling empty enough to want more.  If I saw something I wanted, I bargained to get it.  If I couldn’t quite afford it, I would devise a way to acquire it as soon as possible.  Such is the life of many in the instant gratification society in which we live.

 

While I’ve often been “a giver”, I’ve also taken plenty…probably more than my fair share.  But when that great life started cracking under the pressures of “what more is there”, it was evident my attention had been a bit too focused on me, and not enough on what others were doing to help me along the way.  As that faulty vision I’d developed unraveled, I realized I was a pretty lonely guy surrounded by tons of friends…an extraverted introvert who had been so inwardly focused, so selfish…it was no wonder life was empty.

 

I remember a few years ago when I first took the time to say “thank you” – it almost startled the person to whom I said it.  Mom just kept going on about what it was she was doing and tried to play it off.  I stopped her and said, “seriously…thank you…for all you do.”  It was a game-changer…then and there life changed.

 

Princess Elizabeth Bibesco once wrote, “Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting.”  I had had it all backwards.  I always knew who owed me what, but rarely remembered who had given me even the most special of gifts.  As a father, I spend so much time pummeling my kids with “Say Thank you!” and “What do you say?!!” yet I didn’t live by example all that well.

 

When I noticed the game-changer…things got sweeter.  It’s almost like those two words breathed life into both the object of my gratitude, and likewise into my own spirit.  I began paying closer attention to life.  I focused on what it meant to have “an attitude of gratitude”.  I tried watching for things that sat just so in my spirit that I wanted to express thanks.  Those places where I’d felt lonely in a crowd of friends were transformed into some of the greatest friendships I could imagine.

 

I personally believe Ralph Waldo Emerson summed up the best way to start: “When I first open my eyes upon the morning meadows and look out upon the beautiful world, I thank God I am alive.”  Start your day in gratitude and watch your life change.  Even better than that – watch the lives of those around you change.  Saying “thank you” has undeniable “pay-it-forward” effects over time.

 

For those of you who identify with this, let me share with you the song I heard tonight amongst my 1300+ songs on iTunes.  There’s a really old song from all the way back in the 1980s…ha…by Christian recording artist Russ Taff.  I’ll admit I don’t have much of that genre on my iTunes, but this song has a very special meaning to me now.  The song is called “Take my hand”.  If you’re lonely in your world, look around to those who love you…to those who stand beside you even when you wonder just why you’re feeling the way you do.  As the song says, “it’s a long road – we can walk it together.”  Life really is a gift – every morning we gaze out on the morning meadows, or the downtown buildings…or wherever – it’s a gift.  And guess what?  I’m happy to share it with each of you.

 

To all of you who read these things and support my brain-spasms, thank you.  To those of you whom I am closely endeared, whether by bloodline or friendship, thank you for taking my hand and walking this life journey with me.  I’m here whenever you need a hand – we’ll walk through whatever it is together.

 

Blessings

Tim

 

***

 

“Take My Hand” by Russ Taff

 

I wanna walk with you

You know we’re all taught to be strong

We’re all taught to stand on our own

But it helps to have somebody

To hold on to

 

We’re all on the same journey

To find the way home

And I think we need each other

If we’re gonna get through

Why don’t you

 

Take my hand

And let’s walk together

Take my hand and try

It’s a long road

But we can walk it together

 

Life’s the greatest gift He gave

And I want to share it with You

Walk with me

 

Every year I watch the seasons change

But I’m never ready when people change

You see, I’ve had friends

That just drifted out of my life

Cause I never took time

But I do know this

If they were standing here tonight

I’d tell ’em

 

Take my hand

And let’s walk together

Take my hand and try

It’s a long road

But we can help each other

 

He said “Love one another”

We may not have tomorrow

Lord help us to hold on to each other

 

Life’s the greatest gift He gave

And I want to share it with you

Come walk with me

 

Take my hand

And let’s walk together

Take my hand and try

It’s a long, long road

But we can help each other

Hold on

I know we’re gonna find the way home

The irony was not lost on me as I started out on my run tonight.  For those who don’t know me all that well, I am not of slight build.  Flat-footed as can be, afflicted by shin splints sometimes just on long walks, and little stamina to go with it – the phrase “started out on my run” hasn’t been a part of my vocabulary in YEARS…and back then it was forced upon me by either a high school coach of one sport or another, or my father who knew I needed the conditioning.  But I saw a friend post via social networking a slick little application for my iPhone that would condition me to become a novice runner.  From a walker to a runner in 8 weeks…sounds nice doesn’t it?  What’s more, I get to play whatever music I want in the background while I listen periodically to the commands to “Walk” or “Run”.  It’s a neat little package.

