try again . . .

I work with students with special needs in a high school . . . I learn some life lessons from them often. Many times these students are overlooked because they do not capture our attention or make the newspaper highlight page. However, I have had the privilege to work with them and get to know them. One of my students says "try again. . ." whenever he makes a mistake or someone else makes a mistake. I do not care who you are, or what you do, that is just good advice. I can not tell you how many times I have let a mistake or a failure sidetrack me, when all I really needed to do was "try again . . ." What in your life is kicking your butt? For me it is my weight and my being an effective dad. I am giving them both all I have, but I have to remind myself often to keep going, and when I do mess up, I now tell myself . . . "try again . . ." Peace

I like this photo . . .

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Originally uploaded by elsvo (back to 365)

this young lady takes some wonderful photos, and i thought this one was cool. I love the eyes. Enjoy your day . . . it is all you have. Peace

Friends and Readers . . .

Does the fact that someone, even friends, read this blog change the nature of this blog . . . I must say yes! The fact that this blog is public means that I do not let every thought or feeling out fully. Though I do like this medium to push the limits of thought and at times frustration. A friend and I were chatting about the feeling of anonymity that people feel through the Internet. Sometimes folks do not hold back their thoughts and feeling and let all raw thought spew out . . . Look, things you post on the Net are public . . . simple. If I have something that is very private to say . . . or that I need to get off my chest, I share it with my wife, with my God and if you ever come across my personal Journal, you will quickly learn that I am a flawed man in search of of God's grace and mercy. It is amazing to view my life via my private self, my public self and my thoughts written and never mentioned. I also want to note the power this past month has had on my life as a person. I began to move consistently, and it has helped my overall health and fitness on many levels: physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and socially. Every level of my life has changed in some manner . . . what a blessing . . . Where are you on this entire thing of how much you let out to the world. What are you thoughts about private and public self? I love to hear you, I learn from you, be a teacher today . . .

I came across a friends facebook with this wonderful quote: "choosing one path means abandoning others- if you try to follow every possible path you will end up following none." Paulo Coelho

I like the overall thought of this quote . . . It is amazing the amount of options most of us have with the gift we call life. This life is short, very short . . . What are we going to do with this gift? Enjoy your day today. I am praying for you. Shoot me a line . . . Let me know if you have any thoughts or topics you would like me to address . . . Peace

Colossians 3 . . .

I had the joy of reading this section of Scripture from the message bible . . . I thought I would share it with you here today . . .

Colossians 3

"1-2 So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that's where the action is. See things from his perspective.
3-4Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you'll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.
5-8And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That's a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It's because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. It wasn't long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it's all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk.
9-11Don't lie to one another. You're done with that old life. It's like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you've stripped off and put in the fire. Now you're dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ.
12-14So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.
15-17Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.
18Wives, understand and support your husbands by submitting to them in ways that honor the Master.
19Husbands, go all out in love for your wives. Don't take advantage of them.
20Children, do what your parents tell you. This delights the Master no end.
21Parents, don't come down too hard on your children or you'll crush their spirits.
22-25Servants, do what you're told by your earthly masters. And don't just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you'll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you're serving is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being a follower of Jesus doesn't cover up bad work. "

(Peterson, Eugene H. The Message : The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, Colo.: NavPress, 2003.)

Have a wonderful day . . . Peace

On a long road of recovery . . .

Have you ever been lost? Think with me about all the things you were thinking . . . what did you feel? What do you remember seeing? Being lost is not fun, but it is a learning experience on many different levels . . . But what happens when you get lost in life? What do you do? Where do you turn? I must tell you that somewhere along the way I got lost in life. Yes, you did read it here first. Look at me, I am 43 years old . . . and overweight . . . OK, now you see where I am going. I just spent a month of my life changing the things I have been doing and doing new things . . . I am working out on a regular basis at Planet Fitness. I am making decisions not to eat things I would have eaten. I am going to bed and getting an adequate amount of sleep. I got lost somewhere along the 22nd or 23rd year of my life . . . shortly after I was married. When I got married I weighed 175 lbs. or so . . . I woke up when I went to play the Wii with my family . . . I weighed 332.7 lbs. How did this happen? I got lost is an easy way to express it to you. Now I am on the long road to lose the weight and all the stuff that has allowed me to get where I am. My weight is an outward result of faulty inward thoughts. Yes, I did stop working out and moving along the way as well. For the month of January my first goal was to begin moving consistently and thinking more positively. What a wonderful month of movement and better feelings . . . and 12 lbs of weight loss. I am on the long road, and I want to see the big picture. My long range goal is to be between 200 and 220 lbs, but beyond the weight I want to be kinder to me, allow myself the freedom to be human. I know this is a ramble of thoughts. What are you working on in you life? What are the things that are challenging you in this moment? What parts of your situation can you control? Have a wonderful day. Peace