Yes I am still here

Likely most of my readership is gone by the wayside, but that's OK. Facebook has gotten some of my time, and I honestly don't know where my brain has gone, but it seems to be emptier than normal.

Anyhow, one interesting phenomenon in parenting is trying to instill things into your children that you don't have. Pick one...discipline, compassion, patience, gentleness.... I find personally that discipline is pretty high on my list. I'm an action guy, I like the exciting times...activities that move... but I'm not so good when it comes to disciplining myself to get better, especially in the mundane. You can go to a certain point on instinct and raw ability, in fact pretty far if you've got the knack...but to become good or great, you've got to have the discipline.

In parenting, yes...each child is their own. And yes, they constantly surprise me with their abilities, many of which I don't have. But...I cringe when I see the nagging traits repeating themselves. Luckily they get the good stuff too I guess :-)

So in the New Year, a repeating mantra to self. Do not be satisfied with the previous status quo. Fail and fail again. But never give up. How much more powerful the lesson to succeed when failure has been repeated over (and over) again. And share those victories (and failures) with your kids...it's good for them to know you fail too.

Some good advice

I have a superior who often uses the phrase "All things reveal themselves with time." Really good advice...a proverb of sorts that I refer to often. There is of course the followup question, "How much time?".

This week I had a former superior get fired for what I surmise was inappropriate interaction with an outside company. The specifics don't matter, but the bottom line is that a code of ethics was broken and he paid the price. An interesting sidenote is that I observed the infractions firsthand and was very uncomfortable with my working relationship while in that position. He certainly had a hand in my "moving on". My decision, but a hand nonetheless. So in this case, the answer was about 5 years.

In another relationship, I lived with an individual who would definitely rival Jacob (remember Esau) in his deceiptfulness; no doubt in my mind he'd steal lunch money from a kindergartener and not feel a twinge of guilt. Over the course of decades, the game went on. Though the consequences for this individual still to this day haven't necessarily completely hit, there's been some sense of justice and for many around him, the cover is blown. In this case, the answer is decades if not more.

We've all got these situations in our lives. And many times it seems that no good deed goes unpunished while these types keep plugging along. There's some solace in seeing justice; not in the sense of getting revenge, but in the sense of seeing consequences for actions.

In the end, we've all got a payment to make...the Bible makes that clear. I'm relieved that much of what I've done WON'T be revealed in time. For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. So in my life, at least for my soul's sake, the best answer is an eternity.

Guilty as charged

A story that I'll pass on from some reading I'm doing...this is from a sermon about Joseph by Ron Ritchie of Peninsula Bible Church

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In l983 I was fifty, and my son Ron, Jr. was about to turn twenty-one. So I invited him out to dinner at a local restaurant to celebrate his passage into responsible manhood. At the same time I wanted to have a last man-to-man conversation with him about all the spiritual and practical principles I had learned in my fifty years on this earth about my relationship with the Lord, women, money, and the choice of a career. We had a wonderful dinner, and then during dessert I asked him if I could share some of these things. He said he would really like that. So I began laying out some basic principles of life, and some of my mistakes as well as some of my successes. He sat there listening for more than an hour, and then when I was finished I asked him if he had any comments or questions. I will never forget his mature response:

"Dad, I heard every word you said. But could I just ask you one question?"

"Yes, of course," I said.

"Do I have to be fifty at twenty-one?" my beloved first-born asked. For as he listened he understood that physical, emotional, and spiritual maturity doesn't happen overnight, but it is a process that continues over a lifetime, and he was hoping that I also understood that.
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A good reminder for us parents!

Some holiday wanderings with the camera phone

Things get strange when Wonder Woman doesn't come. A journey to where no man has gone before...

First, the reason why Wonder Woman couldn't join us. She was having lunch with an old friend...


Yes, as Cosmic Boy noted, this trail seems to have no end.


An unlocked man-hole cover--I wonder where it goes?


Now where is that lock when I need it?


Lucky for Cosmic Boy, Dynagirl, and Dash...there was an escape portal...


Now, where do I get me some of those? I think this guy is kookier than me...


Some ice cream. Hmm, good.


The end (of the train)