As I often do when choosing my music, I’ve evolved from an iTunes listener – of music I’ve either purchased or copied over from CDs in my collection – to a Pandora listener.  Pandora predicts what I want to listen to based on my past listening habits.  Trust me when I say, my Pandora account ranges from Willie Nelson and Marty Robbins, to Metallica and AC/DC.  I’ve got classical, reggae, Christian, country, rock, pop…you name it.  Among the tens of thousands of songs that could’ve played tonight as I started the running segment, Pandora picked my all-time favorite band, U2.  The song:

Running to Stand Still

I couldn’t help but laugh as I tried to start my breathing rhythm.

The words to this posting have, as usual, been in the oven for a while.  I’ve been kicking around some things I’ve heard and read over the past few weeks.  It came pretty simply to me once I heard the song.  The words of the song are not necessarily applicable to this post…but more to the ideas and idioms we’ve all said from time to time.  How often have you uttered words like these?  How often have you said, “two steps forward and one step back”?  Or “hurry up and wait”?  These are common to most of us…but I had a different idea tonight.

Much is made of 1 Corinthians 13:13 where Paul says, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”  Most folks like to focus on love…after all, that chapter is often referred to as “the love chapter”.  The “love” spoken about in that chapter is about far more than romantic love.  It is about a love of life and humanity.  The verse comes on the heels of one of those “when all else fails” phrases.  Through it all…through the pain, triumph, loss, gain, storms, or bright shiny days, those three pillars would still stand – nothing else would be important other than faith, hope, and love…with love being the greatest.

But have you ever noticed…love can hardly exist without the other two pillars in place?

Voltaire said of faith: “Faith is believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe.”  Faith isn’t necessarily reasonable…in fact, it is believing in something when a reasonable person might say otherwise.  So how do faith and love twine together?  Simple…have you ever accomplished something that perhaps you shouldn’t have?  Faced with long odds, somehow or another you came through?  Without faith…in yourself or whatever else…you wouldn’t have accomplished that thing, most assuredly.  However, with faith, you accomplished it.  And guess what else happened along the way?  Your love of life grew a bit.  Your ability to believe in the unbelievable gave you that thirst that comes from a love of life.

Hope works the same way. 

We’ve all heard some version of this – take away a man’s hope and he’ll die.  That’s actually taken from Proverbs 29:18 (and paralleled in so many religions’ own proverbial statements) where it says “Without vision, the people perish.”  Vision, in this case, is very equivalent to hope, whether it be the hope for a better tomorrow, or the hope that you make it through some test in time, or simply the hope that all your loved ones are kept safe for one more day.  

Hope is the chauffer to our tomorrows.

Christopher Reeve – my lifetime’s superhero who went from picture-screen immortality as Superman to a very human and mortal quadriplegic at the hands of a Polo accident once said, “Once you choose hope, anything is possible.”  That quote sounds to me to weave all three pillars together.  Reeve loved life and much more ironic than the starting song on my run tonight, Superman became confined to a wheelchair the last 9 years of his life.  Reeve, like so many of us, kept his hope alive, had faith in a better tomorrow, and thus enjoyed a tremendous love for life.

So how did “Running to Stand Still” get me here tonight?

Oftentimes we’re in that hurry-up-and-wait mode.  We get busy for the sake of being busy without a focus on what it is we’re all in a fuss about.  Trust me…as a self-diagnosed sufferer of ADD, it’s good every now and then to turn that on its ear.  Slow down…stop, even.

Be still and listen…listen to your mind conjure up exactly what it is that you hope for.  What is it you love?  Where are your dreams driving you?  Or perhaps, did you forget to pack those dreams with you on the journey?  It’s never too late to add those dreams back to your routine

Get your hope.  Have faith.  Fall in love…with you…with the life you’ve been given.

Everything else is simply “running to stand still.”

Blessings,

Tim

Many people will approach today with superstition and fear. Many more will look upon it with interest. But for a vast majority, Friday the 13th will come and go just like any other day. I approach today from a different perspective – a perspective I share with only a handful of you.

My father (known as “Pops” as my older brother and sister began bringing children into the world) was handicapped…but he never let it stand in the way of anything and he’d never allow any of us to use it as an excuse for him either. He had suffered from some sort of mild physical defect at birth that, to my recollection, was exacerbated by a bout with polio in his early years. This left him with a weak right side of his body…a shorter leg and arm that didn’t quite function the same as the left side. Trust me when I say, dad knew how to turn his weaknesses into strengths.

As a young boy, I was quite enamored with my two older models…a college-football playing brother who drove a hot-rod Chevelle and a future brother-in-law that got me involved in the sense of Texas Aggie pride from an early age. I wanted to be like both of them…a football stud…and an Aggie. While the former never materialized, the latter did.

