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Showing posts from April, 2020

Masks

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Masks, they are common every where we go, but wearing one is nothing new. We have done it most of our lives. Question When have people seen something or thought something of you that isn’t really true? When has someone failed to see what’s really going on inside you? Nearly everyone in the world is wearing masks. I went to Costco this week and you could not enter the store without one. I was fine and happy with this but the gentlemen behind me wasn’t as he was stopped at the door and told he could not enter until he put one on. As I’ve looked at pictures of friends on social media who have masks on, it has struck me that I miss much of the person who is behind the mask. In fact it’s easy to not recognize them. I'm certain that while on my shopping trip there were friends who walked by me whom I did not recognize and vice versa. Wearing masks in public is nothing new. We do it all the time in one form or another. When we go out into the world we try to look,...

Backwards

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When Going the Wrong Direction is the Right Way When in life have you felt like you were going in the wrong direction? When have you felt like you were moving one way and everyone around you was moving another? It could be literal or figurative.  Moving in reverse can be a challenge. Driving in reverse, especially over a longer distance can be down right scary. Several years ago my car stopped working the way that it should while on the road in front of my house. It wouldn’t go into forward drive. Strangely however, it would go in reverse. It needed to be fixed, but I didn’t want to pay the $150 towing bill to get it to the shop only a half mile away.   After pondering the possibilities I came up with a plan. I waited until around midnight when I knew far less drivers would be on the road. I also knew my wife would be asleep and could not object. I then went out to my car and started it up. It was facing forward in my driveway and that had to change. I had t...

Fear

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When Life Is Like A Rollercoaster Ride That You Want To End Question   Describe the first time you rode an amusement park ride or any other sort ride that scared you. Story When I was 12 years old I remember getting on my first roller coaster. It was at Ellitch Gardens located in Lakewood, Colorado. I remember stepping on the coaster and getting strapped in feeling nervous and excited about what was ahead. Slowly the coaster left the gate and you could feel the chain below take hold and then the tick, tick, tick as we went up the hill that seemed like a massive mountain to me. I was excited, anxious and looking forward to what was ahead. Then the coaster crested the hill, and the next minute of my life flew by as I struggled to catch my breath, keep my eyes open, and still my brain as my entire body rattled like never before. I was terrified. I couldn’t wait for the ride to be over. I didn’t go on a coaster again for at least the next ten years. Application Right...

Persevere

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Pressing On When It Seems Time To Give Up Question  When was a time in life where you felt like you were losing but you didn’t give up and things came out much better than you expected? Story I love Mario Kart! In fact in the last 30+ days I have done at least four races a day, losing to my youngest son Parker nearly every time. He is almost unbeatable. I say almost for a reason. Sometimes I will be in a race with him and I will be so far behind that I just want to give up. I lose hope of doing well. Every once in a while however the game gives me a wonderful gift where suddenly I become a speeding bullet and I pass many of the racers in front of me and catch back up in the race. Occasionally, I will end up in first place! It’s so much fun, and so frustrating for my 8 year old. Application In life we can feel like we are losing. We can feel like things just aren’t going our way. It could be with school, our family, a job, or a group of people we thought were our fri...

Magic

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Finding Something Lost That We Think Could Never Be Found Question Describe a time where something important to you was lost, and then after a short or long search, you found it. Tell the story. How did you feel while it was lost? How did you feel when it was found? Story  “Uh Oh, its Magic….” Yes, It’s a great line from one of my favorite songs by the Cars, but it’s also a theme that has been going on in our house the last few days. We have an eight year old boy who suddenly has taken a huge interest in magic, specifically in the form of card tricks.  He loves to pull out a deck and have us choose a card and after we look at it, bury it back in the deck. The first time I thought there is no way he is going to find it. Yet, after a few slide of hand maneuvers, he pulls the card back out and says “Is this your card?” I am surprised and super impressed.  Truth So often in life we can lose our way and feel lost when it comes to our direction and purpose. Our...

Trust

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Who Do You Turn To When Life Breaks Down? Opening Question When did you have to take a risk and trust someone or something with your life? Story When I was 18 years old, I left my college town in Northeast Missouri on a cold mid December day to drive 750 miles West to my home town of Aurora, Colorado. The drive went well until late in the evening in Eastern Colorado when I ran into a severe snow storm. That snow storm soon turned into a blizzard.  Moving along through the snow and wind, traveling at 40-50 miles an hour my car suddenly began to decelerate and was soon dead on the side of the highway with white out conditions outside my window. I was stuck in the middle of nowhere and no-one was aware of where exactly I was. This happened long before cell phones even existed.  I jumped out of my car and waited for the next car to drive by. Soon enough I could see two lights coming toward me from the East. As they converged on my location, I realized it wasn...