The time spent throwing the ball with Dad in the front yard is one of those fun times I’ll always remember from my childhood. Whether it was baseball or football, or later basketball, dad would sit in his lawn chair out there for hours and work with me. Throwing pass after pass, I developed a pretty soft touch for receiving the football. While my physique would keep me on the front line to block, as opposed to being a flanked receiver, the fact that I was dependable as a target gave me a lot of opportunities for some fun plays during live action.

He always said one thing to me that stuck out…”If you can touch it, you can catch it.”

I remember watching college and pro football games on TV (with Dad) and applying that simple grade to so many receivers. It was as if some of these guys needed a net to catch balls sometimes – it’d make you wonder how they made it as receivers. Then there were the guys who just had the softest touch and could catch balls they weren’t supposed to…those were the ones to emulate.

If I could touch it, I could catch it…that’s all I ever needed to remember.

***

The rock band, U2, has performed “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for” over a thousand times in live performances. The song, released shortly before my high school graduation in May of 1987, would become one of the most recognizable of U2’s great history of songs. Originally released on the “Joshua Tree” album, U2 would commission a live performance a few months later with the gospel choir from Greater Calvary Baptist Church in Harlem – a performance held at Madison Square Garden. This live recording was then re-released on U2’s next album “Rattle and Hum”. A link to a YouTube video from this slightly revised version of the song is included below.

I set the stage for the song to continue with my thoughts on Pops. Since his passing, there’s not a day that has passed where I haven’t thought of him. We spend our childhood years trying to prove to our parents that we’re worthy of their love and admiration. I can’t really speak for my brother or sister, but I know that they had probably worked through a lot more of that than I had. I had just turned 19 and really was just coming into manhood when Dad passed. To this day, I count myself very fortunate to have had the leadership of both my brother and brother-in-law, and some great men in the church of my youth, to help me along on that path. As good a substitute as they were, they still weren’t dad.

The song’s opening stanzas say, “I have climbed the highest mountains…I have run through the fields…only to be with you. I have run, I have crawled…I have scaled these city walls…only to be with you.” I’ve spent so much of my life subconsciously trying to prove something to a father who passed away long ago. Many will read that and look me squarely in the eye and tell me I need to head back to counseling. I’m not ashamed or afraid to look them back in the eye and let them know where I’m coming from.

I spent much of the time defeated. Self-motivation had often escaped my grasp. Quite honestly, I was an underachiever. I wasted significant brainpower in my youth…knowing so much more than I applied in school. I tell the story that my schools didn’t really teach me how to study. Truth be told, had I cracked my books a little more in my youth, I could’ve prepared myself. My grades were always “good enough” to get by. But every report card came with a motivation from my father (not always positive motivation, by the way…haha) to do better – he knew I was far better than my grades reflected, even at times when I made honor roll.

At his passing, I lost much of the motivation – but few would try challenging that because they knew I’d lost Pops…and they knew what a positive relationship we had.

In the years to come, I would learn that my motivation would have to come from within. And through the past 24 years, I’ve had varying success with motivating myself. I have come to find that my spiritual faith is a great motivator in so many areas of life.

The rewritten version of the song contains a couple of solos by members of the accompanying choir saying, “He will lift you higher and higher. He will pick you up when you fall. He’ll be your shelter from the storm.”

It’s all right there, friends. If you need motivation – He’ll lift you higher and higher…just ask.

If you fall, He’ll pick you up…whether you ask or not.

If you need shelter from the storms in life…His doors are always open.

As I’ve experienced personally in the past few years, it’s a conscious decision to no longer allow “just good enough” melt away all my self-motivation. I can’t really call it “self-motivation” though. My motivation comes from the best thing I saw from my dad – his unshakeable faith that somehow or another, God would provide and things would be “alright”.

I still haven’t found what I’m looking for – but I’m looking for it. The difference now is pretty simple, I found a faith that lights my path on the search…and I try to stay really in line with seeking first the Kingdom of God – and allow all other pursuits to fall in line with that. It’s taken 24 years to figure this much out for me, but as you’ll read in one of my recent posts, according to my son I’m not even “halfway to dead yet” (smile).

It’s never too late to learn some of life’s most valuable lessons. It’s never too late to begin enjoying the most of every day. And it’s never too late to align what it is you’re looking for with a higher purpose. As the song says, “I believe in the Kingdom come…then all the colours will bleed into one, bleed into one…well, yes, I’m still running.”

If you can touch it, you can catch it.

I miss you, Pops. I love you more than I ever got to say. Thanks for being a great dad, a great teacher, and a great man. I’ll never stop thinking about you…and that’s fine by me. And thanks for teaching me that simple message…

Running with the Kingdom in mind,

Tim

 

“I still haven’t found what I’m looking for” as performed by U2 and the Greater Calvary Baptist Church choir “New Voices of Freedom” at Madison Square Garden…September, 1987. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idE6gh0qhrU)

Hi friends;

I love when I realize that something I’ve been repeating for a while appears magically in my Bible.  It’s even better when it’s in those little red letters (for those that don’t fully understand that remark, that means Jesus is talking).  I guess it makes me feel like this faith I’ve been rebuilding for a while is actually doing something more than making me feel good on Sunday mornings.  Maybe the words are sinking in a bit.

This morning, I was reminded of an old Amy Grant song… “If these walls could speak”.  That trip down memory lane had me remember another of her songs – whose title I had to look up based on the lyric that was stuck in my head.  The song title was “Jehovah” – but over and over all that kept coming to mind was “Consider the lilies of the field…for how much more does He love His own, if Yaweh cares for them.”  I admit, it’s a deep line – and not real high on the everyday reality charts, but still, it’s what was rattling around in my head today.

So I knew I needed to do something about it and decided Google could help me figure it out.  “Consider the lilies” pops back Matthew 5:28.  But as I read that verse…and the verse before…and the verse after…it wasn’t what I had in mind.  There had to be another.  And that’s when I found Luke 12:25-27:

“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.”

***

In my younger years, when I thought I knew more about what it took to be a “man of faith”, I would constantly argue that a verse here or there was being taken out of context.  It was as if I needed to say something to make myself sound smarter about the Bible – and exuded a bit of snobbery if nothing else.  I understand that some folks feel that need and I get it…and obviously, not in every case is it intended as snobbery.  But sometimes a simple line will speak to us in ways we’ve never read before.  Sometimes we “need” to see something outside of whatever context it was written in the first place.  Why is that?

Simple… things touch us in different ways, at different times, and for different reasons.

The fact of the matter is, the context for Luke 12 is pretty simple…Jesus was teaching…teaching the crowds that were constantly gathered around Him, teaching those who already thought they knew everything, and teaching His disciples.  This particular passage, Jesus had turned to the disciples in verse 22 and was instructing them about worrying too much.  Perhaps I’m reading too much into things, but Jesus didn’t seem to instruct on things unless there was a need.  I’m guessing these disciples had been questioning where they would sleep, how they would subsist (given that they had all walked away from their jobs to follow Him), where they would get new clothes, etc.  The questions were endless – like those of a sleepless child in the backseat of a long car drive “Are we there yet, Are we there yet, Are we there yet???”

The words answered their questions pretty succinctly.   And you know what else?  Nobody needed “context” to understand that simple passage.

***

For a while now I’ve hammered on the points of MLK’s “fierce urgency of now”, or Henry Ford’s “believe you can or believe you can’t, either way you’ll be right”, or even my own line from my last blog about taking advantage of the only “now” you’ll ever get.  But you know what?  We all owe Christ’s words a debt of gratitude – for it was His teachings that taught us all we need to know.

Don’t worry about a thing – it doesn’t add a single hour to your life, and, if doctors are right, it could actually subtract from your life.  Instead, spend the energy you waste on worry and dedicate it to more healthy pursuits…like exercise for your body, or exercise for your mind, or…well…quite simply…exercise for your spirit.  Joshua 1:8 says simply, “Do not let this book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything in it.  Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

Folks, the Bible came long before Henry Ford, long before MLK, long before Oprah, Tony Robbins, Joel Osteen, or anybody else you want to add to the list of great motivators.  If you want to get energized, and heck, even take a shot at being “prosperous and successful,” look no further than that Bible sitting on your shelf.  Read Joshua 1:8 for yourself.

And this one time, forget about the context.

Blessings

Tim

Lyrics from “Jehovah” as performed by Amy Grant

Consider the lilies of the field, Solomon dressed in royal robes has not the worth of them. Consider the lilies of the field. He takes after each and every need. Leave all your cares behind, seek Him and you will find Your Father loves you so.

Consider the creatures of the air. For all of the diamonds in all the earth have not the wealth of them. Consider the creatures of the air. Jehovah loves them with tender hand. He knows your every care, His touch is always there to see you through the night.

And Jehovah I love You so, and Jesus I want You to know, all you’ve done for me to set me free, I’ll never let you go. And Jehovah I love You so, and Jesus I want You to know, all You’ve done for me to set me free, I’ll never let You go.

Consider the lilies of the field. For how much more does He love His own, if Yaweh cares for them. Consider the creatures of the air. He takes after each and every need. If we ask Him for bread, will He give us a stone? Jehovah loves His own.

And Jehovah I love You so, and Jesus I want You to know, all you’ve done for me to set me free, I’ll never let You go. And Jehovah I love You so, and Jesus I want You to know, all You’ve done for me to set me free, I’ll never let you go.